Andrew Hawnt's Blog, page 20

Review: REVAMP - “WILD CARD”

REVAMP

“WILD CARD”

GENRE: METAL

NUCLEAR BLAST

Listeners who have come to the work of vocal icon Floor Jansen through her current tenure fronting the mighty NIGHTWISH are going to be very surprised by this album. Hell, long-term fans of Floor will also be surprised too, but in a very good way. To be quite frank, this album is nothing short of a masterpiece of modern melodic metal.

Much,

Review: HUNTRESS - “STARBOUND BEAST”

HUNTRESS

“STARBOUND BEAST”

GENRE: METAL

NAPALM RECORDS 

The second full length album from US-based occult metal sensations HUNTRESS has been out a little while now, and I finally got mine a few weeks ago directly from the band (with a signed card from powerhouse vocalist JILL JANUS – get yours from their store!). It's sunk in properly now and thus here's my review. I didn't get to cover

VHS ATE MY BRAIN - TEASER TRAILER!

The teaser trailer for my 7th book is here! VHS ATE MY BRAIN will be available in Limited Edition paperback, standard paperback and ebook soon!

SIRENIA - "Seven Widows Deep" music video

Loving the sound the band has on this track. The video is excellent aside from some dodgy costumes. Really looking forward to picking this album up. That is, if anyone actually gets it in before I give up and buy it from Amazon.

Review: COSMIC ENGINEERS by CLIFFORD D. SIMAK

This had been on my shelf for a while and the time felt right to give it a try. I'm really glad I did, too. I've enjoyed Simak's work for years now, and this 159 page novel was a fantastic read, packing so many thrilling ideas into the mix that it feels far more epic than its scant length could possibly allow.

Yes, it's pulpy and has an absolutely frenetic pace, but I lapped up every page.

DOCTOR WHO: PETER CAPALDI IS THE 12TH DOCTOR

The BBC have announced via a live special that Peter Capaldi, star of The Thick Of It and numerous other high quality shows (as well as a lifelong DW fan) is to take over from Matt Smith as the 12th Doctor at the climax to this year's Christmas special!

This is absolutely wonderful news. It's time for a more mature Doctor, a new direction and some new adventures. Matt Smith has done a

MEL SMITH – Rest In Peace, You Glorious Bloke

Mel Smith, one of this country's greatest comedy minds of the 1980s and 1990s has died of a heart attack at the age of 60. It is nothing new to hear about celebrity deaths in the news, but this one hit home for me in a profound manner.

Not just because I loved Mel's comedy work, his perfect timing and his legendarily deadpan facial expressions. Not just because his work alongside the equally

CURSE OF CHUCKY TRAILER - Sigh.

I can't stand the Chucky movies. I liked the first one, CHILD'S PLAY, but the sequels were useless, and when the franchise took a different turn with BRIDE OF CHUCKY and then SEED OF CHUCKY, a once-promising horror franchise had finally given in and gone the same way as entries 4,5 and 6 in the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series. That is to say, replaced anything remotely compelling with bad jokes

Review: QUEENSRYCHE - "QUEENSRYCHE" (2013)

Queensryche 

“Queensryche” 

Genre: Progressive Metal/Hard Rock 

Century Media 



Note: The magazine already ran two great reviews of this album this month, 

but I really wanted to add my own take too. Here you go! 

Consider my jaw well and truly dropped. I am a huge Queensryche fan and have been so for twenty years, which is why it had been so heartbreaking to see their star fade to much

Free fiction: LIFE THROUGH A LENS

I wrote a short story for the newsletter at my day job, and thought you may like to check it out as well. A little bit of fantasy and a little bit of life.






Life Through A Lens 

by Andrew Hawnt 

“So can I ask what the trouble is you’ve been having, sir?” Jane asked, looking at the little old man over her slim specs. In the subdued light of the optician’s examination room he looked serene.