Bean Ball

Before an instrument is heard, Kaori Okumura's scream comes blaring out of the speakers knocking any unsuspecting bystanders on their ass. Once the guitars and drums kick in, it's in service of a fleet, hard attack. On Bean Ball, Yellow Machinegun aren't fucking around.

Leaving the variety of past releases at the door, the Japanese trio embark on a single-minded mission in pursuit of speed. Sure, a couple songs begin with heavy, sustained notes and the rhythm sometimes dips into a groove, but it's never long before they're back to hurtling thrash. Kyoko Moriya pumps out swift, lean riffs. While rarely memorable, they get fists pumping and she even works in some of the band's trademark quirkiness, like the bouncy “Over the Wall, Where's My Ball”. The few solos (I count four), like the rest of the music, are quick and to the point; the inscrutably titled “Rain = I'm Waiting =” has the only one that exceeds ten seconds and it's a good showcase of Moriya's skills. Tamami Okado provides a typically acceptable drum section. There are a few embellishments, like the tom fills throughout “Crows” and at the end of “The Arrow's Wherebouts” [sic]. The latter also features bursts of rapid snare rolls. “The Reason of Number” has a blast-beat and it's apparent that Okado struggles to hit the cymbals with force as it progresses.

Okumura starts the album with a scream and doesn't let up, except some spoken words strewn here and there. Forsaking the deeper growls of their other records and variety in general, she matches the intensity of the music with screams that curdle blood and probably other fluids. Her bass work does its job filling out the sound with the occasional brief guitar lull allowing it to take center stage. The instrumentation is served well by an unobtrusive production. My only suggestion is that the snare be mixed lower to make room for a fuller kick drum.

Bean Ball is Yellow Machinegun's album with the least creativity, least ambition and least personality. Wisely they also made it their shortest, coming in at a brisk twenty and one-half minutes. The individual songs are short too, with none over two minutes and half less than 1:30. There are still some attempts at making catchy tunes, but it's best when indulging in reckless aggression. This is crazy, full tilt, may-be-a-danger-to-your-neck metal. Yeah, Bean Ball is one dimensional, but what a dimension it is.