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So I finally decided it was time to write a new review after going through a two-year MA anti-social hiatus. My review was done on Undead Corporation's third self-released album. Now trust me, I'm not here to complain about the length of time it takes for a moderator to read and reject/approve. Hell, it has hardly been two days. (submitted May 11th, 2011)
Anyhow, I'm a bit concerned about the whole idea and theme of the review. It appears perfectly fine in the eyes of its creator, but I feel it'll make a drastic change in my writing styles if I gained an outside opinion from the general public. Feel free to express anything you please.
P.S. I'm not sure if it's against MA's rules and guidelines to post a review when its status remains pending, but I'll go ahead and take a chance and see where it leads. I appologize if it is indeed forbidden to carry out such actions and I promise to follow the rules of the archives in the future, so please lock the thread in case the rules didn't apply here. Thank you for your time.
-PA
Rating: 84%
Summary: Intestine Baalism in a blender
Take a moment to reflect on your last listen to a Melodic Death Metal album. Were the musicians attempting to generate a new sound into the music scene, or were they simply copying their well respected Melodic Death idols? Now I wouldn't say "Undead Corporation's "満月の夜に超旋律的重低爆音" is a perfect example of “unique” when considering the instrumentals, interludes, intros, and of course the piano melodies squeezed in between each track. The reason I point this out is because a few selected riffs and vocal melodies are taken from the popular Japanese video game "Touhou Project" (Ex: "Tsuki Made Todoke, Waga Urami"). Not to mention that Undead Corporation recycled background art from Gothenburg’s “In Flames” album covers and pasted Touhou characters into the picture. With that said, it appears controversial in a sense that “In Flames” could be completely unaware of these plagiarized concepts from a group that is located in an unknown city, town, or rural section of Japan.
Now, let’s take a step forward in this review by discussing what Undead Corporation have presented us. Each track is approximately four minutes; those four minutes can be one hell of a ride if you worship fast, catchy, and vicious music. The sound of the music is the equivalence of “Intestine Baalism” and “(Insert popular Melodic Death band here)” forcefully thrown into a meat grinder and blended accurately and thoroughly together. Everything from rhythm and lead guitar, bass, keyboards, and possible “drum programs” are matched up in perfect correlation. The vocals are somewhat of a mystery however. Is it “Pine Tree” that provides the voice tracks, is it Yukimura Hirano, or perhaps both? No matter, the female vocalist is definitely the icon of the production of this self-recorded full release. In previous Undead Corporation albums, there was always a hint of something missing. Now it looks as if they found that very ingredient to push this unidentifiable album title to the top of the surface. Songs like “The Beginning” and “The End” could have used some work in regards to making the listener sit and wait for the real music to take hold. Not to mention, the “blank tracks” have also proven to be unnecessary. The album is almost considered an EP due to how short the entire album is if you exclude the soundless space.
Throw away the crust that supposedly “supports” the middle and take a bite out of the tasty, juicy riffs of melody. Songs from “Double Helix” to “My Fading Days” deserve a little recognition for all of the hard work they have done. The music is indeed a challenge to adjust to, but once those inspiring riffs and melodic structures begin to sink in, expect yourself to drop your headphones and stumble back home in a confused state. Did you enjoy what you heard? Well, that’s all up to you to decide.
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