Music Entry: Dark Crayola

Having to say that this is my first entry for my music blog, I wanted to come up w/ something fairly interesting to start things off. I’ll now apologize in advance if you see anything wrong regarding this post and I’d sincerely thank those who’d send me an email @ danceofeternity21@yahoo.com for corrections. W/ that being said, let’s continue on w/ my entry.

Filipino Progressive Metal Band Dark Crayola

As a big fan of progressive music, I constantly search for interesting musicians and bands w/in that genre both locally and internationally. I met these guys January of this year and I was completely blown away by their music. I have been following this band since early this year and it’s been a pleasure to have had the opportunity to shoot them both live and for their promo stuff.

Fidel De Jesus [vocalist/guitars 8]

Dark Crayola is a four piece progressive metal band w/c has been formed in about 2010. I got acquainted to the band when I introduced myself to their bassist, Francis Lim, right just before their set. He then introduced me the other members of the band; Fidel De Jesus (vocalist/guitars), Karlo Li (guitars), and Tope Domingo (drums). They are highly influenced by long list of prog-metal and non-prog metal bands w/c makes their music a mixture of technical stuff, melodic lyrics, and heavy riffs on all corners. In short, it’s a brutal assault in to senses but still leaves a good and lasting impression towards the listeners. When you hear or watch them live once, you’ll immediately know that they are the ones playing even w/o any introduction.

Christopher Domingo [drums]

Karlo Li [guitars 7/backing vocals]

Last week, Fidel introduced me to some more of their new materials for their upcoming first album.  I was impressed to see that their progression is going smoothly and the release of their album is coming up sometime soon (though no exact date was confirmed by the band). Right now, they’re a bit busy in preparing for their upcoming gigs w/in the Metro and one major out of town gig this July.

Francis Lim [bass]

Despite being a band of a very technical and high caliber genre as such progressive metal, they are very down to earth and as funny as most comedians would be when they are off the stage. Members of the band are also avid fans of mixed martial arts and the like. Hope to see more of them live and in a much more bigger stage this year.

For more of their music, gig skeds, band informations or if you want to invite the band to play on your production, please visit the ff. links:
Dark Crayola’s Official Facebook Fanpage
Dark Crayola’s Official Youtube Page

Images brought you by:
Stream Of Images by JM Cruz – my own page

Fan Fiction Plots: Gotham Knights Pt.1: The Legacy of the Bat

“I felt myself crossing the line. But is there even a line to cross anymore? Does it even matter? Batman is dead, right? And I’m sure as hell no longer the Robin…” – Tim Drake

After Christopher Nolan launched his last Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, a lot of people are left in the air speculating who and what kind of hero John Blake would be after being given the keys of the Bat Cave and Bruce Wayne’s “death”. Not to mention what kind of story the next possible movie would have… Upon watching it, I had a lot of creativity boiling up… So far, this is what I’ve come up with.

Just a friendly reminder: This is just a rough layout of the story and will be modified as soon as I finish the whole thing. My apologies for having wrong grammar and other technical grammar mistakes. But nevertheless, I hope you’d find it interesting.

This story happens after 2yrs after Batman’s heroic sacrifice to save Gotham from Bane, Talia Al Ghul, and their fanatic followers. John Blake was now in charge of the Batcave w/c he acquired shortly after Batman’s death via Bruce Wayne’s wishes for him to be the new face of justice. He now assumes the role of Red Robin, a crime fighter who was named as the new Batman of Gotham. Blake spends most of his time training his body and mind the same way Bruce was when he initially joined Ra’s Al Ghul’s League of Shadows. He eventually masters several martial arts, overcomes his fears by using the Scarecrows FEAR gas on himself, and manages his own small company w/ the money Bruce left him and also was a “independent” detective working directly for Commissioner Gordon. During this time, Bruce’s old friend and butler decided to help John and became his personal assistant and conscience mentor. Teaching him that, like Batman, the Red Robin’s path will never be easy and that their will be a time when he’ll need to sacrifice more than what he could imagine.

Working alongside new ally and Batman’s former weapons provider Lucius Fox, Blake tries to cope up w/ the Batman Legacy and vow to protect and serve Gotham at all cost. Fox eventually modifies the Red Robin armor similarly to Batman’s armor. He also gave John new weapons such as the grappler, taser guns, and a metal stick which John uses the most during his fight w/ crime. In addition to making a new computer simulation training called Augmented Reality Training in order for John to enhance/sharpen his skills a bit more. He then offered Fox to be the CEO of his new company while managing it’s RND department. A deal that Fox declined at first because he already knows what kind of work he will be doing in that given position… But after seeing that John is a splitting image of what Bruce was, he accepted it but in 2 conditions: John should never use guns and he should not kill anyone.

Although the crime rate was already going down to an all-time low since Batman’s regime as the Dark Knight, the streets are still far from safe. Also, most of the prisoners who escaped during Bane’s decision to empty both the Arkham Asylum and GCPD prison were still hiding from the police and some may have also been hired by various mob lords and gang leaders. With the alarming number of criminals captured and the Arkham Asylum facility was already above the threshold of numbers of people it could take in, Gotham’s new Mayor, Sebastian Hady, who was a corrupt official who just wanted fame and money, publicly announced the construction of the world’s first super-city like prison and psychiatric hospital, Arkham City, in order to make room for the increasing number of criminals captured.. The project was set to be finished in a year’s time, eating a chunk of Gotham’s area in order to achieve the prison’s blue print. Mayor Hady assigned the a transfer personnel named Dr. Hugo Strange to handle the super-prison’s development w/ the assistance of Police commissioner Jim Gordon. John saw this move a bit fishy and decided meet up w/ Gordon later that evening. Both men sensing that it this might get out of control and Red Robin advised him to just keep low while uncovering Strange’s real plot because nobody really knows who he is. Hugo then informed both the mayor and Gordon that he will need medical equipment for diagnosing and studying the criminal’s mind. Allowing him to profile each super-criminal’s psych profile and what rehabilitation program would suit them best. Mayor Hady then extended his full support and ordered Gordon and his men to participate on Dr. Strange’s needs.

Just shortly after their short pep talk, a guy called up Commissioner Gordon and asked him to play a game of Question and Answer. GCPD cops tried to tap in and trace the caller’s current position but the trace result went back to Jim Gordon’s phone.  The caller told him if he won’t be able to answer his question correctly, one of his cops will be found dead tomorrow morning. Gordon played the game but failed to answer the question and the morning after that conversation, cop’s body was found on top of the Gotham Police Department with a green “?” imprinted on his chest. Alfred, who was watching the news earlier that day saw the incident felt alarmed. He immediately advised John to investigate it since it maybe a handiwork of a supercrimnial. Hugo Strange, who also saw the incident via TV, smiled on and said: “It is about to begin.”
John then went to Gotham main and tried to investigate the problem w/ the help of Gordon and the GCPD. The only clue that they found was a piece of paper with the words: “”Crime is a global issue, Red Robin. And just like the Batman, you’ll never stop it” If you know the answer to this, meet me in the subway 12am tonight… Or another cop is going to die.”  While the GCPD cops are busy figuring out what it means, John copies it and then returns to the Batcave. Alfred talks to him and tells him that this might be the work of the Joker. They decided to call Gordon to find out if the psycho got out but the commissioner advised them that the Joker is still in their prison’s high level security cells and is in solitary seclusion. Despite not being able to find the answer to the riddle, Red Robin decides to show up in the designated meeting place and sees this man in a green suit w/ a cane. He told the man that he can’t escape but the man was smart enough to tell him that the whole place was rigged w/ semtex and one wrong move, the whole place will go down. Robin used the batarang but it just went through the villain. The man then told him that this was just a test of courage and the hologram disappears while leaving another paper scribbled w/ another Riddle: “My intellect towers over yours, Red Robin. I wonder if you’ll ever solve this riddle? If you do, you will save the rest of the kidnapped police officers… If not, their blood is in your hands. You have 48hrs to find the answer.”

Red Robin returned to the Bat cave that night trying to figure out what it was but to no avail. He then asked himself what Batman would have done if he’s in the same situation. A day after the incident John then went to Gotham’s biggest library in order to search for clues and answers. He then bumps into this new town girl and asks him if he knows where the GCPD office was. John decides to drive her to GCPD since he was also on the way there to ask the commissioner if there were any sightings, leads, and clues to who this mysterious man was.  It turned out that the girl was Jim’s daughter, Barbara Gordon, who came to live in Gotham City in search for the Batman. The commissioner then told her that the Batman already died but they now have a new “vigilante” in town similar to what the Batman was. Barbara then asked her father to let her stay for at least 6months in Gotham in order make a study on who the Red Robin is and the vigilante’s goal was. The commissioner seemed a bit reluctant at first but then approved of it but in 1 condition: She will stay in the same place where John lives for the time being. They then drove to John’s place, which near Bruce’s former mansion. Alfred immediately greeted them and prepared dinner while John gave Barb a tour of the palace. During their dinner, they talked about how Gotham progressed since after the heroic acts Batman during Bane’s invasion. John smiled and said to her that things will be better in time. He also told stories on how he met Batman and the close calls he had during their subsequent revolution against Bane’s army.

Before that day ended, the TV shows were interrupted by another frequency which featured a big “?” insignia in the background. John, Barbara, Alfred, and a lot more (including Hugo Strange) were watching the telecast and they saw a silhouette of guy while it verbally taunts the Red Robin. The mysterious guy then told the public that 3 cops will die if the riddle wasn’t answered at exactly 1am. The TV then flashes light and John immediately saw the coordinates on where the next meeting place would be. After the whole thing happened, Barbara was also intrigued on what the riddle was and asked John if he knew anything since she already knows that he was working for his father. In someway, Barb and John where able to decipher the answer and later that night, Red Robin met w/ the mysterious man. He presented the answer to the question and the mysterious guy was impressed. He released 2 of the 3 prisoners and told Red Robin that his name is the Riddler and that the madness is just starting. Fireworks blasted and the Riddler was once again gone. Leaving another big “?” insignia and another riddle: “The true sign of justice in this city has been well and truly buried. Solve this riddle and meet me in a week.”

John knew he had to dig in deeper on who this Riddler guy was. He conducted an investigation alongside some of Gordon’s men in the sewers and subways of the city. The clues led them to a mansion of one of the wealthiest businessman in Gotham, Roman Sionis. Roman was one of the few people who rivaled Bruce’s status and fame but didn’t quite got up to the same level. Bruce also saved his company from being bankrupt and from that day on, he harbored a grudge (and still has even knowing that Bruce Wayne already “died”) against the millionaire and anyone related to him. This is because, not only did Bruce outlasted/outshined him in everyway, he also saved him and his company from it’s inevitable downfall. Gordon was aware of their history but it still wasn’t clear to him and John on why the Riddler’s tracks went straight to his mansion… After an exhausting investigation of the mansion and Q&A with the businessman, Gordon and the GCPD found Roman not guilty for any association w/ the mischievous narcissist. The GCPD released Roman and he returned to his mansion. Just after he closed the door, a guy wearing green costume asked him if everything went out as planned. He answered the man that everything went smoothly and ripped out his “face”, revealing his true identity as the most feared mob leader in Gotham, The Black Mask. Then the guy in green announced that the 2^nd phase was about to begin.

