Review: Sadie - DRESS

Dress isn't doing it for me. Sadie was holding back and pretending to be professional and they ended up not performing with the energy that I've come to expect from their releases. 2/3 of this drags and the omnipresent heaviness is supposed to compensate for that X factor that they forgot to incorporate into their songwriting. It doesn't. If anything, it just makes everything sound like a low-tuned, distorted mess.

For example, why is it that Mao feels like in every verse he has to whisper instead of come up with a good vocal pattern? Granted, it does save Dress from rehashing the sound of Ice Romancer/ever but the low whispering gets drowned out by the guitars and bass. That chorus is also very repetitive and all Mao does is go up and down, louder and softer while he hits two or three notes the whole time. I don't remember the rest of it except for some washed out growling mixed with some piano and some programmed violins near the last chorus. I miss the aggressive, anger-ridden Sadie and I feel no passion (or Dir en grey influence for that matter - save that comparison for VAJRA's next single) from this song.

Insert joke here about DRESS and a dress's tendency to drag on the floor when it gets too long. This song should have been cut by two minutes.

I was going to review stormy heaven but I got to forbidden and forgot everything that wasn't the piano introduction on this song. That piano introduction was good and reminded me somewhat of WITHERING BLOOD's experimentation on UnsraW's GUILTY EP but then it just spirals down into more of the same and at the end you remember nothing worthy of praise. It's an underfed UNDEAD13+2 x GAIN hybrid and does nothing to differentiate itself from either one of those two eras. Once again, another song lacking that spark to put it over the top but at least this one is of an appropriate length.

forbidden's intro riff was interesting and this might be the only song I take away from this single. It sounds a lot like a deeper-tuned Kagerou but I'll take it considering it's a B-side and sounds like the only song Sadie spent time on. The electronic effects mixed with some lighter guitar lines gives the song depth and the twin guitar solo halfway through was unexpected. Hooray for no breakdowns and recycled riffs on at least one of these songs. Mao's singing is also good and he should have done work like this on the rest of this single. The only thing I really dislike is how the song ends abruptly but I can get over that given time.

The positive here is that this isn't as horrendous as the Kagerou single and the absence of a Black Stars track automatically pushes this into the 5/10 range. The negative is that this does nothing to progress their sound further. It's just more of the same that we've come to expect from Sadie and I want more. They're at the precipice of discovering a new self but they're too afraid to take that final step and do something new. The only song I'd take away from this is forbidden so at the end of the day it gets a 6/10 - completely average with just a sprinkling of "hey look we can do awesome unexpected things but we're just reluctant to" thrown in just for the last track.

Review: DELUHI - Revolver Blast

I was expecting more out of the re-recording of REVOLVER BLAST. I generally hate when bands re-release a song after it was already on an album and I dislike it more when they do nothing to improve upon the song. DELUHI is guilty of the first but not of the second. Even though I was looking forward to a new intro that doesn't involve just Juri breathing, or maybe a slightly longer solo, orsomething other than them changing the DragonForce-reminiscent intro and then scattering that like confetti throughout the weaker parts of the song that made it drag during Yggdalive, at least it's not the same song over again (stares at Sadie's Kagerou). It's nice but completely unneeded.

Remember the Rain is nice but boring. One particular thing is that Juri clearly omits the word "the" during Remember the Rain even though it's obviously there, yet in FOLLOW THE FUTURE he said all three words. REMEMBER RAIN makes me cringe >.<. Oh, and it's slightly too long for my taste. If it was chopped down by perhaps a minute I might like it a tad more. I do like what they did in the solo section of the song though. I think I detected some acoustics there. They add a nice touch but for a song that approaches six minutes this ballad/slower pop rock number fails. It doesn't have that DELUHI touch to it that saves most of their songs from sounding lame.

F.T.O.'s chorus sucks hardcore balls. In what's an onslaught of thrash metal and attitude, it doesn't fit with the flow of the song. It sounds like they lifted it out of somewhere else and stuck it in there. Omit that and we've got a decent song on our hands, perhaps even as good as the beast that is REVOLVER BLAST.

DELUHI, you haven't disappointed me this much since Flash:Black. If you have Yggdalive you don't need this, and if you don't have Yggdalive...go get Yggdalive and disregard this single.

Review: amber gris - Joukou 8000ft -Shounen wa Tengoku he Todoku no ka-

That's one hell of a title amber gris.

In my book it is an unspoken word of thumb that anything with an absurdly long title is destined to be a slower paced track full of either awesomeness or dullness. For example, the track Kono Sekai ni Mihanasaretemo by Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD (whose name itself proves this rule as well as serves up a nice slice of awesome while they're at it) is an extremely plodding track that's a chore for me to sit through (sorry gaiz). On the other side, chariots' Canvas ni Kakareru wa Haiiro de Nuritsubususareta Risou no Kimi happens to be one of the best tracks that group has ever put out and is a six minute descent into as close to goodness as chariots has gotten in a while.

So as I sat there downloading this because the good folks on Tainted World alerted the forum to the fact that the former vocalist of Ruvie, Temari (a band I've never heard of) was coming back to form this band as well as a few other notable musicians, I started to wonder how this first release by the band would sound. Most of the time when people on TW tell me a vocalist is good, good amounts to the vocalist sounding akin to vomiting rabbit ears while squeezing his balls and jamming tampons in his ears. Needless to say, unless the few people with good ears tells me to check out a band I probably won't.

Joukou 8000ft -Shounen wa Tengoku he Todoku no ka-, by the very definition of this rule was either going to be one of the best experiences that I've ever sat through or a big waste of time.

Joukou 8000ft -Shounen wa Tengoku he Todoku no ka-
01. Giniro no COFFIN
02. sinker.
03. lizard skin.

"Ambergris (Ambra grisea, Ambre gris, ambergrease, or grey amber) is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. Ambergris has a peculiar sweet, earthy odor. The principal historical use of ambergris was as a fixative in perfumery, though it has now been largely displaced by synthetics."

I have no idea what amber gris has in common with sperm, whales, sperm whales, or perfume but I do know that amber gris is bloody fuckin' terrific. I'm also aware that this isn't everyone's type of rock music. Hell, it took me about ten or fifteen runs at this single before it clicked with me. Of course, I'm normally do not expose myself to this type of rock so if you're looking for a good band to compare sounds with, I'd go with either cocklobin or 9GOATS BLACK OUT. Even though they may not be exactly the same, the best way to go about determining whether or not you would like this is if you just listened to it for yourself.

