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Watchtower - Demonstrations in Chaos

I think it warrants a second view and I want to do it as a double bill. I bet if you do that you won't think it is too short! They couldn't continue with all the characters - too confusing. My wife - who has not read the book and has no interest in science fiction - had no real idea who anyone was and her overall take was it looked good but too much fighting. The daughter who hasn't read the book either but who likes fantasy and science fiction enjoyed it and understood it well enough. The son and his wife thought it was a 5 out of 5. I first read the book when I was 14 and it blew my little mind. I haven't re-read it for many years. I don't think the storyline was significantly altered - true, the timespan was compressed and I would have like to have seen Alia as a creepy grandfather killing toddler (but 2024 is probably not up for that). There was not enough weird mysticism and I think Paul's visions of the future and how he was forced to mould his fate could have been explored more deeply and clearly. And riding sandworms is intrinsically weird and a bit silly but was done as well as could be. Still looks silly though.

Fair point! Whenever you have the opportunity, I'd be eager to hear your thoughts. It's a little after 10 p.m. here on the east coast of the U.S., and I'm about to crank up the volume and blast the album once again!

Only giving electronics work a portion of your attention is not a great idea. I've zapped myself a few times when I wasn't paying attention and I'm sure I'll zap myself again one day and not that many people would care but for my own safety I probably shouldn't give myself the opportunity to feel too many amps through my body. What I really need is for my wife to go out instead of being home and watching TV, while telling me it's too hot to be outside, then I could crank the stereo up!

I've also listened through: Exhorder - "Slaughter in the Vatican" Exhorder - "The Law" Yeah, it's tough to tell - still way too early for me to comment on where "Invincible Shield" stands in the catalog, of course. And honestly, I approach each album as a stand-alone effort, without allowing a comparison to other albums dictate my feelings about it. Similar to the way I love "72 Seasons" from Metallica - I don't look at it within a context of whether or not it's "Ride the Lightning, Pt. 2". It's just a great album on its own. The same goes for "Invincible Shield". As a rock-solid heavy metal album, it is a fantastic album. "Crown of Horns" is a true triumph!

Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (album)

PRONG - Working Man

Soundgarden - Superunknown (album)

I'll definitely watch it again. I liked the first part better after I watched it a second time. I thought Jessica and Stilgar were too one-note, almost cartoonishly so, and I'm not sure I buy Chani as either the avatar of a non-religious anti-BG coalition or the jilted lover riding off in frustration. I see that they wanted to focus on the "mostly reluctant participants in a cynical manipulative plot that offers the only alternative to complete annihilation" angle, and they made all of their storytelling choices in service of that. In a big-picture way it makes sense. But I think there's a lot of nuance and depth between the characters that they left out by doing that, not to mention interesting world-building stuff and the feeling of immersion in a sometimes jarringly different culture with different values and mores, and it made the story feel less consequential to me. For instance, when Chani got hurt by Paul's demand for Irulan's hand in marriage, I felt a little like I was watching that dumb Beowulf movie from a few years back. In the book, Paul had to take the wife of Jamis as his own after he won that first fight - culture shock! - and he and Chani were together for a few years, and they'd had and lost a child together, and she understood exactly what was going on when Paul married Irulan out of pure political convenience. And I think Jessica's character would have been deeper and more sympathetic if Alia had been born and we'd seen them interacting. There are other things that I think would have helped too. And it would have been cool to see some of the other characters who got sidelined. I can understand how all of that is of less consequence to the part of the story they wanted to tell through this movie, but for me, the characters are the focus, and when they're not served well - like in those fucking awful sequel books by Frank Herbert's son - I have a hard time swallowing it. But look, I read the first book when I was 7 and loved it immensely as a "coming of age" story. It took me a few years to get into the rest of the series - Paul was maybe a childhood hero and I didn't want to see him as a tragic ruined figure - but all the original books became favorites and I've read them a bunch. I might be too much of a purist about them to be happy with anything that isn't completely exhaustive. You might get more out of it than you think. Frank Herbert's world-building was meticulous. The mechanics of the sandworm/spice/desert ecosystem and the tools and methods the Fremen developed to interact with the worms are pretty thoroughly detailed, they're not just a stand-in for the "mighty steed". I like hard sci-fi too, but from my point of view anything relying on technology that doesn't exist yet is a kind of fantasy.

