life, and a little more

FotoMagico 2 Is Indeed Magical

Jun 30

metalman777apple, pictures, software, tech fotomagico 2, mac, software No Comments

I’ve been creating Photo Montage slide shows for some years now.  It has always been a laborious job, especially using Final Cut Pro.

Sure you could use iPhoto or iMovie to make slide shows, and with a click of a button you have those nice Ken Burns effects that make the pictures move so nicely across the screen.  The trouble with these two programs is the lack of control.

In order to regain some of that control, I’ve been using Final Cut Pro.  Now I could make the pictures do exactly what I wanted and when I wanted.  There was a trade off – everything had to be done manually; keyframing the start of each picture and the end of picture.  A four minute slideshow could take up to two hours to get everything in order.

So yesterday I finally find the pot at the end of the slide show rainbow – Fotomagico 2 by Boinx Software.

Man, this software is magic and should be included with every new Mac in the iLife bundle of software.

The interface is a clear and uncluttered and very intuitive.  It resembles iMovie ’07 and integrates right into your iPhoto or Aperture library.  Your pictures are easily available.  Adding music is as easy as “drag and drop”.

As you can see from the graphic above, your pictures are in a timeline with your music below.  Not a math whiz and have a hard time figgering out how long each picture should be on screen so it will match the length of your chosen song?  One click in the option menu entitled “match duration to audio” does all the work for you.

Transitions between pictures can be edited on the fly via a panel on the right hand column of the program.

But what I really like about this software is that I can change the background of the slide show to match a green screen.  I can export the slideshow out of Fotomagico 2 and import it into Final Cut Pro, key out the green and put in my own custom, moving background.

Fotomagico 2 is THE program I’ve been searching for.  Remember how I said that a four minute slideshow would take me about four hours in Final Cut Studio?  Well, FotoMagico 2 breaks that down to about 20 minutes.  Yup, it is that good…

2 Docs You Gotta See 2 Believe

Jun 28

metalman777documentaries, videos air guitar nation, documentary, king of kong, movies No Comments

I’ll be the first to admit my geekdom.  I love Battlestar Galactica, still read comic books, play video games, and love heavy metal music.  Oh yeah, and I’m 35 years old and I have a few grey hairs.

As the years pass, I wonder if my maturity level is on par with my age.  Aren’t I supposed to be a suit wearing, 9-5 working, adult who has it all together at this age?  After seeing these two documentaries, I realize I’m doin’ just, fine thank you very much.

The first documentary is entitled The King of Kong: A Fitstful of Quarters.  This movie highlights the video game career of two very different individuals.  Billy Mitchell set the world record for Donkey Kong back in 1982.  That record stood tall until Steve Wiebe broke it.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=YPLjXjObEms]

One Amazon.com reviewer had this to say:

This is one of those movies you watch in delighted disbelief, marveling that such people exist–and that they gladly allowed themselves to be filmed. Director Seth Gordon does an important thing in presenting this world of eccentrics: he doesn’t mock them, or provide editorial nudging; he simply lets them be. The result is an ingratiating classic.

I could not agree more!  How could grown men be so obsessed with a video game?  The one thing this movie does is make you feel relieved you are not that weird.

Air Guitar Nation is another documentary in the same vein as The King of Kong.  This time video games are replaced with the obsession to become a psuedo-rockstar via air guitar.

Amazon.com says:

Is it a sport? A game? An artform? It may be hard to define, but it’s easy to see that air guitar is a lot of fun and immensely entertaining, and so is director Alexandra Lipsitz’s Air Guitar Nation, an utterly charming documentary about the young men (and a few women) who in 2003 competed both at home and abroad to determine whose “airness” would rule.

I’m still left speechless after watching Air Guitar Nation.  I almost thought it was a spoof movie like Spinal Tap!  Sadly, that is not the case.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=ea32R_2jSxg]

C-Diddy and Bjorn Turoque (Born ToRock) battle for the American Air Guitar Championship that is held annually in Finland.

I love music; I love metal guitar and yes, I do air guitar when no one is looking.  I just never thought of it as an artform to be taken seriously!

If you have a couple of hours to waste, you might like these movies.  They definitely shine a light on an entirely different culture of people!

Christianity dead in 100 years?

Jun 27

metalman777Christianity, theology apologetics, Christianity No Comments

Wow! It has been a while since I’ve posted anything!  Life gets crazy and time just flies away! 

