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jaegerbroshoe · 5 years

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Snk Reread - Volume 3

Snk Reread - Volume 2

Cover

This cover is so cool.

It says “traitor” on the back cover...is that referring to Eren turning out to be a Titan? 👀

Side Story: Captain Levi

I wonder who this family was...did they live? And where did this take place? That outcrop looks weird (like the material it’s made out of) and there’s smoke in the distance... Or was this whole scene fake since it assumes the lie Karl Fritz fed the people of Paradis? Also, why does that kid look like Yelena?

Ah so the SC started getting support only after Shiganshina fell. Makes sense for the government to approve of that since they wanted Wall Maria back lol. But speaking of which, didn’t the government (the nobles in power) realize the outside world was responsible for the attack? What were they expecting to happen by continuing to hide the truth??

Lol Erwin looks so different here. His eyebrows weren’t even that weird back then.

EMA’s reaction here is so pure. But lmfao Armin is the one blushing, Mikasa looks like she’s thinking “I bet I can beat him” 😂, and Eren just looks like he was amazed at the idea of being that strong lol. (Even Hanji says their looks were of envy).

But was this the morning of the attack? How come they weren’t in their uniform?

Wait, it says the SC was given the “brightest” to help them out in retaking back Wall Maria...so Armin could have still worked as a strategist for them then wow.

Damn over 30% died in each mission.

This makes me so sad because the Titans are human and the same race as the people of Paradis. Not to mention, they’ve all been turned into this form unwillingly...

Damn just how long is the wire in the 3dmg?

Levi slashes from right to left???

Wow, Levi just seems so...different here. His debut makes him look like a very pure person but I feel like he’s not genuine like this anymore.

Okay it’s hard to tell Levi’s strategy lol. Here it looks like he’s slashing from left to right. Maybe they all switch depending on what’s feasible? I remember it said in ACWNR that he holds his blades backwards though?

What am I even looking at here? I’m so confused.

Yeah, this part established Levi as someone who cares deeply for his comrades. He puts his clean streak away to hold that soldier’s hand. Also, I feel like what he said about the soldier giving him strength is actually true in the literal sense...?

This reminds me of why I liked Levi at first.

So Levi supposedly joined the SC only around the time that Shiganshina fell, right (according to ACWNR)? Huh. RBA got lucky that the SC were busy on an expedition that day. I don’t know if they knew about it and planned it out that way though.

Chapter 10 - Where’s the Left Arm?

I love the title of this chapter.

Ugh this part if so traumatic... People never take it into account but it’s one of the most horrifying scenes. Still can’t believe we got to see the inside of a Titan though.

Eren prioritizes revenge here but still mentions his dream...

Are those bubbles acid of some sort...? :(

Eren’s desperation here 💔.

Damn I just noticed those fingers. Creepy.

Ugh I love this part so much (Eren’s first transformation) but it’s actually pretty extreme. Also, I literally heard Eren’s roar from the anime while reading this 😂.

I think Eren’s subconsciousness was the thing that was controlling him here because he kept repeating the last phrase he said before transforming.

Ahh I love this panel! I’m a sucker for any shot that focuses on the eyes.

Eren actually saved Armin here by killing those nearby Titans.

Actually, it’s a good thing the SC weren’t around. Imagine Levi killing Eren by accident here.

I’m so happy Eren got revenge on the Titan that brought him down. He’s actually one of Grisha’s comrades though damn.

I think the reason why Eren accepted being a Titan so quickly is because of how it provided him with a means of fighting the Titans.

I actually feel really bad for these Titans now.

Wait, can Titans not get through these floodgates?

Damn, Eren has such a nice body. So slender 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽.

I love how EMA always stand together. Armin and Mikasa were risking it all for Eren because they loved him.

Omg Eren was a baby here.

Eren was so confused here, I feel so bad.

Holy shit Kitz pisses me off to no end. Treason my ass. And bro wtf you never had a situation like this before. To be honest, I always go “SHUT UP” whenever I have to hear Kitz talk.

Bro this panel...Eren wasn’t wrong in his answer.

Poor Eren had to deal with all these stares for months.

