Once a week on Metal Hammer, we’ll be picking one of the best albums of the decade and lavishing you with the story behind the record, related videos and links. To kickstart the series, we’re taking a look at Slipknot’s landmark modern metal masterpiece, ‘Vol.3: (The Subliminal Verses).
"Check out this new and very, very unnerving development from the land of Outback Steakhouse and Hugh Jackman. This comes on the heels of our story just two days ago! It’s really getting freaky-freaky down there. Big-ups to Devil127 and Fyrehawk for the tips and links (story 1, story 2)
According to the “official” story, there was “no debris” or evidence of ANY KIND left in the crater…like some alien being did a galactic cannonball into the Australian desert and then just got up and WALKED AWAY. I want to stay clear of any *thing* — bot or not — that can do that! Imagine an elephant sitting on a juice box and you’re starting to get the idea. SQUIRT!
Let me leave you with this, a quote from one of the articles: “Space authorities said it was not uncommon for natural material to hit the earth, with about 100 tonnes of material entering the earth’s atmosphere every day.” That’s either 100 1-ton alien robots or 1 100-ton alien robot. I don’t know which I’d prefer. I think I’m going to go with NEITHER!"
"Okay, guys, this one has got me climbing the walls with anxiety. The US Air Force Research Laboratory is developing a rash of new surveillance and attack robots, varying in size from a swallow to a FLY. These things sneak, stalk, sense, spy, and SHPLAZAAAM explode on enemy combatants. Thanks to the ever-vigilant Agent Elemento P for pointing out this article in Esquire (and how dapper of you to be reading Esquire, P), and check out the crazy animated demo vid it links to.
These lil’ BUGGERS, charmingly nicknamed “Suburb Warriors” are a great way to fight terrorists without collateral damage, and hey, what’s better than that. As Esquire says, “Instead of dropping Hellfires or a 500-pound bomb on an insurgent hideout, one or more Suburb Warriors could fire a volley of mini-missiles at confirmed targets, without vaporizing the wedding reception next door.” But what’s going to keep me up tonight, and for many nights to follow, is the fear of these palm-sized cuties falling into the wrong hands. Like maybe hands that can bring them to life and turn them on humanity? The struggle against terror will look like a beach vollyball game if that happens. Because, as the Esquire article concludes: “You can run from tomorrow’s robotic hitmen, and you can hide, and they’ll flap or squirm or glide into position and kill you anyway.”
Posted by FASSINATOR
Looks like those clever Aussies are back in the news, TRED-heads! Doctor Jiri Janoucek and his team at Australian National University have moved us one step closer to actual teleportation as this article explains.
The team has been working on developing super fast quantum computers, but in the process has “developed a new approach to generating quantum entanglement in beams of light using only two parts.” Apparently this is one step on the yellow brick road towards teleportation, though the humble Australian scientist admits, “we have made one of these pieces that is only a tiny bit of the whole idea.” So modest, Doctor!
But WAIT — maybe those giant alien robots that we’ve seen popping up like mushrooms all over the planet, are already USING teleportation like some kind of bridge through space! Maybe that explains how we keep spotting NBEs without their starships, eh? Maybe, just maybe, if there are some FRIENDLY robot ambassadors in the group, maybe they would even SHOW us how they’re doing it. Imagine the uses!
For starters, this TRED-stud would teleport himself to the LAP of Mistress Munn herself.
Can barely type — too excited. Okay, I don’t know about you, but I LOVED IRON MAN (man in robot suit — SWEET!)! I mean, it couldn’t have been ANY better. Well, okay, it could have been improved in one way: they could’ve cast Olivia Munn in it.
But I’m now willing to forgive that oversight, because the filmmakers have obviously learned their lesson for the sequel, WHICH WILL FEATURE THE BREATH-TAKING MISS MUNN! Oh yeah, boyz, you heard me right!!! Set your clocks for May 2010!! Only 11 months to go….
OliviaMunn.com confirms the truth!"
