And the 2011 Summer Slaughter Opening Band Is.....

Within The Ruins secured the opening slot for all dates on Summer Slaughter this year. Personally, I am not really a fan of Within The Ruins, but there were worse options There will be other opening bands on select dates that will be announced shortly. I hope this means Massachusetts gets Revocation as well.

Quick Movie Reviews: Despicable Me and Skyline

Despicable Me: I had waited to see Despicable Me for quite some time and I was pretty disappointed with it. A film with such talented and funny people like Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, and Kristin Wiig should have been a lot better. There isn't anything glaringly wrong with it, it's just not that funny. A complete mixed bag .

2.5/5 Stars

Skyline: Dear god, this was terrible. I honestly can't think of anything remotely positive to say about this film. The acting and script are pathetic. I felt like I was watching a high-budgeted Sc-Fi Channel original movie. Not one thing that occurs in this film makes any form of sense. To top it off, just when you think it can't get any worse, Skyline manages to have one of the dumbest endings in film history. The ending is equal parts confusing, ridiculous, and unintentionally hilarious. Skyline makes this years Battle:Los Angeles (which was only a decent film) make look like a game changer in the alien invasion genre. Worst movie I've seen since Paranormal Activity. Skip at all costs.

1/5 Stars

Summer Slaughter 2011 Opening Bands

As the votes get tallied for the Summer Slaughter opening band, I will go through the eleven choices for the opening band. Here is the order of who i think is the least likely to most likely to open along followed by views on each of these bands:

Order of likelihood to open  from most likely to least likely:
Within The Ruins
Conducting From The Grave
Rings Of Saturn
Revocation
The Contortionist
Structures
Neuraxis
Volumes
Dawn Of Ashes
Augury
7 Horns 7 Eyes

 My thoughts on these bands:
Within The Ruins: I hadn't listened to them for a long time till last week. I will say they aren't nearly as bad as I remember them being, but they still aren't anything special.

Conducting From The Grave: I didn't vote for them, but I wouldn't mind them opening (There is a rumor going around right now saying that they won). I saw them on Rock and Shock last year and they are a good live band. There are a lot worse choices and I would be completely content with them opening.

Rings Of Saturn: Dear god, this band just plays fast for the sake of playing fast. Complete and total wankery that could potentially cause motion sickness. I enjoy tech-death, but these guys are just way too much. I have dubbed them "death metal Dragonforce". They would be funny to watch, but I really hope they don't open.

Revocation: They were my top vote. I really hope they get the opening slot (they have an outside chance). I just saw them last weekend and they completely killed live. Best band on the voting list and they would make an awesome opener for Summer Slaughter.

The Contortionist: My 3rd place vote went to these guys. A really talented progressive deathcore act. I saw about half their set last weekend and they are a pretty tight band live. I would like to see a full set from them.

Structures: They are unsigned, but they still have a quite following. Decent up and coming band, I could live with them opening.

Neuraxis: Legendary tech-death band. Easily the most seasoned band on the voting list. That being said, they don't have that big of a following. I am not really a huge fan of their stuff, but if they were to open it would be pretty cool to see them.

Volumes: I saw them last weekend at NEMHF and they were pretty bad. I hope they don't open.

Dawn Of Ashes: Worst band on the voting list. These guys are an insult to symphonic black metal. I saw them at Rock and Shock last year and they were fucking terrible. They sound like a band Dimmu Borgir cover bad. I hope to Christ they aren't the opener (Thankfully they are longshots)

Augury: My 2nd place vote went to them. Sadly, I saw a very few amount of votes for them. It's a shame, I really want to see them.

7 Horns 7 Eyes: I am going to be honest, I have no idea who 7 Horns 7 Eyes is. I also saw next to no votes for them. I would be completely shocked if they won.

Album Review: Atmosphere-The Family Sign

For about 15 years, Atmosphere has been one of the kings of underground hip-hop. They reached breakout success with their last full-length When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold in 2008. Three years later, their new full-length The Family Sign continues their reign as one of the best artists in the hip-hop.

