My Top Albums Of 2008

1. Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh
2. Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted
3. Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
4. Metallica - Death Magnetic
5. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
6. Scars On Broadway - Self Titled
7. In Flames- The Mirros Truth
8. Ashes Divide - Keep Telling Myself It's All Right
9. Children Of Bodom - Blooddrunk
10. Testament - The Formation Of Damnation

Special mention for Judas Priest - Nostrodamus cuz it was number 10 untill I got Testament for Christmas!

So yeah, been a good year for alternative/metal albums! Hopefully 2009 shall be as good if not better!

I certainally have bought alot of music this year...most of it metal as well.....EBM/Industrial has kind of taken a side step for the time being whilst I feed my hunger for more metal!

Another comment on the Ross/Brand saga....

(I posted this on wednesday on my facebook and got a tonne of responses, so here it is on here)

So i'm at work today and I spot a certain someone on the cover of a 'mens magazine' shall we put it as I stumble around the shop.

Can't help but wonder what all the right-wing newspaper readers, who eat everything they were fed and who were whipped into self rightous fury regarding Russel Brand and Johnathan Ross, would make of the fact that Miss Georgina Baillie...yes the grand daughter of Andrew Sachs who the phonecalls were about...is making shed loads of cash from the story by posing with her tits out and talking about her sex life in Zoo?

This whole Brand/Ross thing....

Ok, i've never liked Russel Brand, and Jonathan Ross is funny sometimes but can be erratic. Yes, they have been twats over this prank call thing, they shoudl never have done it, it was stupid. But there's another issue here which is beign ignored, and that is that this whole thing as been whipped up into such a frenzy by the right-wing media, newspapers such as the Sun, The Times, The Daily Mail and so forth. These are all right-wing papers that hate the BBC, they view it as left-wing and they are using this to damage it. They have never approved of the BBC, they view the idea of using public money to fund broadcasting as idealogically at odds with their ideals. I mean just think, how many of these papers who have been really laying into the bbc are owned by Rupert Murdoch? I mean is political allegiances are hardly a secret are they? I mean one of his children owns bskyb after all....one of the BBC's biggest competitors.....

Anyhow, point is just be wary that the right-wing are using this to attack the BBC, that they motives are not pure. After all this girl Georgina who the phone calls were about is part of the Satanic Sluts.....and you can bet your last dollar that in normal circumstances they would forwn upon her and her profession. I mean when was the last news story in the Sun or the Daily Mail about goths that wasn't negative?

London After Midnight

London After Midnight were awesome at Islington Acedemy last night. I am so pleased they came to play the UK, it has been so many years and they were a band I thought I may never see! They started the set with my fave song by them, and one of my fave songs ever, 'Your Best Nightmare' and ended with 'Sacrafice' as well which I was hoping for! Other highlights would be 'Where Good Girls Go To Die','Shatter', 'America', 'Feeling Facist, 'The Beginning Of The End', 'Heaven Now', 'Nothing Sacred' and 'Kiss'. So pretty much the whole set was awesome really! :D

So.....

...trying to move on with life after a breakup can be hard. We all know that. Especially when it was not your choice, but theirs. Which fucking sucks. To put it mildly. Generally, I am listening toi lots of music. I mean I listen to lots of music anyways, but at current lots of music about anger, pain, deppression, anguish...you get the idea. So yup, Alice In Chains it is then.

Note to self:

Remember, do not DJ whilst drunk.

I forgot last night and a)I fucked up a couple of times and b)I always forget how much I am drinking and now have hangover.

Anger

*rant mode enaged*

Fuck i've been piseed off lately!

Yes, I am still angry and bitter and so very disspointed about being ditched recently by someone I thought was the one....

Add that to indecision about my goals in life, my crappy home situation and general disatisfaction with society and it results in me being not so fucking great....

*rant mode disengaged*

The Republican Campaign...

...is demonstrated just what a fucked up bunch of racists some of their voters are. It really is shameful and a disgrace when you see Republican supporters calling Obama a terrorist and alike, demonstrating just how racist and biggoted they are, all the time goaded by Palin with her attacks on Obama's person rather than his politics.

This week I have been mostly listening to....

Korn - Alone I Break
Mesh - You Didn't Want Me
Tool - Lateralus
System Of A Down - Roulette
Rage Against The Machine - Renagades Of Funk

Single

Ok, so I got dumped last weekend. It's rubbish. I will onto go into details on such a public domain, suffice to say that as i'm sure everyone knows it sucks to be rejected and thrown away.

However there is one clear advantage to this being single thing - now I have more time to do geek stuff! :D

Sarah Palin

She's really fucking evil. Everything I hate about the religious right in America, a good example why the Republicans are in fact the enemies of freedom loving mankind! Really, if she becomes the Vice President is McCain wins, it just goes to show how fucking gone the US is. Then again, if Obama/Biden win, then there is hope left yet!

