Featured Review #70: Lycaon - Royal Order

[Zeus 7997]

 

Tracklist:
1. 「howling」
2. Lily
3. Royal Order
4. Declaration of war
5. Cordyceps sinesis
6. A Box In Beautiful
7. Miss.EVIL INSIDE
8.「flowing」
9. Chains of collar
10. Who's bad psycho party
11. pAIN kILLER
12. 緋雨
13. 結晶華
14. **88**
15. REDRUM（album edit）

| The royal order loses its luster

 

Like them or hate them, Lycaon cemented their place as one of the most influential post-2000's visual kei bands. Another thing they've managed to do successfully is to get their fans to debate which album is their best. Depending on who you ask, the most likely answer would be their first album Royal Order or their last album camera obscura. Royal Order was one of my favorite visual kei albums for many years. If you asked me five years ago for a list of my favorite visual kei albums of all time, Royal Order surely would have made the list. Now? Not so much. I've now come to officially throw my ring into the hat and make this endless debate even more complicated.

It's always bothered me that so much of this album was released as singles, but it pisses me off to no end that they decided to include all of them on this album. "Cordyceps sinensis", "Declaration of War", and "A Box in Beautiful" get a pass, but each single leading right into the next unbalances the album. "Declaration" is probably the weakest song with "A Box in Beautiful" as the strongest of the three, but that could be my preferences talking. Then there's "chains of collar"; one of their more iconic singles but was a bit aged by this point in time. "結晶華", "RED RUM", and "緋雨" are previously released tracks  to pad the run time. Stick two SE's in there and you will realize that I just I covered half of the album in one breath. That's not a good look.

 

What else sucks is that "Plug > into the > Socket" was a great, energetic rock number that would have fit anywhere, but they decided to release that on a cassette tape instead. If they absolutely must have included older tracks to fill out the album, both "「琥珀彩」～コハクイロ～" and "The[1st] degree genocide holic" are much better options (they had already pimped the latter out for the さわやか3組 2009 omnibus).  I would have been happy with a remaster of "The Death Game" at least! Note that I stress they do something with their older songs. They changed up "RED RUM" a bit but didn't even bother to touch "緋雨" so Yuuki's unpolished, brusque vocals and rougher production stick out like a sore thumb against the crisper production of the newer tracks. However, there is no reason why a band must include anything from their oldest singles at all.

So what about the rest of the album @Zeus? The tone of my paragraph above suggests I would have preferred more new tracks, but the records show it took the band six months to come up with the rest of the album and the new additions weren't as solid as the singles. "Miss DEVIL INSIDE" is our first introduction into the genre-hopping that Lycaon hadn't fully embraced by this point. I can appreciate the unexpected double bass rolls into the screaming chorus but at it's best it's budget System of a Down worship. "**88**"" is a clone of "Miss DEVIL INSIDE" with even less polish and a scream so harsh at the end it can blow out eardrums. Finally, the title track "Royal Order" is weak sauce; it bounces between those burpy harsh vocals and that cavity-inducing saccharine chorus but the rest of the song is forgettable. I can't believe they actually named the album after this...
 
Now that I got all my complaints out of the way, what little is left is why anyone should give Royal Order the time of day. The album should have jumped straight into "Lily". Excellent music writing and experimentation with some new sounds and a catchy, almost Gazette-ish chorus makes for one of the better new tracks. "who's bad psycho party" is actually a lot better than it's title lets on. With a four to the floor disco beat nesting lovely with some electronic effects, this and "pAIN kILLER" are the best out of the newer tracks - it's just a shame that the former isn't included on the limited edition. It took me a while to warm up to both tracks but now I see the value they bring towards the end of the record as well as why they follow one another. "結晶華", shamelessly lifted from Ambrozia, is also a wonderful breath of fresh air. A ballad needed to be present and this was their best one to date. They did everyone a favor too by removing the obnoxious minute and a half of silence at the end. It's a good song, but it doesn't leave me breathless. The re-recording of "RED RUM" is a nice touch to finish off the album, although I think it would have been even more effective if "**88**" wasn't included at all and "結晶華" and "RED RUM" swapped positions. I also miss the scream at the beginning but the harsh vocals at the end make up for it.

