Schwarz Stein - Recurrence of Hallucination thoughts

[Demanufacturer]

Live listen review:

Remind:
Nice sounds, but too loopy. It feels like my unfinished tracks: a nice concept or sketch, but not yet a full track. An ok intro i guess, though i would have loved this to be a full track with more parts. The alarmesque sounds on the background really add to the tension in this. Like epic shit's about to happen.
Let's find out!

Predict:
Hell yeah, i loved the original of this one, the hyper gated saw sound and those trancy organs and pads, the wobbly bass.. musically i love this track.
But now! Vocals! It fits! I have no other words for it, except it doesnt sound mixed quite right. It sounds too seperately recorded and mixed. Personally i would've cut a bit of high and add a different reverb. Other than the mix i think the vocals are fine.

Hypnos:
I get this ''anime intro song'' vibe to it. I can see a gazillion AMV's for this. That's a bad thing in my opinion, as that means it's a very uhm, what's that word, regular? Anyway i don't get a specific vibe of this. It's just too standard.
I have forgotten already about it now that i am listening to the next song, namely..

Genuine:
Damnit. I hate this track. I hate the original. I hate the album this is featured on. Why? It was the first Hora album i actually bought. I didnt listen any previews or downloads. I was expecting the dark and emotional stuff like Inner Universe and The World but instead i get RAPED by a bunch of looped-to-death preset sounds.
I hate this song and not even Kaya can do anything about it as he's just following that annoying chorus line.

NEXT

Sirius:
Awrite. Much better, nice sounds, funky drums, the ''old skool'' sounds of the drums work pretty good. Indeed a laid-back flow, a bit end-of-summer-ish, where you think about all the good and bad things that happened last summer. A bit melancholic if you will.
Yes i love this, it makes me think, it touches my emotions.
...but it get's a bit boring after a while. There's no climax sort of moment.
Damnit, track's over already?
Horadude, you should have totally done more with this track musically!
Nice track, definately worth listening again.


Verdict for now:
An OK release, though indeed more of an Another Cell record rather than a Schwarz Stein record.
BUT!
What gave Schwarz Stein their sound was the ''primitiveness'' of Hora's instruments at the time. They sounded very ''90's'' to me. While this sounds very modern.
I think this is what SS would actually have evolved in if they never broke up.

Anyway: An OK EP. No more, no less.
Faves: Predict and Sirius

 

[Akito]

Live listen review:
What gave Schwarz Stein their sound was the ''primitiveness'' of Hora's instruments at the time. They sounded very ''90's'' to me. While this sounds very modern.

I think you're right. It's not just that Kaya is singing differently and the vocals aren't being mixed and/or processed the same way, Hora's compositions are also lacking that "Schwarz Stein" element. While it's nice to have some new Hora + Kaya material, they really should have just labeled this as an "Another Cell" release ...

 

[mizerable]

Like most of you, I was pretty excited about Schwarz Stein's reunion and new release, thus my expectations were rather high which, I suppose, is one of the reasons I am disappointed.

REMIND is great. Not as an opener to a fairly short minialbum, but as a typical Hora track. It sounds like it belonged to REIGN and somehow didn't make it on the album, so, as a leftover it lingered somewhere on Hora's harddrive until they probably thought: Damn, we need another track, something like an opener, Hora, what you got? Bottom line: when listening to it, I don't hear Schwarz Stein, I hear Hora.

PREDIT -Rosen Clarion- is my second favourite track. The original was my favourite from REIGN and I always wondered what it would sound like with Kaya's vocals which turned out very powerful and energetic here, I think.

HYPNOS, what can I say. I didn't like it. HYPNOS sounds like a typical Kaya solo track, written by Hora but modified to fit Kaya's playful, sweet sonic nature.

GENUINE -Recurrence- is the neither really good, neither really bad song. I have to admit that I didn't really enjoy the original GENUINE in the first place and since they didn't change much about its overall sound, I don't like it with vocals either. It sounds a bit bland and not very harmonic...

SIRIUS -Hallucination- is probably the track I dislike most. I always thought that the original on domiNATE was terrible (sure, it's a matter of taste but I just don't like this particular type of style... it's the same with Funerary Dream, FLOW or HEAVENZ) and this version sounds even more playful and light hearted.

