the GazettE - BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY

[Rosebetz 302]

Just received my copy finaly , but its uploaded already, just want to know you opinions a listen to few tracks and im absolutely in love with these

 

INSIDE BEAST

LAST HEAVEN

黒く澄んだ空と残骸と片翅

 

 

Gonna update when i listen to all of it!^^

 

KUROKU SUNDA SORA TO ZANGAI KATAHANE- This song is going to be absolut  headbeng at lives EPIC!!

[Zeus 7997]

Score: | We can all just stop listening to Ruki describe what he thinks his albums sound like.

---

 
At what point will the GazettE realize that compiling bits of sounds from previous eras does not channel that sound? BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY was billed as a "return to basics", but five tracks in and the previously released FADELESS is the only thing that resembles that sound, and it's a poor carbon copy at that.
 
As a whole, the album is the application of the visual kei formula, the GazettE style. It's less of the NIL sound and more an amalgamation of everything they've ever done with an emphasis on the STACKED RUBBISH/TOXIC eras. There's a certain je ne sais quoi of the earlier GazettE periods that poke through now and then but for the most part, the result is unimpressive and reeks of "been here, done that". The combination of influences from song to song and throughout the album proves to be the only novel thing this album offers.
 
BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY doesn't deserve a low grade because there is a clear and obvious focus on composition, which addresses all of my complaints from the last three years. The electronic bits that make frequent but tasteful appearances don't detract from this (for a change). What hurts BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY the most, and what prevents it from becoming anything more than "that forgettable GazettE album that wasn't all that bad", is the lack of a killer track. No track impressed me to the point where I'll think about listening to it again. I have nothing to recommend a listener listen to or avoid at all costs. I have no witty jokes or insightful comments. In all truthfulness, I'll probably never listen to this album again.

 

It's just that average.

[indigo 389]

5/10

[sai 868]

Ruki: "This album will be a throwback to earlier eras. We've incorporated sounds and ideas from NIL and Stacked Rubbish into BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY".

 

My only response to that statement is this:

 

 

I think that at this point we've all learned that we should not trust Ruki when it comes to "what the album will sound like". Remember he said DIVISION disc 2 would sound like DIM? Yeah, I'm not going to say anything about disc 2 of DIVISION.

 

Alright, now to the actual review of this album. Let me start by saying that BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY is a huge step up from DIVISION in the sense that I can actually listen through the whole thing without wanting to throw my computer out of the window.

 

MALFORMED BOX is probably the best intro the GazettE has done since 2010. INFUSE INTO and XI really don't do much when it comes to electronics. MALFORMED BOX does. I love how it flows so smoothly into INSIDE BEAST, which in my opinion is the best promotional song GazettE has released since SHIVER. It's insane, it's all over the place, but it's still good. I do feel like they could've done more with it (just like most of the songs on this album) but hey, there's improvement. The electronics ARE basically the melody while Aoi and Uruha chug along and are therefore really well incorporated in comparison to DIVISION and TOXIC where the electronics were basically some random bleeps and bloops.

 

UNTIL IT BURNS OUT sounds like a lynch. song, for some reason. Both the title and intro sound like it in any case. I like pretty much everything up until the chorus. The aggressive parts just don't fit together with the mood of the chorus (the same problem I had with the song I feel like this one sounds like, namely ASHES from the EXODUS EP). Not really feeling it.

 

DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER is pretty nice, probably one of my favourites on the album (good job Aoi). Could've done without the poor English though. FADELESS I already reviewed in the thread for the single, so I'm not going to go too deep into it. It's probably the only song on here that actually has some NIL/SR influences though. REDO is the lighter upbeat track on the album. It's not outstanding, but it's a decent track that I don't mind listening to again. I felt like the main problem with most of these tracks so far is that they're just not COMPLETE. It's like they could've done a lot more with them if they had released this album a few months later. Then again, perhaps they were forced to release another full length this year, or maybe it has to do with this whole 3-album contract thing, I don't know.

 

LAST HEAVEN is...decent. It's a standard ballad which is in each case better than QUIET. I like how they just went for a standard ballad and not trying to do another Chizuru or DIM SCENE because they've tried and for some reason it didn't work time after time again. It missed the emotion and build-up for it to be successful. On that note, I sort of like LAST HEAVEN after another listen. Luckily Ruki doesn't go overboard with the English on this one.

 

LOSS is also quite good, though it probably would've been better with another vocalist. Ruki just sounds plain flat and there is hardly any emotion in the more driven section. The vocalwork throughout this entire album has been incredibly boring tbqh. THE STUPID TINY INSECT I just don't like. It's a basic GazettE song but it just isn't solid. It sounds like a rejected b-side from FADELESS, which just isn't good.

