Monday, May 11, 2020

Nightwish - HUMAN. :II: NATURE., Music Videos and News, Underwater Review, Movies, and New Releases

Music News

Nightwish – HUMAN. :II: NATURE. Review

Truth be told, I didn’t pick up the new Nightwish album. In my mind, they are so incredibly popular that I equated their popularity to selling out to the masses. I listened to a couple tracks and was still unimpressed, but my wife dug it and she decided it was worth a purchase. Since we had it, I decided to give it a spin to see if my misgivings were founded. What I realized is whether or not they have ‘sold out’ is a nonissue - this is a very entertaining album.

Every track is an ear worm in the best way possible and the songs that didn’t quite click for me the first time work so well in a complete album context. Floor Jansen’s vocals are amazing with incredible range, control, and variety. (She sings in an operatic style at the end of Shoemaker and it’s really impressive.) The music is always lively and shifting from moments of rock, symphonic and folk melodies.

I’m super glad that the missus picked this one up because this is a great album.



A new Ayreon album is in the works!
The title is TRANSITUS.
Due out later this year.
Their last album was The Source.
Looking forward to this one!


From Metal Injection:
Canned water company Liquid Death turned all their negative publicity into one death metal song in 2019. Now with the help of Gus Rios (Gruesome, ex-Malevolent Creation), Seth Ringer (Eternal), James Malone (Arsis), Torin Ridgeway, they've turned the hate into a full album.
Liquid Death’s Greatest Hates is a full 10-song album available now on Spotify, as well as 12" vinyl over at the Liquid Death website.
Songs include Fire Your Marketing Guy and Selling Your Soul is Deplorable!


Now, enjoy some more videos!

Devin Townsend has been putting out a lot more quarantine videos, which are both master musicianship and rather funny. He still gets super nervous playing in front of others or the camera, even after thirty years of doing so!





And another Katatonia video, one a little more upbeat than Lacquer: 



Movie Review

Underwater

From the IMDB: A crew of oceanic researchers working for a deep sea drilling company try to get to safety after a mysterious earthquake devastates their deepwater research and drilling facility located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. 
Staring Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, T.J. Miller, and Mamoudou Athie

This came out in January and despite the main two leads, received little fanfare. It’s derivative of a lot of movies (like DeepStar Six, Leviathan, The Sphere, etc.) but despite that, it works well and comes off as fresh.

Stewart has gone from a pouty teen (in almost every role she’s ever played) to a good adult actress. Her character is tough but not perfect – she doesn’t have all the answers and she’s just as scared as the others.

The effects are really good – very claustrophobic. (As is the whole vibe to the film.) And the creatures…like something out of a Lovecraft story.

Will it change your world? Heck no! But you will be entertained for ninety-five minutes, which is the perfect length for this film.

Recommended.

Book Releases

A Quick Bite by Patricia Josephine
Vampires.
Werewolves.
Zombies.
These monsters tickle our imagination.
Sink your teeth into a collection of tales about paranormal creatures that go bump in the night. Each story is told in exactly 200 words and designed to give you a quick bite no matter how busy your day is.
Are you hungry?
Find it at Amazon
Patricia Josephine is a writer of Urban Fantasy and Sci-Fi Romance books. She actually never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she was more interested in art and band in high school and college. Her dreams were of becoming an artist like Picasso. On a whim, she wrote down a story bouncing in her head for fun. That was the start of her writing journey, and she hasn't regretted a moment. When she's not writing, she's watching Doctor Who or reading about serial killers. She's an avid knitter. One can never have too much yarn. She writes Young Adult Paranormal, Science Fiction, and Fantasy under the name Patricia Lynne.
Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.

Mateo’s Law by Sandra Cox

A modern day, shapeshifting sheriff. 

Find it on Amazon

The Matched Game anthology, featuring the work of Lidy Wilks

Find it at Amazon and Zimbell House Publishing

Available May 16!

Walking with Jesus: Stories from One Hope Church by Tyrean Martinson

An anthology of stories, poetry, and scripture.
Read to discover how ordinary lives become extraordinary in the light of God’s love. Real people. Real dilemmas. Real Jesus. 

