Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers- I'm With You

It's been a while since we have heard from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's been five years since their incredibly disappointing double-album Stadium Arcadium was released and I was surprised how quiet they have been since then. I didn't even know they were making a new record until a few months ago. With my disliking of Stadium Arcadium, I had low expectations for I'm With You and it didn't do much to surpass them.

I'm With You is one of the most sub-par albums ever made. Each and every song is mediocre. A few songs ("Brendan's Death Song", "Factory Of Faith", "Did I Let You Know"), had some good elements, but even those songs were still average. It just seems like they threw together random elements from their past few albums, but forgot to throw in the spark that made their older material great. Anthony Kedis is still a good vocalist, it just seems like he is going through the motions. He kind of just coasts through the whole album with little to no effort. The band still has a lot of talent too, it's just that music (for the most part) they are writing isn't anything special. New guitarist Josh Klingoffer is certainly a competent replacement for John Frusciante. He did bring some life into the Chili Peppers sound at times during this album with some funky riffs that Stadium Arcadium was sorely lacking, but those moments are (sadly) few and far between.

I'm With You is a the epitome of mediocrity. None of the songs on here really seem to go anywhere and lack a clear vision. This is an album that is made completely out of spare parts and there is none of the spark and energy that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are known for. It's really not a bad album (I liked it better than Stadium Arcadium), it's just so average that I can't get enthused about it. I'm With You kind of falls flat as a whole and if this the "rebirth" of the Chili Peppers, I think they might never make great music again.

2.5/5 Stars

Standout Tracks
1.Brendan's Death Song
2.Factory Of Faith
3.Did I Let You Know

Movie Review: Fright Night (Film Number 14 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

Surprisingly enough during my journey watching 2011 films so far, I haven't really seen any horror films (I saw The Rite and The Roommate, but let's be honest, they don't really count). Fright Night is the first film that I would actually classify as a legitimate horror film that I've seen so far this year. On top of being the first horror film I've seen this year, it was the first film I've seen all year that was hard to form an opinion on.

Fright Night is one of those rare films that (for me at least) that made me change my opinion of it constantly while watching. At first, I thought it was pretty bad. The first half is a tonal mess that wasn't very funny or scary.  It seemed like the film was on autopilot. The acting wasn't bad, but I didn't really care that much about the characters. Then at the halfway point, Peter Vincent (David Tennant) is introduced into the film. Vincent is a magician that is an expert on vampire killing that assists Charley (Anton Yelchin) in hunting Jerry (Colin Farrell). Tennant is fantastic as Vincent. The minutes he gets on screen he injects so much life into the film. He really makes the second half of the film pretty enjoyable to watch. The second half everything just begins to gel. There's laughs, the characters before more interesting, the acting improves, and the vampire action picks up. The only issue is that I couldn't really enjoy this film that much due to the weak start. I might need to see it again on DVD to solidify my opinion of it, but for the time being I can't really recommend this film. Fright Night is part bad, part enjoyable which adds up to an average film.

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Limitless (Film Number 13 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

Ever wonder what it would be like you if you could use 100% of your brain power? Limitless explores the advantages and dangers of what could (possibly) happen if a drug let you gain complete and total access to your brain. Limitless is essentially a film about drugs, it's just not a conventional one. The premise works well and it's an interesting spin on the "drug movie" genre. Bradley Cooper really carries this film on his back. His charismatic performance and electric screen presence help overtake the film's flaws. In the hands of a less-gifted actor, this could have been a useless film that dropped from you memory almost immediately after watching. I really don't think Cooper gets enough credit as an actor and hopefully that changed after this film, he really took this from being average to being pretty good.It does get kind of bogged down in the second half with the subplots and negative effects of the drug, but it's not enough to completely nullify the enjoyment of the film. Limitless doesn't use 100% of it's brain, but it uses enough to be a pleasant movie-watching experience.

