Augie1995

Uhh...well...
 
THE GOOD:
Alice Nine- Daybreak/ SHADOWPLAY
A- 白い悪魔-Phantom of the Snow-/SAKURA
ONE OK ROCK- 人生ｘ僕＝
UNDIVIDE- Materials Left Aside
SIGNAL- Undertake
ONE OK ROCK- Deeper Deeper/Nothing Helps
Nocturnal Bloodlust- Grimoire
Vistlip- GLOSTER/ CHIMERA
Matenrou Opera- 喝采と激情のグロリア
GALEYD- REVOLUTION/ FLEE FROM REALITY
Coldrain- The Revelation
Rin Toshite Shigure- I'mperfect
Kra- Joker's Kingdom
30 SECONDS TO MARS- Love Lust Faith+Dreams
UNiTE- small world order
Miyavi- Ahead of the Light/ MIYAVI
TesseracT- Altered State *RECOMMENDED* (Definitely one of THE best albums of 2013 so far... Depending on Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Crossfaith, and The GazettE)
 
The Bad:
SIGNAL- Apocalypse
 
The WTF:
BORN....ALL after 2010 minis (WTF makes you think you can keep going making the same song for every new single?)
BGFTNS- Glow test kraken (What is going on with these guys?)

title of their new album has been changed to "Apocalypsis"

A very good release, best album they have put out so far (This is their second album LOL)
 
This album was coming in with expectations I had from their past 3 singles. The title tracks didn't attract me as much like Starry Heaven and NOAH, but INNOCENCE was really badass. The only thing exciting me was the thought of getting more songs like the final track on the Starry Heaven single or SHADOWS from INNOCENCE. The preview for Tears got me a little down cause it sounded like they were doing some poppy ballad type song, but, it wasn't entirely that and I ended up loving it.
 
The one thing I have always loved about Royz, besides the crazy melodies that are almost unexpected in most songs, is Subaru's voice. It has a sort of soothing lullaby to it and the fact that he can growl makes him and the band a lot more interesting. Kind of like with SuG and Howling Magic, once you heard Takeru growl, you kind of felt like: "Holy shit, maybe this might start getting good" Royz was already good but they just got better.
 
This album brought forth some really amazing songs, and unlike their first album, I don't find myself skipping songs to find the good ones and listen to the rest later. アルカロイド was the first step towards more INNOCENCE type songs,　糜楼 was their next heavy sided song, claiming the spot as my Favorite song of this album, followed up by FlashBack which to me resembled SHADOWS a lot. We got some great ballads such as アテナ with such a calming slow acoustic melody in the melody, and then you get an uplifting, cheesy if I might add, song right after which gains the spot as my least favorite song. Don't be mislead though, it's still good, it's just not my cup of tea. Why the hell didn't I have 恋花火 on my iPod beforehand? I thought I had their whole disco, amazing song. Very nice fast tempo that gets me energized. The final song Aerial Cord gave me some hope with a name that awesome. I was hoping for a fast song but it was more in the mid-tempo style of songs. That's not a problem here.
 
Sorry if my reviews aren't as astounding as Zess but my hope is that some people read my reviews on these amazing bands and decide to give them a try.

^good idea Augie! In fact I wanted to edit my post by adding what you said!

Score: | Despite the fact that Materials Left Aside sounds like a leftover collection, it's got some redeeming qualities.

Materials Left Aside doesn't do anything I haven't heard before. But during a time where originality is associated with good music and following the standard is associated with running out of steam, UNDIVIDE shows that you can play by the book and still come up with something listenable.

UNDIVIDE is composed of drummer Sujk and guitar wizard Leda, both members of the visual kei band DELUHI. Forging an unlikely partnership with vocalist Kirito, the three set out to create metalcore that could rival almost anything I'd hear an American band produce. The difference between UNDIVIDE and your run-of-the-mill metalcore band is that Leda has skill. Not content with simply chugging over Kirito's vocals and Sujk's double bass for four minutes at a time, Leda plays at the level you would expect an ex-GALNERYUS member to be at. At times, you wonder if this is the product of what a band would sound like if DragonForce and Atreyu had a baby.

