Overdrive Hell 13 -Hizumi Heaven and Chocolate Guts-
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Album Title: Overdrive Hell 13 -Hizumi Heaven and Chocolate Guts- |
| Record Label: Troubadour Record |
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| Catalog No.: HZMT-0013 |
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| Release Date: December 31, 2013 |
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| Purchase: Buy at Sweep Record |
Overview
overdrive hell 13: Hizumi Tengoku & Chocolate Guts is the thirteenth in a series of hardcore and experimental electronic EPs featuring Ayako Saso and Shinji Hosoe. In addition, a new composer, who has yet to be identified, returns to the fray. While not for everyone, it does feature some interesting music for those fans of this style of electronic music. All of the themes on this album seem to feature track titles inspired by Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film and characters that the actors and actresses in those films have starred in such as the Harry Potter series and Sweeney Todd. How does this album compare to the previous entries in the ongoing series?
Body
The album opens with “Lesson.54 Mom is Bellatrix?” and is a tune full of ethnic chanting, plenty of vocal sampling including kooky laughter, a hardcore beat, some electric guitar riffs, and some industrial sounds. I also love the slowing tempo as if to make it sound like the song is coming to a stop before reversing course and heading back into heavy territory. “Lesson.55 Wonka barber” is one of the more accessible tunes. There is a really sweet beat in the intro combined with some more melodic sections. Eventually, the tune moves into a very industrial heavy beat for a bit before moving into another upbeat, almost joyous synth sound before returning to the beat in the intro. The track ends with this joyous synth sound being chopped up and incorporated into an ever increasing tempo of hardcore beats.
“Lesson.56 Golden invoice” is a track consisting of hardcore beats featuring a strong industrial tone mix nicely with plenty of brass and crazy vocal samples that remind me of Ayako Saso’s work. It manages to create a really fun tone at times as well, particularly when the beats aren’t so dominant. “Lesson.57 High voltage Unpa-Runpa” opens with some vocal samples repeatedly saying “chocolate” before moving into an intense beat and some strange vocal samples. Above the hardcore beats, there is some synth lines that repeat. The best part of the tune is when the beats take a more subdued approach and there is a bit more of a grungy electronic sound. However, this tune might be hard to stomach for some people as it is more a cacophony of ideas, despite it living up to its title. Lastly, “Lesson.58 Dentist revival war” is a short tune, but definitely the one that focuses more on the beats rather than any meaningful accompaniment. It’s there, but it is very subdued compared to the beats. As such, this one may also be a bit hard to swallow for those looking for a bit more stimulation
Summary
This album is definitely not for the faint of heart. Fans of hardcore and experimental music may enjoy this album, particularly if they have been following the series. However, for those interested in this, it may be best to try to listen to some of Ayako Saso and Shinji Hosoe’s more hardcore music to get a feeling for the nature of this album. Compared to some of the previous entries, I’d say this par for the course for the series with a mix of tunes that are more accessible and some that aren’t as accessible.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
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Posted on March 11, 2014 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on January 17, 2016.
About the Author
Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.
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