Smokehouse Grill

With such a cool name, one would expect it to be a kickass hangout place. Well, we fell into the same trap. It was after office, and we thought we would have a nice evening and mind you, the pics of the place are pretty inviting. We reached there and took our seats and the menu literally put me off! Everything was overpriced, there are no happy hours (they charge bloody 350 Rs for a Budweiser pint!), and the food is more fancy than tasty. Plus there aren't many options to eat too! Its a totally pretentious restaurant, with their fancy seats and complimentary bread baskets. We ordered the grilled chicken and it was soo f*ckin* bland that I "had to" order one more beer. Thankfully my company was good which made my evening worthwhile. We finished off the evening at Giani's - another hyped up place which is average. Humphh!  

Evile - Five Serpent's Teeth

Evile has been regarded as potentially one of the best New Wave of Thrash Metal bands that emerged in recent times. Their debut album Enter the Grave was soo f*cking insane! It got the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I heard Thrasher and the title track - Enter the Grave about a year back. It was sooo aggressive and refreshing to hear those insane tremolo laced guitars after quite some time (at least for me). It was like a blitzkrieg on the speakers. I fell in love with the band from their very first song. I started searching more about them when I came across this new term called The New Wave of Thrash Metal and instantly I got introduced to a whole new set of bands which I dint know existed. They include Warbringer, Gamma Bomb, Municipal Waste etc etc. Anyways, from then I started following the scene pretty closely and I'm really excited about the new offerings. It got me nostalgic. I got the same feeling when I heard the old thrash metal bands for the first time.
So coming back to the post, after their debut album - Enter the Grave, came Infected Nations. It was a bit slower and more progressive with most of the songs being longer and the grooves being more melodic than their epic debut album. But, tragedy struck in 2009, when their bassist Mike Alexander died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism! After that tragic loss, they did a couple of shows as a metal requiem to Mike and they were all kickass. You can find the videos on youtube too. Joel Graham joined the band as their new bassist and the show was on the road again thankfully.

Evile released their third album Five Serpent's Teeth a month back (or two months back maybe?). I just got it in my hands yesterday and boy it sounds like a monster!! It starts off with the title track - Five Serpent's Teeth which is an awesome first song for the album! The riffs and the stop start rhythm sections would make your head go in a perpetual motion.It shifts gears towards the second half of the song just before the solo and becomes even more faster than when it began. Ohh and it has an amazing solo! 

In Dreams of Terror is a straight off thrash classic. The opening riffs gives way to this amazing drum section which gives way to this second set of riffs (at 0:34) which will blow your f*cking minds! The solo is again excellent. In fact all the songs have got incredible solos and tight drum sections.

Cult is a bit melodic and slower in tempo than the first two songs. Well, it kinda relaxes you after the initial assault. It has interesting bits but following In Dreams of Terror would always be difficult.

Eternal Empire begins with this eerie vocals and starts off slowly, before picking up the pace! It gets you right back to where you were after In Dreams of Terror. Its kinda like a roller coaster, tempo-wise. It has an awesome ending. The drums go crazy on this one!

Xaraya starts off with this chuga-chuga typical thrashy intro which is pretty cool. Its again a melodic track, bit slower as compared to the others. It has nice harmonies at various junctions through the song before the solo takes control. Its the longest song in this album at 6:04.

Origin of Oblivion and Centurion are typical Evile songs very much similar to the ones they did on Enter the Grave. Fast and aggressive.

In Memoriam is a surprise. It's a slow, gentle ballad dedicated to Mike Alexander. It uses clean guitars and Matt Drake sounds pretty comfortable singing with clean vocals.
[Update]: The opening bass riff used to be played by Mike during sound checks.

Descent into Madness and Long Live New Flesh get you back to the aggressive mood that was there when you started listening to this album. It's a full on thrash metal assault on your ears.

Five Serpent's Teeth, for me, surpasses their previous albums. It's definitely better than Infected Nations and I would say at par (or a tad bit better) with Enter the Grave. All of them sound excellent. Even Matt Drake's vocals seems improved. The drums are pounding away and the guitars are nice and crisp. They do sound similar to the old Metallica sound. That's what everyone's complaining about. But I dont really care. I loved the old school Metallica sound and I love Evile too. In Dreams of Terror, Origin of Oblivion and Eternal Empire are definitely going in my running playlist.

