English citizens are shocked by a U.K. metal band, Gates of Janus (above), taking their name from the book title of moors murderer Ian Brady.

Are people really surprised by this??!!

Brady's killings were committed in the UK a long time ago, in the 60s.

The band replied with an intelligent, well-written statement:

"Our lyrics do not 'glorify' the murders, merely tell part of a story that is ingrained in our local history. Even 20 years ago, bands like Slayer were writing about religious hypocrisy, and historical events such as the Holocaust, and they have consistently said they are not themselves supportive of those events. Bands such as Children of Bodom and The Black Dahlia Murder are also named after famous murders, and they are successful international acts. Outside of metal, artists such as The Smiths have dealt with the moors murders as well."

What everyone overlooked is that Gates of Janus is a decent sounding band of the extreme metal genre known as Death Metal — if you're into that sort of thing. I have never been into Death Metal but I do appreciate the sounds of it — the riffs, the tempo changes. Never been a big fan of growling-away vocals on extremely morose subjects, however. Not a good combo for me. That's just me.

I'd never refuse to listen to a band because of their name, or judge them by their name. I mean, I once liked a French Metal band called Satan's Jokers.

I'd probably listen to anything over Children of Bodom though — THOSE KEYBOARDS!

If interested, you can check them out at www.myspace.com/gatesofjanus.

Reign In Blood

Läste sent igår kväll nyheten om att Slayer kommer att spela sitt klassiska mästerverk Reign In Blood i sin helhet under turnén i vinter. Det tackar jag för! Har ju biljett till Lisebergshallen den 22 november och ser fram emot det mycket. Egentligen är jag mest förväntansfull över att få se Mastodon igen men det här blir ju som soyatoo på veganmoset. Fast i positiv mening då.

Visst, det är inte första gången Slayer spelar hela plattan live och jag har den på DVD också, men jag tror ändå att det kan bli djävligt coolt!

Apropå Mastodon. Som jag fattat det så funkar Mastodon som uppvärmare åt Amon Amarth och Slayer. Vilket jag anser vara konstigt då Amon Amarth blev inkastade i lineuppen efter turnén var annonserad första gången. Givetvis vill jag ju även se ett längre sätt med Mastodon också men man vet ju aldrig, dom kanske lirar sådär dryga 45 min och det är ju rätt okej i så fall.

Fredags pepp

Nja, sådär va..? Sov lite halvtaskigt i natt och är lite seg, ska försöka slagga en stund nu så jag orkar med ett par öl på after work ikväll...

Kärlek. Respekt. Rock N' Roll.

//H

I stereon: Memfis - Cover it up (The Wind-up, 2006)

Frankie

Frankie (oemotståndlig blick va?)

Frankie drömmer sig ut..

Mamma Petronella

Mamma Slayer som kom in under dagen tillsammans med sina sex ungar. Fortfarande lite skärrad och försiktig med sin omgivning.

YAY!! Fluffy har päls igen!

Fick också en liten pratstund med Stumpen, som egentligen bara ville sova vidare.

Dagens "Kompis" (Voj va mjuk päls han har!). Någon hävdade att han skulle vara lite farlig, men efter den (längre) stund som jag spenderade med honom så kan jag lugnt konstatera att han är en missförstådd gos-buff!

"Är det inte matdags snart?!"

Bäst att hålla sig i transportburen en stund till. Känns lite säkrare..

Less than a year after releasing their first LP "Climate of Fear", here's San Antonio, Texas' hardest, Bitter End, back with some new material: 7 inches of wax featuring 3 new songs that do nothing but keeping alive the legacy of brutality of their previous efforts. These new tunes definately bring their metal influences to a new peak, showing an even more mature band, resulting as the perfect mix of Slayer, Best Wishes-era Cro-Mags and NYHC bands such as Killing Time, Breakdown or Leeway. Introduced by 2 minutes of pure Slayer-esque metal madness, the band delivers the two songs, "Purgatory" and "Power Struggle", with extreme intensity and power, alternating thrashing riffs with some slow-paced breakdowns with true style! Fifteen minutes of hardcore that does nothing but confirming Bitter End as one of the best bands around right now!

CEREMONY - STILL NOTHING MOVES YOU [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/ceremony
www.bridge9.com

If you haven't heard of Ceremony, you've probably been living in a cave for the last couple of years, or are just too dumb to listen to them. Anyway, theren's no doubt that this band is going to live a pretty deep mark in the hardcore scene for the years to come, and their new record is yet another proof of this statement. I can't think of too many bands that are able to play hardcore in such a violent way, with such a punk attitude and such an incredible intensity. They melt shotgun-fast parts with slower and gloomier parts, and at times you don't know if you're listening to a 2008 hardcore band or to an early Swans demo. I don't have too many words on this band, they're all useless, just get this record. Now.

COLD WORLD - DEDICATED TO BABIES WHO CAME FEET FIRST [Deathwish Inc.]
www.myspace.com/thecoldworld
www.deathwishinc.com

This first Cold World full-length has probably been one of the most awaited records this year and, I must admit it, just like it happened with every single thing they released in the past, it took me a couple of listens to get into the new CW sound. From first to last, the 15 tunes featured on "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First" is a bag of bricks thrown at you from a mile-high skyscraper, moshaholic hardcore with strong Biohazard (Billy Graziadei's the producer of this record!) and Life of Agony influences. Lyrics on this record perfectly picture the life of people living their 20's in this modern world, a jungle of hardships and violence. As usual rap and hip-hop influences pop up here and there through some pretty sweet interludes. Featured on one of the songs is Floorpunch's Mark Porter as well as Blacklisted's George Hirsch. Since day one, Cold World set themselves apart from the crowd, this record confirms that they're true leaders of what's going on today in hardcore.

