WHAT DOES SEMPITERNAL EVEN MEAN

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited by this here news - Sempiternal is to be the name of Bring Me The Horizon's fourth album. BMTH have got consistently better as they've progressed, from their deathcore roots to an, in my humble opinion, one of the best metal bands out of the UK in some years. Their 3rd album is a remarkable improvement and I became addicted to it after it came out, and I still think it's superb, so fingers crossed that they keep getting better. 

And thanks be to Zeus it's a shorter name...couldn't handle There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is A Hell, Let's Keep It A Secret Vol. 2.

Here's a pic of Oli looking a bit like a girl.

UPCOMING LIVE REVIEW; MUSE, PALACIO DE DEPORTES, MADRID

So, at long, long last I'm on the point of going to see my favourite band of all time for the 

third time, this time in Madrid because, well, I'm in Spain. So, review to come after! 

Apologies for the sporadic nature of my posting recently, for you see, I don't have internet in my

 flat because Orange are shit. 

Been using the local library if I need t'internet. Bit of a pain. Hey ho.

THE KERRANG! TOUR '13 - THE NOISE'S VIEWPOINT

You may/may not know that the lineup for the 2013 Kerrang! Tour was announced today, aforementioned lineup consisting of;

1. Fearless Vampire Killers
2. Tonight Alive
3. Chiodos
4. Black Veil Brides

That last one there has caused the trolls to come out in force. The others seem well-chosen; I don't like FVK, but as an upcoming band a slot where they are seems justified. Tonight Alive are pretty good, and Chiodos are again not my thang but a band with a lot of history and a lot of love. But BVB are the Marmite band of the year - and you thought they wore black make-up. More the fool you. But regardless, they seem to be bitterly hated or adored, with very little inbetween. A general opinion is that BVB are so terrible that they do not deserve to be on the bill at all, and that all members should go and die in a hole. Whoah there Nelly! 

It's cool man, don't sweat it. But I digress. I am not a fan of BVB's music, it's not my cup of tea. But, I have seen them live (I got free tickets, mind), and they do a decent live show, but the thing is - they believe in their fans, who reciprocate most vociferously. They mean a lot to their fans, and the amount the band appear to give back to these fans is admirable. So I applaud them, and it justifies their existence in making music that means something to people - that is the meaning of music, at least to me, seeing as I have 2 tattoos (and counting) both of which pertain to certain bands. BUT...

I think they are massively over-rated. The way they've effectively exploded into popularity is again admirable, but I don't think they're well established enough to headline the likes of the K! Tour, which in previous years has had excellent bands - Going way back, the likes of Biffy, The Bronx, Coheed, BFMV and BMTH, among other brilliant bands (I'm sure the latter will divide opinion but I love BMTH's most recent album) and last year had New Found Glory, The Blackout (replacing Sum 41), letlive. and While She Sleeps. There are some pretty big names there, and personally I wouldn't say that BVB fit that criteria yet. 

They deserve to play, but I don't think with such high billing - there are bands with much wider appeal who could headline. 

And for the record, if I could choose this year's lineup I would pick;

1. Marmozets
2. Blitz Kids
3. Bury Tomorrow
4. Gallows

DETHKLOK AMS RETURNED

This happened a few days ago but my internet access has been sporadic at best. Animated metal gods Dethklok return with new song The Galaxy from upcoming album The Dethalbum III. Shoop-da-whoop! Dethklok are awesome and you should listen to them.

AWWW YOU GUYS

A couple of days back The Noise crossed the 3000 views mark, which is absolutely fantastic! So if you've read any of my ramblings, regularly or not, thanks an absolute ginormous amount!

I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far, because I really enjoy the writing, and I intend to keep on rambling, with a view to much bigger things in the future...thanks again y'all!

Tom x

ALBUM REVIEW; MUSE - THE 2ND LAW

MUSE; THE 2ND LAW

10/10

Bombastic fantastic. Diverse perfection from the Devonshire gods.

The 2^nd Law is Muse's 6^th studio album, and shows just how far they have come since their first album Showbiz, more than a decade ago, from angsty teenagers to a band that have played a huge part in the evolution of modern prog rock. 

The most striking thing about The 2^nd Law is the way it merges together different styles of music, with a distinctive Muse spin, through the distinctive vocals (in particular the falsettos) of Matt Bellamy and the strength of the guitar, bass and drums in differing combinations. For example, opener Supremacy wouldn't be out of place in a Bond film with a healthy dose of dramatic strings alongside a huge riff, while next track Madness takes a sexy electronic detour with a naughty-bits-a-quiver synth bassline and wonderfully emotion-filled vocals. Candidate for best song on the album is Panic Station, the main port in Funk City – there a awful lot of groove going on here. (Non-disco) slappa-da-bass, trumpets, crazy guitar and a generally punchy rhythm that asks you to shake dat ass. Then there's the bombastic brilliance of Survival, a suitably rousing and over-the-top Olympic theme song, before diving into a Nero-produced beautiful maelstrom of swirling synths and bass drops (no dubstep here) in Follow Me, which feels like the most personal track on T2L – it contains a sample of the foetal heartbeat of Bellamy's son Bing as a base rhythm.

Animals is a concoction of melody with a fairly large riff; it remains almost haunting for a lot of the song, before picking up at the end, yet without becoming...raucous (I feel like a grumpy old man, writing the word 'raucous'), while Explorers is a quite beautiful piano-led quasi-ballad and Big Freeze is almost pop like in it's upbeat echoing guitar and bouncy drums. Then, the most interesting part of the album unfolds; the two tracks in which bassist and backing vocalist Chris Wolstenholme takes over on lead vocals for the first time on a studio album. Chronicling Wolstenholme's long, yet ultimately successful, battle with alcoholism, Save Me is deeply personal and rather lovely, showcasing a truly beautiful voice with matching, twinkling guitar work. Liquid State is also very personal, but by contrast is awarded Best Riff – the opening bass is classic Muse, and it is a different style of song to Save Me insomuch as it's much heavier - but both do Wolstenholme proud.

And then, to finish, we have the almost-instrumental almost-dubstep of Unsustainable, though done entirely on guitars. Backed by a driving strings rhythm, it's a fantastic moment when the 'drop' comes in, and the middle section, with squeaky guitar, powerful bass/drums and the strings once again, makes for one of the band's best compositions ever. Then, the very final track Isolated System carries a haunting guitar/piano harmony through subtle electronic beats to bring a close to an incredibly diverse and overall excellent album.

It really is a remarkable feat, what Muse have achieved. Several years in the making, musically perfect throughout and so well balanced; it is superb. It's not decided yet, but given how this has surpassed my expectations, will be in the running for the best album of 2012.