Hello, everybody. Welcome to That's Non Metal, your rock and metal podcast
that is here with you every week. Like you know what's going on.
This is hyper Blast, the first normal hyper Blast we've had in quite a
while. Last week we obviously had our huge outbreak festival review. Today it's
back to quick and simple, in and out stuff. We've got some news
to talk about. We've got some releases to tell you what's out at the
end of the end of the day. But we're gonna get into all that
now. My name is Perren hash. Sam Dignon is here. We're also
joined today by Mark Anderson, who is popping in. Mark, you are
here because along with myself, we both attended the Iron Maiden Future Past tour
this past week. So we're gonna have a little matter about that, aren't
we the heavy metal event of the year. It's definitely one of the tours
of the yeah, and something I'd been anticipating pretty much my whole life.
Like, Yeah, so for context, this was your first time seeing Iron
Maiden despite being a near lifelong Iron Maiden fan. Yeah, because annoyingly like,
they never fucking play Scotland, or if they do, it's in Aberdeen,
which is no one's going to Aberdeen is the cultural hub of Scotland.
Aberdeen I think we can all agree. But no, they came to Glasgow
specifically playing songs from Send It To Send It To and Suwheer in Time,
which are two albums I genuinely really love of sort of the perfect time for
me to see them. And it was amazing, was it not? Yeah?
I mean we saw Law That Are Lost first, got off to some
some some blood and glitter. That was a thing. But Iron Maiden again,
this for me was it's my second time seeing Iron Maiden, so I
think I'm sure this particular show will have more significance for you as your first
time than this does for me, as you know obviously my first time does
for me. But it was just like Iron Maiden being brilliant and when when
it comes to specifically the setltis because let's just talk about the show for frisking,
I suppose you bit again first time seeing them iron Maiden shows, it
feels like every time you are specifically talking about the setlist and the vibe that
they've chosen for the show more than the actual quality of the points itself,
because they're just always brilliant, Like it's it's not even a question whether Iron
Maiden are actually gonna, you know, play well or anything like that.
And you know, again, we were having this discussion with people who were
also going to the tour and it was like, it's kind of stagger that
for a band who are like one of the longest running metal bands that we
still have in the world, right, like Black Sabbatha Gone, they're pretty
much behind you know, Juda's Priest and a couple of others, but they
if they have one or two of these large cycles left in them, they
are looking like they might be the rare band who genuinely do not have any
significant downturn in the quality of their formsed before the end, and that is
pretty amazing. I was genuinely so shocked. I went in sort of expecting
an old man metal show like we saw Saxon a few years ago. I
was like, yeah, there's so much fun, but it is very much
an elderly show, right. Yeah, the crowd was sat down, like
it was a bit of a laugh, but like, not the most amazing
show you've ever seen. Iron Maiden, however, holy shit, those guys
are so tight and not that he's never sounded better, but he genuinely sounds
amazing running about the stage, jumping about, going crazy like he sounded so
good and it can still like belt out those big notes. Yeah, so
well as you want in terms like I said, in terms of like judging
the show or whatever. For me as someone who's seen I made him before,
and for many of people out there in the same position probably seen them
much more than me, even it does just come down to like what they're
playing on the night, because the quality of pointments are just so always there
and you're right in terms of again, me and Elliott discussed when they kind
of unveiled the setlist for a particular tour a few weeks ago, as they
tend to do, and we were like, yeah, it looks like a
very good time and when it comes to the somewhere in time send you to
sort of framing of the tour. Somewhere in time. I swear like in
the last year since they announced they were doing this tour, we did the
album club and everything just been listening to it in advance of this, I
swear it's gone up like a couple of spots in my I had made in
kind of power ranking like I've done so, and when they open with court
Somewhere in Time and they all run out on the stage at the same time,
so that it's like one of the most one of the most underrated.
Iron made an openers. It was a moment of magic. Oh, it
was amazing and like an amazing opener that I never really considered, because when
you think Iron made an openers, you think like Ace is high. Yeah,
that song I've not seen them open with. You know, I have
about twelve Iron made in live albums, and if it's not a Societ,
it's like Wickerman or some shit. Um, yeah, they've run out.
I start screaming. I'm like, that's actual Steve Harris, That's that's him
up there. The energy was ten, Like the song is a ten.
I don't remember it that well because I feel like I left my body.
Yeah, and then going straight into Stranger in a Strange Lands, which again
with another song that I didn't know if I would ever see I made and
play it was absolutely brilliant. The rest of Somewhere and Time stuff, obviously,
there was so much talk about Alice ard of the Great and that was
a fabulous moment. Was that the song where Bruce hit the big gong you
like that behind Nicko's drum kit and whacked a big gong. That was good.
Heaven can Wait had the full on Eddie cannon fight essentially so many videos
of this. Yeah, that was the best bit. That was amazing.
Mate. I when Heaven can Wait started, I thought, okay, I'll
go for a p now this is the appropriate time. And I got back
and our mutual friend Josh who I went with, went, mate, You'll
never guess what you miss. I was so gutted. Yeah again, I
took a video at the moment and in my video you can actually see me
jump at the final cannon blast when Eddie blows up Bruce's big cannon because it
just absolutely like got me. Was such again, the show is just genuinely
so much fun. They're not normally a pyro band, I of her,
but they the more of a big wobbling stilt man band. But they did,
like, you know, get a bit of pyer out for him.
I think it was hell on Earth. So the time stuff was mostly piru.
