Street Fighter Tips Volume ONE: Crossup

Good Evening. This is the first in a series of posts that I will handle concerning my view of the more technical aspects Street Fighter. With the arrival of Street Fighter 4 and other top tier fighting games already out there like Virtua Fighter and MK v.DCU I am hoping this becomes the year of fighter. There is no other genre of game where you are truly weighed directly against your competitor brain v. brain reflexes v. reflexes mano v. mano? The other really great thing about Fighting Games is how goddamn deep they are. You can enjoy the top crust of the game for years without even realizing the deeper core of game play and technique that the game offers. since a A good fighting game like Street Fighter allows for the greatest player freedom in experimenting and discovering which techniques work better in which situation and allows for a type or artistic free style when putting all of these different strands of thinking together, its kind of like playing a musical instrument.

I learned mostly everything I know about street fighter from days in the Showcase Cinema's in Revere where i would dominate and be dominated standing at a machine placing quarters in a slot. At any moment, if I was paying attention I could watch the next guy get on the sticks and show me something new, and then try to use it against him. As time wore on, some techniques began to form a core of any good player's repertoire in that they, when used at the correct moment lead most often to winning. Now, with the fall of the arcade and the lack of an arcade machine at every pizza place movie theater the fighting game is driven on to x-box live. You cant just sit next to a machine and watch someone, they just come into your living room, beat the shit out of you and disappear into the ether. Unless you are some kind of savant you really can't take anything from these sessions, and the chances of playing the same player from a line that is "as big as the internet" is rare, so you don't get prolonged exposure to good techniques/strategies. There are some great sites out there that really get in depth on these strategies, including all the forums on www.shoryuken.com. However, at times these boards are pretty intimidating. It's kind of like asking a NASA engineer how to change your oil, and that engineer is really pissed all the time about changing oil since like 100 other goofballs already asked the same question, and he can't talk about space shuttles with his fellow NASA friends. So we are going to smash through the glass ceiling, feminism style, here and lay out the basics, that start as the foundation for any good Street Fighter player. In case you don't get the picture. IF YOU LEARN THESE MOVES THE LAKERS WILL SHOW UP AT YOUR PLACE AND WAVE TOWELS AT YOU AND SAY RAD SHIT LIKE OHHH NO HE DIDN'T

WHAT IT BE:Crossup
The crossup is one of the most basic moves in the fighting game repotire. In plain English a corssup is an attack that actually lands behind the opposing character, thereby connecting with the opponents back, behind his block. It looks kind of bizarre, but it has been around since Street Fighter II.

HOW YOU DO DAT?
The crossup is most simply executed by using any of the character's medium kick attacks after reaching an apex over the opponents head. If the crossup lands the opponent will be wide open for a combination, likely leading to stun(dizzy).

HOW YOU DO DAT (IN PARTICULAR)
Crossover/Cross up - Is what it sounds like. You begin doing something to get your opponent focusing hi sattention one way, then you fake them out by quickly jumping up and over (preferrably someone will run out into your game area and wave a wight towle at you and scream out that celery stix is the shit). Since the main point of the crossup/crossover is going over the opponent's block, he must first be induced to block, otherwise he would be able to back flip out of the way or use an anti - air attack like a shoryuken/tiger uppercut etc. This is usually accomplished by poking the oppnent with short low jabs or light kicks to induce the opponent to block low, then quickly jumping over the opponent and landing the kick on top of his head.

DONT FORGET
The rationale of the move. (1)Induce the opponent to block (2) Jump on top of opponent's head, medium kick/other reliable move that creates medium damage and medium knock back so as to set the opponent up for further combination without knocking him out of range. (3) No matter what people will eventually figure out whats doing if you fall into a set pattern. You can cross up out of a variety of moves or scenarios, so long as your opponent is blocking and you can get over them quickly. Practice, get into as many scenarios as you can. The most important thing to remember is that no amount if technique can tell you "when" to utilize a certain move, only experience, pick a character and get good with it.

