tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130793552026-06-01T02:36:12.532-05:00Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.comBlogger2153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-81611447907839824952023-01-21T19:00:00.002-06:002023-01-24T06:43:48.941-06:00

What Remains of Edith Finch is the third game I completed in 2023. And . . . wow. If you want to make the case that video games can be a unique art form, this is your prime example.  It’s a very short game. Two hours and change. I completed it in one sitting. And it’s not really a game in the sense that there’s no way to lose, and there’s not really any winning, or challenge, or puzzle

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-14878944119312194992023-01-20T01:02:00.003-06:002023-01-24T06:48:07.850-06:00

Nier: Automata is the second game I finished in 2023. It’s an action RPG blended with a bullet hell shooter both in the traditional scrolling style and twin stick, in different places.  I started it several months ago, but took a break after the first ending, and then another after I lost half an hour into the second story and had to start it over. I ended up switching to easy at this

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-56936970456667374172023-01-17T00:25:00.003-06:002023-01-24T06:48:22.937-06:00

My first game finished in 2023 was Disco Elysium. The game is quite distinctive. It’s like playing a tabletop role playing game like D&D, giving you a lot of different options through dialogue. The success of your choices is sometimes predetermined but often is dictated by a combination of your stats and chance. And many problems can be solved in multiple ways, and in different orders.

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-10198721082429669792022-04-11T09:13:00.002-05:002022-04-11T09:13:46.804-05:00

A handful of people have kept in touch with me from my days posting here, and one of them is from Poland's Death Denied. I covered them twice before on here, but if you're looking for a hit of Southern style metal in the vein of CoC's best period or Black Label Society, and also with a hint of Alice in Chains, you should check them out. "High Priestess of Down Low" is the highlight for me.

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-36396798187589534232021-07-06T15:39:00.006-05:002021-07-06T16:02:10.493-05:00

Everything I ever wrote on here was what I believed at the time. And I did not believe they were harmful. This does not excuse the harm they caused. However, I have evolved. Learned. And I no longer believe many of the things that I once did. I plan to go through and delete some of the more harmful things I wrote. I will inevitably miss things, especially comments made in other fora, or be unable

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-57154519177308936272019-08-15T14:52:00.000-05:002019-08-15T14:52:15.962-05:00

Horns in the Dark 12"LP by TYRANT GOATGALDRAKONA I got this promo four years ago when Blood Harvest released a 12" LP (since sold out, long ago presumably). And even after all this time, I still find occasion to listen to it. Tyrant Goatgaldrakona is a Hungarian band who were on the leading edge of the burgeoning old-school death metal revival of the era. Vastum would be a close analog to

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-86933997949287298902017-06-03T18:00:00.000-05:002017-06-03T18:00:25.920-05:00

Yes, it was bad form for me to come back from a long hiatus with a negative review. But indulge me for a minute. My queue of albums to review became extremely long, and clogged with stuff I didn't feel strongly about one way or the other. I didn't want to listen to them again to write a review. I put on Cough the other day, thinking that it should be a rare glimmer of light, and it sorely

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-14622931216885499862017-05-18T23:18:00.000-05:002017-05-18T23:18:07.037-05:00

I'm Still AliveYes, I'm still alive, and on occasion I'll review something. If it stands out to me. And it will probably be ridiculously out of date by the time I get around to it. Like this one. Cough was awesome. Seriously, you should go back and read my review of Ritual Abuse. And then go buy Ritual Abuse, because Still They Pray sucks. Ritual Abuse was dynamic, and the riffs had a beat you

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-35258616955094819892016-06-07T11:17:00.001-05:002016-06-07T11:19:37.551-05:00

Mostly I blame myself for the lack of posting lately, but you can also blame Baroness. These assholes have been keeping me from checking out new music, because I keep listening to Purple. I haven't had time to listen to much of anything else, and I haven't needed to. I know you've probably already heard it by now, or maybe you don't care about the band. But either way, it deserves another

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-90058946185153642622016-03-18T11:50:00.000-05:002016-03-18T11:54:26.458-05:00

In an effort to get back into blogging again, I think I'm moving somewhat away from reviews, and moving toward talking about music in the context of my life. To that end, I present Mortal Torment's album Cleaver Redemption. Cleaver Redemption by Mortal Torment It's ridiculous, brutal death metal. The kind of stuff music writers like to make fun of, because it's dumb. But it's also awesome.

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-31939764855293271572016-02-10T00:08:00.002-06:002016-02-10T00:08:10.577-06:00

A reader checked in on me due to the lack of updates around here. This is what I wrote in response. Hey, thanks for checking in. When I really ramped up the blog, my job had me assigned to a pretty mind-numbing task. It was a matter of checking a few yes/no things and putting the right information in the computer. That let me focus on the music, and then I could crank out a review over my break.

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-35052411707551994402015-12-03T22:11:00.001-06:002015-12-03T22:11:56.305-06:00

I'm just finishing up my second 5/3/1 cycle tonight. My biggest achievement is the 400 pound deadlift I pulled a few minutes ago. Apologize for the lack of posts lately--sick kids, holidays, etc. I'll share more metal soon.

