Music

[Retro Review] Van Halen ‘1984’

Published

12 years ago

February 1, 2012

Ah, 1984, the year I was born in. The year that the Apple Macintosh came out. A year that has become synonymous with dystopian society. It was also the year that Van Halen’s iconic album 1984 came out. While the sixth studio album was a departure from their recognized sound, many critics lauded the album and its exciting foray into new territory. It would also be the last album the band recorded with vocalist David Lee Roth (until this years A Different Kind Of Truth). But does this album still have the same punch as it did nearly three decades ago? Or has age worn this beast down?

Let’s get something clear from the start: filled with many of Van Halen’s most popular songs (Jump, Panama and Hot For Teacher), 1984 is a classic album that achieved the coveted “timeless” status the day it came out. It’s an album that showed Van Halen daring to break out from what was expected of them and embracing changing times while still managing to sound entirely like themselves.

The album still sounds fantastic. The guitars sound huge but not overbearing, the synthesizers thick and exciting, the drums boomy in the toms and sizzling in the cymbals, and the bass perfectly mixed in as a concrete solid foundation. Perhaps the most important and enjoyable aspect of this mix is how dynamic it is. Rather than a wall of sound with each section as loud as the previous, this album changes it up and keeps the listener guessing, one hand cautiously close to the volume knob.

Clocking in at just over 33 minutes with only nine tracks, 1984 can easily be considered short by today’s standards, especially considering the first track is naught more than a synthesizer intro. But length doesn’t matter when songs are as tight and exciting as this. For me, each song is tight, to the point, and has a grab-you-by-the-throat mentality.

The Final Word: As I stated above, Van Halen’s 1984 is a timeless classic that belongs in any music library, regardless of taste. Considering that it’s been 28 years since its release, this only proves how exciting these guys are.

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Movies

‘M3GAN 2.0’ – Ivanna Sakhno and Allison Williams Starring in Horror Sequel

Published

1 day ago

May 1, 2024

John Squires

Pictured: Ivanna Sakhno in 'Let It Snow'

Blumhouse is bringing killer doll M3GAN back to the screen in M3GAN 2.0 in 2025, and Deadline reports today that Ivanna Sakhno (Let It Snow, “Ahsoka”) has signed on to star.

Ivanna Sakhno is said to have a “major role” in the upcoming sequel.

The follow-up from Universal and Blumhouse will release in theaters on May 16, 2025.

Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are back for the sequel, with Akela Cooper (Malignant, M3GAN) once again writing the script and James Wan on board to produce.

SPOILER WARNING: M3GAN ends with the titular doll being destroyed, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Child’s Play franchise it’s that killer dolls can never truly be killed!

M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by brilliant toy-company roboticist Gemma (Get Out’s Allison Williams), M3GAN can listen and watch and learn as she becomes friend and teacher, playmate and protector, for the child she is bonded to.

When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems—a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.

M3GAN 2.0 - Best of 2023