2011 In Music Revisited

2011 was the best year for music of my lifetime. The records I listened to have for the most part held up incredibly and after the year ended I discovered even more amazing music. Here is my updated rankings of all the EP's and LP's I listened to last year from worst to best.

EP's Previous Ranking in Parentheses

7(7).Childish Gambino-EP

6.(6)Whitechapel-Recorrupted

5.(5)Periphery-Icarus

4.(4)Within The Ruins-Omen

3(3).Dying Fetus-History Repeats....

2.(2)Job For A Cowboy-Gloom

1(1).Between The Buried and Me-The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues

LP's Previous Ranking in Parentheses

104.(92)Metallica/Lou Reed-Lulu

103.(91)Emmure-Speaker Of The Dead

102.(90)The Crimson Armada-Conviction

101.(89)Incubus-If Not Now, When?

100.(88)Morbid Angel-Illuid Divinum Insanus

99.(87)Rings of Saturn-Embryonic Anomaly

98.(86)Black Tide-Post Mortem

97.(85)Rise Against-Endgame

96.(84)Limp Bizkit-Gold Cobra

95.(83)Five Finger Death Punch-American Capitalist

94.(82)Devin Townsend Project-Ghost

93.(81)Suicide Silence-The Black Crown

92.(80)Dream Theater-A Dramatic Turn Of Events

91.(79)Jay-Z/Kanye West-Watch The Throne

90.(78)Red Hot Chili Peppers-I'm With You

89.(77)Winds Of Plague-Against The World

88.(76)Bury Your Dead-Mosh N' Roll

87.(75)Lazarus A.D-Black Rivers Flow

86.(74)Wu-Tang Clan-Legendary Weapons

85.(73)Harm's Way-Isolation

84.(72)Betraying The Martyrs-Breathe In Life

83.(71)Jedi Mind Tricks-Violence Begets Violence

82.(70)blink-182-Neighborhoods

81.(69)The Devil Wears Prada-Dead Throne

80.(68)In Flames-Sounds Of A Playground Fading

79.(67)Molotov Solution-Insurrection

78.(66)Toxic Holocaust-Conjure and Command

77.(new)Fit For An Autopsy-The Process of Human Extermination

76.(65)Saviours-Death's Procession

75.(new)Naysayer-Laid to Rest

74.(64)Jamey Jasta-Jasta

73.(63)Death Grips-Exmillitary

72.(62)Abysmal Dawn-Leveling The Plane Of Existence

71.(61)Alkaline Trio-Damnesia

70.(60)Title Fight-Shed

69.(59)This Is Hell-Black Mass

68.(58)Texas In July-One Reality

67.(56)Primus-Green Nogalydte

66.(57)Cave In-White Silence

65.(54)Vader-Welcome To The Morbid Reich

64.(55)Tyler,The Creator-Goblin

63.(53)Sepultura-Kairos

62.(new)Exhumed-All Guts, No Glory

61.(52)Threat Signal-Threat Signal

60.(51)Devildriver-Beast

59.(new)iwrestledabearonce-Ruining it for Everybody

58.(47)Megadeth-TH1RT3EN

57.(50)Crowbar-Sever The Wicked Hand

56.(49)Touche Amore-Parting The Seas Between Brightness and Me

55.(new)Vildhjarta-Masstaden

54.(new)Rotting Out-Street Prowl

53.(new)The Wonder Years-Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing

52.(48)TesseracT-One

51.(46)The Black Keys-El Camino

50.(45)Chimaira-The Age Of Hell

49.(44)Dropkick Murphys-Going Out In Style

48.(43)Hate Eternal-Phoenix Amongst The Ashes

47.(42)Becoming The Archetype-Celestial Completion

46.(41)Cannabis Corpse-Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shall Rise

45.(40)Scale The Summit-The Collective

44.(39)Amon Amarth-Surtur Rising

43,(38)Evan Brewer-Alone

42.(37)Uneven Structure-Februus

41.(36)Ulcerate-The Destroyers Of All

40.(new)Vale of Pnath-The Prodigal Empire

39.(35)Thomas Giles-Pulse

38.(34)Atmosphere-The Family Sign

37.(33)Anthrax-Worship Music

36.(32)Origin-Entity

35.(31)Arsonists Get All The Girls-Motherland

34.(30)Children Of Bodom-Relentless Reckless Forever

33.(29)Decapitated-Carnival Is Forever

32.(27)Textures-Dualism

31.(26)Warbringer-Worlds Torn Asunder

30.(new)CunninLynguists-Oneirology

29.(28)Havok-Time is Up

28.(25)The Human Abstract-Digital Veil

27.(24)Grieves-Together/Apart

26.(23)Animals As Leaders-Weightless

25.(21)Landmine Marathon-Gallows

24.(new)A Loss For Words-No Sanctuary

23.(new)The Story So Far-Under Soil and Dirt

22.(22)Red Fang-Murder the Mountains

21.(20)Septic Flesh-The Great Mass

20.(19)Beastie Boys-Hot Sauce Committee Part 2

19.(18)August Burns Red-Leveler

18.(17)Devin Townsend Project-Deconstruction

17.(16)Foo Fighters-Wasting Light

16.(15)Darkest Hour-The Human Romance

15.(14)Last Chance To Reason-Level 2

14.(13)Obscura-Omnivium

13.(12)Times Of Grace-The Hymn Of A Broken Man

12.(11)All Shall Perish-This Is Where It Ends

11.(10)Born of Osiris-The Discovery

10.(9)Fleshgod Apocalypse-Agony

9.(8)Arch Enemy-Khaos Legions

8.(new)Fallujah-The Harvest Wombs

7.(7)Skeletonwitch-Forever Abomination

6.(6)Machine Head-Unto The Locust

5.(5)Mastodon-The Hunter

4.(4)Unearth-Darkness In The Light

3.(3)Protest The Hero-Scurrilous

2.(2)Revocation-Chaos Of Forms

1.(1)The Black Dahlia Murder-Ritual

Update

Well the summer is almost over for me as I start as school on Wednesday. I apologize for my recent output. There really hasn't been much new music this month I've been interested in listening to and I have written a review for every new movie I've seen this month (save for The Bourne Legacy because it was so mediocre that I couldn't muster up more than two or three sentences to write about it). I hope to write as much as I can before I get stuck in school. I'm going to try to see/review Lawless, finish up my NFL preview, bang out a review for MF Doom's new record, and post a list or two in the next six days. I can assure you that there will be more music reviews in September and especially October when an onslaught of new releases I'm excited about come out. Thank you for understanding and I can't send enough gratitude to each and every person that follows, reads, stumbles upon, loves, or hates my blog.

Chris Maitland

Movie Review: The Expendables 2

Sylvester Stallone: You've done it again. The Expendables 2 is everything I wanted it to be and more. The first one already did a great job of capturing the spirit of 80's action movies and the second one improves on the first in every possible way. The second installment has a more engaging story, a great sense of humor, and self-parody that the first one lacked, and of course, big, bloody, loud, awesome action set pieces. Stallone went out and improved the already stellar cast of action new stars new and old by adding classic action stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris (who very well might steal the show) to the fold. He also gave Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger bigger roles which was a great choice. Willis kills his role as smart-ass FBI agent Mr.Church and watching Schwarzenegger back on the big screen firing big guns was pretty much an instant time machine back to the 80's. Just like the first one, the last half-hour or so is one giant shootout and it's incredible. I didn't think they would be able to top the final showdown of the first one, but they easily did (save for the AA-12 hallway sequence with Terry Crews, which is still the best moment of either film). The Expendables 2 also benefited from Stallone handing over the directing reigns to veteran action director Simon West. West has a better handle on how to shoot the action sequences and it was just a better made film overall than it's predecessor without sacrificing any of the things that made the first one great. The Expendables 2 is one of the biggest, baddest, gleefully over-the top, and most entertaining action films to come out in the past decade. The amount of fun this film is truly infectious. It's clear they had a blast making it and you will probably have a blast watching it.

4.5/5 Stars

NFL Preview: NFC East

The NFC East is often one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive division in the league. This year looks to be no different with all 4 teams hungry for a run at the divisional crown. Here are my predictions for the NFC East this year.

