Ito 2438 Posted November 1, 2012 Violent Rose – Talk about a killer opening track! Violent Rose establishes the sound and style of this album as a whole and sets the expectations high. There is a little bit of everything in this song. The atmosphere is very thick, with many different layers of guitar and vocals that just blend together without feeling like too much is going on. I love the bass line in this song, while it might not be anything technically amazing, the tone makes it feel almost ominous. This song also introduces the many different vocal styling Morrie uses on this album, from his growls to his falsetto. 9/10 Fire Burn With Me – “Fire” has the problem of being sandwiched directly between what I find to be the two best songs on the album. So while I still find it to be a very good song, it is overshadowed massively. That is not to say that this is a bad song by any means. The guitar solo, while short, is intricate and memorable. 7/10 Phallus Phaser – The prominent riff in this song is so strong that it could almost stand on its own. But added on top of it is this “strumming” (I’m not sure what to call it). It is almost awkward in a way, but it just set up the atmosphere perfectly – dark, heavy, and kind of creepy. The chorus is a break from this heavy mood (kind of a similar way as Mucc’s Libra), but it is what is right after the chorus that is truly great. In an almost a cappella section, Morrie’s light and airy vocals seem to float, and just like that they are jarringly snatched away and we are greeted again with that initial riff. And with a name like Phallus Phaser, how can you not like it? 10/10 Rakuen e – I am finding it hard to write about this track. It does a lot of things right and continues the mood that was already set on the album, but it just doesn’t live up to the previous tracks. I think it might be something to do with Morrie’s vocals…maybe with his delivery or the mix, not sure. Still a solid track though. 6/10 Golden Game – This song changes things up with a bit more of an upbeat feeling. That is not to say that this song is all butterfly and rainbows. The guitar tone is a little less chunky and the tempo is a bit faster. 7/10 Aurora – As the shortest track on this album, it seems to pick up right where Golden Game left off, except it picks up the pace a bit more and might be a bit heavier (except the chorus). 6/10 Mirrors – I am not going to lie, I find the first minute of this song annoying. The guitar riff is just kind of awkward and I really don’t enjoy listening to it. About a minute in the song finally “happens.” Morrie’s vocals with the slower and lighter guitar almost give off a confused feeling. Then at about 1:45 it is like running in to a wall as this song seems to be slammed by thick, fast, and chunky guitar. Then at 2:45 the song does another 180 and we have a pseudo ballad. So many different things in this song…I really don’t know what to say. I would give this song about a 7/10, but I just find the intro so annoying that I have been continually skipping it. 4/10 Dead Rider – My first thought about this song is how I like how forward the drums are and how well they mix with the guitar that seems to be dancing up and down scales. This song then introduces us to the hilarity that is Morrie’s vocals. “BAY BAY! YEAH! I’M HOME!...MA MA MA MA MA MA TA TA!” I don’t even know. There is a lot to enjoy about this song if you can get over how humorous some of the lyrics are. Heck, it might even grow on you! 7/10 Psyche – While the beginning of this album was awesome, the middle was a little less so. This song brings back that level of greatness. The opening guitars are low, heavy, and textured, perhaps creating the heaviest song on the album. Following the opening segment we are greeted with a staccato section of notes with short pauses that just really makes for an awesome texture. What I assume to be violin creates an interesting “screech” that adds to the mood of this song. The addition of other synth noises helps with this as well. 8/10 Kurumeki – Much lighter than Psyche, Kurumeki is a much smoother and uplifting track. However, it suffers from the same problem as Rakuen e does (in fact, they are very similar song). Morrie’s vocals just seem to be a bit off. It is if they are floating over the music instead of mixing with them fully. This could very well be all down to the mixing and mastering. That said, this is still a great song. It takes a ton of different guitar tones, some which don’t even sound that great by themselves, and mix the to create something awesome. 7/10 Andromeda – Probably the closest thing to a ballad, the longest track on this album makes for a great closer. The vocal problems I mentioned in Kurumeki are nowhere to be found in this song. Starting out light and soft and moving to a bit more dramatic and full, this song seems to wind along on a journey of many different sounds and sections. It does this without feeling ADD as well. And with this, Creature Creature stuck the landing. 9/10 This album does what is does amazingly well. It creates a cohesive sound and atmosphere and holds it through the entire of the album without it feeling tired by the end. This really helps the weaker songs on the album, because while they wouldn’t work that well on their own, as a part of a whole they build on to that feeling (In that way it reminds me of OZ’s VERSUS). I think Creature Creature has a winner on its hands. 8.5/10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
