Whether with protégés Ryugujo or her own band Queen Bee, I’ve fallen in love with Avu-chan’s songwriting. It’s fierce and cathartic — the perfect vehicle for a vocal that’s often combative and raw. Queen Bee’s music runs the genre gamut, but straight-ahead rock is a particularly satisfying match for the band’s charm.
The excellent Violence set a high water mark for this sound and new single 01 (Zero Ichi) grabs the baton and keeps running. It’s the opening theme for anime Undead Unluck, supplying a fiery blast of energy. The verses unfold with intensity — tightly structured but phrased with stream-of-consciousness momentum. The chorus is more boisterous, offering anthemic charge that grows more addictive each time it comes around. But really, there are no dull moments in the song.
As usual, Avu-chan is the commander of this show. Like Violence, the song never takes advantage of her octave-scaling register. Many Queen Bee highlights vacillate between gritty tones and angelic head voice — often to the point where it sounds as if there are multiple singers on the track. Zero Ichi benefits from its straightforward, guttural approach, lending it a rough-and-tumble gutsiness that powers the melodies.
Hooks
9
Production
8
Longevity
9
Bias
10
RATING
9