Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare

Today The World Tour moves on from New York to California, where we'll be looking at the new Avenged Sevenfold album 'Nightmare'.

Let me straighten up a few things first - Avenged Sevenfold are my four (previously five) worst people on Earth. I hate their gimmicky names and their gimmicky existence and I hated their music.

However, with new album 'Nightmare' something has changed. With the sudden death of drummer 'The Rev', Avenged Sevenfold seem to have found a way of making captivating music.

'Nightmare' has significantly less Biblically themed lyrics, and songs seem a lot more real and relatable than previous efforts. Song structure is good here too; agressive verses and bridges that lead into soaring melodic choruses works really well, even if it can begin to feel a bit formulaic.

Some of the guitar solos are really impressive on 'Nightmare', particularly the one on 'God Hates Us' - that is definitely the scariest thing I've heard in music all year.

The song 'Fiction' is an interesting song - a vocal duet between M.Shadows and The Rev, which would have been the last thing he recorded before his death. Now, if Rev hadn't died I have no doubt that this would not have made the album as his vocal preformance here is the absolute worst thing ever. Also, I'm convinced there must be some sort of conspiracy going on here as one of the Rev's lines are:

"So tell everybody, the one's who walk beside me
I hope you find your own way when I'm not with you"

and then he died. Maybe his death was suicide, or maybe he just writes songs pretending to be dead. In any case, the inclusion of 'Fiction' on the album is nice in order to honor The Rev, but it's a poor song that lets the album down.

All in all, 'Nightmare' is a strong album, it's really emotional and it's really dark but it showcases some great talent that I don't like to admit these people have. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between us, but who knows?
When Mike Portnoy (stand in drummer for Rev, originally of Dream Theatre) changes his name to The Priest then I'll take back all the nice things I said and the band go fuck themselves. Until then though, congrats on a good album, and I might even go and see them this November if it means I can see songs like 'Danger Line' and 'Buried Alive'.
4/5

Coheed and Cambria - Live at the HMV Forum, London

This is really late, but it's not something I'm going to be forgetting any time soon.

On June 24th The World Tour hit the road once more with both Matt and myself. Staying in New York from the We Are Scientists special, this time we caught Coheed and Cambria.

I'd been looking forward to this for an absolute eternity, it was the first time I'd get to see Coheed at their own show - my previous experience only being Sonisphere last summer.
This was also exciting because the HMV Forum is a venue that I'd never been to before, and had been wanting to go there for some time. When I found out it was in Camden I was pretty horrified.

The venue was actually really nice though, which was great. After having a few pints at The World's End we headed over to the Forum with my Black Card and got in the queue. I'm gonna go ahead and say it now that I really dislike Coheed and Cambria fans. When this blog takes off and goes mainstream I may need to apologize for this, but for the time being let it be known that I dislike fans of Coheed and Cambria.
Anywho, thanks to my Black Card we got into the venue 15 minutes early and had a little look at the merch table where Matt bought a t-shirt. Then the band came onto the stage, and Claudio gave us a solo acoustic performance of 'Here We Are, Juggernaut' which was amazing.
Matt and I decided to go on a hunt for a cash machine, and the one in the venue was broken so we had to leave and once more brave the streets of Camden. This was brilliant, however, as we bumped into Chris Pennie and Travis Stever. I got my Year of the Black Rainbow...thing...signed and then we were on our way.
When we returned to the venue there was a short wait and then we were greeted by 'These Monsters' - the only support act of the night. They asked if we were fans of heavy metal, then began their set.
I actually really enjoyed them, there were hardly any vocals but the music was really good. From what I have read since and could tell at the time, though, I was the only person who liked them.
We then waited for what seemed like forever before the lights finally dimmed and the music for 'One' began playing.
Coheed and Cambria came on stage, opening with The Broken, followed straight by Here We Are Juggernaut. The next song 'No World For Tomorrow' was probably one of my highlights of the night and was strangely the only song they played from their last album.
Then they played two songs from their first album - 'Time Consumer' and 'Everything Evil' which got massive reactions from the crowd.
I've always got something to say about the crowd, and I was really mixed on this one. That's probably because the crowd seemed so mixed - there was a bit of every type of crowd member there:
There were a couple of the big shirtless men, causing trouble.
Angry people who only wanted to hurt other people
hxc kids
People who moan when they get touched by someone
Awesome people (only one)(me)
girls who hold hands and spin around in circles
backpack loser who runs into the middle and does that stupid windmill thing with his arms
a few familiar faces too - i always wonder if they recognise me
circle pit losers
Don't think I saw a Machine Fucking Head though, which is always good.

