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Queen of Liars

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  2. Queen of Liars

    Life Update

    By Queen of Liars,

    Right, following up on the last entry, I guess I figured out the gender identity thing to some degree. Which means that I will now identify as female.
     
    Again, I spoke about it in detail on my Tumblr, but ultimately I am now ready to be myself and this is the first step towards that. So that's nice, I guess.
  3. Queen of Liars

    Life Update?

    By Queen of Liars,

    It's been a long time since I used the blog, eh? Might as well do a little life update thingy, as it's been a strange month or two for me.
     
    Right now I am approaching two months of having worked in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, which is pretty far from home. It's a job for an Austrian company, which looks like it will last around half a year. I'll occasionally fly back home to London for holidays and stuff, but for the most part I'll be living here, which has been pretty interesting. It's nice to have an opportunity to see a bit more of the world, I suppose. The job is nice, though at 6 days a week it doesn't leave me with too much free time, but I'm not complaining. The time zone change does make it a bit tricky to keep up with friends from around the world, but I've been managing.
     
    So that's one big thing, but then I have also been dealing with some... gender idendity stuff? However you want to phrase it. Won't go into much detail here, but if you follow me on Tumblr you've seen my numerous posts there. So yeah, that has made it... an interesting time, I guess. We'll see where that ends up going.
     
    Well, without going into some other stuff, that is mainly what's been going on with me lately. A whole lot of self-discovery.
  4. Queen of Liars
    Time for an updated Ghost in the Shell collection post, now that I have all the new Arise stuff.
     

     
    We have the DVDs:
     
    Ghost in the Shell / Innocence / Ghost in the Shell 2.0 boxset
    Stand Alone Complex 1st GIG boxset
    Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG boxset
    Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man
    Stand Alone Complex - Individual Eleven
    Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society
    Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Borders 1 & 2
    Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Borders 3 & 4
    Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie
     
    And the manga:
     
    Ghost in the Shell
    Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface
    Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor
     
    Good stuff right there.
  5. Queen of Liars

    Dronevil

    By Queen of Liars,

    Finally managed to get my hands on a physical copy of my second favourite Boris album, and it is beautiful.
     

     

     

     
    Boris CDs are always really neat. Makes me feel a lot better about the prices of these Japanese-only ones.
  6. Queen of Liars

    Vinyl

    By Queen of Liars,

    I have now begun my quest to get around 10-15 of my favourite albums on vinyl, to go alongside the CDs.
     
    The first such acquisition is either my second or third favourite album - Das Seelenbrechen by Ihsahn, in lovely limited edition coloured vinyl. Here it is next to the digibook CD version:
     

     

     
    Bloody gorgeous.
  7. Queen of Liars

    Ihsahn

    By Queen of Liars,

    Time for an updated Ihsahn collection post I guess, given the new album:
     

    ^Click for a bigger picture
     
    Starting on the left:
     
    Thou Shalt Suffer, which is essentially the earliest incarnation of Emperor. They originally released one death metal/black metal EP in 1991 - Into the Woods of Belial - before the band split up, with Ihsahn and Samoth forming Emperor immediately afterwards. However, Ihsahn used the name again in 2000 to release his solo album Somnium, this time it being a neoclassical/darkwave/ambient album. Both releases are pictured.
     
    Next up, the legendary Emperor, one of the most influential and well regarded black metal bands in the history of the genre. The releases are:
     
    Emperor/Wrath of the Tyrant (a compilation including the self-titled EP and the first demo)
    In the Nightside Eclipse
    Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
    IX Equilibrium (Special Edition)
    Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise
    Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath
    In the Nightside Eclipse (20th Anniversary Edition)
     
    Following this, we have Peccatum, an avant-garde band which Ihsahn formed with his wife Ihriel (aka Starofash) as Emperor was coming to an end. Here we have:
     
    Strangling from Within
    Amor Fati
    Lost in Reverie
    Oh, My Regrets EP
    The Moribund People EP
     
    Now we get to my favourite of these: Ihsahn's solo work which is what he primarily occupies himself with these days. Included here are:
     
    The Adversary
    angL
    After (Limited Edition)
    Eremita (Limited Edition Digibook)
    Das Seelenbrechen (Limited Edition Digibook)
    Arktis. (Limited Edition Digibook)
     
    Before we get to the stack all the way on the right, let's look at the three at the bottom:
     
    Blood Must Be Shed - a one-of EP by members of Emperor, Satyricon and Dødheimsgard.
    Grimen by Hardingrock - an experimental folk project by Ihsahn and Ihriel, joined by Norwegian folk musician Knut Buen.
    Fjelltronen by Wongraven - the dark folk/ambient/medieval project by Satyr of Satyricon, on which Ihsahn plays the grand piano and synths.
     