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are the most underachieving team in the league and this year could be even uglier than the past few. Dallas has always had the talent, but their production has never been up to par. Dallas's biggest problems lie in the receiving core. Star wideouts Dez Bryant and Miles Austin are both banged-up and that could effect their play all season. Austin is especially of concern due to a lingering hamstring injury that has hampered him since pretty much the beginning of last season. DeMarco Murray who had a breakout rookie season last year, is also coming off a major ankle injury and on top of that has a long history of injuries. Then comes their production problems. If they don't step up as a team, they aren't going back to the playoffs anytime soon. Dallas will probably end up around or at exactly .500, which isn't too bad for a team with this much turmoil, but this team has pretty much no chance of making the playoffs in a pretty deep NFC.

New York Giants: The Giants are coming another incredible playoff run which lead them to another Super Bowl victory. Clearly this team knows when to step up and if they keep up their high level of play from the end of last year through the playoffs, they should have no problem taking the NFC East title. Outside of the minor losses of Mario Manningham, Aaron Ross, and Brandon Jacobs, this is pretty much the same team that won the title last year. They still have a lethal offense led by Eli Manning and the knockout 1-2 reciver punch of Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz and the best pass rush in the league anchored by Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Unimeniyra and Mathias Kiwanuka. They also bolstered their depth on offense by drafting running back David Wilson and wide reciever Ruben Randle in the draft (Both have shined in the preseason). The Giants are a pretty safe bet for success this season.

Philadelphia Eagles: Call me crazy, but I like the Eagles chances this year. The last four games of last season they started playing they should've been all of last season. They got their heads out of their asses after the dream team comments in the preseason and became a really scary team after living up to their immense potential. I think they are going to ride that momentum into this year. Michael Vick had a shit year last year and he realizes it. I think he is going to do everything in his power to help the Eagles land a playoff spot after his disapointing season last year. It also helps that the Eagles have a top 5 running back in Lesean McCoy (who absolutely shreds defenses when on the top of his game) and weapons in the passing game with DeSean Jackson,Jeremy Maclin, and Riley Cooper. Their defense also improved in the offseason when they traded overrated corner Asante Samuel to Atlanta and picked up promising defensive tackle Fletcher Cox in the first round. I really like the Eagles chances this year and they are a top contender for a wild card spot in my eyes.

Washington Redskins: There's a lot of hype around the Redskins this year. For some odd reason, Robert Griffin III is getting more hype than Andrew Luck. Redskins fans are touting him as franchise quarterback before he's even played a down in the regular season. I'm not on the RG3 bandwagon at the moment. It's not even because of him, it's because of the team. The Redskins have become a talent cesspool of late. If you go to Washington and you were once good, your talent escapes you immediately . Of course Griffin could overcome this, but I don't like his odds with the cancerous ownership and the coaching of the once great, but now senile Mike Shanahan. They gave up a lot to get him and I'm not so sure on how it will work out (Then again I could be 100% wrong like I was about Cam Newton last year). The Redskins once again spent a lot of money on free agents bringing in Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan and re-sigining Adam Carriker to way too high deals. Garcon and Morgan are talented receivers, but once again Washington is almost always a talent-draining black hole for players. The Redskins do have some talent, but overall I don't think the pieces fit together and if RGIII struggles, this team will be one of the worst in the league yet again.

My Predictions for the NFC East Standings
1.New York Giants (12-4)
2.Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
3.Dallas Cowboys (7-9)
4.Washington Redskins (5-11)

 

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games has to be one of the most hyped movies in recent memory. The books came out of nowhere and became insanely popular almost instantly (Just like Twilight a few years ago). I knew even though I didn't want to see it initially, It was going to be one of those movies that everyone sees eventually. While I did enjoy The Hunger Games way more than I expected to, At the same time I didn't find to it be nearly as good as most people did. The biggest strength The Hunger Games has is an interesting concept. There's no denying this film is a rip-off of the Korean book/film Battle Royale, but that doesn't make the story not gripping. The story grabs you from the beginning and keeps you pulled in throughout. The actual Hunger Games sequences are well done. Director Gary Ross is able to establish an effective doomsday atmosphere with an equal sense of urgency and intensity. The action scenes are driven by shaky cam shots and are really frantic and chaotic like they should be given the setting of the film. It's a shame he won't be back for the sequel because he handled the tone of the film very well. The film is also bolstered by a strong performance by Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role of Katniss and some interesting side characters led by Woody Harrelson as a previous champion of the Games (He is easily the best character in the movie and I wish he had more time on screen). They couldn't gotten some one better than Lawrence for the role of Katniss. She is one of the best young actresses out there and in the hands of a lesser actress, This movie very well could've have been doomed. That being said, The Hunger Games has it's fair share of flaws. The biggest problem I had with it was how tame it was for a fight to the death movie. A movie like this should be way more violent and gory. The violence was beyond sugar-coated and that took away from how powerful the film was. Another big problem was the really forced love story at the end. Katniss and Peta (Josh Hutcherson) had zero chemistry and the way it was worked into the story was just plain bad. It seemed like the writers wanted to give something to the teenage girl audience, so they just threw a really poor love story into the plot. There is also a lot of useless and annoying characters. Maybe it's because I didn't read the books, but the Elizabeth Banks character (Effie Trinket) was especially useless and obnoxious. Her character served no purpose other than reading the names of the contestants for the Games. Besides that she just stood there looking like a rejected Tim Burton movie character. The Hunger Games was good enough to grab my attention and to obtain an interest in seeing the rest of the series, but it's not the masterpiece it was out to be either.

3.5/5 Stars

NFL Preview: AFC West

The AFC West is probably the messiest and most confusing division to predict this year. None of the teams are dominant and all have major question marks clouding around them. Here are my thoughts on each of the AFC West teams going into the season.

Denver Broncos: Denver is coming off a division victory last year and they had a wild offseason that saw a lot of changes coming to the Mile High City. Clearly the most notable was the signing of Peyton Manning which also resulted in the end of Tebow Mania in Denver. Manning's signing is the definition of high risk/high reward. On the plus side, It is Peyton Manning. He is a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer and the type of special talent that can turn your franchise around. The downside is that he is 36 and is coming off a major neck injury that sidelined him for all of last season. This fact alone makes Denver's season a complete crapshoot. It could work out great for them or it could be an absolute nightmare. Manning wasn't the notable signing Denver made this year, They also brought in cornerback Tracy Porter from New Orleans (who ironically got a game-changing pick-six on Manning in the Super Bowl two years ago). The combination of Porter with the old, but still great Champ Bailey gives Denver an elite cornerback pair. Denver is pretty squared away on defense as a whole, but their offense is where problems may arise. Willis McGahee had a great year last year, but he has had durability issues throughout his career and those could rear their ugly head again this year. The bigger problem for Denver though lies in their mediocre and unproven receiving core. Even if Manning is on his game, guys like Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas are not particularly dangerous receivers. The bottom line is that the key to their season lies on how well Peyton Manning plays. Definitely going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch the progress of this season.

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs are a team that I feel is getting no love in 2012 and it's not really justified. There was no team in the league that suffered from more injuries than the Chiefs last year and all things considering they didn't do too bad last year (they finished 7-9). I honestly think they are the strongest team in the division this year if all their players come back at full strength. I mean welcoming back key players like Jammal Charles, Tony Moeaki, Eric Berry, and Matt Cassel certainly isn't going to hurt. They won the division two years ago and I can't see why they couldn't do it again if they play at their full potential. Dwayne Bowe is probably the most underrated receiver in the league and if Peyton Hillis steps up after his horrible year with the Browns last year, that gives you a potent power back for 3rd down and goal line situations. They also have a pretty decent and underrated defense that could help that much more in their quest to win the division. Jammal Charles is the X-factor on this team though. If he is back to the level of explosiveness he was at two years ago prior to his injury, he will be back at elite status and will cause a tough matchup for opposing defenses. Again though their success boils down to how well their players coming off injury can play. The Chiefs are a risky, but underrated team that I feel can win this division this year.

