Review: MUCC - Shion

I think it's about time I touch upon something most people might actually have on their computer. Shion is actually the place where I started with MUCC and then I worked my way back to their earlier releases and knowing one of my Internet pals she's probably been looking forward to seeing what I think of this album without explicitly asking me to review it. Now she doesn't have to, since I'm going to do it today.

01. Suion
02. Fukurou no Yurikago
03. Nuritsubusunara Enji
04. Fuzz
05. Game
06. Flight -Album Version-
07. Anjelier
08. Chiissana Mado
09. Semishigure
10. Shion
11. Sorawasure
12. Shiva
13. Libra - Album Version-

I jest, I jest. I've actually listened to most of this album - just not all in one sit. Shion is pretty thick to get into and if you like it all on the first listen there's obviously something wrong with you because this album needs to grow on you. Like fine wine, good cheese and yours truly, this needs time to grow on you for you to begin to truly appreciate it.

That doesn't mean there are parts of this album that blow more than others. We'll get to those in due time.

With that said, Suion isn't one of them. It's actually one of the album intros worth listening to because Miya took a risk and put a lot of thought into it. The puddle sounds and continuous repetition are great for starting out the album out and it builds up from really simple to...not so simple. It's also the perfect length and doesn't become dull with subsequent listens. Go interesting introduction!

MUCC usually puts their strongest offerings right up at the beginning of the album, so I'm not surprised that Fukurou no Yurikago is solid. I actually expected it to be considering that in most MUCC albums the memorable songs come first or early on (Zetsubou, Bouzenjishitsu & Ware, Arubeki Basho) Fukurou no Yurikago wastes no time in getting the album started, since I don't know many people that would consider water dropping into a bucket "music". Every review out there says that this album channels "Middle-Eastern" themes and as much as I would like to be an ass and disagree I can't get the image of Aladdin flying on a rug out of my head when I listen to this song. That means Fukurou no Yurikago does sound like it borrows elements from Indian music and culture and it comes packaged with a chorus that actually does it's JOB (i.e. making the song better) so when it's repeated what would normally annoy me actually sounds epic. The fact that this song moves into Nuritsubusunara Enji smoothly only helps to add up the points even more. It's definitely worth a listen.

For some people, this mass experimentation with styles is bound to start pissing them off...now.

Nuritsubusunara Enji is a sampling of the hard, screamy MUCC from the older days mixed with some of their new influences but the piercing yells and the punk metal riffs loses steam at the chorus. In fact, the chorus is the entire low part of the song because everything else is so much better than it and the transition to it is choppy. It also feels weird coming after the soaring rock number that was Fukurou no Yurikago because the transition is not doing this song any favors. One final comment about this song is on the length because I feel that it runs on for a minute too long and the energy dissipates after the awesome solo at the three minute mark. What Nuritsubusunara Enji has going for it is raw, pulsating energy and a cleaner ending than Fukurou no Yurikago. Tatsurou's growls and screams have also improved dramatically and are pretty solid. The fade out on the guitars mixes with the intro to Fuzz cleanly and leaves this song feeling decent at worst.

If you don't like Fuzz then I cannot help you. You also might want to stop listening to this album while you're at it. Fuzz is 4:54 of win and unlike most other electronica songs it doesn't suffer from monotony. There are breakdowns every half a minute, a thick contrabass current thanks to Yukke (he can be seen playing it in the PV), and a semblance of the badass rock attitude that I expect out of every band. The acoustic strums in the first verse are also pretty fucking sweet and the touches with the harmonica take some getting used to but personally I can't see how the song would be the same without it. What I could go without are the reverb on Tatsurou's voice: it's slight at most but it does get annoying after a lot of listens. About Tatsurou's voice: it fits well into this song and it's good to see MUCC playing to his strengths instead of mashing along and forcing him to keep pace (which they incidentally do at some point later on in this album).

Game continues the genre-bending game with a thick, soaring track that combines the elements of dark and heavy without necessarily considering the two synonymous. Tatsurou's voice once again channels some Middle-Eastern influences in the verses and the way the two guitars complement each other under Yukke's bass leads to the song feeling rich with tension. I'd venture to say the best part of the song is when Miya's strumming the guitar alone before Yukke and Satochi come in with their respective instruments and have the entire song regurgitate awesome into your eardrums. The fact that MUCC decides to explode at the halfway mark and then keeps the tension throughout shows that they're not in this album to replicate what all the other bands do. They're here to do their own things and even if they sample some inspiration somewhere else they still keep it MUCC at the core.

Flight was re-recorded for Shion but this pop trash still burns in my eardrums. The good thing to this song is that it's placed right after Game to pick you up but it excels at that job and then comes off as obnoxiously happy. That irritates me to no end. For once Satochi lays off the long cymbal lines and focuses more on the rhythm and Miya's guitar is cleaner throughout. I'm not a fan of songs that sound like anime themes (and this one does) so I often give it a pass. If you like happy, upbeat songs check this one out. Then again, what the hell are you doing reading this?

ROLLER DISCO BABY! Anjelier contains the same ingredient of unnecessary upbeat sounds but what makes this song ultimately enjoyable is that it's not afraid to abandon that sound for segments at a time. The way it switches atmosphere so quickly by inserting a synthesizer here or dropping down a note there makes the song less standard and more subject to repeat listens. I'm wondering if Miya composed this just to piss Tatsurou off because the notes that he has to climb at the chorus strain his voice to the limit and I'm afraid to hear him sing this live. HOWEVER...I do have to wonder what the hell a disco anthem is doing in the middle of the album and I also have to wonder WHY MUCC chose to do disco in the first place. They did fine but Anjelier doesn't fit here.

Another ballad already? Yeah, Chiisana Mado is another ballad and it's inevitably going to be compared to Game since it follows on it's heels rather quickly. Don't even try because the two sound so different a comparison isn't going to get you anywhere. It's passionate without being overly dark and it incorporates some nice strings and some ethereal guitar strumming along with a stunning solo section complete with a piano and some acoustic guitars. Yukke threw in the entire kitchen sink composing this one and this is easily the most majestic song on Shion. Despite that it sticks closer to the album's core sound than you might think.

Semishigure irritates my eardrums at the beginning but other than that it doesn't sound much different than from when it was released on "MUCC LIVE BOOTLEG #2" in 2006. (then titled "Gokusai Part1 ~RARE TRACK~). I still don't understand why MUCC had to fuck that part up because it pierces my eardrums and it honestly hurts after repeatedly listening to it. It channels some of the atmosphere from the last track while sounding a little like Nuritsubusunara Enji and that creates another track that sounds alright but doesn't stand out too much. Tatsurou's voice remains in control here and he doesn't sound like he's straining himself here. If nothing else this sounds like a warm-up to the next track, bridging the gap between a majestic ballad and a heavy number with punkish rhythms and solid singing. Semishigure doesn't blow me away but it doesn't suck either.

The self-titled track Shion doesn't let down and in some ways sounds like the culmination of what the entire album wants to be. MUCC keeps it interesting throughout the entire five minutes and is full of singing, chanting, falsetto, and screaming along with quiet portions juxtaposed with brutal riffs and oppressive drums. Shion has so much going on that it takes more than a few listens to grasp everything that was put into this track. Some things going on in this track are so subliminal that they lend to the mood without you even noticing it. One such passage is when the track slows down into some bongos while Satochi's drums slowly speed up creating a sense of tension that explodes right back into the chorus. Tatsurou also throws in some duetting falsettos that are almost inaudible if you're not listening for them and there's a riff section going on in the chorus that I almost didn't notice the first time around. Tatsurou brandishes some death vocals on us don't translate well with the overdone chorus but do better at the slowdown which is dragged out a little too long. Other than that Shion is nothing less than mindblowing.

Sorawasure feels like it was placed here to wind the listener down from Shion. Tatsurou jumps right into the verses which is a bit different than from what I'm used to hearing and the chorus isn't too jarring. The slowdown was a little too typical but that's not too bad. Nothing about this song is pushed to the limits and because they keep the song simple while adding in slight changes to the typical formula and adding neat additions like the acoustic/string and the solo solidifies this as one of their more creative songs. I'm glad to see that they manage to keep the album going with another good song after something great like Shion. It shows you get your money's worth when you buy an MUCC album.

