TREASON//REASON

Listening to TREASON​/​/​REASON album by idoyklik. One of the greatest releases of 2016! Atmospheric music with some prog influences. Made with taste and talent. Production is also good. Definitely recommend!

Bandcamp: http://idoyklik.bandcamp.com/album/treason-reason
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/treason-reason/id1161554559
Also on Spotify.

Hatsune Miku - Koibito isonshou

A beautiful arrange from Emi Ele (lyrics by Clear). Heavy metal base with some prog aspirations as well as definite J-flavour all over it. Despite Emi Ele isn’t completely satisfied with Miku’s vocals, I find them pretty decent, clear, strong and, well, charming. That high pitch is irresistible! :)

Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm29444157

Yuezheng Ling - Rondo Of The Sand

An exquisite piece by ZOMiG (sound) and Zihan Lianmeng (lyrics). It opens with a stylish and totally authentic intro on native Asian instruments which sets the special mood for the whole song. Basically, this Rondo clearly demonstrates that to make good prog metal you need one thing: style. Not technique, not some elitist attitude, not fapping to John Petrucci, just plain old style. And maybe Yuezheng Ling too. Well, nobody says she isn’t stylish :) In fact, she sounds awesome!

The debate is still open whether you should add djent into this mix :) ZOMiG throws in just a pinch of it, and I like the outcome. Let’s call this effect ‘synergy’  :)

Bilibili link: http://www.bilibili.com/video/av3324962/
Song download & lyrics: https://zomig.bandcamp.com/track/rondo-of-the-sand (optional $$)


When THE FUCK will they start to design Vocaloid outfits like that? Don’t they know that STYLE MATTERS?!

(Analog) Art by Lingjie 0rz

MMD Cup 15 - Canon-san ga doramu otataite kuremashita

A worthy work from the late MMD event that basically shows us Miku sweating at the drum kit. And she’s trying it quite hard - since it’s prog metal, and prog tends to be frustratingly demanding for poor drummer souls. Oh, but it’s also good prog blasting on so we have pretty engaging show to watch!

No, really, we rarely see Miku performing that particular way, and I suddenly caught myself craving for more ;) Why, she is a literal drum machine! :) Only with pigtails. And barefoot. In fact, she could as well be the sexiest drum machine in our pathetic world! If this isn’t enough reason to watch the video then what else?! ;)

The track is “Peppered cancer” played originally by Bobby Jarzombek. Yes, he played it barefoot too. No, it’s far cry from Miku. Because of reasons above. You have been warned ;)

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm26932051

GUMI & Hatsune Miku - Have a Nice Day

You don’t expect anything worthy from the songs with titles like *that* usually, but the fresh piece from Coralmines is rather interesting. The producer claims it to be progressive rock, but for me it sounds more like grunge, with some prog features here and there. Let’s be just: this is the first producer’s metal song, so there’s nothing wrong in slight genre uncertainties. I must say for the first work in this style it is very impressive! The sound quality is solid, with marked guitars’ character and lavish bass drums. The tempo is a bit slower than most progressive works, which gives additional weight and authenticity to the song.

The less astounding part is vocals. Despite both girls are English variants, their Engrish is sub-prime to say the least. Sad, because the producer has made quite elaborate melodic lines for vocals, fitting the high prog standards. The fine lyrics deserve better treatment too… :(

Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm23223867


Two thousand years ago nude statues were the most common thing. Today nudity hides somewhere in deep and dark Internet burrows. What, you call this ‘progress’?.. ;)

Video’s art by Sainker-sama. (btw, what is Chinese for ‘sama’? ;) )

Hatsune Miku & GUMI - Doomsday

First Vocaloid work by k1mu-san. It is somewhat symphonic/progressive metal. “Dream Theater”'s influence is evident here, but it’d be surprising if there wasn’t one given the mentioned style :) . So the question is, does “Doomsday” send a challenge to the American gurus of prog? Well, I suppose the attempt is solid. At least “DT” doesn’t use Vocaloids in its works, which is a grave, grave omission… :)

Why, guys, even without digital young sexy vocalists in miniskirts my sympathies will always be on the underground scene side rather than on the side of some posers metal gurus selling albums by millions… Damn, initially this post was intended to bring on some work from underground, and not to rattle on my loose preferences for the length of the Vocaloids’ skirts. So back to the business. k1mu made a great work on mixing, both ‘live’ and synthetic parts sound exceptional. In fact, I think the producer reached a nice balance between traditional metal sound and digital sequences. Only Miku and Gumi seem to be given less attention. There is not much room for the two of them, the duet composition itself hardly brings any additional gains. But it’s common for progressive to give low priority to vocals. And, as I’ve said already, this is the first k1mu’s experience with Vocaloids. So I hope next time the guy will outstrip “Dream Theater” as easily as you please :)

Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22682290

Wait, and that’s all?! No young sexy female vocalists in miniskirts? Man, I’m wounded… Progressive metal, you say? Not a single miniskirt on the whole scene, Vocaloid or not? Fuck, guys, how do you live with that... ;)

 

Video’s art by k1mu himself.

GUMI - Kogoeru sora ga, gekijou ni somaru toki

“Kogoeru sora ga…” is a track from the same-titled album by Minazuki Jun. The CD was released at Comiket 85, some two weeks ago. The song seems to have the most alternative sounding of all the album’s tracks. It tears the listeners’ nerves with dissonant chords and odd melodies. Gumi’s singing adds to the overall depressed atmosphere. Speaking of bright spots (which is quite odd in this song’s case), I should mention the stunning sounding of lead guitar. It is tense, dramatic and passionate, binding the daunted mood of the music. The mixing quality is great too.

Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22641065

GUMI - Call my name

If you dealt with ‘experimental’ metal before, you might know that usually this word is a shy equivalent of ‘frustrating’. Or ‘mind-fucking’. Or, in some cases, ‘pathetic shit’… You may wonder why I’m telling you that. The context, guys, the context! So that when I present you the Odd Sun’s new work, “Call my name”, you already know that everything could be much worse ;)

Well, the song isn't *that* experimental, and this is good. Because it’s running right on the edge, dangerously close to falling into the mentioned above categories. And I have to admit this is quite an appealing run… Worth much more than marching like zombies on the mainstream highway. So, leaving the trolling aside, I believe Odd Sun’s done an impressive work. It looks even more impressive when we take into consideration the fact that it’s the first his attempt in the heavier music. I hope it isn’t the last.

Complicated, layered sound driven by blithe guitars is alternating with minimalistic parts where Gumi’s supposed to play key role. Coming back to that ‘experimental’ characteristic – there is a substantial contribution of vocal part to this mark. The vocals are a way unconventional, allowing to express finest emotional shades. Believe me, it’s hard to perform even for a flesh-and-blood singer. For Vocaloid programming, it’s a nightmare. Sadly, Gumi sounds here even bleaker than on average... Yet, with all that imperfections, “Call my name” remains a charming piece of a ballad.

Nicovideo link: 

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22557093

MP3 download: http://nicosound.anyap.info/sound/sm22557093