YOHIO - BREAK the BORDER

[nekkichi 6043]

 

I've checked the global music section and it doesn't have a separate yaioh thread, so, given the date and stuff, I dare to post this here.

 

so, did anyone else bother checking the queen of European VK's debut album out?

 

honestly it could easily become 2013's biggest surprise for me, namely because the Queen has hyped everyone with seductively gazettish title of MY MURDEROUS URGE, 

 

which actually turned out to be a gorgeous 2002 pierrot rip off with one of a kind annoying vibratto. is he mocking Mao of sid singing manner? I don't honestly know, but it's bad! ♡♡♡

 

compare

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjnTHCX8yog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUnCA7BPDUU

 

 

kudos for copying album that dropped when yahoi was 6 or 7 years old and didn't even bother wearing mini skirts and qt pink hair streaks

 

p. II of review in a separate post bc I can only embed 2 videos in the same block of text by some reason

[nekkichi 6043]

the rest of album is equally hilarious, it has nu-metal chugs, powermetal riffs, SPREAD UR WINGS-grade heart breaking lyrics, and a Jinkaku Radio cover by none other than cummui gakuto himself —

 

 

 

 

which, I think, only lacks Yuuki's voice (and any singing talent at all), but has a gorgeous oriental intro, assumingly stolen from

 

 

 

the whole ~masterpiece~ could benefit from a couple more extra layers of teenagerial catharsis, though - like a single trenta size despair mocha frappuccino pretenzioso.

 

"U ALL GONNA KNOW U WER WRONG" kind of doesn't make it alone, but "CAN'T ERASE THE IMAGE OF YOUR FACE" line is def shining brightly.

 

if anyone considers adding an annual "Rihanna of Visual Kei" MH award, we have an early 2013 winner.

 

on a side note, youtube rip of BREAK the BORDER shows unrivaled music production quality that even seasoned VK scene veterans such as chariots can only dream of.

 

 

 

 

please share your thoughts & give it a spin if you havent already 

[DarkPaladin 160]

Well, here's my short review of the album.

The first time I hear it, I felt an nostalgic feeling that I already know the melodies. If you compare the intro  - 2013 -Beginning of the End- with an older Gazette Intro INFUSE INTO from their TOXIC album they sound similar.

 

YOHIO - - 2013 -Beginning of the End-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljGxm6vBp98

 

Gazette - INFUSE INTO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_2DZVrOTQw

 

And if listen to - MY MURDEROUS URGE it sounds also like an Gazette song.

 

I was really looking forward to this album and I wanted to see if YOHIO evolve himself, but know I'm thinking that he "copy/stolen" some songs and just interpreted them new.

 

Btw, I'm really excited to hear the Japanese version of the album, maybe it sounds more like Gazette.

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

I also think Sakura falling sounds a bit like Utataka by Kagrra,

[nekkichi 6043]

@ DarkPaladin 

it is acceptable to open the album with wubwubwubwubwubwubs because gazette haven't technically invented that in the first place, and this fad isn't yet over in vk

 

@ Uglymouth

oh yeah! thanks for pointing it out. I knew the part of chorus that was done by some vk band before, but couldn't remember it was kaggra (i didn't listen much to their end of career stuff)

[Augie1995 325]

So basically, his first album was crap. He then cancelled the release of another album, released this, revealing a crappy, copy album? It's to be expected. He came in to the scene trying to be HIZAKI minus the skills.

 

Well on to my thoughts on the album. Everything mentioned above i have to agree with. 2013 -Beginning of the end- was very similar to INFUSE INTO, it was noticeable to me right away.

 

I immediately deleted the album off of my iPod and computer, with the harsh mindset to give a furry crack of a rat's behind about anything relating to YOHIO from now on.

 

He has the honors of being the first person to release the most disappointing release of 2013...

[Pretsy 1343]

@Nekkichi: For me personally MY MURDEROUS URGE (wow what a title...) sounds like a mix of Pierrot's Shingetsu and Mejibray's Chameleon Yummy (which goes all the way to the original song, also known as "Because" by SADS)

 

 

Definitely the most mediocre release vk-wise AND pop music-wise. Say, this even has more cliches than Pitbull!

