Well, here’s another general update, in the form of a video blog entry. You’ll notice some lag in the video/sound timing; that’s because I was running too many applications on the computer. Also, the CamTwist app that I use for some effects is an unbelievable resource hog! Hopefully I’ll make more vids soon! (Side note: I may have to expand/organize my video section of this site!!)

Cheers!

Hello all! I could have written about this thing earlier but I wanted to get things tweaked to where I wanted it to be.

I’m talking about my new addition to the blog… a Tumblelog! The concept goes something like this: Since I don’t like to do multiple small posts in one day about little things I encounter, I save the important posts for this (main) blog. The Tumblelog, for bloggers like me, is good for those “little bleeps and blurbs” that I may find amusing or interesting enough to post, but not in my main page. I feel that some of my readership wouldn’t want to have to revisit the site several times a day just to see little posts about things that don’t impact my world enough for them to read about. Aaaaand, for those who would like to keep up with it, not only do I have a new button on the top menubar (isn’t it snazzy?), but I also have a link to the RSS feed on my Tumblelog page! (The original tumblelog is served by Tumblr.com)

So go ahead and check it out! C’mon… I know you wanna! I may even install a condensed version of it in place of the Del.icio.us links in my Sidebar. Well, cheers to you all… and happy surfing!

Lunatica is one of those bands that’s just a bit different when it comes to their genre. They put out music in the symphonic power metal genre, they have a female singer, but they don’t quite have all the trappings of the genre, like alternating male/female vocals, grandiose compositions and the like. It seems like they simply want to put out their own brand of music… and this is a welcome change! The vocalist has a light, airy voice, but can summon some real power when it’s needed. The guitars, while not being spectacular, put in some interesting touches nonetheless. In fact, each facet of the group, while being quite ordinary, sound almost extraordinary when taken in all at once. They are different in one of those good ways that’s hard to describe, and this is why they deserve a chance at the big time. Well, I’ll just let the songs speak for themselves…

(No Stars) The Search Goes On: Just an introductory piece with a spoken word intro. Very nice orchestration, but once you’ve heard it once, feel free to skip it whenever it comes up. I won’t count it in this review. It’s one of those unnecessary things….

Avalon: Simply a great song. Brilliant construction and the vocal effects are varied and make the song very interesting to listen to. The band is on fire from the get-go!

Elements: This didn’t grab me as much as the first song, but it’s still a good band jam. They put some interesting transitions in the song at certain parts, and the bridge that starts around 4:10 is a welcome change up. After that, the band does something very interesting and unique, which I won’t spoil here!

Fable of Dreams: This is the first low point of the album. I have nothing against ballads, but this is just too run-of-the-mill. it’s not a bad song by any stretch, but it’s too predictable. I could practically predict what the next transition in the music would be throughout the song. To all bands: when you write a ballad, please make it more interesting. The grand ending saves this song from getting only two stars.

Still Believe: Another good jam piece. They do some interesting touches in this piece. it’s the little things that matter the most, and this band seems to understand that. The vocalist does such a good job and may surprise you with her power, which she normally keeps in check.

The Spell: This is the song that got me hooked on them, and it’s a fiery one! Any song that makes me want to go over 100 Mph gets my highest vote. Again, the vocalist puts some good variances in her voice, making it menacing and cold at just the right moments. The male vocals, while repetitive, are a nice touch. At first the sound effects used were kind of corny, but they lend a action-scene feel to the song. Way cool! The overall sound structure may lend itself to comparisons to Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” song, but it’s different enough to avoid criticism due to it.

The Neverending Story: This is a good enough song for a five star rating, but the guitar tone has to go. Too grating on the rest of the song. Otherwise this song just jams!

