I’m a fan of music from all over the world. Anyone that has come here before knows this. Doesn’t matter where it is, or what language it’s in. If it’s good and it falls my reach, it’s being listened to. Period. Having said that, again, I’d like to state something. For the most part, I really enjoy Visual Kei bands. If you don’t know what Visual Kei is, then I advise you to hop on the highly debated website Wikipedia and take a gander at it. Now, I said for the most part. Because, some of those bands go too far and sound far too pop with their music. So, let’s say I like the Dark Visual Kei bands, including Former V-K artists Dir en Grey And D’espairsRay(whom changed their name from DéspairsRay). I’ve recently gotten into the V-K band, Girugämesh. They are, for lack of a better term, Japanese musical monsters.
This four piece make-up drenched, costume riddled outfit attacks with just as much fierceness as many of the top lining Alternative/Metal acts around the globe. Having released 2 EPs as well as 2 LPs, the album I’d like to speak upon is their most recently released: The self-titled album, Girugämesh. The band always had a knack for aggression as well as a thirst for the theatrics. On the S/T, they crank up their creativity and experimentation, a notch. The Intro of the album comes on like something taken from the American band Slipknot. With the tribal drums and bone rattling distorted guitar that flips and starts riffing like it was gas powered by Turntable juice a la Tom Morello.
The song “Patchwork” kicks in, immediately after, without a stride being lost. Giru pulls out the keyboard as well as electronic effects to showcase their more Industrial Metal side. Satoshi has never sounded more alive than he does on this first full song on the album. He goes from singing in a normal daring tone, then becomes a man possessed once the chorus kicks in, with the tension building during the bridge better verses and chorus. Speaking of Slipknot, Girgu even has a song named after one of their biggest hits “Vermillion.” Don’t worry, it isn’t a cover. It’s their own composition. The song, though, seems more for a shining like for Nii than it does any other member. His guitar work on the track is bar none fantastic.
“Barikedo” comes on with a single power chord, followed by a looped heavily electronically distorted simple constant riff. The cycle repeats, but what is added is a digital static run through the back left to right front channel. When the fully kicks in, for the pre-chorus, you can see that these boys are not here to play. They are fully about their business, and you’re going to either pay the admission price or become their roadkill. Yes, it’s just that serious. The verses are easy to get into, and sound like they are sung by a man afraid of what he’s about to do to you(Bruce Banner, anyone?). That is the perfect balance from the chorus.
Other great tracks include “Shining,” “Crazy-Flag,” and the dynamic “Dance Rock Night.” A few tracks seem a bit more commercial than the rest of the album. Those are Guitar Hero ready “Rocker’s” and the MTV Japan set(Is that even a channel?) song “Domino.” While neither are actually BAD songs, they both seem more aimed towards selling units and eases off of the aggression some. The former not so much, but you can definitely hear that, at least in Japan, that track will be released for download on the Guitar Hero or Rock Band series. The latter, again, isn’t a bad song. But, it does sound like a glorified version of an Anime theme song. That can go either way for you, depending on how you enjoy Anime music. I would throw the album closer “Koware Teiku Sekai” into that mix. But, the overly dramatic scream done a little past halfway into the song, plus the length of the track ruins it for being a top commercial contender.
So, if you’re a J-Metal/J-Rock fan, then you need to really take a gander at these guys. I know that I’m definitely glad that I did. If you have an issue about not understanding the language of the music that you’re listening to, then you’re not only good at staying away from this type of music, but also putting yourself in a very small peg musically. Take a chance, guitar lovers. You might have found the make-up wearers of your dreams.
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