It has been a long time since American goth rockers Evanescence had made an appearance since The Open Door that was released back in 2006 I believe; when I heard the band were making a comeback this year I was astonished. I really love Amy Lee's beautifully haunting voice and the dark vibe Evanescence give off in their music. I wasn't sure what their new album was going to bring; having had some changes in the band line up over the past few years and not being particularly too fond of The Open Door. This album shows the growth of Evanescence; I really think this album may be one of their best so far along side Fallen that sold worldwide. The songs are magic to the ears; their single release What You Want is a fantastic opener, a bit different to what they have released in the past but I like it a lot. Evanescence are very well know for producing a versatile sound and that shines through on this album. Overall a great comeback from Evanescence, possibly their best album to date; be sure to catch them on tour next month. Stand out tracks: What You Want ,The Change and Lost In Paradise Tuomaslotte rate: TTTT
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
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.
This year I saw quite a lot of local gigs which is nice since you're not spending so much money for an big arena gig and trying to get to the venue somewhere that seems like a distant land to you. Here they are in chronological order :D
Lostprohets @ Southampton Guildhall 26/2/2010 - I have been a fan of Lostprophets since Liberation Transmission so I was estatic when I heard they will be coming to Southampton Guildhall to do a live show; even though me and my cousin were seated we still had an awesome time listening to the music. When favourites such as It's Not The End Of The World, Burn Burn and Town Called Hypocrisy we were singing a long like mad. I was suprised but mega chuffed that they performed my ever favourite Lostprophets song Can't Catch Tomorrow. I've just found that one of the support acts were Kids In Glass Houses; after seeing a fantastic live set from them I hope to hear more from them.Hope to see Lostprophets again real soon.
HIM and Dommin @ Bournemouth O2 Academy 18/3/10 - I will say now I am a massive fan of the goth rock scene; dark lyrics with haunting melodies that send shivers down your spine I just love it. Anyways I went to this gig by myself but when I entered the venue I completely forgot about that since I loved warm welcoming vibe the O2 Academy brought; I went to buy some merchandise first before finding the best possible spot to see the bands. Once I did the lights went down for the first band Dommin were due to play first; I had only heard a few songs by Dommin that I really loved so I was looking forward to their set. The smoke made their entrance mysterious, which say a lot about the band, soon the drums were heard; the opening song New was about to play. This entrance was definately one of the best I had seen; they then played one favourite song after another. My Heart Your Hands, Tonight and personal favourite Dark Holiday all performed beautifully. Their closing number I Just Died (In Your Arms Tonight) was just fantastic; the whole crowd were singing along. Waiting for HIM patiently my excitement was gradually buiding up; those particular moments where you are waiting for a band you love to come on stage just make you realise how much you actually love the band. Suddenly the last went to down; my excitement was almost ready to be released. A love song from the 50s played which at the end of HIM appeared and the first few bars of Like St Valentine were heard. From that I knew HIM were well underway. It was truly a wonderful wonderful set; they played classics such as Kiss Of Dawn, Wings Of A Butterfly and Funeral of Hearts along with new album ones such as Heartkiller, Scared To Death and Love The Hardest Way. It was during HIM's set I had met the band Dommin which was amazing; they were so lovely and down to earth. This was definately a magical concert with two brilliant bands.
The Bon Jovi Experience @ The Brooke; Southampton 14/8/10 - This was a couple of months after I had seen Bon Jovi at The O2 Arena. I thought this was a great way to spend a night out with the girls; a lively warm venue, a bar and a band playing tribute to world wide superstars who still rule the earth today with anthemic hits since It's My Life, You Give Love A Bad Name, Bed Of Roses and the show stopper Livin On A Prayer. The lights went down and the girls started to scream, it was as if Bon Jovi were appearing on stage since the frontman looked so much like Jon Bon Jovi. One anthemic hit after another this night will definately be one I will never ever forget.
New Device @ The Edge Of The Wedge; Portsmouth 15/9/10 - One of my bands of 2010 and hope to see more of in the new year; this gig was my second time seeing them after an outstanding set at The Soul Cellar in Southampton. Wondering down a lonely street trying to find this intimate cosy venue was definately worth it; it was this night where I watched and listened to the south's best up an coming bands. With the likes of MG & The Juggernaughts jumpy, bouncy guitar solos, Toxic Shock's sucessful debut, The Light Divided's melodic, heartfelt tunes and New Device's energetic performance were all enough to make this gig one of Tuomaslotte's best live shows of 2010.
