I have little shame in admitting that I, like a lot of other people that grew up in the years I did, first got fully immersed in music through listening to so called, emo. Therefore, it is maybe no surprise that I spent quite a lot of time listening to My Chemical Romance, in fact my first ever gig was to see that very band. Of course to actually call My Chemical Romance emo was always a bit of a stretch, they popularised the visual style that became common with that movement, but their early work had more roots in punk, while later on they moved onto a style that was more reminiscent of Queen than EMBRACE. I can’t say much about the work they did post Black Parade, which is when my own interest faded, but it seemed to mainly be a bit shit.
Sounding like your heroes
It is common in music to have a band ape the sound of those that came before. A lot of debut albums can become a game of spot the influences, as elements of a bands heroes sap into their music. However, there is always a difference between being influenced by and copying and you can spot the bands that are going to be special by the ones that take parts of these legendary bands and make them their own. However, there is another problem with this method. That being, when you take influence from those around you, you often end up with an album that is disjointed and sounds like the work of several bands rather than one. Avenged Sevenfolds’ number one album Hail to the King, is the prime example of this. There are some great tracks on that album, but when you take it as an actual album, it doesn’t hang together.
Empress AD
If you are a regular on the live circuit, there is a good chance you have caught Empress AD. Recent years has seen them support everyone from Cancer Bats to Kvelertak to Bring Me the Horizon, while also changing their name from just Empress and being signed to Roadrunner. It’s gained them a reputation as a promising band, their heavy progressive sound insuring that they weren’t easy to forget, but it can be hard to truly love a band until you own their album, which is no longer a problem with the release of their debut Still Life Moving Fast.
God Gave Rock and Roll to Us.
Gene Simmons’ regularly proves that he is a man who speaks of thing he knows fuck all about. For all I, and many others, love Kiss and the music they have released, the man is a fucking cunt. In the last few days he’s piped about something that you would think he does know something about, rock and roll, and proved on that subject he also doesn’t have a fucking club. Rock and roll is dead? My fucking arse it’s dead.
A dramatic u-turn
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.
Andrew O’Neill: A History of Heavy Metal
So the Edinburgh Fringe is in full swing and with my dissertation finally over I have been able to catch a couple of shows. Unsurprisingly, Andrew O’Neill’s History of Heavy Metal was one of the first that caught my eye. Those of you who are regular attendees of Sonisphere and Download may be aware of O’Neill, as he has regularly appeared on the comedy stages of both due to his musical leanings. Far from being a gimmick, O’Neill genuinely appears to live and breath heavy metal and because of that has put together this show, allowing him to talk about heavy metal to an audience that – assuming they have seen the name of the show – know what to expect.
Gimmick Metal
Gimmick metal bands are hardly a new thing. In fact having a ‘gimmick’ is something that has been around in heavy metal pretty much since the start. People like Alice Cooper have made legendary careers out of a gimmick and there is nothing wrong with that. One of my favourite gigs of all time was watching Alice Cooper on Halloween. It was the perfect gimmick fitting the perfect occasion. In recent years this gimmickry seems to have grown however and I am personally getting a bit fed up of it.
Ramblings About Wrestling 