Music: Denouement by Gates of Ivory

I've been alluding to this moment for about two weeks now

So, as those of you who regularly read this blog know, I've been wanting to review this album for quite some time. Well, I've been taking my time with this review, and so here it is! Image copied from CD Baby. Click it to go to the page!

As always, I made this review of my own accord. It has not been endorsed by Gates of Ivory in any way, as far as I know. I have not been paid to make this review, and I was not given a review copy of the album. 

I might as well say this before anything else: Gates of Ivory is absolutely one of my all-time favorite bands, and I'm hoping they come out with new songs soon. Some of you who know me in real life know that I tried to play The Deadly Poetic on acoustic guitar, which didn't go as well as I hoped it would. Still trying to improve though. If anything, I'm stubbornly persistent. 

One of this album's greatest strengths is that it only has 5 tracks. 5 well-written tracks of indescribable awesomeness, none of which feel out of place. The instruments are utilized perfectly, the lyrics are quite fitting, and each song creates incredibly vivid and unique scenarios in my mind. 

Here is a screenshot of the first search I made regarding this album. Now I'm wondering if this means Denouement is Gates of Ivory's final album...

I don't want it to be.

Overall, I enjoyed this whole album (if that wasn't obvious already). If you like metal, I'd recommend buying it, and also searching up this album on YouTube so that you can follow Gates of Ivory there. Again, they did not endorse this review. I wrote it because I wanted to, and I was not paid to do so. I have no complaints when it comes to this album.

Gates of Ivory, keep making great music! You're one of the few groups left that produces real music!

Music: Red vs. Blue Revelation Soundtrack

If you're wondering why all of my reviews this week have been for Red vs. Blue albums, I review whatever I feel like reviewing at the moment, and this is what came into my head just now. 

"This place is filled with mean ladies!" -Private Michael J. Caboose

I kid you not, that was the first few seconds of Agent Tex, and then you have Tucker shouting "What's so hard to understand about swish swish stab?!" and "Step away from the idiots!" I can't stop laughing at that. I have a good feeling about this soundtrack (I'm listening to it as I write this review). So far, Agent Tex one of my all-time favorite tracks from the entire series. 

Now we listen to the 49-second track, Prelude, which is also awesome. I do wish that this was made into a 5-minute track... okay, now Boss Battle is playing; it is a theme of epic proportions, and for some reason, it reminds me of the motorcycle chase theme from Final Fantasy VII. 

I do not know how to describe just how well Plagam Extremem Infligere sounds.

The Pelican Has Landed: pure awesome. Also, it brings back memories of the Portal 2 OST. 

Rally (Sarge's Speech) is a track that I don't remember hearing in the show, but I can always go on YouTube to find out. Note: Just watched a clip of the speech, and Rally was playing in the background. Quite fitting. 

Red vs. Blue (the track), has incredible lyrics. Just listen to it, and you'll see what I mean. I won't say anything more about this song, I don't want to spoil it.

I won't say anything about the other tracks, since I definitely recommend that any fans of Red vs. Blue (the show) buy this CD. Buy it off of the RT Store, not iTunes. On iTunes, it costs $9.99, while on the RT Store it costs $4.95, so you're better off buying it from the RT Store. Rooster Teeth is also better off that way, since as far as I can tell, they don't have to share any profits they get from purchases on the RT Store with Apple. 

Overall, the Revelation soundtrack is unforgettable. Each of the tracks sound amazing, whether you listen to them on their own, or they play in the background of the show. Few things have made me laugh and get this sense of epicness at the same time. I can't stop laughing after listening to Forge World, Your Best Friend, Sarge's Blues, and I'm Am The Best, which are all exclusive to this soundtrack, meaning they were not played in the background in any episodes of the show.

Music: Red vs. Blue Season 13 Soundtrack

So maybe I'm watching Red vs. Blue a little too much, or maybe I'm just bored, have nothing to do, and decided to look up this album on YouTube so I could review it. Either way, I still don't have any posters to put up on the wall behind my desktop monitor, which isn't too surprising. 

