UNiTE -Starting Over's

[Maiku 4]

kfnhapifnhlafknha

[fitear1590 2414]

Starting over:

This song is damn near perfect and an excellent intro to the album. It’s a great sample of the band’s style. Top-notch pop-rock with fun synths and touches of heaviness. I have really hard time coming up with criticisms for this song. I suppose the “heavy breakdown” comes a bit out of left field for some, but I think it’s cool. Plus the part directly after it is one of my favorite parts of the song. The heavy riffs continue, but Yui’s voice sounds really nice. Great chorus, just a fantastic song overall.

10/10

絶望クリエイター:

First thought, mmm liking these drums. Then “urghhhhh”, what the hell was that yell? Then satisfying heavy riffs. Interesting rhythm when the singing comes in. Then Yui loses his shit and does some serious growling! I seriously wasn’t expecting that, but I think he pulled it off quite well. Then another nice chorus and super gang vocals section, love it. Overall, this song isn’t the most creative in the composition department, but the heavy riffs are satisfying and Yui’s growls are surprisingly well-done if nothing else (except for the one at the very start of the song). But if you read their Cure interview, you’ll see that Mio has this idea that they need some heavy “live” songs. This is one of them.

8.5/10

U –s me h-

This was always one of my favorite tracks from their two singles released this summer. Yui’s voice sounds lovely, but the song starts abruptly with the chorus. The first verse is a bit disjointed going between singing, weird whispering, and then to a short segment of rap. I really don’t like the way Yui changes his voice during these parts, but what can you do? It is at least, very short. The chorus is sublime though; I love his voice. Then, a lovely little interlude part with cool drumming, nice guitars, and Yui “talking”. The synths sound a little weak in the background, so I wish they were further up in the mix. Overall, a great song with a few issues.

8/10

ユキノシタ

LiN’s first song of the album. The whole song is very “cute” as Maiku said, but not to the level where I think the band is shitting out rainbows. After the nice chorus, there is a lovely little guitar solo. Great bass throughout. LiN definitely has a different style than Mio (the main composer), but they both fit very well under the general style of UNiTE. Another great song, really.

8.5/10

提案

Love the weird riff that starts the song off. It kind of reminds me of the song “Multi” that Canzel did in that regard. The verses have a nice rhythm and the chorus is great, again. This band just has banging choruses. It then goes into a very nice melancholy guitar section, with technical riffs. I love this song overall, but it’s a bit short. My only complaint is that aside from the guitar solo-y section, the song doesn’t have really any other interesting breaks from the general song structure. But what is there, I love.

9/10

ミドルノート

Another favorite from the summer singles, so I was glad to see it on here. All of the old songs (4 total), appear to be remixed/ possibly rerecorded? Yui’s voice sounds great in this song, as usual. The “defrost me yeeaaahhh-eeee yeahhhhh” part is sweet and it leads into another lovely chorus. At first, the guitar solo has this “beachy” feeling for some reason and then it goes into some heavier riffs. Something about this version was a bit flat for some reason, recording-wise. Maybe the mixing was less dynamic (which is weird, considering they have a label now, and all their other songs have better recording). Oh well, the core song itself is still great.

8/10

walpurgis

Creepy synths, BUT generic-ass riffs. Seriously, these are the kinds of riffs every VK band has done at some point. The first verse has a cool rhythm, but some weird engrish, haha. However, as you might expect, the song does lead to a nice chorus! Yui sounds lovely. However, then we’re back to genericriffs.com unfortunately. I think a creative guitar solo would have been much better here. The final chorus is a bit extended and we get to hear more dramatic Yui goodness, and then the generic riffs again. I guess Mio would want us to enjoy this heaviness mainly at live shows?

7/10

BadRequest

What the hell is this funky intro? LiN, what have you done, and why am I loving this? Holy shit, it is so disco!!! I don’t love when Yui semi-raps that “Bad bad bad R.E.Q.U.E.S.T” part, but it’s more because once again he manipulated his voice to make it all deep. This song is super creative and though a bit random in the context of the album, very well executed. Once again, THIS CHORUS RULES ALL THE WORLD. Maybe one of my favorites off the album. Yui’s voice sounds sublime in that chorus, seriously. After another round of the mini-rapping, we head into a beautiful, lengthy guitar solo. After another chorus, we go into a very sweet bridge at 3:05-3:33, adding another level to the song structure. Seriously the only complaint is the little sections of rapping, but even those have grown on me. This is such a weird, catchy, perfect song. LiN, you are a master.

