Blog Archives
Festival Review: Loud Park 2015 (Tokyo, Japan)
When I left England, I thought my days of hitting up summer festivals were over. America (my home) is not known for festivals though there are a few traveling ones here and there, but nothing on the scale of Europe’s legendary metal festivals. Now that I live in Japan, it’s great to see a three-stage major metal event called Loud Park. And, it’s in Tokyo! Lucky me! This year’s annual experience was the 10th anniversary and was well stocked with heavy-hitting brand names such as Slayer (day 1 headliner), Anthrax, Arch Enemy, Gojira, All That Remains, Testament, Children of Bodom, Metal Allegiance (featuring Big Four members and then some), Hammerfall, Royal Hunt, and Gamma Ray. Since I typically attend one day, I felt this lineup was the weaker of the two. Here is my review of day 2 featuring headliners Megadeth.
First things first though. Attire is important; at least the top half anyway. When going to a festival it makes choosing my tee more difficult. I have a general rule against wearing a shirt of a bands I am going to see. I think it is obvious I like the band if I am there. Therefore, I opted for a Machine Head shirt; one I hadn’t worn yet since I got it from their show in July. Read the rest of this entry
Show Review: Hellyeah @ Yokota Air Base, Japan
It isn’t too often a metal band get sponsored by the United Services Organizations (USO) to play free shows on military installations. I am not saying it never happens, but it’s rare and even rarer that I get to be part of the event. Hellyeah was the sponsored band of the evening and kids were not allowed at the Yokota Air Base, Japan, venue. It was probably a good thing since it was beyond loud. Spinal Tap would say it was #11 loud. I couldn’t care less about all of Chad Gray’s F-bombs he was politely asked not to say, but damn it was one of the loudest shows I have ever been to. My lovely wife was my date and I think she walked away a fan. Yep, she just validated that statement and followed up with stating that she thought the show was well-played, Tom Maxwell did a great job with all that southern twang in his guitar, and that Chad Gray was a really good, active frontman. I can certainly confirm that. I got tired watching him and that says a lot about his presence on stage. The dude is a mover! Read the rest of this entry
Show Review: Opeth in Tokyo 30 April 15: The Full Report
If you have been following A Metal State of Mind, you may have noticed that Opeth gets mentioned quite a bit for one reason or another. I guess you could say, as a whole, we like them here. Just putting the bias up front. This time it’s yet another show review; my first from the island nation of Japan. The Roppongi district of Tokyo was the setting for the show; my third time seeing Opeth and my first ever concert that actually ended at a very reasonable time. In short, it was a great night for many reasons and here is a rundown of the evening.
First, I will say that the cost of a show in Japan is more than I have ever paid to see one band. As a result I will have to pick and choose my future shows carefully. ¥7,500 ($62.41, €55.75, kr524.30) seems to be the average price from what I have been seeing lately. The cost was for a standing ticket. If I wanted a seat it would have cost ¥2,000 extra. Seems to me being closer to the action would cost more, but I am sure there is a reason to price tickets that way. Anyway, throw in train tickets (took about an hour to get there), a shirt for ¥3,500 and it adds up to an expensive night out…for one band. There was also a pre-show dinner for about ¥2,800. But, for metalheads it’s always worth it to see a band you love. I don’t have to explain this, you know…
Video of the Week: マキシマム ザ ホルモン “え・い・り・あ・ん” (ALIEN) by Maximum the Hormone
One of the places I’d love to visit one day is Japan. Their culture is just so incredibly different that of the Western American and European cultures I’ve assimilated myself in. Seriously, just watch the below video for ALIEN by Japanese Idon’tknowwhatthefucktocallit-core band Maximum the Hormone. The song is flat-out awesome and the video is just nuts. I love everything about it. And below the video for ALIEN you can watch the other recent video for the band (I don’t know what the title translates into), which is cool but not as WTF as the one above. Also, do look into more music from Maximum the Hormone, they are a tremendous band that sounds unlike anything out there. Let us know what you thought. Enjoy!! Peace Love and Metal!!!!
Full Album Streams – Scenes from Hell by Sigh
The Japanese band Sigh caught my attention the other day when I was directed to check out the song “Purgatorium” off their new album, In Somniphobia. Immediately I was greatly impressed with the over-the-top lunacy of the music. Blaring NWOBHM guitars, Thrash Metal drumming, Black Metal rasps and screams, and Epic/Folk metal keyboards in the vein of Moonsorrow, Finntroll, and Ensiferum really got my adrenaline pumping and the head banging. I was instantly in love with the song and so can’t wait to hear the full album which comes out today, March 13, 2012 (looks like I need to get my ass to the record store 😉 expect a full on review in the coming week).
So, after I played “Purgatoruim” a good handful of times I jumped on the good ol’ Bandcamp to see if there was anything more from these guys to listen to. Lo and behold their debut album Scenes from Hell was up in its entirety. Now I am really hyped up to get my hand on Sigh‘s new record. On here, along with all the stuff I mentioned before, there was even more lunacy than my mind could handle. If the Loony Tunes were to form a metal band this is what it would sound like without a doubt (Bugs Bunny on guitar and doubling as the conductor when needed, Daffy Duck on vocals, Taz on the drums, Sylvester on bass, and Tweety on the keyboards. Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner in charge of A&R and the stage show with the rest of the Loony Tunes handling the rest of the instruments being played).
For as insane as the music might sound it is all extremely well constructed and written. The songs flow, there are tons of memorable moments, and there is great passion and emotion (the main emotion being insanity) put into each song. This band is a great breath of fresh air and I highly, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you check it out. Enjoy!! Peace Love and Metal!!!
P.S.- I just found out I can embed the Bandcamp player into the post so you don’t have to click on the album art to go to the Bandcamp page (you still can if you want). Let me know if everything works fine for you 🙂
Sigh - Scenes from Hell
A Metal State of Mind 