Alter Bridge: AB III

Hello everyone. Today, I'm reviewing Alter Bridge's newest album, AB III. It was released October 8th, 2010. I'm not a die-hard Alter Bridge fan but I did listen to the occasional song before I took a listen to this album. The major difference I saw between the tracks on this album compared to their older songs were the musical styles. Of course, there are still songs that sound like the Alter Bridge fans are used to, such as Breath Again and Show Me a Sign but there were some heavier and lighter songs I wasn't expecting from the band. I really enjoyed the heavier ones like Isolation, I Know It Hurts and Still Remains. The lightest of the songs (light for Alter Bridge at least) I did not enjoy as much, Life Must Go On and Wonderful Life; I felt that they didn't really fit with rest of the album. Overall, the musical quality throughout the album was fairly pleasing to the ear, better than in the past in my opinion. One other thing I like is the amount of songs on the album, 16 in all. I look forward to future releases by the band. I give AB III a 8 out of 10.

Alter Bridge - AB III

Slip to the Void ****

Isolation *****

Ghost Of Days Gone By ****

All Hope Is Gone ***

Still Remains ****

Make It Right ***

Wonderful Life **

I Know It Hurts *****

Show Me A Sign **

Fallout ***

Breath Again *****

Coeur D'Alene *****

Life Must Go On **

Words Darker Than Their Wings *****

Zero ***

Home ***

Lent: What are you giving up?

Hello everyone,

It's been quite a while since my last post, things have been busy but I'm going to try my best to keep the posts regular.

It's that time of year again, Lent. If you're not sure what Lent is all about, there are many websites that can explain it better than I can. In short, you give something up for 40 days up to Easter. I'm giving up fast food because, as a lot of you know, I like to eat out. Last year, I gave up pop and iced tea and managed to last the whole 40 days. So, my question to you is, will you give something up? And if so what? Feel free to leave a comment of your Lent goal(s) below. It's much harder than some of you may think but is very satisfying when you accomplish it.

Well, that's all I have for now. Within the next week, I'll have one or two album reviews for you so look out for those.

Later.

Luck: A State of Mind

Hey everyone. Hope you all had a wondeful Christmas, I know I did! Lots of food, family and good cheer all around. And Crosspoint's Christmas @the Playhouse was pretty sweet, glad I was able to be a part of it. Anyways, I came across an article the other day by Switchfoot's very own Jon Foreman called This is What Luck Smells Like. It really made me realize how lucky I really am, despite all of my negativity these days. Let me know what you think of it.

Later days!

This is the Worst!

Hello all. Unfortunately, it is exam time so I thought I would put up a little video to cheer some people up (me included). After the Physics lab disaster tonight, I'm about ready to just collapse and sleep for a week so I know how you feel. Anyways, Christmas is a mere 11 days away! Whoo! I cannot wait!

A Quick Hello

Hey there everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, things have been busy. School is finally starting to wind down and exams start next week. If I can just make it to Christmas... Anyways, things have been a little better since last time, feeling a lot better. I finally went to the doctor to see what was going on with my dizziness. Apparently, when I stand up, my blood pressure drops. I haven't found out what's causing it but I'm going for blood work sometime in January. Well, other than that, there's not much new or interesting going on right now.

Some things coming up:
-Album review (suggestions welcome!)
-Top 10 lists (movies, bands, songs)

Please give me some suggestions on things to talk about, I'm running out of ideas!

Talk to you all soon!

Collective Soul: The Rabbit

So, it been a couple weeks since my last post and I've been listening to Collective Soul's newest album, Collective Soul (or Rabbit as the band nicknamed it) a lot. Overall, I'm very impressed. The musicianship, I thought, was much enhanced compared to the band's older stuff. The guitar skills stood out for me. The drums were done by the bands new drummer, Cheney Brannon, and I really enjoy the interesting beats. Ed Roland's vocals were great as usual and he even played some keys, which were fairly decent. As for the songs, the bulk of them are excellent, save two. The tracks Fuzzy and Lighten Up were kind of disappointing, but more so Fuzzy. I just do not understand why they felt the need to include that song on the album. But, of course, the good outweighs the bad. The top three songs in my opinion are Staring Down, You and Welcome All Again. Staring Down is an upbeat song and includes Ed Roland on the keyboard, which was excellent. This was the first single they released from the album. You is a slower song and speaks to the heart. Welcome All Again is a rocking song and it's easy to get into. My overall rating for the album is a 8.5 out of 10 (Fuzzy brought it down). This will be one of my favourite albums for quite a while.

