lynch. - GALLOWS

[Zeus 7997]

Score: | How disappointing...

 

Let's get something out of the way early: this album sounds like shit.

 

The production is abysmal. Their standards have been slipping ever since I BELIEVE IN ME, and the EXODUS EP released not too long ago was a little dry for my taste. In comparison, this is a desert. A vast, barren desert where the bass and treble are too damn high, and the midsection is non existent. For a casual listener of music, this may not be an issue. But for an enthusiast like me who invested a few hundred bucks into his listening equipment, I hear nothing but production flaws. It's enough to turn potentially great songs into good songs, and mediocre songs into indistinguishable rumbling, and it's enough to take a point off the top automatically.

 

There is the odd occasion in which I can overlook lackluster production if the quality of the music is great. I've been a fan of lynch. for years, and they are one of my favorite bands, so this would be one of those times...except it's not. This album is both too long and too repetitive, and whatever ideas lynch. had didn't stretch over all songs equally. There are tracks like ENVY, DEVIL, and PHOENIX that are okay, but there's nothing that's really good. Just average songs and shit songs.

 

What's lacking is enough to scratch off two more points. There's not enough clean vocals, pop influence, or melodic variety for my tastes. For example, BULLET was decent up until the one minute mark, where the band launches into 2014's dullest breakdown. If it were just BULLET, I'd write it off as a bad track. But there are too many nameless, faceless tracks that follow one after the other that feel like cut and paste sections of melodies. Almost every track is awash with monotone harsh vocals, which becomes unpleasant to listen to after the sixth or seventh track. If it weren't already bad enough, every time there's an opportunity for a track's arrangement to grow they either repeat themselves or launch into a breakdown. The songs themselves feel too constrained and recycled, and while I don't mind if a band recycles riffs from time to time, three times in one album is too much. If you want examples, attempt to describe to yourself the differences in riffs on MAD, MERCILESS, and GUILLOTINE. I can't.

 

So 2014 comes and goes and lynch. swings and misses again. The constant misplaced metalcore influences are irritating, and lynch.'s inconsistency on the detail and creative fronts are sinking their credibility as a band that can produce decent albums at worst. If they're going to continue to show so little compositional enthusiasm, they may as well just stop.

[Original Saku 1593]

Thanks for the review Zess, I was already thinking of not listening to this and you pretty much confirmed my doubts. It's pretty sad that lynch has become like this... but oh well it happens all the time.

[Bear 1817]

Yeah, thanks. And you don't need good equipment to hear the flaws in the production. I don't have it, and I noticed the awful production as soon as I heard the first song posted on youtube. It was very obvious. A shame that. One of the very last jrock bands I've listened to for years that have been making good music these last years. Gonna check this out when I get home after easter.

 

In comparison The Avoided Sun had a weak production as well, mainly the droum sound. But the music was so good it makes up for it there.

 

Great eview though, Zess.

[acbpn 434]

Good review, gj.

 

I still love this album a little, I like the breakdown parts for sure, it's not only breakdown during those riffs, so it's not so boring.

but, Hazuki's unclean vocal in this album is dull as IKTPQ's growl-only vocals lol, a pity.

the pos songs you said, I love them b'cuz of simple and strong breakdown.

and, EXODUS EP is still my best favorite of lynch for my taste. then again you know how much I love breakdown and don't mind melodies lol.

 

 

ps. I'm such a moshcore lover that only few people could understand me what I love......

[relentless 254]

GALLOWS - a lazy attempt at an album

 

 

 

lynch. has never been a band that I would call myself a fan of; but like 12012 and Sadie, I enjoy keeping track of their sound to see where they can go next, regardless of the quality. Here, lynch. doesn't necessarily disappoint because my expectations were already so low that they were affirmed. With the same song structure for each song, and many being so eerily similar that breakdowns show up in the exact places that you expect them to, I sat bored hoping for what the next track would bring. This is as run-of-the-mill VK as it gets (at least the "heavier" sound which bands like Girugamesh, gazettE, Sadie, and 12012 have been doing) drawing upon 5 year old musical conventions to breathe new life into the music. The problem with derivative Art, is that when it draws upon influences it doesn't make them their own, it simply borrows from older examples to piece together a mess that is as bad in terms of composition as it is production-wise.

