Yousei Teikoku – filament February 6, 2012

Track Listing

1. filament
2. Zetsubou plantation
3. filament (Instrumental)
4. Zetsubou plantation (Instrumental)

1. filament

The intro to filament was rather cute haha.  I was surprised that it’s rather slower when compared to previous A-sides and reminds me of their stuff back in the “Gothic Lolita Doctrine” era since that era has quite a bit of mid-tempo goth-rock songs.  I don’t think it’s as great like “Kuusou Mesorogi” and “Mischeavous of Alice” but I think it represents nicely as the slow song in the era.

2. Zetsubou plantation

I’m surprised to see that Zetsubou plantation speeds the hell out from “filament” and kinds ranks up there amongst their other speedy tunes.  I will say it does kind of come of messy with everything going on but Yui sounds really good in this song which makes up for it in a way.  I think I liked this more than the leading track to be honest!

 

 

Yousei’s third single IMO ranks a little higher than “Kuusou Mesorogi” but doesn’t pass “Mischeavous of Alice” for me.  The good thing is is that the duo make the A-side a little more softer while making the B-side all hard and edgy.  I guess I would’ve rather had it reversed but it’s not a bad single overall ^_^

Yousei Teikoku – Kuusou Mythology October 26, 2011

Track Listing

1. Kuusou Mythology
2. The Creator
3. Kuusou Mythology (instrumental)
4. The Creator (instrumental)

1. Kuusou Mythology

Hmmm, nice to know that the A-side begins with chanting before Takaha bum-rushes in with a blast of guitars and strings of course.  I kind of enjoyed this song quite a bit since Yui’s vocals pop out from the song a lot more than the goth-rock arrangement which was pretty awesome as well.  Solid A-side for sure and definitely holds up after “Mischievous of Alice”.

2. The Creator

It’s a little strange that B-side does kind of mirrors “Kuusou Mythology” with the chanting intro and then a rush of guitars and drums.  The thing that got me was that the verses are a little more random and unique and Yui’s vocals take up a cuter sound.  It’s different for a B-side of Yousei Teikoku, but this kind of feels like something from their early stuff rather than their current direction.

Yousei Teikoku have continuously shown to not let down their fans of their music and seriously this long string of amazing A-sides continue.  Kuusou Mythology is just dark, vampiric, and just overall rockin’.  I love Yui’s vocals nowadays more than ever.  However, the setback was from The Creator with it’s oddly-written verses and higher pitched vocals from Yui.  I’d say this is going to be an interesting era.

Yousei Teikoku – Mischievous of Alice August 1, 2011

Track Listing

1. Mischievous of Alice
2. emergence
3. Mischievous of Alice (instrumental)
4. emergence (instrumental)

1. Mischievous of Alice

I must say that Yousei Teikoku has steadily been on a roll but I can’t deny that it’s a bad thing because I feel like each A-side they release is always good and catchy to listen to and Mischievous of Alice sounds pretty mainstream when compared to their previous tracks but I love it because Yui sings a whole lot stronger than I remembered.  I love the whispery parts too, they are pretty epic if you ask me!

2. emergence

I love the fact that emergence is more of a ballad this time around, but wasn’t expecting it to be rather cute from the duo.  The light and upbeat piano melody with the haunting background synths are interesting for sure.  I find the cutesy atmosphere as a bit of an odd choice for a B-side considering the last couple were edgier songs.  It’s different, I’ll admit and Yui’s vocals are smooth and mesmerizing. 

 

 

Beginning a new era, Mischievous of Alice is actually another strong single from the group even though it’s different from the previous few.  I will say Mischievous of Alice is more easier for people to enjoy I think and while that could be bad, but I actually liked it a lot.  emergence took me more by surprise because it was a quiet, yet cute song from them and was a nice change after all the edgy songs we got from the “gothic lolita agitator” era.

Yousei Teikoku – gothic lolita agitator December 28, 2010

Track Listing

1. Asgard
2. still alive
3. one
4. Baptize
5. keep existing
6. Gekkou no Chigiri
7. call my name
8. Sacrifice
9. Gekkakou
10. rebellion anthem
11. Viscum album
12. gothic lolita agitator

1. Asgard

I found it pretty awesome that the album actually has a bit more of songs that weren’t released in the duo’s official list of releases, bounded by OSTs and such.  Asgard is definitely an interesting start to an album since the beginning sounded so happy and against the rule of Yousei Teikoku XD.  Once Yui comes in the song becomes like a lot of what this era has been like (which is Goth Rock and such).  It fits in on the album quite easily and made a pretty good opening as well.

