First I have to admit that I'm not the most avid Simon and Garfunkel fan. I enjoy their music as I feel it has a very haunting quality couple with some evocative imagery. However I own none of their albums, nor do I purport to knowing any of their songs other than those that have penetrated the lexicon of popular music. I also have to admit that though I love the original version of The Sound of Silence, my interest was sparked by a cover version by of all bands Disturbed, who are renowned for such memorable songs as Down With the Sickness, probably as far away musically from Simon and Garfunkel you could probably get.
Whilst listening to the Disturbed rendition of the song, which appears on their new album Immortalize, I was struck by just how prophetic this song is and how relevant it is to society today. The original version was released back in 1964 on the duos début album Wednesday Morning 3A.M, The song is essentially about lack of communication and people becoming apathetic towards each other. At the time the USA was going through a lot of social and political turmoil, JFK had been assassinated in November of the previous year and there was a great deal of public opposition towards the Vietnam war. These events are not what the song focuses on, but they are a symptom of man's inability to communicate with his fellow man on all but a superficial level.
So why do I feel a song written in the 60's is prophetic, when it was making a comment on society half a century ago? Why do I feel it is relevant now? Frankly because I think nowadays we are actually worse at communication, despite this being the age of social media, the internet and smart phones. I honestly think we have become an even more superficial and self isolationist species.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
The above excerpt from the song I think sums up my point. People talking without speaking, we have all been there, shuffling about, with our heads bowed over whatsapp or FB Messenger. Replying to a number of conversations without absorbing a single one. The saddest verse here is people writing songs that voices never share. I feel that so much potential and creativity goes to waste nowadays, lost on a tide of negative opinions and internet trolling. Often our voices are silenced by the ill informed and ignorant beliefs of others.
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the signs said
"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence
This is the most prophetic part of the song, "And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made". Media and advertising has become our new god, we are no longer being sold products. We are being sold life styles, look at how happy the people on Coke adverts are, that could be you and if you bring any apple product into your home, clearly you are on the path to heavenly bliss. "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls". So as we shamble blindly through the day to day, replying to 100 messages from a 100 acquaintances who we never see in person, the only things that penetrate and affect us are those big signs that are selling us an ideal life. No longer do we dream of family or the white picket fence. We dream of filling our houses with the superficial trappings of the modern day. Surrounded by the 'happiness' these things bring. Whilst we text, email and hash tag. Further isolating ourselves, but being completely ignorant of it, but what the hell that meme you posted up on FB got 100 likes so whatever.
I don't know what point I'm trying to make here other than this song is relevant today, but just stand back and think for a second. Maybe the next message you send should be "lets meet up", maybe the next billboard you look at you could say "I can do without". Maybe the next thing you hear you could actually listen to, after all what is more lonely than the sound of silence.
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Friday, 7 August 2015
A New Beginning? Warhammer Age of Sigmar
I make no secret of the fact that I am a miniature war gamer. In fact since the age of around 10 it has been something of an obsession of mine, in particular the game Warhammer Fantasy Battles by Games Workshop. I remember when I first walked into my local GW store in my town centre (Hanley, its still there now in fact I believe its one of the oldest stores). My eyes were near assaulted by a cornucopia of vividly painted fantasy and science fiction armies, wargames tables laid out with terrain and covered in miniatures locked in glorious combat. I remember on that first visit I did not buy anything. My parent believing I was too young for such games, which required a great investment of time, effort and money to get into. However after a great deal of badgering my mum (bless her) finally relented and bought me my first box of Warhammer figurines, not from the GW store but from a small toy and model shop called the Toy Box located in the small town I lived in (Meir, sadly the shop is no longer there). I remember eagerly opening up the small blue box of figures emblazoned with the Warhammer logo. It contained 10 single pose grey plastic High Elves 5 archers and 5 spear men. It also contained a small pamphlet advertising other games and products in GW's range. Back then GW sold other games other than Warhammer Fantasy and 40k, Blood Bowl (a fantasy American Football style game) ManoWar (a fantasy naval combat game), Warhammer 40,000 EPIC (a 6mm mass combat game) and Warhammer Quest (a dungeon crawl board games). The pamphlet also advertised a small starter box type deal which contained some basic paints and 2 single pose plastic miniatures, a Lizardman and a Space Marine Terminator. Shock horror you could get this little deal for free if memory serves I think the only charge was postage and packaging. Again after a little badgering my mum sent off for this little set. My initiation into the world of GW was complete. Every birthday and Christmas Warhammer was on my present list. Any pocket money I got was spent on Warhammer. Summer Holidays were spent painting and assembling, up until I went to 6th form and discovered Rugby and girls Warhammer was my great romance it was always there and even when I wasn't painting I would be reading the literature.
Fast forward to the present and it seems that my once beloved game is dead. The setting gone/transformed into something totally different. From what I have read online Warhammer: Age of Sigmar has polarised the community. Its totally Marmite, you either love it or hate it, some have embraced it and others have taken to ebay to sell their Warhammer Fantasy collections as if enacting a bizarre funeral right. Criticisms range from a dumbing down of the new setting, overly simplified rules and even accusations of it just being a money spinner for GW. This opinion seems to come from the introduction of the new Stormcast Eternal faction, or as they are being called by the community Sigmarines. Do I agree with these opinions? well that's a long winded question. Let me break my answer down.
Rules
I will agree the rules are quite simple the rule book that comes in the boxed game is pamphlet sized and can be obtained as a free PDF download on GW's website. But frankly simple is not always a bad thing, ever heard the term minutes to learn a life time to master? I believe this will be the case for AoS. Chess is a simple game, but that does not mean it lacks tactical depth. Its the same for AoS. It's a grower not a shower, it's not yet put all it's cards on the table so to speak. I think a lot of the disappointment lies with the fact that people thought this would be the next edition of Warhammer FB. But it is not, it's an entirely different beast. Stat lines have changed, points costs have gone and the ranking up of figures in large unit blocks is no longer necessary. Army books are gone and have been replaced by warscrolls that detail a units stats and abilities these can also be obtained free on the GW website of via an AoS phone/tablet app. It is not a mass battle game like WFB but at the same time its not really a small model count skirmish game either. In short it's completely scaleable to the kind of game you want to play. Want a game with 100's of models? Great AoS will let you do this. Want a game with about 30 models a side, AoS allows you to do this. In short it is a much more versatile game. Yeah the fact that points cost's are gone could be construed as an issue, as it no longer restricts players to equal sized forces. But A, when in history have battles ever been fought with completely equally matched forces and B, just use your common sense, as human being we have the ability to work out what is fair. So in short in terms of rules I think the game has depth, it is easier for younger players to pick up, and should prove a challenge to more veteran players, especially when more units and terrain pieces have been released. Plus the option for lower model count games makes AoS more financially accessible. I'm not saying its cheap (GW seldom is nowadays) but it is far more accessible than WFB which required large blocks of infantry usually over 100 models a side to play a decent game.