Shiva is that song that's going to make me eat my words. I hate Shiva with a passion. It starts out with what sounds like a speed metal riff and it keeps the deception going for a good 20 seconds before it evolves into some unlistenable pop-punk every other fucking genre under the sun shit. It tries to bring back the attitude later but that's about as believable as Barney busting into some gangster rap about friendship. This and Yasashii Uta are two songs that I could see them ending a tour with but I'm glad the album didn't end off with this. It's disappointing whe I get ready to mosh and I can't because it breaks out into a treehouse anthem. Skip.

Libra is heaven to my ears after sitting through Shiva. MUCC shows that they can be deep and sinister without having to resort to primordial screaming for five minutes on end and that showed with the transition between dark Tatsurou and the blasting guitar portions. The chorus takes away from the gothic and creepy atmosphere that the song is mostly made up of but other than that Libra does a good job of ending the album off, even with the unnecessary silence at the end of it.

In a change of pace (and because I see it pointless to review the singles for this album after this), I've placed reviews for all the singles for this album underneath (excluding the title tracks of course). Perhaps starting now will help to alleviate the "scroll syndrome" I envision having in a month or two.

The only song to talk about here is Touei. It's nowhere near as strong as Libra and actually comes off as a leftover track that could have been sandwiched in easily on Gokusai. It provides a nice contrast to Libra but if it's left to stand on it's own two feet I honestly doubt that Touei could leave much of an impression on the listener. It's got a few interesting passages but nothing that really grabs your attention overall. It's not a bad song but it's not an assertive one either so that's probably why it's delegated to the lone B-side position on this single. MUCC has created better than this and they know it.

Recommended:

Libra

Score: 70%

01. Fuzz
02. Chain Ring
03. Mae e (live)
04. Fuzz Electro Cruisin' Remix

The title track was featured in Cloverfield but even the B-side got some screen time somewhere else. Judging by the way this song sounds I would call Chain Ring an anime theme out of derision but it actually IS an anime theme (anime: Zombie Loan) which just calls for lulz. I actually remembered this song when I got up to take care of some business and when I was listening to it the first two times I wasn't paying much attention to it. Chain Ring actually isn't that bad and for a B-side it's completely superior to Touei. I find the mix between rough and light to be on point and the acoustic twangs before the chorus hits were a nice addition I didn't catch the first four times.

The third track is a live track which automatically means that without visual accompaniment it sucks. Mae e doesn't come with visual accompaniment but it does have a few nice touches like Tatsurou's harmonica portion, crowd interaction and an elongated solo section. I do believe that MUCC put this here for a reason. Even though Mae e was released back on Homura Uta and Fuzz was released on Shion there's a similar feeling both songs give that show that MUCC hasn't really changed all that much with their sound so to speak. Mae e very similar to Chain Ring was well. Compared to other lives I've heard this doesn't sound too bad vocally or instrumentally so if you don't have Homura Uta this is a good song showing you what some parts of it sounded like.

Barring some odd rhythmic patterns and the obvious effects that the remix had on the song, Fuzz electro cruisin' remix doesn't sound too different from the title track. The reverb on the voice is more noticeable but it sticks out less like a sore thumb here. What sticks out more and annoys me to no end here is Tatsurou's "whoas" in the chorus. I miss the acoustic guitar in the first verse and the punch that Yukke's contrabass had on the song in the verses so this remix pales in comparison to the title track. It still was an honest effort at trying to do something different and it didn't really fail too much. It just didn't live up to the standards set by the first track.

Recommended:

Fuzz
Chain Ring

Score: 77%

01. Flight
02. Kanashii Hanashi
03. Libra (Live)
04. Yasashii Uta (Live)

I listened to the single version of Flight before I got to Kanashii Hanashi and I have to say that Miya must have gotten fond of a certain distortion, equalizer or amp effect because it stays the same between Flight and Kanashii Hanashi. Chain Ring is still the king of B-sides here but Kanashii Hanashi doesn't lag far behind. I'm liking the fuzz effect on Yukke's bass and the attitude on the chorus is pretty cool. The classic "step up" method used in songs at the chorus to amplify it's meaning before it's over doesn't work too well here though but it's nothing that renders the song unlistenable. It's worth a listen.

Live, Libra lacks the punch that studio recording and mastering has in the way of the instruments. MUCC can't replicate all the little fancy touches that they have on the album so it's rather straightforward with some S.E. support in the background to make the song sounds somewhat like the recording on the single. I do have to mention that there are some frills here and there that remind you that this is live and they do like to take some spins on their music and the way the song ends off is smoother than the ones they've recorded for sale. Tatsurou's voice is also in prime form and for a live recording his voice is excellent.

And last in this super-spree of reviews we have...an eleven minute live recording of Yasashii Uta. Perhaps an explanation as to why it's over twice as long as the original recording is that it's the last song in a live tour in Germany (Tats says so himself in broken English at the beginning) but it really overstays it's welcome seven minutes in when all I have to hear are "lalalala" over and over again. I'm actually happy this song ended because if you're not in the moment at the concert you're not up for hearing an 11 minute track that has been condensed into a listenable 5:13 beforehand. I think the main reason this was included was because it shares similarities to Flight but it would have been nice if it was short and to the point.

Recommended:

Kanashii Hanashi

Score: 60%

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: The GazettE - REGRET

These are the kinds of singles that cement in my mind the reasons why people laugh at Japanese Rock music. Sure, you can tune them out with similarly crappy songs that stroke their love muscle, but when the day is done there are shitty bands and shitty songs in every genre of music.

This happens to be one of them.

01. Regret
02. Psychedelic Heroine
03. Worthless War

Regret is not a ballad or a rougher number so classifying this genre-wise is tricky. What this song does embody is a feeling of "playing it safe". All the instruments come together nicely, Ruki's voice sits atop them and belts his notes well, and the production is nice and crisp but it's all too damn standard. None of the members try to take a turn and do something unexpected and it turns a "Gazerock" track into a radio-friendly hit. I don't listen to alternate genres of music for something I can hear on the radio. The radio sucks.

At the end of the day Regret comes off boring.

Psychedelic Heroine tries to infuse some disco and punk into The GazettE's rock soul but the quick pace hurts the guitars as they struggle to keep up with Ruki and the rhythm section. Thankfully, the rhythm section is just as audible as the leads and that allows Psychedelic Heroine to turn around at the chorus. From there the song is solid straight up to the end, where one guitar strums some chords before another one comes in. It's a better addition than a 24 second fade. Ruki's vocals are quick and loud but the female backvocals are overused (like usual). I like the amount of experimentation this track uses. It's something Regret needs.

Best song here.

Worthless War starts off with a bang but gets repetitive quickly. It's the whole "soft intro, hard song" formula. While the oriental-inspired beginning is creative, it gives way to a heavy portion that sounds too familiar. Ruki's lyrics are about war, but he repeats his verses twice which makes the song less interesting. The chorus is underinspiring at best and gives way to a short solo that's cool but can't save this song. Another problem with this song is that it doesn't fit on this single. Both of the tracks that preceded it were upbeat numbers and this tries to rear it's head and be dark. That attitude does not work here. As a standalone song it's decent but in the context of this single I would suggest you just end at Psychedelic Heroine.

Recommended:
As a matter of fact, all I recommend is the second track. The first is safe and the third is overshadowed by The GazettE songs that tried that formula and did it better (Akai One Piece, Anti Pop, Crucify Sorrow).

Score: 47%

Review: girugämesh - BORDER

My initial thoughts on Border, while always valid, can be found here if you are interested. However, there's something I have to sample and repeat here before I begin. Note that I have heard the song a few times so I have a good mental image of what he's saying and what it sounds like.

"Perhaps it's just the individual package. But then again, it's girugämesh. An honest fan like me will tell you that even though their music is enjoyable, there are very few tracks that don't sound like something they haven't done before.

So Border as a title track is looking to be a pretty decent track but nothing revolutionary by girugämesh standards. What I want most out of this band is for them to blend their new electronic style of rock with their older, harder style on one album and to do it well so the next album isn't repetitive. Here's hoping the B-side is a normal ballad, or at the very least that it samples from puzzle."

