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This song has been therapeutic to me as of late so I decided to translate it. Lyrics: Lime Music: Lime Kanji: petitlyrics Romaji & translation: me Kanji: 怨ミ節 Romaji: Urami bushi English: Song of Resentment Enjoy! ^^

It's fucking over. I have loved Gargoyle for years (own all of their albums, their EPs, most of their various re-recordings, that massive 10 DVD boxset, etc.) and seeing this news earlier this morning has ruined my day. Toshi was there from the very beginning in 1987 and Katsuji joined a year later. Kentaro came into the picture a little later (1994) and replaced She-ja (along with Yotaro who later left in 2001). These aren't just random saps leaving. It's the lifeblood of the band. Even if Kiba decides it's solo project time (keep in mind he's like 52, it would be a logical time to call it quits) but with Gargoyle's name, it wouldn't be the same band. It's basically the end. Quite a shame really. It's like a piece of history is ending to me. Gargoyle was one of Japan's earlier thrash metal bands and easily one of the most creative ones. Hell, they're one of the most weird/creative thrash metal bands period. I never would have guessed their last album in 2016 would end up being their last one. 31 quality years is not a bad run. RIP one of my all time favorite bands.

Just some notes from reading the page to the best of my ability, Toshi pretty much started it. Of course these things are never concrete, but Toshi talks about how he was reaching his limit in the past few years with the band's activities. He had an important meeting with Kiba and the other members, but in the end, Toshi and Kiba simply could not come to any agreement. So Toshi decided to focus on another life and leave the band. Katsuji himself doesn't say it, but Toshi's comment says that his withdrawal also caused Katsuji and Kentaro to leave. Kentaro seems like the last person here, he mentions having to make a decision between continuing with just Kiba or also leaving with the other two and in the end he choose the later. Kiba does specifically say that he will continue on. How? I have no idea. He even mentions he thought a lot about formally breaking up the band and not wanting to sully their name, but in the end he decided to press forward.

speculation: they are quietly hired by yoshiki to help with finishing the finished and mastered new x album

I love this songgggggg!! So catchy! About the people hating this """new""" Kaya, have you ever been Kaya fan? He always made this kind of songs (Sugar Rose for example), they just weren't released as A-side before. lol

I think it's supposed to be ハード (Hard, like hardcore?) + コンパ (Konpa = mixer), similar to ヤリコン (fuck+mixer, basically a party for hookups). But no one seems to know the origin of the name for sure. I'm not really sure what to say about it. On one hand, it seems like the roadie system had its benefits and the relationship could be very important to both parties. I was watching the last lynch. blu-ray that came out with the commentary on, where the roadie system came up in conversation. They talked about Ai from DARRELL/DEATHGAZE's previous band, Otogi, and Hazuki mentioned that Otogi had literally a dozen roadies onstage at their disbandment live all crying hysterically because they genuinely cared about the band. Reo (who is older than the other members of lynch. and has a lot more connections in the '98-'04 era VK world) mentioned that he thought that the roadie system allowed for a lot of learning experiences, however it also made a lot of bitter memories when it was basically a glorified way of hazing and abusing people. He implied that he didn't want to cause any of his kouhai to have the bitter memories many people seemed to have from the roadie system. (I should relisten to the commentary later since this is just from memory.) I also think the near-elimination of the system means fewer talented people being railroaded or turned off of the genre just because a senpai doesn't like them, or because they can't "handle" being treated like a whipping boy, or because they may not otherwise fit in. These girls could be right that it means that even shittier people aren't being weeded out though, or that the barrier for entry is too low for bandmen with no ambitions aside from mitsu money and fuckbuddies... Especially if you do consider that there is more an emphasis on selling yourself as available directly to fans than there used to be. (Imagine any of the bands from this era doing "hug sessions".) I think the internet would have mostly killed the band vertical hierarchy anyway even if visual kei hadn't started adopting more and more "idol-ish" tactics (i.e. selling personal rapport or the illusion thereof to fans) -- it's happening everywhere now, people are able to just create and distribute music from their homes without much budget or equipment and enter a niche without outside help or an "in". It's still not totally gone though... just look at Tsuzuki/Genki and Koichi's blacklisting from venues.

