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Queen of Liars

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Blog Entries posted by Queen of Liars

  1. Queen of Liars
    I'm barely using my blog at all, so I thought I'd start a little series where I basically just talk about music. Maybe talk about my favourite bands and why I like them, maybe show off interesting albums in my collection. Stuff like that.
     
    Just over a week ago it was the 15th anniversary of what I currently hold to be the greatest album of all time - The Shape of Punk to Come - and so I thought I'd talk about the band responsible for that album: Refused.

    Refused were one of the most important (and certainly the most well known) bands in the Swedish hardcore punk scene and during their career from 1991 to 1998 they became one of the most influential punk bands in history.
     

    In order: This Just Might Be... The Truth; Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent; The Shape of Punk to Come; This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 1 (Also Known as the EP Comp CD); This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 2 (Also Known as the Demo Comp CD); The New Noise Theology EP.
     
    With their first album and first few EPs Refused started out playing what was pretty much typical hardcore in the scene at the time (mind you, they did it incredibly well). Their second album saw them exploring more complex post-hardcore before revolutionising punk in 1998 with their third album, The Shape of Punk to Come.
     
    I love everything Refused have done, but it is this third and final album (the band broke up shortly after its completion) that has earned them their spot in music history, and with good reason.
    With 15 years since its release, I think it is still completely unparalleled.
     
    A very ambitious and forward-thinking record, it experimented a lot with what hardcore was and could be, with complex songwriting and seamless incorporation of many jazz and electronic elements (indeed, the album's title is a tip of the hat to Ornette Coleman's album The Shape of Jazz to Come).
     
    It's a fantastically written and very unique album. Everything from little things to the big things, from the electronic interludes, to the jazz bridge on The Deadly Rhythm, to the fantastic violin intro to Tannhäuser / Derivè (which happens to be pretty much my favourite song ever) serves a purpose in crafting this masterpiece.
    It's an album that is brutal and aggressive, yet delicate and sophisticated.
     
    There's not much I can say about this album that hasn't already been said my many fans and critics. Pretty much everything about this record is perfect and everyone in the band is so good at what they do that it's ridiculous.
    It's an album that has influenced countless artists, but none of them have come close to matching its greatness.
    Of course it's not an album that's for everyone, but it's definitely the album for me.
     
    However, an album this incredible took its toll on Refused's creative energy and the band broke up soon after, vowing to never play together again.
    Fortunately, that was not the case and they reunited in 2012 for one tour to do justice to their last album. Following the tour Refused broke up once again, but stated that the possibility of their return remains.
    I certainly hope that they do indeed return, as they are by far my favourite band.
     
     
    ...And that will be the end of my babbling for this first entry. I kinda wanted to talk more about their early work, but I don't really want to make these entries long, so maybe another time
  2. Queen of Liars

    Paradise Lost

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, I just got back from Paradise Lost's 25th anniversary show at The Roundhouse.
    It was an absolutely fantastic night, and I'm happy that it was recorded for a live CD.
     
    Katatonia were on first, playing Viva Emptiness in its entirety to celebrate 10 years of the album. Backwards for some reason, but hey, it's still Viva Emptiness and Ghost of the Sun makes for a fantastic closer.
    I'm not sure if the album necessarily translated into a live setting fantastically, but they were still great.
    Highlights of the set: Criminals, Ghost of the Sun
     
    Lacuna Coil were up next and were great too.
    They're one of those bands that I never really looked into despite liking quite a few songs that I've heard. Will that change after tonight? Possibly.
    They were pretty energetic and got the crowd going.
    Highlights of the set: Intoxicated, Spellbound
     
    And then it was time for Paradise Lost.
    They were absolutely brilliant.
    The setlist was... interesting. They left out a lot of songs that seemed like the obvious ones to pick and that they usually play, like Erased, As I Die or The Last Time. Which I think was a great decision as it allowed for songs like So Much Is Lost off of Host, which is without question their most underrated record. Looking over it, they probably couldn't have come up with a better setlist for their 25th anniversary. Containing great songs from albums that often seem forgotten, like the aforementioned Host or Lost Paradise and Paradise Lost, it was a great reminder of the glorious 25 years of their music.
    Highlights of the set: So Much Is Lost, Gothic, Tragic Idol, Never for the ******, Isolate, Say Just Words, One Second, True Belief
     
    Here's to 25 years of Paradise Lost, and hopefully to many more.
     
