Gackt Journey Through The Decade Review

Gackt is without a doubt one of the biggest musicians in Japan.  Many people credit him as the one who made Malice Mizer famous back in the 90's.  Once he left Malice Mizer, he embarked on a solo career that took Japan by storm.  Playing to sold out arenas and stadiums all over Japan, Gackt became one of the biggest celebrities in Japan and has since been a hero to many modern bands and artists in Japan.  His music ranges from pop, rock, and some people even say he has metal thrown into some of his songs as well.  One thing Gackt has done quite a bit of is soundtrack songs.  While many them have gone on to be hits, one that I feel is underrated is "Journey Through The Decade".

This song does a good job of mixing mystery and hard rock.  The song starts out relatively slow, soft, with the bass doing some lead work in the verse.  Then when the chorus comes, the song gets a lot more energetic and heavier.  The transition to that heaviness is done very well and doesn't feel out of left field.  The song then continues with the heavy feel from then on and while the rhythm patterns and chord progressions are pretty standard for the most part, the song sounds good and maintains a good heavy energy. 

 One of my favorite elements of this song is the guitar solo.  One problem I have had with some Gackt songs is how repetitive the guitar solos can be.  Some examples that come to mind are the solos in the songs "Redemption" and "Flower".  Basically, the guitar solos in those songs are simply repeating a flow while adding an additional note at each repeat and some times it comes off as very simple and predictable.  However, in this song you get a good melodic solo with some bits of speed tossed in and it sounds really good.  It is not the best guitar solo I have ever heard, but it is good and considering the guitar solos in some of Gackt's other songs, it feels refreshing.  

Lyrically, this song is about going on a journey of discovering who you are and realizing your potential.  Very fitting for the show "Kamen Rider Decade" that this song is the theme for.  The message is very uplifting and good to take in when you are not in a good mood, or just need a good mental boost.  While I do like the message, I must admit that it is very generic and is super common in Japan.  I also get a sense that Gackt made it more for the Kamen show rather then have it coming from a personal and authentic place in his soul. Having said that, the lyrics still flow well and this is a message I would rather listen to all day then songs about sex and partying. Overall, pretty good lyrics.

This is a good song and in my opinion one of Gackt's best songs.  The music is good, Gackt sounds good, and the message is good.  The instrument work is good in this song and is very refreshing compared to some other songs by Gackt.  I give "Journey Through the Decade" a 4 out of 5.  

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Comatose The Breakthrough Album for Skillet

Skillet is considered by many to be the biggest Christian Rock and Metal band in modern music.  With so many hits ranging from "Monster" to "Not Gonna Die", this band certainly has created one heck of a catalog.  While these songs are some of the bands biggest hits, many people consider Comatose as the album that broke the band to big time success. 

Before Comatose, Skillet sounded like many other alternative metal/rock bands of the late 90's and early 2000's such as Three Days Grace, Seether, and Breaking Benjamin.  It got the band a good cult following, but it didn't separate from all the other bands of their genre.  Skillet knew they had to do something different and when they brought that mentality to Comatose, they delivered.

The opening song, "Rebirthing", showcases a very cool orchestra and metal sound that is very deep and more mysterious compared to their previous music.  This is a style the band also used on other songs on the album such as "Comatose".  In addition to the orchestra they use used a combination of melodic and heavy guitar work that really stands out in songs like " Whispers In The Dark" and Falling Inside The Black".  both songs have real heavy sounding guitar, but you combine that with the melodic lead guitar and you got some real solid songs.

Another noticeable addition to this album is how the bands uses ballads on it.  Song like "The Older I Get", "Yours To Hold", and "Those Nights" really show not just a soft side to the band, but authenticity.  Some rockers and metal heads say that ballads are bad and are signs of selling out.  I don't that is a fair criticism.  Ballads can be a good way for rockers to express their emotional side as long as it is authentic,  which all these songs are.  Not only are they authentic but they are very relatable. The song "Those Nights" is about how the problems and difficulties of life can make us better and improve us as people.  Everybody has troubles in life and most people use those trouble to learn and grow from them.  Then there are the ballads that can interpreted in more than one way.  For Example, "Yours To Hold", can be interpreted as God longing to be with the people on Earth.  However, it can also be interpreted as a relationship song, saying that you either long to be with somebody, or you are willing to be with you someone and comfort them in their darkest hours.  Both messages make sense and go well with the feel of the song.

  This album is great at appealing to both a Christian and Secular audience.  The music is great and would be used as inspirations for more of the bands songs going forward.  The  orchestra and rock combo would be used again on songs like "Awake and Alive" and "Not Gonna Die", while the ballads would inspire other songs like "One Day Too Late".  The authenticity of the album is one of the best aspects to me.  I get a real sense of authenticity and really no sense of any sell outs or cash grabs which why this album got has such a great appeal. With great music and true authenticity, I highly recommend checking this album out.   


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