Vidoll - Deathmate (A second look)

I can now see why people were so disappointed with Deathmate. I still love it to death, and I've grown to appreciate the title track alot more, buuuuuut.


Where's the weirdness of their previous releases? Jui used to make weeeeeird sounds, and he doesn't anymore now. I thought Vidoll was a pretty new band, but it seems they've been out long enough. The production's a little off, mostly because the drums seem a slight bit weak. If there were at least one really weird song on Deathmate, I think it'd make up for the rather conventional others. Comparing songs like... Heroin to even a good song like Shutdown or Chocoripeyes, the change is noticable. It overall sounds lighter. Wasn't their whole ad campaign about a "dark concept" or something? It just.. isn't there..


Sometimes I wish I found the VK scene earlier. :(

Malice Mizer - Bara No Seidou

I didn't know what album to review at first.. It just seemed like all of them have something special to them. Even if I didn't like it.



Memoire was really cool, but short, and I only really liked four of the songs enough to sit through the whole thing. Kioku To Sora, Seraph, Eege Umi Ni Sasagu (I've seen it spelled 282848 ways, and that's how it looks on my playlist so whatev.), and Baroque were plain great.



Voyage.. ugh. Transylvania was one of their best songs though.. It's just to corny to me though.



Merveilles was a step up, but still didn't hit the spot. Bel Air was another good one, along with the remake of that Eege song.



But.. Bara No Seidou, at first it didn't sound too great to me, until I really took a close listen. Now it's my favorite. Klaha's voice isn't my favorite, but the music speaks to me.



It starts with... Bara ni irodorareta akui to higeki no makuake. It's kinda Castlevania-sounding.. it goes right into the next song. I didn't notice the songs switch at first.



Seinaru toki eien no inori - What a GREAT starter! Creepy and stuff. Moreso than their previous "Let's be creepy!" kinda thing. The beginning is long, and rightfully so. ..Did I say it was long? So, after like two minutes, Klaha and some woman start singing. It's absolutely beautiful. The organs stop and a choir starts singing, and it sends chills throughout me; it's a wonderful feeling, when it comes to music. No other band has ever given me this feeling. Ever. The song doesn't do much, for the rest of the eight minutes, but that's okay. It's still great.



Kyomu no nakade no yuugi - I love this song. I'm not sure who is who with the deep voices-- I'm sure the demonic sounding one is Mana. The one that says like four words in a row each time, and Kozi/Yu~ki does the singing. The choir is really nice, to me. Sure, I can't remember that many of the words they say, but they sound nice. Very well done. I like the industrial-like sounds in the song, as well. I bet it kinda ruins it to hear Klaha sing the choir parts, though. >:(



Kagami no butou genwaku no yoru - First Klaha era song I ever heard. I hated it on first listen, but every time I listened to it, it grew on me more. I just LOVE how Klaha sings on this. The basslines are very cool too. I am quite attatched to this song. I could imagine someone dancing to this. The little drum things are musically cute, if that makes sense..



Mayonaka ni kawashita yakusoku - This song gives me the dumb image of some little girls in the winter time playing in the snow for some reason. It's good and all, but.. I don't like how it goes..



Chinurareta Kajitsu - I do like this song though. Klaha sounds like his voice is being forced at times, but meh. He's still good. I like the slow part. The engrish is funny, though put in the right places. I like the part where it's just Klaha singing. Not much else to say. ;)



Chikasuimyaku no meiro - While Kagami was a showcase of what Kozi can do, this just doesn't work. I don't like the singing girl here. ..I don't like this song.



Hakai no hate - Whoa, guitars still exist? The choir is back? COOL. Who's that guy screaming? Kozi?! ...Definately not Klaha. Hmm. >>; I kinda wish the guitars were clearer though. It seems like they were playing something nice.



Shiroi hada ni kuruu ai to kanashimi no RONDO - Hey, this song is easily the most stand-out-ey song on the whole album. Guitars!!! This song rocks. Klaha sounds nice on this, more than on some other songs. His voice sounds so.. deep and ominous. The guitars actually sound really great on this. If only they were used more...



Saikai no chi to bara - This song.... very very good.. Man, even on first listen, it was wonderful. The organ isn't cheesy at all. The choir isn't overpowering. The harpsichord isn't like POW!! This song is one of few that can make me feel something. At the really powerful part, and when Mana whispers, I either 1. Cry or 2. Hold it in. >>; Mana's whispering.. It's just.. wow. The one time I can think of when Mana says something in a pre-M10M song.. is something special. I dunno what he says but.. it still.. speaks to me somehow. This is the song that made me do this review right now. I love it.



My overall thoughts are: Almost every time I listen to this, I get into this dreamlike state, which I really enjoy sometimes. I only have one gripe: Almost no guitars! Oh well. We have M10M. ^_^

Kiyoharu - Kanno Boogie

I love Kiyoharu. Nuff said. ..But...



Groover - GALOOVAH!!! ...Yeah. This song starts nowhere and goes nowhere. It would be cool if.. well.. Kiyoharu had a (Go quote) "Rawk button". He seems to have lost it after SADS broke up.

Hana Gara No Tambourine - This song's okay.. but has no legs to stand on. It sounds like something some American local rock band would play. ..In the 70's-80's. :(

Haunted Boogie - .......

Wednesday - I LOVE this song, here. Kiyoharu sounds wonderful on this song. This song is basically the best on the whole album, since it isn't generic and boring. Kiyoharu does interesting vocals here, the kind that should 1. Only be done once or twice on an album, and 2. Should only be done every so often. In this case, he follows the rules.

Blister - This song is good too. Not much to say about it because it doesn't do much, except for go along Kiyoharu's "My melodies are really cool but the song is semi-boring" rule.

My Love - .....


Here's where I stop the review. I have no more to say about this. I hate to say it, but.. the whole rest of the album is just ugh. ):

Vidoll - Deathmate

It's about time I updated. >:x

This album isn't too bad. On first listen I really didn't care for it.. With every listen I like it more. So, on to the review!

Eriza - Kinda.. too boring/cliche/bubbly to me, even now. The beginning riff is awesome. If the song went somewhere after that, I'd love it.. but it doesn't. It just fizzles due to Jui not doing anything special.

Shutdown - The bass does cool stuff in this song. At 2:36, the bass parts are so...cool... Which makes up for the semi-boring parts before it. I love this song though, because the solo is good, and Jui isn't over-doing the VK voice.

Chocoripeyes - Weird title. o_o; The song is great though. It sounds crazy.. If Gazette were behind the wheel of this song, it'd be ten times better, but Vidoll holds too much back. I can barely tell what the guitarists are doing.. It's kinda annoying. Since they're so darn loud, while the cheap synth barks into your ears. Again, Rame impresses me. The flanger doesn't save the cheapness of the synth though. >:(

Deathmate - I kinda like Deathmate.. It's good enough to listen to! Rame, for the millionth time seems to be the best player. Oh well.. I dunno why THIS is the title track though. Coulda been... y'know.. darker. :/

Kuro Neko - Filler! Skip! ...Oops the album's over. The noises during the verses really hurt my ears..

Basically, Deathmate is what I expected. A few good ones with generic filler. Glad it's a minialbum. These guys need to come up with something more spectacular, maybe by now making singles every other day.. Just do the Miyavi thing and make two each year with an album or something, rather than 80r53084834242 minialbums with type-A's and type B's with more filler. Oh well, I don't really care.