Music Tag.

I've just stumbled across this tag via Make up Pixi3's blog this evening. I couldn't wait to get answering the questions myself as music is such a huge part of my life and anyway to combine music and blogging is alright by me! Did you know that I used to do an 'album of the week' weekly post reviewing my favourite albums? Lil fact for you there- I might resurrect that trend in the near future (leave me a comment if you're interested!). So, on with the tag!

What’s your favourite type of music?

Metal. Metal. Metal. Metal. Metal. But seriously, I'm a metalhead in every-which-way and I like most metal across the history of the genre. I also like classic rock (think Deep Purple, Rainbow and Thin Lizzy), I love Jeff Buckley and the odd female artist like Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey. I'm super fussy when it comes to music though, I definitely know what I like!

What’s your least favourite type of music?

Hip Hop, Rap, R&B and 99.9999999% of modern pop music. I don't like music that doesn't evoke any emotions in me and these genres specifically don't say anything to me. Each to their own though- I know metal won't say anything to most people other than "guess how much noise these guys can make".

What’s the best gig you’ve been to?

It depends really. I've seen Muse live 8-9 times but I really hate their last two albums so one of the first few gigs of their's that I went to would have to be up there. I also loved seeing Heaven & Hell and it was extra special as Ronnie James Dio died a few years later- I'm so glad I got to hear him sing live before he passed away. I also love really small intimate gigs where everyone in the room is totally feeling the music and enjoying themselves. For me, a good gig is defined by a tight band, with good vibes and who get the crowd going.

What albums are you listening to at the moment?

I've not listened to anything new for ages, other than Bring Me The Horizon's new album Sempiternal which I LOVE! They're my favourite band and they just keep getting better! I've also been listening to The Elijah- I Loved/I Hated/I Destroyed/I Created, you should deffo check this band out! They're kind of like a hardxcore soundscape band if that makes any sense, and they are unreal live! 

I've also been listening to some old favourites like Metallica- Ride The Lightning; Parkway Drive- Don't Close Your Eyes and Woe, Is Me- Numbers.

What's your favourite bands/artists & favourite albums?

My favourite bands are: Bring Me The Horizon; Muse (first 4 albums only); The Black Dahlia Murder; Rainbow; Metallica; Black Sabbath; The Devil Wears Prada; Mastodon; Paramore; Iwrestledabearonce; Underoath; Deaf Havana; Bleed From Within; This Will Destroy You; We Butter The Bread With Butter... the list goes on!

My favourite albums are (ahem): BMTH- There is a hell, belive me I've seen it. There is a heaven let's keep it a secret; Muse- Origin of Symmetry; Metallica- Ride The Lightning; Iwrestledabearonce EP; The Black Dahlia Murder- Nocturnal; Mastodon- The Hunter; Mastodon- Crack the Skye; Deaf Havana- Meet Me Half Way At Least; Rainbow- Rainbow Rising; Black Sabbath- Paranoid; Gustav Holst- The Planets.

If you could instantly know how to play any instrument, what would it be?

Either the guitar or piano. I'm a massive sucker for synths in metal and I love classical piano so that would be ace. But I can't deny that playing the guitar would be fucking awesome. My boyfriend's an awesome axe man and has played in loads of bands but even he can't teach me to shred! Alas, a fan of music is all I'll ever be! 

Fave Five: Nude Lipsticks.

MAC Glaze in Hue; MeMeMe Long Wear Satin Lip Cream in China Rose; Marks & Spencer lipstick in Nude; Look Beauty Loud Lips in Toffee Cup; Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick mini  in Celebutard (from set but available in full size).

I never used to wear nude lipsticks because I always thought it was pretty pointless when I was younger but now I love wearing them and have a good mini-collection going on. I've chosen my favourite five nude lipsticks here to share with y'all. My favourite one of the five would have to be Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick in Celebutard which is typical me because you can't buy it in the UK without paying over the odds on ebay, unless you're planning a trip to the States. It's the perfect mix of peach, pink and nude all wrapped up in a creamy matte formula. I actually took this lipstick to MAC to see if I could get a dupe and decided on Hue which is the perfect colour match but has that glaze finish rather than a matte one. This might seem weird but I love the way the Look Beauty Loud Lips smell- they're really sweet and vanillary and the colour of Toffee Cup is delicious! The MeMeMe one is definitely the darkest of the bunch and I'd say it was more of a rosey-nude. I don't think the M&S one is available any more (sorry) because I actually bought this in the sale when they were getting rid of their old makeup range but I'm sure there's a similar shade in either their new Autograph or Limited Collection ranges. What are your favourite nude lipsticks? 

I'm A Hevy Bolta Kind Of Girl.

This post is a bit of a break from my regular product reviews etc but I thought I'd just mention my boyfriend's music project that he's been working on for a while now. Hevy Bolta is a one man band and I thought you, your boyfriend's or your friends might wanna check out his licks. He's a guitarist by name but plays all the instruments on these here songs- some made via computer programmes and sampling. Go check out my man's soundcloud page.