3.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Conan The Barbarian (Film Number 12 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

Conan The Barbarian is among the first 2011 films that I did not want to see that ended up being enjoyable. I will admit, Conan The Barbarian is a completely stupid film (that's obvious), but that doesn't mean it's not fun. My expectations were pretty low going in, but if you take it for what it is, it's a pretty solid film. It has a B-movie vibe written all over it. Jason Momoa is gloriously corny and expressionless as Conan or in other words, he nailed the role. Stephen Lang and Rose McGowan provide more camp value as the film's two villains. Lang comes across obnoxious as always. McGowan, on the other hand,  turns in solid-B movie performance as the half-witch/half-human daughter of Lang's character. Of course, what makes Conan fun is the action. During the near-two hour runtime, Conan packs action into every corner of the film. The battle scenes are campy, gory fun and they are pretty much non-stop. Marcus Nispel set out to make this a campy, brainless, entertaining, old-school action film and he succeeded. The one downside to Conan is the 3D. If you are going to see this movie, please see it in 2D. This has to be the worst 3D I have ever seen. There is next to nothing in 3D for most of this movie, Lionsgate should be ashamed of themselves for making theaters charge the extra $4 or $5 bucks to see it in 3D. It's a sham, thank god I saw this for free. I would been livid if I paid 15 bucks to see this film in 3D.  Conan is not brilliant, high-art by any means, but I found to be a lot better than it was made out to be.

3.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Black Tide-Post Mortem

Black Tide kind of disappeared after their debut album Light From Above in 2008. At the time I thought Light From Above was a pretty good record. It definitely showed some promise for Black Tide at their very young age. I figured I would give their new record, Post Mortem, a shot because I liked Light From Above to see if they had progressed any. I immediately regretted that decision.

Post Mortem is a gigantic step down for Black Tide. Gone is the thrash/classic metal sound from Light From Above, It's been replaced with shitty metalcore/hard rock. It honestly sounds like a watered-down Bullet For My Valentine record (Ironically, Matt Tuck makes an appearance on album opener "Ashes".) The whole record sounds as if they just wanted to make money by completely changing their sound. I understand that Gabriel Garcia went through puberty, but that doesn't mean you need to become a fucking emo whinecore band because of it. It's really just an embarrassing record overall. Black Tide just seems to be going through the motions with the formulaic approach on this record. By the time I got to "That Fire", I was 100% sure that this was a shittier version of last year's Fever by Bullet For My Valentine (which is a completely average record). There is some ballads, there is some faster songs, it doesn't really matter because none of the songs work. The only reason this record is not a complete failure is Garcia's guitarwork. There are a few pretty good solos on this record, it's a shame they are on such a bland record.

Post Mortem is the one of the most half-assed records in recent memory. It's a completely tedious listening experience with very few bright spots. It's really a shame they are wasting their potential. They were a respectable young thrash/ traditional heavy metal band, now they are just a Bullet For My Valentine rip-off. Post Mortem has not even an ounce of creativity and is an instantly forgettable record.

1.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Chimaira-The Age Of Hell

Chimaria went through some serious changes prior to the creation of The Age Of Hell. They lost three longtime members (keyboardist Chris Spicuzza, drummer Andols Herrick, and bassist Jim LaMarca) in a under a year. They didn't even find new members until they were done recording this album. The Age Of Hell was made under terrible circumstances and it's pretty impressive that Chimaira was able to make a quality record.

My expectations for The Age Of Hell were pretty low, which might be part of the reason I enjoyed it as much as I did. Their last record, The Infection, was a very plain and mediocre record that abandoned most of what made Chimaira a good band. On top of that, the first two songs they released from the album "Born In Blood" and "Trigger Finger", were really subpar. Thankfully, the rest of the album is pretty damn good. The Age Of Hell brings back the more catchy, groove-oriented sound that Chimaira is known for. It makes a big difference in terms of quality for Chimaira. The change in sound is what made The Infection their weakest record to date. The first six songs really set the tone for the record ("Losing My Mind and "Time Is Running Out" being the standouts). Chimaria lets the listener know they are going back to the angry and raw sound they are known for. The riffs, tasteful use of clean vocals, and groove make the first chunk of the record the best. The Age Of Hell does loose a little bit of steam on the second half of the record with the aforementioned two songs and others that aren't as good as the material on the first half. The album does end on a high note with the six-minute instrumental track "Samsara". Rob Arnold's guitarwork is excellent as usual and this song really shows off his talent to the fullest extent.

The Age Of Hell is a welcome return to form for Chimaira. It bring back their old sound and (thankfully) gets rid of the experimentation from their last record. It's not their finest work, but it's pretty fucking good. It's even more impressive that is album was pretty much entirely made by vocalist Mark Hunter and guitarist Rob Arnold. It shows their insane dedication to the band even with the shortage of members during the time of recording. The Age Of Hell is a nice comeback album for Chimaira.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Losing My Mind
2.Time Is Running Out
3.Samsara 

