42 NWOCR Bands and music artists

One of the fastest growing movements in Rock music, NWOCR have today released 'The Official New Wave Of Classic Rock - Volume 1' 2CD compilation album, featuring a selection of 42 white hot tracks of the best and current NWOCR Bands and music artists. Backed by trailblazing music labels including Off Yer Rocka, Nuclear Blast, Listenable Records and Marshall Records, NWOCR is an undeniable movement that has been embraced by the music industry and inspired bands and fans alike since its launch in 2017.

Indeed, all the bands included on this mouthwatering smorgasbord, have plied their trade in recent years on the much missed live circuit, complemented by equally missed movement showcases, such as HRH's NWOCR two-dayer at Leicester's O2 Academy, Stonedead, Sheffield's Heretic Fest and Ramblin' Man's Rising Stage, although NWOCR's recent ‘Webfest Volume One - Live!’ livestream, featured live sets and interviews plus pre-recorded live tracks from a number of artists appearing on this CD.

With 42 bands on the album, the vast majority of them, unsurprisingly, have been on our WRC radar over the years. However, a bit like stumbling across a great band at a gig that you have never seen before (do you remember that feeling?), thankfully, there are a few bands that we have not crossed paths with before, which, in essence, for the listener, is the beauty of this release, particularly given the surreal times we currently live in.

Bombastic Lancashire rockers Massive Wagons open up proceedings on CD1 with a new, rousing, joyous, comradery rendition of fan favourite, ‘Tokyo’, teaming up with a slew of familiar faces from the zeitgeist NWOCR movement! Indeed, the last time we saw these guys, they were supporting Lynyrd Skynyrd at Wembley, and if that's not recommendation enough, then up and coming Glaswegian rockers, Mason Hill's, track 'DNA', is also hotly underpinned by their 2017 WRC 'Best Support' award, as is Swiss kick-ass four-piece Daxx & Roxane's, 'Without You', following their 2019 WRC ‘One’s To Watch’ award. Similarly, Cambridgeshire-based Rock band Hollowstar's, 'All I Gotta Say', brought back great memories of their Camden Rocks set at The Dev back in June 2018, as did Anchor Lane's 'Fame Shame', taken off of last year's 'Casino' album, of which we attended the Glaswegians launch party at Camden's Black Heart at the beginning of the year.

Conversely, two bands that we desperately want to see live, having not only reviewed their previous albums, but also based on the evidence of 'Find My Way' and 'Whiskey Nightmare' respectively, are Everyday Heroes (hailing from the healthy breeding ground of South Wales for the new Hard Rock/Southern Rock genre) and The New Roses (a German brand of Hard Rock sounding more from the mid-west of America). More bands featured that we've had the pleasure of seeing live in the past, and hopefully will see again soon, include South West Hard Rockers, Sons of Liberty, and their track, 'Fire And Gasoline', taken from their sophomore, deadly hitting, bourbon smoked recent album, ‘Aces & Eights’, plus the intense, atmospheric Rock of Empyre, and their track, 'New Republic', following their 'Self Aware' album launch party, that we also attended at London's Water Rats in November 2019.

Hard Rocking five-piece powerhouse outfit Gin Annie's single, 'Devil In Me', recently made Planet Rock’s playlist and charted at #1 on the Amazon Bestsellers, with an 11-date September/October 'The Next Chapter' UK headline tour also waiting in the wings. Meanwhile, the natural fusion of The Hot Damn!'s, 'Dance Around', from ex-members of The Amorettes and Tequila Mockingbyrd, has already seen the band deservedly being added to the roster of Stonedead's Friday Night Rock Party II on 27th August. And talking of festivals, Derby's entry to this new wave of Rock and Roll, These Wicked Rivers ('Shine On'), Nuneaton's finest, Hard Rock trio Dig Lazarus ('Tell Me Why') and Welsh incendiary Rock band, Scarlet Rebels ('No One Else To Blame'), all fell foul to the cancellation this year of Sheffield's Heretic Fest, although the Rock 'n' Roll Rebels will be supporting Buckcherry on their 11-show Hellbound UK tour this November/December.

