Looking back at all the amazing releases throughout 2009, it proved to be a monumental task in trimming it all down to a mere top 10.
There was no hard and fast criteria on how I got to these 10 gems, but out of pure enjoyment and repeat playability throughout the course of the year – this lot stood out like the proverbial.
It is a bit of an eclectic mix. Punk, Alt, Metal, Electronica and Rock. Why limit yourself to one genre when there are so many wonderful flavours out there huh?
So without further delay, here are my top 10 albums of 2009.
Based on the award-winning and best-selling 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold, ‘The Lovely Bones’ is a remarkable, moving and ambitious movie that I found absolutely enthralling. And in a movie which confronts two worlds divided – the world of the living and the world of the dead, division has been strong amongst critics who either love or hate this film. There seems to be very little middle ground. And I find that incredibly puzzling. Granted, a movie is never going to fully capture the depth and intensity of any book – particularly one that is based on author Sebold’s own personal tragedy of being raped by a rapist whose previous victim had died. Heavy stuff!
There are some amazing performances on offer here, Stanley Tucci as the murderous George Harvey is unsettling, disturbing and creepy beyond belief. Saoirse Ronan, as Susie Salmon, is positively enchanting and puts in a mesmerising performance throughout. A stellar support cast featuring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Sopranos’ star Michael Imperioli round things off in a movie that also features a musical score by Brian Eno.
Directed by Peter Jackson, who returns to the ’suburban murder’ schtick after a lengthy absence – (he directed ‘Heavenly Creatures’ in 1994 – a film about two homicidal girls) and deals with an afterlife devoid of any religious overtones (thank fuck for that!) – but an afterlife as interpreted by a young teenage girl. Fanciful, free and confusing – just like teenage life itself.
Critics of the film have commented that the movie is ’scared’ to look the horror in the face and skips the gory details of the rape, murder and subsequent dismemberment. But do we really need to see that? No we don’t. The horror is all there, permeating under the surface and brimming with sadness and pain as the family splinters into mourning and Susie is left wandering the afterlife looking for some sort of peace – and vengeance.
Rowland Howard Hangs Up His Guitar For Keeps.
Melbourne musician Rowland S. Howard – the guitarist in Nick Cave’s cult punk-era bands The Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party – died yesterday at the Austin Hospital from liver cancer. He was 50.
Late today I heard of the tragic loss of Rowland S. Howard.
He was one of my favourite musicians and one whose career and various bands and collaborations I have followed for many years. The photo below was taken at his last show (he cancelled the Northcote Social club one) at The Prince of Wales 29 October 2009, for the launch of his long-awaited album Pop Crimes.
How could we all know, that 2 months later, he would be gone?
The gig was packed and it proved very hard to push up the front to get a decent shot, but I have many (probably hundreds) of photos of Rowland over the years, as well as 10+ years of bootlegs.
I almost never missed a show…
My ex-boyfriend Anthony and I were die-hard fans and when Rowland played residencies for months on end (when pub nights were plenty and bands could play for a couple of bucks a pop) we used to go with a big group of friends, and then drive Rowland home from the shows, on occasions. He was the quintessential gentleman, and never forgot who his fans were; when Anthony died in 2001, it was Rowland who played a couple of acoustic tracks at his funeral.
How many ‘rock stars’ would do that?
Rowland was possibly the greatest under-rated guitarist and musician in the Australian music scene.
I was stoked he managed to release Pop Crimes to critical acclaim and re-kindle interest in his music and career once more.
For the past few years, Rowland’s health wasn’t good. He needed a liver transplant, something he told me himself, before it was common knowledge. His gigs and appearances became rarer, as time went on, and it was something that would eventually end his life, aged 50.
I feel privileged to have been at his last show, and my thoughts are with his brother Harry, his family, his band mates and ex-bandmate/ eternal soulmate Genevieve McGuckin.
Howard was waiting for a liver transplant and had cancelled recent shows due to illness.
The influential guitarist came to prominence as a member of Melbourne punk band the Boys Next Door who became The Birthday Party, fronted by Nick Cave.
Howard wrote their iconic hit Shivers, and his guitar skills would inspire a generation to come.
The guitarist was also a member of bands including The Young Charlatans, Crime and the City Solution and These Immortal Souls. Over the years, Rowland collaborated with the likes of Nikki Sudden (RIP), Lydia Lunch, Jeffrey Lee Pierce (RIP), Jeremy Gluck and Barry Adamson to name a few.
