-OZ- - Rouge

-OZ-'s latest full length album, Rouge, is a strong album. -OZ- is well known for producing some of the hardest visual kei music in the scene, and this new album continues the tradition. The songs are easy to imagine being played at a live. Most of the songs are fast paced, and one can hardly stop from headbanging.

The first song, Birthday, is a misleading introduction to the album. While most of the songs are hard rock/metal, Birthday has a techno/electronica style. But don't fear that -OZ- has decided to 'go techno,' just fast forward to the next track and be comforted by the return of the double kick bass drum and aggressive chords of guitar and bass.

Most of the songs on the album tend towards a fast, strong beat. A lot of unison rhythm between the different instruments makes a heavy, but not weighed down, sound. Rotate, LEAD, Bitter & Sweet, and Strings are all fairly similar songs. They blend together in the memory of the listener. In the song Seventh Tier, frequent changes in style keep the listener engaged. The song moves between a nu-metal chorus, soaring verses and the simplicity and strength of a significant tempo change in the bridge.

Though a couple of the songs such as Rain Delay and Pressed Flower were released previously on singles, the standout song on this album is Flood Bead. It starts with a ridiculously basic drum line, and then the guitars and bass enter. Lastly, the vocals are introduced, and oddly the guitars drop out. The focus on the bass and voice during the verse is unique and memorable, and the short bass solo is powerful in its simplicity.

PLANT would have made a good single. It sounds like a song made for radio. It has a slower beat than most of the other songs, but still one will find it nearly impossible not to move to. The repetitive themes, most memorable in the appearance as a short guitar solo, makes it easy to recall and hum later, even hours after listening. Furthermore, the English chorus line will leave you singing over and over, "Save me! Save me!"

Sky High, the final track, starts soft - almost pop-like - and seems a wrong fit for the album, but perhaps is better for its oddity. It might have gotten lost on an album of more similar songs, but on this album it comes at the end like a relaxing cool down after a hard workout. Overall -OZ-'s Rouge shows some odd choices in songs, mainly in the introduction and finishing songs, but is an album well worth listening to.