 

Out of the remaining songs I only remember slightly liking IN BLOSSOM (after that 'urgh' obligatory heavy section it becomes a lot better actually) and 鴉 being a fun upbeat track with some neat bass (not rare since Reita composed this one). The rest is forgettable and were probably filler tracks to fill up the album. DAZZLING DARKNESS' intro was nice, but I didn't like the vocal work. To be quite honest, the last two full tracks could've been left out.

 

tl;dr

 

|| It is a step up from their previous two albums, but it's just decent. Nothing more. Like Zess said, there is not a single track that can be described as "the killer track" (like 13 STAIRS was on DIM) and the album doesn't have any specific high or lows, it just sits in between...and if average is a step up for a band, then that is not a good sign.

[Delkmiroph 1649]

The last years I don't have gladdened with the releases them, the last single was disaster, So this new album that I just listen is really good. I've the sensation that of just wanting to hear this album sometimes only. It is worth buy ? I think so, the cover art is awesome would be a purchase of collection, Already that this album is no the better and neither the back of real the gazettE.

 

As long for fans the album will be well appreciated (Because fans loves the artist work despite of bad release or big hit). I just like two tracks that is: 7. LAST HEAVEN  (for me this track is better of album) and 12 黒く澄んだ空と残骸と片翅 (that show the real sound them that impress any listener.

 

 

Score:  (they did the them duty to fans.)

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

So far, I really like it. I've always been a fan of them putting modulated synths in their work. Toxic, for me, was a great album. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but I don't really care. I love it. So hearing those influences on a few tracks, Inside Beast, Devouring One Another, Stupid Tiny Insect.... I enjoyed that a lot. I thought the intro to the album, Malformed Box, was a great way to start the album. Could've probably been a great full song. 

 

Fadeless ended up being a good single to represent the album, but was still one of my lesser favorites, that and Redo which was definitely a departure from the rest of the feel of the album... It was good, better than the preview suggested, but still not as good as the rest of the album.

 

I loved Last Heaven. Thought it was an amazing ballad.

 

Not a fan of the intros of In Blossom and Karasu, but at least In Blossom got better. I really don't care for Karasu at all. 

 

Loss was a really pretty/dark/atmospheric song (if you will) that I enjoyed immensely.

 

Kuroku... Is a good song for it's energy, it definitely has a fun rocking out vibe that I approve of 100%. 

 

To Dazzling Darkness is just reminiscent of Chizuru enough for me to be in love, totally fantastic song. I'll be playing this one a lot, just like I did with Chizuru. 

 

Coda was a great outro, could've been a great song, but whatever.

 

Overall, I'd give it a 5/5... Maybe a 4.5/5, but I really enjoyed every song save for Karasu.

[bonsaijodelfisch 328]

accurate depiction of my feels to this album

 

to be fair, only to the first half or so of it. i had to stop there because of severe boredom, i doubt i missed the "interesting" bits...

[YuyoDrift 1540]

A review already?!?!?

 

Man, you guys are brutal....

 

I'll sample the album for a few days and then get back to you guys.

 

ーじゃまた。今ガゼットを聞いています。

[Spectralion 394]

A review already?!?!?

 

Man, you guys are brutal....

 

My thought exactly...

After listening to whole album, the best things in the album are the intro and outro... I found it interesting...

 

[dannemannen 69]

Feels like they totally have lost their talent to create memorable/melodic choruses.
More than halfway through the album and not even one slightly good chorus... Baaaahhh boring... 4/10.
 

[nekkichi 6043]

well this is the best vk release of 2013, since dir en grey haven't done a proper album and unraveling is mostly questionably covers.

 

that being said, it is an extremely boring album that might/might not be a grower. my vk playlist is getting stale, and idk if this is better than nothing new at all.

 

there's a clear lack of jamming de-de-de-derangement-quality single material here.

 

 

I sometimes wonder what happened to people in charge of their brill madara to gama releases, since none of recent psc bands are particularly impressive (I mean, screw got nice production but they have the most flat vocalist to appear in this scene past nightmare's yomi)

[Furik 832]

I lpve it. A thousand times bettrr than DIVISION. But not as good as TOXIC.

Devouring One Another is a great track.

Also glad to hear Ruki's real scream back instead of voxd shit.

8/10

Will docs proper review when I'm not on mobile.

[GazeRockSnob 34]

Lol half the time I think some of you people are just programmed to give sad reviews about GazettE's efforts but my say on the album:

 

FRICK I love it. Toxic was okay. Division was good but frick I love Beautiful Deformity. I feel like they totally stepped up and I love hearing Ruki's voice without so much editing fuuuck.