       

The Story of Anvil

With nothing much to do over the weekend and the TV also not helping, I stumbled upon this documentary called - The Story of Anvil. Anvil's a canadian heavy metal band which started waay back in the 1970s and never got their due. Its a heart-aching underdog story of a heavy metal band whose members truly epitomize the metal attitude. Its a struggling tale of Lips and Robb who never give up despite getting sh*t from everyone. The story starts off as them being a quintessential metal band of the 80s with loads of promise but they just die down because of poor management and straight up bad luck. Struggling through 30 years, they still go out in front of meagre crowds and perform just for the love of the music.Its fascinating just to see how positive these guys are and how strong they believe in themselves despite of the things that happened to them. There's this amazing scene where Lips breaks down saying "We are gonna get there. We are gonna f*cking do it. We're gonna be rockstars! Its our f*cking dream. I'm gonna make it come true!" An amazing feel-good inspiring movie.

    

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat was the first 16 bit game that I played waay back when I was a li'l kid. Thanks to my friend Rohit who was a total video game addict at that time, me and Harman were sucked into the vortex along with him. Mortal Kombat was really fun to play. It was pretty realistic for the time. The game used digitized sprites for actors and consequently looked a lot real than their animated counterparts. The blood and violence made it even more fun. I remember Mileena's fatality in which she ate the person and puked out all the bones. Classic!

Over the years, MK had lost its touch. MK2 was the best. MK3 was also good but it was downhill after that. Their 9th installment named Mortal Kombat was showcased at E3 2010 and it left everyone dumbfounded (including me). Their latest offering looked awesome and was gory as hell. I was desperately waiting for it to release. The release was due in April 2011. I had made up my mind to buy it as soon as I reach India. And I did just that. It was shipped last Monday...but I got to play it only yesterday. 

Needless to say, it has delivered its promise. MK fans would be really happy with the latest MK game. It  looks awesome, gameplay is really fast and the controls are pretty cool to work with. It has a story mode, the conventional arcade mode and a challenge mode.

The story mode is pretty interesting. I am playing the story mode for 2 days straight now. It retells the story of the MK trilogy with the player getting to play with all the main characters in the plot. Its truly awesome and really fun to play. You start with being Johnny Cage, move on to Sonya, Scorpion, Cyrax, Liu Kang, Jax, Smoke, Sub-zero, Kitana, Jade, Kung Lao, Stryker, Kabal, Cyber Subzero, Nightwolf and finally Raiden. So you kinda get to play all the characters. The gameplay is pretty fast and you are as good playing with the fists and kicks as with all the super powers. It has this brand new X-Ray move which lets you see the damage on the internal organs and ohh man! its brutal. When you see knives and swords going into the eye sockets, knees and loads of "creative" places, you are bound to cringe. I think the MK guys are a bunch of sadists. I mean the creativity that they have shown to think of such brutal assaults, is a bit shocking. But thats what every MK fan looks for in Mortal Kombat. 

The cut scenes are of the in-game engine itself and hence the story and the fight blends in seamlessly. Although the backgrounds are spectacular, the players look a bit funny at some places...esp the bare chested ones like Liu Kang and Johnny Cage. Other than that, its flawless. Some of the character models like Subzero, Scorpion, Nightwolf and Smoke are brilliantly done. Even Jax looks really cool. The backgrounds are interactive and you will have something or the other moving. 

The sound in the game is mind blowing. When you get hit, you really feel the hit. The character themes also make the atmosphere around pretty cool for fighting. 

This beats all the other MK versions both in all respects, be it story, graphics or gameplay. It is surely gonna win some awards this year.

