Game Review: Doom 64

Happy beginning of May fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I don’t know how we’re all still here in my home country. The political landscape keeps getting worse, our living conditions keep getting worse, and who knows what will happen to us in the future. However, I don’t want to think about it too much, so let’s skip all of that & take a look at something that’s more fun. Back in March, I reviewed the beast that was Doom: Eternal. An absolute modern classic when it comes to slaying the forces of Hell, it set the table for what is sure to be a smash success with Doom: The Dark Ages in a few weeks. However, there wasn’t just one game at the no. 1 spot back in 2020 for me. A surprise from the Nintendo 64's past came back officially for the first time ever, remastered & given some new blood thanks to additional content made just for the occasion. It was such an experience for me, that it had to be at no. 1 standing beside the giant of 2020. So, dust off your old armor from Mars, load up your shotgun, and get ready for my review of Doom 64. Let’s begin!

Story
Like the games before it, Doom 64 does not have the deepest story, but what little we do have is interesting. Following the events of Doom, Doom 2, and Final Doom, a policy was established by the U.A.C. to quarantine the research installations with apocalyptic levels of radiation. As the years go by, the installations were completely abandoned & silent, but one day a satellite that was long forgotten and subjected to the radiation managed to send a message back to Earth. Within the message, it was indicated that an entity, with vast rejuvenation powers and masked by the extreme radiation, escaped being detected in its crippled state. The entity systematically began altering decaying dead carnage back into corrupted living tissue, resurrecting all the demons that were killed before. As the only survivor of what would be called the Doom episodes, the Marine was sent back in alone to exterminate the demons & the entity. He later realizes that the demons planned this, after he unknowingly allowed himself to be lured back into Hell. With the aid of the Unmaker, he fights the hordes of demons, and eventually encounters the entity that would eventually be known as the Mother Demon. Upon slaying the Mother Demon, the Marine decides to stay in hell forever to make sure that no demon uprising ever happens again, on account of him not being able to have a normal life anymore.

Things get even more intriguing when it comes to the Lost Levels from the 2020 remaster. It turns out that the Mother Demon had a sister, known as the Resurrector. The Resurrector banishes the Marine back to a UAC base (Whether it was part of one he went to already or not, it’s never said), and this banishment forces him to fight his way back to Hell to stop the Demons. These levels branch the storyline between the original titles, and with Doom in 2016 & Eternal. Maybe it’s a little forced, but it still works out in the end.

Setting
Kinda like the original Doom, we’ve got a mix of human military bases & facilities, but a majority of the time we’re in hell. Due to the graphics (More on that later), each & ever level is dripping in atmosphere. So much atmosphere, in fact, that it almost feels like going through Quake more than a Doom game. Everything is soaked in an otherworldly dread: the Mars locales don’t feel completely within the realm of reality, while the various Hell locales are at the crossroads of Gothic & Lovecraftian (Doom 3 had a similar vibe, btw). This was never fully achieved in the Doom games prior to this, but Doom 64 manages to easily!

Characters
Unlike Doom 2016, Doom: Eternal, and the incoming Doom: The Dark Ages around the middle of this month, Doom 64 is more along the lines of the Doom Marine than the Slayer. Save for what we know from the minimum story, there’s nothing to the Doom Marine when it comes to his character & personality, but that’s okay. Back in the day, FPS games were more about the gameplay than the storytelling, and that’s no different here.

Gameplay
For the most part, Doom 64 is exactly the same as Final Doom & the Doom games before it. Run & gun, find keys and secrets, solve simple puzzles, etc. What makes things somewhat different are a few things. Pacing is a big change: while charging into a room of enemies is still valid, the Quake vibes due to it’s setting implies a small level of caution. Again, sometimes charging in works, but now it pays to be somewhat cautious & look around before guns go blazing. This also applies to enemies, as while the roster isn’t as big as that of Doom 2 (Believe the reduction was due to cartridge size), the ones that have stayed have been changed in small ways. Lost Souls, for example, have less health but are more aggressive, while Cyberdemons actually leader their target somewhat. The lone new demon that was added was the Nightmare Imp, which is similar to the Specter version of the Pinky Demon, but throws a purple fireball that travels faster than a standard imp projectile. Finally, the way that some of the weapons function changes combat slightly. The Rocket launcher slightly pushes the player back, and the projectile from the BFG explodes in more of a cone-shape pattern. We get a new weapon in the form of the Unmaker, and it’s a bit interesting. A laser weapon, when you first get it the damage isn’t much, but if you find the 3 secret levels, it does increase in power to the point where it’s a bit over the top, and it can hit multiple targets. There’s another reason that the secret levels are important, but I don’t want to spoil it in case any of you are new to the game, and are reading this.

Graphics & Sound
It may surprise first time players, but Doom 64's graphics are that of the original Doom! Highly advanced most definitely, but it’s still the original graphics engine underneath. There’s more colorful lighting, more detailed textures, enemies have newer models with extra details, and is capable of doing some interesting tricks thanks to some special coding, but it’s the exact same engine you first saw all the way back in 1993. If there is one issue with the graphics, and even then I think it was only on the Nintendo 64, it would be that the lighting at times was a bit too dark in places. It’s only mildly around on the PC Port, and thanks to the remastering, it’s more of a nuisance than anything.