Oakland Raiders: The forever subpar Raiders made another stupid choice in firing their coach of one season in Hue Jackson after an 8-8 year last year. That makes two unjustifed coach firings in two years and they will probably make it three after this year if they don't get a winning record. On the bright side, this is their first full year with Carson Palmer. Palmer definitely isn't a franchise quarterback, but he is solid enough to win you games and lead you in the right direction as a team. Darren McFadden is also a great running back (when healthy). He has looked great in training camp so far and this could end up being his breakout year in the league. The Raiders, like their divisional foes the Chiefs, also have a solid, underrated, young defense that can keep them in games even when their offense isn't playing well. That being said, The Raiders are still kind of a mess. The aforementioned injury problems with McFadden are a big issue (He hasn't played a whole season in his career so far) and now with Michael Bush in Chicago they have no proven number 2 back which could be costly. Then you have the inconsistent play of the rest of the offense. You never know to know what to expect from Carson Palmer and the receivers are also wildly inconsistent (though Denarius Moore was decent last year and Darius Hayward-Bay is starting to come around). Oakland seems like they are smack dab in the middle of another average season and I can't see them breaking out of that mold anytime soon.

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers are probably the biggest question mark in a division full of question marks. It's kind of bad that I think the Raiders might be more dangerous than them. Phillip Rivers can still play well, but he has kind of an Island of Misfits toys group of receivers at the moment and he is coming off the worst year of his career. The departure of Vincent Jackson is going to sting hard and I don't think free agent pickups Eddie Royal or Robert Meachem or longtime Charger Malcolm Floyd have the talent to be a number 1 wideout. It also doesn't help that tight end Antonio Gates's numbers have been in decline for the past few years. Then comes the good, but not great play of Ryan Matthews. He has proven to be pretty productive, but he's not the game changer the Chargers had hoped for.  He's also frequently hurt which is  a big obstacle that is preventing him from reaching that next level (He is already hurt this year and looking to miss the first few weeks of the season). The Chargers defense is looking pretty good though. They got a steal in the first round with Melvin Ingram, who has impressed the hell of scouts early on and should be a dual threat in the run-stop and pass-rush. Second-round pickup Kendall Reyes looks to have bolstered the Chargers veteran d-line as well. The Chargers do have some signs of life, but I think they are a team in the decline after last season. Their glory years of 4-5 years ago appear to be over and they could be in store for a last-place finish in the division.

My Predictions for the AFC West Standings:
1.Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)
2.Denver Broncos (8-8)
3.Oakland Raiders (7-9)
4.San Diego Chargers (7-9)

Movie Review: The Campaign

In an election year the American public needed a film like The Campaign. The run for office gets so absurd and The Campaign lampoons that brilliantly. The script from Eastbound and Down writers Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell is fantastic. All the stuff that is portrayed here either has happened, is happening or could happen, Which is actually kind of scary/sad given the events of this film. The satire may appear to be dumb, but it's actually spot-on and very clever. Besides the great writing, the cast really rises to the occasion. They elevate this great material to the next level. Will Ferrell and Zach Galfinakis each nail their respective roles. The two play off each other brilliantly with their vastly different characters and undeniable comedic talent. As with most great comedies, the supporting cast shines as well. The show-stealers for this movie are Dylan McDermott and Karen Maruyama. McDermott absolutely kills as the psychopath campaign manager for Galifinakis's characters and Maruyama is hysterical as an Asian maid who is forced to talk like a slave. The Campaign may be a vulgar, insane comedy but it actually does a good job of making fun and exposing the corruption and ridiculousness of politics.

4/5 Stars

NFL Preview: AFC South

Houston Texans: The Texans are coming off the first ever division title and playoff appearance last season. Unless something radically awful happens, I can't imagine they don't repeat this year. The teams around them are all pretty weak (save for maybe Tennessee) and they have far too much offensive firepower to be contained within this division. I mean they won a playoff game with unproven rookie backup quarterback T.J Yates at the helm of their offense last year. Matt Schaub being back at quarterback is great news for Houston. He is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league and it looks like the season-ending foot injury isn't bothering him, so expect a productive year from him. Surrounding him Houston has the best 1-2 running back combo in the league with Arian Foster and Ben Tate and a top 5 wideout in Andre Johnson. The only reason for concern is the big loss of Mario Williams on defense. He was their number 1 pass rusher and someone is going to have step up to fill the void. They drafted Whitney Merclius out of Illinois in the first round to hopefully stop some of the holes created once Williams exited. Their defense has some question marks, but their elite offense should get them by no problem especially with weak competition in the rest of the division.

Indianapolis Colts: The Colts are going into their first season in 15 years with Peyton Manning on the roster. Last season was pure torture for them when Manning missed the whole season and this year officially marks the start of the Colts rebuilding process. The future does indeed looks bright for the Colts, but this season probably won't be. Andrew Luck, in my opinion, is the finest quarterback prospect since Aaron Rodgers. He is mobile, intelligent, has experience in a pro-style offense during his college career at Stanford, and he has an absolute cannon. His play should help the Colts improve from last year, but I think with the players around him, they won't achieve immediate success. Outside of all-pro wideout Reggie Wayne and promising rookie tight end Coby Fleener (who played with Luck at Stanford), They have no one that really can do any damage offensively. Donald Brown hasn't done much in his career so far at running back and Austin Collie and Donnie Avery are inconsistent and oft-injured receivers who are capable of decent number at times, but they frequently miss the mark. The Colts also have a shaky and unproven defense outside of veterans Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Antoine Bethea.  The Colts have brighter days on the horizon, but they are going to have to make it through another couple years of suffering to get there.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Now here's a team that the exact opposite of the Colts. They never reached the heights the Colts did in the past decade and now they are pretty much instantly a basement-dwelling team after playing awful all of last season. The root of their problems is at quarterback. Blane Gabbert didn't really prove himself last season and if he repeats that play this season, They are screwed. They do have the incredibly average Chad Henne to backup Gabbert, but he probably won't improve the Jaguars too much if he is called upon to play. The even bigger problem that came out of the blue is the holdout of star running back Maurice Jones-Drew. If Jones-Drew holds out for the season, The Jaguars have a huge problem. He IS their offense and they have no one to take his place at the running back position. Losing the leading rusher in the NFL from a year ago and one of the most explosive players in the league for the entire season would be devastating for them. On the plus side, Jacksonville did make some solid pick-ups in the offseason. They drafted wide receiver Justin Blackmon in the first round of the draft. Blackmon is a huge target and has a ton of potential to be a difference maker at wide receiver. They also signed veteran wide receiver Laurent Robinson and defensive back Aaron Ross. Both players give them depth at their respective positions and add talented, veteran presences that will bolster Jacksonville's production on both sides of the ball. There are some bright spots and they shouldn't be too bad if Maurice Jones-Drew shows up and plays all season, but Jacksonville is still a pretty weak team that is going to need to overachieve immensely if they want to have a half-decent season.

Tennessee Titans: The Titans turned out a solid season last year and I expect more of the same this season. They are the only team besides Houston that I can see possibly winning this division. How Tennessee fairs is really going to depend on how their star players preform. Chris Johnson is coming off of a down year and they still went 9-7. If Johnson goes back to his peak years production this season then watch out. Same with top wideout Kenny Britt. Britt is currently injured and missed most of last season with a torn MCL. When Britt is healthy, he has played incredible and whenever he comes this back this year he could be a huge asset to their offense. The Titans do have an interesting battle at quarterback right now that might end up hurting them during the season. Second-year prospect Jake Locker has showed some promise, but veteran Matt Hasselbeck played well last year and looks to have a couple years left in the tank. Personally if I was the Titans, I would keep Hasselbeck in there and let Locker continue to develop before handing him the reigns. The Titans are a pretty good, but not great team that could contend for a playoff spot.

My predictions for the AFC South
1.Houston Texans (11-5)
2.Tennessee Titans (9-7)
3.Indianapolis Colts (5-11)
4.Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11) 

Album Review: The Faceless-Autotheism

The moment has finally come! As a huge fan of The Faceless, I had been eagerly awaiting the release of new material for the past four years. Planetary Duality is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion and I was beyond excited to see what The Faceless could do on the follow-up. Well I can happily say that their new record Autotheism was well worth the wait and is another brilliant chapter in The Faceless's career.

