Heavy Metal Signature Alcohol

Heavy Metal Beverages

 

Heavy metal bands just love to drink.  And sing about drinking.  And drink while singing about drinking.  Tankard and Korpiklaani come immediately to mind when someone mentions Beer Metal.  And Alestorm throw in pirates into the drunken mix.  Yarr!!
But there is a growing market for heavy metal bands to bring out their own brand of alcohol.  Natural progression?  Sellout?  Shut up and drink!

Motorhead have their own drinks shop, where they sell Bastards Lager, a Motorhead Vodka, a Rose Shiraz and a regular Aussie Shiraz, with a warning from Lemmy himself.

This page is being constantly updated.  Keep checking in, I'm finding more and more Heavy Metal Signature Alcohol all the time.  It's a booming market, and far more difficult to download, though many of the beverages are limited by number and/or location.  Good Luck! 

 
Motorhead Drinks Shop

Swedish Death Metal Merchants Amon Amarth have also plundered the Australian Shiraz market with a wine of their own

Amon Amarth Shiraz

They also have a beer called Ragnarok.

AC/DC have a range of wine choices from a Back in Black Shiraz, a Highway to Hell Cabernet Sauvignon and not forgetting their You Shook Me All Night Long Moscato.

Read this article for more info

Beer as well?

And what better way to celebrate the greatest thrash album of all time, than to drink along with the wine?  Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' wine.  I'm serious here.

Read a review here

Are Kiss heavy metal?  Who cares!  Shut up and drink!!!

Beer as well?  Go on, sign that contract!

Drink!

Ratt and Warrant too?  Oh, the humanity!

Have they no shame?

In Flames have entered the whiskey market.

But it's not cheap...

Now all I need is a distributor, and a backer for my hard rock/metal bar idea, and away I go.  Are there any more heavy metal beverages out there?  I'll keep looking... and drinking...


Update 10/03/13.  I just found this cheeky picture of Chris Bowes holding Alestorm Mead!  Go Sick Now!  Yarr!

Update 09/04/13.

Not sure how this one slipped under the radar, but Iron Maiden have a cheeky Merlot (Chilean, I believe) available online through their online shop.

There is also an array of Iron Maiden glasses, leather tankards, tumblers. shot glasses, etc, if you feel like having an entire Iron Maiden-themed bar.  Me, I'm just in it for the booze...

7th Son Evil Brew

Don't forget Trooper, the Premium British Beer...

Be sure you're over 18 


Update 25/04/13

There are a couple more wines that I should add to this list.  One is thanx to the comment below about Tool's James Maynard Keenan, who owns Merkin Wineyards and their associated winery, Caduceus Cellars.  The wines doesn't scream 'TOOL' the way the above alcohol cashes in on a Heavy Metal Band brand name, but the question remains, how well known would this wine have been, had it not been associated with a famous Heavy Metal Dude?

More info can be found here

And secondly, Geoff Tate, former frontman for Queensryche, and current frontman for another Queensryche (yeah, legal battles, gotta love the music industry right?) and noted wine enthusiast has launched his own brand of wine with wife Susan.  The wine is called 'Insania', and features a red "full-bodied Bordeaux blend" and a white that "is noteworthy for its viscosity and vibrant acidity".  Enough of the ad, start drinking!

Geoff Tate Likes Wine

Let's not forget another couple of beers to throw in.  Clutch have a dark sour ale on the market...

And Mastodon have added a couple of beers to the mix...

...and a stylish stein to hold all that loveliness

I'd love to review any of these products, but the only one I've seen in the local is the AC/DC wines.  Feel free to send me samples!

26/04/13

The more I dig...the more I find...

Sepultura have a beer brand out which, by one account possesses “turbidity caused by natural yeast in suspension” and the “aroma and flavors of banana and clove from a special strain of yeast that produces the chemicals that lead to these perceptions.”

It comes in a package resembling a Marshall Amp.

