The Psychic Shorts Nuzlocke Challenge, Part 1: The Trickster Messiah

So because I should really use this blog for more than just music reviews, I thought it would be a neat idea to spend the next couple entries talking about my experiences trying my hand at the Nuzlocke Challenge on Pokemon Red. For those who may be unfamiliar, the Nuzlocke Challenge is when you play a Pokemon game with three basic rules: 1) The only Pokemon you can catch are the first ones encountered in a given area, 2) All of your Pokemon have to be nicknamed, and 3) If a Pokemon faints, you must release it.

Naturally, these rules do make for an emotional and challenging game for even the most seasoned players. I have known about this method of play since college and had been afraid to try it until very recently. But as a person who has the first generation of Pokemon games more or less memorized, it was only inevitable that I would give it a shot and I was quite excited when my mom brought up a copy of Pokemon Red when she came to visit this past weekend.

Pictured: Me about to hit New Game

Before I go into details, I must admit that I had a hell of a time getting this show on the road. There were a few times when I started a file and had managed to get into a fight or two only for the game to suddenly freeze and force me to restart since I had forgotten to save. Perhaps I just have a cartridge that has seen better days. Perhaps there is some force out there that wanted me to start things off in a certain way and wouldn't stop glitching until I did...

Not that I want to start pointing fingers...

 But once I finally had a proper game going, things started out as they usually do. I chose Squirtle, my favorite starter, and nicknamed it Koopa right before I used it to win my first battle against my rival, Asshat (Truly, I am the beacon of maturity). From there, I caught a male Nidoran nicknamed King on Route 22 and a Caterpie named Madame which evolved into a Metapod while I was in Viridian Forest. After some quick grinding with the newcomers, I beat my rival a second time and earned my first badge as Brock was easily laid to waste with a few well placed Bubbles.

The game has a slight spike in difficulty once you clear the first Gym as more Trainers frequent the routes between cities and their Pokemon jump a couple levels, but progress continued to be made. Madame evolved into a Butterfree on Route 3 and a Zubat named Charles was the first Pokemon to be caught at Mt. Moon (to the collective surprise of no one) while Koopa and King respectively evolved to Wartortle and Nidorino as we mowed our way through the mountain's various residents.

Mt. Moon was also the site of the game's first moment of drama when a freshly evolved King fought against a Rocket Grunt's Level 16 Raticate, a battle that is one of the game's more obnoxious based on past experiences. A particularly brutal Hyper Fang resulted in the Nidorino's defeat and Koopa was forced to finish the Raticate off in his place. Having acquired the Moon Stone before this exchange, I decided to use it on the now felled King before I would release it as a tribute to what had become one of the team's most powerful members. However, the Stone actually resurrected him as his evolved form, Nidoking, thus allowing him to rejoin the quest. I can't tell if this could be considered cheating or not since I honestly did not know that such a revival would take place, but it appears that this adventure may have its own messiah in development.

Now what's this I hear about some kind of fossil?

Once Mt. Moon was cleared, the next challenge was at the Cerulean City Gym. Now, I actually think Misty may be the hardest Gym Leader in the game due to the limited options available at this point if you didn't start with Bulbasaur and my team didn't exactly have much of an advantage. Fortunately, Koopa was at a high enough Level where its Mega Punch could used victoriously against all of the Gym's Pokemon, including Misty's Level 21 Starmie. A third battle with Asshat was similarly victorious.

But another dramatic turn of events came about after the competitors on Nugget Bridge were all dealt with. I went into the tall grass of Route 25 searching for an Oddish to teach the Cut ability to only to find a Pidgey which was eliminated before it could be caught. Knowing that I now would have to add a Pidgey to my party as per the rules, I continued to wander about the grass only to find an Abra as my next encounter. On mere impulse, I attempted to catch it and was actually successful when its Teleport ability had failed. Knowing that this action was in open violation of the Nuzlocke rules and that I was in possession of the classic game breaking Psychic type, I decided to nickname it Cheater and it quickly became a Kadabra. Unfortunately, Route 25 was also the site of the Nuzlocke's first true casualty as Charles the Zubat fell to a Spearow's Fury Attack at Level 17.