COMMON CAUSE - THE POWER TO CHANGE [Powered Records]
www.myspace.com/commoncauseoc
www.poweredrecords.com

What else can pop to your mind when you hear names such as Eyeball, Damage Control or Onward if not youth crew hardcore and straight edge? Started in 2005 by singer Dan and guitarist Jon, Common Cause's been shaking grounds since their first demo-tape, and that couldn't have been different considering the 5 songs featured on it. After a 7" released in late 2006, here's their debut LP and yeah, you got it, it's great! Eight songs that are strongly influenced by Youth of Today, Hard Stance, The Abused and Straight Ahead, still, in my opinion, with some Oslo hardcore elements thrown here and there. These guys are touring machines, and I'm pretty sure they'll be hitting your town, so make sure you don't miss them!

DEAL WITH IT - END TIME PROPHECIES [Dead & Gone Records]
www.myspace.com/dealxwithxit
www.deadandgonerecords.com

Deal With It caught my attention since their "World Coming Down" 7" released last year; seeing them live, even though only one time, had me liking them quite a lot; well, this first LP makes me shout "Oh shit!". All I can say is that "End Time Prophecies" rocks from the beginning to the end, from the amazing artwork by Ed Repka to the last chord of the last song. While their previous record sounded like the band was still kinda confused about where they were heading, this new material shows a much better band in terms of songwriting, while lyrically the concept behind this record still rotates around the condition of humanity nowadays. Cro-Mags, Killing Time and Leeway-driven hardcore to make your feet stomp. Grab this shit - humanity is history.

ENERGY - INVASIONS OF THE MIND [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/thisenergy
www.bridge9.com

First time I heard of Energy was through their interview on There's Nothing Like It Fanzine #2, but I honestly didn't listen to the band in that occasion. I now find myself listening to their Bridge 9 Records debut full-length "Invasions of The Mind" and, even though I can't say I missed on something huge, this band is definately an interesting one. The 11 songs of melodic hardcore featured on this record take inspiration from a huge range of bands, going from Ignite to AFI, from the Misfits to Gorilla Biscuits and the result is pretty cool. This may not be a record I'd take with me on a desert island, but it definately a damn catchy one! These guys will be on tour with H2O, Bane and Cruel Hand in the US, and with Slapshot and All For Nothing, so check them out!

HAVE HEART - SONGS TO SCREAM AT THE SUN [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/haveheart
www.bridge9.com

I still remember listening to the first Have Heart demo and thinking how much these guys were good, seeing them 5 years later being still around and getting better and better is simply amazing, and it shows how hard work ethics and dedication pay well in the end. This new chapter in HH's story marks yet another evolution in their sound and, in my opinion, overall as a band. Musically they're kinda picking up where they left off on "The Things We Carry", although getting emotion and power to a new level, while lyrically things here get more and more deep and personal. I'm pretty sure we all agree that this is a one of a kind band, and the10 songs they crafted for this record do nothing but confirming this, as well as setting new standards for the generations of hardcore bands to come.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS - DALEK [Triumvir]
www.myspace.com/internalxaffairs
www.triumvir3.com

The news of Internal Affairs splitting up bummed me out so fucking much, especially because they were about to embark for another European tour, and I got so damn siked to see them once again. Anyway, before parting ways, the band recorded a 12" EP, released by Orange County based streetwear company Triumvir, featuring an amazing artwork by renowned artist Dalek. Released as an amazing pack featuring 4 different vinyl colors as well as 2 t-shirts, the record itself features 4-tracks of Internal Affairs trademark: fast, thrashing and pissed off hardcore, with poisonous lyrics and an icing on the cake made of a good dose of breakdowns and nice mosh parts. Although I'm pretty sure we will all be missing this amazing band, there's no doubt we once again have another good Internal Affairs record to listen to! Internal Affairs x Dalek x Triumvir - forever.

RHYTHM TO THE MADNESS - WELTSCHMERZ [Powered Records]
www.myspace.com/rhythmtothemadness
www.poweredrecords.com

I can't do anything about it, I love this band. Since the day I've listened to the 2 songs featured on their demo-tape I've been saying they're the best band that came out of Europe recently, try to prove me wrong. The follow up 7", "Soul Doubt", did nothing but proving that, while this debut LP, well, it just shreds. Line-up has changed since their last release, with Ced from Rise And Fall joining on 2nd guitar, making things heavier than ever. Seems like these dudes have been listening to a lot of Slayer and Motorhead along with the Cro-Mags - a lot of grooves, solos, thrashing riffs and heavy breakdowns in these 8 songs, written on their search for the truth, on their crusade against devilishment. Hardness like never before from these Belgian soul survivors, a record you MUST NOT sleep on.

