Album Of The Week 2026 - Archive
Album Of The Week 2026 - Archive
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026
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 6th 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 more surprisingly sold out the venue well in advance. The success of the gig promoted the profile of the band along with glowing reviews of their previous albums which took the band into the Dark Fields album with a rapidly growing following and attention beyond the folk realm.
Dark Fields, as is commonplace with the band, has its roots firmly in the West Country with songs about life and history in the region and there are songs on this release that stayed part of the bands live set right up to the end when they played their final tour gig at Exeter Cathedral in May 2024.
There are also some more personal songs within Dark Fields, along with traditional folk songs and a Bob Dylan cover but as is the case with Show of Hands, it’s the song writing of Steve Knightley that drives the album. Lyrically, we have songs about wayward teenagers, poaching, slavery and the emigration of Cornish miners. As is typical of Knightley he can inject melancholy, humour and cutting insight into most topics and we have plenty of that within Dark Fields.
Although a duo, there are contributions on the album from folk luminaries such as Chris While, Andy Cutting and one of my folk favourites, Kate Rusby.
For anyone new to Show of Hands, Dark Fields is certainly a good insight into their earlier offerings.
My first selection is the album opener, Cousin Jack, probably one of the most famous Show of Hands songs which is about “Cornish diaspora” that saw thousands of miners leave the county in the 19th century to seek work abroad.
Incidentally, this was one of the last songs they played at Exeter Cathedral on their final tour and as I looked around me that night there were many in tears due to the emotion of the song and the occasion and it’s a memory that will stay with me as it was a very moving moment.
Show Of Hands announced an “indefinite hiatus” in 2024 and although Steve Knightley and Phil Beer are both very active live, as both are now in their seventies I wonder if we will ever see this iconic duo on stage together again.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Dark Fields is one of the livelier songs from the album and highlights Steve Knightley's ability to pen wonderfully witty and ironic folk songs.
The song, Longdog, is about poaching as is named specifically after the poachers dog.
The song became a live favourite and the fan club and online community adopted the name The Longdogs.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 3
My third selection from Dark Fields is a traditional folk song that goes back to the early 19th century.
Flora, also known as Flora (Lily of the West) is a song that has been covered by numerous artists and is a typical folk song filled with love, betrayal and murder, all the key components of good folk music especially this excellent West Country themed Show of Hands adaptation.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Dark Fields is probably the darkest song on the album (pardon the pun), the harrowing and haunting track, The Bristol Slaver.
The song tells of the association of the slave trade to Bristol and how its ghosts are still heard to this day.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 5
My final selection from Dark Fields is a live recording of the tradional folk songs High Germany / Molly Oxford.
This excellent version is where Show of Hands excel, playing live and this recording is given added depth with the wonderful vocals of folk legend Kate Rusby.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026
Feline – The Stranglers
This week we mark the 200th album to be selected with a band that made a massive impact me as a 12 year old discovering the joys of punk and alternative music.
Feline is the 7th studio from The Stranglers and marked a massive move away from their 1977/1978 albums that saw them become a major name in the punk scene, even though they always denied being a punk band.
We had seen some impressive experimentation from the band before Feline, especially with 1981’s The Gospel According To The MenInBlack, but Feline took the band into a more European, electronic influenced direction. Gone was the rumbling bass, scratchy guitars and Hammond organ and instead we have layers of synths, intricate electronic drums and acoustic guitars.
More than any of their previous 6 albums Feline took The Stranglers well away from the punk / post punk scene and highlighted their desire to follow their own creative path. This was endorsed by their new label, Epic Records, who the band signed with following an acrimonious departure from EMI.
This freedom took the band into a rich vein of creativity and accompanying commercial success and in a way, took the Stranglers, into a more soft rock direction as was the original vision of founding member and drummer Jet Black.
The early 1980’s saw a whole raft of bands experimenting with electronics and synthesizers and the charts were dominated with songs from the likes of the Human League, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and Gary Numan but the Stranglers take on this was in a more European direction with electronic art rock influences.
With Feline, we have 9 songs that flow and ebb nicely, each being very listenable and show a side of the band rarely seen in the past, a side that dispelled the myth of aggressive rabble rousers as was portrayed within some of the music papers of the time.
There is a clean, polished production on the album with producer, Tony Visconti bringing out the multiple layers of instrumentation to give us a wide, expansive offering where all the elements have room to breathe. Having a producer of Visconti’s pedigree was evident of the strides the band had made as he had produced such greats as T-Rex and David Bowie.
Feline performed very well commercially, reaching number 4 in the UK album charts and producing 3 singles, the first of which, The European Female, went to number 7.
In 2001, an extended version of Feline was released which contained all the b-sides from the singles and their associated 12 inch releases, and I will touch upon this at the end of the week.
My first selection is the album opener, Midnight Summer Dream, a 6 minute song which has become very much a fans favourite and starts Feline beautifully. An edited version was released as a single but it does not do justice to the album version although the extended, 10 minute version released on a 12 inch single is superb and is well worth checking out.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Feline is The European Female, the lead single from the album.
The release of this song as a single gave a good impression of what to expect from the album with its gentle, clean, lush tones. Commercially is was very successful reaching number 9 in the UK singles chart.
The song itself, one of the few on the album with lead vocals by Jean Jaques Burnel is about his girlfriend at the time although he said it was also about Europen identity.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 3
My lastest selection from Feline is one of my favourite tracks on the album, Ships That Pass In The Night.
