Turisas - Stand Up and Fight

Finnish battle metalheads Turisas, who made black and red facepaint look cool, released their fifth studio album Stand Up and Fight in the UK today so of course downloaded the pre-ordered copy from iTunes this morning to listen to on the train ride to university. I have to have beome a battle metal convert, I have never listened to anything like it before and I was amazed.

The March of the Varangian Guard - Having heard a snippet of this track on the trailer for this album I was deeply intriguied, I loved the dramatic orchestral work and choirs. This was definately a great opening for an outstanding album. 10/10

Take the Day! - This song started of with the same dramatic orchestral work, this song reminded me of Northern King's rendition of We Don't Need Another Hero. I also loved the growls in this song too, it could represent the battle cries. The bass rhythm is heard clearly too. 10/10

Hunting Pirates - This song may have just become a new favourite of mine; the piratey theme grabbed me here, I love the accordian and the piratey lyrics. The rhythm is very bouncy, memorable melody are the reasons this song just made me smile, I think this is the 6th time I have listened to this song today. It may just make it as Tuomaslotte's song of the week on Facebook. 10/10

Venetoil - Prasinoi - I really love the royal instrumental opening which then turns into a battle like situation. This often happens in epic fantasy films as it tells the story of a hero fighting a battle...I could be wrong but this is what I think, really liked it. 9/10

Stand Up and Fight - This song confused me slightly, the epic battle instrumental at the beginning which then leads to slow heartfelt singing. I loved the chourus in this song, making you feel part of an epic battle. 9/10

The Great Escape - The beginning of this song did at first remind me of Sweet classic Ballroom Blitz but then it turned all battly and was reassured. There is a very marchy rhythm to the song that I liked a lot, it's one of those songs that it would be impossible to sit still too. 10/10

Fear the Fear - This song was OK. Maybe the fact it was quite long put me off slightly, the vocalist sounds like Roy Khan here. Clear bass melody, I think this song may grow on me. 8/10

End of an Empire - I like the melody of this song, I think it marks the end of an epic battle that these crazy Finnish metal warriors fought and conquered. 9/10

The Bosphorus Freezes Over - A soft sad beginning of this track did touch me, it marks the aftermath of the battle. It shows a softer side to this band and I really liked this track. 10/10

Broadsword (Bonus track) - There is usually a hidden song from a band somewhere, on this album it is the bonus track. This song was pretty good, reminding of an adventurer on a quest with his mighty weapon the sword.

Overall this album is truly one sucessful battle that these metallers fought and conquered. Truly remarkable album and possibly the best one of 2011 so far. You can buy your copy now or it's availiable to listen to on MySpace.

Stand out tracks:  The March of the Varangian Guard, Hunting Pirates and The Great Metal

Here's my favourite on on the CD

Check their official website

Find them on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube

This Wicked Tongue EP

Hi guys, recently reading another music journal I loved how she reviewed an album so I might try the same technique. This post will show this style, basically I'll say something about the songs then rate them out of ten. I will try it on a band I had recieved an email about by their manager Andy Maynard; the band is This Wicked Tongue and they recently supported Gundogs so I was interested to hear their sound.

The Storm In A Hourglass - I really like how it starts of really soft then goes into this heavy disstorted sound with vocals that stand out over the noise. Love the melody, Tina V has a brilliant voice. Great opening track. 9/10

Damn It -  I love the title of the song, soft to disstorted again. Bouncy rhythm, impossible to sit still whilst this song is playing on your iPod/MP3 etc. Gundogs vibe about the song, possibly my favourite on the EP. I also like how you can hear the keyboard, being a keyboard player myself I love it when you can hear it clearly in a song. 10/10

A Glance At A Buddist Wristwatch - There was an unusual guitar riff at the beginning, this song is quite unique. Haven't heard any rock song like this before and it even has an original song title to match. 9/10

Home Thoughts From Abroad - The beginning of this song reminded me of a Pink track, going from soft disstorted. This song is very energetic, I think it could break the necks of many rockers because I can see a lot of heads banging. The guitar solo was the highlight for me here 10/10

Fools Rush In - I really like this track, the melody, the rhythm and the acoustic guitar. 10/10

Overall a fantastic EP, brilliant melodies, the vocals harmonising well and I really love the original song titles. Hope to see and hear more from them soon, thank you Andy for recommending them.

Click here to check out their website

You can also find This Wicked Tongue on ReverbNation, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube

More Imaginarium news from Nightwish

OK guys with the realease of Imaginarium by Nightwish looming, there are more details from Nightwish's musical maestro Tuomas Holopainen, the film's director Strobe Harju (who also directed the band's video The Islander) and the film's producer Markus Selin. It's very exciting that Strobe Harju is directing this film; he did an absolutely wonderful job with The Islander, one of my favourite songs by the band, the visual aspects are just phenomenal and the song is beautiful. Click the video below to watch what I think is one of the spectacular music videos.

Click here to read the interviews

If the film is going to look as beautiful as this video then I am not worried in the slightest.

