Bridear - Expose Your Emotions (Review)

I like to say, "If you initially don't have talent or strong ideas, then no promotion costs will help here." By analogy with the house, which stands on the foundation, a professional stands on a special type of thinking, without which it's very difficult to obtain and apply specific knowledge.

My Rating: 57/100 Best song: Ghoul

And the reason I remembered this principle is very prosaic: Bridear's “Expose Your Emotions” album is in front of me. I’ll tell you right away: it’s wasted 43 minutes. While listening to this album, it seemed to me that something was missing, and in large quantities. Now I will try to describe my feelings in as much detail as possible. After MV “Ghoul” I expected to see a powerful and good album. I assumed that the album would be filled with interesting ideas, or at least it would be interesting to influence emotions. And I can say with confidence that I was wrong. Well, as they say, the best way to live up to expectations is to expect nothing.

The first thing I noticed was the monosyllabic naming of most songs. Question: is it a lack of imagination or is it done intentionally, so that the listener can think of everything (something like Barnum's wording)? I did not see the answer. Now about further album structure. It looks like this: first a very powerful song, then something standard, then something pop and at the end again something powerful and groove. 10 tracks - 4 different types of songs - not too much variety. Well, at least they know how to control the listener's emotions and this is a nice detail. Also, I don’t like the “jumping” volume of track 9.

Now about vocalist. It's not noticeable that the vocalist was very tense. I suppose that there was an idea to show a strong personality who can easily cope with any tasks. However, it turned out quite the opposite. It should also be noted that extreme vocal techniques in track 4 (the overall design of which is clearly stealed by the Fate Gear), and besides, in the background and with voice effects, is not a good sign. Not that this is an unfortunate idea, but it could be made easier without show-off's.

Instrumental parts are not very complex. Perhaps this is one of those albums about which I can’t write a lot about the instrumental parts - there is nothing remarkable here. But still here you can notice something. Guitars - nothing surprising here. So much so that only riffs in tracks 1, 2, 3 and 8 can be noted. Even there is a song with an acoustic guitar (track 7), but something tells me that it was already inserted somewhere closer to the end of the album recording - this song is so simple. Rhythm section - everything is somewhat better here. Rhythm section formula is quite powerful. Even at a slow pace (for example, on track 6), you can hear interesting drum loops. Additional instruments are also available here. There are several synthesizer sounds: industrial (1, 2, 8 tracks), strings (3, 5 tracks), winds (6 track) and piano (5 track). Not much. Well, at least synthesizers are not necessary in this genre, so you can write these ideas into their assets.

But I don’t understand why they are popular in his own region. Maybe because I think in Western standards. Maybe because I was not able to understand the main album idea. Yes, this album will be in first places in the coming quarter. But I did not see any value here. In the Helix album, these girls showed the highest point of their abilities, showed their limits. And this was rated by me at 61 out of 100. What have they done now? I can only guess. In fact, only 1, 3 and 8 tracks are worth attention here. All others are made only for quantity. I don’t argue, I’m unlikely to do better. But if, for example, I see my flaws and work on them, then progress has ended here last year.

New Arrival: Metallion 67

A couple of days ago I find a mail notification in my inbox. It was written "China." I was already glad that I finally received my Kevlar gloves from Aliexpress, which I ordered back in late summer. But when the mail officer brought me a rectangular cardboard box on which the return address “Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan” was written, I only once again became convinced of the level of Russian Post.

Here is something like this

But leave this topic to other authors and move on to mine. I took my tanto knife and began to carefully cut the paper tape. The first thing that caught my eye was made really high quality. Whether it’s a typical Japanese character (doing everything exceptionally high quality), or 8 usd given for delivery (with the total cost of the order at 12,40, but this is at a discount), it’s hard to say. Nevertheless, I will not show the box, because there is too much personal information on it, and showing the opened one is the same as showing garbage.




So, after a couple of minutes of knife wielding, I saw a cover with 5 asian beauties.

In general, about the magazine we can say that for 7 usd (price without discount) it was done incredibly high quality (I'm still silent about very rare information). Now let's get acquainted with the content. We open and immediately see two familiar faces and the name “Mata Mita Koto No Nai Sekai” (which translates as “The World that I Have Not Seen”). It's funny. Near content. You can see the phrase “Special Feature” - here it's clear that these interviews are the most important. The following 12 positions can also be called important - this is noticeable in a short but very clear comment. The next 13 are all the rest. The penultimate position in the content is the photo report from live. And the last you don't need.

