Budgie

Though not nearly as celebrated as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, or Deep Purple, Budgie was one of the finest heavy metal bands of the early to mid-'70s. The British power trio, formed in 1968, was influenced by Cream in the beginning, but by the time this self-titled debut album was released in 1971, Budgie was obviously paying close attention to Sabbath and Zep. In fact, it's hard to miss the impact that Robert Plant had on Budgie lead singer/bassist Burke Shelley. For those seriously interested in metal's development, bombastic treasures like "Homicidal Suicidal,"and "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman" are essential listening.

Having acquired a small cult following with its first album, Budgie offered a second dose of abrasive, forceful heavy metal that, like its predecessor, drew on influences ranging from Cream to Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Budgie was a band that loved contrasts – the folk-ish qualities of "Make Me Happy" and the Beatlesque "Rolling Home Again" make hard-driving classics like "Hot as a Docker's Armpit," "Drugstore Woman," and "Rocking Man" seem all the more intense. For all its strengths, Squawk didn't turn Budgie into the well-known outfit it should have been. Budgie's followers were a devoted bunch, but unfortunately, there weren't nearly enough of them.

Mega-Awesome Budgie Tribute disc featuring Janne Stark (Mountain Of Power) on guitar & Tony Spinner (Toto) on lead vocals & guitar. Both outstanding, seasoned hard rockers who land kick-ass authentic with true admiration & respect to re-create and shine a bright modern day musical light on the brilliant, classic retro-70s, heavy rock excellence of Budgie. The Bandolier Kings: "Welcome To The Zoom Club" disc is an amazing, outstanding musical document with an excellent group of killer special guests including original Budgie band members Tony Bourge & Steve Williams and also featuring a cast of bad-ass rockers from around the world who land on the mighty "Zoom Club". Prepare to dig deep and rock your ass off with the Bandolier Kings at this essential, brain-damaging, killer Grooveyard Records heavy guitar rock disc that celebrates the awesome music of Budgie.

Grooveyard Records is proud to announce the release of the Bandolier Kings "Time To Remember" (A Tribute To Budgie - Volume 2) disc, the excellent follow-up to our first "Budgie Tribute" disc entitled "Welcome To The Zoom Club". On that disc we focused on the 70s era "Chapter 1" songs from the musical book of Budgie featuring Tony Bourge on guitar and on "Time To Remember" we pay tribute to the "Chapter 2" era of Budgie featuring John Thomas on guitar. We are deeply saddened by the loss of Burke Shelley on January 10th, 2022, and the passing of John Thomas in 2016. The Bandolier Kings - "Time To Remember" disc is dedicated in honor and memory of Burke Shelley & John Thomas whose music is celebrated on this musical document.

After more than 35 years, ten studio albums, and eight Grammy Awards, Metallica has more than proven its staying power as rock's preeminent metal group. They are one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '80s and '90s, inspiring generations of rockers with their early thrash and later hard rock sounds before settling into their roles as a popular legacy act in the 2000s. Responsible for bringing the metal genre back to earth, the bandmates looked and talked like they were from the street, shunning the usual rock star games of metal musicians during the mid-'80s pop-metal renaissance. In The Many Faces of Metallica, we will review their catalog via tribute performances by bands that have been heavily influenced by the quartet from Los Angeles, California.

Excellent third studio disc by this bad-ass power trio rock'n'roll machine from Detroit featuring 13 tracks of killer, retro-70s, blues-based, heavy guitar riffage that brings the hard rock mojo. The Muggs were "Born Ugly" and they were definitely born to rock. Highly recommended to fans of Mountain, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, James Gang & Budgie. The Muggs is an American blues-rock band from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in February 2000 by guitarist Danny Methric, bassist Tony DeNardo and drummer Matt Rost. They were ranked in December 2008 on the "100 Hot Unsigned Band" list by Music Connection Magazine. They won several awards including the Best Blues Artist and the Best Rock Band for 2007.

Supergroups have been common in the realm of hard rock for decades – some have worked wonders (Cream), while some, well, stunk (too many to mention). One of the more obscure ones to surface was the '80s outfit Phenomena, who debuted in 1985 with a self-titled release, and featured contributions from the likes of Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Don Airey (Ozzy Osbourne), and a trio of ex-Whitesnake members – Mel Galley, Neil Murray, and Cozy Powell. Those expecting tough, rip-roaring heavy metal may be a bit disappointed by the album (which features a cover shot of a young girl quite reminiscent of Linda Blair circa The Exorcist).

It's tough to live down one's past, especially if that past incorporates one of music's biggest "coulda been a star" stories since Pete Best. Al Atkins has been trying to escape the shadow of Judas Priest, the band he formed in the late '60s, ever since the band took off to stardom without him, but it's been a rough road that even 2007's Demon Deceiver couldn't entirely smooth. For that solo set, his fifth, Atkins joined forces with Budgie guitarist Simon Lees, bassist Pete Emms, and drummer Mick Hales, with Diamond Head's Brian Tatler and Danté Fox's Mike De Jager among the guest support. The album was a self-financed/self-produced labor of love, and suffered somewhat from the lack of money and big-production values, but only some.

This ambitious video and musical project was co-ordinated by Tom Galley (brother of former Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley) - the albums are concept affairs, centred on the theme of supernatural phenomena. However, utilizing an impressive list of guest musicians has not always guaranteed a good result, and Phenomena went some way towards proving this truism. With Neil Murray (bass), Cozy Powell (drums), Mel Galley (guitar) and Glenn Hughes (vocals) among the initial line-up, great things were evidently expected for Phenomena. However, the songs were often overtly complex and lacked a central melody line. Dream Runner, released two years later, suffered from similar problems, but the music was less of a disappointment. It featured an impeccable array of guests once more, with Ray Gillen, Max Bacon, Scott Gorham, Kyoji Yamamoto and John Wetton contributing in one form or another. The album received good reviews in the music media, but sold poorly. As a result, plans to make the Phenomena projects into films were aborted.