0ber0n the Neko

Understandable. I've had a pretty rough week, myself. College is getting a bit stressful, and there's many tests to study for. I just need somewhere to vent my creative crazies so I don't lose it. Hope to see it up soon. -H

So... is this thing gonna happen or no?

*looks at clock again* I really have no life. It's already 3:10 am. Maybe get it up this afternoon? I need to get my creative juices flowing a little.

*looks at clock* It's pretty much 1:15 am. Edit: *looks at clock again* It's pretty much 11:15 am.

Once Upon a Time in the West Steamboy Network Cloverfield

Going to put the thread up anytime soon? I'm still postulating about how I'm going to make my amazing and dramatic entrance, so take your time.

A very simple question - Where are we all starting?

[quote name='Premonition'][COLOR="1234"]Oh no no no no no... Satanists are BAD for sure. The way the practice works is upside down. Religion's that use magic turn to Magicless religions. Magicless relegions turn to magic using religions. Anyways, I'm going to have this up momentarily, the RPG will be titled [B]"The Legend of Terraprim"[/B] so watch out.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] I noticed that the auditions thread went up. Hope you don't mind that I joined. Also, satanism isn't about black chants around a flaming pentagram with virgin sacrifices to satan. Satanists, ironically enough, do not believe in satan. They believe in the power of man, and choose to exemplify master morality. Calling them "bad" is like calling any other completely subjective thing "bad". I feel myself on the verge of a "good and evil" rant, quoting lots of Blake and Nietzsche. Stop me before I do so.

This is a strange topic, I know, but I felt like posting it for some reason. I've hit a very odd juncture in my life. I just recently caught myself subconsciously checking women's hands for wedding bands. Instead of checking girls out, I'm checking if they're married or not. Thoughts?

Name: Wrest Verdenstidd Age: 23 Gender: Male Personality: Wrest's bleak and distant disposition tends to unnerve those he comes into contact with. His straightforward attitude is often seen as rudeness, and he tends to very quickly gain the disfavor of those around him. History: Wrest's mother died in childbirth. Raised by his father, a military man, he was often left to his own devices. He preferred the broad and untamed wilds of nature to the pedantic lectures of the religiously learned, and thus was not exposed in any degree to prophetism during his childhood. However, in his late teens, Wrest was rudely awakened to the realities of prophetism when his father, accused of high treason and conspiracy to commit heresy, was put to death. Though, before he died, he expressed to Wrest the nature of the charges against him, and that they were merely tangential to some secret of the prophetist church. With rage and rebellion in his adolescent heart, he spent the next few years in and out of a variety of prisons, charged with lesser crimes against the church and crown. During that time, he became a capable fighter and a bitter survivalist, learning very quickly to fend for himself. After his most recent release from prison, he dropped under the radar, becoming notoriously difficult to find. Only recently has he come to light, still bitterly opposed to the church, yet empowered by some strange and eldritch power not unlike a Prophet, calling itself an "Eon". Attacks & abilities: With the power of his Eon, Wrest is capable of several impressive feats of strength and agility. 1. Ghost Trail - Wrest, harnessing his Eon's eldritch power, is able to tap into hidden reserves of energy that make him move much faster than normal. Though powerful, the reserve is limited, and is meant to be used over very short periods of time. (e.g. the charge before a punch) 2. Ice Drift - Wrest's strength is amplified by his Eon, taking power and essence from the spirit of Ice itself. 3. Icicle Spear - Wrest's Eon manifests itself in the form of a titanium spear of cold, which Wrest can then wield. -Later- 4. Wind's Grace - Like Ghost Trail, but with a much longer duration. 5. Frozen Breath - Able to breathe a gust of sub-freezing air, Wrest can freeze nearly anything, or at least cool it significantly. 6. Heart of Permafrost - Wrest's body is cold and icy to the touch when this power is activated. An aura of wintry majesty anoints his very presence, and one can faintly hear howling winds when near him. Ignorant to most pain, this power lasts until it is deactivated, at which time an orb of frozen breath extends from his body over a radius of 6 feet. Inside this area, Wrest can create any amount of ice, giving it kinetic or potential energy as he sees fit. This power, however, is difficult to use, and extremely taxing to the user. Appearance: Dresses plainly, with a tendency toward darker, less obvious colors. His eyes are a cold, dark blue, and his hair is a deep brown, extending to his shoulders. His face betrays a weariness, uncaring and unsympathetic to the suffering around him. Eon's Name: Isa Gender: Female Special Power(s): Isa is the Eon of winter, governing the snowfall and the winds that bear it. She has the ability to cause snowstorms, and aids many of Wrest's abilities. Personality: Perky and upbeat, Isa is sharply contrasted against Wrest's stony disposition, taking any opportunity to lighten his mood. Though, she too harbors great sorrow and regret. History: Isa's history is the history of Terrapim itself. She is ancient, the Eon of winter, which comes to all in some form. Some say her first love, the sky, cast her out from his home, and that the snowfall is her sorrow manifested in icy tears. Appearance: Isa is a strikingly beautiful and lithe young woman, looking to be in her early twenties. Though, her eyes betray her true age, manifesting years of sorrow and loss and death that no mortal eyes could bear. She prefers garments of blue and white, has long white hair, light blue eyes, and pale white skin. Her lips are round and full, and almost always bear a playful smile.