I had met the man once, as my girlfriend was a friend of his and has quite a substantial bootleg collection of his live shows which she recorded over the course of the last decade.
Ironically enough, he actually lived in the apartment next door to us before we moved into this block.
Totally gutted to hear today that Avenged Sevenfold drummer ‘The Rev’ (James Owen Sullivan) – was found dead in his home. He was 28 years old.
An amazingly gifted drummer and the only shining light when I saw the band live a few years ago.
Sullivan appears to have died of natural causes, Huntington Beach police Lt. John Domingo told The Orange County Register. Police were notified by firefighters who had responded to Sullivan’s home about 1 p.m., according to the report.
For its last two albums, the 2005 breakthrough City of Evil (powered by the single “Bat Country” and certified platinum in August) and 2007’s self-titled effort (featuring the hit “Dear God”), A7X began to model itself more on Guns N’ Roses at its most unhinged to gain some distance from this decade’s screaming metal scene. Hard partying came with the territory, and the band often bragged about its misadventures — so it isn’t unthinkable that Sullivan’s death might have been drug- or alcohol-related. As of now, however, police are attributing his demise to natural causes.
Sullivan dramatically stepped up his game as more than just a drummer along with the sonic advances of those last two records, preceded by the rawer Waking the Fallen, from 2003, and the 2001 debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. His rapid-fire yet exact pounding supplied the backbone of the band’s newly chrome-polished approach, but his backing vocals helped offset frontman M. Shadows‘ shift away from shouting and toward a more full-bodied approach, notably on songs such as “Lost,” “Afterlife” and the Rock Band staple “Almost Easy.” He will not be easily replaced.
That latter track, by the way, became so popular that the USC Trojan Marching Band performed it during this year’s Rose Bowl halftime show. But Sullivan’s contributions extended further than what he brought to that popular song — he’s also acknowledged as chief songwriter on the eight-minute piano-driven epic “A Little Piece of Heaven,” though virtually all A7X songs are credited entirely to the band.
Sullivan also took up the mic as lead vocalist for a more avant-garde side project, Pinkly Smooth, launched with Avenged guitarist Synyster Gates and former members of the band Ballistico. For that outfit’s lone album, Unfortunate Snort (2002), the man whose full unholy moniker was The Reverend Tholomew Plague instead went by the name Rathead. Prior to his time with Avenged, he also served as drummer for O.C. ska-pop favorite Suburban Legends.
“It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world’s best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy’s family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time.
Jimmy you are forever in our hearts.
We love you.
M Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ”
Until The Light Takes Us tells the story of black metal. Part music scene and part cultural uprising, black metal rose to worldwide notoriety in the mid-nineties when a rash of suicides, murders, and church burnings accompanied the explosive artistic growth and output of a music scene that would forever redefine what heavy metal is and what it stands for to other musicians, artists and music fans world-wide. Until The Light Takes Us goes behind the highly sensationalized media reports of “Satanists running amok in Europe” to examine the complex and largely misunderstood principles and beliefs that led to this rebellion against both Christianity and modern culture.
To capture this on film, directors Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell moved to Norway and lived with the musicians for several years, building relationships that allowed them to create a surprisingly intimate portrait of this violent, but ultimately misunderstood, movement. The result is a poignant, moving story that’s as much about the idea that reality is composed of whatever the most people believe, regardless of what’s actually true, as it is about a music scene that blazed a path of murder and arson across the northern sky.
In the Doctor Who Universe, if Donna Noble has wedding plans something is bound to go wrong. And in ‘The End of Time’ (Part One), things go rather badly for all of humankind.
The two-part Doctor Who Christmas Special marks the end of David Tennant’s run as the tenth Doctor and Russell T. Davies role as Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the series. And there have been some fantastic episodes during this era of Doctor Who – ‘Blink’, ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’, ‘The Christmas Invasion’ and ‘Turn Left’ to name a handful. So the cliffhanger of this two-part finale for Tennant and Davies should be an edge of the seat nail biter, right? Unfortunately, not so much.
Long-time Doctor Who nemesis, The Master, makes his return rather ingloriously in some bizarre Saxon ritual and then runs amok devouring hamburgers and humans alike to feed his famishment. And when meeting up with The Doctor, he just happens to turn on some Star Wars style Sith-like powers to pummel him with an electricity bolt and then zoom directly up into the air.
