featured review #89: 黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to kage) - 臓器のノゾキ穴。(Zouki no nozokiana) / 吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu)

[emmny 4139]

 

臓器のノゾキ穴。(Zouki no nozokiana)

Track list:

01.チョコレート階段(Chocolate kaidan)
02.「洗脳」(Sennou)
03.液状部屋 (Ekijou heya)
04.絶倫フルコース (Zetsurin full course)
05.「腐乱腐乱」 (Furanfuran)
06.すてきな唄。 (Suteki na uta)

 

吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu)

01. 吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu)
02. 「便所2」 (benjo2)

 

The great part of being a visual fan is all the unpredictable wackiness that happens behind the scenes. I don't think anyone would have predicted that one of the best visual albums of 2015 would have come from a band that had only a demo-tape before their full album release. This band burst onto the scene with a foul sound: even among their contemporaries who borrow from the early 2000's visual-kei sound, Kuroyuri to Kage were different. Their songs moved along with a hauntingly heavy feel, more akin to the sounds of sludge-metal than the hyper-sanitized metalcore/djent hybrids currently reigning the scene. It was especially wild considering this was the new band of Memento-Mori, a band with a heavy japoneseque leaning. Their image was as dark as their doomy sound, led by the particularly enigmatic and freaky vocalist Karasuna Mei. Themes of perversion, darkness, rape, murder and anything else you wouldn't ever want to see unless it was in a horror movie make up the lyrical themes and concepts of their releases. A period of long inactivity towards the later half of 2015 had stans suspicious, so the news that they'd be dropped from AINS and losing two founding members to retirement wasn't all that big of a shock. That said, they chose to continue independently* on their own label Yamikakumei with a four member lineup, recruiting a support drummer. What did the future hold for a once very promising band on one of the best labels in the scene?

 

Kuroyuri to kage return from flopsville after some label drama and losing two original members, releasing Zouki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu in 2016, slaying our existence. What could have been a recipe for disaster has been whipped into a yummy two course meal by the master chefs behind KTK, albeit made of human flesh and blood. Dinner is the mini-album Zouki no nozokiana, the band's second mini album and first formal release after the departure of guitarist Koyomi and drummer Mutsuki, released on the 10th of August, 2016. Dessert is Toshabutsu, the band's second single, released on the 2nd of November. So without further ado ladies and gentlemen, let's say grace and sink our filthy forks into this!

 

These releases are similar enough stylistically to fall under one review, they could have been recorded in the same sessions—that said, Kuroyuri are quite consistent with their sound. Make no mistake, this is the same band from 2015 for the most part, the differences from their prior output are quite fine, but still prominent. The most notable difference is the more direct sound: all the tracks here follow the same mid-tempo crawl Kuroyuri have been known for, shedding the ballads and faster songs from their debut. The blast beats are entirely gone, and so are the eerie music box ballads. The single guitar setup has pushed more of an emphasis on electronics and less on lead guitar parts, the surprising old-school solos Koyomi whipped up in the past are noticeably absent. To compensate for the missing guitar, along with the newly added bleepbloops, the bass is turned up to 11—and I mean it. The bass pummels like no one's business. I haven't heard basslines this obnoxious since like...ever. The way the bass is mixed is also fascinating, on the surface it's just a lot of clacking, trembly bass work. The magic comes when you crank the volume up; the low end is massive, almost like a subwoofer was dubbed over the bassline. The bass and guitar almost occupy the same amount of space in the mix, so you will hear every bass hit and every note K plays. The end result is a more pummeling sound, less Kagerou and more Slipknot or Korn. It's all less dynamic than their first two releases, which is a bit of a loss for me, but it's an interesting way Kuroyuri have chosen to advance their sound and adapt to the member changes.

 