I came across an article the other day and thought it’d be a good way to get back in the blogging mentality.  You can read the story here or just read below.

Christianity ‘could die out within a century’

More than half of Britons think Christianity is likely to have disappeared from the country within a century, according to a survey.

Research by the Orthodox Jewish organisation Aish found that just over a third of people thought religions like Christianity and Judaism would still be practiced in Britain in 100 years’ time.

Although four in 10 people said they would choose to be a member of the Christian religion, almost the same number said they would rather practice no religion at all.

Buddhism however, proved more attractive than both Islam and Judaism, and was chosen by nine per cent of those questioned.

Aish UK’s executive director Rabbi Naftali Schiff said the results of the YouGov poll of 2,000 people were alarming.

“It clearly demonstrates that religion, including Judaism, is becoming unattractive to the British public.

“At Aish we know that Judaism provides real meaning and enrichment to one’s life. Whilst we have attracted many disinterested Jews back to Jewish identity it is clear there is much work to be done.”

Research published earlier this year suggested that church attendance is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation.

According to Religious Trends, an analysis of religious practice in Britain, the huge drop off in attendance means that the Church of England, Catholicism and other denominations will become financially unviable.

In contrast, the number of actively religious Muslims is predicted to increase from about one million today to 1.96 million in 2035.

Articles like this always have to be read with a little skepticism.  After 2000+ years, is Christianity really in danger of extinction?  Here’s an answer you might not expect from me….yeah, I think so.

Christianity dead in a 100 years?  Could it be true? 

This hodgepodge-pick-and-choose-which-scripture-you-like-God-bless-me-with-money-and-health-and-make-sure-no-evil-touches-me-good-ol-boys-club-genie-in-a-bottle caricature of what Christianity has become (mostly in America and the West) will hopefully be dead much sooner than that.  But the true Christianity of the New Testament, the Gospel of Peace and Salvation through a God-Become-Human, no, that will never go away.

This would be the usual spot where I’d bring out all the apologetic guns and review all the historical, archaeological, and manuscriptural (is that even a word) evidence that is overwhelming in favor of Christianity.  I’m not gonna do that today.  I looked at the evidence for and against Christianity and the evidence speaks for itself; thus I’ve become a Christian.

I honestly think people are tired of fakeness regardless of which religion it is.  There are some fantastic people and organizations working hard to bring authenticity back to western Churchianity.

The Campaign to End Consumer Christianityis an organization trying to bring back social justice and global issues to the forefront of American churches.  Check out their Myspace page for more info.

Dan Kimball of Vintage Faith fame has written an excellent book entitled, “They Like Jesus But Not The Church“.  Kimball  gives an “overview of the six most common objections emerging generations have with church and Christianity along with the biblical answers to these objections and examples of how churches are facing this challenge”.  Again, the main point is being an authentic person of faith.

I just recently ran across this website about a movie called “Lord, Save Us From Your Followers“.  It looks really good!  It is in the same vein as Kimball’s book mentioned above.  I hope to order the DVD soon.

I know there are many, many good folks across America and the world who love Jesus and are serving Him passionately and authentically.  That kind of Christianity will never go away.

Camping Pictures

Jun 21

metalman777family, pictures camping, family No Comments

[slideshow id=576460752334644510&w=426&h=320]

Father’s Day Goodness

Jun 16

metalman777family, humor fathers day, kids No Comments

I had a great Father’s day today! My kids rock and they know it!

But I got an extra special surprise at church this morning! They had sponsored a contest for kids to write a small essay about their dads and my darling daughter Bekah wrote a nice story about me and she won!

Here is her essay:

My Dad

My dad, hmm let’s see. I guess the best place to start is the beginning. But first, let me tell you about me. I am his second (and favorite) daughter. My name is Rebekah, I am 11 years old. I will be a Cruickshank Tiger next year. Oh yeah, and I love to write stories.
Anyway, my dad has been there since the beginning. Putting a smile on my face, he was there, always there.
His dry sense of humor, (sorry dad, but you know it’s true) and his great personality, are only a few of the great qualities of my dad. He is very tall, and so whenever we play basketball as a family, we always want to be on his team. After all he is like 6 feet 3 inches, so it’s like a total advantage. He was also on the basketball team in high school. (you rock dad.)
Well he also helped me learn how to ride a bike. That was a fun experience. Telling him not to let go, even though he did. Falling off into the grass. Running off, mad at him for letting go, and you know the rest.
But my dad isn’t perfect. He can’t hear out of one ear. He can’t smell, which I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. He is lucky when it comes to stinky things. (cow fields, diapers, dog “stuff”, etc.) But he is terribly unlucky when it comes to good smelling things, (flowers, cornbread, cookies, etc.) but I still love him.
My dad does snore, but there is a reason, he has sleep apnea. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I do know that it means he has to use a machine at night-time. (I think it’s an oxygen machine)
Also, on every birthday, if there is school on that day or not, he sends us balloons and candy or a teddy-bear. I used to think it was kind of embarrassing to walk into my classroom with a big bouquet of balloons, but now I don’t. It’s from him and I think it’s special.In fact I like to wait on every birthday for the teacher to tell me to pick up something from the office. I know it’s the balloons. And every year I walk up to the office with a smile on my face, then I proudly take it back to my classroom.
But when it comes to all the things i talked about, they don’t matter and I don’t care at all. Just having him as my dad is the best reward. But I do love him so, so much. I will cherish every moment I get with him. He is extraordinary ( in a good way) and I like him that way. He is an awesome father, but not just a father, he is also a great friend- and a great person- to be around. I love him and hope to stay close to him all my life. (my mom is great to, but this is my dad’s story.) There is just one thing that I have to say to everybody, including my dad:
I love you so much dad. Thank you for all that you do for me to make my life worthwhile. I love you and thank you.

Written by,
Rebekah Latronica.

Isn’t that just so awesome! I mean, my entire house can burn down and my much loved Mac could go up in flames but as I long as I have love like that, it is all I need!

Thanks Bekah! I love you very much!

Cruickshank Commencement Ceremony 2008

Jun 12

metalman777family, videos blip.tv, family, graduation No Comments

[blip.tv ?posts_id=993277&dest=-1]

I’m trying out Blip.tv and this is a test post to see how their embedded player works. It took roughly 7 hours to upload and recode the video into the flash format! Way, way too long. The video size is 265mb and the length is 43 minutes

[viddler id=1395751&h=370&w=437]

Viddler actually lets me embed the video into my blog and the quality is much better. Took 2 hours from start to finish before I could post it! Much better!

Still waiting for Crackle to encode. I gotta say that Crackle’s web site sure outshines any competitor!

Ok, Crackle is done. Took about 3 hours and the online video quality is crap.  And I can’t view it in Flock (my browser of choice as of late)

Looks like Viddler is the winner this round!

Online Video Comparison Matrix

Jun 12

metalman777tech, videos, www online video, video, web No Comments

Ok, I found this very cool page comparing all the different online video sites.

I’ve been using Youtube for a couple of years, but now the file size and film length limitations are making me look elsewhere.

In my googling, I ran across this very comprehensive matrix comparing almost all of the video websites.

I’m checking out blip.tv right now. I had no idea there were so many options!

Two Quicken Alternatives for Mac Users

Jun 11

metalman777apple, money, software, tech apple, Cha-Ching, finance, iBank, macintosh, money, quicken, software No Comments

[UPDATE FEBRUARY 25, 2010- QUICKEN ESSENTIALS FOR MAC IS AVAILABLE. ]

[JUNE 9, 2009 - QUICKEN POSTED THIS BLOG ENTRY REGARDING QUICKEN FOR MAC 2010]

[CLICK HERE TO SEE MY UPDATED POST ABOUT QUICKEN FINANCIAL LIFE FOR MAC]

I’ve been a Quicken user since, well, almost as long as I’ve been a computer user.  Quicken always works well and is an awesome way to track your finances.

I became an avid Macintosh user about 3 years ago, and of course, brought over Quicken to the Mac.  I was used to programs being different between Windows and Mac.  But the Mac version of Quicken sure left a lot to be desired.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t use more than 10% of what Quicken can do.  I balance and reconcile my checking and savings account, occasionally graph what I’m spending, and that’s about it.  I belong to a local Credit Union, so I can’t download transactions or any other cool stuff like that.

The interface is definitely very “un-Maclike”.  You windoze users have no idea what I mean by that statement, but fellow Apple enthusiasts know exactly what I refer to to.  It is just plain ugly to look out.

