Day 2- Parkway Drive

Parkway Drive

Bits and pieces taken from their various albums

So after a day reliving my youth with some Maiden, I now find myself in uncharted waters. This is where I begin to crawl out of my comfort zone and into the deep dark depths of metal, and already I'm missing the safe comforts of the xylophone. Still, onwards and upwards to my next recommendation.

For a band with such a quaint and unassuming name, Parkway Drive are certainly anything but.

Parkway Drive don't seem like a band for the fainthearted. Each song is like being shoved against a wall of sound and then screamed at for 4 minutes; something that shouldn't seem all that appealing, but surprisingly, is (though maybe that's just me..). This is most definitely the yang to Maiden's yin.

Although I was expecting something perhaps more measured in terms of vocals and at times it sounds like the poor man needs a soother, overall I was left mildly impressed.

Nevertheless, I can't say they've managed to convert me to the dark side just yet. The guitarwork, while strong, just feels a bit relentless and samey at times: there's just not much in the way of dynamics (aside from loud). But then I suppose that's kind of the point. What they lack in subtlety though they make up for in atmosphere and consistency, making it the kind of metal you can dance to without necessarily killing yourself.

All in all a very interesting, if striking band. I don't think I've quite found my metal band yet, but it's a jolly good place to start.

6/10

Day One- A Matter of Life & Death

Already being a fan of Iron Maiden I realise this is a bit of a cop out. But hey, I'm in for a long, loud month so just give me this one, ok? Truth be told, I haven't had a good listen to Brucey and co for far too long. I remember being given Somewhere Back in Time by my dad when I'd just started getting into music and playing it constantly; so much so that years later, after not listening to it since then, I still remember pretty much every word. Thinking about it, Iron Maiden was always going to be the perfect place to start my metallic escapade really, it just feels like coming home.

In order to widen my palette which is, afterall, the entire point of this, I opted for an album of theirs I wasn't too familiar with: A Matter of Life and Death. I'd say that for anyone wanting to get into this genre of music, AMOLAD is a fine place to start. It's clearly a well constructed album that seems to just flow from one song to the next without becoming too heavy. The contrast in dynamics throughout the album really help to draw you into the music and Dickinson's vocals just glue the whole thing together perfectly. For someone who's had no professional vocal training, his range is insane. There's also plenty of hooks here to keep those with even the shortest of attention spans entertained. Infact, the entire thing just comes across as incredibly polished. Whether this is actuality a good thing or not is up to interpretation, but for me personally, it works.

A Matter of Life and Death is an album that completely shatters any preconceptions you may have had about metal. Contrary to popular (ignorant) belief, it's not all angry shouting and insane amounts of distortion, metal can be as riveting and finely crafted as any other artform. This is pretty much everything I love about rock, so if my experiment yields no other benefit, at least I'll have rekindled an old flame.

10/10

A Wonderful Oddity- Music Challenge #1: Metal

Yes, you heard right. For the next 30 days I'm going to delve into a genre of music that's fascinated yet intimidated me for years: metal.

As those of you who've read my blog before will know, I'm not usually one for the meatier side of things. Sure I did the whole emo thing at 14 when I thought the world was out to get me (who didn't?), but since growing up I've settled into a rather hum drum complacency. One which, although comfortable, has stifled any curiosity I'd had in the past over anything that doesn't include whistling or sugar coated harmonies. So after a weekend being exposed to all things raaar, I've decided to check out some of what I've been missing.

For the next 30 days I'm going to be listening to one metal band a day, with at least one full album being clocked up on my last.fm page as evidence. I'm hoping that by throwing myself into the scene headfirst I may find something new and exciting to sink my teeth into. Plus it gives me the chance to expand my horizons a bit and that can be no bad thing.

I'll be checking in every few days on Irrelevant Twaddle to chronicle my adventures, but for those of you worried that I'm going to be growing a beard and joining the next circle pit I see, fear not. I'm going to try and keep this as a sidebar to my usual lo fi ramblings. That way everyone's happy.

In order to ease myself into the scene, I've been recommended a lovely acoustic cover of Black Sabbath's Paranoid. Not quite metal, but it's just too pretty not to mention.

In the meantime, feel free to recommend me some metal bands, I'm somewhat out of my depth here!