Album Review: Arch Enemy-Khaos Legions

Arch Enemy is back! It's been four long years since they have had a new full length (The Root Of All Evil which contained re-recorded material came out in 2009) and Khaos Legions is completely worth the wait. Hell, it might even be their best record to date.

Khaos Legions is a furious, ass-kicker of an album. The album is completely jam-packed with great riffs. Arch Enemy has always had insane guitarwork, but none of their previous material has had this many sick riffs. The speedy solos that Arch Enemy are known for are even cranked up another notch. The intro to "City Of The Dead" will leaver most listeners with their jaw on the floor, the solo is that impressive. There is actually no shortage of crazy solos on this record from the melodic beauty of "Cult Of Chaos" to the thrashy solos on "Cruelty Without Beauty" and "Bloodstained Cross". Khaos Legions is a guitar players wet dream.

Khaos Legions also succeeds with it's near perfect blend of thrash and melodic death metal. The melodic instrumental tracks serve as spectacular introductions. They transition eerily well into the proceeding tracks and add that much more to the album. Angela Gossow's vocals, as usual, are amazing. She is one of the best vocalists in all of extreme metal. Her vocals sound completely perfect no matter what the speed the section of the song is. That takes a ton of talent to pull off and Angela Gossow does it effortlessly.

Khaos Legions is one of the best, if not the absolute Arch Enemy record to date. It has all the trademarks of an Arch Enemy record, just done on a grander scale. It's faster, it's more melodic, it's catchier, and the riffs are even better. If you like Arch Enemy, you will love this record. It's the quintessential Arch Enemy record and it's already very high on my list of favorite records for 2011.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.City Of The Dead
2.Cruelty Without Beauty
3.Cult Of Chaos

Movie Review: The Hangover Part II

In 2009, The Hangover took moviegoers by storm. It was one of the most celebrated comedies of the past decade and became an absolute cultural phenomenon. Two years later, "The Wolfpack" is back for another goddamn hilarious drunken misadventure.

This time around, Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married. Stu is getting married in Bangkok and wants to play it completely safe after what happened in Las Vegas. Of course, that doesn't go to plan. He wakes up along with Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galinfinakis), and Chow (Ken Jeong) in a strange hotel in the middle of Bangkok. They end up loosing Stu's fiance's brother Teddy (Mason Lee) and they run into another series of obstacles while trying to piece their night together and find Teddy.

The Hangover Part II plain and simple is hilarious. It does follow a similar storyline of the first one, but it's not exactly the same. The surprises level of the first one is still very much in tact. The situations they get into trying to find out what happened are just about as funny as they were in the first one. What kept The Hangover Part II fresh was the darker, more outrageous tone. It's definitely a different vibe than the first one and that what's sets them apart. The chemistry of the three leads is still there as well. Watching Helms, Cooper and Galinfinakis together is an absolute treat. These three are all funny in unique ways and their different comedic approaches makes these characters so fun to watch.

The Hangover Part II is able to recapture most of the laughs and fun of the first film without feeling like a complete retread. This is a darker outing and the situations they get into are more vulgar and ridiculous. The lead actors make such a great team and I think they go down as one of the best comedic teams in film history. I think some of the professional critics were grasping for straws to hate this film. All the negative reviews I read just said "It's the same thing over again". I really don't think it matters if it's similar as long as it's funny and The Hangover Part II succeeds at bringing the laughs.

4.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: I Am Number Four (Film Number 2 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

Every year it has to happen. Some film has to take the dubious honor of being the first bad film of the year and I Am Number Four is the lucky film I get to bestow that upon this year. Prior to seeing this, A friend of mine jokingly said that this film caused him to break up with his girlfriend. After seeing I Am Number Four, I now see why he would say that.

