Jeris Johnson – Dragonborn Review

By Dear Hollow

If you don’t know Jeris Johnson, let that horrendously edited self-portrait that would feel like a masterpiece of character design on Nintendo 64, like Lara Croft’s pyramid boobs, really sink in. For the uninitiated, he’s that guy who partnered with Papa Roach for a “reloaded” version of “Last Resort;” he did a collaboration with Bring Me the Horizon for a remix of “Can You Feel My Heart.” For the initiated, he is big on YouTube and TikTok. For his first full-length Dragonborn, you might be confused about what exactly this album sounds like. I’ve repeatedly spun it, and I remain confused.

What Dragonborn does is drags pop versions of metal, rock, electronic, and hip-hop kicking and screaming into an album entirely devoted to TikTok trends like the “Hoist the Colors” bass vocal covers, Ronnie Radke’s antics, sea shanties, and melodies ripped from classic songs. Jeris Johnson helms the craft with a very confused charisma, a grungy smoky tenor that tries to adapt to the clusterfuck of influences, forcing a square peg of Viking and fantasy imagery through the round holes of trap music, nu-metal, and hard rock. Insufferably bland at best and unbearably awful at worst, influences slamming across the universe with Falling in Reverse-esque abandon. Dragonborn is as bad as you can imagine, and often worse.

Let’s start with the good mediocre passable tolerable. “John” is a dad-rock anthem with a decently written chorus that worms its way into your brain whether you like it or not – conjuring the likes of Nickelback or Staind. Jeris’ cover of Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose,” while utterly unnecessary and only adding a weaker vocal performance to song’s legacy, is as okay as a pop/rock song you hear on the radio in the mid-2000s. Otherwise, Dragonborn’s strengths shine as brief glimmers of potential in isolated passages: the Korpiklaani-inspired plucking in the intro title track isn’t bad; the riffs of “When the Darkness Comes,” “Down with the Dynasty,” and “Not a Person (Freak)” have some weight at first. Johnson’s voice is also capable and has potential, even if he can’t seem to write a solid verse, chorus, or bridge to save his life.1 So, uh, we’re in fucking trouble.

Perhaps the biggest and dumbest thing about Jeris Johnson is his ability to make an audio train wreck impossible to look away from. Interpolations are perhaps most jarring. “When the Darkness Comes” features a central melody stolen from the Arabian riff (aka “Streets of Cairo”) in an “I guess the minor key works if you’re into that” way, the central melody of “Siren Song” is unashamedly robbed from the fucking Christmas goddamn classic hymn “What Child is This?” for fuck sake and I never thought I would be checking that off of my 2024 bingo card. Meanwhile, “Story of Our Lives” tries to force electronic, trap, rap, and Tyr-esque medieval melodies into an orgy with no chemistry; “Welcome to Valhalla” feels like you wanted “Hoist the Colors” to be both a Wardruna cut and a trap metal song by Travis Scott; “Here’s to the Years” features an Alestorm-meets-Dropkick Murphys pirate vibe plus Irish shanty jig that makes me wanna puke; “Down with the Dynasty” is basically a metal cover of “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy without any fun or catchiness; “Not a Person (Freak)” features a We Butter the Bread with Butter-inspired shuddering deathcore breakdown that is only iterated fucking once; “Eat Drink War Repeat” is basically a Brokencyde song with all the soul-crushing cringe and likewise not knowing what sex is; “Ode to Metal” is just a rap/punk song that Ronnie Radke would start beef with someone over; and “Finish Line” is basically a Five Finger Death Punch power ballad. The independent nature of Dragonborn is also plain bad, as Jeris Johnson’s autotuned gaffs shine through “Story of Our Lives” and “When the Darkness Comes” with piercing clarity.

So what’s left? A singer/songwriter who has no idea what kind of album he actually wants. Is he a Viking king? A club-frequenting playboy? A hair-flipping fan of Falling in Reverse? Someone who would actually defend Ronnie Radke on Instagram? Someone who’s likes Shrezzers’ “PVRNHVB”? I’ll tell you who Jeris Johnson is: he’s an influencer on YouTube and TikTok. And Dragonborn is an experiment of the most embarrassing variety, but ultimately is not intended for us. I mean, if you’re into unnecessary variety and TikTok trends, have at it. I need to sit down.

