Hora new album TYRANT - 11/16/2012

Jareth Drakul

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I haven't received it yet but I've noticed some people on last.fm are listening to a few tracks off it. The few track names I've seen (so spoilers I guess if you don't want to know some of them yet):
My World Down, Immortal -Fallen-, The Last Supper, Tranquillity.
 

Moizer

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I got my CD! I would like to submit my review!
My photo was a little bent as well in the packaging. But his handwriting is really cool. What's the cover picture? His piano creature thing? I really like his attitude this time.

I only heard the CD once and these are my thoughts on first listen. His tracks were overall a lot more on the industrial side and had great beats that make them more interesting to listen to than his similar, older stuff. Not going to do anything for people that don't care for what he's already released, but fans of his darker/more aggressive music will be pleased. I wasn't bored at all listening to this and it's really made an impression. There are some very good sounds being used through his songs.

~~~

TYRANT
:/

BEHIND THE SUN
I thought I had the song figured out but it kept changing. A very dreamy and distant feeling that got better as it progressed. Similar to something like MAGNIFICENT

DEMIGOD
A menacing track that hits you out of nowhere.

DISSOLVE
Evil space mars disaster ambiance

MY WORLD DOWN
Starts off like the type of Hora I'm not usually too fond of, being his awkward happy/sad type songs. But then made some more interesting twists and turns than usual.

IMMORTAL -Fallen-
Also wasn't interested in listening to once I got xx seconds into it. It eventually gets pretty unique. There's like breakdowns and beats flying out at random in some of these songs and I like it.

THE SIX
Really fucking cool. The album has become a good purchase at this point.

THE LAST SUPPER
::hora::

TRANQUILITY
really really really really super cool
 

flowersofnight

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I got my CD in today. The signed photo got creased up by the corner of the CD ::hora:: Take a little pride in your packing, Dragon Lady.

My thoughts:

TYRANT
The repeating 7-note thing feels extremely, extremely lazy. Like not even phoned-in, telegraphed-in. Annoying, which is a word I seldom use about Hora. The second half of the song finally does something with that, but even so it's fairly repetitive. The best of this should have been cut down into a *brief* intro.

BEHIND THE SUN
This is actually pretty cool. I think this is what Hora is always aiming for but doesn't always hit, as far as "songs with an intense beat and piano over it". And I like that he varies it up a bit with a bridge. The end is kind of abrupt though.

DEMIGOD
The overall sound of this is neat, but musically it lacks direction. Very theatrical, but I feel like it should have a bit more variation to it, or at least build up to some sort of "reveal". Again he just kind of cut off the song.

DISSOLVE
Another "scenic" track suitable for stalking around and hunting down hell barons with your BFG9000 or whatever XD No particular complaints.

MY WORLD DOWN
This sounds very, very much like some sort of remake of "DUSK" which is one of my favorites. It's fine, but I'm not sure it adds all that much over the original.

IMMORTAL -Fallen-
This is one of those rare Hora songs with an actual melody, but it's still a very "Hora" song in the usual ways. I like it. The aggressive bits are rad.

THE SIX
MORTAL KOMBAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT
When I say that, I always mean it in a good way ::meev:: I wonder who "The Six" are supposed to be.

THE LAST SUPPER
This sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on exactly which Hora song it's like. Some interesting synths in this one and even a real ending of sorts. I think someone ought to confiscate Hora's piano patch though to get him to vary it up a bit. I know a lot of people like that, but moderation in all things.

TRANQUILLITY
Very sparse and menacing - sort of like "Metroid". I'm contractually required to make a certain number of game references in every Hora review ::meev:: But that's really what it most reminds me of, Hora-style Metroid. Well done.

Overall: Well, Hora is still Hora and he's got that style he likes. As usual, I enjoy it best when he ventures outside that box a bit. I think he'd be better served releasing less music and concentrating on his "A" material. I feel like Hora feels obliged to release a full CD packed with 5-minute songs eevry time, regardless of whether he has 5 minutes of actual material for the song, or a full CD's worth of finished material. Something like "DEMIGOD" should have been worked on more because right now it's more of a sketch. What you want when you're listening to Hora is stuff that makes you say "Coooool", and there's a decent amount of it, but he needs an editor.

Best tracks:
THE SIX
TRANQUILLITY
IMMORTAL

And my condolences to him for losing his two kittens Kojirou and Shirochan.
 

Moizer

