Reviews Written by rtp_d0rk
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December 13, 2006
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December 13, 2006
Brilliant but not for the faint of hearing
Pros: truly unique and uncompromising
Cons: not easily accessible
No one ever seems to be on the fence with this album. Either you love it or you hate it. IF you love it, you love it because there was nothing out before or since it's release that has captured the range of styles and sound. At first listen it's chaos, it's Atonal nonsense,,and then you listen to it a couple times over and all of a sudden you're picking out all the rythmic patterns and well meticulated organization that was there all along. You love it because you love Jazz, you love Metal, and not only does the album have this blend and a lot more, but it challenges you to think. No you can't just listen to this album to rock out, it doesn't just hand you the main riff, the chorus, the bridge, etc. You have to really listen and pick things out. The musicians chops are 100% in form, in beat, in tune,,and everything that is done is with purpose. For a relativley small band on a major label to make something this daring and made from a standpoint of making music, not just the same old let's make whatever will sell, And then have the major label sell it. That took a lot of balls from both parties. Radiohead's OK COMPUTER became the best know and praised 90's album for this same concept; semi popular band telling big label to shove off and release their album as is. It would have been nice to have seen Disco Volante get that same kind of respect and critcal acclaim.
In today's age of mass produced pop infused emo metal,,there will never be another Disco Volante. There will never be another Mr. Bungle. This all points to why the people who love this album, love it so much.
The people who hate this album, easily dissmiss it as garbage. They say it sucks because it's just a jumbled mess of seemingly sounding chaos. What these people fail to miss are the patterns and well placed organization in these songs. It's like we're all staring at one of those Magic Eye 3D pictures. And half of us can find the hidden 3D picture in the chaos,,and we're just blown away by it. And then you have the haters, the poor souls who just fail from either not trying, or being too stupid, to see the picture and so they get mad and say "garbage" , "this sucks" " my mom could make a better album". To which I say fine you guys go listen to and stick to Mushroomhead, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, whatever other !X-treme! rock it is that you really like.
I also have a theroy that most of us who get it,, are also musicians who can read music other than six string tablature in the backs of Guitar Shredder Monthly, or simply just good listeners with open minds. ... -
October 4, 2006
Surprizingly moving! not typical zombie fare
Pros: over used theme "zombies", approached in such a manner to make it original
Cons: very short and choppy 'interviews', but that's kind of the point
When someone can take a theme that's been literally hacked to death by other writers and film makers, and can then approach it in a way that hasn't been copied a million times over and then make it almost impossible to put down; I admire it very much!
World War Z relies on the horror of war, catastrophe, human nature, and "first-hand" narratives to deliver a story. What it surprizingly doesn't rely on is ZOMBIES!
Well ok it does but it's in no way the campy, over used Zombie apocalypse plots most of us are used to. The subject matter is taken and presented so seriously one would think it could have been presented to you by a BBC or NPR special. It's great social commentary that exposes the pros and cons of so many comtemporary cultures and even nations. You hate some of the survivors, You love some of them, but all of them have an affect on you as you read. It's a hard look in the mirror for how we humans can (and frankly have been, and show no signs of changing) be during times of crisis.
I can laugh at the films Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, (most of the other horror films) and be entertained. World War Z presents an image that's entertaining, but it's hard to laugh at or poke fun of the zombies in it, because it's not the zombies you're made to pay attention to. It's the horror of our nature; sealing our own fate genetically, socially, and environmentally that takes the fore front. I'd go so far to say it's a fairly accurate portrayal of how things would go down, should the unthinkable or rather unbelievable happen.
By far my best read of 2006 ! ... -
May 10, 2006
Kicks BigDumbAss
Pros: it's goofy deathrock meat beat fun
Cons: Burgalviest is gaining power against Dukelion
you like ween, you like they might be giants, you like cannibal corpse ? you want to put them in a blender and see what happens? GET THIS ALBUM!! So glad Wes Borland quit Limp Biskit,, now he just needs to bathe us again in another Big Dumb Face or Eat The Day album!! ...
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May 10, 2006
TETRIS DS!!(why did they ever make Tetris Worlds?)