2. still alive

Being the B-side from “rebellion anthem”, still alive is continues to bring a lot of “Schwarzer Sarg” into it’s sound and I kind of enjoy that since it’s dark, has a chorale to make things even more uncomfortable, and a pretty strong beat to push it forward like a slightly danceable goth-rock tune.  I love the part where she keeps repeating ~I’m still alive~ in the middle of the track.  I was surprised it was a B-side but happy it made the tracklist.

3. one

As the era’s first single released (could be argued that “Gekkou no Chigiri” was, but it was released before “Gothic Lolita Doctrine” was released).  one makes a much better representation since it’s after such a synthy song like “still alive” and with the more dramatic strings in the song, it’s pretty fierce.  I still think it has a bit much of similarity to “Schwarzer Sarg”, but this was pretty good and showed off both Yui’s vocals and Takaha’s arranging skills.

4. Baptize

As the A-side released after “one”, Baptize was the more energetic of A-sides released and the really tightknit sound that it conveyed was a bit weird to listen to through the verses, but the chorus made it a bit more tolerable and after awhile it became catchy and the chorale was pretty good too.  It’s prolly a bit sameish after all the singles released, but whatever.

5. keep existing

Coming from the same game “Asgard” was used for, keep existing kind of keeps up with the whole animesque-like atmosphere, but also hits hard like the previous songs as well which is a bit of a bad thing since the sound hasn’t fully changed much.  I mean strings, heavy guitars, and loud drums…I mean it’s not a bad pair but it needs to change lol.

6. Gekkou no Chigiri

Finally a change of sound that comes with Gekkou no Chigiri.  While it is the era’s oddball A-side (being released in the “Gothic Lolita Doctrine” era and stuff).  Anyways back to what I was saying, after 5 songs of hard-hitting arrangements and fastly sung lyrics from Yui, Gekkou no Chigiri is more along the lines of a ballad and a rather interesting one that’s based around piano and strings and some small beats.  Yui’s more flowing vocals really hit the spot and was a great surprise after the previous tracks.

7. call my name

Sadly it was just a small break before reentering the edgier songs again starting with the B-side from “Baptize”.  At the time of its release, call my name was pretty good but since “still alive” took whatever made this song feasible and just kicked its ass out the way, making this seem bit more of a letdown.  I mean it’s more mid-tempo, but still doesn’t do much for the album.

8. Sacrifice

As the other B-side to “Gekkou no Chigiri” (“Simulacra” was on “Gothic Lolita Doctrine”), Sacrifice was the surprise from that single because it was purely hard-hitting and just all over badass when compared to the ballads from it.  On the album, it’s still considered one the strongest songs and it shares its likeness with “still alive” with the crazy amount of synths used here as well.  The interesting thing about the song for me was how Yui was actually not trying to go all out in vocals.  For that, I was pretty happy with what we got and I’m happy it made the album cut.

9. Gekkakou

Slightly cooling off after “Sacrifice”, the B-side from “one” makes an appearance and while I love the chorale that opens up the song and the more anime-like flow to it, Gekkakou kind of feels underwhelming and shares that feeling with “Asgard” and “Baptize”.  The thing that surprised me though was the use of auto-tune for a little bit of the tune.  Otherwise, another tune that’s sort of forgettable in the long run.

10. rebellion anthem

Rounding out the old songs with the 3rd A-side released in the era, rebellion anthem joins in with the crazy rock arrangements from Takaha and while it’s just as dark and epic as “Sacrifice”, there’s something that still kind of takes me a while to enjoy, but I still think it’s one of their darkest songs and it’s pretty awesome to listen to this song.  Might not be up there on the favorites, but I can respect this song quite a bit.

11. Viscum album

It’s great that Yousei Teikoku gave us two original songs for the album.  The first, Viscum album kind of feels strange on this album since it’s there’s rockish sound, but taken to more of a ballad-like state (but not anywhere near as “Gekkou no Chigiri”.  I kind of like they tried this kind of song since it’s been a while since they’ve gone this direction.  I will say it kind of feels out of place on the album though.

