*sigh*

Tonight, I managed to get my hands on the newest Iced Earth album. Now keep in mind, this is one of my favorite bands, and I've lusted after Mattew Barlow's voice since it first growled out of my speakers. So I've been /really/ looking forward to the new release, and it was with much joy and elation that I popped the disc into my machine. And I waited. The first track was an instrumental. And then the singing starts...

*blink* WtF?!

The voice is familiar, but it's NOT Matthew Barlow...

It sounds an awful lot like... Judas Priest, doing an Iced Earth cover...

So I go digging... and discover that Tim Owens is listed as the vocalist. *blinks* What the... well, at least I know why it sounds like JP. So what happened to the sultry sounding Barlow?

I dive back into my digging, and on the band's website (click the link in the first paragraph, silly), and discover... that Matthew left the band in the wake of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks on the US. Left the band, in fact, to go to law school... and from there to the Department of Homeland Security. *blinks*

*scratches her head and sighs*

It's what he felt he should be doing with his life; I simply can't fault him for his motivations and choices. Tim Owens isn't a bad vocalist, either. The album's solid and quite good, and not a regret. But I, for one, miss very acutely the deep purr of Mathhew Barlow's voice...

Very acutely.

*sigh*

(no subject)

Until a few hours ago, this had been one of the bleakest days I'd had in a long time. Depression plus pain plus rain plus impending birthday had me pretty badly knotted up. Knowing this, I intentionally curled up tonight behind my computer with a series of AMVs, most of which I snagged from Anime Music Videos. In addition to this was the first episode, fansubbed, of Le Portrait de Petite Cossette.

It left me shaking and awed.

Metropolis destroyed me. Chobits had me in tears. This... this is something astounding and wonderful and horrific and beautiful all bundled into one package. I /have/ to recommend it, even if most folks will think me utterly insane. There's simply something that potent lying in wait there.

And my mood has lifted some. The lineup of AMVs that followed it actually had me smiling. Since I now have a PILE of rented or borrowed DVDs to watch, I think I'll do that tomorrow instead of getting drunk. It's a better use of time and won't wreak havoc with my meds. :p So tonight, I believe I'm going to curl up and watch Alien 3. Might as well ssee just how effective the amitriptyline is, right? If I can sleep after, then I'll know it's up to the task.

And I've remembered to eat today, managing to get two fairly well rounded meals down. And keep them down. That seems to be the trick anymore; a misstep yesterday blew out my bad knee again, and cost me my lunch when the pain hit. I've had more success with today, so that's got to count for something. Anyway, I'm going to wander now.

*hugs*