Search - D'Espairsray :: Mirror

Although words seem useless...

Holly | Los Angeles, CA, United States | 03/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The poet William Winfield Wright once wrote, "I've nothing intelligent to say about the moon," implying that all words used to describe such an iconic image would be useless in the face of its power. And that, give or take a degree of poetry, is just how I feel about D'espairsRay's MIRROR. It seems that everything I could verbalize would be either a rehash of previous comments - it's all killer and no filler; Hizumi's voice is a godsend; they meet somewhere in the middle of metal and goth-pop glory - or a series of moans and groans akin to those you might hear in an Herbal Essences commercial. For MIRROR brings out something primal that easily eclipses coherence.



As a microstudy of the entire record, I shall attempt to describe the transcendent track `Angeldust'. Here is a song that interrupts initial electronic sounds to feature Helmet-heavy guitar hammering, just before it dissolves into the sinuating growls of something intensely felt as epic. Who needs words? Non-native Japanese speakers need not worry. The transition from metal frenzy to falsetto chorus is a salad of sound more explicit than any swear word. It's the kind of song you always wish a band would write - a pocket of perfect musical essence.



Each song brings its own sense of emotional directness - the psychic power of the title track, the sexual roughness of `Sixty-nine', the haunting resignation of `Squall'.



I'm sure there are musical collectives more technically talented than D'espairsRay. I'm also sure that such talent could never achieve the level of sheer musical pleasure that this record so readily gives.



My final thoughts? Buy this album, because it will make you FEEL. And that, often, is more important than any fleeting meaning sought by language."

"Mirror" is highly recommended

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) | California | 08/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"D'espairs Ray has become a fan favorite for J-rockers with live performances in Japan, North America and Europe and continuing to attract listeners to their music.



And thanks to Adrenaline Music Group (which distributes JSHOCK DD LLC music), D'espairsRay fans will now be able to get access to the music.



"Their music engages and pushes the cultural envelope and we are thrilled to bring their music to the U.S. market," Bob Divney, General Manager of Adrenaline Music Group said.



D'espairsRay made their US debut with the release of their album "MIRROR" and their DVD "Spiral staircase #15 Final" (both released simultaneously on March 18, 2008).



But the history of D'espairsRay goes back to the year 1999 when the group first formed. The band consisting of HIZUMI (vocals), Karyu (guitar), ZERO (bass guitar) and TSUKASA (drums) have released a total of two albums, three EP's and ten CD singles.



Although a lot of our writers are big fans of D'espairsRay, I haven't listened to a lot of the band's previous works and I must say that I was very pleased with this overall album.



I actually enjoyed every track on this album and it's been on repeat on my CD player for many hours. "Mirror" really features a good blend of heavy hitting tracks with bulging chord progressions and serene guitar lines by Karyu, mind numbing bass playing by ZERO and awesome dynamic percussions by TSUKASA.



It's one thing to say that I like the music for tracks such as "Closer to ideal", "TRICKSTeR" and "Angeldust" but in truth, each track has something that I found enjoyable. The music is really well done on this album.



I also found HIZUMI's vocals to be charismatic and agile and songs such as "SIXty NINe", "Lost Scene", "Hollow" and "Squall" showcase his infectious vocals.



Vocals and music work well in unison and again, all tracks are just well done, highly enjoyable and very rare to find an album where I didn't find a single track that sucked.



The CD-insert/booklet features photos of each member of the group and production credits.



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Unlike many the people on the J!-ENT staff who have seen D'espairsRay perform live and love their music, many of them asked me to review this album because of my unfamiliarity with them and I would have no bias towards their music or the overall genre.



So, basing my judgment on "Mirror" alone, I commend Adrenaline Music Group for choosing to release "Mirror" and also bringing D'espairsRay to the US for distribution.



It's very rare for me to pick up an album and keep on listening to it for over a dozen times (especially with so many albums and CD singles that we have on our plate for review), but I can truly say that "Mirror" is one of those albums that I found habit form with each listen, refreshingly irresistible and overall, a well-produced album.



So, I guess you can say that my eyes are now wide open for D'espairsRay's music and I join my fellow staff in acknowledging and respecting the awesome music from D'espairsRay.



"Mirror" is highly recommended!"