If I have permission from an admin, then I'll drop the highlights. Mostly I just don't want anyone to think I'm doing it to smear the bandmen in question or attempting to pass anything off as an absolute truth. The stories about Harcon in particular are generally considered to be a mix of truths, half-truths, exaggerations and total fabrications. The following is a selection of posts just from this archived Harcon thread: http://old.bbs.2ch2.net/admin/readkako.cgi?bbs=visualtanuki&key=1223287368 Byou is called by his real last name throughout the thread, I've replaced it in the translation. Also, some of the content below is disturbing. I also found some thread about bandmen and fighting but it's mostly about extremely early vk bandmen (RAPES, Charisma, Dynamite Tommy, X, LUNA SEA). I'll come back with those highlights when I have some time!

that 2nd pic is actually a pic of their audience turnout during their coachella gig

gay sauna culture ingrained in label executives and its impact x

kaya has been from the jump an artist who loves club/dance/pop music with occasional dalliances in other genres: her VERY FIRST SINGLE, kaleidoscope, fell into this vein. why the fuck are y'all so salty when kaya has said MULTIPLE TIMES that she intends to further explore darker sounds with schwarz stein? that side of kaya ain't going away. the level of ignorance in this thread is fucking ridiculous. FURTHERMORE, while a lot of RPDR queens make campy music, many do not, so i find fault with you equating them all together. ginger minj, jinx monsoon, shea coulee, aja, trixie mattel etc, make "serious music", not unlike kaya. drag music is the closest thing to vk in the west & TBH these queens r much more authentic than a bunch of misshapen scandivanian assholes screaming in broken japanese.

アンフィル(Anfiel) new album "COUNT DOWN" will be released in November

Hi! I've came across this information on the Satsuki drama thread: While reading this passage, I instantly remembered a Tanuki post that got translated by FuckYeahTanuki! for her blog. There was in it such information about senpai bands bullying their fellows, as well as the wildness of these parties Kyo allegedly hosted in the past (or still does?). 🙄 I'm leaving here the links of FuckYeahTanuki's posts in case you never heard about this facts (?) and got interested in further reading: http://fuckyeahtanuki.tumblr.com/post/107060991606/tanuki-thread-about-the-era-in-which-visual-kei and http://fuckyeahtanuki.tumblr.com/post/167884561901/about-the-era-in-which-visual-kei-was-like-a-gang Does anyone know something more related to it? Dude, this is perhaps the creepiest bandoman stuff I've ever read on the net. 😰

