Pain is a band that is quite hard to categorize. The band mixes alternative and industrial rock with electronic elements. An important element are the provocative lyrics that often criticize our society. The group has a talent to develop concise and diversified song structures with catchy choruses and addicting melodies that won’t get out of your mind. The group’s eighth studio album in twenty years includes ten potential single candidates. Pain never sounds shallow or uninspired but the new output is getting a little bit tame and predictable after a while as there isn’t a song that really stands out.

A first highlight on the entertaining record is the opener ‘’Designed to Piss You Off’’ that starts like a country tune, becomes a rockabilly track and ends up being an epic industrial rock song with an addictive chorus and rebellious lyrics. This first impression of the album is catchy, cool and diversified and these attributes are somehow the guidelines for the entire release. Another strong cut is the bittersweet and melancholic title track ‘’Coming Home’’ that talks about the essence of life from the point of view of a tired man in his midlife crisis. It makes me think of the atmosphere on Johnny Cash’s last releases and the occasional acoustic guitars even add a slight country touch to the tune. The sinister electronic rock tune ‘’Natural Born Idiot’’ sounds more like a mellow mixture of Emigrate and Placebo and offers another interesting statement about annoying people in our contemporary society. This works quite well because most people have lived similar situations and can identify with the topic.

The simplistic ‘’Absinthe-Phoenix Rising’’ is probably the weakest tune on here and focuses on an exchangeable sing-along chorus that one could expect from a pop punk band like Good Charlotte. The plodding symphonic closer ‘’Starseed’’ doesn’t sound as epic as it tries to be and fails to end the record on a high note. This is the kind of ambitious track with classical elements that Thirty Seconds to Mars crafted about a decade ago. 

In the end, Pain’s Coming Home is an entertaining rock album that is lacking the certain something to be more than just slightly above average. While the song writing is creative, I’m missing some real emotions and energy in several tracks. From that point of view, the additional live album that comes with the limited edition has much more oomph and rates this release up by a few points. My final verdict is that this record is definitely listenable once or twice but not remarkable enough for a purchase in my opinion.

Final rating: 65%

Ladies and gentlemen!

Last Friday I attended the last home game of the season of the Ottawa Redblacks at TD Place. I got my Ottawa Redblacks toque, scarf and gloves ready for the game. I was a few minutes late to the game because of some traffic issues but at least I got the occasion to take a splendid picture of the Parliament while waiting for the next bus. The Ottawa Redblacks played against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (or as I call them: the Winnipeg Blue Bummers) and lost 20-33 in front of a sold out crowd.

A couple of students, teachers and coaches involved in our high school football team Arsenal went to the game as well and we had a great time despite the cold. A particular memorable anecdote was the moment when the crowd was informed that the Montreal Canadiens had lost 0-10 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the beginning I thought it was a joke but when I realized that it was true I couldn't stop laughing until the end of the game. Another funny anecdote was the drunk Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan on the bus after the game who was talking amusing nonsense during the ride. There was also a nice woman who gave some passengers including me some candy at the same time which was cool.

Now, it's playoff time for the Ottawa Redblacks and I hope the team will finally win another Grey Cup - the first since 1976 when they were still called the Ottawa Rough Riders. The Grey Cup final will take place in Toronto and next year it will be in Ottawa. I might try to get some tickets for such a memorable game one day.

The epic South Korean blockbuster ''The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale'' is a mixture of a historical drama and an action-adventure movie. To fully understand this movie, you have to be aware of the fact that the tiger is a symbol associated with Korean people and their resilience to keep their culture, identity and values alive despite the hardships this people has gone through and is still going through today. That's why the obsession of the Japanese invaders to exterminate the peninsula's last tiger is related to the fact that if they achieved that goal, it would mean that the resistance of the invaded country would finally be broken. This context also explains why many Koreans despise the Japanese, fear the consequences of the hunt and respect the tiger by calling him the Mountain Lord. Still, some of the Korean characters want to see the tiger dead as well for many different reasons: reputation, revenge and wealth among others. If the tiger were to die, it should at least die at the hands of a Korean hunter. The movie introduces us to three different groups that end up hunting the legendary tiger: Japanese soldiers, Korean hunters and the lonesome main character.

Obviously, this philosophical movie doesn't only deal with the symbolism related to tigers but also touches profound topics such as dealing with forgiveness, honor and loss as well as family values. The story of the old hunter and the old tiger has a lot of parallels as well. The tiger almost seems human in this movie and one can somehow identify with the majestic beast. Most people will probably end up rooting for the tiger's survival. In my opinion, it's quite an achievement from the makers of this film to make us feel this way without making this movie too melodramatic. 

