I love that all of Revenant's songs are relatable, you end up sitting there wondering if they somehow tapped into your head and wrote a song just for you. They write and sing from the heart making every song special in it's own way.
This song is mind blowing, it will have you toe tapping and head banging around the living room. I can't keep my bum still when listening to this tracker.
There are some seriously awesome guitar parts in this song, and after hearing it live, I can confirm, they are face melting! I love the drums as well, they are hard hitting and have a real marching feel to them.
I love this song, I asked the band about this song in our recent interview and Sam said that he started writing it because his wife had a friend who had some personal issues and the song was so that she knew they were there for her. It's a beautiful song and I feel like it could be used by anyone to let someone know they are there for them when they don't know how to put it into words themselves.
OMG the guitars on this track are super sexy! This is the song that you NEED to hear live because it is the song that will have every part of you dancing around the room or standing like a rock star playing air guitar. Sing with me "she's sex! sex with no substance. She'll leave you begging for more!"
I am not going to lie, this song does bring tears to my eye. You really need to listen to the lyrics. "Do you ever feel time pass you by and bring you to your knees. moments fly right by in the blink of an eye and it's time for us to leave." It make me think of people that I miss either by them passing away or because we just haven't had the time to see each other
Overall, this is a frigging awesome EP, the pure musical talent of these 4 guys is outstanding and they are only going all the way to the top.
The Freemasons Arms in Snodland is a seriously underrated pub. Everyone is super friendly, they have a lovely big outdoor area and the food is always delicious. I've never had a bad experience in this pub.
I've had a few different meals there now and each one has been really enjoyable. I particularly liked the lamb roast that I had on my last visit. Everything was cooked perfectly and well presented.
My husband's favourite meal is the steak pie because the plate is topped high with mash and the pie is filled with big chunks of meat. I don't think I have ever seen him finish everything on the plate.
My mum's favourite is the shepherds pie, unless we go in on a Sunday and then she will have the roast.
I do love that they are happy for adults to have the child's meals too, my mum finds adult portions too much for her so it was nice that she could have a child's roast.
The prices are really good as well, in a time when some restaurants and pubs are putting up their prices for food, the Freemasons prices are very agreeable and the food is well worth the price.
It can get very busy, especially on a Sunday so make sure you call up to book a table.
What started off as an idea for a gig movie soon became a piece of art after several issues, setbacks and the band having to get seriously creative.
The original plan for the band, Medusa, was to do a gig on a boat and film it so that they could turn it into a gig movie. A excellent idea and they had every set up and ready to go, until the night before the gig. The sound engineer for the gig called and cancelled due to a medical emergency. This left the band hardly any time to find a new sound engineer that was available to work the gig, bring a full sound system onboard, as there wasn't one available on the boat and record the audio from the gig. This problem was quickly solved and everyone could get excited again about the gig.
The next morning, the band set everything up on the boat, fans started arriving, there was excitement in the air as everything looked like it was going to be a huge success. And then the band sat down to review the footage from the 4 cinema cameras they had used and found that 2 of the camera operators had overexposed the footage so much that the footage was almost completely white making it unusable.
To make up for the missing footage, the band organised a second gig at a disused nuclear bunker in London. They invited their fans to go along to the gig with the promise of free beer and being filmed as members of the audience, forever making them part of the film.
Unfortunately, that still didn’t give them all the footage they needed, so they set up a third gig at the legendary Dublin Castle in Camden. Everything was going great until it turned out that there was a double booking at the venue and everyone got kicked out before the end of the gig.
They were running out of options to get footage, so they decided on a completely different approach by buying and customising a puppet to look exactly like Julian. It even had a replica of his outfit and his guitar from the boat gig.
What they thought would be simple process turned out to be the most demanding part of the entire process. For over six months, a small team helped Julian painstakingly modify the puppet for each scene an frame. The moving puppet scenes ended up being just as time-consuming as all the gig shoots combined, but it worked and was a brilliant addition to the film.
The film also has a cartoon sequence of the band members causing chaos around London on the morning of the original gig on the boat and photos of places specific to the band's history.
Although it was a lot of extra hard work, I feel that each element in the film are what make it so interesting and enjoyable to watch. You can see the effort that everyone went to in order to make something that no one had ever done before.
I'm not surprised that the film has had a lot of interest from the BFI and Sky Arts and I really I hope it's popularity continues to grow.