Yeah, that was fucking great to send you to stuff. I mean
again, When me and Alick were discussing the sets, and stuff were like,
even if you're kind of apathetic on any album, it normally is better
live. I experienced that very much with the Book of Soul stuff when I
saw them, and again larger same here the songs that I love on that
record. The writing on the Wall was fucking amazing, Like, that is
a spectacular song, and that chorus took off unbelievably well in the live environment,
So that was really really good. You mentioned Hell on Earth, which
is you know, kind of um became a sort of an immediate fan favorite
as like the album closer on it, and you know it kind of grew
on me over that sort of you know, nearly a year now since the
album came out, and like when they started playing it for the encore,
a guy behind me just went, fucking masterpiece. So that guy was clearly
really happy to see that. Yeah, I love Hell on Earth. I
think is genuinely one of the best Iron Maiden closers. I think is an
epic. Is an epic. It's a really good one. I think people
slightly over judge it when they go it's it's the best Iron Maiden closes are
ever and it's like, well, you're putting it next to Hallibe by Name
and Ryan and the Ancient Mariner As I've like literally some of the greatest metal
songs ever written, but it is a fucking good one. It was really
really brilliant live. The time Machine was the one that I thought of was
like, yeah, you know, I'd swapped out for something else. I
was shocked at how much I enjoyed that song live, like the guitar mela
Isn't it really really worked? The chorus worked. You are gonna hate me
for saying this. I know. The low for me was Death of the
Celts. How bloody dare you? It just made me think how much I
would rather be seeing The Klansman or you know, one of the like Dance
of Death or something like the various specifically Celtic Iron Maiden songs. It's like
bottom of the Pile, and I know they were doing it for the new
album tour, but it was the one bit of the Settlers where I was
like, I would gend like I again, I don't know if I'm ever
going to see them do something like the Klansmen before they eventually retired, Like
I would rather be watching that incredible song that I've loved for like half my
life versus this kind of dodgy one. I appreciate that. To be honest,
I had to take an entire set of the Celtic songs. I love
it all. Yeah, they could do just a Celtic jig. I'd I'd
have no legs by the end. I don't know if you heard from our
from Josh who our mutual friend. I went crazy during death help you ID
you had to show your celt car, didn't you. I had to.
I had to prove we were alive, Yeah, which I told me about.
Bruce was saying ahead of the Glasgow thing, he was like, we're
playing this song and obviously you're all still here, so it's kind of bit
weird. He did the same thing where he was like, we played in
Dublin last night and we had to play the song whereds they're all there,
but like, yeah, there was a kind of poignancy to that moment as
well. And again just kind of you know, best of the rest other
stuff. I know they play every single tour ever, but Fear of the
Dark from one of the greatest single like live songs. You can see and
again I'm sure for you your first time seeing it Oh my god, is
it just magical life? Yeah, Like, the crowd was so loud I
could barely hear Bruce. It was incredible. And again that's what the guitar
lines as well, not even just the oh yeah words. Scottish crowds go
crazy for singing guitar lines at the best of times, never mind Iron Maiden
ones to right. Yeah, and again I kind of I'd forgotten until like
the night that they were playing The Prisoner, which it's so weird to go
into an Iron Maiden show where they only play one song off Number of the
Beast and it's the Prisoner, but it was like, oh, awesome,
I love this song such a like, yeah, I forgot about that as
well, such a pleasant surprise obviously that song. They could play any song
from Number of the Beast really and I'd be like, oh, oh my
god. M yeah, the song Iron Maiden. That was probably my highlight,
allright, so massive and surreal that like a song that scrappy sounds like
the biggest song in the world, you know what I mean. Yeah,
Like, that's that's the song that I guess if you've seen I mean a
lot of times, you could sort of go like It's kind of funny that
they always they like they're willing to swap out Run to the Hills or the
Number of the Beast or any of these type of things, but they have
never, ever, ever swapped out the song I had made in from the
very first album. It's kind of a weird one to have stuck around,
even on a tour like this, which is so kind of sci fi themed.
But that was when you did get the big samurai Eddie wandering out,
who looked cool. And I also forgot to mention when they literally opened the
court somewhere in time, Bruce running out in like the fucking Back to the
Future goggles and stuff, looking like a mad pilot. That was great.
Yeah, And he was like kneeling around and like searching as if he was
looking for something in yea a maniac. Yeah. So yeah, just a
really really just a lovely spectacle of heavy metal from a band he continued to
put that on, And, like I said, the fact that you can
so reliably just know that Iron Maide and are going to give you that experience
each and every time, seemingly until the end, I think it's just really
brilliant. Yeah. I went in thinking I don't know if I'm ever going
to see them again, because it's such a fast seeing big bands, you
know, But I'm though, like, after seeing the show, whenever they
tour again, I'm going to be there. Yeah. I mean I've said
this before for other reasons, but I mean normally would anyway, right next
cycle. It was a weird fluke that I had to miss the Legacy of
the Beast one, which is very annoying, but like next cycle, I'm
so there. I would go to another show of this one if I could,
just to sing along to camera, play with Madness again and all that
kind of stuff. So there you go, Sam, you were at the
Cancer Bats this week. Yes, not quite the spectacle, but another just
you know, always reliable. You're never going to get a bad show from
them. Banned Grow Street were opening. They've kind of the band who used
to be Groctriet Families, so they were grocery Families. They've had the name.
They've basically had a sort of soft reboot. They've actually got their like
debut album properly coming out this year on right on an actual record label now,
so that they they've kind of like softly with the band. But they're
still playing a lot of those old grocery family tunes, you know, big
chunky, crossover, fresh influence hardcore, really fun opener there that they're like
a bit of like a struggle with the crowd because I think, you know,
it's an older Cancer Bats crowd. I guess they're not going to be
going for that kind of hardcore as much, but they were. They're into
it. Cancer Bats though, they are the band I've seen more than any
other band, Like I'm pushing thirty times, I've seen that band. Now
it's like ridiculous, But I haven't seemed to a headline show. So it's
twenty eighteen, which is like which I was like, what's why I could
miss this one because I've just not seen that long like hour long headlines set
where they played all the bangers and it was as you'd expect, like just
fantastic. The new songs off of the last album plenty of them in the
set. Radio is still one that I'm like, that run goes off and
that riff. Yeah. I kept going back to him like, yeah,
that's scot loads of bangers, lowly bongs, novel where like that. Those
are like the time like they should be you know absolutely live Staples, but
yeah, like this the Cone got like no fixed guitarists now because last month
when I saw them last year they had different guitarists to hell them this tour,
but so the main unit of them are still so infectious in their energy.
