Nearly a full year after the release of their full album “Zeus ~Legends Never Die~”, the first full album featuring KUZE as the new vocalist of the band, Jupiter now returns full force with a new single packed with three songs for fans to enjoy.
Each song on this single is unique in it’s own way, which sure makes for a diverse release. Has Jupiter’s style changed at all since their tour through Europe last year? Absolutely not. This single contains both elements that we’ve heard on the “Zeus” album, as well as new elements that kickstart the new chapter in Jupiter’s story so far. But does this single live up to the expectations one has when the name “Jupiter” is mentioned? Let’s find out!
Warrior of Liberation
(Words & Music: HIZAKI)
The title song of this single is exactly what you’d expect from Jupiter, especially with the previous album still in the back of your mind. A high-paced powerful piece which features KUZE’s melodic, yet deeper vocals.
As usual the center stage in Jupiter’s works is reserved for the guitars, but that by no means suggests that the vocalist is playing second fiddle here. The guitars both underline the progressive metal style that Jupiter can call their “signature sound” by now.
It’s no surprise that this song has been chosen as the leading song for this single and thus the music video as well, but a trend that we saw on “Zeus ~Legends Never Die~” makes a comeback in this music video as well: Jupiter’s focus is not so much on the music videos, but very much lies on their sound. The music video for this song is simple, but it gets the job done in bringing more visually oriented listeners into the song.
My Enemy
(Words: KUZE / Music: HIZAKI)
The second song is a lot more aggressive than the first one, but keeps up the pace of the single so far. Just like with the second song on the “Theory of Evolution” single you can clearly hear KUZE’s own influence in both the words and the music for this song, despite the music being composed by HIZAKI and not by KUZE this time.
The classic (read: “oldschool”, still not “classical”!) metal influence clearly returns in this song, and that’s no surprise when you have a vocalist with a voice like KUZE, who can produce this type of sound extremely well. Another interesting note is the use of English in these lyrics, something we have seen very obviously in the “SHOW MUST GO ON”, a song that was released on the previous album. It’s still broken English, but it does help a great deal in bringing the message across to fans who doesn’t understand Japanese (very well), doesn’t it?
Save your life
(Words & Music: HIZAKI)
While the final song of the single slows down the pace just slightly, it keeps up the power displayed by the two songs before it. “Save your life” has a different, more melodic and even orchestral approach than the other songs on the single, and despite it’s unique style fits perfectly in the world of Jupiter. (To the point I am actually surprised this song was not chosen to be it’s own single as the title song.) The addition of a choir that returns throughout the song elevates it to a different level, creating a much more theatrical sound than normally is the standard for Jupiter. The focus in this song is not on the guitars, but lowers them down to the same level as the other instruments, including KUZE’s vocals. Which is a rare choice for Jupiter, but does very much compliment their work.
Also, this choir has an addition you can hear very well in a different project as well: Michal, the vocalist from ANCIENT MYTH, is one of the vocalists who have shared their voice for this choir.
Conclusion
“Warrior of Liberation” is a powerful single that underlines that Jupiter’s formula is one that works, no matter what direction the band turns themselves into. The ability to adjust to different sub-genres compliments their music rather than changes it to the point of sounding like a different project entirely, which is compliment worthy by itself.
Just like the previous works, most of the songs on this single are again written by HIZAKI, complimented by the unique influence that KUZE brings to the band with his more classic approach. Jupiter has a style that compliments the style of the vocalist, regardless of who that vocalist is, and with their familiar sound you can already sort of tell in advance if the new release is going to be enjoyable for you or not. If you enjoy Jupiter’s works then you’re going to enjoy this single all the same. And if you didn’t like the previous album then it’s very likely that this single isn’t going to please you either. Both luckily and unfortunately, Jupiter is that simple due to their amazing consistency in their work.
This consistency is one of the reasons that their fans remain fans for so long already, but it also makes it quite hard for new fans to get into if the overall style from the band doesn’t speak to them. And simply put, this single is no exception to that rule.
Release information
Are you interested in supporting the band by getting your own copy of the release? Here is something to get you started:
 | Warrior of Liberation 01. Warrior of Liberation 02. My Enemy 03. Save your life |
Artist: Jupiter
Release: Warrior of Liberation (single)
Release date: April 8, 2020
CD number: ZRJP-2001
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雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years she is still the main person who does interviews the interviews and live photos that you see on Arlequin, but also a large chunk of the reviews and behind-the-scenes work and communication goes through her.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.