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I think it's more linked to the mondial decrease of the physical media market and closing of many physical shop (amazon giving the deathblow) than a mere VK endemic thing (Japan lasted very long, in Italy the "music shop apocalypse" started more than a decade ago and it already got to the point that big chains too closed part of their stores), VK scene being small and losing in popularity makes it so VK specialized stores are among the first ones bearing the brunt of it, but it's not the sole cause. Although it also mean VK (and VK music stores) need to learn to evolve fast if it wants to survive, since it's very connected with the physical media market to make their ¥¥¥ (some changes since early 00's are already noticeable tho, so finger crossed the scene survives even if small)

I'm not a fan of kiryu, of cause there are some crazy fan gya are piss because of he's married, but alot of other dislike the video because: 1. According to what I saw on tanuki, his wife is one of the famous gya that's toxic and bitchy towards other fans, and the one who start all this drama? 2.The way he announces he's married, the poop hat is not "I'm shit because I'm married", a lot fans think more like a passive aggressive way to make fun of the fans. Also the way he speak some fans feel like "I'm not part of this drama, why you make fun and scold us, you could just simply announce you are married".

I've been wanting to discuss this topic for a long time. Fundamentally since, in the last ten years or so, the ratio of what in this forum has been called "formulaic VK stuff" has increased considerably, which, on the other hand it is closely linked to a phenomenon that has also recently appeared, and that in this forum has been called "idol kei". Of course, as many here quote repeatedly, the abandonment of adolescence does not cease to be a powerful motive in this situation, since it makes the condition of possibility (necessary, though not sufficient) so that one can remove the veils of idealization deposited on certain music or artist (and realize how badly done or executed some productions were; for me an example of it was Ryohei-era ayabie). Finally, in the verge of the end of the decade, another reason is my concern about the fate of the VK in the 2020's, considering that since the second half of the '10 has not thrown some real "quality" or "novelty", something that can be established at the level of "classic", as it actually happened with some releases put out in the period of 2008-2013. It is not easy to discuss all these issues, I imagine, for several issues: perhaps it can hurt the emotions of some users of this forum who, in fact, are very comfortable enjoying the said idealization of certain artists. On the other hand, talking about this with some minimum measure of ownership requires a listening by a broad repertoire of VK, which has at least something from each of its eras (at least the "classics"). And also, it requires some knowledge (at least intuition) about aspects related to composition, instrumental performance, recording, live performance, the dynamics of the consumer market, etc. As, to my pleasant surprise, I have found in this forum people who speak (or at least try) from this knowledge, is that I come to open this thread here in MH. Anyway, I hope that no one is deprived of writing here, contributing from what he/she has and his/her interests. I think that it is best to start on by discussing some basic concepts, instead of directly delving into anything else: 1) What are the indicators that make a song "ghostwritten" for you? And that it is not? 2) What are the indicators that make a band "idol kei"? And that it is not? 3) Where would you put its birth date? 4) Do they qualify as "good music" or not? Do you enjoy them? Do not? 5) Does it seem to you that this certain music goes "against" (to put it somehow) of certain "well-being" of the scene, or of the music itself? 6) Why are you still listening to VK in the 2010s? Are your reasons the same as before? What does it give you that other music does not give you? I read you!

workaholic icons!!!! future scene legends!!! time to abuse that synth really hardT again!!!!!

their stans are literally mentally ill if their yaoi shonen ((((uwu)))) marrying one of their own kind triggers this shitstorm; I'm glad working his ass off @ BPR pays for hawaii vacations tho ❤️ talk about securing the bag tbh

This. No matter how we look at it from a rational, western point of view, it's easy to understand why a teenager who is constantly fed a fantasy and actually has a relationship of sorts with the artist (sometimes even sex and phone conversations in exchange of money) would get upset. Also, there's lots of artists who get openly jealous if their gyas have actual realtionships outside of the scene, I've heard from a few people that their honmei has asked them not to date or a fellow bandmember has told them not to tell that member about their relationship. So we can't only blame fans for that sort of culture.