The song builds from acoustic bass and guitar opening with the synths easing in to give a deep soundscape for this song about missed chances and opportunities.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from the initial release of Feline is All Roads Lead To Rome.
This song has The Stranglers fully embracing the European electronic influences with this song which has a sad, melancholic feel with Hugh Cornwells vocal delivery about the "big city".
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 5
Today I am moving into the extended version of Feline which contained the b-sides from the various singles releases from the album.
For me, this pick of these is the reggae infused track Permission, originally releases on the 12 inch version of Paradise.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 6
My final selection from Feline is the closing track from the album, Never Say Goodbye.
A nice little piece of Stranglers irony in making this the final track on the album. Its a reflective song of loss and the passing of time and is a fitting end to this very unique and far from typical Stranglers album.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026
Second Still – Second Still
This week we delve into the realms of goth rock with an American band I came across via the Out Ov The Coffin podcast.
Second Still are a 3 piece gothic rock/darkwave outfit who combine synths, atmospheric guitars, moody and driving bass topped with some superb low range female vocals.
Second Still, released in 2017, is the self-titled debut album from the band and I was very impressed with the release after being introduced to the band by the above mentioned
Overall, its very melodic over its 8 tracks with lots of dark, gothic melodies with the mix of bass and synths giving the definition and drive to the album. The style of the album is rooted in the atmospheric giving a darkwave electronic feel and has it influences very much from the 80’s British goth rock and shoegaze bands. The vocal style would draw obvious comparisons to that of Siouxsie and the Banshees whose charismatic singer Siouxsie Sioux very much set the template 80’s post-punk and goth rock.
Despite this strong offering, to date they have only released one more album, 2019’s Violet Phase and there has been no social media updates since 2020 which would indicate they are no longer active.
There is also very little information about them online and I assume that the 3 band members have either moved onto other projects or are not involved in music anymore.
My first selection from the album is opening track, Recover.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 2
The second selection from Second Still is the longest song on this 32 minute album.
A just under 5 minutes, the track Sleep is a richly atmospheric, post-punk song lavished with an hypnotic bass melody running through it.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 3
My third selection from Second Still is the track Try Not To Hide.
As well as the typical driving bass there is a some very enjoyable lead guitar which reminds me of early Killing Joke, one of the stronger tracks from the album.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Second Still is the short and punchy song, You Two So Alike.
The quirky melody of the song took me back to some of early offerings from XTC.
At just over 2 minutes this is the shortest track on the album.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 5
The final selection from Second Still is the closing track, Judgment.
This one of the more uptempo songs on the album and at just under 5 minutes, it's a persistant track with a predominantly spoken lyric and is a strong end to this very enjoyable debut album.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026
Human: II Nature - Nightwish
This week we are featuring the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish with their 9th studio album, Human: II Nature, the fourth of my 18 Nightwish albums to be selected as an album of the week.
As I have quoted before, Nightwish were one of the bands that got me more interested in metal around 1997 as up to then it was a genre I had generally spurned with just a few exceptions.
Since the release of Oceanborn, the second album from Nightwish, I have been avidly following their output including through all of their line-up changes and style shifts.
As far as heavy metal goes, Nightwish are certainly on the more accessible side but that could be said of the symphonic metal subgenre in general but unlike some of their contemporaries , there is no cheesiness with Nightwish that can occasionally creep in, where style takes over from content.
Nightwish, creatively, are driven by keyboardist, songwriter and founding member Tuomas Holopainen but the dynamic and quality of his vision could not be met so effectively without being part of such a good band. Despite various line-up changes, including 3 lead singers that mix of power and beauty that defines Nightwish has never been lost, and that is what leads us into Human: II Nature.
Holopainen has stated over the years that his creativity is often inspired by film music and since the release of Dark Passion Play in 2007 there has been a greater incorporation of orchestral elements into the Nightwish sound. We saw this orchestral theme expanded with their film score to accompany the Imaginaerum cinematic project that built on the concept of their album of the same name in 2011.
With Human: II Nature we have a double album that comprises of 9 songs of standard symphonic metal and 10th track on disc 2 which is purely orchestral music running for 30 minutes broken down into 8 chapters, the collective title being All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World. This piece sits perfectly as an expansion and continuation of the themes explored on their previous album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful.
Although thematically, the album follows closely on from their previous release, an album that looked and mans interaction with nature and creation theories Human: II Nature is not a concept album as other subjects and personal interests are covered.
As is often the case in metal, especially the symphonic realm, the music is grand, diverse and compelling with sweeping choral and symphonic arrangements to accompany the guitars. It is this mix of elements that drew me to Nightwish and the genre in general although like all realms of music some excel while others prove to be poor copyists.
Human: II Nature is the last album to feature bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala who left the band shortly after the release of the album due to health problems. His contribution to Nightwish cannot be understated and his presence was certainly felt on their most recent album, but more of that at a future date.
This is also the second album to feature the outstanding Floor Jansen on lead female vocals and this is also the first album to see Kai Hahto as the permanent drummer who replaced Jukka Nevalainen again due to health issues.
Human: II Nature received generally good reviews within the metal press and commercially carried on a run of 8 consecutive number 1 studio albums in their home nation of Finland as well as reaching number 28 in the UK album charts.
Such is the success of Nightwish in Finland they are now the 3rd highest selling act of all time in the country but their reach has been felt worldwide especially in mainland Europe which seems to embrace this type of music maybe more than the UK.