I'll say it outright: this soundtrack captures the atmosphere of the entirety of Season 13, and although I didn't enjoy this album as much as I enjoyed the Season 9 and Season 10 soundtracks, I still found some degree of satisfaction here. Still, I think that there's some merit in the idea of bringing back Jeff Williams for Season 15, and getting him to work with Trocadero on the soundtrack. I might be wrong (meaning Wikipedia might be wrong), but I think that Jeff Williams was the keyboard player for Trocadero at one point in time. 

Okay, I just found one word to describe this soundtrack: haunting. Just listen to it, and you'll get what I mean, especially with People Person, and Absolute Control.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite RvB soundtrack, but it wasn't "bad" by any means. If anything, I believe it fit the season very well, but it just doesn't sound quite right without visuals from the show accompanying the music. If you like the haunting sounds of the Chorus Trilogy seasons soundtracks over the quite varied tones of the Project Freelancer seasons, then this album is for you. But, if you prefer Project Freelancer's tracks, then consider carefully before buying this album. 

Music: Roses and Violets by Trocadero

And now, for something those of you who have been reading my blog since the beginning were probably expecting...

If you've read my first posts on here, or know me in real life, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of Red vs. Blue. The only reason I don't have the Church-isms and the Caboose-isms posters yet is that I simply don't have the money for it! Still working on that.

Anyway, some of you might've been expecting this review. After all, I reviewed the soundtracks of seasons 9 and 10 (Project Freelancer), which I thought were pure awesomeness of an unfathomable degree, and I'm kinda sad that Jeff Williams is no longer the composer for the series. 

Going in, I wasn't expecting this album to be as enjoyable as it is. After all, this is the soundtrack from the early years of RvB, and I remember skipping the opening theme after the first few episodes, but listening to the music without the visuals from the show accompanying it is a different experience entirely; it's an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Its been a while since I've found an album that's entirely enjoyable and has tracks that I especially enjoy. In Roses and Violets, that track is definitely Steady Ride (Gun Metal Green), for several reasons. The lyrics are memorable and well-written, and the instruments used for the song are used effectively. 

Overall, I loved this whole album. The tracks are short yet memorable, and for me, create quite vivid scenarios inside my mind. Looks like I'll be listening to this several times over just for the sake of it. If you like Red vs. Blue, I'd recommend buying this album. 

Music: Megaman Unlimited OST

Finally, I Have Found it!

Some of you who know me in real life know that I love Mega Man.

Some of you who know me online also know that I love Mega Man.

However, even if you already knew that I'm a Mega Man fan, you probably didn't expect THIS!

That's right everyone, I downloaded Megaman Unlimited, an unofficial Mega Man fangame made by MegaPhilX, and then decided to listen to the soundtrack. I'm writing this review as I listen to the music, so this post might have a few awkward bits, self-contradictions, etc. 

Overall, I enjoyed this album. Each individual track feels as if it would fit perfectly into an official Mega Man game, yet has more than enough originality to be worthy of being called unique, and this extends to the cover art as well. The feeling even extends to the bosses, the stages, the enemies, basically the whole game. By the way, I am not playing the game as I write this (go for Nail Man first, the Nail Shield is incredibly useful). 

I have to say that Trinitro Man's theme (Frenzied Superheat), is by far my favorite. I cannot explain why, but it just is. Getting hyper from listening to this soundtrack. 

Okay, the album just ended. I'll have to end here before I have trouble getting to sleep because of how awesome this soundtrack is. 

Music: TRON Legacy: Reconfigured

Note: I've been unable to post recently because I seem to have come down with a cold. So far it's just a runny nose, and I hope it stays that way. 

Well, I think I've lost it. 

You might be asking "Alex, out of all the albums in the world, why did you have to review this one?" 