All things considered, this is not a Schwarz Stein release to me, it's more of a compilation of enhanced Hora songs with Kaya's vocals. They could have done a hell lot of more but I am not to judge their methods, I just judge the result and to me it is not as good as it could have been (or as I wished).
I guess the problem is that they didn't really spend enough time working together as a unit, like they used to and that Kaya was too busy with his solo stuff / touring which is a pity since the existing discography is pure genius and doesn't deserve a successor like this.
Still, it is fairly enjoyable and I like parts about it, so I don't totally regret buying it (except when I think: why the fuck did I pay ￥2300 for a five-song minialbum with recycled artwork and music).

 

[Geisha]

It's not just that Kaya is singing differently and the vocals aren't being mixed and/or processed the same way, Hora's compositions are also lacking that "Schwarz Stein" element. While it's nice to have some new Hora + Kaya material, they really should have just labeled this as an "Another Cell" release ...

Another Cell sounded more like SS than this; it had more "oomph". Plus Kuro ageha.

All things considered, this is not a Schwarz Stein release to me, it's more of a compilation of enhanced Hora songs with Kaya's vocals.

Totally.

 

[Antaeus]

5. SIRIUS -Hallucination-
The "Donkey Kong Country 2" vibes have been cranked up for the remix - I approve, others may not While something this laid-back is definitely not what I think of when I hear "Schwarz Stein", I think I'd put this as the best track on the disc. The vocals and music work together here for once, to create a mood of alert meditation.
Onward, Squawks! In search of the DK coin!

Actually, Hora has several references to the music of Dave Wise. The composition of Sirius(both versions) has a very similar structure to Stickerbrush Symphony. Sensual Madness opening is awfully similar to Flight of the Zinger. The stressy synth in Descent is pretty much the same as in Run, Rambi, Run!

However, Hora never said he is inspired by Dave Wise, or is a Donkey Kong fan, but there is an obvious similarity. it might be a coincidience, tho. Essentially, they are just using the same material on a different way.

 

[veil]

This release really disappointed me. Well, I say that... I wasn't expecting much in the first place, but I think I was maybe secretly harboring some hope that it might not be THAT bad, but it was. I agree with Akito in that it should've just been labelled a second 'another cell' release (if they were going to release it at all!)

 

[flowersofnight]

Actually, Hora has several references to the music of Dave Wise. The composition of Sirius(both versions) has a very similar structure to Stickerbrush Symphony.

Hey, welcome back
Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of XD I don't really know the names of any of the tracks though, because the DKC2 soundtrack CD costs about the same as a small car.

However, Hora never said he is inspired by Dave Wise, or is a Donkey Kong fan

Yeah, I'm really not sure of that at all XD Seems like he mostly likes Metal Gear and Grand Theft Auto or whatever (his tastes seem to be really American in all aspects of life, oddly), but maybe he had a Super Famicom as a kid?

 

[PЯiиC]

I agree with Veil this is a Another cell vol.2.

First when I heard the "recurrence of Hallucination" name, I thought ok it will be new versions of -maybe- the most famous or cool songs from SS, because it will work for the nostalghia, nut nooooo it was Hora's rework songs, and hypnos that could work in kaya's solo career, I had a lot of expectations not in new work, but in rework stuff, with a new sound (showing how they inprove themsleves throught out these years) but anyways at least are good songs. I think they named SS because they need desperated to sell it, Hora's need money to eat I guess.

 

[tonberry]

I agree with Veil this is a Another cell vol.2.

First when I heard the "recurrence of Hallucination" name, I thought ok it will be new versions of -maybe- the most famous or cool songs from SS, because it will work for the nostalghia, nut nooooo it was Hora's rework songs, and hypnos that could work in kaya's solo career, I had a lot of expectations not in new work, but in rework stuff, with a new sound (showing how they inprove themsleves throught out these years) but anyways at least are good songs. I think they named SS because they need desperated to sell it, Hora's need money to eat I guess.

They definately don't get money to eat from this release and never did, lol.
If they were really planning to get money as much as possible they would have released a pricy full album with new versions of old songs, considering that at the revival concert most of the songs were new re-arranged versions.