Satoru Iwata - The Happiness Behind Nintendo

Satoru Iwata passed away yesterday, July 11, 2015. Nintendo has released a statement that he passed away due to a tumor in his bile duct at the age of 55.

I never got to meet Iwata-san. Truth be told, I knew about him as the President and CEO of Nintendo, my favorite gaming company. He worked on games that became part of the childhood of millions like Earthbound, Kirby, Balloon Fight, and would later work on Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing. Take a moment to look at the titles I listed. I guarantee you can recall at least one character from those franchises combined, whether it be Link, Pikachu, the Villager, Meta Knight or Ness.

Iwata is one of the main reasons that Super Smash Brothers Melee finished on time, and he was the reason Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal had a second region to go to, the Kanto Region from the original Red/Blue/Yellow. Linger on that thought, it was the only major Pokemon game to date to feature two regions and 16 badges.

I find myself at a loss when I think about all the things that Iwata has done for Nintendo, for all the fans he indirectly had by making the games that would be apart of the childhood of millions. I was born in 1994, so I was lucky enough to play Pokemon Yellow when it came out. I remember buying it from Costco and getting a Purple Gameboy Color to boot. I still have them sitting next to me. I play it from time to time, just because it was such a classic. I also play Crystal, because it is the only 2^nd Generation Pokemon game I have, besides Heart Gold for the DS, that I can play. I remember being completely blown away that I could get 16 badges. That was so cool to me. And it was his idea.

Super Smash Brothers Melee was the first true party game that I played, and I was introduced to it because of my cousin. After that, I was hooked on Nintendo. I was able to see all of these cool characters, and instantly bought the games they were from. I was enthralled by Legend of Zelda, laughed and enjoyed Kirby’s Nightmare in Dreamland, fascinated by Star Fox and obviously obsessed with Pokemon.

To think one man had such an impact on an entire company, industry, and audience completely blows my mind. I wish I got to meet you Iwata-san. Thanks for everything, I never met you, but you made my childhood amazing.

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Digitech RP 500

Ever since my Digitech RP 255, I've bought a couple more Digitech products. This one will go through the RP 500. The RP 500 is a huge step up and advances on the shortcomings of its 255 brother.

Let's first discuss the back panel. The RP 500 has XLR outputs in addition to its 1/4 inch outputs. The outputs now also have a hex nut around the jack for better durability. The mp3 and headphones make a return to the RP 500. These two features are quite handy and were very useful to me as a bedroom guitarist. The USB output lets the user connect right to their pc or laptop, making recording a breeze. The last point worth noting for the back panel is that it is powered by the 9v power adapter that comes with the pedal.

Now that the back panel has been taken care of, let's look at the physical build of the product and the actual pedal itself. Just like the RP 255 and all of its predecessors, the 500 has a metal bottom and strong reinforced top. The wah / volume pedal has a rubber grip on it making it easier for the user to use their shoes and get a grip of the pedal. This model comes with five dedicated effect switches on the bottom. Compression, Distortion, Chorus/FX, Delay, and Reverb can be quickly accessed by the press of a switch, a nice strong vacuum switch I might add. I feel a lot more confident pressing down on these switches then the plastic bump of the RP 255. This also means that the user doesn't have to switch presets for a new effect. They can just hit the distortion for that nice gritty tone and then kick it off once it's done being used. This saves a lot of time when it comes to presets and lets the use experiment and focus on one preset as opposed to switching back and forth.

With the update the pedal received a couple months after its release, it also has a 30 second looper. The looper works great, but the switch to start and stop the looper is located on the right hand side of the board with the two switched near the wah. This makes it frustrating to hit the switch based off of the angle you need.

On the left hand side of the board you have the bypass and tap tempo buttons. Bypass lets the user quickly go to tuning mode. The display becomes a tuner and denotes whether the note is in tune or flat. Pretty straightforward and functions great. The tap tempo button is for the delay to dictate the frequency of it all. I use is to normally synchronize with the bass drum when I am playing a song that needs delay. Otherwise I tend to not use it. I have heard people complain about the tap tempo and how they are unable to do intricate patterns with it, but I don't find it to be an issue for me just yet.

The presets and the user presets are the next order of business here. There are a hundred of each of them. As I clicked through them, I noticed a lot of the presets focused on the delay pedal, but otherwise, I found a clear variety of effects. Some names are Acoustic, Metal clean, Satch, Legacy, Whammy, Mr. Clean, sci-fi, and EQ-Best. Some presents are covertly modeled after musicians such as ACDC Joe Satriani, SRV, and Black Label Society. Being able to tweak any preset makes for some very interesting changes since you are filled with numerous things to change.