For 16 nights from the 18th of April to the 4th of May, my husband and I stayed in a bedsit in a lovely French town called Évreux which I booked through Booking.com.
We were very comfortable in the bedsit, it was advertised as an apartment but I feel it's more like a bedsit as it was 2 rooms and 1 of them was the bathroom.
The bedsit is a good size, we did not feel closed in, there was lots of room to move around. The main room fills with light from the sun in the mornings so we would put the shutters halfway down the windows at night so the sunshine didn't wake us up in the mornings. The shutters also kept the room quite cool when they were down on really sunny days. We would make sure the shutters were down when we went out so the bedsit was really cool when we got back.
We felt very safe because to get to it, you have to go through a coded gate which takes you into a courtyard and then the bedsit is in the corner with shutters over both the windows. There are a few other little bedsits/apartments, not sure how many but we think there was at least 4. We didn't really see anyone else.
The garden is a beautiful suntrap that is kept tidy by a couple who live in the complex. It was mainly grass with some bushes and flowers along the edges. There are large wheelie bins across the courtyard for rubbish which is separated out to cardboard, plastic and general waste. Glass goes in one of the glass recycling stations round the corner from the building.
The wardrobe is 2 large shelves and then a big section at the bottom with hangers, but that was our only storage so some of our bags stayed packed, it would have been nice to have a chest of drawers to put some of our clothes and personal items.
The bed was very comfortable but I wish I had brought some pillows from home as there weren't many on the bed but that is a personal preference. There was little tables either side of the bed as well as bedside tables and there was a set of plug sockets on 1 side.
The bathroom is a good size with a nice sized shower, heated towel rail, vanity sink and toilet. There were bottles of shower gel, soap and shampoo as well as a hairdryer.
There was not any cleaning products to help keep the apartment clean so we brought a bottle of bleach for the toilet, bin bags and a dust pan and brush.
There is a nice little table and 2 chairs where we could eat meals or just sit to watch TV. There is a lovely big full length mirror as well in the corner to check yourself out before going out 😁.
The kitchen comes with everything you need, plates, bowls, strainer, cutlery, glasses, scissors, a bottle opener, a bottle of washing up liquid, mugs and chopping board. There is an electric hob with 2 rings and a microwave for cooking. The coffee machine is a Dolce Gusto, there are some pods left for us but they are easy to pick up in Carrefour if you want more. There is a space where I think a washing machine once stood, we used for our shopping bags and large bottles of water.
The location is great, there are lots of shops, bars and restaurants only a few minutes walk away. There is a beautiful big cathedral you can visit as well as a clock tower and a big town square in front of the Hòtel De Ville with a big fountain. Be careful where you park as the street parking machines don't recognise UK number plates, go to the car park for Hòtel De Ville as that accepts UK cars and is quite cheap. You get a ticket when you drive in and then pay at the machine by the barrier on the way out.
Evreux is also only an hour from Paris on the train, we went to Paris for 2 days and going by train was super easy. But if you decide to go by Paris by train, book the tickets as soon as possible because they get more expensive the closer you get to your travel date. We found the cheapest tickets on the Trainline website.
The nearest laundromat is only a few streets away, it is called Laverie Libre Service Evreux. There is no attendant, is it all done electronical, so you go to the machine near the entrance and select the service you want, such as the washing machine, pick your settings, the machine you want to use and then pay using your card. There is a machine to buy washing powder, etc if you hadn't brought your own. You go to the machine you selected, put your clothes in and press the button for it to start. It's all very straight forward to use.
Parking outside the complex is free but if you end up going too far along the road, you will get charged, so make sure that you either park right outside the building in the pink circle or round the back in the yellow circle. If you park round the back, there is a French lady who will not be pleased if you park in her parking space so try to stay in the yellow circle and not go all the way to the end.
When Asomvel annoucned they were doing a tour, I knew straight away that I would be going to at least one of the gigs because my husband, Sean, is a huge fan and got me onto the band. What I didn't expect was to see a gig at Leo's Red Lion in Gravesned (my hometown and half away from where I live now) on a Friday and The Underworld in London the following night on the Saturday.
All Sean had to do was say he would like to go and I had tickets booked for both nights as soon as I was able to. He was a little confused as to why we were going 2 nights in a row on the same tour, but he was soon fine with it once I reminded him that he was going to see one of the best bands on the scene at the moment twice.
