DiabolosRadio - Japan Needs a Hero!

Rock band DiabolosRadio's first full album, Japan Needs a Hero!, was plagued by some trouble during its creation, with music disappearing and equipment breaking down. Thankfully, this group didn't let any of that get them down and forged ahead to release this album.

Perhaps a bit fittingly, the album kicks off with some chaos and the sound of things breaking before vocalist HIROCKY shouts "Are you ready?!". Japan Needs a Hero!, the first track as well as the title, is a quick rock song with a mix of catchy guitar riffs and wails courtesy of SDG#J's quick fingers. Managing to both have some solid, aggressive hard-rock moments and still be extremely catchy, this track's only real weakness is the sheer amount of guitar solo time. While SDG#J is quite skilled, the casual listener will no doubt tire of nothing but the guitar's wails after a bit and begin to long to hear the rest of the band come back in. When the guitar finally steps off of center stage, HIROCKY comes back in with a rap and some bass courtesy of AKIRA.

The next two tracks, Badboy and Still Playin' the Rock Guitar, are both pure rock 'n roll songs with the former peppered with sound effects, such as sirens and the revving of an engine. Still Playin' the Rock Guitar isn't quite as aggressive as the first tracks although HIROCKY seems to be nearly yelling in order to be heard over the rest of the band.

2nd Glory Days FunFunFun is a more light-hearted tune with a touch of hip-hop sensibility thrown in over the guitar, bass, and drums. During the chorus, it exposes more of its rock soul, in addition to the guitar interludes, and is overall a very successful, fun mix of genres. It does have a weakness, however; just as the title track had a touch too much guitar, this one's roughly minute-long guitar solo seems like just too much filler and bogs down this otherwise solid tune.

Summer Rain is the first real slow song of the album and quite pretty; the only thing holding it back is the rather poor recording quality. That aside, however, it is a very lovely little song and HIROCKY makes an obvious effort to express his emotions through his voice.

Namakemono de YUSHU and reSTART knock the pace right back up, with the latter opening with a rather cool, funky rap. reSTART is a somewhat strange song in that parts of it are done absolutely wonderfully, showcasing a more experimental side of the band, but then other moments are a little too experimental and disjointed. Thankfully, the following track, Wristcut Syndrome, is done in the same musical vein but much better with a little restraint having apparently gone a long way in this successful marriage of rap, rock, and wicked guitar.

Burn with Hell Fire Guitar has the unfortunate job of following the strong Wristcut Syndrome but manages to hold its own, kicking the listener back into the stronger rock sound that the album opened with. The final track of Japan Needs a Hero! is Mihatenu Sekai, which is a slightly darker sounding track after so many songs that inspire the listener to want to bounce about. The guitar here manages to not overpower the vocals, as it unfortunately tended to in other tracks, and HIROCKY's slightly rough vocals are strong and do well in reaching the listener, who will find themselves wanting more of this sort of song... but Mihatenu Sekai is unfortunately the last track.

This album is not in any way polished; the recording quality is questionable and just a hair better than that heard on some demo tapes. Still, that very lack of finesse manages to be one of Japan Needs a Hero!'s more charming points. The rawness and roughness gives the listener an idea of what DiabolosRadio may sound like live, with their energy and enthusiasm for what they do still coming through strong. If a listener does not mind this, as most rock fans shouldn't, DiabolosRadio is a young band that is definitely worth a listen, despite some faults. With some further experience recording, and proper funding, this group should give their fans plenty to look forward to in the future.