Shadows Chasing Ghosts - The Golden Ratio

Shadows Chasing Ghosts - The Golden Ratio

Genres will undoubtedly come and go, and what will be popular in one year, won’t be popular in another. New bands will come along and recycle genres, which is exactly what is happening within the murky depths of the music business as bands such as A Day To Remember are bringing melodic metal music back to the masses.

Does anyone really want to hear continuous screaming from an album anymore? Working in melodies, choruses and lyrics that listeners can really get into, show a band that have real musical talent and aren’t afraid of putting in the hard work. While A Day To Remember represent the US, bands such as Shadows Chasing Ghosts are working tirelessly to get to their music heard by the UK masses.

This week, Shadows Chasing Ghosts appear in the ‘Introducing’ section of the UK’s biggest music magazine, Kerrang! With over 40,000 readers being introduced to the ripping sounds of Shadows Chasing Ghosts, it is clear that the band are on their way to the top. Their debut album ‘The Golden Ratio’ is set to be released on August 2nd and from here on out, we’ll definitely be hearing lots more from this band.

‘The Golden Ratio’ certainly doesn’t hold back. From the very opening note, the album attacks it’s listener, ripping their ear drums to shreds with the blistering ‘Girl in Sheep’s Clothing’ and the brutal ‘You Ain’t Got The Minerals.’

There is definitely no time to stop and have a rest with this album, it’s like a boxer that won’t back down for 12 rounds, continuously beating pretty new bruises into your face. With each track, there’s a new twist – a chanting ending to the more melodic ‘Searchlights’ and the most intricate of riffs in the opening of ‘S.O.S.’

Surrounded by heavyweights such as ‘Thumbelina’s Story’ and ‘Sunlight,’ sits an acoustic track in the form of ‘Timelines.’ It certainly makes a nice change and is a welcome surprise but the listener will be craving something a little heavier while it plays out.

There is no doubt that the album’s closing track ‘With The Best Intentions’ would do well if released as a single, it’s certainly tooth wrenching enough to please the metal fans but it also has the right dose of mainstream rock riffs to please potential new fans.

SCG are probably sick to death of being compared to other bands that are currently on the scene. Fortunately I believe the band have their own distinct sound, and the longer you listen to ‘The Golden Ratio,’ the more layers you unravel. There is definitely something for everyone, there’s no doubt that hardcore metal fans could appreciate it and give it their respect, while those that aren’t into full on screaming and like a bit more melody in their music, can definitely get well into the album.

‘The Golden Ratio’ is possibly one of the best albums I’ve heard in 2010 so far, and there is no question that SCG are tipping over the edge into fully fledged rock star status.

Review by Cherry Pullinger

Foray into Nail Art

I've always loved nail polishes and my current collection boasts over 50 colours but after looking at loads of cool nail art designs on blogs such as Gem Fetale and Wah Nails I decided that I'm going to try it out myself.

After a quick Google search I came across The Nail Art Shop who supply LOADS of nail art accessories for 99p or less! I'm rubbish at drawing shapes so the stencils they have are just great!

Heres what I brought:

3D Glitter White nail art stickers


Star shaped stencil templates


Holofoil Nail Stickers - various designs


French Manicure Nail Guide stickers - style 3


Fruit Salad Fimo slices


Blue Fimo Flower head slices


And it all came to only £8. I shall post my efforts once they arrive!

O.M.G

Well, as I sit here I genuinely can't believe that I now hold a 2:1 BA Hons degree to my name. Results were out on Friday so as I was still up when the clock struck twelve, I decided to try my luck and have a sneaky peek...and there was my 2:1 staring back at me! I couldn't believe it, I really thought I had mucked things up as I didn't really do very well on my Major Project. I was really disappointed about that because I really enjoyed doing it and I thought I did a good job. Now I just have to wait until November until I am an official Graduate!!

On Monday I went to visit Vince in Southampton. We hadn't seen eachother for a month so it was really nice. We didn't do much except relaxing and watching TV, during the days Vince was pretty busy recording tracks so I had to amuse myself with tidying their house and sorting out our new bedroom.

I also had another agenda for visiting Southampton which was for an interview. The interview was for a Web Content Writer Internship that lasts for a year, starting in September. I think it went quite well, apart from the fact I slipped and twisted my ankle five minutes before! Typical me: clumsy. I was a bit nervous to begin with but I think I grew a bit more confident and chatty. It really helps that I'm currently already writing for the Southampton Solent website about the Uni's involvement with Glastonbury festival.

Thank you for all your congratulations on the last post! As I said, I can't believe it myself! I'm back at work now so blogs will be a little fewer but hopefully when I do blog, they'll be a little more interesting!

Degree!