 

There is a strange cultural lag between music trends in the West and in Japan. Hair metal and Glam was adopted long after its popularity peaked in the West, Straight Edge Hardcore bands began showing up years after the trend was set in the US, and now "Metalcore" is receiving its revival in Japan with a seemingly endless amount of shit being passed through.

 

 

EDIT: There was one part I liked. Literally, one part in the whole album: the last track where in the chorus where it sounds like a chord used outside of the original key is used. This is nothing spectacular as one learns key changes in the first month of theory; but utilizing it in an interesting way was a good change of pace.

 

This album is lazy. This album is bad. And most of all, this album is a disgrace.

 

 

 

Does this deserve a rating? No; but if one were to be given, it would simply be 1/10

[kurenaishineek 646]

My expectations where a little higher after Exodus EP , but after listening to two songs i tought im gonna puke , this is as bad as it can get and writing a review would not only be a waste of my time but also it would be very uncensorable , and i dont want any problems with the mods here . So for a simple way to say what i think about the album i would mostly repeat what Zess and relentless said , this album is one big piece of shit and it was like listening to someonce shit in the toilet . Totally not recommend this album . Imagine this album is cursed and you die listening to it , so yeah dont even touch this , seriously you gonna die .

 

RATING : 0\10 , A big fat 0 , this albums dropped lower then the gazette's repeatable songs where after 4 songs i still thought i listen to the same song .

I would not listen to this album even if someone paid me 1 million dollars to do it . NEVER , EVER .

Altough i must say im impressed of how the band shoot themselves in the foot .

[fuyushita_risou 524]

sometimes I believe my perception of music is really different from you guys. Everything from lynch. after shadows sounded just the same for me. Like a blur. Even the Exodus EP which is praised so much just lines up with everything else. I managed to listen to it for a month, then I couldn't stand it anymore and went back to listen to lynch.'s older stuff again. I can't tell you one special song, which was so outstanding, perticular and special that I can name it. And for me Gallows was a step back from that repitivness. Maybe they overdid it with the breaks and everything and it's too much of a mash up, but AT LEAST it's different from inferiority complex and I believe in me. And maybe I sat my standards too low, but hey I enjoyed to listen to that album and got a lot of suprises I didn't expect. 

I have no idea of music production, and I also don't have high quality sound equipment (I don't even know if I would hear differences) so I can't say anything about that topic (though it would be a shame that a major label isn't able to produce and mix a solid sound). Anyway I believe it could have been much much worse and I see experiments and sometimes I get the feeling they tried to insert some of their roots, and it gives me hope that lynch. maybe will be able to find their creativity again.

[Zeus 7997]

Careful with the generalizations. Not all of us liked EXODUS. And also, INFERIORITY COMPLEX and I BELIEVE IN ME are as different as two albums can get, and they both sound way different from SHADOWS. That was lynch.'s most creative period thus far.

 

What sounds exactly the same is GALLOWS and EXODUS, which both sound like someone lowered the mid range and then tried to fix it by upping the bass and treble. The cymbals and hi-hat sound overly compressed (compare cymbal sounds in MAD and TIAMAT) and spread over the mix like a fine layer of peanut butter. Akinori's bass is tight but smothered in muddled low-end reverb, which makes it very difficult to hear him over Asanao. On top of that, there's very little imaging to the mix. Everything sounds hollow and flat. They need to hire whoever mastered INFERIORITY COMPLEX or ANATHEMA if they want to play this kind of music.

 

I'm also listening on the most neutral equipment I own, to give the most accurate description of everything that's wrong with how this was produced.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Well, only through my 2nd listen so far, but I can say this turned out to be a pretty decent album, as opposed to the dreadfully dull and weak-sounding last two albums (plus EXODUS, let's not talk about that at all). Maybe it's just my perceptions tricking me and the actual music isn't all that different from before, but this new punchy sterile production helps me greatly in listening, unlike the sandpaper sound of the previous release for example (that made everything lose its potential power). It's also nice that there's some variation between songs and more catchy parts, especially when they don't go "full force rawrararrrr" on us. Individual tracks don't stick in my mind just yet, but as I'm progressing through the tracklist there's always something fun to hear, so I'll be returning to this album more than previous ones I think.