1 of 1 Yahoo! Users found this review helpfulPros: TETRIS! Old Skool 8bit characters, WiFi multiplayer
Cons: none,, unless you just don't like Tetris
Tetris Worlds= over bloated, over produced update on something that should be easy to make.
TETRIS DS= The updated Tetris that all Tetris/ Nintendo fans have wanted to play! I didn't think much could be done to make something that was great, even better. I didn't think that so many off shoot mini games based around Tetris could be made. I was wrong. Graphics, Audio, Controls, Updates that are fun, unique (and not just pointless, I.E. Tetris Worlds) ; Tetris DS is just a lot of amazing fun in a tiny package, focued around a fairly small and basic concept; TETRIS! ... -
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day Nintendo DS
Nintendo DSPrice: $12.98 to $19.99 Compare PricesMay 10, 2006
quirky, challenging fun!
5 of 6 Yahoo! Users found this review helpfulPros: once you start, you can't stop, surprisingly addictive
Cons: handwriting recognition could be better, more mini games
Brain Age is just what the doctor could order for increasing and unlocking anyone's brain potential.
Through simple exercises such as math equations, reading aloud, perception games,,this game offers the player a chance to not only flex their brain IQ but make it stronger. The game utilizes they DS stylus and microphone in a seamless fun experience. Doing math and word problems doesn't sound like fun,,but yet somehow this game makes not only enjoyable but addictive. The first time I heard about a game called Katamari Damacy, I remember thinking 'so what , you roll a big ball around and pick up stuff,,how fun could that be?' And then I played it and somehow it was the most fun I had had on a game system in a long while. The fun factor of Brain Age is the same way. I only wish there were more mini games to "train" my brain on. ... -
November 13, 2003
(Engh) is more like it
Pros: they listened to Faith No More's 1992 Angel Dust album
Cons: not nearly as good as the band(s) they try to emulate
Look as a band you don't have to bring anything new to the table, but you should sincerely try.
If I want to hear Slayer. I'll listen to Slayer. If I want to hear Strapping Young Lad or Meshuggah, I'll listen to them. If I want to hear one of the best rock/metal albums ever (on the basis of it being cohesive, top-notch production, musically talented in it's blending of styles, and way ahead of its time) I'll go listen Angel Dust; Faith No More's 1992 album.
SO with all that said why would I want to listen to something that does a really half-ass job in trying to blend all of these things together? Mike Patton didn't invent Nu-Metal singing, but he certainly created his own unique styling of it; distinct enough that when someone tries to rip it off, it obvious and shamefully sad. It's great that Mushroomhead's frontman has good influences; but use influences to find your own voice and not just completely copy things you've already heard. This logic fits to rest of the band as well. As a group they are together and act as a unit. No one member stands out like a David Lee Roth or Eddie Van Halen to fight for sole attention and fame. That's cool. The drawback is, the unit doesn't seem strong enough to carry anything truly impressive. This album could work as a good 'gateway' album for young teens. They could start with this and then find the really good hard stuff. ... -
August 27, 2003
too much hype
1 of 1 Yahoo! Users found this review helpful Loving Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2, I was very excited about playing SH3. After getting to the end of it I can say, something about the game feels forced; Whereas SH1 & 2 feel more genuine and ultimately more errie. The game is very Wham Bam Thank You Ma'm. Right off the bat you're in a hellish nightmare, then a tiny bit of 'normal' reality, right back into hellish nightmare. What happend to building up the mood?; First the fog, then the noises, fighting with monsters, and then the really gruesome looking sh*t. Rising action in the horror makes it so much better.
The sound and music is equally as good if not better than two. Graphically it's still great like the second one, no better or worse (Diehard SH3 fans will say it's 'much improved'). For every great camera shot while you're walking about there's a horrible shot, or positioning that to match it. Usually the bad angling always seems to strike while fighting monsters.
The controls feel very loose, a little nudge on the analog stick goes a LONG way with Heather.
Besides a sad scene and then references involving Harry Mason (SH1 star); the characters and story explain things in an annoying vague way
*Questionable motives character-'you mean you don't know?' Heather--'know what?' -'oh c'mon you KNOW..?'--'no really I don't, know what?' -'well I'm sorry Heather if you don't know, I won't tell you'. CUE unclear motivated character exit*
Lots of dialouge like that going on in this game. Also I think the game translation to english was rushed.
