Noble

I have been quite overwhelmed with the first two reviews, for they're too lengthy and too much technical for a metal newbie like me. Having said all technical matters there is to this album, I'd be reviewing it in another light.

Versailles always composes songs within a context. If you watch their first music video, "The Revenant Choir", the very long intro is actually where all of their albums, even up to now, is based on their own vampire legend. One must always remember that context when singing their songs. I think most metal bands have their own contexts in their music. This album is regarded as their best album ever recorded yet by most Versailles fans, and I think it really is for many reasons.

For one, Noble is very versatile with their compositions. You've got a variety of headbanging songs (Zombie, To the Chaos Inside), easy listening (After Cloudia, Episode), and their trademark neoclassical/symphonic compositions (Aristocrat's Symphony). This variety was mainly brought about by the merge of their own musical backgrounds. The vocalist, Kamijo, has a specialty in ballads while the two guitarists, Hizaki and Teru, works more on metal music. The drummer, Yuki, played modern rock songs before, while the bassist in this album, Jasmine You, played alternative rock in his first band and some neoclassical rhythm. If you listen to the band in this context, you'll also come to understand their other album's musicality.

The drumming of Yuki picks up more from Dream Theater, especially in the songs "History of the Other Side" and "Aristocrat's Symphony". Even with the melodic segments of the song, the drums play that delicate balance especially that the guitars are only playing one or two chords repeatedly at the said segment. The drums in Noble are noteworthy, but one of my...well, disappointments is that it has never been given any spotlight in any song, save for "Suzerain" and "To the Chaos Inside".

The guitars of Teru and Hizaki met what they were supposed to be: the dueling guitar riffs. To understand more their guitars, remember that Hizaki and Teru plays the guitar differently. Hizaki composed "Aristocrats Symphony", so it's more Hizaki-sounding. Listen to "Second Fear - Another Descendant", and you'll be hearing Teru's guitar more. In their early days with the Noble album, Teru is fond of sweep-picking, and there is where you can discern the two guitars apart. In listening to Noble, one should also try to discern their guitar riffs because it's what sets Versailles apart from other Japanese Visual Kei/ Metal bands.

I have this bias on Jasmine You's bass. The bass lines were very audible, not to mention that it's not overpowered by the drums or the guitars. Also, the bass lines shape the song. Listen to the bass lines in Noble, and you'll see that it gives the song a definite shape. I hate to use adjectives, but it leaves an "elegant", almost "regal" feeling to every song. Bass lines in alternative rock are very lively, and Jasmine You have seemed to carry it in a neoclassical/symphonic band in Versailles.

The vocals I think most people would struggle when listening to Noble and Versailles in general. Kamijo's vocals aren't the perfect vocals for a metal band, but when you hear him sing, you can never image any other vocalist doing his songs. I first knew of Gackt's songs, so I was not that shocked in hearing Kamijo's vocals. However, I think that his voice does not only serve as the vocals, but he makes his voice as another instrument besides the drums, guitars and bass. In as much as no other guitarist can recreate the bass lines of Jasmine You as it is unique for every song, no other singer can exactly sing how Kamijo sings.

A minus factor I had was that it was not powerful as I'd expect from a metal band. Noble is a metal album, but it does brag enough power to be labeled so. However, it's that clean, elegant, and smooth sound that, again, separates Versailles from the lot of Japanese bands. It's not only later that they'll gain more of that thud and power from their songs. Also, I also think that their new take on the "Revenant Choir" is cheaper than their first recording. I like the faster bass solo in the new recording though.

Overall, I'd give it an 80 surrounding these reasons. I viewed it mostly on its context and artistry because Versailles works around the "extremities of aestheticism" (setting aside the fact that the two previous reviews were full of that musicality review you may be looking for). I think of Noble as a metal album full of potential as it is very flavorful. I hope this was a useful review to you!

Because I was so impressed with Versailles' song, "The Revenant Choir," I grabbed their debut album off Amazon and have had it in my hands for about a week now. Let's just say I'm pretty enamored with it.

