Asunojokei presents its second album.
Since 2014 in Japan, the band composed of Kei Toriki (guitar), Daiki Nuno (vocals), Tayuka Seki (bass) and Seiya Saito (drums) develops a one-of-a-kind style between Post-Black, Post-Hardcore and Screamo. Island comes out in 2022.
The album starts with the dissonant and haunting Heavenward, a composition which immediately takes us back to the band’s abrasive and airy tones. The singer’s visceral screams fuel the contrast with soft notes occasionally flying into the rhythmic, then Chimera smothers us again with its darkness while mesmerizing us with its catchy popish patterns we can recognize. The few clean words link the waves of violence together, then Gaze offers us some time to breathe, while keeping us in soaring sounds between different influences. Saturation will resurface with Footprints and its melodious leads while bringing back intense screams and quieter words, announcing this as deep as majestic surge. We find this bewitching and imposing strength back with Diva Under the Blue Sky, a track which lets sharp riffs build on a simple but heady basis before Beautiful Name comes to oppress us with energetic and unpredictable aggressiveness. The song is much more lively, allowing melodies to soothe us while screams choke us until the last moment, before releasing us on The Forgotten Ones, a composition anchored in airy and heavy sounds. Although a bit brighter than the previous one, the track will also offer oppressive parts and explosive patterns, allowing a more impressive final to nail us to the ground before The Sweet Smile of Vortex takes over. Without waiting, the airy riffs mix with angry drums to flood us with a complementary but disturbing melting, especially on this clean-sounding break which will suddenly ignite. The rest of the track is more intense than ever, allowing Tidal Lullaby to let us breathe again accompanied by complex but soothing influences, then saturation resurfaces, before From the Bottom of the Biotope engulfs us in its dissonance. Just like the second track, the song has been re-recorded, offering a new reading of this sweet visceral rage which will lead to Thunder, the last track, which barely lets us breathe before sending us into the unstoppable and unceasing hurricane of tortured violence.
Asunojokei‘s universe is made of haunting, dark and soaring tones which never seem to end. With Island, the band easily shows that it handles melancholy, rage and especially intensity by flooding us with a wonderful dissonance.
95/100