ミドリ - 清水 [2007]

First up is a fairly adorable and entertaining intro track. Track 2 comes in poised and strong. I like the fact that the piano isn't relegated to the right speaker like it was in the previous album. The production is louder and more forward with noticeable distortion during the more chaotic sections (especially noticeable with the drum toms). Track 3 shows off the newer production quality of the guitars... they are audible and fairly clean, if a tiny bit buried in the mix. Track 4 takes the noise element to a new level with a few massively distorted and lasting explosions followed closely by a very catchy chorus section. Track 5 is the same as track 5 on the first album but with a few slight differences and dirtier playing... and it isn't as compelling as the original. Track 6 is a nice, cute, and calmer changeup from the rest of the chaos. I'm happy about the production and the songwriting isn't bad, either. Even so, it's only marginally better than their previous material. I'm still left waiting for the album that will break through their established writing and take everything to the next level.

Rating: 7.75

http://midori072.com/

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ミドリ - セカンド♥ [2007]

Production quality has taken a bit of a hit for everything except the piano. The guitar is especially woefully produced with it often times being completely buried and inaudible. First track introduces the new style and sports much more mature songwriting, but it's not as energetic as the beginning of the first album. Second track is more energetic. Overall, this isn't the most compelling songwriting I've heard. There is certainly more good tracks on this one than the first album, and the jazz punk fusion works even better here. The repetition on this album isn't nearly as annoying as it was on the first one as well. And while the more biting punky sections are more evenly spread out on this album, there isn't enough to be satisfying. The production is really lacking and impenetrable at times (especially with the guitars).

Rating: 7.5

http://midori072.com/

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ミドリ - ファースト [2005]

YAAAAAAY!!! First track and I love it!!! Cool piano combined with punky guitars, thrashy beat, and the most out of place and kawaii vocals I've ever heard! The jazzy piano is here throughout most of the album. The appeal of the amelodic vocals is starting to wear thin by the third track. The longer piano interludes in "A.N.A" help, but the song is hurt by the repetition of the same phrase to the point that I get a bit angry. Track 5 brings back the spastic punk feel. Overall, I like the idea, but wish that they had used some more normal vocals to break things up a bit. Even so, I don't mind much because this album is so short that it doesn't wear me out. Props for something fresh and different.

Rating:7.5

http://midori072.com/

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Porcupine Tree - Futile [2003]

Skipping the edited version of "Strip the Soul", Orchidia is a much more Hard Rock inspired song with no vocals. It's a little repetitive, but certainly catchy. "Futile" continues with the heaviness, but with more of the progressive rock elements from days of old. I have to bare in mind that this is a PT EP, which usually doesn't fair well with me. I like that they use their EPs to experiment and play around with new directions, but they usually lose my interest because they are such a departure from the classic PT sound of progressive/psychedelic/experimental rock.

Rating: 6.5

http://www.porcupinetree.com/

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Porcupine Tree - In Absentia [2002]

First thing I notice in "Blackest Eyes" is that there is a much more forward and brazen element of heaviness. It's actually properly heavy at parts. The songwriting is pretty catchy all the way through. The heavy parts are quite exciting and have a lot of punch. I especially like the fact that they didn't rely on the newfound heaviness, instead keeping it to a minimum and usually balanced them out with very introspective sections. It's not as off-the-wall quirky as TSMS, but it has a similar feel of creativity. That said, this is quite a two-faced album... quiet and serene one moment, active and energetic the next. I quite like it. This is what "Lightbulb Sun" should have been.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.porcupinetree.com/

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Incubus - A Crow Left of the Murder... [2004]

Happily, this is even more of a mature album than Morning View. The heavy parts, while not all that aggressive, are crisp and satisfying. The album is quite well produced. The songwriting is their best yet. There are some songs that are a bit dull and don't do much for me, but this album is definitely continuing the move of Incubus in the right direction.

Rating: 8

http://www.enjoyincubus.com/us/home

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Incubus - Morning View [2001]

"Nice to Know You" is a good start. Though, oddly enough, the one part of the song that lets me down is the chorus. The rest of it boasts more mature song writing. "Circles" has some interesting parts, but mostly goes by unnoticed. "Wish You Were Here" is a bit more catchy. Despite the obnoxious acoustic guitar doodle that pops up mostly in the beginning of "Just A Phase", this song has much more feeling to it. Overall, this is more of a tranquil album in the same vein as "Make Yourself", but with less fillers. The songwriting has improved a bit making more of the songs enjoyable to listen to. Even so, it's not a massive improvement, the only creative parts are done during the slow sections, and the heavy parts fail to thrill and lack punch in contrast to what the intention was.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.enjoyincubus.com/us/home

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Incubus - Make Yourself [1999]

This is a much more significant change in songwriting style. I really like the addition of the light atmospheric rock elements. It makes the songs much more listenable and deep. The songwriting quality and proficiency has definitely leapt forward. It's more catchy. There's little to no rap elements left. However, my favorite change is that some of the songs take on an appealingly dark and depressing atmosphere. The major blemish on this album is that there are plenty of fillers despite their creative contributions.

