What I'm listening to (album reviews)

The Cure - 4:13 dream
“not as dark as their previous works but that’s not a bad thing, this really is the band being themselves & though my first impressions were not great I have to admit its really grown on me. I just love the track called (the real snow white).“


Dido - safe trip home
“yay dido’s back! And its been a long wait too, I first heard about the production of the album back in 2005 & its been held back at least 5 times since then. What we are left with is a well mixed & sharp sounding piece of work that rivals (life for rent & no angel) no doubt this will be a big seller for Christmas.”

Cradle of Filth - godspeed on the devils thunder
“this could be one of their best albums yet, the new line-up meld really well together & the new drummer seems to know his stuff, the subject of the album this time around is the French aristocrat serial killer gilles de rais & yes like many of cradles other works this is a concept album.”

Sarah Brightman - a winter symphony
“perhaps the most amazing female vocalist to ever be released on a major label is back in time for Christmas, as the title suggests this is a Christmas album & full of classics like Silent Night & Ave Maria. Though some people might think I’m going to be automatically bias about this album I really have to say it’s a great piece of work & will definitely be getting a lot of playtime from me this season.”

Girls Aloud - out of control
“with a lot of girl bands you either love them or hate them & luckily for this band there is a lot of love to go around, I was surprised that I liked every song on this album because usually I only like a handful of songs. They sound more grown up this time & the songs have more texture & flare to them, I just hope the rumours of this being their final album is not true it would be a terrible shame as they still have a lot of energy in them.”

Lordi - deadache
“ha ha yeah I like Lordi & yes I liked them long before they won the Eurovision. I’m not going to say much about this album because really I think it will only appeal to the die hard fans out there..yes they have fans! (monsters keep me company) is a great track as is (bite it like a bulldog) in all honesty this sounds like their best album yet & if you haven’t heard them & are curious this would be a good album to start with.”

The Nightmare - revisited
“it seems to be a new tradition now re-releasing this album every year for Christmas & I have to say when I heard about it I immediately had my mind made up on it being just a rip-off.. Its actually not, ok true most of the same songs are on their but it’s the artists that really make this different, bands like fly leaf/rise against/korn & even amy lee make this a great little find for fans of the original movie & of any of the bands featured."

SAW 5 - official soundtrack
“another SAW movie & another soundtrack to accompany it. As the movies have been a brutal assault to the senses so have the soundtracks & this time around the formula remains the same..Charlie clouser provides the atmosphere with his moody tracks while bands like filter/skinny puppy & testament provide the lyrical assault that SAW fans expect. Its good…but its not that good, the album before it was less dark wave & more metal which really appealed to me - it even introduced people to more unknown artists like Emilie autumn, looks like the SAW franchise didn’t hold up so good this time.”

my SCARY movie recommendations for Halloween

Its almost Halloween again so with that comes scary movies, I love turning off the lights and putting on a horror movie to scare the living daylights out of me. Lately the genre of horror has been given new life from Hollywood & with movies like SAW dominating the box office its hard to ignore the power of them. Its really hard for me to pick just a few of my favourite horror movies so the following are really the ones that hit a nerve with me.

The Exorcist (1973)
Perhaps the most terrifying movie of all time, or so they say. At the time of its original release it affected many people, humours of heart attacks were rampant. So how did it scare so many people? The story itself is about a young girl who gets possessed by a demon. Packed with enough disturbing material to scare even the most hardcore horror fan the movie doesn’t fail to shock, the theme music still striking a cord with people. The Exorcist is a true classic & not just because it managed to accomplish what it did but because the story/acting & indeed the directing are all top notch. No other film forces the viewer to realise the existence of good & evil forces in the world we live in today, no other film has ever had such an impact on me. As for sequels & prequels avoid them like the plague.

Halloween (1978)
Another well known horror movie & series of movies is Halloween. The infamous movie that terrified babysitters all over the world is another piece of classic cinema. What’s so scary about it? Well Michael Myers is! The knife wielding maniac escapes from a psychiatric hospital and goes on a murderous rampage of pure violence and terror. The director makes great use of dark spaces & the music is just as creative & creepy, he takes small situations and by mood & music he manages to create an atmosphere of terror. Halloween has stood the test of time & with an almost endless string of sequels it is no surprise this movie will never loose its charm. Rob Zombie himself recently re-made the movie with his own twists & I have to say as re-makes go its not half bad in act its actually really good and well worth the watch if the original is not available.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
If the name doesn’t induce some form of nausea in you then the film sure will. Another horror classic this movie managed to scare its way into being banned by many film censors, why? It is a tale of raw terror & unimaginable evil. At the time it was attacked my religious groups & not even the bravest of film critics would touch it, to many it is a landmark movie that never ceases to have the hairs standing up on the back of your neck. While some will argue that it is a true story about a family of cannibals its never that straight forward. The family themselves are all based around the idea of a real life serial killer that was active during the 70’s in the state of Wisconsin, he was responsible for the deaths of many victims & like the character leather face it was reported that in a grisly act of insanity he wore the victims skin. All of this had a huge impact on horror in popular culture resulting in a string of sequels & even prequels, It also influenced the making of such movies as The Silence of the Lambs with serial killers taking the spotlight from the usual haunted house style horror movie. I’m sure I will never look at a chainsaw again in the same way, on the time of the films banning it was clear the movie contained no actual blood & most of the terror was psychological.. And yet it was still banned, a true classic.

Interview with the Vampire (1994)
While to some this is not viewed as a horror movie it does have all the ingredients of a horror movie. Based on the novel of the same name by author Anne Rice the film tells the tale of three vampires brought together by love & hate. Featuring superb acting by an all-star cast the story manages to captivate & disturb its audience. It manages to address the issues of not only life & death but of the eternity itself & the immortality of the vampire. With not only an amazing plot & a strong narrative this movie packs enough moments of blood drenched terror to rattle your ribcage, seductive at times the vampires are really some of the most captivating characters in cinema history. Cursed by the bloodlust & never-ending eternity this is maybe one of my all time favourite movies of all time, packed with everything you need in a scary movie you wont be disappointed by the generous helpings of terror & horror mixed in with lavish eroticism.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) [remake]
I don’t usually like remakes but this is one I really dug, its brutal & truly terrifying! The acting is well done & there is plenty of gore.. Nasty nasty stuff!

Silent Hill (2006)
One of the only good video-game to movie adaptations this really does not fail in the scare department, packed with creepy special effects it never seems to let go of you ..even at the end it still manages to get a few scares in, not for the faint of heart!

Dawn of the Dead (2004) [remake]
A fresh approach to the world of zombie movies this one has plenty of gore & great acting to satisfy any horror fan, I would of course add 28 days/weeks later but I really see them more as sci-fi than horror.. they are still amazing!

American Psycho (2000)
Based on the novel of the same name this is a perfect example of the darkness & violence that could lurk in anyone, brilliantly acted by Christian Bale its sharp in more ways that one!