Land of Blind -
This is the age of deceit
This is the time of lies
we see our freedoms demise
What can we do?
Nothing we can do.
Time to start anew
In the age of the blind
its cruel and unkind
in a time where choice is free
but we are ruled by apathy
in a time of lies
illusions cause demise
nothing we do
Time to start new.
As we tear down the old
to bring us out from the cold
everyone must be involved
In this time of lies
freedoms swift demise
in the land of the blind
A world turned unkind
This crazy land of the blind
Find a way to free your mind
Black Books
It started when man was young
It infected every tongue
It was carried through the years
Its been the cause of many tears
Evil comes in many forms
Even if a page is torn
It grips you with its promise
forces you to acknowledge
The power within these Black books
Is like nothing else on Earth
The power within these black books
Is the biggest evil on the earth
The power within the black books
Sinks in with its hooks
The power within the black books
stays with you on your time on earth
until you try to break the curse
Free yourself
The Eyes are watching
The eyes are always watching
Too ignorant to care
The eyes are always watching
Its become a full on stare
The eyes are always watching
Nowhere to hide
The eyes are always watching
Your free when youve died
When you walk
And if you talk
You must expect
They will inspect
When you walk
And if you talk
You must expect
They will inspect
Problem is you cant be sure
Who or what it is they saw
So try to always be aware
Of that terrible stinking
Invisible stare
Invisible stare
Invisible stare
The eyes are always watching
The eyes see everything.
Comes from Inside
It comes from Inside
Its a Nations pride
It comes from Inside
Innocence has died
Fear is the aim
Its all a big game
The purpose is clear
We cant avoid being here
It comes from Inside
Freedom has died
It comes from inside
Nowhere to hide
Many believe the lies
Its the perfect disguise
Nothing can be done
They want us all to run
It comes from inside
The perfect place to hide
It comes from inside
Lets blow it open wide
Shadowplay
Everybody its getting worse
Plucking into the peoples purse
whats it called when we are made to pay
for the mistakes of those who control shadowplay
Forcing the weak
into being more meek
battering the poor
till they struggle no more
shadowplay is the way
its how its played out
shadowplay is the way
there is no more doubt
Bonecrusher
Like the Grinding of Bone
there is something to atone
they are crushing the weak
they havnt hit their peak
Whats next when all are gone
whats the next target to move along
whats left when all stripped bare
only the mind is left to repair
the human soul is put behind
green is all on their mind
like the grinding of bone
there is a penance to atone
in matters of love and life
all are stabbed with a knife
the human condition is sick
we arnt in on the trick
like the grinding of bone
there is something to atone
time to rise and fight
use all our power and might
make that grip less tight
Fight!
Peace through Tyranny
There are ways to do what needs to be done
ways to benefit everyone
peace through tyranny
sacrificing the needs of many
there must be a better way
we have the power to make them pay
using the hearts of the good
just like the old heroes would
we can help those in need
we can help those who bleed
we must unite in peace
we must let heroes say thier piece
it runs thick in our blood
but we can fight through the mud
to come out on top, together as one
we can undo the damage thats been done
Disclosure
Keeping it quiet for many years
saving mankind from all the tears
do they have our best interests at heart
maybe they should ask us, thatd be a start
beliving in something has become a crime
lets all come out with it and do our time
at least there are some willing to say
we all know the truth together one day
Gold future
Faceless drones fill our screens
Manless drones cause mass screams
something has to give
something has to break
something to shudder us awake
we lost without a care
our future children must beware
and uprising will come one day
we will have to make them pay
they will go too far in our name
to them war is just a game
you can find your path to the light
you can join together in might
you can learn to read and write
you can find the real truth despite
no more faceless drones
no more manless drones
Sickness
You hurt others cus they aint the same
Small minded views help you place blame
You think your always in the right
You miss the point from a great height
we should all be free to live our own way
differences between us are like night and day
your own sickness is preaching hate
love is stronger, open your mind before its too late
Death of Autonomy
Corruption of the soul for monetary gain
Destruction of the mind for control minus pain
Autonomy of the self, wrapped up in lies
Freedom of thought, cutting all ties
Power and lust is not the real aim
Being one with nature, thats the real claim
Minds Eye
They poison our kids minds
They start wars based on lie
They take away rights
They distort our minds eye
Who will stand up
Who will say no
Enough is enough
They have to go
We are the young and angry
We are the young and awake
We are here to fight back
We are here to retake
We are not the only ones
We are the real power
We are not alone
This is our final hour
Sad Future
Do you recall when the world was free
History tells us it wasnt meant to be
First they took away our rights
Then they took the will to fight
Here and now its too far gone
We didnt stop them before it was done
Back then the choices were clear
Rise together as peer to peer
Now its too late, the fight has been lost
The future isnt ours, that was the cost
I wish we had awoken to the powers that control
Risen and changed the path for all
Our future is dead we are lost souls
Slaves to the powers, empty shells
I look back and hope the future can be changed
I wish this path was rearranged
Ashes
Ashes of the old life
Ashes of the lonely ones
Ashes of the innocent
Remnants of that day
Ashes of the Dead
Ashes of the left behind
Ashes of the life that was
Remnants of that day
Bodies scattered across the scape, bones and dirt left awake
Burnt and sordid crumbling flesh, frozen in time, Nothing left.
Tainted Legacy
It runs deep in his blood
It Cannot be broken
It goes against his will
It goes unspoken
Tainted Legacy
Hidden Within
Tainted Legacy
Evil to Begin
Acts of Horror
Grimly Devised
Acts of Horror
Past Revised
Can he break the chain
Can he be free
Seeing the mistakes of old
Is the only way to be
Cracking the Shell
Cracking the shell
Let the poison sink in
Cracking the shell
Flowing evil within
Green Machine, Swallowing whole
Green Machine, Dirty black hole
Corruption at high level
Making friends with the devil
Demon in the system
Clockwork like a piston
Can we save it now
is it too far gone
Can we save ourselves
Reverse whats been done
Green machine, War machine dirty black hole
Green machine, War machine, swallowing whole
Crack the shell
Break the cycle
Bring forth hell
End of lifes circle
Smear and Blacken
Smear and blacken
Distort and twist
Filthy animals
Karma exists
Above Morals
Above taste
Power corrupts
One more case
Innocence forgotten
The victims of sin
Innocence forgotten
The hatred within
Untouchable by law
Hiding from sight
Treated like a whore
Using all their might
Fear will catch out
Witchhunts will win
Karma exists
Innocence within
Cosmic Annihilation
Fragments of Dust
Specks in the air
cosmic matter
visually impaired
smaller than belief
affairs so pointless
drops in the ocean
we let anger define us
What unites us destroys us
What leads us poisons us
there has to be a unity
some will call it mutiny
we feel it build up
the end is coming
feel it in our souls
the pain is numbing
Let it come
Let fire sweep clean the earth
burn away this evil, this race, this curse.
Endless Battle
battle for millenia
battle for autonomy
battle without end
battle with philosophy
both sides fight for peace
both sides fight for land
deception in the channels
autonomy is at hand
senate was corrupt, lost thier way and sold thier souls
senate was corrupt, overthrown by the proles
Violence breeds violence
no side free from guilt
violence breeds violence
ties are cut, links are built
warriors fight for freedom
warrors fight for peace
til all are one
He who Walketh
He who Walketh
Follow the crowd
he who walkth
gets lost in the crowd
he who declines
to take own path
he who declines
signs own epitath
he who judges
chooses to blame
he who judges
plays deadly game
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Bioshock Infinite
I expected to write a really long article and review for this. So much has already been said about this game, there are a multitude of positive reviews, debates around the story meaning, and all round buzz about this game. Kotaku in particular seems to put up a new pretentious article about this game everyday.
But you know what? Im going to buck the trend. Ive played Bioshock Infinite. Start to finish. and I didnt rate it as high as its being lauded. Right off the bat I had a vague stench of familiarity. Having played System Shock 2, and Bioshock, and Bioshock 2, for me....it was more of the same. And to be perfectly honest here, I felt that Columbia was more limiting than Rapture.
Bioshock Infinite places itself in the world of Columbia, city in the clouds, a very interesting propostion. But it became clear to me very quickly that the environments are actually very linear. I distinctly remember exploring Rapture in every nook and cranny, Here, your limited due to the fact that the buildings are seperated by thin air. Much has been mentioned about the skyhooks, and the amazing combat. And Actually, thats the one thing I cant fault. When you did get to use the skyhooks, it was invigorating and fun. But There wasnt skyhooks everywhere, as you may think there is from the adverts...
Much has also been said about Elizabeth. and how intelligent her AI is and how much of a personality she is. Personally, ive had better experiences with Alyx Vance, in every single replay ive done of Half Life 2 and its episodes. Elizibeth sends you items sure, but I noticed repeated dialogue and sometimes she would stand there and stare into space, rather than react or move out of your way like Alyx vance does. I see no reason here to critically consider Elizibeth any better than Alyx.
The debates about the violence being too much....Well, This is a first person shooter. A linear one at that, and the story, as pretentious and overwrought as it ends up being, is out of place and at odds with the occasionally extreme violence. I do agree with this view, but only in the fact that the game is trying to be somewhat more intelligent than it really is.
A lot of people are going to disagree with me for this review. The story presented here in Infinite IS incredible and well written, but it doesnt fit the game. I think its trying too hard to meld a string narrative thread to whats essentially room after room of people trying to kill you. Bioshock Infinite is more of the same, with some neat bells and whistles. Even the fact that you meet other residents that go crazy and send enemies at you just echoes the original game. There is less exploration involved, a poor attempt at adding in extra side quests, generally....Its a step down.
