It literally looks like something that was slapped together by some intern who learned how to work Photoshop like five minutes ago, idk why y'all are reading so deeply into this as if it has some profound and deep meaning
Changing the topic a bit, why are their mixes always so bad? I think Gauze might be their best-sounding album in terms of production. Macabre sounds fairly good too (even though I'm not really a fan of the music per se), but then everything between Kisou and Marrow sounds so thin and weak! I actually like the messy sound of the original Uroboros album but I agree it's not everyone's cup of tea. Dum Spiro Spero sounds fairly good, even though the music doesn't have much "depth", but then all of their post-Rinkaku releases sound so mechanical, specially the drums, which sound too triggered.
Also, I still think all those "From Depression to" DVDs were absolutely pointless and all that touring didn't did anything other than delay the release of the album for a long time. I know they were aiming for something big for the 20th anniversary, but I think it would be much better if they remastered their earlier albums. There's so many great songs, it's a pity their production isn't always the best. Thankfully Vestige of Scratches corrected that issue for a couple of tracks, but a lot of my favorite songs from earlier relases weren't touched.
I think a lot of people were expecting way to much from this album. I think its fantastic. For a first album it is awesome. I don’t remember a band release such a good first album. These guys are so talented, in the future they’ll deliver even better
I think a lot of people were expecting way to much from this album. I think its fantastic. For a first album it is awesome. I don’t remember a band release such a good first album. These guys are so talented, in the future they’ll deliver even better
I think a lot of people were expecting way to much from this album. I think its fantastic. For a first album it is awesome. I don’t remember a band release such a good first album. These guys are so talented, in the future they’ll deliver even better
NINTH is the GazettE’s second best post DIM album. It sounds like a compilation of their best b-sides that didn’t make the cut for their precious string of albums. What’s even more awesome is that besides like one song, the album isn’t riddled with the usual cut and paste filler tracks. Even my least fav songs are worth listening to and flow pretty well with the other tracks. With that said, it sounds like either Ruki’s song writing improved and or he let the other members contribute more in the writing process. The songs sound more varied, even though they still have the GazettE sound to em.
DOGMA is still the GOAT post DIM album cuz of its cohesiveness and the dark/metalcore feel it has going for it but NINTH is cool cuz it has that balance of Light and dark tracks. This album is def getting endless replays. I’m so happy with how it turned out.
So after listening to Ninth for more than 30 times, and listening to some of my favorite songs from Ninth on repeat since the release date. I can say that Ninth is a really great album. At first I found the production kinda muddy(maybe because I've listened to Dogma so much and was kinda used to that type of production), now I don't find it muddy but I would have loved If Josh Wilbur would have mixed the entire album not just the MV version of Falling coz I loved the hell out of that mix. Anyways here's a short review for every song:
1. 99.999
A really nostalgic intro, I like how it mixes all intros of their albums.
2. Falling
Loved the song since I first heard it in their official website. I love every bit of it, The riffs, Ruki's voice, the guitar solo, the rythm of the song and the synth is really fitting. Definitely the best song on the album. Although I prefer the MV mix over the Album mix, I'm starting to enjoy the latter as well.
3. Ninth Odd Smells
Another favorite on the album. This song is meant to be played live. I listen to it when I wanna get pumped up before studying. I feel like every member shines on this one. Love the heavy parts and the big choruses.
4. Gush
This one is such a headbanger. It's a fun track and I find it really enjoyable.
5. The Mortal
This one is more experimental compared to the rest of the album and I think its a lot of people's favorite on the album. It's got a really dark atmosphere surrounding it . I love the basswork, drumming, the riffs, and the electronic elements. But the highlight for me on this song is that big chorus, Ruki does an amazing job in this one
6. Utsusemi (虚蜩)
One of the more emotional tracks in the album. You could tell it was composed by Aoi. It's another standout on the album and I feel like it's a song that deserves a music video. Nothing much to say I just love it from start to finish.
7. Sono koe wa moroku (その声は脆く)
Although I didn't enjoy it as much when I heard the Radio uploads on YouTube, it's grown on me a lot. The highlight of the song is the guitar solo.
8. Babylon's Taboo
An epic song. Love the industrial elements and It immediately reminded me of Devouring one another. One of my favorite songs on the Album.
9. Uragiru bero (裏切る舌 )
It sounds like a better version of Vermin. It's got amazing groovy riffs and Kai is a monster in this one. Such an amazing track.