John still conducts his own investigation via the net and Barb once again asked him if he needed assistance in tracking down the Riddler. He acknowledged that he needed help. John assigned her in look into the Riddler’s riddle and if it had anything related to Gotham’s judges and police heroes. Lucious then entered the office and advised him that “the project” was already good for field testing. Barb heard the conversation and asked John what Lucius meant about “the project”. John then looked to Lucious for a second and told her it was some sort of thing regarding Bruce’s old innovation of the nuclear powered generator they’d use in order to supply unlimited power throughout Gotham. The two t went out and this left Barb puzzled on what’s really happening. Even though left w/ doubt, she continued to do research then found clues by going around the mansion and realizing that the true face of justice in Gotham was the Batman. She also saw somewhere near the area, which was the place where the Waynes were buried, that Bruce Wayne was buried the same time Batman “died”.  Meanwhile in the batcave, Lucius introduces John to his new toys: A modified version of the bat pod which has the capability to float over rivers and a sonar generating device he attached to the Red Robin suit’s helmet which could track down the Riddler’s true location when he uses the hologram frequency when they meet up again during the week. John then discussed to Lucius the possibility of telling Barb who he really was and what he is though Lucius just told him that everything has their own time. The hero then looked into the Red Robin suit for the meantime as a flashback of his conversation w/ Batman spurred on and he remembers what the Dark Knight told him about wearing a mask in order to protect the ones he treasured and loved while Lucius looks at him and returns to the office.

The Black Mask held a meeting w/ various gang leaders of Gotham in his secret base. He announced that the cops and Red Robin can’t take them all out and told them that w/ the help if the Riddler, they will conquer the entire city and stop Mayor Hady’s plan of creating the super prison. All of the sudden, the Riddler shows up on top of their meeting table and told them that he will help them but also made it clear that if anyone thinks that he’s working for the Black Mask, they are sorely mistaken. He also announced to the group that he has control of this plan and considers himself the boss over everyone. As the mobs (including The Black Mask) then protested violently, took out their guns, and started shooting at his hologram, he then asked them a riddle which caught their attention. The riddle was: “What silent killer of the oceans can be found in a tiny jar? If you don’t get it, you soon will!” while holding some sort of switch as he smiles upon them. They immediately realized that they were standing on top of a glass-based floor in which separates them from sharks. The leaders then decided to agree to the Riddler’s terms since they realized that he was only helping them because he wanted to see the intellectual limitation of the Red Robin and the GCP while knowing that he also has the switch to the floor’s opening function that may send them down to the shark infested aquarium like fish bait. The Riddler then pressed the switch and confettis fell from high above. He also told them that it was an easy riddle and the next time someone would try to challenge him again, the threat will be for real. The hologram then ceased communication and the Black Mask was a bit angry. He shot the receiver disc of the hologram while stating that this wasn’t over and he was still in control. Unknown to the mob and Black Mask, The Riddler was actually just in the upper floor of the Black Mask’s secret base. Knowing that there was already a growing tension between both sides, he decides to leave and create his own base on his life savings and from the money that Roman gave to him in order for his ideas to bring down the whole GCPD and Robin come into fruition. But he would still work w/ the Black Mask until he achieves his ultimate goal.

War on the streets continued as the Black Mask and several other gangs ravaged the city while the GCPD tries to hold up their own against this surgically coordinated mob war. The Commissioner decides to escalate this to the mayor in hopes of having the Dent Act reinstated due to these dark times. Despite his best efforts, his request was denied because the mayor strongly believed that Dent was a criminal as previously stated by Bane when he read the Commissioner’s supposed to be public apology. Meanwhile in John’s home, Barb still kept silent about the things she was speculating and tries to dig in deeper to John’s history because she strongly believes that he was affiliated with Gotham’s Dark Knight. She was also worried that John maybe in a lot of trouble and wanted to help out. As lunch was served that day, Alfred and Barb were the only ones in the dining room since John was out in Gotham, investigating the whereabouts of The Riddler. She asked Alfred about John and what he was like. Alfred just told her that John was a man of honor and justice… He said that John would have been a hero if he was given the suit and technology to fight crime. Then she asked him more personal questions though Alfred just told her that he and John just  a year ago and he doesn’t know a lot about his personal life. But Alfred did made a run through on how amazing a detective John was and how he served the people of Gotham while working under Commissioner Gordon. One thing that struck Barb was when Alfred told her that John will risk his own life just to see to it that she was safe and taken care of. As they were still talking, John then enters the room w/ a rose and happily presented it to Barb. She asked what that was for and he told her it was kind of gesture that he normally does when he gets to know a new girl. The two started laughing while Alfred looked on, remembering the time he saw Bruce and Selina together in some fancy restaurant. After the short laughs, Barb then presented to the young detective her deductions on the Riddler’s riddle. She showed him what could solidify her answers… John was amazed on how she got to know these facts and decided to use it when he meets up w/ the narcissistic madman later that night.

GCPD officers still tried to continue the war against the crime and there were too many criminals detained in the police headquarters, the mayor then decides to open half of Arkham City. He then designated Hugo to lead a team responsible of transferring the worst prisoners in GCPD. Despite being reluctant w/ the mayor’s decision, Commissioner Gordon cooperated w/ Hugo in order to complete the given task so that they can achieve a bit of order in Gotham city. He then assigned 3 officers, which included his best cop Frank Boles, to watch and spy on Hugo during the duration of his tenure as Arkhan City’s head. The mayor also called for a private conference w/ the heads of GCPD and presented to them a new project that would revolutionize their police squad’s efficiency. The mayor introduced to them the soldier known as Project Azrael, who was former Gotham City police officer Jean-Paul Valley.  He also showed the officials a video tape of what Project A can do and this would be the future of the entire police force. The Commissioner looked a bit angry; pointing out that the project will just make the police more like cold blooded killers instead of human beings trying to maintain the peace in the streets. Mayor Hady then advised him that necessary casualties should be made during dark times and in order to achieve full peace, criminals should be either apprehended or if they fight back, they will be eliminated. The more they fight, the bigger the threat they would present against the society. Hearing this, the Commissioner decided to walk out of the meeting and demo due to his disgust towards the mayor’s logic on why he initiated the project. He went to his office where he just sat down and thought about what he can do to convince the mayor that this wasn’t the right thing to do. Meanwhile at the meeting, the other police officials agreed to deploy Project Azrael in the streets as a testing phase to see if the promising enhancement would be efficient enough. The mayor then gave Azrael the go signal and the soldier just disappeared after he throws black smoke into the ground.

As the Red Robin once again meets up w/ The Riddler in a different area within the Gotham tunnels, he was ambushed by the Black Mask’s men. Even though the numbers game was against him, he managed to defeat the armed men just to be shot in the shoulder by the Black Mask himself. As he flees for his life, he tries to call Alfred in his codec receiver and asked him send the Bat pod for his quick escape, the Riddler then cuts in to the transmission and started to play mind games on him. Robin’s pursuers where suddenly ambushed by an unknown person who pulls out a sword and starts hacking them. The Riddler then gave him new coordinates on where to meet up… and that place was in the old GCPD Headquarters which was trashed by the Joker years ago. Despite being injured and losing blood, Blake was able to arrive in the former police station and deliver the right answer as the last hostage was released… But he didn’t expect what would happen next. The Riddler strapped semtex on the hostage’s chest which was protected by a mini computer w/ a mini video camera and hearbeat scanning function. This left the Red Robin w/ 2 choices: In order to fully guarantee the safety of the hostage, he should solve the puzzle correctly w/in 96hrs or take off his mask in public, turn himself in to the police, and acknowledge that the Riddler towers over everyone else in regards to intellect. If he tries anything stupid (like ask for help or lie to him) or if he wouldn’t be able to answer the riddle, the Riddler will remote detonate the bomb w/c would cause a lot of damage and destruction in Gotham as he reveals that there are also other bombs planted w/in the interior parts surrounding the city. He also explains to Robin that the camera is needed in order to let him see where they are going. As his hologram once again disappears, Robin is now a bit now questioning himself if he can really defeat such criminal w/c possesses such great intellect and technology. The fact that The Riddler left him w/ the hostage is already a big notice that the Riddler will really do anything to know who he really was and reveal it to the public. He decided to blind fold the hostage and locked him up in a closed room somewhere inside the Batcave until he finds the answer to the new puzzle. If that fails, he has to find another way w/o revealing his identity.

Only a few hours before morning comes and just a few minutes after John’s arrival, Alfred became more concerned on John’s state of mind and his physical condition. He initiated a conversation w/ the distressed hero in attempts to calm him down. John’s tension was high because he has never faced a criminal as smart and as cunning as the Riddler in his past 2yrs as the Red Robin. Alfred then reminded him on what his mission was and also said the same words of motivation he told Bruce when Batman was up against the wall w/ the Joker. He also suggested that John should get a partner or at least someone who can assist him w/ intel and information, pointing out that their house guest might be the best choice. Even though John agreed, he was still reluctant in enlisting Barb as a partner because of the dangers it might cause her. Not to mention his personal feelings for her might also compromise his mission to protect Gotham. As their talk comes to a close, Alfred told him that it might only be a matter of time before Barb realizes who he really was. Unknowingly, Barb was walking in the hallway when she overheard the last part of Alfred and John’s conversation… She then enters the room and told them that she bought breakfast for everyone. John turned his back and breathed out a sigh of relief.

-End of part 1-

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake/Red Robin:
John Blake is a GCPD police promoted to detective under Commissioner Gordon who played a vital role during Bane’s reign of terror in Gotham. He assisted Batman in saving people and provided him the intel he needs in order to defeat the tyrannical villain. After Batman’s heroic sacrifice, he left John the keys to the Batcave in order to be the next caped crusader in fighting crime. As the Red Robin, he has dramatically made an impact in lowering the crime rate in the city. Rendering Gotham as one of the most safest cities in the United States alongside Metropolis.  But as months of peace passed by, he now faces probably one of the most terrifying criminals since the Joker.

