The Unclean

Oh, such a shit load of madness that’s been flying this way for the past few weeks! Hold your breath dear creatures, we’re diving head first!

First off, I’m really excited about our first full issue, we packed as much as we could in this one. We have 3 movie reviews, the Number 23, The Simpsons and Distrubia. There are 2 CD reviews with one from CombiChrist and the other from VNV Nation. We are also covering two amazingly talented artists this issue, Jason Beam and Nicoletta Ceccoli. We also take a look at a book about a little known wizard named Harry, plus our video spotlight. On the manifest side of things there have been some major site changes taken place recently; sorry for the mess lately

Let’s hit the obvious first, site changes. DOM now has it’s own look. I thought it was important to set it apart from the rest of the website. The other articles are mostly an assortment of resources and DOM is geared towards just entertaining; well, hopefully anyways I removed the sidebar, expanding the page for more content room and made some changes to the CSS so that every issue of DOM is just a little purtier then the rest of the site.
Do me a favor and vote on the poll to let me know what you think!

Mogul also added an entirely new album to the gallery packed with free graphics for you to use on myspace, vampirefreaks, in forums, wherever. We will be adding more graphics to it ever few days and placing some sample code to every image in that album for easy cut and paste; the code should be available b4 the next issue. Graphics Album

Precipice: this issue we take a glance at the sensual gothic art of Jason Beam and the hauntingly enchanting works of Nicoletta Ceccoli. Art critiques by Bane.

We’ll start with Jason Beam. He is a very well known name throughout much of the gothic industrial community, and for damn good reason! Jason uses colors like few others can, blending layers of reality and horror to conform to his vision. This amazing blend of myth, nightmare and sensual visions are masterfully wrought and constantly growing. He currently has many pieces available for very reasonable prices on his official website and is always working, adding new pieces from time to time. More Jason Beam

Unique. Haunting. Lovely. Intriguing. The work of Italian artist Nicoletta Ceccoli is certainly all of these things. She creates truly amazing pieces of art that have been recognized worldwide for their distinctive beauty. Her work has been exhibited at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair seven times. She has also shown her work at “L’art a la page” (Paris), Ottogallery (Bologna), Storyopolis (Los Angeles), and Daimaru museum (Osaka). Nicoletta’s artwork is certainly an investment, and priced as one too! More Nicolette Ceccoli

Soundscape: this issue we explore to very well known bands and their newest releases, What the Fuck is Wrong with You People by Combichrist and Judgement by VNV Nation. Music reviews this issue by Bane.

Let’s starts with What the Fuck Is Wrong with You People? by CombiChrist. First off, this is very different in sound then Everybody Hates You, and I’m ok with that. This is some very stompable audio damage created by Andy’s much more serious vocal assault and the powerful sounds of machines in agonizing ecstasy. Damn good CD here, very much worth the cash. Personally, some of my favs are Electrohead, Red and (of course) Get Your Body Beat. Currently, Andy and crew are on tour supporting the new album. If you get a chance see Combichrist live, they put on a kick ass show!

Sample: Red

On the other end of the dark spectrum, we have Judgement by VNV Nation. When I first got the CD (back in May I think) I was very excited, it had been over 2 years since I heard anything new from one of my longest running favorite bands. The wait was worth it, ok, FUCK that, I hate waiting!! But the CD is very good, and a must have without a doubt. I listen to this during work, while reading, working out, sleeping, taking a crap you get the picture; it’s in continuous rotation on my ipod.

Sample: The Farthest Star

Movies: this issue we go from animated stupidity in Springfield via the Simpsons to suspense in Disturbia to Jim Carrey in the Number 23. Movie reviews this issue by Mogul.