I cant say I didnt enjoy the game though, its far better than the Call of Duty shit-a-thon we are regaled with every year, It just isnt the best thing since sliced bread. If you never played Bioshock and do not have the experiences from that, then I can imagine Infinate being far more impressive.
But you know what? Im going to buck the trend. Ive played Bioshock Infinite. Start to finish. and I didnt rate it as high as its being lauded. Right off the bat I had a vague stench of familiarity. Having played System Shock 2, and Bioshock, and Bioshock 2, for me....it was more of the same. And to be perfectly honest here, I felt that Columbia was more limiting than Rapture.
Bioshock Infinite places itself in the world of Columbia, city in the clouds, a very interesting propostion. But it became clear to me very quickly that the environments are actually very linear. I distinctly remember exploring Rapture in every nook and cranny, Here, your limited due to the fact that the buildings are seperated by thin air. Much has been mentioned about the skyhooks, and the amazing combat. And Actually, thats the one thing I cant fault. When you did get to use the skyhooks, it was invigorating and fun. But There wasnt skyhooks everywhere, as you may think there is from the adverts...
Much has also been said about Elizabeth. and how intelligent her AI is and how much of a personality she is. Personally, ive had better experiences with Alyx Vance, in every single replay ive done of Half Life 2 and its episodes. Elizibeth sends you items sure, but I noticed repeated dialogue and sometimes she would stand there and stare into space, rather than react or move out of your way like Alyx vance does. I see no reason here to critically consider Elizibeth any better than Alyx.
The debates about the violence being too much....Well, This is a first person shooter. A linear one at that, and the story, as pretentious and overwrought as it ends up being, is out of place and at odds with the occasionally extreme violence. I do agree with this view, but only in the fact that the game is trying to be somewhat more intelligent than it really is.
A lot of people are going to disagree with me for this review. The story presented here in Infinite IS incredible and well written, but it doesnt fit the game. I think its trying too hard to meld a string narrative thread to whats essentially room after room of people trying to kill you. Bioshock Infinite is more of the same, with some neat bells and whistles. Even the fact that you meet other residents that go crazy and send enemies at you just echoes the original game. There is less exploration involved, a poor attempt at adding in extra side quests, generally....Its a step down.
I cant say I didnt enjoy the game though, its far better than the Call of Duty shit-a-thon we are regaled with every year, It just isnt the best thing since sliced bread. If you never played Bioshock and do not have the experiences from that, then I can imagine Infinate being far more impressive.
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Festival Recollections...12 years of them.
Festivals have been a huge part of my summers for 12 years on the trot, I realised today. This year, 2013, I'm willingly and quite happily skipping going to one at all. Main reason is because im going on holiday to america instead in August. planning to fly into Charlotte, North Carolina, see Drus family, and then drive to Orlando for the parks and the Transformers Ride. All in all I'm pretty excited about it. Ditching the festivals all together was never the plan, but after looking into it, I just cant justify going to my regular haunts. I think my taste has changed so drastically that I find it hard to find reasons to go, and the bands I DO like I have actually seen before. Its got to the point in my life where I feel like I've done it all pretty much, when it comes to the rather limited rock and metal scene. I think its going to end up just being big gigs this summer, Rush, Bruce Springsteen, Sigur Ros, and The Rolling Stones if they end up playing Hyde park.
But looking back...shit man I had some good times. I've decided to list and try and remember from the top of my head who played the festivals I went to. I doubt its even possible to remember some of them. Id imagine it will mostly be the ones in the middle I forget,
Reading 2001.
My first festival. I remember seeing most of this because I was sober and young, my dad took me to it. Eminem headlined and was pretty shit, but I remember System of a down, Fear Factory, Marilyn Manson, Boyhitscar, Staind, The Cult. It wasn't a bad lineup for a younger version of me. My taste was pretty much in line with this bill too at that point. The Cult were a revelation and im not sure I was mature enough to look past the age of the band. Ridiculous really, but I believe that's the only time ive seen The Cult. Crazy how I remember the whole bill for this, I think I only did the sunday but it still counted.
Ozzfest 2002
I remember....Tool. Ozzy Osbourne. It pissing it down when Cradle of filth played. I remember seeing Skindred in some side building. The site was appallingly organised, people trying to get to the 2nd stage and struggling in huge numbers due to the door not being open enough. I think I went to this with my guitar teacher, it was just a day too like the previous year. by this point, id got the bug for live shows. I think Slayer also played this, aswell as stuff like the Mad capsule markets. Again, I was sober, so I remember a lot of it.
Download 2003
The last year when I only did the one day. I only remember Arch Enemy, Sepultura (who I still remember being excellent) Reef, who werent bad, Ministry on main stage plodding along, Deftones being piss poor, and Iron Maiden kicking ass. Bring me ed till im dead tour. I also remember my dad turning up to pick me up, bringing my siblings (when they were VERY young) and jumping the fence, watching some of Maiden. a fun day yeah. Ha, reminds me how much parents do for you that you forget!
Download 2004
Top of my head, I literally have no idea but I know that this was my first full weekend festival away. TBH, I think im going to have to look at wikipedia for the lineups. and ok.....ive looked at my lastffm list. I remember Opeth, Black dahlia murder, Burst, Akercocke, Slayer in the tent, Ikara Colt, The International Noise Conspiracy But according to my lastfm I saw Metallica, Machine head, Slipknot, turbonegro, soulfly, sum41?, cradle of filth, breed 77...and some others. I literally cannot recall seeing any of the last 8 bands...Haha! Must have left an undeniable mark eh? I think this year I went with my good friend Tristan and he got sunstroke..but thats all I remember. I do to this day remember the best band of the weekend being The International Noise Conspiracy followed by Slayers unannounced show in the small tent, which was just plain vicious.
Download 2005
I do remember a lot of this one, because I went with Kelvin I think. Actually....I dont know. I remember Sabbath played. Download went to a full 3 days from this year onwards and I think they had an indie day or something with Feeder. Main memories from this one would be running away after the Slayer set had started to go and see the 80s matchbox bline disaster, because I liked them better at the time. Also Napalm Death laying waste to the small tent on the hill, while the sun set. Therapy? were excellent, Motorhead were loud and closed it perfectly, In flames did a good set, and I think I had a good festival. and I remember watching Metallica with no Lars ulrich actually being very good, and adding blastbeats to thier songs courtesy of guest drummers
Bloodstock 2005
Won tickets to this, the first year, me and Kelvin went alone. It was a thursday and a friday, and there was barely 1000 people there. We parked our car behind the wall in the current main camp site. First few years of BOA were the best because you could park your car by your tent. I believe the year after this was much better but it wasnt too bad this year and we saw Paradise lost bore everybody to tears like usual, Children of bodom do thier thing, and Edguy. I remember it being fun but sparsely populated
Download 2006
The last time I went to download for a full weekend, and probably the last time I ever will do. I believe things changed drastically after this, but this was a great weekend. I think what changed things was going to Wacken the same year. This is the year Gojira burst through the scene, and blew everybody away in the tent. Backbone was when it kicked in. Immense, and I still remember the impact and sound of that show. a lot of really good bands played this year, Down on the main stage after thier come back, Tool after releasing an album, clutch and Cathedral. Mainly good memories of this year! Went to see Killing Joke instead of Metallica, and they were amazing. But I do remember it being poorly organised. and I remember Guns and Roses being absolute wank.
Wacken 2006
This was the first european festival I went to and it was truly amazing. It eclipsed and bettered everything that had happened at all the previous UK festivals. I took Roger to see the house he was born in, and I planned the whole trip for him. At that point, I hadnt known him very well or for long, but you know, navigating Germany and Hamburgs train system was just a challenge in the way. We did find his old home, and I believe it made his mother very happy to see the photos. The festival itself was just incredible too. Saw soooo many bands. drank so much german beer. I remember Celtic Frost, Motorhead, Scorpions, Rose Tattoo, and Ministry playing an absolute blinder. I also crowd surfed for Whitesnake when they played This is love, and got given a black eye for my troubles ha! This was a very special holiday for me, signalled an addiction to eurofests thats actually lasted up until last year...lol Crazy. People wonder why Im always broke.
Bloodstock 2006
This year it was me, Gaz and Kelvin. It was ridiculous amounts of fun. Band wise, we missed most of the first day and got there late, but we did see Edguy again. Gaz decided to sit and drink beer and read porn at his camper van for the entire weekend, and at the time I was irked and wished he would go in and see bands with us, but I think it probably just made him want to stay there more..hahaha, all it does when I think of it is make me laugh at how much of a pain in the ass I was. but Overall, it was fun. I think Stratovarius played, and I remember dancing in a largely open and empty field to Turisas. I think 1500 people decided to turn up to this one! Also met a guy who called himself cheesy bammo, total legend.
Sweden Rock 2007
9 of us went to this. It was a real fun lads holiday, but with two ladies too. We stood out as being English everywhere we went, because Swedish people are stupidly good looking, men and women. Not that we arnt, but we stood out....lol Sweden is a nice country but its incredibly expensive. I believe I got into doom quite a bit round this time, and I think I mainly went because everybody else was going, but I do remember Trouble playing in the bright sunshine, with Eric Wagner walking around the stage so chilled out it was ridiculous. Great show. The Answer also blew me away, and even then I thought they'd end up huge. I remember seeing Focus in the sun too, Heaven and Hell with Dio play a blinder (and I remember standing with Roger while some guy in a kilt by us got a blowjob), Krux (a rare show) playing a goodun, Kreator being fantastic, Blind Guardian being crap, and then I remember Kelvin shagging some woman under the sound stage, Going missing for hours in a huge camping field and losing everybody, and I passed out in the main arena watching Quireboys, had a blackout and woke up in my tent. I poked my head out of my tent and heard all 8 of the others talking, and I asked them when Aerosmith were on. and Id just missed them...haha, you had to be there but it was funny as hell. This was such a great holiday to go on, Sweden rock fest is 5 mins walk from a beach too. Id recommend it as a festival to anybody, but I didnt go again because its so bloody expensive! ha!
