'ONE DAY SON...' TURNS 7!

On September 24th, one of my favourite bands Fightstar's second album 'One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours' turns 7! Doesnt feel long ago that I remember running down to Tesco's after school and looking to see if they had it and turning away disappointed not to find it, but was amazed when my friend shouted 'JOE!' and pointed to a corner in which the album was there looking glorious with its bonus DVD as well. The album was well received and praised for its 'deftonian' sound and is a firm favourite in my collection.

SO, what I've planned to do is celebrate by letting YOU vote for 3 tracks to played on my show 'Kick Out the Jams' this Thursday 25th September on sinefm.com 7PM ! If you're a fan of Fightstar or just want to get involved (probably best to listen to the album) please vote and spread the word by retweeting etc!

Enter your vote by simply commenting or tweeting me on @JEHobson your track name of your choice and the 3 most popular with be played this week on my show!

One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours

1. "99" — 4:05
2. "We Apologise for Nothing" — 4:13
3. "Floods" — 3:34
4. "One Day Son" — 4:13
5. "Deathcar" — 3:58
6. "I Am the Message" — 2:59
7. "You & I" — 4:16
8. "Amaze Us" — 4:30
9. "H.I.P. (Enough)" — 3:00
10. "Tannhäuser Gate" — 3:20
11. "Our Last Common Ancestor" — 3:56
12. "Unfamiliar Ceilings" — 4:07

voting closes 9am Thursday 25th Sepember 

Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King

When Avenged Sevenfold released the single 'Hail to the King' back in July, its safe to say I was hooked and ready for their 6th studio album. Now, in August 2013, the metal giants are back and here to take the thrown after a 3 year hiatus that they needed. Following the tragic death of drummer and long friend Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan, the band worked hard to release follow up to their critically acclaimed self-titled album and in which they released 'Nightmare'. This was the end of a big chapter for Avenged, they had lost something that meant so much to them but all was not lost.
Following the success of 'Nightmare', the band took time out and now after a 9 month period of writing and recording, 'Hail to the King' hits back and brings back the old school metal with it. With new drummer Aaron Ilejay sitting firmly behind the drums, its fair to say he had some almighty boots to fill and personally, I admire the kid. With the band releasing singles for the Call of Duty games (Not Ready to Die, Carry On) it was here we as fans saw the skills that Ilejay has with the sticks and good lord he is talented.
'Hail to the King' starts with a brilliant opener 'Shepherd of Fire' that just provides the feel to the album. I cannot fault this song which the same can be said for first single 'Hail to the King' as it starts with Synyster Gates providing the tastiest intro to a track you could ever imagine. The entirety of the song brings the 'new sound' that Avenged had teased us with prior stating the album is very blues groove inspired. 'Doing Time' is GnR's to a teat, solo, riff, drums even lead singer M Shadows sounds a tad Axl in this dish.
Now, if you're in a nervous disposition, please, please don't press the play button on 'This Means War'. This for me is a track that blew me away in so many places. I actually think this song is better than sex, no food, no maybe sex.. either way its better than one of those two options. The intro leads you into a false sense of security like watching an X rated movie; the school girl has cheated on her test and now she's been called to see the head teacher and there's talking and there's tut tut's and BOOM, in one swift move the teachers bending her over and spanking her with a ruler. That is literally the opening to this song, trust me. 'Requiem' is one of Avenged's best tracks, hands down. This sums up their new direction in a nutshell. It's angry, it's meaty, it's bloody excellent. The latin chants at the beginning are spooky but Ilejay smashes the drums and we're in, fuel and power. A real head bobber.
'Crimson Day' gives the album its fresh air and you can feel the emotion driven behind it. Very much like previous tracks such as 'Seize the Day' or 'So Far Away'. 'Heretic' has been said that it could have fitted nicely on previous album 'Nightmare' and I do see it, this is the one song on the album that we can see the previous Avenged within it. Its a great track and one that fans who aren't satisfied with this new change will love most. Maiden would have a field day with 'Coming Home' its so Iron Maiden I can hear Bruce Dickinson in Shadows' singing. I can see him running with the union jack flag waving it on stage, this one is a beauty. The penultimate track 'Planets' was said by Shadows to be a very spaced and Darth Vadary track, and I can see Vadar moshing to this (that's a heads up to anyone seeing Avenged this Winter.. get a Darth Vadar outfit and go nuts). The solo in 'Planets' is probably the best on the album, just incredible. And finally, we finish this brilliant album with 'Acid Rain'. This for me is the perfect finale for the album, there's no showing off of what the members can do with insane shredding or drum solo's that will blow your ear drums, its perfect. Think 'Dear God' but with more of a kick, everything in this song is right its a classic ending.
'Hail to the King' shows that Avenged are the same band and yet different. The love that the fans have will not die, I hope. This album will get hate, sure it will. I've already seen some remarks online regarding the change in band, but at the same time, this album will get its love. I personally feel that this is my favourite album by these guys. I grew up listening to the music that they have been inspired by to write this album so its a real treat for my ears. I cant wait to see them in November and hear these songs live. 3 years after 'Nightmare', Avenged have taken the metal thrown and they are King's themselves.

