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Concert Review: Testament/Overkill – Sayreville, NJ – 28 March, 2026

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Concert Reviews, Personal, Photos on March 31, 2026 by slateman

After Testament’s hightest-ranking album since its AOTY representation in 1999, I was excited to see them return with no other than the mighty Overkill. This would be my 10th time seeing each band: a three-and-a-half decade history with metal history, having met, interviewed and seen both bands in every decade since, with the exception of Overkill in the 2010s.

Mat grabbed tickets for the three members of SMJ, but sadly, Doug had to cancel at the last minute. Instead, we picked up his friend Danielle and drove up to Sayreville several hours early. Wheelchair in tow, handicap pass ensuring close parking, we pre-gamed for a bit before approaching the fast-track lane to get inside. However, upon staff noticing the wheelchair being busted out, we were escorted to the side entrance. A somewhat inebriated me opted to race Mat around in said wheelchair, hitting a pothole and dumping him on the pavement. Understandably, I burst out in laughter, as several staff members helped return him to his mobile throne.

We got up the ramp, ready to enter, and proceeded to the area reserved for those with physical needs. It provided a generous vantage point, to the right of the stage, and elevated. While the place isn’t too big, it was utterly packed. By 7:15, when Destruction was playing, the floor was full, and there was simply no way I was going to get closer for the next bands. I grabbed Mat a shirt, purchased a few drinks and returned, making another round trip (or two) as Overkill hit the stage.

Their setlist was almost identical to the last time I saw them, with King Diamond in 2024, with one exception: Deny The Cross. This was a great addition, however, guitars cut out and a good chunk of the song was played with just bass and drums. Blitz was happy to play to the hometown crowd, with some heartfelt comments as the night went on. I should hope to see them play a headlining show again one day. For time #10, I was happy to see them with Mat. The full list is as follows:

  1. Scorched
  2. Rotten To The Core
  3. Bring Me The Night
  4. Hello From The Gutter
  5. The Surgeon
  6. Ironbound
  7. Elimination
  8. Fuck You!

Again, the place was utterly packed, so after a last round-trip bathroom run, I prepped for the arrival of the mighty Testament. This was the site of the last time I saw the band, a month shy of four years prior, and, unfortunately, the results were rather similar. The setlist was diverse and added some deep cuts, but none of them were good. In fact, the selection was a mind-boggling choice of oddities. Amidst the calamitous list of tracks, Mat proceeded to dump my entire drink on the floor, a strange, inexplicable sequence of events. The whole end of the night was just madness.

It started out great, and the back-to-back-to-back trio of new songs was fantastic. But the other tracks were just so….meh. Chuck was having a great time on stage, as was the whole band. However, I felt like the new drummer wasn’t used or challenged. The drums sounded very clicky, but it all made me wonder who chose songs like John Doe. Having lived through every era of the band, I appreciate the good and the bad, but if I had to choose two from Demonic, John Doe wouldn’t have made the cut.

Sure, I am glad I didn’t have to hear Practice or Souls, but…Sins Of Omission?? It was all just so perplexing. Then – The Ballad? What the fuck? So Many Lies?? What the fuck!?!?! Sure, I like the heavier side of Testament, but you cannot deny the setlist was just so fucking weird. They began and messed up Over The Wall before tossing in The Haunting, but then it seems that similar things happened on other dates.

Ultimately, it was fun seeing them, and while I didn’t love the choices, the band had a great time. One day, we won’t get such opportunities. Unfortunately, this is twice now where I feel that the band was outshone by its opener: first Exodus and now Overkill. Regardless, the Thrash Of The Titans tour was a kick-ass time, and I’m so glad we went.

I drove Danielle home, returned to Mat’s place and crashed the fuck out on the couch, waking up mid-night to lie down. I was shot. What a wild night.

  1. Into the Pit
  2. The Evil Has Landed
  3. Henchmen Ride
  4. For The Love Of Pain
  5. Infanticide A.I.
  6. Shadow People
  7. WWIII
  8. John Doe
  9. Low
  10. Native Blood
  11. Sins Of Omission
  12. So Many Lies
  13. The Ballad
  14. The Haunting
  15. Over The Wall


Resident Evil 9: Requiem Review

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Resident Evil, Reviews on March 10, 2026 by slateman

Playthrough number one of Resident Evil 9 is complete and I thoroughly enjoyed another romp through Raccoon City. This game took some of the best elements of the series and mixed them with novel items resulting in a great game fits perfectly amongs its siblings, despite not quite reaching the franchise’s peaks.

