Show-Ya - Aurora (Review)

Japanese music scene crisis in 2000s has hit hard on many projects. One such project was band Show-Ya, which from 1998 to 2012 existed only formally. Members were engaged in their projects. In main - just released compilations and DVDs. Nevertheless, 2015 was marked by final return of this project - they release a very interesting album Progress. And this year they release album Aurora, which we will consider today.

My Rating: 87/100

Source - metal-archives.com

Frankly, I can be impressed only by methods of solving an artistic tasks. When I evaluated this release in front of me were not specialists with 40 years of experience and not even 60 year old grannies. There were only 11 pieces of audio data. And this album was able to impress me. Here we hear classic Hard Rock/Heavy Metal exactly as it was created in the West in 70s. It would seem that almost 50 years have passed, what else can be surprised? It turned out that this is possible. There are no strictly limited patterns. Here composer very expertly approached his work: the fineness of talent of each member is maximized.

Almost 40 years of experience are noticeable here - vocalist knows that he knows how. No show-offs, only a clean skill. Of course, there were voice effects (end of 4th track), but this was required by context of artistic task. Even in 9th and 11th tracks, you can see an excellent voice control, despite the rather aggressive drawing.

Standard string (4, 6, 8 track), academic piano sound (5, 6, 8 track), "Acid" synthesizer (2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11 track), Hammond Organ (1, 2, 3 , 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 track) and even a harpsichord (3 track). After all this list it's already difficult to give comments. But in addition to this, we still hear nice scales and a very precise underline of each composition. Keyboardist knows his business well.

Guitarist here is not particularly surprised - we saw a much steeper guitar technique. Nevertheless, here the general structures pleases hearing. A pleasant surprise was the overall aggressive structures of guitar parts in 9th and 11th tracks. And also use of whammy bar in solo (5, 11 track), tapping (11 track).

"Classic Hard Rock/Heavy Metal rhythm section" - usually comments here are superfluous. Nevertheless, here you can see many interesting things. But basically, it's a bassist's job. Here we hear interesting bass parts, and this is a very rare phenomenon. We also hear bass solo (3 tracks). About drummer can say a little. Yes, there are interesting fills (3, 5, 8, 11 track), but there is nothing more to note. Nevertheless, big surprise was for me a blast-beat (9, 11 track).

No crises, no time frame will stop real talent. But if, for example, Akira Takasaki (guitarist from Loudness) has been experimenting with sound for a long time, then these girls just waited for a moment. Yes, they will never repeat legendary album "Outerlimits". But they show us again and again that it's too early to leave the stage.

How i write reviews

After a several reviews, I decided to write how I do it. That is, what and how I value. But first I want to clarify one important point. Criticism - is not just stretching the phrase "I did't like" for three or four thousand symbols. Criticism is a very valuable tool for musicians and listeners. Criticism creates understanding. What the musician(-s) did, how he did it, how it looks from the outside, what the overall structure looks like - this is also a large amount of work.

So, let's begin. First we have an introduction. There may be some prequel here. There can be a story about what led me to listening this release. Here there can be reflections on various genre shades (especially if it does't enter into my personal preferences). There can be reflections on thinking / behavior of project members. Or maybe some stuff that first came to mind.

You already noticed, I use rating system. Rating is measured in parrots. For those who don't understand - this meme from this cartoon. It matters "an intuitive assessment that is not attached to strict standards."



And I also mark my assessment with different colors. You could notice the green and yellow. But I will use more.

• From 0 to 24 - Red. Absolutely unlistenable shit.
• From 25 to 49 - Orange. Project is trying to do something, but there is not enough of something significant.
• From 50 to 84 - Yellow. Quite a diverse category. There are wonderful talents here, which were not enough for something. It can be completely devoid of talent persons, who put their best to the limit of their abilities. Or another doll with serious support from the outside.
• From 85 to 100 - Green. Excellent masters work, in which everything was fine.

Yes, your eyes have not deceived you. "Green" segment is just 15 points. There is nothing surprising. Average ("yellow") rating is a very wide variety, and "green" rating is not a frequent occurrence. I have so far evaluated only four releases. And I also try not to listen to releases that I can estimate lower than 30. My favorite music is that it's rather complicated and interesting, and turning it into something completely unintelligible - you have to try to do this. I can also refuse evaluation. For example, if result of work is priceless, or there may be great difficulties in evaluating an extremely specific work .

But let's return to our musicians. Introduction somehow smoothly flows into evaluation of the whole work. I try not to make harsh statements and categorically evaluate this or that element. I understand that people can't be the same, everyone thinks differently. Nevertheless, first composer work is evaluated: general sructure, subject of the narrative (if any), setting of artistic task, methods of its implementation, variety of these methods.

Then voice is evaluated. Statement of breathing, pronunciation (if the language is not native), a variety of vocal techniques. If there is good hearing and good headphones, then this can all be heard.

And also instrumentalists are evaluated. Instrumental parties are of varying complexity. Depending on complexity and interest of instrumental parts, you can evaluate separately each instrumentalist, individually each subgroup (lead and rhythm section) or just write a few words about everyone. There is a lot of space here, so I don't stick to any narrow patterns.

Conclusion is also a separate story. There necessarily will be an opinion on general intellectual value, assessment of the perspective and some advice (if required).

Love of art is not the only thing that moves me: art can be loved in silence. I also want to convey to musicians and listeners what they lack. I hope I succeed.

Baskerville - Opus Aeternum (Review)

I listen a lot to music. That's why it's very difficult to surprise me. For last ten years I was surprised only by three power metal bands: Alhambra, Light Bringer, Octaviagrace. At a minimum, these bands unite a special, unique style.

My Rating: 71/100

Source - metal-archives.com

After two full-lengths albums this band could already develop its own unique style. That is, you click "Play" and instantly say "This [Band name]". I remembered this because it's not noticeable here. Title in Latin and drawing: on background of the sky a sword and some pattern are depicted. Kitsch is felt from beginning. Well, contents is the main. I can't say that this impression is completely refuted in listening. Here is a good combination of templates. But it looks very cool. Also there is no frank quickie. This disease affects many bands. But it's noticeable here that each composition was polished to an absolute luster.

Voice is good. Vocalist has excellent abilities. Someone might say that he looks like Masatoshi Ono or someone else, but I will not label them. I'll just say that it's done excellently. You can also notice that vocal parts are very diverse. Here you can see both excellent control of the top, and emotional outbursts.

The first thing you can notice is keyboard player. It does't take much of composition - it does't reach the label "symphony". But there is a great variety of keyboards. Synthesizer well emphasizes the best aspects of compositions, making a good album impression.

There is no need to recall what "guitar" means in power metal. But here the situation is quite interesting. When you just listen to it without trying analysis, it causes very strong emotions. When you start to disassemble in parts and analyze - nothing complicated. This is achieved through an excellent combination of riffs - it's noticeable good composer's work. Insane solos complete this interesting constructions.

Band does't have a constant bassist. Therefore, there are two options: a session member or sampler. But I was wrong - guitarist wrote down the bass. This can explain a few groove constructions (when bass repeats guitar) - guitarist sees composition very peculiar. Nevertheless, bass has several interesting segments (in 6 and 8 tracks), but the rest are standard patterns. Drums have a more successful patterns combination - again it's noticeable that composer has done a good job with this.

