Review Summary: Metal meets J-pop in this surprisingly enjoyable act of both insanity and hypocrisy.
What is Vocaloid? Well, it’s definitely something that will leave you either confused or uncomfortable. Probably both.
Vocaloid is a voice synthesizer program, but its unique feature is that various Japanese “idols” have been created from the program. The most popular, Miku Hatsune, is a fictional anime girl whose voice is creating by the Vocaloid program. Essentially, she’s a virtual singer without anyone singing (though samples of her voice are derived from VA Saki Fujita). Since then, Miku and the other Vocaloid idols have become cultural icons in Japan, leading to the synthesized voices being used in multimedia and even branching outside of the J-pop genre. Enter Utsu-P (Depression-P), a Japanese producer who’s specialized in metal tracks with Vocaloid vocals. Yes, you hear Japanese computer girls singing and screaming alongside nu-metal and black metal composition. It’s as crazy as it sounds, and the fact that Utsu-P has such a large discography in this field is borderline absurd. But the 2014 album
ALGORITHM is a broader and more ambitious metal romp, introducing more idol voices and continuing the long-tread tradition of Utsu-P’s middle finger to the otaku lifestyle in general. It’s insane, but even more insane is how this otherwise impossible combination manages to stay above the water so well.
Utsu-P’s lyrical content has always been openly critical not just of the J-pop idols he uses in his works, but the very culture that obsesses over them. Whether it’s the cover art of his albums (some having Miku transforming into some Eldritch abomination or simply punching her in the face) or the lyrics which explicitly use the phrase “J-pop trash”, Utsu-P is clearly mocking these anime idols to the bone.
ALGORITHM is no exception. It’s almost hilarious in how much he tears these idols apart, and when he references a “middle-aged cosplayer” in “MiKUSABBATH”, you really see that the culture that would like this music the most is getting the biggest lumps. The humor is sharp-tongued, and when combined with metal twang and riff, there’s something hypnotic about
ALGORITHM. It has more teeth than you might assume.
Metal and Vocaloid are the name of the game on
ALGORITHM, specifically rhythmic groove metal and nu-metal. Most tracks lay off the solos and stick to crunchy guitars, slamming drums, and some interesting bass work reminiscent of Ryan Martinie of
Mudvayne. Utsu-P often uses distortion effects on the synthesized voices, replicating metal screams, like the primal and energized “Chocolate Girl”, which could easily stir a crowd. The minute-long “Baby Death Match” opens with a frantic drum rhythm, like an idol dropped into deathcore, while “P.O.R.N.O.” has crashing beats moving into a metronomic, waltz-like pace.
But there’s something else at work here. Earlier I mentioned that Utsu-P explicitly makes fun of J-pop as a genre. Well, the irony of that is that
ALGORITHM is at its best when it’s practicing the same pop sensibilities that Utsu-P mocks. Some of the best tracks on the record are ones that have clean Vocaloid vocals and catchy choruses. “Hell Pops” features the high-pitched Rin, but with a hooky vocal style, a groovy solo, and a solid beat. “Magic of the Massacre” features the GUMI voice and a nice twinge of electronic vocal mixing smack dab in the middle. It’s groovy in all the right ways and captures a kind of J-pop bathed in metal aesthetic. The best track on
ALGORITHM, “Absolute Music Dance”, is also the only one featuring the flower program. With an androgynous-sounding voice, infectious chanting chorus, and twanging bass slaps, it’s phenomenal, even with its warped electronic breakdown near the end that sounds a little too close to Korn’s
The Path of Totality for comfort. The aforementioned “MiKUSABBATH” remains another great track. Between its mocking lyrics is a metal pulse, with soaring vocals and twisted screams from Miku. It’s so odd seeing Utsu-P crapping all over J-pop, but using the catchy pop philosophies so well.
However,
ALGORITHM starts dragging its feet near the end. While the eerily on-pitch computerized voices stand out amongst the slamming metal riffs, they do little to differentiate from each other. The voices just sound too much alike. flower is only used in a single song, and she’s the only idol who has enough of a difference in style and tone to be identifiable. The worst tracks like “Alien’s ‘I Love You’” are the ones that lack creativity, using cookie-cutter metal templates instead of spiraling the trademark vocal performances into something unique. At the end of the day, the Vocaloid vocals end up sounding too much alike than they should, and though the bonus track “MiKUSABBATH” is great, the last few tracks don’t wow in the same ways as the opening half does.
ALGORITHM is an experiment in both insanity and hypocrisy. While Utsu-P makes no effort to hide his cynicism toward J-pop and its almost cult-like zeitgeist, it’s that embrace of hooky pop choruses mixed with metal riffs that makes for the best results. “Magic of the Massacre” and “Absolute Music Dance” are pure pop tracks disguised with metal aesthetics and gothed out anime girls. But not to say
ALGORITHM lacks heaviness. Far from it; this is some of the heaviest stuff you’ll ever hear in this clearly niche field of music. You’d be surprised how enticing a computerized female voice can sound alongside raspy distorted screams and crunching nu-metal riffs. If Vocaloid is still something alien to you, you might find the disturbingly on-pitch vocals to be almost ghostly in their sound, but I’d encourage any jaded metal fan to ignore the anime girl fan service for a second and give this record an attentive listen.
ALGORITHM mixes the heaviness of metal with the structure of pop, and whether Utsu-P knows it or not, that’s where it succeeds the most, anime girls or not.
