Babymetal – 10 Babymetal Budokan (Cooking Vinyl) [Megan Jenkins]
The first experience I had of Babymetal was just after I had turned 14. I was at Sonisphere Festival with my dad (it was my birthday present that year) and the bloke in the tent next to ours was telling us about this Japanese group that had a full “Slipknot-looking band”, but with a group of girls singing along. Obviously, we had to go and see what on earth that was about. Then absolute carnage ensued for half an hour. Some of the metal greats, including most of the ‘Big 4’, were playing that weekend and yet the most people I’ve seen get thrown over a barrier happened during a set in which the crowd was chanting Gimme Chocolate.
Listening to this live album takes me back to this moment. I know that Babymetal is definitely not for everyone and I genuinely don’t even know if it's for me - the Babymetal shirt I bought immediately after their set says different though. As much as you might want to hate them, you have to admit that their music is extremely catchy. The crowd you can hear singing along to every word in the background proves that. Yes, it’s a bit cheesy but that’s the charm of it. People like it because it's so different to the sort of stuff that’s saturating the market now; it stands out like a sore thumb and allows people to let loose a bit more. And after 18 months with no gigs, listening to a crowd chant along to their ‘greatest hits’ is enough to give anyone goosebumps.
After so long without live music, there’s something really special about hearing a live album. You can hear the passion the fans have for this band and even if you don’t like them, you have to admit that they really know how to put on a show. 7/10
Wage War - Manic (Fearless Records) [Megan Jenkins]
There are always those bands that can release new music, and you have absolutely no doubt that it will sound solid from start to finish. Wage War is one of those bands. Mania, the fourth album from the Florida group, blends the band’s previous sound with some newer elements to create an album that is full of bouncy riffs and catchy melodies that will leave you humming along for days.
It kicks off with Relapse, which sets the tone of the album perfectly. It uses electronic elements to enhance the low, droning guitar and Briton Bond’s dirty lead vocals. This song gives you little time to ease into the album itself and throws you in headfirst. At the halfway point to the album, Circle The Drain feels like one of those songs that could have something for everyone. It’s the second single released from Manic before its full release and it's probably the best choice they could have made. It’s the most radio friendly song that still appeals to the audience that enjoys heavy music – an impressive mixture that’s usually tricky to nail.
Every song follows what's pretty much the same formula: low tuned guitars, clean vocals to create a catchy melody in the chorus, then a filthy, chugging breakdown. Admittedly, the album gets more predictable as it goes on. You’re able to guess what’s about to happen or when a breakdown will cut through the track. But at the same time, if it’s a formula that works, why change it? Its pleasant and easy to listen to (if you like metalcore) and I genuinely haven’t found any flaws yet. Even in the title track, they begin with a synth pad and synthetic drums, which adds a nice contrast to the rest of the album that just throws you straight into most other songs. Of course, though, it kicks in not soon after and we’re introduced back to the ‘normality’ that is screaming and ridiculously chunky guitars.
Mania is a strange emotion. It's defined as being marked by periods of great excitement and euphoria, or as an excessive enthusiasm or desire - an obsession. This album stays true to its title and details the highs and lows that many of us have felt over the last year, going straight from harsh vocals and brutal breakdowns in Slow Burn, to the softer side of the band in Never Said Goodbye. It’s a song about losing someone unexpectedly and not being able to goodbye – something I’m sure a lot of us can relate to. I want to be able to say something critical about the album, but I genuinely cannot find it or find something about it that I dislike. Wage War have somehow managed to create something that’s equally as impressive as their previous releases and I might be in awe at it. 10/10
The Swedish kings of gothic doom mark 30 years of existence with a double disc collection of rarities and b-sides. Collected from EP's and album bonus editions, these songs are covers, remixes and also some unheard tracks from the cutting room floor, recorded between from 1994 until 2016. At 27 songs it's a lengthy record but the quality rarely dips, many of these songs would certainly fit on any of Katatonia's albums, which I suppose is a testament to the bands themselves, that many of these tracks were relegated to bonus songs or even left off all together. What isn't here is anything of the bands' death/doom style, but that is a small gripe as it is teaming with the depressive, gloomy heavy rock that the band are now so renowned for.
Novena's debut album, Eleventh Hour was a brilliant modern progressive metal record, featuring one of the few uses of dual vocals that I actually enjoyed, it was an intriguing, multifaceted release that took a lot of risks. The Stopped Clock is an EP that was recorded during the lockdown, named for the fact that the band felt as if their clock stopped just as they released their debut record, The Stopped Clock is almost a rebirth for the band, showing those who may have missed the debut album what kind of band Novena are. Along with the addition of Lucidity and Sail Away from Eleventh Hour, it's the three new songs that will be the reason for purchasing this EP. Opening with the 12 minute title track, we are immediately brought into the wonderfully experimental world of Novena.
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