However, all is not well in the gaming community. EA have stated they will not be supplying well known high street retailer Game with any copies of Mass Effect 3…period.

This is apparently a hang-over from from the credit issues that the company was suffering at the end of last year and the start of this year. The credit issue meant that Game were unable to physically order stock as they literally had no credit.
So if Game isn’t going to be able to stock one of the biggest games of the year, in the first quarter of 2012, what does this say about the retailer’s future?

It looks bleak.

Another blow to the high street store is that Nintendo and Capcom have also stated they will not be supplying Game this year.

Nintendo will be withholding Mario Party 9 and Capcom will not be supplying Street Fighter X Tekken or Asura’s Wrath, all anticipated titles for 2012.
By losing these games the possibility of sticking future games from these 3 big publishers is a grim one. Without EA, Nintendo and Capcom, Game may also be losing out on:
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, The Last Story, FIFA Street, Tiger Woods, The Sims and many, many more highly anticipated games.

In many ways Game can’t win. With 3 heavy hitting publishers pulling or refusing to stock Game how can they be expected to survive? It’s highly unfair, but then Game is behind when it comes to pricing. Most of the new games for consoles are £39.99, £42.99 or £44.99 with the occasional few hitting a whopping £44.99 and even £52.99 and these aren’t even special editions! To make matters worse, their pre-owned section for relatively new games are priced just £3 – £4 less than new. It’s not worth bothering about, you might as well buy new.

I like Game, I used to work at the one in Bournemouth before their refurbishment, and it was a great place to work. Sure the pay was lousy, but the people were great. Since my departure all of 8-9 years ago, it’s gotten too big for its boots and has pretty much priced itself out of the market.

On the upside, perhaps we will see a small resurrection of the independent games store….unlikely I know.

So there you have it folks, how to ruin a high street games store; don’t give them any games.

The Bassmonkey.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but when KK Downing left Judas Priest, or Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden, those remaining announced that fact, cited whatever reasons they chose and wished them well. What a sad (yet unsurprising) state of affairs when this is not so, when those who have left must announce not only their leaving, but must consider what to say for the future of the band they have just left. Why? Because radio-silence is in effect from one side. Lines of communication are first ignored, then blocked. When those no longer in the loop have to announce ‘on behalf of’ those they have left, and cannot do it on the official page so that everyone knows, they can only reach a limited audience, almost certainly leaving some people in the dark.

Earlier today I received a message from a someone who had not known about Olie, Martin and I leaving The Reckoning. He had found out because Olie’s post of a link to an advert we had put out had (I assume), appeared on his news feed. This is not how a fan of a band, who has spent many a time supporting your efforts, and offering his help should discover such things. All I can do is apologise, since within reason we had done all we could to get the word out, short of writing to a thousand plus people individually. Can you imagine a situation where a member of a band leaves, the remainder of the band don’t mention it, in fact they even take down their website, leaving the now non-bandmember to inform the many fans of the band of both his, and their, future? It is absurd, unprofessional and makes everyone look bad.

Every time I seek to move forward, to leave things behind, something comes up.

Some might call it karma; that I deserve this for being the cause of the problems, for being the cause of The Reckoning going from being a full band to one member in a matter of months, (I know there is at least one person with this view). It isn’t true, but since when did truth really mean anything; well, the truth anyway, someone’s truth has always meant too much.

I want to make it clear once again that I wish Ben and the Reckoning the best. I really do. Being blocked from his page I can’t tell him personally, and I doubt he’ll ever read this. There are always trains headed out the station into the great unknown, this was one I could not be on.

And now for Weather…

Olie, Martin and I are seeking 2 lead guitarists from the Bournemouth/Poole/Dorchester/Swange area to complete the lineup of our new band. Here is a link to one of our adverts with all the information you’ll need: http://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/2-lead-guitars-needed-for-metal-band-t303407.html

Tell your friends!

