BABYMETAL - Metal Resistance - Review

There's just something about BABYMETAL, something at always makes me smile about what I'm listening to.  The way they mix J-Pop (which I really don't listen to, but we all know it's energetic to hear.) and heavy metal.  And this trio of girls, still quite young to be in a metal band at 18 and 16 just bring the good vibes in an onslaught of a sophomore album.  Usually you hear mixed vibes about bands' sophomore albums, often known as the "sophomore slump", but this is quite different.

I knew that they were coming out with Metal Resistance, after I heard the self-titled.  But I really didn't realize that it would be coming out at this point until I heard their song (and saw their video for the song) KARATE.  They brought forth one of the greatest I have heard from them, apart from Megitsune, Gimme Choko, and prett much all the songs from their self-titled. Parts of the chorus had me just melting, and bringing out the kawaii and of course, what listeners are sometimes describing as "Kawaii Metal), which truly fits.

Something that I really love about BABYMETAL's album is how different it is from the Babymetal album itself. Not that it was bad.  In fact it was fantastic to say the least, with mixing genres to bring a new, groundbreaking sound.  Every song from Metal Resistance is different, but the band themselves say that the songs are "more upbeat", which is true, but in my eyes the stands for a lot  of the music that they produce, with passion, but that's already known. 

Metal Resistance is everything I love about BABYMETAL, and more. From beginning to end, the vocals and instrumentals are amazing.

9/10

The Word Alive - Dark Matter - Review

So, the time has come for a brand new The Word Alive record. The band formed in 2008 and are currently signed to Fearless Records. Their brand new album titled "Dark Matter" is their 4th studio record.

There's always a mixed air when a band you love releases a new record. A mixture of nervousness that the record you've waited two years for will be a total flop and the excitement that it could just be your next favourite record ever. For me, this release does not quite hit either extremes. It's big and bold and takes on a sound that definitely screams maturity from the sounds observed on "Real." and "Life Cycles".  One thing I will point out is their is definitely darker sound to this record, for me. Songs like "Trapped" and "Grunge" seem to touch darker subjects than you're likely to find on their previous showings.

Now, The Word Alive have always been your run-of-the-mill metalcore outfit and have never really strayed too far from that tag but I couldn't help notice that track 5 "Insane" seemed to lean a little in the direction of new age Linkin Park at least instrumentally. It's mellow synths and huge chorus' would make Chester Bennington proud.

For this writer, one of the only down points of the record is that it, sort of, "peters out". In other words it gets a little boring towards the end making, what was actually a pretty good record, less than memorable. The final track "Oxy" repeats the line "What have I done?" so often it begs the question did Telle run out of lyrics by the end of this album.

Rating: 7/10
Favorite Song: Grunge

By Thommy Lea

Asking Alexandria - The Black - Review

The birth of a brand new era.. That's what Asking Alexandria were hoping for with the release of their fourth studio record "The Black". Drama has seemed to follow the English metalcore quintent in the past few years, seemingly because of the attitude of their noutorious, now ex, frontman Danny Worsnop however since his departure in January 2015 and the introduction of ex Down & Dirty vocalist Denis Shaforostov "Stoff", the Asking Alexandria faithful have been eagerly awaiting what has looked to be the most anticipated metalcore record yet.

Asking released three, music video accompanied, singles prior to the release of the album. "I Won't Give In" was first off of the bat, a powerful track insighting that the band refuses to give up, fall apart or break down after the departure of Danny. The huge chorus "Every step you take, I watch you slip away//You're slowly killing yourself, I won't give in" seems to refer to Worsnop's alcohol fueled lifestyle and promoting the band's strength. Denis' vocals and the sound of the song itself were generally well received by fans and critics alike.
Title track "The Black" and "Let It Sleep" were the second and third singles respectively released. They set the tone and pace for what the record as a whole would sound like. With a more "grown up" metalcore sound that evaded the traditional "open chord breakdown" post-hardcore sound that had accompanied most of their first two records "Stand Up and Scream" and "Reckless & Relentless". Asking Alexandria also released "Undivided" and a rock mix of "Here I Am" as singles before "The Black"'s official release, without music videos.

