Sunday 30 January 2011

Haumea

Last night I went to a cosy music pub/venue known as The Hobbit in Southampton as a friend's band were to play there for their debut gig. I hadn't heard any of the music before, the only hint I got was the genre prog rock and I like prog rock very much so I was wondering what they were going to sound like. Coming inside to watch Haumea from the oh so freezing arctic temperature cold in the beer garden I was very glad to hear their music, it was pretty awesome. The vocalist had an electric pedal that connected to the microphone meaning he could change how his vocals sounded that I was highly impressed with, it was awesome to hear very echoy vocals like you would hear in a prog rock band. Definately a first gig to be proud of, keeping Southampton's outstanding reputation for fresh young bands. Will definately see more from them this year.

Join them on Facebook now

For fans of Porcupine Tree and Dream Theatre

Saturday 29 January 2011

Rock The Loft @ The Soul Cellar; Southampton 28/1/11

I have been waiting for this since the end of last year; my first gig of 2011 and let me tell you it was a fantastic one. Entering the intimate cosy atmosphere of The Soul Cellar definately made me feel right at home for I was about to see what Angry Badger records had to offer plus see Daniel Leigh perform an acoustic set.

The first band to play that evening were We Caught The Castle, a pop punk band from Reading. They put a great performance with the catchy melodies and how Hollie's vocals harmonised well with male backing vocalists Simon and Robbie. I did recognise Tainted Love, the song they covered, from that Friends episode where Danny Devito plays a stripper so everytime I hear the song I give a little giggle. Overall an enjoyable set, I also got their EP to so you'll see a review about that shortly.

Up next were Bournemouth/London rockers Karmine, I had heard their stuff briefly before and quite liked it so I was wondering what kind of performance they were going to give tonight. I loved vocalist Charlotte (wonderful name) Kavanagh's energy with her wonderfully weird dancing whilst upbeat cheerful rock was played, her voice was remarkable too. They are currently working on the new album.

Orignally New Device were to headline tonight; however due to two guitarists leaving the band vocalist Daniel Leigh came by himself to play an acoustic set. I have seen acoustic sets in the past and like them a lot so I was thinking it would be nice to see. He started off with one of his own songs We Will Be Lovers Tonight, I had heard this song before with electronic type sounds to it; tonight I was absoulutely amazed by this performance. The set got better and better with songs from the new album he is working on with New Device; getting me more excited about their new album also performing In The Fading Light and Heaven Knows from Takin Over. His covers of Livin On A Prayer and Sweet Child 'O Mine were also beautifully performed; so amazing I got a video of one of them (will be uploaded soon). This acoustic performance was so so wonderful, had me nearly in tears and will definatelty see perform an acoustic set again.

Next to play were Timshel; I had seen them before and they do give a very upbeat  performance like they did  last night. I like their quirky sound very much, it gives a bit more of a laid back hippy like atmosphere to the building. I did recognise some of the songs played last night from their EP, which is avaliable on iTunes overall a very studio sounding performance.

Unfortunately couldn't stay for Kodiak Jack's set last night but did catch a glimpse from them and loved their energetic performance. I had heard some of their songs before and quite like them so I'm hoping to catch them again soon.

You can join each one of these bands on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube. 

Overall a great first gig of 2011, giving me the torch to light the pathway of many more great gigs to come.

Thursday 27 January 2011

Identity Theif

Received a link on Facebook from my good friend Georgie; it lead to a band's MySpace page. This post is all about Southampton born Identity Theif, listening to them at the moment and I have to say I have never heard anything like this before. The genres hip hop, pop and rock are mixed together so well here that it gives of a really funky foottapping vibe; I really like how it starts with a hip hop like sound and then you suddenly hear some distorted guitars. A very very orignal sound that I think will definately break the music charts one day, from what I read on their MySpace there will be an EP release this year. Southampton's outstanding reputation for music still stands because of the fantastic young bands.

