Coldrain - Final Destination (2009)^{Release ID: 23286}

Before discovering this band Coldrain, I was never too sure about checking out Japanese metal bands since most of them sing in their native language, but this band sings in English! Vocalist Masato learnt to speak fluent English when he was young, thanks to his American English teacher who is also his mother.

The band sold 2000 copies of their now-unknown demo discs before they were signed to Nippon TV's VAP in 2008. They've stunned their homeland with music, images, and videos. However, their debut album Final Destination has production that can be equal to when a piece of meat is ruined by sweat and cooked in plastic wrapping. And while guitar intertwining and Masato's vocals mixing heavy and melodic are key elements to their sound, they don't level up the emo-rock sound that's not like subsequent albums.

I'm just going to talk about the first half of the album which is the better half here, starting with the killer title track that would become a live staple for the band. "Counterfeits & Lies" is probably part of the demo the band sent to Nippon TV to get signed, with lyrics battling the evil side of TV, the kind of lyrics VAP might praise. They've worked hard on "Someday" with good results to possibly get out the day-jobs described in the lyrics. "Fiction" is one of two songs (besides "8AM") to have a pre-album single, and seems a bit two-faced. "Just Tonight" is a nice catchy tune that I like. "24-7" also falls into the two-faced trap, and that's my cue to skip commenting on the rest...

Despite the lack of proper metal songs and mediocre production, the energy is still around as much as in their live shows to win them the acclaim they earned. I personally think they should've replaced the second half of this album with their first EP Nothing Lasts Forever, then leave said second half as an EP with the songs from the "8AM" single as bonus tracks. Yeah their first EP would be much better and heavier. This band had a lot to work on before their actual final destination....

Favorites (only songs I like here): "Final Destination", "Counterfeits & Lies", "Someday", "Just Tonight"