BEWARE
Since the Crossup has been around since 92' most player will know that its coming if the move is obvious. Without properly inducing the opponent to block or getting him off balance in some way, you will be juming in like an idiot totally exposed to any anti air attack or super/ultimate attack. Also beware, some individuals believe that this move is "cheap" but fail to describe why it exists in the game. American Hero John Runyon, center on the Philadelphia Eagles, and like 39 Time Pro Bowler will gladly punch people in the testicles at the bottom of piles, to get an edge, to help his team win, becaus someone else would gladly punch him in the testicles to get to McNabb, which would be a failure for Runyon who does not know how to fail. There is no mysterious code of honor in games or life, other than winning and realizing that you are involved in a zero sum game where all is chaos and there is no over riding moral authority to bind your actions. To not do everything available to you is ridiculous, you can't just say that there is a code or a rule when there isn't, its like a mad man putting a hat on a fire hyrdant and screaming that it is the "A Number One Duke of New York."

SAMPLE MOVE: (I will try to do all my Sample Moves with Ken, although Sakura is my number one, I couldn't tell you the names of her moves. PLUS Ken Rules and everyone, with some rare exemples, uses him wrong. Ken is also super balanced, and is a good archetype for the large class of quarter circle forward characters.

"Safe Jump/Safe Sash" in (this is its own thing, needless to say its pretty self explanatory) so that you are out of range of the other charcter. A good principle is to eyeball two caharcter lengths between yourself and the opponnent. I like to run fiece dragon kick, the opponent sees it coming and should block, if he doesn't block you're going to hit him anyway. Once block is enabled and after the third spin, immediialt go into a low crouching foot jab with light kick. THis sould initiate low block (AND LOOK AT ALL THE CHIP DAMAGE YOU ARE GETTING) when you feel ready tap up, at the apex of the opponents head huse medium kick, which will land for a charcter space and a hal, this sshould impact with the opponent's back, behind the block. Once back there do your thing, i like to round house into EX spinning dragon kick. Butu feel free to do whatever.

In case my explanation made no sense, here is a video. This is of SFA3 but its the exact same mechanic in SF4 (crossups start at minute 3 Link up is basically light punch int medium punch combos, keeping the opponent close with lighter moves so you can get more hits in rather than gettig knocked back)

M-m-m-m-medics

Just watched this video and it got me totally fired up for Killzone. The irony of this situation is palpable - a video about a person that runs around throwing out health packs gets me juiced for a game called Killzone. In every other kind of game I can't stand playing as healing classes - traditionally when I play a game it's balls-out reckless fuck defense time (BORFDT) - but FPS games, which are primarily about BORFDT inspires me to play as guys that are devoted to keeping other people alive.

The more I think about it though, the more it makes sense. My favorite types of characters to play as are offensive juggernauts with poor defense. FPS medics traditionally take alot of damage because they can make up for it with their healing capabilities. Offensively they usually are on par with the primary damage dealing class. So we have a class with moderate offense and no defense. I think the kicker comes in with regard to the total exposure a medic has when reviving other players - so there is a rush present in medics that isn't there for other classes, running into the middle of a fight totally exposed to revive someone to selfishly boost my stats. Bringing me back to BORFDT.

The needle in return to castle wolfenstein was more kick-ass though than this revive gun.

how I learned to stop worrying and love the hori

Two weeks ago I purchased the MadCatz Standard Edition FightStick after months of anticipation. I began my search last summer when Soul Calibur was released and instead of buying the Hori Ex sticks that were available, I opted to defer my purchase until winter when the MadCatz sticks would be released. To speed this story up, I bought the sticks two weeks ago and although there were some problems with the stick sticking and buttons not registering (basically chasing a pig through the streets screaming "It's still good, it's still good"). After 3 days the stick stopped responding entirely, so I promptly returned it, cursing myself for buying a MadCatz product after swearing off their garbage products years ago.

Because I'm not entirely rational, I thought the only way to actually stick it to MadCatz would be to return their product and buy a more expensive one from their rival Hori, so I purchased the Hori Real Arcade Pro Ex, which has worked like a dream. I spent as much on the Hori as the MadCatz tournament edition stick, even though the TE has better buttons, for two reasons: 1. I can easily upgrade the buttons on the HRAP EX, which I intend to do and will potentially post before and after shots of my new stick with NWO Black and White artwork on it (Horace Hogan and Stevie Ray likely involved); 2. Hori has a better reputation than MadCatz, so six months from now when the third rate innards of the MadCatz fail, I'll be left standing.

