#land watts floating in the back just vibing

[thewallsaretalking-again]

Happy new years my lightbulbs

And happy birthday to me I guess 🥲

Read tags pls I put them out of order

[donuttrymedebil]

RWBY 6.13/Finale thoughts

-Cinder having yet another outfit might seem excessive, but this new one is a step above the fugitive robes she had.

-Neo seems quite sassy with that snap. Oh, and apparently her powers have grown to disguise objects as well as herself.

-Ominous eye glares from Cinder and Neo as the scene darkens.

-So the Leviathan can SWIM like a dolphin as well. Oh, and make mincemeat out of Argus's defenses.

-I was wondering when Jinn would be relevant again. Apparently it's to conveniently buy some time for Ruby.

-May I just say Ruby's silver eye scene was one of the best in the entire series? Got serious Legend of Korra vibes during the flashes of her friends and family before battling and defeating a giant ruthless enemy (Leviathan and UnaVaatu respectively) and the giant flashes that did the dirty deed...

-...until the Leviathan's head breaks out of the stone

-I take back what I said about Cordovin. She MIGHT still be a racist, but apparently when the lives of innocents are at stake, she is perfectly capable of swallowing her pride and knocking down some serious Grimm baddies.

-I just wish it took more than Ruby's friendship speech to make Cordovin come around. THAT, I admit, seemed a little cheap.

-Ruby's too adorbs when trying to be humble.

-How convenient that Ozpin jumped in to help Oscar land the plane. Where was he when the Apathy nearly consumed Team RWBY? Not hating on Ozpin, but for a millennia-aged wizard, the Apathy seemed more up his alley than piloting.

-I really would like to see more scenes between Qrow and Maria. With his faith in Ozpin broken, it's nice to see someone Qrow can show genuine admiration for.

-I'm gonna take a wild guess and say the affluent Atlesians (Schnees and such) are on the giant floating island city while the Faunus live on the land below. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say Tyrian and Watts' plan somehow involves crashing the floating island into the ground for a ripple effect killing millions a la Age of Ultron.

-Wonder if Mercury still feels like he belongs. He didn't exactly look brave watching Salem create those flying gorilla thingies.

-"There's an old saying...if you want something done right...do it yourself." Hazel earns the last line of the season, and Salem gets an army ready. Dun dun dunnnnnn!

Will likely post a Volume 7 wishlist sometime later.

[multi-reviews]

Pentagon Sha La La (신토불이) MV First Watch

Pentagon’s “Naughty Boy” has made me smile every time i hear it ever since it came out, so i had high hopes for their next major Korean release - hopes that were mostly met, i think? missing Kino terribly in the choreo sequences tho, poor kid :(

The Video

NO! IN THE VERY FIRST SECOND, NO! i will never stop being physically hurt by the trend of destroying pianos ~for the aesthetic~ in MVs, pains me down to my soul. Yeo One’s legs look absolutely fabulous in tight black tho, damn him

okay mood, fortress of solitude built entirely out of books

oh “please don’t kill my vibe”? you mean like you brutally killed that piano to DEATH, Yeo Changgu?? you monster, how dare you look so pretty standing in the wreckage

OKAY MOOD (or rather, the mood to aspire to, waking up in a big ol pile of cash anyways Kino is rockin that pearl necklace and neon hair)

luv the members casually dissociating/astral-projecting in the corners, v nice touch

in the absence of Kino, the next choice for lead dancer is... Changgu?? sure thing, sure thing

Wooseok,,, my son,,, , the makeup artists and stylists did not do you SO GOOD in this MV just for you to make faces like that (really tho, the style team must be making up for his uhh tennis ball head in “Naughty Boy”, bc he looks frankly breathtaking in this)

a palanquin for the royalty that he is, but add a tinsel curtain, for he also does The Most

all right. All Right. Real Talk. i know y’all are shooting in an all-white set lit tae all fuck with so many industrial halogen watts, but did you really, did you really have to whitewash my man to match? he is so pale he’s almost blue! he’s heard of blood, but it ain’t him. his nose has been washed out into the rest of his face, never to be seen again!! melanin who?? I Am Going Blind!! anyways pls give my retinas a rest and find him a shade of foundation that actually matches his neck. stop trying to fight it, this hurts

Yan An coming for Sehun’s iconic rainbow Look

Couple things:

1) love the little inclusions of Kino in the choreo sequences (especially this little Seventeen “Adore U”-esque gold frame), i really appreciate the effort to get him onscreen with the group even in scenes he obviously couldn’t participate in

2) he looks so much like GD here i wasn’t completely sure the man hadn’t gone AWOL from his enlistment just to film this shot

