It has been a busy couple of months. I have been neglecting my blogging duties, but I hope you will forgive me. I will try to get back into the swing of things soon.
In the meantime, here are two of my latest quickfire question and answer sessions. More to come!
And just in case you missed it...
Head on over to www.ashesofares.com for the latest news and official Ashes of Ares gear.
Yeah, I know I’m a little late gettin’ around to it, but I
figure I’ll throw in my two and a half cents about “The Dark Knight Rises”.First, I have to say that I went into the
theater with the sense that I would not be disappointed with this final
installment of the Nolan trilogy.I just
had a feeling that things from TDK that left me so depressed (for lack of a
better word) would somehow be righted.I
was not wrong…for the most part.I think
that there were a lot of things that were right on the money here.Though I might have gone another way in some
aspects, I believe that there were a lot of visions in TDKR that we saw in “Batman
Begins”.I’m not sure if those bits were
because of more writing contributions by David Goyer or if it was just a
conscious decision from the whole creative team to give the movie that
feeling.Aside from the obvious
connection to BB (I won’t spoil it for the two people who haven’t seen the
flick) there was the same kind of energy that was not (in my opinion) present
in TDK.It’s kinda hard to talk about my
favorite points of the movie without giving away plot.The same goes for the parts that I wasn’t so
jazzed about, but I can say that I think the movie was worth the admission
price and I’ll be glad to add “The Dark Knight Rises” to my Bat-collection.
That being said…I’m ready for the next vision of The Batman
to fill us with delight.I am almost
positive that Nolan will still have his hands in the production or executive
production of the next concept, but I hope that the next creative team gives us
the Batman that gives as good as he gets.I’m talking about the guy that can go head to head with a “Super” human
and come away with his head up.That’s
the guy I wanna see next.After all,
next summer we get to “believe a man can fly” again.We should be getting ready for a Batman that
can help save a planet from other worldly foes.That only seems fair.If I wanna
see a realistic super hero, I’ll watch a Norris movie ;-))
As far as “Man of Steel” goes, I like what I’ve seen so
far.I think that the Jor El and
Jonathan Kent teasers were brilliant.Was it me, or did anyone else get the same visual vibe from those
trailers as from the first “Batman Begins” teaser?Weird…yet hopeful!Let’s all hope that we will see stuff that we
have never seen but have always been waiting for.Horns Up!
Greetings all! Just wanted to give you guys a little insight into what's been going on lately. Well, though we are still in the early stages of progress, we are really excited about what we are hearing thus far. We hope that you have patience with us as we continue with this creative process and search for a record label that will help us bring our music to you all in the best way. Thanks for all your support....more to come!
My buddy, Thomas "Hellspawn" Mancini, posted the
latest “Dark Knight Rises” trailer on my Facebook page yesterday, just after I
viewed it on Superherohype.com.He is
obviously a more “efficient” geek than I am, however, I'd still like to add my
three and a half cents to this preview.First, as some of you may know, I was not a huge fan of “The Dark Knight”
film.I really wanted to love it, but after
watching it once in the theater and once on DVD (yeah, I didn’t even spring for
the Blu-ray) I remained really, for lack of a better term, confused.I was a huge fan of “Batman Begins”, and
thought it was a perfect blending of a “super-hyper” and “realistic” world.It delivered the foundation for what I felt
was the most original/dramatic/action-filled “Batman” franchise there had ever
been.The story was well written and
very heartfelt in establishing the reason why Bruce Wayne “must” transform into
the Batman.So I really had high hopes
for TDK. Considering the circumstances
that had occurred prior to the film’s release, most of us were eager to see
just how well the “Joker” and “Two-Face” played into the story.I, unfortunately, felt that I spent over two
hours watching something that left me feeling a little hollow.Not even that “good hollow” like at the end
of “Empire Strikes Back”.I guess what I
assumed from the title “The Dark Knight”, that Batman was going to kick some serious
butt, but…what I got was “Why so serious?”
Since I’ve already used my “Empire” reference…I’ll just keep
rolling with that.From what I’ve seen of
“The Dark Knight Rises” advertising, I get the distinct impression that this is
Batman’s “Return of the Jedi”.(Fingers
crossed… no Ewoks…or missile toting penguins)The tag line “The Legend Ends” has been used in posters and
billboards.Some might make the assumption
that because this is Nolan’s final “Batman” film that he will “end” his vision
of the Batman.I may have completely
missed the bus, but I believe what is meant by this is that “The Legend” will
give way to “The Hero” of Gotham City.I
am sure that Nolan will remain connected to the Batman franchise in some
capacity.After all, whether I liked TDK
or not, it is still one of the highest grossing movies of all time.
That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that “The Dark
Knight Rises” will surpass its predecessor … in both bank, and in the hearts of
fan-boys.This new trailer looks
outstanding, and as long as we are given the “superhero” that we expect “The Bat”
to be, bat-fans will be triumphant.We
have already seen what kind of superhero magic that Marvel can bring to the big
screen in the last several years.It’s
time that Warner/DC use this opportunity to their advantage.I trust the Nolan and Goyer will not
disappoint with this one, and I wait with great anticipation for “The Man of
Steel”!
Last summer, I embarked upon my final series of live
performances with Iced Earth.During
some down time at the ROCK AM Festival in Germany, I was approached by a young
man baring gifts.His name is Alex
Pineda, and he had traveled all the way from Bogota, Colombia to catch one of
the last shows.I was presented with a
hand carved sculpture of a jaguar’s head which represents the Jaguar God in the
indigenous culture of his homeland.I
was truly grateful and I don’t really know which of us was more excited about
the meeting. I know that Alex had spent a lot of time and money to make the
6000 mile trip, and was a bit “sleep happy” when we met, but I was just so
appreciative of his steadfastness and was overwhelmed by his loyalty to the
band.I know that there are fans that
have gone to great lengths to see Iced Earth and this was but another stunning example
of how blessed the band is…and I am.
Alex is the personification of driven, and the surrogate of
the metal fraternity’s loyalty.During
his travels, he documented the journey for those of us who have ever dared to
dream.Alex’s dream was to go to Germany
and hang out with his heavy metal brethren, a mission that was destined to
succeed, but was wrought with its own specific challenges.For these challenges to be overcome, he enlisted
the aid of several friends from overseas; fellow metallers who were more than
willing to help out their “brother from another mother”.Is there any doubt that (metal) music is THE
universal language? I don’t think so,
but you could ask a Martian the next time you see one!
Anyway…I suppose that there are at least two lessons in this
story (if you find anymore, keep it to yourself).First, never be afraid to act on your dreams
(unless your dreams involve you wearing a meat shirt inside a lion’s
cage).Second, never ever take what you
have for granted.Thank you, Alex, for
the reminder…and thank you all for listening!