Border is more of the same style of electronic rock mixed with hip-hop elements and sprinkled with a bit of that girugämesh flavor. It's the same formula they've been pulling out their ass for quite a while and it still works because at it's core, Border is another catchy number. My only concern, which is burrowing in my head right now, is what the album is going to sound like. This release schedule is very unlike girugämesh, so are they trying to get these last few songs out of their system before they start a new, experimental phase or is this a sample of what's to come?

If this IS a sample of what's to come the new album has the potential to rank lower than MUSIC.

01. BORDER
02. Suiren

I can't really say that BORDER sounds a lot like the stuff from MUSIC. Sure, it samples electronic effects and puts them in the background and the guitars use a similar synthesizer, but if anything it reminds me most of a mix between MUSIC and Girugämesh. This is a step in the right direction, since MUSIC had a very noticeable imbalance between the electronic and the rock and is the main reason why I hate electronic effects in songs so much nowadays. It still sounds a lot like music I've already heard though, and the whole "rapped verse-hard part-rapped verse-hard part-sung chorus" formula they're using to make their singles are becoming rustic. It's obvious they're using the whole "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra here, but what isn't broken yet is going to become broken over the span of the next few releases if they don't figure out how to change up their song structure enough for me not to realize that I'm hearing the same thing I heard a few months ago. Of course I'm referencing ALIVE, but BORDER is an altogether more cohesive song, is better than a lot of the songs stuck together using this formula, and is just more rewarding for me to listen to. I hate myself for moving along to the catchiness of the song because I'm trying my hardest not to but even I realize that BORDER isn't anything new.

In my opinion Suiren is supposed to be the single here. In the first few seconds, I was going to bash both this song and BORDER for sounding too similar, but Satoshi kicks in with some singing (something he hasn't done since Reason of Crying/Girugämesh if I remember correctly) and there's no rapping to be found anywhere. I don't mind that because this is a major deviation from their usual formula. We have a thick bass, guitars that kick in at the right part and solid drums that aren't wound on a formula. Due to the entire structure of this song, and the fact that we actually have a solo (the last time there was a solo was ages ago) I have to say that Ryo probably wasn't the one that stuck this song together. Most likely Nii or ShuU, but no matter. Suiren is the type of girugämesh that I want to hear and surpasses the single by far in almost every way.

So I suppose I don't have to tell you Suiren made the single for me. I find it better as a B-side than GAMBLE was and BORDER is just about around there with ALIVE. For a newcomer to girugämesh, this is a pretty good place to start to get a sample of old and new all at once. I'm pleasantly surprised with the B-side (even though it's no ballad) but there's two things I want girugämesh to do.

1) Take more risks like they did with Suiren
2) Make their songs longer since neither one of these songs are over 4:00

These two are just the right length but for the album, don't be afraid to give us an epic ^^

Recommended:

Suiren

Score: 73%

Review: Lycaon - Chains of Collar

I wrote this review on the 24th of June, when I had actually gotten this single, but for some unfathomable reason I hadn't posted this. I think I had set it aside for later and then completely forgot about it until today. I was also thinking of redoing this review and when I go to look for it...I can't find it. Instead of posting what I have in a section no one is going to see ever again, I decided to put it up towards the front so it could at least get one view. Let's see how generic my cross-dressers have gotten.

01. the chain which ties you
02. chains of collar
03. INSANITY

Now, as for the first track, I despised it when Nega had an instrumental on a three track single and when ScReW had two on their mini-album Racial Mixture. The same stands here for Lycaon. the chain which ties you is obviously an instrumental and it's not a very good one, being full of background S.E. and feeling more like the audio to a movie than the audio to a track. Skip it because it would take me longer to explain why than it would for you to finish said track.

Lycaon hasn't been the band to push the envelope in their short existence as a band, and produce wonderful but unoriginal melodies. chains of collar isn't much different. If you want to get into a new band that doesn't sound like anything you've ever heard before, skip Lycaon because their releases offer more of the same time after time. In comparison to their superb mini-album Ambrozia, I feel that Lycaon took a step forward and a step back. In songs such as suckin' on a lollipop Yuuki's voice was atrocious and didn't fit well at all. Here, on chains of collar, his singing not only has improved a fair deal but I can't find one specific portion where I want to gouge my ears in from the sudden transition. In songs such as Alejandro and the similarly hard rocker The end of [Delusion] the instrumentation was a hell of a lot more inventive than it is here. That's not to say that the work isn't great but it isn't their greatest. I would really hate to say it but this isn't their best single, but it's definitely the best offer here.

Insanity's riff sounds just like System of a Down's Toxicity. I can't listen to this song seriously after realizing that and as such I don't like this song. Lycaon was never an original band but to go ahead and take such a similar riff makes it less enjoyable than it already is. Go ahead, shoot me, but I didn't steal a riff.

So at the end of the day chains of collar is decidely average, just like most of Lycaon's output. Shame really, because this band wants to fill a void in the Visual Kei scene, and they really can because they carry a unique sound but it just appears that they don't know how. Here's hoping their next single blows me away like Red Rum and Ambrozia did and that they change up their signature sound and become more diverse.

Recommended:

chains of collar

Score: 61%

Review: Shinko Syukyo Gakudan NoGoD - Kuro Fukyou

Today I randomly came across +Medical Lolita's+ journal, and of course the first message you'll see there is "this site is closed". Why is it closed? She "fell out of love with Visual Kei". I can find that completely understandable, since half of the music that these bands put out nowadays are atrocious. She maintained it for three years, and I give her props for that, but when it comes to Visual Kei, being positive about reviews from most bands are a very very taxing thing to do. So that's why most of my reviews are from things that were released a few years back, like this one. Of course, I did Ifukyou yesterday so I have to keep them together, but you'll eventually start to see me include just more than Japanese Rock music here because...well...most of these bands suck.

01. Monokuro
02. Gekiretsu Kyoukan Ranchiki Kyou

Why this one has been tossed to the wayside and Gu Ren the one that gets the spot on the Kanna Fukyou record I will never know. Monokuro is by far the superior song out of the two, and even all these years later I still listen to it at least once a week. When compared to many other NoGoD songs, it falls into the least used category of "epic power ballad". It's not completely soft and drawn out like Yakusoku no Chi, it isn't a Rinne Tenshou, and even though it has hard parts they aren't poppy and upbeat. Even said hard parts are restrained accordingly and everything works together to create the sad atmosphere that weaves within every note of this song. Said atmosphere starts off violent and dips to it's ultimate calmness at the solo where there's just one guitar playing some notes until the song explodes into your face. The entire time, there's a tense feeling going on throughout the song, as if you're waiting for something unexpected or horrible to happen (even though the entire feeling is unwarranted; the entire song is effective but simple in construction). Danchou's singing is mostly falsetto in this song and creeps the hell out of me because he sounds utterly distraught and forlorn. Yes, Monokuro is not a happy sounding song, and because of that it is so different from many other NoGoD songs just to start out with. The only flaw to this song is the way it ends. It's supposed to flow with the next song so when you listen to it all alone it's going to cut off and ruin the entire flow of the track. When you listen to it with the next track, it flows seamlessly.

Gekiretsu Kyoukan Ranchiki Kyou is the type of track that's all over the place in sound, and it establishes itself immediately as the polar opposite of the last track you heard. The song is upbeat and violent, if you can even imagine that. It's got clapping, choked scurgles, beaver chirping, very nasty screams from Danchou, dark backvocals and a very 80's three-note riff. And that's even before Danchou kicks in with an uncharacteristically deep voice before he winds it up at the chorus! Even though I hate poppy choruses, this song is so all over the place it's one of the few songs I'll ever accept it in. Proof of this schizophrenia is the "portion" right before the solo right before it launches into the solo which in itself is badass but is accentuated even more by the complete moments of "what the bloody fuck" before it. Gekiretsu Kyoukan Ranchiki Kyou is a love-it-or-hate-it track straight up from the beginning to the end.

