More stick-n-poke radness

Do you remember the post I did about the young man with the butterflies on his feet and the ridiculous home tattoos? Well, he showed me some photos of his friend's tattoos. And boy, are they ridiculous!

First up- booyah! arm!

This poor person has "booyah!" on their arm not once, but at least SEVEN TIMES! I can also see a pterodactyl, a ghost, and "USA GOES UNDEFEATED".


I wish I knew the story behind this one. "Saves Latin"??? ... maybe I don't really want to know.


And this. What is this? An alien-insect with patriotic wings riding a scooter with hello kitty with a mustache in the back? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?

Seriously, the more I see tattoos like this, the more I shake my head and start to wonder if they are really works of genius instead of being the worst tattoos in the world.

More stick-n-poke radness

Do you remember the post I did about the young man with the butterflies on his feet and the ridiculous home tattoos? Well, he showed me some photos of his friend's tattoos. And boy, are they ridiculous!

First up- booyah! arm!

This poor person has "booyah!" on their arm not once, but at least SEVEN TIMES! I can also see a pterodactyl, a ghost, and "USA GOES UNDEFEATED".


I wish I knew the story behind this one. "Saves Latin"??? ... maybe I don't really want to know.


And this. What is this? An alien-insect with patriotic wings riding a scooter with hello kitty with a mustache in the back? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?

Seriously, the more I see tattoos like this, the more I shake my head and start to wonder if they are really works of genius instead of being the worst tattoos in the world.

VOIVOD - (1989) Nothing Face @256kbps

Arguably the best of the Denis Belanger-era Voivod albums, Nothingface is highly recommended to just about any aficionado of twisted, original heavy metal or prog rock. Although the album's roots are in progressive rock, the group knows when to lay off the virtuosic overkill and play it straight. A superb, tripped-out cover of Pink Floyd's early psychedelic masterpiece "Astronomy Domine" is the album's highlight, and its video aired numerous times on the early-'90s MTV show Headbanger's Ball, introducing many to the band for the first time. Vocal melodicism is stressed heavily on Nothingface, with Belanger's vocals pushing such tracks as "Missing Sequences" and the title track, as do guitarist Denis d'Amour's jazzoid-metal guitar riffs. The group's lyrics may be hard to decipher for some (relying heavily on themes of science fiction that often paint unsettling pictures), but ultimately help complement what the group is doing musically. Nothingface also turned out to be their most commercially successful album, making an appearance on the Billboard charts. Jason Newsted has praised Voivod as one of his favorite metal bands on numerous occasions, and after hearing Nothingface, it's easy to understand why.
-- by Greg Prato, Allmusic Guide

Tracks
1.the unknown knows
2.nothingface
3.astronomy domine
4.missing sequences
5.x-ray mirror
6.inner combustion
7.pre-ignition
8.into my hypercube
9.sub-effect

..label - MCA Records
..buy - Amazon
..home page - MySpace

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KATATONIA - (1999) Tonight's Decision @256kbps

Tonight's Decision continues in the song-oriented direction of 1998's Discouraged Ones, but with an even greater emphasis on verse-chorus-verse songwriting. The guitars churn more heavily than on that album and the drums are a little more aggressive; however, the production is slicker on the whole, almost to the point of sounding ready for mainstream rock radio. Jonas Renske's vocals are again cleanly sung (as opposed to growled), and he has even added a falsetto to his arsenal. In other words, this album is a pretty far cry from the black metal-leaning style of their earlier records. On the other hand, the depressive melodies and lyrics are pure Katatonia, and the songwriting is solid throughout: "Black Session," "For My Demons," and "Right Into the Bliss" hold their own next to the cover of Jeff Buckley's "Nightmares by the Sea." It won't please fans hoping for the band to return to their earlier style, but taken on its own terms, Tonight's Decision is still a strong record, and one which suggests that greater commercial success isn't out of the question for these melancholy Swedes.
-- by William York, Allmusic Guide

Tracks
1.for my demons
2.i am nothing
3.in death a song
4.had to (leave)
5.this punishment
6.right into the bliss
7.no good can come of this
8.strained
9.a darkness coming
10.nightmares by the sea
11.black session

..label - Peaceville Recs.
..buy - Amazon
..home page - www.katatonia.com/

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KATATONIA - (1998) Discouraged Ones @256kbps

