Review Summary: The legendary visual kei band make a decent debut album, but still have a long way to go.
Penicillin, essentially, are one of the most important visual kei bands from the 90's. Around for 20 years, Penicillin made a name for themselves by vowing to never tone down their visual image, and by having an interesting hybrid of alternative/pop/hard rock. They are also known for the signature vocal style of Hakuei, which consists of a strained and emotional style, which blends in nicely with the typical gothic style of Penicillin. Unfortunately, their debut album, "Vibe", is a very average and typical visual kei album at the time, and sounds pretty average if anything.
The first two tracks ("Real XXX" & "Imitation Love") sound like cheap cookie-cutter tracks that hold little-to-no ground in the originality aspect, and sound like an imitation of Luna Sea's early material. "Blood Type M" is an interesting track, but once again, fails to be anything but original. The following track, "Shuufuku Fukanou", is one of the very few original tracks in the first half of the album, thus making it a keeper. It follows a pop-swing sound, and has a rather upbeat sound (which would be replicated in the completely instrumental followup album, "Indwell"). A pretty good track, and shows the band's potential when they're not being mere visual kei clones. "Violet" is another track that stands out due to its rather bittersweet sound, and is a superb track by itself. Unfortunately, "Blue Moon" shows the band relapsing back into their typical visual kei sound, and follows a very similar pattern to "Real XXX" & "Imitation Love". The only thing that separates the track from the other replicates is the bitter melodies in the chorus and bridge. Otherwise, it is yet another atypical 90's visual kei track.
"Sincerely Yours" shows the band wandering on ballad grounds, and shows the band attempting to distance itself from the repetitive mold that "Vibe" is becoming. The vocals by Hakuei and guitars by Chisato. An overall emotional track, and is a superb attempt at Penicillin trying to escape being lumped with various cookie-cutter bands at the time. "Kyuuketsuki" shows the band further distancing themselves from the bitter sound of the album, and is a highly upbeat track the footsteps of "Shuufuku Fukanou". "Blood Type S" is the only track on the album that dares to mix the very brief experimental points of the album with the repetitive theme of the album. A superb track in that aspect, and is probably the most bizarre track on the album. "Kotoba ni Nara ni Ai" attempts to put the album back on track for second-rate destiny, as it re-insists the theme of rather boring repetitive tracks. The only thing that gives the track potential is the use of the piano, and the impressive guitar solo. "Prologue" is one of the very few tracks that breathes total life into this rather stale album, with progressions and an emotional tide that shows the band at its most impressive state. "Prologue" is pretty much a reward to any listener who dared to hang on during the first half of the album, and is a reward of many sorts. The track alone brings the album's rating of "average" up to "good". A hell of a turn in the album. However, the reign is over rather shortly as it closes with the track, "Tenshi yo Mezamete", which isn't anything as boring as the first half of the album, but is far from being a solid track. A somewhat worthy closer in some aspects, but all-in-all, it's a rather disappointing closing track.
Overall, the album does indeed head off into the direction of being nothing more than a compilation of the popular visual kei sound that boomed in Japan in the 90's: gothic, bittersweet and a HIGHLY repetitive sound. However, later on, the album shows off various golden points that prevent it from being a total mediocre experience. All-in-all, Penicillin is a spectacular and influential visual kei band, with lots to offer, but their debut album is far from being a masterpiece. I would recommend looking into them if you are into Japanese rock at all, and more specifically looking into the albums "Limelight", "Ultimate Velocity", "Union Jap", "Hell Bound Heart", or even "Cell". Just avoid this album, as it gets rather repetitive very quickly, despite the album's bright arc towards the end of the album.
