Why did the band cross the genre? Because it could. And how.
There have been countless attempts made by numerous bands all over the world as they tried to fuse their varied interests and influences into one smorgasbord that they could serve to their fans. Despite knowing that water and oil don’t mix, there have been repeated attempts by certain artists in trying to revolutionize the music industry… and that spawned such criminal obscenities as Ska, for instance.
Okay, maybe that is just my opinion. But with age comes wisdom, and some of us have learnt the hard way that mixing beer and wine just won’t yield a potable concoction. Nonetheless, there ARE some cocktails that just work – despite the seemingly incompatible nature of the liquors and mixes involved, one can, ultimately, perfect the right blend, and when served with the right garnish, it makes for one tasty drink. But I digress… and before I forget my point and start looking for places with later happy hours, here are some, ahem, ‘successful’ examples of crossovers:
5: Alexi Laiho and Roope Latvala (Children of Bodom)
Probably one of the most clichéd neo-classical metal crossovers of our time, not too many Metal guitarists have been able to play Antonio Vivaldi’s Summer suite verbatim without getting carried away or improvising. And for some reason, it just works! Maybe only Yngwie Malmsteen would find something nasty to say about this… but then again, he has something nasty to say about all guitarists other than himself.
[youtube_video id=MFh6YWm7rS4]
4: Gregorian
Gregorian’s verion of ‘Engel’ is what you’d get if you somehow convinced Enigma’s Michael Cretu to erm, “collaborate” with Rammstein’s Till Lindemann. Question is, if your local Church started playing this during Sunday’s Mass, wouldn’t you contemplate converting?
[youtube_video id=P5hPdQHVYKk]
3: Parikrama / Usha Uthup
Back in the day when Channel V still played music instead of running reality shows and commercials, they had this awesome concept – ‘Jammin.’ This was definitely one of their best products.
[youtube_video id=ORl07CZHwJo]
2: Van Canto
This is precisely what bands ought to do after smashing all their instruments on stage. Even Malmsteen’s ‘Arpeggios from Hell’ wouldn’t stand a chance against the Bald-and-Beardiful’s rifftastic “riddly-riddling,” or the Severus Snape’s brother’s wah-wah vocals. And of course, there’s an attractive woman with operatic pipes to boot. Why wouldn’t this band draw large crowds at live concerts? There’s something in it for everyone!
[youtube_video id=w9LaB9dq4Rw]
1: Shava
[youtube_video id=_npFIonozc8]
I actually had the pleasure to watch this Finnjabi band perform live in Vancouver, when I was there in 2007. When asked about their influences, they proudly proclaimed “We ARE the Bhangra in Finnland.” What with their loud colors, a troupe of dancers, a genuine sense of self-confidence, Shava are by far the most exciting thing to come out of Finland (and for me, being a Metalhead, this is quite hard to admit).
Just in case you thought the first music video was a parody, they’ve got one more!
[youtube_video id=4wM9UK6hORE]
Cyd The Squyd is our resident oceanologist. You can get more of his nautical nonsense in his facebook, here.
