Dienstag, 31. Oktober 2017

Film of the Week#313: NIGHT OF THE LIVING SEQUELS! (Halloween Special 2017)

Allright, so this one's also gonna be short but good.
This year I decided to move on with some franchises and review some more sequels. To be honest, only one of them was really good. But who cares? I do not watch Horror movies to scare myself.

Child's Play 2 (1990)

Okay, so this one's a "classic" sequel, where the bad guy comes back to life. Somehow. And it's not that good, obviously.

It's been two years since Chucky's (Brad Dourif) killing spree. The company that produceds the
"Good Guy" dolls has suffered a massive commercial damage because of Andy's (Alex Vincent) accusations. Remember, he was the kid whom Chucky wanted to kill first and possess his body second. Anyhow, Alex lives in foster care and is being adopted since his mother's mental state is more than fucked up. The Play Pal Company rebuilds THE Chucky doll to prove that there is nothing wrong with it. Dammit, how could they find the doll after two years? But instead one of the workers is being electrocuted and the doll comes back to life. It's aim is once again, Andy. He wants to possess his body and get rid of his semi-human/semi-doll appearance.

Nice gorey gore elements. Fucking awesome kills. Dark and twisted humor here and there. But all in all a fucking lame ass story. There should have been a way better sequel.

4/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:


Critters 3 (1991)


If you have paid attention here, you should have realized that i already review "Critters" parts 1 and 2 last year and in 2015...

The third part doesn't take part in the village Grover's Bend. Instead we are witnessing one of the main characters (and intergalactic bounty hunters), Charlie MacFadden (Don Opper) who is tracking down the last critter eggs. At the same time a bunch of kids meet each other on a truck stop for the first time. One of them is the stepson of a corrupt landlord called Josh (Leonardo DiCaprio).
However their ties come together when it's shown that Annie (Aimee Brooks), her father Clifford and her brother Johnny (Christian/Joseph Cousins) live in a housing owned by Josh's stepfather. Also some critter eggs appear here and there and long story short: the residents of the house have to survive the critters' attacks and the lack of electricity.

Okay, it's a pretty dull story. But I appreciate the fact they were trying some new things out. Moving the critters out of their village into the city? What's next? Back into space, maybe? Who knows? Special effects as always on top. I also love the fact that Critters are the NSFW version of the Gremlins. They are just as nasty as they can. Ugly fuckers.

7/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:


The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)

Finally I watched it.

The second part of the "Toxie"-Franchise takes places not a long time after the first part. Melvin aka the Toxic Avenger has defeated every criminal force in Tromaville. The town became a good place to live. Everyone is happy. He's still with his blind girlfriend Claire (Phoebe Legere) who likes to hang out in the "Centre for the blind". Somehow Toxie is getting depressed. He doesn't know what to do, since every evil has been destroyed. Still, the evil Apocalypse Inc. managed to blow up the "centre
for the blind" and manipulate Toxie's psychiatrist to talk him into visiting Japan so that he can meet his father for the first time. Meanwhile, in his absence they are taking over Tromaville.

Shit, I still think that Toxie looks like a deformed GG Allin. The story is pretty simple, but fun. Period. It's spiced up with very obscure and brutal elements. I don't where and when it became so funny to watch somebody die. The Toxic Avenger likes to be creative with his victims and he lives to punish evil. That means ripping someone's arms of or turning somebody into a basketball. Literally. Slightly better than the first movie, although nothing beats the original.

8/10 deposit bottles
Watch the movie here
Trailer:

Comics Monthly#44

Allright, folks. Usually I review at least 3-4 new US comics on this point. But, to be honest, I am completely not in the mood for this. My head is burning, I have much shit to do and pack things for my vacation and all that. Also I have to focus on that Halloween movie review..... So there always has to be a first time. "Comics Monthly"#44 is NOT happening. Sorry!



Montag, 30. Oktober 2017

Can't get this out of my head#232



Goddamn, I love the fact that the line "you can't go out cause the roots are showing, dye'em black" reminds of her. I can't stop laughing about that shit. I love this song SO FUCKING MUCH.

Sonntag, 29. Oktober 2017

Happenings of the Month: October'17

Allrighty, folks. This will be a short one, since it's Sunday and all that.

I went to the "Spielemesse" in Essen on October 26st

The "Spiel" is a huge fair in one of the biggest German cities, Essen. Basically it's all about Games. Mostly board games like pen and paper. But that wasn't my interest, like never. Every year there was a comic segment within this fair, called the "Comic Action". There were a fuckton of comic book panels, some artists and a huge panel by PANINI (one of the largest european comic book distributors). And of course lots and lots of merchandise. Unfortunately, something was quite different. The amount of comic salepoints was very small. All in all I had some fun, because I met the good kind of people. Anyways, here's how I treated myself:



Derbe Lebowski + LFO + Ill! + Moral Bombing + Gaes in Black Pigeon, Dortmund on October 28th

Usually I'm pretty great in describing bands and musical styls. But today I have a huge headache and it's pretty useless do describe four power violence bands. I mean they are NOT all the same. Still it's a pain in the ass to describe all the differences. Whatever. Derbe Lebowski had to shorten their set because of the local policies. There is no noise allowed after 22h. That's why they banged their setlist
in ca. 12 minutes. And finished it, shortly before the cops arrived.

