HeavensDust - Re:BURN

Since 2000, HeavensDust founder Shin and a changing ensemble of musicians have been fusing modern rock with the sound of classical Japanese instruments, such as the shakuhachi flute and taiko drum. After six albums, two singles and two mini albums, including The Sounds of Hope: The World Rocks for Japan, released in March of this year, the band now present their first remix album Re:BURN. This release features eight new versions of songs from HeavensDust’s repertoire: five from their 2012 album The Ashes Still Warm and three from further back. Joined by a plethora of guest vocalists, the band incorporate elements of hip hop and electronica into their already-distinctive musical style to create something even more unique.

Re:BURN gets off to an energetic start with World Goes Grey (Re:GRACED Mix). The first haunting blasts of shakuhachi are interrupted by a burst of electronic beats, which set the tone for this much heavier take on the 2012 original. At points, Shin is joined on vocals by Eijiro of rock band BULL ZEICHEN 88. This heaviness carries over into the second track Unknown Pain/Life to Dawn (Re:HABILITATED Mix), a curious mash-up of two early HeavensDust songs featuring rapper JEY-J. You’ll be hard pressed not to sing along with the anthemic chorus.

The tempo dips with the ultra-laidback Distressed (Re:TREAT Mix). By far the album’s slowest song, a piano and softly-strummed acoustic guitar take the place of the heavy metal riffs and wailing shakuhachi that characterised the original. Shin’s harsh vocals are also gone, replaced by the rhymes of veteran American rapper Motion Man and the band’s taiko drummer KAI_SHiNE, who delivers a short rap in Japanese. With its catchy chorus and chilled atmosphere, it’s quite unlike anything HeavensDust have done before.

Electronic beats of the sort that marked the opening track’s intro dominate the next three tracks. The Break (Re:GRET Mix) is given a distinct dubstep flavour, whilst Drowning (Re:SURFACE Mix) plays like a full-on dance track, a far cry from the brooding and understated 2012 version. Raps from KAI_SHiNE and Nishi, who previously appeared on The Sounds of Hope EP, only increase the contrast. The same is true of The Ashes Still Warm (Re:BURN Mix), which has been converted from a subdued rock song into a raucous hip hop number, with no less than three rappers –KAI_SHiNE, GOKIGEN SOUND and kAzuKi of hip hop trio JIDORI - freestyling over the revamped acoustic guitar-driven melody.

For the penultimate track, Shin and company dusted off an old favourite: the 2005 single Before I Die. This remix sees the classical Japanese instrumental mostly substituted for synthesizers, but on the bright side, the already-catchy chorus becomes almost irresistible thanks to the addition of a simple yet stirring piano motif. After the frenetic previous track, the mellow Before I Die (Re:INCARNATION Mix) comes as a welcome change of pace. The appearance of Taproot frontman Stephen “sciSSRs” Richards halfway through doesn’t herald the start of another rap, and his backing vocals nicely complement Shin’s American-accented vocals.

This mellowness continues into the closing track Emerge from Silence (Re:BORN Mix). A two-minute shakuhachi-led instrumental, gentler than the original on The Ashes Still Warm, has echoes of a Brian Eno composition, and makes for a fitting outro. Listeners might even mistake it for a continuation of the preceding track.

With Re:BURN, HeavensDust have done something rather special. Instead of simply producing extended versions of the chosen songs like most conventional remix albums, Shin and company have effectively crafted eight new songs. This release may prove somewhat divisive amongst HeavensDust’s established fanbase; for instance, the album is very light on the trademark classical Japanese instrumentation. However, certain songs on Re:BURN, especially the hip hop-infused ones, stand a very good chance of helping broaden that fanbase, and the variety of influences means there’s something here to suit almost any musical palette.

Re:BURN was released on August 26th.