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We're a bit later than usual due to all of the seasonal business, but here's our latest installment of recommended tracks! We're not quite done with 2017 just yet!!! @The Reverend's Pick "流れ☆" by Free Aqua Butterfly "Nagareboshi" by Free Aqua Butterfly I try to use writing mini-reviews for the Recommended Tracks thread as a chance to expand my musical horizons, explore things from around the varied Japanese music landscape, and share my discoveries; and then sometimes I throw those noble intentions out the window and just use this as a platform to talk about a band I really like that has released something cool lately. Free Aqua Butterfly's "流れ星" (Nagareboshi) is a pick from the latter category. Free Aqua Butterfly have been a pet band of mine since I first heard them on the Deep More Deep #3 compilation back in 2015, and they do not at all fit the mold of J-bands I usually like. I think being Visual Kei is at least partially defined by the other bands you play shows with, but Free Aqua Butterfly barely look like a VK band most of the time and have a very J-indie lineup that includes a girl on bass who shares vocal duties pretty equally. (I wonder if it's weird for her to be playing at VK event shows with 25 boys who all spend longer on their makeup than she does?) Recommended if you're looking for some catchy, sweet pop-rock that is played and presented without any pretense, or if you're intrigued by the idea of VK band using a dual-female/male-vocal setup and playing upbeat tunes that don't veer too heavily into 'oshare' territory. @doombox's Pick "PULSE" by defspiral It was nice to see defspiral back in rare form this month with “PULSE”; It’s been a while since they've been quite this leather clad and smokey eyed -- possibly not since they were in their previous incarnation as The Underneath. defspiral have been riddled with some identity issues over the years that kept them from gaining as large of a following as they deserve, but I’m glad to see they haven’t lost their spark along the way. The song’s vibe is dark, dangerous, and sexy. Basically, the perfect storm to get your heart racing! @plastic_rainbow's Pick "絲" by BABOO "ito" by BABOO Who would've thought that BABOO, one of the biggest WTF bands of 2017 with their supposedly 'kawaii' toddler-in-diapers act, would turn things around and reemerge as a band with a lot of promise? Dropping the cute and bright oshare-kei look, they've gone darker yet still embody a kind of tainted playfulness to their look and sound. Upon listening to their new single 黒白-kokuhaku-, I was blown away by the very first track, "絲" (Ito). It starts abruptly but introduces an ardent guitar that soothes an empty heart, and Bero's impressive vocals float about in the background and come back to the foreground like a guiding light as he sings with heightened emotions. If you thought the year of 2017 was feeling short on notable VK ballads, you can add "絲" to that miniscule list. With such an unexpected change in sound within one year of their formation, it's not certain whether BABOO will stick with their current direction or not, but whatever they give us next I hope it'll be just as good! @CAT5's Picks "凍狂" by 八十八ヶ所巡礼 "koukyou" by 88kasyo Junrei It's been three years since 88kasyo have released a proper album, and to the average J-rock fan that seems like an eternity. To make matters worse, the guys have teased our starving ears with a few new music videos since the end of 2016, and now going into 2018, they've yet to announce any new releases! "koukyou" is their latest appetizer and it's a delectable mix of catchy hooks and melodies offset by the band's quintessentially progressive quirk. Their sound is continually being refined, and here they've hit the perfect stride between accessibility and untrammeled instrumental wankery. In short, it's a jam! Let's just hope they actually release something new this year! "同じ夜" by DAOKO "Onaji Yoru" by DAOKO "Wait....THIS is DAOKO????" is exactly what I thought when I first heard this track. It's dark, cinematic, atmospheric and dare I say 'mature'-sounding? Basically, the song is a stark contrast from the 'kawaii' hop-hop of her early career and miles away from the nondescript Jpop fodder that she's releasing now. It's produced by indie up-and-comers D.A.N., which explains why it's so different for DAOKO, as it essentially sounds like one of their songs with her on vocals (which is actually an improvement over D.A.N.'s tonedeaf vocalist, but I digress). It's great to hear DAOKO excel in a style so foreign from her usual, and although this song is a one-off, it shows that she has the ability to morph and adapt to the artistic inclinations of her producers. I just hope she does more cool collaborations in the future, because I could take an entire album of this! "鏡面の波" by YURiKA "Kyoumen no Nami" by YURiKA I'm a HUGE haisuinonasa fanboy, so as soon as this song started and I heard the robotic vocal lines, the strategically place guitar-flourishes, and the single piano hits that sound like raindrops gracefully hitting the ground one by one, I KNEW this was produced by Yoshimasa Terui! His style is unmistakable, and YURiKA sounds right at home with it. I love how Terui brilliantly tailors his mathy and experimental tendencies to the kind of wondrous and imaginative pop soundscape that you'd expect from an anime OP - all without sacrificing ingenuity for accessibility. I haven't heard every OP of 2017, but I love Terui's work so much that i'd proudly deem this the best anime theme of the year anyways! - Liked our list? Have some new recommended tracks of your own? Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts!

