I was just scrolling through my YouTube subscriptions to see that welsh 4-piece Bullet For My Valentine have just released the lyric video to a song from their upcoming album ‘Venom’ . Bullet for my Valentine were one of the first bands that got me into liking and listening to metal; this was in the days of ‘The Poison’ and then ‘Scream Aim Fire’. I felt like they went down hill after that only having a few songs i liked on the following album but I guess thats because I don’t like it when my favorite childhood bands grow up. This track ‘No Way Out’ sounds very mature and to me it sounds a lot better than the last two albums. It starts with screaming vocals shouting the title of the song as a fast, heavy and pretty epic guitar riff comes in setting the pace of the track. You instantly know this is gonna be a very heavy Bullet For My Valentine song. The verse is is full of screaming depressing lyrics (or classic BFMV lyrics if you’re a fan), heavy metal riffs and quite a simple drum beat which is the only disappointing point so far. The guitar riff disappers during the pre-chorus revealing cleaner plucked guitar as they soften the sound of the song before the sing-a-long anthemic chorus rips in. Matt Tucks (Lead Singer) voice sounds incredible all throughout the song but his clean vocals in the chorus could be slightly louder. After the second chorus the song strips down to just hi-hat hits, arpeggiated clean guitar chords and distorted feedback. This is before the vocals come in and a high pitched guitar riff comes in leading into the quite slow first half of the guitar solo which quickly picks up speed as both guitars come in sweep picking together. The song ends with Matt screaming “Oh my God is this really the end?” as the final drum is hit. If you’re a fan of 2005-2008 BMFV i’m sure you will like this song! Also if you’ve never heard of them you should check this song out and their first two albums.
Degree
Neck Deep- Can’t Kick Up The Roots (Review)
Pop Punks great-grandchildren ‘Neck Deep’ are back this year with only their second album. Neck Deep are a 5-piece pop punk band from Wrexham in North Wales. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I discovered their song ‘Part of Me’ whilst vigorously searching through YouTube for new music to make me happy. Time has flown by in the past year but anyway; Neck Deep have released the lead single from their 2nd album (Coming out August 14th) ‘Life’s Out To Get You’ and it’s called ‘Can’t Kick Up The Roots’. The song starts with quite a heavy fast paced rhythm guitar riff with a top layer of a higher pitched lead guitar riff (pretty standard for modern pop punk). The guitar slows down for the verses just playing single sustained powerchords and a lead part of just a few notes. On this record the drums and guitars sound great and on this single the lead singer Ben Barlow’s voice sound a lot cleaner and easier to understand the lyrics than the previous album in my opinion. The chorus is a standard fast paced sing along ‘Neck Deep’ chorus; Anyone who is a fan of them will know what I’m talking about. Despite this song being under 3 minutes they manage to get a ‘Sum 41’ style breakdown and a short ‘A Day To Remember’ crowd sing-a-long part of a chorus. The lyrical content seems to be based on being stuck in your hometown and trying to find any way out possible. Luckily for them they started a band that got a bit of fame and have managed to escape. This song being released has got me very excited to be seeing them at Slam Dunk North Festival on May 23rd. Check out this new song! (If you have never heard of them before then I seriously recommend that you buy their album ‘Wishful Thinking’ or listen to their track ‘Part of Me’)
Walk Off The Earth Review
Canadian Youtube stars ‘Walk Off The Earth’ (most famous for their Somebody I Used To Know cover; where 5 people played 1 guitar) are back with their new album on June 16th and I can’t wait! They have released 2 songs from the new album so far ‘Sing It All Away’ and ‘Rule The World’. I recall hearing them perform ‘Sing It All Away’ at The Ritz in Manchester when I saw them last april but I completely forgot about it until today. Anyway, as the name of the song depicts it’s a sing-a-long song. When I first heard it a crowd 2000 strong that had never heard it before either were all singing along loud (with a chorus as catchy and as simple as ‘Oh Oh Oh Sing It All The Way my darling’ repeated it’s not that hard to learn the words). There are also beautiful soft verses; with the 3 lead singers Marshall, Gianni and Sarah taking turns singing them (with harmonies obviously! Every Walk Off The Earth song has incredible harmonies).
At the end of March they released their lead single from the album ‘Rule The World’ and also the video to go with it. In typical Walk Off The Earth fashion they’ve gone all out on their music video with a 360 degrees camera and lots of epic effects and colour (it’s very easy on the eye). This song is another great sing along anthem but I do have one problem with it. The verses are sang by Gianni and Marshall and it sounds like they have effects on their voices and then Sarahs voice comes through for the chorus and it just slices right through everything. However, the trumpet solo in the middle of the song completely makes up for that!
Go Pick up their album ‘Sing It All Away’ on June 16th and catch them when they tour as their live shows are fantastic! Also check out the video for ‘Rule The World’ below.
