Review by Jay Aitch

Just like with Daft Punk before, on the Iron: Legacy soundtrack, NIN overshadows the disappointing movie with an amazing soundtrack. As much as I love Daft Punk's Iron score from a several years ago, this one by NIN is better. I put this on while I work and there are several times where I'll do some serious chair dancing as NIN pounds out some slamming tracks. Plus, the limited edition packaging was really cool. The packaging is a throwback to floppy disk packaging from the 1980s... just perfect. The only thing that could've made this better is if the CD had been in the SHM-CD format, but this still sounds great. Disney should just keep hiring great electronic/industrial artists to keep making scores for Tron movies that don't exist, since the soundtracks have outshined the last two movies.

This box set is ridiculously good. From the 7 SHM-CDs, to the book, to the main reason to pick up this set: the Dolby Atmos and Surround Sound Blu-ray audio disc. Hearing this album in Dolby Atmos is like hearing it for the first time. Plus, the SHM-CD format is perfect for rock and roll music and all the extras just shine with plenty of dynamic range and depth thanks to the SHM-CD format. If you're a Who fan, I can't imagine you not wanting this in your collection. Highly recommended.

This is a high quality, large book that collects some of the best art from Shimahara's "I want you to show me your pants while giving me a disapproving look" comic books. These works were made into a popular anime as well. Fans of the anime who don't own any of the comics, will definitely want to get this book, as it collects page after page of provocative pin-ups from the mind of Shimahara.

BABYMETAL's first album is amazing. This debut contains several key songs the band still performs live in concert today. Some wrote the band off as a gimmick when they first arrived, but now BABYMETAL is becoming one of the biggest bands on earth. The concept is simple, cute, non-threatening girls singing some of the heaviest heavy metal music you've ever heard. It doesn't sound like it would work, but it works perfectly! This edition of the debut album includes a DVD that contains live clips.

Like a lot of Americans, I discovered Creepy Nuts by watching the anime series DanDaDan and I've been hooked ever since. These guys blend hip-hop and electronica perfectly. Most of the songs on this album are catchy and loaded with hooks, grooves and rhymes that get stuck in your head, this is great stuff! My favorite tracks include: Chxxai (favorite track), BIRIKEN, Bling-Bang-Bang-Born and of course, Otonoke. I've even learned a little Japanese by playing these songs, which I think is a cool language. A perfect album, I'm hooked now, so I'll be buying all future releases by these guys. I'm really looking forward to what they do next. The live Blu-ray is a great addition to this release too.

I already reviewed this album, I reviewed the version that includes the live performance Blu-ray, but wanted to mention this one too. Yes, I'm such a fan of Creepy Nuts that I wanted to pick up this mini LP edition too and I bought it just for the packaging. I love mini LP editions from Japan, the quality always exceeds my expectations is done better than anywhere else in the world, and this edition is no exception. If you're a fan of Creepy Nuts, you know how good their music is, so I definitely recommend you add this mini LP edition to your collection, this is great stuff. The only thing that would've made this release better, is if it had been a high-fidelity release, like an SHM-CD or a 5.1 surround sound SACD, who knows, maybe we'll get that in the future.

Originally, this live concert was only available in the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge box set, but it's now available as a standalone release. I love all eras of Van Halen, but the Hagar years are my favorite. I thought the band matured and reached their musical peak with Sammy Hagar as their lead singer and this live show represents Van Halen at the peak of their powers. During this time, they had sold-out concerts and albums debuting at #1 on the charts, they truly were the biggest band in the world during this time. Lots of hits are performed live here and everyone in the band is bringing their A game. The sound and quality of the performance is top-notch. Poundcake, Judgement Day, Best of Both Worlds, Panama, Why Can't This Be Love and many more VH hits. They even toss in some Hagar solo hits, which is cool to hear. I miss Van Halen, they're my favorite band, so even though I already own the box set this performance came from, I also had to have this concert on its own disc.

I'm loving these Billy Joel 7-inch SACD releases from Japan, I own them all and Streetlife Serenade is the latest one to be released. For me, the main appeal of these releases has been the 5.1 surround sound mixes. Now, we don't get 5.1 here, but we do get a 4 ch. quadrophonic mix of the album, which I'm happy with. Plus, we're getting some live performances from this era on CD for the first time, so that's just one more reason to pick this up. And the packaging... I really wish all CDs released in Japan came in this 7-inch packaging, I love it! The quality is so good, plus this edition is loaded with lots of extras that longtime Billy Joel fans like myself will really appreciate. When was the last time you bought a CD and spent a lot of time looking over the inserts, well, you will with this release. It's great to see an underrated album like this given such a stunning and high-quality release. I hope Sony continues to release more Billy Joel albums like this... just don't forget the 5.1 mixes next time!

I just recently discovered Electric Callboy, and I wish I had found them sooner, this band is nothing short of amazing! On paper, I wouldn't think that a mash-up of heavy metal and electronic dance music that alternates between thrash metal screams and soulful pop singing would work, but man... does it ever work! Electric Callboy is now one of my favorite artists. This album, Tekkno, is loaded with one great song after another. Hits like We Got the Moves, Pump It, Arrow of Love and Tekkno Train are all here. You can both headbang and dance to a lot of these tunes, I'm just floored. I can't wait for their next album, it will be a day one buy from me.