Autotheism sees The Faceless headed in a somewhat different direction with their sound. Gone are most of the space/alien elements and in is a more progressive/experimental sound with substantially more clean vocals from guitarist/mastermind of the band Michael Keene. This is a change that will alienate some of their fans, but it was a choice that I think works exceptionally well. The new progressive/oddball stuff gives them a lot more freedom to experiment musically and creates a lot of memorable passages. The new elements to their sound sets them apart from the just about every other progressive/technical death metal band. The enhanced focus on clean vocals show just good of a vocalist that Keene is. His cleans are very unique and even haunting on certain passages on this album (especially during the "Autotheist Movement" portion of the record, more on that in a second). The whacked-out and daring songwriting adds a new element of surprise to The Faceless. It's was a big gamble that payed off handsomely for them. The 3-part album opener "Autotheist Movement" is nothing short of genius. The 16-minute opus flows together so well and features some of the stunning musicianship of their career so far. It goes from a super-progressive, haunting beginning full of clean vocals with "Create", then transforms into a super heavy, super fast mid-section with two amazing solos from Keene on "Emancipate" then concludes with the bat-shit crazy, circus from hell (If you heard the song, You know what I'm talking about) with "Deconserate". "Autotheist Movement" is so ambitious, odd, and just flat-out incredible. Nothing on this album quite tops it, but there is some other gems on here such as the brilliant closer of "In Solitude" which starts off with a laid-back acoustic intro and then soon launches into the best riff on the album.

Autotheism isn't all about the progressive weirdo elements though, The Faceless still know how to crush skulls with the best of them. New vocalist Gefforey Ficco does a great job replacing Derek Rydquist. His low screams are actually more devastating than Rydquist while his highs are just as sinister sounding. He is given ample time to prove himself amongst the expanded progressive sections here and he shines. His top moments outside of the aforementioned "Autotheist Movement" and "In Solitude" are on the two heaviest tracks on the album "Ten Billion Years" and especially "Hymn of Sanity". "Hymn of Sanity" is the only song on the album with no clean vocals and it's a fast, brutal track that he absolutely destroys (in a good way) vocally. Between seeing them at Summer Slaughter last week and this album,  Ficco erased any fears I had about him replacing Rydquist. He was 100% up to the task and I can honestly say that I like his vocals more than Rydquist's (Although he is still a monster of a vocalist).

Autotheism is another booming success for The Faceless. This album is near perfect (My only problem is the criminal underuse of Evan Brewer, who is arguably the best bassist in metal right now) and was well worth the four-year wait. It keeps the same general sound in tact, while adding a lot more progressive/experimental material. I will admit I do like Planetary Duality just a tad more, but that doesn't take from the fact that album is fucking excellent. The Faceless have proved once again why they are one of the most important and just plain best bands in not only the extreme metal scene, but the metal scene as a whole.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Autotheist Movement I-III: Create, Emancipate, Deconsecrate
2.In Solitude
3.Hymn of Sanity    

Top 50 Live Bands I've Seen (So Far)

I was doing a bit of reflecting on all the bands I've seen a few weeks ago and I thought it would be cool to do a list commemorating the absolute best of the best. I've been fortunate enough to have attended 47 concerts and seen over 200 bands in my life so far. I'm only 20 years old and I still have a lot of bands to see and this will clearly change over time, but at this point in time these are without a doubt the 50 best live acts I've seen. Here is the list in no particular order:

3 Inches of Blood

After the Burial

Alice in Chains

Amon Amarth

Andrew W.K.

Anthrax

As I Lay Dying

August Burns Red

Behemoth

Between The Buried and Me

Born of Osiris

Coheed and Cambria

Darkest Hour

Deftones

Devin Townsend Project

Dropkick Murphys

Dying Fetus

Every Time I Die

God Forbid

Hatebreed

In Flames

Killswitch Engage

Korn

Kylesa

Lamb of God

Lazarus A.D

Machine Head

Mastodon (last 2 times I've seen them)

Megadeth

Municipal Waste

Obscura

Overkill

Periphery

Protest the Hero

Rammstien

Revocation

Rob Zombie

Septic Flesh

Skeletonwitch

Slayer

Slipknot

Son of Aurelius

Suffocation

System of a Down

The Black Dahlia Murder

The Dillinger Escape Plan

The Faceless

The Red Chord

Times of Grace

Unearth

Movie Review: Haywire

Steven Soderbergh is one of the most polarizing directors in Hollywood. There are times where he is absolutely brilliant and there are other times where he fails completely, Haywire is a prime example of the latter.  Action movies that are as dull as Haywire shouldn't be made. It wastes an extremely talented cast on an absolutely empty script in which literally nothing happens. This film tries to sell that it has intelligence when in reality it has a script that feels like a direct-to-video revenge thriller starring Steven Segal minus a majority of the action. Soderbergh takes a very amateurish approach and this movie feels rushed and cheap. He was phoning it in on this particular project and if you didn't know any better you wouldn't think that he is capable of being a great director on certain projects. The worst parts of this movie are based around the action scenes and a abysmal performance from Gina Carano. The action scenes (the few that there are) are nearly identical and lifeless. Every fight lasts about a minute and ends in a triangle choke. Just because triangle chokes aren't used often doesn't make the fight scenes original and more importantly, exciting. Gina Carano is the biggest problem I had with the film though. She has absolutely no charisma or presence as an actress.  Sure she's pretty nice to look at and she's a good fighter, but she is a horrible, horrible actress. Haywire is a boring, useless action/thriller which wastes the talent involved with a brain-dead script and amatureish production values.

1.5/5 Stars

Concert Review: Summer Slaughter-- Worcester, MA-- August 10th, 2012

After attending the amazing System of A Down show on Thursday night, I attended yet another show for the yes when Summer Slaughter rolled through The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts on Friday.

Cerebral Bore kicked off the day in spectacular fashion. Their style of pig-squeal fueled brutal death metal is made for a live setting. Their vocalist Simone Pujimers is a monster. She has some of the finest pig squeals I've ever heard and puts most of her male counterparts to shame. The funny thing about their set was how calm she was between songs. Most of her banter went a little something like this "Thank you, We're so glad to be here This ones called (screams title of next song)". Musically they have a lot of catchy yet extremely heavy riffs. These guys and girl are a band to watch over the next few years and provided to the perfect opener for Summer Slaughter. Great set.

The Contortionist was up next. I was glad that Massachusetts got them as a special guest because they were easily the best of all the special guests for the whole tour. They were just as good as the previous two times I've seen them. They are precise as hell and playeverything perfectly in a live setting. The set was pretty much the same as it was when I saw them at NEMHF in April save for throwing in "Geocentric Confusion" off the new record (which sounds great live). I was surprised by how strong the crowd reception was. They seem to be getting bigger which is great and hopefully their record Intrinsic gives them more exposure, they deserve it. Hopefully I can see them play a longer than 25 minute set at some point in time.

Exhumed was up next. They were the only band on the bill that I am not overly familiar with despite them being icons in the underground death metal scene. Their set was good, but not great. They have a lot of talent/energy and their guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey shreds.I also liked the low screams their bass player did. The only problem is I'm not huge on Harvey high-pitched screams. Although they are far from terrible, I found them to be kind of grating and they took away from my enjoyment of their set. Overall Exhumed put on a solid, but not overly impressive set.

Goatwhore hit the stage after that. I had been waiting a long time to see them and I was stoked to finally get the chance to see them after a being a fan of theirs for a few years now. They did not disappoint in the slightest. Actually they straight-up fucking killed it. Ben Falgoust is a madman on stage. He sounded great on vocals and he really knows how to work a crowd. They ripped through a set of mostly material from their new record Blood For the Master and classics "Alchemy of the Black Sun Cult" and "Apocalyptic Havoc" to start and close the set. The new stuff translated incredibly well live especially the mid-paced "In Deathless Tradition" and the all-out thrash rager "An End to Nothing". Goatwhore put on one of the finest shows of the day and I am anxious to see them again ASAP.

