:+: No Music No Life :+:

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

CD Review :: BREAKERZ - BIG BANG !

CD Only Cover :

CD Only Cover + 80 Page Photobook :

CD + DVD Type A Cover :

CD + DVD Type B Cover :

Tracklist For All 4 Editions :

1) BIG BANG !
2) SUMMER PARTY
3) Sekai wa Odoru (The World's Dancing)
4) GUILTY
5) Shakunetsu (Burning)
6) Koko Kara Dashite (Let Me Get Out Of Here)
7) ROSE
8) LAST EMOTION
9) BUZZER BEATER
10) Angelic Smile ~BIG BANG ! MIX~
11) Aitakute (I Want To Meet You)
12) Sentimental Scrap
13) WINTER PARTY ~BIG BANG ! Version~

BIG BANG ! is BREAKERZ's 3rd full length album . It was released last month on the 26th in Japan in 4 different editions .

The album debuted at #8 in the 1st week , making it the most successful album that the JRock trio has attained so far , seeing that this's the 1st album release of theirs to achieve a top 10 position , something that their 1st 2 albums (debut self titled album didn't charted while CRASH & BUILD charted at #300) & their 1st mini album Ao no Mirai (debut position #123) weren't able to accomplish .

The guys's 1st 3 double A-side singles are included in the album as it's only this year in July , the trio started to release singles officially even though they were formed last April .

I'm not surprised that they kicked start BIG BANG ! with a new song that's of the same name as they did the same thing for their Ao no Mirai EP .

BIG BANG ! is such a great way to start off the album as it's 1 great angsty catchy rock no. although I can't help but realise it sounded a bit like NO SEX NO LIFE but still this's 1 of the stronger & more prominent album tracks you can find in BIG BANG ! .

The next 2 tracks are the 1st double a-side/s of the band's 1st & 2nd singles respectively . Track 2 is the very 1st song that I heard of the trio which started my BREAKERZ journey in the form of SUMMER PARTY .

I still love this song & of course if not for the fact MTV Taiwan who kept on playing the video on heavy rotation at that time when it was released , I wouldn't have sit up & take notice of the guys's music in the 1st place .

Track 3's Sekai wa Odoru (The World's Dancing) & this mid tempo rock song's still a neat little gem .

I really like the hard work & effort that guitarist AKIHIDE put into , be it writing or composing the song as the melody's so beautiful & both the guitar & violin solos added a nice touch to Sekai wa Odoru .

From 2 singles to an album track , in comes GUILTY . Just like BIG BANG ! , the song's also another guilt pleasure song worth enjoying . I just like how the guitar riffs & drums able to harmonise themselves well together .

The next track's the 2nd A-side of the trio's 2nd single in which I still feel it's 1 of the group's stronger singles that they have put out in their career .

Shakunetsu (Burning) was used to promote the Japanese release of the movie Wanted which starred Angelina Jolie & of course with a song title like Shakunetsu , expect nothing but sheer brutal angst brewing within the song at its best .

From a single , the next 2 songs are album tracks . Koko Kara Dashite (Let Me Get Out Of Here) is a strange song on 1st listen because lead vocalist DAIGO sounded like a notch or 2 lower than his usual self but aside from that , this song's good in an unusual & weird manner .

In the case of ROSE , this's 1 really peppy no. & it's 1 of the rare songs on BIG BANG ! that presented a more cheery self as some of the album tracks borderline more on the angst side so ROSE was a really nice breath of change for the trio .

LAST EMOTION's the 2nd A-side of the group's debut single & it's a perfect contrast to ROSE & also to SUMMER PARTY as well .

While both songs are upbeat no.s , it's not in the case for LAST EMOTION . Even if you don't listen to the song , you still can make a guess in that it's an angsty rock no. & I believe the guys excelled in delivering such songs with ease .

& speaking of angsty no.s , track 9 also falls in the same category . Now , I remembered I was going LOL when I saw this song title & no surprises that this caught my attention straightaway .

Surprisingly with a song title like BUZZER BEATER , it's actually 1 of my fave songs on the album simply because I just like how the melody of the song sounds & especially at the beginning with the fast thumping of the drums mixed together with the sound of the guitar riffs which's courtesy of guitarist SHINPEI who composed BUZZER BEATER .

In comes the group's 1st A-side of the latest 3rd single . It's titled as Angelic Smile ~BIG BANG ! MIX~ but er honestly I really cannot tell the difference between the single & album versions of Angelic Smile as they both sounded the same to me , music wise .

The trio probably added the words ~BIG BANG ! MIX~ to make it look cool & hip but in anycase , another nice mid tempo rock song I must add .

The next 2 songs are the last album tracks on BIG BANG ! . Aitakute (I Want To Meet You) is the only non single ballad in BIG BANG ! & it's such a beautiful song . Not to mention I like that the sound transition from Angelic Smile ~BIG BANG ! MIX~ to Aitakute .

I like how DAIGO sounded really sincere & moving in Aitakute & the credits really have to go to AKIHIDE who was responsible for writing & composing Aitakute which's great .

Aitakute is really a gem worth keeping seeing that this's practically the only non single ballad available in the album as the angsty rock no.s outweight the ballads in this case .

& speaking of AKIHIDE , he also has a hand in writing & composing the next song Sentimental Scrap . Other than BUZZER BEATER , this was the 2nd song title which caught my attention as for a title , it's just weird .

Aside from the music that I enjoyed , I feel that this's the only weak link in the album as I had to take a few more listens than usual in order to familiarise myself as to how Sentimental Scrap sounds like but aside from that , this's a pretty neat song .

& what a better way to close things off with the group's 2nd A-side of their 3rd single which's titled as WINTER PARTY ~BIG BANG ! Version~ .

However unlike Angelic Smile ~BIG BANG ! MIX~ where I can't tell the difference between the single & album versions of the song , at least in WINTER PARTY ~BIG BANG ! Version~'s case , I could as the beginning of the song sounded a bit different than the single version .

Although the differences are minor but still , you got to love WINTER PARTY ~BIG BANG ! Version~ especially since Christmas's around the corner .

It's cool that DAIGO had a hand in writing & composing both the album & single versions of WINTER PARTY . Not to mention the video for the song's probably my fave of the guys too .

BREAKERZ has certainly made a BIG BANG ! impression of themselves in their latest album release . If you have been following the trio's music journey since their formation last April , you would have noticed that they have come of age & have matured significantly .

After 2 albums , 1 mini album & 3 singles releases so far , they have finally put out an album that showcased at what they're really good at .

It's great to see their hard work & efforts have finally paid off as BIG BANG ! is the 1st album for them to achieve top 10 status during the 1st week in the Oricon weekly chart .

The music of what they have to offer's no doubt a straight up JRock affair but they managed to showcase pretty much quite a variety of different music styles they incorporated & mixed the styles together up in their music & this's what BIG BANG ! basically has to offer , an album filled with great catchy angsty rock no.s with ballads thrown in for good measures .