Scapegoat - Guilt in Music
Here I am with a new band review in “Focusing on”! Today’s subject is a band which has seen several changes and never sticked to a single approach. We’re talking about Scapegoat, formed on 2009 and composed by Haru (vo.), Sayula (gt.), Layha (ba.) and U (dr.), former member of Morrigan, who substituted Tatsuki, departed on 2018. The band name comes indeed from the expression “scape goat”, related to someone to blame. So their concept is focused on guilt and related feelings, described through sound and words. Their genre is a really energetic heavy metal, mixing up creepy and aggressive notes with melancholic and more passionate melodies, always ready to experiment something new. Their debut occurred on June 2009 with the single Future End, followed by the singles Kousai endroll (Society endroll) and Catastrophe, the first mini-album Paradigm Circus and the singles Addicted Skin and Evergreen.
The title-track features a pretty paced sound, with a peculiar energy and a sort of melancholic vibe; the song is about a distant moment, but made immortal, as it is kept in our memories. It has been followed by the singles Fantasia, Lilac, No. Children and Countd[a]wn.
The title-track emphasizes the energy of their music and sees an improvement by Haru in his vocal skills, featuring even an heavy component; the song is about the life, which is never enough for getting its sense. It has been followed by the singles Black List, Akai bathroom (Red bathroom) and Psycho na bansan (Psycho dinner).
The title-track exalts at the maximum the gothic and creepy component, featuring darker notes and heavier vocals; the song is about a dinner as a metaphor for an emotive violation against someone (the title hides a word game, as “psycho” can be read in Japanese as word “saigo”, meaning “last”). It has been followed by the single Nemurenai boku no shumi (My hobby which can’t sleep), the first album 「Dekisokonai」no「Ringo」 (Apples of failure), reviewed here, the singles Kimi no “shinzou” ni koishiteru (Falling in love with your “heart”), Kuroban (Black border) and Akaban (Red border), the second mini-album Higaisha no kai (Association of victims), reviewed here, the singles Hedoro (Mud), Last scene, Boku to kimi no shiawase (I kill you, then I die) and Konsui (Coma), the third mini-album Doutoku Allergy (Moral allergy), the compilation Shokuzai no yagi (Scape goat) and the singles Meimei (Naming), the last release before the band went on hiatus on November 2018, after that Tatsuki departed the band for personal reasons. The band came back the following year, with U as new drummer and two singles, Rabuka (Frilled shark) and En (Edge).
The title-track sees an incredible technical improvement for the band’s sound, always energetic and rhythmical, along with Haru’s vocal maturation; the song is about the limit of searching own past and memories during life. It has been followed by the single Gekkou (Moonlight), reviewed here.
In these years, Scapegoat always tried to put themselves in discussion with each release, and this approach mostly worked. Their sound, started as energetic and quite flowing, evolved into something more complex and riveting, incorporating even new and fresh directions without betraying their own image. In each release they dealt with their concept in a different way, resulting in a pleasant surprise to each listening, even thanks to Haru’s vocal style, evolved song after song, and the work of the other members, in building intense melodies, with a bit of technique, more relevant with the addition of U as new drummer, straight from Morrigan, an act which surely most of you are missing. Scapegoat has reached their peak of maturity and it is impossible to not follow them after their growth; in fact they released a new single, Kokoro to karada no himitsu -Jyou- (Secrets of mind and body -Above-), the first of a series of two, whose second part, Kokoro to karada no himitsu -Ue- (Secrets of mind and body -Below-) is expected at the end of March.
Who might enjoy: who is looking for a compelling and unpredictable band, between energy and experimentation.
Recommended tracks: Evergreen, Countd[a]wn, Akai bathroom, Psycho na bansan, Kyozetsu, Kimi o koroshite boku mo shimu and En.
That’s all folks! See you with a new song analysis in “Lyrical Love”!
Thanks for the reading!
