Interview with New Device

After watching a soothing acoustic set from New Device frontman Daniel Leigh at Southampton's cosiest venue, The Cellar (Formerly The Soul Cellar), I managed to pull him and drummer Greg 'Rozzy' Ison aside for a quick chat in the chilly Southampton air. We chatted about their new upcoming album and generally life as musicians; I would love to thank the boys for boosting my confidence on the interviewing front.

Also I would like to say I re-recorded one of the questions in the radio studio since when I asked it in the interview, nerves got the better of me and the question didn't make sense. Anyways I hope you enjoy listening to the intriguing and some hilarious answers; being why you can hear me giggling in the background in some parts. Click the link below to listen to the interview.

Daniel Leigh and Greg 'Rozzy' Ison interview

Find New Device on their website, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LastFM

We Will Rock You @ The Mayflower; Southampton 26/4/10

Since this is a music blog I thought I'd review musicals on this blog, being to do with the fact I have loved musicals from a young age and still love them now; last night my sister and I took a trip to Southampton's greatest theatre where all the huge productions take place and this was The Mayflower. I have been going there since I was very young so I am very familiar with it's grand yet warm cosy atmosphere, attentive staff and excellent facilities. Last night the production We Will Rock You was on at The Mayflower.

Once my sister and I were shown to our seats we were ready to watch; we both watched eagerly as the smoke machienes were being tested and the lighting guys took their places. Suddenly the lights went down and the disco balls lit up; we then saw infront of us a brief music timeline of events such as The Beatles conquering the US in 1964, Mr Blobby reaching number 1 in 1993. Then came the future dates such as Radio 1 playing their last non computer generated tune and music instruments being banned; this was an excellent way to set up the story of the musical. Everyone wears the same clothes, thinks the same thoughts and listens to the same music in this story since Planet Mall, formerly Earth, is run by the main antagonist, Killer Queen, so any kind of individuality shown she tries to crush. Rebels Galileo and Scaramoosh try and break free from this conformist society by wearing different clothes and expressing their opinions; they arrested for doing so but escape and set out in the world to find out who they are. They come across a rebel tribe, who call themselves The Bohemians, who are after the ancient texts of rock and roll that can liberate the planet.

I loved how each Queen song was used to tell part of the story and some parts changing some of the words to fit the story; for instance the song Killer Queen, the line 'spoke like a baroness' is changed to 'emailed like a baroness'. The characters all had very strong personalities and the actors portrayed those very well; particularly Scaramoosh, Brit and Killer Queen, I thought they were all very well recieved by the audience. There was a standing avation at the very end of the show of course; it was that amazing. I also loved the audience participation in the final three songs, whether it was waving your arms in the air to We Are The Champions, rocking out the We Will Rock You or singing your heart out to classic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Overall a fantastic evening and possibly one of the best things I have seen on stage so far.

New Theory Of A Deadman album; release date announced

Just heard today that Vancouver rockers Theory Of A Deadman shall be releasing a brand new album on 12th July; I personally cannot wait for this. After their extraordinary Scars and Souvenirs, which I reviewed in I think December that includes songs Bad Girlfriend (below), So Happy and Little Smirk,  I would love to see what new material they have produced; they will be releasing a new song from it next month.

Click here to read more info from the band's record label Roadrunner Records

Find Theory Of A Deadman on their official website, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube

Happy Easter

Hello hello hello, Happy Easter everyone....it's the day where we can eat lots of chocolate and reward ourselves with all the treats that some of us decided to give up for fourty days lent. I have so much chocolate to get through, being that my Mum and sister gave up chocolate for lent so there's Coco Pops and a ton of chocolate left over; plus getting a lot more today.

Happy Easter everyone!!!!!!

