As you've probably heard or read, Redeemer shows a change in tone from D'espairsRay's previous albums. There is a much lighter pop/rock sound to a lot of the tracks, which is disappointing to many fans of D'espairsRay's older music. I too prefer the darker, heavier sound of their previous releases. That being said, people forget that D'espairsRay has been around for 10 years. Bands with that kind of staying power should not and cannot keep making the same music over and over again. I see Redeemer as sort of an experimental album. There are heavier tracks that remind you of "old" D'espairsRay, the pop-ish tracks that are mostly disappointing, and some wild cards, like Paradox 5. It's like hearing the growing pains of a well established band trying to balance doing something new with doing what they're known for. Ultimately, this album is not their best. But I still love D'espairsRay and I'm curious to see what they'll do next. Hopefully it will end up sounding more cohesive than Redeemer.
Redeemer [SHM-CD] [w/ DVD, Limited Edition] Customer Reviews
D'espairsRay
The sound on this album is so different from their earlier albums ... Hope that's just an experiment. I was happy to sea long making on the DVD. It was very interesting.
I have been listening to this band from their early gothic years,and admit was one of the fans that have been disappointed that they have gone main stream,but I gotta say that they have redeemed themeselves with this new album! I love lizard, redeemer, and masquerade because they try to recapture their old day sound(but don't really). I especially love Parodox 5. Awesome sound! The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was because of traks 10 and 12, they verge on poppy. All in all, this album is cool. Great job guys!
d'espa's 3rd album was certainly one that had me a little confused on the first listen. they've definitely incorporated some new styles to their sound, and it took a little longer for the album to grow on me. nevertheless, it's still a great album! of all their new songs in this album, my favs were Kohaku, Lost in Re:birth, and REDEEMER! p.s. the dvd was soo funny and much longer than i expected it to be! it was definitely worth my money :D
After Horizon, I was a bit afraid 'bout the new album. But it turned out to be greater than expected. I don't want to compare it with Coll:set or Mirror. And I don't want to get a 2nd Coll:set or 2nd Mirror after 2 years of waiting either. But still, vote for this 4. This album, except for Redeemer, I think there is no other songs that D'espairsRay and Manias could use to describe the band well enough. Like, they've tried out too many new things and now their fans are kind of lost. My favorite for the time being, uhmm, Redeemer, Paradox5, Lizard.
Let me clear something up. D'espa is very specific band. In this year they're celebrating their 10th anniversary and it sounds so spectacular. They're stil together, stil making their music and enjoying their work, lives and love that they're receiving from fans. But they realesed their first album 5 years after band's set up and always released their new stuff very rare. Now they're major and everything has changed beacuse of that. Last year their there were 3 singles from them, and then they annouced Redeemer. I think that some people/fans had too high expectations, and that's why so many of them are saiying now that this album is not so good. Notice that they weren't working on this album as long as they did with the previous two. As their loyar and big fan I have to say that this album is very good, but stil not so good as Coll:set or Mirror. In overall Mirror bits Redeemer. Including all three singles in new album, without any modifications was wrong for me. And this album is in balance of amazing tracks and very strange/average tracks. BUT when I compare single songs from Redeemer, such as Lizard, Redeemer, Kohaku, REM, Lost in re:birth, to Mirror's songs, Redeemer definitely wins. Redeemer features more Coll:Set like sounds and for me who adore Coll:Set in every single way, it's really good. But stil I can't stand Yozora, this song is too light and not in their style to be on album. Paradox 5 is so specific and truly amazing for me, these female vocals in the back are kinda strange, but Hizumi's voice sounds perfect and lyrics are beautiful too. Heaven's Color is average track, reminds so much of Horizon. The other new songs are very good. My fav tracks from this album are Kohaku, which sounds a little bit as Hai to Ame and was written by Tsukasa and Lizard, which is amazing song to be the first on album. Definitely worth-buying album!
well.. where shall i start... I have been a fan of them for a long time, and i have to say that this album is dissapointing. I hoped it would be dark and heavy (ofcourse, dont blame me for it) There is some good songs like R.E.M, Masquerade, REDEEMER, KAMIKAZE, Lost in re;birth, Kohaku, and Lizard. The tracks i disliked the most was Yozora and PARADOX 5. They sound NOTHING like the D'espa i have been listening for years... I kinda enjoyed HEAVEN'S COLOR, it isnt bad, but it isnt something that sounds like the original D'espairsRay. And with HORIZON and BRILLIANT, it isnt bad, i dont really like it, but i dont really hate it. the booklet and all is amazing though. I can really hear clarity in these songs too. I hope they pick up back with their darker and heavier sound. they may have changed their style of music, but i dont think this change is doing any good...
After hearing REDEEMER (Single/PV), I had really high hopes for this album but I was so disappointed. The single is really misleading, I think everyone was expecting/hoping they'd gone back to their dark, gothic [Coll:set] roots. BRILLIANT, HORIZON, Kamikaze and REDEEMER are all previous releases, and weren't remixed when added back onto the album, so I felt a little cheated already knowing a quarter of the whole album. Lizard, Lost in re:birth and Masquerade were all okay/good but seemed to be lacking something. I think there seemed really little anger/emotion, and they just weren't catchy enough for me. I've been such a loyal fan of this band for two and a half years, but for the first time I've actually encountered songs by them I don't like. R.E.M -fuyu no genchou-, HEAVEN'S COLOR and PARADOX 5 I really can honestly say I don't like. PARADOX 5, with the backing/ambience they used of the Indian singers had the potential to be such a heavy amazing song, but it was just another ballad. Basically, I already knew 1/4 of the album, from the new stuff, I liked about 5 songs (but not a huge amount), and I full on disliked three. But I don't know, I'm hoping it'll grow on me. I'm still a D'espairsRay mania 100%, I still love them to bits, and I'll definately buy their future releases.