We arrived at the Red Lion before the support band, Devere, started. I will be completely honest, I couldn't gel with their music. I listened for a few songs and I just couldn't get on with them and couldn't figure out why, so I got out of the way of the people who did like them and went to the bar.
I love that the intro music for Asomvel is the Rocky theme song, I havlfexpected the band to run onto the stage with their arms in the arm, but instead they burst onto the stage full of energy, which they carried throughout the whole show.
I have to bow down to these guys, the music was super tight, there was not a note played wrong all the way through the set and they just didn't stand still for a second. Lenny, Ralph and Stel were running around the stage every chance they got when they weren't singing into a microphone. It feels like they just love to be up close and personal with everyone in the crowd so they move around making sure that everyone gets to see them no matter where they stand.
Half way through the gig, Sean disappeared to the bar for a drink and on his way back, ended up having to stand a few rows of people behind me. As I was standing on my own, and the fact that a guy that was over 6 feet tall was in front of me, I decided to weave my way through the crowd to see how close to the stage I could get. I ended up right down the front on the left side of the stage and had the best view of the stage.
Asomvel were absolutely amazing, they had everyone jumping around and whipping their hair from start to finish. I checked the app for my watch after the gig and in their hour set, I had done over 4000 steps. Just from dancing around and having the best time ever!
After the gig, we went outside and the band were taking pictures with fans. How awesome is that? Fresh off the stage and the band are found chatting and having pictures done with fans. Not many bands do that and I love that these guys do it because they are so lovely to talk to.
Saturday morning, I wake up and there was still a slight ringing in my ears but smiled because I knew that I would be reliving the night before again that very night.
As the gig was in Camden, Sean and I decided to go up early in the day so we could walk round Camden. We hadn't been there is years and wanted to see how it had changed. I booked us a parking space on someone's driveway through Your Parking Space and struck gold with a space a few minutes walk from The underworld for the day for £18.
After a day of wandering around Camden, eating and drinking and way through the market, we ended up in The Worlds End where we got to meet other Asomvel fans and chat to them about their gigs.
When the doors opened, we joined the queue outside and the excitement started in my belly, but the excitement wasn't just about getting to see the legendary Asomvel. That night I had a photo pass so I was finally going to get to take photos at an Asomvel gig. I'd seen them twice before and didn't have a photo pass so didn't have my camera with me, believe me when I say that it kills my soul when I'm at a gig without my camera as all I want to do it take photos of all the beautiful moment that happen.
Although the venue isn't very big, but I am short, I got chatting to a lovely guy in the front row called Ace (check him out as he is a photogragher too and he is amazing), who agreed to let me go in front of him for the first 2 songs of Asomvels set. This would give me time to get some up-close and personal pictures of the band before moving around the room to take more pictures.
I was standing to the left of the stage by the second bar when Devere came on and I don't know what they were doing differently to the night before, but they were a lot better. I found myself really getting into them more than the night before.
Watching the singer dance is quite interesting, it's like the music takes him over, he struts around the stage and twitches all while belting out some serious notes. If I had to compare them to another band, I would say Motley Crue, especially when you see all the girls down the front loving every second haha.
When Devere were finished, I went to find Ace and he kept his promise to let me in front of him so I was standing right in front of the stage when the band, once again, came bursting onto the stage to start another night of amazing frigging music.
I kept my promise to only be at in front of Ace for the first 2 songs before slipping out of his way to leave him to enjoy the rest of the gig. I moved around the room picking spots for me to stop in and take more pictures of the band before getting back to Sean to enjoy the rest of the gig.
It was yet again another night feels with perfectly performed music and the best atmosphere where everyone was just there to listen to the band and have fun. All too soon the set was over, the band left the stage and we were making our way through Camden to get to our caar to drive home.
If you ever get the chance to see these guys live (they still have quite a few gigs left to do this year), get that ticket and go have one of the best nights of your life rocking out with Ralph, Lenny, Stel and Ryan.
Harvester is one of those restaurant chains where you know what you are getting for your money. It's not expensive but the food is good and there is a great selection.
The Running Horse is the closest Harvester to Maidstone and even though it has quite a big car park across the road, it still gets so busy that people have to park in the road. This is why it is best to book a table as soon as you know you are going to go there to eat, it's easy to book on the Harvester App.
My favourite thing to have is the unlimited salad bar because there is everything that I love, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, beetroot, onions, sweetcorn, peppers, and cucumber. There is coleslaw, potato salad and pasta salad. There are toppings like croutons, onion flakes, bacon-flavored bits, raisins, and black olives, and the dressings are honey and mustard, blue cheese, red devil (my fave) and thousand island. Plus, you can also get white and brown rolls.