2017 has been an...interesting year, with so much unexpected drama and surprises that's to go down in history for years. So much has happened that I was able to put together two lists of band members caught in embarrassing , illegal, and reprehensible crimes and scandals. Before we put this year to rest for good, let's take another look at visual-kei and some of the less glamorous acts musicians have been up to this year. Also before I begin, I have to shout out a few members who gave serious help in making this list possible. Thanks to @suji, @tetsu_sama69, @cvltic. and @doombox for all their help, as well as for those who broke the news in the first place and those that corrected my facts after publication! Keina (ex-DIVEIN) The first entrant on the naughty list is bassist Keina, who was fired earlier on July 7th from indie visual kei band DIVEIN (ディヴェイン) for "violating the rules of the visual kei industry". Earlier in 2017, KEINA was hospitalized for tonsillitis and took a break from musical activities. While on break, he participated in a session band without the rest of DIVEIN's permission, and this angered the other three members of the band. He also spread confidential information about upcoming lives and photo shoots on the side, so that was enough to get him the boot. 蕚 (Utena) (ex-DEGENE) DEGENE announced on September 26th that they fired their vocalist 蕚 (Utena) for "bad behavior". Digging a little deeper, we find out that Utena committed violent acts against certain members of the band, trashed band equipment, and sent one or more people into mental break downs. The band stated that they could not find any way to improve his behavior, and each member felt a sense of crisis about his behavior. The other four members came to the same conclusion: “I can't work with him anymore”. In contrast, Utena's announcement about his departure did not mention his bad behavior. DEGENE went on a temporary hiatus until they could replace him. Chaos (Glamscure, ex-INSANITY INJECTION) One of the dual vocalists of Insanity Injection, Chaos, got the boot on May 31st for being involved in "deplorable acts on many occasions". What it was has not been clarified, but it was something bad enough to sow feelings of betrayal among the members. One can only speculate what he did, but he hasn't made another appearance since his departure, so perhaps he was blacklisted from the scene? The band has continued without him as three, which as we will see shortly is not usually the norm. Good on INSANITY INJECTION! Update: Turns out that Chaos is still active in the VK band GLAMSCURE! 塁 (rui) (ex-REVLOW) The last bassist of REVLOW, 塁 (rui), was fired from the band on August 5th. Management and band members discovered on July 29th that Rui was involved in many "anti-social acts" that corresponded with recent criminal acts in various Tokyo restaurants. Of note is that the official announcement used the kanji "反社会的", which is often used to refer to the yakuza. REVLOW cancelled the rest of their live dates, including their first one man show scheduled for August 29th, and rescinded the release of their CD, "'REVLISM-EP", scheduled for Aug 23rd. The band has not yet returned from hiatus, and none of the other band members have appeared in official projects. It's sad when an up and coming band gets ruined by the poor choices of one member. Three lumps of coal, one for each member you screwed over. 冬音 (Fuyune) (ex-サムクロ (Samurai Crows)) It's ironic that I found this picture of the purple-haired maverick while in a topic discussing crimes and other scandals. He was fired from his band サムクロ (Samurai Crows) on 2017/05/11 due to misconduct during their live at Ikebukuro BlackHole at 2017/5/5. He got a little too amped up and destroyed equipment, refused to apologize for it, and was caught verbally abusing people via private messaging service SNS. This is not only a rule not to be broken in visual kei, but also a rule not to be broken in society! Fuyune's misconduct caused the band to be dropped from their label, Me teaR music, and the band has been on hiatus after their live at Shinsaibashi paradigm on 2017/7/8. The other three members have moved on to a project called Bokutachi no neverland; Fuyune is still missing in action. I wonder if he has been soft blacklisted from the scene... 俐乃-rino- (ex - Synk;yet) Remember how we established rules of the visual kei scene all members have to abide by? I can safely say one of them is to inform your band members and your label whenever you participate in a session band or a side project. Synk;yet's ex-guitarist Rino broke these rules and was terminated from his band and artist contract with Starwave Records on 2017/01/30, shortly after the return of bassist Shiori. The official reasons were "betrayal and breach of contract". Rino secretly planned musical activities with other management companies for two years behind other members' backs. He also had "private exchanges" with fans for money requests, but nothing confirmed as sexual. Synk;yet went on indefinite hiatus on 2017/05/21 despite their best attempts to keep it together, and Rino has wiped all traces of his online presence so no one knows what he is up to. 『L.』(ex-VAJRA) Let's take it back to 2009 for a bit when grotesque face masks were all the rage and it was cool to rip off Dir en grey. There was an visual kei band named VAJRA, essentially a Dir en grey rip-off parading around as a silent tribute band, and mimicked all of their antics to carve out a meager existence in the indie circuit. VAJRA started by word of mouth and shot up in popularity quickly by sticking with the flavor of the month and putting on electrifying performances. Some of these lives would include fish hooking, vomiting, and public masturbation on the crowd, but the violent, unpredictable, ink-spitting guitarist『L.』took it too far one day. He was known for punching female fans in the face, giving them black eyes, and dragging them around by the hair on the stage, but he took up a notch for a live at Sendai on 2010/05/10, and caused fans serious injury. At first, he was put on house arrest and banned from lives temporarily, but soon after he "left" the band due to musical differences. There's room for interpretation on this. It is not known if he left because he wanted to and this was the breaking point, if he was forced out, or if he truly left on his own accord. VAJRA couldn't keep up the pace without him and virtually disappeared into disbandment. 『L.』found Jesus and work as an oshare-kei vocalist for the band Awake, now known as Eru. Aki (ex-2bullet, ex-JackRose, ex-Concerto Moon) Remember Takahiro from FAZ? He was covered in our first edition of the list and was caught trying to defraud people to fund band activities. It turns out that he had an accomplice! Aki, along with Takahiro, tried to defraud an elderly woman of 3 million yen. He was arrested once in November of 2016 and again in January of 2017, both for links to Takahiro and suspicion of fraud. Norifumi Shima of Concerto Moon immediately dismissed him from the band, while vocalist Re:i announced that JackRose would enter hiatus, since Aki was the composer and keyboardist. Ouch. Ryuusei (ex-暁月 (Kyogetsu)) Another unwritten rule of the scene - one that is good practice to follow in most situations - is to keep internal band drama private. I love juicy drama stories as much as the next person, but band members spilling the beans about strife in their own project will only undermine their musical efforts. What happened to 暁月 (Kyogetsu) demonstrates this perfectly. Our story begins on early September 2017, with a few incendiary tweets from guitarist Ryuusei on Twitter. In the first tweet he claims that all bangya not attracted to him are into Himura of Bananaman, or ugly men in general. The second tweet was a little more pointed: This hit a raw nerve with a lot of fans because it came on the heels of several unexpected disbandments. But this was just the tip of the iceberg. On his blog, Ryuusei went into detail about several aspects of the scene which up to now were just rumors and which come together to make life difficult for him and his band. A few of the things he mentioned (while also explicitly noting that he didn't know everything) were: Ticket quotas as fees for live performances. Ryuusei does the math on how many tickets they need to sell to cover for the fees, which is dependent on how many fans show