Review ~ Versailles
Lyrical Sympathy
Lyrical Sympathy is the second release from the quickly rising visual kei superband, Versailles. This release is a mini-album, giving us a good chance to see everything they have to offer as a band.
The first track of the album, Intro, is exactly as it’s titled: an intro to the mini-album, and a nice one at that. Starting slowly with vocals fading into string instruments, it nicely sets the mood of this album, with an ominous yet beautiful feel. Next is The Love from a Dead Orchestra. This song has a couple slightly uneasy transitions, but all in all, it’s done very well. The transitions are marked with clean piano, going to impressive guitar solos from Hizaki and Teru. Kamijo’s voice blends in nicely with the instruments, becoming an instrument itself.
Shout & Bites seems to showcase Kamijo’s vocals more, rather then the rest of the elements of the band--the instrumental parts are fairly simple power chords. Because of the repeating riffs and tune, this song becomes fairly memorable, one that’ll stick in your head for a good while. Track four, Beast of desire, stands out as something a little different on the album, starting out strong with quick riffs and a faster drum line and continuing that way throughout the song. Kamijo plays with his range in this song, mixing well with the rest of the instruments. The incredibly fast guitar work gives the song the power it needs, pausing only momentarily for a short, soft breakdown.
The next track starts slowly with a few wind instruments and the sound of a harp, instantly setting a sad tone for Forbidden gate. The first part of the verse spotlights Kamijo’s voice, dropping the instruments to bring attention to their lyrics. The lyrics, which are beautiful in their nature, seem to be about someone who is obsessed with the idea of death, and how they still have something more they should be living for, but they can’t quite seem to find it. Next is The Red Carpet Day. While the song starts out sound more upbeat, the lyrics give the song a more depressing, ominous tone. The lyrics suggest this song is about a vampire and how easy it is to take the life of another. With the contrast between the sound and the meaning of the lyrics, the song almost carries a sarcastic tone.
The light easy piano at the beginning of Sympathia set the sad tone for the last track on this mini album. Not only do the instruments seem to cry--Kamijo’s voice also caries a note of sadness and longing in it. The lyrics of the song seem to be about a lost love, or a love that will soon be lost. The speaker goes on to say he will never forget this woman or his feelings for her. The easy piano at the end of the song end not only this song but the mini album well, making it easy to listen to with out being too incredibly depressing.
All in all, this is an amazing start for this young band. The mini-album nicely showcases the talents of all the members in turn, and also shows how well the band can work together to make such great music. After listening to this album, I am anxious to see what new material the band has in store for us.
track list
1. Intro
2. The Love from a Dead Orchestra
3. Shout & Bites
4. Beast of Desire
5. Forbidden gate
6. The Red Carpet Day
7. Sympathia
buy this album
Lyrical Sympathy is now available on the Tainted Reality online store!
Review by Etsu
Versailles Official Website
Versailles Official MySpace
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