Emma Stone as Barbara Gordon:

After the Two Face and Joker incident in the city, Commissioner Gordon advised his family to leave the city for their own safety. After several years, his daughter went to Gotham in search of the Batman. Barbara was highly interested on how this masked avenger manages to do what he does despite the fact that people mark him as a vigilante who killed their real hero, Harvey Dent. Barb is a highly intelligent girl who has the affinity for solving identities and criminal actions. She also has feelings for John but still isn’t sure about it because she knows that he’s hiding some sort of secret from everyone that surrounds him.

Johnny Depp as The Riddler:
Rare would you see a villain that could match or even outwit the Red Robin both in action and plots. The Riddler is one of those people who has the ability to inflict massive damage on a hero’s mind due to his amazing strategies. The only big flaw on his character is his desire to prove that he’s better than everyone else, leaving a calling card on what his next motives would be. But what’s astonishing about his is that he doesn’t do it for power or money… He does it to prove that no one is safe and that even The Red Robin would eventually fall because he couldn’t reach the same level of intellect The Riddler has. This motivates him to do create even under handed and devious tactics such as surgically planting bombs all over Gotham and kidnapping innocent people just to catch his attention. He is also affiliated w/ The Black Mask who shared the same goal in humiliating the Red Robin and provides him w/ the neccesary technology to achieve their own gain.

Ed Harris as Roman Sionis/The Black Mask:

Roman Sionis is an accomplished businessman almost comparable to Bruce Wayne. Despite the two being long time acquaintances, Roman harbored a grudge against his fellow millionaire and vowed that he’d be better than him in every way. This drove him mad and resulted to his company being bankrupt because of making indecisive investments. Bruce still showed class and saved his company by buying it out and eventually returned the rights to him. Instead of being grateful, Roman harbored more rage because of this. He then carved his own facial skin and assumed the role of the Black Mask. W/ this persona and the money that his company has been generating, he became the most feared and respected mob leader in Gotham. Even though he was aware that Bruce already died, he still continued his reign of terror and set his eyes on eliminating the Red Robin. He also has a fragile partnership w/ the Riddler and provides him w/ the needed technology in order to achieve their mutual goal in taking down Gotham’s hero.

Paul Bettany as Jean-Paul Valley/Project Azrael:
Once a GCPD cop who excelled in fighting crime, Jean Paul Valley was the first to be used for the new test phase on creating the perfect cop/crime fighter. As Azrael, he acquired vast intellect and has almost the same traits as Batman does. The only difference is that Azrael is willing to kill criminals if this leaves him no other choice. He’s fully equipped w/ guns and blades w/c are provided by Mayor Hady himself. Despite knowing that he is working for the law, he’s inner self is still struggling on finding the truth regarding why he was chosen and why he was acting the way he does. He also considers himself working alone and does not ally himself w/ any other vigilante hero in Gotham.

Philip Seymour-Hoffman as Mayor Sebastian Hady:
Ever since Mayor Anthony Garcia’s death during Bane’s assault in Gotham City, Vice Mayor Hady was chosen to take his place. Sebastian played his part very precisely. He was known to the public as a just and righteous politician though he has ties in the underground mob world. As time passes by, he becomes more corrupt by releasing prisoners and letting them work w/ the mob in exchange of wealth. He also commissioned the rise of Gotham’s future super-prison/high-level psychiatric hospital and rehabilitation center, a highly revised version of the Arkham Asylum which is named Arkham City.

Mark Strong as Professor/Doctor Hugo Strange:
As plans for building the new Asylum began, Mayor Hady enlists Professor Hugo Strange the asylum’s head director. Strange is a great psychologist who’s speciality was w/ psychiatric management of criminals and planning for each prisoner’s rehab program. In Hugo’s eyes, every single person in this world suffers from a disassociate order w/c results on why criminals act the way they do. He was also the same person who created the Azrael project w/c in turn left a mark of impression to the heads of the GCPD. Despite all these great accomplishments and future plans, it seems that he has other interests on why he went to Gotham. Plans that Commissioner Gordon wanted to know by planting moles in Hugo’s project.
Recurring characters:

Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox

Gary Oldman as Commissioner Jim Gordon

Album Review: TransAtlantic – The WhirlWind (2010)

Studio Album, released in 2009
Songs / Tracks Listing

Disc 1: The Whirlwind (77:47)
i) Overture / Whirlwind (9:54)
ii) The Wind Blew Them All Away (6:10)
iii) On The Prowl (6:03)
iv) A Man Can Feel (6:35)
v) Out Of The Night (4:22)
vi) Rose Colored Glasses (7:54)
vii) Evermore (4:10)
viii) Set Us Free (5:03)
ix) Lay Down Your Life (5:11)
x) Pieces Of Heaven (2:17)
xi) Is It Really Happening? (8:11)
xii) Dancing With Eternal Glory / Whirlwind (Reprise) (12:04)

Disc 2: Outtakes and covers (56:27)
1. Spinning (9:58)
2. Lenny Johnson (4:20)
3. For Such A Time (5:23)
4. Lending A Hand (8:43)
5. The Return Of The Giant Hogweed (Genesis) (8:26)
6. A Salty Dog (Procol Harum) (4:59)
7. I Need You (America / The Beatles) (4:39)
8. Soul Sacrifice (Santana) (10:00)
Total Time: 134:21

Introduction:

TransAtlantic has been on hiatus ever sinc e after their world tour in support of their highly successful album, Bridge Across Forever, in 2001. Neal Morse decided to part ways for a while in order to pursue his more Christianic approach to his music. Since then, the other band members returned to their respective bands: Mike Portnoy continued on w/ Dream Theater while still collaborating w/ Neal’s solo albums, Roine Stolt continued on the w/ Flower Kings and recorded several albums w/ Kaipa, and Pete Trewavas returned to Marillion but was also involved in another UK rock band called Kino. Despite not knowing if TransAtlantic will be doing a reunion in the future, the band’s fans eagerly awaited for the next world tour and hopefully, another album.

In 2009, Neal Morse then met up w/ Mike in plans of having a reunion. They then contacted the other members and met up somewhere in Nashville, which was Neal’s hometown. After a heart-warming reunion, the band then collaborated by jamming and spontaneous compositions throughout the following weeks. It was then the idea of The WhirlWind took it’s course and would be one of the band’s most ambitious and greatest piece of work ever.

Album Review:

Seeing to it that this is a full 70+ minute song/concept album rather than a 12 titled track album, it really seems that the band has put a lot of thought in turning this one into a signature dish (or album). The chemistry between the musicians is clearly there, and I’ve always thought that they’ve played together perfectly. This is also the most balanced Transatlantic album to date, and this definitely features more equal participation from each band member.

Overture/Whirlwind – The opening track is an instrumental w/c immediately gives the listener a preview on what to expect in the next 70 or so minutes. Neal Morse takes over the main riff w/ his great horns and synths while Roine does his usual (awesome) thing on the guitars. It builds up the emotion towards the next part of the song w/ it being to exaggerated and bombastic while covering most of the album’s theme. By far, this is one of the strongest openings of an album I’ve heard in years.

The Wind Blew Them All Away – Immediately after the great opener, a light guitar riff surrounds everything and then Neal then progresses w/ his lyrics w/c probably talks about people being led astray from their path in life. Alongside the powerful lyrics, this part also has a very catchy feel, especially w/ Mike’s drumming combine w/ the emotion-generating guitar spots. Kinda reminds me of what Neal has been writing on his solo albums particularly in Testimony.

On The Prowl – This song opens up w/ crunchy and solid bass lines. After that the drums, keyboards, and guitars come into play w/ a very Genesis meets modern prog-rock and jazz theme. Notably, you’ll be hearing sound creativity on the keyboard synths, finger-snapping sounds, and some percussion parts also accompanied w/ great lyrical structure and awesome chorus.

A Man Can Feel – After a brief and heavy opening of this part, Roine sings the first part accompanied by a somewhat harpsichord sounding parts. Despite initially sounding a bit creepy, the lyrics talk about a person pursuing his happiness, bouts of sadness, loneliness, and whatnot. I would say that is a typical Flower Kings like approach due to the fact that it actual sounds like one of their songs, most notably on the instrumental parts.

Out of The Night – This song comes after a very tedious and heavy ending of the last section. As compared to the previous parts, this has a more lighter feel and very singable too. Most Beatles fans would actually approve of this part because, on paper, I clearly know this was a Beatle’s inspired track. It features much vocal harmonies and back-and-forths from each band member. Overall, it has a great catchy feel and beautiful melodies mixed w/ great acoustic keys and guitar riffs, musical reprises, and an incredible outro towards the next section.

Rose Colored Glasses – The sixth part continued on where Out Of The Night left in. Neal continued w/ his memorable and powerful lyrics. This part was more of a Neal Morse showcase (both lyrically and musically) which was also a great part on the album combined w/ the embellished guitar solos and bass parts accompanied by a straight rock drum feel.

Evermore – This opens up w/ a cool keyboard progression then afterwards combined w/ a very hard prog-rock feel on the intro. After a very proggy intro, the song then develops a much more steadier beat. Somewhere in the middle of Roine and Neal’s Flower Kings meets Spock’s Beard-ish lyrical exchange, there are also great bass solo parts by Pete. This song also gives us  a preview on what we would expect on “Is It Really Happening” later on in the latter parts of the album.

Set Us Free– This part opens up similarly the same on the beginning part of the Overture. Neal’s synth power on this one is over 9000! Showcasing it’s heaviness while also being concise and not boring combined w/ string sections. Then enters the band’s signature sound (when prog-rock meets a jazzy feel) while during the vocal sections. Mike also sang majority of this section and surprisingly, it was damn good.

Lay Down Your Life – It opens up w/ a more symphonic hard rock feel. This section of the album is what you’d normally hear on a Neal Morse composition mixed w/ Marillion-like vocals and Flower Kings rhythmic parts.

Pieces of Heaven –  This is only the 2^nd full instrumental in the track besides the Overture. It clearly focuses on a complex churchish organ feel w/ still maintaining the prog-rock beat.

Is it Really Happening – A part w/c opens up w/ a radio dialogue combined w/ a light Flower Kings like feel on it. Suddenly, the vocal parts are thrown in with a very steady 4/4 beat on it. Then another instrumental part is thrown in the mix and probably one of the best I’ve heard in years. Roine performs undeniably one of his best guitar solo spots on this song while the rest of the band goes haywire. Mike Portnoy’s chops and improvised drum parts are also so mindblowing that you might catch yourself “air-drumming” while listening to his parts. The synths and bass also aren’t left behind despite the overpowering sound of the drums. They then go faster and faster then returns to the right speed. This is as close as what Dream Theater was playing back in their earlier years but much better.