And Finnish Black Metal dudes Impaled Nazarene have released (wait for it) Goat Brew Beer!

 However it's only available in Finland.  Bureaucracy and legal issues are blamed.  I assume no goats were harmed in the making of this beer. 

Municipal Waste have a signature oatmeal stout called Toxic Revolution that has been described as a “black liquid wall of death in your mouth.”

Pig Destroyer have jumped on the ale-wagon

Eyehategod have a beer named after their debut album 'In The Name Of Suffering.'

Burnt Hickory Brewery are working on the official Corrosion Of Conformity Imperial Porter.  It's a Rum Barrel Aged Raisin Porte.  Yummo!

And not to be left out, Marilyn Manson has his own 'Mansinthe'.  Of course he does.

Lordy Lordy...

Update 11/05/13

Blind Guardian have released "a perfect Syrah from the famous growing area Languedoc in Southern France."  The perfect drink for any of their power metal albums, or even their first two speed metal albums. 

Nightwish have released 'Imaginaerum', a Spanish wine from the Ribera del Duero region, characterized as "Rich at the palate, with blackberries, noble woods and a persistent aftertaste."   Obviously to co-incide with the album and movie release.

Metal and Wine online store

Update 19/7/13

Swedish Doom Merchants Graveyard have a beer out.

It's currently available only in Sweden (of course).  According to Hisingen Brew, it is "made from special Cascade-hops that makes it taste even better lukewarm for your festival nights."  For those of us who like cold brews, that sounds like a cop-out, but I do rather like the chicken with tentacles on the can.

GWAR have announced their own beer coming out for August 3rd.  It's the GWAR B-Q Beer, and was created for the upcoming GWAR B-Q on August 17 in Richmond VA.  The beer should go well with the Brutal Burgers topped with GWAR-B-Q Sauce. 

They even have a beer ad.

Check out the news here

Update 11/08/13

Another couple of drinkables that have slipped under my radar.

Whitesnake had a Russian River Valley 2008 Zinfandel on the market awhile ago, and according to this website is sold out.  

Was it love?  Love of money perhaps.  Their Cabernet Sauvignon is still apparently available, but, alas, EU and US deliveries only.  

And Swiss Industrial/Black/Symphonic/whatever they are playing today band Samael (a band I quite like, despite my description) have entered the Signature Alcohol market with a wine described as "a fine assemblage made from grapes of Gamay, Diolinoir and Sangiovese. It should surprise the connoisseurs by its mixtures of dark and deep aromas."  Mmmm Mmmm.  

It's called 'Alliance', it's a 2009 vintage, and is a limited edition, and probably sold out as I type.  

 Now being stuck to walls everywhere...

Available here

Update 24/10/13

And the Booze just keeps on flowing...

Italian Symphonic Death Metal merchants Fleshgod Apocalypse have released a brutal couple of wines to celebrate their latest (and recommended) album 'Labyrinth'.  The wines are named after characters from the Labyrinth of Knossos, reflecting the band's Italian and Mediterranean heritage.  'Minotaur' is the red, presumably (there is very little information on the actual wine or grape itself), and 'Ariadne' is the white.  

The wines are currently available only in Europe, but their website promises world wide availability 'coming soon'.  I'm open to reviews on this, please sent bottles to me now!

Norwegian band Kvelertak have jumped on the bandwagon with a very very limited edition of Kvelerbräu.  And by limited, I mean there are only 30 bottles available.  WHAT?!?  And because I completely missed the boat on this one, this 6.66% alcohol content (\m/) was available only at a show they did in Vienna in December of 2011.  I can't track down whether they've released any more, so I assume it tasted like sweaty arse, but, for the sake of a completionist article, I present to you Kvelerbräu, the beer 'made out of honey and hate'.  

Stoner Metal band High On Fire are in the process of bringing out a signature bong...er beer called Razorhoof, after the song of the same name.  Well, to be technical, a Saison Ale.