  3. Queen of Liars

    Moving

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, it seems like I just got back home with all my stuff from university, and now it's all packed up again as my parents are moving house tomorrow.
    I quite enjoy moving. It's a lot of work, and we definitely have a ton more stuff to pack up and transport to the new house than we did when we moved here, but something about packing your things up is really fun. Especially when you find some belonging that you have completely forgotten about, like when I found my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon Yu-Gi-Oh! card earlier today. Sure was a nostalgic moment.
     
    I also tend to take forever to pack my stuff because I like to sit there and go through each individual thing before putting it in a box.
     

     
    CDs are definitely my favourite thing to pack. So many things to look through and so many "oh, forgot I had that. Should listen to it again some time" moments.
     

     
    Then there are books, which are also awesome. At first I was going to put them all into one bag but quickly came to the conclusion that it would be far too heavy to move, even without my university books.
     

     
    And you know, as much as I prefer buying games physically rather than digitally, I am pretty grateful that I don't have an extra 100+ copies of games to carry from my Steam library.
    Also found some of my PS2 games, which again, brought nostalgia. Will get the console and the rest of the games down from the loft tomorrow and probably spend a good chunk of time playing them once we move.
     
    Unfortunately, it's apparently going to take Sky up to two weeks to set up the internet in our new house, so might be stuck with having to use my phone for that for a while.
  4. Queen of Liars

    Tragic Illusion

    By Queen of Liars,

    So, Paradise Lost just announced this thing:
     

     
    Tragic Illusion 25 (The Rarities), which will be released on the 25th of October to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary and will be a compilation of rarities and B-sides from over the years. It will also contain a brand new song - Loneliness Remains - as well as re-recorded versions of Gothic and Our Saviour.
    I'll definitely be picking this up. I already have five of the songs from limited edition copies of albums, but I am interested in the rest.
  5. Queen of Liars
    So I'm just gonna jump in on the tide of YouTube posts and leave one of my favourite pieces of music here:
     

     
     
    Being able to do this certainly is nice. Should make the 'Rate The Song Above You' topic a lot easier too.
  6. Queen of Liars
    That's seven years I've been on BZP now, which is a pretty long time actually. The more I think about it the older it makes me feel.
     
    Not much else to blog about besides that.
    The Steam sale is coming to an end, and as much as I dislike buying digital games when physical copies of them are available, couldn't resist picking up a couple of bigger titles, as well as some indie stuff.
    Didn't think that the sale was all that great though. It seemed like the same handful of games going on sale again and again. Granted, there were lots of great indie games with big discounts throughout the whole sale.
  7. Queen of Liars

    Industrial

    By Queen of Liars,

    So, Front Line Assembly are currently streaming their new album - Echogenetic - for free and after my first listen, it seems really good.
    I'd just like to say what a fantastic year for industrial music it is:
     




     
    Fantastic albums by Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly, as well as an upcoming album by Nine Inch Nails.
    What are my three favourite - as well as three of the most influential - bands in the genre each releasing an album this year is a great thing.
  8. Queen of Liars
    Well, I got my results for my first year of university today and I am very happy because I passed, with a B in each module. Not that I thought I was going to fail, but it's a massive relief nonetheless to know that I'll definitely be coming back next year.
    I guess now I can truly relax for the rest of summer.
  9. Queen of Liars
    Well, I'm spending this week in France, so that's nice I guess.
    Got to say, I'm a bit jealous of the French as they still get toys in their cereal. We don't have that in the UK anymore. I know I don't exactly fall within the age demographic they try to hit with those toys, but it's still nice to get them.
  10. Queen of Liars
    A new song from the upcoming Nine Inch Nails album, Came Back Haunted, has been released today.
    Alongside that, Trent confirmed that the album will be titled Hesitation Marks and that it will be released on the 2nd of September.
    It's definitely my most looked forward to album this year. Can't wait
  11. Queen of Liars
    Paradise Lost are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and are doing some special shows in October and November, with support from Lacuna Coil and a special guest that hasn't been announced yet.
    Went ahead and got myself a ticket for the London show in November. Really looking forward to it
     