I can say that a good band released an good release. But here we will not find something special. Here we will not find any interesting ideas or unique style. Here is just a wide range of standard ideas and patterns that are simply polished to an absolute luster. Well, this also requires great abilities. And members have these abilities. But it should be keep in mind that expensive Ferrari and an old Toyota will have only one purpose - to spin the wheels.

Breakdown Composer - mobile app for metalcore musician

If a metal has the main thing - it's a guitar solo, then a metalcore (and its derivatives) is a breakdown. Like any element of a musical composition, it's very important. But sometimes it's hard to compose. Nevertheless, a program has already been invented that can generate random breakdown. Title is Breakdown Composer.

Interface is minimal. No bells, no whistles, only the most necessary elements.

Advantages

• Compactness. Application size is 22 megabytes.
• Generating a random breakdown. It helps a lot when there are absolutely no ideas.
• You can change measure size, tempo.
• A good choice between elements of drum set. Here are a few snares, two bass drums, two rides, Chinese, crash, hi-hat (open, closed). For a small application, this is a good variety.

Disadvantages

• Guitar has only three notes that can't be used simultaneously in one track.
• A similar situation with drum set. Only three tracks can be used. The first - plates, the second - a shot, the third - a bass drum.
• Defective editing. You can't change note length.
• There are no harmonics and hammer-on/pull-off. These are coolest sounds in breakdown, but here it's absent.
• Only Wav and Png files can be exported. Midi can't be exported.

This is suitable for rough drafts, not for full-fledged work.

Virtual bass: Fodera Yinyang VS Scarbee pre-bass

I really love playing guitar, but I don't have other instruments. Therefore, writing rhythm section for a long time was a big problem. The solution was the use of VST plug-ins in sequencer. Tried several pieces and decided to compare the most interesting. Today we considering two virtual instruments. First is Fodera Yinyang from Ample Sound. Second is Scarbee pre-bass from Native Instruments.

Fodera Yinyang  

Let's imagine this situation: we will give two different people headphones with an ideally accurate frequency response and ask for opinion. The first is usual average people, which does't see any reason to pay for headphones more than 2 bucks. The second is a person who has good hearing and extensive knowledge about sound (musician, sound engineer, etc.). I think you can imagine what they will say.

Approximately the same thing here. It would seem, four strings, standard tuning, two pickups, well, what can you think of yet? However, from very beginning, you understand that this is something unusual. Then we googled the title of this instrument and see that the same device uses Victor Wooten. A specialist of this level can't take bullshit.

Advantages:

• Suitable for soloing and non-standard ideas. Perfect sounding of hammer-on/pull-off, natural harmonics, slap, tapping and scales. Very soft glissando.
• There are many different instruments for forming a timbre. There is a distortion here - you can feel like Cliff Burton.
• You can choose between active and passive electronics.
• Sound is completely processed - there are no unnecessary resonances, noises.
• Significantly shortens running time without losing sound quality - many elements are automated. Just write or import midi file into track, select elements of timbre and enjoy result.
• Also here is the function Riffer, which makes it easy to compose parts or generate random.
• Interface is well thought out - very convenient arrangement of elements.

Disadvantages:

• Apply this instrument to a usual rhythm section - it's like digging a garden in a tuxedo. Yes, this plugin has a very interesting sound, but to pull the fourth string under the bass drum is better to choose something else.
• It requires a lot of CPU resources.
• Automation erases some shades. For example, here is a strange (for real instrument) algorithm for switching strings, but it can't be done manually.

Scarbee pre-bass 

Sound of legendary Fender Precision Bass '72 is now available in VST format. Further description is pointless: this instrument has been showing excellent sound for decades. Users are given a clean sound. Absolutely clean - sound was recorded in a line.

Advantages:

• A raw sound that can be finely tuned in accordance with your artistic task.
• Extensive possibilities: suitable for soloing and rhythm section. Everything depends only on your artistic task, your knowledge, your imagination and the resources of your cpu.
• Strings can be switched manually. This is very important: one note can be played in different ways, but usually only one sound is recorded.
• Composer not only hears, but also sees the process. Below the neck there is a text footnote that displays the last note and the last used articulation.
• Minimum interface elements is only what is needed.

Disadvantages:

• Bad suitable for non-standard ideas.
• The need for fine-tuning sound is a lot of time spent. Add an cabinet emulator, remove resonances and noise. Not everyone likes this. And also the whole process of processing can take much more CPU resources than previous plug-in.
• Do you think that simplicity is a small amount of CPU resources? This is not always true. This plugin is just part of one large Kontakt platform, which is very demanding on CPU.

Here are such interesting opposites.

Best video about dropped guitar tunings

I've seen a lot of blog entrys and video, which explains the characteristic features of guitar technique in many genres. But this video surprised me very much.



Guy just plays on guitar in various tunes (from standart E to Drop E). This is genius.

Spider Lilly - Change/Pain (Review)

From beginners usually don't expect much. Often you are happy if they just did something good.

My Rating: 60/100

Today I'm reviewing first release of band Spider Lilly, which is titled "Change / Pain". I will not say that it's a very interesting title, but for first single it will be enough. So, the first thing you can notice is the poor recording quality. Well, they at least guessed to remove unnecessary resonances from guitar and that's good.

Here we hear riffs on drop tuning that are very characteristic for groove / nu-metal, as well as a large amount of synthesizer. You can also notice that compositions are very similar. But there are noticeable differences: in first track we hear a slap on bass, and in second we have more complicated synthesizer's parts. Also compositions end in different ways. This is all that distinguishes them. It seems that there was originally one composition, which was slightly changed, so it was split into two parts.

First thing we pay attention to voice. There is a reverb that sounds very natural. As if vocals were recorded in a large empty room with two microphones (first - closer to vocalist, second - in another part of the room). If this is true, then this can be called a good idea. But voice sounds very indistinct. And if clean is not noticeable, extreme techniques show all flaws. Sound is as if they just took microphone, performed the parts and inserted result into mix. No, vocalist has a pretty good skill, but voice processing is not noticeable.

Instrumental parts are simple. And guitar part is no exception. Yes, there is an "acid" synthesizer that performs scales. But it could be better. She is such an interesting guitarist, but she plays simple parts. About bassist you can say the same thing. Most of the time bassist performs standard constructions. Nevertheless, even here there are interesting segments. In first track, we hear a slap, and in second interesting scales. And also there is a very "hook" structure of drums, which is a bad decision. Nevertheless, here there are breakdowns, where relative diversity of drum parts is noticeable. And also at the end of composition, drums are changing significantly. A small variety is available here.

This work is rather weak, but for beginners this is a good result. And if they extend this idea, it can turn out very interesting. I can say that they have a good start to their careers.

Unique guitars - Villanizer

I think you saw a lot in terms of guitar body design. But designers don't cease to amaze. On Internet, I noticed an interesting guitar - Villanizer.

Yes, steampunk style is very attractive because it allows creating very illogical designs. And sometimes you can even stick a few gears and proudly hang a label "steampunk." Nevertheless, an interesting approach is evident here. Protrusions, imitating rivets, create impression of an iron construction. Image of rust and abrasions is always a good solution. Bronze hardware are also an interesting solution. Also in the gap, you can see something that gives feeling of an iron frame. Another interesting solution is placement of a pressure meter on one of edges. Designer thought out the concept of steam machine well.

On video you can see how it looks in work.