And the first special feature - Aldious.

They were given 10 pages for the interview, 6 pages for photos and 2 pages - a photo report from the concert on June 9, 2019. Actually, commenting on something here is difficult, since 18 pages (out of 95) of such publications are not allocated to anyone.

This is what workaholism and alcoholism look like: at 32 to look like a 50 - you need to try hard.

And the second special guest is Mary’s Blood. A redneck-style parody of Tarja Turunen immediately catches the eye. The area is also noteworthy - it's very similar to Tottori Prefecture with its famous sand dunes.

By the way, about the content of the interview. In my review of Confessions album, I noticed some kind of a too new (for this band) idea that they did work out very unusual. From the interview, I realized that everything was really not so simple there. I can’t retell it completely - copyright and all that. I just note the moment where I was in a sense right.

And the whole magazine is decorated in a similar style, the only difference is in volume. For example, I will show the most interesting (in my opinion) example - an interview with band Black Spinel.

To the right, by the way, is reverse side of poster.

There is also a live report from Sugamo Shishio (Tokyo) on July 24, 2019, where you can discover a couple of new names.

And, of course, a poster. I don’t like that the photo on the cover and the poster are the same photo. Well, apparently, celebrities don't have enough time for another photo.

At the post end, I can say that I took a decent amount of information and will use it in my posts. And in order not to miss them, I advise you to subscribe to my blog and share it - this will help me to publish articles more often.

New arrival - Metallion vol.65

I can not say that I like to read magazines - in our time a lot of information can be found on various Internet resources. But there are some specific topics for which it is worth buying magazines. One of these magazines came to me on November 3.

I want to warn you that I will not describe everything - one blog entry is not enough for this. And also I will not fully disclose the interviews - this is an exclusive content and for this they can easily be banned from Google AdSense. I don't want it. Therefore, I will only briefly retell what I paid attention to and set forth some of my thoughts. So, let's begin.

And start with cover - here you can see band Aldious. And the first interview is also with this band. This has already become a kind of tradition - it's difficult to overestimate the influence of this band on Japanese metal scene. It's not strange, there are no details about new album. Here, mainly discussed the album We Are. And I can say that everything is exactly as I expected.

PS: Saki's face is a masterpiece.

Next you can see Mary’s Blood. This, too, can be understood - if there are worthy successors to Destrose, then that girls is for sure. But here is a discussion of the new DVD. Yes, there is also a small discussion of the new album, but most of the questions concern the new DVD.

Next pages are Lovebites. However, it would be strange not to include this band here after performing at the world's largest metal fest. If anyone missed - they performed at Wacken Open Air. This is the only topic that was discussed in the interview. But I am still amused by one fact: Aldious and Lovebites never stand together. Even in this issue of magazine. Okay, the last photo, where Yoshi and Miya are together, dated November 2013. Although it would seem very similar projects. Yes, the relationship between Yoshi and Miya is a special topic, but we are now discussing the magazine.

Next - Marina Hebiishi. I noticed that at the photo shoots she was always with any weapon. Initially, when she was just kicked out of Destrose, it was a katana. Probably, the habit of fantasy images has not yet passed. Perhaps this is a great reference to song “Sword Of Avenger”, the author of which is Marina. But now something that looks like a Makarov pistol. The interview discusses the new album. In the album, sound is significantly different from the previous releases - I wrote this in review.

The magazine continues on something red. Red rabbit Narumi. She has already told a lot about herself in the 55th interview. So now all the interview comes down to a discussion of the new solo album. However, they did not forget about participation in Rami solo project either. The only thing I want to say about the interview is that her solo album is much deeper than I expected.

But who I really didn’t expect to see was Haru from Velatria. However, despite the neutral (bordering on negative) review, I saw great talent among these guys. And judging by the fact that they cooperate with Black-Listed Production, I was not mistaken. Moreover, it's interesting one thing: initially, Haru had a very seductive look, and the other members also tried to make a beautiful appearance - this is noticeable in first MV. Now the look looks like a regular without something pompous. Apparently, now these guys are betting on skill without fizzy wordings in lirycs and motley appearance. Also, based on what was said in interview, I think it would be interesting for me to listen to their new release.


And they decided to complete the magazine on a young talent Li-sa-X, which became reallynoticeable only this year. At the beginning she says that her father is also an guitarist. Also a little discussion about solo album.