Nightwish Studio Recordings

Here's a treat for Nightwish fans all over, you may have seen this already but I am so excited about this. Here's the video for the studio recordings in London. You can see the photos from this event on lead singer Anette Olzon's official blog. Click here to view the photos.

Enjoy!

Gundogs - Little Deaths

I remember seeing Birmingham rockers Gundogs for the first time at Southampton University and remember them being a highlight of the night. What particualarly stuck out to me was how talented front women Leila A and Miss Teresa Rodriguez were; the vocals harmonising well, the phenomenal guitar playing and their poetic songwriting so I am very happy to be reviewing their debut album in this post. Starting off with the song Breakdown, the grungy melody with a hint of Nirvana and once the vocals were heard I also caught a hint of Blondie. The track that stood out for me was the song This Is My Melody, I remember it being performed live and particularly liked it very much. I love how this album combines a whole variety of cleverly written songs with fantastic melodies and absoulutely love the girls voices. This band sound brilliant on CD and live, this CD convinced me that big things will happen for this band. Hope to see them again this year.

Stand Out Tracks:  This Is My Melody and Hey Hey (Feel It Coming)

You can buy their debut album from Big Cartel

Be sure to find them on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LastFM and Reverbnation

Black Veil Brides - We Stitch These Wounds

They are this week's feature of Kerrang magazine, every rocker is talking about them, this post is all about Black Veil Brides. After reading about in this band in Kerrang and hearing lots of positive feedback from fans all over the country I had to see for myself what everyone was getting excited about. The first thing that intrigued me about this band was their appearance; of course every band has to have their own individual look in order to stand out from the rest and I absoulutely love the look of this band. The use of make up is definately unique, the hair is phenomenal and the clothing style is pretty epic too; inspiration from Japanese anime gothic style maybe...that's what it looks like. 

Anyways onto the music, I really like their sound. Andy Six's mixture of vocal styles from screaming to clean singing, his voice is like a mixture of Ville Valo from HIM and David Draiman from Disturbed; I like this very much, a great combination. The screaming also works brilliantly; combines well with the clean vocals. Neck breaking guitar solos and melodic riffs that you could hum all day long complete the package known as Black Veil Brides.

Stand out tracks:  Perfect Weapons and We Stitch These Wounds

Find them on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube

Legitimate

Today I receive a MySpace request from unsigned rap artist from London, Legitimate. Now I can tell you I am not the hugest fan of rap music but I do have a huge respect for rap artists because I love the way they put poetry to a beat and do it so well. Anyways listening to Legitimate I love the lyrics of Two Steps Back, correct me if I'm wrong but I have a feeling it is about living in a council estate and how he feels about it. I am very happy to include a rap artist on my blog, it's something different to what I have reviewed so far. Not saying I don't like to review the rock and metal bands of course....this post is a great opportunity to say I am happy to review any kind of band, it's something I am trying to do, explore more music genres.

For fans of Eminem and The Streets

Find Legitimate on MySpace, Twitter and YouTube

Nightwish revealing the concept for their new album

Hello lovely readers

How you keeping? This piece of news I found out cannot go unnoticed being it's about a band I love and respect tremendously, everyone has been buzzing about the new concept that Finnish metal gods Nightwish have revealed. In the midst of making this album they have also been making a film called Imaginarium that will be based around the new album; the story is about a songwriter with an extraordinary imagination, he is an elderly man with the mind of a young boy. When he falls asleep this man travels to his dreams that come mixed with the young boy's world of fantasy and music, he also fights those memories most important to him.

I think this is a unique way to promote an album, I have not seen it done before by any other musician and I cannot wait to see it for myself. That's one of the things I love about Nightwish, they are not afraid to try new things and I think that's what makes them stand out.

Take care now

Tuomaslotte

U'Mau

After receiving a message from London musician, introducing what kinds of music she combines and I was intrigued immediately. She is currently working on a new album, luckily there are a couple of samples on her Reverbnation and one the songs I listened to had a great impact on me immediately. Her sound is like nothing I had heard before, she mixes jazz, folk and world together in her song. These genres of music are somewhat underrated and not often talked about in the popular press, this is such a shame being that they are such rich genres of music but they are not mentioned at all. So it's such an amazing thing for one young musician to combine all these genres together and do it so well. Cannot wait for the album.

Check out her official website

Find her on Reverbnation, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube

Threequartersmile

Reverbnation has definately been the greatest source for music this year so far, Friday I recieved a message from Southampton alternative rockers Threequartersmile. As most of us know Southampton has a splendid reputation for it's local music scene and has been the best place for fresh young bands; after listening to a fair selection of their songs I felt somewhat revived on this lazy Sunday with their mixture of rock fusions and rhythms; so energetic and somewhat mellow at the same time, it worked for me. Hoping to see and hear more from these guys soon.

For fans of Biffy Clyro and Jimmy Eat World

Find them on their website, Facebook, MySpace and Reverbnation

Jenna's Revenge @ The Firehouse, Southampton 12/2/11

The Firehouse is a relatively new venue for me this year, it is Southampton's rock and metal bar with the loudest jukebox, lively warm atmosphere and friendly staff. For the first time I was to see a gig there, I have known for a while that the venue shows live bands so I was looking forward to it a lot. The bands that played last night were Section21 and Jenna's Revenge.