I'm really just trying to push my anti-MadCatz agenda, I included a video of that time I was in space with James McCloud:

Capcom Makes a Big Announcement That Gets (LOST) In the Shuffle. On a (PLANET)

So, I got out of work today and had a gang of shit to do, and have not had access to the video game related parts of the internet while I was at work, so when I turned on the old 360 at around eleven tonight I was genuinely surprised and excited to see that Capcom had a "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT" about a game they were releasing. (By the way, this also shows how good the new 360 blade/NXE works since this info was literally shoved down my throat before I could get to Street Fighter).

At first I saw my menz Jun with a Raccon City Police Department jacket on. Then he said a "new game" that the fans had been demanding would be revealed TONITE IN THIS VERY VIDEO! Immediately my mind raced with thoughts of my dream game which chronicles the adventures of Barry Burton Jill and Chris as they crusaded around the world on a boat hunting down Umbrella remnants. OHHHHHHHHH maybe it’s another Resident Evil light gun game to clear up all of those "loose ends" from the other light gun games or maybe it’s a straight up Hunk adventure game where you find out why you "cannot kill the death" or why the "death can't die." I was literally frothing at the mouth. BUT THEN he takes off the jacket and says oh no. This Jacket has nothing to do with my announcement. Holy shit.

THEN when the jacket comes off i see underneath the jacket, a v-neck sweater with a turtleneck? I stopped for a minute and thought about it. My initial disappointment that a new and possibly old school style version of Resident Evil wasn't coming out was then overwhelmed with new Joy that the sweater and the turtleneck were another obvious hint. Jun was dressing as none other than Roy Bromwell the famous American exchange student who helps out his friends at the Taiyo School only to go on and later be elected president in the great game Rival Schools! It must be a call out to a rival schools sequel. FINALLY. Enjoy the kick ass J-Pop.




Also Enjoy From Wikipedia the Bio of Roy Bromwell

Roy Bromwell is a character first introduced in Rival Schools: United By Fate. A rich foreign exchange student from the United States, he is often portrayed in the games as main character Batsu's rival. He is also an American football player, with a number of his in-game special moves named after elements of the sport. In the first game, he is ordered to investigate the school kidnappings by his father, with Tiffany and Boman joining him. During their investigation, the American trio is defeated and brainwashed to the service of Justice High, but eventually is freed thanks to Batsu and his Taiyo High compatriots. This causes Roy eventually rethink his ideas about Japan and its people. His ending in the game has him return to the United States determined to change the way of thinking in his home country, and 30 years after the games take place, he is elected the President of the United States. [FUN FACT Taiyo HS is the same HS that Sakura from the Street Fighter games goes to, she also makes an appearance in the rival schools games.]

That’s a pretty great announcement. Sadly in reality it turns out that the game is in fact Lost Planet Two. I kind of enjoyed Lost planet One, but I feel like it is was so forgettable. Although the game play was frenetic, and actually has a really nice old school arcade shooter feel, with some interesting multilayer components including the grappling hook stuff, it didn't grab me. I think the problem however was the main character, because generally I love a mech game and love shooting stuff, and it can't be denied that even as an early generation 36o Game LP One looked tremendous, and moved smoothly, and your little dude aimed well and they gave you lots of awesome robots to play with.

My main issue with Lost Planet One is my problem with most Third Person Action games. Ina third person game, unlike a first person, the character really needs to stand on his own as an interesting well developed thing that you indeed care about. The difference really comes from perspective.

In a first person game it doesn't really matter who your "character is" since the player is actually the one directly interacting with the world, holding the gun, flipping the switches, it’s actually better if the game does not force a personality onto that character since it would be psychologically like forcing an emotion or ambition on the player, which the player may not have. Instead, the player must gain ambition from his perception of the world as it unfolds around him, make things happen to the player that make the player feel personally involved, that any slight against the HUD is an attack directly at the person holding the controller. (Which is why the ending of COD 4 is so great.) The proof is in the pudding, some of the best First person shooters have literally a milk toast know nothing say nothing machine SEE Gordon Freeman, and all the nameless dudes from call of Duty, all the way back to the DOOM guy and the Wolfenstien guy. Indeed, even if a first person game has a character with personality like Duke Nukem or Master Chief, that personality is communicated to the player subtly via quips or muttered lines.