 

My favourite off the album would have to be To Dazzling Darkness. I think that song is organized so well and it starts off so beautifully and continues beautifully for the rest of the song. The female harmonies are hypnotizing and the riffs between 2:02 and 2:25 make me so emotional jfc. It's an amazing song.

 

I also really love CODA and I really wish it wasn't just an outro. It could have been so much more.

 

I feel like they really made an effort to go 'back to the basics' because I do hear influences from the past ;w;

 

Track by Track soon ^^

[Ro plz 1290]

Props to Uruha for having the description of the album nailed. It was pretty much exactly "back to the basics" with a great effort put fourth into it. While Beautiful Deformity is no where close to being as amazing as DIM was, it most def is their most original album since that era. THIS was the album I wanted from them. I love the distinction between both Aoi and Uruha's parts which was very well missed. It sounds like you can tell clearly who wrote what song because it makes such an impact (more so than previous releases).Also, I get the feeling that the band really enjoyed making this album and while it is a back to the basic's album, I did notice that they did their best to add some spice and newness to the songs. INSIDE BEAST as a whole is pretty much a pretty damn good song that packs a lot of punch and is a lot more memorable than DERANGEMENT. Yes, Ill admit that the choruses could have been done better but I feel that the effort and overall song composition overshadows em. This is actually a release I really wouldn't mind putting money towards in the near future. It deserves it honestly. My faith in the band has been restored and they def exceeded my expectations (which were low...especially because of FADELESS).

If you were expecting a brand new album, which is what I feel is the issue with a lot of the above posters...of course you'll be disappointed. However, if you want a refresher of what the band can do with no hold's barred, then this is it. Its similar to Girugamesh's new releases. It's a come back.

Now its totally okay to expect them to actually explore and try new things in future releases.

4.5/5

[ghost 2687]

I think a good sign is after my initial listen of the album, I went back to listen to Division and found it was much worse than I remember.

For the most part, Beautiful Deformity improves upon everything in Division leaving their last album somewhat obsolete, although maybe it's one of those things where without Division (and Toxic) we wouldn't have this latest album.

 

I want to do a more in depth review, but here are some thoughts from my initial listen.

 

Intro - Great lead into the album, nice transition into second track.

Inside Beast - Super catchy, chorus is actually not bad, better use of female vocals, great integration of electronics

Redo - pretty fun, found myself singing the melody while at work. I...kinda get Do As Infinity vibes from the song.....

Karasu - I actually really enjoy the track, I'm reminded a lot of their sound from Disorder, which is one of my favorite albums by them.

Kuroku...- Fun rock out track, with some aight melody sections.

To Dazzling Darkness - I found this track ultimately underwhelming. I can't say that I really remember it, besides the intro.

 

The album will grow on me within the next few days, but something I can already tell is that these don't feel like completed songs.

A lot of the sections within songs sound more like placeholders like "Okay, what if we did this here? We can try something later. Oh wait, the deadline is tomorrow. Let's just roll with it!" 

That was the same problem with Division; good bits and pieces, but no good wholes.

 

Ruki's vocals are also becoming more and more annoying to me. He seems to just blend everything together with no real distinct melody, which is what annoyed me about "Quiet." 

 

Anywho, 5.5/10 for now.

[Augie1995 325]

Both Sai and Hellion have points that I share with them. There really isn't a track on here that leaves me like, "Holy crap, I really gotta spam the crap out of it" this time around, but this album is a more solid effort than TOXIC and DIVISION. The GazettE is finally over having to need the electronic bleeps and sounds every time something new happens in a song and leave it more to adding a background or just for the intros and outros of a song. MALFORMED BOX has to be the best intro post-DIM yet, and CODA (while it's not an SE) is definitely an amazing album closer and Uruha just nailed that. REDO and LAST HEAVEN are definitely some fresh songs we haven't heard from The GazettE in a while...or ever. REDO has a very nice piano melody towards the intro but I can definitely hear the guitars have a tone reminiscent to STACKED RUBBISH or perhaps their REGRET single. LAST HEAVEN was a definite change of pace, it seems lately we've been hearing The GazettE try to be heavy but here's them trying to go in another direction with the "romantic" acoustic melodies. Tracks 8-12 all feel like they'd be more suited to be played at a live show. TO DAZZLING DARKNESS is Yoin to me but with less of a somber tone. We have some dark melodies going on but the song seems to eventually pick up the pace and change. Absolutely love the transition between To DAZZLING DARKNESS and CODA

 

