Review by Joanna
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Dive Into The Mirror [Jacket B]defspiraldefspiral Rises
This first single from defspiral consists of two excellent, slightly progressive, rockers. I really enjoyed the instrumental versions of the songs as well. It's rare for hard rock bands to include vocal-less tracks on their releases; the obvious reason is that this type of music is not exactly ripe for karaoke. However, because hard rock music is often complex and multi-layered, hearing it without the vocals can add to its appreciation. In particular, INNOCENT (Instrumental) sounds really great on its own!
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10th Anniversary Live Closer to ideal -Brandnew scene- [w/ T-shirt, Limited Edition]D'espairsRay10th Anniversary Live
As is customary with D'espairsRay DVD issues, this one is coded All-region NTSC, so even if you are in region 1, as I am, you can watch this in your DVD player without doing anything funny to it. The T-shirt that comes with this set is black, men's size Med, although it looks like it fits larger than that. The graphic on the front is the same as on the regular cover of the DVD. Unfortunately, I'm not that fond of the rain forest motif, personally. The phone strap is white plastic with "D'ESPAIRSRAY" printed plainly in black on both sides. Simple, but nice. The booklet contains photos from the live. I really enjoyed watching the DVD and I look forward to watching it again. Great set list. It was thrilling to finally see some of my favourite songs from REDEEMER performed live, such as MASQUERADE ... and PARADOX 5 with full band (and backing track). While it's true that HIZUMI strained his voice occasionally (a decade of screaming probably takes its toll), I still think he sounded great overall. Needless to say, Karyu, ZERO and TSUKASA also performed very well, as always.
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Final Call [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Type A]D'espairsRayFINAL CALL Rocks
As usual, it's cool to see documentary footage of these guys. There's also live footage for 2 songs on the DVD. However, the images were taken from two or more shows and compiled together, sort of like a live performance music video, with a remixed (non-live) audio track. FINAL CALL is emotional and melodic, and it rocks. I'm actually enjoying it more and more after repeated listens. I'm not as fond of GOING ON!, though. It rocks too, but I would have preferred less rapping and a bit more screaming. I have to admit I do regret not having ARK IN THE STORM (the third track on the Type C version of the single). I've heard it and it's beautiful. I just might have to buy that one too. Dammit, I was hoping not to buy all three!
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DIM Limited Edition [w/ DVD, Limited Edition]the GazettEDIM Delivers!
I've been listening to this CD every day in my car. The music is very accessible. Although somewhat experimental at times, it's not nearly as challenging as some of STACKED RUBBISH was (no rapping, for instance). I must admit I'm not that crazy about the too-poppy IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS or the don't-care-about-melody OGRE. LEECH has been slightly remixed, while GUREN is sporting a remix and some new vocals; both of them sound great. 13STAIRS[-]1 is a winner as well....although it's not entirely appropriate for polite company! And the track I really can't get enough of is the exquisitely tragic NAKIGAHARA - epic and awesome! The booklet contains scenery photographs that are evocative of "DIM". It is completely not necessary for the appreciation of the music. I enjoyed the DVD a lot, though. I think the PV for THE INVISIBLE WALL is one of the best that they have ever made. And even though we only get to see their backs in the documentary, you do get a sense of what it's like to be in the studio and the work that went into creating the album. Every section is clearly labelled so you don't need to know Japanese to understand what's going on. If only every CD came with a documentary like this!
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KANJOU EFFECT [Regular Edition]ONE OK ROCKImpressive
A very solid effort from ONE OK ROCK. This CD is more consistently hard rock compared with their previous albums and it's also a lot more accessible. I actually found every song to be likable from the very first listen!
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Guren -Auditory Impression-the GazettEThe Best!
In the end, this was my favourite single from 2008. Not only do all 3 songs sound great, but the GazettE's genius is on full display here. This inspired creativity is what I love and admire most about the band.
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Kamikaze [w/ DVD, Limited Edition]D'espairsRayGreat single, DVD
Although KAMIKAZE & Scissors are, in my opinion, not quite as awesome as BRILLIANT & Cocoon, they are still excellent songs nonetheless. Really, I've come to expect no less from D'espairsRay. The CD was just icing on the cake for me anyway, since this item was worth it for the DVD alone! They are really great live. In particular, frontman HIZUMI is charismatic and he's even very natural at MCing in english.