9.5/10

world wide wish

Another rerecorded/remastered song and the intro was changed a bit, which I like. I enjoy the heavy riffs of this track. They are mixed with lots of little technical bits throughout. On this song, there is the longest stretch of rapping on the album (only about 14 seconds), but I don’t hate it. Yui doesn’t make his voice all deep and I think that might be key for me. Then we go into a great chorus (I’m sorry, just assume every chorus is great). Yui hits a lot of falsetto notes in this song, which I personally quite enjoy. Then super awesome dueling guitar solo. THEN, greatest interlude ever; Yui’s voice are love and the guitars create a great atmosphere. This is what I’m talking about with the creative compositions; this is what walpurgis needed. Then, some pretty out-of-left-field growling, haha. But I enjoy them. An extended wonderful chorus and then heavy riffs lead us out of the song.

9/10

答え無いコトバ

The drummer Yukimi wrote this song. He has only written super-heavy tracks before, so this song was a very welcome change. Lovely synths and keyboard action all throughout. I’m sorry to be repetitive, but Yui sounds lovely as usual (and yes, just assume the chorus is bangtacular). This atmosphere is very sweet and I can tell it’s probably a sappy love tune, but I don’t care. A pleasing interlude in the middle of the song, with a beautiful little solo. There is a bridge after the final chorus and then it ends with sad synths. Honestly, major kudos to Yukimi for this lovely tune. I can’t find any faults in this track.

10/10

Eniver

I thought this might be a French word when I first saw it, haha. Another rerecorded track. The piano quickly leads to some very interesting new-wavey guitar riffs. When we hit the first verse, this song seems very much like a Canzel song, which is totally fine. This was UNiTE’s first song, so they were still transitioning from Canzel’s sound. The chorus is great, you know. Then we hit those cool new-wave riffs again and THEN, we get a beautiful tribute to Canzel, with a solo, which is the lead riff from Canzel’s song “Allegro”. I love it. Then, a nice bridge and twinkling little synths in the background and then an extended chorus. Lovely.

9.5/10

epilogue

The intro is a bit startling and that “whisper rapping” is… weird? Then, the song explodes with the main piano/synth riffs and it’s beauty-town. This is delightful, Mio. The synthy soundscape he created is superb on this track. As per usual, Yui sounds just great and the chorus is very nice. There is an interesting acoustic guitar solo. I must admit, in such a synth-oriented song, I really expected Yui to have some extreme autotune action going on, but I’m glad he doesn’t. This is overall, a lovely low-temp track. I would not have expected to like this track, but Mio really won me over. I actually like this better than Canzel’s mega-ballad, “heart.” Blasphemy, I know.

9.5/10

Kud’

Mio actually released a midi demo of this song right after Canzel disbanded and I knew I’d like it in the full version. Actually, I love it! Starts off with some Canzel-like super melodic riffs and it’s already bliss. Lots of little technical riffs throughout and beautiful synthy pop-rock all around. Great solo, then we go to an… autotune interlude? HOWEVER, I actually found this to be very tastefully done. That is something I never thought I would say, but the synths and the autotune actually go together well during that part. Plus it’s kept short, so it never felt gratuitous (a la shitty autotunecore bands). Random sidenote, I thought Yui actually sounded like Kaya during that part, haha. Then the song ends with an extended chorus and the awesome riffs again. Once again, can’t really find any faults in this song. A facking great end to a facking excellent album.

10/10

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Final thoughts:

UNiTE is in some ways still a continuation of what I loved in Canzel (songs like Eniver, Kud’, etc) and in other ways, something I NEVER thought they would do (絶望クリエイター, BadRequest, epilogue). They have such a lovely style of extremely high quality synthy pop-rock with touches of heaviness here and there. Not to mention, they have some of the best choruses ever. You can always count on them! Yui is sounding better than ever. I absolutely could NOT get into ALiBi, but he is singing his heart out now that he is in UNiTE. All other band members are totally solid as well. I wish the bass were a bit higher in the mix, but where Haku is prominently featured, he shines. Mio and LiN get the job done and they have some great melodic solo bits. Yukimi’s drums sound much better than in Canzel. As I mentioned, overall, the compositions for this band are very well-done. Partly technical, very catchy, great synths/arrangements, sexcellent choruses. My only criticisms are that Mio’s so-called “live songs” might be too heavy-oriented and not have the same level of substance as their other tracks. Cut out the repetitive heavy riffs (walpurgis) and have something more creative. Also, the rapping wasn’t too much of an issue on this album, but I can see if they use it any more than they do, I might not be too happy. Anyway, I’m so looking forward to future releases and seeing their style continue to grow (I just hope Maiku never has to develop “da Unite code,” haha). I’m so proud of my babies. Such a solid debut album. Definitely one of the best releases of this year imo and this band is solidified as a VK favorite.

