Friday, May 20, 2005 :::

Episode III was pretty good.

No more, no less.

Fairly crappy dialogue (watered down for younger audiences, perhaps?) plagued the movie, and I felt that the moment of, and primary catalyst for, Anakin's final turn to the Dark Side was kinda weak and abrupt. Maybe that's because Hayden Christensen is suuuuch a whiney little bitch of an actor and couldn't manage to make Anakin's change (and all that led up to it) believable. Whatever. General Grievous kicked serious ass, Obi Wan was excellent, and Yoda was, of course, amazing. So don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the film thoroughly, and think it to be the most enjoyable of all the Episodes. But it was far from perfect, far from achieving the level of epic grandeur inherant in other cinematic closers - namely, Return of the King. God I love that movie.

So I don't want to sound like Hayden Christensen and cry over spilt milk, but I was wondering: "Who visits this blog anymore?" And I decided on a way to find out. I was listening to my Zen Extra and remembered one of my most favorite moments ever experienced at a concert, and I thought it'd be cool for us all to reminisce. Though I'm not sure of who visits here, I know that most of you enjoy concerts and shows...so let's share some memories, shall we? I'll go first.

I think it was the summer or early fall of 1999. A few of you may remember... We went to the House of Blues to see Sevendust with Skunk Anansie and Staind - there was one other band with them, but I'm not sure if it was Powerman 5000 or Spineshank. Anyway, it's irrelevant - Skunk Anansie stole the show with amazing stage presence and musical accuracy. The energy exhuded by lead singer Skin was intimidating as she ran from one end of the stage to the other, swinging the mic stand in frantic motions that must have made her bandmates scared for their lives. Skin is quite the woman - a bold, black bisexual, fronting an aggressive rock band, sporting a shaved head and an outfit consisting of trash bags, leather, and denim, if I remember correctly. During Skunk's performance, Skin stood up on the metal, fence-like barricade between the stage and the crowd - an action that prompted all of us to reach out towards her. In order for Skin to balance on the railing, she had to hold an audience member's outstretched hand - and the hand that she chose belonged to me. She held my hand for the entire, blissful performance of "We Don't Need Who You Think You Are," which has become my favorite track off of the band's final record, Post Orgasmic Chill. I remember looking back at Melo, who was just as surprised and excited as I was. The moment lasted around four minutes, but it was so surreal, and I can reach back to it like it was yesterday. It was truly awesome.

So that's the idea. Think back on your collective concert-going experiences and find one that stands out more vividly than the rest. I think it'd be an exercise that we all could enjoy...

Favorite Power Metal bands: Kamelot, Dragonforce, Masterplan, Heavenly.

Hope to see everyone soon; again, we need to break this place in! The party room is almost finished!

::: posted by AJBrotz at 10:14 AM

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Tuesday, May 17, 2005 :::

So...got my hands on the new Dream Theater record, Octavarium. Listened to pretty much the whole record this morning, and it proved to be a sobering experience. Dream Theater, in my opinion, has lost it. Maybe I'm more inclined to say this because I've been exposed to tons of incredible Power Metal, but this new album feels extremely uninspired and lazy, as if they just don't care to push themselves to the limit anymore. Sure, there are some great solos here and there from Petrucci, but it seems that they're trying to establish a new "unmistakably Dream Theater" sound...and it's crappy. It's more of the same style from Train of Thought, which was less than impressive, but better than this stuff. OH, also...there's shit on here that sounds like Linkin Park. Seriously. Fuckin' record scratches and unoriginal drum samples - it all comes off sounding very contrived and weak. Labrie's vocals, though dead on, sound...dead. There's no energy...no emotion behind his voice, and its rarely backed by another vocal for harmony. What else... - well, most of you know that I've grown to hate Mike Portnoy, and his performance on this disc only strengthens that hatred. Tasteless, excessive - even, dare I say it, sloppy at times. Seriously - after hearing some truly monstrous drummers kickin' ass in the Power Metal genre, I'm more confident than ever that Portnoy's talent has been hyped up beyond his actual ability. Conclusion: Unless unextinguishably curious, stay away from Octavarium and indulge in previous Dream Theater releases (Awake, Scenes from a Memory, etc.).

Oh - and Power Metal still kicks ass.

::: posted by AJBrotz at 12:55 PM

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Thursday, May 12, 2005 :::

Added links to the official sites of Kamelot, Masterplan, and Dragonforce. If you have any sense at all, you will check them out. Kamelot's site opens up with the video for the first track off of The Black Halo, "March of Mephisto" - pretty sweet, featuring a cameo from guest vocalist Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir (that's right, Frank...). Dragonforce's site opens up with the first and second tracks from their latest album, Sonic Firestorm. PLEASE listen to at least the first track, "My Spirit Will Go On," in it's entirety - it's amazing from start to finish, particularly near the end. Power Metal will go on, "for all of eternity."

I've officially moved out of Gainesville Place and into the house. Still have a ways to go before I've completely settled in, and everything still feels pretty strange...but change is good. Hopefully everyone's schedules will agree with each others soon, and we'll be able to break in the new place with a nice, healthy, ass-kickin' party. Let me know when's good for you guys.

Summer school is in session. I'm currently taking "The Romantic Period," which is pretty sweet since we'll be studying Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and several interesting poets (Blake, Keats, etc.). The Romantic Period in general is fascinating to me, so that makes it less of a class and more of a cool activity for the summer.

That's all for now - make it an awesome Friday the 13th!

::: posted by AJBrotz at 4:24 PM

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Tuesday, May 03, 2005 :::

At Last...

I have finally found my home.

POWER-FUCKING-METAL!!!

Great vocals, incredible musicians, great stories - it's all here! Fucking uplifting, too! This is the shit, man...I'm Telling You. Dammit, I am fucking telling you...right now...this is the shit.

MASTERPLAN (!!!), KAMELOT, DRAGONFORCE (fastest playing EVER), AT VANCE - these guys don't mess around...and I've only just begun checking out the many bands categorized under Power Metal. Finally, I've stumbled into an actual brand of music that's heavy, kicks ass, and doesn't rely on screaming. Constant screaming is boring, easy to do, and annoying to hear - singing like these guys do actually requires talent, and it's actually pleasing to the ear. Yeah, some of the lyrics can be corny as hell, but overall, this is technical, inspiring, catchy metal...and it blows away pretty much everything else that's out there right now. There's so much shit in the mainstream, and that's fine with me, because it allows the masters of better types of music (power metal) to thrive in their own creativity. But stop listening to the shitass radio. Its repetition of simplistic, uninspired music stupifies everyone that lends an ear. It's like they say: "Surround yourself with good people and you'll be more inclined to better yourself." Something along those lines, anyway - whatever - it goes for music, too. So...don't listen to bad music. If you need a reminder as to what bad music is, turn your radio dial to any modern station - but be sure to shut that shit quickly.

In sum, give power metal a try. Some of these guys will make you wonder: "Dream Theater who?"

I'll be in Orlando today, and I have less than a week to hang, so let's get it done.

UPDATE: I just listened to the first track off of the Dragonforce record. And I shit myself. "Sonic Firestorm" is the only name that could ever have been used for the title of this record. It's THAT FAST. Jesus.

::: posted by AJBrotz at 3:01 AM

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