In the
days of yore, when pop music meant something, it was filled with nourishing
musical ideas and showed the tides of progress.
But then something happened, the ability for it to fill our soul has
nearly vanished, and the masses are starved on good music. There’s the occasional quality track that
stays good after multiple spins, but it has gotten to the moment where even
good pop music gets stale. We live in a
white-bread world in mainstream music.
However, there’s salvation from the drek that the masses need to know
about. In the words of Marie Antoinette,
or more accurately The Rods quoting her: “LET THEM EAT METAL!”
Hello degenerates,
heathens, weirdos, and deviants. I am the Rock Otaku, and I’m here to
show you worlds such as hard rock, metal, punk, alternative rock, movies, TV,
anime, video games, and anything that makes us scream, shout, and run with the
devil.
This series is
dedicated to the best that heavy metal can offer. As you will read, I will take you on a
journey though the annals of heavy metal’s storied history from its beginning
in early 70s, its crystallization in the late 70s and early 80s, its
breakthrough into mainstream conscience in the early to mid-80s, its maturation
in the late 80s and 90s, its dominance (sort of) in the 2000s and even today,
and the rare moments that very few talk about unless in the company of
like-minded fans. Not in that order, but
I’ll be looking at the footnotes oh metal history in the order I desire. In short, this series is about metal, plain
and simple.
But if there’s an
issue that I have with this series at its tenth entry, it’s that I’ve been
focusing too much on the past. But you
know to the saying: Learning from the past helps one avoid repeating mistakes
from then in the future. But what’s also
an important phrase: “There’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow shining at the
end of every day.” Yeah, that was a line
from the Sherman Brothers-penned song from the Carousel of Progress in Disney
World (I’m sure most Disney historians and Floridians would have gotten that
already), but it’s relevant to why I’m looking into the future by reviewing an
album from the present. While looking
into and making fun of yesterday is fun, it’s better to dream up the ideas and
concepts today to ensure a great, big, beautiful tomorrow. And some ways are to, sometimes, look at
where we are at in science, technology, engineering, math, art, music,
literature, cinema, animation, from what we’ve done and change a slight detail
about a certain topic, field, style, and so on to create something
arguably-revolutionary.
Take, for example,
maid cafes and hard rock. Do you think
that these two disparate elements should go together? The usual answer from a hard conservative, a
staunch Christian, or a grunge fanatic is a resounding:
But for a dreamer, a
thinker, an experimenter, or, in this case, a desperate (if western) or
creative (if Japanese) music executive, this is a pool of untapped
resources. To combine the two would, for
the market, appeal to both single otaku virgins, hard rockers, men and women
with a fascination with maids, metalheads, cosplayers, actual maids, outcasts,
punks, and girls of all ages if done right.
And today, I see if this experiment works in the form of Band-Maid.
For those who don’t
know where Band-Maid comes from, here’s an image of the band:
Now try to convince me
that these girls are French. If not,
then it’s even clearer that this is a byproduct of the kawaii metal boom
started by BabyMetal. Ah, kawaii metal,
the result of realizing that a lot of anime has j-pop themes that incorporate
elements of heavy metal, extreme metal, and power metal. As a result, a music producer for Sakura Gakuin
decided to take a few girls and have them sing over a mix of bubblegum,
electropop, and, more importantly, death metal, metalcore, alternative metal,
thrash metal, power metal, and probably progressive metal. And that’s how BabyMetal came into existence,
and then we had many other bands come in, such as LadyBaby (who’s gimmick is
the burly Australian man in drag and pigtails providing harsh vocals) and
today’s band Band-Maid. But Band-Maid
are slightly different than the other bands.
Unlike the artists and
bands that are rooted in idol pop, it looks as if Band-Maid take more from
otaku culture while drawing musically from hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal,
alternative metal, alternative rock, pop punk, emo, metalcore, and other
similar genres. In short, they’re a more
straightforward hard rock band with a decidedly moé appearance and appeal. What that entails is music that could be
played on active rock radio and alongside other acts like Shinedown, Three Days
Grace, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Halestorm, Highly Suspect, Metallica,
AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Alter Bridge, Chevelle, Parkway
Drive, Adelitas Way, Red Sun Rising, and so on while their image lures in
nerds, otaku, and others that wouldn’t usually listen to these acts unless they
need ideas for an amv (or anime music video for non-otaku) they’re making with
an action theme. Expect thrashing riffs,
pounding drums, thick bass, and soaring vocals from some very cute girls here.
