HARD ROCK HELL NWOBHM 02 ACADEMY SHEFFIELD

It’s clear that the inaugural HRH NWOBHM festival has piggy-backed on or at least benefited from Brofest’s ability to persuade long-defunct bands to reform. Of the army of acts on the two-day line-up, many have already trodden the Brofest boards. But a good idea is a good idea, and the bands themselves are unlikely to care whether they’re revisiting their glory years in Newcastle, Nuneaton, Newport or – for the next 48 hours – right here in Sheffield. While London has a proud NWOBHM history of its own, it’s somehow fitting to witness this particular event taking place beyond the rapacious event horizon of the Capital. Even during the winter of discontent from which the NWOBHM sprang, the regions – in this case the former mining and heavy industrial hub of South Yorkshire – laboured under an investment and infrastructure deficit when compared to London and the South East in general. Sheffield may have come a long way since 1979, and avoided being nuked a la ‘Threads’, but in the frozen half-light of a December dusk, it’s all too easy for the mind to time-hop back to the bleaker days of Saxon’s ‘Hungry Years’.

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In April, British heavy metal veterans Mythra will release a brand new studio album entitled ‘Still Burning’. The album will be available as a vinyl LP, CD and digital download, and will be released via High Roller Records.

“It’s the first time the band have gone into the studio and recorded a complete album all in one go. We flew out to Poland in October 2016 to work with Bart Gabriel (Crystal Viper) as producer. It was a superb experience and we all had a great time working with him.  We were totally blown away when High Roller Records signed us to record the album and cannot thank them enough. Their support has been incredible,” says vocalist, Vince High. “We intended to stay true to our NWOBHM roots and achieved our goal. The 11 tracks have tons of power and energy, twin lead guitar breaks, driving bass, thunderous drums and big choruses. Everything fans would expect from a Mythra album,” he adds. The album’s cover artwork was painted by Roberto Toderico, an Italian artist known for his previous collaboration with the band, as well as Tygers Of Pan Tang and Quartz.

Last year Mythra released the ‘Warriors Of Time: The Anthology’ album, which featured a collection of … Read More