What I like to do is get the salad as a main as it's only £4.99 and then there is an offer on the starters where you get 3 plates for £14.99 or 4 plates for £17.49 so I can get 3 plates of chicken wings.
If I don't fancy chicken wings and want an actual meal, I have the Harvester Trilogy as it's ribs, roast chicken and rump steak. My husband loves the Mixed Grill, depending on how hungry he is, is will either order the normal Mixed Grill or the Mega Mixed Grill.
One other thing that I always get is the unlimited soft drinks because you can get some amazing flavoured drinks from the dispensers and have as much as you want. I always go for Pepsi Max with strawberry, believe me, it's amazing.
On Thursday the 4th of September, I had the pleasure of going to the Old Brewery Store in Faversham for a night of amazing music.
AK And The Red Kites
These guys rocked the room form the start of their set to the end. Every band member played each song perfectly, keeping the full attention of the room. The feel good atmoshere from the band and the music could be felt everywhere in the room. And I would know as I moved around a lot taking pictures haha.
AK's guitar playing is amazing! I was mesmorised watching him during his guitar solos, I really admire anyone who has dedicated their lives to playing an instrument that beautifully.
The band treated us to some of their new songs, so the set list was a good mix of new and old songs.
I would love to see them again to experience it all again.
Set List
Devil's Stomp
Can't You See
Proverbial Storm
Good Time Roller
Baby Don't Love Me
Tear It Up
We Belong
Stronger
Karmic Rituals
Control The Animal
Cosmic Train
Wolf Moon
Revenant
From start to finish, there wasn't a bum that wasn't wiggling, a toe that wasn't tapping or a head that wasn't nodding to the beat. There was such a great atmosphere in the room as the crowd seemed deeply invested in every note that was being played.
Which I totally got because my body was doing all sorted wiggling and tapping, making it difficult for me to try and take pictures haha. I had to kep telling myself to stay still or I would hate myself later when it came to editing and everything was super blured.
I love the amount of songs that they have in their set that they have written for friends and loved ones, particually around mental health, Sam mentioned that one song was one that he wrote for a friend who didn't want to be here anymore.
It isn't hard to see that the whole band has the most amazing chemistry when they are on stage.
I didn't expect the mash up of AC/DC and Queen, and I tell you what, it worked!! Most of the mash ups I've heard have been recordings, I've heard very few live and this was one of the best mash ups I've ever heard. It was the music from Back In Black and the words from We Will Rock You, and a few Back In Black words too. It wasn't long enough through, I wanted to hear more of it.
I'm already planning to see Revenant again anf funny enough it will be at the Old Brewery Store in Favershame again when they supporting Preacher Stone on tour. That is going to be one hell of a gig.
For those of you that know me, you know how much I love Lost Zone, so I don't need to tell you how excited I was when I found out that they would be going on Tour with Halflives AND they would be coming to the UK.
The only issue was that when I looked at the dates, I was going to be going on holiday half way through the UK part of the tour, frustrated is not enough to cover how I felt. Especially because I was only going to get to see them in Bristol and Birmingham. But, after some careful planning and me having to do a bit of begging, I also got to see them in Paris.
But when happened at those gigs?? Here is my fan diary
Tuesday 15th April
It felt like the longest day at work, instead of doing my usual 9am-5pm, I had worked out cover for the last half an hour of the day so I could work 8:30am-4:30pm. I wanted to get to Bristol as quickly as possible with the least amount of chance of traffic so I thought leaving half an hour earlier would give me an advantage. And it did, because of that half an hour, I got to Bristol at 7:40pm instead of almost 9pm.
I parked in an NPC car park that was only a few minute walk from the Ibis Temple Mead Hotel that I had booked. I was getting checked in when I got a message from Lost Zone saying that had been delayed in customs and they were still an hour away from Bristol. My poor lads were going to be getting to the city very late, not the best first day in the UK for them.
I went up to my room and started unpacking, I got my camera bag out to double check I had everything charged for the gig, I had my lenses, the extra battery, leads, etc but....... no camera. I franticly looking everywhere, including my car and the route between the hotel and car, but couldn't find it anywhere. Sean found it on the sofa at home, it must have fallen out when I picked up the bag at home. Not going to lie, I cried like a baby, I had waited so long to get the chance to photograph the lads and I had managed to fuck it up. Disappointed was not the word, what an end to the day.