Setting/Fluff (long ramble)
I have to admit I am not a great fan of the new setting. To give a bit of background, WFB was set predominantly in the Old World there. To all intents and purposes it was like a fantasy version of Renaissance Europe with magic and monsters thrown in for good measure and it was grim like grimmer than Game of Thrones grim. The idea was that humanity and the forces of order were locked in a constant battle with the forces of chaos. In short if you were a peasant in this world your outlook was pretty dire indeed. The likelihood of your existence was you would probably fall foul to orcs, beastmen, undead, chaos incursions, or even elves if you strayed to close to the edge of the forest. Not to mention you could also end up with some vile mutation which would get you burnt by witch hunters. The "good" races were morally ambiguous, The Empire was constantly defending its borders, but was also subject to religious and political turmoil. The Elves were fractured into 3 separate peoples, aloof high elves who's island kingdom was beset by courtly back biting and an almost xenophobic attitude to the outside world. The blood thirsty Dark Elves, who were into enslaving people for the purpose of blood sacrifice to their murder god. The Wood Elves basically xenophobic tree huggers with itchy bow strings. The dwarves had hid themselves away in their underground kingdoms, turning their backs on the troubles of the outside world. Then we had the Bretonians, chivalrous knights, who like in our own history treated the peasantry as subhuman. Lastly we have the Lizardmen, basically reptilian dinosaur riding Aztecs, created by godlike aliens known as the old ones as labourers. As you can see this was a dark setting, but also had a smattering of with influences from Tolkien, Lovecraft and Moorcock with a smattering of black humour in the vein of Black Adder. More often than not mighty heroes would fight terrifying monsters and slay them in single combat, only to be crushed to death under said monsters weight. The tone of WFB was always one of a foreboding sense of the inevitable everyone was doomed, the four Chaos Gods Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh ever plotting to drown the world in cataclysm . This is pretty much how the setting remained for 20 years. Some things got changed or simplified, but the fundamentals were always there. In 2004 (I think) there was an attempt at a player driven narrative campaign called the Storm of Chaos, which saw Archaon the Everchosen finally ready to launch an incursion into the Empire and Enter the Flames of Ulric in Middenheim. This campaign was supposed to progress what had been a pretty stagnant storyline. The idea was that players would log results of victories from games played in store etc. The campaign had scenarios which would have knock on effects in following scenarios throughout the campaign, dependent on factors like victory conditions etc. The outcome was that Archaon did not succeed and an was in fact unceremoniously knocked unconscious by the Orc War Chief Grimgor Ironhide (an unlikely hero). Though a little silly this did have notes of some of the dark humour of the setting, humanities saviour ultimately taking the form of something equally as monstrous as the antagonising forces. However in later editions of the game, the Storm of Chaos campaign and the attempt to progress the settings narrative was forgotten. Fast forward to September 2014 GW releases the first of the End Times books, Nagash. Now Nagash, is kind of like Warhammers version of Sauron or Voldemort, he created necromancy and most undead creatures. He is a historical figure in the setting in the sense that he has been killed and defeated multiple times, though his essence remained in items and books that he had created in life. Think a bit like horcruxes before Harry Potter. His return is the first major event in the End Times narrative. Towards the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 four more End Times books were released, Glotkin, Khaine, Thanquol and Archaon. Loads of crazy shit happens in these four books, characters that have been in the lore for years get killed. Some get resurrected, the winds of magic enter into mortal hosts creating the incarnates and the God King Sigmar returns for one final battle. But ultimately the Warhammer World we all knew a loved ends up being torn apart and everyone dies. That sense of foreboding futility wasn't unfounded.
Enter the Age of Sigmar, as it turns out Sigmar survived the death of the old world and apparently clung to the fiery core of the planet which hurled through space and got caught by this cosmic dragon. Who then helped Sigmar learn to traverse the realms through realm gates. Whilst travelling the realms Sigmar discovers other survivors from the old world who have now become gods themselves. These gods unite and usher a cosmic realm spanning age of utopia. But as is always the case the Gods soon tire of working with each other and follow their own agendas. Chaos finds a way to break into these new realms and as is always the case with Chaos manages to fuck everything up for everyone, the bastards. Sigmar retreats to his realm of Azyrheim where he broods for a few millennia and decides to create the Stormcast Eternals, a heavenly army forged from the souls of the greatest warriors of the realms. He then opens the Gates of Azyrheim and unleashes his new army on the forces of chaos. So yeah,big Epic fantasy story. What is my issue. Well frankly its all just a bit wishy washy, these realms are not simply realms as in kingdom states, they are planes of existence. Each realm is a world unto itself, in addition each realm corresponds to a wind of magic, so there is a fire realm, a realm of death, a realm of metal etc. At this point in the story each realm has been thoroughly taken over by the powers of Chaos. Hence the reason for Sigmar's Stormcast army, who's purpose is to take back the realms. Suddenly the story line is starting to seem all too familiar. An army of superhuman warriors taking back worlds for the good of mankind and other mortal races. Seems a lot like the premise of 40k, the Stormcast Eternals are definitely fantasy proxy's of space marines. The realms could easily be seen as worlds that need to be bought in compliance and Sigmar the God King is an absolute dead ringer for the God Emperor. Now it is no secret that 40k outsells fantasy and Space Marines make up for the majority of sales. So it does make sense from a selling perspective that GW would try and make Warhammer AoS similar to its's best selling game. However my issue with Stormcasts is that despite all appearances, from a narrative perspective they do not have that something that makes Space Marines special. To look at the models are impressive, they look superhuman and in terms of scale and are much closer to the size a space marine model should be. Space Marine models are not much bigger than a basic guardsmen but they are supposed to be 8ft tall angels of death. The Stormcast models dwarf them. However the Stormcasts despite their stylish and imposing appearance are not Space Marines. The background of the Stormcast are that they are the greatest warriors of the realms that are taken from their native realms and reforged into heavenly champions. In the process of becoming a Stormcast Eternal a lot of their humanity is lost a long with memories of their former life. Also each time a Stormcast dies they are simply transported back to Azyrheim where they are reforged and once again all their memories are lost, so in many respects they don't die however anything that gave them personality or depth falls by the wayside. Space Marines go through a similar process, they are genetically enhanced to the point they become something more and in some respects a lot less than a normal human being. They go through a process of indoctrination that wipes away a lot of their former life. However each Space Marine does have their own personality, they are functionally immortal and a lot of their human life is eclipsed by centuries of life on the battlefield. But their is still that core of humanity to them that gives us some empathy towards them. The very reason the Horus Heresy series of books has been so popular is that we get insights into the human side of Space Marines they may be superhuman, but they make mistakes, they fall just like the rest of us do. They are subject to petty jealousy and envy, we become attached to key characters because we can see their struggle with what they have become. To once be human, but then essentially to be turned into a weapon, to never feel love except for the exhilaration of battle. To be the watchers of humanity but never actually be part of humanity. There is a great sense of tragedy to Space Marines. There is none of this with the Stormcasts, they are completely faceless. In many respects they are identical to daemons, because like daemons each time they are vanquished they return to Azyrheim to be reforged, similarly daemons simply return to the realm of chaos. The only difference is daemons actually have personality and remember the battles and foes they have fought and these are the villains!!! The Stormcasts are they good guys, who we are supposed to route for, there should be more to them than cool aesthetics, we need to care about them. This said its early days and hopefully GW will expand upon the concept of them having no memory, there is potential there for interesting stories. What if a Stormcast started getting flash backs, what if he remembered his former life etc. In conclusion, I think the setting has not yet been fully fleshed out, it seems GW are going for a storyline that unfolds over time, with the release of supplements and scenario books. There is potential for this to be an interesting setting, however right now it seems fairly generic fantasy fare. All the darkness has gone, but in all honesty I think that this is maybe not a bad thing, in a world where Game of Thrones, a very dark low fantasy story is one of the most watched shows on tv fantasy as a genre is striving to become darker and more gritty, so I think it's a pretty brave move of GW to bring a bit of light and magic back to the genre. In this setting it is chaos that is on the back foot. The Stormcast's are the ones invading the chaos held realms, they are the invaders, where previously it was Chaos that was the ever present threat. So we shall see it's early days, I think it's important to remember this is an entirely new game and new setting, its an evolution.
