JC Album Of The Week

   Album Of The Week 2026 - Archive Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 Dark Fields - Show of Hands We kick off 2026 with a band that have made a massive impact on my music listening, the Devon based folk duo, Show of Hands, who comprise of singer/songwriter/musician Steve Knightley and the multi-instrumentalist and folk legend Phil Beer, formerly of the Albion Band. This week’s album, Dark Fields, is the fourth of my 32 Show of Hands albums to be selected as my album of week and its an album that has a special memory, as I bought it at a gig we attended at the Exeter Phoenix soon after Julie & I started following them. Dark Fields, released in 1997, is actually the bands 6 th  album although the first 3 were cassette only and are now long out of print. Therefore, Dark Fields is the third main release album and continued the success and acclaim Show of Hands had garnered from their previous 2 albums. In 1996, Show of Hands surprisingly booked the Royal Albert Hall and even...

  Album Of The Week 2025 - Archive Album Of The Week - 04/01/2025 Century Child - Nightwish   To kick off 2025 we have the third of my 18 Nightwish albums to be selected, the album, Century Child being the bands 4 th  studio album, released in 2002. By the time this album came out in 2002, Nightwish were already well established on the metal scene and were big selling artists, especially in their native Finland where their previous album, Wishmaster (album of the week 01/07/2023) went to number 1. As stated previously, Nightwish are a band that helped changed my opinion to metal back in the late 90’s prior to which it was not a genre that held much interest for me. Nightwish introduced me to the dark symphonic side of metal which blends rock guitars with melodic vocals, choral and orchestral effects. The mix, when done right, is powerful, atmospheric, grandiose and is generally very easy to listen to. Like any genre, there are plenty of bands that struggle to get it right...