Hollow Meadows may be Richard Hawley’s most personal album yet; which is entirely appropriate, given his etymological note linking the locale’s old name Auley Meadows with his own patronymic, the Hawley family having lived there between the 14th and 17th centuries. Another staging-point on his titular tour of Sheffield, the name refers to a building on the city’s border with the Peak District that served as a hiding-place for the afflicted, be they shell-shocked soldiers from the Great War, defective offspring of the aristocracy, or, as recently as the Sixties, a hospice for psychiatric patients: blighted lives over which a discreet veil, according to the attitude of earlier times, might hopefully be drawn.

This time, featuring a brand new line-up and an extremely powerful track list. “Written in Blood” has an awesome mix of thrashing, screaming vocals with ripping guitar riffs and pounding drums as heard in “Dr. Death”, “Six Feet Under” and “We Arise”. This, combined with the heavier, more melodic songs “A Blackened Resurrection”, “The Bell Of The Reaper” and “In Cold Blood”, gives the album another dimension. It’s both harder and faster than the latest releases – exploding with energy, it won’t leave anyone untouched!

Polish prog act Riverside have been around since 2003 and have released six records and several EPs. Atmospheric, dynamic and melancholic are perfect words in describing their newest release Love, Fear and the Time Machine . It's quite similar to their first album, only with a more mature sound, stronger techninal complexity and a wider range of studio techniques and instruments.

Royal Hunt´s 13th studio album – Devil´s Dozen – stays very true to the original, larger-than-life Royal Hunt sound: with imaginative instrumentation, intricate arrangements, soaring vocals and catchy, massive choruses. Yet the addition of classical musicians/instruments and contemporary, modern day production elements twist the outcome into a unique sonic palette.The band holds tight to the format which defined rock – an album chockfull of carefully crafted songs, recorded and mixed by a team of professionals who know how to combine crystal clear sonics with a weighty punch. Royal Rock… no substitutes!

Rick Braun is a smooth jazz trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist and often producer. Braun, like fellow contemporary jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, has always managed to turn what could be a disadvantage for his chosen instrument into a virtue. That trend continues on Can You Feel It, Braun’s 16th studio album. While contemporary jazz saxophonists sometimes dominate the musical conversation, Braun’s reputation as a collaborator – take note of his work with Boney James, as well as his projects with Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown in the band BWB and with Richard Elliot in duo RnR. He continues to play well with others on Can You Feel It, tapping an all-star lineup of musicians that includes Euge Groove, Brian Culbertson, Elliott Yamin and Jeff Lorber.

When keyboard player Raphael Wressnig – a native of Graz, Austria – sets out to do a soul/blues/funk CD, he definitely doesn’t mess around. He’s gathered together several of the best musicians from the Crescent City and beyond to produce this smooth, stylish album.

Overloading all senses with a relentless onslaught of turbo-charged old school heavy/speed metal in the vein of old Slayer, Running Wild, and Tyrant (US), RANGER'S torrid riffs, twin-guitar assault, intense rapid-fire drumming, pummeling bass onslaught and banshee-like old school vocal delivery thrashes you to oblivion.

The album incorporates diverse instrumentation, including bagpipes and horns, and delves into Incan, Mayan, Slavic and Greek mythology. Rotting Christ frontman Sakis Tolis considered the album "a journey into the knowledge of ancient civilizations and into the occultism that is rising from the dark side of each one of them".

Starr Struck: Best of Ringo Starr, Vol. 2 is Ringo Starr's second official compilation album, released on Rhino.