Eren’s been compared to a monster so many times in this story...

Can I just say I never liked Rico? She pisses me the fuck off...look at the BS coming out of her mouth here. Clearly defiant my ass. Eren was clearly confused. Also, if Eren planned on killing them he’d have long done it while they were arguing.

See this is what I mean: Mikasa changed so much. She was willing to kill anyone for Eren at first then she passes moral judgment on him in Liberio??

Ah I love Ian. So sad he died.

Armin wanting to talk it out but in the end, they still shot...

Bro both answers would have resulted in them shooting -_-

Ugh this hurts to read...all the stuff about “devils” especially.

Omg Eren was trying so hard to protect Armin and Mikasa here 😭. I’m so sad Isayama made their relationship reach that point in 112...but this proves that he’s always loved them and since it’s confirmed he was tricking Zeke, I think it’s now even more obvious that he was purposely pushing away Armin and Mikasa.

Eren never wanted people to sacrifice themselves for him. This is why he always got mad at Mikasa for putting her life in danger for him.

Wait, Isayama didn’t draw the key at all until chapter 10 in the manga 😅.

Dude Grisha look so haunted here...

“Throb” > Eren’s head suppressing the memory, possibly because of Karl Fritz’ memory swipe? I think it’s more than just a side effect of the injection, which I believe just erases the things that happen right before you take it. It makes sense why Grisha says he can’t explain anything. I think he was also talking from experience. And it’s probably unpredictable which parts of your memories from right before you’re injected return to you. You can see how hard Eren was trying to remember here.

See, it was memories of the other predecessors that Eren was able to use for reference...maybe it was the same for Grisha?

Grisha crying!!! Also, he doesn’t say to avenge Carla here? I think that was just his immediate reaction to her death in front of Keith. So he technically didn’t force the revenge mission on Eren because Eren was doing all that even before he remembered.

This part is so well executed. One of my favourite scenes.

Damn Eren really bites hard.

Okay here the lightning didn’t come when Eren summoned his Titan form. Was that a change that was added later? Or is this because his transformation wasn’t complete here?

I still wonder if Eren transformed this way because he was tired or if his intentions truly influenced it. Because the only other time he did this sort of transformation was with the spoon incident and he was also exhausted then.

Chapter 11 - Response

Is that Louise’s dad?! It kinda looks like the guy from the other chapter but I’m not so sure...I mean, he is supposed to be a Garrison, and he was in Trost in the other chapter. But I guess he was part of the vanguard? So maybe this is a different dude. His hair seems a bit shorter.

This dude says that Hannes escaped with “three kids�� so yeah I guess his wife died before the Fall of Shiganshina. And it looks like he never had any kids of his own.

Who is Ymir referring to here? Historia or Connie?

RBA trying to do the math lmfao.

I love Sasha’s honesty here. And as serious as the situation is, this part is kind of funny? I don’t know, I just find Daz’ reaction afterwards hilarious.

Ugh I can’t imagine how horrifying and confusing the whole situation must’ve been for Eren.

The sentiment I get from this part is that Eren was mad/upset with Grisha for not showing up in those five years, which is 100% justified. Then there was the added mystery of him knowing stuff about the Titans but never saying anything before. But I believe this didn’t hold once Eren found the complete truth. His expression to seeing Carla and Grisha with him as a baby shows that in my opinion.

What Eren says here...I feel like his instincts take over whenever he’s in a stressful situation so his intentions are always capable of saving them in time.

I’m sorry but why is the way he wipes his nose so cute 😂.

Eren cares for Armin and Mikasa so much 😭.

This scene makes me so sad now. I guess the difference between this part and chapter 112 is that Eren decided not to involve his friends in his plans anymore. Eren’s expression here reminds me of chapter 112 though.

I wonder though...how would things have gone differently if Eren had left here...? RBA probably would have followed and taken him by force...but there’s the fact that Zeke was always anti Marley so I guess in the end it would have worked out actually... I wouldn’t mind a fic that explores this possibility.

These dudes looked scared of Eren 😂. (Why does Eren look so good while fighting??)

Man, EMA sure had these “ends” a few times...and they always worked out in the past so I’d like to think things won’t end off with the state of chapter 112 for them.