After scanning the reviews on Amazon, I can say I’m not the only one with a low opinion of Quicken for Mac.  75 one star reviews versus 12 five star ratings.  That is a pretty big discrepancy.

I don’t know why it took me so long to start looking for alternatives.  A quick Google search and a few clicks later, I found iBank.

The moment you open up iBank, you are greeted with a beautiful Mac-like interface.   To the left are your accounts, to the right, your register.  The lower left corner contains a pie graph that represents your overall spending categories.

iBank has many features that are on par with Quicken.  From IGG’s website:

Accounts

Account types:Checking, Savings, Cash, Credit Card, Loan, Asset, Liability, and Investment accounts can all be managed in iBank.Transactions

Debt/loan management:Keep tabs on your loans with iBank’s comprehensive set of debt management tools. Track interest vs. capital, variable interest rates, and payment schedules.

Hide/show accounts:Keep your finances clutter-free by hiding unused accounts. Your historical records stay just a few clicks away, but out of sight, out of mind!

Smart accounts:Like iTunes for your money – dynamically view transactions according to account, payee, memo, amount, and/or category information.

Account groups:Organize your accounts into folders to reduce clutter and total up your balances quickly.

Account details:Set a minimum balance and be alerted when your account drops below that amount, link to your bank’s webpage, store your account number for reference, and much more.

Streamlined input:Either use the familiar check-style interface of the Transaction Editor to enter new items, or type them directly into your account register. Now featuring improved keyboard entry for mouse-free record-keeping!Categories

iSight integration:Snap a photo with your camera (or take any image or PDF file) and attach it to a transaction for a visual record of your purchase.

An ounce of prevention:Editing existing transactions requires confirmation, so that you don’t accidentally change your records when you thought you were adding new ones.

Searching and filtering:Choose from several filtering options to show only the transactions you want to see, or use the search box to locate a particular transaction.

Split transactions:When’s the last time you just bought groceries at the grocery store? Divide any transaction into several parts and categorize each one separately for more accurate record-keeping.

Memorized transactions:Tired of typing in the same deposit over and over again? Let iBank do some of the work for you – it will automatically remember each transaction you enter, and make suggestions as you type.

Scheduled transactions:Easily turn any transaction into a repeating event (like those darn utility bills!). iBank can alert you when the transaction is due to be posted to your account.

iCal integration:Post scheduled transactions to iCal for an easy reminder of upcoming expenses.

Statements:Reconcile tranactions with your bank records using a familiar statement-like interface. All unreconciled transactions now accessible to each statement.

Check printing:Fully configurable templates allow you to print your iBank transactions to any check stock, or print the whole check yourself! Now featuring a more intuitive template editor.

Fully customizable:Assign categories to your transactions to be able to track them in charts, reports, budgets, and forecasts. Use our built-in category sets for home or business, or create your own! Now sporting snazzy images for the Cover Flow view.Importing

Multiple hierarchy:Organize your categories in groups for more effective record-keeping. When creating a chart, choose to include individual sub-categories or just the main category for overall totals.

Tax support:Categories can now be assigned tax codes for easy reference – iBank can even look up the codes for you! When tax time arrives, export data on your tax categories to TXF format for use with TurboTax and other tax software.

Direct download:Connect directly to your financial institution online to download transaction updates automatically and securely.Multiple currencies

Built-in web browser:No online support for your bank? Browse to your financial institution’s website and download transactions to import, all without ever leaving iBank.

Import from Quicken:Easily import your accounts from Quicken, MS Money, and just about any other financial management program out there. Supported file formats include QIF, OFX, QFX, and CSV.

Smart import rules:Tired of the junk your bank puts into the transactions you download? Create simple rules to clean up and categorize your transactions automatically.

Work in any currency:By default, iBank uses your native currency as indicated in Mac OS X System Preferences. Add other currencies to iBank and assign them to your accounts as needed.Investments

Download exchange rates:Retrieve up-to-date exchange rates over the Internet at the click of a button.

Automatic conversion:Transfer money between accounts that use two different currencies, and iBank automatically applies the conversion for you based on current rates. Manually apply or adjust the exchange rate on any individual transaction.

Investment types:Track stocks, bonds, mutual funds, managed funds, watchlist items, and indices with ease.Analysis tools

Quote downloading:Automatically retrieve up-to-date quotes over the Internet at the click of a button. International exchanges are supported.