Wednesday 16th April - Bristol Gig Day
Woke up still feeling like a complete plonker, I got showered, dressed and just as I was about to leave to go for a walk, the drilling started. The hotel was having new cladding to the outside of the building and they were working on the side that I was staying in. It actually sounded like they were on the other side of the wall.
I went walking in the direction of the venue for the gig, I hadn't been there before so wanted to make sure I knew where I was going. I found it a lot quicker than I thought I would so I went off for a walk to explore Bristol. I didn't want to go far as my friend Roxxi was on her way from Cardiff and didn't fancy rushing back because I had gone wandering too far.
I was walking along a road that runs along the back on the venue when I got to a big car park and heard "Suzy" to my right, I looked up and it was Lost Zone. They were parked up at the back of the car park so I walked round to the entrance and up to their van to say hello. It was so surreal seeing them in person, the last time I had seen them was a year before so deep down I was fangirling, but I stayed cool lol.
They showed me the inside of their van, it had 6 bunks at the back for them to sleep in, they looked so small but the lads assured me that they are OK to sleep on. The seats looked quite comfortable as well, they needed some comfort for all the driving they would be doing. I also got to meet Alex who was the merchant guy and photographer, and Ben who was the sound tech for most of this tour.
As a surprise, I had face masks of Simon made for them as I didn't want them missing him while they were on tour lol. Simon is the drummer but he couldn’t be on the tour. So I got them to line up and close their eyes while I got the masks out of my bag. Alex filmed it for me and then they used the footage in one of their Tiktok videos. Needless to say, they loved the masks, they even put 2 of them on the head rests in the front of the van so it looked like Simon and his twin were sitting in the front seats.
I said goodbye to them as I didn't want to take up too much of their time and started walking back to the venue, I thought I would chill out there until I knew Roxxi was close and then I could go and meet her.
A little while later, I got a message from Roxxi that she was 10 minutes away so I went to meet her and we went to the hotel to chill out. The drilling was still going on so we weren't there long, we got changed and then headed back out.
We were chilling out on a bench next to the venue, chatting away, when a familiar van pulled up and 5 handsome men jumped out to start loading their gear into the venue. One of them had to stay in the van in case they had to move the van. Roxxi hadn't met the band before so when they had finished unloaded, I got to introduce them all to her. I had been telling her all about them for so long that it was such a special moment that she got to meet them
People started to arrive at about 5pm and then all of a sudden, it was time for us to go in. I managed to get to the front row even though there had been people with VIP tickets that went in before us. There was a really lovely girl who we had been speaking to outside and she had saved me the spot.
I looked at the set list and I was so happy to see that Burst Like Dynamite was on the set list. It’s one of my favourite songs and hadn’t heard them play it live yet.
I could see the boys standing to the side of the stage waiting to go on. I was nervous because I wanted the crowd to really like them and excited because I was finally at another gig. Then I saw Tobi get behind the drums, the lights went down and the intro started. My heart was racing, I thought my chest would explode, then Andre appeared on stage, followed by Sebi, Flo popped up on stage and the music kicked in, the gig was starting!!! OMG. It honestly felt like a dream looking up at them and watching them perform.
I was screaming the lyrics, and loved that a few times Flo would come to stand on the platform in front of me and we would scream the lyrics to each other. When Burst Like Dynamite came on, I threw my phone to Roxxi so that I didn’t drop it as I just wanted to feel every moment and note of that song.
Then Flo started to tell the audiance that they were going to perform Blacked Out and that it was their last song. My heart sank as the time had gone too quickly, it felt like they had only been on stage for 2 minutes and they were already going. I put a smile on my face but I felt like crying, I wasn’t ready for them to finish their set yet, I was having too much fun. it didn’t seem fair.
Once the song was over, Roxxi and I moved out of the way so that the people behind us could take our places at the front. We had spoken to them before the gig started so they knew we would move out the way for them.
We were walking out to merch when I looked round and saw Andre was walking behind us, so I grabbed him and gave him a big hug. I was so proud of them for putting on such an amazing performance. There was loads of people coming out to speak to the boys before Halflives started so Roxxi and I decided to go and sit near the boy, we didn’t want to be in the way and knew that we would have our chance to talk to them later on.