No one killed Jessica

Ok..when I saw the trailer..I was very interested to watch this movie. I expected it to be all realistic and dark and stuff. Sadly, I was mistaken. They took a serious issue and made it into a bollywood masala crap. Plus, the overacting was too much to bear. Rani Mukherjee was irritating throughout. She cant curse at all! It felt soo fake. Her role was of this hotshot brash journalist who has a doesnt-give-a-damn attitude..but it was all soo cliched. Right from her referring to herself as a b*tch in every line to the random use of the four letter word (f*ck!, f*ck you, shut the f*ck up..etc. etc.)..she couldn't carry it off at all. Vidya Balan was nice though and very natural in her role as a dejected Sabrina. Well, the movie could have been made much much better if they had got in good actors. All the other actors made everything sooo dramatic (except for the 3 guys who were involved in the murder and the police officer). The scene when Jessica's mom cries on hearing the death of her child tops the charts. I was actually laughing when she was "crying". The second half was a drag! Its almost a 3 hour movie!..and it could have been finished soo easily in 1.5 - 2 hrs. Its strictly an OK-ish movie. I wish it would have been less of a Bollywood drama and more of the real stuff.

Rush - Beyond the lighted stage

I hadn't heard much of Rush before. I had only heard the mainstream hits - Working Man, Tom Sayer and YYZ. I liked them but I never seek to listen to them. When these songs came up on my Ipod, I used to take a note and that was that. I never selected these songs to play. While randomly youtubin', I saw Rush - Beyond the lighted stage in the suggestions bar. What caught my fancy was that it was directed by Sam Dunn. I was in love with his previous documentaries - Metal - A headbangers journey and Global Metal. He has a really interesting way of telling a story. Anyways, I started watching it and was captured instantly.

The movie starts off with Neil Peart drumming in the rehearsal room, followed by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson doing their thing. They reach the stage and when the announcer announces their name, Bastille Day kicks off! I had turned up the volume and the song literally burst out of the speakers. I hadn't heard the song before and it was oh-my-god soo awesome. The Robert Plant like vocals, the loud guitars and fierce drums had me gripped. Well, they are a trio, hence, they are automatically cool for me. When I heard their songs previously, I never realized they were a trio! Their songs are decently long. And YYZ is so intricately structured that at first I had thought it was a Dream Theater song. I don't think anyone who hears them for the first time will think they are a trio!

Anyways impressed immensely from the starting few seconds, I saw the entire thing without even taking a break (not even to pee!). Its an awesome story. They have captured the band's journey in a really nice manner. Plus they had this huge lineup of guests like Kirk Hammet, Mike Portnoy, Vinnie Paul, Sebastian Bach and even Jack Black! Jack Black should be there in every rock/metal documentary. He speaks soo passionately about rock and metal that you are bound to fall in love with it.

The movie is very successful in bringing out the awesomeness of the band, something which had not been done till now. No matter how talented these guys were, they never got the commercial success that many other bands (which really suck) enjoy (am looking at you LP!). But Rush weren't looking for commercial success anyways. They just wanted to have fun and do their music and really dint care about what the others thought right throughout their musical journey. Another thing worth noting about them is their humility. There was not a drop of arrogance in them at any point of time. In fact, Neil Peart, when he was at his peak, decided to change his technique with the help of Freddie Gruber and re-invented himself! The fact that someone that huge even thinking that he can improve and needs a change is a big deal. Well, that also explains why they are as good as they are. Its a nice tribute to them. I am now a fan of Neil Peart's drumming, Geddy Lee's vocals and bass and Robert Lifeson's solos. Listen to La Villa Strangiato and be mesmerized with the awesomeness of the band. Every song featured in the movie kicked a*s. I even listened to - Working Man during my run today :) . I would be spending loads of time listening to Rush for sure!

Half Step Down - Overtures in Outer space

I first saw Half Step Down (HSD) at a pub gig @ DV8, CP waay back in 2006 and was instantly a fan. They play a mix of classic rock and blues with some elements of funk. Well, they have a unique sound. They really like to mix and match. Their piano player (Shiv Lamba) adds a different flavour to their songs and really spices up their already tight rhythm sections. Some of their songs have a distinct "Indian" sound to them. Indian rock can be best exemplified by this band. Without going into too much fusion, Half Step Down best characterizes how an "Indian" band sounds like. Anyways, their setlist is usually mix of high energy OCs and covers which normally no other band performs. I have heard them churn out awesome renditions of Jet's - Are you gonna be my girl, STP's - Plush and even Lynyrd Skynrd's Sweet Home Alabama. 

Anyways, they had released their debut album - Overtures in Outer space last year I think. I bought their CD when I went for GIR this year...and I'm really impressed. I'm in love with the title. Overtures in Outer space is a sweet album. Its an awesome mixed bag of songs. 

