Hi guys! As promised, I'm gonna post reviews about ONE OK ROCK's albums.
So, first off is their first three albums namely Zeitakubyou (2007), Beam of Light (2008), and Kanjou Effect (2008).
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| From left to right: Toru Yamashita, Ryota Kohama, Taka Morita, Tomoya Kanki, and Alex Onizawa |
The reason why I had it all three in one post is that all of these albums were made during that time when OOR still had 5 members. Alex, their former lead guitarist, left the band last 2009.
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Zeitakubyou was the very first full-length album that OOR released last November 21, 2007. Some of their singles that were released before this album were also included on the list, such as Naihi Shinsho, Yume Yume, and Etcetera.
The tracks:
- Naihi Shinsho (内秘心書) - I really love this one. The very first time I heard this song, truth is I fell in love with OOR a lot! It's up-beat and perfect to make it as the first single for this album. Just knowing the fact that this single is amazing, it would really make you crave to listen more of their songs.
- Borderline - This song has a bit more English compared to Naihi Shinsho. It's also a good track. An upbeat song perfect to start the day.
- (You can do) Everything - Absolutely one of my faves from this album, and it has more English compared to the first two tracks. This track for me is kinda old-school, but in a really good way. It really showcases OOR's humble beginnings.
- Yoru ni Shika Mangetsu ( 夜にしか咲かない満月) - Also a good track but not really a fan of it. They seem to love performing this song live as what I've observed from watching their past lives and also up to now. Anyways, the musicality of this song is really good, which made me think that this band is really talented.
- Yume Yume (努努 -ゆめゆめ) - Now okay... This song kinda reminds me of a TV show, but I can't really remember which TV show. Anyways, this is a "must-listen" track of the album because it showcases Toru's rapping, and he's really good at it.
- Kagerou (カゲロウ) - Awwww... this song...awww... It's a bit nostalgic for me. Although the song is in Japanese, I really love it! It kinda gives that feeling like listening to some 90's songs. It's old-school, kinda like an Eraserheads track. When I researched the meaning of this lyrics, it's raw! Taka really gave me the feels of falling in love in high school haha! It's a sweet track, trust me.
- Lujo - Not really a huge fan of this track, but this one certainly showcases the bands musicality when they were just starting.
- Kemuri (ケムリ) - Again, not really a fan of this track, but it's also good.
- Yokubou ni Michi ta Seinendan (欲望に満ちた青年団) - I heard this song for the very first time when they performed it during the Mighty Long Fall at Yokohama Stadium. They had it in acoustic version. I was really amazed with this song because the musicality, rhythm, and the lyrics all blended together for perfection. This track is really good. Trust me, it's gonna give an LSS (Last Song Syndrome).
- Et cetera (エトセトラ) - Well, I don't really know how to describe this song. This is not even a ballad nor a mellow one, but it's a slow song with a touch of OOR style. This song is sad. It's all about breaking up and parting ways. But whatever, it's also included on my "must-listen" tracklist.
- A new one for all, all for the new one - The last song in the album. It's also a slow track and a bit nostalgic for me. Perfect to listen whenever you feel like looking up in a starry sky at night.
Overall: 8/10. I really love this band's very first album. The whole album really speaks from the bottom of their hearts, and they really wanna let their fans hear what they can do as musicians. I'm amazed really. I mean at that point, they were just starting, but they already captured a lot of people through their music.
Okay, let's move on to their second album Beam of Light.
Beam of Light was released last May 28, 2008. The band didn't really consider this as an album because the tracks were more of an experiment for them. They never played any of the songs in this album during their lives.
The Tracks:
- Hitsuzen Maker (必然メーカー)
- Melody Line no Shibouritsu (Melody Lineの死亡率)
- 100%
- Abduction-Interlude
- San-san Dama ( 燦さん星)
- Koubou (光芒)
- Crazy Botch
- Yap
When I listened to all of the tracks of this album, I wasn't really getting what they want to express since the tracks were full of variety and I'm really confused on how I'm gonna label the genre for it. I was about to rate this album actually, but when I found out that this one is an experimental album for the band, it's understandable. Anyways, I like the tracks 'Hitsuzen Maker', 'Melody Line no Shibouritsu', and 'Crazy Botch' for this album.
..and now, moving on to Kanjou Effect.
Kanjou Effect is the third album of ONE OK ROCK released last November 12, 2008. This is the last album where Alex was included. I've gotta say, it's this album where they were really labeled as a "Rock Band".
The Tracks:
- Koi no Aibou Kokoro no Cupid (恋ノアイボウ心ノクピド) - It's one of my favorites from this album. What I really love is that whenever the band plays this song in their live performances, the crowd's really getting it.
- Doppelgaﾌ・ger (どっぺるゲンガー) - Not exactly my fave, but it's worth listening to.
- Kaimu (皆無) - This track is one of my faves. This song actually has pure Japanese lyrics. When I heard this song, it really made me thought about how the band are trying to make more mature sounds when it comes to rock music, 'cause even if I didn't understand totally the song, it hit me right straight to the heart. I think this is my ultimate fave from this album. When I found out about the meaning of the lyrics of this song, I fell hardly in love with it.
- 20 years old - A song that will really give you a great feeling when you listen to it.
- Living Dolls - Again, one of my faves. It kinda reminds me of a Japanese drama with a slice of life theme to it. Not really a hard rock song in this album, but it's really good.
- Break My Strings - It's one of those tracks in the album where you can say they really improved as a rock band.
- Sonzai Shoumei (存在証明) - I'm not a huge fan of this song, however, I love the guitar here.
- CONVINCING - Definitely one of my faves from this album.
- My sweet baby - This is the ballad song on the album. It's a sweet song and one of my faves.
- Reflection - Not really a fave of mine, but this track is indeed catchy.
- Viva Violent Fellow ~Utsukushi Moshpit~ (Viva Violent Fellow ～美しきモッシュピット～) - Another upbeat rock song from this album. I'm so-so with this one. I love the musicality because it's kinda different from the other rock songs they have in this album, and I also love Taka's vocals here.
- JUST - It's an okay song for me, and they did put a lot of effort inserting English lyrics on this track.
- Bossa Nova - Well, okay. This is not really a track. I love the fact that the band includes like a BTS on their album. It really shows that they are having a great time making it all together.
Overall: 6/10. Probably because I don't really listen much to this album, but I have a few tracks that I really like. Anyways, what I really love about Kanjou Effect is that ONE OK ROCK, as a band, really want to be recognized as a rock band, and I guess they really succeed on that when this album came out, and aside from that, Taka was indeed recognized as the band's legendary vocalist. I've also noticed that they are starting to put more English lyrics to their tracks. Taka was already good at it ever since the first album was released.
..and that's it!
Whew! This is actually my first time to write a review/insights or whatever you call it about music albums. I know it's a bit late for me to write about it since these albums were like released ages ago, well not really ages, merely 7 to 8 years already since they released these 3 albums. While writing this blogpost, I was actually listening to the tracks, and I'll never get tired of them (-_-)v
Well everything that's been written here are just based on my personal opinions and such. If you're also a fan of the band, let me know what you think through comments.
Stay tuned for the rest of the album reviews!
'till next post - k*
- Friday, April 10, 2015
- 11 Comments
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