A Taste of DIR EN GREY's DIFFERENT SENSE (15secs Teaser)

Well, I loved "Hageshisa to..." with its death metal sound, and I got the hang of "LOTUS" with its epic chorus and all, but "DIFFERENT SENSE" (or at least it's teaser) weirds me out. Just...

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A Taste of Blood Stain Child's "εpsilon": SIRIUS VI!

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the GazettE - VORTEX single

Yep, I chose the Auditory Impression. Sorr...

TRACKLIST:

01. VORTEX

02. UNCERTAIN SENSE

03. BREAK ME

[DOWNLOAD LINKS BELOW THE POST]


(WRITER'S NOTE: Draft for this article made while very tipsy.)

Before I start talking about “VORTEX”, let me start this review by babbling about their post-DIM singles (singles released after their album” DIM” was released). Let’s start with “Before I Decay”, which sounds like they haven’t got over with their previous album, that’s why I like it. Next is “SHIVER”, which is good one, even though it’s more or less a “typical GazettE sound”. Another one of their singles is “RED”, which is still alright with me, even though I liked “SHIVER” more. And “PLEDGE”, of course, why in the world would I forget PLEDGE!? It’s simply an excellent ballad that never ceases to amaze me! Now with the excitement that “VORTEX” has built, is the 5 months of wait worth it?

Hell no, of course… hell no, it ain’t worth it, well at least initially (that means "at my first few listens" for you ignorant fool). Heck, it was even unbearable, at least for the first couple of times (feeling awkward and nauseous here? Totally.). “VORTEX”, firstly, (let’s admit it), like “SHIVER”, is that we’ve heard this before. Not that it’s a bad thing. It’s just that, I want to hear something unique (and excellent, too) like “Filth in the Beauty”, wherein we see a lot of elements in music mixed up together (you better listen to that song to find out). But that didn’t disappoint me. What disappointed me is that “VORTEX” is auto-tuned. Well, Ruki can sing, dammit. And not just sing, but beautifully! And even though the song has a load of electronic influences, auto-tune still is a no-no since it’s for singers with a load of shit in their throats like… *cough* Rebecca Black *cough*!

the GazettE「VORTEX」 PV無料視聴 動画 試聴+歌詞

“Are you just here to bash their new single mercilessly, La:mort? Well, if you are, just get lost!” Of course not. I’m just getting to the good side, you.

Well, once you get past that “first couple of listens”, you’ll find that the song has its charms too, albeit weird. Heck, it’s even stuck in my head like it’s stuck in a rut (well, my head's like a rut). The instruments, too, (with the exception of the auto-tuned vocals) are great as usual, especially Uruha’s solo. Lastly, if there’s one thing I like about their new single is that Ruki’s Engrish is now comprehensible. You’ll hear and understand a few English phrases and sentences in the song like:

“Vortex of beats”
“Shut up fuck up jack ass”
“I can’t answer your silly wish”

And the longest one of them all…

“I don’t wanna become the fuckin' garbage like you”

Now that is an improvement…

“A while ago, you’re bashing the song, and now, you’re praising it, La:mort!? You must be crazy!” CHILL… I’m done here already. And let me babble about the b-sides.

Liking the speakers for walls.

The accompanying b-side, “UNCERTAIN SENSE”, made me feel even more awkward. I really can’t classify what this song is, if it is a badass, like “Ogre” or if it’s a softie, like “Shiroki Yuutsu”. I just think it’s retarded. It would’ve been better if the “badass moments” and the “softie moments” are made into two, separate songs or something… but no, it’s not. Probably the only good thing I can notice here is the comprehensible Engrish (again), courtesy of Ruki, and that it doesn’t sound auto-tuned (if ever if it IS auto-tuned). Wait… is this the shortest song of the three? Oh yes it is. Good thing…

By this point, you won’t be able to relate to the rest of my review if you got the Optical Impression of the single. So unless you got the Auditory Impression (or downloaded the song, you pirate), you better get outta here! So here I am, still babbling, this time about their b-side “BREAK ME”.

“BREAK ME” reminds me of… what else but 80's hard rock, of course! From the intro, to the instruments, to the chorus, and the solo… very hard rock, indeed! Of course it is done their way, or else I’ll forget that the GazettE ever existed. EVER. Seriously speaking, what added the charm here is Ruki’s raspy (and devoid of auto-tune) singing. Now that’s the way! And oh, comprehensible Engrish again. Notice that the whole chorus consists of nothing but English words. Nice.

