Review: AND -Eccentric Agent- BLAZE

Tracklist:

1. BLAZE

2. another face

3. Dear liar



First of all, BLAZE is AWESOME!!! All caps and italicized, that's how awesome this song is. It reminds me of older And, which I'm extremely pleased about. The instrumentals are great, I'd especially like to point out how skillful and clearly audible the drum section is, and though the guitar riff is catchy, I actually that the drumming is the best part about this song, at least instrumentally. However, I would check out 1:10 to 1:20, for a great peek into the guitar line. I appreciate the addition of piano as an undertone to the song, and I really welcome the return of those guttural screams from Ikuma, as well as the cries from the background. My two favorite parts of this song: First, 1:50 to 2:09, I just love the way this sounds with the exchange of lead and background vocals, and my absolute favorite, 2:49 to 3:09, I think this the most passionate part of the song, and that's really shown off with the supplementary piano and string section. Not to mention if you haven't seen this PV yet, please do, it's too awesome for words.

Another Face is probably my least favorite of the three, it's a decent track, I'm just not extremely impressed with it. I do very much enjoy Ikuma's vocals during the beginning verse, and this song also has one of the better guitar parts throughout the single. Including, 1:10 to 1:27, also heard during the other chorus' (this part also has rhythm section that is definitely worth mentioning), and the main riff  here is lovely. Having said that, I think this song is a bit too repetitive, I would have really liked to hear more of a change in the beat or
 the attachment of a slower music section, just to really reinforce the song, or perhaps just more verses would have done the trick.

Now, surprisingly, I actually really like Dear liar, but apart from the actual music I don't get the impression that this is And. I feel like I might as well be listening to The Kiddie, in fact the only song by And, that I can think of, that is even remotely close in sound to this one, is Hakubaika. I do think this is a very catchy song, and I'm quite fond of the main and harder guitar riffs, as well there are several ascending and descending bass and guitar lines that play really well next to the similar rhythm and drum sections, ex: 0:37 to 1:01. There also seems to be an addtion of synthesizer beats and a small piano section, and both of these thrive within the mix of instruments. Best guitar and also the most noticeable riff: 1:39 to 2:02.


My Grade: 3/5