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229 results for “benfuddled”
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"I believe the threat of #AI doesn't come from itself, but from amoral tech executives & befuddled elected leaders unable to create incentives & deterrents that further the well-being of #society. We don’t need an AI pause, we need better business models… & more perp walks." #ScottGalloway #ProfG #TechnoNarcissism #MaleGaze
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#TakingABreakFromFilming
#BringingUpBaby (1938)
While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.#CaryGrant #KatharineHepburn on set
#FilmTwitter 📽️ 🎬 -
Act quickly to secure a spot at this year's Fair Folk Dream Banquet! Fancy food and befuddled guests guaranteed! Buy your ticket now - https://www.dwcon.org/shop/gala-dinner-ticket/
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Far West – a review of the kung-fu western RPG.
I wanted to talk a little about Far West, a RPG set in a Wuxia/Spaghetti Western world. I recently ran a one-shot of it and had a few thoughts.
I’m not going to talk about all of the drama about the Kickstarter and troubled development of the game. If you’re interested in that, you can read about it elsewhere. Basically, it started with a big Kickstarter in 2010, but was repeatedly delayed for over a decade before its release in 2023.
The Basic System
Far West uses their version of the D6 system. If you’ve played West End Games’ Star Wars RPG or the many games that followed in its wake, you’ll know this system.
Basic Task Resolution
- Roll a number of six-sided dice based on how many dice a character has assigned in a particular attribute or skill.
- One die is a Wild Die. If it’s a 6, re-roll Wild Die and add new result to total.
- If it’s a 1, it’s a Critical Failure, which results in a lower roll or a complication (GM’s choice)
You total up the dice for a final result. You’re either trying to equal or exceed a GM assigned difficulty number, or you’re rolling against another character, trying to beat their roll.
LevelNumberAutomatic0Very Easy1-5Easy6-10Moderate11-15Difficult16-20Very Difficult21-25Heroic26-30+Joss
Any doubles (2 dice of the same number) on a roll produces Joss. Higher numbers produce “good” Joss, low numbers produce “bad” Joss. Each would have some effect on the game, based on the GM’s ruling. There really isn’t a lot of guidance about how this would work in practice, and I didn’t really use it during my one-shot. It is considered an optional rule.
Creating Characters
The first thing a GM needs to decide what Rank the players will be – Novice, Initiate, Master, or Legend. This will set the general power level of the game. The choice determines how many dice the players can spend on Attributes and Skills.
Attributes – Players spend dice on Reflexes, Strength, Wits, Toughness, Presence, Knack and Kung Fu
Backgrounds – Players can select and roll randomly on a table to choose a characters background. A background will give a character a attribute and skill bonus.
Occupations – Similar to Backgrounds. Either random or selected, an occupation will provide a bonus to skills.
Skills – All skills are attached to a particular attribute, and start with the die code of the attribute. Players can spend Skill dice to make a particular skill higher.Kung Fu skills (External, Gateway, Internal, and Lightness) are exceptions to these rules. Kung Fu skills start at zero dice. The dice of the Kung Fu attribute are distributed between them. Players cannot spend skill dice to improve them.
Spirit – Characters are assigned Spirit points based on Rank and Attributes. They can be used to activate Aspects, add an extra Wild Die to rolls or reduce damage. Players have Permanent Spirit points, which is the maximum number they can have, and Temporary ones that can rise or fall during games.
Aspects – This is quite similar to aspects in the FATE system. An aspect is a short phrase concerning the character – “Strong as an Ox”, “Hell Rides With Me”. Players start with 4-7 depending on their rank.
Aspects can be tagged by a player when appropriate, and by spending a point of Spirit can add an extra Wild Die to a roll. The GM can compel a characters aspects in a way that will hurt the character, but the character will gain Spirit points if they accept the compel.
A number of example aspects are given, but I’m not sure the whole concept is explained that well. More examples would have helped. I’m a FATE veteran, so it was clear enough for me, but GMs new to the concept might find it a little confusing.
Edges & Flaws – There’s a combined list of Edges – special abilities that can be purchased with Skill dice. There are also Flaws – disadvantages that will give the character extra Skill dice to spend.
Clans – Players choose an allegiance to various secret societies. Joining a society gives the player access to secret fighting styles, skill advantages, and other benefits.Kung Fu Styles
This, I think, is the beating heart of Far West. There’s a long list of fighting styles, each assigned to one of the four Kung Fu skills.
Characters start out with a number of free styles, but need to spend permanent Spirit points to gain any new ones. Learning a new style involves finding a teacher or training manual.
