Review Summary: Aldious endlessly multiply their creativity, cement their place as top dog in the 'Japanese All-Female' movement, and a class act in Visual Kei with "Unlimited Diffusion"
Aldious are an all-female Japanese power metal band who are credited as starting the all-female metal boom in Japan that started in the early 2010s. Aldious is also one of the few all-female visual kei bands, under the sub-style of Ageha-kei which is focused on the visual aesthetic of a hostess (rather than androgynous goth aesthetic commonly associated with Visual Kei). The band combines aggression with melody, as the band’s name comes from the combination of the words “ultimate” and “Melodious”. That combination did take a bit of trial and error, but after one line-up change at vocals and the transitional period album that was
”District Zero”, Aldious nailed this combination on 2014’s
”Dazed and Delight”, and then after a lineup change at drummer they returned a year later added a more commercial flare on 2015’s
”Radiant A”. Then in 2017 they expanded upon what made
”Radiant A” such a hit to the extent of setting
”Unlimited Diffusion” on a grand scale as the band’s Magnum Opus. This album for Aldious is what
”Uroboros” is for DIR EN GREY or
”DIM” is for The GazettE.
The best example of expanding upon its predecessor is with the most controversial two songs in the whole band’s catalog so far,
“Die for You” and
“Without you”.
“Die for You” was from
”Radiant A”, a pop-rock track with inspiration from Avril Lavigne (yes, really) that was just simply enjoyable and fun.
“Without You” goes further and sees Aldious doubling down on this small direction but expanding upon it with adding some smaller elements like the guitar sweeps in the second verse or the whimsical backing vocals in the chorus that really becomes lively with whimsical personality that shoots the listener with an unhealthy amount of wholesomeness.
One thing Aldious has done in the past is use symphonic elements occasionally (Most notably on
“I Don’t Like Me” from
”Dazed and Delight”). However here it is far more present than any release from the band up to that point with the symphonic element being supportive in the distance to help
”Unlimited Diffusion” tall. Right from the blazing opener
“Utopia” there is this small subtle section in the reprise where a choir comes in briefly. The grand moment of this element however, comes out to shine on
“Reincarnation”.
“Reincarnation” is a haunting yet beautiful song. Everything about the song is fantastic and grand, from the acoustic intro, the plucking bass in the second verse,to the eerie banshee-like backing vocals at the climax of the song singing “No matter if you kill me,I'll always forgive you.
Even if you killed me,I'll never change my love for you”. That, like the great Nu-Metal-esque riffs is not even what makes the song so fantastic, it's the emotion of it all. The tragic nature of the song even shines through especially in the Guitar solo which showcases one of the bands strengths, the guitarists Toki and Yoshi’s ability to play off each other and effortlessly to create strong melodies with complex composition.
On the topic of melody, that's yet element
”Unlimited DIffusion” benefits greatly from as every single chorus on this album is fantastic and memorable.
“Lose Control” is a perfect example of how strong the choruses on this album are with its combination of a memorable hook one can hum along to and use of Guitar bends (and would not sound out of place being the intro for an anime). This is not even the surface of all the memorable moments from the album, such as on
“In This World” which is the anthem of the album with its triumphant tagline of “In this world, we’ll win the world”.
Of course the “Ultimate” side of the band is showcased on this album here, on songs like
“Go away”,
“In This World”, and
“ジレンマ” (translated to
”Dilemma”).
“ジレンマ” features a fast tempo flow from vocalist Re:NO as well as some fun riffs with a bit of a swing in them. The backing vocals really help to bring an energy to a song rolling down a hill in adrenaline. The song at it’s fast tempo has a fantastic build in the first verse from just the vocals to than the whole band, and the build up feels smooth and natural (also the whammy bar in the bridge is sweet). It is worth quickly talking about
“Go away” here as well here with its aggressive energy and is one of the albums most fun songs with its constant guitar bends,occasional sweep in its riffs, and playful vocal delivery .
The soft side is yet another strong side of the band that is shown off well in the likes of melodic tracks in the middle stretch such as
“alright”,
“マリーゴールド” (translated to
“Marigold”), and
“ノスタルジック” (translated to
“Nostalgia) and the album closes with one with the 80’s power ballad inspired and tear jerking closer
“Fragile”. It kicks off with a catchy yet lugubrious guitar melody before transitioning into a soft strummed acoustic guitar driven first verse. This personality of the guitars is present throughout the whole song, even during the beautiful guitar solo and after with the vibrato bend during the reprise. The addition of the violin here adds a mournful touch to the song however the biggest factor in what makes the song tragic is Re:NO. Her being content yet sad to the chorus where her tone is soft and gentle enough to make it feel bittersweet. This song is like a continuation of
“I Don’t Like Me” which dealt with self-hate that the past cannot be changed, and being just left at bitter resentment in one’s own reflection with no reason left to live for but yet scared to die only wanting to be innocent like a child again.
“Fragile” continues this in a reflective manner with a regretful but content look back at the past and accepting it, knowing it is unchangeable while being uncertain of what is to occur next “If I shut my eyes tears overflow. Since I can’t be a child forever I always tell myself don't cry but smile” (Note: this is an English translation, as the whole song is in Japanese).
Speaking of Re:NO, she was Aldious’s ace in the hole during her era with the band(withdrew from the band and retired from music entirely in 2018 due to Patulous Eustachian tube). Her vocal style is quite unique especially in the genre of metal and It works quite well with being the main focus of the “Melodious” sound of the group.Her main tone is either deep and soothing or gentle and flighty which works as a fantastic contrast against aggressive instrumental and complements just as wonderfully on a melodic instrumental.
While on instrumentals, everything is well composed and pulled off without a hitch. Like every truly great Visual Kei band(DIR EN GREY with Karoru and Die, The GazettE with Uruha and Aoi), Aldious is home to a fantastic guitar duo of Toki and Yoshi and they both play off each other and complement each other well with how contrasting each of their play style is. Yoshi’s is more contained and technical while Toki’s is more Flashy and straightforward. They switch between each other on who is doing the lead and who is doing the rhythm throughout and it leads keeping the whole album fresh as well as making every single song memorable. Bassist Sawa deserves praise too, with her laying down a consistent grove or getting some moments to slap (or in the case of the second verse on
“Reincarnation”, pop) for an extra punch of aggression.She is rather versatile and her presence is felt throughout the whole runtime..Drummer Marina Bozzio (yes, step daughter to that Terry Bozzio) is versatile in her playing style and works as a great supporting piece while gets some moments to flash on a decent amount of tracks here. She has really improved immensely from her first album with the band,
”Radiant A“ which saw her playstyle mostly follow a straightforward uptempo power metal beat.
”Unlimited diffusion” is a landmark album in the band’s career and one where they proved they are a top tier band no matter where they are put under, be it visual kei, power metal, or the Japanese All-Female metal scene. So yes, this album is more than deserving of being held in the same conversation as the likes of
”DIM” or
”Uroboros”.
Recommended Tracks (and not pulling a cop-out by listing the whole album)
“Utopia”
“Lose Control”
“Without you”
“Dilemma”
“Reincarnation”
“Fragile”