I like this album and I don't, it's keeping my attention, but just that. I keep coming back to it but I don't know what about it makes me come back. DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER has to be the one song I truly end up skipping not even halfway through. I'm going to give this a couple more listens throughout this week, maybe when I'm not so preoccupied with college tests but this might end up growing on me soon enough. but right now it's a little like Zess said, "average"

 

I do love the fact that Reita is AUDIBLE!!! Also, Kai s probably the prominent thing in this album, and by that, I mean that I enjoyed his instrumentation the most, truly some awesome drum lines

 

Better songs of the crop: REDO, LAST HEAVEN, TO DAZZLING DARKNESS, CODA, INSIDE BEAST

 

By the by: BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY s currently ranked #9 in the iTunes UK metal chart

[sai 868]

Lol half the time I think some of you people are just programmed to give sad reviews about GazettE's efforts

 

This would be true if the GazettE actually put in any effort at all (unless their taste has gone to shit which is also quite possible).

 

To be quite honest, I would love to hear this album with a different vocalist. I know I'll probably get shot for this but I think most of the tracks could've been a lot more interesting if they had more diverse and interesting vocals. Ruki sounds as exciting and flat as a cardboard box and he just sings in the same tone throughout the entire album. And at this point it's really starting to annoy me about this band.

 

/also I don't see how To Dazzling Darkness resembles Chizuru. TDD pretty lacked all emotions/build up that Chizuru had, tbqh it was a poor man's attempt at another Chizuru.

 

Last thing: when did they forget how to make decent choruses because even though everything around it is different I heard the same chorus like 6 times on this album.

[platanity 99]

i dont know why , but this time , this album is way too chaotic and out of consistency in my opinion-

maybe if they've had arranged the tracks in the different order, it could've been less disruptive .

ive had felt few times of impressions of "marilyn manson's background sfx" influence (track 2, 4, and cant remember)

but then again, ive always thought they had something with manson's style of using samples (leech, filth in the beauty, etc) .

and ive had (heavy) good expectations on the preview track (which turned out to be "to dazzling darkness") ,

but it came out something really different than what ive imagined (ive expected something cinematic like "dim scene") 

but REALLY good catchy intro (ive almost wanted to copy and use it as as homage for my own composition) .

but all in all, i could see that they 'tried' to compose tracks as a whole congruent album instead of compilation of

'single' type tracks (ie; toxic), but this album's way too narrow and chaotic for me to 'like' it . i couldnt remember

any of the tracks (except the picked tracks below) from the album, even ive heard 10, 20 times .

 

still , again, contrary to popular votes, 'toxic' is still the best album in the recent works ('dim' being the superb amongst post-nil era) .

 

best track picks :

2. inside beast (i dig the female vocal sampling, very nice one this time)

6. redo (a+)

13. to dazzling darkness (very nice intro)

14. coda (love the acoustics)

 

overall : 2.5/5

[hiroki 5521]

Interesting to see the reviews so polarized, but that's unsurprising given that it's the GazettE.

 

I'll get straight to my own views. I didn't like the album; neither do I dislike it. It's one of those mundane, forgettable releases which easily pass you by. If the songs happen to play while I'm cleaning my room, I doubt I'll have any idea wth just played at the end of it.

 

Everyone has their pet criteria for evaluation - for me melody and concept matter a great deal, and I'm afraid the album hasn't done very well on both fronts.

 

I saw everyone raving about LAST HEAVEN, but being someone with a soft spot for the "darker" sort of ballads I was left somewhat disappointed. I can't help but feel it's a big notch below PLEDGE (for me, their best ballad).

 

For the rest of their songs I'll simply say that melodic development was largely very predictable (perhaps they meant it that way; still, I didn't like it) and precious little which could genuinely draw me in.

[RpgRiser 70]

Time for a small review.

 

1. MALFORMED BOX

Freaking awesome intro! I really love it,especially the drums towards the end,which let us think that the next track will be really powerful!

8/10

 

2. INSIDE BEAST

Dat intro *_*  I love the use of female vocals and electro elements,but I feel that they are a bit too overwhelming at some times.

The instrumental is really good, the only problem is (please don't kill me) Ruki...

I think that he could have made some more efforts,especially during the bridges.

7.5/10

 

3. UNTIL IT BURNS OUT

Too generic to be interesting... They could have done much better for the chorus.

Booooring.

4/10

 

4. DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER

This track makes me think a bit of Ruthless Deed, but in more boring.

Very boring...

4.5/10

 

5. FADELESS

Not bad,some good ideas but not well executed.

6/10

 

6. REDO

This reminds me of another song from them, don't remember which...

It sounds like an anime ending.

Not good but not bad either.

5.5/10

 

7. LAST HEAVEN

Ahhh...

