Review: Gackt - Flower

I've begun to notice after the release of Faraway that most of Gackt's music is composed in a Gackt-ish pattern. I'm not going to ruin the following review by spilling the secret formula to his success but I just had to say that. Now that it's out of my system I'm a firm believer in saving the best for last, and I believe Gackt is as well. Flower is the best single out of this month long spree he's had, even if it's still following the same mold as most of his other songs.

01. Flower
02. In Flames
03. Flower (Inst.)
04. In Flames (Inst.)

Call me crazy but the moment I saw this cover I knew that this was going to be a rock single through and through, and Gackt did not disappoint. Flower is not some ballad that we're all going to have Lost Angels flashbacks of, so you can sigh from relief. Much more than any other song he's released this month, I was impressed with the solo and more importantly the guitarwork going on in the background while the guitar goes wild. This is the Gackt that I want to hear: rock that's got attitude but isn't abrasive to listen to. For some odd reason, the starting chords sound like something straight out of a Brilliant Green song :\. The rest of the song moves into a more Gackt-sounding atmosphere but those chords just won't get out of my head. This song singlehandedly blows away all of his singles except for Jesus and Ghost, which I would place on equal footing with. It's a typical Gackt song, but after this month it's really all I ask for.

I was actually looking forward to In Flames more than the title track because I didn't know what he was going to do with it. This is an experimental side of Gackt that isn't going to send you running away in terror. The haunting mood the beginning sets is supported by the bass, which was fantastic in Flower but shines here even more. Most of the time I say I dislike songs that transition from soft verses to loud, poppy choruses badly, but this song has nice transitions from chorus to verse and back to chorus, which makes it all seamless. The solo in In Flames is just as good as the one in Flower, and then it's followed by Gackt duetting with himself backed by some piano. I really would have preferred if Gackt had taken the end of the solo and then gone even more hardcore and taken that verse up to the stratosphere instead of slowing down, then speeding up, and slowing down again. Nonetheless, the ending of the song is just as haunting as the way it started. I'm also sensing a bit of Lust for Blood at the end and I'm starting to wonder how the two would sound back to back ^.^

We have instrumentals. Nice, but Gackt's voice makes the tracks sound a lot better. Good for novelty, not worth space on your MP3 player unless you like a particular track. Same old, same old.

I was very pleased with this single. After just a few singles I found myself into this single more than anything else he's released so far. If I had to put the singles in any sort of meaningful order they would be this:

Flower > Koakuma Heaven = Lost Angels > Faraway

Just in case you needed my opinion on the entire release campaign. Flower gets a 9/10.

Review: Maximum the Hormone - Tsume Tsume Tsume / F

Now that these guys are back on their feet and touring again, I'm waiting for a new single. It should be out by the time I graduate from college...

01. Tsume Tsume Tsume
02. 「F」
03. Kill all the 394

Maximum the Hormone is that rare breed of hard metal and rock music that can make deep, heavy sounds and not depress the listener. It must have something to do with the fact that these guys don't take themselves and their music seriously and are out to have fun while they make their music. They are far from original in their melodies, but no one is anymore so I'm going to officially drop that and instead focus on how the music would make the listener feel.

Tsume Tsume Tsume is what Maximum the Hormone is all about nicely condensed into a listenable four minutes. The only problem I have with this song is how it starts, which I find a little too sudden. Perhaps whenever they release their next album it will be placed in such a way where that is no longer a problem. Tsume Tsume Tsume mixes Daisuke's growls with Ryo's singing to create heavy verses with sharp contrasts before Nao comes in with her pop-styled singing which creates the diversity that Maximum the Hormone is known for (in all honesty if it wasn't for her this band would be rather forgettable). It's basically the MtH formula but it's perfected here. One of the best MtH songs there is, but Ryo's creepy laughing scares me.

F is a song about Frieza from the Dragonball Z series (seriously, I'm not making this up at all). The entrance is smoother than it's predecessor and the end feels a bit dragged out but it works out in it's favor. Since it's a double A-side release, I can consider F to be the better A-side just because it goes through so many styles in it's runtime but it manages to stay smooth. This is not to say that Tsume Tsume Tsume sucks because it doesn't. I just enjoy F more.

Kill all the 394 is about the bastard MySpace clone website called MIXI, that Ryo reputedly hates. It's very short and ends as if it's going to move into a lighter tempo so that really hurts it. While it's running though, it's the fiercest, wildest track here but I can't help but think that the chorus kills the energy somewhat. It's a nice inclusion on a double A-side but the first two are better.

All in all MtH's latest single is energy crammed into a disc and sold to you for your money, which is exactly what the band wants to go for. If you want to listen to metal and have a good time, I suppose this is the most consistent MtH single to go for. I highly recommend giving this a listen if you haven't yet been exposed to this band. 8/10.

Review: MUCC - Ageha

Instead of wasting time to talk about how I feel about this single, let me just say this was the song that made me take a second look at this band.

~Regular Edition~
01. Ageha
02. Concrete 082

~Limited Edition~
01. Ageha
02. Aoi Mori

Ageha starts out very deceptively, with a mellow guitar and evolves into a raging, heavy, destructive beast that doesn't let up. Riddled with slap-bass courtesy of YUKKE, and aggressive, skillful guitar lines by Miya, Ageha shows a new sense of maturity within the band. It's heavy without being loud. It makes a fierce statement musically while remaining it's composure and finess. It's the exact type of track that shows that these musicians are getting better with age. Ageha isn't without it's faults though. I find the solo off-putting as the juxtaposition of the hard with the soft seems forced. The chorus also slows the song down considerably, which creates another hard contrast. Another problem with this song that repeats throughout the single is that MUCC used the same formula for composing their choruses, which takes away from the overall package. In a period of music where even trendsetters start following the textbook instead of writing it, this offering as a single is solid despite its flaws.

Concrete 082 runs a bit long for my taste, and it's chorus sounds almost interchangeable with Ageha's, turning that into both a positive and a negative. Jazzy and full of funk thanks to the bass, the song plays it cool until around the middle part when the guitar starts going faster and faster while the others hang back. It makes the song feel a little unsettling but then it slides back into it's laid-back stance and plays out the rest of the song. It's unusual but unique and makes the long run time a bit more bearable. It's good for what it tries to do but falls short next to the title track. A good B-side nonetheless as it provides a good contrast, but you'll probably be listening to Ageha more.

Aoi Mori wisely takes it's musical ass in a different direction than Ageha, and it ends up working out better than Concrete 082. All three songs on both editions were somewhat unusual, but this seems to have the most exotic influence out of them all. It's obviously influenced by Western music but it carries an Eastern touch that is hard to pin down in just one location. MUCC succeeds doing here what many bands fail to do, and that's mixing eastern with western to create something new. Tatsurou's singing is at it's greatest here (especially during the chorus) while no one instrument overpowers another and commands the listener's attention. The overall flow works out here better than it had in the title track. Everything flows in and out, up and down, with sudden changes fitting in despite the contrast. Just as brilliant as the title track.

This makes Ageha a damn good single no matter what edition you pick up, although I suggest you try to get your hands on the limited edition because the B-side is a lot better than the one on the regular edition. Considering it's a limited edition however, you might not have that option available to you.

Regular Edition: 8/10
Limited Edition: 9/10

Review: Anti Feminism - 15才

If you thought the Kyousouroku review was long then this one will be equally as ridiculous...

