DUALUZ are a fairly new visual kei band, started in May 2017, and consists of singer zL, guitarist Hironobu, bassist Tsubasa and drummer Takuta. All band members are new in the music world, except the guitarist (who is also the programmer), he has been active for a while as guitarist in the band Romancing Saga (ロマンシング性).
Directly at the beginning DUALUZ wanted to start good with a mini-album, titled EMPTINESS ERROR. At the end of August the first single EGO was released, including this music video.
The intro of EGO draw you in thanks to the guitar and bass work combined with the programmed electronic sounds, this addition makes the track extra interesting and gets stuck in your head. Once the drummer starts hitting the drums harder, the picture is complete: let the loud song begin!
What probably is a point that needs to get used to, it grows on you as you keep on listening to the songs of DUALUZ, is the nasal voice of zL. At first, it seems that doesn’t fit with the music at all, because zL’s voice is almost monotonic and the music started heavily and a heavy voice had been a logical choice. At the time of the chorus, zL’s voice is accompanied by a second voice. This makes the chorus much stronger and melodious than if zL was the only singer.
The music video is simplistic, but that is not a bad thing. You see the band giving a show in a chic room decorated with ornaments, a chandelier, and a window that seems to be a lead-in, but eventually is wrapped with coloured papers. In the corner, where it is most likely a fireplace, you will see the band members playing solo in order to introduce themselves better to the public. You will also see that zL likes to sing against a wall and look out of the window. Despite the fact that this video has a simple set-up, there has been some thought about the camera work, for example, there is a lot of focus on the instruments that are being played.
There is little comparative material from the band, except the first music video 不可視モノトーン that can be found on the first mini-album. If you put that music video next to EGO, you immediately notice that the band has grown in a few months time. EGO is a melodic song that sticks in your head, zL sticks to his real voice instead of a vocoder 不可視モノトーン (Fukashi monotone), even though the song matches with the last mentioned song. In addition, no grunts are heard in EGO, while it could fit with the song. All in all, EGO is a nice and melodic song that shows that DUALUZ is definitely a band that you have to keep an eye on.
Rating: 69/100
