My Bookshelf- The Dark Tower; The Gunslinger By Stephen King

I have put off reading any of Stephen King's epic novel's purely because i've never been interested in the SciFi/Fantasy genre. After watching a few film adaptaitions of his i decided to start my journey to The Dark Tower.


The first book in the series 'The Gunslinger' follows Roland Browning the last gunslinger left in 'The Old West', in a world parallel to our own. The story begins with the sentence, "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." The man in black being the gunslingers adversary. The protagonist meets many key characters in this book and builds many relationships that you yourslef are involved in. The book, being the first in the series focusing on the introduction of the gunslinger, casting back to his youth and building the foundation of the whole series. Being the opening book, the story doesnt explain everything and leaves you immediatly craving second "The Drawing of the Three"

With dry, adult humour and an easy reading style I would really urge you to begin the series as its definitly a book to read before you die.

My iPod- Biffy Clyro

Little was known about Scottish band Biffy Clyro before their critically acclaimed fourth album Puzzle. Since then they’ve sold out huge venues, headlined many great festivals and expanded their following significantly. With influences stretching from heavy metal luminaries Metallica, to prog legends Rush, their sound being compared to that of Nivana and the Foo Fighters and with only 4 years of mainstream success under their belt, Biffy Clyro are destined for great things.
Their next album, 2009's Only Revolutions was also successful reaching #8 in the UK chart.


Only Revolutions is a hugely polished album. The lyrics are both poetic and passionate and the music compliments them perfectly, which is a real rarity in today’s music industry.
The Captain is the opening track on the album and for a purpose. It’s a huge song, with a great intro, superb riffs and proves a great introduction to the album. Other great tracks include the fan’s favourite Mountains and their new single Many of Honor.
What sets this album and Biffy Clyro apart from other bands is the way their songs force the listener to absorb the words and reflect on them. So many new bands hurry their lyrics and concentrate solely on the music and it demonstrates that Biffy Clyro have really taken their time in producing a hugely impressive album, which deserves your time. To quote Northern Irish pop group D:Ream; “Things can only get better.”

Review By Chris Miles

My iPod- Mumford and Sons

Loose waistcoats and scrappy jackets are the call sign for new folk band Mumford and Sons. If you haven’t heard of Mumford and Sons, where have you been in the last 6 months!?

The London twenty-something quartet came on the folk scene last summer with their brilliant debut album Sign No More and their following has been growing stronger by the week.
Lead singer Marcus Mumford has a howling, powerful voice that gives the band a definitive edge over other folk/acoustic groups and the bands vocal harmonies reach the heights achieved by their folk contemporaries Fleet Foxes, particularly on the album's title track, "Sigh No More".


Another song I can recommend is Winter Winds. Unfortunately to really enjoy this song you’ll have to wait at least 10 months, as the weather can really enhance the songs listening pleasure.
The majority of the albums songs are written about the usual relationships and struggles, with a conclusive triumph. This gives the album a particular feel good effect forcing the skip button on your iPod into redundancy.

The Guardian recently criticised the band saying “there's no single "Wow!" moment.” I can only say the complete opposite; I was blown away by the album. This band has worked hard and produced something not original, but unique and gutsy to a market dominated by pop and rock, and for this I commend them.

Has the band reinvented the folk genre and made it cool? The answer is most definitely yes!

Review By Chris Miles

Coming soon.. (i've always wanted to say that!!)