    It's also a reminder of how quickly time goes by. It doesn't seem that long ago that they were celebrating their 20th anniversary with the release of a demo compilation, which I have sitting on my desk right here, and yet it was almost five years ago.
    Why does that make me feel so old, even though I'm so young?
  12. Queen of Liars
    So the exam went much better than I thought it would. The first two questions were very nice and easy, but kind of fell apart at the third one, partly due to lack of time, partly because it wasn't a very nice question.
    But hey, it was a choice of three questions out of seven, so at least I wasn't stuck with the other four, which were pretty horrible.
     
    Having a bit of free time, got myself a new headset and a new pair of earphones, since my old ones broke. It always feels strange switching to a new headset because I get so used to how the old one sounds.
    Also picked up a couple of books: The Revolution of Everyday Life by Raoul Vaneigem, having previously read a library copy, and Selected Poems 1947-1995 by Allen Ginsberg, having enjoyed what I've read of his work.
  14. Queen of Liars
    Well, after handing in 3300 words worth of law coursework on Tuesday and doing my mooting assignment earlier this morning, I now have nothing but exams to look forward to.
    The moot went fairly well, although having went with a white shirt and a red tie I resembled Agent 47 from the Hitman series more than I intended (although I do have hair of course). Not necessarily a bad thing, but I was going for more of a lawyer look rather than a professional assassin look.
    It has been a very busy month and will continue to be so with exams on the 23rd and the 30th, the first of which I'm not feeling too good about. I do have a week to fix that though, so hopefully my first year of university will turn out alright.
  15. Queen of Liars
    So, I went to see three Canadian comedians - Stewart Francis, Craig Campbell and Glenn Wool - on their The Lumberjacks tour tonight.
    Stewart Francis has been one of my favourite comedians for quite some time now, so it was great to finally see him live, and the other two were brilliant as well. Haven't laughed that much in a long time.
    It was just their second show of the tour, which meant that there were still some imperfections and they were still trying some new stuff out, which only made the show all the better. Also, as it was a fairly small venue, it felt more personal which is always great
     
     
    On another note, I've started buying more albums than I should again. I can't help it, something about a music CD just draws me in and doesn't let go until I've bought it. Especially those fancy limited/special/deluxe/whatever editions...
  16. Queen of Liars
    There is now a trailer for the Thief reboot, and of course it doesn't tell us much about the game at all, but it still has me pretty excited.
    Although I am a bit worried about what direction they'll be taking it in, I have high hopes for it after Eidos Montreal's masterpiece with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Just hoping it doesn't end up like the somewhat disappointing Hitman: Absolution from last year.
     
    I mean, it turns out they're not gonna call it THI4F after all, which is certainly a good sign.
  17. Queen of Liars

    Paradise Lost

    By Queen of Liars,

    So, I got myself a copy of Paradise Lost's album Believe In Nothing, which has finally completed my collection of their studio releases. Thirteen albums and one set of demos. And you know, it's worth every penny. They are a fantastic band.
    This is, and will likely remain, my only complete collection of a band with a discography of this size, as I can't really think of any other band with 10+ albums, all of which I'm interested in having a copy of.
     
    Also, I'm really loving Century Media's Metal for the Masses campaign. Picked up the reissue of One For Sorrow by Insomnium today for £7. It's pretty rare to find albums at a record store cheaper than online these days, so this is pretty nice.
  18. Queen of Liars
    Well, here are my five favourite albums of last year.
     
    5 - Eremita by Ihsahn
     

     
    This is a superb progressive metal album with black metal influences. The songs here range from beautiful to brutal, and the riffs from simple to wonderfully complex, but it all flows together very nicely. The musicianship across the album is brilliant with lots of absolutely fantastic guitar playing and great drumming. It's a very heavy album at times, but there is always subtle melody to the heaviness and the songs will often go in unexpected directions. It also has some guest vocals by Devin Townsend on one of the songs, which is always good.
     