The Family Sign is by far the darkest and most depressing Atmosphere record to date. At times, it's actually quite unpleasant to listen to due to it's dark nature. "The Last To Say" is an emotional track about spousal abuse that sees Slug delivering some of his most powerful lines to date. Slug's performance throughout the record is great as usual. This time out his verses are somber and down tempo, but still heartfelt and packed with real emotion. Slug's verses are so effective because you can hear the sincerity in his voice. He puts 100% of his emotion into these tracks and it shows. As with most of Atmosphere's records, the best moments are when Slug is telling a story. "Millennium Dodo", the albums standout tells an enthralling story about a drug dealer on the run from the police. Slug is able to grab the listener's attention with the diverse and important stories he is able to tell through his lyrics. His metaphors and wordplay are crisp and clever and that takes a special kind of talent to do.

The trademark Atmosphere beats are in full-swing here too. The Family Sign marks the first time Atmosphere has used a full band on an album. The use of guitar and keyboards to compliment producer Ant's plethora of interesting beats was a great decision. It adds this band dynamic that most rap groups don't have. Ant proves time and time again that he is the best producer in hip-hop. His cutting-edge creativity and unique arrangements boost Atmosphere's sound even further.

The Family Sign is another great release from Atmosphere (with the exception of "She's Enough", which is the worst song Atmosphere has ever released.) Slug delivers his gloomiest verses to date and gives a spectacular performance. Ant drops an array of dynamite beats that make the tracks even better. The Family Sign is far from my favorite Atmosphere record, but it's still extremely good. The world needs more rap like Atmosphere. Atmosphere is one of the reasons hip-hop is not completely dead as a genre.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Millennium Dodo
2.My Notes
3.The Last To Say 

Album Review: Winds Of Plague-Against The World

Winds Of Plague is one of the small number of deathcore acts that I consider to be great. Decimate The Weak and The Great Stone War are two essential deathcore records.Those records are what set them apart from the pack in a genre that is very hit or miss (for me at least). That's why I had pretty high expectations for Against The World. Sadly, Against The World is a major disappointment.

Against The World biggest flaw is the overwhelming hip-hop overtones during parts of the record. I felt like I was listening to a really bad Biohazard cover band at times. "California" just made me sad. It's trying way too hard to be a hardcore punk type song and instead comes off as a nu-metal piece of shit. It seriously sounds like an extreme Limp Bizkit song. I except shit like "California" from a wigger-slam band like Emmure, but not from Winds Of Plague, they are better than that. "Built For War" is another dull track that can't even be saved from energetic guest appearance from Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed and Kingdom Of Sorrow. Another element that really let me down was the lack of symphonic material. The keyboards and various symphonic arrangements added a layer of great depth to Winds Of Plague and it's noticeably absent for most of Against The World.

Against The World isn't all bad though. There are actually a few really good tracks on here. "One For The Butcher" and "Monsters" are vintage Winds Of Plague. They actually use the symphonic elements and are exactly the epic, massive sounding tracks you expect from Winds Of Plague. The interludes on this album are also pretty solid. "The Only Song Were Allowed To Play In Church Venues" is a really melodic and beautiful guitar solo that is one of the better overall songs on the record. "The Warrior's Code" is a spoken word track that was a pretty cool surprise and was a unique track to throw in the middle of an album.

Against The World is a polarizing listening experience. At times I despised it and I didn't even want to finish the record, other times I was pretty impressed with what I was hearing, and a majority of it was in between. One thing is for certain, this is easily the most straightforward and worst album Winds Of Plague has made to date.A pretty good majority of the album isn't bad, it just feels really stripped down of the key elements that made Winds Of Plague something special. The record as a whole rarely rises above decent. A huge stepdown from their previous work and one of the biggest disappointments of 2011.

3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.One For The Butcher
2.Monsters
3.Only Song We're Allowed To Play In Church Venues

Movie Review: Rio

Review submitted by Patrick Hodges

The devil is in the details.

