Orang Orang

Few days back I dreamt of two huge green grasshoppers, that could stand and looks like ET. Heck, it might not be grasshoppers. It must have been ET all along. Who dreamt of ET these days? To make things worse, my nephew was friend with ET in my dream. Haha. ~~~ET Phone Home~~~ . Haha. Loser.

I'm going to do an album review. What's with the ET introduction? I have no clue myself. I have been writing this piece for a month or so now. What took me so long? beats me.

Avantasia - The Scarecrow

I'm still not sure whether I should do this track by track. Heck, let's just follow the course. This is my first taste of Avantasia. I'm still hesitating to give the previous 2 albums a shot or not. I know people says the previous 2 owns this album. The thing is, as much as I like Power Metal, I'm not exactly into lengthy epic songs filled with guitar masturbation and vocalists trying to outdo each other by heavy vibrato and wailing like someone just grab their balls. Okay, that's just wrong. The thing is I'm not exactly fond of typical Power Metal that brings nothing new into their music or whatsoever. *hint*Hammerfall*hint*

One thing I like about this album is that it's not a straight up power metal album. It has a pinch of rock here and there. The bad thing about this album is Tobias Sammet. Oh, I adore the guy for being such a musical genius. Heck, I love Edguy! The thing is, his vibrato could be rather annoying. Prior to getting the album, I checked out the EPK and had some ideas how the album going to sound like.

Twisted Mind
- Not exactly my favourite Khan's moment. I've heard him delivered a better performance. The song started off rather promising, up until Tobi opened up his mouth. He kind of ruined the song. Sorry. Not exactly in love with the chorus either. The song could be better. Two thumbs up for the music, one thumb up for Khan, two thumbs down for Tobi.

The Scarecrow
- The longest song in the album. I have to say I am in love with Jorn's vocal. Seriously, who wouldn't? I have heard a snippet of this song on the EPK. My favourite moment was the last 3 minutes or so of this song.

Shelter From The Rain
- Again, another song I heard off the EPK. The song is speedier. It sounds like a battle of the vocalists and each one tries to outdo each other. The winner? Definitely not Tobi. At times, I just wish he would shut the hell up.

Carry Me Over
- The first song I heard off the album. Watched the video on you tube. My first impression was that the song sound pretty much like Bon Jovi, which is not entirely a bad thing although I have never been fond of Bon Jovi. Once I listened to the whole album, the song kind of grew on me. I love the fact that it's different from other tracks in the album and rather unexpected. Note : One song that I actually was impressed by Tobi's vocal. Maybe he should stick singing like this.

What Kind of Love
- What would happened if one day Celine Dion and Richard Marx decided to sing together in a metal album? This song. It's not a bad song. I like this song. I have never been fan of Amanda
Somerville before, but this song is too beautiful to be ignored. Oh! did I just compare Kiske and Tobi with Richard Marx? Haha. We all know those 2 own Marx. It was just a fucken analogy.

Another Angel Down
- I didn't listen much of this song, but I like it. I like the rawness of Jorn's vocal. The raw and rough sound is of course interrupted by Tobi's somewhat gay moment. Really, at times he sounded so fucken' gay. I have nothing against him. I like him, plus he's good looking. The second verse sounded better, until he hit that gay vocal again. It's a good song. A must listen.

The Toy Master
- Another good song. Alice cooper makes this song works. Lyrically, erm, a bit bad. Seriously, "All you boys and girls, welcome to my wonderland". Downright corny and lame. Tobi is back with his gay vocal which I didn't find annoying at all. He made it work, it actually blend well.

Devil in The Belfry
- Heard this song off the EPK. I like this song. When I saw the EPK, the song really stood out in my memory and one of the reason why I wanted to give this album a shot. I think the chorus bits is the best, amongs others in the album. A must listen. One hell of a song.

Cry Just a Little
- Bob Catley and Tobi. Two men singing a slow song. Which reminds me of Mushroomhead(two male singing slow song together. LOL). I don't know. The prospect of two male singing a slow song is a bit off to me. Hehe. Not exctly the best song in the album. I tend to skip it.