Their new mini album "PARADIGM OUT" will be released at 2019/6/26.

These fans are totally missing the point though. Of course he's not just going to announce he's married if he had been forced to do it because the rumors on Tanuki went out of hand? And it's obvious that if you're not part of the drama you shouldn't feel called out, clearly he was only addressing those who played a part in it. I swear I cannot with Japanese fans sometimes, they're so over-sensitive. Also, I have no doubt the chick was some kind of toxic gya, but even if she wasn't, people would've attacked her anyways on the sole basis of having a relantionship with their beloved. I'm a sucker for Tanuki drama, and I'm not even a Kiryu fan, but I genuinly feel bad for Takemasa. No matter what he does, he's gonna get shit for it from fans regardless.

What's up with the poop hat? It makes the video feel so surreal given the context. "So this is what a serious adult making a sincere apology looks like? I've learned something today."

After having released their first album recently, ヴィルシーナ (Verxina) has announced a new single coming in August.

I made this account awhile ago but I never used it because I'm kinda shy. Would like to meet new people who are into jrock and make new friends You can call me Nico Nice to meet you^^

I'd take fart sounds over this

Nothing that I put in bold is recent. Visual kei has been boy band metal for as long as visual kei has existed, just the appeal and the market has changed in and around it. Remember that visual kei takes lots of cues and inspiration from glam metal, which was boy band metal from the 80s. Formulaic visual kei has also been around almost as long as the scene has; it is just the formula has changed as well to adapt to changing markets. Take any decade of music and you can see this in action. I made it through the roughest part of the scene so far (end of 00s to early 10s) where the momentum within the scene seemingly contracted and the fifteen minutes of fame had passed, and that was the most prime moment for the ceiling to fall and the scene to die. It didn't. Thus, I'm not too worried about the "fate of visual kei". Visual kei is resilient and it will adapt into whatever form that it needs to to survive. Us being here 12 years is proof of that. I would be more concerned if your ~flavor~ of visual kei survives the next decade. It won't, but perhaps what rises out of the ashes will still appeal to you? I'm an old head who prefers songs from the 90s and early 00s, but I can find music in every time period that I like! If you still like visual kei in ten years, you'll have new favorites. I guarantee it. But of course, this isn't about the future of visual kei; it's about ghost writing. I'm sure the scene has a few ghost writers, more than one could optimistically hope for and less than one would pessimistically believe. I also have the unpopular opinion that the scene would be taken more seriously as a whole if more bands hired ghost writers. Not to plug my own work here, but my Copy/Paste series is all about finding musical similarities that pop up again and again and it's way too easy to take a currently active band and find a riff they took from a popular band 5 to 6 years ago. A lot of new bands today look to bands of the past for inspiration and it bleeds through to their music, but it's not doing enough to push the scene forward. The homogenization of the scene is doing a lot more to affect the sound of visual kei than everyone tapping the same ghost writer for new material. This kind of homogenization can also be seen in disparate industries like AAA video games and block buster movies, where studios would rather stick with something safe and deliver guaranteed profits rather than try something new, potentially fail, and lose money. I think we are seeing the same thing here, don't you agree? What you bring up at the end of this paragraph is one hell of a revelation, so I'll have to quote it again: I certainly cannot think of a classic from the last decade off the top of my head as easily as I can one from the decade before that, but a lot of that has to do with time. Time, no matter how small, is required for an album to transcend to classic status. Classics are defined by the effect that they have on music that hasn't been made yet, so unless you have magical future seeing powers it's hard to know what will stand the test of time for sure. Classics also have a personal angle to it; something can be a classic to you and not to the scene at large. It can also go in reverse. Albums can be considered classics by consensus, even though very few people may listen to said album on a regular basis (example: Art of Life by X JAPAN is a ~classic~, but when is the last time anyone sat down to listen to all 30 minutes of it?). A lot of albums were also given "classic" status years ago that definitely didn't stand the test of time. illational by THE EIGHT is my favorite example of this, and if your first response is "who is that?" then my point has been proven. I wouldn't worry too much about not having classics from this time period now, because bands are still proving themselves. Come back in five years and I am sure that generating a list will be way easier. You could have asked me this question in 2012 and I would have been completely unable to answer your question. Now, I'm only partially unable To run through these questions rather quickly: I never thought about this, but there could be a few good ones. Bands that pump out release after release and the styles of the release are all over the place. If the band sounds like 3 or 4 people with different musical affinities are writing the music, that's because it probably is. Liner credits can also be a dead giveaway, especially if the band doesn't have any, but bands are also known to lie on those so they aren't always reliable. It's not a perfect definition, but bands that obviously care more about looks than music are definitely idol kei. Visuals are important, but visuals are just a medium to sell music and concepts. If your Photoshop is on point but your music sounds like it was recorded in the gutter, you are "idol kei" in my eyes. If you have a ton of money for intricate outfits, but complain about fans not spending enough money, you're probably "idol kei". If a band has one core member and other members that can be exchanged interchangeably, that would be considered "idol kei" to me. Same day as visual kei was born. I think the argument over whether ghost writers produce "good music" is all subjective. That's why it is in quotes. Logically speaking, someone hired to write and produce mass amounts of music is supposed to be good at their job by definition. Do I approve of ghost writers? Only when they do a good job and I don't think about it. Music is inherently collaborative; I'd rather have band members work with veterans and bounce ideas off of others to come to the best solution rather than DIY the whole process and come out with a diamond in the rough, or potentially something even more disastrous. There are other things about the scene that hurt its well being more directly than having ghost writers. I'm sure most genres have artists that use ghost writers. I'm still listening to visual kei because it provides me with sounds no other scene does. The sounds I like and the bands that follow change, but I'm still attracted to the overall sound. I actually don't care much about visuals at all tbh.