Since this is a multi-effects processing system, it is meant to emulate amplifiers pedals, cabs, effects and more. I’m going to go take one preset as an example and then go down and describe each aspect of the preset that can be changed and how. This preset is going to be number 82, Mr. Clean. Mr. Clean uses a DigiTech Clean Amp with a Twin 2x12 Cabinet with EQ, Noise Gate and two effects, a Digitech Dual Chorus and a reverb that is based on the EMT 240 Plate Reverb. The first of course is whether the user want the wah wah pedal on. The expression pedal normally acts as a volume pedal until the user presses down on the pedal, turning on the wah effect. The next is the compressor followed by the distortion. Just to give you an idea as to what you have to work with, the RP 500 can simulate a Boss CS-2 Compressor, a Digitech Main Squeeze and a MXR Dynacomp. There are more than enough distortions to name, but some noteworthy ones are the Ibanez TS-9, Pro Co Rat, MXR Distortion +, Boss DS-1, and the Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi. Again, these are simulations based on the original pedal.

The amplifier and cabinet are probably two of the more important features that this pedal has to offer because in my opinion, this is where the real tweaking and simulation begin. Due to the amount of sheer possibilities between effects and amps and cabs, the type of sound you can get is definitely limitless. The RP 500 simulates a ’57 Fender Tweed Champ, ’65 Fender Blackface Twin Reverb, ’83 Marshall JCM 800, ’93 Marshall JCM 900, ’62 Vox AC 15 and Sunn 100S. Within the Amp settings, the user can adjust the Gain, Bass, Mid, and Treble settings as well as the overall max volume. Clicking the first button brings the user to the cab simulation where they can pick from a Fender Blonde Bassman, 4x12 Marshall 1969 Straight w/ Celestion G12-T70, Hiwatt Custom w/ Fane Speakers, or a 1x12 '62 Vox AC15 w/20W Vox Speaker to name a few. The same Gain, Bass, Mid, and Treble settings are offered to the user for the cab as well. Going down the adjustment options, the user can then adjust the equalizer, noise gate, delay, or reverb settings. The final setting that I felt should be noted individually from the aforementioned effects are the Chorus and FX.

Now, Digitech compiled a lot of effects and put them under this label to save space. This is understandable considering anyone can get really specific with these FX and provide even more categories than needed.  The FX options range from Choruses such as the TC Electronic Chorus, DigiTech Multi-Chorus, Boss CE-2 Chorus, to Flangers and Phasers like MXR Flanger, Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress, ADA Flanger, MXR Phase 100, Digitech Phaser and Electro Harmonix Small Stone. The pedal also offers Pitch Shifters like the Digitech Whammy, Digitech Pitch Shift and the Dgitiech IPS. Lastly, there are also tremolos, Envelope Filters, and Vibrato/Rotary Models.

Now, editing these settings can be a little bit of a nuisance since the font on the pedal is really small. This prevents editing important settings on the fly, something that you cold normally do if you were to have a dedicate pedalboard with individual effects. This is definitely a drawback for a lot of people, but I find that this does not personally bother me since I have not yet started to edit settings on the fly. This pedal is fantastic for the value and what it can bring to the table. It lets me record directly into my laptop and by plugging in my headphones, whatever I hear through my headphones is what gets recorded on my laptop since I record directly into my laptop and not through an amplifier.

The pedal overall is fantastic, especially at the $200 price range. It really opened my eyes to what is possible with digital effects processing systems. I would give this pedal a shot if you see it in a store and really put it through its paces. Go through a couple of the presets and change some stuff around. I recommend trying the Solo Delay Preset (#3), Mr. Clean (#82), Sci Fi (#100), Acoustic (#10), and Satch (#64). 

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Fleksy Keyboard Has Gone Free! But What's Fleksy?

In the past couple days, the popular keyboard app Fleksy has decided to go free in order to increase their userbase. It's my personal keyboard of choice, and I have been using it without complaint for the past six months, but what actually is Fleksy?

One of the greatest things about the Android OS as a whole is that you have options. The user is not tethered to the same calendar, photos, camera, or even Twitter app anymore. You have the option to switch at any time. Keyboards are no different. Now I started with the stock keyboard on my Samsung Galaxy S III and then went on to the stock keyboard Cyanogenmod offered in their CM 10 and CM 11 versions of the ROM. After that I switched to Swype, Google Keyboard and eventually Fleksy. I've tested SwiftKey, Minuum, and touch pal. Nothing comes close to the usability I get with the Fleksy keyboard.

I initially selected Fleksy because it was the only keyboard to let me have my enter button back on the bottom right as opposed to the silly emoji icon that I never use. As I user it more, I found that Fleksy offers what other keyboard don't offer and that's gesture typing. The term gesture typing in this case is not to be confused with Swype where the user drags their finger from letter to letter to create words. In this case, it is swiping to the left to delete, and swiping up and down to go through the autocorrect options. Although it takes a little getting used to, you will find that your words per minute, WPM, will greatly improve.

What I liked about Fleksy the most from the get go was that the letters were large. I know there are some users that want their keyboards to take up as little space as possible, but I like the larger keys because it helps reduce error for me. Error is then terrified even further with the fantastic autocorrect that Fleksy offers. I have not the slightest clue how it is nearly as accurate as it is, definitely has something to do with intense algorithims, but I enjoy it thoroughly. I find that although I miss swyping, I type faster with Fleksy. The gestures are intuitive and easy to pick up. If you swipe up on a word, you can automatically add it to the dictionary.