There is also a special report from a concert on July 29, 2018 in Kichijoji Crescendo. It tells about a few bands. Alvarez - boring. Bakudan Kokiatsu is a band of former Galmet drummer. I did not see prospects here and I don't think that something will change in the future. RiViNi - good, but boring. Velvet Cherry - I don’t even want to discuss.





Yes, there is still a lot of interesting things, but I decided to highlight only some points.

And poster. On the back side - Narumi, but I don't want to separate the page.

Aldious - We Are (Review)

I really respect artistic personalities who perform a lot of intellectual work. But when you put a very high lath, then risk of failure is high.

My Rating: 74/100

First, here an interesting detail is noticeable: this release is formally listed as a EP, but contains 9 tracks. This is a lot - before that was full-length. I was very much afraid that a large quantity would affect the quality. It's very difficult to released more than one release per year, even if it's a single and full-length. There are two full-length albums. Nevertheless, quality is the main. I can't say that album is very good, but it turned out better than I expected.

Composers work at highest level: here we also hear a great variety. But now it's different. If earlier albums contained pop songs, now only a small influence (7 track) is noticeable. In most tracks, we hear a general aggressive pattern in spirit of late Overkill. There are also acoustic inserts. Even one song is completely acoustic (8 track). Also you can notice a very complicated (relatively standard for classic power metal patterns) rhythm section, on the basis of which you can hear many interesting things. I will say more - it's rhythm section makes this album interesting.

Voice is bad again. 15 years of experience - and as a result, indistinct groans. Nevertheless, some abilities are used in an interesting way. For example, use the bottom of vocal range in 7 track. Well, not abilities, so interesting ideas. But interesting ideas end here. Lyrics are pretty simple. If in previous album lyrics could be called interesting, now it's frank quickie. Yes, not all lyrics are written by Rino. But this is the only thing where she could show her abilities well.

Guitars in this release leave an ambiguous impression. It looks interesting, but I can't say that guitar parts are very diverse. Yes, alternation of triplets and pinch harmonics in 6th track is cool, but life does not end there. Nevertheless, guitar melodies are quite interesting. Also noticeable is an flawless guitar tone. About bassist, I can say a little - to discuss such a high skill level is just indecent. But it's worth noting very difficult and very interesting parts. This is especially noticeable in 6th track, which has a very uneven rhythm - all the shades of bassist's skill are noticeable here. Yes, I wanted to hear bass solo. But even without this, bass parts are wonderful. Drummer justifies his famous surname this time. It seems that she heard me. Half of drum parts are an interesting compiled mix of standard structures. But other half is something more interesting. A very complex rhythm section formula with interesting fills - outwardly it's clear, but it sounds very cool. But something late, she began to do something really interesting - it appeared on 6th release. But, there is an assumption that only now something interesting has been invented for it. Nevertheless, the result is good.

Will this flow of interest continue? Or they will be deflated as a balloon, meeting with a needle? Now it's hard to say. But one thing is for sure: don't have to release albums so often. This album could be better if it was released in three or four months. Well, the work is done.

Zettai Club - Tosshin / Super Moon (Review)

Zettai Club - this name is very pathos. "Zettai" translates as "absolute" and this word is not just inserted into the title. Well, they fully justify their name from the very first day of their existence. And today I will tell you about another high-class proof.

My Rating: 80/100

Before, I did not hear releases of this band - only previews. But I can already say that these girls have excellent abilities. They have something that distinguishes them from the rest. And it's very weighty in the region, where so many bands repeat ordinary patterns with power chord on guitar and Booty Camp beat on drums. Yes, I can not say that they are very unique, but it looks interesting.

Here we hear power metal with atypical insertions - this is a very interesting idea. But here there is a feeling of not just an interesting idea. It's noticeable that everything was composed by one person. Yes, it's written on booklet. But here it is noticeable that vocal and instrumental parts are perfectly combined. 90% of impression is composer's work. You can also see that composer is a keyboardist. Yes, it's also written on booklet and is often written on Twitter. But here it's felt that piano parts were originally composed, and then all the others were created around it. You can also notice that two tracks are very similar. But in the first there is more variety of vocal and instrumental parts than in the second. Hence we can conclude that a big bet was made on the first track, the first impression. Well, it turned out well.

Also it turned out well with vocalist. The first thing to notice is that voice is a coloratura soprano. This is a nice detail. There are extreme vocal techniques at the beginning of 1st track. The key changes during the chorus. Also, the key changes at the end of 1st track. But in the 2nd track it's already difficult to find something interesting. Thus, I can not say that there is a lot of variety of vocal parts, although this is interesting. It's also worth noting that vocalist has good abilities.