 

| finally, a lynch full-length I can get into again

[Ro plz 1290]

I'm enjoying this album for the most part. For me it sounds like the continuation of EXODUS and Inferiority Complex (which I liked a lot more than I BELIEVE IN ME). Recenty, I've been a lot more open to metalcore than before so those aspects don't really bother me. With the exception of BULLET, I loved how well they incorporated these aspects into their songs. I also feel like some of the songs are newer, more awesome versions of songs from EXODUS and Inferiority complex. Example: GALLOWS is pretty much the new sinister love child of INVISIBLE and MARROW (two songs that are personal favorites) and PHOENIX is a more awesome version of They're all afraid. The low points for me are RING, ENVY and GUILLOTINE. They just didn't stick and and the album could've done without em. Other than that, the album is great. DEVIL is the right amount of heavy and poppy and I can't stop listening to it! Another great promo song.  I liked EXODUS a lot but I feel like this album appeals to me more. Contender for one of the top albums of 2014? Yes.

 

8.5/10

[DogManX 179]

There were some enjoyable parts on the album. The first 3 songs (no introduction), TOMORROW and RING deserve being kept. The remaining... trash can. And oh yeah the production sounds like it's done by a kid. Doesn't seem like big support from the label...

[Furik 832]

I will say this - in my opinion, this album was better than their last two buts it's nowhere near as perfect as the Avoided Sun (their best album). I loved the Exodus EP and this was a continuation of it but the album as a whole was too long and repetitive. It has an even blend of shouting screaming whatever and singing. It's an album, to me anyway, that I'll probably play more than once. 7/10

[blackdoll 907]

hahaha i agree it was as boring as vivid's latest album just boring old music with no how you would say "backbone."  to me there was no life in the music.

[Pandabear 414]

 

I’m not getting all the bashing this release is taking. I’ve never really been a fan of the band but I do like some of their albums. This being another one of them.

 

It’s a good enjoyable listen if your into alternative metal or a Japanese metalcore derivative. This album does have a major metalcore inspired influence. The drumming, guitars and gang yells all pretty much are giving huge nods to the genre. That being said, the band still does manages to compromise with their new found influence and their signature sound, so the songs do sound and have that lynch vibe.

 

There are a lot of songs I enjoy and moments within those songs that stand out to me. The signature lynch time delayed guitar lines, the drumming, or some of the melodies and choruses.

 

 The biggest problem with this release is undoubtedly its length. Making an album of long duration takes skill and careful execution otherwise you risk dragging out the album, boring the listener and recycling material. The aforementioned problems are all present in Gallows. It’s not even that the album is too long, it’s that there's not enough variation. There’s too much repetition and as a result too much stagnation. The band could have created a much better release by streamlining, get rid of the weak tracks, keep the great ones and work on improving the tracks that are just good.

 

I would have taken a consistent and powerful 30 - 35 minute album over a 43 minute album of varying high and low points. Or if the band was deadset on making a 43 minute long album, at least put in more experimental or creative songs to avoid dragging out the album and boring the listener. I’ll take quality over quantity any day. 

 

To touch upon the production issue raised by others, I feel it’s been exaggerated. The way the production has been criticized is akin to hinting the album was recorded in someone’s basement and recorded with a potato. This might be the actual case with some indie brootalz vk band somewhere, but the production on this album is good and passable. Separation of frequencies is there and the instruments all have their place and are listenable. The production is not the greatest ever or without flaws but it’s listenable and doesn’t distract too much from the actual music.

 

 I will say the weakest point of the production are the vocals. Between the growls and cleans, there’s not much mids and I’m not particularly fond of how they sit in the actual mix at times. This occurs more in the heavier songs.  The instruments do seem scooped, it’s actually common in this type of genre, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did go overboard and considering how the cleans vocals are more trebly, they probably could have gotten away with leaving more mids on the guitars or the vocals. Someone did mess up on the EQ.