In what is possibly one of the most forgotten and underrated NoGoD singles, coming back to Kuro Fukyou is starting to remind me of what NoGoD is capable of when they decide to put careful thought into creating new, experimental pieces of music. Neither one of these songs sound like "any other NoGoD song" and that's why every time I come back to this single there's a magic about it that hooks me onto NoGoD (Monokuro was the reason why I got into NoGoD in the first place, even though Tsumibatsu Egoist was the first song I ever heard by them). That's the reason why most of the entries this month have been nothing but NoGoD. So, to wrap this up...

Recommended:

Kuro Fukyou

Score: 93%

Review: Shinko Syukyo Gakudan NoGoD - Ifukyou

Look confused? Yeah, it's nothing more than the name for Aka Fukyou.

BUT WAITPLOX, AKA FUKYOU IS READ AKA FUKYOU! WHY IS IT IFUKYOU ZESSHOKU?

Let's take a look at the Kanji.

Aka Fukyou is meant to be written 赤布教. This single is written 赫布教. That's a slight change that makes a huge difference. What's worse is that the title track can be read either Ifukyou, Gu Ren, or Gu Hasu and the second track can be read either Yuiitsu Uta or Yuiitsu Ka. I'm going to go with the second just because of some particle rules I don't feel like getting into at the moment. This is about as bad as Dou (which can be read Dou, Shirube, or Michibiku). No one actually knows which one Danchou had in mind for any of these, but most people use Aka Fukyou as the "accepted" term. Since I don't like to be most people, and honestly because I don't believe "Aka" is correct, I'm going to redo this review calling this album Ifukyou.

These are the times when it's beneficial to know some Japanese O_o.

01. Gu Ren
02. Yuiitsu Ka

In order to start Gu Ren off, you have some German speech straight out of MEIN TEIL that's supposed to buff NoGoD's multicultural cock and fulfill their "abuse of another language other than English" requirement that every indies band needs to complete. Danchou has an annoying tendency to hold out his notes after the end of his verses and simultaneously not project his voice, which makes him sound like he had a lobotomy. Danchou's vocals also aren't in prime form and he sounds like he'd rather be doing something else than singing that song. What is cool about this song that was excluded on the Kanna Fukyou re-recording is the way the solo is done. The re-recording is more straightforward about the scurgling part while this version has a little slowdown before they jump back into it. Speaking of scurgles, Danchou's screaming at this point sucks. It's almost as bad as Ruki's scream from Headache Man except it's more of a scurgle. From the muddy production to the little nuances they didn't throw into the re-recording this version of Gu Ren is worth hearing, even if it's just once.

Yuiitsu Ka is a far more stable song than the former after the first minute or so, and that's because of the senseless screaming at the beginning that in theory was good but with Danchou's voice didn't work out so much. I sense they were trying to go into the depths of depravity but didn't go much past the ditch in the side of the road. In fact, that's what the song digs itself into until it switches gears and starts shredding some psychedelic, Beatles-esque riffs. I personally don't like the sound that Danchou makes when he chokes himself, and it shouldn't be recorded in the middle of a pop-rock track. The complexity and extra riffs that NoGoD throws into their music nowadays isn't found in this song but I’m pretty sure this song threw everyone for a loop when it first came out. Compared to most of their earlier stuff, this song sounds like a completely different band. It’s probably the first song that accurately displayed their style of pop rock as we know it in 2009. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Personally, I like tracing back the progression of a band, and I’m glad that NoGoD decided to move out of the realm of hitting-every-note-possible-on-the-guitar-at-one-possible-time-to-cause-a-divide-by-zero-error-and-make-the-world-explode-from-an-overload-of-awesome playing with Danchou screaming as if he’s shitting babies. This is the style of music that they’re best at, and I think that’s the kind of music that they should stick with.

I honestly can't imagine this band without Shinno anymore o_o. What surprises me even more is that the release after this Kanna Fukyou, is miles better than both of these tracks. The two of them feel almost like throwaways in that they weren't expounded upon as much as they should have been. I want to hear a re-recording of Yuiitsu Ka one day, since we got a re-recording of the first track already.

I also don't understand why Karin's bass is louder, crisper, and more prominent in a track that was released almost three years ago >.>.

Much like I said with Ao no Daichi, you can't buy Ifukyou anymore since all 2000 copies are sold out so if you want it you're going to have to scour eBay or search the Internet. The former is faster in my opinion so do that if you want to hear these two tracks. The B-side is worth a listen but leave the A-side alone and go for the superior version on the mini-album.

Recommendation:

Yuiitsu Ka

Score: 65%

Gu Ren

Original Lyrics

“kane de subete ga kaeru shakai” shugi wa kokochi ga
ii
kyou mo kokoro no kayowanu
yuugi wo saa kono heya de

dore dake karada kasanete mo umaranai kuuhaku ni
kuruisou ni naru boku wa mada
aka wo hoshigaru

kankaku wa kitto
haruka mukashi ni nakushita
dakara ima wa
omoidasenai hazu na no ni

te wo nobashite
risei wo koroshi
yokubou ni mi wo yudanereba
eien ni hirogaru ginshoku no sekai
mada yureru kimi no tomoshibi irodoru kage wo
motome samayou boku wa maru de
minikui honoo

te wo nobashite
risei wo koroshi
yokubou ni mi wo yudanereba
eien ni hirogaru ginshoku no sekai
mada yureru kimi no tomoshibi irodoru kage wo
motome samayou boku wa tada
mou ichido ano goro no you ni

soshite mata uso wo kasaneru yoru

Translated Lyrics (remember I’m still working on my mad 3PIC skillz so don’t take this as a final perfect translation but it’s pretty damn good)

“All the bells turn society over” my doctrine is agreeable
Today my spirit wavers
Come to this room of sports

Only now once again my body is buried in emptiness
I am in total confusion
I desire perfection

I surely sense
the past howling far away
So now I shall put my thoughts into action

My hand extends
My sense of murder
My body desires to devote itself to
Spreading my will all throughout the world
Yet you send light to color my shade
I demand to wander in the circle of an ugly flame

My hand extends
My sense of murder
My body desires to devote itself to
Spreading my will all throughout the world
Yet you send light to color my shade
I demand to wander in the circle of an ugly flame
In order for that time to come again

and also lies depend on more lies

Yuiitsu Ka

Japanese Lyrics

Onaji kao shite onaji fuku kite
Onaji kyoku shite onaji kao shite
Onaji furishite gerogero sakende
Minna issho ni 1.2.3.go!

Watashi ga subete no hitotachi ni
Ataeta “kosei” to iu takara
Subete chigau idenshi wo motsu bokutachi no me no
Utsuru no wa

Tada, hitotsu de aritai
Kurutta sekai de
Tada, hitotsu no boku de itai
Tada, boku wa tada, utau yo
Ima wa todokanai chiisa na koe dakedo
Hyakunengo mo kono koe ga todoku you ni

Akogareteita ano hitotachi ni wa
Kesshite narenai kara
Onaji hito janai kara
Ima wa takai kabe mo
Boku wa boku no yari kata de kanarazu
Koete miseru sa

Tada, hitotsu de aritai
Kurutta sekai de
Tada, hitotsu no boku de itai
Nara sonna koto yamete yo
Kimi wa shiawase na no?
Anata wa mitasareru no?
Tada, boku wa utau yo
Ima wa todokanai chiisa na koe dakedo
Hyakunengo mo sennengo ni mo
Towa1 ni todoku you ni kono koe ga

English Lyrics

Identical heroes wearing identical clothing
Identical situations with these identical heroes
Identical irrational heroes disgust me averting these situations
All together now 1 2 3 GO!

I represent all of the people
Handing out “individuality” as treasure
We all possess different genes and experiences
And they show

Only, we are one and the same
A crazy world
Only, I am the only one that remains
Only, I’m the only one singing
Now reach a little toward that voice
so that this voice reaches out for a century

Yearning to be those people
Never to become accoustomed to
The same people
Now, a tall wall
Is my, my place of refuge
Until I cross over

Only, we are one and the same
A crazy world
Only, I am the only one that remains
If only this would cease
Are you happy?
Are you satisfied?
Only, I sing
Now reach a little toward that voice
For 100 years, 1000 years
For eternity so that you can reach this voice

Review: Shinko Syukyo Gakudan NoGoD - Mr.HEAVEN

Trivia bit number one out of two for you: This is the second song title they've ever had in English.