Each style is described in detail, with prerequisites, cost in Spirit to use, and the basic skill to roll with. One of the best things in Far West are the interesting names of all of the various styles which bring to mind the fun of old Shaw Brothers movies. Some of my favorites:
The Bell Resounding: ” wielding of a pair of metal batons…Iron Dragon Masters are said to strike with such a furious flurry of blows that the batons ring like chimes for up to a minute afterward.”
The Great Silence: “With a series of precise touches to specific locations on a target’s body, you are able to render them mute for a period of time”
Eight Compass Way: Firearms can be used not just for attacks, but to defend – literally shooting down incoming bullets
Heaven’s Tailor Style: “You can unfurl a portion of your sleeves or belt or other length of fabric at your opponent, entangling them in elaborate wrappings”Weapons and Cog Science
Weapons
There’s a fairly straightforward list of firearms. No particular flavor here, just a description of the damage and stats of each.
The melee weapons are a bit more interesting. Some are standard – sword, knives, spears etc. There are however, more exotic weapons; war fans, tiger forks, three-section staffs – each with their own special abilities.
Cog Science
Far West has some steampunk elements. There’s a skill called Cog Science that can be used to create, use, and repair strange clockwork and steam-powered gadgets. There’s a short list of various example items – steam cycles, repeating rifles, even a military automaton called a War Drudge.
There are basic rules for creating new devices, though it does require a bit of conversation and negotiation between the player and GM.
Combat
- Combat is in 5 second rounds
- Initiative is by a Wits roll or GM fiat.
- The skills Gunplay, Cog Science, Athletics, or Throwing can be used for various attacks.
- The target number is based on range, cover, and the target’s actions
- The target can try to dodge, parry, or use a Kung-Fu style to defend against attacks.
- If attack succeeds, the attacker rolls the damage dice of the weapon. The target makes a Toughness roll. If the damage roll is higher, the difference is the damage applied.
- The target can be stunned, incapacitated, or killed depending on the amount of damage received.
- There are a good number of optional combat rules – hit locations, grappling, and showdown rules.
The Lore
There’s about fifty pages of lore describing the world. The setting is a wild frontier region to the west of a vast empire (The Righteous Empire) clearly inspired by ancient China. There’s a lot here, perhaps too much. A big detailed setting can sometimes leave GMs and players a bit befuddled about where to start. The weather, religions, architecture, and history of the Far West are all touched upon. It’s all good and imaginative, but learning it all can feel a bit like homework.
I do like that the exact locations of everything aren’t strictly spelled out. There’s lots of room to breathe, so to speak, and to allow a GM to fill in blank areas of the map with whatever they want.
There is a map of the setting, but it’s more suggestive than a strict hexcrawl style map:
Some of my favorite bits:
- Restless City of Semberhane – a settlement carved into a mountain around a vast waterfall.
- Big Sky – A mobile trading settlement constructed onto a giant airship.
- The Dust Road – A secret subculture of martial artists, respected and feared.
- The Dreaming Desert – a vast wasteland infested with Dragons and other serpents. Dragons in this setting are large flightless lizards.
- The Orrery – A construct of brass and silver that can supposedly calculate the motions of the heavens and foretell the future.
Other Stuff
- A short bestiary of “Critters”. None of them are particularly strange or gonzo. Most are ordinary animals.
- A number of character templates that can be used to simplify character creation.
- Random tables for generating adventures, settlements, and encounters.
- A description of wuxia and spaghetti western tropes, along with a list of inspirational works.
- Some basic GM advice on running Far West games.
One of the pages has a character sheet, which can be downloaded from the Far West website. It’s fine, but it has a colored background, and isn’t fillable. I made a printer-friendly, fillable version that can be downloaded here.
Art
The original website and had some awesome art, mostly by Rick Hershey. The images were great mashups of Western, Wuxia, and Steampunk themes. Probably a lot of the initial interest around this game was based on them.
All of the older art appears in the game, but a lot of the newer art seems to be modified photographs. A number of them seems to be photos of regular people – I’m assuming Kickstarter backers.
Conclusion
Far West is a bit of a mixed bag. The setting is amazing – evocative and full of fun adventure hooks. The list of Kung-Fu styles is delightful.
The D6 system is basically fine. Not a bad choice for pulpy game at all. A lot of the stuff added on the system, i.e. Joss & Aspects, feels a little tacked-on to me. I’m not sure how well it meshes with the rest of the system. When I ran my one-shot, I only used aspects a little, and Joss not at all.
In terms of organization, it could use a little work. Sometimes rules are a bit spread out. There is an index, which is appreciated. I’d also love to see more detailed examples of the various rules.
I’d also would’ve liked to see an introductory adventure. There are plot seeds sprinkled throughout the book, but an actual adventure would be far more useful. A few pregens would also help.
Far West, despite its incredibly long development time, weirdly feels a little bit rushed. There are a lot of rules and ideas, but not a lot of organization. It also feels a little over-stuffed, as if the author knew they’d only get one shot at this. That might just be my imagination, but that’s the impression I got.