Collective Soul - Collective Soul (Rabbit)

1. Welcome All Again *****

2. Fuzzy *

3. Dig ****

4. You *****

5. My Days ****

6. Understanding *****

7. Staring Down *****

8. She Does *****

9. Lighten Up **

10. Love ****

11. Hymn For My Father ***

An Apple a Day

Hey everyone,

Just thought I'd give you all an update on how life is going for me. This last week was been shaky. Last Monday, I got a cold, what's the big deal right? Well, on Saturday night, I was experiencing intense pain in my gut, it felt like someone was stabbing me. We (my parents and I) thought I might have to go up to the hospital but I waited it out and it slowly subsided. I'm still feeling kinda crappy at the moment but it's nothing compared to what it was. Hopefully it's just a passing virus and nothing too serious. My visit with the doctor isn't until November 16th so I'll have to wait to make sure all is good. Anyways, school is getting slightly more bearable but I still don't know if it's for me. I've decided to tough it out in sciences for now and see what happens. Within the next week, I'll be reviewing a CD I just picked up, Collective Soul's second self-titled album (not sure why you'd have two haha) and so far I'm enjoying most of the songs. Also, if there's anything you want me to talk about, review or add to my blog, feel free to leave your thoughts on this post. Well, I've got a Chem lab tomorrow so I better get some sleep.

Bye for now

Smoke & Mirrors

So, I finally got to listen to Lifehouse's newest album, Smoke & Mirrors. In fact, I'm listening to the title track right now. I've listened to most of the tracks and I have to say, I'm really enjoying it. Lifehouse put a diversity of genres in this album. "Smoke & Mirrors" has a southern rock feel to it, "It is What it Is" is more pop styled than most of Lighthouse's other songs, and surprisingly I enjoy it. Also, "Nerve Damage" is a mix of hard rock and blues, sounds weird but it works really well. The other songs are more like the Lifehouse most people know. My favourite songs so far are "All In", "Nerve Damage" and "Had Enough." Overall, I'm impressed with the album. This greatly increases my respect for Lifehouse. I recommend you take a listen.

Smoke & Mirrors

Lifehouse

1. All In

2. Nerve Damage

3. Had Enough

4. Halfway Gone

5. It Is What It Is

6. From Where You Are

7. Smoke & Mirrors

8. Falling In

9. Wrecking Ball

10. Here Tomorrow Gone Today

11. By Your Side
12. In Your Skin

Enjoy!

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

A month gone by in Sciences at UNB and well... I'm not sure what to think. Biology has required a quite a bit of work, Chemistry is a pain, Physics isn't too bad and Math, well, since I already know it, it's very easy. The labs were pretty crappy at first (57% in Chem, ouch!) but are starting to get a little better. However, I starting to think that Science might not be for me. I'm just gonna tough it out for at least a semester and then I'll make my decision. As for non-school related stuff (of which there's very little haha), the All-Nighter at Crosspoint Wesleyan Church on Friday night was a great success. There were nearly 100 kids, crazy stuff! I rocked out on the drums for Dancing Generation and Rise and Sing, and sung for Hello Hurricane and No One Like You. They all went pretty well, minus John's string breaking, but what can ya do? Oh and the zombie Thriller dance was really well done. Anyways, that's how life has been in the last little while; a few ups and a few downs. Hopefully there will be more ups in the near future.

Catch ya later

He shoots, he... he... scores?

Well, tonight, Aaron Shaw somehow convinced me to spend 78 dollars on NHL 11. Personally, I think they are charging way too much for it. The new features are pretty sweet, such as the new face-off maneuvers and the hip checking. However, the passing is pretty bad and the difficulty, as in the 09 title, is still ridiculous. Like really, if you can't even score one goal, what's the point of playing? The greatest part of the game is the return of the multiple players in season mode. For some reason, the took it out in NHL 09. Anyways, the game is still pretty good and the graphics are great. Hopefully I'll get better sometime soon or there will be much controller throwing in the near future.