Sound has changed quite a bit when compared to the prior Doom games. Instead of a metallic-like soundtrack, the music in 64 is more ambient & atmospheric, which just lends to the Quake vibes all the more. The monsters also have changed when it comes to the noises they make, and while some still sound demonic, others are more bestial & feral. It makes the overall experience familiar, yet somewhat different at the same time. Finally, some levels have great background noise, as sometimes you can hear thunder or some other creepy sound throughout your exploration. Definitely a nice cherry on the sundae!

Overall & Rating
Doom 64 didn’t deserve to be placed in the “Cult” status back in the day. True, being called it’s final name instead of what it originally was didn’t help matters (Doom: The Absolution), but even if that wasn’t the case it’s still a crime. Maybe not as graphically advanced as other titles, it still manages to pull some tricks out of it’s hat in many ways, and the end result is a Doom experience that’s unique yet familiar. If you didn’t play this obscure masterpiece back in 1997, then get yourself the remaster, and see what it’s fans are talking about.

Doom 64 gets a 10 out of 10. The Lost Levels get a 9 out of 10, but that’s due to the shorter length than anything else.

And that was my review for Doom 64. Obscured by it’s name & the powerhouse of other games from around that time, it still manages to be an action packed experience that’s still nice nearly 30 years later. Whether you’re new to the FPS genre, or a veteran that’s looking for something special, Doom 64 is for you! So, join me for the rest of the month, when we’ll revisit one of my favorite musical exports of Portugal. See you around the middle of the month!



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If you’d like to see a walkthrough of the main game & the Lost Levels, then click on the links below:

DOOM 64 - Gameplay Walkthrough FULL GAME (Remastered)

Doom 64 Lost Levels (PS4) Full Playthrough

Album Review: King Diamond's Abigail

The end of April is here fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

This month has actually been kinda fun. We had some anime goodness with Seton Academy, had our first bit of spookiness with King Diamond’s first solo album, and over a week ago examined the surprisingly good but still flawed God’s Not Dead 3. Today we return to King’s world, and what a return it is! Better storytelling & atmosphere, better instrumentation, and better vocal work comes to the forefront, and the end result is an 80s classic. Almost 40 years later, does this freaky classic stand the test of time, and still keeps it’s rightful place in the king’s discography? Light your lantern, watch the shadows, and enjoy my review of Abigail.....BOO!!!

Background
With Fatal Portrait achieving some success for the band, King Diamond & the boys went on tour to support it’s release, and by December of 1986 went back into Sound Track Studio in Copenhagen to record what would become their second album, and on the 29th of May in 1987, Abigail was released through Roadrunner Records (Like their first album). Sadly, it would be the last record that Michael Denner would perform on, as not long after Abigail’s release he would leave due to the strain of touring.

Reception wise, Abigail would go on to achieve a surprising amount of success. Supported by it’s sole single & the first music video of the band’s career (Click Here), it charted at number 39 in Sweden, number 68 in the Netherlands, and at number 123 on the Billboard 200 here in the United States. Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic wrote that Abigail is "widely recognized as King Diamond's solo masterpiece" and "is also unquestionably one of heavy metal's greatest concept albums", while Canadian journalist Martin Popoff remarked the "metallic excellence" of the album, but was negatively taken aback by the "creepy package" and the lyrics. Even guitarist Andy LaRocque spoke highly of the record, saying that it’s his favorite album because of the "good atmosphere we had as a band at that time is captured in the album".

Basic Description
Horror Metal Mastery.

Let’s get this out of the way: Fatal Portrait wasn’t bad. Like I said in my review on that album, it’s not bad by any means, as the instrumentation & vocal work is wonderful, but it’s held back a little on account of it’s lack of storytelling focus. With Abigail, the story that King is conveying is in each and every track. What story might you ask. Well, here’s just an except from Wikipedia. Don’t want to spoil the whole thing!:

“Abigail tells the story of a young couple, Miriam Natias and Jonathan La'Fey, who move into an old mansion that La'Fey inherited. It takes place in the summer of 1845. Upon their arrival they are warned by seven horsemen not to move into the house because if they do, "18 will become 9." They do not heed the warning and proceed to move into the mansion. During their first night, Jonathan meets with Count de La'Fey, the Family Ghost, who is a deceased relative. The ghost shows him a casket in which a corpse of a stillborn child, Abigail, rests. The ghost informs him that Miriam is carrying the spirit of Abigail and that the child will soon be reborn. He insists that Jonathan must kill Miriam at once to prevent the rebirth.”

Even if you don’t factor in the story, Abigail is also a big improvement when it comes to the instrumentation & vocals. Everybody in the band already proved themselves quite a bit on instrumentation, but on this releases things tightened up a little, and are a little more on page with one another. King already showed the world how well he could sing on Fatal Portrait and his time in Mercyful Fate, but here he shows off a little more range. On top of that, the recording & production got a bit of a touch-up, to the point where it still sounds fresh nearly 40 years after it’s release.