Movie Review: Paul

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been one of my favorite comic pairings since I saw their brilliant film debut Shaun Of The Dead. Paul is a little bit of a different style film for this duo (this is the first film of theirs to not have Edgar Wright as a director and feature an ensemble cast of more well-known actors.) Although Paul might be slightly different, it still has Pegg and Frost's clever humor written all over it. This is such a dead on spoof of sc-fi films. The barrage of sc-fi film references and homages is hilarious. As a bit of a sc-fi nerd, I really enjoyed the wit and frequency of these references. The supporting cast complemented Pegg and Frost very well. Great comedic talents such as Bill Hader, Jason Bateman, and Kristen Wiig were all great choices for their roles and provide of the biggest laughs of the film. Paul is an original, zany comedy that satires sc-fi in a smart, hilarious way.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: Take Me Home Tonight (Film Number 11 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

The 80's were a glorious time for classic coming-of-age comedies (so I hear at least, I wasn't alive). Take Me Home Tonight tries to be the classic 80's film for the modern day, but it comes up short in that department. That's actually the main issue with Take Me Home Tonight, it tries far too hard to be an 80's comedy classic. There is nothing horribly wrong with it, there's just nothing really special about it either. There are some laughs, a little bit of charm, and some decent performances, but it's not enough to make this film enjoyable. On the positive side, I will say I did enjoy this film more than I thought I would. Plan and simple, Take Me Home Tonight is an inoffensive, average film.

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: 30 Minutes Or Less

30 Minutes Or Less was one of the very few films for the rest of 2011 that I was really excited to see. The trailers were quite amusing (the red-band trailers, in particular) and the cast was stacked from top to bottom with comedic talent. 30 Minutes Or Less lives up to the hype and provides a hilarious ride.

The concept is simple: Dwayne (Danny McBride) and his best friend Travis (Nick Swardson) need money to pay an assassin (Michael Pena)  to kill Dwayne's father and get his money. Their plan is to get someone they don't know to rob a bank to get the 100,000 dollars to pay the assassin. That person happens to pizza delivery boy Nick (Jesse Eisenberg). After being attacked delivering a pizza to Dwayne, Nick wakes up with a bomb strapped to his chest and he has ten hours to rob a bank or he will get blown up. Nick enlists the help of his best friend (Aziz Ansari) to help rob a bank and the duo begins their bank-robbing quest which may or may not be the last thing they ever do.

30 Minutes Or Less stars with the laughs early on and continues to bring them throughout the film. It really makes the most of it's 83-minute runtime. It packs a ton of high-quality jokes at a rapid pace in a very short period of time. The cast, as expected, does a  fantastic job. Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride are responsible for the biggest laughs. They are two of the finest comedic actors around and time and time again they prove that with their excellent comedic timing and skill for improv. Michael Pena also does a good job and provides a surprising number of laughs in his (first?) comic role. Despite being the lead role, Jesse Eisenberg isn't really given much to do comedically. It's not that he's bad in his role, it's just that the supporting cast really carries the weight of the laughs.

30 Minutes Or Less succeeds with it's solid tone, cast, and number of laughs. It's a short, relentless comedy loaded with laughs that is sharply scripted and paced. It's nice to see another great comedy out of 2011, for a while they were few and far between. 30 Minutes Or Less is a fun ride and it's easily one of the funniest films of 2011 so far.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: Red Riding Hood (Film Number 10 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

I was just on Wikipedia getting the poster for this review and the first sentence on the page read: "Red Riding Hood is an American/Canadian epic fantasy film". This sentence made laugh hysterically, there is nothing even remotely epic about Red Riding Hood. Hell, there is nothing even remotely watchable about Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood is a complete turkey. This film is filled to the brim with bad acting, cringe-worthy dialogue, and unintentional laughs. Even the normally awesome Gary Oldman is awful here (his character is so stupid, I don't think anyone could have made it work.) Not to mention, it's also really boring. I was fighting sleep watching this at noon time. If I had been more tired, this movie would have put me to sleep instantly. The effects aren't even good. The wolf look like it came straight out of a low-budget 90's horror flick. I really can't even believe the filmmakers thought the effects were good. The effects are easily among the worst I have seen in the past five years. Red Riding Hood is a lifeless, poorly acted, poorly written,  Twilight wannabe that is a miserable movie-watching experience.

1/5 Stars

Album Review: Revocation-Chaos Of Forms

Revocation emerged as force to be reckoned with over the past couple of years. They gotten a ton of critical acclaim, "Dismantle The Dictator" has almost 675,000 views on YouTube, and David Davidson was recently named  best modern metal guitarist by MetalSucks.net. They deserve every bit of praise they get because they truly are something special. Chaos Of Forms takes Revocation to the next level and then some.

