V/A STEP INTO THE LIGHT 12" & VENDETTA 7"

VENDETTA 7"
(VENDETTA MUSIC//Japan)

FANTASTIC 4 song 7" from VENDETTA from Japan. This year I vowed to slow down on my consumption of new Japanese HC releases, but I couldn't resist this one based on the reviews that I was reading. They have a raw sound mixed with a great melodic, UK82 vibe that I am just a sucker for. I gushed enough about the 2nd SKIZOPHRENIA 7" when it came out, but I think this record is even better!

4.5 / 5 bells

 

V/A STEP INTO THE LIGHT 12"
(NINGEN-DO//Japan)

This is one compilation that I didn't want to buy. It was expensive and each band only has one song. I prefer a good solid JPHC comp to have 3-4 songs from each band. Then you also have the problem that most comps just aren't that good anymore...but Japanese comps tend to be able to pull this off better than most places. I went ahead and said "fuck it" and bought this with the VENDETTA 7". There are lots of bands that I like on it, so why not, when convenience is on my side? Most of these bands are more on the melodic UK side of things, which is a nice little twist from what Japanese HC is most known for. This is kind of a part 2 of The ACTION 7" comp that came out a few years ago. I absolutely love the ROUGH STUFF song (saw them play a great set last year on the GASMASK TERROR Japanese tour), and of course, the SKIZOPHRENIA, FOLKEIIS (although I wish they would go for less of a muddy guitar sound) and VENDETTA songs are great too. The multiple inserts are really cool, each band gets a side of a separated 7" size insert. Although I would have been in favor of less bands and more songs on this comp, I still say this is a keeper (although not essential).

band listing:

Side A
ROUGH STUFF
VENDETTA
END OF SEEDS
THE DRUNK BO!S
REJECT

Side B
THE LAST MOMENT
SKIZOPHRENIA
FOLKEIIS
STRANGENESS

3.5 / 5 bells