MY TOP 30 HARD ROCK/METAL/GOTH/PUNK/ALT ALBUMS OF 2017

It's that time again, where I reflect over the albums I've listened to over the year, and pick my top 30.

Album Review: SWEET & LYNCH - Unified

01. Promised Land

02. Walk

03. Afterlife

04. Make Your Mark

05. Tried & True

06. Unified

07. Find Your Way

08. Heart Of Fire

09. Bridge Of Broken Lies

10. Better Man

11. Live To Die

Album Review: JOSH TODD & THE CONFLICT - Year Of The Tiger

01. Year Of The Tiger

02. Inside

03. Fucked Up

04. Rain

05. Good Enough

06. The Conflict

07. Story Of My Life

08. Erotic City

09. Push It

10. Atomic

11. Rain (Clean)

Album Review: KOBRA AND THE LOTUS - Prevail I

01. Gotham
02. TriggerPulse
03. You Don't Know
04. Specimen X (Mortal Chamber)
05. Light Me Up
06. Manifest Destiny
07. Victim
08. Check The Phyrg
09. Hell On Earth
10.  Prevail

MY TOP 30 HARD ROCK/METAL/GOTH/PUNK/ALT SINGLES OF 2017

It's taken ages, not to mention some ruthless culling, to bring you my top 30 favourite songs of 2017. With so many amazing tracks released this year, compiling this list has been tough, but I think I've pretty much cracked it.

Album Review: MARILYN MANSON - Heaven Upside Down

01. Revelation #12
02. Tattooed In Reverse
03. We Know Where You Fucking Live
04. Say10
05. Kill4me
06. Saturnalia
07. Je$u$ Cri$i$
08. Blood Honey
09. Heaven Upside Down
10. Threats Of Romance

Album Review: ANTI-FLAG - American Fall

01. American Attraction

02.The Criminals
03. When The Wall Falls
04. Trouble Follows Me
05. Finish What We Started
06. Liar
07. Digital Blackout
08. I Came, I Saw, I Believed
09. Racists
10. Throw It Away
11. Casualty

Album Review: CJ WILDHEART - Blood

01. Tea Leaf

02. Gutless
03. Lazybones
04. Beak
05. 50 Percent Indian
06. Tired Of Sex
07. Kiss It
08. Plastic Invasion
09. Itch
10. Lost In The Game

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.

Album Review: WARRIOR SOUL – Back On The Lash

01. American Idol

02. I Get Fucked Up

03. Back On The Lash

04. Thrill Seeker

05. Goin’ Broke Gettin’ High

06. Black Out

07. I’ve Got The Rock

08. Further Decay

09. That’s How We Roll

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)

Album Review: GHOST - Ceremony And Devotion

01. Square Hammer
02. From The Pinnacle To The Pit
03. Con Clavi Con Dio
04. Per Aspera Ad Inferi
05. Body And Blood
06. Devil Church
07. Cirice
08. Ghuleh/Zombie Queen
09. Year Zero
10. Spoksonat
11. He Is
12. Mummy Dust
13. Absolution
14. Ritual
15. Monstrance Clock

Album Review: LIVING COLOUR - Shade

01. Freedom of Expression (F.O.X.)

02. Preachin' Blues (Robert Johnson cover)

03. Come On

04. Program

05. Who Shot Ya (Notorious B.I.G cover)

06. Always Wrong

07. Blak Out

08. Pattern in Time

09. Who's That

10. Glass Teeth

11. Invisible

12. Inner City Blues (Marvin Gaye cover)

13. Two Sides

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.

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.

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.

