Anchorage

There is no secret about my undying man-crush on a certain Bard of Middle Earth, and when it came to my attention that he was to appear on another of Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s projects… well it’s safe to assume I require a new F5 key. Now. well and truly late of its January release date, the album has finally breached the shores of this self imposed quarantine-city we call Perth.

With the obligatory revolving door of big-name metal vocalists, the project follows the story of Ayreon’s previous works, an epic space opera telling the story of what appears to be a time set before the Dream Sequencer stories (and in fact references them on the second disc). As the story unfolds, we find that the opera in fact tells the story of an alien, or possibly post-human, race seeding the Earth with life as we know it. Of course, it wouldn’t be an “Epic Space Opera” if it weren’t terribly more complicated and involved than that, but short of writing a discourse to rival Principia I couldn’t possibly attempt to convey it as well as listening to the album does.

01011001 is very easy to listen to, spanning more genres than most people can name, with solos galore and plenty of call-and-answer opera (not to mention Hansi’s gorgeous signature layered chants and power melodies). Flavours of Industrial, Classical Acoustics, Goth, Power Metal and a healthy splash of War Of The Worlds as a tribute to one of its inspirations. In fact, if War Of The Worlds had a love child with Sir Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it was breast fed pure metal by Freddy Mercury… now that is an image that will haunt you for life!

All in all, 01011001 by Ayreon is certainly in my top releases of the year (both anticipated and realised), and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who would give it a try. Hit up the video for a taste of the brilliance therein.

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photo credit: *** Fanch The System !!! ***

It would be poor taste to post two rants in a row, so I shall save my feelings for IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL errors for another day. Suffice to say Microsoft were wise to make use of the colour blue.

As a child I was completely in love with ancient history. There were a good number of people who had money on me becoming an Archaeologist, and indeed my man-love for Dr. Jackson was unusually strong. I couldn’t pinpoint where it was in time that my true passion shifted from the old and lost to physics, but that isn’t my point here. Rather, at some point in 1997/8 I read a book on this incredibly ancient city called “Babylon“. Immediately, it was my new goal in life to know everything there was to know about this Babylon and its people. Sure enough, one of the first things I came across was the famous King Nebuchadnezzar. So many letters, and a double Z (pronounced Zed for those ignorant of the mother tongue). His exploits and biographies became a favourite of mine, and the very next day when I had to create an account online, Nebuchadnezzar would be my screen name.

This began a trend that would continue for a full decade, for it is now that I formally pronounce my alter ego Nebuchadnezzar deceased. I may point out at this point that this was well before the Matrix movies popularised the name, and it is indeed this popularity of Nebuchadnezzar as an alias that has formed part of my decision to “let it go”. Consciously choosing to stop using the alias has been quite a hard decision for me, and while it may sound ludicrous, I truly have grown fond of the handle. I wore Nebuchadnezzar like a badge of pride for 10 good years, and like a child choosing to give up his favourite book, the choice was not an easy one. However, change is always inevitable, and the wheel of time must go on. In the interim period I will be trialling a number of avatars and handles, until I find a combination that I feel comfortable in.

~Rest well dear friend, for our parting will not be long~
~Valhalla Awaits~

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photo credit: r3v || cls

Ask yourself what would be more frustrating than having your car being broken into, having all your windows smashed and your limited edition cd’s stolen? The very day I finished repairing my windows, which is in itself a costly endevour, I parked my car outside the John De Laeter building at Uni only for it to be broken into yet again!

Like some kind of sadistic ritual of planetary alignment, such is the time of the year for my luck to turn the way of milk in the light of the shining daystar. It is this inexplicable ability to consistantly lock horns with Dame Fortuna that steers the topics of my annual resolution pledges. “This year, I will stay away from large amounts of moving metal“, or “This year, I promise to keep the fuck away from lightning!”. Maybe this year I should add an oath to steering cleer of groups of bored/retarded/delinquent children. To combat this, however, I have hatched a plan of pure villany and cunning incarnate. A very simple device, hooked to the switch on my now defunct immoboliser system, connecting the chassis of my car to the car battery itself…

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photo credit: Modofly

This is possibly the most brilliant thing I have seen. Period.

They go by the name of Abney Park, and I highly recommend giving them a thorough listen. Some tracks sound similar, but the overall theme is captures so beautifully I wouldn’t care if it were three songs on repeat. The production levels are quite high and judging by their stage shows I would say that their financial backing stands as a testament to their ability to perform satisfactorily. On a whimsical rush of steam powered dopamine I realised I must have their discography. This is what life is all about, truly. Also I should not be allowed a credit card.

Furthermore, anyone who fails to see how amazingly awesome the concept steampunk airship pirates are is obviously made of a condensed isotope of fail that scientists have never seen before. So condensed in fact, it may just be a type of Failure Degeneracy Matter.

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photo credit: zaido

This year I am having my annual celebration in the theme borne of the Legendary Artist’s very imagination. When I first read his books, Jules Verne had this uncanny ability to consistantly make me challenge my belief’s of justice and nobility. Captain Nemo I found to be one of the most interesting characters in prose, purely for the unique take on piracy and chivalry that seemed so unpure. It is no secret that the Buccaneer lifestyle is coterminous with my own, so the character obviously hold a certain luster I wish I myself had.

While I doubt that I will be reprising the role of the Prince Dakkar himself, I will be making some tributes in my costume. I plan on some half decent photo journal goodness happening when I start to piece the costume together, not to mention some captivating moments from the night itself being uploaded after the fact. Here’s to plan and their smooth running.

*Chink*

Also; Phill has successfully guilted me into committing to NaPoWriMo ‘08. I say that as if I don’t relish the friendly “Kick up the arse” in the name of motivation.

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