Liam is one of the greatest frontmen ever, just in how he can
get a crowd rilled up. Like it was like start of pretty good,
and then when they dropped the Monyhawk, like I think like fourth or fifth
into the set, the energy just sort of shot up even more and then
did let up. And when your closing run goes how destroyer sabotage bricks and
more Lucifer's rocking chair as your way to end the gig like that again,
He's just bodies on bodies. At that point, it was just a fantastic
time from band. I will, like I said, I've seen more than
any other band and they will never ever tire of seeing. Well, speaking
of bodies upon bodies, I'm a in the ticket Master queuing system here as
a very good segue there. Paramour were announced a day or two ago to
be once again they've done this in the US, but over here the UK
and European dates of Taylor Swifts ongoing fucking world breaking eras tour Paramour are going
to be the support act for the UK and European dates and fucking you know
rock Twitter over here of the where it crosses over into Swifty demons so on
went mad you, Yeah, and yeah, I suppose this is again I've
mentioned this a few times, but to completely lay this out, obviously,
Sam, you are a big Taylor Swift fan. My girlfriend is a full
on Swifty and she for the past like, you know, several weeks,
two months or whatever, stressing she's been planning with her her Swifty friend,
like her fucking attack plan of like how they're going to try and get tickets
and observing this as a kind of you know, passive neutral, you know,
observer of how they've had to do it in terms of like they had
to like register for the potential to buy tickets yea, for like specific dates
as well, because again we're in Liverpool, and Liverpool is a place where
Taylor is playing multiple dates that she's playing anfield and she's doing I think she
added one on three dates now of anfield, so like taylors Worth playing an
anfield is like perfect, right, But even still she's had to be like,
right, you know, Warsaw or whatever, like I'm going to apply
for the right to buy tickets to those just in case an feel fall through.
I mean, I I mean, I didn't get anything from the applying
tickets, but fortunately to day I got my Oh I remember to pre order
her life. Oh it's pre suffering today. So I'm like, well,
and they've got like the presars for that are going. It's like London at
eleven am. One London date is at eleven m on Monday. One Edinburgh
dates at one It at what like one people and so they literally press doing
one at a time every couple of days and number I'm gonna have to be
trying to get on them because I really wanted to go to this talk Shifty,
but I was like almost making peace. I was like, I'm probably
gonna get tickets, and they go and add Paramoe. I'm like, you,
motherfucker, yeah, because I can't miss Taylor Swift and Paramo or together.
It's ruined my life. I just and I've been thinking again about the
whole observing the process of how this this is working, and again I don't
know what the alternative is, because obviously she's unbelievably massive, the biggest artists.
But I think it's absolutely fucking baffling. It absolutely is like again me,
as I'm a casual Taylor Swift enjoyer, right like she has. Even
before I was with my girlfriend, I owned a copy of nineteen eighty nine.
We now have various other albums on the shelf. There are multiple albums
for us. I would say I enjoy. There are songs from elsewhere,
like especially because again I've got to look into it and so I know more
about like the narrative and so on Taylor Swift. But I'm sure a lot
of people who would quite casually be wanting to go to these shows and whatnot.
And yet Taylor Swift a pop artist I enjoy playing in the city that
I live in three dates Noeless at the biggest stadium in the city where I
live, with a band I fucking love as a support act. That should
be the perfect time for me to be like, oh, well, you
know what, I'll go along to that. And yet I have more chance
like of I don't know, getting a fucking ticket for Converge playing Temple of
Boom. Until you get anue whatever in the city I don't live in then
going to this, and I think it's just it's so surreal how pop music,
by its definition, I think it's kind of crazy. How like hardcore
pop fandom has kind of overtaken the kind of universality of pop music. I
guess, because pop by its definition should be the lowest barrier of entry for
someone to get to, right, Like, if someone doesn't go to many
shows a year, if they just enjoy what's on the radio. Maybe you
know, it's a parent who wants to take their like you know, the
their their young kids who enjoy Taylor Swift, and it's like, you don't
get too many shows a year, so you'll you'll, hey, you know
whatever, a normal stadium price to go and see a big pop act that
is, by definition, playing to the largest amount of people, there should
be the most amount of tickets available. That kind of like low barrier entry
for this specific tour seems to have been completely obliterated. So like somehow it's
only the most insanely hardcore of hardcore pop fans who have like the remotest chance
in hell of hopping through the hoops necessary to get to the biggest tour of
the year. I just think it's fucking wild how we've reached the situation with
this. There is like like you can go into the intact of like what
ticket masters are doing and how they have you know, completely just fucks the
ticket buying process and live music and that and like the bad fents of the
cost and I think, but it is like it's when you're looking kind of
like how are they meant to? Like I could look and go like what
is the altentative because I guess this is, you know, to try and
kill the touts buying the tickets, but then ticket masters to the touts who
sell their resell ones. Anyway, It's just like the whole thing is is
genuinely insane and I'm about to actually like when I saw Taylor Swift in twenty
fifteen and actually how relatively easy it was to get tickets weep were just on
there at like the morning they went on sale, were all the tickets.
It sold out not long after. This was like high part, which is
massive, but it was not you know, a war to get tickets.
That feels like there is genuinely like people who are like I just want to
say I was like, ticket mark should link it to your Spotify, so
only the people who listen to Taylor the most to be able to get tickets.
And I'm like, like that was the person saying that was one hundred
percent, And then people would just have streaming Taylor on a loop in their
sleep so they get their stats up, Like yeah, actually, I think
it's fucking mental. How like I said, me as a casual Taylor Swift
enjoyer, they're playing multiple dates in my city with a band I love,
and it's like there is absolutely no chance And like I said, I don't
really care that much, but like I said, I do. You think
it's quite sad how pop music and an artist like Taylor Swift, who is
so omnipresent universal to everyone, it should be so accessible for like the people
who are the least invested in following music, I suppose. And somehow we've
reached a point where like that kind of experience of h, you know,
if you just want to take your daughter along to go see Taylor Swift or
something and maybe she'd watch Paramore and get something cool out of that, that
experience is kind of less likely because the like actual what is the work that's
needed to go into being there is so fucking like inanely high. Yeah,
you need a fucking military tactic. Yeah, I follow with so many Swiftiason
is genuinely stressed for watching it. I'm not even always determined to not get
stressed about this. And they ended Paramour and I was like, oh,
I love Taylor Swift. I really like Paramore. I can't be fucked.
I'm stressed out. I don't even want to go the chance and it's yeah,
good luck for everyone. Yeah, I'm just very curiously I get how
long this goes on. At what point something gives because it's like you can't
operate like that forever. When in terms of like again the art that should
have the most amount of people go to their shows, it's just fucking mental.