And now I return you to your regularly scheduled programming…

I love ‘the Spielberg’ or rather I used to. The films by Spielberg I worship are the big budget B-Movies he made i.e. Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park. Most film fans have at some point, whether they admit it or not, enjoyed a Spielberg film, (as child or adult), and J.J. Abrams is no different. The man is clearly in love. Now don’t get me wrong Super 8 is a perfectly fine homage, but I cannot subdue the cynic in me, this film is far too calculated and knowingly Spielberg-centric, to be considered a worthy addition to the canon JJ so obviously aspires to.

Super 8 recalls all the great 1980s films, which featured children as protagonists, from Spielberg’s The Goonies and E.T. to Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me. It’s the story of Joe Lamb, a young boy whose mother is killed in an accident at a steel mill, (where she worked). His father is the town’s deputy and is less than prepared for full-time fatherhood. After Joe’s mother’s death the film jumps forward four months and it’s plain to see that, whilst living under the same roof, the void between father, (Jackson), and son, (Joe), has only widened. At one point Jackson suggests Joe should go away to a summer camp because it would be good for him, when plainly, Jackson is obviously grieving for the loss of his wife, but also doesn’t know how to raise or care for his son.

As always in this genre the importance of friendship is stressed and so the characters who fill the void of the absentee father and deceased mother, are Joe’s friends. As you’d expect they’re a bit of an odd bunch, sort of, but not really. Jackson doesn’t approve of Charles, who’s a chubby, aspiring director, and doesn’t want his son spending the summer making Charles’ movie. The other friends are Alice (the love interest), Martin (who vomits), Cary (who’s obsessed with fireworks) and Preston. Preston doesn’t have a ‘thing’ in place of character, so he’s just two-dimensional, Preston. All of the children’s performances are good. Joel Courtney (Joe), Riley Griffiths (Charles) and Elle Fanning (Alice) all have the most screen time and all play their parts convincingly. In particular Joel Courtney shines in the lead role, however the other young actors don’t have much to do, other than say their lines and occasionally blow shit up. The only negative point I’d raise about the group of friends, is the lack of ethnic diversity, something even The Goonies addressed. Not a huge deal, but I was surprised by the absence of an ethnic ‘other’.

JJ, (unsurprisingly), feels it necessary to invoke one of Spielberg’s more infamous tropes, the spectre of the father son relationship, which is fine I guess, but it’s a bit lazy. However I can see how the film was intended to tug at those sentimental heart strings come the film’s conclusion. The real problem here is, whilst in E.T. Elliot forms a bond with the extraterrestrial due to his general aloofness around his parents, Joe only sees the ‘creature’ a couple of times before coming face-to-vagina with the thing, before having, you know, a ‘moment’. Joe’s ‘bond’ isn’t with the ‘creature’ but with Alice, who becomes his surrogate mother, supportive and nurturing, so the inevitable face-off with the monster is undermined because Joe and ‘it’ have no bond, other than, they both understand loss and suffering… jeez!

Anyway the film muddles along and whilst the troop are out filming a sequence, next to a railway station, Joe notices a car purposely derail a cargo train, thus releasing the creature contained and ensuring hi-jinx commence.

Now this brings me to my biggest complaint about JJ’s SFX buddy movie. The ‘alien’, which from hence fourth will simply be known as, the Vaginasaurus! JJ has a history of creating/overseeing the creation of shit SFX monster movies, (*coughs* Cloverfield). I’m not sure what’s worse about that film, its annoying middle class New Yorker’s or the squid monster that eventually kills them? On the plus side, the monster does kill practically everyone, despite looking ridiculous.

