Alter Bridge - Fortress

After a three year wait, Florida rock band Alter Bridge's brand new album Fortress hits the UK shelves of record shops and online retailers today. I received mine in the post today and after listening to it I have placed it on my top albums of 2013.

The first few songs of the album had me in chills; the opening song Cry Of Achilles was introduced by a Spanish guitar like riff that leaves the listener wanting to hear more, it then transforms to the heavy distorted guitars and the epicly recognisable voice from Myles Kennedy can be heard giving the ears a treat. The album's single Addicted To Pain is the second track on the album, I remember hearing it a few months ago and thinking the song was average, but having now listened to it as part of the album the song has grown on me the more I listen to it.

My personal favourite tracks on the album are Lover, Waters Rising and All Ends Well. Lover is the beautiful romantic ballad on the track with an amazing melody and shows off the skills of Mr Mark Tremonti via the original, slick guitar riff and solo. In Waters Rising, we see another talent from Tremonti and that is his singing, his voice suited the song perfectly and that is why it is a standout track. All Ends Well is like a reincarnation of  Life Must Go On; it has the perfect keep-strong-carry on vibe that most of us could use with now and again so this is the song to pick you up when you are down. 

Successfully closing with Fortress allows the listener to experience the heavier sounds of Alter Bridge one last time. I can therefore conclude that Fortress is indeed a rock gem that will treasured for years; Alter Bridge you have yourselves proud!

Stand out tracks:  Lover, Waters Rising and All Ends Well

R.I.Y.L:  Creed and Slash

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

Find Alter Bridge here

Two amazing videos!!!

Hello everyone I hope you are well! On this post I am sharing two videos that have caught my attention!!

The first one comes from Dutch Symphonic metal heads Within Temptation; it features not one but two of metal's leading ladies, front lady Sharon Den Adel and ex-Nightwish turned solo vocalist Tarja Turunen. The song is just flawless, both voices compliment each other remarkably. Within Temptation released The Unforgiving two years ago so it is refreshing to see some excellent new material from them. It has been a long time since we have seen Tarja in the spotlight but it is great to see her back and better than ever. If this video isn't further proof that Within Temptation continue to produce original haunting material then I don't what it.

The next video I understand it was released a month ago but I have finally got round to watching it. It's from London hard rockers New Device and it's the second single of their latest album Here We Stand. It is my personal favourite song off the album so I was pleased to see it released as a single and a video. I love the catchy melody of the chorus and it makes an excellent opening track for the album.

So those are the two brilliant videos I thought I must share! Take care now and stay musical!

Musical Lotty!!

The Distorting Glass

We are getting a taste of heavy rock and electronic beats cleverly merging into one with this recently released EP from London based The Distorting Glass.

The first two tracks provide a brilliant introduction to the bands music. Variance is a fantastic opening track for the EP as you get your first taste of memorable guitar riffs and incredible vocal work. Imagine Muse meeting Rammstein and you get the incredible, cinematic sounds of The Distorting Glass. Kilometre Zero is very different sounding to Variance; it allows you to take a break from the distortion of the heavy guitars in exchange for acoustic strums. It has a very summery vibe but I like how it also maintains a dark atmosphere.

My personal favourite track on the EP has got to be The City That Always Sleeps, the melody for this song is just beautiful and I was blown away instantly at first listen. I also think the song shows off vocalist Pablo Bellinghausen’s ability perfectly; this provides a softer side to the band that I like very much.

Clockwork is a brilliantly dark track that is very cinematic, I would love to see this track performed live as I believe the clock like sound effects will go down perfectly with audiences. This track most certainly goes onto my list of one-word epic tracks alongside Mountains by Biffy Clyro and Alter Bridge’s Blackbird.

Fear and Wonder closes the album excellently with its Mission Impossible type vibe and infectious melody making it stand out track number two.

From listening to this EP I can conclude that this band most certainly have the potential to go further up the music ladder. Definitely a band to keep a look out for, all I can say is that I hope they decide to visit Southampton sometime.

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

R.I.Y.L:   Muse, Rammstein and Rush

Stand out tracks:  The City That Always Sleeps, Clockworks and Fear and Wonder

Find The Distorting Glass on Facebook

Imaginareum (Film)

First came the album, then came the score; the final outcome? A visually beautiful film with a strong story line that has the greatest impact on whoever sees it. The film I am talking about is Nightwish's Imaginareum.

It was 2011 where there came news from Nightwish about a new album in the making and a film to go alongside it. Naturally being a fan of Nightwish I was very excited as no other band has made a film to go with their album, the album itself was fantastic as you can read here in a previous post. So seeing the video Storytime where there was behind the scenes action and various trailers different feelings of anxiety, excitement and curiosity welled within me.