If you are going to make an animated movie, chances are its set in a futuristic, mythic or nonspecific location.  It could be set in the wilderness, or possibly in a very small setting which happens to a microcosm for the universe that the main characters live in.  One thing's for sure: if you are going to incoroporate a specific, modern-day, REAL location into your movie, you'd better make sure that it is as real a depiction as possible, with as much TLC given to the niggling details as it is conceivable to to create with animation.  Ratatouille did exactly this for Paris, and I'm happy to say that Rio did this for Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

There's no other way to say it: the Brazil portrayed in Rio is simply gorgeous.  And if you see it in 3D (which you definitely should), you may come away from the experience as having taken a brief vacation there.  That is how rich the visual representations are.

Of course, a setting is nothing without a story, and the story in Rio is very good too.  It tells the story of Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), one of a rare species of blue macaw who is kidnapped as a baby by poachers and ends up falling off the back of a truck into the snowy streets of Moose Lake, Minnesota.  Blu is fortunate enough to be taken in by Linda (Leslie Mann), a young girl who vows to take care of Blu, and the two become fast friends.  Fifteen years later, Linda is running a bookstore, and she and Blu are inseparable, even though Blu is unable to fly.

Blu's existence eventually draws a visit from a noted ornithologist, who informs Linda that Blu is one of the last of his kind, and wants to take Blu to Brazil so he can mate with a female macaw named Jewel (Anne Hathaway) in order to propagate the species.  Linda grudgingly agrees, but once Blu and Jewel are introduced, things don't exactly "take off", if you know what I mean.  Their relationship is complicated even further then the pair are captured by animal smugglers and their henchman, an evil cockatoo named Nigel (Jermaine Clement).

Of course, if you're going to set a movie in Rio, you might as well have it take place during Carnival, right?  This gives the animators an excuse to dazzle us with throngs of people in colorful costumes as well as a plethora of toe-tapping samba numbers, which are very engaging, even fun (though Nigel's autobiographic rap song is a little OTT).

Eisenberg and Hathaway are fine in their leading roles, and a supporting cast that includes George Lopez, Jamie Foxx and Will.I.Am is also very good.  My only complaint is that, not for the first time, an animated movie's visuals often threaten to overwhelm whatever story it wants to tell.  Rio's balance of story and visuals does lean more heavily towards the latter, but not as badly as in many other stories of this nature (and not nearly as well as Ratatouille, which remains unmatched).  Still, for what it's worth, if there is one thing in this world that may make you want to immediately book a trip to Brazil, it's Rio (especially the 3D version), and that should probably count for something.

4/5 stars

Concert Review: New England Metal and Hardcore Festival Day 3, Worcester, MA, April 16th, 2011

I am going to attempt to put into words how amazing this show was. It was the best concert I have ever been to. The bands were amazing, I met a lot of band members, a lot of funny shit happened, and I had an unfathomable amount of fun.

My friends and I arrived at The Palladium about an hour before the doors opened. Upon arrival we find out that there is a cheerleading competiton happening down the street at the DCU Center. It seems like every year I go to Metalfest a hillarious event is occuring in Worcester. Two years ago The Grateful Dead were playing down the street and last year Kenny G was in town. I think this might take the cake for funniest thing happening in Worcester during Metalfest. The cheerleaders and their parents looked pretty fucking scared about what was occuring at the same time. It was an onslaught of dirty looks and confusion. Absolutley fucking hysterical.

Doors opened at 12, but as usual the line was insanely long. We didn't end up getting in untill about 12:10. We were able to make in time to see the first band on the main stage, Structures. I had heard a little bit of Structures before the show and what I heard was pretty decent. I would say the same thing about their live show. Structures is about the same age as me and they aren't even signed yet, so it was pretty impressive how well they were put together considering the circumstances. Their sound isn't anything super original, but they had good energy and they were pretty solid at what they do. Not a bad start to the day.

Volumes was up next. Let's just say they weren't as good as Structures. They had two vocalists, but they both sounded the same and neither were particularally good. They did have some decent progessive sections in a couple of their songs, but for the most part it was just weak breakdowns. The highlight of their set was one of their vocalists eating shit during the first song, that was really the only joy their set brought me. Not completely terrible, but pretty forgetable overall.

