Rough Cut are a brand new band from South West England (not to be confused with a similarly named hair-metal outfit from the mid-’80s) that has already toured with Crashdiet and have a logo/album cover that screams Reckless Love — but they’re also a band that lacks the professionalism and dynamic appeal that will take them as far as those aforementioned rock groups.

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Lost Earth is an Auckland, New Zealand based project carried out by multi-instrumentalist André Birt (taking on vocal, guitar, bass and keyboard duties) and drummer Brent Martin. The pair have released their debut and self-titled album independently and citing the lack of a live scene for new bands in their homeland the band is a studio-only affair. Having said that; it does have a big sound with a bright production and the drums are very upfront in the mix. Although the band classifies its sound as melodic rock, I would say that it is sounds like very accessible prog rock with a bit of classic rock thrown in. The vocals, although pleasant to listen to, are half-spoken on the whole and prevent some of the songs reaching th