The Beginning of My Journey

An Introduction

Good afternoon dear readers. I am aware that the blog at this moment looks ugly, and there will be improvements made to it in the coming weeks once my classes are concluded. A little bit about myself; I am a fan of entertainment, not really something that is all that unique or mind blowing about a person. However, I feel I have a lot to say about certain types of entertainment, whether it'd be music or comic books or films or a whole plethora of other topics. I will describe myself as passionate, someone who knows a great deal about what he is talking but is always willing to open himself to new pieces of information or new types of genres or styles that he has not heard of or experienced.

Some of you who will read this may know me as Professional Elite Overlord on Twitter; my real name is Ian. A lot of you know that one of my biggest passions is music, especially metal, and that I have been doing retrospectives of bands on my profile (almost done with a second one). This is where I will put new retrospectives from now on, so as not to bury my writings with daily Twitter posts. Nothing further to say, but expect album reviews, band and solo artist retrospective, comic book discussions, and movie reviews whenever I feel inspired to do them. I hope that many of you will stick around with me on this project as I have a lot of great ideas that I think many readers will enjoy.

Until then, take care and I'll see you around.

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Rush Retrospective Part 13: Presto (1989)

Rush hit a tiny speed bump in their career, it was only a matter of time. Luckily, this creative misfire wasn’t even close to stopping Rush’s creative output and in 1989, as the eighties were nearing their conclusion, the band released their final record in the decade that showcased them at their most prolific and creative. With a switch to a new record label, the legendary Atlantic Records, and a new producer at the helm, Rupert Hine, the band was ready to close out the decade in a strong fashion. The big question though was if the trio was going to learn from the mistakes that plagued “Hold Your ”? The answer:...kind of… The album opens with “Show Don’t Tell”, and it kicks off with Alex Lifeson delivering a nice crunchy riff, and it shows the band kind of returning to stronger guitar presence, or at least one that isn’t as clean as what was exhibited on previous releases. There are still keyboards on this track, and on the album as a whole, but they seem to be scaled bac

Rush Retrospective Part 15: Counterparts (1993)

Approaching the Alien Shore The year is 1993. If the eighties were a big shake up in the music landscape for Rush, it was nothing compared to this section of the nineties. To give clarity, only two and a half weeks after the release of “Roll the Bones”, on September 24th, 1991, a little band in Seattle released their sophomore album: “Nevermind”. To say that this record was a shake up for the rock world would be a gross understatement, almost single handedly pushing the rock genre into a new era. With this shakeup, how would Rush be able to compete in this landscape of grunge and alternative rock? Would they fail to rise up to the challenge as many legacy acts succumb to at this time? The answer: ...a resounding hell to the no. To assist them in the project, the band entrusted the help of producer Peter Collins, the man who worked with them in the past on “Power Windows” and “Hold Your Fire”. With this change, “Counterparts” production is meatier, heav

Rush Retrospective Part 12: Hold Your Fire (1987)

Facing the Killing Instinct Similar to “Caress of Steel”, 1987’s “Hold Your Fire” is another entry in the Rush catalog that hardcore Rush nerds looks on with...at best, suspicious glances and at worst vile contempt. I f the past three records were flirting with and eventually diving head first into the realms of synth and new-wave, this release is just drenched in that sound, even more than “Power Windows”. This was the album that broke the audience's patience with this synth heavy direction, with “Hold Your Fire” routinely regarded as one of the very few “bad” (by Rush’s lofty standards) albums the three have released in their career. At the very least the idea that the band presented was at least , this more chilled out experience than what was presented on previous releases. There are various jazz fusion influences such as Allan Holdsworth or Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, more focused on atmosphere than direct impact or aggression. In terms of standout tracks, the

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