Details are sketchy, but it will be released from Three Floyds Beer, and is possible slated for a Feb 2014 release.  Maybe one of the delays is frontman Matt Pike being released from rehab last year. 

Matt Pike, Chin Chin!

Slayer Guitarist Kerry King, evidently not content with the 'Reign In Blood' wine mentioned earlier, has ventured into brewing (or distilling rather) with his Coldcock Whiskey Company.  

I'm not sure exactly what a Herbal Whiskey actually is, but it claims to not give you a hangover.  Rather, judging by the name, it will just knock you out instantly.  Oh yay.  While Slayer or Kerry King's name aren't plastered all over the label, it's clearly another cash grab, and will sit comfortably next to such double entendre-inviting whiskeys as Knob Creek, Fighting Cock and Redbreast.  Currently available only in select US states, they have plans to expand the power of Coldcock, and punch the world into swift submission.  Look Out!

Update 1/12/13

The Beer Must Flow

Norwegian Stoner band Thulsa Doom have jumped out of AA and onto the beerwagon with a Signature Release Barbarian Beer!  Get in touch with your Inner Barbarian and guzzle this latest addition to the burgeoning collection of Signature Alcohol!  Conan-Approved!

Inspired by the legendary drinking prowess of Robert E. Howard, the beer's soundtrack should be their epic 'Barbarian Beer Attack!'

Again, it's a seriously limited run, available only through the band's Facebook page.  And it's probably all sold out by now.  But, hey; Signature Beer, right?

Quick, before it's too late!

Update 25/4/14

Swedish band Wolf have teamed up with Swedish distiller Sankta Annas Bränneri to produce a Green Absinthe.  With an alcohol content of 66.6%, it is suitably evil, and according to one reviewer..."After you get past the initial blast of flavor there are plenty of subtle notes working on the front end and the back end of the tast (sic)".

Get yours here

Dave Mustaine Sells Out! (of his limited edition "Symphony Interrupted" Cabernet Sauvignon 2012)

Here's another one for the not-quite-signature-series.  It's not a Megadeth Wine.  It's not a I Hated Metallica Before It Was Cool wine.  But it is Dave Mustaine's Winery.  And his debut Cab Sav 2012 was made in limited quantities to commemorate Dave Mustaine’s sold-out performance with the San Diego Symphony at Copley Symphony Hall on April 12, 2014.  

But this one has a signature...

All sold out, but keep watching this space

And  Baltimore-based The Brewer’s Art have been issued a 'Cease and Desist' by Ozzy Osbourne to stop producing their Belgian strong pale ale, called “Ozzy.”

Spot the headless bat

So, it's not an official Heavy Metal Beer, and may be pulled soon so get it while it's hot.

Oops. Too Late!

Keep watching this space for more Metal Plonk!

International Talk Like Brian Blessed Day October 9 Everywhere!

In the absence of anything like this, and to celebrate the booming voice of this larger-than-life man, I present to you the International Talk Like Brian Blessed Day, which I have designated as October 9 (which is his birthday). 

For those of you who don't know Brian Blessed...SHAME!!!

Feel free to post suggestions for talking like Brian Blessed, or just go out and practice it on some unsuspecting random folk in your neighbourhood.

  "OH CALAMITY! OH HOWL, HOWL, HOWL!! BLBLBLBLBLB!! CRY HAVOC, AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR! I COULD HAVE FARTED THAT IN! THE GREAT STEAMING PILLOCK!!!"
—BRIAN BLESSED Giving Snooker Commentary.

International Talk Like Brian Blessed Day Facebook Group

International Talk Like Brian Blessed Day Facebook Page

Pedro's Pop Goes Metal Ultimate Playlist

Pop Goes Heavy Metal Playlist

What?!?  Heavy Metal covers of pop songs?  Are you insane?  That's too daggy for heavy metal.

