Aesthetic Rhapsody

Artist: High and Might Color
Reelase Date: September 14, 2005
Label: SMEJ
Personal Rating: 3/5

1. G∞VER
2. NOTICE
3. PRIDE
4. Naked
5. OVER
6. Days
7. SWEET ESCAPE
8. RUN☆RUN☆RUN
9. What for…
10. RAIN
11. With YOU
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I was surprised to see that only PRIDE, OVER, Days and RUN☆RUN☆RUN were the only previously released songs that made it on the album. PRIDE was probably the only that had the highest rating, though.

G∞VER, and What for… were the only strongest of the new album tracks. G∞VER is a major album opener which was probably one of the best songs from High and Mighty Color I’ve heard in a while. What for… had everything up to awesome mode. Just great.

Naked, and SWEET ESCAPE were noted as the worst songs. Naked was the total opposite of G∞VER (really boring!) wince there wasn’t anything to look forward to in the song. SWEET ESCAPE was such a train wreck. D:

NOTICE, RAIN and With YOU were slower songs but still doesn’t light a candle to the album title track. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of High and Mighty Color’s ballads but I thought that With YOU saved my ears from agony since Yuusuke didn’t even sing in this song.

Looks like HandMC’s awesomeness didn’t kick in yet….

Personal Rating: 3/5

Artist: High and Mighty Color
Release Date: August 17, 2005
Label: SMEJ
Personal Rating: 3.5/5

1. Days
2. Seek
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Man, this band released a ton of material in 2005. (3 singles?)

Well, at least Days starts the single off much better then the past release. Looks like they’ve kept their pop/rock style but Maki’s vocals finally gave the song it’s natural color. Now Yuusuke…. It’s not as impressive but it’s still worth a listen.

In Seek, Yuusuke isn’t that much of a probelm anymore. The song literally blares, flames and screams at you since the instrumentals were overwhelming. Another good song since Yuusuke improves his vocals.

Personal Rating: 3.5/5

Artist: High and Mighty Color
Release Date: June 22, 2005
Label: SMEJ
Personal Rating: 2.5/5

1. RUN☆RUN☆RUN
2. Hopelessness
3. RUN☆RUN☆RUN (Instrumental)
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On a Personal Note: I think I’m going to work on completing the High and Mighty Color reviews before I continue on with the “Upcoming” reviews list. (Since I’m so behind on most of the featured artists!)

RUN☆RUN☆RUN? Don’t make me laugh. High and Mighty Color totally loses it colors as their genre changes from hardcore rock to pop. Not only Yuusuke does a lousy job with their singing, Maki too. The lyrics are pretty bleh too.

Hopelessness beats RUN☆RUN☆RUN but the quality sounds average. There’s no build-up whatsoever and there’s nothing but screaming…again.

I have to admit that some of HandMJ’s older singles were really mediocre after “Pride” was released.

Personal Rating: 2.5/5

Artist: High and Mighty Color
Release Date: April 20, 2005
Label: SMEJ
Personal Rating: 3/5

1. OVER
2. change
3. Insomnia
4. OVER (instrumental)
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No offense but the guy singer really pulls the song down. (Mainly because he’s kind of screaming randomly.) Anyways, OVER turns off the candles as the mood of the song takes on a darker turn in atmospere. An impressive A-side compared to Pride but the screaming needs to take a chill pill. It’s just J-rock, not hardcore metal.

No hardcore in this song either? change isn’t what the title states. They didn’t do anything new to change their usual style and arrangement. (It’s still rock.) Now for this song, I actually like the dude singing. (Sorry, his name is Yuusuke)

One step lower then the first B-side. Insomnia comes back to Yuusuke singing annoyingly again. The cool thing is that the song varies in pace. It’s like Maki is the hour hand (slow) and Yuusuke is the minute hand (fast). Unique or not, Yuusuke still needs to cool his jets.

Personal Rating: 3/5

Artist: High and Mighty Color
Release Date: November 9, 2005
Label: SMEJ
Personal Rating: 3/5

1. STYLE ~get glory in this hand~
2. energy
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I like the cover! The red design behind Maaki really makes the single more fancy then it really seems…

Despite the nicely designed cover, STYLE ~get glory in this hand~ doesn’t sound as strong as her debut single used to be. Every element of the song, from instrumentals to vocals really fall out of place as neither of them can really get into synch. Even the lyrics sound a bit corny. (If you translate it into English, that is.)

energy isn’t as energetic as the song title states it to be. The would be more better off then the A-side since Yuusuke has his share of lines and the instrumentals take a more quiet turn compared to their usual rock style.

Personal Rating: 3/5

Artist: High and Mighty Color
Release Date: October 25, 2006
Label: SMEJ
Personal Rating: 4/5

1. Enrai ~Tooku ni Aru Akari~
2. Kaerimichi no Orenji
3. Enrai ~Tooku ni Aru Akari~ (Less Vocal Track)
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I haven’t reviewed High and Mighty Color in like, forever! Anyways, here’s the single when both tracks were used for promotional tracks for animes and video games. (The A-side for the Gundam Seed Destiny Special edition ending and the B-side as the promotional track for the Bleach Wii game.)

To be honest, I wasn’t a total fan of Pride but Enrai ~Tooku ni Aru Akari~ just makes me love their music even more! The transition from a slow tempo to extremely fast pacing. It’s very awesome how the metal-elements just attacks the music and dominates the whole song. Although the song ended sloppily, I still thought that the rest of the song was hardcore.

The moment I read the title of Kaerimichi no Orenji Bleach was the first name that came into my head. (By the fact that Orenji meant orange.) The irony is that it was actually used for the promoting the Bleach game! Anyways, the B-side sounded much cleaner and gave off more of a rock feel. It’s not as hardcore but the song ended nicely. (In a way that it would make the song, you know, “make sense.”)

Personal Rating: 4/5