“Undress Your Madness” by Pretty Maids was one of my favourite albums of 2019 and the song “Serpentine” was probably the track of the year. When the album was released in November, singer Ronnie Atkins was in the midst of a battle with cancer. A few months later he has made good progress and Pretty Maids have just released the album “Maid in Japan – Back to the Future World” through Frontiers Music. I had the opportunity to chat with Ronnie via Skype on 3rd June. We chatted about the recent Pretty Maids releases, his ongoing battle with lung cancer, the impact of Covid-19, his involvement in the Nordic Union project and more.
You can hear that interview on the Friday NI Rocks Show from 5th June which is now available from our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-ronnie-atkins-from-pretty-maids-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-5th-june-2020/
Read more: NI ROCKS Interview with RONNIE ATKINS from Pretty Maids
English band Ryders Creed released their second album, “Lost Souls”, through Off Yer Rocka Recordings on 8th May. The band formed in 2016 and released their self titled debut in 2018. The track “Headspace” from that album was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show twice that year. The lead off single from the new album was called “Lost Soul” and this was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 8th May.
The latest Axel Rudi Pell album “Sign of the Times” was released by Steamhammer / SPV on 8th May – and it would be impossible not to post a recommendation! This the nineteenth studio album from ARP in just over thirty years. A prolific recording cycle has seen a new album appear every two years since 1989 – except for a few occasions when there were releases in consecutive years. I’ve now posted something about the last four studio albums. The track “Gunfire” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show in April and I’ll be featuring more tracks soon.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Sign of the Times" by AXEL RUDI PELL
“Phase Three” is the third album to be released by German band DeVicious in three years, but the first with their new lead singer. The album was released on 8th May by Metalapolis Records. I’d posted recommendations for the bands previous two albums and the new album is equally well worth checking out. The lead-off track “Firefly” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show in February and on the NI Rocks A-Z Show in March. The track “Mysterious” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 1st May.