Yeah yeah, get over yourself.  There are a lot of metal groups doing covers of pop songs.  Mostly they are fun, and (egad!) catchy (gasp!), sometimes they are sheer massacres of the originals (Ten Masked Men, anyone?).  And sometimes, they are solid gold.  Now that's real heavy metal right there.

Here's a playlist I whipped up when doing a couple of Metal Goes Pop shows on my weekly metal radio show.  Filmclips when I found them, all linked with much respect.  

My Top 40 Metal covers of Pop songs starts here.

Mr. Sandman (The Cordettes)  Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian kick off this list with this memorable little ditty from The Cordettes.

In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins)  Nonpoint
A seriously good Phil Collins metal cover?  I wouldn't have thought so either.  Nonpoint proved me wrong.  

Land Of Confusion (Genesis)  Disturbed
This works.  Good cover, and good original.

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police)  Ra
Another catchy cover, chunked up.  

In The Court Of The Crimson King (King Crimson)  Saxon
I would never have imagined Saxon could do such an authentic cover of a King Crimson song.  Proved wrong again.
 

 

Rasputin (Boney M)  Turisas
Solid Gold!  the filmclip is a classic, and an instruction on dramatic entrances.

Can You Forgive Her? (The Pet Shop Boys)  Finntroll
The Pet Shop Boys get Folk Metal-ized, courtesy of the irrepressable Finntroll.

Logical Song (Supertramp)  At Vance
Logical choice.

The Neverending Story (Limahl)  Dragonland
The Daggy-o-meter has just broken!

Cars (Gary Numan)  Fear Factory
Better than the original?

It's A Sin (The Pet Shop Boys)  Gamma Ray
German power metal cover of The Pet Shop Boys, to balance out Finntroll.

Rock Me Amadeus (Falco)  Megaherz
Solid chunk!

Crazy (Seal)  Mushroomhead
Crazy by Mushroomhead set to Transformers clips.  You know you want it.

Mongoloid (Devo)  Sepultura
A bit monotone, but searing and heavy nonetheless.

Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr)  Vomitron
A brilliant no-respect version.  Silly as all hell!

Losing My Religion (REM)  Graveworm
Black metal cover of REM?  Sure, why not?

Unbelievable (Epsom Mad Funkers)  Anal Cunt
Utter massacre as only Anal Cunt can.  Awful version, which makes it soooo good!

Oops!  I Did It Again (Brittney Spears)  Children Of Bodom
The hoik and spit at the start says it all.  No remorse.  

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)  Bad News
Bad News give Queen a serving, and terrorize this classic pop anthem, with a little help from producer Brian May.  

Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd)  Korn
Seriously good effort, and chunky guitars from Korn.  

Welcome To The Machine (Pink Floyd)  Shadows Fall
Another Pink Floyd classic falls victim to a metal cover.  

Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake)  Ten Masked Men
Ten Masked Men specialize in Metal Pop covers.  Bless.

Who's That Girl (The Eurythmics)  Mandrake
This works.  All good.

The Lotus Eaters (Dead Can Dance)  Imperia
A Metal Band taking on Dead Can Dance is a brave endeavour, I reckon.  This is a good one.

White Wedding (Billy Idol)  Deathstars
Doro has done a somewhat famous cover of this song, but I reckon the Deathstars did a better job.

Scarborough Fair (English Traditional Medieval Ballad, popularized by Simon & Garfunkel)  Queensryche
Geoff Tate has an amazing voice, and is suitable to tackle the big songs.

Blue Monday (New Order)  Orgy
Another song begging for a chunky cover.  

Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)  Moonspell
Not quite as bleak as the original (and who wants to go there), but Moonspell are an obvious choice for a cover.

Vienna (Ultravox)  Celestial Season
A solid doom metal cover of this new romantic classic.

Shout 2000 (Tears For Fears)  Disturbed
Another Disturbed cover.  Should they stick with just covers, and join Metallica?  (Wake the trolls and start the flame war!)