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-48476305281504048072015-11-16T23:04:00.000-06:002015-11-16T23:04:07.870-06:00

Vhöl is turning out to be--as their debut might suggest--more than just a supergroup. It's a worthy, unique band in its own right. As I described them before, they're sort of an American Darkthrone, combining black metal with old-school heavy metal, crust, and thrash. Deeper Than Sky by VHOL The formula from the first album is intact, but this time around the song lengths are more varied. The

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-21668957547792811022015-11-13T01:14:00.000-06:002015-11-13T01:16:49.219-06:00

I've completed my first cycle on the 5/3/1 weight training program, and I've accomplished some things: - On bench press, I did 200 for 6 reps, and 190 for 11. - On overhead press, I increased my max from 150 to 160. - On deadlift, I increased my max from 375 with straps to 390 without. I had always been training it with straps before, but Wendler's right--you shouldn't do that. I've focused a

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-7844149742195273372015-10-27T23:53:00.001-05:002015-10-27T23:53:40.136-05:00

In case you don’t remember, Author & Punisher is the one-man band of Tristan Shone. Well, one-man in the same way that a BattleMech pilot is a one-man army. He creates his noise with a bunch of homemade, manually-controlled, analog machines, like something out of a steampunk/industrial world The spectacle must be fantastic to watch. But in the past, I’ve been a little underwhelmed by the

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-15968600218814398702015-10-23T14:18:00.001-05:002015-10-23T14:19:19.231-05:00

The split album from Funerary and Ooze showcases two bands that are extremely raw, and whose names suit their respective genres, but otherwise have little in common. Funerary contribute two tracks of funeral doom with touches of death and black metal. Raspy vocals, slow riffs, and a bit of feedback. They sound quite a lot like Thou, but (possibly due to production) not quite as heavy. Still,

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-2595433798634175842015-10-20T01:36:00.000-05:002015-10-20T01:43:10.705-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted about my workout routine, and a lot has happened since then. I kept with my old routine for quite a while, with small gains. Then, I started working from home. I thought I could work out, a set here and there, during my work day, and it would benefit both my work and my life in a way that didn't detract from my lifting. Well, it led to laziness. I slid, not a

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-9695091593254651542015-10-16T00:50:00.000-05:002015-10-16T00:50:21.847-05:00

I’ve reviewed Grime before, and every time I hear them I just have a hard time imagining this disgusting band coming from a picturesque part of Italy. Circle Of Molesters by Grime They’re still awesome, but I think they’ve taken a bit of a stylistic turn. Before, more of a sludge metal band. Now I’d call them sludge/death. That is absolutely a good thing. No-nonsense, mid-paced or slow death

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-57435040170333612522015-10-14T00:36:00.000-05:002015-10-14T00:36:33.568-05:00

Summary JudgmentThe Sword were a lot better when they were a rocking sludge metal band. Now they're just a rock band, barely even a hard rock band, playing 70's and 80's inspired rock that's just sort of boring.

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-54408018551485567532015-10-08T23:59:00.000-05:002015-10-08T23:59:37.112-05:00

The promo spiel for Mastery’s VALIS called it the most extreme record the Flenser has ever released. That’s saying something. This is some intense, weird, dissonant black metal featuring two long compositions, a shorter one, and two interludes. I’ve spent a lot of time listening, trying to unravel its secrets, to no avail. But I’ve enjoyed it along the way. There are some strangely compelling

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-44346806307365320192015-10-08T00:21:00.001-05:002015-10-08T00:21:23.404-05:00

As I’ve mentioned before, Ahab are proven masters of funeral doom. They began with two albums of crushing funereal death/doom. On The Giant they went with a more melodic approach with emphasis on loud/quiet dynamics. The Boats of the Glen Carrig continues that approach. And, of course, the nautical theme of their entire catalog. I always find it difficult to write about funeral doom with the

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-81166819654887003802015-10-05T20:02:00.001-05:002015-10-05T20:04:24.522-05:00

I was listening to "Holy Diver" and standing next to a dry erase board. The result was inevitable.

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-29111352958211812962015-10-02T15:15:00.002-05:002015-10-02T15:15:51.925-05:00

Christian Mistress released a fantastic slab of heavy metal with Possession not too long ago. But looking back, it was a cover song—the titular track—that was clearly the best on the album. Regardless of the fact it was a little-known song before the cover, that’s still a red flag. I wondered how good their follow-up could be. To Your Death by Christian Mistress The answer is, it’s still

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-68995607524764945632015-09-24T23:45:00.003-05:002015-09-24T23:45:54.560-05:00

As far as I was concerned, Chelsea Wolfe came out of nowhere with Pain Is Beauty, and immediately she had a hardcore fan. So when Abyss was first brought to my attention, I made my purchase within 30 seconds. My two big things on this blog are, obviously, metal, and also dark Americana. I occasionally cover some gothic, folk, shoegaze, or dark electronic stuff. Wolfe inhabits a space that draws

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079355.post-61537438662826483432015-09-16T00:24:00.000-05:002015-09-16T00:24:38.671-05:00

So, last I checked, Horrendous was a fantastic death metal band with a style based in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean circa 1992. I had read about their last album and how far they progressed, but I never got around to checking it out. I should have, because this Anareta sounds like a completely different band. The vocals are a blend of Chuck Schuldiner and Martin Van Drunen, which is to say,

Full Metal Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818204892818121018noreply@blogger.com0