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Japanese hardcore legends Tetsu Arrey's long-awaited 4th album. Limited to 300 copies.
Our take: In some ways, I feel like whether or not you like Tetsu Arrey is a litmus test for whether or not you're a real Japanese hardcore head. I mean, it's easy to like Framtid or Kriegshog... both of those bands are so single-minded in their approach and impeccable in their execution that I'm sure they would be lauded wherever they happened to come from. However, in Tetsu Arrey's music the defining musical quirks of the Japanese hardcore / burning spirits style are thrown right into your face. The emphasis on vocal melody, the polished, metallic production, the heavy "rock" edge to the riffing, the quirkiness of songwriting and arrangement, and the propensity toward lyrics that are "spiritual" or self-empowering in a borderline (or sometimes fully) cheesy way... all of these are "love them or hate them" aspects of Tetsu Arrey's music, and honestly I'm not really sure that I would love them if I couldn't contextualize what this band does within the wider trends and ideas running through the history of Japanese hardcore. All that being said, I really do like this quite a lot. I also like Forward a lot, and I'd imagine that years (maybe even decades at this point?) of playing shows together has rubbed the two bands off on one another to the point where they sound almost strikingly similar in places. I dare say that if you like Forward or if you've enjoyed digging beyond the surface level of 90s Japanese hardcore you'll love this as well, as it's an ambitiously written, powerfully recorded and played album. Sure, there are some moments that might make a native English-speaker cringe (what is "Give Me Chocolate" about anyway?), but that's a big part of fun of listening to Japanese hardcore anyway, so if you're on board that won't bother you at all. Oh, and if you're wondering, this is limited to 300 copies and most of them were sold on the band's US tour, so this is probably your one and only chance to grab a copy on vinyl for a decent price.