Changing Your Skillset

This was originally going to be a much more serious note but given the theme of this blog, I had other thoughts on how to make this a bit more interesting.

Imagine having a loadout in Call of Duty that you feel good about but are still getting stomped in matches. Imagine having a Wizard with great skills but you don't quite cut it on higher difficulties. You tried so hard and geared up so well for the occasion just to realize the game is set to have certain classes be better than you by default. No matter what you do, the results are fixed. Someone could walk in brand new one of the pre-determined "good classes" and do better than you by putting in less work. Such is the fate or either a unbalanced game, or the need to buff the classes that aren't as good -- that's the same thing, really. Point being, if you have no control over your situation that is already decided for you, there is no moving forward.

There should always be a desire in one's life to move forward. Going backwards is a downgrade. You always want to do better for yourself. I found myself in a position upon moving which put me in a bind. I had to pinch pennies more than ever. I put myself in debt to move but it had to be done. Well, not quite in debt but I did spend more than I anticipated. I did this thinking I could recover my losses quickly. I made just enough for two months to cover rent, necessary bills, and some groceries. That's all. There wasn't much room for buying what I wanted or treating myself to fancy dinner wherever I wanted. Even more important, if a bill I forgot about came up that needed to be paid, I'd go against money I had saved in a separate bank account. Always have a "plan B" people. A plan C and D doesn't hurt either.

Month three (this month) has been different. I should see better results but all it will do is accomplish paying back on losses I should have recovered from the very next month after moving. With no sign of improvement and more than enough time to think, I decided it was time to step up again. I searched for jobs like crazy during these months. When I wasn't at work, I was lining up interviews in juggling VGHC/MachinaeTribe and MAYBE running a stream or having me time. There would usually only be time for one of those in a day. It's been stressful.

Much like the move from Call of Duty to Titanfall, the choice to leave my current job was a no brainer. The shift felt natural and not forced. If I wanted to dispose of a camper, I could ACTUALLY DO SO with ease. If you run into a camper in Call of Duty that knows the maps inside and out, they find that special spot and are untouchable for the whole match. I think Advanced Warfare MAY fix this problem but how many times do you have to put up with being promised one thing, just to be disappointed later on when said promise was never addressed? When you hear the same excuses year after year, you become the game series that cried wolf. This was the case where I was and I started to feel like less of a employee and more like a cog in the wheel.

To be fair, I made it very clear to my manager that this place has helped me tremendously as a person and financially. I like him versus all the other managers in the building including my previous one. This is not to knock my starting manager however as he was my start with the company and he is good at what he does. Sales is really something that surprised me that I was good at. Is it where I fit? Perhaps not...but I'm good at it apparently. If I can be recognized for what I actually do then I'm willing to take a chance with something new. My new job is a chance for both opportunity and advancement. I know lots of this may sound vague but I am trying to paint the picture to where people can understand. On the flip side, because I like to hold a sense of professionalism, I will not be going into explicit detail about why the leave was necessary.

I didn't want to continue to be in the "boat without a paddle" scenario, so I am doing what I can to not sink. Soon I will have my paddle and can get back on track again. The funny thing about this now finally changing for me is that I'm starting to have some improvement in other life aspects as well. Here are some examples of things I have in motion:

- Possible rotation of site content/Twitch streams for VGHC
- Increasing the MachinaeMondays staff (soon)
- Plans discussed for a future Machinae Supremacy podcast
- Started writing for Machriders and Another Castle
- Finally fixed up some things that I hadn't in the past three months of living in my apartment

I'm in a mode right now where change is a good thing. With change last year, great things came my way. What I needed to realize is this...I've got things to offer to this world. Anyone that doesn't appreciate what I do have to offer, I can simply wish them a good day, and move on to someone else and/or a place that will appreciate me. There's no better feeling than being appreciated in life but for the several times when you are not (rejection happens -- #dealwithit) said feeling must not be a crutch you rely on. Sorry my precious Wizard, we've had good times, but clearly I need to become a Witch Doctor to be good. Maybe somewhere down the line I can be creative, think outside the box, and not be restricted in my ways. I see the bigger picture and I think I will move up to just that. #ToTheFuture

(Yes I used two hashtags in this post)

UPDATE: I've also since this posting played Diablo III patch 2.1.0 which seems to have made other classes than the "pre-determined" classes a bit more viable. But to make my point even more clear after playing D3 with the update, it's become clear that work would never receive a patch update.

Phantom Shadow Album Review

Keeping my mouth shut for months was a hard thing to do but it's about that time where I can speak freely. Some reviews have already been put out there and very soon (if not already upon time of posting this) album number six, Phantom Shadow, by the legendary Machinae Supremacy will now be public for all to enjoy. I'll give you all the tl;dr version right here. Being one of the bigger contributors to the World Tour Fundraiser (WTF) I've had this for months. It HAS NOT left rotation in my car since.