My Sharona (The Knack)  Destruction
German Thrash smash The Knack!

Red Rain (Peter Gabriel)  Queensryche
One epic voice covering another.  'Nuff said.

(Oh) Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)  Van Halen
Van Halen made this song their own.  But what about that clip?

Message In A Bottle (The Police)  Machine Head
The Police never sounded so good.  Or maybe they did.

Come Together (The Beatles)  Aerosmith
A classic band covering a classic band.

Stayin' Alive (The Bee Gees)  Ten Masked Men
Ten Masked Men do it again.  The lip-synching in this clip is awesome!

The Sounds Of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel)  Heir Apparent
Forgotten gem of a cover from the 80's

Wicked Game (Chris Isaak)  HIM
For the record, I can't stand HIM as a band.  And I love Chris Isaak.  So, on paper, I would have thought this combination a disaster.  But it's actually a half-decent cover.  There are a few versions, and a few clips (all of which are awful), but the later version is better.

Kids In America (Kim Wilde)  Lawnmower Deth
A fun frantic cover. 

Light My Fire (The Doors)  Amorphis
Death metal voice and authentic synths?  The Doors deserve nothing less.

Bonus Cover:  All The Things She Said (t.A.T.u.)  The Berzerker
The cover isn't a great one, but the clip is solid gold!  Enjoy!!

Playlist for the 25th. Guest hosts and programmers, The Cosmic Psychos

Last night, Ross Knight and Dean Muller from the Cosmic Psychos, came in to the Phoenix FM studio, and wrecked my life.  By that, I mean, they sat in on the show, where we had a good old chat about stuff, and they guest-programmed the show. 
The Cosmic Psychos need no introduction in Australia.  They are a legendary underground band, cited with influencing major bands in the Seattle grunge scene, and Yob Rock pioneers, as well as single-handedly keeping Australia's beer-brewing industries afloat.
The boys and I had a yarn about Death Metal, Ball-gags, cleaning products and vomit tours of Germany, among other riveting subjects.
Here is the playlist for the show, as compiled by Ross and Dean, with a few suggestions by yours truly.    
Lost Cause - The Cosmic Psychos
Pub - The Cosmic Psychos
Anarchy In The U.K. - The Sex Pistols
Atomic Punk - Van Halen
Sonic Reducer - Dead Boys
Satan's Undies - The Cosmic Psychos
Cum On Feel The Noize - Slade
Motorhead - Motorhead
20 Pot Screamer - The Cosmic Psychos
Down On The Street - The Stooges
Rock Bottom - Kiss
Hell Raiser - The Sweet
Lost And Found - The Saints
Skirtlifter - The Cosmic Psychos
Most People I Know - The Cosmic Psychos

Here's a link to the Facebook page for the show

Review of The Dark Knight Rises (spoilers)

The Dark Knight Rises

A Review

 (spoilers)