All I can say is that I have regrets when it comes to listening to this album, mostly because of just how loud it is. For those of you who've played Borderlands 2's Thanksgiving DLC, imagine Torgue's screaming. Take that, multiply the loudness by a couple hundred, remove the words so that all you hear is screaming, and change out the screaming with laser noises. That is what this album sounded like to me, and if I said I liked it, I'd be lying. If I said that I can appreciate the music on this album, I'd also be lying, as this does not sound like music to me; that, however, is just my opinion. 

Admittedly, I used to enjoy listening to this album, but that was when it first came out, and I was a lot younger back then. At the time, I wasn't sensitive to sounds and smells (I cannot be in the same room as an air freshener, or someone using cologne or perfume). Now I am, and I have a splitting headache stemming from listening to the entire album. 

If you are thinking about buying this album, and you believe that your taste in music is similar to my own, I would not recommend buying this album. You'd probably be better off watching TRON: Legacy, which isn't a bad film. It does have its flaws, and I do think they tried to use the whole "we're inside a video game" idea far too often, but I still found it enjoyable. 

By the way, please don't forget about my Patreon page! I'm still here!

Music: Pokemon Black 2 & Pokemon White 2 Super Music Collection

Disclaimer-Like Thing: Yes, I play Pokemon, and I love it. Started with Heart Gold.

Where do I begin with my all-time favorite Pokemon soundtrack? After all, the soundtracks of Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 are the most incredible Pokemon albums by far, at least in my opinion. 

As I mentioned earlier, this soundtrack is incredible. From the opening theme and Signs of the Beginning (An Adventure is Beginning, in other versions), which both give you the sense that you're about to begin a journey of epic proportions, to the high-energy, all-eyes-are-on-you theme of the Nimbasa City Gym, each track fits its context perfectly. 

When you set foot in Floccesy Town, its theme conveys the feeling of a small town where the days go by without anything of worldview-changing significance occurring very often, where the residents are friendly, and everyone knows one another. 

Infiltration Into the Plasma Frigate! has to be one of my favorites. Listening to it gives me the feeling of breaking into a heavily-guarded area, trying to remain unnoticed, as if even a single heartbeat will lead to failure, making everything leading up to that point mean nothing at all. Everything is on the line, failure is not an option, and just maybe someone who you thought was your enemy was your ally all along, working behind the scenes to make sure that this operation can be pulled off. 

Overall, I love this whole soundtrack. There's no other way to put it.

Before you go, consider checking out my Patreon page! I'd really appreciate some support there, since I'd rather buy actual albums from reliable sources instead of listen to YouTube playlists. With YouTube playlists, I generally don't have a clear idea of the answers to these questions: "Are all of the tracks here?" "Are there excess tracks that are really just sound effect clips?" and "Did someone just take a video on their phone at a concert, and then replace the visuals with an image of the album cover?"

Music: The Wastelands from Last Ninja Preview by Matt Gray C64

This is a single, not an entire album. That's why this review is shorter than my usual work.

Matt Gray is at it yet again, remaking music from The Last Ninja for the Commodore 64. I listened to this track, and knew that I just had to review it.

This whole song is very upbeat, with a bit of anxious heroism. It's as if everything is on the line, and you can't afford to fail your mission. It gives the idea that if you fail, "The whole world could explode." (Agent Washingtub, Red vs. Blue Season 6) and I love it.

Okay, after quoting Red vs. Blue, I just started thinking of ways to fit this song into its soundtrack. Needless to say, none of them actually worked. Now I really want to watch all of RvB again...

I enjoyed this single, and I'm somewhat sad that the whole album won't be released until... September 2018, according to the Reformation 2 Kickstarter page. That's right, this preview is for an album that won't be released until next year. 

Finally, please don't forget that I have a Patreon page now! Please check it out, even if you don't want to pledge any money. Clicking the "Become a patron" button on the right side of the page only takes you to my Patreon page, it doesn't force you into paying for anything. 