On Discouraged Ones, Katatonia remains as depressive as ever, while at the time moving even further away from its earlier sound than it did on the previous release, Brave Murder Day. Cleanly sung vocals (at times reminiscent of the Cure's Robert Smith) have replaced the agonizing growls of Dance of December Souls, while the songs themselves -- averaging about four minutes apiece -- are much more compact than their previous extended epics. The key aspects of the sound here are the thickly layered guitars, which are distorted but somewhat pushed back in the mix, and the huge, reverberating drumbeats, which are almost uniformly played in a slow-to-medium tempo and seem purposely simplistic. These elements cause the songs to sound overly similar on the first few spins; however, with subsequent listens, the melodies begin to peek through the fog, and the album as a whole takes on an almost hypnotic, dreamlike feel, something reinforced by the ever-steady beats. The imagery-laden lyrics (best exemplified by "Saw You Drown") also accentuate this dreamlike quality. Other noteworthy tracks include "Deadhouse," "Cold Ways," and the slowed-down closer, "Distrust," although the whole of this album really exceeds the sum of its parts. Through its subtle melodies, minimal rhythms, and strongly melancholy moods, Discouraged Ones emerges as either a masterpiece, or else something very close.
-- by William York, Allmusic Guide

Tracks
1.i break
2.stalemate
3.deadhouse
4.relention
5.cold ways
6.gone
7.last resort
8.nerve
9.saw you drown
10.instrumental
11.distrust

..label - Century Media
..buy - Amazon
..home page - www.katatonia.com/

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Cats with no ears

I just took in two of the cutest cats ever, and so I have had cats on the brain lately. Because of this, I thought I'd do some searching for bad cat tattoos. I am SURE there are worse ones out here, but this is what I found- three cat tattoos without any ears. Why would you ever draw a cat without ears? It just makes them look like weird aliens!


This looks like a Lisa Frank drawing without the pizazz.


This is the most half-assed tattoo I have possibly ever seen. Why are the eyes sideways? Why are the whiskers blue? Where are the ears? So many unanswered questions!


This is a mix of the lady's five cats and some human (the right eye). Why the human has a lazy eye, I don't know. I also think the cat is actually the bark of a tree.


And finally, while not technically terrible, this butterfly-cat holding a flower and inexplicably wearing pants makes me laugh.

DEATH ANGEL - (2004) The Art Of Dying @256kbps

Leave it to Bay Area thrash metal pioneers Death Angel to name their recording rebirth, 14 years in the making, The Art of Dying. Oh, the irony! Never ones to play it straight, Death Angel, like their first wave of thrash inspiration, Exodus, shocked their aging fans when they courageously shrugged off the years of rust and returned to active metal duty in 2004. And because they were merely teenagers during their first run, most of the band are amazingly still in their early 30s! More importantly, they've done so in style. The Art of Dying, even while bypassing the often Byzantine arrangements heard on the group's first two albums, manages to maintain the songwriting focus of their third (and heretofore last) effort, Act III, while arguably providing a better all-around thrash experience than the latter. The race is a close one, but there's no denying that everything about The Art of Dying's frenetic, scratchy-riffed first track (requisite acoustic guitar intro notwithstanding) "Thrown to the Wolves," as well as the brilliantly concussive highlight "Thicker Than Blood," positively screams "old-school" thrash. In fact, except for a few very discreet trad-metal tricks, and the odd hardcore vocal or two snuck into "Five Steps to Freedom," "The Devil Incarnate," and "Prophecy," so does everything else on display here. The reasons are clear for all to see: as in their previous life, Death Angel's sound continues to be anchored by the intense drumming of Andy Galeon, and the absolutely sterling lead guitar work of Rob Cavestany, who's so damn good throughout, it's almost easy to overlook his always eye-popping contributions. Curiously, Galeon tackles lead vocals (with moderate success) on the sprawling "Spirit" (featuring an uncommonly bluesy bridge section), while Cavestany takes over -- and we mean takes over -- on spectacular closer "Word to the Wise." Not about to be left out, bass player Gus Pepa jumps in with his own lead vocal for the hit-and-miss "Land of Blood," but it's unquestionably lead vocalist Mark Osegueda (often singled out as the band's weak link the first time around) who's benefited the most from the onset of age. Except for sporadic relapses to his irritating past ways during "Never Me" and the wobbly-paced "Famine," where both he and the band get a little lost in the slower momentum, Osegueda's performance on The Art of Dying is stronger, more confident, and more versatile than ever. And while we're taking a roll call here, let it be known that new guitarist Ted Aguilar acquits himself perfectly well in his first outing with the group. In summary, for a band whose potential had seemed disappointingly unfulfilled at the time of their original breakup, Death Angel have ensured that The Art of Dying serves as an act of speed metal closure.
-- by Ed Rivadavia, Allmusic Guide

Tracks
1.intro
2.thrown to the wolves
3.5 steps of freedom
4.thicker than blood
5.the evil incarnate
6.famine
7.prophecy
8.no
9.spirit
10.land of blood
11.never me
12.word to the wise

..label - Nuclear Blast Records
..buy - Amazon
..home page - www.deathangel.com/

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