REVIEW: Sigur Rós - Valtari

Icelandic rockers "Sigur Rós" have returned to the post-rock scene with their brand new album Valtari, which hits stores today. Unsurprisingly, the album is a wonderful collection of atmospheric and heart-warming elements. It seems like the lads have returned to their roots in Valtari, stepping away from the rock/indie sound from their previous album in favour for an ambient, electronic presentation. Each track is presented beautifully, with the dulcet tones of the vocalist and front-man, Jónsi Birgisson, combined with a beautiful collection of strings, piano and other ambient elements.

The first single from Valtari, "Ekki mukk" is a fantastic example of what Sigur Ros have achieved over the past 15 years as a band. Their ability to create an intense sound and warm the listeners hearts with its "Hopelandish" vocals, and experimental style. The presentation of the song is minimalistic, with pianos and strings, alongside distorted vocals and synth leading the way. Not a drum is beaten.

"Varúð", the third track on the album, is another combination of piano, strings and vocals, but with an amazing finale, as a choir group joins in as the drums get louder, and the guitars whine and burn to the sound of the drums. Simply beautiful.

There are three instrumental tracks towards the end, each varying in melodies and style. The first two, "Valtari" and "Varðeldur" are very drone-y and ambient, introducing an organ and female vocals in the 8 minute long tracks. This changes things a little, slicing the album in half, one with vocals and powerful instrumentation, and the other with ambient instrumentals. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it may put off some fans of Sigur Rós. Regardless of this, it's still a work of art.

Valtari is a great album for its complexity, its minimalistic style, and of course, the artistic form that it presents. Though it may be short, falling under an hour, it is still worth every penny. This is a musical adventure worth embarking on.

Rating: 9/10

The World's on Tabloids (remix)

A remix of an old demo.

Wednesday Wins #001 - Bob Weir with The National

Two hours of great music!

GAME REVIEW: Shadows of the Damned

This is a review of an 18+ rated game. Some content may be NSFW.

Prepare for a gaming experience unlike no other. Take one of the greatest music composers in the gaming industry, add the brains behind killer7, No More Heroes. Throw in the creator of Vanquish, and more  importantly, Resident Evil 4, and you have something special indeed. Hold on to your Johnsons, as we take a trip to Hell, courtesy of SHADOWS OF THE DAMNED, a hell-bent third person shooter by Grasshopper Manufacture and EA.

Oh Demon Hunter, your bullets have no bite. No.....penetration.
You need more THRUST!!!!!

You play as Garcia "Fucking" Hotspur, a Mexican demon-hunter of sorts, on a quest to find his beloved Paula who has been kidnapped by the Demon Lord "Fleming" and taken to Hell. Garcia pursues him with his trusty companion/weapon/motorbike "Johnson" (stay with me here). You enter a world where demons reign supreme, where "absinthe" (PRODUCT PLACEMENT FOR THE WIN) heals you, and where the checkpoint is signified by a floating eyeball taking a shit. This is possible SUDA51's most creative piece to date, and definitely not one to overlook. The music is of Akira Yamaoka's best works, similar to that of the Silent Hill (which he also scored.)

Not only is this game buckets of fun, its also mildly amusing with its sexual innuendo, and funny one-liners. Even the antagonists get in on it! SUDA51's vision of hell is a mixture of gore, darkness, and a very Western-esque terrain for some reason. But mostly, its just gore. Blood, guts, eyes, brains... you name it, its all there. It's pretty messed up, but we are talking about the genius who created killer7 here!

Meet Johnson, your trusty companion.

Game-play is centered around using your Johnson (HA). He can transform into a shotgun, handgun and machine-gun, each shooting skulls, bones, and teeth respectively. There's a good bit of upgrading to do when it comes to weapons, such as reload time, damage, and ammo capacity. You can also use him as a club, and to shoot out light. You'll be killing hordes of demons constantly, some frustrating, and some with a single shotgun blast. There are also puzzle mechanics as well, such as shooting a goats head to disintegrate shadows (more on that later), feed locks in the shape of babies heads various body parts, as well as some mini-games including a chandelier puzzle, and a side scrolling platforming part.

Gameplay simular to Resident Evil 4''s over the shoulder view,
with SUDA51's over the top emphasis,

I mentioned before about shadows. This is the thing that's most likely to kill you. When it arrives (and it will, even when you least expect it), your resistance will first drop, followed by your health. Sometimes, you'll have to perform certain tasks to rid the darkness, including shooting fireworks, reaching a door, and more ridiculous tasks. There are boss battles as well, some difficult and puzzling, while some are just plain easy.