1) What are the indicators that make a song "ghostwritten" for you? And that it is not? I don't think there's any obvious smoking gun that screams "ghostwritten songs!", but there are some bands, like others have already mentioned, that definitely feel like they've had their material 'ghostwritten'. One big factor would be the continuous output of releases in a relatively short amount of time. 2) What are the indicators that make a band "idol kei"? And that it is not? I guess it depends on how you define the term, idol. But, I would say, more or less, the scene has pretty much been inundated with 'idolness' for quite sometime. When you look at the way things are sold (i.e. receiving trading cards or photosets of certain members with CD purchases, buying chekis of a particular member, etc.), it pretty much screams the 'idol' factor. Although, there are certain bands, though, that tend to focus more on selling live goods, chekis, and even food products. VK has been known for providing weirdly, awesome, even grotesque goodies, but I see some bands who lean more on the side of 'goods/products' rather than 'CDs/music'. (Also, I know CDs are considered goods/products. However, in this case, I'm defining goods/products like chekis, photosets, photocards, towels, shirts, etc.) 3) Where would you put its birth date? I'm not sure of an exact date, but as @Komorebi already answered, I think it began when these instore or personal meet-and-greet events launched off. When you go to those events, it mirrors exactly what Japanese idol pop groups do (minus the rock music). You can "meet" your favorite artist and chat with them in exchange for buying their stuff. It's what Japanese idols outside of VK have been doing for much longer. 4) Do they qualify as "good music" or not? Do you enjoy them? Do not? Music, like any other art, is subjective, so I suppose it depends on what the listener enjoys and defines as "good music". Even though I may not listen to certain bands, there is definitely a crowd out there who will continue to support their favorite artists. 5) Does it seem to you that this certain music goes "against" (to put it somehow) of certain "well-being" of the scene, or of the music itself? I think @Komorebi provided a great answer for this question. For fans like most of us on MH, whose butts are firmly parked outside of Japan, we can only listen and focus on the music. It's not a bad thing, and I think music should be examined for the sake of music to expand one's knowledge/tastes/etc. However, when you live in Japan, being in the VK scene is a completely different ballgame. There is an entire social scene that is built into the VK scene. I guess because the scene is 'small' that there are many who become friends since they recognize each other from attending the same lives, instore events, etc. for the same band(s), and it's a way for these dedicated group of friends to spend time together. Also, as mentioned already by @Komorebi, there is also a whole fashion scene related to VK. Even though it's shrunk with many brands shutting down, there are still stores like Sex Pot Revenge that market to people who admire and dress up in the VK fashion style, possibly even wanting to emulate or cosplay as their favorite artist/band member. There are also many girls who dress up in Lolita clothes and really go all out to look nice for lives. In a way, I guess VK, to some, is not so much a music genre, but rather a subculture. So, I think as long as there's androgynous musicians willing to play music and cater to the fanbase, then the VK scene will survive. 6) Why are you still listening to VK in the 2010s? Are your reasons the same as before? What does it give you that other music does not give you? Like @yomii I stopped listening to VK for a few years, but I've recently gotten back into it, and I still thoroughly enjoy it even with all its warts and splotches. I think it's because VK has helped me shape a part of who I am, including my passions (i.e. collecting CDs from mediocre-sounding artists, studying about culture, people, history, and meeting/chatting with people who share the same interests). I also enjoy the fashion of VK and its close ties to it because, in a way, I feel like it's not only the music, but it's also the clothes and makeup that help make the whole scene artistic. So, I find there's plenty to enjoy with both new bands to listen to and older/disbanded bands to still discover. (Wow, I wrote way too much... ^^;)