I’M CRY (Lol why is Mikasa so unimpressed with the book though; I find it funny how she was so anti the ocean until she saw it).

This part is so beautifully constructed though. I love Armin’s thought process and his realization that his insecurity was all in his head.

Look at my boy. Eren always thought strategically from the start but y’all refuse to see it and think it only started in Liberio (and some of you continued to deny it even then -_-).

“I’ll respect your opinion either way” 😭😭😭. I love their friendship. Isayama why you gotta destroy all the pure things in the story (yeah, I know, you wanna hurt us).

I love this part especially in the anime. They adapted it so well and I love how the Titan skeleton collapses the moment Armin has his realization.

“They’re the people I trust more than anyone else in the world” 😭😭😭.

Ah I love this panel. So much determination. I love Armin’s character development. Such a pity where his character ended up with the timeskip though.

Reiner having an aneurysm.

I love how Pixis calls Kitz out for being a dumbass afgafkja.

Chapter 12 - Icon

“Where the three of us had lived”... Is Armin narrating here? Or Eren?? I thought the narration bit was an anime-only thing but I guess Armin is narrating in the manga too?

Omg Eren was tired to the point where Armin had to support him. Poor baby :(

I like how the manga didn’t waste so much time establishing Pixis’ eccentricity. The anime actually added more scenes than I realized.

Ehh Eren says yes right away in the manga when Pixis asks him about plugging up the Wall...

Again, Eren saw the bigger picture from the start.

Poor Marco had to babysit Daz. Damn.

Wow, Zeke would probably drink to that.

Jean had finally understood reality by then.

I remember this dude is also a strong candidate for Louise’s dad.

Ah I love this conversation. Eren haters can suck my dick because all the facts are right there in the manga.

Wait actually, I wonder if this person who supposedly said that part about humanity uniting against a common enemy was actually Karl Fritz...Isn’t that what he attempted to do by closing off “humanity” and telling them that the Titans are out to get them if they were to leave “paradise”?

Hannes and Eren’s interactions are my favourite 😭. Also, I love how Hannes is like “hold on a second” once he realized Eren was with Pixis 😂.

People always make fun of Pixis shouting the instructions from the top of Wall Rose but it’s actually realistic lol. I looked it up. The Wall is 50m high, if you’re shouting you can hit over 90 dB, and the calculation for the possible range yields around 2 km so...

CONNIE ARE YOU BLUSHING ADJSDJFAS. And Bertolt also having an aneurysm. He’s probably like “damn I have to kick the Wall again if you do that”.

Lmfao at the false story Pixis makes up about Eren. Ymir and RBA were probably trying to do the math. But I feel bad for the rest of the squad; they were probably all thinking about how Eren trained with them and apparently he was being experimented on this whole time 😂.

The theme of time once again!!! And this was all the way back in chapter 12.

Oh never mind, turns out this dude was Louise’s dad after all (wonder if he made it out alive). I guess the guy in the beginning of chapter 11 is someone else then.

Ah I love this part because the core of Sasha’s character comes shining through. She pushes past her fear and becomes one of the most courageous people ever. I’m so proud of her.

Ugh Eren had so much burden at that age and he just readily accepted it because he wanted to help humanity as a whole 😭.

I forgot how powerful this speech by Pixis is. I got goosebumps.

It makes me so sad that they were thinking of this as humans vs. Titans this whole time when they were still technically fighting their own people...

Oh wow, Rico doesn’t say that shit to Eren in the manga? That makes me dislike her less lol because I was really pissed off by what she says in the anime when they were getting to the boulder.

Ehh what is this sign? Was that boulder sitting there as a monument or something?

I wonder if this part was written as “shingeki no kyojin” in Japanese?

Ooh interesting how Eren’s Titan form was made from top down here...

Oh Mikasa actually had faith in Eren here? Was it in the anime where she didn’t? I might just be mixing up different scenes.

I really hope we get an explanation on why Eren lost control here someday. Like, he could have targeted anyone but he literally locked in on Mikasa only? I still believe it has to do with the Ackermans and their relationship with the FT and/or the AT. And I think Eren lost control because the wills of the FT and AT were fighting to take control of him.