The film's plot revolves around an elderly composer who is suffering severe dementia that has regressed him into his childhood state. He cannot remember anything from his adult life including his estranged daughter and his friends, he goes into a coma that allows him to try and find his lost memories.

So today I watched the film for the very first time; the first thing I hear is the beautiful music of the authentic Finnish track Taikatalvi whilst a winter scene which consists of the main character Tom Whitman building a snowman is shown. Coincidently Taikatalvi means magic winter so to have this tune play over this sequence was a remarkable idea. You are than taken into the surreal world of Tom's memories as he tries to take back his memories before they are lost. The film most certainly has a hypnotic effect on you as like the character of Tom, once you have entered Imaginareum you have to find a way out.

Performances of album tracks Slow Love Slow and Scaretale were brilliantly added to the plot; particularly Scaretale being performed in the circus sequence showed in Storytime. So naturally we saw appearances from Nightwish themselves.

I don't want to give too much away so I will conclude that this film was most certainly very moving and I believe the music played a huge part. So my journey to Imaginareum is now complete.

Bloodstock 2013

Have been back from Bloodstock for a couple of days; it feels nice that I feel clean and slept in my own bed but I am feeling the festival withdrawal symptoms.

There have been some fantastic bands this year that have drawn huge crowds all weekend. The headliners King Diamond, Lamb Of God and Slayer were the perfect choice for headliners as they reunite metal fans from all over and brings them together. They may not have been my cup of tea but the atmosphere, the music and the togetherness they brought makes up for it.

The band I enjoyed the most was Avantasia; this supergroup have been going for a good fourteen years and this is their first visit to the UK. Their fusion of power metal and rock opera is phenomenal, Tobias Sammet's passion for this initial side project that took a life of it's own is very clear in his stage charismatic stage presence as he thanked his UK audience for having him perform at Bloodstock in the homeland. I was very happy when they performed the song Farewell as the audience sang along and swayed. All I can say about their performance is that if they ever come back to the UK, I highly recommend going to watch their spectacular performance.

The lovely weather we had all weekend for England made the festival experience so much more enjoyable. So it was a brilliant experience watching bands like Amorphis, Sabaton and Gojira in the gorgeous sunshine.

Two new bands I would watch out for are Mia Klose and Awake By Design; I happen to catch them on the Jagermiester stage.



What was brilliant about this year was that if you fancied a little break from the bands and didn't want to go back to your tent; there was men dressed in knight's armour having historical battle tournaments. It was something different and it drew huge crowds; the way the ran at each other and really went for it. It was quite a spectacle to watch; like a live action film, my boyfriend preferred it to XBox.....now that was something.

So I had a fantastic weekend and would love to go again next year.

Off to Bloodstock!!!! On a side note writers needed!!!!

Hi guys

Hope you are all well!!!! I have got to say being admin for a website is hard work but it is rewarding knowing I could be making a small difference to a band's career.

I am looking to expand Musical Lotty's Music Press so I am looking for reviewers and photographers who have a passion for music. No previous experience necessary, I just need determined, enthusiastic team members to write some quality reviews!!!! This being said I have appointed a very talented photographer as my official, her name is Naomi Rigley and I will put her full profile on the team page once it has been made!!! If you are interested in joining the team please send me an email at musicallotty@gmail.com or a message on the Facebook page.

I am off to Bloodstock this weekend which I am very much looking forward too, it's a chance to get away from things, relax and rock out to some of the biggest names in metal as well as new talent. I will write a post about Bloodstock when I get back. The bands I am looking forward to seeing are Amorphis, Sabaton and Avantasia; I am also looking forward to giving new sounds a try!!!

That is all and I will leave you with some Avantasia to enjoy!!

Amanda Palmer's open letter to Daily Mail

Hello everyone, how are we all?? I received some amazing news yesterday; I have achieved my BA Honours degree in Media Culture and Production which I will be receiving at my graduation in November!!

Anyways, whilst starting an online campaign for my sister's t-shirt design I came across this on my Facebook news feed; it's a video of singer Amanda Palmer performing her open letter to The Daily Mail for publishing an article about her appearance at Glastonbury. This article appeared to only be interested in when by chance her boob escaped her bra and her fashion sense rather than her actual set at Glastonbury which is what the focus should be when it comes to covering a festival. Personally not being a fan of the Daily Mail with it's biased views and the fact it reports on superficial things that don't matter, so I pretty much agreed with everything she wrote in this song.

Her response was so amazing that I had to include it in my blog!! So here it is, the video that is spreading online like wildfire.

I am very familiar with Amanda Palmer's music as she used to sing for punk cabaret duo Dresden Dolls and I think she is a very talented singer/pianist.

All I can say is, hats off to Amanda!!!

Find Amanda Palmer on Facebook, Twitter and her official website