Single: アリス九號. - CROSS GAME

CROSS GAME

アリス九號.

Date released: 10.12.2008.

Track list
1. CROSS GAME [PV]
2. atmosphere
3. 夢幻-electric eden- (Mugen -electric eden-)

CROSS GAME is alice nine.'s third single this year and a appetizer before the new third album VANDALIZE will be served.

So CROSS GAME starts off with some awesome, almost metallesque guitars and that rapture lasts about as long until Shou opens his sushi hole up and throws up an alice nine. chorus they have used in the recent dozen of songs. Sad. It's sad to se how these guys are technique wise developing but the song quality is standing still on a dead spot and has no ambition to move away from it what so ever. And Cross Game would have been really amazing if it was my first alice nine. song. But it's my X0th and by that reheating in microwave time the it has already turned cancerous (don't reheat your food many times it may turn cancerous). Oh and did I mention that CROSS GAME is the ending to the 5th Yu-gi-oh! season in Japan?

The B-side atmosphere does the single no good being a clone of the song ERASER from the album Alpha. And atmosphere doesn't even have the charming chorus as ERASER had. ERASER was charming and transparent, but this is transparent and forgettable. And why do the songs on this single have excellent endings and are not excellent as whole?

The only song actually saving this single's ass from being an uninspired, recycled piece of a CD is Mugen -electric eden-. The song reminds a lot on Kagrra,'s slow ones from the San and Miyako period, but less moody though with a nice atmosphere and a bit insecure chorus, but the song turns better in the second half when the ehru (is it called like that?) solo goes and the ominous ending is perfect. A nice CHANGE for an instance.

Unfortunately this single is without a power-track which the two previous single's had but it does have the interesting Mugen-electric eden- which does come as a nice change in the overall overused style they have. So Cross Game wasn't exactly a win single for me but I wouldn't give up my hopes yet, when it comes to albums these guys release really good stuff, so I hope Vandalize will follow the same tradition as Zekkeishoku and Alpha.