I was able to catch the first three songs of The Contortionist. This was the first band of the day I was excited to see and they delievered. They caught my attention with their last record Exoplanet and they are a super talented progessive deathcore act. Their live show was damn good. They were spot-on instrumentally and they sounded pretty much exactly the same as on album. I would have liked to catch their whole set, but the main stage's sets all got pushed back due to Darkest Hour dropping off and I really wanted to catch Son Of Aurelius on the second stage.

Son Of Aurelius was fucking awesome. Their setlist was fantastic and I was so happy they played Facing The Gorgon live. That is my absolute favorite song by them and I didn't know if they ever played it live. Their vocalist has one of the craziest high pitched screams I have ever heard. I am surprised he hasn't blown out his voice due to how hard he goes live. His energy was nuts as well , he jumped into the crowd during their set closer "Slaughter The Immortals". Awesome set from one of the most criminally underrated bands in metal and I would love to see them again soon.

Last Chance To Reason was up next. I just checked these guys out for the first time last week and I was really impressed  (my review for their new album Level 2 actually got posted on their Facebook page! I would like to thank Last Chance To Reason for posting that. It's a big honor and it means the world to me.) Live they were spot-on. At times they really do remind me of Between The Buried and Me. Their vocalist, Mike Lassard, is fantastic. His range is one of the best in metal and his clean vocals especially sounded spectacular. Great new band and I highly suggest checking out their stuff if you are a fan of bands like Between The Buried and Me and The Human Abstract.

Lazarus A.D was the next band on the second stage. I was extremely dissapointed by their new record Black Rivers Flow so I was a bit less excited to see them live then I would have been earlier this year. Bottom line: Lazarus A.D kills live. They put on one of the most fun sets of the day. I honestly forgot how much fun thrash bands are live. Thankfully they mostly played songs off their first record The Onslaught, which is far,far better than Black Rivers Flow.

After Lazarus A.D, my friends and I went to the car. Some guy ended up coming up to us and it turned out it was Garin Rosen, the drummer for Arsonists Get All The Girls. We talked for a bit and he said that he wished they could have played at the Saturday date. He said the Thursday date was terrible and couldn't stand most of the bands and they got a terrible crowd response. He also asked us for beer and when we told him we were underaged and we didn't have any he was pretty bummed. I told him I was stoked for the new material and I was the digging the two new songs they have posted online and he was really apprecitative. He actually gave me a hug because I knew when their new album was coming out. Really chill and funny dude.

I was able to catch the tail end of Cephalic Carnage. They are always a good time live and their singer is hillarious.

Revocation was probably the number one band I was excited to see on the day that I hadn't seen before. They were incredible. David Davidson is an absolute madman. He is one of the best guitar players in metal right now. Every solo sounded perfect live. The setlist was perfect for the short time they had, they played everything I wanted to hear. I hope they get the opening slot on Summer Slaughter, they deserve it.

After Revocation wrapped up, I went back to the downstairs stage to catch the end of The Ocean's set. I hate to say this, they were the biggest dissapointment of the day. I have recently gotten really into their stuff and I was pretty stoked to see them live. The screaming sounded fine and the band sounded fine, it was just the clean vocals were pretty subpar live. Pretty big letdown.

While Dying Fetus was setting up, I met the singer from Son Of Aurelius. He was so excited that I recgonized him. He said they are going on another tour in July and they should be coming back to the New England area. Onto Dying Fetus, they were fantastic. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't throw the word brutal around too often when it comes to bands, Dying Fetus was brutal as hell. Their stuff sounds so good in a live environment it's scary. It's pretty much brutal death metal bliss. I am really stoked to see them again on Summer Slaughter.

I left Dying Fetus a little bit early to catch 3 Inches of Blood on the upstairs stage. Third time seeing them and as usual, they were awesome. The new songs they played sounded awesome and I can't wait to hear their new record. Only downside was they had their set cut way short. They seemed pretty dissapointed that this happened, I know I was. Still they kicked ass even with a 10 minute shorter set then they were supossed to play.

