Aki's Blog

Finnish symphonic power metal act Amberian Dawn has now officially announced their third album “End of Eden” to be released this October. It is to be heavier than their previous albums “River of Tuoni” (2008) and “The Clouds of Northland Thunder” (2009).

I stepped into the cinema with a mixture of expectations. I love the stories by Lewis Carrol, as well as the 1951 animated Disney movie, but this is something totally different. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a mixture of a re-imagining and a sequel, telling the story of Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) returning to Underland (who she falsely called Wonderland last time) by the age of 19, thinking the memory of her last visit had just been a bad dream. Underland has been destroyed by the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) finally turning entirely crazy. We meet a cracked, broken down world that is still as off the knock as Tim Burton’s and Lewis Carrol’s minds put together, and truly beautiful visually. This is definitely Helena Bonham Carter’s best role, and Anne Hathaway’s only good role, working perfectly as the Luna Lovegood-ish White Queen. Johnny Depp, one of my favorite actors of all time, is wonderful as the Mad Hatter, working both as the crazy character he uses in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Pirates of the Carribean, and the cracked man of Edward Scissorhands. I will not say that this is his best role, but close to it.

Unfortunately, I kind of expected more of the ending. What begins as a wonderful story of a lunatic girl who just doesn’t suit her own time, turns into the story that has been told too many times: Child of our time finds a gate into another world, who has choosen him/her as the one with ancient prophecies, and although our hero first hesitates, he/she finds courage, saves the kingdom and returns home with this newfound character. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland simply falls a little too much as The Matrix meets Narnia, and although these are all great stories, he could have pulled something better off.

One final praise must go to Mia Wasikowska – this unknown but wonderful actress who simply is the perfect Alice – naïve, dreamy, and really cute. And managing being so childlike even though her boobs just almost shows in every scenes (due to her clothes being to big) is just amazing.

Looks like my music’s going to be in the 2010 Swedish film De Fördömda Den Mörka Hemligheten. :)

I’ve always been a big fan of Star Wars, ever since I was a little kid. I remember having a shirt from the film trilogy that’s way too little now, and I still have figures of the characters with moveable arms and legs, as well as a Falcon ship toy.

After re-watching Episodes I, II and VI today, I just felt I had to write about the films. I never concidered the second trilogy (I-III) as a part of a series with the original one (IV – VI). They are more like two stories, the original one being about Lukes fight against Darth Vader and so on, and the other one more or less telling the story of how Anakin Skywalker turned from that innocent boy into the evil Darth Vader. They are still great though, although my favorite films must rank in the order V, VI, IV, III, I, II. But they’re all great, they are all epic, and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming Star Wars live action TV series, to be released in 2009 or 2010, and to focus on the minor characters in the period between episode III and IV. I just hope it won’t disappoint me.

Lots of bands have already announced albums to be released in 2009. Oh my god, I’m having a musical stroke…

Dream Theater's latest album - a special edition of Systematic Chaos.

Sometime in the spring (I’ll see them live on Sweden Rock Festival in the beginning of June as their first gig for the upcoming tour), progressive metal pioneers Dream Theater will release their so far untitled tenth studio album described by the band as:

[...] a DT album with A Change Of Seasons, Octavarium, Learning To Live, Pull Me Under and The Glass Prison….all on one album.

Today it was revealed that one of my all time favorite bands, Finnish symphonic power metal giants Nightwish will release a live DVD/CD entitled “Made in Hong Kong (and Various Other Places)“, as a result of their Dark Passion Play Tour.

On the doom metal front, British My Dying Bride will release their tenth studio album “For Lies I Sire” on an untold date in 2009. Track listing is already revealed! After still rolling as heavily on their 2006 release “A Line of Deathless Kings“, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.

Again some Nightwish news: They have reported they’ll soon draw back to record their seventh studio album, and they have also said both Tuomas and Marco have several finished songs. Probably to be released in either late 2009 or early 2010!

For later years: Dutch symphonic rock / metal band Within Temptation has announced their next album to be released in 2010, and American power metal Kamelot are planning their tenth album in 2011!