Track Listing
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CRISIS
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IN MY WORLD
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self conversation
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Feeling This
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Reason
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California Ninja
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ZERO SATISFACTION
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Dance on the floor
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Song for… -overcame version-
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Complication -still struggle version-
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tobira
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Screaming against the xxxxxxx
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Over the RAINBOW
1. CRISIS
I guess the band wanted to kick things off with a bang with CRISIS. I love the power of the song for sure. SHiNNOSUKE is slowly starting to sound like the lead from SPYAIR but that’s alright because this song is just all-around badass and the guitar riffs are amazingly done here! It’s a definitely awesome tune and funny enough it could’ve worked as a finisher too…CRISIS is SHWEEEET!
2. IN MY WORLD
4th A-side, IN MY WORLD comes up next and I still think this is where my enjoyment of the band started. Not as epic and hard-hitting as “CRISIS”, IN MY WORLD has more of a controlled style for it. I feel as if this song is probably my second favorite of the A-sides released and that’s a good step up!
3. self conversation
Back to a couple of new tracks, self conversation kind of feels like it fuses the previous two tracks into this one and I kind of like what came out of that. SHiNNOSUKE is singing a bit more deeper than the previous tracks which is a nice change. The chorus though kind of feels a bit strange but it’s a broad sound that I get from it and it brought some originality to the band here.
4. Feeling This
Now this is a feisty track we got here. Feeling This has a rather speedy intro (and loud too) but cools down during the verses. I think this song is good right up to the chorus where I think it sounds like the previous tracks in a not good way. Add in some SHiNNOSUKE rapping and we got this song and overall it was pretty nice.
5. Reason
Finally things cool down when we get into Reason and I’m so happy for that! I like the slower side of the band (even though I didn’t like “Song for…”). This kind of lets the band show of more of their colors which is pretty awesome. At some point you can hear SHiNNOSUKE break in the chorus but it’s nothing too overly painful.
6. California Ninja
Out of this album, I felt like California Ninja was the unique song but it’s not really because it’s still in the realm of the group’s sound. I did feel as if SHiNNOSUKE’s lazy vocals in this song fit but he probably should’ve exploded in the chorus to give it more punch IMO. It’s not my favorite song on the album to be honest.
7. ZERO SATISFACTION
The last single to be released for their album, ZERO SATISFACTION’s intro reminded me of “IN MY WORLD” but with a little more going on! I have to say that this was my favorite A-side of the 5 because it was different but not, powerful though! I’m just loving every second of the song and just blew the last couple of songs away!
8. Dance on the floor
It seems we get into another hard-hitting song, Dance on the floor has more of a light-hearted rock style which is AOK with me but it sounds like a SPYAIR song to me. Though the song is quite spastic and one of the moments I remember most is ~Let’s get fuckin’ high!~. That made me laugh quite a bit. Of course this is another song that includes a rap from SHiNNOSUKE so that’s pretty cool. It’s a pretty cool song, but I feel the drumming was more than too much for the song to be honest.
9, Song for… -overcame version-
As the 3rd single (and the first I reviewed from the band) I was just not impressed with Song for… being their slow A-side. The new version released on the album cleans things up a bit. Replacing the original intro’s electric intro with an acoustic guitar. Add in some background changes and SHiNNOSUKE resinging the song and you basically have the new Song for… I guess the changes that were made did make the song sound better overall, but it’s still not a favorite of mine.
10. Complication -still struggle version-
So I guess we get to see Complication for the third time (the track was also on their Durarara!! mini-album. (BTW, notice the lack of “eggamate of the year”). As this is the group’s debut song, I wasn’t surprised that this too had gotten a new version on the album. Like what they did with “Song for…”, Complication basically got a new makeover, things becoming a little more edgier and rocking than the original which is nice because while I did enjoy Complication originally, it did feel as if it was missing something and this fixed it up! Still not as good as “IN MY WORLD” or “ZERO SATISFACTION” but this follows it up quite nicely.
11. tobira
The final stretch of songs are brand new starting with tobira and I find the same excitement here as I did with “CRISIS” since it’s hard and yet sounds like the group was hitting the right places here. It’s like “ZERO SATISFACTION” actually and that also seemed to impress me a lot. Another winner here! lol
12. Screaming against the xxxxxxx
The longest track on the album comes next and Screaming against the xxxxxxx is a little strange actually since it’s not a slow track but it’s not a hard song either so it kind of falls into the middle. I like the song but it was weird that the bridge into the chorus was a rapping section from SHiNNOSUKE…it’s just a bit strange to me. It’s not bad though and is one of the better songs just not one of the best.
13. Over the RAINBOW
I was wondering how the final song would sound and it’s actually not a cheesy closing song! Over the RAINBOW is pretty much rockin’ throughout which brings the album full circle into this pretty good package. I don’t find it too memorable for some strange reason but with all the songs that came before it…I’m kind of burned out lol.
Tracks Recommended
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CRISIS
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ZERO SATISFACTION
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tobira
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Reason
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IN MY WORLD
Song of Avoidance
I wasn’t expecting it, but I thought ROOKiEZ’ debut album actually is a pretty solid and good release. From Dusk Till Dawn is all rock the entire time with a couple of slower rock tracks but still overall a very straightforward release. A couple songs are meh and the lack of “eggmate of the year” surprises me (though that song probably would have not fit the style). Still this isn’t bad at all!
Kurayami Monogatari 