Find it on Amazon and Smashwords


Movie News

How many new Star Wars films are in the works? A lot!
You can get a full list of stand-alones, trilogies, and series at Games Radar
And this November will bring season two of The Mandalorian.

Disney plans to reboot Pirates of the Caribbean!
But according to JoBlo, Karen Gillan from the Jumanji reboot movies will be cast in the lead role.
I’m all right with that…

Yes, this is for real!
Murder Hornet Movie on its Way
DVD available June 1.
So, you can only imagine the quality…



Fan of Nightwish? Enjoy the videos? Seen Underwater? Picking up some new books? Think RiffTrax will need to take a whack at the murder hornet movie…?
And I will see all of you again on June 3, IWSG day!

82 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

Thanks Alex for a very uplifting post, much to read and listen to so the present situation can be uplifted with books and music you have written about,

Have a good week and stay safe and well.

Yvonne.

kaykuala said...

Great Video offerings Alex, very lively! And in case of the stories being each 200 words should be an attraction to read. Thanks and stay safe!

Hank

Elephant's Child said...

Hooray for new books - always welcome and even more so at the moment.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I had to check my volume (twice!) at the start of Devin Townsend's video, ha. :) Too funny about his nerves (although I can totally understand that).

I have not been a fan of Kristen Stewart, so it's good to hear she's evolving as an actress. I'll have to check out Underwater.

Shady Del Knight said...

Hi, Alex!

Wow, I loved the selection of rock and symphonic metal this morning! I could listen to Floor's beautiful voice for hours and not tire of it, and I like the new track by Katatonia. Those quarantine concert clips also rock! I enjoy movies about being trapped beneath the sea, and therefore Underwater goes on my list. If you haven't yet seen it, the Mandy Moore film 47 Meters Down is entertaining.

Have a great week, good buddy Alex!

Stacy McKitrick said...

I'll never understand the term "sold out." My sister used that phrase back in the 70s, so I know it's not new. Sounds like someone who is highly jealous of someone else's fame would say, though.

Where might I find Underwater? Is it just on DVD? If I can find it on Netflix or HBO or something like that, I'll check it out (because I'm pretty sure Hubby will hate it--he says The Abyss is a horror movie and refuses to watch it again).

Natalie Aguirre said...

Not surprised that Star Wars is developing more movies since their movies are so popular. Congrats to everyone in their new books. Right now, I'm really excited to read the new anthology.

Joanne said...

Lots of good stuff on a Monday. I have to say - 90 minutes, or super short stories - seem to fill my attention span these days. Can't seem to focus. Talked to a friend and she's the same way right now. Anyway - good post. Have an excellent week.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Finally saw a good movie over the weekend - The Wretched. So creepy! It has the potential to be a REALLY good movie, but my husband and I are stymied by a couple of scenes that seem to go against the plot twists. Of course, we might just be missing something. Must go online to see if we can find answers/explanations! :)

Sandra Cox said...

Ooh I like Nightwish. The track has a Celtic feel to it.
Thanks so much for mentioning Mateo. I was going to shoot you an email and ask you too, but you beat me to it:)
I want to see Underwater.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Thanks again:) You rock.

Nilanjana Bose said...

Enjoyed the music clips. Nightwish is a lovely title too. I'm never going to take a trip to the cinema for granted again, when the lockdown lifts and theatres open again!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Elizabeth, I'm not either, but she did a good job on that film.

Shady, Floor's voice is amazing. Her sister also sings.

Stacy, The Abyss is an amazing film! We watched underwater on NetFlix.

Joanne, it's refreshing to find one under two hours!

Madeline, I'll check it out.

Sandra, all the best bands are Scandinavian now. And you're welcome.

Nila, me neither!

Mason Canyon said...

Congrats to everyone with new releases. Underwater sounds like it's worth giving it a look.

Jemi Fraser said...

LOL - think I'll pass on the murder hornet movie!! :P
I've got Patricia on my blog today too!

