_{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 Stryper, The Dead Daisies, The Nail, Victory, Eclipse, Gabrielle De Val & The Dragonlords and Sinner’s Blood.}

 

_{STRYPER – “When We Were Kings” - Frontiers 6^th Sept}

_{Stryper released their latest studio album, “When We Were Kings”, through Frontiers Music on 6^th September – 40 years on from their debut EP release in 1984. The track “End of Days” featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in June, followed by “Grateful” in July and the title track, “When We Were Kings”, on 16^th August.}

 

_{All the band’s albums have featured singer Michael Sweet, drummer Robert Sweet and guitarist Oz Fox. The bass player since 2017 has been Perry Richardson.}

_{Michael was a guest on the Show in 2015 - https://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/2282-ni-rocks-interview-with-michael-sweet-from-stryper}

 

_{Website - https://stryper.com/}

 

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 _{THE DEAD DAISIES – “Light Em Up” – Steamhammer 6^th Sept}

_{“Light Em Up” is the seventh studio album from The Dead Daisies and it was released on 6^th September by Steamhammer. The title track “Light ‘Em Up” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in May followed by “I’m Gonna Ride” on 2^nd August and “I Wanna be Your Bitch” on 30^th August.}

 

_{Since forming in 2012, The Dead Daisies have gone through many line-up changes, with guitarist David Lowy being the only constant throughout. The band’s debut album in 2013 featured Jon Stevens on vocals and the next three studio albums between 2015-18 featured John Corabi. Glenn Hughes took over vocals for “Holy Ground” in 2021 and “Radiance” in 2022 before Corabi returned for the latest album. Guitarist Doug Aldrich joined for the third album in 2016 whilst drummer Tommy Clufetos took over for the album “Radiance”. This is the first album for bass player Michael Devin.}

 

_{Doug has been a guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show three times – most recently in 2020 - https://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3721-ni-rocks-interview-with-doug-aldrich-revolution-saints-the-dead-daisies-etc}

 

_{Website - https://thedeaddaisies.com/}

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_{THE NAIL – “The Nail” – Frontiers 6^th Sept}

_{The Nail features rising star Girish Pradhan on vocals alongside brothers Efe (guitar) and Reis Ali Eroglu (drums, bass and guitar) and they released their self-titled debut album “The Nail” through Frontiers Music on 6^th September. The track “Hit and Run” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show in June, followed by “The Nail” in July and “No Time to Burn” in August.}

 

_{Singer Girish Pradhan made his breakthrough with Indian band Girish & The Chronicles with whom he released three albums between 2020-2023. Since then, he has been involved in several Frontiers projects including Circus of Rock, Joel Hoekstra’s 13 and Magnus Karlsson’s Free Fall and he fronted The End Machine for their latest album earlier this year.}

 

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_{VICTORY – “Circle of Life” – AFM 13^th Sept}

_{German band Victory released their twelfth studio album through AFM Records on 13^th September – almost 40 years since the release of their debut album in 1985. The track “Count on Me” featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in May, followed by “American Girl” in June, “Virtual Sin” on 16^th August and “Tonight We Rock” on 27^th Sept.}

 

_{Victory formed in 1984 and released their debut album the following year. None of that original line-up remain with the band, although guitarist Herman Frank joined in 1986. There have been several vocalists during the 40 year history of the band, with current singer Gianni Pontillo joining in 2019. The other band members are Mike Pesin on guitar, Malte Frederik Burket on bass and Michael Stein on drums.}

 

_{Website -   https://www.victory-band.com/}

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_{ECLIPSE – “Megalomanium II” – Frontiers 20^th Sept}

_{Swedish band Eclipse released their tenth studio album, “Megalomanium II”, through Frontiers Music on 20^th Sept – a year after the release of “Megalomanium”.  The first five tracks on the album have all featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show – “Apocalypse Blues” in March, “Falling to My Knees” in May, “The Spark” in July, “Still My Hero” on 23^rd August and “All I Want” on 27^th September.}

 

_{Eclipse formed in 1999 and released their debut album in 2001. Guitarist Magnus Henriksson and singer Erik Mårtensson (who also plays guitar and bass) have been with the band from the outset. They are joined by drummer Philip Crusner and bass player Victor Crusner.}

 

_{Erik was a guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show in 2020 - https://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3792-ni-rocks-interview-with-erik-martensson-from-eclipse}

 

_{Website - https://www.eclipsemerch.com/}

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_{GABRIELLE DE VAL & THE DRAGONLORDS – “Tiger” – Escape 20^th Sept}

 

_{In February 2023, Gabrielle De Val released a new solo album called “Kiss in a Dragon Night” through Escape Music. That album featured quite a few collaborations with other singers, including Robin McAuley, Steve Overland, Mick Devine and Mark Boals. This new album isn’t another solo album, but rather a follow-up that sees those vocalists and Gabrielle performing a mix of new tracks and cover versions.}

 

_{There are eleven tracks on the album, with four featuring Gabrielle on vocals; she also does duets with Andrew Freeman and Elenor Asp. Robin McAuley sings two tracks and others feature Mick Devine, Steve Overland, and Mark Boals. So far two tracks have featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show – “Bowmore” with Robin McAuley on 13^th Sept and “Little Piece of Heaven” with Gabrielle on vocals on 27^th Sept.}

 

_{Website - https://www.gabrielledevalofficial.com/}

_{https://www.escape-music.com/}

 

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_{SINNER’S BLOOD – “Dark Horizons” – Frontiers 27^th Sept}

_{“Dark Horizons” is the second album from Chilean band Sinner’s Blood and it was released by Frontiers Music on 27^th Sept. The track “Enemy” featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in July, followed by “Dark Horizons” on 23^rd August.}

 

_{Sinner’s Blood features two of the big names from the Chilean rock / metal scence – vocalist James Robledo and guitarist Nasson. Robledo has released two solo albums with Frontiers whilst Nasson has released a solo album with that label as well as albums with Chaos Magic (featuring Caterina Nix). Those two are joined by Nicolas Fischer on bass and Guillermo Pereira on drums.}

 

_{Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sinnersblood}