What? I mean, the first one really only had three or four major action set-piece segments. Too much fighting? Keeping the political intrigue in balance with these set pieces is absolutely pivotal to any action film. The screenplay needs to be tightened down to as little chaff as possible for it to work at all. I mean would you level a complaint about The Fugitive having too much running? I like a good patient adaptation as much as anybody, but there's no way anybody went into Dune expecting Remains of the Day. This is probably why I just watch movies by myself anymore. Somebody saying that to me would get under my skin. Almost all of it is triggered by algorithm at this point. Technologically Youtube has almost no reason to keep anything but a skeleton staff working on actual personal reviews of their copyright policy, and yes this is done entirely in the name of avoiding litigation. They are at the end of the day a company, not a court. Due process is simply something to avoid in consideration. This kind of behavior predates the internet as well. The rise of the corporate HR department has gone from merely being a sort of joke in large companies with the information and statistics to meticulously analyze their risk in any given action, to being the belligerent bullies of the policy world, beholden to the lowest grade of selfish individuals who would rather burn entire economic behemoths to the ground at the expense of potential employees than accept anything short of their specific utopian version of a work environment. Copyright claims are not an avenue for cultivating fairness and refinement in intellectual property law, but simply another tool for use in a battle of personal leverage and attrition. Remember when ASCAP sued the girl scouts of America for using Bruce Springstein songs at some of their presentations, naming him as the plaintiff while not even informing Springstein himself.

I've run some searches on HP's for metal on some of these mid tier HP's. Audeze always come out on top esp the LCD2, but I've got a LCD-3 and want an easy to drive alternative. I'm thinking the Meze 99 might be the best bet. I was rooting for the Sunandra as it's easy to drive and a planar but while it seems to be a go to for audiophile recommendations for a great entry into Headfi, it gets quite a few negative reviews for metal, so it's out.

You've dodged a bullet.

I am not embarrassed to admit I listen to JP but I think I'd be embarrassed to admit I knew what something called Aqua Teen Hunger Force is.

All of this Priest talk is making me chuckle because I can't help thinking about the episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force where Carl briefly goes to his room to change into his 'going out' shirt and a few moments later you hear him from off screen yell "Prepare to scream for vengeance ladies!" I love priest, but that bit will never not be funny. NP: Apogean - Cyberstrictive ▶︎ Cyberstrictive | Apogean (bandcamp.com) Definitely in the range of things where you could almost consider the drumming as the lead. I did notice today that there's kind of a trend going on in tech/death that's pushing towards more melodicism. I'm okay with that, but sooner or later it's going to crowd out the tech part of the equation. I don't demand everybody play their own formula of Wormed's recipe, but it'll be interesting when the next big sub-genre revival hits, whatever it happens to be, if that helps or hinders these bands.

Weird. Almost three hours and I felt like it was too short and lacking in character development. I think I get why they took the angle they did, but I feel like a couple of major characters got short shrift, and somehow that bugged me more than the significant liberties taken with the storyline. Not really sure how I feel about it.

I started listening to it before I got down to the zappy bits. The drumming has definitely got some balls behind it. Rob can still give it the ole JP scream too. Sounds okay so far. I'm here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress!

I'm ashamed to admit this, but I didn't realize Exhorder has a new album coming out! It's been amazing to have them back on the scene after a 27-year gap between full-length studio releases. "Mourn the Southern Skies" (2019) still gets heavy rotation for me - I love it to death. But back to the kings of traditional metal, that trip to the workshop sounds like just what the doctor ordered. However, if you feel like you could give it more attention in a different setting, then I'd definitely understand that, too. "Invincible Shield" is a great album - if you don't initially think it's anything special, I'd encourage you to stick with it, because it may take some time to get into it. Or, at least, that's what happened to me. But hey, you might end up loving it right away. Long live the Priest!

Given Exhorder's last album I am hoping for something with a bit more punch this time. I did listen to the first single they released but I obviously didn't commit it to memory because I feel like I'll be listening to this album blind with no idea what the new sound will be. Slaughter and The Law are still two albums on high rotation in my house. I like 72 Seasons too, not sure I love it because I haven't listened to it more than a few times, but I do agree with the way you look at such albums. It's a bit warm here at the moment (36C and still rising) and I was going to go out in the workshop and listen to JP while I do some electrical work but maybe I need to give it full attention.

Still quite a lot of reviews out there claiming it to be better than Firepower. I haven't had a chance to listen to Priest or Exhorder yet but hopefully it will happen soon.

It certainly has, my metal friend! I've been listening to it non-stop today! Upon first listen, if I had to pick two favorite tracks, they would be "Crown of Horns" and "Vicious Circle". I have enjoyed the whole album and have been a bit surprised by it. It is definitely a different vibe from "Firepower", which is my second favorite Priest album overall. "Invincible Shield" isn't as heavy, so it took me a few tracks to really get into the flow of it - but upon repeated listens, it is a magnificent album. Halford sounds incredible, and the guitar work is fantastic as always. My favorite traditional metal band never disappoints.

About to watch Dune 2. First time in the local theater and damn it's tiny. On the upside it seems like everyone clogging the entryway is here for Kung Fu Panda.

Sacrilege - Behind the Realms of Madness

Emperor - Wrath of the Tyrant

Warloghe - Three Angled Void

Blasphemathory - War, Blasphemy & Divine Destruction Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal Sentient Divide - Haunted By Cruelty

Iron Maiden - Killers (1981)

Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith (1984)

Awesome James! Hope it lives up to your expectations. Long Hail the Metal Gods.