ReivieЯ
DECLARE
Declare quite possibly takes the position as the best release ReivieЯ has put forth so far. It's pretty much up there with [words] in terms of quality and unlike [words] they've managed to deliver two great songs instead of one. DECLARE packs the "ReivieЯ" sound that was sorely missing on their first single and had they started out on this foot they could have made so many fans quickly. The first track, DEEP INSIDE, was featured for some reason as a not-so hidden segment at the end of the second track for OUT OF VOID and it's just as good as it sounded back then. The production is top notch, Jey's vocals alternate between well-sung and hellishly barked and the guitar work is phenomenal in terms of teamwork and melody. The intro to the memorable chorus is great and the last 30 seconds ends this song off on the right foot.
...for ideal is what I would call their attempt to diversify their sound. It's the softest song they've released thus far but compared to the rest of their discography that really isn't a problem when all you have to do is remove the crunching guitars. ...for Ideal is a tad more melodic but no less brutal as ReivieЯ can and does bring it out when they do need to. In the sections that feature it, Jey's vocals do get rough and the guys do jam on the bottom three strings and it works. There's prominent bass and light guitar strumming in the verses but the chorus packs power without changing the tempo of the song. Later verses feature harder guitars and more passion from Jey's vocals, the solo is expressive and emotive and the entire song has this feeling of progression without having the cheesy "ascending ladder" pattern that glam metal artists used to whore.
DECLARE
Declare quite possibly takes the position as the best release ReivieЯ has put forth so far. It's pretty much up there with [words] in terms of quality and unlike [words] they've managed to deliver two great songs instead of one. DECLARE packs the "ReivieЯ" sound that was sorely missing on their first single and had they started out on this foot they could have made so many fans quickly. The first track, DEEP INSIDE, was featured for some reason as a not-so hidden segment at the end of the second track for OUT OF VOID and it's just as good as it sounded back then. The production is top notch, Jey's vocals alternate between well-sung and hellishly barked and the guitar work is phenomenal in terms of teamwork and melody. The intro to the memorable chorus is great and the last 30 seconds ends this song off on the right foot....for ideal is what I would call their attempt to diversify their sound. It's the softest song they've released thus far but compared to the rest of their discography that really isn't a problem when all you have to do is remove the crunching guitars. ...for Ideal is a tad more melodic but no less brutal as ReivieЯ can and does bring it out when they do need to. In the sections that feature it, Jey's vocals do get rough and the guys do jam on the bottom three strings and it works. There's prominent bass and light guitar strumming in the verses but the chorus packs power without changing the tempo of the song. Later verses feature harder guitars and more passion from Jey's vocals, the solo is expressive and emotive and the entire song has this feeling of progression without having the cheesy "ascending ladder" pattern that glam metal artists used to whore.
DECLARE is a solid effort from a band still struggling to stick their foot into the pool of credibility. I can actually get behind the direction that ReivieЯ's planning to go in because for a band that's in a genre where credibility and originality are stagnating side by side and good music has had to have been watered down to be considered "acceptable listening" they manage to combine VK visuals that don't look like the remnants of a rainbow factory with rock music that's not nu-metal trash and that actually utilizes ALL the strings to create something worth looking forward to. It's recommended right up there with [words] as something you must listen to if you're aspiring to become a fan of ReivieЯ.
DISTRACTED WOMB
DISASTER, ReivieЯ's contribution to this split single with VanessA, is a bit of a let-down. Knowing where this song could have gone and having witnessed the direction this band has taken with [words] and more notably DECLARE, ReivieЯ played it safer here with DISASTER and preferred to jam on the bottom three strings and replay the same few notes over and over again. From a musical standpoint they simplified the song to make the brutality of Jey's vocals accentuated but the intricate guitar work that I grew to love this band for is notably missing. This is ReivieЯ's attempt at being both brutal and hard and it just doesn't pan out as it should. This sounds like an OUT OF VOID song with better production, better vocals and slightly more originality. It isn't the completely crappiest thing they've given us but after their last few singles this should have been death metal GOLD and it's wearing the bronze and sitting there content with it.
Judgment#003
ReivieЯ's contribution to this omnibus was in the form of Shinshoku, which sounds like a companion song to Disaster except done a shitload better. Jey's vocals are a bit weaker than usual but that's made up for by the harmonizing of the guitars (which were completely shitty on DISASTER) and the fact that they play more than just the same few notes over and over again. The tribal drumming is perhaps what gives this song it's distinct atmosphere (whenever it's used to good effect). The chorus differs from the verses because it speeds up the pace of Jey's delivery - where he was going slow in the verses he delivers the chorus rapidly. Nothing TOO great but it's worth mentioning and Shinshoku sits firmly in the middle of the shit to great meter of this band's releases.
