Reviews

Hades, the exhilarating battle against the inescapable.

Hades is a story of the impetuous rebellion, burning love, and staunch determination of Prince Zagreus, son of Hades, King of the Dead; and his ever repeating quest to fight his way out of his father’s domain.

Initially released on December 6, 2018, and released for Windows, Mac, and Nintendo Switch in September of 2020, Hades is a roguelike, dungeon-crawling video game made by developer SuperGiant games. The game is fully voice acted and features an incredibly multi-talented voice cast as well as a soundtrack that is equally heart-shakingly intense and aching, somber, and forlorn.

On his quest, Zagreus is aided and hindered by his fickle relations with the gods residing within the Underworld and upon Mount Olympus. Many in the wide cast of characters from both the Olympian pantheon and ancient Grecian stories are depicted as non-white, an interesting and refreshing take on the gods and heroes of the well-known stories and myths.

With hundreds of personality-infused voice lines, incredible music, and gameplay that is fast, intense, challenging, and fun; Hades lives up to the reputation it won alongside the awards for the best independent game and best action game of 2020.

By: Wisdom Edwards

Continuing their line of satire-themed singles, The Gentle Men’s newest song “I Am Truth” pokes fun at conspiracy theories while simultaneously making a hard rock jam that’s great to headbang to. It opens with a fast, semi-edgy electric guitar & drum backing track, while also having a pairing of a laid-back singer with a more stereotypical rocker. They compliment each other, the softer of the two giving the listener a nice lead in to the song’s chorus. Afterward, almost entirely out of the left-field, the song takes a sudden heavy metal turn and in comes a very gravelly solo that transports you to a sweaty mosh pit. The chorus afterward almost gives off a false sense of security, feeling like the eye of a storm before they drag you back in with more of their wicked music.

The Gentle Men’s intentionally rough and raw feel ties in perfectly with their lyrics. Parodying such things as tinfoil hats and reptilians, the song is very much in line with how The Gentle Men have done their previous songs, both in subject matter and in the song’s sound. They take something that’s silly, to begin with, and blow it up to the extreme, while simultaneously playing it as straight as possible. It creates a rare instance where a song can be hilarious without sacrificing the seriousness and enjoyability of the music itself.

(Image taken from I am Truth’s music video)

By Calvin Greguska

As her own songwriter, Taylor swift sings softly to us about love and heartbreak. Swift started out as a Country artist, with her first country album Taylor Swift (Bonus Track Version) releasing in 2006. She first started exploring the Pop genre in 2014 when she released her album, 1989. As of recently, she is exploring the alternative genre, as in her most recent album being Evermore.

Willow starts out with calming and steady guitar chords. Over time, marimba and ukelele make their way into the song, complimenting the soft and melancholy vocals and harmonies, both sung by Swift. Overall, the song is calm and relaxing, in a way.

Willow is about having someone slowly distance themselves from their lover. Two people slowly drift apart, but the other doesn’t want to let go. With lyrics like “I’m begging for you to take my hand”, Swift paints a picture of one who is desperately trying to fix the relationship, but to an uncertain outcome.

(Image taken from Willow’s music video)

By Giana Delossantos