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The power metal band BRIDEAR has long lived on the knife-edge between harsh metal brutality and sublime pop beauty. On the new album Bloody Bride, singer KIMI, bassist HARU, drummer NATSUMI and guitarists MISAKI and AYUMI find new ways to navigate these very different worlds. BRIDEAR never repeat themselves; each release explores new territory. Bloody Bride is yet another new stage in the fascinating evolution of one of the world’s most interesting rock bands.

Bloody Bride is very different from the previous album, Expose Your Emotions, both in overall tone and sequencing. Expose Your Emotions had a varied mix of songs that included the one and only acoustic ballad of BRIDEAR’s oeuvre. Many of its songs were exercises in angst and agitation. But it finished with three absolutely killer rockers, “Sick,” Crybaby,” and “Again.”

「1」

Bloody Bride is hard-driving almost from start to finish. There is a slight decrease in beats-per-minute towards the end of the album. But even the closing Starlight, which has one of the most beautiful melodies of any BRIDEAR song, is notable for the intense opening theme and the anxious guitar chords of MISAKI and AYUMI that support the lyrics.

Bloody Bride never moves too far from its fundamental base of dissonance. Like previous BRIDEAR releases, Bloody Bride uses harmonic tension and release to alleviate the dissonance and to create a complex and multi-textured work that reveals new splendors with each listening.

「2」

Bloody Bride also continues BRIDEAR’s evolution away from melodic rock anthems such as “Rebirth” and “Wing of Hope” towards more elliptical, or difficult, songs that require closer attention. The thematic melodies, or “heads,” to use jazz vocabulary, that begin many of the songs rarely remain in the same place. Rather, they evolve and take on new shapes. Verses, choruses, bridges, instrumental breaks and solos often go in unexpected directions. The songs rarely contain a single element on which to center yourself.

The ferocious riffs that drive the songs “Bloody Bride” and “Boy” call to mind Slipknot. BRIDEAR make greater use of pure dissonance than Slipknot, as in the two very different instrumental breaks that appear in the song “Bloody Bride.” The first dissonant break, which is repeated later, is merely chaotic. The second dissonant break sounds completely venomous, as it overlays AYUMI and MISAKI playing the notes of the devil’s tritone over the disturbing sounds of a child’s laughter. But, unlike Slipknot, BRIDEAR does not require three percussionists to create a sense of unabating forward momentum. NATSUMI does quite well on her own.

「3」

“Deep Blue” begins the album with ninety seconds of electronica. It makes you wonder whether or not BRIDEAR have adopted a new sound based on synthesizers. That is not at all the case. Synthesizers make a few prominent appearances, as in the beginning of “Bloody Bride,” but electronics generally play a tasteful supporting role in the songs that follow.

“Daybreak,” previously released as a music video, follows “Deep Blue” and sets the tone for the album with its relentless rhythms. The choral “Whoa-oh-ohs” that open the song are an outlier in a collection of songs that rely on savagely unsparing riffs to establish a disquieting mood. Like other songs In the BRIDAR catalog, “Daybreak” effectively uses the technique of using different tonal centers in the verses and chorus to put the listener into an apprehensive state that demands resolution.

「4」

BRIDEAR also uses rhythmic tension, such as changing rhythms, half time sections, percussive hard stops, and syncopation, to create an undercurrent of anxiety that requires resolution in the listener’s mind. The song “Dimensions” is a master class in the use of both harmonic tension and rhythmic tension to guide the listener through a kaleidoscope of changing emotions.

The major key/minor key modulation between verses and chorus is a classic BRIDEAR strategy. But the song also uses the dynamics of HARU’s bass and the complex rhythms of NATSUMI’s drums to manage the uncertainty that is inherent in the song.

The major key chorus is an explosion of joy that induces goosebumps (This is the feeling of your skin raising during moments of strong emotion. Is there a similar concept in Japanese?). KIMI elevates the song by following a brief, slow-paced, synthesizer break with a rap section, which is unprecedented in BRIDEAR’s previous work. The rap section leads into an absolutely screaming guitar solo that becomes a dual guitar thematic flourish. You can only listen in wonder. In moments like these, listening to BRIDEAR is the aural equivalent of watching Roger Federer play tennis. BRIDEAR is greatness in action.

「5」

“Fake World” is the centerpiece and emotional highlight of the album. It begins with a compelling opening theme. HARU’s bass takes center stage during KIMI’s opening verse, with crunchy power chords providing accents. The pre-chorus has a jittery guitar figure that is a marked contrast from KIMI’s movement toward the major key. Then a sudden change to major key guitar chords explodes into the hypnotic chorus. The complexity is so profound that even this explosion into the chorus is interrupted by a brief instrumental flourish.

