Mick Birchall Reviews

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...

Friday night in Manchester. There’s nothing better than getting the train and going into the city and getting to a gig. I love having some good rock music to see live, and they don’t come much better than this! Two legends, two titans of the rock world. Adrian Smith , most notable for his work in the legendary Iron Maiden . Richie Kotzen is a guitar virtuoso known for his unique approach to rock music. He’s also the frontman of progressive rock collective, The Winery Dogs. A few years ago, when they announced their collaboration, I think it turned some heads. They certainly had my attention, and I have been interested in checking them out live for a little bit of time now. Well, this night was the night. The O2 Ritz is always such a fantastic venue for a rock show; the acoustics in the room create this amazing surrounding effect. The venue filled up slowly, and the atmosphere built. Everyone in the room was ready for a night of rock and roll. I always get a special feeling bracing for...

    Mick: So, we’ll start with the obvious question: how did you all come together? This is your first album and your initial introduction to the world. How did you all get together? Andy:  This is a question for Dom. Dom: So, the six of us are all good friends, and we've played in bands for a long time. We’ve played in different bands. Half of the band played as a wedding band for a while. They had some success with that. Then, towards the end of that, they wanted to do a bit more on the creative side. So, we got together to make something of our own. Andy had an idea called “The Buffalo Men” as a label for him to play with other musicians, for playing local gigs, and trying to record some songs. However, it was a loose label, but not like a set lineup. Then, a few years ago, we started to play together more. We were six friends, and we decided we all wanted to kind of take it just a bit more seriously, and maybe even try and work towards an album. That was a specific go...

2025 has been… Quite the year for me. On a personal note, I’ve moved house, and I’ve moved careers. Yet, as always, I still write this blog. I’ve been doing this for a long, long time now. So, as always, it only makes sense to sum up the year with an end-of-year post, and as you all love, give you my favourite albums of the year list. Music this year has been some of the best I’ve heard in a while. 2025 has been substantially better than 2024 for releases, but I’m not blind to the struggles of the industry. Streaming services continue to pay artists basically nothing for their music, the general population continues to ignore the plight of artists wanting to be paid daily for their work, and, my biggest pet peeve, the rise of AI in music! Oh, how I despise the rise of AI artists on streaming platforms. The dawn of AI music makes it even harder for new artists to break through to the mainstream, or even any sort of stream. So, this is why I will continue to champion the real musicians, ...

Photo Credit: Mark Powell Man, it’s been a while since I’ve walked the cold, wet streets of Manchester for a gig. I had a feeling that this one was going to be good as well! Last year, I came across the Canadian rock band, The Commoners . Their 2024 album, Restless , was one of my absolute favourites of last year, and I’ve been meaning to catch them live for a while now, as they do frequent the UK quite a bit. So, this night was my opportunity to see what all the buzz is about. Rebellion is such a good venue for shows like these. Located next to Deansgate train station, Rebellion is tucked away and hosts some of the best nights for rock and metal in Manchester—the dark room, illuminated by the stage lights, has just the right atmosphere for rock shows. You’ve got to appreciate the stamina of some bands. This show was in Glasgow the night before, and after a long journey, they made it to Manchester. Also, they didn’t come alone. They brought the incredibly talented Candar out on the roa...