The new (hed) pe CD came out in stores, the new Stephen King movie released into theaters and I turned 21. What more could one ask for in a week?

I debated about which I should review; CD, movie, CD, movie. Finally, I came to a conclusion. Both.

The day it came out, I rushed to Best Buy to grab the new (hed) CD (and purchased it for a cheap $8). I heard one song, “Blackout,” and that was enough to make me addicted to the group’s new sound. Like everyone though, I was unsure about whether the rest of the album would be as good. Rather than doing it the easy way and downloading it off the Internet, I decided to blow a little bit of my birthday money on it and give it a whirl. Smart choice.

The rest of the album, titled Blackout, is much better than the title track. The group changed its sound, yet again, and has made its third release a lot better than the other two.

Its self-titled album was their first release, and it was a really hard hitting piece. It was awesome in a way, but really good only for those who like their music loud and heavy. The second album, Broke, slowed down the tempo a bit and went away from the heavy metal genre with Slipknot and the like and into the rap-metal genre with Korn. But if you thought that album was awesome, and you haven’t heard the new one – you ain’t seen nothing yet.

The new album still keeps up the rap-metal image a little, but not as much as the last album did. This one leans more into the hip-hop area of music. On the sophomore release, many of the songs talked about drinking, sex, drugs and all that other good stuff. Blackout delves more into personal issues like individuality and the like.

If you’ve liked any of (hed) pe’s music in the past, you’ll probably love its new release. It’s worth the buy, or the time it takes you to download it and the computer space, whichever you prefer. Check it out. It’s great.

Now let’s talk about the movie. March 21, Dreamcatcher was released into theaters. The movie is based on one of Stephen King’s newer releases by the same name. I haven’t read the book.

I thought about it, and then decided that if I read the book and they screwed up the movie, I would never be able to forgive them. So, I opted to watch the movie first. Well, let’s just say that as soon as I got out of the movie I began a hunt for the cheapest copy of the book I could find.

The movie was great. Starring Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane and Damian Lewis (plus a whole slew of others), the movie didn’t seem to have a single bad actor in it. OK, so you need to know what it’s about.

Basically, four kids helped save a boy from a group of bullies in Derry, Maine. The four became five, and the four gained special powers after the incident. Later they all move away to live their separate lives, yet keep in touch with each other and every year go up to Hole in the Wall to hunt for a few days. This particular year they encounter more than just deer and rabbits in the woods. There are aliens there, and a government force (led by Freeman) has moved in to rid the human race of them (the aliens). The four friends (the fifth still lives in Derry, but he comes into the story again later) must depend upon the childhood bond/friendship between them, because it might be the only thing that can keep them alive.

Yeah, I know, I hated Signs because of the stupid aliens in it. But you must understand, Stephen King doesn’t create stereotypical aliens. No cute little green men for the King of Horror. How so? Well, I can’t really explain that without giving away much of the story. Let’s just say this, though, with twist after twist, it’ll keep you interested throughout the whole thing.

And if you have read the book, I’m not sure how close it follows to it. I’ve read the first 52 pages of the book, and if that’s any way of telling, the movie follows it like a shadow.

Even if you haven’t read the book, you can still enjoy this movie immensely. It’s very Stephen Kingish and very good.

Don’t wait for it to come out on video, cough up a few extra bucks and watch it on the big screen. Get the full experience.

All in all, besides learning one thing I didn’t want or need to know, it was a great week. Come on, wouldn’t you have enjoyed it?