click the link to see the music video for 'Hail to the King'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DelhLppPSxY

Fall Out Boy - Save Rock and Roll

Its been 4 long years since we were blessed with a Fall Out Boy record (excluding the greatest hits) and it seems the wait was one that was worth every minute as they comeback with this little belter entitled 'Save Rock and Roll'.
I can't help but admire the band and what they have done withis album. With last album 'Folie a Deux' getting a mixed reception due to the bands 'change', this album was always going to have the doubters doubting again. But I take my hats off to the FOB gang as the new album is, in a word, excellent. With the release of 'My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up', we were giving some indication of where this album was going. This song is my jam, it is undoubtably catchy which was followed by second single 'The Phoenix' which again was a masisve belter that made me want this album so much more. The whole beat and rhythm of the song is incredible and Patrick Stump's lyrics are of course genius.
That's both tracks 1 & 2 done already, now was the big part, track 3, the decider on whether this album is going to be a hit or a miss. 'Alone Together' is a track that either you like straight away or after 2 or 3 listens you get in to it, either way you'll love it. 'Where Did the Party Go' starts with a lovely and tasty bass riff that is enough to bob your head to and then it just brings in a funky and loveable rhythm that is melow but when the chorus comes in, you wish you had a drink in your hand shouting back the lyrics 'well the boys are smoking menthols and the girls are getting back rubs'. 'Just One Yesterday' starts like Adele's Rolling In The Deep with its drum beat but with the help of Foxes, the harmonies in the chorus are breathtaking. This song is definitely a stand out track on the album, possible 3rd single? 'The Mighty Fall' is the track that I found most different on the album, but also puts Save Rock and Roll in a new type of genre. With lyrics/rapping from Big Sean, this track is good but its not my favourite on the alnum, I love the chorus but the rapping isn't the best, in my opinion anyways. 'Miss Missing You' belongs in the 80's. The synth in this track is something that you'd expect in some cheesy American film that involves a guy riding a motorbike with a beautiful female wrapped around him. Love this track.
'Death Valley' - my least favourite on the album but I'm still listening to it. Its good but theres something stopping me enjoying it. It has the Save Rock and Roll vibe but it didnt hit me as much as the other tracks. Now, my favourite track on the album 'Young Volcanoes' which is definitely my summer song. A nice bretaher for the album. The verses are brill, the chorus is fantastic, theres nothing to not like about this song it's just something else, it also shows that there is still the sense of the 'old' Fall Out Boy. 'Rat a Tat' features guest vocals from Courtney Love, I heard this and at first felt it sounded like a B-Side that just got put on the album, however, the song has grown on me so much. The chant 'rat a tat tat rat a tat tat' is catchy and Stump and Love's vocals together just sound right.
Then theres the brilliant finale. 'Save Rock and Roll' featuring the one and only Elton bloody John! Yes thats right, the keyboard warrior that he is on the new Fall Out Boy album. This is such a powerful ending to the album. It's just right, it includes one of my favourite lyrics from the album 'you are what you love, not who loves you'. Elton John brings in the ballad feeling and the song just goes higher and higher in OOOOMPH. So much emotion and passion is in this song which to me is the heart of this record. The whole record is full of this passion and desire that FOB have put in to show that they are a band of many talents and that they love taking risks. This album could've easily flopped, without a question, but they have created an exceelent piece of work that to me makes this the best Fall Out Boy record to date. If you get a moment just listen to either 'Young Volcanoes' or 'Save Rock and Roll' these for me are the 2 stand out tracks.

4 year hiatus? bitch please.