Wacken 2007
According to my list on last fm, I saw 27 bands this year. I think I tried to see as many as the ones I liked as possible, and it was with Roger mainly, we stuck to a schedule and went round watching them all as they came on. I remember being at this with Roger, Nick and Kelvin. just 4 of us. And we just saw tonnes of bands. Band wise, I think highlights were Possessed, with the singer in a wheelchair screaming his guts out, The Answer playing another blinder, Enslaved being excellent, and I saw tonnes of others...Sacred Reich were excellent, Rose Tattoo did another great show and Roger bought some bright orange tie dye Tshirt. I remember very little from this, I think I tried to do too much music and it ended up being a blur.
Bloodstock 2007
This was a fun year, but I only went with Dru, Nick and Sam. Might even have been the last year you could park your car next to your tent? Im not sure. Dark Tranquillity and Testament come to mind. But I reckon I saw much more than that. I also remember arguing with dru during Lacuna Coil but coming to the conclusion arguing was way more fun than the band itself. Ha!
Hard Rock Hell 2007
Managed to fit this in at the end. I think this was a pretty rock n roll weekend. Dont remember much at all, List says I saw Grand Magus, Turisas, Diamond Head, Girlschool, Finntroll, My Dying Bride. I remember spending a lot of time backstage after meeting Finntroll and having a laugh with them. I also remember watching My Dying Bride and telling my friends to stop being so happy because they were ruining the mood. Ha, bellend. They were good. but I mostly remember the backstage area and free beer. and the fact that nobody checked who I was.
Wacken 2008
This was the biggest year of Wacken I went to because Maiden played. but also Gaz turned up and surprised me. Didnt know he was going and he just turned up on the day. Wicked year this was. I remember a chubby fellow at the start fall over by a little river and break his leg, literally two days before the festival, and he had to leave back to england. I also think Claire Louise and Kirsty Morgan went to this for some reason, aswell as Roger, Kelvin and Nick. Band wise, according to the list I saw barely anything. So I must have got terribly drunk. this was the year I got struck ill with bowel disease, so I had to be careful I think and spent one of the days entirely sober. This is also the year I witnessed Gaz and Roger lick chocolate off each others cocks...which they purposely did to freak out all the europeans that had joined our camp. Theyd told everybody they were father and son. fucking hillarious. On a sober night, I spirited Gaz away to see bands, we saw shitty accapella metal band Van Canto and we saw Avantastia do an utterly fantastic show. I remember the original lineup of Massacre do a wicked show, and I got into Communic after hearing them from the campsite. There was a fire in the main arena so we missed a whole day or so of bands I think. I apparently saw Kreator, At the gates, Lordi, Exodus and Obituary, but I must have been blasted because its gone from my memory.This was the last time I went to Wacken, I doubt ill ever go back. But I have great memories of the place. It truly is a Mecca for metalheads.
Bloodstock 2008
I think this was the year a whole bunch of us went after we said how brilliant it was to everybody the previous year. I recall Heavens basement being very good rock n roll, Witchsorrow playing in a smaller tent and being good, I recall us all hanging out as a big group, roger camping in a huge tent, and I got to see Communic after missing them at Wacken. Helloween I think were the headliner, and we have some excellent photos from this. If I could be arsed id upload them to this blog to accompany the text...but hey, I have them all somewhere. Overkill played this and did a good show, and some other bands. I think we couldnt park our car by the tent this year because it had grown quite a bit.
Hellfest 2009
This was me, Helen, Jamie and Kelvin doing the Argon trip. Never again. id rather fly. But at least we tried something new this time, in France of all places. I remember Clisson being a really beautiful little town, with a castle that was picturesque against a backdrop of a river etc. I remember drinking 3 bottles of Duvel one day, smokin a big doob at Electric Wizard and then Passing out on the front railings while Manowar "played" a concert. They spent half the time talking rather than playing, and loudest band in the world? Not on your life, I slept through them! I saw so many awesome shows at this festival, it was just an amazing lineup. They have good ones every year but I was told its grown beyond its means now and this was the best time to visit. Entombed kicked ass, Napalm Death brought out Lee Dorrian for a bit, Orange Goblin destroyed in a small tent, I bought a tonne of vinyl, but the highlight I think was seeing Heaven & Hell followed by an absolutely mighty performance by Saint Vitus. Blew me away. First time id seen Vitus, and they are still as fantastic now. I also recall Motley crue being offensively bad and stumbling upon Marilyn manson dying on stage. Great festival this one, ive wanted to go every year since but maybe one day I will...who knows.
Bloodstock 2009
This is the first of all the festivals that I dont remember any anecdotes, just the bands. Anathema played a stormer, Entombed, Candlemass, Katatonia, Saxon, Carcass, Kreator, Satyricon, Turisas, and oddly Europe. I was hammered watching Europe, and everybody around me was hating on them. I only saw 13 bands this festival, but I have no recollection of anything else that happened this weekend so maybe I just got totally blasted, or maybe this was the one that a whole lot of us went? It all just blurs into one after a while.
Rock and Blues, Skegness 2010
I haven't included most of the times ive been to Rock and blues in Skegness. its because theres usually no bands that are noteworthy or relevant, just drunken times and good times. This one however, is worth mentioning because as a festival experience it was normal, but timing wise, it had a huge impact. You realise who your true friends are when your away at a festival, and they know something bad is going to happen, and they just wait for it and jump right in to help when it goes wrong. My mother passed away while I was at this festival, I knew it would happen this weekend, and luckily she waited right until Sunday to do it. It was amazing how all my friends just switched it on and became supportive instantly as it happened. I cannot ever thank them enough for it. Kelvin, Roger, Gaz, Tom Fraj, Dave Love, are the ones I distinctly remember being there (Dru was sadly absent but was just a phone call away and helped loads too). It probably wasnt awesome for them at all, but it was extremely cathartic for me. I remember watching Nazareth too on the evening it happened, and I remember ex Rolling Stone Mick Taylor standing behind us and Gaz meeting him and being overwhelmed. Again, I can never thank my friends enough for being there when I needed them the most. Awesome.
Roadburn 2010
This was the first time I ever went abroad alone. I knew some people would be at the festival that id met from various gigs around the birmingham doom scene, but I went alone. It was a catalog of events that just ended up being the most fantastic festival experience ive ever been to. Unrivalled since, and Itd take something truly special to beat it. It first became interesting when I met a guy called Malcom on the plane. Good chap, but more on him later. When I got there and made my way to Tilburg, I hadnt sorted out anywhere to stay. I just kind of hoped id go along with people or find people. I walked around for hours trying to buy a tent, to no luck. I figured id go for a beer and attempt to assess the situation. Turned out it was a hotel so I asked if they had a room, and they did lol it was literally 5 mins walk to the gig too. Couldnt have planned it any better. It cost half the money id given myself to spend but I had no other option.
So the first night before it kicked off, I went up the pub 3 mins walk away and made some friends. Local chap by the name of Matko and a Czech guy, and some others. Matko offered to cook me a meal, so me being me, I rang him the next day and went round for the meal haha! He didnt expect it. but I became good friends with him and for two days spent my days there, before going up to the festival in the evening. on the first day, Malcom had a mate who had bought two tickets to the festival, So I told him if he still had them by the end he should give them to my dutch friend Matko. Because hed bought them to sell. And nobody likes greed do they? Ha! So low and behold, he couldnt sell them and I gave them Matko and his mate. Festival happened and it was time to go home. Volcano hit. So I got stuck there. I had to be teaching monday morning, so I had to stay with Matko longer, and we had a few days to chill, so I ended up being in their music video for their band. Which I have to say was a lot of fun. Eventually ended up heading back with Malcom, and went through Belgium, stayed at his in London on the way home. But it was just a series events that displayed amazing good fortune and Luck.
The festival itself, I met so many bands I like. Magnus Pelander from Witchcraft was a laugh, The guys from Church of Misery, Wounded Kings, Mike Schiedt from YOB sorted me a guest pass for the afterburner, it was just such a great atmosphere and the bands put in amazing performances. Garcia plays Kyuss gets a special mention, Enslaved doing some mad experimental show, Moss playing hypnotically evil lovecraft doom, wandering into The Machine playing Jimi Hendrix. I cant comment enough about how much of a fantastic festival Roadburn is.
Download 2010
I went for one day to make up for missing Aerosmith in 2007. I took my little brother and it was pretty fun, Airbourne put in a great show, Dillinger escape plan were blinding, Porcupine Tree were also really good, and Aerosmith finished it off in great style. Shame it hammered it down, and that once out of the venue they didnt let you back in. they had changed the layout so much since 2006, and tbh, Ill never go again unless its someone I really have to see. Felt sorry for everybody else who stayed there and had such a long trek to thier campsite.
High Voltage Festival 2010
Im going to count this here because this was a great adventure out in London with Gaz, Roger, Ratch and Kelvin. I also went for the Heaven and Hell tribute gig, because of Dios death. I actually ruined the entire atmosphere for everybody at this one, not worth going into it, but the festival itself was great and I only saw Cathedral, Saxon, ZZtop and Heaven & Hell. This is actually where I stopped making lists for live acts ive seen. from now its purely memory, or looking it up online.
