Rise of the Northstar is a band that teenage me would have loved, and I mean that in the best way possible. Blending anime and manga aesthetics and subject matter with hardcore punk, heavy metal, and hip-hop, this Parisian outfit seems like a lot on paper, perhaps to the point of self-parody. Of all of the genre labels and obscenely long names for styles of music, “French weebcore” is something that feels like a Tumblr username from eons ago, but damn it if these guys don't make it work. Their newest album CHAPTER 04: RED FALCON SUPER BATTLE! NEO PARIS WAR!! has anthem after anthem of nu-tinged goodness executed not just well, but rather deftly. From the first crackles and static of “Turbo-Intro,” it feels like the listener is climbing into a gundam or some other battle mech, ready to lay waste to anything in their path. The tone is set immediately, and the first proper song “Payback” serves as an example of precisely what is on the tin, with a nu metal opening riff, palm-muted verses, and frontman Vithia's bars buffered by his bassy voice. Any of these songs are liable to, as the great philosopher W. Frederick Durst once said, put that bounce in the mosh pit, adding an accessibility to the grooves and growls within. If there is one song to use as the gateway track, the song that may be best served to get new fans on board, it would be “Falcon.” Its triplet-filled hook brings forth acts like Hatebreed, as do the verses’ gang vocals, and the chorus begs to be sung or screamed along to in a large group. It is enough of a stepping stone for those who are unfamiliar with ROTNS to get hip to them, while capturing the core of the band's modus operandi enough to keep folks interested and wanting to explore more. “Nemesis,” however, which features fellow countrymen ten56., is for the sickos. It is beatdown o'clock on this one, with enough machine gun kick action to make Jesse “The Body” Ventura in Predator happy. Followed up by the hardcore backbone of “A.I.R. Max,” this is the perfect one-two punch that will make the listener want to level city blocks in the aforementioned battle mech. Rise of the North Star have accomplished something that is a lost art in this modern age of streaming, virality, and sound bites: they've made a damn fun album. With all of the influences they're pulling from, most acts trying to do the same might run into the danger of overegging the proverbial pudding, but here, ROTNS make something highly enjoyable by taking what they do seriously, while simultaneously refusing to take themselves nearly as seriously. It's refreshing to see something so busy done so well. CHAPTER 04: RED FALCON SUPER BATTLE! NEO PARIS WAR!! is available now via Kuromaku Corp.
Album Review: Rise of the North Star // 'CHAPTER 04: RED FALCON SUPER BATTLE! NEO PARIS WAR!!'
If this album doesn't elicit feelings of piloting a gundam, I dunno what will.