Best Track
When I first took a look at Abigail back in October of 2019 in part 1 of my overview on King, I said in that the best track of the album was a tie between the haunting Omens & the titular title track. Both are still great tunes, but my opinion has shifted since then, and now I say that A Mansion In Darkness is the best song of Abigail. Jonathan & his wife Miriam have arrived at the mansion, and right away it’s obvious that something is wrong with the place, but the couple dismiss it as pure nonsense. Outside of the story, what really sells this track is the overall quality. The guitar & bass is fast and thunderous but steady, the drumwork hits like thunder outside of a haunted house, and King’s voice is as spooky as ever at this point in his career. Coupled with just a hint of cheese, A Mansion In Darkness is just a fun song that’ll make the hairs on your arm stand up in addition to some headbanging on the side.

A Mansion In Darkness

Aside from the tune mentioned above, what really separates Abigail from Fatal Portrait is the complete focus on storytelling. Like I said in my review on the previously mentioned release, only half of the album was dedicated to the story that King wanted to tell, while the rest was just generic horror (Even though it wasn’t necessarily bad). On this album, King has his attention fully focused on the story he wants to tell, and as such comes across as far more solid than what he did before. King would only do something like Fatal Portrait one more time in his career, but I’ve already covered that once before (Click Here, and look for “The Spider’s Lullaby”).

Worst Track
To say there’s a bad track on this album is absolute blasphemy! From the opener to the closer, you are treated to not just one of the best horror metal albums of all time, but one of the best EIGHTIES albums period. You might be able to make the argument that the ending is a bit on the soul-crushing side, as it does tease things might end for the better, but this is King Diamond we’re talking about. The man isn’t known for happy endings, and on the two occasions it has happened, there’s still a dark twist to it.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:

Abigail

Overall Impression & Rating
Abigail is a fun & spooky tale, and one in which fans all paid attention to it’s characters and the story that was woven. On top of the story, it’s atmosphere strikes a seemingly perfect balance between scary and cheesy. Outside of that, the instrumentation was improved a little bit, and King’s vocals got a little more sinister & raspy when compared to Fatal Portrait. Even if it ends on a soul-crushing note, Abigail is an evolution of what came before it, and a marker for just about all of the band’s future releases.

Abigail gets a 10 out of 10.

And that was my review of Abigail. Spooky and fun, it also manages to be an improvement in musical talent. It’s almost 40 years old, and somehow still feels just as strong here in 2025 as it did back in 1987. If you’re in the mood for some horror fun, then Abigail is for you! So, tomorrow is the start of May, and we’ve come to the first set of musical honorable mentions. Before that however, we’re revisiting the world of Doom, so join me tomorrow for a look at one of the most underrated releases in the franchise. See you tomorrow!

Movie Review: God's Not Dead 3 (A Light In Darkness)

So.....this will be an interesting Easter fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

For years now, I’ve covered religious or religious-adjacent pieces of media on this day, and for 2025 I’ve chosen something unique. A film from a series that’s known to be hateful, arrogant, ignorant, and deceptive, it stands out from among the rest by being surprisingly different in a lot of way. Granted, it’s still flawed in some aspects, but this movie is a giant improvement when compared to the ones before it, and the ones after it if you want to be technical. It took chances in many places, and actually succeeds in them as well. So, grab some candy from your Easter basket, read some of your Psalms (If you believe), and take a look at my review for God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness. Can I get an amen!?

Story
Taken from the DVD Case:

“After a deadly fire rips through St. James Church, Hadleigh University leaders use the tragedy to push the congregation off campus, forcing the church to defend it’s rights and bringing together estranged brothers for a reunion that opens old wounds and forces them to address the issues that pulled them apart.”

Let’s get this out of the way: the God’s Not Dead franchise has a persecution complex throughout each & every film, and A Light In Darkness is no exception to this. However, what makes it more bearable in this movie is that it’s nowhere near as frequent as what you’d see in the prior two GND features. It’s more well-timed & properly used when compared to the previous two films, and strangely is more convincing that what was before it. It’s still a Christian persecution complex, and as such is about as subtle as a broken foot, but it’s much more believable and tolerable in A Light In Darkness than any other God’s Not Dead movie!

Good Aspects
One other positive aspect to A Light In Darkness’s is the reduced cast of characters. In the first two features, you have a massive host of characters, not to mention an equally massive amount of storylines. In this film, the cast is heavily reduced, and in turn makes the storytelling much more focused. There are still things that start up & never go anywhere, but it’s definitely not as frequent as how bad it could be in GND 1 & 2.

This in turn brings us to the characters, and holy crap are they an improvement in this film! Granted, the acting still isn’t the best, but there’s so much more effort put into the performances that it makes them much more believable. David A.R. White, who plays Reverend Dave in this and the prior GND movies, is now the lead in A Light In Darkness’s story, and he was the only likable character from the prior 2. He goes through quite a lot during GND 3's run time, and by the end is almost a different man. His brother, played by John Corbett, is a lawyer in Chicago who has nothing to do with God in any way, and unlike Dean Cane’s similar role in the first GND, John’s character is instantly likable. White & Corbett work surprisingly well together, and their characters together are incredibly believable as brothers. Some others lack a little when it comes to personality, but overall it surprises me at how much more believable everybody is when you compare them to what came before.....and what unfortunately came after.