Meanwhile, three bands that incredulously fall under our "not crossed paths with before" category, are five-piece Heavy Modern Rock band, Tomorrow Is Lost from Newcastle, and their riffin' awesome, 'Hideaway', Manchester's Alternative Art-Rock band, Shape Of Water, and their addictive O2 Rock of 'The World Is Calling Me', and finally, striking out of the cultural heartland that is Liverpool, are classic sounding Hard Rock band Revival Black and 'So Alive', with it's awesome bass line plus Slash/Velvet Revolver vibe. Thankfully, paths have now crossed, and on this evidence, we will be watching out for any future tour announcements!

Some might find it strange to see Britain's very own Queen of the Blues, Elles Bailey, included on this particular roster, however, 'Woman Like Me', vindicates, if needed, the inclusion of this, genre-crossing, multi-talented artist, who also walked away with our 2019 WRC Best Reviewed CD award for 'Road I Call Home'. No such genre issues though for the remaining bands on CD1, with all three once again bringing back live pre-Covid treasured memories, namely the beer-swilling Aussie rockers Massive ('Rise'), the highlight of Ramblin' Man Fair's Rising Stage in July 2017, Wolf Jaw ('I Ain't Ready), from the depths of The Black Country, formerly The Bad Flowers, who left London's O2 Academy in a wake of blood, sweat and ringing ears, when we first saw them supporting Crobot on Referendum night back in June 2016, and finally, Hard Rock band Dead Man's Whiskey ('War Machine'), who we saw in their London hometown, supporting Bigfoot at The Underworld in October 2017.

The legendary Phil Campbell, And The Bastard Sons, open CD2 with 'Son Of A Gun', that sees Mr. C., once of Motorhead for over 30 years, and his three sons, Tyla, Dane and Todd, play some, not unsurprisingly, kick bottom Rock and Roll. For The Dust Coda's, 'When The Tide Comes In', we cast our minds back nearly three years ago to the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia, where the London-based Rock outfit so impressed their home following and more. And talking of the 'Smoke', 'World On Fire', by London based guitarist and singer songwriter, Jack J Hutchinson, is the first single from his next studio album, 'The Hammer Falls' - a four-minute slab of Hard Rock that mixes a brutal Sabbath-esque opening riff, a middle 8 with hints of Floyd, before his band come crashing back in for the finale. And as for simple, no-nonsense Power Rock, 'Iron Cross' from Leicester's finest Skam, is an absolute corker from the trio, taken from their 2017 album 'The Amazing Memoirs of Geoffrey Goddard'.

Further proof of the undoubted quality on display here, are two further past recipients of our annual WRC awards. With an under-current of new younger bands beginning to tread the boards, Kent’s four-piece rockers ‘Collateral’ won our 2018 WRC 'One's To Watch' award following the release of their '4 Shots' EP', and 'Merry Go Round' is further evidence that these guys are still going in the right direction, including a festival date in their home county, at Faversham's A New Day on Sunday 22nd August. Indeed, it's a similar story for Blues-tinged Rock five-piece Doomsday Outlaw, and their offering, 'Turn Me Loose', after the Derbyshire band won our 2018 WRC Best Support Band award, when we witnessed their monumental chunky riffs and groove-laden tunes supporting Graham Bonnet at London's The Underworld in Camden.

Known for having a reputation as one of the UK's hardest working bands, if you're looking for Norfolk's version of The Black Crowes, then look no further than five-piece Southern Rock band Bad Touch, with 'I Get High', taken from their critically acclaimed last studio album, 'Kiss The Sky'. Heading further North-West, possibly the find of Ramblin' Man Fair's 2018 Rising Stage, Gorilla Riot are a 5-piece bundle of excitement from Manchester, reminiscent of early GnR although with a strong vein of Blues flowing through them, as testified by their track, 'Still Doing Time', from their latest album, 'Peach'. Again, proof that young guitar Rock is alive and flourishing, as it is also with four-piece Ryders Creed, who not only burst onto the NWOCR scene in 2017, but also the wider Rock community as well, and 'Money' is yet another huge track from the HRH/Ramblin' Man veterans that has again gone down well amongst their loyal “Creedlings”.

