Lycaon - マゾヒストレッドサーカス

[Zeus 7997]

Score: | PINK MILK WITH DRUGS MY DRINK.

---

 
Faux-dubstep and synthetic orchestra hits on the intro tracks signals that while this "erotic" era isn't over, it's entering into uncharted waters. More specifically, Lycaon finally skinny-dipped off the deep end. If Lycaon's music were a bar, we've just entered the backroom for preferred customers only.  All I can think to myself is that I like whatever drugs this band started taking.
 
It's more of the neo-visual dubstep-influenced metal trend, so if you're expecting a follow-up to Royal Order stop here. What's attractive about this release is just how overdone it is. There's so much more going on than a few lazy riffs over cheap synth. Lots of ideas - maybe even too many - are thrown out of the speakers in every direction at once. I would go as far to say that this excursion is so bad it wraps around the end and becomes enjoyable on a level slightly above irony. What's different about Masochist Red Circus is that they've taken the sound I described earlier and stretched it as far as it would go. All the other trendy-kei bands have just been issued a challenge for their pink slips.
 
On the other side of that coin, this really isn't that good. No track blows me away. Some get a nod, others get a wave, but no track bores me either. It's a very average release dressed up in a style that doesn't often reach average. Masochist Red Circus doesn't scratch that itch that only a really novel visual kei release can scratch. I'll listen once in a while and have a bit of fun, but this doesn't have the chops to stick.

Thanks for trying though.

[togz 2004]

I don't know that it's dubstep... but I think it should be called tripstep cuz I super feel like I'm trippin on something...........I feel like I'm having a seizure. 

 

I'm not sure if I mean that in a good or bad way though...

 

Stay tuned...

[nullmoon 784]

I agree with Zess; while this has its moments, it's distinctly average. It's not bad, but it certainly isn't great. The first three songs are decent but the rest are throwaway.

 

I used to hate Lycaon's 'erotic' era but it has so much more substance and lasting appeal than this release. 

[efuru 255]

Everything after Mio and Eve left has been shit. This at least sounds like a step in the right direction from anything released after Royal Order.

[Bunny 1140]

After listened to this album , is confusing what style/genre they want to do ,
I like [OVER DOSE] and [TABOO] , that is it ,
I am going to give up listen to their new music ,
shame they have become something they don't belongs to ,
Thank god there is a few newbie bands out there are outstanding for me .
Sayonara Lycaon

[Masamune 72]

Everything after Mio and Eve left has been shit. This at least sounds like a step in the right direction from anything released after Royal Order.

 

Pretty much everything i was going to say, xD.

[ricchubunny 2013]

Everything after Mio and Eve left has been shit. This at least sounds like a step in the right direction from anything released after Royal Order.

 

this.

I really liked this release . Especially gossip and 黒のダチュラ 

[Elazmus 1873]

I honestly couldn't find a single track on this album that brought me back... I love most of Lycaon's releases up to now especially Rose, but MRC

just sounded like they didn't have any ideas

[TheStoic 176]

The 薔薇 ~Bara~ single re-envigorated hope in me that lycaon would return back to the Darker Sound I love from them, but this release killed that hope.  It was very average, and I have not returned to it since first listen.

[blackdoll 907]

I loved it every sec of it, took a couple of listens to get my mind around the new sound they were playing with, but just love!

[paradoxal 2948]

1. Lycaon - マゾヒストレッドサーカス (1:07) ★☆☆☆☆

Weird accordion music with a clown laughing in the background? Lol just terrible.

 

2. Lycaon - 覚醒 (4:38) ★★★☆☆

There's some potential in this song. It's one of the hardest songs on the whole album but the dubstep on the background sounds so stupid. Also the melody is pretty plain - Lycaon used to have great melodies in their songs. The chorus is pretty nice. In the end one of the best songs in the album which isn't really much since almost every song sucks in one way or another. The guitar solo is actually pretty nice but it doesn't save the song.

 

3. Lycaon - Psychedelic Jelly (3:39) ★★★☆☆

IMHO the 2nd best song in the album. This is clearly a live song and it's probably super fun too. Some screams which is really nice. But why the fuck do they have to add dubstep to this song too? It would be a lot better without. A lot of Engrish doesn't really make this song any better. 

"You won't be my slave...honey"

yuka ni habikoru  Suck my dick

You won't be my slave...honey

DORODORO tokeru  Suck my dick

don't disturbed in high..."

 

 

4. Lycaon - OVER DOSE (3:14) ★★★☆☆

OVER DOSE starts pretty nicely and the dubstep wub-wub's don't even bother me so much in the beginning. But I think the vocals would sound a lot better without all those filters added. A really mediocre song that I can occasionally listen to - it won't give me a headache but I'll never get the urge to listen to this particular song. Probably also a very funny song when seen live, but on CD... blah.