    As for the stack on the right, that one is for all the albums Ihsahn has appeared on as a guest:
     
    The Sham Mirrors by Arcturus
    Deconstruction by Devin Townsend Project
    Plains of Oblivion by Jeff Loomis
    Bilateral by Leprous
    Coal by Leprous
    Iter.Viator by Starofash
    Silence in the Snow by Trivium
    Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and *Heck* by Ulver
  8. Queen of Liars

    Arktis.

    By Queen of Liars,

    Finally received my copy of the new Ihsahn album the other day, after there being some delays with the limited editions.
     

     
    An excellent album which was well worth the wait. Not quite as good as his previous three, but I'd still be surprised if it isn't my album of the year.
     
    Perhaps I'll do an updated post of my entire Ihsahn collection later, when I'm not busy listening to Arktis.
  9. Queen of Liars
    15 - Asia, Urban Dance and Warpath by Boris
     

     
    I'm going to treat these three albums as one for the purposes of this list, just to make it easier. Which should be fine, since they were released at the same time, and are obviously meant to be part of the same trilogy.
    They released a pretty big album last year, so for the most part this is just Boris relaxing a bit and doing some noise and drone rather than writing songs, and as usual, doing it very well. Usually one probably wouldn't describe releasing three albums at once as "relaxing", but this is Boris after all.
    However, between all the noise and soundscapes, there is an actual song hidden here. Surrender, which is the second track on Urban Dance, is actually a very nice post rock piece, interspliced with a little bit of noise, which comes as a nice surprise.
     
     
    14 - Hades (The Nine Stages of Change at the Deceased Remains) by 死んだ僕の彼女 (My Dead Girlfriend)
     

     
    I know it might seem like this would be a pretty bleak album, but it's actually some pretty upbeat shoegaze/noise pop, though there is the occasional darker and more atmospheric song. A very enjoyable album with some great melodies and riffs, as well as some truly fantastic atmosphere on those occasional tracks.
     
     
    13 - A N D by tricot
     

     
    Not quite as good as T H E, but still an excellent math rock album. Catchy, and filled with great instrumentation.
     
     
    12 - Cuts of Guilt, Cuts Deeper by Merzbow, Mats Gustafsson, Balázs Pándi & Thurston Moore
     

     
    A big collaboration resulting in a great free improvisation record, with plenty of harsh noise and jazz within. A very crushing and abrasive album, but one that is quite the experience.
     
     
    11 - The Dreaming I by Akhlys
     

     
    That cover sure reminds me of Behemoth's The Satanist from last year. As do some aspects of the music contained within. I mean, it's not a rip-off or anything, with the music being quite different, but Akhlys definitely took some inspiration from that album here, and have created a great black metal album with elements of dark ambient, and much like The Satanist, a great sense of atmosphere and grandeur.
     
     
    10 - Graveward by Sigh
     

     
    The production on this album may be quite bad, but it does not hide Sigh's signature avant-garde/black metal brilliance. Great riffs, excellent songwriting, and of course the usual Sigh weirdness.
     
     
    9 - Atheist's Cornea by Envy
     

     
    An excellent mix of post-rock and post-hardcore, with some great atmosphere, and moments of both slow beauty, and fast paced aggression.
     
     
    8 - Abyss by Chelsea Wolfe
     

     
    A mesmerising album of haunting and ethereal beauty, which sounds exactly what the cover looks like - dark, eerie and desolate.
     
     
    7 - Into the Shadows by Anoice
     

     
    A beautiful and melancholy album, blending post-rock with modern classical for some incredible compositions. It's very easy to get lost in the world that this album creates.
     
     
    6 - Fantasy Empire by Lightning Bolt
     

     
    An excellent noise rock/math rock album, with some fantastic instrumentation. The production gives it a very nice sound, with a layer of noise and muted vocals over top of the band rocking out on their instruments. Amazing riffs too.
     
