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.

Continue reading “Philomena” →

01/12/2013 0

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.

Continue reading “Download Announcement 4” →

01/12/2013 0

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.

Continue reading “Hardcore dancing” →

29/11/2013 0

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.

25/11/2013 0

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).

Continue reading “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” →

23/11/2013 0

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.

Continue reading “Letlive – The Blackest Beautiful” →

23/11/2013 0

Gravity

As the end of the year approaches and we look back over it and discuss various end of year lists, Alfonso Curan’s Gravity will surely sit at the top of the ‘most hyped’ list. In the last few months it has been seemingly impossible to stay away from trailers and posters of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney facing the great beyond. Even it’s eventual release has done little to stop the onslaught with it being labelled far and wide with hyperbole like film of the decade/year/ever. Taking that all into account if it manages to live up to such hype it must surely be something special.

Continue reading “Gravity” →

23/11/2013 0

Heart of a Coward w/ Charm the Fury, Malevolence and From Sorrow to Serenity at Classic Grand 18/11/2013

I realise this is bad even by my standards, but my phone refuses to flash when it drops below a certain battery level.

I can’t remember the point when bands on stage started getting younger than me but it does always kind of depress me. From Sorrow to Serenity are the latest example of that as they are handed the chance to open up the show Monday night at the Classic Grand. They are very young, or at least look very young and like many bands that are that young are also kind of generic as they put on a set of heavy djent inspired metal. They are also very reliant on their backing track, so much so that they suffer some technical problems when the drummer doesn’t have one of their songs on his Ipod. Saying that there is certainly nothing horribly wrong with this performance and if these guys go in the right direction they’re worth keeping an eye on.

Continue reading “Heart of a Coward w/ Charm the Fury, Malevolence and From Sorrow to Serenity at Classic Grand 18/11/2013” →

19/11/2013 0

Defenders of the Faith 4, Glasgow Barrowlands 15/11/2013

Defenders of the Faith is becoming a yearly event that those into heavy metal do not want to miss and once again Metal Hammer magazine have outdone themselves by putting together a bill that is sure to appeal to the masses. All this meant that when it rolled into Glasgow last Friday night it was always bound to be an occasion.

Continue reading “Defenders of the Faith 4, Glasgow Barrowlands 15/11/2013” →

19/11/2013 0

Nails w/ Blind To Faith at Classic Grand 13/11/2013

Image courtesy of earsplitcompound.com. My phone died so I couldn’t get one.

Blind to Faith apparently don’t play live shows very often. So to have them on tonight’s bill alongside Nails, who are hitting up the UK for the first time in three years and admit it will probably be another three before they can make it back, just adds to the sense of occasion as the Classic Grand gears itself up for some very very angry men.

Continue reading “Nails w/ Blind To Faith at Classic Grand 13/11/2013” →

14/11/2013 0