J-rock and quiet ghost towns

  So, as with yesterday, I'm listening to another band's album on repeat as I type this post. Today though, it's Abingdon Boys School's self titled. They are a J-Rock band with some techno influences that has done several anime themes. They've got a very cool sound, they reside somewhere between metal and rock, and as with most Japanese bands, the guitar work is very cool.

Also, of late, I have been immersing myself in the town of Silent Hill. The first Silent Hill to be exact... and man, SH1 is probably the scariest game I've ever played. It takes atmospheric horror to a level most people don't thing to use... and that is what scares me. On top of that, the story is gripping, which is more than I can say for most games nowadays. Game developers think that if they have amazing graphics they don't need to do anything else. And unfortunately, people believe that. Maybe, every so often, a company will decide to make a gameplay innovation, but usually that doesn't hold up either. It takes companies that realize that you don't need amazing graphics or gameplay, if you have a good story that's enough. Silent Hill has horrible graphics, even for its time. The gameplay is like a less refined version of Resident Evil 1. But man, is that story AWESOME.

Now, if you will excuse me, I must go get another pair of pants out in preparation for playing some more Silent Hill.

experimental metal, fairy tales, and serial experiments

So, as if the title of my blog didn't give away my love for anime, music and games enough, this post will. I'm currently sitting here typing this while listening to one of my favorite metal bands, Underoath. When I first got their new album "Lost In The Sound of Separation", I didn't think much of it. Later, a few friends got me into some prog metal and I heard one of the UO songs while my music player was on shuffle and I realized that the reason I didn't like it was because they went very experimental. Now I would say this is one of my favorite albums, and definitely on par with Define the Great Line (UO's previous album).

  And now for fairy tales. We all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but how many people have really thought about the fact that it's basically an early horror story. THEY GET EATEN. One independent game developer has realized this and they made a short game based on the tale. You can pick one of 6 Red sisters, and you have to take a basket to grandma's house. Along the way, you stray from the path, and get to explore this forest... eventually, of course, you meet a wolf, who attacks you, and you have to hobble to grandma's house where you die. And man, I so can't wait until I get my hands on this game. Unfortunately, due to circumstances that will probably be elaborated on in later blogs, it'll be a while.

  Finally, anime... my great time waster. I'll make my first anime post about my all-time favorite, Serial Experiments: Lain. It is a very strange tale of a girl who encounters "the wired", which is a semi-futuristic form of the internet. Note that I say semi-futuristic because it actually takes place in modern times. Eventually, things start happening to where you aren't sure whether Lain's losing it or whether these things are actually happening. It is genuinely creepy at several points, but it is overall a masterpiece of anime. At least, as far as I'm concerned.