Circa Survive: Appendage (EP)

Circa Survive has long been recognized as one of the most influential bands of their time in the the Alternative Rock genre. Every album they have released has had it's own special attraction, more notably the more recent LP "Blue Sky Noise," which (for those who are familiar with Anthony Green's struggles) carried a very aggressive, angry, and scared tone behind it. That being said, Green has a talent for writing lyrics that can be interpreted into just about anything the listener is feeling, and that trend continues into their new EP "Appendage."

The first song titled "Sleep Underground (Demo)" has a haunting, yet soothing feel that brings you into a relaxing openness. With beautiful harmonies and lyrics, this song definitely sets the mood for the rest of the EP. The next song is "Stare Like You'll Stay;" There is a lot of talk going around that this song is about God, but Anthony has yet to comment on this. The musicianship in this album is incredible, and it fits perfectly with the tone Green sets with his vocals.

Although this album is an extended play from Blue Sky Noise, it could have (and should have) been it's own album. This EP is an expression of hope in Anthony Green's life, characterized primarily by him becoming a father recently. There is, however, no doubt in my mind that this album has to have had some form of spiritual influence as well; namely because of the final song, "Lazarus," which is the name of a man in the Bible who was raised from the dead by Jesus and began a new life. Although Green makes no reference to this story whatsoever in his lyrics, the song can be interpreted as a cry for change. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, Green's lyrics are universal in the sense that they can be interpreted into whatever the listener wants them to be. This is just one of the many views of the song.

However you look at "Appendage," one thing is for sure: Circa Survive has created another successful and inspiring compilation of songs that spread beyond the boundaries they had once set.

Here is a link to purchase "Appendage":
Appendage

Call of Duty: Black Ops

For those of you vidya game folk out there, I'm sure you've already tried your hand at Treyarch's newest creation Black Ops. I must admit, I've never been a fan of Treyarch, and their last attempt at the CoD franchise sickened me excluding the zombie mode, but I decided to give Black Ops a shot regardless.

My first rating of the game would have been something like this:

Single Player 9/10
Multiplayer 5/10
Zombie Mode 10/10

Needless to say, my expectations of it were held pretty high considering the hype it was gathering up from the media; but I have to say I was initially let down pretty hard by the multiplayer. The entire time I was playing I was plagued by missed knife attempts that seemingly slid right through the enemy, enemies knifing me through gunfire, and horrid levels that seemed too focused on the background rather than the actual playablility therein.


However, I felt that maybe I dropped the gavel too soon and decided to give Treyarch a second chance; after all the single player was a stroke of genius! I had actually been telling my brother only earlier this year that they needed to make a game that took place in Vietnam, and behold, Treyarch offered a startlingly realistic portrayal of it. And the fact that the whole thing is a flashback was a pretty neat take on storytelling in the fps realm.
Back to my point though, I tried my hand one last time at the multiplayer experience; and suddenly, something clicked. The controls became recognizable and the levels became more clear! There was still the issue with my knife attacks going right through enemies, but aside from that I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Bringing my newest opinion of the game into effect:

Single player 9/10
Multiplayer 9/10
Zombie Mode 10/10

Now I know I have yet to say anything about zombie's, and you are probably curious as to why it has such a high rating in my books. So here you go:

The zombie mode blends the CoD gameplay with Left4Dead-like levels and enemies. The intensity of the whole game mode has been stepped up drastically, and the numerous things you can do within the levels themselves is remarkable. Treyarch even took it a step further by giving us an Arcade mode of zombies (which is extremely fun I must say) and another game mode that allows players to become JFK, Castro, Nixon, or McNamara -- it should be noted that this game mode (called "Five") is significantly more challenging than the others.

Now, back to the multiplayer. Treyarch added a boatload of new features in online play including a point system that allows players to unlock weapon attachments and things of the sort in whatever order they desire as opposed to waiting until a set rank to unlock it. They also gave players a great amount of customizing capabilities for their weapon classes, literally giving you thousands of options for creating your own unique weapons class all the way down placing your own customizable emblem on the side of the gun!

All-in-all, I'm glad I gave this game a second chance; and if any of you want to play online sometime, I'm on the PS3 and my ID is Noobs_4_Lunch
I gotta warn you though... I'm a beast ;)

Sorry about the dry period!!

