Talk of the day (Lee Aaron, Velvet Insane, Sabbath, Metal Puzzles)

LEE AARON

Here is some good news. Lee Aaron is set to release a live CD/DVD next week called “Power Soul Rock´n´Roll – Live In Germany”. It actually kicks off with the Deep Purple classic “Mistreated” (which was also on her latest studio album “Diamond Baby Blues”).

VELVET INSANE

Swedish rockers Velvet Insane has a very special guest on their upcoming second album; Bruce Kulick from Kiss. Now these guys are from my neck of the woods and they are clearly going places.

BLACK SABBATH

There is a book on Black Sabbath titled “Sabbath The Dio Years – A Photographic History” in the making. No word on a release date as yet.

METAL PUZZLES

I have mentioned these puzzles before on this blog, now we have another batch coming up with bands like Queen, Rush, Guns N´Roses, The Ramones, The Doors and Metallica.

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Future Metal

Well the countdown is on. One month from now we have the release of the third Babymetal album “Metal Galaxy”. There will be a media blitz and we are starting to see the magazine covers now (seen here is Metal Hammer UK 327, Headbanger 24 and PMC 15). The ongoing US Tour is creating a buzz and it looks like the Forum gig (their first arena show in the US as headliners) on October 11 will be a success. The Forum gig also assures a very high Chart position for the album in the States since everybody that goes will get a CD, and that is one hell of a promotional stunt right there. My guess is that they will do a second tour of America in 2020, since cracking that market is of such great importance. Meanwhile, the rotation of the “Avengers” (the third girl position) is continuing even in the States as we speak. Momoka Okazaki popped up at the third date in Washington (at the 6,000 seater The Anthem) the other day, and it all works since these dancers are such professionals. Getting to be part of Babymetal is a big thing for any dancer, fully comparable to having worked with Frank Zappa or Ritchie Blackmore in the old days.

“This is the future”, it says on the cover of Metal Hammer. They have supported Babymetal in the UK since 2014. I fully expect Kerrang to give Babymetal the cover too. At this point you can almost tell in advance who will support them and who will not. So the question is if some of the magazines that have sort of ignored Babymetal will start to come around this time. Classic Rock, Burrn (in Japan) and Sweden Rock Magazine comes to mind. Ignoring Babymetal is starting to look a bit silly at this point. You can say what you want about them, they really are a breath of fresh air in a very stale invironment. Which is why so many older rockers (like me, who started to buy rock albums in 1971) enjoy them so much. There is a craft here and they are taking chances like no other band ever has. Hell, they even have a track called “Future Metal” on the new album, a crazy instrumental that really sounds like it belongs in a Sci-Fi movie. Maybe somebody will add it to a movie before you know it.

It helps that Su-metal and Moametal are so good at what they do. Su-metal is the Audrey Hepburn of Heavy Metal, I guess it had to happen sooner or later. Moametal is the Grace Kelly. They have the grace and the beauty of classic Hollywood, and it is wholesome. I like that. There is a place for Babymetal, although they are clearly the real mavericks in a field that has continued to evolve for over five decades. They draw from all of it as well as other fields of entertainment, and they even dare to bring in future visions. Add the theatrical side and we have a fantastic concept here.

Babymetal will conquer the world. But then, I say the world needs Babymetal.

(Covers: Metal Hammer UK 327, Headbanger 24, PMC 15)

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Talk of the day (Babymetal, Rob Halford, Motörhead)

BABYMETAL

Well the US Tour is on and the first two shows in Orlando and Atlanta has created a lot of positive vibes in the fan community. Openers Avatar are going down well too and it says something about the Babymetal team that they dare go out with first rate acts. Incredibly, Babymetal now has a brand new Kami Band for this tour, and it seems to be members of Galactic Empire. They are doing a good job though, but it is quite a twist in the history of Babymetal to do this. It remains to be seen if they are to be on that stage on the prestigious Forum arena show on October 11 as well. It is to be live streamed to Japan and chances are that it is to be filmed for official product (like Wembley was in 2016). That is a big deal obviously. Still, Babymetal has created a universe that only they inhabit and it seems to be working out just fine for them. The set is high energy and they send people home exhausted but happy. Riho Sayashi is the third dancer on this tour.