Twenty One Pilots- Tear in my Heart
The 2nd single from the album i’m eagerly awaiting came out a few days ago! I reviewed the previous single which wasn’t much to my taking but this one is a massive improvement. I’m not too keen on the way they’ve used the ‘Should I Stay or Should I go melody and chord pattern
at the start and in the bridge. Unlike their previous single ‘Fairly Local’ there is pretty much zero rapping in this which i’m quite sad about as I think Tyler Joseph is an incredible rapper. The lyrics really don’t compare to their previous albums and I hope they will improve when I get a chance to listen to the full album when it comes out. This song isn’t boring though unlike ‘Fairly Local’ I found it had a huge ‘The Killers’ sound to it and a late killers feel with a synthesiser throughout the chorus and I had never noticed before but Tyler’s voice is very similar to Brandon Flowers of The Killers.
You need to check this band out if you have never listened to them! Every song they do is different, they never stick to 1 genre which I find great because they never get boring. It’s hard to review a band that are forever changing and never do the same thing twice so my only advice to you is to listen to them yourself!
Tim Minchin is just incredible.
I’ve been a Tim Minchin fan for a few years now and at the moment I love him more than ever after finding out he had a documentary. I must have watched it every night in the past 4 days. It follows his journey from being an unknown musical comedy performer to being one of the biggest musical comedy performers in the UK and Australia. Showing the ups and downs of show business and his very fast rise to fame this documentary is well worth a watch!!
Pierce the Veil and Issues- Live at Nottingham, Rock City (7/4/15)
After finally getting in to Rock City after waiting for half an hour; half a kilometer away from the venue in a predominantly pre-pubescent queue, I could tell 14 year old girl’s screams were gonna destroy my hearing tonight. So after getting my over priced coke and finding a spot at the back for the support band ‘ISSUES’ intro began. ISSUES are a 6 piece metalcore band from Atlanta, Georgia. The stage went dark as a very low bass frequency filled the room and shook everyone standing. The band came to the stage and exploded in a rage of glory as the crowd we’re singing back and cheering every time one of the lead singers asked for noise. As i hadn’t heard much of them before I didn’t quiteknow what to expect but I am definitely checking them out and listening to them now I’ve seen them live as the blend of an angelic clean vocalist and an angry screaming vocalist they have is absurdly good. Also despite being quite a heavy band they still have a lot of songs that you can sing a long (or shout a long) to.
Next up was the band I had been waiting for ‘Pierce the Veil’. Pierce the Veil are a 4-piece post-hardcore (or mexicore as I like to call them due to their mexican decent) from San Diego, California. I last saw this band at Slam Dunk Festival in 2013 before I was abruptly dragged away by my friend because we had to go home… Anyway the point is when I saw them there was many production faults, one of the main ones being the lead microphone didn’t work for the first 3 songs and no one had told the band so they just carried on. So I hoped this time would be a lot better. A white sheet with a silhouette of a woman on shrouded the stage before the lights went down. The sheet came down as they burst into ‘Hell Above’ which as heavy as that song is was hard to hear due to the onslaught of screaming girls. They played my favourite song by them second ‘Caraphernalia‘ which was incredible. The strobe lights and smoke blasted into the ceiling during the breakdown which made a great live experience. They showed incredible amounts of energy during the show especially the bassist ‘Jaime Precaido‘ who never seemed to stop moving and was definitely way more involved with the crowd than the rest of the band. They stopped and left the stage in silence for about 10 seconds in between most songs which I wasn’t a fan of as I believe you should never have dead air at a gig unless it’s for suspense, but they seemed to over do it quite a bit.
The show went on and the tore through songs such as ‘Bulls in the Bronx’ and ‘Hold On Till May’ until it was just Vic left on stage with an acoustic guitar. I was hoping for ‘Kissing in Cars’ but he did a beautiful acoustic version of ‘I’m Low On Gas and You Need A Jacket’ which ended with him laying on the floor and the crowd singing the female part of the song and him standing up and finishing with the final chorus. Their penultimate song was ‘Bulletproof Love’ which involved one of the best and worst ideas to do live. They got a young girl from the audience up on stage so Vic could sing the opening lyrics of the song to her. This is a bad idea as no one in the crowd was going to say no to this opportunity and it was lucky the young girl that was picked didn’t have a panic attack. However, It’s also great as she got to meet one of the heroes and was almost in tears as she was sat down in front of him and then took off stage when the song kicked in properly. They ended with King for a day which features ‘Sleeping with Sirens’ lead singer ‘Kellin Quinn’ who joined them onstage to perform his parts of the song. Overall Pierce the Veil were great and I would recommend seeing them any day if you’re a fan or just generally into post-hardcore. It was definitely a great show that I won’t forget and they will definitely only get bigger and better!
Thank you to @chloeleigh711 on instagram for the photo
Frank Turner- Get Better (Review)
I’ve been a Frank Turner fan boy for many years now and even met him a few times, I was present at a very small acoustic show with only 8 people in the room, received free tickets to his show at Nottingham Arena and even played him at pool (I lost but that’s a different story). So due to this I will try my hardest to give a fair judgement of this new single ‘Get Better’. Just in case you don’t know who Frank Turner is, Frank Turner is an English folk/rock/Pop acoustic artist who performs with his band The Sleeping Souls.