Anyway, Coheed played a near-perfect setlist, with a brilliant amount of songs from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3 which is always good.

I had an incredibly good time, and even broke my personal sweat record. My favourite songs of the night were not the ones I was expecting at all - No World For Tomorrow, Made Out of Nothing and Welcome Home.

After it was over we went round the back and hung outside for a while, and Mic came out and I got my YOTBR thing signed again. We waited about an hour for Claudio but to my despair we had to leave for the train.
All in all though, I was expecting the best night ever, and it pretty much was.

Obviously ★★★★★

We Are Scientists Special

For the first stop on the brand new World Tour, we're going to New York - home of We Are Scientists.

The first part of this post is my review on their show from last night at Cambridge Junction.
This was the second time I've been able to see the band, the first time being at Reading Festival 2008, at which point I had never even heard of them.

This time round I'm a big fan of the band, and was really excited to hear great songs like 'After Hours', 'Inaction' and 'Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt' aswell as tracks from the brand new album 'Barbara'.

After a set from a pretty horrible 'The Whigs', We Are Scientists hit the stage pretty much on time, which is always nice. They opened with their new single 'Nice Guys', and the atmosphere in the room was really buzzing. They introduced themselves and had a little joke, then went into 'This Scene is Dead' from the brilliant 'With Love and Squalor' and then straight into 'Inaction' of the same album.

They played through a 17 song set with a healthy mix of tracks from all three of their albums, with the new songs getting just as good a reaction as the old.
Keith and Chris are great entertainers, and there was plenty of banter and interaction with the crowd - which I'm a huge fan of.
All of the songs sounded great, especially songs that I wasn't really familiar with, like 'Chick Lit' and 'Dinosaurs' from the album 'Brain Thrust Mastery'.
They closed their set on 'After Hours' which was brilliant, and then after a short break returned to the stage to play 'Cash Cow'.

We Are Scientists are a great live band, offering a unique show in their engagement with the crowd and their obvious genuine enjoyment from performing.

I can't wait to see them at Reading Festival again this summer, as I think that they are suited to big open spaces more than intimate venues.
★★★★★

Next up is my full review for the new album 'Barbara'.
Barbara is the third major-label studio album from our New York friends, and it's a great little effort.

Little has to be the key word there though, at 10 tracks long with a running length of just over 30 minutes it's incredibly short. But what's there is mostly great - quick, catchy and energetic tunes that makes it an exciting listen from start to finish.

Barbara opens with first single 'Rules Don't Stop', which has the funkiest bassline ever, and also one of the best guitar riffs I've heard from the band. At just over two minutes it's a beautifully sweet opening track and is a great start to the album.

The album then goes right into 'I Don't Bite', which is really just more of the same - a catchy riff and a repetetive chorus. The key is that it manages to stick with the listener, and doesn't just blend with all of the other tracks on the record.

The energy and catchiness keeps up throughout the album, not really letting out - with the exception of 'Pittsburgh' which I really dislike. It's pushing the limits of being repetetive, and I just don't like the overall sound of the track.

Closing track 'Central AC' is probably my favourite on the album, and goes out the same way it began -

Overall, the album is a great success, but there are moments where songs can feel lazy or rushed. It lacks really memorable songs like many from 'With Love and Squalor', but after seeing them live I have found a few favourites in there.
It's a solid effort, and I'd give it a good 4/5.


Thats all from my We Are Scientists Special, but stay tuned for more New York madness later this week.

Dan

The World Tour - New Look

I've decided to try again to get the blog going again, and it's also got a new look :)

Hopefully going to get a bunch of reviews up, if I can still remember how to write.

65daysofstatic - Live at Koko

Last night I saw 65daysofstatic for the third time. This time they appear to have stepped up their choice of venue significantly, playing to a reasonably sized Koko, in Camden.
The event wasn't sold out, and as we entered we were two of about 12 people in the building, which wasn't very good.

By the time the first support band 'Nedry' (Nerdy) took the stage there was a bit of a crowd gathered. Nedry had some interesting music, but like too many support bands failed to get a reaction from the crowd. They had a very unusual singer too, an asian female who didn't speak particularly brilliant english.