My first selection from the album is the opener, Music, the longest song on the album which looks at the history of music.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 2
The second selection from Human: II Nature is the lead and only single taken from the album.
The song, Noise, is a commentary on how the proliferation of technology and especially social media as come to dominate and in some cases take over people lives creating a Utopian illusion.
The release is accompanied by a lavish, tongue in cheek video.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 3
My latest selection from Human: II Nature is the track Tribal.
This one of the shorter tracks on the album and has a real punchy delivery aided by vocals from Marco Hietala.
The song itself looks at the tribal behaviour of mankind and that tribalism is portrayed with the emphatic drumming on this excellent track.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Human: II Nature is the track Shoemaker.
The actual song is about the American geologist Eugene Shoemaker, who I nothing about before the album but what grabbed me about this one is the fantastic orchestral and choral section at the end of the song.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 5
The final selection from the first disc of the Human: II Nature album is the closing track, Endlessness.
This is a epic Nightwish song and features vocals from Marco Hietala, the last song he recorded before his departure from the band.
The song explore the themes of universal forces that flow through all life and is excellent song to close the "metal" side of the album.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Extra
The second part of Human: II Nature is a 30 minute classical work entitled All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World.
Written by Toumas Holopainen and performed by the Pale Blue Orchestra and the Metro Voices choir this orchestra piece is bold, beautiful and completely captivating.
Toumas has stated he gets a lot of inspiration from film scores and this work certainly pulls on that but there is a folk flavour to the compostion which also seems to pull on the Auri project that he is a key member of.
This an essential companion to the first disc of rock and metal and together they make a complete work and a true masterpiece from Nightwish.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026
Leaves Of Yesteryear – Green Carnation
This week we remain within my metal collection and again in music with its roots in the Scandinavian / Nordic reaches of Europe, this time with Leaves Of Yesteryear from Norwegian progressive metal band, Green Carnation.
I first became aware of the band back in 2005 when I found myself exploring the gothic and doom sub-genres of metal and came across their album, The Quiet Offspring. It was one of those albums that captured me instantly with its melodic gothic tinged progressive metal.
Green Carnation go all the way back to 1990 but their first album did not see the light of the day for about 10 years and by the time their second album came out in 2001, the acclaimed Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness the band had seen a major line-up overhaul.
Remaining from the original band line-up was guitarist Terje Vik Schei (Tchort) who was a member of the seminal and infamous black metal band Emperor and he was joined by Stein Roger Sordal on bass and vocalist Kjetil Nordhus and despite regular line up changes these 3 remain at the core of Green Carnation.
It is the presence of Kjetil Nordhus that has interested me as he was an integral part of the band Tristania for many years and I really enjoy his vocal style.
Following the release of The Quiet Offspring the band released The Acoustic Verses in 2006 and from there they went into a 7 year break as all the band members had other musical projects.
From 2014, the band reunited for various live performances and re-releases but the next album did not see the light of day until 2020, a full 15 years since their last rock/metal album, and it has to be said that the album, The Leaves Of Yesteryear, was a wonderful return.
Containing 5 songs, two of which are over 10 minutes, this an album packed with melody and power and shows the maturity and progression within the band over the years.
The album is generally mid-paced, not quite slow enough to dip into the realms of doom and the vocals are generally clean with just a few bursts of the death growls.
The album is packed with atmosphere changes, quiet piano and string refrains intermixed with guitars and keyboards.
For me, generally, the term progressive puts me off a band as I think back to the to indulgent bands of the 1970’s, the bands that punk provided the antidote for but with Green Carnation I find their music completely engaging. Maybe this is more of a sign of my developing music tastes over the years or the fact that term progressive is now more about the music than the individual musical virtuosity of the players.
Anyway, my first selection from the album is the opening and title track, Leaves Of Yesteryear, an 8 minute opus on the passing of the years.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 2
The second selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear is one of the shorter and more direct songs on the album.
Sentinals is a more standard rock song with a well crafted lyric which talks of chaos and deception and features a mix of vocal styles.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 3
The third selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear is the longest song on the album, My Dark Reflections Of Life And Death.
This 15 minute epic is a reworking of a song by the same name that appeared on the debut Green Carnation album, Journey To The End Of The Night.
I must say that I much prefer this new, more polished version but its a superb song full of melancholic, introspective lyrics looking at the passing and loss of life.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 4
Going a little out of order with today's selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear, with the closing song on the album.
The track, Solitude, is a cover of a Black Sabbath song originally released on their 1971 album, Master Of Reality.
This Green Carnation version stays true to the Sabbath original with its sorrowful, atmospheric portrayal envoking a sense of loss and despair.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 5
My final selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear is the third of the 3 new, original songs on the album.
Hounds is a 10 minute that starts with a quiet acoustic section, laced with synths and builds into a superb, melodic rock song with an introspective lyric typical of the album.
Album Of The Week - 07/02/2026
Brave New World – Iron Maiden
We remain within my metal collection this week with the second Iron Maiden to be selected as my album of the week and the first studio album to be drawn.
Brave New World is Iron Maidens twelfth studio album, released in 2000 and marked the return of guitarist Adrian Smith and vocalist Bruce Dickenson to the Maiden camp.
Prior to my delving more in metal almost 30 years ago, Iron Maiden were of the few metal bands in my collection pre-1996 when I bought their Best Of The Beast compilation and decided to explore the genre a bit more.
