My Top 52 Essential Rock & Metal Albums

'Lateralus' By Tool (In my opinion the best album artwork of all time)

1. ‘Master of Puppets’ - Metallica

2. ‘Reign In Blood’ - Slayer

3. ‘Number of The Beast’ - Iron Maiden

4. ‘Paranoid’ - Black Sabbath

5. ‘Rust In Peace’ - Megadeth

6. ‘Ride The Lightning’ - Metallica

7. ‘The Real Thing’ - Faith No More

8. ‘Among The Living’ - Anthrax

9. ‘Cowboy’s From Hell’ - Pantera

10. ‘Rage Against The Machine’ - Rage Against The Machine

11. ‘Ace of Spades’ - Motorhead

12. ‘Appetite For Destruction’ - Guns ‘n’ Roses

13. ‘Pyromania’ Def Leppard

14. ‘Operation Mindcrime’ - Queensryche

15. ‘Nevermind’ - Nirvana

16. ‘South of Heaven’ - Slayer

17. ‘And Justice For All’ - Metallica

18. ‘Metallica’ - Metallica

19. ‘Peace Sells, But Who’s Buying’ - Megadeth

20. ‘Vulgar Display of Power’ - Pantera

21. ‘Powerslave’ - Iron Maiden

22. ‘Seasons In The Abyss’ - Slayer

23. ‘Seventh Son of A Seventh Son’ - Iron Maiden

24. ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ - Nine Inch Nails

25. ‘Slipknot’ - Slipknot

26. ‘Lateralus’ - Tool

27. ‘Aenima’ - Tool

28. ‘White Pony’ - Deftones

29. ‘Toxicity’ - System of a Down

30. ‘Troublegum’ - Therapy?

