[Sabaton] ATTERO. DOMINATUS. First thoughts-

I received Sabaton's Attero Dominatus for Christmas. So, now my collection of Sabaton studio albums is almost complete; just missing Metalizer now. And the live albums of course.

Anyway, I hadn't heard most of the tracks on this album before, excepting "Rise of Evil" - there's a live version of that on the re-issue of Primo Victoria. It's kind of odd, but so far I like the live version better; but I'm going to have to listen to it more to decide how I really feel.

Haven't listened to the album enough times to give a proper review yet... so that'll have to be on hold. Hell, I haven't even discussed Heroes properly yet; I'm still digesting it even though it came out months ago. But speaking of which - the title track, "Attero Dominatus", is such a perfect contrast to "Hearts of Iron" from Heroes. The same battle from two completely opposite points of view! The openings are similar ("Attero! Dominatus! Berlin is burning!" vs "See the Reich in flames! Try to save Berlin in vain!"), but the overall tone over the songs are so different. "Hearts of Iron" is slower, more sober, doesn't have the firepower and energy that "Attero Dominatus" has, which is fitting, since it's from the point of view of the defeated. So far I think I prefer "Hearts of Iron" even though "Attero Dominatus" has a stronger sound, but I'll have to give it more thought.

Favourites so far: "Attero Dominatus", "Rise of Evil", "In the Name of God", "Back in Control". Also "Mightchild" (exclusive to the re-issue edition) is basically Primo Victoria's "Purple Heart" with new lyrics, but I think it actually sounds a lot better than "Purple Heart"; there's something about the new lyrics that suits Joakim's voice better.

Ahhhh I expect I'll be listening to this over and over in the upcoming month. And I received new headphones to listen to it with, perfect!

2014 Lookback: Let's talk movies

So, I make a goal every year to watch 50 films. I fell a little short of it this year - and while there's still a few days left, I don't think I'll manage to watch enough to meet the goal. So.

2014's list is here. Of the ones I watched for the first time, I enjoyed these the most:

-Inception; I wish I had seen this in cinema - I think it would have been awesome on the big screen.

-Ringu 0; if you liked Ringu, then I highly recommend seeing Ringu 0. It broadens Sadako so much as a character, and there are of course lots of creepy moments too.

-Let Me In; the American version of the Swedish Låt den rätte komma in. At first I was reluctant to see it because the original was very good and didn't need a remake, but Let Me In is a good film in its own right, and worth a watch if you liked the novel or if you like vampire movies. Like the Swedish film, some aspects of it are more easy to stomach than they are in the book.

-Alien (1979). It's a classic, and for good reason. I have no idea why I took forever to see it - I guess it's just that space horror isn't usually my thing - but even for an old film, it holds up very well, both in terms of visuals and story. And jfc, was it ever creepy in some parts!

-The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920). I had no idea that this film was so visually stunning. I want to screencap the whole damn thing; it's beautiful. And creepy, of course, but beautiful.

-Wir sind die Nacht; if you like vampires and same-sex friendships and/or relationships between women, this might be a good film for you. It's a pretty standard vampire film, but if you like those two things, it's definitely worth a watch. (And there are some parts I found surprisingly touching)

-Pumzi; this is a very good film and I highly recommend watching it. And it's a short film, so it'll only take you 20 minutes. It's a post-apocalyptic science fiction short set in Africa 35 years after the "Water War". After receiving a mysterious soil sample from the outside, Asha discovers that it can support life, and she departs in search of fulfilling her dream of making the world live again. Visually, it's really cool, and it left me with SO many unanswered questions, but in a good way.

And now for some anti-recs:

-Skjult; this film is fucking weird and doesn't make any sense. Usually, I would use that as a compliment. In this case, it isn't. It has the usual contrast of "gore and horror against gorgeous Norwegian landscape", which I like, but that's the only thing I appreciated about it.

-Ils; I have a pretty high tolerance for bad horror, but this one was both bad and bland, which is disappointing. It's one of those "mysterious people randomly attacking/invading homes in the middle of the night" films, which is not usually my thing to begin with, but it just wasn't done well. And the villains' motivation doesn't make any sense.

-Uzumaki; I had heard it was bad, but decided to watch it anyway because it's a live-action adaptation of a Junji Ito manga that I really like. Big mistake. This very well might be the worst film I've ever seen, from every possible angle.

-Amer; another weird French horror film. Less horror, more sensuality and aesthetic. If you like artsy stuff, it might be worth a look, but even though I'm usually willing to take a look at things that are a little odd, it was just too much for me.

Book post will follow soon. :D