Music Review- Our Infernal Majesty: A Quick Guide to Ghost

The flowing robes, the masked faces, the dark imagery, the driving guitar chords, and the sinister lyrics. This is what you think of when you think of Swedish metal band Ghost. Led by Papa Emeritus (I through III depending on which album you are listening to) and a group of Nameless Ghouls, Ghost plays music that would have fit right into the soundtrack of an old Hammer horror movie. Beena and I have tickets to one of their upcoming shows so, in light of that, here's a quick primer to their discography:

                                                      Opus Eponymous
The first official album for Ghost in the US. At this point, they went by the name "Ghost B.C." in America due to legal issues. Those have been resolved since then. However, this is a strong opening for the band. It gets to the point of what Ghost is all about: a tongue in cheek religious cult for the devil. Taking many of their stage costumes and other ques from Catholic rites, Ghost wants you to think of them as this clandestine and ancient religion. In this album, they are led by Papa Emeritus I, a dark priest in the garb of a pope in zombie makeup. The best song on this album is "Ritual." It gets right to the point as to what Ghost is as it tells of a night of sacrifices and incantations to bring forth the dark lord. All of this being sung to a fun and catchy beat that is very easy to sing along to.

                                                      Infestissumam
Where Opus Eponymous was somewhat bare bones, Infestissumam is filled with synth lines, choir choruses, and other heavily produced sounds. They really upped the ante with this one. Here, Papa Emeritus II, clad in skull makeup, is a bit more dour yet theatrical than his brother. Three singles came off of this album. "Secular Haze" definitely goes for the old horror movie soundtrack. It almost sounds like a mad circus or a sinister waltz. "Monstrance Clock" ends with a church choir and pipe organ singing the chorus to close the album. Finally, the strongest song on the album, "Year Zero" has Papa singing to the rafters for that chorus. If Opus Eponymous was an introduction to Ghost, Infestissumam was like diving in head first into their world. Its also the only album I ever owned where the parental advisory label was more for the album artwork on the inside than the lyrical content.


If You Have Ghost
Still with Papa II, Ghost released an EP that included a few cover songs and a live version of "Secular Haze." The interesting thing about this album was that Dave Grohl did the percussion. It led to rumors that he was touring with Ghost as one of the Nameless Ghouls but of course this can't be verified. The best song on the EP s actually a cover of a song by Abba, oddly enough. Their rendition of "I'm a Marionette" added a sinister feeling to the song not present before.




Meliora
This is where Ghost hits all the right spots. With a new album, we have a new Papa. Papa Emeritus III is much more of a flashy showman than his older brothers He knows how to get the crowd riled up with stage banter and antics. Meliora took the catchy choruses of Infestissumam and cranked them up to eleven. Each song on this album is extremely catchy and a good food for the old ear worm. You'll be humming this album for days after listening to it. "From the Pinnacle to the Pit" is my favorite song on the album, followed closely by "Cirice" and "Absolution." The album has a lot of energy from the beginning of "Spirit" to the end of "Deus in Absentia." This was my gateway album to Ghost and it is pretty evident why it won them a Grammy.


Popestar
Another EP followed up. This one again included several cover songs and one original single. The single is the most catchy song ever created by man. I really believe that they sold their souls to the devil to write a song like "Square Hammer." It gets your pulse pounding and makes you want to sing along when it comes on no matter what is going on around you. That is some true evil, right there. The beat drives this song and it has a really fun and singable course. It is the quintessential Ghost song and should be the one you choose if you want to introduce someone to the band. This was the song that made Beena start liking them.



Ceremony and Devotion
This one is their live album. It also can just be seen as a best of for all the previous albums and it captures the fun of their live shows pretty well, especially Papa III's antics onstage.








So that's my take on Ghost's discography. Their new album Prequelle will be released soon and the first single, "Rats," is already out. Its just as catchy as "Square Hammer" so I'm very optimistic and looking forward to the full album's release. However, the Papa's a no more. They've been replaced by Cardinal Copia, who now leads the band under the tutelage of Papa Nil, a Papa who predates all Papas. That's what I like about this band, they completely immerse themselves in the sheer zaniness of their premise and don't take themselves too seriously. Sometimes, the main goal of music is to just have fun. To have that anthem to sing your heart out to. Who knows what this band will do next. Only the devil knows, and he's not telling.

-Toad

Televison Review: Star Trek The Next Generation

Full disclosure, Star Trek The Next Generation is my second favorite TV show of all time. Much like my husband, I have known my whole life I was a nerd. Some of my fondest memories as a kid was watching TNG. As I got older, I went through my angsty teenage years where nobody understood me and I hated everything, especially things I used to love. (According to my mother, I was a nightmare from years 13-18 when I moved away for college.)

While I was in college, I decided to try and watch what a lot of people consider to be the greatest TV shows of all time (when you get a useless liberal arts degree you have a lot of free time for things like this.) After meandering through about 15 or so shows, some I liked and some I didn't, I decided to really delve into the world of Sci-fi and decided to start on an old favorite.