WAR PIGS - NO HOPE, NO FAITH, NO POINT [Leave 'Em Records]
www.myspace.com/warpigshc
www.myspace.com/leaveemrecords

Straight outta Doylestown, Pennsylvania comes War Pigs, which is, like I've already previously stated, one hell of a band! This first 7" they're putting is at the same time the first release for Ohio's Leave 'Em Records - and what an amazing release it is for both parties involved. Something as good and as original as this is not too easy to find nowadays, and it's just lovely: a mixture of the most classic hardcore with AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Stooges influences - hardcore meets rock'n'roll in its purest form, with a simply amazing result! These 4 songs are able to get these dudes away from pretty much everything that's going on today, and let me tell you I expect even better things from them in the futre, as I don't wanna think about how good an LP from this band could be! Get it at THIS link.

WHILE YOU WAIT - A LIFE FOR A LIFE [Indelirium Records]
www.myspace.com/whileyouwaitmusic
www.indeliriumrecords.com

Straight outta Italy, and featuring past and current members of an endless list of bands, While You Wait is a pretty young band. Born in 2007 from an idea of the man behind Indelirium Records, the band started working really hard writing tunes to put out their debut release. Finally, after a demo used to spread their name, here's their debut MCD "A Life For A Life". The record features 6 songs in which you can hear some strong influences from band ranging from American Nightmare to From Ashes Rise, going through Go It Alone and Grade. Vocals are damn harsh and the quality of the recording definately played a nice trick. Overall, if you're into the latest breed of hardcore, melting melody and aggression, this is definately a band you have to check out!

Now playing:

• Bad Brains - Quickness
• Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return To The 36 Chambers
• House of Pain - House of Pain
• Madball - Demonstrating My Style
• HR - Charge

"Kosmetik"

"Ritualisierung"

"Sexualitaet"

Mettler with her three conceptual projects "Sexualitaet", "Ritualisierung", and "Kosmetik" transforms what preconceptions of menstrauation as something that is usually thought of as disgusting and embarassing, and allows open dialogue. By referencing a lipstick holder, birth control pills, and Ben Wa balls, she cleverly makes comparisons to both design and its boundaries, and how it connects with menstruation being a topic that is usually hidden or swept away.

And with that-- some videos:

Slayer's "Raining Blood".

Morgan Grace's "I Will Eat You Alive".

* Yes, I realize the implied hilarity of using a "get pregnant application" in order to not get pregnant.

 Slayer - Haunting The Chapel (Clear w/Blood Splatter)

 Slayer - Hell Awaits (Gold w/Blood Splatter)

 Slayer - Live Undead (Silver w/Blood Splatter)

 Slayer - Show No Mercy (Red/Black Blood Splatter)

Slayer fans attending the European leg of the groups latest tour will be surprised to find that they will be recieveing some free swag at the door of each show. The free swag bag will contain a code for a free download of the groups unreleased single from their upcoming album, as well as Trivium's "Krisute Gomen"(Shogun) and Amon Amarth's "Guardians of Asgaard"(Twilight of the Thunder God). Mastodon is also expected to provide an in-studio documentary of the group's up-coming release as well a second video of Slayer performing at the San Diego Sports Arena...And a sweet Chapter III patch.

The tour is expected to come to North America in 2009, some time in the summer I imagine. So far though, the only confirmed tour dates are as follows:

OCTOBER
27 Manchester Apollo, Manchester, England
28 Wolverhampton Civic, Birmingham, England
30 Hammersmith Apollo, London, England
31 Hammersmith Apollo, London, England

NOVEMBER
2 Cardiff Arena, Cardiff, Wales
3 Academy, Glasgow, Scotland
5 Stadthalle, Offenbach, Germany
6 Palladium, Cologne, Germany
7 HMH, Amsterdam, Holland
9 Schleyerhalle, Stuttgart, Germany
10 Eishallel Deutweg, Winterthur, Switzerland
11 Zenith, Paris, France
12 Lotto Arena, Antwerp, Belgium
14 Palasharp, Milan, Italy
16 Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
17 Incheba Hall, Prague, Czech Republic
18 Zenith, Munich, Germany
19 Columbia Hale, Berlin, Germany
21 Valby Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
22 Lisebergshallen, Gothenburg, Sweden
23 Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
24 Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
26 Old Ice Hall, Tampere, Finland
27 Old Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland

Sitter på musiken här i skolan och har precis sett klart på en dokumentär om heavy metal. Riktigt, riktigt intressant! Kul att få en ordentlig genomgång av vad heavy metal är.

Något av det mest intressanta i filmen var att man förstod hur mycket metallen kan betyda för människor. Många av de intervjuade musikerna påstod att de får mycket mejl från fans som skriver hur mycket deras musik betytt i sina liv. Hade aldrig kunnat tänka mig att sådan musik kunde vara uppbygglig och "finnas där för en", som ett fan uttryckte det.

Självklart togs religion och satanism upp, och det var då det började bli riktigt intressant. Jag förstår nu att mycket av den påstådda satanism och djävulsdyrkan som finns inom metal-musiken bara är en del av en tuff image. Det handlar om att provocera och reta människor för att få uppmärksamhet. Tror också känslan av att gå mot strömmen är väldigt viktig här också.

Det kanske är här känslan av frihet och enhet kommer ifrån. Temat ondska, död och våld är ämnen som fortfarande är lite tabu. Det är helt enkelt inte okej att hylla döden och påstå sig "älska ondska". Därför går det hem för att den uppfyller människors önskan att vilja simma motströms och enar så många miljoner människor.

