Electric Eel Shock - Sugoi Indeed
1. Metal Man
2. Out Of Control
3. Mr Toad
4. Sugoi Indeed
5. Death Penalty
6. Nobody Knows
7. More
8. No Shit Sherlock
9. M.T.B
10. Goodbye Peach
Japanese heavy metal has a long, loud and colourful (some might say barking mad) history and EES proudly carry that torch forward – along with riffs and guitar tones from Overkill-period Motorhead and barmy song titles like Mr Toad and No Shit Sherlock.
Electric Eel Shock are enthusiastic purveyors of garage metal; a three-piece with absurdly catchy choons and a deceptively big sound. A wonderfully mad hybrid of old school riffs, punk timings and admirably daft lyrics.
Digging into their background in a phone call with their UK publicist reveals more whacky facts about the band – for instance, when not rocking out, frontman Akihito Morimoto is a professional carp fisherman and drummer Tomoharu Ito is an acclaimed ‘fancy cake’ maker (a Master Baker, perhaps?) who used to make false teeth for a living.
As far as the music is concerned, they live up to their larger-than-life profile by consistently delivering – title track Sugoi Indeed is a breezy blend of zippy stop/start riffs and bubblegum melodies, Death Penalty recalls Van Halen’s sound circa Fair Warning and No Shit Sherlock boasts nimble-fingered axework and the irresistible song title chorus.
They are like a Japanese, metal version of the Toy Dolls, a novelty punk pop band who hit the charts with their one big hit, a moshed-up version of children’s favourite Nellie The Elephant, in the early 80s (and who, ironically are still hugely popular in Japan). Bags of enthusiasm and commitment, even when they are singing songs like MTB, which appears to be a declaration of love for a mountain bike.
In the immortal words of Spinal Tap frontman David St. Hubbins “It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever” and it’s a line Electric Eel Shock shimmy along with gusto and panache. The quality of the song writing and the energy levels ensure that the listener is always on their side, and their live performances are winning them legions of fans around the world.
Review by Jay Williams
Sugoi Indeed is out now on Rodeostar Records
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