Sel'm - Illegal Other Side

[Dead;Stam;Alive 0]

Second full album for Sel'm, with new guitarist and vocalist. Ryoga (I think thats the new vocalists name) does a pretty good job replacing Tora, and i confess i didnt expect that. He is no Tora of course, but still.

Rebirth - Typical intro. It's not bad 6/10

Shine - I liked this from the first time i saw the PV a few months ago. When i first listened to it i felt like something was wrong in the mixing but i cant spot it now. 8/10

fuck - One of my favorite songs in the album. Good growls, nice melodic verses and chorus. And a typical breakdown (thats not a bad thing). Very Good. 9/10

Pressure - Pretty good song. Not much to say. 7/10

Sou (or Kanade) - I like the beginning and the ending. Otherwise pretty average vk song. 5/10

last hill - After the second listening i liked it more. Chorus reminds me of a song but i cant figure out which. I like its ''dark'' or gloomy verses too. 7,5/10

Hallucination - Best song in the album for me. I feel like its from the past Sel'm with Tora. I thought i felt its like from Brilliant force era but now i think its like from Resistance. 9,5/10

Saisarisu (Physalis) - Starts like a Katatonia song. Its an ok song for me.. 6,5/10

STARS - It needs about a minute to actually be interesting. I really like the pre-chorus and chorus. And in general, after the first 50+ seconds its pretty good. It doesnt have a typical structure but its good. 7,5/10

Illegal World - Starts pretty dynamic with growls. It has a weird chorus, which would feel better imo if it was pre-chorus. Its not a bad song, i like it. But not VERY much. 7/10

All in all, it disappoint me. And i had kinda high expectations. Tora might have left but they are still Sel'm. 8/10

[minre 13]

I am really curious on the general consensus of this release is.

I suppose people would say they've become less special without Tora, and since the new vocals growls a fair bit.

Personally, I felt that it was *good*, but something felt *off*.

There's no real impact/memorable releases from Brilliant Force, but that was kind of expected.

Rebirth is an intro. Shine is as you expect if you checked the PV out.

Tracks 3 and 4 give off the same feeling. Kanade appears to be a love song.

last hill is honestly my favorite track, it's quite touching, though it may be because it reminds me of another song.

I suppose Hallucination is kind of reminiscent of Resistance, and physalis has a slow start.

STARS takes a minute to get good, while Illegal World as a title track [well, closest to the album title] threw me off. As generic as you can get, but it has its charms, strangely enough.

/Makes me want to relisten through their catalogue./Solid, but lacking any standout.