Days of Steel Rain

Here Comes The Rain is the highly anticipated album by Magnum, released under the Steamhammer label. This album showcases Magnum's signature blend of melodic rock and hard-hitting lyrics, making it a must-have for fans of the genre.

The test of time has generally proven to be an easy pass for the high-impact, fantasy obsessed and dense symphonic landscapes of Rhapsody Of Fire, though recent shifts in this Italian symphonic powerhouse’s lineup and the ascendancy of several competitors have caused some to question if this is the same mighty band that brought such classics as Symphony Of Enchanted Lands and Power Of The Dragonflame into the world…

Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat (after bands from Liverpool and nearby areas beside the River Mersey) is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll (mainly Chuck Berry guitar style and the midtempo beat of artists like Buddy Holly), doo-wop, skiffle and R&B. The genre provided many of the bands responsible for the British Invasion of the American pop charts starting in 1964, and provided the model for many important developments in pop and rock music, including the format of the rock group around lead, rhythm and bass guitars with drums. The Beat Of The Pops - excellent selection of beat tracks.

Formed in 1968 by departing Byrds Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the Flying Burrito Brothers boasted a stellar lineup of talent during their first half-decade of incarnations, including the Eagles’ Bernie Leadon and pedal steel legend “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow. But by 1972, soon-to-be Firefall founder Rick Roberts needed to recruit virtually a whole new band to fulfill tour dates already contracted for the Burritos. Enter bluegrass fiddle player Byron Berline and guitarist Roger Bush of Country Gazette, plus others, for a concert recorded in Amsterdam in 1972. A double vinyl LP capturing this show was released in Europe in 1973 but was never picked up in the U.S. until now. Live in Amsterdam 1972 features an entire bluegrass set followed by a selection of country-rock standards including “Wild Horses”, “Sin City,” and ‘Christine's Tune.”

As 2006 nears its end, no one can argue that the world of country music isn't, at this moment, the most adventurous in the mainstream pop music industry and that Nash Vegas is taking more chances on its acts as the rest of the biz relies more on narrowing things into smaller and smaller niches that can easily be hyped and digested. Sure, as always, artist's images and many recordings are calculated to score big as in any pop industry. The difference is in approach. The country-listening audience/demographic has widened considerably; therefore, there is a need – as well as an opportunity – for experimentation to see what sticks. This is the most exciting the music's been since Willie and Waylon hit the charts in the '70s, or perhaps to be a bit more fair, when Garth Brooks turned them upside down in the early '90s…