10. Two of a Kind
This track sounds like Depravity and it kinda feels like a lynch. song in some parts. Love the changes between heavy and clean sections. The highlight of this song is the ending part, It's so incredible.
11. Abhor god
My least favorite song on the album. I was hoping for a fully metalcore song coz It begins with an awesome metalcore riff but unfortunately it develops into something else. I think this song has the weakest chorus on the whole album.
12. Unfinished
An awesome way to end the album. This song reminded me of Toxic mixed with a little bit of Nil and Stacked Rubbish. It's got an awesome melody and Uruha's guitar solo is so beautiful. Love how it just fades away at the end.
Ninth is definitely one of their most consistent album from their whole discography as there's no fillers on the album. However it lacks standout tracks like Deux, Dogma and Ominous. In the end, I think I still prefer Dogma a bit more, but Ninth has definitely become one of my favorite albums from them.
Arlequin (c. 2013) quickly rose to top-shelf, basically-major-but-not-offically-major status through hard work, experience, sharp management and lots of (well deserved) hype, not unlike their contemporaries DEZERT, NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST, and DIAURA. And like their contemporaries, their name is rooted in sharp, well-composed, heavy-yet-melodic bangers. Unlike those names, Arlequin have the distinction of pushing their heavy x melody juxtaposition to the utmost extreme. Their lead singles are augmented by 7-string riffage, rough inhale vocals and furious drumming in conjunction with uber melodic, anisong-style choruses. "Haka ana", "ALIVE", "Stella", "Dame ningen", "Qualia", "Dilemma" and "ECLIPSE" follow this pattern, comprising their most famous--albeit monotonous work. Don't get me wrong, those are some of the best songs to come out of vk since 2010, but a body of work can't rest upon just highlights alone. It's the tracks that aren't singles on an album that make up the bulk of our listening, and this is where album filler comes to the detriment of bands that slay singles but can't do much else. Arlequin are exempt from this and I'll tell you why.
What most people don't know, is that Arlequin have a pretty funky experimental streak throughout their discography. If the band were the strength of their a-sides, and frankly whole first album alone, you'd have a solid but flat group of musicians. Luckily for us, Arlequin's most interesting work is tucked into b-sides, corners of albums, and (kinda) forgotten deep cuts. Why is this? Their A-sides and lead promo tracks are almost always easily digestible variations of their hit formula, and usually helmed by lead guitarist Nao. It wasn't until recently (i.e. post 2015) that Nao's hold loosened from Arlequin's compositions, incorporating bassist Shohei and rhythm guitarist Kuruto's songs into the fold. This, in my opinion, has greatly strengthened and diversified their sound. In fact, most of the tracks on the list aren't Nao's songs. Not to say he isn't a kick ass composer, but the band certainly benefits from bringing together clashing styles--just saying, maybe that's why near equal was a snooze fest. That's why the other guys (I hope?) have come to our rescue, bringing us some weirder variations on Arlequins usual formulas. The current result of Arlequin's more recent, integrative era is a sound representing a veritable pastiche of visual kei history: from minimal 00's alt-metal, 80's x-worship, melodic 90's ballads, and 10's modern boundary breaking. These guys know their shit, they're artists who compose with respect to the past, present and future of the scene that spawned them. Not a whole lot of what sounds like ghost writing; just honest sweat, red eyeshadow, hairspray, and broken bangya hearts (and probably condoms).
Without further ado, in no particular order, we'll get to looking at my offbeat favs that (I'd like to think) have solidified Arlequin's place as legends of the modern visual scene. No particular order, writing credits are courtesy of the lovely @peffy, though rocklyric has them up too. Live versions of the songs are linked when possible (and representative of the original), I think Arlequin sound way better live than on studio. Last three songs were remade into superior versions on Arlequin's recent best-of, so while originals are gonna be linked--just know where the sauce is truly at.
Albums:
Utopia (2016):
1.) "残響" (Zankyou)
Composer: Shohei
Claim to fame: This sounds like a kaleidoscope
Of all the songs to fit on here, "Zankyou" is the most fitting. A clusterfuck of twinkling, dueling guitars, one hammering out a weirdly dissonant arpeggio and another tapping a lead line, holding on for dear life. What is just two guitar lines becomes the sound of a million starts shining in your face or just an overwhelming series of flashing lights and sounds. Rhythm plays second fiddle, a steady blast beat and bassline crashing against the star show. You'd have to wonder what the track started off as, as its certainly not a bass-centered track. I'd like to think Shohei gave the guys a bassline and said "go apeshit". Triumphant and riveting, "Zankyou" is unforgettable.