Fleksy offers themes for the user, but I was never really into it so never delved into it besides picking the black keyboard theme. It may be a tad gimmicky, but Fleksy also has badges. They are simply for aesthetic purposes to show progress in areas such as auto correct, typing with the invisible keyboard and so on. Nothing that really breaks ground, but a nice touch

.

My favorite feature of Fleksy is definitely the extensions. These extensions add extra, free features to Fleksy. Again, most of these are gimmicks, but they do prove to be useful. For example, the one extension I have on let's me swipe on my keyboard to add a number row. This makes my life easier when typing in numbers because now I don't have to click an extra button to get to the numbers. Another extension lets me add certain apps as hot keys so that I an quickly jump to them. I have my email, texting, app store, and writing app all hot keyed so that I can quickly get to them when needed.

Fleksy is simple at its heart. There are no external ads that plague the app and it is quite easy to use. It is definitely different with its gesture typing, but once you get used to it, your overall speed in typing goes up dramatically.

Here is a gif of me typing on the keyboard and using some of the functions that I described above. I do not know why the keyboard looks skewed. The accurate depiction of the keyboard is in the screenshot above. As you can see the gestures take a little getting used to, but it becomes second nature after you use it. Here is a link to the Google Play Store for Fleksy. 

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Coheed and Cambria's New Single- You've Got Spirit Kid

It's been a while since we've heard anything from the Nyack rockers Coheed and Cambria. Yesterday, the band released their first single, titled 'You Got Spirit Kid', for their new album

The Color Before The Sun. The band also announced that this album would not be a concept album. This would be their first ever album that they have released that is not a concept album. Claudio Sanchez, the lead singer and guitar player for the band, stated that the band never had any limitations as to what they could do as artists and that they would like to try the writing and creating an album that would not follow the Amory Wars, the fictitious world created by Claudio.

The single itself has a very poppy sound to it. It does not sound like Welcome Home, A Favor House Atlantic, or anything else they have released thus far. This is an interesting change for the band. That is not to say the single is bad, it is quite good actually and it grows on you. I was unsure about the song at first because it wasn't the Coheed and Cambria that I was used to, but that's okay. That's normal. There were a couple drum fills that I heard that kept the same prog feel that Coheed is known to offer. Vocals were good, but they left a little something to be desired.

I am looking forward to what the band has to offer since this will not be a concept album. The album is due to release on October 9, 2015 and I'm sure we'll get more news about the album as it comes closer, and probably another single.

Check out the single below.

https://youtu.be/Ydkfdq0Xggo

What do you guys think about it? Like it, hate it? Talk to me about it.

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Protest The Hero- Volition Album Review

I've only been a Protest the Hero fan for a short while, probably a year or so, but I fell in love with the band. Their lyrics have a lot of value and they are fantastic musicians in their own right. When I heard that they had a new album coming out, I simply HAD to get it and write a review about it. This is the first album that I have listened to that made me want to listen to the full album. It gripped me like an action thriller and it took every fiber in me to hit stop and go to sleep. It should also be noted that Protest the Hero parted ways with their drummer Moe Carlson who was the original drummer of the band. The band have found a new drummer Mike Ieradi, but Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler is the session drummer for this album. Without further ado, onto the fantastic album that is Volition.

1.      Clarity- This track practically pulls you into the musical insanity that is Protest the Hero, and shows you what they really are made of. The intro riff really appeals to me and the progression of the drums is flawless. They beat flows so smoothly and the bass and guitar lock right in. What always appealed to me about Protest the Hero was that they had a second guitar that plays a funky rhythm over a progression. This track does not have a lot of screaming in it, but in this case it makes the song sound even better. The song overall is a consistent barrage of sound and it sounds beautiful and well arranged. 8/10

2.      Drumhead Trial- One of my favorite things about Protest The Hero are their 'broken' up intros. They play a quick little riff, then rest, then play the next part of the riff. It just sounds so badass and awesome to me. The song flows extremely well, especially with the tempo change at 1:34. It took me by surprise, but I was happily surprised to hear the song flow just as well as it did before. The song takes a turn for the softer side about three quarters through the song featuring guest vocalist Kayla Howran, a country vocalist who I have never heard of. Let me say this, she KILLED it. Her vocal range was spectacular and her voice fit the song perfectly. 8/10

3.      Tilting Against Windmills- This song is an immensely "heavy" song. The drums really push this song forward and vocalist Rody Walker really gets time to shine on this track, as well as bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi. The breakdown at the end of the song is one of the heaviest breakdowns I have heard in a long time. The song really makes me want to get up and break shit. It's that heavy of a track. The guitar solo in the album changes moods quite well, using the broke intro concept I mentioned in "Drumhead trial" With that being said, it is kind of similar to the opening track Clarity in some aspects. 6.75/10

4.      Without Prejudice- The song starts off with a trumpet sound that sounds like it came from an old 80's movie when the protagonist has caught the villain mid crime. With that being said, this is one of my favorite tracks off of the album. It has a lot of energy going for it, and the second half of the song is quite inspiring. What makes this song so amazing to me is the bass line in the midst of the third verse. It is signature Arif with his crazy bass lines, but the accents he used on the notes he hit were what really blew me away. The guitars eventually start following the bass line, as opposed to the bass line following the guitar parts. The bass leads the song for a full minute before the guitar takes over "control" of the song. Rody is flaunting his vocal range in this song, hitting high notes with ease and accentuating the song all the more. The composition and the execution of this song are simply mind blowing, and dare I say, flawless. 9.5/10  