 

It’s not a great album or a bad album, but a fairly decent one with good and meh songs. You can listen to it in it’s entirety, or just hack it down it and get rid of the all of the weaker songs and enjoy what’s left. 

 

6.5/10 in it’s entirety

 

7/10 hacked down to only the best songs.

[Haruto 60]

I don't get the hate either. I liked it, still do.
It might not be their strongest release, but there are some songs I really enjoy like DEVIL, BULLET or PHOENIX. 

Having the whole CD on repeat there's not a song I don't like and even if some don't stick out and might appear 'boring', it's very listenable in its entirety.

Metalcore suits them and it doesn't sound as 'off' as in their previous releases. I think the combination between catchy Rock and harsh Metalcore is more smooth, maybe with a few exceptions.

To keep it short - Basically I'm whole heartedly agreeing with the person above me.

I've grown to like it more with every listen and as lynch.-fan for years I'm not disappointed. (Like I was with INFERIORITY COMPLEX and EXODUS. Didn't like these at all. They were kinda 'all over the place'.)

 

I'd say 7/10.

[seratonin 43]

I read the reviews before really being able to listen to the album, props to you guys who are able to listen to listen to AAC purchases lol,
so I was just able to listen to it today

After listening to intro song, I thought this isn't bad for an into. Then going into gallows, when I heard
RUK AT WIAR YU A, I cringed and knew this album was going to be tough to review.
The reason why exodus EP wasn't that great was because the engrish ruined it for me, except in BE STRONG (no english in this track I think)

But I was wondering why you guys were giving all the hate for this album.
And now having listened I can understand, it's good to put a song from this album onto a playlist of songs by different artists, but if I listen
to the whole GALLOWS at once, it sounds very boring, and I do agree as people have mentioned, boring.

This doesn't offset the good songs though, my favorite are Envy, Ring, Phoenix, Oblivion <----even though good, are too repetitive

If you guys are into the old lynch, Devil is pretty much EXACTLY how lynch was before, I was surprised how they were able to capture their same
exact sound from way long ago, but let's be honest, their old sound wasn't that great lol.

The rest of the tracks are pretty much play 3 chords repetitively for 3 minutes + double bass, and that's what you have. I don't appreciate these
kind of songs anymore, but you guys may have a differing opinion.

Ignoring all the bad tracks, 8/10.
But if I listened to the whole album at once, I was a bit disappointed at first, probably 4/10.

The thing I'm most scared about is that the good songs are too repetitive, after maybe an 8th listen I may not be able to listen to it anymore,
similar to what happened to Exodus EP
 

[morbiusss 10]

Took out the bla songs, rearranged and recieved this:

 

o1 Phoenix

o2 Devil

o3 Oblivion

o4 Envy

o5 Bullet

o6 Greed

o7 Mad

o8 Ring

o9 Tomorrow

 

1. Flows perfectly (especially Phoenix --> Devil! check this out, it's brilliant!)

2. Phoenix as starter and Tomorrow as an ending gives this album a very positive image, allthough being quite hard and melancholic soundwise.

3. With 9 tracks clocking in at 34 minutes the album now has a nice length.

4. Phoenix, Oblivion and Envy at the beginning makes a really strong first section, leaving me wanting to listen to the whole thing.

5. I absolutely love Ring. The bass is super brilliant in this song. Really perfect. 10/5.

6. Without editing and rearranging this album is a mess, showing that lynch didn't put much thinking into tracklisting and overall flow.

7. That's quite a pity.

8. I like the album this way very much.

 

8/10 in this personalized form.

[DogManX 179]

@seratonin you do realize that an 8/10 rating is damn near to perfection? not really what I read out of your review..

 

edit oh oversaw that second sentence

[Bear 1817]

Did you even bother reading her/his post before commenting on it? He/she's saying that in this version (removed some songs and changed the track list) it's a damn good. So the score matches his/her words very well.