The Vaginasaurus is no different, it’s part crustacean, part vagina. Imagine a crab that can stand on its back legs and has a head shaped like, a vagina, and that’s what JJ delivers; the Vaginasaurus! The creatures in Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block were far more creative and effective aliens, and whilst I’m at it, what’s wrong with the Dinosaurs? They were way cooler than any monster movie creation EVER and they actually existed. Next time, why doesn’t JJ have the government needlessly transport a rabid Triceratops, or how about a blood-thirsty Brontosaurus, across his America, kids love Dinosaurs, right? They should do, they’re freaking awesome!

But that’s enough about my love for all things Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Super 8 isn’t an awful film, it’s just a little too formulaic, which gives way to feelings of cynicism, which leads to the questioning of its integrity and target audience. This is a film for children, but the children who grew up watching Spielberg during the 1980s. But by immersing himself in Spielberg’s myth JJ fails to deliver a great children’s film nor add anything worthwhile to a genre I’m certain he must feel some regard for. However, the acting is rather good and so are the SFX, it may not be the spiritual successor to The Goonies or E.T. but neither is it Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Welcome to the fifth edition of Narratively Minded, a weekly article where a wanna-be screenwriter attempts to dissect the world of television. This week I’m going to be talking about four US shows that audiences let into their homes on a weekly basis, the problem is it’s been going on for several years now and as much as we love these shows, we’re getting a little tired of them and it’s starting to feel like they have long outstayed their welcome. And I’m afraid there won’t be a rundown this week as I got a little carried away with this one and needed to loose something. But not to worry, it will be back next week.

Firstly, I do want to mention why I’m doing US shows and not UK shows. The simple truth is, I can’t think of any UK shows that outstayed their welcome. I don’t understand why, but one thing you can always say about British television is, more often than not, we know when enough is enough, and it’s pretty rare that this country goes beyond the creative potential of a show just for the cash, (with the possible exception of My Family, which I refuse to discuss on principle). The US on the other hand will milk any property for all it’s worth even if it kills the show creatively, so here are four shows that are still on TV that have outstayed their welcome.

Can’t imagine too many people are surprised to see this, but this show has simply been going through the motions for its last couple of seasons. It’s almost as if they fed all the scripts for the first five seasons into a computer and it’s just started churning out stock episodes of House based on traits from previous episodes.

Alright, as you’ve probably noticed the sun’s out in the sky, the kids are screaming in the streets and I’m usually to be found nursing a hangover. Yeah, that’s right; summer is here.

Summer is here and it’s all go down upon the Farmyard as we all muck in to bring you a steaming slice pile of ‘entertainment’ for your reading pleasure. It’s almost a month now since we’ve been back in action and a lot’s happened in that time.

This week though we have some more games reviewers heading your way as we expand upon our games centric contingent part of the site for all your trigger happy needs.

On the horizon there’s also whispers of there being a fully interactive Farmyard coming your way so you can come and chip in, (or at least pretend to).

So, with it all firing up here don’t forget the sunscreen…

I’ve written three ‘Knotted Fur’ entries thus far but not a single review, so I thought it was about time I rectified that. Captain America: The First Avenger is another MARVEL comic book adaptation, by all accounts, what with the Spider-Man reboot, they have no interest in ceasing anytime soon, which is a shame. However this is the last MARVEL film of 2011, (hurrah), but surprisingly, I’m pleased to report MARVEL have done the unbelievable and made a half-way decent comic book movie. Shock Horror!

On paper, in 2011, Steve Roger’s tale of pungent Americana cheese shouldn’t work, but rather unbelievably, it is its cheesy, 1940s setting and TV serial qualities, (akin to Flash Gordon), that enable it to succeed where Thor and X-Men: First Class, failed so miserably. Don’t get me wrong, if it was between watching this and The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s film is going to win hands down. However director Joe Johnston deserves real credit for delivering a Captain America film that’s, (dare I say it), enjoyable.

