Awesome Bands Worth Sharing

Some might say that critics never enjoy anything, especially mediums they review. I disagree with such notions completely. One can be critical of anything whilst enjoying it. Personally, I chose to become a critic of certain mediums because I love them. Sometimes critics need to stick them limbs out of their protective shells. It’s easy to criticize, but to state, “I like (insert whatever)” on the Internet is risky. Music is a medium I will never criticize professionally. People like Todd in the Shadows do a far superior job than I ever could. As a change of pace here is a list of bands that I enjoy, just for kicks and giggles.

Opeth: Pale Communion

This band has always pushed the boundaries of genre, making any classification a bit of a falsehood. Traditionally they have been classified as merging of death metal and progressive rock, but all of their albums have incorporated a myriad of musical styles. Recently, they dove heavily into progressive rock leaving behind their death metal roots. Opeth’s musical talent continues to impress me despite their controversial creative decision. If you like prog rock, check these guys out.

Eluveitie: Origins

In my youth, I listened to a vast amount of death metal. However, through my college years my passion for this genre dried up. It all sounded the same, ironic that this very statement enraged me back when I was an avid listener. Fusion genres slowly crept into my listening habits causing me to find Eluveitie. They combine my love of death metal and traditional Celtic music (The Chieftains, Altan, Danu) into one awesome genre. Many folks refer to this fusion as Folk Metal or Pagan Metal. Eluveitie’s lyrics focus on the fictional struggles of the Gallic people which is weird considering the band hails from Switzerland. A wide range of traditional Celtic instruments are incorporated into the band’s unique style. Most lyrics are in English and some ancient Gaulish. Their latest album has a substantial increase of Gaulish language.

Epica: The Quantum Enigma

I came across Epica a couple of years ago. Symphonic Metal was another genre I stumbled into after my departure from mainstream death metal. Nightwish was my first exposure to this particular sect of metal, but Tarja’s (the band’s former female vocalist) departure marked the end of era for Nightwish. Once Epica caught my attention I couldn’t go back. Their last two cds have been controversial because screams and growls were introduced to parallel Simone’s beautiful vocals. Despite some fan rejection, I love it (inner metal head still going strong). The dichotomy of dissonance and harmony gets me every time. Their newest album puts epic into symphonic metal.

Amon Amarth: Deceiver of the Gods

They are probably the last straight death metal band I listen to for two reasons: 1) Amon Amarth is full of talented musicians who deliver brutal rhythm and rifts. 2) Their lyrics are steeped in Norse myth—my favorite mythology—and Viking culture. A warning: their lyrics involve a fair amount of talk regarding killing, death, and sacrificing people to the Norse gods so don’t let the kids listen to it.

Charli XCX: True Romance

I discovered this British pop star while watching Todd in the Shadow’s review of “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. Safe to say Charli is the better of the two. Synthpop’s existence was unknown to me until taking a few listens to Charli’s new album. It’s pretty good. Pop music is not my scene, but this strange sub-genre combines new pop with elements of early 80s pop. It’s worth a listen, however, she’s heavy on the profanity.

Rend Collective: Art of Celebration

Christian music causes conflict within me. I love music that praises the God of Israel, but the genre is over-saturated with “praise and worship” bands. Modern worship that radiates authenticity becomes harder to find in a sea of synthetic, cookie cutter worship bands. A good friend introduced me to Rend Collective and I’m glad he did. It’s a little hard for me to qualify, but this band has a hopeful desperation for praising God. Their songs feel like genuine worship. If you are looking for some new worship music, check these folks out. 

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Anime Adventures

In my first post, I reviewed an awful anime. Despite the global popularity of anime, most folks I encounter don’t watch it for a plethora of reasons. Movies became a primary focus of my reviews because film is an easy medium criticize. A small part of my day can be spent in a theater and a few hours of content are easily encapsulated. One might assume that movies are my passion, but watching anime supersedes film for me. The problem stems from my laziness; anime consumes far more time, thus my reluctance to review them. However, content diversity demands a greats spectrum of subjects.

