CD Review: Atreyu – “The Curse”

by on June 20, 2004 @ 12:07 pm

Finally, a band that isn’t fucking confused as to what they want to sound like. Atreyu’s debut album was rich with promise, but lacked a lot of focus. The elements of hardcore, metal, and melody came together on songs like “Lip Gloss and Black” and “Ain’t Life Grand?” but failed on others.

Happily, with The Curse, Atreyu has found a sound that fits them like a glove. Rather than try and meld hardcore and metal, the band has gone almost completely in a direction that mixes the driving force of Slayer with the lyrical musicality of Iron Maiden. There’s no random shrieks or screams on this disc. The band manages to mix the singing with the screaming in a way that shows they know what their sound is supposed to be.

This is a band that wants to be heavy. And damn if they don’t succeed… and well. The guitars are sickeningly crunchy, and the drums and bass boom with authority. “Bleeding Mascara” has next to no hardcore influence, and is amazingly metal for a Victory act. There’s a definite reason Atreyu is on this year’s Ozzfest. They’re going to fit in just fine alongside Judas Priest.

Victory Records
Atreyu

G4TechSpikeMTVH1

by on June 17, 2004 @ 8:58 pm

Sorry for the lack of posting, I’ve been out of town for a couple of days without internet access. While I was quite lacking for information, it did give me a chance to acquaint myself with the new G4TechTV amalgamation. And, much like everyone else, have to say this one thing: it fucking sucks.

It’s funny, because they took all of the bad things that I hated about TechTV, and smooshed them together with all of the crap that I hate over at G4. It used to be that I could watch one or the other, and find something interesting. Now that they are one station, it seems that none of the shows are ones that I particularly care for.

My offer to save your network still stands, G4. Even with this latest merger, I’m sure we can come to some sort of understanding. Everyone wanted a dedicated gaming network, and you fucked it up. Good job. Everyone wanted a dedicated tech network, that got fucked up as well. Two fuck ups don’t cancel each other out, braniacs, so don’t merge the two and hope their bastard child will come out tasting like Honey Nut Cheerios®. Statistically speaking, it will probably taste like black licorice dipped in horse manure, which I can tell you firsthand leaves a pretty unpleasant aftertaste.

Bottom line G4TechTV, you’ve gotta innovate. Come up with some new shows, ditch some of the old, irritating hosts, and make some goddamned money. Or, if you’re not too keen on innovating… steal. Take the current reality TV show blitz, and spin it to your own demographic. It’s not that hard. Here are a few more guaranteed success stories waiting to happen. Call it a gift, from me to you.

  • The (Case) Mod Squad – You want an easy way to introduce your gaming audience to the techie audience? How about one of those crappy home remodeling shows, except the experts go in and trick out the case of one lucky viewer. It would be just like Pimp My Ride, only with a serious tilt towards the nerd. If the case mods are cool enough, you might even get me to watch. Throw in a lot of case modding tips and generous backing from some mod-friendly hardware companies and you’ve got an easy win.
  • Making The Game – This one is simple. Take Making The Band, and ditch the shitty band. Throw in a bunch of fledgeling game designers. Take out Puff Daddy. Throw in R. Lee Ermey and give him a whip. As long as there are plenty of wierd challenges and roommate infighting, this will be a guaranteed success.
  • The CIO – stealing from Trump’s smash hit, The Apprentice, you take a bunch of techies struggling to make it as one of the only CIO’s in the country who is not a certified fucking idiot. Instead of making business decisions and selling lemonade, you pop them into different IT-management related nightmares. Set the server room on fire, spread a virus around the office, post critical server info at different hacker boards, etc. Then you watch the bastards delegate effectively or get sent home. Get Bill Gates, or some other famous Tech company CEO to host it. The winner gets to be CIO for that company for a year. The beauty is that since we all know how fucking useless CIO’s are to begin with, this is a no-risk situation for whomever wants the free publicity.

Of course, the execs at G4TechTV will ignore me again, and then two years from now they’ll swallow another worthless station in an attempt to remain afloat. SpikeTV had better watch it’s ass.

Will She Or Will She Not Go Cuckoo For… Nevermind

by on @ 1:27 pm

Continuing the celebrity trend of picking child names that will undoubtedly fuck them up far more than being raised in the limelight, Courtney Cox and David Arquette decided to name their new baby girl “Coco”.

The big question of course is whether or not the baby’s last name will be “Cox”. And if so, what with the Arquette heritage and all, why hasn’t the baby just committed suicide already and been done with it?

If you read that article above, and look at my last sentence, a really really horrible joke comes to mind. But I won’t verbalize it. I’m going to let your work for your spot in Hades today.

The Four Year Old Wants A Rematch

by on June 14, 2004 @ 1:01 pm

If you see me on the street, please punch me in the dick. I like it!I’m a big fan of solidarity. To me, there’s nothing better than human beings of all race and creed unifying, coming together to overcome the odds. And there’s nothing that accomplishes that kind of unity than spite. Pure, unadulterated spite. And here it comes, baby.

Reggie Sanders did not play Sunday for the Cardinals, but for many of the 41,087 in attendance at Ameriquest Field, he was the hero of the day.

In the third inning, Gary Matthews Jr. of the Rangers fouled a ball into the seats and a burly man leaped over a row, knocking over a 4-year-old boy with his legs, and grabbed the baseball.

The incident was caught on television cameras and the fans began to chant for the man to give the boy the ball, but he refused. Sanders saw what had occurred on a television in the clubhouse. In between innings, Sanders came out and summoned the boy and his mother to near the Cardinals’ dugout and gave him a bat and ball as the crowd cheered.

The fellow you see to the right, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, is the dickcheese that knocked the toddler down in order to snake the foul ball.

One of the Cardinals’ players signed a t-shirt to the asshole addressed to the “tough guy and ball stealer.” I guess the fellow fled the stadium before his treat could get to him, but I’m sure the nonstop ribbing he’s going to endure after having his face plastered all over local and national news for bowling over a 4-year-old will be reward enough.

I Love You Dr. Zaius!

by on June 12, 2004 @ 8:15 pm

[ Evil Dead: The Musical ]

This totally reminds me of that Simpsons skit.

Agent: “Ever hear of Planet of the Apes?”
Troy McClure: “Er… the movie or the planet?”
Agent: “The brand new musical starring…you.”
Troy McClure: “It’s the part I was born to play, baby!”

I’d buy a ticket, if it weren’t just a bunch of fucking Canadians up in their crappy Canadian town with their Canadian maple syrup and Stanley Cup losing Canadian teams and whatnot.

I’d Put Her In Charge Of My Days And My Nights

by on June 11, 2004 @ 12:33 pm

I don’t remember exactly how we got on the subject of “Charles In Charge”, but I started poking around IMDB and made an interesting discovery: the “ugly” sister from the second half of that series is pretty goddamn hot. I’m not usually surprised, but she’s not too shabby. I should put up a gallery of her, and another for Nicole Eggert, now that I see that we’re lacking one.