A third person game puts the player next to or behind the on screen character. Due to this perspective the player is not interacting with the world, but is in a position more akin to watching a film. The character must stand out in the overall context of the story. Take Max Payne or my favorite character Jack Slate from Dead to Rights. BOTH of these character play compelling corny action heroes like any good Stallone or Schwarzenegger movie, complete with weird back stories, kick ass lines when they kill a bad guy and unique looks. The Resident Evil Games are the best example of doing a third person game "right." Capcom has spent so much time and care on the development of their characters in crafting huge over arching story lines and individuals with such depth and personality that characters like Chris Redfield can be re-introduced nearly 7 years since his last appearance with a full mythology ready to accompany him into battle, a mythology and a motivation which the player genuinely care about as they watched Chris and Claire and Jill and Barry and Steve and Billy etc. etc. etc. work out the mystery like a great soap opera or wrestling angle. For example, Resident Evil: Code Veronica (you can get it for the PS2 for like ten bucks, and it is likely one of the finest Resident Evil Games.) The first art of the game develops slowly with Claire Redfield, Chris's sister, trapped on an island, attempting to resolve its mystery. The whole game Claire, whom the player has already met in Resident Evil Two as the plucky fighter who dealt with the police station, is still searching for her brother Chris, whom we know as the baddass who killed a plant, a tyrant and punched Wesker in Resident Evil One. When Chris Finally shows up midgame in a tank to save Calire, after Claire has been flown off the Island, the player, due to the cut-scenes and the revelation of the story genuinely cares about Claire and is now pumped to see Chris loaded up like NATO ready to go after Wesker. To the Player this "has to happen" the mythology is so built up that this moment is "destined"

The third person game is a movie and without proper character development and attention it is a soulless movie. Even when we are talking about cheesy movies the difference between something like Leslie Neilson's Naked Gun and the film abortion called Meet The Spartans is gargantuan. Although both films are similar genres and similar "quality" the extra time that Leslie Neilson took developing Frank Drebbin makes his movie more memorable and funny to the audience than anyone in the soulless Meet the Spartans (or any of those movies by those assholes, even if Kevin Sorbo I think is in Meet the Spartans, Kevin Sorbo is the figure head for my religion.)

Lost Planet's character is Meet the Spartans as Jack Slate is to Naked Gun. Both games technically shooters indeed with time, Lost Planet is a more proficient shooter. BUT I don't give a crap whether or not the guy in Lost Planet lives or dies or finds his dad or whatever the hell is going on. Which is why I still own Dead to Rights and not Lost Planet. Game designers should take note of this and really try to make their characters memorable, even if that means they come off as "over the top" underplayed and reserved characters are ok in Akira Kurasawa movies but have no place in a video game, and no game designer is Akira Kurasawa so let’s cut the shit. Most game makers could be John Singleton though so let’s at least try. No one cares about a character who could be THE MOST cookie cutter character ever. Let’s count the ways (1) Amnesia (2) Is more than what he appears/is the king/is the best mech pilot (3) Looks like the lead singer from hoobastank.

I reserve judgment on the new Lost Planet so far since it looks like it is about the "Ice Pirates" and pirate kick ass. So let’s hope my warnings are noted, and the Ice Pirates are interesting in some manner. However, the fact that this game is not called Lost Planet 2: Ice Pirates or Lost Planet 2:Revenge, is unforgivable.

Also Jun. Next time you take off your jacket to reveal another jacket, let's make sure it looks more like this.