Job

So i've had a job since the end of August now. No more bloody job centre, no more constant rejection by shitty companies who only hire attractive women, etc etc.

It's a newsagenets, boring as hell but at least it's easy!

Metallica - Death Magnetic

So i've had it since the day it came out, and yup, it kicks ass!

Reading Festival 2008

So bout time I updated this with what I though of Reading Festival this year!

Well, it was a very fun year. Adele, Chris and Caf all came with me and we camped with the great guys i've camped with past couple years, so I had awesome company all weekend! There was a top gun theme adopted for the camp this year, which proved to be very cool, particuarly the playing of volleyball and the US Navy flag!

Rights...what did I see....

Friday

Anti-Flag (opening Main stage) - They were ok, saving it for their appearance late rin the tent a bit though
Then to the alternative stage for some comedy! Phil Jupitius Improv (aka 3 of his friends) prove dout to be very funny!
Serj Tankain - He was good, but the sound was bad, meaning overall it was ok
Queens Of The Stone Age - They are ok, and there old stuff sounds awesome when they pull it off, but the new stuff just doesn't do it for me.
And of course... RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE! Yes, they were awesome. They sounded fantastic. I was never going to be the 'spetacular decapitation of George W Bush' as some people built it up to be, but yeah they were very good.

Saturday

Fucked Up - average
The King Blues - ok
Seasick Steve - Very good! Thankyou li for the recommendation!
Flogging Molly - Very Good! Every time they do it well! :D
Alkaline Trio - ok
Then saw a bit of Manic Street Preachers, but not my thing really

Sunday

First thing, ff to the alternative stage for some comedy. Saw most of Beans On Toast, i've seen him at Reading before and he is a good laugh. Then Henry Rollins spoken word. Very good, the man knows what he's talkign about, and he's both funny and serious which is good.

Then to main stage for rets fo the day. I ignore a couple of shit bands that are on, then...

Dropkick Murphys - good
Feeder - Good, better than last time, well done lads and a good Nirvana cover at the end!
Tenacious D - Good

Then what (along with RATM) i'd been waiting for all weekend, METALLICA! They were fantasticall awesome, i'd say a bit better than RATM though RATM was a special event so overall they sahre top honours for my highlight of the weekend. The setlist was really good, 3 tracks from Ride The Lightning to start with and your onto a winner with me! And played pleanty more tunes that I really like, so yeah it kicked ass!

So Reading 2008 = awesome! :)

Whats got me excited lately....

Industrial tinged Soulfly-esque metal = awesome

http://www.myspace.com/souldestruction

And for those of you who always ask who the cover of the Cure's 'love song' that I play quite alot at Discord, it is by Snake River Conspiracy. Go buy their album 'Sonic Jihad'. From amazon, cuz you can't find it in many shops anymore. Or at least get the songs 'Breed' and 'Vulcan'.

Dark Knight

Ok i'm convinced, the new Batman kicks ass! Hopefully they will make a couple more films and gradually introduce more of the classic charachters!

Plague Marines

So I was painting my lastest purchase for my Chaos Space Marine army, a unit of 7 plague marines, and I discovered a dead fly in the water pot. A sign from Nurgle i'm sure!

Opinions

Some people just react to others opinions with such venom and spite it's sickening.

I happen to have disagreed with the site admin from efestivals about whether Download should book certain types of bands or not (my logic: it's a rock/metal festival, it's attended by rockers and metallers so should book bands that appeal to that type of crowd) and instead of being reasonable he calls me a moron and a cunt. This I do not appreciate. I am merly stating opinion, I have no desire to be abused in such a manner.

Lesson learned - even people who should act in an professional manner (and as a admin for such a site you really should do) can become agressive, childish and unreasonable when faced with a view different from their own.

Finding a job....

.....is really fucking hard in Bath at the moment!

I mean I keep sending CV's to places etc but hardly get any replies, and when I do get an interview they have like a tonne of other people as well and inevbiatebly don't choose me.

ARGH!

It's frustrating, especially as then people think i'm just being a lazy bum when I actually do want a job and I do wanna work and earn some bloody cash!!!!!

American Politics Are So Negative

Yeah, all politics see parties bitching about each other and people making alot of negative comments. But American politics has to be the worst. Since Obama became the official candidate there has just been a torrent of people being negative about him, moaning about every single word that comes out of his mouth. The 2 sides in America hate each so much it's really annoying that whenever one of them says something good the otehr will attack it simply because of who said it rather than whats been said.

Example - here in the UK David Cameron has commented today that people 'carrying a knife for no good reason' should go to jail. Now I hate the Tories and I really don't like Cameron but thats something I agree with, abiet that it is coupled with my view that prison should do more to rehabilitate criminals. I'm not just going to attack the idea randomly because of who said it, whereas in America if Obama made a similar statement his poltical oppenants would attack him regardless!

