SONG REVIEW: Boku no Sensou (My War) – Shinsei Kamattechan

Now this is a track that I’ve been wanting to talk about for ages.

Ever since the release of its “short” version back in late December, I’ve been absolutely taken by Shinsei Kamattechan’s incredibly unique and daring new single, Boku No Sensou or My War. As the latest opening for arguably the most popular show on the plant, ‘Attack On Titan’, expectations for the track were at an all time high. And while there were many bewildered faces upon its initial release given the tracks unorthodox nature, many came around to it big time, including myself. But while this led to the opening version of the track receiving much appreciation, I don’t think any amount of familiarity would have prepared us for what Shinsei Kamattechan had in store for us with the full version of the track.

One thing I would like to say right away is that you would never get a song like this out of Korea. Or anywhere else in the world for that matter. This is an utterly unique piece of music that feels more like a legitimate war cry or national anthem than any modern day song, a sound truly fitting for the show it soundtracks. It forgoes any real sense of structure and goes out of its way to make some truly interesting musical turns that are bound to confuse and raise a few eyebrows. This makes the entire package feel incredibly off-putting on first listen but only makes every subsequent listen of the song more fulfilling than the last. The opening percussion and keys give an instant ominous feel to the entire track, with an expertly done fake out before the full brunt of the instrumentation hits us. I adore the chanted segments of My War as they lend the song a real sense theatricality on top of its incredibly dense brew. The spoken word interludes between the explosive centrepieces initially seem misplaced but become an almost essential part of the experience after a few listens. The raspy vocals here bring a real sense of restrained dread to the entire package and are a great contrast to the unfiltered explosions of percussion, dramatic string work and operatic vocal samples that dominate much of the track.

But where My War really comes into its own is during its final two minutes where the track breaks into an operatic interlude filled with driving percussion and a collage of heavenly vocals. But as the vocals suddenly fade away, a higher pitched voice can be heard in the background, almost as though it’s acting as part of the percussion. The energy remains high here before the voice we heard in the background becomes a real focal point. Here we get our first real “sung” parts of the track and as such the payoff is immense. It still feels as though the track is still building and while this might initially feel a little odd, the entire track explodes in a real sense of bravado as the central melody slams in with full force as the vocal get more and more impassioned and rousing before fading right back into the instrumental to give way for a stunning, frantic piano driven finale that encapsulates the sheer ambitiousness of this track perfectly.

Verses: 9

Chorus: 9

Production: 10

Performance: 10

Final Rating: 9.5 / 10