zantou/ORANGE is the third single released by the band with guitarist Hisui, ex-member of visual band GHOST.
as.milk's 'HeavyRock' music can only be described by percussion, as the vocals lend an almost pop vibe to their songs, and this is particularly true of zantou/ORANGE. The band may not stand out compared to other visual bands, but they do have a lot of talent and potential, and this release is definitely worth a listen.
zantou/ORANGE begins with zantou, and starts off with fast, melodic drums that continue throughout the song. The heavy guitars follow, accompanied swiftly by the smooth sounding vocals which catch your attention immediately. The highlights of the song are mainly the chorus and ending, which make it a catchy track. The rest of the track sounds pretty similar to the sound of most visual indie bands. Nevertheless, this track is an excellent, positive song to groove to, a suggested track for new listeners of as.milk.
Following is the second track ORANGE, which starts with a mix of dreary bass and angry drum beats. Unlike the relatively fast and colourful pace of zantou, this track slows things down, creating a desolate and cloudy grey tune. The dreary resonance of the song reflects the vocals against the growl of guitars. The composition does seem messy at times during the song, but this is another song worth listening to on the single.
The third track, zantou's remix, is something of a surprise… in a negative way. The remix is not really needed in this release, as it sounds like the original except with the addition of sirens and deck mix on top. Not the best track of the single due to the amateurish sounding remix.
Ending with 45 remix from the last single ato, this track is not the most outstanding track of the single either, as expected from most remixes. There is more variation in composition compared to zantou, but this does not make it any better. The original 45 is more aggressive and heavy, while this remix sounds trance-like due to the removal of the usual supporting instruments.
Beginning with two catchy tracks, this single is slightly spoiled by the unneeded remix tracks at the end. The composition could be tidied up a bit, as the instrumental parts can sometimes become messy and therefore hard to listen to. All in all, as.milk is showing steady improvement as a newcomer to the music scene with this single, though they should seriously reconsider releasing remixes in the future. Hopefully, they'll do even better in the future, so look forward to an album release!