As with every super hero film this is an origin tale. Steve Rogers is desperate to serve his country, but he’s not the psychical specimen the army wants, nor society, (i.e. he’s not rippled in muscles and 6ft tall). After several attempts at enrolling he’s spotted by Dr. Erskine, (Stanley Tucci), who recognises the good qualities in Steve and decides he’d be the perfect candidate for the Super Soldier program. The whole pre-Super Soldier sequence works very well, it quickly establishes the type of hero Steve would be, (is), i.e. he stands up to bullies, never run’s away from a fight and ultimately he’s just a really nice guy, who knows the importance of doing ‘the right thing’.

And this is one of the reasons I really enjoyed Captain America: The First Avenger, because we’ve become a little too accustomed to our super heroes being introspective as well as daring and flamboyant. Captain America or Steve Rogers is very similar to the Superman/Clark Kent characters and that’s because they were created with a certain, (American), ideology in mind. Both Captain America and Superman have an unwavering confidence, (bordering on arrogance?), in their powers and abilities. There is no doubt about what they have to do and that it is right. And Captain America’s allegiance to do ‘good’ is refreshing in what has become a sea of brooding teenagers. Teenagers!? No, sorry that’s the target audience for these films, what I meant to say was a sea of brooding super heroes. Anybody would think by making their heroes ‘brooding’ and therefore, (stereotypically), similar to their target audience, MARVEL could encourage more bottoms on seats. Pah! Such cynicism.

It doesn’t hurt Johnston’s film that he’s been able to assemble such a good cast, it’s true that the majority don’t really have much to do e.g. Tommy Lee Jones is the shouty one and Stanley Tucci is the kind mentor who sees Steve’s important qualities. Even Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull has little to do, other than being evil although he does do a wonderful impression of Werner Herzog. I kept waiting for the Red Skull to start talking about ‘zee bears and Timothy Treadwell and the overbearing nihilism of life’, but alas he had more important things on his mind, like world domination. Captain America’s female lead, Peggy Carter, (Hayley Atwell), is little more than a love interest. She’s feisty and independent, and at least she isn’t stripped of her clothes for our, (male), titillation like the female characters in X-Men: First Class. Chris Evan’s as Captain America/Steve Rogers does a decent job of playing the character and the SFX used to put Evan’s face on a skinny man’s frame are rather good, (surprisingly). However once Roger’s endures his Super Soldier transformation I did wonder whether he would of been a better candidate for an Aryan hero, because the buff Evans looks like the perfect Aryan poster boy.

The only thing that really grated on me about Captain America: The First Avenger was its rush to conclude Steve Roger’s adventures, in the 1940s so conclusively. Twenty minutes from the film’s end an important character is killed, thus signifying there will be no more WW2 adventures for Captain America, which is a shame because it’s here that the character works best, and arguably Johnston, (if not MARVEL), is somewhat aware of this. Ultimately the film is a pre-cursor to Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, (out next year), which is a shame because it undermines what had been a thoroughably enjoyable romp. If you have to see one MARVEL film this year, make it Captain America: The First Avenger and you won’t be disappointed.

I saw the film in 2D and I doubt seeing it in 3D will add anything other than to dull the film’s colour. I also found myself compelled to hum ‘America FUCK YEAH!’ throughout all of the action sequences, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The guys over at Humble Bundle (http://www.humblebundle.com/) have released a new trailer with what you can get with their bundled package of joy.

Head over to the website now and pay what YOU want for this bundle of amazing indie games.

About Humble Indie Bundle:
Pay what you want. If you bought these five games separately, it would cost around $50, but Humble Bundle letting you set the price. All of the games work great on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Humble Bundle don’t use DRM. When you buy these games, they are yours. Feel free to play them without an internet connection, back them up, and install them on all of your Macs and PCs freely. There is no time-limit on your downloads.

And best of all you can support charity. Choose exactly how your purchase is divided: Between the developers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or the Child’s Play Charity. Also, if you like this deal, a tip to the Humble Bundle itself would be much appreciated by the guys.

