Once a sound is established within a certain scene, copycats are spawned. Despite my weak spot for the type of symphonic power metal played by many bands in the Japanese visual kei scene, most new bands that appeared in the last fifteen years or so end up sounding like fairly poor Versailles clones. This is exactly why Angels’ Temptation is such a breath of fresh air. Sure, they have similar influences, but singer Mirai is clearly a better songwriter than most of the band’s peers. Moreover, the band has a fresh approach to their arrangements that makes debut album ‘Anthem Of The Angels’ a welcome surprise.

Everything Angels’ Temptation does is ever so slightly different to the norm of twenty-first century visual kei. A mixed-gender line-up is very uncommon in the scene, but what might be more relevant is the fact that one of the women is a keyboard player. Most similarly-styled bands program their symphonic arrangements, but because Angels’ Temptation has Shion in the band, the keyboards are an integral part of songwriting. Melodies are still mostly carried by Mirai’s smooth vocals and the guitars of Hideki and Yuri, but there is a fair share of piano and organ melodies that are enhanced the dynamics of an actual person playing them.

For me, Angels’ Temptation sounds best at their most melancholic moments. There are plenty of well-written uptempo power metal numbers with almost Matenrou Opera-like upbeat choruses, such as ‘Holy World’ and the powerful single ‘Heaven ~Tenshi No Uta~’ and those do wonders for the balance of the album. But when the melodies take on a more melancholic, almost yearning quality, like they do on opener ‘Fallen Angel’ and the fantastic ‘Ghost’, that’s when Angels’ Temptation sounds at their best. Stylistically, those tracks don’t even sound that much different than the rest of the album, but the character of the melodies elevates them above the already impressive average.

Similarly, the slower ‘Requiem’ pushes the band to almost gothic territories, which I think suits them to a tee. The dark melodies and dramatic arrangements make the song a welcome departure, while the slower tempo allows Rio to add some simple, but really cool bass fills. I also really like the operatic color of voice Mirai goes for in the first verse. The lengthy ‘Seraph ~Seimei No Kiseki~’ brings together the extremities of the band’s sound by building from a theatrical overture to a power metal track with a hopeful, goosebumps-inducing chorus. Closer ‘Anthem ~Tenshi No Hashigo~’ is a fairly unconventional power ballad that convinces with its lack of saccharine melodrama.

Debut albums with such a clear vision of what they want to be are rare in the visual kei scene. It helps that multiple members of Angels’ Temptation are veterans and they appear to be doing everything themselves, without the pressure of a label that wants to squeeze as much money as possible out of them. At just short of forty minutes, ‘Anthem Of The Angels’ is a relatively short album, but it also lacks filler. Real drums probably would have made the album even better, but as it stands, ‘Anthem Of The Angels’ is the best visual kei debut I have heard in a very long time.

Recommended tracks: ‘Ghost’, ‘Requiem’, ‘Seraph ~Seimei No Kiseki~’, ‘Fallen Angel’

Order ‘Anthem of the Angels’ from nearly anywhere in the world at CD Japan below

Anthem of the Angels

Angels’ Temptation