Sukekiyo

So, decided to make a whole post about this, because of the amount of stuff that's already come from them. Gonna go through basics though for them that aren't familiar to the band from before though, and no wonder, because they only started last autumn, and made themselves noticable around December. So, first things first:

Sukekiyo is a band started by Kyo from Dir en Grey as a solo project, and has members from other bands that come to form something quite interesting. The band started out with a website with only the name, but not giving out the official band members from the start, leaving everyone guessing until the first live shows, that had people guessing about whether or not it was actually Kyo singing. Later on, it was made official, Kyo had started Sukekiyo. The first lives were low-key, and didn't make much of a fuzz about them, and anything official only came after the first live. And during these two first concerts, they sold their first  "EP", The Daemon's Cutlery, which was in fact an LP containing one song from whence the title came.
The song was recorded in studio, all at once with the whole band as an attempt to capture the essence of Sukekiyo, and the sound was very rough still at that point, not giving a clear idea of what the song in the end would be on the upcoming album. From what I managed to find audio clips of the song, with not having an LP-player, I remember the song sounding something like the Egnirys Cimredopyh +) An Injection, by Dir en Grey. The EP came available online because of the big interest for it, and was made in a limited stock for Kyo's online store, from which Neo Tokyo managed to grab a few for sale in Europe which was lucky for me, because it gave me the chance of getting my hands on it.

At the start of the year, it then became known that Sukekiyo would release their first full-length album, IMMORTALIS, only 6 months after their first concerts, and it would hit stores at the end of April. The album was to be released in a total of 4 different editions, two hitting general stores and the remaining 2 being available online only through Kyo's website again. Here, Neo Tokyo came in handy again, getting some of all versions of the album available. I got the online only limited edition, and really happy about it, because it is a very beautiful book with a blu-ray with the bands first live performances recorded on it, making it a great look into the beginning of the band. The photography is very good, and the remixes found on the second CD are very interesting, concidering I normally dislike everything that comes to remixes of songs. The tracklist for the album is as follows:

CD 1:
1. elisabeth addict
2. destrudo
3. latour
4. nine melted fiction
5. zephyr
6. hidden one
7. aftermath
8. 烏有の空 (uyuu no sora)
9. the daemon's cutlery
10. scars like velvet
11. mama
12. vandal
13. hemimetabolism
14. 鵠 (kugui)
15. 斑人間 (madara ningen)
16. in all weathers

CD 2:
Bonus CD of collaborations with and remixes by artists including SUGIZO (LUNA SEA / X JAPAN), HISASHI (GLAY), HITOKI (KUROYUME), SHUJI ISHII (cali≠gari), TK (RIN TOSHITE SHIGURE), and more. Also included on the bonus CD is a collaboration featuring KIRITO (Angelo), vocalist of PIERROT, an overwhelmingly popular band and rivals when DIR EN GREY debuted.

Blu-ray:
Live Footage
Music Video: ｢aftermath｣ (IMMORTALIS Ver.)
Music Video: ｢in all weathers｣ 

 Overall, the whole album has a very rich feeling to it, painting dark and melancholy pictures for the listener. It has a great feeling of a whole, and can be even disturbing at times with Kyo's voice making the an eerie atmosphere. I was so excited when I first heard that the band would release an album, and couldn't stop listening to the song Aftermath when it was released as a music video back in January. The songs give a wholely different feel from the harsh and aggressive sound that is Dir en Grey, and shows what more Kyo is capable of as an artist. Though I'm glad Kyo hasn't dropped his harsh vocals for Sukekiyo, because I really like them in slow songs. There isn't a single song that I dislike on the album, although there have been a couple that have grown to become favorites. Namely Elisabeth Addict, Aftermath, Scars Like Velvet, and Vandal. The last one being my favorite for getting out crap from my system and really lashing out with music, because it just goes to outright crazy at times, vocals and all.

Lastly, Sukekiyo will be touring Europe for the first time this autumn, and I managed to score a ticket for myself for the show in Helsinki, which makes me so excited! After only having had one small tour in Japan so far, and already their making their first overseas tour, less than a year from the start of the band. It's quite an achievent, though it was kinda to be expected because of the hype around the band, and concidering how big a name Kyo is in the J-music scene. All in all, a very interesting band that's completely blown away everyone from the very start, and made quite a name for themselves already I'd think. Very excited for September as the concert is then, and can't wait to get to see the band live~

the GazettE live tour 12-13【DIVISION】FINAL MELT LIVE AT 03.10 SAITAMA SUPER ARENA

Been ages again since the last post, sorry about that. Life's been crazy ever since November when life decided to give me the middle finger with everything I've done so haven't had much energy for much more than what really has to get done for school. Besides that, just haven't found the time to sit down and write, so here goes something I should've done ages ago already xD

Ordered the latest live DVD by The GazettE back in November (What a coincidence :'D didn't even remember that it happened to coincide with a lot of my difficult times. The end of the year was such a blur to me now), even though it was released back in June, but because of not having had the money for it then I with-held getting it right away. Luckily for me, Yesasia had it at a reduced price at their end-of-the-year sale, so I had to jump on the opportunity to buy it now because of the lower pricetag.
As with most Japanese artists and bands, this release came in two different editions, and being the collector that I am, I had to get the Limited Edition with all the extras. This time the extras were quite the same as in the TOUR11-12 VENOMOUS CELL FINALE OMEGA release, meaning a lenticular lens on top of the package and a ~100 page booklet with pictures and interviews of the band members alongside a documentary of the live.

The concert itself consisted of a total of 28 songs, and is as follows:

DISC1
01.[Diplosomia～XI］
02.DERANGEMENT
03.GABRIEL ON THE GALLOWS
04.VENOMOUS SPIDER'S WEB
05.VORTEX
06.CLEVER MONKEY
07.THE SUICIDE CIRCUS
08.DRIPPING INSANITY
09.余韻
10.影踏み
11.籠の蛹
12.[Depth]
13.歪
14.ヘドロ
15.VERMIN
16.SLUDGY CULT
17.HEADACHE MAN
18.ATTITUDE
19.REQUIRED MALFUNCTION
20.[Melt]
 
DISC2
01.Ride with the Rockers
02.赤いワンピース
03.Psychedelic Heroine
04.Filth in the beauty
05.COCKROACH
06.LINDA ～candydive pinky heaven～
07.関東土下座組合
08.☆BEST FRIENDS☆

The whole concert starts of with a lot of power, being very strong and fast right from the start, and the visual is just amazing. The intrumental intro used by putting together Diplosomia and XI is brilliant, and the scenes on the screens at the back of the stage look fantastic. A good start for another tour final for The Gazette. The whole setlist really highlights the Division album that was released prior to the tour that ended in this live performance by the band, and being a real showstopper with every single song from the album making an appearence during the live which is a thrill to hear and see. The first seven songs of the list go by in an instant, before slowing down for DRIPPING INSANITY, setting a different mood altogether. The calm song makes for a good change from the headbanging and fast cheering from some of the best songs from both the Toxic and Division albums, and Clever Monkey (a B-track from the Remember the Urge single) also making an appearence. The songs roll perfectly from one to the other without problems, and the band are as good as ever performing their roles to give a good show for the fans.
We get a lot of old classics, and this time around the song LINDA ～candydive pinky heaven～ didn't end the live, which was a surprise for me because they usually play it last. As I said, the whole live is very Division heavy, but for some reason I don't miss other songs on the DVD, because this package is enough. A perfect mix of new and old. If I want to listen to some of their other songs live, I can just pick up another DVD from my shelf. The encore is very simple, the only surprise in the songs being ☆BEST FRIENDS☆ that hasn't been on a live DVD since the 2004 Tokyo saihan ～JUDGMENT DAY～ release. 
At the end of the main setlist, during [Melt] the band really put in everything they had to create a spectacle for the audience. The show came to an end with a bang when a bombs and spraks start flying around the stage and different equipment start partly falling down from the ceiling in mid-air. The visual effect of it all was just mind-blowing. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the whole thing for the first time, because there was no way of expecting it.
During the encore, Ruki made a bold stroll through the crows on both sides of the arena, making for quite a spectacle to see as disoriented fans screamed and tried to reach him from behind the barriers. I'm sure it made the night for many fans that night.
Overall, the whole package is beatiful as always, can't ever expect anything less from these guys. The show and DVD are a pleasure to look at, and Ruki sure knows his stuff when it comes to the visual parts. The releases always stand out from everyone elses in so many ways. Just the box in itself is so beatiful and has that special something that all the releases over here in the western world can just dream of. But for all it's worth, with the amount of money going into buying these releases you really wouldn't settle for anything less. Once again a release by The GazettE worth getting if you have the chance.

