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An artistic evolution - 80%
I can't think of an intro, might as well just start talking about the songs here.
This EP was the first release that saw the change in the band's sound, from the folk/black metal approach of the first album to the one we see today, which is a bigger focus on incorporating melodeath and power metal into their sound, which gave them a more dynamic and chaotic sound that would go on and define their identity. Both metal songs here would see their release as a remastered version on their 2011 album, while the third song here is an acoustic rendition of a song off of their first album.
The first song is one of the more distinct songs throughout their discography, with a bombastic intro that is immediately followed by an insane vocal delivery by Yuhki before being greeted by a drawn-out scream accompanied by a blast beat, then it briefly goes silent for a gothic synth section before kicking it back straight to melodeath. This would be the blueprint for the insanity that ICDD would be known for later in their career, where literally everything is on the table when it comes to songwriting. Even the clean vocals here sound unhinged, they are delivered at a very high speed and in perfect diction. This song sounds very complete despite being what is essentially a rough demo for the song, where it is indistinguishable from the remastered version in their 2011 album, but that cannot be said for the next song...
The second song here is in an obviously incomplete state; it seems that the song was composed first, with the vocals being added in the last second. The narration at the beginning is absent here, and some of the vocals that would be distorted in the full length are shown here in raw audio, which frankly turns the eldritch growls into a hilarious attempt at mimicking one. This song was one of my least favourites off of the 2011 album, so seeing it here in an incomplete state is not helping it either since if I do not like the original, chances are the rough scratch track would not entertain me either. The song being 8 minutes long also made it a slog to listen through.
The last song here is actually an acoustic rendition of track 4 from their first album. Seeing it here is quite a surprise, as the band making such a fast paced and messy song like that and turning it into a calm lullaby shows that they do have the songwriting chops to turn a song from calm to extreme and vice versa. I also liked that the song is played in such a way that it could be played by just one person. I hope they will do more acoustic renditions of their songs in the future.
The instruments and production certainly improved from their first album, but it is still pretty raw, all things considered. There are some places where you can tell it is not properly mixed, but considering the debut, I would take anything over that piece of production nightmare. The riffs here are quite simplistic, unlike the spiralling and winding melodies that we heard from their second album, such as tracks like Gekiai no Yobigoe, as KIM has not yet joined the band and lent his expertise to the band. But just from the first song, we can already tell that Hull and Yuhki can already construct complex riffs that would make the Gothenburg Riff Factory look like child's play. The bass is still inaudible as shit (wtf Hull), and the drums are still very obviously programmed as this was way before Shuhei joined, but they are serviceable and do not detract from the experience.
This EP is simultaneously underrated and instrumental to their stylistic and artistic change for the better. Without this EP, who knows what kind of music they would be making today? Come to think of it, maybe I should put the first song as the highlight of my review for the second album.
Highlights: the first song