12. gothic lolita agitator

Entering the second of the new songs and title track, I wasn’t expecting the best out of this one since the last title track was just really repetitive and annoying after a while.  gothic lolita agitator did surprise me though with it’s 9 minute length.  I mean a minute and a half has a chorale doing some chanting before the song becomes another hard-hitter on the album.  I was also very happy that it was done so much more better than the last title song.  It’s a song that’ll test your patience because of it’s real abnormal length, but it’s a pretty good song on its own.

Tracks Recommended

• Sacrifice
• still alive
• Gekkou no Chigiri
• one
• rebellion anthem

Song of Avoidance

• Viscum album

As it is Yousei Teikoku’s 3rd best-of album, I really do thing gothic lolita agitator is their strongest release yet out of the three.  The songs were pretty consistent in sound cept for a few ballads, but still it’s Takaha’s best arranging yet and Yui’s vocals are getting better and better so that’s always a good thing to hear.  The only thing I could complain is that some of their anime songs are a bit sameish to one another, but it’s a pretty strong release

Yousei Teikoku – rebellion anthem September 4, 2010

Track Listing

1. rebellion anthem
2. still alive
3. rebellion anthem (instrumental)
4. still alive (instrumental)

1. rebellion anthem

I was wondering what rebellion anthem was going to sound like because I did find myself curious because of the title.  What we got is another hardass song from Yousei.  I think for the first time, I heard Yui sound so damn creepy and yet good with the added backups to her vocals.  I do think Takaha’s really hit gold in the arrangement department because there’s strings flying across the song and the edgy guitars give it that gothic touch that thay’ve been able to pull.  Definitely one of the better songs they’ve had since going major.

2. still alive

Going towards a more electronic sound, but keeping the gothic style intact, still alive reminds me of a more synth-based “Schwarzer Sarg” because Yui is using a more whispery sound in her vocals that makes it more mysterious, but let’s the energy from Takaha’s arrangement.  I still think it made a formidable B-side and it’s better than previous songs too so it’s good in that respect too.

 

 

Wow, I keep getting impressed by Yousei Teikoku with each release since the “Irodori no Nai Sekai” mini-album.  If this is heading towards a full album with their previous singles, it’s shaping to be one amazing release.  rebellion anthem might be leveling off with “Baptize”, but why change something that was awesome already?  Though I’ll say that the B-side is the best thing released yet and I hope it makes it on their album. 

Yousei Teikoku – Baptize April 23, 2010

Track Listing

1. Baptize
2. call my name
3. Baptize (off vocal)
4. call my name (off vocal)

1. Baptize

While I really enjoyed “one”, Baptize goes back to what we really know from the group and I don’t mind it at all because the energy in this song is amazing and Yui sounds amazing as well since she has the same amount of power and her voice is pitchy, maybe a little hectic since the arrangement calls for it, but still pretty awesome.  Add in a chorale and some great string parts and you get Baptize.

2. call my name

Slowing things a little bit for the B-side, call my name is definitely trying to make things a bit more melodic and less chaotic and I thought they did this song right.  There’s also synths involved as well making it a bid more different than “Baptize”.  Made a great B-side as well!

 

 

Just like their last single, Baptize definitely is a step in the right direction for the duo.  I love their edgier rock stuff more than their meh anime releases and it seems since “Schwarzer Sarg”, they’ve been getting better produced and better songs out than before!  Another strong single!

Yousei Teikoku – one December 24, 2009

Track Listing

1. one
2. Gekkakou
3. one (instrumental)
4. Gekkakou (instrumental)

1. one

It’s finally time that we got back to the awesome stuff Yousei is capable of.  one is definitely a song that borrows epicness from previous songs like “Schwarzer Sarg” or even “Gekkou no Chigiri”.  I love the strings lines throughout because of the dropping of notes during the instrumental parts of the song.  Yui’s vocals are more or less what we’ve come to know and somewhat love.  Not bad from the group.

2. Gekkakou

Gekkakou is oddly enough a better song than “one”.  It might be because of the chorale being used here and the more edgier epic sound it has overall.  It feels like classic Yousei Teikoku music so it comes off as a little surprise that it turned out better than I thought it would. 

 

 

Ending off this year, Yousei Teikoku released one which goes back to the normality of what the band releases.  Though Gekkakou was better, this isn’t a bad single and I sense a third album will be out in two years XDDDD.  Still, good single overall.

