Review: D'espairsRay - Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana

Looking back on the old one, I realize fully how tired I was and how crappy it came out. So I decided to do it over and put some actual effort into it. I also figure, the new format would work out better for this particular single because of my attitude toward the whole package.

1. "Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana" (凍える夜に咲いた花) – 5:05
2. "Maze" – 4:38
3. "Pig" – 4:32

* The Orange Cover comes with a Clip of Garnet and the blue one with a Clip of Forbidden.

01. Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana	I think it’s supposed to be a mid-tempo song bordering on a soft ballad but it bores me to no end so I have no idea what it’s trying to be. I get the feeling here that it’s trying to appeal to a larger crowd by sacrificing most of the core sound of the band too quickly and it does neither successfully. I can understand the experimentation behind it but D’espairsRay took too big of a leap with this one and they tumble a bit here and there. There is nothing epic about it that makes it memorable other than the lyrics, which sing about a lonely man thinking about his lost love. Those lyrics are the best part of the entire song, and it shows a new side to D’espairsRay that isn’t full-blown, erm, despair. It’s nice to have Hizumi sing a story instead of vent his feelings. I’d take this over Squall anyday. Some may praise it for showing a new side to D’espairsRay but I honestly don’t see it all that much.	6/10
02. MAZE	My personal favorite due mainly to the lyrics but it’s not that far ahead of [PIG]headed. MAZE was written by Tsukasa (which isn't common since Karyu writes everything) and the difference in composer shows as it has more of an emphasis on the rhythm and drums than usual. Hizumi’s singing is excellent as always but here it has a quality that makes it memorable moreso than usual. The lyrics to MAZE are twisted – from what I could gather as I skimmed over it it’s a song about a Mephistophelian trying to find his way out of Satanism. It’s some good shit and the mood fits the song perfectly. The electronic noises are used to greater effect here and I could have sworn that they brought back the drums they used in “Infection” for a short part in here. A great reminder of the old D’espairsRay mixed with their newer sounds and a lot of maturity	9/10
03. [PIG]headed	Laugh if you must at the title but this song is no joke. This heavily distorted track sounds like it’d fit right at home on the Garnet single. Right from the beginning with that distorted chiming effect it transitions into growls out of nowhere. The effect between the synthesized voice and the normal one along with the angsty whispering voice is fitting for the atmosphere they're trying to create. Surprisingly, even with the complexity of the music going for it, what really makes this song great are the lyrics. From a title such as that you don’t need to speak Japanese to know that it’s directed toward an authority that Hizumi despises, but his lyricism here is top notch, using some … colorful … phrases to make his point clearer. Another must-listen.	9/10

Personally, skip the A-side and get the B-sides. The version you get only differs on what clip you want but otherwise the single is all the same. Although I am not fond of Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana, I would still recommend the single just for the B-sides, which completely outshine it.

Download:

MAZE
PIG

Rating: 80%