[Jrock] Gackt- Koakuma Heaven
In order to celebrate his 10th year anniversary of being a solo artist Gackt released 4 consecutive singles in a four week span in a campaign known as the “10th anniversary countdown”. 小悪魔ヘヴン was the first of the singles released on 2009-06-10.
小悪魔ヘヴン sounds a lot like someone who just got hold of a REALLY SUPER COOL music program and decided to play with it- creating a track and shoving as many different ~fancy~ sounds in it just because they can. I don’t actually hate the track- its upbeat atmosphere is strangely addictive, and it’s certainly a new and refreshing surprise from Gackt. Really it’s messy and all over the place yet the brass, strings, synth and subtle rock effects come together for something rather interesting and fun- and still despite the lively atmosphere there is still a darker edge to this song which is always awesome (and makes me wonder what the lyrics are trying to say). The bridge is probably the most ridiculous point of the song, the OTT choir especially, but that and the beginning sounds are the only truly irritating parts. It’s weird but not horrendous/embarrassing to listen to. I don’t see why Gackt would want to alter his voice though, he certainly doesn’t need to, but it contributes to the overall dance atmosphere and does lend something strangely sexy about the song. Really I don’t find myself loving this song, but I like a lot of stranger stuff so…this isn’t bad at all. XD
The B-side is “My Father’s Day” and is another fun track, but stripped bare of all the bizarre sounds. It’s a fast and bittersweet rock track reminiscent of some of Gackt’s older works. The voice alteration is very unnecessary here, although it doesn’t sound bad I want to hear Gackt’s voice purely without the sort of shininess it has here and some of the more obvious effects. I do like the instrumentation; the guitar solo especially was awesome. Overall the track is rather nice, and totally inoffensive to listen to although it doesn’t stand out at all. The track fades into the background easily- just something to listen to, really.
Overall rating: 4/5 (Good)
Favourite tracks: N/A
Overall I was more than a little surprised the first time I heard the single. Where is Gackt going with this? (I honestly haven’t heard faraway yet). Gackt seems to be experimenting a lot lately, most notably with GHOST and now this. 小悪魔ヘヴン is not a bad single but it is strange and I find myself stumped as to whether I actually like it, or I just like it for being Gackt. 小悪魔ヘヴン is a very fun track with a dark sort of feeling somewhere underneath the messy -lets stick everything possible in here- instrumentation. The Bside is an inoffensive rock track that has a nice sound but is rather bland and forgettable. So I’d say that this is good to listen to, but nothing more. Gackt certainly could do better, but he still hasn’t failed.
Oh, and the cover to this single is fantastic. Gackt is beautiful. ♥_♥ To quote this news source: “I wanted to do something funny,” he said. “So.. I’m a woman.” LOL
Tags: Gackt, Japanese rock