[Review] Versailles - Lineage ～薔薇の末裔～【初回限定盤】

[lichtlune 915]

So here it is! Versailles's first proper release since their hiatus in 2012! I'd really like to hear what you guys thought about it so I'm starting a review thread of my own. 

 

 

 

1: La Musique

I'd say probably one of the more solid tracks on the album. I really like the verses and  solid piano break near the middle. 8/10

 

2: Shadows Fang

Sounds pretty standard for them. It doesn't really blow my mind. 7/10

 

3: Inheritance

I like the neat little transition from bass, guitar, and vocals before returning to the chorus again.  7.5/10

 

4: A Day Without You

I like the rocking guitars at the beginning. It almost reminds me a little bit of The Revenant Choir. This song is starting to grow on me. Also has a pretty good chorus.  8/10

 

5: Lineage

After hearing the previews I honestly thought I was going to hate this song. Funny because I actually think it's one of the best songs on the album after hearing it in full. The symphonic sounding intro that repeats throughout the song is very good. I honestly wouldn't hesitate to call this one of their best songs if it wasn't for the weird chorus which sounds kinda out of place imo. 8/10

 

6: Marionette. 

You're responsible for this one aren't you kamijo? >.> hmmm.. ok 8.5/10

 

 

~Overall Thoughts~

A decent return for them but I wouldn't consider it among their best. Definitely inferior in comparison to their other mini-album lyrical sympathy but it's not that bad.

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2017 by lichtlune

[JukaForever 758]

There is a stronger Kamijo sound on this release rather than a balance of Kamijo and Hizaki. Or maybe Hizaki has eased up on his guitar play? I haven't listened to Jupiter so I don't know if that is a trend with him now but his trademark guitar seems so neutered here compared to all previous Versailles releases. With less guitars, the rhythm sections are much stronger sounding and is probably the highlight of this album.

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

It's impossible for me to review this album in a totally objective voice, so just know that before we go into this.

 

Essentially, the EP was very good. I wasn't going to have a bad opinion even if it was just Kamijo recording himself defecating. To be honest, though, I can't believe how:

1) There's nothing here longer than 6 minutes

2) La Musique and Shadows Fang are -so- similar.

 

Bouncing off that, Shadows Fang is not a bad song, but La Musique has a 'je ne sais quois' about it that just makes it better.

 

If La Musique and Shadows Fang are to Philia and Rosen Schwert in terms of being more symphonic metal,

Inheritance and A Day Without You are to Illusion and Remember Forever in terms of being more power metal (with ballad-esque undertones).

 

Then there's Lineage which is just a fucking opus. From the choir, to the chorus of Kamijo's own backing vocals, ugh god everything is perfect.

Marionette is kind of like Zombie in that way where its an outlier in their discography, but is every bit as unique as I would hope.

 

I'm going to need them to let Teru compose more and Hizaki compose less. How much more could the man really do in a way of composition. Everything with intrigue has been done by Kamijo or Teru. Hizaki is there for the really beautiful typical stuff but there's only so much of it that's necessary.

[SHOKI 66]

I have to agree with ShanethVarosa. I can't really talk about these guys objectively. But I'd still like to share my thoughts on the EP.

 

- La Musique: Exactly what I expected from KAMIJO. Perfect for a first track, and doesn't steal the spotlight from the title track. 

- Shadows Fang: Great intro,  rest of the track sounds really too much like La Musique, wonder if the similarity is accidental or is something KAMIJO and HIZAKI actually planned.

- Inheritance: One of my favourites here. Love the dark tone the melody and  the choirs have, and rhythm changes. My only complain about it is how short it is. For something named after God Palace I would have expected at least 8 minutes.

- A Day Without You: My least favorite of the EP. Is not bad, but the chorus gives me the same "anime opening" vibes I got from Illusion, and feels pretty out of place to me. KAMIJO's solo reminds me a lot of DESTINY's. Again, I wonder if it was accidental or a planned throw back to it.
- Lineage: My other favourite. I can't really choose between this one and Inheritance. Is great in every aspect. Again loving the color, choirs, melody and rhythm changes on it. The orchestral arrange is 10/10 KAMIJO work. This one could have been way longer too, it has the potential.

- Marionette: First thing that came to my mind when I listened to the previews was it sounded a little bit merveilles-ish, something not usual on them, but not bad at all. Again loving the orchestral arrange here. HIZAKI and TERU should team up to compose stuff more often, they balance each other in a great way.

 

Overall, like JukaForever noticed, the rhythm section really shines a lot in this EP. 

9/10 work to me, really enjoyed it, and I know I'll be  listening to it a lot. In my opinion it's only lacking the Versailles' trademark ridiculously  long song. (Come on KAMIJO, I'm still waiting for a 20 minutes masterpiece to follow up God Palace and Faith & Decision). JUBILEE is still my favourite release. I believe they really pushed the bar too high with it.

Edited February 16, 2017 by SHOKI

[Lestat 2167]

The only thing I have to add to this is that they truly need to lay off the rehashed cross- drums and guitar galloping-rhythm that comes back in almost all of their songs. I know it's an important returning pattern in Power metal, but Lord — it's getting so old and I have to counter @JukaForeverand @SHOKIon that matter. The trio Hizaki, Teru and Yuki are capable of so much more technically and I do not understand why they constantly fall back in this same rhythmic arrangement. La Musique and Shadows Fang follow the exact same pattern and that's what makes them so very similar, and if I would be able to write down its phonetics I am sure that everyone would understand what I mean here. These constant mathematical repetitions are what's hurting their abilities to evolve and write another masterpiece like Noble or Jubilee. I felt those albums didn't follow these particular genre-based algorithms like they do here. It's like they're trying more to lean toward the exact Power metal regulations instead of just being Versailles as themselves. At this moment I do feel that Lineage and Inheritance come close to their former glory, so I am surely not giving up on them at all, but there is just something obscured in here that irks me.

