Core [w/ DVD, Limited Edition]

Kagrra, are one of the few bands that are special to me, and this album proves more so. Though this record is less heavy than their early works, the Kagrra, guys have matured tremendously when producing songs- they have widen their horizons and are now truly the masters of combining tribal/ japanese folk sounds with rock/pop and other influences. They experimented a lot for this album, with almost every song giving off a different feel. All songs however, still retain the Kagrra-ish quality to them. I would give this album a 4/5, but with Irodori no Sanka and Boukyaku no Hate no Kogoeta Kodoku being on the album, 4/5 is not enough. Kagrra, always had a knack of creating beautiful melodies, and for Irodori no Sanka and Boukyaku no Hate no Kogoeta Kodoku, it's no exception. Irodori no Sanka has this majestic melody that is repeated and echoed throughout the song by the strings and guitars- beautiful. Kudos to Isshi for the lyrics as well- one of the most profound lyrics ever, IMO. Boukyaku no Hate no Kogoeta Kodoku on the other hand manages to be melancholic and sad without being too obvious/ in your face, which I think is a lost art. (Most other bands seem to diverge clearly between despair/ hope songs, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Kagrra, here, however offers a fresh direction). Other songs worth mentioning are no Ujou (groovy with an awesome intro to the guitar break), Shigatsu Tsuitachi, Kamikaze, Yuki Koi Uta and Shin-Hyakkiyakou (I loved the original and this remake. What an amazing psychotic jazzy mood to this song!) Overall, a very nice cd, with many sounds on it. This limited edition one comes with the PV to Irodori no Sanka, which is a lovely PV- one of their best, IMO. The 'YouTube' version does this PV injustice, really.

Wow! This album really amazed me! I've bought this album a couple of days before I went to their concert in Utrecht -the Netherlands-. Most of the songs were from Core, but there were also songs like Utakata and Urei. I like them all actually.. San is great to, but Core is really amazing. Shigatsu Tsuitachi is my fav song. ^^

Hmm.. I don't really know what should I say. Every Kagrra's album are different from each other, but there is always that little 'kagrra' feeling in them. :] My all-time favourite is their ~san~, but CORE is a very wonderful album also. n_n PS. If you do live outside of Europa, I succest you do change your dvd-player code free, if possible? Or either watch it on computer that haves a musicprogram on it that does play every dvd no matter of the region.