Guitar pedal handmade

In Russia, people are always looking for opportunities to do something themselves. For example, a guitar pedal: in Russia it's very expensive. Yes, there is a company Yerasov, but this company has a very small production and can't fully satisfy the great demand.

On YouTube, I found two videos that describe process of self-manufacturing guitar overdrive pedal.





Diagram shows that technically this is fuzz, but sound will be overdrive. Author of video claims that this device is costs 200 rub (3.37 USD). Price includes only components of chip and knobs - the rest is free. Case is made of a candy box. But instead of a printed circuit board, cardboard is used. Also, instead of a button, a simple switcher was installed. Therefore it's impossible to call it a pedal - switching is done by hand (not by foot). Also, author did not attach power socket (beginners usually don't have a power supply), instead there is a place for connecting a "PP3" type battery.

First video shows the scheme and build process. Author did not comment on installation of each element, but only highlighted it in red. Also an important detail: negative must be connected to case.

On second video you can hear sound that this device creates. It's impossible to play serious concerts with this, but for an beginner's level it's a great option.

Phantom Excaliver - Maboroshi no seiken (Review)

I know many bands that use emotions to hide flaws. Someone does it good. Someone does it bad. Nevertheless, some category of people can't be deceived.

My Rating: 65/100


It's difficult to describe Eastern band with help of Western standards. Initially, in the West, this band was described as: "Melodic Hardcore with Power Metal Influence", although guys only slightly strengthened melodic death metal. And really, my acquaintance with this band was very speedy and showy.

But now it's noticeable that composer took a more serious approach to his work. Now this band has a greater variety of methods for solving an artistic tasks. Now this is not an ordinary grinding at more than 200 bpm with screams of "something sublime." Nevertheless, composer's work remains at low level: fast-maded solutions still occupy most of this work.

We hear an interesting structure of vocal parts. Besides screaming on verse and clean on chorus, you can also hear narrative. Yes, this is not everywhere, but digression from standard pattern is always a good solution. I also feel a very strong vocalist. The only negative point here is strange sound of high notes.

Guitarist also performs more interesting parts. In previous album, the bet on guitar did't justify itself. Yes, playing fast scales is cool, but life does't end there. However, this has been fixed. It became noticeable that guitar parts were changed and now high skill of guitarist perfectly hides poor composer's work. Also we hear a keyboards. But parts of this instrument are fairly simple and appear only in one track.

Rhythm section is pretty boring. But if bassist plays very interesting parts, then drummer's parts are a continuous stream of boredom. In addition to standard (for the heavy metal) pattern, we hear the blast-beat and the "Booty Camp" beat. That's all. I don't want to say that this is something bad - drums keep overall structures well. But you could come up with something more interesting.

What can you say at the end? They are very talented musicians. Also in this album there is a wider view, in comparison with the work of 2015. But in the end we see just ordinary middle-rating metal band. Obviously, they lack something. Hiding flaws with strong emotions with slightly shocking details is all they thought of. Standard solutions can ruin excellent talent - this we saw with band Area51. This we also see now.

Aldious - We Are (MV)

On November 12, Aldious released a new mv We Are. Album will be released on November 29th.



Release two albums in one year? It's possible, but it's very difficult to do. Writing instrumental parts for one 4-5 minutes song lasts about two hours. It's possible and for 40 minutes, but this will be just a combination of standard patterns. However, this is just playing around with one idea that comes to mind not every day. Processing one guitar track, and them in a mix, a minimum of four, is a minimum of three hours. Bass does't use distortion, but for good sound it's not enough just to remove all useless resonances and overwind the saturation. Nevertheless, it should be written down, but no one can play perfectly from first time - it's one more working day. I no longer mention a lot of bureaucratic subtleties in sales. That is, to compose, record, compile and start selling more than one quality-made metal album a year, one must be God or Iron Chino. But since God does't exist, there are few options. I'm afraid that album will be fast-made and it's released only to be often in field of view of a wide audience. When you bet on quantity, nothing good can be done.

Fears also arose in listening to this song. Here we see a general aggressive constructions - it's interesting. But instrumental seems to me very simple. Perhaps, because I expect a lot from Marina, although previous release showed that this is not necessary. Perhaps, because I expect a lot from overall construction of album. Nevertheless, most noteworthy is lyrics, which consists of several words. It's written in description of video. Yes, we hear anthem-like chorus, but this ends with ideas of songwriter. Rino is bad vocalist, and if she exhausts songwriter's resource, then it will be wasted.

Somehow they did it very cheap. If album is made as I suppose, then score will be 55-60 out of 100.

Unique guitars - Hockey stick

Do you like winter sports? Author of this video is so fond of ice hockey that he made a guitar from two hockey sticks.



Process of creation reminded me of fragment from South Park:

1. Take a hockey stick
2. ?????
3. PROFIT!

Nevertheless, sound is good, but some peculiar.

Unique guitars - Djent Stick (Russian Edition)

Those who follow music channels on Youtube can know Jared Dines and his djent stick. He has already told a lot about this device, so there's no point in talking about him. Today I want to write about a similar device, which is made in Russia.



On this video you can see very rough work. Several pieces of wood are connected together, creating a kind of body and a recess for pickups. Bass pickups are installed here. I have not been able to see where the electronics are, but obviously it's outside the body. Also a strange solution to solder the wire to bridge. I could't see for what it was done.

Video lasts just a minute. Sound like a guitar for 150-200 USD. But you can notice that the base is fairly simple to manufacture.

Kanimega - Noose (Review)

What is the difference between good and bad specialist? Bad specialist learned a few facts and applies them whenever possible. A lot of loud statements with complaints about external circumstances are attributes of a bad specialist. Good specialist has a way of thinking. He sees task and issues a solution. A master of his craft, who does everything so well that it only remains to admire the result.

My Rating: 87/100

Source - metal-archives.com

I did not just remembered it. The top musician's skill is writing and performing of such interesting compositions that critics can only silently applaud. This album can be confidently called so. Here we hear thrash / groove metal with a little hardcore influence. In the 90s-00s this would be a good platform for interesting ideas. But in our time is already a reusable pattern, on which it's difficult to come up with something interesting. Nevertheless, much depends on the composer.

But here work at highest level. You may think that subject of struggles has deep thoughts and such songs can be written by everyone person. However, in methods of solving an artistic tasks, there are many shades that show the difference between professional and easy rider. This composer could see this fine line.

Voice is very sharp and dirty. Vocal style reminded me of James Hetfield. This voice is ideal for solving artistic tasks of this kind. Write about this something else is quite difficult, since this part is composed perfectly.

But if everything is clear with vocal parts, the instrumental parts are something interesting. This can't be called very difficult. On basis of simple constructions, a wide variety of riffs was created. This is definitely a positive moment, because it's hard to come up here something interesting. Rhythm section can also surprises with a relatively large variety. With bassist everything is clear: most of his parts are guitar repetition, creation of a groove pattern. But drums are more interesting. Usually drum parts of this music is standard (for NWOBHM) formula. But here we hear that every song is a unique work of a drummer. In this genre you have high hopes for drums - and here expectations are justified.

I can continue praise for this project for a long time. It's unfortunate that this band will not continue activities. This project could give out many good and interesting works. But members will continue their work in project Dragdown.

Inspector Maniac - Guitar for metal

There is a popular opinion that all achievements of Russians are due only to Europeans. And if Russians start doing something on their own, then it turns out to be complete nonsense. Nevertheless, something Russians are doing well. For example, guitars.



