I admit, I thought this was going to be total crap.
Let’s start off by saying that looks can be deceiving. In a world where tone-deaf oshare kei groups pop up around every corner to rupture my eardrums, I was a bit dissuaded by the cover, PV, and promo pic for this single.
Danchou's Pirate-Jester-King getup bothered me, before I even gave the song a listen. Remember kids. Don't knock it 'til you try it!
Listening to the title track quickly proved to me what a snob I am! Kakusei is hard, frustrated, and slightly cybernetic. I’ve also fallen head over heels for Danchou’s voice. He’s never gonna compete with GACKT or Asagi, but he’s got some talent. I would have never guessed that he could sing based on the way he looked in this song’s PV. I expected something nasal and, well, terrible. I got the opposite, was pleasantly surprised, and was once again showed why judging based on looks is WRONG WRONG WRONG! Kakusei is excellently performed and not too long or too short. Overall, a wonderful VK experience. Enjoy the song for yourself here!
The b-sides aren’t anything fantastic but I appreciated that they all had a unique sound. Wonder World is a much lighter and optimistic piece. Tsuki no Takuto, my personal favorite of the b-sides, is smooth and relaxing. Keiken is another hard song that dabbles in speed metal. Its nothing like Kakusei, but it isn’t bad by any means. Like I said, the b-sides aren’t awful or even mediocre, they’re just somewhat bland. It happens.
In Conclusion: I hope this band keeps up the kind of sound I found on this single. Its so unique while at the same time being familiar and comfortable.
~Alisa~
Reader Question: Have you ever thought you were going to hate a song before you even gave it a chance?