01. 15才

This song is stylized behind such gems as "You Suffer" by Napalm Death and "Mega-Armageddon Death Part 3" by the Electro Hippies, meaning this song isn't meant to be a song. 15才 is seven fucking seconds long, and it has the audacity to fade in, fade out AND have silence at the end. By the time you get to the end of the first sentence the song will have ended. If you buy this single, keep in mind you're paying 1050 yen for a patch and a sticker, as well as a sound bite of Kenzi upchucking.

I have nothing else to say...

Review: Versailles - Ascendead Master (Limited Edition Tracks)

Had I known that the bonus tracks were this short, I wouldn't have bothered to go through so much trouble to get them. Had I known that I had heard these tracks already while watching the "movie", I wouldn't have waited so long to review them.

But alas I finally found them so here we go.

The rest of the review can be read here. Sorry to break it up into two parts.

Ascendead Master - Limited Edition A -
1. ASCENDEAD MASTER (Music: HIZAKI/Lyrics: KAMIJO)
2. HALLWAY [SOUNDTRACK] (Music: KAMIJO)
DVD: Part 1 of the Ascendead Master Movie


Ascendead Master - Limited Edition B -
1. ASCENDEAD MASTER (Music: HIZAKI/Lyrics: KAMIJO)
2. PILGRIM [SOUNDTRACK] (Music: KAMIJO)
DVD: Part 2 of the Ascendead Master Movie


Ascendead Master - Limited Edition C -
1. ASCENDEAD MASTER (Music: HIZAKI/Lyrics: KAMIJO)
2. COVENANT [SOUNDTRACK] (Music: KAMIJO)
DVD: Part 3 of the Ascendead Master Movie

If you've watched the Ascendead Master short movie, then you've heard all three of these tracks already and you just haven't noticed. I wanted to flip out when I got these three tracks just to discover that I already HAD heard them.

Each of these tracks are weaved into the movie so if you've seen the whole thing you've heard all three. Starting from the top and working my way down, we'll start with HALLWAY. It's actually the longest instrumental out of all of them nearing an almost epic two minutes. It starts out with some soft piano and I believe Kamijo was going for a foreboding, dark feeling. Nice violins and drum work that slow down into some flutes and woodwinds accompanied once again by that piano make this the second best instrumental after "Descendant of the Rose". Definitely a nice track to listen to.

PILGRIM doesn't get the same love as the previous track. It's a bit shorter but overall it's a quieter track throughout the beginning that doesn't get started until there's forty seconds left. To me, this sounds like it'd fit perfectly in the context of Halo in parts (and it makes me wonder if Versailles plays that game lol). It's not as good as HALLWAY but it's still a good listen.

COVENANT was the matrix-esque theme that made me lol when the vampires jumped the reporter. It starts out driven a lot quicker than the other two tracks and evolves into something greater as the song progresses. It's a shame that this track is so short because a few seconds more would have made this track better. It's just too short to really enjoy because then it ends and that makes me upset. Right up there with HALLWAY.

In a nutshell, each of these soundtracks are excellent in their own way but they're too short to justify buying just that one edition. I think overall you get the better package if you buy the regular edition since you get the best instrumental and Gekkakou.

Normally I'd feel bad about doing this but after a while they're going to run out of Limited Editions so I'll bite the bullet this one time and let the viewers download these tracks. They barely run past 4:30 in length anyway :\.

>>Ascendead Master<<
*It doesn't come with Ascendead Master

Review: The GazettE - Chigire

Don't assume I'm being lazy because I've been doing one song singles lately. I'm picking certain songs on purpose because I notice they lack reviews and exposures other than the fangirl-based "OMG THIS IS THE BEST SHYXT EVER GO LISTEN!!!11!+SHIFT". Chigire happens to be one of those often overlooked songs because not many people outside of Japan have it, and it was a live-distributed single at that.

Also, I am being lazy but let's look at the facts. Eventually I'm going to run out of albums and be stuck with singles and songs so it's better if I sprinkle them in here and there. You know I'm right...

01. Chigire

Do NOT ASK ME how I found that cover and if I can make it clearer. This happens to be the only website that has them so thank Jesus for whoever designed it and found this.

Most live distributed singles tend to either be re-recorded and re-released or just flat out suck. The band banks on the fact that since it's a whole lot rarer the fans will appreciate just having something other fans may never physically own. The GazettE likes to do things a little differently. They want the fans that attend their lives to not only own something no other fan has but to be proud to own it.

Chigire is probably one of the catchiest The GazettE songs ever created. It makes me kind of sad to know that overseas fans will have to search all over to get this song but it's well worth it. Looking at the time that it was released, Chigire is better than every song on the half-assed Gama. Period. It's reminiscent of their old style and their new style all at once, but it irons out the problems in both for a good 3:26 and creates a unique, pleasant track to listen to. I can see myself putting this on repeat just because of the vocal rhythms Ruki and the band employ at certain parts, and his singing and screaming balance out well (with more of the former and less of the latter). The band can slow down and speed up at an instant and every instrument shines on this track. From the drum rolls that start the track off (and the drum solo in the middle of the track!) to the clearly audible bass that supports the two dueling guitars throughout the whole song, this is a track that took risks and worked.

Why can't the GazettE put out more music like this? 10/10.

Review: Administrator - Temaneku Taiyou

I meant to do this yesterday but I was too tired ._.

It's the only other song Administrator's given us for free (it's the same place you can download selfish clover from) and for all intents and purposes I like this song a little less.

01. Temaneku Taiyou

A person may wonder why I review a band with such a bland name that they've never heard of before. My answer to you is that no one else pays any attention to the smaller bands and they need the attention. So, on to Temaneku Taiyou, which I think translates as Beckoning the Sun. It's not as dark and heavy as selfish clover but it ends up going the path of almost any other upbeat VK rock track. It juxtaposes hard rock passages with a lighter chorus (that fits surprisingly enough) and it has a solo that's nice and technical but not very memorable. Everything is something that you've heard somewhere before.

I really do hate to do this but this band seems to have trouble standing out. Visual Kei Rock is a genre not seriously taken and it's for a good reason. All the bands sound like each other with minute differences between them and every once in a while a new band with a different sound comes along and they spawn many clone bands. Administrator doesn't remind me of any one band in particular, but they remain quite faceless. Their music is nice and pleasant to listen to but it's nothing special.

Well, the track is free and it's not like they outright suck so those are two pluses right there. I'm also keeping in mind this band just formed and they're still working out their "sound" and getting things just right. After listening to some atrocious music lately, Temaneku Taiyou doesn't sound bad. It's generic but pleasant. It's not something original but it's not horrible either. It's a nice track to listen to every once in a while but I doubt that I'd put it on repeat because it's THAT good.

7/10.

Review: Miyavi - Galyuu

I really haven't given the Meevers his due share of attention on my blog. He was the first artist I ever really got into and is a great starting place for anyone looking to get into some different types of music. My fandom has been on the decline but it's not going away (and I think that's my fault because I digested his entire discography like Skittles). Lately he's been a bit inactive since he's got a family and his own company to run but his music from years ago is still great to listen to even now. His voice is a little rough around the edges and he may not be the best singer out there, but he's one hell of a guitar wizard and he knows how to make enjoyable, upbeat rock music. Now, on to Galyuu...

01. Mudai
02. Ippiki Ookami Ron
03. Ekisentorikku Ontona Yamai ~Kuso Gaki ver.~
04. Ekisentorikku Ontona Yamai
05. Aa, Kanashimi Kana Yatoware no Mi no Blues
06. Ku Ku Ruu (Oresama Version)
07. Mudai
08. Joushou Gaidou
09. Shikenkan Baby
10. Ossan Ossan Ore Nanbo
11. Ashita, Tenki ni Naare ~Doshaburi Vers.~
12. Ashita, Tenki ni Naare
13. Tome to Jurii
14. Requiem (Due le Quartz cover).