Dancing With Eternal Glory/Whirlwind – After a lengthy instrumental showcase of skills on the last part, Neal opens this one up in a very anthemic and light vocal and acoustic piano solo like his epic compositions on his solo albums. The band then enters in w/ a very ballad-ish type of feel similar, once again, to Neal’s solo works. This time around, it also shows the more Christian side of the music based on its lyrics. As the song then progress in a light feel then builds its way up w/ Roine’s guitar solo. There’s also a great transition to A Man Can Feel from the Dance which fits perfectly well.  Pete and Mike also provides the song w/ a solid and basic foundation accompanied w/ the incredible guitar solo parts. Then comes the conclusion of the song w/ it ending on the Overture’s main theme. If I was to describe this part into one word it would be MAGNIFICENT. This is really heart moving and will definitely touch your heart no matter what your religion is.  Listen to it in order for you to believe.

Live DVD and CD Performance:

Whirld Tour 2010: Live in London was released in 2010. It documents the band’s May 21, 2010 show in Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, England. The show was also filmed and released on a 2-DVD/3 CD set with additional performances. During their performance, you’ll also notice that there is one more member included in the group, Daniel Gildenlow, vocalist of the Swedish prog-metal band, Pain Of Salvation.

Conclusions:

The long wait was over and I should say that I was extremely pleased. TransAtlantic did not let their fans down. The WhirlWind is one of the greatest collaborated albums ever made so far. The mix of powerful emotions and epic writing/compositions are evident on this album as soon as you hear the first part. The 2^nd disc also covers a wide variety of incredible cover songs and b-side compositions.

This is highly recommended from die-hard TA fans to the casual prog-rock fans or even to the out-dated Beatle’s listener. Trust me; you’ll never regret your time w/ it. I’m looking forward to the next album, TransAtlantic! 🙂

Final Score: 5.0/5.0 (album); 5.0/5.0 (live perfomance/cd and dvd)

Download link/s:

–4shared download link

Album Review: TransAtlantic – Bridge Across Forever (2001)

Studio Album released in 2001
Songs / Tracks Listing:
1. Duel With The Devil (26:43)
2. Suite Charlotte Pike (14:30)
3. Bridge Across Forever (5:33)
4. Stranger In Your Soul (26:05)

*Total Running Time: 72:51

Musician Line Up:

– Neal Morse (keyboards,vocals)
– Mike Portnoy  (drums,vocals)
– Roine Stolt (lead guitars,additional keys,vocals
– Pete Trewavas (bass,vocals)

TransAtlantic: Pete Trewavas, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, and Roine Stolt.

Introduction:

Around the year of 2000, Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater drummer) has been collaborating with several people in order to explore the deeper side of progressive music. His first supergroup was the fusion/prog-metal band, Liquid Tension Experiment (LTE). This band was an instrumental powerhouse which included John Petrucci, the would-be DT keyboardist Jordan Ruddess, and bass legend Tony Levin. After that, Portnoy then teamed up w/ Neal Morse (ex-Spock’s Beard) in preparation on making a prog-rock supergroup. This would be TransAtlantic. They then recruited Flower King’s guitarist, Roine Stolt, and Marillion’s bassist, Pete Trewavas. Initially, Fates Warning’s guitarist Jim Matheos was the original pick for the guitarist position but had to back out due to prior obligations w/ his own band.

TransAtlantic’s focuses more on the old school type of progressive music w/c sounds a lot like Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, and also included some facets of the Beatle’s music mixed . They are also known as one of the few bands to create epic 20-30min songs on their albums. Their debut CD “SMPTe” (1999) received many top ratings in magazines throughout the world. This album follows the same musical direction as the first album.

Album Review:

The first track, “Duel with the Devil”, is one of my favorite epics of all time. It’s almost 27 minutes of uninterrupted prog-rock music at it’s finest w/c included great Neal Morse keyboard parts: mini moog, organ, piano, Fender Rhodes and mellotron, accompanied by many miscellaneous bells sounds. The song it self is like a mashed-up tribute to their influences while incorporating their own music. The best part of this song is when it hits the 7min mark where it was all melodical and the atmosphere was really sounding like Genesis’ songs. These musicians have a VERY developed sense of catchy & complex melody, which is always present and never the same. Despite this song may sound like the old prog-rock songs of the 70s-80s, it has something better to offer and the sound doesn’t sound “outdated”.

The second track, “Suite Charlotte Pike“, is a very rhythmic prog-rock meets light rock song and slightly bluesy. Roine’s solo lines and rhythmic patterns on this song might be able to remind you of Steve Howe (Yes) or Mike Rutherford (Genesis/Peter Gabriel). Though the song may have this prog-rock feel and all, it’s actually like a homage to the Beatles based on the songs lyrical meaning.

“Bridge Across Forever” is one of the best ballad’s Neal Morse has made in his long list of ballads during his stay w/ prog-rock band, Spock’s Beard. The song talks about more on a spiritual aspect of (probably) a man who already passed away and hoping to meet a love one again someday when that person crosses the “Bridge Across Forever”. This is also one of the most emotionally powerful songs I’ve heard in a long while just because it really presents true emotions as opposed to the traditional “just talent” way of progressive music.

Lastly, “Stranger in your soul“, is another outstanding epic masterpiece. Although the intro would sound like “Duel with the Devil” toned a bit higher, don’t let it fool you. It’s more fast paced and combines probably all of the member’s signature music altogether in one song. Past the 6th minute, they almost sound grunge for a couples of minutes; nevertheless is is more bearable than any alternative band. At the middle of the track, there is an atmospheric beautiful & relaxing part, mixing w/ Neal Morse’s tender sounding vocals. They then kick up back to the prog-rock gear and finishes this album in a great way. Once again, the Genesis and Yes influence is still present on this track, but it doesn’t bore me out to listen to it 7x in a row.

DVD Release:

A live performance of the band playing the entire album was also recorded when they played in Europe. It documents the November 12, 2001 show by the band at the 013 Club, Tilburg, Netherlands. The show was also filmed and released on DVD with a bonus disc featuring additional performances and documentary footage. The show was part of the tour to support the band’s second studio album, Bridge Across Forever.

Conclusion:

“Bridge Across Forever” was a great follow-up album release after their critically successful 1^st album “SMPT:e”. The songs in this album had gotten better in time and showed the band’s maturity towards song compositions and lyrical making. Although their music influences still echo strongly on their songs, the band still made sure that their signature sound still takes over it than just sounding like another Yes or Genesis tribute band. Sadly, after their world tour supporting this album, the supergroup members decided to go on separate ways. Around 2009, they decided to get together again and brought along Pain of Salvation’s guitarist, Daniel Gildenlöw, and created their 3^rd masterpiece, “The WhirlWind”.

Overall, I think this album is one of the best prog-rock albums of the year 2001 and is highly recommendable to epic song lovers and prog-rock enthusiasts alike.

Overall Score: 5.0/5.0

Download link/s:

– Working link

Album Review: Marco Sfogli – There’s Hope (2008)

There’s Hope Front Album Cover

Studio Album released in 2008
Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Still Hurts (5:02)
2. Andromeda (6:30)
3. Seven (5:01)
4. There’s Hope (4:00)
5. Spread The Disease (4:07)
6. Farewell (3:49)
7. Sunset Lights (5:38)
8. Genius (4:48)
9. Never Forgive Me (4:10)
10. Memories (3:37)
12. Texas BBQ (2:13)

Introduction:

As a fan of prog-rock/metal music, I have been constantly listening to prog-rock based guitarists also. Some of the few I’ve listened to are Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Ron Jarzombek, Tony McAlpine, Michael Angelo Batio, Daita,  Paul Gilbert, Chris Impelliteri, and Marty Friedman. Recently, a friend of mine who plays like John Myung (LOL) gave me an mp3 of this guitarist and it sounded great. At first, I thought it was John Petrucci playing but I was wrong. It was apparently one of Italy’s great prog-metal guitarist and James Labrie’s album sessionist, Marco Sfogli.

Marco Sfogli is an instrumental guitarist hailing from Naples, Italy. He’s technically proficient and plays a lot like Dream Theater’s own, John Petrucci. This would make sense because Marco drew a lot of his inspiration and influence on Dream Theater’s Images & Words album. W/ that being said, I think it is now obvious what type guitar player Marco is… He plays fast, very melodically, great technicality, and clean sounding too (as compared to some guitarist who plays fast but sounds like trash). He’s worked w/ a lot of big name guys such as Dream Theater members James LaBrie and Jordan Ruddess, Alex Argento, Creation’s End, Adam Nitti, and Virgil Donati.

Album Review:

The first track, “Still Hurts,” is a great opener and sounds a lot like 80’s melodic style of playing mixed w/ great rhythm lines and drums. The 2nd track, “Andromeda,” shows some of his Joe Satriani-sh parts and unfortunately is one of the more forgettable songs on the album though it also has some great high speed arpeggio and John Petrucci like solo parts. “Seven” is a nice slower track that starts with acoustic piano rhythm and an accompanying guitar melody slowly building it’s way up to a much heavier feel. The title track, “There’s Hope” would be ,for me, the best track in album. If you listened to this w/o having any background check on who’s playing, you will be assuming that it’s John Petrucci playing a much more melodic approach on his Jaws Of Life song. Personally, I’d say that There’s Hope is a bit better than Jaws of Life because it had a much more melodic approach to playing it.

“Spread the Disease” is a great blues song  and could sound like what Steve Morse was playing years back then, accompanied w/ good keyboard synth solos and solid bass parts. “Farewell” is just one of those 4/4 songs that is essentially needed in a guitarist’s solo album despite it having a very heavy Joe Satriani-ish vibe. It’s a good thing it is short or it could’ve ruined the whole song because of the heavy JS-influence. “Genius” is probably one of the most technical track in the album. It fairly resembles the stuff you’d hear from Derek Sherinian’s works and Planet X’s albums: Intricate time signature changes and awesome transitions and solos. Making this track on of the highlight of his skills.

“Sunset Lights” is another piece that is all over the map in showing Sfogli’s wide range of influences. Interesting as it may seem, but it was one of my least favorite song in this album. “Never Forget Me” is another ballad-ish song created probably to satisfy his new audience… But it utterly sounds too familiar to me. Like it’s pointing out towards John Petrucci’s Wishful Thinking. “Memories” is a slow, beautiful piano/guitar duet that can help you relax a bit and is my 2^nd favorite track. The final track “Texas BBQ” is played on a rodeo-ish type of music. Some what similar to Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs stuffs that you might have heard in their early albums.

Conclusion:

“There’s Hope” maybe a good start for Marco Sfogli on his way to developing his fame. One difficulty in reviewing an instrumental work is that you don’t have vocals to guide you. There is a tendency to listen casually and miss the nuances in style from song to song. On this album, not only can you not miss Sfogli’s skill, you cannot overlook his versatility in moving between styles. I recommend this album to prog-rock fans and guitarists who haven’t listened to this guy. You’ll find listening to it will be worth the while.

