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Christine A. (965 KP) rated We Sold Our Souls in Books
Jan 31, 2019
Creepy novel
Horrorstör was my 4th favorite book I read in 2015. Considering only "Ready Player One", "13 Reasons Why", and "Autopsy Room Four", a little-known work by Stephen King were the only ones to beat it that is quite impressive.
I was so excited when I learned "We Sold Our Souls" by Grady Hendrix was being published. After reading it, I am just as excited to write how much I enjoyed it. First let me say, I am and always will be, a metalhead.
We Sold Our Souls involves a broken up metal band who did not end on the best of terms.As you can imagine, their reuniting is not everyone sitting around and singing Kumbaya. Hendrix through flashbacks shows how the band broke up and why they need to fight together. I would have loved to hear Dürt Würk play. Mentioned throughout the story are well known heavy metal bands that I have to turn up anytime I hear them. Each chapter's title is the name of a metal album.
The novel did not scary me but it was creepy and definitely worth reading. I will be keeping Grady Hendrix at the top of my "authors to read anything they publish" list.
Published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 1/31/19.
I was so excited when I learned "We Sold Our Souls" by Grady Hendrix was being published. After reading it, I am just as excited to write how much I enjoyed it. First let me say, I am and always will be, a metalhead.
We Sold Our Souls involves a broken up metal band who did not end on the best of terms.As you can imagine, their reuniting is not everyone sitting around and singing Kumbaya. Hendrix through flashbacks shows how the band broke up and why they need to fight together. I would have loved to hear Dürt Würk play. Mentioned throughout the story are well known heavy metal bands that I have to turn up anytime I hear them. Each chapter's title is the name of a metal album.
The novel did not scary me but it was creepy and definitely worth reading. I will be keeping Grady Hendrix at the top of my "authors to read anything they publish" list.
Published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 1/31/19.
James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Construct by Archivist in Music
Nov 26, 2019
Post metal concept album sounds terrible but actually it's not
Ads you may have noticed despite being a Hip Hop artist and mainly listening to Hip Hop I do love all music, if it good, I'll bang it through my speakers. However I must admit, although i love hardcore, metal is not my favourite genre.
This was recommended to me and the description sounded horrific, it is a sci fi concept album mixing shoe gazer with blast beats and songs getting to the ten minute mark. Yeah, terrible right? Well actually its really damn good. Parts of the album remind me of Belligerent Declaration where dark atmospheric slow meandering showcase, builds up the atmosphere before going full sonic heavy on your ears without ever destroying the feeling its creates. Its rare to listen to a song clocking over 8 minutes and then rewind it to listen again but I did.
Now I need to get their new one and watch out for them live.
This was recommended to me and the description sounded horrific, it is a sci fi concept album mixing shoe gazer with blast beats and songs getting to the ten minute mark. Yeah, terrible right? Well actually its really damn good. Parts of the album remind me of Belligerent Declaration where dark atmospheric slow meandering showcase, builds up the atmosphere before going full sonic heavy on your ears without ever destroying the feeling its creates. Its rare to listen to a song clocking over 8 minutes and then rewind it to listen again but I did.
Now I need to get their new one and watch out for them live.
Dave Mustaine recommended Lightning To The Nations by Diamond Head in Music (curated)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Sound of Metal (2019) in Movies
Mar 22, 2021
Rooted in Humanity
SOUND OF METAL has a pretty simple “one-line summary”: Heavy Metal Drummer deals with going deaf. But is it the humanity at the center of this film that makes it worthwhile.
Written and Directed by Darius Marder (THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES), SOUND OF METAL tells the tale of Ruben, the drummer of the Heavy Metal Band BLACK GAMMON, who must come to terms with suddenly losing most of his hearing.
Starring Riz Ahmed - in an Oscar nominated turn - SOUND OF METAL follows Ruben’s journey as he comes to terms with the wrinkle that his life has thrown at him and the silence makes him study the non-stillness inside of him.
This all sounds like it could be corny, right? Well…under the guidance of Marder and with a central performance that is grounded and real by Ahmed, it is anything but. This film finds itself in it’s humanity and the very real, personal interactions.