 

0/10, drool over your candy boy, fans.

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

He came in to the scene trying to be HIZAKI minus the skills.

 

Indeed. Scram all Yohio apologists. "he has such good skillz man" His PR team has done its job well, because anything he has done sure doesn't warrant this claim at all. I'm absolutely certain that most metal guitarists could post equally "impressive" shred videos on Youtube if they ever found a reason to, and it literally takes one Google search to come up with hundreds of metalcore, mathcore, metalthiscorethat bands that have godskillz to last you a lifetime. These bands probably aren't any good, but neither is fukken Yohio. 

 

I have to also mention that I don't mind the alleged copying on paper, seeing as it is a fairly common occurrence in this scene... But the poor taste of everyone involved is portrayed so well in tracks like Sakura, Falling. Lol.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Throwing my initial skepticism aside, I decided to give YOHIO's album a spin. Much to my surprise, what I found was something beyond my wildest dreams.

 

The record begins with a tasteful intro track that immediately sets the epic and grandiose mood of the album. As soon as the dubstep break kicks in, we can feel his undying urge to "break the border" which can be attributed as the overarching concept of the whole release. Next, we are treated to a couple of powerful and immensely catchy visual rock tracks. The overall spirit of innovation is present throughout, as the artist breaks those borders that limit genre classifications, melding his art into something transcendental - it's a musical "REVOLUTION" (to quote the title of one of the more outstanding and totally not tired songs of the record).

 

YOHIO shows us his versatility even more in the next segment (this album can easily be divided into separate thematic parts that make up a whole concept, but more about that later) that contains a more poppy type of music. Be it the infectuous power-pop of Heartbreak Hotel or the simply matchless never-before-heard intense beauty of Sakura, falling (penned together with Gackt, another maestro whose innovative song structures amaze us year after year now) YOHIO decides to conquer our hearts, taking no prisoners. Little do we expect the shocking continuation...

 

The album takes a sudden darker turn with the arrival of the next track. INNOCENCE is like the unrelentingly aggressive yet captivating masterpiece MEJIBRAY or the DIR EN GREY guys have tried and tried but failed to conceive over the past years. When YOHIO screams, he screams for all of us, and we immediately make that connection subconsciously - a transcendental and almost religious experience/bond between artist and listener. This feeling is then heightened and pushed to the extreme on the next set of more emotional songs, of which the highlight is TIMESCAPE, a totally necessary and interesting piano instrumental.

 

YOHIO continues with another instrumental number, this time showcasing his impeccable guitar skills. Seriously, for a moment I thought I was listening to Steve Vai but then I realized - YOHIO is the Steve Vai (Su...Suteibu Waii?) the Japanese market never had. Thus, in this sense BREAK the BORDER becomes much more than a mere album (however fascinating it might be): it is a cultural mission statement, a proclamation of creativity and the generous offer to hand down that exceptional creative streak to the thousands... no, millions who will surely be listening! Finally, the album closes with the ever-strong title track, concluding this fantastic musical journey.

 

In conclusion, we can say that YOHIO's debut album is not only a flawless set of songs but a concept album chronicling the inner drive and torments of the artistic mind. The first segment (tracks 1-3) does what, indeed, is in the title of the album: it breaks down the borders with its unusually innovative approach. The second part (4-9) symbolizes the conflictual emotions and desires he carries, a genius bogged down by the mere earthly elements of this world, the artistic spirit forever tied to ever-fallible physicality that entraps it. After we have broken all borders what remains? This fascinatingly diverse musical "anarchy" is calmed and concluded by the ending segment (10-12) that delivers the message of purity and staying true to oneself. The artist is reborn like a phoenix from the ashes, and can begin his musical adventures anew, sometime, somewhere...

 

A truly beautiful album if I ever heard one. This will no doubt be mentioned among the classics, when we take a look back a few decades later.

 

Fooled ya? ;D Happy April 1st!

[sebbivism 134]

I'll leave my review tomorrow so that you guys don't think my opinion is an 1st april-joke.