I don't Believe in Your Love
- My favourite track. I love Oliver Hartmann's singing. Really do. At times, I wonder how would this song sound if he sing it alone? sorry Tobi. Haha. nevertheless, one of the best song in the album. I love the chorus, I love the verses, I love the music. Just everything.

Lost in Space
- I first heard this song when I watched the video on YouTube. My first impression was - Sucky much?. It's a rockish number which elitist would definitely hate. I still say it's the weakest song
on the album, but not a bad song.

The album is okay. One of the best I've heard. Would be in my list by the end of the year?

Note : Tadaaaaaaaaaaa. Finally. Now, what I needed is for readers to recommend me albums.

Emo, Emu and Elmo...

Introduction
What is emo? Is it a trend? Is it a music genre? Is it a close family of emu? Okay, scratch the last one. What is emo? The so called trend that has landed in Brunei.

Chapter one: My first encounter with emo the term
About four years ago or so, a friend introduced me the term 'emo'. He explained it means emotional. I like the term. Hence the birth of my nick - emodreams. Corny and lame. I know. Well, I have always been a dreamer, and it's a known fact that I could be rather dramatical at times. It's like an emotionally driven dreams. Heck, whatever.

Chapter two : My first taste of emo the genre
I asked the friend that introduced me the term what it is all about. He told me it is a music genre, and I remembered him mentioning Glassjaw and Finch. I did not check those bands. Instead, I listened to Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World. Surprisingly enough Chris Carrabba does not have a long fringe covering his eyes. The one thing I noticed about emo is that all emo bands seem to share the same trait - super whiny vocals, that at times sounded like they have lost their balls ages ago.

Chapter three : My encounter with emo the trend
I wasn't aware of the existence of the trend until recently when it hit Brunei really hard. Have no idea of what I'm talking about? Google the trends, and take a look around. What do I think of the trend? sucky much! Seriously, the dress code is absurd. Obligatory metal studded belt, and their sisters' jeans are downright silly. Oh, and don't let me started on the hair style. I wonder how long would one take to straighten his hair and how are they supposed to walk around with their hair covering their eyes. sheeeesh. Oh, and the man-liner...

Chapter Four : Emo
I like the term. Emo, emotional. I don't mind the music. I don't mind listening to Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional, But I definitely can't stand bands like Jared Leto's mars band (I still can't remember the name) and Fall Out Boy. I have mix feelings about the genre. I hate the trends. I hate the dress code.

Chapter Five : Comparison and Memories
Remember when "Punk" hit Brunei? I don't mind the music- I love The Clash. What I can't stand is those punkers with their superior and obnoxious attitude. Now, when was the last time you see Sid Vicious clones? (Personally, I'd much prefer if they immitate Joe Strummer. Hehe). It's been ages right. I wonder where have all those punkers gone? are those emo kids we've seen these days were once those punkers?! I wonder...

Chapter Six : Encounter of the third kind
About two weeks ago or so, I was in a bank waiting for my turn. Dress simply in an Amon Amarth shirt, jeans and flats. (I'm not exactly the world's best dresser. hehe). Sitting across from me is this kid wearing a baggy jeans, cap and surprisingly enough a My Chemical Romance shirt. Apart from his shirt, He striked me as more of a nu-metallers. I brushed him off. He dressed decently.
About a month ago, I was in Seria, and saw two kids - one wearing a Loudness shirt, and the other one donning a My Chemical Romance shirt. Typical emo hair styles, girl's jeans, and worn out sneakers.
The verdict : The kid from the bank - normal. He listened to the band but he knows how not to look stupid.
The 2 kids - extraterrestrial.(reminds me of the dreams I had about E.T this afternoon. Haha.)

Conclusion
Those emo bands that were constantly whoring in MTV - Fall Out Boy and the likes - need to be banish from earth. Those trends need to be banish too. Maybe we should do something like what the Talebans did, you know, banishing Leo DiCaprio's hairstyles. We should do the same, banish the emo dress code, or maybe, just the hairstyle. I wonder... a year from now, would this trend fade away? what would replace it?

Note : As for my Avantasia review, its halfway done. I still haven't got around to do it.

Note #2 : Recommend me any good albums. Maybe I could do little reviewing or something. Definitely a 2008 release.