This was a interesting slash if you are a kind of pessantist, slightly
worrying story. I hope it doesn't come to that. But Leicestershire County Council
made a statement this week where they called the congestion the traffic congestion that happened
around this year's Download Festival that we reported on a couple of weeks ago famously,
so they called it an absolute disaster, and one member of the council
said that they are normally pretty good at being able to manage that stuff,
and that's obviously the event has been going so long at this stage, but
this year they messed up big time, and they say something's got to change
for next year, otherwise I'll be pressing that the damn thing is canceled.
So you remember that again that something like that trafficspen around download is not only
for it's not any convidience the people who are trying to physically get to download
when I think it was almost kind of insula thing or people again worrying about
you know, obviously people who bought their tickets and couldn't get in and so
on. But they said that apparently six hundred people missed flights because they couldn't
get to airports in the surrounding area. It's mad because it's near. It's
right near the airport, isn't it. Like? Yeah, So congestions seriously
going to be something done with next year. I'm gonna talk about slipknot a
little bit now because Corey Taylor, as he always is, has been saying
some stuff in the press in the last week and a couple of different statements
here. I suppose collectively we can talk about them because maybe kind of theorize
a bit about Slipknot's future. I suppose because I think we all know what
I think slipknot. We know they're gonna bear him for a few years,
right Like, it's not going to be Slipknot only retiring next year. They
have obviously just replaced a member and everything, so they're kind of in a
place where they are going to be going for a few years at least.
But we are sort of like wondering whether they might be approaching the last couple
of cycles or albums or whatever before winding down, and if we're going to
sort of theorize about what might happen after that. These Corey Tailor quotes I
thought were quite interesting. The first one that is that he says he thinks
he has about five years left of touring with Slipknot because of the physical intensity
that goes into it. He also said that if Slipnot wanted to continue past
that point without him, he would help them find a replacement. I don't
see that happening, right Like, when someone like Corey Taylor throws in the
towel. I imagine Slipno done. You can't do that. He is like
the voice of a generation pretty much, isn't he? In very superlative terms.
Somewhat. Yeah, he's one of the great metal vocalists for my money.
Yeah, you're not gonna get and as Cole Phenie back, are you?
I mean he's been part enough, hasn't he? And I feel like
Slipknot, I've been talking about retiring for about ten years. It has been
a little while now, Yeah, which is why again you always take this
off with a grain of salt. The reason I suppose I thought it'd be
interested to throw in here is just again, if we were to wonder what
happens after Slipknot retires, whenever that may be, whether it's in five years,
where it's in ten, fifteen, whatever. He also said in a
I believe a different quote this that he still, you know, is on
good terms with his Stone Sour X bandmates, but that he has absolutely no
interest in reviving that band right now. And he says it's because at this
kind of stage in his career, he doesn't feel like compromising the music he
wants to make in the way that he felt he did in that band.
So I think what you can imagine is whenever slipmot throw in the towel,
let's say five years like he does whatever, Stone Sour not going to be
coming back. Instead, Corey Taylor Solo is what you can really imagine him
throwing himself into and Samuel pulling a face. I think the thing with Corey
Taylor Solo versus Corey Taylor Stone Sour is Stone Sour. I've said this before,
but I think I find it mad almost how the world kind of collectively
forgot about Stones Sour. Because for someone like myself and you know, like
maybe you mark as well, like people growing up with heavy music. In
kind of the late two thousand's early twenty tens, Stones Shower felt more present
than Slipknot in terms of like regular just like appearances and activity and yeah,
for a couple of years, definitely. Yeah, It's like that between All
Hope Is Gone and the great Chapters stones Hower just like everywhere, and in
the last few years it's like no one ever thinks or talks about stones Hour.
It's just like they completely wiped themselves from their memory. But Corey Taylor
Solo is like a mix of like quite decently done radio rock in the vein
of the stone Hour stuff and then quite bad ideas when he vas the stuff
that Stonesourer would never do. So that's the compromise that maybe he's talking about.
I think that is obviously like when he's not doing it under any recognized
name Mike stones Sawer, he does have that higher creative freedom. I just
think for Corey Taylor that's maybe not a good thing. Yeah, well it's
given the benefit of the doubt and see if anything sort of positive comes out
of it. But yeah, just a post slipknot if that is within five
years, I think again you could probably see more individual projects like Corey Taylor,
so are kind of stelling out with it. We're going to talk about
a little bit of music that doesn't come from anyone from the metal world,
but rather a just global, you know, star dabbling in our world once
again, because we spoke in a lot recently about hip hop artists and mainstream
rappers making bizarre metal turns. I think perhaps there was a little pump heavy
metal ship whatever that song was called from a little while ago, but this
week little Loozy vert just I think surprise dropped but certainly released their new album.
It's going to be huge. It's going to be all over the Billboard
charts when we look at the you know, the top one hundred next week
everything. He's one of the they're one of those fucking huge tier artists.
But the album features tracks that have Bring Me the Horizon and baby Metal on
them, plus something else that we're talking about at a moment. But these
tracks with little loosey v I think I think it's mad that again, peering
over to the hip hop world, I think there's been a lot of people
kind of freaking the fuck out over these songs because they're not with this stuff.
And that's if you are a just purely like a mainstream hip hop fan
and you listen to, you know, trap, and that's your kind of
primary thing that you listen to. These bring Me the Horizon and baby Metal
songs turning up on that album would be a right head fuck, because my
god, they're different, and they don't like skimp on the heaviness either.
They go like, they literally don't sound a little loosey vert songs. They're
just Bring Me the Horizon and baby Metal songs. I think I've criticisms.
I've seen the summons that they oozy vert stuff on them doesn't really actually add
to them. But it's just like having these songs appear on his cool good
for them, That's what I like. I like the bring Me song because
it just sounds like a bring me song, Like I think it's one of
the bed bring Me songs sound ages, isn't it. It's properly like greamy
chorus that they've been lacking. I think as well, it is just a
death tone song. But yeah, but if them doing like a kind of
a heavy death tone song like shove It or something like that, Yeah,
Elite or something, Yeah, I think it's a banger. I have very
little kind of knowledge of Lilziver and what they kind of sound like outside of
these songs, but they're like little wrapped film it is, you know if
I it kind of clearly grounds the song in what Liluza does. But the
Bringing the Horizon part was like, I like this more than a lot of
Again, I still think Bringing the Brizon have a huge identity crisis where I
don't know what brings the eries and sound like anymore because they just chameleon into
whatever man they want to be, but they do a good job of it
here. I will fully admit that, Yeah, I just can't believe it's
not only a Bringing the Horizon song just on this little Luzavent album, But
it is, like I said, the heaviest Bringing the Horizon song we have
heard in fucking years, like literally approaching a decade. The only thing in
that time that's as heavy as this would be like Dear Die Diary, which
was like a minute long or some shit like it's mental. And then the
baby Metal song is mad even by their standards. That's like an assault,
like the glitch, drum and bass all over it. The fact that it's
on this album that's large been listened to by you know, rap rap fans.