I recently wrote a review of the standard release of Tekkno by Electric Callboy, but wanted to mention this exclusive Japan Tour Edition. If you already own the standard edition, this Japan exclusive is also worth picking up because it includes several live bonus tracks from Fox Fest 2024, these bonus live tracks include: Tekkno Train, Spaceman, Hyper Hyper, Pump It and We Got the Moves. That's basically an EP's worth of content, so it's well worth the upgrade. Plus, I prefer the white album cover used for this Japan edition to the standard black album cover.

This is it, this album is the commercial breakthrough Ghost has been hoping for. A lot of people will be checking out Ghost for the first time thanks to this album and its breakout single: Lachryma (aka Crying), what a song! There's a lot of melodic and surprisingly pop oriented music on this release. Think less metal and more Def Leppard style hard-pop music. I was very pleased to see Skeletal get the Japanese SHM-CD treatment, so I immediately pre-ordered this one. The SHM-CD really lets this album shine. The music is crystal clear, good instrument spacing and dynamics and the band sounds like they're playing right in my room when I put this CD on. This is a fantastic release and the Japanese SHM-CD format is perfect for showcasing hard rock music, the guitars especially benefit from this format on this release in my opinion. A must buy for long time Ghost fans and a perfect place for new fans to jump in.

I recently discovered Kissin' Dynamite and this is my favorite album of their's. This album rocks! It takes me back to the hey-day of hard rock in the late eighties, but with a modern twist. If you enjoy that era of music, you'll love this! Lots of catchy hooks and hard rockin' musicianship, and there really isn't a skippable track in the bunch.

I'm so glad CDJapan offered this release from the official Beatles store, because if they hadn't, I would have had to resort to the secondary market to secure one and it would've cost much more. The set is gorgeous and is high quality, as all Beatles Japanese releases are. It comes housed in a hard box slipcase and while it doesn't say it in the description, this is a SHM-CD release and the Beatles remasters sound so good on SHM-CD. The dynamics and music separation just shine, the music sounds like it was recorded today.

This is my favorite track from Mariah's Christmas album, the large sleeve sits nicely with my Japanese SACDs in similar packaging. The Blu-spec CD sounds fantastic with great separation and dynamics. A fantastic release, especially if this is your favorite track from Merry Christmas.

This is the album that killed Queen in the USA for a long time, which is sad because this is an underrated album from the band. Four of my all-time favorite Queen tracks are on this album: Action This Day, Las Palabras De Amor, Cool Cat and Under Pressure. Those tracks alone are worth picking this up for, but there's a lot of other great tunes on this release too. The SHM-CD format is perfect for rock music and the mini LP Packaging is just so cool. I have several versions of this release, but when I want to put the album on, this is the one I go to.

If by chance you don't own any ABBA on disc, but are a fan, this is an excellent place to start. You'll get all the hits in this two-disc set, and it comes on the superior SHM-CD format. These recordings sound amazing, with plenty of music separation and dynamics. I especially love the packaging, a 7" LP style package. There's also a really nice booklet include with tons of pictures of the band. Overall, this is the best greatest hits collection ABBA has ever released.

This is a gorgeous, reimagining, of Queen's debut album. I know this is a controversial release, but to me, I can ignore the negativity because we still have Queen's original debut album, it hasn't been replaced by this. Queen I is simply a what if. What if Queen had recorded this debut today, with modern recording technology? It would more than likely sound like this. Yes, Freddie's vocals were altered, but they had to be because the band was out of pitch at times, so Freddie sang to those pitches on the original recording. Then, when Taylor and May pitch corrected the band for this release, it messed up Freddie's original vocals, so those had to be changed too to make everything work. Again, I don't mid this because we still have the original. With all that said, I'm all for more Queen, even if it's reimagined, like this release is. The new remix is unique, it sparkles, it's actually a little jarring to hear for the first time, since I'm used to the original lo-fi original version. However, I still enjoy this new version. Let's talk extras: first and foremost comes the hardcover book, this is a fantastic book about the making of Queen, plus it has some great photos of the band. The extra music on the bonus discs ranges from good to great, some of which has only been released in this box set as of now. So if you're a diehard Queen fan like me, you'll probably want this in your collection at least for the extra music and book, if you're against the remix. If you're a casual Queen fan, then you can easily skip this one.

For those of you who don't want to spend a lot of money on the Super Deluxe box set, then this is a great way to hear the remix of Queen I. Disc two includes unreleased versions of the album tracks in their original order. So this is a very scaled down version of the Super Deluxe version, with just the new remix, for those interested.

Perfect Girl Director's Cut Edition, I can't think of a better title! This is indeed perfect! I bought this DVD on a blind buy, just from the cover image, and I wasn't disappointed. I love this release, the outfits and shots in the DVD just add to the experience. I'll definitely be buying more of these Japanese model home video releases here at CDJapan.

I missed out on the mini LP SHM-CDs that were released several years for this band, Status Quo. However, this collection helps make up for that loss! This MQA CD contains mostly the best of Status Quo's upbeat and fast-paced rock songs that I love, so this will definitely be my go to disc instead of the individual CD releases. Plus, the mastering here on this MQA CD sounds better than the US standard CDs I have in my collection. Overall, a fantastic release from a very underrated band.