#more power more pain

[equalvision]

Gideon - Furnace Fest 2023 - Photo: John Will

[fromagonytoirony]

“Pedal to the metal I just wanna take off, Pedal to the metal All my life, tired of barely gettin' by Looking for a way to fly I just wanna take, take, take off”

[thisaintascenereviews]

Gideon - More Power. More Pain.

If there’s one band that’s had a dramatic transformation over their career, it’s Alabama metalcore act Gideon. These guys went from being a generic Christcore band in the 00s to being a nu-metalcore band in the late 2010s and early 2020s. I had listened to some of their earlier work, but 2019’s Out Of Control was the first album I really got into from these guys. That album showed the band moving into nu-metalcore, as well as cursing for the first time in their music. The album was pretty cool, too, having a nice nu-metal groove with their trademark metalcore sound. It was a good balance, but I was really excited for whatever else they did next. That resulted in last year’s More Power. More Pain, and I didn’t really get into the album when it came out, but I decided to go back to it after getting into some nu-metalcore albums recently.

I listened to it a couple times when it came out, and I liked it, but I needed more time with it. I’ve spent enough time with it throughout the past week, and I have some mixed feelings on this album, although I do enjoy it overall. I just think it’s got some glaring problems that prevent me from really loving it, but there are some things I still like about it, mainly its sound. I love how this album continues their nu-metalcore sound, but it strangely has a heavier sound at the same time. It’s like this record has a bit of a thrashier sound than its predecessor, but the problem with this album is that its hooks aren’t very strong, and this album feels way too long. At 46 minutes, this album goes on for what feels like 15 minutes too long, but it’s only because there are 14 songs here.

It just feels like there’s a few too many songs here, but they all sound the same. Their sound is cool, but it all just runs together. The instrumentation and performances all around are good, too, and this record has some gnarly riffs and vocal performances, but again, it all just runs together. I find it hard to pick out hooks and moments I really like, because it all just sounds the same. If you want a solid nu-metalcore album in this vein, you’ll enjoy this record, for sure. It’s not even a bad album, but its few issues are very glaring. They’re hard for me to ignore, and I just haven’t gone back to this as much as I’ve wanted to. Maybe you, the reader, may enjoy this more, and I would say this is worth a listen, especially if you enjoy that sound.

[melllowyellow]

Gideon, Fresno CA, 2.19.2024

[safeinyourskin]

oh, so pull me out of the dark

or put me straight in the ground

[reasonsforhope]

You don't need to believe that people as a whole are good or well-intentioned to be an optimist about fixing climate change.

A lot of the time, it's enough to trust in this: people hate being screwed over. And even more than that, they hate feeling screwed over.

Climate change is actively screwing over almost every single person on this planet, whether they know it or not. We just need to keep making sure that people do know that they're getting screwed over, along with all their loved ones, and who's doing it.

Spite and righteous anger will honestly do a lot of the rest.

[zillychu]

Consider this: ghosts are actually exactly what the Fentons think they are.

They're snapshots of a longing so strong, unfinished business so deep it reaches out beyond life. Lingers just a bit longer. And if it happens to meet a dense cloud of ectoplasm (invisible to the naked eye, but omnipresent even in the mortal realm), it coalesces. The ectoplasm fits into the shape of it. Which, when the desire is strong enough, it's got a rough idea of its self-image. This tends to mean a more humanoid figure, though it's more often warped in some way–a self-reflection, skewed by said desire. The warping varies on the dead soul’s perception of themselves, the intensity of their desire, how much time passed after death, and how much ectoplasm was present.

In short… no matter how “normal" a ghost looks or acts, it really, truly isn't human. It's animated ectoplasm with a single goal: an obsession. Nothing else. They're more akin to plants than animals, following a single drive with no emotion. They react to stimuli, recognize threats (including other ghosts), and can even imitate human speech and mannerisms to obtain fulfillment of their obsession.

Not “evil" by any stretch, but they're entirely driven by instinct. A tree doesn't pause to consider the rocks it breaks with its roots. A cordyceps doesn't torture its host for fun, or kill with malice. It just does. It follows code in its DNA to survive and multiply–And ghosts just follow the code in its ectoplasm to fulfill its obsession. The more powerful a ghost, the better it's able to overcome obstacles preventing this–whether through brute force, or manipulation. This power is always directly proportional to the amount of ectoplasm present at the time of formation, and how much time passed since death.