I'm listening to my psych 1010 teacher talk about research methods. [quote name='Darren']Well, I'm not here to defend my band... Just to question why you think they sound generic? [B]generic[/B] adjective 1. relating to or common to or descriptive of all members of a genus; "the generic name" With their unique style, I would hardly call them generic... But, it's all opinion. I tend to favor experimental styles, so mewithoutYou fits me. Really if you can get passed his talking all the lyrics, it's really easy to enjoy the rest of it.[/quote] Unfortunately, "mewithoutyou"'s musical style is nothing really new. The indie rock scene has been mass-producing bands like them for the last year. The genus is "mediocre indie rock", and it has "recycled At the Drive-In riffs, Modest Mouse/Franz Ferdinand song structure, and trying REALLY REALLY HARD TO BE UNIQUE" in common with said genus.

[quote name='Panache'][URL="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=43211866"]Trash[/URL] Here is a link to some of the garbage. [/QUOTE] That band made me actually 100% vomit. Just all over the place. I'm going to have to add a vast majority of the honky-rock bands out there. Bands like- Nirvana Slipknot DevilDriver Korn Basically any mallcore... Cradle of Filth An Albatross... Garbage As I Lay Dying System of a Down Serj Tankian A Simple Plan Sum 41 Blink 182 Job For A Cowboy The White Stripes Green Day (because yes, they're so bad they deserve a third iteration) Nickelback Jack Johnson Bands that sound like Creed Bands that sound like Jack Johnson Bands that have three wordsmashedtogether Linkin Park Disney's slew of licensed "bands" A wealth of other, even more terrible bands. If I missed specifically naming a band that I hate, it's because I'm so apathetic to their existence that they weren't even worth mentioning. The vast majority of post-Tupac rap is godawful. Reggaeton is worse. Reggae is repetetive garbage. J-Pop is the scourge of the earth, and will rise up to reclaim the volcanic, bloody throne of obsidian once they have systematically destroyed the entire human race with pastel colors, bright flashing lights, and annoyingly high-pitched voices. Love You Long Time is a local band from my area that wrested the will to live from my very chest, devouring it ritualistically onstage while summoning a black hole through which the very essence of life was sucked, bringing despair and hopelessness to the crowd, and causing them to howl mockeries at the human race. This most foul of foul bands is the reason i hate your ****** garage band. That's right, [i]your[/i] ****** garage band. Yours [i]personally[/i]. I hate it.