As for how I stumbled
on this band, the image caught my eye first (literally), and the sound made me
realize that this band can go places.
Yes, I’ve started giving this band some visual interest after seeing them
linked to other girly j-metal acts through sites like Last.fm, Spotify, and so
on. While that may be a sign that these
girls shouldn’t be trusted on a musical standpoint, it wasn’t until recently
that I decided to go down this rabbit hole to understand what their sound
is. It started while prepping for the
idea of doing this during the writing of the last entry. Then I realized that, much to my initial
frustration, that there was no online versions of this album in particular due
to how the Japanese distribute music from their artists, the fact that this
album was very recent, like released-in-2017 recent, and not finding a reliable
version of the album from the American version of iTunes to download. So I just bought the CD from Amazon and
listened to it that way. Was that a good
idea in the long run? You’ll find out as
this review goes on. But does that mean
I’ll stick with my current way of reviewing in this series? Let me state that the main format will be
used if it’s not meant to be a quick entry or if the album came out at least a
year before the intended date of publishing of that particular blog. So that means that this album doesn’t meet
the cutoff date for this series, due to its international release last month,
and that it’ll get a shorter, more to-the-point, “should I also order this
album from Amazon or EBay,” kind of review.
But don’t think that
my weird sense of humor won’t be underused here. Instead, it’ll be used more as a way to break
up sentences and add to my thoughts on this album. Also, it’s my silly opinion, so if you don’t
like my opinion or this album, great.
Music is subjective anyway, and it’s better to have different opinions
anyway, like Nickelback turning you off of harder, grungier rock or still being
a fan of Nickelback (or Creed, or Limp Bizkit, or Puddle of Mudd, or Theory of
a Deadman, or Hinder, or Five Finger Death Punch, or Black Veil Brides, or
Asking Alexandria, or even Kanye West, but positive thoughts on Kid Rock may
not be tolerated). Plus Band-Maid’s style,
which I will discuss, may not be something you’d enjoy, I mean, it’s not as if
they can cause disdain from both people demanding more pathetic PC
sorry-excuses-for-music and the macho morons who demand that bands look and
sound like 90s Pantera or Nirvana exactly.
 |
| Don't be like this guy! |
Now for
the review. I think that this album
shows not just a lot of promise for this band of heavy metal maids, but that it
might be one of the most deceptive hard rock releases of 2017 so far. Specifically, if you saw the title art and
though that this would be some sort of anime-inspired emo album, you’d be
pounded out of the gate in realizing just how wrong you might be. Yes, there are songs about more emotional
material and dealing with some heartache and the pains of the world, but it’s
more about standing up, showing the world that you can take the pain and turn
it into something amazing, and being yourself in a crazy world. All of this is done through face-melting,
metallic hard rock that will restore your faith in metal. The guitars crunch, the bass is thick, the
drums are pounding, and the vocals are not the cute, j-pop vocal variety of
female singers in the land of the rising sun; they are deeper, charismatic,
raw, and slightly more sensual while having a focus on belting. The emotions are strong, the sound is raw,
the production is fantastic (thanks to Koji Goto, whom I’d like to produce more
rock music after this), the technicality is on-point, and so on. I could stop here and just say that this is
good and say that you should check it out, but I’m sure that I could also have
more ways of saying that in this paragraph.
 |
| So you want another paragraph, Zoro? |
Okay
then.
To
properly do this for this series, I’ve decided to go by the elements that are
prevalent throughout this album and reflect how it adds to the album as a
whole.
Classic Hard
Rock:
Specifically,
how it compares to the likes of AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, and so on. In a way, Band-Maid does feels like a gender
bender version of those acts, from all the members being women to the sound
being as raw and aggressive as their male counterparts while dealing with more
feminine topics. But that doesn’t mean
the album is nowhere as sugary as acts like BabyMetal. This is pure, unhinged hard rock with some
metallic elements (which I’ll discuss below) that deals with themes of being yourself,
dealing with the frustrations of the world, and the relationships the girls get
themselves in. As in, expect hard-edged
riffs, some swing to the songs, powerful vocals, an even more powerful rhythm
section, concert-friendly anthems, and shredding solos. As I’ll discuss below, there will be a
metallic twist to the music, but anthems like “Don’t you tell ME,” “Puzzle,” “モラトリアム,” “YOLO,” “Take me
higher ! !,” “So,What?,” and so on are definitely are accessible enough to be
considered excellent old-school hard rock.