If you're looking for power metal in the vein of USPM, you should probably pass Noble all together, though it does have a fair bit of thrash influence. That's not say it doesn't have any power, but it's deeply rooted in European power metal sound, something that metal fans either seem to love or hate. Despite that, it definitely isn't cheesy in any way; those looking for an album full of songs to bash heads to should avoid the majority of it. There are some exceptions, however, like "To the Chaos Inside" and "Zombie," which are pretty darn headbangable, making you want to punch someone in the face. Actually, many of the songs are perfectly easy to rock out to, while at the same time being headbangable, just not overly so.

That being said, my first and foremost favorite part of the album are the guitar riffs and leads that embrace neoclassical influence and don't let go. Imagine sitting in an opera or symphony hall, only to see a symphonic/neoclassical metal band burst onto the scene, blowing your face off. Yeah, that. The riffs are played with the up most precision and care, meshing extremely well with the layered synth parts, giving the songs a massive feel (see "Aristocrat's Symphony"). Often they're memorable, not to mention heavy, and have a sense of technicality without being over-the-top. If that doesn't make any sense to you, use technical death metal bands like Necrophagist as a reference. Bands in that vein are technical, but they often have very little substance to their music (I'm not specifically pointing at Necrophagist here. They seemed like a good example to use.). I find Versailles to be the complete opposite (albeit less technical), as they should be because they're a completely different subgenre of metal all together. Contrasting that, the guitar solos are ultimately on a different level. They manage to be lightning fast without loosing their sense of melody, which can prove to be quite a feat as some players are nothing more than soulless shredders.

Now, I'm not a drummer, but I have a good understanding of what's going on behind the kit and mechanics used to play it. The drumming on this album is nothing short of impressive, being precise, yet speedy and due to the fact that the patterns are frequently switched up in an effort to avoid getting stale. There are fills all over the place, crashing cymbals and the like that really just make me want to pick up drums and learn to play. This type of frantic playing only benefits the massive sound and doesn't get in the way of any other instrument. If the production was different, placing an overemphasis on the drums as many modern metal productions do, then maybe it would have irked me, but that isn't the case here. The drums are clear, having a pretty balanced sound. The bass playing is also very good, frequently deviating from the guitar, while at the same time being audible. I find that to be refreshing because the bass is usually buried under a mass of distortion commonly called guitar riffs.

To be honest, I was initially turned off by the vocals. Well, it turns out I've grown accustomed to them and have few qualms. They're totally emotional and, while a bit odd for a metal band, suitable for classically-influenced stuff like this. Lyrically, there is some going back and forth between English and Japanese, with the majority being in Japanese, but that personally doesn't bother me as A) they're tough to understand just by listening and B) the music is great. An abundance of English lyrics would be akin to a cherry on top, totally unnecessary for enjoyment, but an enhancement to the experience nonetheless.

Variety is this album's specialty. While every song has neoclassical or symphonic influence to some degree (a little or a lot), it's fitted to different arrangements like a custom-tailored suit. "Nah, that's a little too much here. Oh wait, we need more here." Get my drift? There's the heavily symphonic and classically-influenced "Aristocrat's Symphony" and "Second Fear -Another Descendant-." Then there's total bashers like "To the Chaos Inside," "Zombie," and "Suzerain." On the opposite, there are some slower and lighter tracks like "Windress." I find that this keeps things feeling fresh, likely to keep listeners interested for the duration of the album.

Let's admit it, this album is pretty awesome, but it isn't without its problems. For me, the obvious downfall was the rerecording of "The Revenant Choir." Quite frankly, it's inferior to the version Versailles released in 2007 in both sound and power, and when put side by side, it just sounds weak. Nevertheless, it looks like I'll be inserting the version from 2007 in place of this album version. In addition to that, I found the song writing to be a bit quirky at first. For example, the main intro riff at 11 seconds in "Antique in the Future" should have been used more throughout the song. It only returns once, which is a shame because it's so good. The band favors a lighter, clean section in the middle of the song instead. Not what I wanted to hear, but the song writing eventually clicked with me or I simply got used to it.