Finally, and this is perhaps the best thing about A Light In Darkness, is that the subject matter in this movie is...truly...Christian! Apart from the persecution complex, the things that the film brings us is quite shocking when you see how vapid all of the others are in terms of topics it speaks about. In this feature, we have actual conversations between Atheism & those with faith, redemption, remorse, forgiveness, reasons why people would want to leave the church (Young people especially), and more. If any of you have even seen a few scenes from the prior God’s Not Dead films and the ones after, then you know that they’re the farthest thing from Christian, so to see a Pureflix film approach any of these subjects is something that will make you do a double take.

Okay Aspects
Though improved in may ways over the first two, A Light In Darkness’s acting still is not the best. Improved from the first & second movie most definitely, but it is still wooden & weak in places. The story, like I said earlier, is greatly improved than what we got in the first two films, but some storylines either don’t properly finish, or seem silly. Finally, there’s the special effects: though there’s just a bit in one part towards the beginning, you can easily tell it’s cheap CGI. Outside of that, these are the only things that can be considered okay. As for what’s bad......

Bad Aspects
For starters, the persecution complex from the first two God’s Not Dead movies is back! Again, it’s not as bad here as it was in the first two films, but it’s still very obvious and apparent when it pops up. It doesn’t help the fact that in the first time we seen the news, it just so happens to be called The Lion’s Den, and one of the hosts just so happens to be a spokesman for the NRA (Don’t know if they still are). The Newsboys also make a comeback, and while I don’t think they’re the most obnoxious Christian band out there, I do find them to be somewhat annoying, on account of them trying too hard in the scenes where they appear. There are some other things that are bad in A Light In Darkness, but as I’m typing this I can’t recall them. However.....

What really weighs A Light In Darkness down, is simply the fact that it’s related to one of the most hated film franchises in existence. The things that this movie is trying to do, and succeeds at in many respects, is somewhat tarnished by the fact that the two features before it, and the two after, are some of the most un-Christian pieces of media out there! Full of lies, misdirection, deception, and hatred, God’s Not Dead 1 to 2 and 4 to 5 are just evil, and because of that somewhat ruins the good that A Light In Darkness manages to accomplish! You know that it bombed in theaters because the hardcore audience, when many of them called A Light In Darkness a cashgrab that doesn’t promote a Christian message. Think about that for a second.

Overall Impression & Rating
A Light In Darkness is really surprising! Sure, it still has the guilt complex from God’s Not Dead 1 & 2, not to mention some of the faults from the previous 2 features, but there was far more effort and ambition put into this movie than what they did before. It’s a far more competent story, with perhaps the best characters that have been made for this franchise, and it’s a far more CHRISTIAN & HUMAN film than any other God’s Not Dead movie, or anything else that Pureflix has created. I’m not saying that A Light In Darkness is a cinematic masterpiece by any stretch, but it’s a surprisingly beautiful diamond in the rough if you decide to watch it. Give it a chance whenever you can!

A Light In Darkness gets 5 out of 10 at it’s worst, and a 7.5 out of 10 at it’s best.

And that was my review for God’s Not Dead 3. Maybe not a cinematic masterpiece, but a massive improvement over the prior two movies that keep it partially chained down. Even if you don’t like it, I have a feeling that you won’t hate it as strongly when compared to GND 1 & 2. So, with this holiday in the rearview mirror tomorrow, I got one more look at King Diamond this month. See you all on the 31st!



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If you’d like to see another take on the movie, and one that has some facts I didn’t put in my review, then click on the link below:

God's Not Dead 3: A Light in Darkness (The Cinema Snob)

Album Review: King Diamond's Fatal Portrait

Time for look at the music of no. 2 of 2020 fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

You may recall, 2020 saw a resurgence of sorts from the master of 80s Horror Metal, as King Diamond came back in force towards the end of 2019 with the announcement of The Institute (Any time now, btw!). In addition to the revelation of the new record, he re-issued everything from 1986 to 1990. Note, these are re-issues, not remasters, and that’s by design: King Diamond said that Metal Blade Records acquired all of the old Mercyful Fate & KD records, as he felt that the original sound was far better than the remastered versions from a bit before 2020. I listened to almost all of the re-issues back then: so much so, that I had 5 of them at no. 2 that year. To make things easier, I’ll be looking at just two so that April isn’t clogged up with all of them. To start things off, let’s take a look at King’s inaugural solo record......so light a few candles, keep an eye on that creepy painting on the wall, and take a look at my review for Fatal Portrait. Let’s begin!  

Background
Upon leaving Mercyful Fate due to having musical differences with Hank Shermann (Real name René Krolmark), singer King Diamond, guitarist Michael Denner, and bassist Timi Hansen decided to get another band going. Using King’s name for the group in order to get better deals, and acquiring the services of drummer Mikkey Dee (Formerly of Dokken fame if I recall correctly) and guitarist Andy LaRocque, King Diamond the band would form in early 1985, and in July of that year would go into the studio to record their first album, Fatal Portrait, and released it in March of 1986. Ironically, Andy LaRocque was not given any writing credit on the record, as he actually joined the recording sessions at the last minute, and according to him it was due to the band's second guitarist at the time not working out in the studio. In fact, him recording a solo for Dressed In White acted as his audition for joining King Diamond.

