The Gathering, Tabloid Tycoon, and Black Metal (again)

The Gathering - Home

From All Music:

Ever since their debut as a fairly standard-issue black metal band in the early '90s, Dutch rockers the Gathering have shifted their sound and style a few times, particularly since adding lead singer

Anneke van Giersbergen on 1995's Mandylion. Home, the band's first studio release in nearly three years, comes after the birth of van Giersbergern's first child and is their most overtly pop-oriented album yet. First single "Shortest Day" sounds like an only slightly harder-edged versions of the Cardigans (a good thing), and other songs, like the keyboard-heavy "Alone" and the echoing, atmospheric bass-led pop of "In Between," are goth-oriented alternative rock with no metal influence to speak of. Home may be a bit of a shock to some longtime fans, but it's the logical conclusion to an ongoing trend in the band's music, one that suits van Giersbergen's low-key murmur of a voice quite nicely.

Will most definitely buy. Support obscure, yet immensely moving music!

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Tabloid Tycoon

Amazon’s Product Description:

Get the real dirt or just get filthy rich. There's no scandal you can't handle in Tabloid Tycoon. Hire the best reporters and paparazzi money can buy to create the most outrageous stories and get the most revealing photographs. Fill your rag with thousands of shocking and uproarious headlines using the in-game story templates. From hilarious headlines to the most bizarre situations, you're in charge of it all.

Verdict: Addictive for approximately 24 hours worth of playtime. After that, it becomes a waste of time.

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PANALO!