This review will attempt to put into words how fantastic of an offering this album truly is. You all better be thankful I actually pulled myself together long enough to put together propaganda for JUBILEE.
JUBILEE -Method of Inheritance-
Tracklist:
1. God Palace -Method of Inheritance-
2. Ascendead Master
3. Rosen Schwert
4. Ai to Kanashimi no Nocturne
5. Amorphous
6. Reminiscence
7. Catharsis
8. The Umbrella of Glass
9. Gekkakou
10. PRINCESS -Revival of church-
11. Serenade
12. Sound in Gate
Even though the Quintet is now a Quartet in form, the lack of bassist Jasmine You doesn't detract any from this album. Hell, the knowledge that this is his last recorded work adds a tinge of a mystical aspect to this album. Place that on top of the fact that each and every member of the band increased almost tenfold in execution, the structure of the songs are definitely more varied and that this band takes risks left and right and they all pay off and you've got what I don't hesitate at any moment to call Versailles magnum opus.
Jubilee -Method of Inheritance- kicks off with the incredibly complex and flooring God Palace -Method of Inheritance-. The presence of this track alone in all of its 10:30 glory shows that even right out the gate (excuse the pun if you will) they're changing up their formula. Both Lyrical Sympathy and Noble started out with short little instrumental pieces that set the tone for the album as a whole but didn't necessarily flow with the next track. God Palace goes in the completely opposite direction and asserts what is undeniably Versailles longest and most ambitious piece to date. Composed by vocalist Kamijo (surprisingly) the song starts with fury fierce enough to rip your balls from betwixt your legs. Granted, due to the bloated nature of the song and the numerous stylistic changes Kamijo employed in its run time it's a tad hard to follow and keep up with. I daresay that this is as fabulous as his work on the track The Love From a Dead Orchestra. Judging from the preview I didn't know how Kamijo could make such a captivating intro last ten minutes but that's due to the fact that the trip is more of an emotional rollercoaster instead of an epic sludge of metal and I believe that works much, much better. The new voice actor even makes an appearance around four minutes in, adding just a touch of awesome to the track. Speedy metal solos are abound and Kamijo even does some new things with his voice, including a falsetto that he can hold, a tenor that he can hold and this sexy pained half-roar near the end that made my jaw drop. This track gets infinitely better with subsequent listens and is possibly the best album opener I've heard ever.
If you recall, back in June when I first reviewed Ascendead Master I stated this:
“A fog hangs over the black sea,
The people rowed out and God sank”
Perhaps it is not the best example of what new styles Versailles has brought into their sonic soundscape but it’s undeniably one of the catchier numbers. It’s been retrofitted with a new recording and sharper production and the band members have never sounded so together before. No one overpowers anyone and the weird unbalanced feeling that exuded from the original has been rectified. I definitely suggest everyone check this one out.
Rosen Schwert definitely is the weakest track on this album but by no means is it bad. Rosen Schwert is to Jubilee what Shouts & Bites was to Lyrical Sympathy. It was meant to appeal more to those who can’t readily accept the blazing solos and complex rhythms that Versailles regularly employs. Other than that comparison I really can’t go too in-depth and explain exactly why Rosen Schwert just isn’t as good as the rest of the album but when anything’s sandwiched in between Ascendead Master and Ai to Kanashimi no Nocturne most songs wouldn’t look too good either. It’s great but it won’t overwhelm you with glee.
Speaking of which, Ai to Kanashimi no Nocturne starts off with one hell of an introduction. In what sounds like Aikaryu reborn, guitarist Teru manages to craft almost five minutes of what can be called one of the most solid additions to Versailles’ ever growing catalogue of quality songs. On Noble, I felt that some of Teru’s compositions were a little lacking (most notably To the Chaos Inside, which I felt was repetitive and lacked the Versailles charm) but here Teru injected massive amounts of technical prowess mixed with earnest experimentation and his own personal method of composition to create a track that’s totally not Versailles, yet suits them in ways unimaginable. For those that were expecting something along the lines of Second Fear or zombie, you may be disappointed seeing as how Teru has dropped the horror aspect of his compositions to make way for what I can only describe as opera rock. Let this not discourage you however – Ai to Kanashimi no Nocturne comes with one of the best Versailles solos of them all coupled with a chorus vocal line that will get easily stuck in your head (lets not also forget Kaya's in this one. Look out for him in the chorus - he's a little hard to spot but he lends to the track nicely). I can’t see how someone couldn’t like this track.
