The Candy Spooky Theater – SPOOKYWONDERLAND October 20, 2010

Track Listing

1. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -Introduction-
2. PRINCE OF DARKNESS
3. The LIVING DEAD
4. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -CABARETTA-
5. La Dance Macabre
6. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -SPOOKY HALLOWEEN-
7. THIS IS HALLOWEEN
8. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -Kill You!-
9. Alice
10. SPOOK HOUSE
11. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -Finale-
12. TRICK or TREAT -End Credits-
13. Let’s Meet With Chocolate And Candy

1. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -Introduction-

Beginning the album, the Introduction sounds like the typical Halloween-ish sounds you would expect coming from TCST.  I mean it’s creepy and the organ-like melody is catchy, but it’s still short and only is just for opening purposes.

2. PRINCE OF DARKNESS

While it was really the only song physically released in this era (back in 2007) I was happy to hear this song in full value than at such a low bitrate when the single was leaked.  Since it became 100% more clearer, the song has become better for me.  While Jack Spooky is filtered to where his vocals are kind of muffled enough to be covered, the song has a dark tone and I liked the piano solos and such.  Interesting song!

3. The LIVING DEAD

Our first new song from the band begins just like “Introduction” with a crash of thunder and some deep organ.  However, it quickly changes up when the song becomes guitar-ladened and it has a rather synthy backdrop to it.  I did like the small bits of jazz strewn along for the ride and Jack’s vocals are clearer and I can understand him and it’s a mash of JPN and English and it’s cool.  Different and I like they’ve grown to be more melodic with their songs here.

4. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -CABARETTA-

I can’t believe all the songs with the tag of the album are interludes…Way too many for me.  Either way, CABARETTA sounds pretty fun-sounding with it’s brass-fueled melody.  I’m a little sad that it’s muffled on purpose to make it sound old, but still it’s pretty cute in a way.

5. La Dance Macabre

While it wasn’t released physically, it was released via their Myspace and I thought it was one of the more better songs they’ve done as of recent.  I do think the muffled piano opening was a tad too long, but when the song came in full force, La Dance Macabre does carry a little bit of the flame of “CABARETTA” for sure, but it’s sweet.  For the most part Jack doesn’t exactly really do much within the song and well the music covers him, but I still liked the music quite a bit.

6. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -SPOOKY HALLOWEEN-

As the longest of the interlude crossing a minute in length, SPOOKY HALLOWEEN has an interesting bouncy piano melody going on with some taps on the high-hat and such.  It doesn’t move anywhere, but then again it’s an interlude so whatever…

7. THIS IS HALLOWEEN

Why yes, this is exactly what you think it is.  It’s a cover of the famous Disney tune from “Nightmare Before Christmas” and while it isn’t exactly true to its form, the melody is very familiar to me and since Jack Spooky and Peggy are singing it with this more industrial and chaotic arrangement.  Now the Engrish is kind of hit and miss in this song, but it’s rather quirky of a cover.

8. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -Kill You!-

For being a 30 second interlude title Kill You!, I didn’t expect something cute out of the tune.  It sounds more like a happy-go-lucky ditty that makes you want to be happy and giggly.

9. Alice

Carrying over the cuteness, Alice is rather different amongst the other vocal songs because of its light demeanor and Jack is actually trying to sing (albeit under filters).  It’s still the lightest the album has to offer and I was happy with what we got hear since it’s one of the strongest songs the band has.

10. SPOOK HOUSE

Why yes, it’s a rearranged version of the same SPOOK HOUSE found on their second single “Wonderland”.  I’m not sure why out of all the songs they’ve chose to include this song on the album since it wasn’t one of their better songs.  However, the new version took it into a more jazzy territory to mix it with the rockin’ arrangement and I liked this a lot moreso.  It’s a good revision.

11. SPOOKYWONDERLAND PARADE -Finale-

Another thunder crashing opening a song?  Well, it is the final interlude and it is the Finale (or so it seems).  There’s not much going on in the song besides the rolling thunder and this high squeaking part near the end of it.  Not that special if you ask me.

12. TRICK or TREAT -End Credits-

Yeah another rundown through memory lane, this time with TRICK or TREAT (originally a song off their 3rd single “Murderland”).  However, it’s just a pure instrumental which is only muffled piano playing the songs instrumental and melody.  Since Peggy does the arrangements, I thought she did well playing this bouncy melody and it does sound creepy nonetheless.

13. Let’s Meet With Chocolate And Candy

The album still hasn’t ended yet?  Just like the title suggests, the song is way silly and is kind of a weird WTH kind of moment.  I mean those voices in the song sound so much like Alvin and the Chipmunks that it just makes me raise my eyebrow at its maximum.  Musically, it’s also a bit cutesy for sure and sounds like circus music…weiiiiiiird.

