It's not the best of starts when two of the most local bands on the bill pull out on the day of the gig. These things can usually turn the night into a disaster or mean the event is cancelled. Fortunately the bands remaining managed to make the night into something of a success with a series of impressive performances.

There are so many goth nights, gigs and clubs in London now you can't turn a corner without stumbling into one. This isn't always a bad thing but it was nice to get away from the big smoke and escape to York for the weekend for a stint of site-seeing and of course the inaugural DV8 Festival.

It was something of a surprise when the Prince of Darkness was announced to be playing as part of the iTunes festival at the Roundhouse. Live music for this event is usually aimed at people who rarely look into the murky world of metal. The mainly ticket winning crowd were a mix of full-time rockers and the curious music fan, interested in seeing Mr Ozzy Osbourne in the flesh for the first time.

If you are one of those searching for a return to the old school days of traditional heavy metal, then this is an essential listen.

Like a unit of marauding Saxon warriors 'Light Years From Destiny' kicks down the doors of resistance and simply forces you to open your ears to this wonderful example of power enhanced heavy metal.

It would be something of an understatement to say Zocalo have had a good year. The addition of an extra guitarist made them rock harder than ever and of course there was the small matter of grabbing a slot at Bloodstock, the primary festival for metal in the UK. Therefore, the 'Providence' E.P. arrives at a time when everyone is looking at the band.

As part of the Generator music development agency ‘Plugged In Live’ festival, five promoters each took over a different venue for one night of live music in Newcastle City centre, and Komodo Rock’s chosen venue tonight was The Northumberland Arms to see three of the most talked about bands currently on the scene.

At the end of a long hot and very humid Summer day, there can be nothing better than going to a small intimate outdoor venue for a dam good metal feast, and that’s exactly what this incredible gig was.

The Tuesday immediately after the Download Festival was never going to be a crowd puller, with most people still recovering from a weekend of drink, sunburn, lack of sleep, lack of money and maybe still drying out...In these circumstances credit must go to the chosen few who bothered to venture out and spend time watching the bands at this particular Trashy Tuesday.

In its short life the Download festival has become famous for the odd turkey headliner (My Chemical Romance, Feeder… you get the idea) but there were no such problems this year. In fact the festival boasted some of the biggest bands in the world in the form of AC/DC, Aerosmith and Rage Against The Machine.