Saishu 1589 Posted May 5, 2016 (edited) Welcome to the biggest surprise of 2016 so far. If anyone asked me a few years ago which j-rock artist do I think will dabble in the djent genre of metal, I'd probably say Dir en grey or Gazette, but Satsuki? The guy with the angelic voice and less than brutal growls? And yet here we are with one of his two March 19 releases, Apocalypse. This is a four track EP, the other, Eclipse, is a fuller 9 tracks. But for right now we're dealing with Apocalypse, the heavier of the two releases. It opens with "Reincarnation", a moody intro that gives off a vibe of a dystopian post-apocalyptic society, then it leads into the title track, which is a surprising take on bands like Meshuggah, Tesseract, and Periphery. The riffs are thick and chunky, but there are hints of haunting melodies buried beneath the chaos. Then Satsuki's trademark angelic vocals come in and it almost feels like home. But then "Burning Out" comes in and we hear Satsuki's new and improved harsh vocals. A vast improvement over his slightly perturbed Cookie Monster vocals in Rentrer en Soi's final live. Satsuki clearly got some coaching on how to growl correctly. The EP ends with "Revelation", a track that could have fit in on the latest Meshuggah album. Satsuki (and the band) seem to understand how djent works, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it's pulled off. Great syncopated grooves and head nodding riffs. The only problem here is the production (which also applies to Satsuki's other release "Eclipse", but I'll get to that another time). Again, everything is mixed too loud. I listened to this via high quality streaming on Tidal with Sennheiser ear buds, and it all just sounded flat and lacking in dynamics. I shouldn't have my phone volume at less than half way and it sounds like I've got it full blast. This will always be a pet peeve of mine. Overall I'm pleased, especially since Satsuki's solo career has been less than impressive, merely cranking out toothless and nondescript J-pop/rock ever since RES disbanded. Here's to hoping Satsuki has finally found some direction. Edited May 6, 2016 by Saishu 4 nullmoon, Zein, Spectralion and 1 other reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zein 12 Posted May 6, 2016 Holy shit XD I was screaming just an hour ago about the same! First I thought I was listening to someone else but it was definetly Satsuki's voice (Cause the first single I have of Him is really different and then I got this one). But well, I am really pleased about this single, Apocalipse. Eclipse it's a llitle bit different but it's good too. Satsuki is really talented, and has improve his skills. Well, It's a good work (especially if you follow his career). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
