We’re fast approaching the end of another rocktastic year and all week we’re celebrating the best – and the worst – of 2009.
Today we focus on the shows which blew us away during the last 12 months.
And after witnessing well over 100 sets from seasoned vets to raw rookies we reckon we’ve found the top 10.
We’ve been backing the Black Stone Cherry boys for some time now and it’s safe to say there can’t be many bands who’ve entertained us so often and so brilliantly throughout 2009.
With a new record in the pipeline for the second half of 2010 and no doubt yet another round of quality shows and festival slots to come we can only see the Edmonton, Kentucky quartet getting bigger. And bigger. And bigger.
But before they do we caught up with frontman Chris Robertson for a final bite of the ‘Cherry this year. Read the rest of this entry »
After a couple of false starts Canadian arena packers Billy Talent are back in the clubs of Britain in support of latest album Billy Talent III from tomorrow.
One of the tightest bands in the world, all four members have been together from the start and it shows. More focused and tuneful than ever this could be the time for BT to make the big league in the UK.
We caught up with bass man Jon Gallant ahead of Wednesday’s Sheffield Academy opener. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s that time of year again when our good mates at the world’s rockingest weekly deliver their perfect soundtrack to the summer.
And Kerrang! 2009 The Album is chock full of the tracks of the year with mega-sellers like Nickelback, Green Day and Slipknot sharing top billing with ambitious newbies Metro Station, Ghost Of A Thousand and In Case Of Fire. Phew!
With 42 tracks featuring the cream of rock and metal we can’t wait to get our hands on another meaty overview of a rejuventated scene. Our only gripe? There’s no classic rock.
But this time next year we’re pretty damn sure Kerrang! will be going back to its roots as more and more bands favouring that timeless sound infiltrate a mag once known as the home of everything from hair metal to thrash and all the hard and heavy stuff in between. Read the rest of this entry »
@ Castle Donington, Main Stage, June 14 2009
If there’s one thing you’re guaranteed when Black Stone Cherry hit the stage then it’s consistency. These southern fried rock monsters don’t do average shows, they don’t do run-of-the-mill sets and if they stick to the tried and tested formula time and time again then it ain’t gone stale just yet.
Those of us treated to the outstanding Things My Father Said during their support slot with Nickelback weren’t disappointed as the boys reeled off another faultless version of the best track from Folklore & Superstition. Chris’s fears that the track wouldn’t be rock enough for Download were totally unfounded – and with Journey coming up later in the day he really didn’t need to worry. Read the rest of this entry »
@ Castle Donington, Second Stage, June 14 2009
Still to break the UK in a big way, Stateside enormodome regulars Shinedown were determined to use their Second Stage slot at Download as a platform for bigger and better things.
Playing with the swagger and focus you’d expect from a band with six million album sales and counting under their belts theirs was a set rich in quality, albeit lacking the variety to excite potential fans. Read the rest of this entry »
@ Newcastle Arena, May 25 2009
Tonight was the night Nickelback set new standards for stage shows at the North East’s biggest music venue. And their music wasn’t bad either. Yep, you heard it right. Their music was, in actual fact, pretty damn perfect and us sceptics were promptly blown away by the self-styled Rockstars.
Of course huge light shows, high definition screens, purpose-shot film and fireworks packaged by Pantera’s former pyro man all prove what Chad and the boys are so desperate to remind us – that they are one of the world’s most commercially successful hard rock acts. Big shows come with the territory when you sell as many records as the Canadians have shifted over the years but then this wasn’t all about glorying in a fortune hewn from rock. Some serious thought and meticulous planning (and clearly a huge amount of cash) has gone into the band’s current show and Tyneside was treated to a visual masterclass and an audio explosion. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a new week and a new look at the world of rock and metal here on rushonrock. And where better to start than with one of our favourite bands of the moment – the quite brilliant Black Stone Cherry!
Crazy stixman John Fred and the boys play Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena tonight with some band from Canada called Nickelback… Amazingly the Canucks are judged to be the bigger rock stars and if refusing to do any print interviews is anything to go by then maybe they are. But that’s not all folks. Self Made Man has strayed from the comfort zone of his weekly column to bring us an exclusive interview with his heroes UFO ahead of the release of their new album and next month’s UK tour. Read the rest of this entry »
Canadian hard rock heroes Theory Of A Deadman launch their latest bid to emerge from the shadows of Nickelback with the release of their soon-to-be-huge Scars & Souvenirs and this is the only record you really need to hear about this week.
However, here at rushonrock we like to keep you up to date with what’s bubbling under and we’ve also got a sneak preview of power punk trio Sorry And The Sinatras’ debut album plus we take a look at some particularly pleasant indie musings from West Midlanders The Subkicks. Read the rest of this entry »
Almighty star Ricky Warwick goes head to head with the might of Heaven & Hell this week as we look ahead to the best of tomorrow’s releases – today.
The workaholic Ulsterman releases his latest stab at solo salvation in the shape of the barnstorming yet stripped down Belfast Confetti while Tony Iommi and Ronnie James Dio unite again to unleash some frankly spooky metal on the masses.
Plus there’s a look at a new (at least to us) US outfit called Noxious – can this hard hitting quintet really kick up a stink in the rock world? Wait and see… Read the rest of this entry »
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Editor Simon Rushworth has worked for every national newspaper in the UK, and many international titles, and is rock writer for the Newcastle Journal newspaper.
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