"Enough is Enough, it's time for a change"- Owen Hart
These were the words that echoed in my head as I hung up my cell after a good talk with Pastor Sammy Cuevas tonight. Change is really needed in my life and I look forward to it.
I would like to thank Awakening Church for helping me in nurturing a spiritual rehab in my life. Before fellowshipping with them, I was becoming a mess. Looking for relationships, disappointed at all the flakers that never supported me in a single damn show, seeing my finances kind of go haywire to even my self-esteem going back and forth. My faith in my own fellow brethren in Christ was slowly fading as well, given that I started to see how hypocritical and phony a lot of Christians really were. I witnessed one of my best friends get judged and sent to hell with pink drawers in a handbasket meanwhile he's trying to find truth and God in the midst of the madness he's enduring. I also found myself spiritually burned out, hanging on to simply the name above all names and hanging onto my soul in the process. You get tired of pleasing everyone. You get tired of also not pleasing anyone. Damned if you do or don't. No one could understand that (that I knew/know of).
As time passed, Awakening helped me come to my spiritual senses and remember that some people can easily be pleased and some people simply will never be won over. In the process, though, you do what is best for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your love for God and/or whatever you believe in and for the purpose of doing what, in the end, will matter to you. Ladies come and go, friends come and go. Hell, in some cases, even family come and go but your own being always remains. IF you believe in any deity, then God and yourself are the only two things that matter. You just can't show full love to others if you can't love yourself. Thankfully, that's something I'm learning to do and I'm enjoying it very much.
Blogs by Ron Gunz
7.19.2010
7.12.2010
Star-Crossed Wasteland review
Hey readers, I'm just here putting up my review of In This Moment's release of their new album, A Star-Crossed Wasteland. Believe me, I felt like the beginning was a lot like a wasteland. It kicks off with The Gun Show. I didn't think they could write bad lyrics but wow, I'm proven wrong. I'm glad they pulled off one song without any clean vocals. That's admirable since they've never pulled that off. As far as riffs and stuff, it feels overproduced. The lead guitar is so buried underneath the rhythm that you're lucky if you hear anything. The bass is about as near-inaudible as back in Metallica's ...And Justice For All album. Come on, cowboy (That's literally a lyric from the song). The Blondie cover was enough, we didn't need a metalcore version that has more breakdowns than Devil Wears Prada. Just Drive gives it that, "now this album is starting". Definitely has "Rock Band downloadable" written all over it. They basically jump back to a melodic metalcore sound and it sounds pretty nice, especially with the cool acoustic parts thrown in between. The lead guitar finally breathes. The bass is still near-inaudible.
I really like The Promise. It reminds you a bit of The Dream album in terms of the balance of aggression and melody. In this song, there's male vocals assisting and he sounds pretty damn good. Adian Patrick from Otherwise reminds me of Donald Carpenter from Submersed/Eye Empire. There's some scream/sing crossovers between them as in some parts Maria will scream and he'll sing and in others he screams and Maria sings. He gives a refreshing touch to their music. No solo here but this new dynamic is pretty satisfying to me.
Standing Alone is a cool song. Nice drum dynamics and Maria once again shows her prowess in switching between screaming and singing. The lead guitar lines begin to shimmer here. This will definitely be a crowd-pleaser at live shows. I think the only old song they have that this reminds me of at least is Lost At Sea from The Dream album, another ITM fave of mine.
The title track's beginning gives me that Evanescence vibe in a cool way. The piano has a haunting touch to it and love how the bass finally begins to show itself a bit and the buildup of musical dynamics. I like the teamwork that stands out between the guitars and drums in this song.
Blazin's intro almost reminds me of an intro from one of their old songs. It has a dirty vibe. Then they jet the adrenaline up with some pure metal. The mixdown on this song is just bad though. Guitar one top, drums underneath, vocals underneath drums and the bass? Is it even there? If you can look past that, you have a song reminiscent of Violet Skies from the Dream album, only more aggressive and with a nice guitar solo.
