Review: Alice Nine - 華[hæ•nə] [Type C]

TYPE A & B REVIEW IS HERE (I know it says Type A but the only thing that separates those two from this one is the track that I'm going to review below).

I've actually known about this track for quite a while but I've been to damn lazy to go find and review it simply because there were so many things that I'd rather sit down and do instead. By that, what I mean is that there were so many other albums that I want to sit and review but ultimately not muster enough energy to do. In a few days I'm going off to college so this review was scheduled for that Thursday when I might not be able to type up a review. Is it lazy of me? Slightly but I'm thinking about all those Alice Nine fans that wait with bated breath to see what I think of High and Low.

OK, so I probably don't have any Alice Nine fans waiting on me to tell them what I think of the second B-side but I figure since I did the first two I might as well do three within the same month and leave Hana behind for good.

I still don't get the album covers at all. They're very weird and I don't see any resemblance to a flower in any form so I'm going to guess that they didn't mean flower with this single. This certainly comes nowhere close to being the "best" and there aren't any cards in this single at all. I'll cop out with the meaning "beauty".

01. Hana (<-THIS IS HOW YOU SPELL IT) 02. Sleepwalker 03. High and Low

I have just one question to ask my viewers: what the hell was this? There are just some songs that you should not know the lyrics for, and High and Low is one of them. For that same purpose, I have given you the lyrics below to kill this song for you because you honestly should not enjoy this song. First off, the song has nothing to do with High's and Low's in any manner and it could have been related to life through the metaphor of a roller coaster, or it could have had to do with a depressed person addicted to their drugs that feels the "highs and lows", or basically something with a story! I have no idea what Shou's singing about (that's the vocalist's name) but the constant use of nonsensical Engrish mixed with lyrics about...nothing I can discern clearly...just kills this song for me.

So now you're going to want to know how I think this song sounds. Structurally, I like this song much more than Hana and SLEEPWALKER in that the chorus doesn't completely destroy the song. However, I think this song channels a little too much synth and the chorus doesn't pack the same punch that other bands manage (thinks UnsraW, ALSDEAD). I've read that this song channels some of the older Alice Nine while still keeping the fast tempo of their newer stuff and for this I cannot agree, disagree, or provide a valid opinion. All I know is when that electric effect kicks in at the end of the song and winds it down I know I'm done with this track. It may come off that I'm a superficial reviewer who gauges things on only how they sound and not what the lyrics mean but in this case I can't ignore these egregiously retarded lyrics.

So High and Low ends up like it's other two brethren: good for one listen to get you to say you've heard it and then tossed to the side because it's not worth playing twice. Hell, in the case of High and Low, I think once is enough.

Artists should not make music unless they have something important to sing about.

Score: 49%

Lyrics (although I didn't translate these myself I have no desire to seeing as how even with the choppy translation at hand there seems to be no point to this song):

Kakenunkete zanzou (Running through the afterimage)
kaza wa mata, iromeku (Wind is again, stirred)
Shitatakani SPEED SESSION (Severely SPEED SESSION)
Bure-ki nan te aru hazu nai (There is no expectation to a break)
Tobinotta DEAD COASTER (Jumping on DEAD COASTER)

Mazasu mono mo kimezu dasei de, sou IN THE PASSION (Target has also been decided inertially, seemingly IN THE PASSION)
Hashitta naka de dake mietekuru (It comes into view only while running)
Son na mon sa (That's it)

Shirazu shirazu ni juukou wo mukete (Unconsciously the muzzle is turned towards)
~Give you a perfect death right now~
Dakedo darekani furerareru koto motomete (However, request to perceive the matter by somebody)
I WANNA GO AWAY kudakechiru ummei sa (I WANNA GO AWAY shattered destiny)
~Lala breaking race of life~
OR YOU JUST GO AWAY? Kagayakeru daishou (Or you just go away? luster indemnification)

Mujuuryoku no hikari no naka de mieta no wa CRYING BABY (Is the CRYING BABY that was seen in the wieghtlessness' light)
Semegi au you ni nagare ni sakaratte (hesitating feelings, like going against the flow)
Chipponkena buraido mo nage sutete tsukami tore, sa~ (The tiny pride has too ben thrown away so grasp and take it)
Ashibayani no mimi suri nuke te yuku (At a quick pace gradually slipping through ear)
~Give you a perfect death right now~
Kimi ga sasayaku gokujou no NOISE, so plz-touch me, go crazy- (You whispered the finest NOISE, so plz-touch me, go crazy-)

