As AFI play to a fairly full SECC in Glasgow, you have to wonder whether they have been away for too long. Everything on stage sounds great. The Blood Album is their best album in a long time and songs like ‘So Beneath You’ manage to fill the cavernous room. Davey Havok’s voice is untouchable and as he roars through ’17 Burials’ it feels like they should be laying waste to the place. So, why does no one care? Most of the crowd are stood still, watching respectfully but with as much passion as an atheist who has been roped into Sunday service. It’s been eight years since AFI were in the UK and you worry that people have simply stopped caring. What you’re watching on stage suggests that this band can still be a big deal and ‘Miss Murder’ perks people up, but judging by Glasgow, they’ve got a way to go before the UK is back on side.
Download So Far
The Download line-up is shaping up and, as usual, it is setting itself up to be one hell of a weekend. While the headliners all felt a bit same old, same old the real joy is usually to be found on the lower stages, where you can see the bands that will hopefully be headlining in 10 years ripping it up in front of a handful of fans.
Headliners
Where is the next Metallica? Where is the next Iron Maiden? Where is the next (insert big rock and roll band here)? They are questions that pop up at least once a year. Usually around the time that Download announces a batch of headliners who are near identical to the ones announced a couple of years before. But the question is, do we need a new Metallica? Do we need Iron Maiden? Or is this obsession with bands needing to sell out arenas preventing the next generation of metal bands making the step up to festival headliners?
A Defence of Nu-Metal
Over the last few years, nu-metal has become the music industries whipping boy. Articles like this one, are a common sight on my Twitter feed, while even I have been knowing to throw the occasional barb in its direction. Yet, is that really fair? Is nu-metal the giant pile of shit we all like to make it out to be? No. No it really bloody isn’t.
Sonisphere Review: Saturday
With the weather continuing to be surprisingly strong, despite some light showers overnight which as it meant waking up to a tent that didn’t feel like a sauna was actually quite welcome, the Saturday at Sonisphere kicked off with Tesseract on the main stage. I only caught about five minutes of them before I headed off to Bohemia, but I felt it was worth throwing in that they sounded awesome. Continue reading “Sonisphere Review: Saturday”
Ramblings About Wrestling 