Judging from the previews, Amorphous came off to me as an almost bland song, which I thought was unimaginable coming from a group as inventive as Versailles. Of course, the entire track is something completely different than I could have imagined and includes two things that Versailles hasn’t done before – acoustic guitars all up and down the track and a viola that drives the track more than the guitars. Amorphous is definitely a more laid-back approach to their typical music and sounds like it channels some Windress in the fact that the song isn’t blazing fast as per usual. The solo echoes Prince in that airy, far away feeling before kicking into some badassery and the chorus is catchy. I must also mention that Yuki’s drumming stands out the most in this song than it has so far. Unlike songs like After Cloudia where he’s drumming faster than the Energizer bunny for four minutes straight Yuki seems to have learned when to tone it down and when to speed it up. This also isn’t typical Versailles but this type of experimentation is definitely welcome and this serves as a wonderful contrast to Ai to Kanashimi no Nocturne.
Reminiscence is notable for the absence of the bass guitar and the relative absence of the drums. The composition is undeniably Renaissance inspired (as shown by the time signature employed by Teru as well as the percussion instruments he employs, the rather basic but effective polyphony and the directionless aspect of the track) and this is truly a guitar-driven track. Yuki’s drumming has taken a backseat and what this does is give the song an almost vintage feel that really does differentiate it from every other track here. He comes in near the apex of the song and drives the song to an almost explosive finish – well as explosive as a two minute instrumental can get. Absolutely stunning, Reminiscence is a track worth listening to.
For those looking to a link to past Versailles work, Catharsis feels very familiar whilst being something completely new and fresh. Tribal drumming and choir chanting signals the opening of Catharsis, creating what I can call the most imaginative Versailles opening yet. Kamijo, Kaya and company jump in with a bang and even though the song switches gears it all feels fluid. This is yet another one of those tracks where the preview did absolutely no justice and made me think this track was also going to drag but it does far from that. Catharsis reveals yet another facet of Versailles in that it’s the fourth track in a row where they’ve done things musically that they haven’t done before. It’s yet another step forward in Versailles finding their core sound and even though they play very fast and employs solos and it follows some aspects of the usual “Versailles songs” they switch some things up. The chorus is almost seamless, the Kaya and female back-vocals add another dimension to the vocals and don’t make them feel flat a la the Prince & Princess single and the twin solo is definitely stellar – even better than the one in Ai to Kanashimi no Nocturne. Needless to say that I suggest you check this out too.
The Umbrella of Glass brings some tribal drumming back in sections and combines it with some wonderful acoustic strumming to give this slower song some welcome diversity. It’s a slight notch down in the relentless attack that Jubilee has presented so far but it’s no less great than anything else so far. I just feel that in an album where they’ve taken so many different inspirations and have managed to incorporate them left and right this just feels a bit too “standard” (and sounds WAY TOO MUCH like Windress). Despite that feeling, I do have to admit that they’ve even improved on their “standard” sound – the violin adds welcome polyphony and doesn’t create a guitar-only atmosphere and the bass does some really cool things near the end. However, I do not like the way the song just fades out. Oh well, this song is far from a complete miss but when you think Jubilee I don’t believe this track will be the first to jump out at you.