Yousei Teikoku – Gothic Lolita Doctrine September 3, 2009

Track Listing

1. Gothic Lolita Doctrine
2. Valtica
3. Kikai Shoujo Gensou
4. Akai Tobira
5. Schwarzer Sarg
6. Hades: the bloody rage
7. Wisdom
8. Destrudo
9. Irodori no Nai Sekai
10. Shijun no Zankoku
11. Simulacra
12. Tamakui
13. Alte Burg
14. Weiβ Flügel

1. Gothic Lolita Doctrine

Yousei’s 2nd best-of album, Gothic Lolita Doctrine opens up with a march-like atmosphere as there’s some female singers singing along with the snares.  Though after the first part of the song passes over…Yui starts repeating this German phrase ~Das Fein Reich~ over and over and it bothers me a lot.  Other than that it’s meant to be more of a opening track rather than a full one like “GOTHIC LOLITA PROPAGANDA” was.

2. Valtica

Valtica from “Irodori no Nai Sekai” comes up first for the best-of and it’s an interesting choice because it does have the rock/trance feel that makes fighting games sound awesome.  Yui’s vocals are a bit squeakier here around, but this isn’t a bad track at all and I’ll say it that I’ve grown rather accustomed to it.

3. Kikai Shoujo Gensou

I thought it wouldn’t be possible to have a harder electro track, but coming from “Weiβ Flügel”, this song was surprising and made a great song actually.  The beats are constant and Yui’s vocals are kept in check, but sometimes the longer notes are quite flat…still this is more of a Mortal Kombat tune that “Valtica” was.

4. Akai Tobira

Very ew…I have no idea why they had to bring in Akai Tobira…Her voice is just way weak in this song, but with the songs very fast up-tempo nature, it does spark some kind of interest in me.  I just don’t like when she’s in her, whisper/singing mode because it’s horrible on her.  Yeah, I’m still not feeling this track at all.

5. Schwarzer Sarg

The first single after “GOTHIC LOLITA PROPAGANDA’s” release. Schwarzer Sarg was the first single for me that just screamed kickass from the duo.  The took out the synths and gave an edgier sound and while Yui’s vocals are a bit thin in places, it actually fit with the overall tone of the song.  It’s one of the best songs of the entire era.

6. Hades: the bloody rage

The single after “Schwarzer Sarg”, Hades: the bloody rage continues show this aggressive rock sound and while the harpischord is more prevalent here, it’s not too much different than the previous song.  It might be a little more hectic and a little fast for the arrangement, but I don’t think it’s as good as “Hades: the rise”.

7. Wisdom

“Schwarzer Sarg’s” B-side appears next and was a rather interesting choice to put on the album.  It might be more harder than the A-side but it doesn’t mean it’s anything to really get excited over.  The darker imaging does work for it, but the choir is just so damn annoying in this song and I think without them, this song would’ve been a better listen.

8. Destrudo

I’m so happy they included the best songs from the “Irodori no Nai Sekai” single.  Destrudo was one of my favorites from it.  It does rather get mundane that we get another rock-influenced track, especially majority of the tracks have been like that so far.  I think the most interesting thing about the song was the chorus…First time I’ve heard Yui actually sing really strong

9. Irodori no Nai Sekai

The leading track off that single, Irodori no Nai Sekai is quite nice in the fact that it’s not a rock tune and more of a ballad-type track.  Her vocals are quiet and soothing and with the strings playing in the background with piano, it’s a nice change for the album.  It does get borderline boring after awhile, but nice leeway from the hard tunes.

10. Shijun no Zankoku

The oddball of the singles, Shijun no Zankoku is just as slow, but it does eventually get itself together for the later half of the song and that’s good news.  The bad news is that, when that happens we’re already near the ending.  Wasted opportunity for sure…

11. Simulacra

The only track to make it from their last single, “Gekkou no Chigiri”, Simulacra is just carrying on the ballad side of the album…Like I said on its single, it reminds me too much of “Vermillion Tiara” and that’s not good.  On here though, it’s nice with its cosmic sound and flowing strings melody.  It has got charm, I’ll give it that.

12. Tamakui

While, persay it’s not a new track…it’s from some Anime tie-in or whatever but it wasn’t bolded because it wasn’t released in Yousei’s discography.  The song has somewhat of a familiar sound to “Schwarzer Sarg”, but that’s mainly in the verses.  Yui’s vocals are a bit different, and she sounds way too anxious, like she’s holding her bladder or something through the chorus.  It’s just too funny.