Rating: 7

http://www.enjoyincubus.com/us/home

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Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E [1997]

The songwriting has taken a more energetic turn. There's a bit more finesse as well. However, there's still way too many fillers on the album and the few real standouts can't cover for the lacking writing of the rest of the album. There is still plenty of the Funk influence carried over from FA. It's odd, because this album is both quite creative but also by the numbers. The creativity is found in the non-heavy sections of songs. Once they get to the Heavy ideas, it's as if they don't know what to do with the Heaviness, so it comes out weak and generic.

Rating: 6

http://www.enjoyincubus.com/us/home

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Incubus - Fungus Amongus [1995]

There's a shit-ton of Funk influence in this album interestingly combined with Alternative Metal. It's an extremely interesting album and fairly creative in the blending of styles. However, the songwriting is a bit weak, and very little of the album is actually memorable. There's virtually no catchiness at all on the album, either. The production is pretty good for being so early in their career.

Rating: 5

http://www.enjoyincubus.com/us/home

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The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute [2005]

Very strong start. However, after the half-way point, the energy and enjoyment slides down quite a bit. It's good stuff, though. Well-written and fairly creative with a good blend of styles and keeps you guessing for a bit. There is enough catchiness on this album to fill a C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet. Even so, I'm not a fan of their more atmospheric and psychedelic sections as I feel they drag on a bit and don't have much purpose to them. The production is quite good.

Rating: 8

http://www.themarsvolta.com/

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The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium [2003]

Right from the start, I can tell this will be a much more polished album. It's hard to say that the music is unique because many progressive bands play around with different instruments and sounds. Even so, this album definitely has its own identity. It's very well put together. Excellent songwriting all around. The album has flow and feels like it tells a story. The production is quite a leap forward from Tremulant, too. There are only a few parts that feel like they drag a bit.

Rating: 8

http://www.themarsvolta.com/

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The Mars Volta - Tremulant [2002]

A good first effort. It's not all that catchy, but the potential is there. This is very solid Progressive Rock writing. The production could definitely be better, but then, it is their first album.

Rating: 6.5

http://www.themarsvolta.com/

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凛として時雨 - just A moment [2009]

Quite an explosive beginning to the album with "ハカイヨノユメ". Words cannot express how impressed I am with the first track. "Hysteric phase show" continues on with the high energy, quality writing, and willingness to break out from what they had previously established as their style. "Tremolo+A" is a fast-strumming acoustic guitar dominated song. I'm quite happy that the female vocals are now perfectly in tune... even if they have used pitch correction to iron out the issues a bit. This is really an incredible effort by these musicians. It's fresh and pushes the boundaries of their style, but it still feels like the LTS that I fell in love with so long ago. It's quite an incredible and stunning achievement. The production is a bit cleaner, but there's still a shit-tonne of reverb on the drums, vocals, and clean electric guitars. The ONLY problems I see with this album is that they included "Telecastic fake show" and the production could be using a wider frequency range. The higher frequencies are basically chopped off and I feel that they would benefit the drum production a lot (it would be annoying as shit if the guitars were allowed to expand into those frequencies, though).

Rating: 9.75

http://sigure.jp/

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凛として時雨 - moment A rhythm [2008]

One song... better be good especially coming from Telecastic fake show. Holy shit... it's a big song. Starts with Glitch, goes directly into very calm and slow with some building up happening after a few minutes. This is certainly a very different style for the typically Post Hardcore band. The focus is on subdued and calm song writing than the high-energy madness that had previously been a mainstay of their material. Shockingly, there's quite a bit of Glitch music thrown in here as well. The production is good and while I do miss the high-energy stuff, the calm and atmospheric feel is very appealing.

Rating: 8

http://sigure.jp/

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凛として時雨 - Telecastic fake show [2008]

Even more proficient songwriting on this album. The short length certainly helps out by allowing the band to focus all of their energy on just a few songs, and it really shows. All three songs are great in their own way and they're all catchy and beautifully written. The production is a bit more clear than Inspiration is Dead, but they haven't lost the grungy underground feeling at all.

