“Color” – Girugamesh

…but nothing will ever top my favorite Girugamesh song.

The cover is interesting because of its irony. There's not much color to be seen here. The band's pose is epic.

Finally, Girugamesh is back after their ingenious album NOW, released in December 2009. I thought the album was brilliant, at least. (Driving Time <3 <3) COLOR is their latest single, which to me is a total step down from anything you could have found on NOW.

COLOR is an energetic track with some nice guitars chugging their way through the song. I’ll be honest. I tried and tried and tried again to like this song. I appreciate the energy and I think the emotion in performing the song is genuine, but the melody and instrumentation seem tired, like I’ve heard the same thing from other VK bands many times before. COLOR is a track I’ll keep in my iPod and listen to if it comes up on shuffle, but its not one that I would specifically seek out to listen to.

Sunrise starts with some tribal sounding drums and feels like its going to be a total mess before the guitars come in. Its a fascinating, summery track (because of those crazy drums!) and the call-and-response style yelling makes the track fun to listen to. Some might find the drums awkward, and I was skeptical of them during the first couple listens but somehow they work.

Rounding out the single is Flower which undoubtedly has the best melody of the bunch. The beat is really punk-ish but I liked it. Giru can always make interesting use of instruments which is one thing I’ve liked about them from day one. (I think this single is all about the drums) Flower is the most catchy song on the single and I swear I’ll be humming it later.

In Conclusion: Even though this single was a dud for me, I’m not holding anything against giru and you shouldn’t either. I can still feel they are making a conscious effort to please their fans and that’s good enough. They’ll never lose my support unless they just stop caring and it becomes evident in their music. But it hasn’t happened yet, so why worry about one single that missed the mark?

~Alisa~

P.S.- Happy Tanabata!

XodiacK’s New Members and New Look

Praise the high heavens, I haven’t destroyed Visual Kei after all!

Swamp.. Monsters? Maybe??

I hope they can impress just as much as they did with “Shinrabansho -Setsuri-”

~Alisa~

“a:FANTASIA” – Nightmare

This is one of three available covers for the single.

I’m excited to be reviewing a release by my fiance’s favorite band!

Nightmare is back, commemorating their ten year anniversary. Congratulations, guys! Seems like a lot of artists have been observing anniversaries lately. Maybe its just me who notices that. Hmm..

I’ll cut straight to the chase. a:FANTASIA is positively amazing. It builds with a lot of tension and rapid guitar playing and is just totally exhilarating. Yomi, despite his diminutive stature, can definitely sing. He sounds amazing in this song. (by the way, if you’ve ever watched lives of Nightmare/listened to their live album you’ll hear that he sounds just as great live. Actually, he sounds BETTER live to me!) Listen to the song here.

Romeo, like Love Addict on their last single Rem_, also got a PV! I really liked Yomi’s blonde perm and blue contact lense-wearing look in this video. I have to admit that he is one of the better-looking j-rockers. (cringes at Yasu from Acid Black Cherry)

Yomi becomes a member of the Aryan race.

Romeo carries on a:FANTASIA’s hard, fast sound. Overall, I liked it but it didn’t leave as big of an impression on me as the first song. I liked this song’s PV a lot better, though.

Rover closes out the single. Its much slower and completely forgettable but a nice way to end the single because it kind of mellows out the mood presented in the previous two songs.

In Conclusion: I realize that I have been overlooking Nightmare lately, as Majestical Parade and Rem_ were both pretty meh for me. This single was refreshing and I’ve had the a-side in my head for about three days now. Highly recommended to any fan of j-rock!

~Alisa~

“Kakusei” – Shinko Shukyo Gakudan NoGoD

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?

“Knife” – exist trace

She means business.

“Knife” is the latest release from revolutionary Visual Kei band exist trace. I say “revolutionary” because this is about the only v-kei group where I second guess the gender of some (if not all) members. Why? Because they’re all women! FEMALE women! They’re women who don’t cut corners or sugarcoat their music either. They are true visual kei and can jam with the best of ‘em. They can scream, convulse, and seriously blow you away.

The entire single cuts to the core (pun intended) and features absolutely beautiful yet harsh vocals and some serious instrumental talent. I’m not even going to bother going into detail or breaking down each track because they’re all great, they’re all unique.

In Conclusion: I think that as a woman, I’m happy to see other females break into the mostly male dominated world of VK. Not only that, but I’m pleased to see them be good at it without being one of those happy-joy-joy-rainbow-lolita-oshare-blah-blah-blah kind of things. I honestly don’t know where I was going with that one. Uhhh… anywho, “Knife” is a great listen. Its not as hardcore as some of exist trace’s other stuff but it is still awesome nonetheless.

~Alisa~
(can you tell that I’m tired?)

“Rain” – SID

Get ready for my most overzealous review yet.

After their last single “sleep,” which disappointed me greatly, SID has returned with THEIR BEST SONG EVER. Again, they are providing a theme song for Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, but this time it is an opening rather than an ending. An interesting bit of trivia is that SID provided the first ending (Uso) and the final opening for Brotherhood.