It was a very nice evening. Of course, because of the music too. But mostly because of a lot of talking I did with some nice people. That's what I need right now. Lot of talk and having fun. Thank you all and have a nice Sunday.


Samstag, 28. Oktober 2017

Film of the Week#312: 101 Horrormovies, you should see before you die, Part 21

Allrighty then. This one here is not the Halloween Special YET. It will probably come out on October 31st.

87. Cemetery Man/Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)

Also known as "Zombie Graveyard". Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) and Gnaghi (Francois Hadji-Lazaro) are caretakers at a cemetery in a small town in France. Their work is quite difficult though. Even if the dead are dead, a week after their burial they come back. Francesco and Gnaghi have to deal with them regularly and shoot them in their heads so that they stay dead. One day, Francesco falls in love with a widow (Anna Falchi) of an old rich man. A week after his burial, the old man rises from the grave and bites his widow - she dies. Francesco has to kill her again after one week. But strangely, after another week, she comes back again.

Beautifully strange, funny and weird. But not scary. In fact, rather gory and a lil bit disgusting. Still funny as hell. Especially the scenes where the mentally handicapped Gnaghi speaks with his  late love interest or puts her head in a broken TV screen. Fantastic, classic italian horror comedy. Just how it should be.

8,5/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:



88. Scream (1996)

Finally some Wes Craven shit on here.

"Scream" was one of first Craven-Horrormovies after a long time of abstinence of the genre. It tells a
story of a small town called Woodsboro. Almos one year after the death of Sidney Prescotts (Neve Campbell) mother a murderer in a "Ghostface"-mask strikes and kills several teenagers without a reason. The first victims are Casey (Drew Barrymore) and her boyfriend. The whole situation seems out of place. It's like someone has watched way too much horror flicks and is trying to transfer typical horror situations into the real life. For fun.

Pure revival of the slasher genre, which even manages to parody quite a few films. Still not a comedy, but a brutal psychotic mess. No deep message. Just a brutal B-movie that made some good money. Including characters that are stupid as hell. The fact that the movie doesn't take itself seriously makes it so damn good. A true halloween classic.


8,5/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:


89. Ringu (1998)

It doesn't matter what everyone has told you. "Ringu" is NOT the first adaptation of the book by Koji Suzuki. The first one was a simple TV movie. "Ringu" tells a story about an urban legend. There seems to be a videocassette with a strange, minute long movie. A woman who combs her hair can be seen. Also there is a well. After watching the cassette usually the telephone rings and a strange voice tells you that you have only one week to live. After one week you die. The main character is Reiko
Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), a reporter and aunt of one of the first victims. She starts to research the origins behind the mysterious video tape and discovers a disturbing story about a young girl.

I had to pause the movie in the middle of the night, because video tape scenes seemed way to disturbing for me. In comparison with hollywood movies, it's something completely different though. There are no jumpscares, mostly it's slow, disturbing horror. After all it wasn't all that scary. Strange. I thought it would give me nightmares. It's like a good scary urban legend (some might call it creepypasta) made into a movie. Very very very good.

8,5/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:


Donnerstag, 26. Oktober 2017

Album of the week#316: Kasta - Gromche Vody, Vyshe Trawy (2002)

Allrighty, here comes the last album of the week in this very slavic month. The album title translates as followed: "Louder than water, higher than grass."

Why "Kasta"? Why are they so important for russian hip-hop? Well, I do not know much about russian rap scene BUT I know much about the evolution of it and about German hip-hop. The evolutions of both genres are pretty much the same. One of the first famous German hip-hop groups "Die Fantastischen Vier" (Fantastic Four) made that kind of music that you could introduce to your mom. "Real" rap crews became even bigger than them and introduced the public to a much rougher sound. There is a similar thing with Russian rap. First there were funny shenanigans, then rap artists who didn't wrote their own songs rose to fame and then came Kasta. Which means "caste" in English.

Kasta delivered a whole new style of Hip-Hop. At least in Russia. Neither "Gangsta" nor fixed on the four elements of Hip-Hop. Real stories about friendship and life in the streets of Rostow on Don. And a grandma who likes talk a lot. Or about this friend called Max who was the truest motherfucker you have ever known until the day he got stabbed.

