Idealism

From the moment I heard the beautiful melody of the opening track "Desire" kick in, followed by a solo that made me feel as if I was drifting in the sky, I knew that Idealism would become one of my all-time favorite albums. I discovered Veiled in Scarlet after finding out that they are the successors of the melodic death metal band Serpent, starring two of its former members—Keija (drums and keyboards) and Hiroki (guitars). Serpent is a band that I've been listening to for a while now, and Keija has composed a great number of Serpent's songs, so I was excited to hear that Veiled in Scarlet's sound and structure would have a great resemblance to its former band while still sounding unique.

Compared to Serpent's two studio albums (Cradle of Insanity, xGODx), the melodies in Idealism are much less steadfast but still manage to remain aggressive in an organized way that is brought on by the musical concept of neoclassicism. Though I am not that familiar with famous classical music titles, I did notice many similarities between this album and classical music, one notable example being the fourth song, which stands as the title track. The solo in the song "Idealism" has a near identical structure to Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, and on top of that, it sounds like the guitars are running back and forth, which only adds to the intensity of the song. In my opinion, this is the song that epitomizes neoclassicism the most on the album, as it closely resembles an archetypal classical composition. Especially with all the orchestral synths it has.

With how many instruments the album contains, it would seem nearly impossible to balance it out. However, Veiled in Scarlet still manages to execute the instrumentation perfectly.

The drummer, Keija, is always flawless when it comes to knowing when to play blast beats or alongside slow, relaxing melodies, and not to mention, his transitions are also amazing. Shun's growling vocals are relatively low in the mix, but they go amazingly well with the lead and rhythm guitars when sung alongside them, allowing the complex instrumentation to stand out. Noting the song "The Whereabouts of My Soul", it's as if the voice serves as an additional guitar. The riffage and chord progressions on this album are mind-blowing, with songs like "Belief" sounding very groovy. The album's mixing on the bass is perfect as it doesn't stick out blatantly, though it remains perfectly audible. The lead and rhythm guitars are also synced to perfection and heavily complement one another, creating some of the most beautiful melodies in melodic death metal. Sadly, I was not able to find any specific information on which guitars Hiroki and Syo play, respectively.

There are multiple types of keyboards played by Keija which are featured on this album—one is very low in the mix and resembles the synths featured throughout the album xGODx, another resembles a symphony, giving the songs an orchestral feel, and lastly, one serves as a sinister sounding piano, which can be found on tracks like "Drift", becoming especially prominent during and after the vocalist's whispers. The piano can also be heard on the instrumental track "Dividing Line", which was previously featured as a bonus track on xGODx CDs in Japan. 

It is arguable that many albums in melodic death metal usually have one or two songs that stick out, and the rest would be considered average. However, that is not the case for Idealism or any other Serpent/Veiled in Scarlet album. I must say that all the songs on Idealism really are masterpieces—I could listen to them for days on end, and I don't think I'll ever stop coming back. I can't really pick a favorite track from the album because they all evoke different feelings. Though, if I were to be caught in a moody situation, it would either be "Night Befall" or "Resistance" because both contain deep, aggressive growls connected to the bridges, and the latter contains a bittersweet-sounding solo. On the contrary, songs like "The Wind to a Dream" sound more hopeful, the lead guitar sounding as if it were mimicking the wind itself.

To conclude, if you are a fan of classical music and love melodic death metal, then you will most certainly enjoy this listen — and an added bonus if you love low-pitched growls and poetic lyrics.