Articles by: Johnny Sharp

The Stranglers: Dark Matter and the death of Dave Greenfield

By Johnny Sharp

Forty-four years on from their first hit and almost 10 since their last album, The Stranglers have weathered storms and return with a new record dedicated to late keyboard player Dave Greenfield

The Wildhearts: 21st Century Love Songs album cover

The Wildhearts' new album is stuffed with energy, anger, humour and artistic invention

By Johnny Sharp

Revitalised genre agnostics The Wildhearts take the kitchen sink and run with it on 21st Century Love Songs

Blacktop Mojo shine on album of arena-sized anthems

By Johnny Sharp

Blacktop Mojo's self-titled album is the Texans’ fourth collection of 'southern grunge', and it's stuffed with melodic peaks

Thrills to the fore as Dee Snider's Leave A Scar rages hard

By Johnny Sharp

Glam veteran Dee Snider continues his renaissance as a born-again metal crusader on Leave A Scar

Opeth: Blackwater Park (20th Anniversary)

20 year's on, the sonic universe of Opeth's Blackwater Park still sparkles

By Johnny Sharp

Out now: Scandinavian prog-metal eclecticists Opeth's flagship statement Blackwater Park reissued

Death-defying, Covid-defying, age-defying: Toto just keep getting bigger

By Johnny Sharp

Steve Lukather and Joseph Williams on their new live DVD and the future of Toto

Ayron Jones: the new sound of Seattle

By Johnny Sharp

Seattle guitar ace Ayron Jones is channelling a tough upbringing into a big, bad, grungy, bluesy rock noise, all the while battling racial stereotypes

Blackberry Smoke do Georgia proud once again

By Johnny Sharp

Out now: Atlanta rockers Blackberry Smoke blend rhinestones and rock’n’soul with reliable skill on seventh studio album You Hear Georgia

When are Yes not Yes? When they're Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe!

By Johnny Sharp

The story of the 1989 album Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe. A classic Yes reunion by any other name...

Frost* - Day And Age Review

By Johnny Sharp

Not yet rated

You want it darker? Jem Godfrey’s modern prog mavericks return to gleefully rail at the world, dripping cynicism, contempt and some of the most galvanising tunes you’ll hear this year.

The making of IQ's Tales From The Lush Attic

By Johnny Sharp

Self-produced and chaotically mixed in five days, this is how 80s prog rockers IQ made their 1983 debut album

Is Laura Meade the most dangerous woman in America?

By Johnny Sharp

The Izz singer’s second solo LP is a captivating concept set – with a message open to your interpretation

Fish looks back on his solo career and what retirement means

By Johnny Sharp

Former Marillion frontman Fish says 11th solo album Weltschmerz is his last. Here he looks back at the highs and lows of his solo career

Greta Van Fleet: The Battle At Garden's Gate

Greta Van Fleet come into their own during The Battle At Garden's Gate

By Johnny Sharp

Out now: Much-hyped Michigan siblings Greta Van Fleet diversify successfully on second album The Battle At Garden's Gate

The Treatment double down on boogie-metal basics on Waiting For Good Luck

By Johnny Sharp

Cambridge rockers The Treatment have no qualms about signing up for some dumb fun on Waiting For Good Luck

The ego has landed: Inglorious singer Nathan James strikes back

By Johnny Sharp

Loved by some, loathed by others, Inglorious frontman/main man Nathan James is no stranger to being the brunt of verbal abuse. But is it deserved, or is he just another innocent victim?

Paid In Crisps: A short and salty history of Kitten Pyramid

By Johnny Sharp

Meet the Derbyshire pop-prog oddballs with bees in their bonnet – and their Jacuzzi

Saxon add fun to "these dark times" with lively covers collection Inspirations

By Johnny Sharp

NWOBHM veterans Saxon play us some favourite tunes on Inspirations

We Will Ride by Inglorious: breathing fresh life into an irresistible 70s rock template

By Johnny Sharp

Inglorious's difficult album number four We Will Ride is worth the trouble

Downes Braide Association: Halcyon Hymns

Downes Braide Association's Halcyon Hymns is a welcome escape from a turbulent real world

By Johnny Sharp

MOR prog project Downes Braide Association gets dewy-eyed for old England on Halcyon Hymns

Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods album review

By Johnny Sharp

Not yet rated

Mariusz Duda heads deep into the forest on seventh Lunatic Soul album

Cats In Space joyfully tramp through the trad-rock tropes on Atlantis

By Johnny Sharp

Atlantis is the supremely crafted fourth studio album from rock classicists Cats In Space

The Human Condition finds Black Stone Cherry returning to rock's heartland

By Johnny Sharp

Black Stone Cherry say Goodbye to Kentucky and hello to radio-friendly rock on The Human Condition

Sevendust's Blood & Stone is a sturdy slice of 21st Century rock

By Johnny Sharp

Unlucky Atlantans’ Sevendust remain defiant on thirteenth album Blood & Stone

Black Sabbath: Paranoid (50th Anniversary Edition)

The 50th anniversary of Black Sabbath's Paranoid delivers visceral joy and rat's innards

By Johnny Sharp

Fiftieth-anniversary five-LP/four-CD edition of Black Sabbath's Paranoid metal landmark, expanded with live recordings