Fatal Portrait would go on to sell over 100,000 copies in North America alone. As for how the album got it’s name, it comes from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Wilde describes the titular painting as "the fatal portrait" several times throughout the book.

Basic Description
Solo Horror Emergence.

King Diamond definitely had it somewhat easy when releasing Fatal Portrait. He already established himself when in Mercyful Fate, and thus already had some credit in the Heavy Metal world. However, it wasn’t just him that carried the weight, as he had Michael Denner & Timi Hansen from his previous band with him, and new members drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Andy LaRocque injected some new blood into the veins. This mix of old & new end up creating an album that while it’s identity isn’t 100%, but still ends up being 100% just in terms of pure quality alone.

Best Track
Halloween is just an addicting little song. From the first few guitar notes, it sinks it’s hooks into your ears & doesn’t let go! The drumming from Mikkey Dee is solid throughout the whole track, and the guitar and bass from Andy LaRocque, Michael Denner, & Timi Hansen is like lightning and thunder outside of a haunted house (Hint Hint). Of course, the most recognizable thing about the tune is King’s voice, which comes across as a little more refined when compared to Mercyful Fate’s first two release. He’s still shrieking and howling like a banshee, but he’s had some time to add more range and smooth things out ever so slightly. Though it’s not part of the album’s story, Halloween is a fun & creepy song that actually great at any point out of the year!

Halloween

Worst Track
As great as Fatal Portrait was, it’s lone fault lies in it’s lack of focus. The story that King is telling is regulated to the first 4 tracks, and the concluding one, making this one of the terribly weaker stories that he’s told. Everything in between the storytelling is more of generic horror, regardless of it’s quality or not. This makes the experience oddly bipolar in nature, which would fortunately be fixed a year later in 1987.......but no spoilers!

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:

Fatal Portrait

Overall Impression & Rating
Fatal Portrait was a damn good start for King’s solo career. Sure, it’s not the strongest story of his career, but like I said earlier, it showed that he was just as good outside of Mercyful Fate as he was within in. The instrumentation from everybody in the band was great, and King’s voice might have actually improved since his days with his former group. It might not be massively essential, but this is still one portrait you’ll definitely want to look at!

Fatal Portrait gets an 8 out of 10 for it’s storytelling, but a 10 out of 10 for everything else.

And that was my look at Fatal Portrait. Perhaps not quite as potent as what the horror master would create later, but it’s still filled with great instrumentation & vocal work, and showed to the fans he did have ideas on tales to sing about. Luckily for the people that listened, he would return with a story that encompassed the entire album, and with improved vocal work & instrumentation as well! However, before we get to that point, Easter is just a few short days away, so join me then for what will be my most surprising & potentially controversial review I’ve ever done. Until then, take care!

Anime Review: Seton Academy (Join The Pack!)

April is here fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I don’t know how in god’s green earth that my home country is still standing, but standing it is. Today marks my look at number 2 of my top 5 albums from 2020, and in that year the return of King Diamond was in full effect! Before we get to the spooks & spirits, we got something a little more cute to cover. An anime that aired right at the beginning of that plague-ridden year, and was a perfect counter to all of the death & disease once that came in. A series that honestly should have come over to the states in the over half-decade that’s been out, along with the Manga & other material. So, get into your school uniform, make sure the dinosaur teachers don’t step on you, and look at my review for Seton Academy: Join The Pack. Let’s begin!

Story/Setup
Taken from Wikipedia:

“Due to a population decline, there are fewer humans than there are humanoid animals. Jin Mazama is a human boy who attends Seton Academy where the majority of students are animals. Jin hates animals, but as luck would have it, a female human named Hitomi Hino catches his eye. Unfortunately, Jin finds himself grabbing the attention of other animals such as Ranka Okami, a young wolf girl who is the only member of her pack, and has a huge crush on him.”

“In the world of Seton Academy, all the male students and staff have the appearance of their species, while the females all appear as various forms of moe girls with kemonomimi, and other features such as tails and/or horns.”

Taken from Crunchyroll:

“Seton Academy, a school where animals of all species gather to live and learn together.
A sacred garden of learning, where students hone their primal instincts and the laws are of the jungle. Where species pit against species in a daily struggle for survival...
Now enter the animal-hating human Jin Mazama, and the lonely wolf Ranka Okami.
When man meets wolf in an encounter for the ages, this food chain is about to be shook.
“Species shmecies! If we’ve shared face-licks, you’re a friend to me! Welcome to the pack!””

Let me state this right now: Seton Academy does not have a complex story. There is a surprise or two, but it’s not deep by any means. It doesn’t try to be philosophical, have complex messaging, or is pretentiously artistic. This anime is a lighthearted romp, filled with plenty of slapstick humor, and just a tiny touch of fan-service. Emphasis on tiny.

