Review by Saxy S for Ryujin - Ryujin (2024)

This is an album with a concept that is not doomed from the start. I am a sucker for music that takes inspiration from oriental folk music and even if the music does not work out, I tend to be more favourable to those records. Take my review of 2022's Bloodywood album for reference. Ryujin are a Hokkaido based power metal/melodic death metal band who are quite liberal in their usage of native Japanese instruments beyond the standard heavy metal instrumental timbre of guitars, bass, and percussion. And this self titled debut is pretty solid; I really enjoy the additional percussion that is added to drive these songs forward from time to time. I would have liked to possibly hear some acoustic passages throughout the record to accent some of the softer sounding string instruments that are present. But the constant sheathing of a katana is a sound I could have used without; it was okay the first couple of times, but after a while it just felt like Ryujin were adding it to remind listeners that they are a Japanese power metal band and it loses its grandeur.

I feel like Ryujin took full advantage of their partnership with Matt Heafy because these songs are well constructed with solid forms, great memorability and just enough metal wankery to keep the elitists in check. However, the production of the record feels very thin as parts of this record do not pop with authority as you might expect. It does allow for some very good bass presence, but it does not feel like this epic tale of mythology and folklore without some chunky low end. It would have been beneficial to recruit some of the Trivium producers to assist with that, or even just copy that powerful sound of a band such as Avantasia. I did enjoy this record and would recommend to someone looking for a different, heavier take on power metal with some obvious oriental flare, but a little refinement, especially in the production keep this from being an unconditional recommendation.

Best Songs: Dragon, Fly Free, Kunnecup, Scream of the Dragon, Saigo No Hoshi