TOSHI with T-EARTH - EARTH SPIRIT

This year seems to have been an eventful one for all the X JAPAN members. Not only have they played three revival shows and have plans to perform overseas at the end of the year, the members are also working hard on their own projects and bands. Vocalist TOSHI followed the example of fellow band mate YOSHIKI and formed a band with various well-known musicians from the visual kei scene. Jun, formerly of Phantasmagoria, Touya of Charlotte, and drummers LEVIN, formerly La'cryma Christi and Shinya of LUNA SEA are part of the line-up.

EARTH SPIRIT is their first offering, but strangely none of the aforementioned musicians are credited in the booklet. Masaya, a songwriter and 'healing artist' who has also written the majority of TOSHI’s solo songs, is mentioned as the song and lyric writer for every song, as well as being the producer. It makes EARTH SPIRIT look like release by a solo artist instead of an actual new band.

TOSHI already mentioned that the band's music style was going to be "based on hard rock but also including elements of funk and rap to form a completely new style," and that description seems to fit the first song of the album, FIRE CITY, quite well. In this slightly funky rock song, TOSHI tries his hand at rapping, but despite his efforts to sound 'gangsta' his voice is simply too high-pitched to take him seriously. His own description of "a completely new style" seems to contradict with the subtle, yet easily detectable resemblance of the song to Aerosmith’s Walk this Way. Despite its small faults, it's actually rather catchy and enjoyable to listen to once you’ve gotten used to the vocal style.

Kizutsuki kowarete shimawanu you ni is a full 180 from the opening song, as it’s a rock-ballad in which TOSHI gets lots of opportunity to show his characteristic high-pitched voice. His vocals are flawless, soaring to the greatest heights and this time well-suited to the music. Unfortunately the instrumentals lack some originality, and its length at almost 9 minutes makes one lose interest pretty quickly. KABE ~Jibun no Naka no KABE Genkai wo Kowase~ is a bit more interesting and powerful, carrying a similar 80’s hard rock feel.

Next up is Daichi no Namida, which starts with a synthesized introduction warped by the volume going up and down quickly, a not particularly inventive method. The actual song starts with a series of jazz chords and a typical funk bass line. The track definitely brings in some diversity to the album with its jazzy atmosphere, yet stays a typical TOSHI song because of the well-known vocals and familiar guitar riffs.

Namida no Kanata ni also has plenty of American rock flavor. It’s another slow rock ballad, the first part consisting primarily of acoustic guitar and TOSHI’s sentimental vocals. Halfway through the song, it becomes more rock with the instruments speeding up more and more and TOSHI shouting and screaming, something that goes on for a few minutes and doesn’t really add anything extra to the song. At seven minutes, it's also a very lengthy song, and because of that, the jam session-like part in the latter half of the song might have been better left out.

Another jazzy song follows, called FEEL YOUR LOVE. The title already gives a good idea of what the song is like: terribly cheesy and flamboyant. This time, TOSHI sounds like he’s straining his vocals to keep up with the fast paced rhythm, and he isn’t able to save the song either. Up next is another ballad, SAY GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY, which is pretty much in the same style as X JAPAN’s famous ballads. With this song, TOSHI does manage to get the romantic and sentimental vibes across, and it's definitely one of the stronger songs of the album.

Continuing in a mellow mood, Tooi kuni e ~I believe in all of you~ is a rather sleek R&B track. The vocals work out very well with the sensual instrumentals, but this song also goes on for nearly seven minutes, which becomes simply too much.

The album ends with the ninth track: EARTH IN THE DARK~To the blue sky~T-EARTH Ver.. TOSHI had released this song as a single under his own name. The song starts with a peaceful introduction, with strings humming and tinkling piano sounds. TOSHI’s voice is heavy with emotion, and he pronounces the English lyrics very well. Even though this song is also not particularly outstanding nor unique, overall it's a nice song to listen to. Unfortunately, again, they have chosen to make it a rather lengthy song and again, nine minutes for one single song doesn't really work out.

It's a pity that the other members of T-EARTH will only support TOSHI live, seeing as the end result of EARTH SPIRIT is a rather poor one, with quite 'old-fashioned' compositions that lack originality. Fans of TOSHI’s solo work might enjoy this album a lot, as it’s in his trademark style, but listeners that bought the album because they were curious about what to expect from this brand-new band will be inevitably disappointed.

Hopefully TOSHI will give the other members a chance to compose for the band as well, so they can show their expertise and ideas, too. Perhaps they’ll provide a break from songwriter Masaya's usual style, because a breath of fresh air could really help TOSHI’s music career.