Top 5 Singles of 2013

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!

Top 5 Albums of 2013

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!

First Week at Terrorizer!

Hello everyone!

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.

End Of Year trailer

Be sure to attend the online premier of these videos! Click here to find out more!

End Of Year reviews Premier

Well that's it from me until next week! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the end of year videos.

Musical Lotty

Jettblack Needs You!

On the recent Facebook news feed I spied a post from personal favourite band Jettblack! They are about to make a new album but they need your help! Pledge any amount of money to gain goodies from the band but most importantly to help them produce a brand new album. Here you can watch the video of their press conference that took some shocking twists!

Click the link below to find out more! Pledge, retweet and most importantly share and share alike!!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/jettblack

In the meantime enjoy some of my personal favourite Jettblack songs!!!

Prison Of Love

Sunshine

Get Your Hands Dirty

HIM - Tears On Tape

Finnish love metallers His Infernal Majesty (that's HIM to you and me) are back with a brand new album that has wowed fans and listeners.

It has been a while since 2010's Screamworks: Love In Theory and Practise, I have found that HIM often produce exceptional albums and this brilliant one was another example. Starting of with an instrumental named Unleash The Red that worked very well as it created anticipation, this is followed into a smooth transition into the highly distorted first track All Lips Go Blue. Heartfelt song Tears On Tape was the first single to be released and I feel it introduced the album very well. I felt this album was slightly different to material they have produced for their previous albums, this one had a lot more easy listening metal to appeal to a wider audience and I think it works as they still produce original, meaning songs that reach out to listeners all over the world.

Overall a fantastic comeback from HIM.

Stand out tracks:  Love Without Tears, Tears On Tape and Kiss The Void

Find HIM on Facebook and their official website

New Device - Here We Stand

London rockers New Device are back and they mean business with their brand new album Here We Stand!

Opening track Here We Stand was a fantastic way to open the album, it is evidence that they have come back with a bang. I recognised some of the songs on the album such as New York and my personal favourite End Of Hope from when frontman Dan Leigh performed an acoustic set in my local area. It was particularly great to hear End Of Hope with some distorted guitars and rolling drums as I had only hear acoustic versions of this song. New Device have had it tough these past years and there hasn't been a new album for a while but this masterpiece was most certainly worth waiting for.

Overall this is a fantastic album, with stadium like songs such as New York and Here We Stand this album proves that New Device are back!

For fans of Alter Bridge and Guns 'N' Roses

Stand out tracks:  Away From Here, New York and End Of Hope

Find New Device on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Interview with Eric Young and Martin Sweet from Crashdiet

Before Crashdiet took to the stage with Jettblack at Southampton’s show I got to have a chat with Eric Young and Martin Sweet from Crashdiet. Here we talk about their new album, how the tour has gone and what their fantasy day would consist of. Here is a transcript for the interview and you can listen to the interview here.

Charlotte:      Hi there I’m Charlotte Whittingham representing Loud Stuff.com and Voice.FM. I am at one of my favourite venues in Southampton with Eric and Martin from Crashdiet. First I would like to say welcome back to the UK, reading the information on your website this is your first time in Southampton is that correct?

Martin:           Yes that is correct.

Charlotte:      What have been your first impressions of Southampton so far?

Martin:           Looks like a small town, I walked around and it is a nice town. I heard it’s sold out tonight so we’re looking forward to it.

Charlotte:      So this tour is promoting your new album Savage Playground, it’s a fantastic album by the way, would say it has been well received by public, fans and critics?

Eric:               Yeah I would say that it has, people seem to really enjoy the album so that’s cool. There is always that nervous feeling when you release an album and you wonder what people will think.

Charlotte:      So for those living under a rock and have never even heard of Crashdiet, describe Savage Playground in three words.

Eric:               Energetic, true and raw.

Charlotte:      So this is the last night of the tour, how has the tour gone so far?