Pray for high time kaki mida shite kure yo (Pray for high time it's stirring up)
~Lala breaking race of life~
Kick a low time yotei chouwa no GAME (Kick a low time Pre-established harmony's GAME)
~You cannot turn back already~

Baka shi ai no resu no naka de shinjitsu wo nusumi dase (In the race of fool and accomplice stealing the truth)

Shirazu shirazu ni juukou wo mukete (Unconsciously the muzzle is turned towards)
~Give you a perfect death right now~
Dakedo darekani furerareru koto motomete (However, request to perceive the matter by somebody)
I WANNA GO AWAY kudakechiru ummei sa (I WANNA GO AWAY shattered destiny)
~Lala breaking race of life~
OR YOU JUST GO AWAY? Kagayakeru daishou (Or you just go away? luster indemnification)

Kagiri no aru mono da kara koso kono toki wo ai sou (As it is a limited item so love this moment)

Review: Alice Nine - 華[hæ•nə] [Type A]

I really fucking hate it when bands obfuscate their titles and it ends up coming out looking all fucked up. For all intents and purposes, it's read "Hana", so I will refer to it as that and not that fucktarded combination they put in brackets for us. Now, as for the single itself I have never tried Alice Nine before so this should be interesting.

01. Hana
02. SLEEPWALKER

I read a lot about Alice Nine on the internet over the course of my fandom in Japanese Rock music, and apart from the brainless "OMGGG THEY ARE SO CUTE" comments I haven't seen many positive reviews about their work. So, I go into this with an open mind.

The main problem with Hana is that it comes packaged with one of those choruses. It's where the song immediately lost my attention and failed to bring it back until it had a minute to go. It goes from that distortion-laden, rock portion to something more upbeat in the blink of an eye. I'm of the mind that if you're going to have a lighter chorus you have to have a buildup so it's not a complete 180, turn around and "there you are" sort of deal. I call those "copout pieces of bullshit" and Alice Nine could have come up with a lot better than that. If they had this song might actually be the one song out there that says "Hey, we aren't fangirl bait asshole. Buy our stuff". Another thing I abhor is the female backvocals and that's all thanks to The GazettE. They come in once at the beginning and then repeat throughout the verses and when they come in they are piercing. I do not need and do not want to hear this faggotry in music anymore, especially Visual Kei music. The vocalist was doing fine without them.

One notable thing about this song is the vocalist. I'm not a fan of the way that his voice sounds but I cannot deny that he found a vocal rhythm that works well for this song...until it gets to the chorus anyway. I'm also liking that he took the time to sing and not horribly rap the fucking choruses, like a lot of VK bands are starting to do. All these bands do is try to infuse HARDKOAR attitudes and shit into their verses and when they get to the chorus they channel some pop shit that makes me switch the song off. The chorus on it's own sounds fine but it feels like the instrumentation behind it was lifted right out of another song. What holds it together is the vocals, which seem to be the only thing that switches seamlessly throughout the entire song.

That "minute to go" would be the portion where the solo kicks in. It doesn't immediately launch into the solo, but it plays around successfully with some funky rhythms until it does. The solo channels some more of that techno attitude that they had in the verses, but the cut back to the chorus almost immediately after it finishes kills the boner I might have had from it. For fans of Alice Nine, you'll probably like this because it comes with that Alice Nine charm. For not-fans of Alice Nine, you might like parts of this, but just not anything between 0:00 and 4:59.

SLEEPWALKER doesn't know if it wants to mature the band's sound or stay with that Alice Nine cheesiness they've become famous for. What results from this is an audibly confused song that switches direction halfway through and ends up less than stellar. I also have to mention it has one of those choruses again and it starts with that soft opening to hard part pattern but for everything it's worth it was actually pretty good until it got to the chorus. SLEEPWALKER was meant to be a slow, lamentful number and then it subconsciously switches to that ever so light chorus. It's not the instruments so much this time; it's the vocalist. He tries to reach up into the heavens and then the instruments have no choice but to follow. In what could have been a serious, bad-ass number it turns around in the bridge and then by the solo becomes something that would fit right in an anime opening. I want the ominous, axe hitting metal sounds that were going on in the background with the slow verses at the beginning, not this violin-soaring, shady poppy number.

So I'm supposing this is what an Alice Nine single is all about. Good music is subjective so in my opinion Alice Nine straddles the mediocre range. If they keep pouring out good music with eye-twitching cliches that make me want to scream, they won't ever get up to the range where I'll actually call their music "an example of what I want to hear". These are some talented musicians that just need to learn how to put their music together.

Recommended:

If you like Alice Nine, then you'll want it. If you don't, you don't want it. Simple as that.

Score: 51%