Gekkakou returns for the album! I initially felt that it was better than Ascendead Master and that notion still rings true. It doesn’t add anything new music wise but everything is sharper. I appreciate the raise in the organ touch around 3:25. Jasmine’s bass solo is still wonderful, the Latin is still amusing, and the guitar section around 3:52-4:07 is just wonderful to listen to and displays how well Teru and Hizaki work together as a team. If you’ve heard it, you’re definitely going to want to try this song out again and if you haven’t it’s one of the standouts of this album.
Listening to Princess makes me feel like I just ejaculated and then my imaginary girlfriend wants to go for round two. No matter how many different tricks she tries, or how long she attempts to continue on for, none of it comes up satisfying and I may just end up turning over and falling asleep. Versailles is a band that typically writes 8+ minute songs but they all aren't composed equally. Princess is that song that's at the lower end of this spectrum because it is bloated. It starts off with a captivating organ and guitar lines, but two minutes later it lost the edge it started with and Princess strikes with the rubber end of a blunted sword. As this song drones on and on for its eight minute runtime, it feels like Hizaki tried to throw everything at the listener. The song becomes increasingly darker, increasingly repetitive, increasingly frenetic and increasingly boring. Princess lacks the edge that most other Versailles songs have in varying quantities and does nothing for my Versailles fix.
Versailles didn’t just adjust some of the EQ’s for the instruments – they out and out re-recorded this song. Princess –Revival of Church- is nothing short of a late-album monster, utterly destroying everything since Ai to Kanashimi no Nocturne. Kamijo’s vocals are the most effective here than they have been all album and the “Dear my Princess” duet before the jump into the chorus the first time around is nothing short of epic. The new wind, ominous chanting and church bell introduction fits into the mood of Jubilee better than the equally as brilliant organ intro from the original but from there this song just ravages. Jasmine’s bass doesn’t completely overpower the heavy end, the quieter verses are backed up with audible violin lines, bells come in and go at precisely the right moments, whammy bar and sweep picking are littered throughout judiciously and the guitar lines in total sound crisper than they had before. Kamijo’s English is decipherable this time around and when it kicks in the first time the change in vocal melody he employs makes it sound so much more sinister. The legato section – the portion where the original Princess loses it for me – is executed even better here and sounds perfect. I really cannot praise Princess –Revival of Church– enough – Versailles took this song and spun a complete 540, giving Princess the truly epic treatment it deserved to place it in the ranks of its brethren The Love From A Dead Orchestra, God Palace –Method of Inheritance– and History of the Other Side.
For a song that was literally recorded at the last minute, Serenade is damn good. It’s also a tribute to the deceased bassist Jasmine You, and as such Hizaki’s composition is both somber and hauntingly poetic. Reading the translated lyrics makes many a fan burst into tears all over again and the sheer beauty employed in the twin guitar melody alongside the timbre of the violin shows just how far Versailles has come with their composition. It’s no longer guitar-centric – it’s symphonic centric signifying Jasmine You’s love for slower pieces. It does a perfect job of capturing Jasmine’s beauty and potential and seeing as how I was one of those fans that requested they do a song like this I can’t imagine it to have been done any better. I believe what sets this song apart the most isn’t the fact that the lyrics are heart wrenching, but that it’s a slow song that doesn’t echo Windress. The ending violin solo is also left me speechless.
Normally I hate introductions and outros to an album but I think Versailles is the first band that managed to create an outro that isn’t tacked on without thought. The new American voice actor does one hell of an excellent job mumbling on about the storyline of Jubilee. I don’t entirely get it but his vocal performance is stellar. Overall, Sound in Gate isn’t really a song but it delivers nonetheless. Record this moment, for it’s the first time I actually enjoy an SE.
I actually prefer this side of Versailles. It shows they have diversity and musical writing ability. All those haters that said Versailles was a one-trick pony that only knows how to play fast needs to take this CD for a spin. The inclusion of acoustic guitars on some tracks were just brilliant and I also feel that this was the first time they've actually gotten the balance between all the instruments just right. I am pleased and Jubilee just gets better with every listen.
Chalk up whatever number you like – Jubilee is near perfect.
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