Project .44 and Apocalypse Theater will be invading Bar Games in Northwood Iowa on Saturday November 21st at 8:00 PM.  If you’ve got some time go out and check them out.  I speak from experience when I say that you will not be disappointed in the live show!

Album: Addicted!

Genre: Industrial, Metal, Rock, Pop

Vocal Style: Distorted, Clean, Melodic, Male and Female.

Label: Inside Out Music, 11/17/09

Parental Advisory: Yes

Recommended if You Like: Strapping Young Lad, The Gathering, Nine Inch Nails, Hard Rock

The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted!

It’s probably fair to say I’m a Devin Townsend fan boy, from his work as the main man in Strapping Young Lad to his production work with bands like Stuck Mojo and his guitar playing on a couple of Front Line Assembly records.  I’ve pretty much dug everything he’s done.  Devin is working on a new project here, he is writing four albums under the moniker The Devin Townsend Project.  Each album has a different feel, a different theme and different musicians hand picked by Devin in the studio.  The first in the series was Ki.  I’ve heard it once and I like it, but it’s a lot different than what most people are used to with Devin who predominantly works in the hard rock and metal genres.  With Addicted! Devin returns to his roots, and even deeper than that.  In his press release Devin says “It is a very direct and ‘to the point’ album with an emphasis on groove and the chorus”, and folks that would be an understatement in my opinion.  This album is focused on great songwriting with an ear for the big hook and the catchy melody.  Devin enlisted vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen formerly of the band The Gathering to co-handle the vocal duties with Devin.  It’s an amazing change up for those of you used to Devin’s \M/etal vocals, in fact Anneke’s beautiful melodies push Devin to work on his own.

The Devin Townsend Project

Not only has Devin shed the dread skullet (look it up and you’ll see what I mean) but he’s also shed the need to pummel the listener into submission and hide his uncanny ability to create a huge melodic hook in the disguise of a metal song.  Addicted! is undeniably a pop album, with huge beats, melodic vocals and electronic blips and beeps that keep you engaged and listening to the entire record from beginning to end. 

Devin’s work as a producer pays off here again too.  His sounds are crisp and infinitely listenable.  Even his “wall of sound” production style is enjoyable to listen too.  The record has a deep warmth that bubbles just under the surface and according to Devin himself that is what he was going for; “I wanted to make a record that was heavy, without being dark or depressing.  When I got into metal it was for the energy behind it, but somewhere along the way that energy started getting really negative.  I wanted to make a record that sounds good, has a good beat, and a positive feeling”.  Believe me when I tell you this record is exactly what Devin was going for.  It’s really quite good and it’s a ton of fun to listen too.  With the release of Addicted! I’m now eagerly awaiting what Devin has next in store for me and the other listeners.  And do yourself a favor, run out and buy this record today, it’s worth it and quite honestly this album should make Devin a household name.

4.5 out of 5 Stars.

Devin Townsend

The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted! was provided to me courtesy of Inside Out Music.

Album: Identity

Genre: Industrial, EBM, Synth-Pop, Trance

Vocal Style: Distorted, Clean, Melodic, Male and Some Female.

Label: Metropolis Records, 10/06/09

Parental Advisory: Yes

Recommended if You Like: 80’s New Wave, European Techno, Pet Shop Boys

There isn’t a ton to dislike about this record, but then again there isn’t a ton to love about it either.  Most of the time it’s by the numbers synth-pop with hints of industrial sounds scattered through out.  It relies heavily on the synths and the clean vocals.  The vocals are strong and melodic but they are kind of a one trick pony.  If you’ve heard one song on this record you’ve pretty much heard them all.  It’s not a terrible record, and perhaps if there weren’t a lot of bands out there stealing a bit from Cesium_137 sound recently it would be more memorable than it is, it’s not terribly interesting either.  It probably plays better in a club than it does sitting here in my office.  It’s good background music, but not something you would throw on to pump yourself up for a night of clubbing.  The album boasts solid production though.  I prefer my synthpop a little darker and my vocals a little more dynamic.  If you stick with the record long enough there is a nice little payoff with a certain king sample that is down right awesome though.