up to see them and that's before the band members split the money five ways. Poor return on investment for popular vk standbys such as cheki. Name drops the GazettE in a section about how well popular bands with a "pretty bassist" do financially. This got Reita's attention with a fiery response of his own. Low wages paid from the indie labels. How difficult it is for bands to recover once they are "in the red" and how close 暁月 (Kyogetsu) is to reaching that point after three years. Asks fans to spend more money at shows, less at host clubs, and to tell him more information about salaries of other band men. You can see how this won't go over well. It's one thing to blow the whistle, but when you do you better know all of the facts. Constantly dropping figures about how much your competition makes relative to you while claiming you don't know for sure is a fast way to draw a ton of well-deserved criticism both from outside and within, and that's exactly what happened. On top of that, the claims made do not mesh well with the stories I've heard about what lengths some fans will go to support their favorite artist or band. I know that some tsunagari will go as far as to feed, clothe, shelter, and fuck a band man or two just to support them! But treating your fans like ATMs and literally telling them to "If you have money, use it. High schoolers, study so you can make money in the future." is trash. To me, it seemed like Ryuusei is looking for a scapegoat for his band's poor performance. Fans struck back by revealing his name, his bare face, his DMs, and even coordinating to send 100 pizzas to his house! Ryuusei threatened to get the police involved if the situation escalated further. His behavior afterwards is what sealed the deal. His band mates wanted nothing to do with the controversy this generated, as the vocalist even went so far as to hold an "apology twicast", and posted many apologetic tweets, even individually replying to people to apologize long before Ryuusei commented on the issue. However, Ryuusei did eventually apologize before backtracking the very next day. In his second blog post, he starts by claiming he only apologized because he was forced to. He then deflects the contents of the first post to "netogya" (a derisive term referring to online fans that don't go to shows, meaning most of us here), apologizes for name dropping bands and labels, claims he's always trying to be controversial and that this is no different, and claims that he thought this was common knowledge so there would be no problem. This only provided fuel for the fire. The sad thing is that, as you could have guessed by now, these guys were virtually unknown before this. Shame is a very powerful deterrent in Japanese culture, and I've seen lesser drama capsize bigger bands than this. By constantly undoing the damage control his band members tried to provide, and by backpedaling and baiting Tanuki, Ryuusei put Kyogetsu in a spot where they had to kick him out to continue or disband. They did both. Bassist Shogo jumped ship first, but the formal disbandment of Kyogetsu was announced for October of 2017. Setsuna (ex-THE EGOIST) Whenever I write one of these lists, one person ends up doing something that eclipses everything else I discuss. Setsuna, guitarist of THE EGOIST, takes the "honors" for this position this time, although it's not something to be proud of. 2017 was not a kind year to THE EGOIST, as they paused activities earlier in the year when they lost contact with their vocalist, but things came to a breaking point by the end of the year in what will remain a black mark on visual kei for a long time to come. The timeline gets hazy at points but what we do know for certain is that Setsuna, also known as Keisuke Kawasaki (thanks NHK!), began an intimate relationship with a woman named Uran Hirayama while engaged. Uran didn't know he was engaged when she met him with the wedding planned to the degree where the venue had already been picked. The marriage was held sometime during his relationship with Uran as well. It is not confirmed if she was a mitsu of his, but what we do know is that they had a very tumultuous relationship, all documented on Hirayama's twitter. Uran used the account as a regular personal account initially, but at some point the account became flooded with pictures and screenshots of the newly minted couple. Many LINE screenshots show both happy times as well as arguments, including one where Uran demanded to know if Setsuna had slept with a tsunagari/mitsu of his named Ayumi. He initially denies it, but admits to eventually sleeping with her once and apologizes, swearing Uran is the only one he really cares for. He ends up saying something similar on his public Twitter: "I've had relationships with various women, but aside from Uran I was just messing around. I'm very sorry. I'm considering marrying [her] in the future". No mention of his wife. Other pictures included Disney date pictures, many pictures of them in the snow as a couple, and of course the now-infamous video of him eating out Uran's ass (note to future readers: he chows down). Considering this is all in public view, it didn't take long for his "wife" to come across some of it; she apparently went ballistic when she found purikura of her and Setsuna kissing in his wallet. Things get demented as the year winds down to a close. The messages on Uran's Twitter become more alarming; her profile stated 'I wish to be reborn and marry Keisuke in my next life', she posted screenshots of one of Setsuna's tweets that basically said he "will be one" with Uran (which he quickly deleted from his page), tweets about gifts she bought with the money she got from sex, and more. At some point, Setsuna informs Uran that he was married and in retaliation, she dumps all of this information on her Twitter. She also had at least one suicide attempt around December 3rd, likely in response to all of these happenings. Despite his marriage, he still publicly pines for Uran after all of this. The following is my guess of what happens next: Uran tells Setsuna about her suicide attempt(s) and he tries to talk her out of it, but ends up agreeing to commit double suicide with her a week later on December 9th. We know this because Uran sent the explicit details of the plan to one of her close friends around 3pm that day, which was later posted to her Twitter page. The person who posted the notice in no uncertain words claims it was intended to be a double suicide and firmly believes that was their original intention. This same friend also contacted the police with all of the information she had at her disposal, but by the time the police showed up to Uran's apartment at 9pm the deed was done. She was found on her futon, her room was locked, there were no signs anyone had been through her belongings, and there was a handwritten suicide note next to unused charcoal briquettes. I can only guess the plan was to lock themselves in a room and suffocate to death, but Setsuna had a last-minute change of heart, ended up choking her to death, locked the door, and left. It took the detective work of another of Uran's friends to connect Setsuna to this mess and to send the police to his door. He admitted to the killing and was promptly arrested. When asked his occupation, he claimed he was a "part-timer" and did not mention THE EGOIST, his band mates, or his label. Thus, the band was able to avoid most of the wrath of the Eye of Sauron, but they still chose to disband anyway to distance themselves from the stigma as much as possible. I don't blame them. The story stops here for now, but there are a lot more questions to be asked than can be answered. As for the most important one, as one of Uran's friends put it, "The only way to know the circumstances that led to Uran being the only one who died is to ask [Setsuna] himself". Maybe this information will come out in a court trial soon. UPDATE: THE EGOIST disbanded earlier in 2017 due to the departure of their vocalist. UPDATE 2: His trial started one year after the incident. Setsuna stated that Uran asked him to kill her, so he "helped her". Since the tribunal couldn't verify if that is true or not they accepted that Setsuna killed her on request and therefore reduced his sentence from 13 years to 3.5 years in prison. Thanks for reading! Hopefully, band members will behave and another one of these lists won't come for a good while

