DominikMayr.COM

I’d like to report the amazing increase in SE rankings i was able to experience with www.deadspacehorror.com We are on the first page for almost anything related to the “Dead Space …” search term.

The site is now 8 months old so how’s that possible? Absolute, unique and new quality content. We’re offering content no other site on the net offers for Dead Space so far. Thats the main reason for its success. Also, i haven’t focused on reciprocal link building at all, forget about that, let others link to your site and only have a handfull “affiliates” which you link to aswell. Choose your links wisely! It’s something i had to learn over the years aswell.

your ads here (468x60) - after 1st post.

So the transition is complete, however not all old content has been implemented properly. That really sucks, since many users now think we’ve gotten rid of that and concentrate on Web 2.0 “shit” only. The guys at GameRiot are still working on a special module for navigational purposes which isn’t ready for usage yet. In general thats the problem right now: They don’t have 24h support, therefore its difficult to get new things through. It all takes a while, but i am pretty confident that we can work out our stuff in the future. In general, even if users are still getting used to such a modern and simple layout i can already see an increase of activity thanks to the user friendly platform. People are uploading their fan made vids, more and more start to create their own blogs etc.. so lets see what the future brings.

I’ll definitely wait out some more modules and features before i decide to take some other sites to GameRiot aswell though.

Apart from that, an affair has ended recently just as i predicted. This is what happens when the “spark” doesn’t spread from neither of the two “attending” parties. The journey goes on… which is good actually. Yet have to find the person who is aware of the amount of work i do and understands that i am not the guy who plans to share all household work with her if i am working and she’s not! (It’s a total different story when both parties work, however that wont work for me) I am a shift worker, sometimes i work through for 3 weeks and also run arround 5 websites at the moment. I am the worker, i have no problem to feed a family someday, but they cannot expect me to manage all the household aswell. I’ve set a deadline which expires when i am 30. If i cant find “her” here, i will move to Cyprus and find a traditional woman, who does housework jobs, looks for the kids, while i am working and bringing in the money to live a life free of funds concerns. Its absolutely not difficult to find such women in Cyprus. Sometimes i wonder what i am still doing here…

Its NovaRock time in a few weeks! (http://www.novarock.at) Its my second Nova this year and i already have the fever. Music is the most important part in my life and these festivals have been made for people like me, lol. I love it to meet new people, everyone shares the love, helps each other etc. Gonna be 4 days full of fun where i can completely loose myself and forget all the stress in work and internet.

Its finally the right time to announce reHorror’s partnership with GiantRealm/GameRiot.

 About Resident Evil Horror:

Resident Evil Horror is a Resident Evil fansite founded in September 2000 and has grown to be a true destination for any Resident Evil fan. Resident Evil Horror offers tons of content such as explicit descriptions for each character/enemy/weapon in any Resident Evil game and scores with a huge handwritten timeline that spans all events from the games. 

About GiantRealm, Inc:

Giant Realm, Inc. (www.GiantRealm.com, http://Corp.GiantRealm.com/) is a rapidly- growing online media company which helps marketers reach the male 18-34 demographic that has disappeared from the traditional media landscape and online portals.  GiantRealm.com and its growing publisher group deliver authentic content and community for enthusiasts of entertainment platforms including video games, film/TV and humor.  The New York-based company exclusively represents all websites that are part of the Giant Realm Publisher Group and allows its publishers to monetize 100% of their ad inventory.  According to Google Analytics, Giant Realm currently reaches 36.5 million individuals worldwide every month. Giant Realm’s shareholders include SoftBank Capital, Comcast Interactive Capital, the William Morris Agency and the Edison Venture Fund

The new site will be live within the next 10 hours here: http://www.rehorror.net

We’re currently importing reHorror.net to the network we’re partnering up with. Its a slow process seing as forum and site databases need to be combined, then moved. We’re done with that, but now comes the really time consuming part… moving all static content to the new destination. I cannot mention any specific date as to when the importing process is completely done, but i predict it won’t happen before the end of May.

Another site dealing with Survival Horror game “Dead Space” is on track. Founded in October of last year it is experiencing a steady increase in visitor numbers and it is by far the quickest growing site i ever was able to found. Additional bloggers/editors take in a good percentage of the site’s success at the moment.

Other than that, there’s not much to report regarding my online work. Compared to the enormous rush of visitors before Resident Evil 5 came out, it all slowed down quite a bit now. I enjoy these times aswell, afterall its spring now, summer soon and it can be quite frustrating to work on your computer while your friends are enjoing their day at a lake.

On a life related note, i couldn’t be more happy right now. Everything seems to run smooth for me, however i have big respect of such situations since they can be over soon again. Experiences from the past have teached me to remain patient and calm, even in the most joyful situations.