There are a few problems with the game though, mostly the boss battles, as they are wildly confusing at times. It took me a few retries to defeat the first boss, because I didn't know what to do. This was on the lowest difficulty. Added to the fact that there is very little tutorial or control hints, especially later in the game.
The fact that Garcia can't jump is another. If there's a small ledge, or even a barrel in the way, he will just run on the spot, unable to pass it. This isn't a game-breaker, but it does be an annoyance when is shadows about.

I do advise you to pick this one up. It's fun, it's dirty, it's gory, and it's hard. Just the way SUDA51 wants it to be. But be prepared for ultra-violence and sexual innuendo aplenty!

JUDGEMENT


THE GOOD:

• Intense game-play
• Beautiful graphics courtesy of Unreal Engine
• Funny dialogue
• Haunting soundtrack
• SUDA51

THE BAD 

• Boss battles are a pain
• Very little in-game help
• Dialogue a little corny

VERDIKT

9/10

EXCELLENT!

MOVIE REVIEW: The Cabin in the Woods

Remember when horror movies were ALWAYS the same, a bunch of people die in violent and bloody way, with buckets of blood, and nightmares for the young children, who against all odds defied their parents and stayed up late to gross themselves out, thus scaring themselves shitless? This isn't that kind of horror. Joss Whedon isn't the predictable film producer, like Eli Roth, or James Wan. He WANTS you to shit yourself in fear, while laughing out loud.

The Cabin in the Woods is a supernatural horror created from the twisted mind of Joss Whedon, and Drew Goddard. It features big names like Chris Hemsworth, and Bradley Whitford, as well as Whedonverse favourites, Fran Kranz (from Dollhouse), and Amy Acker (also from Dollhouse, and Angel). You will see fathoms of twists and turns in this movie, some unexpected, and some just plain mind-blowing. This is horror, but with a touch of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. It's hilarious, as well as scary. You've got Kranz with his fantastic one-liners and generic pot-head stupidity, Hemsworth with his masculine manliness and funny outbursts, as well as the two technicians, observing their every move in the most comical way, while at the same time, being dark and mysterious.

The entire movie is one complete mindfuck in the most positive way : it will leave you puzzled and trying to put all the pieces together. It's impossible to give a full synopsis of it without spoiling all of it. All you gotta know is that Cabin in the Woods is scary, funny, and extremely weird, not to mention gory, puzzling and one of the finest horror films to grace the big screen.

Go see it. You won't be disappointed! 

[10/10]

SPECTACULAR!

SteeScribbles' Journey of Musical Discovery

Over the past three years, I have come across some brilliant bands, and music that people may like, if they gave it half a chance. You won't find them on the mainstream radio machines, or in the charts, but if you check them out, you'll find them in your hearts.

They range from soft to hard, fast to slow, local to foreign, etc. Some bands, you might not even have heard of. I've included a video link for each of these bands.


Animal Alpha: (now split, but have an amazing sound.) A punk-rock band from Norway, with some brilliant songs, and kickass lyrics. In English, of course. You may recognize some of the songs including Bundy and Fire Fire Fire.


65daysofstatic: A instrumental math-rock turned instrumental dance-rock band from the UK, with an incredible array of jawdropping beats and speaker shaking sound. Well known songs may include Crash Tactics and Weak4.


THIS WILL DESTROY YOU: A four piece instrumental rock/drone band. These guys really know how to damage some speakers, as their music is literally earth-shaking. Fantastic stuff, and definitely one to check out!

NEW MATERIAL.

A little taste of what's to come.



Recording of new material, and a possible album release will begin Summer 2012.
All systems go! FL Studio bought, my old MIDI keyboard hunted out from le attic, new and exciting innovations and melodies are afoot. I CAN'T WAIT.

Its been how long...?

It's been a while since I blogged, and there's a reason for that. Exams. Horrible tests to see if we are worthy of taking on a course. But now they're over, I will be making blog posts here again.
A few things that have changed since October.
1: NO MORE TONSILS.
2: ALBUM RELEASED ON iTUNES
3: NEW REVIEWS ON DROP-D.IE
4: NEW LAPTOP
4a: NEW MOONFRUIT PAGE
5: I'M NOW 20 :s
6: MORE MOTIVATED THAN EVER.

Saving up for a full licensed version of Fl Studio 10 to help me out with the music as well! Would be a valuable tool to my arsenal of eletronic music weaponry! And possibly a USB keyboard. If anyone knows any decent ones under 70 quid, please comment with a URL if you can.
2012 is going to be huge!
I dare not disappoint.
s.s

Final Fantasy fans, you GOTTA see this.

I dunno about you, but a Final Fantasy game with free-roam multiplayer maps, Dysnasty Warriors style strategy gameplay, flight sim, and by the looks of things, a "peeking" game sounds like the best Final Fantasy ever.
Watch this 12 minute video, and you'll see what I mean.

Zeroic Effort