Let the Right One In

Continuing with thoughts from my last post, international films do not receive their due credit. I don't want to rant, like I did last post, but I wish that American audiences would give foreign films a chance.

With that said, I want to sing my praises for the Swedish masterpiece Let the Right One In.

THIS COULD BE ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS I HAVE EVER HAD THE PLEASURE TO SEE!  I will likely not do this film justice by my post here but I urge you to see it!

Sorry...I had to get that out.  Anywho...

Based on the Swedish novel of the same name, Let the Right One In is a film about a 12 year old boy, Oskar, who is bullied at school and lives in a broken home.  Oskar befriends a mysterious "12 year old" girl, Eli, who just moved in to the apartment next door. The film focuses on the innocence of young love mixed up in a tragic situation with deadly consequences.  This is a vampire film.  Correction, this is what all vampire films should have been and should strive to be.  We are not thrust into a world of winy teenagers who sulk all day, fall in love with vampire who shine in the sun and werewolves who can't keep their shirts on, and try to kill themselves just because they can't stand being apart from them.  Let me restate that...this film does not have teenage angst oozing from every frame.  What this film is, however, is a brutally honest portrayal of life, love, and danger.  Vampires in this film are taken very seriously and there are clear and sever consequences to all actions.

The strength of this film lies in its character development.  We are introduced to Oskar who is a tormented boy.  His parents are separated, neither one really wants him, he is a lone a lot, and he is tormented at school by bullies.  In his alone times, he fantasizes about getting back at those who have hurt him in subtle yet disturbing dialogs.   We see Oskar at the beginning of the film staring out of his window with a kind of malaise on his face.  Oskar is a product of neglect and abuse who is searching for someone to understand him.  Enter Eli.  Eli moves in to his apartment complex one evening.  His first encounter with her is awkward at best.  She shows up while he is on the jungle gym outside of the apartments.  He notices odd things about her but he doesn't seem to let them bother him.  Who cares why she isn't wearing shoes?  Who cares why she smells funny?  Oskar has been dealt a hand in life where nothing surprises him anymore.  He takes all new things in with a calm demeanor.

Eli is a vampire stuck in the body of a 12 year old.  She is lonely and inadvertently seeks the companionship of Oskar.  Eli is protected by an older man who appears to be a father figure, but Eli is drawn to Oskar, even though she knows the relationship could be doomed.  She sees and understands Oskar's situation in life and encourages him to stand up for himself.

I really don't want to give more details to the story itself.  I feel this is a film that must be experienced to really let it take effect.  There are some grim aspects of this film, even more grim than what I have already described, that are beautiful, heartbreaking, and tragic.  This is not a gory film.  There are very few times when the violence is actually shown on screen.  When it is shown, however, it builds the tragic theme to an even more devastating level.  If you took away all the vampire elements, we would still be left with a film about two desperate kids searching for meaning and fulfillment in life.  However, the vampire elements create a remarkable story that adds so much to the vampire lore.  As I said before, this is a beautiful film and one of the greatest vampire stories ever told.  Please give this film a chance.  Watch it in its original language with the English subtitles.

Click the title of this entry to see the films official trailer.

Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy"

Films from Asian countries rarely get widespread acclaim in America.  Well, more correctly stated, films from ANY country other than America does not get the respect it should.  I'm not sure if it is because American's are too impatient to read a subtitled film or if they are too ignorant to understand anything other than Hollywood manufactured glitter.  Don't get me wrong, I love Hollywood.  Some of the greatest films in the world were produced right here on American soil.  My point is that we as educated, intelligent entertainment seekers should be willing to look outside of our comfort zones to discover something that may rock our world.  I have seen a lot of foreign films in my almost 28 years of existence.  Some I feel have been too subtle and slow.  Others I have felt were way over my head because I didn't understand the message or the cultural importance it had to its country.  These feelings are not my fault.  They are the product of my limited, American experience.  However, I recently found a Korean film that has entered my list of all-time favorite foreign films that is so compelling, so twisted, so heartbreaking that I had to sit in silence during the credits to really absorb what I just saw.

Oldboy is a story of a man who is imprisoned for 15 years in a hotel room without recollection of how he got there, why he was there, or who could have imprisoned him.  After those 15 years, he is mysteriously released and sets himself on a mission to find out who did this to him and to exact revenge.  As he searches for answers, he enlists help from an old friend and a beautiful stranger.  The answers he finds and his bloody path to redemption all revolve around the questions of if revenge really brings you peace and how will love carry you through life.

I cannot give many more details without completely ruining your experience.  All I can ask is for you to prepare yourself for an unpredictable journey with Oh Dae-su, the main character.  The viewer suffers as he suffers.  The viewer loves as he loves.  The viewer breaks as he breaks.  All of this is accomplished by the masterful hand of director Park Chan-wook.  Park is well known for his Vengeance Trilogy which includes Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.  Park's latest film, Thirst has also become a landmark film that has helped redefine the vampire genre back to its rightful place (unlike the tween crap that is the Twilight saga).  Park has a way of bringing the excitement and horror of revenge to life in a way that the audience can truly relate to.  He doesn't try to soften the blow or hide his intent.  Everything is lain in front of the viewer to that his message is clear.

I want to apologize for how short and vague this entry is.  As I stated before, I cannot, in good conscience, give anymore details about this film.  I can, and will, strongly encourage you to see this magnificent film.  When you do, keep an open mind and a sharp eye because what you will see is visceral and powerful.  I feel very few American films and directors have the guts and strength to show an audience the dark and horrible side of humanity without going for the cheap gore or scare (this coming from an avid horror fan).  Oldboy has a strong statement and a solid purpose that is a cinematic achievement.

To see a trailer for Oldboy, click the title of this entry.