Skeletonwitch headlined the second stage. I saw them last year at NEMHF and they were sick, but this time out they were even better. They were feeding off the crowd so well and they seemed even more into it. The energy was completely batshit. Guy and Gunface from The Red Chord were there and Gunface stagedived multiple times. It was really cool seeing those guys in the crowd going nuts. Their vocalist, Chance Garnette, was joking around with the crowd and drinking beer the entire time. The setlist was awesome and the new song is badass. Such a crazy performance from Skeletonwitch and one of the highlights in a day full of highlights.

Since Skeletonwitch closed out the second stage, it means I was forced to watch Carnifex. I was so pissed they were playing after Job For A Cowboy(who I missed due to Skeletonwitch. I like Job a lot, but Skeletonwitch doesn't play MA as much as Job.)  I haven't seen Carnifex in three years and I wish I never had to see them again. They were so fucking awful. I gave them a chance, but I honestly can't find anything redeeming about their music. It's so generic and boring, every song sounded the same. They are so repetitive it's mind-boggling. Sure they have solid energy, but it doesn't save their performance. I will say it did give me a good amount of time to clear my text message inbox on my phone. I appreciate the break in the action Carnifex.

Times Of Grace was up next. Holy shit were they good. Jesse Leach sound exactly the same as on record, his voice is astonishingly good. I am curious to see how Killswitch Engage would have been if he stayed in the band. Adam D was his always entertaining and hillarious self. He is also such a great guitar player. During "Live In Love", he was playing with one hand. Amazing set and I hope they play another show in Mass before Adam D rejoins Killswitch for the recording of their album.

I have been waiting a long fucking time to see Born Of Osiris. I was supposed to see them opening for Hatebreed two years ago, but they were banned from The Palladium for a little while so they didn't appear. Anyways, I was glad I was finally able to see them live. They were spectacular and worth the wait. Jason Richardson is honestly one of the best guitar players I've heard live. He nailed every solo and then some. He even added some crazy parts to the older material that weren't their originally. I do wish they played a little bit longer and threw another one in from The Discovery. Nevertheless, Born Of Osiris put on a damn fine show.

Between The Buried and Me is my second favorite band of all time. Last night was the fifth time I saw them and I can honestly say it was the best performance I have ever seen from them and possibly the best performance I have ever seen in my entire life. The setlist was perfect and it was the best setlist I have ever seen from them. I finally got to hear Fossil Genera live and they played Selkies. Selkies is the best live song of all time, it's so fucking perfect and beautiful. There was seriously someone standing next to one of my friends crying tears of joy during the solo. I don't blame him, the ending solo is so gorgeous that I think it could bring world peace. Between The Buried and Me is perfect live and I can't wait to see them yet again.

Hatebreed closed out the show and as usual, they were great. Jamey Jasta is a ball of energy on stage and he is such a great frontman. The setlist was awesome and spanned their entire discography. Jasta was beyond thankful that people stuck around for their set after such a long day. He said they hope to have a new record out by the end of the year and go on a headlining tour early next year.

This was the best show i've ever been to and I can't wait for Metal Fest next year. It's such a great and affordable fest that always delivers a ton of fun. I would also like to thank my friends Steve, Arthur, and Dave for going to this show with me and anyone that read this entire review due to how unholy long it is.

Scores
Structures 7/10
Volumes 4/10
The Contoritionist 8/10
Son Of Aurelius 8.5/10
Last Chance To Reason 8.5/10
Lazarus A.D 9/10
Cephalic Carnage 8/10
Revocation 9/10
The Ocean 7.5/10
Dying Fetus 9/10
3 Inches Of Blood 9/10
Skeletonwitch 9.5/10
Carnifex 2/10
Times Of Grace 9.5/10
Born Of Osiris 9/10
Between The Buried and Me 10/10
Hatebreed 9.5/10

Setlists
The Contortionist(partial, first three songs)
Primal Directive
Vessel
Exoplanet I: Void

Son Of Aurelius(might be missing a song. came in at the end of The Farthest Reaches)
The Farthest Reaches
Mercy For Today
Facing The Gorgon
Slaughter The Immortals