Resistance 2 Review (mainly about it's story)

Some music for your reading:



Wanted to do my first review on a game I've completed for a few reasons. First, like a book or a movie, it's impossible to review something that you have not yet completed. But that issue feeds into a larger point on game reviews with something that I'd like to do with this site and all subsequent reviews. It takes a long ass time to really complete a game and fully experience it's multiplayer if applicable. With that said, a game, unlike a book or a movie, is more about the process - you are actively engaged and competing against the game in a way that is not applicable to other mediums. I'm not using this as a "GAMESRTHEBEST" argument, rather it's a fact that in about an hour section of game you can almost always have a full impression of what the rest of the game is because the rest of the game is built from the same technology and by the same people as those who created that part of the game you have already played. So while a review may not be complete if its done before you actually complete the game, it can provide a relatively accurate forecast of what the final review product would be. SO with that long winding diatribe out of the way, I think the way the site should do reviews going forward is in installments as we complete the games - the initial review will be a solid first impression of the game and the subsequent updates will provide a more in-depth look at a game than you could likely get from just reading a review that was based on a person who had to rush in order to beat the game before a release date. A game is meant to be played over time and not in a few sittings, so this review structure will accurately reflect that, which is a luxury we are afforded because people who want to use a review to tell them what to purchase will likely just use one of the thousand commercial sites already available.

That was far too long and uninteresting, we need a new song:


Resistance might be the most puzzling game I've ever played. I loved the first game's single player and this plays, more or less, identically. The reticule is the same, most of the guns are the same, but there is something absolutely disconcerting about the single player experience, and I think its our old friend exposition. R1 used still frame black and white shots with narration to advance the story - not the best means of doing so by any means, but it is serviceable and it does tell a story. R2 on the other hand replaces those still frame shots with full motion cutscenes (either in-game or out of game) - so far so good. The problem is that these scenes convey no information at all, and just totally left me bewildered as to what had just happened and what I was doing now. Normally I can live with no exposition, I fucking love Doom and Contra, but when you try to tell a story, forget what you're talking about, and then talk to me as if what you had just said was both coherent and enough to convince me to proceed to the next objective, I immediately begin hating you for insulting my intelligence. I don't need a "why" but if you offer one to me it should explain something rather than spilling soup on itself and passing out in a cocaine induced fury.

The biggest problem with the story is that it wants to be half-life. HL games are great for their subtlety by keeping you in the eyes of its protagonist while slowly feeding you information that is withheld from you from the beginning. R2 witholds information from you, never presents it to you, and is as subtle as a shirtless Pat Burrell. Apparently this super intelligent alien race thing that was on earth came back to earth and made more super intelligent aliens that are also stronger, better organized and have far superior technology to humanity; this game takes place in America 2 years after the aliens invaded. Humanity apparently was slaughtered except enough people exist to form a standing army that is apparently strong enough to stop the invasion except they're not? That's the extent of information I gleaned from the story. The story also pulled a half-life 2 and gave you all powers during the ending sequence, but it was more hilarious than anything at that point after watching the story happen.

I'll calm down now. I actually had fun with the game I just want to punch the story in its stupid face. The competitive multiplayer is fun, I didn't get into Co-op because I don't know enough people with PS3s. The ending was good though, check it out:

STREET FIGHTER VIRGIN

I am a Street Fighting “newb”. Back in my glory years (early ‘90’s), I played Street Fighter II here and there in arcades, but my true love was Mortal Kombat. There was something magical about a listening to a little Nirvana and terrorizing all of Outworld as a partially decomposed, resurrected ninja whose hobbies include throwing spears at people and burning them alive. Watching Ryu and Ken vie for status as world’s top fighter by throwing identical fireballs at one another just didn’t cut it for me.

Today though, I am caught in quite the quandary. My love for Mortal Kombat is in question. The folks at Midway released a number of uninspired Mortal Kombat games (for the record, Mortal Kombat Vs. DCU was a step in the right direction, but they have some more ground to make up) and have paid the price for their betrayal, recently filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the gentlemen over at Capcom have developed generally high quality games, such as the Resident Evil franchise and Dead Rising in recent years (zombie games kick ass) and perhaps the most exciting arcade game of all time, 1942, in the past.