Chaos Of Forms takes Revocation's thrash meets death metal sound and adds a plethora of twists, turns, and surprises. These surprises range from the horn section on "The Watchers" to the prominent acoustic guitars in "Conjuring The Cataclysm". Revocation kept the songwriting fresh with adding these surprises that you wouldn't normally except from them. There is also more of a focus on hooks on this record. "Cradle Robber" and "No Funeral" both have insanely catchy choruses that have a very different vocal approach then you are used to hearing from Revocation. No need to fret Revocation fans, this still has all the elements of the previous two Revocation albums ,they are just amped-up to the next level. David Davidson wrote the best riffs and solos of his career so far. There is a reason he won best modern metal guitarist, the guy can fucking shred. The solos on this album are completely awe-inspiring especially on "Chaos Of Forms"and  "Beloved Horrifer". When you have a guitarist as special as Davidson, you need to use that talent and Revocation does just that.

Chaos Of Forms is the most diverse and best Revocation album to date. The more melodic, catchy vibe is perfectly fused with the fast, heavy, thrashy style Revocation is known for. David Davidson solo's are among the best (if not the best), I've heard all year. If you are a fan of thrash or death metal in any form, do yourself a favor and listen to this album. Revocation is one of the finest bands to emerge in the past few years. Chaos Of Forms is one of the best albums of 2011. It gets better by the listen and I can see it finishing very,very high on my year-end list.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Chaos Of Forms
2.Beloved Horrifer
3.Harlot

Between The Buried and Me Boston Show

We seriously lucked out here in Boston on the upcoming Between The Buried and Me tour. On top of Between The Buried and Me (of course) and the regular tour openers Animals As Leaders and TesseracT, we get Cave In, The Red Chord, and (possibly) The Dillinger Escape Plan. The lineup is absolutely crazy, The Red Chord completely destroys live and Cave In is a damn solid band. I only hope The Dillinger Escape plan is still there, that would make this show that much more awesome. The show is October 30th at the House Of Blues in Boston, it's going to be amazing.

Concert Review: Summer Slaughter, Worcester, MA, August 12th, 2011

Summer Slaughter had the honor of closing out my summer shows. After the good performances, but miserable experience at blink-182 earlier in the week, I was really looking for Summer Slaughter to get the bad taste out of my mouth. Thankfully, Summer Slaughter delivered and was a ton of fun.

After getting stuck in some traffic on the way there due to an accident on the highway, I missed the local opener Dessication. I am not really bummed about that. The couple of songs I had heard by them were really bad. My friends and I got there just in time for tour opener Within The Ruins. Within The Ruins was pretty good. They do have too many breakdowns, their vocalist isn't the best, and their sound mix was pretty bad, but they still had enough going for them to make for an enjoyable performance. Their guitarist is really good and it was just fun to watch him play. I still wish Revocation got the opening slot, but Within The Ruins was a completely respectable opener.

Fleshgod Apocalypse was the first band I was really excited to see on the bill and they were great. I saw them play a couple of songs last October at Rock and Shock when they were touring with Suffocation and I was really excited I got to see them play a full set. Tommaso Ricardi sounded awesome, the symphonic elements were epic, and the drums were completely insane. The only bummer was the weak sound mix. You honestly could not hear the clean vocals. Despite the weak sound, Fleshgod put on a great set. I really wish they got to play longer, four songs was not enough. I am pretty sad they aren't coming here on their tour with Decapitated and Decrepit Birth in October.

After Fleshgod, I went out to my friend's car to get some water. I ran into Ryan Knight from The Black Dahlia Murder and Francesco Paoli from Fleshgod Apocalypse. I talked to both of them for a few minutes, both incredibly nice and cool dudes. Once I got back in the venue, As Blood Runs Black was on stage. They were pretty bad. I have never enjoyed their studio stuff and their live show didn't do anything to sway my opinion. Nothing completely repulsive about them, just really nothing special either. I will say they aren't douchebags, which is always a plus for a deathcore band. I went to buy a Fleshgod Apocalypse shirt right after they played and their merch table was right next to Fleshgod's and their singer was selling their merch. I heard him talking with fans and he seemed like a really nice guy.