Just make it look like an accident

After getting the SS Ticket from Bill and the Dig TM from a Rocket in Cerulean, the game got back to a simpler point while still offering some challenges in balancing out the team. A Level 15 Oddish named Weed was luckily caught on Route 6 and was soon evolved into a Gloom and taught the Cut ability while aboard the S.S. Anne. Once the ship had been cleared, Koopa's Dig ability in conjunction with King's Ground type made the Thunder Badge an especially easy one to earn. I decided to end the first part here as I had put in about four hours of gameplay at this point.

So far, the Nuzlocke Challenge has actually been a lot more manageable than I thought it would be. The fact that I do know this game so well has led to a lot of things being skewed in my favor but having to balance a team consisting of the first Pokemon caught in every area has made things tricky. It's especially interesting to use Pokemon like Zubat and Butterfree as they are ones that I have rarely caught on my more recent ventures. I am quite anxious to see what other Pokemon end up in my party and I promise that there won't be as many bent rules on my next installment. Until then, here's a look at the roster so far...

Current Lineup:
Koopa the Wartortle, Level 22
King the Nidoking: Level 23
Madame the Butterfree, Level 21
Cheater the Kadabra, Level 21
Weed the Gloom, Level 21

The Fallen:
Charles the Zubat, Level 17

Review of Black Label Society's Catacombs of the Black Vatican

With this being the first Black Label Society album to come out since 2010's Order Of The Black, it's hard to tell if the Zakk Wylde vehicle is planning their output more strategically at this point or merely resting on their laurels. They're toured relentlessly, dabbled with some acoustic work, and gone through a flurry of drummers that led to Breaking Benjamin's Chad Szeliga playing on here. Fortunately, on Catacombs Of The Black Vatican, no one would've expected the changes to affect this merry band of berzerkers.

 Seeing how Zakk Wylde lovingly described this album as the same set of songs with different titles, it isn't too surprising to see it sharing an identical tone with Order Of The Black. The production has the same spit shine, the songwriting is still done in that Lynyrd Skynyrd through Alice In Chains mode, and it's a little hard to tell if Zakk would rather have his music be defined by his Guitar Center chugs or his Ozzy-esque layering.

But this album is set apart by a more somber execution than compared to the last few efforts. It's not exactly a depressing listen but there aren't any violent tracks and several of the heavier numbers do have a rather world weary outlook as evidenced by lead single "My Dying Time." In addition, the ballads may be their heartfelt since Hangover Music with "Angel of Mercy" bringing a great southern rock flair and "Shades of Gray" closing things out with a sweet blues beat.

Fortunately, the heavier tracks are still enjoyable eevn if there isn't a "Godspeed Hellbound" among them. "Believe" and "Beyond The Down" unleash the album's most memorable grooves in a no-bullshit fashion and "Damn The Flood" may have the loosest spring in its step. But the album's strongest highlight comes in the form of "Empty Promises," a slow track defined by its communion of churning guitars and suspenseful drumming. It's pretty damn epic by Black Label standards and perhaps one of the best they've written to date.

Overall, Catacombs Of The Black Vatican is one of those albums that offers a few neat tracks but ultimately does exactly what you expect. I would still recommend The Blessed Hellride to an unfamiliar listener, but the usual fans will find plenty of enjoyment and naysayers will get more to ignore. Black Label's been on a good roll lately; let's just hope it won't be another four years before the next batch of titles shows up.

Highlights:
"Believe"
"Angel of Mercy"
"Beyond the Down"
"Empty Promises"
"Shades of Gray"

Review of KXM's KXM

Despite having the plainest band name this side of T&N, KXM is one of the more intriguing lineups that has come together in recent years. The supergroup, consisting of King's X vocalist/bassist dUg Pinnick, Dokken/Lynch Mob guitarist George Lynch, and Korn drummer Ray Luzier, allegedly formed on a whim at a son's birthday party and a debut quickly materialized from there. The results don't quite reach the dream team expectations but do have a solid feel that could only be made by such adaptable veterans.