Join these guys on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Lifehouse - Smoke And Mirrors

Nosing around on Twitter after tweeting a blog post I clicke a link leading to a band called Lifehouse and found their album Smoke and Mirrors on Spotify so decided to listen to it. Opening track All In definately gripped me with it's upbeat rhythm and catchy tuneage. Nerve Damage definately has an unusual air about it; the song starts of with a very low tempo leaving the listener to think they are being lead into to some sort of ballad then the tempo speeds up, I have to admit that caught me off guard but I have never heard a song that used about three different tempos in the same song. They managed to pull it off too which is awesome.The song Falling In definately stood out; it reminds me of the Bon Jovi song Lost Highway, long country road in America This album definately made feel happy; it is the pefect thing to cheer someone up. I also think it's great if you are going on a long road trip. Even though it may not be heavy enough for some of you I definately think if you want to listen to something softer then this is the album for you.

Stand out tracks:  Nerve Damage, Halfway Gone and Smoke and Mirrors

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Sacramental

Those of who love Thrash Metal then you will definately love the band I am about to mention in this very blog post. The band are called Sacramental who hail from the Central Europe in the country Latvia; we all know Europe have the best metal bands from all subgenres, the symphonic power metal such as Nighwish and Sonata Arctica to the thrash and doom metal such as Children of Bodom. Listening to these guys on MySpace this morning definately kept Europe's amazing reputation for metal high, with it's orchestral opening to it that then leads to fast dissorted guitar rhythms and heavy beats. Hope to hear more from, can definately turn heads amongst die hard metalheads.

Join their MySpace page now.

For fans of Black Label Society and Kamelot

Sunday 23 January 2011

Widek

This post today on this fine Sunday is all about Polish guitarist known as Widek. Recieving a friend request from him on YouTube today; ever since starting this blog I am getting more friend requests from bands and musicians, it's just wonderful hearing the newest music from who could be the best band ever in a few years time. Anyways, listening to his album online right now and I am throughly impressed; in the video for his song Passing it shows him playing the lead and rhythm part. He is an incredibly talented guitarist. The screamish Lamb Of God like vocals however didn't seem to do for me; although I do think if he were to start a band with that kind of sound they would definitely be a hit with many metal heads out there. Be sure to join his Facebook, YouTube and MySpace pages.



For fans of Lamb Of God and In Flames

Friday 21 January 2011

Within Temptation - New Album Teasers

Today I received an email from Roadrunner Records explaining the latest releases and news from their bands; one of them being a song from Dutch Symphonic Metallers Within Temptation. Within Temptation are one of my favourite bands; their melodies are absoulutely powerful and Sharon Den Adel's voice is as beautiful as a songbird. Anyways, their brand spanking new album 'The Unforgiving' is due out 28th March (the day after my birthday woop woop) and two of it's songs are avaliable to listen to right now; the one I recieved an email about was the single 'Faster' sounds very different to their previous songs I have heard but I really like it, I think it's great they decided to experiment with a different type of rock. Although I have a feeling the whole album won't sound like that; after hearing another album teaser 'Where Is The Edge' I am convinced that there will be some symphonic elements in there. I really love their sound, I am looking forward to this album's release.




Wednesday 19 January 2011

Alexandra Leigh Nicoletti

It's one wonderful YouTube musician after another and the year has only just begun; recieving a friend request from 18 year old New Yorker Alexandra. Her piano covers of famous metal songs and film compositions are just remarkable, it's not just her piano playing that impresses me. I am listening to one of her songs she composed for guitar and vocals that she is amazing at, she could start a band all by herself at this rate. Seeing that one of her influences is Danny Elfman is also a bonus; Danny Elfman is my favourite composer, I love his haunting sounds and come to think of it I am getting a Danny Elfman vibe from her music. Below are two videos; the first is a piano cover of Amon Amarth's Twilight of the Thunder God and the second one is her own composition.


