Albums Of The Decade: Part 2 (20 to 1)

And so here it is, the Swoj Staff top 20 albums of the decade. Some years have been better than others but overall there have been a lot of great moments in the heavy rock world to be celebrated from the last 10 years. No prizes for guessing who our band of the decade is either after claiming 4 positions in the top 15, including #1 and #2!!! Here's to the rock/metal/punk world going from strength to strength in the next decade.

20. Audioslave - Audioslave
On paper it sounded ridiculous, Rage Against The Machine with Chris Cornell, the Black Hole Sun warbler to the backing of rap/rock? Not at all. Audioslave took the storming riffs of Morello and the rhythm groove of Commerford and Wilk, rounded them off more than they had done in the past and added the polished vocals of a true rock singer and unleashed a mighty debut album that hinted at the majesty of Led Zeppelin. Sadly it didn't last.

19. Velvet Revolver - Contraband
The return of 3/5 of Guns 'N' Roses was always going to register some interest but the music did all the talking as Slash, Duff and Matt teamed up with Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland and guitarist Dave Kushner for a blistering collection of heavy rock, the likes of which the world probably hadn't heard since Use Your Illusion. Axl couldn't respond.

18. Elis - Griefshire

17. Raven - Walk Through Fire

16. Machine Head - Through The Ashes Of Empire
A return to form that most people did not expect Machine Head to achieve. Following on from the poorly received Supercharger, this album saw Machine Head abandon the 'nu-metal' approach and return to the sound that made them great in the first place. A triumph of an album and a very welcomed return to form for Machine Head.

15. System Of A Down - Steal This Album
Released the year following Toxicity, Steal This Album has the unusual distinction of being the weakest album SOAD has released, yet with the amazing quality of the bands other albums this doesn't mean that the album is not good! SOAD on their 'off' day still manage to trump many other bands out there.

14. Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
Carrying a darker theme than their previous album, All Hope Is Gone continued with the bands energetic style, twisting it in many directions to create something with a more eclectic overall feel.

13. Megadeth - End Game
You never know what you're going to get from Dave Mustaine: a foul mouthed tirade or a peace offering; a has been metallers who's had better days or a riff-meister extraordinaire. Whatever it is that makes him tick, he's rediscovered his mojo and with a new band around him is again pushing the boundaries of thrash metal to the absolute limits.

12. Viking Skull - Born In Hell
A real surprise package. Who could have thought that a stop gap band for Raging Speedhorn and their roadies in between tours would reconnect metal lovers with their first influences? Blending Sabbath with AC/DC the debut album was so good it merited the band going full time (albeit with some new members).

11. Metallica - Death Magnetic
Eagerly anticipated, like all Metallica albums, Death Magnetic had a lot to live up to as fans wanted to see a return to the Metallica of old. With a layered and complex style similar to '...And Justice For All', this album certainly brings back what we love about Metallica and is a great way for them to see out the decade.

10. Turbonegro - Retox
In an age of neverending reunions and cash ins, without doubt, the best and probably least publicly celebrated reunion of the decade was that of Turbonegro. The good news for fans of classic, down n dirty rock n roll is they get better with each album. 'Do You Dig Destruction'? hell yeah we do!

9. Green Day - American Idiot
They may not release albums regularly now and they may not be punk in the truest sense anymore, but when they do they do come along they are well worth the wait and it's obvious time and care (and a certain amount of genius) have gone into crafting and moulding masterpieces. Possibly the most talked about rock album of the decade.

8. Rammstein - Mutter
Another band who have had a superb decade with 4 very strong albums. Rammstein kicked off the decade proving they were no one-trick pony following the worldwide success of the track Du Hast. Mutter is arguably their best album to date featuring the stomping Link 2-3-4 and Feuer Frei.

7. Machine Head - The Blackening
With Machine Head having found their form again in their previous album, it was still a surprise to hear The Blackening for the first time and realise just how much further the band had climbed. The album had everything you'd want in a metal album, thoughtful songs, amazing guitar work, ferocious drumming and aggressive vocals, all wrapped up in a collection of powerful and epic songs.

6. Slipknot - Vol 3. The Subliminal Verses
An album made during a turbulent time in Slipknots history, with a great deal of conflict between the band members during its creation. However you wouldn't know it, with the album carrying the trademark energy and aggression that the band are known for. An album packed with great songs and stands out as their best album this decade.

