07-27-2019, 10:05 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-28-2019, 08:43 AM by ReplicantDeckard.)
Edited to try to conform better to the subforum guidelines.
A ways back in the Confessions thread, R Miyashiro speculated that it would be impossible to compile a Mary's Blood best-of because every fan has very different favorites. I've been mulling over this for a while, and I'm curious how different our lists of personal favorite songs would really be.
Now, any self-respecting record label would start with every MV (Marionette, Burning Blaze, etc) and toss in a few other songs for variety. But those sorts of compilations aren't fan-oriented (don't get me started on the criminals who put together Judas Priest best-of compilations) and leave out the deep-album cuts typically. In this case, I'm talking about fans' personal favorite Mary's Blood songs (which, obviously, could include any of those filmed as MVs).
Here is my own list of personal favorite Mary's Blood songs at present. I chose ten as my own arbitrary size limit, but yours needn't be that many or that few. This is a purely subjective list of personal favorites. I've personally ordered my list chronologically.
UPDATED: I swapped アルカディア for Coronation Day and added commentary after learning how it's done from the other great lists:
1. XOXO -kiss & hug-
Eye's snarling, sneering vocals, the heavily dotted rhythms, and Saki's superb heavily minor cascading riffs punctuated with pinch harmonics make this mid-paced stomper that doesn't tire with age.
2. Campanula
This would never have been in one of my early lists, but I've gradually become addicted to this semi-ballad, thanks in particular to Eye's heart-rending vocals and Saki's emotional second solo. The closeout chorus is wonderful live. This is a great companion to "Wings" (which nearly replaced it in my list).
3. Coronation Day
A thrash masterpiece that ably demonstrates how MB can write classic thrash as well as Testament, but the soaring chorus makes it distinctively their own. The live version is even better (such as in Live at Blaze), with Eye's bloodcurdling screams, Saki peppering the main riff with squeals, and Yashiro's great backing vocals.
4. I, Lament
Like Campanula, this never would have been on one of my early lists, but I've become addicted to it largely thanks to Saki's extremely versatile, imaginative solo, and some more participatory rolling bass work from Rio. It also demonstrates how Eye can be sweet and emotional and still be tough and powerful, one of her strongest assets. Like so many of Saki's songs, the extended bridge section is a really killer change-up leading into that mindblowing solo.
5. Grayish World
This song is one of the less intense tracks off Bloody Palace, but I'm a big sucker for the chorus. It fuses the thrashy side of MB with the power metal side, creating a bracing hybrid that has tremendous momentum. Even the throwaway solo doesn't dampen the pace.
6. I'm Dead
A blistering thrash killer, equal to anything the classic Bay Area bands produced at the height of their powers, and the perfect companion to Coronation Day, really.
7. Moebius Loop
MB actually do fit the power metal label here. This is Eye's masterpiece, a heroic epic (even though only at 5 minutes length), with a rare opportunity for extended instrumental sections, after which the song has hit so much momentum that Eye's next verse (at the 3 minute mark) is so powerful that it makes my chest constrict. The fact that Saki solos behind the last verse is icing on the cake.
8. ツキヨミ
I'm new to the J-Metal party, so new that Tsukiyomi was one of the first contemporary J-Metal songs I heard, and it made an instant convert of me. Mari may claim that Arcadia is the fastest BPM song they've made, but Tsukiyomi feels faster, a liquid mercury speed metal monster melded against an unexpectedly emotional chorus over Mari's double-bass patter, with another one of Saki's signature changeup gear-shifting bridge sections, and some dynamite wah-wah soloing.
9. Believe Me
I'm sure this entry strikes a lot of people as odd, but I'm a big fan of this somewhat understated mid-pacer, laced with Hammond keys and Mari's scattered double pass patters. The bridge is such a lurching changeup that it's almost shocking.
10. エイム
Confessions is still very new, so it's hard to know how its songs will fit into the favorites in the long run, but I'm pretty sure Aim will last the mile for me, Rio's first lyrics credit. An unconventional bass line leads into a very intense, mid-paced metallic rocker with some really appealing, rolling drumming courtesy of Mari. Saki's solo is frustratingly short but extremely tantalizing, and Eye's vocals are searing.
Honorable mention Saki cheese rock entry: Ready to Go
I thought 10 slots would make the list easy, but it was surprisingly difficult. I had to leave out favorites like "Bite the Bullet", for example, and there was no room for the full-on ballads or the so-called "cheese rock" guilty pleasures. MB's versatility makes it difficult for me to create a satisfactory list.
Confessions is still very new, so it's still hard to know how the individual tracks will shake out. I could have replaced Aim with Karma or Laylah, both of which feature some of Eye's best vocal performances.