As a little sidenote to the DVD, I decided to give my thoughts on the live show The GazettE had here in Finland during their World Tour 13. I managed to acquire VIP tickets thanks to a good friend of mine, and had good places in the venue thanks to that, even though they had sold a ridiculous amount of VIP tickets for the show (possibly 100-200 or over what it felt like at least). A slight misscalculation there, because I think they should be a bit more priviledged, and really get front row tickets or close to. Well, no chance for that during this show. When I got in everyone got a VIP laminate as a gift for the show, and apparently they had special posters too for the VIP ticket holders, but these had ran out already during earlier parts of the tour which was a shame, because early access and a laminate for almost double the price of the ticket felt kinda stupid before the show started, but alas, that's life. But when the concert started, everything just went away for the remainder of the show. 
The setlist went as follows:

[XI] 
01. VORTEX 
02. LEECH 
03. BEFORE I DECAY 
04. GABRIEL ON THE GALLOWS 
05. VENOMOUS SPIDER’S WEB 
06. THE SUICIDE CIRCUS 
07. DRIPPING INSANITY 
08. UNTITLED
09. DERANGEMENT 10. HEADACHE MAN 11. SLUDGY CULT 12. COCKROACH 13. Filth in the Beauty 

ENCORE: 

14. SHIVER 
15. RUDER 
16. Linda ~candydive pinky heaven~

The whole show was a blast, even though the venue was so packed it felt like being crushed part of the time. During the show I had perfect view of Ruki for most of the time, and people were jumping and partying so crazy that I moved around a lot with the crowd during the whole concert. 
Only thing that I found a bit of a shame during this concert is how short it was. I understand that it's tough on the boys during a large tour like this, but 16 songs is a little for these guys, when they easily play 20 songs at concerts in Japan. My personal favourite songs from the live were Leech, The Suicide Circus, Derangement and Headache Man if I have to name the ones I liked best. During The Suicide Circus I actually found myself crying in disbelief because I had waited for this concert to happen for so many years, and finally seeing the band live was such a thrill. 
The merch booth had way too much to offer, and with my little money, I had to go by with just buying a bag with the band's name on it, and then a large towel with the tourdates and a nice skull picture on it. A friend of mine got the hoodie, which turned out to be really nice and I would have liked it, but there was no way I could have afforded it at the time.
My luck was with me though after the live, because when the band threw pics and drumsticks, I managed to get one of Uruha's pics to someone elses disappointment, because I somehow managed to grab it from under her hand apparently making her stare murderously at me afterwards from what I heard ^^; Gomenne, but I had to get it.

The concert ended way too fast, and felt like no time at all. They boys were in top shape during the live, even though it wasn't anything special visually from them. This time though I hope it won't take them seven years to come again for a performance. The concert sold out fast, so they certainly have a good fanbase here. Now to wait for the documentary DVD about the tour that should come out next month~ 

Dir en Grey - The Unraveling

This is a bit late, because this mini-album was released back in April, but have been so busy that I haven´t been able to write about it before now. First off, the contents of the Order-Only Deluxe edition:

DISC 1 : CD
01. Unraveling
02. KARMA
03. KASUMI
04. KARASU
05. Bottom of the death valley
06. Unknown.Despair.Lost
07. THE FINAL

DISC 2 : CD
01. MACABRE
02. Unraveling (Unplugged Ver.)
03. THE FINAL (Unplugged Ver.)