Last Chance To Reason
Upload Complete
Coded To Fail
?
Portal

Lazarus A.D
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Thou Shall Not Fear
Absolute Power
Revolution

Cephalic Carnage(partial, last two songs)
Abraxis Of Filth
Lucid Interval

Revocation
Reanimaniac
Pestilence Reigns
Distmantle The Dictator
Exhumed Identity

The Ocean(partial, last two songs)
?
The Origin Of Species

Dying Fetus(partial, first five songs)
Praise The Lord (Opium Of The Masses)
Your Treachery Will Die With You
One Shot, One Kill
Shepherd's Commandment
Homicidal Retribution

3 Inches Of Blood
The Goatrider's Horde
Destroy The Orcs
Lords Of Change
New Song
Deadly Sinners

Skeletonwitch
Blinding Black Rage
Submit To The Suffering
No Rest For The Dead
The Skullsplitter
Crushed Beyond Dust
Infernal Rescurrection(new song)
Sacrifice For The Slaughtergod
Upon Wings Of Black
Beyond The Permafrost
Within My Blood

Times Of Grace
Strength In Numbers
Willing
Hope Remains
Live In Love
Worlds Apart
Fight For Life
In The Arms Of Mercy
The End Of Eternity
Hymn Of A Broken Man
Where The Spirit Leads Me

Born Of Osiris
Open Arms To Damnation
Empires Erased
Recreate
Devastate
Abstract Art
Now Arise
Follow The Signs
Bow Down

Between The Buried and Me
Specular Reflection
Sun Of Nothing
Selkies: The Endless Obsession
Fossil Genera: A Feed From Cloud Mountain
White Walls

Hatebreed
Everyone Bleeds Now
In Ashes They Shall Reap
Perseverance
To The Threshold
Smash Your Enemies
Under The Knife
Empty Promises
Beholder Of Justice
Tear It Down
Puritan
Destroy Everything
This Is Now
Betrayed By Life
Doomsayer
As Diehard As They Come
Last Breath(dedicated to Peter Steele)
Defeatist
Proven
Before Dishonor
A Call For Blood
Live For This
I Will Be Heard

Darkest Hour drops off New England Metal and Hardcore Festival

Darkest Hour has dropped off the lineup for NEMHF on Saturday. Their guitarist, Mike Schleibaum and his wife just welcomed their first child into the world. Congrats to Mike and I look forward to seeing them at Summer Slaughter.

In addition to Darkest Hour the following bands have also dropped off

Friday:
Cruel Hand
Monsters

Saturday:
Beneath The Massacre
Burning The Masses

Album Review: Last Chance To Reason-Level 2

Concept albums can be a tricky thing to pull off. A lot of acts fail miserably when attempting concept records and others thrive. Last Chance To Reason falls in the latter category with the creative prog-metal blast that is Level 2.

Last Chance To Reason's concept is video games (hence the name Level 2). The video game concept adds a lot of excitement to the record. The video-game inspired manic synths adds this layer to the unpredictable temp changes that Last Chance To Reason lays down throughout the record. A thing that really stood out about Last Chance To Reason was their use of clean vocals. The clean vocals are very prominent and they are outstanding. At times they actually reminded me of Tommy Rodgers of Between The Buried and Me. Mike Lassard's range is vast and he hits just about every octave known to man on this record with ease. The progressive vibe is prominent throughout, but there are moments of ridiculous shredding. The solos on this record are technical and really fucking good. These moments enhance Last Chance To Reason's sound even more and adds this additional layer of unpredictability.

Level 2 is a near-perfect blend of progressive and technical metal. It's great use of clean vocals, shredding guitars, and spastic synths make the listening experience an adventure. Throw in the fact this a concept record about video games, what's not awesome about that? Last Chance To Reason is my top new band discovery of 2011 so far and Level 2 has instantly made me a fan.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Apotheosis
2.Coded To Fail
3.The Parabolic

Album Review: TesseracT-One

I have to say that djent is easily the stupidest metal subgenre to date. Not to say there aren't some quailty bands that are considered to be "djent", it's just that the term "djent" make me cringe. Djent is basically progressive metal with some groove thrown in. Did they really need to come with another subgenre to classify it? TesseracT is considered to be "djent" and have gotten a ton of hype. Their debut album, One, isn't quite what it's cracked up to be.