Bloodstock 2010
Pretty good year lineup wise. I remember seeing Bonded by blood open the main stage, and I recall Witchsorrow dedicating a song to me. I think this might have been the year I took my little brother for the first time, but I cant remember that either. Bloodstocks for me seem to get hazier the more of them I remember doing. I distinctly recall Twisted Sister being absolutely amazing live, and looking at the lineup on the BOA website, I dont think I saw anybody all weekend. Im pretty sure It was a good one though!
High Voltage Festival 2011
Judas Priest, Neurosis, Anathema, Thin Lizzy, Slash, Graveyard, Gentlemans Pistols. Good lineup over the two days, and we had a better time than the year before, no bad vibes. Seeing Neurosis play as the sun set over London in Victoria park was just something else entirely. Spent a lot of time chatting with Lee Dorrian at this too, he said hed send me a vinyl but I doubt he ever will lol
Bloodstock 2011
A lot of us went to this one, Again its a drunken haze. I literally saw 6 bands. Wasp, Kreator, Forbidden, Primordial and for my sins, Hell. Motorhead put in the worst showing ive ever seen them do. I think we stayed at the tent a lot and just got blasted for 4 days. I think I recall Jamie and Helen going to this one. But I couldnt tell you anything else.
Roadburn 2012
This time when I went back, I stayed with Matko the entire time. I think I actually have a blog on here where I discuss this festival. It was pretty great, but not as good as the first time I went. of the top of my head I remember The Obsessed being amazing, and Necros Christos, a death metal band, being my main Highlight of the week. I saw a lot of great bands, but I started to feel worn out at times, drinking and smoking and walking around all the time. I guess im happier sitting at home doing both than being out and about for hours.
Bloodstock 2012
This one was a total washout. Saw even less bands. Got even more drunk. Didnt enter the arena Friday, Saturday I saw Orange Goblin, Witchsorrow, Sanctuary and Testament, and Sunday I saw Corrosion of Conformity, Paradise Lost (who literally put me to sleep) and Alice Cooper. To be honest I think at this festival I decided id reign it in next year. Id seen all the bands I liked back in the early days and all the gigs I did in between the festivals. I met a friend here who had seen over 70 bands over the week and it made me think about why I was even there.
To Summarize im Happy to chill now, I had plenty of years going mad going to festivals. I cant say ill never go again, because I will, but Im happy to do less of them now. I can wear the multiple T-shirts I still own, and Ive collected all this together really to remind myself of all the cool places and things ive done and seen. If you have sat and read this through, Well done, it took me 4 hours today! Ha!
Graham.
But looking back...shit man I had some good times. I've decided to list and try and remember from the top of my head who played the festivals I went to. I doubt its even possible to remember some of them. Id imagine it will mostly be the ones in the middle I forget,
Reading 2001.
My first festival. I remember seeing most of this because I was sober and young, my dad took me to it. Eminem headlined and was pretty shit, but I remember System of a down, Fear Factory, Marilyn Manson, Boyhitscar, Staind, The Cult. It wasn't a bad lineup for a younger version of me. My taste was pretty much in line with this bill too at that point. The Cult were a revelation and im not sure I was mature enough to look past the age of the band. Ridiculous really, but I believe that's the only time ive seen The Cult. Crazy how I remember the whole bill for this, I think I only did the sunday but it still counted.
Ozzfest 2002
I remember....Tool. Ozzy Osbourne. It pissing it down when Cradle of filth played. I remember seeing Skindred in some side building. The site was appallingly organised, people trying to get to the 2nd stage and struggling in huge numbers due to the door not being open enough. I think I went to this with my guitar teacher, it was just a day too like the previous year. by this point, id got the bug for live shows. I think Slayer also played this, aswell as stuff like the Mad capsule markets. Again, I was sober, so I remember a lot of it.
Download 2003
The last year when I only did the one day. I only remember Arch Enemy, Sepultura (who I still remember being excellent) Reef, who werent bad, Ministry on main stage plodding along, Deftones being piss poor, and Iron Maiden kicking ass. Bring me ed till im dead tour. I also remember my dad turning up to pick me up, bringing my siblings (when they were VERY young) and jumping the fence, watching some of Maiden. a fun day yeah. Ha, reminds me how much parents do for you that you forget!
Download 2004
Top of my head, I literally have no idea but I know that this was my first full weekend festival away. TBH, I think im going to have to look at wikipedia for the lineups. and ok.....ive looked at my lastffm list. I remember Opeth, Black dahlia murder, Burst, Akercocke, Slayer in the tent, Ikara Colt, The International Noise Conspiracy But according to my lastfm I saw Metallica, Machine head, Slipknot, turbonegro, soulfly, sum41?, cradle of filth, breed 77...and some others. I literally cannot recall seeing any of the last 8 bands...Haha! Must have left an undeniable mark eh? I think this year I went with my good friend Tristan and he got sunstroke..but thats all I remember. I do to this day remember the best band of the weekend being The International Noise Conspiracy followed by Slayers unannounced show in the small tent, which was just plain vicious.
Download 2005
I do remember a lot of this one, because I went with Kelvin I think. Actually....I dont know. I remember Sabbath played. Download went to a full 3 days from this year onwards and I think they had an indie day or something with Feeder. Main memories from this one would be running away after the Slayer set had started to go and see the 80s matchbox bline disaster, because I liked them better at the time. Also Napalm Death laying waste to the small tent on the hill, while the sun set. Therapy? were excellent, Motorhead were loud and closed it perfectly, In flames did a good set, and I think I had a good festival. and I remember watching Metallica with no Lars ulrich actually being very good, and adding blastbeats to thier songs courtesy of guest drummers
Bloodstock 2005
Won tickets to this, the first year, me and Kelvin went alone. It was a thursday and a friday, and there was barely 1000 people there. We parked our car behind the wall in the current main camp site. First few years of BOA were the best because you could park your car by your tent. I believe the year after this was much better but it wasnt too bad this year and we saw Paradise lost bore everybody to tears like usual, Children of bodom do thier thing, and Edguy. I remember it being fun but sparsely populated
Download 2006
The last time I went to download for a full weekend, and probably the last time I ever will do. I believe things changed drastically after this, but this was a great weekend. I think what changed things was going to Wacken the same year. This is the year Gojira burst through the scene, and blew everybody away in the tent. Backbone was when it kicked in. Immense, and I still remember the impact and sound of that show. a lot of really good bands played this year, Down on the main stage after thier come back, Tool after releasing an album, clutch and Cathedral. Mainly good memories of this year! Went to see Killing Joke instead of Metallica, and they were amazing. But I do remember it being poorly organised. and I remember Guns and Roses being absolute wank.
Wacken 2006
This was the first european festival I went to and it was truly amazing. It eclipsed and bettered everything that had happened at all the previous UK festivals. I took Roger to see the house he was born in, and I planned the whole trip for him. At that point, I hadnt known him very well or for long, but you know, navigating Germany and Hamburgs train system was just a challenge in the way. We did find his old home, and I believe it made his mother very happy to see the photos. The festival itself was just incredible too. Saw soooo many bands. drank so much german beer. I remember Celtic Frost, Motorhead, Scorpions, Rose Tattoo, and Ministry playing an absolute blinder. I also crowd surfed for Whitesnake when they played This is love, and got given a black eye for my troubles ha! This was a very special holiday for me, signalled an addiction to eurofests thats actually lasted up until last year...lol Crazy. People wonder why Im always broke.
Bloodstock 2006
This year it was me, Gaz and Kelvin. It was ridiculous amounts of fun. Band wise, we missed most of the first day and got there late, but we did see Edguy again. Gaz decided to sit and drink beer and read porn at his camper van for the entire weekend, and at the time I was irked and wished he would go in and see bands with us, but I think it probably just made him want to stay there more..hahaha, all it does when I think of it is make me laugh at how much of a pain in the ass I was. but Overall, it was fun. I think Stratovarius played, and I remember dancing in a largely open and empty field to Turisas. I think 1500 people decided to turn up to this one! Also met a guy who called himself cheesy bammo, total legend.
Sweden Rock 2007
9 of us went to this. It was a real fun lads holiday, but with two ladies too. We stood out as being English everywhere we went, because Swedish people are stupidly good looking, men and women. Not that we arnt, but we stood out....lol Sweden is a nice country but its incredibly expensive. I believe I got into doom quite a bit round this time, and I think I mainly went because everybody else was going, but I do remember Trouble playing in the bright sunshine, with Eric Wagner walking around the stage so chilled out it was ridiculous. Great show. The Answer also blew me away, and even then I thought they'd end up huge. I remember seeing Focus in the sun too, Heaven and Hell with Dio play a blinder (and I remember standing with Roger while some guy in a kilt by us got a blowjob), Krux (a rare show) playing a goodun, Kreator being fantastic, Blind Guardian being crap, and then I remember Kelvin shagging some woman under the sound stage, Going missing for hours in a huge camping field and losing everybody, and I passed out in the main arena watching Quireboys, had a blackout and woke up in my tent. I poked my head out of my tent and heard all 8 of the others talking, and I asked them when Aerosmith were on. and Id just missed them...haha, you had to be there but it was funny as hell. This was such a great holiday to go on, Sweden rock fest is 5 mins walk from a beach too. Id recommend it as a festival to anybody, but I didnt go again because its so bloody expensive! ha!
Wacken 2007
According to my list on last fm, I saw 27 bands this year. I think I tried to see as many as the ones I liked as possible, and it was with Roger mainly, we stuck to a schedule and went round watching them all as they came on. I remember being at this with Roger, Nick and Kelvin. just 4 of us. And we just saw tonnes of bands. Band wise, I think highlights were Possessed, with the singer in a wheelchair screaming his guts out, The Answer playing another blinder, Enslaved being excellent, and I saw tonnes of others...Sacred Reich were excellent, Rose Tattoo did another great show and Roger bought some bright orange tie dye Tshirt. I remember very little from this, I think I tried to do too much music and it ended up being a blur.
