Stone Sour - Audio Secrecy

It’s been eight years since the release of debut album ‘Stone Sour’ was released and Stone Sour began to tear up the metal scene. With the release of second album ‘Come What(Ever) May’ the band are more than mask less rip offs of front man Cory Taylor and lead guitarist Jim Root’s Slipknot.

‘Audio Secrecy’ is the band’s third instalment. The album kicks off with piano intro ‘Audio Secrecy’ (For those who have seen the video for ‘Say You’ll Haunt Me’ will have heard it already) then tears into second track ‘Mission Statement’ which leaves you feeling like the band have picked up from where they left off.

As the album proceeds the feeling stays the same with gritty, thrashy tracks the likes of first single from the album ‘Say You’ll Haunt Me’ and ‘The Bitter End’. On ‘Come What(Ever) May’ the band showed a more melodic side with single ‘Through The Glass’. It is apparent from ‘Audio Secrecy’ that the band are out to prove that they not only can play loud angry songs but also have that more melodic side with songs the likes of ‘Hesitate’ and ‘Miracles’.

‘Audio Secrecy’ shows the band has a bundle of different talents, whether it is from making hard-hitting tracks to softer, easy listening tunes. Stone Sour never disappoint and ‘Audio Secrecy’ is no different. The only problem with the album is that riffs for songs tend to sound a lot the same to others and from albums before.

3/5

Cheapdog

BBC Radio 1

Last night before bed I decided that I wanted to read my new copy of Big Cheese Magazine. I was sat in the lounge and decided that some music in the background but the stuff you get on the likes of Scuzz and Lava at 2am tend to be proper naff, luckily for me I remembered that Tuesday mornings mean a bit of the Punk Rock sow with Mike Davies.

I started listening to the Mike Davies show about a year ago. The fact that there's a radio one DJ that actually plays the music I love is great but that's not just the only reason I think his show is so great. It's the passion that he puts across.

When I was in secondary school I remember listening to Radio 1 in art classes and I hated it. All this crappy music and the DJs seemed like morons. They just sat there talking rubbish and having phone in competitions. If I'm going to listen to the radio I want the station to be all about the music.

It's a shame that Mike Davies lives in LA and only has a weekly two hour spot in the early hours of a Tuesday morning. This is a man that clearly knows what he is talking about. He has blatantly grown up with the music and knows the best of the big, small, old and new. His show is all about the music which is what I love.

So Mike Davies for this I salute you!! And for those of you yet to take the time and tune in it's BBC Radio 1 at 2am-4am Tuesday mornings or head over to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wq52 where you can catch the show anytime for the next seven days.

Cheapdog

Street Wars

OK, so lately Bizarre magazine has covered some of the most random but fun sounding events that I have heard of. Yesterday I was reading the latest issue (issue 166) when I came across a piece about a city wide water fight.

Liking the sound of such an epic event, I was forced to do my homework and and find out what it was all about. So I went over to the website (www.streetwars.net) where i was blown away from what I read and watched.

So the idea is that for 30 days and nights, entrants take to the streets of the hosting cities in search of a target to assassinate using water guns and water balloons, but at the same time the hunter is always the hunted. At the start of the event you are given a portfolio on a target with details on where they live and work and stuff like that. Once you've got your target then you take over the hunt for theirs. The winner is the person with the most kills.

This all sounds fun but if it's for 30 days straight then how does it fit around work schedules? This was the thing that puzzled me but after watching a couple of videos on the competition it became clear that even at work a strike could be coming. Seemly if you're a dedicated player then it's likely that your work will suffer but o'well in the end there might be a cash prize in it.



Cheapdog

These should have been up a long time ago: Interview

Here I interviewed a sailor friend and presented it in a spread along with a mock up front cover for the magazine.

These should have been up a long time ago: Travel mag

For this magazine i worked as editor of the group for putting together a travel magazine suitable for over the Christmas period i designed the front cover, contents and editors page then once i ad all the work in then began making the changes needed on everyone's pages.

These should have been up a long time ago: Sport Magazine

This layout was done for a sports magazine. The topic of this spread was this years Six Nations.

These should have been up a long time ago: Health magazine

So this spread was done for an alternative health magazine. The topic covered is caring for tattoos.

These should have been up a long time ago: Business mag

OK been meaning to put these up since hand ins but haven't got round to it. So here we go. This is a spread done for a female business magazine, the topic is humor in the work place.