The second support act, 'Loops Haunt', was much more interesting, providing some good tunes and even a few cheers from a very still crowd. I watched these two acts from the comfort of a leather sofa with a very expensive drink, as is standard in Koko.

In the final wait for 65daysofstatic I blew the rest of my money on one (yep, one) last drink and made my way towards the stage.

Not too long later, the band hit the stage, opening with new track 'Go Complex'. From where we were stood the crowd seemed pretty still for this track and the next couple, so we made a move towards the front of the stage and bundled in with an increasing number of people dancing. By the time it got to 'Crash Tactics' I was absolutely loving it, and it went straight into 'Dance Dance Dance' which was amazing. By this point there was a big group of us dancing at the front. Things kept on going right through to 'Retreat! Retreat!', the highlight of the night, and then the crowd seemed to simmer down a little. This was OK though, as we'd worked up a bit of a sweat, and it was a nice opportunity to watch the band, who apparently never tire.

65daysofstatic are such brilliant performers, which is what makes their live shows so unmissable. Watching any member of the band is completely mesmerizing, and I'm certain they must all be using some kind of drugs. The drummer has the best endurance I've ever seen in a human being, while the rest of the band are just being absolutely mental throughout the set.

The show was great for me because I knew more songs off of the set than I ever have before, which made me feel a lot more comfortable throughout.
However, I couldn't help but feeling all night that the band are better suited to smaller venues, such as Heaven, where the whole thing is more intimate. Koko is really spread out, and every time I looked around me I could see that most of the crowd were standing still. Which just feels strange at an event like this. It must have been weird for the band to see aswell.
With that said, what was going on behind me did not detract from my personal overall experience of the night which was, as usual, incredible.

65daysofstatic remain one of the top live acts in the country, and I'm already excited for my next opportunity to see them again.
★★★★★

Album Reviews

I'm going to try and review a few albums at once here and keep things in one tidy post, rather than get things cluttered up.

First up is 'Option Paralysis' by The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Option Paralysis is the 4th studio album from the New Jersey band, and the first that I've ever listened to. I've never even heard a song by them before, and never knew what they sounded like. I bought it thanks to the heaps of critical praise it has received since it's release.

The first 31 seconds are the worst part of the album, sounding like it's being loud for the sake of being loud. I suspect it is their set opener for live shows, which is probably quite the kick-start for their audiences, but not the best way to open the record.
Just checked, turns out I'm wrong, it's actually their closer. Which is really unusual.
Anyway, once the song finds itself it's absolutely incredible, displaying a diverse range of talent from all members of the band.

This is what the whole album seems to be about to me, each member showing off their talents as individuals, while remaining key in the band. Special mention has to go Dillinger's vocalist, Greg Puciato, who has to be one of the best vocalists I've found in recent times (the best since Claudio Sanchez, without a doubt). His singing voice is highly reminiscint of that of Trent Reznor, but I feel that Puciato is far more accomplished in terms of vocal range.

Option Paralysis is a very aggressive record, but has several melodic moments scattered throughout, and what's important is that none of them feel like the token 'slower songs' you get on almost every rock album these days.

Highlight tracks include the horribly titled 'Gold Teeth on a Bum', Chinese Whispers and the incredibly haunting and incredibly awesome 'Parasitic Twins'.I think it's pretty easy to get lost during the middle part of the album, but given a few proper listens each track begins to stand out on it's own. It's currently spinning in my car, which is always a good sign.

There's plenty of exploring to be done with Option Paralysis and I'd recommend it to any fan of heavy music. I consider this to be the best album of 2010 so far, and am going to award it 4.5/5.


Next up is the new release from Bullet for my Valentine - 'Fever'.

'Fever' is the third album from Bullet for my Valentine, and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed by this one.

That's not to say it's bad, though - it's fine. I'm a big fan of their first two albums 'The Poison' and 'Scream Aim Fire', but 'Fever' feels like the band is really pushing their luck.

It would seem like the album is going to be something incredibly refreshing and exciting as opening track 'Your Betrayal' begins to play, with blasting drums starting off the album in a great way. This is the best song on the album.

Fever doesn't do too bad a job following this, with a pretty strong chorus. But then it lets itself down with the hideous

"Come here you naughty girl, you're such a tease. You look so beautiful, down on your knees."