SpacerGuy said...

Quarantine got good sounds going there Alex, and I’m not just saying that so like that was a cool video, thanks man and keep well

Patricia Stoltey said...

I'll be back after my Monday morning Zoom meeting to watch those videos. I enjoy them so much.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Townsend is a funny guy.

Computer Tutor said...

Good reviews. Nice thoughts about 'selling out to the masses'. Maybe why I love Indies as much as agent-driven books. And nice videos. The quarantine has spawned some great humor, hasn't it?

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Alex - I can definitely see the joy Nightwish gives you and gave your wife - good choice. Floor Jansen has an amazing voice ... I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of their work. Excellent to have more books published by your readers ... take care - Hilary

Carrie-Anne said...

Re: the Nightwish album, sometimes it takes more than a few listens for an album to really sink in and capture our interest. I've experienced it many times in my own album collection. We can't fall in love at first listen all the time.

Damyanti Biswas said...

I'll have to watch Underwater then.

Susan Kane said...

I enjoy concert #3, no dawdling with conversation, just straight to the good tunes.

Basically, I am not on the current trend. Current books? I have a stack of new books I have not read. I am reading "Kings and Queens of England", a non-fiction narrative of those crazy royal people.

Andrew Leon said...

Underwater is probably not something I'll ever see. My has a phobia of that stuff, so it's not something she'll watch.

Toi Thomas said...

I missed the Underwater movie promos, thanks for the review. Might check that out. The new books look good too.
I can't imagine what that Murder Hornet movie will look like. Rifftrax should do a live show as soon as it releases.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I tried to enjoy the videos, but they're not my thing. I liked the third one best, though. I could probably acquire a taste for that one.
Have a great week, Alex.

J E Oneil said...

The pandemic makes me wonder what's going to happen with movies. Only digital releases could become the norm!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Spacer Guy, awesome!

Patricia, you're welcome.

Hilary, she's sang for a lot of other musicians, including Ayreon.

Carrie-Anne, most of what I listen to takes several times.

Toi, yes they should!

JE, that would be sad.

Roland Clarke said...

I hadn't hurt of Nightwish but I'm grateful for the heads-up. I like the idea of Karen Gillan from Doctor Who in Pirates of the Caribbean - she was excellent in those Jumanji movies too.

Fundy Blue said...

Lots of fun things today, Alex! Starting with an upcoming Ayreon album and lots of new releases by IWSG authors. I'll look for "Underwater." As a geologist and former "Oilfield Trash," I would likely love this! Have a great work, my friend!

Yolanda Renée said...

Thanks for the reviews. Might take a chance. But really a movie with murder hornets. Won't be watching that one!

Pat Hatt said...

I'll have to give underwater a go. Sounds like the murder hornets will be Sharknado like. Ugg. The first Pirates was the only good one anyway, so let em reboot it.

Truedessa said...

Happy Monday!

Thanks for the music videos, I really need more music in my life right now.

I saw Underwater offered on demand this weekend but, I passed on renting it. I really just want to see something funny.

Have a good week.

Jo said...

I have been reading The Wild Hunt Series by Yasmine Galenom. They are right up my street with lots of fae, gods, vampires, shape shifters, etc. and an agency supervised by a couple of gods to keep the peace between the races. There is lots of romance if you want that too.

Botanist said...

Just added Nightwish to my iTunes library. Thanks for the recommendation.

Birgit said...

Books are always good and now is the time to get reading. The music is ok but not my thing..sorry. I am way behind on the Star Wars films. and have only seen the first one of the last batch...the one where Han Solo bites the dust. To be honest, I prefer just the first 3 that came out way back when.

Liz A. said...

Underwater sounds exactly like the kind of movie I don't like. But I'm glad it was a solid outing. I know some of those can be done not so well.

Lidy said...

Thanks Alex for the mention of the release. And congrats for the other releases too.

And another reboot? Thou I love Karen Gillan in Jumanji. My favorite scenes is of her dance fighting.

Jenni said...