One thing that makes me angry about Galyuu is the massive amount of instrumentals (a whopping FOUR) that are on this album. Not one of them are needed in any sort of way, are extremely short, and add nothing to the album. So effectively skip tracks one, three, seven, and eleven.

I consider Ippiki Ookami Ron to be the real start to the album, and it's a right kick in the ass. I still haven't found a song with a more intense opening sequence. Miyavi's voice really shows that he's straining to hit and keep some of those notes but I'll forgive him based on the merit of the lyrics, the beauty of the composition (and the fact he did it all himself) and the balance the song has. His scream somewhere near the end of the song raised hairs on the back of my neck the first time I heard it and solidifies this song as one of the must hears on the album, all while having a chorus that doesn't betray the dark mood the song sets from the first second in.

The instrumental opening might suck but Ekisentorikku Ontona Yamai is one solid, eccentric rocker. It's got a galloping riff movement going on during the verses, Miyavi's vocals alternate between sung and said extremely fast and it's got some weird noises in the middle in lieu of a solo that I don't quite get even now. It's pure Miyavi, completely insane, and completely original in almost every aspect of it's construction. Being one of the songs I fell in love with at first and put on repeat over and over again, this song will have you struggling to learn the lyrics and then keep up with Miyavi as he sings it.

Aa, Kanashimi Kana Yatoware no Mi no Blues adds some diversity to the album with some acoustic strumming. I find the story of this song to be hilarious, even more so since I can relate to it personally due to a job that I had. The song construction is very simple but effective. It may not draw you in at first but it's a pleasant listen if you're in the mood for some slower Miyavi. Aa, Kanashimi Kana Yatoware no Mi no Blues also shows that Miyavi is a versatile artist because he can perform solo and not have any problems sounding comfortable "out of his element".

I swear he says "eat the world" at the end of Ku Ku Ruu. It's slower-paced like the previous song but it has it's louder passages and creates some sort of mid-tempo mid-album monster that was previously released as a single. Miyavi doesn't exactly quack or cluck in this track but it wouldn't be all that weird if he did since he's one eccentric personality that's not afraid to sing about ducks. Yes, this song is about ducks.

Joushou Gaidou is the best song on this album, and one of my personal favorite tracks of his of all time. Having some more original composition with some motorcycle sounds thrown in at the best times along with a solo that suits the atmosphere of the song perfectly, it's a perfect example of the upbeat rock sound I was talking about earlier. Once again, the lyrics tell a story that would crack a smile on any person's face once they read the translation because it's amusing. It's a must listen.

Shikenkan Baby starts off sampling some of Coin Locker's Baby from his previous album before it begins with a dark, deep sound we haven't heard since the beginning of the album. I personally have no idea what the song is about because I can't follow along with the lyrics he provided in the book, but I believe it has to do with alienation and artificial insemination. This is the closest Miyavi gets to the older sound of his first album.

Ossan Ossan Ore Nanbo sounds like Miyavi dueling with himself on the guitar, so imagine a very fast-paced rock track that ends with some talking that sounds like your neighbors are being too loud. It doesn't match up with the quality of the other tracks on this album but it's fun, loud and upbeat and can still be enjoyed.

Ashita, Tenki ni Naare has an optimistic story behind some acoustic guitars that sound wonderful. This causes the next track to be overshadowed without any sort of way to redeem itself. Another of my favorite tracks from him, his vocals are at it's best on this track. Don't miss this one. Also, don't get this confused with Ashita, Genki ni Naare. Two completely different tracks (it took me a while to figure this out ._.).

Tome to Jurii is a mid-tempo love song that mixes up a Christmas-y theme with some acoustic and electric guitars that are nice but underwhelming this late in the album, and even more so after the last track. It's a nice listen with a beautiful story but there's better to be found in his discography.

Requiem is possibly one of the few Miyavi songs I don't like. It's another acoustic piece but it doesn't fit in with the soundscape of Galyuu for one, and for another I find the entire track completely boring. Perhaps it's a mix of "I'm not a big fan of Due le Quartz" and "this track lacks the personality and musical creativity of every former track on this album" but I just don't like it. Gladly, it's a bonus track so it's more of an addition rather than an incorporation. It's also not found on the re-issue of the album (and neither are the instrumentals IIRC) so if you don't have it don't worry too much.

So there we have Galyuu. It's a damn fine album and one of the best I've heard in a while. Original, varying composition mixed in with some great lyrics and at worst decent singing creates an album I believe belongs in every person's collection. Screw the people that say that all rock music is downbeat and depressing because Miyavi shows that it isn't that way and that musicians can have fun and entertain their audience. As I said before, my few complaints are the overwhelming amount of dull instrumentals and the lackluster bonus track, but that's minor when you take the album as a whole and listen to it. 9/10.

Review: idiot - Kuro no Honou

No word in the English language describes how much fail this single is full of. It comes with two tracks and they're both so laughably bad it's inconceivable for me to even think about rating it. Believe it or not, the name of the first song is "Fucking A". Yeah, that's right. FUCKING A. This is what you'll be saying to yourself when it's all over because it's one big mindfuck. I think it is supposed to be about religion and it's inherent need to sex itself but it has nothing to do with anything since the vocalist mumbles on and on about stuff before he and the rest of the band repeats "fucking A" over and over again (and they repeat it really badly to boot!). See, I said vocalist and not singer because he can't sing. He single-handedly drags this song into unsalvageable territory the minute he opened his mouth and attempted to death metal growl. The part that sent me over the edge was when he does the "owwaowwaowwaaa!!" during the chorus because he sounds like a retarded cookie monster.

Let's not even get started on the instruments OR the production quality...

In a good turn or events or a bad one, idiot kindly decided to give us a karaoke version of the super duper hit single so that we can sing along "like a funny chaplin". I was really hoping that perhaps the B-side would break out halfway into some New Age Culture-esque metal where there's so much going on that any fault in the vocals isn't immediately apparent, but then I realized the beauty in having the same song on the single twice. We get to enjoy Fucking A for everything that it's worth. Did I miss that guitar lick or that somewhat less horrible growl? Not the second time around, all thanks to idiot and their genius marketing strategy!

This whole package is shit. Not one good thing comes with this CD, so there's really no saving grace at all. I can't even stretch the truth a bit or cop out and say this song has to grow on you, because the only thing that will grow is your boredom or your laughter. I don't even know why this song EXISTS. Someone had to tell these talentless fools this song sounded good. Maybe they felt so bad they told them they liked it so they wouldn't feel like assholes, but now we all have to live in a world of Kuro no Honou. Fucking A man...

>> idiot - Fucking A <<
*not my rip.

This band needs to make like a bass and be inaudible >_>.

Review: Administrator - selfish clover

Time to do another obscure Japanese Indies band no one will ever discover because their name is so damn generic. Both their singles are free because, well, they're nice. I rather think it's because they need the exposure. Either way it's nice to have free music we don't have to feel bad for pirating later.

01. selfish clover

I regard selfish clover as the better single out of the two that they've given us for free so far (both singles can be downloaded at no charge here). It's the usual heavy rock mixed in with lighter vocals, but the melody happens to be a little different and perhaps catchy. That little touch alone makes the track a little more memorable, because there's nothing new or innovative here. The chorus itself is typical VK but I find myself remembering it despite it's slightly annoying tendencies to sound a lot like a bunch of other songs I've heard. Akuta's vocals need to grow on you a bit since they're up there and he doesn't sound too comfortable singing them, but there are a lot worse in the rock universe so he's really not that bad. I'm just afraid of hearing him going that high in concerts because it doesn't sound like he can always get up there.