The Future of Far West
I’m not sure if it has one. In addition to the rulebook, there are only three Far West products available: a collection of short stories, a musical album, and one adventure.
I’d love to see more support for this setting – adventures and setting books full of new kung-fu styles would be lovely. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to happen. The controversy over Far West’s development and mixed reviews upon its release has probably doomed it.
Which is a shame, I think. The setting is so unique and full of promise. I’d love to see someone take another crack at it. Even as it is, if the subject matter sounds at all interesting to you, I’d recommend picking up a copy.
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You better watch out
You better not cryI made this photo in December 2016 on Anchor Road behind @wshed. I feel there is tension and unease from these two children running to or possibly from something while the person in the background looks befuddled or confused.
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows when you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake#Bristol #StreetPhotography #CanPubPhoto #SantaClaus #Christmas
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Towards the Truth review
Towards the Truth was so ignored by iQiyi that it didn’t give it any promotion or even proper English subtitles! While I can understand most of what was said in the drama, the characters do use flowery and poetic language that befuddles me at times, so out comes the translating app. (I’m even thinking of recapping and creating subtitles for this drama so that more people would be able to appreciate this drama.)
All this effort is worth it as it’s a gem of a Chinese drama – an original script, at that! And we should always support actors and productions that have talent so that they get noticed more.
Where to watch: The drama can be found on the iQIYI app, but it has machine-translated subs.
The story
Ten years ago, the entire Shen clan was massacred, leaving only the young Shen Shaowen alive.
Shen Shaowen managed to pass the imperial examination to become an official. But when he begged the emperor for permission to investigate the massacre, he was outplayed by court politics and was demoted to a commoner.
Now an ordinary chef, Shen Shaowen has resigned himself to a lifetime of bitterness, unable to find out what happened to his clan. However, he possesses a special ability that makes him especially equipped to be a great detective, and mysterious, powerful figures want to tap into that power.
Characters
Shen Shaowen (Wang You Shou): A former official demoted to ordinary cook, Shen Shaowen has special abilities that makes him an extraordinary investigator.
Gongsun Li (Zhang Chen Xiao): Son of the minister of revenue, he gets involved with Shen Shaowen due to a mystery involving the minsitry.
Li Qin Er (Jin Jia Yue): A mysterious woman who forcibly recruits Shen Shaowen to work for her master. She has the ability to entrance people.
Zhan Mao Er: A bandit who eventually gets involved with Shen Shaowen’s little detective outfit.
Old Li/Lao Li (Natas Asoka): A constable who took in Shen Shaowen when he was at his lowest.
Rong Hua (Liang Yong Ni): A princess who likes solving mysteries.
What I liked
- The acting is solid, especially Wang You Shou and Natas Asoka’s. Wang was recently in The Legend of Taotie. Natas’ acting was especially good to me, because he played multiple roles that were so different from each other that I couldn’t figure out the third role he played until after!
- For a low budget drama, it didn’t have a “cheap” look or feel at all. In fact, I’d say the camerawork and costuming is better than some expensive dramas like 2024’s Sword and Fairy, for example. They make do with what they have in creative ways.
- The team dynamics is good. Every character is memorable.
- Shen Shaowen’s character is fascinating, especially his mysterious abilities.
What I didn’t like
- The plot feels rushed and skimmed over.
- Some plot points are not logical.
- There are still unanswered questions … a possibility of a second season, though I highly doubt it will happen. The drama, however, ends satisfactorily, so no cliffhangers.
- The BL elements were rather obvious and the foundation wasn’t properly laid out for me to truly appreciate the “coupling” of Shen Shaowen and Gongsun Li. Just why was Gonsun so into Shen Shaowen?
- Gongsun Li doesn’t really have much of a function in the team. A scared-y cat and no detective skills to speak of, I suppose his ability is his connections to the nobility and his purse strings.
Final thoughts
Once in a while, there comes a drama where you think to yourself: If there was more justice in the world, and if the Chinese entertainment industry wasn’t so driven by traffic stars, capitalists and corrupt producers, the drama would’ve gotten more exposure.
Of course, we won’t know exactly why Towards the Truth was treated so badly, bereft of promotion or funds that even its machine-translated subs couldn’t pass muster. Meanwhile, you side-eye big-budget dramas starring idol actors who are pretty but bad at acting gobbling up the good scripts.
(I know I sound bitter, but as a long-time Chinese drama fan since the 1980s, I 100% am.)
Towards the Truth has flaws. Big flaws. But it’s an earnest production, an original script in a sea of clumsy web novel adaptations. Its main lead Wang You Shou reminds me so much of Liu Xueyi, an actor who have heaps of acting talent but lack the resources and backers to land good scripts and big-budget dramas. So, he languishes in low-budget dramas with bad scripts. Sigh!