 

5. Lycaon - 霊猫香とマゾヒスト (1:42) ★☆☆☆☆

Apparently one or two "intro songs" or SEs isn't enough, there has to be three of them... Three out of ten songs. Super terrible.

 

6. Lycaon - gossip (4:22) ★★★☆☆

Probably the worst single Lycaon has ever released. A mediocre song. There's really nothing to say about this song.

 

7. Lycaon - 黒のダチュラ (3:29) ★★★★★

The best song on the album. A really captivating song and the whipping sounds make the song even better. This is the one and only song on the album I truly recommend. It doesn't have those annoying dubstep sounds and it's dark - maybe closest to the old Lycaon sound? 

 

8. Lycaon - TABOO (1:38) ★☆☆☆☆

Another super annoying "intro song." I really hate it.

 

9. Lycaon - JI・RE・N・MA (3:56) ★★☆☆☆

The pipes and the snapping in the beginning sounds just stupid. It's hard to believe this is a Lycaon song. The song is quite fast which is nice since I don't like slow songs at all. This isn't completely shit but it isn't good either. I think it's too weird for my taste. The guitar riff is actually pretty nice and the guitar solo too - but they don't sound like Lycaon at all.

 

10. Lycaon - 雨音の輪舞曲 (5:02) ★★☆☆☆

The beginning is the most horrendous part of the album. Accordion combined with Yuuki singing something that sounds too much like schlager. Fortunately the song changes a bit harder, but it's still basically the slow song of the album. The chorus is pretty nice so I'll have to give it two stars.

 

Summary:

 

I actually had big hopes for this album. Someone in the last.fm shoutbox claimed this to be the best album of Lycaon and many others were saying they love the album to death.

I don't. Kuro no dachura is actually a nice song but basically every other song is something I would not miss if they suddenly disappeared. I love everything before EROS, but even their erotic era is nicer and has a lot more great songs than their new album. I had really high hopes for this album especially after Bara ~Rose~ was such a fantastic song.

 

OVERALL SCORE: ★★☆☆☆

Even though Lycaon is my favorite band I just can't give this album more stars. It isn't a total fail but it isn't a success either. I have not lost all hope in Lycaon and I do hope the next single will be better. They have managed to release fantastic songs even without Mio and Eve, so why they couldn't do it again.

[seratonin 43]

Score: | PINK MILK WITH DRUGS MY DRINK.

---

 

Faux-dubstep and synthetic orchestra hits on the intro tracks signals that while this "erotic" era isn't over, it's entering into uncharted waters. More specifically, Lycaon finally skinny-dipped off the deep end. If Lycaon's music were a bar, we've just entered the backroom for preferred customers only.  All I can think to myself is that I like whatever drugs this band started taking.

 

It's more of the neo-visual dubstep-influenced metal trend, so if you're expecting a follow-up to Royal Order stop here. What's attractive about this release is just how overdone it is. There's so much more going on than a few lazy riffs over cheap synth. Lots of ideas - maybe even too many - are thrown out of the speakers in every direction at once. I would go as far to say that this excursion is so bad it wraps around the end and becomes enjoyable on a level slightly above irony. What's different about Masochist Red Circus is that they've taken the sound I described earlier and stretched it as far as it would go. All the other trendy-kei bands have just been issued a challenge for their pink slips.

 

On the other side of that coin, this really isn't that good. No track blows me away. Some get a nod, others get a wave, but no track bores me either. It's a very average release dressed up in a style that doesn't often reach average. Masochist Red Circus doesn't scratch that itch that only a really novel visual kei release can scratch. I'll listen once in a while and have a bit of fun, but this doesn't have the chops to stick.

Thanks for trying though.

pretty much every review you write i disagree with lol. reviews that you say are trash i think are okay. Releases where you say an album is okay i think is pretty much trash LOL.

Do you hate classical music? Because I REALLY like classical music, so maybe you think opposite of me on that too

[blackdoll 907]

Score: | PINK MILK WITH DRUGS MY DRINK.

---

  All I can think to myself is that I like whatever drugs this band started taking.

 

Funny because Lycaon themselves are a drug, that's why they use it as a theme too. its like you get a sample and you go fucking nuts until you have it, which was the case for this release and the others.

[Original Saku 1593]

pretty much every review you write i disagree with lol. reviews that you say are trash i think are okay. Releases where you say an album is okay i think is pretty much trash LOL.

Do you hate classical music? Because I REALLY like classical music, so maybe you think opposite of me on that too

 

 

opinions are opinions and tastes are tastes... if everyone agreed with each other and had the same taste as each other, then the world would be a pretty boring place don't you think? So basically why are you even replying here? his opinion differs from yours and nothing is gonna change that, so why bother? Also I don't really think a 3/5 score constitutes it being "trash" and I don't think Zess thinks so either otherwise he would have given it a real trash score, let's say a 1/5.