5.      Yellow Teeth- Something about this song throws me off. I think it may have been the quiet part of the song, or maybe it was the overall progression of the song. The song does have a badass riff in with really cool licks and mini solos in it. The guitars really help the song transition from section to section within the song. With all of that being said, the song does not stand out at all in this album. It has flair, but it kind of blends into the album. There is nothing special about this song, but the song itself does sound good. Great even. I feel it could have been a little bit more dynamic though. 6/10

6.      Plato's Tripartite- Half way through the album! I feel that at this point the album, the songs really change and stand out more. Plato's Tripartite is a perfect example of this. The chorus and the verse are very distinct, and don't fade in and out of each other like the previous songs. This is not to say that it is a bad thing, but it very nice to see the variety in the song. The breakdown in the song is very dynamic and to top it all off, the band even adds an acoustic guitar outro for fifty five seconds in which Rody and Kayla overlay their vocals to create beautiful harmonies with a simple acoustic guitar in the background. I'd overall rate this song an 8/10.

7.      A Life Embossed- This song really means a lot to me. A friend of mine is very passionate about the BSL law that is discussed in this song and is doing everything she can to get it overturned. The song essentially talks about the law that is practically committing a genocide on Pitbulls. With that taken care of, this song musically is feels like something that could have been on Fortress. It has quite a bit of screaming and the drums and guitar work are simply stunning like always. The bass works really well in this song and compliments the drums and guitars quite well. 7.5/10

8.      Mist- This song is very upbeat. I can't tell if it is due to Rody's voice or the guitar section and the bright notes used, but it sounds very uplifting. In comparison to other songs, this one sounds very simple in terms of the composition of the song, but it works very well. They do add a very nice violin ending to it followed by an acoustic outro that bears no resemblance to the outro of Plato's Tripartite. This outro is fully decked out with piano, backup acoustic guitar and a lead acoustic guitar that plays a very interesting melody. The piano was a very nice touch to this song and adds to the beauty of this song. 7/10

9.      Underbite- This song pokes fun at the generic bands and artists that tour and become sellouts and record generic material to please the crowd. The song has a bunch of tempo changes and time signature making it very complex piece in all. My personal favorite was the second change that introduced the backup vocals around the three minute mark because the bass really shines and shows how layered it can really get. 7.5/10

10.  Animal Bones- This is, in my opinion, the heaviest song on the record. The double bass pounds away as Rody screams some of the heaviest screams I have heard from him. There aren't as many changes in this song in comparison to Underbite or Without Prejudice, but that doesn't change the fact that the song is still pretty good. The one thing I didn't like about this song was that they faded out. I felt they could have ended the song on the ending riff they used without having to fade out. Kind of ruined the feel of the song for me, but not by much. 6.5/10

11.  Skies- This song really has a lot going for it. It has a few soft parts where the bass takes the lead and Rody is able to show he does have a tender side to his voice, and then it has other sections where the guitar is ruling the song with some heavy riffs and insane shredding. Lyrics were strong and as passionate as the rest of the album and everyone was able to stand out musically without getting muddled and overplayed. The song overall was a great way to end the album. 8/10

Album Overall: This album is my favorite album of the year. It has a lot going for it and each song is very distinct and unique. The female vocalist Kayla Howran does a fantastic job in "Drumhead Trial". There's are large amount of guest musicians on this record as well, such as Jadea Kelly, a female folk vocalist who is practically a staple for back vocals for Protest the Hero, as well as various other vocalists and guitarists. The riffs are all memorable and very solid. Both lead guitarist Luke Hoskin and rhythm guitarist Tim Millar are stunning guitarists and have great chemistry as musicians. They are both very skilled and complement each other's strong suits very nicely. Bassist Arif remains as technical as always with his tapping bass sections and stunning slap technique. He is able to accent the guitar parts quite nicely, and he works with the intense drum parts that Chris Adler lays down on the album. Adler is a monster drummer and does a great job on this record as a studio drummer. His fills are amazing and he fits with the band quite well, despite the fact he only played drums on the album, and not live. The album overall is fantastic and I can't wait to hear more from them.

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Perrix MX-2000 Gaming Mouse Review

When I got into PC gaming, I realized I needed a better mouse for gaming. I usually play Counter Strike: Global Offensive, but I also play RPG games extensively and I wanted a  mouse that would be accurate, and hold up to my abuse. I had been using a cheap IBM mouse up until that point with a scroll wheel that was grounded down so much from usage that it was smoother than the floor! The mouse had a decent back to it and a moderate downward slope to it so I wanted to maintain that shape in the next mouse. I am a person who likes having options, regardless if I decide to take them so I wanted to have a mouse that would have lots of buttons and functions. I  viewed various mice that ranged from the Logitech to Cooler Master and Blue Cobra, but I finally decided on the Perixx MX-2000 gaming mouse with 11 buttons and DPI switch.

