R.I.P. Bagheera (1997-2013)

I had to put one of my cats to sleep today.  I have had him for a very long time, since I was a junior in high school.  I named him after the panther in the Jungle Book and he definitely lived up to his name.  He was just like a miniature panther.  Constantly stalking and playing.  It is a very sad day.  He was the first real pet that I could call my own.  Heavy metal can wait for a day.

Happy Valentine's Day to My Wife

I had planned a post for today, but I was stuck in court most of the day.  So here is the song we had our first dance to.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Metallattorney

It was actually yesterday, but I was away all day.  So this a day late.

Site News

You might have noticed an increase in posting this week.  I wouldn't expect it to continue.  I have not been as busy this week, but starting the first week in October, I have a lot of trials scheduled.  However, I am trying to set aside time each day to try to get through one post.  It helps that I recently went on a bit of a CD buying binge when there was a big sale at the local music store.  So I have a lot to review.  Add in trying to catch up on Reader Submissions and bringing stuff over from Full Metal Attorney and I have quite a bit ready to go right now.  I will try my best to keep going.  I just ask for patience.

It's My Birthday

My wife and I went to Kansas City on Monday to see the Red Sox play the Royals.  Boston has been terrible this year so far, but at least they won on Monday.  Nothing to do with metal here, just sharing.  I will have some posts up soon, I promise.  I have another jury trial scheduled in a little more than a week, so things have been pretty busy.

Once More, An Apology

Again, I am sorry. Things have been busy. Today, I had a jury trial, decision is to come sometime tomorrow morning. I have a bunch of stuff in the works though, so soon I will be able to get some more posts up here. In the meantime, enjoy this freaking awesome song by Armored Saint, John Bush's band just before joining Anthrax. For those not in the know, Armored Saint actually made a performance cameo in Hellraiser 3, performing this song among others. Yes, Hellraiser 3.

I'm Trying

I am trying to get back on a regular posting schedule. But things are pretty hectic right now. I currently have six trials scheduled in the next five weeks. Four of which are jury trials. Three of those are felony jury trials which will likely take two to three days each. Business is booming right now. On top of the trials, I have been retained on very noteworthy case. I have been interviewed in the Omaha newspaper which is a city two hours away from my area of practice. Of course, I gave the standard "no comment", but that is besides the point.

Anyway, please bear with me. I am trying. Hopefully soon I will be back to some regular posting schedule of some sort.

Christmas Haul and Upcoming Posts

Well it was a pretty decent Christmas for me. My wonderful wife felt bad that I have been unable to buy many albums this year, so she bought me three. They were the new albums by Iced Earth, Vader, and Warbringer. My little brother also bought me the new Obscura album, so four new albums after several months with only one or two.

Next week, I will begin my end of the year lists, so look out for those. My big jury trial scheduled for the entire week settled just recently, so I should have time to do some posting.

Updates

Sorry it has been a very busy month. That tends to happen sometimes when running your own law firm. I have multiple trials in the coming weeks. Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know I am still around and hope to get back to posting more regularly very soon. I have a few bands that have contacted me recently and I will get those reviews out as soon as possible.

What is Going On Here?

I apologize for the dearth in posts lately. Work has kind of caught up to me and I don't have as much time to blog right now, much less listen to new music. So, what's going on?

I am working on a brief for the Nebraska Court of Appeals. I also have been preparing a number of cases for jury trials. Hopefully some of this will get done in the next few weeks and I may be able to get back to posting more often. I hope.

Just bear with me. If anyone has a band they want reviewed, feel free to contact me.

I'm Back

I just returned from Mexico late last night. I originally planned to jump right back into things today, but I had a lot to catch up at work. So, the Favorite Metal Bands countdown will continue tomorrow. The trip was a blast and the wedding went off basically without a hitch. I guess that's the best you can hope for.

Anyway, to hold you over, here is a video of the song my wife and I danced to for our first dance: Scorpions: "When You Came Into My Life"

Last Post for Awhile

I am getting married this Saturday and then going on my honeymoon next week, so this is my last post until I get back. When I do, I will continue with the Top 100 and a couple of Initial Impressions posts and I have something special planned. I will see you all around the 20th.

Let the Countdown Begin

In exactly one month, I will be getting married to my wonderful fiancee. Looking forward to it.

My Metal History Pt. 9: Post-Law School to the Present

Wow, I really did not mean to put this off so long. Let's finish this series, shall we?

I took the Bar Exam in summer of 2006 after graduating from law school. I passed it quite easily. The Bar Exam itself is not really that difficult. It's the months of preparation leading up to it that are the really stressful part. Honestly, I have no memory of actually taking the exam. It was just sort of anticlimactic.

After the Bar Exam, I reported to my first job in September. I was working at a small law office in St. Paul, Nebraska, a town of about 2,200 people. It was two hours away from my home town in Lincoln, so I knew no one. I was only the second attorney in the whole town. It was a bit of a culture shock going from a city of over 200,000 people to one of only 2,000. But part of the job offer was that the firm was going to pay my rent for my home. They wanted me to live in the town and become a member of the community. This of course freed up a ton of money for me.