 

You can join this artist on Facebook and YouTube

Last FM group

Hello lovely people

How are you keeping? Here's a bit of news for Last FM users, I have now set up a group for this blog on Last FM, just thought I'd let you know. Here is the link below 


Take care now
Tuomaslotte :) x

Monday 17 January 2011

The 69 Eyes - Devils

Today I came across an album so wonderful that I listened to it more than once in one day and the fact it drew me into this fantasy gothic world that helped me escape the manic, stressful atmosphere at the train station today; being most of the trains were delayed and the staff didn't have a clue what was happening. I had heard of these guys briefly and had been meaning to listen to them for sometime and after hearing the song Lost Boys I decided to listen to the album. Anyways I just loved the variety of different songs that kept me listening all the way through; don't you just love albums that don't give the emotion boredom after listening to over and over again? I certainly do, this is one of those rare albums that no matter how many times you listen to it, you don't get tired of it. The melodies of all the songs were just beautiful and the amazing arrangements of the instrumentals bought a vamperic atmosphere to life. I also fell in love Jykri's deep operatic voice; it reminded me of HIM's frontman Ville Valo and Elvis Presley. His voice definately fitted in with all of the songs like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. My personal favourite on the album has to be Sister Of Charity; I love how the song gives of a Hunchback of Notre Dame vibe with the haunting church bells and choirs.

Stand Out Tracks:  Feel Berlin, Sister Of Charity and Lost Boys

Spotify

Hi guys and gals

Hope your 2011 is going swimmingly so far. Anyways, I have found a nifty little appilcation you can download for free; Spotify. It's a brilliant new music software where you can listen to full length songs of full music albums, it's like a try before you buy deal that I love a lot. It saves money and if it turns out you don't like an album it's not stuck on your iPod/MP3 player. Right now listening to Buckcherry's album All Night Alone on this wonderful application; brilliant brilliant album that you may see a post about this week. The only negative thing about this oh so amazing app is that adverts that pop up in between songs.

This app is highly recommended for music lovers, if you have already then awesome. If you don't, get it now.....it's amazing.

Take care
Tuomaslotte :) x

Saturday 15 January 2011

The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up

I did have my doubts about this band at first; hearing about lead vocalist Taylor Momsen being in the headlines of gossip magazines for the wrong reasons, I was hoping that didn't affect the music. The opening songs My Medicine and Since You're Gone blew all my doubts away, she does have an incredibly amazing voice and the songs are very cleverly written. The songs You Make Me Want To Die and Just Tonight I had heard before and liked a lot, very deep emotional ballads. The song Light Me Up is definately a great way to boost one's self esteem; I think it also reflects Taylor Momsen's personality, mentioning in interviews she is honest and she's not afraid to be herself. Overall an inspiring album, it definately shows entirely different side to Taylor Momsen from when I saw her portraying Cindy Lou in the film The Grinch.

Stand out tracks:  Light Me Up, Miss Nothing and You


Interview with Rachel Hawker

Hi guys this is the first interview I have done for this blog. Thanks to a good friend of mine who supplied me with her email address it is with up and coming talented singer/songwriter Rachel Hawker. I have put Rachel's answers in italics.


So Rachel, tell us about the new EP you've just released

Dirty Little Secrets is our debut EP. We recorded it back in 2008, in Souncheck Studios. And we wanted a live sounding record that represented what people would hear when they came to see us live. The four orginal songs written by me, the arrangements by The Remedies and I.


What kind of themes do you explore in your songs?

I am a massive fans of artists like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, so lyrics are extremely important to me when it comes to writing songs. I tend to write about ambition, love and many trials life throws at us. It is important to me that people can really connect with the lyrics of my songs.


Who are your main influences?

As I mentioned  I am a massive fan of a lot of the 70's songwriters, music that makes you smile or tugs at your heartstrings. I am also a massive soul fan, artists like Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan have really influenced me as a vocalist. My musical influences are very broad from Rock to Jazz. I think as a songwriter it is important to listen to a variety of music so that you can draw from different influences and create songs that don't always sound the same.

