Awhile back, I wrote a post complaining about Bioware’s lack of inclusion of southpaw controls in their hit sci-fi series Mass Effect. (more…)

After over a YEAR of planning and composing, I’ve finally manifested my ideas into one great WordPress Project. (more…)

Idiocy comes in many forms. This is predominately common for the online world.

If you haven’t noticed, blogs and other community-oriented websites (this one being a fringe example) become bombarded with this form of ignorance every single day. On average, I’ll read about ten to fifteen topics a day from clueless people that more or less destroy the IQ of whomever is viewing their messages.

If you’re going to make a post on a forum somewhere, or especially if you’re going to write a comment on this website, adhere to the following tips precisely! (more…)

Want to promote your arrogance? Here’s a few sample phrases I use to agitate people I know; mostly my own family, just for some good fun. I came up with them myself, there was no Google searching or eavesdropping on other conversations of any kind. I’ve used them for awhile though… (more…)

If you’re like me, and enjoy listening to the music videos on Youtube, you may get tired of having to manually click the replay button every time the song ends. (more…)

….for a song’s play count, that is. (more…)

While sitting through three hours of football last Sunday, a thought occurred to me throughout the evening. Why does this feel like just another normal football game? (more…)

So there I was, playing in the middle of KOTOR 2 on my Xbox 360, and everything’s going fine. Then I turn the machine off for a few minutes to take a break and go to the bathroom. I return to continue my game and then proceed to turn on the system, and guess what happens? (more…)

Just picked up a copy of my favorite band’s album and they’ve seemingly returned to their thrash roots, which is great, especially for fans of their earlier work such as myself. (And there’s a big plus for the return of solos, something lacking from Metallica’s previous release over five years ago, St. Anger.)

If you’re hoping for another Load/Reload , you’re going to be in for a world of disappointment. This is thrash metal all the way around, which is a pretty rare occurrence for an album released in 2008.

Death Magnetic is obviously not Metallica’s next Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning, but why compare it to their previous works? (If anything, the album’s production reminded me of Kill’em All’s sound, riffs, etc.). No one should look at Death Magnetic (or any other Metal album) as “The next MoP”, but rather view the album as “The first DM”.

I’d say my favorite track ends in a tie between two of them. The first is The Unforgiven III, even if it’s the least thrashy song off the album. The opening piano intro is simply amazing! Then there’s the instrumental, Suicide and Redemption, which is another great complex headbanger which some may compare to the likes of Ktulu or Orion, but again, what’s the point behind comparing Art? Not taking anything away from the rest of the songs, but those were the two that I took an immediate liking to.

While the overall production style may disappoint a few, one thing I’ve specifically noticed is that it’s quality is a huge step up from the samples I’ve heard from Youtube Videos and elsewhere.

It’s really up to the fans whether they like the new sound or not (Duh!). If they believe DM sounds like trash, think the production is crappy, or just plain refuse to listen because of some lawsuit Lars filed eight years ago, then that’s their loss.

Just listen to the album and judge it for yourself, you don’t need some smug “reviewer” telling you whether it sucks or not.

(Update = 9/14/2008) After listening to the album for a bit longer, I feel I have a responsibility to highlight a few even more songs that stood out to me.

Firstly, I really enjoyed listening to the opening track, with the sweet acoustic opener that builds up into an all-out speedfest, as with their opening songs of the past. Very enjoyable.

And then there’s “The Day That Never Comes”. This may be by new favorite, I can’t decide. With it’s melodic beginning, it builds up to the latter half of the song, which should probably give an adrenaline rush. With the guitars get kicked into overdrive, Kirk solos galore, and Lars drumming on top of it. The song structure really reminded me of …And Justice For All’s “One” (arguably my favorite Metallica song ever).

Not that my opinion on the album should make a difference when you form your judgments though….

OK, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. I brought the topic of The Flat Earth Theory over at the Conspiracy Forums. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just look at the evidence: (more…)