Live Review: Devolution Vs Insomnia Festival [Metal/Rock]

True goth is extremely misunderstood. The mainstream perceive it as My Chemical Romance, and anyone daring to be different, many metal scribes insist it is anything with a female vocalist, but no my dears, if you want goth, you've come to the right place. The Devolution Vs Insomnia Festival opens its doors at 4pm, the variety of CD's and merchandise on offer stretched throughout the back of the venue draws the attention of almost everyone, before the first band take to the stage;

Ivy's Itch are a relatively underground band, playing an interesting form of Grunge rock. The vocalist Eliza Gregory takes to the stage in her floral dress, the picture of innocence and beauty, the opening chords are strummed as she childishly plays around with her guitar. Her high and fragile voice begins to seep through the speakers, and without a moments warning, she throws her arms in the air, and screams down the microphone with such passion and anger, a truly great vocalist. The band itself are very heavy, perhaps the heaviest of the day, and play with excellent precision. My two favourites from their set is the midpaced 'Roses' and creepy-beautiful 'Laudanum' Interesting and talented band, who truly deserve to go far...

Sadly TearTricks didn't make it to the event, therefore the next band to play were the local, Lycan, who took to the stage like true professionals. Sadly, their music wasn't entirely my cup of tea, though a lot of people, especially my friend, enjoyed their brand of heavy metal. The standout track has to be the lengthy, 'Primal' that shows Lycan's amazing songwriting skills.

The third performer is the (one-time) soloist SarahJane and her project, Novus. Having met her before the show, i was excited to see her onstage. As she kicked off her set, she relied heavily on a backing tape, due to the lack of her band (They had not turned up, eek!). However it's extremely admirable to see SarahJane draw in the audience for the first time today. A really beautiful voice set off lead single; 'Liberty' and album tracks such as 'The Closer The Net'. Despite the odds building up against her, she proves her worth by making it through the set, and gaining many new fans. A really admirable performer, for sure.

I was planning to leave before Pro-Jekt took the stage, so the next two bands Avoidance Of Doubt, and Two Witches were eagerly awaited, as my own headliners.

Avoidance Of Doubt kicked off the longer sets with their amazing mix of metal and interesting effects. The deep voice of D.Void worked well, and the stage presence was astounding. The band came out in full force, headsets, microphone stands and wings intact and hold the audience for the whole 45 minutes. The band are very energetic and witty, often jumping into the crowd to get closer, and throwing out all the stops with their intense live show. Despite the lack of dancer, Missy, the band prove nothing can stop them, with hilights such as; Jesus Wept and Watch Me Bleed.

The final band i encountered on my gothic venture were the finnish, Two Witches, alike Avoidance Of Doubt, the band really prove their worth on the live scene, delighting various devoted fans, the bands clothing was also very interesting and brave! With fire-eaters, tons of latex and some good gothic rock, the climax of my night couldn't have been better!

The festival was an amazing experience, the beautiful clothing, amazing music and great merch, it was time to dedicate myself to visiting this festival as many times as possible!

Avoidance Of Doubt Official
Avoidance Of Doubt @ Myspace
Ivy's Itch Official
Ivy's Itch @ Myspace
Lycan @ Myspace
Novus @ Myspace
Two Witches Official
Two Witches @ Myspace

Live Review: Stevie Ann @ Parkpop 2007 [Pop/Rock]

Young, beautiful and talented.. it's all Stevie Ann. Entering the Dutch music scene in early 2005 with her debut album Away From Here, she has gained a firm fanbase over these 2 years. Influenced by artists like Sheryl Crow and Joni Mitchell, Stevie has created her own unique sound. Opening-act for Parkpop, she has to wake up the crowd for artists like Maria Mena, Air Traffic, Beef, Kim Wilde and many more.

Although it's very rainy and early there are already alot of people to see Stevie Ann kick off the largest free festival in Europe. Starting with a new song the crowd doesn't really seem to be into the music much yet. When she continues with `You versus Me' there's more interaction; the crowd is clapping along and Stevie Ann laughs at the dedicated fans who made her a ``happy birthday'' sign.

She plays most of the upbeat songs from the album instead of the more acoustic songs she usually plays at intimate shows. But of course she doesn't leave out the mostly acoustic `The Poetry Man', her first single.