Så nu förstår jag metalfans bättre. ;)

Men jag kunde inte ignorera känslan av obehag jag fick när jag såg filmen. Även om man inte står för de budskap och den "ondskefulla" image man bygger upp, så påverkar det en. Personligen tycker jag det är svårt att ignorera att vi människor faktiskt är rätt lättpåverkade och berörs på ett eller annat sätt av nästan allt här i livet.

Skräckfilm, till exempel. Det har jag nästan helt slutat titta på. Jag ser inget som helst syfte med det annat än att skrämma upp och ingjuta fruktan i folk. Därför känns det helt meningslöst. Självklart fascineras jag av specialeffekterna och hur musiken interagerar med väl uttänkta kameravinklar. Det kan vara riktigt intressant att studera skräckfilm. Men jag mår helt enkelt inte bra av att se på såna filmer! Jag vet inte heller om jag kan sätta fingret exakt på vad det är, men jag mår skit av det helt enkelt, och något som jag blir så psykiskt illamående av avstår jag helt enkelt ifrån.

Men här har du lite samma grej som i metal. Utnyttjandet och glorifierandet av död, extremt våld och tortyr. Därför känns det också lite motsägelsefullt att sådan musik kan fungera som en hjälp i nöden och stöd i svåra tider.

Jag försöker fortfarande förstå mig på metalkulturen. Det gör jag inte än. Det enda jag vet är att texterna ofta för fram ett budskap jag ogillar och att det helt enkelt inte känns bra att lyssna på band som Slayer, Gorgoroth eller Cradle of Filth. Det väcks ett obehag inom mig. Och om det är för att det är inpräntat att det ska göra det, eller om det är för att det faktiskt är ren ondska vet jag inte. Tror det kan vara en blandning av båda.

Tills jag blivit klokare på saken håller jag mig till bättre musik. ;)

However we at Brown Mastodon will be busy not giving a shit. In fact the only reason I posted this was so I could answer you Phish-loving Ginsbergs with this:

On the plus side this may pull some of the stonier Animal Collective fans away from indie rock and back toward the jam-band thing.

Halloween is coming at the end of this month and I need a costume. I play a big juicy Black Orc on Thorgrim named Scary. I wanted to make a costume to show the world what WAAAGH! is all about. A Black Orc costume would be perfect. All I need is a Hulk costume, upside down vampire teeth, trash can lid, an 80's ladies shoulder padded shirt, fake butcher knife, welders mask, steel toed boots, jock strap with cup, bra, fish paste, cowboy belt buckle, and Darth Vader voice changer. First, I will need to rip the huge pads out of the 80's shirt and insert them into the bra. Paint the bra brown and silver and pull the under-wire out to poke through the bra to simulate spikes. These will be my shoulder pads. Second, I'll attach the bra to the Hulk costume and smear a light coat of fish paste for smell. Third, paint welders mask, trash can, and belt buckle brown and silver too. Smear more fish paste. Fourth, insert voice changer in to jock strap cup holder and attach to my head. Hopefully I have not used the jock strap because it could smell funny after my moist breath brings out the old flavors. I know what your thinking, why do I need the upside down teeth? So when I am done smelling the jock strap I can look cool with sharp teeth and stale breath. Last, I'll put it all together and go about Trick or Kick in Da' Jibbletsing. Oh and the jock cup is used for holding all my tasty candy.

Okay, on to the in game meat and potatoes. Why is Order such underdogs and why is cutting 4 cities good but 4 classes bad?This paragraph also covers a new look for the Swordmasters. We all know why Order is the underdogs, it is image. WoW made us all loot hungry. We want the biggest baddest looking loot out there. Our tanks need to have huge shoulder pads with hell flames. Our melée dps needs a sleek ninja look and our casters need helms with horns. Destruction has all that. Order tho, looks like people fighting in PJs. Where is the flash and flare? The Swordmaster is the least tank looking tank. The IP has a hold of his nylons and Is choking the class with them. I'm not saying get rid of the pretty dress, I'm just saying tank it up. Add beefier shoulder pads. Maybe get the dwarfs to make them an Ironman helmet. Order needs their Empire tank back. The whole faction needs more bad boys like the Slayer. Tattoos are cool. I know Syp talked about Slayers over at his blog but I do believe he is totally right. Mythic needs to figure out a way to rez the Slayer and give the Order tanks some bulge. Now, on to why I think the city cut was awesome. In one sentence; because the game is so huge anymore areas would have made the game seem like a ghost town like LotRO. I have a hard time finding people to do public quest let alone defending 6 cities. Maybe two years down the road when the game is über popular and city sieges are cross server wars, will 6 living cities be needed but not now.

Here are some odds and ends. I miss Chrono Chaos talk. I'm not sure if anybody knows about it anymore. The idea of a time traveling guild was fun before release and it seems like we all hung up our clocks to live in the now. I miss the days of traveling into the future and seeing the first expansion pack for WAR. I miss seeing the rag tag bunch pile in the time bus to the past to sign up for guild beta. I miss Werit getting drunk and body-slamming the Greenskins. Chrono Chaos was fun. We all now have real guilds with in game goals. I'll miss you Chrono /tear. I would talk about the adventures of my hormonally active neighbors but I think I have beat that till it has all the life squirted out of it. I have ridden that pony into the cave of joy. Many times I have watched Free Willy from a distance. Anywhooo, I better let you all go read some important news clip from one of those smart bloggers out there. I'll just wait here for you to check back in and I'll pass the time watching the neighbors play Twisters. I wonder who is going to get the brown circle this time???