Good ballad, luckily it doesn't get boring,but it could still be better.

7/10

 

8. LOSS

Another track with good ideas, but not well executed. Gets boring quickly.

5/10

 

9. THE STUPID TINY INSECT

This one is not bad,pretty good I might say,but still pretty generic.

6/10

 

10. IN BLOSSOM

"Another OGRE?" That's what the intro made me think of.

This was pretty good, one of the rare ones which didn't bore me!

7/10

 

11. Karasu

Good track,but it missed a little "something" to make it stand out from the others.

6.5/10

 

12. Kuroku Sunda Sora to Zangai to Katahane

"YES! Finally a good violent track!",that's what I thought

If only there wasn't any singing and kept the violent side...

The singing ruined everything...

But still a good track.

7/10

 

13. TO DAZZLING DARKNESS

It bored me right from the beginning...

But luckily it gets better after!

6.5/10

 

14. CODA

This outro...

*q*

A really good way to end this album.

Loved it!

8/10

 

 

CONCLUSION

First thing,this band is REALLY good at making intros and outros!

Next,this album contained good ideas but they weren't executed well.It's a shame,there was so much potential! Much better than DIVISION anyway.

Another thing(please don't kill me),for me Ruki is both the strength and the weakness of the GazettE.

He can make song become absolutely beautiful,as he can make them become boring.

6/10

 

Favorite tracks: MALFORMED BOX, INSIDE BEAST, IN BLOSSOM, CODA.

[nullmoon 784]

I saw everyone raving about LAST HEAVEN, but being someone with a soft spot for the "darker" sort of ballads I was left somewhat disappointed. I can't help but feel it's a big notch below PLEDGE (for me, their best ballad).

 

Totally agree with this; I honestly don't see why people are raving about Last Heaven.

 

I'm not a huge GazettE fan but I do listen to their albums from time to time. Division disappointed me slightly and I definitely see Toxic as the better album out the two. However, compared to this album, Division is much more coherent and...just more exciting. Beautiful Deformity suffers from being a tad boring and as others have said, there isn't really a stand out track. With that said though, the album isn't bad per se, just lacking the originality and excitement found in their other releases.

 

Devouring One Another is perhaps my favourite but I'm a big fan of Fadeless.

 

Oh, their use of Malformed Box and Coda is incredible. Both songs are great and they mix into their neighbouring tracks seamlessly. Brilliant stuff.

[Pretsy 1343]

A few thoughts after listening to this album:

 

Unlike in earlier albums, intro and outro seem to flow very well to their neighboring tracks (just as it was said before).

 

But I felt in certain moments that they were just trying to improve DIVISION's weak spots (consider INSIDE BEAST to be their revision on DUHDUHDUHRANGEMENT) - and ending up as something forgettable.

After the first listen, I felt like I'd go with the second round - why? My view on that matter:

 

As sai said; there are many, many good ideas happening in most songs, but that's where stumbling block comes: choruses are boring, BORING, BORING!!! Uruha deserves big props for at least trying to do something "outstanding" instrumentally (I remember LAST HEAVEN having some bluesy solos, kinda neat), Reita should've had a consistent role instead of FADELESS-like "hey, don't forget me!"-parts, Aoi still has a lot to improve (just because you are a "rhythm guitarist", it doesn't mean you just have to chug along) and Kai did much better work here than in Division (being consistent, why not).

 

What about Ruki? His range,  sense of melody and hook ideas in general are pretty much the current, weakest link of Gazette. Get him a professional ghost writer to write melodies that won't make you zone out, Sony pls.

 

In other words, there is no chemistry in between Ruki's throwaway choruses and members' "decent" ideas.

 

Also: by "Back to early years"-vibe I don't necessarily mean "you have to rehash riffage/melodies", Gazette (Kuroku, Loss, THE STUPID TINY SONG)

 

Listing the only decent songs in my book, by numerical order:

 

1. INSIDE BEAST

2. DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER

3. FADELESS

4. MALFORMED BOX and CODA

5. IN BLOSSOM (has its moments)

 

 

Call it 6/10

and a protip for Gazette: 1) Hiatus 2) Let Ruki do some co-op work with professionals 3) Comeback 4) Hopefully Ruki will know how to "convince" that way.

 

PS. guys, just ditch TDD - CODA is a perfect outro for 13STAIRS[-]1, trust me!

[enyx 903]

There hasn’t been anywhere enough time to properly digest this album, so consider this more of a “first-impressions” than a definitive review.

