Blood Stain Child - Last Stardust
A lot of Metal fans see the discography of a Japanese band and wonder why they have an extensive number of singles to their credit. In Japan, things are a bit backwards compared to the rest of the world. In most anywhere else, a band will record a full-length LP and then release a single to promote it. In Japan, the singles come long before a full-length LP. By the time the album comes out, most Japanese fans have heard all of the good songs on it already. Last Stardust is the latest single from Blood Stain Child and if you have any of their previous releases, you’re getting more of what they do best. It’s a continuation of what they did on Epsilon (one of the five tracks here, “Stargazer - X-,” was originally released on Epsilon) and Mozaiq, but further refined. For those who haven’t heard the music of Blood Stain Child before, they’re pretty accurately described as Trance Metal. It mixes Trance/Techno electronics with Melodic Death Metal in a combination that sounds like what would happen if Strapping Young Lad (1st LP era) was brought in to do a collaboration LP with a Japanese Dance/Pop Idol. It is on the commercially accessible side, but it still has a Metal edge to it that no amount of Trance-influenced keyboards can cover up. It’s both intense and furious but also upbeat and catchy. It’s beautiful and violent at the same time, and the band is able to delicately balance things so that one aspect doesn’t dominate the other. It’s a bit odd when you first hear it, but before long, you’re banging your head along with the music and searching iTunes for the rest of the band’s discography. They used to sound more than a little like Children of Bodom on their earliest releases, but as time wore on they started incorporating more Trance/Techno influences into their music. The previously mentioned Epsilon and Mozaiq are the best representatives of their current musical direction. If you’re a fan of Blood Stain Child (or any other Japanese band), I recommend checking the digital sites (Amazon, iTunes, etc.) because unless the band has a domestic release, buying the physical version is going to be insanely expensive. I’m a huge fan of Japanese music, and having purchased a lot of it over the years, I can tell you that a CD from Japan will cost at least twice as much (sometimes more) as a domestic release. I know that a new full-length LP might not be released anytime soon, but I’m definitely interested in hearing it.
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