Review Summary: Visual Kei music thats fun and friendly,sometimes you feel it gets too much into their visual appearance over the music at points. Enjoyable, some very catchy moments.
Now obviously this band and its members are heavily influenced by Japan and its culture/music. The album has some really good parts, some kind of meh parts and then one or two things that just are personal and tick me off. The album feels like a type of loosely connected dream story (seems to be the theme). I personally list this as one of my favourite albums. I will leave the last 2 songs out of the review due to them just being two songs off the album just in Japanese. (Closure is the last song)
The album ranges from a variety of sounds, some akin to happy opening songs you'd expect to find at the start of an anime, some others more suited to a deathcore/metalcore band, with some occasional great rock feels. Seike's vocals are overall pleasant throughout the album (especially in No Escape and Closure) however, when Yohio is backing or the only vocalist at points you can clearly tell who has the superior vocals between the two, as Yohio really has a much larger vocal range, you hear this in Siren (Falling Down especially). The lyrics have a good selection of themes, at times seeming a little cheesy though (such as in Deja Vu). The guitar riffs throughout I find to be some of the most enjoyable parts of the album though. The drumming throughout feels a little stale mostly or just not really assaulting my senses, don't get me wrong it gets the job done professionally, just I feel its lacking somehow.
The 4 songs I would suggest you try would be No Escape, Sirens (Falling Down), World Domination and Closure. No Escape after the intro track feels like a great rock song with some metal elements in it, Seike's voice feeling mesmerising and Yohio's guitar solo a real head banging moment. Sirens (Falling Down) instantly comes pounding out with then a chorus of voices building up slowly to the chorus, the chorus being the best part of the song, it literally creates the image in your head of 'falling down' and Yohio's voice certainly adds that extra 'oomph' to it. World Domination feels like it should be in a metalcore/deathcore bands album. The mixes between Yohio's screeches, Seike's growls and the group shouting are a good mix.The song sounding like a type of marching song with some creepy moments. My favourite part would be the "oo, oh!" in the background for parts of the song, like its delivering a punch. Two thirds of the way in you get this sudden relaxed instrumental moment rudely interrupted by the same sound of the song though. Closure I feel is the best track to end it on, it really feels like the end of the album saying goodbye. Blending moments of silence and soft singing with heavy pounding moments between the guitar and drums to only go into what I can only describe as a merry-go round. Some of the lyrics seem to recount past songs on the album, as if putting it all together into the grand finale. The final moments of the song are soft and emotional and leave you wanting more.
I would say however, Deja Vu, Bulletproof Roulette and Welcome To Our Madness are probably the weakest moments of the album. Either feeling cheesy or just like they've made no impact.
In conclusion, this album is full of great guitar riffs, some mystical and soft vocals mixed with great sounds. It does I feel create a visual story throughout the album through sound. This would have been a great base to improve upon if they hadn't split up before creating their second album.