Oceano played next and they were just fucking awful. After I bought merch (Black Dahlia Murder and Fleshgod Apocalypse shirts) and had Francesco Ferrini from Fleshgod Apocalypse sign my Agony booklet, I went up back up front for them. They are a lot worse then I remember them being live. Every song bleeded together and it was just one big breakdown with occasional stupid half-second sweep picks. Their vocalist, Adam Warren, is a complete douchebag. He just spent the whole set yelling at the crowd calling everyone pussies and complaining that it wasn't violent enough. He just kept staring at me because I was standing still, so I flipped him off and yelled "Oceano sucks". I don't tend to heckle bands, but I felt like I should make a special exception for Oceano due to their asshole singer. Completely horrible and I really hope I don't have to see them again.

Dying Fetus came on after Oceano and showed them a thing or two about being an actual brutal band. Dying Fetus doesn't needed to act tough to be one of the heaviest bands in existence.As usual, Dying Fetus fucking destroyed. They were tight (it's really amazing what they are able to accomplish with only three members), brutal, and had some of the most insane pits I have ever seen. It's always a pleasure seeing Dying Fetus and I hope I get to see them many more times, they are amazing live.

Powerglove was the only band on the bill I had never listened to before. I knew what they were, an instrumental band that did metal versions of songs from video games. Powerglove was a lot of fun live. They did a lot of funny shit including throw out inflatable swords and had people have a sword fight in the pit. Despite being kind of a joke band, they are excellent musicians. It was a hometown show for them and they definitely were having a great time on stage. They are a gimmick, but it's a fun one.

I headed up to the balcony for Six Feet Under. I didn't have high expectations at all, but reading all these great reviews about their performances on this tour gave me some hope. I don't mean to offend anyone who wrote those reviews, but I would like to know what the fuck you were smoking that made you thought Six Feet Under was good (and whatever it was, I don't want any.) Chris Barnes is a complete joke of a vocalist. He kept doing this shriek that sounded like a zoo animal. It was one of  the most awful, ear-piercing noises I have ever heard. The worst part of the set for me was Barnes butchering two Cannibal Corpse songs. It was just insulting to Cannibal Corpse. I know he wrote the songs originally, but he is just raping them now. I wasn't alone in the Six Feet Under hate, the crowd was pretty much dead for them. They easily had the worst crowd reception of the day. There was even a small "Corpsegrinder" chant that started in the balcony. I didn't think anybody would be worse then Oceano on the day, but Six Feet Under manged to accomplish that feat. Chris Barnes retire please, you are a dreadful vocalist. Rob Arnold, leave this band, you are far too good of a guitar player to be in this band.

Darkest Hour came on next and immediately erased the god-awfulness of Six Feet Under. Completely spot-on live. John Henry is one hell of vocalist and he had an awesome stage presence. I was glad the crowd was into them after I read they had been getting mixed receptions on certain stops of the tour.  It was cool to see their different style of metal on this tour package. They provided a nice change of pace and that's always a nice touch at Summer Slaughter. I really want to see again soon, they were great live.

Whitechapel was up next. The past two times I saw Whitechapel they were pretty underwhelming. This time around, they actually really surprised me and greatly surpassed my expectations. Phil Bozeman sounded pretty fucking good and the guitarists actually hit all of the solos! They did get a little redundant at the end of the set, but for the most part it was a pretty damn good performance from Whitechapel.

The Black Dahlia Murder, the number 1 reason that I went to Summer Slaughter, finally came on. I hadn't seen them live in two years and I really hope I don't have to wait another two years to see them again. Their live show is always excellent. Trevor Strnad sounded completely spot-on as usual. His stage presence is awesome, he gets so into the performance and he is completely elated to be on stage. Ryan Knight hit every single solo flawlessly. His addition to this band has made them that much better. Shannon Lucas, is a monster on drums. Listening to him play live is a complete treat. The setlist was amazing and this made for the best Black Dahlia performance that I've seen to date.

Summer Slaughter was a really good show. The crowd was good, the bands were great for the most part, and it was a really fun atmosphere. I hope next year's lineup is solid because I love this festival. Both years I have been it's been a lot of fun and I hope Summer Slaughter can continue to pull out good lineups and remain a fun, extreme metal, festival.