 

Going into this album my faith in the GazettE was pretty much the lowest point it had ever been at. I got in to them shortly after DIM’s release and greatly enjoyed not just that album, but their previous material as well. TOXIC and DIVISION, however, both disappointed me (especially the latter). FADELESS didn’t do much to convince me that this album was going to be any different, but I’m delighted to say that I’m pleasantly surprised by BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY, though it does share some of their previous two releases’ low points.

 

MALFORMED BOX - Good

The obligatory GazeStep intro. This one sounds substantially better than [XI] & INFUSE INTO in my opinion.  I guess there’s not much else I can say beyond that since it’s just an SE, so on to the next track.

 

INSIDE BEAST - Good

I really don’t want to like this track… but I just can’t help it. Although I don’t mind electronic music in general, I never felt that the GazettE were very successful when incorporating it into their own music. I felt that this was particularly noticeable in the English-titled half of DIVISION, most of those tracks just sounded like very formulaic GazettE tracks with some random WUBWUBWUB thrown over the top to try to mask how dull they were. INSIDE BEAST, however, seems to actually use the electronic elements as a key component of the song, and that’s why it succeeds where previous attempts failed. It’s also ridiculously catchy, particularly the chorus. This is probably going to be my ‘guilty pleasure’ of the album.

 

UNTIL IT BURNS OUT - Poor

This song is a complete waste of time and very characteristic of what dragged down DIVISION & TOXIC. It feels like the bare-minimum of a GazettE song, it does nothing particularly interesting and just feels like it’s there for the sake of having another song on the album *yawn*.

 

DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER - Good

Quite like this track. It definitely gives off a Marilyn Manson vibe which I’ve seen a few other people mention and personally I dig it. Ruki’s screams are incredibly satisfying on this song and generally speaking it’s just an enjoyable heavy track.

 

FADELESS - Poor

Didn't really care for this when it came out and I still don’t care for it now. I get the fact that it’s sort of a throwback to their YEEHAW GAZERAWWK days but all that accomplishes is highlighting how dull their instrumentation is at times compared to those days.

 

REDO - Awesome

For some reason I just really dig this track. It’s chill, relaxing and quite different from their other ballads over the last few years. Quite like the guitar lines in this track too, they aren’t exceptional but they’re good enough to keep the song interesting throughout. If I had to think of a criticism for this song, it’s that I wish it was longer.

 

LAST HEAVEN - Awesome

A lot of people have been singing this song’s praises and I have to agree with them, this is easily Ruki’s best composition in the SONY era. The highlight has to be that guitar solo towards the end, fantastic stuff.

 

LOSS - Undecided

I don’t know what to make of this song, on one hand I like many of the individual sections that it has but on the other hand I find it really disjointed when they’re all thrown together into the same song. It feels like the band tried to incorporate too many ideas and it just ends up feeling enjoyable yet awkward and directionless. Maybe I just need more time to digest it.

 

THE STUPID TINY INSECT - Good

What happens when you fuse VENOMOUS SPIDER’S WEB, SLUDGY CULT & ヘドロ together into one song? You get THE STUPID TINY INSECT. Somehow this track feels more complete than the aforementioned three in my opinion, it’s not revolutionary but it’s certainly enjoyable.

 

IN BLOSSOM - Awesome

This track is ridiculously awesome! Well, it’s awesome once that awkward, unnecessarily-trying-too-hard-to-be-heavy, intro is done with. Once the song properly gets going, however, it just kicks ass all the way until the end. Fantastic stuff.

 

鴉 - Awesome

Another ridiculously awesome track. I love the energy and its “in your face” nature. This just sounds like one of those songs that the band had a lot of fun with and you can feel that when you listen to it. In that sense it kind of reminds me of their indie days; it’s scrappy and just fun as hell.

 

黒く澄んだ空と残骸と片翅 - Undecided

I've had a different impression of this song each time I've listened to it. On one hand it’s an energetic heavy track, on the other hand it feels kind of generic and formulaic. I guess this is another one I’ll have to let sink in before I can make my mind up.

 

TO DAZZLING DARKNESS - Poor

This is the most disappointing song on the album in terms of what I expected after hearing the previews. I already knew that I didn’t care for FADELESS and UNTIL IT BURNS OUT’s preview didn’t do much to make me interested in the song but I was expecting more from TO DAZZLING DARKNESS. It starts out quite good, it’s atmospheric and dark, but then it just seems to aimlessly meander around and never really develops into anything.

 

CODA - Good

A good closing track, very atmospheric build up before it finally starts to break out about half way through the song. Probably my favourite closing track since DIM SCENE.