1) Not like there's proof in VK, but the speed at which some bands pump out releases and the repetition/overuse of riffs and other elements can be a sign of ghostwriting. Also, when you see kids in the scene who aren't that good playing on stage yet are credited for what they play makes me wonder if they really did write it. 2) I think the whole scene is idol kei now. The way bands are put together, managed and marketed is very idol-ish. I'd say VK bands that are less "idol" would be those who put out releases less often, don't focus their sales on cheki and spend more time touring than doing fan-meet events. 3) When was the first instore? Not sure when VK evolved into what it is today, but I'm sure it was a while ago. 4) What is good music? I think there is good music and bad music in VK, just like in any other genre. And personal enjoyment does not atone for quality. I may not enjoy Morrie, Sukekiyo or Kiyoharu's works, but it is undeniably good music. Whereas I may like a lot of indie artists I consider to be musically mediocre. All in all, if I didn't enjoy VK I wouldn't be here. 5) VK does not rely that heavily on the music genre to survive. As long as there's scantly dressed pretty men wooing teen fans into spending their yen, the "well-being" of the scene is preserved. As overseas fans, we focus mainly on the music, because it is really all we can focus on, out of all VK has to offer as a scene. In Japan it is slightly different. You could enjoy the social experience, the fan events, the fashionable aspect, idk. 6) Because I have shitty music taste? LOL. I can't remember how I even got so hooked on this scene. It gives me versatility in a way many western rock artists don't. Bands don't always stick to a genre and blend a lot of styles to find their own. I don't know much about music theory but I know Japan uses a distinct... scale? for writing their music and I find it pleasant to my ears. I also tend to focus a lot on bass and vocals. For the first, I've found more interesting bass-lines in Japan than overseas, where it tends to be a filler instrument. And for the latter... Have you seen those "sounds just like Ruki" comments on various YouTube videos? Well, they do, because Japanese men tend to have a similar vocal range that just happens to tickle my fancy. There's also the thing that with Japanese I can easily ignore corny lyrics because I simply do not fully understand them. I don't look them up either, I can live without knowing if I'm being insulted. I come from the pop/rock scene, never really went through a western punk/metal phase in my teens year. I grew on 80's rock and 90's pop and I got used to catchy sounds accompanied by guitars, and it's what I look for in VK; poppy choruses with clean vocals and harsh instrumentals + lyrics I don't have to feel embarrassed about. Something that western metal and pop often fail to give me. The visuals aren't really that important to me, since I never watch PVs, but the androgynous beauty pleases me a lot when I do want to watch it tbh. As a big plus, I greatly enjoy the whole VK culture in Japan. I gotta say I love going to a small gig without being pushed around by huge dudes or drowning in the stench of weed and going to instore events and such.

