A new style for MUCC.
Shinde Kudasai | Des Moines, WA United States | 07/28/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"MUCC's latest studio album is almost a departure from their standard metal sound they had on Kuchiniki no Tou, 6 and Gokusai. Although many styles are mixed on this one album, so there's "Something for everyone" as the cliched saying goes.
First up is the intro track "Mizuon" and not suprisingly, it has the splish-sploshing sounds of water backed with tribal drums.
"Fukuro no Yurikago" begins with middle-eastern guitars then slams into a
brilliant combo of synth effects, grinding guitars and traditional Japanese Taiko drums tapping along in the background. Once the chorus kicks in it feels like a spacey psychedelic trip (minus the drugs).
"Nuritsubusunara Enji" starts with a low background hum and a menacing guitar with pounding drums. A deep growl from Tatsurou kicks off the song and the same rhythmic Taiko drums from the previous track can be heard in the background and by themselves in between the breaks. The genre quickly switches from thudding metal to punk with a speedy chorus and quick tempo change. There's also a nice and speedy guitar solo near the end of the song, kinda Dragonforce-esque.
"Fuzz" starts out with a cut up guitar lick, then the synth beat, and then *BAM* there's this awesome harmonica that could put Tom Petty to shame. With the chunky guitar, heavy beats and 80's discotheque style, its no suprise that fans and non-fans alike were getting up and dancing to this song at Taste of Chaos.
"Game" starts out really slow, which almost prompted me to skip it, but I did give it a listen and its an alright song but it just kinda seems out of place on the album. Might like it more after multipe listens.
"Flight" is alot more energetic, and this version is a little different from the one found on "Best of MUCC." There's an added drum track in the background and the guitar is more audible. There's also some nice little synth violins thrown in for a more ballad-ish effect.
"Angelier" comes in with some disco guitar riffs, and some very retro synthesizer drum hits that sound like something out of Knight Rider. The chorus has Tatsurou doing a really great falsetto. Its almost like another FUZZ because you could totally throw it on at a club and people would start dancing to it.
"Chiisana Mado" starts out a little dreary but things do get better if you stick with it. There's some really cool string plucks, piano, orchestral violin and spanish guitar. Its almost like a soundtrack to some sort of dramatic movie.
"Semishigure" is a throw back to the older MUCC and would fit right at home on Gokusai or Houyoku. It has that beautiful spacey feel like Ryuusei or Komorebi.
"Shion" is a mix of new style and old style, its got that middle-eastern flare with the tribal drums, but it slams in with the old drop tune bass and heavy metal drumming. Tatrusou's growls are deeper and practically sneak up on you. There's lots of awesome audio effects thrown in different places too.
"Sorawasure" is another light and spacey song, its got a little synth violin hook, but the song doesn't completely revolve around it like in Anjelier. There's a really sweet break at the 2:25 mark where its just Tatsurou's voice and some synth keys.
"Shiva" is another throwback, a mix between heavy and pop punk / orchestral. The guitar is really quick and stabby durring the chorus and there's an out of place metal growl breakdown at 2:29 which wouldn't seem like it would fit, but yet somehow it works. What sounds like a calliope plays out the rest of the song.
"Libra" is probably one of the best songs MUCC has ever done. It has this perfect mixture of trudging metal with an uplifting pop chorus that's easy to sing along with. Even if all the other songs were crap (which thankfully, they aren't) I'd still buy this album just for Libra alone, it is -that- good.
I'm really happy this album is available for cheaper than the typical $40 import price, that is usually the one hurdle that keeps me from buying J-Rock albums. More japanese lables should do re-releases like this."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1