 

Conclusion

BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY is a definite step up from the GazettE’s previous two albums, though admittedly that isn’t saying much on its own. My big issue with TOXIC & DIVISION was how formulaic many of the songs sounded, they were effectively the bare-minimum requirements of whatever GazettE-song-archetype they were going for. BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY’s tracks feel like they have a lot more soul put into them aside from the occasional let down here & there. It might not reach the heights of DIM or NIL, but it’s definitely the most consistent album they’ve put out in the SONY era so far. I’d rank it below DIM & NIL but well above TOXIC & DIVISION, kind of in the middle ground that I also consider DISORDER & STACKED RUBBISH to be in.

[Elazmus 1873]

Okay I gave Beautiful Deformity a solid 24 hours to sink in on me. I think I'm ready to go song-by-song now lol:

 

01. Malformed Box -- Best intro track since DIM, starts with a similar idea to INFUSE INTO but doesn't sound dull or repetitive. Throws a lot of different sounds at you that all come together like one nice, happy family once the song gets into full swing. Transitions seamlessly to the next song which also works to it's benefit, very entertaining: [[8.5/10]]

 

02. Inside Beast -- Picking up where the first left off, the electronic sound becomes very dancy, somewhat too much so for me. This strikes me as GazettE having fun / making fun off music in general, the PV opens with a few very cheesy shots of a club/party scene and Ruki in a limo until the song AND video eventually dissolve into a darker, almost sarcastic GazettE sound. It's a "fun" song that shares a lot in common with The Suicide Circus but I think I would mostly prefer the latter. Good for what it was, but not a favorite of mine: [[6.5/10]]

 

03. Until It Burns Out -- One of the two tracks that I still have trouble remembering, there are certainly segments to like about this track if you are a GazettE fan, but If you are already feeling critical of them then this will likely fail to snare your attention until it's been playing for a while. This is the best way I can describe it, a few times I had to check what I was listening to because I liked something I heard. Still not enough to make me go looking for it again, Try to remember that this track exists as it is not a bad song but no one should blame you if it drops off your radar: [[5.5/10]]

 

04. Devouring One Another -- This is one of my favorites on the album, and also of the entire post-DIM collection thus far. The key reason for this is that they are playing to their strengths, heavy, eerie industrial sounds coupled with low vocal tones and characteristic choral shouts make this song very invigorating despite the overall slow pace. Fans of Marilyn Manson's "Golden Age Of Grotesque" should find the good qualities in this one, delving deeper into an atmosphere that was teased at with Gabriel on The Gallows on the last album. It is a sound that I hope they grow on and continue to chase after: [[8/10]]

 

05. Fadeless -- Hmm. It's fadeless, did not care for it as a single and honestly it does not fit very well into this album. At the very least it sets the wrong example for what this album is meant to sound like. Even when I was listening to the single itself, I had trouble remembering what this song sounds like as nothing stood out to me. There's nothing really wrong or bad about this track, but it is really unimpressive. Seems uninspired and in my mind simply wastes a single spot on the track list which contributes next to nothing to the album. Good if you are hearing GazettE for the first time, but not if you are looking for growth: [[6/10]]

 

06. Redo -- This is not a bad song, I want to be upfront about that. What really makes this one suffer is it's placement. After the sleep-inducing Fadeless, The listener probably could have used something energetic to snap them back into the mood. Personally, I wouldn't have minded the inclusion of another SE track, as the ones used on this album were a key selling point in their own right (DIVISION used instrumental in the middle of the album to effectively break up the two sides) I still like this one, but it's another that I would forget what it is I am hearing at the time: [[6.5/10]]

 

07. Last Heaven -- Ahh, a song that is as we speak being put on the latest pedestal. To be fair, it deserves this treatment in a lot of ways. The first thing I notice about it is that it is an obviously superior ballad which allows it to totally bury the decent ballad track before it, both songs actually give me a healthy dose of nostalgia from their early acoustic songs. Ruki does well to keep his vocals delicate outside of the chorus thus making the chorus itself more meaningful when he sings at the top of his voice (Something he really needs to start using sparingly.) This is also the longest song on the album despite still not breaking 5 minutes. Much more memorable than the similar Quiet from the Fadeless single. It's not entirely unique but it is a song that deserves to be talked about: [[8/10]]

 

08. Loss -- The least memorable song on Beautiful Deformity. This song seems unsure on where to go after the quiet climax that was Last Heaven. It begins on a pleasant atmosphere, but then proceeds to dace around between ideas without ever committing to anything, finally settling down with some typical chorus patterns. By the time you get around to wondering if you should skip the song, it just kind of ends. This is another spot that I believe would have been better occupied but and instrumental for atmosphere (a reflection period after the ballad, if you will) This is forgettable in every sense unfortunately, without actually being bad. Not much more to say: [[5/10]]

 