I certainly do hope he develops his own unique playing style and sound rather than just sound like another John Petrucci copycat. But, I’m not going to complain because no one can play John Petrucci’s parts or copy his style that easily. Great job, Marco! Good luck on your 2^nd solo album release this year and your collaboration w/ drum extraordinaire, Virgil Donati.

Overall Score:  4.0/5.0

Other guitarist virtuosos worth listening to and There’s Hope album download link:

–  Michael Angelo Batio

–  Uli Jon Roth

–  Steve Lukather

–  Al Di Meola

–  Working download link

Gaming Review: Silent Hill: 0rigins [Playstation 2/PSP] (2008)

Silent Hill is one of Sony PlayStation’s biggest gaming series created by Konami. They are the same gaming production company who produced another great gaming franchise called Metal Gear Solid. But, the genre of the two series are far different. Silent Hill is one of the longest running survival-horror games in the business. The game is based on psychological thrills that indeed try to put gamers into the position to face their worst fears via a video game.

Silent Hill’s story format is always based in two different worlds: The normal and creepy town of Silent Hill and a “Otherworld” version of the town or a specific place connected to it. The theme also varies from each game excluding Silent Hill 1,2 and Origins, which has the same theme because of they have they same villains. The heroes are also normal people much compared w/ those on your usual horror-based movies than the usual action-horror oriented playes in games like Resident Evil.

With that out of the way, let us continue with this game’s review. 🙂

Travis Grady, SH:Origins Protagonist and a young Alessa which looks like the one in the movie.

Other characters include Dr. Michael Kauffman, Dahlia Gillespie, and Lisa.

Story: 9.5/10

Silent Hill: Origins is the prequel of all Silent Hill games. The story revolves around the future antagonist/anti-hero Alessa Gillespie (who in this time around looks a lot like the Alessa from the Silent Hill Movie) and the protagonist, Travis Brady. The game concentrates on giving the gamer the prequel status of the franchise. It digs deep on Silent Hill’s deepest secrets, such as the start of the madness of Dahlia Gillespie (mother of Alessa) and the introduction of the satanic cult of The Order, Travis’ dark past w/c involves w/ his parents that, and introductions of SH1’s Dr. Michael Kaufmann (and his involvement w/ Alessa’s death) and Nurse Lisa. Travis has to help solve the town’s problem while facing his own person demons which was amplified because of the town’s psychological powers combined w/ Alessa’s intervention w/ the Otherworld. Although the plot may seem to be predictable due to the fact that Silent Hill 1 and 3’s story was strongly tied up to this release, it was still pretty fun and entertaining to dig deeper to the town’s “Origins”.

The new (and old) set of enemies you’ll encounter in the game. It somehow feels like Silent Hill 3 all over again.

Creatures and enemies: 9.5/10

Travis Brady’s OtherWorld theme is similar to Harry Mason (Silent Hill 1) and Heather Mason’s (Silent Hill 3). The OtherWorld environment is gruesome, bloody, and very dark. W/ that being said, the creatures are also almost the same w/ those two release but this time we only have 6 different creatures. And, yes ladies and gentlemen, the nurses also make their triumphant return to this game. But, this time around, they just use knives as opposed to Silent Hill 3 and Homecoming in most cases, they could also use guns and stuff.

The Butcher and Pyramid Head.

Everything is almost the same but the exception of the famous Pyramid Head. Though in his absence, a similar one was introduced that has almost the same features minus the Pyramid mask. The name of this creature is The Butcher. It’s like the Pyramid Head in every way that you see it but this time, its mask is half torn and it uses a big butcher’s cleaver. But, unlike Pyramid Head, the Butcher does not emulate any sexual acts on his victims. Also, whereas Pyramid Head’s movement are very jerky and almost twitchy in nature, the Butcher’s movements are always fluid and controlled, giving him a much more calm and focused appearance than the other monster. The Butcher represents cruelty and sacrifice, particularly that of the Order. His calm, emotionless torturing and slaughtering of other monsters speaks of the Order’s tendency to murder and sacrifice human life for their worship. The Butcher also represents Travis’ inner rage and pent-up anger, and so is involved heavily in the Bad Ending.

Gameplay and Additions: 7.5/10

The game still has the same gameplay alongside it’s predecessor… Well, at least still a bit similar w/ a few new (and sometimes frustrating) additions. The gaming controls are still the same with SH2 and 3. You still have to solve puzzles throughout the game in order to advance to the next scenario, finding clues regarding Travis’ problems and the town’s origins, and still fight the same dark and somewhat new and scary (not as much as SH1 and 2 though) creatures both in the real world and in the Otherworld.

There are also more additions in the melee weapons section as compared to the previous releases.. You can pick up multiple melee weapons and (somehow…) keep them intact in your seeming infinite inventory list. In my opinion, this was really an unnecessary addition because of the fact that players who have played the last releases know that you can play and finish the entire game even with just 1 melee weapon. And, what’s worse is that every melee weapon has a breakage point (as seen on the YouTube video above) which was very different and very frustrating compared to the previous games. This means the more you use a weapon, the bigger the damage it accumulates w/c causes it to break.  Though I also think that this is just a minor lapse and it doesn’t really ruin the game’s credibility. But, one may laugh at Konami’s idea on how Travis manages to carry an array of various weapons w/in his unseemingly deep pockets… Funny but very unrealistic compared to it’s predecessors.

Another addition to gameplay are “energy drinks” and something like stamina. When Travis runs for too long, he will tend to slow down and need to have a 2-3 second break to catch his breath to be able to run normally again  If you can’t slow down in emergency cases like when a fast enemy is hot on your trail, you can drink an energy drink in order to replenish your stamina. In my opinion, this is once again an nuisance and a very unnecessary edition. I’m guessing that the producers of this game are trying to make the gameplay more lengthy, scarier (in some cases), and more realistic by adding this unwelcomed feature. But, quite frankly, it doesn’t really cut it.

Other than those two lame additions, the gameplay is still like the previous releases. If you enjoyed the gameplay and controls of Silent Hill 1-3, then your reaction to Origins’ gameplay would be 80% the same. Also despite the lack of option to adjust the game’s difficulty setting, the gameplay’s default difficulty is still considered at least above average in which even the average and new gamer could finish the game w/o even complaining that it’s too hard for them.

Graphics comparison: SH:Origins, Silent Hill 2, and Silent Hill 3.

Graphics: 7.5/10

The graphics quality of this game is still ok for a PS2 game. But the PSP release/version had a much better quality since it was initially released for the PSP. For those who play PS3/Xbox 360 games, please be warned that it’s not as good compared to the games on for those consoles. Though Origins’ quality is almost as close as the SH2 graphics were but a bit more grainy than the former.

The best thing also about this is that graphics in the cutscenes were great. The American producers somehow integrated the usage of the Final Fantasy-ish cutscene graphics to this seemingly middle-age like PS2/PSP game. But, it is one or two notches behind SH3 in every way. Despite that, it still holds great on it’s own against other games w/c suck way much worse in graphics.

Sound/Background Music: 8/10

Well, Akira Yamaoka is back again and I think that pretty much sums up everything. Origins has the 2^nd best music in the entire series behind SH3. Akira’s mix of emotions, silence, and ambient music is really brilliant. From bangs and creaks, to a very familiar face dragging a giant butcher knife, the sounds are nothing short of amazing. Though, to the dismay of the fans, Akira leaves the hit franchise and Konami shortly after the release of the next game, Shattered Memories.  It was really a shame that he left after that release and the sounds for the next generation games (Shattered Memories, Homecoming, and Downpour) was never the same and, in my opinion, very stale/boring compared to the OSTs of the that he fomulated and created.

Final Thoughts:

Even with the obvious flaws that it presents throughout the gameplay and an attempt of an American-based producer/team to replicate Team Silent’s work on SH2 and 3, Silent Hill: Origins is still a solid game and widely considered as a true survival horror game which still brings scares despite it’s predictable plot. The re-playability is also very good because it has 3 game endings and tons of unlockables like additional weapons, clothes, and “accolades”. Surprisingly, I even enjoyed this much, MUCH more than the HD next releases (2011’s Homecoming and the recent release, Downpour) because the story elements were much more concise, in-depth, and rich. This game ends the intial demands of the fans to get an in-depth look at the origins of the Order and Silent Hill.

This is still a true survival-horror game that the usual gamers don’t want to miss and probably a great introduction game to those who want to try the series. Try the game and experience the horror for yourself.

Final Score:

Other Game Recommendations and Download links:

–Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

–Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams  (PS2)

–Forbidden Siren 3: Blood Curse

–Playstation 2 and PSP versions

FanCast: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater the movie

The Metal Gear Franchise is one of the biggest gaming series in history. The series is famous for pioneering the stealth game genre, in which the character initially has only one weapon and has to go through the game to accomplish his mission by himself. Accompanying the stealth gameplay, Metal Gear also has the “Tactical Espionage” genre, meaning that players also get to be like a James Bond who can actively hide in the shadows or shoot people. Making the game a true masterpiece and giving the players great replayability w/c makes their moneys worth it.

In this fancast, I will start with Metal Gear 3: Snake Eater. One might give the comment that Snake Eater wasn’t the first game that was created. But, historically and chronologically, MGS3’s story comes first before all the other games. This also includes the ones from Nintendo. MGS3 introduces Jack (Big Boss/Naked Snake) who was the original “Snake” in the series. With that being said, enough w/ the talking… Let’s begin this show, baby!

The Heroes:

Hugh Jackman as Jack/Naked Snake:

Jack is a member of the CIA’s FOX division.  He was in the top of the league when it comes to spying, reckon missions, and CQC (close quarters combat). Added to that, he is also well versed in weapons technology and usage making him the perfect soldier. He was trained by his mentor, the Boss to be her successor should anything happen to her. He is also the genetic father of Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and Solidus Snake which was achieved by the Las Infantes Terribles genetic project. It’s sole purpose was to create the perfect American spy/soldier based on Big Boss’ genes.

Hugh Jackman already has enough experience both in acting and choreography fighting giving him the edge over everyone else. Since Naked Snake’s character is a bit laid back but also a bad-ass when provoked, I think Hugh can pretty much put this one on the bag just because of his experience in the Helsing and Wolverine movies. Not to mention that his voice is the closest to Dave Hayter’s Snake.

Scarlett Johansson as Agent EVA:

Eva an American spy who defected to the USSR, sent to help Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater. She’s a double agent who is able to get close with both Naked Snake and Colonel Volgin, and play both sides. Her spy abilities were so great that only one person would actually know that she’s a double agent, The Boss.

Combining talent, brains, and beauty, Scarlett Johansson is my top pick for EVA. She also played the spy role in IronMan as the Black Widow…  On top of that, she’s also very athletic and has done fight scenes too. So, that pretty much sums it up on why she was my top pick. But I still have 2 other subs.