Is it a Money Spinner?
I think it is important to remember that above all else GW is a business, it's main goal is to make money. This opinion will put many peoples nose out of joint, as hobbyists we have a lot of emotional attachment to the games and setting. To us these games are a lot more than just products, they are stories and concepts that we have built an attachment to, for me I have been with WFB for nearly 20 years. Each character death in the End Times book was like a personal blow, I grew up with these characters and in some respects it felt like losing old friends. I'm quite sure there were people in the GW design studio who felt the same. But ultimately as a company GW needs to make money. If we want to continue to enjoy these products GW has to stay in business so they can keep making them and putting out new content. I honestly believe if this was just a money spinner, GW would have simply discontinued the game and concentrated their efforts on 40k. Like I said earlier 40k is GW's bread winner, so if this was simply about money what would be the point in continuing with a product that was causing you to haemorrhage cash. The problem with WFB was that it required a huge buy in, fantasy armies comprised of multiple units with a high model count. This poses a few issues, to get a decent game you needed a lot of models. One box of miniatures would often only equate to half a unit. A decent sized game would often comprise of 2000 points worth of models. Depending on a units points cost an army would usually comprise of around 5 blocks of troops. So if we say 5 units, that's 10 boxes of models, costing around £20 each (again depends on the unit). So already that is £200 and that is for a basic sized army (this is also a conservative estimate on price). This is before you have bought paints, brushes, glue, modelling tools, army book etc taking the total cost to over £300. Now imagine you are a 10 year old kid who wants to get into the game. Not many kids have that kind of money to throw away. Then there is the huge time investment of painting and modelling and learning the rules, which to be frank were not the easiest to learn. As we know for a 10 year old there are other distractions out there, namely games consoles, that require little time investment at all. Suddenly all those models become half made lumps of plastic gathering dust on a shelf or in a box at the bottom of a wardrobe. That 10 year old kid in all probability is not going to return to GW, hence they lose a customer. Age of Sigmar by contrast needs a lot less models, the rules are simple and free, army books are gone, replaced by warscrolls, also free online, (before an army book was essential to play the game and could cost around £30). The starter set is great value for money and you can actually play a decent game with the components. In fact the age of Sigmar starter box is amazing value for money. To put this into perspective the box contains 2 starter armies, a unit of Stormcast Eternals costs £30, that's just one unit. The starter set itself costs £75, it has 2 Stormcast units not to mention the rest of the army and the chaos force that is included in the set. So you can see it is actually a massive saving. So some one new wanting to get into the game can do so relatively cheaply. The Stormcast Eternals have had a lot of criticism levelled at them for being Space Marine clones for fantasy and therefore an attempt to cash in on the success of Space Marines. My view on this is why not, fantasy never had a poster boy and now it has. If Space Marines are a best seller why not try a fantasy equivalent. Yes it is a bit shameless but in my opinion they look cool. They are also great for new starters because they are big, bulky and easy to paint.They look like super heroes and that will attract a younger demographic. Especially as super heroes are the new hotness with the advent of Marvel's conquest of the cinema. At the end of the day a lot of us veterans get a bit precious about GW forgetting about us, we have invested in them for years and they repay us by killing our game and setting. But honestly, a lot of us already have army's, those of us who have been with the game for years have multiple armies. There is no necessity for us to buy, so GW needed something to attract new blood and the Stormcasts are perfect for this. So in conclusion no I don't think this is a cash grab, I think it is a smart business decision to save the essence of WFB whilst making it more accessible to younger/new players.
AoS may not be what we expected as the next edition of WFB, but honestly it is not the next edition, it's the 1st edition of a new game. It's a game for a new generation of gamer and frankly I like it. This is something I can introduce my son to when he older. Yes it is different from what once was, but change is part of life, we adapt and overcome. We are living in a golden age of miniature wargames with more choice out there than ever before. Kickstarters spring up daily, offering us the chance to invest in games we want to see become successful. If you don't like the new direction of Warhammer fantasy there are other games out there. Kings of War, War Machine and Hordes etc. Or you could just carry on playing 8th Edition nothing is stopping you. But from my point of view AoS is here to stay. GW would not have put a statue of a Stormcast Eternal outside their HQ if they were not totally invested in this. Warhammer Fantasy is not dead, its simply evolved.
Fast forward to the present and it seems that my once beloved game is dead. The setting gone/transformed into something totally different. From what I have read online Warhammer: Age of Sigmar has polarised the community. Its totally Marmite, you either love it or hate it, some have embraced it and others have taken to ebay to sell their Warhammer Fantasy collections as if enacting a bizarre funeral right. Criticisms range from a dumbing down of the new setting, overly simplified rules and even accusations of it just being a money spinner for GW. This opinion seems to come from the introduction of the new Stormcast Eternal faction, or as they are being called by the community Sigmarines. Do I agree with these opinions? well that's a long winded question. Let me break my answer down.
Rules
I will agree the rules are quite simple the rule book that comes in the boxed game is pamphlet sized and can be obtained as a free PDF download on GW's website. But frankly simple is not always a bad thing, ever heard the term minutes to learn a life time to master? I believe this will be the case for AoS. Chess is a simple game, but that does not mean it lacks tactical depth. Its the same for AoS. It's a grower not a shower, it's not yet put all it's cards on the table so to speak. I think a lot of the disappointment lies with the fact that people thought this would be the next edition of Warhammer FB. But it is not, it's an entirely different beast. Stat lines have changed, points costs have gone and the ranking up of figures in large unit blocks is no longer necessary. Army books are gone and have been replaced by warscrolls that detail a units stats and abilities these can also be obtained free on the GW website of via an AoS phone/tablet app. It is not a mass battle game like WFB but at the same time its not really a small model count skirmish game either. In short it's completely scaleable to the kind of game you want to play. Want a game with 100's of models? Great AoS will let you do this. Want a game with about 30 models a side, AoS allows you to do this. In short it is a much more versatile game. Yeah the fact that points cost's are gone could be construed as an issue, as it no longer restricts players to equal sized forces. But A, when in history have battles ever been fought with completely equally matched forces and B, just use your common sense, as human being we have the ability to work out what is fair. So in short in terms of rules I think the game has depth, it is easier for younger players to pick up, and should prove a challenge to more veteran players, especially when more units and terrain pieces have been released. Plus the option for lower model count games makes AoS more financially accessible. I'm not saying its cheap (GW seldom is nowadays) but it is far more accessible than WFB which required large blocks of infantry usually over 100 models a side to play a decent game.