What should I say now? “VORTEX” was quite a mixed bag (both the single AND the song) for me, but ithe song turns out to be . “BREAK ME” is superb hard rock and “UNCERTAIN SENSE”… it’s just flat-out weird. I wonder how the video on the Optical Impression is. Oh, and by the way, I’m outta here.

6 skulls out of 10

(auto-tune made me do this)

A Taste of The Black Dahlia Murder's "Ritual": Moonlight Equilibrium!

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Shining - VII: Född Förlorare full-length

This album made me wanna kill myself... all over again. Just like that boy on the left.

TRACKLIST:

01. Förtvivlan, Min Arvedel

02. Tiden Läker Inga Sår

03. Människa O'Avskyvärda Människa

04. Tillsammans Är Vi Allt

05. I Nattens Timma (Landberk cover)

06. FFF

[DOWNLOAD LINKS BELOW THE POST]

Finally, after more than a goddamned year of waiting I finally get to hear Shining’s seventh album… “VII: Född Förlorare”! Yes! And you even thought that “Blackjazz” is their seventh album, huh? Very hilarious every time I think about it, actually. You, thinking that they have a new logo, new sound, new lyrical themes, new look… ha ha ha! Ignorance ain’t much bliss after all, huh? Well, before my thoughts get lost through all that reminiscence, well, I presume you know these guys already, unless you’ve been living in a faraway cave for more than ten years already. Unlike former albums, “VII: Född Förlorare” is more like an FF XIII-2 (or FF X-2, if you think FF XIII sucked, which I do not have opinions about it yet) than an FF XIV, in a sense that it continues where “VI: Klagopsalmer” left off, which “Förtvivlan, Min Arvedel” is about. More aggressive and less depressive.

To make this goddamned review short this could be considered more as a “win” unlike movies with part-twos that fail miserably, but I’m here to elaborate on the reasons why I think this album is a worthy snag, not to slack off and play my PSP for 48 hours until I die of exhaustion. Född Förlorare also features the wonderful disturbing elements featured on Klagopsalmer such as an excellent performance by the band (from the vocals to the riffs and drums), an excellent disturbing atmosphere numerous times in the album, and a clean production, and I won’t elaborate on further because I’m too lazy.

“Come on La:morT, stop sitting around and type more!” Next!

Shining - Official Video For "Förtvivlan, Min Arvedel"

Well, another thing here is that I’ve noticed they’ve used the acoustic guitar and clean singing extensively. Let me spell that for you, E-X-T-E-N-S-I-V-E-L-Y. Well, all songs feature both of them, especially the clean singing at the fifth track, “I Nattens Timma”, which features singing only from 00:24 to 03:32. Although not an instrumental track (a first time for the band since “II: Livets Ändhållplats”), I think that it serves its purpose, being “the calm before the storm”, (with added instruments such as piano, mellotron and additional vocals by Peter Bjärgö) the storm being “FFF”, which is more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing than anything else. The intro might deceive you, but it is never(!) a mellow song of any sort. It’s more or less a very good Shining song… only on steroids.

“Talk about something else about the album, La:morT!” Whatever…

Now, what did I really like? Hm… First would be “Tiden Läker Inga Sår”. Well, it sounds more passionate, that’s one point. It also starts as a happy, calm acoustic track from a New Age music CD, that’s another point (very deceptive). But my point here is that, it sounds downright tragic. Kvarforth’s growls brought the song up. It’s as if he’s singing (except for a few parts) with his growls. Plus, it also contains a great performance by Erik Danielsson from Watain, who does his rasps as if he’s singing too.

“Människa O'Avskyvärda Människa” sounds very disturbing, but what the other songs lacked, this one had a lot, and that one thing is… *drum roll please* the solos! The solos, courtesy of Arch Enemy’s Chris Amott, make up a little bit less than one-third of the song, so while listening to the song, you got yourself about two minutes to bang your head to the nearest cement wall and have some blood coming out of your head.

Double the dose of FUCK YOU from the Swedish Shining.