 

This mini-album definitely needs time to grow on me and I do not yet have definite favourites after three listening sessions. Currently I am still leaning toward Kamijo's solo-project when put up against anything post-2011 Versailles, and I feel like the band still needs time to crawl out of their pit that came along with their self-titled album released in 2012.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Lestat

[Hakari 282]

One of my complaints about Versailles is i feel that they are incredibly stagnant. Their sound hasn't really changed at all over the years. I think of bands like Merry, Mucc, Diru, etc bands that have been around for awhile and have gone through this evolution of sound, offering if anything a unique and fresh perspective to their own music.  I understand that alot of that has to do with Kamijo/Hizaki, since they have been doing the same thing in both their respective careers.

 

With all that being said I absolutely loved their first mini when it came out because I felt that at the time it was so fresh and exciting (despite the x japanisque).  Every release after that my interest declined ever slowly. I did enjoy this release though, I wasn't blown away at any point but my no means was this a bad album. Lineage and Inheritance are the only two tracks that really pickled my interest. Showing a teeny tiny bit of deviation from the Versailles formula.

 

7/10

 

Note: Lineage was the saving grace on this release. Well worth a listen.

 

[JukaForever 758]

13 hours ago, Lestat said:

The only thing I have to add to this is that they truly need to lay off the rehashed cross- drums and guitar galloping-rhythm that comes back in almost all of their songs. I know it's an important returning pattern in Power metal, but Lord — it's getting so old and I have to counter @JukaForeverand @SHOKIon that matter. The trio Hizaki, Teru and Yuki are capable of so much more technically and I do not understand why they constantly fall back in this same rhythmic arrangement. La Musique and Shadows Fang follow the exact same pattern and that's what makes them so very similar, and if I would be able to write down its phonetics I am sure that everyone would understand what I mean here. These constant mathematical repetitions are what's hurting their abilities to evolve and write another masterpiece like Noble or Jubilee. I felt those albums didn't follow these particular genre-based algorithms like they do here. It's like they're trying more to lean toward the exact Power metal regulations instead of just being Versailles as themselves. At this moment I do feel that Lineage and Inheritance come close to their former glory, so I am surely not giving up on them at all, but there is just something obscured in here that irks me.

 

This mini-album definitely needs time to grow on me and I do not yet have definite favourites after three listening sessions. Currently I am still leaning toward Kamijo's solo-project when put up against anything post-2011 Versailles, and I feel like the band still needs time to crawl out of their pit that came along with their self-titled album released in 2012.

 

 

You may have interpreted my post wrong. I didn't say I wanted more guitars (actually, I don't really care what direction they go in as long as it is distinctly Versailles sounding), I just don't think Hizaki's guitar play is distinct enough or make much of an impact for that matter. His longest solo in this release is like 15 seconds which is like WTF not to mention they are the type of solos that doesn't blend itself with the song. This whole release could easily be mistaken as a Kamijo solo.

[Leviathan 10]

Same (about the objective issue). However, I am fairly surprised and pleased with this album. I kind of see some international sound, done in an intelligent manner. Even the weakest song, Shadows Fang (which basically is Flowery 2.0 by Hizaki), is quality material. Inheritance, Lineage and Marionette all are top-notch stuff to me. I immediatly liked Lineage (Jubilee and Holy Grail had to grown on me first).

 

On a sidenote: I admire Kamijo's ability to dominate the scene (especially 2015-now) and kind of see Versailles as the new Malice Mizer since Budokan, finished Europe Tour and announced World Tour. The new Malice Mizer as in not really giving a fuck about trends in the scene while still staying relevant and becoming more more and more relevant. Chateau Agency also does some smart stuff with David. Really in love with Versailles again right now.

[rebelstrik 111]

Lineage and Marionette are my favs 

[THGS 2]

Better than Versailles 2012, better produced than Heart, and has a Noble-similar style, as the songs are more dense and with no Lareine influences this time.

 

I was afraid of the quality of production and mixing, as you can notice a terrible lack of quality in the last compilations, even in Heart. It was like Kamijo mixed the songs fast, at home, not caring that much about the quality as much as Hizaki has done in Jupiter and Rosario. M10M followed the same path of and  I'm glad it wasn't the case of Lineage.

I liked this EP. Marionette is my favourite track,  and I hope a fullenght with more epic songs.

Edited February 28, 2017 by THGS

[Rika 2]

Basically i love all songs

[L'air 15]

For me the new release is just a solid Versailles... but a little bit older  

Hizaki shouldn't compose s much. We know, that he can do it. But... aren't Teru's or Masashi's composition(s) pretty good?
To be honest. Kamijo's voice is for me overstered. But basically, will wait for another album. Hope there will be something more from the rest of the band. And more fresh and new elements. In a nutshell - good job. But we want more perfect stuff from them!

[Bunny-Usagii 97]

Just managed to get a .mkv of the entire live DVD and I don't know where else I could share this bc the search option isn't showing me a post for the actual live DVD, so here I am

 

 

You're welcome