[nekkichi 6043]

@ Disposable

 

totes agreed.

at the same time, I've never seen any actual PR work done for yohio (I obviously don't track Swedish/Finnish vk stan zines - those might pour miel teas over his supposed guitar skills since day 1)

yet I was always amazed by amounts of white-knighting that VK fandom served when he popped out first, and when his first POS mini dropped too.

it was so cool to judge Yohio haters and encourage giving him chances. it looks 2x hilarious in the retrospect.

 

@ Rez

thanks for adding that ~ I'm not aware of what mejibray does at all, but yahoo clearly is.

I guess there're a few more current indie vk bands that he sourced for innocence, that he mixed with generic euro/murrican screamocore

 

@ Jigsaw 

instant review of the year tbh

 

@ sebbivism

def. looking forward! chu ~ ☆

[Velovelo 18]

Wow, he's totally getting thrashed here. But I expected that to happen all too well.

 

@ sebbivism: WHERE IS YOUR REVIEW.

 

I don't really want to do a track-by-track review. But I think it's not as bad as many people make it out to be.

Mostly, it's a quite unimaginative album, led by some misplaced guitar solos, too many instrumental songs and a lot of generic copypaste ideas, as well as decidedly average lyrics.

 

This guy's actually pretty good vocally, and he can play the guitar remarkably well for his age. Thing is, songwriting is a whole 'nother deal. A lot of rehashed VK ideas, a lot of "you can do this!!!11oneone" and "I love you, even if there's mustard between my thighs" lyrics. The whole album sounds like it is assembled by disjointed, half-cooked ideas. Just like Seremedy's album, except that was definitely worse, being extremely over-produced and devoid of artistic direction.

 

I'm actually surprised at some people who really hate this album, but like other similarly weak efforts, because this is not THAT bad. I think, for his first LP, it's mediocre enough to pass for a "okay, so, this is meh, but I somehow imagine that you can do better in the future, so start being a bit original at least" kind of comment...

 

There's one thing I wanted to say though. And I don't really care if anybody agrees, but this guy doesn't even know what his genre or direction is, yet. He's 17, and he's pretty much been thrown into this whole thing by his father, and he never really had the time to nurture his ideas. I am actually not surprised that this album seems to be hastily assembled, but seriously? 0 to 1 stars? This is just an album that should've needed a few more months of proper re-evaluation and composing to add interesting structures and flavours to the songs, but that would also apply to anything Gazette has released since DIM, IMHO.

 

I can see where you guys are coming from, and I do know that this isn't a release worth of much recognition. But seriously, I think that many people's hate for this surpasses the fangirls on the opposite end of appreciation. The only thing this guy really needs is time to grow and a huge touch of originality, and he might be able to put something decent, if not wholly worthwhile to listen to. He just needs to move out of this dreaded VK thing, because that has sucked enough for two future centuries.

 

Not giving a star rating, because I think the text has said enough.

 

 

 

TL;DR: Read all of it

[ramrod 108]

Who the fuck is yahoi?

 

had a quick listen.

Ugh.

That is all.

[Velovelo 18]

A twinkling pebble on the planet of Ripmyass in the star sign of Underage-Ursa

[Zeus 7997]

Score:  | Somehow YOHIO has shown that the sum of the parts somehow equates to less.

---

Pushing potential pretentious prose to the side for a paragraph, BREAK the BORDER was flawed from conception. Siphoning ideas from a stagnant scene isn't the greatest way to start brainstorming for an album, but it would be bearable if the ideas came from decent bands. As inbred as the visual scene appears to be on the surface, there are still bands such as A, LIPHLICH, or Lament. that do more than play the same trichotomy of happy hardcore, electro gibber gabber or watered down hotdog roasting poolside metalcore music. But instead of emulating bands with actual talent, YOHIO combines the standard sounds of the scene into one disc. The result is an impressive tour de force of all the reasons why I don't tell people I listen to visual kei.

The scattershot approach is evident everywhere. I've fired shotguns more accurate than BREAK the BORDER. In his effort to try everything and replicate the standard visual sounds, he nails absolutely nothing. INNOCENCE features everything I dislike about br00tal kei from really bad harsh vocals to an ill-fitting transition into the chorus into a whole lot of nothing else making up the runtime. REVOLUTION sounds like so many visual bands I've heard before that it's painful, and the fact that I can't name a single one means none of them were particularly good. AGGRESSIVE BEAUTY sounds like four minutes of spastic guitar wank - and I'm totally fine with guitar wank - except he's wanking on nothing substantial. It's just spurts of notes here and there. Finally, the infamous Heartbreak Hotel does not fit here at all with it's drastically different influences, obvious moneygrab implications and complete un-YOHIO-ness, but it's actually better than everything else. This is all indicative of a lack of consistency.

