Weatherstate is what happens when you merge pop-punk fuelled lyrics with garage rock and then chuck in a bit of Weezer. I’m sure I could come up with a fancy name for that but I think I’ll just stick to describing their latest EP, Dumbstruck, as punk rock. I’ll also throw in that is a combination that you need in your ears.
Top 20 Albums of the Year
Today I am going to tell you my top twenty albums of the year, but before I get to that I think it would be remiss of me to not mention the death of Lemmy Kilmister. There are going to be a thousand people writing a thousand words about Lemmy over the next few days. Most of whom are in a better place to do so than me. However, for my two pence, the man was rock and roll. Few have lived as fast and as loud as Lemmy and none of them have done it until the age of 70. His blend of punk rock attitude with rock and roll has been influential on everyone who likes to play loud and he will he be missed. In tribute today, I suggest you play your music a lot louder and live life just that little bit wilder. Anyway, on with the show.
Covering the Best
Covers. They are as much a part of music as anything else. A great cover can put a band on the map while murdering a classic is never a good career move. So what makes a cover stand up? Why are people like Marilyn Manson and Johnny Cash as well known for their interpretations of someone else’s music as they are their own? While others efforts are scorned.
That’s Not Metal
My musical education took off when I discovered the Metal Hammer Podcast. It was the show that kindled my love of hardcore and introduced me to a whole host of bands that I still love today. When it ended, I was genuinely gutted. It was a weekly insight into heavy music provided by a group of guys who knew what they were talking about. Therefore, I was rather chuffed when Terry Bezer and Stephen Hill, who were both on the aforementioned podcast, started That’s Not Metal. A new podcast which is looking to fill the gap the death of that show left in my life.
Skindred
There’s a common misconception that Skindred are purely a live band. While there is no denying that you haven’t truly experienced Skindred until you have seen them live. It does hide the fact that they have one hell of a back catalogue. While their last album, Kill the Power, seemed to be an attempt to shoot for the stars and may have failed (although I personally quite liked it) their discography to that point had been near flawless. Joining those lofty standards is Volume and it’s unsurprisingly brilliant.
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?
Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria are one of those bands who are often taken for granted. Having been an active since 1995 and been releasing albums since 2002, they have almost always been there and it’s sometimes easy to forget just how good they are. A couple of middling albums haven’t helped their cause and bring us to the here and now with The Color Before the Sun, their first album to move away from The Amory Wars storyline. Instead, it finds lead singer and guitarist Claudio Sanchez facing fatherhood and the whole world of responsibilities that come with that. It just happens to also be the best thing they’ve done in years.
Ramblings About Wrestling 