5. System Of A Down - Toxicity
The second album from SOAD came with very little fanfare but it made an immediate effect. Not just pleasing their existing (and at the time relatively small) fan base and the critics but also winning them legions of new fans in the process.

4. Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life and Death
You can't keep an old dog down. Worse yet, you have no chance with 6 of 'em! This decade saw the return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith to the Maiden fold and who could have predicted the impact it would have had? Maiden went straight back from playing bog standard clubs to selling out arenas and A Matter Of Life And Death has been widely regarded as their best album in over 20 years, it's no coincidence that they've since achieved world domination.

3. Trivium - The Crusade
Trivium are without doubt the biggest newcomers to the decade. Although all their albums have been well received it was 2006s The Crusade that really took them into the big leagues with it's early Metallica styles.

2. System Of A Down - Hypnotize
1. System Of A Down - Mezmerize

 

We were definitely excited about System releasing 2 albums in one year but no-one could ever have imagined how brain meltingly brilliant Mezmerize would be, launching with the utterly physchotic BYOB, the pressure rarely let up and it was a thrilling ride of an album. Hypnotize released 6 months later was a slightly different beast, mainly following a trend of 1 typically SOAD insane song, 1 more controlled but equally devastating track, it was more of a rollercoaster and not quite as unbelievably brilliant as its brother but a classic nevertheless.

Albums of the Decade, Part 1 (50 to 21)

With the decade coming to a close, it is time to look back and see just what the decade looked like. As we looked back, we could see that there have been a lot of albums that would be in contention for a spot in the top 50... this was clearly not going to be an easy task. With the initial short list featuring around 200 albums, getting it down to just 50 was not going to be easy.

After each of the three of us each coming up with our own lists, combining and comparing the results, we've arrived at our final list. We each have our own distinct tastes in metal/rock/alternative music, so the list contains a good representation of our tastes as a group. So without further ado, here is part 1 of the list, covering positions 50 to 21:


50: Lars Frederiksen - Viking
49: My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire
48: Lacuna Coil - Karmacode
47: Ginger And The Sonic Circus - Valor Del Corazon
46: Rancid - Indestructible
45: Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death
44: The Dwarves - Come Clean
43: Luna Obscura - Feltia
42: AC/DC - Black Ice
41: Therion - Live Gothic
40: Ash - Meltdown
39: Rammstein - Liebe Ist Für Alle Da
38: Rancid - Let The Dominoes Fall
37: Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us
36: Trivium - Ascendency
35: Mad Caddies - Keep It Going
34: Foo Fighters - One By One
33: Cold - Year of the Spider
32: Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R
31: Cradle of Filth - Thornography
30: Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes First
29: Ministry - The Last Sucker
28: Cradle Of Filth - Nymphetamine
27: Cradle Of Filth - Damnation and A Day
26: Slipknot - Iowa
25: Cradle Of Filth - Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder
24: Slayer - Christ Illusion
23: Septic Flesh - Communion
22: Turbonegro - Party Animals
21: Muse - Origin Of Symmetry


Stay tuned for part 2, covering No.20 to No.1 (aka, album of the decade!)

More Zombie

Saw some news earlier this week that there is a new Rob Zombie album in the making, with the release date being pushed form this year to early next year. The 'old' release date was a bit surprising given that I did't even know he had a new album in the works at all (what with him being a Hollywood director these days).

The new album will be called "Hellbilly Deluxe 2", so hopefully it will follow on in the first albums style (unfortuntely I wasn't very taken with Educated Horses).
Two songs have been released online for the upcoming album "What?" and "Sick Bubble-gum", more info on both of these can be found below.

On a related note, I was pleased to see that 3 Rob Zombie tracks will be made available on Rock Band next week; "Burn", "Dragula" and "Superbeast".

Anyway, the two new songs from Hellbilly Deluxe 2 can found in YouTube format below, so you can judge for yourself how the album might be turning out:

What?


Sick Bubble-gum

Ones to watch

Just a quick update to highlight some of the upcoming albums that have attracted my attention:

12th October:
Wasp - Babylon

19th October:
Rammstein - Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da
Epica - Design Your Universe

26th October:
Atreyu - Congregation Of The Damned
Halford - 3: Winter Songs
Paradox - Riot Squad

2nd November:
Slayer - World Painted Blood
Within Temptation - An Acoustic Night At The Theatre


The highlight for me is Slayer, I'm really looking forward to that one.
On the other hand, I'm still slightly confused at the prospect of a Rob Halford Winter album!