I'm not too enamored by the first track, Giniro no Coffin. There's really nothing wrong with the track but the following two tracks are done better. I feel as if this track is just a little too tame for my A-side tastes. I listen to it occasionally but it isn't the track that made me the amber gris fan that I am. I even confirmed this myself with my friend Greg, who claimed the second track to be far superior. sinker. has some funky strumming as well as more memorable vocal lines. The boys here (yes they're all men - I just have to state that now) certainly don't mind playing around with the rhythm and structure of the track. It's the shortest track but it delivers in both attitude and satisfaction. I would have personally chosen this to be the single on the album.

My personal favorite would be lizard skin. It has the perfect blend of hard rock and uniqueness that make this what could be a fan-favorite sometime down the line. With just one release under their belt it's too soon to describe what could be the "amber gris sound" but it's also different from the two tracks that have come before it. Temari does some screaming, something that fans of Ruvie have said that he's never done and the guitar lines can be considered complex compared to what the first two tracks have shown. It's a different sound but it's welcome from a starting band that's trying to find their way.

Overall, Joukou 8000ft -Shounen wa Tengoku he Todoku no ka- is yet another one of those singles that I'd recommend you take the time to listen to. I might have done a pretty crap job at reviewing this single but that's because I'm more interested in listening to it than talking about it.

And that, my fine gentlemen, is the mark of a good set of songs.

Review: cocklobin - black

In my sheer laziness at updating my blog regularly with things I review I forgot that there were actually a good number of things that I downloaded, enjoyed, and forgot to put here. cocklobin's black would be one of them. I'm not too sure how old it is but it shouldn't be more than a few months, which means this review is warranted seeing as how cocklobin is extremely slow to put out music.

01. black
02. reborn
03. hearts

black comes with three tracks: the title track creatively called black, reborn, and hearts. What initially drew me to this band was the news that Iori from Siva was in this band as well as the bassist HISAKI from Black:List back during the Desperate/Genuine Malice era. Despite the fact that I didn't need yet another heavy metal band to listen to I decided to take a look at black figuring I could always just delete it if it wasn't good enough for me to listen to.

Ladies and gentlemen, I got my mind blown for the third time that week.

cocklobin isn't your ordinary type of band and even though black was a signal that they were progressing to do harsher music the traces of musicality that made cocklobin so badass are still there. cocklobin's music can be played by a beginner in the guitar but it's the way it all flows combined with the passion of the vocalist Nigu that drives this band's sound. Nigu actually screams his heart out on black and then thirty seconds later we're treated to delicious singing and sexy bass lines. Neither the singing nor the screaming overpowers one another which is rare since one likes to take center stage and command the direction of the track. reborn has an extremely catchy verse where Nigu sings with passion as well as yet another hard riff balanced by softer passages all in the blink of an eye. What cocklobin manages to do well is balance hard with soft because they realize soft isn't synonymous with poppy. Rejoice, for this is a glorious day. A bands have finally started to realize that you can strum lightly and not have to change the direction of the track.

All three of the tracks on this single were excellent but the one that really steals it would have to be hearts, the last track. The riff is elementary of course but with a bit of stereo usage combined with flowing transitions keeps the track moving right up until the distorted sound effects at the end close out the track. Everyone's instruments are kept in line -- the drums don't decide to start blastbeats for any apparent reason, the bass isn't thick and distorted and there's no unnecessary eight bar solo that does nothing but solidify stereotypical song structure. hearts closes out the single pretty well.

black wasn't as diversified with it's sound as DARK DESIGN CATALOG was but there's simply no way to accurately compare a mini with a single. Here, cocklobin gives us three harsher, yet still strangely melodic tracks and says "this is the evolution in our sound". By no means are they a one trick pony but what I'd like to see next is them push the harshness to the limit as well as bring back the piano and the softer elements that comprised songs such as the dark and cock. I'd also like to see a mixture inbetween, like songs that black has given us but not exactly the same. I'm very satisfied with black -- it's one of the few singles that I'd recommend people invest time in.

Review: chariots - Yami

I think the sheer averageness of this single forced me to forget to review it until almost a month later...

1. MIDNIGHT PLEASURE
2. Anmoku
3. Dilettante

As I said before, this single is just plain average. Hai far and away destroys this and it's not even as good as Hikari in my opinion. Midnight Pleasure's that standard S.E. intro that's supposed to set the mood for the rest of the single but it doesn't do that here. It's definitely much better than Fall ash was so I'll give the single credit for that but it's nowhere near as captivating as cigar was. Let's also add on top that this is the only part of the single that even touches the "darkness" aspect that I hoped Yami would go for. It has this dark, foreboding atmosphere that's immediately forgotten the minute Anmoku starts up. Let's just say that even though this S.E. is a little on the boring side it has it's place on the single and isn't a complete fucking joke for once.

Both Anmoku and Dilettante are pretty lame, the latter moreso than the first. Dilettante is nothing more than a veiled copy (and a thin one at that) of reversal from the Hai single. Dilettante misses out on the charm that reversal had and it doesn't help in part that Riku's auto-tuned "dilettante, dilettante, dile-ttan-te WOAH" are annoying to the point of the track being unlikeable. Seriously, I think the man says the word at least 20 times the entire track and that's a modest guess. If I wanted to listen to this mess, I'd listen to reversal. Dilettante, fuck off.

Anmoku was attempting to channel both some Doku and some Canvas ni Kakareru wa Haiiro de Nuritsubusareta Risou no Kimi and if it were fucking executed properly this could've been brilliant. Anmoku doesn't exactly hit the spot but it isn't a complete miss either - I was just hoping for a bit more. The saving grace to this track is that Riku doesn't "anmoku, anmoku an-mo-ku WOAH" his way through four and a half minutes of mediocre, atmospheric rock. I could at least listen to this again.

Yami definitely wasn't the single I was hoping would be chariots last release as a band since the other members finally realized how lame chariots was and decided to leave Riku to deal with it. Sure, they have a compilation album coming out in a month or so but what good songs besides Kira, Jade, Doku and Canvas ni Kakareru wa Haiiro de Nuritsubusareta Risou no Kimi can Riku find to put on it? Not many I tell you - chariots never really hit the spot and while they come out with music pretty rapidly most of it is lukewarm and doesn't do my listening craves justice. Riku, go back to Phantasmagoria where you sounded better and the music was repetitive but enjoyable, instead of repetitive and annoying.

