Phantasmagoria - REQUIEM -FUNERAL EDITION-

Phantasmagoria
REQUIEM -FUNERAL EDITION-
2007/09/05

01. into the "Phantasmagoria"
02. 神創曲 -Variant Jihad-
03. NEVER REBELLION
04. Camouflage
05. Unknow zero distance
06. 未完成とギルト
07. Pixy false
08. Material pain
09. NEO ARK
10. 狂想曲 -Cruel crucible-

Kisaki is probably one of the most legendary figures of indies visual kei (infamy and scandals aside), having been part of countless bands and heading his own labels. To me, his crowning achievement definitely has to be his work in Phantasmagoria.

Back when I got into the VK scene, I knew of Kisaki first and foremost as UNDER CODE PRODUCTION's boss and bassist of Phantasmagoria, so I wasn't really aware of most of his history. Sure, I later found out that he played bass with the Dir en grey boys in the La:Sadie's days and was also head of the label Matina (another cult label just like UCP), but I was more occupied in discovering the then-current underground scene... and that was all about Phantasmagoria!

They were really sneaky in a way that they made absolutely immaculate, intricately woven and catchy songs, but released them in very short bursts with lots of bells and whistles to make as much profit as they could. No release with more than two songs usually. In fact, they only came out with a mini album for their first US gig, as a collection of previously released tracks! Kisaki the master moneymaker at work, haha. 'Luckily' for us, the band soon decided to go on hiatus, so as is customary, they graced us with two best-of collections titled "REQUIEM" that pretty much covered all their recorded output.

Out of the two albums, "FUNERAL EDITION" is my favorite without question (but the "FLORAL EDITION" is also solid), as it showcases most of the band's hard rockin' and energetic tracks, i.e. the style they really excelled at in my opinion. The all killer, no filler approach is very much in effect here, at least I'd be hard pressed to try and find a bad Phantasmagoria song (in their first period). They just come at you with hit after hit, delivering a hybrid of old-school '90s gothic visual kei compositions with more cutting-edge stylings, as well as incorporating some heaviness.

After impatiently sitting through an overly long intro, "Variant Jihad" comes as a godsend. It's a perfect opener with a mystical vibe and driving tempo that's followed by such bangers as the catchy industrial-flavored "Mikansei to Guilt" or the relentless "NEO ARK" (a staple of Budapest's mid '00s underground VK parties, good memories...). Everything inbetween is just as powerful. All in all, Phantasmagoria present us a near-flawless package that's, dare I say, mandatory listening for anyone who's a fan of visual kei, young or old. Go seek it out!