D - Vampire Saga

[dannemannen 69]

Didnt get my copy yet.. but want to hear what you guys think about D's new album. A masterpiece?!

Come on

[morbiusss 10]

what the fuck is going on in 太????牙

[JustIronic 1]

I kinda liked it, but 7th Rose beat this. The songs on VAMPIRE SAGA seemed to melt together a lot more than the ones on 7th Rose, which had more variety. I'm sure this album will grow on me though. Silver acorn bullet will have to be the best track after Der König der Dunkelheit. Those two are the only ones I actually remember listening to. That, and the drum solo.

[Daggi_X 2]

It's not as good as 7th Rose, which is kinda hard to beat, but I still enjoyed every second of this album.

Especially Desert Warrior is a master piece imho.

I'd give it a 8.5/10 rating

[minre 13]

I have to agree with the comment about 太????牙.

Seriously. What?

In either case, I felt the first half to be better than the second half. And it does kind of blend together...

I suppose I need to check out 7th Rose again. *can't remember any of it*.

[Licio123 181]

I feel relieved, since it's SO MUCH better than 7th Rose, which was a total disapointment...

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

The 7th Rose was much better for the variety it had, as well had a much better feature track. Also I wasn't bored for most of it. Off of this album, I pretty much don't remember tracks 1-8. "Desert Warrior" and onwards I enjoyed. Sure, that's about 5 tracks, but still, I should have to sit through 35 minutes to get to a song I like.

Granted I did like Red Lamb Dinner Party "Asagi, can I borrow those gloves?" , I more than likely skip over singles.

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

I'm not really agreeing with a lot of the comments here, but in my own personal opinion I thought it was their best album yet. True, the reason could be because my expectations were stunningly low after that pile of bullshit that was 7th Rose. (My review for that is a completely different topic, but the title track was like.... flawless.... but everything else was weird and disjointed and uncohesive. True, variety is the spice of life, but DEATHGAZE did it better on BLISS OUT than D did it on 7th Rose.) Anyway, rant aside, my expectations were low after Red Lamb Dinner Party (which grew on me a lot recently, but i still don't love it.) and In the name of Justice (which has grown on me completely at this point.) Then they were completely dashed after the bad cover art and album title.... But when the PV for Der Konig der Dunkleheit was released... I bagan to have hope.

Overall I'll give the album a 9/10 liberally, but it's really more of an 8.5 I think. The songs that really jumped out at me included DAY WALKER, Underground road, Der Konig der Dunkelheit, Black Swan, Quartet, and Silver Acorn Bullet. Red Lamb Dinner Party and In the Name of Justice were singles, that opening song was pretty good for an opening song, but couldn't stand up to Nocturnal. Sui Midori no Tsubasa, Gatsu to Umi no Seiyaku, and Ai wa Hitsugi no Nakani are all pretty much on par with greatness and levels of obsession right now.

Only ones I was really like.... "no." on were that horrid drum solo abomination and Desert Warrior. Desert Warrior was a good attempt at a great song, but not a good enough attempt and i passively say "no." Whereas a song composed entirely of drums.... is never a good idea. I don't see how someone could listen to JUST drums for more than a really awesome thirty or so second solo within a song.

[ramrod 108]

how the fuck can ppl dislike 7th rose?! ARE YOU KIDDING? This album is good, 7th rose was better.

[darkindastad 47]

Completely agree with ramrod. I enjoyed this album a lot, but 7th Rose is almost a flawless album for me.

True, variety is the spice of life, but DEATHGAZE did it better on BLISS OUT than D did it on 7th Rose.).

I'm sorry, you think BLISS OUT had variety? I mean I like DEATHGAZE, but most of their songs sound the same to me in one way or another. Same could be said for D I know, but I did not hear any pirate like ballad songs on any DEATHGAZE release

[ramrod 108]

Deathgaze and variety do NOT belong in the samr sentence LOL.

[anieresus 270]

I can agree why some people say 7th Rose was better, because each song was different from the previous etc, and Vampire Saga almost all the songs (if not all) are metal-ish, so that's really up to the listener. I personally enjoyed it a little bit better than 7th Rose, which was my favorite album by them before Vampire Saga.

I'm too lazy to do a songxsong review, but it'll give it a 8.8/10

Deathgaze and variety do NOT belong in the same sentence LOL.

This times forever <3

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I'm not saying that it's a bad album, though. "Silver Acorn Bullet" is one of the best songs they've ever released.

[Guest]

Deathgaze and variety do NOT belong in the samr sentence LOL.

