Day 21: Cô đôi Thượng Ngàn by Ngũ Cung // 8

genre: heavy metal
drink: nuoc mat
Now you're in for a real treat. I was curious trying to find songs similar to what my dad used to play (still plays I guess). And one my question had me pegged--do Vietnamese people have some kind of metal band out there? This what I stumbled upon.

So apparently, the scene for Vietnamese metal (prog metal that is) is incredibly small, understandably. And so I kept digging, and I found a few songs that I actually enjoyed. They're pretty decent, and not totally foreign on the ears. And by foreign, I mean to say that their musical tastes are far different from mine. Their music tends to be overproduced, completely synthetic in their instrumentation, and downright cheesy. However, I will give them a plus on their vocals. Vietnamese singing usually pleases me. 

Enough ranting, here comes a near addictive song that I couldn't stop listening to. With their lack of exposure on more mainstream platforms, I don't even know if this is an official song. So far, I've only found a live performance of it. From what I understand, the performance is a cover of a more traditional Vietnamese song. The differences between the original and this performance cannot be more clear. 

This particular performance is incredibly heavy, bouncy, and so much fun to watch. The sheer juxtaposition between the classical Vietnamese melodies and chords with the heavy metal distortion and grinding riffs oddly WORKS. I'm absolutely astonished. Surely they must realize the thin vein of gold they've struck. I just want more of this. Even better, the singer is totally into his role, which is supposed to be a delicate flower of a woman. 

Seriously, give it a gander. 

Rating: 8/10