Massive Attack producer Neil Davidge was tapped to score the latest iteration of the Halo series, Halo 4. We talked to him about fandom, scale, and the challenges of working in interactive media.
In need of majestic unicorn accessories, space whales, and power ballads? Adult Swim Games has released Robot Unicorn Attack 2, and it’s an awesomely prog-tacular upgrade on its predecessor.
Coheed and Cambria’s Amory Wars might be one of the most ambitious conceptual undertakings in modern music. Spanning the majority of the group’s musical output and expanded in the form of both graphic and prose novels, it’s an epic space opera about a group of planets held together by lines of energy known as the Keywork. Conceived by front-man Claudio Sanchez, the story is also currently being adapted for a feature film by Mark Wahlberg.
Say what you will about Metallica’s propensity to putitsnameonthings, but this actually looks pretty awesome.
The band has teamed up with Stern, a leading manufacturer of pinball machines, for a Metallica-themed cabinet. Featuring 12 different songs, including “One,” “Master of Puppets,” “Creeping Death,” “Battery,” “Enter Sandman,” and “Fade to Black,” the machine will come in three different editions: Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition. Some of the features? An electric chair with a “shaking, writhing ‘Sparkey’ figurine,” two different ball-eating snakes, and a ball-smashing hammer. It sounds appropriately metal.
Check out another image and a teaser below. More info and how to order one here.
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Hajduch: Ford & Lopatin (formerly Games) is comprised of Daniel Lopatin (a.k.a. Oneohtrix Point Never) and Joel Ford (from indie/’80s-pastiche band Tigercity). Their music together is a jittery, looped amalgam of trashy ’80s vibes. Riffs and vocals are recorded, deconstructed, down-sampled, and smashed back together. Their previous output as Games was a hypnotic series of tightly looped samples from synth-pop hits that never existed.
Channel Pressure takes the conceit a step further, adding occasional lyrics and the nebulous idea of a concept album. If you toned down the funk (and the length) of the poppier songs from Daft Punk‘s Discovery, and made them a bit more spastic, you’d approach the sound of Channel Pressure.
Morrow: To me, it sounds like Prefuse 73 twisting around the Miami Vice theme. The ’80s synth sounds and fake drum hits are out of control. Between those elements, the airy pop vocals, and the deep, bouncy bass, Channel Pressure has enough nostalgia to unleash a torrent of endorphins for anyone born before 1988. (Entertainingly, one song is titled “Too Much MIDI (Please Forgive Me).”)
But there’s enough of a modern and experimental twist (hence the slightly stretched Prefuse comparison), and that prevents it from being strict homage.
Coheed and Cambria: The Afterman: Descension (Hundred Handed / Everything Evil, 2/5/13)
