Andrew Hawnt's Blog, page 21

METAL ESSENTIALS: JUDAS PRIEST - "PAINKILLER" (1990)

Judas Priest's 1990s got off to a phenomenal start with this album, which still stands up today as one of the greatest Heavy Metal albums ever recorded. It is also one of the most 'Metal' albums ever created, with literally every single aspect of every song pushed to the absolute limit. The songwriting is stunning, but it is the performances of each individual band member which are the most

Time for a sizeable update... BOOKS, LIFE AND STUFF!

Okay. Stuff is going on and I'm doing all that I can to keep up. It's time for an update on what's going on at Castle Hawnt and what you can expect from me in the coming months. On a personal level I have been rather unwell of late, and will be arranging a hospital visit very soon in order to investigate some stuff. Nothing serious (hopefully) – just annoying and uncomfortable. For those of you

James Herbert tribute up at HORRORNEWS.NET

I wanted to write something special following the recent death of genre fiction icon james Herbert, but it took a little while to figure out how to approach it. The resulting piece, JAMES HERBERT - A LOST MASTER has now been published over at Horrornews.net and I am most proud of the results. Please do check it out, and feel free to leave comments in the section following the article. I hope

GOO GOO DOLLS COVER FEATURE - OUT NOW!

My recent interview with Johnny from the GOO GOO DOLLS has been selected as this month's cover feature for the new issue of POWERPLAY ROCK AND METAL MAGAZINE, and is OUT NOW across the country! We chat about the band's new album, "Magnetic" and a career which has seen them become household names around the world. Please do check it out!

TO BANISH THE DARK: A RETURN TO SCI-FI

My latest pop culture book, VHS ATE MY BRAIN, is yet to be completed as I am still trying to get the last interviews finalised with people, but it'll arrive eventually! In the meantime I am turning my attention back to science fiction with the novella TO BANISH THE DARK. I've wanted to use that title for years and finally the story that fits it is coming.



This will be one of a series of '

What the hell happened to Yahoo?

Has it really come to this? Has Yahoo really stooped so low as to become little more than a place that posts news stories about breasts? I've been a Yahoo user since 1998 and have seen the site go from being pretty much THE place to use to the sorry mess it's in today. Headlines like 'Kelly Brook Dons a Gold Bikini' and endless 'stories' about how Kim Kardashian is trying to hide her pregnancy

James Herbert: Rest In Peace

Now this was a shock. James Herbert, the legendary genre author known for novels such as The Fog, The Rats, The secret of Crickley Hall, The Ghosts Of Sleath, Once and many more, died today at the age of 69. His books are absolutely dripping with a style which is at once supremely English and easily accessible by readers worldwide.

Erring usually more towards chills rather than all-out carnage

PROJECT UPDATE: VHS ATE MY BRAIN

Hey all! Here's a quick update on what's going on with my 7th book, VHS ATE MY BRAIN. It's been a little while since I said much about my projects here and I thought it was time I started giving you regular info on where I'm at with stuff.

VHS ATE MY BRAIN is very nearly complete. The book is written but is missing some interviews from the latter half, which I want to include before it becomes

REVENGE OF THE HACK

So. It's been a tough few months here. With fatherhood, marriage, a looming new dayjob and all kinds of other stuff going on around me, it's not left me much time to write a great deal. The time that I have had available to write has been going on my magazine work, my column and occasional reviews for other places. I just couldn't fit much else in, and I was wondering why that was.

I figured

Life gets in the way

Hey. Apologies for the lack of action here of late. I've had the most monumental 12 months of my entire life, and it's been tough fitting in blogging on top of my dayjob and my freelancing and book work. In the past year I've become a homeowner, a father and now a husband. Life is very tiring and not always very easy to deal with, but it has also never been better. Once I am feeling a little less