Number 23: The reason people like Jim Carrey in non-comidic roles, isn’t becuase he is a great dramitc actor. It is because he’s so relatable. When you see him on screen it’s only too easy to put yourself in his shoes. Relatibility is the greatest strength and ultimate downfall of this movie.
Jim Carrey starts off this movie as the everyman, a woking guy, normal, with a nice family. Seeing his descent into madness when the entire world begins to revolve around the number 23 and the events in a book his wife buys him is the best part of the movie. The direction is smart

and seeing the effect it has on his family really illuminates his plight. They do an excellent job of making it feel real. Like this could happen to you or someone you know (I’m looking at you numerologists). But then at the same time it destroys the suspension of belief by putting impossible coincidences. The ending is realistic but because the climax is doesn’t climb that high, and lets face; is a little predictable, your kinda left… disappointed.
Bottom Line: This isn’t a bad movie, it’s the jack of all trades. Thriller, horror, suspense, crime noir, fantasy. Too bad it’s the master of none. Number 23 Trailer

Disturbia: What can I say. It’s a fun movie but predictable. If you’ve ever seen REAR WINDOW or heard about, or seen the trailor for this movie. Then you pretty much can guess whats going to happen every time the movie starts getting into it’s suspense.
The acting is actually really well done, with Shia LaBeouf doing a great job as the bored and impatient teen trapped in his house with only his bikini clad neighbor and best friend to keep

him company. He starts watching the neighbors to kill the monotony. Then the ominous neighbor starts doing strange things. Is he a killer, isn’t he? Blah blah blah, you know the answer and how it ends. And if you didn’t, then you probably wouldn’t have the intelligence required to read this review. But getting there is the fun part right? It really is, after the extended exposition (yeah we get it, we’re supposed to like the main charector), the movie manages to maintains a fast pace and really sucks you in.
Bottom Line: It’s a fun ride. Just ignore the occasional plot hole and enjoy your popcorn. Disturbia Trailer

Simpsons: An inconvenient cartoon. I love this show. I also love cursing, nudity, political, satire, and vulgarity. Now let’s review the movie!
The new addition to the family (Spider Pig / Harry Plopper) gets Homer into the most trouble ever when the towns environmental problems threaten to spill out of Springfield, president Arnold Schwarzenegger declares emergency action that could doom them all. Thanks to the urging of his closest adviser. After the town tries to lynch them, Maggie finds an escape and they hit the road! But can they really leave their hometown to it’s fate? Like most episodes there are a few story lines going at once. Like Lisa’s romance which is really touching. Everyone gets a moment, and there are plenty of moments for the hard core fans. Still at 90 minutes it did feel a little long. Some parts outside of Springfield tend to drag. It felt out of character a bit, as do a few other scenes. You get the feeling that after nearly two decades of network censors, they went a little nuts. Some of it works great, some of it just left the theater audience speechless, which is bad in a comedy (in case you were wondering).
Bottom Line: A little slow at parts but anyone who is or at sometime was a fan of the show (Particularly you!) should see this movie. Simpsons Trailer

Inkwell: this issue we take a look at just one book, a short glance at an immensely well known wizard. Book review by Bane.

The wizards name is Harry. But if you thought I was talking about something written for kids, your dead wrong! The author of the books that I am talking about is Jim Butcher, and the Harry I am referring to Harry Dresden.
Jim Butcher is an excellent writer, able to provide tremendous detail without weighing the story down. He has woven together a series of books on magic, vampires, the In Grave Peril, the 3rd book in the Dresden Files series, Harry finds himself battling something completely unknown. In all of Harry’s years of supernatural sleuthing, he’s never faced anything like this. The entire spirit world’s gone postal. And all of Chicago’s ghosts are causing big bad, bloody trouble. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone, or thing, is intentionally stirring them up to wreak havoc.
I don’t want to give anything away, but I have to tell you, Harry eats someone! And it’s such a well written scene, so damn cool, and integral to the story, you’ve got to read it to understand why Butcher is now one of my favorite authors.

Zoetrope: we’ve added a number of videos over the past few weeks, from a guy with Parkinson’s singing about his balls, to some badass music videos, but there highlight this issue is all about love.
Take a peek at episode 1 of Neu Rosa and see how she deals with love. Interesting, funny, creepy little gothic animated video. For more Neu Rosa check out http://www.youtube.com/user/Sharonkan

Well madhouse monkeys, that’s it for issue 001 of DOM. Mogul and I will be back in just two short weeks.

Tags: combichrist, distrurbia, DOM, dresden files, jason beam, jim butcher, neu rosa, nicolette ceccoli, simpsons, the number 22, video, vnv nation