I Am Number Four makes the big mistake of false advertising. The trailers made this look to be a sci-fi action flick. Instead I Am Number Four is basically a romantic film with sci-fi elements and a few action sequences. With the sparse amount of the action on display, it means this film is mainly based around the story. Too bad the storyline is not particularly strong. The whole film tries to develop this romantic/ coming of age storyline and it really backfires. On top of the script issues, the acting is pretty bad all around. Alex Pettyfer is one of the bland and boring actors in all of Hollywood. He basically just coasts through this movie with one expression and shirtless half the time in an attempt to sway the teen girl audience. Dianna Argon, of Glee fame, plays his love interest and is equally bad. There are a couple of redeeming action sequences and Timothy Olyphant is good as always (seeing him surrounded by all these horrible actors makes me realize how great he is.) I Am Number Four suffers from a weak love story plot, pretty bad acting, and cheesy (not in a fun way) villains. I can guarantee there will be much worse films than I Am Number Four this year, but for night now this is the worst I've seen this year.

2/5 Stars

Album Review: Hate Eternal-Phoenix Amongst The Ashes

I am going to be completely honest, I lost interest in Hate Eternal for a while. I saw them live two years ago with Hatebreed and they were one of the most disappointing live acts ever. Erik Rutan's vocals were really muddled and it looked like he didn't give two shits about the performance. This was a big factor in why I didn't check out Phoenix Amongst The Ashes right away, but after all the acclaim it had been receiving, I decided to give it a bid. I am really glad I did, Phoenix Amongst The Ashes restored my faith in Hate Eternal and instantly made me a fan again

What really struck about me Phoenix Amongst The Ashes from the start was how fucking heavy it was. "Rebirth" is a perfect intro. This album is essentially the rebirth of Hate Eternal as a death metal force and I could not think of a more perfect opening song title. The fury of the opener carries over to the savage trio of tracks "The Eternal Ruler", "Thorns Of Acacia" and "Haunting Abound". These tracks grab the listener with their extreme heaviness, fret-board melting guitar solos, and melodic tinges. You can tell that Hate Eternal wanted to just massacre the listener from the start and they did just that. The album does take a little bit of dip in quality with "The Art Of Redemption" and the title track. Rest assured, Hate Eternal more than makes up for it with the punishing final tracks (album closer "The Fire Of Resurrection" being the standout of the final bunch of tracks.) This albums ends just as strong as it begins and Rutan saves some of his best solos of the entire record for last.

Hate Eternal has returned to their mighty form with Phoenix Amongst The Ashes. It's a devastatingly heavy effort that provides 40 minutes of crushing death metal. Erik Rutan is still one of the best guitar players in extreme metal, his solos here are among his most impressive to date. I will say that I didn't enjoy Phoenix Amongst The Ashes nearly as much as a lot of people did, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Phoenix Amongst The Ashes rekindled my love for Hate Eternal and this is a must-listen for fans of death metal.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Thorns Of Acacia
2.Haunting Abound
3.The Fire Of Resurrection

Album Review: Arsonists Get All The Girls-Motherland

Arsonists Get All The Girls is one of the most unpredictable bands within in the entire metal scene. Their sound is completely off-the-walls and it's only getting crazier by the record. Motherland is easily their most spastic record to date, but it's also their most polished and absolute best.

Motherland is the most mature Arsonists Get All The Girls record to date. It's still has their spastic roots completely in tact (I would say it's even crazier), but it adds a lot of progressive, electronic and grindcore elements to their sound. This more complex song structure makes this record even more of a treat to listen to. Arsonists Get All The Girls shows the listener right off the bat the direction Motherland is going to take and how much they improved as a band. Album opener "Rise To Fall" opens with a fantastic keyboard hook and melodic riffing. My favorite moments of Motherland is when they throw in insane tempo-changes and surprises. The last two tracks "Will Someone Please Turn Down The Ocean?" and "Tempest" are the two most ambitious and best tracks Arsonists Get All The Girls have ever made. They make first-rate use of keyboards and melodic guitar solos on these tracks that completely stick with you. Another awesome surprise was the instrumental track "West Cliffs". It shows off a side of Arsonists Get All The Girls that hasn't really been seen before and it's a sick instrumental track that serves as a great interlude in the middle of the record.