The new protagonist Grace has a decent design, but is inherently boring, always stuttering and not truly growing much throughout. Despite this, her first-person gameplay is solid and serves as a fantastic survival horror counterpart to legacy Leon’s third-person vantage point. He is pure action, representing late-game power from prior titles. One-liners, over-the-top melee attacks and kick-ass weapons all show RE at its best. The balance between the two playstyles is fantastic, though that buildup to power is one of the best parts of games in this genre, and this strips that away. However, each represent the reliable formula that millions love about this series.

The game looks and sounds phenomenal, as expected. I played on a PS5 Pro and appreciated both the audio design and fantastic visuals. While the game’s setting was less memorable than 7 or 8, the intensity was there in spades. Many times, however, I could predict the by-the-numbers jump scares. The open-world portion has been criticized by many. Though this extended segment lost some of the game’s intensity, Leon’s gameplay was fun enough to offset any gripes of my own.

Resident Evil 9’s story was a weaker one, trying to tie in decades of lore with a new face entirely. Its forgettable nemesis, someone whose name began with a Z, was not at all intriguing and hardly fleshed out. The returning names, Sherry and Spencer were welcome, as was its RE2 setting, though that nostalgia could’ve been better harnessed. Though Grace’s history ties in with Umbrella, it feels a bit lazy, and BSAA’s involvement was never truly explained, though that may be the setup for unannounced DLC. Much of this story could exist without the ties to Raccoon City.

Fortunately, the good ending was exciting, culminating in a traditional monstrosity and absurd wrap-up. While we had back-to-back games with Ethan Winters, I don’t anticipate Grace’s visage leading the all-but-inevitable Resident Evil 10. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to return for the 100% run, the speedrun, and some infinite rocket launcher goodness. (Spoiler images ahead, for anyone reading)

Games Of 2026

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Lists on February 13, 2026 by slateman

List of what to look for this year!

27 Feb: Resident Evil: Requiem
27 Aug: Metal Gear Solid Collection 2
01 Oct: Muchi Muchi Pork! & PinkSweets Boosted
19 Nov: Grand Theft Auto 6
TBA: Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse

Sparklite & Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Reviews on February 1, 2026 by slateman

I rolled the dice and purchased Sparklite this past month, after humming and hawing over the roguelite the past few years. Five hours later, I got the platinum.

My buddy’s Christmas gift arrived just afterwards: The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Another game I’d been interested in playing, well, now I can! A week of snow days at work helped facilitate a playthrough!

So – the question is: Which is the better Zelda game? The answer, without question, Sparklite.

I haven’t the time now to dive into a full write-up, but some key points follow

Sparklite

  • Fun, light combat
  • Meaningful upgrades
  • Enjoyable roguelite elements
  • Diverse biomes
  • Simple, trackable collectibles
  • Fantastic visuals

Zelda

  • Bullshit 1993 level design
  • Awesome presentation
  • Where the fuck do I go now?
  • Obtuse and nonsensical

Now, I totally understand Zelda’s loyalty to its source material. But as a gamer who didn’t play the 1993 game in 1993, I most certainly want nothing to do with 1993 design in 2026. (yes, I know it came out seven years ago). It was all just so absurd. The early dungeons were fun, but dungeon 7, I’m looking at you – Holy shit, what bullshit. It was one of those games that you complete and immediately say, “I want never to play this again.”

Sparklite on the other hand, had its share of flaws, but was an enjoyable experience throughout. I hardly put it down, and while the final trophies were a bit grindy, they weren’t necessary to complete the tale. I had a great time playing this and I’m glad I dove in, despite reservations.

5-Layer Pyraminx Algorithms

Posted in Algorithms, Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing on October 27, 2025 by slateman

…and so it ends (Super Mario Galaxy)

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games with tags on October 11, 2025 by slateman

8 days, 15 hours // 120 stars

Super Mario Galaxy Complete!!!