Lack-co are in the middle of hosting a series of Monday two-man shows called "ステゴロ" (what does Stegoro mean??) and having never seen Tenten in any of his bands and The Gallo being one of my favorite active VK bands I had to go to this one while I was visiting Tokyo. 東高円寺二万電圧 (Higashi Koenji ni man Den-atsu) is just outside the central Tokyo region defined by the Yamanote Line, but it was a quick trip on a couple trains and Den-atsu is very close to the station when you arrive. To access the venue you first have to descend an outdoor, concrete staircase toward an outdoor landing. The descent actually made me a bit nervous as there was no railing on one side and it was raining at the time. This was a very non-descript entrance from the roadway. After walking down the stairs and making a turn I was looking at a way too-cool-for-school 30-something dude manning the ticket table. Acknowledging that I don't look much like the typical VK fan in Japan, when I asked for one ticket this guy with shaggy hair at the table actually asked me "You know who's playing tonight?" He didn't sound mean about it, I think he genuinely wanted to save me from seeing this show normally reserved for younger women assuming I had just stumbled to the club looking for any live music I could find. I assured him I was there to see The Gallo and he handed me my paper ticket that doubled as a drink ticket. I liked the set up in side Den-atsu as the bar and merch tables were outside the stage area, which meant I could stand pretty much anywhere inside and not be in the way of people trying to sell things. I found a spot in the rear of the club in front of a tiny alcove that was littered with bags belonging to the VK girls in attendance. This was a fairly small club with low ceilings; their website says the capacity is 130 and I'd say this show had about 80-90 people in attendance. The head count reminded me just how niche a scene VK is. I'd consider The Gallo and Lack-co two of the more well-known indies bands, so it was a bit jarring to see the small venue they were playing at even in a giant city. I'm obviously too deep into VK to remember that almost no one cares about this stuff. Obviously The Gallo were going to be playing first... both because Lack-co were hosting the event and because I saw a lot of the girls standing near the stage holding their signature bowl and spoon. One girl near me had a plain bowl with no logo on it that I could see, did I miss something or did this girl just bring her own bowl from her kitchen to clap along with? I think the latter scenario is pretty funny/ingenious actually. I mentioned in a live report from a couple years ago that The Gallo fans kept doing furi during the band's music playing between sets over the club's PA, and during this show the fans clapped along to the bass drum sound check. Gallo fans seem like a fun bunch in general. The curtain was drawn to reveal the band in their latest Gallo-Vuitton all over print leisure suits. Jojo had his hair cascading through the top of a hat with the top cut off and some Day of the Dead skull inspired makeup for a very Tim Burton-y look overall. Andy had his palm against the ceiling atop the stage, and I don't think he was raising his hand to get the crowd hyped but rather to test whether or not he could pump his fist upward during the show (he couldn't without hitting his hand... a lot of the band members had to deal with this and would only throw up their hands while bending backward to afford themselves a little more space.) Some of the audience were even checking to see if they could touch the ceiling. The stage right guitarist (they have names for these positions in VK but I don't remember them) had one of those guitars with no headstock, and it looked from across the room like the end of the neck had dripping red wax poured on it a la a Maker's Mark bottle. The newer guitarist, Nov, passed out paper plates to the audience so that people who didn't bring their own (like me, no I didn't pack my Gallo plate in my luggage) could clap along and the set began with "Belphegor". "Belphegor" has some pretty obvious clapping along portions, so even a noob like me could get the hang of the plate banging fairly quickly. The highlights of the set for me were the fact that they played "Kuroi Ondori" (ok they played the remade version from Nero, but still) which is a favorite of mine, and also the 'circle pit' that Jojo started with himself dancing in the center of the maelstrom playing with a megaphone set to siren mode. The lowlights, if you can call them that, were that two different songs had the audience doing the wave (do we need that two separate times?) and that the MC music was "Tokyo Cinderella" but they didn't actually play "Tokyo Cinderella". Some of the non-bowl-based audience participation that was fun was the crowd stomping on the floor in time the beat and the crowd holding hands and swaying back and forth. Of course a couple songs had the requisite gyaku-daibu portions, and I'm certainly not jumping into the backs of some tiny Japanese girls, but they were fun to watch. Nov was kneeling on the backs of a couple girls during one diving song and slipped off them and stumbled backwards onto the stage. Wajou occasionally tried to demand the crowd participate in the diving like the other members were, but he is way too smiley and couldn't really pull it off. He just couldn't help being happy even trying to look mean. The Gallo ended their set with a really high energy rendition of "Incubus" (which I'm still disappointed has no theremin in the live version) during which Jojo was leaning over the crowd singing and got some feedback when he put his mic in front of the amp and proceeded to give it a disappointed look and bop the amp on its 'head' like it was a recalcitrant child. With The Gallo finished with their set thus began the churning of the crowd as Lack-co fans moved into the frontmost positions and many girls invaded my small space in the back looking to find their bags and check their phones and makeup. It kind of sucks for people in the back, as the polite spot changing for peoples' favorite bands leads to a weird concert-going scenario where the back of a venue is often more crowded than the front, but it is kind of cool that the scene (or just Japanese live music fans?) doesn't require people who want to be up front for the band playing last to endure being crushed through all the other shows as concerts in the west would. Interesting note about Den-atsu: in tearing down the stage between sets (which isn't quite the production at these Japanese clubs where you basically just have to bring your instrument and plug in) the bands/roadies had to move equipment down from the stage into the audience area and out through a side door that wasn't connected to the stage. So after the curtain was closed on The Gallo, a couple minutes later we saw band members bringing things down from the stage to this side door. (from Lack-co Twitter) While The Gallo fans can be identified by their white bowls and spoons, Lack-co fans had all produced blue and red clamshell castanets to clap along with. I have to say these did dramatically change the sound of the crowd applause in a way that might get old, but was kind of refreshing for the first time. Lack-co's intro SE was a piano rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" that gradually morphed into the requisite fist-pounding, techno track. The first member to take the stage was drummer Higiri, and wow I thought I hated his black face, but this blue Alfalfa x Cindy Lou Who hairstyle he was rocking for the show might actually bother me even more (not bother in the same way obviously, but it was not pleasant to look at.) I resolved to avoid watching him as much as possible. The band, except for Tenten who had a Lack-co band tee over a white shirt, were all wearing the red suits with writing strewn all over them from their most recent look. I recognized some of the words scrawled on their suits like 'shine' and 'kimoi' as 'mean things to say to someone'. Very edgy boys. Between not loving their output so far, and the majority of their tracks having titles in Japanese, I didn't recognize much of Lack-co's set list other than a riff here or there. The show did remind me of why I keep giving Tenten's bands chances and will continue to; he is one hell of a charismatic frontman. His sly smiles and confident stage mannerisms had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand and made it so it was hard to pay attention to any of the other members of the band. His best move was when he parted the Red Sea of fans to do a bit of 'everyone run into each other from opposite sides of the venue' but just as the opening in the center stabilized, he jumped down and ran to the cameraman at the back of the venue, struck a pose for a moment, then dove back onto the stage just as the cue for the crowd to go wild hit. Lack-co's set actually resembled a straight up rock show the most of any VK bands I've seen I think. There was very little *furi*, most of the synchronized moves were headbanging, clapping, fist-pumping type stuff that required no direction from Tenten or the band. Tenten even commanded an almost bona fide circle pit during which one girl lost her sweater and it ended up absolutely trampled. In fact, I was a little surprised by how much the show, for lack of a better word, rocked. Lack-co has always seemed like an assemblage of too cute ideas in search of a central theme or melody to hold on to on wax, but live their songs resonated nicely even with perhaps a 'jazz' breakdown a little too often. Milk threw a carton of milk into the crowd as the band were leaving the stage... ride that USP hard buddy. Ivy was fun strutting around the stage and headbanging as usual. I say as usual because I'm pretty sure I saw him at three different shows the week I was in Tokyo, at Lack-co and as a session bassist the other two. When the set ended the girls chanted and clapped in unison for an encore. (Though they appear to be saying "an-ko-re" instead of "an-ko-ru"? I guess the first group that did it had only seen the word encore and not heard it spoken??) They even started up a chant for a second encore that was cut off by the house lights and a voice over the PA system telling them, I'm guessing here, that the show was actually over and it was time to go home. This was a fun pairing for a two-man show as both bands and their groups of fans have pretension-free fun jumping around to some quality tunes. I'll be sure to check out Tenten's next band if I visit Japan again 😉.

