I’ve been into VK for ~13 years at this point, and no one has ever been able to sound like Kagerou. Kagerou’s musicianship sticks out to me; the members knew the ins and outs of their respective instruments. They also knew how to contribute to their shared dimensional space as a unit. It’s exemplified in Betsuriro’s intro and middle break @3:00. The dynamics of this song are soooo perfect to my ears.
In the intro Kazu takes lead guitar over Yuana’s arpeggiated and melancholic chords. Shizumi keeps rhythm with a constant snare and more sparse cymbal and kick drum hits. The effect is almost as if the bass and guitar are floating in the air, foreshadowing an incoming strorm. Kazu then drops the same lead melody an octave to allow Daisuke to come in, while Shizumi cuts out the frequent snare hits to let the symbols and kick drum breathe. Yuana’s chords are consistent, and form the rhythm line as both bass and drums play lead in the intro. The way the band transition their parts to move from intro into the verse is so clever to my ear. The effect is like a layered cake.
In the middle break, the track cuts to near silence. Kazu’s bass transitions into a weeping lead line over spoken word and sparse cymbals. Yuana takes over with a gorgeous solo of his own, mixing bluesy riffs, driving tremolo picked notes and bended notes. The band then go into the bridge before the chorus, all the while Daisuke’s escalating his vocals to a louder more pained and desperate yelp.
Yeah…I miss 'em bad.