Shinwon my friend... fair play, right now that hair is a pleasantly retro shag, but if you let that mop morph into a mullet, we will have WORDS. the length in the back is already enough to get my Mullet Senses tingling, don’t do it (also i was noticing the gold frame around Kino’s insert in the chorus a second ago, but this is another shot very reminiscent of Seventeen’s “Adore U”, with the floating members and grid planes)

Sir, please take several seats, with your arms and your undercut and your completely-without-warning abs flashing (gif credit: http://poji-bu.tumblr.com/)

all i can think of is wondering how many times he filmed this kicking off his slides only to have them land on his face. thank goodness only the tree took a hit this take

The Music

i had heard before i got around to listening for myself that this track was very similar to Wanna One’s “Energetic”, and my verdict on that is.... yep, from the very first notes of that atmospheric piano opening they both share, i get a same-same vibe. but that’s neither suspicious nor necessarily a bad thing; after all, Hui co-composed both songs, and they are Pop Music. they have a similar sound because it’s a sound that works, and Wanna One got to enjoy some serious success thanks to that formula. hopefully this track/comeback ends up an equally big hit for Pentagon, bc it’s really a solid song. got all the characteristic Pentagon sound (minus, unfortunately, E’Dawn’s highly recognizable hi-tone rapping): Kino’s treading the line between vocal and rapper, Hui’s adlibs blending with the instrumentals, Wooseok’s emphatic flow, and of course Jinho wailing his heart out in some truly startling registers. this to say nothing of one of their more demanding choreographies, which someday i would love to see Kino nailing with the rest of them

All Told: a bop in a familiar vein, definitely one for the workout playlist

[moleofmetal]

GIG Review:  St Paddy’s Day - Tins4Tunes - Sky Giant/King Sloth/Immortal Omen

https://www.facebook.com/events/764095287295522/

Embarrassingly coming much later on in the year than normal. My first live gig or metal show of 2019, is also probably the first gig I’ve ever been to that a can of beans is a valid entrance fee. This gig, a charity show is all for a good cause: to help support my local community’s food bank with donations, while providing a few hours of live music too. Featured in a venue I’ve not covered before Church which is a fairly large venue with a terrific sound that I will no doubt be coming back to for GloryHammer and Discharge that is set to rock the place later this year. Watch this space for those!

On with the music after a sluggish start, the first band up and providing the deepest plunge into metal (my “normal” territory haha) of the night is a local and young upstart band: Immortal Omen. Now with a name that jams to together two famous names glued together with early band optimism, this band had all the hallmarks of a “my first band” effort with a lot more confidence than most. As for style think more of the last part of their name: Omen like the heavy metal band than the black metal titans of the former. Nothing too grisly here.

Presented on stage was a pleasant female fronted melodic heavy metal with a handful of thrash influence and a big bag of Iron Maiden badged Bass style. A nice package. With the bassist slap happy talented style that pulsed enjoyably as an undercurrent that set the mood nicely, though not quite reaching too far forward until about their third track when the satisfying rattle emerged to added impact.

The guitar work here was much more the focus, swinging into some speed metal melodic stomps, and galloping sections of thrash-like chops. Interesting yet un-pervasive, lots of style points but nothing you’ve not heard before. There was also some impressive soloing licks though, which shows that guitarist Frankie Perrie is quite the ginger wizard given the right breaks and definitely a deliverer of the goods when needed. While thrashing sections, while not frequent, were well executed with a step up in the heavy and made for some decent headbangs. Pretty fun and fast, how I like it.  

It was a night for drummers to shine with all the bands having some great sonic talent in the back row. Immortal Omen’s Adam Cashley was not one to let the side down on that front. Talented and strongly performed, although l could see he looked the most nervous person in the room, and this bleed through slightly with a few nervous points. Nothing too serious though, and there is more to like than dislike, including an interesting rim shot clicking styled riff on one of their new tracks made for a nice bit of experimentation. Good show from the back

Being a female fronted band, (another trend of the night) the vocalist: Eden Noon was not lost in the noise, having her own style and sway.  A restrained swagger to her singing, and adding a grungy flavor to the mix. Her melodic singing style hit the right points with all the metal around her while also doing her bit and giving a middling stage presence. Not the most imposing but more than passable. However, with the last track “Serpentine” she let out few punishing and piercing shrieks that shocked a few and startled many with its raw attack. Boosting the bands' memorability enormously! I would love to hear this developed further as she clearly has some mean side to her.

