Abney Park will be playing at Heaven on September 26th.  Show is at 9pm, 172 South Washington Street.  I am so excitited!   See you there!

Click here for more details, or go to the Abney Park website!

Tim Burton will be directing an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland -- filming is set to begin in November.

I remember reading a while ago (maybe a year or more) that there was some interest from a Hollywood studio in turning American McGee's Alice into a feature film.  This might not be the same project, but I'm sure it will be nice and spooky ;-) 

Video games have changed a lot over the years, both graphically and in terms of content.  As the technology improved and more realistic games became possible, game developers realized they could set a mood. Atmosphere can be a huge advantage in gameplay, as it can involve the player on an emotional level.

Over the years a few games have stood out for me as being particularly good at creating an environment that is memorable, frightening, and darkly beautiful. 

This is not an exhaustive list of games, so please comment with your own experiences!

9 (AKA "The Last Resort")

Released in 1995, 9 followed the familiar CD-ROM-based adventure model.  The game took advantage of high-quality QuickTime video and graphically rich pre-rendered 3D environments.

While the puzzles and cast of the game (made up of several well-known Hollywood stars) are uniformly excellent, it is the graphics that set this game apart.  In a brilliant move on the part of the designers, they employed the talents of Mark Ryden to great effect.

Surreal and creepy, I often found myself stopping just to enjoy the graphics and artwork displayed throughout the game. 

Seattle, WA band Abney Park wants to take you back... to the Industrial Revolution and Victorian days, when machines were something new to the human experience.

Abney Park has been present in the Goth scene since 1997 (or before!), and continue to impress -- whether you think of them as Goth, Industrial, or Steampunk, there is something to like in their music.

Some of their more recent music is very heavy with guitar, but still relates nicely to songs such as Stigmata Martyr with it's Middle Eastern feel.  Perhaps the most striking thing about the music is the contrast of deep male and ethereal female vocals -- there is no harsh delivery here, just carefully crafted and beautiful melodies.

Descent (every Sunday at the Red Room in Vancouver) celebrated it's one-year anniversary August 17th, and to mark the occasion hosted Voltaire

The show got off to a slow -- albeit amusing -- start as Voltaire treated the audience to his dry wit while doing an impromptu sound-check.  After the technical issues were sorted out the show got underway, and did not disappoint.

Some of the old classics were performed, and a few very amusing stories were told over the course of the set.  One thing is certain: the audience was completely engaged by the performance, and that speaks well to Voltaire's ability as a solo performer in these days of elaborate stage theatrics.

Following the set the evening continued with a good selection of industrial and darkwave -- if you are looking for a good club outing on a Sunday evening, definitely check out Descent at the Red Room.

 See pictures from the show at GothicBC.