Martin:           Over expectations actually, it’s been really packed at every venue. We played in the US for a few days and the attendance has been up and down. It has been great to play to huge crowds.

Charlotte:      How do crowds in the US compare to the UK?

Martin:           They are quite similar, they’re loud. Both in the US and UK can have great crowds.

Charlotte:      What can we expect from tonight’s show? Why should we get excited?

Eric:               Well tonight’s going to be one of those letting loose shows.

Martin:           There’s going to be a lot of nakedness

Eric:               That tends to happen on the last night of the tour.

Martin:           On the last show of the US tour, Eric played the whole show naked, so we’ll see who will be naked tonight.

Charlotte:      You’re touring with Jettblack, one of Britain’s great up and coming rock bands, how has it been touring with one of Britain’s upcoming rock bands?

Eric:               They are really nice guys and cool music.

Martin:           It’s a nice package, we seem to have the same kind of audience.

Charlotte:      Regarding glam rock how does the scene in Sweden compare to here?

Martin:           It’s flourishing here [in the UK], in Sweden it flourished few years ago. I wouldn’t say it’s going down hill, but cooled down slightly. We still have big crowds in Sweden and people are re-discovering it here.

Charlotte:      So you could say glam rock is making a come back from the eighties, would you agree?

Martin:           Yeah yeah. We’re not a retro band, we like to take our favourite influences from the eighties to make great new stuff. Hopefully we have our own identity and I think we have that.

Charlotte:      A few icebreakers, what possession could you not give up? It doesn’t have to be expensive.

Martin:           My girlfriend, I couldn’t sell her or give her away.

Charlotte:      Between touring and writing albums, is there anything you like to do?

Martin:           Not really ermm.

Eric:               Your girlfriend.

Martin:           Oh yes my girlfriend. 

Charlotte:      How would you spend you dream twenty four hours with no restrictions?

Eric:               On a boat.

Martin:           I’ll go to the moon, get one of those space ships.

Charlotte:      You’ll be another man to land on the moon.

Martin:           No just circle round it for hours and then come back.

Charlotte:      You could also leave a mark to say you were there like a Crashdiet flag that will always be there. And finally what are your plans for 2013?

Martin:           We’ll be touring the rest of Europe, then go back home for two weeks. Then embark the rest of the European tour and we’ll be touring in Japan for the first time. See what’s happening over there, doing two dates there and then a few summer gigs at festivals. Then I’m up for writing new stuff.

Charlotte:      Thank you very much Martin and Eric for doing the interview today.

Find Eric and Martin with Crashdiet on Facebook, Twitter and their official website.

Interview with Jon Dow from Jettblack

Before the sleeze, glam rock fest from Crashdiet and Jettblack begun I caught up with Jon Dow from Jettblack. Here we spoke about their great accomplishments in 2012, Will’s lastest appearance in War Of The Worlds and who he would most like to have a pie and a pint with. Here is the transcript for the interview.  To listen to this interview on SoundCloud click here.

Charlotte:      Hi there I’m Charlotte Whittingham representing Voice.FM and Loud-Stuff.com. I am here at The Joiners my favourite venue in Southampton with Jon Dow from Jettblack. So Jon welcome back to Southampton, 2012 has been a great year for you! A new album, a successful album launch and a great headline tour, would you say you are storming onto the music scene?

Jon:                 I wouldn’t say storming but we have been trickling onto the scene for the past ten years. It’s definitely building. It’s been a good little run for us with decent turnouts, it’s nice to see people turn up, singing the words and wearing our shirts. So it’s getting there.

Charlotte:      Any big plans for 2013? You going to be bigger than last year?

Jon:                 Well I hope so; it’s going to be mainly releases including a mini album with all the songs from the old album that weren’t released before so there will be a physical release of those.   We also have some covers and a bit of new material. Then we’re playing a few festivals later this year, then we will be getting on with a new studio album that we will start working on in September.

Charlotte:      So tonight is the last of the tour, where were the best venues to play at?