DISASTER, ReivieЯ's contribution to this split single with VanessA, is a bit of a let-down. Knowing where this song could have gone and having witnessed the direction this band has taken with [words] and more notably DECLARE, ReivieЯ played it safer here with DISASTER and preferred to jam on the bottom three strings and replay the same few notes over and over again. From a musical standpoint they simplified the song to make the brutality of Jey's vocals accentuated but the intricate guitar work that I grew to love this band for is notably missing. This is ReivieЯ's attempt at being both brutal and hard and it just doesn't pan out as it should. This sounds like an OUT OF VOID song with better production, better vocals and slightly more originality. It isn't the completely crappiest thing they've given us but after their last few singles this should have been death metal GOLD and it's wearing the bronze and sitting there content with it.ReivieЯ's contribution to this omnibus was in the form of Shinshoku, which sounds like a companion song to Disaster except done a shitload better. Jey's vocals are a bit weaker than usual but that's made up for by the harmonizing of the guitars (which were completely shitty on DISASTER) and the fact that they play more than just the same few notes over and over again. The tribal drumming is perhaps what gives this song it's distinct atmosphere (whenever it's used to good effect). The chorus differs from the verses because it speeds up the pace of Jey's delivery - where he was going slow in the verses he delivers the chorus rapidly. Nothing TOO great but it's worth mentioning and Shinshoku sits firmly in the middle of the shit to great meter of this band's releases.Out of Void
The main problem with Out of Void is not the lackluster production but that it doesn't sound like ReivieЯ. Every band has their own unique sound that balances the tonality of the vocalist with the originality of the composer to create something that no other band can quite replicate. ReivieЯ has foregone that and created two tracks that sound fine but don't sound original. There's no shred of "ReivieЯ's essence" in any of these tracks. Usually the first releases take risks and do things they wouldn't dare do on subsequent releases but here it sounds like the boys were afraid to piss any fans off so they stayed generic and unoriginal.
The main problem with Out of Void is not the lackluster production but that it doesn't sound like ReivieЯ. Every band has their own unique sound that balances the tonality of the vocalist with the originality of the composer to create something that no other band can quite replicate. ReivieЯ has foregone that and created two tracks that sound fine but don't sound original. There's no shred of "ReivieЯ's essence" in any of these tracks. Usually the first releases take risks and do things they wouldn't dare do on subsequent releases but here it sounds like the boys were afraid to piss any fans off so they stayed generic and unoriginal.It shows more in "Zetsubou no Sora" that follows the rough verse-poppy chorus formula. Jey doesn't sing with any passion and hits the notes when he needs to hit them how he needs to hit them. His harsh vocals have no power and the guitars sound like they're tuned all wrong in some parts. The groove is there but the balls aren't. The second track is even worse off since all I hear are pounding drums overpowering everything. It isn't as if I need to hear it anyway since all these two tracks are are ideas that work done again and again. Sonic earplay utilizing two headphones aren't anything new but ReivieЯ uses it as if it's some novel technique that they've discovered alongside bark-and-call gang vocals. Admittedly, this song sounds a little more inspired but the last minute where the band re-surfaces and plays a different song just doesn't work. It's about as bad as the chorus which just destroyed the movement in the verse for something generic and unoriginal.
Don't bother checking out Out Of Void. This single isn't worth your time.
[words]
This is the song that got me to start checking out ReivieЯ a bit more often. With it being a live-distributed single this song might be a bit difficult to get your hands on but it's worth it in the end. Verse and chorus match up and compliment one another perfectly and Jey's vocals are haunting and memorable in that same way. His growls have also definitely improved and even though he relies more on his singing voice the pace of the song suits it well. Let it also be known that I am in love with the tuning on the guitar as well as just the way ReivieЯ put it together. Yes, [words] may sound a little generic and I feel like they took inspiration from another song somewhere else but fuck that it's a great song and is definitely one of their top releases.
Renny Amy
I don't know and I really don't fucking care WHAT order these releases come in. Renny Amy, while admittedly a semi-cool name for a band has songwriting talent worse than born. This makes sense considering that Renny Amy, D+L and born are the SAME EXACT BAND. Now sure whatever excuse you make could hold some semblance of water but let's remember that the only difference between mega-indies and indies are that people know you. It has no bearance on 
how crappy your music is allowed to be.
Renny Amy still finds themselves down-producing their music, as is evident on MOLDER. The chorus transitions are born-ish but the difference is that they don't totally jump an octave and change clefs. I don't see how it will click with me on the first listen or so but over time I can see this being a more fluid transition than something on say, Dust Pain (born). Their edgier parts seem washed down and Ryouga's voice is understandably weaker and even though they have good segments here and there MOLDER is missing this little spark I like to call magic that makes music shine. In this respect I don't see anything having changed between Renny Amy, D+L and born, which is a huge problem since bands are supposed to continue, change up their sound a little and get better. You could throw this somewhere on A.H.M. and it wouldn't sound out of place at all. There's a big difference between non-diversity and a "signature sound", and Renny Amy/D+L/born are of the former with this track.
