Promising concept but flawed execution - A review of Fake Island's Cell Division

Fake Island is a Japanese metalcore quartet founded three years ago in Tokyo. The group released its self-entitled extended play that very same year. This release included five tracks with a total running time of eighteen minutes. This year, the group has released its first full length effort entitled Cell Division. It includes nine songs with a total running time of only twenty-seven minutes. This is a particularly short release that doesn't offer much value for money, especially since the album costs about twenty-two Canadian dollars.

The band shows enough promise to keep an eye on it. Fake Island combines aggressive and technical guitar riffs with effect-ridden keyboard sections. However, there are also a few calmer moments with more melodic guitar play and laid-back rhythm section. The most interesting element about this band are the two female vocalists. Erica performs energetic growls that remind me a little bit Ladybaby's Arima Emily. YuuriBjoux performs the clean vocals that make the songs rather catchy and add some commercial flavour as well. She has performed in the rather experimental electronic rock project Outside the Coma earlier in her career.

While this description sounds very interesting on paper, Fake Island's Cell Division is only above average to good. The main issue is the song writing that fails to combine the heavier with the smoother sounds in a fluid way. The songs are also rather short and fail to develop initially promising ideas. The record rather sounds like a collection of ideas that haven't been properly put together yet.

Still, I'm not going to be giving up on this band anytime soon as the combination of metalcore with electronic elements and two female lead singers is unique, quirky and promising. If the band improved its song writing skills, it could get more attention and acclaim in the future.

Final rating: 65%