However, Wang You Shou being the main lead of many dramas is a good sign, and the fact that he’s one of the main leads for Douban highly-rated sleeper hit dramas such Young Blood I (7.8 rating) and II (7.8 rating) gives me hope that he’ll one day snag that big break. May he get a Blossom one day!
Anyway, back to the script and story of the drama. Towards the Truth has a script that gets almost good enough … but falls short.
If it had been a little bit more polished, and better fleshed out, I can easily see it joining the ranks of underrated classics like Ancient Detective and the 2024 drama Heroes.
This is one of the rare dramas that I wished they had bumped up to at least 24 episodes so that we could get more depth.
And that’s what frustrates me about Towards the Truth. There is such potential in the story if only it was better fleshed out. And while the drama ended satisfyingly with no cliffhangers, I was hungry for more of Shen Shaowen and his fellow sleuthers.
While they left the possibility of season 2 open, seeing what happened to Ancient Detective, I doubt it’ll ever happen. Sigh.
Sometimes Shen Shaowen’s abilities manifests without warning.For one, Shen Shaowen’s clairvoyant abilities have so many possibilities, but so much of it is skimmed over due to the slim number of episodes (16 in all).
Click this sentence to reveal spoilers about Shen Shaowen’s abilitiesif there’s one thing I liked about his abilities, is that the writers placed limitations on it. Each time he uses his abilities, he gets physically weaker and may end up losing his mind. This prevents his abilities from being a convenient deus ex machina in solving mysteries.
In fact, so serious was his limitation that he tells Zhan Mao’er to be his “sword”, not just when solving cases, but on that day when he finally loses himself completely. He actually makes Zhan Mao’er promise to kill him if that happens, and Zhan promises somberly that he’d be the one to do so. This is how you write “realistic” powers in a drama!
Another thing I liked about the drama is that the team has excellent chemistry. However, due to the speedy gonzalez nature of its plot, they went from being hostile and suspicious to each other to being best buds in just a few episodes. (In Gongsun Li’s case, something more? hahaha)
The team could use a lot more conflict before finally solidifying into a team, just like how the Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty team did.
And some of the plot points was a little unbelievable, so it’s pretty hard to take mysteries seriously sometimes.
So, here’s how I rate the drama, with 8 being above average, and 7 being average.
- Camerawork: 8
- Sets and costumes: 8
- Acting: 8
- Story: 7
Final rating: 2.5
#25Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #Fantasy #Mystery #TowardsTheTruth #TV #underrated
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Here in the year of our befuddlement 2024, people still send emails with fewer than five (5) exclamation points. Why? Why?!?!?!?!
Life is this *waves at it all*
At least give us some exclamation points!!!
#emailEtiquette #writingTips #showMeYourExcitement #chokeTheInboxWithExclaimationPoints
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Here in the year of our befuddlement 2024, people still send emails with fewer than five (5) exclamation points. Why? Why?!?!?!?!
Life is this *waves at it all*
At least give us some exclamation points!!!
#emailEtiquette #writingTips #showMeYourExcitement #chokeTheInboxWithExclaimationPoints
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Here in the year of our befuddlement 2024, people still send emails with fewer than five (5) exclamation points. Why? Why?!?!?!?!
Life is this *waves at it all*
At least give us some exclamation points!!!
#emailEtiquette #writingTips #showMeYourExcitement #chokeTheInboxWithExclaimationPoints
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Here in the year of our befuddlement 2024, people still send emails with fewer than five (5) exclamation points. Why? Why?!?!?!?!
Life is this *waves at it all*
At least give us some exclamation points!!!
#emailEtiquette #writingTips #showMeYourExcitement #chokeTheInboxWithExclaimationPoints
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With Biden Out, Will Media Notice That Trump Is Befuddled And Deluded And A Gigantic Asshole?
https://www.nationalmemo.com/trump-s-mental-decline#Project2025 #NeverAgainTrump #VoteBlue #TrumpMustLose2024 #NoRepublicans2024 #VoteBlueToSaveDemocracy #DonaldTrump
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(continued from /16)
" — a befuddled President Trump, feebly trying to square the difference between the real world reports from Orgeon’s governor on a peaceful Portland and the propaganda he’d been fed before announcing a plan to send troops to the city he described as 'War ravaged'”
#Trump #fascism #authoritarianism #Epstein #military #PoliticsofDistraction #PoliticsofTheater
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Man who struggles with inappropriate feelings whilst in the children's section of local public library also befuddled by trans woman speaking at local community college on International Women's Day. 🙄
#TransRights #WomensDay #Swope #LewisCountyWA #CentraliaCollege #college
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Okay, let's try this
#TwoThingsCanBeTrue (Rust Edition):
a) Rust's lifetime syntax is the ugliest thing I've ever seen in a programming language. I mean, really? A singular quotation mark followed by a single letter, almost always encased in brackets? Horrible.
b) I don't think I've ever encountered a programming feature that matches the elegance of Rust's pattern matching expressions. The fact that they requires exhaustiveness checking at compile time. That they can destructure data, bind values to variables, and use conditional guards. Amazing for handling with optional values. I wish every language could have it.