Last but definitely not the least is “Tillsammans Är Vi Allt”, which is much like Shining’s take on extreme gothic metal (read it again, extreme gothic metal), and in all fairness, it’s great, with the clean singing, courtesy of Nordman (don’t ask me who is this guy ‘cause even I don’t know him), on the chorus. Plus, the way they ended the song is a perfect transition for the next track (which I talked about earlier). The opening riff, though, made the song sound a little too disturbing for its own good. Might expect an extreme gothic album from Shining in the near future already. What, you don’t want some? Then screw you.

To close this, which I don’t know how again, what we have here is another great (still suicidal) work by Shining, although it is much like Klagopsalmer though it has less aggression than Klagopsalmer, and consequently, more depression (obviously!). Just forgive them for that since this was supposed to be released more than a year earlier. Well, this album review is considered done, so I'm outta here.

9 Death Skulls out of 10

DEATHGAZE - "SILENCE/THE END" single

DEATHGAZE are:
VO: Ai
GU: Takaki
BA: Kosuke
DR: Naoki

TRACKLIST:
01. SILENCE
02. THE END


[DOWNLOAD LINKS BELOW THE POST]

Ever heard of DEATHGAZE? If you haven't, then what a poor critter you are! Well, I shouldn’t be surprised since they aren’t as famous (but they should be!) as their counterparts, DIR EN GREY, the GazettE and… whatever those other counterparts are. For your information, these guys are a Nagoya kei band, and in case you don’t know what that is too, it’s like visual kei… with all the colors replaced by black that is. Oh, and heavier music too, by the way.

Kind of weird for them to release a new single featuring not just one but two brand new songs(!), since their awesome full-length, “Bliss Out”, was just released late yesteryear (about December 2010, to be exact). And here they have their new single, ready to give us eargasm just 5 months after they released “Bliss Out”. Whoa, that was fast… very fast...

For the ignorant fool (like you, perhaps), DEATHGAZE would sound like a subpar metalcore band. Wrong. They aren't even metalcore for God's sake (Although they have metalcore influences)! Well, here's a question. Do you hear breakdowns here? NO? How about a chugfest of riffs? NOT THIS ONE TOO, EITHER? Well, since you said so, don’t bother putting them together with your metalcore CD collection, scene kid. They're so outta your league.

“Oh, just talk about the single already, La:morT, will ya?!” Alright, alright! Jeez…

DEATHGAZE 「SILENCE/THE END」 PV

Now let me talk about their new single right here, right now. “SILENCE/THE END” features the band’s good composing skills (heavy + catchy) with Ai's growls getting better and not to mention his sexy singing voice (I know that I may sound like one of those fan girls for saying that, but no, don’t get the wrong impression. Just don’t). The two songs also rival at “which is the better song” category, if there is such... Well, I don't know why... except that "SILENCE" is the more solid of the two (in composition) and "THE END" being more memorable. 

By the way, how solid is "SILENCE" in terms of composition anyway, besides it's slick bass intro? For sure, you have heard metal tracks with "harsh/clean vocal combo", right (you must be living alone in a cave for a decade if you haven't)? Doesn't it suck when the singing-laden chorus alone ruins the whole, wonderful song? YES IT DOES. Wouldn't it be nice to hear some song with the "harsh/clean vocal combo" that doesn't suck? YES IT DOES. If that is your thing, look nowhere else, but here, at DEATHGAZE's new single, "SILENCE". Though it kinda reminds me of "God Bless You" (by DEATHGAZE, duh). Sound-alike? Just a little I guess. Very little.

"La:morT, just start talking about "THE END " already!!!" Alright, alright! Dammit!


What's with "THE END" anyway? Nothing, besides the fact that it struck my fancy more than "SILENCE". Well, can you blame me if it has the upbeat hooks? Well, the intro has it, the chorus has it, and even the verse part has it. So, no, you can't blame me for liking it. Besides, it's hooks made it more memorable too (a la LSS, which is "last song syndrome" for those dummies who don't know). So if you want some metal goodness with catchy melodies, give this song a listen... and listen to nothing else. (Though I feel the 'slowing down' part after the first chorus is kinda off, though).


To end this, though I don't know how exactly, I have to say that both songs are awesome. Period. Do I have anything more to say? Just listen to the YouTube video above. NOW.

9 Death skulls out of 10

THE AWAKENING

After more than a year since I started my first blog, here am I, back again, under a different name, a different form... 

Now let us begin... 

Here's a picture of the Grim Reaper to help you "dream of death".