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

Panic! at the Disco - Death of a Bachelor - Review

(So I meant to have this done on the day the album came out, but I wasn't feeling right at the moment with the album.  I'm back though.  Time to get this done!)

Well, I never thought that I'd be doing a review for Panic! at the Disco.  Not that they aren't good, it's just that bands of the hardcore and metal scenes are more my style and what I love.

I remember back in the days when A Fever You Can't Sweat out had come out in 2005, bringing the famous earworm "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" was pushed into the ears of many, and became an instant hit.  When I look back now it seemed just as casual radio rock, but still it's a song that is fun to sing along with and act out.  (No judging, please.)

ANYWHO.  Death of a Bachelor surely is an interesting album.  At some points it's a rock album, but a lot of it tends towards hip-hop styles.  Not that hip-hop is bad, especially from a band that mixes up their doubts with each album that they put out.  Songs like Victorious really bring out the hip-hop, while tracks like Golden Days and Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time bring out the rock in the album... Sort of.  Now I don't think it's bad.  It's rock, just more electronic rock.

The guitars are great, as are the drums, but we all know, if we've all heard it, that Brendon Urie's vocals thrive on through the album as usual, creating earworms a plenty.

For a Panic! at the Disco album, this is alright.  You all know by what I post, that I love hardcore and metal genres more than anything, but I thought I'd put some words in for this.

7/10

Abandon All Ships for a Minute

So, I'm going to be working on a review today, but as you could probably tell from the title, I'm going to be talking about Abandon All Ships, who you might be either rocky about or really like them, based on your feelings starting from Geeving upwards to what everyone thought were their final songs from the Malocchio.  If you don't like them, I'm sorry, but this is just something I wanted to talk about.

I never much minded what I had heard from them, Geeving was kinda my jam out of school, and I would sing along with the lyrics, even while people hated on the fact that Martin Broda auto-tuned his brilliant voice and Angelo Aita was beginning get his scream's precision.  With 2012, we heard Infamous which was also interesting, Broda letting go of the old way.  But with 2014 brought some bad news, when a few months after Malocchio, which really had the best electronics from Sebastian Nunez, came out and stole my heart, the band announced that they were breaking up.  This kinda broke my heart even though a bunch of people that I knew didn't like them at all.

It's 2016 now, but of course you already knew that.  Geeving has turned 5, (well it did last year in October,) and so the band released news that they would be returning with their original lineup, and also released a new song, called Loafting.  In a way, this new track reminds me of Geeving, with the auto-tuned lyrics having returned.  My friend and I were talking and I know that the auto-tune could have been gone, and the song still be as great, but I was happy to hear the song anyway.

With questions of them getting back together again, this should be interesting.

My Dear Addiction - Kill the Silence - Review

I'm going to start off with telling you that I haven't really listened to My Dear Addiction until now.  Not that I don't like them, just that I haven't really tried them until now.  I have to say, though, that they are amazing. Kill The Silence has a sound different than I have heard from other bands, it reminds me of Demon Hunter, but has something more to it that makes it more original.  Whatever it is, I'm totally loving it.

Kill the Silence kicks off this ride of an album with it's title track.  It has an electronic beginning, but then only seconds in it goes to it's amazing guitars. The listener will be able to hear how much time has been put into each song, the effort and passion are absolutely phenomenal, especially with songs like A Promise and Face It and Rewind.  The guitars are both enhanced in may songs by steady electronics making for enjoyment and flow.  The drums are something to admire as well.  They have a tendency to switch between blasting beats ans mellow feelings, which is all just brough together by the vocalist's voice, excelling at both screaming and singing.

I apologize for this not being my most lengthy review, but this album is very high on my like lists.  If you haven't listened to My Dear Addiction before, this is definitely an album to start with.  It has a sound for what you are looking for.

