Okay I gave Beautiful Deformity a solid 24 hours to sink in on me. I think I'm ready to go song-by-song now lol:
01. Malformed Box -- Best intro track since DIM, starts with a similar idea to INFUSE INTO but doesn't sound dull or repetitive. Throws a lot of different sounds at you that all come together like one nice, happy family once the song gets into full swing. Transitions seamlessly to the next song which also works to it's benefit, very entertaining: [[8.5/10]]
02. Inside Beast -- Picking up where the first left off, the electronic sound becomes very dancy, somewhat too much so for me. This strikes me as GazettE having fun / making fun off music in general, the PV opens with a few very cheesy shots of a club/party scene and Ruki in a limo until the song AND video eventually dissolve into a darker, almost sarcastic GazettE sound. It's a "fun" song that shares a lot in common with The Suicide Circus but I think I would mostly prefer the latter. Good for what it was, but not a favorite of mine: [[6.5/10]]
03. Until It Burns Out -- One of the two tracks that I still have trouble remembering, there are certainly segments to like about this track if you are a GazettE fan, but If you are already feeling critical of them then this will likely fail to snare your attention until it's been playing for a while. This is the best way I can describe it, a few times I had to check what I was listening to because I liked something I heard. Still not enough to make me go looking for it again, Try to remember that this track exists as it is not a bad song but no one should blame you if it drops off your radar: [[5.5/10]]
04. Devouring One Another -- This is one of my favorites on the album, and also of the entire post-DIM collection thus far. The key reason for this is that they are playing to their strengths, heavy, eerie industrial sounds coupled with low vocal tones and characteristic choral shouts make this song very invigorating despite the overall slow pace. Fans of Marilyn Manson's "Golden Age Of Grotesque" should find the good qualities in this one, delving deeper into an atmosphere that was teased at with Gabriel on The Gallows on the last album. It is a sound that I hope they grow on and continue to chase after: [[8/10]]
05. Fadeless -- Hmm. It's fadeless, did not care for it as a single and honestly it does not fit very well into this album. At the very least it sets the wrong example for what this album is meant to sound like. Even when I was listening to the single itself, I had trouble remembering what this song sounds like as nothing stood out to me. There's nothing really wrong or bad about this track, but it is really unimpressive. Seems uninspired and in my mind simply wastes a single spot on the track list which contributes next to nothing to the album. Good if you are hearing GazettE for the first time, but not if you are looking for growth: [[6/10]]
06. Redo -- This is not a bad song, I want to be upfront about that. What really makes this one suffer is it's placement. After the sleep-inducing Fadeless, The listener probably could have used something energetic to snap them back into the mood. Personally, I wouldn't have minded the inclusion of another SE track, as the ones used on this album were a key selling point in their own right (DIVISION used instrumental in the middle of the album to effectively break up the two sides) I still like this one, but it's another that I would forget what it is I am hearing at the time: [[6.5/10]]
07. Last Heaven -- Ahh, a song that is as we speak being put on the latest pedestal. To be fair, it deserves this treatment in a lot of ways. The first thing I notice about it is that it is an obviously superior ballad which allows it to totally bury the decent ballad track before it, both songs actually give me a healthy dose of nostalgia from their early acoustic songs. Ruki does well to keep his vocals delicate outside of the chorus thus making the chorus itself more meaningful when he sings at the top of his voice (Something he really needs to start using sparingly.) This is also the longest song on the album despite still not breaking 5 minutes. Much more memorable than the similar Quiet from the Fadeless single. It's not entirely unique but it is a song that deserves to be talked about: [[8/10]]
08. Loss -- The least memorable song on Beautiful Deformity. This song seems unsure on where to go after the quiet climax that was Last Heaven. It begins on a pleasant atmosphere, but then proceeds to dace around between ideas without ever committing to anything, finally settling down with some typical chorus patterns. By the time you get around to wondering if you should skip the song, it just kind of ends. This is another spot that I believe would have been better occupied but and instrumental for atmosphere (a reflection period after the ballad, if you will) This is forgettable in every sense unfortunately, without actually being bad. Not much more to say: [[5/10]]
09. The Stupid Tiny Insect -- This song features my favorite intro of all, (this is the preview I was compelled to repeat more than any other) The dark industrial rhythm that opens the track and the subsequent guitar riffs that follow had me more excited than at any other point, sounded perfect to me. The song continues on a strong note even if never living up to the promise of the intro. The chorus is the only slightly off-putting segment to me. The repeated "Guruguruguru" vocal sound seems to want to expand on that of Hedoro on DIVISION, but in my opinion takes it a little too far to the point where it comes across as silly/borderline-annoying sounding. That being said, it is my ONLY real qualm about this track. Speaks loudly to me: [[7.5/10]]
10. In Blossom -- Seems to be a overlooked or perhaps underrated song so far (from the opinions I've seen at least) This one starts out on an almost shapelessly aggressive tone that should remind listeners of songs from DIM's Ogre to even older hits like Discharge. The vocal melodies seem to have a powerful flair in this song that puts it above tracks like Until It Burns Out and makes this song feel important. It's not easy to explain the true appeal of In Blossom but I would encourage anyone to hear it all the way through first: [[7/10]]
11. Karasu -- I was very on the fence about this one based on the preview. It started reminding me of how heavy visual kei sounded when GazettE was still a young band, you may forget which song is playing for this one too, though not for the same reason as the ones I mentioned already. This song changes up so dramatically that it could have you convinced it has moved on to the next song, it sounds like a bit of a mashup the first time you hear it, but don't let the first time be the last. This song gave me a sense of nostalgia very different to the one I had during Redo and Last Heaven: [[7/10]]
12. Kuroku Sunda Sora to Zanagi Katabane -- Continues with the aggression and becomes even heavier. Unfortunately it does suffer from a repetitive chugging riff but when you look at older classics like Maggots from NIL, one has to wonder if that truly hurts the song so much. There is an impressively and surprisingly catchy chorus to this song that puts some of the more expectedly catchy songs to shame. This song along with Karasu are easy to skip because of the seemingly directionless aggression, but GazettE does it quite well and you won't regret allowing it to play through: [[8/10]]
13. To Dazzling Darkness -- Very underwhelming in it's entirety. The intro and the mood it sets are beautiful, something that could have lived up to the dark spectacles of Chizuru, Dim Scene, or Taion. Unfortunately it fails to capitalize on this great hype, as a listener it almost seems that the band wanted a song like that on this album as Division lacked one, but got cold feet in the middle of the composition phase. This song captures you in the beginning but I can still hardly remember the remainder of the song. I fear I will only ever see this song as "what could have been" be aware that the intro and mood would have warranted a 9/10 from me, but given how flat it fell...: [[6.5/10]]
14. Coda -- Truly a highlight, such a stark contrast to the rest of Beautiful Deformity. It really speaks for itself, finally pulling the trigger on the somber, punctuation mark that the album deserves. The length was a little short for me, but in a way that simply leaves me pining for more. If you listen to nothing else on this album, even if you HATE GazettE overall, spend 3 minutes of your time listening to Coda. It's a beautiful piece that can be enjoyed by a wide spectrum of listeners: [[9/10]]
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Take note, my grading scale may seem generous to many of you. I am a fan of GazettE simply using a percent-system to grade songs the way that papers a graded by schools / professors, 90-100% = A, 80-89 = B etc. With that being said:
Overall grade: 99/140 = Approx: 70%
