The Ghost Of A Thousand

So yeah, I'm trying to get back into this cos it's kinda fun. Not that anyone reads it anyway... Todays band are The Ghost Of A Thousand, from that place called Brighton. Their sound is dirty, and it rocks. They currently have one album, entitled This Is Where The Fight Begins, out in stores and another set to be released. One of THE bands to bring Britain to the forefront of hardcore punk, these guys pack a heavy punch. They've toured with bands the like of Cancer Bats, Alexisonfire, Gallows and the not-forgotten Johnny Truant. Myspace is here

Shoes And Socks Off

Toby used to sing in a band called Meet Me In St Louis, who have also graced the pages of this blog. After the collapse of the band, a hole was left in the underground music industry and many wondered where Toby Hayes would turn. Luckily he carried on singing and picked up a guitar along the way. This is simply acoustic music with absolutely wicked lyrics. He's the only man that can get away with the line "show me your scary face". He's currently released one album of recordings with just him and his guitar, but there is another in the pipeline with the same songs, but fully-fledged band recordings. He no longer has a myspace, fuck the boom he says. Find his own blog here.

Reading Festival 2008

So this is my little review of the Reading Weekend which ran from the 22nd to the 24th of August. It was such an amazing weekend, with probably the best set of headliners in years. So here we go...

Biffy Clyro (5/5) (3/5)

So these guys opened up the festival with a special acoustic set on the smallest stage (the BBC Introducing Stage) which was set up for unsigned bands. They played a couple of songs, which were broadcast live on Radio One, as well as an amazing cover of RATM's 'Killing In THe Name'. Check out the cover here, probably one of the best covers I've heard in a long time, simply for the crowds little sing-a-long. Later on in the day, they played the main stage. However, this was nowhere near as good as their earlier appearance. Musically they were fantastic, tight and in check but everyone song, bar one, was from their succesful album 'Puzzle'. I'm not saying it's a bad album but it is their worst in my opinion. It's such a shame that the long time fans only got treated to set closer '57', taken from their debut. Their new single 'Mountains' though, was stuck in not just my head, but the whole of our camp for the whole weekend.

Blackhole (4/5)

If you were still pretty tired from the lack of sleep you had. these guys would of woken you up better than coffee. They play a very loud combination of hardcore and punk, and they feature the younger brother of Frank Carter from Gallows. These guys were brilliant, starting the first circle pit of the weekend. Rick, the vocalist, at one point joined the pit with microphone in hand and then traveled to the back of the tent to the sound desk. Watch this space, these guys will be huge.

Queens Of The Stone Age (5/5)

Wow. Opener 'Go With The Flow' was astounding. They started off by playing the first verse really slow and BAM, the speed accelerates and the crowd goes mental. These were my favourite band of the weekend for sure. The last time I saw them (some time in 2003) they still had Nick Oliveri on bass and since then, I've always wondered if they would still be amazing. Luckily they were, busting out all the classics including 'No One Knows' and my personal favourite 'Regular John'. They extended a lot of their songs into jam sessions much like the RHCP's did last year, but without the total suckage.

Serj Tankian (3/5)

Cor, he sure does go on about politics doesn't he? Sometimes Serj should be quiet about Mr George Bush and just stick to rocking the fuck out. Which yes, he does quite well. The crowd was mostly made up old System of a Down fans hoping for him to do one of their songs, shame he didn't. He did however do a pretty rocking version of Abba's 'Money, Money, Money'. He blasted through most of the album, including single 'Empty Walls' and ended with 'The Unthinking Majority'.

Frank Turner (5/5)

This guy is such a legend. He is easily my favourite solo artists of this current day and age, his music is full of emotion. The set was opened with 'I Knew Prufrock Before He Was Famous' and ended with the song he couldn't play last year, 'The Ballad Of Me And My Friends'. The crowd were absouletely loving it, bouncing along to every song, singing their hearts out on every chorus and even dancing to every beat.

Taking Back Sunday (1/5)

I'm not entirely sure why I went to see these, something to do with me hearing they were good once upon a time. The only stuff I've ever heard is a really old EP when Jesse Lacey from the totally awesome Brand New played with them. Shame they are now crap. This wasn't helped by the sound desk having the bass and drums far louder than both the singing and guitar work. Worst band of the weekend by far.

Rage Against The Machine (5/5)

This is the band that everyone has been wanting at Reading Festival since their re-appearance last year. They were absolutely phenomenal. The crowd at the front was so intense I had to leave, due to the crush and crowd surges that were going on. They entered the stage complete with orange prison uniforms and bags over their heads in relation to the recent goings on of Guantanamo Bay. Playing all the classics including 'Sleep Now In The Fire', 'Bombtrack' and obvious set closer 'Killing In The Name'.

The Subways (3.5/5)

These guys are a Reading favourite. This was there 5th appearance in a row I believe. I saw them last year and it was one of the best performances I think I've ever seen. Sadly this year it wasn't as good, maybe something to do with them being on the main stage, as opposed to the NME tent last year.

The Automatic (4/5)

Yeah I used to really like that 'Monster' song. Then it got a bit too much and started to annoy me. I used to really like Yourcodenameis: Milo too. Then The Automatic came back out of nowhere with a new, yet familiar member. Good? Yeah, very. I was pretty excited to see these guys in action, luckily they didn't dissapoint. Playing a mixture from both of their albums, including new single 'Steve McQueen' and old stuff like 'Rauol' and 'Monster' (which featured 'All Roads To Fault' halfway through, leaving the crowd a bit stunned).

