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Mini-Review: JK Flesh – Posthuman – I Like!

Posted in Godflesh, Music, Reviews on April 14, 2012 by slateman

Posthuman

JK Flesh – Posthuman

I remember the day Pure came out back in April of 1992 and my fascination only grew from there. Through the two decades since, I’ve covered so many diverse projects on this site. If you’re reading this, I probably don’t need to list them. As I tore into the package containing Justin’s first solo record, it hit me; I have no clue what I expect this album to be like. Most of us know expectation is everything and can make or break any experience. Unsurprisingly, Posthuman didn’t fit my expectation.

I think I was expecting to be crushed. I was not. Perhaps I looked for the sequel to beautiful and haunting Skinner’s Black Laboratories tracks. This is nothing like that at all either. As the first tracks passed, I was greeted with so many familiar sounds. The noise-laden guitars from Grey Machine. Loud interludes a la early/mid-Techno Animal. D&B from the highly-prolific late-90s. There’s clearly Godflesh in here. But none of it sounds generic or redundant.

What we have here is pure Justin Broadrick and any fan of his varied catalog should recognize this instantly. The mostly-instrumental record truly covers his sprawling career by combining so many familiar sounds. When his voice is used, it is precisely what you expected it to be.

As mentioned earlier, it is not a crushing album; I think Justin is saving that for the impending Godflesh LP. It is also not very melodic, as we have that already in some Final material and a lot of what Jesu has turned out to be. There are some small but very unique portions of this album that expand on what Justin can do, but let’s face it, no one ever really thought there was a barrier. Any fan who stuck around through the Streetcleaner – Slavestate – Pure – Selfless years knows better. And however varied I’m making this sound, Posthuman is indeed one vision, one LP. It sounds so much like what you know but yet modern and new. It is not Justin’s best work, but then again, very few of us can agree on even a top-five list anyway.

This is a heavy record. It is noisy and it is powerful. It is dark and moody. Essentially it is why I gained interest in JKB more than 20 years ago and why I continue still.

[written for Crumbling Flesh]

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Best Soundtracks Ever!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Music, Reviews on April 5, 2012 by slateman

A movie score can really help solidify a film’s power and overall epicness. I’ll collect movie soundtracks from time to time. These aren’t the bands featured in the movie, of course. I thought I’d share some of my favorite soundtracks and why they’re so phenomenal.

Passion


Passion
I can’t say precisely when I heard this album first, likely my freshman year of college. Peter Gabriel is a very talented musician, that’s simple, but stepping out of his normal role to put this out is an amazing achievement. Sweeping soundscapes from another world (to an American, at least), this soundtrack is an emotional journey. However cheesy that might sound, it is true. Though I saw this movie once an age ago, it is so powerful even without the film to guide it. The title track is amazing, a super example of how deep and compelling this style of music can be.

What Is Best In Life?


Conan The Barbarian
As a young boy, this type of movie is what made me love swords and sorcery. Arnold was the man. This defines my youth to an extent and to this day I love this movie and its accompanying soundtrack. It is powerful but has slower, softer parts as well. From the beginning “In the time when the oceans drank Atlantis…” to the peaceful Orphans Of Doom outro, it’s a marvelous journey of sword and steel. Riddle Of Steel/Riders Of Doom is what it’s all about. Horns, chants, booming drums. Fuck Yeah!!! Then, try if you will, try to listen to The Orgy and not hum that tune all day long. It’s not an emotional record like the other two entries on this list are, but it is the most powerful, just as a movie with Arnold and swords should be. \m/

HoFD


House Of Flying Daggers
For a while, I watched all the big movies coming out of China. There was simply nothing like it in the U.S. and the cultural difference shows in both the cinematography and the storytelling. This film is not my favorite of the bunch; it is more a love story after all. However, of all those films, this movie’s soundtrack is by far the best, and just very well be the best movie soundtrack of all time. I can listen to this at any time, whether I’m looking for an upbeat, strong drive or an emotionally powerful experience. The Lovers Theme is repeated in several forms and each is as amazing as the prior, culminating in the Mei And Jin version…it gives me chills it’s that good. Even the English version grew on me. Farewell No. 2 – Oh, so phenomenal. Listening to it as I write this solidifies my opinion…the best soundtrack ever.

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Mini-Review: Borknagar – Urd: I Like!

Posted in Best / Worst, Music, Reviews on April 3, 2012 by slateman

Urd!

I first heard Borknagar back when their debut launched along with Sacramentum in ’96. It was a good time for European metal and while I liked it, I never got into the band. Fast Forward to when Vintersorg joined the band and my interest was rekindled. My love for Vintersorg’s solo material waned once Cosmic Genesis was released (though now I like the record) so I had a fleeting curiosity. I LOVED The Genuine Pulse. I liked other material. For some reason, I looked forward to Urd.