Average. Fuck this single. Go listen to Hai. Or better yet, don't listen to this band at all. You aren't missing anything.

Review: Dir en grey - Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami

After the release of an album, whether it be good or bad, Dir en grey's singles usually go off in a different direction. The main appeal that I have with this band is that they somehow always manage to re-invent themselves with every release. As time goes on though I have to wonder how many more times they can surprise me before it becomes old news and they're playing something they've already done before.

Contrary to the usual bullshit I put forth I actually didn't think that this single was going to suck. Somehow I knew it was going to stomp on my scrotum at the speed of awesome with whatever new ideas that they managed to come up with. Normally I don't follow singles obsessively but for this one I did because, well, face it Dir en grey is one of my favorite bands of all time.

Having that said, I don't really see how Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami is one of their best singles of all time. The inclusion of the chorus at the beginning does not fit and doesn't sound right. Kaoru and Die have really improved from the UROBOROS period and they wham on their axes like I've never heard them before. Some portions of this song have me wondering what the hell they're doing to their instruments because they sound like the roaring of some Norse god. Due to the good production, I can't even hear the bass so I'm not going to rate Toshiya. Shinya on the other hand was very good - nothing special since I've heard better drum lines from him before - but his rapid execution never fails to inspire me. Some songs like Red Soil have him pounding on that kit like a madman but this song sees him take more of a backseat. One of the hampering aspects of this track are Kyo's vocals - in no way did they suck but we didn't hear him when we needed to and heard him when we didn't need to hear him. The "deathcore" growls he has going on sounded low and messy, like something I'd hear off of a lynch. CD and I really wasn't feeling that too much. The transition into the catchy chorus is awkward but over subsequent listens was done very well and fits with the mood. Chorus is the best part of this song and the ending chant keeps the song from sinking off into mediocrity but somehow I think this song could have been a lot longer. It's obviously missing a solo and even though they're moving towards a style that focuses more on atmosphere than axe jamming Hageshisa to... really needed one (looking back on it we haven't really had many solos since the VULGAR/ sixUGLY era.

It's not perfect but I'll take it. They've fed us worse shit.

Zan Reconstructed packs new lyrics and enough fury to kill. While the old recording on Gauze went with the type of insanity of someone who's going to pick up a gun and mow down a bunch of people, this one feels like Kyo's going to rip you apart piece by piece. Shinya's drumming is a pretty good highlight of this track since he's the one that adds the most energy to the fray. Kyo's growls are brutal (and balanced correctly) and the guitar work is just sexy. Zan's riffs are unmistakable and although Toshiya once again is inaudible under the guitar work you won't really find yourself caring too much. I find this better than the single but some fans of the older version of Zan may miss the psychotic intro and the black metallish vocals that gave the song it's atmosphere.

It's really hit or miss.

Shokubeni just isn't as good this time around due to the way that they're recording it. I knew this coming in so I'm not going to hold the production value against it. As a matter of fact, it's damn impressive that they got the song to sound this good in one take. What Diru has done here is taken some of the UROBOROS vibe and infused it into this track. This is clearly evident with the massive amount of growling and Shinya's tribal drumming. Personally I would have preferred another re-recording of this song in the studio or a new track altogether. Shokubeni sounds OK for what it is but if this was in the studio there is no doubt that it would have been a lot better. At the end of the day I don't see myself listening to this track too much but it's a fine inclusion and it might get addictive over the long run.

When taken as a whole package, we haven't gotten something this good since Kasumi which is great news since Diru's single tracks usually are bearable but the single as a whole blows donkey nuts. With this one, people are bound not to like something here and others as a whole are turned off by the entire screeching and harsh vocal aspect they've been working since Clever Sleazoid. Old fans of Diru who lust for their VK don't want to try this single out and those that hated Uroboros (and you call yourselves fans?) will hate this more, but all others may want to try this out if you come prepared with some diapers and a -very- open mind about your music. If you do, this single will suck your dick dry.

Review: Nega - Haunted Jealousy

I can't say that I was looking forward to Nega's Haunted Jealousy as much as I was hoping for something that could redeem them and put them back on the front of "UC bands to watch". I wasn't particularly impressed with Grave of the Sacrifice when it came out because I thought they went a little over the deep end and immersed themselves too much in their softer side. I have no problem with a band experimenting with sound but Grave of the Sacrifice just didn't live up to the standards Nega has set for themselves in the past.

I wasn't expecting a quadrangle or an utsu out of this single but with it coming in three editions I hoped that out of these seven tracks there would be something redeeming here. But by just looking at the tracklist I wanted to vomit - there are THREE DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTALS WITH THIS SINGLE.

Goddamnit can Nega get any more Kisaki? >_>

Dorje avoids the pitfalls of most Nega instrumentals by having a set melody and then expanding on it. Short pieces that they've done in the past like death warrant and Psyren were well thought out pieces that weren't fully realized so it ended up becoming redundant quickly. Dorje has a beginning, middle and end. Nice except instrumentals are dick moves.

Ganesh isn't as stellar. The electronic effects take away from the song because it doesn't feel like it lends itself well to the entire ambience of the single. Ganesh manages to expand as it goes along but when it returns to the pattern from the beginning it makes the track loop. I'm starting to appreciate shorter instrumentals that pack a punch and this is simply too long for something that doesn't reinvent itself.

Islamic is the only instrumental that I consider as appropriate to the mood of the single and this is the one i believe Nega intended for us to associate with the single. islamic does some experimentation that makes the other two instrumentals look safe in comparison (0:59 - 1:04) for example is something that might not work out but doesn't really matter in the long run since it's an instrumental and instrumentals are gay.

Haunted Jealousy destroys most of what was on GRAVE OF THE SACRIFICE and seriously sounds like something the GazettE would do if they had Jin as a singer. The mix of symphonic and hard rock similar to Soul Cry saves this song from totally sounding like a GazettE ripoff but I really cannot shake the feeling that they got a hold of DIM and took some tips from them. Then again, when one band with a crap vocalist copies off of another band with a crap vocalist the result are songs that are alike. Nega hasn't sounded like this before and even though Haunted Jealousy is nice it suffers from the addition of his ear-raping vocals. Jin really needs to improve because his voice is strikingly different and there's a fine line between ear-raping vocals and different but wonderful vocals - he hasn't found that balance quite yet.