My days are completely full now, they’re running away from me, its hard to catch them really. Time never went by so quickly before in my life which isn’t a bad thing. I work way too much though and am already “booked” for many sunday shifts during summer…. and people wonder how i am able to buy a new car right now. I’ve ordered my dream car just a few days ago. It is a great feeling when you can finally buy something you’ve worked for so hard. The “global crysis” is playing in my hands, maybe because i question it alot. I have my own theories about all the curious things happening right now. I begin to question almost anything which can result in headache, but for me definitely is a better way to go than to just swim with the masses. They’re swimming in swarms, in rivers with crocodiles and pyranhas while i watch them and wait until the three parties rape and kill each other. Maybe then i jump in aswell to find other people who share the same thoughts and we walk a total different path then.

Oh well, time to head for the afternoon shift, but there’s a light at the end of the shift, not too far away… i can already see it.

Enjoy spring!

All of a sudden the light i was looking for has reached me with enormous power. A power i’ve not experienced in the past, if ever. Things make sense, this light definitely helps me to understand things better, enjoy them, and move on with evergrowing power. (No, i am not talking about a drug trip)

Apart from these very big moments i am also enjoying the fact that a new A is on the way. Something i saved for for quite a while.

Win, win, win. i tell you.

 Wait, whats the third win? Time will tell. I can’t wait to kick asses.

And now i have to run again, luckily i am not running away anymore. I found a comfortable place to settle.

I’ve been an avid fan of Depeche Mode since they launched Ultra. It even was one of my first longplayers aswell. Once i’ve grown older i also digged into their older stuff. After some years going more into the Rock and Metal department i realized that their music really was bringing me down, or lets say, when i was down and listened to Depeche Mode it didn’t help me, however i enjoyed that very disturbing state of mind sometimes.

Now, the year is 2009 and we’re in April of said year. Depeche Mode’s everlasting career that already spans over 25 years is about to continue with their latest record entititled “Sounds of the Universe”. This is a personal review so bare in mind the date of the discovery for my love for Depeche Mode which was when Ultra (1998, i was 12 at that time) was released. I don’t want to go into any of their personal issues that emerged over the years, but “Exciter” was a total downpoint for me and i thought Dave Gahan better had sticked to his drugs. Apparently, my thoughts and opinions where worth nothing as they’ve managed to get “back on track” with “Playing the Angel”, their last longplayer from 2006. “Back on track”, a very fitting describition for their impatiently awaited “rescue mission” after Exciter which was released in 2000.

With “Playing the Angel” being the album getting them back on track i find that “Sounds of the Universe” sounds like them being on track again completely! I haven’t digged into any previous interviews about the release of the album. I have to admit that i even forgot a little bit about DM. I rather listened to “Everything Counts, Enjoy the Silence, Never let me down again etc.” rather than to wait for other new explosive sounds/songs like that.

The departure of Alan Wilder left a huge gap in the sound universe (yeah, quite fitting) of Depeche Mode and i am 100% sure that this gap will never be filled again. Then again i see Martine Gore as a mastermind of what he is doing. He is one of the best songwriters on the planet and his sounds are different, but not less impressive than Wilders’. I was very impressed by the sounds of the new album. While “In Chains” pretty much let me down in the beginning it developed and interesting feel within me that kinda makes me able to get started for something, so i guess, mission accomplished?

The “release your power track”, Hole to Feed is a traditional Depeche Mode song to me with a very exciting end.

Lets move on to Wrong, the first single of the album. I truly love it. I love the combination of the sounds with the lyrics and it’s definitely the best track for the first single. “Barrel of a Gun” came to my mind when i heard it first.

Fragile Tension. I am in love with that song alot, maily due to its sound structure, i am not that confident with the refrain though. This track definitely shows the love for detail within the new record and the end…. is fantastic, at least to my ears.

Lets move on with another track i began to understand and enjoy when i listened to it more often. It reminds me of the better tracks on Exciter or even some very old stuff.

“In Sympathy” is a pretty standard DM track to me and i can’t find many highlights in it.

Piece is quite intense, both in sound and lyrics to me and i love to listen to it. It delivers a feel of freedom, piece and war to me.

I don’t like “Come Back” for many reasons and the following “Spacewalker” is an interlude, and thats what it is.

“Perfect” is quite a decent track while nothing special either while “Miles Away/The truth is” is one of my fav. tracks on Sounds of the Universe. I love the sounds of it, it sounds like a mix of new and old stuff combined, at least to me.

“Jezebel”, a song sang by Martin Gore and i like any songs sang by him.

The closing track “Corrupt” has some interesting sound shemas again, but it sounds alot like a track that could easiely be placed on Exciter. Generally i find the album has some good openers, but lacks innovation towards the end, still its a better album than Exciter or Playing the Angel to me. Please bare in mind that this review consits of personal tastes mainly:

Innovation: 5/10

Technical: 7/10

Singing: 8/10

Lyrics: 8/10

Replayability: 6/10

Longetivity: 6/10

My overall rating for Depeche Mode’s “Sounds of the Universe”: 7/10

The latest issue of german magazine GameStar contained an interesting preview of Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising.