Portfolio view:Check the cost basis, gain/loss, current market value, and other information regarding your securities at a glance. iBank now tracks historical data and graphs your security performance over time.

Capital gains:Easily generate reports detailing profit and loss on your investments.

Smart portfolios:Dynamically group securities based on their account, payee, amount, and more. Maintain multiple portfolios for different needs.

Online portfolios:Leaving your Mac behind? Post your investment portfolios to your .Mac account and check their performance from any web browser. (.Mac account required)

Expert trading:iBank now supports short and long puts and calls, stock option trading, and more.

Beautiful charts:Get the information you need at your fingertips using dynamic charts that update automatically as you make changes to your data. View a breakdown of your income or expenses by category, see your spending habits over time, generate tables of your activity, or view a list of transactions from a specified date range. Simple and flexible.File management

Standard reports:For those times when the accountant requires you to submit your data in a standardized format, iBank includes Cash Flow, Balance Sheet, Capital Gains, and ROI (Return on Investments) reports. Print or save them to your Desktop with the click of a button.

Budgets:Set goals for your income and expenses over a specified time period, then check your progress as you go along. Easily compare past and current budget performance. Multiple budgets let you track different sets of categories for different goals.

Forecasts:Use balance trends and scheduled transactions to predict your future account balances at any date in the future. Tweak various calculation settings to get the most accurate forecast possible.

Mini-graph:See an up-to-date overview of your spending in the bottom-right corner of the main window. Double-click any slice of the pie graph to “dig deeper” and break it down into sub-categories or individual transactions.

Portability:Store all of your account data in a single data file for easy backup or transfer. Easily create multiple data files for different users.Other features

.Mac backup:Backup your iBank data to your .Mac account automatically every time you startup. (.Mac account required)

Password protection:Prevent unauthorized access to your data by requiring a password at startup.

Gorgeous interface:Track your finances in style! New Cover Flow and Thumbnail views let you browse transactions by their associated images, and redesigned charts will knock your socks off.

Notes everywhere:Add comments to just about anything! Accounts, groups, portfolios, categories, charts, budgets, forecasts, and statements can all be assigned notes to hold that extra info you just can’t afford to forget.

iPhone support:Enter transactions on the go with our iPhone companion application, available as a free download.

Dashboard widgets: iBank widgets allow you to enter transactions, check account balances, and monitor your budgets from the comfort of your Desktop. Available as a free download.

When I tried to import my existing Quicken information, I immediately ran into errors.  I visited iBank’s community forum and learned that many users have experienced the same problem.  There is a bug in the software that needs to be fixed.  Automatic strike one!

Setting up accounts was quick and easy.  iBank was easy to use.  I just had to enter all my information manually.

After using iBank for a couple of days, I’m still not sure this is a Quicken-killer.  The interface is nice to look at, but the user has to mouse his/her way around way too much to make any transactions.  The concept is great, but the execution can be better.

I found the second alternative to Quicken in a program dubbed Cha-Ching, produced by Midnight Apps. To sum up Cha-Ching in one word, it would have to be “cute”.  This is definitely a light weight challenger to the Quicken crown, but it might be exactly what I want.

There are no graphs or reports or stock market anythings.  Cha-ching is a beautiful way to keep track of your check book or savings account.  From the website: 

Accounts

a place for everything

Manage all of your checking, savings and credit card accounts in one, comfortable spot. Use the online tab to review your transactions side by side with your online banking account from within Cha-Ching. Or simply import your QIF files directly into Cha-Ching.

Budgets

all you can spend

The completely redesigned Budgets in Cha-Ching is the perfect tool to keep track of everything you are spending and earning. Simply set a couple of tag-based rules to keep track of all of your incomes and expenses and Cha-Ching sits ready at your fingertips to compile all that data into a clear and concise overview. Plan your budgets and let Cha-Ching make sure you keep to them.

Scheduler

manages your upcoming transactions

Never miss a bill again. While Cha-Ching can’t make them magically vanish, the new Scheduler keeps track of all of your upcoming transactions. Create a bill with a title, due date and repeat setting, set your tags and Cha-Ching takes care of the rest.

Smart Folders

and regular ones

Organize your money any way you want! Just like iTunes, Cha-Ching lets you create smart folders to group your data any way you want.

Interface

simply stunning

Cha-Ching has been redesigned from the ground up to offer you a simple, fun and sexy way to manage your money. Try the demo and see for yourself.

