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Rating: ...I wrote an incredibly long review about this album, and the page I was writing on accidentally detached, damn it was really long! So much work for nothing!!!!!!!!!!! But I won't give up, even if it kills me (after that feat, I'm exhausted) I will review this album!
So, do you know Black Mages? No? Let me introduce them to you, they're a Japanese metal-tamarro group led by the great Nobuo Uematsu, yes him, the author of the idyllic One Winged Angel (woe to you if you insult it, or worse if you don't know it). Let's get to the album, the first thing you need to know: the album in question is more tamarro, bagiano, tacky, or flashy than any power or epic album (I know it's hard to imagine but that's how it is) and the blame, it must be said, lies with those damn keyboards of Uematsu, which clash with everything, and unfortunately can be found in every track...
Second thing: there are no sung parts (and thank goodness, can you imagine metal in Japanese?), in fact, Uematsu makes music for the Final Fantasy video game series, of which he has always directed the soundtrack since its inception, and this album is nothing but a collection of 10 pieces taken from the battle music of the various games, "mixed" in a metal sauce (and what a metal it is).
Now that you know everything, let's move on to the actual album: the guitarist is a genius, playing these flashy tunes in a divine manner, with power, technique, and a lot of speed, making him one of the best guitarists I've ever heard (granted, I don't possess the musical knowledge that you all have here on DeBaser) but damn it, if you heard him play in pieces like "Clash On The Big Bridge", "Force Your Way" or "Those Who Fight Further" I believe you would agree with me... a monster... after listening to this album I said to myself: what the hell is this genius doing in such a crappy band? the kind of music they make is hard to define, it's flashy, but also very enjoyable and always well precise, without too many flaws (video game music) and it resembles a bit of rock, a bit of power metal and there are also tracks where they use a regular bass drum that could be defined as more flashy tamarr-techno (I'm talking about the track J-E-N-O-V-A which has interesting mixtures) but the truth is that this music resembles nothing, only itself (and thus its own bashfulness).
The peak of the technical skills present in the album is reached, in terms of guitar, in the track "Clash On The Big Bridge", ruined by the usual keyboard, but above all, ladies and gentlemen, I advise you to download this album to hear "Dancing Mad" (I don't think the album can be found in Italy) which is absolutely absurd. It is not a power piece, it is not a serious piece (also a bit bagiano) it is not too ridiculous a piece, it is not dance (but there's a bit of rhythm), it is absolutely not an uninspired piece, it is not dark (but it would like to be) it is not Bach nor Beethoven (but it comes close), it is not a jazz piece, and you're not even listening to the Pooh... "Dancing Mad" is everything and nothing, and it must be listened to absolutely because Uematsu will surprise you in that keyboard segment clearly influenced by classical music, which arrives halfway through the piece when you already think this will be just another bagiano track among the others present on the album, with no turning point, and you will begin to feel uncertain, you will begin to doubt if what you are hearing is an inflated piece, or perhaps a guy who has great, underutilized talent (or underrated), after which the piece will transform into a nearly jazz track, ending in a solo of incredible intensity, absurd, incredible, the highest test of our beloved Japanese guitarist, if at the beginning of the solo you feel like you are almost hearing "Parsifal" by the Pooh, but soon it diverges, pulling away with insane virtuosities, what was heard in the previous pieces was nothing more than a taste; this is the pinnacle of what this guitarist can do when associated with a mind like Nobuo Uematsu... excuse my (I'm a poor illiterate) dyslexia.
Now I will tell you once and for all what's wrong with this album... THAT DAMN MIDI-STYLE KEYBOARD THAT'S SHIT! Yes, because it almost sounds like listening to an album made of midis... apart from that it's an enjoyable album ("Dancing Mad," needless to say, is absolutely beautiful objectively speaking) make sure to download "One Winged Angel"... and now let the insults flow, woo-hoooo!!!!!!!!!! Wow, the stars!!
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