Luna Sea - A Will

[Pretsy 1343]

Edit: will get back later...

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I'm not really a -fan- of this band, per say. I've only listened to three of their albums once to try them out, and the only songs I really listen to often are 'Rosier,' 'Anubis,' and 'Civilize.' With that being said, I tried the new album out this morning.

 

I've only listened to it once so I cannot do a track by track, but honestly, nothing jumped out at me. I didn't fall in love with anything, but I didn't hate it either. For a band people are pretty much going 'YAASSSS SUGIZO YAAASSSSS' / 'vkei has returned' over, it was monumentally underwhelming. I honestly don't even want to re-listen to it a second time.

 

Maybe one day I'll change my mind and will fall in love with this album, but as someone who hasn't really cared much about this band "A Will" was just something else to hear to say "yeah, I've heard Luna Sea before." 

 

Which shall lead me to repose the question i left on their last.fm shoutbox. Had this been released by anyone else who wasn't Luna Sea, say some random no-name band, would anyone have really cared? Some people might have said "oh cool, there's some Luna Sea influence here" like they did with Vior Gloire's album, but ultimately it would remain unnoticed. 

[Flame-X 441]

I thought it was overall a fine album based on my first impressions. My expectations weren't high since they've pretty much exhausted most of their creativity back when they were making it big. But hey, at least they reunited (which I'm really thankful for) and finally released an album. The one negative thing I find as a whole is Ryuichi's vibrato. It's almost T.M.Revolution level of bad which is very grating to the ears. While I didn't mind the song RUN, it was almost unbearable to listen due to that annoying vibrato.

 

My favorite tracks: Anthem of Light, MARIA, Metamorphosis, GIN NO TSUKI

Weak: Thoughts, Grace

 

I was disappointed to see Lost World wasn't on there. I wished they replace Thoughts with that song and give it an additional treatment like adding an actual ending to the song rather than a sudden fadeout. It's a great track that feels like one of their main hits than a b-side.

 

Rating: 8/10

[saishuu 3220]

I actually liked 3/4 of the singles (RUN was just bad), so my expectations were kind of high for this. And then there were leaks of Metamorphosis and Glowing, which are great, and I thought the album would actually be very good. And that's still the impression I'm left with after listening to it.

 

I'm aware some songs don't have many standout moments, but I did not expect some crazy experimental stuff on the album, so the sappy vibe is OK for me. This is exactly what I was expecting to be honest, so I wasn't disappointed - waiting for another STYLE or MOTHER at this point is just unreasonable. I'm just glad there's new material to listen to. And the great stuff is GREAT. Seriously, Glowing is fantastic. Gin no tsuki and Metamorphosis (that guitar riff!) are really good as well. Grace, even though it comes with the traditional poppy arrangement included in 99% of the mainstream Japanese songs, kind of clicked with me too. I'll see how the others fare with me with time.

 

I'm excited to hear these songs live and how much of an energy they'll give it then. Overall, so far, I'm pleased.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Personally I found the album kind of underwhelming and boring if speaking for the general picture and/or truly new tracks. Stuff like "Rouge" or "End of the Dream" still rock, I can even get along with "Ran" (catchy chorus!) but out of the album songs only the starter "Anthem of Light" and the sexy-and-slow "Glowing" grabbed me so far. "Metamorphosis" ain't bad either but imo not at all as great as people make it out to be. The rest is just boring sappy slow stuff -- it's kinda irritating that even these tracks have some really cool parts in them (especially from Shinya and Sugizo), emphasis on parts... too few and little compared to the monstrous length of the songs themselves.

 

All in all, I feel kind of ambiguous: on the one hand I am glad and thankful that one of my long-time favorite J-rock groups finally returned with a full album of songs, however not only does it not live up to their reputation, but taking it in itself (not counting who the band in question is) it is what it is... a mostly forgettable affair, half of which we've already heard before in singles or as promo tracks (that being the better half too). I'd give it an "at least it's better than SHINE/5" rating which equals to around

[Number Girl 48]

~Late to the party~

 

It was probably my least favorite album they've made, I'll admit. It's certainly missing the passion and depth of their previous works and doesn't leave much of an impact. I thought all the single tracks were all lukewarm at best, but as a whole, I'm satisfied with how it was all put together and that they finally got something out after so many years of anticipation. "Metamorphosis" and "Anthem of Light" were my favorites and Sugizo and Inoran were really kicking ass as usual. 

[nullmoon 784]

Glowing is really repetitive to me but everyone loves it?

[Number Girl 48]

"Glowing" is alright, but I'm certainly not "loving" it. I think Ryuichi's voice ruins it for me the most.