Onto the individual releases, Nozoki... is a 6 track mini, half featured in the prior mail-order/live-limited singleうろんなチョコ冷凍。(Uronna Choko Reitou.) from April 2016. “Chocolate kaidan”, “Zetsurin full course” and “Suteki na uta” are all remastered from their original demos, sounding noticeably sharper and less lo-fi, while the rest are new tracks. That said, the production job on the mini is far from perfect, it's rather obnoxiously clipped. “Chocolate kaidan” isn't too notable a track but serves as a solid into for the rest of the album. Tt follows from Kuroyuri's original formula of clean, reverb-y guitar parts paired up with a heavy chorus and clean vocals, originally featured to brilliant effect in “Yokusou”. “Sennou” takes no prisoners, melding djent-y riffage (!!) with an alt-metal crawl, dubstep breakdown (??) and insane vocals. The subtle shifting of the track's rhythm and Mei's contrasting vocals make it an album highlight and totally addictive. “Ekijouheya” isn't as interesting as the rest, but is notable for the wild Korn-esque scat vocal breakdown and amazing slap bass solo in the middle. The new emphasis on electronics/manipulation is on full display here, as the buzzy synth duels against the guitar and bass in the verses. “Zetsubou full course” features some disturbing child choir echoing Mei's vocals in the intro and chorus, and is home to the sole guitar solo on the album. The track overstays its welcome at just over five minutes long, but it is one hell of a freaky track. My favourite track, “Furanfuran” follows right after, opening with a barrage of alt-metal riffage and slap bass all while Mei goes insane in the back. I'd like to think this is a really fun live song, as the rhythm goes perfectly with moshing furitsuke, or choreography. The track builds in its noisiness while Mei goes back and forth between a hypnotic vocal melody and utter madness, all before coming to a pretty end. “Suteki na uta” is more or less a different variation of all the flavours already offered on the prior tracks.

 

Toshabutsu is where shit hits the fan (harharhar), by way of the title track; the best song Kuroyuri to Kage have released since “Yokusou”. The track opens up with trippy, oddly manipulated and dissonant chords (Inquisition, anyone?) backing the usual alt-metal crawl. It segways into the typical effects-laden clean guitar+bass passages Kuroyuri have basically trademarked at this point. The tension mounts with some operatic vocals, all before melting back into the same intro passage while Mei delivers the chorus. It's an odd chorus in that it's long and not all that catchy, but the way the guitars drop and Mei comes in with the lyrical delivery is so fucking addictive. Listen to this on blast and I guarantee you'll be slow headbanging like a maniac. This is so, so heavy in a way only Kuroyuri can do. Also notable is how Mei sticks to mostly clean vocals throughout the song, but ends up heavy enough to demolish your head. “Benjo2” is the b-side for “Toshabutsu”, and it sounds nothing like the original “Benjo”; rather serving as the manic release for “Toshabutsu”'s composed heaviness.

 

These releases aren't enough to convert Kuroyuri naysayers, but definitely warrant a listen from people who might have written them off in the past. In that same length, Nozoki... and Toshabutsu are stripped down enough to possibly alienate old fans who might not like their new, meatier sound. That said, if you're tired of the mass spawning of Deluhi clones, try-hard deathcore bands and oshare kei, and you reminisce about the days when MUCC were actually heavy and when Slipknot and Korn ruled MTV, then give this a listen. Dinner and dessert were delicious today, thanks for joining in on today's feast. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to the wipe the blood off the corners of my mouth and get to cleaning up this mess. I think i'll need more bleach. Until next time.

 

Both Nozoki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu are available for sale at CD Japan here and here respectively.

 

8/10

 

*the question remains as to whether they were actually dropped by AINS or whether something else is going on behind the scenes that we don't know; so for the intents and purposes of this review assume they're independent

Edited November 28, 2016 by emmny

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Cool review, man.

 

Also I've yet to listen to the single, but already selected the first option in the voting thingie above. The mini album is as close to perfection as they'll ever get imo.

 

edit: Just finishing up the single (cool stuff), my observation still stands.  

Edited November 26, 2016 by Jigsaw9

[zombieparadise 487]

Damn, you're good at this. More reviews please : 3

[Euronymous 325]

I thought it would be difficult for someone to do a review that really make sense about kuroyuri, but your review is on point.I agree in every sentence. I do not play any instrument, but in my opinion, compared to the first album, the sound quality of the Second album is cleaner and heavier, but the first album had a little more ... hmm ... how can I say, it seemed to be more consistent. As you mentioned, the absence of koyomi is perceptible. I also agree with your opinion about the single toshabutsu, however, does not beat the single fuyu shogun and ozashiki asobi from the previous band ...Great review.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Kang MarLon

[Himeaimichu 1535]

This review was perfect~ I couldn't have said any of this any better.

 

For me though, Zoki No Nozoki Ana was ehh for me, though I do like the songs Zetsurin Full Course (That's the actual name, BTW. Though I can understand why the mistake in the romanisation was made) and Furanfuran very much, Toshabutsu for me really gave me more hope.

I really miss their days of Memento Mori though. That's how I got into them. Though I guess AnguraKei doesn't allow the same amount of creativity as a Neo-Kote Kote Kei/EroguroKei crossover does. 

Edited November 28, 2016 by AimiGen7

[emmny 4139]

1 hour ago, AimiGen7 said:

though I do like the songs Zetsurin Full Course (That's the actual name, BTW. )

thanks for catching my mistake, fixed that now!