Bloodstock 2007
This was a fun year, but I only went with Dru, Nick and Sam. Might even have been the last year you could park your car next to your tent? Im not sure. Dark Tranquillity and Testament come to mind. But I reckon I saw much more than that. I also remember arguing with dru during Lacuna Coil but coming to the conclusion arguing was way more fun than the band itself. Ha!
Hard Rock Hell 2007
Managed to fit this in at the end. I think this was a pretty rock n roll weekend. Dont remember much at all, List says I saw Grand Magus, Turisas, Diamond Head, Girlschool, Finntroll, My Dying Bride. I remember spending a lot of time backstage after meeting Finntroll and having a laugh with them. I also remember watching My Dying Bride and telling my friends to stop being so happy because they were ruining the mood. Ha, bellend. They were good. but I mostly remember the backstage area and free beer. and the fact that nobody checked who I was.
Wacken 2008
This was the biggest year of Wacken I went to because Maiden played. but also Gaz turned up and surprised me. Didnt know he was going and he just turned up on the day. Wicked year this was. I remember a chubby fellow at the start fall over by a little river and break his leg, literally two days before the festival, and he had to leave back to england. I also think Claire Louise and Kirsty Morgan went to this for some reason, aswell as Roger, Kelvin and Nick. Band wise, according to the list I saw barely anything. So I must have got terribly drunk. this was the year I got struck ill with bowel disease, so I had to be careful I think and spent one of the days entirely sober. This is also the year I witnessed Gaz and Roger lick chocolate off each others cocks...which they purposely did to freak out all the europeans that had joined our camp. Theyd told everybody they were father and son. fucking hillarious. On a sober night, I spirited Gaz away to see bands, we saw shitty accapella metal band Van Canto and we saw Avantastia do an utterly fantastic show. I remember the original lineup of Massacre do a wicked show, and I got into Communic after hearing them from the campsite. There was a fire in the main arena so we missed a whole day or so of bands I think. I apparently saw Kreator, At the gates, Lordi, Exodus and Obituary, but I must have been blasted because its gone from my memory.This was the last time I went to Wacken, I doubt ill ever go back. But I have great memories of the place. It truly is a Mecca for metalheads.
Bloodstock 2008
I think this was the year a whole bunch of us went after we said how brilliant it was to everybody the previous year. I recall Heavens basement being very good rock n roll, Witchsorrow playing in a smaller tent and being good, I recall us all hanging out as a big group, roger camping in a huge tent, and I got to see Communic after missing them at Wacken. Helloween I think were the headliner, and we have some excellent photos from this. If I could be arsed id upload them to this blog to accompany the text...but hey, I have them all somewhere. Overkill played this and did a good show, and some other bands. I think we couldnt park our car by the tent this year because it had grown quite a bit.
Hellfest 2009
This was me, Helen, Jamie and Kelvin doing the Argon trip. Never again. id rather fly. But at least we tried something new this time, in France of all places. I remember Clisson being a really beautiful little town, with a castle that was picturesque against a backdrop of a river etc. I remember drinking 3 bottles of Duvel one day, smokin a big doob at Electric Wizard and then Passing out on the front railings while Manowar "played" a concert. They spent half the time talking rather than playing, and loudest band in the world? Not on your life, I slept through them! I saw so many awesome shows at this festival, it was just an amazing lineup. They have good ones every year but I was told its grown beyond its means now and this was the best time to visit. Entombed kicked ass, Napalm Death brought out Lee Dorrian for a bit, Orange Goblin destroyed in a small tent, I bought a tonne of vinyl, but the highlight I think was seeing Heaven & Hell followed by an absolutely mighty performance by Saint Vitus. Blew me away. First time id seen Vitus, and they are still as fantastic now. I also recall Motley crue being offensively bad and stumbling upon Marilyn manson dying on stage. Great festival this one, ive wanted to go every year since but maybe one day I will...who knows.
Bloodstock 2009
This is the first of all the festivals that I dont remember any anecdotes, just the bands. Anathema played a stormer, Entombed, Candlemass, Katatonia, Saxon, Carcass, Kreator, Satyricon, Turisas, and oddly Europe. I was hammered watching Europe, and everybody around me was hating on them. I only saw 13 bands this festival, but I have no recollection of anything else that happened this weekend so maybe I just got totally blasted, or maybe this was the one that a whole lot of us went? It all just blurs into one after a while.
Rock and Blues, Skegness 2010
I haven't included most of the times ive been to Rock and blues in Skegness. its because theres usually no bands that are noteworthy or relevant, just drunken times and good times. This one however, is worth mentioning because as a festival experience it was normal, but timing wise, it had a huge impact. You realise who your true friends are when your away at a festival, and they know something bad is going to happen, and they just wait for it and jump right in to help when it goes wrong. My mother passed away while I was at this festival, I knew it would happen this weekend, and luckily she waited right until Sunday to do it. It was amazing how all my friends just switched it on and became supportive instantly as it happened. I cannot ever thank them enough for it. Kelvin, Roger, Gaz, Tom Fraj, Dave Love, are the ones I distinctly remember being there (Dru was sadly absent but was just a phone call away and helped loads too). It probably wasnt awesome for them at all, but it was extremely cathartic for me. I remember watching Nazareth too on the evening it happened, and I remember ex Rolling Stone Mick Taylor standing behind us and Gaz meeting him and being overwhelmed. Again, I can never thank my friends enough for being there when I needed them the most. Awesome.
Roadburn 2010
This was the first time I ever went abroad alone. I knew some people would be at the festival that id met from various gigs around the birmingham doom scene, but I went alone. It was a catalog of events that just ended up being the most fantastic festival experience ive ever been to. Unrivalled since, and Itd take something truly special to beat it. It first became interesting when I met a guy called Malcom on the plane. Good chap, but more on him later. When I got there and made my way to Tilburg, I hadnt sorted out anywhere to stay. I just kind of hoped id go along with people or find people. I walked around for hours trying to buy a tent, to no luck. I figured id go for a beer and attempt to assess the situation. Turned out it was a hotel so I asked if they had a room, and they did lol it was literally 5 mins walk to the gig too. Couldnt have planned it any better. It cost half the money id given myself to spend but I had no other option.
So the first night before it kicked off, I went up the pub 3 mins walk away and made some friends. Local chap by the name of Matko and a Czech guy, and some others. Matko offered to cook me a meal, so me being me, I rang him the next day and went round for the meal haha! He didnt expect it. but I became good friends with him and for two days spent my days there, before going up to the festival in the evening. on the first day, Malcom had a mate who had bought two tickets to the festival, So I told him if he still had them by the end he should give them to my dutch friend Matko. Because hed bought them to sell. And nobody likes greed do they? Ha! So low and behold, he couldnt sell them and I gave them Matko and his mate. Festival happened and it was time to go home. Volcano hit. So I got stuck there. I had to be teaching monday morning, so I had to stay with Matko longer, and we had a few days to chill, so I ended up being in their music video for their band. Which I have to say was a lot of fun. Eventually ended up heading back with Malcom, and went through Belgium, stayed at his in London on the way home. But it was just a series events that displayed amazing good fortune and Luck.
The festival itself, I met so many bands I like. Magnus Pelander from Witchcraft was a laugh, The guys from Church of Misery, Wounded Kings, Mike Schiedt from YOB sorted me a guest pass for the afterburner, it was just such a great atmosphere and the bands put in amazing performances. Garcia plays Kyuss gets a special mention, Enslaved doing some mad experimental show, Moss playing hypnotically evil lovecraft doom, wandering into The Machine playing Jimi Hendrix. I cant comment enough about how much of a fantastic festival Roadburn is.
Download 2010
I went for one day to make up for missing Aerosmith in 2007. I took my little brother and it was pretty fun, Airbourne put in a great show, Dillinger escape plan were blinding, Porcupine Tree were also really good, and Aerosmith finished it off in great style. Shame it hammered it down, and that once out of the venue they didnt let you back in. they had changed the layout so much since 2006, and tbh, Ill never go again unless its someone I really have to see. Felt sorry for everybody else who stayed there and had such a long trek to thier campsite.
High Voltage Festival 2010
Im going to count this here because this was a great adventure out in London with Gaz, Roger, Ratch and Kelvin. I also went for the Heaven and Hell tribute gig, because of Dios death. I actually ruined the entire atmosphere for everybody at this one, not worth going into it, but the festival itself was great and I only saw Cathedral, Saxon, ZZtop and Heaven & Hell. This is actually where I stopped making lists for live acts ive seen. from now its purely memory, or looking it up online.
Bloodstock 2010
Pretty good year lineup wise. I remember seeing Bonded by blood open the main stage, and I recall Witchsorrow dedicating a song to me. I think this might have been the year I took my little brother for the first time, but I cant remember that either. Bloodstocks for me seem to get hazier the more of them I remember doing. I distinctly recall Twisted Sister being absolutely amazing live, and looking at the lineup on the BOA website, I dont think I saw anybody all weekend. Im pretty sure It was a good one though!
High Voltage Festival 2011
Judas Priest, Neurosis, Anathema, Thin Lizzy, Slash, Graveyard, Gentlemans Pistols. Good lineup over the two days, and we had a better time than the year before, no bad vibes. Seeing Neurosis play as the sun set over London in Victoria park was just something else entirely. Spent a lot of time chatting with Lee Dorrian at this too, he said hed send me a vinyl but I doubt he ever will lol
Bloodstock 2011
A lot of us went to this one, Again its a drunken haze. I literally saw 6 bands. Wasp, Kreator, Forbidden, Primordial and for my sins, Hell. Motorhead put in the worst showing ive ever seen them do. I think we stayed at the tent a lot and just got blasted for 4 days. I think I recall Jamie and Helen going to this one. But I couldnt tell you anything else.