Tuomaslotte

Amaranthe - Amaranthe

I couldn't wait til tomorrow to write a post about this album because it is that good and I may have found another band that fits Tuomaslotte's Bands Of 2011 and Albums of 2011 lists perfectly. I found this album on Spotify under recommendations so I thought 'Why not, I'll give it a listen". On the first listen I was very taken aback by the screamo vocals but once I saw how well it fits together with clean vocals I was amazed; I have possibly listened to the first song Leave Everything Behind for about the fourth time today, I love how this dark metal writes very deep, heavy hearted and poetical lyrics but they put it with such catchy melodies....it's pure genius. There was something different about the melodies in this album, nothing like I have heard in previous metal albums; it has the dirty grungy sounds of metal that mixes with 80s synthesisers. A perfect example of this is put into practise via the track Automatic; the verses give off a dirty grungy melody then the chorus sounds very sort of 80s, I think this technique is genius.

Overall a fantastic album from Swedish/Danish melodic death metallers with a variety of songs from the fast paced dirty Hunger to the heartfelt ballad Amarathine; hope they come to the UK to do a show sometime.

Stand Out Tracks:  Leave Everything Behind, Automatic and Amarathine

Find Amaranthe on Facebook and MySpace

Roy Khan leaves Kamelot

A little bit disheartened today by the news of vocalist Roy Khan choosing to leave power metal band Kamelot; he has the most enchanting voice that fits the songs perfectly. I don't know much more about the situation but I do know a man named Fabio is replacing Roy, I'm sure Fabio will do well. Roy will be missed dearly and I wish him all the best for the future. I'll leave you with a video of Roy singing one of my favourite Kamelot songs.

Click here to read the statement from Kamelot's official website

Find Kamelot on their official website, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter

Gecko - Three Dead At Sundown

A video by this band was shared on the Facebook page for this blog yesterday; the video was from three piece hard rock bluesy band Gecko who hail from Southampton. After listening to snippets of their debut album I was impressed with their sound, this album I am writing a post about is their second album Three Dead At Sundown. I love how the entire album is opened up by an instrumental with no singing, the intro sounded very much like a part of my personal favourite Guns 'N Roses tune Welcome To The Jungle. This album sort of reminds me of a hot, sandy place like the desert. It seems sleezy blues rock is definately making a come back, this album prooves this with it's slick guitar solos and old school style tunage.

Stand out tracks:  Back On The Road Again, Man Without A Plan and Tornado

Find Gecko on Facebook, MySpace and Reverbnation

Western Sand

This is one of the bands that will be supporting Heaven's Basement and Jettblack, there was a link to a webpage; they appear on the 'Sign me to Roadrunner Records' tab on the Roadrunner Records website. Roadrunner Records have definately signed on some of the greatest rock bands such as Slipknot, Within Temptation, Black Label Society and one of my personal favourites Nickelback. Western Sand have definately proved that Roadrunner Records still goes strong; listening to their bluesy rock sound I was higly impressed, I was singing along to the chorus of Back On The Road Again and I had only heard the chorus twice. Catchy, dirty and quality rock tunage are definately what I am looking forward to see at The Talking Heads a month today. The beginning of the song Coming For You reminded me a little bit of Born To Be Wild; I also love the husky voice from Mr Tyler Haines who sounds like Black Stone Cherry's Chris Robertson duetting with Jettblack's Will Stapleton. Cannot wait to see them live, I think they will be part of Tuomaslotte's Bands of 2011.

Find Western Sand on their official website, Facebook, MySpace, Reverbnation and Roadrunner Records 

For fans of Jettblack and Black Stone Cherry

Feud - Out From The Inside EP

I saw this band at my student union bar at Southampton Solent university where I study and particularly thought they were brilliant so I decided to get an EP from them. A really fantastic selection of songs to introduce the band's grungy sound, the voice I fell in love with right away. I think their boat could possibly sail far in the ocean of rock and metal, I hope to hear more material and see them again soon. Here I leave with a song by them.

Find Feud on their official website, Facebook, Reverbnation and MySpace

Be sure to buy their EP on iTunes

Sorry

Hi guys

Sorry if I seemed absent for the past few days; I have had this awful stomach bug that has basically made me feel very down and tired. Luckily it's going away slowly but surely, I saw my doctor this morning and assured I will be fine. Whilst I have been ill I have come across some new music which I will share with you and I found out today who will be the support acts for when I see Heaven's Basement and Jettblack do their joint headline gig in Southampton, a month today now.....cannot wait. Oh I would also like to say I will be seeing the musical We Will Rock You next week with my sister, which I am looking forward to. I hope to write a post about that.