Rammstein

Absolutely everyone has a musical guilty pleasure.  While the number of my guilty pleasure artists is slowly on the rise (including Lady Gaga and Weird Al), the first band I ever called my guilty pleasure was Rammstein.  The first thing that pops into peoples' minds when I say that I like Rammstein is their 1997 song Du Hast, which got a lot of play time on MTV with a wild and surreal video.  My first response back to them is "They have much better songs than that!"  It is a common answer to give when defending something no one else seems to understand.  It's not like anyone would ever give the rest of their library a chance, but it was always worth a try.  Another common response from people is, "It's all in German, how can you understand it?"  I will share my response that that comment later.

*WARNING: VERY BRIEF HISTORY LESSON*
For those that do not know who Rammstein is, I will a short overview of who they are.  Considered part of the Neue Deutsche Härte (New German Hardness) scene, Rammstein was formed in 1994 by men who grew up in East Germany.  Those that know history know that East Germany was a very difficult place to live, let alone grow up in.  It was a country of hardships, hard labor, and violence.  These themes, and many others that push the boundaries of "normal" are what make up the sound, style, and lyrics of Rammstein.  Fast forward to 2010, Rammstein have released their 6th studio album and continue to be one of the most controversial music groups.  Their music is classified as "Tanz-Metal" or Dance Metal.
END OF HISTORY LESSON


I was first introduced to Rammstein as I was about to enter high school.  One of my best friends got a copy of their Sehnsucht album which had the infamous Du Hast track.  I was immediately drawn to the unique and what I thought was scary sound that lead singer Till Lindemann channeled through his vocal cords.  His resonate deep bass voice was something I had never heard this side of Barry White.  He also had a rasp and roll to his words that gave each word a sinister sound.  Adding to Lindemann's vocal prowess was the sharp contrast of the heavy metal guitars and the "techno" industrial sound of the drums and keyboards.  When I first heard this, I was still deep into my Ska phase (yes, I loved ska...who didn't in the 90's?) so this industrial sound was fresh and a welcome change to the happy-go-lucky sounds of a 3 person brass section.


Another thing I was drawn to was the lyrics.  Almost every song in the Rammstein library are sung in German, save for a small handfull that were recorded entirely in English, one is Spanish, and other that have parts of the song sung in English or Russian.  I feel that Rammstein's choice to record in German is a bold statement to the rest of the world who feels English should be spoken everywhere.  I don't know this for a fact, but I feel that the language barrier that they have established turns off most Americans or other English speaking individuals, but Rammstein doesn't care.  They want that to happen.  If people don't accept them for who they are and what they do, they don't want them as fans.


The German language, as those who have heard it before can attest to, is not a beautiful language.  It is not a language I can imagine anyone being wooed with.  There are a lot of harsh sounds and words through which is why I feel Rammstein's choice to record all of their songs in their native language helped accomplish the feel and themes to their songs.  How much more sinister does the song Wollt Ihr Das Bett in Flammen Sehen (translation: Do You Want to See the Bed in Flames) sound when sung by a deep voiced German!  Of course, my natural curiosity made me want to find the translations to Rammstein's songs.  Luckily, there is a website, herzeleid.com, that had all of the translations I needed.  Once I saw these lyrics, I knew immediately why this bad had been censored, banned, and surrounded by controversy since they first emerged.   Songs such as Bestrafe Mich (Punish Me), Tier (Animal), Feuer Frei! (Open Fire!), Zwitter (Hermaphrodite), Rein Raus (In, Out), Mann Gegen Mann (Man Against Man), Te Quiero Puta! (I Love You, Whore), and Ich Tu Dir Weh (I Hurt You) are all filled with intense and explicit imagery that can at times border on what the mainstream would call perverse and depraved.  Songs such as these are why Rammstein has continuously been censored and banned from playing certain songs live.  People can interpret lyrics however they want, and they will, but Rammstein's entire goal in life is to push the boundaries of acceptable and proper.  Their songs, while on the surface seem violent, misogynistic, or disturbing should be taken as tongue-in-cheek words to get a rise out of people.  And get a rise out of people they do.


Not to be out done by just vocal imagery, their videos also tend to be on the controversial side.  For example, their video for Mein Teil (My Part) is a tongue in cheek, dark comedy portrayal of the Armin Meiwes case.  Meiwes gained international attention after her killed and ate a voluntary victim he found on the internet...not that is not a typo, a VOLUNTARY victim.  Anyways, the video portrays the band members dressed in bondage and led around on a leash by the drummer, Lindemann tearing the wings off and angel and eating them/her.  The song also has the lyrics, "Denn du bist was du isst und ihr wisst was es ist (Because you are what you eat and you know what it is) which is an allusion to the Meiwes case.  The words "Suche gut gebauten Achtzehn- bis Dreißigjährigen zum Schlachten – Der Metzgermeister (Looking for a well built 18 to 30 year old to be slaughtered - The Master Butcher)" is spoken at the very beginning of the video, which is the exact post that Meiwes posted on the internet looking for his victim.  Rammstein was later sued by Meiwes and lost $5.5 million in the case.


There are other videos with controversial images/themes in them.  The "Engel (Angel)" video is filmed in a strip club with children in cages, the "Ich Will (I Want)" video shows the band robbing a bank, getting caught for it, and is glorified by the public/media, the "Mann Gegan Mann (Man Against Man)" video has a bunch of naked men wrestling and the band playing their instruments naked.  One of their latest, and what will likely go down in music video infamy as the most censored/banned music video in history is for the song "Pussy" which had a LOT of male and female nudity and on screen sex with body doubles for the band members (ending with "money shots").  The band has been on record saying that they like being on the "fringes of bad taste" but that each thing they do "serves a purpose" of conveys an important message.