Job For A Cowboy was up next. I was stoked to see them for the third time and expected their best performance to date after releasing their finest album of their career earlier this year with Demonocracy. Unfortunately I was dead wrong. Job put on a highly disappointing performance that was by far the worst show on the day. The problems of their set was 100% sound based. The drums were silent in the mix (The drums audible for about 20 seconds in the middle of set closer "Constitutional Masturbation" but that's about it) , the vocals were cutting in and out, and the guitars were overpowering. I am sure if the sound mix wasn't god awful they would have been great. On the plus, their energy was good and the new guitarist hit everything ("Children of Deceit" was easily the best song of the set because of the guitarwork). This won't deter me from seeing Job For A Cowboy again, but it was still a huge letdown and easily far and away the worst show I've seen them put on.

Veil of Maya was up next. They were the complete opposite of Job For A Cowboy. They disappointed me the last time I saw them at Summer Slaughter 2010. Their set that time was plagued by sound problems and a slew of mistakes from guitarist Marc Okubo. This time around they fucking killed it. The mix was great and Okubo played everything flawlessly. Their energy was also off the charts and the crowd was super into them. The new stuff off of Eclipse sounds awesome in a live setting. It hits a lot harder and just sound better than the rest of their material does in a live environment. "Divide Paths" was a fantastic opener and "Punisher" was the perfect closer (the whole crowd saying the sample before the ending riff/breakdown was amazing). Really the only downside to their set was that the hxC dancing ninjas were out in full force. One of my friends got clocked in the face during "Unbreakable" and got a pretty solid cut on his nose. Although he was bleeding quite a bit, Thankfully his nose wasn't broken. Seriously fuck hardcore dancers, they are scum and they need to save those moves for the dojo. Back on topic, This set completely restored my faith in Veil of Maya as a live act.

Periphery was up next. Just like the last time I saw them in April at NEMHF they destroyed. Spencer Sotelo is one of the best vocalists in the game. His screams and cleans are both equally impressive and sound even better live. The whole band was entertaining as hell as usual. Watching Bulb and Jake Bowen's facial expressions are really hilarious and they have a ton of fun on stage and it shows in the quality of their performance. The set was equally balanced between their first and second albums and focused on their heavier stuff, which was by fine me. They are a non-death metal band on a death metal tour so of course they are going to play the heaviest stuff they have in their catalog. I was worried about the crowd reception, but they ended up getting a great reception. Even better the ninjas seemed to exit the pits after Veil of Maya because Periphery's set was full of push moshing and circle pits. Periphery is an outstanding live act and I really want to see them play on a headlining tour (Hopefully playing a lot of new shit, their new album kicks ass) very soon.

The Faceless was up next. Despite Between The Buried and Me being my favorite band on the day, The Faceless was the most band I was most anticipating. The reason behind was my curiosity in how new vocalist Geoffrey Ficco would sound/fit with the band. Let me just say this now as a Faceless fanboy: Geoffrey Ficco is 10x better than Derek Rydquist. His vocals were absolutely killer. His low screams were actually substantially better than Derek's and his highs were just as powerful and sinister. (No disrespect to Derek, he is still a monster). The real difference though was how much energy he brought to the band. His injection of energy has taken The Faceless to the next level as a live band. Watching guitarist/mastermind of  The Faceless Michael Keene is always a pleasure. There's a reason his nickname is Machine, The dude fucking shreds. The highlight of the set for me was "Legion of the Serpent". The intro/main riff to that song does not fail to blow my mind every time I hear it. A close second though was the new song "Desconserate". It's so weird and proggy yet punishing and heavy (I just listened to the new album today and it's excellent. Look for a review later in the week). The Faceless was damn near perfect and put on the second best show behind Between The Buried and Me. One of the best bands in all of metal in my humble opinion and their performance here solidified that. Stupid side note/anecdote: There was this couple around my age having the most graphic and disgusting/hilarious makeout session I've ever seen in my life for most of their set. Apparently alien-themed progressive/technical death metal really gets them going.

The mad geniuses in Between The Buried and Me hit the stage next. As always, they were perfect. This marked the seventh time I have seen them. There is a reason I have seen them more than any other band, They never fail to deliver live. They have some of the most complex music ever written and they play it absolutely perfectly. Clearly I wasn't the only one super into it, they have gained a huge following in Massachusetts over the years and if the reception from this show is any indicator, they are at their peak popularity to date. It makes me really happy that they have gotten so big, A band of their caliber 100000% deserves it. The set was interesting especially for a tour like this. I expected them to play at least one song off something pre-Colors which is the heaviest of their material, but instead they played songs like "Sun of Nothing" and 'Fossil Genera" which are two of the weirdest songs they have. "White Walls" of course gave me goosebumps as usual and it was badass seeing it as an opener after seeing it later in the set the previous six times I've seen them. The new song "Telos" was glorious live as well. The melodic part in the middle was beautiful and the solo at the end is even more epic live. Can't wait for the new album in October and to see them for the eight time supporting it.

Cannibal Corpse closed out the night. Cannibal Corpse was noisy, inaudible, sloppy, and I loved every minute of it. They aren't the finest death metal band around, but their style of super heavy, old-school death metal just works really well live. Corpsegrinder didn't sound quite as good the past two times I've seen them, but I'll cut him some slack since he is 43 and he still sounds much better than previous Cannibal Corpse vocalist/zoo animal enthusiast Chris Barnes does now-a-days. The set did get progressively better by the song and I absolutely love Corpsegrinder's stage presence. Just watching him headbang at insane speeds (I'm still convinced that his neck is made of metal) and make insensitive and hillarious comments in between songs is fantastic. They aren't one of my favorite death metal bands, but they are always great live and they are perfect band to headline Summer Slaughter. It was yet another successful year at Summer Slaughter and definitely the best of the three I've been to so far. Every band was at the very least decent and you never get a touring festival without one band on it. Can't wait for the next Summer Slaughter and hopefully they can get another elite lineup like this year.

Scores:
Cerebral Bore 8/10
The Contortionist 8/10
Exhumed 7.5/10
Goatwhore 8.5/10
Job For A Cowboy 6.5/10
Veil of Maya 8.5/10
Periphery 9/10
The Faceless 9.5/10
Between The Buried and Me 10/10
Cannibal Corpse 8.5/10

Setlists:
Cerebral Bore:
Maniacal Miscreation
Horrendous Acts of Iniquity
Entombed in Butchered Bodies
The Bald Cadaver
24 Year Party Dungeon

The Contortionist:
Causality
Flourish
Geocentric Confusion
Oscillator

Exhumed:
All Guts, No Glory
As Hammer to Anvil
In The Name of Gore
Distorted and Twisted to Form
Limb From Limb
The Matter of Splatter

Goatwhore:
Alchemy of the Black Sun Cult
Collapse in Eternal Worth
Judgement of the Bleeding Crown
In Deathless Tradition
When Steel and Bone Meet
An End to Nothing
Apocalyptic Havoc

Job For A Cowboy:
Entombment of a Machine
Embedded
Imperium Wolves
Unfurling a Darkened Gospel
Children of Deceit
Regurgitated Disinformation
Constitutional Masturbation

Veil of Maya:
20/200
Divide Paths
Unbreakable
Crawl Back
Winter is Coming Soon
Dark Passenger
It's Not Safe To Swim Today
Punisher

Periphery:
Zyglrox
Make Total Destroy
Facepalm Mute
Icarus Lives!
The Walk
Ragnarok

The Faceless:
Coldly Calculated Design
Legion of the Serpent
Deconsecrate
Xenochrist
The Eidolon Reality
An Autopsy

Between The Buried and Me:
White Walls
Specular Reflection
Telos
Sun of Nothing
Fossil Genera- A Feed From Cloud Mountain

Cannibal Corpse:
Demented Aggression
Sacrophagic Frenzy
Scourge of Iron
Disfigured
Evisceration Plague
The Time to Kill is Now
Covered With Sores
Born in a Casket
I Cum Blood
Encased in Concrete
Priests of Sodom
Unleashing the Bloodthirsty
Make Them Suffer
Hammer Smashed Face
Stripped, Raped, and Strangled

Concert Review: System of a Down,-- Mansfield, MA,-- August 9th, 2012

I can't even believe what I witnessed last night. It was almost like having an out-of-body experience seeing System of a Down last night.

