7 July 2013

Linked Horizon - Jiyuu e no Shingeki

Shingeki no Kyojin OP (Track no. 1)
Shingeki no Kyojin OP 2 (Track no. 2)

Tracklist:

1. Guren no Yumiya
2. Jiyuu no Tsubasa
3. Moshi Kono Kabe no Naka ga Ichiken no Ieda to Shitara

1. Guren no Yumiya

Tension-inducing war drums and choral chanting open the song, calmly setting the battlefield for the aggressive and strong opening we all know and love. The arrangement found here is the very definition of epic, as we get every heart-racing fanfare, drum, violin, guitar, synth all intertwined together with the filtered vocals to make an unforgettable impression. I was even surprised at how hard-hitting it was, since the anime short version was significantly lighter in the dark, battling atmosphere. Although the chorus is the most memorable part of the track, we get it only at the beginning and the very end, with the middle of the track being crossed with various different themes and melodies, which all serve to reflect the character of Eren in a different fashion. The more peculiar form similar to that of classical music needs getting used to, since everything except the main theme was cut out from the opening sequence as well, but the forceful guitar solos and parts where Revo sings with less background support are still every bit as impressive as the whole track. Without any doubt, this is the best song in the Spring 2013 season.
Rating: 10

2. Jiyuu no Tsubasa

After some roaring crowd noise, Juiyuu no Tsubasa directly continues from the previous track, in a more uplifting hymn-like melody before becoming turbulent and energetic again. Unlike Guren no Yumiya, this song is quite subdued and more techno-rockish, though I tend to like it even more because of the several touching and catchy melodies. While following the same unusual form, some darker chord progressions are present, making me wonder which melody of the many will be converted in the "anime mode", since every one of them is equally attractive and energetic. After several transitions, the whole instrumentation stops entirely to deep-voiced narration in German, with a Final Fantasy-like ambiental background and surprisingly dark church bells play, follower by a slow version of the main melody from Guren no Yumiya, and ending with the same theme from the start. Seeing as this will be the opening theme to the, still unreleased, second season of Shingeki no Kyojin, I wonder how the reactions will turn out, because it occasionally even surpasses its predecessor.
Rating: 10

3. Moshi Kono Kabe no Naka ga Ichiken no Ieda to Shitara

Everything in this single is seemingly tied together, and this track with the unfortunate, arduous title continues the chain from Jiyuu no Tsubasa. Immediately after the last choir dies down, not a moment of silence passes until a quiet, ticking clock can be heard, bringing back many nostalgic memories from Chrono Trigger. Building up, a gentle, repeating melody stacks on top of the ticking clock, and a female vocalist appears this time around. A very surreal and serene scenery is made when the song starts playing with the human perception of space by listening to something, and adding a flowing stream of water, children running around and playing, the sound of someone cooking in a kitchen, and so on, all while not imposing on the original melody. After some time, the track unravels into a proper song, with the same marching drums and effective atmosphere, but in a slower tempo. Besides again touching me deeply for nostalgia with some Final Fantasy chords, the dramatic and sad vocals are a nice change after Revo's somewhat obscured singing. Summing up, everything dies down for a music box sequence, which again leaves space for the same, lone clock ticking. Just as we thought everything is over, and we can turn the volume down, the opening choir from Guren no Yumiya starts singing again, but leading in a sudden blackout instead of continuing, making everything in a full circle.
Rating: 10

I can't even begin to describe the greatness of this single as a whole, and not just the mere thing from the Shingeki no Kyojin OP everyone is excited about. It's pretty hard to find many different words for god-like. My overall rating is: 10 - RECOMMENDED. 

And, once again, just in case you didn't get it properly:

LISTEN TO THIS SINGLE.


11 comments:

  1. I was fairly surprised at how good this single turned out. Is how much you write proportional to song-like? It is for me sometimes lol. I plan on reviewing this sometime, but due to various going-ons my access to a computer isn't that great at the moment :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not so much as the liking of my song, but the content in the song itself there is to write about. If the song is boring and simple, I'll probably write little things about it, but even if it's a terrible, but complex song, I'll have lots of things to write about. I hope this didn't confuse you (^~^;)ゞ

      Delete
    2. I get it hehe :-)

      Delete
  2. Your writing style makes me happy. ヽ(^o^ヽ)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you (*≧▽≦)ノシ)) Making people happy is the greatest feat anyone can accomplish.

      Delete
  3. I'm proud that people are accepting Revo's work so well! The classical style mixed with rockish instruments and Opera chorus, also the "making everything in a full circle" thingy and the use of foreign languages in narrations (and even in lyrics) are great marks of his works in his band, Sound Horizon. As a fan, I'm really glad people like it! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, that depends on what you mean by "people". I, myself, have a very peculiar taste in music, preparing me for all sorts of variations and differences, but the large public watching Shingeki no Kyojin was actually quite disappointed. At least the people I talked to.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, there's also this sad side. But I also see many people really enjoying it, tha'ts why I said I'm really happy :D

      Delete
  4. Love the single and your review about it. Good work!!!
    Do you know the vocalist of the last song? I really love her voice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much! (*≧▽≦)
      Linked Horizon is described as a project in which only Revo participates, so I can only guess that it is a vocalist that he collaborated with while in Sound Horizon, his other project (since there is no official information about this online). By the sound of it, it could probably be Haruka Shimotsuki or Oda Kaori, however, I am entirely unsure with it.

      Delete
    2. You're welcome!!!
      I figure out who the vocalist is ^^
      It's Mami Yanagi.

