Since today is the beginning of my Visual Kei blogging odyssey, I will start off with 2 whole album reviews; D'espairsRay's MIRROR and Lynch.'s THE AVOIDED SUN and a discussion on the trends I am seeing.. with a general overview of my perceptions.
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D'espairsRay - MIRROR 
MIRROR is D'espairsRay's second full length album, the first being [Coll:Set]. Really, I view [Coll:Set] as a real masterpiece and since its release I have looked foward to ANY new D'espairsRay releases and haven't been disappointed once. This album is definitely up to par with their recent releases, delivering a solid, enjoyable experience through and through. I have to warn though, there are a lot less electronics present in this release for those who enjoy the industrial element, which for me is a big part of why I enjoy D'espairsRay so much. Usually that would bother me but this album really feels balanced and there are still electronics, but the emphasis is on the amazingly orchestrated ROCK this time.
I have to say, MIRROR is less industrial/metal than [Coll:Set] and is slightly more on the softer side musically. Content wise, MIRROR is just as heavy as anything D'espairsRay has put out. Putting less emphasis on the electronics and super heavy guitar/bass and more emphasis on emotion and melody make this album feel a lot more human. This album is beautiful and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys D'espairsRay.
The tracks that stick out for me on MIRROR are DAMNED, ANGEL DUST and the already established single songs Kogoeru Yoru Saita Hana and Squall.
I give MIRROR by D'espairsRay 86% on the awesome meter.
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Lynch. THE AVOIDED SUN
MIRROR is D'espairsRay's second full length album, the first being [Coll:Set]. Really, I view [Coll:Set] as a real masterpiece and since its release I have looked foward to ANY new D'espairsRay releases and haven't been disappointed once. This album is definitely up to par with their recent releases, delivering a solid, enjoyable experience through and through. I have to warn though, there are a lot less electronics present in this release for those who enjoy the industrial element, which for me is a big part of why I enjoy D'espairsRay so much. Usually that would bother me but this album really feels balanced and there are still electronics, but the emphasis is on the amazingly orchestrated ROCK this time.
I have to say, MIRROR is less industrial/metal than [Coll:Set] and is slightly more on the softer side musically. Content wise, MIRROR is just as heavy as anything D'espairsRay has put out. Putting less emphasis on the electronics and super heavy guitar/bass and more emphasis on emotion and melody make this album feel a lot more human. This album is beautiful and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys D'espairsRay.
The tracks that stick out for me on MIRROR are DAMNED, ANGEL DUST and the already established single songs Kogoeru Yoru Saita Hana and Squall.
I give MIRROR by D'espairsRay 86% on the awesome meter.
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Lynch. THE AVOIDED SUN
THE AVOIDED SUN is Lynch.'s first full length album, being preceded by the mini-albums, Greedy Dead Souls and Underneath the Skin. Lynch. is still a relatively new band in the Nagoya Kei scene, but have quickly gained popularity and a reputation for holding killer live shows. I look foward to any release Lynch. puts out because they are one of the few really hard bands around and are also completely super talented and respectable. I have to say I was minorly disappointed by this album; it doesnt feel very long and overall it seems less brutal than most of their previous releases. However this music is the cream of the crop, Lynch. is some of the real interesting music that has been coming out of Japan and my expectations are ALWAYS unrealistically high for bands that I really enjoy.
Overall you have to be in a certain mood to be able to listen to Lynch. (at least for me to really enjoy it) but when I am in this mood, THE AVOIDED SUN is absolutely amazing. After Lynch.'s initial releases, the band has lost the sort of stiff feeling the music had and everything sounds more fluid and comfortable, which makes listening easier. This album is a great example of that, you can feel the synergy between the musicians now and it's very enjoyable. THE AVOIDED SUN is slightly lighter than previous Lynch. musics, but that doesnt hurt the album too much for me. Again content-wise this album feels very rich, like huge amounts of thought and care were put into creating it.
I also have to say that the vocalist and composer, Hazuki is damned talented and one of the few musical geniouses producing music in Japan these days. I love all the bands he's done vocals for. (including Berry and Deathgaze)
The songs that grabbed me from THE AVOIDED SUN are Liberation Chord, Anemone (Laputa: Castle in the Sky anyone?) and Prominence.
I give Lynch's THE AVOIDED SUN a 73% on the awesome meter.
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I hope you guys enjoyed my first album reviews :D
This post is dedicated to Nata-bot for introducing me to both Lynch. and D'espairsRay.
(I had heard of both bands but had never listened to either one until she insisted that these bands were amazing.)
Overall you have to be in a certain mood to be able to listen to Lynch. (at least for me to really enjoy it) but when I am in this mood, THE AVOIDED SUN is absolutely amazing. After Lynch.'s initial releases, the band has lost the sort of stiff feeling the music had and everything sounds more fluid and comfortable, which makes listening easier. This album is a great example of that, you can feel the synergy between the musicians now and it's very enjoyable. THE AVOIDED SUN is slightly lighter than previous Lynch. musics, but that doesnt hurt the album too much for me. Again content-wise this album feels very rich, like huge amounts of thought and care were put into creating it.
I also have to say that the vocalist and composer, Hazuki is damned talented and one of the few musical geniouses producing music in Japan these days. I love all the bands he's done vocals for. (including Berry and Deathgaze)
The songs that grabbed me from THE AVOIDED SUN are Liberation Chord, Anemone (Laputa: Castle in the Sky anyone?) and Prominence.
I give Lynch's THE AVOIDED SUN a 73% on the awesome meter.
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I hope you guys enjoyed my first album reviews :D
This post is dedicated to Nata-bot for introducing me to both Lynch. and D'espairsRay.
(I had heard of both bands but had never listened to either one until she insisted that these bands were amazing.)
2 comments:
i hated these album when i listened to it the first time.but i started to like it very very much since 2nd time i listened to it!LOL
i didnt like hazuki before,because i think he was a totally copy cat.but now he has his own style in lynch. i like him very very much now.cant help.LOL
You know, you were actually the first person to ever mention Lynch. to me, that night we met in Ebisu at the Deadman show!
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