All instruments except chugging guitars drop out when KIMI begins singing the second verse. The multipart instrumental section that follows the second chorus is completely unexpected. The beginning of this section calls to mind the chugging rhythms of “djent” music as played by Periphery. That eventually leads into a gorgeous dual guitar section followed by a brief, but wild, guitar solo. The band returns to the jittery pre-chorus, then repeats the chorus twice. It all finishes in a cacophony of glorious noise that fades out. “Fake World” is an example of the great arranging skills that inform so many BRIDEAR songs.

「6」

Bloody Bride may contain fewer rock anthems of the type that BRIDEAR played earlier in their career. Nevertheless, there are plenty of moments of melodic beauty, even in the most scorching songs, such as the intoxicating call-and-response chorus of “Ashes.”

The production is absolutely superb. The mix emphasizes both HARU’s bass and NATSUMI’s drums so that both function as lead instruments on the same level as the guitars of MISAKI and AYUMI. HARU’s bass dominates certain vocal sections, as in “Fake World,” “Dream Eater,” and “A Glorious World.” She dips into funk during “Glitter.”

HARU is also presumably responsible for the harsh vocals of “Keshin” and “Boy.” And despite conjuring up visions of Slipknot, “Boy” also has a driving chorus, supported by exuberant power chords, that is reminiscent of a hair metal band from the 1980s. As always, BRIDEAR is full of surprises.

「7」

NATSUMI is a remarkably tasteful drummer. She never loses sight of the beat, but her fills, drum rolls, cymbal crashes, and half-time sections animate the songs. “Starlight,” the closest thing to a ballad on Bloody Bride, is an example of how she directs the listener’s focus through the different sections of the song.

MISAKI and AYUMI are virtuoso guitarists. They vary their backing tracks behind vocals with crunchy power chords and single note figures that add to the tension and, ultimately, help to resolve that tension. Their guitar solos tend to be short, but they are also wild and unpredictable. The twists and turns of their playing are an essential part of the intricate tapestry that BRIDEAR weaves in all of their songs.

「8」

KIMI continues to sing with the urgency of a woman who is absolutely possessed by some uncontainable compulsion. She often sounds as if she is pleading, absolutely begging, for something. She is one of the most compelling singers in music of any genre. The mix is clear enough for her English language skills to be evident on the songs that contain English lyrics, particularly on the somewhat despairing, but hopeful, “Starlight.” What could be more heart-rending than hearing KIMI sing, “wondering if you’re thinking about me too” as a questioning guitar figure seeds doubt in the minds of listeners?

On first listening, “Starlight” does not appear to fit with the overall mood of persistent, punishing songs. Yet, this optimistic and unabashedly romantic song, punctuated by the occasional uncertainty of AYUMI and MISAKI’s guitar riffs and the wailing guitar solo, is the perfect end for what is at all times a surprising, glorious and unpredictable album. And one of the most interesting things about “Starlight” is that it does not end with a happy resolution, but with a keyboard theme that never resolves. It leaves the conclusion of this love story in doubt.

「9」

Unpredictability may be the best word to describe what makes BRIDEAR such an overwhelmingly impressive band. The listener never knows what is going to come next. Instrumental sections often have no clear connection to what has come before, as in “Dream Eater.” An elegiac opening may lead into a complex but melodic opening theme, as in “A Glorious World.” Or an anthemic opening theme may lead into an elegy, as in “Starlight.” BRIDEAR manage the seemingly random alternation of hard-core metal riffs with awe-inspiring moments of beauty with remarkable deftness.

BRIDEAR is one of the most magnificent, original and interesting rock bands in the world. Bloody Bride is yet another spectacular addition to the BRIDEAR catalog. Bloody Bride joins a very short list of contenders for the album of the year. An artistic knife’s edge may be dangerous, but it can also be breathtaking.

 

NOTE TO CONSUMERS:

The international edition of Bloody Bride will be released on May 7. It will include “The Moment,” which was previously released on the Kengan Ashura anime soundtrack album, The Anthems. Bizarrely, based on the pre-order information on iTunes, “The Moment” appears to be inserted between “Ashes” and “Glitter” as a replacement of “Fake World,” which is not on the list of songs for the international edition. What could possibly be the reason to do this? As noted above, “Fake World” is the beating heart of Bloody Bride. Therefore, if you buy the international edition, make sure you find a way to get “Fake World” onto your device or player of choice.

ページトップの「日本語」をクリックすると、本記事の日本語版を閲覧できます。

For the Japanese version of this article, please click on “日本語 at the top of the page.