alexhaskett

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: In Solitude (self-titled)

Hailing from Sweden In Solitude play metal very much in the same vein as Mercyful fate but brought forward straight into the 21st century and have lyrics fueled by the occult.

The album is filled with memorable riffs, killer solos and vocals which i have to say i really don't hear from any other band which really makes In Solitude stick out.

I fear that they are one of those bands that will never see any large degree of success but really deserve it so if you ever have a moment to check them out, like all my other albums of the week i suggest you give this one a go and if you like what you hear then spread the word!

cheers.

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: Time I by Wintersun

I think as it's approaching the end of 2012 i'm pretty safe in saying that this is my album of the year.

I can't even put it musically into any perticular box. It's most definitely metal but it incoperates so many different elemnts and i have seen in review people calling the muisic contained on the album as majestic, epic and big and i agree 100%. This is a huge record.

If you appreciate good music then i thoroughly recommend you give this some time because it is so SO worth it.

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week:Danger Ahead by Air Raid

https://www.facebook.com/AirRaidOfficial?fref=ts

This weeks album of the week is admitedly an EP but i just have to choose it because i saw this band last week and they simply blew me away.

Air Raid are a traditional metal from Sweden who released this EP at the beginning of the year (and have their debut album coming out soon!).

They have everything you would want out of a band like this. They have great melodies, killer twin guitar attack, pounding drums, catchy chorus' and simply stunning vocals. It's bands like this that show traditional metal is still alive and well and that aslong as you have a real passion for what you do and put your all into it then you don't have to be doing something new.

They also happen to be the nicest group of guys and really appreciative of all the support they get so give them a chance :-)

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: When Darkness Calls by Reverence

I have to admit up until 5 days ago i'd never actually heard of this band and it was only through looking at the related videos section on youtube that i ran into these guys but it is a dead on reminder as to why if you're checking out music you like on youtube that it's always worth looking at that recommended / related bar because you end up finding killer new music such as this.

Reverence are a power metal band featuring members from: Tokyo Blade, Savatage, Crimson Glory, Jack Starr's Burning Starr and Funny Money and i have to say i love pretty much everything about this album.

If i were to sum it up in one word that word would be 'relentless'

The guitar work and vocals are simply outstanding! Check it out!

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: Carolus Rex by Sabaton

https://www.facebook.com/sabaton?fref=ts

Sabaton are a power metal band from Sweden. The band's main lyrical themes are those of historical wars.

I've been a fan of the band since i first saw them as an opening band at a gig i attended in early 2006 and with their latest release 'Carolus Rex' i could not be any happier. This album may well be my favourite of theirs with ever song being simply killer. It covers different eras of the Swedish Empire's attempts to expand through Europe, particularly regards to the campaigns of Charles XII.

They even released the album in both English and Swedish.

In closing this is power metal done right so give it a go! :-)

Here is the lyrics video for the title track:

[alexhaskett]

Alice Cooper @ Wembley Arena, London (28th October 2012)

On a cold wet day in London it was time for the 3rd Annuel 'Night of Fear' which is always an event with large portions of the crowd dressing up and being greeted at the venue by people dressed up as various monsters / creatures which really adds to the night in making it more than just a regular gig and putting everyone into a great mood ready for the live music ahead.

Loaded

https://www.facebook.com/DuffLoaded

Opening band for the night was Loaded which is fronted by ex-Guns 'N' Roses bass player Duff McKagan.

They are a hard rock band with elements of punk in there and if i'm totally honest they did very little to really grab my attention and there was only a couple moments when it seemed as if their music was really picking up and even then those moments didn't last too long.

Having said that i did notice pockets of people in the crowd who most certainly were into Loaded so i feel that overall as an opening band they did their job by atleast getting the corwd warmed up.

Ugly Kid Joe

https://www.facebook.com/uglykidjoetheband?ref=ts&fref=ts

I actually only discovered these guys at the beginning of the year when a friend of mind gave me a copy of their album 'America's Least Wanted' but they had enough of an impact on me from that point to actually have myself really looking forward to seeing them.

The crowd at this time was really jammed in and i saw alot of 'Ugly Kid Joe' t-shirts so i wasn't the only one looking forward to their set and they most certainly did not disappoint. Playing the songs they are most well known for such as 'Milkman's Son' Everything About You' ' Cats In The Cradle' and 'Neighbor'

They also through in tracks from their new EP 'Stairway To Hell' which also seemed to go down well.