In other news, I'm going down to London on Sunday for the day to get tattooed which I'm super excited about! I've also got a job interview coming up in a few weeks which I'm super nervous about but fingers crossed!! Hope you're all having a lovely week. 

N.I.B

Dress- Topshop

Leggings- Primark

Necklace- Topshop

Ring- Dorothy Perkins

I wore this shopping the other night. This top is the same as the mottled grey one that I have from Topshop; I love how baggy it is and the asymmetry of the sleeves. My dad said I looked like I was in Black Sabbath and said all I needed was a moustache! I love this ring, it's super massive and fairly heavy but I love the spacey glitter in the stone. I also love that it's square as most of my rings are round. I'm expecting my uni results any day now which I'm super nervous about but I just wanna get them now cause every other uni in the world seemed to give their results out ages ago. I can't believe I graduate in less than two weeks! Two weeks tomorrow is my 21st birthday so I'm going out for a meal with my family after the graduation ceremony. I've got some fun planned with my chums too- we're gonna have some treatments at a spa near me and then go out for a meal so that's a lil treat to look forward to. 

Orion.

 

 

Top- Topshop

Cardigan- H&M

Leggings- Primark

Ring- Matalan

Nails- Grey Primark mini nail varnish (from set) and Models Own Hedkandi in Ibiza Mix.

Man, it pains me to say this but this Metallica top/dress is from Topshop. Band t shirts being sold in high street stores is super annoying to me cause it results in ‘Topshop girls’ wandering round in AC/DC, Hendrix or Led Zeppelin t shirts without them actually liking the band because they wanna go for that ‘rock look’. I’m cringing even as I type this! I wouldn’t even feel right wearing any of the aforementioned band t shirts even though I own some of their albums and know a fair bit about them all- you wear a band t shirt to show your love for the band people. OK, so I know I sound like a massive arse right now but its a real bee in my bonnet. So when I saw this Metallica top in Topshop I initially felt a little bit sick and avoided it at all costs. My mum picked it up and was like “you like Metallica Roisin, why don’t you try this on?”; I tried to explain my predicament and she said “but you like them so why does it matter?”. Words of wisdom right there. I tried it on, loved it and bought it. I love my ‘self-customised’ Ride the Lightning top but I buzz off the fact that I can wear this as a dress. Tbh, bands should just cotton on that girls like wearing band tops as dresses and start making these themselves. Rant over.

Album of the Week #21.

 

Parkway Drive- Don’t Close Your Eyes.

This first and by far the best Parkway Drive album release (OK, technically it’s an EP but it’s easier to write it like that), Don’t Close Your Eyes is full of riffs, beatdowns and unbelievable awesomeness. The album opens with a pretty intense intro which I assume is sampled from a film. Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em is my personal favourite opening with an intense riff followed immediately by chugging fury- this song is just full or brief but brilliant beatdowns. The drums are ferocious and relentless teamed with the spidery guitars and screaming vocals. I love the riff towards the end of this track- for me it summarises Parkway Drive perfectly and this song closes with the third and final beatdown, intense.  For me this album is all about the guitars from sharp riffs, grim beatdowns, dirty chugs and wild widdling it’s all in there for me. Another favourite of mine is Flesh, Bone and Weakness which opens with an awesome bass riff- I love how this song builds up in contrast to some of the crashing song intros on this album. The Cruise opens with the sound of waves breaking and some stunning acoustic guitar- this is a beautiful instrumental which totally holds its own in the middle of the crashing fury of the other tracks. Album closer Don’t Close Your Eyes is another awesome track with some of my fave Parkway riffs in it flowing from fast to slow chugs. The beatdown on this track is unbelievable – there’s some quality guitar on this track too with seemingly endlessly changing solos and overlays.

This album introduced me to so many other bands- my boyfriend first bought Don’t Close Your Eyes when visiting family in Austrailia back in the day and lent it to me and that was pretty much it for me. I’m not really a fan of Killing With A Smile (2006) but I really love Horizons (2007- check out The Siren’s Song, Carrion and Boneyards) and Deep Blue (2010- check out Sleepwalker) is a fairly good album- but none of them top this for me unfortunately. I dunno what you’d call Parkway Drive, maybe post-hardxcore; you can definitely see the hardxcore influences but I think some of the guitar has a Thin Lizzy type sound to it tbh. I hate trying to categorise music because it, especially metal, pretty much has all the same influences but bands just take them in a different direction. I actually have the bonus version of Don’t Close Your Eyes cause the original is hard to get hold of but I’ve just reviewed the 8 track EP here. Check it out.

I'm Charming.