 

My old IBM Mouse on the left, the Perrix on the right. 

The mouse itself is really comfortable and economic. I play a claw grip style, which means that I arch my index, middle and ring finger on the left, middle, and right button respectively. The mouse works very well for claw grip players, but I feel it would be perfectly fine for palm grip players, a grip that essentially requires the user to place their palm on the mouse and let their hand naturally grip the mouse. My thumb comfortably rests on the accompanying thumb rest that has a button at the base of the rest. It is placed in such a way that it is easy to click, but only if one wants to. It is tough to 'accidentally' click it.

There are two buttons that are above the thumb rest on the side of the mouse that are traditionally for the "forward" and "backward" commands when in a browser or Windows Explorer to go to a previous page. The right side of the mouse has a button that is placed parallel to the forward button that is easy to reach with my ring finger as a claw grip player. Palm grip players would find it easy to click with their pinky finger when needed, but I have that button programmed to "F5" which is the refresh command when within a browser. The scroll wheel believe or not has 3 button functions. You can click on the scroll wheel for one function, tilt it to the left for another function, and tilt it to the right for the third and final function. At first, I thought the tilt on the scroll wheel would get in the way of me using it,, but it turns out it stays out of the way until only when needed. Last, but not least, the mouse also has DPI adjustment buttons. DPI, which stands for dots per inch, is how many dots the mouse 'understands' per inch the mouse itself moves. A high DPI means the mouse moves fast, whereas a lower DPI means the mouse speed is lower. These buttons are placed in a slightly inconvenient manner behind the scroll wheel. If they were about a millimeter or so closer to the scroll wheel it would be easier to reach. The buttons as is are easy to press, but it would be convenient for the user. Otherwise, all the buttons feel very natural and responsive, all in all making it a great mouse to use physically. Now for the fun stuff, the program.

What makes this mouse so useful to me is the software that comes with it. Each of the 11 buttons on the mouse can be reprogrammed to the users liking. The program lets the user switch out the default functions of the mouse to what the user wants. You can change a button to a basic function such as forwards, backwards, double click, and menu, or you can change it to media hotkey such as play or stop. In addition to that, basic edit functions such as copy and paste, as well as more advanced functions including run, close window, Lock PC and LED Color Switch. Probably most important for gamers is the Single Key and Macro buttons which allow users to create shortcuts that can be bound to their keys. These come in handy for me a lot when I play games such as Magicka, a game that requires you to make spells via key combinations that range across 8 keys on the keyboard. MMO players and MOBA players also benefit from this when they play their respective games because it makes them more efficient as players. The program also lets you change little things as well such as the color of the LED in the mouse, the sensitivity of the scroll wheel and the double click speed.

You will not have to worry about changing the button commands every two seconds since the mouse can handle up to five profiles. This means that you can have a profile just for browsing the internet and casual use, as well as profiles for your favorite games. On last point to touch on is the wire itself. The wire is braided, which means that it cannot get tangled up and wrapped up within itself like most other cables do. This for me is a fantastic feature since it makes it easier to take the mouse places without having to waste time untangling the cable once I reach my destination.

This mouse overall is a great value purchase and it has not failed me so far in the six months I have owned it. It is built to last in my opinion, and although the company is not well known or well advertised, I will be sure to buy more products from this company if the occasion arises. The mouse is quite comfortable and the accompanying program is quite useful and manageable. I would easily recommend this mouse for anyone who is into gaming or wants a comfortable mouse to use for their desktop or laptop.  

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Band of the Week #13 - Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters was a band that was formed directly after the end of Nirvana, the band lead singer/guitar player David Grohl played drums for. David went into the studio for a week after hearing the news of Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain's suicide. He recorded songs about how he felt, and released it as a demo tape dubbed "Foo Fighters".  Grohl wanted to stay anonymous for a while since Nirvana was one of the most famous bands at the time, and he didn't want to be under the microscope of the public for a short while. The demo tape garnered a lot of attention, and almost two decades later, the Foo Fighters are still going strong, writing hit songs like "Rope", "Monkey Wrench", and "The Pretender"

I initially got into this band when my old friend Jason showed me "The Pretender" music video back when it came out in 2007. The lyrics were almost mystical to me at the time, but what really made my jaw drop were the instrumentals. I never really heard anything quite like the Foo Fighters at that point. After hearing "The Pretender", I didn't really listen to them a lot until four to five years later. It wasn't because I didn't like them, it was just that I never listened to full albums a lot at that point. I only listened to a track here and there, but one day I just decided to listen to The Colour and the Shape and Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace from cover to cover and it was quite possibly one of the greatest decisions I ever made as a musician. There were songs on the albums that were soft acoustic tracks, and then there were tracks that were loud, kickass rock tracks. Each album had a perfect blend of soft tracks and loud tracks, thus providing the fans a very dynamic, strong catalog.