I didn’t take much notice of Iron Maiden until 1988 when I heard the singles released from their Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son album and very much against my punk and post-punk leanings I bought the album. I was instantly hooked by the quality and depth of the music but even I didn’t become an avid, dedicated follower although I did pick up a few of their other albums along the way.
By the time I really started to get immersed in their music, iconic vocalist, Bruce Dickenson had left the band and the two albums recorded without him did not seem to be held with the same fondness, although in the defence of replacement, Blaze Bailey, I loved the X Factor album that came out in 1995 although vocally he is not in the same league as Dickenson.
In 1999 discussions took place between the band and Bruce Dickinson which resulted in him rejoining Iron Maiden along with Adrian Smith who had left in 1990. This took the band to a 6 piece line-up with 3 guitarists, as Smiths replacement, Janick Gers remained in the band.
After a very successful reunion tour, the turn of millennium saw the first release with this new 6 piece line up and I remember at the time there being a lot of attention and anticipation regarding the immanent release of Brand New World.
Prior to the album release, the opening track, The Wicker Man, was put out as the lead single with it reaching number 9 in the UK album charts, further driving the excitement for the forthcoming album. I have to admit, that I was fuelled by this enthusiasm for the album and for the first time I bought an Iron Maiden album on the day of release and rushed home from work to play it.
The intervening 26 years have passed very quickly and as I now look back on this album I still rate it an outstanding Iron Maiden release and a landmark record in their impressive catalogue. Although the two albums released prior to this were certainly worthy releases, with Dickinson back on lead there is a feel that Brave New World is classic Maiden and a return to form.
What I really like about this album is the progression of the sound while staying completely true to the intrinsic Maiden feel. I am very much in favour of the incorporation keyboards which at one time would have filled the fanbase with horror. The atmospheres and textures gives a progressive element which is fitting giving the influences that have been cited by the band members. The word “progressive” can often cause alarm but there is no indulgence here even with the longer songs but what we have is shades and subtleties to balance the power that comes with Iron Maiden.
With 10 songs featured on Brave New World, named after the novel by Aldous Huxley, the album runs for 66 minutes with 7 of the songs over 6 minutes but as I said above, there is no lingering indulgence and certainly no padding out making it a fully engaging album throughout. We have the traditional lead guitar breaks, the interplay with the 3 guitarists working perfectly alongside Steve Harris’s trademark rampaging bass.
Commercially the album performed well, reaching number 7 in the UK album charts with the two singles released both hitting the higher reaches of the UK singles chart.
My first selection is the album opener and lead single, The Wicker Man. Although named after the 1970’s cult film the lyrics are not a direct reference to the film plot itself.
Album Of The Week - 07/02/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Brave New World is the title track from the album.
Like some of the best Iron Maiden songs, its based on a classic work of literture, in this case the novel of the same name by Aldous Huxley.
The song itself is classic Maiden with a quiet, vocal opening which then unleashes into the killer anthemic metal song that Iron Maiden deliver so well.
I would have to say this song would easily feature in top 10 favourite Maiden songs.
Album Of The Week - 07/02/2026 - Track 3
My third selection from Brave New World is The Nomad, at just over 9 minutes this is the longest song on the album.
The track takes Iron Maiden into more progressive realms with its Eastern shades but its typical Maiden with its vivid lyrics and immersive instrumentation.
Album Of The Week - 07/02/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Brave New World is the track Blood Brothers. Arguably one of the strongest songs on the album and one that stood out for me on first listen.
Musically, it takes on a progressive feel with the mood and tempo changes which at times feel folk influenced while lyrically it challenges themes of mankinds cruelty and destructiveness.
A real highlight on an album packed with great songs.
Album Of The Week - 07/02/2026 - Track 5
My final selection from Brave New World is the closing track, Thin Line Between Love And Hate.
Its a powerful end to what is an incredibly strong Iron Maiden album, a song and album that is not afraid to take its time and move between atmospheres and textures. At over 8 minutes this is an excellent song that looks at the human capacity for both good and evil, a subject that the band often touch upon in various scenarios.
Album Of The Week - 14/02/2026
Last Of The Wild – Noble Jacks
We have a change of direction this week as we look at the most recent release from folk/Americana/rock band Noble Jacks with their 2022 album Last Of The Wild.
Julie and I first encountered the band in 2018 at the Phoenix Art Centre in Exeter where they were performing as a support act (for Wildwood Kin I think) and we were immediately struck by their energy and excellent melodic fiddle driven folk rock. I came home that night with their debut album, What The Hammer, and we have been following their progress ever since.
Hailing from Brighton, it was interesting to see that their debut album was recorded at the Metway Studios which are owned by the renowned folk/punk band the Levellers who are also based in Brighton. With their high energy yet immotive brand of folk and country based rock this was a collaboration that worked perfectly to produce a very accomplished debut recording.
This type of music though really comes to life in the live setting and Noble Jacks have shown this is where they truly shine and they have played across many festivals and alongside numerous folk contemporaries.
To date, Noble Jacks have released 3 albums and Last Of The Wild, released in 2022 is their most recent and so far, their most polished and professional offering with it being successful and performing well in the folk and Americana charts. For their 2023 tour on the back of the Call Of The Wild album they were named as “live act of the year” from one of the leading voices in Americana music in the UK.
The album carries on the same folk/country drive from the previous 2 albums with a mix of the up tempo tracks perfect for the live setting while mixed with the more laid back considered songs.
There are moments where the country influences are quite strong and although this is not a genre I am keen on these moments add balance, flavour and depth to the album.