That's it really. Just one track. What'd you expect, a whole EP for free? It's their first release so I'll give them time to grow but it sounds so generic I really don't expect them to. 7/10.

Review: Anti Feminism - Kyousouroku

01. Shakai
02. Nationalism
03. Keikoutou
04. Kawareru
05. STREET FIGHTING MUCH
06. Kyoushi
07. Sodai Gomi
08. GO GO ANTI FEMINISM
09. Bakuretsu Toshi
10. Abura-sumashi
11. Kurage
12. Kyoukou
13. Sperm
14. 655321 gou
15. Ore wa aoru na!
16. Yume no kuni
17. BAD BOY A
18. Pinnochio
19. Misemono Koya no Mahou Tsukai
20. Kitanai Yatsu
21. Hakanai Hito Yose PANDA
22. Go-sick13
23. CRAZY COLOR
24. Kudaranai Hanashi
25. Korosou yo!
26. Buta
27. Makeinu

I have two major problems with this album. One is the lack of versatility in the tracks. At points in the album, I hear riffs that I could have sworn I just heard about two tracks ago. They switch it up a little, play it slower, faster, or lower on the guitar, but overall I feel like I'm listening to the same tracks over and over. Kyousouroku is a compilation album so I can forgive it a little but it's still a problem. Also, the song structures are laughably simple. They come up with a riff, repeat it for a while, then comes a crazy solo, then it goes back to the riff and then it ends. There are no parts in the song where anything switches up and they go into a different tempo. Anti Feminism works with one and it's at the speed of "bashing-flourescent-lightbulbs into-your-chest".

My second problem also excuses a few songs from the first: too many of these songs on the album are too short. If you want a more accurate description, out of 27 songs on the album only 15 break two minutes, and only 2 of those reach three minutes. None are over 3:30 in length. This is instant gratification at it's highest but then many of the songs sound like everything was played back very very fast and there isn't enough time to enjoy all the parts of it. Let's take Keikoutou as an example. The song has the nerve to be 1:03 and not immediately start with all the members playing. It takes a whole TWO seconds for everyone to come in, and this sounds ridiculous but realize the song is only 63 seconds long and they throw the whole kitchen sink in. Kenzi speaks very fast and even if I had the lyrics in front of me I don't think I would be able to follow. Then I swear the solo is about 5 seconds long, then comes a 4 second breakdown, then it goes back to the pace it set at the beginning. Way too fast.

I understand that this is ultra punk rock and songs are typically stylized to be very short, but the length of some of these songs are ridiculous and then I could swear that some of them sound so damn similar you can combine them and it'd make a better song. An example of this would be Keikoutou and Kyoushi; two very similar tracks that would work better together instrumentally then they do apart.

For the songs that are over two minutes long, they have a bit more complexity and allow for more enjoyability at the expense of a little monotony. An example of this is Sodai Gomi. It's at an enjoyable (yet still short) length but the one riff they decide to use before and after the solo is so repetitive you're actually wanting the song to be a little shorter. It might also be because it lifts sections right out of Nationalism, which you literally heard five minutes ago.

This is not to say that Anti Feminism is a one trick pony. A good number of the tracks have a bit of flair that makes me wonder why they can't do this on all of them. The album starter Shakai has the guitars and bass switch roles for a few seconds which is a neat trick that works to the song's advantage. The last song, Makeinu, is perhaps one of the few tracks on the entire compilation that switches tempos often AND comes with a nice surprise at the end of the track. Interestingly enough, these are the only two new tracks they've recorded for the album...

CRAZY COLOR has the guitarists alternating riffs in the verse without Kenzi having to stop, which means that it sounds like an actual song more than any other piece on this compilation. Some things happen in this track that shows me these men know how to compose music and they DO it for this track but not for every track. STREET FIGHTING MUCH is also another track that switches tempos and feels like an actual work of music rather than cacophony, along with a solo that fits and still keeps the AF energy going. I would love to experience this song live.

And finally, BAD BOY A shows that the boys actually know how to tune their guitars and they just choose not to, as the bass is featured relatively low and the guitars are in a different tune than they usually are (but it's not that noticeable). It is the best example of Anti Feminism punk rock here.

One very noticeable thing right out of the gate is that many of the songs abuse sound effects. GO GO ANTI FEMINISM actually turns me off as the firework effects in the beginning of the song scare the shit out of me. Kudaranai Hanashi starts out with something that sounds like a UFO laser that powers up and down repeatedly and continues throughout the entire song. 655321 gou not only sounds like it was mastered differently, but features a faded, jingling noise throughout the background and it sounds louder in the right ear than the left.

In addition, every song on this album features some sort of filter effect on Kenzi's voice that causes it to become annoying by track 20 or so. Go-sick13 is one example where the filter on his voice is so excessive it reverbs into the background. Even his roars vibrate! SPERM isn't as excessive, but it's mentionable because the masking effect on his voice makes the track sound better and it's one of the few tracks where it would have fit. Sadly, since every track uses it beforehand it's more of a standard-issue accompaniment rather than something AF did just for this track. Misemono Koya no Mahou Tsukai is notable not just because the title is longer than the song itself but because the vocal effect (or lack of one for that matter) renders Kenzi virtually inaudible. Hakanai Hito Yose Panda renders Kenzi just as audibly warped but that's because he sounds like static in some parts and words are lost.

Finally, some tracks are just meant to be played live and the CD doesn't do it justice. I can see the crowd yelling along "Ore wa aoru na!" while Kenzi jumps onto something dangerous and requests medical assistance during Ore wa aoru na!. Bakuretsu Toshi sounds like it was meant to finish lives and feels rather contained on a CD with no ballads or mid-tempo songs. Kurage sounds like a fierce piece of music that the band could continue on at a portion of a live for five minutes while the crowd jumps around because it feels like a pure rush of energy.

Kyousouroku's most staggering problem out of all of them is the amount of tracks. I don't think this was meant to be listened to all in one sit. I chose to end the review here because I'm trying to get a good overall view of the album across but there's so many songs it's virtually impossible without making this review any longer than it is (and I feel that if I keep going I'm going to lose interest in the reader). I personally feel that in this case, more is not better. If they had just taken the songs that were longer than 2:00 and all of the unavailable tracks and arranged them in a more suiting order this album would be more cohesive, but the amount of tracks that sound too similar along with the voice effect abuse leaves the few enjoyable tracks on the album to be hard to find...or just never heard because you stop after a certain point.

It's an enjoyable album for those that like Anti Feminism and a good starting place for those that want to see how this band sounds but it's too long and too repetitive to receive a high score. It's more for those that have most of their albums and need the last few pieces of music that they don't own. 6/10.

Review: VanessA - alive=terror

I should get this out of the way since VanessA's discography is pathetic and there isn't much to go through.

01. alive=terror
02. B.M.METAMORPHOSE-murder side-
03. VERONIKA

So if you've read my CHI[MA]IRA review then you know the deal. If you don't, let me summarize. alive=terror, both the album and the song, is a pathetic effort by a band that not only doesn't have an original sound, but has to contend with UnsraW for attention.

