己龍 (Kiryu) - 夢幻鳳影 (Mugen houyou)

[Miasma 162]

Still giving it a thorough listen before I comment on anything, but I must say I'm enjoying every bit of what I've heard so far!

Mashiro Minaj and the rest of the Super Sentai never disappoint. <3

[Miasma 162]

夢幻鳳影

The song has really grown on me since the previews were released. This is just that hectic sound I love and expect from these guys, the main riff and Mashiro's vocal mayhem during the chorus are what hit me the strongest from the song. I like how the keys and synths are placed through out the song, and don't drown everything out. My only problem with the song is the occasional muffled breaks where Mashiro begins to chant and the poor drum recording. Junji's excellent, but dammit his bass and snare drums sound like a bunch of tiks and toks!

4½/5

紫?? (??録)

Not much of a difference than the original, apart from a couple of minor details: Throw in some chanting in the verses, replace the awesome growls from the original with some horrible RIKU-sounding ones, and call it a rerecording. Not bad, but is lacking that "spark" from the original.

3½/5

雨夜ニ笑ヱ??

The drums sound rerecorded, but not any better in recording production. I love the way the song forces you to keep up with it. Great chorus, cool rhythm, and an excellent mischievous atmosphere.

4/5

??カ彼方ヘ…

The intro was interesting, however the song's progression is kinda iffy. I didn't like the transition from the main verse into the chorus, Mashiro's vocal rhythm sounds really misplaced amongst the rest of the song. I find the song to be boring, but not necessarily bad.

3/5

丑刻??

Glad they're incorporating more violin, or what ever that ominous-sounding instrument in the back is, in their songs. However they have too much going on in this song, and it isn't all working together. I can hear hear the chimes, keys, and flute more than I can the band at times. Might have been more enjoyable if they had toned it down with all the extra instruments.

2½/5

屡??

I see this song as "Ameyo ni wablabla"'s sequel. Same pace, just slightly less "heavy". I'm quite fond of that falsetto/opera thing (I'm not gonna pretend to know what it's called...) Mashiro graces us with during 3:24 - 3:35. ~WoooOOOOOooooOOOOOHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

4/5

??

Like the use of static in the intro. The songs traditional Japanese rhythm and dark melancholic atmosphere make an interesting duo; however, the song is a tad-bit boring and lacking something that can make it slightly memorable.

2/5

眩暈

Finally something interesting again! I was starting to believe that the new songs, sans the title track, were all going to be flops. Their use of the Gameboy synths in the post-chorus verse was really cool. The songs flow is smooth Yet another one of Kiryu's frantic, dramatic, and fun songs!

4/5

別レ日和??仄カニ染マル

Really upbeat fuzzy pop-rock song of theirs that doesn't lose their traditional sound. I'm really enjoying the guitar work throughout the entire song.

4/5

見セ掛ケノ飴ト自己満足ノ鞭 (??録)

This has to be one of their best intros and rerecordings yet. This would have made a hell of an instrumental, although I don't mind the vocals. Also digging the addition of that groovy section after the second chorus. One of the more structurally interesting songs on the album.

漣

Oh god, their cheap synth orchestra and piano chords sound so bad. The song becomes gradually better as it advances though. It isn't as great of a ballad as it could have been if they left out the use of every synth instrument in their sight.

2/5

Still waiting to hear "怪??".

Overall, I'd give the album a 3/5. There's some really solid tracks here ("Mugen houyou", "Memai", the "Misekake..." rerecording, and the previously released songs) but as an album Mugen houyou just isn't as synchronized as Meikyou shisui is. There's just too much variety going on here, and as a result most of the new tracks are real letdowns. I wouldn't ever recommend the album as a whole to anybody, but I'd sure as hell recommend the highlights to any new listeners.

tl;dr: Meikyou shisui > Mugen houyou.

[gyakutai 12]

Not going to do a proper review because I am really lazy.

I think this album is fucking amazing. Much better than Meikyou. The variety has made me fall in love with it in Meikyou the songs sounded more similiar to each other. In Mugen the songs are really different and developed. The things which made me happier was that I heard Hiyori's bass A LOT. Aw, thank you guys not to have disappointed me ;__; so happy to have bought it.

Best songs: 夢幻鳳影, ??カ彼方ヘ…, 丑刻??, ??

Overall rating: 5/5

It could be easily 2011's album.

So Mugen houyou > Meikyou shisui

[golffy_aoi 15]

6/10 sorry, I prefer their last album <3

[nekkichi 6042]

they sound like a blend of irodori and 100500 inide vk bands no one cares about

not really liking it, and won't give a 2nd listen to the whole thing.

[MY BFF HEIDI 7]

they sound like a blend of irodori and 100500 inide vk bands no one cares about

not really liking it, and won't give a 2nd listen to the whole thing.

[nekkichi 6042]

[Guest]

they sound like a blend of irodori and 100500 inide vk bands no one cares about

not really liking it, and won't give a 2nd listen to the whole thing.

ET/Lil' Kim is right. Flawless album.

[Manabu 144]

Not gonna do a big review

but I'd give it a 3/5

some catchy choruses, most of it to me just sounds messy with too much going on

[sai 868]

I'd go with 7.75/10. I don't think it's bad enough for 7.5 but not good enough for 8, so in between. The singles and the title track were my favourites though :/

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

Eh, I'll give it a 5. Then again, just ignore me. I haven't been in the mood for VK music lately. Maybe when I get out of my rut this will grow on me.