DISC 3 : DVD
01. RINKAKU (Shot In One Take)
02. Kiri To Mayu (Shot In One Take)
03. Shitataru Mourou [LIVE]
　　*Live Take at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM HALL A on December 25, 2012
04. Juuyoku [LIVE]
　　*Live Take at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM HALL A on December 25, 2012
05. INTERVIEW ON THE UNRAVELING
06. THE UNRAVELING (Scenes From Recording)

So as everyone can see, this edition consists of 2 CDs and 1 DVD, and one larger booklet containing the lyrics for all the songs both in Japanese and English, which I think was a really nice touch, and a fancy box to hold everything. For most places you had to order this some months before the release to ensure that you´d get a copy, because it´s a strictly limited edition, but as soon as I saw the tracklist back when they released the information, I was sold. For me, this released felt like a renewal of some of their old songs, that in themselves never really opened up to me in their original form so was very much looking forward to it, before even getting into the unplugged versions of Unraveling and THE FINAL.
I´ve always loved the unplugged versions of the songs Dir en Grey have made, completely changing the songs into something completely different, and most times very touching. As to what comes to the songs themselves, I really like the re-makes. They feel fresh and new, making up a new image for the new Dir en Grey. I read around the time of the release that a review of this album, and the writer thought of this as a nod towards the bands old fans, that might not be that much into their newer albums, and also because they really don´t play all that many old songs anymore, having stated that once they close a door, they won´t open it again. So this is a nice way of taking up their old songs again.
As to what comes to the unplugged versions on this album, I feel that I´m completely mesmerized by them, because they´ve yet again managed to make and create something wonderful. The dark atmospheres in the unplugged version of Unraveling, and the balladlike THE FINAL. At first I was surprised how little they changed THE FINAL, but I see that it wasn´t necessary to do much with it because it´s such a beloved song. And I´ve seen many calling and unplugged version of THE FINAL a Disney song, but for all it´s worth, I really enjoy it. It´s for me one of those touching moments that you don´t get all that much with Dir en Grey. Kyo´s voice works wonders in these kinds of slow songs, and I love him to pieces for it.
The DVD shows the band in full action, the two first songs being studio lives, so to speak, and then 2 songs from their Christmas Day live from last year, which I was very eager to hear because we haven´t had all that much live material of old songs being sung after Kyo´s surgery. Sadly the interviews don´t have any subtitles so there isn´t much a non-japanese speaker can understand from them, but for those who understand them, I´m sure appreciate them very much, and it´s yet again nice to see some clips from the recording process of the band.
Overall I really like this release, and think every Dir en Grey fan should give this a listen, even if they haven´t been into the band´s late escapedes. This release would probably also serve well for a new face to this band´s music, because it´s very versatile all-in-all. Now off to hoping for another tour of Europe where the band would come to Finland again so that I´d have a chance of seeing them live again~

Bioshock Infinite *no spoilers*

What a game... Seriously, this was one of the best games I´ve played in a while, apart from having played the original Bioshock the day before because of not having been played it earlier.

But onto the box itself:

As the picture suggests, I got the Ultimate Songbird Edition with a ton of extras coming in the box. Many special editions of games haven´t had that many things happening in them, but Bioshock definitely made the box worth the price. 

-The songbird statue is really awesome-looking with the box housing it being made very much according to the world the game is set in.

-The artbook is nice, has a lot of concept art from the game, showing the conception of some of the characters during development. I just think it´s a shame that they didn´t put in the whole artbook, but only a small excerpt because for the price the collector´s edition was, they should´ve been able to put the book in its full form in my opinion.

-The Murder of Crows keychain, which is very detailed, though perhaps a bit big for a keychain.