(Now, I know that a Manga for Seton Academy exists, and I believe there is a novel series on it as well. I do not know how the show follows the Manga, since it never got released here in the states alongside the novel series, though my understanding is that more does go on in both.)

Animation
The best way to describe Seton Academy’s animation quality is in one word: cute. Join The Pack is incredibly colorful, with nary anything even remotely dark when it comes to it’s visuals. The various backgrounds are simple, but they look nice, and the various character models definitely show off their animalistic elements well (Outside of the humans, of course). The movement of the various characters all looks nice, but it’s also as simple as the background at the same time. You’re not getting anything artistic at all, but again the anime is going for bright, simple, and cute.

Voice Acting
As of right now, Seton Academy has not be dubbed in English, or any other languages as far as I know. Just over 5 years later, the series still only has a Japanese dub with English subs over on Crunchyroll, and it’s good. All of the voice actors for the primary & secondary cast seem to be giving it their all, and it only makes me curious as to how they would all sound with an English dub behind them.

Characters
As with the story, the characters of Seton Academy aren’t very deep. They’re all pretty simplistic, but almost everybody has at least a moment where things are a little more meaty than you’d expect. Everybody all fits into the stereotypical personalities of a harem//harem-like show, but what makes things a little different from something like Monster Musume or Monster Girl Doctor is the animal traits that the group embodies. The sloth girl for example, is slow & lethargic (But is cute oddly enough). Meanwhile, the wolf girl Ranka is very personable, and has a strong will. As for Jin, he’s definitely in over his head, and while he’s not fond of animals, he isn’t malicious towards any of the anime girls or guys he runs into.

Availability & Pricing
As I’m typing this, Seton Academy is still not currently available here in the United States. There are Japanese Blu-Ray box set copies on Amazon, but they are astronomically expensive. Depending on which box set, the prices will range from $110 to $130 (As I first typed this), and that’s excluding shipping, tax, and import cost. Given that our DVD players can’t view anything from Japan (As far as I know), a potential buyer from my home country would only get a copy for pure collecting purposes.

Overall Impression & Rating
Seton Academy: Join The Pack is a perfect example of a nice & marshmallowy anime. The story isn’t that deep, the characters aren’t massively complex, and the visuals & animation is all bright and cute. Sure, it might be too simple in many aspects, and it’s not readily available here in the states, but you will be entertained from beginning to end. If you need to go somewhere, but you got some time before you leave & need a quick anime fix, then an episode of Seton Academy is perfect for that. Awooooooo!

Seton Academy: Join The Pack gets a 7.5 out of 10.

And that was my review for Seton Academy: Join The Pack. Definitely not the deepest anime, but one that’s just perfect when you’re in the mood for something fluffy & sweet. If you’ve had a stressful day, then an episode or two of this series is a perfect cure. So with that said, I’ll see you all around the middle of the month, when I’ll take a look at the beginning of the rise of metal’s scariest king. See you then!


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One other thing: the opener & closer are bangers. Click on the links below, and enjoy:

Seton Academy: Join the Pack! - Opening (Gakuen Soukan Zoo)

Seton Academy: Join the Pack! - Ending (Okami Blues)

Album Review: Draconian's Under A Godless Veil

The end of part 3 of my look back at 2020 is today fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

March has been pretty emotionally intense. At the beginning of the month, we looked at the massively bombastic monster that was Doom Eternal, and a few weeks back we beheld the soul-crushing mastery that was Obsidian from Paradise Lost. I conclude this month with a record that’s similar in many respects, but different in a few others. Still dark in some aspects, but surprisingly bright in others. Regardless of it’s differences, today’s album is just as Gothic as Obsidian.....and might be more in some aspects. So, get on your blackest clothes & makeup, grab that book of Gothic Romance stories, and get ready for my review of Draconian’s 2020 hit, Under A Godless Veil. Let’s begin!

Background
Taken from the band’s Bandcamp page:

“And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...
Almost five years after their sixth long-player Sovran, DRACONIAN once again cast their breathtaking veil of melancholy over the world. This second full-length release featuring singer Heike Langhans delivers a captivating mélange of dreary doom and contrasty vocals and mixes Heike's angelic female voice with Anders Jakobsson's death growls. The one-hour long album, graced with a haunting cover artwork by Natalia Drepina, is carrying the legacy of gothic doom metal à la My Dying Bride or Trees Of Eternity into the new decade and will drag the listener into a sorrowful cosmos right with the first notes of the spellbinding opener "Sorrow Of Sophia" that interweaves beauty with crippling depression. After crushing slow rhythms and the fragile "Sleepwalkers" that leads through barren soundscapes, the band - founded in Säffle / Sweden in 1994 – rises up to their best in the nine-minute long 'Ascend Into Darkness', which will echo in the listener's ears long after the final chord has died away.”

Basic Description
Tragedy & Beauty.

If Obsidian from Paradise Lost was the dark Yin, then Under A Godless Veil is the lighter Yang. Make no mistake: this record can still hit you in the feels pretty hard. All of the songs on the album are filled to the brim with emotional vocals, instrumentation, and atmosphere that tugs at the heartstrings very intensely. However, what separates this release from the previously mentioned release is the amount of beauty that can be felt. Obsidian could be beautiful in places most definitely, but Under A Godless Veil excels at it. For every note of sadness, there’s a note of love. For every bit of darkness, there’s a bit of light (Though not too much). Under A Godless Veil is a more balanced record when it comes to the emotions it generates, and I think that’s what makes it an easier pill to swallow.