As a style of animation, anime can turn people away with incredible proficiency. Additional misunderstanding about content (distinguishing between normal anime and pornographic anime) causes further stigma against a legitimate medium. Character archetypes and cliches can plague the best anime has to offer. Unfortunately, one must deal with these cliches because finding anime without them is difficult; however, let us remind ourselves that all mediums have cliches. Below is a list of anime curious individuals should watch instead of diving in head first.

Hayao Miyazaki films: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Any Miyazaki film has no content that would cause a non-anime viewer to stop watching. The four mentioned above are my favorite films and a great place for an anime beginner to start. The obnoxious cliches that flood new anime almost don’t exist in these films. Having not seen of all of Miyazaki’s other films, I can’t speak for their quality. Note: Miyazaki and two others founded Studio Ghibli, but not all of movies from that studio are directed by him.

Cowboy Bebop

This is an amazing anime, probably one of the best ever made. I know the gravity of such a statement, but Bebop set a bar of quality that few anime have come close to surpassing. Given the setting, characters and plot, this is perfect for non-anime viewers. There’s almost no fan-service or idiotic character archetypes that cause me to smash my head into the wall. In addition to a great show, its soundtrack is unbelievably good.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

The Gundam franchise developed the anime science fiction genre known as “Mecha.” It involves people piloting large human shaped robots that fight each other, usually in a war against aliens or other humans. Wing is a spin-off set in an alternate time line to the original show. By the time Wing was released, Mecha cliches had solidified, thus this anime has many: teens piloting the suits, earth warring with the colonies, and the angsts of war. Thankfully, Wing subverts those cliches to produce an engaging story. Politics and moral ambivalence play a greater role in Wing than in previous installments. When this anime came to the U.S. in 1998, it propelled the popularity of anime. I became a fan of anime because this show, thus Wing should be more accessible to non-anime viewers. For the love of God, don't watch the dubbed version. 

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Real Gothic horror doesn’t find its way into film very often, even less in anime. This is easily one of the best vampire movies produced. The unique drawing style creates a strange world where fantasy and technology weave together. I didn’t know this was an anime on my first viewing many years ago. Those new to the medium should enjoy this film.

Akira

I am reluctant to put this movie on the list. By far it exceeds the limits of weird even for anime. However, two very important reasons compel me to keep it on. 1) Akira’s historical significance can’t be ignored. This movie came out in 1988 and introduced the world to anime on an epic scale. We can partly attribute anime’s rising global popularity to this film. Suddenly anime wasn’t just for kids. 2) Its weirdness provides an excellent barometer. Technically, Akira was the first anime I ever saw and scared the poop out of me. The ending destroyed my innocent defenses. However, nothing pornographic so teens can watch. If one can watch this movie and enjoy it then almost no anime will be questionable. 

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6 Reasons for Continued Theater Attendance

Jumping back into the world of cinema, going to the movie theater seems like a chore in the digital age. Institutions like Redbox, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and piracy through peer to peer clients are making a trip to the theater harder to justify. While IMAX and 3D might motivate some people to the theaters, for those like myself, gimmicks ruin the experience. De-motivation for me arrives through most movies not deserving to see the light of day, let alone being shown on the big screen. Thankfully, this year has restored my faith in movies and in humanity by association. Here is a list of movies to bring any grouchy critic out their hole in the ground.