This band seems to focus a lot on English lyrics, which Kirito sings acceptably. I can understand most of what he sing-screams which I could see being a plus to people who want to understand the lyrics to the songs. What also happens to be another strong point of this band is varied song structure. The guitars are consistently switching it up, providing an incentive to go back and listen to some songs more than once. I should also mention the electronic effects that were used tastefully. Part of the problem with drummer Sujk's solo release Arkhelism was the lack of balance in the mix. UNDIVIDE hits the balance that was missed on plenty of releases before it. They aren't immediately apparent on every song, but the songs would sound that much more hollow if they were missing.

Materials Left Aside does have some shortcomings, shortcomings which reflect both in the band as a whole and in this mini. Firstly, with as good as Kirito's pronunciation of English is he has a very small vocal range. This means that UNDIVIDE can only do so many things before Kirito is out of his element, which makes every song sound cut from the same cloth. Until the Day is a good example of this phenomenon - when the song moves into a different direction and starts getting a little funky, Kirito can't adapt. The song has no choice but to delve back into the heaviness before you realize how much Kirito's vocals don't fit, which leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth over the missed opportunity.

Secondly, Leda's bass duties automatically show that the skills he picked up during his time with Galneryus haven't gone to waste. However, the fact that he's still the only guitarist and the only bassist in the band tells me he still can't manage to assemble a band where people can play on his level. Kirito is prevalent on almost every song but doesn't stand out in any way. Sujk drums in the background, consistently good and switching it up, but the only thing that my ears seem to want to hear is five layers of Leda's guitar causing sonic destruction over everything his fingers touch. The fantastic ending instrumental White Hole is a good example of what I mean.

Following off of my Sujk comment, the drums on this release sound awful due to the crummy production. This is an example of "nothing else but Leda matters" syndrome, which held DELUHI back and is doing the same thing with UNDIVIDE. He's a tad too low in the mix whilst having only one type of loud thwack thwack thwack associated with his drumming and bass kicks. His cymbals have a sort of St. Anger tinge to them and are indistinguishable from the small electronic touches in most of the songs. This is ultimately disappointing, considering Sujk displays on this release how far he has come from his one-speed drumming antics from previous bands.

But at the end of it all, Materials Left Aside sounds no different than any other metalcore release I've heard, which is its biggest failing. Verses, choruses and solos all blend together into one another, much like all the songs do. Once I'm done, I can remember the individual elements that made it good but not what any song in particular sounds like. If it's not memorable, that says a lot.

Considering this is the end of the run for UNDIVIDE, Leda should start his next band by recruiting Meku from GALEYD.

DELUHI was an effing superb band but UNDIVIDE kind of kicked DELUHI's ass

This fits the subject even if the The GazettE is used as an example, so I shall keep going here. 
 
What I think Augie meant, is that music is a whole. Aesthetic choices are conscious decisions on how their work should sound, and approaching it in the manner where the reviewer picks up a few various things, tells how much they suck and concludes with the work not being up to par or whatnot is not very constructive. I feel this way is flawed and often leads to missing the point, and the reviews ending up as laundry lists of various things perceived as problems seldom elaborated further, and the vomit laced icing on the cake of fail being attempts at wit. And you know, I wouldn't even mind, unless the reviewer tried to appear as an
authority. Not having this "knowledge" is fine, but trying to come off as if you do is not. 
 
If your thoughts weren't even close to this Augie, I'd like you to expand upon what you said. 
 
 
ALSO!  Many people often yelling "Opinions!" and "This fucking sucks u ignorant stan!" in the same breath. You can't have both. 

I would like to add their new album to the request list...At least the Kanji. More specifically for the 6th track (_月)