Kenso: An Old Warrior Shook The Sun

Does Kenso mean curveball in Japanese? This band throws a lot of them over the course of their latest release An Old Warrior Shook the Sun. The opening “Watashi no Jinsei ni wa� kicks things off with lots of proggy goodness, keyboards and guitars shine here. A welcome addition is the violin which appears on “Tokiniwa Ratenno no Fushu ni�, I’d love to hear more of this in the band’s music. All of a sudden, there is a section of music that makes me think I am listening to a cruise ship band, then they will shift gears and the ending of this one kills with violin and keyboards on fire. My favorite track “Ryu no Mai� with thumping bass that kicks things off, and a lot of keyboards, but around the 4:00 minute mark you get a killer guitar solo, and some ripping organ that takes the song to another level. This is how I like my Kenso! I love the little breaks where the band locks in, an example is “Sore dakara Ima wa Tanoshiku� where it is mostly keyboard dominated, but some great bass lines, a quick jazzy interlude, each song contains many twists and turns.

You have some missteps along the way, I won’t lie. Track 8 might have you wondering if the band is trying to conjure evil spirits, noise, and strange vocalizations are what you get over thankfully brief 1:10 duration. “Hyoto� has a very familiar piano melody, and that violin sounds great over the top. The vocalist has a good voice, but honestly, the song feels out of place. Track 10 continues the smooth feel, again a nice melody, but eventually picks up with some keyboard/organ soloing towards the end of the track that I really enjoy. I’m not a fan of the programmed drums used on the closing “Still a Boy in Solitude�.

I was not even aware Kenso had something coming, but this is a really good album that fans of the band will want to add to their collection

Track List:
1. “Watashi no Jinsei ni wa�
2. “Tokiniwa Ratenno no Fushu ni�
3. “Haikei Airissuea Sarna�
4. Kobaku Taru Sai no Kawara nite�
5. “Ryu no Mai�
6. Sore dakara Ima wa Tanoshiku�
7. Nigesatta Jibun no Tamashi wo Oikakeru ga gotoku Sora wo Tsukande Iru�
8. Naibu ni Iru Hito ga Birodosho ni Mieru Riyu�
9. Hyoto
10. Kessite sayonara dewa Naku
11. Still a boy in solitude

Added: December 1st 2024
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 121
Language: english

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