Things go down and down from here onwards, and you can really see how lazy the song-writing (in terms of lyrics) is. Pick it apart some more and you can see how lazy the entire album is, each moment as predictable as the next.

Bittersweet Memories is one of my favourites, but I can't say it's a good song. It paints a pretty good scene which isn't too bad, but it's let down by the fact that the lyrics are weak and it's so damn predictable. As Matt Tuck sings "We get so complicated" you know exactly what is coming. On my very first listen to this song I did, so I'd be surprised if other listeners didn't.
What's coming is the always predictable, horrible scream-attempt from Bassist Jay (?), mimicking the last word of the previous phrase. This happens on so many occassions.Matt Tuck has never been known for being a great vocalist, but when I saw them live he did a pretty good job I thought. On 'Fever' though it sounds like he's worse than ever. It's lucky he plays guitar really. 'Dignity' is probably his best vocal performance on the album.

I don't think I've ever been so bothered by an album. For existing Bullet fans you'll have one of three reactions to 'Fever';
1. 'Awesome, I love Bullet's sound, this is more of the same and therefore I love it' - great.
2. 'Hang on, didn't I hear this riff on 'The Poison'?' - Yes. You did.
3. 'This is rubbish, when are they going to learn to evolve their sound?' - There's always next time...
If you don't like Bullet for my Valentine, I'd have to suggest you stay clear from this.
As it happens, I like them, and I enjoy a bunch of songs on the album, like 'Your Betrayal', 'The Last Fight', 'Bittersweet Memories', 'Dignity' and 'Begging for Mercy'. The rest feels like filler, and I don't think that 'Fever' feels like an album at all. More like 11 songs thrown together.
3/5 because I think it's okay.


Next up, 'We Were Exploding Anyway' by post-rock band 65daysofstatic.

I think 65daysofstatic are becoming one of my favourite bands ever. Massive respect to The Chief for dragging me over to the Festival Republic stage to see them at Reading Festival 2009, and even more respect to the band for being excellent.

'We Were Exploding Anyway' is the 4th full length from the Sheffield group, and could be the best.
The album opens with 'Mountainhead' and builds and builds, adding new layers all the time, making for a non-repetetive and brilliant opener. Building is what 65dos do best, it keeps all of their songs sounding fresh and never boring, while sounding absolutely massive at the same time.
It then moves into 'Crash Tactics' which has got to be my favourite on the album, which is swiftly followed up by 'Dance Dance Dance' - my second favourite. These two songs are huge, and sound like they were written to ensure that when they play them live it's the best thing ever. There's no way I'm passing up the chance to see them at Koko in May.
Each song brings a different style to the table, which makes it in many ways a lot more successful than their debut album 'The Fall of Math'. Where 'TFOM' sticks to one style, though it sounds brilliant, you get the feeling there is more to come.
'We Were Exploding Anyway' shows the band 6 years down the line, having evolved into technically brilliant musicians, experimenting more now than ever before and making better music because of it. They've learned how to make good songs, and they feel like a statement against anyone that says they're boring because they don't have a singer.
Speaking of, there is a bit of Vocal action to be found on 'Come to Me', which features Robert Smith of 'The Cure'. So there you go.

My least favourite track on the album, is the disappointing 'Tiger Girl' which builds up over the course of 10 minutes, and all the way through you're expecting it to absolutely explode into something incredible, but it never does, leaving you feeling a bit unsatisfied. Maybe this effect was intentional, but it hasn't worked for me, and it's a shame to let the album finish in this way.
Asides from this, 'We Were Exploding Anyway' is an outstanding release, and I think I'm justified in recommending it to anyone who likes music. 4.5/5.


Last, but certainly not least, is my re-review of 'Year of the Black Rainbow' by Coheed and Cambria.

My previous review of this was totally unjustified, because I forgot that every Coheed and Cambria album needs at least two weeks to be completely dissected.
Now I've listened to it tonnes, and the following review is fair.

Opening track 'One' is better than I gave it credit for - it creates a chilling mood, and feels like the start of something new, which is exactly what it represents.
It then builds up and blends seamlessly into 'The Broken' (the one with the rubbish video floating around Scuzz TV). This is still one of my favourite tracks, and I love hearing the Coheed 'theme tune' in the solo. 'Guns of Summer' - initially my worst ever Coheed song is now one of my favourites. The drums are absolutely insane, and the vocals are spot on. The solo is fantastic, and watching Claudio Sanchez record the part in the studio with an electric drill is one of the coolest things ever.