Also adding to that is Saiki’s vocals being loaded with swagger, bite,
intensity, and other great things that make the songs kick ass. This is definitely an album that’ll appeal to
fans of AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, and so on.
 |
| My thoughts on the band at this point. |
Modern
Hard Rock:
For those
who are wondering what the phrase “Modern Hard Rock” entails, it means hard
rock with modern (i.e. grunge, emo, hip hop, nu metal, pop punk, and metalcore)
influences. And does this album sound
modern?
 |
| Bison, what are you doing here?! |
The
sound, production, and instrumentation techniques have strong elements that
would be common in the music of Alter Bridge, Avenged Sevenfold, Breaking
Benjamin, Parkway Drive, Shinedown, Bullet For My Valentine, and other bands. This is especially present in the first four
songs, “Don’t you tell ME,” “Puzzle,” “モラトリアム,” and “YOLO.” There
are also elements of it in “Take Me Higher ! !,” “you.,” “Awkward,” “decided by
myself,” and “secret My lips.” Does that
mean the album is unlistenable to those who swore off any rock after the
release of Nevermind? Not really, but it’s going to be interesting
how most of you will react to the song’s I’ll show. The sound does have a modern flair, and that
is a result of Koji Goto’s production work, leading to a lot of explosive
choruses, a trademark of radio rock.
Plus there are strong elements of metal, punk, grunge, hardcore, emo,
and even some pop in the musical production.
Plus there is a strong musical connection with Halestorm as both bands
are straightforward hard rock acts with room to throw in some flair and fronted
by women with powerful vocalists. If
that causes any issues, it’s that the music is pretty predictable, though
catchy, if you are familiar with the elements, tropes, clichés, and techniques
prevalent in modern hard rock. But the
unpredictability does come from the language and image (unless Buckcherry
starts cosplaying as Rocky Horror characters live). But what keeps this from being fetid
Nickelback-esque radio rock?
Heavy
Metal:
There is
a strong touch of heavy metal in the music.
But what about this is metal? A
lot, actually. The tempos are fast and
furious, and there are few-to-no ballads here.
Every song has some sort of bite, darkness, and sense of danger. The guitars involve palm-muted riffs, power
chords, and lots of shred parts, especially the solos. The bass is thick and prevalent, providing a
sense of punch. And the drums include
cymbal-bashing, lots of double kick lines, and a loud, pounding, thunderous
presence. While the vocals aren’t
exactly Ozzy Osbourne-style wailing, Rob Halford-esque banshee shrieks, Bruce
Dickinson’s siren wails, Ronnie James Dio’s epic delivery, Lemmy’s low guttural
roar, the rasp of Cronos, King Diamond’s ear-piercing falsetto, James
Hetfield’s deep gruff delivery, or even the low demonic growls of Chris Barnes,
they do their job well. The only time
they sound noticeably poppy is on “TIME,” but they are closer to the
hard-hitting j-rock vocal delivery, and it fits with the metallic blitzkrieg of
the rest of the album. As for the songs
I’ve already mentioned, the songs do have their metallic moments as I’ve
referenced, with some songs having moments driven by double-kick drumming,
long, shredding solos that include two-handed tapping (it’s as if tapping will
make you more like a glam or j-rock guitarist if you’re not in metal and you
play lead guitar), and enough headbanger-friendly beats to wreck necks on
listens. And the drive does not stop,
even when the music gets slightly softer and about to go into ballad
delivery. There are no ballads here,
despite the closest song being considerable as one being “Awkward,” so expect a
lot of energy and rage. Don’t expect 80s
Metallica here, but you’ll get something with equal amounts of bite as well as
the bite of Megadeth, the swagger of Judas Priest, the speed of Accept, the
technicality of Iron Maiden, the shock-factor of Slayer and W.A.S.P., the
straight-forwardness of Motörhead, the groove of Pantera, and weirdness of
Anthrax.
Pop
Metal:
Pop
metal, such as with Dokken, Winger, Firehouse, Danger Danger, and some of TNT,
is defined by heavy riffs, catchy hooks, and commercial accessibility. And this band runs on that twofold. The sound may be more modern (I’ll get to
that), but the roots in Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Van Halen, KISS, Ratt,
Dokken, Motley Crue, Poison, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Winger, Warrant, Cinderella,
Skid Row, and the Scorpions are very prevalent when you understand the tropes
and a few musical lines. Each and every
single song has one hell of a chorus that’ll have you chanting along (or
humming if you can’t speak Japanese), and they are all extremely done. Plus the riffs are catchy and can be heard
alongside whatever rock radio plays these days (or maybe not because of how the
banjos and mandolins are still prevalent, but I’ll continue my Billboard Rock
chart watch to see if my hunch here is right).
