Jump to content

kazzman

Members *
  • Posts

    6269
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by kazzman

  1. That’s pretty much how I felt about Endless Forms Most Beautiful, with the exception of a few songs. Most of the album I felt had some great moments musically, but where they took those same moments left me dumbfounded at times. A couple of the songs, like Greatest Show on Earth, did grow on me after a while, however. And I really feel like they didn’t use Floor to her full potential on that album either. I hope Tuomas doesn’t make that same mistake with Hvman : Natvre. Nightwish is still my favorite band after all of these years. But I’m just not as excited for this album as I have been in the past. I dunno. Maybe I’m kinda jaded after my disappointment with EFMB? I’m actually OK with the second disc being a 35 minute long orchestral track, if true, because I’ve always wanted to hear what Tuomas could do if he were composing for a film. I liked his solo album, but I’m curious to hear what he can do if he’s utilizing the talents of Emppu, Marco, and Kai as his backing band for the score. I think Floor's voice might get used better on this album. It's like how Annette played it more safe on DPP but then opened it up a little more on Imaginerum. I've read in interviews that Tuomas allows Floor to do vocally what she thinks fits best. If they used Floor vocally to her full potential right away then that really leaves her with nowhere new to go on future albums. It's probably best that she just does what's best for the song instead of being "hey, look what I can do!" all the time. That’s fair. And I fully respect those decisions as a songwriter. I think part of it for me was the excitement that “the old Nightwish is back” when Floor came into the fold full time so I had already set the bar incredibly high for myself.
  2. Ok. I’ll bite. Nightwish 1) Once (Ghost Love Score) 2) Wishmaster (She is My Sin) 3) Century Child (Beauty of the Beast) 4) Dark Passion Play (The Poet and the Pendulum) 5) Imaginaerum (Scaretale) 6) Oceanborn (Pharaoh Sails to Orion) 7) Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Shudder Before the Beautiful) 8) Angels Fall First (Elvenpath) Ghost 1) Prequelle (Miasma) 2) Infestissumam (Year Zero) 3) Meliora (Spirit) 4) Opus Eponymous (Ritual)
  3. That’s pretty much how I felt about Endless Forms Most Beautiful, with the exception of a few songs. Most of the album I felt had some great moments musically, but where they took those same moments left me dumbfounded at times. A couple of the songs, like Greatest Show on Earth, did grow on me after a while, however. And I really feel like they didn’t use Floor to her full potential on that album either. I hope Tuomas doesn’t make that same mistake with Hvman : Natvre. Nightwish is still my favorite band after all of these years. But I’m just not as excited for this album as I have been in the past. I dunno. Maybe I’m kinda jaded after my disappointment with EFMB? I’m actually OK with the second disc being a 35 minute long orchestral track, if true, because I’ve always wanted to hear what Tuomas could do if he were composing for a film. I liked his solo album, but I’m curious to hear what he can do if he’s utilizing the talents of Emppu, Marco, and Kai as his backing band for the score.
  4. I asked my wife over the weekend, who is s psychologist, why Im so bummed about Neils death. Ive never met him. He likely wouldnt want to have met me as he was very private. She said, its both part of your childhood thats now gone, and also pushes your own mortality into the forefront. Im in my late 40s and my kids are growing up so fast. And she is right. And it sucks. I mentioned something similar to this on a post I made to my store's FB page (I manage a drum shop). I never understood why people would get so upset when a celebrity passed away until now. One of my customers commented on it and said "We don't cry when someone "famous" passes away because we felt like we knew them. We cry because they helped us get to know ourselves." Both he and your wife are absolutely correct.
