Album review: Rainbow, Bent Out of Shape (1983)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 21, 1983 By Steve Newton While not as impressive as last year's Straight Between the Eyes, Rainbow's new album is still likely to please old Deep Purple diehards like myself, who can't seem to get enough of Ritchie Blackmore's furious and fast Stratocations. "The man in black" is … Continue reading Album review: Rainbow, Bent Out of Shape (1983)

Album review: Blue Öyster Cult, Heaven Forbid (1998)

  ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 9, 1998 By Steve Newton Don’t let the cheapjack horror-movie cover fool ya, ’cause Heaven Forbid—Blue Öyster Cult’s first new recording since 1988’s substandard Imaginos—is one classy slab of hard rock. It’s not a masterwork in the league of Tyranny and Mutation or Agents of Fortune, but … Continue reading Album review: Blue Öyster Cult, Heaven Forbid (1998)