     
    5 - Frozen Niagara Falls by Prurient
     

     
    A terrifying mass of harsh noise and industrial, which you can't break away from. It grabs and suffocates you, while taking you on a journey through bleak and hopeless soundscapes, with the occasional glimmer of beauty which inevitably gets drowned out in cold darkness. An experience unlike anything else.
     
     
    4 - Sgùrr by Thy Catafalque
     
     

     
    An amazing progressive metal album with an avant-garde flavour. Full of long and winding songs with incredible instrumentation and unique atmosphere, often going off in unpredictable directions. The riffs on this thing are seriously out of this world.
     
     
    3 - The Plague Within by Paradise Lost
     

     
    Paradise Lost continue their streak of perfect albums, this time seeing the return of growls and other death metal elements which have been long absent. Combining these elements with their current sound, Paradise Lost have achieved one of the best albums of their long and already highly impressive career. Great songwriting and riffs, their own brand of haunting beauty, the occasional symphonic elements, it's all here and it all makes for an incredible album.
     
     
    2 - The Battle of Being by Outside the Coma
     

     
    The latest project of Mikee Goodman, known for SikTh and Primal Rock Rebellion, is quite a wild ride. I don't even know how to describe it, to be honest. I guess that SikTh would be the closest point of comparison, but the experimentation and insanity is turned up to a whole different level here. It's a bizarre and eccentric album, and probably the best thing that Mikee's done, which is definitely no small praise when that means outdoing SikTh.
     
     
    1 - Freedom by Refused
     

     
    It's been 17 years since Refused revolutionised music with The Shape of Punk to Come - which I happen to think is the best album of all time. And for those 17 years, the world was convinced that there would never be another Refused album. Yet, here we are. And I couldn't be happier about it.
    Is Freedom as good as TSoPtC? No, of course not, don't be silly. It's not even close. Nothing is. So it's a good thing that Refused are not concerned with trying to replicate it, and instead do the same thing they've always done: change their sound with every album and never stop evolving.
    17 years, but Refused have not aged a day. The band is still as skilled and talented as they've ever been, and deliver an album of infectious punk anthems with plenty of twists to keep it interesting and unique. Although lacking the bold experimentation of the previous album, there's still plenty of new ideas here, and the excellent songwriting has not gone anywhere.
    Welcome back, Refused. Long live the New Noise.
     
     
     
    So that's my list done. Now it's time for the honourable mentions, since I can't be bothered to do a separate entry for them this year:
     
    Thier by Amestigon
    Arcturian by Arcturus
    Crypt of the NecroDancer OST by Danny Baranowsky
    Near Death Revelations by Blaze of Perdition
    The Devil by Blue Stahli
    Psychic Warfare by Clutch
    Lore by Elder
    Beware the Sword You Cannot See by A Forest of Stars
    Holographic Violence by Grave Babies
    Enki by Melechesh
    II by METZ
    Exercises in Futility by Mgła
    Autumn Eternal by Panopticon
    Monotony Fields by Shape of Despair
    International Blackjazz Society by Shining
    Opacities by SikTh
    Ordeal by Skepticism
    The Ride Majestic by Soilwork
    Never Were the Way She Was by Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld
    The Moon Lit Our Path by Tempel
    The Children of the Night by Tribulation
     
     
    And that concludes my look back at 2015's music. Here's hoping that 2016 is anywhere near as good.
  10. Queen of Liars
    10 - Party Hard
     

     
    A fun little stealth game which plays a bit like a top-down Hitman.
    It's 3 AM and you're simply trying to sleep, but the house next door is having an obnoxiously loud party. The most rational course of action is of course to put on a hockey mask and murder everyone at the party, so that's exactly what you do.
     
     
    9 - The Consuming Shadow
     

     
    A procedurally generated, Lovecraftian-themed survival horror game by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw, of Zero Punctuation fame. It's quirky, and more than a bit janky, but it is also very engrossing and enjoyable. The world is being invaded by an ancient evil, and you have 60 hours to figure out exactly which of the evil aspects is invading, how to perform the ritual to banish it, and get to the location in one piece to perform said ritual. Piecing together the evidence and clues is really fun, and all the while there's a lot of tension as both the timer and your sanity tick down, the latter of which causes some very subtle and clever changes as it depletes.
     