    As the Dark Knight Rises fades rapidly from my memory (having watched it only last night), I decided to put down in words my impression of the last installment of the current trilogy of Batman movies.  Well, the two words that sprang to mind as I walked out of the cinema were 'Awful', and 'Tedious'.
    Before I go on and offer my two cents worth, I should point out that I'm not a regular Batman comic collector as such.  I did collect for awhile, then decided to stop when, after killing off Robin, DC comics decided a bit later to re-introduce another Robin.  Boo, you suck, goodbye.  Now I grab the odd trade that comes out, aiming for quality stories.  So I'm no 'Bat-purist' with a bat-axe to bat-grind, but unless you're a regular Batman collector and/or have a Batman costume and matching bedspread, chances are that I have more Batman comics than you do, so I do have a reasonable grounding in the Batman mythos, bitches. 
    As far as the movies go, I guess that makes me more open to creative interpretation of key characters.  Heath Ledger's interpretation of The Joker was the movie-saver for the second movie.  It was good, but, let's face it, it wasn't Grammy winning, or Oscar winning, or whatever the hell it is that he posthumously won for the job.  He only got it because he'd died.  Calm down, people.  Put your clothes back on.
    Now, before I launch an all-out attack on this overly long piece of cinematic crap, I'll give points to what I liked.  Memory, don't fail me now...
    There was a funny line from Bane (and that there is probably warning enough that there's something wrong with the movie.  But I digress...).  When he and his cronies (why does every single Batman villain always have cronies?  Spider-man never had to deal with that crap) walk into Wall Street, or the Gotham equilavent thereof, and one trader confronts Bane, saying something to the effect of 'You can't steal anything here, there's no money', Bane replies, 'Then why are you here?'  Word.
    Um...oh I did think the revelation of Talia Al Ghul's identity was done well.  Marion Cotillard went from her cover to Talia, and looked a completely different woman.  I thing she used...acting.  Marion looked like she meant the shit when she stabbed Batman after he'd finally smacked down Bane.  This is not how I remember her from the comics, but...hey, creative interpretation and all that.  She was well cast, I thought.  Unlike...well, nearly everyone else, really.
    Anything else?  Um...nope.  Can't remember anything else.  Everything else was crap.
    Confession time.  I don't like Christian Bale's Batman.  Further confession time.  I've not liked any movie actor's Batman.  So maybe I'm just too difficult to please.  Or maybe Batman is just too difficult to portray on cinema.  But back to Christian Bale.  As an actor, I've liked him in other movies.  He was great in 'The Prestige', as a child actor he was good in 'Empire of the Sun' (but, then again, I'm a huge J G Ballard fan).  But as Batman?  He doesn't carry it.  I hate that awful voice he puts on.  It's embarrasing.  If he's gonna talk like that, at least put corpse-paint on, grab a guitar and pretent to be in a Norwegian Black Metal Band.  But don't pull that silly shit on Batman.         
    And that's another thing about this movie.  Way too much Bruce Wayne, nowhere near enough Batman.  What was the name of the movie again?  Bruce Wayne Whinges and Moans Again?  What no cinema director of Batman has realized about the Bruce Wayne/Batman dynamic can be summed up in one panel from Grant Morrison's 'Arkham Asylum' graphic novel.  When Bats has been coerced into being trapped in Arkham Asylum with the other loonies (yes, the OTHER loonies, you heard me), a faceless inmate suggests to the Joker, 'I say we take his mask off.  I want to see his real face'.  To which the Joker replies, 'Oh, don't be so predictable, for christ's sake!  That is his real face.'  Yep, Bruce Wayne is the mask, Batman is what's real.  In a way that isn't true for any other superhero.  And how many people in this movie know who Bruce Wayne really is?  Wiki-leaks has alot to answer for...