Jon:                 London last night was amazing, easily the best place to play and one of the best gigs for a long time. Cardiff is always pumping; we had like three days on our own before playing with Crashdiet. They’ve all been really good so far but Cardiff is always really good fun so yeah Cardiff.

Charlotte:      I turned 21 last month; I was given a subscription to Kerrang! Magazine and there was a picture of Jettblack in the first issue I received.

Jon:                 Really? What recently?

Charlotte:      Yeah very recently. My birthday was last month so it must have been an April issue.

Jon:                 That’s alright then. What gig was it for?           

Charlotte:      I think it was at the start of your tour.

Jon:                 What October?

Charlotte:      No April.

Jon:                 Must have been the Glasgow show. They did a review about the gig.

Charlotte:      I think you maybe right, I should have bought my copy tonight, but if you could appear on the cover on any magazine what would it be? It doesn’t have to be a music one.

Jon:                 Fishing Global, something like that. I’m not really bothered, any publicity is great for the band. To be honest the magazines are good to us like Classic Rock, Kerrang! And Metal Hammer they all feature us so we aren’t doing too bad. I’m not really a big magazine reader. Times Magazine is always a good one, Forbes magazine.

Charlotte:      Remind me, what is Forbes magazine?

Jon:                 It’s financial, I think you have to be seriously rich and successful to be featured.

Charlotte:      Ah OK, so doing a random search on the Google box and you share a name with an interior design company based in Mexico.

Jon:                 That isn’t so strange; there are rappers and porn stars with the same name as us. He’s a good-looking bloke so whenever we look on Google news for press and it’s usually pictures of him [Jett Black] in compromising positions.

Charlotte:      The suggestions in the Google box came up with Jett Black interiors.

Jon:                 Maybe it’s our company and we don’t know it, we’re also getting into the jewellery trade soon. Jettblack Jewellers.

Charlotte:      If this interior design company came to you to design your house what would you have done? It can be beyond your wildest dreams.

Jon:                 I already live in my perfect dream house; it’s got nothing in it but a white bench and a lot of fruit ‘n’ fibre.

Charlotte:      Will recently starred in War Of Worlds tour.

Jon:                 Yes, it’s a shame he’s not here to talk about it so I can just slag him off [laughs]. But yeah it was really good, I didn’t actually go to the tour but I saw the cinema/DVD presentation of it and yeah it was really good. He did well, he was only on stage for four and a half minutes but it was his best performance I have seen.

Charlotte:      Would you say there was always a musical theatre bug inside him?

Jon:                 A lot of people were saying before he did [War Of The Worlds].  He’s got a theatrical take and he does have operatic tones in his voice. He’s got a decent vibrato so that’s always lends itself to theatre work but yeah he was perfect for the job.

Charlotte:      So if you can star in any musical what would it be?

Jon:                 I don’t know just the most paid one, not bothered. Something with Jason Donovan will be a bonus. I’ll tell you what I would love to star in Chicago as that has some fit birds I wouldn’t mind knocking about backstage with.

Charlotte:      So have you guys considered a Jettblack musical?

Jon:                 We’re kind of in tow for the idea, it goes along the lines of a Death Frequency night which takes inspiration from the Raining Rock video with the evil lord killing everyone. So we’re going to have a themed night for that on a university tour. We haven’t organised anything yet but we’ll see on costs and see what the logistics are.

Charlotte:      Just a few icebreaker questions, which iconic musician would you have a pie and a pint with?

Jon:                 Freddie Mercury.

Charlotte:      Great choice, great choice.

Jon:                 It will be a bit fruity, after ten pints you’ll have a good night.

Charlotte:      What’s your biggest pet peeve that makes you livid?

Jon:                 Genocide, that really makes me cross. But nothing really bothers me I’m really laidback and easy going.

Charlotte:      Which song means the most to you?

Jon:                 Relight My Fire by Take That, well the Take That Cover of Lulu’s Relight My Fire it really gets my blood flowing.

