Occasionally it happens that a band with a somewhat lengthy career has one album in their discography of which it keeps surprising me how good it is. An album that is not necessarily one of their highlights, but every time I put it on, there is a realization that there is a surprising amount of excellent songs on it. Onmyo-za’s fourth full-length ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ is probably the most obvious example of this. It is somewhat lighter in approach than its predecessors, which is probably why I tend to play it less, but there is simply too much good material on ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ to dismiss it.

To some extent, ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ has some similarities with Onmyo-za’s 2009 release ‘Kongo Kyubi’. The production on the album is a bit brighter than usual and because the compositions aren’t quite as dense, it comes across as a bit softer than what is common for the band. Yet, when you zoom in on the individual songs, there is an incredible amount of excellent traditional heavy metal and hardrock to be found here. Overall, ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ is a bit more accessible than its direct predecessor ‘Kojin Rasetsu’ – not to mention the folk elements being less pronounced – but it is an Onmyo-za album through and through.

Consistency rules the day on ‘Hoyoku Rindo’, but if there is anything it excels at, it would be its simple rockers. It does not surprise me one bit that the vaguely Maiden-ish opener ‘Hoyoku-Tensho’ would become a live staple for the band, as it is catchy, well-structured and vocally, Kuroneko is simply a fish in the water on the track. Or a phoenix in the sky, if we’re splitting hairs about the title. ‘Sogenbi’ is another strong uptempo, but not too fast hardrocker in a similar vein, while the speed metal monster ‘Kirin’ proves that ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ may not be as lightweight as it initially comes across.

However, Onmyo-za has not completely forgotten how to write an epic, mildly proggy song. The ten-minute ‘Nue’ is reminiscent of ‘Ayako’ in that it starts almost unequivocally as a ballad – one with a chord progression similar to the one in The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ this time – but has a cool middle section that successfully portrays insanity. The interaction between Maneki’s bright, clean rhythm guitars and Karukan’s dancing lead guitar melody on ‘Yoka Ninpocho’ is fairly unique and very engaging. And if you want pure Iron Maiden worship enhanced by the voices of Kuroneko and her husband, band leader Matatabi, look no further than ‘Omokage’.

Sure, ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ ends a bit predictably, with the beautifully sparse ballad ‘Hoshi No Yadori’ and ‘Mai Agaru’, which is probably my least favorite of the lightweight rockers that usually close their albums. But until it gets there, ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ has something fresh it has not lost after all those years of listening to it. I’m not quite sure where it sits in the general perception of Onmyo-za albums, but I have a tendency to underrate it horribly. Please don’t make the same mistake as I did. While I would recommend other albums to start with if you’re not familiar with Onmyo-za, ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ is simply excellent.

Recommended tracks: ‘Omokage’, ‘Kirin’, ‘Hoyoku-Tensho’, ‘Nue’

Order ‘Hoyoku Rindo’ from nearly anywhere in the world at CD Japan below

Houyoku rindou

Onmyoza