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I may be a bit biased because I like totally love him. Upon further listening i'm starting to like the album more and more. BEHIND THE SUN is incredible, I don't know why I didn't think that before!
 

Decadent Child

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I got my copy of Tyrant almost 2 weeks ago but I hadn't been able to write. That's curious how many of you got at least a tiny complaint about the picture.

A friend of mine also got a damaged photo. I myself got the picture a little bent but it's ok. ALSO, nobody mentioned the fact this cd has no obi at all.

So, here is my review:

1. TYRANT

Aggressive intro for the album. The usual Hora disstorted fast synth, nice kick intro, very nice mix with the organ Hora uses so often. The part I just love is the piano part with the whole melody. This piano reminds me to Robert Miles.

As said above, this song is repetitive but the usage of synths and instruments are just put in the correct parts. I myself am a fan of repetitive melodies so I think this is why I like it.

2. BEHIND THE SUN

Another dark song, Hora style intro as usual, deep kick, industrial synths, and the peaceful piano part balances the whole melody just well. This song may be boring for some of you who expect the song to explode at some point, you know, the usual intro, develop, calm, and OMFG I wanna dance my ass off sort of song, but it never gets there. Plain song. I like it.

3. DEMIGOD

I went to youtube and played the DEMIGOD videogame trailer without sound and played the song while it runned, and I believe they fit.

Of course I can't say this song has anything to do with the videogame, but still it's what Hora would do.

Mysterious dark melody, it's like a prelude for a very very horrible war or fight or like the time has come for the final judgement.

Hammer-against-metal synth combined with the piano gives it a tense feeling, like something is about to happen.

And when the Organ comes, well, you know you have no chance to scape to whatever it is is coming to kill everybody XD.

4. DISSOLVE

Chemical lab like synths at the start, spacial sounds, the whole Hora package. This is the shortest song of the album and it had to be that way. This song is not danceable, just listeanable. Kind of dull at some point (for me). I think this is the piece of music I liked the less in the album.

5. MY WORLD DOWN

Hell yeah. This is the typical happy instruments but sad feeling melody Hora uses to compose. Danceable, not too dark, not too industrial, he uses a sad piano note strikes. A song for the tragic credits of a very tragic movie. A song to say goodbye forever while I slowly sink into quicksand. One of my top favs!

6. IMMORTAL -FALLEN-

Way better than the original version. It has more bulge, if you know what I mean. More aggressive and with nice chorus (instrumentally speaking).

7. THE SIX

Dark, heavy, aggressive, fierce kick, very danceable. I also wonder what THE SIX would probably mean, and if the title refers to the six as a number or to the six subjects, like the six cats at home or something. Maybe it's something trivial or maybe not, who knows?.

One of the top songs in the album.

8. THE LAST SUPPER

Calm, another song for some kind of farewell. It's nice to hear as it is a peaceful song, but not peaceful as EUPHORIA ~HYPNOTIZE~. It's a fatter more tragic song.

9. TRANQUILLITY

This is scary XD.

Something is on the other side of the door-feeling. Another song on wich you think it's over and then the dramatic Organ Hora uses so often starts. If this song would be played live, Hora would be walking through darkness and fog while it plays in the background.

Also, it gives me the feeling Hora is saying: "Hold your breath, I'll be back".

*************************************************

All in all, I liked this album, I liked it more than Wisdom to be sincere. It keeps me listening to it again and again, something Hora didn't cause in me for some time.

I think this is because Hora is in a better mood after his recovery and that's reflected in his songs.
 

Miri

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I really really need to buy this CD now. And since I reached my novel goal, I think I will.

I just wish I could hear at least one song before hand...

But it sounds like people like it! ^_^
 

flowersofnight

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Decadent Child wrote:
I also wonder what THE SIX would probably mean, and if the title refers to the six as a number or to the six subjects
I emailed Hora and actually got a response: "The Six" refers to the world's six greatest athletic champions from the various sports, in an imaginary ultimate sporting contest:

Baseball: Bill Gullickson
Mixed Martial Arts: Wanderlei Silva
Judo: Masahiko Kimura
Skateboard: Tony Hawk
Basketball (ABA): Julius "Dr. J" Erving
Basketball (NBA): Lebron James


... actually I made all that up ::meev::
 

Daedolon

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O.o

I almost missed this. Thankfully I checked back here for info on Kaya's new stuff <.<
 

Wandering_Fox

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Got my copy~