Credit must start with the performance of Ahmed (heretofore known to me as Bodhi Rook in STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE), he is in almost every scene in the film and he must bring a vulnerability to the screen for the audience to care about him - and he accomplishes this in spades. Even when his character makes mistakes (and, trust me, he makes a TON of them), you end up rooting for him to succeed.
Paul Raci was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Joe, the head of the Deaf Community for Addicts that Ruben eventually goes to. His turn is also grounded in the reality - the reality of addicts who have yet another twist in their life thrown at them. Raci has a road-weary look to him and gives off an aura of someone who has seen - and heard - it all, so must take a “tough love” approach. This performance works very well.
Also strong in this film is Olivia Cooke (READY PLAYER ONE) as Lou, Ruben’s girlfriend/lead singer of the Metal Band they are in. She must make some tough decisions in the course of this film - and you end up emotionally engaged in her story as well. Both Ruben and Lou are good people at heart that must make hard choices, you root for both of them to succeed even though, through these choices, pain and suffering and separation must occur.
All of this sounds good, but there has been many a film that falters under the “good intentions” of it’s Director/Screenwriter, but SOUND OF METAL avoids most of the pitfalls of these types of films by not dwelling too much on the pain and suffering of the leads - it’s there, but (as Joe would say), deal with it. I’m a little surprised that Marder did not get a Best Director Oscar nod (the work is that good), but am glad that he did get an Original Screenplay nomination.
And…as you can imagine…a film about Deafness is reliant on the Sound Design to help bring that aspect of Ruben’s experience to the audience - and this film delivers the goods. The sound team was, rightfully, nominated for the Oscar for sound design - and they should easily win - for the sound is another character in this film and that is what, ultimately, makes this film works. The audience is put in Ruben’s shoes and, at times, are unable to hear what others on the screen are saying.
A very satisfying film experience - one that needs to be seen with no distractions (especially sound distractions), so find a quiet time, lower the shades and dive into the world of the SOUND OF METAL.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
Written and Directed by Darius Marder (THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES), SOUND OF METAL tells the tale of Ruben, the drummer of the Heavy Metal Band BLACK GAMMON, who must come to terms with suddenly losing most of his hearing.
Starring Riz Ahmed - in an Oscar nominated turn - SOUND OF METAL follows Ruben’s journey as he comes to terms with the wrinkle that his life has thrown at him and the silence makes him study the non-stillness inside of him.
This all sounds like it could be corny, right? Well…under the guidance of Marder and with a central performance that is grounded and real by Ahmed, it is anything but. This film finds itself in it’s humanity and the very real, personal interactions.
Credit must start with the performance of Ahmed (heretofore known to me as Bodhi Rook in STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE), he is in almost every scene in the film and he must bring a vulnerability to the screen for the audience to care about him - and he accomplishes this in spades. Even when his character makes mistakes (and, trust me, he makes a TON of them), you end up rooting for him to succeed.
Paul Raci was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Joe, the head of the Deaf Community for Addicts that Ruben eventually goes to. His turn is also grounded in the reality - the reality of addicts who have yet another twist in their life thrown at them. Raci has a road-weary look to him and gives off an aura of someone who has seen - and heard - it all, so must take a “tough love” approach. This performance works very well.
Also strong in this film is Olivia Cooke (READY PLAYER ONE) as Lou, Ruben’s girlfriend/lead singer of the Metal Band they are in. She must make some tough decisions in the course of this film - and you end up emotionally engaged in her story as well. Both Ruben and Lou are good people at heart that must make hard choices, you root for both of them to succeed even though, through these choices, pain and suffering and separation must occur.
All of this sounds good, but there has been many a film that falters under the “good intentions” of it’s Director/Screenwriter, but SOUND OF METAL avoids most of the pitfalls of these types of films by not dwelling too much on the pain and suffering of the leads - it’s there, but (as Joe would say), deal with it. I’m a little surprised that Marder did not get a Best Director Oscar nod (the work is that good), but am glad that he did get an Original Screenplay nomination.
