Faylan - PRISM

                                                                       Mirai Nikki ED (Track no. 2)
                                                                      Gundam AGE ED 3 (Track no. 6)
                                                                       Mirai Nikki OP 3 (Track no. 7)
                                                                      Hagure Yuusha no Estetica OP (Track no. 10)
                                                                      Mirai Nikki OP 2 (Track no. 11)

Tracklist:


1. prism flower
2. Blood teller
3. Sokyuu no Hikari
4. RED love
5. crime of love
6. WHITE justice
7. HAPPY END
8. moment
9. Sousei no Thanatos
10. Realization
11. Dead END
12. RED decision
13. promise you...


1. prism flower

The lead track begins pretty foreboding and awesome, like an Ali Project song, but just as one starts to think that Faylan is on the wrong side of anisong, it turns into one of her usual rockier songs. This time is more hard synths than actual guitars (or any other instrument), but I don't mind because it's very catchy and powerful. Though her voice is just a tiny bit annoying with the fail-western theme, it's still a good song to open an album.
Rating: 9

2. Blood teller

I'm surprised this song would be on this album, since it's from way back 2011 and I was expecting God Fate instead - but it's one hell of an awesome song and my favourite from Faylan, so I don't mind at all. Exactly like the title predicts, her voice is dark and deep, like a Blood teller should be, switching from the western/country in prism flower. There's not much instruments in this song that would make variety, but the guitar alone does its job perfectly.
Note to self: Don't listen to Blood teller while writing reviews. Had to replay it twice.
Rating: 10

3. Sokyuu no Hikari

Straying from the songs that were simple in composition, this track is full-blown J-rock (and even heavy metal in some parts). I like the fact that she retains the power of her voice from the previous song, especially in the chorus, sometimes even sounding really monster-like and scary with the overdone filters. This is not tied to an anime, which is the main source of her great songs, so it proves Faylan can hold her own ground as a rock vocalist without the help of tie-ins.
Rating: 10

4. RED love

A bit of a slower track, but the chain of rock-heavy songs still continues. More genres are mixed in here, so the chorus again sounds like Ali Project. Her vocals aren't something special here, but the attention is more on the instrumentation, which is a mix of both a little guitars and a little more synths and electronica. Also, expect a series of sudden jumps and changes that come with the mix of genres, because on the second minute the whole thing suddenly slows down, like someone stopped time, and continues in that matter.
Rating: 8

5. crime of love

An excerpt from prism flower is the first thing that's heard, but it's remixed and the line "life is a flower" is replaced with "crime of love". Probably the first real ballad on the album, and it finally provides a rest from the uptempo songs. The arrangement is in an unusual jazzy, laid-back style with many strings in the background. And as for Faylan's vocals, they show another, gentler and elegant side completely opposite of the gritty, violent tone of her rock songs, that I love.
Rating: 8.5

6. WHITE justice

Guitars take a back seat here, as the composition is classic anisong/game, with synths, quite dramatically used violins and piano. In the upbeat tempo, her harder voice is back but it has flexibility to fit in the slower parts of the song. A big plus to this track is that it can turn from anisong to a touching ballad in a second, and I'm pretty sure that I hear something identical to the Chrono Trigger music from the Middle Ages (thus, instant tears).
Rating: 10

7. HAPPY END

This song is quirky, weird and very different from the other songs in this album by the measure of its gentleness. It is rich in terms of arrangement with strings that are really heavily used here, several sequences of acoustic guitars and even bells. One of the rare truly happy songs in Faylan's discography, the track with its ambiental tempo reminds of a fairy tale on its end, amplified by the repeated "aishiteru" (I love you).
Rating: 9

8. moment

Uniquely, an electronic song without any guitars or rock composition whatsoever, being replaced by the saxophones and 8-bit music. I can't really imagine Faylan singing this 100% J-pop song effectively with her bouncy voice, which is probably the reason she's under filters the whole song and there's nothing more than whispering and vague chanting. Interesting for a few listens, but I don't see myself listening to this often.
Rating: 7

9. Sousei no Thanatos

This isn't tied to an anime? Because with the title and the arrangement it could really be an opening to something called Sousei no Thanatos. The track has a more traditional feeling to it, with a choir backing the vocals and acoustic guitars actually doing the stronger parts of the song instead of electric ones. I can't really discern everything because there's probably like 15-20 different instruments in the composition, but that adds to its effect. You know that something is unique when you're forced to figure out a hybrid term of a harpsichord and a flute.
Rating: 8.5

10. Realization

The song sounds like it's crawling out of a deep well, but it then picks up in a dance-rock melody... with gothic vampire bells O__o (they do remain the song, but in the very background). This can probably become one of my favourites in the album because most of the song has the "epic", dramatic quality that makes you sing along, exactly like in Blood teller. Of course, several eargasms were lived through during the 5 minutes of the song's duration.
Rating: 10

11. Dead END

The sequence of the tracks in the album makes a circle, returning to the very dark sound several first songs had. What sets this one different from the others is actually the significant feeling of depth and hard guitars like in a Maon Kurosaki song - specifically, very like Under/Shaft. Faylan's voice is powerful, but it's somehow ruined by the parts in which she recites some Engrish where her speech sounds like her mouth are full of some gooey matter which she can't get rid of in any of her songs.
Rating: 9

12. RED decision

Is there a colour theme here? WHITE justice, RED love, and then RED decision lol
Anyways, the track has her collaborating once again with an unknown producer of gothic music / AliPro fan. The arrangement is epic fantasy-like with the organ, bells and many aerial stunts probably performed by whoever plays the violin in her band.
Some James Bond cadences also appear in the middle eight (the part after the second chorus) which always seems to be the most important part of her songs.
Rating: 9

13. promise you...

 A very simple and relaxing ballad is chosen to close the album, as it's almost always only Faylan's voice and the piano. String plucking from WHITE justice is back here (Yay!) and it reminds of classical music a lot. Aside from the unexpected and uncalled for changes in tempo and rhythm, the track is a beautiful end to a nice album. ^__^
Rating: 8


I've had a great time listening to Faylan's newest piece of work, and what is most important, I was always engaged and never felt bored. Even though not all songs are perfect and there are some misfits, the pure epicness makes up for it. My overall rating is: 9

Favourite songs: Blood teller, prism flower, WHITE justice, Realization

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