Coincidently perhaps, the album opens with the three singles. "Let It Sleep" opens up delivering a message that perhaps lyricist Ben Bruce was unhappy at the time with dark tones to match. The title track "The Black" follows theme, dark tones about feeling deserted and a glitch infested chorus. After the anthem boosted sing-a-long third track "I Won't Give In" Asking fans finally get to hear something new in the form of "Sometimes It Ends" which features clippings from interviews with Ben Bruce talking about his experience with Denis helping him to overcome Danny's departure and re-writing lyrics for the record. The song itself ironically is a hate fueled rage release with powerful screams from Denis. Seems to follow the suit of "I Wont Give In" with a huge chorus about being stronger than before. Track 5 is titled The Lost Souls". This track starts to show the diversity of the band's sound. The guitar work takes on a lot more of a hard rock tone of the likes of Avenged Sevenfold & Bullet For My Valentine. Nothing particularly special about the message another "I'm so alone" style track. Track 6 "Just A Slave To Rock 'N Roll" is exactly what it says in the title. Hard rock guitar riffs and rhythems that would make Motley Crue proud. With that in mind Denis doesn't abandon the screaming vocal style up until the chorus. The song is the first time on the record that the band abandon the angry, deserted message and deliver a powerful "moving on" message instead. This integrity is much more intense than before, leaving you thinking F**K YEAH. Track 7 "Send Me Home" slows the tempo and reaches to the heart strings. A ballad about the life of touring and how lonely it can be. It does rise to a powerful guitar filled melancholy before ending the way it started. Track 8 "We'll Be Okay" kicks off with ambient sounding synths and clean vocals before kicking into an "Old-school Asking Alexandria" metalcore sound very remeniscent of "To The Stage". For anyone wanting a trip down memory lane this song is for you. The ninth track is the single "Here I Am" A slow rock ballad primarily clean vocals delivering the message that they're done hating and ready to take over the world. I would argue that the lyric "We are the voice of a generation" comes across somewhat arrogant however deserved it may be. Track 10 comes across as a kind of orchestral interlude style song. Ben Bruce takes over on the vocals. "Gone" is a song that comes from the depths of his soul, a real tear jerker. If you're sensitive or prone to crying, go careful with this one. Track 11 - "Undivided" revisits the hatred obviously pointed towards Danny Worsnop. Picking up the pace and returning to fast paced drums, metalcore style riffs and basically exactly what you'd expect from any band in this scene of music. Ben takes a moment to exude all of his real anger over what seems to be a guitar solo - "How can you be the voice of a generation when the only voice you listen to is in your own f*cking head?". Over the years, no matter what has happened to this band, one thing has always remained true. Asking Alexandria love to party and that remains iminent from the 12th and final track on this record. "Circled By Wolves" starts off with "Woo! Fuck Yeah!" before the track drops. It speaks of how they're starting over despite people expecting them, maybe even wanting them, to fall. The song has an edgy amount of profanity in it which suggest they really are done caring about what people think..

Overall I would say this a huge step up from all of their previous works. Asking Alexandria are back with a bang with Denis Stoff at the helm. They're diverse, attacking and all out much better than they have been before. Danny who? Whether you were an Asking fan or not, this is definitely a must hear record!

Asking Alexandria, they're back and they're better than ever.

9/10

By Thommy Lea

A Couple of Short Reviews

Hey guys and gals, I apologize for there being a lack of reviews last month.  That month through had been stressful and I didn't have much time to exactly think about writing.  So, since there's quite a few things to write this month, I'm going to go down my list of reviews I was going to write and give them to you and summarized form. Let's get started!