This mental like J pop, fucking drum and bass metal just attack.
It's quite something. It's so full on. I was saying, I went
for a little chill walk in the woods earlier. I was listening to like
Hex Vessel, and I thought and listen to these little USI Vert songs,
expecting them to be a bit more focused on the trap. So yeah,
and when that baby Metal song kicked in, I nearly tripped over. I
can't believe that they've gotten away with this, you know what I mean,
it's so hyperactive, Like I go, I think this is like not as
good as what baby Metal can do. But I don't think take over anything
on the last album rect fairly well in terms of it's not below stand.
I don't even know if it's attempting to be a good song. That's what
I think. I think they kind of just wanted to go like, can
we be our most sorchaotic baby male selves and just thrust that onto an audience
who mart have only heard baby mel through like that one time Give Me Chocolate
went really viral. And so when they're doing something that's even more kind of
like dialed up to eleven hyperactive, just like hybrid voices hammering away at you,
it's a jarring kind of like thing to put in front of an audience,
you might be ready for it. Yeah, And so the fact that
those songs with those artists appeal of this album is like almost your subterfuge.
Just put that in the mainstream, why you're not? And that is again
there's a level of respect that comes with that. And then there is a
cover of Chop Suey, which is one of the worst things I think any
of us will have heard this year, Like it's misguided all about you know,
respect and again give them the kind of the fair play card of like
you know you're having a goal you are They did a cool wrestling song on
the album as well, but yeah, absolutely, But the instrumental he's literally
just chop suey right, like it's like album version chop Suey and then he's
just auto tune karaokeing all over it. The most baffling part to me is
the whole bridge You're the why have you forsake? And mean that whole part.
They just leave it empty. It's like they've forgotten about it and just
got up and left, like very confusingly for a hip hop artists when so
much fuckers on them to just leave the bridge instrumental like that, and then
at the end as it finishes, they just throw in wake Up, just
out of nowhere. I like love was the one bit I liked the thing
that like rephrase minute is changing the timing of the chorus with the whether every
time. I'm just like that that just that sounds really wrong and I'm like,
fair enough, you know when you want to put your in it,
but I just every time it happens, I was like, oh, it
just sounds like again. I don't like the outrationed vocals on that, like
they're they're bad. But yeah, like I don't think even the hip hop
fans like this. I think this is again is this is a misguided but
bad eye, badly executed. Yeah, I was. I was wondering about
that because I wondered if it was just my attachment to Chop Sue meant that
fucking around with the melody of it just felt so nice. There's a lot
of just fucking around here, isn't it. Yeah, the auto tune is
so ugly, and you say, it's just like the album version instrumental of
Chop Sue. It sounds gutless though it has zero punch to it. It's
just everything about it is a complete downgrade. Yeah, you should check out
those Baby Mountain and Bringing the Horizon tunes that are on this album if they
wouldn't have otherwise coming away, because they are quite something. This is Maybe
Lastica proudly present a complete and comprehensive tour of the United Kingdom and Europe,
and it is three dates that two hasn't three festival right to Rown festival and
a festival in Belgium as well. That's it complete and comprehensive, all places
covered. Yeah, even Iron Maiden get up there. And then we do
also have to sadly thought the news that Rick Froeberg, the frontman of the
band Drive Out Ye, who passed away this week A drive Out you who,
a man who were not really spoken about individually super often on TNM.
But again this name stuck out to me so much because when there Jimmy World
Special last year, we spoke about them as being a big influence there um
as members of that band became, you know, regular collaborators with Jimmy Eat
World, with producing albums and whatnot, and so for that world of kind
of emo and rock and so one drive at Yeah, who's certainly a a
significant band. So again, Condolen says there to the passing of Rick Froberg,
questions this week, James Bentley is going to kick us off asking inspired
by skinned decorated game venues like crime scenes and playing true crime documentary between sets.
I don't know who that is skinned, whether that's a band or a
venue or they supported most of us in no eistein Kiels recently. I think
they're kind of like a goffey industrial kind of okay thing right, what is
the most fully immersive gig experience you've ever been to? M This was one
where, like you think about maybe it gets environmental like that, decorating it
like crime scenes. Haven't had so much experience of that. I've been into
cool venues like you know, churches and stuff like that that have added things.
And there are certain bands so I really want to see, you know,
people rave out like you know, high lung and stuff like that as
a kind of experience I've not seen, but I've just got to think about
bands who kind of in their own way make you feel like you're part of
a world like that. I mean, like Death Grips Outbreak was pretty immersive
kind of the oppressive lightning and everything, So like that kind of trick and
that kind of just experience to fully pull you into a performance. There are
some real standard bearer bands in kind of the you know, extreme corners like
arm and Rah and Celeste that kind of experience, spectral voice, that kind
of very low lit they don't use any overheads, that kind of thing.
So that's just pure dark and dingy drag. The sunlight is the most like
wildly visceral one of those, where they have this kind of cat like candle
larbers on the stage behind them. That's like the again, the only lighting.
