There is a world where Def Leppard, Type O Negative, Ozzy Osbourne, Cancer Bats, and Turnstile crammed into a studio together and recorded the results. Luckily, it’s this one, and the outcome is the debut EP from COVID-baby band Your Future Is Metal.
If that piques your interest, read on; if that horrifies you, give it a chance: YFIM (EP) is quite a bit of fun, promise.
Guitarist and vocalist Johann Saul loves the 80s, horror movies, and heavy metal. Allegedly, his drummer Salaryman Ben sits behind the drum kit only out of “fear of his own demise.” Ben’s drumming, however, belies the allegations as he creates some remarkably groovy beats over Saul’s wailing hair metal vocals and hardcore growls. Yes, both are present in this brief five-track release. For fans of Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads, Saul has some ripping guitar solos, too.
The guitars are thoroughly 80s during most of the album, with a few drops into D or C tuning for a hardcore riff or three. Saul switches between Ozzy-style vocals and Steele-style vocals, though he clearly prefers the former. Ben sticks to laying down headbanging beats straight from the heavy metal textbook.
Mixing such disparate influences and making them sound fresh, even new, is no easy task. However, Saul and Ben have managed that task admirably on tracks like ‘Do You Want to Dance (With a Wanted Man)?’ and the cleverly titled ‘When Jeykll Hydes.’ Apparently, one for wordplay, Saul titled the last song on the EP ‘.357 Magnum Opus.’
Saul’s lyrics are enjoyable but, occasionally, don’t quite fit the rhythm of the line, like a poet trying to stretch a line in tetrameter into pentameter. Additionally, the runtime of YFIM (EP) is a blessing and a curse: it is so short it leaves the listener wanting more, but it also blows by so quickly that not much leaves an impression. Hopefully, Your Future Is Metal have future plans in store for a full-length release.
In five brief tracks, Saul and Ben tear through a vast range of influences and leave the listener wanting more. ‘YFIM (EP)’ is a massive amount of fun and another tool to pull out when another skeptic declares that some genres just don’t mix. However, your Future Is Metal prove that just about anything will blend in the right hands.