• After The Burial - Dig Deep: I admire After The Burial's style, and this release brings a lot to the table.  I asked my friend what he thought as well, and his reply was a little bit off at the start until a few tracks on where he and I agree the album really started going.  I liked the starting racks myself though,  not as much as the rest of the album, but of course your and my opinions will very as we all know.  Still though, if your a fan of After The Burial, this is definitely something you need to listen to!  8/10

~ Hands Like Houses - Dissonants: Alright, this is probably one of my favorites from last month.  I'm going to put my favorite track already and say that it's Division Symbols, which to me, had o e of the catchiest choruses on the album,  All the dongs have their own special place in my heart, but the song itself has a feel that everyone feels sometimes against people in their life, where feelings of frustration lie in hopes of release. Love this album.  9/10

~ Blood of the Martyrs - Endgame: Blood of the Martyrs has really grown up from their early releases, not that those were bad in the least.  I have to admit that this is quite different than the past though, pretty much dropping the symphonics and going for a metalcore feel, also adding in cleans.  Even though I was a fan of the symphonics,  I must say they have great cleans.  8/10

~ Adept - Sleepless: I have to give props to Adept.  Well, then and a lot of bands.  I respect bands that have really worked to where they have gotten to.  Unfortunately, this album wasn't the top of my list this time.  Not that it wasn't good, because it really is a great release. It just wasn't my favorite, and that's fine.    7/10

Thanks for keeping with the blog, all!

Just for a moment. Hello.

So I've been working on reviews and a little bit of news for a few months now.  

I'd like to give my best friend props for giving me the idea to do this, talking with me last year that I could use my love of writing and music to make, well, this! 

I'd also like to say thank you to the viewers of this blog, just for being here and reading my reviews.  I know that seems like a cliché to say, but it's heartfelt.

His Statue Falls - Polar - Review

It brings me great pleasure to have heard this album.  From the moment I was shown it, I knew that I would absolutely love it, and I was right.  

If you haven't heard of His Statue Falks, or haven't listened to them before, that's a shame and you should really go check them out.  Like, after you read this review, for instance. They are amazing and are one of my favorite metalcore/post-hardcore bands to have electronics to go with it.  Jan Vergin and Dennis Fries both complement each other with their screams and cleans (and now rapping once in a while, which is fantastic,) and even the older albums before Jan came in were absolutely beautiful with jams I still hold close to my heart.  

Alright, love them,  I've gotten that through.  Now!  I'm going to talk about the album.

Let's start off with the fact that all the tracks are strong in my eyes on this album.  My personal favorites are FTW and Hang Me High, not only because they have great rap parts, and fantastic cleans (as every track has) but because I love the electronics as well, and His Statue Falls surely excels at that, always catchy. Of course I can't forget to say that the screams and growls are amazing as well.  They always have been and Jan is amazing at them. Dennis, Sebastian, and Michael have come forward as well on guitars and bass, as has Markus, their drummer.  It's hard for me to have anything negative at all to say about this album, because I really can't think of anything.

This whole album is amazing, and I can't say enough that whoever is reading this should go check them out (and this album, of course) out.

10/10

Rival Choir - I Believe, Help My Unbelief -Review

Facedown Records is probably one of the best group of bands in a label.  Not that they have the most popular bands out there. But whenever I looked at reviews of their band's albums, the scores were usually pretty high up there.  One of the most interesting bands I listened to on their roster was Mouth of the South.  It's not because of their beliefs, because to me that never really mattered.  They have stories to tell and the out a lot of passion into their songs.  They called themselves "Progressive Ministry Metal", and to me that was an interesting way to look at their music.  One day though, after the album Struggle Well came out, I looked them up and found out that they had changed their name.

That's where we start now.  Mouth of the South changed up their style and their name.  Then and changed into Rival Choir, and took up a new form with a post-hardcore/Metalcore style, which I must say, really fits them, and makes me smile looking how far they've come.  

This album has its amazing hooks that entice and clean choruses that speak of life lessons and personal trials that (hopefully) most people can connect with in some way, no matter what they believe in,  Lyle's significant voice as strong as ever.  The guitar work, bass and all, can be chaotically beautiful in its onslaught.  

There's something special about this sort of debut from Rival Choir.  It's magnificent.

8/10