Octaviagrace - new eclosion (Review)

Any musical project necessarily changes. For example, Loudness - if you compare their sound in the 80s and in 2000s, the difference will be very large (single The Everlasting is a real fucked up). Or Galneryus - first two very powerful albums, then depressive lyrics and experiments with extended range guitars in two albums, and after album Resurrection (2008) I stopped listening to them at all.

My rating: 83/100

Source: amazon.co.jp

Fortunately, the changes in this album are not so significant. If earlier it was power metal with a lot of synthesizer and non-standard ideas, now ... Um ... Well ... It's hard for me to describe it with the help of words. Nevertheless, one can say something about general structures. Here is an interesting album structure. However, all releases of this band have an interesting structure. But here the album keeps the listener from start to finish. It's also worth noting that there is no quickie - a dangerous disease, traces of which can be traced in many bands.

Composer's work is good. But it seems that the composer is constantly missing something. That is, the work is done perfectly - complex structure of the compositions rests surprisingly well on the listener's ears. But at the level of shades you begin to understand that something is wrong here. But the only thing that really turned out well with composer was the creation of unique compositions. That is, structure's changes are minor, but during listening, there is no déjà vu feeling. This is another evidence in favor of excellent composer's work, as he could fall into the “success trap”.

Vocalist is good. But vocals are very predictable and are not very diverse. However, a strong but pleasant vocalist is always an honor.

Instrumental parts are a bit different now. Keyboards has a less attention compared to previous release. For example, some songs cost the minimum number of keyboards (4 tracks). However, there is a piano (1, 2, 3, 6 tracks), Hammond organ (2 track), magic organ (5, 6 tracks), strings (6 track), “industrial” (6 track) and even acidic (6 track). The main focus is on guitar and bass. And guitar is something incredible. There is nothing difficult here, but riffs are made up so that it remains only to quietly admire. “Magnificent melodic parts and insane solos” - these words will describe only a small part of what can be heard from such a talented guitarist. But bass lines are easier to describe - they are again quite interesting. But now the bass is better heard in mix and this is a nice detail. There is a slap on the bass in 5 and 7 tracks. And again I was expecting a solo on the bass, but this was not audible. No, a small melodic section on bass in 7 track is not a solo. However, rhythm section does not end there. About drums, too, have not forgotten - there is a great variety. The only unfortunate solution is to use the pop pattern in chorus of 7 track. Otherwise, everything is fine.

Changes don't look as bright as shown on the cover of this album. But this is exactly what I was afraid of happened: they became a little more like the typical Japanese power metal. However, departure of a keyboard player had a bad influence on creativity. I don't like that they have adjusted their path in this way - such talented people deserve very high ratings. Well, maybe now they are looking for something more interesting - we will know about it only in the next release. If only it was really a search for something new, and not a quickie.