First Impressions: [UNLEASH] - NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST

Preface: I preordered this ages ago, when it was first announced, so I was able to get it yesterday on flag day. I've already listened to it about a hundred times. If you'd like to know what I think, and maybe a little bit of what to expect, read the below.

Before getting into this… I'm not sure why (though I have my suspicions), but with this mini-album, NCBL have decided to scrap giving song-writing credits to individual members, and have moved to crediting the band as a whole. They're also under a new management label, MAVERICK (MAVERICK DC GROUP, parent company of DANGER CRUE), who boasts other artists such as MUCC, SID, L'Arc~en~Ciel, DEZERT, and more. MAVERICK's OHP is here.

I won't get into the lyrical contents here. I'm working on translating the tracks and hopefully they'll be up by the weekend or Monday.

1. Prologue

As I said before, the songs are credited to the whole band, but that being said… Masa's written a few of their instrumental pieces before, and somehow this gives me the feeling that it may have been mostly his work. It's great, I love it. I don't usually like instrumentals, but NCBL's have always been fantastic. It's got a slow, quiet build, from what sounds like a heartbeat. Some thunder, static, and synth-y goodness builds onto it, and it adds an almost ethereal element, before reaching a subtle crescendo and then fading out. The progression is great, and even though this track is only 1:17, I could listen to it stretched out over 3-4 minutes. Easily.

2. Thank You

I must have listened to this track 500 times on YouTube since it was put out. I saw people saying this was very different from their previous work but… I don't think so? The guitars aren't as complex or stand-out-ish as before, but I don't really see it as much of a departure. Hiro's vocals are the same sonorous as usual. The chorus is ridiculously catchy. This song is going to be a damn blast in concert. It starts off with some distorted guitar chords, then Natsu breaks in. It's powerful, loud, and fast-paced. They leave us hanging with a chord and it's beautiful. I just wish it were longer.

3. マッチョ　オブ　ザ　ワールド Maccho obu za waarudo

LIN opens this track, with Hiro shouting, and then around the 0:11 mark he screams and Natsu's hits us in the face. It's another fast-paced track, louder than Thank You, and strikes me as one where there's almost certainly going to be a mosh-pit at concerts. There's a strong djent technique going on with LIN's guitar work and it goes really well with the overall feel of the song. Hiro's voice is at a slightly higher pitch in some parts, even when he's screaming, and it also fits with the rest of the instruments. It ends rather abruptly.

4. SHOWTIME

The opening guitar chords and drums of this track are gorgeous. Hiro's voice is possibly at my favourite on this one. He's a goofy guy, and he seemed to have a fun time recording this one. He uses different voices, as if making imitations. His pitch ranges a lot on this one, and he uses trills to delicious effect. Around 2:00 there's a tonal shift and it's gorgeous. I don't know if this song is as "heavy" as the rest of the album, but it's certainly not lacking in tone or bpm. This song is meant for concerts.

5. Satanic Corner

So, uh. I accidentally started this one unintentionally last night and Hiro's opening shriek is something to behold. I've always loved his ability to shriek at such a high pitch. I think he holds back on recordings, because it's so much more amazing in person. This song is probably one of the most intense, I'd say. Especially with the pace of Natsu's drumming, and LIN's guitar chords. Holy mama. It slows a bit around the chorus, and then nearing the 1:30-mark there's a tonal shift and it's absolutely beautiful, with Hiro whispering 'itai' (it hurts). Then they hit us in the face with another shriek, and another tonal shift.

6. hPa

This track opens with a bass intro! In a way it strikes me as possibly the most "fun" on the album. The bass chords are very funky, and Hiro's vocal choices are equally fun. Actually, this might be the poppiest on the album. Like all the others, the pace is really fast. Similar to SHOWTIME, Hiro uses different tones and "voices," to even more brilliant effect. The breakdown around 2:20 with his growls and shrieks and screams are wonderful. LIN's djent-y guitar work around the same time is beautiful. They give us a few seconds each of a drum, bass, and guitar solo.

7. 少年時代 Shounen jidai

This is the slowest-paced track on the whole CD. I love me some good ballads, and this is not a disappointment. Hiro sounded like he was straining a little on other tracks (intentionally), but his voice shines so well on this track. LIN's djent-y guitar is a surprisingly good fit for this ballad. He has a gorgeous solo around 2:40, and while awesome, it's very different from Cazqui's solos. It's simpler, but not lacking in substance at all.

OVERALL

While Cazqui and Daichi¹ are gone, new guitarist LIN doesn't appear to have any troubles holding up the mantle. When Hiro said he was a great guitarist, he wasn't lying. I feel like while there are some differences in the sound on this mini-album compared to previous releases, I genuinely don't feel as though it's gaping. The guitars seem a bit toned-down compared to Cazqui's compositions, but with the other subtle changes to the band's sound, I think it actually fits really well. Sometimes I think Cazqui's solos were almost too much. Not that he was showing off, but dragged them on a touch too long for my tastes.

One of my most favourite things about NCBL's compositional style was how frequently they used tonal shifts within songs, and that has not changed. They employed quite a bit of that on this mini-album. So while their former guitarists have moved on, the core "NCBL" sound is still here, and I'm excited for what these guys have in mind for the future.

Hiro said their style from here on was going to be "training hardcore" and I can easily see it. The mini-album's pace is unforgivingly fast. LIN's guitar work is superb, and I think he's a beautiful fit to this "new" era. He's not filling a gap so much as carving out his own place within an existing whole. Thanks to Natsu, Masa, and Hiro's hard work as well, this feels like an album from four guys in synch with each other. They've done a masterful job, it feels cohesive, and not like they're trying to force anything. It's beautiful. I love it.

They've earned this:

★★★★★

UNLEASH teaser on YouTube here

You can download UNLEASH from iTunes here

You can stream UNLEASH from... 
Apple Music
Spotify
Akazoo
Deezer
Saavn
KKBOX
etc.

***

Notes:

¹Cazqui and Daichi made a joint announcement in October, 2018 on the OHP that they would be withdrawing from NCBL after their performance December 16, 2018 at the L&P event Metal Square vol.4.

Band OHP