Underwater sounds intriguing. I enjoyed your review. Congrats to all the authors with book releases! Tyrean's new books sounds good.
Funny about the Murder Hornet movie. There's been a lot of talk about those murder hornets at my house lately. Boy, they can put together a movie fast!

John Wiswell said...

Underwater was fun! Surprisingly rounded cast of characters, many of them lovable and worthy of rooting to survive.

Katherines Corner said...

Hello my friend, yes we did see underwater. We gave it a 4 out of 5. Jumped out of my seat twice, LOL. My most recent book is The Path Made Clear by Oprah, for inspiration. The Quarantine concerts are fun, thank you for sharing. Hugs and wishes for continued good health for you, your wife, and your loved ones.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Our sons were 4,5, 7, and 9 when the very first Star Wars movie came out. That is really remarkable when you think about it. I doubt they had any idea the impact those movies would have.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Pat, like we need another Sharknado...

Ian, enjoy!

Lidy, you're welcome!

John, and a couple actually made it!

Joylene, I'm sure they didn't!

Sandra Cox said...

Scandinavian. That's fascinating. I'm going to have to start checking more of them out. I enjoy several of the Irish groups that do ballads and oldies.
Stay safe. Stay healthy.

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

Good music, good videos, good books. What a way to spend the day, umm, the week. Thanks. I'll have to check on some of these.

H. R. Sinclair said...

I like the music you put up for Nightwish! I'm a new fan.

Movies that are fun and entertaining right now are welcome.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Congrats to everyone with new releases!

Anonymous said...

Wow! You're not kidding about Jansen's voice. Powerful!

Okay, I was on the fence about Underwater. I'll have to give it a watch this weekend.

Seriously? A murder hornet movie...in June? Hello, sharknado quality.

Elsie

Sandra Cox said...

What's your thoughts on the upcoming Star Wars flicks?
Hope your day is amazing and that your muse is shouting in your ear.

Mary Kirkland said...

I love Nightwish!

The Happy Whisk said...

Hey Alex! I never heard of Nightwish but what a fun name. I love that you still got it because your honey bunny wanted a copy. Very cool. And, that you gave them another go. Excellent.

Juneta key said...

Congrats to all the new book releases. I will have to check out Nightwish.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Oh my. A flick about murder hornets? OY! And so soon? It might just be as awful as some of the dreadful movies about giant ants, giant crabs, and giant everything else that were around in the fifties. I ate 'em up then, but I believe I'll skip the new one.

Lynda Dietz said...

Glad you're enjoying the new Nightwish! You just never know. My husband is much like you in the sense that once a band gets too popular, he feels they sold out to commercial sound. He's a firm believer in the first release being the best more often than not, because the band had a lot more time to work on it than subsequent albums.

I don't think I can watch any underwater movie without holding my breath for half of it, so I'll have to wait to see Kristen Stewart act better somewhere else, haha.

Oh! And have you heard anything about a new Star Trek series? Jonathan Frakes just put out a little "red alert" tweet with a short video and I'm pretty excited.

Himawan Sant said...

I look forward to the film Underwater. I guess this must be the way of the story.

Your recommendations are all cool, Alex.

DMS said...

Sounds like you have a smart wife. :) Glad you ended up enjoying the album.

Also- nice to hear that Kristen Stewart did a good job acting in the movie. I haven't seen anything with her in it for a while. I still picture her teen roles. :)

Have a beautiful weekend!
~Jess

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Holly, awesome! They've been around a long time.

Sandra, there will be a lot to choose from. Until they start sucking and not making money, I say go for it.

Mary, awesome!

Susan, I think it will be even worse...

Lynda, yes! There are several in the works.

Jess, she's definitely an adult now.

Deniz Bevan said...

Congratulations to Tyrean and the other new releases!
Stories in 200 words each? That's impressive!

Rhonda Albom said...

Glad you and your wife enjoyed the joy from Nightwish. The movies, however, are not my style.

Tonja Drecker said...