Time to bring on the ladies. Thundermother are four Rock grenades from Sweden, who first came to our attention with their awesome single 'Sleep', which like 'Driving In Style', is taken from their album 'Heat Wave', that was recently re-released as a Deluxe Edition, with a bonus CD including no less than ten other previously unreleased tracks. Check it out. "I for one will be first in line to see Rews in the flesh when we break the chains of lockdown. ‘Warriors’ is my album of the moment." Our recent glowing review affirmation, if you needed it, of Rews' reputation as being one of the most exciting female contemporary Rock bands on the circuit, that included their single, 'Today We're Warriors'. Similarly, our review of high energy female Hard Rockers Haxan's latest album, 'White Noise', praised the nine-song collective, including "top anthem", 'Killing Time', as "the best long player I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing so far this year."

Another album we recently reviewed, 'Call To Arms' is taken from Twister's latest, 'Cursed & Corrected', pure classic anthemic Rock, and an amazing debut from a band that undoubtedly has a big future. Taken from their debut album, ‘The Sinner Takes It All', 'The Hate In Me' from South Of Salem, is yet another cult anthem from Bournemouth's finest, who boast a truly original, but recognisable take on both Rock and Metal genres, with a horror twist. Loud, bold and firey, gritty Rock/Pop Lancashire five-piece Bastette takes no prisoners with their fearless lead single, 'Talk About It', taken from their brand new sophomore EP, 'Bastette Exposed', due out on Friday 17th September.

Following the monumental response to their debut album, 'Metamorphosis', superb Hard ’n’ Heavy Manchester inmates, Ward XVI, expertly balance a perfect blend of Rock with the theatrical beauty and intensity of your favourite classic Metal bands, and 'Broken Toys', taken from the album, is no exception. Two further bands on the CD that were also on this year's cancelled Heretic Fest roster were UK Country Rockers Bootyard Bandits, whose catchy contribution, 'Hoedown Showdown', is complemented by a hilarious lego video (seriously - check it out), plus Northern Ireland's answer to The Black Crowes, Blackwater Conspiracy, and 'Soul Revolutionaries' taken from their latest album, 'Two Tails & The Dirty Truth of Love & Revolution'. Unfortunately, our planned interview with the latter, after their 2017 Ramblin' Man Fair Rising Stage set, didn't materialise, which proved even more galling, given our spy in the crowd said they were great, to such an extent that he bought their album, 'Smooth The Breeze', from their merch stand. Praise indeed!

Despite both being championed in the past by the much missed WRC Award winning radio show, Rock On The Ridge, young Hard rockers King Creature, who were first catapulted into the limelight when they supported Motörhead on their last ever UK gig, and Merseyside Hard Rock band Ashen Reach, are again filed under "not crossed paths with before". Thankfully, not any more, as their respective huge meaty sound on 'Captives', plus on the groovin, headbanging 'Fighting For My Life', saw both tracks added to our popular WRC Radio playlist. Last but not least, one final band under our 'NCPWB' category is Blackpool five-piece Rock band, Takeaway Thieves, and 'This Is Rock N Roll', with their old school Rock vibe and Glam swagger, all complemented by a pinging, sleazy, self isolation video. Check it out.

To help commemorate the 2 CD launch, various packages also include a NWOCR 'Class of 2021' tea towel plus a special t-shirt, therefore you can literally say that you have "been there, done that, got the t-shirt." Although any self-respecting lover of all things Rock, will not only be simply ecstatic with the quality of the music showcased here, but will also be given a warm reminder, of what we are all really desperately missing, i.e. live music! NWOCR Rocks!

AJ