I will be honest with you I have never listened to Black Sabbath before now and as open as I am to listening and trying anything new once, the last thing I expected was to be now just into Black Sabbath. Who have been playing together a lot longer than I have been alive.

Is that not one of the charming characteristics of music? No matter how old you are or how old they are when it comes to music that whole age thing doesn’t really play a deciding factor.

Anyway, I got a first listen to this track a couple of weeks back although it was released on the 19th of April I was a little late on catching up. For a song that is almost 9 minutes long it sure doesn’t play like one. Usually with my short attention span I prefer 3-4 minutes for a song. However, ‘God Is Dead’ actually plays like 4 songs blended together like some fine aged whiskey. Even when it gets to the end you still want more. I’m sure from the decades the band have been together they have had time to perfect their dark craft.

The band has also released their new album ‘13‘, which hit all shops today. ‘13‘ saw original Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne, Toni Iommi and Geezer Butler reunite for the first time in three decades. For a taste of the album be sure to listen to ‘God Is Dead’ above and decide if it’s one for the wish list or immediate download.

2. He isn’t just crazy talented, he is mindful of the world around him and charitable. He recently donated $142,000 (£92,798) to his hometown venue the Detroit Masonic Temple to allow them to pay off their back taxes and remain open. Due to this generosity it’s now being named after him. (Via NME)

3. He was The White Stripes.

4. He own’s the coolest music store in the world, Third Man Records. They even have a vinyl record recorder which is apparently the only one in the world.

5. Always ask for pictures of him. Don’t laugh and take them behind his back or this will be his response.

If you are unfamiliar with who AlunaGeorge are there recent collaboration with the Disclosure duo for track 'White Noise' is maybe where you remember hearing the name. The track reached number 2 in the UK charts and is well cemented as one of this years breakout tracks. As well as receiving lots of love for their track 'Attracting Flies', which Huw Stephens debuted on Radio 1. 

AlunaGeorge are a duo from London, Aluna Francis who is the main vocalist of the duo has had her vocals described as "sugar sweet". George Reid lays down the beats of futuristic pop meets R&B. They first met when George remixed Aluna's first dip into the music industry, My Toys Like Me's tracks 'Sweetheart' in June 2009. And as they say the rest was history. 

For your chance to win tickets all you have to do is head on over to the Lucozade Energy Music Exclusive website or the Lucozade Energy Facebook and enter your details. The only way to get tickets for the show in London is to enter. So for a chance at seeing and even meeting one of the biggest breakthrough acts this year in an exclusive London setting, it would be wise to enter. 

Even if you don’t win tickets there are plenty more opportunities to win some awesome daily prizes via 'The Yes Project'. All you have to do is pick up a promotional pack of Lucozade and enter the code located at the top of the bottle along with your email address at The Yes Project. 

Be the envy of all of your friends and enter. Please let us know if you win by sending us a picture of the event, which we will happily share via our social networks to make them even more jealous. 

Anyway, back to the subject at hand… Jimmy Eat World are set to release ‘Damage’ on 10th June of this year.

‘Damage’ is Jimmy’s eighth studio album. It consists of ten tracks and was recorded in the house of the album’s engineer/producer, Alain Johannes. ‘Damage’ will be available on cd, vinyl or to download. The lead single from ‘Damage’ was released in April and is called ‘I Will Steal You Back’. The video for this seems to be an on the road video, coupled with some live footage of the band. The song itself is quite reflective sounding, there’s certainly a more mature sound than I remember from ‘Bleed American’ (the song) and ‘The Middle’. This is something that Adkins had hinted at in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he suggested that as a 37 year old (he doesn’t look like a man three years shy of forty), he has a different perspective and that the world is a different place compared to when he was writing songs in the earlier years of the band. Adkins promised that Damage still had Jimmy Eat World’s energy. This is something I could probably echo having listened to ‘I Will Steal You Back’ as there’s certainly a tasty wee riff in there and it’s definitely a Jimmy Eat World song, which I’m sure will please their fans. If this is the lead single, it does bode well for the album.

‘Damage’ kicks off with ‘Appreciation’. I really love the guitar parts at the start of this song it really gets you hooked. It’s really simple sounding, but effective. Again this song seems to echo quite a mature sound, it sounds like a breakup song… but without being sombre or morose. I think the chorus of ‘Appreciation’ is a lighters/mobile phones in the air affair… very lovely way to start an album. Having heard two songs (albeit in a strange order) I’m questioning myself for not listening to Jimmy Eat World a lot more previously. The titular song of the album ‘Damage’ is second on the album and despite not being of a slower tempo than ‘Appreciation’, it seems to have a more relaxed sound. There’s a chance that some of you will have already heard ‘Damage’, it was released on an E.P for World Record Store Day in April. ‘Damage’ manages to be relaxed sounding, but have a catchy chorus. ‘Lean’ is the third offering, for me it feels like it would fit perfectly on the soundtrack for Teachers. Teachers had one of the best soundtracks (if not the best soundtrack) of any TV programme of the noughties for me. This song has that vibe. I absolutely love the guitar solo in this song. Much the same is the first two tracks and the single, I am seriously questioning why I haven’t been listening more to Jimmy. Following ‘Lean’ is ‘Book Of Love’. This is not a cover of ABC’s 80s classic, much to my surprise, but that’s mainly because ABC’s song is called ‘Look Of Love’ (apparently). I don’t know if it’s the acoustic guitars or something else, but there’s a folksy feel to this song. It remains a pretty chilled vibe, it’s also very much less cheesy than ABC’s poorly named ‘Look Of Love’ (which I now love!). I say the song is chilled, but I also found the song quite serious… particularly as it neared its conclusion. The half way mark (fifth out of ten songs) is marked by ‘I Will Steal You Back’, which we’ve already talked about… well worth a listen.

