Dargaard: The Dissolution of Eternity

Snow days are a wonderful thing; they mean you can stay home and find the time to write. And so, I will do another music review for another album that I discovered via pandora a few months ago and have been hooked on ever since.

The band is called Dargaard, and it hails from Austria. It is made up of only two members, Tharen and Elisabeth Toriser, who use a synthesizer for all the instruments. I have largely only heard this album "Dissolution of Eternity", and it has a very gothic, haunting sound, almost like something you would play on Halloween night or inside a large cathedral.

"As Old as the Bones of the Earth"

The song starts off dark and threatening with what almost sounds like the screech of a bird, and then the vocals and bells begin. It is a very haunting piece. It is a long song (about seven minutes), but it is good nonetheless, making me think of some deep, hidden underground cavern. It ends with the sound of the wind blowing.

"Thy Fleeing Time"

This song is faster than the first one, and it is sung by Elisabeth. It is very haunting, and this is one of the songs that first got me interested in Dargaard.

"A Path in the Dust"

This one has a more threatening, ominous tone though is not as memorable as the first two pieces.

"In the Omnipresence of Death"

This is another seven-minute long song. It has the feel of a requiem and is sung in Latin, and the bells add a nice touch. This is one of the more memorable pieces on the album.

"My Phantasm Supreme"

This song is louder than the other two, and Elisabeth's vocals are almost drowned out by the music. There is the sound effect of wind at times during the piece.

"Night before the Vastland Storms"

The harp plays a big part of this song. While it is less dark than some of the other songs, the bells and drums do give the impression of lightning and thunder being seen and heard from afar.

"Fire's Dominion"

The synthesizer gets a little high-pitched here, but it doesn't last two long. The sound effects of fire can be heard around the middle of the song.

"The Isolated Vale"

This is a gentle, quieter song sung by Elisabeth with a harp strumming in the background. It is a pretty piece.

"A Prophecy of Immortality"

This is a mournful piece with various sound effects like horses and shouting in it. When I hear it, I think of someone not looking forward to living forever on the earth.

"Wanderer at the End of Time"

This song starts off very high-pitched, which I'm not fond of, and I've yet to hear the entire piece because of it.

This album is a very haunting, dark piece. All the songs fit together perfectly, and the synthesizer does an excellent job of sounding like a full orchestra at times. The songs are arranged very well, and a good portion of them are memorable. I'm not much into darkwave or Gothic-sounding music, but I've made an exception for this album.

I give it four and a half out of five stars.

Movie Review: Tron Legacy

My break has been busier than expected, hence the lack of music reviews. I will instead give a review of "Tron: Legacy", which I saw in theaters yesterday.

WARNING: SEVERAL SPOILERS AHEAD

"Tron: Legacy" begins in 1989, a few years after the events of the original "Tron". Kevin Flynn has become CEO of ENCOM and has a young son named Sam, whom he tells tales about his experiences on the grid. Suddenly, Flynn vanishes one day, leaving Sam alone. Fast-forward about twenty years to Sam (played by Garret Hedlund) who is the typical rebellious, slightly embittered son who is not willing to take over his father's empire and only plays pranks on ENCOM and tries to avoid the law. One night, Sam is told that a message was sent from Flynn's abandoned office, so he goes to the old arcade to investigate. While there, Sam is digitized like Flynn was years ago and ends up in pretty much the same situation: a program has gone rogue and is controlling the system strictly, and Sam can only stop it if he can get home through the portal before it closes. He meets up with his father, who has been sought after by the villain C.L.U., and Quorra (played by Olivia Wilde), a unique program who dreams of being human, and together the three make a hazardous journey to the portal.

I do not remember much of the original "Tron" except that the graphics were cool, despite being done in the early 80's. However, from what I do remember of it, it was completely different from this new version. While the special effects are cool, they look a little too realistic, not like the old graphics which reminded the audience that Flynn was in a different world. An entire city has been built to house the programs, most of which are idle and do not do anything beyond being entertained in some fashion or other; this makes for a completely different setup from the original, but it also means that there is great inconsistency between the two in terms of world-building.

The plot itself is rather skewed and full of holes. Sam arrives in the grid but ends up in a digitized version of his dad's arcade, so why does he have to travel all the way beyond the grid to get to the portal if that is his only way home? Flynn has been in the computer world for years (he states elsewhere in the film that minutes in our world mean hours in the digital world), so why did he age like a normal human being if the time is messed up? C.L.U is trying to dominate the world, but how does he have the inside influence to be able to get word to Sam? The plot itself is rather strange with a large rabbit trail of Sam trying to get help from Zuse (played by Michael Sheen), which ends in disaster when the program betrays him and results in a large club fight and then Sam, a wounded Quorra, and Flynn barely escaping to make their way towards the portal; it seemed like a rather useless situation, only put in there for the sake of being a cool fight scene. The side plot of Quorra's true identity was also weird, as was her desire to be human and experience things like sunrises. There was also a great amount of predictability to the plot, such as Tron's fate (he was supposedly killed by C.L.U years ago though Flynn never saw it happen), Flynn's death, and Sam deciding to become the CEO of ENCOM at last.