Roadburn 2012
This time when I went back, I stayed with Matko the entire time. I think I actually have a blog on here where I discuss this festival. It was pretty great, but not as good as the first time I went. of the top of my head I remember The Obsessed being amazing, and Necros Christos, a death metal band, being my main Highlight of the week. I saw a lot of great bands, but I started to feel worn out at times, drinking and smoking and walking around all the time. I guess im happier sitting at home doing both than being out and about for hours.
Bloodstock 2012
This one was a total washout. Saw even less bands. Got even more drunk. Didnt enter the arena Friday, Saturday I saw Orange Goblin, Witchsorrow, Sanctuary and Testament, and Sunday I saw Corrosion of Conformity, Paradise Lost (who literally put me to sleep) and Alice Cooper. To be honest I think at this festival I decided id reign it in next year. Id seen all the bands I liked back in the early days and all the gigs I did in between the festivals. I met a friend here who had seen over 70 bands over the week and it made me think about why I was even there.
To Summarize im Happy to chill now, I had plenty of years going mad going to festivals. I cant say ill never go again, because I will, but Im happy to do less of them now. I can wear the multiple T-shirts I still own, and Ive collected all this together really to remind myself of all the cool places and things ive done and seen. If you have sat and read this through, Well done, it took me 4 hours today! Ha!
Graham.
Sunday, 17 February 2013
A Good Day To Die Hard
I'm going to make this a short review, because Die Hard and John McClane need no introduction. To be honest, I can only take my personal feelings with this, as Im not sure what the general view here is. As far as I see it, The first two Die Hard movies are classics. The 3rd is a bit naff, and a lot of people moaned about the 4th, but a lot of people liked it. I loved the 4th one, brought John Mc Clane kicking, screaming and shooting people in the face back into the public eye. I was slightly indifferent to this one from the trailer. And I was right to be.
This movie kicks off with John being told his son is in Russia and hes been arrested. So John flies out there. Then for the rest of the movie, he calls it his vacation. Almost as a way for us to hear John moaning about being in the wrong place, wrong time, as is par the course for a Die Hard movie. Turns out his son is CIA, we learn this early on so no spoiler here. Id have thought though, as a cop and you know, father to his son, John would be privy to this information. But he isn't. So there we have something for him and his son to discuss, throughout all the "killing of scumbags".
And that's one of the main issues I had with this film. John McClane is a wrong place, wrong time cop. Not a scumbag killer or a vigilante. In every other Die Hard, he kills scumbags because its kill or be killed. Here, he actively says it, and him and his son say it, several times. Lets go kill some scumbags! Really John? Is that what its come to?
Plot withstanding, of which is basically poorly written, the action scenes here are decent. Lots of cool shiny action scenes and things blowing up. Which I think for some people is enough. But you know, I remember characterization in Die Hard films. They were not just dumb action movies. They had excellent characters, Villains you really wanted John to take out by the end. And that's another thing this movie lacks, a great bad guy. There's no Hans Gruber here. The plot of this movie rushes along so fast, and is so poorly constructed that the motivations for the bad guy, and the build up to his plot is basically pointless. Its not necessarily short, but it flies by and nothing really happens except for John and his son Jack killing bad guys for the sake of it. Some people are going to like it for all the reasons I disliked it. But then, I doubt they have seen the first 4 films.
I would be very surprised if this doesn't kill off the franchise dead. A true disappointment.
This movie kicks off with John being told his son is in Russia and hes been arrested. So John flies out there. Then for the rest of the movie, he calls it his vacation. Almost as a way for us to hear John moaning about being in the wrong place, wrong time, as is par the course for a Die Hard movie. Turns out his son is CIA, we learn this early on so no spoiler here. Id have thought though, as a cop and you know, father to his son, John would be privy to this information. But he isn't. So there we have something for him and his son to discuss, throughout all the "killing of scumbags".
And that's one of the main issues I had with this film. John McClane is a wrong place, wrong time cop. Not a scumbag killer or a vigilante. In every other Die Hard, he kills scumbags because its kill or be killed. Here, he actively says it, and him and his son say it, several times. Lets go kill some scumbags! Really John? Is that what its come to?
Plot withstanding, of which is basically poorly written, the action scenes here are decent. Lots of cool shiny action scenes and things blowing up. Which I think for some people is enough. But you know, I remember characterization in Die Hard films. They were not just dumb action movies. They had excellent characters, Villains you really wanted John to take out by the end. And that's another thing this movie lacks, a great bad guy. There's no Hans Gruber here. The plot of this movie rushes along so fast, and is so poorly constructed that the motivations for the bad guy, and the build up to his plot is basically pointless. Its not necessarily short, but it flies by and nothing really happens except for John and his son Jack killing bad guys for the sake of it. Some people are going to like it for all the reasons I disliked it. But then, I doubt they have seen the first 4 films.
I would be very surprised if this doesn't kill off the franchise dead. A true disappointment.
Friday, 15 February 2013
Warm Bodies
Zombie is the in thing at the moment it seems. Its been the in thing for a while though, but it just doesn't seem to stop. For some its no bad thing, for others they have a real issue with the over saturation. Another worrying trend in films at the moment was kick started by Twilight, and now we have Beautiful creatures. The idea of supernatural teens, and some romance, with a touch of action. Its the in thing at the moment. And here we have Warm Bodies, which on the surface appears to fit this ideal.
Warm Bodies has been advertised as a Zom-Rom-Com. It focuses around a zombie called R, who is played pretty well id say by Nicolas Holt. He seems to be in a lot of things at the moment, but I remember him from Skins the most. He shuffles around on his everyday zombie business until he eats the boyfriend of some girl, and subsequently takes her away to be safe. The two of them develop sort of a bond, which kick starts the other zombies back to life. We see all this in the trailer pretty much, so there's no spoiler here.
The question on your lips, is does Warm Bodies go Twilight on us? Or does it go George Romero?
The answer is, a bit of both. if you look beneath the surface, then you have way more depth than you'd expect. If you just watch it blindly, missing the little bits here or there then you see exactly what the trailer advertises.
Firstly I will say, if you go into this film expecting a normal violent zombie film, then you are going be sorely disappointed. The film is a 12A, which pretty much says all you need to know about the audience it is targeting. It will disappoint horror fans straight away, and its very premise will make the average film buff weep. The idea of a romantic comedy based on a zombie, shown from a zombies perspective is a unique one however, and personally I feel by missing out on this film you are missing the point.
There is a moment in this film which to me explains what its really about, and actually made me punch the sky in the cinema. The zombie R collects things that he finds in the airport he lives in. One of things he collects is Vinyl. I personally have a special place in my heart for vinyl, being a huge fan of music in general and the analog sound. We have a dialogue exchange between the zombie, and the girl Julie, and it may be completely correct but I remember it as:
Julie: Whats all this vinyl? are you scared of mp3s or something?
Zombie: It sounds....better......More....Alive.
The vinyl thing harks back to a simpler time, where music was back to basics and analog. Before mp3s, we had CDs, before CDs, we had vinyl, and you know, I think if there was a zombie Apocalypse and the internet went down, then Vinyl would endure assuming anybody survived. (on a side note, the music in this film is old school, and pretty much fantastic throughout)
But it does go a lot deeper than that, maybe not necessarily in the film, but my interpretation of what bits here or there say within the film. Its about how we have all people lost the will to communicate...because we communicate too much. In the 90's we would pick up the land-line, and meet up, rather than discuss things over Facebook etc. The theme of technology, and what the world would be like without it is very prominent. A character even at one point says " If the internet was working, I would look up whats wrong with you".
The concept of a world where there is no technology and we have to start again from scratch is to me an appealing one..people talking to other people just because. The zombie in the film has to learn how be a human again, without all the technology we take for granted. And for that, I feel that this film really had its heart in the right place. Other people will pick faults in this because its not really a typical zombie movie, but to be honest, thats not really the point. The movie makes you feel good, and almost makes you long for a simpler time. And I cant recommend it any more than that.
Warm Bodies has been advertised as a Zom-Rom-Com. It focuses around a zombie called R, who is played pretty well id say by Nicolas Holt. He seems to be in a lot of things at the moment, but I remember him from Skins the most. He shuffles around on his everyday zombie business until he eats the boyfriend of some girl, and subsequently takes her away to be safe. The two of them develop sort of a bond, which kick starts the other zombies back to life. We see all this in the trailer pretty much, so there's no spoiler here.
The question on your lips, is does Warm Bodies go Twilight on us? Or does it go George Romero?
The answer is, a bit of both. if you look beneath the surface, then you have way more depth than you'd expect. If you just watch it blindly, missing the little bits here or there then you see exactly what the trailer advertises.
Firstly I will say, if you go into this film expecting a normal violent zombie film, then you are going be sorely disappointed. The film is a 12A, which pretty much says all you need to know about the audience it is targeting. It will disappoint horror fans straight away, and its very premise will make the average film buff weep. The idea of a romantic comedy based on a zombie, shown from a zombies perspective is a unique one however, and personally I feel by missing out on this film you are missing the point.
There is a moment in this film which to me explains what its really about, and actually made me punch the sky in the cinema. The zombie R collects things that he finds in the airport he lives in. One of things he collects is Vinyl. I personally have a special place in my heart for vinyl, being a huge fan of music in general and the analog sound. We have a dialogue exchange between the zombie, and the girl Julie, and it may be completely correct but I remember it as:
Julie: Whats all this vinyl? are you scared of mp3s or something?
