Shiny Hair

OK so this isn't a serious post, but I wanted to say something because I can't count the amount of times I've stood behind someone at a gig with lovely, long, soft, smelling of shampoo, hair, only to have them turn around and see that its a bearded man! So here's to all the beautiful man hair. Merry Christmas!

Marco of Nightwish

Jocke of Hardcore Superstar

Pär of Sabaton

Alex of Leaves Eyes/Atrocity

Danzig

Those shiny locks put me to shame!

Hardcore Superstar at Koko

On Friday I went to see Hardcore Superstar at Koko in Camden.

They were supporting Buckcherry, but they just blow them out of the water, I'm really not a fan at all of Buckcherry.

(Again apologies for the sound, my phone doesn't cope well with loudness!)

They played so well, they were super energetic and got everyone singing and shouting and jumping all through their set. It was probably the best performance I've ever experienced, it was really special.

The singer, Jocke, has an amazing voice and he delivered it very well live.

There was a lot of enthusiasm for them in the crowd and this added to the atmosphere.

I can't wait for them to do a headliner tour - I'm itching to see them play again!

During the song "Last Call for Alcohol" They got about 6 girls up on stage and gave them all a shot of jaegermeister, which was something a bit different!

They played a fairly long set for a support band, and came back on stage twice. I'm very glad they did as Buckcherry were just awful by comparison.

Here are a couple of videos by someone who didn't have camera issues!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guLOYRA9BLo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49FBNKRIhGs

Children of Bodom

I plan to go to Bloodstock festival again this summer and after looking up which bands they had announced so far I saw that Children of Bodom were on the lineup and I decided to check them out.

I've not listened to a lot of their songs yet, but I've fallen in love with this one straight away!

Lacuna Coil at The Roundhouse

Last  night I saw Lacuna Coil play at The Roundhouse. They were supporting Paradise Lost who I wasn't particularly interested in after I saw them at Bloodstock festival last year and the singer pretty much whinged the whole set.
Lacuna Coil are one of my favourite bands and I was really excited to see them. Again I arrived a little late and the first support (Katatonia) were about half way through. They sounded good and I definitely plan to check them out.
I managed to wiggle my way to close to the front for the start of Lacuna Coil, but unfortunately had a very tall and very active guy standing in front of me so for the first couple of songs I was constantly trying to avoid an elbow to the face. However I managed to move away from him and I could see much better after that.
They played really well and the sound was close to perfect. They were very friendly and energetic and Cristina and Andrea shared the interaction with the crowd well, which I had wondered how they would do.
I was a little disappointed with the crowd's enthusiasm. Other than the nuts guy in front of me nobody was really moving around much and I heard a few people shouting for Paradise Lost to come on and that they were bored with Lacuna Coil, which upset me a bit. It would be nice if people who weren't interested wouldn't spoil it for the people who are.
That said I had a great time and I'm definitely going to try and get tickets next time they tour as headliners.

Battle Beast

Today I was introduced to Battle Beast: (Wait for her to let rip at the chorus!)

I am always searching for inspirational female vocalists and Noora Louhimo is certainly one of them. If you have any doubt watch her sing live:

She has such a versatile voice, from the soft verse introductions to the unusual gravelly verse endings to the roar of the chorus.

Sonic Syndicate - Powershift

What an amazing song. Instantly gave me butterflies.

The Agonist & Threat Signal at The Garage

Last night I saw The Agonist play at The Garage in Islington.

Supporting were Threat Signal, Arsis, and Dawn Heist. I arrived late and missed most of Dawn Heist so I can't really comment. Arsis were fairly good but nothing special in my opinion. I'd have to listen to more of their music.

Threat signal were great with a very high energy performance. (Please excuse the terrible audio quality)

They were very good at getting the audience involved and I felt good and ready for The Agonist by the time they came on stage.

For the first few songs The Agonist had a bit of sound trouble, I could barely hear Alissa (vocals) and she looked as though she was unhappy with what she was hearing back too. However they carried on without making a fuss and the sound improved after a few songs.

They played really well and interacted with the audience well too, I got to shake the hand of Chris (bass) at the end. (Again I'm sorry for the sound on the videos.)

The Distillers

Somehow I've managed to ignore this band until today and suddenly I found this song:

She has such a gutsy voice and attitude. What a snarl. I also love how low she sings.

Sadly the band are no more but I will definitely be buying up their albums to work through.

Mix CD

Today I made a mix CD for a long drive. I make a mix CD every time I collect enough new tracks, so these tracks are all new to me within the past 3 months or so. Here is the track list, hopefully it will keep me awake!

The Agonist - You're Coming with Me, The Escape, Predator and Prayer, Anxious Darwinians.

Architects - Alpha Omega, These Colours Don't Run, Daybreak, Truth Be Told, Devil's Island, Unbeliever.

Avantasia - The Watchmaker's Dream, Where Clock Hands Freeze, Sleepwalking, Saviour In The Clockwork.

Avenged Sevenfold - Critial Acclaim, Almost Easy, Scream, Afterlife, Unbound, Brompton Cocktail, Lost.

Crashdiet - Anarchy, California, Circus, Drinkin' Without You, Damaged Kid, Excited.

Danzig - Twist of Cain, She Rides, Soul on Fire, Am I Demon, Mother, Possession, End of Time.

Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me, Photograph, Let's Get Rocked, Animal, Heaven Is, Rocket, Make Love Like a Man.

Gojira - (The whole of L'Enfant Sauvage album!)

Halestorm - Love Bites.

Hardcore Superstar - C'mon Take On Me, One More Minute, Above The Law, Are You Gonna Cry Now, Stranger Of Mine, Because Of You.

Indica - Scissor Paper Rock.

Lacuna Coil - Against You, Upsidedown, End of Time, I Don't Believe in Tomorrow, Intoxicated, Survive, I Won't Tell You, Underdog.

 

Music and Charity

I previously mentioned in my post about Bloodstock Festival the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, and I thought I should talk about other charity work supported by people in music. The two examples which I immediately thought of were:

Gojira and Sea Shepherd
Gojira are a French band who (according to wikipedia) are a blend of "technical death metal, thrash metal, and progressive metal" whatever that means. I'm not big on putting bands into categories.
I would say their music is vocally heavy, groove based, rhythmically complex. The best way to describe them is to show you some of their music.

Their music is themed around environmental messages and they support and endorse the charity Sea Shepherd which aims to educate and take action to protect the marine environment and wildlife.

The Agonist and PETA

The Agonist are a Canadian band whose music I would describe as being quite complicated - often changing time signatures and using unusual chord progressions and intervals in the vocal melodies.

The singer, Alissa White-Gluz, who I mentioned before in my post about women in metal is well known for her vocal range from very soft singing to heavy growls. (This is one of their more accessible tracks)

Alissa is vegan and an active supporter of PETA who are an animal rights organisation. She often speaks in interviews about her views on animal rights and veganism.

Women in Metal

Traditionally Metal has been very male dominated... but this is changing! Here are some of my favourites:

The Agonist- Alissa White-Gluz

Lacuna Coil - Cristina Scabbia

Within Temptation - Sharon Den Adel

In This Moment - Maria Brink

Holyhell - Maria Breon

Nightwish - Tarja Turunen

... And there are so many more! I'm sure I'll do another post on this subject.

Bloodstock Festival 2013

In August I went to Bloodstock Festival which is a heavy metal festival held in Catton Park, Derbyshire.
I went for the Saturday (Hopefully I'll go for the whole weekend next year) and the main bands I went to see were:

Lamb of God

Nationality: American. Themes: Political, Anti-Religion,

Avantasia

Nationality: German. Themes: Mixed/Theatrical (Plenty of guest appearances!)

Sabaton

Nationality: Swedish. Themes: Historical figures and wars.

Gojira

Nationality: French. Themes: The environment.

A few other notes about bloodstock is that it is genuinely one of the most friendly and welcoming atmospheres you can experience, here are a whole mix of people there, of all ages from toddlers to old timers, all with one shared love: Heavy Metal. Unlike a lot of festivals these days it genuinely is about the music.
To sum up the feeling that I get from being part of this community, here is a quote from Simon Hall of Beholder which he said during their set:

"There's a lot of sh*t that happens in this world... but what we have to remember is we're all flesh and blood, and at the moment I'm stood in a field with my best friends... It's about what you have in your heart... It's about the way you live your life."

On this note, Bloodstock festival also supports The Sophie Lancaster Foundation which is a charity set up after a young girl and her boyfriend were violently assaulted for the way that they dressed. She died from her injuries. The charity aims to raise awareness for this kind of hate crime. If people can be taught to be more open minded and less prejudiced this sort of thing should not happen again.

Introduction

This blog is a collection of music and musical experiences which have left me with ringing ears and a buzzing heart. Anyone who loves music will know this feeling. It's incomparable to anything else and in my opinion is one of the most positive feelings a person can feel. I will mostly be talking about Heavy Metal and Rock, but I might stray from that occasionally.
Enjoy.