(Wordpress iPhone application is giving me lots of trouble. I finally pulled this story off it and saved it to Wordpress normal. Please forgive the sloppiness it is giving me loads of problems)

Standard disclaimers: I can’t ensure that these events will go ahead, that they’ll be good, or that I will be going to them. This is just a list of things I found that looked like they might be interesting, so please do not contact me to ask for your event to be included. That’s not the way it works.

Until Sunday the 5th – “Of All The People In All The World” (Stan’s Café) @ A.E. Harris Factory, The Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham - Also known as The Rice Show and acclaimed by many (including me) to be The Actual Best Thing Ever.

Wednesday the 1st till Friday the 24th – Birmingham Book Festival @ various venues in Birmingham - Brum’s annual literary festival (festival~!). There’s lots of interesting stuff a-scheduled - read on down.

Friday the 3rd till Sunday the 12th – Birmingham Comedy Festival @ various venues, Birmingham - The annual comedy festival (festival~!). Some annoying nonsense, but good stuff too - highlights include a Curates Egg do with John Cooper Clarke at The Hare & Hounds on the 3rd, and Mark Steel at The Glee Club on the 8th.

Saturday the 4th – “Space Day” @ Birmingham University, Edgbaston, Birmingham - LOOOST IN SPAAACE! All sorts of extra-planetary physics-based fun.

Saturday the 4th – Van Morrison @ Symphony Hall, Birmingham - Like the good ol’ strict ‘n’ stern Ulster protestant he is, Van The Man has decreed that no alcohol is to be sold at this gig. I wouldn’t go so far as to proclaim that this heralds the death of personal freedom, though.

Saturday the 4th – Stevie Wonder @ The NIA, Birmingham - Ooh, I’m really looking forward to this one.

Saturday the 4th – “Steve Coogan Is Alan Partridge and Other Less Successful Characters” @ The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton - You’ve got to love that for tour-naming.

Saturday the 4th – The Ting Tings @ The Academy, Birmingham - Already sold out, although we’ve heard that one before from The Ting Tings.

Saturday the 4th – Muay Thai @ The Light Bar, Wolverhampton - Knees knees knees! Wolves' Firewalker gym vs Leeds' Bad Company gym.

Wednesday the 5th of October until Thursday the 6th of November – Birmingham Early Music Festival @ Various festivals in Birmingham - A festival (festival~!) of Rites And Revels.

Sunday the 5th – Balti In The Park @ Balsall Heath park, Balsall Heath, Birmingham - Mostly, food. But also live music. And stalls. And face painting. But mostly food.

Tuesday the 7th – Stevie Winwood @ The Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton - Still keeping on running, after all this time.

Wednesday the 8th until Saturday the 11th – “The Boy With The Bomb In His Crisps” (Mad Half Hour) @ The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry - A play based on the tales of people who have journeyed to Coventry and Colchester. The story behind the (absolutely magnificent) title is here.

Wednesday the 8th till Sunday the 12th – Horse Of The Year Show @ The NEC, Marston Green, Birmingham - A horse is a horse, of course, of course…

Thursday the 9th – The Streets @ The Academy, Birmingham - Apparently he talks about fields and countryside and such on this new album. Pastoral Streets, what a notion.

Saturday the 11th – Billy Ocean @ The Academy, Birmingham - Aaaaw, he’s just so cuddly.

Monday the 13th till Friday the 17th – “Romeo And Juliet” (Shakespeare’s Globe) @ The Custard Factory - I have no concrete info, but apparently this may or may not be happening. Matinee performances only though, according to the information Nyki Getgood has acquired over at that link. On weekdays. Fantastic planning, there.

Monday the 13th – Cyndi Lauper @ Symphony Hall, Birmingham - Just wants to do something-or-other.

Tuesday the 14th – Polarbear: “If I Cover My Nose You Can’t See Me” @ The Rep Door, Birmingham - Hip-hop based storytelling. I’ve heard many good things about this.

Tuesday the 14th – Mark Thomas @ The Conservatoire, Birmingham - Part of the Birmingham Book Festival. This show is based around Mighty Mark’s looking into the ways and doings of Coca-Cola.

Wednesday the 15th – Stephen Stills @ Symphony Hall, Birmingham - Ah well now you see the thing here was that I was going to go to this and then I wasn’t and now I am again but all the time I thought I’d never heard any of his music outside of Crosby Stills And Nash And/Or Young but it turns out that “Love The One You’re With” which I liked but didn’t know who it was by was actually by him. So that was quite good. Yes.

Wednesday the 15th – Elbow @ The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton - The band that beat Burial in the big national music quiz or whatever it was. Haven’t listened to this new album that they got the honours for, but they were lovely when I last saw/heard them a few years ago.

Wednesday the 15th – Spiritualized @ The Academy, Birmingham - Without the gospel singers this time, if I’m correct, but still bound to be amazing.

Thursday the 16th – Will Self @ The Conservatoire, Birmingham - Why if it ain’t young Billy Self in the best of health. Author, journalist, raconteur, cultural pundit, and Birmingham Book Festival performer.

Friday the 17th – Roots Manuva @ The Academy 2, Birmingham - Summonin’ up the power of Banana Clan.