Humble Bonus: everyone who buys the bundle gets to play Minecraft for free until August 14th!

http://www.humblebundle.com/

Welcome back once again to what is now our third week back in action after a long sunny weekend during which time me and Kris happily married off my sister so good luck to her, (not really sure this means so much to many of our readers but you’ll just have to grin and bear it). Best of luck Sim and Aaron!

Anyway, after alienating the majority of our readership I can inform you that as a plus point it means the heat’s taken off me now for the foreseeable future so I can help continue to deliver great Farmyard content at crazy crazy discount prices, (we’re practically ‘giving’ it away). So, first on the agenda is apologies for all the faulty site connections that were experienced during the earlier part of the week giving us lots of downtime, (of which Kris has made you all aware previously). But, with DDOS attacks on the old server we’re back on a new host and ready to roll once again faster, sleeker and shinier.

Coming later this week is Dan Doolan with an exciting major movie preview which I’m sure will be of interest to you, (I’m not sure if I can say what it is yet though), whilst we also continue to re-design the site, (oh yeah, I hope you all like the new navigational layout)? As always, let us know what we’re doing wrong and we’ll try to right this for you, (short of smart-arse requests to remove the site completely off the face of the internet). Alternatively, feel free to shower us with praise and adulation if you so desire and we’ll do our best to accept without the slightest degree of modesty rubbing everyone’s noses in it. Well, once again stay tuned and keep your ears peeled to the barn doors…

I’m sure that most of you waste, (?), a lot of time online by playing flash or browser games on websites such as Xgenstudios or Armorgames. If that is true then you would no doubt have played your fair share of tower defence. They seem to come in all shapes and sizes now; zombies, balloons, medieval, ants, you name it. But here to add an interesting new variation is ‘Revenge of the Titans’ from Iceberg interactive.

Gameplay: 9/10
The Titans are invading! Thirty tonne giant monsters that don’t seem to have any aim other than to destroy everything that is yours. The goal of each level is to place down your refineries, generate a steady income during the level and then construct a powerful line of defence in the way of turrets, mines, barricades and lures. When the enemies start arriving, they arrive at certain sides of the map or spawn points, allowing you to build around it or funnel them into more manageable lines. The campaign is divided into different planets as you move your way across the solar system, with new types of enemies revealing themselves as you progress further into the game. As the enemies get harder, either through new fast enemies, flying ones or heavily armoured ones, you will have to adjust your strategy and layouts to defeat them. The most awesome feature of this game, (in my opinion), is that after each level you are given the chance to research a new technology from a long list to give you an extra edge in the next fight, or develop a new weapon or barricade to defeat a new enemy, (over 33 different buildings and 40 technologies to research). All of these features combine to create a curious yet very effective combination of RTS and Tower Defence. You can even create your own small army in the form of battle droids and tanks rather then just have stationary turrets. If and when you finish the campaign mode you can also try your luck at the Hectic Survival mode which is also linked up to a high-score mode online, including the record-holder for the longest time survived. If this isn’t for you there is also the Endless Game which, (you guessed it), is endless. Though not as hard as the survival mode which gets harder every minute.

Graphics: 9/10
Looking at the release date of this game I actually frowned when I first saw a screen-shot from Revenge of the Titans; surely they could do better then that? However, playing the game itself tells a completely different story. The level layout and the enemies may look pixelated and basic, but the animations are incredible and the action graphics are even better. Shiny and slick! The game itself, (whilst looking basic), also gives a real ‘high tech’ feel to it running smoothly.

Sounds: 9/10
If you have seen the trailer for the game then you can’t really argue with the soundtrack. The latest “Tron” film sprang to mind with the music almost being the most noticeable part of the game. I also lolled a few times when I realized what all your advisers were actually saying was “Blah, blah blah, bleh”. Appropriate ‘pew pew’ noises and retro-arcade explosion noises. Just about all types of games will be satisfied with this aspect of the game.

