It wasn’t that long ago that Children of Bodom were one of the next big things in heavy metal. They perfected a melodic death metal sound that was winning them fans left right and centre. Sadly things begun to go a bit pear shaped, as personal problems and a few dud albums left quite a lot of people scratching their heads wondering what had happened to the Finnish maestro’s. With that in mind latest release Halo of Blood has a lot of pressure on it’s shoulders as it seeks to prove that Alexi Lahio and co still have it.
Hactivist w/ The Algorithm and Incyte at Electric Circus Edinburgh, 30/11/13
Hacktivist are a band that have thrown themselves into the metal worlds conscience in the last couple of years and made one hell of a bang. Combining the down-tuned eight string guitars of the djent movement with grime and hip hop vocals is something that will make many traditional metal heads grind their teeth in anger and the truth is it appears to either inspire hatred or love from most that hear it.
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Sonisphere announcement
So Sonisphere is back after their forced leave of absence in the last two years. It’s forty years since rock and roll first came to Knebworth and they are obviously pulling out all the stops to make sure this time they stick around. A very average Download line up might help them a little bit too.
Saving Mr Banks
Going near Mary Poppins should be a kiss of death to any film. Few films are so ingrained into the heart of the world than Robert Stevenson and Walt Disney’s blend of live action and animation. However, not many films can claim to have Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks on board and with John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) manning the helm it may just be possible for Saving Mr Banks to do the impossible.
Philomena
Steve Coogan‘s career has always been overshadowed by a huge partridge that stand’s in the background. His most famous character has left everything else he’s done lying in the dust and if you were to question people on the street about his other projects they would probably come up short. Therefore, to see him tied so closely to a film like Philomena, where he both stars alongside the always fabulous Judi Dench and is also responsible alongside Jeff Pope for having written it, is a bit of a surprise. Director Stephen Frears is a more obvious fit with his previous films including the Academy Award nominated The Queen.
Download Announcement 4
So Download added another group of bands this week and I figured I might as well keep up my evaluation of the line-up as a whole. It’s also become clear that Sonisphere will be returning with an announcement due on Monday! So look forward to hearing me complaining/celebrating that line up as well. Right now however, we’re heading onto Download street where we now have a couple of second stage headliners as well as some bands fleshing out the lower stages.
Hardcore dancing
This is going to be a rant. Everything I get taught about journalism etc. teaches me not to rant, but I’m still going too because this is a rant about certain types of behaviour at live shows. Said behaviour is the art of hardcore dancing, an example of which can be seen above. Now, hardcore dancing has been going on for a long time but recently it seems to have been making a bit of a comeback with twats in baseball caps or hoodies going into the middle of the pit and fighting thin air like a wally. Now I love a good mosh, I really want to make that clear. If you take moshing out of metal you take out one of the things that makes it so brilliant. However, this practice is the practice of cunts. It’s as simple as that. Even then though, I can accept it if they do it by themselves away from people who don’t wish to be punched in the face. Let the mentally deficient hardcore dance together in a corner and the rest of us can enjoy the show. Recently however, I saw some stuff that was very different and really annoyed me.
Weekly Playlist 25/11/2013
I’ve been forgetting to do this recently, something I’m going to put down to being very busy. So here’s an extra long playlist to make up for it.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hunger Games is very easy to dismiss as the latest Harry Potter/Twilight/Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguin series. However, underneath that young adult fiction sheen it’s a film about a dystopian future where young children kill each other… Okay that’s not that under the radar, but the reality is that’s it a film that does a lot of things right. Not least in it’s portrayal of a strong, independent female character that has an actual personality beyond sitting in a chair moping after a sparkly vampire. Therefore, the second film in the series, Catching Fire, shall undeniably come out to a load of attention and make a shit load of money. (Just as a quick disclaimer I have once again read the book but will be reviewing the film as a separate entity).
Letlive – The Blackest Beautiful
letlive. are one of those rare bands who appear to be the whole package. Whether they are writing songs that blend melody and insanity together in a concoction that is sweet yet sour, heavy yet gentle and all in all just simply intoxicating or taking the time smashing the shit out of things, in a very literal sense sometimes, in live shows which in my own experience bring audiences together in a way that few can do, they seem to do it perfectly. So quite frankly it’s a disgrace that I’ve taken this long to write up a review of The Blackest Beautiful. Particularly as it is without a doubt one of the albums of the year.
Ramblings About Wrestling 