As a matter of fact, EVERYTHING on this CD sounds like it came from the GazettE. I've been bitching about it the whole time but this is actually a positive since the last time we heard something distinctly Nega it swallowed giraffe cock. Oboro and Ogress are pretty much crap whereas the final track sounds much better.

Ogress has a nice breakdown and solo but after that pretty much everything blows chunks. I don't like Jin's voice in this track since he sounds very monotone and the beat once again sounds very GazettE-ish except it's lame and doesn't change up sans the solo. Oboro is slightly better but it fails at this chorus which comes out of nowhere and changes the flow of the song. In fact, this chorus is the only distinctly Nega portion of music on this entire single. Jin's hardkoar kvltic rapping actually started clicking with me after a few listens. It's lame and it gets repetitive quickly but I'll give Nega a few points for at least trying something different.

淫 雨と暗澹 is an interesting song and feels like a spiritual companion to Haunted Jealousy. Even though the influence is here in this song, it's not overwhelming like it is in the other two songs and Jin sings like something other than a drugged Muppet. It really sounds like the most balanced song on the single (even though I'm hating Jin's screams which sound like they're sampled from guilt trip >_> ). The only thing remotely unique about this song is the way it ends and I'm unsure if that's intentional or accidental.

I'm ambivalent on this single. On the one hand I like the fact that this isn't a continuation of Grave of the Sacrifice but on the other hand this is too GazettEish for me to fully appreciate. I like this single but at the same time I don't and there are one too many crap tracks for me to give it a high score. I'd grant this single a 6/10 if you give me numbers for these three reasons

1) too many instrumentals
2) Ogress and Oboro aren't as good as the other two singing tracks
3) this isn't Nega's core sound. it's a nice deviation but if I want to hear gazettE i'll hear GazettE.

At least it's better than Grave of the Sacrifice - it has redeeming qualities.

Review: MUCC - Rakuen

I'm too tired to actually post a whole proper review with filler crap that doesn't matter at the moment but I do need to up something and I had written something about Rakuen on TW so I decided to port it here. Just for some background information, Rakuen is a different B-side on MUCC's Freesia single. However, for reasons I will get to now, I do not recommend you get this song on your media player.

If you mean weird as in crap then I agree with you. Both FUZZ and OZ had a rock element underneath it all so even though there were elements of synth underneath it it mixed well with the music. Rakuen sounds like they put it through the digitized factory and played everything back in MIDI. I didn't even finish this - I just didn't enjoy it any.

That's all I really had to say so I guess I'll say a little more. I find Rakuen to be complete shit. More auto-tune, more synth effects, more uninspired songwriting covered up with earnest experimentation. Rakuen is that kind of song that looked good on paper and ended up horrible in execution. None of it comes together and it's this big, grotesque spot in MUCC's territory that would be the musical equivalent of G from RE2: it looked like a good idea but by the time they were finished it was horrible and they had nowhere to store it so they let it loose.

This is worse than Shuushifu.

Review: MUCC - Freesia

*imported from Tainted World*

I actually downloaded it and forgot I had it on my iTunes until you reminded me. D: Let's get to this and I'll put down my thoughts after a few listens.

The main problem I have with the first two songs, Shuushifu moreso than Freesia, is the (ab)use of auto-tune. That shit wasn't present before Kyuutai and even though I only recall it being used slightly in Sora to Ito I still despised it's usage because I felt it interfered with the atmosphere of the song. MUCC fucking [i]raped[/i] this single with auto-tune because it's detectable in Freesia and mostly used in Shuushifu. I. Don't. Like. Auto-Tune. This single automatically isn't perfect in my book.

With that having been said, the recorded version of Freesia is much better and more majestic than the live performance let on (which was why I reserved all judgment on the song until now). Freesia is all around enjoyable, especially Miya's little solo near the end over Tatsurou's vocals. Even after 10 years MUCC's still got some ideas up their sleeves and even though their sound has changed over the years the only thing that's stayed the same is that they usually deliver. [i]Usually[/i]. I'd give this about a 9 out of 10.

I've heard Namonaki Yume but not enough to compare it to Shuushifu so I won't. However, this is the kind of song I like to hear in general and it pulled me in from the beginning until the auto-tune pissed me off. After that, the energy levels of this song really petered off for me. Whereas in Freesia I could tell why they used the auto-tune and to some degree it worked, in Shuushifu it really just annoyed the crap out of me and really prevented me from liking this song too much. 6 out of 10 for now but over time I'll revisit this again and see if my opinion changes.

From Furik's review I was expecting there to be some Tatsurou in this but two minutes in I realized he wasn't going to be there and that this was going to be pure instrumental. I'm OK with it, especially since the piano rendition of this song was great. I'm normally not into songs that were changed from pianos to guitars since for me it doesn't usually flow well but Freesia sounds great with both instruments behind this. I'd really have to give this a 10 just because if I enjoyed it this much the first time through I'm going to grow to like it more.

So yeah, the only thing I really despised about this single was the auto-tune laced all throughout it. MUCC needs to cut that shit out because Tatsurou's voice is too good for that crap. I'd give this about an 8/10 overall.

PV: Nega - idle

I'm finally a lot better than I was last week so I've done a lot of thinking among all the coughing, hacking, blood, spittle and snot (and I know that was infinitely more information than you will ever need or was looking for) and realized a few things. The most important was that I was at college and even though my time is lessened and I won't be able to write two or three reviews daily like I used to, I'm going to have a tougher time getting my hands on music due to the school's filesharing policy. Long story short, I'm going to have to find something else music related to do until I get my hands on the new releases until about January, when I have the month off and can download freely once more. Until then, I'll switch my focus to music videos and keep up on some of the new albums the day/the day after they come out. I might also go back in my library and pull out an old album every once in a while when I'm REALLY strapped but for now, visuals are the way to go. And of course, how can you enjoy visual kei without the visuals?

So we have Nega's PV for Idle, which I spent the last few days looking for so they're below. I haven't figured out how to put videos in the post quite yet so you'll have to head over to YouTube to watch it but it shouldn't be that hard. It made me appreciate the song more so now I actually like Idle but when I compare the video to the lyrics I don't find a correlation between the two. The sudden ending at the end of the video is also not cool, especially since the entire video has such good quality I'm entranced.

