εpsilon

I can't help it. Despite how tasteless and gimmicky this band comes off as, and despite how much I feel I ought to detest everything about this album, I can't help but like it. It took me nearly a whole year to put my finger on exactly what has caused me to keep coming back to this album, but I think I can finally explain what that special quality found in this album is that makes me ignore the part of myself that's telling me that Blood Stained Child is tasteless trite time after time.

As I racked my brain in hopes of finding what made this mish-mash of J-pop, trance, and melodic death metal so interesting, my first thought was that the music was simply catchy. It would be an accurate analysis: the fast-paced beats, solid synth, calming female vocals, and overall unique sound found on Epsilon are a perfect recipe for songs that will worm their way into your mind and stay there.

However, as time went on, and my enjoyment of the album did not wane, I realized that this could not be explained solely by the tendency of the songs to stick in your head. Music can gain my attention and admiration through catchiness alone, but the novelty wears off fast. After a few listens, I realize that beyond the catchy hooks, there lies little else to enjoy, and many flaws to push me away from the music. As I listened to the album more, I did begin to notice some problems. The album does suffer from some sub-par features in production. One example that might go unnoticed to someone who only listens to individual songs is the transition between tracks on the album. Epsilon provides decent variety in the tempo, intensity, and depth of songs, but often has trouble moving from one song to the next. The most jarring example is the transition between Forever Free and Stargazer, or more aptly, the lack thereof. The end of Forever Free features slow synth, which is then interrupted by fast, banging guitar riffs at the beginning of Stargazer. The abrupt shift between the two tracks without even so much as a pause or a fade-out to transition between them may cause the unsuspecting listener to jump in their seat when it happens, and I don't think that's what was intended.

A similar problem comes with the instrumentation, specifically with the synthesizer. The volume of the synthesizer can vary widely from track to track, ranging from barely audible on tracks such as Eternal, to so loud that it masks the sounds of all of the other instruments on tracks such as Electricity. Yet, even as I noticed more and more flaws, I could not step away. For every reason I found to abandon the album, I found another reason to keep listening.

As with many people, I originally thought mixing J-pop with metal was a disgusting idea and couldn't possibly result in anything but shallow, obnoxious tracks and a lack of anything of worth to be found beyond amusement at how spectacularly it could fail. Where I expected to find cringe-worthy lyrics, bland vocals, and generic instrumentals, though, I instead found an admirable album. Anyone who is able to get past the knee-jerk reaction of disgust when they first discover Blood Stain Child will find that beyond the gimmicks lies a group of musicians with amazing talent.

The stand-out of the bunch is the clean vocalist, Sophia. The band could have easily chosen the type of high-pitched soprano that is often associated with J-pop to be their vocalist, but they chose the deeper voiced Sophia, and their choice paid off. Her deeper voice provides excellent contrast to Ryo's harsh vocals, giving the band as a whole a more cohesive sound. She's clearly dedicated to her music, and it shows through in her performance. When I look at tracks like La+ and Dedicated to Violator, I hear in her vocals a level of involvement that can't be faked.

Recognition should also be given to the band's lead guitarist, Ryu, as well as Aki, who provides the keyboard and the synth. Ryu is the mastermind of the band behind the scenes, composing the music, as well as contributing his skills as a guitarist that could only have resulted from insane amounts of practice. Though not necessarily as active in the production of the album as Ryu, Aki consistently provides catchy beats and strong backing for the vocals and instrumentals, making the album that much more of a joy to listen to.

It is not each member alone that leads to the success of the album, though. It is the combination of all of them together. Epsilon features six musicians throwing their music at you, sometimes all at once, and it will completely overwhelm you.

Listening to Epsilon is a bit like visiting an art museum, but instead of casually going through and taking your time to examine each painting, you're flying through the museum on a roller coaster moving at 75 mph. It sounds like the dumbest gimmick ever, and possibly even contradictory to the purpose of the museum, but in a way it's clever. You move through the exhibits so fast, that you couldn't possibly analyze all the art in one trip. It gives you a reason to come back and see what you missed the last time.

Often I've felt the craving to listen to the song SOPHIA, despite how much I try to convince myself that I shouldn't be listening to something so tasteless, I almost always give in to my impulses and listen to it. And once I'm done, I want to listen to it again, and I hate myself for that even more. In the year since I discovered this album, I've listened to the song SOPHIA 227 times, according to iTunes, and I am still not sick of it.

It took me until recently to realize why I would keep coming back to this album, let alone that one specific song. It turned out what had initially repelled me was keeping me coming back time after time.

The overload of sound from intense vocals, guitar work, and synth may seem overwhelming and even detrimental to one's ability to enjoy the album, but in a way, it's the album's greatest strength. I can listen to a song one day and pay attention to the vocals, then listen the next day and pay attention to the guitar work, and listen the next day and pay attention to the synth. I have listened to the same song three times, three days in a row, but I got something different out of it on each listen.

The human brain is wired to only be able to focus on one thing at a time, and the album, whether intentionally or unintentionally, uses that to its advantage. You can't focus on the guitars and the synth at the same time, so you have to choose one. Whichever one you choose, you get a satisfying experience. It's a bit like getting multiple songs in one, giving each song more value on subsequent listens, and continually pulling me back.

I keep telling myself I'll get sick of this album, but it has not been happening, and I can't expect it to happen any time soon. Blood Stain Child, I tip my hat to you. You made a stupid, gimmicky, repulsive album that I wanted to hate with a passion, and made it so well that I can't help but abandon my presupposed standards of taste to enjoy it.

Curse you, and keep up the good work.