Album Review: BLACK SABBATH - The End (Live)

CD1

01. Black Sabbath

02. Fairies Wear Boots

03. Under The Sun / Every Day Comes And Goes

04. After Forever

05. Into The Void

06. Snowblind

07. Band Introductions

08. War Pigs

09. Behind The Wall Of Sleep

10. Bassically / N.I.B.

Album Review: VAMPS - Underworld

01. Underworld
02. Calling
03. Break Free
04. Don't Hold Back
05. Bleed For Me
06. In This Hell
07. Inside Of Me
08. Rise Or Die
09. Sin In Justice
10. B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Blood)
11. Rise Up

Album Review: TH3 CLIMB - Illusion Of Your Life

01. When All Are Gone

02. So Far
03. If I Could
04. Dreaming Alone
05. Illusion Of Your Life
06. Just Another Lie
07. To The End
08. Present

Album Review: BITERS - The Future Ain't What It Used To Be

01. Let It Roll

02. Stone Cold Love

03. Callin' You Home

04. Don't Turn This Good Heart Bad

05. Gypsy Rose

06. No Stranger To Heartache

07. Vulture City

08. Hollywood

09. Chasin' The Feeling

10. Goin' Back To Georgia

Album Review: HELL IN THE CLUB - See You On The Dark Side

01. We Are On Fire
02. The Phantom Punch
03. Little Toy Soldier
04. I Wanna Swing Like Peter Parker
05. Houston, We've Got No Money
06. A Melody, A Memory
07. Showtime
08. The Misfit
09. Withered In Venice
10. Bite Of The Tongue
11. A Crowded Room

Album Review: BEAST IN BLACK - Beserker

01. Beast in Black

02. Blind and Frozen

03. Blood of a Lion

04. Born Again

05. Zodd the Immortal

06. The Fifth Angel

07. Crazy, Mad, Insane

08. Hell for All Eternity

09. Eternal Fire

10. Go to Hell

11. End of the World

12. Ghost in the Rain 

Album Review: PROPHETS OF RAGE - Prophets Of Rage

01. Radical Eyes
02. Unfuck The World
03. Legalize Me
04. Living On The 110
05. The Counteroffensive
06. Hail To The Chief
07. Take Me Higher
08. Strength In Numbers
09. Fired A Shot
10. Who Owns Who
11. Hands Up
12. Smashit

Album Review: SKARLETT RIOT - Regenerate

01. Break

02. Closer
03. Stand Alone
04. What Lies Beneath
05. Calling
06. Affliction
07. Outcast
08. Paralyzed
09. The Storm
10. Warrior

Album Review: ESPRIT D'AIR - Constellations

01. Ignition

02. Rebirth
03. Guiding Light
04. The Hunter
05. Starstorm
06. The Awakening
07. Reminisce
08. Versus
09. Shizuku (Bonus Track)
10. Grudge (Bonus Track)
11. Deai (Bonus Track)

Movie Review: THE BABYSITTER (2017)

The Babysitter is a 'Netflix Original' Horror Comedy starring the ludicrously attractive Samara Weaving (Ash vs Evil Dead and the dreadful Australian TV soap Home and Away).

EP Review: CROSSFAITH - Freedom

01. Freedom (Feat. Rou Reynolds)

02. Rockstar Steady (Feat. Jesse)

03. Diavolos

Album Review: PRIEST - New Flesh

01. The Pit

02. Vaudeville

03. History In Black

04. Populist

05. The Cross

06. Private Eye

07. Nightmare Hotel

08. Virus

09. Call My Name

10. Reloader

Movie Review: JIGSAW (2017)

I've been a huge fan of the Saw movies since they started, and it's easy to see why Saw has become one of the biggest franchises in modern Horror. The whole idea of the 'games' is so simple yet brilliant, and opens the doors for all manner of ingenuitive traps culminating in wonderfully shocking and savage death scenes. However, what made the first couple of films truly magnificent were the twists in the story. I feel that as the franchise went on, the writers struggled to find new twists that would genuinely surprise the audience, and the compulsory twists became predictable and, in some cases, a bit shit. I was glad that the Saw series ended when it did, before spiralling into the world of 'straight to DVD' low budget cash grabs as so many other franchises have fallen into in the past, tarnishing their legacy (I'm looking at you in particular, Hellraiser!).