9/10

[sai 868]

So after the first listen I wasn't really impressed, but I'll give this album another spin and see what my review is.

starting over's

The first thing I noticed at the beginning of listening to this album was the vocals. It took me a great deal of willpower to go through it. It's not that he's a bad vocalist, it's just his way of singing that doesn't really do it for me. The first song was heavy and upbeat, something I quite like, but the vocals and its melody kind of ruins it. The chorus is way too weak for the rest of the song. It's like one of those vistlip songs that is boring and you hate it merely for the fact that they can do so much better. 5.5/10

絶望クリエイター

Once again heavier riffs, but with a more interesting concept this time. The typical 'screams' are in it as well (VK stereotype? I say so), you know, the ones that actually don't add anything to the song. The chorus is better than in the previous track and that lead guitar is amazing, but it just doesn't stick with me like it should. It's clear this band has potential, but for the sake of it I hope they'll show it more on the rest of this album. 6.5/10

U –s me h-

Another song that reminds me a lot of vistlip. It's like up until now this is made up of songs vistlip didn't want and gave to UNiTE instead. I keep reading "U smell" by the way, blame Maiku for that one. Anyway, it's an okay song but it doesn't stand out, I just don't like it. Why I don't like it I don't know, but then again, I never really liked anything what the members did in previous bands. 6/10

ユキノシタ

A fast paced song that is pretty cool at the beginning, but just when the chorus starts they should've added some sort of accoustic Spanish like sound. That would've saved the song and made it extra epic, but now it's just bland and something that has been done so many times before. It doesn't stick with me and won't even qualify for background music. 5/10

提案

Cool guitars and nice sounding intro, that really flow with the vocals and the image of this sound. I actually thought we would have a song I would really like and that would be better than everything I heard on this album so far. And once again I was disappointed. Everything the song builds up is destroyed with this dreamy chibikawaiidesumoe chorus and just ruins the entire song. It's nice they want to try, but geez guys, this is the 4th time in a row you do it. 6/10

ミドルノート

What the hell is this I don't even...I'm not giving a full review on this, I don't even like it enough to fnish it. Come on, I had to sit through it one time, that's enough. 4.5/10

walpurgis

This starts off really really nice, just my type of song. Some cool heavy song that actually doesn't have a crappy chorus that ruins it. I don't have much more to say about it, I kind of like it. 7.5/10

BadRequest

Upbeat song with some happy happy joy joy synths, but strangely enough this is the first time they actually fit. It's starting to go into the direction I was hoping it to take. The other tracks might have something promising after all. 7.5/10

world wide wish

Another more boring regular song. It doesn't go where I would have liked it to go, so it leaves me unsatisfied. Remembering it is kind of hard for me as well, since there's nothing in here what stood outs specifically. 6/10

答え無いコトバ

Me likey! It's one of the better songs on this album. The instrumental is nice and calm and the vocals fit very nicely. This is up until the best song on the entire album for me. 8/10

Eniver

It started off nice, but the pace of the chorus doesn't really fit the atmosphere of the rest of the song, which is quite a bummer. I would've expected something more. I love the guitar effects they did in this one though. 6.5/10

I'll review the bonus tracks later, gotta go to bed now.

[ginHigure 22]

Honestly i will skip all tracks review to overall album review.

Out all of the tracks in the album, BadRequest was their worst song ever.

With that said they have a final score of 4.5/5

Their songs a very entertaining and not boring. They are by far the best band who debuted this year.

[Maiku 4]

What didn't you like about BAD BAD R E Q U E S T? ;O; It is so funky and discoey.

[Augie1995 325]

TRACK FOURTH: ユキノシタ - I rike dis introo. Nice singin' chimin' in and shit. FUCK THIS SHIT IS SO CUTE. Ahahahahaha. This song is fun. xD Uber cute. Ahahaha. What is dis solo. Weirdest solo ever. Santa? Is this a song about santa? xD What. They can sing about santa if they want if they are gonna make cute catchy pop rock shits like this man. 3.8/5

Well the song romaji title is Yuki no shita which i believe is something around the lines of "Coming snow" or something. It's mostly about the Christmas theme.