Great write up! I'm sure there a lot more cases of sketchy things bandmen have done, but this is a strong insight. One correction, though: Chaos is still around in Glamscure. They're releasing a new CD soon, too. If anything, that band seems to be doing better now that he's out of Insanity Injection lmao

Their new single 「トゲ、傷。」(Toge, Kizu) will be released on 2018.04.18.

I was too shy to share this last year, but I'm more confident with it now Also, please excuse the Miku cosplay, my girlfriend was cosplaying Luka Megurine so I wanted to join in the fun XD

Going to take this one over for 2018 @CAT5@Lestat Coming back for the 4th year in a row, this thread is dedicated to Japanese releases in 2018 that the MH Community will listen to and would like to keep track of throughout the entire year. It’s a nice way of referring back to a list, should you forget if you’ve listened to a certain release yet or not. I know I forget sometimes haha. These ratings can also help those who may want to see which releases are favoring well or not, based on each individual user who you may have similar tastes with. You never know, as this could come in handy at the end of the year. Feel free to set up your own rating system (Stars, ?/5, ?/10, Best to Worst, Oooh to Eww, etc.), but try and use spoiler tags to save room in your post, and save room on the page for the other members’ rating lists. Previous Years for Reference: 2015 2016 2017 I look forward to seeing everyone’s lists at the end of the year! Yuyo’s List for 2018:

Yay! Thanks for making the 2018 post. Gonna do my best to update this regularly and not wait until September like I did last year... >>; Last updated: 4.13

Lol Kakeru. He was asked to list his ten favourite things about being on Starwave Records, and he came up with: 1. Kiwamu is a good person 2. Kiwamu is kind 3. Rui is loud 4. Shian is loud 5. Lyubi seems like a kind person 6. Scarlet Valse are cool 7. The other bands on the label are cool 8. Daisuke is kind 9. The artists that have left Starwave Records are also good people 10. Kakeru is a good guy

"Looks dont matter, i just care about the music"

the limited edition of dogma and two gazette hoodies! god i've been dying for these things for a while now, i'm so happy to finally have them in my hands