Replayability: 8/10
Each level is ‘randomizable’, so no play-through will ever be the same. There are also achievement badges for all you ardent fans out there that even reward you with a badge for bad play as well as good! The Endless game mode is self explanatory, and the Hectic Survival mode allows real challenges, which I suppose will always be changing as other players get better and better!

Revenge of the Titans had me very pleasantly surprised, and was a great use of about 12 hours I spent on it! As the extra cherry on the top, you don’t have to have steam to play it *cries with happiness*. I would recommend this game to just about anyone, hardcore or casual gamer. Even if not for the game itself, at least checkout the awesome soundtrack!

Overall: 9/10, (the fact that I got a cool “Revenge of the Titans” poster had nothing to do with the end result)!

[Show as slideshow]

12►

This week, I embark on a mini-tour, 5 gigs in 1 week, 4 of them Iron Maiden shows and one with The Reckoning, (cheap plug alert but check-out the link in my profile), at the Hatchet in Bristol. It promises to be an interesting experience and I shall put a review up of the Maiden shows next week. As a result, this will be a shorter article than I would usually produce, and will be the first of the promised Album Reviews. The first of the Retro-Album reviews will also be up by now. So without cliché and further ado, a review of Iron Maiden’s Final Frontier…

Satellite 15… The Final Frontier: Satellite 15 is certainly different but I really like it- would have preferred it to have been more than a glorified demo. Nice move into Final Frontier- above average for most, solid mid-tempo opener from Maiden. Solos strong as always.
El Dorado: Crash beginning- ooh isn’t that spontaneous-. Harris Gallop here, good stuff. Interesting lyrics, solos etc, but again not much above average.
Mother of Mercy: Great build, Strong vocals, Mid-tempo Gallop, this is more like it! Great outro from Nicko.
Coming Home: Another great Adrian song, more great Bruce lyrics, will be fantastic live. Solos as per usual.
The Alchemist: Supposed return to ‘Old-Maiden’ and there is some truth to that, (in fact for some fans this is the album’s high point). For me it’s somewhere in between and the only solid one.
Isle of Avalon: All round great song, with ‘Maiden Jazz’ section, (yes, you read that right!).
Starblind: Album really getting into its stride now. If only they’d play this live. Bruce shreds his voice for 7+ minutes. Great stuff. Almost Rush-like in places.
The Talisman: A poor man’s The Legacy, (from A Matter of Life and Death). Great intro, but the main song falls a little flat to me, but what do I know?
The Man Who Would Be King: I just cannot understand this song- people think its great, some say it sucks; I just don’t see what’s to like/hate in it. Great intro, but I can’t help thinking; What? ANOTHER slow intro?
When the Wild Wind Blows: This may feature all the usual hallmarks/laziness of Harris’ work, (whichever way you want to look at it), but this one of the best songs he’s ever written. A little repetitive in some of the intstrumentals, but a truly great song and should already be a classic.
Overall Thoughts: A little compressed, and definitely a casualty of the Loudness War which is a little disappointing since Steve made the effort with A Matter of Life and Death, to make it sound great. To be honest while great in places; Mother of Mercy, Avalon, When the Wild Wind Blows and Starblind- the album feels a bit of a chore to listen to all the way through, and too much of it is merely average. The other thing is that many times throughout this album my ears would prick up and go; “That’s this song”, or “that song”, making things seem a trifle lazy at times. I really wanted this album to be great, to be a storming followup to A Matter of Life and death, but in too many ways it’s really just average.

6.5/10- because what’s average for Maiden isn’t truly average.