Last Of The Wild peaked at number 29 in the official UK Americana charts, a good showing for what it is a worthy addition to their catalogue.
My first selection is the opening track, Never Been Here Before, a lovely melodic song to kick off the album.
Album Of The Week - 14/02/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Last Of The Wild is the title track from the album.
Another of the more folk rock songs from the album again where the fiddle provides a strong melody for the lyric which warns of us of enviromental uncertainty for mankind.
Album Of The Week - 14/02/2026 - Track 3
My latest selection from Last Of The Wild is the song How Long.
A slower paced track which allows the fiddle to come to the fore and lead the melody of this beautifully emotive song.
Album Of The Week - 14/02/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection is a perfect example of Noble Jacks delving into their Americana influences.
Late Night Train has a wonderful singalong melody with its plaintive harmonica and catchy chorus this song has elements of the Levellers for me.
Album Of The Week - 14/02/2026 - Track 5
Bringing Last Of The Wild to a close is the final track on the album, the excellent song Headstrong.
A song about roots and home but also breaking away, its a strong song to close the very accomplished album from the Noble Jack.
For me, I love the way the songs builds from its slow, pensive beginning to a foot stomping folk rock anthem to bring Last Of The Wild to a conclussion.
Album Of The Week - 21/02/2026
From Fear To Eternity (The Best Of 1990-2010) – Iron Maiden
For the second time in 3 weeks we find ourselves back in my Iron Maiden collection with their 2011 release, From Fear To Eternity.
This album covers 8 studio albums released during the 20 year period as described in the album title which includes Brave New World as featured as my album of week only two weeks ago. In total there are 23 songs in a double album format covering a very productive period for the band including plenty of 6 minute plus epics.
What I find very interesting about the collection is how it documents the progression of the band over this key 20 period and the incorporation of more progressive elements into their music alongside their trademark traditional heavy metal offerings.
The period of this compilation has selections from No Prayer For The Dying from 1990 and Fear Of The Dark from 1992, the last 2 albums with Bruce Dickinson on vocals before he left the band only to return to 7 years later which was marked with the Brave New World album.
It is from Brave New World especially that we have seen Iron Maiden adopting a more progressive approach with longer and more complex songs and this development is seen with the selections from A Matter Of Life And Death from 2006 and The Final Frontier from 2010. As also mentioned in my review of Brave New World, this album saw Iron Maiden go to a 6 piece line-up with the return of Adrian Smith giving the band a unique 3 guitar section.
The period of this compilation also covers the Dance Of Death album which has a special place in my collection as I saw them live on the accompanying Death Of The Road tour and its album that contains some of the favourite Iron Maiden songs.
During Bruce Dickinson’s absence from the band there were 2 albums released which featured former Wolfsbane frontman Blaze Bayley on vocals. His debut effort, The X Factor, is in my opinion an excellent album although this album and its successor, Virtual XI have been seen as the weakest Maiden albums and both were the least commercially successful in the bands history and remain so until now. Was this purely down to the vocalist or was the band spark somehow weakened with Dickinson’s absence as a contributor to song writing as well as vocals?
It is an interesting point that the tracks from those albums are represented here with live versions with the vocals by Dickinson and not the studio versions from Bayley.
Whatever the nuances of the compilation this release is a superb collection and showcases a period of time when their output was everything as good, if not better than the “classic” releases of the 1980’s.
My first selection is Sign Of The Cross, a song that originally appeared on The X Factor album and this live recording was captured on the 2002 Rock In Rio album.
This 10 minute masterpiece ranks as one of favourite Iron Maiden songs and as per numerous Maiden tracks it was inspired by a work of literature.
Album Of The Week - 21/02/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Fear To Eternity is the track El Dorado, a song that first appeared on The Final Frontier album from 2010.
This one of the more direct songs on the album but runs for almost 7 minutes and is based around the greed and shady dealings of bankers and investors that led to the financial crash of 2008.
Album Of The Week - 21/02/2026 - Track 3
The third track I have selected From Fear To Eternity is the song The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Bree.
Taken from the 2006 album A Matter Of Life And Death, the song was the lead single from the album. At over 7 minutes this may have seemed a strange choice but the album only featured one song under 5 minutes and Bree is an incredibly strong track.
To stoke interest the band created a website with a backstory about the fctional character of Benjamin Bree.
Album Of The Week - 21/02/2026 - Track 4
The next track I have selected from this week's album is one of the shorter, more direct songs on From Here To Eternity.
Holy Smoke, initially from the 1990 album No Prayer For The Dying the song takes a well aimed swipe at televison evangelists and those who use faith as a money making exercise.
Album Of The Week - 21/02/2026 - Track 5
My penultimate selection from this excellent Iron Maiden compilation is the song No More Lies.
Taken from the Dance Of Death album from 2003 this song is again the band moving into their epic style with a song that doesnt let up from its opening bars.
The song's central character is facing his imminent death but is convinced that this life is not the end and that he is coming back.
This is a recurring theme with Iron Maiden but with this particular song, Steve Harris described this song as possibly being about the last supper of Christ knowing that his death was close to hand.
If someone was ever to ask me what my favourite Iron Maiden is then No More Lies would well be a contender.
Album Of The Week - 21/02/2026 - Track 6
The final selection from this weeks album could be a case of leaving the best until last.
When The Wild Wind Blows is taken from The Final Frontier album of 2010 and is 11 minute epic fit to close any Iron Maiden album.
