Deep Dive: Ayumi Hamasaki Part Thirteen (GUILTY)

    In 2008, we were celebrating a decade of Hamasaki Ayumi. An artist known for giving her all and her charisma. On January 1st, Hamasaki released her ninth studio album, GUILTY. Which famously debuted at number two and became her first studio album to miss the top spot. Hamasaki also revealed around this time that she had completely gone deaf in one ear, but she wished to continue singing and performing. 

    I have to say, as someone whose life is all about music, myself. It must be absolutely soul crushing when a singer, musician, or music lover in general loses their hearing. My heart really goes out to Ayu even to this day. She used to love creating and being an artist and you could tell in her material her excitement and enthusiasm. And her dedication to her fans in unparalleled. I just want to say right now, we love you, Ayu. Thank you for all you have given us!

    As a result of multiple personal tragedies and turmoil, GUILTY sees Hamasaki return to a darker place. In fact, we've not really seen this since Duty. And if you notice, Hamasaki is wearing a leopard-print dress of this album's cover art. Perhaps as a callback to Duty. 

    I don't think this album often gets enough credit. Hamasaki's emotion pours through here. Sonically, it's interesting and engaging. But we will talk more about that in a bit. Let's be innocent and not guilty and deep dive! 

    Our first song here is the opening track, "Mirror." If it sounds familiar it's because Hamasaki later made this track into a full-length song and released it as the first post-GUILTY single under the title "Mirrorcle World." The form that it's in here is a little more gritty which is very appropriate for the album, and it will never not be awesome.

    "(don't) leave me alone" has a ting of a metal vibe. It goes hard. It's Hamasaki's signature pop-rock sound drenched in a darker tone. It's loud. And it's amazing. Hamasaki's vocal work here is impeccable. The chorus is very dramatic. Very nice.

    I mentioned her signature pop-rock sound in the previous paragraph, I sometimes like to think of GUILTY  as a darker version of Secret. As the sound is similar at times yet feels more built upon and elaborate here. A little more rock. A little more grit. And surprisingly a little more polish and attention to detail. There's an eeriness here we have yet to see from Hamasaki at this point. I think you could call GUILTY a straight up rock album whereas you might have felt a little silly calling Secret such. Hamasaki has never shied away from rock and fully embraced it on MY STORY, but there's is no such tragedy on MY STORY that is featured here. 

    "talkin' 2 myself" is perhaps the pinnacle of this album. It's heavy metal influenced. A lot of the album reaches for this sound with its pop rock, synth-rock, and power ballads, but "talkin'" reaches for and embraces it heads on. It's practically a head banger, and one of Hamasaki's most interesting and compelling singles to date. I chose it to represent the album at the beginning of this article, and I chose it for good reason.

    GUILTY has such an impressive 3 song run at its opening, and the fun continues with "decision." Which was released as a b-side on "talkin' 2 myself." It's a bit of hard rock from Hamasaki that kinda opens into a ballad when she begins to sing that first verse. It strangely reminds me of "momentum" from Secret during the verses which furthers my theory the album's are kinda companions. The chorus of this song is sung in a way we haven't really seen from Hamasaki yet. It's like she's roaring. She's singing in those low ranges and utilizing them!

    The title track, "GUILTY," has this cool voice that says "guilty, or not guilty" during the chorus. And I have always loved that about this song. It gives it such a haunting vibe. Haunting is a good word to describe this song because it is so chilly. It's a vibe similar to "Scar" from Duty. Which is a very welcomed reference here. The bell in this song is just so damn cool. Hamasaki fully embraces her lower ranges here. 

    Hamasaki knew the direction of the album she wanted to take when she release its first single, "glitter/fated," and "fated" is the proof in the pudding. And "fated" is one song that has helped GUILTY feel like one of the major music events of the year. The "glitter/fated" single was such a major moment anyway because it pretty much had a full-length film for a music video called "Kyoai ~Distance Love~" which was filmed in Hong Kong. Further marking that Hamasaki had her eyes set on Asia as whole as her market. 