31. ‘Antichrist Superstar’ - Marilyn Manson

32. ‘Burn My Eyes’ - Machine Head

33. ‘Draconian Times’ - Paradise Lost

34. ‘Follow The Leader’ - Korn

35. ‘Hybrid Theory’ - Linkin Park

36. ‘Infest’ - Papa Roach

37. ‘Iowa’ - Slipknot

38. ‘The Blackening’ - Machine Head

39. ‘Primitive’ - Soulfly

40. ‘And Out Come The Wolves’ - Rancid

41. ‘Hellbilly Deluxe’ - Rob Zombie

42. ‘Crack The Skye’ - Mastodon

43. ‘Nola’ - Down

44. ‘Mutter’ - Rammstein

45. ‘Sacrament’ - Lamb of God

46. ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ - Killswitch Engage

47. ‘Morning View’ - Incubus

48. ‘Come What(ever) May’ - Stone Sour

49. ‘Blues For The Red Sun’ - Kyuss

50. ‘Blackwater park’ - Opeth

51. ‘Believe’ - Disturbed

52. ‘Hot Dog Flavoured Water’ - Limp Bizkit

Top 30 Gigs I've Been To

Big Four, Warsaw, Poland, 16th June 2010

1. The Big Four (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax), Warsaw, Poland, 16th June 2010

2. Metallica, Download Festival, UK, 10th June 2006

3. Metallica, Death Magnetic Fan Club Preview, O2 Arena, London, 15th september 2008

4. Tool, Brixton Academy, London, 22nd August 2007

5. Therapy?, Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth, 31st July 2010

6. Levellers, Beautiful Days Festival, Devon, 17th August 2008

7. Slipknot, Download Festival, UK,13th June 2009

8. Rage Against The Machine, Finsbury Park, London, 6th June 2010

9. Massive Attack, Brixton Academy, London,19th September 2009

10. Rammstein, Wembley Arena, London, 4th Febuary 2010

11. Depeche Mode, O2 Arena, London, 30th May 2009

12. Prodigy, Milton Keynes Bowl, 24th July 2010

13. Stone Sour, Dingwalls, London, 19th October 2010

14. Skindred, Freeze Festival, London, 31st October 2010

15. Blur, Hyde Park, London, 3rd July 2009

16. Faith No More, Brixton Academy, London, 10th June 2009

17. Korn, Download Festival, UK 12th June 2009

18. Crystal Castles, Roundhouse, London, 15th October 2010

19. Nine Inch Nails, O2 Arena, London, 15th July 2009

20. Iron Maiden, Hammersmith Apollo, London, 2nd September 2005

21. Deftones, Download Festival, UK, 9th June 2006

22. Sigur Ros, Alexandra Palace, London, 21st November 2008

23. Hawkwind, Beautiful Days Festival, Devon, 22nd August, 2009

24. Shpongle, Roundhouse, London, 31st October 2008

25. Zion Train, Cargo, London, 12th November 2008

26. Alabama 3, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 4th December 2008

27. Faithless, Cardiff Arena, 26th March 2007

28. Jose Gonzalez, ULU, London, 14th October 2008

29. Motley Crue, Cardiff Arena, 18th June 2005

30. Russian Circles, Underworld, London, 13th April 2010

A to Z of Bands I've Seen

Slipknot Download Festival 2009

() = how many times i’ve seen them

2:54, 36 Crazyfists, 5 Finger Death Punch, Adam Freeland, The Aggrolites, Ajja, Alabama 3(x5), Alice Cooper, Alice In Chains(x3), Alter Bridge, Amon Amarth, Angelic Upstarts, Anthrax(x2), Arch Enemy, Art of Dying, Asian Dub Foundation, Ash, Ashtech, Auger Bane, Avalon, Avenged Sevenfold(x2), Baaba Maal, Babar Luck, Balkan Beat Box, Beatnik, Behemoth, Billy Cobham, The Blackout, Black Stone Cherry, Blood or Whiskey, Blur, Booka Shade, The Bravery, Breed 77, Bryan Adams, Buckcherry(x2), Bullet For My, Valentine(x4), Burn In Noise, Calexico(x2), Calvin Harris, Cancer Bats, Candi Staton, Chase & Status (x2), Chemical Brothers, Children of Bodom, Claire Maguire, Clutch, Coheed & Cambria(x2), Combichrist, Conflict, Crystal Castles(x2), The Cult, The Damned, Dananananaakroyd, The Darkness, The Dead 60s, Def Leppard, Deftones, Depeche Mode, Devildriver(x2), Dinosaur Pile-Up (x2), Dir en Grey, Divokej Bill, Do Me Bad Things, Does It Offend You Yeah?, Down, Dragonforce(x2), Dreadzone, Dream Theater, Dropkick Murphy’s(x2), Dub Pistols(x3), Earthless, Earthling, Easy Star All Stars, Eat Static(x4), The Egg, Elton John, Enter Shikari, Esoterica , Europe, The Excerts, Fabulous Good Time Party Boys(x2), Faithless, Faith No More(x2), Fatboy Slim, Fear Factory, Feeder, Fenix Tx, Fightstar, Finley Quaye, Fishbone, Flogging Molly, Flying Lotus, Foals, For A Minor Reflection, Frank Turner(x3), Freq, Funeral For a Friend(x3), Gabby Young(x3), Gabriella Cilmi, Gallows(x3), Gama Bomb, Gary Numan(x2), GBH, Godsmack, Gogol Bordello, Goldblade, Gong, Hallucinogen, Hatebreed, Hawkwind, Health, High On Maiden, HIM(x2), Hooligan Night, Hybrid, Idlewild, Iggy & The Stooges(x2), Illegal Machines, The Imagined Village, Incubus, In Flames, Iron Maiden(x8), Isaac Hayes, Isis, Jacques Loussier Trio, Jane’s Addiction, Japanese Voyeurs(x6), Jett Black ,Jhon Critchinson Trio, Jose Gonzalez, Journey, Judas Priest, Karnivool, Killing Joke(x2), The Kills ,Killswitch Engage(x2), The King Blues(x3), Korn(x2) ,Krakatoa ,Kronos Quartet ,Kula Shaker, Limp Bizkit(x2),Lacuna Coil, Lamb, Lamb of God(x2), Les Truttes, Levellers(x6), The Living End, Liquid Ross, Lulu, M83 ,Machine Head(x6), Marilyn Manson(x3) ,Massive Attack, Mastodon(x4) ,Maximo Park, Megadeth ,Melissa Auf der Maur, Metallica(x15), Mindless Self Indulgence, Mitch Benn, Mona, Mothlite, Motley Crue(x3), Motorheadache, Mr.Scruff(x4), Municipal Waste(x3), The Music, Nine Black Alps, Nine Inch Nails(x2), NOFX(x2), Nouvelle Vague, One Way Mirror, OTT, Paramore, Papa Roach(x2), Paradise Lost, The Peatbog Faeries, Pendulum(x4), Perfect Stranger, Peter & the Test Tube Babies, Peter Gabriel, Pig Iron, Plump DJs, The Pogues, The Police, The Prodigy(x3), Prometheus, Pronghorn, Radioactive Man, Rage Against The Machine, Rammstein(x2), Ripper Owens, Robotnik(x3), Rob Zombie, Roots Manuva, Russian Circles(x2) ,Salsa Celtica, The Saw Doctors, Saxon, Scorpions, Sensient, Seth Lakeman, Shelanagig, Shinedown, Shpongle(x3), Sick of It All, Sigur Ros, Simply Red, Skindred(x4), Slayer(x5), Slipknot(x2), Soil, Soilwork, Some Velvet Morning, Sonic Boom Six, Soulfly(x2), The Specials, Spring Offensive(x9), Squarepusher, Squeeze, Staind, Static-X, Steel Panther, Steel Pulse, Stereo MCs, Stiff Little Fingers, Stone Sour(x2), Strapping Young Lad, Sub Focus, The Subhumans, Sublime With Rome, Supergrass, The Sword, Sylosis, Tenacious D, Therapy?(x4), The Three Jazz Tenors, Tinariwen, Tool(x2), Toots & The Maytals, Transglobal Underground, Trivium(x4), Tristan, Turbonegro, Turin Brakes, Underworld, Voodoo Six, Wallis Bird, Whitesnake(x2), X-Dream, Yeasayer, Younger Brother, Ziggy Marley, Zion Train(x2), Zub Zub(x3), ZZ Top

Slipknot - (Sic)nesses 'Live At Download)

This double DVD is a great little package for both Download and Slipknot fan. if you were there you’ll know how colossal thisheadline performance was. If you were there, you have to buy this, it transports you back to those incredible moments.