During my first spin, I liked it. The Earthling was a particularly catchy tune, the melodic instrumental that followed a great tune. It was during my second playthrough that it really caught me. The last few tracks were catchy and and memorable. The Winter Eclipse is classic, fast, aggressive, double bass with raspy vocals. Again, this is what made me love European metal music. The middle section is classic Vintersorg, it’s almost unbelievable. While the album has less black metal vocals, I enjoy the mix of Vintersorg’s folk-sounding approach and the traditional Borknagar sound. This album may not be for everyone, as the band has really progressed in its long career. I find it a great album and would recommend it!

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Mini-Review: Naglfar – Téras: Ehh…

Posted in Best / Worst, Music, Reviews on April 3, 2012 by slateman

Téras

I first listened to Naglfar in the mid-90s when I heard Enslave The Astral Fortress and later Vittra. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest of albums and the drum beats were rather predictable, but it was pretty friggin’ awesome in 1995. After some changes, I was incredibly satisfied with both Pariah and Harvest. But that was 5 years ago. Téras has been a long time coming and now that it’s here…I’m disappointed.

Téras is a heavy, fast metal record with Wrath’s trademark vocals and on paper, it’s everything I love about music. However, it just doesn’t catch me. The production leaves me a little bothered, with the drums drowning out the guitars on several key points. The songs are not nearly as memorable as the last few records and barring a pair of tracks towards the end, nothing grabs me. I compare this to Kalmah’s For The Revolution. This was the first Kalmah record to not be as good as its predecessor. Ultimately, it’s the weakest in their catalog but it’s still worth a listen, particularly Coward. Unlike that album, I liken Téras to recent albums of Iron Maiden, etc. The album is good enough, but why listen to it when you have better music from the same band?

After the epic awesomeness of the last few albums, I’m disappointed this doesn’t live up. That’s always unfair for bands, particularly after a long hiatus. Sadly, the best thing about this album is that they’re still using the Naglfar logo and never changed that.

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SFxT: Thoughts

Posted in Games, Reviews, Street Fighter on March 11, 2012 by slateman

I’m quite enjoying the arcade nature of this game. It’s dumbed down, ala the Marvel versus games, and has all the flash of that series as well. However, it’s a bit more true to the SF world and I love it. The cross combos are fun and spectacular to watch, the roster is huge and rather diverse, and there are plenty of modes to tinker with. It’s taken all the good from the SF4 games and carried it over. The downside is that a lot of it looks familiar.

We should point out that Poison is exactly as I envisioned her to be. Over the top and ridiculous. The fact that the game has a story at all is kinda cool, and the rival battles are somewhat meaningful and fun. While I got this from GameFly, I’ll be sad to send it back. But, with all the DLC planned, a GOTY version would be welcome. I’m still waiting on UMVC3 for that very reason. So glad I didn’t take the plunge for the initial release.

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Mini-Review: Paranormal Activity 3: I Liked

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Movies, Reviews on March 2, 2012 by slateman

PA3

Kids - Good or Bad?


I’ll never forget watching the first Paranormal Activity. I heard the hype and IMO, it was something new and different. I don’t care what you or anyone else thought of it. It scared the shit out of me and I loved every second of it. My eyes were glued to the TV. I refused to blink. OMG…so scared.

The sequel was good, relying more on jumps than scares IMO but it was enjoyable. There were a few solid scenes in it. I found the third film to be even better; the final half hour was intense and excellent. If you didn’t care for the first, the next two wouldn’t do much for you, but I ate it all up. I watched in the dark, alone, and it was fantastic.

Spoilers BTW

Sadly, the real magic of the first film was never found again. Much like in most sequels, the additional characters and therefore reduction in each’s development, leaves me caring less about them all. Sure, there aren’t many in PA3, but for the most part, a little girl running around at night is simply not very scary.

However as the movie came to a close, there were a number of memorable scenes. The babysitter scene (wow!), the second Bloody Mary scene (AHH!), the holding-up-by-her-hair scene, then the jumpy kitchen scene (holy shit!). At the grandmother’s house, I figured out she was sketchy, but sat at the edge of my seat waiting to see how that final scene played out. WHERE IS EVERYBODY??? Then those people in the garage? CREEPY! The final moments wouldn’t have been my choice for the epic finale, but I loved it all.

What I don’t love is how reviewers slam a movie like this saying it’s no better than the predecessor (which they gave 1/2 star to as well). I don’t watch horror movies at all anymore. (I grew up on them.) When I do watch a thriller/horror, I want to be creeped out, spooked and frightened. PA3 trumped part 2, wasn’t as good as 1, but was better than most, and that’s enough for me!!!

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Mini-Review: Another Earth – I Liked

Posted in Blog, Movies, Reviews on March 2, 2012 by slateman

Another Earth

Another Earth


I don’t typically watch movies of this style nowadays. However, it was a recommendation, and I thought it an interesting concept. It was easy to feel for Rhoda and her situation. I was compelled to watch and felt great curiosity about her relationship with John. I will not make a long-winded review, but I’ll say I loved the ending. Open for specific interpretation; it was a glorious way to see what might have been (or rather, what was). I wasn’t confident it would be as good as it was, but the ending made it all worthwhile.

Not one for everybody. However, if you’re into this type of movie, it’s well worth your time.

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