Artist: exist†trace
Album: VIRGIN
Label: Tokuma Japan Communications
Release Date: 5/23/2012
# of tracks: 13
Buy: $33.44 (CD)

exist†trace can easily be called a visual kei band, from the outfits and song styles they have. More so, that is the only style I have heard from them since finding out about them last year. The band consisting of; Jyou on vocals, Omi on lead guitar, Miko on rhythm guitar, Naoto on bass, and Mally on drums decided to take a different approach to this album. The album title, VIRGIN, is based off of this being the bands first full album. Also it is suppose to represent the songs created by the power of women.

Most of the songs on the album are completely new territory for them. Which is not a bad thing at all. As an artist you have to stretch your boundaries to truly see what you are capable of. I'm proud to say that they pull off a wonderful mix of styles. All of which still have that slight metal-ish sound to them hidden here and there. Since I am kind of a metal head from my roots, I love hearing it put in.

The track list as follows:

WONDERLAND
Daybreak – Jyusan gatsu no shikisai
HONEY
GINGER
Keiyaku
Little Mary to Utsukushiki Nikushimi no Danube
Signal
TRUE
Futatsu no Koe
Anata
KISS IN THE DARK
I feel you
SORA

Since this is a collection of songs and not a straight forward album, I have to take each song individually and not as a concert list. Normally I like to think of albums as concert performances but I can't seem to do that with this album. It's not a bad thing at all, it's just the way I listen to stuff. Anyways, lets break some of them down.

We start off with WONDERLAND, a standard visual kei metal style of song which is a awesome opening song for the album. You have to start off hard on album because normally when you put it on it's the first track you always hear. So you need something that you won't get too sick of hearing over and over. Daybreak is more of a pop rock kind of song with a lot lighter riffs and vocals. Honey is about the same as Daybreak in the broad since, but just turn it up a notch or two in intensity. Then we come to GINGER, a more fun track. It's kind of swing/big band style of music. I do have to say that this is the song that sticks out most for me on the whole album. It's just so fun!

Keiyaku has a lot of lower riffs and tones to it. A style that is a bullseye for them and very easy to listen to if you are into that style of music. I would love to see a music video to this song, just saying. Little Mary is like a fairy tail song. Not much really else to say about that. Signal is a pretty normal rock song, that's about it. Move on to TRUE, we get back to more of that visual kei style of song. Futatsu no Koe, same as the last.

Coming to the last four songs of the album we are treated to a slower song in Anata. We get to appreciate Jyou's range of vocals from low as a whisper to her dynamic screams. KISS IN THE DARK is kind of a mix from rock and swing. Defiantly an interesting mix of styles that they seem to pull off. It's still a lower song on the album to me, but not one that would skip past. I feel you, again it's mainly a hard rock song that doesn't really stick out but not worth a skip. Now we come to the last song on the album, SORA. A nice slow ballard that rounds out the album pretty well. Great song!

From what I heard at Sakura-con last year to this album, I am a big fan of theirs. It was great to hear all the different styles that Exist Trace is capable of performing. Gives me hope that we will be able to hear more from them soon. I know that I will be keeping an eye out for sure. And if you get the chance to see them live don't hesitate. These ladies know how to put on a show and sound just as good live as they do on the album.

8.0 Great. A wonderful mix of music that you should be listening to.