#yousei teikoku

Downy - Dai nanashukin shuu “mudai” (18.03.2020) [★★★★★]*REVIEW*

Whoever is into the Japanese musical scene, can’t but have come into contact with the mysterious and complex music of Downy. The band came back for their 20th anniversary with a brand-new album, the first work since Aoki Yutaka’s death, building up a musical product which is impossible to define with the typical canon, but made of being experienced in all possible ways, thanks to a melancholic and dynamic sound, transporting the listener in a powerful and emotive journey. Few bands manage to break the limit between music and emotions and Downy with this seventh album has once again overcome such barrier.

BAND REVIEW

REVIEWS:Dai nisaku kinshuu “mudai” (22.05.2002),Underground (analysis)

TRACKLIST

1. Contra-post
2. Shikai furyou (Scarce visibility)
3. 36.2° 
4. Good News
5. Kazukatou (Sugar cube)
6. Geranium
7. Sajou, moyu. Zankou (Dune, scatter. Persistent vision)
8. Pianoid
9. Azayagu shiten (Vivid perspective)
10. Adaption
11. Stand alone

Yousei Teikou - The Age of Villains (25.03.2020) [★★★★★]

Already appeared with:Shadow Corps[e] (2015)

Yousei Teikou brings back their fairy and gothic concept to their audience after several years of absence, between member changes and a new musical awareness. Their latest album is composed with an unique and riveting structure, with an energetic and virtuous metal sound, empowered by Yui’s bright voice and a great work by the other musicians, providing the right energy song after song.

TRACKLIST

1. A Treatise of Villainy: The Seventy-Two Villainous Truths (And One Blasphemy)
2. Autoscopy
3. Hitoya no maboroshi (Hell is not an illusion)
   
4. Iron Rose
5. Phantom Terror
6. Ransho Aion (Overrun eternity)
   
7. Eclipsed
8. Hell in Glass
9. Zetsu (Absolute)
10. Paradiso ≒ Inferno
11. Aru tsuioku, bouchou uchuu ni okeru shinkai sunawachi suiten (Memories, mandara and deep sea)
    
12. Sousou Friedian (Friedian funeral)

Kiyoharu - Japanese Menu/Distortion 10 (25.03.2020) [★★★★★]

Already appeared with: Soloist (2016),Elegy (2017),Yoru, Carmen no shishuu (2018),Covers (2019)

It seems that Kiyoharu’s music is a fixed presence in our radars. His will to experimentate, to surprise the listeners and to enchant with compelling and powerful performances allowed him to bring solid works each year and in 2020 he was no less. His tenth album, released for the 25th anniversary of his career, mixes up all his styles, going from energetic notes to melodious themes, featuring a bit of exotic and rebel vibe. Kiyoharu knows how to bring romanticism and potency with his sound, which is a must for true Japanese music fans.

REVIEWS:Poetry (08.03.2004),Under the Sun (07.11.2012),Yoru wo, omou/Charade (09.02.2017),Slow (analysis)

TRACKLIST

1. Survive of Vision
2. Geretsu (Vile)
3. Outsider
4. Greige
5. Sakkaku Refrain (Illusion refrain)
   
6. Ryoujoku (Rape)
7. Senrei (Baptism)
   
8. Uso to oroka (Lies and stupidity)
   
9. Yume oi (Dream chasing)
   
10. Romantic
11. Boukyaku no sora -25th anniversary ver.- (Oblivion sky)

Mai Yaijma - Hell on Earth (25.03.2020) [★★★★★]

Already appeared with: Vampiress (2018)

Mai Yajima is a rising phenomenon within the Japanese metal scene, whose style doesn’t go unnoticed. Being active since 2014, she started a band two years later, going on with her powerful and obscure sound, which led her to release several EPs. Her first work of this year goes straight to the darkest side of her style, bringing on dynamic and powerful metal themes, driven by her charismatic voice. Mai Yajima has all the cards to shake off things in the metal world and we’re ready to experience it.