Ooh, I like this. Is there already an equivalent to a #OppositeFeelings or #TwoThingsCanBeTrue tag that I should follow?
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By Kenstrosity
Long time readers understand that I like damn near any kind of metal. If it’s got heavily distorted guitars and big, bloodied hooks, I’m on board. My eclecticism inside the metalverse affords me a rare kind of versatility when it comes to review duties, too. Anything that falls into my lap has a chance to get a proper sponge bath. However, sometimes a band does a bunch of stuff that I normally enjoy and yet, my enthusiasm falters. Most of the time, that’s a simple conflict. I just don’t like the songs, even if I like the format. That, dear readers, is precisely the case for German “wedon’tgiveafuckmetal”1 outfit Soulbound and their fourth LP, obsYdian.
Does anybody remember Powerman 5000? I do. They had some straight-up bangers in their time, like “When Worlds Collide” and “Bombshell.” Sadly, their legacy is one of pure novelty and nostalgia. Undeterred by such circumstances, Soulbound cut their sound from the same cloth, interweaving pop metal elements reminiscent of Amaranthe; creepy gothic industrial rock similar to some of Marilyn Manson’s work; and stompy riffs and a genuinely vicious scream pulled straight from the Static-X playbook. With obsYdian, Soulbound integrated a new, updated thread of synthwave influence into their Eurovision-ready bops, which happens to be a major draw for this reviewer in 2024. And yet, obsYdian still grinds my gears.
Frustration floods my system every time I spin obsYdian. From the start of its overlong instrumental intro to a bizarre two-part closer, Soulbound make questionable choices that keep me listening almost entirely out of morbid curiosity. Starting off with a powerful dose of cringe, opener “Burn” serenades my inner angsty teen with shouts of “BURN, MOTHERFUCKER” against a backdrop of base chuggery. In fact, “motherfucker” features an egregious number of times for a band claiming to give no fucks to begin with. Other missteps include “Lioness,” which I hypothesize speaks on struggling with mental illness, heartbreak, or uncontrolled drug use. Any one of those holds potential for a great theme, but “Lioness” kicks off on a confusing note—a howling wolf—and further befuddles with chorus lyrics that muddle the message beyond easy deduction. Outside of those memorably unfortunate moments in the first half, the bulk of obsYdian fails to make any impression one way or the other. Inoffensive tracks like “Insane” and “Isolate” fight hard for my attention with superficially hooky licks and aggressive bounce. Yet, I remain wholly unmoved. Finally, I reach a real head-scratcher with obsYdian’s bewildering closing duo. “Remain (Part 1),” an ill-fated, three-minute, sappy sadboi ballad, wasn’t the best choice for a late album tuck-in to start with, but Soulbound paired it with a truly puzzling consort: “Remain (Part 2).” After “(Part 1)” ends, “(Part 2)” reprises the main theme of “(Part 1),” at half-time, with orchestral bombast, ad nauseam for a whopping seven minutes of mind-numbing buzzkillery. What the hell is even that?
In all fairness, Soulbound do know their way around a sharp hook once they find one. Top selections like the synthwave worshipping “Forever in the Dark,” the anthemic “Saint Sinner,” and the dance party-ready “Paralyzed” might be cheesy and somewhat oversimplified, but they get my head bobbing and I can’t help but hum each one absentmindedly while out and about. On the sonic front, Soulbound’s shift into synthwave territory suits their particular use of melody wonderfully, especially compared to the more industrial crunch of past records. I hope they capitalize on that further going forward. However, the increased volume of moody ballads like “Heartless” in the back half significantly brings the album’s energy down—enough to discourage replays. My suggestion would be to either revisit and develop those ballads into incontrovertibly captivating showstoppers, or cut them entirely in exchange for one or two more infectious bops like “Forever in the Dark” and “Paralyzed” instead.
Soulbound adopted a sonic palette and a poppy songwriting approach that should’ve wholly resonated with me. It checks a lot of my more superficial boxes. However, I’ve been listening to this kind of music for decades now, and demand more hype and substance than what obsYdian offered. Ultimately, I’m hard-pressed to recommend all but a scant three songs to this readership, and even those come with caveats. That said, you’ll hear no judgment from me should you like Soulbound more than I. It’s just not for me.