The cover of Depeche Mode's `Personal Jesus' is amazingly played and her voice is outstanding. The guitarist does his solo's very well, but the interaction between the band itself isn't really to be noticed, if it's there at all. Probably because they have only played a few shows together, but still a great miss.

She plays a few songs from the upcoming album in September. Usually I don't really get excited by new songs, but she really hit me with these outstanding new songs. Her vocal range even better used, great solo's and build-ups made them almost perfect. The crowd as well got wild at these songs and Stevie probably just got some new fans with this great performance.

A few songs were missing in the setlist, but still an amazing show. Stevie Ann really proves herself live, capable of letting the crowd rock to her songs as well as emotionaly capture them with her acoustic ballads. Hopefully I can make it to one of her more intimate shows sometime.

Stevie Ann Official
Stevie Ann @ Myspace

Interview: Novus - 'The Curse Of A Goth Band' [Rock/Dance]

'Novus', fronted by the charismatic Sarahjane, are a female fronted industrial goth phenomenon. Despite being a conciderably new band, they have a series of past gigs, and a lot of determination under their belts. We got the chance to ask Sarahjane about her past, in the band 'Faithful Dawn', and the future of 'Novus'.

Hi SarahJane, First of all congratulations on releasing your debut cd with Novus; how long has Novus been active? What happened with your previous band Faithful Dawn?

With faithful Dawn you either liked us or you didn't and we had reached a glass ceiling on how far we could go, the curse of a Goth band!! We had played all the big Goth Festivals and all the main venues around England and kinda ran out of ideas. Then I split up with Glenn who was the other half of FD so it came to a natural end!

What do you write your lyrics about? Any themes or subjects you enjoy writing about?

The lyrics of FD were alot more powerful than Novus because I was going threw alot more personally and it always makes great lyrics!!! Novus is more harder edge, but I still write about relationships etc. 'Closer the Net' is about a friend of mine who is always getting the wrong end of the stick with relationships!! He is also very bossy and controlling, a real "Battle Master!"

'Emotive' is about my relationship with my ex and my now partner, how I moved on but still can't escape the Ghosts of the past!

Who are your main musical influences?

I love Duran Duran (god I am old!), I think that Simon Le Bon was and is a great lyricist.
In the now, I love Gwen Stefani, she is a girl who know what she wants!!
I listen to all sorts myself, I love Biffy Clyro and a great new band called The Medic Droid, you guys will love them!

Do you run a dayjob aswell as being in Novus?

I am Mrs. 2 jobs!! I am a radio broadcaster in the very early mornings, presenting the traffic and travel on Robbie Dee's breakfast show on CFM and in the afternoon I work for the local paper, doing research for them, I love working in the Media!

Thanks a lot for this interview!Do you have a message to all of your fans?

That I hope they enjoy what I do and don't get put off that I may be as old as some of their Mums!! My fan base is getting younger and younger!!
Enjoy life, don't take it too seriously and if people have shit opinions on something you enjoy and love, then stuff em!

Novus:UK @ Myspace

Review: Kelly Clarkson - My December [Rock/Pop]

Kelly Clarkson, perhaps best known for rising to fame after winning American Idol. The former waitress began her career as a pop artist, playing a variety of heart wrenching ballads, upbeat pop numbers, and yet more of the mushy stuff. However, having found her feet in the music buisiness, she began to form a rockier sound, with gritty guitars, and less of the pristine production major labels provide.

Her new album gives an amazing impression, with the gothic beauty of the breathtaking artwork, and first single, 'Never Again', proving she hasn't lost her skill in the songwriting department, but with a darker sound and image, can Kelly convert the masses with 'My December'?

Well, opening with the aforementioned lead single, Kelly packs a punch, rarely seen on the rest of the album, the song is witty, angry and surprisingly rocky! Definitely one of the highlights from the album, and a tough song to follow. On later listens to the track, the intricate instrumentation, such as the strings deep in the background of the first verse and the effective, almost spoken backing vocals in the chorus become apparent, a really great pop song! Also, in some ways musically similar to "Since U Been Gone".

It is followed by the upbeat and poppy track; 'One Minute' which is destined to be a single. The song has a very happy feel, with interesting lyrics, not as mature as certain songs on 'My December' but still more intelligent than the current wave of pop artists. Its another standout track, and very catchy, especially the wonderfully frantic chorus.

