Hello guys, well it is that time of year! It has almost come to an end and we will be celebrating Christmas. I can safely say my year has been great; turning 21, graduating university and expanding Musical Lotty's Music News! Tomorrow after work I shall be heading down to The Talking Heads to film the Voice FM Christmas party where you bring a present to give to a child who will be spending their time in hospital. Money raised will also be going to WUWU Homeless Charity. Bands playing will include New Device, Toxic Shock, Three Times Over and many more, there will also be everyone's favourite Christmas tunes including my favourite ones below. I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Welcome to the second installment of the end of year post! So far I have shown you my top five albums of 2013 and now onto top five singles! Before I go further with the post I would first like to say that I picked five incredible songs and it was so tricky to put these in order of preference!
5) Katy Perry - Roar
Kicking off the top 5 with
a roar is Katy Perry’s single…well Roar. It's not the usual rock or metal song I go for but for me this single was a highlight of 2013. Empowering lyrics and a catchy
melody are the two components needed for the perfect pop hit. It also seems to
show the growth of Katy Perry herself as she been through quite a lot in the
past year or so.
4) Avril Lavigne feat. Chad Kroeger – Let Me Go
At number four is the single Let Me Go by newly
weds Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger. I must admit I was very sceptical when I
heard these two were going to release a single together. I’m very happy to say
that I was proved wrong in this case; captivating use of the piano, the
haunting lyrics and the beautiful harmony between Avril’s and Chad’s voices
completes the song! The thirteen year old inside me is squealing with joy that
my two favourite artists growing up have collaborated.
3) New Device – Save Your Life
Coming in at number 3 is the single Save Your Life by New
Device. It was very refreshing to here some brand new material from the London
rockers after a three-year gap. I remember first hearing this on Voice.FM and
feeling warm inside within the first few seconds of the song. From the familiar
clean crisp vocals provided by charismatic front man Dan Leigh to the original
riffs and solos delivered by Matt Mallery and Nick Jones, Save Your Life has
all the crucial features of a perfect rock song.
2) Within Temptation feat. Tarja – Paradise (What About Us?)
At
number 2 is the sing Paradise (What About Us?) by Within Temptation featuring
Tarja Turunen. When I first heard these two were going to do a single together
I was very excited and I had every right to. Sharon Den Adel and Tarja’s
beautiful voices complemented each other to create a strikingly moving song
with a chorus that gives me goose bumps every time. If these are the kind of
songs that we will hear on the new album then I think we don’t have to worry.
1) Shinedown – I’ll Follow You
Finally my number one single of 2013 is I’ll Follow You by
Shinedown. I was really excited to hear about the release of this song! After
hearing it at their live show in Southampton in 2012 and listening to it again
of the album I realised how profound this song is. With deeply thought lyrics
and an enchanting melody to complete it I’ll
Follow You has become a favourite single of mine. It doesn’t matter how
many times I listen to the single it continues to blow me away each time. The
reason why it is my number one single of 2013 is because it reminds me of some
happy times; particularly when they performed this at Wembley Arena to 12,000
adoring fans as they sang along! That is an experience I will not be forgetting
any time soon!
Well that time of year has come around again! Before we exit with a festive cheer I thought I would reveal my top five albums and singles of 2013! So without further ado here are my top albums of 2013!
5) Amaranthe – Nexus
To
kick off my top 5 albums is the album Nexus by Swedish/Danish metalcore group Amaranthe.
Being well known for mixing melodic pop with death metal is the reason why this
band are a personal favourite of mine. The album has a versatile collection of
songs from the heartfelt Burn With Me
to the upbeat Electroheart I think 2014
could possibly be their year. The album includes a beautiful acoustic rendition
of their enchanting ballad Amaranthine.
4) Alter Bridge – Fortress
At
number four is the fourth studio album from the almighty Alter Bridge. This was
one of the anticipated rock albums of the year; this masterpiece from the
Florida rockers entices you within the first few seconds of opening track Cry Of Achillies and it invites you to
listen on to some killer sounding tracks such as Addicted to Pain, Lover
and Waters Rising. A spectacular
arena tour featuring their friends from Shinedown and Halestorm accompanied
this epic album.
3) Bad Pollyanna – Monstrous Child
I originally saw this band on a friend's Facebook page. After
hearing Hollow for the first time I was blown away at first listen so my
expectations of the album were high. Those expectations were exceeded as it
opened with Hollow and Awake Now; the amazing melodies, unusual instrument
arrangements and the spectacular vocals provided by Olivia Hyde give Bad
Pollyanna’s Monstrous Child a fantastic package for a fantastic album.
2) New Device – Here We Stand
Coming in at number two is the second studio album Here We Stand from New Device. Due to
line up changes there was at least a three-year wait for this album from the
London rockers but it was most certainly worth it. The album is great pick me
up for when you are feeling down; this is demonstrated through songs such as
singles Here We Stand and Save Your Life as well as my personal
favourite song on the album End Of Hope.