Foo Fighters have a lot to offer musically. They were never a four chord band, and they always wanted to push the envelope as musicians. Drummer Taylor Hawkins is a monster drummer and knows how to embellish tracks without overplaying and making pieces sound awkward. Bassist Nate Mendel keeps a great groove, and if you listen closely, adds nice tags to his bass lines to make sure that they don't just follow the simple root notes of the guitar. Chris Shiflett, the lead guitar player, plays very percussive lead parts that add a lot of flavor to the songs. Pat Smear, David Grohl's guitar player whilst in Nirvana, lays down a great rhythm guitar along with lead singer David Grohl. Grohl's vocals are an even blend of old school punk screaming, and melodic phrases make the band truly unique. Lyrically, their songs are varied and stretch across various topics. They don't strictly stick to romance and love as a point of topics, thus making them a well rounded band lyrically. The Foo Fighters have been one of those bands that has stood the test of time and I am sure they will be relevant in the music industry for years to come due to the bands' unique songs and their sheer creativity when it comes to writing songs. 

Rope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbpqZT_56Ns

The Pretender: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjQ9tuuTJQ

Monkey Wrench: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7rCNiiNPxA

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Band of the Week #12- A Day To Remember

History:

Coming straight from Ocala is pop punk/ post hardcore band A Day to Remember. Like most bands, all the members were all in different bands until they all met up and formed ADTR. They were originally signed to Indianola records where they released their first EP as well as their debut album And Their Name Was Treason. This album was able to get the band a lot of attention throughout the DIY tour of which they were a part of. Through various connections, the band was able to talk to a representative of Victory Records and was eventually able to get signed to their label after the representative saw them play a show in Chicago. On this record label they would release all of their albums, except for their most recent album Common Courtesy. Right after they got signed to Victory Records, they changed drummers to Alex Shelnutt. They released their sophomore album For Those Who Have a Heart in January of 2007, and it gained them the spot of Number 17 on the Billboards Heatseekers Chart. They toured this album for two years, and even played shows as far as the UK and Bamboozle.

In 2008, they went back to the studio to record their third album Homesick. Their guitar player Tom Denny would leave the band during 2008, and was replaced by Kevin Skaff. Denny still had a say in how the album was written. They released the album in February of 2009 and then went on tours to support it. They even had their own North American Tour, dubbed Toursick. This album is widely considered to be their best album to date, as well as their breakthrough album. They toured this album extensively, and then they their fourth album What Separates Me From You. They originally released their first single off the record, "All I Want", in October of 2010, followed by the release of the full album in November of the same year. The album was well received, although fans consistently compared it to Homesick. The album had a great mix of heavy tracks and pop punk tracks. It was overall well received, but then they would soon have fallouts with their record label, Victory Records. With all of that aside, the band was able to self release their most recent album, Common Courtesy last Tuesday. The band is currently on the House Party Tour with Pierce the Veil and All Time Low.

My Thoughts:  

ADTR is probably the band that helped me get into "scremo" music. I got into their most recent album at the time, What Separates Me From You, and then progressively started listening to heavier and heavier material. They were a great band to help me transition into listening to heavier acts such as Protest The Hero and Between the Buried and Me. The band overall is fantastic and  although they may be a little bit generic when it comes to lyrics, their instrumentals are really good and dynamic. The guitarists work well together and the rhythm section know hoe to keep a tight groove. Jeremy McKinnon, the lead vocalist has a lot of energy and passion when it comes to singing and writing his lyrics. The band overall is amazing and their new album is stellar. I will be releasing an album review of it in the upcoming week. 

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Mayday Parade- Monsters in the Closet Album Review

I only found out about this album three months when I saw the band post information about it on their Facebook page. If they hadn't done that, I wouldn't have even heard about it. I checked out the lyric video for their first single and thought it was a really good song. Right then and there, I decided that this would have to be an album that I check out. Mayday Parade's past three albums have all been unique in their own special way, so without further ado, let's get on with the review.

In Depth Review:

1.      Ghosts- This was the first of two singles they released from this album. It has a really soft intro, but it picks up within after the first 30 seconds. The first thing I heard was the guitar in the background. It was doing a lot more movement than I expected, but I'll admit I like it. It isn't like Hail to the King by Avenged Sevenfold where the intricate part stood out and tarnished the song to a certain extent, but a subtle guitar part that gets its time to shine for the quick solo in the song. The song in itself is very dynamic and has a lot of tempo changes as well as a good mix of highs and lows. Another plus is that I can hear the bass really well in this track which is always good since the bassist gets a little time to shine as well. This is overall a really good opener, I'd give it a 8/10

2.      Girls- This is the second single off the album that was released a couple of weeks ago. This song sounds very pop-punk, but in a good way. The drums are really punchy and push the song forward a lot. The song has a nice guitar riff going for it and the vocals are stunning. Towards the end of the song, it slows down a lot, but they were able to keep tempo and maintain the integrity of the song. Overall, I'd give this song a 7/10. I felt there was something missing in the song, something that could have made it ten times better, but it is still a great track.