'Hole' continues the string of great ear-candy, with its sexy guitar beats sliding aside the calm vocals of Clarkson in the first verse, mounting up to an explosive chorus, "Theres A Hole, Inside Of Me, It's So Cold, Slowly Killing Me". Granted, the lyrics aren't the best, but the freedom and loose feel the song gives, really works to Kelly's advantage. 'Hole' is another upbeat song, that incorporates the best parts of 'Never Again' with the outstanding dance factor of 'One Minute'.

The first slow track of 'My December' comes in the form of 'Sober', a calm, soft power ballad, that kicks in around the third verse. Although it sounds awfully generic on paper, the actual song is very beautiful. However it doesn't match up to the wonderful 'Break Away' or the later track 'Irvine'. Despite it's imperfections, 'Sober' is definitely still an enjoyable song, just slightly harder to get into than the previous tracks.

It's straight back to the American rock sound with 'Don't Waste Your Time'. The opening backing voice, really provides a great feel for the song. Sadly, the track doesn't match up to its potential, sure enough it's a catchy song, but the fact that every last second can be predicted after only one listen simply proves how generic it is. The song is definitely not a bad song, it is just far too predictable.

'Judas' begins with Clarksons beautiful voice, over a thick beat, soon joined by light guitars. The song continues with this formula until it reaches the chorus, and once again becomes dissappointing. By this point, even the lyrics are becoming uninteresting and boring, the same old anger at an ex boyfriend had been used to death on 'Never Again', and to some extent 'Sober' and 'Don't Waste Your Time'

Thankfully there's salvation in the unique 'Haunted', surprisingly the verses stand out, with Kellys fragile voice emotionally singing over the guitars. 'Haunted' is another shockingly heavy songs, and would definitely sit well among her classics on the live scene. The lyrics, although cliche, are very clever and intelligently written, suiting Clarksons voice perfectly.

'Be Still' and 'Maybe' are perhaps the two most boring songs on 'My December', based on the usual acoustic guitar and over-produced vocals. Its worth mentioning the heartfelt lyrics, that save the songs from being disastrous. 'Be Still' provides a wonderful single lyric in 'I'll Glady Climb Your Walls, If You'll Meet Me Halfway". Kelly has the ability to write for a new audience, but she really needs to be careful not to slip from emotional into boring, the line is thin and with 'Maybe' and 'Be Still' she seems to have crossed it.

'How I Feel' is very reminiscent of 'One Minute' with its upbeat and americanized indie rock. Once again, the verses stand out, and Kelly proves why she was crowned Amerian Idol, with her fantastic tones. Sadly the song borders on generic, and is another letdown.

The highly original, 'Yeah' is another awesome song. The sound of the thin guitars wailing behind Kelly's amazing voice, slowly building up to the multi-layered voices of the chorus, the song can be described in two words; "Feel Good'. The beautiful effects, and Kelly's interesting vocal lines prove that she still has the courage to be different! 'Yeah' is one of the most original rock songs of recent times.

Following this, is the mid-paced 'Can I Have A Kiss'. The adorable lyrics document Kelly's desperation to get close to her love interest. "If I Can't Hold You, Can I Give You A Kiss?" she asks in the chorus, and with her beautiful tones, i forbid anyone from turning her down.

'Irvine' is another very individual, intelligently written song. The beautiful sound of an acoustic guitar fusing with Kelly's luscious vocals, works very well, the lack of production is the perfect effect, sounding like the song has been recorded by a campfire, adding that last simple touch that sets the song off perfectly. The lyrics are the best in Clarksons history; honest, emotional and pure; Irvine is one of the best written pop songs i have ever had the pleasure to hear.

'Chivas' is the final song on 'My December' and ends the album well. It's definitly not the best song on the album, but the pretty lyrics and acoustic guitar really works well for her, hopefully she'll utilze it more on the follow up to this CD.

In conclusion, Kelly has taken a brave risk with 'My December'. She has risked her success and her original fan base, to follow her heart in creating the music she enjoys. I really hope she gets a lot of success with this album, not because it's the best album I've ever heard, but because she is being true to herself, unlike so many other 'million-dollar musicians'. 'My December' is worth your time, if you want honesty and emotion in your music. Let's just hope she carries on this beautiful new sound in the future...