On video you can see guitar "Maniac" from company "Inspector". Guitar body has an asymmetric "arrow" shape. Body is made of walnut (there is an opinion that its properties are similar to mahogany) and covered with glossy varnish. Neck is made of three pieces of maple. This is fixed to the body with bolts. Fretboard is made of palisander. Frets have high height and medium width. Hardware from Wilkinson. Pickup from ToneRider. Potentiometer is very smooth and made in Japan.

Next, author of video tells about features of body structure. Guitar is very light - 3 kilograms. Body is made very well - a cut at junction of neck and body allows access to upper strings. Guitar body is compared with Jackson King V - body is symmetrical and widens from place of neck attachment. This does't allow access to upper strings. Also from 9:51 the behavior of guitar on strap is compared. Maniac is perfectly balanced. Again, compared with Japanese Jackson King V.

And, finally, the main advantage: price of guitar is 31000 rub (530 USD). But usually this sound is cost 1500 - 2000 USD.

Unique guitars: the Cobra

After a long time playing guitar, you want something special. But in Russia custom production is very expensive and very inefficient. Well, if you want to do something good, do it yourself.



Don't afraid sad voice of narrating person - Russian people has few opportunities for realize. The case took place in 2010. Initially, there was a project "Skeleton" - a stick with two mini-humbuckers, which were made in USSR. Author of video claims that it sounded good, but very specific. Author decided to use neck for something else. And he was not mistaken. Later, a guitar was made, which he called "The Cobra".

Neck is made of a single piece of wood. Truss rod was made of a regular metal spoke. But the way of planting is very interesting: author did't have a special milling machine, so he used an ordinary drill to make holes along the entire site. Drill was wrapped with a painting tape to show depth of dive. Using a chisel, an even trough was made. The whole construction is closed with a usual wooden strip. Neck is connected to body with bolts.

But author did not stop there. He made a rock climbing. This is when small roundings are made between frets. There is an opinion that this allows you to develop a greater speed game. I can't say it's true or not. But author argues about interesting feelings during the playing.

Guitar body is also interesting: it's made of four boards, each of which has gaps spaced for electronics and wires. Shielding of electronics is done using conventional foil. This design of guitar body reminded me of Killer Guitars signature model of Akira Takasaki. Strings go through the body. The fastening point is strengthened by a small metal patch.

From 6:50 author begins to play on this instrument. Korean pickups create a good sound. As you can see, making a good guitar is pretty simple, if not considering the stage of painting.

New arrival - Metallion Vol.60

This month began with a trip to post office. There I received a parcel from Tokyo.What could it be? For me, the answer was obvious. This is 60th issue of Metallion magazine.

Rino's face on the cover is a masterpiece. This is not a review, so I will be brief. I will write only what I noticed at a cursory examination. Next page meets the reader's photo with band Fate Gear and also information about the events and releases.

I could't pass Aldious. I mean the cutest member.

Next band is Lovebites. I can't completely retell content of interview because it's exclusive content. The only thing I can write from this is that the song Liar was originally created for band A Drop Of Joker (this is previous Mi-ya band). Before she wrote on Twitter that song Scream For Me was also created for this band. Now it becomes clear why these songs violate overall picture of album.

But back to the magazine. Next, my attention was drawn to pages with band Mary's Blood. Metal bands like various industrial construction as background. The text I decided to cover up, as it was very clearly visible in photo.

And poster.

This is not all content, here are a few more fragments that attracted my attention.

I can't tell you everything that is written, but I will use this information in new reviews.

Lovebites - Awakening from Abyss (Review)

A short dress, a cute look and a hard image on stage - this combination always attracts attention. And if we add to this a very powerful first mini-album, then we will get an excellent image. Well, now we see full-length album.

My Rating: 89/100

And the first thing we see is interesting tracks location. In beginning there are compositions that are interesting from point of view of instrumental techniques. At the end there are compositions that are interesting from point of view of emotions. It seems that authors read my review for previous release - there I argued that last song creates a good aftertaste. Here all this is carefully thought out - even the listener's emotions are planned from beginning to end.

Therefore, first audition is most emotional. Instrumental parts can't be called very difficult, but first audition is fascinating. Nevertheless, we again see something very "Western". Even the song Bravehearted, which was originally in Japanese, is now in English. Eastern faces, but Western style. No, I don't want to say that they need to be second "Tengusakura". But interesting eastern shades are lost, and new problems are created. For example, when pronouncing letters "C", "W" and "L", the difference is noticeable. Yes, vocalist well hides this shortcoming, but good hearing can't be deceived.

We continue about vocalist. A beginner is noticeable here: she tries to portray a variety of vocal techniques, but it turns out monotony. No, it's good - musician knows about shortcomings and the way of development. Nevertheless, even now it turns out perfectly.

Instrumental parts are something incredible. First of all, this feeling is achieved due to very successful use of keyboard instrument. Gorgeous breakdown in The Apocalypse, general impressive structures in Shadowmaker and Bravehearted - all this would have been impossible without an excellent keyboards. Even frank quickie like Inspire and an unsuccessful Scream For Me with a keyboard instrument sounds very cool. But keyboards is not in all tracks. Where he does not exist, guitars continue to work there. Excellent sound of interesting guitar parts is also a positive thing. A wide variety of interesting riffs and crazy solos - it's only outwardly easy to describe all these wonderful drawings. Rhythm section works so well that it may even seem boring. This pair of bassist/drummer for two years was the basis of a very cool project Destrose. And now they once again confirm their high status. Yes, bassist parts could be more interesting. But performance is excellent.

I always try to guess how much a new musical project can exist. There is noticeable a large amount of work, a great contribution of forces and means. Usually such projects exist for 7-8 years - big expenses pay off very long. Yes, not everything always works out. Yes, we still need to pay attention to many factors. However, second powerful release and no reason to believe that this tale will end soon.

Walk Band - Mobile app for musicians

Main screen

Thirty years ago, an ordinary telephone talk in any convenient place was something supernatural. But in our time, mobile phones have become not just a communication tool. Now in our pocket a universal tool that will measure the distance and record best moments of your life on video. But now you can not only play piano, but you can also have a full-fledged studio in your pocket. One such software is called Walk Band.

There are basic instruments - guitar, bass, drums and synthesizer. Synthesizer can emulate a variety instruments: piano, grand piano, Hammond's organ, music box, violin, koto, ect. Interface is similar to a real sequencer. Instrumental parts is edited exactly the same. You can also import midi files and audio files. You can connect MIDI keyboard.

Advantages:

• Compactness.

Disadvantages:

• Quality of the library is low. Application size is 35 megabytes. Good libraries for one instrument have a size of 4 gigabytes.
• No alternative plugins.
• Guitar and bass have only a standard tuning without opportunity to change it. When trying to write parts with a wider range, the application uses an transposition.
• Forget about fine settings when forming a timbre.
• Editing the parts takes longer than in a regular sequencer.

Conclusion: this is an ordinary children's toy, which is suitable for beginners. For professional tasks it's better to use a sequencer on computer with VST plugins

Heterogeneous Andead - Deus Ex MacHina (Review)

"Extreme Metal" - as many associations with these words. This is a very convenient platform for many bad musicians - speed can hide many shortcomings. Yes, when you hit the wall at over 200 bpm, then you will not want to notice all shades. For this reason, I'm very reluctant to listen extreme metal. Usually it can be melodic death metal, for example, Nameless One or Galmet.