A Poor Man's Memory by Explosions in the Sky [quote name='Heaven's Cloud']Besides, I think you are becoming a bit genre picky. Metalcore might be a fusion of metal styles and a little hardcore punk but it is still plenty close enough to metal to be called metal. Music is becoming overly sub-genred, and artists, afraid of getting bunched together with the herd, keep coming up with sub-genres within sub-genres. Honestly,I think these genres keep popping up because a lot of musicians are insecure. Though I would probably feel the same way about anyone that felt the need to snub me because I confused a metalcore band with a metal one.[/color][/QUOTE] When you talk about genre specificity, like any other completely subjective topic, you have to see both sides. There's one side that thinks music is getting overcomplicated with genres upon subgenres upon subgenres of classification. The other believes that Iron Maiden and Swallow the Sun sound nothing alike, and it's absurd to consider them to be the same style of music. Metalcore, whether a genre or not, is a completely different style of music than Metal. But there's a lot of loud noise and they scream a lot, so obviously they're the same genre, right? However, classifying them thusly is like saying Led Zeppelin falls under the same grouping as Slipknot. What? They play really loud music, and both of them have guitars, right? Well, then let's step outside the actual music, and say that a band is defined by their influences. Metalcore is influenced by metal and hardcore punk, but it's subscribing more to the metal influences than the hardcore ones (this, by the way, is a fallacy), so, obviously it should just be metal, plain and simple. Once again, if we were to classify music by the influence, we'd have no need for genres. If you go back far enough, everything was the same genre, and that genre influenced the musicians of later years. The conclusion that a band's genre can be defined by its influences is absurd. I'm going to stop myself here and redirect you to the now-closed metal thread, where you'll find a wealth of explanation far beyond my ability about why metal and metal imitation are different. To the metalhead, it's like the difference between sugar and artificial sweetener. To the metal savant, it's like sugar and salt. [quote name='Premonition']Actually, I don't see why the metal community can't except metalcore as part of the metal genre, but that's just me. The same as Nu-metal.[/quote] It's the same reason we still differentiate between Jazz and the Blues. Would you consider the works of BB King to be the same genre as Miles Davis? There's a wealth of difference between the sweet, solemn tone of an Opeth song, and the rackety noise of a DevilDriver song. The reason, ultimately, is that the styles of music are different. The direction of the music is different. Notice how I don't say "bad". I say "different". On another note, why is it so bad they're considered to be rock or punk? Is there something about a band not being "metal" that makes them [i]bad[/i]? See, I like a lot of music outside of metal. I'm very firmly entrenched in independent rock, jazz, and the blues, and I find those genres to be exquisite, each with its own feel and taste. Metal is a great genre - it's expansive, and covers a wide array of styles and sounds that makes it almost as ambiguous, now, as Rock - but there's something powerful in the way Explosions in the Sky creates a guitar epic, how Leslie Feist croons a love song, and how Ray Charles rasps out the anguish of the blues. There's something that metal, with all its thunder and fury, cannot express that other genres may. Now, whether your fare be prepubescent lyrics about savagery and rebellion (in the case of nu-metal), or recycled At The Gates riffs under the croak of an adolescent lyric about frustration or girl problems (in the case of metalcore), it doesn't matter what genre they fall under. I repeat. [B][SIZE="4"]IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT GENRE IT FALLS UNDER.[/SIZE][/B] If you're really afraid of what your friends will say about "Your music not being metal enough", then you're not really convicted of your interest in the music. Hell, Jake's been battling me on band after band after band for years and years and years, but I like what I listen to enough that I never stop. In short, your music isn't metal. [i]SO[/i]? [quote name='premonition']Actually, my mentallity was like that before I listened to Coheed, now it's the equivelent of a 14 year old. Not every Co&Ca fan is dumb btw, just some.[/quote] You're wrong. Coheed and Cambria is for gender-confused hot-topicites who continue to infuriate me, even in my college years. It's remarkable how smart someone can become while still acting like a prepubescent little tween.

I took a... what... 3 year hiatus from this website? I finally came back to watch Jake be a jerk on the music forums, and it was funny to see how many of my old OB buddies were here when I returned. [quote=DeathKnight]New people become old people. Some old people leave. Life carries on.[/quote] And some alive people become dead people. Well, actually, all alive people become dead people eventually.