[togz 2004]

Great Review! 

 

I checked them out during their earlier releases... but I'm curious about this one now. Definitely going to check it out. :'3

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

nicely written! i was gonna expect toshabutsu to be mentioned in this month's rec, but it's even nicer to see a review of their two recent releases in its entirety! you're right about them turning up the bass like crazy. i love it when i can hear the bass loud and clear, which might also be why i love these two releases so much. definitely their best stuff by far, with toshabutsu blowing me completely away. can't wait to see more reviews from you~! ^^

[emmny 4139]

On 2016-11-26 at 11:07 AM, Jigsaw9 said:

Cool review, man.

Also I've yet to listen to the single, but already selected the first option in the voting thingie above. The mini album is as close to perfection as they'll ever get imo.

edit: Just finishing up the single (cool stuff), my observation still stands.  

thanks jig, happy you enjoyed it as much as i did! can't wait to see your eoty lists this coming december, no pressure wink WINK!

 

On 2016-11-28 at 0:06 PM, plastic_rainbow said:

nicely written! i was gonna expect toshabutsu to be mentioned in this month's rec, but it's even nicer to see a review of their two recent releases in its entirety! you're right about them turning up the bass like crazy. i love it when i can hear the bass loud and clear, which might also be why i love these two releases so much. definitely their best stuff by far, with toshabutsu blowing me completely away. can't wait to see more reviews from you~! ^^

heh i cut toshabutsu and moved it here for that purpose specifically. killing two birds with one stone ^>^ i was long overdue for a review so i combined an old draft of zouki and a mini review on toshabutsu. and im with you on the bass, its soooo kickass when its up on max in your ears and you're walking down the street and brandish a knife from your red backpack, and go onto find some innocent schoolgirl, corner her into a fast food restaurant and go poke poke and then write a song about it (hopefully not).  thank you, and you'll see some more in the future ^>^

 

On 2016-11-28 at 4:04 AM, togz said:

Great Review! 

 

I checked them out during their earlier releases... but I'm curious about this one now. Definitely going to check it out. :'3

U BETTER. I SAID SO.

 

On 2016-11-27 at 11:56 PM, AimiGen7 said:

This review was perfect~ I couldn't have said any of this any better.

 

For me though, Zoki No Nozoki Ana was ehh for me, though I do like the songs Zetsurin Full Course (That's the actual name, BTW. Though I can understand why the mistake in the romanisation was made) and Furanfuran very much, Toshabutsu for me really gave me more hope.

I really miss their days of Memento Mori though. That's how I got into them. Though I guess AnguraKei doesn't allow the same amount of creativity as a Neo-Kote Kote Kei/EroguroKei crossover does. 

thank you! im surprised y'all drop memento mori so much, they aren't all that notable a name for me. you really seem to love name dropping angura kei whenever the situation even vaguely calls for it, hehe. they could be a more creative band, its not so much the constraints of the genre, rather the choices of the musicians. that said, i hope they show some more flexibility in their sound with coming releases, and go back to the more diverse sound of their earlier works.

 

On 2016-11-27 at 7:22 PM, Kang MarLon said:

I thought it would be difficult for someone to do a review that really make sense about kuroyuri, but your review is on point.I agree in every sentence. I do not play any instrument, but in my opinion, compared to the first album, the sound quality of the Second album is cleaner and heavier, but the first album had a little more ... hmm ... how can I say, it seemed to be more consistent. As you mentioned, the absence of koyomi is perceptible. I also agree with your opinion about the single toshabutsu, however, does not beat the single fuyu shogun and ozashiki asobi from the previous band ...Great review.

thank you! i don't compare memento mori with kuroyuri as they're entirely different bands, different members, sound, concept, etc. interesting opinion though!

 

On 2016-11-27 at 3:25 PM, zombieparadise said:

Damn, you're good at this. More reviews please : 3

thank you for the kind words! you'll see a lot more of my blurbs come december (aka now, LOL).

[Aferni 2381]

I never checked out that mini until I read this like a week ago I Kinda dropped KTK...well no so much as dropped just kinda fell off with releases. Im glad I got back into them though.   液状部屋 , 「洗脳」, 「洗脳」, チョコレート階段, すてきな唄 .  チョコレート階段 ,  are killer songs. Suteki Na Uta is my absolute favorite because of Mei's face shaking growls.  Ekijou Heya too because of the breakdown and the creepiness of the song, the whispering  and the electronics make it sound like something from a horror movie and that breakdown with the bass and the scatting sold me.

Edited December 22, 2016 by 『 A F E R N I 』