The best thing about their set for me was the fact that this was the first time in quite awhile that i have seen a support band get the crowd into it to the point of having the whole crowd jumping and interacting with the band. Ugle Kid Joe really did have the audience in the palm of their hand.

Alice Cooper

https://www.facebook.com/AliceCooper?fref=ts

After about a 40 minute wait Alice Cooper hit the stage with his band and simply showed why he is a music legend.

This was my 9th time seeing him and he managed to show exactly why people such as myself keep coming back. You would think after seeing him a fair amount of times that there would be no surprises but how wrong was i. He played 'House of Fire' and 'He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)' which filled me with the giddy joy of a school girl and then paid tribute to his fallen brothers Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Moon by playing a song by each of them with banners dropping down showing their birth date and death date which for me was a real highlight of the set.

Lastly, what i feel has really kicked his live show up a couple of notches is his new guitarist Orianthi who is truly extraordinary and in my opinion has more balls and swagger than 99% of male rock guitarists (reviewers note: I had a mjor eargasm during her solo for Jimi Hendrix's 'Foxy Lady).

Fan filmed footage from the night:

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: Silverthorn by Kamelot

https://www.facebook.com/kamelotofficial?fref=ts

I have to admit although their last couple of releases had their moments on the whole they failed to pull me in so i only really checked out their new release 'Silverthorn' to see what their new lead vocalist was all about.

I'm glad i did because this new album is a definate step up with some serious hooks throughout the album (example being the chorus of their single 'Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife which i've had stuck in my head all day). It's always great to have vocals coming in from people i'm a fan of from other bands. In this case it's Elize Ryd of Amaranthe who has been touring with Kamelot for a little while now and her vocals fit in so well.

The best way i can describe Kamelot is as a symphonic metal band which is fronted by a man rather than a woman (which is normally what you get from this form of music) with touches of power metal and even progressive metal thrown in there.

I also have to say i prefer the vocals of Tommy Karevik to previous vocalist Roy Khan

Here's the lead single off of 'Silverthorn'

[alexhaskett]

New music video from Kobra and The Lotus

Here's the new and most excellent music video for '50 Shades of Evil' by Canadian heavy metal band Kobra and The lotus!

Check it out if you like killer music \m/!!

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: Requiem For The Indifferent by Epica

https://www.facebook.com/epica?fref=ts

Since getting into hard rock / metal i have to admit symphonic metal was never one of those sub-genres that i took much notice of but for whatever reason this year has been a turning point in that respect and i've found myself listening to more than i ever have in the past.

Like most other symphonic metal albums 'Requiem For The Indifferent' was an album that i had to listen through a few times before i found myself really pulled in but once it started tugging i found myself love pretty much everything about it. I love that not only do we get the angelic vocal work of Simone Simons but we get touches of harsh vocals from Rythmn guitarist Mark Jansen which is a very distinctive part of Epica's sound.

When it comes to this album / band you won't get anything new but what you will get is consistancy throughout and music that you can tell has had alot of thought and effort put in which i feel should be supported because far too often there is a severe lack of these in what gets pushed upon us in the media.

My favourite track on the album is 'Internal Warfare' which contains one of the catchiest chorus' i have heard in sometime with Simone's vocals just cutting right through me.

Here's a music video for album track 'Storm The Sorrow'

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: A World Destroyer by Degradead

https://www.facebook.com/degradead

These guys may not be from Gothenburg, they're from Stockholm. What is Sweden known for? Thats right, Melodic Death Metal.

I saw these guys as the opening band for the current Overkill - Killfest 2012 tour and they blew me away.

'A World Destroyer' is their latest release and it really has all that i love about melodeath in it. It's hard, heavy and also contains fantastic hooks with great melodies. Degradead certainly don't break any new grounds when it comes to this kind of metal but they do it very well and that is something that has been missing from the melodeath scene for a little while so check these guys out and see what you think.

[alexhaskett]

Reckless Love @ Camden Barfly, London (11th October 2012)

On what was a very wet day in London i found myself heading off to see Reckles Love at the Camden Barfly (for their 2nd of 4 shows at this perticular venue on this tour). My last few gigs have been on the heavier side of things so i have to admit i was looking forward to attending a gig which would be different.

New Device

https://www.facebook.com/NewDeviceUK

Opening band of the night was New Device who play straight up hard rock which most certainly takes infleunce from bands who were putting out albums around the late 80's and the early 90's.

