REVIEW: the GazettE – TOXIC

the GazettE are one of the most well-known and influential bands in the modern Visual Kei scene. Both those who have followed VK since the early days with bands like D’erlanger and Color, as well as those new to the scene will have heard the name “the GazettE”. For such a powerful band, every album release is a big deal so, let’s see how their fifth album, “TOXIC”, compares.

Track list
1. INFUSE INTO
2. VENEMOUS SPIDER’S WEB
3. SLUDGY CULT
4. RED
5. THE SUICIDE CIRCUS
6. SHIVER
7. MY DEVIL ON THE BED
8. UNTITLED
9. PLEDGE
10. RUTHLESS DEED
11. PSYCHOPATH
12. VORTEX
13. TOMORROW NEVER DIES
14. OMEGA

The logical place to start with this album is it’s beginning. The intro track is some form of dubstep with faster sections which is vastly different to what you may be expecting from the band. However, it is quite common for VK bands to have more electronic, looped music for their intro tracks.

The album pushes quickly forward and turns into a more rock sound which is very similar to what the band has previously done. the GazettE suffer somewhat in that they had a very successful launch and find it difficult to build upon that foundation so their later releases don’t quite compare amongst fans.

Ruki’s distinct vocal work plays through nicely in this release and it’s nice to hear music without the typical “Visual Kei vocals”, despite the band’s long past. The rest of the band work together nicely and, at least, bring us music on a similar level to their previous works.

There was one track which stood out on both the initial listen as well as subsequent ones. “UNTITLED” is a more melodic and slow song with more unique singing styles and a nice flow. It was this single track which gave me some hope that the band would try to move from this level and build themselves upwards.

A few other songs are catchy and fit nicely into the album, such as “THE SUICIDE CIRCUS” and their previously-released song, “PLEDGE”. These were the few which stood out above the rest as innovative and pushing the boundaries of the GazettE’s sound.

Sadly, most of the other songs were very similar to old releases and didn’t really provide anything new. A lot of them merge together and do not individually provide a great experience and story; something which sets the Japanese music scene above other’s.

For fans who are new to the band, this is a great purchase and a nice starting point for them to delve back into the band’s history. For those who will mindlessly buy anything the band makes, it’s also a fine purchase. But, for those who listen deeply to the music, this may not give anything new from what you’ve previously heard from the band.

Overall, this is a solid release and it’s nice to see such a long-running band stay together. They may have been swayed to keep releasing generic songs but, at least they aren’t as fickle as much of the scene today.

-Akumu

Sources: Band image, Album artwork

Purchase at CDJapan! This album was also released on Amazon so, check your local Amazon site!

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