For the most part, KXM has a style that successfully combines elements of each musician's main bands. The tone is decidedly modern as the production is polished, the guitar has some static to go with its bite, and the songs are often driven by melodic choruses when the percussive, mid-tempo riffs aren't on display. The integration is best seen on the grungy "Burn" though the hooks on "Faith Is A Room" and "Gunfight" do have a nice, familiar feeling to them.

The band members also show a lot of chemistry for such a spontaneous project. In a surprising twist, Luzier's performance may be the most interesting as his tribal aesthetics help keep songs like "Stars" and "Human Friction" from sounding too flat. Fortunately, the other two aren't upstaged as Pinnick's voice is as pleasant as ever and Lynch has a few of his signature tricks left.

Unfortunately, the album is brought down by its middle of the road approach. Perhaps I'm just longing for an odd cross between Back For The Attack and Dogman but it would've been great to see a lineup of this caliber bring their pop sensibilities or just abandon it all in favor of some looser jamming. Songs like "Rescue Me" do show signs of a more upbeat undercurrent and "Tranquilized" does make for a decent instrumental bonus track, but they're offset by a few clunkers that just feel too slow.

Overall, KXM's debut falls into a few of usual supergroup traps while still leaving room for future development. It isn't an essential album by any means but most rock fans should be able to get an easy feel for it and it may whet the appetites of those who've wondered why King's X hasn't released anything new in six years. I'd just go for Black Country Communion or the Winery Dogs if you want to hear the best supergroups of the 2010s.

Highlights:
"Rescue Me"
"Gunfight"
"Faith is A Room"
"Sleep"
"Burn"

My Top Fifteen Favorite Albums of 2013

Is it me or was 2013 the most underwhelming year of the 2010s as far as new releases go? Granted, there weren’t too many tragic deaths or albums that severely lowered the bar, but there were a few more disappointing releases than usual from the old guard and there wasn’t an album that quite blew my mind as much as some had in previous years. Thankfully, the underground and local music scenes still have a lot to offer and I may just need to be more selective when it comes to getting new stuff in the near future. In the meantime, let’s talk about fifteen of my favorite albums that came out in 2013!

15. Somnium Excessum by Dream Death

Having been a fan of the classic though uneven Journey Into Mystery since high school, I was curious to see how Dream Death would live up to the challenge of releasing a sophomore album twenty-six years after their legendary debut. This album retains the sludgy riffs, aggressive vocals, and elaborate song structures that made the band’s Celtic Frost worship enjoyable back in the 80s and it may even be more consistent than their legendary debut. There’s no track on the level of “Sealed in Blood” or “The Elder Race” here but tracks like “Them” and “From Inside the Walls” may eventually pick up their own high status.

14. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here by Alice In Chains

Alice In Chains’ fifth full-length album may be somewhat disappointment as a follow up to the triumphant Black Gives Way to Blue. It seems like that album exorcised the last of the band’s demons, leading way to an effort that is downtrodden by conventional standards but doesn’t make you want to crawl in a hole and die quite like their classic material. But with that said, Jerry Cantrell’s ear for melody and solid riff writing ultimately prevails as tracks like “Stone” and “Phantom Limb” have a menace to them while ballads like “Voices” still retain a melancholic character. It may not be a true Dirt or Jar of Flies but songs this enjoyable do make it hard to complain.

13. Stormcrow by The Gates of Slumber

It is a shame that the swan song by these Indianapolis doom titans was a free EP released through Scion A/V but one can take solace in the fact that it is a damn good EP. While the sound picks up right where The Wretch left off, it succeeds well on its own terms. The opening “Death March” sets things up excellently with a few Saint Vitus homages and “Son Of Hades” also stands out for its particularly memorable chug. The projects that the members have planned for the future will definitely be worth checking out if this material is anything to go by.

12. Virgin Sails by Satan’s Host

This album would probably be higher on my list if I hadn’t heard it so late in the year and was more familiar with the band’s back catalogue, but it is a definite winner. Like By The Hands Of The Devil before it, Virgin Sails does an excellent job of pioneering blackened power metal and offers some great contrasts through its running time. If the previous album felt like the debut of a completely new band, then this album is the sophomore effort that shows no signs of slowing down.

