07-09-2016, 11:08 PM
It's Very Danger! - 86%
If you're someone who likes to dig around in search of releases by obscure little bands that disappeared before anyone had even heard of them, look no further than Quest Object Project. This group spawned out of multiple bands from Japan's underground punk scene, including most notably The Execute, from which a couple members created Gastunk. Quest Object Project only ever put out a couple demos with oddly similar tracklists before breaking up which included this demo, titled It's Danger, but hey, I can't complain because the music found here is incredibly entertaining and sounds fairly complete, despite being a mere demo and the fact that the same songs appeared on their next demo with minor differences.
Musically, this release features an aggressive form of heavy metal with NWOBHM influences as well as a speed metal and punk overtone. In addition to a harsh unrefined "demo-tape production" the band also tends to have goofy little bouts with Engrish every now and then (look no further than the demo's name for a prime example) adding a bit of charm to the album. In the speed metal type songs, such as Claw Attack, Heavy on Gallow or Black & Black, the style is actually highly similar to that of Prowler from Tokyo, while for the instrumental Black Death, Motörhead's style of guitar riffs comes to mind immediately.
This band might be Euro's and his drumming is perfectly fine and I assume songwriting was his responsibility too, which case he's done an excellent job. Also performed well is Kasuya's bass, but the standout member is easily Satoshi Mutoh, on both lead vocals and guitar. He possesses a solid range, opting to sing clean vocals in a higher octave primarily, though he handles singing in a lower range just as well. Satoshi's guitar work is also very good, boasting heaps of catchy and creative riffs at every turn, as well as flashy aggressive solos on nearly every song.
A couple flaws to consider with this release, the raw production you can associate with demos which I'd earlier referred to as having added a little bit of character to the release giving it that long lost demo kind of feeling is so bad and at times overwhelming that it's this release's primary downfall. I'm not one to complain about the production quality of a release, much less so a demo, but really, the production straight up sucks, the leveling is brutal (take Black & Black's opening for example), the static is difficult to put up with, but also, every few minutes a sharp "ear ringing" noise comes in and in fact, Rommel's Indiscriminata Attacks which have been criticized for poor production value sound refined when compared to It's Danger. In addition to that, the song Requiem doesn't fit with the others on this demo at all, not that it's a bad song, it clashes in style being more of a hard rock song with about a third of the aggression of any other song on here and doesn't live up to the quality of the other stuff here, and in fact, the first half of the demo is much stronger than the second half with the exception of Kasou Kaiken which is one of the standouts.
Behind the obvious recording flaws however is a simply glorious demo, it's very fast-paced, heavy, and demonstrates some serious skill from its members, and even better, it's as big as a full length with 10 songs in total. To get a taste of what Quest Object Project were about, I suggest you give Black & Black, Chain Reaction, Claw Attack, or Kasou Kiken a listen. Quest Object Project clearly had a lot going for them musically with a solid idea and great execution from some seriously talented musicians and if you can look past the audio quality, you'll certainly find some highly enjoyable music here.
Written by TadakatsuH0nda, December 2015, re-posted from the Metal Archives.
If you're someone who likes to dig around in search of releases by obscure little bands that disappeared before anyone had even heard of them, look no further than Quest Object Project. This group spawned out of multiple bands from Japan's underground punk scene, including most notably The Execute, from which a couple members created Gastunk. Quest Object Project only ever put out a couple demos with oddly similar tracklists before breaking up which included this demo, titled It's Danger, but hey, I can't complain because the music found here is incredibly entertaining and sounds fairly complete, despite being a mere demo and the fact that the same songs appeared on their next demo with minor differences.
Musically, this release features an aggressive form of heavy metal with NWOBHM influences as well as a speed metal and punk overtone. In addition to a harsh unrefined "demo-tape production" the band also tends to have goofy little bouts with Engrish every now and then (look no further than the demo's name for a prime example) adding a bit of charm to the album. In the speed metal type songs, such as Claw Attack, Heavy on Gallow or Black & Black, the style is actually highly similar to that of Prowler from Tokyo, while for the instrumental Black Death, Motörhead's style of guitar riffs comes to mind immediately.
This band might be Euro's and his drumming is perfectly fine and I assume songwriting was his responsibility too, which case he's done an excellent job. Also performed well is Kasuya's bass, but the standout member is easily Satoshi Mutoh, on both lead vocals and guitar. He possesses a solid range, opting to sing clean vocals in a higher octave primarily, though he handles singing in a lower range just as well. Satoshi's guitar work is also very good, boasting heaps of catchy and creative riffs at every turn, as well as flashy aggressive solos on nearly every song.
A couple flaws to consider with this release, the raw production you can associate with demos which I'd earlier referred to as having added a little bit of character to the release giving it that long lost demo kind of feeling is so bad and at times overwhelming that it's this release's primary downfall. I'm not one to complain about the production quality of a release, much less so a demo, but really, the production straight up sucks, the leveling is brutal (take Black & Black's opening for example), the static is difficult to put up with, but also, every few minutes a sharp "ear ringing" noise comes in and in fact, Rommel's Indiscriminata Attacks which have been criticized for poor production value sound refined when compared to It's Danger. In addition to that, the song Requiem doesn't fit with the others on this demo at all, not that it's a bad song, it clashes in style being more of a hard rock song with about a third of the aggression of any other song on here and doesn't live up to the quality of the other stuff here, and in fact, the first half of the demo is much stronger than the second half with the exception of Kasou Kaiken which is one of the standouts.
Behind the obvious recording flaws however is a simply glorious demo, it's very fast-paced, heavy, and demonstrates some serious skill from its members, and even better, it's as big as a full length with 10 songs in total. To get a taste of what Quest Object Project were about, I suggest you give Black & Black, Chain Reaction, Claw Attack, or Kasou Kiken a listen. Quest Object Project clearly had a lot going for them musically with a solid idea and great execution from some seriously talented musicians and if you can look past the audio quality, you'll certainly find some highly enjoyable music here.
Written by TadakatsuH0nda, December 2015, re-posted from the Metal Archives.