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 Hell in the Club, Khalil Turk & Friends, Cassidy Paris, Midnite City, Treat, Black Dog Moon and Lynch Mob.
HELL IN THE CLUB – “Joker In The Pack” – Frontiers 7th Nov
“Joker in the Pack” is the seventh album from Italian band Hell in the Club, but their first with vocalist Tezzi Persson. It was released on 7th November by Frontiers Music. The track “The Devil Won’t Forget Me” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in August, followed by “Magnetars” on 26th Sept, “Robert The Doll” on 3rd Oct and “Dirty Love” on 21st Nov.
The band formed in 2009 and released their debut album in 2011. Their fifth album “Hell of Fame” in 2020 was their first with Frontiers and it was followed by an EP in 2022 and the album “F.U.B.A.R.” in 2023. Original singer Dave Moras departed in 2024 to be replaced by Tezzi Persson who had previously fronted Infinite & Divine. Guitarist Picco Piccardi and bass player Andu Buratto were founding members of the band. Drummer Marco Lazzarini joined in 2020.
Website - https://www.hellintheclub.com/
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KHALIL TURK & FRIENDS – “Turkish Delight III” – Escape 7th Nov
This is the third instalment of the “Turkish Delight” project which is the brainchild of Escape Music owner Khalil Turk and which involves a huge amount of guest vocalists and musicians. It was released on 7th November. I’d preordered the cool blue and bloody mary double vinyl to add to my vinyl copies of the first two albums.
The list of contributors to the album is truly amazing and includes Steve Walsh, Glenn Hughes, Robin McAuley, James LaBrie, Steve Overland, Kent Hilli, Dino Jelusick, Dan Reed, Andrew Freeman, Howard Leese, Doug Aldrich, Laurence Archer, Vinny Appice, Ian Paice, Steve Mann, Chris Childs, Jeff Pilson, Billy Sheehan and Mark Boals.
I included three tracks from the album on 14th Nov – “The Voice Inside” with Steve Overland on vocals, “Bag of Your Bones” with Dino Jelusick on vocals and “I Am The Night” with Andrew Freeman. The track “Chasing The Dream” featuring Robin McAuley on vocals was included on the Show on 28th Nov.
Several of the artists on the album have been guests on the Friday NI Rocks Show – Robin McAuley, Dino Jelusick, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, Mark Mangold and most recently, Steve Overland - https://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3890-ni-rocks-interview-with-steve-overland
Website - https://www.the-music-shop.net/
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CASSIDY PARIS – “Bittersweet” – Frontiers 21st Nov
Australian singer Cassidy Paris released her second album, “Bittersuite”, through Frontiers Music on 21st Nov. The track “Butterfly” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show in April, followed by “Stronger” in August, “Getting Better” in September and “Nothing Left To Lose” on 21st Nov. The track “Wannabe” was previously released as a single in 2022 and has been included on the Show on quite a few occasions, most recently in April.
Cassidy’s father Stevie Janevski is part of the band and involved in the song writing. Stevie will be known to many as the guitarist in bands Black Majesty, The Radio Sun and Wicked Smile. Others involved in the songwriting include Paul Laine (Danger Danger / The Defiants) and Steve Brown.
Website - https://cassidyparis.com/
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MIDNITE CITY – “Bite The Bullet” – Pride & Joy 21st Nov
English band Midnite City released their sixth album, “Bite The Bullet”, through Pride & Joy Music on 21st Nov. The track “Lethal Dose of Love” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 28th Nov.
The band released their self-titled debut album on the AOR Heaven label in 2017, followed by “There Goes The Neighbourhood” in 2018. Their third album in 2021 was released through Roulette Media before they signed with Pride & Joy for “In At The Deep End” in 2023.
The band was formed by singer Rob Wylde whilst he was still the frontman for Tigertailz. The other members of the band are guitarist Miles Meakin, keyboard player Shawn Charvette, bass player Josh ‘Tabbie’ Williams and drummer Ryan Briggs.
Website - https://midnitecity.com/
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TREAT – “The Wild Card” – Frontiers 21st Nov
Swedish rockers Treat released their tenth album, “The Wild Card” through Frontiers Music on 21st November. This is their fifth album since reforming in 2006 after a 13 year break. The track “Adam & Evil” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show in August, followed by “One Minute to Breathe” in October, “Out With a Bang” on 7th Nov and “Rodeo” on 21st Nov.
Treat originally formed in 1981 and released five albums between 1985 and 1992. Four of those albums were with current singer Robert Ernlund, but the fifth in 1992 featured Mats Leven. The other founding member still with the band is guitarist Anders Wilström. Drummer Jamie Borger has been in the band since 1987 and keyboardist / guitarist Patrick Appelgren since 1989. Bass player Nalle Påhlsson joined the band when it reformed in 2006 but departed for a few years between 2012 and 2019.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/treatofficial
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BLACK DOG MOON – “Hell and Back” – 28th Nov
Local band Black Dog Moon released their second album, “Hell and Back” on 28th November. The first single from the new album was “Neon Queen” which was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show in September and October. Three tracks from the album were featured on the Show on release day (28th Sept) – “Heavy Shot of Love”, “Gratitude” and “Hell and Back”
Black Dog Moon released their self-titled debut album in June 2024 and have been busy playing gigs ahead of the release of the follow up, “Hell and Back”. The band features Conal Montgomery on vocals, Daniel Martin and Dylan Kelly on guitars, Steve Glackin on drums and Nicky Brown on bass.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090149589998
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LYNCH MOB – “Dancing With The Devil” – Frontiers 28th Nov
Lynch Mob released the ninth and possibly final studio album, “Dancing With The Devil”, through Frontiers Music on 28th Nov. The title track was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 10th October and the track “Saints and Sinners” on 7th Nov.
Dokken guitarist George Lynch founded the band in 1989 and the debut album “Wicked Sensation” was released in 1990. That was followed by a self-titled release in 1992 before they took a short hiatus and then reformed for a short period to release a third album. Since reforming in 2003 the band has went through several line-up changes whilst delivering six more albums.
The current line-up features George Lynch on guitar, Gabriel Colon on vocals, Jaron Gulino on bass and Jimmy D’Anda on drums.
George Lynch was a guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show back in 2015 - https://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/1831-ni-rocks-interview-with-george-lynch