The first dvd contains the full ninety minute set. Joey crawls up to his gargantuous spangly drum kit which sits atop a platform with Sid’s decks and 133’s keyboards on each side. In front of them two blocks of drums on risers ridden by the clown and chris respectively, centre stage is Corey’s domain flanked by the towering and statuesque like Mick, Jim and Paul. These are the subliminal 9 and their about to take you on one of the greatest headline performances seen at any festival in the UK, and like any other they have done before. There is a real sense of actually being there, everything you expect from a festival crowd is captured here. This is nobody else’s moment in the world other than the people on stage and the 80,000 people stretched into the distance watching them, the scale of which is enormous and truly breathtaking. They open with ‘7426’ which leads perfectly into ‘(sic)’ followed by ‘eyeless’, a perfect way of setting exactly what the mood is and also a reminder that it is the 10th anniversary of their debut album ‘Slipknot’. They then play ‘wait and bleed’ which should be an anthem of huge proportions but here this doesn’t seem to be the case, simply because of the fact that these are true fans here and they know that slipknot have a plethora of heavier, faster, better and harder hitting songs, the band knew they had to play it but wanted to get it out the way and get on with more their more complex material. At this point it’s notable to say that the crowd noises could be more prominent in parts (although this isn’t the case later on towards the end of the set)You can’t help yourself shouting along, but unfortunately it’s in these sections that you can’t hear the crowd participation which is a shame. This is made up for though by the fact that this is an incredibly well thought out set list, with superbly constructed camera angles. This is the most energetic performance i’ve seen by Slipknot, with the majority coming from Chris and Sid, who bounce all over the place, come up to the barriers to sing with the crowd, ride on security teams shoulders through the audience, hang from raised spinning drum platforms, throw beer barrels, baseball bats and microphones at both members of the band and road crew. And while we’re talking about Sid, his little interludes between songs are exceptional, quite Nine Inch Nail esque and provide a perfect background for Corey’s speeches which are touching, emotional, exciting and very thankful towards the fans, it’s incredibly uplifting, some of the best frontman speeches out there in my opinion. You get a real sense of how important this performance is for the band and how hard they have worked for it, and deservedly so.

It’s great to see some new material mixed in, ‘sulfur’, ‘dead memories’ and ‘psychosocial’ fit in perfectly amongst ‘before I forget’, ‘the blister exists’ and ‘left behind’, it proves that the band aren’t just doing a greatest hits set and that the newer material is just as important to them, this is something that the crowd agree highly with. As the light gets darker so does the music, the pinnacle of which is when they rip through ‘Vermillion’, it matches the atmosphere at this point perfectly. One of the biggest sights to behold is just after ‘Everything Ends’ when you see 80,000 maggots clapping in perfect syncopated movements, it highlights how truly epic the size of the audience is at Download. It’s at this point that the maggots are really pulsing. The last half an hour is absolutely flawless and is the best part of the gig. This is true Slipknot and every member surpasses anything i have seen or heard before at a Slipknot gig, in particular Corey’s vocals. It’s awesome, this is what the fans had been wanting the whole day at Download, it’s clear to see why. At the beginning of ‘Duality’ Corey says ‘sssshh’ and their is an absolute silence, it’s a massive contrast, its very engaging and captivating and again makes you realise the scale. The end of ‘Duality’ Corey shouts ‘oh my fucking god’ with such gusto and aggression and this sums it all up, it’s unbelievable, easily their best performance. It’s just after ‘people=shit’ (the best song in the set both visually, technically and from an audio front in my opinion) that there is a sense of real tension in the crowd and you know that it’s really going to explode out there and my god does it! The encore sees Slipknot really shining, everything that Slipknot is and stands for is during this song. Joey raises up on his drum kit and spins upside down, the clown and chris spin around on their drums, corey paces the stage, Mick, Paul and Jim are solid and technically astonishing, Sid is perfect with his interludes and its the first time the crowd participation is pushed to the absolute maximum. If your a Slipknot fan or ever seen them live before, you know what happens during this song, only this time theirs 80,000 maggots who ‘Jump the fuck up’. This is a moment for anyone that was there that they'll never ever forget i know i never will, it’s a truly epic and historical moment in time and music.

By the end every single member of the audience can be seen topless, knackered and dripping with putrid sweat. The dvd closes with footage of the band gathering together on stage and exchanging hugs as it fades to black, an emotional moment as it was one of Paul Gray’s last major performances before his tragic and sudden death. We’re all hoping a concert like this will happen again for both band and audience but at the moment we just don’t know. I’m so glad i was apart of this experience and i know that the 79,999 other fans will be too.

