I have not been shy in expressing my views on Babymetal. My Sonisphere review was pretty damn harsh and maybe slightly over the top in my hatred for them. However, I like to consider myself a fair person, so rather than completely dismiss them, I thought I should sit down with their album and find out what I really thought about this amalgamation of J-Pop and heavy metal.
Wovenwar
Front men have always been a bit bonkers. Whether it be Axl Rose and his refusal to turn up on stage at the designated time or the fact that Bruce Dickinson spends his days fencing and flying airplanes. It appears to take a certain kind of person to front a band. Yet recently a few people have taken that a bit too far. I’m not going to bother naming the horrible human being who instantly springs to mind, because quite frankly he is scum. However, the fact his old band mates have already moved on and started a new project, titled No Devotion, is something to celebrate. A similar thing can be said for Wovenwar.
King 810, are they worth the hype?
I seem to be spending a lot of time recently talking about the nature of hype. Whether it be gimmick metal or Upon a Burning Body, hype is currently getting a lot of… well, hype. This brings me onto King 810, a band who in recent months have been hyped up more than any band in a long time. Hailing from Flint, Michigan, famous mainly for murder and em, Terry Crews, this band of misfits have spoken at depth about the rigors of their upbringing, it’s a remarkable story and if you can get your hands on it, Dom Lawson’s feature in last months Metal Hammer is a must read. However, the question has to be whether underneath all of this, King 810 have the music to back it up.
Hype and Upon a Burning Body
Not so long ago Upon a Burning Body pulled one of the stranger marketing stunts I’ve ever seen, when they faked the disappearance/kidnapping of lead singer Danny Leal. All of this came about in the lead up to the release of their newest album, The World Is Our Enemy. Now this was quickly exposed as the hoax that it was and the whole incident was puzzled over with, as it tends to now a days, many people declaring it to be the worst thing that has ever happened blah blah blah. However, there is no denying, having now heard The World Is Our Enemy, that the whole incident was very bizarre and in many ways a possible look into the future of our music industry.
The Joys of Angry Music
There is a common misconception that all heavy music is angry. Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth. If I listen to a band like Metallica or Iron Maiden, anger is usually the last thing on my mind. Yet to many people those bands are the personification of heavy metal. However, that does not hide the fact that there are some very angry bands out there, who recently I have taken a lot of joy out of spending time listening to.
The Rise of the Mastodon
Mastodon have had a pretty unique career path. Starting off as progressive sludge metal band, they have grown and evolved. Never truly leaving behind their original sound but always adapting and changing it. All of this has led to everything from appearances on Jools Holland to their latest album entering the top ten on the album charts for both the UK and America, but where do a band like Mastodon go from here? Can they go any higher than they currently are?
Triptykon – Melana Chasmata
It’s rare I’ll start a review by talking about the album artwork, but the latest Triptykon effort Melana Chasmata is the third time that Tom Warrior has collaborated with the now sadly departed H. R. Giger. It’s as unsettling as you would imagine a piece of art that comes from the man who designed the Alien would be and (although I am still someone who buys CDs so it makes little difference to me) I would say should make this an album that is actually worth going out and getting a physical copy of. Artwork aside Triptykon are of course the latest project of the aforementioned Tom Warrior, who is most famous for his time in Celtic Frost and because of that time is unlikely to have many detractors in the extreme metal community.
Emmure – Eternal Enemies
Let’s just set this out from the start. Some of the views of Emmure front man Frankie Palmeri are something I could never get on board with. However, that doesn’t mean we should ignore his musical output. I am personally of the opinion that Dave Mustaine spouts an incredible amount of shit and yet I love Megadeth. I wanted to set that out so I could make it clear that my views on this album are by no mean affected by the fact that Palmeri is a massive cunt.
Black Label Society – Catacombs of the Black Vatican
Pointing out that Zakk Wylde is a good guitarist is the equivalent of stating the sky is blue or that James Hetfield is cooler than you, it’s just too obvious to require stating. Taking that into account I’m going to attempt to review the latest Black Label Society album without ever feeling the need to express that opinion, because quite frankly if you need me to tell you Zakk can play guitar, you’re probably reading the wrong site.
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Wilko Johnson w/ Roger Daltrey – Going Back Home
The story of Wilko Johnson’s last year is an incredible one. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2013, he was told he would have around nine or tenths month left to live. Rather than fight it with chemotherapy Johnson elected to go on a farewell tour of the UK and record one last album with The Who’s Roger Daltrey. Over a year later Johnson is still with us and recently underwent surgery to have the pancreatic tumour removed and in fact there is still a chance he may survive. In that time he did record with Daltrey and Going Back Home is the product of that labour and hit number 3 in the UK album chart.
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Ramblings About Wrestling 