Arouge started out as the high school band Sleazy Luster when the members were still in their mid-teens. Kitsutaka and bassist Jun Fukuda quickly proved to be extremely capable songwriters. Their debut album offers more than enough evidence for that. Somehow, Arouge managed to combine the powerful, riffy bottom-end of traditional heavy metal with the elegant melodicism of neoclassical hardrock and subtle pop metal sensibilities in the vocal and arrangement department. They were more melodic than Anthem, more accessible than Loudness and heavier than Bow Wow. That should have been a recipe for a hardrock sensation, but it was not to be.

If there is any issue with ‘Arouge ~Bogyaku No Kikoshi~’, it would be the sequencing. The album has a good flow, but while the hypermelodic ‘Tonight (I Sing My Heartful Song For You)’ would have made an excellent single, it lacks the energy an opening track should have. The following ‘Everybody’s Rock & Roll’ is a fun stomper, but easily the weakest track on the album. Fortunately, it only gets better from there. ‘In My Vision’ is a classy rocker with an excellent build-up full of powerful, yet elegant neoclassical riffs.

What is most surprising about the album is how much variation it shows in only 36 minutes. ‘See You In The Dream’ is closer to the hardrock side of the spectrum, while ‘Remember’ combines a thick early power metal base with an almost breezy feel in the vocals. On the more metallic end of things, there is the forcefully galloping ‘Chains’ and the proto-thrash of ‘No. No. No!’, while the slow, heavy shuffle of ‘Makin’ Love’ is borderline. ‘Play A Game’, of which the music was written by Bow Wow mastermind Kyoji Yamamoto, is as melodic as it is powerful, while ‘Winter Days’ is probably the best Japanese ballad of its era. It’s quite subtle, though it has heavier parts and would not have sounded out of place on one of the Uli Jon Roth-era Scorpions albums.

However, the best way to experience ‘Arouge ~Bogyaku No Kikoshi~’ is the 2-cd reissue from 2004. It contains a bonus disc with eleven bonus demo tracks, only one of which also appeared on the full album. The first three tracks were written after the album was released, but might just be the best Arouge material yet. ‘Don’t Get Back’ makes excellent use of dynamics by juxtaposing its proud heavy metal main riff with more subtle verses. It also features what might be Yamada’s best vocal performance on the release. ‘Dead Or Alive’ is simple, but brutally effective eighties metal with a fantastic chorus and pre-chorus and easily my favorite Arouge song, while ‘Rock Emotion’ would later be reworked for Kitsutaka’s brilliant solo debut ‘Euphoria‘ as ‘Dance Desire’.

Some of the older tracks on the second disc should really have been on the actual album. It baffles me, for instance, that ‘Find Another Love’ did not make it on the album. With its uncomplicated heavy metal riffing and a soaring, memorable vocal performance by Yamada, it would have been a highlight. The interesting structure of ‘For Those Who Dare’ is a great example of how to build up tension in a song. My guess is that the songs with the Japanese titles were left off for commercial reasons, as I can see no other reason to leave the brilliant ‘Mihatenu Yume wo’ off the album. Sure, some of the songs are underdeveloped – ‘Night’ in particular is full of cool riffs, but clunky transitions – but this is great stuff and despite the varying sound quality, all of it is very listenable.

When Fumihiko Kitsutaka eventually got his well-deserved place in the spotlights, Arouge would get some more attention, but never enough to warrant a second album or a full-scale reunion. The original line-up did eventually play together again at Kitsutaka’s twentieth and twenty-fifth anniversaris as a musician and the chemistry is still tangible. These days, ‘Arouge ~Bogyaku No Kikoshi~’ is quite difficult to get, but well worth checking out. It almost plays like a snapshot of the state of melodic heavy metal in the mid-eighties, but with the memorable songwriting chops to make it a timeless collection of excellent songs.

Recommended tracks: ‘Dead Or Alive’, ‘Chains’, ‘Don’t Get Back’, ‘No. No. No!’