My Rating: 70/100

Source - amazon.co.jp

But this band interested me. I listened enthusiastically to this album from beginning to end. Really. I did't miss a single second. But my expectations were justified only partially. I assumed that this release would be more interesting. But this does't negate the fact of having a great talent.

As usual, we start with the general. Here we hear thrash / death metal with a lot of synthesizers. All songs are performed at high speed. Last track is an exception. All parts can't be called diverse. There were high hopes for the ninth track, which lasts 9:44 - I assumed that there will be something progressive here. But I was wrong: here is just a little longer guitar solo.

Vocalist. Here we hear the standard structure of extreme vocalist parts - growl on verse, clean on chorus. And this is on all songs. Structure of vocal parts does't change - this is a negative point. With growl everything is clear, but clean is something interesting. Vocalist tries to portray opera singing. I can't say that it's done well. But this can be considered an adornment of album.

First instrumentalist who meets the listener is guitarist. But first I paid attention to keyboards. A very large variety of synthesizers. The main part of my rating I give for a keyboards. It's makes each composition unique. The only thing that's bad is that very quiet in mix. It was necessary to increase the volume. Such interesting parts for this instrument, but it's hard to hear. However, guitarist does the job well too. But guitar parts are monotonous. Crazy solos perfectly dilute this stream of boredom. Guitarist of this band is a very cool dude. But the bet on guitar did not justify itself.

I also can't call bassist parts very interesting. In the ninth track, bassist has a small melodic segment, but that's not enough. And drum parts are completely monotonous. For a drummer this album is a solid skank-beat. In the fourth, sixth and early ninth tracks, we hear a wide variety of drum parts. On this variety ends, but tracks in album are ten.

On one side, it's cool: higher speed - higher level of skill required. On other side, it's bad: not enough just to drive at full speed, road can be bumpy. Everyone will decide for themselves whether it's good or bad. But I decided this way: band has good abilities, but it's necessary to work seriously on composition structure. They do everything right, but a broader view is needed.

Unique guitars: the skateboard

There are quite popular claim that the structure of guitar body is very important. But this video refutes this. Guitar can be made from garbage. Really. And if there is a good pickup and a good guitarist, then the sound will be good. For example, a guitar can be made from an old skateboard.



Among foul language and vulgar jokes you can hear a lot of interesting things. For example, you can only consider one parameter - length of scale. Here it's a Fender's scale - 25.5 inches. Bridge can also be made of any material that is softer than strings. A tin can fragment can be a good patch. Shielding and special wires are not needed, it will be enough ordinary wires from washing machine. Electronics can be left "as is" - so that in the event of a breakdown it can be quickly repaired. Practicality. Most convenient strap fastening system is "EZ Screw" system. You can repair machine head with a coin. And using a coin you can customize a volume.

As you can hear, background music was created on this instrument. Do you like this sound?

Virtual guitars: Ample Metal Eclipse vs RealEight

Technological progress does't stand still and it gives composers more opportunities. First, recording studio became virtual. Now instruments have become virtual. No, not only synthesizers, but also high-grade guitar / bass samplers, sound of which almost does't differ from real instruments.

Today I want to compare two virtual guitars. First is Ample Metal Eclipse from Ample Sound. Sound of real ESP Eclipse guitar is now in a small application. Guitar has a Drop C tuning and it's very suitable for modern sound. Second is RealEight from Musiclab. It's hard to say what kind of guitar is this - fashion for lowered tuning gave a start to production of a large numbers extended range guitars.

So, let's begin.

Ample Metal Eclipse

Black body, black fretboard, black pickups and only strings, inlay, frets and machine heads glint with evil glint. It looks very cool.

Advantages:

• And it sounds very cool. Very high quality, deep, rich sound.
• Drop C Tuning. The usual six-string, but it fits well with modern sound, where an extended range is required. Also, this is a rarity for this company - usually this is standard E or Drop D.
• Ease. You don't need much knowledge. A few clicks - and guitar part is ready.
• Humanization. You can make a guitar sound very close to what you get when playing a real guitarist on a real guitar. But unlike the next example, this happens automatically.
• Several options for writing guitar parts. In addition to standard "Strummer" you can import guitar tabs in GP format. Also there is an excellent function called Riffer. This feature makes it easy to create riffs. It's also possible to generate a random riff: you only need to select measure size, key and chord.
• You can create a timbre. In "FX" tab there are most popular pedals: compressor, overdrive, equalizer, chorus, phaser, delay, reverb and wah-wah. 

Disadvantages:

• Despite the long development, plugin is still unstable. Can refuse to work at any time.
• Plugin requires a lot of CPU resources. That is, you need a very powerful computer.
• He sees only Cubase / Nuendo and only 8 and higher versions.

RealEight

At first it's difficult to focus on one thing: there are not only many strings, but also many elements on control panel. In a few minutes, poking at random begins to understand more.

Advantages:

• Installing the plugin, you can immediately two instruments: guitar and bass.
• Wide range. There are additional strings - seventh (B1) and eighth (F#1). Bass is an octave lower.
• Thin settings. You can form almost any sound. Probably, for this reason, this was called "Real."
• Requires little CPU. Suitable for weak computers.
• Any sequencer sees it.

Disadvantages:

• Sound can't be called qualitative. Usual Chinese eight-string for 150-200 USD.
• Sound has a very turbid attack.
• Requires a lot of knowledge. At first it may seem that it's intended for beginners who have a weak computer. But this impression is deceptive. This is very difficult to understand.
• Difficulties don't end there. This plugin sees only standard patterns. Non-standard patterns with this - it's a real misery. Importing custom MIDI files to working directory does't give anything.

It turns out these are interesting opposites.

Arda - Severnyi Krest (Review)

Once I saw a letter on my e-mail. Content was approximately this: "You write reviews on Japanese bands. You don't have good music in Russia? ". I thought about these words. Russia have good music, but all good bands were created in 80s and 90s. In last 20 years Russia has no decent bands.

My Rating: 74/100

Source - www.metal-archives.com

Russia has a stupid financial system - unfinished capitalism, which was created by immigrants from socialism. And if a project lives longer than 4-5 years, then it can be titled "legendary" - it nothing fundamentally can stop. But I will not discuss our system, I'll tell you about an interesting band. Band was founded in 2000. 17 years of activity in the world, which changes every hour is a great indicator.

Let's start review with composer. Very weak composer's work. Artistic task is formulated very simply. Performance at a very high level, but work of composer is frank quickie. It seems that composer did not exist at all. That is, instrumentalists improvised during the recording. I don't want to say that it's bad. But if we want to do work well, then we need to prepare thoroughly for this.

Lyric about courage, heroism, strong personality is a very fertile soil for many metal bands. This is a very good theme. Yes, these guys don't get the material from most interesting angle - not enough just to drive at full speed, road can be bumpy. What can you do, Eastern Europeans, they are like that. But it's worth noting that voice is wonderful. Feels very strong vocalist. Vocal techniques are monotonous, but voice is very good.

Instrumental especially does't stand out. But it's performed exelent. An interesting decision to use several guitarists: several people can solve an artistic tasks with maximum shades. But also there is one strange decision: use of a guitar with dropped tuning. For power metal is typical use of guitars with standart or Drop D tunings. Sometimes you can hear Drop C tuning, but this is a rare phenomenon for power metal. But here we hear Drop B tuning. A high voice with a low guitar tuning is a strange decision.