SRSLY. Deathgaze and any positive adjective do not belong in the same sentence.

LOVED 無垢??る薔薇??祈り and 翠緑??翼 . I imagine it sounds like what L'arc would've done circa 1997 if they hadn't sold out (but not dated). It's a shame it's only 3:33, should've been Versailles epic length. Justice kinda sucked, same with Underground. DAY WALKER had the potential to be really interesting, with the guitar ostinato and the drum pattern, but it doesn't really go anywhere. 月??海??誓約, 愛??棺??中?? (EW AT THE CHEAP STRING BASS. NTY. YOU'RE MAJOR, HIRE A DECENT STRING ORCH.) and 赤?羊??よる晩??会 eh. I'm guessing they were pretty high when they decided to put 太????牙 in the album. No1curr about 2 minute drum solos, unless this is a Boredoms album or smth. Kagrra called, they want Desert Warrior back. Quartet～真夜中??四????～ was forgettable and Black Swan unlike the film sucked. I still can't get over lolworthy title, Der König der Dunkelheit. It's k. Silver acorn bullet tries and fails.

Not as good as 7th Rose, but still not too bad. The crap outweight the good, but the good are pretty damn good.

[minre 13]

After remembering 7th Rose. I have to say that this was better, despite the lack of an actual title track... [7th Rose was simply an amazing title track.]

The question of variety is also put into question, but it's honestly not as important in the end if most of the songs are enjoyable...[delete _drum solo_]

It's not like they're -OZ-, which is kind of strange to say considering my complaints of them for a while...

B+

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

I agree that DEATHGAZE does not often have variety in their albums but BLISS OUT had a lot of different elements to it that made the album really great. Each song on BLISS OUT brought something good to the overall product. But with 7th Rose there was ENTIRELY too much variety! The album didn't have any cohesion. It felt like it completely switched gears Fter the first two songs, then again afterthe third to a totally different genre of music, then tightrope, crimson fish and independent queen were the same song. But this isn't a 7th Rose topic.

Long and short Vampire Saga > being stabbed in the ears > 7th Rose

[CAT5 9075]

月??海??誓約, 愛??棺??中?? (EW AT THE CHEAP STRING BASS. NTY. YOU'RE MAJOR, HIRE A DECENT STRING ORCH.)

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that thinks synth strings are EWW! *high fives*

In regards to the album, it's the first full D album I've listened to since 2007, so I can't compare it to whatever they released since then. I like it. Nothing amazing, but it's VERY listenable. Production was spot-on (except for the synth strings), and Asagi was mostly tolerable throughout. I approve.

[Neon 6]

Best 2011 jrock cd by far , end of a story

10 / 10

[sai 868]

Thanks for doing this! Normally I do the D reviews but I was too lazy to make one yesterday! Before writing my review I must honestly say that I enjoyed 7th Rose over this one as well, it's still a very good album though. The thing with this album was that it started of VERY good, than halfway through it fell down a bit but at the last few tracks it rose to great heights again, while 7th Rose kept me fascinated the entire time.

無垢??る薔薇??祈り - I was kind of surprised that they started of with a sort of "ballad" song, since most albums start of with an up-tempo song. The beginning really gave me the "7th Rose" atmosphere, the chanting and the background music, specifically. The calm riffs in the beginning and the heavier ones going along with it sound incredibly well together. Asagi's high voice is very good here, very enjoyable. The chorus is pretty beautiful, definitely a keeper and a good start. I love how he says 'justice' at the end. 8/10

In the name of justice - I wrote a review about this song when the single was released, and I can't say I've changed my opinion, it's still kick-ass. Probably one of my favorite songs by them. 9/10

Underground road - Wasn't very impressed by this on the first listen, but it's growing on me, especially the chorus, I love the echoes in Asagi's voice, it's my favorite part of the song. The synth in some parts just before the chorus could've been left out, it just doesn't sound very well. The breakdowns were good, but nothing special. I will probably listen this as a blend-in with the album, but not a track I would specifically play on itself. 8/10

DAY WALKER - Nice intro, a bit of electro-rock thrown in, I like that. The screamo is good. I think it's amazing how much Asagi has improved his screaming since 7th Rose. Toki no koe was a nice song, but the screamo was just...no. Ruiza keeps writing those heavy songs for him though. He just should refrain from doing it too often, since his regular is still way more enjoyable. This started to grow on me as well, it's just a standard, typical, good D song. Same as with Underground road, this is sort of a blend-in. But then again I preferred Underground road over this one. Upgraded Underground road to an 8. 7.5/10