     
    4 - Phantom Antichrist by Kreator
     

     
    I'm not too big on thrash metal, but this album really clicked with me like few other thrash albums have.
    It's an anthemic and infectious album, full of stellar guitar playing with catchy riffs, blazing solos and melodic bridges. It often sounds very grandiose and melodic, while retaining the heaviness of thrash metal.
    This is a fantastic album that is everything good thrash is, and then more. If not for Anthrax's Worship Music, I'd likely call this the finest thrash metal album of the century so far.
     
     
    3 - Epicloud and Epiclouder by Devin Townsend Project
     

     
    I wasn't sure whether to treat this as two albums, but decided to treat it as one, as Epiclouder is a set of demos that comes together with the deluxe edition of Epicloud, although it could have easily been released as an album in its own right.
    Epicloud is a much more simple and accessible Devin Townsend album than usual, especially when compared to 2011's Deconstruction, with Devin even calling it pop-metal. But then again, there is rarely anything 'usual' about Devin's music. He always creates very unique albums with none being the same as another, and this is no exception.
    This is an album about love, and apart from being, as the title would suggest, epic and loud, it is also very positive and beautiful. Anneke van Giersbergen makes a return to provide her beautiful female vocals which go very well with Devin's clean vocals and contrast just as well with his harsher vocals, although the latter don't have much presence here.
    The musicianship is brilliant as expected, and although the album is mostly simple and catchy, it does become complex at times. It also has its heavy moments on songs like More! and Kingdom, which are reminiscent of some of his earlier work.
    As I said, this is a very beautiful and uplifting album, and despite being much less complex than one would expect from Devin Townsend, it's still a gripping and original record, breaking quite a few metal cliches by being a positive album about love.
    Also, I have to say that seeing him perform Grace was one of my greatest live music experiences.
    Epiclouder retains the same vibe, but is a more complex and musically diverse piece. I do feel it's a shame that it was only released as a bonus disc, as it deserves to be an album on its own, at times being even better than Epicloud.
     
     
    2 - Awoken Broken by Primal Rock Rebellion
     

     
    I've done a review of this album on my blog earlier, so if you care you can read that.
    A collaboration between Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith and SikTh's Mikee Goodman, this is a very unique record, the sound of which is hard to describe. It's eccentric and often quite heavy, but not overwhelmingly so. Adrian Smith's guitar work is as excellent as ever, as are Mikee Goodman's vocals. As he did with SikTh, Goodman will use four or five different vocal styles or techniques in a song, which creates a very unique sound which is only further aided by the intriguing lyrics and Adrian Smith's fantastic riffs and solos.
     
     
    1 - Tragic Idol by Paradise Lost
     

     
    For the third time in a row, Paradise Lost have released an album that has completely blown me away.
    This record is the fathers and masters of gothic metal doing what they do best. A strong, gripping and melancholic atmosphere accompanied by absolutely brilliant guitar and powerful vocals. It's heavy, but it's melodic and it has a haunting beauty about it that only Paradise Lost can create.
    I can not put into words how much I like this album. Paradise Lost are a band that constantly evolve and are not afraid to experiment, and almost 25 years of doing so have led to this masterpiece of melancholic beauty. I don't know where they can go from here, but then again, that's what I thought the last two times.
  19. Queen of Liars
    2012 recently ended and it has been a great year for music, so here are albums 10-6 of my top 10 albums of the year. I was intending to do reviews or something detailed for each one, but I guess I can't be bothered
    Anyway...
     
    10 - Sentenced To Life by Black Breath
     

     
    A remarkably heavy combination of death metal and hard rock with crust punk undertones, full of great riffs and drumming.
     
     
    9 - Dead End Kings by Katatonia
     

     
    A brilliant melancholic atmosphere with enchanting melodies. Perhaps one of Katatonia's best records, it gets better with each listen.
     
     
    8 - Honor Found In Decay by Neurosis
     

     
    A more straightforward and accessible Neurosis album than usual, it still is a great heavy and atmospheric sludge metal journey.
     