Rhythm section also sounds good. But sound is monotonous. In fourth track drummer tried to portray diversity, but it turned out badly. Again bad work of composer.

Band has an excellent level of performance. Their advantages perfectly hide shortcomings. They have a great talent, but in the end we see only an middle-rated European band. But this is not the most interesting thing in this entry. Like many well-known bands, they follow the already known way. And this is what I don't like Western bands - they have reached a certain level, after which they keep it. No steps forward, no new ideas, only normal retention. Yes, one can hold discussions for a long time about the fact that everything is relative. But they can do better.

Ibuki - 1st solo single preview

If you are exploring modern Japanese music for a long time, then you can notice this beautiful girl. Such talent is hard to miss. For the first time I noticed in this project.



Of course, the word "girl" doesn't quite fit, but in we in Russia has a phrase "girls are always 18 years old, the rest is experience". So, recently was issued preview of first single.

Strong, domineering personality
is noticeable at first sight.

First thing to notice is that now this is not a copy of Around The Nation, which was band Disqualia. At the time of their second single, I asked myself: "Dis-" means "Asunder", "-qualia" means ... "Quality"? Yes, during the activity of this band, strange artistic decisions were made.

But back to video. Now this is something completely new. In first track there is a very intense rhythm section. Also noticeably an abundance of scales on guitar. Melodious is the main thing. That's right decision.

Vocal techniques are now completely different. I can't say that I expected such a voice. Perhaps this is done for better readability of lyrics. And lyrics are pretty affected and expressive.

Fragment of second track is too short, it's difficult to analyze. But I can say that this work is supposed to be quite interesting. And if work is as I suppose, then the rating can be 85-90 out of 100.

Inspector Katana - Guitar for metal

Recently I wrote about guitars that are made in Russia. Usually this is custom production at a very high price. But now there is a batch production at a low price. And on October 11 a video was published, where they try to play on one exemplar. For this, a model with an unusual body design was chosen - Katana.



On video you can hear guitar sound. Amplifier is Randall RG50TC. Video in Russian. For those who don’t know Russian, I will shortly describe its content.

Guitar body is very like a strat. First thing you can pay attention to is texture of tree. It's made from fraxinus and is covered with oil, which is typical for very expensive instruments for 2000 - 2500 USD. Price of this guitar is 450 USD.

Guitar body is processed by a method of brashing and due to it on body such drawing turns out. Neck is made of three pieces of maple. It's covered with a polyurethane matt varnish and pleasant to touch. Neck is connected to body with bolts. Head is a continuation of neck. It's not glued, which is typical for such price. Frets is high, when you do bends, you don't creak on fretboard. Hardware from China. Korean accessories are put on more expensive instruments. Machine heads keep the tuning well, without backlash. Pickup - Tone Rider. Very well underlines the attack. Potentiometer is very well located - it can't be accidentally touched. Also on it's written "Made in Japan".

Also included is a case for this body form. But author of video says that it turned out to put this instrument in a case from the strat.

Strike the strings can be felt with a belly, which speaks well of resonant qualities of tree. Readability and sustain are very good. Guitar is good for heavy metal - you will not get lost in the mix.

TELECiDE - TELECiDE 2nd EP (Review)

Young bands are a very fertile ground for various disputes and forecasts. It happens that they try to make themselves as loud as possible and after some time the enthusiasm disappears. Sometimes it disappears with band. It happens that they issued a release and analyze reaction and critics, thus improving themselves. Here it's very difficult to guess. And this project is no exception.

My rating: 70/100

Source - itunes.apple.com

I did not just remember about such types of behavior. First release of this band looked very interesting, very fresh, very promising. Even kitsch themes were served with a very interesting perspective. But this release looks dry, acicular, cold. Nevertheless, from first seconds you can see that these girls are seriously engaged in business. It's not just a music.

But composer's work on an medium level. Here there are both interesting compositions (Cycle Of Addition), and frank quickie (Abstract Romance). The first thing to note is that they almost completely refused the synthesizers. In previous release, we heard a lot of synthesizers. But now this is very small. Perhaps it was an experiment - what the audience would like more. Unfortunately, changes are also negative. A single change of composition after solo in Cycle Of Addition is cool. But this is the end of composer ideas.

It's also noticeable that the structure of vocal parts has changed slightly. Previously, it was an obscure mash, but now parties of two vocalists (clean and extreme) are more interesting ways. Lyrics tell about mental struggles. I can't say that this is a good theme - it can be written absolutely any person. And structure of lyrics is quite simple. But still it is worth noting that there is a professional approach to writing. And also voices are pretty good.

Guitarist shows very little. Yes, there's a cool solo in Cycle Of Addition, there's an interesting melody at beginning of Closed Minds and nice riff in chorus. But I'm not sure about the latter - it seems interesting because in verse guitar part consists of one tremolo. But this is not enough. Such a wonderful and promising guitarist has so little to show himself.

Rhythm section is boring. A well-underlined attack from a bassist is wonderful. But that's all that can be paid attention. Drummer does not even try to depict something interesting - only standard patterns are here.

In the end, I can say that release is pretty good. But it lacks something significant. Noticeable great work, but without one small detail, which significantly affects at result. I think that this band is hampered by "psychology of the young collective". No, I don't mean numbers in "Date of birth". I mean type of thinking in which you don't see obstacles. On one side, we can say that it's right - most of obstacles exist only in our heads. On other side, you can do yourself obstacles and not notice it. We will never know what is happening in these five heads. Perhaps they will roll down to stamped mallcore. Perhaps they will see the change and do something about it. But one thing is certain - something needs to change.

Unique guitars: the shovel

When I pick up a shovel, sometimes I imagine that it's a guitar. But then I stop doing it - prosaic reality puts everything in its place. But later I learned that a guitar really can be made from a shovel. The first in the world to full-scale production came up with leader of band "Krasnaya Plesen" Pavel Yatsyna.



Video shows manufacturing process. Comedy style of narration is typical for this band. And even now he adheres to this style. At 2:50 author of video tries to play on this instrument. And sound is better than for cheap sticks for 250-300 USD. This fact makes you think. Also on the video there is a second guitar made of a shovel. Also on the video there is a bass guitar made from a shovel. As you can see, human ingenuity is unlimited.

Today I remembered an interesting videogame

I really like to play video games and always look for free time for game. But today I remembered about game, which combines my two favorite passions - playing games and rock music.

This is Rock'N'Roll Racing. There are many different versions, but I prefer the version for Sega Mega Drive / Sega Genesis. As you can guess from title, it's a race. But here there are several principal differences. If in other games cars fall apart from one touch with something, then for the leadership it's necessary to destroy opponents. Of course, with weapons. Yes, you were not mistaken. It's not just a race, it's real survival.

You thought it would be easy?

And only soundtrack made me write a separate post about this game. The playlist is impressive.

• Black Sabbath - Paranoid
• Henry Mancini - The Peter Gunn Theme
• Deep Purple - Highway Star
• Golden Earring - Radar Love
• Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild
• George Thorogood - Bad to the Bone

Oh yes, destroy all - this is very consistent with the spirit of rock'n'roll.

