Amadeus's "Mikan no Gosennfu to Kurayami no Meikyuu"

Artist: Amadeus (Japan)
Album: Mikan no Gosennfu to Kurayami no Meikyuu (1996)

Okay, let's get this over with.

Track one, Mae Kyougen, appears to just be a narration... Of course, my Japanese isn't near good enough for me to know what the hell he's saying, so it's rather boring.

OVERTURE is the second track, an instrumental, and already I'm hearing a very Klaha-era Malice Mizer sound. Basically, very neo-classical and gothic. For following up a boring intro, it really raises my spirits. OVERTURE is interesting and unique and powerful, I really like it.

Kyouzou no Kami again sounds like Malice Mizer, except much more synth-based. I suppose you could compare this to their Gackt-era Ju te Veux (I promise I'll stop comparing them to Malice Mizer soon).
I'm surprised... I really love it. The vocalist even has an interesting voice, which is a plus because one of my biggest peaves with V-Kei is the lackluster vocals.
And there's even a female vocalist that really gives Amadeus an even more original sound. The contrast between the two is interesting to listen to.

So far so good, Amadeus.
To Banai Tsubasa is very good, which only raises my hopes for this album. I can honestly say that this band have a very original sound. I know I compare them to Malice Mizer, but that's beside the point.

Uh oh. Jinsei wa iti gyou no Baudelaire Nisikanai appears to be another purely narration track. Luckily it's only one minute, so let's just move on.

Track six, Ludwig no Shouzou... Okay, seriously, enough with the skits. I can imagine that even if I could understand it I would be getting annoyed.

Going on...
Bakkou (L.va.Beethoven Piano Sonata) is what it sounds like. Very heavy with piano and very classical. The vocalist has surprisingly strong vocals even in a song as slow as this. There are many appealling aspects of the song, and... not much else to say.

I have actually heard the song Kokuhaku before, and I've always liked it a lot, and I still like it despite my tastes changing so much since then. I really just don't think you'll hear a lot of bands that sound like Amadeus. I realize that there are a lot of sort of neo-classical goth bands, especially in 90s Japan, but Amadeus have a sound all their own.

(crosses fingers) Please don't let Kubaku to Watashi be another act...
Okay, okay, singing. Good, good. This one bears more resemblence to Lareine, but again, there is much more synth, and the vocalist doesn't sound like he always has a cold (sorry, Kamijo. Your voice is cool regardless).

TELL ME TRUTH. Ahh, Engrish.
It's not quite as exciting as the other tracks, I'm not sure if I'll remember it a few minutes from now. Just a bit too bland for my tastes. It's not bad, though.

With Kasumi, I'm beginning to miss the gothic elements of this album, it definitely is taking a more classical turn. I must say that I prefer the female vocalist for these slower songs, her voice is pretty spectacular, and it's so rare hearing a female in a Visual-Kei band. Other than exist+trace, Danger*Gang and such, but they don't count because they're really quite bad. Yeah, I said it, come get me, internet police.

Fuck. Talking. In the Mist is another damn skit.

Imawatada Shizuka ni Anata no Motoni brings in the woman again, which makes me very happy. (I notice another similarity with Klaha-era Malice Mizer: They're song titles are ridiculously and unnecessarily long.)
The song is very short, but very lovely.

The last track of the album is their take on Ave Maria, where they take advantage of their female vocalist's amazing voice once again. It's incredibly beautiful, and an excellent way to end a really good album.

3 1/2 to 4 out of 5
Confusing rating, I know, but I just can't choose. I really like this album, but the narration songs get repetitive sometimes. I definitely prefer their gothic songs as opposed to their more classy tracks, but either way, Amadeus are definitely a gem that should be more appreciated. I plan to get ahold of some of their other work.