Album Review: THE HAUNTED - Strength In Numbers

01. Fill The Darkness With Black

02. Brute Force

03. Spark

04. Preachers Of Death

05. Strength In Numbers

06. Tighten The Noose

07. This Is The End

08. The Fall

09. Means To An End

10. Monuments

Album Review: SALTIMBANKYA - Masquerade: A Circus Drama

01. Prologue - Masquerade (Feat. Noel Cordoba)
02. Open Your Eyes
03. The Voice
04. Gipsy Queen (Feat. Luis Robisco)
05. Blue Moon (Feat. Marti Doria)
06. Go Away
07. Epilogue - A Spark Inside Us
08. Tu Enemigo

Album Review: GWAR - The Blood Of Gods

01. War On Gwar
02. Viking Death Machine
03. El Presidente
04. I'll Be Your Monster
05. Auroch
06. Swarm
07. The Sordid Soliloquy Of Sawborg Destructo
08. Death To Dickie Duncan
09. Crushed By The Cross
10. Fuck This Place
11. Phantom Limb
12. If You Want Blood (You Got It) [AC/DC Cover]

Album Review: INCUBUS - 8

01. No Fun

02. Nimble Bastard

03. State Of The Art

04. Glitterbomb

05. Undefeated

06. Loneliest

07. When I Became A Man

08. Familiar Faces

09. Love In A Time Of Surveillance

10. Make No Sound In The Digital Forest

11. Throw Out The Map

Album Review: GUN - Favourite Pleasures

01. She Knows
02. Here's Where I Am
03. Favourite Pleasures
04. Take Me Down
05. Silent Lovers
06. Black Heart
07. Without You In My Life
08. Tragic Heroes
09. Go To Hell
10. Boy Who Fooled The World
11. (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) (Bonus Track / Beastie Boys cover)
12. 20 Storeys (Bonus Track)
13. Come Undone (Bonus Track)
14. All I Really Need (Bonus Track)

Album Review: BLONDIE - Pollinator

01. Doom or Destiny

02. Long Time

03. Already Naked

04. Fun

05. My Monster

06. Best Day Ever

07. Gravity

08. When I Gave Up on You

09. Love Level

10. Too Much

11. Fragments 

Album Review: OBEY THE BRAVE - Mad Season

01. On Thin Ice

02. Drama

03. On Our Own

04. Mad Season

05. 97 Again

06. Les Temps Sont Durs

07. Low Key

08. Feed The Fire

09. The Distance

10. Way It Goes

11. RIP

12. This Is It

Album Review: ANNIHILATOR - For The Demented

01. Twisted Lobotomy

02. One To Kill

03. For The Demented
04. Pieces Of You
05. The Demon You Know
06. Phantom Asylum
07. Altering The Alter
08. The Way
09. Dark
10. Not All There

Album Review: FOZZY - Judas

01. Judas

02. Drinkin With Jesus

03. Painless

04. Weight Of My World

05. Wordsworth Way

06. Burn Me Out

07. Three Days In Jail

08. Elevator

09. Running With The Bulls

10. Capsized

11. Wolves At Bay

Album Review: H.E.A.T - Into The Great Unknown

01. Bastard Of Society

02. Redefined

03. Shit City

04. Time On Our Side

05. Best Of The Broken

06. Eye Of The Storm

07. Blind Leads The Blind

08. We Rule

09. Do You Want It

10. Into The Great Unknown

Album Review: L.A. GUNS - The Missing Peace

01. It's All The Same To me

02. Speed

03. A Drop Of Bleach

04. Sticky Fingers

05. Christine

06. Baby Gotta Fever

07. Kill It Or Die

08. Don't Bring A Knife To A Gunfight

09. The Flood's The Fault Of The Rain

10. The Devil Made Me Do It

11. The Missing Peace

12. Gave It All Away

Album Review: PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES - That Shallot