They all face the back of the stage, and it just kind of
pulls you in really brilliantly and then watt in, particularly when there's lots of
fire, so like Bloods twenty eighteen for example, when it's so unrelentingly like
hellish that you can't feel like you're anywhere else but inside that show. And
then a very simple one, but I always think about it as again a
stand bearer for this. It's Wolf and the Throne Room, who whenever you
see them, they just like kit Again. Lighting is very kind of naturalistic
and very woodsy. But they kick the stage out with so much incense that
just like again, just flows into your fucking sign napses that really just puts
you in there and you know, again watching wasn't thrown room at Damnation last
year. I literally came back and I bought a bunch of incense just because
I was like, I want to live in the fucking Wolf and the Throne
Room show a little bit more It's such a simple trick, but I always
feel like I'm fully there. So again, maybe more pair down, not
doing a fucking escape room like this band you were talking about it seemed to
be doing. But tricks like that do work, well, what about you
guys. Yeah, again, I've not really been too much that. One
of the only ones that can think of was Puppy when they put out on
their debut and they pull on the singles which was like a whole cult theme
like joining up this like just cult thing, and one of them up there,
Hazel, and they had the whole venue decked out of like like it
was this cult sort of service provid creep. I was creep with Devenal where
they did a secret release show from the first album and they did it as
a funeral where they had like a funeral services She's hand out because they were
retiring certain songs. So like, those are ones I've seen which always been
quite fun. Otherwise, Yeah, like one of the bands we can't really
talk about the moment because of problems. They you know, are able to
pull you into that industrial hellscape of like Basic Ramstein, you know that like
one of something, and they had that very immersive kind of like you were
in the factory, in the furnace with them basically. Otherwise, Yeah,
what taine is a good one that you said, But many others that really
sprang to mind. No, I don't think of the only thing I could
think of is in twenty sixteen, I saw Moguay in Coventry in this like
old church. In twenty six they did like the soundtrack to a movie called
Atomic. I barely remember anything about it, but they did this show in
this church and conventry that was like visuals from the film while they played the
soundtrack along. Sure, basically in the dark and the only lighting was the
projection, and it was really cool and atmospheric, and there was a big
crescendo bit when there was like visuals of atomic bombs. So that was quite
cool. Yeah, I mean that's a very good answer. Shamas O Sandair
asked what's your favorite concept album in terms of the story it tells. I
love a good concept album, but generally the actual storytelling tends to be the
weakest part. I mean, Sam gold Blood, isn't it. No,
I'm either going to say you're gonna fuck this off, as you know for
prog nerds, or come up with something that Bruce Springsteen made. No,
like I mean above obviously it being in gold Blood by Kids. Correct answer.
The actual answer is going to give his War of the worlds. Oh,
Jeff, Yeah, yeah, that is because that is a concept album.
It's like it's a prog rock album and it does. It's my favorite
version of that story. Yeah, it's it's almost like as much a play
as an album. You know it is, But I would still consider,
like I was kind of double checking it. I was like, does it
kinds of concept album? According to the Yes, it is a concept album,
So no, I was gonna like I do think Jeff Winds All the
World is just that thing extra perfectly because it is even through the music,
like not just through the lyrics, but through the music. When we when
we did the Halloween special, mosings about you know that the ulahs and like
the certain guitar sounds and instrumentals being the lasers and the machines rising up.
It is an amazing version of that. That is a great show. I
actually bought that on final or like a couple of days ago, and I'm
actually going to pop that on after this. Yeah, I'd love to have
that. Yeah, I don't know. I I love a lot of albums
that are concept albums, but I don't relieve. Like I was listening to
Emperor of Sound today before I can solve this question, and like, I
don't even know what that album's about. Um my one answer. This is
so embarrassing. There's a Dashboard Confessional from two thousand and one called so Impossible,
which is just about each track is basically a different part of the start
of a relationship, where track one is developing a crush and then Tractor's asking
them out and like discovering you like each other. Track three is preparing further
date someone writing a parody of Dashboard Confessional and like, oh, I have
to wear the right shirt. It does my hair okay. And then the
last song is going on the date and having the best out of your life
and it's really sweet. Sure it's cheesy, it's dashboard Confessional, but it
touches my heart. It's such a sweet, like innocent little concept of TP.
God, absolutely fuck that. I mean, I can't believe that no
one just went yeah the wall right like obvious stuff like that, you know,
mastered on again you mentioned Embro sand They've got a few of them concepts,
the one that I think again, in terms of the story it tells,
Crack the Guy is like the most out there, you know, the
kind of it's a really mad thing to come out with when it's a you
know, a lot of it's processing real familial death and stuff like that.
But like Jump it like a paraplegic astral projecting through dimensions and meeting Rasputin always
kind of shit is crazy. But in terms of again, an actual an
album where I genuinely am caught up in the not just the great music like
lots of concept albums, but also the yea I was going for ones that
it is the story. Yeah, the storytelling. It's always Abigail to me,
And I'm surprised you didn't mention this Mark. Yeah, now you said
that Abigail was such great, shout god. King Diamond is the King,
and then he's got a bunch of them. Like The Eye is another brilliant
one as well that people don't talk about so much. But that's one where
it's like these girls like they discover like an orb or a necklace or something,
and it allows them to see into the past and they're in like this
kind of like monastery and they're looking back at like you know, witch burnings
and like all this kind of shady shit that's going on in this church,
all this like great stuff like that, because King Diamond has this theater in
his voice and his delivery that really hooks you onto the actual act of storytelling.
And Abigail as a French back experience is the masterclass in that because everything
about that from you know, the kind of the arrival at the house,
the way that King Diamond like embodies like the spirits and ghosts and stuff that
are like jumping out of the house. When he just does shit like take
a look into the vault and all this kind of like brilliant stuff. It's
like it he puts the image of the album in your head. He's putting
in like fucking overtime on that record to really conjure up everything about it and
all the way through to you know, the ending with the Black Horseman and
the Abigail the spirit kind of you know, being reborn then like cast back.
All this kind of shit is he is so fully selling it to you
that I think it is the most for me, the most like enjoyable.
