Black Veil Brides have been called a lot of things in their career. Widely derided for being all style no substance, the band have risen up to be the latest whipping boy of the heavy metal community due to a perceived notion that their over the top rock and roll is a bit shit, most of which people on the internet have probably decided because of how they look. The truth is that Black Veil Brides have never been as offensive as people like to believe they are. They play pretty simple rock and roll, inspired by the likes of Guns ‘N’ Roses, but instead of sex, drugs and rock and roll, they instead embrace being different and how being so doesn’t make you alone. Much like other bands who have embraced that message, My Chemical Romance being the most obvious recent example, it has led to them amassing a huge teen audience (something else people seem to think is a bad thing) and they look well on their way to being this generations gateway band into the world of rock and metal.
Slash – World on Fire
Introducing Slash feels a bit pointless. If you don’t know who the top hat wearing guitarist is, then you are probably on the wrong blog. He’s recently released his third solo album, at least his third solo album that just goes under the name, Slash, once again teaming up with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, to give us, World on Fire.
Generic Music
Sometimes you listen to a band and you want to tell the world. You are desperate to have everyone know about them and cannot understand why people greet the mention of their name with blank faces. Other times you hear a band and wonder who actually cares? Who is spending their time and money supporting a band who while maybe not bad, are just so generic, that they are almost inventive through complete lack of invention. A band that very much invoke that feeling inside of me is Godsmack, who this year released 1000hp.
Marmozets
Marmozets seem to be the latest buzz word on everyone’s lips and with their debut album, The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets, dropping this week, it looks likely that they are here to stay. Formed of two sets of siblings, Becca, Sam and Josh MacIntyre and Will and Jack Bottomley, Marmozets have been on the live scene for a while. I saw them supporting Feed the Rhino a while back and they impressed me then with their energetic show. Back then their sound was also a lot more mathcore, something that they have by no means lost on this release, but which they have honed and in many ways perfected into some cracking tunes.
Gerard Way
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Ramblings About Wrestling 