O God of earth and altar Bow down and hear our cry Our earthly rulers falter Our peolple drift and die The walls of gold entombe us The swords of scorn divide Take not thy thunder from us But take away our pride (g. k. chesterton: english hymnal)
Iron Maiden Revelations (live 2006)
Iron Maiden has been carrying the torch of heavy metal for over twenty years. I still remember the day I saw their video playing on MTV. Yes, on TV. It was late at night on Head Bangers Ball. It was an odd show that would mix the thrash of Testament and the hair of Bon Jovi. Yet on came a video of their legendary performance at Castle Donington in England in 1988 in front of over 70,000 fans for the Monsters of Rock festival. The bass line had me hooked. They were different.
It wasn’t what they looked like or what clothes they wore; no to my sophisticated teen mind I knew that this was metal.
They had a classic singer in Bruce Dickinson who had and still has an energetic stage presence and could sing with ease. The leader, bassist and head song writer Steve Harris has taken the band through many different eras and over eighteen albums.
They have never had a top radio hit in the U.S., something the band almost embraces as most of their songs are too long for radio play. However they have sold over 50 million albums in twenty three years and just recently played to over 300,000 fans in Brazil. Yet beyond longevity they can be considered one of the most influential bands in music influencing an entire generation of metal. They have won awards, been inducted into halls of fame, and are respected in all circles of music.I leave with the video that hooked me.
It has been a long time since the first two versions of Fallout. A post-apocalyptic game with a dark sense of humor and a 1950's style. Now finally after over 10 years the franchise is being reborn by the developers of the immensely popular Oblivion. A role playing game known for its "sand box" openness and an ability to spend hours exploring a huge world of possibilities.
When it was announced that Bethesda Softworks had bought the rights to develop Fallout, fans of the original games hoped for the classic turn based approach, look, and detailed character creation. Oblivion fans wanted a game with no loading screens, fun quests and graphics that pushed their computers to the limits. It seems as news comes out that both sides will have something to be happy about.
Occurring 200 years after the second game you will once again set out from a vault to explore the wastelands of America. By all reports you will have limitless freedom to visit almost any place you want from the destroyed capital to the great monuments of the United States. Players will be able to switch from 1st or 3rd person view. Thus old and new school players will be satisfied.
In addition the quests will offer more branching paths, good or evil? There are rumors that the game will have hundreds of different endings based on your choices. And players will have the option of "pausing time" in combat, and playing turn based. Again satisfying both old and new school players. Many actors and talents are being used for this anticipated game that is expected to be a big hit this Fall.
All pictures and information can be found at the official site
Under light, under light Reach up to the sun or you can run
Found the roof, the smallness of it all Found the roof, you will never fall You'll never
Classic lyrics from the song "Phototropic", that peaks after a three minute introduction.
Kyuss is not a well known band from the 90’s. However, they have been covered by bands such as Tool and Metallica and affected or influenced the make up of popular bands such as The Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age.
Kyuss released four albums in the 90’s before breaking up. They came from the desert and often hosted parties out in the middle of nowhere with just a generator. This became popular and became known as the Desert Sessions. The band was labeled as “Stoner Rock” and are credited for taking the genre to new heights with their first true album – Blues for the Red Sun. They took the sound of Black Sabbath added more bass, blues and of course the singing of John Garcia.
On their third studio album the band grouped their songs into sets, forcing listeners to listen to certain songs together. The group broke up after their fourth album and guitarist Josh Homme and bassist Nick Oliveri left to form Queens of the Stone Age. A band that in its infancy sounded like Kyuss. Drummer Brant Bjork went on to play in the mighty Fu Manchu. Singer John Garcia played in several bands before ending up with Hermano.
Audio evidence supplied by Youtube:
Kyuss - Phototropic
Kyuss - Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop (just ignore the dumb pictures and enjoy the song)
Be thankful we have so many bands that have been touched, influenced, or inspired by Kyuss in some way. As it seems a reunion is not in the works anytime soon.
*Picture is from Amazon.com and is of Welcome to Sky Vally, Kyuss' third studio release.
I am one of those people regardless of interest in the movie that keeps an eye on the top ten movie earnings each week. I usually see a movie in the theaters a minimum of every other week. Let's look at last weekend's top ten:
(Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.) 1. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who," $25.1 million.
2. "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," $20 million.
3. "Shutter," $10.7 million.
4. "Drillbit Taylor," $10.2 million.
5. "10,000 B.C.," $8.7 million.
6. "Never Back Down," $4.9 million.
7. "College Road Trip," $4.6 million.
8. "The Bank Job," $4.1 million.
9. "Vantage Point," $3.8 million.
10. "Under the Same Moon," $2.6 million.
Got to love Jan - April when it comes to movies. February is usually the worst, but this collection of cinematic fodder is making me go through my Netflix queue with reckless abandon. A few possibles but I can't really see anything worth paying full price for. Is there anything worth seeing?
Well despite what many think I am not a complete movie snob. So now I turn to you.
**Gets on his knees**
Ask your friends, ask your pastor or ask the person that cuts your hair. Tell them that Seth needs a good movie. An original plot? That would help. Action, romance, drama, comedy, any genre will do. A simple title and date to give me hope that something is coming and that I don't need to give up on Hollywood just yet.
**Stands up and brushes himself off**
One comedy I was looking forward to, but of course it never made it to Bangor, Maine.
~Seth Davis *Photo of Horton Hears A Who, 20th Century Fox. From Latimes.com.
Audiosurf for the PC is easier to show than to describe. It sounds rather simple on the surface and like all simple and easy things it is incredibly addicting. I can't vouch for how safe it is as it does come with a seizure warning.
Let me break it down. For a mere 10 dollars you get a game that uses your own music to create a puzzle and race track based on the pace and rhythm of the song. Points are earned by collecting blocks of the same color and avoiding obstacles. The better blocks appear at the more "intense" parts of a song. It is combination Dance Dance revolution and Guitar Hero. Enough talk a few examples.
This example uses Stealth Ninja Mono Mode. Translation, one color at a time and avoid the grey blocks to get a bonus. You can jump every to often so avoid them. This mode has a shoulder.
Blur - Song 2
Here is an example of another mode. Two player style. Different colors are worth more points.
Muse - Knights of Cyondia
The addiction comes from several sources. It is simple and quick to learn. However it has multiple modes, and offers competition and fun for both casual and hardcore gamers. When you buy the game you create an account and after each race you receive a score for that song. You can then compare yourself against your friends, locals or people around the world. The simple art of listening to music on your computer just went in a new direction.
The game can be purchased using Steam or just visit Audiosurf.com