2.5 out of 5 Stars.

Cesium_137: Photo by Jerry Bennett

Cesium_137: Identity courtesy of Metropolis Records.

I’ve also included their video for their cover of Blondie’s Call Mefor you listening and viewing enjoyment.  So get out to Spicoli’s next Friday night and catch In This Moment with special guests In Fear and Faith, Motion Lesson White, Surrender the Silence and Project Sock Monkey

Album: The Art of Breaking Apart

Genre: Industrial, EBM, Goth

Vocal Style: Distorted, Clean, Melodic

Label: Metropolis Records, 10/27/09

Parental Advisory: Yes

Recommended if You Like: Depeche Mode, Leaether Strip, Love & Rockets

Velvet Acid Christ has done their time in the scene and have earned their stripes.  From the noise and aggression of the earlier releases to a more polished and mature sound of today.  The Art of Breaking Apart is the 11th album for Bryan Erickson and there is definitely a real maturity on this record.  The album swings between industrial beats with distorted vocals into acoustic guitar and melodic clean vocals.  The acoustic guitar has to be for me the most shocking revelation in the new VAC material.  In a genre that is often piled high with more of the same, it’s refreshing to hear a breath of fresh air in a sometimes stale formula.  VAC does a great job at it but has one little misstep in trying something new and that would be the track Faithless.  Bryan’s vocals are a bit off key and while the rest of the album is pretty solid, this is the only real blemish on the entire creative return.

But that is really the only complaint I have with the record, apart from that this is a solid performance from beginning to end and like I said before extremely refreshing to hear some experimentation in the genre.  If you are looking for something new that might be a step from Depeche Mode into something a bit more dangerous I would give the new Velvet Acid Christ a spin in your media playing device of choice.  A solid record from beginning to end that never bored me or made me want to skip to the next song.  I look forward to hearing what VAC comes up with next.  3 1/2 Stars out of 5.

To Purchase: VAC: The Art of Breaking Apart

Velvet Acid Christ: The Art of Breaking Apart curtosy of Metropolis Records.

Sometimes the random amazing-ness of stuff on the interweb is just too good not to share with all of you.

For more information and to get tickets Click this link here Waterloo West High’s Theatre Department.

So go out and have some fun catch a play and eat some treats.  Have fun and be safe out there folks!

You’ve probably heard of and maybe even seen Guillermo del Toro’s movies like Hellboy 1 & 2, Mimic, Blade II and maybe even the Oscar nominated Pan’s Labyrinth but you’ve probably never seen his film The Devil’s Backbone.  Guillermo says that Pan’s Labyrinth is the spiritual sequel to The Devil’s Backbone (which I can kind of seen his point but) it’s a far superior film than Pan’s.

The Devil’s Backboneis a ghost story set during the Spanish Civil War.  The civil war is a metaphor for what is happening in the film as well.  This film is a beautiful tale of children who are lost.

The film is beautifully shot, beautifully acted and beautifuly directed.  It’s a quite film that gets under your skin and unnerves you.  When I first saw this I had read a lot of hype about it.  I’m not a huge fan of ghost story movies, most fail to even garner a scare from me, but this one moved me on an emotional level.  It’s sad and haunting, and deeply affecting.  It gets into your heart and mind and it lives there.  I’ve only seen the film once and I’m still talking about it, so that has to say something for it.  Every other film on this list I’ve seen at least a dozen times.

If you thought The Sixth Sense was creepy and had visual cues to watch for, The Devil’s Backbone makes M. Night look like a kid out of college.  I can’t talk a lot about the film because it will ruin it for you so I’ll skip out on any more of the chatter and just tell you to go out and rent this today, don’t even rent it, just buy it.  As a side note a great double feature night would be The Devil’s Backbone paired with The Orphanage(which was produced by del Toro).

