Little Lilith are a fascinating Djent band.

 

It's time for another first on the blog. That's right, I have decided to once again cover something different. This time around, I'll be covering some Djent. I know that Djent can be divisive as a genre with some people even claiming that it's not a real genre, but I like to keep an open mind. As a person that is very, very picky when it comes to Djent itself, I wanted to highlight a band that caught my attention. 

Little Lilith are a female Djent band that formed in 2018. Originally they weren't a Djent band, but rather a much less heavy J-rock band with a melodic focus. They also had a different name as they went by LeAnFlor. The original line-up consisted of Lily performing the vocals and playing the violin, Mai on guitar and Yuki on the drums. With the original line-up, the band released two full-length albums titled Little Lilith, released in 2019, and Uso, which was released in 2021. At the very end of 2021, the band had a one man live show. It was at this show that the band announced their name change as well as the change in line-up. Guitarist Mai left the group and in her place, Erika joined. Bassist Shiori also joined, making the band a quartet instead of the trio that they had been for the previous 4 years. Alongside the band changing both their name and line-up, it was announced that they were changing direction musically. Thus, the new Djent direction was born. Around this time, the band closed their old website and replaced it with a new, fresh one.

The first experience of the new sound came in early 2022 with the Demo CD, titled REBUILD. REBUILD was sold almost exclusively at venues and digitally. Thankfully, the EP is available on iTunes and Spotify. For a first Djent demo, REBUILD is rather neatly polished. The track titled Uso or Lie, has a brilliant, magic chorus. There's also some excellent melodies created by some talented shredding from Erika with the song flowing between softness and heaviness. There's also some really neat bass work from ShioRi an Lily's vocals are buttery smooth. 

2022 also saw the release of the EP, Graffiti. The standout track from GRAFITTI is Thanatophobia. The song standout due to its' dark pop-like build-up, the use of a pinch of synth-wave and some serious riffage. Really good stuff, I'd also recommend giving Gun Bullet a listen.

March 2023 saw the band release the delightful EP, STRIKE. An excellent EP from start to finish, it saw the band fully hit their stride with some splendid, well polished production. The title track ensures that the EP gets off to a ridiculously awesome start. As soon as Lily's smooth, clear clean vocals charmed my ears I knew it was going to be something special. The song also sees her use some harsher screams in the pre-chorus before the chorus itself brings more magic. Erika has some excellent riffs as does ShioRi and Yuki's drumming is also delightful. STRIKE perfectly captures the perfect balance between harmonious melodies and heavy hitting riffage. Bonus points for the fact that the electronic work doesn't  impede or overpower the girl's beautiful instrumentation. 

DOUBLE SUICIDE starts off hot with heavy guitar hitting fast and hard. The main riffs are tremendous and I love the subtle shift in the chorus. Yuki's drumming is on point throughout the song and there's some excellent fills. Lily's vocals are at their crystal clear best in the chorus and I love the harsh screams in the later half of the song. A great song all around! 

The Ghost starts off with some delightful drumming from Yuki, she is fantastic throughout the song and proved herself to be a worthy Djent drummer. It blends well with the electronic work before some more great riffage from Erika and ShioRI. I love the later half of the song where everything is silent except for Yuki's drumming, I thought that that was very cool. Overall, the song is a really great flow and the changes in tempo work sublimely well. 

Lullaby is a phenomenal song. It's the least heavy song on the album, but it's a beautiful ballad. It shows the evolution of the band as musicians with some really great work all around. Lily's softer, charming vocals are so delicate and pure that it's really a joy to listen to. Her pronunciation is crisp and clear with every syllable easy to hear. I also love the heavy riff towards the later half of the song before the chorus hits again. It's simply a magical song and a stand out for sure, my favourite of the EP. 

Ash is a stupendous closing track, definitely the right pick to end the EP. Some truly gorgeous instrumentation with a fabulous chorus. I love the intro with the violin work and the way it subtly comes back during the verses. The instrumentation captures some rather lovely melodies. I particularly love the screams and the accompanying riff. 

Before I end the blog post, there's something I have to mention. The band's drummer, Yuki, is also a gravure model. Check out her Twitter, if that doesn't convince you to check out the band, I don't know what will! It's a fantastic way to advertise the band to potential fans and that's how I first found out about them. 😂 

Overall, Little Lilith are an extremely talented band and are worth a listen even if you're not the biggest fan of Djent. They're really good at creating melodies, have some neat down-tuned guitar riffs and Lily has some of the clearest, clean vocals in metal. STRIKE is a fantastic EP and I'd definitely recommend it to fans of metal.