Rating: Bad.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Metalville
Website: facebook.com/MusicSoulbound
Releases Worldwide: July 26th, 2024#15 #2024 #Amaranthe #ElectronicMetal #GermanMetal #GothicMetal #IndustrialMetal #Jul24 #MarilynManson #Metalville #obsYdian #PopMetal #Powerman5000 #Review #Reviews #Soulbound #StaticX #Synthwave
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By Kenstrosity
Long time readers understand that I like damn near any kind of metal. If it’s got heavily distorted guitars and big, bloodied hooks, I’m on board. My eclecticism inside the metalverse affords me a rare kind of versatility when it comes to review duties, too. Anything that falls into my lap has a chance to get a proper sponge bath. However, sometimes a band does a bunch of stuff that I normally enjoy and yet, my enthusiasm falters. Most of the time, that’s a simple conflict. I just don’t like the songs, even if I like the format. That, dear readers, is precisely the case for German “wedon’tgiveafuckmetal”1 outfit Soulbound and their fourth LP, obsYdian.
Does anybody remember Powerman 5000? I do. They had some straight-up bangers in their time, like “When Worlds Collide” and “Bombshell.” Sadly, their legacy is one of pure novelty and nostalgia. Undeterred by such circumstances, Soulbound cut their sound from the same cloth, interweaving pop metal elements reminiscent of Amaranthe; creepy gothic industrial rock similar to some of Marilyn Manson’s work; and stompy riffs and a genuinely vicious scream pulled straight from the Static-X playbook. With obsYdian, Soulbound integrated a new, updated thread of synthwave influence into their Eurovision-ready bops, which happens to be a major draw for this reviewer in 2024. And yet, obsYdian still grinds my gears.
Frustration floods my system every time I spin obsYdian. From the start of its overlong instrumental intro to a bizarre two-part closer, Soulbound make questionable choices that keep me listening almost entirely out of morbid curiosity. Starting off with a powerful dose of cringe, opener “Burn” serenades my inner angsty teen with shouts of “BURN, MOTHERFUCKER” against a backdrop of base chuggery. In fact, “motherfucker” features an egregious number of times for a band claiming to give no fucks to begin with. Other missteps include “Lioness,” which I hypothesize speaks on struggling with mental illness, heartbreak, or uncontrolled drug use. Any one of those holds potential for a great theme, but “Lioness” kicks off on a confusing note—a howling wolf—and further befuddles with chorus lyrics that muddle the message beyond easy deduction. Outside of those memorably unfortunate moments in the first half, the bulk of obsYdian fails to make any impression one way or the other. Inoffensive tracks like “Insane” and “Isolate” fight hard for my attention with superficially hooky licks and aggressive bounce. Yet, I remain wholly unmoved. Finally, I reach a real head-scratcher with obsYdian’s bewildering closing duo. “Remain (Part 1),” an ill-fated, three-minute, sappy sadboi ballad, wasn’t the best choice for a late album tuck-in to start with, but Soulbound paired it with a truly puzzling consort: “Remain (Part 2).” After “(Part 1)” ends, “(Part 2)” reprises the main theme of “(Part 1),” at half-time, with orchestral bombast, ad nauseam for a whopping seven minutes of mind-numbing buzzkillery. What the hell is even that?
In all fairness, Soulbound do know their way around a sharp hook once they find one. Top selections like the synthwave worshipping “Forever in the Dark,” the anthemic “Saint Sinner,” and the dance party-ready “Paralyzed” might be cheesy and somewhat oversimplified, but they get my head bobbing and I can’t help but hum each one absentmindedly while out and about. On the sonic front, Soulbound’s shift into synthwave territory suits their particular use of melody wonderfully, especially compared to the more industrial crunch of past records. I hope they capitalize on that further going forward. However, the increased volume of moody ballads like “Heartless” in the back half significantly brings the album’s energy down—enough to discourage replays. My suggestion would be to either revisit and develop those ballads into incontrovertibly captivating showstoppers, or cut them entirely in exchange for one or two more infectious bops like “Forever in the Dark” and “Paralyzed” instead.
Soulbound adopted a sonic palette and a poppy songwriting approach that should’ve wholly resonated with me. It checks a lot of my more superficial boxes. However, I’ve been listening to this kind of music for decades now, and demand more hype and substance than what obsYdian offered. Ultimately, I’m hard-pressed to recommend all but a scant three songs to this readership, and even those come with caveats. That said, you’ll hear no judgment from me should you like Soulbound more than I. It’s just not for me.
