Biffy Clyro- Only Revolutions Album Review.

It's no secret that I adore this band, and so the likelihood of me hating this album was slim, especially as all three singles so far have been belters. All that said, the stakes are high. Previous album was as close to aperfect album as any band in the past 10 years have created, so this one was going to have to be a brain melter, to not fall into the shadow of it's predescessor.

Thankfully, and unsurprisingly, it doesn't. From playful opener "Captain" with it's rocking rhythm and jovial vibe right through to a typically rousing closer in "Whorses", there really isn't a weak track on here.

Single "Mountains" is an obvious standout. It's chorus is in fact the size of mountains and it is with just deserve that it has become the bands most recognised track. Recent single "that golden rule" is less obvious, it's awkwards rhythms, but after a few spins you find more and more to love on it.

For me though the standout tracks on the album come when the band step out of their comfort zone a little. Bubbles is a beautifully simple little pop song, Josh Hommes stamp is all over it. The chorus is as simple as any written, but so infectious it will have you grinning from ear to ear. "Born On A Horse" is equally exciting, riding along on a skittering dance beat that grinds it's way into your brain gloriously. It's odd lyrics also standing out.

So does this top Puzzle? Well, I can't quite decide, but what I can say is that put the two together and Only Revolutions would not get lost. Beautiful and exciting in it's own right, it would appear Biffy have done it again.

Bon Jovi secret show?!

Wow! Let's put this in perspective. I have loved Bon Jovi for years. Fuck, who hasn't?! I've seen them at Wembley Stadium and at Twickenham Stadium. Both shows were amazing. I still have 7 of their albums on my Ipod. Their albums were, and remain, the soundtrack to me growing up. From the copy of New Jersey I bought from an online CD mail order company, to making my work colleagues want to kill me when I played Have A Nice Day for a month straight in the record store I worked it. The thing is, I even like shit Bon Jovi (except Bounce- surely no one likes that album?!)

So if you had told 15 year old that I would get to watch Bon Jovi play infront of roughly 800 people, I would have laughed in your face. This is truly surreal- last time I saw them, they were like ants on a stage with 1,000's of people between us. As brilliant as that spectacle is, tonight is something else. It's like watching a Bon Jovi covers act in a pub, but it's actually them.

Being truthful, the set is pretty dire. Being the promo stunt that it is to push the new album, it's new song heavy, but simply I don't care?! It's Bon Fucking Jovi and they're 10ft away from me. You Give Love A Bad Name sounds massive. An acoustic rundown of Livin On A Prayer is moving, and even recent tracks It's My Life and Lost Highway hit the spot. It really is going to take a lot to top tonight. 15 year old me would be so fucking jealous right now.

3OH!3 @ Electric Ballroom

What can I say about tonight. I went into it with something between utter indifference and straight up contempt for 3oh!3. Their geeky white rap has infuriated me since I first heard them. It's not even what they do or the style of music the play, more that I just don't think they are actually very good at their genre of choice.

Tonight goes someway to proving my previous feelings, but at the same time I find myself entertained and even enjoying the hour set. How?! Well, quite simply, a lot of the charm with this bands comes with the fact that they are not all that good. They are two underwhelming, white guys who in the quaint naffness somehow become charming and a joy to watch. Silly choreographed dance moves and big beats find me laughing and nodding my head. Other people are losing their minds to every song.

So where does it leave me? Well, I don't think I will be putting the record on anytime soon, much less buying it, but given the chance to see them again, I won't be pulling the same faces I did this time around. In fact, I might just go out of my way to be there!

Cancer Bats @ Brixton Academy

I miss the wonderful Canterbury tonight, which I am a little saddened about as their debut album (currently free to download from their myspace- I suggest you do so), is a belter.

Tonight for me is all about Cancer Bats. I love Billy Talent also, but on a Sunday evening I opt for an early one and head after the Bats storm Brixton!

It's an awkward start for the Liam Cormier and co. as guitarist Scobe's guitar fails to kcik in, dragging on their grand entrance. Ever the proffesionals, it is barely noticeable, and as the punishing opening riff of Hail Destroyer spills out, it is all forgotten. What follows is, by any other band sstandards a stormer of a set, but by Cancer Bats', it is merely good. It's by no means their fault as a painfully static audience refuses to respond to Liam's good time baiting banter and the band's monstrous songs. Their loss really as songs such as pneumonia hawk and a massive Lucifers Rocking Chair are undeniably brilliant perfectly combining crushing metal riffs with good time rock and roll vibes. New song Darkness, is a stormer too and bodes well for their iminent third album. It strays little from their tried and tested musical path, but then like AC/DC, why change what is perfect already?!