On April 1st, 2016 the news of Tetsuya's departure from the influential hardcore, screamo, and post-rock band envy brought great despair to many fans. He was the heart of the band that evoked intense feelings through his raw and emotive vocals. Fans lost hope in envy's future once Tetsuya left. Still, envy continued on without him and after being quiet for two years they finally announced a live performance with a new line-up for April 1st, 2018. Strangely enough, the live performance took place exactly two years after Tetsuya's departure. And even more strange is that both occurrences took place on April 1st which, as we all know, is the day of jokes and pranks. Back in 2016 we all hoped that Tetsuya's departure was an April Fools joke, but after not hearing anything we all accepted that it was the truth. So naturally, when envy announced a new line-up this year for April 1st as well, none of us speculated that it was a joke either. However, when the day arrived everything became clear. The live show was titled 'Last Wish', after the name of envy's single released back in 2000, and took place at Daikanyama UNIT. I must thank @qotka for navigating to the live venue, which sits just south of Shibuya. Inside the live venue there is a floor level for lockers and merchandise, and once you go down another level you will find the live hall. The size of the hall was quite average with a capacity of 600 people. Given that most people were only here for envy not many people showed up at the beginning, but it gradually grew more packed after each band until we were shoulder to shoulder. heaven in her arms was the first band to play, which I could already tell based on the white butterfly logo placed on the back of the stage. I had forgotten what the band looked like, but when the vocalist walked on stage with a black cap on I could clearly see the envy worship. I'm not well-versed in their discography so I couldn't recognize most of the songs they played but I do know that they played a few songs from their recent album 白暈 (White Halo). I'm certain they played "終焉の眩しさ" because I remember the opening with solemn crystal bells and pianos that later led to a burst of guitar riffs and drums. The live hall felt so still in that moment with the dark blue lighting, and feeling that transition from a stillness to a violent beat was a cool way to start the performance. The vocalist put a lot of emotion into his screams, but the spoken word sections were a little quiet and hard to hear from the blasting instruments. It was not as clear as it was on CD. Also, maybe it's because everything usually sounds louder during lives but I had trouble picking out the metal sound of heaven in her arms and I had the impression that they sounded a lot like envy, as I did when I first listened to them. In any case, they were amazing live and I would like to see them again. The next band that played was HELLBENT, which I thought was some band from the US when I quickly googled the name. Turns out that they're actually a really underground Japanese psychobilly band. I can't give a good review of them because I lost my spot during the intermission while taking a short bathroom break and did not have a good view of the stage when I came back. Their performance was quite intense though and the vocalist would pick up the mic stand every so often and swing it around on stage, at least from what I could see. They had a video playing in the background with mostly visuals of old vhs-looking forests, for some odd reason. For such a chaotic performance, I thought the visuals were not very fitting and it was just kind of strange. I got my spot back closer to the stage once downy came on. It's unfortunate that I did not get to see them with Yutaka Aoki, who sadly recently passed away. It seems like they got a support guitarist for the remaining live shows that were scheduled this year, though I'm not sure who it is. I'm still fairly new to downy so I can't speak much for how much of an effect this has on their performance, but they were quite stellar nevertheless. Their performance felt much longer than the previous two bands as they played about 8 songs. Most of the songs they played were fast and maybe only one song was really slow. Robin Aoki sings just as good as he does on CD and the bass is super thick live! I didn't realize how killer the basslines were until I heard "曦ヲ見ヨ!" live. Such incredible skill and technique. During their whole performance they had abstract visuals playing in the background. A fiery red was used for intense and fast songs while tranquil blues or black and white were used for slower songs/sections. If you've seen any of their music videos, the live encapsulates the very same kind of mood, except that you're now physically standing in that dimension and taking in their dingy world. Outstanding performance. At last, the curtain rose for envy. While standing in the darkness, I thought about their new line-up and kept on wondering what they would sound like without Tetsuya. Then, when the lights lit up and envy started playing, Tetsuya was standing right there on stage giving out his screams. The crowd instantly went wild and pushed everyone to the front. People were cheering all around and punching their fists to the air, you could feel the ecstasy and excitement everywhere. Out of all the non-VK lives I've seen this was the most energy I've seen from a crowd, but this is mostly speaking for the J-indie scene only as I'm sure some bigger Jrock bands have wild crowds as well, or maybe not I don't know. The pushing stopped after 2 minutes or so, but there were still a number of people cheering with their fists. When they performed "Footsteps in the Distance" Tetsuya cleverly declared his return during the spoken word section with the last few words being 'ただ一つ救えがあるなら僕はここに戻るよ' (If there is one way to be saved, I'll return here). At first I thought it was a message Tetsuya specifically had for the fans, but listening to the song again it's actually part of the song, therefore the cleverness in his return. Hearing him say that and knowing that he was really back was the highlight of the experience, and now as I listen to "Footsteps in the Distance" I will recall this memory every time. envy just isn't envy without Tetsuya after all. I couldn't get a view of all the members (including the new members) since the people who got pushed to the front blocked some of my view, but I did not feel that envy's sound changed much. Perhaps they'll bring in new ideas for the band in the future. I'd seen envy two times before, but I was absolutely stunned by the energy and emotion of this performance, even after I left the live venue.