  5. Hey everyone. It's been many years since I was last active on here, but felt like I needed to come back and say a few things in the wake of Neil's passing. I spent a lot of time during my teenage years on this very forum while I was in the high point of my Rush obsession. But as I grew, life pulled me away and I became less and less active on the forums. But anywho, I wrote this following blog entry on my store's Facebook page and wanted to share them with my fellow Rush fans. "What else can I say that hasn’t been said already? Neil Peart was the reason why I’m a drummer today. The impact that he had on my playing as a teenager still resonates with me to this day. Growing up, there wasn’t a day where I wouldn’t listen to Rush. As the years went by, we drifted apart (see what I did there?). My musical tastes and influences changed and grew. I sparsely would listen to Rush anymore, but still made a point to pay attention and listen to Neil’s drumming every time I did. I still remember the first time that I had knowingly listened to Rush. I was sitting in home room during my sophomore year of high school. This would have been around 2002/03. At that point in my life Wuv from POD was my drumming hero. But one of my classmates turned to me and said to me “you play drums, right? Well, have you ever heard of Rush?” Up until then my 15 year old self hadn’t. He handed me his Walkman and in it was a copy of Retrospective I. I put on the headphones, pressed play and “Spirit of Radio” starts blasting in my ears. I’m blown away. I couldn’t turn it off. After that came “Freewill” and hearing the drum and bass groove underneath Alex’s guitar solo was unlike anything I had ever heard in my young life. I had to learn everything there was about this band. I burned a copy of my friend’s CD and took it to my next drum lesson. For weeks my teacher and I would break down a new Rush song. I would take weekly trips to FYE in the local mall and buy a new Rush CD every week until I had all of them in my collection. I would digest everything I heard. From the intro groove in “Animate” to the drum outro of “Lock and Key” and the double bass fury of “One Little Victory” there wasn’t a song that Rush composed that didn’t have some kind of impact on me (well… maybe everything except for Test for Echo, save for a couple of songs). Shortly thereafter, Rush released the concert DVD Rush in Rio. I would spend countless hours digesting the drum solo “O Baterista.” Unlike many rock drummers, Neil wasn’t just playing blazing fast double bass and doing mindless drum fills and calling it a drum solo. He was playing a musical composition. To this day, there are still very few drum solos that really get my attention. His were always some of the ones that did. When Rush announced the R30 tour in 2004, I was excited beyond belief. It was the first time that I would get to see my heroes in person. Since then, I never missed a tour. Even when Rush announced the dates for the R40 tour in 2015, I knew I had to see them and road tripped to Columbus with friends. I didn’t listen to Rush as much as I once had during that time in my life, but I would have been doing myself a disservice if I didn’t make the trip to see them. Looking back, I’ll forever be grateful that I did. Throughout the concert, as I’m watching it, I knew in the back of my mind that it would be the last time that I would ever see Rush play again. Even during the drum solo(s) that night, I kept thinking to myself “this is the last time I’ll ever get to see Neil Peart performing.” Little did I know… I’m usually not one to get emotional or tear up when a celebrity passes away. Personally, I never understood why people would over somebody whom they’ve never met in person and had only seen through a camera eye. Until yesterday. I lost it. I turned on the radio after work on my drive to my rehearsal space to see if they were doing any kind of tribute to Neil. Sure enough, “2112” comes on and there I am balling my eyes out while driving down Route 28 during rush hour traffic. It was like a part of me was gone. Rest In Peace Neil. Even though we never met, thank you for everything that you brought not only to the instrument and music, but to my life. You were the catalyst that began my discovery of so many of the amazing drummers and bands that I love. Without the influence you had on my drumming as a teenager, I can honestly say that I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at today."
  6. Here's a couple of shots from a gig a few weeks ago. The rest can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/pages/JJ-Digital-Images/83952531405?ref=hnav
  7. She's actually one of my current favorite drummers right now. And not because she's hot... I'm trying to work with her management about getting her to come out to the drum shop I run to host a clinic with us for sometime next year.
  8. -Fountain of Lamneth -The Necromancer -Rivendell -Madrigal -I Think I'm Going Bald
  9. DPP and Imaginaerum are both great albums in their own right. To me, Nightwish hit their peak in 2004 when Once was released. Tuomas had finally figured out the direction he wanted to take the musical styles and songwriting in with Century Child and he expanded on this with Once. And he fully knew what Tarja's vocal ability was capable of doing, so - as J2112YYZ said - he was able to craft the music around her voice. Dark Passion Play is a great album and "Poet and the Pendulum" is still one of my top 10 Nightwish songs, but both that and Imaginaerum don't have that same atmosphere that Once seems to have. But each to their own. Floor is the vocalist that everybody wanted Nightwish to hire when they first fired Tarja. I got to see her with them last year and just with the energy that she brought to the band it was like I was watching them back in 2004 all over again. And when they went into "Ghost Love Score" the whole place was just in awe. This pairing needed to happen. And thank god it did.
  10. At the very least it will be their best since Once or Wishmaster. If Tuomas lets Floor contribute to the songwriting and lyrics then they will undoubtedly be the best band in the symphonic metal genre. On a side note... I'm curious to see footage of Floor and Tarja's duet this weekend at the Femme Voices of Metal Fest.
  11. Next ones for me are this Monday. I'll be starting off with the Butcher Babies (who are opening for Danzig) at Stage AE in Pittsburgh and as soon as they're finished, fly over to Altar Bar a few blocks over to catch The Winery Dogs. Should make for an interesting night. After that I'll be seeing Icon For Hire on Nov 15th and then Korn with Rob Zombie Nov 25th.
