My rating: 88/100
Destrose spawned so many similar bands that want to titled them all 破壊の薔薇家族 (hakai no bara kazoku, “Rose Of Destruction Family”). Some of them are successful, like Mary's Blood. Some bad like Aftermath. Some successful, but quickly ceased to exist, like Disqualia. And today me considering another band from this “family”. They play heavy/power metal. Band name was reminiscent of Halestorm. Here there is a bassist and drummer from Destrose: Miho with her sexy instrument hold and two-fingered pizzicato technique and Haruna with her star cymbal. Together they making a very familiar rhythm section. But further more interesting. No, I'm not talking about guitars - guitarists from this band have already proven their excellent skill level. I was pleasantly surprised by the soft, middle-ranged but very emotional vocals.
Usually new bands characterized by DIY-debut releases, from which the ears are bleeding. But these girls got down to business seriously. Not only professional production and work of many people are noticeable here. Impressions from the album are pretty good. It’s noticeable that the work is performed exceptionally qualitatively. But these girls want to represent something very “Western”. When we say “Japanese band”, we mean something very specific, something that is filled with very interesting shades. As it was said in movie “The White Sun of the Desert” - “The East is a delicate matter”. I'm not saying that all Japanese bands should be like Onmyouza, Wagakki Bando, Tengusakura, ect. I mean that many features are lost at the same time. Also the difference in pronunciation will still be noticeable. For example, in band Reasterisk: can hear that the vocalist instead of the letter “L” pronounces “P”. Here too this difference is noticeable. Hiding this drawbacks by using the features of vocal technique - a simple, but good solution.
Twin guitar melody and the lyrics about overcoming yourself (Don't Bite the Dust) is a great solution. But we heard it from Iron Maiden. Thrash metal riffs with a general melodic pattern and high voice (The Apocalypse) - we also often hear, for example, from band Lujaneeza. But we also hear keyboards. Without it, sounding would be boring. Keyboards is very successfully inserted into the construction, completing the beautiful compositions.
A sad picture in “Scream For Me”. Sad is not only the lyrics, but also the action of composer - they are too cheap. This composition can't be appropriate for this band. But in the end, we hear what we're listening to power metal - affective “Bravehearted”. Completion of the album was chosen very successfully - this album leaves a pleasant aftertaste.
The brighter the fire, the faster it goes out. Destrose released their first masterpiece only 8 years after start. But this band immediately produced a powerful work. We already seen this with Disqualia: a very powerful first single, then the second single, which was not understood. And it all ended in a fail mini-album. Yes, you can lead a long discussion about the fact that there was a completely different situation. But I don't say something bad. If they can even produce another 6-7 years of powerful releases and conduct stunning performances at full-length's duration, then we are present at the birth of a new legend.
