ALBUM REVIEW: Oiran – Extended Edition – Nemophila

It can be easy to forget, especially after spending days pulling apart some three-hour prog chronicle, that music can, above all else, be fun. This isn’t to say that the core values of songwriting, production and technical proficiency are by any means less important, but sometimes it’s more than enough for a record to leave ear-to-ear grins to all that listen; but how far can this logic be stretched? Japan-bred super group NEMOPHILA takes this notion and runs with it. Their debut album Oiran, while suffering from critical flaws, is first and foremost a reminder of just how fun heavy metal can be.

Simply put; Oiran is a blast. This is succinct, straight to the point, balls to the wall, heavy metal that may be far from faultless but is equally as far from being forgettable. Oiran is also the first international, full-length introduction to NEMOPHILA, the witches behind this riffcraft. Having only formed in 2019, NEMOPHILA is relatively new blood, yet their DNA runs thick with that of some of Japan’s modern stalwarts. Riffs are thrown at lethal velocities courtesy of guitarists SAKI and Hazuki – who had previously cut their teeth in MARY’S BLOOD and LI-SA-X respectively – whilst Murata Tamu (ex-SORAMIMI) provides Oiran‘s rampant rhythms. 

This pedigree speaks volumes above an already deafening tracklist and is no doubt one of the record’s strongest facets. The result is a break-neck opening from the self-titled banger that unleashes NEMOPHILA’s high-octane heavy metal brand onto international waters – a feat of clockwork engineering that winds the seven-track run tight without sacrificing the humanity or, indeed, the fun. This means that despite Oiran’s very modest length (although the extended edition does include an English version of Dissension as a bonus) you are getting a great deal of bang for your buck with no sign of the band faltering from their high standards of play throughout. 

NEMOPHILA’s greatest feat, however, is, of course, writing songs that don’t just hit hard but are simply a joy to strain your vocal cords to. The band may leave their influences proudly on their sleeves – with both Eastern and Western legends receiving fair worship – but Oiran never feels derivative to a point of redundancy. In fact, the splashes of peppy electronics, seen on Monsters, and vocalist Mayu’s unmistakable screams are what raise this East-Asian entourage beyond a mere tribute to their idols; it’s clear that NEMOPHILA is a name to be remembered.

There comes a point, however, where can no longer mask the record’s obvious flaws. Oiran is first and foremost a collation of the band’s current releases of singles and it shows. As standalone tracks, the band hasn’t put a foot wrong, but placing them in sequence exposes Oiran’s lack of variety. Songwriting rarely ventures beyond a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus structure fronted by a slow fade-in on a blown-out guitar riff, and while Monsters attempts to shake things up with its animated techno sounds, it’s not enough to give the LP a true sense of diversity. It shouldn’t be mistaken that, besides a lacklustre verse riff on Life, the material stands well on its own feet but it doesn’t take more than a single spin to start seeing Oiran’s copy-paste blueprints emerge. 

The thing is, despite its blatant shortcomings; Oiran is only ever a joy to listen to and its wounds never fester to the point of being fatal. The headline is, this is some kickass metal from some of the best of Japan’s bloodline both old and new. You may not be able to place it under the microscope and find a modern musical Mona Lisa but this is music made to put smiles before raising eyebrows and stern expressions. Love it or hate, either way, you’re not going to forget NEMOPHILA in a hurry.

Rating: 7/10

Oiran – Extended Edition is set for release on June 25th via JPU Records.

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