Saber Tiger
Bystander Effect

The Tigers from Japan return with their new album Bystander Effect. It is an album that was originally released in 2015 but now sees international release. We did review the band when they celebrated 35 years and released their best of album a few years back, and we liked that album. And now after that long a career it appears that they are getting some international recognition with their albums being released for the international scene and perhaps even gathering some interest. The best of was great but it has 35 years of collected music, so what about this album?

I think the style is quite similar to what we heard on the best of or similar to what we have heard from other Japanese bands like Double Dealer or Concerto Moon just to name a few. Sort of exotic heavy metal with a fair bit of energy and passion, quite fresh and contemporary as well. The vocalist is of the typical Japanese variety slightly hoarse vocals and so on, perhaps it is how it is when Japanese sings in English, or something like that. I like it. The album shows good vocals, and modern production.

Good album, it has decent depth and good energy – the variation is rather good as well even though the playing time is a bit on the longer side. They could have cut away a few of the songs without ruining the album. Probably an album that will go down well with a rather wide audience, it is easy to like and the songs are good all the way through the album. Perhaps the ending demo songs are of a slightly less high standard but they don’t stand out in that regard.

Even though the songs are good I still find that the album lacks a bit of at the top end. It is not as good as the compilation I reviewed a few years ago and I think it could have had a bit more bite. None of the songs really stand out for me, in a positive or negative way – guess you could claim that it is a good but perhaps not a very memorable album. I think a hit song would have done quite a lot for this album, I think it needs something that draws the listener into it meaning that it needs something that makes you want to play the album.

Rating four! Yeah, like so much else that I write about. This kitty lacks a little bit of bite I think, it is a good album but not that exciting and the best of album is probably a better choice. I think it is an album worth checking out if you like the Japanese heavy metal or Saber Tiger because even though it doesn’t have much bite it is still a good album.

HHHHHHH