TRACKLIST

1. Dominator
2. Phantom Pain
3. Chimera
4. Bloody Sword
5. Shinen (Abyss)
6. Absolute Moon

Aldious - Evoke 2010-2020 (18.03.2020) [★★★★]

Already appeared with:Radiant A (2015)

Staying in the Japanese metal scene, there’s another band ready to bring something new. Aldious was already estabilished as a cornerstone for the genre in the past years, but they recently gained a new singer, R!N, on 2019, who substituted Re:NO after five years. The new vocalist has definitely brought a Western influenced approach in the band’s sound and before going on with this new phase, they decided to going back to the past, reworking their hits in a refreshing way, with deeper riffs and more energetic vocals, as shown in this first part of the compilation.

REVIEWS:Deep Exceed (13.10.2010)

TRACKLIST

1. Spirit Black
2. Yokazura (Cherry flowers by night)
   
3. Ground Angel
4. Kochou no yume (Butterfly dream)
   
5. Eversince
6. Ultimate Melodious
7. Utopia
8. Dominator
9. Absolute
10. Bind
11. Dearly
12. Deep
13. I Wish for You

-HONORABLE MENTIONS-

Hana Sekitori - Kitto watashi wo matte iru [I am sure you’re waiting for me](04.03.2020)

The first mention of the month goes to Hana Sekitori, young Japanese singer who mainly grew up in Germany. She had her debut on 2010 and released some EP, two albums and few singles. This year she brought up a mini-album, composed by six tracks exalting her simple and bright voice, accompaining melodious and enjoyable pop themes, making her sound fit for everyone.

TRACKLIST

1. Touhikou (Escape)
2. Ao no gosenfu (Blue staff)
3. Hajimari no toki (At the beginning)
4. Machi wa usukurenaiiro (The city is light red)
5. Kangaeru dake (Just think)
6. Ieji (Home)

Fake Island - Cell Division (04.03.2020)

A metal band fronted by two female vocalists is quite unusual, especially in Japan, but Fake Island has shown that they shouldn’t be underrated at all. With a rebellious concept and a gritty metalcore sound, the band started their path on 2017 with a mini-album, followed up by their first full work three years later. The sound offered in the release is adrenalinic and pumping, empowered mostly by the coupling made by Erica and YuuriBJOUX’s voices, creating a perfect contrast between aggressive and clear tones, along with a pounding instrumental work. Fake Island have a bright future next to them and we can’t wait to hear more of them.

TRACKLIST

1. All at Once
2. Fortune
3. Who The Hell Made This?
4. Just Wanna Live
5. Hang Onto My Dream
6. Throw Down
7. No Trust
8. My Tranquilizer
9. No Solution

Develop One’s Faculties - Inverse Яeverse(11.03.2020)

Already appeared with:Bukkakou na machi boku to kimi (2018)

Develop One’s Faculties is definitely one of the most remarkable visual kei bands of the recent times, thanks to an unpredictable soul, allowing them to approach each song with a unique and impressive style. Despite Detto, their historical bassist, departed on 2019, substituted by Hiromu, ofLack-Co.andMerry Badend fame, the band didn’t lose their extravagant style and in the second album their sound changes in each song, featuring electronic, deep bass lines, rhythmical changes and vocal versatility, bringing up a tune for each kind of listener and pleasing the visual kei audience.

REVIEWS:Hope (13.05.2015), I Want my Freedom (02.11.2016)

TRACKLIST

1. Inverse
2. SevenStars
3. Uitenpen wa yononarai (The meaningful change is a world tradition)
   
4. Y
5. Borderline
6. “Taihaiteki” (Decadence)
7. Boutoku (Blasphemy)
8. Ephemeral
9. Schadenfreude (Malicious joy)
   
10. monochro
11. Shinjitsu no kuro (True black)
    
12. Henken to shouken (Prejudice and correctness)
    
13. My Name is R&R
14. Jun (Tour)
15. Ao to sora (Blue and sky)
    
16. Яeverse

TO BE CONTINUED…

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!