fade - TEN

People may not yet be familiar with fade, but this Tokyo-based rock band has recently been gaining popularity thanks to their collaboration with the anime “Deadman Wonderland”, for which they sang the opening theme song One Reason. Not only that, JON also worked alongside GACKT as one of the vocalists of YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz.

TEN, fade's second full length album, marks the band's ten-year anniversary and was produced by Hajime Okano, a regular collaborator on L'Arc~en~Ciel's albums. The combination of Okano’s work and the musical experience fade has gained over the years has undoubtedly had a great impact on the quality of the album.

The album kicks off with the song In the end and the first thing you’ll notice is the deep bass; a great way to start. This is definitely a song to remember and is probably one of the best songs on the album. Although darker than their usual sound, it's not at all displeasing! After this comes Chase for Daylight, featuring Toyo from NEW BREED. You can just feel the energy from the band during the chorus, making it another great song. The next track, REIMEI, was appreciated by fans even before the album's release as the band let everyone listen to it during a streaming session earlier this year. And no wonder this is a firm favorite. It is also one of the only songs on the album that is performed in Japanese, the others being WAKE UP THE WORLD and Close to You. The Japanese language really suits JON's voice and truly expresses their concept; the mix of East and West.

There are also a few ballads on the album and fade really excels in them. The best example would have to be Moment of Life, an up-tempo song that really does justice to JON's voice. It's a bit faster paced than regular ballads, but the emotion is definitely there, both in the vocal performance and melody. The song Keep the Faith remains the only disappointment of this album as although the guitars were promising they became drowned in the melody, turning it into a plain pop-rock song.

fade combines a variety of genres and moods, from hard rock songs like Ever Free and Million to One that make you want to jump around and headband, to more pop-oriented tunes such as Close to You. Play it in your car; it's the ideal sound to listen to when you're on the road.

TEN is one of fade’s best works so far with a diverse range of songs that highlight the band’s undeniable talent. Moreover, the album holds a lot of meaning for both the band and the fans; it reflects their journey so far and celebrates how far they've come since their debut. It also marks a new direction they are taking, a new goal they have set for themselves: internationalization.