In celebration of Monochrome-Heaven's 10th Anniversary, we've decided to hop in our musical time machine and take a look at some of the important, classic, and downright pivotal J-rock albums of 2007! Below you'll find albums that left a significant impression on us as fledgeling J-rock fans and albums that impacted the fandom at large. So let's put on our nostalgia-goggles and take a look, shall we!!?? 9mm Parabellum Bullet Termination Alongside the likes of ling tosite sigure, these guys were one of the most hyped bands amongst the J-indie fandom at the time - and with great reason. On this album, 9mm crafted the perfect blend of explosive indie rock with elements of punk, hardcore, and metal - creating a sound so dynamic and fresh that even their naysayers couldn't deny it! TERMINATION was only their first full-length album, but it's responsible for inspiring an entire generation of successive bands with an influence that's still palpable to this day. Sadly, 9mm descended into utter mediocrity after this release, but this remains one of the few albums that I'd consider flawless, and it's widely regarded as a classic by fans. -@CAT5 girugamesh girugämesh Few albums I have listened to in their entirety as much as girugamesh’s 2007 eponymous release. The 45-minute epic strips the soul bare - from the dynamic opener “Patchwork” to the heart wrenching “Kowarete Iku Sekai”, girugämesh brought out an unmatched explosion of creativeness from a group of friends that, despite barely breaking into their 20s, had given their all into music. It is a quality seldom heard in VK today as they channelled all of their aggression, elation, desperation, pain and longing, relishing the listener in girugamesh’s world of raw emotion where each song held meaning and every individual tune stuck to memory. This is certainly one of the albums that not only epitomized 2007, but defined girugamesh for me. For many of us, bands like girugamesh catered to our angst-ridden adolescence, as we threw away our childish inclinations while gravitating toward the darker side of VK. And it was partially thanks to this album that gave me the faith to continue following them throughout their tumultuous latter years and see their career to their end, finally gaining closure with their swansong “period” that took them back to their formative roots. -@helcchi bis Believe in Style If girugamesh represented the transition into the dark side of visual kei to the generation that were growing up in the 00s, bis held tight to that childhood naïveté as they remained frozen in time, echoing sounds of a bygone era of oshare kei. An ode to eternal youth, Believe in Style is an endearing Summer album that embodied all the stupid things we did when we were young and all the fun we had - free of consequences and responsibilities, as well as the bitterness we held towards growing up. “Start”, “DAYS” and “SEASONS” were the quintessential high school anthems that perhaps started many people's venture into j-rock, brimming with youthful energy, catchy tunes and an attitude ready to conquer the world. It certainly seemed that success would come easy with the bright-eyed popular young band shooting their way to the top of the indies charts, yet bis’ world was painted through rose-colored glasses. And like many young bands trying to gain their footing in an adult world, the fun was short-lived and they disbanded way too early. Believe in Style would be their first and only full-length album, however not before leaving us with heartwarming memories. -@helcchi D'espairsRay MIRROR Perhaps the only album I personally covered that sounds just as good today as it did ten years ago, MIRROR is one of the defining visual kei albums of the '00s. Every time I think of the mysterious cover, the riff to "Trickster" starts playing in my mind and Hizumi's crooning is like a harpoon that gets stuck in your head and can't be removed. It's funny to imagine how divisive this album was when it came out because it sounded nothing like [Coll:set], but in retrospect I might consider it the most approachable D'espairsRay album that still maintains the darkness I love them for. There's also bittersweet sentimentality talking, as this is the release which marks the point of no return for many fans. -@Zeus Eksperimentoj Eksperimentoj Having garnered a good amount of clout from the highly regarded band Dhal (a side-project formed by Aoki Robin of downy), vocalist Eugene Wakamikoto's first album with his own band Eksperimentoj was certainly a release of great interest back in 2007. In a lot of ways, Eksperimentoj sounded something like a spiritual successor to downy (who were on hiatus at the time and would remain as such for another 6 years). Eugene wrote and sung the album entirely in English, yet he sounded almost identical to Aoki Robin, and musically, the band played a gloomy, atmospheric style of post-rock that was aesthetically in line with downy as well. Though in spite of the similarities, Eksperimentoj still occupied a space of their own. Unfortunately, this was the only album they ever released, yet it's singular to this very day. -@CAT5 HIZAKI grace project Dignity of crest Released on New Year's Day of 2007, HIZAKI grace project's first album was significant for me as it ushered in the second wind of my VK fandom, which is still kickin' today. I was delighted to see an old face, Juka (ex-Moi dix Mois), combined with some great neoclassical guitarwork and subtle tinges of MALICE MIZER (dat harpsichord in "Philosopher") that brought me back to when I first learned of VK in 2002. Virtuoso guitarists HIZAKI and Teru went on to form Versailles and Jupiter, but I still come back to Dignity to crest fairly often, as it showcases some of their best riffing. -@fitear1590 Ling tosite sigure Inspiration is DEAD Ling tosite sigure (who were still being referred to as 'rin toshite shigure' by western fans at the time), had to be the most exciting band in Japanese indie at the time. Here you had a demure indie rock trio playing music with the technical prowess and ferocity of a death metal band, and their creativity seemed to know no bounds. Even if you found the vocals grating or annoying, you couldn't deny the Ling's ingenuity. Hell, before I grew to appreciate them, I found myself simply captivated by all of TK's insane riffage alone. Coming from a band so talented, and so obviously inspired, Inspiration is DEAD seemed like a statement - a dig against all of the bands who were content to tread the status quo instead of breaking new ground. And that's exactly what Ling did with this album, as they continued to do for years to come. Inspiration is DEAD remains a fan-favorite to this day, and as the band's final indie release, it's one of the most raw and unkempt records they've put out - a far cry from the polished, formulaic, and generally diluted music they've been producing lately. -@CAT5 LOSTAGE DRAMA Just a year after LOSTAGE dropped the classic PLAY WITH ISOLATION, they returned again with this spectacular release. DRAMA took all of the emo-tinged indie rock of the previous album, but accentuated it with hard rock elements which resulted in a fresh and powerful new sound for the band. In fact, you could argue that this is the album that set the tone for the rest of the their career, as the style they crafted here is one that they've continued to hone throughout every album since. Truly a highlight in LOSTAGE's discography and the year 2007 alike. -@CAT5 MERRY M.E.R.R.Y. After ten years, M.E.R.R.Y. still remains as one of MERRY's most memorable albums due to the band's versatile sound, which consisted of distorted punk rock with jazzy elements, groovy melodies, and some tender ballads. The singles included are "Blind Romance", "Saihate no Parade (最果てのパレード)", and the tender "Komorebi ga Boku o Sagashi Teru (木洩れ日が僕を探してる・・・)", which all remain as fan-favorite tracks today. In fact, 2007 was around the time of MERRY's prime, as the band had already been signed with major label Victor Entertainment for 2 years, and they had already performed overseas for the first time a few months prior to the album's release. Personally, the album has some of my favorite MERRY tracks ever, including "Utagoe Kissa 『MODERN』 (歌声喫茶『モダン』)", the catchy and melodic "Hirahira Tonderu. (ひらひらとんでる。)" (whose PV was directed by FULL of GUNIW TOOLS), and dat sweet bass solo at the start of "Coq d'or mama (コックドール・ママ)". -@suji nayuta solar ribbon・solar children Never heard of this band? No worries - most people hadn't heard of this band ten years ago either! In fact, nayuta is so obscure that only some of the most hardcore J-indie enthusiasts that I know have come across them, as this album wasn't released widely and almost no information can be found on it today. Still, despite their stature, nayuta has to be one of the best kept secrets of the J-indie scene, and this album is one of the best that you've never heard. On Myspace (yes, Myspace was still a thing in 07), they used to describe themselves as 'Underground hardcore parade music', and while that's actually pretty apt in a weird way, it doesn't do them justice. There's a definitely a hardcore element to their music, which is further emphasized by the rough and noisy production quality, but the band makes creative use of melody while maintaining the beauty of it. Add in some sublime male/female vocals and you have a sound that's as chaotic as it is charming. solar ribbon・solar children may be a hidden gem, but it's well worth excavating to wrap your ears around. -@CAT5 OGRE YOU ASSHOLE AlphaBeta vs. Lambda If bands like Ling tosite sigure and 9mm Parabellum Bullet were dominating the aggressive side of Japanese indie in 2007, then