The second dvd of this package is a short film directed by Shawn Crahan (the clown) and is typically of his style, flittering between random images and footage of the band, whether it be close ups on stage or backstage. It’s great to see the band having fun backstage and fooling around, its a nice addition to the brutality and aggression of them on stage, it’s very human. The best part of which is when the band gather together just before they are waiting to go onstage, you can feel the excitement and anticipation as well as extraordinary focus from each member. It’s sad to see Paul Gray finishing a phone call to whom i presume is his wife saying ‘I’ll call you after the gig, love you, bye, gotta go now’. The whole of this DVD is a dedication to Paul and what a brilliant way of commemorating him for both the band and to the fans. It showcases not only the bands greatest ever performance but Paul Gray’s greatest ever performance.

Sonisphere 2010

On stage with Slayer!!

With Anthrax!!

With James Hetfield!!

This is a piece i wrote for Kerrang and Kilimanjaro music on the competition i won and the experience i had, hope you like it!!

THE BIG FOUR, POLAND, 16/06/2010

As some of you may know i have just come back from The Big Four of thrash gig in Poland, it was the best day of my life, a day that i will never forget for the rest of my life, one to tell the grandchildren about when i am old and smelly. My friend Tom and I got flown out to poland, had a hotel paid for, VIP tickets, free supply of unlimited amounts of booze and food. We were both extremly happy, what could possibly get better than this? well over the couple of weeks leading up to the gig i had been talking with various people who look after Joey Belladonna, as we were watching Anthrax's set (which they absoloutley dominated!!) i got a text from one of the Anthrax team saying that 30 mins after they had finished their set Joey would like to meet me!! so half an hour after the set we went backstage and Joey came running over with one of the biggest smiles i have ever seen, he genuinely is one of the nicest blokes i have met, after a while chatting he said 'hey man, have you met Scott yet?' i replied 'what as in Scott Ian?', 'yeah man, scott ian he is just behind you' i got a tap on the shoulder and turned around to be greeted with scott ian's beard in my face, it was brilliant!! we hung out for a bit, had some cocktails and then walked with joey over to their dressing room where we then met Frank and charlie.

We then saw Rob Trujilo from Metallica with his bass strapped round his shoulder doing his signature crab walk no less than 20 feet from us!! We went and said Hi and had a chat and a photo etc. At this point i have to explain something, I changed my surname by deed poll a couple of years ago, basically my mum changed her name back to her maiden name, i also wanted to do the same, at the same time as this i also changed my middle name which used to be just 'James' well i think you can see where this is going, i added 'Hetfield' to it, so now my middle name is actually (and i am not joking) 'james hetfield', i had my passport on me and showed it to Rob, he loved it and said i had to show it to James, i took it as a joke and thought there is no way that i am going to meet James he is probably very very busy, about an hour later, after hanging with Anthrax for a bit more and having a few more cocktails, James Hetfield appeared with his bodyguard (who i might add is one of the most ripped and scary people i have met). His body guard said 'Give me your passport, i want to show it to James' at this point i was shaking and feeling quite nervous, this guy is my hero and i never thought in my life that i would meet him. Metallica and in particular James have inspired me and their music has helped me through a lot of horrible times in my life. moments later James' bodyguard came back to me and said 'James would like to meet you', he came up to me and almost crushed my hand when he shook it!! we spoke for a while and talked about a lot of different thing's, when he had to leave to go get ready for their set i went to shake his hand again and he said 'nah f**k that gimme a hug dude!!' never has the abbreviation OMFG been more appropriate than that at this point, he went off back to his dressing room and his bodyguard told me something 'you know he usually only talks to fans for about 30 seconds and has a photo of them and says goodbye, if he talks to you for longer than that then that means he really likes you and feels as though he has a connection to you, you spoke to him for about 5 or 6 minutes, he never does that!!' i cannot describe how that felt.

We walked back to the dressing room and walked past Dave Mustaine, stood near Lars Ulrich who was talking to some other people in his immediatly recognisable voice. The guy taking us around who was with Anthrax said to us 'come on then, i have got one last surprise for you guys, but we have to hurry cause we don't have much time' i couldn't imagine what else could possibly be better than what had already happened, we said our goodbyes to Anthrax and started walking towards the stage. He said 'ok we are going to go on side of stage to watch the end of Slayer's set' , we were stood no less than about 10 feet from Kerry King, looking out over a crowd of 100,000 people while they ripped into 'South of Heaven' and closing with 'Raining Blood', needless to say i was speechless and my heart was going pretty much as fast as the colossal riffs Slayer were pouring out. We got escorted back to the front of stage and walked past Kerry King and Tom Araya getting onto their golf buggy to go back to the dressing room, 'hope you enjoyed it guys' as we said our goodbye's, 'enjoyed it? no mate i had the time of my life!!' i said. When we got back to the hotel we had drinks with some guys from Kilimanjiro, the ex editor of kerrang Paul Brannigan and Daniel P Carter who asked me 'did you have a good time today?', i replied 'ummm, yeah it was pretty good we met.........' can't wait for Knebworth sonisphere now!! Am meeting up with Anthrax again and hopefully get to meet some other bands while i am there, whereas Poland was the best day of my life, i have a feeling Knebworth is gonna be the best weekend of my life, i am proper excited!!