Of course, there have a been some interesting releases recently as well, with Megadeth's End Game being the best they have released for quite some time - and it keeps growing on me the more I listen to it. A few other albums that are on my radar, but still haven't had time to buy them are:
Evile - Infected Nations
Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us Death Unites Us
Five Finger Death Punch - War Is The Answer
Kiss - Sonic Boom

Video Rundown; Pantera, Sick Of It All, Steel Panther, Me First and Gimme Gimmes

With so much video content out there, it seemed like a good idea to bring you a selection of the music videos that have caught our attention for one reason or another.

It could be a great song, a funny video, a great representation of a particular band, or some other reason - or it could be something that you have nominated. If you have seen any good music videos online, then let us know (post a comment below, or visit the Swoj.com forums) and it could be included in a future Video Rundown.

The selection this time around is as follows:

1. Sick Of It All - Step Down

New York hardcore band Sick Of It All have been around for a long time now, over 20 years, and rank as one of the favourites of the Swoj.com team. In all their time they have continued to produce fantastic music while still loving what they do and keeping their sense of humour. We definitely recommend seeing them live if you get the chance!

This is the video for Step Down, from their Scratch the Surface album.

2. Steel Panther - Death To All But Metal

From Steel Panther's upcoming debute album Feel The Steel, this video demonstrates that as well as providing us with some old school metal, the band obviously has a good sense of humour as well!





3. Pantera - Cowboys From Hell (live)

Coming from the album of the same name, this live performance of Cowboys from Hell at Ozzfest demonstrates the quality of Pantera's performance, the intensity of their music and is a great legacy for this brilliant band. (note, swearing aside, it's definitely NSFW at 5 minutes in!)






4. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - I Believe I Can Fly

This Punk Rock cover band has covered some great songs since they formed in 1995, taking some very unlikely songs and performing them in an energetic punk manner. Some of the unusual ones include; Puff The Magic Dragon, Country Roads, Blowin' In The Wind and (Ghost) Riders In The Sky.

This cover of I Believe I Can Fly (from the album Take a Break
) is not only lively and fun, but also came with an excellent video - see if you can spot some of the cameos.





5. Static X - Black and White

With the new Terminator film coming out soon, this seems like a fitting video to show. Black and White is from the Machine album, released back in 2001, with the video themed around the title of the album and giving tribute to the Terminator.






Remember, if you have any video suggests for the next blog, post in the comments below or in the forum.

Upcoming albums (April 2009)

I've been taking a look over the upcoming releases for the next few months and thought it was time to give an update on what to look out for.

Coming on Monday (27th April) the new releases that caught my attention are 'Live Volume' from Corrosion of Conformity, 'The Infection' from Chimaira and the anticipated debut album 'The Devil You Know' by Heaven and Hell - who comprise of Black Sabbath members (past and present) Tony Iommi, Geezer, Vinny Appice and Ronnie James Dio.

In May we'll be seeing albums from Green Day (21st Century Breakdown), Hatebreed (For The Lions), Black Label Society (Skullage), Marilyn Manson (The High End Of Low) as well as the sound track to the Iron Maiden documentary, 'Flight 666' (which features a variety of live tracks across a double album). I'm hoping the new Marilyn Manson album will be back to their old style as I wasn't too taken with their last album 'Eat Me, Drink Me' - though the return of Twiggy to the band may provide the return to form I'm hoping for. Also showing up in May are a couple of the collectors out there; Janes Addiction are releasing 'A Cabinet Of Curiosities' which comes with 3 CDs and a DVD covering a variety of demo and live tracks, also up are the release of most of AC/DCs back catalogue (again) this time as 'Limited Edition Fan Pack', with each seeming to come with a small collection of merchandise (stickers, key rings, etc).

Beyond May the release schedule seems a bit sketchy, with only 'Back From the Dead' by Spinal Tap and 'Feel The Steel' by Steel Panther (both out in June) catching my attention, though I'm sure this will change as we get through May.

Forgotten Classics!