This even reflects in how he dresses. YOHIO lets the clothes dictate the music. Look at the album cover. The left side of the album cover is what I would expect a no-name "heavy" visual band to look like. The right side looks like An Cafe defecated on his chest. The result of the album is what you would get if you smashed the two together - nothing memorable. It's no wonder he's not consistent with how he sounds.

Most visual kei feels like an upstart band emulating one of the more successful bands. BREAK the BORDER sounds like an emulation of those upstart bands. It's so far removed from the source material that there is not much more than a passing resemblance at best. This is going through the motions of what Westerners think being a visual band is all about, sandboxing one cliché in one song and another cliché in the next. What YOHIO presents to us here is an image of a kid that can modestly play the guitar, who has a decent voice, whose claim to fame is skills he does not display ever, and who insists on breaking into a scene all the bands in the scene attempt to break out of. What BREAK the BORDER presents is nothing good, but nothing so truly horrific I would say it should never have been pressed to disc. It's thoroughly below average, much like the rest of the visual kei scene.

I'm waiting for the day YOHIO catches on to the fact that visual kei is a fad that's always changing but ever-constant and that he will never progress if he limits himself to this very tiny box where he not free to lay down but he can't stand up either. You want to BREAK the BORDER? Break out of the cage first.

[dannemannen 69]

This kid doesnt even deserve a thread, come on people.
 

[nekkichi 6043]

This kid doesnt even deserve a thread, come on people.

 

no one made a better april fool's joke, so this thread deserves its own yohio at least.

 

@Velovelo

 

you're the first person who assumes it's his dad, forcing him into a drag crapcore career.

which basically could rechristen him as a visual kei courtney stodden of sorts, except it doesn't look like anyone really forced this thing.

it's the same terrible brasilian-kei, except yahoi has more pocket money, and his career jump-started at universal, bc dad.

 

also,

 

 

@ sebbivism: WHERE IS YOUR REVIEW. [2]

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

it's the same terrible brasilian-kei, except yahoi has more pocket money, and his career jump-started at universal, bc dad.

Haaaa exactly.

 

So after listening to this over on YouTube...

 

I tried to give Yohio a chance in the beginning thinking since he's trying to pretend he is HIZAKI he might do cool guitar stuff and things like that. Especially before he released anything he was getting a lot of hate from fugly little weeaboo girls because he's not a precious cute little Japanese boy. Those same fug girls would love Yohio and all his bad music if he was a cute Japanese boy. 

 

Yet now that he has released an album more mediocre than any shit tier VK indie release full of every stupid VK stereotype crammed into it, now people have a legitimate reason to dislike him haha.

 

I do agree with some of the people in the thread, he still has potential and he's also still young. Maybe in a few years he'll get out of his weeaboo phase and end up making some really good stuff? Who knows but he shouldn't try being VK. Instead just make music and then put on the stupid outfits and tease your hair.

[Guest Magatsu]

He just need to stop singing in Japanese.

 

English is good enough man

[sebbivism 134]

HERE's MY REVIEW

 

I've been waiting for this album since December 2012, so I were really excited when I recieved my CD on the release date. I'll review the album song by song, but first of all I must say I hear a lot of well known visual kei bands in this album, YOHIO seem to be inspired by a lot of them.

 

 

2013 -Beginning of the End-

Album is starting off pretty good with a dupstep intro. It's no secret he was inspired of the "INFUSE INTO" the GazettE-intro. However, this intro is much better than the one by the GazettE. Composed by YOHIO and Joakim Daif from Axento who remixed "Heartbreak Hotel". This track is really unnecessary but I guess this song will be the opening track for his concerts. Can't help to think that it still sounds like a demo?