Friday the 17th – Black Diamond Heavies / The Solomons @ The Dragon Bar, The Barfly, Digbeth, Birmingham - Another night of blues ‘n’ roll brought to you by them Coldrice reprobates.

Saturday the 18th – UFC 89 @ The NIA, Birmingham - Headlined by Mike Bisping vs Chris Leben (Bisping, sub, R2. Yes that’s right I said ‘sub’), and also featuring the UFC debut of longtime fave of mine Dan Hardy (against Akihiro Gono. Hardy by decision). Speaking of longtime faves of mine, Paul ‘The Relentlessly Saddling Yampy Terminator’ Taylor (you know, the one from God’s Chosen Black Country) will also be fighting Chris Lytle (Taylor, decision).

Saturday the 18th – The Creeping Nobodies / The Courtesy Group @ The Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham - A Curates Egg night, so quality is assured.

Sunday the 19th – Scorpions @ The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton - Whistle whistle, whistle whuh-whuh-whistle-whistle…

Tuesday the 21st – Carol Ann Duffy @ The Conservatoire, Birmingham - Again as part of the Birmingham Book Festival. One of the best contemporary poets, with recent controversy to boot. If you’re really a fan then you can also attend a discussion of her work led by Roz Goddard on the 9th.

Wednesday the 22nd – Eddie Reader @ The Town Hall, Birmingham - Your lady there who used to be in the wonderful wonderful wonderful (‘Perfect’, even) Fairground Attraction.

Wednesday the 22nd – Seth Lakeman @ The Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton - More fiddling folking fun with Seff.

Thursday the 23rd until Sunday the 26th - "Hello Digital" @ Various places in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Hereford - The Midlands' first digital festival (festival~!), apparently, although I don't myself have any idea at all about precisely what is meant to connect this seemingly disparate string of events. Some of it looks interesting, though, such as the Field Of Light at Millennium Point and Capsule's Big Up The Metalz thingy at Wolves Art Gallery.

Thursday the 23rd – An Audience With Tony Benn @ The Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton - Tony ‘Uncle’ Benn, speaking of the days when Labour was real Labour.

Thursday the 23rd – A. C. Grayling @ The Conservatoire, Birmingham - Another book festival affair. Grayling considers and speaks on the subject of reading, particularly as a “critical, challenging and subversive process”.

Friday the 24th – Capsule Night @ The Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham - Watch Oxes on boxes, shake your hips to Bee Stung Lips, and do The Bump to Bilge Pump.

Friday the 24th – Boxing (First Team) @ The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton - Not sure who will be fighting on this one, but it’ll no doubt include some of our local faves. (EDIT: Seems to be cancelled).

Sunday the 26th – Lau-Gar King Fu National Championships @ Cocks Moor Woods Leisure Centre, Kings Heath, Birmingham - Hai- and indeed –Ya.

Tuesday the 28th – Al Green @ The NIA, Birmingham - The Reverend Al Green, ladies and gentlemen.

Tuesday the 28th – Slayer @ The NEC, Marston Green, Birmingham - And if you fancy an arena gig that couldn’t be more different to Al Green, there’s always Slayaaaarrrrgh.

Wednesday the 29th – Feed The Birds @ Woodgate Valley Country Park, Bartley Green, Birmingham - The rangers show you how to make a feeder and feed the birdies properly, for free.

Friday the 31st – Boxing (Sports Network) @ The Aston Events Centre, Aston, Birmingham - Pity poor old Uncle Frankie; Calzaghe’s left him and Khan got splattered across the canvas. Every ticket sale for this event is vital. He might not be able to afford this week’s ivory backscratcher otherwise. Also: Macklin/Broadhurst/Costello etc.

Review : For me this is the best season out of 1,2 or 3 as it introduces Faith and also the Mayor. The plot lines are very strong, and the action scenes and special FX are a lot better. I really enjoyed this season, and as soon as it ended I put in Season 4 DVD 1.

My Rating : 9 out of 10

Und nein, es ging nicht darum, was man/ihr jetzt denkt. Nein, es waren nur lausige 8-Bit... auf der Tonspur.

Und trotz ausgeprägter Schläfrigkeit konnten selbst diese beseelten Tonfolgen und rauschenden Riffs rein gar nichts an diesem Zustand ändern. Wohl aber haben sie sich so dermaßen fest im Unterbewusstsein festgefressen, dass dieses Erlebnis zu diesen Zeilen hier führt. Und nur nebenbei erwähnt, bei einem Menschen mit ausgeprägten Einschlafstörungen ist diese Aussage schon an sich eine Auszeichnung. Aber vielleicht habe ich mich im Halbschlaf ja auch nur mit längst vergangenen Erinnerungen (ich sagte bereits, dass Redundanz hier Programm wird, oder???) an meinen damals heiß und innig geliebten Gameboy geschwelgt und bin deshalb trotz allem friedlich dahingedämmert.

Und wem dieser Eintrag mit der viel zu lang geratenen Einleitung immer noch kryptisch vorkommen mag, dem sei zur Aufklärung das Video ans Herz gelegt. Vorhang auf, Staunen frei, Ohren auf (bzw. je nach Verfassung/Alter/Belastbarkeit lieber zu...) Affe tot und Klappe zu... oder so. We proudly present Angel of Death in 8-Bit deluxe-auf-die-ohren-version:

hehe... ich muß gerade einfach mal einige böse, zynische Gedanken freimachen... DAS als Klingelton und es kommt ein Anruf... beim Treffen der anonymen Tinitusgeschädigten...

