Review Summary: Japan> America
I dabble in a bunch of Japanese media whether it is anime, mangas, specific J-pop artists. I stumbled across this band named Galneryus a few months ago heard a few singles and reached the conclusion that they are a good solid Japanese metal band. I haven’t gotten enough incentive to actually here their album so here I am now. I just got a hold of their album entitled “One for All- All for One”.
Yama B- Vocals
Syu- Lead/rhythm guitar / backing vocals
Yu to- Bass
Yuhki- keyboards
Junichi Satoh- drums
Galneryus is a five-piece power metal band who sticks to the basics and does it great. Yama-B is the band’s vocalist; he has got the standard power metal vocals with a tad of whining in it. For those who are wondering if his screams or growls, he doesn’t. Even though he might be the run of the mill vocal wise, he can bring some great melodies to the forefront of the onslaught. At times there are even choirs in certain parts as in “Last new Song”. He at times changes his pitch to suit the mood of songs such as “Don’t Touch”.
Now the instrumentals of the albums are also slick, unlike other albums where songs sound the same, which makes me go on an inhuman rampage (haha?). Gayneryus is often coined neo-classical and power metal but I have no clue what neo classical is so I can’t help here. So it is safe to say that each track has its own identity. The bass from what you can hear create some good melodies which sucks since it is barely audible. The drummer manages to keep the pace of the songs very well, whether it is fast and furious or slow. He also throws the occasional drum fill here and there as expected. The keyboardist fits with the guitar quite well. Of course the center of a power metal band is the guitar, and boy Syu can handle it. He manages all the riffs and creates solos that blends technicality with melody seamlessly. His solos are littered all over this album. Unfortunately at times he puts a solo in for the heck of it but this is very few. He creates a melody for each song, with that melody he plays it and often adds a 1980s flavor to it. You can say each musician in this band has their limits but they know how to arrange it extremely well to create a great sound. I have managed to acquire several gripes on this album. I am not particularly fond of some of the vocal pitches the singer pulls off at times, namely “Aim at the Top”. Other times it just doesn’t seem all that great at times on this album.
Each song is filled with energetic and uplifting instrumentals and melodies. Expect fast paced in your face power metal on this album. The album itself has an instrumental intro and ending. The intro starts off with a flute and acoustic shortly joined in by a choir after a couple of seconds. In ways it sounds like calling of an army. “New Legend” track starts seamlessly after the intro to slap you in the face with fast pummeling riffing. “New Legend” has a great instrumental section just to give you a glimpse of what you are going to experience throughout the album. From uplifting melodies from “Everlasting” from the dirty badass feeling you get when you listen to “Don’t Touch”. These guys aren’t trying to change music; these guys are just making some good old straight-forward power metal for your ears. So get your head out of that boring valley of the damned and pick this up once and for all. (gah the line was just to cheesy I just couldn’t resist)
Pros:
Nicely thought out instrumentals
Variety in each song
Cons:
Vocals can get grating at times