Working Hour

It starts with a nice catchy bluesy riff before Dhaval comes in with his strong vocals. "Another 9 to 6, thank you very much I'll give that a skip. Donning suits and ties, why do these mornings exist?" Something which we can all relate too..esp on mondays! It has a nice li'l rhythm section in the middle and a catchy chorus.

Not for Sale

After a small slow melodic intro, the rhythm guitar churns out this nice li'l riff which would get your feet tapping. The drums take over and creates this happy happy atmosphere around you. Dhaval voice is amazing...and has a hint of a classical flavour to it. This song has a very "indian" feel to it. The solo and the breakdown sounds reminiscent of Indian ocean. I like it though. Very high energy and a peppy track.

Knocking at the back of my head

It starts off in a really cool manner with the bass going pummm...baaaap...taaaoon waaaon waaaon...pummm baaaap! .. :) .. well its really cool and I had no other way to describe it! I had heard this song loads of time. They play it every time during their gig. Its a nice li'l roller coaster of a song with the pace keeping on changing. Its a fun track..lively and brings a smile to your face.

Girl Not Guitar

"Coz someday I'll be a big big star. And remember baby, that your're just my Girl and not my Guitar!" \m/ .. how cant you like this song! Awesome song to put off your girlfriend when she gets too irritating to handle :)

UKJ-18

The best track on the album for me. Its like a high energy ball. It reminds me of Zero. Really catchy and I swear you cant keep yourself from swaying to the music. It has a nice melodic bluesy solo and the chorus transcends the song to awesome newer levels of...well..awesomeness \m/ 

Circles

Circles is a different track musically. Its..I dunno...it has everything in it. It has elements of electronic, the chorus is full on rock and roll and it has these nice li'l piano interludes in between which gives it a classical touch. Nice mix of everything. 

Roll over

Another peppy, groovy track. The piano kicks in with this awesome melodious fast crescendo of notes before the drums explode and the guitars kick in. Its a fast song and it'll make an awesome song while going for a drive or drinks :). Lyrics wise its a bit cliched. Its a break up song and it has all the elements of it..lies, deceit etc. etc. A nice song though.

Stories of the Sun

Dhaval is simply awesome on this one. Really melodious and has a very Indian rock feel to it. Its a mid tempo song and has an awesome piano solo in the middle before the chorus takes flight with "I'm leaving, I'm going home". Although I never heard this song live, but I think it would sound awesome..esp unplugged. Dhaval has a nice strong voice which really carries this song forward.

Overtures to Outer space

Awesome song to end an awesome album. Its again a roller coaster. Slow verses with a fast crunchy chorus. "Change the world..you got every power in your reach today. Change your way..you just got to find the right notes to play". A message to all those who feel lost in life and are at that helpless li'l phase where they want to quit everything and just leave their lives behind. It has awesome musical sections in between with the guitars and the piano fighting it out. Amazing song.  

Overall, its a nice classic rock album. Something you can sit back and enjoy. It'll make you feel good..its a mood changer. The songs are fun and catchy and I have been listening to it for a week continuously...at work..while sleeping..while driving..and I cant get enough of it. 

The Final Frontier - Iron Maiden

I had pre-ordered the CD on Flipkart long before it got released. This was one album I was desperately waiting for. It finally arrived a few weeks ago and I've been continuously listening to it ever since. After 35 years of metal, they are still going strong. The cover art is brilliant as usual with a nice, mean alien Eddy this time . As the cover suggests, the theme is sci-fi with plenty of songs about venturing into the unknown and flying into space. 

Satellite 15 .. The Final Frontier

The first track is very different from what you expect. It starts with a fast heavy bass line which literally makes your woofers shiver like anything. Nicko McBrain comes in with his drums sounding like a fast approaching train! The guitars come in with shrieks...like a revving engine coming closer and closer..creating a nervous atmosphere. It goes on for quiet sometime before Bruce comes screaming in with "I try to call the Earth's command, desperation in my voice. I'm drifting way off course now, with very little choice..." As soon as the verse ends, everyone comes in again and I swear it'll give you goosebumps. There's this li'l solo and suddenly everything goes silent. The track then explodes with The Final Frontier. Phew! what an intro!! Its soo not expected from Maiden. Usually its just some solid fast riff which opens the album but this time around it was different...good different. The Final Frontier is a nice catchy song...it welcomes the listener and warms him up for the onslaught that is to follow.