Rain has been featured as FMA’s opening theme since early April, which means that I’ve spent a grueling two months waiting for this to drop. The wait has not gone by quickly either! I love this song because when I hear it, I just think of Fullmetal. The opening is sequenced perfectly along with the song. It took me a while to realize this and I understood it even more as the show progressed just how well SID has captured the “it all ends here” feeling that these final few episodes of Brotherhood have given off. I could barrage you with poignant screencaps of how the opening plays upon the ambiguity of rain falling on someone’s face (as in, are they crying, or is that just the rain?) but I won’t since not every one of my readers is as wild about FMA as me and I’m not a fan of torturing people. If you don’t watch FMA, the song is still an amazing listen, but I firmly believe that watching and having knowledge of the anime and its plot accentuates appreciation of the song. Its a little slow before the chorus, but its got a wonderful and epic chorus and is absolutely heart-wrenching. SID hit the nail on the head with this song, and I highly recommend it to anyone! It is one of the best songs I’ve heard this year, and the best anime theme of all time, to me. If you want to watch the PV, click here.

Cut, the b-side, is significantly more energized than Rain and reminds me of a song from a MegaMan game. I know that probably sounds strange, but you’ll just have to listen to it to understand what I mean.

We also get a live version of Chapter 1 an older song by the band. The audio is horribly muffled. Personally, I’d skip this track altogether. But that’s just me.

In Conclusion: Rain is definitely my favorite song right now and probably will be for quite a while. I don’t see this song becoming stale to me anytime soon. Absolutely amazing. Breathtaking. Dare I say “perfection?”

~Alisa~

Luzmelt-ing Away the Stress

While the weather outside is starting to heat up, Japanese rock has entered a deep freeze, an ice age if you will. All of us J-rock/V-kei junkies are feeling the chill, as noted by this post on my favorite blog, Secret Garden. I think this has turned us all into brats. I know I’ve found myself surfing videos of bands I’ve never heard of, only to stop listening when I don’t like what I hear after a mere thirty seconds. I’ve lost my patience, and that is no way to operate. I think the constant fear of all visual music turning into this has taken me over. By the way, I am not responsible for what happens to you if you click that last link.

A couple days ago, I happened upon Luzmelt’s newest single “Sacrifice” and began to feel the deep freeze thaw a little. The review for “Sacrifice” can be found here in the event that you haven’t read it yet. I felt a glimmer of hope about this band, something I had not experienced single my lucky encounter with the ill-fated XodiacK back in January. Inspired, I picked up Luzmelt’s two mini-albums, Swallowed Scenery and Luz-Destination.

Swallowed Scenery's Cover

Swallowed Scenery is the first release by Luzmelt, which came out on February 24, 2010. It is obvious that the band was just getting its feet in the water at this point, because the songs all have that tired VK sound that you hear everywhere and no track really stands out. I am glad that I started with a newer release because my snobby self probably would not have given this band a second look after only listening to this. The one song I liked from the mini-album was Isotope because it has just a hint of what their later sound would become.

Luz-Destination's Cover. Very similar to that of Swallowed Scenery, but the content is radically different.

The second mini-album, Luz-Destination is insanely different from Swallowed Scenery. It adopts that (mildly) electro-rock sound that drew me in to Luzmelt’s work to begin with. I love the energy of Grief Color Destination and Dazzle Closet (which sounds like Visual Kei set to Pokemon Battle music, and I LOVE that!) I was also impressed by La Salida because its a calmer style of song and is a wonderful ending to an album that was pulse-pounding from the get-go. La Salida, to me, tied up all the loose ends and made the mini-album all the more refreshing.

IN CONCLUSION: Check this band out! DO IT!!! Not much else to say.

~Alisa~

ARTIST RECOMMENDATION: Light Bringer
Watch the PV for Diamond. Its not too bad. The vocalist (female, I might add) is a tad on the shrill side, but its another song that’s got me energized and feeling good about J-rock again.

“Sacrifice” – Luzmelt

Okay, y’all. I got about thirty minutes before Between the Lions comes on, and I’m not about to miss my “stories.” Haha.

I stumbled upon this single entirely by chance. I liked the cover so I thought I’d give it a listen. I don’t know if you guys love experiences like that, but I sure do.

Luzmelt is a new-ish visual kei band that I had not heard of until yesterday. But apparently they played at Tekkoshocon back in April. They were right here in the U.S. and I didn’t even know it! They have released two mini albums called “Swallowed Scenery” and “Luz-Destination” which I’m going to check out as soon as I finish this review. “Sacrifice” is their first single.

Sacrifice begins with a slow piano opening, which to me felt like a tip of the hat in the direction of the older style of Japanese rock from the late 80s and early to mid 90s. Then the song explodes into a hard, driven rock paradise with some impressive drums and robotic-sounding vocals. Totally unexpected. The song is a great journey through many styles of music. It moves from classic rock, to some techno elements, and into a comfortable Visual Kei sound. I also have to give props to the vocalist. He seems very talented and for some reason his vocal style reminds me of Hyde in his younger days. The space-oriented PV for the song made me think of XodiacK’s PV for Kimi ni Furu Zetsubou no Ame. I miss XodiacK so much.