I should have known this instinctively.  This should almost be a gimme - but I believe it's easy to get caught up in the rush to hit up sports bars and movie theaters and singles clubs and so on.  It's easy to breeze right by ground zero for a demographic of women that shouldn't be overlooked.  That subsection of women is into drinking wine, eating cheese, listening to music, enjoying nice summer evenings outdoors with friends, and things of this nature.

They're smart, cultured, and probably make more money than you do.  If not, they're down for drinking bottles of grape outdoors, so perhaps a you can get a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 and take her to the train tracks.  I speak, of course, of the women of Ravinia.  Gentlemen - learn from my mistakes.  And read on.

I'm almost embarrassed that I didn't think of this earlier.  I mean, it's right there.  Well, right there by the train tracks, a train that can on occasion be too packed with fancypants yuppies to have your tickets taken.  Free rides, baby! I digress:  On that train every summer are dozens of women wearing flowing skirts and spaghetti-strap tanktops.  They carry small coolers, bags of crackers and tapenade.  And if they're not laden down with a stroller holding their well-coiffed yuppie spawn, gentlemen, then so begins the sport.

I've been to Ravinia only a couple times, but both events were well populated with wine-swilling cheese eaters.  Blankets, small portable tables, candleabras and more, all spread out on the lawn ready for downing Chablis and Merlot and then intake of havarti and brie.  If it were less well-mannered, it could be a real party.

Alas, the venue doesn't lend itself to letting your freak flag fly, so you're just going to have to imagine these ladies downing whiskey in a dive bar before you actually experience it - a complete 180 from how most of my friends and I would get to know the girls we'd try to pick up.

Guys - what you have to realize is that even though this isn't the normal location for you to try to gain the affections of women, you have to play the odds.  And let's be honest:  there are indeed hundreds of females in attendance at any Ben Folds or Jonny Lang performance who've dragged their significant others along for a winesoaked shindig where they trot him out in front of her best girlfriends to prove how much of a catch he is.  (And, of course, revel in the ensuing jealousy that always follows when the guy doesn't seem like he hates every second of the experience.  He's so dreamy!)

But then, ask yourself - are all of those aforementioned girlfriends attached?  Can you swoop in and prove yourself similarly enlightened?  Learn to talk about blue cheese and a bottle of Cabernet Savignon that doesn't have the Charles Shaw label stuck to it.  You're golden, boys. There are a tremendous amount of people there, and while most might be the middle-aged couple who only goes to Ravinia because it's safe and you can sit down, don't discount the smaller wedge of population that's there looking for a guy that might enjoy having her take him out to dinner.  The Ravinia woman is the kind of woman I imagine picking up the check.  She's empowered, man.

The Ravinia woman who's there solo is also the kind of woman who's okay with drinking alone - in public.  The kind of woman who appreciates the finer things, but still goes out and sits in the grass and listens to music.  (No, it's not Slayer or Motorhead.  Deal with it.)  She can be fun, although most likely in a somewhat inhibited, flowery-print-dress kind of way. Maybe she listens to smartypants artists.  And I'm sorry, but she might listen to more Dave Matthews than you're comfortable with.  More likely than not, this is not the girl that you pick up at a Machine Head show, friends of mine.  And for what it's worth, you'll be much richer for getting out of your comfort zone.  Now here, try some of this fruit salad and check out that girl in the culottes and blouse over there.

I never saw fit to end up at Ravinia during my single-guy years.  And being a western suburbanite, it was kinda out of the way of my usual roundup of St. Charles bars and the Stratford Square mall.  So imagine my surprise when I saw the buffet of differently-demographic'ed females surrounding me while I pounded crackers with my cheap swill wine.  (Aside:  At a Ravinia show, I looked at my wife with a mouthful of parmesan crisp and asked, "Does this make us yuppies?"  She answered, in all her wisdom:  "No - we just like cheese.")  How little I knew.

This is why I hope to be able to pass on to you, Gentle Single Male Reader, the wisdom and experience I have acquired in my past few years of married bliss.  Ah, to know then what I could have told my past "me" now, then, or something.  You'd have drank less Gallo from that big jug, you'd have dated girls that knew their Mahler from their Metallica, and from the shoe store to the outdoor concert spectacular, you'd have known so much more.

Please note:  None of these suggestions are valid during any future Backstreet Boys or New Kids On The Block performances.  Every year, Ravinia gets a wild hair across the crack of their collective ass and books some random act.  If you appreciate making performance art, try to act like you would for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Sit down, be quiet, applaud politely and enjoy your Chardonnay.  Who cares if they just did The Right Stuff?  Wait- what are you doing there, anyways?

Dr. Demento- The Funny Farm

Helloween- Halloween

Halloween Theme Song Terror Mix

Type O Negative- All Hallows Eve

Kamelot- The Spell

Kamelot- March of Mephisto

Dimmu Borgir- Burn in Hell

Nightwish- Tristania

Cradle of Filth- Hallowed Be Thy Name

Nightwish- Romanticide

Nightwish- Gothic Sanctuary

Marilyn Manson- This is Halloween

Alice Cooper- Feed My Frankenstein

Alice Cooper- Go To Hell

Rob Zombie- House of 1000 Corpses

Slayer- Dead Skin Mask

Tom Waits- God's Away On Business

Alice Cooper- Welcome to My Nightmare

Ozzy Osbourne- Bark at the Moon

Malice in Wonderland- Lucifer's Town

King Diamond- Halloween

Lizzie Borden- We Only Come Out at Night

Rob Zombie- Dragula

Rob Zombie- Living Dead Girl

Yea, I love "horror" themed songs. Guess it's the girl in me!