I hear that you're planning to do a busking tour in the UK, have you decided where these gigs will take place?

Last year we decided to do a busking tour. Showing up in different cities and town centres all over the South Coast setting up a full band and seeing what happened. We kept video diaries of our shenanigans which we put on our YouTube page. It was so much fun and we had such a great reaction that we are planning to do it again this year on a bigger scale!

Where have you performed in the past?

We have been lucky enough to have performed at some fantastic venues on the south, but we have played a few dodgy pubs too like all bands! We have played in Brighton and Chichester a lot as those are our home towns.
 
Where is your favourtite place to peform and why?

Our favourite gig so far was our sold out show at the Komedia last year. The venue was packed, and the atmosphere was electric. 

One more thing, is there anyone you would like to acknowledge for any kind of support?

Of course I wouldn't be anywhere without my fantastic band. Kevin Rose, Chaz Mcleod and Lloyd Landeg, they are fantastic musicians who really do help bring my songs to life. We also have some brilliant fans who contribute a lot to what we do.  
 
Thanks again Rachel for answering my questions you rising star.  
Find out more about Rachel Hawker and the Remedies on their website:


You can also join them on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter. 



Thursday 13 January 2011

Sabaton - Coat Of Arms

With the influence of some wonderful people I had met at a Southampton Pub called The Firehouse last night I thought I would review a Sabaton album; basically I was only familiar with a few of their songs before but after listening to this album I shall be listening to a lot more of them. The opening track Coat Of Arms sounded something you would hear in an epic battle scene in a fantasy film such as Lord Of The Rings. Most of the tracks sounded a little bit like that, mixing orchestral music with guitars is just pure genius. My favourite song on the album is Uprising; I love the rhythm and how the lyrics fit with it, once I found out what the song was about I was somewhat shocked and touched.


Stand Out Tracks:  Upsrising, Coat of Arms and Aces in Exile


Tuesday 11 January 2011

Theory Of A Deadman - Scars and Souvenirs

I had been meaning to listen to this band for quite a while since they seem to appear on the 'You May Like' section on any music website under a Nickelback page, I adore Nickelback so I definately wanted to check them out. Listening to a bit of Theory Of A Deadman in the shop Underground Clothing so I decided to buy this album since it had the song Bad Girlfriend on it. Being that was the song I heard in Underground Clothing, loved it so much. Frontman Tyler Connolly sounds so much Chad Kroger (Nickelback frontman), the first two songs had me gripped immediately being due to the fact two very different contrasting songs opened up this awesome album. So Happy being a very upbeat track and By The Way being quite mellow; in this album I heard a great variety of songs. Songs like Got It Made and Bad Girlfriend being very energetic that make you want to jump around like crazy then you have the tearjerkers like Not Meant To Be; this particular had a big impact on me since I am getting through a heartache at the moment so the song did bring a tear to my eye. This album will definately be a highlight of this year even though it's official realease was a couple of years ago, I hope they release more stuff. In the meantime I shall definately give their older stuff a listen. 

Stand out tracks:  Bad Girlfriend, So Happy and Little Smirk

Sunday 9 January 2011

Ashbury

I recieve a message from Arizona rockers Ashbury saying they were 'Tucson's #1 selling Rock band worldwide' and I can definately see why that is; enticed by a Western American type intrumental opening on the song The Warning that then leads to a well written rock song that tells a story about a hero addressing a warning to a town. I just love songs that tell stories. Listening to the song Endless Skies right now and loving it; Spanish guitar opening and I just love the Wild West atmosphere behind the song so when it suddenly changed to heavy rock it did catch me off guard slightly, possibly my favourite out of the songs I have listened to so far as it had possibly all the elements of a classic rock song; piano ballad, haunting acoustic guitars and the heavy disstortion to go on top. All I have to say is where have these guys been all my life? They have been around since 1980, truly the best decade for metal bands, it's said that they should be making a come back this year. I think this will be the great year to do it.



