How to Destroy Angels

When I saw what could possibly be the last Nine Inch Nails concert I'd ever see back in September of 2008, I was a more than a little morose. I had been a fan of NIN since middle school, and had been lucky enough to see Nine Inch Nails on several occasions over the last few years. This part of my life was coming to an end and I was a bit bummed. On the other hand, I was very excited as I and other fans considered the question of what Trent Reznor might do next. After almost two years, we now have our answer.

How To Destroy Angels is the new group featuring Mariqueen Maandig, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross. While Trent is well-known to most mainstream music fans, Mariqueen and Atticus might not be. A composer and producer, Atticus Ross has been one of the influences on post-Fragile Nine Inch Nails, helping to produce all of NIN's albums since. Mariqueen Maandig is formerly of the band West Indian Girl, and married Trent Reznor just after Nine Inch Nails went on hiatus.

So what does all this mean for the self-titled EP that just dropped on Tuesday? How to Destroy Angels initially sounds very similar to the more cacophonous parts of Year Zero, including the track "BBB" and especially "Parasite". The later tracks are much more melodic, but Parasite is definitely the most challenging. That said, Mariqueen's ethereal voice is a pleasingly stark contrast to the heavy beats and riffs delivered by Atticus and Trent, most particularly in my favorite track of "A Drowning". There are many clear references and inspirations from previous Ross/Reznor colaborations. "Fur Lined" invokes memories of "Only" from With Teeth and "Demon Seed" from The Slip, and "The Believers" is like a Ghost brought back to life.

Finally there's "The Space Between", which deserves mention not only as the opening track of the album but as the song for which the first video was made. The song itself introduces the listener to the group's modus operandi: Heavy and deliberate electronic music versus a beautiful female voice. All that's well and good until you see the video, which is astounding-looking and is what sold me on this group. The video is subtle at first, but stayed with me long after my first viewing. Director Rupert Sanders takes a simple idea and progressively adds layers of dread to a song that is clearly building to a rising climax. The video is outstanding, and is easily the best way to introduce someone new to the group.

After all this, the direction of the group is one that I very much want to go in. Once again I find myself asking, as I did almost two years ago, "What are they going to do next?"

How To Destroy Angels: The Space in Between [HD] from How To Destroy Angels on Vimeo.

MC Frontalot + Doppelgangstas + Brandon Patton

Although the Friday PAX East impromptu karaoke party was truly awesome, I was a little peeved that I had missed MC Frontalot's show that very same night. My buddy Jon has been a huge fan of Frontalot for several years, and was also peeved that I'd passed up the chance to see him live in Boston. So when he found out that MC Frontalot would be passing through OKC, Jon let me know that this was something I shouldn't miss. At the risk of inflating his ego, Jon was spot on.

The show opened with a solo performance from Brandon Patton AKA BL4k Lotus. Normally the bass player for Frontalot's band, his opening act was inspired. Kicking off with an acoustic cover of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up", he immediately commanded the attention of the audience. All of Brandon's songs were intensely personal, and he performed them with a sincerity that allowed us to enjoy this little window into his life.

Next up was the nerdcore improv rap group The Doppelgangstas. Normally working under the name Twinprov, Buck and Clint Vrazel become The Doppelgangstas when joined by beat mistress Dr. Spach. It's sort of like when the Megazord combines with the Dragonzord to become the MegaDragonZord on Power Rangers. As improv artists, the duo made good use of the audience for the majority of their act. The tight improv rapping that ensued was most impressive, even if they did mishear my suggestion of "cupcakes" as "earthquakes" as a means by which the world ends. :P The brothers were augmented by the tracks provided by Dr. Spach, making for a complete nerdcore audio assault.

Finally MC Frontalot took the stage, and after a few songs revealed that he was quite sick. Frontalot had strep throat, and had briefly considered cancelling his performance that night. Never the less, he endured and ended up putting on a fantastic set. His songs were catchy and this rhymes were deft as hell. As much as Frontalot brought his best, his band of keyboardist Gminor7, the before-mentioned bassist Bl4k Lotus, and drummer The SturGENiUS deserve just as much praise for their adept performance. As someone who was largely unfamiliar with Frontalot's work, this small and intimate venue was the perfect place to see MC Frontalot and company for the first time. I had spotted Frontalot around PAX East despite missing his show, and it was refreshing to see how approachable and accessible he is. The confortably confined spaces of The Conservatory only enhanced this and after the show he stuck around and interacted with his fans, ignoring the sickness that was visibly and rapidly draining him.

After the show, my buddy loaned me the entirety of MC Frontalot's discography to listen to during my drive home. Since the concert, I've found that while "Final Boss" was my favorite album as a whole, "Living At the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" is definitely my favorite song. What's even more awesome is that the live version was as good or better than the production track, which is truly a testament to MC Frontalot and his band as live musicians. I have been converted. I have been made into a fan, and there's no turning back now.

Looking back

This has been a most interesting year for me. At the same time, I’ve been very very bad.

Not bad in the moral sense, but more bad in that I’ve really neglected things that interest me greatly. Activities that used to bring me so much joy, like working out, updating this space, seeing movies, playing a variety of games, all of those things I’ve not been too good about doing, especially in the last part of the year. Movies like 9 (the stitchpuck adventure), Nine (the musical), Sherlock Holmes, Ninja Assassin, and more recently the apparent visual feast of Avatar, all have been passed over in favor of playing games with my buddies. Whether it’s Agricola with local pals or Modern Warfare 2 with friends from afar, that has been the main focus of things this fall and winter.

In fact, for all my laziness, I’ve had a lot of fun. All those reviews I’ve been promising have been for some really good games. I relish the chance to play Dungeon Lords again, and look forward to replaying the newest Dominion Expansion.

In more RPG-related matters, my D&D sessions that I’ve been involved in have been really enjoyable, and the new material coming out has really given D&D 4th Edition the kind of depth that 3.X had. The best part about it is definitely the D&D Insider material available online. From the handy character builder, to the almost indispensible Monster Generator, to the added character flavor in Dragon, the year in D&D has been pretty fantastic. Add in the fact that I got to introduce several new players to the game in a sleep-deprived and half-drunk session in a Toronto diner over the summer, and it’s been a pretty solid year for XPz and lootz.

So maybe the year wasn’t a complete loss. So what about the decade that’s about to end? It’s been nothing short of fantastic for me. I got married, got a house, and got to travel! In doing so, I got to meet some of the most awesome people in the universe. At the same time, I’ve seen good times and a few bad with the friends that I’ve had for over 13 years. At this point, I’d call them family, brothers and sisters all. As for my family back in San Antonio, I’ve welcomed a new member into our family in my brother-in-law, and also recently met my first niece!

Sports were also big! The Oklahoma Sooners won a National Championship, and my beloved San Antonio Spurs won two NBA titles. I got to see Oklahoma City get the Hornets, then the Thunder. I got to sit courtside at a Thunder game too! In the gaming realm, I got more heavily involved in board gaming than ever before, meeting the outstanding people in the OKC Super Fantastic Gaming Hour group, and starting this site to bring my love of games to the world. Music was a big focus for me as I started going to concerts! I saw Nine Inch Nails six times, Sevendust three times, and Disturbed twice, among a multitude of other shows.

Yup, I’d say I’m pretty blessed. Happy New Year, and I’ll see you all in 2010!