The Rebirth of the Nightmare

At the time of this release, Nightmare is working phenomenally well together, the best they have thus far. Ruka and Sakito have made wonderful compositions, and the musicianship is top-notch. They have never been better!!

However, instead of their energetic and rambunctious style of Ultimate Circus, or the rough, yet jazzy Libido, Anima is far lighter; you could even call it “pop”. Yet, don’t let the term “pop”, make you judgmental! This release is indescribably creative and displays such innovative sounds and styles to music,especially in the visual kei scene, that it is a great addition to anyone’s music collection. However, on a day to day basis, I prefer their more "aggressive" style, as this cd can get boring, but that is not to say that this album is not an excellent work of music.

My favorites are; “livEVIL”, “Raven Loud Speeaker”, both catchy and the “hardest” songs on here along with: “Jashin to Bara” (which has a sort of “Malice Mizer” flair to it) and “Jibun no Hana”, a brilliantly executed fast ballad. However, “Setsusou” and “Mahora” are outstanding as well. So creative and interesting, yet can be boring if you are not in the mood for it. Overall, the songs mostly have a "crisp" and clean sound to them; Truly, it has a strong winter vibe to it. For example,"Setsusou" means, "snow burial", and it sounds kind of like snow falling (in the beginning especially), just check out the song sample! Also, "Message"'s lyrics start off with "tsumetai fuyu no kaze...", "a cold winter wind..". I guess the guys were really inspired that winter,(also see the release date was in February.)

Although it is not my favorite Nightmare cd, it still surpasses many other artists, and I’m truly grateful to all the work and thought put into this album. I love listening to it when relaxing, when I can just think about it. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this cd to new listeners, however, as it doesn’t offer much of all Nightmare’s immense talent, and diversity of talent. Additionally, I do not want people who need hard and heavy rock to automatically reject this album (as could be the case with me, I can sympathize with those people). This may be an acquired taste, yet it definitely satisfies the craving for creativity and talent.