TesseacT has been gaining a lot of buzz in the metal world. When I hear this much hype, I have to hear for myself what all the fuss is about. I can now say that TesseracT is insanely overhyped. I had been hearing about they were "the future of progressive metal" and other accolades along that line. I will say that Tesseract is far from bad, they are just getting way, way too much acclaim at this point in time.

One is an album that is full of decent progressive metal, it just rarely rises above that. The main attraction of One is the six part "Concealing Fate"suite in the middle of the record. "Concealing Fate" has moments of greatness with some really solid riffs and intricate progressive guitar leads ("Concealing Fate Part Three and Six" are the best) . This is the part of the record were TesseracT reaches their peak. Most of the record doesn't reach the highs that these sections of Concealing Fate do. TesseracT absolutely has talent, it's just that the songwriting isn't anything special. There are many points of the record that have a ton of buildup that just lead to nothing. The vocals are also pretty subpar throughout. The vocals especially is where I feel they fall behind similar bands like Periphery.

One is a decent effort. There is really nothing bad about it, it's just that it fails to reach that next level as a whole. There is absolutely moments of greatness, but they are few and far between. I will be keeping my eye on TesseracT for the years to come. They are a young band that has the potential to be very good someday.

3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Concealing Fate Part Six-Origin
2.Concealing Fate Part Three- The Impossible
3.Concealing Fate Part Four- Perfection   

Movie Review: Your Highness

When I first heard about Your Highness, I instantly became very excited about it. The idea of a medieval comedy starring Danny McBride, James Franco, and a lot of other talented people being directed by David Gordon Green sounded like a comedy gold mine. While Your Highness did not quite live up to my expectations, it's still pretty funny.

Your Highness centers around brothers Thadeous (Danny McBride) and Fabious (James Franco). Fabious is a decorated hero who gets all the attention for the many heroic quests he has completed, whereas Thadeous is a lazy goofball who is envious of his brother’s deeds and fame. Thadeous finally gets a chance at glory when Fabious's bride to be, Belladonna (Zooey Deshchanel), is kidnapped by evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux). Thadeous teams with up Fabious and his men to engage on this very important quest to save his brother's bride… and perhaps finally gain respect from his kingdom.

Your Highness is a pretty amusing film, though it gets out of the get a little rough.  There was very little that was funny in the first half hour, as most of the jokes just came up short.  Thankfully, once the “quest” gets going, the humor really starts to pick up.  Be warned:  the humor in this film is really, really stupid. There is a barrage of immature penis jokes and other jokes of that nature. At first they didn't really stick, but they got progressively funnier throughout the film, and Danny McBride is the main reason Your Highness works, as his character is responsible for a large majority of the laughs.  When you consider that much of the film's dialogue was entirely improvised, it proves how funny McBride can be on the fly.

What really prevents this film of being great, unfortunately, is the rest of the cast. The jokes coming from James Franco, Natalie Portman and others were mostly misses, and it's a shame considering how great they are as actors. They have proved themselves to be versatile and they have done comedy quite well in the past, but here they don’t seem comfortable with the material.

On the whole, Your Highness is a pretty solid comedy. The humor is really sophomoric, but it begins to click in the middle of the film after a rough start. Danny McBride is such a comic force that he carries the bulk of the comic load with ease and is solely responsible for the comedic success of this film. Your Highness could have been a lot better, but it's still a pretty amusing film.

3.5/5 Stars 

Album Review: Between The Buried and Me-The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues

I don't think Between The Buried and Me is human. That's the only explanation I can come up with as to how they keep making such good records. They only have one type of album, masterpiece and The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is yet another piece of genius.