El Dorado

This was up for a free download a month back on the maiden website. If the first track was different..the second track is classic Maiden. The galloping bass is soo freakin' awesome...sounds like 50 f*ckin horses coming straight at you! If anyone really wants to know what heavy metal is all about, this song is a perfect example. The opening riff is a nice stop-start guitar with the trademark heavy metal gallop at the background. The verses are low, almost like a sneer, the chorus is high and the solo is a twin guitar attack. This is where maiden is really good at...plain ol' old school metal. Awesome track.

Mother of Mercy

Mother of Mercy is an epic song which anyone can hum along. It sounds great during drives and drinks :). The theme is of war..a theme not new for Iron Maiden (or for that matter any metal band). The song is about soldiers not knowing why they fighting and who they are fighting with. "Why are we here? In this place..here to kill. Please god forgive us for what we've done.".. thats how the verse goes. And when Bruce ends with "I'm a soldier of war"..the chorus punches its way in, destroying everything in its path! Bruce sings with passion in this awesome song.

Coming Home

This is when you sit back and soak up the album. This a slow track..in fact its the ballad of the album. Its a nice slow track with a strong chorus bit which kinda mixes really well with the verses. Just when you think the song is slow..the powerful chorus reminds you that you are still listening to Maiden. It has a very catchy riff which sticks to the back of your mind. The solo is really soulful and melodic.

The Alchemist

This song picks up the pace after the ballad. It takes us back to the quintessential maiden tune... fast..loud..and an immensely catchy chorus. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith start the proceedings with their blissful harmonies. I'd like to compare it with The Trooper (due to the harmonies) but I rather should not. Its everything that characterizes an Iron Maiden song. Short and sweet.

Isle of Avalon

The intro is nice and slow with a crescendo brewing...indicating the track is about to explode! Bruce's voice is so passionate on this track..esp when he sings "Mother Earth you know your time is near".. you cant help but feel the sadness in his voice. The crescendo finally culminates into an explosive chorus when Bruce screams "I can hear you!!..Can you hear me?? I can feel you...Can you feel me??" After that, I swear you cant help but move your head back and forth with those metal horns right up there. Its an epic track. The chorus is excellent on this one. "I hear her crying..the tears of an angel. The voices I hear inside of my head. Blessed the fruits are the corn of the earth..Mother Earth holy blood of the dead." Its soo bad a*s!!

Starblind

The song really takes off with this nice li'l riff at the opening seconds of the song. Its a nice mid-tempo song which has an awesome solo. In fact the song structure is really progressive...with nice smooth tempo changes. Starblind is a powerful song (almost like a power ballad) with Bruce singing at the top of his voice during most parts of the song. It's brutal..esp towards the end, everything slows down and then there's this small crescendo before they all erupt to create this awesome metal experience.

The Talisman

My favorite track of the album. The intro is kinda similar to "The Legacy" from their last album - A Matter of Life and Death. It has an acoustic intro..nice and quiet..yet indicating that something's gonna happen soon. And soon enough..the song breaks into this classic fast, powerful sound that Maiden is soo familiar with. The chorus is soo incredibly catchy with a nice li'l solo which everyone can whistle along. At a li'l over 9 minutes long..this takes you at levels which one can only expect from an Iron Maiden song. Its pure magic.

The Man who would be king

The intro is so graceful with Bruce narrating the story in his most soulful voice. The song weaves in an atmosphere similar to the seventh son album...esp till the chorus. Midway, it suddenly takes a U-Turn. Its crazy..its something inexplicable. I swear..its surreal. Everyone comes along with everything they got. The guitars..the bass..the drums...they all sound incredible. The track comes back to its original pace after this li'l interlude. It ends with a nice slow outro with Bruce singing "Far..far away..the man who would be king" indicating an end to his tale.

