Its been ages I wanted to talk about Siam Shade, a band that not many might know since they are a Japanese act not distributed outside of Japan. I've discovered this band on my trip to Japan when I was 19, we went with two friends to buy tons of anime stuff to open up a manga shop in Geneva (CH), which we did :). Funny that one of the songs (the best one on the album) bears the name of that shop (Imagination), but I just notice that now ;). I found that album at a second hand cd shop where I bought many many jewels for so little money that leaving the shop and going back to the hotel in Shijunku felt like Xmas. At the same shop I had found 2-3 of X-Japan albums I was missing in my collection, like the mighty Art Of Life and other cool albums from various bands (like Luna Sea and L'Arc-en-Ciel)

This debut album isn't lengthy at all, in fact with only 6 songs, its more like an EP than a full album. But where quantity is lacking, quality sure comes to the rescue. Except the opener No Control, with its too square almost rappish singing style, most of the rest of the album shows what Siam Shade is all about. Melody, great guitars and incredible hooks. The vocal melodies that Siam Shade dual singers (yes there are two singers in this band, though you can't tell cause they have almost identical voices :), and I'm not 100% sure that they're already 2 in this album) can achieve is the strongpoint of this band. Those melodies will stay in your mind forever, especially the chorus melody of Imagination (the album is pretty much worth getting only for that song as far as I'm concerned) . The guitars also shine with Siam Shade, crying type, ultra-melodic, sometimes simple, but so fraking effective ! Now with most of the J-Rock scene, you'll have to like the Japanese songs, as only a few words here and there (usually the song name slash chorus) will be in english. The album ends on a song that has highs and lows, but overall doesn't make justice to what the band can accomplish. A fact that will become abundantly clear with Siam Shade's second (absolutely killer) opus.

While this is by no mean Siam Shade best effort, it announces the color for what's to come next, and after all is the debut album of a great Hard-Rock band. If you're into melodic Hard-Rock with over-the-top hooks, great vocal melodies, great guitar riffs and melodic solos, then you'll want to check out Siam Shade (that is if you can find a cd, though I suppose cdjapan must carry the collection). While this album is the one that made me discover Siam Shade and made me a fan of their music, I would recommend trying to find an album with more songs on it, as 6 songs is short, and if you're like me you won't like the first and last one that much. Stay tuned for more Siam Shade reviews soon.