Versailles’ third release under Sherow Artist Society, “PRINCE & PRINCESS”, at last gave a home to “Prince”. Though the album only contains three tracks, it competes with any other twelve-track album. It is filled with fairy-tales, heavy when due, but also romantic, expressive, and captivating.
“Prince” was first released on full-length album “Noble”. It is decidedly less metallic than the other two songs on “PRINCE & PRINCESS”, but it relates to them in theme. It better represents KAMIJO’s composition style than HIZAKI’s though they wrote the music together. It is a tale of romance, of a prince and his desire lead his love to a life of security. While the song is beautifully arranged, it is not particularly challenging on any member’s part. The lyrics are the true gem of the song.
“Princess” is a brilliant fairy tale told both in melody and lyrics, one that describes not only romantic love, but something deeper, an innate sense of responsibility. The song begins with an intense introduction, then tapers off for the story to begin. It is over eight minutes long, but transforms itself various times while maintaining the same melodic theme. Though the changes are subtle, they help eliminate the droning quality that can accompany longer songs. The lyrics detail the passionate love felt for a young princess. KAMIJO chooses beautiful symbolism for this track, comparing his princess to a fragile bud that wishes to blossom into a flower. Even with this determination, she still longs to rely on someone, and it is the narrator’s desire to protect her. HIZAKI composed the melody before KAMIJO wrote the lyrics, but the story they created together will rival any Disney movie ever seen.
“Silent Knight” is an instrumental track also composed by HIZAKI. It is a selfless move for any vocalist to abandon his post to allow his bandmates to shine. This song proves that Versailles is not a band sustained by its front-man, and that each member is strong enough to stand alone. Furthermore, the fact that they harmonize so well despite being independently talented is a tremendous plus.
This album, despite the length, leaves absolutely nothing to be desired, and carries some of the most romantic tales to date.
Release information
Are you interested in supporting the band by getting your own copy of the release? Here is something to get you started:
 | 01. Prince 02. Princess 03. Silent Knight |
Artist: Versailles
Release: PRINCE & PRINCESS
Release date: December 10, 2008
CD number: SASCD-048
Extra information
You’ve probably noticed that the writing style of this review is different than some of the other reviews on the magazine. This is because this review was written by Khalia S, one of the guest-writers for Arlequin Magazine.
A Dutch translation of this review was made by Arlequin, to ensure that Dutch readers are also able to read Khalia’s work.
Khalia S
Khalia is a longtime fan of Japanese rock and metal, and sometimes likes to write about it.