Student:
Cherryanne Pullinger

Course:
BA (Hons) Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing - Year 3

End Of Year Result:
Second Class (First Division)

Congratulations, I am pleased to inform you that the decision of the Progression and Award Board is that you be awarded an Upper Second Class Honours degree.

Wardrobe Wishlist

Do you ever just look at your wardrobe and think "eurgh"? Well, I do it regularly as my current wardrobe pretty much consists of jeans and plain coloured t-shirts. So I've started compiling a wardrobe wishlist of items or outfits I aim to purchase. I'm looking for pieces that I can team with what I've currently got to make some brand new outfits! This month my Wardrobe Wish is:



Indeed, Combat trousers are back, but instead of the baggy 90s throw backs, the Combat trouser has been on a diet and now comes in a stylish skinny fashion. Perfect as an alternative to jeans and leggings and for me, a great alternative to black! What is even better is the fact I pretty much have an exact copy of the stripy top that the model is wearing. Add some black trainer wedges to finish off the outfit and voila! :)

When I have some money (these combats are £32) I'll definitely be buying myself a pair!

Book Review: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

I've always loved being able to hold a book in my hands and snuggle up on the sofa, ready to do hours of reading. Slowly seeing your progress through the book makes you excited to read more and I love not being able to put down a book because it's just so gripping.

I must admit that I am a fan of the Twilight books and I have purchased all of the Twilight series. I have seen the first and second films and was left sorely disappointed as they don't do the books any justice at all. The ridiculous craze surrounding the film's characters tends to take away from the story a lot and gives the books a bad name. Anyway, when I saw the latest release, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella, from Stephanie Meyer, I have to say I was interested. It has been cleverly designed to look like a Twilight book and is actually based around a character that briefly appears in the Eclipse story..but that is where the connections end. If any fans pick up this book expecting to find Twilight part 2, they will be bitterly disappointed.

As I mentioned above, I love the feeling of reading and holding a physical copy of the book but I decided that this review was going to be a little different as I decided to try reading this latest release through the book's official website. I decided to do this because the £6 price tag in my local Sainburys supermarket didn't seem worth it as the book looked extremely thin, and is probably something I could finish in a day. This review will be of the ever growing trend that is e-books as well as the new book.

The book starts off well as we meet Bree and her local vampire 'gang.' I don't want to give too much of the story away but for the Vamp fans out there that are reading, there is a good amount of Vampire hunting in the first fourty or so pages, but by this point I was starting to wonder where Bree came from and who she really was. I must admit, I was getting pretty impatient and annoyed..not because the book was so boring, but because it is extremely difficult to 'snuggle' up on the sofa with a huge laptop that burns your legs. By this point I had also noticed that there are no chapters within this book which in my opinion is just too damn weird, and there is no way of bookmarking where you have stopped reading so you'll just have to remember which page number you were on!

While reading this book it all seemed kind of pointless. It could have been written from the viewpoint of Riley or Victoria, or even one of the other Cullens, which probably would have made it a tad more interesting but not much. We followed Bree as she struggled with newborn life, acted a bit ditsy as she tried to figure out what her vampy skills were with her male companion and was blindly led to fight the Cullen coven and then it was all over.

I'm all for online versions of newspapers and magazines but online versions of books just don't work. There is just nothing better than reading a physical copy of a book, seeing the front cover and back cover artwork and how can you fill your bookshelves with e-books?

The book was so short at just 178 pages that there wasn't enough of a story to really sink your teeth into (excuse the pun). The whole thing seemed like a waste of time, created purely to keep the Twilight craziness bubbling and money in the author's pocket.

1 in 270

Yesterday, a particular news story caught my eye. The Daily Mail news website claimed that 1 in 270 graduates have a chance of landing a job since the recession.

Up to 270 graduates are battling for every job vacancy after the recession triggered an unprecedented scramble, a study shows today.

Applications for graduate posts have hit a record high this year as rejected candidates from 2008 and 2009 swell the ranks of job-seekers.

Now that I'm considered a graduate, I not only have to compete with 2010 graduates but also graduates from the past two years aswell, making it even more difficult for me to land a job.

I have been looking for jobs in the Magazine Journalism industry since before Christmas, before I even finished University and I've so far had 1 interview for a web content job. I've applied for pretty much every job I come across that I feel I could do but I don't even hear back from most of them. A nice email thanking me for my application but letting me know that I've unfortunately not been successful this time around would be much better than being completely ignored.

It's proving extremely difficult to find a job in my chosen industry so I'm doing lots of odd writing jobs here and there, sometimes for free, in order to build up my CV. Many positions require people that already have experience in magazines, so what hope do I have of landing a magazine role if I can't actually get experience in magazines? It's all one big vicious circle which makes you feel like you've wasted the past three years of your life!