Review: Rose:Mari's First Album "Last Letter"

Let's talk about local music today because there's more to North Carolina than NASCAR and Clay Aiken. Being an NC native myself, I've discovered that other jrock fans manage to thrive here. Even better, we have no kidding musicians who have survived the country long enough to produce an album!

Celestin and Yofiel, the stud-muffins that make up the two piece band Rose:Mari, have recently released their first album and frankly it's not too shabby.

Last Letter incorporates various genres, all of the romantic variety, with Luna Sea-esque vocals amongst its screams and whispers. Actually, many of the tracks seem to be inspired by classic visual kei with the right amount of death metal plunked in. As is expected from a composer whose hobbies include writing poetry and wooing girls at the AUSA host club, the lyrics are truly a gothic delight.


To sum it all up with a score, I'm giving Last Letter a 7 out of 10. The work as a whole was clearly produced with love but the vocals are still a little rough around the edges. Rose:Mari's site can be found here and the boys are on facebook as well.

Going to go and give the album a listen now?
Here are my recommends:
Deep Blue
Sincerely
Cecilia ~A Blind Romance~

Versailles DESTINY -THE LOVERS- Review

A few weeks ago, Versailles released their first single with new bassist Masashi. It seems like it’s been too long since Jubilee dropped, so I was excited for the sultry ballad that is DESTINY –THE LOVERS-.

As is per usual with Versailles releases, the average fan is hammered over the head with several purchasing choices. There are three types in all including a regular edition. Type A features a nifty little DVD with probably a good hour of live footage and quality so impressive you can see the fret cleaner stains on both guitars. Type B comes with the music video…which is just going to pop up on Youtube in HD anyway. Guess which one I got.

I would love to say that DESTINY –THE LOVERS- sounds exactly like PRINCESS, but that would be redundant because PRINCESS already sounds like THE REVENANT CHOIR. Really, there’s a little too much of both. On the positive side, I feel like DESTINY –THE LOVERS - is more like the rebirth of THE REVENANT CHOIR. The PV certainly gives that feel with its simplicity akin to the band’s first video. Additionally, there’s a scene where the band struts out of the light in that bad-ass slow-mo way they did in THE REVENANT CHOIR PV. When it comes down to it, obvious song is obvious…obvious video is obvious.

DESTINY comes with two other tracks, GLOWING BUTTERFLY and LIBIDO. Both are excellent and I hope they make it to the next album for fans who didn’t buy the single. GLOWING BUTTERFLY is dark in a fluttery way with piano that lightens up the hardness of the main riffs. It’s balanced in all the right ways I’d say, but I found LIBIDO to be the catchiest song on the single. LIBIDO is best described as Silly God Disco with some very neoclassical flavor.

Actually now I’m imagining the GazettE in pirate costumes…

But before anyone starts working on that crossover, give DESTINY a listen.

(Versailles image belongs to Warner Music Japan)