陰陽座 - 吟澪御前

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from 2025 zeus megathread

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陰陽座 - 吟澪御前

You knew this was going to be here. 陰陽座 is one of my favorite albums and 吟澪御前 hits all the right beats to make it a stellar album. First off, there’s no intro to delay the inevitable - the band just rushes into things with 吟澪に死す and don’t let up. The album has got a mystical, ethereal feel that I haven’t gotten from them since their first few albums. It’s also much more melodic than I was expecting from them, with there not being as many heavy moments as on past albums. That’s ok, since the melodies are stellar and I liked every track on the first listen! That’s rare for me. This was also the album I reached for when I was on my road trip earlier this year. They even gave us another twenty minute progressive suite in the form of 鈴鹿御前 -鬼式 → 大嶽丸 → 鈴鹿御前 -神式 that tells the story of Suzuka Gozen versus the demon Ootakemaru. The depths of Japanese folklore go deep because it never ceases to amaze me how this band can still mine it for content more than 25 years later! It also boggles my mind that the quality of the music has never dipped below a 7 out of 10 all this time - each album is special and that includes this one. I think the only flaw of this entire cycle is that there’s no music video for me to show off their awesome visuals, so you’ll just have to believe me on that part. Take some time to listen to it - this might be one of your new favorite bands!