If You Want Blood, You Got It!

There’s always an Elm Street…

I remember sitting in 5th period Journalism in high school, in the back corner with Darby and Thomas and we were discussing slasher villains. It was joked that of the big three (Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger), Jason would be a metalhead, Freddy’d be into disco, and Michael would be the sophisticate, with his smoking jacket and fez hat shaking his head at the children he gave birth to. I also remember the end of Jason Goes to Hell vividly; it’s the one where it was revealed that this whole time, Jason Voorhees was the product of some demon worm, for those playing the home game. Anyway, at the end of the film, when all is said and done and Jason has been dispatched for the last time (until Jason X), Freddy Krueger’s gloved knife hand pops up out of the ground and, laughing maniacally, grabs Jason’s mask, bringing it down to hell with him. Along with several references to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series, this set the peice for not just 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, but also the immensely popular Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic books from Wildstorm, Dynamite Entertainment, and DC Comics.

What does all of that mean? It means that the stuff nightmares are made of, Freddy, Jason, along with Chucky (Child’s Play), Ghostface (Scream), Michael Myers (Halloween), Ash Williams (Evil Dead/Army of Darkness), Pinhead (Hellraiser), that fiend Dr. Herbert West (Re-Animator) and more come together in a PC-fan game entitled “Terrordrome: Rise of the Bogeymen”. The game’s creators, HUR4C4N, Fabien Rixens, and Mike Tibo, have brought together some of the biggest names names in horror for a Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter style one-on-one fighter (using an engine that looks similar to the polygonal one used for Mortal Kombat 4). In a nod that could only come from fans of the old MK games, the announcer either appears to be an appropriation of the one that shouts “FIGHT!” or it is the same guy.

Is it 1984 yet?

Terrordrome is populated with all your usual fighter moves: grab, punch, kick, and dodge, and also throws in some special goodies that hark back to specific scenes from the films the characters come from. What this means, according to the game’s creators, is that if “You’re an unconditional fan of Japanimation style video game, pose to pose animated characters, and epileptical moves happening in the blink of an eye, you may not be seduced by Terrordrome. The game is more about realistic characters and animations with even more violent and lethal moves than any ninja or karate master!“: in the case of Ash, who is designed according to his classic Army of Darkness look, you have moves that allow him to open up the Necronomicon for Spell (down, right, K), another for use of his shotgun (down, right, S), which can also be augmented with an air shotgun move using the same combination. Sadly, I was not able to use much of Ash’s chainsaw when I was playing, but I am looking in the future to figure out a combo for it so that I could. Leatherface, however, is able to use his fully functional chainsaw for all moves, including the Thunder Saw, which provides some devastating damage that allowed me to dispatch Freddy before he went wormy on me. Each level is also a specific scene from the killers movies, allowing you to chose where you want to do battle. We’ve got Crystal Lake, Elm Street, even the old Myers place in Haddonfield puts in an appearance.

Good, evil, undead, it don't matter, as long as I'm the guy with the gun

What also makes the game ideal, besides the plethora of slasher/serial killer legends, is that the game is free for download. Yes, that means that all it takes is just the click of a button, cleaning out the 4gb’s of porn that you probably have to make room, and then downloading Terrordome to start enacting all the ideas you’ve written down for fanfictions; wanna have Maniac Cop take on Candyman? It can happen. Jason in his many different looks beat the crap out of Chucky? You got it. While there is no definite storyline, it’s probably appropriate; I mean, what slasher film has ever had a clear, cleanly defined storyline in their series? After all, Jason’s made it through ten sequels and a remake without anyone knowing what the heck’s going on. In effect, by taking out that pesky element, that leaves the gorehound to sit back and enjoy the fights without anything in between.

Shapes and Masks

Check out the game site for more news and for the free download. Not sold yet on whether you wanna play? Take a look at the bottom for a sample clip.

\m/^—^\m/

http://geeksofdoom.com/2010/05/16/rock-legend-ronnie-james-dio-has-died/

 

“- Wendy Dio

Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”

The above is an attempt at an emoticon that pays tribute to one of heavy metals most enduring symbols, namely throwing up the horns. I don’t mean the poor attempt at metal where it is either symphonic metal, screamo metal, or goatee metal rap such Limp Bizkit. I’m talking about the metal of the early 1980s (roughly 1980 to about 85/86, before the second gen speed metal bands such as Anthrax and Metallic arose), the metal that was something mysterious and dark, and, at the start, crazy, insane fun. Despite metalheads and punk rockers hating each other vehemently as much as Yankees and Red Sox fans hate one another, one cannot deny that both had a similar manic energy built upon insanity built upon rage built upon youth. Particularly at the outset of both genres.

Black Sabbath is to metal what the Ramones are to punk; pioneering bands who did not get the recognition they right deserved until years later. Whereas the Ramones hung up their leather jackets after twenty-two years, Black Sabbath has remained a mighty force indeed. Over forty years on, Black Sabbath is still active, with the original lineup of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward still there, even though all four weren’t present at the same time. The group suffered through several detours in lineups after Ozzy was dispatched, and while there are several who played with the group that are some of the biggest names in metal (Vinny Appice and Cozy Powell to name a few), one name in particular is seen with as much reverie and wonder as Ozzy (and perhaps the most notable name to the group that’s not an original member) was Ronnie James Dio, who passed away on May 16 at the age of 67 from a brief battle with stomach cancee.

Dio was a member of Black Sabbath for five years, leaving the band Rainbow (you’d have to be a badass to have a band named Rainbow…or Ritchie Blackmore in your band) for his most lasting legacy in Sabbath; he originally stayed from 1979-1982 and returned at different intervals, and recorded three studio albums with group, along with one live album. But the periods where Dio was out front are arguably Sabbath’s most enduring after the work with Ozzy (and arguably the most available: in 2006, the compilation “The Dio Years” was released, which marks the first time that the non-Ozzy period of the band was officially spotlighted, as the previous “The Sabbath Stones”, covering the years 1983 to 1996, was never formally issued in North America). His vocal range was unique, at the one hand rhythmic, working alongside the guitar to provide a contrast to the rising highs and lows, and on the other hand dramatic and sweeping, a style that gave metal diversity (Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden employs a similar style). Dio was also first and foremost, a fanboy. The video to one of his most popular songs, Holy Diver, employed a style that owed a lot more to Conan the Barbarian and Lord of the Rings than the Lord Satan.

Words can’t do Dio justice, and his influence is insurmountable. The torch will never be passed .

R.I.P. Dio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLOzKtSuPBE