凛 - The Psalms and Lamentations

[Guest]

01. The Psalms and Lamentations (lyrics:RIKU music:KANATA)

The title song starts very good, the keyboards makes the hard sound really enjoyable, the refrain and slow part are good as well, but i think a little bit too long, i wanted the first part more. 9/10

02. Undefined… (music: KISAKI)

It could be an intro, KISAKI's usually nice instrumental song. But nothing special or memorable. 7/10

03. Lunar Eclipse～in the shadow～ (lyrics:KISAKI music:KISAKI)

Sounds like a 90's VK, the tinkling guitar and strong bass, really nice, but i think the screams don't matches to here. Without it could be better. 8.5/10

04. Over the Rainbow (lyrics:KISAKI music:KISAKI)

Oh my gosh, i had orgasm cause of the keyboards, but too short and only twice appears in the song, i wanna listen it all day.. Vocal and guitar riffs are really catchy, but i can't go over the keyboards, it should be much much more, during all song, it's perfect. 9/10

05. Misery is nothing (lyrics:KISAKI music:KISAKI)

wow, 7 minutes long. I expected more from this song, cause it's starts again very good, with keyboards and growing guitar sound, but the song goes to boring until the refrain, when the song is improving and enjoyable again, but after it goes to boring again. It's the bad part of 凛, they put many unnecessary and boring part in a basically good song. And at the end, the high sound vocal is just really ridiculous. So i can't give higher, than 7.5/10

06. Propechy from Nightmare (lyrics:RIKU music:KISAKI)

This song reminds me of Moi Dix Mois, keyboards is again perfect, but the screams are ridiculous again, and don't matches. I loved really the "come up the lightless, the darkness of prophecy" and "it's light, it's mind, it's my way" part, as RIKU sing. Refrain and guitar solos are good also. 8.5/10

07. Lovers (lyrics:KISAKI music:KISAKI)

Really soft melody with acoutic guitar and RIKU's voice makes it much softer and touchable. 9/10

I feel the most of songs need a little bit better arrangement and cut. Basically really good stuff, and the wall of the breakthrough is really thin, but the wall is there. This wall was always there during their all time. Even if they are improved, still not Phantasmagoria quality.

And i feel (not only about this mini-album) they want to put too much thing in one song, because of it, the sound wont be a clear one as Phantasmagoria.

8.5/10

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I'll write a review later.

Still floored that Kisaki sampled Dvořák in "Over the Rainbow."

[Raburr7 1268]

I got no musical knowledge so i will just write how my dumb brain reacted while i was listening to this mini album . If you didnt include Undefined... this would be a perfect 10 for me although being not a big Lin fan i really loved every single song except the mentioning one (if you can call it a song ) and my favorite one must be Lovers, awesome ballad with awesome instrumental ^^ I tend to love Lin's ballad like songs same as i did with Phantasmagoria (just thought of mentionin em) ^^ (Gensoukyouku -Eternal Silence- and As If Forever Exists two of my favorite vk songs ) Dat's it >><

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

My problem with Rin albums/EPs/Releases in general is that I can never seem to pick out specific details that I like or don't like, but I remember if I like a song overall. What I'm happy to say about The Psalms and Lamentations is that there was not one single song that I truly did NOT like.

My favorites though, without a fraction of a doubt, are Lunar Eclipse, Misery is Nothing, and Lovers. Lovers being my favorite. That one stuck out because it's just so pretty and sweet.

I'd have to say overall this would be my favorite Rin release, but I need to listen to it more and get better acquainted with the songs on the EP.

[hitsuji-hime 211]

Misery is Nothing and Lovers are my faves. Everything else was alright, I guess.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

So this was recently bumped and I noticed I said I would write a review but never actually did. I'M THE KIND OF PERSON ZESS AND SAI TALK ABOUT.

 

It has been a little while since this release came out, so it's fairly safe to say my opinion on it is more or less solidified. In the grand scheme of things, it is one of this band's bigger releases in their first period, however I don't really feel a lot of the content stands out amongst their discography. I'm not the biggest fan of a number rating scale, but I'll give some arbitrary scale from 1-10 after each song. It won't be a bell curve like Zess described, it'll be the US grading scale (0-64 = pathetic, 65 = passing, 66~79 = you tried I guess, 80~89 = better luck next time kid, 90~96 = good job!, 97~100 = show off)

 

1.) Psalms and Lamentations: Title track to this release. It is rather bombastic with a lot going on throughout the entire song in terms of synth orchestras and canned choral voices in the same kind of way Matenrou Opera does. However, it does suffer from the same problem Lin has always suffered with--it's all really flat. If you're at a birthday party, but everyone is acting like they've been over being there since they walked in, no amount of confetti and streamers is going to cover up the blasé atmosphere, and that is exactly the feeling I get when listening to this. The symphonic parts and the guitar lines are just streamers on top of a track that really just isn't giving off any energy. While Lin has managed to somehow create some really nice songs amongst their lukewarm discography, this song, unfortunately, doesn't prove to be exceptional, which is kind of  a shame because it got a music video and everything. Some tidbits are nice, like the really echo-y breakdown in the middle, but that's about all that I found to be worth mentioning. The vocals, and entire melody in general, constantly lack in power and drive. 4/10

 