Dude these shadows really do look like Eren and Zeke. I don’t know what to believe anymore...Why would two random people be watching this scene unfold though? And the silhouettes really look like them??

Chapter 13 - Wound

Wow, that’s a LOT of Titans... All those people, Marley turned...

Y’all were fine with this when it was Pixis or Erwin but not when it’s Eren 🐸☕️.

I love how out of all the crazy shit they’ve done, Mikasa only got a permanent scar from this one incident.

There are those two figures once again!!! And they’ve actually sort of moved???

Yeah see, Eren was only targeting Mikasa here. I’m sure there’s more to it than meets the eye.

It’s so funny to me how she’s like “It’s Mikasa. Your...family”.

Ian was so scared of Mikasa XD. Man, I wish he survived :(

Armin literally saved their asses by abandoning his post and going to Eren here.

Damn Ian, tell ‘em. This conversation is reminding me of Eren and Hanji in the jail cell... If you think about it, it’s the same situation. Back then, it was the idea of humans turning into Titans (their enemies) to win against them. Now, it’s the idea of humans letting go of their humanity to win against other humans who do the same. The same cycle perpetuates through.

Wow that quote about humans dying with no guarantee that what they did in life paid off hit close to home for me (in terms of religion that is) .

Wait a second...Eren can’t see anything initially, and then suddenly he sees a memory? I wonder if PATHS and those two figures (if they’re Eren and Zeke) have anything to do with it...

Omg what a precious baby. (Wait, why is the “yawn...back to sleep” part not a meme 😂).

The fact that Eren’s safe space was just being back home with his family...😢. (Also, Grisha was part of it so no he clearly didn’t hate him back then either).

Sorry but this part always pissed me off. How Mikasa assumes that no one can get to Eren since she couldn’t.

Eren was so exhausted here 😢.

Fake Preview of Volume 4

Ahh this was the very first fake preview!

My girl Sasha looking fine in that outfit.

Why does the “rich bastard” look like the Monopoly man? 😂😂😂

I guess this is where that OVA with the cooking competition came from 😂.

#snk reread #snk reread vol 3 #snk 9.5 #snk 10 #snk 11 #snk 12 #snk 13 #snk volume 3 #snk thoughts #snk analysis #my opinion #I didn't proofread this as much as usual so I'm sorry if I make zero sense

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terramythos · 5 years

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My commentary on October Daye #10 or "Whodunnit: non-Electric Boogaloo" OR "Golly there sure are a lot of references to book 3 in this one. For some reason. I'm sure it's just a coincidence and theres no reason for that at all".

This is the first one that's just a liveblog, not a reread. And there's 2 more after this one. Which I'm told are just devastating. Woo!

-Holy shit, 10 books in and we got a map!

A map!

An honest to God fantasy map!

-Quentin/Dean is.. cute. Again, I like that Dean will probably get more development now that he's more relevant to the plot.

-So. Yeah. Last book introduced the goddamn cure for elf shot, which is A Big Deal Gamechanger. So this whole book is dedicated to like.. the political implications of that

-High King Aethlin Sollys: *shows up*

Me: well crap

-Aethlin: how dare you go behind my back and use the elf shot cure after I expressly said no

Toby, dear toby, literal changeling street rat: I mean, this whole situation IS technically your fault

Everyone in the room:

Aethlin:

Toby:

Aethlin: that's fair

-Oh yay The Luidaeg is going to be involved in this one. I missed her last volume. And since this is about the whole elf shot cure thing, Walther will ALSO be involved :>>

God I love The Luidaeg.

-Interesting backstory re: Quentin's parents. Which explains why they're so cavalier about a changeling training and raising the fucking crown prince 🤔

-Aethlin: I met the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life

Maida: I had pox scars on my face and chicken shit in my hair

Aethlin: you hit me with a broom

Maida: I hit you with a broom.

-Lol @ Colorado being called Highmountain

-its interesting to see monarchs and characters from other parts of the US, since we've pretty much only experienced San Francisco and Portland.