Octaviagrace - Polyhedra (Review)

There are quite simple projects that create what the listener likes, but this can't be title as "the art". There are complex projects that create the true art, but this is very difficult to understand. And also there are projects that to some extent combine best sides of these Modus Operandi. Today I want to talk about one of these projects.

My Rating: 94/100

Source - metal-archives.com

It's very difficult to constantly please the public - for this you must constantly generate interesting ideas. This project achieves a high standard. Compositions are very interestingly constructed. First listening - you don't understand what is happening. After the second listening you are already beginning to see that everything is not so simple. And only after fifth or sixth you begin to see construction. Very powerful thing. But still there are some negative moments on composer. But they are insignificant. In chorus of unblown bud, voice sounds somehow strange. Apparently, they wanted the chorus to start somehow interestingly, but they settled on an unsuccessful decision. The beginning of Dear diablo is too slow, it breaks the overall picture of track. But if in "eternity", the increase and decrease in tempo is gradual and small, then there is a sharp turn. Probably, it was invented already at the far end.

Voice that draws interesting pictures is also beautiful. Most often it's soft, but sometimes it's quiet (eternity, Ready for a moments), and also strong-willed (Ready for a moments). It's noticeable that vocalist does't strain much, but simply does his job without any show-offs. A real master, there's nothing to add.

Instrumentalists also give pleasure. First thing we hear keyboards. Keyboard parts are various: somewhere we see interesting scales, somewhere just individual inserts. There is also a variety of sound: apart from the standard strings, the academic sound of piano (unblown bud, eternity), Harpsichord (Dear diablo), Hammond's organ (Ready for a moments), "acidly" (Glorious world, Ready for a moments), and even "industrial" synthesizers (Dear diablo). Guitarist does his work well too. Mind-blowing guitar riffs and amazing guitar solos - it's not something new, but it's performed great.

Also there are interesting bass parts. I very rarely hear such interesting parts. But also I expected to hear a bass solo - a six-string device is needed not for show-offs, but for a wider range. Yes, bassist has several segments after solo in Dear diablo, and also at the beginning of "eternity". But it's hard to title as solo. Drummer is also noticeable. Now he performs more various constructions. In first release they were monotonous, but now it has become more interesting.

This band already for the fourth time shows that it is a rather rare combination of masterliness and emotions. All releases of this band are good. Can you remember which band all releases were always good? Yes, this band exists a small amount of time (since December 2014). But from the first days it was noticeable that this project can do.

Unique guitars: The Octo

I was looking for unusual guitar in Internet and I came across an info about custom instrument for Albanian musician Liburn Jupolli from Lahtela Guitar Craft.

Title is "The Octo". It would seem an ordinary eight-string. But to him eight strings seemed small. As already noted, fretboard contains 43 frets. But this does't mean that on fretboard almost 4 octaves on 1 string. He divided from 1 to 7 fret 2 more frets into 3 microtones. From 7 to 12 there is a division of another 1 fret into 2 microtons (that is, the usual quarter of tone). And from 12 there is a standard halftone division.

And you think he stopped here? No! He put one of the models of Ken Armstrong's pickups and now each string has its own sensor and its own output. That is, we have in addition a stereo guitar. In this case, you can say an octaphonic guitar - each string, he sets his own effects and plays on different amps.



Total: 8 strings, 43 frets, 8 outputs, 8 switches. It's true experimenter. The video perfectly shows how it can be used.

Inspector Guitars - Guitars, which made in Russia

When we say "guitar, which is made in Russia", we always remember guitar "Ural". This can be understood, as many legendary bands used this instrument: Aria, Master, Sergei Mavrin, Kino, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Nevertheless, these guitars are no longer manufactured.

A week ago at the NAMM Musikmesse RUSSIA 2017 guitars of "Inspector guitars" were presented.

Inspector Katana

Hardware from Korea, pickups from England. But everything else is completely made in Russia. The production is located in Moscow. From 12;17 author of video tries to play on this instrument. Sound is pretty good. And the price is very attractive: for example, Inspector Katana costs 26,000 RUB (450 USD). In Russia, a guitar of the same level, but made in South Korea, you can buy at least 800 USD, but this is a singular luck. Usually the price will be 1100 - 1300. Average wage is 570 USD.

Now there is a small production, but soon it will expand. And the price will be lower. I'm wondering if musical instruments will be more accessible, then will there be more good music? In Russia it's very small, and until that day for such money you could only buy this.

Fate Gear - OZ -Rebellion- (Review)

Usually, the term "complex work" means some ornate structures in a progressive style. But not only compositions, but also a person can be complex.

My Rating: 78/100

You just need to start, and then you can't stop - this is right decision. I suppose that the logic of Captain was also such. First, fast-made album A Light In The Black in 2015, where even the name was taken from band Rainbow. Yes, the original there was not enough. Well, the new life does not fall from the sky, but is gradually done with labor. But now Captain obviously wants to destroy everything that looks like Destrose.

And now we see something absolutely new on this album. Initially, I was alarmed by the presence in band of a cool keyboardist - Kurumi Fujioka. I assumed that the album would consist entirely of a keyboard instrument. And I was not mistaken. It's very difficult to listen, because earlier it was a soft heavy / power metal, which could be easily understood. But now composer completely changes the sound: considerably complicates the design, and also makes a strong emphasis on keyboards. In the end, we see progressive / power metal, but some unfinished: there is a feeling that something is missing here.

The first thing you can notice is wonderful keyboards. Keyboardist again confirms its excellent skill level. Next we hear a voice. I can't say that the voice is good. But it's noticeable that the vocalist knows his imperfection and effectively hides them. Guitar is represented by an interesting spectrum of figures. Here we see a standard set of riffs (Scars In My Live) and non-standard figures that are difficult to describe. An addition to this is the excellent guitarist performance. Rhythm section could be more interesting. Of course, this is a question for composer. But if drummer had the opportunity to show his abilities, then the most interesting part of the bassist is the torsion of instrument on strap in MV.

You can argue for a long time about what has changed and what will change in the future. But unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that the Captain will repeat the success of Destrose. On the one side, it's bad - such a fine musician deserves high ratings. On the other side, creating something new is always an honor. Nevertheless, one can argue for a long time, but this project is very good. This is a wonderful job, in which there is still a lot to do.

SONIC LOVER RECKLESS - PHOENIX (Review)

Whatever you say, but the 30-year frontier always changes a person. But everyone has this change in different ways. Aya Kamiki for the first 12 years of her career was another pop chick who produced one-time-listen albums. In 2015, it changed scope - now the main pattern has significantly complicated, and the lyrics have become more interesting. At first it was a band Uroboros, in which Takayoshi Omura participated. But this project did not last long. Now we see a similar project.

My rating: 81/100

Source - amazon.co.jp

Uroboros was initially doomed to a short existence - a person who yesterday came from pop music was difficult to write typical metal lirycs, and also to keep a high-ranged voice for a long time. Therefore, next project has more pop elements. At first glance, it looks boring - there standard way to hook a listeners. And if I listened once, then rating would be 50-55 out of 100. But if you listen carefully, you can notice that these girls are pretty good. A very large work of composer is noticeable. On the basis of a simple pattern, amazing compositions were created. I will say more: 99% of this result is work of composer. The remaining 1% is the clothes.