2.) Undefined: I legitimately didn't remember this song, so that goes to show how much of a lasting impression it had on me. Like many other songs with Kisaki in it, it starts off with an ominous wind howling with some funky beats, completely disrupted by acoustic guitar playing over it that doesn't really go well until the muffled drumming kicks in. Eventually this just turns into a forlorn sounding soundtrack to a 90s safari computer game, canned wooden recorder sound effects and all, and then fades out. Maybe I didn't remember this song because it's a pointless track 2 instrumental filler piece. Could have at least been really funky sounding, but the guitar just does not fit in with everything else that's going on whatsoever. Plus, this crap is 3 minutes long??? Kisack why

 

#didItBeforeSpookyKyo #2ndTrackIsFiller

 

3/10

 

3.) Lunar Eclipse~in the shadow~: So this track is probably the first time Kisaki has gotten any bass action since Syndrome. In that respect, it's interesting and gives off some La'Miss Fairy vibes. However, everything else is just a mess: there's a constant acoustic arpeggio thing going on during the whole song and there's some punk barking a la Hakuei as a bridge between sections. During the chorus a lot is going on, but none of it really seems to fit together well. For example, the backing vocals are an airy female voice that kind of compliments Riku, but the blast beat drumming makes it sound rushed and the aforementioned acoustic guitar just plays faster. [[acoustic guitar intensifies]] This is running into the same problem I brought up in the first track: there is a severe dearth of core substance and to make up for it ideas are just getting tacked on. Unlike my streamer analogy, this song is more like a puzzle in which pieces are being put together from different pictures. Just because the pieces may necessarily fit together because of how the edges are cut doesn't mean the whole picture they make is going to look right. The guitar solo is kind of okay: it's not just shredding as it eventual grows into a slower melody, so I guess them props for trying to not go for just low hanging fruit. After that, the song is completely rinse + repeat until 4 minutes is up. While this is a step backwards in the "this is a mess" aspect, it is a step up in the passion behind the melody and the bass is audible. 

 

5/10

 

4.) Over The Rainbow: as I've emphatically stated several times, I was surprised that a vkei band sampled a classical piece that is not one of the 4 songs that everyone else tends to use. This song is probably one of my favorites on the whole CD: I liked how the melody vocal flowed throughout the verse, even if the canned orchestra is a bit distracting. The chorus is a little robotic, but it does eventually correct it self right before the guitar solo. The solo itself is very nice: hard to go wrong with Dvorak, but what makes it good is that it does evolve into its own entity that contributes to the song. One of my pet peeves with Vkei, as I've discussed with Sai, is that sometimes soloing doesn't really fit into the context of a song and is just there for nothing more than to say "we have guitar solos bruh." Overall, while "Over the Rainbow" will not leave Judy Garland impressed, it did keep me from ignoring the rest of the mini-album. With some polish applied to transitions between phrases, and some lubricant on the vocal lines to make them sound smoother, this song could actually become something great. However, as it stands, I'm giving this a 6/10. 

 

5.) Misery is Nothing: More like, I'm in Misery because this song is over 7 minutes long. It kind of starts off sounding a bit like Angels and Airwaves, just with no budget, so I guess that's pretty cool. While this song is on the long side, there actually sounds like some effort was put into this! The melody is nice and calm and actually flows well without drudging along. The random girl voices return during the chorus too, so if you liked them before I guess you'll like them here too. I think Riku prays during the middle of this song (prob for his career, tbh), which is to be expected because since vkei has been big on romanticizing Christianity since the early 90s.

 

All in all, the song is a little long, has a nice melody and guitar solo, and doesn't really leave a bad aftertaste. Nothing really jumps out at me as "WOW" either, but in this case I can settle for "okay."

 

7/10

 

 

6.) Lovers～ラヴァーズ～ :Originally I did not like this song, but I guess now I really like frilly and romantic / melodramatic songs. And that's exactly what's going on here: think late-90s white-kei and you're in the right state of mind. This is also the first track on the album that has harpsichord and symphonic parts that don't detract from, but add to, the whole experience. The chorus is also pretty nice as well--I like the echoing polyphony thing going on here (it kind of sounds like Riku's singing in a big, empty room. Don't know if there's an actual name for this effect). I completely regret overlooking this song the first few times I listened to this CD.

 

9/10

 

7.) Prophecy from Nightmare: D-tier castlevania tacky-ness. I live for this crap, so naturally I was kind of fond of this song. What I do not like, however, are the awful gang vocals at the start. I'm all for shouting, but not when it's misplaced or coming across as trying too hard to be aggressive. I enjoy the orchestral elements going on here and the turbulent guitar lines, but upon listening more closely, a lot of elements in the verse of this song kind of sound like _Pick a Chariots Song_ + Lareine's "Darkness." The chorus of this song is nice, but feels rather abrupt from the rest of the song. PFN also has a guitar solo, but it's essentially the 2nd half of the solo in "Over the Rainbow" that's extended. The additional part, however, is probably one of the nicer solo put out by Lin. This is one of the better songs on this mini, but again, it suffers from the problem of good ideas not being executed well, mixed with throwing in a bunch of ideas to cover up the weak foundations.

 

7/10

 

Overall score: 5.8 / 10 

 

I'd say this is a generally weak release: it only had 1 stand out track and additional standout aspects of other tracks. However, what didn't stand out was either forgettable OR were only remembered as being bland, which is worse than just not being remembered at all. I'm very open about considering Lin to be highly hit-or-miss to me, and this was definitely a miss release. They've done much better.