Honestly, the only negative i can really bring forward about the band is that their frontman and bass player were the only two with any stage presence. The other three members played well but had no impact at all in terms of how the band presents themselves in a live setting.

Aside from that i have to say New Device were a really nice surprise and a really great start to the evening. Their songs were catchy and their lead vocalist has a good voice which resembled Myles Kennedy which isn't a bad thing at all. The other thing the person i was with and myself noticed is that they sounded a little bit like the band 'No Vacancy' that Jack Black gets thrown out of in the 'School of Rock' movie (which isn't supposed to be a slant because i actually liked those songs in that movie).

So, if these guys are ever playing around you and you're free i recommend you check them out because they're good at what they do.

Mallory Knox

https://www.facebook.com/malloryknoxuk

Unfortunatly, the high i was on from the opening band didn't continue onto the 2nd support of the night which came from Mallory Knox.

They were one of those bands that really, to me, commit the ultimate crime in music which is to say they were just down right dull. I spent their entire set bored stiff and checking the time to see when they were going to finish.

The only conclusion i could come to is that they're not a band that is aimed at someone such as myself. The people that had attended the gig specifically for this band appeared to be girls in their mid teens (which i am not haha). I do however think that they are a band that are unfortunatly likely to go places because i feel that they really do have the look and sound that (as i previously stated) people who are just fully getting into music will really dig.

I will always respect people to a degree for getting up on stage infront of a crowd because it's not something i'd ever have the guts to do but when their set finished i was very much relieved.

Reckless Love

https://www.facebook.com/RecklessLove?fref=ts

The expectation i had when coming to see these guys was to have fun and i am very happy to say that they delivered. I think if Reckless Love were to be summed up in one word that word would indeed be 'fun'.

The setlist was a good mix from both their albums that they've released so far aswell as a track that will be appearing on their upcoming EP which sounded very promising.

I think my favourite part of their set was that they make a point of interacting with the crowd and making sure everyone in attendance is having a good time and singing along (which i was doing to the point of wrecking my voice! haha).

Other highlights were the covers they threw into their set which were 'Hysteria' by Def Leppard aswell as a truly rocking rendition of 'Tie Your Mother Down' by Queen where they were joined by Matt Jones of The Treatment (https://www.facebook.com/TheTreatmentOfficial?fref=ts).

Like New Device, this is a band i seriously recommend that you check out live if you get the chance. They're not a joke band by any means but they don't take themselves seriously and they really show all thats great about the glam / hair metal scene.

Fan filmed footage from the gig:

[alexhaskett]

Killfest @ Islington Academy (7th October 2012)

I got to the venue only 5 minutes before the doors opened and yet when i got into the venue i found the barrier almost completly empty so i found myself getting a killer spot for the night that laid ahead.

Degradead

https://www.facebook.com/degradead

These guys were the opening band of the night and i have to admit aside from checking out one of their music videos on youtube i didn't know anything about them.

I have to say i was pleasantly surprised with what they had to offer which was some fantastic melodic death metal which they played whilst showing real enthusiasm and what you don't always see from bands playing such music was the odd big grins aswell as they clearly love what they do.

The only real disappointment to me was that the venue was still pretty empty during their set and i feel if people had all got there for door time then this band would have won a lot of new fans.

Purified in Blood

https://www.facebook.com/purifiedinblood

These guys were the second band on and i have to be honest and say i really wasn't into these guys at all.

Unlike Degradead, this band seemed to be one where you really needed to know the material to be able to distinguish one song from another because i found myself thinking every song sounded the same. Ofcourse this probably isn't the case but in the live setting it's how their music came across.

The positives i can give is that they are a very energetic band who use what they've got. This can be said especially for their frontman who even used the press pit, barrier and even the crowd area (which although fuller than it was for Degradead was still half empty). The only thing i didn't appreciate about his approach was that he could see i clearly wasn't particularly impressed with their music (if i don't like a band i won't be a dick and throw stuff or swear but i instead just stand there and give off no reaction at all) and whilst on the barrier he grabbed me by the top of the head and screamed in my face which honestly nearly result in me fully pushing him away if he had held much longer as it really pissed me off.

3 Inches of Blood

https://www.facebook.com/threeinchesofblood?fref=ts

Now, these guys are a band i've known for years and have actually already seen live in support of their latest album 'Long Live Heavy Metal' so i already knew what to expect.