From what I understand the video is supposed to be about an abandoned world but that's me REALLY stretching it. It's just four guys rocking out in an abandoned warehouse spliced with scenes of what the hell. Seriously, the whole "rocker running away from nothing like a scared bitch and posing like a fashion model" shtick in Visual Kei music is about as bad as the music. Get more original or don't waste my time with stupidity. I hate Versailles for having a seven minute music video full of men staring at me and this doesn't fare any better either.

Jin without makeup is also interesting. He actually LOOKS Japanese.

Three cheers to Nega for throwing away their visual parts one by one. Perhaps they could deliver two singles that don't suck as hard as Grave of the Sacrifice. More dig and ill at the very least (or if you feel like getting really good at it give us some dole/hole era stuff).

So let's recap.

Pros

- Good song
- Good quality

Cons

- Rather bland video overall

A review of idle can be found on the dig review a few months back.

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: Nega - quadrangle

It's been the first update in quite a while and I'd have to blame this one on my health, which has taken a recent nosedive with my sudden change in location. I really haven't been coherent enough to write a good quality review and I started this one a few days before I fell sick so Nega gets the privilege of being the first of September only because they've got a head start over 13's Reborn, which I still don't feel like doing.

I'll do the cover and other things later if I feel like it. Since I was so sick, I decided instead of typing up lots of random reviews and trying to look "active" I'd come up with a new way of listening to music and forging my reviews. Focusing more on the technical side becomes difficult when the instruments come together to work as one instead of working as several different entities working in concert. So, we'll start with the quadrangle single which happens to be one of those singles that would challenge how I think about music in more ways than one.

Even though I'm changing my approach toward how I look at music objectively, I still find that the beginning washed-out chorus section was a poor-choice when it isn't accompanied with the music video. The cut on the hole EP was better since it jumped right into the song and the dark atmosphere isn't ruined by the beginning cheesiness. Other than the hard and the soft parts coming one after another to create a feeling of chaos and then slow tension rising into the chorus, there isn't any other part to quadrangle that stands out like a sore thumb. What draws me into this song the most is that Nega plays hard and balances it with the soft well and it doesn't sound like they are forcing the atmosphere. It's possibly one of their better songs.

Mu is one rollercoaster of a track and is constructed in a pattern similar to about 95% of Nega's other songs: there's one cool riff I like and the rest of the song that I could care less about. It starts off like a rocket and then the pace of the track slows at an increasing pace until it reaches a point of brief, hard passages marked with quiet sections. With Mu, there is no guessing what direction Nega is going to go in next because it comes off as if they didn't know where they wanted to go with it exactly so they stuck a few parts together and created this. If they smoothed out some of the segueing (for example, from the screaming to the chorus the first time around) it would be a chameleon but Mu misses that subtle magic by a few inches. There's also some parts where Jin's voice is altered and the soundscape is mixed between flying over a demented circus and some church bells. This song also dips into insanity with some effects placed in the middle which I guess is supposed to straddle the line between solo and breakdown and just continues in the trend of being an unpredictable beast. There are too many pauses and not enough smooth transitions and it is a melting pot of different ideas that wasn't cooked long enough.

introvert reminds me quite a lot of Burzum's Tomhet in theory and placement. It's function is to wind you down after Mu and form a feeling of closed, closeted anger and tension mixed in with random outbursts of insanity. The constant and haunting drum patterns work well at the beginning of the song but the electronic buildup of the effects steals it's thunder as the track goes on. The ending of this track also feels incomplete, as if the song could have gone on for a few seconds longer and faded out. A fade-out would have been the best course of action for this track to take and a sudden cutoff ruins the effect the song was giving off. The title track suggests just what the song does: it doesn't try to stand out and push the limits of this single. It stays forgettable, dark, pretty stable, and at the end of the day won't immediately grab your attention.

So that's the ride through quadrangle for you. It's a pretty good single but the only song I would recommend you download is readily available on the hole EP so that's where I would direct my attention to. Mu is worth a try if you're into Nega when they're being sonically schizophrenic and introvert is a good SE if you're in the mood for it. Fans of Nega already know they like this but newcomers to Nega should look elsewhere.

Review: Dir en grey - Agitated Screams of Maggots

I'm compelled to review this only because the mix on the single was redone for the album that this was placed on and it's the middle of the damn night. In both situations, I'd suggest against picking it up under most circumstances. The main difference between this and The Marrow of a Bone is that the latter has a few redeeming qualities while this one should send you running to the high hills with enough rations to last until Christ comes again.

That means you know this isn't going to be a nyappy, smiley review with sugary marshmallows and my custom made feather duster to gloss over the not so great parts.

01. Agitated Screams of Maggots
02. Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.
03. Spilled Milk
04. Obscure

I'll start with the last three tracks since I can put them all under one lump sum: suck. Although they don't scrape the bottom of the barrel of throwaway B-sides that Clever Sleazoid managed to sink to, Kyo's voice isn't as vibrant as some of the other live tracks they've included. As a matter of fact, Kyo's voice sucks. I don't care what excuse someone comes up with - I would rather have another studio track than three live tracks of this quality. Kodoku ni Shisu carries the distinction for Kyo being silent for roughly half the track, unquestioningly mutilating himself live. All three of the tracks lack the theatrical element that makes watching Dir en grey live and leaves these feeling empty.

Just grab the album and skip these.

So that leaves Agitated Screams of Maggots and that has only one redeeming factor - the lyrics. The entire song is in English which means Kyo sings and it all comes out sounding like gibberish. He screams his head off like a little demon and while it's a song full of energy and anger, it's also the only thing going on in the track. Die and Kaoru's lines are pretty basic, boring, and lacking depth. You could honestly play this track with one guitar, and if you're a fan of Dir en grey you know that it means they really took the easy way out with this track.

I can't give these tracks high scores if I can't detect when the music begins and the rape stops.

If you're in the mood to scream about vile acts such as raping daughters on graves or if you feel evil enough to take a silver bullet in the chest, then I guess moshing around to this punk-metal hybrid is for you. Otherwise I would take a pass, since this single really isn't all it wants to be.

So, a quick breakdown of the single

Agitated = me
Screams = Kyo
Maggots = this CD

Get it?

Score: 40%

Review: Gackt - Jesus

Since I happen to be going in no specific order and since I have a few extra minutes after moving in, completing the slew of recent Gackt releases is definitely in order. I do only have two left, so those that aren't fans of Gackt won't have to suffer through much more but all this damned "mandatory orientation" is seriously screwing with the schedule I had over the summer.

