• Interesting Collaboration Between Two Japanese Heavy Metal Legends

    Ningen Isu feat. King-Show - Jigoku Aloha (2015)

     Jigoku Aloha translates to Aloha Hell and is an intriguing collaboration of Japanese heavy rock trio Ningen Isu and Japanese hard rock and heavy metal veterans Kinniku Shojo Tai who are also known under the KING-SHOW banner. Both bands have been active since the eighties with Ningen Isu carrying on non-stop with impressive releases at a fast pace while Kinniku Shojo Tai have taken a seven-year hiatus in the late nineties and early years of the new millennium.

    This release includes one song the two bands have collaborated upon which is the title track. It exists in two versions with a more streamlined version clocking in at five and a half minutes and the more playful so-called heavenly version that adds some atmospheric layers to stretch the song to a length of seven minutes. The song combines Hawaiian folkore sounds, Japanese lyrics performed by three vocalists and mid-paced dynamic heavy metal. You certainly don't get to hear this kind of mixture every day and this experiment sounds indeed very interesting and grows with every spin.

    Both bands have also decided to cover one of each other's tunes. Kinniku Shojo Tai have opted to tackle Ningen Isu's explosive ''Dynamite'' and have made the song more catchy, melodic and playful. This version is also roughly one minute longer than the fast, raw and under-produced original song. Kinniku Shojo Tai have certainly managed to make this song sound like their own.

    Ningen Isu have decided to cover ''Shōnen, Gurigurimegane o Hirou'' which roughly translates to ''Boy, Pick Up the Muzzle Glasses''. The original track is an energetic heavy metal tune that works best in the context of a party. Ningen Isu's version is a little bit slower and relies more on thunderous drums and dominant bass guitar than aggressive guitar riffs and fierce lead vocals. This version works with a great combination of melodic vocals by Wajima Shinji and more throaty vocals by Suzuki Kenichi. Ningen Isu have therefore managed to make this track sound like one of their own as well.

    The other four songs on this output are simply instrumental versions of all aforementioned tracks which are rather unnecessary except if you happen to be invited to a karaoke party by some old Japanese metal fans. This release's expensive special edition also includes a different format, cover artwork and booklet with forty-four pages.

    At the end of the day, Jigoku Aloha by Kinniku Shojo Tai and Ningen Isu is an entertaining extended play with one great new track in two different versions and two excellent cover songs. However, this record doesn't offer much value for money. I would suggest to buy it for a reduced price if you are a collector and fan of either band or in general interested in Japan's heavy metal scene of the eighties and nineties. Otherwise, you can still purchase a less expensive digital version or enjoy the record on streaming platforms.

    Final Rating: 75%

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  • Billy Talent - Crisis of Faith (2022)

    Billy Talent was one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed rock bands of the first decade of the new millennium. The Canadian quartet conquered the hearts, minds and souls of countless teenagers around the world with its first three studio albums. I discovered the band when I was seventeen years old and had a radio show at my high school with a skater girl who admired groups such as Rise Against. Four years later I had the opportunity to attend one of the band's concerts at the Festival d'été de Québec and remember the quartet's set as perhaps the most convincing one of the entire festival. Somehow, I lost track of the band afterwards which might also be due to a break of five years and a half between the brand-new sixth studio effort Crisis of Faith and its predecessor Afraid of Heights. The band has however been building up quite some momentum in its home country since the four singles preceding the release of this new output all conquered the top position in the Canadian rock music charts. This goes to show that the proud fans of yore have remained faithful to the band and that the quartet might even have convinced the younger generation to support it.

    Crisis of Faith is worth the hype and the band's most interesting record from an artistic point of view. Opening tune ''Forgiveness I + II'' is a bold statement. The song shows a stylistic change going away from the punk-inspired alternative rock sound and explores progressive rock territories with the use of atmospheric synthesizers and jazzy saxophone solos. The first part of the song is catchy, compact and energetic while the second part sounds airy, dreamy and mellow as it invites listeners to dream themselves far away. Despite those unusual experiments, the song entertains fluidly throgh seven adventurous minutes and is an instant classic as the quartet's courage was immediately rewarded by the fans.