    7 - A Map Of All Our Failures by My Dying Bride
     

     
    As the sticker on the limited edition of the albums says, "a new voyage into the darkest depths of humanity, religion, love and death from the UK masters of doom".
    This album is a blanket of bleakness and misery, and it's great at that.
     
     
    6 - De Vermis Mysteriis by High On Fire
     

     
    Filled with fantastic riffs and brilliant solos, sometimes incredibly heavy and sometimes mesmerisingly melodic, this is a great aggressive stoner metal album with leanings towards doom metal.
     
     
    And there you have it. I might write more detailed stuff for my top 5, but that's not very likely.
  20. Queen of Liars
    Well, submitted my last two assignments this morning, and with that it's the end of my first semester of university. Got to say it was quite enjoyable. Very enjoyable even. Definitely the most enjoyable time I've had in education so far. I'm glad that I decided to go with Law after all, as it's actually a very interesting and relevant subject. Although the workload multiplies at a rather staggering rate if left unattended for even the tiniest amount of time, most of that work is fairly interesting and engaging.
     
    However, I would have thought that at this point I'd be able to pull myself together enough not to leave large chunks of assignments unfinished, only starting to finish them within the last 24 hours before the submission deadline.
    Apparently not.
     
    Well, it's still a big relief not having anymore coursework to do for the time being. Now I get more time to do nothing.
  21. Queen of Liars
    So, I went to see the brilliant Steve Hughes tonight, and it was great. Bonus points to him for having Motorhead songs playing before the show started.
    This was actually the first time I've seen a comedian live, and having enjoyed it quite a lot, it seems that a fair amount of my free time at university will be divided between going music concerts and going to comedy shows. Often at the same venue too.
  22. Queen of Liars
    Well, I'm back in London for the weekend, and you know, I like London a lot less now. Getting around is way too difficult with these endless masses of people, and while I did get used to it before, having spent a month in university and coming back, it's less than enjoyable. Seriously, I got from Cambridge to London quicker than I got from one point in London to another, and it barely cost me more.
     
    Also, that Devin Townsend show I went to on Wednesday was absolutely brilliant, and I am very jealous of the people in London who at this very moment are enjoying his biggest show yet. The man has seemingly infinite amounts of charisma and is of course an incredible musician.
  23. Queen of Liars
    Well, it's my second week of lectures and my third week at university overall. So far I'm enjoying it, but I can confirm that law does indeed require a lot of work and reading. Just looking at the pile of books I have to read is enough to rid me of any joy or energy I may have. Admittedly though, they are pretty interesting and it does remind me of Sociology, so that's good.
    Fresher's Fair was on Thursday, so I took the opportunity to sign up for the Alternative Music Society, the Poker Society and the Law Society. Hopefully those will be fun.
    Also as it turns out, there is an Extreme Ironing Society here.
     
     
    On a separate note, Epicloud by the Devin Townsend Project is a fantastic album. Been listening to it a lot since it arrived last week, and the bonus disk of demos, Epiclouder, might even be better than the actual album. Either way, the album lives up to its name, and although Devin was definitely telling the truth when he said that this would be a much simpler and more accessible and straightforward album than usual, it's still great.
     
    And now I'll go back to reading law books.
  24. Queen of Liars

    And I'm back

    By Queen of Liars,

    I got a new monitor, so I can use the computer again =D
    And I ended up not having to spend any money because my dad kindly bought it for me in return for me doing some accounting for him. So that's good. It's also vastly superior to my previous monitor (even if my previous monitor still worked), although it's gonna take a while to get used to the wider screen.
     
    Didn't do too much during my two days without a monitor, although that was where buying CDs really payed off as I could still listen to all my music without a computer, otherwise I might have gone crazy... -er.
  25. Queen of Liars
    Well, with my dad working in Russia and my mum on holiday, it's gonna be a month or so of just me and the cat. This will be great - a whole month of peace and quiet, which is just what I need
    I shall also take this opportunity to listen to the music my mum hates really loudly while I can.
     
    Now, where's my copy of Reign In Blood?
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