Babymetal - Babymetal [J-Pop / Djent]
Japan has heard your cries for weirder bands and has answered promptly; Babymetal is a project that fuses djent instrumentation with J-Pop melodies. The girls in this 'band' do nothing but sing and execute synchronized dance steps like any other pop outlet.
The unique thing here, however, is that neither of the aforementioned genres are watered down. I've been seasoned to bands like Dir En Grey and Maximum The Hormone (which remains one of the most kick ass weird bands from Japan) and I have have to say that none of that has prepared me for anything from this album.
Suffice to say, the album's outrageous, and in a good way. The contrasting styles actually work really well together, and producer Kobametal (it's okay if you don't want to reveal your real name bro) has been sensible enough to mix up various styles throughout the songs that keeps you guessing.
- Babymetal Death - kicks off with some decent riffs and double pedals, and ends with a tasty solo after introducing the three girls.
- Megitsune - Fully flexes its J-Pop sensibilities, with synths taking over after a brief folk instrumentation. The chorus is especially catchy. The song takes a sudden black metal turn in the bridge, and it sounds so tightly written.
- Gimme Chocolate!! - A personal favourite from the album, this song ventures further into djent territory with staccato vocals and heavy instrumentation. As with the second song, has a catchy chorus. It still has space for thrash metal solos at the end.
- Iine! - Another weird as hell song, with a heavy disco backdrop that somehow accommodates death metal vocals and a sudden rap break (what?!). This song was obviously written as a single to completely shock audiences, which ins't that bad in Japanese context. As of onw I am still unsure what to feel for this song, but it's seriously not bad.
- Akatsuki - one of the faster songs on the album, and less weird. This one borrows a bit from power metal, with soaring vocals and keyboards. I did not enjoy this song so much but it may appeal more to the power metal purists. It does have a glorious NWOBHM solo section in the middle, though.
- Doki Doki ☆ Morning - A shameless djent song that actually is enjoyable. The Japanese have this quality to their guitar work that is quite hard to put a finger on- in that it's heavy but still sounds friendly. It could just be the production but it's something I have observed in their music and anime-soundtracks.
- Onedari Daisakusen - A rap song. Not too big on rap songs, and this doesn't change my stance much. The cute vocals don't work well for rap, in my opinion.
- Song 4 - Another great track with rhythmic verses. The guitar work is especially great here, and it fucks with your mind while alternating between easy-listening and death metal. It's an idea that would fail on paper but turns out to be quite kickass here.
- Uki Uki ★ Midnight - A strange hybrid of metal and dubstep. Not that it's done before, but it hasn't been executed with such disorientation as it has here. It's a meh kinda song to me, but it does not let up the flow of the album.
- Catch Me If You Can - A very strong song, a lot faster than most of the songs here. Great instrumentation, great incorporation of electronic and dubstep nuances, and somehow still allowing space for death vocals. I love the upbeat tempo (that ending...).
- Akumu no Rondo - By far the strongest song on the album. It's tonally different, in that it's serious as opposed to all the cute antics elsewhere in the album. Su-Metal's voice is heavily auto-tuned here (well no, they are all heavily auto-tuned throughout the album). This is a production decision that baffles me, since the three are of them are more than competent live. f it were a decision to sound cold, perhaps? Either way, if you have no time for all the gimmickry, listen to this one song,
- Head Bangya!! - Another melody-driven song. Not very heavy, but it has an especially sweet chorus. It's a good song.
- Ijime Dame Zettai - The album closes with an above average song. If anything, this and 'Head Bangya!!' seem to be placed at the end to wash off whatever aftertaste 'Akumu no Rondo' left behind. It's a song that borrows heavily from power metal, which I already said I am not a fan of. It's tolerable enough with some more strong instrumentation.
All in all, I enjoyed more than half of the album which is more than I can say for a lot of metal records this year. It's refreshing, and it deserves all the hype it's been receiving, be it on the charts or a chance to play with Lady Gaga. This is not going to appeal to those who prefer their grim metal, but hey, lighten up. On the downside, I did find the production to be very bland, almost hollow, after which I discovered the album has a dynamic range of DR5. It's not loud, it just feels like it could be made fuller. Or maybe that's my metal insecurities acting up.