The song is based on the graphic novel and animated novel When The Wind Blows which tells the story of an elderly English couple dealing the aftermath of a nuclear attack. In this version though the ending has been altered to give it a level of Shakespearean tragedy.
For me, this song encapsulates everything I love about Iron Maiden, the narrative storytelling coupled with the complex yet melodic and powerful delivery from the band, the perfect song to wrap up this excellent compilation.
Album Of The Week - 28/02/2026
Legend - Clannad
A change of direction this week as we look at the second of my 11 albums from Irish Celtic folk act Clannad, with their 1984 soundtrack release Legend.
Back in the late 1980’s Clannad were my first tentative steps in the world of folk music when a passing interest led to me buying their Pastpresent compilation album, a collection that focussed on their commercially successful releases during the eighties.
By the time my interest was sparked in the band they had moved on from their more trad folk roots into a more atmospheric world music influenced style using synths to compliment the acoustic folk instrumentation.
What really captivated me though was the ethereal beauty of the vocals from Moya Brennan. At the time when the charts were dominated by singers such a Whitney Houston, Madonna and the scores of pop power ballad and soul singers who seemed to be all about volume it was the considered, delicate Gaelic voice of Brennan drew me in. Accompanied by these often haunting songs sometimes delivered in the Irish Gaelic language they caught my attention and garnered my interest.
The music on Legend was written to accompany the UK television series, Robin of Sherwood that ran over 3 series from 1984 to 1986 and from what I remember seemed to be very popular at the time.
True to their sound of the time the album is heavy on atmosphere with the synths adding layers alongside the acoustic guitars and whistles topped of with the trademark beautiful vocals of Moya Brennan.
Regardless of the fact that Legend is a soundtrack it sits very well within the Clannad discography of studio albums and I actually picked this up as part of 5 album box set.
At just over 32 minutes this is a short album and I would have liked to have seen some the pieces expanded but overall it a decent Clannad album with some very good moments.
Commercially the album performed well and it peaked at number 15 in the UK album charts while 2 singles were lifted from the release including the title track and main theme.
It is also worth noting that Clannad’s big commercial breakthrough in the UK came as the result of a song written for television when in 1982 their single, Theme from Harry’s Game reached number 5 in the UK singles chart.
My first selection is the album opener, Robin (The Hooded Man) the main theme for the series and also the lead single released from the album.
Album Of The Week - 28/02/2026
Album Of The Week - 28/02/2026
My third selection from Legend is the dual vocal song Strange Land.
The atmospheric, ethereal beauty of this song, with its harp and layered atmospheric vocals captures of the essence of the forest domain in which much of this soundtrack is based.
Album Of The Week - 28/02/2026 - Track 4
The penultimate selection from Legend is the instrumetal track Lady Marian.
There is a beautiful Celtic folk feel to this gorgeous song which is one of the real highlights from the album.
Album Of The Week - 28/02/2026 - Track 5
Bringing this week's album to a close is the final track from the Legend soundtrack, the album closer, Ancient Forest.
This is a more jaunty track from Clannad but still laced with plenty of atmosphere and the song takes us on journey through the mystical forest setting of the Robin of Sherwood story.
Album Of The Week - 07/03/2026
Go Away White - Bauhaus
This week we have the first selection from my 7 albums by the iconic and influential post-punk band Bauhaus.
For many, Bauhaus will be hailed as one of the first goth rock bands, a genre that evolved in the late 1970’s and has gone hand in hand with post-punk from the outset, as the punk scene branched into a more introspective and sombre direction. Moving away from some of the direct confrontation of punk, bands like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division along with Bauhaus introduced more gloomy and subdued themes into their music as well a generally “darker” presentation. The music captured the ethics of punk combined with the artistic and musical experimentation of post-punk that led to the results from the bands mentioned above. Among them Bauhaus really embraced that openness and experimentation that when coupled with influences from 70’s glam rock gave them a very distinct style and sound. On top of this we had the vocals of frontman / songwriter Peter Murphy whose delivery was not too dissimilar to another of their obvious influences, David Bowie.
As with many artists that like to experiment there are moments when it doesn’t work and that is occasionally the case with Bauhaus and I think that is why I initially saw them more as a singles band in the early 1980’s.
I did finally get around to collecting their albums, largely on the back of their singles She’s In Parties and the cover of the Bowie song Ziggy Stardust.
Bauhaus broke up in 1983 after their fourth album leaving a lauded legacy and a degree of cult status and despite the occasional reunions for live events a 5th album was never really seen as a possibility.
The we came to 2008 and after a gap of 25 years Bauhaus presented Go Away White and I remember my surprise at this news which was equalled by my surprise by how good the album was when I purchased it soon after release.
Due to frictions during the recording sessions the album may never have seen the light of day but they went with it but it seems the tensions took its toll upon the band. However, they were able to deliver a typical Bauhaus album with that intrinsic style and atmosphere. We have the melodic, the quirky, the offbeat and the darkly dramatic tones associated with Bauhaus and a couple of moments where one is left pondering at what has been delivered.
The band have since come together for live events but I think it would be highly unlikely that we will ever see a sixth studio album although they did release a non album single in 2022. If Go Away White is their final offering then it’s a strong album to bring down their recording career.
The album received generally good reviews and although it made little impact on the main UK album chart it did reach number 13 in the independent albums chart.
My first selection is the album opener, Too Much 21st Century, a stinging commentary on the greed and ambition associated with this age.
