_{A regular feature highlighting some of the best album releases each month. I don’t do album “reviews” – this is simply a personal recommendation to check out an album - just a few words about the albums that appeal to me and about the artists releasing them. These will also be albums from which I’ll have been playing tracks on the Friday NI Rocks Shows recently. This month it includes albums from Cassidy Paris, Palace of the King and Dominum.}

_{CASSIDY PARIS – “New Sensation” – Frontiers 8^th December}

_{“New Sensation” is the debut album from Australian singer Cassidy Paris and it was released on 8^th December by Frontiers Music. She has released a few singles or EPs since 2017 when she was only 14 years old. Her father is guitarist Steve Janevski from bands such as Black Majesty and Wicked Smile and he is part of his daughter’s band. So far, four tracks from the album have have appeared on the Friday NI Rocks Show – “Danger” in October, “Walking on Fire” on 17^th Nov, “Here I Am” on 8^th Dec and “Searching for a Hero” on 29^th Dec.}

_{Cassidy Paris started in the music business at an early age, being mentored by Paul Laine from Danger Danger and The Defiants since she was 11. She has supported some major acts on tour in Australia as well as doing her own shows in the UK, Japan and Europe.}

_{As well as Cassidy Paris and Steve Janevski, the album features Dave Graham on guitar, Mirko De Maio on drums and Alessandro Del Vecchio on bass, keyboards and guitar. Paul Laine provided some backing vocals.}

 _{***********************************************}

_{PALACE OF THE KING – “Friends in Low Places” – Reckless Records 14^th December}

_{Australian band Palace of the King released their fifth studio album, “Friends in Low Places” through Reckless Records on 14^th December. For the past ten years the band have been touring widely through Europe and the USA as well as in Australia. Initially, new albums were being released every year or two, but it has been five years since the release of “Get Right With Your Maker”. The band first appeared on the Friday NI Rocks Show back in 2015 with the track “No Chance In Hell”. More recently, three tracks from the new album have featured so far – “Children of the Evolution” in July, “Down on Your Luck” in September and "A Run For Your Money" on 5th Jan.}

_{Palace of the King formed in Melbourne in 2012 and released their first two EPs the following year. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2014. That was followed by “White Bird/Burn The Sky” in 2015, “Valles Marineris” and a live album in 2016 and then “Get Right With Your Maker” in 2018.}

_{The band features Tim Henwood on vocals, Leigh Maden on guitar, Seany Johnson on keyboards and guitar, Anthony Licciardi on bass and Cameron McGlinchey on drums.}

_{https://palaceofthekingmusic.com/}

 _{****************************************************}

_{DOMINUM – “Hey Living People” – Napalm Records 29^th December}

_{“Hey Living People” is the debut album from German theatrical power metal band Dominum and it was released through Napalm Records on 29^th December. I’m not a fan of zombie movies or generally of the theatrical genre in music but there was quite a lot to like on this new album. The title track was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 29^th December, followed by "Cannibal Corpses" on 5th Jan.}

_{The album focuses mainly on zombie stories, but there are some “zombie metal” cover versions – including “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” and “Beds Are Burning”. The album was recorded with Jacob Hansen – which is always a positive indicator!}

_{The band are Dr Dead on vocals, Patient Zero on bass, Victor on drums and Tommy on guitars. ‘Dr Dead’ is Felix Heldt who was vocalist for Hyrax as well as being a music producer for Feuerschwanz, Visions of Atlantis and others. ‘Patient Zero’ is Korbinian Benedict from Ad Infinitum, whilst ‘Victor’ is Marcos Feminella from Stormental and ‘Tommy’ is Jochen Windisch from Hyrax and Winterstorm.}

_{https://www.dominumofficial.com/}