The Blackout (5/5)

Awesome band? Check. Witty crowd banter? Check. Stormtroopers? Check. Lovely accents too. I first saw these guys supporting Fightstar a few years back and was a bit unsure. Why the hell did they need two vocalists? Well now I can see that it's clearly a working choice. The first circle pit of the day, complete with vocalists Sean and Gavin getting involved with the crowd. Best part was a medly they did of AC/DC, Metallica and RATM.

Bullet For My Valentine (4/5)

Not so sure why these were stuck on the Saturday on the most indie stage ever, but oh well. Opener 'Scream Aim Fire' sends the crowd crazy, everyone giving what they have. The next set of songs turned up the heat (literally, compelte with pyrotechnics) until 'Hearts Burst Into Fire' where the crowd were given a bit of a break.

Gallows (5/5)

What can I say? What a presence these guys have. As soon as the first few chords are struck, people are creating a circle pit around the center pole, climing the beams of the tent and making human pyramids in the pit(!). Frontman Frank Carter decided he wanted to crowd surf all the way back to the sounddesk at the back of the tent, whilst still singing. At one point, they were joined on stage by a host of people, including Cancer Bats guitarist Scott Middleton. Playing album tracks such as 'Orchestra Of Wolves', 'Abandon Ship' and 'Kill The Rythm' aswell as rare track 'Black Heart Queen' and a new track. The set ended with the stage being destroyed and Frank having a fight with his microphone.

Cancer Bats (4/5)
My my, what tasty riffs you seem to play. Cancer Bats ripped the Lock Up Stage a new rectum, assisted by the crowd. I've been listening to these guys a long time, and their lives shows are definitely something to go to. Lead singer Liam dances around the stage like a caffeine addict, conducting the crowd with just his arms and voice. 'Hail Destroyer' and 'Sorceress' sound f'ing huge live! Can't wait to check these guys out at a proper gig.

Tenacious D (4/5)

Haha what a show. KG and JB started off as a lizard and a wizard, respectively, before having an argument and splitting up for about 2 minutes. Rumours were floating around the whole arena that day as to whether Mr Dave Grohl would be performing on drums for Tenacious D, sadly everyone was mistaken. Visually, they were fantastic, Lee donned a costume during 'The Metal' aswell as playing the part of the Devil during 'Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)'. The biggest sing-a-long of the weekend came during 'Tribute'. Oh and what a wicked cover of The Who's 'Pinball Wizard'!

Metallica (4/5)

The final band of the weekend. Such a nice way to go out. As soon as they open with 'Creeping Death', the crowd know they are in for a good time. They played a couple of new songs, one titled 'The Day That Never Comes' and 'Cyanide'. A lot of the crowd already knew the words to the latter one, showing they still have those dedicated fans. During 'One' their were huge, and I mean huge, pyrotechnics going off at the stage. Not really much to say about their set, they've been doing it for so long now that they can't really screw anything up. Although, I'm a bit confused as to why Lars kept disappearing behind the stage and why he can't seem to stay in his seat at the end of the songs?

Oh and another honourable mention should go to Feeder's cover of Nirvana's 'Breed'.

So Today...

I leave for Reading Festival '08, so there won't be any posts for a few days!

Kill Kenada

The first time I heard of Kill Kenada was when they supported Reuben at the Mean Fiddler (now known as the Astoria 2) in London. They were absolutely mental. The bass lines and drums were tight, and the guitar work was as filthy as your local kebab shop (a good thing, trust). I'm not really sure what is going with the band at the moment, as there has been a lack of updates for quite some while. They currently have a load of singles available from the Subverse Recordings website, as well as their debut album, 'The Pink Album'. Their album is full of chunky riffs, odd time signitures and just straight out rock n roll.

Biffy Clyro

Glitter & Trauma is such a tune. It was the first song I heard by the Scottish trio, Biffy Clyro. I was so confused about what was going on the first time I heard it, I'm pretty sure it fried my brain. These were the guys that opened up a whole new scene of music for me, including bands such as Sucioperro, Reuben and Hundred Reasons. I first saw these guys at V Festival one year. Whilst I stood in awe at their stage presence, all my friends around me were chatting away and not caring about the band. A few months later, nearly all my friends started listening to them aswell. Biffy Clyro formed in Ayre in Scotland in 1995 and have so far released 4 albums and a handful of singles. On every album the band progresses and their sound is slightly modified. For instance, their first album, Blackened Sky, has a more grungey raw feel to it, where as 2007's 'Puzzle' has a poppy sound to it and no screaming. They gained mainstream success with their 4th album 'Puzzle' much to the annoyance of longtime fans. I've seen these guys a total of 5 times (my 6th will be at next weekends Reading Festival) and they are phenomenol.

oh and I can hear V Festival, shame about the line up tonight.

Fighting With Wire

I listened to Fighting With Wire purely based upon their name (come on, it is really fucking cool!) quite a time before the release of their debut album. The only tracks I had were some poor quality session tracks they had one for a radio but I still listened religiously. Eventually they drifted out of my radar due to their release taking ages. Then one day me and my friend were driving along in his car, and I'm looking through his CD collection. I stumble across an album with some pretty tasty artwork, and the words 'Fighting With Wire - Man Vs Monster' written across the front. My jaw suddenly hit the floor, the album opened with a re-recorded version of one of those radio sessions. It is fantastic. Every song sticks in your head. Every guitar riff has you air-guitaring along. Every drum fill has you wishing you could pick up some sticks of your own. FWW hail from somewhere in Ireland, but you wouldn't think that if you listened to their awesome hard-rock. I've not had the chance to see these boys live yet, but they are definitely of the bands for me to check out over the Reading '08 weekend!