So if you like beautifully clear vocals, talented guitarists and rolling drums
than this is the album for you.
1) Heaven’s Basement – Filthy Empire
At number 1 is Heaven’s Basement’s debut album Filthy Empire. 2013
has possibly been a great year for rockers Heaven’s Basement and this album is
crucial evidence. From the profound acoustic ballad The Price We Pay to the high energy I Am Electric this album has innovative and genuinely brilliant rock
songs to suit every mood under the sun. Everyone has an album in their
collection that they can listen to from start to finish over and over again
without growing bored; well Filthy Empire has become that album! Making it my
number one album of 2013!
This piece of news is shaking the online sphere and the world of rock music! Rock legends Def Leppard are looking into taking legal action as a result of new song Midnight Memories from worldwide popstars One Direction sounding very similar to iconic song Pour Some Sugar On Me! According to a source given to the Mirror online: "Music lawyers will routinely scour hits like this one to see if there is any evidence that a band has copied or cleverly mimicked a Def Leppard song. These cases can often take weeks to sort out because we are not talking about peanuts here - the 1D album is selling millions and if the title track goes out as a single it will generate even more money." I usually like to read more into things before completely trusting different sources and jumping to conclusions but I must admit that these two songs sound incredibly similar...
Midnight Memories - One Direction
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard What are your thoughts? Are One Direction ripping off Def Leppard?
Squashed on the tube? Check! Sweaty armpit in my face? Check! Staying in more than one accommodation in the same week?
Check! Proof –read many articles? Check!
This checklist is a little summary of my two fantastic weeks
at the main offices of Terrorizer magazine! I was a small town girl in the big
city; I had been to London in the past mainly for leisure but never for work so
excitement and anticipation filled me up very quickly!
On my first day at Terrorizer I was feeling very
apprehensive as I did not know what to expect; I thought I would either be
twiddling my thumbs or on endless tea making duty. I could not have been more
wrong.
I arrived half an hour earlier then said time since I wanted
to make a good impression, this gave me time to take in some of the spectacular
street art of Old Street. It wasn’t long before I was greeted by Hannah, the
reviews/features editor and let into the office and set up my laptop at my
desk. I was gradually introduced to the rest of the Terrorizer team who were
all very friendly.I am happy to say
that I was kept busy for the next two weeks with sub-editing articles,
transcribing interviews and choosing pages for the magazine online preview, as
well as the occasional run to the off-licence for milk and orange squash. Of
course an internship would not be complete without tea making now and again so
this internship had the whole package.
Throughout these two weeks I have learnt so much about how a
magazine is published and the amount of work that goes into it! I think I’ve
gained more confidence in myself as a journalist to try new things! The best
kind of learning is when you have fun doing it; the relaxed environment with a
friendly team of people and the latest pre-releases on in the office from the
likes of Grand Magus and Van Canto.
To find out about the intern programme and Terrorizer in general go to their official website! It’s a great way to get experience in publishing and
journalism so I highly recommend it!
Following the success of their tour with The Answer, Cage The Gods will be hitting the road with The Treatment!
I was very excited to open up the email from Duff Publishing announcing this because The Treatment are a personal favourite band of mine and I watched Cage The Gods perform when they were support Heaven's Basement and they were a fantastic live band to watch! This run of tour dates (seen below) are in support of their debut album Badlands! Their EP Favourite Sin is available from iTunes so be sure to give that a listen before catching them on tour. You can find Cage The Gods on Facebook and their official website Tour dates
Sat 7th Dec 2013 Great Yarmouth, Planet Rockstock (4pm start) Wed 12th Dec Nottingham, Rock City Headline Show Thurs 13th Dec Sheffield, Greystones Headline Show Fri 14th Dec Manchester, Deaf Institute Headline Show Mon 3rd Feb 2014 Norwich, Waterfront Studio - supporting The Treatment Tues 4th Feb Nottingham, Rock City Basement Wed 5th Feb Stoke, The Sugarmill Fri 7th Feb London, O2 Islington Academy Sat 8th Feb Wolverhampton, Slade Rooms Sun 9th Feb Manchester, Academy 3 Mon 10th Feb Sheffield, Corporation Tues 11th Feb Glasgow, King Tuts Thurs 13th Feb Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach Fri 14th Feb Bristol, Thekla
Feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed after relaxing this weekend back at home!
Well this week has just been busy but a brilliant learning curb; I completed my first week interning at the main office of Terrorizer where I have been learning how a magazine works and doing little jobs for the reviews team. This involved transcribing interviews and sub-editing reviews; it is important to make sure everything looks perfect down to the spelling when material is about to be published on an international scale! I am about to start my second week; it's deadline week so this will be very interesting to experience.
Another thing that has been keeping me busy is the end of year reviews; this year I decided it will be the first time that I will showcase them as videos as well as written pieces. To give you a sneak preview here's the trailer I made for it below.