Kelly Clarkson Official
Kelly Clarkson @ Myspace

Review: Kamelot - Ghost Opera [Metal]

Kamelot is one of metal's most unique, influential and prestigious acts to come along in decades. The group has already released 7 albums and has a large dedicated fan base. Ghost Opera is their latest effort including guest appearances by musicians as `Simone Simons' from Epica and `Amanda Sommerville'.

The album opens with the intro `Solitaire'; an instrumental track mostly consisting of strings and keyboard. The intro leads to the song `Rule the World' and continues to be a sort of a foundation of this song. `Rule the World' is a song about the problems we face in everyday life. Khans powerful voice really strengthens this track.

`Ghost Opera' is the first single of the album. A logical choice, this being a `typical' Kamelot song. Powerful riffs, catchy chorus and the finishing touch of Amanda Sommerville's outstanding voice. Though only heard chanting at the chorus this song wouldn't be half as good without her. I just have to add that I especially love the video for this song, it's perfect!

The 4th song is `The Human Stain'. Lyrically truly outstanding but instrumentally perhaps uninteresting. The intro is good but the same riffs throughout the song get boring, a solo and an amazing verse after make up for this though.

Simone Simons joins Kamelot once more on `Blücher'. A song about war and the lost love because of it. This song reminds of `The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)', another duet with Simone Simons on The Black Halo. Perfeclty built-up and the stunning voices of Simons and Khan make this song almost perfect.

`Love You to Death' is another song with Amanda Sommerville. It tells the story of two young loved ones, the girl already knowing she is going to die soon. The song is told from both views of the boy and girl, characterized by Khan and Sommerville. In all, this is a beautiful slow song.
Moving on to number 7.. `Up Through the Ashes'. The sound typically Kamelot, epic but also catchy. It deals with the problem of religion. One of the things I particularly like about this song is the line ``I don't need your blood''.

Amanda Sommerville lends her voice once more on `Mourning Star'. The song starts with a (male) choir chanting, the guitars kick in after and it proves to be another 'typical' Kamelot song. This track is also about the war and the questions it brings. Sommerville joins in at the chorus. I find this song most interesting for the lyrics really let you think about it.

`Silence of the Darkness' starts with a fast guitar riff and slows down at the first verse. The song being pretty much the same all the time, I find this one of the weakest songs on Ghost Opera.
One of the few slow songs on the album is `Anthem'. The Anthem of life that is. Khan uses his voice really good and emotionally, but the overdone orchestra part at the end of the song ruins that in a way.


`EdenEcho' is a song about lost love. Instrumentally uninteresting and the lyrics abit overdone the first 2 minutes aren't a real pleasure. The verse `Remember my name, and paint the darkness with your light. You'll sing your song for all broken hearted, like Eden echoes in my head. The unforgiven gave you all' accompanied by the stunning choir makes up for most of the song, but the chorus just can't bother me.

In conclusion this is once more a very good album by Kamelot. Though it sounds pretty much like The Black Halo, they did make progress. If you have the time be sure to check out the video for their first single; Ghost Opera!

Kamelot Official
Kamelot @ Myspace

Live Review: Maria Mena @ Pinkpop 2007 [Pop]

Maria Mena is a singer-songwriter from Norway, only 21 years old she has already released 3 cd's, of which her last album``Apparently Unaffected'' with the single ``Just Hold Me'' put her on the international charts.
She has already played a vast set of shows in the Netherlands, but playing at Pinkpop is a huge event.

Starting with ``What's another day'' most of the crowd is rather impatient and waiting for her to play the two big hits she scored in the Netherlands; ``Just hold me'' and ``Miss you love''. I move more to front, impatient myself because of the people only standing in the tent because it's dry. While getting to the front she gets on with ``You're the Only One'', an upbeat song which gets the people more into the music. Maria then announces how terribly nervous she was for this big show and how she had been peeing every 15 minutes, only then to apologize that that was rather a gross thing to say. ``A few small bruises'' follows, a song she wrote for her best friend who helped her with a depression. A beautiful song and very emotionally sung by Maria Mena. She jumps to the next song ``Blame it on Me'' and wants the crowd to do the same. Only a few actually do, but she seems to enjoy herself enough. Again she thanks the crowd for coming to see her by saying: ``it feels like its my festival, oh my god 65000 people bought tickets.. for me!''

