Spooky Review: Silent Hill 2

While it isn't exactly the triple-A franchise it was in the early 00's, the first three Silent Hill games are still considered the high water mark for whole horror genre. And after playing Silent Hill 2, I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Setup

The game is technically a sequel to the original Silent Hill game from '99, retaining the titular setting and trademark fog while telling an entirely new and unrelated story. You play as James Sunderland, a guy who returns to Silent Hill after getting a letter from his wife saying that she's "waiting for you... in our 'special place'" - problem is, she's been dead for three years. So now you're here to find her!

It doesn't really make sense, and you know that even as you play it, but it's such a powerful "what if?" that it really pulls you in - and the more you play, the more compelling it gets. It's also a nice treat after enduring so many modern horror games that feature your character waking up in a castle/creepy manor/hospital with amnesia. Ugh.

Graphics/Art Design

Like the other "main" SH games, the art direction here is absolutely top-notch, and frankly repulsive in areas (in a good way). The fog-swept town is as forlorn and desolate as ever, and the various locations are all put together beautifully without ever feeling over-done - the environments are definitely scary, but in a kind of subdued way - there are a lot of dilapidated buildings and decayed rooms and stuff, but you won't find any mutilated body parts or anything like that. The atmosphere is more of a quiet, slowly building tension than a "spooky prison" or something stupid like that. Think Penumbra, not Dead Space.

The monster designs are little more blatant. Silent Hill in general is known for having some pretty fucked-up looking monsters (Pyramid Head), and Silent Hill 2 is no different -this game has some of the most creative, bizarre, and just-plain-gross monster designs in the whole genre. Pyramid Head looks downright normal when you compare it the Mannequin, Abstract Daddy, and the Nurses.

Soundtrack/Sound Design

Even more important than the environment and enemies is the soundtrack, and whadda ya know - Silent Hill 2's is brilliant. It's difficult to get across how much work the soundtrack does here, but I'll try.

The standard walking-around tracks are all great - they accentuate the tension and general "this doesn't feel right" vibe of the whole game real well, but it's the smaller touches that really seal the deal. The static burst your radio emits when monsters are nearby consistently made me anxious despite the relatively low danger (a classic Pavlov's Dog situation). The air-raid siren after the first fight with Pyramid Head is deeply unsettling, as is the oppressively loud machine noises in the clock room in the apartment building. The guttural mutterings in the prison, and the weird dirges in the labyrinth -- all of these lesser elements combine to create an almost dream-like collage of sonic oppression that consistently kept me on the edge of my seat.

Gameplay & Story

Since Silent Hill is (very much so) a Japanese game, it controls a little differently than you might expect. It's a relic of the single-control-stick era, as Japanese gamers were resistant to the idea of dual analog sticks. As such, the game controls in a very unique and weird fashion, with fixed camera angles and a two-button combat system. Oh yeah, there's combat in this game - and a lot of it. It's awkward and clunky, but also pretty grisly and cathartic - there's perverse fun to be had by beating the various nasties to death with a pipe, especially when your nerves have been frayed bare by the rest of the game.

What you actually do in the game is a mix of puzzle-solving and combat, with a heavier emphasis on the former. The puzzles are kind of an odd bunch, with most of them being satisfyingly-tough riddles that make some amount of sense. Some of the other ones are a bit more esoteric and will probably take you a while. Honestly, this is the only area of this game that hasn't aged super well.

The story, on the other hand, is very impressive. The pacing is slow (maybe a little too slow - don't worry, it's worth it!) and methodical, and the dialogue is frequently nonsensical. The plot is set up so that its basically impossible to figure out everything that happens, and it's never really clear whats real and whats not. Multiple playthroughs are encouraged by the game and there are a whopping six different endings available - three of them only attainable on your second time through.

In terms of length, there were three distinct moments where I thought "Oh shit, this is definitely the end" and was completely wrong, so don't worry about that - there's plenty of meat to chew on here.

Bottom Line

This game is considered the greatest horror game ever made, and after playing it I'm inclined to agree. From the sound design to the characters to the story - everything about Silent Hill 2 oozes polish, superior craftsmanship, and slow-burning tension and fear. It's more interesting than Amnesia and Slender, and more varied and twisty than Dead Space and Resident Evil - honestly, it's perfect.

(Note: I played it as part of the Silent Hill HD Collection on Xbox 360, which I later discovered is a pretty awful port. If you can find a copy for PS2, get that instead. The PS3 version of the HD collection is also preferable to the 360 one apparently.)

Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No

Impressively mature and adorably juvenile at the same time, the Italian upstarts deliver a fresh set of mosh-friendly riffs and quirky, creative songwriting

This one is a bit late (the album dropped in March) but I haven't really seen anything about it, so I'm taking it upon myself to get the word out about these guys, because they kick ass. They're called Destrage, and they're an Italian group who have been around since 2007 or so. 

Ostensibly, they make "progressive/alternative metal", but those classifications don't really do them justice. If by "progressive" you think keyboards, long songs, and cheesy lyrics, then these guys are 0 for 3; "alternative" works better, but it still makes me think of stuff like Tool, Jane's Addiction, and Fishbone, which these guys are, again, not really like. Basically, they're progressive in the sense that their songs jump all over the place and the music is pretty intense, technically-speaking. Thankfully, though, these dudes know how to trim the fat: the longest song of this set comes to just under 8 minutes, with the rest hovering around the 5 minute mark. The short song lengths aren't the only thing that sets these guys apart from other progressive bands - the vocals here are almost exclusively harsh.

In addition to the rougher vocals, the music here is much closer to Between the Buried and Me than Dream Theater - plenty of breakdowns, monster riffs (seriously, they're real good), and crazy lyrics. There are some slower and quieter parts for variety, for the most part this is very good and very groovy drive-around-with-the-windows-down metal. For such a young group, Destrage show a lot of songwriting skill, and are definitely a band worth keeping an eye on.

Elton John's The Diving Board

Smoky, somber, and a little sad, Elton John's latest album in seven years exceeds expectations with a collection of powerful and varied tunes 

John's latest album in quite a few years, The Diving Board was something I was looking forward to. I had (and still do) loved The Captain & the Kid, and had mostly enjoyed his "return to form albums": Peachtree Road, Songs From the West Coast, and Too Low for Zero. The Diving Board, however, is very different from Captain, and is really most similar to earlier records like Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water.

First off, it's mostly just John, his piano, and the band's light accompaniment on these tracks -- it might help to think of it as an acoustic record (because it basically is). Most of the songs are slow-rolling ballad-types with an emphasis on atmosphere over accessibility (hey, kinda like the new Opeth record!), and they're mostly all good. There are some more adventurous pieces sprinkled in as well - "Take This Dirty Water" is a great gospel-ish tune, and "A Town Called Jubilee" recalls the days of Tumbleweed Connection in a way that isn't cheap or boring. Honestly, it's hard to talk about standout tracks because the songs are so consistently good here. "New Fever Waltz" is the worst, but even so, it isn't really "bad" - just really boring. "Can't Stay Alone Tonight" and "Voyeur" are my personal favorites, though.

In addition to the fantastic songs, the production on this album is crazy good. There's a heady atmosphere of melancholy maturity to The Diving Board, and John hasn't sounded this good in a long, long time. T-Bone Burnett deserves props for his excellent work here (and for his ridiculous stage name).

If you're a fan of Elton John or just want a break from your usual musical diet, I can't recommend The Diving Board highly enough.

Opeth's Pale Communion

A meandering, somber record that's heavy on atmosphere at the expense of hooks

Well, here's another one to put into the "really wanted to like but just can't" category. Coming in directly after their folk/prog thing Heritage (which I also do not like), it seemed like a return to form for a band that seemed to be in an awkward transitional stage. And it is, in the sense that it's much better than Heritage -- the band's progressive tendencies have fully crystallized on this disc. Right from the opening keyboard swirls on the first song (and one of the better ones), "Eternal Rains Will Come", the sound is darker and more melodic, and that emphasis on melody is carried along throughout the whole record.

It's tough to do a track-by-track breakdown of an Opeth record, and Pale Communion continues that tradition. The songs aren't all super long (which is how I remembered them until looking up their lengths for this) but they do all sound similar -- its a lot like Damnation, but with atmosphere instead of hooks. The only standout I remember is the "epic" of the lot: "Moon Above, Sun Below", which has some cool lyrics and interesting instrumentation. 

That isn't to say it isn't worth a spin or two -- it definitely is. It just didn't click with me.

Fallujah's The Flesh Prevails

Aggressive and atmospheric, progressive yet restrained, Fallujah deliver a brilliant record of icy beauty

One of the most exciting parts of following a band is the privilege of being there as they change and grow -- and its hard to think of another band that has leveraged changing influences and artistic ambition with as much success as Fallujah has with this latest record. Stitching together the progressive threads spun by other groups (the influence of Cynic here is clear), the band has crafted a collection of songs that are more intertwined than usual, with certain songs recalling others (most easily noticed on Levitation and Alone With You) or sharing elements.