Granted, the quick chat between The Doctor and The Master was endearing. The visions of a little Doctor and little Master frolicking across fields of red grass is charming, but not nearly enough to save a scene which should have been filled with much more tension and suspense in this grand finale.
It was lovely to see The Doctor’s former companion Donna back and mouthy as ever, yet quite sad to know what she has lost. One can feel The Doctors despair in both seeing Donna back to struggling and just getting by when he knows she is capable of so much more and not being able to approach someone he was once so close to. It is yet one more thing The Doctor has to endure due to his strange infatuation of humans. Being so alien he can never maintain any real, long-term relationships with his companions and acquaintances.
Wilfred Moff, who has appeared in previous episodes as Donna’s Grandfather, was really a bright spot in the show. The café scene where The Doctor shares with Wilf his fear of dying was a tearjerker. Of course The Doctor has the capability to regenerate but he admitted to Wilf he will lose a sense of who he was when this happens, thus, it’s similar to dying. And Wilf is empathetic to his situation; more so than any companion could really ever be, as he, too, is in the winter of his days.
Having Barack Obama as the current United States president waiting to make a speech on Christmas Day was a bit jarring. Usually Doctor Who uses a faux president, prime minister, whatever and it is a good idea for a show like this. Something so political and current really can take the audience out of the fantastical experience Doctor Who offers.
The smaller issues of a Time Lord exhibiting Sith-like powers, silly little rituals, President Obama and a maniacal, cannibalistic Master could have been overlooked if the confrontation between The Doctor and The Master led to a thrilling cliffhanger for the final half of the episode. But the episode just didn’t pick up. Who kidnaps a Time Lord, and a deranged one at that, to do some repairs on an immortality machine? Of course The Master will hack the device for his own use. Which is acceptable. But to make all of humanity a clone of himself? What’s the point – why not just wipe them out, make zombies, or turn them into kittens?
Excitement does ring in the hall of the Time Lords, though. The whole ‘last of the Time Lords’ plot has only existed in this current Davies imagining of Doctor Who. The current Doctor believes all Time Lords perished in a Time War, which does seem a bit of a leap of faith being they are so powerful and ancient. Apparently, the Time Lords have not perished after all and are ready to return. And that allows a little leap of faith in hopes the big Tennant finale will tie up this messy first half and give the tenth Doctor the regeneration he deserves.
As a committed atheist I can honestly say that every Christmas season I find myself looking forward to Boxing day. Still, since we live in a world where luddites rule and belief in magical sky fairies and pretend friends is de rigeur, we can but make the most of this excruciatingly jolly time. Thus, in the spirit of “if you can’t beat them to a pulp, join them” I’ve decided to wish you all the very best for the holiday season and take you back to some metal moments you’d perhaps rather forget – yes, I’m talking METAL CHRISTMAS SONGS!!!
So without further ado, here’s my top 5 metal christmas songs. Why only 5? Because this time of year I feel especially empathic towards my fellow ape-descendants and I want to limit the damage to your feeble little minds.
Now, go forth and make merry – eat till you gag, drink till you spew, and max out the Visa buying cheap Chinese crap for your friends and family. Remember, he who spends most wins. Keep on Jingling!
It’s come late to the table, released the 16th of December in actual fact and yet this is My Album of the Year, because it serves up all that is needed to sate my voracious demands from a Heavy Metal recording. For a start it is an intoxicating exultation of Genocide’s 30th Anniversary (1979-2009), an absolute fervid album release which is as much about Genocide’s cult status among Metal fans as a labour of love by the band themselves. Hark back to Dogmatic’s album review earlier this year applauding the magnificent Shadow Kingdom Records’ rerelease/remaster of the 1988 original Genocide debut ‘Black Sanctuary’ and you will know that this servant of Dogmatism is utterly enthralled by Genocide’s ability to sauté your ears with the finest heavy metal music ever.
The Destroy and Hell release puts together the original ‘Black Sanctuary’ album (remastered of course plus a bonus track) in its first domestic only outing in Japan and what is for me the tour de force, the DVD. This is not your usual pissweak extras DVD so common with other ‘bigger’ bands featuring one or two videos, the ‘Destroy and Hell’ disc it is a jam packed collection of live performances videoed through the preceding years, the highlights to my taste remain ;The Rites’ footage from Tokyo in 2000 and the superlative triumph of the band from 2008 at Club Mission’s Tokyo. In both gigs the band’s masterpiece, the prodigious track “Living Legend” is given a sanguine outing. It really is a chance to uncover Genocide in all their glory and get a raw taste of their exhilarating talent.