Back To the Front with some fantastic Metallica news

Jun 06

metalman777Wii, music metal, metallica, music No Comments

I subscribe to a blog entitled Sleaze Roxx which is all about classic metal news.  Today they posted two awesome news items for us long time Metallica fans.

First, an initial review of the new album!  Here is the story:

METALLICA PREVIEWS NEW SONGS TO CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE:

June 4, 2008 Classic Rock was among a select band of rock journalists to hear a taster from the new Metallica album today. At present untitled, the band’s new record has been nicknamed by management “Nine epics and one song”. We heard six of ‘em – unmixed and all unnamed (we guess at some of the titles in our track by track, below).

Classic Rock was one of the few magazines to give the band’s last album, St. Anger, a bad review on its release, Philip Wilding giving it 2/5. “It’s unfettered hell-for-leather nonsense pretty much from beginning to end,” he wrote. “Forget nuance or gravitas – or Metallica, for that matter – this is latter-day heavy metal pulverised into a risible mush that owes as much to rock music’s deviation in the last three years, as to the credible legend that Metallica have built and cultivated since the early 80s.

“This, you reason, must be the sound of a mid-life crisis…”

The following year’s documentary Some Kind Of Monster let fans see exactly that – the creative and personal meltdown that occurred during the creative process.

So is the new album the sound of conquering heroes? Or just the sound of some multi-millionaires with a franchise to exploit? Does it try too hard to please – or is it the sound of a band who know they’ve got everything to prove and the year is their’s for the taking?

Maybe it’s the one multi-million-selling triumph that will actually get some radio airplay without resorting to Chili Peppers-style bland-outs. Maybe it’s a re-hash of former glories. Maybe it’s too little too late. Or maybe it’s some metal masters showing the young pretenders how to do it (with riffs and solos and, y’know, singing – not growling).

Are the lyrics the work of a middle-aged doofus with a rhyming dictionary? Or are they the work of thrash titans who’ve found a voice and created fittingly intense music for these intense times?

The jury is out until we can spend some quality time with the album. Until then, this is what we heard…

Track one – (working title ‘Flamingo’)

Opens with a lightly chorus guitar riff, slightly reminiscent of Sandman, a hugely long intro before a gruff, Hetfield patented “three four” breaks down into a Slayer-ish thrashy riff barrage.

The drum sound is infinitely better than St Anger. Includes a serious wah-wah breakdown and several, distinct melodic chorus refrains. Could be a good radio bet – there’s no mistaking that it’s a Metallica song.

Which is more than could be said of St Anger. Back in the early 00s, of course, Nu Metal producer/overlord Ross Robinson famously banned guitar solos from albums by the likes of Slipknot. That Metallica – metal’s biggest band – seemed to toe the line with this philosophy in order to win the kids over beggared belief.

The good news? The guitar solos are back. With a vengeance. Hammett has been let back off the leash – this track even sees him breaking open the whammy pedal again for a spot of Tom Morello-esque tomfoolery.

Its false ending even fooled the guy from management who has heard it several times before!

Track two – (aka The Single)

It’s an eight-minute behemoth. Intro has elements of techno metal, vaguely reminiscent of Queensryche’s Silent Lucidity clean picked guitar sound (think Martha & the Muffins’ Echo Beach on downers).

It’s a Metallica power ballad – whoever thought a Met song would ever feature the line ‘Love is a four-letter word’? – and it follows more traditional lines than their previous forays into balladry.

Just when you think it might be a little meandering, The Single breaks down with a Battery-style riff and Hammett and Hetfield let rip with a twin-guitar Thin Lizzy-style solo. Nice.

The solo doesn’t stop there, Hammett takes centre stage and ramps it up with a very technical, Iron Maiden fret melting solo.

Track three (suggested title: ‘Scars’ or ‘We Die Hard’)

A take-no-prisoners bludgeoner, with its repeated refrain of ‘What won’t kill you makes you more strong’. Is this the sound of Metallica reacting to their troubles of recent years (St A’s bad reception and their struggles documented on Some Kind Of Monster)? “You rise, you fall, you’re down and you rise again”. Features a very abstract Hammett solo.

Track four (suggested title: ‘The Judas Kiss’ or ‘Bow Down’)

‘When you think it’s all said and done/Sell your soul to me/Bow down to me/I will set you free.’ Hetfield takes on the role of an alter-ego demon in this monster Maiden-esque bruiser.