Scores:
Within The Ruins 7/10
Fleshgod Apocalypse 8.5/10
As Blood Runs Black 3.5/10
Oceano 2.5/10
Dying Fetus 9/10
Powerglove 8/10
Six Feet Under 2/10
Darkest Hour 8.5/10
Whitechapel 8/10
The Black Dahlia Murder 9.5/10

Setlists:
Within The Ruins:
Controller
Versus
Infamy
Invade

Fleshgod Apocalypse:
The Violation
In Honour Of Reason
The Egoism
Thru Our Scars

As Blood Runs Black included:
In Dying Days
My Fears Became Phobias
Hester Prynne(closer)

Oceano included:
Empathy For Leviathan
Weaponized
District Of Misery(closer)

Dying Fetus:
Homicidal Retribution
One Shot, One Kill
Shepard's Commandment
Descend Into Depravity
Praise The Lord (Opium Of The Masses)
Your Treachery Will Die With You

Powerglove:
X-Men
Storm Eagle
Power, Wisdom, Courage (Zelda)
Metal Kombat For The Mortal Man
Tetris
Gotta Catch Em' All
Mario A-Minor

Six Feet Under included:
Stripped, Raped, and Strangled(Cannibal Corpse cover/opener)
No Warning Shot
Seed Of Filth
Hammer Smashed Face(Cannibal Corpse cover/closer)

Darkest Hour:
Terra Nocturnus (intro)
The World Engulfed In Flames
With A Thousand Words To Say But One
Savor The Kill
The Sadist Nation
Love As A Weapon
Your Everyday Disaster
Convalescence
Doomsayer (The Beginning Of The End)

Whitechapel:
Breeding Violence
Possession
The Darkest Day Of Man
Reprogrammed To Hate
End Of Flesh
Unnerving
Death Becomes Him
Vicer Exiciser
Eternal Refuge
This Is Exile

The Black Dahlia Murder:
A Shrine To Madness
Everything Went Black
A Vulgar Picture
Nocturnal
Moonlight Equilibrium
Malchenments Of Necrosphere
Statutory Ape
Necropolis
Carbonized In Cruciform
What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
Deathmask Divine
Miasma
I Will Return
Blood In The Ink
Unhallowed
Funeral Thirst



 

Movie Review: Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids is one of the most sincere, sweet, and funny films of the year so far. Ed Helms is a great lead. It is great to see him a play an off-type character and headline a film. He is one hell of a comedic talent and it was really awesome to see him be the sole leading role. John C. Reilly (as always) was the real scene-stealer though. Every scene he is in, he is completely amazing in. He delivers most of the best lines of the film. Cedar Rapids delivers a fish-out-of water story with a bunch of laughs and a real heart. It's cleverly scripted and full of actors with immense comedic talent. One of the better comedies of 2011 so far.

4/5 Stars

Concert Review: blink-182 (Honda Civic Tour), Mansfield, MA August 9th, 2011

Dear god, I am just warning the readers that is probably going to be my most expletive-ridden review to date. Yesterday was the single most confusing concert experience I have ever had. Let me start off my saying, fuck the crowd. I have never seen a bigger amount of assholes in my entire life. The douchebag-per-captia rate was off the charts.  I saw at least 30 fights last night. I have been to 25+ shows and I had only seen 1 fight before last night. The vibe was just awful. It didn't even seem like people were there to have a good time. People had no regard for anyone or anything. At least 90% of the people there were obnoxious, rude, and just plain douchey. It made me the respect the metal scene in Massachusetts even more than I already did (and that's saying something). You don't see shit like this at a show. People fucking respect each other and are there to have a good fucking time, not to get into pointless fights and just be a fucking asshole to everyone there at the show. Bottom Line: It's was a fucking pathetic audience and BY FAR the worst crowd I have ever been a part of.

The weather was awful too. It started down pouring the minute blink-182 got on the stage. It was fucking insane how hard it was raining. I was drenched by the time blink was on their third or fourth song. The rain really made just made the experience more miserable. The weather just put a really big fucking damper on the evening (along with the fucking assclowns at the show).

The bands themselves were actually good. Due to some complications leaving for the show, I missed Manchester Orchestra. That was probably for the best because what I heard of their stuff,  I really didn't like. My Chemical Romance was next. I was a huge fan of theirs when I was in middle school and I saw them live twice in 2005. Since then, they have released two records that I am really not a big fan of (except for a few songs off of The Black Parade). Their live show is still as good as ever though. Gerard Way sounds great and he is a damn good frontman. He worked the crowd very well and it was a fun performance for sure. The setlist was a lot better than it was on the first date of the tour in New Jersey. I was happy to see them throw in "House Of Wolves"and "Give Em' Hell Kid", those two songs alone made the set alot better, Personally, I thought My Chemical Romance outplayed blink-182 by a wide margin.

blink-182 was an odd experience. Like with My Chemical Romance,  I was a big fan of theirs in my middle school years. I was really excited to see them. Sadly, they disappointed me. The first seven songs were completely subpar. It seemed like they were half-assing everything, especially Tom Delonge. He was just going through the motions and seemed like he didn't give two shits about the performance. Then all of sudden they played  "Dumpweed" and for the most part, played a lot better for the rest of the show. It was fucking weird that nothing really clicked until then. The highlights of the show for me were "Heart's All Gone" (it sounds awesome live) and "Dammit" (best song of the night, if blink had played like this all night they would have outplayed MCR.) Travis Barker's drum solo was also really good. He is one hell of a drummer, probably the best drum solo I've seen live. They were funny as hell on stage, Mark Hoppus sounded damn good, and they did finish strong. But the half-assed, hit-or miss, mediocrity of the beginning of the set really dragged their performance down a few notchs.