Oedipus the King

So this is a new kind of blog.. never wrote about a play before and this seems to be the perfect time to do one! SHUdrama's production of Oedipus the King set sail this week and lordy lord was it something!
Co-Directors Mark Drakeford and Nathaniel McCartney and Producer Jack Bonner presented a piece that was, in a word, brilliant. I studied Oedipus at A Level and in all honesty hated it. This was something that i didnt bring into the equation when watching this production as I think true critics should go with a clear and open mind to new things. I can honstely say that I left very emotional indeed.
Despite the horrendous snow (do NOT get me started), the show went on and audiences were treated blissfully.
When entering the performance space, I was greeted to members of the chorus wandering around the room with ghostly faces staring. It was unbelievable. It was uncomfortable but the right level of uncomfortable, not the type of uncomfortable as being sat up at 3am watching the Human Centipede thinking 'so where is this going?'.. Far far from that level of uncomfortable. The cast was masterfully crafted, I couldnt pick a single flaw with the cast, each individual brought something spectacular!
 Harry Fitzwilliam-Pipe's portrayel of Oedipus couldnt be faulted, he had everything. The level of emotion in his performance was astonishing as was Elliot Brown's performace of Creon. I dont think a single member of the audience can say that they didnt have at least a lump in their throat or a tear down their face when the Oedipus and Creon shared their goodbyes. It was clear that this wasnt just a performance to all the actors in the scene, the emotion they poured on stage flooded the room which was such a huge impact. It was a first for me to see Ella Nobre-Wachter perform on stage and I was really impressed with the talent that she holds. The character of  Jocasta, I find, is quite a challenging role as you have to really find the level of emotion that her character goes through as this tragedy breaks her world and Ella did a top job to capture this!
What can I say about The Chorus? YOU GUYS! The Chorus moved the play along with incredible energy, from shouting to whispering, from crying to once again shouting, mesmerising to watch.
As I said before, I was never a fan of Oedipus but this show was definitely one of if not THE best production from SHUdrama. It was a gem, a victory over the snow!;)
Hats off to the production team behind this show, they clearly worked so hard to make this the show it was and it paid off so well! Oh and I loved Nathaniel McCartney's posh northern cameo!!

bleedin' snow

So here it is.. AGAIN. That white stuff that comes falling down from the sky and makes all the children scream and shout and all the elderly ones trip and fall and makes me ten times more grumpy than what I already am. It's a bleeding death trap.
I hate snow. hate it. Why do we need it? We don't. Its pointless. It comes randomly and just makes me cold. When it first arrives everyones all yey snow and then about a few days the novelty wears off and its just that white stuff thats been here for too long.
I think it would look a lot more better if it was untouched. Theres always footprints and snow angels etc and then it gets all mushed. If I wanted a slushy I'd go and buy one, I don't need it spread all across my street and the roads, UGH the roads, they look bloody awful. Theres always some dick who seems to be completely oblivious that its been snowing and that the road is slightly icey. He just comes at a speed that could regardless of the weather conditions. If I'm walking on a path and that dick comes speeding across I kid you not I shit myself. One slip from him and its strawberry flavoured slush everywhere.
Snowball fights. you may as well just poke eachother in the eyes becuase snow is a right bastard when its in the eye. And when the snows been around abit and it gets all hard as its frozen, thats right FROZEN, youths still think its acceptable to pick a snowball fight using this. I'm sorry, do you not like having perfect vision? Its one thing having fun but when it includes dicing with death, I think I'll pass thanks.
Salt Grit. What a useless wast of time. You put that down, walk in it, you've ruined your carpet. I see all the douches laying that down and then think 'job done' no no no good sir, you may as well have not bothered its horrendous, I'm still slipping everywhere and I'm 6ft 2, if I wanted to see someone that tall flailing I'd watch anything starring Stephen Merchant.
Transport. Holy shit this bastards will do anything for a day off work. Delayed and cancelled trains, Its a bit of snow. Other countries deal with it, in the UK; GOD FORBID. Its a disgrace, I pay £60 a month for a pass and then snow comes and I may as well have thrown that money doen the pissing toilet.
Any 'Yellow Snow' Jokes. Seriously? we still digging these? It dawns to me that someone ACTUALLY did this once and then it picked up ever since. Who ever did, you deserve being taken out of existence. These jokes are piss poor, lets crack some different ones please.
Overall, I think I'll be a lot happy when the snow is gone. I cant deal with walking starring at me feet to make sure I'm not going to hit the floor. Its dangerous, its wrong and its got to be stopped. Lets just all take care in this hell hole we are in. Oh and its my birthday 3rd February, presents are welcome.