Under the Starlight is a nice compliment to the a-side. In fact, I liked this song just as much as Sacrifice. That’s rare for me.

The final song is a remix of a song called Blind Scope which I’m going to assume is on one of the two mini-albums. (Yup, it is. The original is found on Swallowed Scenery.) I liked this remix, but would not feel comfortable saying much else considering that I haven’t heard the original.

In Conclusion: I can’t wait to hear what other songs Luzmelt has to offer. In a world seemingly dominated by Visual Kei bands that all sound the same, its tough to find one that stands out. This band is seriously worth a listen because its not your average v-kei. The borrowed elements from other genres all work perfectly in their songs. Now, I can only hope that this band doesn’t suffer from “XodiacK Syndrome” and suddenly decide to break up as soon as I start listening to them. That would be enough to make me tear my lungs out through my ears.

~Alisa~

Reader Question: What is the best song you’ve ever stumbled upon by chance?

Only the Best: The Top 5 Songs of 2010

Hold it, Alisa! 2010 isn’t even halfway over!

Yeah, I get that. But! In the nearly five months that we’ve been in this new year, new decade rather, some seriously great music has come out. I’ll be talking about it right now! Yay! These are my top five favorite songs that have come out this year.

#5 Sakurabito – Sunset Swish: This is the second ending theme for Bleach that this group has done, the first being the strangely African-sounding My Pace. Sakurabito is a beautiful ballad with intense, heartbreaking melodies and traditional sounds. Very beautiful. Its a little strange that such a spring oriented song came out in January, but I’m not complaining.

#4 Rain – SID: Yeah, this song hasn’t even come out in full yet. See how little I care? Rain is the fifth and final (I think) opening theme for Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I’m a big sucker for anime songs, ehehe. I think the reason why I have fallen head over heels for Rain is because of the breathtaking opening sequence from Brotherhood. If you haven’t seen it, WATCH it. The song just goes perfectly with the mood of the show. I’m going to cry my eyes out having to wait until June 2nd for the single.

#3 GOLD – UVERworld: This song earns the number three slot from me simply because its so weird. It has about a thousand different beats and rhythms and takes a zillion different musical directions, but it works. So far, I’ve not seen anyone indifferent towards the song. Its either loved or hated. To me, its the third best UVERworld song after D-tecnolife and of course Colors of the Heart.

#2 Jealous – Jasmine: I am so impressed by Jasmine! She’s going to be a huge star in a couple years, I hope. Jealous is a relaxing yet powerful R&B tune. The vocals are fierce and sexy and I love every part of this song. There’s something regal about it.

AND!

#1 Kimi ni Furu Zetsubou no Ame – XodiacK: One word. “Duh.” This is visual kei, or galactic rock (whatever) at its best. I’ll miss this band.

Well, there’s my five! Comment me with yours! My next review will be Shoko Nakagawa’s Ray of Light. Seems like FMA Brotherhood themes are mandatory reviews for me.

~Alisa~

“7th Rose” – D

At least the cover is pretty

Being a loyal D fan, I kept up hope that this album would be surprisingly good, despite the lackluster singles. Since I do love D more than sliced bread and a few other food items, I don’t have the stomach to call this album “bad.” I can’t say its “good” either, and it would just be patronizing to call it “phenomenal.”

If you’re keeping up with Secret Garden (which you should! Its a brilliant blog!), you’ll know that lately, D has adopted more of a Versailles style. Can’t say I hate Versailles (the fact that most of their songs are, like, 9 minutes long is just a touch annoying but that’s another story…) but D should be D. This is why we fell in love with this band; because they had their own flavor. Now that flavor has just become stale.

7th Rose is a hot mess of Versailles/Malice Mizer/generic gothic rock cut-and-paste songs and a couple happy-go-lucky songs (Day by Day and Kaze ga Mekuru Page) that seem out of place altogether. Then you get tracks like Crimson Fish that drift in and out of the gothic and classic visual kei genres. I had no idea which direction  they were going with that song and I don’t even think the band knew either.

The only song which sounds remotely similar to the original D is Tightrope, the first single released since the previous album. I’ve called it a watered-down sister version to the outstanding pulse-pounding Nocturnal and I stand by that description. Another somewhat good track is 絡繰り絵巻, which is nice for about two listens and then is quickly forgotten.

As with several other D albums, 7th Rose contains plenty of barbaric growling and whatnot, but its emotionless and almost robotic, if that’s possible. The problem with the album is that the tracks don’t build tension like some of the better D songs. They are flat-lined from the start and you get plain bored. I didn’t listen to most of the tracks in their entirety because they evoked no response in me, other than yawning. Older D songs used to quicken my pulse and make me unconsciously clench my fist from the power of the songs.

In Conclusion: Spare yourself the heartache and pick up a copy of Genetic World instead. Perhaps you can find some gems in this album, but its more a matter of personal taste than actual quality. I felt that this album was weak and makes D as a band seem like a worn-out concept. Here is hoping they take a small hiatus and reflect on their true image instead of desperately clinging to that of other bands.

~Alisa~