The Road is yet another melodic metal song with more male backup vocals. I think the addition of male vocals in ITM's music gives it a refreshing touch. The guitar solo here really stands out as something different from past guitar solos. It's also great to see ITM get in touch with their progressive side here. The ending is pretty kickass.
Iron Army sounds like something Killswitch Engage and In This Moment would've written together for a movie soundtrack. Maria's screaming really stands out good here. The guitars at times remind me of a motorcycle revving, which is pretty cool.
The Last Cowboy sounds like something Disciple would've written sometime between their Scars Remain and Southern Hospitality albums. Its biggest strength here is melody. Maria goes for a spoken word approach on the verses. The closest we ever got to witnessing that was Whispers of October and Rabbit Hole from ITM's last two albums.
World in Flames closes this album out The last time they wrote a ballad like this one was Dying Star and Into the Light. It has a pretty nice feel to it.
One thing I'd like to note is how both the lead guitarist and the drummer have shown growth over time. If you wanna talk about musicianship, Star-Crossed Wasteland, in some of their songs, really set the standard. In terms of being an album, it feels a bit disjointed. The Gun Show is one of those reasons. It feels like they fell into the singles trap. Lyrically, The Dream is still the album to beat. The Gun Show and The Last Cowboy just left a bad taste in my ears. Put in a better way, at least it didn't suck like Bullet For My Valentine's The Fever. That album was worse than Metallica's Load and Reload combined.
I really like The Promise. It reminds you a bit of The Dream album in terms of the balance of aggression and melody. In this song, there's male vocals assisting and he sounds pretty damn good. Adian Patrick from Otherwise reminds me of Donald Carpenter from Submersed/Eye Empire. There's some scream/sing crossovers between them as in some parts Maria will scream and he'll sing and in others he screams and Maria sings. He gives a refreshing touch to their music. No solo here but this new dynamic is pretty satisfying to me.
Standing Alone is a cool song. Nice drum dynamics and Maria once again shows her prowess in switching between screaming and singing. The lead guitar lines begin to shimmer here. This will definitely be a crowd-pleaser at live shows. I think the only old song they have that this reminds me of at least is Lost At Sea from The Dream album, another ITM fave of mine.
The title track's beginning gives me that Evanescence vibe in a cool way. The piano has a haunting touch to it and love how the bass finally begins to show itself a bit and the buildup of musical dynamics. I like the teamwork that stands out between the guitars and drums in this song.
Blazin's intro almost reminds me of an intro from one of their old songs. It has a dirty vibe. Then they jet the adrenaline up with some pure metal. The mixdown on this song is just bad though. Guitar one top, drums underneath, vocals underneath drums and the bass? Is it even there? If you can look past that, you have a song reminiscent of Violet Skies from the Dream album, only more aggressive and with a nice guitar solo.
The Road is yet another melodic metal song with more male backup vocals. I think the addition of male vocals in ITM's music gives it a refreshing touch. The guitar solo here really stands out as something different from past guitar solos. It's also great to see ITM get in touch with their progressive side here. The ending is pretty kickass.
Iron Army sounds like something Killswitch Engage and In This Moment would've written together for a movie soundtrack. Maria's screaming really stands out good here. The guitars at times remind me of a motorcycle revving, which is pretty cool.
The Last Cowboy sounds like something Disciple would've written sometime between their Scars Remain and Southern Hospitality albums. Its biggest strength here is melody. Maria goes for a spoken word approach on the verses. The closest we ever got to witnessing that was Whispers of October and Rabbit Hole from ITM's last two albums.
World in Flames closes this album out The last time they wrote a ballad like this one was Dying Star and Into the Light. It has a pretty nice feel to it.
One thing I'd like to note is how both the lead guitarist and the drummer have shown growth over time. If you wanna talk about musicianship, Star-Crossed Wasteland, in some of their songs, really set the standard. In terms of being an album, it feels a bit disjointed. The Gun Show is one of those reasons. It feels like they fell into the singles trap. Lyrically, The Dream is still the album to beat. The Gun Show and The Last Cowboy just left a bad taste in my ears. Put in a better way, at least it didn't suck like Bullet For My Valentine's The Fever. That album was worse than Metallica's Load and Reload combined.