Ali Larter: Ali’s physique really is just as close as EVA’s. She also has some bad-asse-ry which she showed in the Resident Evil movie series. The only thing I think she lacks is the experience to be a spy.

Charlize Theron: Charlize is my #2 sub for Scarlett. The reason being is because out of the 3, she is the only one who doesn’t look like she ages that much… Perfect for the EVA-Big Momma part. Plus she can be wicked at times while still maintaining her cool. The only problem I see is her lack of films of being a female spy (same w/ Ali)

Naomi Watts as The Boss:

The Boss is Naked Snake’s mentor and a war hero. She was also the former Cobra Unit’s leader, a multinational team of elite Supernatural Warriors who won World War II for the Allies. She was the original agent to be assigned in rescuing Professor Sokolov but some unforeseen events happened that forced her to defect against the USA and once again join The Cobra Unit. Regardless of this, she was still considered  as a hero by Snake despite the events in Metal Gear 3.

I think Naomi Watts is a fair pick for this one just for the reason that she can perfectly portray most of the Boss’ emotion. Plus her physical appearance is also very similar to the Boss. The problem will be on fight scenes… But, there’s nothing a li’l concentrated training can’t do, I guess.

The Antagonists and the Cobra Unit:

Dolph Lundgren as Colonel Volgin:

Volgin is a Soviet colonel nicknamed “Thunderbolt” and the primary antagonist of Metal Gear Solid 3. He is your typical bad guy who wants domination by seeking to claim the Philosopher’s Legacy by merit of his father being entrusted with it during World War II. He’s sadistic, cruel and his greatest ambition is to start World War III by the use of Sokolov’s invention, the Shagohod, to start a nuclear war that’ll give him the one sided victory due to it’s technology.

In Volgin’s character, you will need a tall badass who tough, intimidating, and ruthless. Dolph Lundgren is by far the perfect actor for this character because he possesses all the qualities needed. Dolph has already proved his toughness and ruthlessness in most of his movies. Plus being a Russian (Ivan Drago) is no longer strange to him.

Cam Gigandet as Major Ocelot/Revolver Ocelot:

Serving under Col.Volgin, Ocelot is one of the youngest, most talented in their group and also the leader of the Ocelot Group. He possesses uncanny abilities w/ the handgun, especially with the revolver technique.  He was so good that even Naked Snake praised him for his potential. It’s only in the latter part of the game that we realize he is also a double agent working for the USSR, China, and the US’ CIA. Ocelot remains as one of the longest anti-hero/antagonist of the series (from MGS1-MGS4).

At this stage, Ocelot is still at his mid or late 20s. Cam has already proven himself in being a great antagonist in most of his movies and his swag is just as similar as Ocelot. This makes him the perfect actor to portray the character.

Sammo Hung as The Pain:

The Pain is a member of the Cobra Unit, who can has the ability to speak and control hornets and bees. In the game, it also shows that inside his body he grows a special type of weaponized hornets called “Bullet Bee”. These hornets have the ability to inflict so much pain against their targer, hence solidifying his battlefield nickname. He wears a mask due to being horrifically scarred from numerous hornet stings that he has though it is not discussed in the game why he has such abilities.

I chose Sammo Hung for several reasons:1. He’s a bit large, just like the Pain, 2. He knows hand to hand combat (this is a quality I know the Pain has because he’s under the Boss’ group), and 3. his English voice isn’t that bad… One might make the argument that the Pain is not Asian… Though, the answer to that is also clear. There are no discussions on what the Pain’s origin was. It only said that he fought with the Cobra unit and doesn’t 100% mean that he is a full blooded American…

Marko Zaror as The Fear:

The Fear is the 2^nd member of the Cobra Unit Naked Snake faces in the game. He is double-jointed, able to crawl on walls, has decent combat styles, and uses poison darts w/ his specialized crossbow.  His freakish appearance is almost reptilian, reinforced by his double edged tongue and his usage of venoms to kill his opponents. He also has the ability of stealth on his favor but wears his body out fast.

Marko Zaror is almost an unknown talent in the US movie world. He is a Chilean martial artist and actor. He’s also no stranger in the arts of CQC due to his knowledge of different kinds of martial arts. Just like the Fear, he’s also tall, athletic, and flexible. Not to mention that he also has the same sinister look In his eyes which resemble those of a killer. He might not be the best pick for this character but you can’t see a lot of actors that could play the Fear’s part either.

Christopher Lee as The End:

The End is the 3^rd member of the Cobra Unit that Snake faces towards his goal in finding Sokolov who is in Col. Volgin’s hands. He is a legendary sniper and is over 100years old. He is also the most experienced soldier in the Cobra unit due to the fact that he has been involved in wars in several different occasions. Despite his age, he still has the keenest of senses which he utilizes when he has a target. He also has the special power of photosynthesis on his body w/c makes him strong as long as the sun is still up and this makes him a very dangerous opponent.

Christopher Lee is already old and very experienced as an actor. His voice also could play a big part on his role. In my own opinion, I think he is just tailor-made to portray the End’s role in this movie.

Alfred Molina as The Fury:

The Fury is the last Cobra unit soldier Snake would face on his way to Volgin’s Groznyzgrad fortress. He is a Russian scientist who was once sent to space but encountered an accident w/ his rocket upon re-entry w/c burns him all throughout his body. Since, then he became obsessed in “purifying” the world of villains by subjecting the earth w/ his own hellish experience. He then became a member of the Cobras as their personal pyro-machine.

In the game, all The Fury does is walk around, fly w/ his customized jetpack, and fire that crazy flamethrower while telling Snake that it is anger that builds up his rage and fury. As soon as saw those traits, it immediately pointed me to a comic book supervillain named Doctor Octopus. Alfred Molina, who portrayed Doc Ock, has the talent to pull this one off. He also has a similar voice w/ The Fury’s voice actor making this pick not really that far from home.

Christopher Walken as The Sorrow:

He is the 4^th unit member Snake encounters. He fights him not physically, but spiritually and mentally because The Sorrow was already dead. The Sorrow was the most integrate person w/in the Cobra team during the time of the war. He had the ability to talk to the dead soldiers w/c already made him a valuable source of secrets and information. W/ this ability, the Allies were able to anticipate most of their enemies’ attacks. He died when the Boss was given orders to take her comrade down.

I think Christopher Walken is a suitable actor for this one just because of his age and his movie acting experience. The Sorrow is basically just a spirit w/c talks to the Boss. That makes him a very creepy opponent in the battlefield. Walken already had that “creepy” stuff going for him since the start of his career. That makes him one of the best picks for the Sorrow character.

Other Good Characters:

Liam Neeson as Major Zero:

Major “Tom”/Zero is FOX’s lead officer. He is also part of the British’s top tactical team, The SAS. He gives out mission information to Snake during his trip to the Soviet land to get the professor while not leaving any traces behind. When FOX disbanded, he also helped established the FOXHOUND division w/ Snake after the mission, who is now known as the Big Boss.

Zero’s personality is quite colorful and is already on his early 50s. He is a fan of James Bond films and other fun stuff, though he’s also serious in making sure that the job gets done in the right and “clean” way. You will need a person who is both cool and intimidating at the same time. So, that sums up the reason why I chose Liam Neeson for this one. If you want explanation, just go out there and watch his movies.

Sarah Wayne-Callies as Para-Medic:

Though Para-Medic’s name was taken from “parachute” and “medic”, she is a legit doctor in her “real” life. She is Naked Snake’s personal medical advisor, wildlife analyst, and acts like a “food expert”. She is a kind person, always interested in new things. Her love for movies is just so infecting that it also made Snake want to watch a few of the classics that she shared to him while in codec conversations during the mission.

Sarah Wayne-Callies already had the experience of being a doctor in the hit series, Prison Break. She also has a fun and innocent personality on and off screen. Most importantly, if you look closely between Sarah and Para-Medic’s rendition model and listen to both of their voices, you could see and hear the obvious similarities.

Chris Tucker as SIGINT:

SIGINT is short for “Signal Intelligence”. He is FOX’s technical weapons expert and also has knowledge with camouflage and armors. Although his status might suggest that he’s a “nerd” but he isn’t. He is a cool guy and often times also cracks funny jokes w/ Snake on codec throughout his mission.

I chose Chris Tucker for the sole purpose that he can combine the personality of being serious and outrageously funny. He has the physique that could match SIGINT’s as well though his voice maybe a little off. Well, betcha can’t really find a lot of black actors who has the same qualities SIGINT has, don’t you?

John Malkovich as Prof. Nikolai Sokolov:

Professor Sokolov is a Soviet scientist who became frightened of his own creations, Sokolov tried to defect to the US, but was captured again and forced to complete his latest project – a nuclear missile launching tank called the Shagohod. By orders of Major Zero, the entire objective of the mission was to recover him to stop the nuclear threat. But, he was killed by Volgin in the torture area while in interrogation when Volgin realizes that there was a “spy” w/in them but was not sure who it was.

Sokolov’s character is a bit more of a comedy mixed w/ the serious proffesor type. John Malkovich has already proven himself to do both proficiently during the span of his acting career. This is just a walk in a park for a man w/ such experience and talent.

The Creative Department:

We all know that great movies involve great directors and great minds. Here’s my line-up of directors… What could go wrong when these guys involved?

-Director Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale, Green Lantern)

-Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (The Rock, Con-Air, Armaggedon)

-Director Hideo Kojima of Konami’s Kojima Production (Metal Gear Series & Zone of The Enders)

Album Review: Mind’s Eye – Walking on H2o (2006)

Studio Album released in 2006
Songs / Tracks Listing

1.Earth – The Movie (1:33)
2. A Rabbit In The Hat (6:12)
3. Equally Immortal (5:27)
4. Mrs. Claire Voyance (5:55)
5. Sahara In An Hourglass (5:32)
6. Out Of My System (6:15)
7. Umbrellas Under The Sun (6:00)
8. Sacred Rules (5:04)
9. The Nacaza Lines (6:30)
10. Flight Of The An-unna-ki (3:20)
11. Heal My Karma (8:06)
12. When I Whisper (4:00)
13. Poseidon Says (11:02)
Total Time: 74:56

Band musician line-up:

– Andreas Novak: lead vocals, rhythm guitars
– Johan Niemann: bass, electric & acoustic guitars
– Daniel Flores: drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals

Mind’s Eye: (L) Johan Niemann, (C) Adreas Novak, (R) Daniel Flores

Mind’s Eye is a Swedish progressive rock/metal band w/c has more art/melody than technicality. They have created their own distinct sound as opposed to prog-metal rock bands like Opeth and Dream Theater. Although their own sound is mixed with the heaviness of traditional heavy metal and intricate timing of progressive rock, you can still hear their influences in their music. Notably, bands like Yes, Genesis, Rush, King Crimson, and Queensryche.

