WHEEL OF FORTUNE

NAIKAKU are an all instrumental band from Japan who employ trumpet and flute to go along with their powerful guitar driven sound.This record was such a pleasant surprise for me, something I wasn't expecting, having heard very little about this their debut. And while this band can really "bring it", there is some good variety on this album as well.

"Please !" is an uptempo,complex track that hits us hard right away with raw and aggressive guitar and the drums are right in your face. Flute comes in as well and the bass lines are very prominant. Check out the blistering guitar melodies 3 1/2 minutes in ! The next song has a title longer then my arm. "In Short,You've Just Changed "Point Of View", Don't You ? It's Only A Superficial Part,Right ? Modern ? Or Post- Modern ? We Don't Care. Go Home ! Go Back To That Sea !" Yeah, that's one of the longer titles i've come across. The song begins with light drums and trumpet with more prominant bass lines again. The flute takes over for the trumpet before the trumpet comes back and the interplay between these two instruments is a highlight. The bass lines are getting fatter. Up to now this has been a jazzy tune but then it starts to turn into a rock song. The drums get heavier and more dominant 6 minutes in. A minute later a heavenly guitar solo comes in and i'm thinking "Is this guy the Japanese Satriani ?" This is a killer tune that is also moving with the flute returning 11 minutes in.

"Memory" opens with some crunch as heavy riffs arrive right away with grinding guitar over top. Nice. The tempo changes often and later the guitar is crying out. Fantastic song ! Here we go again with the song titles. "629 Items In Trash Can And Using 380.1MB. Want To Delete These Items ?" is a fast paced, take no prisoners kind of song with relentless drumming. "Crisis" has a dark and heavy intro and then flute joins in. This sounds amazing ! The song calms down 2 1/2 minutes in and then trumpet blasts and other dissonant sounds stick around until we get an actual melody back after 5 minutes. And this melody with flute is beautiful ! The tempo continues to shift as we get an uplifting sound 11 1/2 minutes in before it ends as it began. "Tiny Ego" sounds oddly enough like a DREDGE tune. Check it out. Lots of guitar and drums in this one. "Seven Minutes Squeezer" has some impressive drumming as the guitars grind away and the flute plays over top. The song settles down to an atmospheric section before it speeds back up with some ripping guitar. "Hocus Pocus" is a crushing FOCUS cover that is very well done.

Easily a four star album in my books. I love the energy and sound of this band and can't wait to hear "Shell".