Rating: 0.5/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: STREAM
Label: Self-Released
Websites: jerisjohnson.com | facebook.com/killjerisjohnson | tiktok.com/@jerisjohnson
Releases Worldwide: August 23rd, 2024

#05 #2024 #Alestorm #AmericanMetal #Aug24 #BringMeTheHorizon #Brokencyde #Deathcore #Dragonborn #DropkickMurphys #Electronic #FallOutBoy #FallingInReverse #FiveFingerDeathPunch #FolkMetal #HardRock #HipHop #JerisJohnson #Korpiklaani #Metalcore #MorganWallen #Nickelback #NonMetal #NuMetal #PapaRoach #PirateMetal #Pop #PopRock #PostGrunge #Punk #Review #Reviews #Seal #SelfRelease #Shrezzers #staind #TaylorSwift #Trap #TravisScott #Tyr #VikingMetal #Wardruna #WeButterTheBreadWithButter

Korpiklaani – Rankarumpu Review

By GardensTale

Every metalhead has a few firsts when they’re just entering the scene. First band you became obsessed with. First live gig. Korpiklaani was neither of those for me, but it was the backdrop to my first moshpit, and the next few as well, when I had less than 10 bands in my metal library and the band only had its first 2 albums under the belt. Like many others, Korpiklaani drifted into my past, apart from an occasional nostalgic spin of “Wooden Pints” or “Cottages & Saunas.” Until a few weeks ago, when I was constructing a playlist for a new Dungeons & Dragons character (a kobold ranger named Tracha) and decided nothing nailed his personality quite like the drunk druid folk party of the Finns. Perfect timing to clamber back aboard the running train as it heads to its 12th station: Rankarumpu.

Apparently, two decades of pumping out album after album have had little to no effect on Korpiklaani’s sound, because any of the around dozen songs on Rankarumpu could have been a lost bonus track from Voice of the Wilderness and I’d be none the wiser. If you’re new to the band: imagine Radagast the Brown from The Hobbit partying with Tankard and add a slew of folk instrumentation. Founder and vocalist Jonne Järvelä sounds entirely unchanged, his gruff shaman chants and traditional yoiks as distinctive as ever. The thrashy guitars stick to a backseat role, with violin and accordion providing most of the melodic leads. Of these, the violin steals the spotlight, thanks to Turisas alumnus Olli Vänskä. His light and nimble playing elevates the music a level above mere boisterous drinking fare (though make no mistakes, it definitely still classifies as such). “Saunaan”1 is an immediate favorite thanks to his soaring melody, and songs that would otherwise be classified as average like “Viikatelintu” benefit a lot from the lithe bowing overtop.

When I researched the reception to Korpiklaani’s recent work, the most common complaint seemed to be a pretty hefty case of bloat, with multiple albums running over an hour. Few bands can make such running times work, and none of them play jaunty folk metal. But Rankarumpu clocks in at a modest 43 minutes and change, and is all the better for it. Between the reduced length and Vänskä’s reinvigorating violin, Rankarumpu feels like a soft reset for the band, a return to basics. Instead of big, bloated concepts, here are 12 tracks that range from solid to excellent, the average length well under 4 minutes, and each has its own hooks and personality. The songwriting could have been just a smidge more dynamic, though. With cheerful and bouncy the default mode, the more introspective, melancholy tracks I’ve come to love from the band’s early efforts are largely absent, aside from closer “Harhainen Höyhen,” which seems afraid to commit fully to either low or high energy and winds up a somewhat awkward mid-pace.

It’s less a demerit and more a recommendation for future improvement, though, because Rankarumpu is a real joyous treat for the positivity-starved metalhead, and despite operating within a more limited spectrum, the tracklist has plenty of surprises. “Kotomaa” is the most intense and immediate opener the band could have come up with, “Aita” has the rom-pom-pom gait of an approaching troll and the title track comes across as equal parts war dance and victory party. The production fits the music just the same: warm, clear, and direct, emphasizing the folk instruments and vocals while letting the guitar fill out the background to keep an iota of heaviness.

Though I haven’t had the chance to delve into the band’s recent past, Rankarumpu feels like the band reining in their most destructive excesses while giving plenty of floor-time to their newest band member. Whilst Korpiklaani never lost my favor, this is where they have regained my interest, with an album that is as simple in writing and structure as it is addictive. A uniformly strong showing from a band a dozen albums deep is a rare treat, and I know Rankarumpu will be a worthy companion to many parties this year. Including my adventuring party, because a certain kobold ranger has just become a big fan of saunas!

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast
Websites: korpiklaani.bandcamp.com | korpiklaani.com | facebook.com/korpiklaani
Releases Worldwide: April 5th, 2024

#2024 #35 #Apr24 #FinnishMetal #FolkMetal #Korpiklaani #NuclearBlast #Rankarumpu #Review #Reviews #Tankard #Turisas