8/10

Bury Tomorrow - Earthbound - Review

I'm not exactly sure what to say first about this.  Either how much I love this album, or how much I love Bury Tomorrow in general.  I know I often start talking about bands first when I talk to people about albums or write these few reviews that I have so far.  So I'm going to do that once more.

I'm, as I said just as you were previously reading, a huge fan of Bury Tomorrow.  I got into them quite a while ago, I believe, with The Union of Crowns.  They're a brilliant melodic metalcore band, adding in a little bit of melodic death metal riffs here and there.  But they also have incorporated sounds of bands such as As I Lay Dying and Killswitch Engage, but keeping it original, which makes them even more awesome in my eyes and many other peoples'.  There will probably be some that disagree on the melodic death metal part, and that's perfectly fine.  I did say a little bit.

Now, onto the album part!  As I also said in the start, Earthbound is an amazing album,  I loved The Union of Crowns, and Runes, but to myself, this album steps up Bury Tomorrow.  The first track, The Eternal, grips the listener by the ears eagerly and pulls them on this magnificent roller coaster of an album,  I didn't really find any weak tracks, each of the songs was engaging and some had me putting them on repeat just so that I could hear them again. This can be greatly said for songs like The Burden, catchy lyrics like "Hail no hero, fear no evil,"  had me silently mouthing, and then singing as I walked down the street to where ever I was headed that day  The same with when I wasn't listening to the song.

For anyone who complained about Runes, don't give up on Bury Tomorrow yet.  The vocals were perfected, (not that I didn't think that they were excellent in past albums,) and work towards the advantage of the sound of the album.  Daniel and Janes are amazing, with the growls and screams as prominent as the cleans.  Add Kristan to it and the guitars are amazing as well.  Last but totally not least, because I love rhythm, Adam is masterful in drums.  Without drums, of course, it could be hard to keep it all together.  So they all make a great team as a band, and this is a fantastic album.

So,  what are you waiting for?  If you haven't listened to this album yet, go listen to it!

10/10

Before Their Eyes - Midwest Modesty - Review

 Last time I heard a Before Their Eyes album, it was 2012 and Redemption had came out.  I loved each album before that but Redemption had claimed a whole new spot in my heart, even though I hadn't thought it to be the best idea to bring Breathe Carolina in for vocals on Dream at first, in my opinion they proved to be a great effort in their discography.  Then after, I was waiting for the next Before Their Eyes album, but nothing.  I wasn't upset.  I was just wondering what was going on.

This year, however, a new light was brought into fruition when later in the end of last year, news of an album, formerly called "II" was talked of.  I was so excited that I wanted to hear the first single that came out.  But earlier last year, news came out that the new album was still coming out, under a different, more creative name, Midwest Modesty.  and I was excited as I had ever been.  I didn't know what to expect, but that was the point.  Before Their Eyes always steps up and brings something new out for the fans to listen to, and they do that straight from the heart.  So as soon as I saw that it was out, I immediately wanted to listen to it.

Well, that's enough of past ramblings for now.  Midwest Modesty is an amazing album, there's no doubt about that.  Nick Moore's vocals have grown since Resemption, and from the starting track, "It's Dark Inside With You", his vocals soar into the fruition that I was hoping for.   It doesnt feel exactly as heavy as Redemption, but that's okay.  Midwest Modesty is certainly an album with a different sound and that's wonderful.

It's wonderful to know that Craig Owens co-wrote and helped produce this album, knowing that he has such an awesome sound to whatever he does, be it Chiodos or Solo Stuff, plus D.R.U.G.S., so him doing this album is perfect.

The instrumentals are amazing as well.  As I said in the previous parts of this review, they aren't as heavy in some parts, but that doesn't matter.  The guitars are at their prime, as well as the drums, and they can only get more and more awesome when the next album comes out.  Of course, adding Nick's well known singing adds to the life of the album.  From track to track, different sounds are heard and a sound can be found for each listener if they give the album a chance. I'm quite sure you will get one of these catchy songs stuck in your head, and probably love this album from beginning to end.  I know that I did.

8/10