Artist: Anthrax

Released: 1987

Anthrax, although an East Coast band with a look more skater than metal, are one of the ‘Big 4′ of thrash. Formed in 1981, their breakthrough came in 1987 with the release of Among the Living. Containing setlist stalwarts like Caught in a Mosh, I am the Law and Indians, if you haven’t heard of Anthrax this is the place to start. So without cliché and much further ado, I present to you a track by track real time, (well it was for me), breakdown of Among the Living…

1. Among the Living: After a very ‘metal’ opening, a good old mid-tempo, chugging riff gives way to a song that is very much thrash. A solid opener.
2. Caught in a Mosh: good riff, great chorus, thrash/Maiden post solo, a little repetitive, but you get what you pay for. Certainly one for the mosh pit!
3. I am the Law: another slow-ish intro… A mid tempo track, with a great groove and a chorus made for a live audience.
4. Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.): More ‘classic metal’ vocals than before. solid.
5. A Skeleton in the Closet: Average. Good instrumental hooks, vaguely Slayer section leading into final chorus.
6. Indians: Great intro riff, then more of the same. Definitely a great song live. More NWOBHM than thrash in places.
7. One World: Great intro, great song. Very Thrash. Shades of Metallica in the verses.
8. A.D.I/Horror of it All: The album’s ‘epic song’. Awesome intro, builds well. 2nd half really grooves, shows hints of Maiden in places. For me, the best song off the album.
9. Imitation of Life: Great first half then business as usual. Another great instrumental/solo section. Nice finish.

Overall thoughts:
Among the living is much better sounding than many records of its type, Metallica I’m looking at you!
Every instrument is nice and clear, making the instrumental sections really groove, even the thrashier parts don’t grind themselves into your head; until you reach about halfway through the album at least. Unique style, almost ‘bouncy’ in places, but always heavy. A little repetitive at times though. Never below average but personally very little could be considered ‘classic’ in the general sense but it is obviously ‘Classic Anthrax’. If any of these songs came on via shuffle I wouldn’t skip them. Solos are a little uninspired and samey at times, but then again the songs don’t require standout solos. Lyrically good, and reasonable variety, (unlike Slayer). It is easy to see how this could be a breakthrough album, and is very much of its time. The songs have aged well.

Should you spend your hand earned cash?: YES.

If you liked this you’ll love: Any of the Big 4.

You’ll love this if you like: Thrash and find bands with operatic vocals not enough, but don’t like thrash/heavy metal bands with guttural vocals.

All in all, I would rate this album 7/10 and is better than some though its repetitiveness can become wearisome for the ears, but that’s just me.

I’m always on the lookout for great bands I’ve not had the chance to listen to so I welcome reader recommendations.

When we re-launched the Electronic Farmyard we did it with excitement and big plans for the future. We had new writers, new content to keep you excited and of course a new look website we nicknamed The Electronic Farmyard 2.0. Unfortunately our re-launch celebrations were cut short due to issues we started to experience with our host only hours after going live.

These issues resulted in a large amount of downtime for the site which was frustrating us but ultimately and more importantly frustrating for you, our readers. Therefore we took the decision yesterday to invest in a new host and transfer the site across to them ASAP. Firstly I need to thank Brad Gyton our webmaster for not only making the transition as smooth as possible, but also for the monetary investment he made to make the move possible. Secondly I want to thank all of you for sticking with us during the last few days.

Our hope is create a unique site and online experience where our passionate writers can share their views and opinions with you on a variety of topics from gaming, movies, technology, music, politics and much more. I also want to continue to encourage you to take part in the discussion on the site.  Feel free to post comments to blogs and opinion pieces and let us know your thoughts. Help us shape The Electronic Farmyard.

If you have any questions relating to the site or think you can help us as a writer, graphic designer or produce high quality reviews then feel free to drop me an email to kris@electronicfarmyard.com.

‘Globalisation’ has facilitated much, but perhaps one of the biggest threats that it poses to a national government is its ability to instigate political change. We have witnessed what many have termed, perhaps anecdotally as ‘Facebook’ or ‘Twitter’ revolutions across North Africa and the Middle East. It appears that social media is being used as a vehicle to mobilise a population in support of a common cause. Whether this is oversimplifying the causes of a revolution or not, it is clear that ‘platforms’ such as Facebook and Twitter have played their parts in attempting to overthrow often brutal and authoritarian regimes. This is not to say that these revolutions would not have occurred without social media, just that the speed of which people could be mobilised would not have been so dramatic. In essence, social media has allowed people to ask themselves, ‘what is possible?’ To me, this only reinforces our similarities and not our differences.