COURTSHIP is supposed to be the A-side, if you want to call this track a single be my guest but personally I think it's laughable. COURTSHIP has a mean riff and sounds overall more convincing and original than MOLDER but it only reaches up the barrel as far as "something I might not skip if it pops up on shuffle". The problem with Renny Amy is not that they aren't talented musicians since their compositions show a great deal of thought but that their music isn't edgy in any respect. They sound like they're being played but they aren't playing. Ryouga sounds like he's singing but he's not SINGING. They don't reach out to their demographic, smack them with their composition and say "this is good. like it.". It seems like a peace offering like "well, we made these courtship cookies for you and we hope you like them since we worked hard on it." Renny Amy needed to put the badass in their music and fix their method of production (and of course Ryouga needed to get better) because this song would have been pretty cool. They fixed up their chorus problem or masked it enough for me to not notice too much. At the end of the day, COURTSHIP is an OK song but in the context of other songs this one will always get lost under the rubble because it just isn't assertive enough.
Monochrome to Shinju
There's immediately a problem with an EP if you can't tell when one song ends and another one begins. This means two things - one was that you weren't paying attention enough because the piece just wasn't engaging and the other is that all the songs sound so similar that they blend together and since you aren't paying attention you won't notice the slight pause in between.
Courtship
I don't know and I really don't fucking care WHAT order these releases come in. Renny Amy, while admittedly a semi-cool name for a band has songwriting talent worse than born. This makes sense considering that Renny Amy, D+L and born are the SAME EXACT BAND. Now sure whatever excuse you make could hold some semblance of water but let's remember that the only difference between mega-indies and indies are that people know you. It has no bearance on how crappy your music is allowed to be.Renny Amy still finds themselves down-producing their music, as is evident on MOLDER. The chorus transitions are born-ish but the difference is that they don't totally jump an octave and change clefs. I don't see how it will click with me on the first listen or so but over time I can see this being a more fluid transition than something on say, Dust Pain (born). Their edgier parts seem washed down and Ryouga's voice is understandably weaker and even though they have good segments here and there MOLDER is missing this little spark I like to call magic that makes music shine. In this respect I don't see anything having changed between Renny Amy, D+L and born, which is a huge problem since bands are supposed to continue, change up their sound a little and get better. You could throw this somewhere on A.H.M. and it wouldn't sound out of place at all. There's a big difference between non-diversity and a "signature sound", and Renny Amy/D+L/born are of the former with this track.
COURTSHIP is supposed to be the A-side, if you want to call this track a single be my guest but personally I think it's laughable. COURTSHIP has a mean riff and sounds overall more convincing and original than MOLDER but it only reaches up the barrel as far as "something I might not skip if it pops up on shuffle". The problem with Renny Amy is not that they aren't talented musicians since their compositions show a great deal of thought but that their music isn't edgy in any respect. They sound like they're being played but they aren't playing. Ryouga sounds like he's singing but he's not SINGING. They don't reach out to their demographic, smack them with their composition and say "this is good. like it.". It seems like a peace offering like "well, we made these courtship cookies for you and we hope you like them since we worked hard on it." Renny Amy needed to put the badass in their music and fix their method of production (and of course Ryouga needed to get better) because this song would have been pretty cool. They fixed up their chorus problem or masked it enough for me to not notice too much. At the end of the day, COURTSHIP is an OK song but in the context of other songs this one will always get lost under the rubble because it just isn't assertive enough.
Monochrome to Shinju is just another piece of generic VisKei rock without any original aspects so it's forgettable. Renny Amy isn't horrible in any aspect of the word to join the ranks of bands such as Seeles Klar Unend and idiot but they just aren't good at creating engaging, moving pieces of work. If you name me a piece of work by Dir en grey or Matenrou Opera or basically any other established band with a musical flair that sets them apart if I knew it I probably could hum it back or at least know what you're talking about. All I could think of with this EP was "born...born...born...why haven't you gotten better on A.H.M.?".
Where Monochrome to Shinju fails is that it sounds like this was recorded not by a professional band but by a group of talented teenagers in a garage band without any experience. 煙の果実 is a great example of this: many good musical techniques such as harmonizing both vocals and instruments are stumbled upon here but they aren't expanded upon and they aren't used very well in some parts. The mix of instruments also seems very off - the bass is sharp and the guitars and drums are washed out. Hell, the drum player sounds like he's playing on marshmallows. Ryouga's the only person I hear and when he isn't harmonizing he sounds like he's singing just one monotone note while alternating by sharps and flats. songs like butterfly 13 have interesting riffs going on but that's where Monochrome to Shinju falls into it's second pitfall: the non-dynamic differences between the instruments mixes everything together in an almost D'espairsRay fashion so even though everything's playing together you can't tell what's playing what. It's a little peeve of mine that I dislike greatly.
There is not one specific track that I'd actually recommend anyone take a shot at since they all sound very similar but if I had to butterfly 13 and WARPS CHILD could be good choices I guess. Ryouga's either singing flatly or roaring flatly and the guitars aren't crisp and sharp. They are average through and through and what techniques they use sound either so alien or so bland it makes the listener completely uninterested. Fans of born might find music they like (better) here (since born's last album blew giraffe anus) but speaking for myself I've got much better hard rock and metal bands that play music I can remember when I'm done with the album.
No comments:
Post a Comment