Rating: 8.5

http://sigure.jp/

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凛として時雨 - Inspiration is Dead [2007]

Much more polished songwriting and structure. There's more catchiness here. The duality of the energy and tranquility are still there in spades. However, they are blended together with more expertise now. The production is a bit more forward than previous albums. This album takes the formula they had and pushes it a bit further.

Rating: 8

http://sigure.jp/

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凛として時雨 - Feeling Your UFO [2006]

This is mostly a continuation of #4 with slightly better production. Catchy, active, tranquil, exciting, and a lot more progressive than before. It's a bit short, but it has just a little more polish to it.

Rating: 7.5

http://sigure.jp/

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凛として時雨 - #4 [2005]

The first song is a bit lighter than I expected. The songwriting is pretty good, not really refined, but still effective. The production isn't incredible, but the drums have a nice natural sound to them. The guitars, however, sound like they were recorded over shitty wires or something. "傍観" is refreshingly somber. One thing that has me torn in three different directions is the fact that the vocals are often out of tune. HOWEVER, they are never FAR out of tune like many other Japanese bands, and on top of that, it really says something that they've outright refused to use correction effects on the vocals. It also lends a natural feeling to the vox and there are times during the verses where it feels even more right for the song than if it had been perfect pitch. Even with all of that justification, for the chorus sections there is no rationalizing it. Those two really need to practice their pitch, and if they want to sing out of tune to make it feel more human, then the best time to do so is during the verses. As for the songwriting, it's not really all that catchy, but it's still good.

Rating: 7.5

http://sigure.jp/

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Dream Theater - Awake [1994]

Better production with heavier guitars. The songwriting is also heavier and definitely feels like it has defined their style. There's a bit more creativity as well. The vocals are much heavier as well with more distortion during verses. The first two songs are good, but not all that catchy. "Innocence Faded" is quite good and catchy, if a bit straight-forward. "A Mind Beside Itself - I" is a good instrumental that makes "A Mind Beside Itself - II" just that much more sweet. "The Mirror" flexes DT's metal muscle quite well and flows directly into "Lie" which also boasts a steel approach with quite a bit of groove thrown in the mix. "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream" brings things down to a very calm and beautiful feel. This album paradoxically seems to have the most "blah" songs in the first two tracks. Other than that, it's pretty brilliant. The music may not be as proficient and well-crafted as disc two of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, but it's catchier and the lyrics are certainly better.

Rating: 9

http://www.dreamtheater.net/

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Dream Theater - Images and Words [1992]

Production is a bit better, but not by that much at all. The snare drum is way too explosive, even on quieter parts and the guitar isn't high enough in the mix to be as heavy as it was intended to be. However, the songwriting is still at least as excellent as WDaDU and even more creative at times.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.dreamtheater.net/

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Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite [1989]

Not really good production quality. I especially don't like the production quality and sound of the bass guitar. It's got a heavy and very active feel to the songs. Starts off with more of a Power Metal feel, but quickly drops into the Progressive Rock genre that DT has been known for. There's some quite catchy stuff here and the songwriting is pretty proficient especially when considering that this is their first release. There are plenty of times when this album has a distinct Heavy Metal feeling to it. There's plenty of technicality on all instruments throughout the album as well. This is certainly a very active and energetic album when compared to the more docile stuff from 2000 and on. It isn't as much of a master piece as, say, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, but each song is really good and the writing is very solid with a very charming attitude throughout the album. Production really is the only major gripe I have with this album.

Rating: 8

http://www.dreamtheater.net/

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Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun [2000]

Like Stupid Dream, this album is more accessible to new listeners with every song having vocals to it. The songwriting doesn't feel quite as solid as SD, though, and a decent amount of psychedelia have disappeared into the black void. It is still a fairly catchy and relaxing album to behold.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.porcupinetree.com/

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Septic Flesh - Communion [2008]

It's clear from the first 40 seconds of "Lovecraft's Death" that the orchestra writing and integration has hit a new level of greatness. Possibly the best use of orchestra in metal thus far. "Babel's Gate" reinforces the epic songwriting and new-found variability in the music, even if the flow is sacrificed in the process. The dynamics are interesting since they use a lot of empty "middle-space" during high-energy moments to create suspense... it's very effective. Sure a decent amount of the guitar riffs are really just backing for the epic orchestra, but shit, I really don't care about that with the rest of the material being so great. This is the same leap from Sumerian Daemons that SD was from Revolution DNA.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.myspace.com/septicfleshband

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