翠緑??翼 - I actually totally forgot about this one, like most of the songs in the middle. I don't know if it's the fact that they are all in kanji or that they all give off the same vibe? It gives of a nice, mystical feeling that's really calm and relaxing. It's now pretty much in my head, especially the chorus. I like the accoustic guitars. It's definitely a keeper, but I needed a few listens first to get into it. I prefer it over DAY WALKER, so 8.5/10

月??海??誓約 - This actually starts of really good, but once the chorus sets in it gets a bit boring. Asagi's vocals impress me and I'm really enjoying them, but it just sounds so flat. I don't know about this one. The riffs in the beginning and throughout are just really enjoyable. I'll go with a 7.5/10

愛??棺??中?? - I think D should've split these songs better over the whole album, it feels like they are stuffed together and that makes this part of the album a bit...I don't know, bland. It's still a nice song, don't misunderstand me, but I would've liked some more variation. Maybe I would've felt the songs better if they had been divided better. It's better than the one before so 8/10

赤?羊??よる晩??会 - I think compared to some newer songs I've heard the rating of this one has fallen downward a bit. It's got a really nice, danceable feeling in the beginning with some jazzy riffs, and the moaning is actually incredibly fitting, but somehow really hilarious. Everytime I hear this Asagi's outfit comes to mind. Yeah...I should refrain from bringing that up. Anyway, still a song I can really enjoy. 8.5/10

太????牙 - A two-minute drum solo! Nice! However, you shouldn't hear this too often, otherwise it will just bore you. It's a really good drum solo, it shows off Hiroki's skill. I really like it. 8/10

Desert Warrior - I love this. The basslines, the drums and the Arabic feeling it gives off. Only one thing: IT IS WAY TOO SHORT. If they would've made this into a 4 minute song than I might have rated it a 9/10, but I can't. Really enjoyable, just too short. 8.5/10

Quartet～真夜中??四????～ - Nice drum intro. This is one of the songs that I really enjoyed apart from the chorus. It just doesn't seem to blend in with the rest of the song, I don't know. Maybe it's due to the slow parts just before the chorus. I really like the guitar riffs. If the chorus would've been more enjoyable I really would've enjoyed this one more. I like the drumming just after the chorus by the way. But then again, Tsunehito's songs never were my favorites. 7.5/10

Black Swan - Powerful start, which I like. Nice solo. I don't have much to say about this, it's just good. 8.5/10

Der König der Dunkelheit - This one is longer than the PV. So I was wondering, why. Now the answer is, because Asagi tells us a story in his sexy man voice. Nevertheless, this song is great. I wasn't very impressed when I heard the preview at first, but the whole song just blew me away, especially the part where the guitars set in for the first time. Great German, now work on the English 9/10

Silver acorn bullet - This has become probably one of my favorites by them yet. Everything about this is just perfect. The "rolling, rolling, rolling", the marching soldiers theme, Asagi saying: "Hello and welcome!" the solo and the upbeat chorus. My favourite of the album 10/10.

Overall: 8.5/10

A very good album by them, with some very powerful songs, but also a few that were a bit boring too me. My 2nd favorite album by them, 7th Rose stays my favorite. And not because it misses Irish gnomes skipping through fields. D, you have done it again.

[Guest]

Not bad, but somehow I was expecting them to make something more eipc. Nevertheless 8/10

[Renor 0]

7th Rose was the best D album since their (also rose-ish) debut one. I kinda wanted to believe that they're back... But Vampire Saga is a dissapointment. Nothing really stood out for me.

Going back to the greatness that is Crimson Fish (awesome, awesome song).

[gyakutai 12]

I really enjoyed it, I am sure all songs will be great live, but 7th Rose was better because it has more an history-line. (my favourite is still GW) Anyway, still an awesome album D never disappoints!

Best songs: 無垢??る薔薇??祈り (when he whispers "justice" in the end... ), 赤?羊??よる晩??会 (my overall favourite from the album ), Black Swan (awesome growls), Der König der Dunkelheit (beautiful PV song), Silver acorn bullet (lovely bonus track)

Rating: 8.5/10

[madygrain 515]

More of the same. They still make awesome tracks but it's getting repetive and it's hardly different of anything they relased before. They need to evolve. 7/10

[kyoisKILLINGME 195]

The best album i ever heard!! i give it a 10 ^^

and i LOVE the Pv (Der König der Dunkelheit!)

n.n