Tracks Recommended

• Alice
• SPOOK HOUSE
• The LIVING DEAD

Song of Avoidance

• Let’s Meet With Chocolate And Candy

Since this is really considered their debut studio albumm (“Living Dead Spooky…” is considered more of a best-of album) SPOOKYWONDERLAND is actually not that bad of an album when considering to their first release.  The first major point was that this isn’t as dark and creepy like the first and they’ve gone to a more happier place for some of the songs.  They still do lack a strong label to give them more of a stronger sound, but what we got here isn’t bad, just under-made by people’s minds, I think.

The Candy Spooky Theater – PRINCE OF DARKNESS September 22, 2010

Track Listing

1. PRINCE OF DARKNESS
2. DEVILISH KIDNAPPER NEW HORROR TASTE MIX

1. PRINCE OF DARKNESS

You know CST has always been about Halloween in everything and to me that’s what makes the band stand out a lot from the regular V-kei bands out there today.  PRINCE OF DARKNESS is pretty messy, but their music has also always had that sense of uncertainty and weird that also puts em out.  The song is however way low quality (on purpose?) and kind of hard to hear what Jack Spooky is saying, but I’m pretty sure this’ll be fixed on the album.

2. DEVILISH KIDNAPPER NEW HORROR TASTE MIX

As the B-side to the single, it’s of course a new version of Devilish Kidnapper which was the main song off their debut single, “Pumpkins Scream In the Dead of Night Parade”.  It has a new opening and the song feels more psychotic since Jack Spooky sounds roughly higher in the song.  I don’t think it’s bad, but there’s something that I loved more about the original than the new take.

 

 

Being the lone single representing their sophomore album, “Spookywonderland” and being three years apart from each other, it was something that needed to happen despite the band being indies.  PRINCE OF DARKNESS kind of feels unfinished in many aspects and the drop of quality from their debut album is quite a steep drop too.  Hopefully the album proves me wrong.

The Candy Spooky Theater – Living Dead Spooky Doll’s Family in the Rock n’ Childs Spook Show Baby!! November 1, 2009

Track Listing

1. Devilish Kidnapper
2. Strip
3. Merry Go Round
4. Spook House
5. Ferris Wheel -Cinderella no Kimi to, Kanzen ni Kowareta Shimatta Ouji-Sama no Boku-
6. TRICK or TREAT
7. Nightmare ~Fuminshou no Shoujo to Kaaten Goshi no Akumu~
8. Nemurenu Mori no Hanayome
9. Murder Toy in the Closet
10. Exosist
11. A Clockwork World
12. Nejimaki Denki Isu

1. Devilish Kidnapper

Honestly, what could open the album more epicly is the band’s first vocal track released.  Devilish Kidnapper is definitely a hot mess if I heard any.  Jack Spooky is vocally creepy and also give me the creeps.  It doesn’t help that the Halloween like arrangement that fits the mood perfectly.  I like how the song is march-like, but then again is covered by the group’s random inserts of sound.  Very abstract, but awesome!

2. Strip

As the B-side to the single with “Devilish Kidnapper” we get a pretty short tune.  Under 3 minutes, Strip is a bit more Halloween/jazz mixture that kind of weirded me out.  It’s not as memorable, nor the quality of the song really good, but I like the group’s want to mess with different genres.

3. Merry Go Round

The leading track off of “Wonderland” I thought Merry Go Round was the pick-me-up I needed after “Strip”.  It mixes this goofy dance style with Jack Spooky’s psychotic vocals which oddly fit here once again.  It oozes Halloween just as much as the previous two tracks which is definitely a plus since they are pulling off a theme.  Sweet track, though I have no idea what Jack Spooky is saying in the middle of the song…or is he just ad-libbing?

4. Spook House

It’s the first time we actually hear the band at full force and Spook House got some cool aggressive guitars to replace all the Halloween-ish sounds that the last tracks had.  They also cleared up the vocal blocking that has pretty much shaded Jack Spooky so far in the album and I’m happy to finally hear his voice fully and over the music.  He actually has a good voice and can do rock cool.  Sometimes the music comes back to haunt him and cover him making his singing rather hard to decipher, but it’s not too bad of a song.

5. Ferris Wheel -Cinderella no Kimi to, Kanzen ni Kowareta Shimatta Ouji-Sama no Boku-

I’m still not a huge fan of Ferris Wheel to be honest.  The opening was just trash just to get into Jack’s verses.  I did notice that Ferris Wheel was trying to be the ballad of the album, but it seems that generally speaking the music producer messed up because Jack is hard to hear in the song.  I don’t know why, but damn this was a bad track to listen to.