You Blink and It's Gone

Wow, I can't believe I have posted since Switchfoot! Time flies... High school is now over and the creature that is university has taken over. Although I don't like to admit it, high school wasn't all that bad. I mean, it wasn't the greatest thing in the world but so far, it beats UNB. I'm not enjoying the whole university scene, maybe it'll grow on me.

My one goal for university is to not procrastinate. Not sure if that will happen but we'll just have to see :P Anyways, as for my summer, it was pretty sweet. The highlight, obviously Rush in Toronto, was UNBELIEVABLE! They opened with The Spirit of Radio, one of the best songs of the night. Of course, Neil Peart's drum solo was flawless and the shredding between Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee was incredible. The rest of the summer was mostly spent in the basement, other than the trip to PEI with my Mom's side of the family. Well, I'll be trying to post at least once a week, if university doesn't kill me first.

Peace out suckas!

It's Been a While!

Hey Everyone,

Sorry about my month hiatus, things have been really busy! The last month has definitely had it's ups and downs. I was sick pretty much all of January and that brought down my mood a lot. But the weekend before exams, everything changed. On the 23rd of January, me, Aaron Shaw, Jesse Reid, Mitch Stevens and John Sherwood drove down to Montreal to see Switchfoot. It was freaking amazing! A band called Paper Tongues opened the show. They aren't my style but I still really enjoyed them. The singer was excellent. But Switchfoot just blew me away! The show started off with everyone but Jon Foreman on stage. As the music started, Jon Foreman appeared in the crowd. They played through Hello Hurricane from start to finish and then played some of their classics. During Bullet Soul, Jon Foreman walk into the crowd and started dancing. I was pretty much right beside me! And after that, there was a double encore! And on the last song, Meant to Live, Jon Foreman went crowd surfing and I got to hold him up! He has a really sweaty back, just sayin' :P The trip made my life!

Exams went pretty well and my report card was good. This semester didn't start off too great but I'm getting a free period 3rd period so it'll all be better :)

Well, that's enough blabbering on for now, I'm going to try to update regularly but it depends on how busy life gets. Good bye for now!

P.S. I apologise for all the exclamation marks.

That's All Folks!

Well, the Christmas days are over and they've been loaded with fun. Yesterday was the annual Wood family Boxing Day party. We had around 25 people throughout the day, less than usual but still pretty good. I pretty much just ate lots of chips and played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 most of the day. Later on, Mr. Aaron Shaw and Mitchell Stevens came over and we played some Rock Band 2 with my brother. When Mitch left, me and Aaron played Jenga and owned it up! Then, we played Connect 4, and I pretty much destroyed him, despite what he might say ;) And today, I had to play drums at Crosspoint for Jeff Ingersoll because he had to work. I had short notice but still felt I played fairly well. After church, I went out to Wendy's with the guys and played Catan afterwards. Right now, I'm chilling with Carlie Dunbar so I should probably end my post for the day.

Hope all your Christmases were awesome!

Christmas, what a day!

Yeehaw! Another Christmas has come and gone my friends and it was a great one. I spent lots of time with my loved ones and gained about 10 pounds. I didn't sleep a whole lot last night but that didn't stop me from having a fun filled day. So, I got the Memphis ride I asked for and it's sweet. I didn't have time to sit down and jam on the kit today, nor will I tomorrow so I'll definitely have to on Sunday. I also received Connect 4 and Jenga, Season 5 of The Office, Funny People and some randoms. Oh and I got a plethora of hoodies. But anyways, enough about the gifts. Brunch was delicious as usual (yay sticky buns) and Christmas dinner was as well. I finally got to have some heavenly pie after waiting since last Christmas. I would explain to you what heavenly pie is but I'm not quite sure what it's made of, only my grandmother knows. I'll have to convince her to give me the recipe sooner than later. After supper, I played some air hockey, Deal or No Deal, Scrabble Slam and Jenga with some of my family, it was tons of fun. Well, I hope everyone's Christmas is what they hoped it would be and I can't wait for next year. And remember kids, don't spray silly string in peoples eyes, it hurts!

Merry Christmas!

Oh Sweet Christmas Eve!