     
    8 - Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
     

     
    Certainly a very creative way to do multiplayer. One person looks at a bomb, while the other person (or people) look at the diffusal manual, with neither being able to see the other, and try to diffuse the bomb before it explodes. It's all in how well players can communicate with each other, and gets very tense very quickly. Some of the most fun I've had with a multiplayer game.
     
     
    7 - Sunless Sea
     

     
    Continuing with the Lovecraftian themes, we have Sunless Sea. Rarely do I see a game with such a totally engrossing world. You're the captain of a ship in some sort of Victorian Gothic London setting, and you explore this strange and dark world, trying to not go insane in the process.
    Now, the combat in this game is something I'm not a fan of at all, but its presence on this list regardless is only testament to the incredible world-building and narrative Sunless Sea accomplishes.
     
     
    6 - Crypt of the NecroDancer
     

     
    A challenging, but incredibly enjoyable roguelike rhythm game. Perhaps even the best rhythm I've played.
    In standard roguelike fashion, you explore dungeons and fight various enemies, but have to do everything to the beat of the music, which can lead to some very hectic moments when you try to figure out how to defeat a group of enemies while not missing a beat.
    Of course any rhythm game needs a good soundtrack, and this one sure has an amazing one, courtesy of Danny Baranowsky.
     
     
    5 - Volume
     

     
    I've been looking forward to this one pretty much since it was announced, and was not disappointed. Mike Bithell delivers a fantastic stealth game with this cyberpunk retelling of Robin Hood, and shows that Thomas Was Alone wasn't a fluke.
     
     
    4 - Her Story
     

     
    Very interesting and well executed idea for a game. Without going into spoilers, Her Story provides a gripping narrative, and an engaging way of uncovering it. It really makes you feel like a detective piecing together a mystery.
     
     
    3 - Black Closet
     

     
    Speaking of detectives, we have this game from the developer of Long Live The Queen. Probably best described as a strategy game with a visual novel presentation, Black Closet is a very engaging and unique title. You take on the role of the president of the student council in a highly prestigious school, and are tasked with solving various cases in order to prevent scandals and thus preserve the school's reputation. You command the other five members of the council in your investigations, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses, trying to solve the cases as fast as possible, but not acting too rashly, as the reputation of the council itself is also something you have to worry about, and thus you don't want to go around harassing innocent people.
    Oh, and all the while one of the council members is actually a traitor trying to sabotage you, there's some sort of secret society within the school, and there may be something sinister going on with the teachers you work for, which are all things you might want to look out for.
     
     
    2 - Invisible, Inc.
     

     
    Klei Entertainment deliver once again with this fantastic cyberpunk stealth strategy game. It plays a lot like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, but purely focusing on stealth. You command your agents through the offices of various mega corporations, utilising their unique abilities and tools to remain undetected as you accomplish your objectives. All the while the level of security increases as the corporations realise that someone has infiltrated, so your time is short. You can try to hack and empty that one extra safe, but more guards will arrive by the time you're done. Whether that's worth the risk is up to you.
     
     
    1 - Darkest Dungeon
     

     
    Not only the best game I've played this year, but one which ranks amongst the best games I've played ever.
    So, what is Darkest Dungeon? According to the store page, it "is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring". That is indeed what it is, but oh it is also so much more.
    The game has an absolutely gorgeous, yet dark aesthetic, an amazing atmosphere, and probably the best narrator I've ever heard in a game in the form of Wayne June, along with a great soundtrack from Stuart Chatwood (also responsible for the amazing soundtracks to the Prince of Persia games). It has incredibly engaging and challenging gameplay, as you recruit heroes, make your party, and descend into dungeons to fight eldritch monstrosities, using strategy and tactics to overcome their strength.
    And yet, those are not the best parts of Darkest Dungeon. Those would be the quirk and stress mechanics, which I will now gush over. They are just so well implemented and add so much depth to the game, and a rarely seen level of agency possessed by characters.
    So the quirk mechanic is pretty simple. All heroes start with, and then develop additional quirks, some positive, some negative. Some of these merely affect their stats and abilities - a hero might be sickly and thus more susceptible to diseases, or perhaps they're a known cheat and aren't allowed to gamble in the town. That sort of thing. But the really interesting quirks are the more insidious ones. For example, a hero might be a kleptomaniac. And if you had said hero in your party, you might find that some chests are mysteriously rather light on loot. Or sometimes they may just steal the loot for themselves right in front of you before you can collect it, and not even try to hide it. And there's lots of quirks like that.
    Stress on the other hand, is a little more complicated. The mental health of your heroes is a very important part of the game, and to put it simply, as they explore dungeons, their stress levels will rise by various means. Once it gets to a certain point, their resolve will be tested. Sometimes, a hero will overcome the stress and display newfound courage. But more often than not, they will break, and gain an affliction. Apart from stat penalties, afflictions will change how the hero behaves. For example, a hero may become selfish when their resolve breaks, and move back in the formation, putting your other heroes in harm's way. Alternatively, you may try to have the selfish one heal another hero, only to have them refuse and heal themselves instead. One time I had a hero become paranoid after their resolve broke, which at first didn't manifest itself in an obvious way. But then my healer missed an attack, and the paranoid hero muttered something along the lines of "how could she possibly miss...", and from there on they refused to be healed by her, being convinced that the healer was in league with the enemy.
    I could keep going on about how much I love these mechanics, but you get the picture. It's just so cool to see characters have this degree of their own agency.
    So yes, Darkest Dungeon is phenomenal, and is my game of the year.
     