Then going acoustic with the song ``Internal Dialogue'' Maria's voice comes to the fullest and just gives me the chills. The lyrics to this song are written as if she were argueing with herself, the emotion she puts into the singing makes this song almost perfect! Declaring the Netherlands with our ``poffertjes en bitterballen'' as her second home she moves on to a really emotional song ``Sorry'', this being a personal favourite and a very meaningful song to me, it actually brought me to tears. Again by the true emotion in her strong and beautiful voice this song is a real pleasure to hear live. Moving on to her second hit ``Miss you love'', I'm still and again emotionally touched and can't help but thinking of old memories.

``These Shoes'' is a suprising next song being very upbeat and happy, but helps me get my mind back to the show. Getting back to more serious songs she plays ``He's hurting me'', a short but very good song. The verse ``don't leave me, please believe me, baby there is, I can explain, please love me.. please need me, ohh'' just gives me the chills! Once again telling how fine we Dutchies really are, she claims she should get a Dutch boyfriend.

The next song is ``Patience'', the backing vocals terribly off was abit of a letdown compared to Maria Mena's wondeful voice. Up next is a song for all the girls in charge or as Maria would say ``I need you to shake your asses with me, I need you to take out your boob! No don't do that..''. The song ``Boytoy baby'' really gets the crowd going, singing loud to the line ``boytoy baby, nananana'' when Maria Mena wants them to.

``Your Glasses'' I find an again surprising song, a song not so easy to relate to. Her performance is still great and with a really long ``me'' at the end I just get the chills once more by her amazing voice. After introducing her band she finally gets to the song the most people have been waiting for.. ``Just Hold Me''. The whole crowd enjoying this one it's a pity she gets to one of her last songs; ``Free'', a song from her first album. Again the crowd sings along to this song although it is a rather unknown.

Ending with the new single ``Our Battles'' she put down a fine show.

Maria Mena really surprised me with her stunning performance. Her voice is just as great live as it is on her cds. Her energy and interaction with the crowd makes it even better. So if you get the chance to see her live.. take it!

Maria Mena Official
Maria Mena @ Myspace

News: Nightwish Reveal New Album/Single Artwork [Metal]

Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish have revealed that the title of their new album, the first to feature recently recruited vocalist Anette Olzon, will be 'Dark Passion Play'.

The tracklisting will be as follows:

1. The Poet And The Pendulum
2. Bye Bye Beautiful
3. Amaranth
4. Cadence Of Her Last Breath
5. Master Passion Greed
6. Eva
7. Sahara
8. Whoever Brings The Night
9. For The Heart I Once Had
10. The Islander
11. Last Of The Wilds
12. 7 Days To The Wolves
13. Meadows Of Heaven

The band have released Eva as the first single, downloadable only, and will release the second single Amaranth, in August, followed by the album in September.
No tracklisting has been confirmed for the single.
The band will start their tour later this year, in support of the album.

Nightwish Official
Nightwish @ Myspace

Interview: Visions Of Atlantis ''Third Time Lucky" [Metal]

Visions of Atlantis are an austrian symphonic band, currently promoting their third opus, Trinity. Here we speak to vocalist Melissa Ferlaak

Hey Melissa, thanks a lot for doing this interview with us!
Oh goodness sake, dont mention it. haha! :)

First of all, before you joined Visions Of Atlantis had you heard of the band?
Nope! haha! The band was brought up to me and I was like, 'who?' ;) I heard their music then, liked the fresh sound of it and thought well why not! :)

What was your opinion on previous vocalist Nicole Bogner?
Unfortunate the girl didnt take care of herself because she has a pretty voice. She is young though, so she has time to grow up a bit. I liked what she did though!

What is your favourite VOA song, Pre-Trinity, to perform live?
Hm, gosh all of them are a lot of fun in their own rights. Even though I dont sing a lot on it, I love doing Lords of the Sea. Lost is always cool because everyone starts singing along. Cast Away is cool because of the soaring lines which are fun to sing. Winternight is a beautiful song and always a pleasure to sing. So yup, there are a few! :)

You recently stated you are very against downloading, did you download before you realised what problems it can cause?
Honestly, I never really got into downloading, however, a lot of people would give me copies of CDs they bought. It always felt weird to me, but accepted them as gifts, you know? If I liked something enough though, I would go out and buy it. Again, it is definitely a mass moral dilemma. It isnt really some teenagers fault that he doesnt have remorse for downloading some artists tunes. MTV has painted a pretty wild picture of the life of artists and so many think, well, what will one CD affect the millions of dollars this artist has, you know? I dont blame people, but I think they need to be educated on the fact that it isnt like MTV paints it to be.

