ALSDEAD - STARLESS

[Zeus 7997]

Artist: ALSDEAD Album: STARLESS Score: Is this a fluke or does ALSDEAD finally have some spark?

Despite my absence on most visual kei threads on the forums concerning new bands, I do follow some bands and check out new releases from time to time. The only time I find myself compelled to make a review is when:

• something exceeds my expectations of a band
• is incredibly bad and deserves no hype
• when the hype is mellow, the release deserves a review and doesn't have one

ALSDEAD is a band that's by and far ignored on Monochrome Heaven - after having an explosive opening with their first two singles their flop of a self-titled relegated them to the trash bin for many, and their subpar output since 2009 hasn't helped them any. They've found a cult following in people that crave the sound they produce, but for those outside that small group this band has offered very little worth listening to. Even though Separator (barely) made our best-of list last year, anyone that follows my reviews knows I roasted that album over an open spit for being so dull it left me with very little to say about it. I had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the band that crafted Violent of Reason and F-99 could release so many boring songs, so I find myself downloading a release from them now and again to see if they've become interesting once more.

I thought I would never say this, but ALSDEAD have released something I find genuinely interesting. For a couple of plays at least.

I can't pinpoint exactly why I like STARLESS so much. Both tracks are solid and I can always appreciate the balance between an aggressive track and a more laid-back rock track. Both songs are exactly as long as they need to be, feature tasteful use of studio pyrotechnics, and clean production. Picture is also outside of ALSDEAD's comfort zone, and they nail it well. I'm sure they've done tracks like this before, but as a person that doesn't follow ALSDEAD like that this was a welcome surprise. If I wanted to nitpick, I could mention that STARLESS' solo is a little on the simple side, but that's a small blip.

This is the first release I've heard by ALSDEAD with Nikky from GALEYD, so I attribute a lot of the positive things I said here to him. I don't know if Maki is still the main composer after all, but bands that tend to only have one composer get stale quick, which was my problem with this band for the longest. If Meku's stranglehold over most of GALEYD's output caused other members of the band to have to put their creativity on pause and this is the first time that Nikky's been able to express himself, GALEYD's disbandment might be the single greatest thing that's ever happened to this band. Well, aside from their ex-drummer adopting a name better than Peanuts Benjamin and the band playing at that lolicon in the middle of New Mexico.

For once, I have nothing negative to say. The single does it job well, which is to raise hype for an upcoming album. If the material on the album is as consistent as the small teaser we have now, I might have something nice to say about the album at the end of the year.

[acbpn 434]

this single is plain for me, it only deserves 7/10 for me. nothing special.

anyway, cool review~