I’m currently ripping my entire CD collection to my new backup device and the other day I reached the letter L - I'm one of those sad gits that has his shelf in alphabetical order. As I worked my way through the Life Of Agony back catalogue I had a notion to play their debut album River Runs Red. The very next day I picked it up on my way to work and blasted it out the car stereo – Chris Moyles didn’t get a look in that day!

To be honest I’d forgotten how fantastic this album is, it’s an absolute whirlwind of human emotion set to the backdrop of some outstanding hardcore. Strictly speaking I never thought of LOA as an out and out hardcore band, they were always a bit different from the regular scene but I wouldn’t know where to start by putting them into another genre.

This Time, Through And Through, Bad Seed, The Stain Remains...in fact the whole damn album. Absolutely brilliant. One of the most criminally unknown albums in the rock world. If you own it, go dig it out and give it a spin, it’ll still sound as great as it did in 1993. If you haven’t heard it before then get it, it’s worth taking a chance on.

It makes me wonder though, what other classics exist in my collection that I haven’t listened to for ages and have forgotten about? If you have any suggestions yourself let me know.

Top 10 albums of 2008

Another year gone and another year of divided opinions. In a way they year is most noted for the release of 3 very long awaited (some more than others!) albums from 3 of the best know names in rock and metal. First we had Metallica with the album Death Magnetic, with opinion typically divided prior to release due to fan disappointment with St Anger - we were being promised something that was a return to Metallica's roots, did we get it? Well, we'll come back to that in a minute. Next up was AC/DC, who were getting on the best part of a decade since their last album. Finally, the real surprise of the lot, was Guns 'N' Roses with Chinese Democracy. At the end of the October we were all informed that the latest in a long line of pencilled in release dates (24th Nov) would now actually be the real release date of the album that's been nearly 15 years in the making. That is a long time coming and a lot of expectation to meet.

So, just what did stand out this year? Well after much discussion on our views on the year, for us Metallica were the best of the year - Death Magnetic is a distinct jump back to what made Metallica great; epic scale songs, extended instrumental sections and good old head banging music. It's different to the 'classic' Metallica albums, but it's a more modern sound and definitely brings them back to the fore. Coming in second place was Slipknot's 'All Hope Is Gone', marking a more musical effort from them that has gone down well with the team. Third are Trivium, who had previous made 2nd on the list with the great (in our opinion) The Crusade album, for us Shogun is good but doesn't reach levels that The Crusade managed for us; while Soulfly, in fourth place, has scored a distinct improvement over their previous album. AC/DC take 5th place with Black Ice, followed by Cradle of Filth, Therion and The Offspring. Guns 'N' Roses makes it in at 9th place - a tricky decision, while a good album it just doesn't deliver what we'd been expecting after all this time but with a release so late in the year this may need more time to be fully appreciated. Closing out the list with a joint tenth place are Viking Skull with 'Doom, Gloom, Heartache and Whiskey' and Ansur with 'Warring Factions'.

The full count down is as follows:

1. Metallica - Death Magnetic
2. Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
3. Trivium - Shogun
4. SoulFly - Conquer
5. AC/DC - Black Ice
6. Cradle Of Filth - Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder
7. Therion - Live Gothic
8. The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
9. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
10= Viking Skull - Doom Gloom Heartache and Whiskey
10= Ansur - Warring Factions


However, it has to be noted that we've been left a bit underwhelmed this year. While there have been some good albums, there has not been anything this year that has stood out to the team as a truly great album. Metallica are certainly close, reaching top spot with decisive total score but overall we feel that 2008 has not been the greatest year for metal music releases. On the other side, the year was by no means bad and now we will look forward to what 2009 will bring us.

If there albums there that you don't have in your collection yet, then have a look at our Amazon Store

Chinese Democracy first impressions

Just like Dr Pepper, Axl Rose got the last laugh on me, it wasn't that long ago I took a pop at Stevie for having the audacity to suggest GNR's new album would be out this year, fortunately I didnt bet a couple of million cans of juice on it :)

But now that it's finally here a Grindaar review is most undoubtedly in order and will follow shortly, there's no telling when the next Guns record will come out so we should make the most of this moment.