Sure this game has many of the great qualities that made it's predecessors so great. I knock it, but it is a Silent Hill game nonetheless. Say SH1 & 2 are Sepultura and Pantera. SH3 would be Linkin Park, it tries so hard to be tough and yet NU at the same time that it fails to rock.
SH1 & 2 entertained me, shocked me, and scared me in a way that seeps into your bones. SH3 made me jump a few times, but other than that it just felt like I was solving puzzles, gathering items, to a backdrop of disturbing images. ... -
March 8, 2003
a bit weak
Sometimes new RPGs with the style of old school in them are good. Example, Wild Arms 3. Sometimes this old school attempt is just plain bad. Which is the case of Grandia II. Compared to the likes of real old school titles Grandia II doesnt have any real spark. Lufia 1 & 2, the Phantasy Star series, Breath of Fire, Landstalker, Shining Force 1 & 2, Chrono Trigger, Zelda; A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy 1, 2, & 3; these are all old games that are much more fun to play than this one. If youre young and a newbie to RPGs play Grandia II, enjoy it. But for old vetrans of the video RPG, chances are youve already played this game inadvertantly a million times since the early 90s on.
Not the worst game, but certainly not great either. What a let down for a ps2 title. ... -
Xenosaga: Episode I -- Der Wille zur Macht PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2Price: $12.99 to $66.20 Compare PricesMarch 1, 2003
hoping it gets better
4 of 4 Yahoo! Users found this review helpful NOTE that currently Im only 12 hours into Xenosaga. Im sure it will get at least a little better as it goes on. Its a fun RPG, but its nowhere near as original or as fun as Xenogears. The polygon graphics and movies are great. Its cool that graphics have evolved enough to where the gameplay and movies in the game look exactly the same, but like with LUNAR; Silver Star Story Complete and Xenogears; I enjoyed the separation between great quality anime movies and decent enough gameplay graphics. Many reviews say that this game should be played by only die hard Xenogears fans, but I feel the exact opposite. Any casual RPG gamer should appreciate this game being a good one. But the Xenogears fans, the ones who have been waiting for years for a great sequel, will be let down. The menus, colorings, and over all feeling of the game borrow more from Front Mission 3 than its supposed series member/ originator, Xenogears. The game feels minimalistic. The orchestrated music is fine, but few and far between. The environments can be colorful, but often times feel vacant and empty. The battle sequences are do able, but nothing special. The side games are less than exciting. XenoCard is about as fun as watching YU GI OH, in fact I think just swapping out XenoCard for a version of YU GI OH in the game would have made it more exciting. Anyways, The characters are well developed and the story lives up to its predecessors. The story is going to be deep, enjoyable, and defintley the thing people remember this game for. It seems like more could have been added to the game to give it more personality, and it just wasnt. Perfect way to sum it up. Remember how great Star Wars: A New Hope was the first time you saw it. And then The Phantom Menace came out and you thought you would be blown away,, but you were just half assed impressed. Thats how I feel about Xenosaga. I might just hype sequels up too much. Give it rent first before you buy. ...
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Good, but hasn't aged like a fine wine
Pros: It's the band at their most FUN
Cons: sounding dated, guitar effects in particuilar
It's hard to explain why but Mr. Bungle's other two albums will forever hold a timeless sound. California is well polished, arranged, and the musical A.D.D. is toned down. Disco Volante is a well constructed mess of jazz, metal, and whatever else the boys had in their head at that particuilar time. All of the albums use sound effects and rely on them, but none rely so much on effects that sound so stereotypical for that time period as Mr. Bungle's warner bros. debut. The distortion guitar, sounds like late 80's early nineties distortion (distorted without bass, sounding tin can-ish and wimpy). They keyboard samples also sound very much like signs of the time, cheesy C&C Music Factory/ Jesus Jones effects and sampling (for those of us who remember such days, we remember how cool it seemed at the time,,and how horrid it sounded all but 5 years later). It's a Mr. Bungle album and that means it's good,, but 20 years from now I think Disco Volante or California will sound just as contemporary then as it does now. In the same way that Faith No More's album The Real Thing sounds dated,,the same goes for this. In the same way that FNM's follow up Angel Dust never seems to age,,the same goes for Mr. Bungle's later work ...