Review Summary: Take the plunge.
It's hard to describe the general sound of an album like "Sangeki" simply because nothing like it has been heard before. It's a swirling maelstrom of catastrophic ruin, with instruments crashing into each other beneath some rather frenzied, unpredictable vocals. There are eerie, harrowing spoken word passages as well as some very cute and frilly female singing, further contrasted by mad as hell shrieks and mid-range growls. All of this is done with a grand presence, an immense dramatic flair matched by very few, if any records.
"Sangeki" is dramatic. It's melancholy, it's beautiful, it's brimming with rage. It's a perfect cauldron of emotions brewing together in the same pot. This is immediately evident on the second track, which greets us with some very urgent and crazed, yet somehow simultaneously adoring female vocals which lead into some truly inhuman earth shattering shrieks. Pair this with a multitude of instruments used to great enhancement such as the harpsichords and synthesizers, and you have the perfect musical dystopia. This record is the sound of madness, both petrifying and beautiful in a rather curious way.
The vocals, while the sole strengths and contributors to this record, are still not the only one. The symphonies off this record are full of flair and build the soundscape rather well, giving a rather strong Victorian vibe. They are generally very front and center, being quite an epic affair on their own. They do have a tendency to bury the guitar through the majority of the album, but they make up for its absence with their own strength. Speaking of which, the guitar does have occasional spotlights, with some really grand and sparkling solos.
Even with all I have just told you, there is nothing that can do the sound of "Sangeki" justice. It's simply not a sound other bands have managed to mend together in such a perfect manner that "Imperial Circus Dead Decadence" has, and it's a sound that will probably not be seen again for a long time. So take the plunge and delve into this beautiful, chaotic, maniacal soundscape.