Controversy aside, my two favorite Rammstein videos are their least controversial.  The video for "Ohne Dich (Without You) and the video for "Keine Lust (Don't Feel Like It)" share a deeper message from the band with "Ohne Dich" being more serious (click here for "Ohne Dich" video) and "Keine Lust" being very goofy.(click here for "Keine Lust" video)


To sum up, I continue to be drawn to and am impressed by Rammstein.  They unapologetically put themselves out there and will continue to do so until they tire of it.  I respect people who are not afraid to push the limits and be their own person regardless of what others tell them they should be.  From now until I die, Rammstein will likely always be at the top of my playlists, even though they are a guilty pleasure.

Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left" 1972

WARNING: The review I am posting is of a very intense and disturbing film.  I am posting this because of its importance in film history and the impact it had on me.

Wes Craven's Last House on the Left could be described as the definition of a sick and depraved film.  It is not a film that is easy to watch.  It is not a happy film.  It will not make you feel good after watching it.  It will disturb you and make you feel dirty.  What else is a film that depicts rape, murder, and revenge supposed to make you feel like?  It is, by far, the most disturbing film I have ever seen.  It is nothing less than an assault on the mind.

If you are still reading this, you must be thinking what I was thinking when someone told me that description.  "Oh, come on.  It can't be that bad.  I can handle any film.  It's just a movie."  If you are thinking that, then by all means, rent the film (the original, not the remake) and watch it.  Just remember that you were warned.

Last House on the Left was released to a unprepared audience in 1972.  The film begins as a story about Mari Collingwood and her friend Phyllis Stone, two country girls who make a trip in to the big city to attend a concert.  When they arrive, they decide that they want to buy some weed.  They meet Junior who leads them back to his apartment where 3 wanted criminals quickly kidnap them.  All the while, Mari's parents are planning a suprise birthday party for Mari.  They are concerned when she doesn't come home and contact the police.  The criminals, Krug, his son Junior, Sadie, and Weasel lock Mari and Phyllis int he trunk of their car and drive out into the country.  They experience car trouble and happen to break down directly in front of Mari's house as they are talking to police about Mari's disappearance.  What happens next is the descent into hell.

Mari and Phyllis are dragged into the woods where they are tortured, humiliated, forced into sexual actions, raped, and murdered in very horrible ways.  What makes this section very hard to watch is that it consumes 45 minutes of the film's run time.  However, what happens in that 45 minutes makes the end of the movie that much more gratifying.

Krug and his group then make it to Mari's parents house where they try to seek assistance with their broken down car.  They are unaware that it is the house of the girl they just murdered.  Eventually, the parents find out that they killed their daughter and they go on a sadistic cycle of revenge on each member of the group.  At this point of the movie, you are cheering for the parents as they brutally avenge their daughter's death.

My description of the film was brief and kind of vague for a reason.  I don't want to give too much away, but I guess you could say that I did minus the gory details.  This is a film that you have to experience, not just read about, in order to fully understand it.  This film works because of it's gritty realism.  You feel as if it is almost a snuff film the way that it is filmed in places.

What could be the redeeming quality of this movie, you ask?  Why would a film like this be considered an important piece of American cinema?  That is an answer I received fairly recently from the 2000 IFC documentary, American Nightmares which was a look at horror cinema from the 1960's and 1970's.  LHOTL, like with many extreme horror films, is a response to something that permeated the late 60's and early 70's.  Television and news programs were inundated with graphic and uncensored images from the atrocities of the Vietnam war.  Men, women, and children were seeing images of villages being napalmed, children burnt to death, people being shot in the head, and gruesome scenes of the dead laying everywhere with all of the blood, body pieces, and brains splattered everywhere.  In many ways, LHOTL was a cinematic response to the public saying, "You want to see horrifying?  I'll show you horrifying!"

While that description of the films unspoken purpose may not change people's minds about it, LHOTL should still be considered an important film.  Is it a good film?  Yes.  Did I enjoy it?  Hell no.  It left me with a plethora of emotions that I didn't know  how to deal with.  I felt dirty, ashamed, depressed, and exhausted to the point that I couldn't talk.  For a horror film to do that to me is quite an accomplishment.  I have seen some of the most twisted crap there is, and this still shook me to my core.  To me, this film made other disturbing films like Seven and 8mm look like Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood.

If you still choose to watch this film, by all means, do.  But please proceed with caution.  If you would like to see the original trailer, click on the title of this post.  It is not a good trailer by today's standards, but it will give you a general feel of the film.

Ridley Scott's "Alien"

As a fan of the horror genre, I have a large list of favorite films which I feel are "must see" films for anyone who appreciates horror or just loves a great film.  Ridley Scott's "Alien" in near the top of that list.

Tagged as "Jaws in Space," Alien was released into theaters in 1979.  It was Scott's first major directing job and it proved to be the film that jump-started a long and amazing career.  While Scott has directed some of the greatest films of the past 40 years, I feel that Alien still stands and one of his greatest achievements.

To define the film in a very general way, and I do mean general, Alien is essentially a haunted house style film set in space.  There are 7 people trapped on a ship being terrorized by an unknown being.  While this description could be a formula for a boring and predictable film, Scott's abilities to create tension and terror make for a movie going experience that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat.  To assist in Scott's superb direction, the design of the titular Alien character was also a terrifying sight.  Scott and the film's producers were drawn to the artwork of Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger.  Scott did not want his film to have a cheesy, B-Movie design to it's alien and Giger's work was far from that.  Based on his 1976 artwork Necronom IV, Geiger created an alien that was sleek, deadly, and very terrifying.  Using a biomechanical style, Giger then designed many other important aspects of the film including the planet landscape which the crew found the alien, the ship that the alien eggs were on, and all of the alien lifeform's lifecycle stages (egg, facehugger, chestburster, and xenomorph).  Giger's designs were like all other pieces of his work; smooth, sexual, disturbing, and yet beautiful.  Giger won an Academy Award for his designs on Alien.