Scores
My Chemical Romance 8/10
blink-182 6/10

Setlists:
My Chemical Romance:
House Of Wolves
Give Em' Hell Kid
Planetary (GO!)
Helena
The Kids From Yesterday
Welcome To The Black Parade
DESTROYA
Mama
Teenagers
I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
Famous Last Words

blink-182:
Feeling This
Up All Night
The Rock Show
What's My Age Again?
Down
I Miss You
Stay Together for the Kids
Dumpweed
Always
Violence
After Midnight(new song)
First Date
Heart's All Gone
Man Overboard
Ghost On The Dance Floor(new song)
All The Small Things
Blow Job
Josie

Encore:
Drum Solo
Carousel
Dammit
Family Reunion

Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens

Alien movies have been a hot commodity this year and they also been all over the place in terms of quality. Some have been amazing (Super 8), Some have been bad (I Am Number Four), and some have been smack dab in the middle (Battle: Los Angeles). On top of all these, there is even more due out by the end of the year. In terms of alien films this year, Cowboys and Aliens is one of the better ones.

Cowboys and Aliens works due to it's simple premise and superb action scenes. The title says it all, the whole film is centered around a battle between a group of human and aliens in an old-west setting. Daniel Craig plays Jake Lonegan, the outlaw who doesn't remember anything and has a mysterious and powerful weapon attached to his wrist. He was previously abducted by the aliens and shows up in the town where their next target is. Harrison Ford is the cattle driver that runs the town the aliens invade. Craig and Ford's standoffs make for some of the most fun scenes in these movies. It's really cool to see these action heroes of past and present work together and feed off each other. Olivia Wilde serves her purpose as eye-candy and turns in a respectable performance as well. The real highlight of this movie is the action. Jon Faverau is one of the best directors at capturing action. Every action sequence he does is well-shot. He doesn't rely on gimmicks like slow-mo or hyperactive camerawork, he just films the action at a normal pace and he is excellent at it.

Cowboys and Aliens is a successful western/sc-fi hybrid. It makes the most of it's cool and original concept. The action sequences are great and the acting is pretty good for the most part (with the exception of Adam Beach).  It's exactly what I expected it to be, a simple, fun, summer blockbuster. It won't blow your mind, but it provides solid entertainment.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: Sanctum (Film Number 9 In My Goal For 2011 FIlms)

Who would have thought a movie about cave diving could be so boring? Sanctum is a complete and total snooze throughout. Pretty much nothing happens and even when it does, you could care less due to the obnoxious characters (this one of the rare films where I did not like a single character in the entire movie). You can tell James Cameron was involved in this project because Sanctum has all the (recent) James Cameron film staples: Nice visuals, below average acting, annoying characters, and it bores the living shit of you. There really is no reason for this film to exist. I wouldn't recommend Sanctum to anyone unless they were suffering from severe sleep apnea.

1.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Unknown

I think there was a lot of confusion in the trailers for Unknown. Warner Brothers made it seem like this was going to be the sequel to Taken simply because Liam Nesson was kicking ass. Thankfully, I knew Unknown was nothing like Taken. This is more of a movie about mystery and thrills then action. That being said, Unknown is a damn solid action-thriller.The entire two hour runtime breezes by. You get completely roped in to Nesson's character's search to figure out if he is crazy or not. The story is very-well paced and I did not see the twists coming at all. Nesson, as usual, does a great job. Each and every film he is in he gives it 110% (thought I have feeling the upcoming Battleship will ruin that streak.) Unknown is a very engaging, well-written and acted thriller that throws in quite a few twists and turns along the way. A very entertaining film and definitely worth checking out.

4/5 Stars

Album Review: Fleshgod Apocalypse-Agony

Fleshgod Apocalypse was easily the best band I discovered in 2010. I got really into their stuff due to their mix of death metal and classical. It was an extremely original and fascinating approach to extreme metal. Their latest full-length, Agony, is their most ambitious and best release to date.