Charlotte:      Last but not least what can we expect from tonight’s show? Why should we be excited?

Jon:                 I’ve recently been on the tanning beds, that’s always something to get excited about and Tom is not wearing a bandanna, he’s going to be wearing some sort of top hat so what’s not to like. Matt’s got thicker eyeliner for the last night as a treat. We have also got a few songs that we haven’t played before live so we got Black Gold a bit of an epic one that should be good. Other than that it’s going to be a standard heavy rock show.

Charlotte:      Thanks very much Jon for doing this interview today.

Find Jon and Jettblack on Facebook, Twitter and their official website.

Jettblack and Crashdiet @ The Joiners, Southampton 28/04/2013

JETTBLACK
CRASHDIET, WESTERN SAND + HOLLYWOOD TRASH @ THE JOINERS, SOUTHAMPTON 28/04/2013
Words by Charlotte Whittingham
Photos by Naomi Rigley

Thunderous drums, slick guitar solos and big hair were the main factors of Jettblack and Crashdiet’s sold out co-headline show at The Joiners for the last night of their tour.

The night kicked off with local hard rockers Hollywood Trash, influences from Motley Crue and Guns ‘N’ Roses were very clear through the band’s music. With powerful vocal work, rolling drums and original guitar solos, this young band definitely have the whole rock package and have the potential to climb high on the musical ladder with their catchy songs such as Mr Rock ‘N’ Roll and Diamond In Your Eye. Overall a great performance from Hollywood Trash and a fantastic way to start a fantastic evening, if you haven’t seen this band already I highly recommend it. The positive reactions amongst the crowd from beginning to the end of their set said it all.

Next up were Bournemouth Southern rockers Western Sand, this gig showed that they have most definitely grown as a band and how far they have come since I first saw them nearly two years ago. An atmospheric backing track built up anticipation amongst the crowd as they made their way onto the stage, starting with song Better Days really got the crowds going and their set was well underway. Tonight was the premier of brand new song Dog Without A Bone that started off quite ballad like, so when it sharply transitioned to the upbeat tempo I was taken aback as I did not expect it. Overall a fantastic performance from the boys, they now also have a new EP available click their link at the bottom of the page for more details.

As Swedish glam rockers Crashdiet made their way to the stage the cheers and chants were heard all over the venue. I hadn’t seen them live before so I didn’t know quite what to expect. Starting off with their new album opener Change The World got the crowds going instantly, they had a great stage presence and it was great how they interacted with the fans. There was a mixture of material from their latest album and their previous albums, from Riot in Everyone to Garden Of Babylon everything about Crashdiet’s performance on stage was flawless. From their slick guitar riffs to vocalists Simon Cruz’s charismatic stage presence, Crashdiet definitely did themselves proud and blew the roof off The Joiners. Judging from the crowd’s reaction I think Southampton would like to see them come back soon.

Last but by certainly no means least High Wycombe rockers Jettblack take to the stage. Seeing them previously, they usually tend to bring a stadium like atmosphere to small venues and Sunday night saw just that. Opening with anthem Two Hot Girls went down so well with the crowds that the mosh pits started early on. I could tell from that moment that Jettblack were well underway. Last year they released a new album Raining Rock so it was great to hear some of the new songs played live including my personal favourites Sunshine and Prison Of Love. I should also mention they filmed the live premier of Black Gold which bought a calmer tone to the evening. It was also fantastic to hear the classics such as Get Your Hands Dirty and MotherF*****. Closing with Raining Rock and their explosive cover of Danger Zone marked the end of an explosive show.

To conclude, this sleeze, glam, hard rock fest that happened at The Joiners it was truly an experience I will remember for a very long time. All the bands were fantastic and the atmosphere was just amazing, all I can say is if Crashdiet and Jettblack ever co-headline again I highly recommend going along.

Find Hollywood Trash on Facebook

Find Western Sand on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Find Crashdiet on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Find Jettblack on Facebook, Twitter and their official website