Anyways, this album was pretty entertaining and I really liked it. some good guitar work and the vocals are really nice. Love Zetsubou Creator, yuki no shita, world wide wish, BadRequest, Starting Over, Eniver, Kud. I can't really do a song by song review but if i were to give it an overall it would have to be 8.5/10

[blackball 0]

What didn't you like about BAD BAD R E Q U E S T? ;O; It is so funky and discoey.

I listened to BAD BAD REQUEST like five times. It just goes down well with me i guess!

[237Q 154]

Well the song romaji title is Yuki no shita which i believe is something around the lines of "Coming snow" or something. It's mostly about the Christmas theme.

well it would mean "Under the snow" but Yukinoshita is also a name of a flower-saxifrage

anyway. BADREQUEST FUCK YEA

the rest are just.. neh

except when I'm feeling glittery and rainbowy and and that shit

but since I'm not feeling like it right now

I'll just keep on listening to BadRequest over and over lol

(Also, not from this album, but of their songs by now I only liked Ms.Fabbit which is done in a similar style, so yeah it's probably more of a personal taste thing)

[ricchubunny 2013]

Well the song romaji title is Yuki no shita which i believe is something around the lines of "Coming snow" or something. It's mostly about the Christmas theme.

雪の下(Yuki no Shita) means "under the snow", but ユキノシタ is a flower name. Thats nothing about christmas on the song XD

[matsukare88 1]

I'm not good in doing reviews...& never done one before....

I'm going into conclusion for the album

Over-all album rating: 9/10

little review that's not useful....

starting over: first track, and first promotion song yeah...Yui's vocal got me for this song >w

絶望クリエイター (setsubou creator): nice one Mio and it's a real setsubou creator when you look into the booklet...*opens* WTF? no lyrics for this song!!!??? but really it gives me a switch, starting over's then this song =w=;;

U –s me h- (reading: u.s.m.e.h all alphabet seperately): One of my best favourite song, as well as Yui (because he did the lyrics )...I really wish there's PV for this song, but really when there's English words...I can't really figure out what's the word (until I read the lyrics)...I feel like there's something missing in this song for me so...

ユキノシタ (YUKI NO SHITA by LiN): using katakana the title is the flower name...love the song...it's so LiN-ish something KIRA KIRA reminding me of Mrs.Fabbit and middlenote too

提案 (teian): hmm....nice one for live performance and all...yes...the dance Yui did!

ミドルノート (middle note): by LiN again~ skipping the review and all...because it's in there 2nd single, and seems like nothing had change in this album version

walpurgis: must ask Mio, what the title song means....well kinda nice one....an "I'll go rescue you" theme song...

BadRequest: nice intro, kinda funky? BAD BAD BAD R E Q U E S T :: it's catchy for me <3

world wide wish: preferring this one over the one in the greeting single, because of the introoooo

答え無いコトバ KOTAE NAI KOTOBA (by Mr.Yankee drummer): well, don't really know how to put this....I love the intro for this song and that pitch that Yui's singing in...plus the meaning and lyrics how Yukimi wrote them and how Yui sings them, Yukimi wrotes "denshi tengami (electronic letter)" and Yui sings that word "mail".....really love them and how the lyrics was concluded so 10 point (rating this song only)

Eniver: loves the intro and how the bass sound followed...another old song....

epilogue: ballad right??? nice one but I'm not so into this song...I don't know why

Kud’: I want to listen to the version that they give out for free for their first oneman, over all I felt similar to this song...like it's somewhere before but only instrumental...should be that

All Over...I'll just continue to follow-up with this band (even some songs reminds me of Canzel), after AIVIE's recording finishes Yui wrote new song and it's kind of Bossa Nova-ish so I'm looking forward to their new songs//

[Augie1995 325]

Well the song romaji title is Yuki no shita which i believe is something around the lines of "Coming snow" or something. It's mostly about the Christmas theme.

雪の下(Yuki no Shita) means "under the snow", but ユキノシタ is a flower name. Thats nothing about christmas on the song XD

I'm sorry, is this a review or a bash on my japanese skills that I am trying to expand on haha

It's a great album, let's leave it at that