Update: Back in...

Back in black? Back in business? Which one is it? Well, I have news for you!

So, I set up a Patreon page a few months ago (as evidenced by the link on the right of the page), and I discovered that it didn't work. Well, good news: I fixed it! If you've been trying to pledge money to me, but have been unable to do so, please go back to the page and try again, as any issues should now be fixed.

Remember: I need to pay for albums somehow!

Have a good day everyone, and here's a link to my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/AlexCossack

Also, I'm going to review a Gates of Ivory album now.

Video Games: Splatoon

I know I promised book reviews, and I'll get one posted soon enough, but I felt as if I just had to post my opinion on Splatoon for everyone to see. Here we go! I can't remember, but I think I pulled the image from one of Nintendo UK's sub-pages. 

By now, you've probably heard of Nintendo's quirky third-person shooter. After all, the "You're a squid now! You're a kid now!" memes were nearly everywhere on the internet for quite some time. 

First things first: the Inklings. You play as a kid that can turn into a squid, and while I won't get too much into the game mechanics yet, I will say that this is strange in concept, but was executed quite well. You fire ink at your opponents, trying to cover as much turf as you can in your team's color. To refill your ink supply, you swim through ink of your own color, which you can also do to move up walls and through grates. 

The controls handle quite well, although I would recommend turning off the motion controls, as they do make things... considerably more difficult than need be. 

The soundtrack is just as goofy as the game itself, which I absolutely love. No other way to put it.

If I have any complaints, they lie with the lack of customization options. The selection of clothing is limited, as is the color of clothing, and the preset weapon loadouts are quite lacking at times. Also, the skill gap between players becomes apparent if you play in Ranked. Then again, that's not much of a complaint.

I would go more into the game, but I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone. Overall, I actually enjoy it, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something fun to play on the Wii U. Stay tuned for more reviews, as I've been listening to songs by Gates of Ivory. 

Update: New Review Type!

Notice: I Like Reading

Originally, this blog was meant for music reviews, and only music reviews. However, I've been reading The Peripheral by William Gibson, and I'm enjoying it. Since I've been enjoying it, and want to make a post regarding my opinion of other books I've read, I have decided to begin writing reviews of books. I don't care if it's a novel, short story, or any other type of book, I'm going to post reviews of books!

Looks like I'll have to reread my collection of books, which is mostly made up of actual books, not files stored on my Kindle. 

NOT DONE YET!

So, I want to get an idea of what books you want to see reviewed, and thus I have set up a poll on my Patreon page. Check it out if you want. Link is below, poll ends Saturday, June 10. 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/11527669

Update: Downtime

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

I do kind of wish that I didn't have to say this, and I find it ironic that I'm making a post about how I may not be able to post for a while, but here it is.

I have finals coming up, and I also have quite a bit of stuff I'm doing during the summer that I have to prepare for, so I most likely won't be able to post any new reviews for a while. Don't worry, this'll only be in effect for about 3 or 4 weeks, but I figured I might as well say something. During that time, I'll be sure to find some great albums to review, so you won't be let down once I'm back!

If you're someone who writes, plays, or publishes music, and is looking for someone to give an honest review of your work, feel free to message me via Hangouts so we can discuss details. Can't guarantee that I'll respond right away, but I'll do my best. 

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.