How different is your own personal list of favorites? I'm curious to know if in fact the list of favorite songs are quite different from fan to fan.
A ways back in the Confessions thread, R Miyashiro speculated that it would be impossible to compile a Mary's Blood best-of because every fan has very different favorites. I've been mulling over this for a while, and I'm curious how different our lists of personal favorite songs would really be.
Now, any self-respecting record label would start with every MV (Marionette, Burning Blaze, etc) and toss in a few other songs for variety. But those sorts of compilations aren't fan-oriented (don't get me started on the criminals who put together Judas Priest best-of compilations) and leave out the deep-album cuts typically. In this case, I'm talking about fans' personal favorite Mary's Blood songs (which, obviously, could include any of those filmed as MVs).
Here is my own list of personal favorite Mary's Blood songs at present. I chose ten as my own arbitrary size limit, but yours needn't be that many or that few. This is a purely subjective list of personal favorites. I've personally ordered my list chronologically.
UPDATED: I swapped アルカディア for Coronation Day and added commentary after learning how it's done from the other great lists:
1. XOXO -kiss & hug-
Eye's snarling, sneering vocals, the heavily dotted rhythms, and Saki's superb heavily minor cascading riffs punctuated with pinch harmonics make this mid-paced stomper that doesn't tire with age.
2. Campanula
This would never have been in one of my early lists, but I've gradually become addicted to this semi-ballad, thanks in particular to Eye's heart-rending vocals and Saki's emotional second solo. The closeout chorus is wonderful live. This is a great companion to "Wings" (which nearly replaced it in my list).
3. Coronation Day
A thrash masterpiece that ably demonstrates how MB can write classic thrash as well as Testament, but the soaring chorus makes it distinctively their own. The live version is even better (such as in Live at Blaze), with Eye's bloodcurdling screams, Saki peppering the main riff with squeals, and Yashiro's great backing vocals.
4. I, Lament
Like Campanula, this never would have been on one of my early lists, but I've become addicted to it largely thanks to Saki's extremely versatile, imaginative solo, and some more participatory rolling bass work from Rio. It also demonstrates how Eye can be sweet and emotional and still be tough and powerful, one of her strongest assets. Like so many of Saki's songs, the extended bridge section is a really killer change-up leading into that mindblowing solo.
5. Grayish World
This song is one of the less intense tracks off Bloody Palace, but I'm a big sucker for the chorus. It fuses the thrashy side of MB with the power metal side, creating a bracing hybrid that has tremendous momentum. Even the throwaway solo doesn't dampen the pace.
6. I'm Dead
A blistering thrash killer, equal to anything the classic Bay Area bands produced at the height of their powers, and the perfect companion to Coronation Day, really.
7. Moebius Loop
MB actually do fit the power metal label here. This is Eye's masterpiece, a heroic epic (even though only at 5 minutes length), with a rare opportunity for extended instrumental sections, after which the song has hit so much momentum that Eye's next verse (at the 3 minute mark) is so powerful that it makes my chest constrict. The fact that Saki solos behind the last verse is icing on the cake.
8. ツキヨミ
I'm new to the J-Metal party, so new that Tsukiyomi was one of the first contemporary J-Metal songs I heard, and it made an instant convert of me. Mari may claim that Arcadia is the fastest BPM song they've made, but Tsukiyomi feels faster, a liquid mercury speed metal monster melded against an unexpectedly emotional chorus over Mari's double-bass patter, with another one of Saki's signature changeup gear-shifting bridge sections, and some dynamite wah-wah soloing.
9. Believe Me
I'm sure this entry strikes a lot of people as odd, but I'm a big fan of this somewhat understated mid-pacer, laced with Hammond keys and Mari's scattered double pass patters. The bridge is such a lurching changeup that it's almost shocking.
10. エイム
Confessions is still very new, so it's hard to know how its songs will fit into the favorites in the long run, but I'm pretty sure Aim will last the mile for me, Rio's first lyrics credit. An unconventional bass line leads into a very intense, mid-paced metallic rocker with some really appealing, rolling drumming courtesy of Mari. Saki's solo is frustratingly short but extremely tantalizing, and Eye's vocals are searing.
Honorable mention Saki cheese rock entry: Ready to Go
I thought 10 slots would make the list easy, but it was surprisingly difficult. I had to leave out favorites like "Bite the Bullet", for example, and there was no room for the full-on ballads or the so-called "cheese rock" guilty pleasures. MB's versatility makes it difficult for me to create a satisfactory list.
Confessions is still very new, so it's still hard to know how the individual tracks will shake out. I could have replaced Aim with Karma or Laylah, both of which feature some of Eye's best vocal performances.
How different is your own personal list of favorites? I'm curious to know if in fact the list of favorite songs are quite different from fan to fan.