SONISPHERE, KNEBWORTH, 30/07/2010

Where do i begin? The 2nd part of the prize!! Sonisphere this year was incredible, i went last year but only for the sunday (which was great), so it was nice to be able to camp this year in the Rock Royalty area and have a few luxuries that made the experience all the more better, rocking out (in comfort). I arrived on the friday evening after filling up the car with various crates and a couple of bottles of jaeger. The very first thing we did, was have a can or several and after settling in walked towards the saturn stage, but going via the Rock Royalty bar to check out the barn which was blasting out some Tool, i knew at this point that this was going to be one hell of a weekend. At this point i rang Dan who handed me over to Joey Belladonna to say hello and that i was looking forward to meeting up with him again tomorrow, possibly one of the best phone calls i’ve had, bearing in mind where i was!! We walked past Europe on the Saturn stage blasting out Final Countdown on the way to the Guest bar where we met with Sam and had a few beers. I think the biggest highlight on the friday was Gary Numan, i had only seen him live once but that was with Nine Inch Nails at the O2 arena, which was great but not as epic a performance as this.

Saturday was the big day for me, as i knew at somepoint after Anthrax’s set (which was awesome) i’d be going backstage to meet them (again!!). The time had come and Dan came to pick me up and walked with him backstage, i was just as excited about catching up with Dan again as i was meeting Anthrax, honestly the nicest bunch of people i have met and I'm eternally grateful for everything they have done for me. Joey came over and said ‘yo dude, how are you, good to see you again, what you been up to....?’ he spent a good hour and a quarter talking with me and each time i’d finished my can he went and got me another one from their dressing room, i caught up with Frank for a while as well and was greeted by Charlie and Scott saying ‘Yo James Hetfield, hows it going dude’, i had a smile from ear to ear, how awesome is that, that Anthrax refer to me as James Hetfield haha!! Scott had to rush off cause he wanted to catch Corey Taylor’s set, which i unfortunately missed as i was at that point meeting Jacoby from Papa Roach, Christina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro from Lacuna Coil and Pete Koller from Sick of it All. I had to do a double take when i saw Till Lindemann from Rammstein walk past me and hugged Brian Molko from Placebo, that was quite mad!! One of the best moments though of the backstage experience was Vince Neil from Motley Crue getting ready to go onstage, i was standing by watching them get on to their golf buggies and Vince looked at me, i smiled and gave him the devil horns, to which he responded with a smile and raised the devil horns, i must have looked a bit like the joker at this point as my smile grew even bigger, almost splitting my jaw apart.

I left backstage and started walking to where the tour buses were. the fun wasn’t over yet, i was about to go and meet Therapy? one of my all time favourite bands. The instantly recognisable Andy Cairns and Michael McKeegan came down from the bus and spoke with me for a good 20 minutes, thats one of the greatest feelings, being able to tell one of your favourite bands how much their music means to you and how it had changed your life, Andy said ‘that’s why we do what we do, so thank you so much’ and i couldn't agree with him more, the greatest bands do exactly that, and their most definitely one of them, their set was incredible, the best of the weekend in my opinion. There was a moment during ‘Turn’ when Michael spotted me at the front and gave me a thumbs up, as i promised that i’d be at the front shouting every word!! After that I started walking back to the rock royalty bar and realised that i was stood next to Byron Stroud from Fear Factory who gave me some of his chips. I got back to my tent and stayed up drinking Buckfast and listening to Megadeth with my scottish neighbor. It had been a truly epic day.

Sunday brought a more subdued feel mainly because i had a hangover but also because i wasn’t going backstage , i made up for missing quite a few bands on the saturday and watched Skindred, Slayer (this time in front of the stage, rather than on it with them!!), Alice in Chains, Pendulum and of course the legendary Iron Maiden, this was my 9th time seeing them and it was just as good as the other 8 times, they are truly flawless. It was great to hear more recent material within the last ten years, ‘Ghost of the navigator’ was a particular highlight for me as it’s one of my favourite songs. I didn’t manage to meet the chaps in Iron Maiden, maybe one day!! i managed to get about 10 feet away but they were surrounded by a plethora of people and it was impossible to get near them in the sanctuary area in the guest bar. I did however bump into Benji Webbe and said how great there set was and he said in his broad newport accent ‘cheers mate, you getting a drink yeah?’ i responded with ‘yeah i am and I'm getting you one too mate!!’. All in all it was a truly epic weekend, crates and jaeger had been polished off, smiles had been had, devil horns had been raised, and memories will always remain. I will never forget this weekend and my Big Four experience in Poland which was one of the best day’s i have ever had in my life, i cant thank the guys at Kilimanjaro and Sonisphere enough for everything they have done for me. Here's to hoping that maybe one day i'll be able to work for them, that would be amazing!!

London Festival Guide

A mini guide to what i think are the best festivals over the summer in London this year from germans with flamethrowers, inflatable board games and air guitar competitions to bearded rock gods and legendary dance acts. Get out your tent, dust off your boots and get to the field it’s that time of year again!!

Apple Cart Festival

Date: July 25th

Location: Shoreditch Park

Ticket Price: £33

Summary: This is a brand new family friendly festival with an eclectic mix of music, comedy, art, cinema, magic and spoken word, designed to bring out the kid that’s in us all.

