seventh heaven is their only album where I can listen to all songs without even skipping one. Listening to this album sometimes just make me sad because I can clearly hear how deep Kalafina has fallen from their earlier years glory, both in sound and in music.
completely agreed that every girl has their time to shine in this album. I disagree with whoever says that this album is a Wakana album. In seventh heaven we have love come down, Mata Kaze ga Tsuyoku Natta, sprinter, ARIA, and Ongaku - 5 songs without a really noticeable Wakana vocal (Ongaku is debatable, but then again she just sings in the bridge - though the bridge is what makes the song). seventh heaven (the song) has equal solo parts for each girl, and Wakana shared half (well, maybe she got 60%) of Kimi ga Hikari and Kizuato with Keiko. Compare that to far on the water. Now that is FJ Wakana album. For same reason I can't say that Red Moon is a Keiko album because having Te to Te and Yami no Uta there doesn't make it an album where she's the main star. I mean, 2 out of 13 (I'm excluding fantasia here) is not much compared to 10 out of 13 Wakana song in fotw. We were all just excited because that album has an almost Keiko solo song in Te to Te.
What else, the songs' quality is just brilliant. I'm tired of seeing Ongaku live but I can't discard the fact that the song is good and it has one of the best bridges in Kalafina songs. Mata Kaze ga Tsuyoku Natta has Hikaru on her best and the live version in progressive LE DVD is amazing, visually it still loses to the one in Red Moon live DVD but in terms of sound it's 294921816 times better, Sato doesn't know how to rock this song. Whoever hasn't watched it, go to viki and watch it. love come down is playful and nice, all KnK themes are just wonderful - they're still my favorite anisongs of all time, Ashita no Keshiki starts smoothly and evolves to grand and full of emotion in the middle and ends back in gentle sound with wonderful Wakana solo. I never really liked Natsu no Ringo but that's also a good and peaceful song with wonderful quena sound. serenato is still one of their best b-side and the live version with Nozaki is just pure eargasm.
Most songs have Nozaki on drums and that's also a plus point for me. Back then Kajiura didn't always use the same musician for guitar bass and drums - and because every musicians have their own playing characteristics imo it also contributes to why the album has more variety in sound.
Hikaru's also on top form on this album - she still had the ability to switch between deep gritty sound and bright open sound - something that she has lost now. What I wouldn't give to have that old sometimes too nasal Hikaru back. I'd rather have that "old" Hikaru than this "new" weak sounding Hikaru.
As usual I can't help myself to post something Nozaki related because I still think Sato sucks.
tldr: seventh heaven really brings me to seventh heaven, far on the water can sink in the depth of the deepest water and I wouldn't care.