     
     
    So there we go, that's my list. Ended up being all indie games, but hey, they're that good.
    You may also notice that my list doesn't contain a certain indie game which generated a rather large amount of hype and acclaim this year, taking many by surprise with its writing and treatment of player choice. Yes, I'm indeed afraid that HuniePop did very narrowly miss out on being on the list, but you can consider it to be at the 11th spot if it makes you feel better.
  11. Queen of Liars

    Computer Troubles

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, my laptop might be screwed, which would be rather unfortunate. And just as I started to get a bit more back into gaming too.
     
    For those curious, basically I restarted it last night, and then it simply failed to boot up. It would get to the welcome screen, flash blue and restart again. If I try doing start up repair, it gets stuck on a black screen with a movable cursor and nothing else. After lots of Googling, didn't really find all that much. As you might be able to guess, start up repair isn't meant to do that.
    I went inside the latop to try reseating the RAM and whatnot, and none of the components are obviously damaged, as in nothing's on fire, but that doesn't mean much. Based on the information I've gathered, the hard drive is my main suspect, but right now I've got neither another laptop sized hard drive, nor anywhere else to stick this hard drive into, so I can't confirm it. The next step is to try and get it working with a Windows repair/install disc, which I am in the process of downloading and burning, but somehow I'm not feeling too optimistic.
     
    Fortunately I back up my stuff fairly regularly, though it has been a little while since the last time, so I would end up losing a bit of stuff in the worst case scenario. Nothing too important though. I'm more concerned with simply not having a computer for who knows how long if I can't fix it. Oh well, here's hoping, I guess.
  12. Queen of Liars
    Been a while since one of these music collection updates. Received the new Paradise Lost live album on vinyl + DVD today, and it's quite nice:
     

     

     
    Really looking forward to giving it a listen/watch later. The first half of it is done with an orchestra and seems fantastic from the teasers.
  13. Queen of Liars
    Classic Bethesda.
     
     
    Tried all the fixes and whatnot, so I'm just stuck here waiting for them to hopefully fix it, and by the looks of various forums I'm not alone. Thankfully Steam refunds now exist, so I'll be getting one of those if this isn't addressed soon.
     
    Disappointing, but not unexpected. I'm not one to purchase games at release, precisely because of things like this, but Fallout is one of the few exceptions I'm willing to make.
     
    Granted, the game is not looking great, especially for someone whose idea of a perfect Fallout game is New Vegas. From what I've read and seen, a lot of it is dumbed down compared to the previous games, with things like the new dialogue wheel looking especially terrible, along with a smörgåsbord of other issues to give modders a ton of work to do. The story and writing are also apparently typical Bethesda, which is to say they're trash.
    Hopefully once I can actually play it I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I've played enough Bethesda games to not set my expectations too high. Oh well, we'll see.
  14. Queen of Liars

    Happy Halloween

    By Queen of Liars,

    Oh look, an excuse to use my blog.
     
    I do hope everyone's having a nice and appropriately themed Halloween though. It's always a fun time.
     
