| Concerto Moon are arguably one of the metal
worlds best-kept secrets. The late 1990's saw them gain some recognition
outside their native Japan thanks to 4 albums being released via
Limb Records. Sadly one presumes sales of these were not strong
enough to see further albums licensed for release - a shame. However,
the rest of the worlds loss is Japan's gain and Concerto Moon
have seen their stature grow with each release since Takashi Inoue
became the bands vocalist in 2002. 2003's Life On The Wire saw
a somewhat more commercial sound enter the fray alongside the
bands normal neo-classically tinged metallic delights - think
of the band as a mix of Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen and Loudness.
However, After The Double Cross sees a heavier return, yet the
band still yield immense melodies throughout.
Band leader and guitarist Norifumi Shima (Japan's answer to Ritchie
Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen) again shows impressive song crafting
skills and his guitar work is as top notch as usual. The production
on After The Double Cross is the best yet from Concerto Moon being
full bodied and muscular. The performances from the other band
members are also worthy of praise, and despite an at times incoherent
nature of Inoue's vocals, for the majority of times he has a good
style and very distinctive.
Coming with the new 10-track album is a limited edition 5 track
bonus CD, home to covers of classics by Deep Purple, Rainbow,
Kansas and Alcatrazz. This is a strong addition showing the bands
influences (Shima nails Malmsteen's lead breaks in Hiroshima Mon
Amour) with the rendition of I Surrender being particularly noteworthy
thanks to Shima's extended guitar solo.
However, getting back to the real reason for this review, After
The Double Cross opens with the barnstorming 30
Mins In The Darkness. Arguably Concerto Moon's finest opener
to an album yet (quite a feat!). The song has all the trademarks
Concerto Moon are known for - a blistering riff, great rhythm
section and above all superb song writing.
The pace remains frantic for Waiting For
A Miracle, which has a Dio era Rainbow vibe around it.
The vocals on the verse suffer a little from being incomprehensible
(even with the lyric sheet), but the good harmonised chorus makes
up for this. The track is home to another blistering solo from
Shima before Toshiyuki Koike follows up with a keyboard solo.
Shima then comes blasting back in with a strong melodic classically
influenced motif before the chorus returns.
Find The Key is another energy filled
track, with an almost classic metal verse and main riff, however
the pre chorus has some strong harmony counterpoint guitar harmonies.
The chorus is great with a real sense of atmosphere before launching
back into the blistering main riff again. Shima's solo is one
of the best on the album being full of his trademark licks and
perfect execution. Find The Key has all the ingredients of being
a killer live track.
Found In This City harks back to
the bands sound on Life On The Wire with its slightly more commercial
tint. The chorus is particularly strong with a good vocal hook
from Inoue and is home to a Deep Purple feel. Shima delivers a
relatively restrain solo that reinforces the more melodic nature
of the track before taking the sound into neo-classical waters
before expertly leading it back to the more melodic sound.
The Gladiator is reminiscent of
the bands earlier works (From Father To Son era) and as such is
a nice contrast to the other material on offer. This pales into
insignificance when the gothic Fall Down
hits the speakers. A superb riff leads into a dark eerie verse
that sees some atmospheric sitar for good measure before the riff
satisfied you once again. The track takes an unexpected turn for
a melodic bridge before going back to the darker tone.
Where Are You? is more keyboard
heavy than many of the other tracks. Its pretty much Concerto
Moon's take on a light and shade epic power ballad. Inoue's vocals
do suffer a little on the first verse as they are quite naked,
but work well again on the heavier sections. The second verse
sees Inoue fair better and here the track takes on a very delightful
quality as Shima injects some understated acoustic guitar work.
The chorus has a classic Malmsteen feel (alá Dreaming)
and again works extremely well. Shima's solo is something truly
special, bending notes, making them hang before injecting vibrato
given a great sense of tension and relief, its also a great example
of how to build a solo. Overall a very good track that suffers
slightly by the first verse vocals.
Puppet In The Mirror is another
uptempo ripper that is home to a great pummelling riff that sees
Shima, Takanobu Kimoto (bass) and Showichi Takeoka (drums) really
locking into to a powerhouse delivery. Shima's solo has a Blackmore
feel to it and is perfectly suited to the nature of the track.
Tell Everything has another very
classy, melodic in nature later day Rainbow feel to it on the
main riff. The verse is relatively laid back before the Hammond
Organ work of Toshiyuki Koike drives the pre-chorus and chorus
hard. Shima's simple riffing here pays dividends and allows the
melodic maturity of the track to come through for maximum impact.
The guitar solo starts out very restraint and picks up as the
backing does, here Kimoto's bass work is very strong propelling
the track on. A track destined to be a Concerto Moon classic.
Concerto Moon (the track) closes
the album and its another up-tempo metallic affair. There is still
a strong dose of melody within the riffery thanks to Koike's keyboard
work. A strong chorus is guaranteed to make this an encore ending
live favourite for years to come. However the classical melody
from Shima to introduce his blistering guitar solo is also worthy
of praise. Overall another strong track to the close the album.
After The Double Cross is probably Concerto Moon's most consistent
album to date. The song writing is now at a standard where the
quality is sustained for a whole album, and this shows where the
band has really progressed. Earlier albums have always shown glimpses
of what the band can achieve but the continuity was only there
for 75% of an album. This new found focus and overall improvement
in production and delivery means this album is of a very high
standard indeed. As previously mentioned the vocal work of Inoue
do get a little incomprehensible at times, yet this does not really
detract as the melodies are strong. Norifumi Shima once again
comes out as the overall star and deservedly so - he is an unsung
guitar master.
After The Double Cross deserves a domestic release outside Japan,
however, as this would seem unlikely do yourself a favour and
stump up the import price - its worth it.
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