So now you're wondering: FOOL DIDN'T YOU JUST DO THIS YESTERDAY? I will respond: yes, yes I did. Except today I have all five of the tracks and I can actually write a half-decent, level-headed review. As you can see, I have jokingly changed the title of the last one to "fangasm" meaning it points out all of the positives in the song and remains decidedly one-sided. This review will be more balanced.

1．Mr.HEAVEN
2．Mr.HEAVEN (団長仲間外れVersion)
3．Mr.HEAVEN (Kyrie＆Shinno愛の逃避行Version)
4．Mr.HEAVEN (華凛お花摘みVersion)
5．Mr.HEAVEN (K引き籠りVersion)

Even though I am glad to see NoGoD returning to the heavier side of music, I can't help but think that Mr.HEAVEN is nothing more than a mixture of all of their successful harder tracks placed into one 3:46 serving of greatness. The beginning is reminiscent of Tsumibatsu Egoist and Seshuuka and the verses are delivered just like Saikou no Sekai (so much so that it's scary). The chorus has some traces of Shukufuku no Uta, Kijin Fukanshou, and Zesshoku and whilst the solo is nice, it's so distinctively Kyrie that it does little to distinguish itself from many of the solos that were mentioned in every single song above sans Seshuuka and Shukufuku no Uta. Mr.HEAVEN loses a few points for not being original.

Another thing that I noticed thanks to the last four tracks is the bass. The basslines are set low in the mix and are very pentatonic, leaving the guitars and the drums to do all the melodic work. The basslines are borderline inconsequential, as track four on this CD sounds almost exactly like the first two. Of course, the edginess the bass brings is missing, but when the bass does nothing more than play four series of the same notes and then change up just like the guitars it's not that creative. He could have done some slapping, some pinch harmonics, or created a riff all his own, or something. Why is it that Kanna Fukyou-era Kurohai has a more-present bassline than this? Mr.HEAVEN loses a few points for relying too much on Shinno and Kyrie to carry the melody.

The drums is where things start to turn around. There's not much you can do in the way of melody with the drums, but K is really the one that holds the entire song together (since Karin's bass lines support him more than they do the guitarists). It's most evident in track five, when the very annoying metronome is ticking in the background as everyone else is playing. It feels very empty without him and that would be the track to make you realize how valuable his playing is to the entire NoGoD sound. He ups the track a few points.

The guitars are strong and hard like they are in most NoGoD songs, but a comparison to older works is inevitable, especially since it borrows so many elements from said songs. One of the most obvious things they've borrowed is the over-reliance on the guitars to push the melody forward and for all intents and purposes Mr.HEAVEN did not fail in that respect. There's even some guitar overlaying at the beginning (think Seshuuka at the chorus), and some pinch harmonics during the solo, making it feel less like a straightforward mosher and more refined and thought out. That is always welcome.

And last but not least we come to Danchou. He handles the demanding vocal department exceedingly well and doesn't overstep his boundaries or fail at trying something experimental. As for something experimental, the one-second pause at 0:52 works better in practice than it would seem on paper and the way his vocals cut out have you leaning out wanting more. He also bumps up the track a few points.

Keep in mind the next four tracks are meant for you to pick up an instrument and play along to it ^^. They all suck listening-wise.

So now we come to track two, which doesn't feature Danchou. Or rather, features a substantially less amount of Danchou. This should have just been a straight instrumental, as the backup Danchou vocals leaves a need better fulfilled by the first track. If it's going to be Danchouless, mute him out totally. It's good if you want to sing along, but no one outside of Japan HAS the lyrics.

Track three does not feature any guitars, and here it becomes quite obvious how much NoGoD relies on their guitars. It's good if you like to appreciate the drums and bass but as I said the bass lines are very simple in many parts and just having some drums and Danchou singing aren't very entertaining. This version especially lags during the solo part (for obvious reasons).

Track four is without the bass, and even though it's quite obvious Karin is missing his absence doesn't actually break this track. The guitars and drums carry enough of the melody to keep the track going without him there. It's not as good as the first track (none of these are, by the way) but it's the closest sounding to it.

Track five is missing K, and the annoying metronome in the back doesn't help any. If you're listening you will sorely miss his presence in the dynamics of the track but if you are playing along, I'm sure you'll appreciate the metronome moving along in the background because it will help you keep time.

I'm not grading the last four tracks because they would drag the score down unnecessarily. So what do I think of Mr.HEAVEN now? I will say exactly what I said before

"It's almost like a mixture of all their hard songs into one."

It's a nice track, and it's solid on it's own, but compared to what they've put out before this single lags far behind some heavy NoGoD classics such as Saikou no Sekai, Strawberry Night, Tsumibatsu Egoist and Zesshoku.

Here's hoping that the mini-album they're releasing September 16th carries some more surprises. And here's trivia bit number two: The name of said mini-album is going to be 羅針盤(Rashinban). It means Compass. Perhaps they'll actually find some direction in making hard and soft songs that don't sound like the rest of their output glued together.

Recommended:

Mr.HEAVEN

Score: 75/100

Review: Shinko Syukyo Gakudan NoGoD - Ao no Daichi

I'm doing this review solely because you can't do Midori no Kaze without doing Ao no Daichi right after it. Since that is settled and I have four sentences to go, I have to make something up. Thankfully, I actually do have a topic that I feel I should discuss that is loosely related to both this single and NoGoD in general. Now we all know they have the Gokusaishiki album (which I'm half-tempted to revisit) but sometime between then and now there was also a song released also called Gokusaishiki. How original. I'm guessing it's a live only release, but I know it's out there because I found the lyrics and no song in any of NoGoD's other releases starts out with the word "Ao".

So, you figure: Why don't you search for it?

This is the huge problem: you can't just plug in the kanji and have it pop up, since it shares the same name as the album and most websites that host the album host both the kanji and the romanized name. The second biggest problem is that it's a collector's item, and it was distributed solely in Japan, so all the lucky fans that got it aren't going to up it online and share with the rest of the world. Unlike Mr.HEAVEN, which is going to be on the mini next month (and I would share it but I'm under contract by two friends not to), I have no idea when and if Gokusaishiki the Song ever will surface.

See, with the exception of NoGoD's two albums, the rest of their work is printed in limited quanitities. Once those CD's are sold, there are no more being made. There are no more being sold. If a fan doesn't have the CD, he has to rely on other generous fans to up the music online and share with the rest of the world. If no fan that has the CD is willing to, then none of us can hear these songs. That is bad.

This is the fate of Gokusaishiki the Song.

Ao no Daichi is no exception to this rule. There were only 5000 of these pressed if I remember correctly (same applies to Midori no Kaze) and they're most likely long gone and into the hands of fans the islands over. Unlike Gokusaishiki the Song, you can actually locate this single online if you search for long enough (it really shouldn't take you that long if you know how though). So, a mighty thanks to all the fans out there that uploaded this to the internet to share, and into the review we dive.

Wow, instead of a few sentences, I did a few paragraphs. At least it was interesting....

01. Yakusoku no Chi
02. Kijin Fukanshou
03. Haten Daishishi

Yakusoku no Chi is the title track here and can also be found on the album Gokusaishiki. Translating to "The Promised Land", it takes as long for this song to get started as it took for the Moses and the Hebrew Crew to actually get into Canaan. With a runtime of about six minutes, this is a very long and slow-moving piece that unravels over time. If you're into music instantly gratifying you with immediate vocals or sick riffs or whatever pleases you, Yakusoku no Chi is going to bore the shit out of you. It's going to come off as "all pretty sounding and shit but it never gets started". And I will agree with you there, but for a different reason. It works on creating more of an atmosphere than on any technical portion of the song so if you're not into atmospheric pieces you won't "get" this song. Personally, it's one of my favorite ballads just because of the atmosphere and the images it makes in my head. I'm going to translate this one day.

Kijin Fukanshou isn't as strong as the last track atmospherically, and it fails my tests when it comes to picking apart the song technically. They were both written by the same band member as well (Kyrie), so that's not an excuse either. The main problem with the track is the poppy and juxtaposed chorus, which doesn't belong in this song. It completely changes gears and it sounds very unpolished. The whole verse leading into the chorus itself would have worked better as the chorus. To make up for it, there's two solos in the song (a bass one followed by a guitar one shortly after) and that end....thing....(don't know what to call it but it ends the song off right) but even with that together the poppy chorus hurts it more than it can recover. Boo bad chorus.