As of 2007, they have 6 albums produced. All of their those were progressively getting better and better. Here in there 2006 release (w/c was the band’s 1^st release since their 4yr hiatus), Walking in H2o, I will be giving my opinion on how this band rocks and also seems to be one of the most underrated bands of recent rock history..

Prior the events of this album, Mind’s Eye’s status was on limbo because of a 4yr hiatus. Their previous album which was released 2002, A Work of Art, has been given high praises by various music websites due to their very creative mixes and compositions. It was then the band’s fans now ask the question: “Will there be another album that would be as good as this one?”

Review:

With the introduction of Walking in H2o, the band decided to take their sound further to places most bands would only dream of. Furthermore, the album received numerous praises and positive critical praise for their “newer, distinct sound and original themes” and to be able to combine heavy, prog-metal stuff to boyband-ish lyrics was one of the new highlights of the band. The album itself covers a wide variety of topics such as Human evolution, Science, Religion, Alien Abduction, deadly viruses, Earth pollution, loyalty, marriage, and immorality.

The album opener and one of the heaviest tracks in the album , Earth: The Movie, immediately throws the listener to a realm of multiple events regarding the problems the Earth is facing right now; Pollution, human destruction, wastes, diseases. It then segues to A Rabbit in A Hat, which I think the fun really begins. The song hits you straight between the eyes w/ it’s soaring, melodic vocal harmonies w/ instantly memorable vocal hooks, w/c could actually remind of those 90s boybands, and it’s crunchy and catchy main riff.

There are plenty more highlights on the album w/c you could listen to over and over again and never get tired of it. Equally, Immortal builds from an ordinary classic rock ballad to a rousing, anthemic song near the middle to the end of the song. Mrs. Clair Voyant is another great track w/c manages to successfully mix some of the album’s heavier riffs w/ the background keyboard and impressive vocal harmonies. Sahara In An Hourglass sounds like an Arabian-Prince of Persia style music by the looks of it. Though to song may sound like an almost obligatory “Middle Eastern”-tinged track, Mind’s Eye manages to create this song by incorporating Eastern-style rhythms and textures into the piece, rather than just have them like an unnecessary add-on. The next track, Umbrellas Under The Sun, should be the most prominent boyband-ish oriented song combined w/ a Yes/ELO twist and also bears much resemblance to fellow Swedish rock band, ACT. The instrumental Flight of An.Unna.Ki allowed the guys to show off their technical and melodic chops w/ their respective instruments w/c included a bucketful of solos backed by a powerful rhythm section w/c just made the track much more powerful.

While listening to Heal My Karma, this was the time I tied a little bit. It was a great track and the lyrics were ok but I think the song length should have shortened a little bit than the norm. Then we have another rock ballad song in the form of When I Whisper, which was one of the album’s heartfelt track but was a bit boring as compared to Immortal. The last track, Posiedon Says, was the worst track in the album melodically despite of it’s strong and intimidating intro and song title. It was a shame to have an album that starts out very strong, end so weak.

Conclusion:

Despite the album’s very weak ending, I’d still say that it’s still worth listening to over and over again. If you’re a rock music afficianado who wants to be introduced to prog-rock music or even a prog-metal fan who’s getting tired of the usual “Dream Theater-ish” types of bands, this is the album for you. Walking on H2o has solidified Mind’s Eye’s reputation as one of the prog-rock’s most underappreciated bands due to their talent both melodically, techinically, and lyrically but very poor marketing in big countries like the US and the rest of Europe. I hope that’ll be changed in the future.

Overall score: 4.5/5

Download links:

–Russian link page.

Album Review: Dream Theater – Black Cloud and Silver Linings (2009)

Studio Album: Released in 2009
Songs / Tracks Listing

Disc 1:

1. A Nightmare to Remember (16:10)
2. A Rite of Passage (8:35)
3. Wither (5:25)
4. The Shattered Fortress (12:49)
5. The Best of Times (13:07)
6. The Count of Tuscany (19:16)

Total Time: 75:22

Disc Two: Cover songs
1. Stargazer [Rainbow] (8:11)
2. Tenement Funster / Flick of the Wrist / Lily of the Valley [Queen] (8:18)
3. Odyssey [Dixie Dregs] (8:00)
4. Take Your Fingers from My Hair [Zebra] (8:18)
5. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two [King Crimson] (6:32)
6. To Tame a Land [Iron Maiden] (7:15)
Total Time: 46:34

Dream Theater returns back to the scene after their 2007 album, Systematic Chaos. Black Cloud & Silver Linings is an attempt of the band to draw more fans by mixing their old melodic music with pure metal madness, anthemic epics, and obscure odd-time signatures. I’ve been a fan for almost 12years and I clearly thought that after Octavarium that the old Dream Theater sound was long, long, loooooong gone. I believe that the last “great melodic” album after Images & Words that was released was the 2-disc classic (in which I enjoyed the 2^nd disc than the 1^st) Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. I was happy that I was sorely mistaken.

Black Cloud and Silver Linings was the best release that the band has made ever since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. It contained 4 songs that exceeds 10mins and were very melodic type. Closely similar to the things that you hear in Images & Words. The album also featured a ballad which probably unintentionally talked about the band’s future (Wither). It was also amazing to know that Mike Portnoy (ex-drummer now) had a major contribution to the album’s song lyrics and riffs specially in The Best Of Times (dedicated to his late father), The Shattered Fortress (w/c is the final part of the 12 Step Alcoholic Anonymous Suite), and A Nightmare to Remember. This was also the last album w/c featured Mike as their drummer, who left because of inner problems within the band and wanted to explore the world of music a lot more than being “controlled by the Dream Theater machine”.

Review

1^st Disc:

Nightmare To Remember is the traditional “great” album intro w/c featured most of what Dream Theater really is: Systematic Chaos. This means that the song is big, strong, and very badass but still had the slow, melodic parts w/ it. James LaBrie’s vocals on this song was not half bad either. He did pretty well despite knowing that his voice isn’t ideally for that strong metal background compared to guys like Russell Allen and Mike Akerfelt. Mike Portnoy also showed the entire repertoire of his drumming accompanied by some heavy metal growling along the way. *9/10*

The album’s first single, A Rite Of Passage, was a lot more like Systematic Chaos’ single, Forsaken. I found myself actually enjoying the tune pretty much as I would w/ Forsaken but it became a bit stale after listening to it 5-6x. Though John Petrucci’s (guitarist) did a great job w/ the main riff and solo parts w/in the solo, Jordan Rudess’ (keyboardist) sounded a bit overshadowed and somewhat overlooked.  It didn’t have that much impact in the song’s structure as you would usually hear like in their previous albums. Despite the obvious flaws it’s still a great song to listen to. *8/10*

Wither is perhaps the best rock ballad that they’ve released since Awake’s Lifting Shadows Off A Dream and Scenes From a Memory’s The Spirit Carries On. The song has the softness and style one would expect in a ballad inside a Dream Theater album and it’s also one of the most powerful ballads ever made by the band. The chorus is indeed memorable and emotionally charged. If you get the chance to watch the MTv of this song, you’ll realize just how awesome it is. *10/10*

Mike Portnoy’s Alcoholic Anynomous 12-Step Suite finally ends here in The Shattered Fortress. Rising from silence, the band then slowly builds the intro up into a riff which reminds us of the Train Of Thought song which is also part of the AA Suite, This Dying Soul. Mike Portnoy and James LaBrie then shares vocal parts where Portnoy’s growls become more intense. Occasionally in rock music, the backing riffs overshadow the solos in the front- this is a good example of that very phenomenon. The song also includes revised solo parts from Octavarium’s The Root Of All Evil, softer vocals and rhythm gathered from Systematic Chaos’ Repentance, slamming chords and solos from This Dying Soul, then the song ends with Six Degrees of  Inner Turbulence’s first song, The Glass Prison. It is evident that the powerful mix of the songs then culminates to this final part of the story… Hence, Mike breaking free from this Shattered Fortress holds him for a very long time. *9.5/10*

The Best Of Times was written by Mike Portnoy to pay homage to his late and beloved father. The song itself is enough to make you think about tracks from their first golden-selling abum, Images & Words.  It starts w/ Jordan’s traditional keyboard intro mixed w/ violin strings and John Petrucci’s acoustic guitar kicks in to help introduce the listener to Mike’s great relationship and eventual loss of his father. Any who’d listen to this that has lost a loved one that they were close to will indeed fall into tears after listening to the intro. It then kicks to the prog-metal gear after the intro in where the magic of the Dream Theater continues.  James LaBrie’s singing of the lyrics was just magical and worth listening to over and over again. Word for word, The Best Of Times has one of the best lyrics in any Dream Theater song ever made so far. Even far better than A Change Of Seasons was back then and that song was considered lyrically their best. *9/10*

After your 50min ordeal in the form of the last 5 songs, The Count Of Tuscany then steps in. Out of the 6 songs, this could be my favorite just because of it’s great, anthemic, epic intro w/c suddenly reminded me A Killing Hand from their first album, When Dream And Day Unite combined with some Geddy Lee-ish singing and Rush vibe. The song is all about John Petrucci’s dream of someone he met in Tuscany. Although most of the song’s lyrics are just like taken out from someone’s dream world, The Count Of Tuscany’s overall construction is just  as sick as any Dream Theater epic would be. Jordan Rudess’ keyboard mixes shines in the intro of the song just before the band unison in which Petrucci kicks in to higher gear. James then turns up the song a notch by singing those Geddy Lee inspired notes while venturing into Petrucci’s dreamworld. It may not seem much, but John Myung’s (Bassist) contribution on the bass just made this song more kickass and wickeder than it is. Even though most would say that the song lacks structural “integrity” to be even be considered as a Dream Theater epic, long-song-format lovers like myself would pretty much enjoy it never the less. This also ends so epically with the same riff in the intro and the ending of the lyrics say: “Tell them about my brother! Tell them about me… The Count of Tuscany”, which even made it more climatic not to mention the great guitar soloing and crunchy bass lines.Great job, on this one Dream Theater… 🙂 *10/10*

2^nd Disc:

The second disc features some excellent takes on classic rock tracks that had a hand in influencing all the members of the band. These are not the filler cover tunes or throw in bonus tracks you will find on many CDs; these are legitimate solid covers of great songs which Dream Theater does all the time. Their cover of a Dixie Dregs classic, The Oddysey, was the best among the others in the disc in my opinion.
Conclusion:

Since I am a fan of this band’s music for almost 12yrs, I would definitely say that this album was their best ever since the old days of Images & Words, Awake, and the 2^nd disc of Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. It was actually very surprising that Dream Theater release an album every 2years and so far, none of them were very stale. Despite the last 3 releases weren’t really that good (Train of Thought, Octavarium, and Systematic Chaos).

