Symphonic metal takes the stage for the visual-kei-inspired dark and solemn rock tune by Hekiru Houou (CV: Kento Hama) “Persona”.
Title: Persona Release date: 04/06/2022 Label: Movic Genre: Gothic rock
Tracklist:
1 - Persona
Track analysis:
1 – Persona
In gothic rock fashion, “Persona” kicks off with a dramatic piano melody leading the way as violent guitar riffs slowly take over.
So far in the solo tracks by ESMERALDA’s members, this is the one that gets the closest to gothic rock and visual-kei.
The tone is dramatic throughout, with darkness seeping through the instrumental. There is a contrast between beauty and darkness going on with the hard-hitting drums – in a comfortable mid-tempo -, shredding guitar riffs, and punchy bassline being in charge of that dark layer in the song.
On the other side, the piano and strings add a delicate, dramatic layer to this song, being the beauty alongside the beast that is this instrumental as a whole.
When the chorus kicks in, influences of symphonic metal and visual-kei can be felt. The song gets overly dramatic, the melody feels almost like a waltz (taken to a whole other level) and the vocals bring a whole lot of emotion to the performance.
The bridge is as dark and heavy as you can get.
The drums go intense on the bass drum and snare as the guitar goes lower and lower for a power chords-heavy section. In the background, the piano and solemn strings add the final touches to the darkness in this tune.
On the vocal end, Kento Hama holds himself insanely well. Actually, he’s quite impressive in this performance. He never misses a beat, and has the power and control to deliver a rock-solid performance that is quite demanding.
You can expect him to bring a powerful vibrato, being dramatic in the chorus, going louder, and raising his key ever so slightly to heighten the tension in the song.
When this song wraps up, you’ll definitely be wanting more of it. Hekiru Houou’s “Persona” is as dark as you can get as a metal tune with symphonic influences. And it is bloody awesome.
“Persona” is available for streaming on Spotify.
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