7.08.2010
the Problem with Anarchy
As I'm head to Woodhull for treatment of my harsh back sunburn that needs medical attention, I'm writing. My body may be weak but my fingers and mind continue to race.
All these years we've heard of the Illuminati, Freemasons, our corrupt government, the NWO and the thought of anarchy. At one point, I was a fan of anarchy. The thought of overthrowing our government for its corruption and allowing rule in our own hands was such a dream. It is to the point that we have romanticized the thought of Anarchy.
Yet something has made me, after all these years, not care for anarchy and believe that it cannot, in its entirety, live. Anyone who knows about the Illuminati and its puppets, the Freemasons, know that anarchy is exactly what they've plotted. Everything we see in the media is always a whole anarchy vs. order battle, all of which either one wins. It doesn't matter, as these are images that higher powers want us to see anyway. If the shadow order, as I'll call them, if their agenda is no religion and no order, are we not, then, playing right into their hands? Is not anarchy, then, a mere bait created by the Shadow Order, as a means to fulfill the grander agendas they devised?
Aside from the conspiracy theorist angle, my other problem with anarchy is deregulation. Deregulation is what brought our economy into its knees and deregulation is a root from the branches of anarchy. In a world without any kind of law, order, control or choices to balance them, there is only madness--all of which no one benefits from.
All these years we've heard of the Illuminati, Freemasons, our corrupt government, the NWO and the thought of anarchy. At one point, I was a fan of anarchy. The thought of overthrowing our government for its corruption and allowing rule in our own hands was such a dream. It is to the point that we have romanticized the thought of Anarchy.
Yet something has made me, after all these years, not care for anarchy and believe that it cannot, in its entirety, live. Anyone who knows about the Illuminati and its puppets, the Freemasons, know that anarchy is exactly what they've plotted. Everything we see in the media is always a whole anarchy vs. order battle, all of which either one wins. It doesn't matter, as these are images that higher powers want us to see anyway. If the shadow order, as I'll call them, if their agenda is no religion and no order, are we not, then, playing right into their hands? Is not anarchy, then, a mere bait created by the Shadow Order, as a means to fulfill the grander agendas they devised?
Aside from the conspiracy theorist angle, my other problem with anarchy is deregulation. Deregulation is what brought our economy into its knees and deregulation is a root from the branches of anarchy. In a world without any kind of law, order, control or choices to balance them, there is only madness--all of which no one benefits from.
7.06.2010
Road to recovery, reflecting on quality of today's music.
As some of you may now, my back looks about as roasted as a pork rind. This has been since Saturday on a joyous day at Rockaway Beach. Thankfully, at day 3, recovery is beginning to show and hopefully by Thursday night I should be back to work at the gym. As it is, my lower back is feeling good. My shoulders are loosening. Blisters are all over my back and the middle of my back still feels scrunched up and gives me difficulty to stand straight. Putting on a shirt is a pain in my arse. On the other hand, fish oil, multivitamins and water are helping and the waking up with absolute dehydration is slowly wearing off. Just keep me in your prayers folks.
Meanwhile, I've been sitting down and listening to music from artists that started off pretty good, hit a good note and suddenly in their latter work, kind of jumped the shark. It is true when they say that music isn't what it used to be. There used to be a sense of soul within a new album that is put out and sense of effort when putting out a new album even under pressure. Some still do but others, not so much.
I sat down, listening to Jesus Adrian Romero's latest album El Brillo de Mis Ojos and honestly, it's letdown number three. You see, his last two albums were his initial studio albums whereas his very first five albums were all live but all new material. Guess what? He's better live than in the studio. From De Hombre a Hombre all the way to Te Dare Lo Mejor, there was always a sense of diversity, style, soul and life. Since El Aire De Tu Casa, Romero's become almost as monotonous as AC/DC! EBTMO has some nice moments of which make some progression to a more pop/rock or folksy/blues tone but it is as though he's trying to hard to appeal to people that have nothing better to do than mop and clean their house.
