FLOW - #10 Review

FLOW is a famed J-Rock band formed in the late 90s, known for doing most of your favorite anime opening themes. #10 is their very appropriately named tenth studio album. With a handful of singles already out (All of them featured in current anime, of course.) this album has been teased for at least a year now.

The first song, "Niji no Sora" (a.k.a. Naruto Shippuden ending theme #34) sounds good, but probably isn't a very strong opener. It sounds like it belongs on the end of the album. Luckily, track two doesn't have that same problem. "Oblivion", featuring Hisashi of the band GLAY, is fast, exciting, and probably to be featured in an anime coming out within the year. Let's also not forget the song "World Symphony" which is the ending theme for NHK WORLD show, J-MELO.

FLOW - Niji no Sora PV

Anime jokes aside, FLOW is a pretty well-respected band, especially after such a long career. Even on their tenth album, they prove that they've still got it. "Steppin' out" is exactly the kind of playful, high-energy pop rock song that you would expect from a DuRaRaRa!! opening (which this song is, of course).

The album takes a huge turn about halfway through, with "DECATHLON". Feauturing Japanese beatboxer AFRA, this hip-hop influenced track has some of the heaviest guitars (and one of the best basslines) on the whole album. "JOY TO THE WORLD", featuring the band Kiba of Akiba, is a super heavy punk-influenced song with GazettE-esque screams throughout.

Overall, #10 is a pretty varied album. It's some pretty high-quality work, which is to be expected of a band like FLOW. It's masterfully written, performed, produced, and sequenced. Except for that thing about the first song being a bad opener, but it's not a huge deal. This isn't a bad album at all, I'd recommend it for sure.

Favorites: Oblivion, Steppin' out, DECATHLON, JOY TO THE WORLD

-Justin

FLOW Is:
KEIGO: Vocals
KONSHI: Rhythm guitar
TAKE: Lead guitar
GOT'S: Bass
IWASAKI: Drums

Tracklist
1) Niji no Sora -Album Ver-
2) Oblivion feat. HISASHI (GLAY)
3) DARK SHADOW feat. TeddyLoid
4) Steppin' out
5) Hikari Oikakete -Crystal Lake mix-
6) Chimimouryou feat. Hayate
7) DECATHLON feat. AFRA
8) JOY TO THE WORLD feat. Kiba of Akiba
9) World Symphony
10) Good Days ~Kimi wo Wasurenai~

---