Zombie: It sounds....better......More....Alive.
The vinyl thing harks back to a simpler time, where music was back to basics and analog. Before mp3s, we had CDs, before CDs, we had vinyl, and you know, I think if there was a zombie Apocalypse and the internet went down, then Vinyl would endure assuming anybody survived. (on a side note, the music in this film is old school, and pretty much fantastic throughout)
But it does go a lot deeper than that, maybe not necessarily in the film, but my interpretation of what bits here or there say within the film. Its about how we have all people lost the will to communicate...because we communicate too much. In the 90's we would pick up the land-line, and meet up, rather than discuss things over Facebook etc. The theme of technology, and what the world would be like without it is very prominent. A character even at one point says " If the internet was working, I would look up whats wrong with you".
The concept of a world where there is no technology and we have to start again from scratch is to me an appealing one..people talking to other people just because. The zombie in the film has to learn how be a human again, without all the technology we take for granted. And for that, I feel that this film really had its heart in the right place. Other people will pick faults in this because its not really a typical zombie movie, but to be honest, thats not really the point. The movie makes you feel good, and almost makes you long for a simpler time. And I cant recommend it any more than that.
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Wreck It Ralph
Its been an interesting life being a gamer. Personally, I remember owning an Atari 2600, with Pac man, Galaxia, Q'bert, and many more. And with this started a passion for games. I grew up through the Mega-drive era (used to borrow games from blockbuster for the weekend) the N64, the Dreamcast, and then the the PlayStation era. In the 90's we had our own TV shows, even with cheat codes for the latest games, and then mainstream acceptance died out for a few years. Video games were accused of being violent, and It was an odd wilderness to be in, still being interested in a passion that's been labelled by the press and demonized etc. few years go by, games carry on making money in the background and growing then suddenly COD comes along and we have billboards the size of buildings advertising the latest games. An especially violent game in its own right, as popular as the latest films with huge advertising budgets. This in turn has made Gaming become a pastime for every guy/girl in the country, and not just the hardcore fans that were there in the start. What I would never have expected however, is a Disney film that advertises itself a love letter to the games of yore.
I first heard about this film actually in a games magazine, where it mentioned the many references to gaming culture within this movie. It seemed like an odd choice to me, almost too niche. But perhaps I was underestimating the cultural influence video games have had on us. It showed characters such as Bowser from Mario, the purple Rhino from Altered Beast, and several Street fighter characters having a Bad Anon Meeting. The trailer brings you to assume that these sections are a big part of the movie, and this is actually misleading. Having now seen it, I have to say that the references in the movie are indeed great for gamers, but they do not take up a large portion of the film.
Our main plot actually revolves around Ralph escaping his game to collect a medal and prove hes not a bad guy. This brings him to the sweetie based kart game, where he meets a little girl and the main plot actually revolves around him trying to help her win a race, with some side plot about some bug things from Heroes duty that followed him on his travels there.
When the film focuses on the 5 main characters we kind of lose the early game references & characters, and thus they kind of become lost in the ether. I was actually watching the movie in the cinema and realized the audience was almost entirely adults. I also seriously doubt that many people under a certain age will recognise the earlier references and characters. It seems to me that the film didn't really know who its target audience was and this isn't a bad thing on the whole, but the film is not the full on love letter to retro games it proposed to be. It is to some extent and the detail and characters in the background at the start will please many older game fans. But this is a Disney film, and as such it focuses on its main characters, it has a message to bring and it has to appeal to kids the best way it can. Wreck it Ralph himself is a likable character, and so you do root for him but at the heart of it, it is a kids film not a gamers film.
Wreck it Ralph started its ad campaign sometime last summer, and despite it coming out the USA in November, only just came out here. Presumably it was to avoid the big names over Christmas, and its probably a good thing for its viewing figures for it to have no competition. Its a good family movie and I did enjoy it, but for hardcore and older gamers they may not have the patience to stick with it.
I first heard about this film actually in a games magazine, where it mentioned the many references to gaming culture within this movie. It seemed like an odd choice to me, almost too niche. But perhaps I was underestimating the cultural influence video games have had on us. It showed characters such as Bowser from Mario, the purple Rhino from Altered Beast, and several Street fighter characters having a Bad Anon Meeting. The trailer brings you to assume that these sections are a big part of the movie, and this is actually misleading. Having now seen it, I have to say that the references in the movie are indeed great for gamers, but they do not take up a large portion of the film.
Our main plot actually revolves around Ralph escaping his game to collect a medal and prove hes not a bad guy. This brings him to the sweetie based kart game, where he meets a little girl and the main plot actually revolves around him trying to help her win a race, with some side plot about some bug things from Heroes duty that followed him on his travels there.
When the film focuses on the 5 main characters we kind of lose the early game references & characters, and thus they kind of become lost in the ether. I was actually watching the movie in the cinema and realized the audience was almost entirely adults. I also seriously doubt that many people under a certain age will recognise the earlier references and characters. It seems to me that the film didn't really know who its target audience was and this isn't a bad thing on the whole, but the film is not the full on love letter to retro games it proposed to be. It is to some extent and the detail and characters in the background at the start will please many older game fans. But this is a Disney film, and as such it focuses on its main characters, it has a message to bring and it has to appeal to kids the best way it can. Wreck it Ralph himself is a likable character, and so you do root for him but at the heart of it, it is a kids film not a gamers film.
Wreck it Ralph started its ad campaign sometime last summer, and despite it coming out the USA in November, only just came out here. Presumably it was to avoid the big names over Christmas, and its probably a good thing for its viewing figures for it to have no competition. Its a good family movie and I did enjoy it, but for hardcore and older gamers they may not have the patience to stick with it.
Saturday, 2 February 2013
The Last Stand Review
I hadnt necessarily heard much good things for the Last Stand before I went to see it, but I went anyway, its arnie for god sake. Anyway, I still hear a lot of people saying "hes too old" and so on and so forth. but your missing the point here. So what if he looks weary and older, Clint eastwoods looked like that for years and nobody complains. Sometimes an actor can become something else with age. Over the years since hes not been doing films, Arnie has become somewhat of a cult figure. With his quotes "get to da choppaa!" becoming very famous over the internet as a meme and through youtube in recent years. I think people can be too godamned cynical in this day and age. Sure hes old, but damn, he does a good job in this movie.
The Expendables also helped to bring back the 80s action hero into the public consciousness. Expendables 2 brought back Arnie, Chuck norris, Stallone and a few newer action heroes and reintroduced new audiences to these old school movie heroes. and to follow with that,The Last stand is basically an old school 80s action film, that needs to be looked upon in that light and treated as such.
The plot involves some escaped prisoner thats trying to get over the border, and Arnies little town is what stands between him and freedom. Arnie and his friends hold off the barricade, and the plot itself is pretty much as youd have expected. Whats interesting is how the supporting characters are used in this film. It almost appears like Arnie himself wanted a plot that ensured he didnt have to carry the film, the other guys in this movie get much more overall screen time than arnie does overall. but in saying that, it doesnt become detriment to the movie, the characters are pretty likeable. Johnny Knoxville puts in a fun performance, and the fat mexican guy makes for light comic relief too. They all feel placed well, and I think they had a good time making this movie, it comes across on screen how well they all gel together.
The Last stand plotwise is nothing new, but in terms of execution I feel its one of the most fun action movies of recent years. Its not ashamed to be loud, brash and atypical, and its not ashamed to show its main star kicking some ass. Its a good thing for the movie that the director felt he shouldnt rest upon the fact we have arnie as the star, and we get more backstory, more characterization. This does give the other characters room to breathe. There is a pretty long section of build up for the prisoner escaping however, and I think audiences will struggle to be as forgiving as I was. Thinking in terms of audience, They have gone to this film to see Arnie kick ass, and you do indeed see this, but it takes longer to get there than his films in the 80s. I feel it was a good choice in that it develops the film, but others may see otherwise and just want to get to the meat of it.
Once it really gets going though, we get some of the most fun action scenes from a film in recent memory. Watching arnie kick some ass on screen again really was a joy to see. id also like to mention the humour of the film, I was pretty much laughing out loud throughout the last 40 mins. Great stuff, Id recommend the last stand, but be open minded, leave your brain at the door, and enjoy it for what it is.
The Expendables also helped to bring back the 80s action hero into the public consciousness. Expendables 2 brought back Arnie, Chuck norris, Stallone and a few newer action heroes and reintroduced new audiences to these old school movie heroes. and to follow with that,The Last stand is basically an old school 80s action film, that needs to be looked upon in that light and treated as such.
The plot involves some escaped prisoner thats trying to get over the border, and Arnies little town is what stands between him and freedom. Arnie and his friends hold off the barricade, and the plot itself is pretty much as youd have expected. Whats interesting is how the supporting characters are used in this film. It almost appears like Arnie himself wanted a plot that ensured he didnt have to carry the film, the other guys in this movie get much more overall screen time than arnie does overall. but in saying that, it doesnt become detriment to the movie, the characters are pretty likeable. Johnny Knoxville puts in a fun performance, and the fat mexican guy makes for light comic relief too. They all feel placed well, and I think they had a good time making this movie, it comes across on screen how well they all gel together.
The Last stand plotwise is nothing new, but in terms of execution I feel its one of the most fun action movies of recent years. Its not ashamed to be loud, brash and atypical, and its not ashamed to show its main star kicking some ass. Its a good thing for the movie that the director felt he shouldnt rest upon the fact we have arnie as the star, and we get more backstory, more characterization. This does give the other characters room to breathe. There is a pretty long section of build up for the prisoner escaping however, and I think audiences will struggle to be as forgiving as I was. Thinking in terms of audience, They have gone to this film to see Arnie kick ass, and you do indeed see this, but it takes longer to get there than his films in the 80s. I feel it was a good choice in that it develops the film, but others may see otherwise and just want to get to the meat of it.