I am completely of the mind that if Genki stuck with singing this band as a whole would be better, since his growls sound like they're put through a lot of sound editing, and even as such they really don't sound that good. The entire structure of this song, although played OK, are so completely unoriginal they turn me away from the start. The beginning of the song is jarring and it sounds like they cut out part of it, but when it gets going and you get on your feet it's not all that bad. The main problems are the vocals, which suck thorughout most of the song. The bark and call verses are horribly done, and even Genki's roars sound dull. They substitute volume for passion and try to blow your ears out by throwing crap vocals after crap vocals on you, all one octave lower than the other. alive=terror is pretty br00tal and not the good kind of br00tal. It's the kind of br00tal that makes you want to jab q-tips in your ears until you bleed. Their first few releases were WAY more enjoyable than this. The best part of alive=terror is Genki's singing at the chorus, which is pretty damn good but can't save this song.

B.M.METAMORPHOSE-murder side- sounds like an elephant getting buttraped, almost to the point of being unlistenable. The other versions of this song are a lot more enjoyable than this, since it's a cacophony of guitar and dinosaur roars. Even the drummer bashes his kit wildly. It's the perfect track for a psychopath's mind but even as such I don't remember it by the time it finishes. Senselessly screamy, senselessly heavy, it's definitely the weakest track. It's not even worth the hard drive space.

VERONIKA is far and away the best song on the single, featuring more singing than the previous two songs combined. THIS really should have been the single on this track, even though the style and presentation reminds me a bit of Memory Lapse. It has enough of Genki's belches to satisfy those that actually like it, but not enough to make me want to die a horrible, withering death. VERONIKA isn't worth buying the single but it's decent. And from this single, decent is a gift.

I can't even say maybe the band will follow in the path of VERONIKA because CHI[MA]IRA has more guttural growls mixed in with the singing (it's all presented better though). So to sum it all up: 1 not-so-decent track, 1 horrible track, and 1 good track.

3/10

Review: Gackt - Lost Angels

By the time Gackt's third single is released everyone's too afraid to go buy it....

1. Lost Angels
2. No Reason
3. Suddenly
4. Lost Angels (Instrumental)
5. No Reason (Instrumental)
6. Suddenly (Instrumental)

I was actually shocked by the length of the title track at first: it's over six and a half minutes long, and in those six minutes it does very little to variate. It seems a ton of Gackt's songs follow a pattern and this isn't an exception. It starts out with some nice piano and violin work and then bursts out into some rock which is a usual Gackt move. If Koakuma Heaven was disco and Faraway was pop-rock, Lost Angels shows more of Gackt's newer rock style. For some reason though, this song strikes me as if Mars and Diabolos had a baby. It sounds nice but it's rather boring and too familiar.

No Reason starts out harder than Lost Angels and moves at an overall faster pace. Even though it's a heavy piece of rock it's different. There aren't any noticeable stylistic changes but it's different from his later pieces of rock which usually are in your face with it's attitude while this song stays more reserved. It reminds me of Black Stone in the way Gackt delivers his vocals, but it's noticeably different so it feels like more of a cousin (yes I know that sounds weird). No Reason isn't as majestic as the title track but it doesn't try to be. It's straightforward and a wonderful track to include that compliments rather than tries to compete with the A-side. Best song here.

Suddenly starts out low like Lost Angels but the drumwork in this song stands out from the minute it first starts. This song is a perfect example of how electronic effects should be used in a song because it's used sparingly in parts but it's noticeable and it works. Gackt doesn't rely on the effects to make the song: he just uses it to accentuate an already great song. The guitar wails in the background remind me a little of the guitarwork in the eccentric Cube but it's minor and it melts into the background and doesn't take over. Suddenly works a lot like No Reason on this single and it works, although the song might be a little too tame for some people to enjoy.

Then of course we get the instrumentals, but this time we get three instead of two. The instrumental for Lost Angels works better than it has for any single since Ghost and it grants more of an appreciation for the instrumentation of the title track. The other two feel like add-on's but I surmise it would be worse if they weren't included to begin with.

This single more than satisfies my Gackt cravings and it's a good effort from a superb artist. The only thing I can hope now is that Flower is just as good as this single. 4 out of 5.

Review: Versailles - Ascendead Master (Regular Edition only)

As I sit here watching part of the Ascendead Master PV I'm thinking three things concurrently. One is how this music video would feature a guy I totally know is a dude but that looks like a girl and I can't stop staring at even though he's obviously a guy. The second is how I need to get some sleep because I have an important test the next day. The third, and probably most nagging, is the recurring thought that I've had ever since I got the announcement at the C.C. Lemon Hall that Versailles was going major. I have a thing for indies bands I like going major, since they all seem to take a bite off the suck stick in some form. D, a band who had a similar concept to Versailles a few years ago, went major and the quality of their works took a nosedive. Galneryus also met a similar fate, but that's because of a change of musicians, but alas their music also had gone down in quality somewhat. Hell, even the more attention the GazettE gets causes their music to slowly become more and more stale and less inventive as times move on. I'd even hate to include my favorite metal outfit Dir en grey in this because their Marrow of a Bone album was a stripped down wall of noise that I really don't like to this day but can stand if I'm in the mood.

So as I count down the days to Ascendead Master's release, one I've been holding with bated breath, I constantly wondered how much this song would change Versailles style. Versailles isn't the type of band that is really innovative: Kamijo, with all his experience in the music world with Lareine and New Sodmy, doesn't experiment with his voice. He's always been in his safe zone belting out notes that we've already heard and doesn't do anything that I can remotely consider risky. I've just recently learned Teru takes charge of most of Versailles solos even though Hizaki is literally the face of Versailles, and the other two members (Jasmine You and Yuki respectively) haven't gotten the required amount of attention in my head in order to consider a band balanced. Sure, Kamijo and Hizaki have egos the size of Gackt's combined, but would this affect the band's musical performance? Would the song recycle unoriginal riffs with overused neoclassical guitar seeps? Would Kamijo continue to use auto-tune? Would it sound like an X-Japan song and take Versailles out of their element, causing them to abandon what little innovation they've carved over the last two years in a chance to be commercially successful? Or would Ascendead Master completely blow away all expectations that I held for it and restore some of the bite in Versailles metal that has been sorely lacking since Aristocrat's Symphony?

Would it even return to the epic masterpiece that was The Revenant Choir?

Too many questions were swirling through my head as I sat for the live broadcast of Versailles music video Ascendead Master. As impartial as I tried to be there's always going to be some bias and I'm always going to be influenced more by what other people say (usually the negative more so than the positive since they have to actually provide reasons for their dislike and they tend to be valid most of the time). I listened to the song once, twice, nay, I lost track to be completely honest with you all. I just needed to find something to be hooked onto.

Did I?

Ascendead Master - Regular Edition -
1. ASCENDEAD MASTER (Music: HIZAKI/Lyrics: KAMIJO)
2. 月下香 (Music and Lyrics: HIZAKI)
3. DESCENDANT OF THE ROSE [SOUNDTRACK]


Ascendead Master - Limited Edition A -
1. ASCENDEAD MASTER (Music: HIZAKI/Lyrics: KAMIJO)
2. HALLWAY [SOUNDTRACK] (Music: KAMIJO)
DVD: Part 1 of the Ascendead Master Movie


Ascendead Master - Limited Edition B -
1. ASCENDEAD MASTER (Music: HIZAKI/Lyrics: KAMIJO)
2. PILGRIM [SOUNDTRACK] (Music: KAMIJO)
DVD: Part 2 of the Ascendead Master Movie


Ascendead Master - Limited Edition C -
1. ASCENDEAD MASTER (Music: HIZAKI/Lyrics: KAMIJO)
2. COVENANT [SOUNDTRACK] (Music: KAMIJO)
DVD: Part 3 of the Ascendead Master Movie

Now to actually start talking about the single. To start off with the aesthetic portion of the video that they've aired on TV, my fear that Jasmine and Yuki (and to an extent Teru) won't get enough screen time. And face it, if they didn't get any now then they weren't going to get any at any time during Versailles' career. In fact, they've gotten more screen time than ever before, and it's nice to see Versailles slowly crawling towards a band effort rather than Kamijo and Hizaki leading the other three blindly.

