Album Review: RED by The Gazette

RED

Track Listing:

1. RED
2. VERMIN
3. AN UNBEARABLE ACT

Rating: 8.5/10

I will start off by saying that I was much more impressed with RED as a Gazette single than I was with SHIVER. RED disproves the saying that Gazette has become merely a ‘B-side band’, and shows that they can in fact move forward, no matter what.

RED has a light to it, a spark that SHIVER lacked (if not for Naraku, I would have given it a 3/10). With RED being the first song off the album, I had become slightly worried in view of the fact that the opening described this particular song as a “love song” by vocalist, Ruki. The emotion is deeply felt through the vocals, and the color of the track is brought out through the music.

Despite the language barrier, the meaning is still extremely comprehensible through the melody and vocals. An unrivaled relationship fueled by trust and lies, at which point, I realized exactly what the band was trying to convey by saying this was a “love song”. Not that it was a mushy declaration for a loved one, but it was…quite possibly…a love song about an obsessed lover, or hitting more close to home, the love a fan shows for a band. With phrases such as “Hold me though I know it’s a lie” and “Because I can not undo my faith for you”, a tail of unrequited love is obviously depicted. Oddly romantic, oddly desired, and yet highly melancholic, the lyrics speak to the soul profoundly.

The melody of the song is also quite catchy, on first listen it seems to be a mix of new and old style. A creative use of instruments and recording equipment allow for the end of the song to easily fuse into the following track, VERMIN. VERMIN was already popular in the minds of many fans even before its release as rumors of this song sprang up, promoting that it sounded like earlier tracks the group had released, so I just had to check it out for myself.

It sounded very similar to older songs that had been released, and was not the step forward I was looking for. This track, I feel, is meant to appease the fans who want them to sound the same on every album, or to return to

what they were when NIL was released. Which is fine in all aspects of music, however, I believe in order to progress as a band, it would be helpful if they would take that meaningful step forward and show us what they are made of.

Which leads us to the last track on the single, AN UNBEARABLE ACT. Many people know that ever since DIM was released, I have been looking forward to Gazette taking a step forward from that. Although SHIVER did not reach my expectations with that for the fact that I felt as they had stayed in the same place, this track however, pulled it all together for me.

I believe Gazette have now bridged the gap between old and new and are now succeeding in coming into a new era.

RED was the bridge, while VERMIN was the starting point, where they were before, and now, AN UNBEARABLE ACT is where they are going, a stepping stone, if you will. The track begins with a beautiful piano melody, which is also escorted in by drums. With the piano being heard through the entire track, it creates a bit of the haunting quality DIM had as an album.

The vocals are simply polished to a ‘T’, and honestly, the only thing I could ask for more on this track would be a slight breakdown that was heard within HESITATING MEANS DEATH. However, they made up for the lack thereof with excellent bass solos that I haven’t heard in a very long time from this band. As well as the sweeping guitar riffs, glazing each track so elegantly, fitting so perfectly into the scheme of the single.

Gazette is a band that is learning to conquer obstacles within a single, discovering new things not only about themselves as musicians, but about music in general. The purpose of being an artist, a musical artist especially is to discover new things, to take that step forward, and live moment to moment. RED as a single exemplifies this in the most perfect way possible. The only thing I wish for is that it was a whole album.

The Gazette have redeemed themselves in my eyes, and have proven to me, that they are truly amazing musicians who hopefully we will be hearing for many years to come.

Written by guest writer Kala