Alien was also influential because it introduced the character of Ellen Ripley, the heroine of the Alien franchise.  Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in her first staring role, was the first of her kind of the sci-fi world.  Most, if not all of the main characters of science fiction films in the past had been male.  Ripley was a strong woman in a high ranking position on her ship.  Her strength and survival was an inspiration to women everywhere.

For all of these reasons, and many more which I cannot find the words to describe, this film has been, and will always remain one of my favorites.  Scott created a sci-fi/horror masterpiece that has yet to be matched in its intensity and creativity.  There have been many sequels and spin-offs in the franchise, all of which, besides James Cameron's Aliens, have failed to match Scott's initial vision.  There are rumors going around on the horror circuit that Scott has signed on to direct 2 prequels to his original film.  I really hope this news is accurate because his genius could bring the franchise back to its terrifying roots.  I guess only time will tell if Scott pulls through.  For the world's sake, I hope the films will not include Scott's current favorite Russel Crow.  While I loved Crow in Gladiator, he has yet to wow me in any of his more current roles.  Please Mr. Scott...cut the umbilical cord on that relationship!

If you would like to view the original 1979 trailer, please click this blog's title for a link to YouTube.

Lamb of God - "Descending"

Lamb of God has become one of the constant metal bands on my playlists of the past 5 years.  This is a band that I had to slowly bring into my repertoire because at the time that I was introduced to them, I still wasn't into the harder metal, with constant guttural screaming.  At that time I still needed some combination of clean vocals and screaming.  However, what I found after years of giving Lamb of God a chance was something that has stuck with me, and likely will long after the band calls it quits (which I hope they never do).  Lamb of God is an intense, uncompromising, and brutal band whose message has never changed since their inception; being true to yourself; standing up for your beliefs; and challenging the world to try to stop them.  This is not a band for the meek and gentle.  This is pure strength, anger, and testosterone.

Originally known as Burn the Priest, Lamb of God ascended to metal royalty out of Richmond, Virginia in in 2000.  While they had formed back in 1994, it wasn't until the release of their first album under their new name, New American Gospel, did they gain any attention from the metal community.  Since that release, Lamb of God has been labeled as a prophet for the New Wave of American Heavy Metal that has been going on since the mid 1990's.  With each album release, Lamb of God has created an aggressive, uncompromising sound that builds and strengthens with each album.  As the Palaces Burn (2003) and Ashes of the Wake (2004) are considered to be examples of their best work.  Many of their fans did not care as much for their 2006 release, Sacrament, feeling that they "sold out" or "went for a more mainstream sound."  However, I beg to differ.  While there are more songs on Sacrament that have a catchier hook to them, this album could be considered a solidification of what Lamb of God is all about.  The track that I want to point out, that has had a great impact on my life, is track 6, Descending.

Descending is a song about a man sorting through a tormented life of questions and doubts.  The lyrics speak of a person who is torn between what is good and evil in his life.  They are at a crossroads feeling like in many ways, good and evil are the same thing.  "This God that I worship, this demon I blame, conspire as one.  Exactly the same, it's exactly the same." It can be hard at times to feel like you have a clear understanding of what you should do in your life.  Things that seem right can be considered wrong to others, and vice versa. There is always an internal struggle inside everyone around this, whether they want to recognize it or not.  *Disclaimer: the following is just an anecdote...not what the song is about or implying*  An example in current times is around gay rights.  Many believe that homosexuality is wrong, no matter what, and they should not have the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples.  Others believe that regardless of who someone is and what they do, they are human beings and deserve basic rights as anyone else would receive.  Someone who is in the middle of this struggle could completely identify with the message to this song.

Beyond the message of the song, Descending is a powerhouse of sound.  From the opening guitar riffs to the pounding double base drum work, this is a song that any metalhead can feel in their core.  It may not be the most elaborate song Lamb of God has ever done, but sometimes all it takes for an incredible song is a song with solid basics to be great.

Lamb of God continues to write incredible music, and released their most recent album, Wrath, in 2009.  Wrath continues to show Lamb of God's musical growth but shows that their themes and messages are never changing: be true to yourself, stand up for your beliefs, and challenge anyone who tries to stop you.

LOST

I am going to join what I am assuming most people think is an annoying fan base and sermonize about the wonders of the show LOST and how it has changed the face of television.  In September of 2006, J.J. Abrams brought a complex concept for a television show to the general public.  The idea was about a group of people who crash landed on a deserted island and must figure out a way to survive.  Wait, what?  Didn't we already see this on Gilligan's Island?  Well, if you think that all LOST consists of is Gilligan minus the comedy, you are completely wrong.  When the show first started, it followed a basic survival show formula but quickly spiraled into a complex story that kept fans guessing until the very end.  6 years later, fans across the world are still trying to figure out all of the intricacies the writers laid before them.

The epic journey followed the survivors of the Oceanic flight 815 after their plane is torn apart mid-air and they land on an unidentified island in the Pacific Ocean.  While there are 72 total survivors, the show focuses on 14 individuals with varying pasts and complications that make for an interesting chemistry of the group.  Among them are a doctor (Jack), a fugitive (Kate), a con man (Sawyer), a paraplegic who can suddenly walk (Locke), a father and son (Michael and Walt), a Korean husband and wife who "can't speak English" (Jin and Sun), a former Iraqi Republican Guard officer (Sayid), a brother and sister (Boone and Shannon), an 8 month pregnant woman (Claire), a washed up rock star bass player (Charlie), and a billionaire with bad luck (Hurley).  Throughout each of the first few seasons, we are slowly introduced to these characters' lives through flashbacks of their former lives.  We slowly discover that each character is somehow flawed and alone in the world.  This all plays a part of how the events unfold across 6 amazingly memorable seasons.  Eventually, there are complex storylines that involve a strange monster, "Others" on the island, a crazy French woman, electro-magnetic power, the Dharma Initiative, time travel, philosophy, and faith.  If I chose to write more in to the details of LOST, I would have a blog that would take hours to read.  That's not the purpose of this blog, so I will save you all and go on to how this has effected my life.