★★★★☆
Deftones - Koi No Yukan [Alternative Rock]
Alternative rockers Deftones return to studio with Koi No Yukan (which curiously means 'Love's Premonition), and the album's been getting a lot of press attention from reviewers who are mesmerized by the band's ability to convey sharp dynamics between soft and heavy. It's clear that the reviewers are not very musically inclined and the reason for the incredible tone in the group's last album, Diamond Eyes, and this, is their switch to 8-string guitars, which gives off a different sound when distorted than their older 7-string guitars. Having seen astonishing albums put out by Ihsahn and Animals As Leaders who utilize the 8-string effectively, the tone of Koi No Yukan is nothing entirely new. That doesn't mean the album is without its strengths, though.
One characteristic that makes Deftones highly popular with the alternative press is the groups' stellar songwriting capabilities, and all of the Deftones soundscape is already here on this album, ethereal atmospheres, heavy guitars that are used sparsely and many intriguing moments of introspection. The production is fantastically warm yet sharp, a nice paradox that creates a very lively setting for the band's sound, keeping it both introspective and hard-hitting. This spaciousness allows for songs like 'Poltergeist' to truly shine on the album (and may as well be one of my favourite songs here). Is the 8-string guitar fully utilized? My honest answer would be a no, but it's tone does keep some of the mediocre songs engaging, especially toward the second half of the album where the songs start to become too comfortable and lethargic.
There is no push/pull dynamics in this album, at least not in such an epic scale as Tool's work, or like this year's incredible Years Past Matter by Krallice. The album's main strengths lie in it's lush spacey atmosphere, with the hard elements giving it a nice contrast for a fulfilling soundscape, and the album, like most of 90s nu-metal, works best as one whole collective rather than induvidual songs, and whether that is your cup of tea or not is not what I can determine. I can however conclude that this allows for a high replay value of the album, and it is structured for such, long background music for long rainy nights. This is a great album for mood, and who knows, may be one of the better albums released this year.
★★★★☆ Good - Strong flow, immediately grabs you
Periphery - Periphery II: This Time It's Personal [Progressive Metalcore]
From friends of Animals As Leaders comes this other Djent project from Sumerian Records, and the guitarist is the man behind the production of the fabulous AAL albums. But this is almost completely different from AAL. A more apt comparison would be Trivium or As I Lay Dying.
Even though the tag says progressive, I did not find anything progressive about this album. As the title implies, this is a personal album, with emotional lyrics and screamo vocals and lyrics about how bitchy his ex-girlfriend is yada yada yada. A lot of the press are praising this album which dazzles me, seeing that there isn't much to be impressed by. Vocals, while emotive, do not strike much of a chord with me. For a 'progreesive' band, the guitarist is one hell of a bore, choosing to go for dreamy Dream Theatre-esque soundscapes instead of creating anything original and captivating. Speaking of which, John Petrucci himself brings one of the few highlights of the album with a solo on 'Erised'.
The production, which cannot really be complained about, helps to bring to life the few moments when electronics come in (see instrumental 'Epoch'), as Misha has showcased in the Animals As Leaders projects, but otherwise, there isn't much to bring to the surface with the album's serious lack of detail. The songs are really just, songs, without much creativity. It's more of an ambient album then a metal album, with the death vocals never really punching you in the face (is it autotuned?), and the album works better as a whole than a song-by-song basis, a bitter irony which describes the homogeneity of the album. Some nice production for a boring band trying to capture the glory of old Dream Theatre days. For a better example, listen to Haken's 2011 album Visions.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Passable - One or two good songs, a bit of flow
Music from India! Like these guys on Facebook, I think they are worth every inch of respect. Better than Singaporean Christian pastors =/
Storyline: The music video depicts the story of Raavana's penance for Lord Shiva's blessing. Angry at Shiva's silence, Raavana goes to Kailasa and plays this shloka with a veena made out of his intestine. The video also shows Pottan Theyyam(an art form which tells the story between Sankaracharya and Lord Shiva). It briefs the meeting of Lord Shiva disguised as Pulayan(down trodden) with the intention to further test Sankaracharya's knowledge who is proud of himself and about to ascend "Sarwanjha Peedam" (throne of knowledge).
Lyrics(Sanskrit):
Jatakatahasambhrama bhramanilimpanirjhari
Vilolavichivalara ivirajamanamurdhani
Dhagadhagadhagajjva lalalatapattapavake
Kishorachandrashekhare ratih pratikshanam mama .. (2)
Jatatavigalajjala pravahapavitasthale
Galeavalambya lambitam bhujangatungamalikam
Damad damad damaddama ninadavadamarvayam
Chakara chandtandavam tanotu nah shivah shivam .. (2)