Album Of The Week - 07/03/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Go Away White is the track Undone.
This song has the typical Bauhaus mix of art rock quirkiness with its hypnotic bass, scratchy guitar and the off kilter vocals. This song takes me right back to the late 70's experimentation of the flegling post-punk bands.
Album Of The Week - 07/03/2026 - Track 3
My third selection from Go Away White is one of the more direct songs on the album, the track Adrenalin.
Unlike some of the songs on this album this is a more conventional rock song without the more obscure lyrics making Adrenaline one of the more instantly accessible tracks on Go Away White.
Album Of The Week - 07/03/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Go Away White is one of the darker songs on the album.
Musically, Endless Summer Of The Damned, is quite melodic driven by a rhythmic bass layered with Daniel Ash's effects laden guitars but its the lyric of enviromental doom delivered with Peter Murphy's pained vocal that adds the darkness to the song.
Album Of The Week - 07/03/2026 - Track 5
My final selection from Go Away White is the track The Dog's A Vapour.
This is the longest song on the album and see's Bauhaus in their best oblique, cinematic and surreal best and although not the closing track on the album its an excellent song to wrap up our look into the final Bauhaus album.
Album Of The Week - 14/03/2026
Auri - Auri
This week we move into the area of the cinematic and folk based debut of Finnish/British trio Auri, with this, their 2018 self-titled release.
Their second album, Auri II, album of the week in September 2024, was our first look into what could be described as a Nightwish side project, although that may be doing a disservice to Auri themselves.
Auri consist of Nightwish member and principle song writer, Toumas Holopainen, his wife Johanna Kurkela, a successful musician and recording artist in her own right and Nightwish multi-instrumentalist, Troy Donockley who has a wealth of experience working with folk artists.
The idea for this project was sown between Holopainen, Donockley and Kurkela quite a few years before an idea took form as recorded music, but as Nightwish were busy touring and with Kurkela is also a busy touring and recording musician it was 7 years before the concept turned into an album.
When Auri took form as the eponymous release it was no surprise the direction they were taking with this record giving the cinematic and folk influences from all 3 of the principle members of the band.
It is also telling that Nightwish had been incorporating more folk influences into their music and Donockley played as a guest musician on the 2007 album Dark Passion Play before becoming a permanent member of the band in 2013 after again guesting on the Imaginaerum album of 2011.
As Toumas Holopainen has often eluded to in interviews he has a deep love of cinematic music and Auri gave him the chance to expand on this but with a more folk based slant than the Nightwish albums.
Topping this rich musical pedigree is singer Johanna Kurkela who is well known and regarded in Finland as a folk/pop singer and her delicate, ethereal vocals fit perfectly within this band format.
Although, through Nightwish, there is bound to be a metal association, there is nothing metal about this album but there are certainly Nightwish references that would certainly appeal to fans of the band and it was these influences that led me to explore Auri. As I have a love of contemporary folk music as well as symphonic metal, Auri was no great leap for me but it was a nice surprise see the quality within this album.
Commercially, given the incredible success of Nightwish and that of Kurkela, it was of no surprise that Auri went to number 1 in the album charts of their home country, Finland.
My first selection is the album opener, The Space Between, one of the two singles released from the album.
Album Of The Week - 14/03/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Auri is the track I Hope Your World Is Kind.
This is a beautifully melodic song which could be described as "if Nightwish were a folk band".
The song itself draws influence from a fantasy story, The Kingkiller Chroncle, and the lyrics come as a narration from the character, Auri, from whom this band was named.
The is song is a real highlight from an album packed with gems.
Album Of The Week - 14/03/2026 - Track 3
My third selection from Auri is the song Night 13.
The vocal melody of this quiet, beautiful song reminded me very much of Nightwish and this song, with guitars, would have fit very comfortably on some of the latter offerings.
As it is, this excellent song was the first single released from Auri.
Album Of The Week - 14/03/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Auri is the track Savant.
I love the mood changes with this mainly instrumental song laced with gorgeous vocal harmonies but within this there are some dark, ominous moments as well as a poem recited in Finnish.
Album Of The Week - 14/03/2026 - Track 5
My final selection from Auri is the closing song on the album, Them Thar Chanterelles.
There is a wonderfully playful and whimsical opening to the song the builds into a full on folk anthem and is the perfect way to end this very impressive debut album from Auri.
At The Mill - Paradise Lost
We move back into my metal collection this week with the second of my 21 albums to be selected by British gothic/doom metal masters, Paradise Lost.
The importance of this band in my route into gothic and doom metal, and my general keenness on metal as a whole, cannot be overstated following the purchase of their Reflection compilation album back in 1998.
In the late 90’s I was looking for rock music with some more power and edge as well as broadening my horizons from punk, post-punk and associated genres. As a result I got more into metal and it was the music of Paradise Lost at that time, along with their contemporaries Anathema and My Dying Bride that really grabbed my interest.
In all the time I have followed Paradise Lost, they have shown they are a band that does not stand still and no two albums are the same, each one showing a progression and development of ideas and influences. Hence we get a band that has delivered crushing doom metal, melodic gothic rock and electronic based post-rock but all with an indelible signature that clearly stamps each release as a pure, honest Paradise Lost album.
What aids this continuation and progression is a core quartet of band members that go all the way back to the bands formation in 1988, a band that has grown and matured together and certainly in the realms of metal it is unusual for a band to have 4 original members after almost 40 years.