From the very first episode, I was addicted.  I had never experienced a television show that made me want to care about seemingly random people and their plight.  Every week I was left with so many mysteries and cliffhanger endings that I couldn't not watch the following week.  LOST challenged my perception of what I thought a television show should be.  Before LOST, I mostly watched sitcoms, cartoons (still do), and a lot of movies.  LOST played like an epic movie that just wouldn't end.  I found myself lost (ha, ha) inside the mysteries and spend hours upon days (total, not at a time) theorizing what was going to happen next.  I was never right...ever.

I can honestly say that I can understand Trekkies.  When you fall in love with a show, you become a dedicated follower that will defend its honor to the very end, even if there are some less than perfect episodes, and LOST had them.  LOST was not a perfect show.  It didn't even really answer the major questions of the entire show in the finale.  However, to true fans, it doesn't really matter.  It wouldn't be LOST if it didn't end with more questions.  However, I was happy with where it ended.  I wish I could see more, but to do more would probably take another 6 years to explain.

I know a lot of people out there will never give LOST a chance, just like most people will never give classic cult shows like Star Trek a chance.  All I can hope is to show one other person in this world the wonder that was LOST and get them hooked.

If you would like to see an extended, fan made trailer of the first 3 seasons, click the title of this entry.

Farewell, LOST.  Namaste.

Dio - "Holy Diver"

This is in memory of Ronnie James Dio, one of the masters of Metal, who passed away on Sunday from his battle with stomach cancer.  While I know the impact that Dio has had on the world of Metal, I have to say that I honestly never gave his music a chance when I first got into Metal.  As a new metalhead in my college years, I thought metal had to be brutal, fast, and screaming.  The "old" stuff like Dio, Metallica, and Iron Maiden never appealed to me until my tastes matured and I wanted to learn more about the history and gain a greater appreciation of Metal.  I am very glad that I found the "old" stuff and embraced it as the foundations of the music I love.

*WARNING: SHORT HISTORY LESSON*
Ronnie James Dio (or has he was born, Ronald James Padavona) started his musical career as most young people do, in the classic musical training.  He played French Horn and Trumpet and even recorded some music with rockabilly bands back in the '50's.  He had a few bands, well the same band with multiple name changes, adopted the monkier Dio from mafia member Johnny Dio, joined a band that toured with Deep Purple, and later joined Rainbow with Ritchie Blackmore (from Deep Purple).

Dio has an amazing career already before Black Sabbath came knocking on his door to replace Ozzy Osborne in 1979.  Many metal heads started listening to Metal around that time and only really know Black Sabbath as led by Dio, claiming Dio as the better of the two.  That debate will last forever.  My opinion, they are two separate bands and you really should not compare them.  They just kept the name.

It was during his first time with Black Sabbath when Dio "invented" the universal Metal symbol, the Devil Horns. As most metal heads know, it was a sign to give/protect from the evil eye that his Italian grandmother used a lot. The symbol stuck and is now an immortal symbol for all things Metal.

1982 came around and Dio decided to go solo.  He made a number of classic Metal albums with many well known songs like Holy Diver, Rainbow in the Dark, Dream Evil, and The Man Who Would Be King.  Dio did a short reunion with Black Sabbath in 1992, but returned to his solo project later.  His last project was the band Heaven and Hell, a reunion of Dio era Sabbath.  The band took the name Heaven and Hell to differentiate them from the Ozzy led Sabbath.  The name is from the titular track from Dio's first Sabbath album, Heaven and Hell.
*END OF HISTORY LESSON*

Now for the song post.  "Holy Diver" is a title track from his first album (click the title link to hear the song on You Tube).  It is a great representation of everything Dio stood for in Metal.  His songs spoke of the eternal battle of Good and Evil, and occasionally of the mystical/mythical realm.  For all those wanting to get into Metal, I would highly recommend the "Holy Diver" album as a great place to start.

The Metal community is suffering its first significant loss in its 40 year history.  We who are die hard metal heads will hold Dio is the highest regard as one of the founding fathers of a very misunderstood and under appreciated form of art.

R.I.P. Dio, we will miss you.  (6/10/42 - 5/16/10)

Demon Hunter - "Not I"

This entry is being made for two reasons: #1. I genuinely like this song and wanted to post on it. #2. Recent events surrounding ignorance and hate that I have encountered on social media websites really fired me up.  This song popped up on my iPod and it resonated with how I was and am currently feeling regarding people who seem to proudly share their bigoted, hateful, and/or racist comments on the internet.

As some of you in the world know, Demon Hunter is a Christian metal band.  Those that are just learning this and never knew that Christian metal existed are probably pretty confused right now.  If you are a metal fan, you really should give this genre a try.  Some of your favorite bands may be a Christian band and you would have never known.  It is the same aggressiveness and loud music, just with positive lyrics.