@Manji 卍 They've been active for over half a decade already, and they have a bunch of singles and mini-albums under their belt by now.

I translated a bit from a talk between Die, Gara and Boo here: https://www.monochrome-heaven.com/topic/115-merry-fka-メリー/?do=findComment&comment=606026 Gara mentions about the hardcore drinking sessions DEG does and he had to go along with it, whilst Die mutters that it's Kaoru who forces shots on people. What I didn't translate was a large section in the video where Die and Gara talked about some of the senpai/ kouhai bullshit they have had to put up with. It's been a while since I watched that vid for a while now so don't quote me on this. But I seem to recall Die saying that him and Kaoru were expecting to clean Yoshiki's toilet upon arriving at his LA home and was told (by someone from Luna Sea or X Japan, can't remember) that it's alright and they should drink some Dom Perignon and chill. Die told it as a positive senpai story If bandomen can be so awful to each other, I wouldn't be surprised at the horrors gyas have to put up with. When especially considering the conventional way for Japanese people to get to know each other, or just to have fun, means copious amount of alcohol. Mixing that with gyas and kouhais who want to impress, I wouldn't be surprised if 100% of those tanuki posts actually happened.

drama at the seniors home...

CHAIRSHOT TO THE HEAD!!!!

To my knowledge, she isn't very popular. The tweet on the official DragCon twitter only got about 10 favs, and Kaya's tweet only got about 118. I can't imagine her booth got much attraction, and I honestly wish that I had went just to see. RPDR stans and stan twitter in general get things around fast, though. It wouldn't surprise me if this song blew up considering it has the very popular and trendy poppy sound, and features drag (both things stan twitter is head over heels for). People seemed to be enjoying her performances in LA too (assuming this based on what she posted).

