Review Summary: Japanese Misery Signals what who said that
Her Name in Blood are a metalcore band from Tokyo, Japan. Their first album,
Decadence, came out in 2010, during a period of time when popular Western metalcore bands would compensate what they lacked in songwriting talent with frequent breakdowns. HNIB decided to follow suit with the breakdown trend on their debut, but unlike the majority of their musical peers from across the Pacific at the time, they also possessed the ability to write captivating riffs. Furthermore, HNIB had (notice the past tense here) a knack for melody that would make Misery Signals proud, and of which has made
Decadence one of my favorite metalcore albums from its era.
Each track, with the exception of
Unexpected Mention Effected Big Offer (which is a minute-and-a-half, pig squeal riddled slam track that ultimately comes off as a joke), follows the same general formula, but is distinct enough to make it sound like its own, identifiable song. A fast riff sometimes preceded by a shouted line or drum fill begins each track. The transitions between riffs and the buildups before breakdowns are always prominent, dramatic, and well done. While the songs maintain a sense of melody throughout, most of them also contain a heartfelt melodic bridge, which is usually succeeded by a final breakdown or two.
The above description of the songwriting may sound like it could be given to the average melodic metalcore album, but there a few more details that I feel put
Decadence well above the others. Mainly, every member of the band excels at what they do. The lead and rhythm guitarists are always finding ways to complement each other, even during breakdowns; the bass player gives prominence to every riff, and doesn't allow a single one to fall flat on the radar; the drummer seems to know the precise way to emphasize what his fretboard-friends are doing at all times, isn't afraid to throw down some blastbeats, and is exceptionally good with transitions; the vocalist, though he screams in incomprehensible English, has a distinct Japanese accent that makes the album as a whole feel uniquely un-Western. To top off these points, the production on the album is bold, concise, and rather phenomenal.
After
Decadence, HNIB went on to develop a more mature sound, drastically cutting down on the breakdowns, and replacing the melodic riffs with heavier ones. In other words, they did away with everything that gave this album its charm and made it an outlier in their discography, which at the time of my writing this review contains four LPs.
Decadence is a product of its time, and HNIB wanted to leave those times behind. But anyone who has an itch for some Myspace-era metalcore owes it to themselves to give this album a listen.