Instrumental parts also performed well. Yes, there is one strange decision here - guitar volume is too low. But I still noticed that guitar has a standard E tuning. Guitar is recorded using quad track technology, but here it's not just four tracks in sequencer. It would seem that there is nothing supernatural, but here in one of the tracks in some segments a little vibrato is added. Such small things create an interesting sound. A guitar solo is too easy for power metal, although tapping is always a good decision. And now a keyboardist. Keyboardist has such a high level of skill that it's worthy of a separate story, for which one blog entry is not enough. Nevertheless, it's possible to describe this briefly. Keyboard's sound is different in different segments. And also it's different in both tracks. But here do not show-offs with complex scales, but the addition of a general constructions, creating an atmosphere in which the other members sound great. No show-offs, just honest skill. About rhythm section, you can also say something. Slap on bass at the beginning and end of 1st track. Also bassist has several sections with interesting scales in both tracks. That's all. But rhythm section continues on drums. Rhythm changes throughout the compositions - it's very difficult for drummer. But drum patterns also change.

In general, the release is so interesting that I wrote a lot for 2 tracks - usually I write so much for 5-9 tracks. Here you can easily notice the great talent. Yes, there still is a lot to do. But if they follow the path that I guess, then I can say that they have a good future.

Zettai Kurabu - Tosshin / Super Moon (Preview)

I rarely pay attention to previews, only the most interesting ones. But this project has been capture my attention for more than a year now. This is band Zettai Kurabu, which on July 7 released a new single. And recently on Twitter was shown a preview. There is even no cover, and video is very simple. But the plans here are truly great.

【絶対倶楽部の動画】

7月7日(土)に発売されるシングル！
『突進/Super Moon』をちょっぴりお届け☆
"突進"はまさに2018年のゼックラ！

5人になり挑む次回ワンマンは
9月16日(日)吉祥寺クレッシェンド
タイトル『突入のゼックラ』

新しいステージへの突入に向け
本日公式サイトの幹部ページも進化！ pic.twitter.com/d28HGc0tOu

— 絶対倶楽部 9/16(日)ワンマン決定 (@ZETTAI_CLUB) 10 июня 2018 г.

Well, this is not an review, so I will be brief. It's noticeable that everything was composed by one person. Yes, this is often written in Twitter. But there is clearly an excellent combination of lirycal theme and instrumental parts. Voice - coloratura soprano. It's very pleasant fact - such voice is always nice to listen. But there is a very simple vocal parts structure. Yes, we can say that it's done excellently - professional work is noticeable. Instrumental parties are not very complex. Of course, it's worth noting interesting bass lines. Nevertheless, it's noticeable here that the main work here is composer's work.

Of course, this is not enough, but if I manage to hear this, I will tell you in detail about advantages and disadvantages. Well, if the rest is what I suppose, rating will be 80-85 of 100.

RiViNi - Resistance (Review)

Rie Tomimatsu is one of the very few people about whom nothing bad can be said. It's so excellent professional that it remains only to silently admire. But in last couple of years something has gone wrong.

My Rating: 76/100

The peak of skill I consider album Noah's Ark (2015) - it was magnificent, but was difficult to understand. It's not difficult to guess how ordinary listeners reacted to this. Result was very much reflected in single Don't Hide Your Face - it was very simple. I don't know if the result has so severely offended our sensei, or inspiration has dried up, but at about the same time band Prototype, later renamed RiViNi, begins to exist. And on May 9 their first album is released.

Some ambiguous feelings from the album. When I started listening to this album, I started to think that it would be boring and monotonous. Really. Lyrics are mainly associated with emotions, and cover art and two MV are strongly focused on the visual component. I did not quite expect this from high-class specialists. And first two tracks are very similar. And when you hear that second track is similar to first - then you will start to think that the entire album will be monotonous. Not all listeners can have patience. But you need to listen further - and album will be more interesting. Composer's work is pretty good. On one side, overall constructions is quite simple - it's more like pop music with metal elements. On other side, there are quite interesting methods of solving artistic tasks. Yeah, professionalism is not only the famous brands, but also ability to make any composition well.

Vocal parts are monotonous. Of course, in 5th track there is an attempt to portray something, but this is not enough. And in the rest - nothing interesting. Yes, it's noticeable that voice was almost not processed - vocalist is not afraid to show skill. But in general, about vocalist can not say that she is good.