1. Godzilla (2014)

Normally, action movies (i.e. 300: Rise of an Empire) never excite me and bring forth my desire to smite the movie producers without prejudice. However, when the planets align, an action film will catch my eye. After fourteen years of absence our favorite fire/lightening breathing city destroyer, Godzilla premiers in the U.S. Japan has continued to make Godzilla films since 2000, but none of them have premiered in the states. The prehistoric tank cruncher hasn’t been represented well on our shores. The 1998 film with Mathew Broderick was awful and Godzilla 2000 was better, but not by much. I saw the extended trailer of Godzilla (2014) and was sold. We see a giant monster which is neither understood nor stopped. While the old movies are fun to watch, Godzilla never instilled fear in me. This shouldn’t be a horror film, but a monster like Godzilla appearing would be terrifying. He represents a force of nature, something human science can’t rationalize or explain. My expectations are high and hopefully Gorjia will get the movie he deserves.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

 

The first movie didn’t leave a strong impression on me. Similar to Thor, Captain’s first film was setting up. It was saying , “There’s cool stuff in this movie, but you’ll have to wait for super-mega-delicious pie.” Clarification: Captain America’s debut wasn’t bad. As a film, it was rather good. The Avengers gave me a fix of awesome to tide me over until this film. As with Godzilla, the trailer sold me. Bucky looks freakin’ awesome. In addition to an awesome villain, we see Shield evolve past moral ambiguity into depravity. Marvel universes are rarely black and white. Both characters and organizations live in a moral gray. This film seems to explore the negative consequences of having an organization like Shield wielding its power improperly. Captain America’s moral absolutes clash with the gray world he lives in, creating a wonderful dichotomy. Also jonesing for some romance between the Captain and Black Widow.

3. The Muppets: Most Wanted

Muppet movies have always been hit or miss. Some like: The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppet Movie, Muppet Treasure Island are really great, while others like: The Muppets take Manhattan, Muppets from Space and The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz are super bad. Thankfully the Muppets were redeemed in their latest film. I loved it to death and watched it way too much. Most Wanted seems to be cut from he same cloth. The three elements of a successful Muppet film are here: 1) an amusing and interesting story; 2) a boat load of good actors and celebrity cameos; and 3) great, punny humor. The trailer had me laughing through its entirety. My one regret is due to the first film my expectations for Most Wanted are absurdly high.

4. Maleficent

Prequels are tricky. Sometimes they add massive amounts of depth to character or story, other times they ruin the whole franchise. Since Hollywood ran out of ideas years ago, they have to rely on other people’s good stories. As I’ve stated before, Disney villains frustrate me due to their reasonless evil. Their evil has no motivation or story, it only exists. My hope for this film is we see why Maleficent is evil. Why did she put a curse on sleeping beauty? Why does she harbor ill intent towards the people in the kingdom? I don’t want a story about how Maleficent was good and misunderstood. Her wickedness is not a problem. The lack of “why” embodies the root of my discontent. Unfortunately, the Oz prequel was not very good. Hopefully the produces of this film saw Oz and learned from their mistakes. The trailer gives an excellent impression. Angelina is often type-casted and she suits the villain role well. Her performance will make or break this film.

5. Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Technically, this movie is already out. However, I have not seen it, thus its place on the list. This film encourages me to celebrate Hollywood’s lack of creativity. Most kids won’t know where Mr. Peabody comes from which is a little sad. He’s an old dog whose getting a digital upgrade. When I was young, the re-runs of Rocky and Bullwinkle aired on Boomerang (a channel owned by Cartoon Network which shows old cartoons). Out of the shorts in the middle, Mr. Peabody was my favorite. Rocky and Bullwinkle got their movie so let’s get Peabody and Sherman in as well. A movie where his story is expanded needed to happen years ago, but I’m glad it happened at time when studios deliver cutting edge digital animation. High hopes for the dog and boy duo.

6. Enemy

I don’t have much to say about this film because I saw the trailer today. It’s coming out in a couple day and looks exciting. Hollywood loves the doppelganger plot structure, Face Off comes to mind (much to my despair). Thriller/suspense movies intrigue me because they often have the proper elements of horror without all of the nonsense. The trailer gave me a great impression and I’ll see this movie as soon as possible.

I own none of these videos, just the writing bits.
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