Dutch band Delain released their fifth studio album, entitled “Moonbathers”, via Napalm Records on 26th August. It’s a busy period for the band, whose debut album “Lucidity” is being re-mastered for a 10th anniversary re-release in October and who commence another 5 week European tour on 14th October. That tour sees them playing in The Button Factory in Dublin on 11th November, supported by Evergrey and Kobra and the Lotus. The lead-off single from “Moonbathers” was “Fire With Fire” which was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 22nd July. The Show on 2nd September includes a short interview that Charolotte and Martijn recorded with AC Promotions as well as an excellent cover of the Queen track “Scandal”.
German band Running Wild return with their 16th studio album entitled “Rapid Foray” – released on 26th August through Steamhammer / SPV. I’ve always liked songs that are based on historical events or stories and Rolf Kasparek (aka Rock n Rolf) has a fantastic track record for delivering those conceptual lyrics accompanied by a thundering, instantly infectious soundtrack. I played the album’s opening track “Black Skies, Red Flag” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 19th August.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Rapid Foray" by RUNNING WILD
Black Swamp Water is a band from Denmark and they release their debut album “Chapter One” through Mighty Music on 26th August. With a name like Black Swamp Water I had been expecting something with a Southern Rock kinda vibe, but the band lean more to the hard rock / metal side of things. More Black Sabbath than Black Stone Cherry perhaps? Either is ok with me. I played the track “Leave Nothing Behind” on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 16th August.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Chapter One" by BLACK SWAMP WATER
This weekend marks the 6th anniversary of the first Friday NI Rocks Show being broadcast on Rock Radio NI on 27th August 2010. The 297th Show has just been uploaded to the On Demand Player – we’ve missed a few uploads over the years, mainly due to problems with my laptop! (The NI Rocks A-Z Show started a few months earlier and is currently on Show number 324). As I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to stats, I thought it was worth looking back over the first 6 years of the Friday NI Rocks Show. We’ve broadcast 50 interviews (44 in the last three years) and included almost 4,000 tracks by around 650 different artists on the playlists.
Read more: FRIDAY NI ROCKS SHOW - Review of the First Six Years