Take care now
Tuomaslotte

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

I really love Foo Fighters, they produce some great quality rock tunage; today I decided to give their brand new album Wasting Light a listen. The opening song had me gripped immediately; a lot of the album is very upbeat like a lot of their material is and somewhat sounds different to what they have done before. I like this very muchly and the album gets better and better. For instance I listening to the song Dear Rosemary and love the melody alot; that's another aspect of Foo Fighters I love, they have a grungy sounds and write melodies that suit it perfectly. I am very impressed with this album, definately solid evidence that Foo Fighters still go strong. Excellent work from the guys; very tempted to buy a ticket for their summer concert but I know they'll probably sold out.

Stand out tracks:  Arlandria, Dear Rosemary and Bridge Burning

Find Foo Fighters on their official website, Facebook and Twitter

Hola amigos I have returned from Spain

Greetings I have come home from sunny Spain; I have had a whale of a time over there. I stayed in a lovely seaside town called Calpe which is located in Costa Blanca, it has gourgeous beaches, friendly locals and lots of different shops and restaurants. I am also a keen rock climber; I was on my first climbing holiday abroad, the climbing routes were wicked. My favourite one went up through a hole and you come out the other side, this one was located on the Gandia crag; there are some pictures of that below. Right now I am enjoying some Chip Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies that I have bought from Spain.

The mainstream music scene is a lot more different to the music scene in the UK; a lot of the music videos were a tad cheesy for my taste but in some ways that is a good thing because they stick on your mind. I also met an awesome dude named Ras Hafeez who ran the surfing shop next door to the hostel I stayed in, he also creates music and hope to hear some soon. I will leave with some pictures from my amazing trip.

Happy Mothers Day and Adios

First things first, today it's Mothers Day in the UK today; so this morning I gave my mum a voucher for a head, neck and shoulder massage at my local beauty studio. I have had one before and it is lush, all the things my mum does for the family she definately deserves the day; I also made her breakfast and I am to make a starter for lunch time as part of a three course meal. 

Another thing; I will be away for a week in sunny Spain. I leave tonight and will be back Monday night; so between 4th and 11th April there will be no posts of any kind. I will definately tell you guys all about Spain and take lots of pictures and who knows there will possibly some bands out in Spain too. 

Adios, see you in a week

I will leave you with some music to commemorate Mother's day and going off to Spain

Tricorn

Now Tricorn know how to get a show underway and the crowd pumping; if you are looking for a old school sounding rock band with angry male vocals, slick riffs and a beat that makes you crazy then this is definitely the band for you. The guys are also an incredibly nice bunch too; unfortunately couldn't stay for the whole set or buy a CD since I had to catch the last train home. Hoping they come back to Southampton very soon; I will also order an album from them after my holiday.

For fans of Black Sabbath and Alice In Chains

Find Tricorn on their official website, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube

Tyranny Falls

I had seen these guys play at The Joiners before but didn't catch the name until Wednesday so it was brilliant to see them again, Since they gave such an energetic performance at The Joiners back in January. Pompey prog rockers Tyranny Falls exceeded expectations at the SU bar. It's brilliant how they combine neck braking guitar riffs with an incredibly talented vocalist; I would also love to mention the drummer having excellent skills and a great taste in hats haha. Hope to see them soon in the near future; a couple of guys at my uni have recorded their EP, which is impressive so look forward to the release.

For fans of Black Stone Cherry and Cancer Bats

Find Tyranny Falls on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter

Feud

I watched some bands at my SU bar on Wednesday evening; since I hadn't heard them all before I decided to write introduction posts for them. First up Buckinghamshire grunge rock band Feud; vocalist Greg Combrinck sounded so much like Theory Of A Deadman's Tyler Connolly and each member of the band provides some quality rock tunage. I also managed to get an EP from them too; expect to see a post about that very soon. Hope they come back to Southampton very soon.

For fans of Seether and Theory Of A Deadman

Find Feud on their official website, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Reverbnation and YouTube