The new album 'Trinity' has received reviews in many british magazines such as Kerrang, Metal Hammer and Powerplay, does the band have a big UK following?
It's funny...I've been told that symphonic metal isnt a big thing there, but yes, we have been in these magazines. I've also had a lot of folks visit my myspace who are from the UK requesting we play there. Honestly, our UK listeners need to go to their local venue promoters and request we go. That is how we will make it there or trust me, we would have been there a long time ago! haha! :)

Are you a fan of the female fronted metal scene?
Definitely, it is my favorite genre of music. I support all my other colleagues endeavors very much. I'm always amazed at what other bands are coming up with. It is a good thing to see people working together to bring a genre of music you like even higher and higher. I feel very proud to be part of that.

Before 'Trinity' many reviewers wrote VOA off as Nightwish clones, do you think the new album will change this?
Haha, well, their loss. The new album already has changed a lot of reviewers minds, some reviewers I doubt even listened to the album and just made up a bunch of shit about us. To each their own. But those who are known to be respected in knowing good symphonic metal have praised this album. Those are the people I respect, not the gore grind fans who are reviewing music they wouldnt like anyway. ;)

Do you have a message for your fans, now the new album is released?
Friends (not fans), thank you all so much for your support! Much love to you and hopefully see ya soon!

Thanks Simon and Ka!
Mel

Visions Of Atlantis Official
Visions Of Atlantis @ Myspace

Review: Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight [Rock]

After 4 years of abscence, Linkin Park returns to the music scene with their latest release Minutes to Midnight. This being a product of 18 months work and over 150 demos written, does this prove to be high quality music?

The album is based on a old and rather creepy concept; ``The title is a reference to the Doomsday Clock, created by scientists after the US dropped the atomic bomb on Japan'', Linkin Park co-frontman Chester Bennington explained. ``Given the idea that mankind now had this ultimate nuclear destructive power, they were contemplating what the repercussions of this would be and the idea that the end of the world could be imminent''.
The clock has been moved back and forth several times since its inception, and indicating right now at ``Minutes to Midnight''.

``With Minutes to Midnight Linkin Park says goodbye to their old ``nu-metal'' sound. The first single ``What I've Done'' was written after they decided on the Midnight concept, it's Linkin Park dropping the bomb on their rap-rock roots.

The album opens with ``Wake'', a slow intro.

Moving on to ``Given Up'' the song starts with clapping, soon accompanied by heavy guitar riffs and Bennington's raw vocals building up to the catchy chorus. This being a rather chaotic and screamy song, you first notice they've started using curse words. Formely against using those because it ruined the art of language.

The third song being a ballad: ``Leave out all the Rest'' is a rather generic song, done tons of times before, with a really catchy chorus that easily gets stuck in your head.

``Bleed it out'' underlines the new use of cursewords: ``Yea here we go for the hundredth time, Hand grenade pins in every line, Throw 'em up and let something shine. Going out of my fucking mind. Filthy mouth, no excuse. Find a new place to hang this noose''. This being one of the raps by Mike Shinoda, rarely heard on Minutes To Midnight. Once again the clapping kicks in and Bennington does the chorus. The song doesn't add much on the album, but is a nice song played live.


Another ballad ``Shadow of the Day'', starting with an annoying beat and instrumentally uninteresting, Bennington's voice seems to be the only good thing of the song at first. However, later on the rest of the instruments join in, including some strings, which brings this song to a very nice climax on the end, slowly turning into an outro and intro to the first single ''What I've Done''. This probably being one of the most interesting songs on the album, starting with the lyrics: ``In this farewell, there's no blood, there's no alibi'', it's Linkin Park saying goodbye to their old image. The guitar and drums sounding raw and stripped down, it's a very good choice as first single.