 

T-shirt- The Black Dahlia Murder merch

Shorts- Topshop

Leggings- Primark

Shirt- Primark

Denim Jacket- Drop Dead Clothing

Ring- Topshop

Nails- Chanel in Paradoxial

I wore this to uni last week- I’m super behind on outfit posts because I’ve been revising for and sitting my exams but they’re finally over now! I feel like I’ve been neglecting my many a band t shirt recently because I’ve just been living in my t shirt dresses. I want some more denim shorts but I can’t seem to find any I like. These black ones from Topshop are semi-stretchy like skinny jeans which I like cause sometimes denim can be real stiff. I normally wear a grey (mens) hoodie under my Drop Dead jacket but the warmer weather called for something less heavy so I opted for my trusty lumberjack shirt. It’s a lil bit felty which I like with these flannely shirts. I got this ring with my last mini-haul but couldn’t get it to photograph nice without being on my finger. So here it is! I love it loads, it’s well unusual and I love statement rings as it is. This pic doesn’t do the nail varnish justice but Paradoxial is one of my favourite nail varnishes ever- its a super smooth grey with a metallic, lilac shimmer running through it. I’m sorting my room out so I’ll be putting loads of stuff on ebay- I just have far too many clothes that I don’t wear any more so they gots to go! I’ll post a link so you can take a look at what I’m selling.

Album of the Week #19.

 

Evita- Like An Ocean We Rise Again EP. 

I was trying to decide whether to review Like An Ocean We Rise Again EP (2007) or Evita's full length album Minutes And Miles (2009) but I chose the EP because it's just intense. Don't get me wrong, I love the album, but it always leaves me wanting more and I won't get that cause Evita are no more. Gutted. The Ep crashes open with instrumental 'Embrace The End' which is just a series of dirty riffs. This EP has that real raw sound to it, you know, like it was recorded in a shoe box. It's that really fuzzy, buzzing guitar and bass that make it sound extra intense. This track is essentially the intro for track 2 'Lap Dance Girl' opening with the same riffage. I love the vocals on this EP- they're really gutteral and low unlike some modern bands which sound strained and high pitched. There's some quality pig squeals on this EP- if that's not a reason to check it out then what is? My boyfriend genre-ised these as Pantera-inspired deathxcore just so you know. It makes used of the grooves of Entomed and Obituary.

Typical to bands what I do like, this band offer many a beatdown paired with chugging guitars. There's some good spidering about done on this EP I'll have you know. 'Monroe Faked It All' is furiously fast in the main with the added clean vocals- a feature which became central on full-length Minutes And Miles. 'Beyond The Rising Sun' is another brutal track but it makes way for my favourite 'Mercy Across Your Face' which has a beautiful guitar fade-in intro and a spine-tingling break-in of electric guitar. The riffs on this EP are just rolling- I don't know how better to describe it- one riff just gracefully rolls into the next one, there's no jagged switch. I'm gutted that this band are no more! I've just done some online research and discovered that Evita have re-formed but with no current release since the announcement in 2010- strange- and now have a clean vocalled hard rock sound. So they're a completely different band? Don't fall for it you guys! Overall, check it out you guys, its heavy stuff this EP.

Whole Lotta Rosie.

 

T-shirt- Nikki Lipstick
Jacket- Topshop
Skirt- Primark
Leggings- Primark
Earrings- Muse
Ring- Matalan
Nail Varnish- Look Beauty Nail Pop in Ribbon and Bling
Lipstick- MAC in Viva Glam Nicki

Oh this day! I tried to forget about that morning! OK, so I wore this the other week to meet my friend in town to go shopping and I was having a mega bad outfit day! Honestly, I must have got changed about 15 times, I was not impressed. I was about to go out the front door and changed my jacket in the end to my leather jacket but this was not a time for photos as I had a train to catch! I tried different skirts on and jackets and shoes because the weather was being weird but all I knew was that I wanted to wear my Nikki Lipstick t-shirt because it had arrived the day before. I love it so so much- this was a tumblr triumph because I saw a photo of a girl wearing this very shirt and though “WANT!” so I tracked it down and found Nikki’s online store and instantly purchased! You can’t see in this pic (cause the jackets in the way obvs) but I’ve stitched the sleeves in a rolled-up kind of way similar to a Topshop t-shirt I have because I love that look atm. I just thought I’d note that I had a lovely day in the end with my chum and we spent lots of monies and ate loads of Wagamamas.

I’m having a bit of a coral phase atm hence the lipstick and nail varnishes. I’m loving my Look Beauty nail varnishes and I’m so excited that they’ve launched an online store (my poor bank account) so I’ve got my eyes on a few bits and bobs. I’m still loving my Viva Glam lippy and want more more more MAC makeup but need more more more money! I’ve currently got my peepers peeled for jobs cause after my exams I’m officially unemployed just floating around and that’s no good for my mind so I need to find something to do. I dunno if I mentioned that I’ve replaced my long lost double cross ring- it’s deffo lost in the mountains of CDs and books at my boyfriend’s bedroom but I can’t find it so I bought a new one (much loves). I had a pretty nice Easter weekend- I got to see my high school chums + boyfriends on Saturday night. We went for a cheeky curry and it was immense. Got a few shopping trips planned with my chums over the next week or so, so hopefully I’ll find some new goodies to try out. I’m not bothered about clothes still- well I am, just not the ones in the shops! Hopefully Primark will make some more t-shirt dresses in many colours so I can just buy loads of them and never wear anything else. That wouldn’t make boring outfit posts would it?