Metal heroes portray wildlings on latest episode of hit fantasy show
Mastodon on Game of Thrones … You know nothing, Jon Snow. Photograph: PR
They are savage, brutal men from a remote place, barely attuned to civilization. And so are the wildlings, which might be why Mastodon were invited to appear as the wild men from north of The Wall in the latest episode of Game of Thrones.
The metal quartet appeared in the episode that was broadcast on Sunday 31 May in the US and goes out on Monday 1 June in the UK, at the invitation of the show’s creator/executive producer Dan Weiss.
mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in early 2000 and composed of bassist Troy Sanders, guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher and drummer Brann Dailor. Their musical style features progressive concepts and unique instrumentation. All four members participate in vocals, creating a unique blend of singing styles and voices.
Mastodon’s Brann Dailor said, in a statement that contains spoilers unlikely to be central to the plot:
“It was such an incredible experience to be on set as extras for our collective favorite show Game of Thrones, and to be wildlings murdered and then brought back to life by White Walkers was beyond amazing. I watched my best friends, Brent and Bill, murdered right in front of me as I myself was stabbed in the stomach and had my throat slit multiple times, and I didn’t mind at all. It made me love being in Mastodon even more. We are more than privileged and honoured to have been a part of one of the greatest stories ever told on film –
There are few places more dazzling in the Robot Restaurant located in Shinjuku, Japan. We use the term 'restaurant' very loosely because it's more like a variety show, that you just happen to be dining at.
A visual feast for the senses, where the every which way you look is a kaleidoscope of colourful lights and relentless noise, where drummers are armed with glow sticks, cyber strippers fling themselves around neon poles and life-sizes robots go head-to-head in boxing matches.
But the fun doesn't end there, we haven't even mentioned the flying Terrordactyls, giant sharks, bigger Anacondas and the dance off between robots starring a bevy of scantily clad women, naturally.
So if you're in Japan and literally want to have your brain overloaded to the point where it's nearly melting, make sure you head to the Robot Restaurant, it's an experience you won't forget anytime soon.
It’s hard to imagine an experience more perfectly suited to Tokyo, and one less likely to exist anywhere else, than Shinjuku’s Robot Restaurant. With a stage show that stretches the definition of terms like “elaborate” and “bizarre,” the restaurant has quickly become one of the city’s most popular venues.
We were dazzled by the Robot Restaurant from the moment we spotted it. The entire facade was illuminated in blinding LED lights, and towering lady robots with giant bouncing breasts were roving about the foyer. A band inspired by Daft Punk was rocking out behind the robots, and everything was flashing and loud and over-the-top. Sensory overload? Definitely. And we hadn’t even picked up our tickets yet. I suspected that the performance was going to be more like sensory assault.
Having arrived well in advance of the evening show, we passed the extra time in the restaurant’s upstairs lounge. You’ll want to do the same, because the lounge is unbelievable. It’s as though the world’s most outrageous interior designers were given crayons, glue sticks, glitter and mescalin, and told to go crazy. Everything is mirrored and shining. On every table, there’s a robot dinosaur. On the stage, a lady-band clad in metallic bikinis and angel wings is playing soft lounge music. The drinks are cheap and the vibe couldn’t be better. You and the people around you are in a place unlike anywhere any of you have ever been, and you’re all excited and giddy and talkative. It’s a bonding experience.
Now, however, it’s showtime. You and your new friends head into the underground theater, take your seats, and await the spectacle. Soon, the lights go out, the speakers switch on, and giant vehicles appear on either side of the narrow stage, ridden by ladies dressed as Amazonian war princesses from the year 3000. They’re pounding on drums, rotating around the stage, screaming and dancing to the music, and you’re just… confused. What the hell is happening? It’s hilarious, pointless, impressive and overwhelming in equal measure.
And that’s just Act One! By the end of the show, which stretches out across seven or eight acts, you’ll have perhaps seen boxing robots. Women riding huge mechanical cows. An alien-eating shark robot. Huge motorcycles and airplanes with pole-dancing lady passengers. A tank, I think. There was definitely a freedom-fighting panda. The shows change frequently, so you might see other things entirely, things which no sane human would ever be able to predict.
We had fun from the moment we entered the Robot Restaurant, and I’m not sure my brain has yet been able to process everything we saw. Almost as much as the show, we enjoyed watching the spectators sitting across from us. Without exception, they had their eyes wide open and huge smiles plastered across their faces. I’m sure it’s how we looked, too.
So, I find a message in our super secret Admin section of Dark Asylum Radio – it’s from a man called Flavio and he says that he’s got a new album coming out, and he wants to know what we thought about it. Well, thinks I, who am I to deny it? I look around the links that he sends me – links to his artwork project, links to a free download option via Bandcamp...and it all looks fine. It seems well put together, nicely wrapped up – it’s a pretty nice gift to receive.
So, the label reads “New Wave from Buenos Aires”, which made me smile – you don’t see many New Wave bands about these days, and listening to the first couple of tracks they seem to hit the right notes – the second track, “Ravensong”, is very Cure/Human League feel behind it all which I found quite enjoyable. The whole album has a nice sheen to it and there are enough surprises to delight the careful listener – the occasional chime in “Industry”.
If there was one gripe to be had, it’s with the singer, Flavio’s, voice – during most of the album it remains nice and stable, but it tends to stretch a little during the higher notes: While not a deal breaker, it does occasionally distract from an otherwise lovely piece of music. The band – Flavio on vocals, Xiro on guitars, Javier on synths and Gabe on bass – work well together as a unit, and while the synths tend to occasionally overwhelm the rest of the instruments it’s rare enough to be ignorable.
...and let’s face it, for a free album you can do miles worse. It’s something different enough to almost be novel, so I recommend giving it a listen.