Anyway, point is America is never going to improve it's image in the eyes of the world with such a negative attitude.

Lost in the woods

Lost in the woods my demons are bothering me once more

Download 2008

A quick Download Festival 2008 review...

Friday

Zebrahead (ok)
Caimbo (rubbish)
Firewind (good)
Hostile (good)
Motorhead (ok)
Judas Priest (highlight of the festival!!!)
Kiss (very cool!!)

Saturday

Sign (meh)
Skindred (cool)
Job For A Cowboy (meh)
Trigger The Bloodshed (supporting the Bath/hometown lads!)
Throwdown (better than expected)
Bleeding Through (better than expected)
Amon Amarth (ok)
Ace Frehley (pretty cool)
Pendulum (rubbish! really don't get the appeal)
Saxon (very good!)
Testament (awesome!!!)

Sunday
Animal Alpha (bit meh)
Municipal Waste (awesome!!!!!)
Black Stone Cherry (better than expected)
Apocalpytica (good as always)
Within Temptation (very good!)
In Flames (pretty good)
The Wildhearts (good fun)
Children Of Bodom (pretty good)
Cavalera Conspiracy (awesome!!!!)

So yeah, my 6th Downlaod on the trot (thats evry one i've been to) was pretty good! The new layout sucked but ah well, and despite everyone bitching about the line up I did see alot of good bands and I think that the quality of performances given was very high!

Judas Priest, Cavalera Conspiracy and Municipal Waste definetely my 3 main highlights, followed by Testament, Saxon, In Flames, Children Of Bodom and Kiss. Cavalera Conspiracy played alot fo Sepultura stuff as well which kicked ass!

What i've been listening to lately

Devildriver - The Last Kind Words
Ashes Divide - Keep Telling Myself Its All Right
Slipknot - Iowa
Die Krupps - Too Much History (both parts)
Serj Tankain - Elect The Dead
Children Of Bodom - Blooddrunk
In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose

Lib Dem's talk tax cuts

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7409664.stm

So the Lib Dems aim to win voters on the tax issue. Not a bad plan, the Tories are a big threat to Lib Dem seats as well as Labour ones with their 'resurgance' at the moment, so it makes sense to compete for votes with them on these kind of issues. Generally i'm weary when 'tax cuts' are mentioned by any party, fora successful wealfare state to function you simply need a high levelof taxation. However the Lib Dems aredoing it in a way that I think makese sense, as in actually trying to make the tax system fairer and reduce the burden on lower income earners, which is a smart idea given how many people are struggling these days, from food prices to the housing market!

We shall have to wait and see whether these policies gain them votes when it comes round to a general election, if they can get the message across to people then hopefully it will help gain a few more Liberal MP's!

So true....

A comment on the governments descion to reclassify Cannabis as class B against the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7386889.stm

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said that, as its advice had been disregarded, ministers should disband the advisory council of experts and replace it with an advisory council of "tabloid newspaper editors".

Abandoning the Labour ship...but where to turn...

So Boris Johnson is mayor of London. That as far i'm concerend is rubbish! The guy is a complete disaster. He's not funny, he actually means all the dumb things he says. The Lib Dems had a great candidate in Brian Paddick, a really good choice, and he was sidelined by the media. Now London has Boris. The future is not great.

So, council elections. Labour got utterly trashed. Utterly and totally trashed. To lose 331 councillers in one go is in fact a complete disaster. It's just an utter shame then that the mian benifactors of this have been the Tories. The Lib Dems have made a few games (up 34 councillers, and in control of a net total of 1 more council) so hopefully they will be able to build on this. People need to understand that if you hate Labour then the way to turn is the Lib Dems, not the Tories. Take the 10p tax for example...the Lib Dems were voicing their anger at this from day 1 it was mentioned. It's against the Lib Dems fundamental principals of creating a fairer tax system. The Tories have just taken advantage of it to damage Labour, idealogicaly they have no problem with it. It's a right-wing idea. The Tories are right wing. Go figure.

The problem with Labour is that they have been to authoritarian and whilst we can applaud their willingness to invest in public services it's time for some changes in the management of them...i.e. lets drop this obession with targets and red tape and get things in working order. Voting for the Tories is not a solution to this, the Conservative party have always been idealogically oppsoed to a strong wealfare state, they would damage the NHS and education by aiming to reduce public spending in them. Look past Cameron's shiny face at the Tory backbenchers and see their real agendas.

When it comes to civil liberties and environmental issues the answer simply is to vote Lib Dem. You want liberal values protected? Vote for the Liberal party! Want action on the envrionment? The Lib Dems have been protecting ideas of green taxation and strong action way before the Tories ever jumped on the bandwagon.To cut to the chase, people want a change from Labour.

I urge you/them to vote Liberal Democrat in the future and avoid the Tories like the plague.