What then, does this mean for Danny? Danny, who's previously come to the conclusion that he's only half-ghost, which surely explains how he retained his mind? His independent thoughts and emotions?

What does this mean for Phantom, who experienced an entire world’s worth of ectoplasm condensed as a singularity, at the exact time of his death? Whose strength only grows and begins to exceed every limit they previously thought possible?

If a ghost was as strong as him… could it mimic a human perfectly? Down to a molecular level?

Could it, in its desire to fill an obsession… trick its own fake mind into thinking it was still human? Or half-ghost?

[sysig]

Chewtoy (Patreon)

[shorthaltsjester]

what if i said imogen is a better metaphor for generational trauma than she is for chronic pain or queerness

[danwhobrowses]

For anyone else who is gonna struggle surviving the next 3 weeks with the angsty and tense situation of Callowmoore here's a few things from the last 2 episodes that I feel were underrated and will assist in trying to keep me sane/emotionally stable: - Matching messed up hands built for holding - Fearne nervously playing with her hair as she approaches Ashton - Ashton wanted Fearne to be either the last thing they saw if they died or the first thing they saw when they succeeded - Fearne's admittance corroborates Ashley's 4SD revelation that Fearne is in love with someone in the party but doesn't know how to process the emotions - Fearne wanted Ashton to be happy, while Ashton wanted to feel whole so they would be worthy of the Hells - Ashton twice tried to lead a search for Fearne, and instantly clocking onto Chetney saying he followed Fearne - Fearne making herself look as radiant as possible before giving Ashton the cold shoulder - Ashton only rose to Chetney's provocations until he said 'You hurt Fearne' Use how you will

[equalvision]

Gideon on their last show of the MORE POWER. MORE PAIN. tour in Nashville, TN at The End. Source: John Will

[deimcs]

COMPLETE: THE PALE ELF / Astarion has become the Vampire Ascendant. He had to sacrifice Cazador, his brothers and sisters, and thousands of other vampire spawn; but he'll never fear the sun or suffer a vampire's hunger again.

[thistleation]

ALSO.

I think it’s easy to underestimate the enormity of Beatrice’s decision to try and place the crown on Ava.

It happens in a flash, it’s followed by The Kiss (which is everything). I think some viewers might even have missed she was holding the crown at all.

And so much happens and events spiral so quickly, it’s easy to forget where in the story Beatrice stands at this point.

Beatrice does not know the specifics of Adriel’s plan. At this point in the story, the OCS’ best guess is Adriel will use the portal to bring through unlimited wraith demons. 

That’s the stakes for them: complete the mission or face a full on demon apocalypse. It’s literally “do this or the world ends.”

And Beatrice has lost so much. She’s lost Shannon just months ago, she’s lost Mary, Vincent betrayed them, to all appearances they’ve lost Lilith to Adriel for good. More of her closest family have died or abandoned her than not.

What more could the universe take from her?

And then the universe points at Ava and says “that one.”

You know those few months you got to spend away from the thick of battle? The short breath of time where you tasted life? Where you fell in love? Where you let yourself believe that — just maybe — happiness was possible? I want that. I want the person at the center of that, I want the one who gave you that.

Beatrice says no.

Putting the crown on Ava is not a discussion. It’s not a reassessment of the plan. It’s putting her unconscious to get her out. It’s aborting the mission.

The mission to save the world, where failure means wraith demons everywhere and most likely a literal apocalypse, and Beatrice says “No.”

Not if the cost is her.

Because how just is a world that keeps demanding this kind of suffering and sacrifice? There has to be another way for the world, because if there isn’t, she will not save it.

Not at this cost.

[korrasamibottles]

Yeah Venom of the Red Lotus showed us how crazy powerful Korra is but The Last Stand had Korra transform the destructive power of a massive bomb blast into something regenerative in the culmination of one of the best character arcs I've ever seen. In my OPINION!!

[lambmotifz]

thinking about the fact that d*stiel wouldn’t have existed if spn ended after 3 seasons and had no angel storyline like kripke originally planned

[000marie198]

Do you ever think about, "This will hurt me a lot more than it's gonna hurt you."

Do you?

He cares about this kid so much