German symphonic metal band Beyond The Black release their third album, “Heart of the Hurricane”, through Napalm Records on 31st August 2018. I only discovered the band myself last year but became an instant fan and ordered their first two CDs online. The band have gone through a big line-up change since the release of the first two albums, but singer Jennifer Haben remains at the heart of the band and “Heart of the Hurricane” is a great album that shows that Beyond The Black are back with a renewed focus and drive. I was fortunate enough to speak to Jennifer via Skype on 15th August and we chatted about the new album, the band and future plans. You can hear that interview on the 400th episode of the Friday NI Rocks Show for 24th August. The Show is now available from our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-jennifer-haben-from-beyond-the-black-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-24th-august-2018/
Read more: NI ROCKS Interview with JENNIFER HABEN from BEYOND THE BLACK
“Untold Stories” is the third album to be released by Airrace, the band that originated in the 80’s and which is probably best known for the involvement of Jason Bonham. There was 27 years between the release of the band’s debut album in 1984 and their come-back album in 2011. Fans have only had to wait 7 years for the third album which was released on 10th August by Frontiers Music. The track “Summer Rain” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 13th April and “Running Out of Time” is included on the Show on 17th August.
“Apocalypse” is the latest album from German power metal band Primal Fear and it was released on 10th August by Frontiers Music. Regular visitors to the website or listeners to the NI Rocks Shows won’t be surprised to see a recommendation for “Apocalypse” as Primal Fear are regularly featured on the Shows and this is now the fifth album from the band that I’ve posted a recommendation for in the past five years. A few tracks from the new album have featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show already – “Hounds of Justice” on 25th May, “King of Madness” on 6th July and “The Ritual” on 17th August.
American band Redemption released their seventh studio album, “Long Night’s Journey Into Day”, through Metal Blade Records on 27th July. The album is the first to feature Swedish singer Tom Englund who is best known as the frontman for Evergrey. Englund replaces Ray Alder of Fates Warning who had been part of Redemption since 2004. I’ve played a couple of tracks from the album on the Friday NI Rocks Show – “Eyes You Dare Not Meet In Dreams” on 27th July and the cover of U 2’s “New Year’s Day” on 10th August.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Long Night's Journey Into Day" by REDEMPTION