Section21 were first to play that evening, I didn't have a clue about who they were or what they sounded like so I was very intrigued by their sound. I thought they sounded very much like Led Zeppelin with a hint of Jimi Hendrix; my best friend from college Candy mentioned the guitarist being particulalry brilliant that I agreed with. I think that's where the hint of Jimi Hendrix comes from, it also reminded me of Santana too. In fact they were so good that when they were performing soundcheck me and a friend thought it was their actual performance. Catchy melodies and rocky vocals definately get my thumbs up, I hope to hear more from them soon.

Find Section21 on Facebook, Reverbnation and check out their official website

Headliners Jenna's Revenge were next and last to play that evening, I had seen them before at The Joiners and distinctly remembered the energetic stage presence that was passed onto the audience. Even when they sang a 50's Rock 'N' Roll stylised song there was headbanging in the crowd. Unfortunately wasn't enough people for the mosh pyramid like last time but it was still a fantastic set to rock out too. This was also their penultimate gig; not for the whole band but just for vocalist Sic as he is to move to Prague. I think it was a last performance to remember forever and a day because he gave it his absoulute all whether it as standing on a chair or sitting on the ground singing to my best friend. The music was top notch once again, some of those songs on their album Top Hotel sounded quality live and recognised a few including my favourite June '79. 

Be sure check out Jenna's Revenge official website and you can also find them on Facebook, MySpace and Reverbnation. Follow them on Twitter.

Overall brilliant set from both bands, warm lively atmosphere and generally a night I will never ever forget. I think that'll be because of the energy from the crowd and the love that was in the room that night. Also say goodbye to Sic when he leaves for Prague and all the best of luck in the future.

Requiem For The Dead - Those Lovely Shark People

Following the positive reception of Act One:  The Terrible Tale Of Two I was very excited when I heard this band released a second song of the mysterious album they are currently working on. So downloading it this morning after having only hearing one minute teasers I was very excited to hear the whole thing; after hearing it I cannot decided which song is better, this song like the last one had a positive upbeat vibe whilst the lyrics remain dark. I really treasure this unsual approach to music, if the whole album is as good as those two songs then I have absoulutely nothing to worry about.

If you like the song, go to the band's Facebook page then click on the 'Band Page' tab to get a free download.

In Darklight @ The Danebury Hotel, Andover 5/2/11

Went to see In Darklight's first of 2011 last night at the classy Danebury Hotel in Andover; I don't often go to Andover being it's a quite a long way away but going for last nights gig was so totally worth it. Performing fantastic covers of different songs from the likes of The Beatles to Kings Of Leon the night was just phenomenal, also recieving Brownie points for their brand new cover of Green Day's American Idiot. That particular song and band were definately one of the bands that will stick out in my teenage years. They pulled off the show with one man down, the words of Freddie Mercury 'The show must go on'. I wish former bassist Dave the best of luck with whatever he is doing now. As well as the performance being top notch the crowd they got last was possibly the best I have seen so far; full of enery, lots of dancing and singing, it was incredible. I managed to get a person to sign their mailing list that I was quite pleased with, definately a first gig of 2011 that they should be proud of.

Say Never

Hello lovely readers

How you all keeping? I am possibly feeling my best today since a huge part of an assignment has been completed yayy. Anyways yesterday recieved a YouTube request from American alternative rockers Say Never, this was before I was about to do an assignment so I need some new music to calm the nerves. Listening to their song Come Out and Play just made me smile; it started off with a relatively fast guitar riff then it changes to a foot tapping tempo. Cover off Dirty Diana by pop legend Micheal Jackson was remarkable, it is always interesting to hear different versions of MJ's songs. Hope to see and hear more from these guys soon, maybe make a trip across the pond.

Tuomaslotte

For fans of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins

We Caught The Castle - Lips EP

This was one of the bands I saw at The Soul Cellar last Friday and was highly impressed with their performance so I got an EP to listen to. First track Lips starts of with a catchy guitar riff that is then followed by a footapping beat and Hayley Williams like vocals from vocalist Hollie Cobb, I also must mention the male vocals work very well here too. Layer Cake sounded a bit different to Lips being it was a little bit more calmer, the kind of rock song you can sway to; that's always nice too. Say What You Want sounded different from the first two songs, this song definately has a valid message we all should listen to; Say What You Want .Overall a brilliant first EP, got a jist of different sounding songs showing me that they are versatile with their music. 2011 may just be their year.

Join them on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Last FM

For fans of Paramore

A City Like This

Last night going to my favourite Southampton music venue for the first time in 2011 to see another friend's band; they are called A City Like This and I was very eager to know what their sound was like. I have got to say their sound is incredible; catchy melodies and upbeat tunage bringing out the pop punk genre. I am slowly getting to know the relatively new genre of pop punk via Kids In Glass Houses, Paramore etc. Also keeping up Southampton's fantastic reputation for live music. Hope to see and hear more from them in the future.

Join them on Facebook and LastFM

For fans of Kids In Glass Houses and Jimmy Eat World