In the meantime though, let me take you through my first impressions. Overall, I have to say I dont think it's a bad album, that might be due to the fact I had such low expectations, but it may be several months or a year before I form a balanced opinion but for now I'm ok with it. My gut feeling though is that this is not a Guns N Roses album. It sounds nothing like the music the band produced in the past and I think this is a major stumbling block for most people. I think if this had come under the name Axl Rose instead of Guns N Roses it would have been far better received. What you get here is a decent rock album, but it's not rock in the sense of say Out Ta Get Me or You Could Be Mine.

Stand out track so far: There Was A Time

AC/DC Tour and Album

Possibly one of the most anticipated albums in years is about to be released. "Black Ice" by AC/DC is the bands first album in 8 years and is due out on the 20th October. Of course, no band as big as AC/DC releases an album with a tour to follow it up. Previous an 18 month world tour had been announced and yesterday the UK dates for the tour we announced.

Sadly, there are only 3 dates in the UK (and none of them in Scotland :( ), these are as follows:

Tuesday 14th April 2009 - London O2
Tuesday 21st April 2009 - Manchester MEN Arena
Thursday 23rd April 2009 - Birmingham LG Arena


Of course, I did say it was an 18 month world tour, so I suspect that they are doing a quick tour initially to follow the album release with a bigger tour to follow later.

Black Ice is available in both Regular and Deluxe (Collectors Edition)

Chinese Democracy (finally)

Ok, did we really expect it to happen?
Whether we did or not, it seems that Nov 23rd is the final release date to be pencilled in for the long awaited Chinese Democracy album from Guns N' Roses. According to the BBC (linky) and The Guardian(linky), the release date is finally set for the US. The European release date has not yet been confirmed, but we wouldn't expect it to be too far behind.

While this is great news for every metal/rock fan, as we finally get to see/hear what 15 years of production is going to give us, however it's not such good news for Dr Pepper - having previously promised everyone a can of Dr Pepper if Chinese Democracy was released in 2008. Sadly, I think this promise for the US only, so I guess I'm going to miss out :(

Update: The online version of the the title track is no longer available online, so the link has been removed.

However, you can buy the album from Amazon by following this link: Buy Chinese Democracy

News Albums - First Impressions

The last month or so has seen some fairly high profile albums hit the stores, with Slipknot, Dragonforce, Motorhead and Metallica each bringing us something new.

Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
One of the more controversial bands in the Metal scene, with peoples opinions being pretty polarised; very much a love them or hate them type of band. With All Hope Is Gone, they probably aren't going to change too many minds. That said, this album does seem more composed that their previous albums and at first I was pretty let down. After listening to it a few more times it's started to grow on me and I'm quite liking it but as yet only the title track has stood out for me.

Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown
After their fantastic Inhuman Rampage album and their sudden boost in popularity from legions of Guitar Hero fans, Ultra Beatdown has been a highly anticipated album. The title 'Ultra Beatdown' is probably one of the best album titles I've come across, so that's a good start. The songs themselves are fast, heavily feature the guitar and most are pretty long, so it looks like Dragonforce aren't straying too far from their familiar territory. There is a lot of energy in the first few times through the album, however on a couple of occasions I've found myself wondering if I'd accidentally put on Inhuman Rampage by mistake as some of the songs sound very familiar. Time will tell if this was just lack of attention on my part, or if Ultra Beatdown is just more of the same (in a not so good way).

Motorhead - Motorizer
Motorhead and Lemmy return for yet another album (I've lost count of how many have come before this!). As per the usual Motorhead formula, things are fast, energetic and no nonsense (of the albums discussed here, Motorhead are the only ones without a 'Special Edition' version). This is typical Motorhead, fans of past work are probably going to enjoy this. This is more of the same (in a good way), with catchy songs and nothing taken too seriously. I've enjoyed it so far, will see how this stands in time.

Metallica - Death Magnetic
Is there an album more anticipated than this one? Very unlikely. Thanks to HMV putting the album on shelves a few days earlier than the 12th Sept release date I (and many others) have managed to see for ourselves if Metallica have brought back the magic. Based on a single listen through, I'm fairly confident that Metallica are back in a big way. The album may not reach of the 'Master of Puppets' level of acclaim, but this does have all the trademarks of their most popular albums; great riffs, epic songs (most are in the 6 or 7 minute range), strong vocals and great composition. There are a few songs that did stand out and I'm really looking forward to listening to it again (and again).


More to come
The next month or so also sees a few more high profile albums come our way:

Trivium - Shogun (29th Sept 2008)
Having seem huge success following their album The Crusade, expectations are high for the release of Shogun.