And like any strong pop metal band, the guitar solos are awesome. But unlike the offenders in the genre, it’s
as if the music is organic, making it sound as if the actual band members, all
of them girls, all of them wearing maid uniforms in their appearances, all of
them coming from the Akihabara scene, are playing their respective instruments,
which is more impressive considering all of that. Unlike our pop starlets, these girls know how
to play and make an impression.
Modern
Metal:
There are two types of modern metal that one can easily
classify recent metal releases as: mainstream and extreme (plus power for the
nerds out there). This falls into the
former with the elements described above.
Mainstream means that the songs have a strong groove, pounding riffs and
rhythms, elements of thrash and groove metal mixed with emo, post-hardcore,
hard rock, traditional metal, hair metal, grunge, post-grunge, alternative rock
and progressive rock. And you can
definitely hear elements of A7X, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Bullet,
Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Godsmack, Alter Bridge, Shadows Fall at their most
glam, All That Remains if they didn’t suck now, In Flames if they didn’t suck
now, Five Finger Death Punch if they didn’t suck now, and Black Veil Brides if
they didn’t lose relevance, and Falling In Reverse if they didn’t belong with
Anakin:
 |
| Seriously, their impression on me is this soft. |
 |
| And Band-Maid are here. |
 |
| We think you got the wrong place for Ronnie Radke again. He belongs next door with Kylo Ren. |
 |
| “And I’m still not a weenie.” |
Seriously,
until The Last Jedi comes out,
calling Ben Solo an emo weenie will still be funny (it may still be).
But the
modern metal elements are most prevalent in “Puzzle,” “you.,” and “secret My
lips” in my silly, Kämpfer-referencing
opinion. They have the grooves, the
choruses, the chord patterns, and the technicality that’s common in that
genre. Hell, the former may sound like
BabyMetal at points, but it’s still based in hard rock and heavy metal and not
idol pop and metalcore. Plus the solos
are based around shred and blues, which are two common soloing styles in modern
metal alongside classical and jazz. If
you want great-sounding modern metal, and you are an otaku, you cannot go wrong
with Band-Maid.
Post-Grunge?:
 |
| "Are you serious?!" |
The
reason? It has to do with the fact that
“Take Me Higher!” has a very similar riff and structure to “Animals” by
Nickelback. No joke, the opening riffs
to both songs sound alike. And plus
there’s the similar beats. But that’s
where the two songs stop at the similarities and reveal themselves to be very
different lyrically and quality-wise.
Whereas the infamous butt-rock hit is about very wild sex with this girl
Chad Kroeger is into (before the dad starts chasing after her), the rocker on
this album is an anthem for overcoming obstacles and being unstoppable. Plus there’s all the guitar work, where Miku
Kobato and Kanami play shredding, tasty solos while I’m sure Nickelback never
even attempts to play a solo on their rocker.
And also “Animals” is a blatant ripoff of “Cherry Pie” but without the humor
or the great solo by (surprisingly) C.C. Deville (and Joey Allan and Eric
Turner never played a note of that solo like they didn’t with many
others). If you had a gun at my head and
made me choose between this song and “Animals,” I’d pick this over that
humiliating Denny’s stalker anthem. And
that’s my two cents on that. Plus,
there’s all the elements in instrumentation and production that could be
similar in execution to what usually heard in most post-grunge anyway.
Alternative
Rock/Metal:
Ultimately,
we kind of have to get to this point due to certain elements, and how I feel
about the state of rock and metal in the current day due to past phenomena. Back in 1991, an album called Nevermind came out, causing bands and
record labels to look into the Seattle sound, a.k.a. grunge, and get more of
that due to the massive success of the Nirvana album alongside the success of
Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains at the same time.
As a result, previous rock trends, like heavy metal, shred solos, arena
rock, and adult contemporary format-friendly ballads, were sent underground and
to the rural regions of the U.S. (gee, I wonder what kind of bands Trump
supporters listen to), while riff-driven, punk-inspired rock and alternative
rock became the norm. After a while,
most bands started taking the sound of Seattle and writing mainstream-friendly
rock songs that way, kick starting post-grunge, which started as a reflection
on grunge’s status as mainstream darlings at the time and felt like a mix of it
and hard rock, with elements of grunge becoming embedded into hard rock and
traditional rock lyrics being incorporated into songs in an “alternative”
sound, causing genres like 2nd-wave post-grunge, nu metal (which was
more the result of grunge and another mentioned genre getting mixed together),
and alternative rock to become the new mainstream rock, and genres like garage
rock, blues rock, retro rock, and so on to be put under the indie banner like
with alternative beforehand.