In Darklight @ The Hobbit; Southampton 8/10/10 - Another one of my bands of 2010; seeing them at the same Soul Cellar gig as New Device and loving what they had to offer I went to any gig I could get to. This one will always stick out in my mind as being one of the best with their fresh indie boy look and sound. I loved this enjoyable set of alternative, experimental rock songs that you can just hum to and it's amazing these guys also took a few minutes to sign the album I had bought along. Along with other bands from their record label Angry Badger they are one of the south's best up and coming bands; I think this gives them a great start for 2011.
Dear Superstar @ The Joiners; Southampton 10/12/10 - I wrote a review about this recently; I meant it when I said this was the best gig of 2010 for me. Everything about this gig was just amazing; the lively warm atmosphere, each band performed a distinguished performance and a lot of pleasant people. It was also at this gig where I saw a sight that will definately make history of fans ways to get the attention of bands; the ultimate mosh pyramid, a human pyramid made up of those crazy rockers who moshed to Jenna's Revenge.
Here's a post dedicated to the bands that have become my favourites this year, in no particular order here they are:
New Device: This year a friend told me these guys were to support Bon Jovi at the O2 so she sent me their video for the song Takin Over, which I loved. I decided to download the album from Amazon; I had seen reviews about these guys saying they sounded like Guns 'N' Roses, Van Halen etc and I thought 'Wow great influences there'. The album was so so good, unfortunately I missed them at The O2 but I got to see them twice this year locally in Southampton and Portsmouth. They put on a fantastic live performance, lots of energy and passion behind it; also they are possibly one of the nicest bunch of guys you could ever meet. Looking forward to the new album guys.
Jettblack: I was in my looking for new bands to listen to mode and came across these guys. I think it was via the video for Two Hot Girls; it made me feel awesome, the song is energetic, sexy.....basically so darn good. This song is on their debut album Get Your Hands Dirty; which is one of my albums of 2010. Their live performance at The Joiners was just incredible; most of the songs sounded amazing live, most of their stage moves reminded me a lot of a stadium rock band and finishing with Dangerzone was definately a great suprise. They are also a lovely bunch when I met them at the bar afterwards.
Poets Of The Fall: My friend Charlotte (a.k.a Marcolotte) sent me the song Lift by this band via Facebook; liked it so so much that I downloaded the song. I listen to this song at least a few times every day; I downloaded the rest of the album which was also incredible. Marko's voice is truly wonderful, his voice emphasises with the emotions in the songs very well. My favourites by this band are Dreaming Wide Awake, Lift, Illusion and Dream and Carnival Of Rust. Carnival Of Rust particularly since it has influenced me greatly with the story I am writing for part of my course at university. The video is very surreal and powerful like a lot of their other videos.
In Darklight: I first saw these guys at The Soul Cellar with New Device; they were the first band to play and was entirely impressed. So impressed that I immediately signed their mailing list after the show and pre-ordered their debut album; loved the album as I've mentioned in previous posts. Also sparking up a great friendship with these guys too; we've kept in touch and I have been to more of their shows ever since. I have seen them four times in the past few months (no I don't want a medal :P) Hope to see more of them next year and looking forward to the new EP.
Heaven's Basement: I decided to give Can't Let You Go a listen, which I loved a lot so I downloaded the rest of their EP. The songs that stood out for me were Fear Of Getting Off, Executioner's Day and Graduation; these particular songs were incredibly catchy. Bit like 80s metal songs you hear a lot. Unfortunately missed these guys at The Joiners due to the fact I found these guys way after that hopefully they'll do a UK tour next year.
Dommin: If I'm right Dommin were the first of my 2010 findings back in late January early February and have been a favourite of 2010 ever since. I started to look for this band's music when I heard they were to support HIM on their UK tour; the first thing I do when I find out the support band. It's straight to YouTube, type the name of the band in the 'Search' box and you click on the first link. This particular first link lead me to My Heart Your Hands; the first enticingly haunting song I listened to by this band. With that in mind I found more and more of their songs, all of which I really loved. They put on such a spell bindingly brilliant live performance too, in my opinion they were a bit better than HIM but I'm glad I walked out of Bournemouth O2 Academy a Dommin fan that night. I also had the opportunity to meet them too; they didn't mind me coming over more than once. All such lovely guys; hope to see them in the new year.