Guns 'n' Roses - Chinese Democracy (2nd Nov 2008)
Delayed for almost a decade now, Chinese Democracy could almost trump Metallica on the 'most anticipated album' front, that is if people actually expect it really come out on it's current projected release date. However, if this does it the shelves this year, it will be huge.

Top Albums of 2007

When it comes to the December issue of your favourite magazines you'll notice that they all have "Best Albums of 2007" plastered across the front covers. It strikes us that to publish this list in December you need to have them compiled in November, so really it's the 'best albums of the first 10 or 11 months of 2007'. What would happen if someone was to release something as ground breaking as Reign In Blood or Master Of Puppets or Appetite For Destruction in mid December I ask you? OK, ok, we know that most record companies wont put an album out then because of the Christmas charts being flooded with greatest hits packages intended as stocking fillers but we at Grindaar are patient people, we don't see the need to rush.

So we've taken our time, waited until January and compiled our own list of our favourite albums of 2007. Of course we don't have access to every single metal album released in the last year the same way the professional critics do, but as always, we believe that we represent the feelings and opinions of your average rock/metal fan. So take a look, and let us know if you agree or disagree or what your top 10 would be.

Our Top Albums of 2007:

1. Machine Head - The Blackening
2. Turbonegro - Retox
3. Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead
4. Rush - Snakes and Arrows
5. McQueen - Break The Silence
6. Bad Religion - New Maps Of Hell
7. Epica - The Divine Conspiracy
8. Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold
9. Nightwish - Dark Passion Play
10. Paradise Lost - In Reqiuem
11. Priestess - Hello Master
12. Ministry - The Last Sucker
13. WASP - Dominator
14. Megadeth - United Abominations
15. Alter Bridge - Blackbird
16. Monster Magnet - 4-Way Diablo
17. Agnostic Front - Warriors
18. Symphony X - Paradise Lost
19. Down - Over The Under
20. Dropkick Murphys - The Meanest Of Times


Machine Head returned with a fantastic album, following on from their impressive (and back on form) Through the Ashes of Empires, and showed us that they can still do great things. Not that they walked away with it, it was a close fought battle for the top positions, with Turbonegro, Serj Tankian and Rush all in contention for the top spot. With old names, new names and some regulars making a showing, overall, 2007 was a pretty good year.

Cheers and here's to a headbanging 2008!
The Grindaar Team.

The Black Crusade begins

Last night saw the Black Crusade tour kicking off in Glasgow. Would have to say, if you don't have a ticket yet and can still get one, then do it, you won't be disappointed! With Arch Enemy, Dragonforce, Trivium and the almighty Machine Head, you'd be crazy to miss it. Expect a review online soon!

Upcoming releases

Was doing a little browsing to see what new albums are coming up in the next month or so, so here is a quick run down of the ones that took my interest


17th September
Down - Down III: Over The Under
Arch Enemy - Rise Of The Tyrant
Ministry - The Last Sucker

1st October
Nightwish - Dark Passion Play
Prong - Power Of The Damager

15th October
Soilwork - Sworn To A Great Divide

29th October
Exodus - The Atrocity Exibition
Avenged Sevenfold - New Album TBA


It's been a while since I've heard anything new from Prong, think the last album of there's that I got was Rude Awakening, so I'm looking forward to giving them a listen again.

The other thing to stand out on the list was the lack of the new Guns 'n' Roses album, which has been pushed back again, this time pencilled in for the 11th February 2008.

The Dwarves

1 gig down, 3 to go.

The Dwarves at Glasgow's King Tuts on Friday night was a good gig. This time we were treated to a full set (all 45 minutes of it) and there was no controversy although HeWhoMustNotBeNamed at one point swung his guitar at someone in the crowd - fortunately he didn't make a connection and the roadies/security stepped in to defuse the situation.

As far as music goes it was a good night. First band The Baddies were good. My first impressions of them were they looked like The Hives but they sounded more like The Jam. Good all the same. Next up where The Elvis Suicide with mandatory sideburns. They sounded a bit like The Misfits meets The Cure. Alright if you like that kind of thing. The 3rd support band were Dangerfields from Belfast and they were cool, storming through their set of traditional 100mph rock. There's not many bands can claim to have their drummer as their frontman but The Dangerfields make the music work and their crowd rapport between songs was some of the best I've heard for a while (always like a band with a sense of humour).

