UnsraW - Spiral Circle ～COMPLETE～

UnsraW
Spiral Circle ～COMPLETE～
2007/01/24

01. end of finale (Introduction)
02. Dust to Dust
03. -9-
04. Maria
05. IN THE FACT
06. 休眠-おやすみ-
07. Karma
08. [REW]
09. Gate of Death
10. 嗤い鬼

To my knowledge, UnsraW were one of the first visual kei bands to bring that sweet sweet modern heaviness to the forefront, at least they sure were the most noticeable. Their first 'expanded' mini album still holds up.

Back in the day it was pretty hard not to acknowledge UnsraW since they came right out the gate with their creepy decadent masks and facial accessories added onto their otherwise typical dark VK look. In other words, we just had to check them out! At that time they only had two maxi-singles, and boy what a potent kick in the head those were. It almost felt like listening to a fairly regular contemporary indies band, but they upped the heavy factor juuust a notch to make it all sound brutal but still digestable. Note that this was years before the whole deathcore craze so UnsraW was pretty much the heaviest a band ever got up to that point, from what I could perceive of the scene at that time.

Of course it wouldn't be visual kei without the recycling and re-releasing of material so in short order the band graced us at the end of 2006 with their mini album "Spiral Circle"... which was just the two singles' tracks with an intro tacked on (and a short DVD). They didn't stop there though: come 2007, they surprised us with a new release called, uhh, "Spiral Circle ～COMPLETE～". Yep. This time they were a bit more generous and added one brand-new track and two songs they had carried over from the vocalist's previous band CoЯe The Child. I didn't know much of that old band anyway, so it was completely fine by me. Thus, the definitive album of UnsraW's potent beginnings was born.

The guys make it clear right off the bat that they're taking no prisoners. After a largely forgettable electronic hype-up intro, they tear into those heavy but catchy bounce riffs on "Dust to Dust", building on the nu-metallic VK tropes of the time, elevated by Yuuki's relentless growls and screams. It's a competent introduction, but the best is yet to come! Once you hear that vaguely metalcore-esque guitar lead in the intro to "-9-" you know you're in for something badass. This is one of the best songs to show how masterfully UnsraW moved across the melodic-to-heavy spectrum.

Maybe it's not a big surprise, but I think that the most memorable tracks on here are those that had already been released on the band's two debut singles. Next to the already mentioned "-9-", other notable highlights include the manic and agitated "[REW]" again showcasing Yuuki's brutal vocal antics, and the mysteriously lingering "Gate of Death" that explodes into bursts of aggression. I must give props to them for adding the extra tracks though, as "Oyasumi" turns out to be a breath of fresh air with its sombre melancholic atmosphere, a palate cleanser in the midst of the surrounding all-out aural assault.

To me, this album encapsulates the core sound of UnsraW, but that doesn't mean they went downhill from here. To the fans' delight, the band continued with their signature style and released a few more bangin' tunes, most notably concentrated in the "Calling" mini album and the "Abel/Kein" collection. These milestones, "Spiral Circle" included, capture the golden years of the band, fleeting as they were. Nevertheless, the old records of UnsraW still remain strong as ever!