Then again, I had all day during the summer to do reviews and I cranked out one a day. Now that I have about 15 minutes to scribble something together I STILL manage to crank out one a day. Doesn't that speak volumes about my work ethic...

01. Jesus
02. Sayonara - ЯR II ver.-
03. Jesus (Instrumental)
04. Sayonara - ЯR II ver.- (Instrumental)

Jesus as a song rocks hard but as a single falters a bit short of my expectations. This stems in part from the fact that Lost Angels had two B-sides while this just has one and said B-side isn't as solid as some of his other efforts. I am quite aware that Lost Angels comes after this single but it's just the fact that this single could have - no, should have - come back in full force is what bothers me.

Usually when you re-do a track, you're supposed to make it better, not equally as bland. Sayonara is a re-recording from one of his tracks on the Rebirth album and I'm not fond of either track to be quite frank. Gackt's slower, more ballad-like songs have a tendency of dragging themselves on until they get to the point of unpleasant and Sayonara is no exception. Until it gets up to the part when the violins kick in, the song is terribly boring and minimalist almost to the point of bare-bones. The violin portion gets a mention simply because it brings up the entire atmosphere of the track and provides something halfway interesting to listen to. Needless to say it's the best part of the entire album. In it's wake, the rest of the song seems to get better and if you manage to stick it out to the violins you just might end up finishing the song. Nonetheless, this song is just too long for me to recommend sticking it on repeat.

Jesus, however, is more gratifying. It busts out of the gate with "hey's", guitar riffs that immediately grab your attention, and Gackt's singing is emotional without sounding forced. Couple that with a great solo, a better ending than normally expected, and no part of the track that leaves me unsatisfied, and I'm quite happy with Jesus. Some fans were unhappy with Jesus and thought Gackt was being anti-Christian with his lyrics and accompanying music video (Gackt sings about a guy begging to God and Mary to save him from suicide and the guy in the PV was supposed to be Hitler I read). What's so anti-religious about that? I have just one sentence to say to those people:

"Target the actual bands that actually say 'fuck Jesus' in their lyrics instead of those that include Jesus and poetic license in their music. I actually saw an album titled 'Fuck me Jesus'. There's something you should go take a look at, not some bishounen rock artist who is pumping out singles because he's running out of money >.>"

So that was three. Bite me. Other than that little rant I'm pretty much done with this single. Two instrumentals, not worth mentioning, one good track, one letdown.

Recommended:

Jesus

Score: 75%

Review: Gackt - Redemption

I don't give a damn if Gackt is re-releasing these at the end of the year or not - this is still fair play in my book and the last two tracks most likely won't make a repeat on that album anyway. This is also the single that alerted me to Gackt. At first I noticed this song only as "that catchy ten-second theme for that commercial" and I hadn't any idea who Gackt was or what this single sounded like in it's entirety.

I just happened to get this song off LimeWire on a whimsical chance and had my mind blown when I added up the pieces....two weeks later.

01. Redemption
02. Longing
03. Redemption (Instrumental)
04. Longing (Instrumental)

Both Redemption and Longing are badass tracks in their own right and even though I haven't heard either track proper in almost a year or two I still can remember how fantastic the string section on the B-side was, or how the echoed scream that marks the apex of Gackt's wrath in the title track scared the hell out of me the first time I heard it. Coming after No ni Saku..., this is a complete 180. In no parts are these two songs boring and in many cases not only can I sit through them but I can stand to hear them again once they are finished.

Gackt has some sketchy English going on (Redemption has a section that will leave you grasping to figure out what language he just spoke) as well as an extremely catchy chorus and a nice breakdown. There is no one section that I have a huge complaint about except I don't really hear him sounding much like himself. He's doing new things with his vocals, which is always a pleasant thing to hear. If you need some music with a lot going on in both the background and the forefront I heavily recommend both these songs.

It sucks to know that Redemption is one of Gackt's most overhyped singles. Although I do enjoy the song I cannot say that it was one of the best things he's ever put out, and many fans will overlook the equally as excellent track Longing. As I stated before, Longing has an avant-garde, extremely experimental string section in lieu of a solo that I feel not only is genius, but keeps the song from feeling like another rendition of the first track. If you're a fan of a dark, hard rock sound then this song is as close to it as Gackt will ever get.

Any fan willing to enjoy some of the monogamous bishounen asskicking samurai warrior singer needs to pick this up along with some of his older and recent work. Some that spring to mind is the last single The Next Decade, Jesus, the entire Diabolos and Mars albums, and perhaps some of his work with Malice Mizer if you can stand to go back that far. Do not confuse the hard rock guitars here for Gackt's core sound, as it's as unexplainable as his sudden nose job between MM and here. He explores a vast variety of sounds and if you're just starting out you have no idea what it is this man is capable of sonically. Although it may be quite hard to digest, this has to be one of the first times Gackt has made a conscious effort towards a harder direction.

Although after the last single this isn't that surprising in my opinion.

The two instrumentals are bonuses but I doubt you'd be listening to those more than a few times for the novelty value. The first two tracks are strong enough to warrant buying this and to top it off you get a video of the monogamous bishounen asskicking samurai warrior singer rocking out with his dreadlocks and being all bishounen to the camera.

How can you not love that?

Recommended:

Redemption
Longing

Score: 90%

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: ALSDEAD - S.a.g.A

I find the cover interesting:

- The 02 in the corner could mean it's the second single or that there are two tracks within, but it could also be the amount in grams that morphine pills are dispensed. It could also have to do with the two drugs involved with what I'm going to get into below.
- The Chemical Formula printed upside down (c17 H19 N03) is a chemical called Hydromorphone, which is a morphine derivative.
- The CAS Registry number for Hydromorphone (and morphine) is 57-27-2.
- 285.4 is the molecular weight for morphine.
- F99 is linked to organic mental disorders and guess what? Morphine is used to treat it.
- C17H21NO is an antihistamine or sedative and you probably own it in a bottle called Benadryl.
- Morphine + Benadryl = rush

So I'm guessing this single is morphine related...