]]> http://krigetmedmigsjalv.wordpress.com/?p=151 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:07:08 +0000 epithimia http://krigetmedmigsjalv.pl.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/min-3/

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is, to date, the toughest review I've written.  Of course, I've only done a few on this blog so far, but I've made my opinion heard on the Internet for years now, just in different places and with little to no regularity.  Monster Slayer has me perplexed beyond belief though.  So I'm going to be winging this one a little bit, formulating my ultimate decision as I go along.  Here we go.

We start off with a cyclops monster encounter in a jungle in a undisclosed foreign country.  The natives are getting there asses handed to them, but they seem to have a hero in a small hut, that they are waiting to emerge and save them.  We now jump all over the time line, to Jack Brooks teenage years, to his childhood in a somewhat disturbing but effective scene showing how he lost his family to a monster in the woods one night, and how that changed him forever.

Jack Brooks confusing (because of the illogical and random jumps in time showing him at different ages) background story was important to tell though, because that night his family bit the dust, was the night he got his power, which is his uncontrollable temper and raging anger.

Now we are at *almost* present day, (the first sequence in the jungle, with the natives, turns out to be present day, as Jack is the hero in the hut) and Jack Brooks is attending a night class with his girlfriend.  Science to be exact.  His teacher?  Robert Englund.  Freddy himself.  And then the movie slows down the pace to an almost unbelievably slow crawl.

Long (and confusing) story short, Professor Crowley (yeah, the movie went there) finds a heart buried in his yard after Jack, a plumber, does some work for him and disrupts a pipe and some dirt.  It takes him over,and for a few nights of the class, he begins to look sicker and sicker and act very strange.

There's comedy spots in the movie, although the tone of the movie, which is a lot more serious than I was prepared for, muffles the funny bits down.  If the jokes were played more upbeat, more like Evil Dead 2, they might of been funnier, but director Jon Knautz just doesn't seem to want to give up to making the story of his hero laugh out loud funny.  The exception being Howard in the hardware store, who is downright hysterical, mainly because of his superb role as the "wise-ass,old story-teller guy" that you have to have in these kind monster mash movies.

On that note, the cast should be commended on their work, especially since we go almost an entire hour where we the audience rely heavily on their acting to get us through to what we are assured will be a delightful beat down once we get to into the third and last stanza.  Trevor Matthews is convincing as our tormented hero, Rachel Skarsten is perfect as the bitchy, annoying, "has to go" girlfriend, and Englund plays the quirky science teacher to a T, who falls victim to this demonic heart and becomes an unwilling carrier of its evil.

The make-up and special effects are all stellar, and you will find no CGI in this film.  Unfortunately, besides the heavy amount of full body suits and make up in the very beginning of the movie and in the last 20 minutes, we don't get to see those special effects enough.  The gore level also begged to upped substantially.  More monsters popping up throughout the film would've have made that brutal middle piece where thing seems to be moving in slow motion much more bearable.

The finale is satisfying though.  Actually, it ties things up so nicely that it almost makes up for every other grievance I have with the flick.  Lets just say that Jack does indeed find the perfect use for his anger, and that the door is not only left wide open for this to turn into the next big horror series, the door is propped open with a brick.  The character transforms in the final act, and I for one wanted to see more of this version of Jack.  In him, I saw a lot of "Ash" from the evil dead series, if Ash were to ever take his penchant for killing monsters and make a life calling out of it.

So where do I stand?  Should you or shouldn't you?  Yes, you should, if only for the fact that you want to be there at ground zero for what could be the next big thing in horror.  The acting is above-par for direct to dvd horror releases like this.  The special effects and great climax make up for a slow build and a confusing beginning, but just barely.  Knautz has to work on his pacing, but his directing of action and monster scenes is already pretty spot on.

Hunt this one down for a retro creature feature fix, and keeps your eyes peeled to be hearing from Jack Brooks again sometime in the near future.

En estos momentos la entrada de productos en nuestro almacén se encuentra a pleno rendimiento :)

Para empezar el día…

Nuevos artículos para chica en XTREM:

Vestido de Camuflaje Urban / XT1826
Tallas: XS – S – M – L – XL

Chaqueta de Terciopelo y Encaje / XT1025
Tallas: S/M – L/XL

Manguitos a Rayas Blancas y Negras / XT2011

Medias a Rayas Moradas y Negras / XT1056
Talla XXL

Medias a Rayas Negras y Rojas / XT1056
Talla XXL

Reposiciones de artículos agotados:

Victoria Francés: Bandera Liberame / XT1189

Reposiciones de Merchandising: Banderas

Children of Bodom – Hate Crew / XT1323

Cradle of Filth – Vampire / XT1320

Dimmu Borgir – In Sorte Diaboli / XT1586

HIM – Ville / XT1327

Iron Maiden – Live after Death / XT1318

Slayer – Eagle / XT1319

Pronto más novedades en XTREM.
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