exist†trace – “Ambivalent Symphony”
Review by: Sabrina

There’s nothing ambivalent about it; these girls ROCK. From the opening of the very first track, Exist Trace pounds their way onto the v-kei scene. Produced by veteran electronica artist, Narita Shinobu, the mastering of this album is amazingly clean and crisp, something rare for a rock album by an indies band. The overall delivery is a far better quality than even some major artists bring to the table.

“RESONANCE” is the only proof Exist Trace needs to show that all-girl bands are just as capable of producing resonant, lasting metal melodies as the guys (and in this reviewer’s opinion, much BETTER than most of the male-fronted bands out there). If “RESONANCE” wasn’t enough, they instantly switch tracks with “海の雫(Umi No Shizuku)”, a gorgeous rock ballad that showcases vocalist Jyou’s power. “海の雫(Umi No Shizuku)” sounds a lot like an homage to fellow indies Rentrer En Soi’s “鴉色の胎児 (Karasu Iro No Taiji)”, and well done at that.

“-overture-” marks Exist Trace’s brief, but excellent foray into electronica, with overtones of dark synth overlords Depeche Mode. This song was combined with haunting visuals on screen for the intro to their recent one-man live at Meguro Rockmaykan. (Don’t miss them live if you have the chance!)

“Ambivalence” brings us back to more intense, minor key rock that will have you dancing in your chair, and “forward” propels you into high-speed metal that will have you headbanging so hard your headphones will fall off.

The only slight fault with this album is the tiny bit of pitch wavering in the vocals for the opening verse of “Wrath”, though it’s soon corrected. The final track, “「終わりのない世界」 (Owari No Nai Sekai)”, leaves the listener in high spirits with its return to major key, power chord-driven pop rock, similar to some of Gackt’s more commercial rock melodies.

It’s seriously unfortunate that such talented ladies should have to play second fiddle to the boys, just because of their sex, when the truth is, they rock harder and display more talent in just one short album than many of their more popular counterparts. Combine that with the excellent sound quality of this album, and it becomes one CD you definitely don’t want to miss out on!