KIllJoy – Violence Cookie
Rock n’ roll has been cleaning up its image for years. Its biggest stars are no longer on the back pages of greasy news rags being photographed stumbling through the streets at four in the morning. Nowadays, the biggest stars are ambassadors for kombucha drinks, advertising running shoes for when you’ll feel ready to do your first marathon, or selling perfume bottles in airports.
But if all of these efforts were done to encourage business, it’s all having the opposite effect. Few people, except for your grandma, were tuning into rock bands for sophistication and moderation. Nah, at its best, rock music appeals to our worst. It speaks to our primitive nature. That’s why so many of the great songs deal with the things that you wouldn’t bring up in polite conversation at the dinner table.
Belgian duo KIllJoy understands how the essence of rock music is extreme entertainment. Readying the group’s debut album, the musicians focus on confrontation and on humor for the single “Violence Cookie.” It’s a potent mix and one that’s often found in internet culture. Everything is over-the-top here, and that’s why if you do decide to take it too seriously, you can always blame it on the power of the meme. If you do take it seriously, however, it’s better to dow with a song like this than something produced by kombucha salesmen.
Burning Leaf – Kroz Sunce
Your amp may finally go all the way up to 11. But it’s harder to make scary, powerful heavy metal than it ever was in the past. That’s not stopping an inordinate amount of bands from trying.
Most of them have to rely on other tricks to get the job done. They’ll use deathly face paint, they’ll tie people to burning crosses, and they’ll throw the odd pig’s head into the audience. When that doesn’t work, they might even burn a church down.
But, for most of them, it ain’t no use. They don’t sound heavy. And because of that, they ain’t too scary either. If anything, heaviness, just like warm, fun recordings, come out of great dynamics. Be loud all the time at your own risk of getting people bored.
On the other hand, Serbian band Burning Leaf is a modern metal band that’s learned a thing or two from the grunge bands that came before them. Sure, on “Kroz Sunce,” they love the sound of their guitars and enjoy presenting the complexity of their work. But what Burning Leaf does best is work with silence when needed, charge into ferocious riffs occasionally, and deliver a headbanging experience that is not a chore to hear.
