On 20th September American band Axe release their first studio album in almost twenty years, after being talked into coming out of retirement by Escape Music Ltd. At the heart of Axe is of course guitarist Bobby Barth, who was also the band’s lead vocalist on their earlier albums from 1979 to 1983. He was also the frontman and guitarist for Blackfoot for several years. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to chat with Bobby on the phone for almost 40 minutes on 19th August and we talked about the new Axe album, the history of the band, working with Blackfoot and much more.
You can hear that interview on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 23rd August – available now from our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-bobby-barth-from-axe-and-formerly-blackfoot/
“Nothing But Wild” is the fourth album from German rockers The New Roses and it was released by Napalm Records on 2nd August. The band formed officially in 2012 and had released a couple of albums before they caught my attention in 2017. Since then I’ve played tracks from the third and fourth albums a few times on the Shows and had already purchased “Nothing But Wild” on iTunes before it appeared in our inbox. The track “Down By The River” was on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 12th July, followed by “Glory Road” on 9th August.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Nothing But Wild" by THE NEW ROSES
“Parallel Universe” is the second album from Greek band SiXforNinE and it was released by Eclipse Records on 2nd August. The band formed in Athens about eight years ago and they released their first album in 2015. Eclipse Records refer to the band as ‘alternative metal’, although I’ve also seen the ‘progressive metal’ label applied. Either way, the album is certainly worth checking out. The track “Bullet off It’s Course” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 5th July.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Parallel Universe" by SIXFORNINE
German band Licence released their second album, “N2O2R”, through Metalapolis on 2nd August. I can think of a few bands with father and son in the band but there can’t be too many with father and daughter, which is what Licence offers. The new album features a guest appearance by Richie Diver from local band Maverick as well as a cover of the Pat Benatar classic “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. The track “Line of Fire” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 19th July, followed by “Hot4Ever” on 9th August.