 

MY MURDEROUS URGE

Pretty good song, however I just wonder why it couldn't be performed fully in Japanese? It'll be soo much better in Japanese. This song is like the intro, a lot influenced by the GazettE, even the song title screams the GazettE. But it's really good.

 

REVOLUTION

One of my favorite tracks off the album, the upcoming Japanese Single, will probably sound even better in Japanese. It's a shame YOHIO didn't performed this in Melodifestivalen instead of crappy Heartbreak Hotel.

 

Heartbreak Hotel

I've probably heard this song 100 times now, so it'll be hard to review it because of that, but thinking of my first impressions when I previewed the song for Melodifestivalen, I thought this were pretty bad, but of course it became better and better, but it's not in the same quality class as the other songs, because this is not a song composed by YOHIO. But this song made him famous in Sweden so, sorry YOHIO but this is like a tattoo, you will never get rid of this.

 

Our Story

I'm really tired of this song and I wonder why he even included this on the album? It could remained a standalone single. It's definitely not bad but it's not one of the best tracks either.

 

Sakura, falling

This is sooooooo GACKT, I can hear it cleary after just listening to the intro. I wonder how this song was created since it was composed by GACKT and YOHIO. Is this a GACKT leftover he didn't want for himself? Same with the other tracks it will sound muuch better in Japanese. In fact I believe this song was originally written in Japanese. 

 

INNOCENCE

OH YEEES, this is the BEST TRACK on the entire album. It's soo good and soo unexpected! YOHIO should do more of this! But only after he has learned to growl on his own. Using a support vocalist to do the darkest growl parts is pretty loooow. Why did he even do that? Well, back to the song. It makes me thing A LOT of 12012, DIR EN GREY, the GazettE, NEGA etc. Good choice to put it in the middle of the album, I bet ALL small kids who bought this album because of Melodifestivalen just got pwned and their parents just "WTF IS THIS CRAP MY LITTLE 6 YEAR OLD IS LISTENING TO!?!?"

 

ON THE VERGE

This song...I dunno but I don't like it. It's pretty boring actually, I always skip this track when listening to the album. Zzzz...

 

rain ~A scene drenched in rain~

Can't help it but I think about Ayumi Hamasaki when listening to this. This must also be originally written in Japanese. I can't wait to hear the Japanese version. Also one of the better tracks off the album.

 

TIMESCAPE

YES, more of this please! I love his instrumental songs and wish he could do it more and also work harder in the quality. The song is very beautiful but it feels like a demo. I think it's the Ninetone Studios production that suck. Also, STOP USING A ELECTRIC KEYBOARD. If you're gonna play a piano song, use a real piano! However, putting this as track 10 is a mystery for me, this is a typical outro material! Should definitely be placed as ending track.

 

Aggressive Beauty

OH YEAH, good stuff. I've had this on repeat the latest days, it's a really kick ass song. It's so obvious this is a "HIZAKI tribute" or an response of the influence he's got from HIZAKI. Wish it could be longer though. 3:00 is so short, should be at least 5:00. Strange to put two instrumental tracks after each other. This could have been placed as Track 4 or something.

 

BREAK the BORDER

Pretty anonymous track, with cheesy lyrics. It's well composed song but not as good as the other tracks. Should definitely not be the ending track.

 

 

Also, one thing for sure; YOHIO can wave goodbye to his bandmates in Seremedy. Seremedy will from now on be soo OVER. I also bet the Japanese Version will be soo much better and I can really see him entering the Oricon charts.

 

The production and mixing is pretty bad, releasing this with help from his dad is not clever at all. He needs to work with Japanese people asap. Universal Music Japan should do something about this.

 

However I can't really put a grade on this album, but lets just say its definitely a good album!

[Ro plz 1290]

Checked out a few songs...

 

All I can say is what the hell. 

 

How do you go from a pretty skilled and talented guitarist to...this?!

 

Haha, this is so sad its funny.

[hitsuji-hime 211]

This album just screams out 'bland'. So does his next album. And his work in Seremedy.

 

I used to be sort of a fan of Yohio, but now all he does is make me snore. His music reminds me of American emo/scene/screamo bands that no one really gives a fuck about. At least I like Heartbreak Hotel, it's pretty catchy. I can't believe he has a fucking Vocaloid too...