Quick notes:

  • I am NOT doing this all as Luigi to get a true 100%.
    • (maybe one day, starting anew with this save file)
  • Comet system & world hub was annoying to keep up with
    • Too much running around just to enter a stage
    • Clunky to discover what else you needed to do
    • Addressed in earnest in its sequel
  • Flying was great in designated areas
  • Good challenge – not absurdly difficult
  • Switch 2 translation was fantastic!
    • Ran great and fantastic resolution
  • Bee power-up was fun, spring was iffy
  • Exploration wasn’t really worth it…
    • Mostly yielded 1-Ups, thus diminishing desire to look further
    • Which is, to me, the heart of the Mario series.
  • Level diversity staled as time went on.
    • Also addressed in Galaxy 2
  • Late-game challenge was appropriate. Frustrating, but never out of reach.
  • Very satisfying 100%* (again, not doing all 120 stars again!)

I loved it. Breaking this game out of its Wii shackles (I realize it was on the Switch already) is great and its upscaled assets, 4K resolution and comfort playing on a Pro controller make this the ideal version. I’m so happy I played this behemoth of a game. It boggles my mind that it was released in 2007 – that short window between moving to Maine and my latter two children. I can’t say it brought me back, despite remembering some of those stars vividly. It’s been 18 years since I played this game and 18 years prior, I was in 7th grade.

I’m diving straight into Galaxy 2 – I wonder if it’s as good as I remember!

…and so it begins (Super Mario Galaxy)

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games with tags on October 4, 2025 by slateman

I started this blog in early 2012 and by then, both Galaxy games had come and gone. A decade ago, I wrote about my Mario Completion stats and there I reminisced about how Galaxy 2 was the third-best Mario game ever. I’ve wanted to revisit, but I am the reason these remasters exist. I could play all of this on the original hardware, via emulation…hell, I could do it on my phone, I’m sure. But convenience is king and with a Switch 2 in hand (and its 4K resolution), I was decidedly a day-one buyer, even in spite of it’s silly price tag. (Grazie, zio).

I endeavor to chronicle my progress. Do I have the patience to 100% the first game before eagerly jumping to the second? Do I even need to reach that goal? So far, so good, I must say. Galaxy is Nintendo at their most creative and I’m really quite enjoying myself. Let’s see how this adventure goes!!!

Concert Review: Geoff Tate – Silver Spring, MD – 28 September, 2025

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Concert Reviews, Music, Personal, Photos on October 4, 2025 by slateman

I saw Queensrÿche three times: in 2000, 2003 and again in 2005. And when Geoff Tate and the band split, I was firmly a member of the QR camp. The divorce was ugly and neither side looked good, however, I never really enjoyed Tate’s solo material and as the years passed, even the band’s continuation failed to inspire much passion. I was fine ending my journey with all of it, especially considering I’d seen all of Operation: Mindcrime during the last of my three concerts.

Now, it should be said that I don’t have a full recollection of that evening, with Doug fully to blame. And as Tate announced a goodbye to one of my top-20 albums ever, playing the entire record, I felt no hesitation plunking down a few bucks and driving yet again up to Silver Spring. Before we get to this night, however, I’d like to reminisce some decades.

I walked all the way to Looney Tunes to purchase Operation: Mindcrime and another record (maybe an Anthrax tape). The two-mile walk, which Google tells me takes 45 minutes, was a common occurrance in subsequent years, but at the time, I was a mere 12 years old. On the way back, I stopped at my school and some kid stole my money. What odd memories we retain. And as it came out before I was 16, I still remember a majority of the lyrics. Thus, tonight, I sang much far more than normal. I was not alone. Even the taped intros had the crowd reciting from memory, “Dr. Hamilton, Dr. J. Hamilton.” “Sleep well, you bastard.”

The band has its own light system and immediately I was impressed by the absolute clarity of things. They sounded utterly fantastic. All three (!) guitarists played rhythms, leads and interludes perfectly – almost astonishingly so. The production was reminiscent of Def Leppard or Ghost, virtually-perfect recreations of the studio creations. Unfortunately, it loses all that punch that I love about live shows and it felt manufactured – meticulously crafted for authenticity and not the gritty live performance. Tate’s vocals were phenomenal, but often buried lower in the mix with loud backing vocals lifting it all up. It’s hardly dismissive, it’s far better than some of the botch jobs I’ve seen online by Jon Bon Jovi or David Lee Roth, etc. We’re all getting older, but he did a remarkable job.

