Review Archive Series #7: The Advantage, Elf-Titled cd

The following review represents one in a series of reviews published during my tenure as the resident music critic and assistant Arts Editor for The Phoenix, the official student newspaper of UBC-Okanagan in Kelowna, B.C. They are being reprinted here because I feel that while these reviews might represent a point of serious-suckitude in the developement of my writing, they are examples of my earliest attempts at criticism (if jerking off on an album's cover can be considered criticism), and above all: these albums desperately deserve the attention of your tinnitus-damaged ears.



















The Advantage, Elf Titled
5RC, 2006

Concussive bolts of blocky energy whirred past me, shimmering in the glass of my space helmet's face-plate as sweat beaded down my forehead. My panicked eyes had long gone bloodshot, vision blurred. Nervously I gripped my controller tighter, pressing it in closely to my chest. Energy tank low, I descended down airlocked corridors in the deep catacombs of Zebes: firing off blasts into the deep blackness. Finally, I reach my target. Its scale is massive, towering from floor to ceiling, a seemingly endless 8-bit behemoth. The single, lidless eye of Mother Brain stares at me coldly. Suddenly, hungry Metroids appear out of nowhere, there's a flash, I dive to move out of the way...

My controller smashes against the carpet floor, my mouth dry from screaming childish obscenities. Mother Brain tells me that I've had enough for today, and to go outside and play in the 'real world'. Fuming, pissed, and defeated, I leave: the cartridge quietly collecting dust within the mocking grey console.

My childhood is populated with scenes like this: hours spent with eyes captivated on the television screen only to end in humiliating defeat at the hands of Dracula, Dr. Wily, or those damned eggplant wizards from Kid Icarus. The Advantage are a progressive rock four-piece who made their debut in 2005, covering the classic themes of the NES games that were the source of so much of my childhood joys and frustrations. Where their debut covered many of the more well-known bases, Elf-Titled tackles the themes of more obscure Nintendo classics, as well as some old favorites, and Castlevania, Megaman II, Ducktails, Double-Dragon, and Metroid are just a few of the games feature on the album's sixteen compositions, which includes two, three-part medleys.

Not unlike the classic NES games which inspired it's creation, Elf-Titled's greatest strength lies in it's replayability. More often than not, The Advantage's new renditions surpass the original themes them by giving them a sonic depth and texture the 8-bit system simply wasn't capable of, and their ingenuity and technical skill put them head and shoulders above the rest of their nintendocore contemporaries. What few critics tend to realize is that the themes to these games weren't just cute little keyboard compositions set to play as muzak while us gamers brought down alien civilizations or saved Princess Peach for the nth time. These tunes were thought to be examples of modern classical music in Japan. So obviously, bringing these themes to life requires impeccable musicianship, which thankfully, The Advantage have in spades. Armed with a diverse arsenal of instruments ranging from electric sitars to Hammond organs, The Advantage rock with as much passion as technical precision, coming off as a King Crimson for the Nintendo generation. Elf-titled features a variety of musical styles, from the hard-driving electro-funk of "Batman - Stage 1" to the symphonic metal medley of "Castlevania III - Boss Music > Willow - Village > Megaman II - Bubble Man", with each song building in strength until the triumphant finale of "Wizards & Warriors - Tree Trunk > Woods > Victory". Fans of The Fucking Champs, the aforementioned King Crimson, Rush, and The Minibosses should have a lot of fun with this record, making it the perfect soundtrack to a long night of munchies and Mountain Dew in the Mushroom Kingdom. Game on.