Hymn: I learned that this is a cover of an Ultravox song… and it’s awesome! This power jam made me want to dance around like a manic bugger! ‘Nuff said! You just have to listen for yourself…

Silent Screams (2004): This is the second in a five-star three-in-a-row run of songs. Like the last song, it starts off slow, then explodes with a furious groove… well, furious compared to the rest of the album anyways. The lyrics in this one are a bit confusing, but you may not care since the overall feel is just very enjoyable. The vocalist seems to have gotten more powerful here.

A Little Moment of Desperation: Another great song! This one has a different structure and feel to it compared to the rest of the album. The change is most welcome, and it provides a great closing to the album. The ending is especially of note; done in double-time, it may make you sing along with wild abandon… it may also encourage repeat plays of the ending as well! I’m a sucker for good endings.

All in all, this is a worthy addition to any metal fan’s collection. However, the band’s music seems to also be accessible to the average rock listener as well, and they should give this band a chance as well.

Coming up soon: Reviews on DragonForce’s “Inhuman Rampage”, Manticora’s “Hyperion” and Polysics’ “Polysics or Die Vista” albums.

Cheers!

Well, today wasn’t too eventful, but I had a couple of picture-worthy moments. As per usual, click the thumbnails to embiggen…

Usually, on a Saturday, Christine cleans the bird cages while I watch over the birds. Since that alone doesn’t really occupy me that much, I end up blog writing, surfing the ‘net… or playing with puzzles. Well, I wasn’t watching what I was doing with my 5×5x5 cube and you can see the result of my carelessness. Too bad there was no one to take a picture of my expression at the moment of discombobulation. They aren’t kidding when they say these cubes aren’t made for speedsolving! As you can see, I was already mixing it up when this happened, so I couldn’t exactly place the cubies where they were supposed to go; If you place them wrong, the puzzle is rendered unsolvable. I did manage to get it back together, after disassembling the rest of it and starting from scratch!

Later, I decided to make some brownies that Christine was oh-so-pining for. However, I was sitting on an idea for my next batch. Why not make them into… S’more brownies!? I think this experiment may be a success; it sure looks to be that way! Tomorrow, we’ll do a taste test just to be sure they’ve cooled and turned out OK. Anyone wanna come over and help?

Cheers!

P.S.: I did end up getting the Polysics’ album today… and it’s pretty good! Review to come after reviews for Lunatica and a few others that came before this one.

Ok. So, here I am on Thursday evening looking for some good Japanese bands to get into. I got into this search because a work acquaintance was listening to some goth metal band, hailing from Japan, called Blood. Well, I found some bands from there that play stuff that’s more like my kind of genres, along the lines of power metal and melodic metal. However it sounded like most of these bands were just trying too hard. Much of what I found sounded cheesy and contrived.

Then, later on at night, I’m just a-mindin’ my own space on MySpace, when I get the inkling to look at Tom’s page. (Tom, being the creator of MySpace) He had this band video on his page, who’s music immediately caught my attention when it got really going. The band was called Polysics and, at first, they sounded off-the-wall cheesy and weird… but then I kept listening and watching the video. And I listened… and watched… again. And again. And I watched the video closely.

Not only was the video a stroke of creative genius, with all that happens in it, but the song is musically different from anything else out there… and it’s brilliant!

Polysics plays music that harkens back to the 80’s new wave scene, but with more of a “today’s era” rock edge. Kind of like what would happen if the guys from DEVO married the girls from the B-52’s, had kids that bore resemblance to the Talking Heads and raised them on milk from The Cars and The Police, but laced that milk with lots of caffeine. I got to hear more of their music today and every one of their songs sounds different and fresh and energetic. A nice break from the metal and techno/trance that I usually immerse myself in.

Well, I’m tired now, but I’ll at least leave you all with the video that I saw last night. Everyone, give this band a chance. You may be surprised at how much you’ll like their music. I bought this song yesterday, and I just might buy the whole album soon, especially considering the other songs I listened to recently. So… Cheers!

Polysics – “Electric Surfin’ Go Go”

Also, if you liked that, there’s another video that is only on MySpace. I was diggin’ that one too! Another inventive video!