Music: Double Brutal by Austrian Death Machine

Notice: I do not regret listening to this album

Quick message to all first-time readers: my first review of an Austrian Death Machine album, Total Brutal, should be easy to find. I'd be happy if you read it before you read this one, even though you don't really need to. 

To everyone else: I couldn't find anywhere to link to except for a YouTube playlist, so that is what I linked to. 

More Schwarzenegger jokes, more references in the lyrics, and another hilarious album cover. Just what I expected to run into when I looked this up, and I do not regret doing so. I'm still laughing at all the jokes in between the tracks. 

I don't have any favorite tracks in this album, as I enjoyed each one equally. That means either this is a quality album, or I was laughing at the Schwarzenegger jokes too hard to pay attention to the album. Probably both, as when I start laughing, it's difficult to stop me. I should probably end this right here before I start making bad jokes (which I do a lot). 

Just kidding, this is the final paragraph, promise. Overall, the album was great for the same reasons as Total Brutal, which I also reviewed, but cannot be bothered to link to the review of. So, if you want to read the Total Brutal review, just find the search bar on the page and type in "Austrian Death Machine."

Announcement (Please Read)

As some of you may know, I now have a Patreon page. What is Patreon? Well, to put it simply, Patreon is a site where creators can make revenue from pledges made by fans (pledges of money, not allegiance). In return for the money, the people who make those pledges (they're called Patrons) get rewards chosen by the person they support. In my case, you can get rewarded with access to my original writings, such as poems and short stories, by pledging $1 per month. Keep in mind that you have to pledge at least $1 to gain access to my writings on my Patreon account. I'll make some publicly-available ones of equal quality to show all of you just what you can gain access to. 

Don't worry, all of the content on this blog will remain free forever, and you'll still be able to suggest any albums you think I should listen to. To check out my Patreon page, click on the logo at the bottom of this post. All of the Patron tiers, as well as the rewards that come with them (more money = more rewards), are there. 

Consider supporting me!

Music: Total Brutal by Austrian Death Machine

The Review Starts Here
Sorry about the lack of images and links. I can't seem to figure out how to get my new antivirus to stop interfering with everything I do.

Anyway, Austrian Death Machine. I had never heard of them before today, and I'm surprised about that. I mean, really, a whole album dedicated to making fun of Arnold
Schwarzenegger.

Every track seems to be based off of his most famous lines, and between each track, jokes are made by someone impersonating Schwarzenegger.

There's a lot of screaming here. This time, I don't really mind it for some reason that I don't know. I can't describe this album with any other words except for these: hilarious, unique, and loud. I enjoyed all 38 minutes and 35 seconds of this. The lyrics were awesome. I loved the jokes. Review is done.

GET TO THE CHOPPA!

Update
I got a link to the album here: https://youtu.be/v66sQ3S6vS0
I do not regret listening to this, but I'm upset that I can't put an image in here.
All rights to the album belong to Austrian Death Machine, I'm making no money off of this. However, Google might be making money off of selling information about me gained from here to advertisers. If they aren't, then I request that they continue to not sell any information about me. If they are, I request that they stop. I don't agree with the principle that people I don't even know can make money selling information relating to me to other entities I do not know about.

Music: OneWordOnly (4 Reviews in 1 Post)

"Alex, where have you been?" is what I think some of you are wondering right now. After all, I did say that I'd be posting 2 reviews per week, and I clearly have not been doing that. I'll admit that it's my fault that I haven't been keeping my schedule, and so here's 4 reviews in 1 post. All songs in here are singles by OneWordOnly, who is a great friend of mine, and so here we go. If you're wondering why there are no image-based links, I kept getting pestered by "security notices" from my new antivirus software whenever I tried to copy/paste any images or links onto this post. Looks like I'm going to have to explore the settings. 

Just so everyone knows, these are singles, not albums, which means that each individual review is going to be shorter than my reviews normally are.