Phantom Shadow marks something a bit different for Machinae Supremacy. It marks the first album to be a concept album. Parts of a story coming from the mind of Robert Stjärnström's have been teased in songs in the past but now, all is told in what is bound to be one of the best concept albums ever made. From start to finish, the album keeps you sucked in both musically, lyrically, and the replay value is there as well to take in the story. From the spoken bit teased in the album trailer that was put out to the epic closer, the album never skips a opportunity to wow you. Speaking of skipping, you won't be skipping tracks on this album, so let's forget that we can even do that at all.

This album has plenty of that thing all Machinae Supremacy fans seem to always want more of but can never get enough of - SID. It's all over the album. The SID presence on this album makes me think of the better days. This is in no way to take away from the last album, Rise of a Digital Nation but regardless of opinion, the album was over way too quickly. Phantom Shadow however offers sixty six minutes of pure win and awesome. Tell me about the album you say? Yeah, I know. You get it. It's awesome.

This album shifts between hard rocking MaSu tracks we all know and love, to slow yet beautiful tracks, to help set the scene for the story told. The former is masterfully done with tracks such as "Throne of Games" and it's thrash-like feel (I'd imagine this track is quite the workout for Niklas) and "The Bigger They Are the Harder they Fall" which are both headbangers for sure. The latter is achieved with one of MaSu's best tracks ever "Europa" and instrumental bits "Captured" and "Mortal Wound". Europa alone is worth giving this album a listen. This standout track offers a kickback to the track "Flagcarrier" with great instrumentals all around and dual vocals from Robert and Ingeborg Ekeland, mixed with stellar acoustic guitar playing by Michael Dawes, as well as beautiful violin work (also via Ingeborg) and equally astounding cello playing from Jessica Wang Cook.

"The Villain of this Story" is a solid opener for the album as fans have come to expect and finishes with SID that is bound to be turned into a ringtone on people's phones. This flows right into a equally as awesome sound bit in the beginning of the very next track, "Perfect Dark". "Renegades" comes off as a "fight song" but also is something to look forward to because of a part in the song that the crowd is bound to sing along to. Also, if you listen closely, you will hear familiar lyrics in this track as well from a older webography track. "The Second One" offers a bouncy track of sorts. Those that think back to A View From the End of the World will be pleased to hear this sequel of sorts to a equally fun track on that album. Those that can never get enough SID will love "Beyond Good and Evil" which was recently released as the first video for the album.

Another highlight for this album is hearing Tomi Luoma at work for the first time in the studio with Machinae. I'd say the fit is great and natural. "Phantom Battle" and "Versus" are great examples of great solos from both himself and Jonne. Brilliant solos are to be heard throughout the album between the two. Anyone that was worried about a different sound has nothing to worry about. None of this is to take away from Andreas of course because I rather enjoy bands where I don't have to have my ear against the speaker to hear the bass. The instrumentals overall are some of the best ever to be heard in a Machinae Supremacy album. Everyone plays as if they are genuinely involved in the story being told on this album. The musicianship reflect this and is part of what makes the album the masterpiece that it is.

Much like select tracks on RoaDN, Robert's vocals are supurb throughout and shows off a good range as the album progresses. Always unique and fitting the sound of the band, Robert puts his all into these tracks. Given that there is a story to tell, the right tones and feelings are there when they need to be. One of the better examples of everything said here is one of the bands best closing tracks yet, "Hubnester Rising". By the time the track fades out, one can easily go back in to listen yet again, and likely get something from the album that they didn't get the first time. This latest album just flows really well and is why I think fans will be stuck on this one for quite some time.

A point made many times, Redeemer is just one of those albums that reeks of creativity and some epic tracks. Many fans point to Redeemer as THE ALBUM (not counting webography tracks) to show off MaSu with to others. Dare I say it now has a contender for first place. If I wanted to be really critical on rating each album, it would be hard to decide if Phantom Shadow or Redeemer takes the slot. If I had to give a quick answer though on the spot, I would say Phantom Shadow takes top slot, hands down. The entirety that the album has to offer sound wise and story wise is simply the best of ear candy there is to offer. The kind of candy you devour yourself in when stress eating but without the shame afterwards - and you come back for seconds.

In conclusion, the fact is this. We shouldn't even try to compare this album to anything that has been released thus far. Being the only Machinae Supremacy concept album to date, it can easily stand on it's own. Because it offers something no other album has before as a whole, it stands as a gem in the collection that should be considered as separate from the bunch. Simply put, Phantom Shadow is not an album. It's an experience.


- Victor Max Vellon