Another
band that came around in that era on the metal side was Pantera, who started as
a hair band, but got heavier by the time their major-label debut, Cowboys From Hell, came out. After that, their sound got heavier, more
groove-driven, more hardcore-inspired, and lyrically darker and more personal,
causing the rise and appeal of genres like nu metal and metalcore to rise
against the flannel, boy bands, and tween idols that came in their wake. Along with Pantera was Rage Against the
Machine, who turned rap metal, a mix of hip hop and heavy metal, into the rage
of a more-liberal generation than most (which then became soft and politically
correct, what the hell?!). And both
bands would bring the element that would become nu metal, which would later
receive more derision than hair metal at the beginning and contribute to, in
most music analysts’ eyes, the death of rock music in the mainstream.
 |
| Way to go Phil Anselmo, you’re a Steve Martin movie. |
So why
bring these up? They are a part of the
musical diet of rock fans who were growing up or born around the time this
music was in. As a result, despite me
singing the praises of traditional, speed, thrash, power, and hair metal in
previous entries, styles like grunge, nu metal, post-grunge, metalcore, groove
metal, alternative metal, pop punk, alternative rock, emo, and, well,
“mainstream” rock are a big part in how I got into bands of those genres
(alongside classic rock), and why I give this band a massive boost in attention
(hopefully). Well, that and the soundtracks
to the Dreamcast-era Sonic games. And
anime soundtracks having rock tunes as their themes. And Band-Maid have elements of those genres
of music alongside the classic influences.
From the use of musical elements from 90s rock to the lyrics dealing
with personal themes, regardless if they’re more about stuff that’s common in
other hard rock acts from the 80s, they are also influenced by the surprisingly
global reach of alternative rock in the 90s.
Plus you can hear these songs on active rock radio, which still plays
alternative metal to this day, and that is a plus here.
Pop Punk:
 |
| “Okay, oro?” |
Some of
the melodies come from pop punk, especially on “TIME.” There’s also the focus on speedy songs
dealing with relationships, breaking molds, and loss. As a result, this could be considered by some
people as a Japanese version of Paramore with shred solos. The pop punk elements are more prevalent on
“CROSS,” “OOPARTS,” and “TIME,” just to remind you all. And because I have a soft spot for Paramore
(I did buy Riot alongside Indestructible by Disturbed in Disney
World, and I have listened to the former in its entirety at least once in my
life), that’s not an issue here, but it may be for some people. But don’t let that take away their metal
credibility, the hard rock and metal elements are prevalent, loud and
proud. That allows for a wider fan base
for this band.
J-Rock:
As for
any weaknesses for this band?
 |
| "They have weaknesses!?" |
The
language barrier can cause the hooks, as catchy as they are, to lose their
stick on those not fluent in Japanese.
Plus, as you should know about me, modern rock and metal, alongside
j-rock, are acquired tastes, so someone who hates post-Nirvana rock with a
fiery passion may not enjoy this album as much.
As for the elements modern rock in the band’s sound, the classic
elements also add to another flaw: predictability. Not to say that these songs are bad, but it’s
easy to determine what they sound like and what they’re about based on the
title. But does that mean ‘YOLO” is a
bad song because the song is about giving it your all and seizing the day? No, it’s a great song, and it’s the only time
where that stupid phrase has any sort of purpose (instead of doing stupid
things). That and, when you have a
version with the translated lyrics, you start to realize these themes are
prevalent in rock already and that they don’t play with the maid aspect of
their image in the lyrics. It’s just
straightforward hard rock in Japanese, and that might undersell the band to
some people. Even my review might have
demystified this band’s sound to GNR-meets-AIC-meets-Metallica-meets-A7X. But for me, it’s great regardless, and I feel
that the purpose of the rock being unfiltered, no BS, metallic fury makes the
whole maid gimmick feel like something that’s part of the image while the band
aims for mainstream success. Not every
band can be Alestorm, Steel Panther, Ex Deo, and so one, where the gimmick
takes over even the music and lyrics.
They can be the right mix of authentic and gimmicky, like Band-Maid.