Instrumental parts can not be called difficult. But they also can not be called boring. Guitarist - everything is predictable here. Of course, strange looks the standard E guitar tuning (although in some compositions 7 strings are used). Nevertheless, here you can hear virtuosic melodic parts (especially in the 6th track). Also very pleased with guitar solo with a lot of whammy bar in the style of Tom Morello (4 tracks). Bassist is also not perfect, but I can say, he is also good. This is not an ordinary grinding one note on C1. Especially liked bass parts in 3, 5 (partially) and 6 track. But there is still the impression that basist was chosen in appearance. Little was invented for drummer. Yes, at the end of 5th track more bass drum are added. You can also note 6 tracks for a typical heavy metal drumming. But in the rest - it's monotonous. Also there are a lot of interesting parts for the synthesizer. For example, the "acid" synthesizer in the style of Korg Wavestation (1 track) or piano (2, 4 track), as well as several atmospheric inserts.

Was it worth it to reduce the attention of solo project? I think that it was not worth it. If you set a goal to achieve popularity, then this will necessarily affect the intellectual value. Someone has less, some have more, but it will still happen - most people do not have ability to think. But still it's worth noting that the members showed a high level of skill. A lot has been done here very well. A simple general constructions, a bad vocalist, a weak variety of drums, and bass lines are not ideal - if in the next release these points are corrected, then this will be a masterpiece. In the meantime, I can say just "good".

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Bridear - Dear Bride (MV)

I did not follow band Bridear, because I did not see anything interesting in first album. And recently I saw their new mv.



Are you seriously? Metal in a major key? It's like some kind of joke. Something similar we saw with band Cyntia: a awesome glam metal suddenly turned into a one-time pop. General simple sound and lyrics about what is available to everyone - do we expect this from high-class specialists? I do not think so.

Guitars also look interesting. More precisely, not interesting: some of standard chords completes here. It seems that 7th string guitars were used for show-offs. In fact, 7th string guitars are needed for extended range. It's somehow strange that I'm reminded of this. Bend and tapping in solo - it's cool, but nothing more interesting in instrumental I don't see. And only rhythm section plays an interesting constructions.

I can not understand one thing: why simplify patters? It's not necessary to set as its goal the popularity - there are overpumped whores and without them enough. If you still want to be popular, then you need to come up with something interesting, and not become another copy of band Scandal. The way down is already facilitated by the force of attraction and if you simplify patterns for the sake of popularity - you will find only disappointment.

I don't know what the album will be, but if it's what I'm guessing, my rating will be 55-60 out of 100.

Mary's Blood - Revenant (Preview)

Over time, any band ends with a wave of inspiration and project begins to produce boring sounds sets. Someone before, someone later, but it happens. But Mary's Blood is one of the few bands that has held a high level for many years. And recently they showed a small part of new work.



This is not an review, so I will be brief. I don't quite understand the concept - title has a hint of something supernatural, but in lirycs it's noticeable in only a few places (2, 8, 9 tracks). However, overall impression is very good. Of course, it's noticeable that the composer's target was to install a general constructions. That is, the listener receives maximum emotions. Usually this goes to the detriment of instrumental parts, but this is not the case.

Very strong voice. Earlier I did not like vocalist from this band, but in the last two years serious work on the mistakes is noticeable.

Guitar is something incredible. In detail, I'll tell you everything in review. Now I can only say that Saki is a true master.

Rhythm section is very diverse and constructions are pretty good. Of course, I will tell you in detail in review. But now I will note that drummer from this band is not in vain called a copy of Dave Lombardo.

This is not the whole album, but it's already noticeable that they are showing their great talent again. If the album will is as I suppose, rating will be 92-97 out of 100.

Bakudan Koukiatsu - Bakukou Hurricane (MV)

I saw quite a lot of talented musicians, whose projects were perish under the pressure of standard ideas. For example, band Area51: formally exist, but release of fast-maded album every few years is not an activity in the full sense of this word.

Why did I remember that? Recently saw a new band of past drummer from Galmet.



There is also a guitarist and bassist from band HERe:Ne. Unfortunately, there is nothing more remarkable to be found here. Main advantages of this composition have little relation to music. It's very much concentrated on visual components, and lyric are associated with strong emotions. This is also good, but not at the expense of instrumental parts. But this is the most interesting: there are quite simple constructions and standard solutions. Guitar has two simple riffs and a solo with whammy bar at beginner's level. Drums has two types of parts - on verse and on chorus. And most interesting action of bassist is jumping. But nevertheless it's worth noting that here one feels a professional approach to song composing. But on one approach only, you will not last long. Okay, if it were beginners, who took up instruments yesterday. But here specialists with good experience.