-Power move is Arden acknowledging Tybalt as a King and unsettling all the racist fucks in the audience 👀

-think I found some retcon? Cause according to book 5 connor died to elf shot because he was shot in the heart. But this one is saying that elf shot is fatal to all selkies because they're basically human. Whatisthetruth.png

-The Luidaeg just consistently protects and helps children, huh. Here she's super kind and gentle to Karen even though it briefly cracks her badass intimidation facade in front of a bunch of people. She personally carries one of the kidnapped Undersea kids back home. She uhhh literally helps Toby kill her brother Blind Michael, a literal child predator, way back in book 3. And she rescued Toby when she figured out what Amandine was doing to her. I mean. It all makes sense based on her backstory but BOY is that a consistent trait.

I took this pic on a plane but omg

Ashdfkulzeutsgk

-King Antonio: *dies*

Oh no... I uhhh hate when assholes I just met get killed off suddenly

-That being said, getting a glimpse into what it's like to be a Candela with those Merry Dancers as constant, loving companions. Definitely interesting enough that I hope we get more Candela in the series.

-Night haunts night haunts NIGHT HAUNTS their scenes are always cool.

-And Antonio's disoriented "where are my girls?" Talking about the Merry Dancers, when he emerges as a night haunt. That's pretty oof. :(

-OK so night haunts keep the form of the person they eat for as long as that person was alive. So imagine if The Luidaeg had perma died in book 8? The lucky sonofabitch night haunt that got to eat her would have a solid form for tens of thousands of years? That's bonkers. That's bananas.

- That's assuming Firstborn even get eaten @ all. I mean, Blind Michael got killed in book 3 and we haven't seen him with the flock.

- ....... 😳 UH. WAIT. Hold up. Hold the fuck up. No. I'm not exploring that line of thought.

LMFAO SYLVESTER.. *WHAT*

-Neeeeew MONTH NAME! September, Sylvester's dead sister, just got mentioned. I know she's shown up/been mentioned in some of the short stories, buuuuut...

-month names so far: January, April, May, August, September, October

Not introduced (yet): February, March, June, July, November, December

And we still dont know what is with the FUCKING month names. Only connection is they are all female characters and they all seem to be related in some way to Sylvester slash The Torquills. Some (like May) are a stretch there, but...

Oh lore?? OH LORE?

- Simon and Patrick were BFFs? 🤔🤔

-That.. had to have been introduced for a reason. Come on.

-Of course Raj likes romantic comedies. Of course he does

I LOVE the Luidaeg. Have I mentioned. This bit is even funnier knowing she can't lie. Which means she has an actual hierarchy of how much she wants to stab everyone she knows

BIG LUIDAEG LORE.

This is gonna take some unpacking. Most notable here is IS THIS THE SAME RIDE FROM BOOK 3? You know, Blind Michael's Ride, the Halloween horror show where he kidnaps kids and forcibly turns them into monsters? What is this flashback supposed to imply? The Ride used to be something else? The MONARCHS of ancient Faerie actually did kidnap kids like in the stories and Blind Michael took it over when they disappeared? The Ride maybe CAUSED them to disappear? What the fuck?

(Also my vampire crack theory gains more ground. Just look at that first paragraph. And then a couple pages later Toby sees the room covered in her blood and mentions feeling hungry looking @ it. Come on.)

-Support for my theory that this reminds me of: both the Dochas Sidhe we know of have the smell of blood as a part of their magical signature. Toby is initially "cut grass and copper" but as she gains power it becomes "cut grass and bloody copper". Amandine is "blood and roses" (which, interestingly, is what Toby tastes when she wakes up in this scene?) August and Gillian are the only other two characters we know of that have Dochas Sidhe heritage, and who knows what their magic smells like...

-The Luidaeg calling Shakespeare "a fucking dumbass" in a series full of Shakespeare references and motifs is, in fact, hilarious.

-Tybalt getting (basically) mortally wounded, so Toby tastes some of his blood. And sees herself from his perspective and how much he loves her. BIG OOF.

-Also interesting that the more powerful Toby becomes as the series progresses she's now the one saving Tybalt's ass. Was the polar opposite for the first 6 or so books.