For fans of Black Sabbath and Yes

Saturday 8 January 2011

OpenFate

Another amazing band Reverbnation has to offer, seriously if you haven't checked out that website yet please do. Anyways this post is all about unsigned alternative rockers OpenFate who I found on Reverbnation just before the New Year; after having listened to Fade Away giving of a Nirvana like vibe, it was Rich's vocals sounding very much like Kurt Cobain and the fact the song reminded me of Come As You Are (amazing song). Now listening to All I Know, the funky guitar intro sounding like Red Hot Chili Peppers and loving the old school guitar solos in the song Walking Back In. Mixing all kinds of alternative rock and the fact they wrote an incredibly awesome Christmas song, definately getting a thumbs up from me. Hope to see an appearance from these guys in the UK sometime.


For fans of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Metallica

Friday 7 January 2011

Rachel Hawker and The Remedies

Talking to a good friend of mine who is a fantastic photographer told me about a band he took a photo of in Southampton; he sent me a link to their website and listening to their song Sinners just reminds of summer time sitting in a meadow in the middle of nowhere just chilling out, not having to care about anything. The song Spin gave me the same feeling, I love the mellow guitar rhythms and Rachel Hawker's voice is so beautiful. My favourite songs being Finders Keepers and Sinners, right now listening to heartfelt ballad Happy that's nearly brining a tear to my eye. I definately plan to get hold of their album, looking forward to seeing more of them. 


For fans of KT Tunstall and Lissie

The Great Gatsby

A friend of mine posted a link to her son's band The Great Gatsby's Revernation page; they are an alternative indie rock band from Bromley, UK. Listening to their sample songs I really like their bouncy upbeat melodies with catchy guitar riffs and fresh authetic London vocals. Right now I am listening to their acoustic version of Spinning that I am loving so much, I acutally want an MP3 of the track same goes for the ones on their Reverbnation page. You can listen to them by clicking the link below. Their sound does remind me of The Fratellis jamming with Arctic Monkeys. Can safely say I am looking forward to hearing more from them and hope they decide to pop by Southampton for a gig sometime. 2011 could just be their year.

For fans of Arctic Monkeys and The Fratellis

http://www.reverbnation.com/fan/control_room/783058?tab=fan_dashboard&subnav=account_preferences#!/thegreatgatsby?kick=599450

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Hand Of God

Today whilst browsing MySpace I recieved a friend request fro Greek Power Metallers Hand Of God. After having listened to new single Start Again and Signs I can definately see a bright future in the world of metal however I hope to hear more softer tunes from these guys. More mellow will definately work with Marissa's beautiful voice like it does with the heavier songs here. That's not such a big issue for since it is early days for these guys and the heavy songs are brilliant sounding like Delain meets Lacuna Coil. I can't wait for the release of their debut album The Hand Of God and they consider coming over to the UK for a tour some time. Here is a sample of Start Again, you can find the full version of this song on their MySpace page that I will provide a link for below this video.



For fans of Delain and Lacuna Coil

Vika - VK Goes Wild

I found this pianist on YouTube through a wonderfully arranged cover of Sweet Child 'O Mine, which is one of my favourite rock songs of all time. On her YouTube page I found she had an album so straight to iTunes it was; it is nice to get away from heavy distorted guitars and big louds beats once in a while to listen to something a bit more relaxing. Solid acoustic magic. I am saying this as a student, it is better to revise with more relaxing music in the background. Anyways opening track Toxicity was the perfect choice to open the album so dramactically, Lonely Day has to be my favourite track on the album as it relaxed me when I was panicking about whether  I had put that vital thing on my USB key as part of my assignment. It also reminds me of a film, which one I'm not quite sure. I love to make films so when I hear music good enough for a film I'll note it down right away. Covers November Rain - Guns 'N Roses, Snuff - Slipknot and Nothing Else Matter - Metallica were all beautifully arranged, sounding almost like the acutal songs. The more calming tracks will be Something I Can Never Have and Black Gives Way To Blue also stood out on the CD.