13. Alte Burg

I knew they were going to add this track, because this is 5 minutes of genius and crazy rock going on.  The edgier sound from the early part of the album is back and they finally have their strings back on the right rhythms and sounding great.  Yui also gave an awesome performance as well.  Pretty epic tune from them.

14. Weiβ Flügel

It wasn’t a surprise that the 4th single of the era would be considered the album’s ending.  It is a mix of their dramatic ballads and a guitar riff.  It’s still pretty average for me as it doesn’t really tread on anything new to surprise me, but the bridge was cool with the guitar riff and such. 

Tracks Recommended

• Alte Burg
• Schwarzer Sarg
• Destrudo
• Kikai Shoujo Gensou

Song of Avoidance

• Akai Tobira

Yousei’s 2nd best-of album is a whole lot better than “GOTHIC LOLITA PROPAGANDA”.  First off, the album is a whole different sound and their new love for rock definitely filled the holes their first one had.  I did dislike the addition of Shijun no Zankoku’s single even being on here and rather had “Gekkou no Chigiri” & stuff from “metanoia” somewhere on here.  Still, good album

Yousei Teikoku – Shijun no Zankoku July 23, 2009

Track Listing

1. Shijun no Zankoku
2. Akai Tobira
3. Shijun no Zankoku (instrumental)
4. Akai Tobira (instrumental)

1. Shijun no Zankoku

Ahhhh Shijun no Zankoku.  I don’t know how to really explain this track  It’s like a ballad, but it has an electric guitar that’s hidng in the background of the song.  It does seem to drag itself along without much of a climax to it, but later when the song goes upbeat and adds some dance beats, the song does get alot better.  I guess it takes a long while to get itself going, but by that time it’s near the ending of the song.  It even ends, a bit odd as well…but still so much better than “Valkyrja”

2. Akai Tobira

I guess that when Akai Tobira comes in.  Right from the start the song has a more upbeat sound, but in the process Yui’s vocals suffer because they are a bit weak against the songs aggressive nature.  I consider this to be just like “Valkyrja” with the same probems that panned both tracks. 

 

 

Oddly enough, Shijun no Zankoku did end the “GOTHIC LOLITA PROPAGANDA” era, but none of these tracks actually made the album which is a bit odd if you ask me.  Maybe they’ll be on “GOTHIC LOLITA DOCTRINE” maybe?  Although, Shijun no Zankoku is a late bloomer of a song, I can deal without Akai Tobira being on it.  Still….why release a single before your first best-of album?

Yousei Teikoku – Gekkou no Chigiri May 29, 2009

Track Listing

1. Gekkou no Chigiri
2. Simulacra
3. Sacrifice
4. Gekkou no Chigiri (Instrumental)

1. Gekkou no Chigiri

Being a tie-in again for the same anime Kurokami (Irodori no Nai Sekai was also tied in the series).  I actually was surprised that this wasn’t as cheesy as the last song they did.  This time around there’s a lot of strings playing around in the song giving it a more flowing style to what Yousei Teikoku hasn’t done in a while.  Yui sounds better than she did, but it’s still kind of higher pitched. 

2. Simulacra

I really like their crazy titles like “Alte Burg”, “Valkyrja”, and etc.  So seeing this title, I was wondering what I would find and wow this is a pretty good ballad because Yui is singing and I mean singing good here.  The music has a very eerie feel because there’s like deep synths and some distant bleeps that come in.  I have to say it does remind me of a better arranged “Vermillion Tiara”.  I’m liking this song a lot.

3. Sacrifice

I kind of knew there had to be a hard rock song from the duo and Sacrifice would be that song.  It actually sounds like something I’d hear in a Guilty Gear game because it’s relentless and full and crazyness that I love with Yousei Teikoku’s harder stuff.  It’s pretty cool to hear synths getting equal time as well, giving the song an even fuller sound.  What’s this Yui is under auto-tune as well?  WTF this is great!

 

 

HOLY SHIT.  Yousei Teikoku is definitly on a roll since the release of “Wahrheit”.  Gekkou no Chigiri is their best single so far in the duo’s career and having just reviewed the earliest work available, they’ve come a loooong way and is awesome.  Gekkou no Chigiri is the closest thing to a ballad I’ve heard from the in a while and even then, it’s sweet and charming almost.  Simulacra was the creepy ballad so it leveled the single good….that is until Sacrifice came in and rocked the single to awesomeness.  *RECOMMENDED*