ROB HALFORD

Good old Rob Halford (With Family & Friends) is set to release a Christmas album titled “Celestial” on October 18.

MOTÖRHEAD

Airfix will release a very exclusive kit soon, the Motörhead Heinkel HE 111 H-6 of the classic “Bomber” album cover. Incidentally, the cover artist, Adrian Chesterman, did use an Airfix model when he worked on the original art back in the day, so this is good karma. The Airfix kit will sport the album cover, so fans of Motörhead will love this. I wish Lemmy could have seen this, he would have loved it.

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Talk of the day (Babymetal, Jon Lord)

BABYMETAL

The Orlando show tonight (see previous post) is on. Avatar and Babymetal will perform as planned. Come to think of it, both Swedes and Japanese folks have strong work ethics. Plenty of bands would have cancelled for sure, but not these acts. Cred.

JON LORD

Good news for fans of Jon Lord. A remastered version of his 1976 solo album “Sarabande” is set to be released on September 27 (CD/Vinyl). The cover is updated too, but with respect for the original. Looks good. “Gemini Suite” and “Windows” will also be released on Vinyl on the same day.

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Talk of the day (Babymetal, Elevenplay, Bernie Marsden)

BABYMETAL

Hurricane Dorian might spell trouble for Babymetal. In a sense it already is, and the big question now is weather or not Babymetal can still open up their US Tour in Orlando on September 4 as planned. No official word yet from the Babymetal camp but then they are quite used to rough conditions in Japan. I mean they just braved Typhoon Krosa a couple of weeks ago in Osaka and they have done it before. But if Dorian closes down airports etc, it is over. Johannes Eckerström, singer of Swedish openers Avatar, tweeted this a few hours ago: “To every one asking and wondering. We are still staring at weather maps and following things waiting to decide what to do. Step one is to make it to the states safely, which might mean rerouting. After that we will follow suit with Babymetal. Sit right everybody, AND STAY SAFE!”. If there is any chance at all to do the Orlando show safely, Babymetal will be there.

ELEVENPLAY

Just discovered an interesting Japanese dance unit called Elevenplay. They perform with drones and it is quite spectacular (check them out). They are related to Babymetal in a small way since this project is the brainchild of their choreographer Mikiko Mizuno.

BERNIE MARSDEN

Ex-Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden will have a book out in November called “Where´s My Guitar?”. Great cover too.

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Nice Purple Compilation

And speaking of Compilations (see last post), here we have one from 1979 with Deep Purple. “The Mark 2 Purple Singles” did not sport much to be excited about, but it did have a nice cover (courtesy of David Dragon) with a sexy model and some live shots by Fin Costello. Back then, Purple fans were starving for new product and people really missed the old beast. For some reason, the Coverdale/Hughes era was really never represented on these compilations at that time, it was like the management had decided to ignore the final days of the band. It could all have been handled better. Still, I bought them all, and it was pretty exciting in its own way. Only diehards will understand it.

(My image of said release)

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Early Sakura Gakuin Compilation

I have always enjoyed compilation albums (LPs, CDs) and I certainly own enough of them. This goes back to the 1970s for me and I am sure many of you can see where I am coming from here. So finding something enjoyable like this, even now, feels good. And what we have here is a Sakura Gakuin Compilation from 2014, basically covering the most popular stuff from 2010 and onwards, the period when a little project called Babymetal was being groomed (and shot through the roof). They were just one unit that came out of Sakura Gakuin and you have others here like Twinklestars, Sleepiece and Scoopers. Little projects that worked on music and dance routines and got to record little pop songs. It is all quite happy stuff and it has a very positive vibe. This CD is still for sale in Japan and I assume many fans of Babymetal has picked it up to get some early history. It also sports a rather nice cover and a packed booklet.

A nice reminder of how incredible this journey has been for Babymetal.

(Thank you for your support Kalle)

(My image of said CD)

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