To close, this album is sure to stay in my frequent listening pile for quite some time. It's got all the makings of something great and I'm rabidly looking forward to the Versailles' other material. Noble should be on your short list if you're looking for something different or something layered with all sorts of moving parts. Oh yeah, and even though all the members of the band dress like women, they're all guys. Figured I'd point that out.

(Originally written for http://metaladvisor.blogspot.com/ on May 22, 2011)

Ah, Versailles. The Japanese band that are more known in the visual kei scene than they are in the metal scene, which is somewhat funny seeing as they are tied to the metal scene on a musical level, while other visual kei bands usually play variants of modern rock. Now, the band seems to be an oddball in more than just one way: a lot of people either don't know who they are, and even if they do, they just seem to assume that they are a bunch of crossdressers (which in fact is true) who play shitty and gimmicky modern rock. Yes, the band seems to be somewhat stuck between two scenes, seeing as many visual kei fans deem them too fast for their liking, or that their fans don't have an idea as to why they are actually worth listening to, the band being good for having "cool visuals". Alright, maybe that's a bit too harsh, but I don't really encounter lots of people into power metal (in general) who're into Versailles. (Mind, this is a generalisation only). Anyways, the few metalheads I know whom tried Versailles, on the other hand, seem to deem them as too generic flower power metal with modern rock influences and thematics and vocals that turn them off.

I can't actually blame them. I must admit that I found this band very overbearing, generic and messy (as far as songwriting goes) when I first stumbled upon the band. However, I am really glad that I gave their debut, Noble, a chance to grow on me, seeing as it is just kind of clicks, the more you listen to it. (Had I reviewed this after, say, 2 spins, the score would have been in high 50s or the low 60s). To make my point clear, using an analogy of sorts would be good. And for that purpose, an analogy of sorts is necessary: a puzzle. Yes, at first the music of Versailles seemed to be really messy, starting from the drums that are loud on the mix yet ultimately lack power to the VERY nasal vocals that seemed to be hard to get over, not to mention actually enjoying. Well, I'll be damned if I didn't start finding the pieces by the 5th spin or so, seeing as the vocals became passable and the production sounded fine when getting used of it. Actually, that was when I realized that despite the weak-ish drum sound, the actual playing is really good. And just like that, after finding the pieces, the pieces started falling into their places, so to say. In other words, each additional spin gave me more delight as moments of brilliance became more evident on a constant basis.

And now, having listened to the album in its entirety a few dozen of times, I feel confident in saying that this album is a fine piece of music, but it still has its flaws. But first things first: why is this album as good as it is?

Firstly, the album is versatile in terms of songs: there are some very headbangable, straightforward power metal numbers (eg. "To the Chaos Inside" & "Second Fear - Another Descendant"), some more standard yet very good melodic/symphonic power metallers in which orchestral instruments such as organs are more prominently featured (eg. "Aristocrat's Symphony" & "After Cloudia"), an oddball groovy hard rock-esque songs ("Zombie"), a song which's intro-riff surprisingly screams of sweet traditional metal ("Antique in the Future") a romantic mostly mid-paced slab ("Windress"), a piano ballad ("Episode") and a 9 minute epic that goes through various moods. ("History of the Other Side").

Secondly, and most importantly: the songs themselves are quite multi-layered, even though they are pretty easy to follow for the most part. The songs usually revolve around a mainriff that gets repeated a lot (but not too much), while there're polyphonic parts in how the guitars take turns in leading by harmonizing a riff, playing in different time-signature etc. - it's sort of a thing that you realize after getting used to the simpler hooks, which adds to the enjoyment. Not really contrapunctal, but the guitar interplay - when it happens - is pleasing to the ear. That said, there could be more leadwork, seeing as how the high-speed chugging riffs are played stand-alone can remind the listener of modern rock, but played twice as fast, even though that said, when there're leads - they're usually very good. Also worth noting is that even though the drumming is mostly very straightforward - there's still surprisingly much variety in the beats, fills and such. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Versailles are good at sort of creating suspenseful songs that are dramatic enough with the little twists, while still retaining that simplistic power metallic drive (some riffs being on the modern rock side of things), being both subtle and profound at times.

