Apologies for the absence of late, dear readers. You might have noticed the minor upgrade we’ve made to the site design…that’s been occupying my time recently :)

Anyway, while I’ve been working out those little bugs in the design, I’ve also been spending birthday vouchers like a man on fire! Well, a man with £25 of Amazon vouchers…

Bet you’re wondering what I bought…?

Well, it was inevitable that I’d pre-order Death Magnetic. If Metallica are going to return to form, then I want to be there to witness it.

If you’ve not been listening to the streaming clips on their MySpace page, I’d suggest you get on over for a preview.

Next album? Extreme’s Saudades De Rock. Their fifth studio album and their first since reuniting recently. I was a huge fan of Nuno’s Dramagods project (still am), and I’m looking forward to how they’re going to sound. Slightly disappointed that Paul Geary didn’t complete the lineup, but Kevin Figueiredo will do just fine for me!

Check out their MySpace for previews of the new songs.

And there had to be one off-the-wall wacky choice, didn’t there? That record is Black Stone Cherry’s Folklore & Superstition. I have no idea what it’ll be like – just hit their MySpace for the first time tonight – and it’s the first time I’ve let Amazon make a purchasing decision for me!

Two I Almost Bought…

I almost bought the Ting Tings’ album tonight and Alice Cooper’s Along Came A Spider. Motley Crue’s Saints Of Los Angeles album looked interesting for a minute until I read the reviews. Moght need to do a bit more research there, methinks.

Bought any good albums lately?