Addicted to This Addiction

Alkaline Trio – This Addiction

Back to basics for Chicago’s punk rockers means back to their best.

Goth punk rockers Alkaline Trio are back with studio album number seven and back to the ways of Maybe I’ll Catch Fire. This Addiction sees the band move away from making more melodic numbers as heard on more recent albums and back to simple generic jump around punk rock with dark lyrics.

This Addiction is everything that a punk-rock album should sound like with huge drum beats, fast paced power chords and sing-along choruses but as with all Alkaline Trio albums an underlying theme of misery and death. It’s not surprising though that this album is slightly more dark and depressing than it’s predecessors, with guitarist and one part of lead vocals Matt Skiba having a new subject to moan and groan about, divorce.

Right from the start of the album you will be jumping about and singing along to tracks like the album titled first single This Addiction and the catchy Draculina. The only problem with singing about dark, depressing subjects and playing generic rhythms is that every now and again previous material can be heard trying to escape. But don’t be a fool and let that put you off buying this album. After a decade and a half Alkaline Trio have finally found there true sound and it’s not worth missing.

4/5

Cheapdog

Love isnt something i would link to Angels and Airwaves

Angels and Airwaves – Love

Love is the third installment from the egomaniac that is Tom DeLonge and his band Angels And Airwaves. Unlike Blink 182 DeLonge has the chance to make more serious music with Angels and Airwaves and believes this to be his masterpiece.

To be honest Love is an easy listen but far from a mater piece. The album which is the bands third studio album, which was released free via DeLonge’s Modlife social networking website, a move he hopes that will change the way distribute their music. But the only thing he really has done is given away a freebie for a band that just doesn’t cut it.

The album is enjoyable but it’s nothing special since the tracks all sound very similar and seems to be that the band just keeps re-releasing their first album and modifying the songs to sound a little different. The album features the same heartbeat drum and spacey samples throughout. The repetitiveness makes it difficult to pick out any exceptional tracks.

There’s rush to go and listen to Love, as it’s nowhere near the masterpiece that has been promised. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t sit in a room with blinds closed and a candle in the middle of the room. DeLonge should of stuck with making music about relationships, farting and inter species relations.

3/5

Cheapdog

Story Of The Year - The Constant

With a fan base that always seems to be growing Story Of The Year seem to make better and better albums. The constant is the forth studio album to be released by the band on Epitaph.

It’s hard to find a good balance between screams and good vocals but this is something that the band seems to do quiet well. The way that they blend the vocals in just as the screaming ends is fantastic and it’s not like there is tons of screaming, as more and more bands seem to be taking a softer approach that is what Story Of The Year have done.

Although being a great follow up to the bands last album, The Black Swan, The Constant doesn’t really stand out as a must have album. The opening song The Children Sing will for the first couple of seconds will have you questioning if this a Story Of The Year or just P.O.D’s Youth Of The nation but after the intro the song is actually one of the best on the album.

The constant is an album that you can tell a lot hard work has gone into producing with heavy guitar riffs and vocals that are sometimes over powered this is an album that you need to have a listen to but with so much good music coming out at the moment, there’s no rush.

3/5

Cheapdog

The dead sings again: Rob Zombie is back with Hellbilly Deluxe 2

It’s been a long time since Rob Zombie has played trick or treat with our ears since focusing more on creating his sadistic horror flicks but the time has come for Hellybilly Deluxe 2.

Last time we heard from him was with 2006’s Educated Horses, which saw Zombie taking a more experimental route with a psychedelic approach. But that’s not the case with Hellbilly Deluxe 2. This time round he’s back with tracks that will make your skin crawl and have you fearing that something about to jump out your speakers and rip your throat out.

Tension in the in songs are built brilliantly with the use of eerie melodies and samples that sound like the script taken from a horror film. But you wont be shitting your pants from fear it will be the awesome guitar riffs and solos from ex-Manson guitarist John Five.

It’s great to hear an album made up completely of fantasy. Although being an ass kicking album it doesn’t compare to it’s piss your pants predecessor Hellbilly Deluxe. But with tracks like Virgin Witch that has a bone crunching guitar solo and ending the album with The Man Who Laughs and it’s head spinning drum roll towards the end. So you need to change your shit stained pants and get the courage to get an album that will have you hiding beneath the covers for the next year.

4/5

Cheapdog