01. S.a.g.A
02. F99

S.a.g.A. is a pretty solid A-side but it can't compare to Violent of Reason in any fashion. I'm not going to compare a good song with a better song when the loser is pretty obvious so I'm just going to stick with why this hard and fast song is pretty good for what it is and compared to lots of other songs in this genre. One is that ALSDEAD actually nailed the transition from hard to poppy chorus without any complaints from me. It's smooth and sounds natural, instead of a forced, spliced introduction. The slight maneuvers they do during the chorus to lead you right back into the hard patterns are also pretty good and show some skill. Maki's singing is rough but solid and is pleasant to listen to and S.a.g.A. doesn't screw up anywhere. S.a.g.A. is a good way to start off the single.

F99 has to be the most experimental track these guys have put out so far in my listening spree and this probably has more to do with the drug motif than the last track. I have no idea what to call this introduction to the track but I certainly do like it and the song itself doesn't disappoint. Maki's singing is beyond awesome in that weird, sustaining way that leaves you wondering where they will go with it. The effects mixed with the guitars are done very well and I like the entire feel this song gives off. In the world of VK, this sounds unlike anything I've ever sat down and listened to before and by the time this mindfuck of goodness was over for the first time I automatically knew I would like this song (just like an addictive drug). Give this a try.

Wow I made F99 sound like a drug...

So at the end of the day it's yet another ALSDEAD single, which means it's good, which means I don't have to recommend it to you because you should be listening to it already. You are? Good job.

Leave me to mix my Benadryl and Morphine.

Score: 90%

Review: Sadie - Crimson Tear

In what is the second of "albums I have but haven't taken the time to listen to", we have the maxi-single Crimson Tear. Thanks to Master of Romance I've already heard the title track but here's to hoping that the rest of this maxi-single isn't as bland. At least the cover is epic...

If it is shitty I'll be mad I actually subjected myself to 15 minutes of crap.

01. Crimson Tear
02. Payment of Vomiter
03. Dustin' Fucker Life
04. The Heartless

Crimson Tear comes off as more of a B-side than something deserving of "single" status. It's spastic, all over the place, and excessively scream-filled. This single's already getting off to a bad foot but I know Sadie's put out better and worse so this floats somewhere in the middle of crap. What sets Crimson Tear apart from it being better than it is is the lack of effort that they put into this. The transitions are plentiful but nothing is forceful enough and it just sounds like a bunch of shredding and riffage but no one section that grabs and throttles me with it's awesome. The chorus is annoying as fuck and Mao's scurgle at the end of it isn't badass - it's pathetic. As a matter of fact, most of Mao's singing is failure in this song. I have no idea what Sadie was going for other than generic riffing and lack of musical creativity. This isn't Sadie - this is some random band who thinks they can rock but they can't. I've seen Sadie rock and I would call this their worst single ever but the Kagerou single dethroned this one. Crimson Tear is unfulfilling.

At least the music video is badass.

Payment of Vomiter suffers from Engrishplox and most of the song is in English and weaves a pathetic tale of woe and loneliness. Mao is cruel people and he prays for you. Speaking of Mao his vocals go from being downright shitty (that's when he strains himself and sounds like he's either anally raped or gargling mouthwash) and very good (that's pretty much everything else). At least 50/50 is better than inconsistent crap.

Other than those two things it's infinitely better than the track that preceded it. My only -other- gripe with this song is that it doesn't dive all the way in. It indulges it's big toe into the watercooler of epic Sadie soundscapes but they feel confined by the last track and don't want to make too big of a departure. I don't give a fuck about the last track. This is a whole new track and calls for a whole new structure.

Dustin' Fucker Life annoys me to no end in that chorus. There seems to be some slight flute-like instrument that plays this series of three notes that completely kill it and makes me want to skip it. Said chorus is cheesy but I can live with it. If you can't hear it don't strain yourself because you don't want to. It made me stop liking this song. Other than that part this song manages to distance itself from the last two tracks and doesn't particularly screw up in one place too badly.

The Heartless has some extremely bad harsh vocals in English punctuated by some good clean vocals in Japanese. The contrast is effective but Mao's death vocals could have been better. He sounds like he has a sore throat. It has nothing to do with the lyrics: his high parts sound like a chipmunk and the low parts aren't deep enough. Speaking of the lyrics, they once again are a depressing tale of woe and emo-ism. Don't you have anything else to sing about? Ugh...if you can live with those vocals you'll probably like the song as it is quite catchy. Otherwise...you won't. Simple, no?

And that's the end of Crimson Tear. It was half decent and half shitty when you take everything under consideration so it seems like a standard Sadie single. It could have been more and it could have been worse but what they do is play good enough to warrant you buying it but play bad enough so that they can trump it on their album and make it seem awesome. So, to wrap this up (since unlike them I'm pretty consistent with my shit):

Recommended:

Payment of Vomiter
The Heartless if you can stand the death vocals.

Score: 53%

Title track is a pile of shit...

Review: The GazettE - Kichiku Kyoushi (32sai Dokushin) no Nousatsu Kouza

Fans of The GazettE often lament that their older sound was better and truer to their unique "style". Said fans also hate the fact that The GazettE has fallen into a pattern of alternative rock tinged with Green Day ripoffs and jazz numbers that don't belong on an album. I thought nothing of this until today when I came up empty on something to review so I figure I'd give this a shot and see what would happen.

Another part of me realized that I didn't have as much music in my iTunes worth reviewing as I thought.

1. "Doro Darake no Seishun" (泥だらけの青春) - 5:07
2. "Juunanasai" (十七歳) - 7:09
3. "Kantou Dogeza Kumiai" (関東土下座組合) - 5:03

My collective thoughts on their second release? Is that what you are here for? Well then, look no further than below:

I thought I told you to look no further? Shit, well since you read on anyway I should formulate a sentence or two. It's only customary that I give every album and single, no matter how shitty it may be, the space in the post alloted to them to expose their flaws, parade them in public and then whip them to death.

Just to let you know, at the end of this entire album my brain was screaming in pain because it appears there was a mass genocide of brain cells in my cerebellum.

For a change of pace, let's start with the vocalist. Ruki, shut the fuck up and go back to playing the goddamn drums. For fuck's sake you sound ghastly on every single offering here! I can't even call one of these tracks because you...DO something with your voice! Do you even hear yourself when you fucking sing? I tried covering the first song and I just couldn't because my larynx doesn't reach into the lower register of fail. Who told you you could sing?

Some people just aren't meant to sing. Just take a look at the American pop-punk scene, with their whiny, nasally, over the top voices! Now we know where Ruki gets his sonic inspiration from.

