FANATIC◇CRISIS - MASK

FANATIC◇CRISIS

MASK

1996/01/07

01. クライム バレエ

02. めぐり逢えたら

03. Memories in White -Album Version-

04. 月と蠍

05. RHAPSODY

06. Pleasure Garden

07. Truth -Album Version-

08. MASK

09. 哀しい色した窓硝子

10. 君がいる闇の中で

11. Love Me

FANATIC◇CRISIS is hailed in Japan as being one of the 'big four' of the '90s visual kei scene, yet I feel like they tend to slip under the radar a bit for most overseas fans, myself included. It's never too late for some education in pop music history though!

I've always been sort of distantly aware of FANATIC◇CRISIS, but never really had a desire to check them out. No one from my VK friend circle repped them (as far as I remember), and the few songs I did try here or there didn't exactly convince me that I was missing anything groundbreaking, just another competently produced pop-rock outfit. I knew they were supposed to be a huge deal in Japan, but it was only in recent years that I actually learnt about them being in the 'big four' (alongside SHAZNA, La'cryma Christi and MALICE MIZER), so that began to spark my curiosity. Surely they must have that special something that made them rise above the rest! Them being featured in a 'top 50 best visual kei albums of the 1990s' list compiled by the readers and staff of that one Japanese VK webzine last year was the final push for me, so I began my dive into FANATIC◇CRISIS.

In my experience it's never a bad idea to start with the early records of these giant '90s bands because usually that's where the more interesting stuff can be found (to my preference anyway). Last year I already became acquainted with their debut mini album which was a fine listen, but it didn't leave much of a mark on me. I figured I might as well try their first album "MASK" (their only indies full-length), and it was kind of what I expected from the rising stars of Nagoya...

You might have noticed how much of an intro and buildup I've written so far for this and you're probably thinking "okay my dude, get to the music already!", but the truth of the matter is... there's not much to say, haha. This album is very melodic, sometimes even quite catchy, decently composed and arranged, but totally inoffensive and incapable of getting my heart rate up. I guess after listening to their EP I expected something more memorable, but it might just be a case of me discovering a classic so late that all its elements sound a bit played-out by this point. They remind me of their then-labelmates ROUAGE, in that some of these tunes sound like typical old-school Nagoya lite inching towards a major contract with subtle LUNA SEA worship, while also juggling with moderately experimental sounds that don't always work (there's an interesting attempt at electro-rock in the middle). When they come with the catchy guitar leads and standard uptempo VK fare, it's quite nice though, and frontman Tsutomu's vocals are undoubtedly powerful too.

Ultimately this album is pretty light on the ears and not a bad listen at all, I just don't find it too compelling. I do recommend it if you're craving some of that old-school soft VK sound with trademark airy melodies and a polished, competent execution. If you're new to the scene you might be better off with another more recent band (that's not so vanilla), but if you're up to the challenge you can give this one a go too, as it's an authentic representation of the sound of the times.