  12. Has anybody ever heard of these guys? I tried searching for a thread and didn't see any results come up so I figured I'd create one. Fans of Kamelot may be familiar with these guys since Kamelot's new vocalist, Tommy Karevik, is also the vocalist of Seventh Wonder. They are a 5-piece Prog Metal outfit from Stockholm Sweden. Up til now, they've released four albums and are currently in the studio working on a fifth. They will also be one of the headlining acts at next years Prog Power Festival in Atlanta, GA and will perform their concept album Mercy Falls in it's entirety. For more information, you can go to http://en.wikipedia..../Seventh_Wonder for a brief history of the band. Recommended albums would be both Mercy Falls and The Great Escape http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sRDa-xTfwg. http://www.metal-archives.com/images/7/7/6/6/7766_photo.jpg?2559
  13. Let's see... Korn - The Paradigm Shift Icon For Hire - Self titled That's all for this week.
  14. Just picked up the new album by a band called The Letter Black titled Hanging on By A Thread. They're a local female fronted hard rock band that just went national. Check it out if you get a chance to. You won't regret it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zigHL2kw_M
  15. Well... as soon as I heard Chris Nolan was directing it, I knew I had to see it....
  16. *is praying he gets a waterfall bubinga finish on the next kit* I doubt he will though.
  17. QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Jun 10 2009, 10:06 PM) QUOTE (kazzman @ Jun 11 2009, 06:11 AM) QUOTE (ReRushed @ Jun 10 2009, 03:47 PM) Yes, Spider Man 3 was awful! It's one of the worst superhero movies ever! To be honest, I really don't care if they make Spider Man 4. Hopefully the 4th one will be another Batman & Robin and be so horrible that the franchise will linger on in development hell for many years so we won't have to be subjected to more of this crap. Forget Spider-Man 4; give me Batman 3! that doesn't make any sense. why wouldn't you just hope for a good spidey flick or not see it at all if you think it's too risky? shit, i want ALL the superhero movies to be good Because I don't want to see the Spider-Man franchise continue on if the movies are just going to progressively get worse and worse. And so far, they're well on their way to continuing with that trend.
  18. QUOTE (Alex @ Jun 10 2009, 04:12 PM) Hmmm, if they can not screw up 4 I will be excited for the rest of the series. 3 Didn't impress me at all. And for God SAKES. Cant Mary Jane just die already? Thats what happened in the freaking comics! That was Gwen Stacey who died (and whom I really wish would have in 3), not Mary Jane.
  19. QUOTE (ReRushed @ Jun 10 2009, 03:47 PM) Yes, Spider Man 3 was awful! It's one of the worst superhero movies ever! To be honest, I really don't care if they make Spider Man 4. Hopefully the 4th one will be another Batman & Robin and be so horrible that the franchise will linger on in development hell for many years so we won't have to be subjected to more of this crap. Forget Spider-Man 4; give me Batman 3!
  20. This is quite possibly the best topic I've seen on here in a long time. Bravo. PS: Rush blows.
  21. I'm surprised nobody's posted this one yet... And talk about making a lasting first impression: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QehZjjwb7-I
  22. Ok, while I liked Salvation, this little thing bugged the hell outta me... *SPOILERS* Warning: do not read on if you don't want to be spoiled if you haven't seen the movie yet... In 2029 (11 years after Salvation takes place), Skynet sends a T-800 back in time to kill Sarah Connor. John sends Kyle Reese back to protect her, and Kyle fathers John with Sarah. Since Salvation takes place in 2018, how does Skynet know that Kyle Reese is John Connor's father, when there's no record of it, thus making Kyle their primary target in the movie. And how would they know that they would send a Terminator back to kill Sarah when they haven't done so yet, nor have planned on doing it yet? /end spoilers
  23. Seeing DragonForce with Cynic and Daath later tonight at Mr Small's Theater in Pittsburgh, PA. I hate all three bands personally, but it's a free show (for me anyway) and I get to bullshit about drums all night with DF's drummer so I'm not complaining. Sunday (5/3) I'll be seeing Nightwish with Volbeat at Crocodile Rock in Allentown, PA. It'll be my fourth time I've seen Nightwish in two years and apparently they've been playing the songs "Ghost Love Score" and "Escapist" in their recent shows so it'll be worth it for those two songs alone. Then I'm seeing Queensryche at the Palace Theater in Greensburg, PA next Sunday (5/10). We'll see how that one goes...
  24. Gotcha. But isn't that what they'll be doing during the ProgNation tour, right?
×
×
  • Create New...