Part 3: #10-#6
It was an important year for Visual-Kei - international Visual-Kei, reunions, disbandments, and an array of great albums. But, which ones were the best? Which albums will have effects on the Visual-Kei scene? Join James as he looks back on the past year, and picks the most important albums of 2012, in three installments.
10. A – “Tales for the Abyss”
Ace, or the
name with five different names. In terms of style, some would say that their
best days are behind them, at least if you were to argue that they exceled
better as a more traditional rock-type Visual-Kei band. I don’t subscribe to
that mindset, which is why I firmly champion “Tales for the Abyss” as one of
the most important albums of the year.
“Tales for
the Abyss” begins with the, for lack of better words, epic track, “Night of the
Knights”. It sets the stage for the entire album – fine piano mixed with
passionate vocals, a carefully implemented and wielded fiddle, and phenomenal
guitar riffs and basslines. From a sheer “do they make mistakes” standpoint,
the answer is a definite no. The album is flawless in terms of musical
direction, which is somewhat surprising given the high amount of support
members onboard during the recording of “Tales for the Abyss”.
The songs
range from serious to comedic, and Ace pulls them all off with sincerity and
expertise. This album stands as a testament to everything that is right with
modern Visual-Kei, and stands to refute the stagnant copying model that many
pundits of the genre have accused the current scene of Visual-Kei of using.
Just as when SID initially pioneered what I have dubbed “Lounge-Kei”, Ace
charts new territory with their Celtic infused Visual-Kei. What results is one
of the most original albums of the year, but, it succeeds where others fail in
that it does not sacrifice quality for some new sound or imagery gimmick.
9. REALies – “LEVEL.”
When most
bands release more than one LP a year, it usually means at least one is not up
to the same level as the other (see MoNoLith’s “fiction & non-fiction” and
“BRAZEN” last year), especially if they are independent. REALies not only
defies this rather solid logic, but actually got better. “LEVEL.” surpasses the
bar set by “to the REAL”, and establishes their unique style of more upbeat
synths with Visual-Kei as their own, with the style being far more distinct
from other similar bands like Royz this time around than “to the REAL”.
The album
is remarkable for piecing together singles that came out before and after “to
the REAL”, some having even come out about a year ago, and still making a
decent flowing album. Dually impressive is that their style manages to come to
a concrete sort of sound by using the sound of their older work mixed with
their newer sound. When put together, they actually showcase different
variations within their own style, not juxtapose each other as stages of a
linear path.
There is
not a single weak link on the album, although, this album does not flow as some
of the other albums on this list, yet, when an album has this many singles, it
is impressive to have any flow at all.
8. LIPHLICH, “LOST ICON'S PRICE”
LIPHLICH
arrived on the scene some years ago (at least more noticeably compared to previous outings), and while I firmly believe they have no idea
what on earth their unifying concept is, or what their album is supposed to
accomplish, I put their album here. It is distinctly a Visual-Kei album: equal
parts subversion, enjoyment, art, and exploration.
LIPHLICH is
most notable for using an amber gris/more recent DAS:VASSER style of decadence
as a sort of critique, or as a means of segmenting themselves (and Visual-Kei)
from the rest. The main value for them in doing this is that they sound very
distinct, like the aforementioned bands, and stand out. However, going a next
step, they fully embrace what I truly see as a subgenre emerging in the genre
that is Visual-Kei, the one that I jokingly refer to as Lounge-Kei. Now, LIPHLICH
hardly does stylized lounge music all the time, but, they embrace elements of
it in their entire style. Lounge-Kei should be viewed as a tentative word, as I
sit and try to work out a true title for this burgeoning subgenre.
Characterized by the inclusion sounds of instruments more at place in either
classical or lounge music, and the morphing of actual decadence, both past and
present, to provide a hyper-pronounced and stylized image. The entire thing is
some of the most subversive music and images I have seen in my life, as by
taking integral elements of Japanese and Western societies, donning them, and
then injecting a healthy dose of radical Visual-Kei sound, images, and most
importantly ideology.
Of course,
even if a band has a great concept, unstoppable drive, it ultimately goes to
waste if they cannot actually realize it through accessible or well-played
music. LIPHLICH, while having a rockier start earlier this year, is on
very, very solid footing now (why else would the amazing amber gris tour with
them), and has come to embody their style even more. The band now structures
some of their concerts in two distinct halves, one being accompanied by a big
band, and the second, a more Visual-Kei performance. “LOST ICON'S PRICE” does show a band still in development, especially when you look at
it as an opus of a band in development. The sequencing can be wonky, and there are
some tracks that are very much better than others, musically and lyrically.
But, as a testament to how great LIPHLICH will become, look at how high an
album that is not their best effort is on this list.
7. jealkb, “V?”
