Review: Sadie - Grieving the Dead Soul

Fuck Kagerou. Grieving the Dead Soul is the type of music that I want to hear from Sadie, and the type of single I expect them to release. I demand no better than what I know they can put out, and they've released good stuff time and again. Ladies and gentlemen, THIS IS SADIE.

01. Grieving the Dead Soul
02. Hakanai Risou Wazuka na Ai
03. In Cave
DVD: Grieving the Dead Soul PV


01. Grieving the Dead Soul
02. Sexual Affection
03. Hakanai Risou Wazuka na Ai
04. In Cave

Grieving the Dead Soul	Grieving the Dead Soul takes some time to grow on you but once it does you’ll quickly find this to be one of your favorites. There’s a reason why this hit number one on the charts: it rocks. It has everything you’d hope for from a hard rocking Sadie song: a chorus of ghoulish death vocals, Mao’s trademark sing-scream style, and a refrain that will have you head banging even at your desk. The shining moment is his wrathful screaming, particularly toward the end. The quiet area near the middle of the song substitutes for a solo and is a breather after the two minutes of awesome shit they hurl in your face. They break up the pace and keep you on your toes, waiting to see how much they’ll throw at you once you inhale. This track exhibits the real flairs of Sadie packed into one concentrated track of sublimity.	10/10
Sexual Affection	Well, we have a song completely in English! Not only is half of it incoherent gibberish, but add a message so disgusting that it makes the song better! Lyrics make or break songs, and sometimes broken songs can be bandaged with some good lyrics. Sexual Affection isn’t broken, but it isn’t that good. The bass solo in the middle makes this song distinctive, but getting there is such an exercise in patience some may question whether sitting through two repeated verses and a refrain is worth it. The guitar crunch right after the solo also picks up the pace a little but the refrain and the verses drag on and on like a tattered cloth on the floor. Once you pass the nice riffs in the middle, you can essentially stop listening, because there’s nothing left in the song you haven’t heard. Too slow to be hard and too hard to be slow, the song doesn’t grab attention like it should and leaves the lyrics to do all the work.	4/10
Hakanai Risou Wazuka na Ai	A complete 180 from both tracks that precede it, this is Sadie’s attempt at a solid ballad. It’s got piano, a supportive, rumbling bassline, and a haunting atmosphere working in its favor. It does have some flaws however. Mao doesn’t know how to hold his voice too well because he hasn’t done any ballads before so his voice lacks power in places that could use it most (ex. the chorus). Also, the song’s ending isn’t thought out because it just fades, almost as if they didn’t want to finish the song. This denouement makes the piece feel too long and subtracts from the overall package. For those looking for Sadie to try new sounds (like me) it’s worth an investment. If you’re a fan of shouting, screaming, loud Sadie, you won’t find it here.	8/10
In Cave	This track is the only other track I need on this single. It reaches the level of the hit single and puts more emphasis on the singing than the screaming. The pauses allow for forceful entry of all five instruments and the bridge works wonderfully with the rest of the song to produce a musical coherence (something the last two tracks could have used more of). With a beautiful mix of violence and beauty, screaming and singing, and unusual (good) singing in the refrain reaching up into the upper registers of Mao’s vocals, this song is the proper way to end off this single.	10/10

This single is old but I reviewed it because I need to reaffirm to myself that Sadie is capable of good music. Kagerou should have never been conceived. This is brilliant and a must listen if not for the first and last track. I suggest you get the regular edition (brown cover) as you lose out on a mediocre track and get a music video, which works in this situation. 80%.