A while ago, I interviewed ex-Megadeth shredder/current Japanophile Marty Friedman, and we got on the topic of Japanese acts that Americans should know.
In case you aren't aware, Marty's been living in Japan for a bunch of years and is a bonafide pop celebrity over there, appearing in soda ads, hosting TV shows, adding ripping guitar to hit singles and generally ruling.
Anyway, among some straight-up, saccharine sweet J-Pop bands, one of the acts Marty suggested I check out was Maximum the Hormone. I did a quick YouTube search and found the following video for a song (that might or might not be called) "Stop Winny."
I honestly can't tell if this is parody, pastiche or what, but the video manages to (inexplicably) incorporate grind, noise, thrash, nu-metal, J-Pop, children's music, martial arts, anime, body morphing and a whole lot of cultural references that I am totally missing. Apparently, there are crazier things than Babymetal happening over in Japan.
So, have Maximum the Hormone created the most insane heavy metal song of all time? You tell me. (And wait for it...the true weirdness jumps off at around the 2:50 mark.)
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Brad is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor and video producer. He is the former content director of Revolver magazine and executive editor of Guitar World. His work has appeared in Vice, Guitar Aficionado, Inked and more. He’s also a die-hard Les Paul player who wishes he never sold his 1987 Marshall Silver Jubilee half stack.