This video is from the Lost Zone Tiktok account
Towards the end of the night, Andre came up to us looking very serious. We asked him what was wrong and he said that the car park where they had parked the van in had a height restriction after a set time, so they were now technically locked in the car park until the morning. I seriously thought he was joking at first as I didn’t know the height restriction on car parks after a set time was a thing.
This video is from the Lost Zone Tiktok account
The car park wasn’t far away from the venue but it was far enough away that it was a pain in the arse to get all their gear back to the van, so I offered to go get my car and take their gear in loads to the van for them. We did it in 3 loads in the end so didn’t take us long, I dread to think how long it would have taken them if I hadn’t been there to help.
Thursday 17th April - Birmingham Gig Day
Woke up in a bit of a daze it took me a minute to realise what happened the night before. I rolled over to see Roxxi in the other bed and knew it hadn't been a dream.
I was so happy to hear that she had had a great time at the gig and really liked the band. Looks like I will have a gig buddy next time they come to the UK.
Birmingham isn’t a long drive from Bristol, it’s only about an hour and a half so I took my time driving there. I’d found a car park in a church next to the Birmingham O2 Academy that was cheap so I parked up and chilled out. I felt tired so I tried to have a nap but people kept walking past so that idea didn’t last long.
I was just thinking of going and sitting by the main door of the O2 when I looked up the road and saw the Lost Zone van turn up. I went over to say hello and chatted to them before they were due to go load in their gear to the venue.
I went round and sat by the door watching them loading in and remembered that I had got them light up guitar picks so I gave them to Flo so he could have 1 and then give 1 to Andre and 1 to Sebi.
I was at the front of the line again, so even with the VIP people going in before me, I still got to the front row but to the right hand side this time, which is Sebi’s side.
I saw Tobi come out first and go behind the drums, so I knew it was almost time. The intro music started and I felt just as excited as I had the night before. Out came Andre, Sebi, then Flo and another awesome set started again.
I saw singing (badly), screaming, cheering and dancing to every song again. Their energy just completely engulfed me and for half an hour, there was nothing else in this world except me and them. Total bliss.
The stage was a lot bigger than the night before so it was good to see them dancing around more on stage without bumping into each other. It
When the set was over, I came my place to the people behind me and went to find the merch stand. I was standing talking to Alex and I felt someone put their arm round my shoulders and found it was Andre. I gave him a massive hug and told him that they had done another awesome set. And it showed because it felt like everyone in the venue wanted to come and speak to them.
Because I was going on holiday the next day, I had to leave by 10pm so that I could drive home. I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to go onto the next 3 gigs with them but I did leave after giving them all more hugs and had a little cry in the car.
Wednesday 23rd April - Paris
I was so excited for this gig because I was taking my husband with me, he was finally going to meet the boys and see what I had been going on about. We got to Paris early in the morning and went straight to the Eiffle Tower. It was raining so fun fun fun, anyway, I’m standing there going through the pictures I have taken and I hear “Suzy!” I look up, and there is Andre and Alex. I waved to them and Sean said “Who is that?” I found it funny that in city as big as Paris, I end up in the same place as one of Lost Zone and it wasn’t anywhere near the gig venue.
After a day of sightseeing, we went to our hotel, got changed and headed out to the gig. I was in the line when I look round and see Andre, Alex and Sebi walking towards the venue.
There was quite a few people that went in for VIP so I was a little bit worried about getting front row but I had nothing to worry about. Petit Bain is a boat with the venu inside and downstairs with a bar on the top floor and ground level. It is so much bigger than it looks on the outside, the venue part is huge so when I ran in, I saw that the front row was already taken up except for 1 little empty space on the very far right. I got over there and claimed my spot so quick, you would of thought I was made of lightening lol.
There was an extra support band called Little Ghost that started off the night before Lost Zone’s set, so I got to see the lads setting up their gear which is something I hadn’t been able to see before.
I had been telling everyone stood around me how awesome Lost Zone was so it was good too look around during the first song and see so many people smiling and dancing along to them. The way I saw it was that if they get more fans, they will get the recognision they deserve for their music and I get more gigs to go to. It’s a win win situation.
I was so happy to see how much the crowd reacted to them. People jumping, cheering, really getting into the music.
I was feeling a little emotional for this gig as I knew if was the last gig that I wouldn't be seeing the boys for a while. I took in every second of the performance and loved that from my spot at the side of the stage, I could see each of them clearly.