I am hooked into what's actually happening in the narrative of this album compared to
any mirrored the ones where I don't know what the fuck coded in Camber were
talking about. Yeah, you know that, like that is exactly. I
think he's a great shot for playing the characters and transforming himself as across the
record and he becomes a ghost. That is that is the show. I
can't believe ye think about that. Cradle Felf have someones as well, liked
Sorry Cruelty and the Beast is a concept album even later God's been on the
Double Thunder, I think really brilliantly kind of there's a story there about the
kind of Gilda Ree you know figure and like you know, his romance with
Joan of Arc and then him going on and murdering kids, like all the
kind of bullshit, but atmospherically and the sorry tell like it does bring you
into it. Charlemagne. Of course I shared the Saxon men um, but
yeah, the best one is Abigail definitely. I think in terms of the
pure joy of storytelling um and I think that there are people who you know,
could do one, and like Trevis Sternad would have done a great one
if because he was had that storyteller in him, and he did it with
individual songs, um and something like Ritual had a kind of theme. But
in terms of like a through line narrative, if he'd put his mind into
that, I think he would have done a standout one. This this question
requires a bit of context because this comes out of discussion we were having on
our discord. But MJW. Fox asks, do you think that the current
patchwork of labels if healthy in that way or not? And what we were
talking about there is we were talking about it came out of a discussion about
if we would ever consider a record label of the Year category in our end
of year awards show, and I said, it's it's a nice idea,
but it'd probably be more boring that in actuality, because it would very likely
just go to like one of the kind of giant labels like a nuclear blast
or you know, road around a central media, a road or not in
a great place at the moment kind of those type labels. And particularly like
we look at someone like nuclear blast or central media or napalm, it's like,
objectively, they have like the largest rosters of stuff that's in you know,
the kind of seal that we cover, so of course they're going to
have the most amout of great stuff on it, and there would just be
the sort of repeat of like time and time again. And when it comes
to even smaller labels like it would just be you know, people love to
twenty buckspin in place like that, and we're just kind of repeating that own
and again, So it wouldn't be actually that interesting. But when it comes
to again talking about those big labels that are kind of independent from you know,
it's not major labels anymore, but it is almost like major labels for
metal right like nucleb Blast and Road around those type places. Do you think
that the current patchwork of labels is healthy in that way or not. There
seems to be something on every level that bands are at from DIY locals to
establish legacy labels for the biggest bands, but it still feels outside for bands
at the top in that it's an ultimate destination for bands to end up on
a Nuclear Blast, Metal Blade, etc. Unless they have their own label
or are mainstream enough for a major. I guess I wonder what limitations that
places on the scene. So the fact that bands, like particularly metal bands
so rarely actually jump up to major labels anymore, and instead there are like
these conglomerate kind of like I said, major for metal labels like NUCLEB Blast
that kind of just sign everything I suppose apposed to get to lay like something
like spine Farm, which is obviously links to a major, but it's they're
kind of like where they'll shuffle off the metal bands to the side. I
guess this is just one of the things. You just know that the major
labels aren't the destination. More so, when you get to your yeah,
Nuke of US and Roadrunners, you you in a healthy position where at least
you know that your records are going to get a decent platform, and it
just feels at least there is you know, something along the way underneath them
where you've got a Church Roads or twenty buckspinnings to say that there are all
these kind of ssations you've even got you know, Pure Noise and UNFD and
that, which are really sort of good intermediate ones as well. So like
I think there is a nice right range of coverage, and I just think,
yeah, I should have accept the ceiling is there at this point,
and it's you have to be the biggest of the big to ever have a
chance of breaking from. Yeah, there are things that are popped up,
like Loam of Vista is one that like growing up as a metal fan and
kind of like the late two thousands, early twenty tens, you didn't really
hear about Loma Vista much, but now you know the way they have what
I think like the ghost that are on Loam of Vista and you know,
we were outbreaking they had those adverts up for the promotions for like military gun
and showing me the body and all that kind of thing that almost like a
crossover between the mainstream and kind of the alternative rock world. I think that
stuff is quite cool. But yeah, it is strange how metal bands in
particular don't sign too major labels anymore. And again somewhere like Roadrunner, which
has you know, the biggest of the big or as you know had had
like Slipknot and a Nickelback and so on, technically not a major label.
It's just kind of there is this huge ceiling of gargantuan independent labels for metal
that sign everything, but they feel so large and comparison again into the small
ones. I think it's almost like the risk of like bands really feel safer
going to a massive metal label rather than going on a major because you know,
there was a weird feeling like the investment. If it doesn't sort of
pay off, they get dropped, whereas I feel they put it a bit
more security of them going to a more kind of like known in the metal
scene label like Roadrunner. Yeah, I think it's one of those things where
it's it's obviously it's it's an overall industry picture. The fact that like rock
bands in general stopped being signed to major labels and stuff so often. So
again, if you can sort of subterfuge it something like Loama Vista or whatever,
or a spine Farm, then that's that's I think a really cool thing.
But in terms of these like huge again Nuclear Blast, Century Medias or
whatever, at the very least, the reason those labels have gotten so as
big as they are is the fact that they are the ones that have the
resources to cope, you know, sign and cope with so many metal bands
and someone who aren't going to have those resources given to them by the mainstream.
So sure, there are there's a couple of like absolutely huge ones that
kind of take in everything, and people talk about sort of homogenized nuclear blast
or whatever. But those resources aren't being spared by anyone in the actual kind
of major label system. So at the very least, I think the reason
those labels have gotten so big is the fact that they have been able to
become like the biggest fish in the small pond, right, And I think
just the fact that someone has those resources to give to kind of self sustain
a scene like that. You know, you'd rather have them than than not
have them. So those are the thoughts there, and then Johnny Bass asks
this was urged an ask of what album calls you to go through this process,
and it was a link to a Hard Times article of five stages of
accepting your favorite band New album sucks. So the idea here is basically albums
that I suppose when they came out were disappointments, but at first you were
kind of in denial about it, and you kind of went through this stage
of, like, you know, trying to process that it might not actually
be as good as you hoped it was, and bargaining and so on,
until eventually coming to a conclusion that actually this isn't actually up to it.
Mark you must have had this so many times, like several albums. Imagine
must have gone through this. Oh yeah, I think I don't know,
because I even I still liked rather Jude and Hurley and stuff. Unfortunately you
were along for the ride for this, so you might remember this. Yeah,
I'm sure I can remember certain instances. That's the spirit for me,
that's one of my picks, is that's spirit. Yeah. It was like
years of fluctuating how I felt and like being so passionately like, oh no,
maybe follow you is good. Actually no, come on to hating it
to like, oh you know, it's all right, which is sort of
where I'm there. I'm like, I don't hate that's the spirit as much
as I did, but I also don't like it as much as I was
telling myself I did. It was a rocky, rocky a couple of years
for me. I mean, I've got again loads act from from a load
of the the brit rock bands that Pern loves so much. Start the play
By the Black album one that like again like not a good album. I
I the times why I try it is actually that bad. No, it's
a bad album. Temper Temper is one. I absolutely when that came out,
I was temper Temper whether I almost could. There are songs on it
I think are okay, and maybe at the first I was like, yoh,
these ones are all right, and then it kind of cold to go
out to dawn on me how black. Most of the album was yeah,
no, no, it was that I because again but if one of my
favorite bands at that point, and I wasn't quite ready to admit they'd aboutely
fucked it, and so I was trying to like find ways. But no,
you know, this song is actually quite the title tracks. You know,
it's good, it's kind of cool, it's got a riff, but
no and kind of preempting. But I've got a bad feeling in my timue
about the upcoming Excerpts album. I feel like it's gonna make me have this
whole thing happen with a band too. I really don't want it to be.