What do I like about Genocide?
Well they are everything I crave about Heavy Metal, a ravenous demonic fusion of NWOBHM, archetype 1970s/80s metal yet original innovative and delivered with flawless precision and impassioned rigor. Black Sanctuary is such a recording ascendancy in the classic sense, it enjoys all the attributes – transcendent vocals, preeminent guitars and superior rhythm.
Five Unholy Stars of unrivaled virtuosity
Genocide (Nippon)’s album ‘Destroy and Hell’ is a CD/DVD package released in Japan only on the 413Tracks label but easily obtained beyond those shores via the likes of HMV Japan and other online Record peddlers, you would boost your spirits by kicking off 2010 in a most agreeable fashion, just dare to taste the double trouble of unwonted audio-visual ambrosia that is the CD/DVD set.
When I decided to review an early Manowar record, I was torn between Into Glory Ride and Hail To England. Both capture what I believe to be Manowar at their finest. Despite the latter being a far greater commercial success, I decided to review the former – their second release – which for me encapsulates Manowar at their un-self-conscious best.
To be perfectly clear, Manowar are a polarising band. In the late ’80s and early ’90s they were considered fascist by many European headbangers, while today plenty of metalheads consider Manowar nothing more than a cringeworthy bunch of self-deluded tools. And yet, there was a brief window, before their hyper-inflated ego’s leaked like a bloody stain into their music, when they produced something wonderful, almost magical. Before, Joey DeMaio decided that he had to inflict his boring piccolo-bass solos everywhere, and before their “warriors of metal” cant became frankly embarassing – like some half-drunk old uncle banging on and on about the “glory days”.
Looking at the cover, you’d be forgiven for thinking that these guys were taking the piss. Looking like a bunch of steroidal Conan wannabes that have just raided a Hollywood costume department – complete with faux swords, furry nappies and obligatory menacing poses – you would be rightfully tempted to just slide that one back in the record store rack and walk away laughing. If you did that however, you’d be missing out on one of the most powerful albums to be released in 1983.
“Ride, ride, ride. I’m the warlord of the road. Riding, riding, riding. Ain’t never growing old.”
Despite the corny fade-in of (presumably) one of the band members having sex with a teenager and then getting caught by her father (who, judging by the sound of his voice, one can safely assume is a total retard), the album is kickstarted by the opener - Warlord - a rollicking, biker-lifestyle track, in the same heavy-rock style as the songs from their first album, Battle Hymns.
As the opening track fades out, we are left unprepared for the doom-laden, mythic blast of bombast that is Secret of Steel. With pounding drums, Scott Columbus proved his worth as the newest member of the band. This track is one of several on the album that seem specially crafted as vehicles for Eric Adams’ majestic vocal abilities. Here is a singer who can seamlessly transition from softly sung whispers to epic operatics to rock schlock. His voice bristles with effortless power and polished nobility. The song’s sombre pace and mythical lyrics ably supported by guitars that stay out of Eric’s way.
The third track Gloves of Metal, is typical of a lot of later Manowar fare – earnestly praising the metal brotherhood: “we wear leather, we wear spikes – we rule the night!”. Yeah, whatever…although I must truthfully admit that as a young fella (i.e. complete idiot) I was as hooked on the “brotherhood” BS as any other die-hard.
“Death’s chilling wind blows through my hair. I’m now immortal – I am there!”
Fortunately, the album veers back on track – and how! – with Manowar’s greatest song ever, the beautiful Gates of Valhalla. If this track doesn’t make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, then check your pulse because you might be dead. An operatic ode to the mythology of the Norse gods and the warrior’s heaven -Valhalla – this song is an uncontested masterpiece. Eric Adams is at his absolute finest giving us wings and taking us from pure poetry to riding with the Valkyries. Words can’t describe just how good this song is so check out the following clip of the band performing it live:
“Gates of Valhalla” live
Amazingly, this masterpiece is followed by another. Hatred is a superbly crafted song whose every bar, every note, precisely conveys the author’s malevolence. The guitar work by Ross “the Boss” Friedman on this is genius – never has a whammy bar been wielded so mightily, nor amplifier feedback been mastered so completely in the service of evil. The tortured demonic wailing at death-march pace relentlessly flagellates your mind for fully 7 minutes and 42 seconds. This would have to be the favourite track of the Emperor from Star Wars. Not even Yoda (the little smart-arsed muppet) could withstand the withering assault of misanthropy spewed forth in this song. Brilliant.
