The GazettE - Shiver

Auditory Impression cover

Kuroshitsuji II Limited Edition cover

It's not often that I find a spectacular song by The Gaz' boys. When I first heard Shiver, I thought it was pretty unremarkable. The song had catchiness potential though, and upon watching several episodes of KSTJ2, the song started to grow on me.

First off, I really dislike songs that start off with a chorus, then go into an instrumental for ages. 17 seconds for an introductory instrumental is far too long and bland, especially if you're playing the same handful of chords over and over. It started off really strong until the instrumental started.

Shiver sounds pretty energetic compared to a lot of their recent broody songs, and I like that it has an edge without being angry. But the fact that it is non-screamy means that Ruki sings through his nostrils. The solos are average and elementary-sounding, and Kai is a bit too cymbal-happy for my liking especially towards the end. The nasally, borderline-whiny vocals and the energetic music are reminiscent of their indies days (think Tokyo Shinjuu).

On the plus side, this song differs in the way that Ruki obviously has better control of his voice now and the music sounds more structured...organised chaos, I guess you would say. I do like the considerably less distorted guitars - they're quite refreshing - and the bass does tickle my fancy as well. The bassline is interesting and it's not so loud that it sounds gaudy (until the bass solo, but that's forgivable). In fact, I didn't really hear the bass as much as I felt it, which I find to be quite beautiful indeed. Good job, Reita. :3

One thing that puts me off liking this song too much, however, is the fact that the chorus sounds like a sped up version of the chorus of Distress and Coma!! I do like that song so very much. The melody really gets me. But it means that I don't appreciate the hyperactive kid-brother that is Shiver quite as much as I would have.

Now, the PV.

This is just another run-of-the-mill PV where the band stands around playing their instruments. I didn't really expect otherwise from The GazettE though to be honest.

On the other hand, their look isn't all that bad. Kai looks a lot better when he keeps the makeup to a minimum. I find his shirt-and-waistcoat look to be very clean and cool and it works for him much better than the tight singlets and pleather of the old days.

Aoi really suits animal print and the baggy, elongated silhouette of his outfit in general. Low-cut tops look stunning on him since his shoulders are pretty broad (when he wears them he doesn't end up looking like a scrawny little boy wearing a too-big top). However I've always had a problem with the way they do his 'regular' makeup - using nothing but black shadow in a blob over his entire eyelid...it really doesn't suit him at all especially since his facial features are very strong. Everything becomes way too overpowering.

Not much to say about Reita, except that I love his hair colour and I like that he's still rocking his short-sleeve and combat boots look. Actually, his hair looks fantastic here. It hasn't been slathered with product and it looks a lot more natural compared to past looks where his spikes have been over-exaggerated.

Ruki's outfit is a bit iffy to me, but it's a typical Ruki look, isn't it? But I'm not sure that a slim-fitting metallic jacket that falls past his knees really does him any favours in terms of height. Though on second thought, the triangular shape of the coat-tails and the unbuttoned shirt do balance it out. Still, I find it uncomfortable that his shoulders are narrower than mine. 8(

Uruha looks like a homeless person in this PV. And I don't mean it in a bad way! I'm in love with that lace-up glove, the layered look and his waterfall-hair. He kinda reminds me of a modern-day, blonde version of Saito...


In the next post I'll banter on about the OP versions of the song...cos I can.