2 posts tagged “master”

The three limited edition versions of Versailles' new major debut single 'Ascendead Master' each came with one part of a little movie the band made to go with the theme of the song.  Of course, it involves vampires, eternal life, roses, and the "descendants of the rose" story that they've created as their fictional historical background.  Happily, and somewhat against my expectations, the movie isn't too bad!  It's good quality and well shot, with actors who do a fairly decent job of their performances, and though all the members appear, they don't make any overly forced attempts to act much in the film themselves (since let's face it, acting is generally not a strong point for rockers >_<).  Only Kamijo has actual lines (in English) that he says himself, though Jasmine You has a creepy English voiceover to speak for him (by the way, I found the role he was cast in ironically funny XP).  Kamijo's English is...interesting, and rather heavily accented, but I suppose it works with his role as a vampire. ^_^;

So, overall I'm glad to see Versailles were smart with their choices in directing this little movie, though they had a hell of a team of people working on this, as you can see from the credits.  The short plot has some holes and isn't the most believable story ever, since the length is limited and was obviously created to fit around the concepts of the single, but is surprisingly well-thought out for what it is, and you have to give them credit for putting in this much effort and trying to make it somewhat deep.  Though the movie neared the borders of ridiculousness in the third section with all the drama at the press conference [the part from 3:00 is epic lulz], I didn't find it horribly silly or trite overall, so props to Versailles for keeping it relatively sensible.  I think of the many mini-movies made by visual-kei bands over the years (e.g. Malice Mizer, An Cafe, alice nine.), this is perhaps the best.  Here are parts one, two and three.

There's a handful of releases coming out June 24th, including Versailles' new single 'Ascendead Master', Kiyoharu's new single 'Darlene', and Matenrou Opera's first full album 'ANOMIE'.  The pvs for them just came out, and though I'll probably discuss Matenrou Opera's album in full later, for now I'll only discuss the title track 'ANOMIE' and its pv in keeping with the others.

So first off, 'ANOMIE' totally blew away my expectations for this release!  I wasn't that impressed by the band's previous two singles, but this has completely turned things around for me...I think it's a different but positive sound shift for Matenrou Opera, and still very much within their style.  And of course, this is the song that confirmed Matenrou Opera is Anomie, the mysterious group that caused quite a bit of speculation earlier in the year, but it remains to be seen what their plans for this "alter-ego" are. 

From the mysterious, bass-driven intro, to the fast-paced, hard beat of the chorus and lovely string and piano accents, this song is almost like a culmination of the talent Matenrou Opera is really capable of.  With their previous releases, it was clear they had skill, but I always got the feeling they could do even better, like they'd come close but just short of the mark, and I think they've really developed with 'ANOMIE' and hit right on with this one.  Their song arrangement has improved, Sono's delivery is more controlled and consistent, and at least for me, compared to their other releases 'ANOMIE' grabs your attention and doesn't let go.  With many of their other works, I find I lose interest and want to move on after giving it one listen-through.  I mean, that's just my opinion and not true for all their music, but something I've noticed tends to happen with me.  Also, the pv for this song is light-years better than their video for 'Alkaloid Showcase' in almost every way...the quality's better, the camera angles, choreography, and the band's performance are all more interesting to watch this time around. : )  By the way, if you pay close attention you'll see that Matenrou appear in their white outfits as Anomie in the pv!  It makes me really curious as to how they're going to connect these two identities.

Next up, Kiyoharu's new single 'Darlene' isn't anything especially new or innovative for him, but a solid, good song as is to be expected.  I really like the underlying rhythm from the bass in this song, as well as the switch from loud guitar riffs to melodious high notes.  Oh, and as you've probably already noticed, the song's title is a girl's name...he seems to have a fondness for doing that (e.g. Emily, Layra) or else using 君　(="you") or "love" somewhere in the title. ^_^  Ah, he's become such a sweet softie in his music as he's matured...rather different from the SADS days and songs like 'Porno Star', hahaha (though I happen to like both equally...Kiyoharu rocks no matter what he's doing :D).

Finally, the new single 'Ascendead Master' from Versailles....oh, where to start.  Versailles has plenty of skill and talent, that is obvious, but where they sometimes fail is in their tendency to repeat and overdo things.  Well, then again one can validly argue the whole point of their act and visual theme IS to be over-the-top, gorgeous, and レネッサンス！ all the time, but the roses, frills, vampires, and big hair get kinda tiresome after awhile.  If at least the members wouldn't look almost the same with every new costume rotation (except for the all-mighty "vampire lord" Kamijo who gets to change more than just the cut of his outfit design, lol) and maybe include some different concepts once in a while, it'd be so much more interesting!  I suppose this is one of the major pitfalls of being a concept band, but I sort of hoped they'd manage to do more with it, especially visually, as time went on.

I mean, though I do enjoy their music and you can't deny the awesomeness of their guitar work or the charm of Kamijo's voice, I really wonder if they can keep this up forever.  (Besides, the whole self-absorbed, dramatic "omg, look at us, we're so beautiful and aristocratic!" gets old rather fast.)  I certainly like 'Ascendead Master' better than 'Prince & Princess' (though I really liked those white costumes they had for that single), and I think 'Ascendead' is a very good song, but sometimes I wish they'd put a bit more variety in their work and not be so ridiculous sometimes.  And I don't mean that with respect to their costumes or dresses (though I get the urge to rip those awful fake lashes off Jasmine You every time I see him) but more toward their overall attitude, I guess...it gets to be too much when they go overboard with the act, and it probably hurts them more than helps them when it comes to potential/existing fans and exposure.  I mean, in other times like serious interviews and a few comments they act quite different, and I find them far more endearing in those instances.  I'm all for fantasy, vampires, aristocracy, etc., and they do it extremely well, but sometimes when the same fantasy goes on for too long, it loses its appeal and imagination.  (But I have to admit, Kamijo makes a very convincing, sexy vampire in this pv. ^_^)