Fightstar @ Shepherds Bush Empire

Tonight's bill is as eclectic as it comes. It's also nice to see a UK band bringing out and supporting 3 other UK acts (four if you include Deaf Havana that have also been on select dates of this tour).

Prego open the day and go down a treat with a set of empassioned rock that whilst still not perhaps quite holding enough character to see them reach to Fightstar's level of success just yet, but does still display a depth of snogwriting lost on so many other bands around at the moment.

Young Guns need no introductions, as they have spent the last six months building a big name for themselves and tonights showing proves it is deserved, with a almighty wall of death and big songs seeing them warm the crowd up perfectly.

Saving Aimee are just not very good. In fact, maybe that's unfair, they just play music that I can't stand, and judging by the reception they receive, neither can the audience.

Fightstar, however, are on top form. They come out all guns blazing in full halloween garb, and pile through a set of hits that has their adoring crowd in fits. For me it is tracks from their latest album such as "Mercury Summer" and "Englsih Way" that really hit the spot, displaying perfectly where the band should be headed. They've proved their metal cred these days, and so can now just work on creating more songs as achingly brilliant as these.

The set feels short, but only in the best possible way, and as the band leave the stage triumphant after their biggest London show to date, it leaves me feeling very proud of the state of the UK music scene.

I arrive too late to catch opening band, The Friday Night Boys, already picking up a huge buzz in the States, judging by how busy their merch stall is they will be doing the same over here very soon.

The Audition are a band that need no introductions to the UK audience having toured here heavily for years. They've picked up a huge following from these repeated tours and it's displayed in the love they receive tonight. A shame then that the sound is so patchy, making it hard to pick out the brilliantly catchy choruses they are known for. Singer Danny's voice still shines through though and the crowd lap it up.

All Time Low are hot shit in the states. Right now it would appear that only Paramore match them for the adoration they receive from the teen pop punk masses over there. It's certainly starting to build over here too. The venue is utterly rammed, and the reception they receive as they hit the stage is deafening. They are often accused of taking all their cues from Blink 182 and between song banter and way around a catchy 3 minute pop tune could certainly supports this, but honestly they add a level of charm and genuine musical ability that banishes such accusations. Recent single Weightless and earlier hit Dear Maria stand out above all, but honestly there isn't a weak moment throughout their set, and the crowd here know it. Every chorus is sung back at full volume by the young crowd, and with the announcement that the band will be back in January on the Kerrang tour, it's a safe bet that they will be repeating their stateside success on these shores, and justly so!

Thrice - Beggars Album Review

I've been trying to write a review of this album for over a week now, and through repeat listens I'm trying to make my decision on it. Everything about how this album sounds is what I love in a band- overwrought dramatic soundscapes, pummelling riffs and a pained but never whiny voice. There is absolutely no denying the musical competency of all the band and Dustin Kensrue possesses one of the most underrated voices of our time, some thing he displayed perfectly on his country tinged solo album.

All this said, I'm still struggling to find a hook that sticks in my head. Obviously this is not what all albums are about, but I'm not looking for mile wide choruses just those moments of charm that make you go back to a song/album again and again. This separates a good album and a great album to me.

On repeat listens, I'm starting to find them. From the staccato drums that pile in opener, All The World Is Mad, to the subtle plucked guitar line that underpins the verse to The Weight (a song that beautifully explodes in the chorus). Circles is the first song to display Thrice's ability to bring the volume down a few notches and still be able to keep you listening. Wood And Wire and Exile also display the softer side of the band. In the case of In Exile, just when you start to get bored of it, the song breaks into the most incredibly lifting chorus of "whoahs". Definitely a stand out.

Talking Through The Glass/We Move Through Swing Sets feels a little one dimensional and lacks anything that makes it stand out, and after so many soft songs, The Great Exchange leaves me a little cold as well, possessing none of the charm of earlier tracks of the same pace. Closer Beggars however ends the album on a high. Opening softly and slowly building into a monster of a song, it displays Thrice, and Dustin's voice especially, at it's best.

Thrice long since took a step out of the scene that birthed them. Much like Brand New, they've created a niche all of their own, and a sound that is so distinctly theirs. After the epic scope of their previous Alchemy Index releases (2 sets of 2 mini albums) and the fact that they are probably never going to better "Artist In The Ambulance", Beggars was always going to be a tough release. It's a good album without doubt, but perhaps lacking the charm that will see listeners going back to it in years to come.