This is a band that have been around for awhile now and therefore know what they're doing and have a solid back catalogue to create a killer setlist to play live and show those who may not be familiar with them what they're all about.

I was glad to see that by this point the venue was pretty much full and i must not have been the only fan there as 3 Inches of Blood managed to get several pits going throughout their set which was filled with the songs that got me into them years ago such as 'Deadly Sinners' upto material off of their new album such as 'Leather Lord'

If you ever find them playing in your area i recommend you go check them out as they always put on a good show and bands like this need your support.

Overkill

https://www.facebook.com/OverkillWreckingCrew?fref=ts

Time for the headliners of the evening which was New Jersey thrash legends Overkill. What i love is that even after all these years they still clearly love playing to a live crowd and truly appreciate their fans for coming out.

Right from the off with the opening track off of their latest album 'The Electric Age' they had the crowd in a frenzy. The pits were going on behind me throughout the entirety of the bands set and outside of the pit heads were banging throughout (including mine!).

Highlights of the set came with classics such as 'Hello From The Gutter, In Union We Stand' and 'Elmination' . This is not to say this is a band that relies on the classics as they played new songs from both 'The Electric Age' and 'ironbound' which went down a treat! 'Electric Rattlesnake' being a personal favourite.

The best moment of the night is tied between the mass sing-a-long caused by the chorus of 'Old School' which was in a word, fun. And mass yellings / middle fingers to the encore of 'Fuck You'.

Overall i'd give Killfest 8/10 as it was a seriously fun night and also a killer way to start my week off work haha!

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: ReliXIV by Overkill

One of my favourite thrash metal bands and a band that i feel should be as big as their contemporaries, like Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax ect.

I choose this album out of their whole back catalogue to be my album of the week simply because for whatever reason when they are spoken about the likes of (their latest release) The Electric Age, Ironbound, Under The Infleunce, Necroshine ect get mentioned alot but never ReliXIV which for that reason makes this a seriously underrated album.

The album has killer riffs, the killer vocal work we've come to expect from Bobby Blitz and memeroable songs on the whole and is topped off by having a truly fantastic closer in 'Old School' which has a chorus that starts mass sing-a-longs at gigs.

So, check it out :-)

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: We Are The Others by Delain

Symphonic metal tends to be a sub-genre i steer clear of as on the whole i tend to find it pretty boring. Not bad, just boring.

There are however a few exceptions to this and Delain happens to be one of those. I think it's because although i still find Delain to be very much a firm part of the symphonic metal family they have differences from all the other bands which make them stand out. The differences which personally stand out to me, especially on this album are the heavier riffs and Charlottes Wessells' vocals which i feel have more in common with power metal than they do symphonic metal.

Delains other albums are very much worth checking out but i feel with 'We Are The Others' they have put out their best work so far and it kept my attention throughout with tracks such as 'Electricity' 'Milk and Honey 'Babylon' 'Are You Done With Me' and the closing track 'Not Enough'

Here's the video for their first single off of this album:

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: Dystopia by Iced Earth

Other Iced Earth fans may disagree but i seriously think this is one of the very best IE albums the band has ever put out with every track being great.

I find myself being a big fan of Stu Blocks vocals which to me sound like a mix of both Matt Barlow and Tim Owens.

If you are yet to check out Iced Earth i feel you might aswell start with this, their latest album and if you like what you hear then work yourself back through their other releases.

My favourite tracks: Dystopia, Boiling Point and Dark City

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: Armed To The Teeth by Striker

Like last week, this weeks album comes from a Canadian band.

Striker have elements of speed metal, traditional metal, hard rock and thrash metal in their music which makes it difficult to put them in a box which is something that i really like because blending various elements of metal and making it work is cool in my book.

'Armed To The Teeth' is all killer no filler and it really shows off how tight the band are aswell as how versatile their vocalist is.

My stand out tracks if i had to choose would be: Let it Burn, Land of The Lose and Feed My Fire.

Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/strikermetal

If you like what you hear then buy the album :-)

[alexhaskett]

Album of the week: Kobra and The Lotus (self titled)

This is a heavy metal band from Canada who are currently making their mark over here in the UK with numerous appearances in the past year alone. This is their second album and shows an obvious shift in musical style and most certainly what they will be doing going forward.

The album is killer and what i really dig is the fact that Kobra Paige's vocals aren't like every other female fronted rock / metal bands. It may not be down everyones street but they're different and worth giving a shot.