First Tainted Reality of 2006 TONIGHT! Plus, New Feature: Album Review: Vengeance For BLOOD 3

Tonight is the long awaited (if 4 weeks was as long for you as it was for me) return of Tainted Reality for the 2006 year. This semester, we will be on from now until mid-May, and we are working on getting loads of new music, back music, new features and segments, and of course, bringing some of your fave J-Rock and Goth fans onto the show. Tonight, we will be showcasing some of the singles, EPs, and albums that came out during the break and slightly before. Tonight we will be playing new music from:

Candy Spook Theater
Dacco
Gazette
Isabelle
SID
Vidoll

And I finally caught a break and was able to do some back catolouging and got these CD's for the show:

Antic Cafe - Amedama Rock
berry - 1st Mini Album
bis - Aoi no Risou
bis - Freestyle Rock
bis - Kyokutou Strip
Blam Honey - Typical Ingeniousness -suggest-
Gazette - Cockayne Soup
Gazette - Gama
Gazette - MADARA
Isabelle - chain.1999
Lolita23q - 23ku Kikagaku Kan
MUCC - zekku
Nightmare - Libido
Nightmare - Raven Loud Speaker
Plastic Tree - Cell
Plastic Tree - Puppet Show
Schwein - Schweinstein

And I also got another CD in the mail which will be the start of a new segment. Every week from now on, we will have a featured artist from the J-Rock or Goth scene, coupled with an album review on the blogger here, and 2 or 3 song block of music from that CD on the show. I felt it only right to start this new segment with a band that has helped the show become as big as it is and also has helped me big time in my personal endevors. The first Album Review for Tainted Reality will be BLOOD's Vengeance For BLOOD 3



Before I start the review, I believe trust must be established. Most of you know I have a relationship with BLOOD that extends both on a proffesional and personal level, so I have to get this out there as I think it proves that I don't just constantly kiss their ass or am a rabid fan boy.

I was not a fan of Vengeance For BLOOD 2.

The album just seemed lacking to me. To this day, I only listen to the first half of the CD, and that half consist of an intro track and I song I heard twice before (3 times if you count the piano version). Granted, its a great version of the song, but I was a bit disappointed to see that they were re-working an old favorite in favor of more original work. Forever Lost, granted is one of the band's best songs too, but it all goes down hill after that. It sounded like the band conformed to mediocre VK and weren't doing the songs the set them apart from other bands in the genre. The songs were just not memorable, or any fun to listen to, and they didn't seem to fit in with this grand story that the band is trying to tell. On top of that, Fu~ki's vocals were not up to his usual standards, Kaede didn't even play on half of the album, and the over all production value was a bit poor.

That aside, Vengeance For BLOOD 3 is the best work the band has put out yet. They must have really realized the mistakes made in VFB2 and really went all out for this conclusion of their Vampire concept. The album opens with the 7 minute self titled epic, Vengeance For BLOOD. Opening with one haunting guitar solo, you soon come to realize something: BLOOD has discovered the double bass pedal. Imediately you are engulfed in a symphony of sheer and utter chaos that would make Dimmu Borgir jealous. When Fu~ki finally hits the mic, you realize that he is really back in full form as, for some reason, this seems to be the song to scream in, but instead, he opts to actually sing, and it works very well. Kaede's bass is clear and prestine as it almost litteraly hitting you right between the eyes every time he plucks a chord. Kiwamu manages not to be overlooked as, for the guitar solo, he hits the fastest, hardest, and longest solo he's ever done. This opening song really showcases how far the band has come, both in how much their skill both in playing their instruments, and in their knowledge and skill of production as, personally, this ranks as the best song the band has ever done.

Wings of Rebllion is a step back. It is a fantastic song that harkens back to VFB1 without the energy and rawness of the opening track, but instead more along the lines of Tanmei as as hard rock song with very obvious 1980's California Goth influences. As the song ends, this is when they hit you with something out of left feild, a piano ballad. Opening with a seranade that sounds like something straight out Yoshiki's hand book, it soon hands off to Fu~ki as he softly coos the opening vocals, slowly building up to a climax. Then the drums, guitar, and bas kick in and you you suddenly find your self wanting to sing with the same power and emotion pulsing from the song.

Voices bleeds into Caught in the Spiral, and from the get-go, you find you self banging your head ferociously. This is when it hits that, for the first time, BLOOD has put alot of cosiderable thought into the production of the drums, and is the driving force through out the album, despite the fact that BLOOD has, and may never have, an official drummer! Caught In the Spiral is controlled by Kaede and the drums with absolutely thuderous beats until the chorus hits and Kiwamu's guitars take over and Fu~ki make the song almost anthemic. The final song on the CD, Nevermore, is a suprising happy, almost anime-ish, tune that counters all of the sorrow and rage expressed in the album. Happy chime and simple guitar licks are heard throught the song, and you can hear the cheerfulness in Fu~ki's voice.

The album concludes with a haunting child's music box that is enought to send shivers down one's spine and is a fitting conclusion to the CD, as well as the trilogy. Overall, I cannot express how much this CD needs to be in any VK, heavy metal, or Goth fan's library. The EP is a combination of everything that is great from all 3 genres, and it show the progress the band has made as musicians and producers. Hopefully, one day, they can become known as more than a indies VK band. Needless to say, I dig this CD and urge all of you out there to get this!

Tonight, the show will open with Vengeance For BLOOD and another song will be played later in the night. Stay tuned tonight for several BIG announcements too, and don't forget to make request!

-Roger