-A handyman figurine, which is seriously too small for anything, and don´t understand why it´s even there

-A poster for the Devil´s Kiss vigor, which looks nice and I believe can also be found in the game, so a nice touch

-A digital soundtrack of the game, haven´t downloaded it, but the game´s music is nice so fine by me. Would´ve been nice as a physical CD, but that´s my personal choice

Only thing in the game itself that bothered me, was that all the loading screens had the same short piece of music that played over and over, and frankly bored me quite a lot by the end. But besides that, the gameplay itself was really good, and didn´t notice any flags or bugs while playing, which a lot of new games nowadays have right after release. (I´m looking at you, Assassin´s Creed 3)

The story was really good, and had those twists that I came to love in the first game in the franchise.
The game is realy beautyfull visually, and I was surprised how much difficulty there was in the game, even on normal because all enemies hit fairly hard which made the game a fun challenge. Wouldn´t have been much of an effort to finish the game if it´d been too easy.
I seriously recommend this game to everyone who likes a shooter, or just a good game overall, because Bioshock Infinite was possibly the best game so far for this year that I´ve played.

Reviews, reviews... So much to listen to~

A lot of new CDs have been released since the last update, so trying to work my way through those slowly... Anyway, gonna go through new albums by Stratovarius and Lordi, plus the new Tomb Raider game that rebooted the franchise. So let´s get started:

Nemesis - Stratovarius

 I have been listening to Stratovarius for a couple of albums now, since Polaris, and the new album Nemesis is really something new. A fresh wind that brought new life to the band but kept the sound true to the band´s origins. Might be that the new drummer Rolf Pilve had something to do with how  the album sounds, who knows? I got the digipack book version of the album with two bonus tracks, and really happy about it.

The whole album sounds more like a whole, and I don´t think there´s a single boring track on the album, which is a first for me with Stratovarius, because I haven´t liked every track off the earlier albums, but they certanly did a good job here. Abandon is a nice opening track, the first single Unbreakable is really catchy and fun, and the power just keeps going. Stand My Ground has an awesome intro on the bass, and Halcyon Days has got me hooked after a few listens to name a few.

The band has definitely outdone themselves on this one, and I couldn´t be happies to go see them live tomorrow at Tavastia.

To Beast Or Not To Beast - Lordi

 

Lordi´s new album is also something that I looked forward to with interest, because their last album Babez For Breakfast certainly wasn´t a favourite of mine. When I first heard the first single off the album, The Riff, I was instantly hooked. The sound was so fresh, but still the old Lordi that I´ve grown fond of. And Lordi played with his voice, which really made the whole track stand out nicely. When the album was finally released on March 1st, I had to get my hands on it right away, and am not disapointed with it. The new drummer and keybordist have surely dune Lordi a lot of good, bringing in new sounds to the mixer, even though they´re perhaps not as visually fantasic as some earlier members, though still unique. The album is really whole, and doesn´t really have any uninteresting tracks, which I´m really happy about because the album sounds perfect and there isn´t a single track that I´d like to change about it. Even the track Something Wicked This Way Comes, that I was somewhat reserved to after the listen has become better with time, having it´s own charm along with the rest of the tracks. My personal favourite tracks off the album are probably We´re Not Bad For The Kids (We´re Worse), The Riff, and Horrifiction to name a few, though I really like them all. I´m sure very fan of Lordi will like this new album, because it´s got new sounds, but without forgetting the old, and there´s a lot of hooks to catch on it. Couldn´t be happier about it.

Tomb Raider

The new reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise by Square Enix. Where to begin? I was really reserved about this, because it´s a franchise that I like, and all the games released for the PS2 with the exception of Angel of Darkness haven´t been in my liking. The games we´re too easy and I played breezed through them in no time. I just couldn´t find myself touching them again. What I liked about the earlier games of old, were that you had to puzzle together clues to get forward, and it sure as hell wasn´t easy. Took me ages to get through them.

I bought the Collector´s Edition of the game with all the extras, but I´m not 100% happy with it, because the figurine for example is sloppily done with the joints not being coloured as in the picture, and somewhat hastily done overall, but besides that the box and artbook are nice. The book could´ve contained more and been bigger, that would have been nice, but what can you do.