    I'm enjoying a Halloween playlist, but I've been busy lately so it's a bit more hastily put together than usual. Still, it'll do the job. Might follow it up with some appropriate gaming and/or movie watching later tonight.
  15. Queen of Liars

    Refused

    By Queen of Liars,

    After two weeks of delays, I finally received my limited edition copy of the new Refused album.
    Protip: don't buy stuff from Kings Road Merch. I wouldn't have, since this isn't the first time I had problems with them, but it was the only place you could get the limited edition from.
     
    Anyway, the new Refused album. Freedom. 17 years after releasing what I consider to be the greatest album of all time, The Shape of Punk to Come, Refused have finally returned, and I couldn't be happier. I'm still not over the fact that this album actually exists. For 17 years, a new Refused album seemed like it would never happen. Yet, here it is:
     

     
    Such an excellent album too. It's no TSoPtC of course, but that's fine. Nothing is. And Freedom doesn't try to be anyway. Just like they used to do on their previous albums, Refused drastically changed their sound again, continuing to experiment with new things, while retaining the unmistakable Refused qualities.
     
    I guess it's time to show off my updated Refused collection, which are words I did not think I would get to say:
     

     
    On the left:
     
    This Just Might Be... The Truth
    Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent (limited edition digipak)
    The Shape of Punk to Come (2010 deluxe reissue)
    Freedom (limited edition book)
     
    On the right:
     
    This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 1 (Also Known as The EP Compilation)
    This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 2 (Also Known as The Demo Compilation)
    The New Noise Theology EP
     
    Hopefully this time around it won't be too long until there's another thing to be added to this collection.
    Long live the New Noise.
  16. Queen of Liars
    After some delays with the official Century Media store, my copy of the new Paradise Lost album finally arrived yesterday:
     

     
    A thing of beauty, and probably my album of the year. Of the announced albums I'm aware of this year, only Refused or Ihsahn have a chance of dethroning it.
     
     
    This also means that it's a good time for a Paradise Lost collection post:
     

    ^Click for a bigger picture
     
    So, the two on the left are:
     
    Drown in Darkness - The Early Demos
    Symbol of Life (Limited edition digipak)
     
    Then the pile in the middle:
     
    Lost Paradise
    Gothic
    Shades of God
    Icon (Limited edition digipak)
    Draconian Times
    One Second (Limited edition digipak)
    Host
    Believe in Nothing
    Paradise Lost (Limited edition digipak)
    In Requiem
    The Anatomy of Melancholy
    Tragic Illusion 25 (The Rarities)
    The Plague Within (Limited edition digibook)
     
    And finally the two on the right:
     
    Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us (Limited edition digibook)
    Tragic Idol (Limited edition box set; signed by the band)
     
    One of my all-time favourite bands, and one of my most valued collections.
  17. Queen of Liars

    Exams Done

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, I had my last exam on Friday, which went about as poorly as expected. I guess that at least means I haven't had any expectations crushed =P
    Either way, it's a relief to finally have it out of the way and not have to think about it anymore. I was approaching breaking point with stress and anxiety, and it's good to at least have that source of it removed.
     
    And so that's it. My three years of university have passed, and hopefully so have I. Quite the three years, these were. It's interesting to reflect on them and see both how much and how little I've changed. It's definitely going to feel very strange not having university anymore.
     
    For now, I can relax for while, which is really nice. I'll be trying to focus on music this summer, specifically honing my guitar skills, as well as messing around with FL Studio and other software, while I try to set up a good opportunity to move to either Japan or Norway for a while. We'll see how that goes.
  18. Queen of Liars
    It's time for an updated Emilie Autumn collection post, since I recently made a few acquisitions:
     

     
    On the left we have the albums:
     
    Enchant
    Opheliac (The Deluxe Edition)
    Laced/Unlaced (Limited edition digibook, limited to 2000 copies)
    Fight Like a Girl
     
    And on the right we have the compilation and EPs:
     
    A Bit o' This & That (Limited edition digibook, limited to 3000 copies)
    Liar/Dead Is the New Alive EP (Limited edition digipak, limited to 3000 copies)
    4 o'Clock EP (Limited edition digipak, limited to 3000 copies)
    Girls Just Wanna Have Fun/Bohemian Rhapsody EP (Limited edition digipak, limited to 3000 copies)
     
    Which are all sitting on a signed copy of her book.
     
    And that's basically everything. I wouldn't mind getting the digibook edition of Enchant, but it's not a big deal, and otherwise I've got everything of hers I'd want. So that's nice.
     