on the opposite end of the spectrum, OGRE YOU ASSHOLE were the kings of slacker rock. The band already an album and a mini-album under their belts at the time, but Alpha Beta vs. Lambda truly solidified them as an indie rock force to be reckoned with. Characterized by laid-back grooves, smooth vocals, colorful riffs, and tight instrumentation, OYA carved out a delightful sound on this album that many younger bands like mitsume and siamese cats have aimed at, yet have never quite been able to hit. Hell, even the band themselves have never been able to live up to the sound they established here - and they've released eight albums since! -@CAT5 Plastic Tree Nega to Poji 2007 marked the 10th anniversary since Plastic Tree's major debut, and to pay all their efforts for making it that far, they decided to release the groundbreaking and jaw dropping album that is Nega to Poji. It was a major turning point for Plastic Tree, throwing away the old and bringing out new ideas. Nega to Poji as a whole laid out such a unique charm that if you listened to one song out of the album context you'd instantly recognize the Nega to Poji sound; the dreaminess, the grungy guitars, and Ryutaro's less childish to mesmerizing vocals. Honestly, there really is no bad track on the album as they all give it a perfect balance, except for old, but newer versions of tracks like "Spica", "Makka na Ito", and "hate red, dip it", that might feel like extras to some. I do admit however, that the new "hate red, dip it (loudest sound version)" flows well with the rest of the album. You've got the dreamy "Nemureru Mori" as a tranquil start, the pumping "Fujunbutsu" and "Elegy" to amp up the noise and energy, the heavy "Sabbath", which is possibly their heaviest track other than "Ghost", some impressive drumming in the melancholic "Kuroi Kasa", and the beautiful and heartbreaking "Andro Metamorphose" that received huge debate for copying Mew's song "Comforting Sounds", yet is still loved by most, if not all pura fans. I remember playing this album on heavy rotation the day it released. It was one of the best things I heard at the time and is still an absolute favorite of mine, which I'm sure many fans can agree with as well. Hell, there's even a whole studio version of the album on DVD from the limited edition. -@plastic_rainbow RENTRER EN SOI The bottom of chaos It's not the album that springs to mind when I think of classics, but THE BOTTOM OF CHAOS is the album I think of when I think of Rentrer en Soi. The sound of a band successfully reinventing themselves to fit the hype sound of the time while still retaining their defining features and simultaneously progressing is as difficult to pull off as it is to describe, but for the most part THE BOTTOM OF CHAOS does this successfully. The album hasn't aged as well as I would have hoped - the production sounds thin, the growls are weak, and the best moments are segments of tracks spread over the whole affair rather than one or two solid songs - but when the entire package is this consistent it's still fun for a spin. Give this one a try if you want to know what fans a decade ago thought the tops in heavy music was. -@Zeus school food punishment air feel, color swim school food punishment debuted with their first mini-album school food is good food back in the spring of 2007, instantly turning heads as one of the new, promising indie bands on the block. Some people were even quick to compare them to Spangle call Lilli line - one of the most prominent female-fronted indie bands of the time. However, It wasn't until later that year with the release of this album that sfp really began to come into their own. The groovy, upbeat power-pop of the tracks like "you may crawl" and "art line" were basically the prototypes for what would become sfp's signature sound later on in their major label years. While the moody and dramatic "loop, share" was like a precursor to the band's 3rd mini-album Riff-rain, which came to be widely regarded as their best work when it dropped the next year. Still air feel, color swim is an important release that marks the development of a band that later grew to become iconic in their own right. -@CAT5 Shiina Ringo Heisei Fuzoku Shiina Ringo is a legendary figure in Japanese music, hands down. With her gigantic and diverse discography, it can be quite overwhelming to start digging in. While I started with her most famous albums 勝訴ストリップ (Shouso Strip) and 加爾基 精液 栗ノ花 (Kalk Semen Chestnut Flower), I wasn't officially 'sold' on her until heisei fuuzoku. The album, which was arranged with the help of Neko Saito and served as a film OST, is a collection of self-covers and new tracks (like "Gamble"), all with a sumptuous orchestral/jazz/big band sound. The reinterpretation of "茎 (kuki)" as a sultry jazz number is particularly unreal. For anyone not quite ready for Shiina's pop-rock or more experimental side, heisei fuuzoku is another great entry point to her oeuvre. -@fitear1590 the GazettE STACKED RUBBISH 2007 might have been the last year I was flat-out head-over-heels in love with visual kei. Great albums and band debuts were happening left and right, its popularity was growing, bands were touring internationally, and people were still allowed to post fan-made content on YouTube (or am I the only one missing hilarious fanvids?). One of my most played albums that year, and probably my most played GazettE album ever, was STACKED RUBBISH. Not only did the singles leading up to the album kick ass, but just about every B-side from them was just as good in their own right, and it's no surprise some ended up making it to the final cut. The album enveloped the singles perfectly too, with just the right amount of variety between upbeat clap-alongs like "ガンジスに紅い薔薇(ganges ni akai bara)" and "SWALLOWTAIL ON THE DEATH VALLEY" and GazettE's classic, bitter aggression in tracks like "BURIAL APPLICANT", "MOB 136 BARS" and "CIRCLE OF SWINDLER". A light sprinkling of Ruki's new-found 'hip hop' influence also gave the album a dose of intrigue, as it opened with the questionably titled and unintentionally hilarious "ART DRAWN BY VOMIT" as well as the unforgettable did-he-really-just-say-fuckboy? engrish in "AGONY". Whether it's for a good laugh or a good headbang, STACKED RUBBISH's epic-ness needs to live on forever in VK infamy. Yes I did probably link the entire album, fight me. -@doombox Tokyo Jihen Variety Let's take a trip back to the past when Tokyo Jihen was saving jazz and Shiina Ringo was still relevant. Believe it or not, Tokyo Jihen's third full-length 娯楽(バラエティ), pronounced Goraku, turns ten this year! Feel old yet? I would consider 娯楽 to be the black sheep of their discography, mostly due to everyone but Ringo composing music for this release. 娯楽 includes seven tracks from guitarist Ukigumo, five tracks from keyboard player Ichiyo Izawa and one composed by bassist Seiji Kameda. Drummer Toshiki Hata was also asked to contribute, but he declined. There's nothing wrong with it, but when it comes time to name drop Tokyo Jihen tracks, my mind often does not wander here. 娯楽 is best known for lead singles "O.S.C.A." and "キラーチューン" (Killer-tune), and "金魚の箱" (Kingyo no Hako) which became the theme for the film 魍魎の匣 (Mouryou no Hako), but my personal favorite song is "黒猫道" (Kuroneko-do). It ended up selling 175,000 copies and was certified Gold by the RIAJ. -@Zeus trico MUSICS Sometimes brilliance goes overlooked because it's found in the most unexpected places, or in trico's case - a place that wasn't even on the radar for most. 2006 saw the release of the band's first album, but it was just humdrum enough to be negligible. They hadn't become a band that you'd hear readily flying off the lips of J-indie fans, so it made sense that Musics went by barely detected when it dropped the next year. I'm not sure what transpired in the time between these two releases, but trico had clearly become inspired in the interim. As opposed to downy, who were far left-field, and sleepy.ab, who were perhaps a bit too poppy, trico managed to hit the perfect stride of Radiohead-inspired rock, while also forging their own identity. With Musics, the band remained highly accessible while keeping things interesting. They took some interesting creative liberties, employing unusual sounds and subtly progressive arrangements, yet never became overly-experimental or self-indulgent. This was a short but fantastic mini-album, and it's a shame that this was trico's last proper release. I would have LOVED to hear what else they could have gone on to produce! -@CAT5 Versailles Lyrical Sympathy Many of these tracks have been revisited and re-recorded in many releases by Versailles, which should indicate just how influential this release is. The Revenant Choir was the first release, but Lyrical Sympathy is what opened the door and introduced the band to the world. Classics such as "The Love from a Dead Orchestra" and "Sympathia" are among many fan favorites, and it's always refreshing to hear a power-metal band take a few trends and buck them. Actually, there are only one or two tracks here which haven't made a reappearance because they've even recycled the intro track! A decade ago when I first stumbled across Versailles, I never thought I'd have the opportunity to see them grow and come this far. Lyrical Sympathy holds up if you approach it from an ideas perspective, but as far as execution goes it's a diamond in the rough that I enjoy with the thickest rose-tinted glasses I can find. -@Zeus - Liked our list? Disagree with our list? Did we miss anything? Feel free to leave your comments below, let us know what you think, and let us know what albums you found remarkable that have turned 10 this year!

