SEVENTH HELL

This is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder progressive rock. It is ultimately technical skill without direction. Any given piece will change styles multiple times, all while retaining a frenzied pace and weirdness almost without exception. Despite their unquestionable talent, it's almost impossible for me to enjoy this, no matter how hard I've tried. Fans of Koenjihyakkei may find quite a bit to love here, however.

"Seventh Hell" After a maddening introduction, something akin to progressive metal ensues. The track is riddled with chugging guitar and powerful synthesizer leads. Jam packed with notes from almost every instrument, the arrangement is all over the place- frantic, chaotic, exasperating, and exhausting. Midway through, the piece completely stops, and something very different but no less sporadic takes over.

"La Venus Endormie" After the mind-boggling instrumental frenzy that came before, it's nice to have a more peaceful track, this one featuring vocals, coming from a female who can occasionally be shrill. The peace doesn't last- the band jumps back into full force progressive metal with several seemingly random sections patched in. The organ solo is the king here, though.

"Cazadora de Astos" Various synthetic instruments lead the charge on this brighter piece. Almost predictably, it becomes a migraine-inducing barrage of sounds.

"Voice of Wind" Following a bizarre opening, the band plows through a heavy guitar and bass segment, which is punctuated by irritating vocal stabs.

"Salvador Syndrome" The opening is really reminiscent of Gentle Giant. As expected, the music that follows is explosive, screaming, and unrelenting. Something I almost never care for is present here throughout- in lieu of transitions, there are several places where the music stops and then starts up again. With the weird, Japanese operatic vocal, however, my desire would be that the stops would come more often. Even the lead guitar is irritating in its screeching. The bass guitar solo is really cool, though. After yet another non-transition, there's a queer section of accordion, operatic vocals, and otherwise cabaret music. Sorry everyone, but this is worse than channel surfing on a drunken evening and trying to make a coherent story of everything on the screen...not that I've ever tried that sort of thing.