Another pleasant thing is that the songs don't always follow the standard intro-verse-chorus-repeat and add a solo and repeat chorus twice -type of structure, not to mention having very underwhelming "orchestral arrangments", which would actually be expected of power metal like this, which mostly seems to cater to teenage girls. While the songs always still consist of the aforementioned parts - structurally they are not as linear. For example, the oddball funky rock song of the album, Zombie, ends on a mellow note instead of repeating the start/stop mainriff (dangeours area, but it works) or the chorus. Instances like that make the listening experience more enjoyable, when you get into the album. This happens at times throughout the album, with different parts of the songs popping up somewhat unexpectedly. It's nice and sort of theatric I guess - this time the theatre revolving around the songs and not vice versa - which is why there's no "symphonic metal dilemma" in here in that the orchestral work would simply back up the poorer metallic compositions. Instead, the keyboards, organs and strings only enhance the songs when they need that extra "breath of air", not taking away from the riffage and songcraft. Well done in that regard, Versailles.

Thirdly, when it comes to the greatness of the album: the album flows very well and the playing is relatively technical throughout, without relying on instrumental showboating of any sorts. Obviously, the musicians here are talented, and to me it sounds like they could do even better - as like said - this album still has some of those simple, groovier modern rock riffs in the mix. It's not technical in the sense that you'd prefix a metal genre (such as technical death metal), but more in the sense that the songs are well crafted and there isn't really one instrument that would overshadow the others - while there's still definitely "show-time" for each instrument, bass included. I guess what I'm saying is that - again - Versailles manage to be quite simplistic on the surface, whilst the more you listen to them, you'll realize that there are some damn good transitions within the songs, technical drum fills, polyphonic guitar interplay etc., while the songs never start to sound like one instrument would take away the balanced feel.

Now that I've spent paragraphs and paragraphs describing the actual instrumental sound, it's time to speak of the vocals. Yes, the vocals were my biggest obstacle when trying to get into this album. Kamijo, the vocalist, has a very non-metallic voice, which sounds very romantic and nasal. His tone is good and he has a nice mid-ranged voice, yet is capable of hitting higher notes. The problem, however, for me was his pronunciation and how melodramatic he tries to be. He has that kind of soft, soothing yet deep voice, and pronunciates all the vowels rather prolongedly. If you've heard of GACKT, then you get the idea - although this guy is way more nasal on here and I'm not trying to make it sound as if they sounded the same. That, and the fact that he sings (mostly) in Japanese, which is pretty much devoid of very strong consonant-driven words. In other words, his singing could not sound less ballsy. Then again, that should not be very surprising, seeing as he is nearly as masculine-looking as a woman in a dress, kind of like his bandmate, Hizaki. Joking aside, his voice took moderately lot of time for me to get used to (and this is coming from a Machinae Supremacy fan), and would probably have taken at least twice as long if I didn't know Japanese and like bands singing in Japanese. But once you get pass that point, the voice slowly grows on you. Hell, I am beginning to enjoy his vocals now, and couldn't really imagine anyone else doing the vocals for Versailles if not for him. It has to be said that even when his vocals grow good with time, his Engrish is absolutely horrendous in their only completely-in-english track (well, there's one sentence in Japanese), The Revenant Choir. I seriously doubted my own listening comprehension when all of a sudden I couldn't understand a word from the assumed Japanese. But then, I checked the lyrics up...oh, it's in English. Do yourself a favor and check out any other song of theirs, if you are going to check a random song off them.