The band have revealed a new look !

Album date has been confirmed for 2018/2/28.

Half of these ''crimes against VK'' things don't even seem all that serious to be honest, blacklisting for playing in session bands, really?

Not sure how "The Marrow of a Bone" can be a sore release compared to other 2007 releases when that album is basically Other than that, 1) Tokyo Jihen - Variety For the same reasons as stated by OP. 2) LTS - Inspiration is DEAD For the same reasons... 3) L'Arc~en~Ciel - KISS The best post-2000s album by them - consistent delivery, less fillers, and so on. 4) Coaltar of the Deepers - Yukari Telepath "This is basically a Deftones album with stronger melody writing, lyrics, and variety of sound..." 5) Susumu Hirasawa - Paprika OST Kaleidoscopic ear candy. 6) Cornelius - Sensuous Not the first Cornelius album I would mention, but still an ear candy! 7) Midori - Second "There are moments when the piano rams into hipswinging lockstep with the guitars as the vocals find the right balance of seduction and sneer and then you have to dance like an idiot while watering the lawn with your right shoulder to the place where sunset will be and a vague unease sitting light and sour on your nerves..." 8 ) Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music I Elegant electroclassical glitch record by the big man himself. 9) Melt-Banana - Bambi's Dilemma Just another good ol' MB album with the same kind of personality as with Cell-Scape or Fetch 10) Boom Boom Satellites - Exposed One of the most unique genre-hybrid albums

No matter how much research I do I always miss some deets! I'll apply the corrections now thanks guys

This is a really well compiled list. Thank you! One tiny thing though, I’m pretty sure Egoist actually disbanded after their singer dropped off. The other guitarist, Akina, went on to join Devil Kitty not too long after the fact - and have a major health scare because literally this band was fucking cursed this year.

Finally a VK look I can pull off

the mental image of x japan suddenly popping up in the midst of this tumblrcore lineup is hilarious though, cant wait for the ''yasssss queen'' crowd to adopt yoshiki as well

This song was originally released back in March 2016. Appears it will be on the album.

i'm known as the biggest initial'L fucker around but jesus CHRIST please save them

A captcha rickrolled me.

ok but when Tsuzuku wants to get fried its cute...akinori does it and he's the devil.

ARCHEMI. - 降臨 (Type A) DAMY – chilled. (Type B ) DEXCORE – Imitation (regular edition)

Making its return for 2017, due to popular demand, we will be hosting the MH JRock Awards !!! Now, before you start voting, read the rules provided in the spoiler below, or be slapped by a HUGE Viking Fish! – @Champ213 Once you have read the general rules, here's how to vote: 1. Copy the list of categories below into your reply 2. Fill in your votes (you can skip as many categories as you'd like) 3. Submit. Your posts will stay hidden until the end of the voting. Here are your categories to choose from: Voting will last until Sunday, January 14th of the New Year (2018) This will allow everyone to take their time, since some of us are still waiting on some final releases to come out this month. Note: "Album" includes both full and mini-albums. For simplicity reasons, we follow the "Once Visual Kei, always Visual Kei" rule. So yes, that makes bands like Dir en grey or L'Arc~En~Ciel a Visual Kei band, just for the purpose of this voting. Any questions you have, please do not hesitate to contact any of the Staff! Happy Voting!

Ha! I threw him in for three reasons: I remember VAJRA in general being a messy band. There were so many rumors floating around about them (like Nobro masturbating and cumming on the crowd) that I found it hard to believe until they all but confirmed it with his departure. I wanted to cover him last time but couldn't. I wanted to show just how much "punishment" has changed in a short seven years. Like @Tokage said, a lot of these "crimes against VK" aren't serious by my Western standards but I've been in the scene long enough to notice a very gradual shift in what constitutes a scandal. Eru punching women in the face and dragging people across the stage was ~okay~ seven years ago but shock antics like that won't fly today.

Is it there yet? https://a.tumblr.com/tumblr_p21eyl14Xi1r6te05o1.mp3 It. Is. So. Fucking. Good. Oh my gooooooood *~* btw, source is http://yourfantasyparade.tumblr.com/

Thanks for making me feel old. girugamesh self-titled and the Gazzete’s Stacked Rubbish were my jams back then.

@CAT5 If I remember well, you like/used to like DIV. Did you skipped ACME or you aren't enjoying them?

@CAT5I'm digging this Daoko song a lot, I like her voice over music that sounds so 'nighttime'. Is her new album mostly previously released songs? Or do there just happen to be two that I recognize as being old?