Uniklubi: Another band from Finland that have stood out to me this year, they sing in their native lannguage that does not stop me listening to them. I love the melodies these guys produce; they are very very versatile whether it'd be a mellow acoustic track such as Kukka or a hauntingly heavy track such as Huomenna. Finland's metal heads are also well known for being incredibly gourgeous; in my eyes anyway but of course it's not about the appearances it's about the beautiful music they write.
We Are The Fallen: I am always interested when there is a female fronted metal band on the scene, I can't stress how big my respect is for female musicians. Considering the music industry particularly rock is usually male dominated so it's brilliant to see female faces in the picture. Anyways this band popped up on Dommin radio on Last.FM and loved the song that played; I think it was called St John, immediately downloaded the album from iTunes. Carly Smitheson's voice has more beauty than a priceless diamond sitting on a velvet cushion behind glass in a jewellery shop, it complements well with the heavy distorted guitars and in the softer tracks an elegant piano. Hope they travel across the pond to the UK sometime.
Dear Superstar: I saw that these guys were to play a gig at The Joiners so I listened to Brothers In Blood; to be honest I didn't really like it at first but after hearing the track a few times it grew on me. Heartless is a great album; Brink Of Destruction, Signposts to Bedpost and Live, Love Lie were few of many tracks that I loved on that album. Like Heaven's Basement and New Device these guys were influenced by 80s rock giants and I could hear the same kind of melodic guitar riffs and easy on the ears vocals. Their energetic live performance will also be something that will stick out in my mind definately and lovely lovely guys. Hope to see them in the new year and look forward to the new album.
This post is dedicated to the best music videos of 2010;
Dommin - My Heart Your Hands: This song is haunting and beautiful; the theme in this song matches the video very well. The symbolism of a girl pulling a red scarf out of where his heart should is very very strong and one of the highlights of the video; the manakins coming to life was also very effective, I think the manakins could be symbolising ex lovers or women who have had their hearts broken. I loved the gothic mansion setting for the video I thought it was the right place to suit the song.
HIM - Scared To Death: My favourite song on HIM's 2010 album Screamworks: Love In Theory and Practise; when they were to release a video promoting this song I was very excited. The white paper triangles were so so beautiful; it may have been showing purity in the video; I like the way the video is shot too. I studied Moving Image for two years so I was taught how to make a film and all the camera angles so I loved the interesting angles the video uses to keep the viewer watching.
Tarja - I Feel Immortal: I must say I'm not a massive fan of Tarja's solo stuff, she does have a beautiful voice and respect her greatly but there's some of her songs that sound a bit bland and mundane. This video however matches this song perfectly. I love the seaside setting; a seemingly tranquil environment used to explore a topic we all hate going though....aging. The boy grows into an elderly man whilst singer Tarja stays the same age throughout; hence the title I Feel Immortal.
Kukka - Uniklubi: Like Tarja's I Feel Immortal this video also explores aging but this time it's the band that ages. A young couple are tied together whilst the band play in front of them; while this is going on an hour glass's sands are running. This could indicate to how fast the band are aging whilst the young couple don't age at all; it's almost as if there are two different worlds in one room and I think that's what made the video.
Poets Of The Fall - Lift: I feel this video is about 'outsiders' not being understood. Lead vocalist Marco is a prison convict in this video who realeases a moth from his grasp before being interrogated by the police investigators. He tries to explain something to them but they don't seem to understand; at the end of the video the nasty women ticks two boxes on the sheet one saying 'Illusionist' and another saying 'Dreamer'. Reading the comments for this video on YouTube the moth could represent them as an independent rock band being free to do as they please; the moths pinned to picture frames in the attick where the band are performing could represent bands signing to big major record companies suggesting their record companies own them like these moths pinned to the wall.