So Royal Order is a mixed bag. I still enjoy listening to it to this day, but five years with an album gives you a new perspective on it. I enjoy this album a lot more because I enjoy Lycaon's discography and all the songs I like are mostly songs I've heard before. It has a few surprises here and there, but it's got a few duds as well (well actually, more than a few if you count the instrumentals as music). I recommend it as an overall good album to listen to, but it's not the be-all end-all post-2000's visual kei release I once thought it was.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
...but @Zeus, you didn't answer the question! Which Lycaon album is the best album?
 
*sigh*
 
You can infer that Royal Order wins because my >score for camera obscura was only a hair lower and as far as I'm concerned 嘘と女と『　　　　』 never happened, but that would be missing the point. A star doesn't mean much in the long run. Lycaon has great songs and poop songs from every era. Some of their best songs are on their worst releases and some of their worst songs are omnipresent. Even the "erotic" era I'm notorious for disliking has "Mary" and "MAD NEUROSIS CHILD"! As a band, Lycaon were all over the place because they were always changing their concept. This is one of the few times that a best-of album would have been very welcome, but that raises the sticky question of how to blend all their eras together with a nice flow. Settling on a style is an issue they never quite worked out before disbanding, and I personally believe the departure of eve and 美央 only made this problem worse because it left the other members to experiment freely. "Experimenting freely" is how you end up with releases like Masochist Red Circus.
 
If you want an answer to the most consistent Lycaon release, Ambrozia is a safe bet. That's all you get for free. 

[blackdoll 907]

See that is why i love this band, everything just works out (hoping i am not jinxing Yuuki having a comeback). One of the biggest hiyuu era (fragile/love song too?) critics just said they dont even know. Like Royal order was so above everything else then boom, it nothing too.

 

1.  make this endless debate even more complicated.
2. It's always bothered me that so much of this album was released as singles,  "
3. but each single leading right into the next unbalances the album.
4. What else sucks is that "Plug > into the > Socket" was a great, energetic rock number that would have fit anywhere,
5.  "「琥珀彩」～コハクイロ～" are much better options
6.  I would have been happy with a remaster of "The Death Game"
7. didn't even bother to touch "緋雨" so Yuuki's unpolished, brusque vocals and rougher production stick out like a sore thumb a
8. However, there is no reason why a band must include anything from their oldest singles at all.
9.  "Miss DEVIL INSIDE"  I can appreciate the unexpected double bass rolls into the screaming chorus but at it's best it's budget System of a Down worship.
10. "**88**"" is a clone of "Miss DEVIL INSIDE" with even less polish and a scream so harsh at the end it can blow out eardrums.
11. Finally, the title track "Royal Order" is weak sauce; it bounces between those burpy harsh vocals and that cavity-inducing saccharine chorus but the rest of the song is forgettable. I can't believe they actually named the album after this...
12.  experimentation with some new sounds
13. and a catchy, almost Gazette-ish chorus makes for one of the better new tracks.
14. "結晶華", shamelessly lifted from Ambrozia, a ballad needed to be present 
15. The re-recording of "RED RUM" is a nice touch to finish off the album,
16. though I think it would have been even more effective if "**88**" wasn't included at all 
17.  the harsh vocals at the end make up for it.
18.  enjoy Lycaon's discography 
19. I once thought it was.
20.   I'm concerned 嘘と女と『　　　　』 never happened,
21. but that would be missing the point.
22. A star doesn't mean much in the long run.
23.  they were always changing their concept.
24. This is one of the few times that a best-of album would have been very welcome,
25. Settling on a style is an issue they never quite worked out before disbanding,
26. and I personally believe the departure of eve and 美央 only made this problem worse because it left the other members to experiment freely.
27. "Experimenting freely" is how you end up with releases like Masochist Red Circus.
     