Kasta simply do not give a fuck if they are "real". The introtrack says "Some people say that rap is "yo!". Others say that rap is "baggy pants". Others say that in Russia there is no real Hip-Hop at all. But those guys from Kasta...those guys from Kasta do not give a single fuck! They do they own fucking thing."

Kasta are the Russian Wu-Tang Clan. No copy. No clone. Just genuine streetwise Hip-Hop. Fucking right.

songs you should check out: My berem eto na ulitsah, Pro Maksa, Ey Babka, Raz-dwa-tri,

Mittwoch, 25. Oktober 2017

That's right, music!!#40 (english)

Allrighty then, folks. This one's will be a lil' bit bigger then the other one.

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6th of October, 2017: The AZ Mülheim Birthday Party, part 1 with Fliehende Stürme

So what's the best thing against heartbreak? I mean other than hanging alone at home and listening to depressing music? Trying to go out and hang out with new people! So I did.

On the 6th and the 7th of October the Mülheim Autonomous Youth Centre celebrated its 20th birthday. I came by just to meet my new online friend Jakub, talk with him about our polish ancestry and see the mighty Fliehende Stürme (pronounced Flee-end-eh Stoormeh). The FS are a legend in the german punk scene. Formerly known as ChaosZ (and as a typical punk band), they changed their sound and their name back in the days. Nowadays they are known for beautifully depressing music. Kind of goth, kind of punk. An awesome mixture of both. But that's not the important fact about that evening. Together with Annike (greetz!) we spontaneously decided to form a band. I mean, I can't play an instrument and all but what the fuck. Let's see what the future brings. It was a really beautiful evening, filled with joy in times of sadness. Thank you all for that



14th of October, 2017: Arkangel in Jugendzentrum St. Peter, Duisburg

What's also good and maybe even better? Meeting familiar friends who travel 800 kilometers to see one band. The blasphemous Arkangel from Belgium played in Duisburg. Everyone was so excited to them. Even bets were placed if they would even show up because Arkangel are known for cancelling shows. However, 25 € for a bunch of unknown (for me) bands... Meh. But fuck it. Arkangel were
awesome. They ripped the house apart. Some people damaged themselves pretty hard. Broken noses and all that. It was one of the most antisocial shows I have ever seen. "Beautiful" destruction. Thanks to Phil and Kat for showing up and spending time with me. Hugs.



20th of October, 2017: King Dude, The Ruins of Beverast and (dolch) in Turok, Essen

I think that was one of my first live encounters with that kind of music. Showed up pretty late. Poor
Jakub was waiting way too long. Anyways, we got in and I saw one of the most majestic and smooth metal acts of this time: (dolch). It's hard do describe, but I try it. Non-violent, but kicking ass doom-ish whatever kind of metal. Spooky and mesmerizing. Usually I'm getting tired of listening to such bands live, but I got absolutely hypnotized by their apperance. The Ruins of Beverast were also kind of hypnotic except that they were way more uhm brutal and black metal-esqe. King Dude, however was something completely different. Kind of dark folk and country. King Dude himself (I mean the guy on the guitar and lead vocals) was maybe the coolest dude on the planet. At least in the moment when someone from the crowd compared him to Chelsea Wolfe: "Fuck off motherfucker, she's her own person!". Just brilliant.







Green Day Discography: 21st Century Breakdown (2009)

Aight, here it goes. The album I was warned about. "21st Century Breakdown" came out five years after "American Idiot", after Green Day became even more popular than in the 90s. I'm talking "Stadium Rockstar"-popular. Like its predecessor it's also a Rock Opera in three acts. Which would be "Heroes and Cons", "Charlatans and Saints" and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades". They tell a
story about a young couple called Gloria and Christian who live in a modern day USA. It is bound with all the insecurities which came with the end of the Bush era. I know it may sound a lil' bit harsh but it seems that Green Day realised that a concept album turns out great so why not make another one? And another one.... The next three albums came out all in one year... Anyway "21st Century Breakdown" is so bland, so toothless to me that there almost none songs who keep hanging in my head. Well yeah okay there is "21 guns" but it's too damn awful. Actually I do not have anything against soft pop songs but this here is just way too much bubblegum. Just no. Still, there are a couple enjoyable ones, of course. But all in all: Hell no.

5/10 deposit bottles
songs you should check out: iViva La Gloria!, Last Of The American Girls



KoRn Discography: Untitled (2007)

KoRns eighth studo album. Initially left without a title so the fans can name it whatever they want. I mostly call it "KoRn (2007)" or just simply "KoRn 2" (because of the follow up album).

After the experiment called "See You From The Other Side" (2005), KoRn stepped back to their roots. There are still some Industrial influences, and the album sounds still "softer" than for example
"Take A Look In The Mirror". I think it's kind of a balancing act between older sounds and a more mainstream sound. It seems like a better sequel to "Untouchables" (2002).