11. …Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age

As someone who is only recently acquainted with Queens of the Stone Age after years of putting them off, this is a pretty solid effort. It is more laid back than past efforts and seems to have a lot of influence from groups like The Beatles and Alice Cooper than usual. Some may find it to be too mellow and it doesn’t quite compare to the variety found on albums like Songs For The Deaf, but songs like “The Vampyre Of Time And Memory” and “If I Had A Tail” make it worth looking into.

10. Zombie Bullets by Zombie Bullets

These guys were another great find late in the year and are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands here in Indy. While the band’s specific genre is tricky to pinpoint, there is a lot of blues and classic rock influence at work and the songwriting on tracks like “Dopamine” and “Iron Head” more than makes up for the crude presentation. It’ll be great to see where things go from here and I hope the band’s follow-up in 2014 will be even better.

9. The Winery Dogs by The Winery Dogs

Comprised of Mr. Big alums Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen alongside prog journeyman Mike Portnoy, The Winery Dogs made due on their promising lineup and offered up a great slab of rock on their debut. The band shows off a lot of technical ability and chemistry with one another while never losing sight of their classic rock aspirations. The last three songs are where the band shines the most as a unit but the pop hooks on “Elevate” and “You Saved Me” are hard to deny.

8. Lay My Soul to Waste by A Pale Horse Named Death

Masterminded by former Type O Negative member Sal Abruscato, A Pale Horse Named Death serves as an excellent successor to the fallen goth metal titans. I have yet to hear their debut And Hell Will Follow Me, but Lay My Soul to Waste is a great example of what the band has to offer. They never quite match Type O Negative’s sense of humor or diverse song structures, but tracks like “Shallow Grave” and “DMSLT” perfectly convey their morbid aesthetics and ear for melody while songs like “Dead of Winter” touch on some different ground. I still wonder what happened to Seventh Void but this may be a great recommendation for unsatisfied Alice In Chains fans.

7. Tres Cabrones by the Melvins

While the Melvins’ first album with original drummer Mike Dillard and Dale Crover performing bass duties could be seen as just another odd lineup experiment, Tres Cabrones is a surprisingly refreshing release. It is one of their more guitar-driven efforts and has a lot of great songwriting to go with the usual Melvins weirdness and style shifting. Hell, even the minute long renditions of “Tie My Pecker To A Tree” and “Ninety-Nine Bottles Of Beer” are a lot of fun to listen to! Just check out the swagger of “Doctor Mule” or the downtuned riffs on “City Dump” and you’ll get a hint of what the album has to offer.

6. Plan Of Attack by Lords of the Trident

I may be biased in placing the new EP by Lords of the Trident on my list as I housed the group after one of my bands played an admittedly terrible set with them last fall, but the Wisconsin metal group definitely knows how to put a song together. They have a few goofy gimmicks, but songs like “Complete Control” and the title track are great power metal tracks and “Song Of The Wind and Sea” is a climactic ballad with an excellent folk friendly climax. I’ll definitely be looking into their full-lengths and hoping the circumstances will be better if they ever decide to come back to town…

5. Peace by Vista Chino

Formed by former members of Kyuss after they were unable to get the rights to the name, Vista Chino’s debut is an excellent album that is more than worthy of the Kyuss name and sounds like it would’ve been a solid follow-up to their classic 90s material. It conveys the old stoner band’s bass heavy riffs and trippy atmospherics well while offering a rawer attitude and huskier vocals. Hell, some may like it more than the latest Queens Of The Stone Age effort though I did find both to be quite satisfying listens.