If that sounds a bit too proggy for you, don't worry -- Carstairs and the boys keep things firmly rooted in riffy, blast-beat laden death metal the vast majority of the time. What's really impressive, though, is the way the band mixes that brutality with lighter touches: ambient keyboard touches, airy synths, and breathy female vocals -- not exactly staple features of the genre (the vocals were provided by electro-pop singer Roniit). This split between heavy and heartfelt is the album's biggest strength, as it effectively balances the progressive elements of the bands' sound (most audible on "Chemical Cave", "Sapphire", and "Allure") with the depressive ("Carved From Stone", "The Night Reveals"). 

Bottom Line: With a well-crafted mix of technical death metal and atmospheric ambiance, The Flesh Prevails is an excellent record for fans of both metal and electronic music, and a great introductory point for people new to either genre.

Dream Theater: A Dramatic Turn of Events

(This is gonna be short cuz I'm tired)

Dream Theater's A Dramatic Turn of Events

 DT's first album without Portnoy was pretty interesting when it was released just after Black Clouds & Silver Linings, and it's even more of an odd one now that Dream Theater is a thing. Deliberately retro and full of little nuggets, it's a bit more consistent than Systematic Chaos or even Octavarium but sometimes I don't think that's a good thing: this is one of those CD's I really need to be "in the mood" for.

The biggest change is obviously Mangini replacing Portnoy on the skins. Even before Dream Theater everyone knew Mangini had monster chops, but on this record his playing is pretty subdued. Part of that is due to him being kind of buried in the mix (John Myung is somewhere down in there too, if you can find him), but some of it is also because of the newness of the situation. 

The songs on this album are also part of it -- they're much more prog than metal, with a heavier emphasis on melody and catchy choruses than usual. It's honestly pretty impressive how well the album flows, but I guess it isn't surprising since they were going for that "Images and Words 2.0" vibe. Also, I find it funny that that fact is considered controversial or a "nugget" - upon hearing the first 20 seconds of the first track, you'll probably get reminded of "Pull Me Under". Some people love that, some don't - personally, I think it's a nice nod to the fans. 

That said, the song quality here is definitely a mixed bag. There are some real ear-worms in there - the choruses to "Bridges in the Sky" and "Lost Not Forgotten" are crazy catchy. "On the Backs of Angels" is a solid opener, but it drags a little bit towards the end, but pseudo-epics "Bridges in the Sky" and "Lost Not Forgotten" are not only excellent in the context of this album, but just in DT-land in general, and the latter is one of the band's best songs period.

What's more surprising, though, is how good the ballads are here. "This Is The Life" is simply sublime, with some of the best orchestration and composition on the disc, and the other two examples, "Far From Heaven" and "Beneath The Surface" are excellent as well. Yup, the cheesy ballads really do some good work here.

Of course, there are some stinkers. "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" is boring as hell and has shit lyrics, "Outcry" is far too long and far too boring -- they honestly ruined this song's good riffs and chorus with another Dream Theater© instrumental section that goes on for about 4 minutes too many. "Breaking All Illusions" has some nice atmosphere (especially with the samples! Use them more often, guys!) but it's also just too damn long.

In conclusion: a solid album, and a nice throwback to that "classic" DT sound (even though they only sounded like that for one album). A couple of awesome songs (especially the ballads) and a couple of real lame ones -- definitely worth a spin if you've got a hankering for more melodic DT stuff.

PS all those long songs = great road trip music

Tempel's "On the Steps of the Tempel"

On the Steps of the Tempel

If you listen to as much metal as me, you probably can agree that the genre has a problem with creativity. I realize that homogeneity is a problem that affects all areas of music (and most other forms of art, come to think of it), but it's always seemed to me that metal music suffers from this more than other genres. While there are countless new bands popping up, a sizable portion of them seem to either be content with occupying - at least to me - already well-explored subgenres (e.g. neo-Thrash bands like Evile, Havoc,  Savage Messiah, etc.), or competing to see who can drive farther off the map of extreme music, which can be seen at different ends of the spectrum in bands like Pig Destroyer, The Black Dahlia Murder, and The Dillinger Escape Plan vs. Soma, Boris, and Sunn 0))).

So in the middle of all this polarity, it's refreshing to see a band like Tempel come up out of the woodwork. On the Steps of the Tempel is their debut album, and it's an excellent of example of how to make music that is supremely heavy without sacrificing hooks or appropriate song lengths. The first track, "Mountain", is eight and a half minutes of chugging riffs that do an excellent job of sucking you in before getting sludgy with the follow-up, "Rising from the Abyss". From here the boys give you some quiet time with "Final Years" before repeating the pattern all over again with the last three tracks.

While the riffs and musicality are deserving of praise here, I'm more impressed with the band's inclusion of quiet, sparse pieces to give you a chance to catch your breath and to give the really crushing tracks like "Avaritia" more punch.

All in all, really solid. Highly recommended.