Review 1: Flintlock

So, I went on SoundCloud today, and saw that this track was posted yesterday. I clicked the play button, and the humming started. "Unique" is the best word to describe this track. I haven't heard anything like it anywhere else, except for the Jet Set Radio soundtrack, but we don't speak of that. This song is, in my opinion, better than the whole of the JSR soundtrack. While this is not one of my all-time favorite songs (due to the humming that plays for nearly the whole song), I do like it.

Review 2: Crystal Garage

To get it out of the way, I will start by saying that I enjoyed this track only somewhat more than Flintlock. The vocals in the background add an ominous tone to the sense created by the foreground instruments, which is one of time dragging on endlessly. Because of this combination, I'm reminded of the NieR: Automata soundtrack. I may review it, but I don't know yet.

Review 3: Whisper

First few seconds, my ears hurt. Then, the things that didn't make my ears hurt began. For some reason, I feel as if I've heard this before. That reason is most likely that the loops used in this song are also used in many of OWO's other tracks. Regardless, I still found that I liked this track a bit. However, I did not get the sense of a whisper from this song, so I do believe it could've been given a more... appropriate name. 

Review 4: I Had Thoughts

I think this is the first time I've heard piano loops in any of One's songs. In fact, this is the most unique of the four tracks reviewed in this post, and my favorite of the four by far. It's not distracting, which means that I can listen to it as I work on pretty much anything. I'll end it here, since I don't have any other notable comments to make. 

Music: Reformation Excerpts by Matt Gray (Plus an update)

The Review

This review needs no intro, because of the PURE AWESOMENESS of the album. Although it is only a preview of something much larger, I enjoyed this. Epic. No other word to describe how this music feels. They may only be clips, but these tracks have set all of my mind to over-the-top in performance. My imagination is going places I can't describe, I'm analyzing everything at an accelerated rate, and the fan above the kitchen counter seems to be moving slower. I CANNOT DESCRIBE IN WORDS HOW MUCH I ENJOYED LISTENING TO THIS WHOLE THING! By the way, I wasn't given any incentive to make this review. I think there's a law somewhere that states that you have to indicate whether or not something is sponsored, and I figured I might as well let you know this isn't sponsored at all. This is my final review of the month, so good night everyone! 

Update

Two updates in one night, have I gone insane? No, I haven't. I just forgot to mention in the previous update, which I don't feel like going back and editing, that my posting schedule is going to change. I'm going to try and get in at least one review per week. I can't guarantee anything, since my ISP is throttling my connection to the point where it's as slow as me before I've eaten breakfast. For those of you who don't know me, that's extremely slow.  

Music: All the Right Reasons

I would like to say something: I like Nickelback, or rather, I like some of their music. This is probably due to the fact that when I was a toddler, my parents bought those "Toddler Tunes" albums for long car trips (mostly up to my grandparent's house, 8-hour drive from our house without traffic or my dad confusing one dirt road for another), but switched the CD after 5 minutes (our car had a 6-disc CD changer, quite nice to have). This album, along with a blues collection, were the two things they'd switch to. The Toddler Tunes CD was taken out long ago, but the blues collection album still remains in slot 1, Eye to The Telescope (by K.T. Tunstall) remains in slot 5, and All The Right Reasons remains in slot 6. The CD full of other Nickelback songs my dad got from a friend remains in slot 4. We still use that car. Amazon link embedded in the image. No, the car on the cover is not the car I'm talking about, might as well get that out of the way.
Warning: this album review is going to be one of my longest ones yet.
Also, please follow this blog. If you do, then you'll know when I start posting the photos I've taken (I'm a novice photographer, aspiring novelist, and many other things, future lawyer and newbie engineer among them).

