Starting out as a Japanese gothic band and evolving into a more zombie-theme throughout the years, THE SOUND BEE HD have been gracing the dark side of the Japanese music industry for over 20 years now already. Quite the achievement for any band out there! To celebrate this milestone the band released a new best of album titled “DEAD MEMORIES -THE SOUND BEE HD 20th anniversary- on May 26, 2021.
In case you’re not familiar with the band just yet, THE SOUND BEE HD is a heavy rock/visual kei band from Japan that creates a gothic and horror atmosphere through their music and visual performance. Their sound is based on an electro foundation, but is mixed with aggressive guitar riffs to create both heavy and powerful songs, as well as emotional softer melodies with melancholic lyrics.
If you do know a bit about the band already, you might know that technically the 20th anniversary was last year, in 2020. Originally they planned to release this album last year in combination with a commemorative live show, but both were postponed to this year due to the global pandemic. A brief break until the end of the winter season was also taken to allow vocalist DaISUKE DARK SIDE to recover from throat polyps. Upon returning in April the band announced this album through a spot of the re-recorded song of “WALKING DEAD” before following up with a live show entitled “eternal death road” at HOLIDAY SHINJUKU on April 23 to make up for the postponed anniversary live last year.
DEAD MEMORIES -THE SOUND BEE HD 20th anniversary-
The release exists out of two discs, which in total add up to 29 tracks. Among which are new versions for “WALKING DEAD”, “葬-SOU-“, “毒-doku-“, “live” and “舞夢 (Maimu)”, but also a song from their very early stage: “SLIPPING TO THE HOLE”. While the original versions are familiar and will no doubt cause some nostalgia, the newly re-recorded tracks really show the experience and evolution the group has gained throughout their years together.
Release information
05/26 – On sale in physical stores and Starwave Records’ webshop
Disc number: SWSB-17
Label: Starwave Records
Price: ¥4,000 (tax included)
Extras: CD+DVD set
Webshop: Starwave Records | CDJapan
DEAD MEMORIES -THE SOUND BEE HD 20th anniversary- – Tracklist
Disc 1
01. WALKING DEAD 2021
02.TeLL Me!!!
03. DaRK to DaRK
04. ENDLESS DEAD
05. BlooD RaiN
06. ReBoRN
07. CALLING
08. 毒-doku- 2021
09. 乱-ran-
10. Cry
11. 死-DIE-
12. 葬-SOU 2021
13. answer
Disc 2
01. live 2021
02. cross
03. 艶 (Tsuya)
04. 煌 (Kira)
05. 華-hana-
06. 導 (Michibiki)
07. 翔 (Shou)
08. 舞夢 2021 (Maimu 2021)
09. 無 (Mu)
10. if
11. blood
12. down
13. Monster
14. Delete
15. 砕-sai-
16. SLIPPING TO THE HOLE 2021
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.
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