Street Fighter IV continues in this tradition of awesomeness in many respects. The combat (with a “c” and not a “k”, unfortunately) is good, the 3D look of the characters is new and eye-catching, and the anime intros and conclusions are a great touch (even if there are, at times, shameful gaps in the story). My one complaint – I don’t feel connected to any of the characters. None of them stand out to me. Consequently, I have been unable to integrate one of them into my being (I typically spend 3+ days in a self-made smoke lodge in a secluded section of a wooded area somewhere, abstaining from food or drink, before a character bonds with me – it’s a religious experience). When I play Halo, I AM Master Chief. When I play Soul Calibur, I AM Mitsurugi. Unfortunately, when I play Street Fighter, I am NOT Sagat. I merely control his movements. My kicks lack emotional content. Maybe that is because I did not grow up playing Street Fighter. Maybe that is because the story sucks. Maybe the characters are unoriginal. Maybe I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. Still, I am not going to give up. I’m going to keep playing. Maybe the next player I unlock will be The One. One thing I do know is that I will never play this game online against people I haven’t met. If I have to play idiot after idiot playing as Ryu and only Ryu any more, I think I may just give up on video games forever. Learn a new guy, Internet! Seriously. Still, that's a subject for another blog.

Lesser Known Autobot of the Week - Wheeljack

From Wikipedia

Wheeljack is the scientist (and warrior) of the Autobots...

Wheeljack is described as the mad scientist of the Autobot forces as he is always inventing new weapons and gadgets. These weapons and gadgets, while derived from the desire to benefit the Autobot cause, often bring great danger and introduce unpredictable elements into critical situations. He is the most accomplished driver (while in car mode) among the Autobots and enjoys displaying his skill level through various road stunts. Wheeljack possesses the ability to fly for relatively short distances (800 miles) using solid-fuel rockets in his arms. From his shoulder mounted cannons, Wheeljack can shoot magnetic inducer, shrapnel-needle, and gyro-inhibitor shells which can disrupt a target's sense of balance. He is often his own worst enemy due to the explosive and potentially damaging nature of his experiments.

According to this description, Wheeljack has all fucking powers and is both (as the parenthesis above note) a Warrior and a Mad Scientist - Why the hell haven't I heard of him.

Eastbound and Down Rules AND I Believe Better Describes the Website Than Words

Why I'm not getting the Prince of Persia DLC

Spoiling the hell out of the plot and ending to Prince of Persia but it's necessary. The plot of POP has the protagonist and his lady-friend purging the corruption from a kingdom in order to seal away the dark power that created the corruption. A number of twists and turns occur throughout the story and you find out at the end that purging the corruption results in the death of your special lady. It is at this point that the protagonist realizes that if he brings the corruption back he can save his special lady friend, which he proceeds to do and the game ends with him carrying her off; as seen here:
My initial reaction, like many people, was one of disgust - "if i just undid everything I spent the last 12 hours doing, what the hell was the point." It soon dawned on me that I was being insane - what do you ever honestly accomplish when you finish a video game, if I get mad that I didn't "accomplish" something when the prince let the corruption back out, shouldn't I be equally upset when Master Chief wipes out the flood, the degree to which either of those things actually impact my life is minimal to non-existent.

After clearing my insane "what did I just accomplish" hurdle, I realized the game had one of the best endings I've ever seen. The Prince was himself at the end of the game - given the plot and everything that was learned throughout the course of the game, we come to the understanding that even if the corruption is gone, there is no land left to save - its inhabitants have left, and it is only protected by a temple whose strength is rapidly waning. By choosing his special lady, the prince made the only choice available to him - he could either live in a desolate land alone or he could live in a corrupted land with her and fight the evil together. The land, to him, is still corrupted if it claimed her as a victim, that is why he made his choice and that is why the ending is awesome.

Unfortunately Ubisoft is releasing a downloadable epilogue to the game, that ostensibly appears to put a more satisfying conclusion to the story; pandering to those who couldn't process the meaning of the ending. As far as I'm concerned, the story is over.

The POP ending is good, but its not as good as


So the ending would have been better if the prince flew away on a helicopter from an exploding island, but the amount of closure would have been the same.

Circuit City is Going Out of Buisness

So Circuit City is apparently going out of business. Was never really a huge fan, generally always found myself at Best Buy and more recently Microcenter for my PC/electronics needs. BUT I do love a good deal. Everything at the local circuit city by me in fabulous Saugus Massachusetts on the glamorous Route One North is 80% off. SOOOO. I purchased a bunch of CDs.