The Actual Review

Honestly, I don't know why so many people feel as if they have to insult those who like Nickelback. I get why people might not like their music, I, for one, don't like all of their music. However, I do find that I can connect with many of the songs in this album far more easily than I can connect with most music produced today. Maybe that's why people don't like Nickelback songs... many of them are easy to connect to reality in a significant way, and from my experience, many people don't like it when they find out that someone else thinks of reality in the same way they do. That, and all of the screaming in some of their songs.

To me, Savin' Me seems to be describing the thoughts of someone considering suicide. I haven't considered suicide or self-harm (closest I ever got was punching a brick wall, regretted that), but I do know people who have. 

Side of a Bullet sounds like a criticism of the US' eagerness for war. I know that most people there don't want war, but it seems as if the voices of those who object to war are drowned out by the voices of those who want it, which deeply upsets me. I know I might get a lot of heat for saying this, but I think there should be more steps added to the process of declaring war. That way, war is only declared when the people in power have the determination to finish the seemingly-endless amount of paperwork involved. Think about this statement: no one wins at war. All those involved lose quite a lot.

The lyrics of Rockstar are basically just a commentary on aspects of capitalism, how people idolize celebrities, and how many seem to think that being rich and famous will only make their lives better. News flash: money and fame don't solve all of life's issues. Although you may have money, that doesn't mean you have money to spend frivolously.

Remember how I mentioned my two previous schools in my review of Liberation Transmission by Lostprophets? Well, Photograph and If Everyone Cared evoke my memories of those schools, as well as many other things in my life. No matter what age I am, I begin recalling the past whenever I listen to these two songs. 

For some reason, when I listen to Next Contestant, I think of that once scene from Firefly where Nathan and his wife are in the bar, the one where some overly-patriotic drunkard is insulting Nathan because he's wearing a brown coat, and then when the drunk asks Nathan "What'cha gonna do about it?" Nathan says "Nothing. I just got you to face me so that she could get behind you." definitely one of the best bar fight scenes I've ever seen. I like Firefly more than I like Next Contestant, by the way. 

Overall, I enjoyed this album. Sure, I didn't like all of the tracks, but that's minor compared to the effects that certain tracks had on me. Also, this album does cause my imagination to go all over the place, even to places completely unrelated to the track I'm currently listening to, which is something that only Kaboom, DEMOlition, and Portal 2 [SONGS TO TEST BY] have been able to do. By the way, I have reviews posted for those three albums. 

Music: Dopplereffekt - Gesamtkunstwerk

By the way, I'm only posting a lot today since I have to meet my personal quota for the number of reviews I have to post each month. This month, it's 8, next month will either be 8 or 10. Don't know yet. Here's more electropop.

The Actual Review

I'd like to say that I completely enjoyed this album, but I'd be lying. At first, it was something that I found enjoyable, but then it became far too repetitive. The tracks just sounded far too similar, as if they were just repeating the same loops, but with different effects, and a few notes changed or added. Also, there was a note in many of the tracks that gave me a headache whenever it was played. Sometimes, being able to perceive a somewhat larger range of sounds than most people, regardless of age, is painful. 

Thanks to that note, as well as how often it was played, I was unable to listen to the whole 59 minutes and 13 seconds of the album. This also happens to be the first album I've reviewed on here that hasn't sparked my imagination at all, and I can't really enjoy music if it doesn't spark my imagination. So, overall, this album was okay. I've heard a lot worse, mostly during the parts of my life from preschool to third grade. The songs I learned in public-school K-4 got old fast (I was already listening to Nickelback, don't judge me).  

Music: Portal 2 Sountrack [SONGS TO TEST BY]

By the way, I'm reviewing all 3 parts of the OST at once here. Played through both Portal 1 and 2, still having fun with 2's level creator.

The *Bass Drum Noise*

Actual *Another Bass Drum Noise*

Review *Also Sprach Zarathustra plays*

Yes, I know the Portal games are no longer what's "in" right now.

I won't say "The cake is a lie!" oh wait, I just did.

I'll stop with the cringe-inducing Portal jokes here.  