The production on the album is a major talking point amongst fans, but I have to say that I love the industrial feel that Atticus Ross and Joe Barresi have given the band. It's a shame to see the back of the unconventionally structured, 7 minute epics like the Willing Well songs from 'Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness' but if that means we get short but brilliant tracks like 'World of Lines', 'In The Flame of Error' and 'When Skeletons Live' then there'll be no complaining from me.

Reading the 'Year of the Black Rainbow' novel also made re-listening to the album an absolute pleasure, and makes the entire experience so much more rewarding, from a listeners perspective. I have a few problems with the album, which include 'Far' (the whole thing), the last 30 or so seconds of 'Pearl of the Stars' (which could have been one of the best songs without it), and the sometimes repetitious feeling that some songs have.
Year of the Black Rainbow is probably ranked 3rd amongst the Coheed and Cambria discography, maybe even 2nd which is great. I'm going to finish by saying that the bonus tracks are absolutlely incredible and they are totally worth paying a little extra for the deluxe edition.
I'm giving this album my third 4.5/5 of the day.


Reviews coming soon:
Blue Sky Noise by Circa Survive
St. Jude by The Courteeners
The New Fellas by The Cribs

Bullet for my Valentine Special

It's been a long time since my last post (over a month I think?) but hopefully I'm going to try and get back into writing again. Anyway, today I've got a bumper post on Bullet for my Valentine.

On Monday 26th April the band released their new album, 'Fever'. To go along with this, they played a secret and very intimate show at London's Islington 02 Academy.

Although the World Tour appears to be on a break for a while, that doesn't mean I can't go to a good gig. I managed to get a ticket for the show along with Ben, and so we went down there in the hope that Bullet had stepped up their game in the 9 months they've been away from tour.

First up though was Rise to Remain, and I've finally found out why I know who they are. The singer/screamer is son of Bruce Dickinson, of Iron Maiden fame. So they cheated.

In actual fact, they weren't particularly bad at all. The crowd seemed to enjoy them a lot, and they had a really decent guitarist. The set was a bit boring but I thought they sounded pretty decent. I probably won't go out of my way to listen to them again from here.

After a short wait with the worst crowd ever (if you had endured the god-awful queue you would understand) Bullet took to the stage, opening with track one on 'Fever' - 'Your Betrayal'. This was absolutely brilliant and it was great to see that they had improved as musicians. They played through a 12 song set that was really great, and very convincing. Matt Tuck has also beefed up a lot, and for some reason I found that this made him a much more convincing frontman. It was great to see Bullet put on a five-star show, as this always seemed like something they just couldn't do.
It may also be worth adding that I saw two acts of ultimate violence in the crowd.
1. What appeared to be a Viking performed a finishing move that any WWE star would be proud to land on an unsuspecting victim, rendering him dead.
2. An angry man beating the life out of a pierced-up, flat-cap wearing kid for reasons I'm not too sure about, although I have a good guess (see description of victim).
Also worth mentioning is that this is the first gig I've been to that required some crowd-participation since that fateful night at the start of March (Underoath). Turns out I've lost all dexterity I once had, and need to work on getting my ankle back into shape if I'm to enjoy 65daysofstatic in May.
Asides from this, Bullet for my Valentine did a great job performing new and old songs alike, and deserve five stars for their show.
★★★★★

The second part of my Bumper Bullet for my Valentine Special (BBFMVS if you will) is my first impressions on the new album, 'Fever'.
This part isn't so positive. I've listened to the album only two or three times now, so a full review isn't really fair at this point (although you can certainly expect one). What I've heard is typical Bullet, and this far it's felt totally familiar, and really predictable. This is, I suppose, good and bad. It's good because it's a successful formula - I like the previous albums, so I like what I'm hearing now. But there is nothing that feels dangerous here. It gives an impression of laziness in song writing (in fact, lyrically I think it's pretty weak throughout) and no sense of experimentation. Though I'll welcome new songs, I'd love to hear them push and evolve their sound in new directions. Otherwise they've peaked at where they are now, and until they change it up, they shouldn't expect to find any more fame than the surprising amount that they already have.
Full review to come soon.

Dan