CD Review :: Hilcrhyme - RISING
CD
CD + DVD
1) Personal COLOR
2) Tomo yo (My Friend)
3) TOKYO CITY
4) Ponpira
5) Dancers Anthem
6) Okubyou na Ookami (Cowardly Wolf)
7) Nirei Ichi Ichi Nihon Nite-ki su (Database recorded one thousand one hundred and two in Japan)
8) Changes
9) My Christmas Carol
10) Extraction -Instrumental-
11) LOOP
12) no one
13) RISING MARCH
RISING is Hilcrhyme's 3rd album & it was released on 7th Dec .
The duo's brand new album contains 3 singles & a B-side . Their last album MESSAGE was released last year on 24th Nov .
In addition , RISING was released on the same day as their new DVD Hilcrhyme Live in TOKI MESSE -Ake no Sagi- .
Starting RISING is Personal COLOR which's the duo's 9th single .
Personal COLOR was used as the outro theme song for the drama IS ~Otoko Demo Onna Demo nai Sei~ & the song's about using colour to define the uniqueness of individuals .
Tomo yo (My Friend) is the B-side of their 8th single no one .
This's 1 B-side I'm really thrilled to see it being included in RISING because I adore Tomo yo when no one was released & because of this , I have no complaints seeing Tomo yo here .
TOKYO CITY is RISING's 1st album track & this's 1 really funky no. which combines Hilcrhyme's trademark hip hop rap beats together with singer/MC TOC's rap/singing vocals nicely .
Likewise , Ponpira is also another new song I enjoyed too & it's equally upbeat & funkier just like TOKYO CITY too .
Dancers Anthem is 1 unusual no. & this's quite heavily R&B emphasised . Also it's somewhat a bit more darker sounding as well .
Okubyou na Ookami (Cowardly Wolf) is Hilcrhyme's 7th single . This song has pop essence & it showcases a new style from the guys .
Promo wise , Okubyou na Ookami received the following mode of promotion :
- NTV "MIDNITE television series " ending theme (4th Jan - 22nd March )
- Nippon TV series "Happy Music "POWER PLAY (28th Jan - 18th Feb)
When Okubyou na Ookami was released way back in Feb , it definitely showcased a different music style from the duo , with it being much different from their previous singles & they even throw in a bit of saxaphone beats for good measures too .
The rather long sounding Nirei Ichi Ichi Nihon Nite-ki su (Database recorded one thousand one hundred and two in Japan) might sound rather daunting but surprisingly , this's 1 track that I kind of enjoy .
It's 1 of the few songs I get to hear TOC sing instead of rap & I feel TOC actually sounds good when he sings , not that I dislike his rapping style .
Changes is also another song I enjoyed as this does reminds me of Loose Leaf's Hikari (Light) to a certain extent since both Changes & Hikari are acoustic guitar meets hip hop songs .
My Christmas Carol is the only album track that gets a music video but the video's not included in the DVD of RISING .
The song is described to be the ultimate Christmas gift you give to that important person you want to reach with the message , “I wrote this song for you & I’ll only sing it on this night .”
My Christmas Carol is 1 song I've been waiting to hear since I really like the preview & I wasn't disappointed when I finally get to listen to the full version in the album .
This can be considered as the duo's 1st Christmas song & I thought they did such a great job in giving My Christmas Carol a funky update feel . It's not a typical Christmas song but somehow , they were able to combine old & modern traits which gives rise to this which I enjoy a lot .
After a 2:45 mins Extraction -Instrumental- , in comes LOOP which's the 2nd last album track .
LOOP is another song that I enjoy & it's much more fast paced driven as compared to other album tracks found in RISING .
no one is Hilcrhyme's 8th single & it was used as the opening theme for NTV's Happy Music this year in June .
This's 1 heartfelt ballad that I still enjoy even up to now & I can feel just how much emotions TOC has poured into this track . Unlike their 4th single Daijoubu (It's Alright) , no one is much more simplified sounding , in terms of the piano melody that was utilised .
Kind of being named after the album , it's the last track on RISING ie. RISING MARCH .
As the song title suggests , RISING MARCH is a rather fist pumping track that's full of enthusiasm & I think this's a pretty fitting no. to conclude things , just like what it happened in the duo's previous album MESSAGE when MESSAGE BOX closed off the album .
2011 has been a pretty fruitful music year for Hilcrhyme , which saw them releasing 3 singles , 2 DVDs & now their latest 3rd album RISING before 2011 concludes .
Honestly , this's 1 artiste I'm really glad to follow ever since BREAKERZ's frontman DAIGO name dropped them on his blog last year & I can understand why at that time DAIGO was singing praises on the duo's debut album Recital (which was a really good album I must add) .
I'm not really big on hip hop/rap but I feel Hilcrhyme is an exception & with regards to RISING , they're proof on why they're 1 artiste that will bound to stick around for a pretty long time .
RISING is definitely an album worth checking out before 2012 swings by & also if you need a good dosage of hip hop/rap .