How about the production values of Noble, then? I initially complained about the drum sound, but I will have to admit that the production is actually very good sounding throughout, for most parts. The guitars have enough bite to them and they are well audible yet not overpowering, though they could still sound a bit more vicious, given this album doesn't necessarily revolve around uber-melodic riffs. The leads and solos sound fantastic throughout, though. The vocals, on the other hand, are moderately low in the mix, meaning that you can clearly hear the other instruments at all times, while the vocals are still pretty much in the front. The drums are moderately front in the mix as well, which is not a problem for me, seeing as they sound very organic - it's just a shame that they lack a bit power and force. This problem becomes less of an issue with repeated listens. The thing I am most pleased with, however, is the bass. That's right, the bass: it's very audible at times and thickening the sound a lot when not audible as a separate instrument. I was admittedly a bit shocked when I realized that I could hear the bass-plucking throughout any song with my mediocre headphones while taking a jog. The basslines, in general, are pretty cool, often following beneath the riffage, while still often doing something cool of their own. "Zombie" being an example of that, with its funny funky grooves (the song in general is tongue-in-the-cheek and fun), not to forget the beautiful chorus of Windress where the guitars take a backseat in dueling while the bassline pumps the chorus on. Some credit should be given to the orchestral/piano arrangments as well, as they sound very alive and fresh. I couldn't find any information when it comes to the person who composed them, or whether the orchestral instruments are actually MIDIs or performed by an actual orchestra. I do think that they are composed with synthensitators, based on the album booklet, though. Needless to say, in either case, I'm impressed.

As much as I'd like to give this album a score reaching the 80s; I unfortunately must give the album some critique. Firstly, I would snatch a few points from the horrendous Engrish that's present at times. I mean c'mon, if you are going to sing in English, make some effort in sounding decent. I don't mind the cute type of occasional Engrish, but it is borderline offensive here. Luckily there's only one song completely in English. Also, I must take a few points from the atrocious breakdown of "Windress", which is a romantic mid-paced song in essence, where things are fucked up a bit after the first chorus, when the (luckily short, about 10 seconds) breakdown kicks in. Seriously, I can even hear a turntable effect for two seconds or so, beneath the mediocre groove riffage. WHAT in the fucking world were they thinking, ruining the mood of a beautiful song like that? Luckily, the song picks up after that. Other than that, the biggest problem is that while there're the trademark power metal riffs, the album also has lots of fast chugged riffs - and don't think of oldschool Swe-death metal or anything like that - which sometimes sound closer to groovy modern rock (I wouldn't really say nu-metal, though). That in itself is not the problem I guess, but the fact that some songs have these kind of riffs repeated for WAY too long without harmonization or leads is. The songs don't really plod, but I can't say I'm too fond of SUZERAIN's pre-chorus chuggalooga riffage, for example.

From the more Euro-Power-like songs, with fast verses and catchy choruses, such as The Revenant Choir, to the more masculine metallic and headbangable numbers to the mid-paced slabs and the absolutely beautiful piano-ballad; Versailles manage to create songs that are dripping of romanticism, elegance, drama, giving the listener a grand feeling, despite the occasionally somewhat silly lyrics and over the top thematics. There's enough genuine ambitiousness and instrumental virtuosity in the package, even when Versailles are not necessarily inventing anything new here with their romantic blend of neoclassical symphonic power metal. But still, it's all enjoyable, fresh-sounding and more dramatic than ever. Just give the album a chance to grow on you for a while, I assure you that you won't love it on the first, second or third spin - and not necessarily later on either, although I personally got to appreciate Versailles. There's still room for Versailles to improve a lot, and the releases post-debut (a few singles) have been even more promising indeed.

Having given this album a quite high score, I'd still be somewhat cautious in recommending Noble for anyone, though people who are into dramatic Euro-Power in the vein of acts such as Dark Moor and Stratovarius should like this more or less, depending on the individual. At least provided that they also appreciate some rockish music and music with pop-sensibilities, as despite this being a full-on metal release, you can hear some of the hard rock/pop/"art rock" roots of some of the members. If you're already into Japanese metal in general (mainly concerning the vocal approach of Japanese power/heavy metal bands) such as Galneryus and X Japan - enjoying Noble shouldn't be problematic. There's some true gems in here, such as Aristocrat's Symphony, After Cloudia and Episode - while most of the other songs are good as well, with a few missteps here and there. Solid to say the least.

Writer's note: review slightly edited on June 16th of 2011.