As soon as the instruments kick in at the start of the track the rawness grabs you by the throat and the energy of the song rocks your soul to pieces. The beat is very hard and upbeat and the tempo keeps the energy of the songs flowing throughout. Now in my opinion Frank Turner is a lyrical genius and his lyrics and poetry will live forever in the hearts of everyone that listens to his work. This song does not change my opinion of that at all! The lyrics are great! Frank can really change your mood no matter how low you are feeling. With lyrics such as the main hook “We could get better because we’re not dead yet” and “May I always see the road rising up to meet me and my enemies defeated in a mirror behind” the message behind this song is no matter how bad things are and how low you feel things can always get better as it’s not the end of the world and you’re still alive. Also it could be interpreted as never settle for less always aim high and reach your goals no matter what gets in the way. Frank Turners band (The Sleeping Souls) always manage to bring Franks songs to life with beautiful instrumentation especially the great rock and roll piano and hard distorted electric guitars which have been implemented into this song perfectly.
Frank Turners new album should be out sometime this year and I can’t wait. If it’s anything like this song and his last 5 albums it will be well worth my money and yours!
Twenty One Pilots- Fairly Local (Review)
So what do you get when you cross Indie, Pop, Screamo, Electronic music and 2 very talented guys from Ohio? ‘Twenty One Pilots’ is the answer. I got into Twenty One Pilots in the summer of 2014 when I was watching the Download Festival highlights. I hadn’t actually heard of them before but their song ‘Car Radio’ Instantly had me hooked and I was listening to both of their albums constantly and still do; Car Radio is one of my favourite songs of all time and always will be. However, ‘Fairly Local’ their new single which has been released 2 months before the release of their 3rd album ‘Blurryface’ shamefully doesn’t stand out too me. The lyrical content which is usually phenomenal when it comes to Twenty One Pilots is completely missing. Lyrics like “…this song will never be on the radio…” seem to be a lie as this song is very basic compared to their back catalog and it seems like all they are trying to do is get their song on the radio. One thing that is great about the track though is the beat, Josh Dun is one of my favourite drummers of recent years because even with the most simple beats he makes them sound tremendous and powerful. The same synth’s, strings and choral sounds repeat throughout the entire song but in true Twenty One Pilots fashion ‘Fairly Local’ does seem to get heavier towards the end.
‘Blurryface’ will be released on May 19th and I can not wait for that but I hope the rest of the album is a lot different to this particular single. There’s always hope as they have never really stuck to one genre as it seems they like to mix it up a lot.
Infinity Presents: Hollow Bodies, Crimson Tale and Others (Review) 25/2/15
As the most people i’ve personally seen packed into the Voodoo Lounge; Kane Coulson was the first of the 7 acts to perform tonight (Yes 7!!!). He kicked off the night with a solo acoustic set by banging out some solid covers such as ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, an Elvis Medley and my personal favorite ‘Knocking on Heavens door’. This was a great way to start the night but I would have liked to hear more original material. Next up was the future star Meg McPartlin with a blend of folk, indie and pop. Just from a quick 25 minute set I can tell that she has incredible talent and her original song ‘You’ was like food to my ears as it reminded me a lot of my favorite acoustic artist Frank Turner. She showed a lot of passion when performing a mix of originals and some very good covers and my only complaint would be that she wasn’t higher on the bill. Third on stage was the first full band of the night ‘The Magic Brownies’ who didn’t live up to their incredible name. The female vocalist was a great singer but the whole band need to up their stage presence, with the singer not moving much and the bassist with his back to the audience for the most part. However, their cover of ‘Bring Me To Life’ by Evanesence actually featured the male vocals unlike when I saw Evanesence live and there was an added solo which was great. Getting past the halfway point of this very long night came from Emily Acid who are a psychedelic 3-piece featuring a vocalist, keyboard and a drummer. Honestly, I had no idea what I watched; the musicianship was average but the vocals were pretty terrible and the lead singer looked like she was having a seizure on stage; which was quite scary to watch.
Taking us into the second part of the night was Maisie Tsunami And The Merchants. This was a tight 3-piece rock band with a female singer. It was great to see a female lead vocalist that could also do great guitar solos. They had decent stage presence and made me think that If Lily Allen was in a rock band they might sound similar. Penultimately was Crimson Tale and in their own words “We make noise; beautiful noise! We also look good too!” This was the opposite of what they did. They describe themselves as Glam/Theatrical Metal and by playing covers by bands such as The Misfits, The Ramones and The Darkness they didn’t really prove their Glam/Theatrical title. Due to the looks of a wannabe Black Veil Brides, a lack of stage presence and many unneeded high pitched vocal squeals I would probably never choose to see them again. Finally was the band of been waiting for all night Hollow Bodies. The lead singer Alex Waller starts off stage and in the crowd which had narrowed down a lot so late in the evening. His strong voiced mixed with the whole band’s great stage presence made a great live experience. The humour he added to the set with very unsubtle puns and wise cracking jokes which made everyone laugh. Their mix of hardcore and the few pop covers (especially ‘Heart Skips A Beat’ by Ollie Murs) was a great blend and something fresh to add the local music scene. Hollow Bodies are a young band who you should definitely check out and keep an eye on.
Photo by Sam Walton Photography
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