When the Wind Blows

This is a 11 minute song..the longest in the album. Its epic..its a magnum opus. This track reminds me of The Nomad or the The Blood Brothers. Its really melodic and it would be awesome listening to it live. The crowd would definitely hum along like they do during Fear of the dark. It has this nice li'l solo which comes in the middle at 5:00..which is soo cool!! Everyone comes together during this last song. During the end at about 9 minutes or so..there's this flash of brilliance again. Its a perfect finale to a monster album.

The Final Frontier is an epic album. I like it better than their last album - A Matter of Life and Death. Although there is no song which beats the classics like The Number of the Beast, The trooper or Hallowed be they name, but collectively, I feel, this album is right up there amongst their greatest. Up the Irons \,,/.. may heavy metal live forever!

The accident and Alan Wake

I was involved in a bike accident last week. It was crazy. I had a bruised fore arm and 8 stitches on my head. Fortunately no bones were broken and nothing major happened (touch wood)...the accident could have been a lot worse. Its a terrible thing to happen. I was kinda in a state of shock for about 2 days esp. during the nights when I used to lay on my bed waiting for sleep to come over. My mind kept racing about the events that happened. I did have a nightmare or two about the whole episode during the course of the week. Anyways I dont wanna talk about it much cuz it kinda brings back the experience to my mind which I really dont wanna go through again.

However, due to the accident, I was stuck at home for a week with absolutely nothing to do but rest. I used to wake up pretty late, have my breakfast in peace, plug in the Xbox and played till lunch. I had got this new game - Alan Wake, which once you start playing, is very difficult to put down. Its a thriller and its awesome. Its written by Sam Lake, the same guy who wrote Max Payne. Its a story driven game with loads of cut-scenes. The game is about an author called Alan Wake who writes thrillers and is facing his worst Writer's block. He is on a vacation with his wife Alice at a quiet li'l place called Bright Falls. Bright Falls is a nice picturesque place during the day. At night, its total nightmare. Anyways, Alice gets kidnapped by a mysterious force called the "darkness". While looking for his wife, Wake gets pulled into this "horror" story of which he has to write his way out. Most of the game takes place in the dark. You are equipped with just a torch and a gun. The torch, apart from showing you the way, serves the purpose of fighting against the Taken - ppl who are possessed by the "Darkness" and out to kill Wake. The Taken cannot attack in the light. The idea is to beam the torch and finish them off with the gun. Over the course, you get cool flares, a flare gun and flash bombs to take out multiple enemies. The best part is the sheer lack of resources and the degree of difficulty while facing your enemies. You cant go boom boom and finish off your enemies because you dont get that much ammo. You need to be accurate and most of the times, run away rather than be Gears of War about the entire thing. Running also does not guarantee safety since Wake gets tired pretty soon and the Taken on the other hand are pretty fast. You can dodge their attacks but you need to time your dodges to perfection. Its a thrill though when you get a successful dodge cuz its turns all cinematic and sh*t.

The presentation and the sound effects are awesome. The entire atmosphere is pretty scary with the Taken creeping up behind you or coming out of the bushes all of a sudden. You actually end up being really edgy while roaming about in the darkness at Bright Falls. You gatta look in all directions. There are some spectacular moments in the game. There's this one "boss" battle kinda thing where you are at this old house of 2 old rock stars who used to play heavy metal in their prime. Suddenly you are faced with an army of the Taken. What comes to the rescue is the pyrotechnics these guys had in their homes. When the pyrotechnics come on, heavy metal music also starts blaring from all sides. You have this amazing background score as you beat the crap out of the army of Taken with these super awesome fireworks all around you. It was sooo badass! Undoubtedly, the best moment in the game for me.

Anyways, over the course of the game, you get manuscripts pages and these TV clippings which give you clues and important pieces of the story. At first you would be tempted to leave them and go on with your objectives but as you play, you realize their importance. I am very keen to play the game once again. Once you finish the game, you get the nightmare mode. I am pretty interested to play the entire thing on the nightmare mode just to see what I missed esp during the first half of the game.
All in all a game which is really gripping and delivers what it promises. Next up, I am dying to buy Red Dead Redemption and/or Prince of Persia - Forgotten Sands.