[seratonin 43]

no one made a better april fool's joke, so this thread deserves its own yohio at least.

 

@Velovelo

 

you're the first person who assumes it's his dad, forcing him into a drag crapcore career.

which basically could rechristen him as a visual kei courtney stodden of sorts, except it doesn't look like anyone really forced this thing.

it's the same terrible brasilian-kei, except yahoi has more pocket money, and his career jump-started at universal, bc dad.

 

also,

 

 

@ sebbivism: WHERE IS YOUR REVIEW. [2]

omg brasilian kei lol, i think i've never seen something so hilarious and strange as brasilian kei that i previewed before, but it was funny in a disgusting way, like watching a naked old lady run down the street.

I think you hit the nail on the head there in describing this album...couldn't have said it better

[seratonin 43]

Throwing my initial skepticism aside, I decided to give YOHIO's album a spin. Much to my surprise, what I found was something beyond my wildest dreams.

 

The record begins with a tasteful intro track that immediately sets the epic and grandiose mood of the album. As soon as the dubstep break kicks in, we can feel his undying urge to "break the border" which can be attributed as the overarching concept of the whole release. Next, we are treated to a couple of powerful and immensely catchy visual rock tracks. The overall spirit of innovation is present throughout, as the artist breaks those borders that limit genre classifications, melding his art into something transcendental - it's a musical "REVOLUTION" (to quote the title of one of the more outstanding and totally not tired songs of the record).

 

YOHIO shows us his versatility even more in the next segment (this album can easily be divided into separate thematic parts that make up a whole concept, but more about that later) that contains a more poppy type of music. Be it the infectuous power-pop of Heartbreak Hotel or the simply matchless never-before-heard intense beauty of Sakura, falling (penned together with Gackt, another maestro whose innovative song structures amaze us year after year now) YOHIO decides to conquer our hearts, taking no prisoners. Little do we expect the shocking continuation...

 

The album takes a sudden darker turn with the arrival of the next track. INNOCENCE is like the unrelentingly aggressive yet captivating masterpiece MEJIBRAY or the DIR EN GREY guys have tried and tried but failed to conceive over the past years. When YOHIO screams, he screams for all of us, and we immediately make that connection subconsciously - a transcendental and almost religious experience/bond between artist and listener. This feeling is then heightened and pushed to the extreme on the next set of more emotional songs, of which the highlight is TIMESCAPE, a totally necessary and interesting piano instrumental.

 

YOHIO continues with another instrumental number, this time showcasing his impeccable guitar skills. Seriously, for a moment I thought I was listening to Steve Vai but then I realized - YOHIO is the Steve Vai (Su...Suteibu Waii?) the Japanese market never had. Thus, in this sense BREAK the BORDER becomes much more than a mere album (however fascinating it might be): it is a cultural mission statement, a proclamation of creativity and the generous offer to hand down that exceptional creative streak to the thousands... no, millions who will surely be listening! Finally, the album closes with the ever-strong title track, concluding this fantastic musical journey.

 

In conclusion, we can say that YOHIO's debut album is not only a flawless set of songs but a concept album chronicling the inner drive and torments of the artistic mind. The first segment (tracks 1-3) does what, indeed, is in the title of the album: it breaks down the borders with its unusually innovative approach. The second part (4-9) symbolizes the conflictual emotions and desires he carries, a genius bogged down by the mere earthly elements of this world, the artistic spirit forever tied to ever-fallible physicality that entraps it. After we have broken all borders what remains? This fascinatingly diverse musical "anarchy" is calmed and concluded by the ending segment (10-12) that delivers the message of purity and staying true to oneself. The artist is reborn like a phoenix from the ashes, and can begin his musical adventures anew, sometime, somewhere...

 

A truly beautiful album if I ever heard one. This will no doubt be mentioned among the classics, when we take a look back a few decades later.

 

Fooled ya? ;D Happy April 1st!

I THOUGHT THIS REVIEW WAS COMPLETELY SERIOUS LOL

was going "what...? what?? how....?" the whole time reading it

that is, until I read the last line; props for making a clever post

[nekkichi 6043]

I love how this thread has outlived this album's fleeting relevance, lol.