    The opening song doesn't remain the only experimental tune that shows a brave, inspired and matured band. ''I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better)'' explores pop rock territories with wonderfully mellow and melodic guitar sounds and melancholic vocals that still feature the band's charismatic grit. The song's instrumental atmosphere and lyrical message blend in perfectly in a time when an ongoing pandemic is challenging us all but our resilient hope will triumph at last.

    Wonderful ballad ''The Wolf'' might be this record's hidden gem. Soulful vocals meet epic string sections and playful percussive passages. Even though this song is short and slow, it features many interesting instrumental details that request multiple spins. The year might still be young but this is by far the greatest song I have heard so far.

    This record also includes an interesting collaboration with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo. The danceable, joyful and relaxed ''End of Me'' combines Benjamin Kowalewicz's dramatic, gritty and melodic vocal chops with Rivers Cuomo's airy, harmonious and youthful vocals that make for a timeless final result. The musicianship meandering between pop music, ska hints and soft rock sections has quite dynamic layers that grow with every spin.

    Those who are missing the band's post-hardcore roots will still be served with the angry, fast and lyrically explicit ''Judged'' that clocks in below two minutes and hits unsuspecting listeners like a wrecking ball.

    Every single song on Crisis of Faith is creative, different and unique as Billy Talent offers its most courageous, inspired and mature album to date. Traditional band trademarks such as energetic rhythm section, melodic guitar play and gritty vocals perorming emotional lyrics on the pulse of time manage to keep this diverse record together. Fans from and of the early years would perhaps have liked to hear a few more aggressive tunes and more than just thirty-seven minutes of music five and a half years after the last effort. However, the band obviously put all of its heart, mind and soul into this record as every single song is at least very good and often excellent. Billy Talent's Crisis of Faith is one of the greatest alternative rock records I have heard in a long time as it easily beats recent efforts by similar groups such as Muse, The Offspring and Rise Against. The band is soon going to be playing a series of concerts in Canada. If the pandemic isn't going to be taking a turn for the worse yet again, the band's concert might as well be the first one I could attend in more than two years. After listening to Crisis of Faith. I will certainly keep my fingers crossed.

    Final Rating: 90%

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  • Dream Theater - Lost Not Forgotten Archives: The Majesty Demos (1985-1986) (2022)

    Lost Not Forgotten Archives: The Majesty Demos (1985-1986) is the sixth release of Dream Theater's Lost Not Forgotten Archives that goes into its second year of existence. This collection of demos has been published for the first time nineteen years ago by Ytsejam Records. This release includes seventeen instrumentals songs and six tracks featuring guest vocals by Chris Collins.

    The quality of the material has quite a few ups and downs. The earliest recorded tunes are heavily underproduced which makes them sound muffled yet very loud. Those elements make tracks such as short opener ''Particle E. Motion'' quite nerve-firing and tough to digest.

    The band's instrumental talent however shows through in the longer instrumental tracks. ''Cry for Freedom'' is a highlight for avid collectors and fans with its adventurous, fast and melodic guitar play, surprisingly dominant, heavy and playful bass guitar patterns as well as vivid, ever-changing and diversified percussion and drum patterns. This song exemplifies three talented school friends playing for sheer pleasure best.

    The record's shorter instrumental tunes are rather brief parodies of numerous other bands that were popular back in the mid-eighties from Yngwie Malmsteen over The Ramones to Stormtroopes of Death. Tunes like ''Mosquitos in Harmony Song'' might make you chuckle once but are overall extremely forgettable.

    The record's final six tunes feature vocals by Chris Collins and keyboards by Kevin Moore. The former has an energetic, high-pitched and youthful voice reminding at times of Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate. The only issues are that the singer tries a little bit too much to copy his idol instead of focusing on his own style and that his vocals end up sounding quite exchangeable, repetitive and unimaginative after a while. Kevin Moore's first performance with the band is more promising as he adds a few atmospheric layers that rate several songs up. However, his chemistry with the three core members is far from excellent and his instrument sounds at times too loud in the mixture. Despite such minor flaws, the final six songs show a very promising start to a career that would lead to the establishment of the world's most famous and successful progressive metal band. The technical talent is already exceptional while the songwriting still needs some focus but is already an improvement over the first instrumental recordings.