More rapping from Mike Shinoda on ``Hands Held High''! Most likely to be influenced by Shinoda's side-project Fort Minor, the song features an organ and an choir repeatly singing ``amen'' after the verses and at the end of the song. This being a truly beautiful and mature song, it has to be one of my favourites of this album.

Next on Minutes to Midnight is ``No More Sorrow'', the instruments and build-up of the song sound much like ``Given Up'', which makes this song not very interesting.

``Valentine's Day'' is a song that's not much Linkin Park at all. Chester sounding very weak and fragile at the beginning of the song, only to regain his powerful voice at the end of the song singing the lyrics ``I never knew what it was like to be alone on a valentine's day''. These lyrics really disappointed me, not mature at all!

The next song ``In between'' is interesting for the fact that Mike Shinoda does the main singing. However this song didn't turn out so well as I hoped and is instrumentally again uninteresting.

``In Pieces'' starts off with a really annoying beat overruling Bennington's voice. This ruining like half of the song is such a shame. After the beat changes the song is alright, but after the annoyance of the first 1.5 minutes I can't really be bothered by this song.

The last song, and the longest song, is my personal favourite of this album. The song is based on their experiences visiting the `ruins' of New Orleans. ``The Little Things Give You Away'' is a slow song, perfectly built-up.

Overall this was well worth a 4-year wait. Though alot of Linkin Park fans might not like this new sound, it's definitely worth a listen.

Linkin Park Official
Linkin Park @ Myspace

Interview: Arapacis 'The Altar Of Peace' [Metal/Rock]

Arapacis are a female fronted band, formed in 2003, releasing their debut CD 'So Many Leapers' in 2006, featuring vocals by Shelsey Jarvis. Shelsey has since left the band, and been replaced by the young vocalist Elizabeth Fyre. The band are currently searching for a new drummer, and performing live throughout their country. Here i speak with guitarist and main songwriter, Jerry Fielden.

Hi Jerry! Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer these questions!

-You're welcome!

Lets start from the beginning: How did you come up with the name AraPacis?
-Well I'm a History graduate with my specialty being ancient Roman history, so I came up with the name of one of their most beautiful pieces of architecture, the Ara Pacis ("altar of peace" in Latin), which was built in 9 BCE by the emperor Augustus and still stands to this day in Rome.

When you lost original vocalist Shelsey, did you fear you wouldn't be able to replace her?
-Yes and no, and she wasn't actually our first vocalist (although she's right up there as one of the best I know and of course, sang on the first album), I knew it was just a question of time and patience to find the right person. But yeah, they were tough shoes to fill!


Your fanclub leader, and good friend Bonnie McKannon wrote the lyrics to your song 'The Green Fairy'. Were the lyrics written especially for the band?
-I saw the poem in her blog, thought it was amazing, and asked her if I could use it. All she had to do was to write a chorus and there - we had a great set of lyrics, I just had to put the music to it after.


Would you say that you are building a solid fanbase thanks to your constant live shows?
-It is taking a while, we are building slowly - it's a relatively small fanbase as our genre is quite uncommon - a female fronted metal band playing old school mixed with prog... and it's a lot less gothic than most female fronted bands! - but these are very dedicated incredibly unique fans from all over the world and of course, we love them all :)


Since its formation, AraPacis has lost many members, has this ever disheartened you?
- It depends on the circumstances; in cases like Shelsey's it was obviously hard, but in some others it was quite a relief! That said, I wish them all success in whatever they are doing!


What does the year ahead hold for AraPacis?
-Well we'll be surely recording our second album - we have a great set of new songs, written by Bonnie, Shelsey, Liz, Gab, and myself. So it will be as varied as the first if not more :) And yes, we have to find a new drummer too. Also, we'll be playing as many shows as we can.
Possible track list (in no order, and not sure if they will all be used)

-The Green Fairy (McKannon, Fielden) -Theocracy (Fielden) -Towers in the Evening Sky (Boudreault, Fielden) -Siren's Call (Boudreault, Fielden) -Consequences of Dreams (Fielden) -Roadways (Fielden) -Death of Loneliness (Fyre, Fielden) -Going Noah (Jarvis, Fielden) -Hesitate (Jarvis, Fielden) -Thunder Lizard (Fielden) -Live Forever, Die Soulless (Boudreault)

and more!

Will the band be venturing out of the country for any shows on foreign turf?
-We'll be probably touring Europe first, that will be a lot of fun! As for the US, we'll see in a couple of years what is happening.