"Opus A Satana" by Emperor. I actually kinda hate this particular song by them, but it's on. [quote name='Darren'][SIZE="3"]Mewithoutyou[/SIZE] Yep. Anyone heard of them? They're AMAZING!!![/QUOTE] They sound as if Adam Duritz developed acute autism, joined TV on the Radio, and then convinced the band to play every single generic radio hit single by every pop-punk band in existence simultaneously. In short, your post should probably read- [quote=Fixed]Mewithoutyou Yep. Anyone heard of them? They're actually kind of terrible, so don't.[/quote] There. Much better. [quote name='Jakehammaren']And I'm currently listening to: "Something Not as Pretentious As Dream Theater" by Every Band That Isn't Dream Theater.[/Quote] I love that song. [quote name='jakehammaren'](Yes, that's right. I'm actually annoyed by a band's pretentiousness.)[/quote] No, you're not. You're just annoyed that they're even more pretentious and overpostured than the entirety of the Norwegian BM scene. Probably even more so because they actually sell albums despite it all. Wow, even I'm pretty pissed by that. [quote=jakehammaren] [spoiler]I can't act like I'm 3 years of age. The fact that I don't listen to Coheed and Cambria is scientific proof that I am at [I]least[/I] as mentally developed as a 12-year-old.[/spoiler][/quote] [spoiler]Oh, no, but didn't you hear? Apparently contradicting someone is typical behavior of a 3 year old. Who would've thought that expressing one's opinion could be so juvenile![/spoiler]

"Mammoth" by Pelican [quote name='2008DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]I have to agree, they are not bad, but they are just so goddamn pretentious it's disgusting. I read an interview where one of them said [paraphrasing](regardless how you feel about these bands): "You know, there's a few bands out there like Mastodon, The Mars Volta, and Tool who we are kind of similar to, however al of them are selling realy well and we aren't. However, our music is better than theirs - it's like people like things that are lower quality." I just couldn't find it in me to respect them after that. I still like some of their music, but it's sort of like those damn nazi bands - you just can't bring yourself to enjoy them when they are like that. [/COLOR][/QUOTE] They wrote a song in a standard time signature, and the only way they could justify it to themselves was to report it as being "15/16 followed by a measure of 1/16". God, I think they just perpetuated a new paradigm, comparing THEMSELVES to Tool as opposed to having some maynard-worshiping fanboy do it for them.

"Ruun" by Enslaved. Off the Ruun album. Great song. [quote name='Premonition']Jake do you enjoy acting like a three year old sometimes?[/QUOTE] No, he enjoys acting like an elitist [i]all[/i] the time. XD Three-year old is a bit extreme, though, man. Jake's not that bad. Just frustrated by people with bad taste in music. [quote name='ForsakenUndead']I'm listening to Dream Theater right now. They are a pretty good band who has been around since the 70s and are one of the best selling progressive rock bands ever. I like their newer albums more, but all of their stuff is pretty good. I still want to find a way to buy their 6th album but it's very expensive everywhere I find it.[/QUOTE] They formed in 1985. Now, when we say "Sixth Album", are we talking about "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence"? (Note: I had to wade chest deep through EP listings to find their actual full-lengths.) The reason it's so expensive is because it's two discs. If you're really a fan, go for it. However, Dream Theater annoys me in ways that only Jake can express. Though, I'm not sure if it's because of their overposturing as a band, the mediocrity of their music, or the mindless adulation of their fanbase. It could be all three.

"Optimistic" by Radiohead. What a great song.

[quote name='Panache']There is no such thing as just industrial(Kam explained that earlier in this thread).They are industrial hard rock. And I think they have like 3 good songs and that's it. And their not Russian...wtf is that?[/QUOTE] I'd call it industrial hard rock, but they'd have to be listenable first. For now, we'll consider it a moot point because no matter what colorful cross-genre breed spin anyone tries to put on this most mediocre band, they're not metal, and thus not worth discussing on this thread. Russian is a nationality. You know, from that really big country in Eurasia. Anyways, back to metal, for some odd reason, I've been on a huge Korpiklaani tear lately.