    At the end of the day, Dream Theater's Lost Not Forgotten Archives: The Majesty Demos (1985-1986) is highly recommended to fans of the group's early years from the release dates of When Dream and Day Unite to A Change of Seasons. The band's first steps show much promise and excellent technical skills in the instrumental execution. Chris Collins' often forgotten guest vocals on the first demo are also decent enough and worth being discovered. Occasional fans might however complain about at times poor prodiction values and several lengths in the record's middle section. This compilation isn't among the archives' strongest outputs but can nevertheless be considered a hidden gem for avid collectors and faithful fans.

    Final Rating: 75%

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  • Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

    Snow Storm in Gatineau on January 17th 2022

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  • Rocking Roots Meet Blooming Gloom

    Ningen Isu - Utsushi wa Yume ~ Nijuu Shuunen Kinen Best Album (2014)

    "The Present World is a Dream ~25th Anniversary Commemoration Best-Of Album~" is another compilation record of the productive Japanese trio Ningen-Isu that celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of its first release on this greatest hits album. Aside of being highly recommendable to those who want to get introduced to this legendary band that mixes swaggering rock 'n roll, sweating hard rock, tight heavy metal, brooding doom metal and occasional speed metal with fascinating lyrics about Japanese traditions, mythology and literature, this compilation is also recommendable for those who are already slightly familiar with the band.

    First of all, if compared to previous compilations, this record focuses a lot on the band's first EP which has been out of print for many years and the band's first full length record which is also rather hard to find. Especially the first disc introduces the listener to the first steps of the band that already had a natural flow and tight chemistry back in those days. The energizing and fast ''Mountain of Needles'' with its punk vibes and the catchy retro rock anthem ''Neurotic I LOVE YOU'' that invites to dance represent the large spectrum of musical inspiration that already characterized this open-minded band two and a half decades earlier. The rest of the first disc is composed of the band's greatest tracks from the early and middle years such as the gloomy and hypnotizing ''Ghost Train'' with its dominating bass sound and numbing vocals or the constantly shifting yet perfectly floating ''Shinagawa Lover's Suicide'' which doesn't only summarize the band's incredible song writing qualities but which might be the singular best song the band has ever written.

    The second disc focuses on the band's more recent material. Between the last compilation released five years prior to this one which I reviewed before the band finally got some well-deserved international praise and this ambitious release, the hard-working Japanese trio released four highly recommendable new studio albums that are represented with many songs here. As if this wasn't enough, the last four tunes of the second disc are brand new and exclusive to this release. ''A Written Invitation to Hell'' is one of the band's fastest and most aggressive tracks with a vibe somewhere between thrash and speed metal with a hard rocking vibe that recalls a mixture of Anthrax and Motorhead. This outstanding tune will tear your head off. ''The Glory of Vice'' showcases a completely different side of the band and is a psychedelic doom metal monster with gloomy riffs and highly emotional and versatile vocals. It's a typical song for the band but for those who aren't familiar with Ningen-Isu, this track might be compared to Black Sabbath at its peak in the mid-seventies. Yes, this song is that great. ''The Sad Librarian'' is a more rhythm-orientated heavy metal track that develops a great flow based on a simple yet addicting main riff, a diversified performance by both vocalist and a playfully extended hard rocking guitar solo. This song also recalls Black Sabbath and Motorhead but beats anything these bands have released recently. Finally, ''The Colour Out of Space'' which also got an official video clip and can be seen as the lead single of this record, is the most atmospheric of the four new tunes. It mixes eerie and almost spacey sounds with heavy riffs, a tight bass guitar sound and precise drumming. This track sounds like a gothic version of a Black Sabbath song with some King Crimson influences. It takes some time for this track to grow but it ends up being an absolute highlight on a consistent high-quality release. All four new songs are absolutely outstanding and rate this compilation up.

    To keep it short, this release is both essential for new and old fans of the band. It mostly focuses on the band's forgotten early records and rocking roots and on the trio's most recent releases including four great new tracks. Obviously, it also includes some of the most important hits of the group. The colourful artwork, the extended booklet and the quality of the material including the jewel case itself are carefully crafted and rate this product up. This isn't a cheap greatest hits efforts compiling a few singles but a product where the band was obviously involved and put its heart and soul into it. Anybody who calls himself a metal fan should own an album of this band and this greatest hits effort is a highly recommendable choice. If you still mourn the loss of Motorhead and fear the nearing end of Black Sabbath, rejoice and listen to some Ningen-Isu.

    Final Rating: 95%

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