REVIEW: ONE OK ROCK – 35XXXV
ONE OK ROCK – 35XXXV Album Review By: MelodicEnmity
J-Rock and J-Pop are fascinating musical genres. They simply scream of character and style all over the music produced. I have to give it to the Japanese music industry for giving life to and nourishing some amazing musicians over the years. But, in my opinion, there is one band in today’s world-wide musical market that have the talent and songs needed to ‘rise to the top’ on a global level. That band is ONE OK ROCK. In my life-time experience of playing and listening to music, I have fallen in love with all different styles, from the chillest of the chill, to the heaviest of the heavy, but as far as I am concerned, none have been able to crossover between them so fluidly in the way that ONE OK ROCK does.
Before anyone takes this the wrong way, please let me explain. From the moment I heard ONE OK ROCK many years back, then finally having the privilege of attending the first of their US dates ever (which was completely sold out to boot), I knew they were something truly special. For those familiar with J-Rock bands, ONE OK ROCK is one the very few bands that I believe transcends the genre. You could call them a cross-over band, but I wouldn’t. I have seen that over the years, ONE OK ROCK has been finely tuning their craft; not just keep those elements of J-Rock, but also combining them in harmony with other worldly styles of rock, punk, and metal. It ends up creating one beautiful package. ONE OK ROCK do not take away from their roots one bit. Instead, they have created something that really adds to the rock music industry, no matter what country you hail from.
That brings me to their latest album “35XXXV,” which is released tomorrow (02/11/2015) via Amuse Inc. in Japan. “35XXXV” is living proof that they have been one-upping themselves with every album. “Jinsei X Boku,” their previous record, was hands down fantastic. Now with the upcoming release of “35XXXV,” I believe that ONE OK ROCK has perfected their craft. Hands down, if there is one album that deserves world-wide distribution, especially now that the band has been touring the USA and taking part in our festival circuits (i.e. Warped Tour), it is “35XXXV.”
I enjoyed ONE OK ROCK’S “35XXXV” from beginning to end, bringing a smile to my face with its creativity. Taka Moriuchi’s pitch perfect voice soars and shines, while lyrically the entire album flows between perfectly spoken English, to Japanese, and back again without a single hiccup. Taka, as always, stepped up and owned this record. Tomoya Kanki, plays the drums like a mad-man with such extreme precision, while Toru Yamashita and Ryota Kohama have written an extremely emotional score that packs one hell of a punch. There really is something on this album for everyone, for fans of all different genres.
No ONE OK ROCK album would be complete without at least a couple of ballads. In this case, the tracks “Heartache” and “Good Goodbye” are simply moving, as well as their heavier songs such as “Mighty Long Fall,” “Memories,” and “Cry Out.” There is nothing I love more than when you literally can feel the emotion and work that each musician has put into a song. It’s only February and I feel that I may have found my album of the year. Sure, I may be jumping the gun a little by saying that, but that is how important ONE OK ROCK’s “35XXXV” really is.
If there is one band that can help break the divide that we sometimes sense in fans of certain genres against fans of others, it is ONE OK ROCK. Buy “35XXXV” NOW from the links below.
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/AZCS-1041
– MelodicEnmity