My friends and I lucked out big time we got there literally the minute Deftones started playing. I was fearful we were going to miss a portion of their set due to the traffic getting there, parking, going through security, etc because their set was slated to start at 7:30. Thankfully they went on 7:45 and I didn't miss any of their set. This marked my third time seeing the Deftones and they never fail to impress. Chino is one hell of a vocalist with his stunning cleans and frantic, manic, ear-piercing screams. The set was heavy on Adrenaline material which wasn't surprising considering they were opening for System of a Down. The material from the album comes across amazing in a live environment and I was stoked they played "Root" which they haven't played every night. The new song "Rosemary" sounded great and got me really excited for the new record. It sounded like a heavier version of the slower stuff on White Pony and is one of the few times I can think of where they fused their slower and heavier sides on the same song. I want to see them again when they tour on the new album, preferably headlining in a club where they really shine.

This is a moment I still can't believed happened. I never thought I would get to chance to see System of a Down after they went on hiatus in 2006. I had been waiting for this moment since I first started listening to them when I was 12 and they not only met, but exceeded my very high expectations. It was everything I hoped it could be. The whole band sounded incredible and there was absolutely no signs of rust from their hiatus. Serj, Daron and Shavo (backing screams) all sounded amazing vocally and had not lost even an ounce of power. Serj's screams on certain songs were actually better on the studio records. They also had some great energy and stage presence. Daron has one of the weirdest yet awesome stage presences I've ever seen. The highlights included him spinning around circles for about two minutes at the end of "Psycho", standing above one of the security guards and just staring at the back of his head for the entire duration of "Suggestions" and best of all, the hilarious acoustic intro to "Cigaro" where he apologized to the crowd for how stupid the song was and to bear with him while they played it. The setlist was excellent. I could've done without the two ballads "Lonely Day" and "Lost in Hollywood" which are probably the only two System songs I don't like and they could have picked some better songs off of Mesmerize and Hypnotize, but those are only small complaints. They played nine songs off of Toxicity, which is my favorite record by them and one of my all-time favorites and all of those songs along with "B.Y.O.B", "Suite-Pee",  "Cigaro" and "Sugar" (which is one of the finest set closers I've ever seen) were the standouts for me. It was an unreal performance from System of a Down and it's definitely one of the finest shows I've ever seen. I am so fucking happy that I got to see them after being a fan for so long. System of a Down is one of my all-time favorites. The concert gods definitely repayed me because one year to the day I attended the worst concert I've ever been to (blink-182) at the same venue and now I attended one of the best shows I've ever been to on the same day from a band I never thought I would see play live. If you get the chance to, you owe it to yourself to see System of a Down live.

Scores:
Deftones 8.5/10
System of a Down 10/10

Setlists:
Deftones:
Rocket Skates
Diamond Eyes
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Digital Bath
You've Seen The Butcher
Fireal
Engine No.9
Rosemary
Change (In The House Of Flies)
Root
7 Words

System of a Down:
Prison Song
Soldier Side - Intro
B.Y.O.B.
Needles
Deer Dance
Radio/Video
Hypnotize
Question?
Suggestions
Psycho
Chop Suey!
Lonely Day
Bounce
Kill Rock N' Roll
Lost in Hollywood
Forest
Holy Mountains
Aerials
Tentative
Cigaro
Suite-Pee
War?
Toxicity
Sugar

NFL Preview: AFC North

Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore is of course coming of the heartbreaking loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game last year, but don't fret Baltimore fans they have a good shot of returning there this season. This is pretty much the same Baltimore team that has been in place for a while. There is a great chemistry on both sides of the ball and they know what is expected of them to win and put themselves in a position for a potential championship run. The only problem I can foresee is the absence of Terrell Suggs, who was tore his Achilles tendon in the off-season and will miss at least a majority of the season. He is a huge factor on defense, but I am confident that Baltimore has the talent to replace him and won't allow their who team to crumble while he's gone.

Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati was one of the surprise teams last year. They snuck into the playoffs behind solid play from rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and future superstar wideout A.J Green. I expect the Bengals to keep improving while Dalton and Green continue to grow as players.This offseason they addressed some key issues in the draft that should help them the defensive side of the ball. They took promising corner Dre Kirkpatrick in the first round and underrated defensive tackles Devon Still and Brandon Thompson in the second and third rounds respectively. These moves add a lot promise to a subpar Bengals defense who struggled at times last year. In free agency, they took a gamble signing BenJarvus Green-Ellis to replace the effective yet troubled Cedric Benson at running back. Green-Ellis was decent with New England, but he has never been the lone feature back before so this will provide a very interesting challenge for the Bengals. The Bengals are a solid team, but they are a few years away from being a serious contender.

Cleveland Browns: The Browns have been a perennial doormat in the otherwise really strong AFC North and I don't really see that changing this season. There are some signs of hope for the future after this seasons draft. This hope has come in the form of Trent Richardson, who I believe is the most promising running back to enter the league since Adrian Peterson. Like Peterson, he's got power and speed and should be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Richardson is really about the only bright spot on an otherwise lackluster Browns team. Rookie Brandon Wheeden has a strong arm, but at 28 (he will be 29 in October) he's older than current star quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. Wheeden has bust written all over him (Chris Weinke ring a bell anyone?) and he definitely is not the franchise quarterback the Browns are looking for. Even if Wheeden plays well, he has a lack of weapons in the passing game and the Browns have no defense to fall back on. I honestly feel really bad for Browns fans, unless a miracle happens, there looks to be no end in sight for your suffering.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers like the Ravens are getting old. But unlike the Ravens they are also beat-up. The amount of injuries they had last season was staggering and it cost them a run in the playoffs. Going into this season, veterans James Harrison, Casey Hampton, Max Starks and Rashard Mendenhall are all banged up and with the exception of Mendenhall are getting up there in terms of age. These guys are all vital to the team and if they're are not 100%, it could be highly detrimental to the Steelers. Another lingering issue is signing number 1 wide receiver Mike Wallace (who is holding out and has not nor has any intention of showing up to training camp without a new deal in place). The Steelers have other playmakers at wide receiver in Antonio Brown and Emanuel Sanders, but Wallace is the most dangerous threat they have and that could ruin a lot of the explosiveness the Steelers offense has. That being said, Pittsburgh is a veteran team and amongst the few that come out and play even with these problems on and off the field. They still have Ben Rothelisberger, who is still an elite leader and a lot of firepower and depth on both sides of the ball (including a pretty deadly running back attack of Issace Redman, Johnathan Dwyer, and if healthy, Rashard Mendanhall.) If they are still banged up, they should get a wild card spot and if they are at full strength, they could contend for the AFC title. Should be another unpredictable and exciting year for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Predictions for the AFC North standings:
1.Baltimore Ravens (12-4)
2.Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)
3.Cincinnati Bengals (9-7)
4.Cleveland Browns (4-12)

NFL Preview: AFC East

Football season is right around the corner (Thank god, I'm getting really sick of all this Olympic coverage). Over the new few weeks, I'll be previewing each division in the league and giving my thoughts how I think each team will do this season starting today with the AFC East. Feel free to leave comments, I am open to having discussion with anyone about the upcoming football season.

Buffalo Bills: Buffalo surprised a lot of people last season (myself included) by coming storming out of the gates last season with a 5-2 start. After that though they stumbled to a 1-8 finish in their last 9 games. This season could end up being a pretty decent one for Buffalo if they play like they did in the first portion of last season or a pretty disastrous one if they play like they did in the second half of last season. Personally, I think they will be right in the middle. The plus side of things is Fred Jackson and Ryan Fitzpatrick (He was playing with broken ribs for the second half of the season last year which is definitely part of why they did so poorly at the end of the year) are back at full health. Having Jackson back is especially key. He was having the best year of his career last year before he got hurt and if comes back with a vengeance this year, He could potentially have a 1,500 yard season. Defensively, they made some huge free-agent signings with Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. Mario Williams is a monster and will single-handily improve their pass rush. Mark Anderson is streaky, but when he's on his game, he's a damn good pass-rusher and the combination of him and Williams could be lethal. The thing that keeps Buffalo from being a playoff contender is their inconsistent play on both sides of the ball and lack of receiving threats outside of Stevie Johnson. Buffalo is definitely the most confusing team in the AFC outside of the AFC West and it really comes down to what Bills team decides to show up this year. They could be a dark horse or they could be a joke, The jury's still out.