The 15 minute short movie that they filmed for this single is atrocious and lulzworthy, just like I expected it to be. The acting was downright horrible, the voiceover was hilarious, and I felt like I was watching a Jackson Pollock painting about eternal life. In spite of all of that (and the fact that sans Kamijo is in the movie the most, with Yuki barely being in it at all IIRC) the short video is pretty funny to watch, especially because Versailles takes themselves way too seriously.

I also find it funny how they credit the entire band when I have a sneaking suspicion it was Kamijo who wrote the whole script.

I can't say the actual song is a sell-out by Versailles. Rather, the song sounds just like everything else they've ever released, which really isn't a bad thing unless you were expecting something unrealistic to happen. Think it through and tell me at what point would it make sense for Versailles to take a risk for their first ever major single release. As a song, Ascendead Master rocks hard but some portions leave me wondering what the hell they were going for because it didn't really work out. One passage in particular is the part before Hizaki and Teru's solo. What was supposed to happen there? It sounds just like improvisation to me. Another part that caught my attention was the energy of the song later on before Kamijo goes higher. I felt that it was there that the band put their all into the song and it raised a notch in quality. When all is said and done, Ascendead Master ends on a haunting piano note and leaves a good, familiar taste in your mouth.

Gekkakou is harder than the title track, and a lot more experimentation goes on in this track by what my ears hear. I was always of the mind that Teru composed most of Versailles heavier tracks (e.g.: TO THE CHAOS INSIDE, SECOND FEAR -ANOTHER DESCENDANT-) but this song comes from Hizaki so it carries a different feel that I don't often hear in their music. In fact, it's downright dark in some parts and even the somewhat upbeat chorus doesn't take away from that too much. I even hear a part where Jasmine gets to show off, something he never gets to do often and Yuki shines the brightest with his drumming out of all of the band members. Kamijo's voice variates a little and there's a section with harsh vocals coming from everyone that almost made me wet my pants followed by Kamijo doing something else with his voice for 3.4 seconds. The primary reason why I think Gekkakou is a B-side and not an A-side is that it doesn't carry the sense of epicness that all Versailles A-sides do. Gekkakou is too different in nature to compare to Ascendead Master but it does make better listening for those that thought Ascendead Master was too generic and needed something more original to hear. Maybe this will make the single worth purchasing to some and is quite a credit to Hizaki's compositional ability.

Remember Silent Knight from the Prince & Princess singles? Well, they got together and had an offspring aptly titled Descendant of the Rose. It's a rather short piece, which is a shame because it's downright epic, moreso than the title track. I sense a bit of new flavor I haven't heard before. If it were longer by at least another half a minute it'd be a lovely piece of work to listen to since it's very experimental in Versailles standards, but it's brief length is a shame and takes away from the song a little bit.

Because it took me so long to find the limited edition soundtracks, you can find my thoughts on them here. Sorry to have to break it up like that. At this moment though, the Regular Edition of Ascendead Master gets a 4 out of 5. The limited editions get 3.8 out of five.

Update: Music Player

As you can see, I put a music player on the side. I'll update the player every so often with some of the music that I discuss so you can listen while you read what I think about it. I'm still working on it so it's not done yet.

Review: Sadie - Struggle against betrayal

Wow, what a joyous way to start a song off:

I KILL MYSELF
I POUR MY ROTTEN BLOOD ON YOU
CRY FOR YOU

I knew there was a reason why I didn't like this song too much upon first listen, even if Mao's English is indecipherable.

01. Struggle against betrayal

So now that I have the lyrics (which are below if you want them) I can make an informed decision. I really hate this song. It's got too much screaming, Mao doesn't sing and the lyrics don't even have anything to do with struggling against betrayal. It doesn't even help that the entire song is in English and that the lyrics are your typical "I'm angry so I'm going to spout disgusting and dirty yet ultimately impossible things". For example, how are you going to kill yourself and then pour your rotten blood on someone? It's these types of lyrics that leave me wondering why this song was recorded in the first place.

If you're looking to buy it for whatever reason that may be, it was live distributed so good luck trying to find someone that wants to let go of it. Maybe not so much, since this song really isn't that good. Even though Mao speaks in English it comes across as gibberish as he combines three sentences into one and exhales it all in one scream so it's incoherent blabber that would make you laugh rather than fear him or wince.

The instrumentation isn't that good either. It's the kind of buzzawing guitar that explodes eardrums and it sounds like the boys recorded this a couple of hours before the show, and they probably did judging from the quality of this song. I have nothing noteworthy to say about any part of this song. It's a shitty version of Grieving the Dead Soul.

This is the worst Sadie song ever written. One out of five.

Lyrics

I kill myself
I pour my rotten blood on you.
Cry for you.

I hate you making a fool of me.
I want to murder you decieving me.
Let a restrained tangle loose.
I don't want to hear the excuse.
I already got tired of hearing the falsehood.
I'm drowned, and nothing looks sorrowful.
My heartless instinct makes darkness.
What is the thing which can save me
who was about to be broken?

Betrayal (fuck off)
Can you hear my pains and crys?
The reality gives me fear cruelly.

I pray with all my malice.
Disturb... disturb...

Review: The GazettE - Distress and Coma

Before I get into the review, there are two things that I should mention:

1) The Auditory Version comes with the music video while the Optical Impression comes with the music video. Most of the time, it really comes down to personal preference as to which one you want more. I always felt that with YouTube having multiple copies of the music video before it even gets released the Optical Impression was a bit redundant so I advised you to always go with the Auditory Impression. Unlike most The GazettE singles, however, Distress and Coma falls under a peculiar quirk that I'll get into when I start the review.

2) The advantage to having the DIM track list in front of me is that assessing the value of past singles becomes a lot easier. And with the advent of DIM coming, I'm questioning the value of any person buying this single. I'll get into this shortly as well.

Distress and Coma -Optical Impression-
01. Distress and Coma
02. Headache Man
DVD: Distress and Coma [PV]


Distress and Coma -Auditory Impression-
01. Distress and Coma
02. Headache Man
03. Without a Trace

Now to get into the major problem I see with this single: with DIM's release coming up and the album having both Distress and Coma and Headache Man on it, the Optical Impression is rendered near obsolete. Now that apparently would make the Auditory Impression the one to buy, but in a change of pace I'll review Without a Trace first.

Without a Trace is the softest song out of the trio, and I find it horribly boring. It doesn't climax at any point in the song to create something beautiful. The singing is nice and they bring in violins for this single, much like for the title track. The guitar work is also nice but the bass and drums are missing for portions of the song at a time. When they do come in though, the track becomes a little more interesting, but not much more. I just feel like this song lacks life in some parts of it. If you're in the mood for a soft song this song might do the trick, but compared to their other work such as Cassis, Calm Envy and even Guren this song lacks.

The final track poses a problem, as you're either paying to get the music video for Distress and Coma (which is excellent might I add) but making the physical CD obsolete or paying to get a sub-par final track and making the rest of the CD obsolete. Either way, you don't get much so I would advise you just don't buy the CD at all and wait until the album to experience both the tracks.

As for Distress and Coma, it's the best single they've released out of the three. It combines the ballad-esque style of Guren with the guitars and edge of Hole and threw some violins and directions to the mix. If there was one song that I could compare this to, it would be Nausea and Shudder from the NIL album, but a little less excellent than that. Other than the fact that they repeat the refrain once too often and the song runs for longer than it should, it's a fantastic track that gets a near-perfect score from me. It almost erases the aptly titled STACKED RUBBISH.