Once it really gets going though, we get some of the most fun action scenes from a film in recent memory. Watching arnie kick some ass on screen again really was a joy to see. id also like to mention the humour of the film, I was pretty much laughing out loud throughout the last 40 mins. Great stuff, Id recommend the last stand, but be open minded, leave your brain at the door, and enjoy it for what it is.
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Hotline Miami
It seems to be a very interesting time for video games. the AAA titles seem to be scaling down in terms of creativity, and a lot of the bigger names still going are trading genres for more accessible styles (such as resident evil, thats now a pants action game rather than a survival horror) . As a side line to this, the indie scene is pretty much thriving. A game like Minecraft with poor blocky graphics sold millions of copies. The indie game scene is where all the creativity is going at the moment. and to go along with that, I thought id check out one of the big names, Hotline Miami.
Recently I did a review where I complained about Max Payne 3, and how it glorified violence because the main character was a useless drunk. Here we have a game where the main character is basically a total psycopath, that goes on rampages for little or no reason. Yet...I cant argue with any of it. Hotline Miami is a top down shooter, where you infiltrate buildings and have only one goal, kill every enemy inside. you then leave in your car (which is basically a back to the future de lorean) go to the shops after each mission, grab a pizza, go home, then you wait for a phone call to go and do it all over again.
Any image you see of this game may not necessarily show you what its really about. It has much more to offer than just wanton violence. You see, when you enter one of these buildings, if you go in and shoot everybody, you alert more men, then get owned. if you miss a shot, you get owned. if your not fast enough beating up and killing the guy you just punched down, then he gets back up, alerts his mates, and you get owned. Basically, the game forces you to be strategic. It is not as simple as entering a building and taking out every guy, you literally have to memorize the map and know where each target is before you can continue. and herein lies the addiction. There is also the addition of the masks, which work like perks, such as a horse mask that means doors are lethal. or a rabbit mask which makes you move faster. Hotline miami also has a fantastic soundtrack, that basically gets you moving as your playing, and in a way, makes the game even more addictive. When I first started the game, it quickly became clear here was something a bit different, and to be honest, I feel that its a game that HAS to be experienced. Id recommend it.
Hotline Miami is pretty much the gaming version of Crack.
Recently I did a review where I complained about Max Payne 3, and how it glorified violence because the main character was a useless drunk. Here we have a game where the main character is basically a total psycopath, that goes on rampages for little or no reason. Yet...I cant argue with any of it. Hotline Miami is a top down shooter, where you infiltrate buildings and have only one goal, kill every enemy inside. you then leave in your car (which is basically a back to the future de lorean) go to the shops after each mission, grab a pizza, go home, then you wait for a phone call to go and do it all over again.
Any image you see of this game may not necessarily show you what its really about. It has much more to offer than just wanton violence. You see, when you enter one of these buildings, if you go in and shoot everybody, you alert more men, then get owned. if you miss a shot, you get owned. if your not fast enough beating up and killing the guy you just punched down, then he gets back up, alerts his mates, and you get owned. Basically, the game forces you to be strategic. It is not as simple as entering a building and taking out every guy, you literally have to memorize the map and know where each target is before you can continue. and herein lies the addiction. There is also the addition of the masks, which work like perks, such as a horse mask that means doors are lethal. or a rabbit mask which makes you move faster. Hotline miami also has a fantastic soundtrack, that basically gets you moving as your playing, and in a way, makes the game even more addictive. When I first started the game, it quickly became clear here was something a bit different, and to be honest, I feel that its a game that HAS to be experienced. Id recommend it.
Hotline Miami is pretty much the gaming version of Crack.
Monday, 14 January 2013
The Brilliance that can come from the Story Cubes.
I used these in class. Student allowed me to pass on his Excellent story. Laughed a lot. Great stuff. ha!
http://www.storycubes.com/
Throw the story cubes, get pictures of 9 items. use them to write a story. below is a students items, and his story. Just a quick exercise but damn, Thats some sick humour. Ha!
Items:
House
Bee
Flower
Sad face
Happy face
Foot
Rainbow
Hand
Cane
Two boys emerged out of the nearby bushes. One stood tall with a small teared hat with a red flower peaking out of one of the splits in the fabric. A long green shirt that drooped down to his knees. His trousers, a pair of dark blue torn jeans that dragged along the floor, One leg longer than the other, covering one of his feet. The other was a small fellow, who wore a grey jumper with a picture of a rainbow and black trousers. The boys looked lost. Confused about where they are they looked out at a field. There they both saw an seemingly abandoned house in the middle of a field. They both stood there wondering if anyone was there.
“Come on Robbie! Let’s go check out that weird house over there” Said the boy dressed in Grey
“Ok Doige, I sure hope there’s someone there who knows the way back into town. At this rate, we’ll not be home till night fall…”
The boys both waddled through the field, forcing the spiraling wheat out of their way. 5 minutes passed and they had only reached half way. The boys still plodding along were making slow progress in getting to the house. The floor was covered in dead wheat from where it hadn’t been harvested.
Crack!
The soil collapsed and Robbie fell face first into the hole, crushing his hand as he landed upon the object. He lay still… As he attempted to re-compose himself he heard a faint noise. Robbie looked down at where he had tripped. There lay a cracked shell of a bees nest. The noise started to grow. Bees every ware swarming the boy. Robbie rushed out of the hole and sprinted towards the house. The bees still following him, stinging him for destroying their home. They dug there stingers into his skin, each sting feeling like a whip of a cane being forced against him. A few minutes had past and the boy’s began to slow as they approached the front of the house. By this time, no bees were following them. They had retreated back to their broken hive. They stopped as they stood in front of the porch stairs, looking up at the creaking house seeing if there was any sign of anyone living there.
“Go on Doige, after you” Robbie point up towards the door.
Doige placing each step carefully upon the stairs as he inched closer to the door. There it was, They both stood in front of the door, looking at the bell. Robbie quickly pressed it and retreated back behind Doige. The bell ringing throughout the house, echoing off every floorboard.
To door begin to slowly creak open, the hinges squeaking as it rotated open. The sunlight reveled a tall skinny figure. From the darkness stepped out Jimmy Saville. He looked down at the boys. Robbie and Doige both looked at each other then back to the man.
“Excuse me sir? We’re lost and we need to know the way back into town. Do you know the way back?”
Jimmy stood there with a smirk on his face.
“Now then Now then, Don’t worry boys, Jim’ll fix it.”
The boys look up in terror. He grabbed their shirts and dragged them inside. The door slammed closed behind them. The boys, Robbie and Doige were never seen again.
http://www.storycubes.com/
Throw the story cubes, get pictures of 9 items. use them to write a story. below is a students items, and his story. Just a quick exercise but damn, Thats some sick humour. Ha!
Items:
House
Bee
Flower
Sad face
Happy face
Foot
Rainbow
Hand
Cane
Two boys emerged out of the nearby bushes. One stood tall with a small teared hat with a red flower peaking out of one of the splits in the fabric. A long green shirt that drooped down to his knees. His trousers, a pair of dark blue torn jeans that dragged along the floor, One leg longer than the other, covering one of his feet. The other was a small fellow, who wore a grey jumper with a picture of a rainbow and black trousers. The boys looked lost. Confused about where they are they looked out at a field. There they both saw an seemingly abandoned house in the middle of a field. They both stood there wondering if anyone was there.
“Come on Robbie! Let’s go check out that weird house over there” Said the boy dressed in Grey
“Ok Doige, I sure hope there’s someone there who knows the way back into town. At this rate, we’ll not be home till night fall…”
The boys both waddled through the field, forcing the spiraling wheat out of their way. 5 minutes passed and they had only reached half way. The boys still plodding along were making slow progress in getting to the house. The floor was covered in dead wheat from where it hadn’t been harvested.
Crack!
The soil collapsed and Robbie fell face first into the hole, crushing his hand as he landed upon the object. He lay still… As he attempted to re-compose himself he heard a faint noise. Robbie looked down at where he had tripped. There lay a cracked shell of a bees nest. The noise started to grow. Bees every ware swarming the boy. Robbie rushed out of the hole and sprinted towards the house. The bees still following him, stinging him for destroying their home. They dug there stingers into his skin, each sting feeling like a whip of a cane being forced against him. A few minutes had past and the boy’s began to slow as they approached the front of the house. By this time, no bees were following them. They had retreated back to their broken hive. They stopped as they stood in front of the porch stairs, looking up at the creaking house seeing if there was any sign of anyone living there.
“Go on Doige, after you” Robbie point up towards the door.
Doige placing each step carefully upon the stairs as he inched closer to the door. There it was, They both stood in front of the door, looking at the bell. Robbie quickly pressed it and retreated back behind Doige. The bell ringing throughout the house, echoing off every floorboard.
To door begin to slowly creak open, the hinges squeaking as it rotated open. The sunlight reveled a tall skinny figure. From the darkness stepped out Jimmy Saville. He looked down at the boys. Robbie and Doige both looked at each other then back to the man.
“Excuse me sir? We’re lost and we need to know the way back into town. Do you know the way back?”
Jimmy stood there with a smirk on his face.
“Now then Now then, Don’t worry boys, Jim’ll fix it.”
The boys look up in terror. He grabbed their shirts and dragged them inside. The door slammed closed behind them. The boys, Robbie and Doige were never seen again.
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