Torture - Cannibal Corpse review

as a somewhat new Cannibal Corpse fan, i was initially hesitant to buy this album. BUT, the pre-order exclusive shirt bundle was too awesome to pass up. (i actually got mine today, and the release date is tomorrow.)

(told you it was awesome.)

anyway, there were more tracks released early than i was honestly expecting for something from this genre: Demented Aggression, Scourge of Iron, and Encased In Concrete. Demented Aggression was the song that got me interested in Cannibal Corpse, and after listening to their previous albums Kill and Evisceration Plague i became a fan. 

Torture's first 2 tracks honestly remind me of Vile. don't know why, they just do. but as the album goes on, i don't know if it's reminiscent of their previous works or not so i'll just say it's totally brutal. (because it is either way.) also, Torture has none of those smaller, 1:30 or so long tracks. all 13 are full-length songs.

all in all, Torture is a great album. i'm glad i got it.

***RATING***- 5/5

Blood For The Master - Goatwhore review (or, the most metal Valentine's Day in recent memory.)

as the title said, Goatwhore's newest offering Blood For The Master dropped on Valentine's Day this year. sadly, i wasn't able to get hold of it until just today. i had heard one song from the album, Collapse In Eternal Worth, early on and thought "no intro? must just be a teaser or something." nope, that's how the song starts. about half a second of intro then the song kicks in.

after Collapse ends, the album just keeps going, not missing a beat. and when i say "not missing a beat", i actually mean "it just keeps kicking you in the gut after the first track knocks you down."

i'm actually finding it pretty hard coming up with things to say about it other than "brutal". it's just something that you'll have to listen to to understand.

late Valentine's present to myself, totally worth it. \m/

***RATING***- 4.5/5

Of, Monstrous Design EP review

local metal bands around here are somewhat hard to find; only 2 seem to exist: Of, Monstrous Design and Nothing Is Everything. the former just released their first EP, which i'm going to call a self-titled one as no official title has surfaced yet. oh well, onto the music.

the EP hits just as hard with its 4 songs as their 1 previously released song, Someone. i really like the consistency between the two and hope that the band keeps this sound through any and all future releases. all the new songs sound great, but my favorite would have to be Silence Is Golden but Duct Tape is Silver.

Of, Monstrous Design: i expect great things from you. don't disappoint me. 

***RATING***- 5/5

A Different Kind of Truth - Van Halen review

so far, A Different Kind of Truth is my most anticipated album release of 2012. (Marilyn Manson's Born Villain is rumored to be released in February, but nothing more than that has surfaced. sad panda.) anyway, after listening to the first single released (Tattoo) i was still pretty excited for the album but i really don't care for Tattoo. Van Halen finds themselves with Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie's son) playing bass, Alex Van Halen (Eddie's brother) playing drums, Eddie staying on guitar, and David Lee Roth coming back to handle the vocal work; this bit being the best part of the new lineup. (because come on, Hagar was good but nothing compared to Roth, and Van Halen III just shouldn't have happened.

i'd have to say the best songs on the album are She's The Woman, China Town, Blood And Fire, Bullethead, As Is, The Trouble With Never, and Big River.

A Different Kind of Truth is a pretty good album. get it if you're a Van Halen fan at all, you'll like it.

***RATING***- 4.5/5

Munitio MW3 Billets review

i happened to see these on sale at the local Best Buy, so i picked up a pair. (mine were marked down because they were a floor model or something.) now, why exactly did i get these? simple, really: i wanted to try a new brand; one that wasn't Skullcandy. the pair in question cost almost as much as two pairs of Skullcandy, so i figured that was a good sign right off the bat. (when it comes to headphones, i've noticed that when you buy cheaper, you really get what you pay for.)

taking off the white MW3 slip cover revealed a large black box. pulling the red ribbon to slide the headphones out revealed the headphones themselves in a foam card along with 9 extra rubber tips (affectionately referred to as "Silicone Hollow Points" to keep with the bullet theme). as pictured, the extra tips come in plain black, as well as a clear/green to keep with the MW3 colors. the actual earbuds are made from aluminum rather than plastic, which was an immediate plus to me. also, the ends of the headphones have green rings on them (where the primer would be on a real 9mm bullet).

as you can see, the place where the cord splits off to each earbud is inscribed with the MW3 logo with the Call of Duty logo on the other side. this is also a nice touch; the headphones don't scream "LOOK AT ME, I'M A MODERN WARFARE 3 MEGAFAN!!!!!1!!!11!" but still say "yeah, i like MW3." this is actually the only place on the headphones themselves that the game is mentioned.