Motherland is the finest work to date for Arsonists Get All The Girls. It's takes their trademark brand of chaos and evolves into a more complex animal. It really is amazing how much better this band has got since The Game Of Life. This current lineup that has been in place since their last record Portals is the absolute best line-up of musicians has ever had and I can only see them getting even better over time.  Motherland is a catchy, heavy, progressive, spastic, and great record from Arsonists Get All The Girls.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Tempest
2.Will Someone Please Turn Down The Ocean?
3.Dr.Teeth

Movie Review: Pirates Of The Carribbean: On Stranger Tides

The Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise was one of the staple film series of my early teenage years. The first installment in the franchise is still among my favorite films and the two preceding installments are pretty great as well (more so Dead Man's Chest than At World's End.) After a four-year break in the action, Pirates is back and On Stranger Tides is a worthy fourth installment.


This go-round, Jack Sparrow is in pursuit of the Fountain Of Youth. Jack finds out there is an impostor in London claiming to be him and attempting to recruit a crew. Jack soon finds out that the impostor is none other than his ex-lover Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who is also revealed to be the daughter of then notorious pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Jack ends up being forced to join Blackbeard's crew, because he (reportedly) knows the location of the Fountain. But Blackbeard is not the only person in pursuit of the Fountain; a group of British soldiers, led by Jack's old nemesis Barbossa (Geffory Rush), not to mention the entire Spanish Armada, are trying to beat them to the fountain.

On Stranger Tides sticks to the typical Pirates formula, and it's still as fun as ever. The sense of adventure and high-octane action and thrills are still present. The action sequences are not quite on the excessively grand-scale as they were in At World's End, which I think ultimately was a good choice. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed At World's End, but it was overlong and went overboard on some of the action sequences. On Stranger Tides' action scenes are pretty great, especially the sequence where Jack escapes from the custody of the British early in the film

Johnny Depp is still great as Jack Sparrow. Jack is such a great character, and Depp's eccentric wit brings a sense of non-stop fun to the role. It was also great to see Geoffrey Rush back as Barbossa, who is another one of the best characters, and it was a joy to see that he was brought back as well. Ian McShane makes a nice addition as Blackbeard. He was a solid villain and the right choice for the role. On the other end of the spectrum, Penolope Cruz didn't really do much. She wasn't completely horrible, but it seemed like she could have done a lot more with the character. Even though she was one the main characters, her performance made her character seem completely meaningless and inconsequential.

On Stranger Tides is a solid adventure that should please fan of the previous Pirates films. It's very much in the same vein as the other Pirates films, and the sense of fun is still there even though it is on its fourth go-round. It's not as good as the first two, but I would say it's a definitely improvement on At World's End. On Stranger Tides doesn't soil the name of the franchise and I look forward to the next installment.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: No Strings Attached (Film Number 1 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

Well the time has finally come for me to start my goal for 2011 films. For people that don't frequent my blog, my goal for 2011 films is to see just about everything that comes out. I will only be marking the films I did not want to see initially as being part of my goal for 2011 films. I hope this exploration process will broaden my views and further my skills as an aspiring critic. Lastly, these reviews will be not be full-length like my reviews of films I see in theaters, but they will also be longer than the quick reviews I tend to do for films I see on DVD.

No Strings Attached was a film that to me at least,  a film that's trailers screamed generic romantic comedy. Romantic comedies are not a genre that I tend to enjoy, so let's just say I was not particularly enthused to see this film. To my surprise, No Strings Attached was actually pretty enjoyable. It's not really a film the reinvents the wheel anything like that, but it does provide a nice,light piece of entertainment. What really shocked about No Strings Attached was how funny it was. I really wasn't expecting to laugh this much during this film. The cast actually does a pretty solid job. Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman have an undeniable chemistry. It was actually pretty cool seeing Natalie Portman do a film that is such a contrast to Black Swan. It really shows the range Portman has as an actress and I would like to see her in another comic role soon. The greatest strength of No Strings Attached though is the hilarious supporting cast. Kevin Kline especially steals the show as Ashton Kutchers' dad. Seeing Kevin Kline play the role of Kutcher's crazy, drug enthusiast, ex-actor dad was completely hysterical. It's such an off-type role for Kline and he nailed it. I will say No Strings Attached gets sickeningly sappy at the end, which brings it down a bit. Still, No Strings Attached is a surprisingly funny and enjoyable film. It doesn't quite reach the heights of last year's She's Out Of My League and Going The Distance , which I consider to be the two finest romantic comedies in recent memory, but No Strings Attached still does it's job admirably.

3.5/5 Stars