Spying on t-shirts from recent tours and it’s evident: this band plays a LOT of shows. I estimated about 100 in 2024 alone. City upon city. Geoff Tate mentioned he’s played in 66 countries. Say what you will, but that’s dedication.

He kept the between-song banter limited and played the role as frontman well, sporting a no-sleeved jacket, black cowboy hat and his trademark, thick-framed glasses. It almost felt like Mindcrime was rushed through, and Tate appeared to enjoy the Mindcrime 2 songs more, the three chosen truly showcased his skills, perhaps more than them being the best selections. But make no mistake, seeing a great rendition of the concept album that shaped my youth was just awesome.

The two songs with keyboardist/vocalist were fantastic, and the entire choreographed evening did what it intended: offer a strong sense of nostalgia presented in a lengthy and highly-curated package.

There were three songs from Mindcrime’s sequel, another trio from Empire and a pair of classics rounded out the night. None hit the highs of the main draw. The sound of Empire felt more than ever like that transitional, early ’90s time period. The classics were solid and the evening as a whole was fun. Unless Queensrÿche comes back with something worth seeing – and with a more-authentic live experience – I’m happy closing this chapter of my top-20 record…a mere 37 years after I first got into the band.


DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou DX Reco.Ver

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, DoDon Pachi, Games on September 24, 2025 by slateman

There is an awful lot to discuss about this exceedingly-rare mobile-only game. This modified version of DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou DX was released in 2007 and essentially forgotten by most until this autumn. While mobile versions were common in that era, we never had any specific information about DOJ DX. All of that changed when G-Mode ported the game to Steam in 2021, and later to the Nintendo Switch.

The game itself is a surprisingly-good translation that retains almost every part of the core DOJ experience: hidden bees, a full chaining system and well-animated bosses. Unsurprisingly, the game’s audio is the weakest part of the package, well, alongside original phone controls. On modern systems, the latter is a clear improvement, but audio is 2007-era music and effects.

All of this is standard, but even more obscure was G-Mode’s other release, a caravan-style alternative titled 弾幕検定死験-大往生編-. There’s very little information in English about this, so let’s break it all down. That name translates to Danmaku Kentei Shiken – DaiOuJou-Hen. Danmaku is the blanket term for the genre Bullet Hell. Now, the next two words are the same, in some ways. Kentei is a proficiency ‘test’ or ‘examination’. Shiken appears to be a play on words: both as a test itself but also containing the word ‘shi’, which means ‘death’. The Hen suffix just means ‘edition’, more or less. So, while translations exist out there, none of them really gave me any comprehension of what it precisely was. A bullet-hell test version of DOJ. It sounds much better in its native Japanese.

This rendition of the game was a boss-only gauntlet, pitting you against DOJ’s iconic bosses over and over with increasing difficulty. It’s quite repetitive and shallow, but let’s not forget it was a mobile game from nearly two decades ago. The game’s interest lies in the bullet patterns progressively increasing in difficulty and you can start at later levels on future runs.

OK, language and history aside, what exactly is the story behind DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou DX Reco.Ver?

This high-score variant of DOJ DX was curiously issued for one day only, back on the 30th of December, 2007. Why it was so limited is unknown, but it only features minor changes from the base game. In September of 2025, Yuuku! managed to preserve this 18-year-old mobile game and make it available for the world to enjoy via Keitai World Launcher. Considering fewer and fewer devices exist out there in the wild with this software installed, this preservation is even more remarkable.

The title itself is a double set of double entendres. While DoDonPachi’s name alone is a fun play on words, the Reco.ver suffix honors Cave’s other flagship shmup of the era: Mushihimesama. Its heroine, Reco (which I’ve always preferred to spell with a K), is the protagonist of this rendition of DOJ. The title’s full name, DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou Reco.ver pays homage to who is probably Cave’s most-identifiable character. Reco appears here with both her shot and laser and with her M, W and S modes representing green, red and blue. Each has the same laser, but the shots differ, and the latter of the two the only ones that can reveal bees, in laser form only.

