People who have been following us 2 to 3 months back should know that this single is just a cover for SID's 10th Anniversary and not a new song. If you have not heard of it yet, here it is! Anyhow, I will be doing reviews for selected groups that are part of the 10 that covered the song, 'Mousou Nikki'. As seen from the title, the first band to be reviewed will be Moran! To be honest, I'm also not very familiar with this band, but what I do know is that they have absolute potential in growing. The intensity from their singles such as 'Eclipse' and 'Hollow Man' showed us that they have the ability, but somehow, they are just not as well-known in comparison to many other bands out there.
Limited Edition [CD+DVD] - (2,100 ¥)
CD
1. Mousou Nikki
2. Lyric of the Dead
3. Mousou Nikki ~Sentimental Version~
DVD
1. Mousou Nikki Music Video
Regular Edition [CD] - (1,050 ¥)
CD
1. Mousou Nikki
2. Lyric of the Dead
3. Benisashi
4. Fuyuubyou
Before I begin, you may make an order for this single here too.
I personally like the cover for this single due to its uniqueness and beauty. For me, such features will naturally attract and urge me to purchase this single, even without knowing the contents. What I realize recently in many bands when releasing their singles or album is the lack of design, and this is what I really appreciate from Moran for putting in the extra effort in the design for the cover of this single.
Right now I will not review the main song first, so let's start with track two, 'Lyric of the Dead'. This song starts us off with a bit of a jam and then seconds later, the jam was coupled with a strong rock element. I believe this keeps up the mood of the listener after listening to track one. To be honest, this song reminds me so much of 'Eclipse' when it goes into the chorus. However, I really respect Hitomi's vocal skills, as there was little breaks in between the verses at many parts of the song and this requires a strong lung capacity to make the song flow. Furthermore, the idea of this song goes well with their theme for their cover method for 'Mousou Nikki'.
Skipping Track 3 from the Limited Edition, we come to the song 'Benisashi'. This song in particular felt much like a lighter continuation from 'Lyric of the Dead' and by this time it is obvious on how Moran set their 2 versions of the single. Both versions started off heavy and slowly it actually tones down and eventually becomes relaxing to the mind to as if go for a rest. However at this point, I actually still feel quite high and this song definitely has the automatic feeling of 'sing along' when I listen to it.
Next, I personally find the name of Track 4 rather unique. If you do not know the meaning of 'Fuyuubyou', it actually means airborne disease. I mean like seriously, I salute them to come out with this title. This song is actually more of a gentler rock as compared to the other songs and in fact it feels more like contemporary music to me. Maybe this is why the title of this song would be 'Fuyuubyou' as after all any disease can be deadly so it could possibly relate to the low mood that this song actually provides. I actually felt emotional when listening to this song. Really a track that I would recommend the most from this single.
Right now I will not review the main song first, so let's start with track two, 'Lyric of the Dead'. This song starts us off with a bit of a jam and then seconds later, the jam was coupled with a strong rock element. I believe this keeps up the mood of the listener after listening to track one. To be honest, this song reminds me so much of 'Eclipse' when it goes into the chorus. However, I really respect Hitomi's vocal skills, as there was little breaks in between the verses at many parts of the song and this requires a strong lung capacity to make the song flow. Furthermore, the idea of this song goes well with their theme for their cover method for 'Mousou Nikki'.
Skipping Track 3 from the Limited Edition, we come to the song 'Benisashi'. This song in particular felt much like a lighter continuation from 'Lyric of the Dead' and by this time it is obvious on how Moran set their 2 versions of the single. Both versions started off heavy and slowly it actually tones down and eventually becomes relaxing to the mind to as if go for a rest. However at this point, I actually still feel quite high and this song definitely has the automatic feeling of 'sing along' when I listen to it.
Next, I personally find the name of Track 4 rather unique. If you do not know the meaning of 'Fuyuubyou', it actually means airborne disease. I mean like seriously, I salute them to come out with this title. This song is actually more of a gentler rock as compared to the other songs and in fact it feels more like contemporary music to me. Maybe this is why the title of this song would be 'Fuyuubyou' as after all any disease can be deadly so it could possibly relate to the low mood that this song actually provides. I actually felt emotional when listening to this song. Really a track that I would recommend the most from this single.
Finally, I will review the main track of this single, 'Mousou Nikki' Definitely, there is generally not much to comment about the song itself since it's a cover for SID. However, since they are somewhat competing with 9 other bands into covering this song, they must have done some tweaks to the song itself to show that they are different. One obvious difference is that this song was released in two versions; the 'original' one and the other being the 'Sentimental' version. I really feel that Hitomi's voice is a way better fit than Mao's voice for this song. The 'Sentimental' version is basically the original song being set into a slower pace and well indeed, they reorganized it in such a way that it really does give a deep sentimental feeling to the listener. This song definitely fits well to end the limited edition as it relaxes the listener after going through 'Lyric of the Dead' or even rather the first 2 tracks of this single. In contrast, the cover version is much faster paced and way more darker than the original. It definitely sets the listener off especially if the person really enjoys rock. This cover starts off and ends off slightly different in terms of instrumentals and that is what I really find unique and would even want to repeatedly listen to this cover more.
However, there can never be perfection in anything and part of it leads to disappointment in me. Correct me if I'm wrong but I realized that every Moran music video does not have any 'story' behind it. What I mean is that to have other characters in the music video other than only having themselves in it. Although I have to agree that their fashion for this single was kind of a perfect match and the way they portrayed in the music video was just as good. But this does not mean I neglect the fact that having a clear story line within the video would be way better for the audience to understand; even if you do not know Japanese. This is one thing I feel that is lacking in this single. Of course, this fact is arguable if people viewed other covers' music videos like Kameleo and DIV.
Last but not least, here is the preview for the music video of 'Mousou Nikki' by Moran! Do support them and purchase their single! Thank you for reading this review and do remember to share you thoughts too in the comment box below! As a side note, I personally rank this cover single 5/10 which means it is placed fifth among the 10 covers. The next review will be up in a week or so as there were unforeseen circumstances but please stay tune!
Moran is great as always. This cover is brilliant. The PV sucks though (not that Moran ever had any good PV, except perhaps that 紅差し one).
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