featured review #93: 迦陵頻伽 by 陰陽座

[Zeus 7997]

 

 

| Another solid effort but it doesn't stand out as much as it could.
 

With the head of a human, a bird's torso, a long, flowing tail, and a voice said to surpass all the gods and angels in Nirvana, the fantastical creature known as the Kalavinka is the inspiration behind 陰陽座's fourteenth album, 迦陵頻伽 (Karyobinga). 陰陽座's known for taking heavy amounts of inspiration from Japanese folklore and incorporating it into their music - even though they sound more like Iron Maiden than anything else - so this is a positively peculiar route to follow after their recent focus on Japanese deities and folklore. The Japanese interpretation of the Kalavinka is portrayed faithfully on the album cover; vocalist Kuroneko's upper torso is dressed as a winged Bodhisattva and her lower half is birdlike. It's both a gorgeous sight and a lofty proposition.

 

I'm torn on 迦陵頻伽. On one hand, the feel and flow of the album are all too familiar. I peg it as some hybrid of 金剛九尾 (Kongokyuubi) and snippets of their last two albums because of the pacing and atmosphere. 金剛九尾 ranks among my least favorite of their albums, but to its credit, 迦陵頻伽 is much more polished and straightforward, as if MATATABI had a destination in mind when composing. On the other hand, there is lots of carry over from 風神界逅 (Fuujinkaikou) and 雷神創世 (Raijinsousei), which I regard as near perfect. It's not as ambitious as their last effort, and at times it feels like they're marking boxes off a checklist, but this consistency is why they've never released a bad album. An opportunity to incorporate some Indian and East Asian influences into more songs was missed and would have greatly opened up their sound, but I can look past that. If it didn't appeal to you before, this will not change your mind.

 

Where this album impresses me is how the mystic, haunting atmosphere of their earlier eras returns. It's no longer as dark or ominous, but still present and mysterious. Opener "迦陵頻伽" really catches what I'm trying to describe here, and it's got one of the catchiest choruses in their repertoire. Centerpiece "人魚の檻" is a masterful emotional manipulator that's hogged my repeat button for the last few weeks. Those in need of a fix of heavy metal should check out "廿弐匹目は毒蝮" or lead single "愛する者よ、死に候え", and "轆轤首" is the token track where they buck all expectations and try something new. It's tone reminds me of "無風忍法帖" and it's one of my favorites of the album. The canned strings of "轆轤首" were a curious choice, and "御前の瞳に羞いの砂" sounds suspiciously familiar, but I'll admit these are minor quibbles.

 

陰陽座 is in the midst of a second renaissance after the release of 2012's 鬼子母神 (Kishibojin), breaking a streak of tepid albums with a concept so beautifully realized that it still sounds fresh today. 迦陵頻伽 stabilizes this upward trend, and while it's not the best thing ever it's pretty good.

 

 

Support the band!
CDJapan

[Moon 2]

Great review zeus, what do you think of the older albums.

[Zeus 7997]

20 minutes ago, Moon said:

Great review zeus, what do you think of the older albums.

Now that's a loaded question! Haha!

I'll start by admitting I haven't listened to all of their albums. I don't even have all of their albums, though I am tracking them down slowly but surely. The earliest ones can be the trickiest to get my hands on. Unlike many other bands, I got into them with their 2006 compilation album. I didn't really know what was "new" and what was "old" when I was listening, and the first track I ever heard was "Manji" because I recognized the symbol so I decided to start there. My favorite album by them has to be 2007's "Maoutaiten", although I think that this album surpasses that just slightly. I hear a lot of praise for Garyotensei but that album doesn't do too much for me I think a lot of the hype has to do with the anime tie-in and the 20 minute 3-part epic near the end that they never tried before. With rose-tinted glasses I can confidently say they do the epic saga better in later albums. Some of their albums around the turn of 00's weren't that great either but even at their worst Onmyo is 70%.
 

[Moon 2]

Thanks Zeus, great album Maou Taiten but my favourite is Kishibojin. The others I like are Fuujin kaikou, Raijin Sosei, Hoyouku Rindo, Karyobinga and Fuin Kairan   I think these are the best for what concerns sonority, production and writing of songs. I agree with you  for what concerns Garyotensei I think Kongo Kyuubi is better.

 

 "Some of their albums around the turn of 00's weren't that great"  What albums do you mean?

[Zeus 7997]

13 minutes ago, Moon said:

Thanks Zeus, great album Maou Taiten but my favourite is Kishibojin. The others I like are Fuujin kaikou, Raijin Sosei, Hoyouku Rindo, Karyobinga and Fuin Kairan   I think these are the best for what concerns sonority, production and writing of songs. I agree with you  for what concerns Garyotensei I think Kongo Kyuubi is better.

 

 "Some of their albums around the turn of 00's weren't that great"  What albums do you mean?

Mostly Chimimouryou and Kongo Kyuubi lol! I thought the former was a snooze and the latter good, but could have been much more than it was. Kishibojin was the beginning of a new era for them in my mind since that's when I felt they found inspiration again. They're not going to return to that mystical, eerie sound of the early 2000s that I adore and can't find in any other band, but their new heavy metal tendencies are awesome.

[Moon 2]

Ah,  So you like Kojin Rasetsu, Hyakki Ryoran and Fuin Kairan ?  What does not convince you of chimimoryo and kongo kyuubi?

[Zeus 7997]

5 hours ago, Moon said:

Ah,  So you like Kojin Rasetsu, Hyakki Ryoran and Fuin Kairan ?  What does not convince you of chimimoryo and kongo kyuubi?

The compositions if anything were a hair down from what I expected. It sounded like the album was made to fulfill quotas and the magic and spark the band was known for wasn't as bright. Not bad albums, but nothing I would consider their best.