Review Summary: Nightmare put on a Killer Show for fans and observers alike, not a show to be missed!
Being thrust into the limelight is every aspiring musicians dream, generally speaking. However what most musicians don’t seem to plan for is what happens once they reach superstardom and what happens after they’ve been there and done that. Nightmare certainly achieved huge success fairly early into their career, not just in their native Japan but around the world thanks to their involvement in the much worshiped Death Note and their fourth studio effort the WORLD Ruler. They were even privileged enough to get to play the prestigious Nippon Budokan, one of the biggest honours for a group playing in Japan. Not only did their performance prove that they played with an exceptional amount of charisma, it also had people watching.
So what were they going to do next? How were they going to answer the WORLD Ruler? If the raw energy of Claymore opening “Raison d’etre” is anything to go on, they were sure to satisfy. Hell, if that was what they could offer from a commissioned job, then what could they do for real? Well, in short, what Nightmare presented with Killer Show was nothing more and nothing less than what could be asked for, a solid, well-formed collection of songs with just enough of their fiery ambition to push the boundaries a little on just being a good album. Just like with its predecessor the WORLD Ruler, Killer Show displays a wide variety of sound from the pseudo-jazz of “the Last Show” to the deliciously dark “General,” Killer Show is diverse yet focused.
Just like every other Nightmare album before it, Killer Show has its moments where it tries a different approach. However this time for the most part rather than being drastically different like the WORLD Ruler was to Anima and Anima was to Livid, Killer Show is for the most part an expansion of the WORLD Ruler. “the Last Show” is very similar in style with its brass ensemble and groovy guitar lines to what they had already given us with their song Alice albeit not as dark sounding and “WORST” is very much exactly like their song Black Sick Spider and hell, it even contains a sample straight out of Hate from Ultimate Circus. Plus “Mebius no Yuutsu” has the riff from Dasei Boogie tacked onto the end of it. It is in this aspect that Killer Show is easy to overlook at face value, but the truth is it deserves to be heard on its own and I say this because it isn’t that Nightmare have spent the entire 50 minute runtime trying to emulate what got them where they were, they’ve expanded on it.
To elaborate, where the WORLD Ruler was dark, Killer show goes dark and then pours a little light on it. This results in moments of absolute gold such as the track “General,” where they show that just because you’ve tuned your guitar down to drop b, does not mean that you have to make it slow and add a breakdown or squeal or just be heavy. While this isn’t amazing, new innovative song writing in any sense, it certainly doesn’t come across as generic and is an especially refreshing take to Nightmare’s rather particular sound. Where the WORLD Ruler had its slower, brooding ballads, Killer Show has replaced the heavy brooding with a more optimistic sound (instrumentally that is). Such a track is “Konoha” which initially catches you off guard with a solitary piano introduction and then catches you off guard again with an upbeat tune that the piano sure wasn’t going to lead into. The song itself has a nice, crisp tone to it which nicely contrasts with the albums mostly heavy nature, guitarist and chief songwriter (not so much on this album mind) Takahiro “Sakito” Sakaguchi makes extended use of drop tuning, something that Nightmare had seldom used at all up until this point.
What is possibly the best thing that killer show has going for it is how instrumentally strong Nightmare are here. Sakito and Hitsugi’s guitar melodies are right on song all the way through the album, no mistakes, no stopping, completely relentless all the way through. The band’s tightness on this record is most likely thanks to Satoru “Ruka” Karino, the bands superb drummer who takes most of the songwriting credit on “Killer Show.” Needless to say the drumming on the album is exceptional, especially on “Mebius no Yuutsu.” Bassist Baba “Ni~ya” Yuji also performs to worthy note hear, his playing clean and audible, never letting itself get buried under the rest of the instruments. Ni~ya’s standout bass performance on the album is probably on “White Room,” one of Killer Show’s tracks that is distinctly its own. Finally, Killer Show marks the final album in which Nightmare successfully write a chorus and don’t butcher their beloved Gianizm series, “Gianizm Hachi” containing all of the bizarre movements that is classic of Nightmare’s Gianizm songs, complete with bass solo and talkbox guitar. All of the choruses on Killer Show are memorable, in particular, the crafty timing change in “Dirty” and the highly memorable “Raison d’etre,” not even considering its nostalgia factor thanks to its role in Claymore.
From the ambient hum at the beginning of “Pandora” through to the heartfelt closer “Yasou kyoku,” Killer Show is driving, diverse and full of spirit. With Killer Show, Nightmare proved to everyone listening that there was more to them to “that band that was in Death Note and Claymore.” There was a reason they found reasonable international appeal with the WORLD Ruler and a reason why they played the Nippon Budokan. It’s because they are competent song writers, perform impeccably together as a unit and possess a driving flair in their music that sets them out amongst their visual-kei contemporaries. Killer Show is exactly the kind of album you would hope to follow major success. Killer Show builds on what worked with the WORLD Ruler, at times being a little complacent due to this but for the most part, shows off Nightmare’s ability. Well worth a listen for fans of alternative rock and as a perfect a start as any for anyone looking to get into the band.