Haten Daishishi is another monster altogether. It took me about three hours to find out what this title meant, just to realize that I still don't know what it means. Whilst the last one meant "Frigid Sexuality" I think this one means "Unprecedented Lion". Weird names for these titles. Well, Haten Daishishi is another one of those poppy NoGoD tracks in the vein of Dou, with some inspirational message of "going against the tide". I consider this one of the best poppy tracks they put out, mainly because I don't enjoy any other tracks of this style. The drum beats by K at around 1:58 are pretty cool and keeps the song interesting right up until it ends, but it's an average, enjoyable track all around. It's certainly nothing I would revisit on multiple occasions, but if you need a track to put you in a better mood this would be it.

And now we come to the end of the review, and you may be wondering why I switched formats once again. The reason is is that anything over five is very broad and not specific, and the specific percentage doesn't work well. SO....what I'm going to use now is a combination of the two. Ao no Daichi is right down there with Midori no Kaze for most inconsistent single, because it has one good track and two mediocre ones.

Recommended:

Gokusaishiki

Score: 62/100

『約束の地』
　　　　作詞：/作曲：Kyrie【新興宗教楽団NoGoD】


遥か先に見える
あの地平線まで続く
この広い大地の中にいた僕は
自分がとても小さく見えた

在り方を悩む日々の中
君が見せてくれた碧(アオ)

その色の輝く　　場所がある筈だから
いつか君に見て欲しい　「その思いは」
拙い言葉では　　伝えられぬ物だから
君の手を取り　　歩く道を　　僕は選ぶよ

二人初めて出逢った(※君の背中を押した※)時から
その碧を見つめるのがとても嬉しくて

僕が君に出来ること考えては
その可能性に秘かに胸躍らせていた
今この身体とこの声とこの思いを君の夢に
捧ぐからどうか迷わずにいて

吹き荒ぶ風を支える大地の様に
君が空へ飛び立つのを見守る
それだけでいい･･･

(※遥かな大地はやまない風を支える
君は風の様に僕を動かしている
だから僕は･･･※)

その色の輝く場所を探し続けて
辿り着いたその大地は　「永遠に」
失われる事ない　　強い心を宿した
約束の地と　　呼ばれる人の　　夢の軌跡


『奇人不感症』
　　　　作詞：団長/作曲：Kyrie【新興宗教楽団NoGoD】


気持ち悪い電飾
耳障りなアラーム

全ての事が記号で記されて
意味が薄れて行く
神を恐れぬ愚かな文明を
脱ぎ捨てて
さぁ今ここで

愛してるって　　その口で言ってくれ　　声が枯れるまで
必要だって　　その腕で抱きしめて　　骨が折れるまで

世界が静かに周る
壊れたオルゴールの様に
貴女は静かに笑う
壊れた僕を見ながら

歪む心臓の音を聞いてくれ
愛を欲しがる愚かな獣達
安い体が中(チュウ)を飛び交って
また嫌な匂い髪に染み付いた
誰も私を見ようとしないから
両手に杭を打ち付け(※刺して※)
白いドレスを着させてあげました
ほらすぐに汚れてしまうでしょ

愛してるって　　その口で言ってくれ　　声が枯れるまで
必要だって　　その腕で抱きしめて　　骨が折れるまで
君だけだって　　その耳で聞いてくれ　　左脳が割れるまで
僕だけだって　　その瞳焼き付けて　　光無くすまで


『破天乃獅子』
　　　　作詞：団長/作曲：Kyrie【新興宗教楽団NoGoD】


また眠れないよ
こんな夜はいつだってそう
高鳴る胸

まだ眠れないよ
不安が胸を締め付ける
暗い夜

どれだけ
旅を重ねても
また足を止めてしまう
だから伝えたい

目を覚ませ
全ての生命よ眠れる獅子よ
その手は栄光の為に
我儘で破天荒な物語
構わないさ
主人公は君の中にある(※だけだから※)

辿り着く先が例えどんな結末でも
前を向いて
大切な物は既にこの手の中にある
離さないで

変わらぬ時代に背を向けて
掲げたその旗
振り翳せ高く太陽に

目を覚ませ
全ての生命よ眠れる獅子よ
その手は栄光の為に
我儘で破天荒な物語
構わないさ
輝く日々よ
そう主人公は君の中にある(※だけだから※)

mata nemurenai yo
still sleeping

kon na yoru wa itsunatesou
this evening when

daka naru mune
my chest roars in volumes



mata nemurenai yo
still sleeping

fuan ga mune wo shime tsukeru
a strangling uneasiness is affixed to my chest

kurai yoru
this gloomy evening



doredake
to what extent

tabi wo kasanete mo
must we continue this journey

mata ashi wo tome te
until we stop going

dakara tsutae tai
along with tradition



me wo samase
my sight clears up

subete no seimei yo nemureru shishi yo
is all of life a sleeping lion?

sono te ha eikou no tame ni
this hand of glory is to your advantage

wagamama de hatenkou na monogatari
in this unprecedented legend of egoism

kamawanai sa
it is no problem

shujinkou ha kimi no naka ni aru (※dake dakara※)
your hero within is certain (just so)



tadoritsuku saki ga tatoe don na ketsumatsu demo
as an example even if you barely manage to reach your destination

mae wo muite
face ahead

taisetsu na mono ha sudeni kono te no naku ni aru
it is too late to live inside that which you hold important

hanasanaide
part with it



kawaranu jidai ni sewomukete
turn your back on the unchanging epochs

kakageta sono hata
float this flag

buri kazase takaku taiyou ni
aloft high toward the sun


me wo samase
my sight clears up

subete no seimei yo nemureru shishi yo
is all of life a sleeping lion?

sono te ha eikou no tame ni
the hand of glory is to your advantage

wagamama de hatenkou na monogatari
in this unprecedented legend of selfishness

kamawanai sa
it is no problem

kagayaku hibi yo
every day glitters

sou shujinkou ha kimi no naka ni aru (※dake dakara※)
it appears your hero within is sure (just so)

Fangasm: Shinko Syukyo Gakudan NoGoD - Mr.HEAVEN

If NoGoD has done nothing else for me in my entire life, it has made me appreciate one person more than anything in the entire world. Well, two people actually because it took the person to buy the CD in the first place and then send it to my dear friend who was kind enough to send it to me. This review wouldn't be possible without them. So now, as I polish the MP3 that I now have playing over and over again in my iTunes while my dead MP3 player sits next to me, I have to admit: this song is pretty damn good.

1．Mr.HEAVEN
2．Mr.HEAVEN (団長仲間外れVersion)
3．Mr.HEAVEN (Kyrie＆Shinno愛の逃避行Version)
4．Mr.HEAVEN (華凛お花摘みVersion)
5．Mr.HEAVEN (K引き籠りVersion)

I think she punked me...

LOOK AT THE COVER FOR CRYING THE FUDGE OUT LOUD! Is that supposed to be God, or Mr.HEAVEN with the Lion King mane and the pimp cane? And the clouds in the background with the bright sun and the feather down surrounding the cover? Are you kidding me? This song definitely has to be oshare-kei.

*readies himself to hear Dou. Again.*

But fear not, because it isn't. Despite the lame name that this song comes with, it's about as heavy as Zesshoku from the Gokusaishiki album. Or, even earlier on than that, Seshuuka from the Midori no Kaze single. Or if you want to find a song more commercially accessible, think Tsumibatsu Egoist from the Mugen Kyou album.

I say "commercially accessible" because finding this song is next to impossible unless you have some good friends willing to share that have the physical CD. And no, I am not distributing MP3 copies of this song, so do not ask me. I don't even have the entire copy, just the one track that matters.

So once you have one of those songs at your fingertips? Good, because that's as close as you're going to get until NoGoD releases their mini-album in September, which this song is going to be on. So yes, don't ask me to share. I won't.

