The first time one hears new Aldious vocalist R!N, the immediate reaction is, “Wow, what a great voice.” But when one heard previous vocalists Rami or Re:NO for the first time, the reaction was, “Yikes! That is a such a unique voice.” Those reactions are very different from each other. Nevertheless, it is difficult to imagine a better singer to fill the shoes of both Re:NO, the iconic vocalist who left the band at the end of 2018, and the equally iconic Rami, who led the band in its first incarnation. R!N, though different from Rami and Re:NO, is the almost perfect singer to take their place in Aldious.

After the surprise departure of the almighty Re:NO, Aldious wasted no time in announcing that they would continue with a new vocalist. Indeed, Aldious embarked on a grueling 2019 tour of close to 100 concerts, with vocal duties split haphazardly between former CYNTIA vocalist Saki and the lesser-known R!N. who had recorded vocals for Hiroyuki Sawano under the name “Gemie.” Ultimately R!N became the permanent vocalist, while the gifted Saki pursued her own solo career.

「1」

In order to introduce fans to R!N, Aldious released Evoke 2010-2020, a greatest hits album on which R!N re-recorded the vocals of twelve Aldious classics (13 on the UK edition), plus one new song. The band did not use the opportunity to fully re-record the songs with new arrangements, instrumentation and solos.

Instead, they reused the original instrumental tracks (see chart below), including the drum parts recorded by Aruto, who was with the band from the early years through their ascent to stardom. The only significant difference in the versions on Evoke 2010-2020 from the originals is a four second multi-tracked acapella “Yozakura” introduction to “夜桜.”

「2」

Five of the songs on Evoke 2010-2020 are from the brief Rami era. This seems disproportionate, if for no other reason that the time period when Re:NO led the band was much longer. In addition, the songs during the Re:NO era covered a much broader mix of genres. This was primarily because of Re:NO’s influence on the material. To be fair, Re:NO wrote some headbangers, such as “Megalomaniac” from Dazed and Delight and “Re:FIRE” from Radiant A. Yet Evoke 2010-2020 includes only one song for which Re:NO wrote or co-wrote the music – “Utopia,” the hell-raising opening song of Unlimited Diffusion. Evoke 2010-2020 includes none of Re:NO’s  gorgeous ballads, none of her audience-pleasing power pop songs, and none of her mesmerizing mid-tempo jams.

But that’s okay. Evoke 2010-2020 may be a reset for the band. It is possible that Aldious intends to return to its hard-charging metal roots under Rami. If this is the case, it makes sense that the band chose to re-release more of the metal songs written by Toki and Yoshi during the Rami era.

「3」

The more important question is how does R!N acquit herself on this brave endeavor? The answer is, not just surprisingly well, but absolutely great. The timbre of R!N’s voice lies, amazingly, somewhat between the ethereal Re:NO and the razor sharp Rami. R!N’s voice leans slightly more towards Rami’s voice, which may also explain the choice of songs. Yet, it is remarkable how easily R!N negotiates the not-so-subtle differences between the songs of Rami and Re:NO.

Not surprisingly, R!N has more success on the songs originally recorded by Rami. R!N may not be able to quite capture the piercing angularity of Rami’s vocals on “Spirit Black,” but she gets very close. On the original version of “Eversince,” Rami is able to transition effortlessly from deep in her chest during the first verse to a shattering crescendo during the chorus. R!N manages the crescendo reasonably well even though she doesn’t quite have the powerful chest voice of Rami. As a result, the overall effect is much more compressed than the striking sonic reach of Rami’s version.

「4」

Similarly, on the Re:NO covers, there are subtle, but important differences in approach. On “Ground Angel,” R!N cannot replicate the strangely languid vocal mannerisms that Re:NO brings to the beginning of the first verse. Impressively, Re:NO effortlessly recreates this very unusual sound on the two live versions of “Ground Angel,” released on DVD. R!N’s version is much more direct and tighter in its range. Her version does not have the insouciance of Re:NO’s version on the initial verse. Nor does it have the fire that Re:NO brings to the chorus.

R!N makes a valiant effort on the raucous “Utopia,” one of Re:NO’s classic performances, but she comes nowhere close to the level of excitement that Re:NO brings. This is especially true during the chorus, when Re:NO seems to be, mirabile dictu, dancing a tango on the rim of a volcano and sipping on a margarita at the beach at the exact same moment in time. During the pseudo-bridge (a slower, almost unaccompanied version of the chorus), Re:NO adopts an ethereal tone that very few hard rock vocalists would be able to master.

R!N does better with some of the other Re:NO songs. Her most successful remake is “Dominator.” R!N clips the notes short in an almost staccato delivery. This is very different from Re:NO’s version on Dazed and Delight. R!N truly makes the song her own. Yet in “Absolute,” her smooth delivery is almost indistinguishable from Re:NO’s original version. Both approaches work, demonstrating R!N’s versatility.

「5」

Re:NO sang surprisingly few of Rami’s songs in concert, based on the many live DVDs that were released during her tenure. Nevertheless, “Ultimate Melodious,” the song that gave the band its name, has been a staple of live performances. Re:NO’s renditions from 2013, 2014 and 2017 are curiously bland compared to Rami’s original. R!N, on the other hand, outshines both Rami and Re:NO on her version of “Ultimate Melodious.” She brings more passion and power to every aspect of the song.