     

    Don't mind that sound, that's just my bank account crying.


  19. Queen of Liars

    Ihsahn

    By Queen of Liars,

    It's time for my biggest music collection post thus far: Ihsahn.
     

    ^Click for a bigger picture
     
    Terrible quality picture, but I don't even know how I would get all those in a single picture and keep it good.
     
    Anyway, yes Ihsahn. This collection includes basically everything he's ever been on, and it's a collection that is particularly close to my heart, as Ihsahn is currently my favourite musician. At least as far as individual people are concerned. Refused are still my favourite band, but as far as individuals go, Ihsahn is second to none.
     
    Now then, let's tackle this bunch of CDs, starting on the left:
     
    Thou Shalt Suffer, which is essentially the earliest incarnation of Emperor. They originally released one death metal/black metal EP in 1991 - Into the Woods of Belial - before the band split up, with Ihsahn and Samoth forming Emperor immediately afterwards. However, Ihsahn used the name again in 2000 to release his solo album Somnium, this time it being a neoclassical/darkwave/ambient album. Both releases are pictured.
     
    Next up, the legendary Emperor, one of the most influential and well regarded black metal bands in the history of the genre (and for very good reason, I might add). The releases are:
     
    Emperor/Wrath of the Tyrant (a compilation including the self-titled EP and the first demo)
    In the Nightside Eclipse
    Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
    IX Equilibrium (Special Edition)
    Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise
    Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath
    In the Nightside Eclipse (20th Anniversary Edition)
     
    Following this, we have Peccatum, an avant-garde band which Ihsahn formed with his wife Ihriel (aka Starofash) as Emperor was coming to an end. Here we have:
     
    Strangling from Within
    Amor Fati
    Lost in Reverie
    Oh, My Regrets EP
    The Moribund People EP
     
    Now we get to my favourite of these: Ihsahn's solo work which is what he primarily occupies himself with these days. Included here are:
     
    The Adversary
    angL
    After (Limited Edition)
    Eremita (Limited Edition)
    Das Seelenbrechen (Limited Edition)
     
    Before we get to the stack all the way on the right, let's look at the three at the bottom:
     
    Blood Must Be Shed - a one-of EP by members of Emperor, Satyricon and Dodheimsgard.
    Grimen by Hardingrock - an experimental folk project by Ihsahn and Ihriel, joined by Norwegian folk musician Knut Buen.
    Fjelltronen by Wongraven - the dark folk/ambient/medieval project by Satyr of Satyricon, on which Ihsahn plays the grand piano and synths.
     
    As for the stack on the right, that one is for all the albums Ihsahn has appeared on as a guest:
     
    The Sham Mirrors by Arcturus
    Deconstruction by Devin Townsend Project
    Plains of Oblivion by Jeff Loomis
    Bilateral by Leprous
    Coal by Leprous
    Iter.Viator by Starofash
    Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and **** by Ulver
     
    And there you have it, my Ihsahn collection. Truly an incredible musician, going with ease from black metal, to classical, to the avant-garde and experimental, and doing it all flawlessly. He has an album in the works which is expected to come out this year, and I am very excited to see where he goes next.
  20. Queen of Liars
    Note that the friend in question is the guitar, not the cat. Cat's been here for a few years already. She does love the guitar bag though.
     
    But yes, I have this guitar now. Which is exciting. I've still got a couple pieces of equipment to arrive in the post in the next couple of days, but then I'll be all good to go and start failing at playing it.
     
    Here's a slightly better picture as well. As it turns out, black guitars are not great for taking pictures of in the night with a phone.
     

  21. Queen of Liars

    Deus Ex

    By Queen of Liars,

    I simply can't wait for this.
     
    I usually try really hard not to buy into hype or get too excited when there's very little information available, but sometimes even I can't help it. This is probably the most excited I've ever been for a video game.
     
    It's been known for a while that Eidos have been working on the next Deus Ex game, but now we finally have actual information and it's all getting me psyched.
     
    This is the first time in the series that we'll have a returning protagonist, but I am more than happy with more Adam Jensen. Elias Toufexis' voice acting work as him is just excellent. Michael McCann will also be composing the soundtrack again, which is great to hear as well.
     
    What they've said about the story thus far definitely has my interest, and I have total faith in Eidos that the writing will be just as good as it was in Human Revolution. Gameplay so far sounds like it's going to build on the previous game, with stuff like more fluid use of augmentations and even more open levels, which is just fine by me.
     