But, many of you who have played all the way through both Portal and Portal 2 know just how much fun they still are, just like I do. Portal 2 shall remain relevant until... well, at least until Portal Guns, the Gels, and Aperture Science Long Fall Boots are all invented. 

Anyway, Portal and Portal 2 remain two of my all-time favorite games, and the Portal 2 OST remains one of my all-time favorite soundtracks. Each and every track causes my imagination to kick into some state above overdrive (since it's already always in overdrive); with each new sound comes another entire chapter of each of the many stories unfolding inside of my mind, and the beginnings of new stories. It's not much of a surprise, since the atmospheres created by each track are so varied. From the epic expectations set by Science is Fun and Reconstructing More Science, to the haunting melodies of Technical Error and Overgrowth, and much more, I have yet another album that makes me experience emotions that have no names! I enjoyed the whole album, as I have never heard anything else like it. 

Finally, I can say it for sure: [SONGS TO TEST BY] is going in the #1 slot of my list of all-time favorite albums, and I have the feeling that it'll be there for quite some time.

By the way, having Portal 3 or Half-Life 3 wouldn't make sense, due to the endings of Portal 2 and Half-Life 2 bringing everything to a close. Maybe Valve can finally get to work on F-Stop though, I saw some of the work on it online, and I personally think that it would do very well, given that Valve has shown time and time again that they can work with unique ideas very well. 

Music: Kraftwek - The Mix (Full Album + Bonus Tracks)

Before today, I had never listened to anything by Kraftwerk, and did not know what I was missing out on. So, huge shout-out to my friend Jupiter-18, who has continually recommended this album to me since day 1 of this blog's existence!
Also, I couldn't find any sites to purchase this album from (I generally don't look at Amazon, eBay, etc.), so you'll have to search for it on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc. if you want to buy it. I had to listen to this whole album using a YouTube playlist.

The Actual Review

As those of you who have read my first reviews know, I love chiptunes. According to Google, this album is classified under "Electropop", a sub-genre of electronic music. Still love this album.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best albums I've ever listened to, right up there with Kaboom and DEMOlition (see my earlier posts if you want to know what those are). Then again, music that sounds like that of an old video game is one of my weak spots. Jupiter-18 knows that, and that's probably why he recommended this album to me. Speaking of him, I'd recommend that you check out his SoundCloud page if you haven't done so already, he's back to writing music again (YAY!). 

Oh, for those of you who are wondering, the main reason I like this album is because it's a bit more than a whole hour of epic electronic stuff that actually sounds awesome. Now, onto my next review. No, I do not have a favorite track for this album. 

Music: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - Vocal Tracks

I have a confession to make: I have never played any of the Metal Gear games, and all I know of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance comes from a Let's Play on YouTube; I know almost nothing about Metal Gear Solid in any way, but plan on correcting that soon.
On another note, image was taken from iTunes, so click on it if you want to buy this album. As always, I'm not paid to put links in my posts.

The Actual Review

To start out, according to Google, this album is classified under the "heavy metal" genre. I did not know I liked heavy metal until I listened to this, and then I discovered that I don't like all heavy metal. Before this, I knew I liked metal (might do a review for a Gates of Ivory album later), and now I'm able to differentiate between metal and heavy metal. 

Going back on-topic, I thought this album was... meh. I know this is heavy metal, but I thought there was too much screaming, but at least I was able to clearly understand the lyrics, so that's definitely a plus. If you were to ask me what my favorite track is, I'd say that I'm stuck between the Maniac Agenda Mix of A Stranger I Remain and the Platinum Mix of The Hot Wind Blowing. Okay, add the Platinum Mix of I'm My Own Master Now to the list, and you've got the completed version. No particular reason for my choices, or at least any reasons that I want to share, but the reasons are there. 

Earlier, I said that there was too much screaming for me. I would like to finish by stating that in spite of that, I somewhat enjoyed the album, but the screaming still lowered my opinion of the album. If it weren't a constant thing, meaning if it were only present in one or less than 20% of the songs, I'd enjoy the album a lot more.  