What is different about a revolution in a digital age then? Firstly, they no longer require a leader in the traditional sense. Democratic change can now be sought leaderless! To a certain extent social media has created movements that were not possible ten years ago. The point is that information is costless. Whereas previously safety was a major factor for leaders and followers alike, now the internet provides a certain amount of anonymity. For this generation it is easier to share information than ever before, and forums like Facebook give much momentum to important causes. Social media is not the catalyst for change but is a valuable instrument for it. The irony of course, is that the most damage that has been seen to be done happens when governments attempt to shut these sites down. It has been suggested that then, a revolution’s greatest growth occurs!

OK, looks like another recap moan, (so I apologise once again for the cheapness), as we complete our first week back and it’s definitely been heaving here at the farmyard with good wholesome family fun, (well, it’s been fun at least). Either way it’s been a pretty successful first week if I do say so myself, (and I do).

Before I introduce the latest writers to the team I want to say a formal farewell to Dan Pryce as being reminded to in the comments last week doesn’t quite suffice. He’s done many good articles notably Pixelated Perspective and Time Assassin. So it looks like you’re all going to have to kill your time in other ways now I’m afraid as Dan’s headed off to the murky world of games development so good luck and thanks from the farmyard.

Anyway, as you might have noticed we’ve made a few additions to the team since last week being that of Alexander Bond with ‘The Sanitarium’ as he looks at everything metal for all you serious moshers out there. Then there’s the Misanthropic Monkey aka Simon Key giving us ‘Knotted Fur’; a low-down on all the big film releases with a side-order of wry bread, (and better jokes than that to boot). Make sure you don’t miss this though as all the cool kids are reading them and don’t you want to be here before we’ve gone and sold out…?

What’s coming up next though in our hip and happening world down here on the farmyard I hear you ask? Well you can expect more material and more ‘outrageous’ opinions with the commencement of our ‘political blog’ tomorrow evening so stay tuned for that, (and I realise it sounds a bit jarring announcing ‘political blog’ like a game show host; as if Pat Sharp was introducing John Pilger…oh well).

But whatever happens make sure you stick around as it’s going to kick some serious ass, (not yours…other peoples).

To celebrate the launch of our indie film review section by Giulia Giganti and her first review today; Service Entrance, we have 3 classic art-house DVD’s to give away. The Idiots by Lars Von Trier and then Jules and Jim and Stolen Kisses by Francois Truffaut. To enter simply reply below with an answer to the following question:

In the film Jules and Jim by Francois Truffaut, we are introduced to a Ménage à trois (or ‘love triangle’ ). If you were to pick 2 people in which you could live with in this way, who would you pick and why?

We encourage you to pick celebrities (past and present) and historical figures therefore avoiding you any domestics at home when your partner reads the entry. Be creative and we’ll pick our favourite winner in 7 days time.

[Show as slideshow]

Disclaimer: We take no responsibility for any domestics this competition may cause between couples. Answer at your own risk!

Competition Rules:

• Entrants must be over 18 years of age.
• Entrants must be UK Citizens. This includes Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Winners will be notified by Email. We will not email you for any other reason, or pass your details on to third parties.
• Closing date is Sunday 31st July 2011 at 20:00 GMT+0
• The Electronic Farmyard reserves the right to disqualify any person from the competition at their own discretion.
• There is no cash alternative.
• If the winner cannot be contacted by email within two weeks, then the prize will be re-allocated.
• The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
• By entering any competition you are confirming you have read, understood, agree with and accept all above stated rules.