UnsraW - REBORN

The visual kei band UnsraW released their latest single, REBORN, on September 23rd . It was an anticipated release which many fans hoped for but feared would never come. The band had been on a break for quite a while to make sure their lead singer Yuuki could recover from his illness, and their latest release was two years ago. However, it seems they are back again in full force. UnsraW isn’t too well-known outside of Japan, partially also because of this break, and people may have forgotten about them even though they are very talented. This will hopefully change soon thanks to this new single and their upcoming European tour!

The first track on the single is Nightmare. Even if it is a heavy song, the pace starts off quite slowly. Unfortunately, the typical UnsraW sound isn’t really present, and it's softer than usual. Yuuki’s voice sounds great, switching between clean, heavy and melodic; the deep grunts which he is so good at are also present, but not as much as we used to hear in their older works. It’s also mostly the vocals that make the song seem less UnsraW because of the fact that it’s less aggressive. Nightmare is still a nice song beside these minor critiques, and it gets much heavier with the next two tracks.

REBORN is actually the perfect title for the band's new single at this moment, and the track contains everything the band is good at. Heavy headbanging moments, powerful guitars and drums, insane screams and crazy grunts that switch with clean vocals. Why REBORN isn’t the first track on the single is a fitting question as it is a much stronger song that really represents UnsraW. REBORN is heavy and aggressive and it contains the death vocals Yuuki’s so good at. It’s a track that will be at its strongest during one of their live shows, possibly causing the venue to explode.

The final song is SWITCH, which is softer than the previous track, and it begins with a tight guitar intro. The death vocals from Yuuki are again less present, and they have been replaced by melodic vocals for the most part. Fortunately, this isn’t a negative thing like it was with Nightmare as they fit perfectly with the song. SWITCH turned out to be a very powerful track on which the band shows how they have grown. It's a great song to finish the single.

Besides Nightmare, which lacks power and sometimes manages to sound unfinished, REBORN turned out to be a great and powerful comeback for UnsraW. The title track REBORN and the melodic SWITCH are strong, and the single turns out to be a great release thanks to these two songs. Hopefully we’ll keep on hearing more from UnsraW for a long time!