JGoth.com :: Japan Goth and Industrial Music

The Royal Dead (ex. Phantasmagoria) released this Maxi-single CD way back in 2005 (and there’s a new full album out now so this review is behind the times!). The Maxi-single CD contains five tracks, but it is more like a three-track single CD with a prologue and epilogue added in. It is a concept mini-album focusing the music and lyrics around the lycanthropy – the ability to change into a werewolf and such (no kidding, I hear you say). The prologue and epilogue are more short thematic refrains than songs in themselves. I noticed some glitched sounds in the epilogue, but apart from that this album is a crisply-recorded, dark, dancable piece of electronicka.

The three main tracks, Howling, Fortune and Lycanthrope feature prominently in DJ sets at Gothic Events in Japan reflecting their very dance-friendly up-tempo electronicka, violins and backed up by the divine vocals making for an enjoyable listening experience.

Track two, Howling, should be particularly familiar to anyone who has gone to a Goth event in Tokyo as it is the most often played of the tracks. The dancable synth melds with the siren-like vocals. Luna is another familiar track on the local Goth scene. It starts slowly, but ramps up with some strong ax-riffs before the vocals slide in harmoniously. Fortune gets less club play, perhaps due to its slow start with synth-keyboards – but drumbeats soon give the track’s tempo a kick. Once again the vocals give the track a nice eerily beautiful feel.

Overall this is a good example of dark synth-pop backed with some rocky guitar and violin work and held together by the beautiful yet despairing vocals. On the negative side I think the tiny little glitch-sounds (whether intended or not) on Epilogue were a little off-putting, but the real negative is that Lycanthrope is too short! I think there should have been at least five full-blown tracks (or a couple of remixes would have been great) to add to the listener’s experience. In final conclusion, yes I would buy it for the three main tracks alone, but I am much more excited by their new-released self-titled album with 10 tracks!

The Royal Dead/Phantasmagoria :: Lycanthrope :: Track Listing
01. Prologue (1:21)
02. Howling (4:17) – Sample
03. Luna (4:58) – Sample
04. Fortune (3:33) – Sample
05. Epilogue (1:22)
Total Tim: 15:31

I am not sure where you can pick up this MCD, but you can pick up the NEW 10-track CD from Music Non Stop! That is one I plan on getting some day soon…