Unite Rev Review

I have stated in another blog post that I like this band and their music.  While they are one of the more poppy visual kei bands, they are still very heavy with very well composed music.  They are, for the most part, a more uplifting band with positive music.  The very first song that I ever heard from this band was Rev.

Musically, this is definitely one of the bands more heavier songs.  The build up in the beginning itself starts out with heavy, deep sounding guitar that leads into a main intro where everything is heavy.  The guitar continues with the heavy chords, the drum work is heavy as well.  This really builds up the energy in the song and is really effective in keeping the listener engaged. The way the music is composed  almost makes you think you are listening to a story.  With the verse sounding down and depressing, the pre chorus shows hope, and then the chorus is the happy ending.  It is done very effectively and really helps to communicates the songs message.  The guitar solo is another great point in this song.  Shiina Mio bust out a very melodic solo that builds up to the final pre chorus and it is done very effectively.  It isn't technical but it doesn't need to be.  It is a brief melodic solo that is supposed to set you up for the final portion of the song and it does it very effectively.  Vocally, this is one of Yui's best songs.  He really captures the song perfectly by how he sings each section.  In this song he is able to match his vocals with each section very well.  When the song is depressing so are his vocals. When the song is happy, so are his vocals.  Also, this is one of the few songs that he sings a lot of English in.  The verses in this song are completely in English and Yui actually sings it pretty well.  He does have a bit of an accent, but you still understand him and he is able to make himself sound very good vocally.  

Lyrically, this a song about pushing yourself to be better and do great things.  Like I said earlier, this is one of the few Unite songs with a lot of English in it.  The verses are completely in English and basically talk about pushing and wanting to be something great.  The rest of the song is completely in Japanese with the exception of Revolution at the end of the chorus.  The lyrics in both verses are exactly the same though.  The band probably did this to make it easier on Yui.  While this is a turn off to some people, it doesn't bother me.  The verse is constructed well enough that they can use it twice though. Overall, the lyrics are great and well written, they flow well and really get the point across.  

When it comes to Unite, this is a unique song.  Musically, this is one of their heaviest as well as one of their best vocally.  Yui does a fantastic job on vocals and the band really busted out a very energetic, yet deep song.  The lyrics are uplifting and really communicate to someone about striving for more.  I consider myself to be very fortunate to have this song be my introduction to Unite.  It is a great song and really showcases this bands talent.  I give Rev a 4.5 out of 5.