I summarized the most important facts:

- The game is “feature complete” which means all planned elements are now in the game: interface, graphics, AI, vehicles, weapons, mission design. However all these features are not connected togheter properly yet says GameStar.

- The biggest building site is the AI and the representation of landscapes which suffer from streaming.

- There are hit zones all over the bodies of the soldiers which makes the game very tactical.

- OF2 has two campaigns: You can choose between a marine or a Spec Ops.

- Codemasters only offered 1 PC where the game was running stable. The GameStar team experienced AI failures, sound bugs and re-starts.

- OF 2 will contain 15 missions divided by the two campaigns. Different difficulty levels will attract both experts and new players.

- Multiplayer focus will be on the Co-op mode which was designed for 4 persons. You will also be able to play team deathmatch, attack and defense and area conquest from the beginning.

- GameStar doesn’t think that Codemasters can clean out all issues until the estimated release date which is set for June 21st 2009.

Mastodon, a band i discovered thanks to Danny Carey of Tool giving them alot of praise on a hosted by show here in Austria.

Their 2006 breakthrough album Blood Mountain, part 3 of their 4 album concept described earth and now we have Crack the Skye completing the journey where  “we kinda strapped on our aeroshells and departed from Earth for a while, and then captained to the ethereal element of the universe and kind of slept on the roof of the world for a while to get a perspective on this record. … Basically we’re exploring the ethereal world. We’re dissecting the dark matter that dominates the universe, in a nutshell.” ~ Troy Sanders (vocals, bass guitar)

I saw Mastodon live once when they where supporting Tool in germany and i have been a fan ever since. While Blood Mountain was a superb metal album in my eyes, Crack the Skye goes over the top and resulted in the most interesting Progressive Metal album i’ve heard in a long time. Erie, creeping, evolving; this is an album that makes me sweat even when i feel cold, an album that makes me want to open a beer as soon as i hit play, an album to listen to clearly over months, and even an album to bang your head to . It contains everything that makes this an album for the true Hall of Fame for me.

The opener Oblivion has been chosen wisely and indicates the wall of sound that will fall on to you the next 50 minutes. The sound strucutre is impressive, different and still does sound good, and i LOVE the refrain of this song. Without being on substances this song always takes me on a journey above the clouds. The second half of it consists of a creepy sounding guitar riff, while nothing special, it shows the diversity of the guitarist Brent Hinds who brings the song to a peaceful end.

Lets move on to Divinations, the first single of the album. A very powerfull start where drummer Brann Dailor hits his drums like there’s no tomorrow.  Divinations is the shortest song with only 3:33 which makes it a perfect single to show off the new power of Mastodon.

Quintessence i hated when i first heard it, and now i slowly begin to love it. Thats a sign of a very special song that needs to grow to fit well for my ears. It took a few listens to learn to love the schizophren element of the song. This one definitely needs time to grow.

The Czar is one of my favourite tracks on Crack the Skye. It has a slow and frightening intro to introduce this beast of a song. And just when you expect hell to break loose they continue the song with some groovy beats. I enjoy the guitar work in it and love all the breaks and the evolving outro with some great, unique guitar work again. Its one of the less heavier tracks and shows that Mastodon excels in this form of music aswell.

We continue our journey through the “skye” with a track called Ghost of Karelia. Light and intriguing beginning with a heavy middle part and even more heavy continuum.

The title track Crack the Skye is quite forward pushing and electrifying, i especially love the part starting at 3:50, plus Brann’s work on the drums is breathtaking.

Mastodon says goodbye with the 13:00 minute epic The Last Baron which offers an untypically slow/soft beginning that slowly builds up to a wall of sound starting right at 3:13. The song continues on a very high level of technical perfection. Brann’s drum work in this one once again is pretty impressive and drives the song to its limits. A few intriguing guitar riffs later at 6:00 they loose themselves completely in a total mess of sound and continue to do this amazing “thing” for another 6 minutes, but hey, of course there are more surprises in this. A true epic progressive metal masterpiece just like the whole record.

Innovation: 8/10

Technical: 9/10

Singing: 7/10

Lyrics: 8/10

Replayability: 9/10

Longetivity: 9/10

My overall rating for Mastodon’s “Crack the Skye”: 8.5/10

Something has been signed today. A contract. For one site. Maybe more.

Many changes are coming along within the next weeks and months.

I am not sure when i will drop the bomb. Soon though.

I’ll simply hand you out a link to tell you about something very interesting:

About OnLive (Kotaku)

I find that highly interesting and i am sure it can be a success if done right.

I am still in talks with New York daily to figure out something for “my” future aswell. Something has to change and i am 80% convinced. I hope to sort out the percentage left within this week… so i can finally reveal more.