Back to the song (and when I find the name of the girl that bought this single, I will give her a virtual cookie), it's full of the heaviness that I didn't find on Gokusaishiki. Sure, I liked the album and I still do, but it missed that one definitive track that makes it stick out long after you've finished listening to it over and over. Hell, Mugen Kyou had three in my humble opinion, but after I was done with Gokusaishiki I started to feel like the only hard track there was Zesshoku.

Now I realize that they did it in two parts and that Gokusaishiki was likely meant to be the lighter, more melodic portion of this double release.

I gave you those three songs beforehand because I can give you a general audio description of Mr. HEAVEN using those three tracks. Tsumibatsu Egoist and Seshuuka gets the mention because the song starts out very similarly to the both of them and K has some double-pedal action going on all throughout. K does some cymbal action before the song launches off in one ear before the other two come in and start on a sick, heavy riff. The delivery of the verses can best be summarized in the song Saikou no Sekai (Mugen Kyou and I didn't even notice this the first time around. One of my friends pointed this out to me) whilst the build-up to the chorus and even the chorus itself remind me a lot of how it was styled in Zesshoku. In the verses, there are obviously two guitars going on but excluding the bass there's another guitar doing some random riffage here and there reminiscent of the solo that would come up a half-a-minute later. Speaking of the solo, it is also pretty damn great, having some groove in the Shinno's guitars while some crazy, ridiculous solo played by Kyrie is played on top, and I'll bet a good chunk of cash it's being played on the neck. Supported by some drums and a rapid bass section thanks to Karin (epic trap) and you have one hell of an instrumental section backing Danchou. There's no way he can fail with a song this strong.

Don't get me wrong, this song doesn't sound a lot like any of the songs that I put above. In fact, it sounds very distant from a lot of the heavier pieces they've put out recently. It sounds like a mix between Kanna Fukyou period and Mugen Kyou with better mastering, an ever-present bass weaving in and out, and a little bit of oshare sprinkled in over the chorus. I say a little because the chorus is definitely lighter compared to the rest of the song, but the lead-in that the band does before it launches bridges the gap between rough and hard. Think of how the chorus in Kurohai compares to the rest of the song, and you have a good understanding of what I mean.

I've mentioned everyone but Danchou so he gets a mention in the paragraph below.

His singing hasn't gone any worse, like tons of other vocalists. He didn't get much better, but he was freaking excellent to start with so him "getting progressively better" isn't that much of an issue to me. What gets me about the way this song rocked my iTunes is how he sings his verses. There's attitude here and that sudden one-second pause around 0:52 works so subtly what would turn me off in any other song has me leaning closer to my computer begging for more to come out. He brings back the "woah-oh-oh's" from Shukufuku no Uta, but they're artfully weaved in and part of the sare-mo and the kachi-wo and not their one sing-along section for all us Japanese fans not in Japan.

It's just him this time too; he didn't rent a whole choir to sing along in the background.

So I can't rate the single because I don't have the last four tracks (which is why it's not in it's usual format), but I would bet that it wouldn't sound the same with one of the instruments missing. As for the instrumental, I think it would be epic but not as good in some parts because Danchou isn't there to fill out those lagging parts (like the chorus; it isn't good enough to hang without Danchou. The racing verses are another story though). So what do I think of Mr.HEAVEN? I say it's one of the best songs they've put out. Ever. It's a shame that I can't actually buy it but that untitled as-of-yet mini-album that's going to come out in September has my money already set aside for it.

I. Want. This.

Review: Versailles - Lyrical Sympathy

When I said I’d do this one, I actually hadn’t gotten past track two. Therefore, everything up to “Sympathia” was half-assed and every song didn’t get their fair share. Time to redo another review, but the good thing is I’m actually fond of this album so it’s going to be more informative and less “me bitching about how every song isn’t the Revenant Choir”.

I don’t even like The Revenant Choir all that much. :\

1. "Intro" – 1:10
2. "The Love From A Dead Orchestra" – 8:28
3. "Shout & Bites" – 3:59
4. "Beast Of Desire" – 4:25
5. "Forbidden Gate" – 4:38
6. "The Red Carpet Day" – 4:23
7. "Sympathia" – 6:08

Intro	As an introduction, it does a good job of setting a sense of urgency and pulling the listener in and it is well done. When put up against the next track, which is eight and a half minutes long, this seems almost unneeded. The next track even has its own opening section, so what is this here for?	4/10
The Love From a Dead Orchestra	I have no idea how many times I’ve listened to this song. The Love From a Dead Orchestra is a multi-faced beast, and at a runtime of 8:29 it has enough going on in every part of the song to please a fan of any type of classical or rock music. It moves from piano dominated sections to dark, driven guitar passages with a bit of a pause between each. Some violins and acoustic strums are thrown in for good measure. After you insert forceful and elegantly violent double-bass, expert speed strumming, multiple guitar lines overlapping over one another sublimely, choir vocals in the background, Hizaki’s pinch harmonics near the end, and a whopping three guitar solos, you have a song that draws in a listener like no other. And that’s just the instrumentation! Kamijo’s vocals are in prime form here: his lows sound a bit forced but they’re consistent and when he moves up into his more comfortable register later on the song just moves up into a whole new level. This song is one hell of a monster, and I can’t stop listening to it at all.	10/10
Shouts & Bites	Shouts & Bites (and just about every other song on this album) suffers from having to come after The Love From a Dead Orchestra. The composition of this song is straightforward in nature and focuses more on establishing set parts of the song (verse, chorus, solo). We have a decent violin section sandwiched in equally as loud as the guitars, verses where the guitars take center stage, a solo that blend symphonic and rock (admittedly not equally) and bells and whistles such as 2:47-2:51 that’s all summarized in a chorus backed with a mixture of symphonic and rock instruments. Throughout the song, no one instrument stands out. It’s Kamijo’s deep, syrupy singing that stands out the most in this track, being the one element that holds everything together. The lyrics to this song are pretty badass as well, and that bumps it up a point. Repeat listening sessions have made me fond of this track, but instrumentally speaking Versailles has done better.	7/10
Beast of Desire	What Beast of Desire has going for it over Shouts and Bites is a sense of balance. The symphonic takes a backseat here but those instruments aren’t given in punctuated bursts (and then forgotten about afterwards) and don’t seem like an afterthought. We have a harpsichord, some violins, and quite possibly some woodwinds working in the background, and they weave together one melody for a majority of the song. The band overlays another, harsher melody over it and together the polyphony isn’t overly chaotic. Beast of Desire also manages to balance the hard with the soft. For example, when the words “kairaku no hate kyosei sarete eien to naru” are sung, Kamijo is backed by the symphonic portion before the band jumps in at full force again. It’s those expert bits of balance (and the lyrics) that set this song above Shouts & Bites. Where Beast of Desire finds fault is where Shouts and Bites drew its strength: the chorus. Kamijo’s falsetto is off-putting. It was a good idea but it was not executed well. I’m not even going to mention how the chorus has an attitude too light to fit with those heavy, chugging riffs that characterize the “beast of desire”.	8/10
Forbidden Gate	The serene woodwind heavy opening is not only the perfect opening for this track but is exactly what this album needed, and that’s a change of pace. Forbidden Gate alternates between guitar-driven passages and very light verses reminiscent of the opening, and both of these qualities melt together perfectly in the chorus, which is far and away the best part of this song. The metallic uproar near the middle of the song is a close second because it comes right after an even more serene interlude and is signaled by an ominous organ note before it launches and segues back into the chorus. After the last two tracks this song restores the grandeur in the music that I look for in Versailles.	9/10
The Red Carpet Day	This is the progenitor for songs such as “To The Chaos Inside” and “Second Fear – Another Descendant”. The Red Carpet Day also balances softer portions with the harder sections, and the delivery of the track remains solid no matter how loud or soft the track becomes. It’s unique blending of the harpsichord with deep, dark guitars work to create an ominous and occult atmosphere, which is a change from the densely layered and instrumentally complex “Kamijo & Hizaki” tracks that preceded this. It is no simpler by any means, but it’s thrilling and even daring nature reflects the gothic aristocrat and vampire motif Versailles often puts into their music (On top of the red bed, the life / Overflowing out of the girl's neck, pours into me / I'll be at your side and embrace you / Why do people believe in god? is the chorus).	9/10
Sympathia	The last three tracks each showed a new side of Versailles that we haven’t been exposed to at this point in time. With the last track on the album, Versailles decided to take their unique brand of symphonic rock in an entirely new direction. Sympathia fills the musical role of "ballad" on this album and it does everything right, including not taking any unnecessary risks and leaving the powerful, emotional ballad to be the last thing the reader hears before the album comes to a close. It comes and leaves with the lone piano and the reliance on this instrument is the signature sound of Sympathia. It is as grandiose as it is elegant, as forceful as it is quiet, and every moment of it comes off as Versailles. Even Kamijo reins in his vocal experimentation and delivers his vocals passionately. This song doesn’t feel like a battle for "whose solo rocks harder" between Teru and Hizaki and it comes off as the most band-centered piece on the album, where even Jasmine gets to shine. It’s the most consistent piece on this album and I believe it was crafted with the ending of the album in mind. I can’t imagine this piece anywhere else.	9/10