01. In Yer Face

02. C U Next Tuesday

03. None Of Your Fucking Business

04. Wrong

05. Silicone Beer Gut

06. Youth Of Today

07. Say What You Want

08. Trampkiller

09. When Girlfriends Attack

10. What Next?

11. Crap Californian Punk Band (Feat. Lars from Rancid)

12. Honesty

13. 17 Red

14. Pissedenstein

Album Review: AUTOGRAPH - Get Off Your Ass

01. Get Off Your Ass

02. Every Generation
03. All I Own
04. You Are Us, We Are You
05. Meet Me Half Way
06. I Lost My Mind In America
07. All Emotion
08. Watch It Now
09. Ready To Get Down
10. Turn Up The Radio (Live)

Album Review: PVRIS - All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell

01. Heaven

02. Half

03. Anyone Else

04. What's Wrong

05. Walk Alone

06. Same Soul

07. Winter

08. No Mercy

09. Separate

10. Nola 1

Gig Review: STRAY FROM THE PATH & CAPSIZE at Rebellion, Manchester (UK) 08/10/2017

Being useless, I turned up late to the show and missed Renounced and Obey The Brave. What was really annoying was that Obey The Brave were scheduled to go on at 8:45pm as the third band on the bill. They went on second, and I missed them, which was a real shame. I sped up the motorway to make sure I was in time for their set, but alas, someone decided to put them on early and I was fucked out of seeing them. I saw a few other people in their T-Shirts turn up late, and they looked noticebly pissed off about this last minute, unannounced reshuffle. To ease my woes, I bought their new album from their merch stall. Anyway.....

Album Review: BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION - BCCIV

01. Collide

02. Over My Head

03. The Last Song For My Resting Place

04. Sway

05. The Cove

06. The Crow

07. Wanderlust

08. Love Remains

09. Awake

10. When the Morning Comes

Album Review: STRAY FROM THE PATH - Only Death Is Real

01. The Opening Move

02. Loudest In the Room

03. Goodnight Alt-Right

04. Let's Make a Deal

05. They Always Take the Guru

06. Plead the Fifth

07. Strange Fiction (feat. Keith Buckley)

08. All Day & a Night (feat. Bryan Garris)

09. The House Always Wins (feat. Vinnie Paz)

10. Only Death Is Real

Album Review: VINCE RIPPER AND THE RODENT SHOW - Planet Shockorama

01. Planet Claire (The B52's cover)

02. Teenagers From Mars (Misfits cover)

03. 7 And 7 Is (Love cover)

04. Outer Limits

05. The Invasion Is Coming (The Invasion cover)

06. I Can't Find My Mind (The Cramps cover)

07. Silver Machine (Hawkwind cover)

08. Rocket U.S.A (Suicide cover)

09. Love Me (Jerry Lott cover)

10. The Blob (The Five Blobs cover)

11. Mystery Plane (The Cramps cover)

12. Flying Saucers Rock And Roll (Billy Riley cover)

13. EST, Trip To The Moon (Alien Sex Fiend cover)

14. Scary Monsters (David Bowie cover)

Album Review: 3TEETH - Shutdown.exe

01. Divine Weapon

02. Pit Of Fire

03. Atrophy

04. Oblivion Coil

05. Shutdown

06. Degrade

07. Tower Of Disease

08. Tabula Umbra

09. Voiceless

10. Slavegod

11. Insubstantia

12. B.O.A

13. Away From Me

Album Review: REX BROWN - Smoke On This

01. Lone Rider

02. Crossing Lines

03. Buried Alive

04. Train Song

05. Get Yourself Alright

06. Fault Line

07. What Comes Around...

08. Grace

09. So Into You

10. Best Of Me

11. One of These Days

Album Review: ARCH ENEMY - Will To Power

01. Set Flame To The Night

02. The Race

03. Blood In The Water

04. The World Is Yours

05. The Eagle Flies Alone

06. Reason To Believe

07. Murder Scene

08. First Day In Hell

09. Saturnine

10. Dreams Of Retribution

11. My Shadow and I

12. A Fight I Must Win

13. City Baby Attacked By Rats (Charged G.B.H. cover) [Bonus Track]

Album Review: WINTERSUN - The Forest Seasons

01. Awaken From The Dark Slumber (Spring)

02. The Forest That Weeps (Summer)

03. Eternal Darkness (Autumn)

04. Loneliness (Winter)