Hey readers! Sorry I haven't been posting lately! I've been super busy with school, work -- and get this-- MY OWN BAND!
That's right! I have finally started up my own band and we are currently in the process of recording our first demo! So if you guys are interested in checking out our sound give us a listen at myspace.com/epochinepitaph or find us on facebook by searching "Epoch In Epitaph."

We are a progressive/alternative rock band. So hopefully you all are interested!

Band Reunions

In the current fast paced music industry, bands are breaking up and reuniting constantly, and the past few years been great for reunions; some of the more notable bands that have gotten back together are Sunny Day Real Estate, Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, and Guns n' Roses. But with the way things are going, I think any one of us could be hopeful enough that one of our old favorite bands might one day reunite and tour near us.

The Deftones have also reunited recently and are currently on tour with progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. Following this trend is the Misfits with a slightly modified all-star cast, and Stone Temple Pilots. To elaborate more, Van Halen has announced a reunion tour; however, a lot of people seem to be upset about this, deeming it as unnecessary.

There have also been lots of rumors floating around about bands that are planning reunions, these include The Who, Radiohead, Led Zepplin, and System of a Down. In the end, I believe it's only a matter of time before most past bands (the ones that made names for themselves) decide to do reunion shows. So if your favorite band hasn't announced a tour, keep your chin up, maybe it will happen soon!

Also, if you have heard of some reunion shows that I didn't name, go ahead and post them in the comments!

Coheed and Cambria: Big Finale?

Coheed released their final concept album earlier this year, and while some people seemed unsatisfied with it, overall I would have to say it is one of their best albums yet. So what will Coheed do now that they are finished with concept albums? Will they continue to write music under the same band name or will they disband Coheed and Cambria and pursue their own separate endeavors?

Coheed and Cambria has made a career out of pleasing and wowing their fans in concert and through the sheer genius of their music. Despite criticism from all sides of the board, they have continuously written great music and a deep story line. And now, in what could very well be the last days of Coheed, they have gone all out for their fans embarking on multiple tours in this year alone! Touring with bands like Circa Survive, Porcupine Tree, The Dear Hunter, and- on their latest tour- The Deftones.

But aside from pleasing fans, what underlying message do all these tours present? Could this be a "grand finale" to end the path of this masterpiece? Now, let's assume this is the end of Coheed and Cambria as a band, should this mean it is the end of the story for the Coheed and Cambria story? I have reason to believe not. Rumor has it that Claudio, in addition to finish releasing the comics, has plans on releasing a movie- either in several animated installments or a few movie releases (do I hear an epic coming along?).

Whatever the case may be, I think it will be a good while before the tale of Coheed and Cambria is finally laid to rest, and until then, go enjoy some of their concerts! I've personally seen them 3 times this year.

A Mission and A Plea

Ok readers, there are very few times in life that I will ever ask you for a favor this huge. But In this case, I definitely need your help more than anything else. For those of you who read my interview with Tides of Man and my album review of them, you should guess that I pretty much like them a lot. haha.
Now, they are holding a contest and the first prize gets a lifetime guest pass to all their shows! The way you win is by doing the best out of everyone when it comes to promoting and advertising the band, and although I've done my fair share of that, it still isn't quite enough. So what I need you guys to do is "Like" their facebook page, and leave a comment telling them that I showed you their music and sent you over. So something along the lines of this, "Hey guys, Alex Miller showed me your stuff, sounds good (or good job, or keep up the work, or good luck or whatever)."

Do this for me please and make me the happiest man alive! Thank you!



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Music Projects

Hey everyone, I'm terribly sorry I haven't been posting lately, but I've been uber busy with my own music projects! We had our first jam session with a potential drummer yesterday, and we've been writing songs for the past two weeks to get ready for an open mic night this Friday. If I can get a video up of it I will, other than that my birthday passed recently and I went skydiving :)
So I'll DEFINITELY get a video up of that when I get it back so all my readers can see what it's like living life on the edge! lol

Anyways, I'll hopefully catch another break here soon and update you guys more on stuff, but to be honest... I haven't heard a good new album or seen a new good movie in a while :/
Let me know if you guys have seen anything interesting come out recently so I can check it out!