Onmyo-za has a clearly defined style, to the point where even bands that try to imitate them end up not sounding all that much like them. The exact balance between their traditional heavy metal and seventies hard rock riffs, their very accessible melodic sensibilities, their subtle folky touches, and the vocal stylings of the best husband-and-wife vocal duo in heavy metal history just differs from album to album. After a few relatively heavy and dense albums, the band sounds natably more streamlined, open and transparent on ‘Ginrei Gozen’. Onmyo-za continues to challenge itself, and the results are nothing short of stunning.

That doesn’t quite mean that Onmyo-za has gone the lighter route that they went on ‘Kongō Kyūbi‘ (2009) or ‘Fūjin Kaikō‘ (2014) – for one, ‘Jigoku’ is the only ballad here, and it only barely qualifies as one – but it is the closest they have gotten since. There definitely is more heavy, aggressive riff work on ‘Ginrei Gozen’, some of the riffs are even among the thrashiest Onmyo-za has released in a long time, but every time one appears, you can count on it being offset by a chorus or a middle section carried by Kuroneko’s borderline ethereal vocals later on.

Ultimately, those aggressive riffs are what sets ‘Ginrei Gozen’ apart from other relatively light Onmyo-za albums. ‘Hoshikuma Dōji’ is built upon a riff that is pure, unadulterated eighties Bay Area thrash metal, though its chorus is notably more open and melodic. An immediate favorite of mine was the delightfully theatrical ‘Kishin no Ōdō Naki Mono wo’, which starts out with a very doomy riff, but turns into a feast of harmonies and expertly arranged contrasting sections once the enitre band enters. Sometimes my highlights change after listening to an album repeatedly, but this particular song only gets better.

Opening track ‘Ginrei ni Shisu’ is one of the songs that most strongly reminds me of the direction Onmyo-za took on ‘Fūjin Kaikō’. Musically speaking, it is cut from the same cloth as the likes of ‘Kamikaze’, being built upon a handful of hard-rocking riffs, but putting the vocal melodies and harmonies front and center. The possibilities of this formula are thoroughly explored on ‘Ginrei Gozen’, with the subtly folky ‘Kejōrō’ and ‘Dare ga Tame ni Kama wa Naru’ being on the accessible end of the spectrum, and ‘Shion Ninpōchō’ on the more uptempo, riffy end.

Although ‘Ginrei Gozen’ doesn’t have any ten-plus-minute songs, there are a few epics that truly serve as evidence of singer/bassist Matatabi’s songwriting excellence. First off, there is the diptych of ‘Suzuka Gozen – Onishiki’ and ‘Suzuka Gozen – Kamishiki’. The former is relatively short, but manages to squeeze all possible dynamics out of its runtime whilst maintaining a very pleasant flow, the latter is one of the most elegant semi-epics Onmyo-za has ever recorded. These two tracks are split up by ‘Ōtakemaru’, another semi-epic that expertly alternates dark, menacing sections with more melancholic melodies.

Vocally, ‘Ginrei Gozen’ is the most even split between Kuroneko and Matatabi in a while. Where its predecessor ‘Ryūō Dōji‘ (2023) was predominantly Kuroneko’s album vocally, and it worked wonders for that album, this one makes much better use of the possibilities offered by their voices working together. There are more than a few incredible harmonies, and while Kuroneko has a gorgeous timbre and an enviable range, Matatabi is the one who explores more different shades of his voice here. ‘Kishin no Ōdō Naki Mono wo’ especially is proof that he is a much better singer than he gets credit for.

Where many Onmyo-za albums have the band focusing one or two specific aspects of their sound, ‘Ginrei Gozen’ might actually be the album that best displays just how versatile the band is. The result is a fantastically dynamic album that can’t help but hold the listener’s attention all the way through. Even ‘Sanzen Sekai no Karasu wo Koroshi’, the traditional lightweight closing rocker that often is my least favorite track on Onmyo-za’s albums, is really good. Though Onmyo-za’s idiosyncratic sound may still not be for everyone, ‘Ginrei Gozen’ is an amazing album that actually could be a great introduction for those curious about the band.

Recommended tracks: ‘Kishin no Ōdō Naki Mono wo’, ‘Suzuka Gozen – Kamishiki’, ‘Ōtakemaru’

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Ginrei Gozen

Onmyoza