Agony takes the Fleshgod Apocalypse formula from the previous records and makes it better. The symphonic/classical elements are turned way up on this record. What really amazes about Fleshgod's symphonic elements is that they only have one piano player. The fact they are able to have such a massive sound from just one piano is incredible (there are a few songs with violins and other instruments, but for the most part it's just him.) The symphonic elements on this record give it a gigantic, epic vibe. It feels like you are going into a battle during every song on this record. Tracks like "The Oppression" and "The Betrayal" would fit perfectly in the end battle scenes of any Lord Of The Rings film. Each and every track is on such a grand scale that it's mesmerising to listen to. Besides this being the most symphonic and epic-sounding Fleshgod Apocalypse record to date, it's also the heaviest. This album has to be one of the heaviest record I've heard all year. Vocalist Tomasso Ricardi has never sounded more evil than on Agony. He becomes a better vocalist record after record and continues to push himself forward as a vocalist. As usual, the guitars are heavy as hell, the guitar solos are technical, and the drums break the speed of light. I am still convinced their drummer has more than two arms, his speed is beyond impressive.

Agony is Fleshgod Apocalypse 2.0. The symphonic elements are a lot more prevalent and the music as a whole is on steroids. Absoultely everything about this album has improved from their previous records. This is one of the most monumental sounding records I've heard in quite some time, the arrangements are that strong. The only weakness on this record is that the clean vocals can get a bit annoying, but I can overlook it because they do fit the classical-end of the music quite well. Agony is the finest Fleshgod Apocalypse album to date and at the moment, it's sitting in my top 5 albums of the year.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.The Opression
2.The Betrayal
3.The Egoism

August In Film

August is here already and in the film world that means the end of the summer movie season. August tends to bring a couple of major blockbusters and a lot of mid-range films and this August is no exception. Here are my thoughts on the upcoming crop of August films.

Films I Want To See:

2.The Change-Up (8/5)-A lot of people think this looks like shit, but I have to disagree. I think this looks very funny. Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds make a good pairing and they are both funny dudes. David Dobkin being on board as the director is another promising sign. I don't know if I will see this in the theater, but I am still excited to see it.

1.30 Minutes Or Less (8/12)- Where to start with why I want to see 30 Minutes Or Less? The cast is completely outstanding. Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Anzari, and Nick Swardson IN THE SAME MOVIE!!! That's just flat-out awesome. The trailers (especially the red band ones) are comic gold. The director, Ruben Fisecher, is also excellent. I am expecting big things from this and it could end up being the funniest film of 2011.

Films I Am Not Sure About:

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes(8/5)- This could go either way. It's either going to be really good or it's going to be a pile of shit. The trailers don't really help me form a view either. We'll have to wait and see how this pans out.

Conan(8/19)-This was in the "Films I Have No Interest In Seeing" section until I saw the red-band trailer. I am still not completely sold, but the red-band trailer looks promising.

Colombiana(8/26)-Luc Besson's presence on the script is good, but the trailers make this out to be nothing special.

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark(8/26)-The trailer pulled off the rare feat of making me jump. That being said, Gullmero Del Toro's horror films have a bad track record with me despite their critical accliam. The early reception has been mixed, which is not a great sign. I am still curious to see this film to see if it can deliver some actual scares.

Our Idiot Brother(8/26)-I love Paul Rudd, but this movie looks too hipster for my tastes. Hopefully it's not, but i'm not crossing my fingers.

Films I have zero interest in seeing (but will anyways due to my goal for 2011 films)

The Help(8/10)-This looks extremely generic and dull. There has been far too many films like this in the past and this looks like it's not going to bring anything remotely fresh to the table.

Final Destination 5(8/12)-Can they seriously stop making these? The first two were so fucking bad and I can imagine they have only gotten worse over time. This one looks to be the most unimginative one yet (and that's saying something.)

Glee: The 3D Concert Movie(8/12)-I am making an exception for my goal for 2011 films, I can't bring myself to watch this movie. I loathe Glee with a passion.

Fright Night(8/19)-This looks completely horrible. The trailer is laughable in the parts where it's trying to be serious and unfunny in the parts where it's trying to be funny. It looks like a jumbled horror/comedy mess.

One Day(8/19)-Yawn, another generic romantic drama. Pass.

Spy Kids: All The Time In The World(8/19)-Robert Rodriguez, I beg you to start work on Sin City 2. I honestly can't believe they made another Spy Kids movie. The first one wasn't bad, but the following two....