As I said before in my review, TNG is my second favorite TV show of all time, but it is also my favorite Star Trek show, and my favorite Sci-Fi show. For me, it has everything. It is a perfect successor to The Original Series. 

Much like the original, it gives you characters you like and care about. You're waiting for Data to not understand what the humans are doing. You love that Picard is gruff on the outside but you also know he cares about everyone serving under him. LaForge is seeing more than any of us could ever dream of despite his blindness. Riker (my personal favorite character) is just floating around the galaxy being a man whore and weirdly sitting in chairs. And Deanna is...feeling things. 

TNG also rewards you with engaging (see what I did there) stories. Sure, you have "The Best of Both Worlds" and "The Inner Light" two episodes that many consider to be some of the best television has to offer, but there are so many other amazing episodes this show has given us from season 2 onward. There are episodes like "Measure of a Man" where they hold a court case to determine if Data is a sentient being. It's an epsiode that brakes the sci-fi mold making us question everything we thought we knew about it. Then there's "Yesterday's Enterprise" an epsiode that gives us a glimpse of what TNG would be if it were set in the middle of a galactic war rather than the relatively diplomatic peace we see normally. Then there are some subpar episodes like "The Naked Now" which....exists even when we wished it didn't, but the good episodes definitely outway the bad. 

With such a large library of episodes you may find yourself asking "where do I start?" Well first and foremost, skip the first season. It is not a good season and if you start there, you'll have a hard time getting through the rough stuff to get to the ones worth watching. I would start with "Measure of a Man" from season 2. It is not only an amazing episode, but is also where the show finally finds it's groove. Also, if you want to not stare at shitty 80s vhs quality episodes, I would HIGHLY suggest investing in the HD streaming episodes or picking up the blu-rays. The work they put into restoring the episodes really shows through, the quality is amazing. Not to mention the blu-rays have an amazing amount of special features, both the old features from the dvds, and also brand new stuff with the original cast and crew. They money for the blu-rays are definitely worth it if you enjoy the series.

Overall, I suggest Star Trek The Next Generation to both those who love sci-fi and to those who just enjoy great television.

-Beena

Book Review: "Artemis" by Andy Weir- A Snarky Voyage to the Moon

When I was a kid, my family would always take trips to Florida to Disney World. Like most middle class families in America, we had to make the mandatory pilgrimage to pay tribute to the Mouse. While my sister loved the Magic Kingdom or MGM Studios (now called Hollywood Studios), I always loved EPCOT. Yeah, I was that kid. Trust me, I've been a nerd my whole life. I was amazed by the world of the future that they had built into the rides. Especially at the climatic point of Spaceship Earth, where you look out over the desolate landscape of the moon to see our little blue marble floating in the empty darkness. It made you feel that this view may be commonplace someday. "Artemis" by Andy Weir gives me that same feeling.

The basic plot of "Artemis" tells the story of Jazz Bashara, a woman who is part of the blue-collar, working class of Artemis, the first permanent settlement on the moon. She's spent most of her life in this literal celestial city and has always scrounged for what she has. That is, until she takes a job from one of the lunar elites that will make her a made woman: sabotage the aluminum mining facility on the outskirts of the city. She'll have more money than she will ever need, if she can survive.

There are two things in Andy Weir's novels that put them above others in my mind. First, is the sarcastic wit that Weir writes into his protagonists. I've seen a lot of reviews claiming that Jazz is just the female version of Mark Watney, the main character from "The Martian." However, I feel that it works for what is going on here. She's got to make light of her predicament, its her coping mechanism. Sometimes, I feel that some critics forget that you are allowed to have humor and fun, even in hard sci-fi. The second thing is the technical detail that went into making the world. It makes the world feel real, vibrant, and most importantly, lived in. All of these connect to make an exciting story that I found hard to put down.

All in all, if you would like a story with a snarky protagonist in a world that could most certainly be real in the near future, then pick up "Artemis."

- Toad

"Nerds in Love" or "So You Started a Review Site with Your Spouse and Need a First Post."

All the way back on our first date, one thing became clear pretty quick: we both love everything pop culture! We both love film while I love comics and novels and Beena loves television and video games. We spent hours talking about what we had seen, read, and played.In time, we were married and even then our nerdiness seeped through. Beena walked down the aisle to Zelda's Lullaby and we entered into our reception under raised lightsabers.

So after about a year of nerdy matrimony, Beena wanted to take our relationship to the next level: making a review site! So here we are, carving out our own little piece of the internet to talk about all that is pop culture and nerdy. We'll be posting regularly about the things we love: movies, music, books, comics, television, an video games. We'll also take some more in depth looks into these nerdy parts of our lives together. We're just a couple of nerds reviewing stuff, and we're inviting you all along for the ride!

-Toad