Kein - mourou no jitsu

The band Kein holds an important role in establishing Nagoya kei, the term coined for Nagoya indies visual bands. Despite Kein's small history and even smaller discography, they left their impression in the visual music world with unique vocals, rough melodies and memorable tracks. Their second to last single, mourou no jitsu was no exception.

Danro no kajitsu starts out with the sound of footsteps and a knock at the door before jumping straight into a slow and almost seductive melody. The guitar tapers out to a whisper and the drums calm to pave the way for Mako's vocals. Singing in a volume just above a monotone, there is little inflection in his voice except for scattered stuttered vibrato throughout the entire song. The track has no real chorus, and its most dramatic moments are the ten-second-notes held by Mako; they are both steady and wavered. There is also a strange forty seconds of baby talk to strained cries. The song wraps up with a guitar echo that races into a scream. It starts off soft and grows increasingly louder before transitioning smoothly into the next song, Guramii.

A furiously fast guitar and drum beat in perfect unison start Guramii, and the sound only slows down when the vocals begin. Mako sounds almost like a madman as he begins to sing with inflections of anger and sarcasm, again using stuttered vibrato that also gives the vocals almost a mocking effect. The lyrics speak of bodily harm to a prisoner on death row, and Mako's vocals clearly visualize this act as the song plays. The chorus maintains an addictive beat as Mako belts out the lyrics excitedly, followed by growled cries of "no!" He sings about standing before a crowd awaiting him at the gallows, and you can visualize him desperately begging while writhing in anticipation. Along with a stunning guitar solo, the chorus of this song is what really makes this an amazing track.

The final track on the single is FLASHBACK THE NEWSMAN which wraps the CD up with a bang. Delivering another upbeat track, the bass of this song is especially accented and is almost louder than the guitar throughout. The vocals of this song are chanted through most of the song, but the faster beat and unique composition keep it from being boring. Before the chorus, there are a distorted few seconds where Mako's vocals are heavily echoed. They switch into a screaming, muffled sounding chorus that is a jumbled mixture of German and English. The song finishes with the same instrumental opener, neatly closing the song out.

The fun thing about mourou no jitsu is the the complete feeling of the single. Danro no kaijitsu borders on being a laid back and relaxed track despite its hard undertones, while Guramii is an energetic danceable song undeterred by its morbid lyrics. FLASHBACK THE NEWSMAN brings us back in a complete circle with the obligatory "metal" song, making sure that there is something for every type of fan. Being spoiled by today's visual sound, the sounds of old school visual kei is unappealing to some fans. However, for those who agree that old visual kei dies hard, mourou no jitsu is a strong single that shouldn't be missed, being a timeless classic instead of a one-hit wonder.