Iron Man 2

The last movie I saw was 3 Idiots which was quite a long time back. Blame it on my office, my procrastination, the weather or all three at the same time, I just did not go out for a movie...also there wasnt any movie as such which caught my fancy. Iron Man 2 on the other hand was one movie for which I was desperately waiting for. As it is I am a sucker for all superhero movies ever since I was a little kid .
Iron Man..the first part was sooo cool. I remember seeing it in Japan with my friend Sumit and Jain...and it was such a jaw-dropping movie with ultra cool special effects and a nice background score.
Iron Man 2 is awesome too. Its funny, the action sequences are really good...the villain is mean..plenty of stuff to keep you interested. Its not that long a movie. Its short and sweet and never looses pace. Robert Downey Jr. is awesome playing the arrogant billionaire superhero. The movie has lots of funny instances. I was either laughing or was dumb founded as to what was happening. I remember me and Viral saying "Oh bete..", "Oh bhai..." all throughout the movie. A nice way to spend an evening indeed.
The next movie I am waiting for is the last part of the Shrek series. I saw a trailer during the intermission and it looked soo cool. Cant wait!

Cosmic Egg

Wow!..what an awesome album...all bow down to Wolfmother..finally a band which would become a legend in the times to come. I always wanted to really witness a band making it big. Wolfmother came out with their first self-titled album 3 years back and they made everyone sit up and notice with their classic rock sound. They are back with their second album titled - Cosmic Egg. I finally got my hands on one of the copies and was really excited to listen to it...and it didnt let me down at all! Infact they sound better than their old self. The new members are kick-ass and Andrew Stockdale is brilliant as ever! I am just addicted to his voice. Right from the first song till the last one..this album is a masterpiece.

California Queen
The intro riff is so damn awesome! It kinda sounds like a perfect beginning to a First song in an album. The bass kicks in with the drums and you get the feeling of the incoming onslaught. Andrew Stockdale with his "Plant-like" voice starts of the proceedings of this first song. Its definitely more heavy than their previous songs..and for the better. The mid-riff is a dirty li'l awesome piece which would make you stand up raising your li'l metal horns and nod your heads; literally embracing the new band and the song. The new bass guitarist Ian Perres steals the show in this first track.

New Moon Rising
If it was the bassist in the first song, I felt the drummer Dave Atkins takes the credit for this song. Andrew Stockdale is at his best with his vocals on this one. This one is on the lines of Dimesion from their first album. The sudden rushing of the guitars are I think their trademark sound (you never know..they always surprise me with their vareity). I had already listened to this song since its video was released before the album. The lyrics seem to tell about how they want to rise up after being disbanded. A nice listen.

White Feather
The stop time guitars on this one and the bluesy licks make you go crazy. This song is a nice catchy one which makes you relax a bit after the initial onslaught. The lyrics especially the refrain "Its alright now"; I think describes the current state of mind of the band. I dont know maybe I am too fixated with initial band's "disbandment" that I am trying to relate this inside every one of their songs. I was very sad when they disbanded since it was one of the few bands which I looked forward listening to in the coming years. If you have a trio and 2 of them back out; normally you get the feeling that its over..and I am so glad this one isn't.

Sundial
The intro to this one is a nice groovy riff and the keyboards come into the picture adding some serious depth to the intro. An awesome song which would be in the back of my mind constantly. The guitars are nice and chunky and the main riff is really catchy. Its a nice song and would definitely be right up there in your playlist esp during your daaru parties.

In the morning
This one takes things a bit slow. Kinda reminds me of Vagabond from their first album. The difference here being its heavier sound. The third guitarist really adds to the sound of Wolfmother. A nice breather which would make you sit back and raise your horns during the chorus. Its here that you can really see the resemblance between Robert Plant and Andrew Stockdale! The solo is awesome...big thumbs up to this track!

10,000 Feet
This is an epic song with the violins coming into play along with the heavy guitars. The guitars are nice and heavy taking us back to the old school heavy metal era. They are nice and aggressive and the crescendo which starts at the beginning and peaks almost at the end of the track literally makes you want to jump up and crave for more. Andrew Stockdale screaches with his banshee like vocals to end this one.

Cosmic Egg
The intro is a nice fast bluesy lick followed by some loud guitars and drums. Its a groovy li'l track which would make your head go into a perpetual up down motion. There is a solo almost at the last minute of the song which adds to the bluesy-ness of the song. The main riff is soo catchy that it would ring in your ears for the times to come.