12 films of 2012

SO, with 2012 drawing to a close in a few hours, I felt that it would be a good chance to list my 12 films of 2012 (surprise surprise). In no particluar order:

1.The Dark Knight Rises
I think anyone who knows me understands my love for the caped crusader. With the huge success of The Dark Knight, Nolan returned to finish the trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises. Bale's performance in this film was as good if not better than Heath Ledger's portrayel of The Joker. The story concluded one of the greatest trilogy's of all time and of course, we can't not say how good Tom Hardy was as Bane and how beautifully hot Anne Hathaway was as Catwoman. Brilliant Brilliant film.

2.Avengers Assemble
The Avengers was a great super hero film. In my opinion, there hasnt been many Marvel films as good as the first Spider-Man when that hit the screens. The Avengers really left me ready for more and I am very excited for the sequel due out 2015. The film was a great treat for the family and smashed the box office. Marvel doesnt get better than this.

3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
After so much anticipation, I finally got to see the film adaptation of the book I loved as a child. Though its only part 1 of a new trilogy and 6 chapters worth of The Hobbit book, it still took me back to the great world that was brought to life by Jackson when he released The Lord Of The Rings. Freeman's performace as Bilbo was excellent and the Riddles In The dark scene is one of my favourite scenes in cinema.

4. Argo
I didnt know what to expect of this film but I can say I'm extremely glad I went to see it. The trailer did the film no justice as I just didnt feel it when i saw the trailer. Ben Affleck provided an incredible and emotional tale with an excellent performance as well. The whole film was breathtaking and was really intense. Argo was one of my surprise packages of the year. Awesome.

5. Lawless
Tom Hardy was back on the screen after his excellent performance in The Dark Knight Rises. Lawless brought a brilliant story of brothers who became outlaws by fighting the incredibly hated Guy Pearce who was outstanding in Lawless. The level of hate I had towards him was due to his brilliant performance. Shia LeBouf is one of my least favourite actors and I found him bareable, which is a bonus!

6. Looper
Well, I think this is my favourte film of the year. If its not for Gordon-Levitt and Willis's performances its for the fact that for the first time in years we had a child in the film who was brilliant at acting! I have to say, I have gained a little man crush on Gordon-Levitt and he made a great young Willis. The film was incredibly clever and was a good brain thinker, top notch.

7. Skyfall
Im not a Bond fan at all but my god Skyfall was ace. It was everything i wasnt expecting. having seen previous Bond films, Skyfall seemed to have stripped back all the Bondness and make a very emotional and excellent film. Daniel Craig is one of my favourite actors and this performance was 10/10. The film left me saying the word 'bloody' or to pronounce it 'bladdy' in every sentence. Skyfall is definitely on my purchase list.

8. 21 Jump Street OR Ted
I'm going to let you guys decide. I loved these films and found them so entertaining. of course Ted was going to be received well, I mean, a talking swearing racist teddy bear?! That has success written all over it! 21 Jump Street had the only good performances from both actors Tatum and Hill as I find them both eye gougingly painful.. But Jump Street was highly entertaining and so I can't decide..

9. Sinister
The best horror/thriller of the year. Hands down. Sinister was so tense and heartpounding. Ive reached an age now where scary films make me uneasy, its mainly the films that arent gory and just have so much suspense. Sinister did this brilliantly but was also very clever at the same time. This was a hell of a lot better than Para 4, more shocking, more graphic, more scares!

10. The Grey
An early 2012 film but a brilliant film. My favourote actor Neeson trapped in the arctic, being hunted by wolves! What more could I ask for?! The Grey was a great thrill ride which at the end left me with a lump in my throat. I loved how we learnt more and more about these characters as the film progressed and Neeson's performance was of course excellent.

11. The Cabin The Woods
This was ace. I saw the trailer and though it was going to be another typical film about people being hunted in a cabin etc bla bla but this film was far from it. It brought every horror film you'd ever seen and put them into one film giving the audience a new view on these films. Avengers Assemble director Josh Whedon has had a great year and this was the start of it!

12. End Of Watch
Been awhile since we've seen a police film with two strong performances from the main characters. Gyllenhaal and Pena bring a great bond and strong relationship that made this film so powerful. Another emotionally and action packed film that made my back up plan of joining the police force so much more tempting!

There we have it, my 12 films of 2012. 2013 has some good looking films such as Gangsta Squad, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Star Trek Into Darkness, Man Of Steel etc etc but 2012 for me has been the year of films!

shits and giggles

so since the start of July I've been living in Sheffield after a year of being at uni. Big move for a very homely guy like me but theres been a lot I've seen, heard that I've not blogged about.