The characters were nothing special. Sam was the typical stereotyped son who got jilted by his father and so doesn't want to do his job but later changes his mind; he had a smart-alack personality, but it was nothing memorable. Flynn was odd in that he suddenly became Buddhist or Zen while inside the grid, and so now he sits around in silence "listening to sound". Quorra was not special either, and it was predictable that she and Sam would get together more or less at the end. C.L.U. was not a memorable villain, and his goal of taking over the human world was rather weird and did not make much sense.

The special effects were cool, but to me they were a little too modern and too realistic-looking. When I remember the original "Tron", I recall the graphics being pretty cool despite being done in the early 80's, but they helped to establish the strangeness of the world and reminded the audience it was different. Here, the special effects are a little too real and a little too sleek-looking; after all, Flynn was trapped in 1989, so why did the rest of the world look like the digital world would? Still, the graphics were neat.

A redeeming point in the movie is the soundtrack, done by French electronic band Daft Punk. The soundtrack is excellent, at times sounding like Vangelis, Hans Zimmer, or John Powell and then at other times turning into catchy techno music. It was truly well-done, and I have been enjoying listening to it on rhapsody.

In conclusion, "Tron Legacy" was only an ok movie. The plot was filled with holes and did not make much sense, though the effects were cool and the soundtrack amazing.

I give it 2 and 1/2 stars out of five.

"Silver Swan" by Qntal

And now to give a music review for something that is not Celtic.

I first discovered Qntal via pandora when the first track of this particular album showed up. I listened to it once in lala (before Apple shut it down), and now I have the pleasure of listening to it quite frequently on rhapsody. The band is from Germany, and they have a dark, almost goth-like sound on this particular album though they use largely real instruments on this one compared to their other works. I have heard bits and pieces from their other works, but this album, I believe, contains their best songs.

"Monsieur's Departure"

This song is based on a text written by Elizabeth I of England about love she felt towards someone else. This is a very haunting, seductive, and beautiful piece reminiscent of a waltz, and it will get stuck in your head. This is the song that first introduced me to Qntal.

"Amis Raynaut"

This song is sung in French and has an almost seductive air about it; but, then again, the French language is like that. It is reminiscent of "Monsieur's Departure" though not as haunting.

"Levis"

This haunting song is also based on a Latin Medieval text and almost has a Mediterranean-style feel to it. I also like the use of the deep male voices in the background, which add to its dark mood. It is one of my favorites from the album.

"Von Den Elben"

This song starts off with the twanging of an instrument that sounds almost Greek, and then it works into a gentle harp and synthesizers before the singer Syrah's voice comes in. The entire piece is very pretty, and the musical arrangement is very lush.

"Lingua Mandax"

After the slowness of "Von Den Elben", the band picks it up with something more lively and almost tough-sounding. Even though it is sung in Latin, it almost sounds like German, which actually works for this song.

"Falling Star"

Syrah reverts to singing English again, and she shows off how she hit those high notes with the synthesizer humming in the background.

"The Whyle"

This song is in Middle English, I believe. It is lively and comes across almost like a dance.

"Winter"

This piece is pretty. Some instrument in the background makes almost a dripping sound, which makes me think of a melting winter turning into spring.

"Altas Undaz"

This song returns to lush background instrumentation. The chorus is very pretty with Syrah singing more high notes.

"292"

This song sounds a little like "Lingua Mandax" except it has a far gentler sound. It also sounds Mediterranean- inspired.

"Silver Swan"

The last song on the album is a gentle, orchestral piece; with Syrah's vocals, it sounds graceful and beautiful, like a swan gliding on a lake. It is a fitting end to the album.

This album is very pretty. I have no general complaints about it except that some of the pieces do sound the same after a while. However, it is a beautiful and memorable piece of work that I will enjoy for years to come.

I give it four out of five stars.

"Holiday High" by Spalding and Lasar

And now for a Christmas music review. Now that finals are over, I now have the time to do this.

I first discovered Cadence Spalding through my pandora radio stations this past year, and I liked her layering vocals, so I caught on. During my free trial for emusic, I was looking her up and discovered this album that she did with her husband Mars Lasar. After one listen, I used my credits to download the album and now have the pleasure of listening to it frequently. For those not acquainted with Spalding's work, she sounds like Enya except her voice is higher and that she sings what sounds like both alto and soprano parts, which set her apart from the Irish singer.

"All Is Calm"

This is a version of "Silent Night". It is a very pretty version, though I think having Cadence's more real-sounding vocals almost sounds a bit jarring.

"Candles Shine"

This is "Away in a Manger". Another pretty song.

"Prayer"

This is a different version of "O Christmas Tree", as these lyrics do not match up with the original ones. The real vocals again sound a bit jarring and almost ruin the ethereal sound of the layered voices.

"Peace"

I believe this is an original composition of Spalding's or her husband's. This is basically a prayer for Christmas.