Headache Man...could have used some work. The song will literally give you a headache at parts, and Ruki honestly fails at screaming. They tried channeling some Slipknot and mildly succeeded, but then didn't at other parts. The part at 1:00 should have been the chorus to this song and had that been so I would like this more. But of course, they have a "WE ARE THE CAUSE OF YOUR HEADACHE" repeat, repeat, repeat RAWR thing going on in the song. They also brought back the disc jockey effects like from Defective Tragedy but it's abused rather than used. It takes a few listens to grow but it's not going to be my favorite track of all time. Stick with Distress and Coma.

If you're dead-set on buying this single, I would actually stream "Without a Trace" first and see if you enjoy it. Seeing as how I didn't, I would recommend that you buy the Optical Impression once more (I actually recommend you don't buy it at all and wait until DIM) and get an awesome music video instead of a just OK ballad / mid-tempo song. 4 out of 5, and that's only because of the A-side.

Review: The GazettE - LEECH

Every The GazettE single since Filth in the Beauty seems to have a problem in my eyes. Most of it comes from the marketing that this band employs, which basically forces the hardcore fans of the band to purchase the single twice in order to get everything. Leech is no exception to this rule.

Leech - Optical Impression-
01. Leech
02. Distorted Daytime
LEECH [PV]

Leech -Auditory Impression-
01. Leech
02. Distorted Daytime
03. Hole

Ominous tone aside, the song Leech is pretty satisfying. Even if it still samples some water from the generic cooler, it has more of the bands signature sound than Guren. The female vocals return to haunt the listener here, and they really don't fit in but it's not that bad since the song is loud and infectious. The band also plays as if they're having fun again, instead of just making music just to make it, and that spark is what makes this track work. In short, Leech is what I was looking forward to as their next single. It isn't the best they've released ever, but in a string of sub-par releases this song shines.

Distorted Daytime is a song on both singles and it's the only other track on the Optical Impression. If you want a quick idea of what this track sounds like, imagine you getting jumped in the alley by this band. Got a good idea? It's different in nature from the first track but it doesn't feature any annoying backvocals at all. In fact, most of the lyrics to this song are in English. I've heard this song likened to Tokio Hotel and to be honest I can't hear it. If you like Tokio Hotel, take a look at this track and see if you agree, and if you don't then you might not hear it like me. Overall, it's an excellent track and my only minor complaint is that the fade at the end takes a grand 24 seconds to finish.

Somewhere in one of my older reviews I stated the difference between the two versions so I'll sum it up again: Auditory Version comes with the music video while Optical Impression comes with the music video. Most of the time, it really comes down to personal preference as to which one you want more. I always felt that with YouTube having multiple copies of the music video before it even gets released the Optical Impression was a bit redundant so I advised you to always go with the Auditory Impression.

This is not one of those times.

It's not so much that Hole sucks, but that it doesn't fit on the single. Every other song was a hard piece of work but Hole is unsure of what it wants to do. It just meanders along, sometimes thinking it wants to be a mid-tempo song, other times thinking it wants to release a killer riff, and ultimately ending without having asserted itself. In addition, Hole feels like half a song, and when it ends I'm left wondering where the closure was. When listened to as a sole track, it works better than it does after it comes after the first two, so if you insist on getting the Auditory Impression keep that in mind.

To all The GazettE fans, I would recommend that a) you get this single and b) the Optical Impression over the Auditory Impression. Even with the inclusion of Hole, the single is still great and one of their better releases in the last year or so. 4 out of 5.

Review: ScReW - Racial Mixture

I'm still appalled as to why this band would designate "Racial Mixture" as a mini-album. Only four of these tracks even contain any music and even then the quality of said songs are highly debatable. As the first place I started with a band, it wasn't a very good offering. Let's see if anything on this is salvageable...

01. mongrelism
02. KAIROS
03. molder
04. 49
05. self-injurious
06. HEEL

mongrelism is an utter piece of shit. Refer back to Nega's singles dig and ill when I said that I don't understand why they need to include an instrumental track on a 3 track single? Well just double that here since it's basically the same, and if anything ScReW did it worse. It's an absolutely terrible introduction that does nothing to add from the album. Skip.

It's a no-brainer why the next track has a music video. KAIROS is the best track on the entire album hands down. It has catchy parts, a decent solo piece, a Byou that sings and doesn't mumble incoherent words, and musical composition. Compared to the rest of the single, I get the impression that this is the only track they spent time working on, which is quite sad because this track has the makings of a single in it and it's shoved in with all this shit. KAIROS has some flaws in it but overall it's good, and by the time you're done here you'll be wishing just decent was something this band could consistently achieve on this CD. A definite listen.

molder is underwhelming after KAIROS. It has some cool passages but it's marred by random noises issuing from Byou's voice, too much mumbling, and annoying noises from somewhere here and there. The piece after the second repeat of the chorus is nice so they really should have just cut there after the first time they sung the chorus and ended the song there. molder doesn't evolve at any time during the song and I get way too bored sometimes to finish it out, especially knowing what Byou's voice does at the end, which I think could have been done better but doesn't add any points to a just average track.

49 is worse than mongrelism. I have no idea why the title is the way it is and it's completely unnecessary. If I wanted drums blasting into my eardrum I could pick any other track on this CD and be accompanied with deafening music. This is just dull, and the sad part is these instrumentals are more listenable than some of the other tracks here. 49 is still shitty though.

self-injurious is perhaps a saving grace after 49, and it doesn't even mix with the previous track making 49's existence questionable. Perhaps the only other track worth a listen, if you're this far in you should listen just because the punishment is almost over. So much more could have been done with this track, but unlike half of this mini, it's listenable as is and doesn't feature unnecessary shit in the background. It also sports a killer riff and the chorus features some "ooo"s in the background that are slightly memorable.

HEEL is a great way to end a sub-par mini-album. It's absolute shit. Producing random noise without any melody is such a hard thing to do, and all the all the blabbering, yelling, whispering and talking made me want to cut off my balls and throw them at people. Byou should just stick to screaming the lyrics. Ironically, the best part of this track is when it stops halfway in, and so should you.

This mini-album really sucks, since they advertise six songs and only two are decent. I have not much more to say about this here. Just listen to the two songs I suggest and skip the rest and listen to something more pleasing. Two good tracks equals two earned out of five.

Review: girugämesh - ALIVE

After the divisive, electric serving that was "MUSIC", it wasn't hard to predict that their next single would follow in the electrorock style that they've been following so far along. The main problem with this single is that they don't move their style far along enough, and while Alive is initially satisfying, it's just more of the same.

01. Alive
02. Gamble

Don't get my thoughts wrong; Alive is still a solid track but it comes off as more of a leftover MUSIC track than a new style all their own. Had this been included on their MUSIC CD it would have been one of the best tracks out of the 12 they offered, and at a 35 minute run-time this was sorely needed (especially since it's over four minutes). But after a band releases an album, their next effort is to take that style and push it farther. girugamesh didn't do that here. It's more of the same girugamesh heaviness and somewhere along the line I feel like I've heard most of these riffs somewhere before. However, Alive does make use of less of the effects than some of the songs in MUSIC and makes listening to the track easier on the ears. So while it doesn't evolve their style, it's a good song. And that's it.

If Alive borrowed riffs, Gamble borrows sound structure. In a sort of mash-up between patchwork and Break Down along with a little Angry Juice thrown in, Gamble seems even more stale than it's predecessor, albeit with it's own original flavor thrown in. The chorus is also underwhelming and Gamble ultimately comes off as one of their weaker tracks, but then again it is a B-side.