Highlights: St.Etienne are headlining the music front, the magic circle are running the magic side, shappi khorsandi is a highlight in the comedy tent, there’s also inflatable board games and a on site fully functioning screen printing workshop.

Rating: 7/10

iTunes Festival

Date: 1st-31st July

Location: Camden’s Roundhouse

Ticket Price: Given away for free to customers and through competitions

Summary: More than 60 artists performing over 31 consecutive nights. Every show is going to be recorded and subsequently available on itunes to own afterwards.It’s also going to be on ITV and aired on XFM

Highlights: Ozzy Osbourne, Faithless and The XX are personal favorites

Rating: 8/10

High Voltage Festival

Date: 24th-25th July

Location: Victoria Park

Ticket Price: £75 for day ticket or £135 for weekend ticket

Summary: This is the first year for London’s greatest celebration of classic rock, prog and metal over two days on three stages. There’s going to be an air guitar competition a real ale pub, a vinyl exchange, a classic car and motorbike exhibition and a ‘wall of death’ one of only two displays left in the UK where stunts are performed on top of a 20ft high wall.

Highlights: There are so many good bands; ZZ top are the headliners on the saturday supported by Heaven & Hell, Foreigner and Gary Moore and Emmerson Lake & Palmer are the headliners on the sunday on the main stage. Black Label Society and Down are the headliners on the Metal Hammer stage and a highlight on the prog stages are the phenomenal Opeth and headliners Marillion. Get your leather out and get your air guitars.

Rating: 8/10

Sonisphere Festival

Date: 30th July-1st August

Location: Knebworth House

Ticket Price: £157.50

Summary: If you can’t get all the way up north to go to Download this is the closest your going to get to that. This is the 2nd year of the festival, i went last year and it’s going to take some beating when i go again this year. There’s over 100 bands over 4 stages over 3 days. There’s also a comedy tent, a jagermeifter truck and a strongbow tent!!

Highlights: Iron Maiden and Rammstein are the headliners so expect unbelievably large stage shows from both. I’m expecting 30ft zombies and flamethrowers attached to faces. The list is endless in terms of top quality bands but here’s a few; Pendulum, motley crue, slayer, alice cooper, skunk anansie, placebo, iggy and the stooges, the cult, papa roach, alice in chains, anthrax, gallows, sick of it all, therapy?, soulfly, lacuna coil, fear factory, municipal waste, henry rollins spoken word oh and the mighty Tim Minchin in the comedy tent!!

Rating: 10/10

L.E.D Festival

Date: 27th-28th August

Location: Victoria Park

Ticket Price: £37.50 day ticket, £70 weekend ticket

Summary: Another new festival in London that displays some of the best electronic dance music out there. David Guetta headlines the friday with his only performance of the summer, supported by soulwax, audio bully’s and calvin harris. Saturday is headlined by the legendary Leftfield and is there only performance of 2010, supported by Goldfrapp, friendly fires, annie mac and Aphex Twin

Highlights: I am going on the saturday, having grown up listening to ‘Leftism’ it’s an opportunity not to miss these pioneers of dance music, i am also a huge Aphex Twin fan having been a collector of their vinyls so can’t wait to see the twisted freak for the first time

Rating: 9/10

Wireless Festival

Date: 2nd-4th July

Location: Hyde Park

Ticket Price: £47.50 per day

Summary: Jay Z is the headliner on the sunday, Pink is headliner on the friday and LCD soundsystem are headlining the saturday. Other acts include snoop dogg, D12, slash, lilly allen, plan B, Chase & Status, Friendly Fires, DJ shadow, Missy elliott and 2manydjs. There will also be a fairground, an acoustic bandstand, street theatre, performance art, markets and beer gardens

Highlights: Its got to be the motherfuckin D O double G

Rating: 7/10

Hard Rock Calling

Date: 25th-27th June

Location: Hyde park

Ticket Price: £47.50-£62.50 per day

Summary: This established 3 day rock and indie festival is an open air music event in the heart of london, during the peak of the summer. Pearl Jam headline the friday night supported by wolfmother, the hives, ben harper and the gaslight anthem. Stevie Wonder headlines the saturday supported by jamiroquai and james morrison. Headlining the sunday night is Paul McCartney.

Highlights: Seeing Pearl Jam play ‘Jeremy’ would be incredible and Stevie Wonder is a legend and will be truly amazing to watch

Rating: 8/10

South West Four

Date: 28th-29th August

Location: Clapham Common

Ticket Price: £45 for day ticket, £75 for a weekend ticket

Summary: London’s premier dance event returns for its 7th year. Some of the best dance music and dj’s around today. Saturday is headlined by Armin van Buuren supported by sasha, john digweed, paul oakenfold and jusge jules. Fatboy slim headlines the sunday supported by benga, carl cox, vitalic, boys noize and skream.

Highlights: Fatboy Slim always delivers and get’s you going, Although i never experienced the true rave scene of the late 80s and early 90s i would love to see Sasha as he is a true legend of the genre and would be extremley uplifting to have heard his set.