 

If you really wanted to make a worthwhile post you would have reviewed it yourself and stated why you like it in the first place instead of disagreeing with him and not backing up your opinion.

[Zeus 7997]

pretty much every review you write i disagree with lol. reviews that you say are trash i think are okay. Releases where you say an album is okay i think is pretty much trash LOL.

Do you hate classical music? Because I REALLY like classical music, so maybe you think opposite of me on that too

I've taken the liberty of compiling the scores of every release I've reviewed since I implemented the optional five star system for rating.

BORN - THE STALIN -666-

Sadie - Madrigal de Maria

lynch. - GALLOWS

The GazettE - FADELESS

2Side1BRAIN - Blood Eyes Red

lynch. - EXODUS EP

MIYAVI - MIYAVI

Dir en grey - SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH

The GazettE - BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY

Lycaon - マゾヒストレッドサーカス

六合 - 宵闇の残光

ALSDEAD - Separator

NoGoD - V

MEJIBRAY - DIE KUSSE

Dir en grey - THE UNRAVELING

lynch. - BALLAD

A - Elementa Alchemica, 白い悪魔～Phantom of the Snow～ / SAKURA

Melt-Banana - Fetch

大橋トリオ - white

Annabyss Coast - 双対のカレント

Boris - Präparat

This somewhat resembles a gaussian function, known to most people as a bell curve.

Most reviews on Monochrome Heaven grade music like teachers grade assignments. They do not follow a bell curve. A 10 is just great, an 8 is average, a 5 is bad, a 1 is inexplicably bad, and there's no way to separate good albums from great albums, and great albums from legendary ones.

I do, and because I do it makes it easier for me to describe albums in broad strokes. For me, a 3 is average and what most releases I hear should get (and look, it does!). I haven't rated many albums as garbage and no release to date has gotten above a 4 from me. You can read what each of them represents here, and when you're done you can tell me all about those "great" releases I liked that are actually trash and vice versa.

[seratonin 43]

opinions are opinions and tastes are tastes... if everyone agreed with each other and had the same taste as each other, then the world would be a pretty boring place don't you think? So basically why are you even replying here? his opinion differs from yours and nothing is gonna change that, so why bother? Also I don't really think a 3/5 score constitutes it being "trash" and I don't think Zess thinks so either otherwise he would have given it a real trash score, let's say a 1/5.

If you really wanted to make a worthwhile post you would have reviewed it yourself and stated why you like it in the first place instead of disagreeing with him and not backing up your opinion.

well yes, Zess thought this release was a 3/5 but i thought this was more like a 1/5 with the exception of 覚醒.

don't get me wrong though, i love lycaon's older releases, but this album had too much of a new style with thrown in electronic bits.

Specific examples: THE STALIN, I thought was okay, not a 1/5, and GALLOWS I thought probably 3.5/5. Mejibray 5/5 with exception of last track of regular edition!

I noticed for a while Zess never gave anything higher than a 4 star, so when I saw this rated as 3 star, I'm like how? That's pretty high up for Zess

opinions are opinions and tastes are tastes... if everyone agreed with each other and had the same taste as each other, then the world would be a pretty boring place don't you think? So basically why are you even replying here? his opinion differs from yours and nothing is gonna change that, so why bother? Also I don't really think a 3/5 score constitutes it being "trash" and I don't think Zess thinks so either otherwise he would have given it a real trash score, let's say a 1/5.

If you really wanted to make a worthwhile post you would have reviewed it yourself and stated why you like it in the first place instead of disagreeing with him and not backing up your opinion.

you have it reverse lol. 3/5 is average, i thought this album was more like 1/5, i want yuuki to sing with a more metal, solid voice like he was doing before, he sounds

like he's trying too hard to sound sexy, and remove all the electric parts, need more metal elements and need to show off satoshi's guitars, not hide it with all the edits

O, jeez you guys sound a bit butt hurt lol, I just meant its coincidence we think kinda opposite.

@Zess i never said i thought releases you thought are great i think is trash, just releases you thought were average, like this one

So how do you feel about classical music though? Just curious

[blackdoll 907]

"he sounds like he's trying too hard to sound sexy"

 

 

wrong he just playing trying to be free and do what he wants. cant you just say you dont like him anymore? like you dont know his mind set or have you tried too.

[kyoselflove 2680]

I really love this album, 黒のダチュラ is one of my favorite Lycaon songs.  I love his voice now better than before, I don't really care for screaming but I don't mind it as long as its not the whole song.  I loved Royal Order but I defiantly love the way Lycaon is going.  And I love it when electronic meets rock.

[seratonin 43]

Well I usually love when electronic meets rock, I guess in the way it was in this album, I dont think it sounds that great lol.

But if they release something i like in the future (like 薔薇 single that i went crazy for) I tell you

[blackdoll 907]

Score: | PINK MILK WITH DRUGS MY DRINK.

---

 

+ Who's bad disco party, The end [delusion], and Pain killer