The UK edition of Evoke 2010-2020 has a bonus English language version of “We Are” in which R!N, whose mother is from the Philippines, demonstrates her total fluency in English. She brings a nice growl to a few notes during the chorus. One wonders if Aldious would have even more success in overseas markets if it recorded its songs in English, as Lovebites notably does.

「6」

The outlier on the album is the new song, “I Wish For You,” a ballad written by R!N. It sounds absolutely nothing like an Aldious song. It is a perfectly adequate, if somewhat over-dramatic, pop ballad, but it has nowhere near the melodic beauty of Rami’s “Across,” from Deep Exceed, or Re:NO’s  “菊花”from District Zero. Nevertheless, it is nice to see that R!N is not simply a singer, but also a songwriter. Whether she can reach the creative heights of Re:NO, who demonstrated a mastery of melody and a variety of musical styles, is yet to be seen.

Regardless of whether R!N is taking on Re:NO’s “Dearly” or Rami’s “Bind,” the long-time fan will have little complaint about her takes on the songs. The listener never thinks, “this does not sound right.” R!N may not have as unique a voice as her predecessors, but she never causes the listener to question what they are hearing. R!N  is a major league vocal talent. Period.

「7」

The bigger challenge for R!N will be in live performance. It is hard to imagine a more charismatic frontwoman than Re:NO. Ignore Re:NO’s tattoos, the waist-length platinum hair and the flowing gowns. Re:NO is blessed with a big-league personality – a really big, gigantic, personality. Based on her social media – including live sessions from her apartment in which she addresses fans and plays and sings solo acoustic versions of Aldious classics – she is both approachable and eccentric.

On stage, Re:NO had the self-confidence of a true superstar. She held the audience in the palms of her hands. As wildly talented as Yoshi, Toki, Sawa and Marina are as musicians, one’s eye was constantly drawn to Re:NO. She would be a very hard act for any singer to follow. In that respect, Saki of CYNTIA may have been a safer choice to replace Re:NO, since she had already been the charismatic frontwoman of a very popular band.

Watch the performance of “夜桜”from “Radiant A Live at O-East” (available on YouTube) for an example of how thoroughly Re:NO could dominate a stage. Compare that performance to R!N’s version of the song at NAMM in Los Angeles earlier in 2020. Sure, the fact that the truly spectacular guitarist Narumi was substituting for Toki on the NAMM stage was pretty distracting, but there is a very big difference in how Re:NO and R!N command the stage.

「8」

Perhaps that’s not fair to R!N, who, after all, is new to the band. It would be asking a lot of any singer to be as bad-ass as Re:NO or Rami, who, based on the “Rami the Requiem” releases from earlier this year, has lost nothing of her vocal or performing mojo. From a purely vocal standpoint, Aldious could not have found anyone more suited to the disparate vocal styles of Rami and Re:NO than R!N. So what if R!N’s voice is not as memorable as that of Rami or Re:NO? R!N is a major vocal talent.

Aldious announced a second volume of Evoke which will be released at the end of September. What can one do but sigh? Regardless of the songs chosen for R!N to re-interpret, this represents at best a holding pattern – and at worst a money grab – while the band tries to figure out its future.  It has been almost two years since Aldious have released new music – the EP ALL BROSE. And two years is an eternity in the world of Japanese Metal/Rock.

Yes, Re:NO wrote the music of many of Aldious’ most compelling – that is, unusual – songs, as well as all of the lyrics, during the band’s creative height. But the creative genius of Yoshi and Toki cannot be overlooked. As composers, they have always been heavy metal riff monsters. They undoubtedly will continue to write great songs. Fans will also hope that R!N brings her own unique vision to the band in the same way that Re:NO did. Aldious is one of the most exciting and successful bands to come out of Japan in the last decade. They have a great new vocalist in R!N/Gemie. The best may be yet to come.

NOTA BENE: This article was written without knowledge of the set lists that Aldious performed with either R!N or Saki during the 2019 tour. Readers who have knowledge of those set lists and how they may differ from each other or from the points of view expressed in this article are encouraged to comment.

 

	Song	Time	Time	Album	Original	Year	Music	Lyrics
		Original	R!N		Singer
1	Spirit Black	4:31	4:34	Determination	Rami	2011	Yoshi,  小林信一 久武頼正	Rami
2	夜桜	4:40	4:44	District Zero	Re:NO	2013	Toki	Re:NO
3	Ground Angel	4:36	4:37	District Zero	Re:NO	2013	Yoshi	Rami
4	胡蝶ノ夢	4:26	4:27	Radiant A	Re:NO	2015	Toki
5	Eversince	3:53	3:52	Deep Exceed	Rami	2010	Rami	Rami
6	Ultimate Melodious	4:52	4:54	Deep Exceed	Rami	2010	Yoshi	Rami
7	Utopia	4:40	4:41	Unlimited Diffusion	Re:NO	2017	Re:NO, ShinYMG	Re:NO
8	Dominator	4:32	4:32	Dazed And Delight	Re:NO	2014	Yoshi	Re:NO
9	Absolute	4:19	4:17	We Are	Re:NO	2017	Toki	Re:NO
10	Bind	4:40	4:41	Deep Exceed	Rami	2010	Yoshi	Rami
11	Dearly	4:19	4:16	Radiant A	Re:NO	2015	Yoshi	Re:NO
12	Deep	4:18	4:20	Deep Exceed	Rami	2010	Yoshi	Rami
13	We Are	4:13	4:14	We Are	Re:NO	2017	Yoshi	Re:NO
14	I Wish For You	6:05			R!N	2020	R!N	R!N