‘Please Say No’ kicks off the second half of the album. This is a pretty slow affair, with the title forming the basis of the chorus (with some lovely ah’s thrown in). Again it’s pretty serious sounding, a further indication of the more mature sound that Adkins has hinted at. It may be that Jimmy Eat World’s sound has evolved to suit not only their own advancing years, but also their fan base getting older. I found this song pretty sad, it’s the first song on the album that’s lowered my mood a little… despite being of a similar disposition to the rest of the album (so far) and maybe I’m not a robot after all. ‘How’d You Have Me’ is a return to some lovely electric sounds. It’s probably the most up-tempo song on the album so far, it’s pretty punchy and that may well be the energy that Adkins hinted at. This might be the song that the casual listener/ignorant swine like myself might resonate with as of being of a Jimmy Eat World sound. It’s probably the closest on the album to the songs I know. ‘No, Never’ kicks off with some beats on the drum and is also pretty punchy, building to a cracking chorus. ‘No, Never’ had me bouncing my head and tapping my toes along.

The penultimate song on ‘Damage’ is ‘Byebyelove’. It seems to be a return to the slower songs, but this is no bad thing. ‘Byebyelove’ is a borderline power ballad, without the over the top frivolity that power ballads in the classic sense can offer. If someone’s not already christened songs as such, I’d quite like to state that ‘Byebyelove’ is the power ballad template for this decade. The album finishes up with You Were Good and it’s a fantastic way to finish this album. It meets the chilled vibe of the majority of the album, but with a cheeky bit of energy injected into the guitar part. Although this seems like a break-up song of sorts, it does not feel bitter or angry about it at all.

‘Damage’ certainly is a mature sounding album throughout. Generally there is a pretty relaxed vibe throughout the songs, with a couple of energetic bursts throughout. I enjoyed this album; however feel it lacked some more up-tempo songs. My highlights were ‘No, Never’ and ‘How’d You Have Me’… which were the more energetic and punchy efforts. I’d certainly recommend you give the album a listen from start to finish, I’m sure most Jimmy Eat World fans will love it. If anything I’ve now been prompted to go and have a proper listen to the band’s back catalogue. ‘Damage’, overall is a relaxed album with some bursts of energy left. It shows that despite being their eighth album, there is still life in Jimmy Eat World yet.

Buy ‘Damage’ Here

Listen to ‘Damage’ in full below:

If you are a fan of White Lies crossed with a bit more computer input/output then you should definitely have a new obsession with MMX. A more tasteful art-filled approach than the White Lies, the deep rich bass with not as much pop structure is right on the money. ‘Ritual’, taken from their debut EP ‘Child’ landed in the top 50 iTunes Alternative chart. You can also see the band at this year’s Reading & Leeds festival alongside some June tour dates below.

MMX – UK Tour Dates June:

02 Liverpool, The Picket
03 Bristol, Louisiana
04 Manchester, Sound Control
05 Glasgow, King Tuts
07 Birmingham, Rainbow
08 Oxford, Jericho
09 Southampton, Joiners
10 London, Old Blue Last

It has been an incredibe year for The Lumineers, coming from seemingly no where to topping charts in 5 countries and also sitting on top of the US and UK Spotify charts. 'Ho Hey' also made it to the top 10 of the UK chart's making it the band's first in the country. For a band hardly known and for all of that success to happen in just a year it is a truly spectacular accomplishment. 

Why not share that success with them in sunny Barcelona, thanks to E.ON Energy one lucky customer and a friend are being given the chance to see The Lumineers live in Barcelona @ Razzmatazz, with a four nights accommodation.

The Lumineers competition is open to all E.ON customers old and new. 

If you aren't an E.ON Energy customer or don't have an online account simply register for an online account to take part in the competition, it does not matter how long you have been with E.ON. If you are not sure about signing up then check out this link E.ON’s tariffs with rewards. New loyalty rewards after the competition are only available to customers who have been with E.ON for over a year. 

If you are unable to make the trip to Barcelona a secondary prize of a £400 Ticketmaster gift card is available along with signed Lumineers merchandise. T&Cs apply. 

If you would like to enter the competition please do so via HERE.

Dirty sweaty sexy rock sells, the image obsessed world falls right into the traps set out by sometimes wizard like marketing geniuses. If major labels spent less on analysing trends to pick the right artists for said current trend(s), the world of music would probably be a whole lot more interesting (not that it isn’t at the moment).

Deap Vally are dirty sweaty sexy and old school rock. Stripped back to the skin music that fits in well with their fashion choices. Don’t quote me on that as I am the world’s most unfashionable person, I just learned today that Beyonce had a kid and its called ‘Blue Ivy’… I know what you are thinking and yes I did shake my head slowly in disbelief and partial disgust. What does it matter the sprog is the offspring of Beyonce and Jay-Z people have no doubt already kissed its feet. Power duos appear to be the trend in this article.

I think what Deap Vally are trying to accomplish commands a certain level of respect, it can be hard standing out in a industry dominated by testosterone.

Rock on…