    The song itself is Hamasaki in her sweet spot. She sounds so comfortable on "fated" amongst its extravagant production. It's another one of those Hamasaki songs that are so Hamasaki. It gets a spin from me every late summer. 

    "Together When..." is a power ballad among power ballads. It sounds like an old house that's probably haunted. Further proving that Hamasaki is a queen of atmosphere when it comes to making a song. Within the first 15 seconds the mood is totally set. I love this song so much. The chorus is just amazing. Its slow build that becomes a little more rapid as it goes on is its greatest strength. When that first chorus kicks in you immediately think "wow!"

    Then we come to "Marionette -prelude-" and "Marionette." I think it's so interesting that Hamasaki added a prelude to a certain song here. GUILTY is interlude heavy. And sometimes you wish they were full-length tracks. I think "Marionette -prelude-" serves its intended purpose though and sets up a eerie atmosphere.

    "Marionette" itself is a nice song, again with a nice atmosphere. It's a great Halloween song. The verses are a treat with everything that's going on in the background. Then the chorus drops and Hamasaki gets serious. 

    "The Judgement Day" sounds like something out of a horror movie in the beginning. Then it has this cool organ which made me wish the album featured more organs. Hamasaki's "lalala"'s give us a bit of hope moving forward, and the song lightens up some gearing us up for the light portion of the album.

    If you're looking for happy songs, you found them right here. "glitter" is a summer song that glistens. It kind of feels out of place here as it is pretty much straight up pop amongst rock tracks. The glimmer of hope here leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand, it's like the light you find after a dark place. On the other hand, it discredits GUILTY as an artistically cohesive record as it has previously established. It's a great song, so I don't think too much about it though. And with it being Hamasaki's brand of pop, it's out of place but not super-left-field out of place. It's kind of like Hamasaki is trying to please everyone, and she is sacrificing that bit of artistic integrity to do so instead of letting the work be what it is and speak for itself. 

    Then we have another bright pop song chained with a bit of responsibility and duty. "MY ALL" is a fan favorite and one of Hamasaki's most cherished songs. I'm so surprised she didn't shoot a video for it as it is one of the most memorable and most performed songs she has coming from GUILTY. It has a winter vibe which helps it fit in here on GUILTY along with that opening electric guitar that is too awesome. Seriously. It's amazing. Hamasaki was so amazing at fitting the pop at the time to her own will and agenda. And "MY ALL" is proof of that.

    We come into the album's final interlude next, "ReBiRTH." We're coming back to the album's main, pre-established themes for one last time. This interlude is like the interlude from Secret, "LABYRINTH," but expanded upon. 

    Then we have the album's final song, "untitled ~for her~." The strings here are just gorgeous and somber. It's kind of an unexpected ending from Hamasaki. It lacks the grandeur of endings that we have seen from Hamasaki previously like "Secret," "Rainy Day," and "Humming 7/4." But it is a very appropriate ending to a fantastic, dark-toned album. A ballad that wraps up the story here.

    Overall, I really enjoyed relistening to GUILTY. It's a thrill and joy of an album that caters to when you feel as if you're in a darker mood, and helps you come out of it with the album's lighter, dance-able songs. We really see a gothic side of Hamasaki that we hadn't really seen a crazy amount of before. And she will continue to do this in the future like on Rock 'n' Roll Circus. So I guess one could say this album has helped set the future vision of Hamasaki's upcoming projects. Whereas NEXT LEVEL would see her venture more in the electronic direction of "glitter" and "MY ALL." Rock 'n' Roll Circus would see her go more in a "talkin' 2 myself," "GUIILTY," and "Marionette" gothic rock direction. And we will talk about those albums more!

Ranking: S Rank. It's a GUILTY pleasure.

Recommendation: When you feel angsty and want to rage against the machine yet feel introspective at the same time.

Standouts:

    All songs with videos + "MY ALL."