"Agent Elemento P sent in a link to another alien robot story. We keep hearing about how humans are sending “rovers” to the planet Mars. But they keep crashing or getting wiped out somehow. Only two have made it and are moving across the surface — if we can believe NASA. And we all know how much we here at TRED trust the government. The images these robots are supposedly sending back look a LOT like the Nevada desert with a red filter on it. Come on, NASA, we all know how to do that effect on our laptops!
And those “rovers” look more like tiny and mid-size alien robots to me! I wonder if these are like those bots we’ve been seeing all over the world hiding (more or less) in plain sight. Which would mean NASA is on it, too. Of course! They’re probably using those things right now to track all of us truth-seekers down!"
Posted by FASSINATOR
"Once again, vigilant (vigilante?) Agent Elemento P comes through with a very cool link to this article about new technology in robot joints which makes them more compact and useful than ever.
As Farhad Aghili of the Canadian Space Agency explains in the article, “In a nutshell…the control system autonomously realizes the configuration change while demanding minimum actuation effort.” WHAA? What kind of an “explanation” is that? Even a tech-head like me is losing the thread here. But earlier in the article, we are told the robots have “passive joints that allow the arms to twist and change their length, depending on the task at hand.” The article continues, pointing out that “This kind of reconfigurable robot could have many uses in space, including performing inspections, assembling devices, and carrying objects. Aghili added that a reconfigurable robot like this one could also have applications in mining, nuclear power plants and the military.”
So it occurs to me that maybe THIS is how some of these mysterious folding robots we’ve been spotting are changing their shapes. Maybe this is a revolutionary concept to us, but it’s just elementary to them! But then that leads me to say HOLY TINKERTOYS, does that mean these moveable metallic “visitors” will soon be getting involved in our “mining, nuclear power plants and the military”??? Does that mean these chunks of steel and their little “passive joints” will soon be TAKING OVER our nuclear power plants?
Stay alert, TRED-heads!"
Note: This was posted by FASSINATOR
Sup, TRED-Heads! I just wanted to give the official word that Operation Invasion de Campus is a success! Me and the boys are all headed to the same school — and we’re talking Ivy League, baby! Nothing but the best for TRED’s elite staff. East coast, here we come!
But now things get real interesting. Operation Hot Freshmen 55. “What’re you talking about, Leo?” I’ll tell you what I’m talking about. Me and the guys are gonna fill our dorm hall with hot chicks from the incoming class. Sharkatron3000 is already working his computer hacking magic to make the arrangements! Me, Fass, and Sharkatron are gonna be surrounded by the hottest frosh babes in the whole school. We’re gonna get our freaky-freak on! College is going to be AWESOME!!!!
On a side note, Fass and Sharkatron are gonna be rooming together, which left me high and dry. Sharsky tried to get me a single, but no dice. I just hope my roommate isn’t just some kind of total dork.
Last, we just wanted to let everyone know that we gotta suspend operations on the site while we make the move to the east coast. Next time you see us, we’ll be blogging from college!!!
We’ll see all you dudes again when when get to the right coast!
Fuel the Jet!"
This was just sent into TRED HQ and it’s got me REALLY looking over my shoulder now. I used to love me some remote controlled cars (trucks, tanks, whatever) when I was a kid! I even still have some in my room somewhere — I’m not using them, they’re just there. There’s nothing wrong with that. But anyway, now I’m thinking about destroying ALL OF THEM. First that model airplane from France goes nuts, now THIS! That thing nearly took out the ENTIRE WALL!!!!
The firepower from that tiny “toy” is INCREDIBLE. Imagine what a giant one could do! That model plane just ran those French dudes down. This tank could’ve taken out a whole city block! That kid and his dad are effing lucky! For some reason I just keep watching the vid over and over and a chill runs straight down my spine every time!
What do you guys think about this?
Me, i’m fueling the effing jet and packing my things for the east coast!"
Check out this video interview with Paul Gray from before the band's performance at the Hove Festival.
Click here to watch the video and hear Paul's thoughts on the origin of the band's masks!
Adding to our growing record of soundtracks from across the series, the two Black Knight Soundtracks, Face to Faith and Tales of Knighthood can now be streamed, and downloaded from the Albums section in the Retro Wiki. To download to your hard drive, right-click and save target as the little icon next to the stream. Why not also check out all the other albums and lyrics available while you’re there?
