Review:
Onmyouza have undergone an image change, and gone back to a "gothier", "eviler" look. When I first saw the "Demon King" on the official website, as well as Kuroneko clutching a skull, I was quite surprised. I think there are enough "evil" metal bands in the world as it is, but I like to think there's a grander design behind this, that the band has simply gone from a "yang" phase (which would have begun with the Mezame single (2003) - consider that the title means "Awakening" and the song is about "the unstoppable rays of the morning sun", to paraphrase) to a new "yin" era, and that they'll "become good" again eventually. (By the way, that goatee is a bad idea, Matatabi. Bad, bad, bad.)

So what's on the album? It's Onmyouza's usual payload of ten tracks.

1. Jokyoku - first the encouraging drums, then the discouraging synth part. If you remember Korin (the very first track of the very first album), this is kind of like it. 1/5
2. Maoh - it's pretty weird, but Matatabi may have wasted an entire album's worth of ideas on this one. 2/5
3. Kokui no tennyo - this is the one we've heard before; this year's "flagship song" of Matatabi's choice. Although it's still a fairly bland song, I must admit it has grown on me a little with repeated listening. 3/5
4. Fugu taiten - Now we're talking! This is Onmyouza in top form. 5/5
5. Hodou ninpouchou - why is it that all the Ninpouchous are so good? I dislike the interlude which effectively "stops" the song, and the finish could be better, but the rest is pure genius. 4,5/5
6. Hyousube - an instant favourite, this is the "playful" song which was normally the closing song of the album (think Orabinahai or Gainagateya). I like the guitar solo - I imagine Maneki doing the riffs while Karukan is unplugging his guitar out of the amp and plugging it back in. 4/5
7. Ookubi - I'm not a fan of the cacophonic parts of this song, and I certainly hope they won't experiment further in this direction. Other than that, though, good song. 3/5
8. Mukuro - this is a "screamer" much in the vein of Manji (2005, the B-side to the Kouga Ninpouchou single). The guitar interlude reaches an almost Dragonforce-like level, but other than that, the song is a bit repetitive. 4/5
9. Kuchizuke - I was genuinely frightened by the first 30 secs or so, but then it took a turn for the better. I still have no idea why the synth was necessary, though. 3,5/5
10. Ikiru Koto To Mitsuketari - an energetic, optimistic rock piece the likes of which you could expect from just about any band. I could imagine it as an OP to a fighting anime, like Naruto or something. It sounds good, but also extremely generic. 3,5/5