After their highly creative lead guitarist Kyrie left the band, I was not sure what to expect from NoGoD. Sure, they still had one of their greatests assets in the powerfully emotional vocals of Dancho – without a doubt one of the best singers in the visual kei scene – but losing such an important member could cause the songwriting to take a hit. Fortunately, this is not what happened. In fact, ‘Now Testament’ might just be the best and most focused album NoGoD released to date. ‘V’ used to be my clear favorite NoGoD album, but ‘Now Testament’ is a strong contender at the very least.
My biggest concern about Kyrie leaving was that the intricate metal riffs that popped up fairly frequently in NoGoD’s music would disappear, as he was usually the one playing them. However, ‘Now Testament’ sounds exactly like one would expect a NoGoD album to sound stylistically. Energetic rock songs with hopeful, but never overly upbeat choruses dominate the album. And they appear in various styles, from spry, punky rockers like ‘If Possible’ and ‘Tama to Kudakero’ to interestingly structured power ballads and even songs that could be classified as progressive metal – more on that later.
‘Now Testament’ does not need long to take my worries about NoGoD’s metal riffing away, because intro track ‘Renatus’ and the goosebumps-inducing proper opener ‘What Do You Say’ are full of them. That does not mean NoGoD is a full-on metal band now; Dancho’s strong, heartfelt voice thrives in melodic rock arrangements that give him ample space and therefore, the choruses are more open almost without exception. ‘Never Fade Away’ is another great example of this: the song is full of borderline speed metal riffs, but the song slows down considerably for a huge, almost arena rock-worthy vocal melody in its chorus.
Two of the highlights are more surprising compositionally. ‘Shikabane wo Koeteike’ is technically a semi-ballad, but does not start out as such. The first riff is the fastest piece of metal on the album, yet it is remarkably dramatic, and even the verses make a more rhythmic impression, not in the last place due to the hypermelodic bass lines courtesy of metal bass master hibiki, who debuts with NoGoD on ‘Now Testament’. ‘Mind’s Eye’ is a progressive metal masterpiece that while remaining mid-tempo throughout manages to be incredibly dynamic by moving back and forth between a surprisingly large number of climaxes. Closer ‘Genyaku Seisho’ is melodic hardrock and metal mastery like only NoGoD can do it.
NoGoD themselves consistently refer to ‘Now Testament’ as the start of a new era – calling the opening track ‘Renatus’ is a bit of a hint as well. If that era consists of releases as amazing as this one, I would absolutely welcome it. Losing two key members has done nothing to diminish the power of NoGoD’s fresh, melodic sound. If anything, it appears to have strengthened the resolve of the remaining members. ‘Now Testament’ is the biggest, most pleasant musical surprise of 2023 for me so far. Anyone into catchy, melodic rockers with the occasional metal influence should get as much of a kick out of this as myself.
Recommended tracks: ‘What Do You Say’, ‘Mind’s Eye’, ‘Shikabane wo Koeteike’, ‘Genyaku Seisho’
Order ‘Now Testament’ from nearly anywhere in the world at CD Japan below
Kevy Metal 
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