-Colorado rep -- Highmountain are the big bads. Lmfao

-Well Toby is *actually* immortal. Like how else do you explain the shit that happens in this series lmao. (Also, turns out being that hard to kill is the shittiest superpower)

-Aw Toby forgave Sylvester... we will see if he actually redeems himself, I guess.

-You can tell Toby is embracing the "hero" role with that whole rousing and surprisingly coherent speech at the end.

This is just a real good character development vignette. We've come so far ;-;

-And of course the cure gets greenlit cause.. of course. But The Luidaeg's line "none of those assholes wanted to think about how confused they'd be if they missed a hundred years of internet memes" is, shall I say, Iconique

-multiple people have asked toby and tybalt to get married @ their house. And now the high king and queen fucking asked. Lmfao

-So this book was... interesting. I liked the political drama aspect. It was another whodunnit which we pretty much got a fill of with book 2. The conflict seemed to just kinda be.. there? I'd call it a filler book, but a lot of like.. lore got established, and we got some of what I assume are big hints/setups. Guess we'll see.

-to be fair books 1 and 2 also seemed like filler and turned out to be Super Fucking Important actually. So

-also there is just straight up a 70 page novella starring Arden at the end so I'll see if anything major happens in it.

-it's mostly a character study of Arden, turns out. But we DO learn that Cassandra, Karen's sister, is also a Seer, which... could be relevant (also I mean come on of course she is, did you see her name). Also Walther and The Luidaeg show up so thats fun.

-And it's funny to see what other characters think of October. Mostly she's a train wreck/practical joke that's somehow become extremely relevant to the surprise of literally everyone

-me seeing the total page count is 420: nice

-Anyway. The next two books sound like a gut punch conga line so let's get reading them