Lots of traditional Metallica stoppy-starty stuff, wrapped around Lars’ military tattoo-style drum work.

Track five (suggested title: ‘To End This War’)

Opens with a clean rolling bassline (with a slight Motley Crue Dr Feelgood vibe to it?). Lot more of Trujillo on this record, with some sneaky fills/solo bass stuff.

Breaks down into a old-school chuggy riff. It’s sorta Iron Maiden meets Born To Be Wild. Massive guitars.

Then, after an extended instumental break a new mid-paced melody appears over the top of more clean guitar section.

Hammett is keeping up with OTT solos, and there’s more dual soloing between him and Hetfield than there has been for a while (shades of Lizzy, maybe UFO).

Track six (‘The Song’ says the management guy. Suggested title: ‘Into The Crypt’ or ‘My Apocalypse’ or ‘Crossed That Line’)

The shortest song on the album, clocks in a about 6 minutes (the rest average at about 8 minutes apiece).

A Reign In Blood-style riff monster,it’s probably the most ‘catchy’, and submits to the most traditional verse/chorus/breakdown format, but there is an awful lot going on.

Big drums on this one, coupled with out-of-control, “mere mortals will never play this”-style soloing from Kirk.

Will Metallica reclaim their position as metal gods? We’ll see at the end of the summer – rumours are that the album will be out mid September.

Courtesy of www.classicrockmagazine.com

 

Please oh please be a killer album!  Show these young guys how its done! 

If Metallica doesn’t put out an outstanding album, they are finished.  There are just too many up and coming thrash bands eager to make their mark on the metal scene.  Newer bands like Hatchet and Warbringer and Perzonal War are probably just as good as Metallica was back in the day. Older bands like Megadeth and Testament and Overkill and Helloween are still releasing incredible music.  Metallica HAS to put up or go home.

The second article that caught my eye is told a story of the ultimater merger:  Guitar Hero and Metallica!  Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is just being released and it is an all inclusive play on Aerosmith songs.  Now think of the same concept, but with Metallica songs!  I could possibly rock out to Blackened or Master of Puppets or Whiplash or Motorbreath!  That would be awesome!  Here is the article (originally found here): 

METALLICA MAKING THE VIRTUAL BAND:

June 4, 2008 And justice and video games for all…

Metallica has quietly teamed up with Activision to develop its own signature Guitar Hero, giving fans the opportunity to thrash along to many of the headbangers’ greatest hits.

The news first surfaced when an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities found a listing for Metallica’s version of the interactive title in a Securities and Exchange Commissions filing by game maker Activision, according to Billboard.

Then the San Francisco-based outfit dropped a few hints about its plans on the band’s official website.

“An all-Metallica Guitar Hero game…fact or fiction? Idle Internet gossip, wishful thinking, or the real deal?” read a post. “Let’s just say that perhaps, just maybe, if you’ve already mastered ‘One’ on GHIII there might be a pile of ‘Tallica songs in your future.”

Metallica said it will release more information this summer, but a 2008 release appears unlikely, with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith due out June 29 and Guitar Hero: On Tour (aka GH4) being targeted for the holiday shopping season.

In any case, the Metallica-minded Guitar Hero will probably follow the lead of the Aersomith edition.

Unlike previous band-branded GH installments, which simply include songs by the featured artists, the Boston band’s title not only features cuts from Aerosmith’s catalog, but also features animated versions of Steven Tyler and mates and a storyline in which players work their way up from small Beantown clubs to stadiums.

With Guitar Hero: Metallica taking a similar narrative approach, we can only hope to see a virtual Lars Ulrich smacking down Napster users. Now that’s entertainment.

Courtesy of www.eonline.com

 

 

I’ll buy this game the day it comes out!  That would be cool if they released their new album the same day as the game, with all the tracks doubling as Guitar Hero tracks!  Talk about interactive.

One last thing.  I was doing some yard work the other day while listening to Justice for All.  Am I the only one that thinks this album needs to be remastered and remixed?  Where the heck is the bass?

Did they hate Jason Newsted that much to just take him out of the mix?

2008 School Awards

Jun 06

metalman777family, pictures awards, kids, school No Comments

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I know I posted Hannah’s Awards, but Bekah and Nathan finally got theirs too!  I’m so proud of all 3 of them!