Formed in 2013 in Columbus, Ohio, United States, Starset is, for me, one of these talented bands, but unfairly misunderstood, and deserving more notoriety. Their music is a powerful mix of rock and electro, with sometimes powerful, sometimes calm, that take you through the stars, into the world of science fiction, whose videos are inspired, like their clip "My Demons" making a mix between sci-fi and steampunk, and also with a story between the past and the future. Very cool video. Their costumes of scenes are also impressive, the space suits are really cool and the visors emanating a bluish light are of a very beautiful effect. For the moment, the band has released two albums, Transmissions, released in 2014, and Vessels in 2017. I even took one of their songs "The Future is Now", as credits song for my Bioshock story.
If you like science fiction, powerful electronic music and rock, and if you love bands like Skillet or Linkin Park, then Starset is a band you will surely love. I highly recommend it!
Members:
- Dustin Bates (vocals and keyboards)
- Ron DeChant (bass and backing vocals)
- Brock Richards (guitars and backing vocals)
- Adam Gilbert (drums)
For this new Villain of the Month article, we're going to plunge back into the Disney world, with the main antagonist of one (for me) of the best Disney movies. Shan Yu, the leader of the Huns and feared warlord.
I also dedicate this article to the memory of the original voice of Shan Yu, Miguel Ferrer, who unfortunately passed away in January of this year 2017.
The past of Shan Yu is mysterious and unknown, as unexplained in the film. It is just known that he is a Hun Warlord, merciless, very powerful and dreaded, and feared by China, even by the Emperor, who does not hesitate to mobilize all available forces to try to stop him. But Shan Yu is not easily impressionable; on the contrary, he even orders to an enemy scout, before letting him go, to go and tell the emperor to send his most powerful army to confront him. Shan Yu likes the challenges, and saw in the Great Wall, a challenge imposed by the emperor.
Shan Yu and his vast army wreak havoc in the kingdom of China, destroying without mercy all the villages they meet. In a scene, Shan Yu's cruelty is once again unveiled when his falcon brings him a small doll belonging to a little girl living in a nearby village. Shan Yu, a sadistic smile, said he would like to "give back" the doll to the little girl. When Mulan's convoy arrives at the village, they contemplate with horror the ravages caused by the huns, no survivors are found, and even worse, a large part of the Imperial army has been annihilated.
In the mountains, Shan Yu and his army manage to take the little convoy to the trap and are about to massacre them. But Shan Yu had not foreseen that a soldier (Mulan, disguised as a man), plans to cause a great avalanche with one of the guns. The avalanche swallowed up the whole Huns army, including Shan Yu.
But Shan Yu is stronger than that and manages to survive despite all, extirpating himself from the snow and realizing that his whole army, except a few survivors, is annihilated, which plunges him into deep rage and a desire for vengeance.
Shan Yu and his group of most faithful warriors manage to enter without being seen in the imperial city, and take the emperor in hostage in front of the eyes of all the terrified inhabitants. In the palace, Shan Yu begins to speak to the emperor, telling him that his kingdom has fallen and that he must submit to him. It is then discovered that one of the other goals of Shan Yu is to enlarge his empire by becoming the new chief of China. But the intervention of Mulan and Shang comes to compromise his plans. Shan Yu fights fiercely, managing to knock Shang down and discovering that Mulan is the soldier who has destroyed his army, becomes mad with rage and wants to kill her.
Shan Yu is trying hard to try to kill Mulan by any means, but the young woman had planned everything. Mushu, the little dragon that accompanies Mulan, has prepared a huge fireworks rocket, and sends it on Chief Hun after Mulan managed to block him. Shan Yu is hit by the rocket and sent into the fireworks tower, which disappears into a huge explosion.
For my part, I would have liked the character of Shan Yu to be a little more explored, that we learn something about his past for example.
For the February 2017 edition, I wanted to present an animated character, the main character of a rather dark animation film, and unfairly underrated. She became one of my favorite animated female characters. Here is Mrs. Elizabeth Brisby.
Mrs. Brisby is an ordinary field mouse, living in the middle of a field with her four children. She has been widowed for several years since her husband, Jonathan, was killed by the farm cat. But Timothy, one of her sons, falls gravely ill and is therefore impossible to move, and the day of plowing approaches, putting the Brisby family in great danger of death in front of the tractor of the farmer. Mrs. Brisby, ready to do anything to protect her children, does not hesitate to face fear and will seek advice from the great owl, wise of the forest but also predator of mouses. However, the owl is wise and seeing that she is the widow of Jonathan Brisby, decides to help her. Mrs. Brisby then learns that the only ones able to move her house are the rats of the rosebush, which for years, live hidden and steal electricity to the humans.