now, for what headphones are really meant for: sound quality. out of all the pairs of headphones i've ever owned, these sound the best. by far. the bass is noticeable and you don't have to have the volume cranked up to hear it. in fact, the volume level i have on my iPod through my last pair of headphones had everyone around me hearing my music. with these, however, it's only me that hears it. speaking of volume, there's no in-line volume control like i was expecting. there's an in-line microphone and a button to control play/pause and phone calls if you have them hooked into your cell phone.

also included in the box was a carrying case, a warranty booklet, and a registration card (which i can't seem to get to work.) i was expecting the case to say MW3 on it somewhere, but it's just a plain black case. overall, i'm very pleased with these headphones. they seem to be extremely durable, and definitely worth the extra cost. in fact, the only thing i don't like about them is how stiff the play/pause button is. when i hit it twice to skip a song, it often just pauses (as if i only pushed the button once), but i suppose that might vary from pair to pair.

***RATING***- 5/5

Gears of War 3 Fenix Rising map pack review

i got this map pack when it was released (January 17th) but haven't bothered to use any of the new content until today. i suppose i've been distracted by MW3.

anyway, this pack features 5 maps from events in the life of Marcus Fenix: Academy, Anvil, Depths, Escalation, and The Slab. Academy is the campus of Oracle Academy, which Marcus' father Adam planned for him to attend. however, Marcus broke tradition and followed Dom into the COG army. Anvil is based off of the Anvil Gate fortress seen in Gears of War 3. (which is not where Marcus betrayed orders to save his father, that was some other battle.) Depths is a piece from the island Azura, where (if you somehow haven't finished Gears 3's campaign yet, major spoilers ahead. be warned) Marcus rescues Adam and in the process kills all the Locust and Lambent.

(spoiler free zone again)
Escalation is a map that's been in the Gears franchise since the beginning (or at least, Gears 1 on PC) so there's not much else to say about it. and, fans of the series will recognize The Slab as the prison that Dom breaks Marcus out of in the first Gears game.

Fenix Rising also comes with 4 new character skins: Recruit Clayton Carmine, Cole Train: Limited Edition, Savage Kantus: Limited Edition, and Savage Maurader. this is where the pack takes a nosedive. unless Clayton was in the same training as Marcus, i don't see any connection to Marcus' past like the maps have established. as those who played the beta know, Cole Train (or, Thrashball Cole) was originally exclusive to those who completed enough matches of the beta. i personally think Epic should've kept it that way. now, what makes this one different from the beta unlock? the Limted Edition character has blue pants rather than white ones, the blue ones also have a silver reflective stripe going down the side of each leg. that's it.

the Limited Edition Kantus model, is the only Savage Kantus i have so i don't have much to compare him to. i'd imagine there was also very small changes done to his armor or something, much like there was to Cole Train's. the Marauder is without a doubt the best character in this pack. his face is covered in bandages, except his mouth which has fangs sticking out of it. his skin also looks to be a bit rougher and more spiky than any other Locust thus far.

(i mean, look at it.)

overall, i'm somewhat disappointed with this pack. the maps are really great from what i've played of them so far, but the characters left a bit to be desired. half of them are just rehashes of already existing characters. at least the Horde Command pack gave some interesting character variations (such as Big Rig Dizzy). what really grinds my gears here is that those of us who did the work in the beta to unlock Cole Train for the retail version should be the only ones who get to have him, not just anybody with enough points for the pack. what's next, the beta-exclusive flaming weapon skins will be up for purchase? at least i'd still have my beta tester medal.

***RATING***- 3/5

Dark Adrenaline - Lacuna Coil review

Dark Adrenaline is undoubtedly not my most anticipated album release of 2012 (that honor goes to Van Halen's upcoming A Different Kind Of Truth), but nevertheless i was still happy to see some new stuff from Cristina and the boys.

the first two songs released, Trip The Darkness and Kill The Light, were nice previews for the album. Trip The Darkness got its own music video, whereas Kill The Light was simply released as a song on YouTube.

(the video for Trip The Darkness)

the band also covered a song by REM, Losing My Religion. as far as covers go it's a pretty good one. honestly, i'm not sure what else to say here. the album itself is actually pretty good. however, since i'm not much of a fan of theirs, i have next to no knowledge of their past material to compare this new release to. i'd say if you're a fan at all of Lacuna Coil, get this one.

***RATING***- 3.5/5