On the same day that former Versailles vocalist KAMIJO released his debut single as a solo artist, Jupiter released their first album CLASSICAL ELEMENT. Made up of the other former members of Versailles along with new vocalist ZIN, Jupiter offers a solid symphonic rock sound that is reminiscent of Versailles. Unfortunately, it appears that their first release will be fully enjoyed only by Versailles' most dedicated fans. CLASSICAL ELEMENT is a solid musical production, but the album is plagued by a lack of a imagination and variety. So while it's a decent first start for Jupiter, CLASSICAL ELEMENT pales in comparison to many of the band members' previous works.
Tracklist:
1. Introduction
2. Blessing of the Future (Remix)
3. Decadence
4. RHYTHMOS
5. Scarlet
6. Nostalgie
7. Heaven's Atlas
8. ALLEGORY CAVE
9. Symmetry Breaking
10. forever with you
11. Atmosphere
12. Classical Element
13. Conclusion
All of the tracks in CLASSICAL ELEMENT are permeated by elaborate melodies from a variety of symphonic instruments. The intro track begins with a vaguely descriptive English narration and slowly progresses into an epic symphonic rock instrumental. "Blessing of the Future" is an upbeat song that features excellent virtuoso guitar playing and an ominously-epic bridge section. It serves as a good way to open up the album. The operatic voices in "Decadence" give the song a bit of a darker feeling than the first track. "RYTHMOS" takes a similar tone but makes use of interesting start-and-stop guitar and bass riffs during the verses. It is one of the more epic-sounding songs on the track.
By the time we get to "Scarlet", CLASSICAL ELEMENT's biggest issue has already become clear: many of the songs on this album sound very similar, in some cases almost indistinguishable from other tracks. In fact, if I were to continue describing the album song-by-song, I'd be doing little more than repeating what has already been written. "Blessing of the Future", "Scarlet", "Heaven's Atlas", and "Atmosphere" are the biggest offenders: they all feature almost identical upbeat tempos, virtuoso guitar playing, and song structures. "Nostalgie" and "forever with you" both follow a formula of soft ballads with beautiful guitar solos. (I would actually argue that these two could fall into the same category as the previously mentioned songs if it weren't for their slow tempos.) "Decadence", "RYTHMOS", "ALLEGORY CAVE", and "Symmetry Breaking", which have a darker, larger, and more epic sound to them, make up the third main category of similar-sounding songs. The songs in this category are the least similar to each other, and "Symmetry Breaking" and "ALLEGORY CAVE" almost outright break the mold (almost).
But even though CLASSICAL ELEMENT's songs fall into these three distinct categories, many of the orchestral sounds found on the album sound so similar in each song that even the most unrelated pair of songs both sound reminiscent of each other in some way. By the time the album's 12-minute-long title track comes around, the listener has already heard every aspect of the album multiple times over. This turns what should have been an epic conclusion to an album into a 12-minute-long period of deja vu, and caused me to feel less like I'd just experienced an album and more like I'd survived it.
In spite of this issue I don't want to downplay the talent and finesse that Jupiter has used to create their songs. The drumming is intense, the guitars are phenomenal, the orchestral sounds are beautiful, and the different parts of each song blend perfectly together without overpowering each other. Addressing the elephant in the room, I personally believe that ZIN is absolutely acceptable as a vocalist for this band. He may not have the powerful vibrato voice that KAMIJO did in Versailles, but it's crucial to remember that this is not Versailles, this is Jupiter. And while it may be tempting to compare a band composed of 80% of the same members as its predecessor to that predecessor, it's not at all fair to Jupiter, who is by no means required to follow in the footsteps of Versailles.
CLASSICAL ELEMENT is a classic case of having too much of a good thing. The songs, while excellently-orchestrated, all sound too similar to each other, and this seriously hurts the album. However, I definitely don't think it gives us reason to rule out Jupiter's potential as a band. Jupiter's members may be experienced musicians, but this is still the debut album of a new band, and that must be taken into examination when looking at the band's capability as a whole. I look forward to what Jupiter releases next, as they have demonstrated that they have a solid musical foundation to build upon. In the meantime, I recommend that all but the most devout Versailles fans skip this album and look forward to the next one.
By the time we get to "Scarlet", CLASSICAL ELEMENT's biggest issue has already become clear: many of the songs on this album sound very similar, in some cases almost indistinguishable from other tracks. In fact, if I were to continue describing the album song-by-song, I'd be doing little more than repeating what has already been written. "Blessing of the Future", "Scarlet", "Heaven's Atlas", and "Atmosphere" are the biggest offenders: they all feature almost identical upbeat tempos, virtuoso guitar playing, and song structures. "Nostalgie" and "forever with you" both follow a formula of soft ballads with beautiful guitar solos. (I would actually argue that these two could fall into the same category as the previously mentioned songs if it weren't for their slow tempos.) "Decadence", "RYTHMOS", "ALLEGORY CAVE", and "Symmetry Breaking", which have a darker, larger, and more epic sound to them, make up the third main category of similar-sounding songs. The songs in this category are the least similar to each other, and "Symmetry Breaking" and "ALLEGORY CAVE" almost outright break the mold (almost).
But even though CLASSICAL ELEMENT's songs fall into these three distinct categories, many of the orchestral sounds found on the album sound so similar in each song that even the most unrelated pair of songs both sound reminiscent of each other in some way. By the time the album's 12-minute-long title track comes around, the listener has already heard every aspect of the album multiple times over. This turns what should have been an epic conclusion to an album into a 12-minute-long period of deja vu, and caused me to feel less like I'd just experienced an album and more like I'd survived it.
In spite of this issue I don't want to downplay the talent and finesse that Jupiter has used to create their songs. The drumming is intense, the guitars are phenomenal, the orchestral sounds are beautiful, and the different parts of each song blend perfectly together without overpowering each other. Addressing the elephant in the room, I personally believe that ZIN is absolutely acceptable as a vocalist for this band. He may not have the powerful vibrato voice that KAMIJO did in Versailles, but it's crucial to remember that this is not Versailles, this is Jupiter. And while it may be tempting to compare a band composed of 80% of the same members as its predecessor to that predecessor, it's not at all fair to Jupiter, who is by no means required to follow in the footsteps of Versailles.
CLASSICAL ELEMENT is a classic case of having too much of a good thing. The songs, while excellently-orchestrated, all sound too similar to each other, and this seriously hurts the album. However, I definitely don't think it gives us reason to rule out Jupiter's potential as a band. Jupiter's members may be experienced musicians, but this is still the debut album of a new band, and that must be taken into examination when looking at the band's capability as a whole. I look forward to what Jupiter releases next, as they have demonstrated that they have a solid musical foundation to build upon. In the meantime, I recommend that all but the most devout Versailles fans skip this album and look forward to the next one.
I had the same issue with this album sounding repetitive. I think my biggest problem with it was that although Jupiter is a different band, it felt like they didn't stray from the newer sound Versailles was making (& Nostalgie sounded TOO MUCH like Sympathia) - they just kind of took out the elaborate concept, and it seems like making unique tracks went out with that. ZIN's voice is very nice though, the kind of growling he did in a few tracks really impressed me! I hope Jupiter does better with the next release.
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