Best Track
Sorrow Of Sophia opens up Under A Godless Veil, and rightfully earns that position! Though it is a little slow in the beginning, and the same time the buildup pours on the Gothic tragedy. Once the metal comes in swinging, it hits you hard when the guitar starts up. From there, the pacing increases ever so slightly, but never loses it’s emotional weight over it entire run time. The guitars & drums are played beautifully, and the vocals from Anders Jacobsson & Lisa Johansson are like Yin and Yang in all the right ways, with the former having a guttural quality that at least once or twice dips into something more calmer, and the later is just soothing from beginning to end, but equally tragic. Coupled with the symphonic elements that play throughout, and you have a song that can be just as sorrowful as some of the most weighty operas out there.

Sorrow Of Sophia (Lyric Video Version)

However, a track that surprised me quite a bit was the one right smack dab in the middle of the album. Burial Fields comes across like a genuine Gothic ballad, and on a record where many tracks are ballad-like that’s saying something. The track is also unusual in that there’s very little in the way of metallic elements: outside of some faint drumming, keyboarding, and sound effects, there’s nothing really metal about this song. Yet, it’s that lack of metal that gives Burial Fields such a sad yet beautiful atmosphere, almost as if it was a Gothic tale being told pure through the music itself. Certainly not a tune you should skip!

Burial Fields

Worst Track
Like I said earlier, Under A Godless Veil punches you in the gut when you least expect it, and pulls at your heartstrings so hard you’d that they might snap under the pressure. However, the more beautiful aspects is what keeps the music from going into the more grim territory like Obsidian did. Because of that balancing act, it makes listening to the entire record far easier than going through all of the previously mentioned record.....even though Obsidian is pretty awesome in it’s own right.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:

Under A Godless Veil

Overall Impression & Rating
Under A Godless Veil is just wonderful. Bleak as it could be, it also could be stunning at the exact same time. As dark as it can be, it has an odd light that could also soothe the heart (After the darker aspects kicked it of course). It’s easier to go through so much more when compared to Obsidian & maybe other Gothic Metal releases from 2020 I didn’t listen to, but it knows that it’s still Goth, and as such it’s not a cakewalk either. If you weren’t a fan of Paradise Lost’s dark litany of songs from 5 years ago, this album will be a more pleasant experience for you.

Under A Godless Veil gets an 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

And that was my review for Under A Godless Veil. Dark & beautiful, it manages to walk a tightrope, and never slips toward either extreme at any point. . So, now we’ve reached no. 2 on my albums from the start of this decade, and things are a bit more fun now. Before that however, we’ve got quite the zoo to explore, so see me tomorrow for an anime review that’s primal. Until then take care!

Album Review: Paradise Lost's Obsidian

We’ve made it to no. 3 fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Somehow, we’re still here. I don’t known how we’re all standing despite the raping that certain people in power are doing, but we are all here. It’s definitely something.....that’s for sure.

Anyways, 2020 had plenty of great Gothic releases. From re-releases of iconic albums, to new records that continue to bring the vibes of Autumn, gothic romance, and tragedy, it’s obvious that the sub-genre is here to stay despite what the haters say. Two releases in that year were particularly fantastic, and I’m looking at one of them today. The band in question is actually not a stranger around these parts, as I’ve been listening to them for over 12 years at this point in my life, and at the end of this year they’ve been on my blog for a full decade. So, put on your darkest clothes, turn off almost all the lights in the room, and get ready for my review of Paradise Lost’s darkly emotional behemoth Obsidian. Let’s begin.

Background
With Medusa in the rear-view mirror, the band set their sights to the future. In 2017, they celebrated 30 years of being a band together, celebrating with a tour through the UK and Europe, including a gig in their hometown of Halifax, as well as a South & North American tour with Solstafir and The Atlas Moth. On top of that, in the same year they re-released & remastered both Host & Believe In Nothing after changing their opinion on both records some years prior (Read Here). In 2019, an official biography called No Celebration: The Official Story of Paradise Lost was released (With an expanded edition in 2022), and then 2020 rolled around.....

With plans for a tour in shambles due to The Plague covering the whole world, the lone thing that everybody could do was to go into the studio, put their noses to the grindstone, and put out the next album. Announced in March of 2020, Nuclear Blast Records stated that the name of the incoming release was Obsidian, and it would come out on the 15th of May. As lead singer Nick Holmes said:

“One of the most eclectic albums we have done in some time, we have miserable songs, sad songs, slow songs and faster songs. Did I mention miserable?”

Paradise Lost actually weren’t sure IF they were going to release Obsidian in 2020. In a few interviews they stated that because there weren’t any venues open at the time, the album might not be reached by many people. On top of that, Nick Holmes warned people that the music was especially bleak this go around, and that might turn some people off. However, they ultimately came to the decision that it was best that the record should be released, on account of people needing music during the quarantine (Correct me if that wasn’t the case).