Setting/Fluff (long ramble)
I have to admit I am not a great fan of the new setting. To give a bit of background, WFB was set predominantly in the Old World there. To all intents and purposes it was like a fantasy version of Renaissance Europe with magic and monsters thrown in for good measure and it was grim like grimmer than Game of Thrones grim. The idea was that humanity and the forces of order were locked in a constant battle with the forces of chaos. In short if you were a peasant in this world your outlook was pretty dire indeed. The likelihood of your existence was you would probably fall foul to orcs, beastmen, undead, chaos incursions, or even elves if you strayed to close to the edge of the forest. Not to mention you could also end up with some vile mutation which would get you burnt by witch hunters. The "good" races were morally ambiguous, The Empire was constantly defending its borders, but was also subject to religious and political turmoil. The Elves were fractured into 3 separate peoples, aloof high elves who's island kingdom was beset by courtly back biting and an almost xenophobic attitude to the outside world. The blood thirsty Dark Elves, who were into enslaving people for the purpose of blood sacrifice to their murder god. The Wood Elves basically xenophobic tree huggers with itchy bow strings. The dwarves had hid themselves away in their underground kingdoms, turning their backs on the troubles of the outside world. Then we had the Bretonians, chivalrous knights, who like in our own history treated the peasantry as subhuman. Lastly we have the Lizardmen, basically reptilian dinosaur riding Aztecs, created by godlike aliens known as the old ones as labourers. As you can see this was a dark setting, but also had a smattering of with influences from Tolkien, Lovecraft and Moorcock with a smattering of black humour in the vein of Black Adder. More often than not mighty heroes would fight terrifying monsters and slay them in single combat, only to be crushed to death under said monsters weight. The tone of WFB was always one of a foreboding sense of the inevitable everyone was doomed, the four Chaos Gods Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh ever plotting to drown the world in cataclysm . This is pretty much how the setting remained for 20 years. Some things got changed or simplified, but the fundamentals were always there. In 2004 (I think) there was an attempt at a player driven narrative campaign called the Storm of Chaos, which saw Archaon the Everchosen finally ready to launch an incursion into the Empire and Enter the Flames of Ulric in Middenheim. This campaign was supposed to progress what had been a pretty stagnant storyline. The idea was that players would log results of victories from games played in store etc. The campaign had scenarios which would have knock on effects in following scenarios throughout the campaign, dependent on factors like victory conditions etc. The outcome was that Archaon did not succeed and an was in fact unceremoniously knocked unconscious by the Orc War Chief Grimgor Ironhide (an unlikely hero). Though a little silly this did have notes of some of the dark humour of the setting, humanities saviour ultimately taking the form of something equally as monstrous as the antagonising forces. However in later editions of the game, the Storm of Chaos campaign and the attempt to progress the settings narrative was forgotten. Fast forward to September 2014 GW releases the first of the End Times books, Nagash. Now Nagash, is kind of like Warhammers version of Sauron or Voldemort, he created necromancy and most undead creatures. He is a historical figure in the setting in the sense that he has been killed and defeated multiple times, though his essence remained in items and books that he had created in life. Think a bit like horcruxes before Harry Potter. His return is the first major event in the End Times narrative. Towards the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 four more End Times books were released, Glotkin, Khaine, Thanquol and Archaon. Loads of crazy shit happens in these four books, characters that have been in the lore for years get killed. Some get resurrected, the winds of magic enter into mortal hosts creating the incarnates and the God King Sigmar returns for one final battle. But ultimately the Warhammer World we all knew a loved ends up being torn apart and everyone dies. That sense of foreboding futility wasn't unfounded.
Enter the Age of Sigmar, as it turns out Sigmar survived the death of the old world and apparently clung to the fiery core of the planet which hurled through space and got caught by this cosmic dragon. Who then helped Sigmar learn to traverse the realms through realm gates. Whilst travelling the realms Sigmar discovers other survivors from the old world who have now become gods themselves. These gods unite and usher a cosmic realm spanning age of utopia. But as is always the case the Gods soon tire of working with each other and follow their own agendas. Chaos finds a way to break into these new realms and as is always the case with Chaos manages to fuck everything up for everyone, the bastards. Sigmar retreats to his realm of Azyrheim where he broods for a few millennia and decides to create the Stormcast Eternals, a heavenly army forged from the souls of the greatest warriors of the realms. He then opens the Gates of Azyrheim and unleashes his new army on the forces of chaos. So yeah,big Epic fantasy story. What is my issue. Well frankly its all just a bit wishy washy, these realms are not simply realms as in kingdom states, they are planes of existence. Each realm is a world unto itself, in addition each realm corresponds to a wind of magic, so there is a fire realm, a realm of death, a realm of metal etc. At this point in the story each realm has been thoroughly taken over by the powers of Chaos. Hence the reason for Sigmar's Stormcast army, who's purpose is to take back the realms. Suddenly the story line is starting to seem all too familiar. An army of superhuman warriors taking back worlds for the good of mankind and other mortal races. Seems a lot like the premise of 40k, the Stormcast Eternals are definitely fantasy proxy's of space marines. The realms could easily be seen as worlds that need to be bought in compliance and Sigmar the God King is an absolute dead ringer for the God Emperor. Now it is no secret that 40k outsells fantasy and Space Marines make up for the majority of sales. So it does make sense from a selling perspective that GW would try and make Warhammer AoS similar to its's best selling game. However my issue with Stormcasts is that despite all appearances, from a narrative perspective they do not have that something that makes Space Marines special. To look at the models are impressive, they look superhuman and in terms of scale and are much closer to the size a space marine model should be. Space Marine models are not much bigger than a basic guardsmen but they are supposed to be 8ft tall angels of death. The Stormcast models dwarf them. However the Stormcasts despite their stylish and imposing appearance are not Space Marines. The background of the Stormcast are that they are the greatest warriors of the realms that are taken from their native realms and reforged into heavenly champions. In the process of becoming a Stormcast Eternal a lot of their humanity is lost a long with memories of their former life. Also each time a Stormcast dies they are simply transported back to Azyrheim where they are reforged and once again all their memories are lost, so in many respects they don't die however anything that gave them personality or depth falls by the wayside. Space Marines go through a similar process, they are genetically enhanced to the point they become something more and in some respects a lot less than a normal human being. They go through a process of indoctrination that wipes away a lot of their former life. However each Space Marine does have their own personality, they are functionally immortal and a lot of their human life is eclipsed by centuries of life on the battlefield. But their is still that core of humanity to them that gives us some empathy towards them. The very reason the Horus Heresy series of books has been so popular is that we get insights into the human side of Space Marines they may be superhuman, but they make mistakes, they fall just like the rest of us do. They are subject to petty jealousy and envy, we become attached to key characters because we can see their struggle with what they have become. To once be human, but then essentially to be turned into a weapon, to never feel love except for the exhilaration of battle. To be the watchers of humanity but never actually be part of humanity. There is a great sense of tragedy to Space Marines. There is none of this with the Stormcasts, they are completely faceless. In many respects they are identical to daemons, because like daemons each time they are vanquished they return to Azyrheim to be reforged, similarly daemons simply return to the realm of chaos. The only difference is daemons actually have personality and remember the battles and foes they have fought and these are the villains!!! The Stormcasts are they good guys, who we are supposed to route for, there should be more to them than cool aesthetics, we need to care about them. This said its early days and hopefully GW will expand upon the concept of them having no memory, there is potential there for interesting stories. What if a Stormcast started getting flash backs, what if he remembered his former life etc. In conclusion, I think the setting has not yet been fully fleshed out, it seems GW are going for a storyline that unfolds over time, with the release of supplements and scenario books. There is potential for this to be an interesting setting, however right now it seems fairly generic fantasy fare. All the darkness has gone, but in all honesty I think that this is maybe not a bad thing, in a world where Game of Thrones, a very dark low fantasy story is one of the most watched shows on tv fantasy as a genre is striving to become darker and more gritty, so I think it's a pretty brave move of GW to bring a bit of light and magic back to the genre. In this setting it is chaos that is on the back foot. The Stormcast's are the ones invading the chaos held realms, they are the invaders, where previously it was Chaos that was the ever present threat. So we shall see it's early days, I think it's important to remember this is an entirely new game and new setting, its an evolution.
Is it a Money Spinner?
I think it is important to remember that above all else GW is a business, it's main goal is to make money. This opinion will put many peoples nose out of joint, as hobbyists we have a lot of emotional attachment to the games and setting. To us these games are a lot more than just products, they are stories and concepts that we have built an attachment to, for me I have been with WFB for nearly 20 years. Each character death in the End Times book was like a personal blow, I grew up with these characters and in some respects it felt like losing old friends. I'm quite sure there were people in the GW design studio who felt the same. But ultimately as a company GW needs to make money. If we want to continue to enjoy these products GW has to stay in business so they can keep making them and putting out new content. I honestly believe if this was just a money spinner, GW would have simply discontinued the game and concentrated their efforts on 40k. Like I said earlier 40k is GW's bread winner, so if this was simply about money what would be the point in continuing with a product that was causing you to haemorrhage cash. The problem with WFB was that it required a huge buy in, fantasy armies comprised of multiple units with a high model count. This poses a few issues, to get a decent game you needed a lot of models. One box of miniatures would often only equate to half a unit. A decent sized game would often comprise of 2000 points worth of models. Depending on a units points cost an army would usually comprise of around 5 blocks of troops. So if we say 5 units, that's 10 boxes of models, costing around £20 each (again depends on the unit). So already that is £200 and that is for a basic sized army (this is also a conservative estimate on price). This is before you have bought paints, brushes, glue, modelling tools, army book etc taking the total cost to over £300. Now imagine you are a 10 year old kid who wants to get into the game. Not many kids have that kind of money to throw away. Then there is the huge time investment of painting and modelling and learning the rules, which to be frank were not the easiest to learn. As we know for a 10 year old there are other distractions out there, namely games consoles, that require little time investment at all. Suddenly all those models become half made lumps of plastic gathering dust on a shelf or in a box at the bottom of a wardrobe. That 10 year old kid in all probability is not going to return to GW, hence they lose a customer. Age of Sigmar by contrast needs a lot less models, the rules are simple and free, army books are gone, replaced by warscrolls, also free online, (before an army book was essential to play the game and could cost around £30). The starter set is great value for money and you can actually play a decent game with the components. In fact the age of Sigmar starter box is amazing value for money. To put this into perspective the box contains 2 starter armies, a unit of Stormcast Eternals costs £30, that's just one unit. The starter set itself costs £75, it has 2 Stormcast units not to mention the rest of the army and the chaos force that is included in the set. So you can see it is actually a massive saving. So some one new wanting to get into the game can do so relatively cheaply. The Stormcast Eternals have had a lot of criticism levelled at them for being Space Marine clones for fantasy and therefore an attempt to cash in on the success of Space Marines. My view on this is why not, fantasy never had a poster boy and now it has. If Space Marines are a best seller why not try a fantasy equivalent. Yes it is a bit shameless but in my opinion they look cool. They are also great for new starters because they are big, bulky and easy to paint.They look like super heroes and that will attract a younger demographic. Especially as super heroes are the new hotness with the advent of Marvel's conquest of the cinema. At the end of the day a lot of us veterans get a bit precious about GW forgetting about us, we have invested in them for years and they repay us by killing our game and setting. But honestly, a lot of us already have army's, those of us who have been with the game for years have multiple armies. There is no necessity for us to buy, so GW needed something to attract new blood and the Stormcasts are perfect for this. So in conclusion no I don't think this is a cash grab, I think it is a smart business decision to save the essence of WFB whilst making it more accessible to younger/new players.
AoS may not be what we expected as the next edition of WFB, but honestly it is not the next edition, it's the 1st edition of a new game. It's a game for a new generation of gamer and frankly I like it. This is something I can introduce my son to when he older. Yes it is different from what once was, but change is part of life, we adapt and overcome. We are living in a golden age of miniature wargames with more choice out there than ever before. Kickstarters spring up daily, offering us the chance to invest in games we want to see become successful. If you don't like the new direction of Warhammer fantasy there are other games out there. Kings of War, War Machine and Hordes etc. Or you could just carry on playing 8th Edition nothing is stopping you. But from my point of view AoS is here to stay. GW would not have put a statue of a Stormcast Eternal outside their HQ if they were not totally invested in this. Warhammer Fantasy is not dead, its simply evolved.
Saturday, 18 July 2015
Its Been A While, I'm a Dad Now!!!
I remember when I first started this Blog, I went in with the best of intentions, but alas it seems to have fallen by the wayside. I think my last post was 3 years ago, First's for 2012 or something, I'd look back and check but my inherent laziness forbids me.
I have to say looking back then I didn't think in 3 years my life would change too much, i'm a complacent creature at the best of times. I dropped the weight (steadily regained a bit of it recently but that's through being a dad, I'm slowly working it off). Oh yeah I'm a dad now and my little boy Roo is coming up to his first Birthday. Fatherhood crept up on me to be honest, I never had any aspirations of being a father nor have I ever had any desire to have children. I always found the thought terrifying, not because of the whole its a tiny little life in your hands thing, nor the daunting responsibility thing. But mainly because it seemed fucking messy and time consuming, and believe me it is. What follows is a list of things that as a parent you may as well just kiss good bye too, In no particular order.
I have to say looking back then I didn't think in 3 years my life would change too much, i'm a complacent creature at the best of times. I dropped the weight (steadily regained a bit of it recently but that's through being a dad, I'm slowly working it off). Oh yeah I'm a dad now and my little boy Roo is coming up to his first Birthday. Fatherhood crept up on me to be honest, I never had any aspirations of being a father nor have I ever had any desire to have children. I always found the thought terrifying, not because of the whole its a tiny little life in your hands thing, nor the daunting responsibility thing. But mainly because it seemed fucking messy and time consuming, and believe me it is. What follows is a list of things that as a parent you may as well just kiss good bye too, In no particular order.
- 6-8 hours sleep, yeah its not going to happen, get used to it, At first it may seem like your little bundle of joy sleeps like a baby and then after a few weeks you realise who ever coined that phrase was a lying bastard. My biggest tip is buy a Tommy Tippee perfect prep machine, they are a life saver, it makes milk prep 100 times easier and you will get your money's worth out of it. Also buy a bungalow because soon those stairs are going to look like the crags of doom, as you drag your half conscious formula milk spattered carcass up and down for the majority of the night.
- Hobbies/Social Life etc, you will kid yourself that having a child doesn't change the fact that you are a human being with interests. Its bullshit, it's all baby now, all conversation is about baby,a 3rd of your shopping list is now dedicated to baby. Then when you finally find the time to sit down and actually indulge yourself, you end up drifting into an uneasy slumber.
- Sex, HAHAHAHAHAH!!! yeah right.
- Enjoying meals, More often than not you end up wolfing down your meals,especially when your child learns how to crawl. Then life simply descends into an odd games where your infant tries to injure themselves in ever more creative and elaborate ways and you try and stop them.
- Alcohol, you thought a crying baby was bad enough, then you got a hangover!!!
- Clean clothes, don't even think about trying to look nice from day to day. Drool, shit, piss and puke these will be your new brand names. The heady scent of vomit and baby wipes your new cologne.
I could think of more, now don't get me wrong being a parent is the most rewarding thing any human can do. Its a joy to see my little boy each day. But god its tough and by no means a walk in the park. Before the little man was conceived I was planning on buying a french bulldog and an Xbox 1. I have to say I wouldn't trade my boy for either of them.
Monday, 13 February 2012
Firsts for 2012
This just an update really, we are not that far into the year but I just wanted to share some of the 'firsts' by which I mean the first things i've done or purchased in 2012. Also i'm going to explore what I want to achieve this year, i'm 25 now and frankly I've got take life by the ears and fuck it into submission. So here we go.
First Blog
Well your reading it, to be honest I was really lax with blogging last year, something I wish to rectify.
First Cinema Experience
Coriolanus, I'm glad this is my first cinema experience of the year, in a word amazing. For a start because this is Shakespeare and pretty obscure Shakespeare at that, there were not many people in the screening, so no screaming kids, no restless teens chattering, in short before the film even started I was enjoying myself. The film itself was brilliant, I'd give it five stars easily a real triumph of British cinema. Now before I go on to describe why I enjoyed the film so much I just need to say that me and Coriolanus have a bit of history. In fact the play was one of the subjects I had to cover in my English AS exam. I remember on my first reading thinking this is the Bards take on an action thriller, The protagonist Martius is essentially the Roman worlds version of Rambo, he's a one man army at one point actually storming the gates single handed. I always wondered what this play would be like if committed to film and frankly Ralph Fiennes adaption pretty much correlates with what was in my minds eyes, back in dim and distant 2004 when I was studying for my AS examination. I don't want to say to much about plot, alls I want to say is this performances in this film are amazing. Ralph Fiennes is on top form as Martius and portrays the character in such away that he is both terrifying (honestly you don't want to fuck with this guy, he make nails question how hard they are) but also sympathetic, despite the fact that deep down Martius is a fascist with little of the people or civil rites you still find yourself cheering him on. Gerard Butler is very good as Aufidius and is believable as Martius's rival, his role is quite understated, don't expect any 'THIS IS SPARTA' nonsense here, essentially he plays a man living in anothers shadow. However the stand out performance for me was James Nesbitt as Sicinius, he's come a long way since Cold Feet. If there is a villain in Coriolanus its Sicinius and Nesbitt really makes him sizzle, Sicinius is a real bastard, a creature so Machiavellian he'd make the Borgias wince, Nesbitt really makes you hate this guy despite the fact that he is actually standing up for democracy. In addition to the brilliant performances there are also some amazing action scenes and although the violence is strong and at times disturbing it at no point crosses the boundry of violence for violence sake. All in all a must see for any fans of Shakespeare or action films.
First Album
Saint Jude Diary of a Soul Fiend
I discovered this band oddly enough whilst listening to another band called The Answer. On one of their tracks called 'Nowhere Freeway' I found myself blown away by the vocals of the singer Lynne Jackaman, after a quick web search I discovered she had her own band called Saint Jude. So I decided to have a listen to the track 'Soul on Fire'. On that track alone I decided to download the album off iTunes. I was not disappointed, this album is an awesome blend of Soul and Rock. Lynnes voice is amazing and really gives the music some edge. That said any one looking for a balls out hard rock album will be disappointed as there are a couple of slower tracks, but like I said this is at heart a Soul album. I really hope this band gets recognised as a major talent, an album well worth a look.
First DVD's
Troll Hunter and Captain America
I got these for my Birthday, i'm quite a comic book fan so Captain America was a must see as I never got round to seeing it on the cinema. Out of all the recent Super Hero films that have been released I have to say this one was a bit of a yawn fest (in fact I fell asleep halfway through). For some reason I just couldn't connect with Cap and frankly couldn't give a damn about him. Also I found the message in the film to be quite mixed, on one hand the film seemed to be saying it doesn't matter if you are small and weedy as long as you've got heart and the right attitude but this is then undermined by having the small weedy guy genetically engineered into a super soldier. The message therefore comes across its ok to be small and weedy as long as you've got heart but being 6ft 2 and badass doesn't hurt either!
Troll Hunter completely underwhelmed me, i'm quite a fan of Scandinavian cinema and I have a great love of the regions folklore and mythology so really this film should have been right up my street. I just found it dull, a paint by numbers found footage film that didn't really do anything new or have anything much to say. I mean sure I guess it had a message about the unknown, environmental conservation etc but this is nothing new. However that said the locations were breath taking and there was nice cinematography, I also like the design of the trolls as they reminded me of the art of Brian Froud and evoked a real sense of otherworldly wierdness. Also what annoys me about this film is yet again American studios have obtained the rights to make an American copy. Thats like the 3rd Scandinavian to date, we've had 'Let the Right One In' and 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and now we have 'Troll Hunter' but hey thats a rant for another day. Alls i'm going to say is sometimes things are lost in translation, don't believe me watch Ingar Bergman's 'The 7th Seal' with English dubbing and you will know what I mean.
What I want to achieve
1. A new job, frankly i'm tired of the retail sector, i've been working in shops since I was 17 and i've got knowhere plus my recent grab for promotion was pretty unsuccessful. So 2012 is the year to get out of this industry and find something new, hopefully with better pay.
2. Lose weight, this is one i've already started on, i'm in the Gym from 6:30am to 8:00am 4-5 days a week doing mostly cardio and the odd bit of weight training. Since 2010 after I moved into my new apartment I just gained weight rapidly, at the time I had two jobs I wasn't exercising and I was just eating crap, to top it off I was eating it late at night so I was going to bed on a full stomach. My goal at the end of the year is to have dropped 2 jean sizes, i'm not going for a target weight as i'm naturally heavy/muscular as it is. Believe it or not back in 2005 after I come home from my first semester of University I had a 30 inch waist and practically zero body fat because all I did was drink, fuck and study, I ate about twice a week. Even at that stage I weighed 13 stone and thats the skinniest i've ever been (its also the unhealthiest ever been) now as i'm 5'11 13 stone is technically over weight so aiming for a target weight is pointless.
3. I want to get the hell out of Stoke for a bit a see somewhere different and even visit some friends. Last time I got out of Stoke it was 2010.
4. Save some money, as a graduate I have a lot of debts so this one may be tough. but hell as long as I get the overdraft payed off i'll be happy.
Anyway thats, that.....
First Blog
Well your reading it, to be honest I was really lax with blogging last year, something I wish to rectify.
First Cinema Experience
Coriolanus, I'm glad this is my first cinema experience of the year, in a word amazing. For a start because this is Shakespeare and pretty obscure Shakespeare at that, there were not many people in the screening, so no screaming kids, no restless teens chattering, in short before the film even started I was enjoying myself. The film itself was brilliant, I'd give it five stars easily a real triumph of British cinema. Now before I go on to describe why I enjoyed the film so much I just need to say that me and Coriolanus have a bit of history. In fact the play was one of the subjects I had to cover in my English AS exam. I remember on my first reading thinking this is the Bards take on an action thriller, The protagonist Martius is essentially the Roman worlds version of Rambo, he's a one man army at one point actually storming the gates single handed. I always wondered what this play would be like if committed to film and frankly Ralph Fiennes adaption pretty much correlates with what was in my minds eyes, back in dim and distant 2004 when I was studying for my AS examination. I don't want to say to much about plot, alls I want to say is this performances in this film are amazing. Ralph Fiennes is on top form as Martius and portrays the character in such away that he is both terrifying (honestly you don't want to fuck with this guy, he make nails question how hard they are) but also sympathetic, despite the fact that deep down Martius is a fascist with little of the people or civil rites you still find yourself cheering him on. Gerard Butler is very good as Aufidius and is believable as Martius's rival, his role is quite understated, don't expect any 'THIS IS SPARTA' nonsense here, essentially he plays a man living in anothers shadow. However the stand out performance for me was James Nesbitt as Sicinius, he's come a long way since Cold Feet. If there is a villain in Coriolanus its Sicinius and Nesbitt really makes him sizzle, Sicinius is a real bastard, a creature so Machiavellian he'd make the Borgias wince, Nesbitt really makes you hate this guy despite the fact that he is actually standing up for democracy. In addition to the brilliant performances there are also some amazing action scenes and although the violence is strong and at times disturbing it at no point crosses the boundry of violence for violence sake. All in all a must see for any fans of Shakespeare or action films.
First Album
Saint Jude Diary of a Soul Fiend
I discovered this band oddly enough whilst listening to another band called The Answer. On one of their tracks called 'Nowhere Freeway' I found myself blown away by the vocals of the singer Lynne Jackaman, after a quick web search I discovered she had her own band called Saint Jude. So I decided to have a listen to the track 'Soul on Fire'. On that track alone I decided to download the album off iTunes. I was not disappointed, this album is an awesome blend of Soul and Rock. Lynnes voice is amazing and really gives the music some edge. That said any one looking for a balls out hard rock album will be disappointed as there are a couple of slower tracks, but like I said this is at heart a Soul album. I really hope this band gets recognised as a major talent, an album well worth a look.
First DVD's
Troll Hunter and Captain America
I got these for my Birthday, i'm quite a comic book fan so Captain America was a must see as I never got round to seeing it on the cinema. Out of all the recent Super Hero films that have been released I have to say this one was a bit of a yawn fest (in fact I fell asleep halfway through). For some reason I just couldn't connect with Cap and frankly couldn't give a damn about him. Also I found the message in the film to be quite mixed, on one hand the film seemed to be saying it doesn't matter if you are small and weedy as long as you've got heart and the right attitude but this is then undermined by having the small weedy guy genetically engineered into a super soldier. The message therefore comes across its ok to be small and weedy as long as you've got heart but being 6ft 2 and badass doesn't hurt either!
Troll Hunter completely underwhelmed me, i'm quite a fan of Scandinavian cinema and I have a great love of the regions folklore and mythology so really this film should have been right up my street. I just found it dull, a paint by numbers found footage film that didn't really do anything new or have anything much to say. I mean sure I guess it had a message about the unknown, environmental conservation etc but this is nothing new. However that said the locations were breath taking and there was nice cinematography, I also like the design of the trolls as they reminded me of the art of Brian Froud and evoked a real sense of otherworldly wierdness. Also what annoys me about this film is yet again American studios have obtained the rights to make an American copy. Thats like the 3rd Scandinavian to date, we've had 'Let the Right One In' and 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and now we have 'Troll Hunter' but hey thats a rant for another day. Alls i'm going to say is sometimes things are lost in translation, don't believe me watch Ingar Bergman's 'The 7th Seal' with English dubbing and you will know what I mean.
What I want to achieve
1. A new job, frankly i'm tired of the retail sector, i've been working in shops since I was 17 and i've got knowhere plus my recent grab for promotion was pretty unsuccessful. So 2012 is the year to get out of this industry and find something new, hopefully with better pay.
2. Lose weight, this is one i've already started on, i'm in the Gym from 6:30am to 8:00am 4-5 days a week doing mostly cardio and the odd bit of weight training. Since 2010 after I moved into my new apartment I just gained weight rapidly, at the time I had two jobs I wasn't exercising and I was just eating crap, to top it off I was eating it late at night so I was going to bed on a full stomach. My goal at the end of the year is to have dropped 2 jean sizes, i'm not going for a target weight as i'm naturally heavy/muscular as it is. Believe it or not back in 2005 after I come home from my first semester of University I had a 30 inch waist and practically zero body fat because all I did was drink, fuck and study, I ate about twice a week. Even at that stage I weighed 13 stone and thats the skinniest i've ever been (its also the unhealthiest ever been) now as i'm 5'11 13 stone is technically over weight so aiming for a target weight is pointless.
3. I want to get the hell out of Stoke for a bit a see somewhere different and even visit some friends. Last time I got out of Stoke it was 2010.
4. Save some money, as a graduate I have a lot of debts so this one may be tough. but hell as long as I get the overdraft payed off i'll be happy.
Anyway thats, that.....
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
The Vampire Subculture, folk just got queerer!!!
Now I’m an open minded kind of guy, I don’t really like to knock the beliefs, interests or ethics of other people, as the old saying goes ‘there is nout queerer than folk. Society is comprised of a myriad of personalities and in a world dominated by the worldwide web it is now easier than ever for people with common interest to meet and form communities.
Now despite being an atheist I have a bit of an interest in the supernatural, you know the shit that just makes your skin crawl. Now let me just establish I don’t believe in ghosts, ghouls or entities at least I don’t believe in them as the spirits of the deceased, behind every myth I believe there is a rational answer based on science and often the true answer can be more mind bogglingly interesting than the actual myth, still though these supposed true stories scare the shit out of me. So any way some times late at night I find myself trawling www.youtube.com looking for documentaries on ‘real life’ hauntings and other weird stuff. Anything that will prompt me to want to turn on the hallway light as I’m going to bed, then do the old Mohamed Ali trick of turning the light off and getting in bed before the room goes dark (I never succeed, I only end up pissing off my fiancée as I inevitably end up kicking her or bumping her in some way). It was on one such evening foray that I stumbled across a video purporting to be about ‘real vampires’ ummm scary shit I know, intrigued I delved in unsure of what I would discover.
Frederic Nietzsche wrote ‘If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you’. This was a lot like my experience of discovering the Vampire Subculture. Despite my misgivings and almost instantaneous cynicism towards this subculture, I had to delve deeper. Before long I was consumed by the sanguine abyss. As I stated before I do not like knocking the beliefs and interests of others, but on this occasion I’m making an exception to that rule. This has to be the oddest, most vacuous and superficial movement I have ever come across I honestly cannot see how it benefits any of it’s practitioners or members it’s very strange and frankly just pop culture inspired clap trap.
However this is what I’ve managed to glean from the interviews, documentaries and websites I have ‘blundered’ onto.
- Its not a form of Satanism, apparently these so called vampires like to follow the righteous path and have their own kind of code that they try and ‘live’ by. This code is known as the Black Veil and is comprised of five principles:
2. Adults: Living Vampirism is reserved for the adult mind. No minors shall be
formally initiated into the Family.
3. Blood: Living Vampires see Blood as a Metaphor for something far more subtle and do not drink of corporeal blood.
4. Quest: Living Vampires respect free will of all sentient beings and never proselytize, only inspire.
5. Secrets: What happens within the Family remains within the Family. Secrets bind and protect the Living Vampire.
So yeah, some quite interesting principles there, to be fair to them most are quite common sense, if you are going to have principles for a religion based on make believe creatures, at least make sure they are grounded. However some of these principles contradict certain aspects of this subculture, I will discuss this later. Also at this point I feel the need to add that these principles are completely at odds with the traditional concept of what a vampire actually is.
Most people will be familiar with Vampires as portrayed in modern culture. Dracula will come to mind straight away, closely followed by Interview with a Vampire, True Blood and for the screaming teenage girls out there Twilight. The development of the Vampire in western culture has gone from monstrous creature of the night to tortured hero. The original Vampire of European folklore was a very different beast from what now graces our cinema screens. These things were wretched creatures that stank of grave soil, they were bloated with the blood of their victims and sported long dagger like nails; in short these things were fucking predators, one up on the food chain from us. This in a way is what annoys me most about this subculture come religion, their version of vampirism is based on the romantic and therefore the convenient. Why not get closer to the root of the vampire tradition? Well the answer to this is they can’t because like the rest of humanity they are little more than sheep, albeit sheep dressed in wolves clothing. They may feel empowered by their gothic clothing and prosthetic fangs, but this empowerment is merely an illusion, amongst their inner circle, yeah, they will feel a part of something, but on the tube/bus home they will stand out like a saw thumb and inevitably be preyed upon by societies real predators (I’m going to say chavs) , if not physically then at least verbally. Thus the ‘great predator’ becomes little more than an isolated individual in a Halloween costume, on the wrong night of the year. I have digressed and I apologise.
So what else did I find out, back to the bullet points folks!!!
· There are apparently three kinds of Vampire in this subculture (honestly its like reading the fucking D&D monster manual):
1. Sanguinarians, this type feeds on blood apparently. Now aside from this being a, Dangerous b, Nasty and c, plain weird I take further issue with this grim little practice. Principle no.3 of ‘The Black Veil’ states quite firmly blood is seen as a metaphor and no corporeal blood is partaken of. Well this statement is clearly null and void as ‘Sanguinarians’ are defined by their consummation of the good old Kensington Gore (fans of Hammer Horror will get this reference). In fact there are videos of this practice on discovery channel documentaries (yeah NatGeo did a whole expo on this shit).
2. Psychic Vampires or Psi’s for short, eurgh this one is just plain nonsense. The very concept of it is ephemeral and like the skin of an old fish wife completely translucent and without substance. Apparently this type feed off ‘psychic’ energies (oooo the energies, the energies!!!) they drain this ‘energy’ from a persons aura and believe that it helps repair damaged chakra’s. As an atheist I have to scoff at this, on principle, energy ffs.
3. Then there are hybrids, a mixture of both Psi’s and Sanguinarians. So essentially double the nonsense.
· The figurehead of this subculture is a guy called Don Henrie, (he was the subject of the NatGeo documentary I was talking about) he styles himself as the Vampire Emperor (I never knew the undead were imperialistic, or had an Empire, cant see them having much of an economic policy really). He is apparently a hybrid (well he’d have to be right) a celibate and apparently has distanced himself from secular society in order to pursue priestly activities and the study of different religions (I cant really fault this, as nothing is greater than the pursuit of knowledge). Doing a quick web search it also appears that Don was an electronics engineer prior to his TV career that, he is also Gothic and alternate clothing model (I have to wonder if he was a ‘vampire’ during his engineer career, maybe something harrowing happened meh I dunno).
· Some members of the Vampire Subculture believe they need human blood to survive. Don Henrie himself has said on many shows that I he feels a need for blood, some also maintain that they have an aversion towards sunlight. Again Don Henrie has stated he gets sun sickness very easily.
· Many Vampires belong to covens; however they lead quite solitary lives outside the coven.
· There are a circle of donors who provide blood for the vampires, they are heavily screened.
· The general consensus among Vampire is that they are just another breed of human, just like there are many different breeds of cats and dogs.
Ok I’m going to have to stop here, or else I’m going to be at this all night and that abyss I was talking about earlier is threatening to devour me body and what ever passes for the atheist version of a soul. As you can probably tell from the information I have put up, this subculture is fucking cracked. Now yeah I understand that it’s an outlet for people with strange almost fetishist interest in Vampires . That’s not what bothers me, what bothers me is that this subculture/religion is nothing but an extreme emulation of modern fiction, its theatre played out on a stage of documentaries and reality shows. A superficial psychodrama enacted for the entire world to see, it uses shock value as its main hook enticing people in to be revolted or enthralled. It enlightens no one, conformists are repulsed by it, intelligent people will mock or simply ignore it and all the while the practitioners will sit back feeling elevated by the fact that they are more enlightened than those around them who scoff and regard them as simple freaks. Well I’ll be honest Vampire people, I don’t think you are freaks and that’s the issue, if you were freaks I could forgive you. You are just like everyone else, striving pitifully for that precious fifteen minutes of fame, you are the kid who eats worms in the play ground, only you have swapped worms for haemoglobin and when the cameras shutter closes nothing is left but makeup and prosthesis. You will never be true Vampires because if literature and legend has taught us anything about these supernatural beings, the power of the Vampire comes from its ability to blend in, to transform, and to be hidden, there is a lesson in that somewhere and lesson we could all learn from
Anyway, I hope this has given some insight and provoked some thought. I’ll add links for those who wish to delve deeper. Good Night!!!
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=don+henrie+vampire&aq=1&oq=don+henr
http://www.sanguinarium.net/
Saturday, 16 July 2011
The Kids Aint Alright!!!
I’ll warn you this is going to be a rant, but before the inevitable vitriol starts seeping through my pores like some kind of venomous ichor let me take you back, back to 1993. A little film was released about Dinosaurs, you may have heard of it, Jurassic Park I believe it was called. At the time of its release I was 6 years old and well Dinosaurs were my life, I had books, toys, board games and mugs, so as you can imagine when I saw a review of the film on the long extinct show, Movies, Games and Videos (if any readers remember this show, 10 nostalgia points.!) I jumped for joy, it was a must see. Luckily the film was a PG so my mother and my auntie took me and my three cousins to go and see it at the local Odeon and so began my love of film. Seeing these larger than life creatures alive on screen simply blew me away and along with my cousins I stayed routed to my seat until the end credits rolled.
Note that I said me and my cousins stayed routed to our seats until the credit sequence, the four of us were between the ages of 4 and 9 with only two adults to mind us, yet still we stayed firmly in our seats and at no point did we utter as much as a word. All of us knew this was a rare treat, an experience to be savoured and enjoyed and we were grateful for it. Nowadays this just does not seem to be the case; the spectacle of the Cinema seems to be completely lost on children. On more than one occasion now I have gone to see a film rated between PG-12A and I have had my experience utterly ruined by the following:
- A screaming child
- A group of screaming children
- A child on a mobile phone
- A child running around the screen
- A child kicking my seat repeatedly
- An unruly parent screaming at an unruly child
- A mixture of all of the above
Now I know what some of you may be thinking, if you don’t want to endure this kind of crap then don’t watch kids movies. To this I reply, well just because a film is PG-12A doesn’t mean it’s just for kids (hell Watership Down is a U rating and about bunnies and that shit is fucking harsh). The certificate is a reflection of the films content; Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus for example is PG but a kid’s film it aint. But even then what if it was a kids film? Harry Potter for example started life as a book aimed squarely at children, yet the adult following is vast. The cold fact of the matter is that when all is said and done I have paid between £6 and £7 of my hard earned money to immerse myself in the cinema experience. Frankly it is hard to enjoy or immerse oneself if there is an unruly cretin of a four year old using the seat next you as a trampoline, wailing like a fucking banshee, as his mother snaffles her way through a pack of revels, completely oblivious to the anti Christ she has inflicted on the world.
So to all those cinemas out there I beg you, please make straight jackets and muzzles compulsory for under 15 screenings, either that or just hobble the children on entry.
Note: This rant was inspired by that little bastard that ruined my enjoyment of Transformers: Dark of the Moon…..If you are reading this, Santa is dead, Optimus Prime killed him.
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Monday, 11 July 2011
So here I am!!!
So this is the first in what I hope to be many blog entries, I say this but frankly due to my changeable (some would say capricious) nature this may well be the only entry I make, we shall see.
So what should you expect, the title may fool you into thinking this is a historical blog, well I'm sorry to disappoint but this is not that kind of blog. The title "Built for the Dark Age" is simply an insight into my sometimes barbaric alcohol fuelled nature, a few bottles of my choice tipple and I'm a regular Attila the Hun. What you can expect is film reviews, random musings and the odd rant, original I know!!!
So peruse, enjoy and comment
So what should you expect, the title may fool you into thinking this is a historical blog, well I'm sorry to disappoint but this is not that kind of blog. The title "Built for the Dark Age" is simply an insight into my sometimes barbaric alcohol fuelled nature, a few bottles of my choice tipple and I'm a regular Attila the Hun. What you can expect is film reviews, random musings and the odd rant, original I know!!!
So peruse, enjoy and comment
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