prolific queens

Boy these fans is sick in the goddamn head

Again I not a fan of kiryu fan, so I'm not familiar with their fan circle so please correct me if I'm wrong and please taken these tanuki information with a grain of salt. Yes, she were one of the most famous and craziest hardcore gya. She attended to every kiryu show and always at the first row. According to tanuki, It all started with his wife show-off alot of kiryu behind the scene stuff and rarez on her instagram and toxic towards other fans. Yes, I know what you mean, japanese are really sensitive about hidden meaning under the sentence. Even as simple as "Thanks for your meal" can also means "Your meals are terrible"/ "You bored me to death" if you don't express it in proper way. Those fans sucks but as a profession musician for almost two decades, takemase also should dealt with this situation more seriously instead of wearing shit on your head.🤣

wow them psychos in Japan need to chill. Some are talking about wanting to snatch off his mask during a meet up. Bangya be trippin. One of my fave pics from Tanuki (Men-men's real pic edit then Chin man's face edited by some tanuker) https://imgur.com/ooDE3ON also: https://imgur.com/EDx3n45

Visual is dying BPR are going to hell everything is closing and ONLY KIZU WILL SURVIVE THE VISUPOCALYPSEEEEE

I'm very happy for Takemasa, but very sad that he has to behave like this, apologizing as if he had committed a crime when he was just talking about his marriage. That feeling of possession that some fans have is pretty scary. I hope he and his wife are happy.

Surprised BPR left the comments on...they love the drama (gets them views...not sure if anyone else noticed BPR's views slowly sliding off in the past little while could use a boost from some tanooks).

Did he wear a face mask to the ceremony?

I can still tend the rabbits, George? I di'nt mean no harm, George...

legit misread the title as 'shit boy' when i saw it in the sidebar

Their new LIVE DVD "「Virgin Snow Color-Final Season-」2019.01.12 Zepp Tokyo" will be released in summer 2019. Details will be revealed on 2019.06.08. http://ayabie.info/release/292/ Their new album 「辞するモラトリアム」 (Jisuru moratorium) will be released in summer 2019 and details will be announced at the same date. http://ayabie.info/release/296/

1. Well, I agree with @yomii's point of not accusing a song of ghostwriting until I know for sure that it is. Better to let a guilty person go than to condemn an innocent person (in my eyes, at least). 2. I guess "idol kei" is a somewhat broad and debatable term, but when I first saw this term used, I assumed it meant simply generic and mass-produced instead of created from individual passion, so I'll go with that. To me, the indicators of an idol kei band would be nowt more than bland looks and music, possibly accompanied by some quickly overused gimmick (*cough cough* face reveals *cough cough cough*) and a relatively short, forgettable career. 3. Difficult for me to say, as I wasn't active in the community again until about last year. I took a bit of a break and I didn't really find out anything that was going on at the time. As much as I'd like to try, it'd be pretty much impossible for me to pin a date on this. 4. By definition, no. If it's bland, I won't care for it. Everyone's definitions of "bland" are different from each other, so if I personally find something that fits my description of the word, then I won't like it. There are, of course, bands forming today that I do like. For example, SHiSHi are pretty much one of my favourites already. Also, whatever happened to Blue Blood Boa? That one song I heard from them was fantastic. Please tell me I didn't simply miss anything from them. But I digress... 5. For me, personally? Somewhat. Just because something doesn't adhere to my tastes, that doesn't mean for sure that it's hurting the music scene, however I do have a very low opinion of ghostwriting, so if that is indeed the case and I see cold, hard proof of that fact, then it's a cold, hard yes. 6. Because I'm a young'un who didn't discover it until the 2010s! To answer the last point of "what does it give me", that's actually quite difficult to say. Obviously, the visual aspect caught twelve-year-old me's attention because the arse-end of England doesn't exactly have an abundance of middle-aged men with animoo hairstyles who look prettier than women in their twenties, but it's the musical aspect that's more important to me, and as long as there are existing/disbanded bands who formed some time ago that I love (e.g. Moran, Sugar, DIAURA, etc) and the odd band forming every now and again that can really hold my attention (SHiSHi probably being the best example of this), I'm going to stay. I guess you could say I came for the hot guys and I stayed for the great music, so if the music does indeed turn completely stale (which, tbh, probably won't happen because I don't think there's ever a 100% terrible music genre), I'll go somewhere else... although I can't think where. I genuinely cannot imagine what kind of music I could get properly into like I have J-rock, and I am not going back to my emo phase. People see my hair and they think I'm still in it sometimes, but they shoulda seen me back then 😮 hoo, boy. Anyways, I've spent longer typing this than I probably should have and now my dinner's likely getting cold.