"Oh, Come Rejoice"

I think this is also another original composition. It is pretty though not one of my personal favorites.

"The Babe"

This is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". I personally like versions of this old hymn that have a darker feeling to it, and this one suffices very well between the haunting voices, the drums in the background, and then the flute towards the middle of the song. My only complaint is that I would have not sang the first verse and chorus twice. Otherwise, it is very pretty.

"Angel Song"

This is "What Child Is This?", and it is very beautiful. It just might be my favorite version.

"Turn Your Heart"

This is "Angels We Have Heard on High", and it is also is a pretty piece.

"Fall on Your Knees"

This is an original composition, though it starts off like "O Little Town of Bethlehem." It is one of my favorites from the album.

"Stars in the Sky"

This is "O Holy Night." I believe this is Cadence singing the main melody, though to me it almost sounds like a boy's voice. Not another of my personal favorites.

This is a very pretty album. It is not sentimental like other Christmas albums, and I love Spalding's use of the layering. However, I think she could have removed her more natural- sounding voice from some of the pieces, as it did not add much to them. Another problem I have is that some of the song titles are seemingly mixed up. I don't know if this is emusic's fault or not, but the last three song titles do not match what I listen to on rhapsody and what amazon says (the song order in the review is as rhapsody gave me and is the same as amazon's). Along the lines of song titles, it got confusing trying to figure out what Christmas song was what and re-naming them so I remember which one is which; it would have been easier to stick to the original titles.

Otherwise, I have very few complaints with this Christmas album. It is beautiful and will probably be listened to all year round by me. I give it four and 1/2 stars out of five.

Upcoming Reviews

I'm still here. After finals next week, I've got quite a few music reviews to do. Here is a list (not necessarily in order that I will do them) of which ones I want to do:

"Deirdre" by Deirdre Shannon
"Celtic Christmas" by Orla Fallon
"Silver Swan" by Qntal
"Dissolution of Eternity" by Dargaard
"Holiday High" by Cadence Spalding and Mars Laser
"Songs for a Fallen Angel" by John McGlynn

Keep watching this blog, and hopefully I can get a few of these written over my Christmas break.

Remembering Celtic Woman

As a few know, my liking of Celtic Woman has been declining over the past few years, but it worsened these last few months with the departures of both Alex and Lynn. To me, the group doesn't sound the same anymore, especially ever since Meav and Orla took off. And my hopes have not been risen either by the announcement of the new member today.

Today I was reminded of the good ol' days before Meav and Orla left, back when the five original members existed in the group. Videos of Orla's recent Christmas concert in Nashville have been popping up on youtube, and I've been watching them. Someone today uploaded one of Meav and Orla singing "Do You Hear What I Hear?". I started watching it, and oh, did my eyes begin to water up. Watching the two smiling and singing together, I was immediately reminded of Celtic Woman between 2004 and 2007, back when I thoroughly enjoyed their music and the girls' stage presence. The singing was gorgeous, but it was seeing the two interact and treat each other like old friends as they performed and hearing the people applaud loudly and give them a standing ovation afterwards, that's what got me. It made me realize how much I truly miss the old Celtic Woman, the one I discovered back in 2006 through a random music search, and sadly I don't think I'll ever see it again, live or in studio.

So, I heartily recommend finding the video on youtube and watching it. It will remind you of Celtic Woman's glory days, and, plus it's an excellent addition to anyone's Christmas music library.

Movie Review: Toy Story 3

I admit it; when I first saw the trailer for "Toy Story 3", I was a little dubious about it. And, hearing mixed reviews from other people who saw it, I was skeptical and not sure what to think. However, last week, my family got it from our local Redbox and watched it.

The story takes place around ten years after the events of "Toy Story 3", when Andy is preparing to go off to college and his toys are not looking forward to moving into the attic. After mistakenly being thrown in the garbage, the toys decide to go off to the local daycare, where they will have someone new to play with them. However, things take a different turn when the daycare turns out to be a living nightmare, and the toys must escape.

Despite my misgivings about the movie, I turned out enjoying it far more than I expected to. However, I will insert a little warning here: this movie, despite being for children, does not exactly contain material for younger ones. There are a couple of creepy characters that would absolutely terrify kids and a couple of situations that they could be freaked out by. Not only that, but there is a little more "adult"-themed material like tying up a Barbie doll in his underwear and torturing him or the same character seemingly cross-dressing later on; it is played on for laughs, but I would be a little edgy on showing it to kids. Though, I will say, the last few scenes of the movie will make you cry, especially the adults or parents.

One issue I did have with the movie was the repetitive situations and such that have been used in one of or both of the previous films. A few examples are the toys always getting lost and having to find their way home, a toy who seems kind but turns out malicious, and Buzz going through his "space ranger" delusion. While each situation, granted is a little different, it does come across as being somewhat repetitive and unimaginative.

Other than those issues, "Toy Story 3" lives up to its two predecessors and is a worthy addition to anyone's Pixar collection as well as being a (hopefully) good ending to the "Toy Story" trilogy.

I give it 4 and 1/2 stars out of five.