    So yeah, I am very excited. Human Revolution is my second favourite game of all time, and the original of course also has a spot in my top ten, so I have extremely high hopes for the new game. The only thing I'm not fond of is the title which just sounds cheesy, but that can be easily ignored if the game ends up as good as HR.
  22. Queen of Liars

    Björk

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, here is my recently completed Björk collection:
     

    ^Click for a bigger picture
     
    Debut
    Post
    Homogenic
    Selmasongs: Music from Dancer in the Dark
    Vespertine
    Medúlla
    The Music from Drawing Restraint 9
    Volta
    Biophilia
    Vulnicura
     
    Got to say I'm not overly fond her newest album, but I love pretty much all of the other main albums, especially Post and Debut.
  23. Queen of Liars
    It's been a while since my last music collection post, so here's my recently completed collection of Rage Against the Machine related stuff:
     

    ^Click for a slightly bigger picture
     
    So, here's what we have, going left to right:
     
    The special edition 20th anniversary reissue of the self-titled album.
     
    Rage Against the Machine stuff consisting of:
    Rage Against the Machine
    Evil Empire
    The Battle of Los Angeles
    Renegades
    Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium
    Bulls on Parade single
    Guerrilla Radio single
     
    Tom Morello's solo project, The Nightwatchman:
    One Man Revolution
    The Fabled City
    Union Town EP
    World Wide Rebel Songs
     
    No Spiritual Surrender by Inside Out, which was Zack de la Rocha's pre-RAtM hardcore punk band
     
    The self-titled One Day as a Lion EP, which is a project Zack formed after RAtM
     
    ...and that's it. With the B-sides from the singles and the bonus tracks from the self-titled reissue, I think I have every song RAtM have recorded, as well as the band members' other worthwhile projects.
     
    What's that? 'Audioslave'? You must be mistaken. I don't think such a band exists, and if they did I probably wouldn't be a fan.
  24. Queen of Liars

    Emilie Autumn

    By Queen of Liars,

    Received my copy of Emilie Autumn's first album today, which means that I've completed my collection of her stuff:
     

     
    Here we have:
     
    Enchant
    Opheliac (The Deluxe Edition)
    Laced/Unlaced
    Fight Like a Girl
     
    All sitting on top of a signed copy of her book.
     
    There's a few EPs that I don't have which I may one day want to hunt down, but these are all four of the actual albums.
    Well, technically I suppose she had an album before Enchant, called On a Day, which contained her performances of several classical pieces, but a remastered version of that album is included as the first half of Laced/Unlaced, so it's all good.
  25. Queen of Liars

    Tim Skold

    By Queen of Liars,

    Recently finished my collection of albums by one of my favourite musicians - Tim Skold.
    While there are a couple of things I'm missing, I have everything that I actually want.
     
    So let's go through it:
     

     
    Terrible picture I know, but it's hard to fit everything in at a good resolution without the file size being too big.
     
    Anyway, at the top left we have his solo project - Skold:
    Skold
    Anomie
    Suck EP
    Tonight EP
     
    Top middle, we have the KMFDM albums with him as a member of the band:
    Symbols
    Adios
    Attak
     
    Top right, Shotgun Messiah, which was his first band:
    Shotgun Messiah
    Second Coming
    Violent New Breed
     
    Bottom left, we have the self-titled Skold vs KMFDM album which was a collaboration between the two a few years after Tim left KMFDM.
     
    Bottom middle, the self titled album from the short-lived MDFMK. This was a project formed by Tim and two other members of KMFDM after they split up following Adios. However, MDFMK turned back into KMFDM just a couple of years later when the band officially reformed with Attak.
     
    Bottom right, I Declare: Treason by Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult - an industrial metal supergroup with Tim on bass.
     
    And finally, all the way off to the right side there, we have Infamous by Motionless in White, which was largely produced and engineered by Tim, although is otherwise a rather unremarkable album.
     
    Obsessed? Maybe a little, but he definitely is a prolific artist.
     
    The only things I'm missing are the three Marilyn Manson albums he was a member on which I honestly have no interest in, and the new Motionless in White album which he produced again, but apart from one song which was originally written by Tim and features him on vocals, that album is just kind of bad so I don't really intend on getting it.
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