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foodsic1 · 7 years

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Ok fellow Thievery Corporation (and music) fans. Here's my review of their newest album, The Temple Of I & I, released today. It very well might be there best album yet or at least in the top 3! 1. Thief Rockers (5 stars) – Solid fucking opening to the album. The beat and reggae/Jamaican lyrics from Zee sounds like it came right of their Radio Retaliation and/or The Richest Man In Babylon albums. This track gets my blood flowing from the opening seconds; a soulful goose-bumping head bop has begun. Man, after the opening verse at the 24 second mark when the synth begins (if it’s even a synthesized beat), holy fuckballs!!!!!!! After playing the album 1 full listen, I looped this opening track I think like a dozen times before moving on. It is no doubt one of my favorite Thievery tracks of all time. So much emotion from the opening seconds to the closing seconds. Turn up the volume, close your eyes and let that shit take you away. Feels like my soul has left my body (“gotta a shaman gonna mix up my medicine”, “gotta the magic ganja, gonna make your head spin”). I need some now. Can’t imagine there’s gonna be a better track off the album than this one. In fact, I’m going out there and saying it’s impossible. This is a psychedelic soulful emotional masterpiece. I can’t stop playing it or writing about it….LMFAO. [5 stars] 2. Letter To The Editor (Featuring Racquel Jones) – Ok, after that fucknomenal intro, I’m curious to see how they can follow that up… Ok, there’s a female rapper (sounds like she’s from the UK like fellow newcomer underground hip-hop artist, Lil Simz. She even sounds similar to her). I love it! That beat, her voice & tempo, fucking bangin’!!! What a way to come off that intro, they increase the tempo and get political on this one. It’s like they just punched me in the gut to get me to wake the fuck up and open my eyes after that opening track. Like, “ok…you feelin’ good now? Now you can focus on the shit that’s going on outside your own head.” Getting goose bumps from this track as well, back-to-back goose bumps on tracks is hard to come by. My 2nd fav track so far (LMFAO) and I’m gonna say no track (other than the intro) will compete with this one. Man, the one-two punch to start this album off, fucking insane! I looped this like 5-6 times before moving on. My body can’t stop moving. I feel like this is the best Thievery album start ever. [5 stars] 3. Strike The Root (Featuring Notch) – Ok, no way they’re gonna be able to keep this up. No fucking way! Ok, coming back down to Earth now with some African/reggae while keeping the political material but now from a different perspective, a more calmness to this one (“when there’s no guns to shoot, gotta protect the youth…”). Loving it…wow, that was quick… It’s already over…WTF? HAAAA. 3rd fav track so far (lol). [5 stars] 4. Ghetto Matrix (Featuring Mr. Lif) – Oh shiiiiit, Mr. Lif is on this one (he’s one of my fav conscious as well as underground rappers) as well as another track later on the album towards the end. Lif is from Boston and recently signed to one of my fav record labels out of Detroit, Mello Music Group (home to Oddisee, 3 of my fav producers in Apollo Brown & Quelle Chris & Gensu Dean, L’Orange, Open Mike Eagle, Red Pill, Rapper Big Pooh (he was the 2nd half of Little Brother with Phonte whom is also in the outstanding group, Foreign Exchange). Man I fucking love Lif, I discovered him back in 2009 when his single, “I heard it today”, came out after the housing crash of ‘08. I strongly suggest checking that track out (as well as his catalogue of course). Lif backed by Thievery? Ok, enough about Lif and his background. Bringing in some conscious-style hip-hop now of course. “It’s on you, it’s your mind, it’s a complex land that keeps us confined…” Looping this track as well. C’mon, that’s 5 stars all fucking day long. Damn, four tracks and four 5-star ratings from me. This is the Thievery I was waiting for after the miss with Saudade back in ’14 (for me at least) and Culture Of Fear from ’11, which was much better than Saudade for me but still fell drastically short compared to their previous 5 albums that began in 1996. [5 stars] 5. True Sons Of Zion (Featuring Notch) – Now we’re just chilling the fuck out here. I like it but not in love like the album’s opening 4 tracks. Keeping up that pace throughout an entire album is so fucking rare and sometimes it just doesn’t work. I’m enjoying it but that’s it. Googled Zion (since I didn’t think it had anything to do with Zionism): “In the Rastafari movement, "Zion" stands for a utopian place of unity, peace and freedom, as opposed to "Babylon", the oppressing and exploiting system of the materialistic modern world and a place of evil”. Feels like a transitional chill track before moving onto the rest of the album perhaps…? [4 stars, but I feel like this is a grower and very well might get to 5 for me with repeat listens] * 10 minutes later update (HAHAHA) – You know what, the track doesn’t take anything away from the album thus far, I love it more and more after each of the past 4 listens. I’m giving it a 5. [5 stars] 6. The Temple Of I & I – Ok, here comes the title track and should be hella good. Ummmm, I don’t know. On 4th listen now…oh wait just now!!!! It’s a beautiful track. Feels like a timeout to just let the drugs do their thing in your body and allow you to focus on your mind (thus the “temple”) & body (“I”) and simply be happy and fully relaxed within your own skin. I’m giving it a 4 for now, there’s nothing mind-blowing like tracks 1 through 4 but again with more listens, this segue-kind of track could open itself up even more and easily become a 5 for me. In fact, I think it will…just not ready to make that jump quite yet. 5 