Despite the title “Lyrical Sympathy” this album doesn’t have many sympathetic lyrics behind it. It’s forceful, typical vampire-rose-Renaissance inspired lyrics and each song paints a unique portrait that will have you remembering the song long after the CD stops spinning in the drive. And then, if your headphones die from all the music you’ll be listening to, you can always pop in the second CD and look at the Shouts & Bites PV. This is just the first step that Versailles will have to take to be world-renowned and spread the art of visual-kei all across the globe, and it’s not that bad of one either.

Recommended:

All of it…

Score: 87%

Review: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD - Midori no Kaze

I got the idea to do this single because my friend is currently having problems loading said title track in his .mp3 player called Rhapsody. Not too much of a fan of that player, and that and this single share two things in common. One is that I don’t listen to it often, and the other is that I utterly detest things I’m not used to. Friends, I cannot handle poppy NoGoD. When they get heavy, they get heavier than a lot of other bands I listen to while still maintaining a sense of musicality. When they want to swing in the other direction, however, things get scary. Fast.

01. Dou
02. Seshuuka
03. Tsubasa

Dou	There’s nothing wrong with Dou per-se, but I have nothing going for it. NoGoD has so much potential and they used to fluctuate between doing softer songs and harder songs, but Dou nerfed this single with its sugary poppiness. If it were just a tad harder, I would like this song but it isn’t so I don’t. There are a lot of things in this song that I do like. The verses have some nice rhythmical patterns with Danchou’s voice going on and K’s drum beats at the end are pretty cool. This song also ends of nicely and makes a good lead-in to the epic Seshuuka, but it’s the guitars that irk me. THEY SOUND SO FAMILIAR AND THE BEGINNING HAS A HORRID SENSE OF BALANCE! By my NoGoD standards, this pales. They know they can do so much better but they churn out this and for what? Commercial success? We don’t want to hear this -_-.	5/10
Seshuuka	The hardest thing they’ve released since anything on Mugen Kyou, and the fact that this was written by K makes this song even more fucking awesome. It’s a great song, but it’s dark and thrilling nature doesn’t fit in the soundscape of the Midori no Kaze single. It also feels like they tried to channel too much Tsumibatsu Egoist, and it’s never good for a band to go back and try to redo things. If it’s done it’s done and it should stay done, and new musical venues should be explored. Seshuuka has a taste of something new, as the solo sounds completely unlike anything they’ve done and has a hauntingly Middle Age European vibe to it. K’s drumming is also fantastic. Seshuuka’s thrown on here to placate all the fans, like me, that thought that Dou was a pile of shit and want hard NoGoD. For what it does, it does really well, but they’ve done this style better before.	8/10
Tsubasa	I despise the imbalance of the guitars in the beginning, but I do like this song better than Dou. I think the reason why I do not like this song is because it doesn’t have a NoGoD vibe. It sounds like something any other capable indies band can do, but that typical NoGoD feeling is absent here and that hurts it greatly. The solo is nice, if not a little frantic and the middle part is nothing short of epic: it gets all lion-king in that “soaring on the back of a bird” way and that would have been a great way to end the song. The song’s actual ending, where Danchou’s singing is layered over and over, blows chunks in comparison to that part and I personally find the second half of the song weaker than the first. One of those listen-and-see tracks in my opinion.	6/10

Oshare-NoGoD doesn’t always manage to reach the same level of consistency as their heavier side, and sometimes their work is just plain alienating. I like a bit of experimentation here and there but this single falls far short of my expectations for them after the epic album called Mugen Kyou. What’s worse is that Gokusaishiki took two tracks from this album and they left the only decent one here, I guess in an effort to make you want to buy this single from reviews like these telling you how good it is. I hate to say this but I’m just going to have to say “skip” this one.

Recommended:

Seshuuka

Score:

『導』
作詞：/作曲：団長【新興宗教楽団NoGoD】

病める者達よ　　悩める者達よ　　今この歌を聴いてくれ
拙い言葉でデタラメに　　描きなぐった愛すべきこの歌を

「地球は周っている」　唱えた学者の
声は誰にも届かなくて
皆口々に彼を罵っては
「空が周っている」　と言いました

でも彼は　　自分を信じ続けていました
時は経ち　　今日も地球は　　絶え間なく周り続ける

さあ胸を張って　　何も恐れず進め　　もっと強く風を切って
まだ誰も知らない　　自分さえ気付いてない　　可能性が目を覚ます

青年は誰にも
認めて貰えなかった自分の絵を
好きだと言ってくれた女性(ヒト)の為に
生涯描き続けました

彼はきっと　　幸せな人生だったでしょう
時は経ち　　その作品は　　世界中に飾られている

空けない夜は無い　　止まない雨は無いと　　ありきたりな言葉でも
もし君の心少しでも変わるなら　　何時までも歌い続けよう

いつの時代もそうさ
直ぐに答えは見つからない物だよ
例え今辛くても
報われない努力なんて　　この世にありはしないのだから

挫けそうな時は
大きな声で叫ぶよ

「負けるか！俺は生きている！」

全てぶち壊せ
常識も法律も
答えは胸の中にある

国の境目も
言葉も肌の色も
全てを　　越えて行ける

誰も手が届かない場所へ
命ある限り

『世愁歌』
作詞：団長/作曲：K【新興宗教楽団NoGoD】

此の世はまるで生き地獄
神も仏もありはしない
肉の屍が踊り出す

悪と決め付け敵を作り
我が正義と決め付ける
誰が為に血を流す

さぁ君はどっちだ？
こちらの水は蜜の味
あちらの水は･･･

母よ
どうか涙は流さずに笑って居て
貴方に何も罪は無いから
父よ
僕達が残した未来は　　とても残酷だ
拾う神も無い　　捨てる神すら無い
差し伸べた手は汚れている

あの世はまさに地獄絵図
どうせ僕達には明日は無い
終りすらない苦痛が

さぁ蜘蛛が垂らした
この糸掴み昇るが良い
どうせまた･･･

霞む視界の中で微笑が
確かに見えた
温もりだけは連れて行くから

母よ
この腐った時代の為に私は逝くよ
帰る場所などもうありはしない
父よ
貴方が信じていた物は何一つ救えない
守るべき物はもっと他にある
さらば愛しき者よ

『翼』
作詞：shinno/作曲：shinno？Kyrie？【新興宗教楽団ＮｏＧｏＤ】

広がる空　　響き渡る声
ただ見つめながら想う
自由に飛び立てる翼　　あるのならば

遠くへ　　まだ見ぬ遠くへ
広がる景色はとても
限りなく透明だけど　　淡い碧色で

本当は誰もが持ってる　　背中の翼
唯知らないだけ
だから僕が手を引いてあげるよ
憧れてたあの場所へ

翼広げたら　　君は必ず飛べるさ
決して一人じゃない
本当の色を　　君と探しに行こう
果てしなく広がる　　あの空へ

自分自身の弱さ　　それを認めれる強さ
変わっていく景色　　変わらぬ想い

翼広げたら 　　君は必ず飛べるさ
決して一人じゃない
本当の色を　　君と探しに行こう
果てしなく広がる　　未来を

あの空へ　　あの雲へ　　あの虹へ　　遠くへ
あの海へ　　あの丘へ　　あの場所へ　　遠くへ…