Rating: 9/10

Spring Offensive Feature

Chris' Feature

This is a feature i have done on one of Chris Jones' pieces

Top 22 Punk Albums Feature

This is the feature that i have done for what i think are the Top 22 Punk Albums of all time this accompanies the text below:

Top 22 Punk Albums

This is a guide to what I think are the top 22 punk albums both old and new. If you are familiar with punk music you’ll almost certainly be familiar with this list. If you’ve never really listened to punk music, firstly what have you been doing? Listening to hippity-hoppity music? secondly you should cause it’s great, have a read, then have a listen.

Agnostic Front - Victim in pain

This is AF’s debut album recorded in 1984, and is widely regarded as their best album, and one of the greatest hardcore punk albums of all time. It’s fast, it’s brutal but with breaks of marching rhythms. ‘Last warning’ and ‘with time’ are personal favourites and sums up the album’s sound. This album kicks and spits.

Angelic Upstarts - Teenage Warning

Their debut album recorded in 1979, one of my favourite british punk albums. It has more of a rock and roll feel but with powerful lyrics about the opressive policies of Margaret Thatcher. One of the most politically charged albums of the time, and with lyrics like ‘fuck off and leave me alone’ you can see why!! 

Bad Brains - I Against I

One of my favourite intro songs to an album of all time. Recorded in 1986, this is Bad Brains’ highest selling album and interestingly is their only album that doesn’t have a reggae influence. It fuses funk, soul, heavy metal and hardcore punk. H.R. the singer recorded the vocals for the song ‘Sacred Love’ over the phone from prison while he was serving time due to marijuana distribution charges.

Bad Religion - Suffer

This album was recorded after a 5 year break for the band in 1988. It is considered one of the best punk albums of the 80s and was Epitaph Records best selling album until the release of The Offsprings album ‘Smash’. NOFX’s Fat Mike describes it as “the record that changed everything”, i think he’s right. 

The Buzzcocks - Love Bites

This is the second album released in 1978, very influential on the manchester music scene at the time, it has a more pop punk feel and the song ‘Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)’ remains a classic and a must listen.

The damned  - Machine Gun Etiquette

This is their 3rd album and the first since reforming with Dave Vanian on vocals. A more experimental album compared to previous. A blend of punk, psychedelic rock and pop styles. The album includes ‘Looking at you’ a cover song originally by MC5, and one of their most famous and my favourite Damned song ‘Smash It Up’, proper get up and go music.

Black Flag - Damaged

The band’s first full length album recorded in 1981, one of the greatest albums of all time, one of the most iconic album covers in punk music. This was a classic of the era and the peak of their career, with the newly joined lead singer Henry Rollins, a true god of the genre blasting out Anti-authoritarian, non-conformist messages of isolation neurosis, poverty and paranoia. 

The Bronx - The Bronx

Their debut and first of their three self titled albums released in 2003. The spawn of which is Mariachi el Bronx their mexican alter ego’s. All of their albums are good so this should really be titled ‘Everything the Bronx has done’. ‘Knifeman’ and ‘Six days a week’ are particular favourites.

The Dwarves - Are Young and Good Looking

Released in 1997, the band are notorious for self-mutilation, on-stage sex and taking hard drugs. Their live shows would only last about 15 minutes usually cut short due to spectators injuring themselves. This album was a new direction with which they could play longer sets but still with a loud garage punk style and controversial lyrics.

The Exploited - Horror Epics

Hardcore/street punk band from Scotland with a worldwide reputation. Their 4th album released in 1985, the title track refers to the horror of starvation in the third world, and westerners tendency to look away. They are still writing albums today and are as strong and in your face as they always have been. A proper boot to the face.

Leftover Crack - Fuck World Trade

Highly controversial band and album. The band lives in a squat in New York and have a history of conflict with the NYPD. They play a mix of ska, crust punk and hardcore with anarchistic lyrics. This album is one of my favourite punk albums, it’s been banned in a lot of places due to its title and artwork which features George Bush blowing up the world trade centre. It has longer songs than previous albums and are more diverse with string arrangements and synthesizers and guest appearances from Anti-flag.

Minor Threat - Minor Threat LP

Released in 1991, this hardcore punk album inspired the straight edge movement with the 45 second long song ‘Straight Edge’ a highlight of the LP. ‘Out of Step’ was another song on the album which solidifies the band having anti-drug views. Silverchair, Pennywise, Rise Against and Slayer have all covered songs from this album.

The Misfts - Static Age

The inventors of the genre Horror punk, recorded in 1978 and released in full in 1997 this debut album lead by one of the best frontmen and singers in music, Glenn Danzig. My second favourite punk album of all time. Due to time restrictions the songs were recorded with only a few takes each. Many of the songs were based on horror films and American historical events from the 1960s and 70s. It personifies Misfits’ gothy, sludgy, gloomy horror punk rock style perfectly. The album also contains sexually explicit lyrics about Jackie Kennedy (JFK’s wife). ‘Last Caress’ is a classic and was covered by avid fans of the Misfits, Metallica.

Operation Ivy - Energy

This 19 track album was a pivotal point for skacore, and is one of the most important in the ska punk genre, and was the bands only LP release in 1989. It has similarities to the music of Rancid and was a widely covered album by many punk bands. If you like punk music and trombones then this is the album for you.

