GRANRODEO drops long-awaited album Karma & Labyrinth (カルマとラビリンス) this week, debuting second on the Oricon daily charts. What went into this 1 hour-long mega work that took two years to materialise?
After a very productive two years since the last album with the duo putting out four singles, which includes opening themes for Kuroko no Basuke, Karneval and Code:Breaker. These 4 hit songs, The Other self, Hengen Jizai no Magical Star, Henai no Rondo and Dark Shame and their coupling songs will also be included in this bumper album. And with this release, there will also be five new tracks plus the final full version of DAWN GATE, bringing the total track count to 13.
In this review, we introduce the new songs, spiced up with insights from KISHOW and e-ZUKA:
1 Blue Pandora Box
2 silence
In an unprecedented move, there is not one but two principal tracks on this album – Blue Pandora Box and silence, meant to be interpreted as a single suite. The accompanying PVs are interconnected, with the duo all decked out in black, KISHOW dressed like a “crow” from the Night’s Watch, and e-ZUKA all Harry Dresden-like in his hat and mantle.
Blue Pandora Box opens the album, with orchestral strings repeating the theme throughout the very short piece. The heavy reliance on orchestral strings, and the omission of the guitar on this track are firsts for GRANRODEO. eZUKA says that he infused R&B and hip-hop into it, and is reminiscent of QUEEN’s WE WILL ROCK YOU.
This is followed by silence, with heavy metal and hard rock combined with neo-classicism, in a bit of an intentional paradox to the track title. Orchestral strings make another appearance, and unifies the two stylistically different pieces by reiterating the main theme.
Blue Pandora Box and silence were the most difficult to write lyrics for. KISHOW spoke about how since he came up with the title, he felt responsible for how the principal tracks should turn out. Although originally intended to convey “Karma” and “Labyrinth” separately, KISHOW however felt this would be over-simplification. Instead, both ideas were incorporated as an overarching theme into both songs, expressed in David Lynch’s style of surrealism.
Both songs as a suite brings to mind the gap between dreams and reality. Both are the wonderful result of experimentation in new styles, with the use of orchestral strings effectively employed to create a sense of grandeur and in contrast to their signature rock style.
3 Hengen Jizai no Magical Star 変幻自在のマジカルスター (Kuroko no Basuke Season 2 second OP)
4 Volcano ボルケーノ
Volcano’s your straight up classic GRANRODEO rock-and-roll. The first song to be complete for the album, eZUKA was inspired by Irish band The Strypes, a very young band playing old-school rock. Along those lines, they added in elements from Showa-era pop sung by female singers, in a similar style to Yokubou Mugendai (欲望∞).
5 DARK SHAME (Code:Breaker OP)
6 baby bad boy (PS3 game: Super Robot Taisen OG INFINITE BATTLE OP)
7 The Other self (Kuroko no Basuke Season 2 first OP)
8 Sakura-iro no Dai-ni Botan 桜色第2ボタン (B-side for Henai no Rondo single)
9 Henai no Rondo 偏愛の輪舞曲 (Karneval OP)
10 Zetchou Poison 絶頂ポイズン (B-side for Hengen Jizai single)
11 Pink Phantom
12 wonder color
Pink Phantom brings us back again to familiar GRANRODEO territory, picking up right after the very sensuous Zetchou Poison. Zetchou Poison, Pink Phantom and wonder color are a trio with mesmerising bass lines anchoring the main melodies. Zetchou Poison uses jazzy undertones in this alternate take on Snow White, while Pink Phantom sticks to classic rock-and-roll. With wonder color, they are messing with new instrumentation again, this time the piano by organist Daisuke Kawai, embellishing the playful funk tone in this one.
13 DAWN GATE
First released in “unfinished” form as a B-side to The Other self, the final complete version of DAWN GATE clocks in at 9 mins 51 seconds. Ending up as somewhat of a concept piece, this “finished” version adds orchestral strings to the opening, followed by the original thumping bassline with added English narration before the vocals enter; in an apparent attempt to emulate the sense of an epic fantasy adventure aka The Lord of the Rings.
The true jack-in-the-box appears in the interlude, when the guitars suddenly pull back, leaving KISHOW holding long notes against a piano and strings. Along the extended bridge, the rest of the instruments are re-introduced, as KISHOW slips in and out of falsetto, before the final verse completes with the full string backing. Put the disc on loop and you’ll find that it joins seamlessly with the start of Blue Pandora Box. A masterpiece.
IMPRESSIONS:
The opening and closing tracks have been very daring experiments even for GRANRODEO, who has never shied away from dabbling in different musical styles. Casual listeners familar with them only through anisong may be a little jolted, but these bold pieces combined with the older tracks have given the entire collection added depth and nuance. Their signature style which emphasises addictive melodies, electrifying guitar solos, flawless vocals and cheeky lyrics are all still there taking center stage. GRANRODEO once again prove that they are masters at their craft, never failing to surprise old and new fans with their versatility.
The limited edition of the album comes with the music clip for Karma & Labyrinth (Blue Pandora Box and silence), and selected clips from the boys-only and girls-only dates at Zepp Tokyo from their MAGICAL RODEO TOUR.
GRANRODEO LIVE TOUR 2014 MAGICAL RODEO TOUR @Zepp Tokyo
2014.6.28 Boys-only Live
– OPENING
– Yokubou mugendai 欲望∞
– Merry-go-round メリーゴーランド
– NO PLACE LIKE A STAGE
2014.6.29 Girls-only Live
– OPENING
– SUPERNOVA
– Y・W・F
– Mesmerize メズマライズ
Additional details from interviews by barks.jp and okmusic.jp
Image credits:
silence PV (gifs, caps courtesy of icekokoro.tumblr.com)
concert live photos from barks.jp, by Takashi Hirano
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