    I mean, seriously, who doesn't know 'Bruce Wayne' is Batman by the end of the movie?  I swear that busload of kids all knew who he was.  Oh, that's right, he's gonna kill off  'Batman' and become Bruce Wayne off in another country with his girl in tow (no prizes for guessing who that ends up being), to fulfill that little emotionally manipulative fantasy of Alfred's to end the movie.  Sure, nobody will recognise billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne in another country.  Incognito my arse.  Great deduction there from 'The World's Greatest Detective'.  Oh yeah, that's right, he's a renowned detective.  How much detective work do you remember him doing in these movies?  Nope, me neither.
    Speaking of whinging and moaning, Michael Caine seemed to spend half of the movie crying, and the other half absent.  Alfred went emo.  CRAP!  Get a grip!  And his home-spun straight-talking, folky down to earth wisdom which served so well in the first movie, by the third was coming across as tiring and annoying.  His collection of his inheritance from the Wayne Estate seemed like a rip-off from 'Undercover Boss' (Here's your extra pittance for wasting your life serving my billions of dollars you moaning prick!).  And Morgan Freeman's portrayal of whatever-his-name-was, (again, refreshing in the first movie) was tired by this movie.  He was the Q to the Bond-esque nature of these 3 movies, which is probably why I didn't really connect with any of these movies.  The opening scene of this movie screamed 'Bond', and his arsenal of toys and tanks, etc, moved him into the realm of 'Bond' and away from detective work and bokko which even the '60's movie (for all it's campness) managed to adhere to.
    And speaking of not liking characters, Bane and Cat-woman.  Groan.
    Bane.  Let's start with this Rhodes-scholar terrorist.  This movie was a battle of the terrible voices.  Bane's voice was awful, nearly as bad as Batman's.  At least you could make out what Batman was saying.  I missed half of Bane's surprisingly eloquent and verbally acrobatic monologues.  Didn't care really, I was too busy stifling yawns.  What the hell is it with Bane anyway?  My understanding of Bane as a 'character' was a one-off device introduced to break Batman's back and retire him from active service so as to introduce a bat-family and gouge more money from bat-freaks.  That's my limited understanding of Bane, apart from what was referenced in the 'Arkham Asylum' game (and Joker/Bane did look cool in that at the end).  So what did I miss?  How accurate is all this other crap in the movie to the comic book character?  Coz to me, he seemed like a complete mis-match of a character, with nothing in his movie background to explain his eloquent monologues.  I would have been happy with him playing the steroid freak he looked like.  Oh, and as for the 'back-breaking' moment in the movie, don't blink or you'll miss it.  Fail.
    Cat-woman?  Don't get me started.  The Femme Fatale ideally should be someone with a tragic streak that draws in the male lead despite his better judgement, and ideally ours.  Fail on both accounts.  The only things tragic about Anne Hathaway's Cat-woman was the two expressions she jumped between, and the lack of bending-over-in-hot-costume action which would have served as the consolation prize for playing Catwoman in such a shallow manner.  There was no chemistry between Bale and Hathaway at all, and every instinct from my perspective was screaming 'Bang her, she's hot!'.  For a great re-interpretation of Selina Kyle, check out the Batman graphic novel 'Nine Lives' which is a seriously under-rated Batman Graphic Novel.  She would have been a great Black Cat for Spider-Man, but Black Cat was a cheap knock-off of Cat-Woman in any event.  Oh well...
     Original plot devices?  I'd called most of them before they happened (No rope...), (oh wait, he did fix the auto-pilot after all), (oh no, it's not that truck after all!) etc etc.  And the movie clocked in at 6 and a half hours, or at least it felt like it.  Way too slow, way too long, emotionally under-whelming and obviously manipulative (through emo Alfred).  Nothing clicked for me, and I thought tying in the whole Occupy Wall Street vibe was handled clumsily and artlessly.
    Just on a personal note, to finish up, as far as Bane's little 'uprising' speech, to get the masses behind him for his little 'revolution', this fell flat for me.  The whole villain plan to change the world was dealt a mortal blow 26 years ago in 'Watchmen'.  I suppose Alan Moore raised the bar too high with Watchmen as far as villain plans go.  When you have a villain make a dastardly plan that actually rationally makes sense under the circumstances, and shows super-heroes as lacking vision for attempting to oppose the grand scheme in the first place, (and worse, actually making the world a worse place were they to have succeeded) then Bane's call for 'revolution' seemd empty and re-hashed.  How about introducing a compelling case for changing the world?  That's what made Magneto in the X-Men movies (and comics) so compelling.  Because, as much as you could argue with his method, his rationale was perfectly understandable, and one with which pretty much anyone could sympathise with.  Bane?  snore...
     So where to now for the Dark Knight?  Right now, my head hurts from this under-whelming cinematic experience.  I think I'll dive into my graphic novels again and remind myself why I do love Batman, because this movie has me wondering.  And ultimately, that's no good, now is it.