3.      Last Night for a Table of Two- The introduction to this is song is amazing! The guitar has a very Middle Eastern feel to it. This song is really technical in comparison to Mayday Parade's previous material. There are a lot of held notes, and there is an insane guitar solo filled with shreddy goodness. The vocalists Derek Sanders and Jake Bundrick have really nice vocal tradeoffs and they fit really well together on the vocal department.  The bass and drums are really tight on this track and the track overall is a really rock oriented track. I did not expect this type of track to be on the album; it surprised me in a good way. 9/10

4.      12 Through 15- This track is the type of track I was expecting to be on the record, and it doesn't disappoint. The track opens up with an audio clip from a movie. The track overall is very soft and laid back The bass is playing a very slow, but moving progression while the guitars play a nice percussive chord progression. The band really focuses on the vocals and set their goals to accentuate the vocals in this song. The song really picks up towards the second half, and it really shows off Derek's vocals. 8/10

5.      The Torment of Existence Weighed Against the Horror of Nonbeing- The intro is a big band "la-la-la" intro, but I wasn't too fond of it. I can see it being used in a live set extensively, but I wasn't a fan of the record version. With that aside, the song is really cool to listen to. The bass does some really cool stuff in the verse, and the vocals are stunning in the chorus. Jason and Derek get to show off their vocal abilities. The second guitar and piano in the second verse add nice accents in the song without overshadowing the song as a whole. The bridge and the buildup to the final chorus are amazing and I absolutely love this song. My only other issue with this song is that the end of the song has a violin section that feels out of place. With that aside, the album seems to get better the longer you listen to it. I'd give this track a 7/10

6.      Even Robots Need Blankets- This is yet another soft rock track. It starts off with a piano, and throughout the course of the song, goes back to focus on it since it is the main component of the song. The song gets slightly heavier, but it doesn't really change much. There are no interesting dynamic changes, nor a fun moving bassline. What really threw me off was the end of the song that seemed to have ended on a bad note. The song also initially end in an abrupt manner before going to the piano to end it. I'd give this song a 5/10. It feels very unpolished and incomplete.

7.      Repent and Repeat-  From the fade in to the very end, this track had me hooked. The drums are stellar and it is very pop-punk like. It has a great feel to it and I really like the song lyrically. The song flows really well and always stay up beat. It is personally one of my favorite songs off of the record so far. It is just so consistent and powerful. Plus the song is really catchy and the chorus is already stuck in my head after one listen. 9.5/10.

8.      Demons- This is another one of Mayday Parade's powerhouse tracks; a pop-punk track. This song would stand out if it was placed on one of their older records, but in an album filled with lots of fast upbeat tracks, it doesn't shine like it should Demons is a great track and one of my first thoughts about this song was that the intro is very Boys Like Girls like. It is reminiscent of their style, but in a good way.The track doesn't stand out terribly well in the album, but it is all in all a good track. 6.5/10

9.      Sorry, Not Sorry- I had two simultaneous impressions of this song when I first heard it. The first expression is that this song sounds like something off of their debut full length album, A Lesson in Romantics. The second was that the phrasing of the song is really awkward in various parts such as the intro. It didn't quite ruin the song for me, but it did bother me a little bit.  The song overall was good and I'd give it a 7.5/10

10.  Nothing You Can Live Without, Nothing You Can Do About- Something about this song strikes a chord with me. I don't know why, but I feel that I really relate to this song. With the personal feelings aside, this song is amazing. It feels like something that would have made it onto their second album, Anywhere But Here. It fits the theme of that album quite well, but it fits this one just as well. It is a really nice track and I would give it a solid 8/10

11.  Hold Onto Me- This is probably their most powerful song on the album. It is a soft rock track, very similar to Lifehouse in that sense. The track is a soft track and is a nice way to reach the ending of this album. Derek is belting out all he has vocally and is clearly putting some passion and soul into his work. I liked this track quite a bit. 710

12.  Angels- The album digresses from its hard hitting intros and triplets on the bass drum to end with yet another soft track. The album built up and digressed in a nice even manner. As for the song Angels, it reminds me a lot of Miserable at Best, a song they released on their debut album A Lesson in Romantics. The song is a nice soft ending to fantastic album. 7/10

The Album Overall:

WOW. Let me start with that. This album was amazing. I will definitely be listening to this album again and again for quite some time. The album has a things going for it and it was mixed really well. The lyrical content is no different than any of their other records, so I didn't focus on it as much. What really blew me away for this record was the instrumentals and the musicality. It is unlike any other Mayday Parade record I have ever heard and it is amazing. Id' give the album as a whole a solid 8.5/10. There are some really stellar songs in this album and I can happily say in my opinion that there are no bad tracks on this album. Nothing stood out like a sore thumb in a negative manner, and nothing sounded terrible. The album was well mixed, well made, and in my opinion, it will be well received. 

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iOS 7 is on Android!

iOS 7 is without a doubt one of the biggest things to happen to Apple this year alongside the release of their iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S. The new OS touts various new features as well as a new  refreshing look with bright icons and live wallpapers. But it isn't just for iOS devices anymore.

