Tag: Death Metal

State of the Tweet

Izlain

SotT

I’m starting a new feature/column (whatever you want to call it) here on the site, for weeks like this one, where I spent more time playing video games or doing real life stuff and didn’t post anything for a few days. I always have something to say, but sometimes it’s not enough to put into a post. I suppose if I made a post every time I had a small thought, I’d have more posts written, but it’s my preference to write a bit more each time I’m going to post something (or there needs to be some pretty pictures to break things up). Twitter is the king of short posts, limiting you to 140 characters, and so there are periods of time that I don’t post as much here on the site, but I’m still usually tweeting. As such, there are times when I’ll throw out tidbits about what I’m doing, share something entertaining, or just get into debates of opinion on various topics on Twitter, and the blog will stagnate. I’m sure you’ve seen posts in the past where I have embedded something that I previously posted on Twitter, and this post will be no different, though it will be focusing on that completely, as a round-up of sorts, as to what I’ve been doing instead of blogging. I guess this also gives me a space to vent smaller ideas without devoting a whole post to them. Let’s notate now that this feature won’t be a weekly event, it won’t have any set publish time. I’m reserving this column for weeks like this one only, so if you notice I haven’t done any posts for a while, rest assured there will be updates like this coming. So let’s get on with it, shall we?

I’ve been playing a shitload of Ultra Rapid Fire mode in League. It’s so much fun playing extremely broken champions. Anyone can feel like the hero of the game, and not any one champ is broken — they all are. I’ve played Hecarim mostly, and as you can see above, I’ve had some success. There’s a couple other games that went like that, but I have lost with him once, and lost many times with other champions. The tanky/bursty champions seem to work the best, but I’ve seen some carries wreck faces as well.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned Psychostick on this blog before, but they’re a “humorcore” band that I’ve enjoyed for a few years now. Humorcore would best be described as metal music laced with jokes and humorous lyrics. It had been a few years since their last album came out, and they recently had a crowdfunding campaign to create this album, which is actually not as good as some of their previous work. I was kind of disappointed with the album as a whole, however there are some gems on it, this song in particular.

I was on a metal kick that day, and ended up on MetalSucks (see link on sidebar) and went down the YouTube rabbit hole. I was never a huge fan of the show friends, but if you were alive in the 90’s you’d have to try pretty damn hard to avoid knowing the show, it’s theme song, or the names of most of the actors involved. Hearing this metal version of the theme song cracked me up.

I hadn’t mentioned it to this point, but you may have noticed the new button-link on my sidebar. I added it in last night, and now’s as good a time as any to let you know about that addition, and what it is. Scree, of The Cynic Dialogues, formed this guild called Obsidian in anticipation of the release of Crowfall. He wrote a whole series on his blog about it, and I have since joined up. To get some practice in and to coordinate our tactics, he’s decided that we should play some ESO PvP in the meantime. Luckily, I just started playing ESO. I did have to roll a new Nightblade in the process, but this time of a different faction. I’m also rolling with the bow this time around, but will add in some dual wielding after hitting level 15. More on this as it develops.

It’s almost May, and that means the NBI 2015 is going to be starting soon. I have already volunteered my services that I provided last year, and we’re hoping to have another great turn out this year. More on this will be talked about in the near future.

I bit the bullet on one of the recent Humble Bundles, and Outlast was one of the games included. I technically already owned it, but it was via Playstation Plus and I believe it was for PS4, so I haven’t ever actually played the game. I tried it out the other night and it really is fucking creepy. More jump scares in short periods of time than I’ve seen in a long time. Wish I would have played this sooner, it would have been included in my list of favorite horror games.

Also part of the bundle, the remake of Shadow Warrior was a game that flew under my radar completely. I was a fan of the original Duke Nukem games from way back in the 90’s, but that was about the only thing I ever played that 3D Realms made. I do remember seeing the original Shadow Warrior back in the late 90’s, but I never actually played it. Missed the news about the remake, but when I saw this I knew I had to have it. Such a good looking game, the mechanics, the story, the humor, it’s right up my alley. As I mentioned in the tweet, I’m going to write about my playthrough of the game, will probably be a multi-part series. Look for the first part of that shortly.

That’s it for this edition. Let me know what you think about this post idea, and if you’d like to see more like it in the future.

#stateofthetweet #gaming #roundup

I’m Charming

Izlain

It’s Easter. So here’s some Death Metal. Happy Zombie Jesus Day!

I’m Charming – The Black Dahlia Murder

Yeah, I’m running off the rails
I’ve finally gone crazy
And the ground is spinning faster
Than my teeth could ever grind

I know it’s a shame
When success was to blame
But I can’t remember my name

In the absolute wrong
I have made this place to lay my head
A reoccurring nightmare
I never trust, I never rest

I’ve become another victim
Of this self-serving device
My cock does all the talking
My mouth now just for lie

I’m winding down to nothing
It suddenly comes clear
I’m winding down to nothing
Human smoke that fills the air

What can you believe?
That is the question
I have you on a string
Something yet up my sleeve

Bury me deep,
As we have an unborn child
In this world yet cold enough
To host this seed of endless ugliness

[solo]

In a sea of corruption
A wake of lie
So wildly I have stirred

I’m winding down to nothing
It suddenly comes clear
I’m winding down to nothing
A human smoke that fills the air

What can you believe?
That is the question
I have you on a string
Something yet up my sleeve

(My love is but a lie)
Always reaping what I have sown
(Taking you down with me)
To what degrees you’ll never know