[quote name='2008DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]I'm running, but mostly because he said it was Russian XD Hayake, just to let you know, they happen to be German and they aren't metal. They are probably some kind of industrial rock or something - I'm sure someone will come to correct me. [/COLOR][/QUOTE] Just industrial. Annoying industrial. Also, German.

[quote name='Panache']Metallica is awesome. I don't give a **** what anyone says. Sure most of load all of reload and all the albums after that suck...but the stuff before that was ****ing amazing.[/QUOTE] ...Metallica was decent, but they aren't really special in any other respect than having ushered in a vast, hit-or-miss slew of imitation bands. They wrote some very good tunes in their early career, but their glory days are so far gone now, what with the release of St. Anger, hardly any more than a slightly aggressive shock-rock/mallcore album. I know we wouldn't be where we are now without them - seeing as they were an extremely influential band in metal's infancy - but as of now, they're hardly worth the breath it takes to sigh at their commercialization. [quote name='Jakehammaren']And no, Woah Mann, Venom is nothing even close to shock-rock. They were a thrash metal band (and are considered to be the progenitors of black metal).[/quote] They were so far into thrash, in fact, their album "Black Metal" is often described as a Punk Rock album. Shock-Rock is the genre that Rob Zombie and all of his stupid flunkies fall under. I actually think it's funny that, like Nu-Metal, Shock-Rock has become an accepted term. Both are meant to demean the genre they describe, and with good reason, too. [quote name='Whoa, Mann']Eh, I don't remember many of the black metal bands I've heard... But I do live by a code. "If it's not from Norway, it's not real Black Metal".. Even though, I bet there are a few BM bands from other places, aha..[/QUOTE] You, sir, are incorrect. I was going to put a list of bands here, but I'm too lazy.

[quote name='Inculta_Bellum']That sounds believable, the whole each religion uses different magic idea. But remember where Prophetism has the most power on Terraprim. That'd probably be because either their magic and technology is more powerful than other religions', or they use a more diverse array of them.[/QUOTE] Or, they could use what is widely considered to be a more powerful magic, like control over flame or some such. Maybe they're more prolific in their use of magic, not showing restraint where other religions do. Power is in the eye of he who is cast to the dust in the face of it. In my opinion, making them all-powerful seems to diminish the importance of the other religions, and might be restrictive to those who wish to belong to other sects.

[quote name='MissWem']What defines metal?[/QUOTE] I seem to recall Jake having a much better description than the one I'm about to give you, but here's my take on it. Firstly, defining any genre is difficult, because there are so many creative minds in all forms of music that everything, on one level or another, sounds distinct. In the case of Metal, there is most certainly a center around darker chord progressions, and technicality in guitars and drums. Metal, as a whole, seems to have a more intense drive to it, or at least a more powerful element to the songwriting, that makes it a much less passive form of music. However, defining metal by its subgenres is a lot less ambiguous and headache inducing.

NAME: Jules Capella AGE: 28 GENDER: Male WEAPON STYLE: Fighter MAGIC STYLE: Chaos PERSONALITY: Jules is a quiet fellow, perfectly content with letting his actions outweigh his words. HISTORY: War can cause men to do strange things. Jules seems to put stock into these words. Not much is known about his past, but many suspect that what they would find, they wouldn't like. Not one to share the secrets of his past around the fire, he leaves many to guessing as to what it is that makes him so adamant about remaining neutral in the conflict. In the end, Jules is a mystery, but something in his eyes hearkens back to darker times, the atrocity of war, and an acute awareness of the madness that surrounds him. APPEARANCE: [URL="http://www.emeraldcitycomics.com/uploaded_images/HedgeKnight-II-784695.jpg"]Something like this.[/url] NOTE: Jules is only on the side of light out of convenience. His position in the conflict is outspokenly neutral, and he'd rather see the end of the war through peaceful means than with any winning side. He's also very skilled in the art of combat, given his experience with war. He would have most likely attained a high rank in the Light's army were his political views not considered too extreme, and his disinterest in such a rank so great.

[quote name='2008DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Hey guys? Tool isn't even that great a band. [/COLOR][/QUOTE] oh, sorry. i forgot my /sarcasm tag.