Not been on my blog for awhile so I'm just going to ramble on. Living in sheff is GREAT, seriously I couldnt ask for anything more. Living with some terrific people full of terrific banter. Downside so far... the smoke alarm going off at crack of dawn two nights in a row. Was all resolved, its now of the ceiling and on the floor ha winning! Living in Sheff has made me appreciate things I took for granted. For instance, people in Sheff need to learn how to pour a proper pint. I like a good head. Regardless if its not on a pint. Now, it wouldnt be a blog if i didn't mention any films or music but to be honest I've seen a hell of a lot of films since my last blog regarding The Dark Knight Rises..

So many films have been released lately that caught my attention. Ted, The Watch, Total Recall, The Expendables 2 I could go on. I found Ted a good laugh, story was fun and I felt the acting in the film was ok at a push. Ted just sounded like Peter Griffin, but what can I say bad about that? Everybody loves Peter Griffin. Comedy films have been quiet lately, I've seen some horrific films such as Magic Mike that really should never be shown to any males. Seriously, I thought it was going to make me grow a vagina. Back to comedy, and The Watch was released recently. I was looking forward to this film purely for Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd. Again, the film was a lot of fun, story was a little questionable but we cant have it all our way. Biggest surprise was The Expendables 2. After the first one I thought yeah be cool for a sequel but after seeing trailer it basically said CHEESE all over it. However the cheese was the best part of the film. Beautiful references towards most of the best films these stars have been in. Total Recall was the biggest dissapointment for me. Nothing against Farrell mind, he put up a decent perofrmance just the story did NOTHING for me. I know this remake was more towards the short story but I just felt like I remember nothing from that film what so ever. Following this, I think its best to get The Bourne Legacy out of the way. I'm not THE biggest Bourne fan but I felt this film should never have been titled a Bourne film. Maybe a cool spin off name would've been better. Regardless of the name, the action was decent but the story was draining me. Others will disagree but meh, wasnt for me. Back to Mr McConaughey and we have Killer Joe. I have to say, this film was extremely good. Matthew McConaughey has been in terrible films (Magic Mike) and yet this film made me see the sheer class he actually has and when he's in a film with a good story he can actually have a great performance. The Possession, story decent, few scares. Wasn't as bad as The Pact which was an absolute right joke. Terrible film terrible story. Theres probably some other films ive seen that I cant remember but I'd rather press on to the main film I was extremely impressed with.

Lawless. My word this film was brilliant. Hardy once again had me admiring such a top class performance. 2012 is definitely his year. Following The Dark Knight Rises, Hardy is still fairly beefy and if I'm honest I dont want him to go back to his smaller build in films like This Means War (again, awesome film). Shia LeBouf is one of my least favourite actors (Nick Cage is top of that list) but in Lawless he puts on a decent performance. The whole film has emotion and class showing the division between the country boys and the city law. Guy Pearce needed more of a notice on the promotion of this film. Pearce took the role of Special Agent Charlie Rakes and made him the most awful cruel and souless character I've seen on screen in a very long time. It's been awhile since I've seen a charcter and wanted the worst to happen to him all the way through. Lawless is probably my film of 2012, ending the rivalry between The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.

Yesterday I saw Dredd 3D. Looked atrocious from the trailer but wasnt the worst film I've seen this year. Beats Total Racall put it that way. Some good looking films coming out later this year; Taken 2, Looper and The Hobbit are my top 3 to see.

Back to living in Sheff but still on the topic of films. My housemate Leah reccomended Leon to me starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman and a very young Natalie Portman. This film had been brought to my attention from a friend back home but I never had time to rent. Low and behold I move in with leah and she owns a copy of it, boom. So anyways, watched it and its absolutely fantastic! Oldman as a baddie is awesome I seriously need more of this in my life. Reno's performance in the film reminded me of a Liam Neeson performance in films like Taken. Though, of course, Leon was before Taken, I still couldnt help but apprecaite the story and the bond between Reno and Portman in the film.

I briefly want to touch on music. I have heard the new Billy Talent and The Scripts album and both of them are massively dissapointing. First, Billy Talent need to go back to how they were when they released their first and second album. It seems that they just cant be assed with rock anymore and thought their songs sound better without the oompht. The Script, to me, have sold out. Ever since Danny O'Donoghue was on The Voice and became bezzies with Will.I.Am. its like the script have just changed all together. The album doesnt sound like The Script. First album was ace, second was good, third is forgettable. I want to hear an album thats going to make me go 'my god what is this beautiful piece of work' because lately, I find myself being dissapointed with artists releasing albums. Please if anyone has any reccomendations fire away.

And there you have it. Blog done for another short period.
Someone once said I get too into films.. well, I'm doing a drama degree so surely thats a good enough reason why I do.. Isn't it?