I like it very much, but to be honest I do not think that it's groundbreaking. It's just another KoRn album, well produced, made with heart and passion. Still, very refreshing to see that the band still likes to try things out. Just like "See You On The Other Side", it deals with different topics other than "the pain inside", "my mind", "going insane" and blah. BTW the first album without long time drummer David Silveria.

7/10 deposit bottles
songs you should check out: Hold On, Bitch We Got A Problem, Evolution



Ministry Discography: From Beer To Eternity (2013)

Thirteenth album by Ministry. Out of their recent output it is one of their best albums. Released after a very fruitful session with late guitarrist Mike Scaccia. Lyrically it deals with the topics that Ministry always had dealt with. Politics, corruption, drugs. This time we even have a song about "legal drugs" and the side effects they cause.

To me, "From Beer To Eternity" sounds more like old school Ministry, but it stays in the same thrashy area just as "Houses of the Molé". There are those echo-effects, lots and lots of samples, electronic sounds but the same amount of thrash metal. This time, the sounds seem to be more "focused". The album is not a mindless thrasher which was made only to be "brutal". I pretty much like it. There are some very cringy moments though. For example the whole song "Side F-X" which is made out of various samples and disturbing cuts. And, shit I think I sense a bit of dubstep there.

All in all, a good way to end a discography.
7/10 deposit bottles
songs you should check out: Punch In The Face, PermaWar, Thanx but no thanx, Hail To His Majesty

Dienstag, 24. Oktober 2017

Comic Book Review#314 (english): The Age of Sentry!#2 (2008)

Allrighty. The Sentry is completely new to me. Never heard of the character, even though I always was quite a fan of Marvel. Anyways, the story the superhero called Sentry began with a huge hoax. Long story short: The Wizard magazine printed a story about a long forgotten superhero who is even older than all the Silver Age characters. The widow of Sentry's creator, Artie Rosen found about the comic after she looked through her dead husband's stuff. Following, she sent the sketches to Marvel - they decided to renew the comic and put it out under the "Marvel Knights" moniker. But that's a huge lie and it never happened.

Actually, Sentry is a completely new character created by guys like Jae Lee and Bill Sienkiewicz. His origin story is formed like some kind of a retcon. Robert Reynold (that's the actual name of Sentry) was a low-life alcoholic until he finally started to remember his superhero past. He was big ass name in the superhero scene and friends with people like Reed Richards. He seems to be an anomaly from the past whom no one is allowed to remember. Anyways, in this issue of "The Age of Sentry!" he fights against a strange guy with three brains who controls a gigantic bear in a tutu called Ursus the Ultra-Bear. Also he tries to find out why the hell all the superheroes are avoiding him.

Sounds like trash? Yeah, it is trash. But pretty good. It seems like a parody of Silver Age Comics. Not only the design is really colorful, the story is hilarious and over-the-top. But not too much, so it doesn't become a bad parody. It's just simple fun. A guy in yellow spandex and is sidekicks: a girl in yellow spandex and a flying dog are beating up supervillains and attending birthday parties. First, I just thought "well, what?" but then I started grinning and enjoyed it. Made by Jeff Parker, Nick Dragotta, Paul Obin and Michael Cho.

8/10 deposit bottles

Sonntag, 22. Oktober 2017

Album of the Week#315: Siekiera - Nowa Aleksandria (1986)

Awkay, I already talked about Siekiera on here. But since the post was in German and I'd like to reach a bigger audience on here, somehow, I decided to review their first album.

Well, "Nowa Aleksandria" may be the polish band's first album but it's NOT their first record. Actually, Siekiera started as a hardcore punk band which sounded like a crude, more primitive version of bands like The Exploited. The music was very raw, the vocals really rough. Siekiera sounded like the soundtrack to a bare handed streetfight. Very energetic. You can listen to those sounds if you check out the compilation "Na wszystkich frontach swiata" (2008).

Sadly (or happily), it's common in the punk scene to break-up, kick out members or simply change the line-up. That's what happened with Siekiera (the name means "hatchet" btw and is pronounced cold wave.
Sheh-keh-rah). After a huge line-up changed the band changed their musical direction. Suddenly they came back with a completely different sound, widely known in Europe as

Siekiera were facing a huge backlash by the punk community which accused them of betrayal. But honestly, who cares? "Nowa Aleksandria" is a brilliant, minimalistic piece of work. In it's own way, it's still punk but just different. Cold, apathetic vocals. Keyboards. Very strange and cryptic lyrics. But that was common within the eastern European punk community, at least in Poland. Soundtrack for the sad landscapes of socialist Poland. Sad music to which you can dance to. Fucking majestic. Please please please check them out. And yes, I also think that Killing Joke were a massive influence to them.

Songs you should check out: Nowa Aleksandria, Ludzie wschodu, Idziemy przez las, Bez konca
8,5/10 deposit bottles




Film of the Week#311: Hot Shots! (1991)

Allrighty then.