It also helps that the CGI of the tiger is surprisingly dynamic, majestic and realistic. Despite a lot of screening time for the true feline hero of this tale, the initial first impression never really lets go. In addition to this, the landscapes on and around Mount Jirisan are truly impressive. The calm camera shots that never shake unnecessarily, the rich classical soundtrack and the contrasting lighting techniques add to the atmosphere of the movie.

I must also point out the numerous fight scenes between the tiger and his enemies. In contrast to the movie's overall rather calm pace, these action sequences aren't only fast and powerful but also quite gory without ever getting gratuitous. They make the tiger's desperate fight for survival even more realistic in my book. 

The acting performances are overall quite good. Main actor Choi Min- sik is authentic, entertaining and intense as always and proves once again that he is at least one of the very best contemporary Asian actors. I only thought that the villains of the story could have been a little bit more detailed, diversified and present in this film.

The only other issue I have is the movie's slow-paced storytelling. This film could have been about half an hour shorter and it wouldn't have taken anything away from the character or story development at all. Patient fans of Korean cinema are already used to the smooth development but those who aren't familiar with this style might find the movie's introduction somewhat pointless, overlong or even boring and they might have a point this time. 

In the end, ''The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale'' is an atmospheric, epic and sophisticated film that mixes contemporary action sequences with slightly patriotic historical fiction and philosophical topics that never feel too dry. Fans of Asian cinema will like this release and it's definitely a welcome change to the hollow superhero movies in our Western world, so you might as well give this movie a fair try. 

HammerFall’s new output Built to Last offers classic melodic heavy and power metal material recalling the band’s streak of five records in the last decade, from Renegade to No Sacrifice, No Victory. Fans of the band will like the fact that the band sticks to its trademarks while haters will feel that the band has become irrelevant over the years. For any neutral listener, there isn’t much interest in purchasing Built to Last either to be honest.

Overall, the record has a more rocking tone and a more organic production than the rejuvenated predecessor (r)Evolution but compared to the last effort, the new output has much less remarkable song writing and feels more than ever like an uninspired rehash of the band’s former releases. You will get the usual melodic mid-tempo stompers around four minutes with majestic choirs in each chorus singing about hammers, fantasy topics and the metal spirit. Quality-wise, the album reminds me of a mixture of Crimson Thunder and No Sacrifice, No Victory which are two records I consider of an average quality. While the record is obviously business as usual which mustn’t be a bad thing per se, I can’t really find one single ambitious, memorable or outstanding song on the entire output. I doubt this album will have a remarkable fan base, impact or legacy. It’s just another HammerFall album, no more or less.

This doesn’t mean that the songs are cringeworthy. They aren’t great either. I would describe them as being okay. My favorite song on here is probably the heavier ‘’Stormbreaker’’ that comes around with an extensive instrumental section dominated by melodic and powerful guitar harmonies and a short drum solo. The most epic track on the record is the title song ‘’Built to Last’’ with its joyous melodies, massive choirs and simplistic lyrics you can still sing along to after a wild party in your favorite metal pub until two o’clock in the morning. This is also the case for the highly predictable metal-by-numbers single ‘’Hammer High’’. I can see my former sixteen-year-old self banging his head and raising his fists into the air to this during a metal party but today I find such a song mildly amusing at best. ‘’Bring It!’’ sounds like a light version of a Judas Priest song of the eighties but it has enough speed, passion and power to convince as a solid opener. Of course, the band also delivers its usual saccharine ballad in form of ‘’Twilight Princess’’ and even though this song doesn’t offer anything interesting, the vocals are performed with enough conviction to make it bearable. Geeky, lonesome and romantic World of Warcraft players will surely like this like it’s 2006 all over again. 

HammerFall once were a band that rejuvenated the metal genre in the late nineties and inspired countless new bands and young metal aficionados all around the world to rediscover traditional metal music. The band hasn’t changed its attitude and has slowly become a conservative outfit that many people only remember as that band that introduced them to metal music many moons ago. Nowadays, nobody discovers metal music with such a band anymore. There are way more interesting bands like Avenged Sevenfold for this. HammerFall had its righteous purpose twenty to ten years ago but today it’s only for hopeless nostalgics. This band and its new album are a charming memory of the past that belongs in a museum but not in your personal collection. This album is like a flawed exam from a motivated student that wouldn't pass normally because he is making the same mistakes over and over again and doesn't really understand what's going on but who still deserves the minimum passing grade for his honest effort. In the end, the most interesting thing about this album is the concert CD/DVD that comes with the limited edition which features several cuts from the much more energizing predecessor.

Final rating: 60%

Ladies and gentlemen,

Since I have been living in Canada, autumn has become a season I really cherish. Earlier this week, I took a few pictures on my daily walk to my workplace that show the beauty of this season.

I hope you like these as much as I do. Winter's already coming step by step. It was actually snowing on my mother's birthday one week and a half ago.

Enjoy Canada's splendid nature to the fullest!