NoGoD - V

[Zeus 7997]

Score: | Like a picaresque forty year old on the back of a Harley

---

NoGoD has never been a particularly amazing band. They burst onto the scene in 2006 and created quite a name for themselves, but this wasn't due to their amazing technical skill, willingness to push boundaries or having the ability or desire to redefine visual kei. They started out as many bands today still do: releasing your standard pop-rock and acoustic tracks packaged with a vague theme about supplanting organized religion with their own and wacky, sometimes tasteless outfits. What really set them apart and got them signed to KING RECORDS was ambition.

 

I haven't seen that side of this band in quite some time. After truncating their name and moving to a major label, NoGoD seemed to have lost their way. After dropping two underwhelming albums that indicated a lack of inspiration, it's reasonable to expect V to resemble his cookie-cutter predecessors. Good news: V doesn't sound like it was designed to fill a quota and the enthusiasm they once displayed is back. Somewhat.

V plays much like an adult going through a midlife crisis. This is the most aggressive I've heard them get since their first album, but the band's claws are dull from years of playing it safe. Recollections of their pure acoustic tracks from their indie days poke through on 夢の泡, their progressive leanings birthed on Ring-a Ring-o and honed on II-懐柔 are on show for IV-他者　Philosophia, and their rock anthem side still reminds you it's there with STAND UP!, but there's an air of insincerity about it all. V sounds like new NoGoD trying to cover old NoGoD rather than just NoGoD being themselves. The difference is slight, almost imperceptible, but it's there.

This would be a small complaint in the context of the entire album, if the entire album didn't sound so similar. I wouldn't blame you if you were hit with a sense of déjà vu. The formula is pretty transparent - take a song skeleton, a six-pack of Red Bull and a copy of 罰 and throw it into a studio with the band with the instructions "make more songs like this". All of the goofy gang vocals, distorted guitar and triggered bass pedals can't hide the fact that NoGoD is still strapped for ideas. Your attention may also be drawn to the surprising lack of ballads on this album, but I just attributed that to them having put them all on 欠片. You should too. The last thing V needed is diversity for the sake of being diverse.

The thing they need most is a fresh spring of inspiration and creativity. Raw energy only gets you so far.

[Augie1995 325]

I don't know, while Zess's review has its truths to it, I have to say that this album was really solid. While there were songs that sounded like your usual NoGoD stuff that we have been listening to recently, there was some really good stuff. I only really didn't care much for Track 4 and 10, but everything was pretty solid. I gotta say that IV- Philosophia is probably the best from the all the past songs that belong to the series in my opinion. There was more variety to the song than the past ones especially compared to the one on 欠片 which was mostly just a bunch of guitar scales and melodies that sounded similar to each other. Sabbath gave me a Ring-a Ring-o feeling to it with a slight Egyptian theme to it (for some reason).

 

Did they even have a ballad in this album? The only "ballad-like" song on here was the instrumental which wasn't really much of a song, it kind of sounds like they have Shinno and Kyrie an acoustic guitar and let them loose.

 

That's kind of a small gathering of my thoughts right now, if I can come back with an even better response to the album, especially after some stronger analysis into the album, I'll edit this and make a better review. I still have to say that I like this album way more compared to 現実 and 欠片 even though 欠片 has my favorite NoGoD ballad (Nagasumi no Sora) and some awesome songs. (Am I the only one that liked 欠片?) 

[DeithX252 1266]

well I am not good at reviewing, but this album I give 6.5/10 overall

 

so far my fave tracks are IV-他者/Philosophia, Sabbath, 闘争本能, the others are just mediocre song

The song I dislike most: 現世ホラーショー (idk the song flow and pace is bad for me, and boring) and パンドラ (the background synth isn't fit to this song IMO, too noisy)

 

V is good, better than Genjitsu (this album is soooooooo boring, the track is not repeatable for listening, just meh).

[sai 868]

I preferred Genjitsu over this...and I didn't think Genjitsu was that special. The album started rather well in my opinion, the first track had a great raw energy to it that I hadn't seen from NoGoD in a while and really heightened my expectations for the rest of the album. Unfortunately, those expectations were quickly ruined. The tracks that followed until the instrumental all sounded very similar to eachother and with the instrumental NoGoD managed to reach a new level of "I don't think you even tried at all". Having one of the guitarists play the same riffs on an acoustic guitar for 4 minutes straight? Really?

 

IV-他者/Philosophia is another one of the few tracks that seemed to distance itself from the standard formula, but it didn't really leave an impression on me either. STAND UP! was actually one of the better songs on this album, which is quite sad considering how badly it was received when it was just released. The vocals aren't up to par with the instrumentals either. In the first few tracks Danchou just doesn't do it for me vocally, and I have no clue why.

 

NoGoD seems to have lost their spark, and if they're ever going to recover it is something I don't think that will happen.

 

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

For me, the album was really outstanding. Now, if they had put out a lot of albums and singles recently in the last couple years that really blew me away would this fact have been any different? Probably not, but I wouldn't hold it in such high regard that I do now. My own personal view on it is that Kakera and Genjitsu had maybe two songs on them a piece that stood out, but overall they weren't memorable and did nothing for me. The last full piece of work put out by this band that I took a step back and really had to marvel at was Gokusaishiki roughly five years ago. Now, I'm sitting here listening to the album for the third time as I write this and my love just keeps growing. The only bad part to me is Stand Up! which I can probably grow accustomed to after a while, even though it was a single and I never listened to it much after it's initial release.

 

I'd have to say the strongest songs on the album include Gense Horror Show, Sora no Kouen, Pandora, Yume no Awa, IV-Tasha (Philosophia), and Kanjou. Those in particular show off a variety of different skills that the band has strengthened over the years.

I don't know if anyone else is a Michelle Branch fan, and I'm well aware that this is such a huge stretch, but if you listen to Here With Me by Michelle Branch and then Yume no Awa the chorus of the songs sound very similar. Two totally unrelated artists, but they really do sound pretty similar. Even though I think Yume no Awa is a beautiful acoustic song, I think it's a missed opportunity for it to be a slightly longer song with voice... In the same way I felt about D's Hikari no Niwa.

 

But really I mean that's all I have to say. The album is a solid 9 in my opinion.

[Skeith 6]

i think its a great album 

if i would rate it i would give a 9/10

[Neon 6]

Personaly I loved it , ther was 2 songs that I not liked.

I loved that acoustic guitar instumental thing

 

9/10

[Neon 6]

Personaly I loved it , ther was about 2 songs that I not liked.

I loved that acoustic guitar instumental thing

 

9/10

[dannemannen 69]

Its a good album overall, but what i miss are good choruses... more or less all choruses on the album are generic and boring, even though the instrumentals and verses are good. The nogod i know is famous for catchy and mindblowing choruses...

"Something" is just missing 7/10
They lost their spark?