Yes, Christmas is only hours away. Tonight was awesome! Supper was everything I was hoping it would be: chicken balls, fried rice, beef and broccoli, chicken chow mien, honey garlic ribs and much more. It was delicious! I went back for more but it was cleaned out unfortunately. After dinner, we sang some Christmas carols, played a yankee swap type game and my Grammy Wood read The Night Before Christmas to the whole family. After all of this, I left to visit Carlie and her family. They did their present opening tonight since John has to work at 5 tomorrow morning. We had some laughs as we opened our presents. I received The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll from John and Lisa (Carlie's parents), 30 Seconds to Mars' new album This is War (YES!!!!!!!) and a piggy bank that counts the money for you from Carlie and a $30.00 gift certificate for Tony's Music Box from the whole Dunbar family. I'm very grateful for all of these gifts. Tomorrow shall be another exciting day full of cheer, good food and family. Well, I guess that's all for tonight. I'll update all you readers on tomorrows events, well, tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear

Christmas Eve is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited! Tonight at the Playhouse was awesome! Even though the weather was iffy, the turnout was still pretty big. Our Christmas caroling was better than I expected but our first attempt was a little shaky. The crowd didn't seem to mind so it's all good. I thought the time before and between the services was going to be dull but the antics of the little kids kept me busy. My cousin Christopher kept trying to run out of the green room so most of my time was used keeping him there. Hopefully next year, I'll get to play drums during the show. Anyways, it's getting late and tomorrow is going to be a busy day full of shoveling (ugh!), eating awesome food and spending time with loved ones.

Merry Christmas!

Quote of the Day: "Hands off dork!" A 5 year kid talking to me

Wrap, Wrap and Wrap Some More

2 days, 2 hours and 39 minutes and it's finally here. My Christmas Vacation is going to be very busy yet really awesome. Tomorrow is Crosspoint's Christmas @ the Playhouse, one service at 6:00 and the other at 8:00. I will be singing a couple of Christmas carols with some other people from the youth group, it should be a good time. Then, of course, there's Christmas Eve. My family always gathers at my Grammy and Grampy's house for a potluck of chinese dishes. I've been waiting for this meal for 2 months now. Christmas morning, the family gathers at our house for brunch and then in the evening, we have supper at a different family members house every year. This year, we're going to the Brookers. And of course, there's the Boxing Day party. Each year, we have an open house for any family friends to stop by for some finger foods and mingling, it's a blast! Although Christmas is a busy time of year, it never fails to disappoint. Can't wait! One thing I could never do, and still can't do, is wrap presents. I just can't do it! Maybe this year will be the year!

Bands You Should Know

Hello Again Everyone.

So, I just thought I'd make a list of some bands/songs that you should definitely know about. I'll also give a couple of my favourite songs by each band I mention. Let me know which ones you like/disliked. If you would like any of the songs, just tell me and I can send them to you.

Big Wreck
-All By Design
-That Song

Rush
-Spirit of Radio
-YYZ
-La Villa Strangiato
-Red Sector A

30 Seconds to Mars
-From Yesterday
-A Beautiful Lie

Collective Soul
-Heavy
-Listen
-Precious Declaration

April Wine
-Tonight is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love
-Say Hello

The Guess Who
-No Time
-No Sugar Tonight

In Flames
-Reflect the Storm
-Pacing Death's Trail
-Cloud Connected

Pearl Jam
-Even Flow
-Release

Red
-Shadows
-Mystery Of You
-Never Be The Same

Third Eye Blind
-Semi Charmed Life
-Never Let You Go

If you like any of these bands and would like some suggestion on other good songs by them, just let me know.

Hooray for Christmas!

Only 5 more days people! I can't wait :) I have a feeling this Christmas will be a good one. I'm really hoping to finally get a ride cymbal, either the Memphis Ride or the Paragon Ride. They are both pretty awesome so I don't mind which one I get! I wish I had some more cash so I could buy some gifts for my family and close friends, I just love seeing the look on their faces when they open my gift. But I'm trying really hard to focus more on Jesus and family/friends rather than gifts this year, that's what it's really about. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas commodity and forget what's important. My good friend Colin reminded me of that just a little while ago in a note he wrote and I'm glad he brought it up, it really made me think. Anyways, I just hope all your Christmas' are filled with joy and pleasure!

God Bless!

Quote of the day: "When I shed my lining, I crave this." -Rachel Woodworth talking about chocolate in Taboo

Introduction

Hello everyone! I'm a newcomer to the blogging world so bare with me as I learn how to use this thing. I'll mostly be talking about music, cool things happeing in my life and how stuff is going. Thanks for tuning in!