I'm looking forward to reading some of those new releases. And thanks for Devin's videos!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks for the shout-out! I really appreciate it.
BTW, I really appreciate your movie reviews. They are often spot-on with my family's tastes in movies and the reviews really help us when we are doing the "what do you want to watch? I don't know, what do YOU want to watch" conversation.
And, yes, we need a murder hornet book/movie. Speaking of which, I think David Powers King needs to write more of his zombie series ... :)

Sandra Cox said...

I checked out Games Radar. You're right. Lots of Star Wars coming.

Susan Kane said...

I need a RiffTrax movie just about now.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I'm laughing so hard at the murder hornet movie! My mind is spinning.

I think this is the point in the Star Wars saga when I bow out. I can't deal with so many different strands :-(

Sandra Cox said...

Love the cover of Match Game. Quite innovative.
Have a great one. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

dolorah said...

Floor is back with Night Wish? Awesome. But, I think I'm liking Katatonia better and better lately. Thanks for the video's.

Have a great couple weeks Alex.

Ronel Janse van Vuuren said...

I love Nightwish!

Raimey Gallant said...

Congrats to everyone on their releases! Is it worth admitting how many Star Wars movies I am behind everyone else? Someday I'm going to catch up. The sound in those concerts is really great.

Arlee Bird said...

The murder hornet movie sounds like one for our times. I'll take it over anything the Disney company has to offer.

I listened to a sampling of the videos. Good music!

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Sherry Ellis said...

I like Nightwish. Never heard of them, but the lead singer has a good voice. It almost sounds like an Irish reel. But rock style.

Victoria Marie Lees said...

Wonderful music, Alex! The books sound scary to me. Bravo to everyone on their new releases. This is definitely something to be proud of. Thanks for always having such a wide variety of fascinating artwork on your blog. All best to you, sir!

Jo said...

Alex, I have posted three things, two to the Fellowship and one to your address directly and all three were returned by Mailer Demon. Any idea why?

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I totally agree with your review of Underwater. I enjoyed it too. Not awesome or brilliant, but looked good and was entertaining enough.

The Happy Whisk said...

Nice to read that she can act beyond pouty teen.

Sandra Cox said...

Have you watched BlackList on Netflixs?

Melissa said...

I think a lot of things are that way... music, books. I resist trying new groups and genres, but when I do, I am often pleasantly surprised.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Wow, a murder hornet movie already? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I enjoyed Underwater, too. Stewart is growing on me. I'm also game for Gillan playing the lead role in Pirates. She's a fun actress to watch.

Tammy Theriault said...

I juat rewatched Pirates of the Caribbean the other day, the last one because it was free, lol. I can't wait for it to come back. And i wouldn't mind more in the series if they did it!

SpacerGuy said...

Disney's success with Star Wars makes it easy for them to cash in on Caribbean, I mean they've got the resources, people, studios, money and with the right cast/directors its a done deal.

Sandra Cox said...

YOU have a pleasant, productive day.
Stay safe. Stay healthy.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Tyrean, you're welcome. And I'm honored I can guide your movie watching.

Donna, very cool that you are enjoying them! Scandinavian metal and prog is the best.

Sherry, she can do opera as well! She has quite the range.

Lynda, compared to what is coming out now, yes!

Sandra, you mean The Blacklist with James Spader? I've seen a couple seasons of it.

Spacer Guy, although they just took a hit with all the closures...

Kalpana said...

I haven't seen Underwater but I will. It sounds entertaining. How do you manage to read all those books? I want to read Sandra Cox's and Tyrean's. Very impressive.

XmasDolly said...

Well, there ya go! You should've connected this on Monday... you even posted it on Monday... Dude, your slippin' hahahahaha! Got a funny tune here also. Good one. Where on earth did you find that one? I posted some corona tunes too! You know though.. seems that now since the riots, and people are getting let out of their homes and it's been a couple of months & they're really not 24/7 about the virus like they were people soon forget, and that's so not good. Hopefully they're "Mask Conscious" and why they're there. I'm afraid that'll come back in the fall with a vengeance! It scares the begeezes out of me!!! shhhhhhh My biggest fear is dying alone. It's been constantly on my mind. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr