This album was very raw and emotional. Overall I enjoyed it as a form of catharsis but their were quite a few things about it that turned me off, namely the metal cliches and all the talking.

Though I understand the depth of emotion she was attempting to get across, I found the very epic metaphors and comparisons she made to be almost laughable. All metal has this in some form or another, but it really stuck out in House of Secrets. Ultimately, her absurdly “metal” way of expression became funny at times and detracted from her message.

I found that Shattered Pieces and Suicide Trees would have been great if they had remained written pieces. Being read aloud to when I’m expecting music never works for me. There was far too much talking on this album.

The lead singer is no doubt talented. She can scream better than any leading man I’ve ever heard. I wonder if she can still talk after recording.

Either way, this album has its downfalls, but at the same time I think that anyone who has been through anything depressing or challenging in their lives can relate to some of their songs.

This is an incredibly personal album. It forces you to look at the darkest parts of yourself and of Tori. The lyrical composition is very emotional and very raw. I don’t think Tori edited herself at all when writing these songs and I definitely think this is a positive thing. Though at times her lyrics make no literal sense, they carry a great deal of depth and emotion. She is letting everything out and it acts as catharsis for both the singer and the listener.

I also enjoyed and admired the fact that a pop album could not only contain Tori’s very unique lyrics but instruments that you rarely here in modern songs, such as brass horns and the harpsichord. I didn’t think I’d ever hear a harpsichord outside of an Emilie Autumn album.

The highest points of the album were definitely “Blood Roses”, “Father Lucifer” and “Hey Jupiter”. Admittedly, I did not enjoy the second half of the album nearly as much as the first half.

This album is a living testament to not only Tori’s undeniable talent but her complex personality and emotions. I think everyone, especially women, should listen to this album and think about themselves.

This is most definitely party music. Rob Zombie has re-mixed some of his best for this album that will surely have you wanting to do a dark strip tease. “American Made Music to Strip By” takes party music in a completely different direction. It shows that you don’t need to listen to hip hop and R&B to bust a move. You can have your cake and eat it to!

There is nothing like sexy music with an edge. Loved this album.

This book was not a fantastic peace of work, but it was good for a beach-type of read. It was simple, easy to read through, with enough plot intricacy and subtle humor to keep me entertained. I have not read the first book, so I was a bit confused about the plethora of references to the other novel. Hopefully they will make it more clear on the book’s cover next time. Admittedly, the bits they referenced back to did pique my interest and I think I may read “The Dead Room” in the future.

I enjoyed Joe and Genevieve as a couple, though I believe Graham jumped into the closeness of their relationship a bit too early. It might have been a bit more suspenseful for everyone if she had kept them in limbo on their romantic relationship for awhile. Something different though I suppose.

The connection to Poe were what kept me interested. The red herrings throughout the book was appreciated, because I felt like I couldn’t predict what was going to happen. I still believe the entire story crumbled at the end, as though Graham could not come up with a suitable ending and simply threw one together. It was not paced correctly and seemed very, very random.

Graham should have gone in or out with the paranormal thing. Frankly, I wanted to see more of the ghostly things or take the out entirely. To me they simply hovered around in the story for deux ex machina purposes, which was extremely irritating. The ghosts seemed to have no other purpose but to tell the characters things and get them out of trouble when there was no other feasible escape method. Graham made a half hazard attempt to create minor conflict between Joe and Genevieve With the ghost thing but ultimately that fell short and didn’t seem legitimate. Overall, an interesting read for something I purchased on sale at the grocery store, but could have been a lot better.

This new NIN has me a bit torn. I’m not too fond of it, though I would most likely love it if I hadn’t listened to “The Downward Spiral” first.

Some of the excessively rhyming songs ended up getting annoying. I didn’t mind them in the long run I suppose, but certain tracks became very tedious because of this. “The Hand That Feeds” had a good idea in mind, but the lyrics themselves fell pray to the sing-songy lyrical setup, this was also the case with “Love Is Not Enough”.

My favorite tracks were “You Know What You Are” and “The Collector”. I also enjoyed “The Line Begins to Blur”.

I do understand that people want Trent to grow out of his angst subjects but truthfully I found this album to be the whiniest album of them all. The other albums seemed to be getting the point across in a more complex and thoughtful way. There is nothing wrong with being simplistic and straightforward, but I prefer the style of his previous work. The simplicity brought out the pure whiny factor much more, to the point where it became annoying in some places. He had to change sometime though. I hope the progress takes him in the right direction.

Overall this album was a lot more simplistic (in musical composition) and mainstream than his previous albums and though I enjoyed his edgier work more, I still found With Teeth to be worthy of consumption and I still respect Trent Reznor immensely. There are some low, cringe-worthy points and it could be quite a snore sometimes but in the grand scheme of things it wasn‘t nearly as bad as some people make it out to be

Though I didn’t like it as much as I liked “The Downward Spiral” it was still pretty good. “Survivalism” and “Capital G” were the best tracks.

his album is incredibly unique. There is nothing out there anything like Emilie Autumn. Her self-created genre, called “Victorian Industrial”, is a singular mixture of edgy industrial beats, classical violins and harpsichords, accompanied by Emilie’s equally vicious and pure vocal work.

Many of her songs were filled with clever references to historical figures and fictional characters. The subtle sexual innuendo and reference to Catherine Howard was greatly appreciated in the track “Marry Me”.

A lot of the tracks seemed to deal with her mentioned rape when she was 18 and I found many of those tracks to be the most powerful. This includes “Gothic Lolita”, “God Help Me”, “Let the Record Show”, and “I Want my Innocence Back”.

All that makes Emilie Autumn is wrapped up in this album. Victorian period, sexuality, rape, history, psychology, and a sharp tongue. I have far too many tracks I enjoy on thus album to possibly pick an ultimate favorite, but if I had to pick one it would most likely go to “Opheliac”.

And no offense to Emilie, but I found the song “Thank God I‘m Pretty” to be pretty hypocritical. The lyrics themselves were quite clever and her voice is lovely. But she of all people shouldn’t be discussing her audience not paying attention to her music and only to her body. No one is making her perform in lingerie. Just a thought. Still enjoyed the song though. My only complaint aside from that nitpicky detail is that at times she picks the strangest moments to change her vocal pitch and repeats certain lines of her lyrics too much. Sometimes they over-distort her voice with effects as well. I understand the industrial they’re going for, but there is a place for it.

Overall, Emilie Autumn has crafted a very unique genre with stimulating music and thoughtful, deliciously sarcastic lyrics. She is definitely one of my favorite artists.

There is simply too much to say about this album, so I’m keeping it short.

The sound alone, without the amazing lyrics, is a lot to take in. It is never boring. There is always some sort of auditory interest going on and a lot of unexpected beats added in. It keep you on your toes. As for the lyrics, I enjoyed the nilhistic themes. You could analyze them to death and they’d still be amazing. “Closer”, “Heresy”, and “I Do Not Once This” I particularly enjoyed.

I think this album is a new favorite for sure.

Oh, Linkin Park you giant ball of angst. I didn’t understand what made this album so wonderful. Their lyrics have always been rather angsty and angry, but that was when they were backed up by amazing beats and complex musical compositions. Now it’s incredibly simple, which isn’t always a bad thing, and because the lead’s singers vocals (as appealing as it is) and lyrics aren’t particularly original, they have made themselves sound like every other band with angsty lyrics.

Their political ventures were also a little odd. Though I agree with them, I really don’t want to listen to political preaching from Linkin Park.

I could barely get through the entire album. I was bored stiff.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed this album more if I didn’t know what I was missing, but I do and I’m not happy about it. Thumbs down for sure.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Sun Witch. The cheesy tag line and back-cover synopsis made it seem like it was going to be an overwrought, ridiculous Fabio-esque romance novel. The only reason I purchased it on amazon was because of the outstanding reviews it received (I tend to be very particular about my romance novels). I was completely wrong.

Though the first few pages start out a bit slow as the author establishes the political unrest within Columbiayana, you’ll come to appreciate the history later. The first sexual encounter in the beginning of the book changed things up a bit. I did begin to fear that this would end up being one of those romance novels that insists on having sex on every other page. Again, I was pleasantly surprised.

After this first scene, which was written in a stellar fashion without all the typical flowery language, there are very few full sex scenes. There is no doubt that this entire novel is sensual, but it does not cross that line and venture into vulgarity.

Ultimately I found the characters to be lovable, the plot intriguing, and the writing satisfactory. It is a very quick read when it hooks you in, you won’t be able to put it down. I can’t wait to read The Moon Witch and The Star Witch. This is good quality fantasy romance that is actually complex and seems like it took more than five minutes to write.