Peter and the Test Tube babies - Pissed and Proud

This is the only live album on the list recorded at Hammersmith, Wood Green and their hometown Brighton in 1982. They have tongue in cheek lyrics as demonstrated in the songs ‘Up Your Bum’ and ‘Banned From the Pubs’, the album also includes a cover of Gary Glitter’s song ‘I’m the leader of the gang’. Proper british good fun.

Rancid - ...and out come the wolves

My favourite punk album of all time. You can’t fault this album everything about it is perfect. It has a heavy ska influence sound due to Tim and Matt’s old band Operation Ivy. It was released in 1995 and went gold and platinum in 1996 and 2004 respectively. It had three hit singles ‘Roots Radicals’, ‘Time Bomb’ and ‘Ruby Soho’, however my favourite song is ‘Maxwell Murders’ simply for the astonishing bass playing by Matt Freeman. The album artwork is a tribute to Minor Threat. This album is a must for anyone who likes listening to music of any genre.

Sex pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks

Released in 1977 this is the only official studio album from the band. Highly controversial and highly influential, everyone know this album and it is regarded as a very important record in the history of rock music. Went to UK number 1 in 1977. If you haven’t heard this album then....well....your bollocks.

Sham 69 - That’s Life

A huge influence on the street punk and Oi scene this typically english band released this album in 1978. It is a great album and times very funny. It had two big hits with ‘Hurry Up Harry’ and ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’.

Sick of It All - Scratch the Surface

This band is a huge influence on the American hardcore punk scene and this third album released in 1994 demonstrates exactly why that is. This is their most successful release and may be due to a switch in label. ‘Step Down’ is a huge song and one of the best hardcore punk songs of all time.

Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material

This is the lads from Belfast’s first and their signature album released in 1979. This was the first independent album to get in the UK charts through Rough Trade now a big punk label. This band are cracking live and have elements of rock n roll. My favourite song is ‘Johnny Was’ which has a stompy military feel.

Subhumans - The day the country died

Formed in Trowbridge this hardcore anarcho-punk band released this their first LP in 1983. It was recorded in just 5 days and released on the bands own label. It is Influenced by the George Orwell book 1984 most clearly seen in the song ‘Big Brother’. Highly focused on the politics of media and has dystopian overtones. Classic punk album.

UK subs - Punk as Fuck

One of the very first british and street punk bands formed in 1976, they continue to tour today. Any of their albums are good but this one has the best name. Think punk, rock and pubs.

Rob Mason Interview

Rob is an old friend of mine I have known for the majority of my life. He always had an amazing talent for drawing and it was clear to me that is was going to be a big and sucessful part of his life. I haven’t seen him for a while now but we catch up now and again........

Ellz: Where are you at the moment?

Rob: I am currently in the living room at my mums house.

E: What’s your favourite place in the world?

R: Nowhere specific but somewhere green in the summer with not many people is good.

E: What do you enjoy doing the most?

R: I’m happy driving, painting or watching a good movie, some "inhalable inspiration" doesn’t go a miss either.

E: What is your favourite film?

R: I struggle to even work out a top 10 but if i had to pick one id say labyrinth by jim henson.

E: Who is your favourite musician/band?

R: I like a bit of everything but am currently listening to the thrash-funk band 'infectious grooves' with members from suicidal tendencies.

E: How many guns do you own?

R: Currently just an air rifle, i haven't got round to applying for a shotgun license yet but my mum has one so i sometimes use that

E: What is your current mode of transport?

R: I drive a ford transit camper van thing, its damp in the back during the winter but i spent most of last summer in the back of it in cornwall, also my trusty stunt wood (aka skateboard) and an old folding bicycle my friends mum gave me

E: What’s your choice of drink?

R: Any beer will do, not really into spirits but i love a good apple juice

E: Any embarrassing/drunken moments?

R: Nothing springs to mind, i guess i must be quite a well-behaved drunk. the odd bit of petty theft or violence, but that is very rare

E: Who is your favourite artist?

R: At the moment I'm into vic reeves from shooting stars. Not many people know he's an artist and his pictures are pretty funny

E: What inspires/influences your art?

R: pretty much everything

E: How do you come up with your ideas?

R: They just turn up inside my head without warning

E: Where do you do your art?

R: Wherever I'm living at the time, i don't have a studio yet but thats part of the dream

E: How often do you produce your art?

R: It varies, I'm thinking about stuff all the time but wont necessarily draw everyday.

E: What materials do you use?

R: Usually acrylic on scraps of wood or water colour, sometimes i'll make something 3-D if i get an idea and i've got something to make it with, whatever i can find really

E: Do you do commissions/can anyone buy your art?

R: I have some t-shirts and prints in a shop in exeter called "no guts no glory", you can buy online as well at www.ngngdesign.com

E: Would you ever want to do an exhibition of your work if the opportunity arose?

R: Sure, I don't think I'm good enough for that yet though, I don't think Id like the attention either so maybe If I could have one without actually having to go that'd be good.

E: What do you want to do in the future? Is art something you see as being a part of it? 

R: I definitely want to always be an artist, I plan to find a wife, buy some land, build my own house and become self-sufficient.