It's that time again, where I reflect over the albums I've listened to over the year, and pick my top 30.
Saturday, 30 December 2017
Friday, 29 December 2017
Thursday, 28 December 2017
Wednesday, 27 December 2017
Monday, 25 December 2017
Sunday, 24 December 2017
Saturday, 23 December 2017
Friday, 22 December 2017
Sunday, 17 December 2017
Gig Review: HIM & Biters at The Academy, Manchester (UK) 16/12/2017
Earlier this year, Goths across the world went into mourning as HIM announced that they were going to call it a day. I've been a massive fan since their Razorblade Romance album came out, which is one of my favourite records of all time, so I was upset to hear the news. The silver lining in this black cloud was that they announced a farewell tour. I booked my tickets straight away, which was a wise move, as all of the UK dates sold out very quickly.
I arrived nice and early to catch the support band, retro-rockers Biters (see my review of their album here), and I'm really glad that I braved the long queue in the freezing cold to make sure I didn't miss their set.
Friday, 15 December 2017
Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Album Review: IRON MAIDEN - The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter
01. If Eternity
Should Fail (Live at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia - Friday 6th May 2016)
02. Speed of
Light (Live at Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town, South Africa - Wednesday 18th
May 2016)
03. Wrathchild (Live at 3 Arena, Dublin, Ireland - Saturday 6th May 2017)
04. Children of
the Damned (Live at Bell Center, Montreal, Canada - Friday 1st April 2016)
05. Death or
Glory (Live at Wroclaw Stadium, Wroclaw, Poland - Sunday 3rd July 2016)
06. The Red and
the Black (Live at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan - Thursday 21st April 2016)
07. The Trooper
(Live at Estadio Jorge Magico Gonzalez, San Salvador, El Salvador - Sunday 6th
March 2016)
08. Powerslave
(Live at Plaza Dell'Unita D'Italia, Trieste, Italy - Tuesday 26th July 2016)
09. The Great
Unknown (Live at MRA Arena, Newcastle, England - Sunday 14th May 2017)
10. The Book of
Souls (Live at Download Festival, Donington, England - Sunday 12th June 2016)
11. Fear of the
Dark (Live at Arena Castelao, Fortaleza, Brazil - Thursday 24th March 2016)
12. Iron Maiden
(Live at Estadio Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Tuesday 15th March
2016)
13. The Number
of the Beast (Live at Open Air Festival, Wacken, Germany - Thursday 4th August
2016)
14. Blood
Brothers (Live at Download Festival, Donington, England - Sunday 12th June
2016)
15. Wasted Years
(Live at HSBC Arena, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Thursday 17th March 2016)
Friday, 8 December 2017
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
Tuesday, 5 December 2017
TV Series Review: MARVEL'S THE PUNISHER (Season 1)
Marvel have really outdone themselves over the last few years with their string of hugely popular movies, and now TV series, all set in the same universe. I've been reading the comics since I was a kid, and love all of the movies too, even the one with Dolph Lundgren in! The Punisher is easily one of my favourite Marvel characters, so it was extremely important to me that they nailed it with this new series.
Monday, 4 December 2017
Album Review: THE RELENTLESS - American Satan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
01. Me Against
the Devil
02. Hell Is For
Children (Pat Benatar cover)
03. Let Him Burn
04. Nights in
White Satin (The Moody Blues cover)
05. We Lose
Control
06. Save a
Prayer (Duran Duran cover)
07. Cadence of
My Heart
08. Personal
Jesus (Depeche Mode cover)
09. Forgive Me
Mother
10. Hey Hey, My
My (Into The Black) (Neil Young cover)
American Satan is a movie that was released in October 2017, about a young band called The Relentless, following their dreams in Los Angeles. They end up making a Faustian deal to ensure their success, but this comes at a price. It stars Metal's Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides) and Ben Bruce (Asking Alexandria) as two of the band members.
I saw a trailer for the movie and it looked awesome. The music sounded great too. Unfortunately, it hasn't been released outside of America yet, but the second it does, I'll be on it!
Initially, I thought "Fuck! Andy Biersack has never sounded so good!" Then the penny dropped. He's just the actor. The singer is actually Remington Leith from the band Palaye Royale. The Relentless, although credited as the artist on the soundtrack, is an imaginary band anyway, so who cares? He sounds amazing, regardless.
I saw a trailer for the movie and it looked awesome. The music sounded great too. Unfortunately, it hasn't been released outside of America yet, but the second it does, I'll be on it!
Initially, I thought "Fuck! Andy Biersack has never sounded so good!" Then the penny dropped. He's just the actor. The singer is actually Remington Leith from the band Palaye Royale. The Relentless, although credited as the artist on the soundtrack, is an imaginary band anyway, so who cares? He sounds amazing, regardless.
The music harks back to the 'over the top' Heavy Metal soundtracks from 80's Horror movies, but with an Industrial sheen, coupled with a Nu-Metal heaviness that allows this record to tread that magical line between retro and contemporary. This is also compounded by a number of the tracks being classic covers, which are all given a modern twist, but retain the qualities that made them great the first time round.
The whole album is really good, but were I forced to pick favourites, I'd go for Me Against The Devil, and the haunting renditions of Nights In White Satin and Hey Hey, My My, which are nothing short of superb.
The American Satan soundtrack is a surprisingly magnificent release, and is up there with The Crow, The Lost Boys, and Suck. I really hope that the movie is as good as the music. I'll let you all know in due course.