Revelation (Death’s Angel), is a well delivered, faster paced track based on the biblical Book of Revelations by St.John the Divine (the completely baked more like). It’s hard to judge this song objectively given the superlative tracks it follows, nevertheless it is holds its own and restores the pace as we near the end of the album.
The closer, March for Revenge (by the Soldiers of Death), tells the story of a vengeful band of warriors wreaking a terrible revenge (duh!) on those who killed one of their own. OK, it is cliched, but we’re talking about Manowar after all, and despite the corny subject matter, they manage to produce a highly enjoyable number whose chorus – “Maim and kill them! Take the women and children!” – is sung to a surprisingly jolly riff (replete with tinkling bells).
To those that have never head Manowar before I urge you to listen to this album. You won’t regret the journey you take. And to those that have been totally over them for years, take the time to give this one another shot. The diamonds it contains are well worth the trip down memory lane.
Having been a professional web-designer since 1997 and basically using Photoshop since its inception – I had made a career out of manipulating images and photos for various web-design projects I had been working on.
After doing that for many years, I took up hobby photography in 2003 to teach myself how to capture an image, how to be a photographer. Looking back at my early attempts, the photography was raw and very much naive. I knew that but it didn’t matter. I wanted to let the camera catch an image and I wanted that image to remain untouched. I kept Photoshop and my fledgling photography as two separate entities.
As weird as that may sound, there was a method to my madness. I wanted to learn a new discipline and leave the old discipline behind.
These days, I’m a little more advanced than in 2003 and the two skill-sets often combine, merge and create exciting results.
Whilst most of my Photoshop work on my photos is to color correct and fix stuff in post, I’m starting to try and create some art pieces with my live music photography. It is all purely experimental and at this stage I’m just playing with some textures but so far, some of these are turning out pretty cool!
Ask any Metal fan about their memories of first hearing coarse NWOBHM act Venom you will I’m sure receive a forthright and decisive answer. The band ridiculed by some but hailed as cult by most stand out as a defIinitive turning point in Heavy Metal’s evolution. I most certainly recall my first encounter with the cacophonic trio, via the triumphant Neat Records’ compilation album Lead Weight. On this hissing cassette Venom presented their belching extreme delight that is the track Angel Dust. And so the curiosity and calamity began later with the amazing debut Welcome To Hell and then perhaps their finest hour, the defining opus Black Metal in all its cataclysmic glory.
And indeed if there was ever a band best suited to deliver a demonic tribute to Venom then that has to be Japan’s wanton licentious Metal outfit Sigh. It goes without saying that Sigh have Venom inexorably bound up in their metal genes and the vinyl tribute EP (paired up with an integral CD) simply reinforces the irascible black metal resonance with full on affection for the subject matter. What you get on this twisted lump of delicious vinyl is a series of Venom classics served up in Sigh’s very own interpretive juices. 7 tracks ranging from my favourites and yours…Countess Bathory, Black Metal and that fantasty singalong Teacher’s Pet. The latter song royally dished out by corrosive, rabid vocals, which plays upon my most base wants, evoking ideas of the lovely Dr.Mikannibal playing teacher to my errant rascal…I digress of course. It is an enjoyable romp which is truly a labour of love on the part of Sigh, your ears crave the alluring metal assualt of ill repute. Sigh capture all the erratic, eroding, exhiliration of Venom’s style and pay metal homage in a most blackened form.
Sigh’s latest album ‘Scenes From Hell’ is released on The End Records on January 19th.
Sigh – A Tribute To Venom (2008, The End Records TE115-1) (Limited Edition LP release with CD, and digitally online)
Back in November, Total Film assembled at a secret location somewhere in London for a photoshoot to die for.
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright, the team behind Total Film’s Comedy of the Decade, Shaun of the Dead, hit the stage suited, booted and cracking so many jokes that the undead legions (lovely volunteers comprised of TF staff and friends) were breaking character and laughing so hard the photographer couldn’t get a shot.
Thankfully, the zombies held it together long enough to produce these great images, which feature in the Total Film End-Of-Decade Special Issue.
