Label: JVC Victor
Review by Warren Mayocchi
For our listening pleasure Mary’s Blood have been creating lively thrash/power metal bordering on hard rock since 2012. The band setup is the standard drums, bass, guitar, and vocal (with occasional keyboards on a couple of songs). They do it well, everyone in the band contributes in critical ways to the generally frantic rhythm of their third album – “Fate”. From the first track the band start at full speed and a few seconds into the album, a welcoming call rings out; it seems my ears are in for a treat. The remainder of the first track keeps up the promise and pace of the opening, it’s name is translated to “Counter Strike”. Which is an important note, all of the lyrics on the album are in Japanese. “Shall We Dance?” continues apace, as do most of the tracks with the main exception being “In the Rain”. It slows down, showcasing the power of vocalist EYE with a strong rock ballad. My favourite tracks, with their heavier riffs, are “Angel’s Ladder” and “Self-Portrait”. They bookend a series of tracks where the heartbeat of the band – RIO on bass and MARI on drums – play a defining role creating the mood with riffs and rhythm . Of these middle tracks “Chateau de Sable” is notable for some spectacular fret dancing from guitarist SAKI. To round out the diversity of material, “HANABI” is an almost pop-rock track. The rest of the tracks masterfully keep the tempo closer to whiplash level. Though the lyrical content requires an aptitude in Japanese to understand, Mary’s Blood are fluent in the international language of music. Excellent in all respects, “Fate” is the sound of a tight band, confident in each other’s abilities and enjoying what they do. Fans of Halestorm or The Pretty Reckless (if they worked with Yngwie Malmsteen or Steve Vai in an aggressive mood) will find an album with an attitude to their liking here. There were a few recent videos on the internet which were region blocked for me. The “Counter Strike” music video can be seen if you are local or have access to a VPN, otherwise there is nothing to recommend in terms of seeing videos of the new material. However, there are several older clips of varying quality available. They do allow you to obtain a feel for what the band produce, but the album sounds a lot more professional than most of the videos I was able to access. The album also appears to be somewhat difficult to purchase only being available in physical format from some retailers. But if you like the genre it is worth the effort to find a way to buy it. (As an aside, I hope the Japanese music industry will realise the interest we have in their quality bands and work to make the music more accessible for international fans.)
Rating – 81/100
Tracklist
- Counter Strike
- Shall We Dance？
- Angel’s Ladder
- Nautical Star
- Chateau de Sable
- HANABI
- Self-Portrait
- In the Rain
- Change the Fate
- Endless Tragedy
- Queen of the Night
Line Up
- EYE – Vocals
- SAKI – Guitars
- RIO – Bass
- MARI – Drums