Shiki Soku Ze Ku roughly translates to All Is Futile and relates to the fundamentalist Buddhist doctrine that all things in this world having a connection or reason has no intrinsic essence. It's also the title for the twenty-third studio record by Japanese trio Nin Gen Isu that still combines hard rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal and progressive metal fluidly, intellectually and passionately.

Let's address the elephant in the room right from the start. In many ways, the band's twenty-third effort resembles its twenty-second output Kura Ku, translating to Pleasure and Pain. Both albums feature exactly thirteen songs. They are both exactly seventy-one minutes long. Both open and close with their longest tracks. The covered musical genres are nearly the same. The way the clean, energetic and rough vocals are handled by the three members follows the exact same approach. The lyrical topics have numerous connections and references. The production of both albums is nearly identical. There are so many similarities between these two albums, that one might simply call them twin efforts. That isn't a bad thing in itself since both releases offer high-quality musical entertainment. Numerous other rock bands have released strikingly similar efforts in the past, such as Metallica with Load and ReLoad, or System of a Down with Mezmerize and Hypnotize or most recently Red Hot Chili Peppers with Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen. All of the aforementioned records deserve acclaim, attention and respect. However, in most of these cases, the former records are generally more appreciated than the latter outputs. There are obviously a few exceptions here and there but the second output often fails to have its very own distinctive identity. That is certainly the case for Nin Gen Isu's Shiki Soku Ze Ku. The album is surprisingly predictable, downright repetitive and honestly unspectacular despite the excellent quality of the musicianship, production and songwriting. That's why I would only recommend this output to avid collectors and faithful fans while occasional listeners or potential news fans should rather stick to Kura Ku than Shiki Soku Ze Ku.

Still, this new output still has several wonderful songs that deserve further analysis. ''Kyo Ki Nin Gen'' for instance is a dynamic hard rock tune with minor space rock vibes in form of decently employed guitar layers and dreamy clean vocals. The vibrant bass guitar solo deserves much attention as well. This song reminds a lot of the material of groups such as Hawkwind and Motörhead in the mid-seventies and should please nostalgic fans of those years in particular. The band's tight musicianship and the powerful production however propulse the powerful tune into the here and now and make it sound fresh, relevant and timeless.

''Uchu Den Geki Tai'' is fast-paced, thunderous and uplifting as it unites the rebellious spirit of hard rock and the grit of thrash metal in a way that this balanced tune ultimately qualifies as genuine heavy metal anthem. The sing-along sections are amusing, catchy and powerful all at once. This song would be an excellent title track for an anime series about superheroes from the sixties or seventies.

''Hoshi Zora no Michi Biki'' is a laid-back folk ballad with psychedelic undertones. Acoustic guitar harmonies meet soft percussive patterns and a few minimal longing electric guitar sounds. The clean vocals sound soothing, romantic and passionate. Such a song would fit wonderfully onto the soundtrack of an epic movie by Kurosawa Akira or Imamura Shohei from the eighties.

As you can read, Nin Gen Isu's twenty-third regular studio record includes a few deep cuts that grow with every spin but it sometimes fails to convince on its own, leave a lasting impression and push for new ideas. At the end of the day, Shiki Soku Ze Ku is still a very good offering but it certainly doesn't reach the high quality of many other efforts from this masterful band from Hiro Saki in Ao Mori Prefecture. This output gladly underlines the band's charismatic consistency but sadly also hints at unnecessary repetition on several occasions.

Final Rating: 80%