2.) "ハッピーセット" (Happy set)
Composer: Kuruto
Claim to fame: dissonance man, dissonance
What could be a fun banger is turned sour with dissonant rhythm and acrid lead guitar work, bringing a sense of dread from the get-go. As we await a pretty chorus, we're instead stuck with the same ringing chords and Aki shrieking the vocal melody. It's jarring to say the least--no pretty key shift or soothing refrain here. Kagerou/DEZERT-like octave chords play over the verse in the second half, bringing the tension up before the track implodes with more harshness. It's moody--yes, out of place--absolutely. "Happy set" is skipped over a bit when it comes on shuffle, I find Aki's inhales to be grating--especially without a break at all. That's the same reason I find it so interesting, who knew a mid-tempo track like this would be one of Arlequin's most brutal tracks.
3.) "独白" (Dokuhaku)
Composer: Shohei
Claim to fame: CHUG CHUG CHUG CLACK CLACK
"Dokuhaku" is a weirdly shifting, "OBSCURE" esque, chuggy, alt-metal love fest for the first part. Spooky synths, evil laughter, sparse tom-drumming and all. Then it goes into a freak out phase, with blastbeats and screaming and the whole lot. Whats notable is how it just stops and starts between the sections, structure be damned. The acoustic interlude is especially interesting, paired with the stuttering intro cutting off Aki's crooning. The end effect is odd, and it is definitely a grower of a track. I go back and forth between liking and disliking this track, but in the end it's too engaging a track to put down.
4.) "棘" (Toge)
Composer: Nao
Claim to fame: Sad robot from Nagoya in 1997
"Toge" is a track that should immediately resonate with my old-school-loving peers, the chord progression and lead melody are straight up 90's gold. If you close your eyes and focus HARD, mentally stripping away the drop-tuned guitar and bleepbloops, it could easily be a ROUAGE or Laputa track. BUT...Arlequin aren't hellbent on 90's revival, and that's where it gets fun. Effects are overlaid on the guitarline and vocals that make them sound wonky, lightly distorted and distant, inducing an odd, campy-space-movie feel. There is something so weird about this, but it works because its such a traditional, mid-tempo visual ballad. The contrast is incredible but by no means distracting, and one of their ballad (+discography) highlights. In all honesty, someone should make a weird edited fan video of "WALL-E" footage (robot love!!) with "Toge" playing in the back--might actually pull a few tears out of me.
exist (2018):
5.) "NEGA ABILITY"
Composer: Shohei
Claim to fame: bass DOMINATION
Easily Arlequin's most stripped down, dark and atmospheric song. No twin guitar fiddles, bleepbloops, distracting melodies. It's Shohei's delayed bass, delicate vox from Aki, and grinding guitar riffs. I've never heard bass mixed so high in an Arlequin song, especially with such a distorted, crunchy tone. This goes out to all the post-vulgar DEG and 2000's MUCC stans, its a raw, emotive, and almost shockingly simple metal banger. The dazzling chorus hits like a bag of bricks through violent verses and sparse intro/exit sequences. Exist was a pretty strong single, and to leave on such an intense note leaves me curious as to the direction Arlequin will head toward with future releases.
puzzle (2017):
6.) "僻目" (Higame)
Composer: Kuruto
Claim to fame: dizzying slow burn
Haunting, dissonant chords accent a djenting rhythm line dancing around complexly groovy, polyrhythmic drumming. When the good ol' Aki chorus hits, its sparkle is dampened by the dark mood of the verses, only looking up during an acoustic reprise toward the end. Lead work is less about virtuouso and more about inducing a disorienting atmosphere--which is something later-era Arlequin have been nailing. If I had to guess, I would've thought it was a Shohei composition with the moody, bass-heavy sound, but it seems like dissonance is a theme with Kuruto's work.