7. TRICK or TREAT

It seems we’re being pulled back into Halloween mode because TRICK or TREAT seems like a darker and more freakier version of “Devilish Kidnapper”.  It starts out with dark pipe organ chords and random sounds of Halloween.  Jack’s vocals are also a bit more stranger.  Sounds like he’s acting like a child.  To me, it sounds like Tweety saying it ~twick or tweet~  Strange yes, but very deceiving and evilly playful.  It’s one of the more interesting tracks of the era.

7. Nightmare ~Fuminshou no Shoujo to Kaaten Goshi no Akumu~

I love the disjointed chords that open Nightmare alot.  It also gets better with guitars added in to boost it up as well.  I just love how normal the song is.  It’s like “Ferris Wheel” (sans the long titles), but I felt more interested listening to this song a bit more.  I still don’t think it’s one of their best songs, but it’ll do.

8. Nemurenu Mori no Hanayome

I’m disliking that Jack has been covered up by the music for most of the album.  Like I said on the single this song was on, “Murderland”…This also doesn’t have anything that ties in with Halloween and that might be nice and stuff, but the song sound really messy and just felt like too many ideas colliding with each to pass as a song.  Another track to pass up from them.

9. Murder Toy in the Closet

Wow, it’s strange that when we get far from the Halloween music, we just get pulled back in and in this case pulled into Murder Toy in the Closet which began “The Bedroon” single.  Like the previous 3 opening songs from their respective singles, what we get is another song that just shows the wackyness of everything that’s going on in the song.  It’s a weird track and also short as well.

10. Exosist

The only track to actually have had a PV released, Exosist is bringing back the more edgy sound from the band and it sounds a whole lot better than “Ferris Wheel” and “Nemurenu Mori no Hanayome”.  It still isn’t to most consistent of songs and it still comes of as a bit more of an absent-melodic tune, Exosist is the first track that I’ve heard Peggy so that’s a plus.  Still, once again meh…

11. A Clockwork World

That’s the exact problem that lays dormant in this song as well.  It seems to have a more clear melody, but it’s still a bit watered down to the point where it doesn’t even matter.  Jack didn’t exact make thing better either because he’s singing way slowly, to the point of slurring his words.  Yeah, you can really tell that “The Bedroom” is now my least favorite single from em.

12. Nejimaki Denki Isu

It was released with a live performance of theirs but to me this is a new track and oddly enough it mixes the creepiness of their Halloween songs and their dark rock tracks.  However, it isn’t as good as them because once again, a lack of melody does destroy the mood, but there’s times that there’s somewhat of a melody, but it quickly disappears…Weird track.

Tracks Recommended

• Devilish Kidnapper
• Merry Go Round
• TRICK or TREAT

Song of Avoidance

• Ferris Wheel -Cinderella no Kimi to, Kanzen ni Kowareta Shimatta Ouji-Sama no Boku-

I was saddened to see that the album altogether was a best-of album with one track not released within the singles.  Even worse, the tracklist was chronologically listed so it was like listening to the singles in order AGAIN!  It just doesn’t work for me.  However I did like that everytime the album was hitting a sour note, a song or two gets you back into it so that’s good, still not a strong debut IMO. 

The Candy Spooky Theater – The Bedroom October 26, 2009

Track Listing

1. Murder Toy in the Closet
2. Exosist
3. A Clockwork World

1. Murder Toy in the Closet

How creepy can these guys get?  It’s like some deranged idea of a song with it’s opening and with Jack Spooky singing the way he is makes me wonder the thought process when making a song like this.  The arrangement is just as weird as “Devilish Kidnapper” was but there’s a little more completeness here which made me happy, but damn Jack Spooky is a different kind of vocalist and it’s so random.  Still under 3 minutes is pretty meh but w/e it’s catchy.

2. Exosist

Though I was happy that the next song was about 5 minutes in length.  It’s also their first PV they’ve had so it stands out on the single because of this.  That being said, it’s also a bit more serious and edgy for the group since there’s angry guitar riffs and darker Halloween themes going on.  Jack Spooky’s singing seems a little bit distant from the arrangement and I’m not the biggest fan of it.  I don’t know the song sounds a bit of a miss to me.  Is it me or does Peggy have some lyrics in here too?  I have no idea…

3. A Clockwork World

The last B-side, A Clockwork World is rather more different than before.  I love the drum rolls going on in the background and Jack Spooky’s vocal sounds like he’s singing from afar giving this looming echo.  Like “Exosist” the song is darker for them and though I’m not liking the lack of direction of the song, it’s daring and I give props to that.

 

 

Ending off their debut era, The Bedroom is definitely a risk worth taking since “Murderland” was a pretty meh single.  I do like how Murder Toy in the Closet was more of the kookyness that comes with the band, and A Clockwork World was creepy as well.  I do think that Exosist was pretty messy so let’s hope the album helps me out.

