Mick Birchall Reviews

So, I have written about Evergrey a few times on this blog now. I don’t think that I’ve ever made it a secret that I really love this band. So, in that case, I don’t know if that puts me in a better or worse position to write about their new albums. As a fan, this might come off a bias. Yet, I think that having a deep love for this band makes me qualified to tell you what works and doesn’t work about their fifteenth album, Architects Of A New Weave . Ever since their 2014 album, Hymns For The Broken , it’s been clear that Evergrey has gone in a little bit of a different direction from their earlier work. They didn’t outright abandon the progressive metal label; however, it does feel that they're chasing that anthemic, stadium rock sound. Big catchy chorus lines and more punchy guitar solos. This isn’t a bad thing per se; it’s just different. The band have been writing for that bigger audience sound. Which certainly fits them, with a sound that hits the rafters and just keeps on g...

Some days just feel special, and I can confidently say that music festivals are those days. This past weekend, I went to the Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield. Now, I usually go to the North version of the event in Leeds. However, for this year, I made my way across the country to this day out. When the line-up was first announced, I was immediately excited. Some names that I’ve never seen before, and some that I’ve seen all too often, but excited to see again. I was pretty sceptical about the headliner, Good Charlotte . The last time I saw them perform live, they were not great, but I was willing to give them another chance. Some of the big names that I’d never seen were acts like Sublime , Goldfinger , A , Madina Lake and Motion City Soundtrack . I'd like to see as much as possible. I will admit that for a 20th anniversary, the line-up felt like it was missing something. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Anyway, I was determined to have a good time no matter what. Like at any fest...

Man, has it been a while since I thought about Sevendust ? They used to be one of those bands that were all over my old MP3 players in school. I’ve only kept up with them from afar over the last decade or so. Like, whenever they put out a new single, I would give it a listen and throw it on a YouTube Music playlist. However, when they started putting out new music for this upcoming 2026 album, One , I felt a little different about this one. I wasn’t sure what drew me to this new album, whereas past albums had failed. Now that I’ve had a chance to listen to this new album in full, I think I might have an answer for that question. This new record is their fifteenth studio album and, once again, is produced by Michael “Elvis” Baskette, a staple of this sound for a while now, having worked with acts such as Alter Bridge and Mammoth. The Atlanta rock titans really came out of the gates swinging with this one. The album opens with the title track “One”, and it’s mostly what you would normall...