Poets Of The Fall - Carnival Of Rust: This has become one of my absoulute favourite music videos this year; it's very Tim Burtonesque and surreal but it has such a powerful message. Vocalist Marco is a broken down clown doll in this video that a girl in a gas mask brought to life by putting coins in the machiene. It takes place at a very weird carnival with fire eaters, magic act and a ring toss game; by the end of the video the girl leaves the clown which upsets him. The most powerful part of the video is where the girl is walking away from this clown after winning a prize on a game; he sings 'Don't Walk Away' as she leaves him in despair. Wow making me cry just thinking about it.
I have decided to start an annual top ten chart for all the albums that make my year. For this post I am starting with the top ten albums that have been my personal highlights of 2010, so here they are in reverse order:
I really love this is album, it had me listening from beginning to end. I loved the unique approach to music and Skin does really have the most fantastic voice. The songs are also very cleverly written and it also has a Blondie/Paramore vibe about it. If you're a fan of dance indy and punk rock then this is the album for you.
For fans of: Blondie and Paramore
Stand out tracks: You Saved Me, It Doesn't Matter and Would You?
This album right here became known as the start of a great friendship I now have with this band. To be completely honest the kind of rock on this album wouldn't have originally been my first choice. When I listened to it in fact it was very different to what I was expecting, I really liked the opening track What's Happening? (now my favourite). I also liked the cool sci fi like sounds these guys used, I hadn't heard it anywhere else before so it was nice to hear a new sound. Can't wait for the new EP boys.
For fans of: Idlewild and Jimmy Eat World
Stand out tracks: What's Happening?, Leave Me Here and In Control (Of Not Being In Control)
This particular band are a perfect example of why you should not judge bands by their appearance. When I saw Grog the lead vocalist for the first time I was intrigued by her myterious Japanese anime goth look and thought the genre would be some heavy screamo that would be hard on the ears...not that I would have minded that. I was wrong of course; the music was very melodic and the vamperic like vocals from Grog added the mystery behind the album. Of course she is the bass player too; she was phenomenal at that and thanks to this album she is one of my favourite musicians now.
For fans of: The Birthday Massacre and I Am Ghost
Stand out tracks: Mercury, Hearts Are Too Hollow and If Wishes Were Bullets
Originally not being the biggest fan of Paramore, I had only heard songs such as Misery Business and CrushCrushCrush that I liked very much. Some of my friends really love this album so I decided to give it listen. It was certainly a great cure for travel sickness on the way to Gloucester. The first song Careful being particularly spectacular and my personal favourite track on the album; I listen to that song at least five times a day :P. With Haley William's beautiful voice enticing me every step of the way; her voice works on any track whether it being a nice heartfelt slow track such as The Only Exception and Misguided Ghosts or a very energetic track such as Ignorance. Overall a truly amazing album, although it's official release was last year this album was a highlight this year.
For fans of: Fall Out Boy and No Doubt Stand out tracks: Careful, Playing With God and The Only Exception
I had only discovered these guys this year at a recent gig at The Joiners this year and thought they were phenomenal so I purchased this album. If Kurt Cobain with grunge pioneers, Nirvana, had listened to this I'd say he'd be proud; this album proves that grunge rock, an epic genre (possibly one of the best) still walks this earth. If you like Lostprophets and Nirvana then this album is really for you as lead vocalist does sound a bit like Ian Watkins in some of these songs.
For fans of: Lostprophets, Nirvana and Foo Fighters
Stand out tracks: Long Distance, Strength In Numbers and This Body Is In Danger
This was one of few female fronted rock bands that caught my eye this year and it's thanks to this album. Carly Smitheson's enticingly beautiful vocals, brilliant guitar solos and haunting melodies really make up this album; the poetically written songs also have the power to touch feelings and empathise with people. The use of orchestral instruments also earn it Brownie points.
For fans of: Evanescence and Lacuna Coil
Stand out tracks: Sleep Well My Angel, Without You and St John
Engery, sexy male vocals from Jon Dow and Will Stapleton singing some the most epic tunes of all time are the secret ingriedents that make Get Your Hands Dirty so awesome. Usually I have to listen to an album more than once to get into it but I knew I loved this band at the first listen. Reasons why I like this album is because most of the songs make girls feel great about themselves; particularly heartfelt War Between Us, the acoustic version of this song is beautiful. I will be seeing these guys live in less then a few weeks, I am looking forward to it very muchly since most of these will sound great live.