The Candy Spooky Theater – Murderland January 8, 2009

Track Listing

1. TRICK or TREAT
2. Nightmare ~Fuminshou no Shoujo to Kaaten Goshi no Akumu~
3. Nemurenu Mori no Hanayome

1. TRICK or TREAT

Hmm, I guess we needed another freaky Halloween track right?  Well, TRICK or TREAT has the most darkest sound of the A-sides and it’s so demented.  Jack sounds so freaky singing along and just hearing his offlandish singing really made the song even more apparant.  You could say this is “Devilish Kidnapper”s twin.

2. Nightmare ~Fuminshou no Shoujo to Kaaten Goshi no Akumu~

That’s a pretty cool piano opening before turning into a harder rock track.  I think this is their most consistent song yet as it sounds really good and like something Asian Kung-Fu Generation would someday do, but with the Halloween touch.  Jack sounds like he’s being tortured singing throughout and it’s so much more enjoyable.

3. Nemurenu Mori no Hanayome

I think the band was initially thinking of a more calmer track.  At some points it worked, but when the music is covering Jack’s otherwise vocals, it just doesn’t really work.  The crashing piano chords with the fast drums and slow guitar moments really are strange, but oddly enough like the last single, there’s no Halloween theme going on in the track.

 

 

3rd Single was more or less the last single all over again.  I mean the main track was a pretty much a carbon copy of “Devilish Kidnapper” and the other two tracks are just the rest of the “Wonderland” single.  It might be a bland single but all 3 tracks are on their album

The Candy Spooky Theater – Wonderland October 31, 2008

Track Listing

1. Merry Go Round
2. Spook House
3. Ferris Wheel -Cinderella no Kimi to, Kanzen ni Kowareta Shimatta Ouji-Sama no Boku-

1. Merry Go Round

Definitly continuing using the haunting sounds, Merry Go Round sounds a little bit like a dance tune for some reason.  I mean there’s still guitar and some funky Halloween things going on.  We finally hear something in English as well because they say ~Sing a song, sha-la-la-la-laaa~  Yeah maybe a little too simple but the song has got some cool factors.

2. Spook House

Showing a harder sound.  This is definitly full fledged rock right here.  We finally get to hear Spooky Jack sing fully and it reminds me of a Japanese version of Marilyn Manson.  Which is probably a good thing because his voice sounds to try to be hardcore and yet keeps its cool.  Definitly a cool rock track.

3. Ferris Wheel -Cinderella no Kimi to, Kanzen ni Kowareta Shimatta Ouji-Sama no Boku-

The beginning is quite messy at first, but then it starts to get its momentum after a while and Spooky Jack sings in a more deeper tone this time and I found the song lacking the support it should have had.  Also, the song has an echoed quality to it which kind of annoys me.  Either way, I didn’t notice anything too Halloween-ish about it, which is a 1st.

 

 

Their 2nd single was fortunatly a lot better than their debut because they started to get comfortable with this Halloween setting they are all about.  The first two tracks were really good, but the last track kinda was plain to me for some odd reason.  Overall pretty good.

The Candy Spooky Theater – Pumpkins Scream in the Dead of Night Parade October 17, 2008

Track Listing

1. Parade (Opening)
2. Devilish Kidnapper
3. Strip
4. Parade (Ending)

1. Parade (Opening)

What can you expect from a Halloween Visual-Kei band.  I mean it’s got the needed sounds to make it sound insanely crazy.  Though it’s just a opening and no vocals, I think it started the single pretty well.

2. Devilish Kidnapper

There’s something frightful about the song that I really like.  Spooky Jack really fits the persona of something really dark and creepy.  Then it quiets before chiming in with these random sounds like a baby crying, screams, and the like.  I still enjoy Spooky Jack’s voice because it reminds me of Gackts voice in a twisted way.  The music was so bouncy, but I think it’s heard at least once in everyone’s lives.

3. Strip

Continuing on, Strip starts on a more interesting note.  There’s a lot more swagger and am I hearing a little bit of Jazz being the songs influence?  I really did enjoy the song just as much as the previous.  After a while the song does start to lose interest which shocked me and then it ends like randomly mid-chorus.  Still I think it was an alright song.

4. Parade (Ending)

Does parades really sound like this?  Ending the single is another short swig and it’s bouncy still.  Though there’s less going on than in the Opening it ends pretty sourly on a high-pitched synth note, which killed it.  Not the best one.

 

 

The Candy Spooky Theater is a halloween-themed Visual-Kei band, so I just wanted to put that out first.  I think their debut really brought out the holiday in a cool and smooth way.  I think that their debut is pretty good nonetheless.  So I can’t wait to hear their next stuff.