So we come to this week’s album, At The Mill, a live release that was recorded during the Covid pandemic, a time that decimated live music. To get around this, Paradise Lost made this “live” recording without an audience but there was no attempt to make it look like a live concert. What we have is a band just going into a room, plugging in and playing with no stage effects, just a raw, pure sound, a chance for them to preach to the converted while the concert halls were closed.
All bands who rely on live performances to survive had to come up with ways of generating income during lockdown and many organised live streams and other such ways of keeping in touch with the fanbase. To that end, this live session recorded at The Mill nightclub in Bradford became a full album and DVD release with a set list that spanned the bands recording history and included 3 songs from the Obsidian album that was released during the pandemic.
I have only seen Paradise Lost live once but have a good selection of their live albums and DVD’s and At The Mill is a worthy part of that collection.
My first selection is the set opener, Widow, a song that hails from the 1993 album Icon and a song that is staple of the Paradise Lost live set.
Dagger – Ist Ist
This week we have the most recent release from Manchester post-punk band Ist Ist, the third to be selected from my collection of 6 albums from this prolific band.
Dagger, is the fifth studio album from Ist Ist and was only released in February of this year but it is an album which has made a strong impact on me with the development of sounds and textures that drew me to the band prior to their first album back in 2020.
As I stated in my album of the week post in May 2023 for their second album, The Art Of Lying, there is a foundation in their sound that goes back to the bands such as Joy Division early Sisters Of Mercy, the Cure and more recent post-punk bands such as White Noise.
With each Ist Ist album there are subtle industrial shades that manages to combine starkness and warmth topped with lush keyboards, emphatic rhythms and soaring melodies. Alongside this there is the deep, warm vocals of Adam Houghton whose resemblance to the vocal style of Ian Curtis cannot be ignored, however, this is not uncommon in post-punk and goth rock bands.
This latest Ist Ist release, Dagger, continues and enhances these soundscapes perfectly with a scale of delivery that makes this a natural progression in their impressive array of albums bearing in mind that this is their 5th studio album in 6 years.
Ist Ist honed their craft playing live and it took 6 years from band formation to first album but that solid foundation and compactness of sound is evident to what they bring with this new album. A test of any band though is how they transfer their music from the studio to the live setting and Dagger feels like a very “live” album.
There is a nice variation of approach on the album with enough mood and tempo shifts to keep it interesting and lyrically there is enough optimism to balance some of the starkness.
Like all of their previous releases, Dagger is released on the bands own label meaning there is no compromise with the output and that DIY ethic gives the band a very underground feel despite the impressive commercial success they are gaining with each album.
Dagger peaked at number 21 in the UK album charts and number 2 in the independent charts highlighting their growing commercial appeal.
In support of the album Ist Ist are due to embark on a 14 date tour starting on the 9th April, in their words, the biggest tour they will have done and Julie and I will be seeing them at the Phoenix Art Centre in Exeter on the 11th April.
My first selection from the album is the opening song, the up-tempo electronic infused I Am The Fear.
October – U2
This week we go all the way back to 1981 while staying firmly in the realms of post-punk with the third of my 24 albums by U2 to be selected, their second release, October.
If last week’s band Ist Ist is the modern face of the genre then U2 are very much part of the genesis of post-punk with their debut album, Boy, released in 1980, a landmark album at a time when bands initially rooted in punk began to incorporate other styles and influences into the raw, DIY ethic that characterised punk rock.
U2 are a major part of my music roots from the time in 1981 when I first became aware of them via an edited live concert broadcast on television. I have followed them through their career and although as they have matured they may have lost a degree of the youthful urgency and made a few errors along the way they are still a very important band to me. I think in some respects, the massive commercial success since The Joshua Tree may have alienated some of the purists but that is not uncommon when some rock bands find commercial success although there are few to have rivalled what U2 have achieved over the years.
Back at the time though when October was released we had no idea how big an act they would become and October almost became the final album that U2 would release.
At the time, 3 of the band members, Bono (Paul Hewson), The Edge (Dave Evans) and Larry Mullan were part of a Christian society and they found that there were conflicts in trying to marry a life of faith with being in a rock band. Things came to a head and two of them, Bono and Edge stated, all be it briefly, they would leave U2. This stance did not last long and they found a way to reconcile the dilemma and balance faith with their chosen occupation. There was concern though from within the band that they were becoming a “Christian rock” band and Christian faith is certainly a central theme within October. However, there is a very personal and introspective feel with the album that avoids delving into pulpit preaching, instead there is a maturity and honesty in Bono’s lyric writing.
There is quite a contrast of styles on the album highlighting the possible conflict they were having as a band at the time though there are hints of the raw bombast that was to follow with 1983’s, breakthrough War album, where the shackles were well and truly off.
Although October was only U2’s second album we can already hear a distinct style and sound within the band, a sound that has stayed their bedrock throughout their albums even though Edge has been keen to experiment and incorporate electronics at times.
As mentioned above, there is a maturity and intensity within the lyrics which at times shows an insight beyond their years which would later see them, maybe unfairly, labelled as “conscience rock”.
With the benefit of 45 years of hindsight, this is a major album for U2 and a landmark album as the post-punk genre grew and developed.
October peaked at number 11 in the UK album charts and produced two singles, both of which enjoyed moderate commercial success.
My first selection from the album is the lead single and opening song, the anthemic Gloria.
This is an infectious song with a lyric that covers love and faith both of God and a woman with the inclusion of a Latin chorus, making this a very unique song and a live favourite from their early days.
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