For fans of: Dear Superstar and New Device
Stand out tracks: Get Your Hands Dirty, Chasing Love and Two Hot Girls
It's quite hard to choose a top three when you have so many favourites you want to put here but this album here is definately top three material. Like Brand New Eyes this album's official release was last year, however I found it this year and has been a great album find in 2010. Being that they were to be supporting Bon Jovi this year I decided to download this album off Amazon. I decided to listen to it on the bus to town after I had finished my last A Level exam so I was feeling pretty chuffed anyway. This album boosted my good mood; Make My Day was the perfect way to open the album with its catchy guitar riffs, clear crisp vocals from Mr Daniel Leigh and the band's positive, energetic approach to music. Can definately listen to this album from beginning to end and have the biggest grin on my face; even the heartfelt love ballad In The Fading Light has the power to put a smile on my face.
For fans of: Guns 'N' Roses and Van Halen Stand out tracks: Make My Day, You've Got It Coming and On Fire
I'd be lying if I said this album wasn't a highlight of 2010, Los Angeles goth rockers Dommin win 2nd place of my top albums this year. Dark haunting melodies that just send shivers down your spine and powerful, unique vocal work from Kristopher Dommin are what make this album truly remarkable. Whenever I play this album it's like I'm put under a magic spell that puts me in a trance that makes me forget reality.
For fans of: HIM and Lacuna Coil Stand Out Tracks: My Heart Your Hands, Dark Holiday and New
It was incredibly hard to pick a number one album for this year, I chose this one for a number of reasons. I had heard about Finnish five piece pop/rock girl group Indica via Nightwish when I heard Erämaan Viimeinen that featured Indica's charismatic, fairy like vocalist Jonsu. This lead me to songs such as Ikuinen Virta and Vuorien Taa, from then on Indica became one of my favourite bands. When I heard they were going to be re-recording some of those songs in English I was very excited so I immediately preordered this album. Kicking off with the ever mysterious Islands Of Light (orignally Vuorien Taa) this was a wonderful to start the magical journey this album takes you on. Beautiful poetical lyrics, musical arrangements that make you feel like part of a film and me as a listener can just use your imagination to visualise what could be going on. Some of these songs sounded better in English; Scissor Paper Rock (orignally Ikuinen Virta) had a more rocky vibe to it and In Passing (originally Valoissa) had so much more mystery behind it. This album is one of so many reasons why Finland has had such an outstanding reputation for music.
For fans of: Nightwish, Finnish Music
Stand Out Tracks: In Passing, Islands Of Light and Scissor Paper Rock
I wrote a couple of reviews on albums I had bought and this one I felt was one of my better ones.
A masterpiece 5 Stars
I saw these guys support HIM a few months ago and was blown away by their magical performance so I decided to buy their CD. I had listened to My Heart, Your Hands and Dark Holiday (my two personal favourites) so I was looking forward to hearing the rest of the album. I was not dissapointed at all, each song was haunting and beautiful. Kris Dommin has such a unique, powerful voice that matches the dark theme behind this whole album. I also loved how some of the tracks in between some of the songs i.e. Evenfall Hallow were used to introduce the next song in a wonderfully magical way that kept me listening at all times. Those who love dark, gothic rock you are in for a treat.
Stand out tracks: Dark Holiday, My Heart Your Hands and Tonight
I found this band on Last.FM when listening to Dommin radio, so I thought I'd give their album a listen and I'm glad I did. I was enticed by Carly Smithson's beautifully haunting vocals; sounding very much like Amy Lee from Evanescence, I also got a hint of Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil in her vocal style that I liked very much. I also love it when bands, particularly when rock and metal is concerned, use orchestral music in their songs as well as the rock guitar, drums etc. because it adds a fantasy emblem to it, more dramatic. You can imagine all kinds of things going on to the music and it is just wonderful.The opening song Bury Me Alive reminded me very much of Evanescence song Going Under; maybe the fact three former Evanescence members Ben Moody, Rocky Gray and John LeCrompt being part of this band could be the reason. Not a bad thing of course, in a way it's like passing the torch to this singer. Ballad Sleep Well My Angel showed a softer side to the band, I thought it was so beautifully written and it my have become a personal favourite on the album. Overall a truly wonderful album with cleverly written songs and powerful melodies, I hope these guys are considering visiting the UK some time.
Stand out tracks: Bury Me Alive, Sleep Well My Angeland St John
