A regular recap highlighting some of my favourite album releases each month. I don’t do “reviews” – this is simply a few words about the albums that appeal to me and about the artists releasing them. Tracks from these albums will have been featured on the Friday NI Rocks Shows over the past few months. This month we focus on new albums from Kickin Valentina, Giant and Absolva.
KICKIN VALENTINA – “Raw Trax, B-Sides and Bootlegs” – Mighty Music 2nd May
I’ve been a fan of American band Kickin Valentina since the release of their self-titled debut EP back in 2013 and they’ve featured regularly on the NI Rocks Shows for the past 12 years. Their latest album, as the title would suggest, is a collection of unreleased songs and demos dating from the recording of the 2024 release “Star Spangled Fist Fight” as well as some live tracks from the Bang Your Head Festival in Germany. It was released through Mighty Music on 2nd May.
The track “The Gotaways” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 7th March and “Wild Ones” on 25th April.
The band features D K Revelle on vocals, Chris Taylor on bass, Heber Pampillon on guitar and Jimmy Berdine on drums. Kickin Valentina released two EPs before signing with Mighty Music and prior to this album have released three studio albums and a live EP with that label.
Website - https://kickinvalentina.com/
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GIANT – “Stand and Deliver” – Frontiers 16th May
“Stand and Deliver” is the sixth album by 80’s melodic rock legends Giant and it was released on 16th May by Frontiers Music. The track “Hold The Night” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in March, followed by “A Night to Remember” on 11th April and “Time To Call It Love” on 2nd May.
Giant formed in 1987 and released two albums with original vocalist Dann Huff before splitting in 1992. There was a brief reformation between 2000 and 2002 when the album “III” was released. In 2009 they returned with Terry Brock on vocals and John Roth on guitar alongside founding members drummer David Huff and bass player Mike Brignardello. The album “Promise Land” was released in 2010, but the band then went on hiatus again until returning with Kent Hilli on vocals for the album “Shifting Time” in 2022.
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ABSOLVA – “Justice” – Rocksector Records 16th May
Absolva is another band that has been a regular feature on the NI Rocks Shows for many years – since the release of their debut album “Flames of Justice” back in 2012. Their latest release, “Justice”, is their seventh studio album and it was released through Rocksector Records on 16th May. The track “Find My Identity" featuring Ronnie Romero on vocals was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 7th March whilst “Atlas (War Between The Gods)” featuring Blaze Bayley was on the Show on 9th May.
“Justice” is inspired by the movie “Tombstone” and features a number of guest vocalists – Ronnie Romero, Blaze Bayley, Stu Block (formerly from Iced Earth) and David Marcelis (Lord Volture & Thorium).
The Absolva line-up on the album features Christopher Appleton on lead vocals and guitar, Luke Appleton on guitar, Martin McNee on drums and Karl Schramm on bass. The latter departed the band recently for personal reasons.
Chris has been a guest on the Show twice - in 2015 and again in 2020
https://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3739-ni-rocks-interview-with-chris-appleton-from-absolva
Website - https://www.absolva.com/