Overview

In all honesty, I was never expecting anything great from Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy VII, however this single has completely flipped me around. This album is a superb mix of outstanding vocals, rock, and sound effects that aren't awkward. As a matter of fact, everything blends together nicely and is nearly perfect. Gackt is a true musician composing and performing both "Redemption" and "Longing", adding lots of variety and emotions to such a small album.

Body

I believe in judging creations, especially musical ones, with the principle of quality over quantity. True, the single has only two original pieces, but both are so unique and well thought-out that the quality greatly shines over the quantity. The first of which, the title track "Redemption" itself, opens with an electric guitar melody that really grabs your attention. After the opening, the rock comes to a standstill as the vocals move in. I cannot express how amazing the vocals on this album are, Gackt having such a control over his voice. In the case of "Redemption", the combination of his voice and various contrasting accompaniments creates an amazing atmosphere and adds so much texture to the overall piece. This a must listen, as all the small effects that really make it stand out cannot fully be described and are much easier to appreciate by using your ears, not your eyes!

Surprisingly, the second track, "Longing", doesn't disappoint either, and, in my opinion, lives up to the precedent set by "Redemption". I hate to, but I have to bring the majority of the attention to Gackt's voice. The first time you hear him, he sounds dark and gothic, with the various filters and sound effects employed not taking away the impact of the original vocals. Following the introduction, Gackt transitions to a tone that seems to perfectly fit the emotion that the feeling of 'longing' would emit. Are you starting to think that Gackt's voice is the only thing that he has got going for him? Wait until around 1:30 when he shows his composing and arranging skills. At first I found the instrumental passages out-of-place; however, after listening through them thoroughly, I realized how this unique little sections adds even more variety to this track. Indeed, "Longing" seems to be defined by variety. The organ, strings, and "Halloweenish" screams are definitely the last things expected and create a nice surprise.

To conclude the track analysis, tracks three and four are simply karaoke versions (i.e. no vocals). They're not the best listen, as you may have guessed after I discussed Gackt's voice up so much, but hey, they're there. So if you're fluent in Japanese (or listen to the tracks enough times to have them memorized), you should find a use for these. They're in most vocal singles published for Square Enix, and, though they seem a little pointless, someone must have use for them.

Summary

How taken by surprise I was! Never have I expected Dirge of Cerberus' single to be so great. Gackt's voice is simply — I can't stress it enough — amazing. Redemption really makes me want to check out his other solo albums. No matter what genre you float towards (never was a big rock fan myself), I strongly suggest giving Redemption a listen. Judging quality over quantity, therefore...

Overview

Pretty much every big Square Enix game of the past few years has had a theme song. Final Fantasy VIII had Faye Wong's "Eyes on Me," Final Fantasy IX had Emiko Shiratori's "Melodies of Life," Final Fantasy X had Rikki's "Suteki da ne," and so on, so forth with the Kingdom Hearts series, Grandia III, and much more all following the trend. It would have been near impossible for Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy VII, perhaps the biggest game in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series, not to have some sort of theme song. In fact, not only does it have one, but it has TWO, although since the single is named after one of them, that should be the important one.

Anyway, the artist chosen for the job was Gackt, Japan's favourite almost 500-year old vampire. He has had a somewhat long history of rock songs, so it's no wonder both are written in that style.

Body

I'll review the other way around because that's just who I am. Crazy like a vampire like a fox.

Track two, "Longing," is the strangest of the two, with the use of weird electronic noises to accompany the band's playing. Gackt's vocal are superb as usual, and, speaking of which, his singing sounds like it's being muffled by something, except on the chorus. But if you thought that was as odd as it gets, you're wrong. Towards the 2:25 mark, all the rocking takes a backseat to an organ, some strings, and even female chants! Creativity ran rampant on this one, it seems. In my 20 years of existence, never have I thought an organ would come to mind when I think about a longing feeling. Never ever... Also, I thought the guitar riffs were awesome, so kudos to his band as well.

"Redemption," however, is more my kind of music. It's, well, more normal than "Longing," but that's what not makes the song better in my opinion. It's a very good example of how less is more; instead of having crazy sections like the ones in the previous composition, it sticks to being a regular rock track, which is not a bad thing at all. It's straight up J-Rock, which could be what you were expecting from Gackt. That's what I had in mind, and my expectations were fulfilled, that's for sure.

The other two tracks of the album are simply karaoke versions of "Redemption" and "Longing," so you can faux-sing or try to imitate Gackt or whatever. Some people like it, some don't. I don't, but that's because singing isn't really my forte, so to speak. To be honest, speaking isn't that a strong trait of mine, because people are always complaining Ispeaktoofast and they can't understand me. Crazy, eh?

Summary

Vampire boy did a wonderful job with both songs, each exploring a different side (maybe even feeling) of Vincent's quest to redeem himself after what happened to his love, Lucrecia, way back when, even before the happenings of Final Fantasy VII.

Still, I wish I was a bit more familiarized with his works (both his Malice Mizer and GacktJOB eras) as to compare them with these two songs. Nevertheless, this single is fantastic, but it's VERY short. With only two original tracks, I'm not sure I could recommend this as a purchase for the casual fan. But chances are if you were mildly interested in this album, you're not Joe VGM Buyer.