Since I had so much money right away, I saved a lot and spent a lot on metal. I immersed myself a lot more into the music. I had no friends within an hour's drive and I had money, so I went out and got as much as possible. I sought out all of the landmark albums from each of the subgenres that I could get my hands on. I found websites and studied the history of the genre. It was then that I discovered the Encyclopedia Metallum. At one point they listed the all-time greatest albums in each subgenre and I went through and found a bunch of those. I learned the differences between all of the subgenres, something I was admittedly fuzzy on before. I had no social life, there was none to be had in St. Paul, a town with virtually no residents in my age range. Metal became my escape. I would come home to a completely empty house (other than my two cats) and turn on the stereo. It would not be turned off until I went to sleep at night.

I discovered all kinds of new and exciting music while I was living in St. Paul and I always was able to buy as much as I wanted at that time. I remember the first real trip to buy music was to Best Buy in Grand Island where I bought the new albums by Lamb of God, Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden, Cannibal Corpse, and the reissued Melissa by Mercyful Fate. From there, it became almost an addiction. I discovered online stores and placed several orders. I started listening to groups from every subgenre in metal. Groups as diverse as Darkthrone, Sonata Arctica, Overkill, Bolt Thrower, and many more became frequent additions to my collection. I discovered several scenes that I fell in love with: Australian war metal, Hellenic black metal, slam death metal, and Canadian thrash metal.

In summer of 2008, I began dating the woman who would eventually become my fiancee for the second time. My spending habits on music decreased to allow for time and money to be spent on her, but it was still definitely high, and in January of 2009, I started this blog. It was at this time that I was informed by my boss that I was no longer going to be employed there. Her reasoning was never really clear. So I began a job search and took a position in Norfolk, Nebraska. The downside was that I no longer had free rent and was not able to spend quite as much on music. It was disappointing, but by that point I was mostly caught up on the classics and looking for undiscovered gems.

I got engaged in fall of 2009 (September 14, yes honey I remember the date). Money began being put more towards the wedding, but I have still been able to pick up music that I really want. Last Fall, I became unemployed again. I will not go into the reasons here. My decision was to go out on my own, to stay in Norfolk, but to open my own office. It has now been just a few months since I really started getting things in gear, but things are going reasonably well. Hopefully business will continue to pick up and I will be back where I was financially in St. Paul. We'll see.

Valentine's Day

Last night was pretty good for my fiancee and I for Valentine's Day. I got her the standard dozen roses and chocolates and took her to eat at a new Italian restaurant and then to the movie True Grit, which was about the only decent option around here.

She bought me this:What a great fiancee.

Update

Okay finally. I have some decent internet connection at the new home. I have also started moving into my new office. Things are progressing pretty well right now, so I will be able to post more often. My fiancee and I are very happy in our new home, particularly now that we have some contact with the outside world.

I have a lot of reviews coming up. I also have some other random posts in plans. Look for more posts from me starting tomorrow, when I officially start my new firm.

Also, congrats to my colleague Kelly at Full Metal Attorney for his upcoming additions to his family.

Update

I popped in quick. It's taking a bit longer than even I thought to get a decent internet connection out there. I will hopefully be back as soon as my office opens, which may be the middle or end of next week. We'll see. Bear with me. I promise to get back soon.

Personal Update

This may be my last post for a few days. I am moving to a new place, an acreage out East of my current town. As such, it may be a few days before I have internet access again. I have not yet opened an office, but that will occur in the next couple of weeks. After I get moved. The dogs will be very happy out in the country.

So, I will be back as soon as I can with some posts that I have been planning.

See you soon.

What I've Been Listening To

I have not been keeping very good track of things during my hiatus from posting on this blog. But, here's a rough idea of some of the stuff I have been listening to:

Unleashed
Amon Amarth
Deceased...
Darkthrone
Lightning Swords of Death
Vomit Remnants
Razor of Occam
Brain Drill
Woe of Tyrants

I was on a big Deceased... kick last week and listened to all of my albums by them, and I do have quite a few. I have not bought anything new in a long time. Most of my money has been going to trying to get my law firm off the ground. I do have four criminal court appointments going right now. I think the most challenging part of this will be trying to get clients. Advertising is a must.

I do want to thank the individuals who commented for their support as well as my fiancee for hers. I will probably be writing reviews here shortly. As I mentioned I do not have any new albums, although there are quite a few that I want. Lots of good stuff has been coming out. My wantlist includes the new albums (and some older ones) from the following:

Cradle of Filth (bit of a guilty pleasure, but they're better than Dimmu Borgir these days)
The Crown
Sacrifice
Heathen
Forbidden
Atheist
Hail of Bullets
Sodom
Grand Magus
Kamelot
Vektor
Voivod
Fleshgod Apocalypse

Update 2

I have made the decision to start up my own firm. I will keep you all up to date. Next week, I intend to get back to posting regularly. Thank you for your patience.