Rating: Bad.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Metalville
Website: facebook.com/MusicSoulbound
Releases Worldwide: July 26th, 2024#15 #2024 #Amaranthe #ElectronicMetal #GermanMetal #GothicMetal #IndustrialMetal #Jul24 #MarilynManson #Metalville #obsYdian #PopMetal #Powerman5000 #Review #Reviews #Soulbound #StaticX #Synthwave
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🇩🇪 Mark Twain embarks on a comedic quest to befuddle Germans with his unique brand of "Deutsch," so rare it deserves a museum exhibit. 📚 After Herculean effort, his German might be less 'language' and more 'avant-garde art piece'—finally something the Germans can't categorize! 🎨
https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/texts/twain.german.html #MarkTwainComedy #DeutschQuest #LanguageArt #AvantGarde #Germany #HackerNews #ngated -
NRC Won't Achieve A Thing In Manipur. Just Look At Assam
In Manipur, where villages have turned into rubble and thousands of ancestral homes reduced to ashes, it befuddles me how anyone could imagine producing documents or proving family links in the midst of anarchy. It befuddles me more what sort of peace can be achieved by disenfranchising communities, instead of demanding justice for the dead, writes Makepiece Sitlhou.
#manipur #ManipurUnrest #NRC #HumanRights #assam #displacement #meiteis #kukis #zomis #NorthEast #UnionGovt #india
https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/nrc-wont-achieve-a-thing-in-manipur-just-look-at-assam-4161266
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NRC Won't Achieve A Thing In Manipur. Just Look At Assam
In Manipur, where villages have turned into rubble and thousands of ancestral homes reduced to ashes, it befuddles me how anyone could imagine producing documents or proving family links in the midst of anarchy. It befuddles me more what sort of peace can be achieved by disenfranchising communities, instead of demanding justice for the dead, writes Makepiece Sitlhou.
#manipur #ManipurUnrest #NRC #HumanRights #assam #displacement #meiteis #kukis #zomis #NorthEast #UnionGovt #india
https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/nrc-wont-achieve-a-thing-in-manipur-just-look-at-assam-4161266
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NRC Won't Achieve A Thing In Manipur. Just Look At Assam
In Manipur, where villages have turned into rubble and thousands of ancestral homes reduced to ashes, it befuddles me how anyone could imagine producing documents or proving family links in the midst of anarchy. It befuddles me more what sort of peace can be achieved by disenfranchising communities, instead of demanding justice for the dead, writes Makepiece Sitlhou.
#manipur #ManipurUnrest #NRC #HumanRights #assam #displacement #meiteis #kukis #zomis #NorthEast #UnionGovt #india
https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/nrc-wont-achieve-a-thing-in-manipur-just-look-at-assam-4161266
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NRC Won't Achieve A Thing In Manipur. Just Look At Assam
In Manipur, where villages have turned into rubble and thousands of ancestral homes reduced to ashes, it befuddles me how anyone could imagine producing documents or proving family links in the midst of anarchy. It befuddles me more what sort of peace can be achieved by disenfranchising communities, instead of demanding justice for the dead, writes Makepiece Sitlhou.
#manipur #ManipurUnrest #NRC #HumanRights #assam #displacement #meiteis #kukis #zomis #NorthEast #UnionGovt #india
https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/nrc-wont-achieve-a-thing-in-manipur-just-look-at-assam-4161266
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As-tu déjà utilisé les vidéos de @benfiddle pour apprendre du répertoire en violon irlandais ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjLTrRDisps
C'est agréable, sobre et accessible : le morceau puis le morceau au ralenti en boucle, en accélérant très progressivement.[et comme tu sais, c'est mieux d'utiliser https://freetubeapp.io/ pour lire YT]
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As-tu déjà utilisé les vidéos de @benfiddle pour apprendre du répertoire en violon irlandais ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjLTrRDisps
C'est agréable, sobre et accessible : le morceau puis le morceau au ralenti en boucle, en accélérant très progressivement.[et comme tu sais, c'est mieux d'utiliser https://freetubeapp.io/ pour lire YT]
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As-tu déjà utilisé les vidéos de @benfiddle pour apprendre du répertoire en violon irlandais ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjLTrRDisps
C'est agréable, sobre et accessible : le morceau puis le morceau au ralenti en boucle, en accélérant très progressivement.[et comme tu sais, c'est mieux d'utiliser https://freetubeapp.io/ pour lire YT]
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As-tu déjà utilisé les vidéos de @benfiddle pour apprendre du répertoire en violon irlandais ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjLTrRDisps
C'est agréable, sobre et accessible : le morceau puis le morceau au ralenti en boucle, en accélérant très progressivement.[et comme tu sais, c'est mieux d'utiliser https://freetubeapp.io/ pour lire YT]
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Seeing support for Indi alliance PM is befuddled: Rathod.