“Sometimes…I
feel like shit” opens jealkb’s “DEAD LOCK” on “V?”. A band that I once
explained to someone as a band conveniently forgotten, “V?” comes out of the
left-field, and was not on my radar at all for this year. “V?” is different
from many other high-ranking albums on my list, namely, that it is not nearly
as “tight” or flawless of an album in terms of pure sound and experience of
band members as something like EAT YOU ALIVE’s “Catedral” or SUICIDE ALI’s
“Tainted Gallery”. But, jealkb’s contribution to Visual-Kei with this album is
not so much a perfect work, but work, as “V?” goes down a more risky and
experimental path than most Visual-Kei has in recent years.
The album
begins with “積極的受動人間”, a track that sets the
mood. Reminiscent of the sounds that early Visual-Kei had, and it seems to
drift one along into one of the best songs of the year, hands down: “DEAD
LOCK”. “DEAD LOCK” is led in by a few generated effects, and then immediately
takes you by force. Whether it is the electric violin, or the pronounced guitar
riff – the track is by far and away the most flawless of the album. “DEAD LOCK”
sets the tone for the album with both its sound and lyrics, fostering a sort of
clouded, contemplative atmosphere, with invocations to personal feelings.
The album
then goes onto “サロメ” and picks up slightly,
maintaining this sort of misted feeling with the antiquated keys in the back,
and airy guitar riffs. “Boots” seems to invoke a feeling of hope, even
adventuring or love, and showcases the band’s roundness in terms of musical
composition and lyrics.
“koi koi” and “瞳・華”
seem like out-of-place, oddly sequenced tracks, on a first listen, however,
“koi koi” has a sound that bleeds into the subsequent track, and either song
could be the best “Lounge-Kei” song of the year. The two tracks both shake up
one’s notion of the album, and then followed with “Glory Days”, a happy,
hopeful tune, everything seems to be going in every-which-way at once, and then
“ロザリオ” begins with its organ intro. “ロザリオ”
is a darker track, and zeroes in on the contemplative atmosphere established so
far, ending the album with a more melancholic, troubling note.
Overall, the album is difficult to
analyze, as it excels as a singular body of work, yet, any of the songs could
be a single. Because of this sound, it is weird to try to pick apart the album
song by song, though at the same time, it felt easier to do that than attempt
to delineate the overall sound of the album. “V?” has a title that in and of
itself poses a question, likely as to the meaning of Visual-Kei in present-day,
and where it is going or even where it is. The mood jealkb maintains is a far
more consistent one than most other albums, and it truly showcases their
talent, while also producing an album with an atmosphere most only strive for.
6. Piko, “2Piko”
He was a
NEET who uploaded his songs to the internet, and then he got big. It is not
really a surprise, as he has the voice of angel – almost a female angel. His
singles and tours have all had interesting concepts and themes, yet, with
having a non-unified string of concept-based singles, one would anticipate this
album to be little more than some filler tracks with singles interspersed.
Instead, Piko has added a plethora of phenomenal new songs, and manages to
beautifully unite everything.
Piko
appeals to an idea of innocence more so than bands like the Raid., or even
Golden Bomber, and it is reinforced not just by his visuals, but the music.
Piko has very upbeat music, and as a consequence of his very high range, his
songs have an inherent lightness to them, and Piko, even when he is screaming
on “Acid Soul”, cannot seem to sound dark. Resulting from this is an album that
plays with differing shades of brightness, not an album that tries to portray a
full picture.
Piko
benefits from having great support musicians, and as noted, a beautiful voice.
His band plays the entire album, which is longer than most Visual-Kei LPs,
flawlessly, and his voice frequently overpowers them. Continuing with a
technical analysis, Piko writes happy, positive lyrics, or positive ends to
problems. Despite using happiness, brightness, or whatever positive word you
want to use to describe his music, he does manage to assemble a diverse
sounding album, as there is a world of contrast between tracks like “Yume Hana”
and “Acid Soul”. The fact that Piko can assemble such a varied set of tracks
while using the same concept, not just an album concept, is impressive.
As to what
lasting effect Piko may or may not have on Visual-Kei, I am going to hold my
tongue - at least for exploration of the avenues other artists tend to impact
or fail to impact. Rather, Piko is important because he is impacting a
different area than Visual-Kei often aims to or does. Piko, coming from a
digital distribution of his homemade music, knows the intricacies of working
alone, and consequently, how to interact with others. Piko is a part of a
community that creates music similar to, or exactly is, vocaloid. It is a
worldwide phenomenon, and one that has a similar connotation of alienation,
precisely like Visual-Kei. His association with both Visual-Kei and this
online, fragmented community mean more propagation of Visual-Kei, an end-goal
that is very palatable for many Visual-Kei bands, writers, and fans.
Tomorrow, be sure to check the site for albums #5-#1!
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