As for the game itself... I´m not really sure what to think about it. Yes, It´s Lara Croft, and she´s vulnerable and soft this time around, plunging into how she became what we know her as: The tough chick who can take take anything from anyone, and doesn´t give a shit about what needs to be done. I miss the old Lara, because she was so much tougher. There might be some continuation to this, I would think, because I doubt Square leaves it at one game, but time will tell. To me the new games was more like Uncharted than a Tomb Raider. Yes, the games looked visually fantastic, but it didn´t stand out at all. It felt like I played Uncharted 2 or 3 all over again, only with a female lead. And is it too much to ask for to get a decent and seriously hard Final Boss battle at the end of the game. When I finally made it to the end, in less than 24 hours after I´d bought the game with probably max 10 hours of gameplay (not sure though), it felt like a letdown when the whole thing was finished. I had a sour taste in my mouth because I had been expecting something very climactic and great at the end, but it just didn´t deliver... As I read in the Finnish game magazine today: Lara has unfortunately been left dragging behind in the game industry. There´s so much survival games out there, and the game mechanics of the new Tomb Raider are exactly like Uncharted with only a few differences. Uncharted is completely linear in story, which thankfully Tomb Raider is not, with a big open world to explore all the time, but the seeking of different items is not so amusing anymore, specially with the hidden tombs giving off a sign and text when you get near saying "Hidden tomb nearby"... Lame, Square, very lame. It really doesn´t have to be that easy!!! I wan´t a real challenge to these games, because there weren´t really any times in the game when I actually had problems with the puzzles, and could breeze through them without much effort. 

To sum things up, Tomb Raider is a nice game, that gives some thrills and is visually great, but it just feels somewhat lacking in the end. It´s worth a playthrough, but I doubt it´s anything I´d want to play again for a while because it doesn´t give that much of a challenge. And to put a special enemy right before the final boss that´s harder than the boss itself really feels stupid. I had to take a couple of tries to get the big enemy down, dying a couple of times, but got through the "final boss" in one try without even dying. It was just that easy. If they are going to continue with making Tomb Raider games, I at least hope that they have the decency of putting in a good final boss to the game, giving us a spectacular final battle that won´t be a let down, and a big finisher that gives you a feeling of accomplishement when finished.

Dir en Grey - Rinkaku

The postcard with the whole image that was used for the cover (For some reason it got turned upside down)

A sticker with the normal editions cover-image

The packaging

A photobook with lyrics and thoughts from the band

Inside of the packaging

Rinkaku is the new single from the Japanese band Dir en Grey, which has become one of my many favourites in a short time. Their sound is really great, but might need a while to get used to, because Kyo´s vocals range from low growls to high pitched screams in a matter of seconds.
Well, onto the single itself: Rinkaku was released in three different versions in Japan; The normal edition, the limited edition including a DVD with clips from recording, and the Deluxe order-only limited edition. Normally I don´t buy singles from artists because they don´t have that much on them, but what got my mind turned was the live videos on the DVD. For the Deluxe edition Dir en Grey recorded most of their main setlist from their Ratio Ducat, non Fortuna live in Japan in 2011. What makes it so special is that every song that they recorded was symphonic versions of their new and old songs that they played during the live. I was mesmerized by their symphonic version of the song Amon on the deluxe version of Dum Spiro Spero, so I just had to buy this to get the live DVD.
The contents of the single are as follows:
CD:
01 輪郭
02 霧と繭
03 輪郭 （Remix）〈Remixed by Akira Yamaoka〉

DVD:
TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Ratio ducat, non fortuna
2011.11.11 TOKYO DOME CITY HALL
01 AMON
02 LOTUS
03 OBSCURE
04 流転の塔
05 暁
06 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇
07 THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB
08 mazohyst of decadence
09 蜜と唾
10 「欲巣にDREAMBOX」あるいは成熟の理念と冷たい雨
11 DIFFERENT SENSE
12 DECAYED CROW
13 輪郭 (Scenes From Recording) 