Miami Dolphins:The story of the Miami Dolphins offseason was sell, sell, sell. They are clearly in rebuilding mode bringing in a new head coach, trading Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the Bears, and releasing veterans Yerimah Bell and Phillip Merling. There is a lot of uncertainty with the Dolphins right now and that should lead to a long year in Miami. They have a three-way quarterback battle going on right now between last year's starter Matt Moore (who did a decent job closing out the year), veteran David Garrard, and coveted rookie Ryan Tannehill. All three of these guys aren't bad at all, but they aren't going to lead them anywhere right now (Tannehill might have his day at some point in time, but that moment is not right now). Another big problem is the lack of receiving options. Unless Chad Johnson has a huge resurgence (which is highly unlikely considering how bad he was for the Patriots last year), they have pretty much no one to throw to and that will cause their offense to be very one-dimensional. The good news for Miami is that Reggie Bush is coming off the best year of his career and he is primed for another big year considering the shakiness of their quarterback/receiver situation and they still have a pretty solid defense anchored by linebackers Cameron Wake and Karlos Dansby. With a weak roster and stiff competition, Miami is pretty much a lock for last-place in this division.

New England Patriots: If you follow football at all I don't need to tell you how dominating the Patriots offense is. The amount of weapons they have in the passing attack is unfair and Tom Brady hasn't lost a step at the quarterback position. They added another weapon this offseason in Brandon Lloyd  He isn't as dangerous as Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, or Aaron Hernandez, but he will add yet another deep threat for the Patriots and concern for opposing defenses. Despite their dominating pass offense, everything else is a concern. They lost starting running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis this offseason which is going to mean a return to the famous Belicheck mediocre running back by-committee system with Danny Woodhead and second year backs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen. If Woodhead performs like he did in his breakout 2010 season, they should be fine. If not, they could have a huge problem. Their biggest problem though is still on defense. Their two first-round draft picks Chandler Jones and Don'ta Hightower have a lot of potential and should help their awful pass rush, but they ignored their biggest problem which is their secondary. They allowed at least 300 passing yards in almost every game last season and they still have the same guys as projected starters for this season. Even with these problems, The Patriots will be fine this season. Their dominant passing offense, excellent coaching, and incredibly easy schedule cancel out their flaws and all but guarantees at least 13 wins this year.

New York Jets: The Jets got cocky last year promising a Super Bowl after making it to the past two AFC championship games. The results were pretty poor finishing 8-8 and failing to makes the playoffs for the first time since Rex Ryan took over as coach. This year the Jets seems to be way more focused and humble. Mark Sanchez isn't a game-changing, elite quarterback, but when he's on his game the Jets tend to win games. The addition of Tim Tebow could end up paying off big time. He might be a terrible quarterback, but he is a tremendous athlete and having him at your disposal for wildcat/option plays gives them a really dangerous threat in the running game. Their defense is also elite. They were still great last year in a down season and the addition of hard-hitting safety Laron Landry only makes them scarier. They also didn't have any huge losses which is also a huge plus. They do have their question marks at running back (if Shonn Greene doesn't step up) and receiver depth, but I honestly think the Jets can make the playoffs this year. They might be a year or two off from making it back to the AFC championship game, but they have the talent to make the playoffs for sure.

Predictions for the AFC East Standings:
1.New England Patriots (14-2)
2.New York Jets (10-6)
3.Buffalo Bills (8-8)
4.Miami Dolphins (4-12)
 

Concert Review: Mayhem Fest-- Mansfield, MA-- August 3rd, 2012

Well here we are again at what has become a staple of my summers for the past five years: The Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. This year boasted another great lineup and another immensely fun day of metal.

My friends and I go there a bit late around 3:15. We unfortunately missed Whitechapel, who was the only band that I cared about seeing that we did. I have seen them four times so it's not that big of a deal, but I did want to hear their new material live. Thankfully they are coming back in September with Hatebreed and All Shall Perish so I will try to catch that show. The first band of the day I actually caught was The Devil Wears Prada. Their show was exactly what I anticipated it would be: The band sounded good, The clean vocals were good, and Mike Hranica's voice is completely blown out causing the whole set to be derailed. It's the same problem that plagued their most recent album Dead Throne and it make become even more of prominent issue during their live show. It really is a damn shame that Hranica's screams are so weak. The band has progressed so much in every area, but they are being held back with underwhelming lead vocals. They really need to get a new vocalist immediately. If they got a new lead vocalist and continued to grow as musicians , They would be a pretty fucking great metalcore act. I give them points for the musicianship and improved stage presence from the last time I saw them in 2010 with Killswitch Engage, but the grating screaming vocals prevented me from enjoying their performance.

After a brief bathroom and Rockstar break, In which I walked past Upon A Burning Body playing on the Sumerian Stage and laughed my ass that they were playing a breakdown with the lyrics "The stars at night are big and bright, Deep in the heart of Texas!"  Borrowing from a Texas state anthem trying to sound heavy? And these guys take themselves seriously? Unbelievable. Anyways it was time for As I Lay Dying to hit the stage. As always, they were great. They are in the absolute elite league of metalcore bands especially in a live environment. Tim Lambesis is such a monster of a vocalist and they played everything perfectly. The crowd was noticeably way more into their set with large circle and push pits throughout (with a few hardcore dancers who were getting pissed that people were actually legitimately moshing) and a wall of death during "Confined". The set was full of their staples which is perfect for a festival and "The Sound of Truth" was a spectacular choice for a closer. That being said, This was without a doubt my least favorite of the three times I've seen As I Lay Dying because of a pretty weak sound mix throughout (First few songs the guitar was way too low in the mix then the last few the vocals and drums were too low in the mix). The shit sound didn't effect their set too much and they still put on a great show. I definitely want to see them again soon, hopefully headlining after their new album comes out in September.

Anthrax closed out the Jager stage for the evening. Anthrax was definitely the band I was most excited to see that I hadn't seen before on the bill. They did not disappoint at all with a 40-minute set that was one of the best on the whole day. Joey Belladonna sounded spectacular and he is also a great frontman getting the crowd pumped and running around like a maniac on stage. He was also surprisingly funny cracking a lot of jokes in between songs. My only complaint with their set was them playing two covers. Granted they were pretty good, but I would've have much rather heard two Anthrax originals instead of two covers given their relatively short set time. I can scratch another iconic band off my to-see list after seeing Anthrax yesterday and I would love to see them again at some point in time.

The worst part of the day had arrived: It was time for Asking Alexandria. As expected, they were fucking earth-shatteringly terrible . I felt like I needed to see a grief councilor because my ears had been raped by Danny Worsnop and his scene-haircut posse. They whined along for what seemed like an eternity doing nothing but fixing their hair and playing the same open note breakdowns while little girls screamed their lungs out and everyone else looked bored as hell. This band is everything wrong with metal at the moment. They are a fucking boy band with guitars. They are one of the few bands around that is strictly image-based who plays the most mind-numbingly generic metal possible in an attempt to make money and get groupies. The fact that little girls pretty much run the music industry is the only reason they are popular. Unless you have a vagina or you're a pedophile who gets hard at the sight of prepubescent tits being flashed, Stay far, far away from Asking Alexandria. An unholy abomination of performance and a definite contender for the worst live band I've ever seen (and I've seen a TON of bands).

