Reviews / Song/ Lyrics

[Review] UVERworld’s Neo Sound Best

Naoko Kensaku7 Comments

Artist : UVERworld
Album : Neo SOUND BEST
Genre : Jrock
Release Date : 9 December 2009

TRACKLIST
1. D-tecnoRize
2. CHANCE! (Re-Sing ver.)
3. Hakanaku mo eikyuu no kanashi
4. Roots
5. Gekidou
6. 99/100 Damashi no Tetsu
7. Zero no Kotae
8. Shaka Beach ~Laka Laka La~
9. Ukiyo CROSSING
10. SHAMROCK
11. Yasashisa no Shizuku
12. Monochrome ~Kizukenakatta devotion~
13. Kimi no Suki na Uta
14. Koishikute
15. Kanashimi wa Kitto
16. D-tecnoLife

Tracklist and album from Asia Pop Idol.

Apparently the copy I have has been leaked. So far, I think I prefer UVERworld’s Proglution (their previous effort) compared to Neo SOUND BEST. The main reason’s because Chance! has become something completely different from the original, and I’m discovering that sound-wise, I don’t like it.

That said, D-tecnoRize, a new version of D-tecnoLife, the single that launched their mainstream career, has received a well-deserved rework. I like the rhythms here, and the tempo reminds me a bit more of their work in Proglution. The opening sounds and tempo evokes images of watching techno waves (like the effects you see when you let the visualisation run in Windows Media Player).

Hakanaku mo eikyuu no kanashi, the third track on the album, has received stronger guitar riffs, louder sounds in general, with the beat kicked up two notches. This makes the song more fast paced than it was in Proglution (Google also tells me that it was the second opening song to the anime Gundam 00, which accounts for its popularity). The change of pace has made this one ofย  my favourites. In Proglution, I considered this to be one of their weaker songs, but in Neo Sound Best, it’s definitely one of my favourites. Continuing the “I didn’t quite like it previously but now I do” trend, Gekidou makes a surprise appearance. I’m not quite sure what changed between here and AwakEVE, but I do know that the change has made this song more memorable in my mind, and that is always a good thing.

Zero No Kotae melts wonderfully from 99/100 Damashi no Tetsu, which is most likely going to be my favourite track of the whole album. Ukiyo’s Crossing doesn’t sound very different from the original. This makes sense when you consider Neo Sound Best a compilation of their best songs. Some songs have received welcome makeovers, and I think this is a pretty good introduction for a newbie to get into UVERworld.

That said, I’ve currently got 99/100 Damashi no Tetsu on loop on Enma, my MP3 player, because this song just rocks that hard. From the hard rolling drum beats, to the hand clapping, the guitar, and the way it simply moves from one mode to another in just a little over 5 minutes, this song is nothing short of epic.

Heck, they’ve beaten Abingdon Boys’ School to be my band of the month. ๐Ÿ˜€ So going to get the limited edition CD + DVD order. This is MY Christmas present to myself. ๐Ÿ˜€

7 thoughts on “[Review] UVERworld’s Neo Sound Best”

  1. how can u have it! XD omg, I’m waiting for my copy ๐Ÿ˜› anyways about your review…xD Hakanaku .. and Gekidou are not from Proglution (2008) :S , actually their album is called AwaKEVE (2009), well taht’s all hehe, by the way I’m glad u liked it <D

  2. Whoa … haven’t been here for quite a while … thanks for the list … shall try it out … need a new list anyway … bored of what i’m listening to these days anyhowz

  3. I think I like the re-work of Chance. Takuya’s voice has gotten a lot better since Timeless and it’s nice that they put a new spin on it with this “Resung” version. It’s nice.

    BTW, is the song actually called “Hakanaku mo *eikyuu* no Kanashi”? I may be missing something, it sounds exactly like “Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi. (on my copy, anyway)

  4. D-tecnoRize and CHANCE! (re-sing version) are actually the original versions of the songs from when they were still sound goku road

Comments are closed.