Far Away
The ballad song of this album. The acoustic guitars kick in to add sweetness to the sound. Nothing else really..its a nice soft number with a kickass solo and a nice catchy chorus. One of the songs that would end up in mixed tapes/cds that you gift to your girlfriends.

Pilgrim
It picks up the pace of the album and sounds awesome. The drums on this one are really cool. Right in the middle of the song..it changes its tempo and damn that makes you raise those metal horns right up in the air. The solo follows soon and its mayhem all around.

In the castle
The intro takes you back to the Doors era. The misty keyboard sound..and the first words "Do you want to walk into the kingdoms of the sun." makes you look forward to whats in store for you. There's this chunky li'l piece before the track explodes which is soo awesome \m/. It would definitely make you do the "air drums" if not the "air guitar". Full of psychedelic sounds..this track is soo cool..makes you wanna go back to the 70s (not that I have experienced the 70s but I have this perception of the 70s and this song is exactly that!).

Phoenix
Reaching almost towards the end of the album..Phoenix talks about "Rising into the sky" pretty obvious by the name of the track. It has nice li'l segments especially the chorus with Andrew Stockdale wailing like a banshee.

Violence of the Sun
Wow! what a kickass title for a song eh? It begins with a slow rhythmic intro but promising some exciting times ahead in the track. The mid part of the song has some really loud guitar slams which again makes you feel something is in store. The song soons comes to a slow break with Andrew Stockdale literally screaming his lungs out and guitars sound really powerful along with the rolling drums of Dave Atkins. It ends with a nice li'l solo.

Big 10 thumbs up!!

Slumdog Millionaire

My morning was spent in watching Slumdog Millionaire. It was recommended to me by my colleague Ashish san. Anyways Anwarul had already seen it and was constantly raving about it. After last night's party at Syam's place..both me and Anwarul crashed at his place. We got up at like 10 and we had the entire morning with nothing else to do. So we decided to give it a watch. I loved the movie from the first scene itself. What caught my fancy was the unique way of story-telling. The child actors in this movie are excellent. The cinematography is colorful..especially the scenes shot at the Taj Mahal. There is this one scene when the protagonist and his big bro are on a train stealing food from a passenger. The passenger catches them and throws them from the train. When they finally break their fall..they see the Taj Mahal..and one of them goes like "Brother..are we in heaven??!!" And damn it was indeed sooo pretty! Anyways the story revolves around a slum dog called Jamaal who wins 2 crores at KBC. The story begins from cops torturing the protagonist accusing him of cheating. So he sits with them and explains how he had known all the answers. Every answer was weirdly linked to his life. Its an awesome feel-good movie. The dialogues are witty enough to make you chuckle at various moments in the movie...and the plot is gripping. Its a story of love, destiny and also sacrifices. I loved the sacrifices part of the movie. This guy's elder brother although makes his life hell (in a funny sorta way)..but he takes care of his li'l bro..whenever he gets the chance...like a classic elder bro. All in all a fantastic movie..go watch it!..big thumbs up!

Pursuit of Happyness

Since I had a day off from work today..I decided to laze around to the maximum. I have a bunch of movies on my PC which I hadn't seen for various reasons (time being the foremost one). I started with the Will Smith starer "The Pursuit of Happyness.".I really wanted to see it when it got released here..but I never got a company.
Anyways the movie is about a struggling salesman..who struggles every day to make ends meet. Frustrated and helpless he tries very hard to keep his family happy. He has a wife and a 5 year old kid to complicate matters. Anyways, so angry with the situation around the house, his wife leaves him. That's when he kinda hits rock bottom. He is thrown out of his house and his motel room to literally wander the streets with his li'l kid. He decides to join a Stock broker internship programme at a local firm. Despite all odds and everything going against him, he finally gets the job and kinda ends his pursuit for happiness. The story is based on a really person named Chris Gardener. Will Smith and the boy who plays his kid (he's Smith's actual kid too) are awesome in their on-screen presence. The screenplay is really good. You cant help but feel happy for Will Smith at the end when he gets the job and tears well up in his eyes. A really nice movie to lift one's spirits up.