Anything would've have sounded good after Asking Alexandria had just queefed on the stage for a half-hour, but British hard rock legends Motorhead tore it up. They were loud (though I don't agree with Kerry King when he said they are louder than Slayer), catchy, and most of all, just a lot of fun to watch. I am sucker for good riffs and Motorhead has them in droves. Their setlist contained songs that spanned most of their 30-year career and they even threw in an awesome drum solo at the end of "The One to Sing the Blues". One thing that made me laugh about their set was hearing Lemmy talk in between songs. He is so fucked up from years of heavy partying he's like a slightly more coherent Ozzy Osbourne. It doesn't really matter, he is known for his rough vocals and he still sounds great vocally well into his 60's. They did have to cut "Overkill" which is unfortunate (They didn't confirm this, but Phil Campbell mentioned after "Damage Case" that they almost missed the show because of traffic getting to the venue). Motorhead rocked hard and it was cool to finally see these icons.

The almighty Slayer was up next. From the opening notes of "Disciple", they instantly reminded me just how perfect they are live. Slayer isn't flashy when it comes to stage presence or energy, but they play their songs so perfectly that it doesn't matter.  I almost threw out my neck from headbanging for their entire set. They sounded even better than they did the last time I saw them and they had one of the most badass stage setups I've ever seen (Fire everywhere with inverted cross stack-amps and a giant flaming Slayer eagle behind them). Gary Holt did an awesome job filling for Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King and Dave Lombardo blew my mind with their spot-on playing. The highlight of the set for me was "Angel of Death". Hearing Tom Araya do the opening scream perfectly is one of my favorite concerts moments ever. One of the loudest, heaviest, and best live bands around, Slayer destroyed and remain the best thrash band I've ever seen.

Slipknot closed out the show with a bang. It was awesome getting to see them again after the death of Paul Gray in 2010 and it honestly made them perform even better. It was clear where to trying put on the best possible shows in his memory and they succeeded. They might not write the amazing music or be the best musicians on the planet, but their live show is outstanding. It's so intense and full of energy that it's impossible to not get completely awe-struck by their performance. The biggest improvement over the last time was the setlist. I was so stoked to finally hear "Wait and Bleed", "Eyeless", and "Spit It Out" (participating in the iconic "Jump the fuck up" part of the song was incredible) live. "Gently" was a nice deep cut and the other staples such as "The Heretic Anthem", "Duality" (which was dedicated to Paul Gray), "People=Shit", and "Surfacing" were amazing. My only tiny complaint is I wish they had played at least one more song off of All Hope Is Gone. Seeing Slipknot has a huge nostalgia factor for me. They were one of the first metal bands that I listened to and though I was never as into them as I was other bands such from that era such as Korn or System of a Down, but they were still an essential in my early teenage years. Slipknot re-confirmed they're one of the best live bands on the planet with their spectacular set to cap off another great Mayhem Fest. Hopefully the organizers can get it right again next year and keep this insanely fun festival alive (Please have High On Fire do it next year to make up for them dropping off this year).

Scores:
The Devil Wears Prada 5/10
As I Lay Dying 8.5/10
Anthrax 9/10
Asking Alexandria 0/10
Motorhead 8/10
Slayer 10/10
Slipknot 10/10

Setlists:
The Devil Wears Prada (may be missing a song):
Born to Lose
Escape
Outnumbered
Assistant to the Regional Manager
Dead Throne
Danger: Wildman
Dez Monies
Mammoth


As I Lay Dying:
Condemned
94 Hours
Anodyne Sea
Through Struggle
Nothing Left
Cauterize
Confined
The Sound of Truth

Anthrax:
Caught in a Mosh
Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Fight Em' Till You Can't
Antisocial (Trust cover)
Indians
Madhouse
I Am the Law

Motorhead:
Bomber
Damage Case
I Know How To Die
Stay Clean
Over the Top
The Chase Is Better Than the Catch
The One to Sing the Blues (with drum solo)
Going to Brazil
Killed by Death
Ace of Spades

Slayer:
Disciple
War Ensemble
Die by the Sword
Hate Worldwide
Mandatory Suicide
Altar of Sacrifice
Jesus Saves
Seasons in the Abyss
Hell Awaits
Dead Skin Mask
Angel of Death
South of Heaven
Raining Blood

Slipknot:
(Sic)
Eyeless
Sulfur
Wait and Bleed
Before I Forget
Disasterpiece
Gently
Vermilion
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
Duality
Spit it Out
People = Shit
Surfacing

August In Film

August marks the last month of the Summer movie season and what a great one it has been. August has a few exciting releases along with the typical end-of summer junk that is dumped out in the last couple of weeks of the month. Here is my thoughts on the entire slate of August films.

Films I want to see:
4.The Bourne Legacy (8/10)-While I do think the Bourne films are overrated, I still enjoy them. The Bourne Legacy looks to be the best of the series. I like the concept that there are more people like Jason Bourne out there and Jermey Renner is a great choice for the lead role. Early reception is good as well and this might be the first Bourne movie I see in theaters.

3.Lawless(8/29)-I am a big fan of westerns and Lawless looks to be a great one. It has a great trailer and talented cast anchored by Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, and Jessica Chastain. This could also prove that Shia LaBeouf has a future as a legitimate actor and not just an action star. I also think making a movie about bootlegging could be very interesting since it's a topic that hasn't really been covered by too many movies.

2.The Campaign(8/10)-This movie has a ton of potential. Two of the finest comic actors in the business in Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis along with a strong supporting cast including Dylan McDermott, Jason Sudekis, John Lithgow, and Dan Akroyd and a script written by two of the writers of Eastbound and Down could make for another elite 2012 comedy.

1.The Expendables 2(8/17)-Being the action whore that I am, This is of course my most anticipated movie of the month. The first one was one of the finest action movies in recent memory. This one looks to be trying top the original by adding action legends Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme to the fold on top of the already stacked cast of action heroes past and present. Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger have also been given larger roles expanding upon their cameos in the first one which is awesome. The now confirmed R-rating (It was previously rumored to be PG-13) makes me just as excited to see this as I was the first one.

Film I'm not sure about
Total Recall (8/3)-Though the newest trailer is actually pretty good, I'm still on the fence on this one. It definitely could be cool given it's concept, solid cast, and Len Wiseman directing. At the same time the first couple of trailers were just alright and made it out to be a generic action movie. Kurt Wimmer's hit-or-miss screenwriting is also a bit unsettling. I am definitely somewhat intrigued but I'm not going into it with high expectations.

Hit and Run(8/22)-This is just barely in this section because the redband trailer didn't make me laugh once. The theaterical trailer isn't too bad though and it might end up being watchable. Might catch it on DVD depending on the reception.

Films I have no interest in:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (8/3)-I saw the previous installment last year and I didn't like it, so I won't be seeing this.

Hope Springs (8/8)-I'm not even close to the target audience of older females that this film has. I'm sure it's well-made, but I can pretty much guarantee that I wouldn't like this.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green (8/15)-I am going to be completely honest this is one of the dumbest concepts for a movies I've ever seen. A movie about a couple that can't conceive a child so they put a bunch of qualities they would want in their kid in a box and bury it and the next morning this plant kid emerges on their front door. Seriously? It makes sense that Frank Zappa's wrote the story to this movie because a plot like this can can only be thought of while high on some type of hallucinogenic drugs. I wouldn't see this movie unless I was payed a substantial amount.

Paranorman (8/17)-Even though Tim Burton has nothing to do with this, It looks very much like the style of animated films that he does (stop-motion horror-themed comedies) so I will be steering clear of this.

Sparkle(8/17)-It's a musical, Enough said.

The Apparition (8/24)-Pretty stupid looking horror movie about an entity that was created during a college experiment gone wrong. I will give them points for thinking outside of the box a bit, but it still looks pretty bad.

Premium Rush (8/24)-Runner-up for stupidest concept I've heard in a while: Premium Rush. It's an action movie based around bike messengers in New York City having to deliver a dangerous package while being chased around a dirty cop who wants it. If it's really that dangerous of a package then why the fuck is a dude on a bike taking it? Even with Joesph Gordon-Levitt being in the lead role, I have no interest in seeing this.

The Possession(8/31)-It looks slightly better than most recent exorcism movies and Sam Rami's presence as a producer is encouraging, but it's still another demonic possession movie. I won't see this unless the reception is extremely positive.