It seems that in October I mostly review dumb movies. Half Baked and now Hot Shots... But fear not, because October is also Halloween month so you still have "Shin Gojira" and two Horror specials. So stay tuned.

Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) is the son of a US-Navy-Pilot called Leland Harley who was responsible for death of a brother in arms. Topper who is also a navy pilot suffered so bad from his fathers bad reputation that he decides to leave the army and live within a native american tribe. One day though Lt. Commander James Block (Kevin Dunn) visits him and surprises him with a new, unique mission. It's called "Sleepy Weasel" and it's super fucking important and classified.

"Hot Shots!" is a movie which belongs to the slapstick comedy genre. Director Jim Abrahams was part of ZAZ (Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker) a trio of comedy geniuses which brought us comedy hits like "Airplane" or "Naked Gun". This movie right here is really chaotic. It follows a plot but actually it's not really important. The silly jokes and gags are what it's all about. The movie makes fun of blockbusters of that time and movie classics like Top Gun, Rocky, Full Metal Jacket, Gone with the wind. It reminds of "newer" parody movies but way better. The only disturbing thing for me was that the german synchronisation delivers even more nonsenical and unfunny gags. But all in all: Comedy classic. Definitely.

8/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:

Samstag, 21. Oktober 2017

My Favorite TV-Show: Family Guy

Awkay, so actually I only write about TV shows when I finally watched the last season. Or the last aired season. But since I've been pretty lazy the last couple of months, here comes the review of one of the most obnoxious TV shows ever: "Family Guy".

My first encounter with the show was, I'm pretty sure, more than ten years ago. I was visiting my grandparents in St. Petersburg and, as always I was forcing my grandpa to watch "The Simpsons" and
"Futurama" with me. Suddenly, a new show showed up in the tv guide. It was called "The Griffins" (lmao). I was hooked as soon as I read about it. Then we watched the first episode together. My grandparents didn't know what they should think about it. I was in love.

You obviously can't avoid it: Family Guy has to be compared with The Simpsons. First of all the yellow guys were the first awkward animated american family that was succesful. Secondly "Family Guy" follows the same recipe. A somehow weird family experiences difficult, awkward and funny situations. At the end everything is a-ok and a single episode seems to stand on its own rather then being a part of a bigger story. The Griffins are: Peter (the father), Lois (the mother), Chris (the oldest son), Meg (the daughter), Stewie (the baby) and Brian (the talking dog). The family members seem to be in a really awkward relationship with each other. Lois and Peter love each other. Stewie hates Lois and plans to kill her (and also to conqur the world and cause as much pain and suffering as possible), Chris is dumb as fuck, everybody makes fun of Meg. Brian is secretly in love with Lois.

At first, before the show was shut down, it seemed like an awkward, crack-addicted version of The Simpsons. But then, after the show came back it got even worse. Sometimes, I think that South Park was right. Family Guy is written by manatees. How else could you explain those awkward plots, filled with tons of pop culture references and all that? It's one of the most idiotic and dumb TV shows I have ever watched. It makes absolutely no sense and it's aware of it. The fourth wall is being broken all the time. That's why I love it so much.

Mittwoch, 18. Oktober 2017

That's right, music!#39 (English)

This issue of "That's right, music!" is of lesser content. The issue with more content will be out this month.

First question: How does it feel to be dumped after five years? You feel down, destroyed, fucked up. You are hella sad, full of hate and anger and sometimes you just don't know what to do. But one thing that always helped me in this kind of situations is and always will be music. That's why I started to pump this awesome "mixtape" by a true friend of this blog, Phil Th. Pig. It's called "philthy philth for philthy pigs". My favorites on this playlist are definitely Fischer Z, Jawbreaker, Judas Priest, The Wildhearts and definitely the majestic John Frusciante.

Check it out:



Green Day - Discography: American Idiot (2004)

I remember the first time listening to this album. It was the time when I started being interested in politics. The Iraq war was THE topic, George W. Bush the public enemy numero uno and the USA the worst country in the world. At least, when you're 13 and you develop so much hate you have to project it onto something. Nowadays I have very different views towards this topic...

Anyways, "American Idiot" differs very much to "Warning". It is NOT a generic pop punk album. Instead we have the "World's First Punk Rock Opera" here. It begins with a typical Green Day song, but after that you get "Jesus Of Suburbia", a five part, nine minute long masterpiece. The most songs
sound like an Alternative Rock band who likes to experiment with new sounds. Also it's not a "loose" album - it follows a large story arc about three main characters: The Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy and Whatsername. It is set in modern day America - disillusion and disappointment of the "American Way of Life" seem to be the main topics. GD go even further then in "Warning". They do not just leave Punk rock behind, they extend to another level. But still, they seem like they're on the ground. Not some huge ass rockstars. But unfortunately, that will change.