This is the first EP of Between The Buried and Me's career and they are able to do wonders with the short duration. Between The Buried and Me is able to do what most bands can't accomplish with entire record with just three songs. In typical Between The Buried and Me fashion, the three songs last about thirty minutes. Between The Buried and Me is able to pack their long songs with twists, insane musicianship, and just amazing songwriting. The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is easily the heaviest record Between The Buried and Me has made since Alaska. "Augment of Rebirth" is heavy as hell for most of the track then descends into an absolutely beautiful melody at the end of the track. Amongst the enhanced heaviness is Between The Buried and Me's trademark gorgeous, progressive sections. "Specular Reflection" has the best progressive sections of the album with tribal-influenced drumming in the intro and Tommy Rodgers chillingly good falsetto vocals in the middle.

Between The Buried and Me has struck gold yet again. The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is a little less crazy with the tempo changes, but it's still fucking brilliant. The musicianship as usual is interesting, complex, and the technical precision is off the charts. Tommy Rodgers never ceases to amaze me. He is one of the best vocalists, if not the best vocalist in metal. His vocal performance on here is arguably his strongest to date and his unmatched range is astonishing as always. The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is a killer group of three tracks that has me even more pumped for the next Between The Buried and Me full length.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks(the whole EP)
1.Augment Of Rebirth
2.Specular Reflection
3.Lunar Wilderness

Album Review: Foo Fighters-Wasting Light

Dave Grohl is a madman. He seriously never stops making music and (mostly) everything he touches turns to gold. After as successful run with Them Crooked Vultures, Grohl is back with the Foo Fighters. Their latest effort, Wasting Light adds another gem to the Foo Fighters catalogue.

I am not going to lie, the last Foo Fighters record Echos, Silence, Patience, and Grace was kind of a lackluster record. It wasn't awful by any means, it just wasn't anything special by Foo Fighters standards and it was just a somewhat bland and straightforward record. Wasting Light gets the Foo Fighters back on track and then some. The songs on Wasting Light are 1000x better than the ones on Echos, Silence, Patience, and Grace. A majority of the tracks on Wasting Light add this kind of a more hard-rock edge to the Foo Fighters. Tracks such as "Bridge Burning", "White Limo" and "Back and Forth" are full blown, old-school, kick-ass hard rock tunes. The riffs are catchy as all hell and these tracks rock hard. This when the Foo Fighters are at their best, writing memorable, rockin' tunes that stick with you.

Wasting Light isn't all about the harder tracks, there are other tracks on here that are not hard rock that are just as good. Lead single "Rope" is classic Foo Fighters. It reminds me a lot of an older Foo Fighters track such as "My Hero". "Dear Rosemary" is another older sounding Foo Fighters track. "Dear Rosemary" has already become one of my favorite Foo Fighters tracks, it's insanely catchy and instantly memorable.

Wasting Light is going to rank among my favorite Foo Fighters record. It adds this harder edge to the Foo Fighters sound while keeping their core sound in tack. After the very safe and dull Echos,Patience, Silence, and Grace, the Foo Fighters have returned to being one of the premiere rock bands of the past fifteen years  by injecting some life and creativity into their sound. This is a memorable and refreshing record from the Foo Fighters.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Bridge Burning
2.Dear Rosemary
3.White Limo

Upcoming Posts

I went away for the weekend and have some other things going on, but the following week should bring some exciting posts. Expect reviews for the new Foo Fighters,Between The Buried and Me and a couple of others on the music front this week and Your Highness on the movie front. April has a lot of new records coming out that I am pretty excited for so stay tuned for alot more this month. As always, thanks for reading my blog.

Album Review: Asking Alexandria-Reckless and Relentless

This is soooo good. Asking Alexandria is like redefining heavy music, they are so heavyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Reckless and Relentless is like totally the best album I have heard since the last Bring Me The Horizon record. Danny Wornsop is such a hottie<333333 and his voice is so amazing<33333333. The synth breakdowns are brOOTal and totally radical. You haven't heard heavy untill you've heard Reckless and Relentless. They are like so talented and like awesome. I would totally bang them.

brOOTaL/brOOtal Stars