https://aliyesha.com/sub/articles/news/display/hp_support_indi_alliance_pm_befuddled
#himachal #dharamshala #india #news #press #politics #election2024 #elections2024 #loksabhaelections #loksabhaelections2024 #congress #bjp #modi #pmmodi #indialliance #inflation #rahulgandhi #BharatJodoYatra #manipur
Enjoy tracker free news reading with us. #privacy #privacymatters -
By Mystikus Hugebeard
When I happened across one of the singles for Adon, I recall thinking it sounded, quote, “impossibly good.” Adon formed in 2019 and has thus far released one EP, Arkane, in 2020. They currently maintain a humble online presence; unsurprising for a relatively new band, but from what I’d heard I couldn’t help but believe they deserved better. When I got the chance to review their self-titled debut I felt excited at the prospect of potentially helping their following grow… but that depends on the music, doesn’t it? And so I dug in, hoping the potential I saw in their pre-release material would be realized.
Turns out that potential was realized, and more. Listening to Adon is like falling into a black hole that’s actually a meat grinder; this is a densely textured album of cosmic scope with a heaviness that strikes with the force of a supernova. Adon plays a kind of extreme black metal that inhabits a singularity between Darkspace, Behemoth, and Decapitated. Atmospheric layers of black metal tremolos, vocal fills, and trilling flutes flank the vitriolic riffs, creating a genuine sense of depth. However, Adon never lose themselves in a cosmic haze, instead keeping the music grounded in accessible yet subtly complex black metal aggression. “Ascension” wastes no time introducing you to the Adon assault: a wall of anguished growls and piercing guitars try to drown an emerging riff that escalates into a skull-splitting onslaught. Adon is the complete package; the musicianship is top-notch—Decapitated’s James Stewart kills it on drums, Argonath is a fierce guitarist, and I love Æthulwulf II’s unhinged vocals—the songwriting is mature, and the production keeps the guitars brutally heavy without ever smothering the music’s nuances.
There’s plenty to like about Adon at face value, but for me, the true appeal lies in the palpable atmosphere of madness. Like voices in your head, the penetrative layers of growls and tremolos floating above the riffs invade your mind, coagulating into an unshakeable feeling of slowly going mad—until the white noise suddenly drops, and your focus zeroes in on the guitars. It’s an exciting give and take, and is prevalent throughout the album’s shorter tracks. “Æther” and “Azimuth” utilize this through old-school black metal verses leading into heavier, death metal choruses. “Axiom” is a more straightforward slab of hateful black metal, dispersing the noise for a muscular bridge and the album’s best guitar solo courtesy of Warscythe’s Justin Sakogawa. The cosmic scale of Adon is most felt during the ten-plus minute epics. The discordant downward spiral of “Æon” and the energetic battle between cacophonous flutes and guitar riffs—including a badass guest performance by Fallujah’s Kyle Schaefer—in “Adon” drag you into a tangible musical void, before building back heavensward with massive riffs whose clarity contrasts the chaos of each song’s first half. A descent into madness, a search for knowledge, the emergence of something different entirely; Adon’s themes all come together here, and they are clear highlights.
There’s one point in “Adon” where I first noticed a crack in Adon’s firmament. The recurring motif of swirling flutes (courtesy of Ember Belladonna) giving way to intense riffs nails the desired effect—light and dark, knowledge and nothingness—as a fast-paced alternating decrescendo or as a swampy ambiance of horror flutes and guitars. The theming is lost when a funeral doom riff bursts into a bright dance between flutes and notably progressive guitars, before switching back again; these ideas feel awkward when sandwiched together due to their length. This section befuddled me, and I began to notice other cracks; the clean guitar ending of “Æther” feels slightly out of place, “Æon” fades out too fast after such an effective build-up, and the chorus in “Azimuth” sounds cluttered when mixed with the guitar solo. Despite everything, I struggle to glean any underlying pattern of incompetence in Adon; rather, they’re isolated mistakes earnestly committed by artists close to their art, and their infrequence can’t help but accentuate them. Fortunately, there’s nothing minor edits couldn’t fix, but that only makes their existence sting all the greater.
Even with some wrinkles to iron out, Adon is a stupidly good debut. When I set out to review Adon, I hoped that I could, in some small way, act as a catalyst for the success and recognition that Adon deserves, but I’ve realized that I overestimated my own importance in this equation. Adon is a self-assured release whose quality speaks for itself, and Adon is destined for remarkable things regardless of my help.
Rating: Very Good!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Self-Release
Websites: adon.bandcamp | adon.facebook
Releases Worldwide: April 12th, 2024#2024 #35 #Adon #AmericanMetal #Apr24 #Behemoth #BlackMetal #Darkspace #DeathMetal #Decapitated #EmberBelladonna #ExtremeMetal #Fallujah #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Warscythe
