Witch Casket Unboxing // November 2017

I have been SO excited about receiving my first Witch Casket! I absolutely LOVED it. I decided to do something a little different to what I usually do on my blog posts. This time I decided to film me opening My Witch Casket. Something I know people like to watch (I know I do!). 

I know it's not the most exciting of unboxing videos, or unboxing videos. But I wanted to get straight to the point and show you all the awesome things it contains! (I especially love the picture; I have framed and the bag which I will be storing my daily make up in). 

As this is my first video, it's also me just experimenting, and giving my brain a nudge on how to use Final Cut Pro again, as I haven't since Uni. I'm sure I will find my flow and way of doing things soon. Then we can make them more exciting! 

If you have any suggestions on how you'd like me to open my December box, please let me know! :)

Enjoy! ☾ ☼ ☆

x

Gideon - Cold

I'm going to put it out there. This girl, right here, is a bit of a mellon. I spent all day thinking about what albums would be in my ultimate list of 2017, when the album I have been listening to the most lately completely slipped my mind. So for the record, Gideon, Cold, would be up there in my top 10.

You see I hadn't really took the time out to listen to Gideon, until earlier this year. They had always been a band i'd heard about, and listen to no more than a song or two, but for some reason it took me up until them being announced as support for In Hearts Wake on their UK stretch this year, for me to sit and appreciate them.

So by now I think I can consider myself a Gideon fan. Of course this journey started off with me listening to their most recent record, Cold. 

One of the first things I noticed from reading the track list was there was a few familiar faces featured in this album. With guest vocals from Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, Caleb Shomo of Beartooth AND Bryan Garris of Knocked Loose, it would be wrong to say that this did not instantly make me intrigued. You know what I loved about the use of guest vocals in this album, is that the feel I get is that they weren't just added to the album for the sake of things, they weren't just their for the sake of big names. I feel like they actually contributed in a way that their parts compliment the tracks that they appear on.

And what about the first track, Champions, let's talk about that, because i'm a strong believer in that the first track plays a big part in an album. It's the first song you're going to hear, it's going to set your expectations for the rest of the album. Champions is a great choice of an intro for this album. The opening riff builds anticipation before the song has even started, and before you know it you're moshing along in your living room. 

Cursed is just as much as a culprit for this. After hearing this just once, you're going to be waiting for the next time, ready to shout "CURSED!". But I think it has to be said that from the entire album, I have a favourite song; Pulling Teeth. If you listen at about 2 and a half minutes in, you will see why. But that's just my own personal pleasure! 

I love The Ghost Inside feel that Gideon has to them. In fact, they are probably the closest thing I have found to TGI in a while. Both the vocals and the music suggest this. I still find though that they are not an exact carbon copy to TGI, they as a band still feel fresh enough to have their own personality. It's fresh and it's not tiresome. 

Oxford Street, Christmas 2017

The countdown to Christmas begins!

I've been feeling really Christmassy the past few days, i'm starting to get that excited feeling in my belly. I still find it magical even as a 26 year old. I don't feel as stressed about it as I did this time last year, I seem to have it all under control. I've got most of the prezzie's I need to buy, I feel like I can relax in that department now and just go with the motions.

On the way to a gig the other day we took a detour to Oxford street. Usually, I hate it there. The crowds are just not for me, my stress and anxiety levels go right up. I was feeling a little more confident on this particular day, that happens sometimes. Sometimes I feel like even though I'm anxious, that I could actually face the mission. (A mission in my eyes, okay).

My point was, I took some pictures and I wanted to share.

Over Christmas i'm going to try and blog more, I was going to go all out there and say i'm going to participate in Blogmas, but that seems like a commitment. Either way, I plan to take part in the online festivities! 

x

             

My Top 8 Album Releases of 2017

Were reaching the end of the year, which means theres no better thing to do than look back on a year of music. There's been releases that I have been eagerly anticipating and felt like it was all worth the wait, and there have been some where I have been not so much had that feeling of excitement, but been more than pleasantly surprised. 

There are more than just a handful of albums out this year that I would love to shine the light on. With the likes of August Burns Red, Stick To Your Guns, who just missed it out on a place in my top 8, it was tough to choose between a whole bunch of talented artists, which looking back has been an exciting year of music. 

So, lets begin.

8) Northlane - Mesmer 

I remember the day of this release, logging into youtube and seeing that Northlane had uploaded every song off Mesmer, and thinking what? I didn't even know they were writing new music? Turns out nobody did. It was an awesome surprise, and I loved the way that we had no clue or insight before hand about the album. We could just listen to the whole thing, with a clear head, and take it for what it was.