"Not I" leaves nothing for guesses.  It is a song about standing up for what you believe in.  That belief could be God, equality, ending hate...anything.  For me, this song fired me up regarding my stance against intolerance and hate.  This country has suffered from enough ignorance and violent acts against other people.  These intolerant people "act" in the name of their God/god and damage every step forward we have made as a modern society.  These people then turn around and teach their children these same "values," if they can be called that.  Literally, ignorance is breeding ignorance.  This cycle will NEVER end unless people stand up for what is right and end the vicious cycle of hatred.  I don't care if you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, Gay, Straight, Trans-gender, Latino, Chinese, Black, White, Purple or Green...We all share this world and we must get along if we are to keep it.

I don't want to leave this post short, but to be honest, there really isn't much more for me to say about this song.  I am posting the lyrics below so you can all understand what this song means to me regarding my feelings about hate and intolerance:

So now you're suffering the fallacy of what you said
When you uncover the depression from where you've tread
Breathe over the glass you wrote on
Swallow all that you waste your throat on
You wear the mark and wave the banner they made with sin
Revealing every single lie that you've been breeding within
Wash over the skin you've broken
Think over the tone you spoke in


So lost in your affliction/addiction
The solemn comfort of your grave
If you close your eyes, the light can't take it away


Not I - I won't conform to what I see in you
Not I - I won't surrender what I am
Not I - And even if it was a part of me
Not I - I'll never be that way again


The blind will follow on the path that you created in vain
No guiding light, but just the shadow of the dead will remain
Dig open the the pain you're hiding
Give your hand to the faith you're fighting
The void you suffer is a curse forever bleeding inside
Now you embrace the fatal sickness you should despise
Remember the day you lost that
Where is the shame that will bring your soul back


Reach back behind your pride
And pull the thorn from the burning pain in your side


Sing me a new song
A broken song of redemption and regret
Sing me a new song
And beg for all the mercy you can get

George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Date: October 1, 1968.  Location: Pittsburgh, PA - Fulton Theater.

This was the time and place that George A. Romero unleashed what some call his greatest film, Night of the Living Dead.  The theater was filled with people of all ages, including children.  At that time, the MPAA rating system was not in place, and wouldn't be for another month, so children were allowed into the theater.  96 minutes later, a stunned audience left the theater in silence, not able to comprehend what they just saw.  Sure, they had seen horror films before, but they were not prepared for the film that changed horror forever.

As a film buff, I had been wanting to see Night of the Living Dead for a long time.  I finally got around to seeing it when I was a senior in high school.  At the time, I worked at the public library and when the film landed in my hands to shelve for the next patron to rent it, I couldn't let it go.  I had to see what was go great about this film.

What I saw was a very well made, funny at times, suspenseful, gory, and shocking film that rocked my high school mind.  Horror films from the 60's were typically terribly acted and cheesy to most audiences with exceptions for a few great films.  Film makers filled American movie screens with all kinds of horror such as Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 hit Psycho, Roger Corman's B-films, the cheesy Hammer Horror remakes of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy, and Roman Polanski's classic Rosemary's Baby.  All of these films hold a significant place in film history, but non so much as Night of the Living Dead.

NOTLD took the genre in a new direction, showing audiences how to incorporate social commentary in very abstract ways, though Romero's claims this was unintentional.  The main topics that were explored in NOTLD are the Cold War and racism.  Some feel it was a critique of America's involvement in Vietnam.  Whatever the thought or intention, the finished product had a lasting impact on the horror genre.  NOTLD's zombies established the modern idea of zombieism.  Before this, zombie were related to voodoo and were under the control of someone external.  Romero's zombies were an unstoppable force, created by radiation exposure, and were driven by their hunger for flesh.  The dead rose to feed on the living.  Once someone was bitten by a zombie, it was not long before they too would turn and hunt those around them.

I could go on about the various themes that Romero created through his daring casting, but what I really want to emphasize was the shocking ending.  This is not a film with a happy ending.  I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't see it, but I will say that this film may have created the snap surprise ending that many films still utilize today.  I thought things were going well in the end for the heroes, but I was sadly mistaken and blown away by where the film decided to end.

This is a must see for all fans of horror.  Anyone who claims to be a horror fan and has not seen NOTLD needs to stop what they are doing and rent it.  Or, click on the title of this entry for a link to HULU and watch this film online for FREE! (It is 100% legal...it fell into "public domain" after the distributor failed to put a copyright indication on the prints...thanks guys!)

Avenged Sevenfold - "I Won't See You Tonight (Parts 1 & 2)"

Avenged Sevenfold is a hard rock band that has transcended various genres in the metal world since their inception in 1999.  Originally more of a metalcore sound, the band has taken on a more guitar driven, hard rock sound as the years progressed.  While some attribute this "style change" as selling out when they became famous, it is more of a chance for the band to mature their sound as their musical abilities progress.

I was first introduced to this band, as with most of my metal repertoire, in college through my radio show.  One of the first tracks that my friend showed me was "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1)" from the "Waking the Fallen" album.  I was blown away by the intensity of this song.  It's not a hard song by any means, but could almost be compared to a ballad (but not in the "love song" sense).  Rather, it is the words of this song that are deep and heavy.  To simply state the theme, this is a song about suicide and the thoughts and feelings of the person who is planning to take their own life.  The lyrics themselves are nothing new.  In fact, they are very similar to other songs that talk about suicide written in a letter to a friend or family member.  "Cry alone, I've gone away.  No more night, no more pain.  I've gone alone, took all my strength.  But I've made the change, I won't see you tonight."  It is the intensity and commitment to the theme that singer M. Shadows delivers which makes this song so amazing.  It is a deep and painful look inside the mind of someone who feels there is nothing left in the world for him (Click the title of this entry to listen to Part 1).

Now, as some of you may have noticed, there is a Part 2 to this song (Click here to listen to Part 2).  Where Part 1 was the depressing, reaching out for help kind of song, Part 2 is about the aftermath of the suicide.  This song is very hard and angry told through the eyes of the person who found their deceased friend and the note.  "Come back to me, this is unconceivable.  Breaking apart the ones you love.  Hate runs deep for what you've done to us.  Left alone through suicide."

