Last Stardust

Blood Stain Child is an absolutely underrated band. They've made some missteps and haven't always lived up to their potential, but they're a band who took inspiration from the Gothenburg sound and made it their own. It's not a band whose music that sounds entirely like Scandinavia's melodeath (Aside from the first album, anyways), nor does it sound entirely Japanese, but like a nice blend of both. I'll admit that I'm in the minority when I say that I'm not that big of a fan of Epsilon. For me, it went too far in the trance direction, and Ettore's mixing was horrible. So, after Sophia (Who definitely saved that album) left, what comes next? Well, they recruited a new vocalist, Kiki, continuing in the direction of Epsilon while trying to fine tune it somewhat. The result is something I wish we could've seen more of.

It takes the best of Idolator, Mozaiq, and Epsilon- save for any really good riffs- and blends them together in a wonderful way. For starters, the mix is (mostly) fixed completely. It's a bit tough to hear the guitarwork at times (Though not nearly as much as in Epsilon), and aside from the solos, Last Stardust doesn't even live up to Epsilon's guitarwork. It's a bit disappointing, but it's actually easier to hear than on the latter album. In terms of the instrumentation, it sounds the most like Mozaiq (And the keyboards are just about as prominent as on Mozaiq), but it also has Ryo's vocals (And not just in small doses like in Epsilon), as well as female lead vocals. This is a direction that would've been a winning formula had it gone forward, though I'm glad that Amateras exists as an amazing refresher for the band's sound.

Ryo's vocals are back in full force, even if Kiki's the lead, and they sound just as great as ever. It's unfortunate that this was his last work with the band, though at least he went out with a bang instead of a whimper. Kiki, while not quite as good as Sophia, works better with the direction than Sophia would've, and she works really fluidly with Ryo. It's a shame that a lot of people dislike her just because she's (Understandably) compared to Sophia. She showcases a few nice screams in the title track (And in the live performance of Sirius VI she was in), which I wish we could've heard more of. It's an element that Blood Stain Child never got to explore that they really should've.

The title track and "Over the Galaxy" are both excellent songs that I don't have too many qualms about, save for the guitarwork being a bit uninspired and low in the mix. The title track has better guitar writing overall, though they both have nice solos. Neither song's guitarwork quite compare to earlier offerings, but they're still passable. Unfortunately, the two new songs brought down by "Stargazer -X-", a re-recording of "Stargazer", from Epsilon. To list the positives, Kiki sounds fine in the verses, and the addition of Ryo's vocals (Which are used as backing vocals here, but sound good nonetheless) are something that should've been in the original anyways. Now for its problems: Kiki doesn't really sing the chorus well, and it's down to enunciating the wrong words. Secondly, the mixing here is incredibly lacking. It's flat (Save for the keyboards, which are a bit too distracting from everything else), and it ruins one of the only well-mixed songs from Epsilon. The guitarwork is barely audible here, while the added higher-pitched keyboards (Particularly in the chorus) are too far in the front of the mix. It's not horrible, but compared to the original, it's inferior and unnecessary in nearly every way.

Last Stardust is a nice single which shows us what could've been. It's a completion of their sound, and it actually could've worked well going forward, though we'll never get to see that. Unfortunately, Blood Stain Child would lose both Ryo and Kiki, who would be replaced by Saika, arguably the worst vocalist the band's had to date. No matter which era of the band you're a fan of, Last Stardust is at least worth checking out.

Just as I suspected, Blood Stain Child has decided to continue writing in the unabashedly mainstream vein introduced in earnest on εpsilon. The biggest concern was the departure of Sophia and her subsequent replacement by virtual unknown Kiki. Sophia's deep, emotive tenor was the single most important element that helped propel εpsilon into the melodic stratosphere. Her absence is felt here on Last Stardust, but that isn't to shortchange Kiki, who is still an appealing vocalist in her own right.

The digital single I received has a decent amount of material to chew on, so kudos for Blood Stain Child in that regard. The band intends for the biggest appeal to be the title track: "Last Stardust". It embodies an amalgam of elements borrowed from both Mozaíq and εpsilon, which is a decision I suspect most fans won't have many qualms with. As with most modern Blood Stain Child material, Aki's programmed synth backings constitute the backbone of the song both rhythmically and melodically. The atmosphere is more somber than it is uplifting, which immediately sets this song apart from most of the last album - even if it falls in line with songs like "Forever Free" from a compositional standpoint. Kiki's inflection is saccharine and harmless, but she lacks the deep, resonating appeal that made Sophia such a treat to listen to. Kiki sounds like any other Jane Doe singer thrust in front of the rest of the band and demanded to perform with conviction. Once all of the smoke clears, it may become evident that she was not the best possible choice, but rather an impulsive decision.

The other new song is actually the more impressive of the two. "Over the Galaxy" features more of the rousing, numinous melodies that are often associated with Blood Stain Child, along with more trade-off vocal aesthetics featuring Ryo's dessicated bark. It is hardly amazing, but it would hold it's own on εpsilon all the same. "Stargazer -X-" gives Kiki a fair shake at performing the catchiest track off of εpsilon all on her own. There are some minor differences in the composition like some pitch-shifted and altogether new keyboard lines. I'll be honest, much of this one falls flat. Kiki enunciates some of the words very strangely, ironically during the chorus more than anything. Nearly all of the supplemented keyboards come off as unnecessary distractions after the rest of the performances are taken into account. The two new songs are also included without vocals, amusingly tagged as "off vocal" variants. I'm failing to fully see the appeal here either, since Kiki's intonation makes for such easy listening to begin with. I suppose that if you are really that interested in experiencing Aki's ersatz soundscapes without the vocals distracting your narrow attention span, these will pass muster.

What concerns me more than the vocals is Ryu's continued descent into obscurity. His spirited riffwork is so buried that virgin ears would repeatedly misidentify Last Stardust as pop music if not for the still-spectacular leads. Even εpsilon still had enough of a fire lit under it's ass to deliver some meodeath passages, even if it was nothing more than a necessary nod to the band's heavier origins. As it stands, Last Stardust clarifies Blood Stain Child's approach going forward, which will hopefully deliver us another gem like εpsilon or at the very least something approaching that level of quality. Just don't forget the riffs, guys!