Music: Liberation Transmission

Yes, I know why Ian Watkins ended up in prison, but that's not going to be the focus of this review. Someone in the comments section of one of Lostprophets' videos once said that it's fine to like their music, and not like Watkins or what he did. I agree, as Watkins was not the entire band, and I still like their music. If the comments section turns into the usual Watkins-related insults/rants, I WILL SHUT OFF THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST. Okay, rant over. Image was obtained from Wikipedia, and I couldn't find any sites that still sell this album, so you'll just have to look it up on YouTube or something. On another note, according to Wikipedia, Lostprophets originated in Wales. I did not know that before today.

The Actual Review

I won't lie, I liked the whole of the album. In fact, I sometimes listen to it while I write the "fight scenes" for a game I'm working on with some friends. I don't understand the cover art though. The words below the vulture... raven... okay, the words below the thing-that-looks-like-a-bird appear to be in Classical Latin, which I have studied, but I can't seem to be able to translate them. Not kidding, if I were to give this album a rating, it would be a 9.5/10 simply because of the words below the bird-thing. 

Okay, drop that to a 9/10, as I feel that the songs were a little too riff-heavy. The lyrics (for the most part), I liked. The emotional connection I feel with 4 AM Forever is present because the song reminds me of how I felt when my previous two schools shut down (the second started up after the first shut down). A Town Called Hypocrisy somewhat describes what the second school was like for me. There, I felt as if I was able to help all of the broken and lonely kids who ended up there, that I was able to help them to no longer be broken or lonely. All of us who went there were, and still are gifted learners. No, that doesn't mean we're superior to everyone else in every way, it means that our minds function quite... uniquely, and because of that, the "one size fits all" system of education doesn't work for any of us. 

To those of you who know which two schools I'm talking about, I'm sorry that I couldn't stick with you until the end of the second one. You guys gave me a new lease on life after the first one shut down. The reason I started this blog is not because of a class at my current school, but because I know at least some of you from those other two schools will read what I write. 

Music: Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY

Those of you who know me in real life know how much I love Final Fantasy, although I'm not very much of an "expert" on the series. Well, a few years ago, I heard an advertisement on the radio that announced discount tickets for Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY, and decided that I just had to go. Nobuo Uematsu himself was in the audience, but I didn't get the chance to meet him, had to leave right at the end of the concert to beat the traffic (4-hour drive home without traffic). Needless to say, I do not regret going, and want to purchase tickets to go to the next performance near me.

The Actual Review

How do I put this... I more than enjoyed the whole album. I can't put in words just how much I enjoyed it, which either results from inherent bias or my lack of sleep due to an 9-hour plane trip that ended with me getting home around 11:00 PM last night. Either way, I may have been exaggerating when I said I enjoyed the whole album, there were a few tracks that I found too calm for my own tastes, but I'm still able to appreciate them. So what I meant to say is that I appreciated the whole of the album. 

I honestly don't have much more to say. Expect a flood of reviews today.  

Music: DEMOlition - Demos That Didn't Make KABOOM! by I Fight Dragons

The Review Starts Here

Anyone getting an awkward feeling from this start, where the formatting is not like the other reviews here? Well, that's intentional. I felt a bit awkward when I first saw this album cover, and then I realized it's just the cover for KABOOM, but with DEMOlition placed over KABOOM!

Anyway, I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. I've listened to it before, and yet I never really paid any attention to the songs after the first time around. I recently re-read Neuromancer, by William Gibson (one of the greatest books I've read, for sure), and now I feel that in some way, track 3, Circles, was partly inspired by that book. Don't ask me why, I don't know how to explain this feeling.

Continuing upon the awkward feeling, I'll cut it off here.

Just kidding, not going to do that. Overall, I enjoyed this whole album. Now I'm cutting it off for the sake of awkwardness.