And finally to The Dwarves. As always the music was fantastic: Everybodies Girl, Better Be Women, How It's Done, Like You Want...all the favourites were there and played with gusto. You just cant help but think that if they weren't so completely wild and uncontrollable they would have been snapped up by a major label and be huge by now...not that I'm saying that's what the fans or the band would want - just pointing out they have the songwriting capabilities.

Next up: Napalm Death...

Gig frenzy

Stevie and I are hoping to take in 4 gigs in the next 3 weeks:
The Dwarves, Napalm Death, The Subordinates and Turbonegro.

The Dwarves is tomorrow night, we dont have tickets yet but based on the poor turnout last time they were in Glasgow we're banking on it not being a sell out and we can get tickets on the door. Sadly no new album since we last saw them but their tunes are so great it's definitely worth seeing again, and it's fair to say you never know what you'll get at a Dwarves show!

I was listening to the new Turbonegro album Retox on the way to work this morning and it's another cracker. I possibly prefer it's predecessor Party Animals at the moment but still a very good album with more hilarious lyrics. If you like rock, you'll like this!

The Subordinates are an exciting local band led by a very good friend of mine. I'm gutted that I haven't caught them live before now so hoping to make it next week to see what they're like, certainly the 3 songs posted on their MySpace site are very promising.

And so to Napalm Death, what is there to say that hasn't already been said about these legends, these pioneers? I spotted a live review in a mag the other day that suggested they still have it so looking forward to my ear drums getting a right good workout. I'm currently downloading my Napalm CD's to the MP3 player in anticipation.

We'll keep you posted on what the shows are like.

http://www.thedwarves.com/
http://www.napalmdeath.org/
http://www.myspace.com/subordinates
http://www.turbonegro.com/

Getting in the ring

I'm sitting right now listening to 'Get In The Ring' by Guns'n'Roses and for a moment I let myself think "Maybe Chinese Democracy will capture the old GNR magic!". Well, we'll all have to wait until September now to find out as it seems most retailers have move the release date from 2nd April to Sept 07. Sadly, can't say I'm too surprised.

On the plus side, we've picked up a few good CDs recently, so expect a review or two soon! :)

Album roundup

It's been a slow start to the year with very few new albums catching our attention, however it looks like things are starting to pick up now. In the first few months of the year the albums of note have been Korn's "MTV Unplugged", Within Tempation's "The Heart Of Everything", Enter Shikari's "Take To The Skies" and McQueen's "Break The Silence", though not all of these will be to everyones taste. I personally question Korn's decision to release an 'unplugged' album, as a fan of most of their previous work I don't see the appeal of acoustic versions of songs that I loved for their 'Nu-Metal' sound. It always seems to me that it's an easy option for a band to gain 'artistic' points for going acoustic, but it's a distraction from the sound that actual made them popular in the first place... anyway, will stop before I get going on that one, that can be the subject of a future rant! ;)

Coming up over the next month or so we have the following hitting the shelves (and websites!):

• Type O Negative - Dead Again (19th March)
• Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion (26th March)
  
• Machine Head - The Blackening (26th March)
• Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy (2nd April)
• Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (16th April)
• W.A.S.P. - Dominator (16th April)
• Annihilator - Metal (16th April)

A few on the list that I'm personally looking forward to, Machine Head and Nine Inch Nails in particular. Although I'm not bothered about it just now, Guns N Roses seem set on the 2nd April release date, though with so many slipped dates already it's probably best to wait until it's on the shelves before getting excited about it.

Annihilator

Again, in advance of a gig (this time Trivium) I was checking out a band I've never listened to before on the way home from work, support band Annihilator.

I only got half way through their Best Of compilation which covers their first 3 albums: ALICE IN HELL (1989), NEVER NEVERLAND (1990) and SET THE WORLD ON FIRE (1993).

I haven't finished listening to it so I wont pass final comment but so far it definitely falls into the 'classic thrash' category, sounding like early Megadeth and Anthrax. Some of the lead guitar work is really outstanding but as a whole I dont think the songs are as strong as anything by the other big 2. First vocalist Randy Rampage definitely has the nuts-caught-in-trouser-zip typical thrash screaming style!

http://www.annihilatormetal.com/