Perhaps the best example of this said "singing" I can give you is the second track, Juunanasai. It's supposed to be about the musings of some lonely baby mama getting left by her ever so altruistic boyfriend but it starts out sounding like the boys gathered in the warehouse and the downtown train passed by in the first few seconds of this song. Granted, this has nothing to do with the singing but the either accidental or purposeful sound of a train passing is more pleasing to my ears than Ruki's voice. When there has to be three Ruki's going on at any one time in the background in order for him to get close to "on pitch", we have a huge problem. What is even worse is when he tries that distortion at 4:00, he sounds like a girl trying to orgasm and having the track sound like it's stuck prolongs my punishment. The atrocious falsetto at 2:54 and the fucktarded mumbling at around 5:30 are other things Ruki tries to do to alleviate the constant barrage of one-sided suck but when the track runs on for over seven minutes and his fingernails-on-the-chalkboard voice is blasting into my ears at every moment (and I MEAN every moment) I don't want to listen. Hell, even when you THINK he's gone he's not because he comes right back! There is no solo and when you think the song is fading out he returns with his annoying nasally vocals and tries to a cappella the ending before the uptown train comes back.

Kantou Dogeza Kumiai is undescribable in just how bad it is. Yesterday's review was a trip through the positive side of weird music. This is a crash course in the polar opposite. The instruments here sound horrible and this comes off as the last few minutes of a rehearsal meeting a binge party. Lobotomized Ruki turns into tortured Ruki over the course as he somehow turned the dials and created a new brand of annoying vocals. His stupid vomit grunts, retarded giggles, gargled spit, horrible vocals and whatever the fuck else he does kills any credit the track may have had and to be frank this isn't the worst thing of this track vocally. Just wait until the last 30 seconds...

Doro Darake no Seishun is supposed to be the "single" here and with it's Addam's family inspired bass and ill-fitting digital effects at the end it straddles the line between suck and suck. If you need a Star Trek reference, this would be Deep Space Nine while Juunanasai would be The Original Series and Kantou Dogeza Kumiai would be Enterprise. The second here might grow on you over time just because it's charming in the instrumental department but the third is just a disgrace to music and the first is positively boring to sit through. For fuck's sake this doesn't even have anything to do with the title (which talks about teachers and their inherent pedophilia - HELLO PEDOBEAR!). Honestly, I don't give a damn what the hell Ruki is screaming about in his torture because there's nothing of "A-side value" in this track and it sounds just as bad as the first two I mentioned. Sure, the bass stole a few notes from a popular 60's show and the ending sounds like my clogged tub drain but this doesn't come close to a saving grace. The best part of this track is when it stops in the middle and you think it's done before the torture continues on once more. Seriously, stop hoping for something good on this maxi-single because you will find none.

You say I'm being unfairly one sided, focusing only on Ruki's faults and calling this maxi shitty? Fine, I will level with you - the instrumentation is nowhere near as bad as Ruki but they don't go nearly as far as they need to to overcome the suck. They don't even scratch the upper surface of fail. Sure, they're interesting in the fact that they try and incorporate elements that don't usually find their way into music, Reita tries to do something with his damn instrument other than strum idiotically and Yune's drum lines aren't half as stale as Kai's on The Invisible Wall but it all comes out as something quirky but in need of a good vocalist to push it above the heap of other crappy VisKei bands out there.

Sorry that was redundant.

But they don't have one. They have...Ruki. Seven years later and he has come a long way but this is still.... inexplicably and unforgiveably bad. Everything here is guaranteed to scar your eardrums and skew your views of music. Do yourself a favor and pass this, even if you are an avid fan of The GazettE.

Score: 21%

Review: Versailles - Prince & Princess

I've tried for an extended period of time to get into Prince. Up until I heard this release, I was always of the mind that Versailles put out quality piece after quality piece and that it only was a matter of time until I liked each track they presented to us. Prince has managed to defy that assumption for so long that I just thought I was listening to the entire track in the wrong context. I blamed it's placement on Noble, or how I would only listen when I was preoccupied with other things, or any other number of excuses that I could come up with to justify why I came across a track that was actually lackluster.

When they decided to re-release this as a single and I got wind that this was going to be re-recorded, I tried even harder. However, the adage still stands: "some things just aren't meant to be".

01. Prince
02. Princess
03. Silent Knight



01. Prince
02. Princess

Why is it when I sit down to listen to Prince I feel like I'm getting ready to watch a Gundam anime? I wasn't too crazy about this track when it was included on the second pressing of Noble but it was also included as a free digital download so I wasn't complaining if the track was lackluster. Sitting here looking at how Versailles elected to re-release this single in a whopping six editions just reminds me of how disturbingly effective their marketing strategies are. Prince isn't a very memorable song and is definitely not single material, even if Versailles decided to pimp this song with a re-recording, a new introduction and a smoother production value all across the board. The pace of this song is very awkward and Versailles sounds like they are trying to be epic with fast riffs and dueling guitar reveries while moving at the pace of a constipated sloth. Hizaki's solo is technically impressive (as always) but getting to it is such an exercise in patience it's not worth it. What results from this abomination is musical incoherence and the typical fade-out ending to Prince culminates in this song being below-average.

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 it's 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.

Silent Knight is a clever play on words and the only decent track we get out of this deal. In what sounds like Teru and Hizaki warming up before band practice, Silent Knight happens to be the only song with any sort of bite behind it and it's really not much. Sure, Jasmine You's bass brings up the deep end, Hizaki and Teru have some very complex guitar lines and Yuki's relentless drumming drives the pace up from the slow start to the explosive finish. Sure, they're all accompanied by a non-repetitive symphonic section that provides an accompanying ethereal atmosphere. Sure, sections of this song sound like it was lifted out of Aphrodite. What kills this song for me is that it's a sudden switch from classically written compositions to romantically written pieces and it is jarring. Out of this context, Silent Knight is a great song. In this context, I can't get into it.

Just as an interesting aside, the marketing for this failed miserably. All the "member editions" sold only under Hizaki, then Kamijo. The other three were lower down in sales and poor Jasmine wasn't even on the list.

So this wraps up what I would call one of the only Versailles releases I would recommend you skip. With only one good song (that being Silent Knight) and two songs that I haven't grown fond of in a year this is the last place any newcomer to Versailles would want to start. What sums up this single are these four words:

"too much too fast"

Recommended:

Silent Knight

Score (regular edition): 52%
Score (member editions): 40%