The song is awesome and Hyde looks like Kyo

yess i love the live version on yt as well! there are a few extra lines added making the song longer. maybe i'll try to translate those parts when i get the chance.

This song has been on constant repeat for a couple of weeks. The live performance on yt is even better imo. I could piece together parts of the lyrics but your translation is super helpful and nicely written. Thank you!

tag your friends x

I thought this was a love ballad. Knowing it's a revenge ballad makes it even more awesome. Thank you!

big ol reminder that i'm not writing this as an insider or anything but as a nerd who reads a lot of tanuki rumors Kyo's drinking party was ハーコン/Harcon and the members are sometimes called ハーディー/Hardy, for anyone who wants to look it up themselves. I can't say I remember everyone who's been mentioned as a member but: Kyo Daisuke & other Kagerou members Gara & other Merry members Tatsurou & other MUCC members Satsuki Kisui Wataru (ex. 12012) Some combination of baroque/kannivalism members Byou (as Kagerou's roadie) Daisuke and Kyo are probably the ones you'll read the most about. A lot of the stories seem to indicate the old vertical hierarchy/roadie culture (e.g. Kyo bosses around Daisuke, who bosses around Byou) which seems to have died somewhat with the idolification of visual kei in the last 10 or so years. There are threads specifically about Harcon but I don't really know how I feel about translating them because they have some fairly serious allegations... The story about Ruka getting his ass beat by Yayoi/Yuuga is pretty famous too, but the details aren't really clear. Just everyone seems to know Yayoi and Yuuga wanted Ruka's ass beat and then it happened. One version I read is that Kazane from the Anarchist Records band Misery took the blame for it for a while, but that was because Yuuga pinned it on him after Yayoi ordered Yuuga to beat him up. Folding chairs were allegedly involved in the beating in the most often retold version of the story. Kisaki may or may not have intervened. The only reason I ever heard for this was that Yuuga and Yayoi got tired of him having a stank attitude and not greeting them properly.

2018.07.14(土) Cox Business Center Tokyo in Tulsa 2018 [setlist] 00 SE 01 禁断の果実 02 MASK 03 月夜と黒猫 04 最愛 05 imitation 06 アラクネの女王 encore 07 Burnet 08 Civet 09 依存性サディスティック 10 Liar

i really enjoyed this album as a new listener to this band. tho tbh i don't get the hate for joker those riffs go offfffffffffff

The “why” joke is just way too easy.

This sounds so good ;w;

IF ONLY! (about the demo)😆 No, my collection is much smaller because even though I collect Lareine material since like around 2005, I'm on a budget and I did not have direct access to the japanese second hand market till now, so I needed to be VERY patient to wait for the right occasions (=sales with NOT too overinflated prices). The list is full of errors because I don't speak japanese, so I must rely on cross-checked informations from different western sources sadly (When I find different dates for the same item I put two differen versions when I'm not sure it's an error or they are speaking about two different prints), but I'm always open to corrections. I don't lie to myself thinking I'll be able to complete it (not with my budget), but I like to see what I have and what I still need looking for, and I like that sensation when I mark down some more difficult to find item. Congratulations over your collection! I know it was very hard work for you.

Welcome to the magical realm of visual kei~

創生録 I - Birth and Confession - Continues to grow on me.

i guess thats it... - i keep revisiting them just because i have hope they'll convince me to like their music again but STILL after so many releases their first live limited maxi single will ALWAYS remain their best release to me and also the only one i really care for.

The word going around is that the new X album is being aged in the very same barrels

FLOWER OF ROMANCE sounds brilliant. kei's guitar work is just beyond.

better do some kegels x

XXX is so talented that he can play guitar, bass, and drums simultaneously.

Let's hope that the band will not sound as run-of-the-mill as SCREW.