9/10 deposit bottles
songs you should check out: American Idiot, Holiday, Jesus Of Suburbia, St. Jimmy, Homecoming,



KoRn - Discography: See You On The Other Side (2005)

This album was kind of a new beginning for the band and for their fans. "See You On The Other Side" is the seventh album of KoRn. The first one on Virgin Records and the first one without guitarist Brian "Head" Welch who left the band and started a short-lived christian rock career. Therefore, KoRn was a quartett for the first time. Also it's the last album with David Silveria on drums. It was produced by the duo "The Matrix" who are known for acts like Shakira or Britney Spears.

"See You On The Other Side" has a very different approach than the predecessor "Take A Look In The Mirror". It seems like an awakening. "We have to experiment more, try out new styles if we do not want to become irrelevant. Oh my gosh let's try out this and that and this and that!". If you expect typical KoRn sound you will be disappointed. There is no Hip-Hop influences, almost no typical Jonathan Davis scatting instead we get a bunch of pretty industrial-esque sounding songs. Not that industrial like the likes of NIN or early Ministry of course but you can hear the influences very clearly. The guitar riffs are toned down and are not "brutal". Instead we get strange interludes, keyboards and a mostly clear range of vocals. I think it's the most diverse and the most mainstream album of this band. After twelve years I still like it.

8,5/10 deposit bottles
songs you should check out: Twisted Transistor, Liar, Coming Undone



Ministry - Discography: Relapse (2012)

Ministry's twelfth album. First one since "The Last Sucker" that contains original material. I'm not counting the cover albums or the remix albums or the live albums. They will not get a review.

I found it very difficult to listen to at first. I am very far of saying that I do not like it though. It confronts me with sheer brutality. There is literally no, nada, niente Industrial influences on this album. Unless you count the mechanical guitar sound. "Relapse" sounds like a really heavy tank
which is driving downhill. More a thrashing, brutal metal album than a typical innovative Ministry-album. But please don't get me wrong. At some points it is really enjoyable. "Kleptocracy", "Double Tap", "Ghouldiggers" and "United Forces" (S.O.D-cover) are my favorites. Still it seems like Jourgensen and Scaccia decided to go as fast as they could, be as brutal as they could... Just be a generic metal band. For me, it's just not Ministry anymore.

6/10 deposit bottles
songs you should check out: Ghouldiggers, Kleptocracy, Double Tap, United Forces, Weekend Warrior

Dienstag, 17. Oktober 2017

Comic Book Review#313 (english): Preacher#1 (1995)

Well, I suppose that many some of you had their first encounter with Jesse Custer while watching the AMC series. And also I suppose that some of you risked a glimpse into the comic, just to see how it is and if it differs from the series. Well, it does a lil' bit.

"Preacher" tells a story about Jesse Custer - a former Gangster turned preacher who resides in Annville, Texas. A bumblefuck nowhere kind of town, filled with alcoholics and people who focused
their lives on god and church. Actually, at the beginning we see the main protagonists: Jesse, Tulip whom Jesse had a turbulent relationship with in his past and british vampire called Cassidy. However, they sit in a diner and Jesse tells a kind of a flashback story. We witness the escape of Genesis from heaven. After that Tulip tells us how she met Cassidy for the first time and how she shot some guys in their faces. And finally we get the first glimpse of the Saint of Killers. At the end of the comic Genesis finally possessed Jesse.

A turbulent, gory and funny piece of art. Highly detailed design of faces and surroundings. A dynamic story which does not give a single fuck and doesn not bore me a single second. Weird, chilling, innovative and pretty offensive. A modern classic. Thumbs up!

9/10 deposit bottles


Sonntag, 15. Oktober 2017

Album of the Week#314: Leningrad - Datchniki (2000)

Allrighty, folks. Actually I thought that I would write this review in three languages but.... my head is splitting up in two. So...no.

"Datchniki" is the third album of Leningrad, one of Russia's most hated and loved band. Loved by their fans, hated by the government officials. Leningrad hail from St. Petersburg and at that time they were playing simple Ska-fueled Punkrock. But, to be honest, mostly Ska-Punk is pretty "nice" and rarely filled with a fuck ton of curse words. These are part of the so-called "Russian Mat" which is the name for russian profanity. Every song here is full of it. That's why, when I was young and used
to listen to this album on my cassette player I started to frighten a bit. So much curse words! I'm not supposed to listen to this. That's nothing for a kid like me!

The songs on "Datchniki" tell us simple stories of russian people. Vocalist Sergey "Shnur" Shnurov tells them from his point of view. Mostly they follow the simple rule: It's about drugs, alcohol and women. Drugs and alcohol in dysfunctional relationships lead to break-ups which lead to even more drugs and alcohol. Sometimes the narrator is escaping into fantasy worlds. In those worlds he's the Terminator or even Agent 007. On the other hand the song also about being fucked-up and getting nagged on by the non-existing wife.