 The single itself was released towards the end of December, but it took until a week ago to arrive in the mail, but I couldn´t have been happier when it finally dropped through the mail slot. 
The live is brilliant, and Kyo´s stage presense is of no match. Vocally the sound isn´t as pure as on the album, but that is to be expected from Kyo´s vocals anyway, because he sure hasn´t made it easy on himself. 
My personal highlights of the DVD are probably Amon, because I like the song so much, and then THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB, because of Kyo´s facial expressions. They are just so awesome that I can´t find words for it.
The main song itself, Rinkaku is also something that I can´t get enough of. I can play it on repeat and never get tired of it. It´s so fresh and overturning when it comes to the band´s concept, showing that you can´t ever guess what Dir en Grey will come up with next. It also shows that Kyo has made a good recovery from his operation from almost a year back, being the first release in a while. I´m also glad that Kyo´s harsh vocals are alive and kicking in Kiri to Mayu, the B-track of the single. This is going to be an interesting year following Dir en grey with a new mini-album coming out in april.

Nightwish and AC 3

Gonna be going through two things this time, as the header says. :D First, and foremost, Nightwish. And later on the new Assassin´s Creed 3

Nightwish

Little over a week back Nightwish had the very anticipated world-premiere of their movie Imaginaerum. I got my ticket from the pre-sale, which was really good because all the good seats were gone when the sales went public. Standing floor and seats on the parquet for the movie. But let´s start with the setlist:

1. Taikatalvi 
2. Storytime
3. Dark Chest of Wonders
4. Amaranth
5. Scaretale
6. Ever Dream
7. Slow Love Slow
8. I Want My Tears Back 
9. Last of the Wilds
10. Arabesque
11. Planet Hell
12. Ghost River
13. Song of Myself
14. Ghost Love Score
15. Last Ride of the Day

 This was my first time hearing Floor Jansen singing live, who´s standing in when Anette Olzon left the band during their US leg of the tour. I came with high expectations to the show, but Floor really blew my mind away. Her vocal range live is amazing, although from what little I´ve listened to Floor´s other work in studio albums in her own projects, it really doesn´t show her talents. 

It was really nice that they played some old songs from Once too that haven´t been played in a while over here. Ghost Love Score and Dark Chest of Wonders were really great surprises because I had no idea what they were going to play with Tuomas having hinted that they might play the whole Imaginaerum album from start to finish. Which they definitely did not.

As to what comes to the film, I thought it was really amazing. The way the tracks moved the story forward and how well it fitted every scene was awesome. I listened to the official soundtrack The Score for the movie the day before, and still had no idea what to expect. And with the shivers down my spine during Deeper Down... What great moment.

The critics though have been very unkind towards the movie, sadly. Calling it flimzy and not making sense. Yes, the story isn´t your conventional one where you go from point A to B. You had to think to understand the wonders, and make the connections. A very touching story that I´m going to cherish for the rest of my life. Feel really priviledged for having had the chance to see the movie first-hand at the premiere. Definitely going to go watch the movie again in the theaters as soon as I get a chance.

Many a tear shed during one night, both during the concert, and the movie. A great evening indeed. And also bought the new tourbook the Imaginaerum tour. Really happy about that, because usually they haven´t been available when they´ve been here yet... But now I got it, so happy about that.

Now only hoping that they´d release a live DVD of the show...

Assassin´s Creed 3

As for Assassin´s Creed 3, it carries on where Revelations left off... A very large and beautyful intro. After many years we´ve finally gotten past Ezio from the last three games. There´s a nice twist after a few sequences into the game, and the game mechanics are good once you get used to them. Only thing that has me wondering, is that after having been developing the game for 3 years, how is it possible that it has so god damn many bugs and glitches? There just doesn´t seem to be an end to them, and then Ubisoft doesn´t even release any patches in almost a month.... Some of the extra tasks are quite tedious and takes time, but overall it is a good game that was worth playing. Only thing being that it leaves craving for more, as did it´s predecessors.
Myself got the Freedom Edition, with a statue, cool box, steelbook cover and George Washington´s notebook. All very cool.

Also, was going to add pictured, but for some reason my internet keeps crashing every time I try to publish it with pictured, and refused to save them... Anyway, that´s all for now.