Hrmmm... It's not bad, but I'm not entirely sure it's worth the cost of getting the CD... With the total cost of $45, I don't know... I think Hora's mixing skills are gatting better, and this album seemed pretty relaxed to me. It had some catchy numbers, but a lot of it wasn't as memorable as some of his other songs (no matter how many times they repeated ::meev:: ) I'd really like him to get back into the habit of including at least one vocal track per album, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

TYRANT - When I first put this one, I thought my headphones were broken, to be honest. The deep, fuzzy static in the background it's really my thing, especially when it's only coming out of one headphone (in the case the left) I really do like the organ and the piano when they come in though, so that saves this track~ Just, those repeating notes could have been cut down a little bit, maybe just 16 bars or so, maybe less?

BEHIND THE SUN - This one starts off pretty cool, and I like the drums when they become a bit more aggressive. The piano is really nice and it keeps the song pretty mellow. There are some cool synths in the background and even though it's kind of repeatative, I don't find myself getting bored with it. It feels like a nice song for a club or for reading a book.

DEMIGOD - This is a nice piece, interestingly void of bass and heavy drums through a lot of it. It feels a bit emtpy, like it was trying to be something a lot bigger than it ended up being. It would be pretty sweet to get a real pipe organ in with a full choir, because it seems to me that is the direction it is trying to head. Needed a bit more variety and not just the same thing over and over, but I hope he experiments with it and fleshes it out in the future :)

DISSOLVE - Nothing really incredible, but some interesting percussion in the background. Definitely not a particularly dance-y track and one that kind of remains unmemorable after listening to it (at least to me) but I like listening to it and wouldn't really go out of my way to skip it. It still feels weird that it's by the same artist who wrote Inner Universe, though.

MY WORLD DOWN - The main synth line is remarkably like the vocal line of Modulate God... Or am I the only one who hears that...? Anyway, this is a pretty catchy number. I'd like to hear some vocals in here to fill it out, but this is also pretty good music for reading, working, making a sandwich, whatever you do while you listen to music. I really like the harpsichord a lot! This song has more cool drums, but it feels a lot more laid back and less in your face than a lot of Hora's other clubbier songs. Still, a nice track :)

IMMORTAL - FALLEN - So this one is interesting. It sounds much more aggressive than the original one and a lot more in your face on the drum/bass front, but I still think it's too similar to the original version... I would have liked to actually hear this sped up a bit with more of a variety than the original version. He didn't even change the patches of the main instruments, so to me, I would have liked it more if I hadn't heard the original. It's a great composition though, just like the last time~

THE SIX - And here it is, THE aggressive track that this CD has been needing! Great stuff here! This is the kind of thing you can really get down with at a club! I really like the drums, and the organ part is pretty sweet as well! It has variety, and I really like the sweeping synths in the background! It sounds dark and not quite Schwarz Stein, but it seems like he's heading back in that direction. I think this one really stands on its own and doesn't need vocals. Good job HORA, this track really kicks @$$! :grin: I'll be back to write the rest later, I've gotta dance the rest of this track out ::k::

THE LAST SUPPER - And we're back, this is a pretty straightforward track with some really cool etheral things going on ^___^ I like the drums a lot here and the way they work with the synthetic bass park. The background composition is surprisingly good and has a lot of cool stuff going on, making this sound like one of the fullest tracks on the CD!

TRANQUILITY - I can dig it~ It's a pretty dark song with some really cool stuff going on, setting a really nice atmosphere. This one reminds me a lot of old SNESS RPGs or the Castlevania 64 soundtrack. Actually one of my favorite HORA tracks from his solo CDs, this one is pretty uncharacteristic of his other songs. He doesn't really do many creepy tracks, but this one is pretty perfect!

Overall a pretty solid CD. He seems like he's moving into more ambient music and further away from poppy dance tracks with every release, but he's able to do some pretty cool stuff. In the end, it's all very ::hora:: ish music, but it's a lot of fun to listen to! I just wish he'd make his CDs a bit cheaper because however nice his CDs are, they seem unusually high...

HIGH POINT - The Six (Instant classic right here~)
 

Daedolon

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Just got mine, currently on BEHIND THE SUN and oh my.... :shock:


EDIT: Umm, am I the only one who received TYRANT with no OBI? I just realized mine didn't come with any. Anyone? u.u
 
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