_{Estate are a Russian power-metal band who released their second album, “Mirrorland”, through Mighty Music on 20th April. The Danish label also worked with the band on their debut album in 2014, but there have been a few changes in the band since then and the new album marks a bit of a change in direction. I included the lead-off single “Winter Kingdom” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 16th February and then on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 24th April. The track “Stolen Heart” is featured on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 1st May.}

_{I’ve probably said this before, but Stryper were one of those bands that I never got into during the 80’s or early 90’s. Whether that was because I couldn’t see past the “Christian Rock” thing, I can’t say for sure, but probably. I certainly don’t remember going out of my way to check out their albums. However, over the past few years I’ve developed a growing appreciation not only of the recent Stryper albums, but Michael Sweet’s solo work and his collaborations with George Lynch. The latest Stryper album, “God Damn Evil”, was released on 20th April by Frontiers Music. I’ve featured the singles “Take It To The Cross”, “Sorry” and “Lost” on the Friday NI Rocks on 23rd February, 16th March and 13th April respectively.}

_{Guitar supremo Gus G released his latest album “Fearless” through AFM Records on 20th April. This was one of those albums that I really looked forward to hearing after the announcement that it was due for release, and I wasn’t to be disappointed. The Greek guitarist is best known for working with Ozzy from 2009 to 2017 and for his albums with his band Firewind, but I’ve been a big fan of his solo releases. “Fearless” is the third of these and the extended version features 9 vocal tracks and 3 instrumentals. The track “Letting Go” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 20th April.}