Deathgaze - insult kiss me/the studs - Niji no iro

I thought for sure Deathgaze was gone! But they aren't. And they're back. With 'insult kiss me'. Apparently now the bassist, Ai is on vocals. And it doesn't sound like it. On the first/title track, which is bland Deathgazeness, he could've said it was Sou, and I'd believe him. The riffs are still the drop A chug-chugs they've been doing forever. Nothing impressive. The remake(?) of disease is.. a remake. The screamed vocals are heavily distorted. Bleh. The song is uninspired anyway. Chaos is one of my favorite Deathgaze songs, and it'd be almost impossible to mess up. And it finally, FINALLY, starts on the right beat and doesn't confuse my ears anymore! But the bass thing in the beginning is gone. Oh well. The distortion actually works on this song. It's just that it becomes really apparent that Ai isn't the best screamer in the VK world. Sometimes his voice leaks. (That's a term I use to describe vocalists whose talking voices.. leak into their screaming. Where you hear the scream but you can also hear their talking voice too because of strain) Overall, I still get that good headbangey groovy feeling I would otherwise get. It's just that.. it's a shame the only song I'm into is a remake. In closing.. IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?!

The Studs also released them some new music. Niji no Iro, the title track is.. bland. I still like it, but there's nothing that makes me go "wow this is cool". Aie saves this song with his awesome. Nagaeku Akairo also.. just sits there. And also is saved by Aie's awesome. Shakunetsu ha reido is dull as hell. In closing.. NO.

Girugamesh - Girugamesh

So Girugamesh has a new album. And.. It's a new album. Shocking? Yeah, to me! I was expecting generic heaps of boredom. Ok, so...

Patchwork, which suprisingly does not ease in from the intro like J-albums usually do is a pretty cool song. It's in a new key (which is nice for bands to do), has a new rhythm type, new riff ideas, and all that. It's actually a song I don't listen to because of Satoshi. His vocals are pretty average here, but everything else is so well-crafted, that he didn't need to do something special. The intensity of the chorus is so awesome, it's hard to describe. The background vocals are mixed properly (They don't sound like an ogre chewing or someone banging on a metal door), the syllable timing choices are awesome as usual... Overall, I love this song.

Vermillion (c/w Slipknot song title) is just.. there. It's not easy enough to accidentally leave on, it's not good enough to listen to on purpose. I'll pass on this one.

Stupid awesome. Just plain awesome. It has all of the qualifications to be the the song they drag out forever but is still cool. It's just under 2 minutes on the album, but I'm sure it will last like 5-10 live. The chorus..type..thing is even cooler than Patchwork's. That background shouts are the best J-rock shouts this side of Dir en grey's Die. Satoshi's high..er pitched scream was something I had to hear a couple times. I was blown away.

Barikedo is clever in some areas, lacking in others. The verses are predictable, the section transitions are also predictable, but some parts are worth listening to. This is a fillerish song. Not total filler, but, nothing that stands out.

Shining is also filler. It may appeal to some, but.. eh. The chorus is sadly put to waste on this song. It's kinda cool. Oh well.

Shiroi Sokuseki doesn't do anything for me. It's really limp. It's been done before. Alot. Next.

Crazy-Flag is... good! But not spectacular. The sample was misleading. I thought it'd be an awesomefest.. but it isn't. It's just like "yeah I like this song ::headbang::" It should be better live.

[shoujo-A] is a title I swear I've seen before. I think from Kagerou. It's a nice thumpy rocker. Its smoothness overcomes the urge to skip it. It has a really nu-metally feel to it, which of course really appeals to me, and I love the thick bass tone. This is actually the song that should accidentally come on.

Rocker's is formulaic. Nothing special at all.

Dance Rock Night...

Domino is the song that let me know this album is ending. It's bleh.

Kowareteiku Sekai is a terrible PV choice. It's not really special. The melodies are simple and easy to think up. (Sadly like alot of their music..) but the ideas they're based on are full of potential (Sadly like alot of their music) and the climax gave my ears blue balls. Oh well.

So, in closing, I say...

TRY HARDER NEXT TIME