The Legend of Hizumi
 |
Album Title: The Legend of Hizumi |
| Record Label: Troubadour Record |
|
| Catalog No.: HZMT-0028 |
|
| Release Date: August 12, 2019 |
|
| Purchase: Buy at Sweep Record |
Overview
The Legend of Hizumi is the next iteration of the series formerly known as Overdrive Hell and continues the tradition of hardcore and experimental electronic EPs featuring Ayako Saso and Shinji Hosoe. In addition, Fumihisa Tanaka and Takahiro Eguchi are now credited on the albums as well. While not for everyone, it does feature some interesting music for those fans of this style of electronic music. How does this album compare to the previous entries in the ongoing series?
Body
The album opens with “Weakest Weaver,” by Fumihisa Tanaka, a hard trance tune that opens superbly with its slow build up to more intense elements of the tune. The melody is fantastic and fun and the dreamy synths throughout are a nice contrast to the heavy beats. Being entirely instrumental is a plus as well. Saso’s “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe” starts off rather ominous with a dark vocal sample before transitioning to a hardcore techno tune. It is very reminiscent of her “Junk Plant” tune from Nanosweep 2 and it’s a return to form of the older Overdrive Hell releases. The progression of the tune is great, it’s punchy, and although there are a lot of different ideas being presented in the album, it has a cohesive flow.
“Conga in my heart,” by Takahiro Eguchi, blends hard techno beats, rock guitar, and conga drums for a very bipolar type of tune, at times aggressive and at others, slower and more playful. It’s a very strange mishmash of two distinct tunes. It is a bit underwhelming due to the nature of the progression, but it still is a decent tune overall. Lastly, Hosoe’s “haste decomposition” is done in a gabber style of electronic music with hardcore techno beats accompanying the vocal samples. It would definitely fit in one of the earlier Ridge Racer tunes with tons of energy and an upbeat tone as well.
Summary
The Legend of Hizumi is a rather successful addition to the series, especially since it is more rooted in its past than some of the more experimental vocal entries from recent releases. There is a bit of something for everyone, from classic Supersweep electronic tunes to some more unique interpretations, even if they are a bit polar in approach. Fans of the series will probably enjoy some aspects of this release as well.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
3.5
Posted on January 30, 2020 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on January 30, 2020.
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.
Related Posts
cittan* WORKS from “LAMUNATION!” & “KIRAKIRA MONSTARS” →
PIRAMIRiSTAR / Emi Hirayama →
Utakata no Hana / Amaryllis →