listens later: Ok, scratch those last 2 sentences, this track (and album) is a living, breathing thing imo. What the fuck was I thinking with landing on a 4, please accept my sincere apologies. Damn, at the 0:39 second mark when that beat (don’t know the instrument) and the piano hits, holy FUCKALL!!! This is dub all fucking day long! OMFG, still can’t believe at first 2 listens I was thinking 4. [5 stars] 7. Time + Space (Featuring Lou Lou Ghelichkhani) – It’s Lou Lou!!!!!!!!!!! She’s on just about every Thievery album I think. Her voice is so fucking intoxicating. That beat to back up her vocals, get outta here! This track is a no-brainer. Starting in at the 0:40 mark, there’s a recurring chime/string like beat leading into the next layer right at the 1:37 mark with a sound followed by some kind of exotic percussion instrument I think (which presents itself again around the 2:56 mark). Simply FUCKNOMENAL in every damn sense. This track is the essence of what Thievery Corporation is. They bring together worldly (often unknown, at least to me…lol) artists (both male and female but usually female) and perfect/highlight their sound with their legendary production. Many of their past albums, in case you’re new to Thievery Corp, are like this track, especially: The Mirror Conspiracy (’00) and The Cosmic Game (’04). [5 stars with fucking ease] 8. Love Has No Heart (Featuring Shana Halligan) – Halfway done with the album and I’m shocked at how good this is. It’s perfect in my book thus far (5.00 rating through 7 tracks). Another female vocalist on this track, here we go… Damn, that synthesized beat (if it’s a synth, I think it is…?) is fucking FIRE! This track doesn’t require any more typing, plus I need to crack my knuckles now… [5 stars with fucking ease yet again] 9. Lose To Find (Featuring Elin Melgarejo) – I don’t know Elin Melgarejo but I see she was a guest on Thievery’s last album, Saudade, which I wasn’t a fan of (too slow in tempo and too much bossanova for my liking). She Swedish and wow, what a shocker, she also has a gorgeous, intoxicating voice. So I read about her and she used to live in NY and after a failed marriage, she fled back to Europe to try and find some peace and new inspiration so this track is obviously about that. So fucking deep emotionally and just so damn good. Guess what? [5 stars] 10. Let The Chalice Blaze – Ok, so what are we actually blazing here? LOL. Beautiful start so far… Ahhhh, I hear a snippet of an old Thievery sound at the 1:20 mark. Now, we’re back to dub (cue their debut album, Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi and a little from Radio Retaliation. Yet another beautiful smoking segue-like track (put it in the air!) for the transition into the final ending to this masterpiece of an album. [5 stars] 11. Weapons Of Distraction (Featuring Notch) – And we keep that dub sound going here… Ok, think we’re coming down now. Like, “ok guys, we’ve taking you pretty “high” and now it’s time to come back to Earth and ride on out into the green pastures…”. Nothing remarkable here, solid…yes, but that’s it. Awarding my first 4-star rating. Perfection is no more, but…I will say that sometimes I’ll make an exception for 1 track and award an extra star if it was the only blip on the album and take into account the entire body of work. So we’ll see. [4 stars] 12. Road Block (Featuring Racquel Jones) – This track sounds just like track 11, to where I didn’t even notice a change in the track. Loved Racquel Jones on track 2 but this track is nowhere as good as that one was. Tracks 11 and 12 I did not loop a few times. It’s good and solid but that’s it. [4 stars] 13. Fight To Survive (Featuring Mr. Lif) – Bring it home Lif, bring it fucking home! I’m anxious for track 12 to end, here we go...3-2-1 and we’re off! Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! Midway through Lif’s first verse at 0:36 that string instrument (????) makes itself more present. Ok, we’re ending on a high note with the emotion to finish out the album. OMFG, that’s fucking FIRE! I’m not gonna replay that one, that shit needs to stand-alone during the album’s normal play. It’s that special. [5 stars] 14. Babylon Falling (Featuring Puma) – Thievery Corporation is Dub and Dub is Thievery Corporation. Such a heartfelt, feel-good near-ending to the album… [5 stars] 15. Drop Your Guns (Featuring Notch) – Last track…how’s it gonna end? Put your guns down. Depending on the album/artist/genre/etc. going out with a bang isn’t always wise, which I think works here after the journey we just went on. Trying to come to peace and somehow find any kind, even the smallest kind of resolution to the major problem at hand, society and its love for the entire human race. It’s a contemplating ending and though the production may not warrant an automatic 5-stars, the deeper meaning and placement of this track does. [5 stars] Conclusion My album rating = 73 stars / 15 tracks = 4.87 So there you have it. Damn near perfection and truly a masterpiece of an album in my humble opinion. The album runs just over an hour (60:15) and it probably took me 2 hours to listen to it on the 2nd go-around. I didn’t read a single review of the album whatsoever before listening to it because with an artist that I truly love, I do not want to be influenced by any way. I want to hear, see and feel the music internally before any external sources can come in. I have no clue what the major media outlets are saying (Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, etc.) and I could care fucking less. This album is fucking gold! Watch, now Pitchfork is gonna say the album is garbage…often happens like that…HAHAHAHA. Pitchfork’s review should be released either today or tomorrow I’d think so I’ll keep ya posted for shits and giggles. #ThieveryCorporation

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