I enjoyed this album a lot. To me, at the time, Node let me down a little. Looking back now, I feel like as I was massively into Northlane from the beginning of their journey, Adrian leaving was probably still a bit sore. I wasn't quite ready for the transformation of old to new. But now, i've grown to appreciate new Northlane with Marcus, in a different light. And Mesmer was an art piece in itself.

7) Saviour - Let Me Leave

I have featured this album before, which you can read here. The thing that was most exciting about the release of Let Me Leave was the way in which we weren't expecting this to happen anytime soon. I myself wasn't seeing Saviour get back together anytime soon, but I was absolutely over the moon to hear when they announced that they were.

We've recently been given a new single by Saviour called Empty Skies, which hopefully promises a release of a new album in the works. The sound of the new song reminds my greatly of before the split, it has a From Light To My Death Bed feel to it. And if this is them returning back to their old sound, i'm extremely excited for whats to come. 

6) Novelists - Noir 

I absolutely LOVE this band. As far as my music tastes go, Novelists directly hit the nail on the head. I can only describe Noir as a follow up to their debut album Souvenirs. 

The songs on both Noir and Souvenirs could almost be on the same album, as they all share a particular sound. They have stayed with the style of their first album, stayed true to their roots, which personally made me very happy as I loved Souvenirs so much. (There is a lot of use of the word love here, I guess you can say I really did love it). 

5) Embracer - Gospel

This is my officially cheating this list. I guess you could call this a prediction as it isn't officially out yet. And hey, i've only heard one song. 

Embracer are a small band who i've been following for quite some time. They have released two E.Ps so far, but never a full length. The full length however is out on New Years Eve, so I'm predicting this is going to be an exciting start for music going into the next year.

The song we have heard however, is Below which you can find here go have a listen if you haven't already. I'm very excited for the release of this album, and I have set my hopes and expectations high. I'll come back to this in the new year, to give you my full verdict.  

4) Counterparts - You're Not You Anymore

It was just a few days ago I mentioned this album on here for the first time. After sitting and thinking about where to put Counterparts in my list, I decided it had to be pretty far up there. 

The main thing to mention here, is that I feel like they haven't even reached their peak yet. It almost feels like they are only just getting started, and if this is a start, well, that's saying something right? 

There is nothing quite like having a album you can listen to in it's entirety, not having that urge to skip a song, and looking forward to hearing every track. That's how I felt and still do with You're Not You Anymore. Check out my summary of them playing The Dome last week here.

I'm looking forward to seeing what 2018 brings these guys. 

3) New Found glory - Makes Me Sick 

It would be a bit silly of me not to include my main boys in my favourite albums of the year. Lets be honest here, it's never going to be my favourite NFG album of all time. Times have changed, they have grown older just like me and you, music is evolving. And i'm okay with that. 

What I loved about this album, was that you can't not be happy when listening to this album (just like every other NFG song / album ever). Okay, so there were a couple of songs on the album which I admit to me are skippable, but overall I was happy. 

Hearing a few of these songs played for the first time back in October was purely magical. Because hearing the crowd sing along to tracks from Makes Me Sick, was almost as if it was a track off one of the albums they were playing in full that night. People truly loved it, the old school fans loved it. You can't beat NFG fans, they are the best. 

2) In Hearts Wake - Ark

I should have probably just stuck to doing a top 10 favourite list of Australian releases from this year, as once again they seem to be dominating the post. 

I won't try and airbrush the fact I was skeptical about the release of Ark. It was one where I wasn't really sure what to expect, maybe even swaying towards the area of doubt rather than the latter. I remember getting my hands on the record, and my first reaction was being blown away with just how catchy song after song was, to then diving deeper into the album to listen along to the lyrical content and as always, they strike me.

I've always loved In Hearts Wake for more than just the energy behind them. On a more personal level, what they write about is about subject matters that are also close to my heart. I have similar beliefs to them, and when those beliefs and topics are put to music, it becomes something beautiful. 

I guess you could say in its own way, this album is my favourite release of the year, but for different reasons.

1) Ocean Grove - The Rhapsody Tapes

When I decided to put together my list, there was no doubt about it in my mind what ultimately struck me as being my favourite release of the year. A band who I had been into for quite some time before the release and was eagerly anticipating. A band I was lucky enough to see play their first headline UK show earlier this year, at the Black Heart; at a tiny sold out venue in London. From this moment I realised these guys are going to take the music scene by a storm - watch this space! 

I have already featured The Rhapsody Tapes on my blog before, which you can find here, so it will come as no surprise and I won't go off on one again about how much I loved this album, but it truly got me excited about music again, for the first time this year. 

..2018, what have you got for us?