Hopefully the Hyde collab will just be exclusive for the anime and the album version will have Toshi. If not, I'm afraid the next X Japan album's going to look like a typical rap album where every track has someone as a guest and you barely hear just the artist themselves: 1. Last Song feat. Will.i.am 2. Kurenai (English Version) feat. spoken word by David Lynch 3. Kiss the Sky feat. Way too many audience members who wasted too many minutes of their lives while the band took a break on stage 4. I.V. feat hide and Taiji during the solo and also the sound of a can of Yoshikirin being opened right on top of them in the mix, because oi$hii ! 5. Rock Star feat. Marilyn Manson who tries to cover hide's Drain gremlin voice 6. Beneath The Skin feat. S.K.I.N. 7. Red Swan feat. Hyde 8. Angel feat. a duet with a Violet UK starlet that was sold a dream of fame and glory but who now realizes she spent too many years on the project 9. La Venus feat. Toshi but not Pata, Heath, and Sugizo 10. Art of Life (Last Refrain) feat. Oprah reading some inspirational passage written by Yoshiki about overcoming hardships in life and somehow struggling on Limited Edition 1st Press Bonus Disc: Yoshiki featuring Lady's X 1. Without You 2. Born to be Free 3. Scarlet Love Song 4. Jade 5. Hero

a lot of shit to scan

kupo?

I 've always thought Gackt sacrificed Kami to the lords below for a successful solo career, who knows

I think it's going to come out it's just that it will have about 4 new tracks and one of them is an intro.

imo (contrary to what he said in his book) gackt left because his ego was too big for malice mizer, but then again basically everything surrounding malice mizer is mostly gossip--no one will ever know why gackt left, why kami died, where klaha is, when they'll come back--if ever--unless the members themselves address it. i find their whole fiasco fascinating, its probably worth it to make a separate rumours thread to spill the tea on this expired but nonetheless interesting drama.

I am taking the freedom to revive this thread, though with a more specific question (or more of a personal thought I want to share). I have been thinking the last days a lot about the connection and possible influence of japanese popculture, especially manga and anime, and Visual kei. Now we surely have all come in contact with a lot of foreign "journalists" who branded Visual kei as some kind of real life version of Manga characters. I am sure we all can disagree with them at first though it's understandable that they come to that conclusion as many VK hairstyles seem to be borrowed right from a shonen manga. But maybe that assumption isn't even that far off. So comes my question: did Mangas and Animes have had an influence on Visual kei? And how big is it? Are VK bands the real life versions of a shojo manga reading girl's wet dreams? It's certain that Visual kei music and bands had influence over Manga artists so it seems more logical that the type of leather wearing bishonen with long or crazy styled hair are the result of manga artists stanning for their favourite musicians and vocalists. See Kaori Yuki who is probably most well known for having integrated typical VK fashion into her Mangas (especially Angel Sanctuary, which is filled with VK guys). I remember people pointing out that some of her characters are even based on real VK bandmember, such as Hyde (L'arc~en~Ciel) What I found very interesting (and a nice look into early 90s VK history) was the connection between VK and Shojo mangas. In 1989 Manga-ka Kusumoto Maki started to work on the shojo manga Kissxxx. The story is about the love between the singer Kanon and the sister of his bands' bassist. Kanon is the vocal of a punk band called "Die Küsse" (which may ring a bell). Maki was apparently inspired by local punk, post-punk and wave bands and bases the look of Kanon on those. At the same time Visual kei was taking influences from these genres as well. I am not sure if Visual rock already existed as a word at that time, but Kanon can still be seen as your prototypical VK guy. According to comments surrounding the manga Kissxxx had a huge influence on VK (and not the other way round it seems). It may be oldest record of the phrase "Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier" to appear in connection with VK. I don't think it has started to be become a ctachphrase in VK until 1990 at least. (but someone can proof me wrong anytime) In the early 90s Penicllin have made a song and video about the manga, featuring Hakuei as Kanon (and replaying some of the key scenes of the manga. Also all outfits are based on the original character's clothes) Then there was a 90s VK band called DIE KUSSE. Mejibray named a song after the fictional band too, but according to Tsuzuku the song isn't directly connected to the manga (but the line "eins, zwei, drei, vier" is referenced and according to the same interview about the single Meto aimed for the punk look because Kanon was in a punk band). I am sure there are many more groups referencing the story or taking inspiration from it. Kusumoto Maki also did a illustration for the cover of Vk band's Gilles de Rais album 殺意. And I think Deshabillz borrowed a picture from an eye (in one of the chapter pages) from the manga for a cover of their tape. So yeah… maybe that does add a bit to the whole 90s Vk history and where it got it's influences. It would be cool if someone was able to translate really old magazine articles as this would help "recovering" some of it's history. I find it strange how no one has ever mentioned the influence of manga in such a discussion though.