Review by J.D.

I had to get this single as it wasn't included on "Escape" (although it later showed up on "Life") and after that album it was a bit of a shock to the system. One of the best things Kra have put their name to to date, "Kizuna" is a chirpy dance-pop song struggling to escape from behind a Berlin Wall of thick, tar-black riffing and blasting industrial beats. Brilliant and quite unlike anything on "Escape", although it does fit in well with the sound of "Life". The B-sides are pleasant enough but "Kizuna" is the winner - pick up "Life" if you like this as many of the songs on there have a similar sound.

After waiting what seems like years (and probably was), Duel Jewel finally release their debut full-length. And it's a killer! It roars out of the blocks with "Seiren" which may just be the best track on the album, but the whole thing is just such a tight and crisp mix of pop and metal that I'll even forgive them "Lime Drops" which is incredibly fruity and camp. "Es" and "Bullet Star" are great and I even like "Shine Of Air" which sounds like Whitney Houston! A triumph.

The CD was damaged when I got it but I sent it back and they sent me a replacement with no quibbles, even refunded my postage!

I like the old 12012 stuff and I still liked this album, unlike a lot of other fans. The style has changed a lot, they're much more poppy and polished now, but most of the record is really good despite a couple of filler tracks. The singles are great and other standout tracks are "The Moon", "Empire Of The Lagoon" and the title track which is so much fun - you have to see the video as well, it's hilarious.

This is the first album by D that I have bought, though I've heard the other two. It's overall a pretty good album though I do think it suffers a bit from too many filler tracks. When it's good, however, it's astonishing, and I don't even really like this kind of operatic metal. The best song on it in my opinion is "Barairo no Hibi" ("Every Day Is Rosy", LOL) which hopefully is a sign of what we can expect more of on D's forthcoming major-label debut.

This is actually a really good album - in my opinion it's better than "Zekkeishoku". The band tries a lot of new things and the result is a bit schizophrenic but it grows on you after a few listens. There's some really heavy metal-inspired tracks and also a distinct Britpop influence - "Kousai" sounds like Oasis and "Eraser" sounds like James (but in a good way). And of course the singles are great, especially "Jewels" which is my absolute favourite song of last year, and I listened to like 1000 albums (no, really).

I bought this album on a whim, really, having heard their last album and their new singles and thinking they were quite good, and having some points to spend. I wasn't expecting great things of it, to be honest. But POW! it leapt out of the speakers and slapped me round the chops. This is simply an absolutely fantastic album. It's like all the best bits of VK, beautiful melodic ballads, shouty metal, superb songwriting all round. An amazingly strong album that if there's any justice is going to catapult these boys into the big league. I simply cannot recommend this album highly enough, if you like this sort of music do yourself a favour and buy it straight away, it will not disappoint. Probably my favourite album of the year so far and that's saying a lot 'cause I buy hundreds.

Don't listen to the haters. So many people have posted mean things about this album after like probably only listening to it once. Give it a few spins and you'll be hooked. Yeah, it's different from the old stuff, but if you liked the singles then it's a fair bet you'll like this album. "Chizuru" is almost worth the asking price alone and the gorgeous piano coda "People Error" (familiar as the intro music from their OHP) is just the icing on the cake. Rock on!

This is awesome. I don't know if it's actually better than "13's Reborn", but it's certainly as good. The production is better. The price is a bit steep but basically, if you like these guys this is a must buy. Best track is probably "Melody", but they're all good. Roll on the next album!

Lynch's debut was great but this is even better. The band has made a great progression - a bigger production budget and the addition of a second guitarist have really boosted their sound, which is much thicker and fatter than before. The songs are tight, catchy and really heavy - just the right combination of melody and brutality. If you're into the punkier, more metallic end of VK but still like tunes, this album will be right up your street.

I went back and listened to Despa's first album again and this really is a staggering progression, a quantum leap forward for this amazing band. Practically everything about this album is perfect - the production, playing, songwriting. It's probably already the album of the year. This is metallic VK as she should be wrote. If you care about this genre in any way, buy it. Nuff said.

I got into Arai through his album "Mind Edit" which was released in Europe on The Leaf Label. This was only available in Japan but it was worth the import price. Raw, chopped-up instrumental hip-hop with phat booty-shaking beats, this makes DJ Shadow look like a toddler. It loses just one star for being a bit too much like the last album.

I got this on the strength of the three singles they released from it, all of which I though were excellent. Sadly they are not at all representative of the rest of the album, which sounds (I'm guessing) like Morrie doing the weird dark indie rock thing he did in the 80s. It's not that the songs are bad - in fact some of them are quite good - but just that they're not what I expected. This is not really a VK album at all. However it gets three stars for "Kaze No Tou", which was hands down the pop-rock single of 2006, in any language.

This is a great album. It's punchy and brilliantly produced, full of really sweet melodies and catchy hooks, but it's the traditional elements that really make Kagrra stand out from their peers and what stop them from just being another J-Rock band. Every track is unique and there's enough to really keep you interested throughout. Cannot recommend this enough.

Wow, this really is a powerful album. I first got into DEG with their last album and I have to say I think this is even better; it's certainly more cohesive throughout. The production, writing and playing are all amazing, with massive-sounding sledgehammer riffs and Kyo's vocals are something else, he sounds like David Yow out of The Jesus Lizard. But possibly the best song on the record is also the slowest and prettiest. All in all a total success and one of my favourite albums for some time.

This is one of the albums of the year and no mistake. The perfect balance of melody and metallic aggression, with songs you just keep coming back to, not a single dud on the whole record. The guitar tone is biting and sharp and the whole thing sounds really heavy and yet clear as a bell. If you are a heavy rock fan you need this.