All in all. "Datchniki" is fun to listen to. Mostly, I couldn't sit still and had to jump around. It's simple, full of offensive language and kind of a kick in the head. Even if you don't understand a single word. You have to at least, kind of, have nothing against ska.

8,75/10 deposit bottles
songs you have to listen to: Terminator, 007, Hui w pal'to, Datchniki, Kogda net deneg

Freitag, 13. Oktober 2017

Film of the Week#310: Half Baked (1998)

Allrighty then!

What he have here is a genuine, stupid as fuck, stoner movie. Which is actually only watchable when stoned. So, I don't know get stoned I guess? lol

"Half Baked" tells us a story of four childhood friends: Thurgood Jenkins (Dave Chappelle), Scarface
(Guilermo Diaz), Brian (Jim Breuer) and Kenny (Harland Williams). All four of them are huge stoners who nowadays are still hanging out together. However, Kenny goes to jail - he accidentaly killed a police horse called Buttercup. He didn't know that the animal was diabetic and fed a bunch of sweets. Anyways, the rest of the gang decide to sell marijuana so they can bail Kenny out of jail. They put a business called "Mr. Nice Guy".

All I can say about this movie is: You should only watch if you do not care about your brain cells. It has something like a subconscious message a lá "don't do drugs" but it totally fails. Instead you should just chill out and enjoy the view of four stoners who have a specific approach to life. And yeah, it's about friendship too. It's a good dumb movie, not a bad one.

7,5/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:

Dienstag, 10. Oktober 2017

Comic Book Review#312: Hitman#1000000 (2000) (english)

Allrighty then. Here comes mah fayvrit.

Hitman, better known as Tommy Monaghan. He's an irish-american resident of Gotham City and uhm, well... a Hitman. By the way, he has some superpowers. He's able to read people's minds and see through buildings. Those powers were given to him by aliens, as far as I know. Because of his blackened eyes he wears sunglasses.

Well, this story here takes place in the 853rd century. This is the century, in which the 1.000.000th issue of "Action Comics" would come out if DC would still exist. It's the year 85.271. So there are those witty, snotty teenagers who want to become superheroes. That's why they mess with a time machine which should teleport Batman from the 20th century. Instead of Batman, they get Tommy who is pretty much pissed off about this. Long story short, shit gets hot. A bunch of superheroes appears and gets in a dramatic fight with each other. Tommy kicks ass.

Typical, funny and over-the-top stuff from Garth Ennis and John McCrea. You know it, they love the superhero multiverse and they even more enjoy to make fun of it. The "DC One Million" Event of that time was already over the top, so it's clear that they HAD to make it even worse/better. Typical scenario of a guy who wakes up in a world he doesn't belong to. I had fun while reading.

8,5/10 deposit bottles

Sonntag, 8. Oktober 2017

Album of the week#313: KULT - Tata Kazika (1993)

Awkay, this one's gonna be tough. It's a short review, but I honestly have to write it in three languages. Because: October is, musically speaking, the Eastern Europe Month. I will review only music from the former countries of the Warsaw Pact. So, be excited for some good shit.

"Tata Kazika" is the seventh album of KULT. What we have here is a huge tribute to Stanislaw Staszewski, the father of the band's vocalist Kazik Staszewski. He was an architect, but also a brilliant songwriter. On this album, KULT performed a whole range of his songs. First time at all. (The album title btw means "Kazik's Father".) The musical style differs between genuine rock music and folk. Also, I sense an influence of jazz and blues. Kind of. Talking about lyrics: Staszewskis way
of writing seems kind of cryptic too me. Maybe because, I do not speak polish that often and I'm not always familiar with inside jokes. But, however one song simply stays in my mind: "Baranek" which tells a story of a girl who is gossiped about. The storyteller is a defender of hers. Truly wonderful.

I like the feel of the whole album. It seems like it's far away, way too old for me to understand but kind of near to my heart. Punk, but not in the punkrock way. Just awesome.

8,5/10 deposit bottles
songs you got to listen to: Dyplomata (in russian), Kurwy wedrowniczki, Baranek, Celiny

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Okej, ludzie. To będzie cierzkie. Niestety nie mam tutaj polskiej klawiatury, to znaczy ze nie bedzie polskich liter. Sorry. Pazdiernik to miesiac muzyki wschodnio-europejskej - polskiej i rosyjskiej.