This my first time seeing all the bands on the night, but Immortal Omen was the one I was looking forward to the most (being the only metal on the bill helped too). And I can say they didn’t let me down. They did a good job giving out an entertaining set lacking only in confidence to push them forward. They made up for their mostly static movement on stage with some good tunes and ideas, despite some early jitters. For a young band though, I’ve heard a lot, a lot worse than these guys and I can tell they have the right spirit to make a success out their future. I’m happy to raise my horns to them. [7/10]

Get more from them here:

https://www.facebook.com/ImmortalOmen18/

King Sloth, the next band up, and what felt like a sharp step upwards on the skill level chart, but going on the fact some of the also work at the local musician’s shop (Kenny’s music) it felt a little bit like they were cheating a bit. They produced a super confident blend like kings of the forest floor in the high roofed venue. This band would fit perfectly with the annual Blue bonanza / Almost Blue fest in my city, as they had much of the feel of a cover band with their proficiency and laid back image and vibe and mostly sloth-like in motion. 

Playing a mash of old school rock flavors from the 60/70’s with stoner grooves and bluesy whiffs from the desert scene of the QOTSA bunch, and combining with just a splash or modern rock. Steeped in such a retro sound like the monsoon season in Vietnam just before the battles started, they started with a bang! With some delicate and precise key work on a Rhodes style affected keyboard they rocked, Hard! and suitably heavy for the style. Superb! While garage punk like riff grooves and rocking solos that were as interesting and as kick-ass the guitarist seems to have energy, for he was bouncing and all over the place on stage. A bit of a nutter is Daryl Robertson it seems. His playing style sloppy and blues driven boogie that had a few blemishes that seemed to make embellishments to his style. Wicked guitar work all around!

They even put out an astonishing mash-up of Hendrix/Phil Collins tune that merged nicely into a super highlight of the set and night. Great! The vocals from short fry Michael Carey did, however, take second fiddle to the instrumentals as they were not as distinct or a memorable as he sang the dulcet tones, but he made up for this by providing the most banter/lip of the night. Fairly funny and pretty honest. While having a dual role as bassist too, it seems he had is hands full as it did feel like the keys from Connan Watt were taking the place or covering for the perceived lack of strums in places. This is minor though as the tune the played where massive! 

The drums (from Jamie Butler) like the rest of the band was top notch and helped to make the whole band sound huge while adding his own bold flair and stylistic technical points to the music to great impact. This was, overall a stellar performance and well worth sticking around for. Busy, yet laid back set, full of great tunes for retro fans and modern sounders alike to get behind. Super! [8/10]

Get laid back with them here:

https://www.facebook.com/KingSlothBand/

Taking the headliner spot and up next was Sky Giant a terrific band of students from Perth College that have already made a bit of splash in the area. And I can see why. They were quick to take things in a new and possibly more extreme direction. This female fronted Post-hardcore 4-piece had a clear Mathcore / Math rock influence with some impressive tapping guitar and bass work, and wild angular riffs. Echoing of a Protest The Hero’s style while much more restrained in the guitar noodling department. Guitar work of Andrew McAllister was a real treat to see. Powerful riff work and fascinating sounds burled outward from their amps, providing a complex sound but not too far-out to be grasped and enjoyed for its melody, and its catchy hooks

A well-chosen stealth cover song was snuck within their early set too, that felt so much in their style that it landed greatly in their set without much notice, fitting in perfectly with their own well-written material. Nice move and skillfully done. Sparse and post-rock atmospherics where not skipped over either providing much needed dynamic to their tunes and breathing space between the waves.

The bass from the only provided Irishman in for St Paddy’s day in the night, Brian Connor skillfully handled the 4string with noteworthy passion, will adding subtle vocal backing too. The Exodus clad drummer, Marc James thrashed madly in the back shining bright with his crash symbol abuse. Giving speedy fills and added a metal crunch to the mix, wickedly done!

Sky Giant, although not the heaviest, they did swing into when they needed to. This is post-hardcore on the surface but with a large belly of alternative rock underneath as they kept the vocals clean and melodic. Starting with more blues-like in the beginning for vocals with smokey tones, before going into more tuneful, in a moderately powerful way, combing some floating moments, and with a pop-punk feel in places. It seems that Eleanor Hickey has a lot of versatility only just below her surface. 

The night for Sky Giant seems to be about carrying on momentum. The momentum of their energy on stage as well from the success of their latest EP launch, but they had one more trick up their sleeve. A la A Day To Remember: playing easycore iconic anthem-like cover of Kelly Clarkson (You know the song.) that was faithfully adapted but the vocals had the grip of karaoke vibe bringing down some minor points, (not helped by my own over-listening of the song). A fun number to play though, and it got quite a buzz from the audience. However, the show stopper original track they ended on was something special! A track that covers all the elements of their sound in one concise in brilliant fashion. A fabulous set, and very complete and fully entertaining band, that I won’t be surprised if they go on to greater heights from here. Go on! Go touch the sky, you delicious giants! [8/10]

Head into the Sky with them here:

https://www.facebook.com/skygiantband/

https://skygiant.bandcamp.com/releases