Hello MikuDB! Today I’ll be reviewing Nihil, a new rock/metal EP by shatehouu that released last week. This is shatehouu’s first release as a Vocaloid producer, so I’m interested in seeing what he has to offer, especially as a metal fan. The EP consists of only four songs, so I’ll go over what I like and dislike about each one.
Track 1: “Koritsu” – A good starting track. You can hear a progressive style in the verses with erratic riffs, vocals and changing beats, yet the song becomes rather catchy in the chorus. I also noticed some kind of string instrument in the background that adds a nice effect at times. My only gripe is that, at a couple parts, there is a pronounced muted plucking that doesn’t seem to fit well with the song to me. It bothers me less the more times I listen.
Track 2: “Abysmal” – I really like the clear presence of the bass in this song, especially with the riff at the beginning. The song jumps around from jamming to slower piano parts, but I think it incorporates the piano well. What really stood out to me, aside from the bass, was the breakdown with the piano arpeggio played overtop about midway through the song. It made for an intense feel and nice movement into the solos.
Track 3: “Mass Paroxysm” and Track 4 “Broken Dolls”- The last two songs tone down a bit, a bit less heavy and more standard. They’re generally slower than the first two, which I personally don’t prefer, with some heavy parts thrown in. These songs are still good, but I don’t find them as interesting, so I have less to say. I did notice that the breakdown in “Broken Dolls” has a distinctly digital sound to the guitar. I’m not a big fan of the sound of this effect in a metal/hard rock song. Regardless, these songs still show some good guitarwork.
Album in General
As for some general notes, the production is pretty good for a self-produced first work. I think the solos could have been louder and the guitars could use a bit more impact, but those are not deal-breaking issues. I really liked the drums and the instrumentation in general, which is well-executed. The vocal tuning is also decent, and I think Luka works well with the sound.
Overall, I think this is a good first work from shatehouu. I look forward to hearing more work from them and hearing their sound develop. I definitely preferred the first two songs, and there are some stylistic choices that I didn’t like, but I’ll certainly stay tuned for more as they improve.
As for a score, I’m thinking somewhere between 6 and 7/10 – pretty good, but there’s room for more cowbell improvement.
Nihil is available for free on Bandcamp
You can also stream the EP on Soundcloud
Thank you for reading!
-TheImmortalHottentot