Albums of the year SO FAR!

I don't know about you, but I've got the feeling that this year is going to be one of the best for music in a long time. We've had a number of great albums already released with plenty more to come. So I thought, as we're nearly halfway through the year (and I have some spare time), why not look at what I think are the top 5 albums of 2010 so far? Why not indeed. So lets get stuck in:

5. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

The third instalment from the animated band, which has morphed into a huge machine including a string quartet and plently of guest stars. Many have said this album sees Gorillaz taking a big move towards Pop. This is obvious in singles Stylo and Superfast Jellyfish, which have the simple and catchy melodies, but the usual portion of guest rappers is still present. There are a lot of guests on this album, and I was afraid this might detract from the music. But instead it adds something to the experience, to know that a large group of very talented musicians have come together to create something so mellow and chilled, perfectly capturing the warm image Damon Albarn wanted, while still making you question the relevance of our plastic obsessed world.

4. Gogol Bordello - Trans-continental Hustle

Gypsy-punk is one of those odd genres that only exists really to accommodate one or two bands. Gogol go very neatly into it. The nutty Romani tribe have released an absolute gem here, bringing together politics, love and general silliness into their unique style. The folksy Pala Tuteand My Companero kick the album off brilliantly, building to the fantastic Immigrada and finishing off with the folky title track, as they take you on a journey through punk-folk perfection. As main support to Rage Against The Machine for their free Finsbury Park show, they have started to break even further into the public eye.

3. Cancer Bats - Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones

With Hail Destroyer being such a solid album, you'd think Cancer Bats would struggle to build on it. Yet this is possibly their best album to date. From the pounding opening of Sleep This Way, through the hardcore swagger of Black Metal Bicycle and Doomed To Fail and finishing with an epic cover of Sabotage, we are given a master-class in hardcore. There are thrash tracks, slow pounding tracks and modern groove-metal classics, we have the whole spectrum making this a brilliantly varied album. This band were without a doubt a highlight of Download this year, and it looks like they're going from strength to strength.

2. As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise

Well, this is just amazing. As with CB, As I Lay Dying's last album was an absolute cracker, defining their sound and maturing into one of the best metalcore bands ever. It was going to take something spectacular to beat it, and that's what they've done. Brutal riffing with sing-a-long choruses is what AILD do best, and there is plenty of that on The Powerless Rise. It comes flying at you from the first brutal guitar riff, and doesn't let up until the last note fades away. Anodyne Sea and Parallels are almost the perfect metalcore songs, Without Conclusion is one of the heaviest songs they've ever written, yet the lyrics are extremely profound and soulful. This is without a doubt their finest hour, and as another band who slayed at Download this year, it just goes to show how fantastic the line-up really was.

Speaking of Download....

1. Deftones - Diamond Eyes

It's being hailed by some as their best ever, and those some are not far off. On Diamond Eyes we are treated to the full range of Deftones unique style, from the crunching heavy licks of Rocket Skates to the ethereal, wandering melodies of Sextape, with others such as the title track that mix the two for epic results. Although there are arguably less stand out tracks as previous offerings, the album as a whole is a clever, solid and beautiful piece of work that shows off just how fresh Deftones can be with each album, yet still keep their instantly recognisable sound. Live the new tracks have sounded powerful, fitting in perfectly with the rest of the back catalogue, blowing audiences minds as they have been for years (apparently, I've only seen them this year...). It is imperative that everyone sees them when they next tour, it is a truly awesome experience.

So that's my top 5. There should be special mentions to dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip - Logic of Chance and The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis, both fantastic albums that haven't quite made it. If I've missed anything or you disagree, don't hestitate to inform me/ call me a moron so I may be corrected, or re-evaluate my friendship with you. That is what is at stake here.

RIP Ronnie James Dio

Today is a sad day for metal. It has been confirmed that Ronnie James Dio, Singer for Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell, has lost his battle with stomach cancer.

As one of the most respected and talented singers in rock, he inspired many bands in a number of genres. Two of the albums that he featured on, Heaven & Hell by Black Sabbath and his solo album Holy Diver, are often considered to be some of the best albums ever recorded, and are certainy two of the most important heavy metal records ever made. As frontman for Black Sabbath, he was able to resurrect a band that was heading for the trash heap after the depature of Ozzy, and a series of other unsuccesful vocalists.

I first came across Dio a little while after experiencing Sabbath for the first time, when I was about 13/14. Although I always prefered the stuff they recorded with Ozzy Osbourne, Dio was far and away the better singer. I still consider Live Evil to be one of the greatest live albums of all time, and it's majorly because of him. Holy Diver, of course, speaks for itself. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and close friends.

Influential, incredible and irreplaceable. That is Ronnie James Dio. RIP

Electoral reform protest in Trafalgar Square and Smith Square

Today, as Nick Clegg and his party talked behind closed doors about the possibility of a Tory/Lib Dem coalition (ConDem, thank you Phil), around 1000 protesters led by Billy Bragg and electoral reform coalition Take Back Parliament, marched from Trafalgar Square to Smith Square where the talks were taking place to, as one protester put it: "remind Nick Clegg that electoral reform is a key issue and that he should not sell out to any of the other parties."

The chants of: "Fair votes now!" and: "Make votes count!" rang out across central London as angry citizens called for change to the current "first past the post" system.

After speechs from Bragg (and a song) and head of the Electoral Reform Society Andrew Burns, and a skit featuring the slaying of the Rupert Murdoch News Corpse dragon in Trafalgar Square, the demonstartion moved past the Houses of Parliament to Smith Square, outside the building where Clegg and other senior Lib Dems are holed up working out how to make a "ConDem" coalition work. On the way a minor scuffle nearly broke out between Bragg and a group of anti-capitalists who tried to hi-jack the protest, marching in the middle of the road holding a big banner saying "Capitalism isn't working." It all calmed down very quickly however, and Bragg later jokingly asked their leader: "Did you get dressed in the dark this morning?"

When we made it to Smith Square (complete with police escort), there were already a legion of journalists and cameramen hanging around outside. When Nick Clegg eventually came out to speak to everyone, they had to be pushed back. Some of the crowd started chanting: "Move the press," until they were reminded by the organisers that if the press weren't there, there wouldn't be a great amount of coverage. This prompted some to start chanting: "Just Move Sky," which may have been a response to Kay Burley's earlier comments: http://tinyurl.com/34d6jzh

Clegg thanked the crowd, and spoke about how: "Reforming politics is one of the reasons I went into politics." adding, "It is in the interests of everyone in Great Britain for us to use this opportunity to usher in a new politics after the discredited politics of the past." He then urged them to continue their campaign for a new and better politics.

Overall it was a reasonable success. The point of the protest was made known, got plenty of exposure and it got a response from Nick Clegg. And on a personal note I met Billy Bragg, a hero of mine. Hopefully Nick Clegg will take on board the message of this protest and not sell himself out to either party.


A short video of the protesters on my crappy phone camera. The chant is: "No more wasted votes."