1. How about there is no debate because they all equally great
2. first thing you said about Lycaon that i can get behind
3. i would think all the songs being so fucking good be balance enough
4. ha! did not see that coming, at all!
5. really though?\
6. i wanted that latter on when Yuukis vocals changed
7. cause those great vocals fit the song like perfectly, and maybe he didnt want to mess up the dark sad feeling of it
8. so they can say they havnt forgot their roots
9. proof of worship?
10.  feels are way different evident but that shrieking screaming
11. *hotsauce and unforgettable, what's behind the song (feels) just great
12. new really?
13.  ewww, no! and what kind of logic is that
14. really, they are grabbing from the whole disco. And is it really a ballad?
15. thought the older one was better
16. no, the choas was something different on the album
17. never thought of that
18. really?
19. exactly, dont know
20. but you mentioned it, so it sure did
21. exactly
22. exactly!
23. good thing keep you on your toes, and fresh
24. yes
25. not an issue (23)
26. Was a great thing that happen. and released them to do whatever they wanted and slay almost everything.
27. which was great as ever

[Asakusa 95]

 

See that is why i love this band, everything just works out (hoping i am not jinxing Yuuki having a comeback). One of the biggest hiyuu era (fragile/love song too?) critics just said they dont even know. Like Royal order was so above everything else then boom, it nothing too.

 

1. How about their is no debate because they all equally great
2. first thing you said about Lycaon that i can get behind
3. i would think all the songs being so fucking good be balance enough
4. ha! did not see that coming, at all!
5. really though?\
6. i wanted that latter on when Yuukis vocals changed
7. cause those great vocals fit the song like perfectly, and maybe he didnt want to mess up the dark sad feeling of it
8. so they can say they havnt forgot their roots
9. proof of worship?
10.  feels are way different evident but that shrieking screaming
11. *hotsauce and unforgettable, what's behind the song (feels) just great
12. new really?
13.  ewww, no! and what kind of logic is that
14. really, they are grabbing from the whole disco. And is it really a ballad?
15. thought the older one was better
16. no, the choas was something different on the album
17. never thought of that
18. really?
19. exactly, dont know
20. but you mentioned it, so it sure did
21. exactly
22. exactly!
23. good thing keep you on your toes, and fresh
24. yes
25. not an issue (23)
26. Was a great thing that happen. and released them to do whatever they wanted and slay almost everything.
27. which was great as ever

 

what was all this bullshit?

[Zeus 7997]

See that is why i love this band, everything just works out (hoping i am not jinxing Yuuki having a comeback). One of the biggest hiyuu era (fragile/love song too?) critics just said they dont even know. Like Royal order was so above everything else then boom, it nothing too.

I was like that once too. In all honesty I forget LOVE SONG and FRAGILE exist. They're okay songs but there's better stuff from both before and after so....

I can tell you that when it was all going down Mio and eve leaving isn't what did it for me. It was EROS and Aventure. Not even the single, just the songs. I'm listening to it now and it still sounds as awful to me now as it did back then. If they took out those garbage ska horns and slowed down the tempo it would improve. I think it was @Disposable or @Carmelzors which told me he heard an alternate version similar to what I described and it "changed his opinion". Never heard it so I'm not sure.

The only silver lining to that entire period is that there aren't many songs which sound like an unholy matrimony of genres better left separated.

[emmny 4139]

we like/hate the opposite songs

personally i LOVE royal order, lily and tbh i dont remember the rest except kesshouka cuz it fucks me up but OVERALL its a good alt-metal album i literally just can't tell the songs apart

[blackdoll 907]

what was all this bullshit?

whats with this bullshit reply?

I was like that once too. In all honesty I forget LOVE SONG and FRAGILE exist. They're okay songs but there's better stuff from both before and after so....

I can tell you that when it was all going down Mio and eve leaving isn't what did it for me. It was EROS and Aventure. Not even the single, just the songs. I'm listening to it now and it still sounds as awful to me now as it did back then. If they took out those garbage ska horns and slowed down the tempo it would improve. I think it was @Disposable or @Carmelzors which told me he heard an alternate version similar to what I described and it "changed his opinion". Never heard it so I'm not sure.

The only silver lining to that entire period is that there aren't many songs which sound like an unholy matrimony of genres better left separated.

late but ok

 

Edit maybe its from a live (rose dvd for eros) not sure about aventure

Edited March 19, 2016 by blackdoll