Overall, this album has beautifully arranged pieces and wonderful compositions that would make Tuomas Holopainen proud. Being a pianist/keyboardist myself I can definately say this album is also very inspiring. I leave you with her amazing cover of Sweet Child 'O Mine.


Stand out tracks:  Lonely Day, November Rain and Nutshell

Sunday 2 January 2011

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

This evening my sister Emily lent me Lady Gaga's album Fame Monster, orignally not intending to review the album since it's not the kind of music I would listen to but liking songs Bad Romance and Just Dance I decided to otherwise. There was feedback about exloring all the various types of music as well as rock and metal so I will definately be doing that more from now on. Anyways starting off with Bad Romance which is really an amazing song gave this album the best possible best opening; Speechless definately showed me a whole different side of Lady Gaga I had never heard before until listening to this song; it definately showed a rock/blues ballad vibe that I am not used to hearing from her at all. Featuring Beyonce was definately a well thought out move from Lady Gaga since her vocals fitted the song Telephone perfectly. Teeth was also an outstandingly remarkable track that stood out on this CD.

That was Disc 1, now onto Disc 2; Just Dance the all famous feel good track that you hear at clubs was great way to open act two. LoveGame had a very intriguing theme; it was all about a childhood game we all remember as children; I personally remember playing those kind of games along to made up fairy tales. I absoulutely love the song Paparazzi; it covers an issue that all the very famous celebrities go through every single day....dealing with the paparazzi. The line 'Baby you'll be famous, chase you down you until you love me' stood out to me. Since it's definately what the paparazzi seem to do. The summery theme behind Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) reminded me of a mix between Walking On The Sunshine and Heaven's A Place On Earth that made me smile.

Overall a truly remarkable album with a wide wide variety of songs and some of the strange sounding songs definately reflect Lady Gaga's bizzare persona. I also loved how most of the songs had an 80s pop like sound with it's strong beats and melodic sythnthesisers, one of my very favourite music decades is the 80s.

Stand out tracks:  Disc 1 - Bad Romance, Telephone and Teeth
                         Disc 2- LoveGame, Poker Face and I Like It Rough

PS:  I am aware I changed the size of the font, part of some of the feedback from the survey was that the font was too small before.

Saturday 1 January 2011

Happy New Year

Hey guys

Happy New Year to you all; just want to say thanks for supporting my blog in 2010. I plan to inform you all of the best new albums, live gigs and most importantly the best up coming bands. 2010 was an amazing year for music; all my 2010 lists say it all. I have a feeling 2011 is going to be a lot better for music. Already seeing talent on YouTube from a young keyboard player from Brazil whose cover of Poet And The Pendulum by Nightwish is absoulutely incredible. So incredible people are all asking for MP3s of it. Here is the epic cover.




Over this Christmas peroid I have been coming across bands like finding gold in a gold mine, new talents from all over the world as well as South Coast of England. Speaking of rock from Southern England, My Endeavour have been one of the bands that have stood out in my searching for bands. Here is their song Identify.



Right now listening to Orias, Symphponic Metalheads from Sweden who are also showing promise with dramatic film like music with a heavy metal twist.




I recently found out it was Kids In Glass Houses whose set I enjoyed a lot when watching them support Lostprophets back in February last year, wow feels so weird saying that now, their engergetic powerpunk sounds were enough to make me say...WOW. 

Alter Bridge being another band I really love now thanks to their latest album AB II.


See the year has just started and already found four bands I hope to see a lot more of this year, oh I hope you've filled out the survey I have set up to tell me what you think of this blog so far.
Here is the link for it:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5X58CRS

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and here's to a great 2011 :) x