Shocking Loud Voice
Artist: Dazzle Vision
Label: Human Noise
Release date: May 4, 2012
MSRP: $26.50

Dazzle Vision is difficult to describe. While the band self-identifies as a screamo quartet, a good number of their tracks branch out into different musical genres. Shocking Loud Voice, the band’s latest album, delivers a blend of j-pop and death metal sounds, with a hint of emo --which I must confess is one of my least favorite genres.

Vocalist Maiko is Dazzle Vision’s main attraction. Aside from being beautiful, she has an unbelievably wide vocal range. Maiko seamlessly transitions from singing melodic verses to knocking your socks off with her guttural growls. While not for everyone, her style is a nice departure from your typical goth front-lady operatic singing.

Most tracks in Shocking Loud Voice essentially follow a pop structure, with a couple of high-intensity drumming interludes. While the drumming in the album is actually pretty decent, I found that both the bass and guitar were too fuzzy. The guitar, in particular was distorted as if to try to conceal the guitarist’s lack of dexterity.

The band certainly aimed high by trying to incorporate different sounds into the album --there was even a track in which they tried to pull off an old time rock n’ roll vibe. In my humble opinion, however, most of their attempts at getting creative didn’t work out. A lot of tracks felt too short, featured mediocre editing, and just lacked soul.

One of the main things that stood out to me while listening to Shocking Loud Voice was the complete lack of chemistry between members. Never did it feel like the musicians were jamming and having a good time. Tracks felt forced. I think it might a symptom of the many line-up changes they have faced in recent years.

To be quite honest, perhaps the one thing that bothered me the most about Shocking Loud Voice was how dated its sound was. It reminded me of some of the most generic nu-metal bands to come out of the early 2000s. Not even Maiko’s quirkiness and adorable tiny gothic-lolita hats could have saved this album.

5.0 – Bad. 5s are a series that either failed at reaching the goals it set out to do, or didn’t set out to do anything special and still had many flaws. Some will enjoy 5s, but unless you’re a fan of this genre, you shouldn’t see it.