A disappointing effort from The GazettE
For the past few years, The GazettE has been storming through the visual kei scene, leaving behind many of their peers. They've released something every year, which is something most bands find hard to do, and they've played some of the biggest shows in Japan including slots at Summer Sonic and now Europe is on the horizon with their tour extending to countries such as France and Russia. After the successful 'TOXIC' and 'DIVISION' and now the announcement of a new album in October 2013, The GazettE has set the bar high for themselves and they have a lot to live up to; sadly this single doesn't deliver.'FADELESS' is a single made up of three tracks which weirdly all sound like B sides rejected from 'TOXIC' and 'DIVISION'. The title track is an incredibly boring song which follows a basic riff, with no sudden changes or breaks. The sound is more hard rock unlike the electronic sound that was present in 'TOXIC' and 'DIVISION'. The guitar work from Aoi and Uruha is particularly disappointing and uninspiring; the song reminded me a lot of 'ROTTING ROOT' by DIR EN GREY; both songs fail to pick up any pace and end up sounding like extended jam sessions.
'QUIET' starts off with a very promising intro, reminiscent of other GazettE ballads such as 'Kago No Sanagi', 'Cassis' and 'Guren'; however this is the problem. 'QUIET' sounds too similar to 'Kago No Sanagi', so much so that I was able to predict Ruki's vocal melodies the first time I listened to the song. The chorus is forgettable which is a shame, given the promising intro I mentioned. Ruki's vocals and vocal melodies are actually disappointing in both songs; they're not catchy or interesting, and if the singing were to be omitted from the songs nothing would be lost.
I really hope that this isn't a path that The GazettE are planning to continue on and is just a glitch in the system. These two songs are missing the unique and innovative sound that was explored on the last two albums; don't get me wrong, I'm all for change in bands but changes need to be introduced subtly and gradually, and this is is too quick for my liking.
3/10
*I'm not reviewing 'FORBIDDEN BEAVER'
