Review: Black:List - DESPERATE

As much as I can't get enough of Black:List I have to put my foot down and clarify that I can't get enough of Black:List + Kyotarou. Desperate is the first single this band put out and this was with the original five member formation of

• Vocals: RYO
• Guitar: AIKA
• Guitar: TOMOZO
• Bass: HISAKI
  
• Drums: REI

Which basically means I'm treating this as a different band altogether that just HAPPENS to be called Black:List.

You would also notice (if I was motivated enough to put up a tracklist) that they included a re-recorded version of the B-side on this release. In this era of Black:List's formation they HAD an official bassist and a different vocalist. Kyotarou also rewrote the lyrics for the second version of Melancholy so those two tracks are actually different enough to be enjoyable in the sense that you're not listening to the same track twice (nor that you have two of the same song on your media player). With different vocalists and slightly altered lyrics between them, I could treat this version of Melancholy as a half of a song (since I skipped straight to the end with these guys) although I don't think that I should be comparing these two incarnations of Black:List so early on in the review when I said I would treat them as two different bands :x

01. DESPERATE
02. MELANCHOLY

In an attempt to not compare the two tracks I'm going to mention the title track for a paragraph or two. If Kyotarou's departure from √eight was the worst thing to happen to that band then his arrival in Black:List was the best thing to happen to this band. Vocalist Ryo's voice doesn't suck but it isn't a breath of fresh air either. I've heard his type of voice somewhere before and even though it fits with Black:List's sound well I wish at times that he was more unique in his delivery. I will admit that Desperate's chorus is the most memorable and redeeming part of this song. It's just so catchy and it automatically picks up the song and gets me into it. Nothing else in the song is as memorable as that part except for the drum rolls + bass duet at the beginning that amp up a sense of tension.

That basically means the verses are fucked up and that's mostly due to the fact that I can't hear him. Boo bad mixing.

Once Melancholy (Desperate version) opens up you'll immediately notice a sharp contrast between that recording and the new one on the Melancholy single. The opening effects aren't as sound like a wind-up toy and Ryo's voice are drowned out in the raging guitars of the verses. Another difference, but neither negative nor positive, is the fact that Ryo's lyrics are different from Kyotarou's lyrics. This is pretty much where all the comparisons stop, since Ryo's lyrics and vocal rhythms change the sounds of the compositions to fit him better. So, no more Kyotarou mentions until the end of the next paragraph.

For what it is Melancholy is an OK track but the re-recording on their last single fixes up all the rough patches I'll mention here. The first is too much guitar and some acoustic was needed in the verses. The second was the inclusion of the programmed drums in the beginning because for me they are a touch distracting and lessen the impact of the guitars, which is what pulled me into the second version of Melancholy in the first place. The bass guitar also stands out more in this mix but I attribute that to having a set bass player with his own playing style. The inclusion of the special effects at the beginning (which sound strangely similar to the Ai no Uta opening from illational) were a risk that came out in their favor but once again they redid it better on the re-recording and they don't quite fit in the middle of the track. Perhaps the worst feature of this track is the fact that Ryo is drowned out in the verses and I can't hear his voice singing. I do like the scream that he unleashes at the end (Kyotarou elected not to do that) and with this being the last track on the single it fits well with the whole spiraling-into-sadness vibe the track almost gives off.

If you can't tell I only did this single to review the differences between the two Melancholy songs. Overall, I get a better audio trip when I listen to the Melancholy single so I would suggest you pick up that single and let those sounds paint the inside of your cerebrum all sorts of depressing, angsty colors. The main fault with this single lies not in the band but in the mastering process, which favors the guitars over everything else and messes up everyone else in the mix. Black:List fans may want to pick this up just because it's Black:List but Kuso-honeys usually came into the band because Kyotarou was here so I'm going to have to treat this as a band that only released one single and tell you to check it out and see if you like it.

Score: 65%

My birthday is tomorrow ^_^ so a Black:List review for today is the present I'm giving myself just in case I don't get around to doing one tomorrow (although I think I might).

Review: Black:List - MELANCHOLY

*sigh*

I'm in that mood where I don't want to write anything out but there's a growing presence of music on my hard drive and I have to buckle down and start on a clean slate before September 1st. Expect to see a fuckton of reviews about the most random shit from now until then as I try to wade through almost 2000 songs in a month. This happens to be one of them, as I just got into Black:List (and all six of their songs) and I feel the need to talk about this single. So, here we go.

01. Melancholy
02. grief
03. Throw Hope Away*

I'm sticking Throw Hope Away here because it's most convenient, and saves you and me from having to click on another page to read about it. I'm trying to get through songs, not boost up the amount of pages I have.

MELANCHOLY	The B-side to their first single becomes the A-side to their last single. How ironic. Another ironic thing I noticed is that even though this band never had an official bassist after 2007, the bass is a prominent part in this song. MELANCHOLY starts out with a pretty memorable electronic effect that I would like to use as an example of a well used, non-repetitive addition to a song. Overall, it’s a slow and (attention: pun approaching) melancholic piece in the verses while during the instrumental reveries it becomes harsh and heavy but still fresh and sharp. Kyoutarou’s harsh vocals (and singing vocals as well) sound better here than they did on illational. It’s a shame they disbanded =_=.	9/10
Grief	Grief is that one song that I can refer to as an example that has Black:List’s trademark sound of balancing roaring passages with extreme musical precision, oppressive drums and excellent vocals. The chorus is the only injurious part to the whole package, because the introduction in is a little startling, but its outro is perfect in moving back into heavier parts. It comes off as a girugamesh + UnsraW fusion with Kyoutarou vocals, except it’s a little too long.	8/10
Throw Hope Away	It’s only form is as a music video on their releases, so that’s why it’s included here. It’s not my favorite Black:List song, as the change from rough to light during the middle is a complete what the fuck trip and the quality of any piece that I have is sub-par at best. For what it is though, it shows “versatility” and “maturity” and “all those other verbs that people throw in to say that a song sucks in some regard but they can’t put their index finger on it”. It’s not so much that it sucks, but that after MELANCHOLY and grief this song just doesn’t compare. I guess that’s why it’s a music video. Aesthetics bump it up a point or two.	8/10

A visual kei band that lasted for a very short time but actually produced some fucking brilliant music. I want some of the less impressive bands to disband, not a band composed of one pair of the legendary duo from SULFURIC ACID and the singer that made illational epic. Damn, they didn't even leave us an album to enjoy. Kyoutarou, get your ass back in the music scene and Tomozo, GET THIS BAND BACK TOGETHER NOW! I just drool at thinking at what this band could have been....

Ahem, oh yes, 83%.