Upon the departure of Mike Portnoy from the band, It was clear that they just lost a musical powerhouse and fanclub leader. John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess tried to step it up so to speak w/c was clear on the band’s previous album, A Dramatic Turn of Events. Though I personally think that album was a bit over the top compared to this album and not too mention that it wasn’t great at all. Dream Theater’s new drummer, Mike Mangini, should try to fill the holes in w/c Mike was responsible in doing, like great rhythms and more lyrical contribution, as opposed to just the technical drumming ability that he showcased w/c earned him the spot as the new drummer and part of the DT family.

Overall score: 9.5/10

Download Links:

-4shared website download link

Meanwhile, more on Mike Portnoy news:

Since Mike’s apparent departure from the prog-metal powerhouse, Dream Theater, he got involved with a younger metal band called Avenged Sevenfold. He took over Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan’s drum seat and won the award of Best Drummer Award for his work w/ A7x’s Nightmare album. Despite being a great drummer as he is, the A7x guys decided that they should get a much younger drummer to tour with them.

Mike then had several sideprojects made alongside maintaining the old ones (w/ Neal Morse and TransAtlantic). He then started a heavy metal supergroup, Adrenaline Mob, which featured vocalist Russell Allen (Symphony X), guitarist Mike Orlando (former Zakk Wyld Band), and bassist John Moyer (Disturbed). They launched their album Omerta  just this last 03/13/2012. *7/10*

He then also assembled another super group w/c was more prog-rock/pop oriented as opposed to Andrenaline Mob’s straight on, heavy metal feel. Flying Colors consists of him, guitarist Steve Morse (Deep Purple & Dixie Dregs), vocalist/keyboardist/composer Neal Morse (Neal Morse band, TransAtlantic, & former Spock’s Beard),  bassist Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs, Joe Satriani, & John Petrucci live band), and vocalist Casey MacPherson (AlphaRev). The band’s sound leaned to a much more old school-ish sound and pop mixture. Their self-title album was released 03/26/2012 and was recorded in a only 3months (January – March 2012). *9.5/10*

Another sideprojects in the works is w/ legendary guitarist John Sykes and Mr. Big bassist and bass master, Billy Sheehan. This project was announced publicly by Portnoy and Sykes during an episode from That Metal Show. But due to musical differences, Sykes opted out. Portnoy revealed weeks later that Sykes was replaced by ex-Mr.Big and Poison guitarist, Ritchie Kotzen.

The last musical project Mike was seen involved in was a instrumental supergroup w/ members keyboardist Derek Sherinian (ex Dream Theater), guitarist Tony McAlpine (Planet X & Ring of Fire), and bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr.Big & Steve Vai Band). The band was featured in several music conventions including the famous GuitarCentral’s 2012 Drum-Off show and 2012 NAMM Conference. They will also be on tour the rest of the year due to major fan requests.

Resident Evil 6 Character Biography and News… -Spoiler Alert-

Warning – Resident Evil 6 spoilers contained in this article; Read at your own risk.

 

Ever since the Resident Evil 6 trailer was launched around January of this year, a lot of speculations have been made on who would be the characters involved in the game. I have been looking around for details ever since I watched the trailer 2months ago.  Thanks to the resources, I’ve got a list of characters… Some might already be familiar to most fans.

• Chris Redfield (RE1, Code Veronica, Umbrella Chronicles, RE5, RE:Revelations)
• Leon Kennedy (RE2, RE4, Darkside Chronicles)
• Sherry Birkin (RE2, Darkside Chronicles extra)
• Helena Harper (USSS agent)

These were the first 4 people who would be named after the first trailer. The ff. are the new ones that were introduced by Capcom on the Captivate Trailer which was launched April 10. Though this is still unconfirmed, here are the names:

• Jake Muller (Albert Wesker’s “son”)
• Piers Nivans (BSSA solidier and under Chris’ team)
• Carla Radames (an Ada Wong clone and possible antagonist)
• Ada Wong (still unconfirmed if she’s a protagonist or antagonist)
  

Though it might sound utterly stupid at the time that an Ada clone was part of the plot, this was a bit “confirmed” in the captivate trailer that there will be another “mystery woman” in this game… Very much like what Capcom did w/ Resident Evil 5 in where they created a mystery character who turned out to be Jill Valentine (at this time, now Jill Redfield). And even though this Carla Radames character is still unconfirmed by Capcom, Ada Wong lovers could have a li’l sigh of relief because we just can’t pull our triggers against one of prettiest girls in gaming and one of the franchise’s best anti-hero.

Below is a biography list of the characters. Most are officially taken from several websites including the Official Biohazard Website. Since the information written down on that site is Japanese, I took the time to do a little research and create my own biographies list which includes at least 95% accuracy. So, read, relax, speculate, and enjoy!

Chris Redfield was one of 5 people who survived the infected mansion incident in RE1 alongside Jill, Rebecca, and Barry. He is very talented soldier which was known for his dead-on ability with the sniper rifled and any gun for that matter. He also worked in a special squad headed by Wesker, the STARS division, which was like the best SWAT team in Racoon City’s police department. They were sent in when the government realizes that the normal police team could not handle a particular case.

At this point he is now an active part of and high ranking officer of the BSAA since the events leading to RE5 and after RE:UC. He, alongside a team of BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) team members, where dispatch to the China (possibly Hong Kong) to reckon and rescue several high officials from the United Nations after the bio-terrorism attack started to spread throughout the entire world which originally started somewhere in Europe. During this time, another bio-hazard attack was launched against the United States.

Leon Kennedy, a former rookie Racoon City police cop, who survived the Racoon City outbreak alongside Chris’ little sister, Claire Redfield, and Sherry Birkin. He was taken in by the US government who gave him an “offer he can’t refuse” to be a secret agent. The trailer reveals that he had his gun pointed towards a now zombified president of the United States, Adam Benford. The scene also included a brief explanation of the outbreak cause by his new partner, Helena, another agent from USSS (United States Secret Service).

After the chat, Leon was then contacted by Hunnigan (Leon’s mission aid and acting like a personal assistant during his missions) and advised him that the situation was already very grim. He also advised her  to help them out on their trip to China to put a stop on this worldwide outbreak which threatened to destroy the whole human race.

Helena Harper is an officer in the DSO (Division of Security) of the USSS. She was assigned to be one of President Benford’s personal bodyguards and was partnered up with Leon before the President tried to “come clean” before the announcement of the events in Racoon City.

Though she admittedly told Leon in the captivate trailer that she was the one responsible on why the biohazard outbreak took place, there is still little known about it. Guess we need to play the game when it comes out to discover the real reason. LOL

Jake Muller is the son of late Umbrella Corporation’s eugenicist, virologist, and bioterrorist (not to mention a traitor) Albert Wesker, who left Jake’s mother soon after his birth. Without a father to provide for his family, Jake soon found work as a mercenary for hire in order to support his mother.

While operating in an anti-government plot in Edonia (Europe), Jake was caught up in an act of bio-terrorism. Jake’s mercenary comrades infected him with the C-Virus which proved worthless because of the resistant genes he gained from Albert Wesker. He then met up w/ Sherry Birkin and went into a roller coaster ride to escape from an unidentified group who’s interest was to get a sample of his blood for bio-terrorism purposes.

Sherry Birkin  was still a young girl when she was found by Leon and Claire during their escape out of zombie and BOW infested Racoon City. She was also the daughter of Umbrella Corps scientists William and Annette Birkin. At one point during their journey out of the city, she was injected by then-monsterified William with the horrible G-Virus. Luckily, Claire and Leon, with the help of Ada, was able to give her a dose of the anti-virus before she turned into a BOW herself. When she and Leon came to the government to testify against the Umbrella Corporation regarding the incidents that led to the demise of Racoon City, she was put under surveillance… And like Leon, she was also mandated to become a member of the secret agency by the government.

14 years after the Racoon City incident, Sherry found herself being assigned to Edonia by the USSS and the BSAA to find a guy named Jake Muller and protect him while try to reach the rendezvous point for their extraction. They then meet Chris and BSAA team along the way .

Pier Nivans is a soldier and part of the BSAA’s SOU (Special Operations Unit) division. Nivans served under Chris Redfield during the events of the outbreak in Maruhawa Academy, the largest university in Asia, and in RE6. He’s a person w/ a strong sense of responsibility and has a very discerning mind, being able to influence the team into the correct course of action in the battlefield.

Pier is considered to be a prodigy w/ the art of shooting, much like Chris was when he was still in the STARS division. Due to his keen sharpshooting and concentration, he was given the title “the man who never misses a target”. He was first scene in the trailer alongside w/ Chris while watching their fellow BSAA teammates turning into monsters while the “unknown woman” escapes the scene.

Though this is still very much unconfirmed, Carla and Ada have the same outfit and their motives are still unclear. The trailer shows that one of them shows up and infects most of the BSAA soldiers with the C-Virus, mutating them into a very new type of monsters never encountered in the franchise (though info from several sources say that they are much like the Nemesis monster in RE3). She once again shows up in Edonia, now with the tied-up and captured Jake Muller. She then explains to him that he was the son of the traitorous, Albert Wesker, and why they are after him and his blood sample. The last scene which featured Ada/Carla was in a building in which Chris and Pier had their guns pointed towards her and then Leon suddenly appears and points his gun towards Chris while they exchange these words:

Leon: “Put your guns down, Chris! She’s a key witness… We need her!”

Chris: “A witness?! SHE’S THE ONE WHO DID ALL THIS!!!”

New Enemies/BOWs:

It’s a good thing that Capcom decided to go back to Resident Evil’s roots since this year’s release of Operation Racoon City. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the zombies are back… Though, of course, still w/  a bit of that stupid Ganado upgrade.

Yes… The zombie horde are back… But, now they can do stuff you’d only dream about.

In regards w/ new BOW opponents, there are still little information. Below are pictures of the new creatures one might meet along the way.

Ok Now, they can also use weapons? Great…

One of the mutated BSAA soldiers after Carla/Ada injected them w/ the C-Virus.

Jake going mano-a-mano against a Nemesis BOW look alike.

Conclusion:

As far as I am concerned, I think this should shake up to be the game of the year if not also survival-horror game of the year. The storyline seems to also have a twist into it. Capcom now realizes it needs to step up the game not only with the graphics, but also with the story line. Quite frankly enough this is the most ambitious project the franchise has made so far… And the storyline seems to be as “canon” as it gets.

We only have to wait and see what happens in the release date 10.02.2012, which was advanced from the previous release date of 11.20.2012 due to public demand… Hope we won’t get disappointed after all the hype this has thrown at us.

Visit the game’s official puzzle website for more information and future news…

The clock is ticking… You have been warned…