The alterations found in this alternate take on DOJ are all relatively minor. The obvious difference is that Reco replaces DDP’s ships, using her sprites from Mushihimesama DX. There are several other visual changes: lives now are represented by Kiniro’s curled horn instead of ships and the GP meter is gone, moving the hyper meter upwards. Bombs have the explosions from Reco’s main game and both they and hypers have a great aquamarine hue. Level-ending screens now feature the long-haired heroine and her voice appears when appropriate, but the sound is otherwise untouched. In terms of gameplay, while the stages remain identical, combos, and thus scoring, differ greatly. The combo counter adds up much faster and is far-more forgiving. Failing to maintain the invisible GP meter results in a dwindling hit combo (à la Daifukkatsu) and dying just reduces your combo by about a third. Even after bombing, your combos continue, something the base DOJ DX allowed, unlike its arcade original. And while there was a level select in DX, one isn’t present here as this was a high-score competition.

In the end, though this alternate-reality DOJ DX may just be a ship-replacement substitute, and truly a mere novelty, its preservation is simply a miracle. It’s worth noting that Keitai World Launcher also has dumps of Guwange DX, three Mushihimesama games: the original under its own DX moniker, Futari and Gaiden, as well as demo renditions of ESP Galuda II and, curiously, the original DoDonPachi – though this last one isn’t DoDonPuchi Zero and is way better than it has any right to be. The fact that this exists at all inspires optimism about preservation and it simplifies and incentivizes others to dump titles locked to this archaic hardware. Personally, I’d love to see some of Capcom’s efforts, as a number of unique games were made in the early ’00s and effectively lost to the sands of time. Though DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou Reco.Ver is a curious bookmark in Cave’s catalogue of games, the ability to play it in 2025 is nothing short of remarkable.

Concert Review: Bruce Dickinson – Silver Spring, MD – 14 September, 2025

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Concert Reviews, Music, Personal, Photos on September 17, 2025 by slateman

After his landmark solo records of the late 1990s, I haven’t been quite as enamored with Bruce Dickinson’s last two albums. Each had its own highlights, but I’ll always go back to Accident and Chemical if given a choice.

Despite my less-enthusiastic take on these efforts, Bruce hasn’t done a US tour since I (saw him in 1998) and going tonight was a bit of a no-brainer. I got to the venue with time to spare, had a beverage and headed in, getting comfortably close, but not as near as I normally would like. The aging crowd didn’t move altogether too much, so where I landed is about where I stayed for the duration. During my half-hour wait, I gazed upon the crowd curiously; spying all the tropes of metal fandom.

With the instrumental intro beginning things, he kicked off into Accident Of Birth, a spectacular start. There are pockets of unfamiliarity in his catalogue, and though these selections were pretty good, it also meant diminished enthusiasm for sections. It didn’t help that things were generally quite slow. Even Laughing In The Hiding Bush, never my favorite, felt weak.

The air-conditioned venue was actually quite cold, never an issue for me, but Bruce was not fond and he commented on it several times, in addition to a few subdued political jabs. Nothing too forceful, but they garnered a smirk from many.

Chemical, Flash Of The Blade and the killer cover of Frankenstein were highlights from the middle of the evening. The first sounded beautiful and Bruce’s voice was as strong as ever. The sole Maiden cover would’ve been a great surprise had it not been spoiled – but the solo section in the middle was just spectacular as was Frankenstein. The band was having fun and I loved every minute of it.

Wrapping things up, we got three hits from my favorite two albums and this represented the best part of the evening. All were just awesome even if they were slower and packed less of a punch than most metal shows. Things were clear and all musicians were top notch.

Following a brief moment backstage, we were treated to the expected Tears Of The Dragon complete with an enthusiastic sing-along. I was unfamiliar with the next Balls To Picasso song, to my dismay, but this led into the finale. Bruce spoke about recording the next album and thanked the crowd before diving into The Tower, one of his best and a suitable closing to a wonderful evening. I zipped out swiftly and Google routed me on what seemed a long, out-of-the-way path home. I woke not feeling terrible the next day, can’t complain about that!!! Setlist and photos/videos to follow.

  1. Intro: Toltec 7 Arrival
  2. Accident Of Birth
  3. Abduction
  4. Laughing In The Hiding Bush
  5. Shadow Of The Gods
  6. Chemical Wedding
  7. Flash Of The Blade
  8. Resurrection Men
  9. Rain On The Graves
  10. Frankenstein
  11. The Alchemist
  12. Book Of Thel
  13. Road To Hell
  14. E: Tears Of The Dragon
  15. E: Gods Of War
  16. E: The Tower






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