_{“Brave Tin World” is the fifth album from Swedish metal band The Murder of My Sweet and it was released on 6th December by Frontiers Music. The band is generally described as symphonic, gothic or cinematic metal and it has been fronted since its formation in 2007 by singer Angelica Rylin. The track “Tin Soldiers” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 1st November, followed by “Head of the Snake” on 15th November.}

_{“Straight Out of Hell” is the first album by Ghostreaper and it was released on 6th December by Pride & Joy Music. Ghostreaper is a project developed by Mikk Hollenberg, the guitarist in German metal band Voodoma. The album features ten tracks in differing genres performed by ten different international vocalists. The track “High Noon” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 20th December.}

_{“The Time Optimist” is a solo album from Swedish guitarist and songwriter Mats Karlsson and it was released through MK Music on 6th December. Karlsson will be best known as a founding member of the band 220 Volt which released four albums in the 80’s and reformed in 2002. The new solo album features a number of guest musicians and singers, although much of it is done by Karlsson. The track “A Natural High” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 20th December.}

_{“Reign of Gold” is the sixth studio album from German power metal band Human Fortress and it was released on 6th December by AFM Records. The band celebrates its twentieth anniversary as Human Fortress this year, although only two of the original members remain. The track “Thunder” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 20th December.}

_{“Native Soul” is the fourth album from Edge of Forever, the band established by prolific musician and producer Alessandro Del Vecchio in 2002. The album was released on 6th December by Frontiers Music; ten years on from the release of the band’s third album! Del Vecchio once again takes on the role of lead singer for this release. The track “Native Soul” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 25th October followed by “Promised Land” on 22nd November.}

_{“Universe” is the debut album from British band A New Tomorrow and it was released on 6th December by Frontiers Music. The band formed back in 2009 and over the past ten years has released a number of EPs and singles, but this is their first full studio album. The band has stated that this period of time has allowed them to develop their own sound and deliver their heaviest, most dynamic tracks to date. The track “A Million Stars” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 13th December.}

_{I pre-ordered quite a few vinyl releases during 2019. The last of them to arrive was the new Tygers of Pan Tang album “Ritual” (which I’d ordered in red vinyl along with the t-shirt). The album was officially released on 22nd November by Mighty Music. As a fan of the Tygers since the early 80’s there was never a question over purchasing the latest album and it be would amiss not to post a recommendation as well! The single “White Lines” has been included on the Friday NI Rocks Show three times, and more recently we’ve played “Damn You!”, “Destiny” and this week “Spoils of War”.}

_{Scottish rockers Heavy Pettin re-released their first three albums on 29th November through Burnt Out Wreckords and Cherry Red Records – “Lettin Loose”, “Love Ain’ Dead” and “The Big Bang”. I’ve been a big fan of Heavy Pettin since seeing them supporting Kiss in Edinburgh in October 1983 and it was great to see the band reforming in 2017 and subsequently re-releasing their albums from the 80’s. The band has regularly been included on the Friday NI Rocks Show, with the latest track to feature being “Don’t Call It Love” from the album “The Big Bang” on 13th December.}

_{On 25th October, Canadian singer Carl Dixon re-released his debut solo album “One” and on 29th November he followed that up with the release of a new album called “Unbroken”. Both albums were released on the AOR Heaven label. Dixon had fronted Canadian band Coney Hatch in the 80’s and went on to release his first solo album, “One”, in 1993. The re-release of that album was timed to coincide with the release of a new album called “Unbroken”. The track “One Good Reason” from “One” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 15th November; followed by “This Isn’t The End” from “Unbroken” on 7th December.}

_{“Gods and Monsters” is the new album from English band Redline and it was released on 22nd November by Escape Music. The band formed in 2006 and has now released three albums. Redline will be familiar to those attending events such as Hard Rock Hell and the Planet Rock festivals and their track “King of the Mountain” has become synonymous with the Isle of Man TT races. The title track “Gods and Monsters” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 15th November.}