Firewind (Video Of The Day) release their latest eponymous album via AFM on Friday 15th May, not only, as usual, featuring the brilliance of exceptional guitarist Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil), but it also sees the debut of vocalist Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue), stepping up to the plate. Over the last 20 years, Firewind's faithful have been in awe of the band's fantastic riffs, hooks and solos from Gus' gifted hands plus a great vocal melody – an integral part of every Firewind song. In that respect, nothing has changed on their latest album, with Herbie's charismatic voice nailing each and every last one of the ten new songs, infusing them with a remarkable expressive force.

Illustrious German Heavy Metal/Hard Rock guitarist Axel Rudi Pell has lined up the release of his utterly excellent new studio album ‘Sign Of The Times’, on Friday 8th May on Steamhammer/SPV. Furthermore, both American musicians in the band - singer Johhny Gioeli and drummer Bobby Rondinelli - were on fire when they added their magic to the mix. Axel’s most recent studio album, ‘Knight’s Call’, crashed into Germany’s national top 10 album chart and the UK’s top 40 Rock chart, and was universally acclaimed on release in 2018. Now ‘Sign Of The Times’, which also includes Ferdy Doernberg on keyboards and Volker Krawczak on bass, even outshines its much lauded predecessor, which is all set to be proclaimed a career-defining, landmark album, propelling Pell ever higher into Hard Rock’s heady stratosphere!

Today's latest Rock On The Ridge Track Of The Day includes music from Buffalo Summer, Massive Wagons, Black Stone Cherry, Little Red Kings, Threering, Valley of the Sun, Clutch, Axel Rudi Pell, The Devil In California, Devilskin(pictured), Siena Root, Led Zeppelin, Rainchild, Black Smoke Trigger, The Rocket Dolls, In This Moment, Wayland, Harem Scarem, Ereley, Deadland Ritual, Blacktop Mojo, Like A Storm, Electric Black, Stone Sour and Black Label Society.

Today's Blues On The Radio Track Of The Day features one track from each of the top 16 albums that appeared in The IBBA chart for March - an uninterrupted hour of music from Roomful of Blues, Bywater Call, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado, John Blues Boyd, Ridgerunner, The Robert Cray Band, The Reverend Shawn Amos & The Brotherhood, The James Pitts Band, Lee Ainley's Blues Storm, Mary Jo Curry, Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion, John Doe Trio, Jamie Williams & the Roots Collective, Ryan Perry Band, Andres Roots and Rory Gallagher(pictured).

Because of Covid-19, our 2020 WRC On Tour t-shirt here is now well and truly out of date , however, to make up for it, why not design your own personalised Motörhead artwork here? This unique name generator allows you to have your monicker emblazoned around the legendary Motörhead war-pig, which you can share and save, or have it printed on a limited edition t-shirt. With three designs running over a limited period, there’s never been a better time to pledge your allegiance as a Motörfan and to show it off once this lockdown is finally over.

"Skin' starts with warming melodically plucked strings before gradually building with sumptuous decorous piano, plush teasing percussion and insistent palatial drums. Semkina's mellifluous vocals are delicately soft and gracefully soothing despite the highly sensitive, painful and emotionally charged lyrics, “I am sanding light, peeling my skin off, off my body where you touched it”. 'How To Be Alone' starts quiet and wispy before ascending with assertion. The lyrics cascade like water falls from euphonious vocals, “I will teach you how to be alone my girl”." Today, not only read another one of our self-isolating album reviews, as Steven C. Gilbert gives us his take hereon Mariana Semkina's (Iamthemorning) 'Sleepwalking' CD that was released on Valentine's Day, but also check out today's Video Of The Day.

Hookers & Blow, the now legendary project formed by longtime Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed and Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi, have been hitting the studio to record a covers album set for a 2020 release via Golden Robot Records, including the Eddie Money classic 'Shakin' which is today's Video Of The Day. Also featuring Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Danzig) on drums, Scott Griffin (LA Guns) on bass and Nadja Reed on vocals, they deliver their inspired debut single with all the soul, honesty and depth of the original, but in their own fashion, dripping with immaculate musicianship and flawless vocals.

While we’re all doing our part and staying home, we of course find ourselves missing live music, so how about we dive back into a few Metallica shows at a socially responsible distance? Let’s stay connected and virtually visit a few of their favourite places in the world together as they bring a series of live Metallica shows right to your couch! Tune in for free tonight here at 1am GMT, 5pm PST and 8pm EDT, to catch a complete Metallica show from the archives on their YouTube channel. Also, don’t worry if you can’t catch it "live”, as the show will be available on demand for an entire week!

Australian instrumental Post-Rockers sleepmakeswaves have delayed the release of their upcoming project ‘these are not your dreams’ until Friday 17th July, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, of which their single ‘Batavia’ is today's Track Of The Day. Further bad news is that their upcoming tour dates have been postponed for now too, but the good news is that the plan is still to release a series of 3 EP's over the next few months, with the first EP 'No Safe Place' now streaming online in full here.

Ms Amy Birks released her self-produced debut solo album 'All That I Am And All That I Was' on Friday, and Amy's debut solo single 'Jamaica Inn' is today's Video Of The Day, which was shot on location in Bodmin Moor. Winner of Best Female Vocalist in the 2018 Prog Magazine poll and former lyricist, co-composer and lead vocalist of the 2017 Prog magazine Limelight Award winners Beatrix Players, the album features guest appearances from a raft of luminaries including Steve Hackett, John Hackett and Caroline Lavelle. Since Beatrix Players' final run of shows opening for Carl Palmer, Steve Harley and Big Big Train in 2017 - 2018, Amy has been playing impromptu solo sets with the likes of Tim Bowness and That Joe Payne, and on Friday 20th November she will be the special guest of the John Hackett Band at Bromsgrove's Artrix.

"However, the top tracks on this eleven-song collective are saved towards the end, with the pure class of ‘Widows Walk’ (suffice to say which is now on repeat), followed closely by ‘River Of Love And Loss’ - very sparse and atmospheric - yet effective. ‘The Rapture’, dark in its delivery, lets the Buffalo roam free, and along with the smoothing ballad of ‘I Don’t Know A Thing About Love’, they both fittingly close down this piece of art." Today, not only read another of our self-isolating album reviews, as Geoff C. gives us his take here on The White Buffalo's new 'On The Widows Walk' CD (see today's Track Of The Day), due to be released on Friday 17th April, but also tune in to his live streaming show here at 8pm (UK Time) tonight.

Another Isolation Music Festival is being streamed here at 1pm UK time today featuring Josh Brough at 1pm, Frazer Nelson 1.20pm, Robin Bibi 1.40pm, Dave Ferra 2pm, Claire Hamlin 2.20pm, Roy Mette 2.40pm, Steve Whalley 3pm, Robbie McIntosh 3.20pm, Calum Ingram 3.40pm, Max Bianco 4pm, Doozer McDooze 4.20pm, Yve Mary Barwood 4.40pm, Fran McGillivray & Mike Burke 5pm, Catfish, Matt and Paul Long 5.20pm, The Kondoors 5.40pm. Other live streams tonight include Dan Burnett here at 6.30pm and Redfish here at 8pm.