And…as you can imagine…a film about Deafness is reliant on the Sound Design to help bring that aspect of Ruben’s experience to the audience - and this film delivers the goods. The sound team was, rightfully, nominated for the Oscar for sound design - and they should easily win - for the sound is another character in this film and that is what, ultimately, makes this film works. The audience is put in Ruben’s shoes and, at times, are unable to hear what others on the screen are saying.
A very satisfying film experience - one that needs to be seen with no distractions (especially sound distractions), so find a quiet time, lower the shades and dive into the world of the SOUND OF METAL.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
John Lydon recommended Killer by Alice Cooper in Music (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated Robocop (1987) in Movies
Feb 12, 2018
Murphy's Law
Heavy metal action satire from Dutch director Paul Verhoeven that established him as one of the world's leading SF directors. The story is functional, if hardly original - dedicated cop is shot to pieces by bad guys, rebuilt as an armoured cyborg by heartless corporation, struggles to reclaim his humanity - but what makes it special is Verhoeven's ability to turn the movie on a dime, switching the mood from black comedy to sincere drama in a moment.
The setting is futuristic, but few films capture the look and feel of the 80s quite as effortlessly as Robocop. There are a few wobbles in the plotting and some uninspired supporting performances, but this is directed with heart and intelligence. At least as good as The Terminator or Aliens; would probably be much better remembered if any of the sequels had been any good.
The setting is futuristic, but few films capture the look and feel of the 80s quite as effortlessly as Robocop. There are a few wobbles in the plotting and some uninspired supporting performances, but this is directed with heart and intelligence. At least as good as The Terminator or Aliens; would probably be much better remembered if any of the sequels had been any good.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Spine of Night (2021) in Movies
Mar 29, 2022
I don't really know enough about rotoscoping or the much loved Heavy Metal and Fire and Ice to make any comparisons, but what I can stay is that I initially found the animation of The Spine of Night really quite jarring. The wonderful painted-like backgrounds felt at odds with the harsh character designs, a point that was further driven when the hyper violence kicked in. However, by the halfway point I was utterly hypnotised by what was unfolding.
The expressions and emotions of these characters come across quite realistic in an oddly surreal way, wrapped up in an epic fantasy narrative that spans centuries, performed by an impressive voice cast.
The Spine of Night surely isn't for everyone, but if you have even a passing interest in animation and don't mind gore, then you'll probably get a kick out of it.
The expressions and emotions of these characters come across quite realistic in an oddly surreal way, wrapped up in an epic fantasy narrative that spans centuries, performed by an impressive voice cast.
The Spine of Night surely isn't for everyone, but if you have even a passing interest in animation and don't mind gore, then you'll probably get a kick out of it.
Rob Halford recommended Queen II by Queen in Music (curated)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Dead Ant (2017) in Movies
Feb 16, 2021
Let's get the obvious out of the way first...the CGI giant ants, or course, look awful...but honestly, if one can look beyond that, Dead Ant is a genuinely funny and entertaining B-Movie blast.
It has a cast that's not to be sniffed at - Sean Astin, Tom Arnold, Jake Busey, Danny Woodburn, Twin Peaks legend Michael Horse, Sydney Sweeney, Entourage's Rhys Coiro - not too shabby for a low budget creature feature.
It's screenplay is constantly humourous, and everyone involved seems like they're having a good time.
As mentioned, the special effects are bargain bin level, but I don't know, that sort of adds to the whole experience.
I might just be a sucker for heavy metal themed comedies, but Dead Ant is a perfectly fine way to spend 90 minutes, and the song "Sideboob" from the movies fictional band Sonic Grave is now on one of my Spotify playlists 🤘
It has a cast that's not to be sniffed at - Sean Astin, Tom Arnold, Jake Busey, Danny Woodburn, Twin Peaks legend Michael Horse, Sydney Sweeney, Entourage's Rhys Coiro - not too shabby for a low budget creature feature.
It's screenplay is constantly humourous, and everyone involved seems like they're having a good time.
As mentioned, the special effects are bargain bin level, but I don't know, that sort of adds to the whole experience.
I might just be a sucker for heavy metal themed comedies, but Dead Ant is a perfectly fine way to spend 90 minutes, and the song "Sideboob" from the movies fictional band Sonic Grave is now on one of my Spotify playlists 🤘