I guess you know by now that I am a Sam Raimi fanboy, so it’s probably no surprise that Raimi’s horror/comedy Army of Darkness is also on my list.  From beginning to end this movie is instantly quotable, and if you see me on the street ask me and I’ll quote any line from it.  I have it memorized.  A couple of years ago, or maybe it was last year The Core along with Marcus Theatres had a midnight showing of this on the big screen and you can believe I was first in line to see this project high and mighty!

So Army of Darkness is really Evil Dead III, but that’s not what they ended up calling it.  It’s not really a scary movie at all, it’s pretty much a straight forward slapstick comedy.  Think Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein or The Three Stooges meet an army of the dead.  There are a ton of references in the movie as well.  You’ll notice stuff from Gulliver’s Travels, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Three Stooges, Ray Harryhausen and so much more.  Sam really through everything and the kitchen sink into Army of Darkness.  The really funny thing about it, it was basically a box office failure and has been re-cut at least four times by Universal to get what they thought was the right movie.  I actually saw the theatrical cut first on home video back in the day and still kind of prefer that cut to the Director’s cut which I eventually picked up on DVD.  Not so much for the ending, but some of the better lines are cut from the theatrical cut for the director’s cut, including the best line in the whole movie; “Good, bad, I’m the guy with the gun”.  Classic.

The movie also stars genre workhorse and all around awesome chin, Bruce Campbell.  I had the pleasure of meeting Bruce a few years back on a book tour and well, let’s just say I was less than articulate when I met him!

Army of Darkness is just a ton of fun.  It’s pure mindless entertainment for no purpose than to make you laugh for 90 minutes.  Get yourself a copy today.

This is the movie that nearly scared me out of horror films for life.  I was pretty young when I happened to catch this one with my parents back in the day.  People often credit Carpenter for changing their lives with Halloween, but for me it was The Thing.  A loose remake of the 1951 film The Thing from Another World, Carpenter’s version pushes the paranoia and gore to new levels with terrifying and sickening effects.

The image of the doctor doing chest compressions and what happens next will forever be stuck in my mind and always available for instant recall.  This is another one of those films that is fun to watch in the dead of winter too.  All the action takes place at a research outpost in the antarctic.  The white vastness along with the isolation is just too much at times.

This is easily my favorite Carpenter film and in my humble opinion his best work to date.  While Carpenter has done some great movies, nothing is quite as good or visceral as The Thing.  I also don’t think that Kurt Russell has ever given a better performance.

This is truly a terrifying movie that should be watched with the lights on!

By now you’ve figured out that I really like Werewolf movies.  So up next is a great werewolf film from across the pond: Dog Soldiers.  Written and directed by Neil Marshall, Dog Soldiers basically took the werewolf genre and turned it on it’s ear in 2002 when it was released.  I don’t think I actually got around to seeing it until probably 2006 or 2007 after my Netflix addiction was in full swing, but I had caught bits and pieces (pun not intended) of it on SyFyor Sci-Fi or what ever that channel was called back then.  What I had seen was brilliant so I finally rented the movie.

What was laid out before me was one of the smartest, most intense horror movie I had seen in years.  It simply floored me.  When I post the trailer you’ll see how they kind of say it’s like Alien, and it is.  Military personnel being forced to deal with an unstoppable and largely unseen force.

Great action.  Great acting.  Great humor and an extremely smart script kept this sucker flying for me and always guessing what was around the corner.  Mr. Marshall really made a huge debut in the horror community with this film and then the two of the one two punch, The Descent which has to be one of the most terrifying films of the last few years.  We won’t talk about his latest one, it’s a travesty of epic proportions.

If you are looking for an amazing werewolf movie that will leave you scared and hurting, then rent Dog Soldiers tonight and be prepared to be scared.