Some of you may have read my article a while back about the Android launcher Espier Launcher, an app that made your Android device look like it was running iOS 6. It would also operate like iOS 6 with the jiggle on the icons, iPhone search page on the left and the similar folder layouts, as well as modified icons to replicate iOS6. The same company has come back with an iOS 7 version of their launcher. Now this launcher has been around since iOS 7 was released in its beta stages back in July, but I decided against posting it since we didn't know much about iOS 7 and I didn't want to misinform you lovely readers. With a couple of weeks since iOS 7's release, I figured now would be a good time to talk about Espier Launcher's latest attempts in imitating one of the most popular OS's on the mobile market for the time being 

For those of you using Espier Launcher (the iOS 6 version), you can download a theme that will simply convert your current theme into iOS 7 without having to reconfigure anything. I initially did this in order to see what iOS 7 would look like on my phone.The background changed to the stock background of iOS 7, but it didn't move like the iOS 7. No matter, there are live wallpapers for it all over on the market so I wasn't terribly worried about that. Plus, I prefer the wallapaper to be static since it takes up less RAM and makes my phone run faster. The icons for the most part changed to their iOS 7 counterparts, but nothing else really changed. This theme is good for those who just want the physical look of iOS 7 without sacrificing the functions and features of iOS 6. 

If you want the functions and features of iOS 7, I recommend you try out the iOS 7 Espier Launcher. IF you do chose to use this launcher., you will have to reorganize everything as if you just got the launcher for the first time. I personally say it is worth the sacrifice. Once you utilize the launcher, you will see all the icons change to their iOS 7 counterpart as well as the theme changes. This is where all the comparisons changed to the theme version of it. If you swipe up you see the same task bar from iOS 6, but if you swipe down, you can find the search bar in its new position. I personally like it better in its new position. When you group applications together, you can see the new folder layout. The animations are almost perfect imitations of iOS 7.  Just like the iOS 6 version of the Espier launcher, you are able to edit and change the icons which was always a nice feature. You can import icons just like always from your external storage device and this is just a supplemental thing that adds to the feel of iOS 7.

In addition to all of these features, there are other applications that can help bring iOS to your Android phone, and they are all by Espier. The Espier Lock Screen is the iOS 7 variation of the stock lock screen. This version just provides the simply slide function as the only iOS 7 function. There is a paid version of this application by Espier Studio that provides a little bit more in terms of imitating the latest iOS. It provides the a better lock screen with the same num pad as iOS 7. It also has other handy features like switching to your camera without having to unlock your phone as well changing the text for "Slide to unlock", and the operator name. It also lets the notifications appear on the lock screen, a signature Apple trademark. The applications itself is very fluid and it works very well with the iOS 7 launcher.

Espier also have their own version of the Control Center as well as their own version of the notification center. The Control Center is much more fluid than I originally expected. I have had some experience with some other control centers and they were always very buggy. The swipe up feature was always super sensitive and would pop up on the screen when I would be using my keyboard. The Espier version works much more fluidly and therefore is much more usable and practical. The Airplane Mode, Wifi, Bluetooth, Data and Screen Rotation lock are on the top half of the screen, whereas the Flashlight, Clock, Calculator, and Camera icons are on the bottom. There is a very nice 4 x 1, 5 x 1 spot in the middle for a widget of your choice. They recommend using the Espier Music Controller there to make it really feel like iOS 7, but I personally don't like their controller so I just put a battery widget there by Du Saver Battery.

In addition to the Lock Screen and the Control Center, Espier also offers their own Notification Center. I personally think that this application needs a lot of improvement in the user interface. The screen seems to lag a lot it doesn't always change screen when they are swiped. The notification center is creative in the sense that you can select which apps appear in the center and which don't. You can also choose to just select the notification aspect of the application, the notification bar on the top of your screen, or both. I think that if Espier chooses to fix the little things about this application, it'd be fantastic and fluid. It has a tad bit of latency, but I'm sure Espier will fix it in future updates.

Espier has a lot to offer to the Android market. They are perfect for people like me who like the flexibility and uniqueness of Android, with the simplicity of an iPhone. Although some of their applications need improvements, the overall presentation of the application is fantastic. I would recommend Espier's apps to anyone that wants a simple to use launcher or plugins to make their Android phone into an iPhone replica with legitimate interactive icons and features.

Edit: Here are the links for the various applications I was mentioning throughout the article

Espier iOS 7 THEME (This is if you are using the old launcher and just want a quick upgrade) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.espier.launcher.theme.ios7

Espier iOS 7 LAUNCHER (Full makeover and features) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.espier.launcher7

Espier iOS NOTIFICATIONS- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.espier.launcher.plugin.notifications7

Espier CONTROL CENTER= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.espier.launcher.plugin.controller7

Espier SCREEN LOCKER- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.espier.launcher.plugin.screenlocker7

P.S. There are also "Full Paid Versions" for the screen locker, Control Center, Notifications, and the Launcher. They have the word "Pro" after their title on the Google Play Store. These Applications offer more features for the user and can make the experience more enjoyable. I only have the pro version for the Screen Locker and find that there is a slight amount of lag when it comes to unlocking the screen once you press the lock button on your phone. Using the normal screen locker I find no latency at all. It could just be my phone, but I thought I'd point it out for the sake of pointing it out. 

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