Meanwhile, Rene Gonzalez happens to maintain a sense of strength in his songwriting. I've reviewed Otra Decada in the past and mentioned how he managed to once again never make a cheap greatest hits compilation but rather make an excellent re-mastering and re-mixing of past hits. I'm listening to his last official studio album, Mi Senor y Yo and I find it yet another good pop album that has its diverse moments with touches of rock, gospel, jazz and some folksy sensibility.
This kind of reminds me of Skillet's little sidestep. Up to Comatose, they got progressively better while still making some good hits and songs even old school Skillet fans appreciate. Soon as Awake came out, all I was able to say was "sell-out". Half the album was all ballads and less guitar solos than Comatose. I was expecting these guys to explode with stronger lyrics and musicianship but I guess they have fallen to the new singles-based schematics of today's music industry.
Red, on the other hand, surprised me. Even though Innocence and Instinct had, in essence, the same format in terms of dynamics, they managed to strengthen it. I didn't care much about their End of Silence album (except for the singles Lost and Breathe into Me) but I loved Innocence and Instinct (I liked over half the album, 'nuff said). Let's hope they don't pull a B4MV and make a disastrous third album (the thought of Fever sickens me).
This year I'm just anticipating albums from Black Label Society, In This Moment, The Showdown, Alter Bridge and Disciple-- all of which made pretty good albums the past year or so. I hear Red and Decyfer Down are also working on their third this year so I'm counting on them too since they're on the list of artists whose last album was better than the previous album.
Meanwhile, I've been sitting down and listening to music from artists that started off pretty good, hit a good note and suddenly in their latter work, kind of jumped the shark. It is true when they say that music isn't what it used to be. There used to be a sense of soul within a new album that is put out and sense of effort when putting out a new album even under pressure. Some still do but others, not so much.
I sat down, listening to Jesus Adrian Romero's latest album El Brillo de Mis Ojos and honestly, it's letdown number three. You see, his last two albums were his initial studio albums whereas his very first five albums were all live but all new material. Guess what? He's better live than in the studio. From De Hombre a Hombre all the way to Te Dare Lo Mejor, there was always a sense of diversity, style, soul and life. Since El Aire De Tu Casa, Romero's become almost as monotonous as AC/DC! EBTMO has some nice moments of which make some progression to a more pop/rock or folksy/blues tone but it is as though he's trying to hard to appeal to people that have nothing better to do than mop and clean their house.
Meanwhile, Rene Gonzalez happens to maintain a sense of strength in his songwriting. I've reviewed Otra Decada in the past and mentioned how he managed to once again never make a cheap greatest hits compilation but rather make an excellent re-mastering and re-mixing of past hits. I'm listening to his last official studio album, Mi Senor y Yo and I find it yet another good pop album that has its diverse moments with touches of rock, gospel, jazz and some folksy sensibility.
This kind of reminds me of Skillet's little sidestep. Up to Comatose, they got progressively better while still making some good hits and songs even old school Skillet fans appreciate. Soon as Awake came out, all I was able to say was "sell-out". Half the album was all ballads and less guitar solos than Comatose. I was expecting these guys to explode with stronger lyrics and musicianship but I guess they have fallen to the new singles-based schematics of today's music industry.
Red, on the other hand, surprised me. Even though Innocence and Instinct had, in essence, the same format in terms of dynamics, they managed to strengthen it. I didn't care much about their End of Silence album (except for the singles Lost and Breathe into Me) but I loved Innocence and Instinct (I liked over half the album, 'nuff said). Let's hope they don't pull a B4MV and make a disastrous third album (the thought of Fever sickens me).
This year I'm just anticipating albums from Black Label Society, In This Moment, The Showdown, Alter Bridge and Disciple-- all of which made pretty good albums the past year or so. I hear Red and Decyfer Down are also working on their third this year so I'm counting on them too since they're on the list of artists whose last album was better than the previous album.
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