Thanks!

Most welcome! Cheers, Jerry

Arapacis Official
Arapacis @ Myspace

Review: Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad [R'n'B/Hip Hop]

Rihanna is the stunning sensation that is currently pursuing her 15 minutes of fame, as America's sweetheart. Her new album, 'Good Girl Gone Bad' shows a mature and sexier sound, featuring such well know names as Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.

The album opens with the insanely catchy first single, 'Umbrella', with guest rapper Jay Z on board, the track struts through over 4 minutes of developed beats, accompanied by the soulful tones of Rihanna herself.


The album continues with the destined-to-be-a-single 'Push Up On Me'. The song is a clever mainstream track that fails to be generic in the slightest. So far so good.

However, GGGB takes a halt at third track 'Don't Stop The Music', a song that has been done, thousands of times before. The highlight of Rihanna's music, for me, is her originality and ability to stand out from the crowd, sadly this song fails to do anything for her. Disappointing.

However, the next track 'Breakin' Dishes' is another class act of sexy beats layered on top of a slick production, the song sounds like an insane mix of Gwen Stefani's solo material, and Nelly Furtado [Loose-era].

Second single, 'Shut Up And Drive' begins with a grungy guitar sound that is soon tied in with R'n'B beats, and the mature touch of Rihanna's fragile voice. The song is a pleasant change from Rihanna's usual material, and a very original track.

Now, there has been a lot of excitement over Rihanna's duet with Ne-Yo, 'Hate That I Love You' however i fail to see why. The song is less than memorable, and sounds like most hip-hop ballads. The only thing that rescues this song from being dreadful, is the intelligent lyrics, that are nothing less than beautiful.

'Say It' reminds me of such skillful artists as Beyonce and Mary J Blige, a chilled out tune that isn't Rihanna's best work, but is enough to put a smile on a fans face, the polite vocals and tame sounds make great background music, but on an album like GGGB is that really needed?

'Sell Me Candy' seems to be a very "Marmite" song, you either love it or hate it. The summer beats, reminds me of 'Wait A Minute' by The Pussycat Dolls, but as the chorus rolls around, the sound develops a layered feel, with many different instruments and effects. Perhaps, the hardest song to get into from the album, but definitely one of the most delightful tracks!


'Lemme Get That' is lyrically pathetic. So cliche, and even going as far as using the dreadful line '...why spend mine, when i can spend yours?'. The music itself is very interesting, and flirtatious, as we've come to expect from the talented Timbaland. 'Lemme Get That' is very appealing, and embeds into your mind subconciously, however, anyone looking for meaning in their music, steer well clear from this track.

The album continues with the mellow 'Rehab'. Co-written by Justin Timberlake, the song promises a lot, and thankfully delivers, especially in the beautiful opening, with piano, and serene strings. Rihanna provides a stunning vocal performance, whilst the song manages to be accessible, yet heartfelt. One of the stand out tracks, indeed, let's hope Rihanna can pull it off on the live scene as well.

The penultimate track is 'Question Existing'. I'm torn on this song, as to whether i like it or not The positive points are the sexy effects, complimenting Rihanna's steamy voice, the song is a charming flirt away from reality. However around the 2.5 minute mark, Rihanna does what no singer should ever do. She mentions the over-used and ever-boring flaws of being a celebrity. Oh woe, it sucks to be me. What makes this song worse is the fact that she doesn't sing these lines, she speaks them and also uses the line "Dear Diary...".Perhaps hidden beneath her sultry tones, i could have forgiven her, but in her over-acting, unpleasent speaking voice, i'm afraid she ruined what could have been a good song. Such a shame.

The album concludes with the intimate, soothing title track, with more stunning lyrics and divine instrumentation. The vocals are pitch perfect, and the thick vocals, allow Rihanna to sound strong, as opposed to the weak voice she often attempts. A perfect way to end an accomplished piece of art.

In general, 'Good Girl Gone Bad' is a mature, interesting and thought provoking release, with complex melodies and meaningful lyrics. Many artists should take note from this release, as it's not often an over hyped muscian lives up to their reputation and expectations, but Rihanna does just that, making sure that her 15 minutes last as long as possible.

Rihanna Official
Rihanna @ Myspace