Thanks go out to forum member Ashram for ripping, tagging and uploading the CDs.
If you truly enjoy the albums, please support the company by purchasing the albums at an imports site, such as Play-Asia or CDJapan, or through a service like iTunes. Though we may enjoy the series music much, purchasing the album will resonate more with Sega to show they’re still cranking out good tunes, game quality aside.
"Six-year-old Christer was fed up with his name and sent a letter to Norway’s King requesting his name to be changed to Sonic X.
There’s a couple of things to explain before we continue with this bizarre story. Firstly, Christer wasn’t asking the King to change his name to Sonic X, though King Sonic X has a certain ring to it. Secondly, we’re not sure why Christer wanted the ‘X’ addition, since this was the simply title of the Japanese animé adaptation. Nevertheless…
Late last year Christer from Norway wrote a letter addressed to Norwegian King Harald V asking for his name to be officially changed to Sonic X, Norwegian newspaper and website dagbladet.no reports.
However, his parents were reluctant to send the letter. That is until months later Christer asked why they’d yet to post his heart felt request. The letter was sent and amazingly King Harald V replied.
Sadly, the King could not change Christer’s name, but not because the change would result in a child running around with a ridiculous video game character’s title. No, the request was rejected for the sole reason that at six-years-old, Christer was not old enough to make such a decision. Thus, the boy must contact King Harald V in twelve years time once he’s turned 18.
Christer admitted that he was disappointed, explaining that “it was a bit bad.”
Now that new Sega West president Mike Hayes is in place, we here at Sonic Retro must say we’re immediately pleased with his work. Pulling a Marty McFly on us, clearly Hayes went back in time to alter a 1991 issue of French magazine Club Sega to get us exclusive shots of Sega’s upcoming 2010 console!
Too bad these kids forgot to mention in their drawings that it would be invisible.
An expert at putting his foot in his mouth and insulting his company’s biggest fanbase, SEGA of America President and Co-Owner, Simon Jeffery, has packed his bags at SEGA. Jeffery will become an executive at iPhone developer and publisher “ngmoco,” a company founded last year by a former EA executive, Neil Young.
Jeffery has made it well known that he loves the iPhone. While the move might seem idiotic on the surface for a president of SEGA to move into another role at a smaller company, the move is likely a simple pursuit of interests. Whatever might have sparked Jeffery’s departure from SEGA, I know that some people are having a party regardless.
Jeffery will lead ngmoco’s Plus+ (redundant, much?) publishing group, “which integrates social networking and cross-promotional options into games.
"Sega announced Sonic and friends are getting back behind the wheel for some fast-paced kart racing craziness.
Sega of Europe unveiled the title today through their Sonic City Blognik in what can be considered a spiritual sequel to the two Sonic Drift titles on Game Gear. The title features characters from the Sonic franchise such as Sonic, Tails, Amy and Dr. Robotnik along with other Sega All-Stars like AiAi and Amigo as well as other unannounced competitors speeding for the finish line in a racer aiming to give Mario Kart a serious run for its money. Characters can utilize cars, planes and motorbikes around the tracks to offer different styles of racing.
“Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is no ordinary racing game. Its huge variety of characters and vehicles, plus the ability to play both online and off set it apart from other games of this type” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director of SEGA Europe Ltd. “The team have pushed the boundaries on what you would normally expect and created a different and unique party racing title whereby you really can’t take anything for granted!”
Characters have access to special moves called All-Star moves to gain edges in races, such as Super Sonic, Banana Blitz and Tails Tornado. Power ups and weapons can also be collected around the tracks and used against the opposition to ensure they don’t become a threat to that number one position. In addition to a single player mode, the title features a multiplayer mode as well, allowing up to four friends to race in split-screen action, or up to eight players to compete online.
By way of U.K. Resistance, Richard Jacques of Sonic R and Sonic 3D Blast fame is supposedly working on the music in this title. More on this as it becomes available.
The title is expected to come out on PS3, 360, Wii and DS in early 2010 and will likely be featured at Sega’s E3 booth in Los Angeles next week."