PARANOIA (2016)
7.) "link"
Composer: Shohei
Claim to fame: the DRAMA
Looking at "link" in the context of their overall discography, especially the tracks that came after, it's not too shocking a track. But when it came out, it was a novel take on Arlquin's style. It has the heavy, angular alt-metal/djent chug of Shohei's (and some of Nao's) compositional style, paired with incredibly emotive vox from Aki. The sweet chorus+whispered(?) gang vocals save the track from turning into "NEGA ABILITY", but know it could've easily gone in that direction. Maybe that's why "link" is so interesting, like a time-travelling mix of Arlequin past and present. The overall mood is contemplative, with a meditative heaviness and stillness about the track. The live version is interesting, because the band flubs around a bit (was it the last song off the main setlist?), but I think it shows the band in the full mood of the song.
真っ赤な嘘 (Makkana uso) (2017)
8.) "gossip"
Composer: Nao
Claim to fame: DAT RIFFING THO
Now less moody, more party. "gossip" is both early 2000's oshare/punk-rock fun and a tinge of 80's visual, a-la X. All parts of the song hit hard as hell, making for a fun and melodic listen, despite a pretty simple structure. That said, the second half with the dazzling Nao solo and thrashy drumming take the track over the top and really bring the power-metal vibe home. I was very pleasantly surprised to see the band revisit "gossip"'s throwback sensibilities with the even MORE X/Luna Sea-loving lead single "puzzle" in 2017. It stands alone within their discography for the mishmash of visual history, a recurring theme in Arlequin's repertoire.
Arlequin (2013):
9.) "Fiction"
Composer: Nao
Claim to fame: Bleep-bloop, rapping, triumphant solo...confusion
Let's be honest, Arlequin's first demo was a hot mess. All four tracks were salvaged (after careful reworking) on their Kaichikan... best-of album, which was a testament to the strong melodic sensibilities that the guys had since Arlequin--probably why it sold out like 3x over. "Fiction" is the hottest mess, with a nightmarish smattering of late-2000's visual cliches: slow-down choruses, rapping, high-pitched-leads-over-blastbeats, jumping section, gaze-thot(TM) backing vox, shrieking, bleep-bloops. To add insult to injury, the track randomly goes for a virtuosic solo to close it off, fading into nothing as if we didn't just get rap-screamed at three minutes prior. Why on earth would you want to listen to this? The same reason you'd gladly watch a car crash in slow motion. That and it's fucking Arlequin, who somehow fashion a shitstorm of bad ideas into something quirky and endearing.
Eclipse (2014):
10.) "像" (Zou) + BOOOOOONUS "ナミダノアト" (Namida no ato)
Composer: Nao
Claim to fame: Weirdly danceable metal + weirdly cryable metal
The ratchetness of their first demo didn't escape later works--thank god. Eclipse shortly followed their demo, with more-or-less the same stuff that made their prior work so fun, but with a bit of refinement. "Zou" is their crazy livehouse banger, with the original 3-and-a-half minutes usually stretched out to ~7 to accommodate an extended gyakudai (reverse-dive) section toward the end of the track. Dubstep synths clash against chugging guitars and drum machines before jumping into a little fiesta section, led by Aki's spicy la-la-la's and the guitars following with an 'oriental'-sounding scale. Of course afterwards all hell breaks loose with the gangshouts in the gyakudai section. Live version is linked because it's awesome, but "Zou" bangs because of the little phases it moves through within its unconventional structure.
Onto "Namida no ato", it has the heaviness and electronics of the usual Arlequin sound, but with this super-melodramatic style that turns it into this odd heavy-ballad. We're tricked into thinking its gonna be heavy, but after the first verse we see what we're in for with the chorus. It also happens to be one of my favourite Arlequin choruses ever, its long and lovely--all the pretty stuff Aki pulls out of his vocal chords, going up and down his range, it's all so beautiful. "Namida no ato" pushes ani-song territory for sure, and I don't think Arlequin even write tracks with progressions this cheesy anymore. Best of all, they repeat the chorus ad-nauseum so you'll literally NEVER forget it. It's a really special song in my opinion, and I love it nonetheless (although that key change before the solo can go!); prime last-song-at-the-third-encore-at-the-anniversary-tour-finale fodder, imagine all the confetti! boku ga kimi no namae wo...
Those are my top-10 Arlequin deep cuts! Agree/disagree with these pics/blurbs? Do you have any unsung favourites from Arlequin's discography that weren't featured here? Voice your opinions below! Also if you're a hardcore Arlequin fan and follow their interviews/stuff, I'd love to know more about how they approach composition. That and I'm curious as to what songs are loved/disliked among fans that attend lives.
Any bands that think you have B-sides/live-dists/lowkey songs that are overlooked in favour of lead singles? Let me know and I might continue this series.
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