As for voice - the feelings are ambiguous. A certain musical genre is not only an hairstyle and clothes, but also a set of certain abilities. It's noticeable that vocalist is trying to apply previously obtained abilities. 12 years of career in pop music, where the requirements for vocalists are lower - and suddenly metal, where very high requirements. Applying pop singing for metal is a strange decision. Yes, compositions contain a lot of pop elements. Yes, we saw many successful examples of use pop singing in metal, for example, Fruitpochette, Land Helios or Babymetal. But it's strange decision.

Instrumental is wonderful. About such a wonderful guitarist, it's hard to say something bad - an amazing technique and exceptionally accurate performance. And where there is Miya - there is always a keyboards. Keyboards parts are inserted very successfully, complementing the beautiful imagines. This is all I can say about the instrumentalist - so beautiful performance.

I suppose that this project will not last long either - two or three years. Lovebites, where Miya is a guitarist, has a greater significance than this project. Something similar we saw with A Drop Of Joker, which was crushed by 21Grams. As for vocalist, her previous project also did not last long. However, there are reasons to assume that Uroboros was a small experiment and this project will be long-playing.

Today I was attracted by an interesting project

Band name is Malachite. They exist only a few months. But from the beginning they show an excellent performing.



Good job. Lyrics is poorly audible, but voice is good. Instrumental is wonderful. Of course, blast-beat and overhand tapping is not something new. But composition sounds good. It's too early to say anything, but I see good perspective for this project.

TRICKBOOK - Majokari (MV)

What is the difference between European and Japanese symphonic / power metal? European is very simply - first composes the part for synthesizer, then the rhythm section and liryc about "something seen in the sky / lake / forest" are added to it. In Japan creating this music is a complex process that diffucult to describe in one blog entry. Today one of these results shows band TRICKBOOK.



I've been following this band for two years. As you could see, this is worth attention. There's only one song, so I will set out my thoughts briefly. First: you can notice is a full story. This is rarely seen in similar videos. Usually the video sequence consists of frames with playing the instruments and random frames from the environment. But here you can notice the wonderful director's work.

Second: general idea and lyrics. 魔女狩り translated as "witch hunt". This is very clearly shown in video, and also in lyrics. I really liked allegory with black tears.

Third: voice. Vocalists has noticeable progress. Two years ago skills were weak, but now the level has grown to a professional. Someone might say that this is a good voice processing, but a good hearing can't be deceived.

Fourth: instrumental. It's wonderful. Amazing performance. Beautiful lead guitar parts. Tapping on guitar and bass simultaneously is a good idea. And awesome solo completes this beautiful composition.

I doubt that I can find this album. But if all songs are similar to this one, then the rating can be 88-92 out of 100.

Sin Isomer - Burst into Isomer (Review)

I really love listening to power metal and a new album in my collection - this is always a reason for joy. But this time a new not only an album, but also a project.

My rating: 82/100

Source: www.metal-archives.com

It's boring to listen to the same bands. And beginners don't have enough money for a quality recording. Well, artistic project is not only narrow-focused abilities, but also overcoming difficulties. And today we will consider a new project with strange name.

The title is strange. Okay, we can not notice project title. But album title makes you think. My specialization is related to chemistry and I know that the same substances can have different properties. For example, only L-isomers exhibit biological activity. Perhaps it's a complex associative series or something of the sort. But I can't understand what is the logic between album title and lyrics.

The album begins with the composition Quiet Sky. But only song title is "Quiet" here. First audition gives a wild, unstoppable delight. During the fifth or sixth auditions you begin to see the constructions of composition. And only after the tenth listen you begin to see shortcomings. Very powerful thing, in others projects shortcomings are visible immediately. This is because of the composer's excellent work.

Vocals are beautiful. Many Japanese girls are not friendly with high notes (Marina Hebiishi, Mardelas), and someone does can not sing (Rino Nikaidou, Aldious). But here it's noticeably different from the others. Also lirycs in English. When asian people sings in English - it's always noticeable: many Asian languages ​​are agglutinative (English - analytical type). And difference in pronunciation of sounds, difference in structure of phrase - all this is noticeable. Here it's weakly noticeable.

Instrumental especially does not stand out. Yes, there are wonderful segments, for example solo in Future King, some of bass line in Quiet Sky or violin parts at beginning of The Last Spell. But the rest are the usual patterns. Nevertheless, the composer did his job well: very well composed compositions, where even such nondescript parts look brilliant. Also well-known instrumentalists did their job: the instrumental was executed at the highest level. If you know who Tatsuo (HAKUEI), Anzi (Matenrou Opera), Hibiki (Silex / Alhambra), IKUO (BULL ZEICHEN 88 / Rayflower), then you will understand me. Of course, Hibiki could perform a bass solo, he can do it. But performance is beautiful.

Approximately the same thing we saw on Rami (ex Aldious) first solo album: it's fine, but if you start to disassemble in parts and analyze... However, it is not necessary to be super-mastery or generate very non-standard ideas. It's enough just to do your job well. This album is an example of how you can do an excellent job without ultrahigh abilities. So far this is a very rare release, which is very difficult to find. But this project will show itself to a wider audience.

Aldious - Unlimited Diffusion (Review)

Guys, hold on to everything you can grab for. Today we have review on Aldious new album. As you guessed it, impression of the album as a whole is positive. The album is not the best, but this time they are pleased again.

My rating: 80/100

Source: www.metal-archives.com

In this album we hear same thing as in the previous. Really. "Radiant A" you can not listen at all - you will lose a little. Another strange look is the composer's attempt to portray versatility. More precisely, composers - influence of several (three or four) persons is felt. However, usually playing pretty good heavy / power metal, they suddenly started playing pop music in style of Scandal. And tracks Dilemma and Go away are very similar to thrash metal in style of late Overkill, which, incidentally, loves Yoshi. Well, we've heard from them for a long time, for example, in Dear Slave or Luft. But why release songs with low speed and a simple pattern? They break atmosphere of this album.

Emotions, problems and just some shots from life situations - narrating person shows a perfectly understandable picture. I can't say that it's a good lyrical theme - almost everyone can write this. But here you can feel professional work on lyric - it fits well with instrumental.

Vocals are bad again. So bad that I don't want to write about it. No, I don't want to say that Rino is not worthy of this place. But this level of abilities is typical for beginners, but not for a specialist with 15 years of experience. Her beauty is weak consolation. If it were not for Rino - I could put the album an rating of 90-93 out of 100.

Instrumental is wonderful. Yoshi and Toki showed an excellent skill level. Guitar seemed to be specially created for this album - so interesting ideas come true. Sawa also perfectly performs difficulty parts. It's also a good idea to use a upright bass on recording. But she could perform at least one solo on bass for example, as in Other World. Yes, she has a small segment in In This World, but it's hard to call solo. Well, the compositions are very well arranged. Nevertheless, they don't cover Marina's shortcomings. Drummer again acts according to a strictly limited patterns. No improvisation. Okay, no one is perfect. If she had a mother's surname - Yoshimoto - one could say that she plays well. But she has a father's surname - Bozzio. And from daughter of legendary drummer you will involuntarily want to hear something more than a narrow patterns. Senri Kawaguchi, who is about 10 years younger than Marina, performs more interesting without having famous parents. This fact makes you think.

Stable, long-playing projects may seem boring. Unfortunately, this is their side effect - there is always a temptation to repeat previous successful work. Here we see a repetition of previous work, but who said that this is bad? Still need to work on the shortcomings, but this project is in good hands. And I hope that they will release many interesting releases.