People criticize songs about suicide stating that they are romanticizing death and making it okay for people to take their own lives.  However, I feel this song is very unique because, as far as I know, there has never been a song told from the survivors view point.  It takes the "romantic" view of suicide and turns it on itself, completing the picture of what suicide actually does to everyone around.  I think Avenged Sevenfold should be commended for this intense portrayal of what suicide is and the power it holds in this world.

Coming Soon

I promise I will have a new post very soon. I apologize for not posting more regularly.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

HIM - "In Joy and Sorrow"

HIM is a band that I have adored from the first time I heard their "Razorblade Romance" album when I was in college.  Their lyrics spoke to me in ways that a lot of other artists couldn't at the time.  While my musical tastes have continued to expand and evolve, HIM has remained one of my all-time favorites.


HIM came into the hard rock scene back in the late 90's.  While other bands from their native country, Finland, and the surrounding Scandinavian nations were focusing on the darker, Black Metal themes, Ville Vallo, Mikko Lindström, Mikko Paananen, Juha Tarvonen, and Juippi went in a more gothic direction, focusing their lyrics and music around various definitions of love: love gained, love lost, love hurts, etc.  This is why Ville stated that he considers their music to be "Love Metal," which late became the title of one of their albums.


Of all of HIM's albums, "Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights" has been my favorite.  The album has a theme of a lost or forbidden love that Ville laments about throughout.  Songs like "Salt in our Wounds," Heartache Every Moment," and "Please Don't Let it Go" are heartfelt songs crying out for another chance at love.  One song in particular has always stood out to me as meaningful. "In Joy and Sorrow" is, on the surface, another song about a lost love.  "In joy and sorrow, my home is in your arms.  In world so hollow, it's breaking my heart" is a chorus that says, "I want to be with you in the good and bad times, but being apart is killing me."  


Where I feel the song has a deeper meaning, at least to me, are the verses. "Oh girl, we are the same. We are strong, so blessed, and so brave.  With souls to be saved and faith regained, all our tears wipe away."  To me, this verse says that love can carry us through anything.  It can pick us up from the hard times and encourage us to continue in the relationship.  Just being with each other can wipe away all sadness.


Beyond the lyrics, it is Ville's passion that echo's through each word that touches my heart.  Ville has a way of vocalizing his lyrics that make you feel exactly what he feels.  Whether it is hurt or joy, Ville clearly communicates his feelings with the world.  There have been a lot of troubled relationships and various demons in Ville's life and he uses his music as his outlet.  In more recent times, Ville hit rock bottom with his struggle with alcohol and has since become sober.  His new outlook on life led to their most recent album "Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice" which reflects Ville's life in many ways.


To check out the video for the song, please click the title above.

"Haute Tension" by Alexandre Aja

"Haute Tension" AKA "High Tension" in the US and "Switchblade Romance" in the UK is the horror film that opened my eyes to the foreign horror market.  I rented this film after seeing the trailer from some random DVD I don't remember (that is not important though).  I was drawn in by what seemed to be a pretty straight forward "slasher" film which I am a huge fan of.  There is something about the "Jason's" or the "Freddy's" or the "Michael's" that I always enjoyed watching, even though most of them were very cheesy.  I went into "Haute Tension" with the same ideas...fun, campy slasher film that I could easily forget.  I also didn't know what to think of its origin.  This is a French film...no, that isn't a typo.  I really said it is a French film.  I guess I had a preconceived notion that the only art that came out of France was romantic in nature.  I thought that this was France's attempt to step into create their own slasher villain that would be as campy as the rest.  I knew that the French invented the horror film back in 1896 with a 2 minute film called "Le Manoir du Diable (The House of the Devil)."  This was an attempt that came off as more amusing than scary to the general public, but it did introduce the first filmed depiction of Satan.  I thought "Haute Tension" would go down those same roads...an, was I wrong.  This film has helped usher in a new era of extreme French horror which has spawned some of the most intense and disturbing horror films ever made.

"Haute Tension" focuses on two college friends, 

Marie (Cécile de France) and Alex (Maïwenn Le Besco).  Both are staying at Alex's family's house on either a weekend or a break from college.  It doesn't take long after introducing Marie, Alex, and Alex's family that the shit hits the fan.  

After everyone goes to bed, a random man comes to their door and rings the door bell.  What follows is a whirring mess of senseless killings and gore made my jaw drop.  This film was completely raw and uncensored in ways that make most American films seem like they were neutered (which most are/were).  Alex's entire family is killed and Alex is taken hostage by the killer.  Marie hides from the guy before he can find her.  Once the killer leaves, Marie goes on a mission to rescue her kidnapped friend.

That is about as much of a synopsis as I can give you without completely ruining this movie.  There are twists and turns throughout that left me stunned and dumbfounded when they were revealed.  I honestly never saw them coming.

The fact that this movie took me completely off guard is reason enough for me to write about it.  I enjoy films that lead me towards one conclusion and spin me in the opposite direction.  I consider myself a pretty big film buff and I have seen and more movies than I can remember.  In a lot of circumstances, directors regurgitate ideas and borrow elements from films that were their favorites or inspirations.  While Alexandre Aja does borrow a lot of elements from the traditional slasher film model, he added his own unique storytelling style that keeps the watcher enthralled throughout.  Aja also set a new standard for which all other slashers should compare themselves to.  While campy, predictable horror is nice for a large audience, the true horror fan is on the constant lookout for the next best thing...something to stop them in their tracks and make them ask, "What did I just see?"

