#rose noire
Here I am with the final part of July’s themed week in “Focusing on”! Today’s subject is a band whose style hangs between power metal and anime world. We’re talking about Unlucky Morpheus, known also as Ankimo, formed on 2008 and composed by Tenge “Fuki” Fuyuki (vo.), singer of famous Japanese metal bands, such Light Bringer,Doll$BoxxandDragon Guardian, and also leader of the project Fuki Commune, Shiren (gt./vo./prog.), former member of Yousei Teikoku,Undead CorporationandBabymetal, Jinya (gt.), member of Undead Corporation, Ogawa Hiroyuki (ba.), Fumiya (dr.), former member of Galneryus and also part of Hizaki Grace Project, Jill (vio.), former member of Rose Noire and Denshirenji Tsuyoshi (vo.). The band name’s meaning is not known at the moment, while their concept is an evident mix between gothic atmosphere and the world of anime and manga, as they started as a doujin circle. Their genre is a melodious and technical metal, brought up by the experience of each member, and their discography sees an interesting division between touhou re-arranged works, covering most of their repertory, and their original works,which they started to release in latest years. Their debut occurred on October 2008, with the first mini-album Hypothetical Box, followed by the first album Rebirth, the second album So that a star shines at the night sky, the third album Amazement Park!!, the fourth album Jealousy, the fifth album Unbeatable Accomplice, the sixth album Hypothetical Box Act 2(reviewed here), the seventh album Byougin kishou(Demon cat), the eighth album Heavy Metal Be-Bop, the compilation U&I Eurobeat Remix, the ninth album Faith and Warfare, the tenth album Parallelism -α & β-, the compilation Best of Dramatic Melody, the second mini-album Miseria Kills Slaughterously, the eleventh album Affected(release which started their original phase), the third mini-album Vampir and the singles Wings,Black Pentagram(read the song analysis here) and Cadaver/Revadac.
The two title-tracks are literally one the opposite of the other, both in title and music, where the former is a paced and techincally rich metal theme, driven by charismatic vocals, while the latter sees a more epic approach, with a major emphasis on guitars; the songs talk about the link between destiny and rebirth and getting back for fixing things respectively. It has been followed by the twelfth album Change of Generation.
The lead-track, named Knight of Sword, is driven by Fuki’s unique voice, which keeps up a powerful melody, enriched by a great instrumental work; the song is about life as a continuous fight, featuring a medieval concept. It has been followed by the thirteenth album Heikou jikuu no ongakkai(Parallel space-time concert), belonging to touhou series, and the original single Takiyasha Hime.
The title-track sees an energetic metal melody, with an interesting folk experimentation, which works quite well, especially with the vocal duet between Fuki and Shiren; the song is based on the Japanese legend of the princess Takiyasha. It has been followed by the fourteenth album Hypothetical Box Act 3, part of the touhou series.
In Japanese musical scene the border between touhou and the other genres has become thinner, allowing more artists linked to a more electronic and animesque world to experiment even with the proper music. Unlucky Morpheus is one of the most notable exemples of this collision, because their work is mainly based on the touhou compositions, reworked in metal notes and giving them a regeneration, allowing the touhou world to become more and more popular. Their talent, given also by the outstanding line-up they built up in the years, led them to compose works of their own and the results has been really good, filled by virtuosism and charisma and improving their status in the Japanese metal scene significantly. In twelve years of career Unlucky Morpheus have grown up a lot, experimenting, going beyond their limits and entertaining a always bigger audience and they won’t stop doing it, as they are still hitting thanks to their latest effort, the fifteenth album Unfinished, fifth full work of originals, came out last month, where their energy and potency is compelling and definitely worth of a listen, as you can read in this review.
Who might enjoy: who is looking for a metal band, whose style lives between touhou and energetic themes.
Recommended songs: Danzai wa amaneku ningen no gen ni, Black Pentagram, Cadaver, Revadac, Knight of Sword, Kizasi and Takiyasha hime.
That’s all folks! See you with the first part of August’s themed week in “Let’s Listen to”!
Thanks for the reading!