Going into the hiding-place of the rats, Brisby discovers a very strange den, equipped with advanced technology, for rats. She finds Mr. Ages, an old mouse who seems to be friends with the rats, and meets Justin, a rat, captain of the guard, Jenner, a member of the council, and Nicodemus, old wise and leader of the community, who will make great revelations to Mrs. Brisby, for example, the fact that the rats in the community are in fact the rats escaped from a genetic laboratory, and having undergone mutations that have made them more intelligent. Mrs. Brisby also learns that her husband, Jonathan, was part of genetically modified mice, such as Mr. Ages, and that he helped the rats to escape. Nicodemus reveals to Mrs. Brisby that Jonathan never said anything about it, because unlike her, he would not have grown old and would have remained young. In memory of his late friend, Nicodemus agrees to help Mrs. Brisby, and gives her a golden amulet with a red ruby.
But what Nicodemus and Brisby do not know is that Jenner plots in the shadows, wanting to take the place of Nicodemus at the head of the community. While Mrs. Brisby volunteers to asleep the cat of the farm, the rats begin to move the house of the mice with their equipment. But Jenner had planned everything, and triggered a terrible accident, and Nicodemus found himself crushed, and died on the spot. Mrs. Brisby, who had been caught by the farmers' son but managed to escape, arrives too late. Brisby tells the rats that the farmer has appealed to Nimh's scientists, and that they come to eradicate the rats until the last one. Jenner, blinded by his desire for power, does not want to hear anything and tries to kill Mrs. Brisby to silence her, and also take the amulet. But Justin interposes and after a terrible fight, Jenner is killed.
But after bad weather, the house of the mice begins to be swallowed by the mud, and Mrs. Brisby, at the peril of her life, will awaken the power of the amulet with her heart and manages to save her family. Following the departure of Nimh's rats to a better lair, Mrs. Brisby resumed her normal life, with her family, in a safer place, sheltered from the farmer's tractor.
Mrs. Brisby is one of the most courageous characters I've seen, because despite her small size, she does not hesitate to brave fear and danger to save her children. She represents, in a way, innocence and kindness, in a dark world filled with giant and terrifying creatures.
This February 4, 2017 will have been one of the best days of my life. First of all, I received in the morning my rare action figure that I ordered on the internet, of good quality, which I waited impatiently, and in the evening I knew that an important concert took place: At the Zenith, One of my favorite concert places in Paris, was going to be a great concert, with three bands I'm a fan of: Beyond the Black, Powerwolf, and headliner, Epica!
Arriving in the Zenith, where I had not been for two years, when I saw the scene again, I nostalgically remembered my concerts with Motörhead, Kiss and ZZ Top. It was in the Zenith of Paris that I had my most epic concerts. Despite many people who had arrived before me, I could place myself and have a good overview of the whole concert.
To start the evening, a Symphonic Metal band from Germany, which I had discovered (by chance) on youtube and whose style I immediately liked: Beyond the Black. Even if the band played only five or six songs, I was very happy to see them and hear them, in addition for their first visit to Paris. If you like metal music with intonations that make you think to fantasy and celtic, Beyond the Black should please you. In any case, for their first time in Paris, they managed to heat the room. Bravo!
The second band of the evening, but not the least, because it is a band I have been waiting for several years now, and of which I knew in advance that I was not going to be disappointed: the werewolves coming from Germany, a and whose notoriety grows at high speed for our greatest happiness: Powerwolf! The group already has a great notoriety in France because when they arrived on stage, they were received like kings. In video they are already impressive, but live, I was amazed. Their costumes, sets, their music.... They as much surprised me than when I saw Lordi and Ghost for the first time. They played some of my favorites, such as Army of the Night, Amen and Attack, Sanctified with Dynamite, or We Drink your Blood. The singer, Attila Dorn, spoke a little in French, saying that this evening was the mass of Heavy Metal. Indeed, I almost believed myself in a black Mass. My expectations were worth it, and I will go back to Powerwolf with great pleasure.
And to finish the evening, of course, the starring band, with so powerful and epic music, mixing metal and classical music, that it transports you into fantastic worlds. I want to talk about the one and only Epica. Before Epica started, I talked with two very nice guys, who told me that they had come expressly from the city of Brest, in Brittany, to see the concert, because they are very fans of Epica. With the lighting effects, the fireworks, the pyrotechnical effects, the concert of Epica has marked me as much as the concerts of Nightwish and Kiss that I did. Simone Simons, one of my metal angels, beautiful and superb voice, with her long hair of fire, has spellbound the crowd, as much as the rest of the band with the epic guitar riffs, frenzied drums and resonant keyboard. A fucking great show with a big "S".
Ah, another very good point during this evening. I met one of my foreign friends of Facebook, Madlen, whom I recognized at a distance thanks to her cool Powerwolf's makeup. I knew she was coming to Paris for the concert, but with the crowd there was, I could not find her right away. We talked, and made a picture both, to keep a memory of course. I am very happy to have met her, because I'm friend with her for several years already, and for me, it is very important to can meet my friends online. Who said that online friends are not true friends? Well, this is false. The value of distance is nothing. Unfortunately I could not stay long with her because it was pretty late, and I had to make it quick to take the last transport and avoid getting stuck in Paris. But as I told her, I hope and I'm sure we'll meet again at other events. See you next time Madlen :) \m/
Madlen also has a blog, which I will give you the link: Maddy's Blabbering