Frankly, here I don't see prospects. I can not speak for sure, but I doubt that they will last longer than two years. This project will quickly tires the listeners. May be this is some kind of experiment and it will be more interesting later. But in this form this project has no future.

Fate Gear - 7 Years Ago -refrain- (MV)

It's not a secret for anyone that any person is constantly improving, gaining new knowledge and changing. If earlier, in band Destrose, Captain performs heavy/power metal, which was easily understood, but now the bets have risen. Album "Oz -Rebellion-" can already be classified as a symphonic / power / progressive metal. But even if you don't pay attention to classification shades, one can say confidently: it has become a transitional moment between the remnants of a happy youth and something fundamentally new. I'll just say that new album from Fate Gear promises a much more interesting picture.



Great job. On video you can see steampunk style. Also, most of the stage is made of mahogany. Or stylized as mahogany. However, palette gives pleasure to eyes.

Well, now it's a band. First thing you can notice is two vocalists. What for? It's weakly noticeable that they are better (compared to one person) to convey some shades. If, for example, band Trickbook has two vocalists with different ranges, then what is it? I don't want to say that it's bad - vocalists have nice abilities. But why two, if such an artistic task can be solved by one person?

About instrumental I can say a lot of good, but I better leave it for review. Nevertheless, there are many interesting things here. For example, guitarist. Yes, it strange looking standard E guitar tuning - it's interesting to play such music on a dropped tuning. But the rest is a continuous stream of pleasure. Guitar solo was a cherry on cake. Bassist also made a good contribution to overall impression. Digital head emulator slightly violates the overall palette in video. But sound is good. Yes, bass lines are still boring: the most interesting part is a few scales in front of a guitar solo. But there is already much more diversity. It's also noticeable that guitarist and bassist quite often grab the neck from different sides - this is a trick in style of Mike Batio. Another part of rhythm section is drums. Here I see more variety, compared to previous album.

Instrumental parts don't end there. There are also additional instrumentalists. There are two direct opposites. Keyboard: a lingering solo on synthesizer - that's all she did. Overall picture complements well, but advantages end there. Or a violinist - I can't understand why you need an individual on a violin, and even so famous. Such parts can be performed without a well-known name.

Despite a concept that is difficult to understand, I see a good future here. Fully describe the advantages and disadvantages, as well as give predictions will be possible after full album listening, which will be released on April 14. Well, if album is exactly what I'm guessing, the score will be 87-91.

Coco.Ange - Fuyu No Sei (review)

I really don't like pop music. Usually 99.9% of such music is a groan about sexual difficulties under two chords. Today I will talk about a project that relates to the remaining 0.1%.

My Rating: 78/100

I have known pretty girl Kohaku for quite some time. She is very noticeable not only because it often shows cleavage. She is quite unpredictable and it also affects its projects. Previous - Honey Trap - changed quite often. Well, next project - Coco.Ange - suffered the same fate: first we see beautiful ladies in snow-white dresses, but now the concept has been changed. However, it's even more interesting.

Here we hear some non-standard power-pop. General structure is made quite interesting. First thing you can notice is a fairly honest narrative. Winter is difficult to describe: there are a lot of snow around you, which hides many of the charms of nature, thereby slowing down life. Well, such features are well reflected in lyrics.

I can not call vocalist's abilities good. You can notice that this is a beginner. There are several segments where vocalist tries to portray diversity, but it turns out monotony. Well, here is a good perspective. And if it is really a beginner, then she's on the right track.

Instrumental is good. I would never have thought that I would write this about pop music, but here instrumental parts are very interesting. But there is a downside: you can also see that in instrumental parts a few shades are taken into account. An exception is drums. It can be assumed that instrumental was composed by one person: more participants - more shades. For example, guitar sounds very unusual. I'm used to the fact that the top strongly (after 3500Hz) is cut off. Here guitar sounds very sonorous. Or academic sound of a piano is too standard an idea. But here it is surprisingly accurately built into the methods of solving an artistic task.

And now the most important thing is why you should listen to this release. This is a rhythm section. No, I don't mean bass line, although the structure is also quite interesting. I mean drums. Very diverse structures and fills - it's easy to describe in words. Well, sometimes words become superfluous and this case is no exception.

I'm not a fan of modern pop music, but this release made a good impression on me. I can say that sometimes it's worth expanding your horizons and such a release can be great in this.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.