      Delete

7 July 2013

Linked Horizon - Jiyuu e no Shingeki

Shingeki no Kyojin OP (Track no. 1)
Shingeki no Kyojin OP 2 (Track no. 2)

Tracklist:

1. Guren no Yumiya
2. Jiyuu no Tsubasa
3. Moshi Kono Kabe no Naka ga Ichiken no Ieda to Shitara

1. Guren no Yumiya

Tension-inducing war drums and choral chanting open the song, calmly setting the battlefield for the aggressive and strong opening we all know and love. The arrangement found here is the very definition of epic, as we get every heart-racing fanfare, drum, violin, guitar, synth all intertwined together with the filtered vocals to make an unforgettable impression. I was even surprised at how hard-hitting it was, since the anime short version was significantly lighter in the dark, battling atmosphere. Although the chorus is the most memorable part of the track, we get it only at the beginning and the very end, with the middle of the track being crossed with various different themes and melodies, which all serve to reflect the character of Eren in a different fashion. The more peculiar form similar to that of classical music needs getting used to, since everything except the main theme was cut out from the opening sequence as well, but the forceful guitar solos and parts where Revo sings with less background support are still every bit as impressive as the whole track. Without any doubt, this is the best song in the Spring 2013 season.
Rating: 10

2. Jiyuu no Tsubasa

After some roaring crowd noise, Juiyuu no Tsubasa directly continues from the previous track, in a more uplifting hymn-like melody before becoming turbulent and energetic again. Unlike Guren no Yumiya, this song is quite subdued and more techno-rockish, though I tend to like it even more because of the several touching and catchy melodies. While following the same unusual form, some darker chord progressions are present, making me wonder which melody of the many will be converted in the "anime mode", since every one of them is equally attractive and energetic. After several transitions, the whole instrumentation stops entirely to deep-voiced narration in German, with a Final Fantasy-like ambiental background and surprisingly dark church bells play, follower by a slow version of the main melody from Guren no Yumiya, and ending with the same theme from the start. Seeing as this will be the opening theme to the, still unreleased, second season of Shingeki no Kyojin, I wonder how the reactions will turn out, because it occasionally even surpasses its predecessor.
Rating: 10

3. Moshi Kono Kabe no Naka ga Ichiken no Ieda to Shitara

Everything in this single is seemingly tied together, and this track with the unfortunate, arduous title continues the chain from Jiyuu no Tsubasa. Immediately after the last choir dies down, not a moment of silence passes until a quiet, ticking clock can be heard, bringing back many nostalgic memories from Chrono Trigger. Building up, a gentle, repeating melody stacks on top of the ticking clock, and a female vocalist appears this time around. A very surreal and serene scenery is made when the song starts playing with the human perception of space by listening to something, and adding a flowing stream of water, children running around and playing, the sound of someone cooking in a kitchen, and so on, all while not imposing on the original melody. After some time, the track unravels into a proper song, with the same marching drums and effective atmosphere, but in a slower tempo. Besides again touching me deeply for nostalgia with some Final Fantasy chords, the dramatic and sad vocals are a nice change after Revo's somewhat obscured singing. Summing up, everything dies down for a music box sequence, which again leaves space for the same, lone clock ticking. Just as we thought everything is over, and we can turn the volume down, the opening choir from Guren no Yumiya starts singing again, but leading in a sudden blackout instead of continuing, making everything in a full circle.
Rating: 10

I can't even begin to describe the greatness of this single as a whole, and not just the mere thing from the Shingeki no Kyojin OP everyone is excited about. It's pretty hard to find many different words for god-like. My overall rating is: 10 - RECOMMENDED. 

And, once again, just in case you didn't get it properly:

LISTEN TO THIS SINGLE.


11 comments:

  1. I was fairly surprised at how good this single turned out. Is how much you write proportional to song-like? It is for me sometimes lol. I plan on reviewing this sometime, but due to various going-ons my access to a computer isn't that great at the moment :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not so much as the liking of my song, but the content in the song itself there is to write about. If the song is boring and simple, I'll probably write little things about it, but even if it's a terrible, but complex song, I'll have lots of things to write about. I hope this didn't confuse you (^~^;)ゞ

      Delete
    2. I get it hehe :-)

      Delete
  2. Your writing style makes me happy. ヽ(^o^ヽ)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you (*≧▽≦)ノシ)) Making people happy is the greatest feat anyone can accomplish.

      Delete
  3. I'm proud that people are accepting Revo's work so well! The classical style mixed with rockish instruments and Opera chorus, also the "making everything in a full circle" thingy and the use of foreign languages in narrations (and even in lyrics) are great marks of his works in his band, Sound Horizon. As a fan, I'm really glad people like it! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, that depends on what you mean by "people". I, myself, have a very peculiar taste in music, preparing me for all sorts of variations and differences, but the large public watching Shingeki no Kyojin was actually quite disappointed. At least the people I talked to.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, there's also this sad side. But I also see many people really enjoying it, tha'ts why I said I'm really happy :D

      Delete
  4. Love the single and your review about it. Good work!!!
    Do you know the vocalist of the last song? I really love her voice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much! (*≧▽≦)
      Linked Horizon is described as a project in which only Revo participates, so I can only guess that it is a vocalist that he collaborated with while in Sound Horizon, his other project (since there is no official information about this online). By the sound of it, it could probably be Haruka Shimotsuki or Oda Kaori, however, I am entirely unsure with it.

      Delete
    2. You're welcome!!!
      I figure out who the vocalist is ^^
      It's Mami Yanagi.

      Delete