09. The Stupid Tiny Insect -- This song features my favorite intro of all, (this is the preview I was compelled to repeat more than any other) The dark industrial rhythm that opens the track and the subsequent guitar riffs that follow had me more excited than at any other point, sounded perfect to me. The song continues on a strong note even if never living up to the promise of the intro. The chorus is the only slightly off-putting segment to me. The repeated "Guruguruguru" vocal sound seems to want to expand on that of Hedoro on DIVISION, but in my opinion takes it a little too far to the point where it comes across as silly/borderline-annoying sounding. That being said, it is my ONLY real qualm about this track. Speaks loudly to me: [[7.5/10]]

 

10. In Blossom -- Seems to be a overlooked or perhaps underrated song so far (from the opinions I've seen at least) This one starts out on an almost shapelessly aggressive tone that should remind listeners of songs from DIM's Ogre to even older hits like Discharge. The vocal melodies seem to have a powerful flair in this song that puts it above tracks like Until It Burns Out and makes this song feel important. It's not easy to explain the true appeal of In Blossom but I would encourage anyone to hear it all the way through first: [[7/10]]

 

11. Karasu -- I was very on the fence about this one based on the preview. It started reminding me of how heavy visual kei sounded when GazettE was still a young band, you may forget which song is playing for this one too, though not for the same reason as the ones I mentioned already. This song changes up so dramatically that it could have you convinced it has moved on to the next song, it sounds like a bit of a mashup the first time you hear it, but don't let the first time be the last. This song gave me a sense of nostalgia very different to the one I had during Redo and Last Heaven: [[7/10]]

 

12. Kuroku Sunda Sora to Zanagi Katabane -- Continues with the aggression and becomes even heavier. Unfortunately it does suffer from a repetitive chugging riff but when you look at older classics like Maggots from NIL, one has to wonder if that truly hurts the song so much. There is an impressively and surprisingly catchy chorus to this song that puts some of the more expectedly catchy songs to shame. This song along with Karasu are easy to skip because of the seemingly directionless aggression, but GazettE does it quite well and you won't regret allowing it to play through: [[8/10]]

 

13. To Dazzling Darkness -- Very underwhelming in it's entirety. The intro and the mood it sets are beautiful, something that could have lived up to the dark spectacles of Chizuru, Dim Scene, or Taion. Unfortunately it fails to capitalize on this great hype, as a listener it almost seems that the band wanted a song like that on this album as Division lacked one, but got cold feet in the middle of the composition phase. This song captures you in the beginning but I can still hardly remember the remainder of the song. I fear I will only ever see this song as "what could have been" be aware that the intro and mood would have warranted a 9/10 from me, but given how flat it fell...: [[6.5/10]]

 

14. Coda -- Truly a highlight, such a stark contrast to the rest of Beautiful Deformity. It really speaks for itself, finally pulling the trigger on the somber, punctuation mark that the album deserves. The length was a little short for me, but in a way that simply leaves me pining for more. If you listen to nothing else on this album, even if you HATE GazettE overall, spend 3 minutes of your time listening to Coda. It's a beautiful piece that can be enjoyed by a wide spectrum of listeners: [[9/10]]

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Take note, my grading scale may seem generous to many of you. I am a fan of GazettE simply using a percent-system to grade songs the way that papers a graded by schools / professors, 90-100% = A, 80-89 = B etc. With that being said:

 

Overall grade: 99/140 = Approx: 70%

[bada9412 28]

I find it pretty funny how everybody lists songs that they like, while others say they hate them (and vice versa). Have you ever thought that maybe the GazettE isn't an awful band, and we just have different opinions ? 

 

The effort that they've put into this is clearly noticable. The only song I didn't like was INSIDE BEAST, but tbh, the chorus did really stick with me.

Although I really like this album, I still have some complaints. The choruses DO sound alike in the more "heavy" songs. I liked them, but I expected a tiny bit more. The songs that I really liked were ( minus FADELESS) :

 

- UNTIL IT BURNS OUT - the chorus sounded like a typical GazettE song, but the song overall did have something different, which I liked

- REDO - can't believe how you can't fall in love with this one

- LAST HEAVEN - best ballad since Untitled

- LOSS - great chorus

- IN BLOSSOM - amazing guitar riffs, nice chorus, nice female vocals

- karasu - clearly influenced by the style of NIL, awesome

- kuroku sunda sora to zangai to katahane - THIS is the type of song I want from the GazettE, oustanding chorus, great riffs, great build up, perfect

- CODA - the best outro I've heard from them

 

INSIDE BEAST, DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER, and THE STUPID TINY INSECT were just meh

 

And I liked the guitar in TO DAZZLING DARKNESS, that's all.