4. Queensryche by Queensryche

All of my friends may be tired of hearing about Queensryche after I talked so much about them this year, but I can’t emphasize how badly this album needed to happen. Getting Geoff Tate out of the band was the smartest decision they ever made, as their first album without him is their best since Promised Land and also exposed the world to the talents of Todd La Torre in a way that the stalling Crimson Glory never could. The running time is short and the production may be too modern at times, but songs like “Vindication” and “Redemption” live up to their titles and plainly tell which lineup will be walking away with the rights to the name come January…

3. The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) by Steven Wilson

The third solo album by Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson took time to grow on me and I’m still working on it to some extent, but there is no denying that it is an incredibly well put together release. It doesn’t have a lot of pop appeal but it is easier to get into than Grace For Drowning or his Storm Corrosion collaboration were and has a foreboding tone that goes along well with its ghost story themes. The closing title track is especially powerful due to the emotion that it presents though “The Pin Drop” may be the easiest song to get a feel for. I still pine for a Porcupine Tree comeback but I would gladly take more of the same.

2. From Time… To Eternity by Stone Magnum

Having been impressed by this Michigan City doom group’s debut, I was quite curious to see how things would work out for Stone Magnum’s sophomore effort. They’ve recruited a new singer and cleaned up their sound, resulting in a style that has more in common with Candlemass than the Reagers-era Saint Vitus style of the debut. “The Gallows of Ohrdruf” is the best demonstration of Epicus Doomicus worship though “By An Omen I Went” and “In Tongues They Whisper” provide some great exercises of classic doom. It’ll be interesting to see what changes for the group’s next effort.

1. Earth Rocker by Clutch

Even though I hadn’t listened to any Clutch prior to buying this album (This has since been rectified), I knew their tenth studio album would end up being my favorite of 2013. It makes due on the title track’s promises of energetic guitar playing, over the top vocals, and song styles that range from high octane speeds to the grooves on songs like “D.C. Sound Attack!” and “Oh, Isabella.” Drawing from the group’s usual mix of punk, blues, and stoner metal, Earth Rocker is sure to please any sort of rock fan and led me to look into an institution that’ll end up being a major influence on my own future projects. Just remember the sage advice of one Neil Fallon: “If you gotta do it, do it live on stage or don’t do it at all!”

Review of Vista Chino's Peace

It takes a lot of balls for a band to reform without its leading contributor though maybe less so if it eventually opts for another name.  Much like the relationship between Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy, Vista Chino was formed when members of Kyuss attempted to reunite without guitarist Josh Homme but had to change their name after a legal dispute between the two parties. The resulting album is a great effort that may have worked better had it been released under the Kyuss banner.

No matter how you feel about this group’s existence and name politics, you can’t deny that the guys in Vista Chino knew exactly what made Kyuss such a unique fixture of the stoner metal scene. The guitars are as bass heavy as ever, John Garcia’s testosterone-soaked howls hold up despite his age, the drums work in a number of fills, and the songs cover the usual fields of driving rock to zoned out psychedelia. It certainly helps that guitarist Bruno Fevery played in a few Kyuss tribute bands before coming here but he is a solid riff writer on his own terms.

It also helps that a bunch of the songs on here do sound like classic Kyuss. Lead single “Dargona Dragona” and “Planets 1&2” are the leading offenders as the former is a percussive opener in the vein of “Thumb” while the latter has a “Green Machine” chug with a few extra tempo changes thrown in. Of course, there are more distinct moments such as the radio friendly “Adara,” which oddly sounds more like something that Homme would’ve put together for Queens Of The Stone Age…

But when compared to its alma mater, Vista Chino has a more straightforward presentation. There may be a couple interludes and signature spacy tangents throughout, but you won’t find as many of them and the ones here rarely go for as long as they did before. The album is also surprisingly rawer though that has more to do with the production and Garcia’s huskier voice.

In a rather odd move, I’m more than happy to accept Peace as a twenty-first century Kyuss album but it’ll take some time and evolution before it can be judged as a true debut. It’s another good example of a new band having famous members to justify a derivative sound but fans may actually like it more than what Homme himself is doing nowadays. It’ll be intriguing to see where things go from here but nothing will replace your copy of Blues For The Red Sun anytime soon.

Highlights:

“Dargona Dragona”

“Planets 1&2”

“Adara”

“Acidize… The Gambling Moose”

Review of Melvins' Tres Cabrones

Coming off the heels of 2012’s Freak Puke and the Everybody Loves Sausages cover album, Tres Cabrones is the latest in a series of the Melvins’ odd lineup experiments. Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover are still here but Crover has been moved to bass duties to make room for original drummer Mike Dillard’s first recording with the band in decades. The resulting effort doesn’t betray the sounds set up on their most recent outings but does offer up its own set of tweaks.