If that isn’t charming enough, here’s the audio. Enjoy 😛

#theblackdahliamurder #deathmetal #metal

On all Fronts

Izlain

The summer of 2013 is already rounding out to be one of the better summers in recent memory. There is something happening with nearly every subject of interest that I have. To begin, I’ll go over the things that have already come to pass:

League Related:

In League of Legends, the newest patch (3.8) went live a couple of nights ago, and brought with it some pretty significant balancing changes. I’m not going to go into too much detail, but will say that I love the fact that Riot is constantly improving the game, and they actually seem like a company that listens to its player’s feedback. I will comment that the item changes (pricing and balancing) that came through in this patch are worth taking a look at. I have also noticed since this patch that the game client seems to run smoother; I haven’t been having the constant issues with disconnecting and having random lag spikes. The full patch notes are linked above, and for those of you who don’t like to read, here’s the patch preview:

The newest champion, Aatrox the Darkin Blade, didn’t release on schedule with the patch, but was available last night when I was getting a few rounds of ARAM in. This is a new champion that I am actually excited to try out, which hasn’t happened for a while now. Some champions just call out to me, whereas some of the others just don’t. Here’s his champion spotlight, check it out for details:

Everything Else:

In one of my posts last month I spoke of my journey to metal, and nearly all of the bands I mentioned are releasing new albums this summer. The Black Dahlia Murder dropped their latest, “Everblack” this past Tuesday, and I haven’t been able to finish a day without giving it a spin. I have always enjoyed BDM’s style, and each album they continue to hold my attention, without getting old. I’m not any good at reviewing albums, but dammit it’s great if you enjoy metal like I do. Most critics agree, it’s received rave reviews. Later in July, Chimaira releases their new album entitled “Crown of Phantoms”, and then in August Revocation drops their self-titled album. Misery Index didn’t deliver this year, but according to their Facebook:

Our one and only trip to Europe this year starts next week, see you then, final dates below – Also, we can finally say, a new album will definitely be out by Spring 2014!

One of my other favorite bands of all time, Nine Inch Nails announced a new album that is releasing at the end of summer, on September 3rd called “Hesitation Marks”. The first single from this album was leaked a little early, but is officially out now, and you can check that out right here:

A good year for music indeed.

Now, on to E3. I have long been a fan of Sony’s products, particularly the Playstation console. I am not one to completely hate on all of the other consoles out there, as I have also owned Nintendo products, and have played my share on the Xbox consoles. Really I’d be a Sega fanboy still if they didn’t destroy their reputation so long ago. Since the first Playstation released, I have been on board. The main reason for this? Well at the time it was the games. Their exclusives were better than what the competitors were offering, and really the Xbox didn’t exist yet. When it did release, I was already firmly in the Sony camp, although I did end up giving Microsoft a chance (outside of their PC products, which I have no problems with). My major complaint? The controller. I’ll never forget the day my roommate purchased a 360. He did so specifically because he wanted a copy of Resident Evil 5, and the Xbox was cheaper at the time (otherwise he would have stuck with Sony, just like we both have throughout the years). This same year, Street Fighter IV released, and as a longtime fan of the series, I got it for his system, as I didn’t have the funds to get my PS3 yet. The controller killed that game for me, as I really couldn’t play as effectively with it. I did so-so on shooters and other games that he acquired, but my poor opinion of that controller has always stuck with me. Xbox doesn’t have exclusives I can’t live without, and most companies seem to avoid those exclusivity deals. So what if XBone owners are going to get the newest cut and paste Call of Duty game first? The DRM issue really doesn’t even bother me, I have an internet connection, and I intend to play games online. The used game issue is a little more touchy, as if I have the option to acquire one I want to be able to play it. I will admit though, that the way of the future is digital distribution, and most of my library of games are all virtual copies. So in that respect Microsoft is moving towards the future, but I still see my prior investment in Sony as something I should continue on with. PS Plus and PSN accounts are going to merge over to PS4, so why not stay where I am? I see no advantages in owning both consoles, and no advantages for jumping ship now. If I can’t get a game on my PS4, I’ll most likely be able to get it on my PC. I’m also not made of money, so the lower entry point is another selling point. If you prefer Wii U or XBone, good on you, but I’m still in the Sony camp.

Finally, “The Last of Us” released today, and I have yet to get my copy, but I have been looking forward to the game for what a year now? Whatever the case, it’s one of the last big PS3 releases and I want to get in on it. I am hoping to be able to get my hands on a PS4 during the initial launch, which is something I hadn’t done with any of the prior systems. I usually don’t have to have the next big thing right when it releases, but this just seems phenomenal. If I have the money to spend, why not?

On Ear Tuning

Izlain

Yesterday I posted about my life’s musical journey, and at one point I said:

“…and he is relatively easy to understand without major “ear tuning” (more on this later).”

I had some thoughts that I wanted to write down on this subject, because it’s something I believe to be true, mainly from personal experience. However, doing a quick Google search turned up some articles that basically said mostly all that I wanted to say, although I will add that the same applies to other genres outside of metal. My ear tuning began when I was young and adjusting to the quick delivery of rap lyrics, and developed further when working with metal. That said, on to the further reading:

How to Appreciate Metal Music
How To Understand Screams in Music
How to Appreciate Death Metal

I do realize that all 3 articles come from the same web site, and none of this is official or scientific, but many of the points I was trying to make are present. I believe that anyone can eventually tune their ears to appreciate nearly anything. Except maybe country music.