Bam's Music Reviews

I'm Bam. I like possums, I like music! Let's get into it~ St. Anger is an alternative metal album by the prolific Metallica, first released on June 5th of the year 2003 (Oh hey, that's my second birthday!) through Elektra Records, and happened to be their final record under that label before the band moved over to Warner Records. Released 5 days ahead of its original release date due to the band's ongoing crusade against peer-to-peer sharing networks like Napster, the album is often considered one of the worst albums put out by the band due to a very troubled production involving questionable snare drums, the lead singer's stint in rehab and a distinct attempt to sound more "raw". It's been nearly 20 years since the album came out, and one might wonder at this point: "Was it really  as bad as it was on release?" Only one way to find out! Without further ado... Before we get into the review in detail, I would just like to say that YES.  It...

I'm Bam. I like possums, I like music! Let's get into it~ War Stories is a trip hop album from the musical group UNKLE. Originally released through the now defunct label Surrender All (which happened to be ran by UNKLE!) in late June of 2007, the album happened to be the final release of the third incarnation of the music group, along with the final album involving Rich File, who had been with the group since their debut album in 1998, Psyence Fiction. Much like every other album by the group, many of the songs featured popular artists from the alternative and electronic scene of the time, including Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age), 3D (Massive Attack) and Ian Astbury (The Cult). I've been a casual fan of UNKLE for about six years now, and songs from War Stories happened to be some of the first ones I was introduced to. It's only fitting, then, that I'm tackling this album as the first one from their repertoire! Without further ado... This album is quite the mon...

I'm Bam. I like possums, I like music! Let's get into it~ Satori is a psychedelic heavy metal album by the Japanese band Flower Travellin' Band. It was originally released in 1971 through Atlantic Records, and it would get multiple rereleases over the years, most notably by Warner Music in 1988 and a proper remastering in 1998. Notably the record has also been released on audiophile formats, with the most recent one being on SMH-CD, a Japan-only high-fidelity CD format introduced in 2007. Satori happens to be the first recording by the band to feature their original material, as the previous two records (Challenge in 1969 and Anywhere in 1970) only featured covers of popular bands like King Crimson and Black Sabbath. It's often cited as a cornerstone in Japanese counter-culture music, and many of its tracks have been covered by other artists, such as The Lennon Claypool Delirium in their cover EP, Lime And Limpid Green. I was personally introduced to this album by a fri...

I'm Bam. I like possums, I like music! Let's get into it~ Above The Earth, Below The Sky is the debut album of post-rock band If These Trees Could Talk. Originally released independently in 2009, the album would see a few re-releases on vinyl a couple of years later, most notably through the label Metal Blade in the year 2015. The album is a purely instrumental piece, a style choice that the band has kept up consistently to this day. I happened to learn of this album through my husband showing a rather depressing video from the siege of Grozny in 1994, which featured a track from the album as background music. The combination of the video and the music left a lasting impact on me, and it ended up becoming my unconscious introduction to the post-rock genre, something that Mogwai would later bring to my attention front and center. Without further ado... I'm going to list my one main gripe with the album first, just to get it out of the way. I'm a pretty big fan of songs s...

  I'm Bam. I like possums, I like music! Let's get into it~ Millennium Mother is a 2018 album by the Japanese indie band Mili, known for tracks for anime like Goblin Slayer and video games like Library of Ruina. It's currently their latest full album that isn't associated with another piece of media and happens to be my first experience with the band. I sometimes feel rather unnerved jumping into works from personnel I've never experienced before, and writing a review based on such first impressions is nearing fright. However, I want to give myself a challenge, and this blog has to start out somehow, right? Without further ado... What immediately jumps at me about the album is something Mili is most well-known for - mixing classical elements with modern electro sounds, something which I utterly adore.  The beautiful, sharp strings mixed with modern indie rock tones give the album an amazing and unique sound, all of which is further elevated by the amazing tone of th...