With all of that praise, you might be asking, "are there any flaws?"  I would be lying if I said there weren't.  This is a foreign film which normally forces the viewer to choose between a dubbed soundtrack or the original with subtitles.  Personally, I am a purist.  I want to see the film with the original actors' voices talking to me.  I don't mind reading subtitles.  However, I tried setting it up in that fashion, but what I got was a mish-mash of dubbed and subtitled.  It was mostly dubbed but periodically switched back over to French with subtitles.  Maybe I messed up or perhaps I watched it on a messed up DVD player, but regardless, I couldn't fix it and it got distraction at times.

There are also some plot holes that when the twists are revealed, they contradict what what just seen.  However, in all honesty, they are minor compared to the many great elements of this film.

While "Haute Tension" helped create the new wave of French horror, it also helped prepare horror fans for American horror hits, like "Saw" and "Hostel."  This is a film that chewed me up and spit me out only for me to come back asking for more.  I am a hard person to impress when it comes to horror and this film shocked me like no other.

If you would like to see the trailer, please click on the title to be directed to YouTube.  You can also watch the film for free, for a limited time, at Fearnet.com 

http://www.fearnet.com/movies/b14405_high_tension_directors_cut.html

Alice in Chains - "Down in a Hole"

Now before anyone asks...no, I am not depressed.  While this song has lyrics that are filled with self loathing and sadness, I don't have to feel depressed to enjoy this amazing song.

With that said, on to the review!

The early 90's is well known for the Grunge era of rock.  Poster boys, Nirvana took a more punk influenced direction with their music and became the name synonymous with Generation X.  Alice in Chains, however, decided to take a slightly different approach.  Fusing a grinding, sludge-like metal sensibility, acoustical artistry, and deeply introspective lyrics, Alice in Chains gave the metal world some incredible music to identify with.  The name of the band is even a testament to what this band was all about.  Alice, the one we all know from Louis Carol's, "Alice in Wonderland," is caught somewhere.  Is she home?  Is she in Wonderland?  No one knows.  However, she is wrapped in chains, forced to spend her time only looking through the looking glass instead to going through it.  What she sees is either the glimpse of another world or a depressing reflection of her own life in bondage.  Layne Staley captured these themes well in every word he sang.  The Layne Staley era of Alice in Chains is an intense look at a man who was troubled and tormented  by his life.  Staley ultimately ended his owl life in 2002 at the age of 35 from a drug overdose.

"Down in a Hole," along with most of the songs on the "Dirt" album, gives me a greater insight to a man who was crying out to the world about his pain and suffering.  Layne feels trapped, not sure of how to save himself from his own personal hell.  From some of the opening lyrics, it seems as if he has tried many times to lift himself out of the hole he fell into, but has fallen short and is wanting to give up.  "Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved.  See my heart, I decorate it like a grave.  You don't understand who they thought I was supposed to be.  Look at me now, a man who won't let himself be."


Layne may have been the frontman of Alice In Chains, but it was band member and co-founder Jerry Cantrell who created the signature sound that is still unmistakable.  Jerry created a subtle marriage of acoustic and electric guitars in "Down in a Hole" that is a perfect fit for the tone of the lyrics.  This is a heavy song and Jerry gave it a soft quality to let the listener understand the impact of the words sung.

Today the band forges on without Layne.  Their new album "Black Gives Way to Blue" with new frontman William DuVall is in many ways, a tribute to Layne and to the sound that gave a generation of rock fans a feeling of belonging.

I will be honest, I did not grow up listening to Alice in Chains or any of the Grunge-era bands.  I didn't discover them until my college career was well underway.  Since that discovery, Alice in Chains remains one of my favorite bands.  While I may not personally identify with the lyrics, I can feel each word as if I had experienced them myself.  It takes an incredible amount of artistry and talent to effect so many people, and Alice in Chains continues to do that today.

Apocalyptica - "Farewell"

Apocalyptica is a metal band comprised of classically trained  cellists made famous by covering Metallica on their debut album "Plays Metallica by Four Cellos."  Their success with this album lead to recording original works, both completely instrumental and with guest vocalists from rock and metal bands from around the world.


"Farewell" is a song that, from the first time I heard it, gave me chills and brought me to tears.  It is a melancholy song that conveys deep love and sadness throughout.  From the opening bars, you get a sense that this is a song written in memory of a lost loved one.  Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso open the song with a quiet elegance that leaves the listener with a clear understanding that this is a song of lament.  The dark and ominous notes haunt you as it gradually builds into what could be considered its chorus.  The deep, dark notes are perfectly married to the higher lead melody.  From there, rock drums are added to bring another element to the already intense piece.  Mikko Sirén's simple, yet powerful drumming  gives "Farewell" the feeling of an intense, modern metal ballad.  The songs crescendo builds to a tear inducing climax with the melody screaming its love for the one it lost.  This grandeur slowly fades to silence, leaving the listener paralyzed with feelings of intense sorrow.


No amount of words can every fully describe how much this song has pierced the essence of my soul.  I just hope that if you give this a listen that it can touch your heart as it did mine.  


Click the title for a link to the song on YouTube.

Introduction

Little has had such an impact in my life as music and film. These mediums have provided me with a window to the souls of those creating it as well as discovering my own. There have been artists, songs, directors, and films that have stripped me down the core of my being and forced me to experience pure emotion in ways I never thought possible. I believe that one has not lived until they have felt the essences of joy, love, anger, hate, fear, and sadness. That list is an oversimplification of the range of emotions I have felt in my lifetime, but regardless, I feel that I can experience life to its fullest just by pressing a play button.

I want whoever reads this to learn about the specific works of art that have shaped my life in some fashion. They may be songs that have inspired me to be a better person, or a film that has pulled the rug right out from under me, but these works of pure genius are a window into what has made me who I am and will continue to impact my future.