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.
Sunday, 3 December 2017
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Tuesday, 28 November 2017
Monday, 27 November 2017
Sunday, 26 November 2017
Saturday, 25 November 2017
Friday, 24 November 2017
Thursday, 23 November 2017
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Monday, 20 November 2017
Sunday, 19 November 2017
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!).
Saturday, 18 November 2017
Friday, 17 November 2017
Thursday, 16 November 2017
Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Album Review: GUN - Favourite Pleasures
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)
Monday, 13 November 2017
Sunday, 12 November 2017
Friday, 10 November 2017
Wednesday, 8 November 2017
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Friday, 27 October 2017
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Sunday, 22 October 2017
Friday, 20 October 2017
Monday, 9 October 2017
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.....
Monday, 2 October 2017
Saturday, 30 September 2017
Friday, 29 September 2017
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)
Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Monday, 25 September 2017
Sunday, 24 September 2017
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]