@itsukoii more details First link: http://the-gazette.com/discography/319.html Second link: http://the-gazette.com/discography/331.html Third link: http://the-gazette.com/discography/322.html First and third links are different versions of the same live release (first DOGMATIC TOUR finale, 2016/02/28), the second link is actually a documentary of their DOGMATIC world tour. Get the first link! It might be DVD only (no Blu-ray option womp womp), but it comes in a 12" package with a photo book and another tour documentary. I held a copy when I was in Japan, but wouldn't have had room in my luggage, so I didn't buy it sad.

sometimes it pisses me off how dumb and naive I was in my teenage years. I was so obsessed with visual kei back then that I ignored so much good music (especially from the West) and it feels like I'll never catch up on all things I need/want to hear. still, branching out my music taste was the best thing I ever decided to do and I guess it's good I'll never be out of opportunities to have that feeling of finding music you identify with, no matter how old they might be.

Aas Tetsu is the main songwriter for Zigzo, and all of his other bands, he really calls the shots whether or not Zigzo will record. While the band is celebrating 20 years, they were almost on hiatus for half that time (early 2002 to summer 2011) since Tetsu wanted to restart nil after being affected by the September 11th attacks in NY. He wrote Sayonara Davinci that same day if I remember the blog entry correctly. I suppose he felt he couldn't release a song like that as the major label band Zigzo which was starting to use producers toward their last singles, i.e. Masahide Sakuma on Chelsea. So yeah, maybe Zigzo / Tetsu haven't announced anything yet and will repeat the productivity of 2011 where he released an album from each of his 4 bands almost back to back in a few month time period. You can still get this Zigzo DVD online. You'd have to use a buying service or know someone over there: https://shopping.deli-a.jp/products/item_Info.php?itemID=5340#c The other dvds can be found on Yahoo auction Japan as well: https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/search/search?auccat=&p=zigzo+dvd&tab_ex=commerce&ei=UTF-8&fr= I believe the Last Scene DVD was re-released and sold outside of Zigzo's official page for many years which is why there are so many available on YJA. The 2nd scene dvd is probably rarer now since they only released it once though their webshop back in 2012 or 13 and that is now defunct.

If anyone wants to count grindcore SWARRRM's legendary experimental grindcore album Black Bong turned 10: SWARRRM -Black Bong

all I can say about Initial

https://www.4shared.com/mp3/_IOyFf3Uei/__Symphonic_Ver_.html https://www.4shared.com/mp3/oi2_97qwei/__Acoustic_Ver_.html The "unplugged" version sounds more symphonic to me, so I decided to rename the file^^ I'll delete these on Friday.

Beyoncé takes pity on local talent but would never.

I definitely think they've improved a lot, but I think the style of SEs have changed as well. They used to kinda just be snippets of cool little beats at the start and end of an album, but since DIM they seem to be trying to make SEs that fit with some sort of theme with the album. I think DIM was an earnest attempt, but I agree that they feel pretty lacklustre now - especially compared to the recent albums' SEs. I also think the songwriting on DIM is really high level, and the SEs thus feel sorta slapped together at the last minute.

It might not be nice, but it's ensuring their relevancy and that way, their pay. I'm pretty sure that the only reason Kiryu has managed to stay together for ten years is the fact that BP is pushing them to continuously do something to stay relevant and on the charts, and that in turn ensures they get paid for what they are doing enough to do it full time.

I love your record player! I have always wanted one as well! You should definitely get yourself an instax they are adorable! I have not been able to get any film locally as of yet though as it has been sold out in all of the stores in this city due to holidays. I will have to order some online.

LMAO the only time egoist makes it to #1 in the vkdb rankings

i will say if anything ever fucks this bands up eventually it will absolutely be a division between hazuki and the guys who drink his kool-aid (reo and AK) and yusuke. reo might be the leader but love hzk as i do, he's a high functioning megalomaniac and reo toes his line. also i can see why individuals would be pissed/think this is kind of a shitshow because it undermines the statement their label put out to a hilarious degree... but on a macro level it makes sense, imo. emmny said it best about the (highly successful) PR it gave them even thru a mediocre release in SINNERS, and AK is beloved in the industry including by other bandmen because he is an extremely affable dipshit, an effect amplified by him being the protege of reo/hzk/a well-connected band with a good reputation. being the only one with charisma other than hzk, AK was responsible for a lot of their charm/public face and he's very good at what he does on that level as well. yusuke and AK were inseparable prior to this anyway so it doesn't surprise me at all he caved with or without pressure from hzk & co.

ViViD who? I'm perfectly alright believing this the only Vivid that has ever existed in VK.

My poor poor backlog....

https://ibb.co/e3VoAR Motorola C Plus, a surprise gift from my parents, with red chromated cover! So sweet <3

If they come anywhere in the USA on the east coast, I'm there! Forum meet up. We eat sushi.

Watching Versailles and then transistioning to an indie band performance always makes me think "this band would benefit with some glitter sprinkled around them"

i just saw this thread in the recent activity box so let me drop a few of my favorite links http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/ weblio's example translation corpus is highly underrated and i use it all the time for professional translation work because it has examples from daily conversation, business emails, novels, history books, contracts and law, etc etc. you can input English or Japanese, so if you need to know how something is expressed in Japanese or don't understand the meaning of a Japanese construction, try pasting it here and see how it's been translated by others. i started using this when i did shitty 12012 blog translations and i never looked back http://jn2et.com/JLPT.html if you're studying at an intermediate+ level you might find that Japanese explanations of grammar constructions are much more useful for understanding the minutiae between similar constructions, i used this one a fair bit in conjunction with jgram.org & japanesetest4you.com. http://nihongo-e-na.com/jpn/ http://nihongo-e-na.com/eng/ a good ass portal site for Japanese learner resources to close and as a semi-introduction, hi, i do freelance jp>en translation and i just completed a "high level" japanese course at Nagoya University. i'm definitely not a master and still have plenty to learn myself but if there's questions feel free to post them there and i'll see if any texts i have can provide a satisfying answer -- i'm sure other learners will happily pool their resources too. i'm pretty good at バンギャ用語 too if you're trying to read naughty messages about bandmen in forbidden message boards, so if you have questions about that i'm happy to help here or via PM lol 9月に名古屋大学でいわゆる上級日本語コースを修了したのですが、 ご質問などありましたらそのコースの資料などを使って答えるように頑張ります♪