ALBUM REVIEW: STEVE HARRIS - BRITISH LION

Having already set the world alight with Metal Legends Iron Maiden, Steve Harris hardly needs an introduction. Recording a groundbreaking album is probably the last thing he wanted to do! Harry’s vocalist, Richard Taylor, is a glorious find: softly uttered vocals, this guy doesn’t need to shout to make himself heard, his presence subtly delivered, this most ably demonstrated with the beautiful, melodic vocalising on ‘Us Against The World’. There are some Maiden influences here and there, but these are mostly incidental and predominantly involve Graham Leslie and David Hawkins’ harmonising guitars. Standout tracks the charming ‘Eyes Of The Young’ and sublime end-game ‘The Lesson’ move to 'emphasise' that ‘British Lion’ is not just another rock album. There are layers upon layers that can be peeled back to find its unexpected rewards!

Pippa Lang

ROCK iKON Magazine

ALBUM REVIEW: DEREK SHERINIAN - OCEANA

Glorious, vivacious prog-jazz/blues from Black Country Communion’s versatile keyboard-player. Derek Sherinian draws on his Dream Theater/Platypus past with his new solo album for a vigorous, virtuosic instrumental workout. Dubbed ‘The Caligula of the Keyboards’ by Alice Cooper, Sherinian’s pedigree sprawls across genres. As such, he has access to a bottomless pit of quality musicians to dip into for his solo projects, this time Toto’s guitarist Steve Lukather and drummer Simon Phillips sprinting elegantly alongside the likes of Tony MacAlpine and Doug Aldrich. Guitars squeal and moan with prodigious ease, particularly from BCC colleague, Joe Bonamassa, who dips in for the bluesy ‘I Heard That’. All the while, Sherinian demonstrates an unfeasible dexterity for all things organ-ic throughout an album that fizzes with unbridled, panoramic joy!

Pippa Lang

ROCK iKON Magazine

ALBUM REVIEW: HEADCAT - WALK THE WALK

HeadCat is Lemmy’s rock n’ roll sideline with Stray Cats’ drummer Slim Jim Phantom and Lonesome Spur/Rockats guitarist Danny B Harvey, with Lem dabbling on bass, guitar, vocals and harmonica. The seeds of the project started with an Elvis tribute album in 2000, which instigated the trio’s 2006 debut ‘Fool’s Paradise’. This is another kickass collection of rock n’ roll numbers, two originals (‘American Beat’ and ‘The Eagle Flies On Friday’) and ten covers, that give Lem an outlet for his rockin’ soul which first got stirred and shaken with The Rockin’ Vickers. ‘Walk The Walk…’ may make Motorhead fans chuckle, but true pundits should be interested in where Lemmy’s origins come from. Good old rockin’ toons like Chuck Berry’s ‘Let It Rock’ and Eddie Cochran's ‘Something Else’ have a direct connection to Motorhead’s rep!

Pippa Lang

ROCK iKON Magazine