In conclusion, Alive is just another release of two high energy tracks with little to no diversity from their predecessors. There's no immediate album coming up sometime soon but whatever may be in the works, they need to start sampling more gems like puzzle and less like Break Down. Diversity is key in any band and girugamesh is lacking some. Overall, this single gets a 3.5 out of 5.

Review: Metal Safari - Return to my Blood

If you want Pantera in Japanese, look no farther than Metal Safari. All I can say is “fuck. yes.”. If you’re in the mood for musically diverse pieces, don’t try this. It’s all one headbashing fest after another with some surprises sprinkled in. If you’re about to stick your foot up someone’s ass, use this first. You’ll scare the shit out of someone.

1. The Beginning
2. Return To My Blood
3. Kou*
4. Hell’s Blast
5. Brand New God Pt.1
6. Brand New God Pt.2
7. Unfounded
8. The Lost Actuality*
9. Disgusted
10. Beautiful Murder
11. The Metal Bastard
12. Koushikai

*Kou and The Lost Actuality PV's are messed up because of YouTube. The latter is listenable but the former not so much.

The first track, aptly titled The Beginning, is a track full of acoustics. Well, thanks for stating the obvious. You might have well called this “song” or “music” or “Track 1″. ACOUSTICS! My goodness, after listening to Hell’s Blast I never thought that this band would open with something like this. I expected something soul-crushing, aneurysm bursting, neck straining rock piece. This is a nice surprise and there’s no switch half-way in. I’m almost not sure if this is METAL SAFARI because it’s so unlike them. And for that, I love this band so much right now. It’s nice, experimental, taking risks, and it’s just long enough to keep my attention but not short enough to be crap. It fades out slowly and goes into the next track, which is Return to My Blood. YES, SOME HARD ROCK. It’s a nice contrast to the first track but the guitars somehow match with The Beginning. It’s something almost as jarring as THE MARROW OF A BONE’s beginning but this track is a few seconds shorter than The Beginning. This hard rush of adrenaline is pretty cool and I like the guitars. Describing themselves as a metal band with groove was an apt description. Finesse in guitars, notes that are being hit, drums that aren’t overbearing…this is why I listen to Japanese metal. And let’s not forget the vocalist’s vocal notes. He’s pretty diverse with his vocals and he gets pretty close to what he would consider “singing”.

Kou sounds like throw down with a fear factory chorus thrown in. Put it up there with Hell’s Blast; it’s awesome. The PV doesn’t seem to work right for me, and it sounds nothing like the actual song. I think it’s sped up unintentionally. It’s miles better. And the SOLO….it’s just YES. Kou is definitely the best song on the album.

I TRIED not to like HELL’S BLAST at first. I really did. But for some reason, when this song was playing a smile cracked over my face. I’ve fallen into softer music lately but this song brought me back to the metal side. I don’t know what happened to me but HELL’S BLAST smacked me like a little bitch and said “headbang”. The only disappointment that I have is that the song fizzles out at the end but the last riff tries to save it. Tries, not does. It's still a good listenable track though. The guitars are nice and polished and the beginning with the guitar and bass mixing thing was what got me started. If this were an instrumental, it would kick ass. The vocalist might put some people off that insist that they need digitized “singing” in order to enjoy a song. This is definitely one of the better songs on this album, and I’m listening as I type.

I’m going to smash Brand New God together as one track even though they’re two seperate ones. It comes in where Hell’s Blast left off and it comes from a fade in to a nice riff. The drummer has some funky sense of rhythm here and the vocalist is roaring as usual. Really, only the first track is actually a track, since the second one is barely a minute long. I don’t like this one as much as I liked Hell’s Blast but it’s still a solid song. Well, the first one anyway. I can’t even describe the second as a SONG. The overlaying of the vocals might seem a bit extreme near the end of the first track but it’s nothing too serious. He does roar a lot in this song, I must admit. The first song ends with a fade out and the second song begins with some guitar. It’s not overbearing or loud. I think it might be acoustic but I can’t really tell. He actually sings in this track! It’s a shame this track is so short but it’s alright. I’ll take some diversity over none. The guitars and the singing begin later on in the track but the beginning diversity was enough for me. Wish he didn’t scream out the track -_-.

Unfounded is where the praise starts to fizzle out a bit, for the sole purpose that from here on in to the last track all the songs are headbangers in the same vein. I'm going to sum all the following tracks up in quick succession until Koushikai because until then they all kinda sound the same. Individually, they all sound excellent but when put together it gets monotonous. Unfounded is an excellent track with vocal work that you'll remember. The Lost Actuality is up there with Hell’s Blast for me on this album for “most intense headbanger” and you can view the video so this is even shorter. Disgusted is obviously another headbanger but after the last two tracks it doesn't measure of as well. Beautiful Murder fares a little better than Disgusted and is a solid track but offers a little too much of the same with little to no variation present. The Metal Bastard sums up the succession of headbangers with an excellent riff and a slight change in vocals as well as some funky one-ear guitar play to make it somewhat memorable, so it's the best after The Lost Actuality here.

Koushikai ends off the album and it's the only mid-tempo song on the album, and I use mid-tempo very, very lightly here. It's not balls-to-the-wall metal like the last 5 tracks but it's no Brand New God Part II either. This song gets a nice mention mostly because it exists so the album doesn't end teetering. On it's own, it's a decent song but when placed in the spectrum of the album it acutally benefits more because of it's much-needed inclusion.

Overall, musical variation isn't something Metal Safari is striving for, but I at least hope the next album they're recording experiments with different levels of harshness for it's tracks. I also hope to see the vocalist sing a bit more often. He's got a really nice voice when he chooses to use it. I would also bet anything I could enjoy some of the songs a bit more if I knew the lyrics.

This album gets a 3.5 out of 5.

Review: Nega - dig

I managed to stop lol'ing enough to review it.

01. death warrant
02. idle
03. guilt trip

So we have the other half of Nega's double release campaign and I have to say after a few listens this CD is the better of the pair. It comes with death warrant, which is still an opener but it doesn't fail. It just sucks. The haunting piano melody that it starts out with was a nice touch to the album but it doesn't go anywhere. It repeats until it tires itself out and the novelty wears off. Now if Nega had made a decent song out of it then this single would be infinitely superior to ill, but as of now it's just better.

idle to me is the only good song that Nega released out of the six they recorded, and it's the main reason why dig is better than ill. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end for one. It's transitions from hard to soft, while still suckish and in need of improvement, work and fare better than in labia, and Jin's singing isn't utterly atrocious and the lyrics aren't laughable. This is the only song I recommend you listen to.

guilt trip is a wreck. It starts out soft and it's obviously a ballad about, iono, GUILT, and it does well for seven minutes. Had it ended right there I would have called it a nice ballad that lacked a little bit of energy but overall is worth a listen. In the last minute, Jin manages to singlehandedly steal the show and shit all over the hard work with his UNGAAH-ing. I can understand what he was attempting to do and I give him props for his musical "genius" but he should realize that he only knows how to scream one way and that's his simulation of upchucking on the microphone. And in some songs (like muddy cult) he does it well and in other songs, like this, it fails. He should have just shut up.

If you want some lulz play it. Otherwise, I guarantee you embarassment if you listen to it on stereo.

dig is a better single than ill, but that's because the former has one decent song while the latter has none that can compare. Here's hoping to Grave of the Sacrifice that the song guilt trip has a re-recording that does it justice. 2.5 out of 5