With this lineup being the Melvins’ most conventional in over a decade, this album’s sound is somewhere between the laid back rock of Freak Puke and the chaotic noise on their Big Business collaborations. The guitar is the most dominant instrument as Buzzo’s signature riffs and odd structures define many of the songs on here. Dillard’s playing doesn’t quite match Crover’s bottom heavy tone and Crover himself isn’t a flashy bass player, but the rhythm section is quite adequate with Dillard in particular offering a more punk-influenced approach.

And even though most of the songs on here were previously released on a few different EPs, they all feel cohesive as a whole and go through a neat cycle of styles over the course of the album. It starts off with a series of heavy straightforward rockers, progresses to more experimental jams, and then ends on an energetic note with a couple punk covers. A few goofy recitals of traditional songs also pop up as interludes of sorts; it’s a rather odd move but one that would’ve been much less fun in the hands of another group.

The first three tracks may be the album’s most powerful as “Doctor Mule” provides some strong bursts of swagger while “City Dump” and “American Cow” feel like they could’ve been part of their early 90s repertoire. From there, “Psychedelic Haze” does have an appropriately groovy set of riffs and the one-two punch of “Walter’s Lips” and “Stick ‘Em Bitch” closes things out quite nicely.

Overall, Tres Cabrones is as hard to recommend to new listeners as ever but makes for a surprisingly enjoyable listen that is quite refreshing when compared to the more underwhelming releases that have come out this year. Some songs do feel like they should be heavier and one does wonder how the “main” lineup would’ve sounded playing this material, but the actual writing does make it worth checking out. I still think Melvins Lite may be the better trio but this works as a heavy alternative.

Highlights:

“Doctor Mule”

“City Dump”

“American Cow”

“Psychedelic Haze”

“Walter’s Lips”

Review of Warbringer's IV: Empires Collapse

As indicated by the more intriguing cover art and the absence of a “W” title, Warbringer’s fourth album is a stylistic game changer. Guitarist Jeff Pots and bassist Ben Mottsman have been recruited from Mantic Ritual and the band is finally acting on the experimental side that has been bubbling since Waking Into Nightmares. Fortunately, this album’s mix of the familiar and unfamiliar keeps it from being a stylistic train wreck.

While Empires Collapse is a thrash metal album to the core, it seems to combine the genre with several others throughout. “Horizon” and “Towers Of The Serpent” show off extreme metal riffing, “The Turning Of The Gears” has a pounding rhythm reminiscent of classic Ministry, “One Dimension” and “Iron City” have some punk influence, and things go to a doomy pace on “Leviathan.” The variety does run the risk of inconsistency but the album stays cohesive and is their most song-oriented release to date.

It also helps that the band dynamic hasn’t changed a bit. Even with the member swaps, the guitars have a solid crunch and the bass heavy approach from Worlds Torn Asunder has been retained. There’s also vocalist John Kevill’s performance to consider; say what you will but it just wouldn’t be a Warbringer album without his Mille Petrozza style shrieking.

But with the changes on here comes the hunch that they could’ve gone into an even more grandiose direction with this effort. The songs on here are all well written but there’s nothing that quite matches the epic scope that was predicted on tracks like “Demonic Ecstasy” and “Shadow From The Tomb.” It also would’ve been cool to see another one of their instrumentals at work but the closing acoustics on “Horizon” do capture a similar feeling.

Overall, Warbringer’s fourth album is a small step from their first three but the variety results in what may be their most accessible release. Some may dispute the changes but they do keep the album from sounding stagnant and don’t affect the band’s presentation all that much at the end of the day. Other bands like Megadeth and Testament made better albums under similar circumstances but Warbringer may have had one of the smoothest transitions.

Highlights:

“Horizon”

“The Turning Of The Gears”
“One Dimension”

“Leviathan”

“Towers Of The Serpent”