I went to the merch stall after their set but it was just Andre that came out. They had a 7 hour drive that night to next gig so they were planning on leaving as soon as they were able to so the others were loading the trailer. So once everyone had turned round for Halflive's set, Andre went backstage so that he could help.
I noticed in the toilet that there was loads of bands tickers all over the wall so I grabbed some of the Lost Zone stickers and made sure there was one in each of the cubicles and by the mirror lol.
Sean and I went upstairs to the bar and were enjoying a few coktails while when Flo, Ben and Tobi walked in to order food. We got to have a nice chat with them and then realised that Halflives would be finishing their set soon so Sean and I went down the venue stairs while the lads got their food and went another way.
When Halflives were finished, I loved seeing everyone crowding around Lost Zone, so many people all wanting to buy merch, talk to the lads and get pictures with them. I waited until everyone else was gone and then stepped forward to have my picture and chat with them. I got them all to sign my Lost Zone t-shirt as well so I could put it in a box frame when I got home.
And then it was that time again, time to say goodbye to them all and wish that the next gig would come around quickly. I gave them all a massive hug and left with Sean.
I still can’t believe that it has been 15 years since the girls burst onto our screen and impressed everyone with their music. I honestly didn’t think they would be around for long and I am quite happy that they have proved me wrong.
Metal Forth is an awesome album with some seriously amazing collaborations that have made their way very quickly onto my favourites list.
From Me To U feat Poppy was an awesome choice to start the album with, I love the beautiful harmonies and then screaming which all go together perfectly with a fantastic beat to make you want to sit and hear what the rest of the album is like.
Absolutely love Ratatatata with Electric Callboy! This song is the collaboration that I have been waiting forever for, it’s on my gym playlist, it’s on my favourites playlist and it’s on my working on my own playlist for when I’m working from home and can blare out the songs that can’t be contained by headphones. It makes me want to dance around the room, kicking my legs out and waving my arms around. Yes, I do have terrible dance moves lol.
Song 3 with Slaughter To Prevail is one of my favourite tracks on the album, you don’t just head-bang to it, you head-smashing to it because that’s the level that it takes you to. You just want to grab hold of something solid and give yourself the most severe whiplash you will ever get.
When Sunset Kiss with Polyphia came on, I thought my laptop had somehow skipped the other songs or I had activated an ad for a holiday show, but then the beat kicked in and I was like “ok, I get what they did”. The 2 styles of music go together really well and give you a sort of heavy metal dance track.
When Metal with Tom Morello started, I thought it was another Bloodywood song but then it developed into this awesome song that got my bum wiggling. It's not like the rest of the songs on the album, it's not full on heavy metal and there isn't any screaming but it still gets me going with a wicked beat.
You all need to listen to this album, it is full of brilliant songs that you will put on repeat. It comes out on Friday the 8th of August so make sure you pre-save!!!
***Originally posted on my music blog Suzy's Musical World
The moment that we were all dreading has arrived, the passing of the legend, Ozzy Osbourne.
The man that took the music industry, spun it around and then bite off it's head passed away surrounded by his family in his hometown Birmingham. Where just a few weeks ago, he played his final show at Villa Park.
I only found out last night when I walked out of the gym to find my husband in a state of shock. When I asked him what was wrong, he showed me his phone screen and I saw the social media post that announced Ozzy's passing. I didn't believe it at first, I didn't think it would actually ever happen.
I got in my car to drive home and it just kept going over and over in my head "he's gone, he's actually gone", and I burst into tears. I was never a massive fan of Ozzy's but I loved him as an artist and respected him for everything that he had done for the music industry. He wanted to make music his way and he did that for his whole career.
You only have to look at his list of awards to see how much the man achieved in his 76 years. Legend Of Live Award from the Billboard Touring Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, he was in the WWE Hall OF Fame, he had his own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and Birmingham Walk Of Stars, he's in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame twice, the UK Music Hall Of Fame twice, the Living Legend award from the Classic Rock Awards, he even won the Godlike Genius Award and Hero Of The Year from NME. The list goes on and on but the point I am trying to make is that he was the true meaning of the word legend.
From starting Black Sabbath in 1968, all the way up to his final show just weeks ago, he was the ultimate showman. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform a few times and each time I was blown away by him, the show and how much the crowd loved him. To him, it was all about that music and doing what he loved.
From everyone here at Suzy's Musical World, we will never forget you Ozzy, you will live on in all of us and we will keep your music and legacy alive forever.
***Originally posted on my music blog Suzy's Musical World
