Overdrive Hell 10 -Hizumi Tengoku Shibou Yuugi-

	Album Title: Overdrive Hell 10 -Hizumi Tengoku Shibou Yuugi-
	Record Label: Sweep Record
	Catalog No.: HZMT-0010
	Release Date: April 30, 2013
	Purchase: Buy at Sweep Record

Overview

overdrive hell 10: Hizumi Tengoku Shibou Yuugi is the tenth in a series of hardcore and experimental electronic EPs featuring Ayako Saso and Shinji Hosoe. 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 that feature elements of fat. How does this album compare to the previous entries in the ongoing series?

Body

The album opens up with “Lesson.39 Belly bouncing” features some really dark electronic tones in the intro which is followed up by some nice industrial beats and some crazy vocal samples. This reminds me of some of the earlier Nanosweep efforts by Ayako Saso.

“Lesson.40 No fat, no life” is a tune that opens up with ethnic plucked strings before the tempo is accelerated quite quickly. It eventually leads into a slow tempo with some vocal samples and a great beat. There are also some other slower sections that feature some distorted vocals and an industrial beat. It’s not the strongest tune on the album, but it is definitely in line with some of the earlier entries in the series.

“Lesson.41 Turbulent body” is definitely my favorite on the album. I love the slow tempo, particularly in the intro, that gives it a bit of a twang before speeding up into an intense flurry of cowbells and distorted beats. However, the nice touches in this tune are the synth melodies, vocal samples, and the dancy chiptune influence.

Lastly, “Lesson.42 Fat, Fater, Fastest” is definitely the most intense tune on the album. I really like how the tune progresses in a way that is mentioned in the name. There are three distinct sections each with an increasing tempo. The first section features some twangy vocal samples mixed with lots of wobbles and industrial beats. The second section has a bit more melody with the faster tempo while the last section is extremely fast and featured chipmunk style vocal samples.

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 a bit on the less accessible side, but it does manage to include some nice sections that might please fans who prefer melody.

Posted on April 30, 2013 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.