Reviewing Japan's Heavy Folk Metal Legends Onmyo-Za - Part 1: Kikoku Tenshou / Wailing Demon Reincarnation (1999)

These Five Japanese Will Get You Out of Breath

This first studio album of the band Onmyo-Za got my attention because of the stylish band photo, the unusual cover artwork and many positive experiences with diversified, stunning and sometimes surreal Japanese metal bands from classic groups such as Loudness or X Japan to modern acts such as Dir En Grey, Gonin-Ish or Sound Horizon.

This rather unknown quintet from Japan has also has much potential right from the start. We have these weird and typically Japanese atmospheres in tracks as ''Omagadoki" which translates to ''Twilight'' and indeed send shivers down the spine. We have tracks with multiple changes of style in rather short length that sound sometimes incoherent and overloaded but never get boring and find their time to grow like the slightly irritating "Fuguruma ni Moyu Koibumi" which translates to ''Loveletter Burning on a Postal Card'' or on the other side the very well constructed album highlight "Onikiri Ninpouchou" which translates to ''Ninja Scroll of Demon Killing'' where the band mixes all of its best influences without losing the listener for the very first time. This track could also be included on a classic album by X Japan but it sounds a little bit straighter and not as symphonic and gets to the point. If the band is able to write this kind of music on the upcoming records, they are definitely on the right lane and should find their place in the circle of great and innovative Japanese metal bands. At this point however, the song is rather isolated and can't quite make up for several weaker tracks. 

Some things definitely don't quite fit together on this record. On one side, you have sweet harmonious symphonies that are definitely too cute for the majority of the metal maniacs out there; even for those who have a romantic side. A track like "Kori no Kusabi" which translates to ''Wedge of Ice'' is not only too cheesy but also way too long to convince. It’s definitely one of the weakest songs on here. This might maybe please to fans of Stream of Passion and Within Temptation. On the other side, you have short tracks with death metal elements as the album closer "Inokouta" which translates to ''Children's Songs of Boar'' that makes me think of the earliest efforts by Amorphis and Therion. The song is definitely a good one but feels completely out of space on this album and gives the whole thing a compilation or filler feeling. 

The band simply doesn't dose its experimentations very well. Some tracks are overwhelmingly emotional, others rather cold and lack passion. Sometimes the guitars dominate and the players prove that they are rather gifted and play some great solos and at some points the keyboards suddenly take the lead and completely change the face of the band sound and often in a rather negative way. The combination of male and female vocals can be a good thing and if we take them and analyze them separately, the voices are definitely strong and charismatic. But when they work together in duets, there is no connection and they simply don't harmonize at all. Both singers sing their thing and don't seem to care about the other and that's a strange concept that simply doesn't work and makes it very hard to approach this record.

As many Japanese bands, this one should focus on its strengths and try to sound more coherent and structured instead of trying out everything at the same time on a short length record. The potential is definitely there but the band needs a better producer and sound engineer that creates a more vivid and yet structured sound instead of an overwhelming melting pot where every instrument, sound effect or vocal effort is recorded at the same volume. This album simply gets you out of breath with all its details and the band needs better transitions, more running time and well catalyzed songwriting. If they adapt these skills, they could still become the next big thing in the metal scene of their country. The tendency is positive but the first result still somewhat disappointing at the end of the day.

Final Rating: 72%