So
overall, this band kicks ass, and this album is proof of that. These girls have the skill, the look, the
sound, and the attitude to take them places beyond maid cafes and anime
conventions (even if I wouldn’t mind if they kept to their roots). Their songs are awesome, the instrumentation
is stellar, the vocals are fantastic, the hooks are infectious, the riffs slay,
the lyrics are empowering, despite the language of choice, and the delivery is
top-grade. If U.S. radio stations are
willing to give them a shot, alongside the BabyMetal fanbase, then they should
have no problem becoming international superstars. This may be due to being fresh to the party,
but I feel that this album is worth owning.
The main deal is the fact that this is a great rock record that just
happens to be from a band from Japan who’s adopted the kawaii culture of that
nation in image but not music. So for
fans of my series, if you’re on Amazon and you stumble on this album, and you
wonder if you should buy it:
Final
Rating: 9/10 (Definitely worth importing.
RIGHT NOW!)
And now
for something interesting to know about me.
While I have made a niche for myself as a music reviewer (focusing on
rock and metal), there are signs that I’m more than that. That is not just because of my movie reviews
and top 10s based on stuff other than music.
This also includes the fact that I am the kind of person that tends to
have crazy ideas that could, in my opinion, enhance or alter industries that I
am passionate about. There are cases
where this might or might not be possible, and I am okay with how things are
running (i.e. the fact that anime is mainstream enough to inspire western media
but niche enough that we don’t get 4Kids-esque localizations like in the early
to mid-00s) and I would humble contribute to in simple ways, but there are
others where I feel my creative juices can cause some major shifts in
media. Do I want them all to become
true, not really, but for now, with inspiration from Band-Maid being a legitimate
hard rock band who just happens to have a specified image, I have a crazy idea
for a rock band if you have any interest in knowing. Specifically the idea of creating a band with
legitimate music with a specified theme and idea and an image that translates
into other media like movies, TV, cartoons, comics, literature, and so on. For a basic overview, think KISS except the
merchandise were all based around stories that serve as the focus for albums. Also, think of Coheed and Cambria except with
a band image that reflected the Armory Wars rather than casual wear. Effectively, if a band had a comic, a book
series, or a planned movie, TV, or cartoon series that can allow for awesome,
hard hitting music across multiple albums serving as a soundtrack to the story,
and the image and live performances create the illusion of bringing these
stories to life. That’s rock band idea
#1.
Number #2
would be more of a cosplay band (like with the recent progressive metal
juggernaut Galactic Empire). The idea would
be that the music is inspired by a series or franchise that each member of the
band cosplays as characters from. And
the band’s story would effectively be musical fanfiction, but with a focus on
quality musicianship and songwriting, making music that sounds as if the style
of music being played actually existed in the series being paid tribute
to. For example, a band who’s gimmick is
that the Straw Hat Pirates decided to start a band with a musical style based
on Alestorm and having the same goofy lyrical style, but based on their
adventures. Another example would be a
band with folk, punk, blues, bluegrass, and rock elements singing about the
events going on in the town of Gravity Falls.
How about the Sailor Scouts playing symphonic power metal based on their
battles, starting their first album with songs about their fight against the
forces of Queen Beryl. How about a 70s
rock-inspired Guardians of the Galaxy tribute band that covers classic rock in
the guise of bringing it to Knowhere and Xandar. All of these ideas being based around writing
legitimate songs or playing cool covers of songs from other sources and paying
the highest respect to those franchises.
But probably my personal direction would be a band consisting of BlazBlue
cosplayers writing and playing legitimate heavy metal in the guise of the band
being characters who put aside their differences to play hard rock inspired by
their situations (with a lineup of Bang and Noel sharing vocals, either Terumi,
Jin, Mai, Ragna, or any combination of them on guitar, Tsubaki or Tao on bass,
Makoto, Asrael, or Bullet on drums, Litchi, Amane, or Carl on keyboards, and
managed by Professor Kokonoe or Rachel).
And yes, the musical style will have to be something along the lines of
Holy Grail’s style to work.
Oh, and
because of the date, Happy Birthday, Ragna the Bloodedge!
 |
| "Shut up and reveal your next review topic! Oh, and thanks for remembering." |
Can do! Next time on Let Them
Eat Metal: Ride the Lightning by Metallica (explanation for trends coming next
week).
Until
next time, this is the Rock Otaku. Live
Loud, Play Hard, and Eat Metal.
All used references
are done under the rules of fair use and are owned by their original creators.
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