Basic Description
A Genuine Soul Crusher & A Return To Their Roots.

Let me get this out of the way immediately: Obsidian is not a happy album. Sure, throughout their career Paradise Lost have crafted some pretty serious records in the Gothic Metal genre (Among others), but there was always.....something on those releases that stood out. Some little sliver of light that always guided the listener through the experience, and come out of the other side. Not so with Obsidian. This output is incredibly hopeless, bleak, and as I said above, genuinely soul crushing. Given the time that this came out it’s not exactly a surprise, but even if it didn’t come out in 2020, it still would be the darkest record of the band’s career. The dark nature of the music on here practically sticks to your body, and stays stuck on for a while after you’re done listening to it. They’re been plenty of darker records I’ve listened to that sent chills through me, but none of them ever affected me like Obsidian did.

However, if you are willing to wade through the bleakness of Obsidian, you’ll find it to be one of the band’s most Gothic releases in nearly a decade at that time. The Plague Within was a wonderful return to their Death-Doom origins, but it didn’t really do anything different when compared to the beginning of their career (Save for the vastly improved recording & production). Medusa, on the other hand, was a fantastic Doom Metal album, but it wasn’t necessarily that much different than anything else in the sub-genre. With Obsidian, you get a full-blown Gothic Metal return, but with some small hints of Death-Doom thrown in to add some variety. It almost felt like whiplash listening to this record for the very first time, and it was probably the same thing that some fans experienced as well. A return to Gothic Metal after nearly a decade was really surprising.....but it was a welcome one.

Best Track
In part 3 of my overview on the band, I originally stated that Hope Dies Young was not just the best track of Obsidian, but was my favorite track as well. I still stand by what I said about it being my favorite song, what with it’s highly Gothic atmosphere that echoes some of their earliest work. However, my opinions have changed to what the best track of the record is, and it has become the album’s opener, Darker Thoughts. It rightfully deserves to open the release, as it shows the listener that Paradise Lost has re-embraced their Gothic Metal roots. Nick Holmes at times still uses a bit of his Death Doom guttural vocals, but brings back his longtime Gothic singing with force. The instrumentation was fantastic, as it sounds very much like a refined track off of Draconian Times, and helped with modern recording & production technology. As one of only 2 singles & music videos released during that time, it had some big shoes to fill, but it easily managed to grab any fan’s attention with ease.

Darker Thoughts

Worst Track
I stated this when I did part 3 of my overview of the band back on Halloween 2020, but Obsidian is the bleakest record that Paradise Lost have ever released to the public (IX from the side project Host comes close in places). Now, even casual fans of the group will tell you that they’ve never been a sunshine & rainbows kind of band, and virtually every single album prior to Obsidian is dark with threads of beauty sewn into it. Somehow, Nick Holmes & the rest of the gang managed to craft a CD that eclipses everything before it in terms of how genuinely bleak & soul-crushing it is. Somehow, Paradise Lost put out a record that sticks with you in all the wrong ways. If you have the lead singer warn you that the album is going to be a soul crusher, then heed their words. If you’re a warm & fuzzy kind of person, then Obsidian is the strongest Kryptonite you’ll ever come across. You gotta be in the right mindset when it comes to listening to Obsidian from beginning to end, and even when it comes to individual tracks you have to have the right mood, though it is easier in that regard.

If I even wanted to have a Dishonorable Mention when it comes to Obsidian, I would have to give that dubious award to the bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition of the album. Hear The Night & Defiler are actually great tracks, but they completely disrupt the otherwise great flow of the album. This is especially obvious when you consider that both of them play right after Ravenghast, which is a damn fine way to close out an album, as the two songs completely change the record’s pacing. Again, these two tunes are just as good as everything else on the release, but were placed in the most incorrect spot on the album.

Hear The Night

Defiler

One other thing: I sent this to a friend of mine who’s a fan of morally grey/dark media back in 2020, and even he said this was rough to listen to. Considering some of the things he likes, that surprised me!

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:

Obsidian

Overall Impression & Rating
Obsidian came out at a time where it’s darkness was enhanced by a once-in-a-century plague had swept the earth, and we were all isolated in order for said plague to not kill us. It’s bleakness is unlike anything that Paradise Lost has ever done in their entire career, but at the same time it marked a return to what got them so popular in the first place. If the band stays within the Gothic Metal lane until their retirement, then they’ll be raking in the cash, and even if they don’t, we got albums like Obsidian to remind us of where they came from.

Obsidian gets an 8.5 out of 10, but it’s dark nature might have listeners take the score down by a point.

And that was my review for Obsidian. Despite the incredibly dark nature of the music, it’s perhaps the best record that the band has done since 2012. With how things are in the world right now, perhaps it’s bleakness matches things better now than it did half a decade ago. However, there wasn’t just one Gothic Metal masterpiece released in 2020, so see you all around the end of the month for a look at that monster. Until then, take care!



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If you’d like to read an interview with Nick Holmes from 2020, then click on the link below:

Paradise Lost Vocalist Nick Holmes on Doom, Dirge, "Obsidian," and Horror (Interview)