_{“Icons of the New Days” is the third album from Lords of Black and it was released via Frontiers Music on 11th May. The band has developed a wide support base since its foundation in 2014 not due only to the quality of the music, but as a result of lead singer Ronnie Romero being chosen by Richie Blackmore to front Rainbow. The release of this third album will only serve to enhance that following. I played the track “Icons of the New Days” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 16th March, “World Gone Mad” on 13th April and “When A Hero Takes A Fall” on 18th May.}

_{“Only Human” is the fifth album from British melodic rock band Vega and it was released via Frontiers Music on 11th May; almost 2 years to the day since the release of the previous album “Who We Are”. It’s the third Vega album that I’ve posted a recommendation for (starting with “Stereo Messiah” in 2014) and I’ve also interviewed lead singer Nick Workman on two occasions. The track “Last Man Standing” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 23rd March and “Go To War” on 25th May.}

_{“Hard Times” is the third album from English band Doomsday Outlaw and their first since signing to Frontiers Music who released the album on 11th May. It’s also the third album recommendation that I’ve posted for Doomsday Outlaw, following their self-released albums in 2015 and 2016. A number of tracks from “Hard Times” were released by Frontiers ahead of the album – “Spirit That Made Me” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 16th February, “Over and Over” on 2nd March and again on 27th April (as well as being on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 10th April) and “Bring It On Home” on 13th April.}

_{“All You Need Is Soul” is the new album from Jizzy Pearl of Love/Hate. The album was released on 11th May by Frontiers Music. I’ve featured all three singles on the Friday NI Rocks Show over the past few weeks and all three were included on the Show on 27th April along with an interview with Jizzy –http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3345-ni-rocks-interview-with-jizzy-pearl-april-2018.html}

_{My favourite track “When The Devil Comes” was on the Show on 18th May.}

_{Ryan Roxie was my guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show recently. One of the tracks he chose to play from his new album “Imagine Your Reality” was “To Live And Die In L.A.” was it was going to be the next single. That single has now been released along with a video. Have a listen to the interview to find out more about the track and the album – http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3359-ni-rocks-interview-with-ryan-roxie-may-2018.html}

_{The official press release for the single is copied below.}

_{“Valley of Thorns” is the debut album from British female rock band The Kut who have previously released a number of EPs and single over the past ten years or so. The album was released on 4th May through Cargo Records. When the labels ‘alternative’, ‘grunge’ or ‘punk’ get tagged onto bands I can sometimes struggle to connect with the music, but that hasn’t been the case with The Kut. When I got the link to the new album via Rock n Growl promotions a quick preview was enough to ensure that the album got a more in-depth listen. The track “Bad Man” will be on the Friday NI Rocks Show this week.}

_{“Live In Space” is the debut album from Swedish band QFT – Quantum Field Theory – and it was released on 4th May by Despotz Records. QFT features vocalist Linnéa Vikström who is best known as one of the female leads in symphonic metal legends Therion. I spoke to Linnéa about the album and much more when she was a guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 4th May. We also played three tracks from the album on that Show – “Aliens”, “Big Bang” and “End of the Universe”. I had also included “Aliens” on the Show on 6th April.}

_{“What Will Be” is the new album from Dublin band Elevation Falls and it was released on 19th April. The female fronted band formed back in 2012 and deliver a great hard rock / blues sound. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to catch them live yet but I’ve been playing tracks from their earlier releases for a few years and had pre-ordered “What Will Be” based on those songs. I wasn’t to be disappointed. The track “Vultures” was included on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 24th April and “Zombie” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 27th April. Expect more tracks on the Show soon.}

_{“Higher and Higher” is the debut album from a melodic hard rock band called Heartwind that formed in Sweden around 2016 and features former members of bands such as Constancia, The Poodles and Narnia. The two founding members had been friends for over fifteen years before they started writing the tracks for this album and recruiting musicians to make it a reality. “Higher and Higher” was released on 27th April through the AOR Heaven label. The track “Through The Light” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 13th April.}

_{“A Funeral for the World” is the debut album from New York band Sanhedrin. It was originally self-released by the band during 2017, but Sanhedrin have now been signed to Cruz Del Sur Music and the album was released by the label on 27th April. I included the album’s opening track “Riding on the Dawn” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 4th May.}