"Tata Kazika" to siodmy album KULTa. Mamy tutaj ogromny tribjut dla Stanislawa Staszewskiego - ojca wokalisty zespolu, Kazika Staszewskie. Czlowiek byl architektem ale takze wspanialym pisarzem wierszy i piesn. Na tym albumie, KULT nagrali kupe jego pioseneke. W ogole w pierwszy raz. Styl muzyczny lezy gdies miedzy muzyka rockowa i folkiem. A i jeszcze to czuje jakies wplywy blues'a i jazz'a. Jakos. Jezeli mowimy o tekstach: Styl Staszewskiego slucha sie dla mnie jakos dziwno. Moze to dlatego ze, nie za duzo rozmawiam po polsku i nie zawsze rozumiem jakies zarty. Ale jedna piosenka po prostu zasiadla w mojej glowie i nie moge jej zapomniec: "Baranek", która opowiada o dziewczynie o której ludzie opowiadaja plotki. Narrator tej piosenki jest w tym sensie jej obrońca. Po prostu wspaniale.

Lubie cale uczucie tego albumu. Slucha jak byloby dawno temu i bardzo daleko ale równoczesnie bardzo blisko w sercu. Swietnie.

8,5/10 butelek
piosenki które musisz posluchac: Dyplomata, Kurwy Wedrowniczki, Baranek, Celiny

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Окей, ребята. Ето будет наверно тяжело. Октябрь ето на етом блоге месяц музыки восточной европы - в основном из Полъшы и России.

"Тата Казика" ето седьмой альбом группы КУЛТ. Ето огромный трибют для Станислава Сташевского - отца вокалисты группы, Казика Сташевского. Мужык был архитектом но также и прекрасным писателем стихов и песен. На етом альбом КУЛТ записали кучу его песен. Вобще в первый раз. Музыкальный стил находится где-то между роком и фольком. И еще я чуствую там где-то джазз и блюз. Как-то так. Поговорим о текстах: Стил Сташевского считаю довольно странным. Может ето потому-что, я не часто розговориваю по полъски и не всегда понимаю всякие шутки. Но одна песьня просто не может выйти из моей головы: "Баранек" (по русски "Баран"), которая разказывет про одну девушку про которую люди болтают очень много сплетен. Рассказчик песнИ становится ее защитником. Просто классно и душевно.

Люблю все что етот альбом из себя представлает. Чуствуется как-будто ето все давно и далеко но одновременно близко к сердцу. Отлично.

8,5/10 бутылок
песни которые тебе обязательно надо послушать: Dyplomata, Kurwy Wedrowniczki, Baranek, Celiny








Film of the Week#309: Shin Godzilla (2016)

Allrighty then!

It was a hard as fuck week for me, therefore I deliver you two reviews on one day. This will be the first. It was mucho exciting!

First of all, "Shin Godzilla" has nothing to do with "Godzilla: Final Wars" or the us-version of Godzilla from 2014. It is just another reboot of the franchise. In fact, in the future we will have TWO Godzilla-franchises: American and Japanese.

(SPOILER ALERT)

The movie tells us a story that takes place in bureaucracy hell. A modern day japan experiences the coming of a huge monster who rises from upon the sea. But it doesn't look in any way like Godzilla. It crawls all the way through Tokyo and looks like it has some kind of a seizure. The government official simply don't know what to do. There are meetings after meetings where it's being discussed what the hell they are going to do. Should they stop the monster? Kill it? Catch it and leave the job for scientists and biologists? I don't know how much time they spent discussing in this movie. Anyways, soon it becomes clear that the monster is in a metamorphose stadium - it is only a larvae...

Well, the design of modern day Godzilla was widely known. BUT. No one knew, why he looked like that. Why he had so tiny arms and why the hell he looks like a zombificated version of himself. Okay, the questions are not really answered. At least it becomes clear that it might be only a stadium. Someday we will maybe witness an even more majestic Godzilla with an ultimately chaotic origin story. What I enjoyed and hated about the movie was the fact that it's so modern. Back in the day, you just had to "discuss" what to do with the monster and then start attacking it. Nowadays we got the first meeting, the second one, the third one, the gazillionth one and a free ride in bureaucracy hell. It's quite disturbing, but okay. The special effects are awesome. I honestly cannot complain about Godzillas laser beam and all that. Just great!

8/10 deposit bottles
Trailer:

Dienstag, 3. Oktober 2017

Comic Book Review#311: G.I.Joe Special Missions#17 (1989) (english)

Allright folks, let's do it quick.

So apparently, the "Joes" (that's how the team of G.I.Joe is called here) face one huge assignment, maybe the biggest in their lives. They have to protect a top secret high-tech government project in Siliconville - not Silicon Valley? Okay. So, there is this awkward hostage situation and they discover that Scrap Iron and his team of Cobra villains are stealing classified information as a cover-up for local corrupt politicians.

Almost every page is filled with RATATATs, firing weapons and uhm a shitload of military language. It's so confusing at first, but after a short time you get what it's all about. It's okay. Really really okay. But I still can't get why G.I.Joe was so big.

Shit, this is maybe the shortest review I have ever written. I have nothing interesting to say about that.

6/10 deposit bottles