There they are lined up on my desk. It is probably a good idea that this is my first post for the site because it will show the apparent differences between myself and the other two gentlemen who are currently running this site. I called both of them and told them the CD’s I had purchased, and was greeted with confused silence from and what can only be described as the sound of someone throwing up in their mouth (except when I mentioned the Fast and Furious Soundtrack, which one of these people, guess, had downloaded on Itunes about a year ago). Soooo how about some quick reviews/thoughts.

Bullet for my Valentine "Hand of Blood" Regularly $10.99 Circuit City going out of business price $2.99

I am kind of torn on whether or not I actually like this band. They sound a lot like the new metal hardcore + melody bands that have been popping up recently (Lamb of God. Killswicth Engage. As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wear's Prada etc.) This is becoming a trend where all bands are starting to sound kind of like all the new WWF entrance music for WWF, with really technical guitars, loud double bass drums and screaming vocals, but then BIG SOARING CHEESY LYRICS that are SUNG not screamed. I kind of really got into this a few years ago, especially with Killswitch and As I Lay Dying, but I am nervous that it is becoming the dominant trend in metal to the extent that it makes Avenged Sevenfold (a band full of assholes and shit dicks that plays garbaggge music) look to the outsider or general public like as the premier sound for metal. That worry aside, these guys really do the metal/harmony thing pretty well. They got a solid dark vibe to all their songs and I even kind of dig the anime inspired cover art. The best song off the album is probably Track 1, "Words to Choke Upon" starts out with a great guitar lead solo and opens up with some really hard vocals, and it retains the type of anthemic (anthem - like is this a word?) quality that is so great about this brand of melody/hardcore. MY RECCOMENDATION (download 4 Words to Choke On off the album P.S. watching the video with all the younguns makes me feel old)




Dillinger Escape Plan "Ire Works" Regular Price $13.99 Circuit City Going out of Business Price $5.00

I have been a fan of this band for a while, ever since I was a skateboard kid in high school. My buddy had their original EP in 97 "Calculating Infinity." I bought their later self-titled album and I think I still have "Irony is a Dead Scene from 2001. I kind of fell off with this band. It’s hard to describe what genre they fall into, they really are a genre defying band, the sound is heavy and fast and the focus is heavy guitar, but often they will cleverly sacrifice consistent sound for crazy experimentation, random dissonant piano notes, feedback and I think a lot of circuit - bent sounds appear on this CD, sometimes it works and feels chillingly jarring, sometimes it sounds just like noise. For instance, in the track "Dead as History" is full of eerie sound effects from an old cowboy movie, accompanied by haunting and soft vocals as opposed to the screaming vocals of the first tracks. The album is really a great example of letting a CD wash over, as opposed to skipping through the tracks to get to the hits as each song builds upon the last becoming more complex and intense. The first track "Fix your Face" is the exact way the hardcore punk scene that this band defined should sound, screaming vocals and machine gun fast double bass BUT by the time you get to the last track "Mouth of Ghosts" you really hear a band that’s growing up and developing, complex vocal arrangements and a softer sound with an almost blues groove to it.
I feel like the CD is going to grow on me. Actual music critics really seem to like it. SOOO If you you like a little progressive experimentation in you hard core then buy this CD. Its one of those CDS that goes really great with video games. The crazy experimental sounds in conjunction with genuinely driving metal riffs and screaming vocals (no melody hear) really seem to make everything in a game seem more frantic. I have had it going playing SF4 for the last few minutes and its becoming a hair - raising experience. MY RECCOMENDATIOn (Show your hardcore metal friends and the hot pretentious/artsy chick that you have a deep and eclectic taste in music and appreciate progressive ideals BUY. Especially listen to "Milk Lizard" The video is below, try to spot Mike Patton, Metal legend lead singer of course Faith No More, Tomahawk, Fantomas and Mr. Bungle who took these guys under his wing years ago. Also look for Mike Patton as the voice of monsters in my favorite games "The Darkness" and “Left Four Dead” [he's the voice of the zombies and seemingly can do anything with his voice]




LAST ALBUM

GRAB Your ANKLES

and KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE

Fast And the Furious Tokyo Drift Sound Track Regularly Priced: Respect Circuit City Going Out fo Business Price: Mad Respect

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