Yeah, my brain doesn't really work this way so much. I mean,
I wondered whether one of you might say, one of the bring the
albums again. That's the spirit I've basically just always liked like I like that,
I still like it now and my brain doesn't really do this where there
are albums that I guess maybe I overestimated when they first dropped, and later
I recognized the cracks in the more the Great Silence in the Snow. Yeah.
No, That's album has always been great, and I think history has
told some of us because they fixed that album by doing the things that were
baving. Yeah, but the idea that it was like irredeemable, it shows
how strong the core of it was. What I was gonna say it was
the Great Chapter by Slip, which is an album that when it dropped out,
I was like, oh my god, this is amazing, which is
probably part of the fact that it was my first album experienced on releasing everything
and then maybe twenty first every breakdown by Green Day is one where I loved
it at the time and then that sort of opened up some of the cracks
more in it. But those are still albums I like. Overall. When
bands I've dropped, like genuine Turkeys, I tend to don't do this thing
where I go with it immediately and then later kind of have to, you
know, reassess myself and go actually, know you're an idiot, like you
know, the New Event Down, for example, I didn't go through a
process with that. Maybe maybe kind of danger days is another way, like
I immediately came out and I just immediately kind of dropped off. I didn't
have that going through it um that, you know, the Last Night Wish
album nine by Late, when theed to do any of the green day post
twenty fi century breakdown, I didn't have this experience of kind of having to
very painfully detach myself from it. Um you know, I was in on
Wasting Light, and I don't remember have to tear myself apart from Sonic Highways
very much going oh no, it is as good as Wasting Light. It
just came and didn't grab me. And I almost have the opposite thing,
where like when it comes to someone like news, for example, it's more
programming myself to just accept and go along with the bullshit instead of like holding
it to the old standard. So my brain doesn't really work this way.
I knew that Mark, you would have loads of the because I've witnessed them.
Yeah. No, I can't even pretend to be cool and be like,
oh yeah, I just go with the flow. I sort of accept
albums as they are. I am such an emotional listener. I'm with you
Mark on this. Don't worry. Yeah, we just listened with our hearts.
That's our problem, right. The Patreon, that's a little patreon we
are going to be doing some stuff with over the next couple of weeks.
We were going to be doing the eight that of Awful this coming week.
You were noticed that Elliott is not with us. Elliot has gone on holiday,
and so what we are going to be doing is this kind of week,
myself and Sam are going to be doing a tnnd's horror on the new
release. It's coming out this Friday. We haven't seen it yet, but
we're going to talk about the new Insidious movie. And at the same time
we're talking about the first couple of Insidious movies as well, which is it
almost seems like a small one in comparison to you know, we've been doing
this. It's a nice relax yeah, compared to you know, Ry as
with Aarry Astro was kind of thing in these huge episodes. But at the
same time, Insidious is another of like the most significant influential franchises of the
past twenty years. So it's going to be good too, particularly again talk
about that first movie and what it did and so on, and then ask
if the new ones, any good yadda yadder, then with the three of
us again Mark here, we are going to be doing another of last year's
summer album Roulettes while Elliott is still away, and then when Eliot returns,
we will be doing the ad todd of Awful. I promise new sign ups
who have come to us in the last week or so, thank you very
much. It keeps us going. It's so appreciated. If you want to
get in on any of the stuff we have described, there were also has
said we have other tends, horrors, we have huge band specials that we've
done, most recently the one part special one Oathbreaker, but also bleeding through
this year. Last year we did do Meet Weld as mentioned earlier, all
sorts of good stuff going on. If you want to talk about the ebbs
and flows, the ups and downs, the emotional highs and lows of the
Weezer back catalog. Boy did we do a lot on Weezer not too long
ago. That is a lot patron of the common slash that's not metal.
The release rounder for this week it's a pretty small one, which I think
is good because it means maybe this week I'll finally get round to listening to
the two hour Swans album. But will Haven are back with I Believe that's
seven in Roman numerals. Always a good, reliable band, will Haven.
They've been pretty solid since they returned maybe a decade or so ago, so
cool stuff there. I think the most exciting stuff in terms of heavy releases
comes from black metal this time, particularly a band called Black Braid, who
are getting a lot of kind of steam in the last year or two.
They're currently on the Decibel Tour, or they just were on the Decibel Tour
and there This is the follow up to their very well received first album,
This is Black Braid two. We may talk about that in our upcover Reviews
episode. Perhaps also fen Uk black metal band, very long running, very
reliable. They've also got a racored out called Monuments to Absence orso an extreme
metal you want some kind of cosmic death metal, astral tomb and total spiritual
death. Most of what's out this week is stuff like blood Bound Tailed from
the North, which is just very European power metal. I saw this band,
I'm sure supporting Saboton once very in that vein and also the raven Age
with blood Omen, which is one of Iron Maiden's Children. I don't remember
which one. Someone there maybe go for a long time now, and I
haven't done anything remotely interesting as of yet, but they are still there and
they have a new album. And also, don't quote me on this,
but I think I have seen that we have kind of through the grapevine that
there should be an EP dropping today from then other than Better Lovers every time
I escape plan supergroup situation with more music than just the one song they put
out a little while ago, and I'm sure for a lot of you that
will be something just to rinse all fucking day. Basically the one thing I
might listen to before the Speak Now Taylor's version, oh yeah, which we
should say speak Now. A Taylor version does have songs featuring Harry More,
Fallout Boy, Hayley Williams and and our fall Out Boy as well. Maybe
it's a we Didn't Start the Fire featuring Taylor Swift the remix version that would
be absolutely wonderful. So go forth, let's do whatever you fancy. Thank
you very much for listening here on hyper Blast. We have been that stumbatal
As said, we will have a summer album Roulette at the Insidious TLM does
horror come to in the next couple of weeks of Awful not long after that
here on the kind of main feed, we'll be back with a hyperblast next
week. Before too long, we'll be that with big July album reviews as
well, So thank you very much for listening. We'll see you there for
all of that. Cheers,