Ghostwriting isn't "stealing from the bands you idolize," so I'm not on board with the Vexent example for how it was framed. For example, it has also been rumored that Grieva had ghost writers, even though 80% of their early works were Diru covers. However, the suspicion didn't rise from what was being written, so much as how much was. They churned out basically an album-a-year's worth of material, and 2 out of 3 full lengths featured no singles or rerecordings. The same more or less went for Gossip, except theirs did feature old songs; however, they also released 3 albums, 4 singles, and a mini-album in 2 years (plus went on a 107-stop tour(!) ). Riddle me how the fuck someone has time to compose 30~45 songs while also being in a different city every night. The rumor mill surrounding ghost writers has been a lingering specter ever since that "ex-vkei record executive SLAMS Dynamite Tommy in the gooch" interview surfaced in 2008~2010 (it's a fun read). At one point he or she states that record labels like Matina would ghost-write all of their lesser bands' material in an effort to keep their branding consistent and because the bandmen themselves are actually dimwits who can't make music and just want to be a rockstar for 3 years, then ""retire"" to become a hedge fund manager. Aside from #thatArticle, I have not personally seen actual proof of this practice, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of cases ended up being true. Tell-tale signs from me include too much material too fast, or if their sound dramatically changes (read: improves) once they get signed. For the rest of the questions: 2- I'm not entirely sure what this means. In the past, I've referred to groups like Shounenki and the like as "host-kei" because of the emphasis on tame, yet androgynous pretty boy aesthetic, but I'm not sure if this counts as "idol-kei." 3- December 25th, 0 4- Music is a lot better if you don't get too caught up in the marketability of it. If it's good, it's good. If it's not, it's not. 5- Considering nothing sells (re: 3 major vkei-focused music brands closing and Oricon summing up yearly sales for 2018 with most top-20 releases not even breaking 3,000 sales (and one (1) item breaking 10k sales), I'm hoping that it's popular enough to keep the scene afloat. 6-If I like something, I tend to always like it. The scene still has stuff in it that I enjoy, and a lot of stuff that seemed lost to time spring up now and again, so there are even new things from ~the good ole days~ if you know where to look.

I'm curious about what bands have you seen falling after proving they are "good", because this is something I've thinking enough recently. While meritocracy isn't itself more than a fantasy -thus the next I'm going to say could sound a bit pretentious, I know- I 'feel' that in the VK scene, if you prove that you actually have good skills and/or propose something of really 'artistic' value, it won't cost you that much to reach success within your project (when I say "success" I don't aim necessarily at being famous whitin the mainstream market in any way, of course). This isn't something to be just applied to explain every single case of an artist in the scene, but I think we can agree in some generalities. As far as I'm concerned, the 'classics', or even the considered 'famous' bands (which in both cases we can assume are succesful projects for their members, i.e. they can pay bills with it going on), were bands that offered something more-less 'new' and more-less did it pretty well, at least in their beginning- you could say they were 'inspiring' bands. So, in those cases, I find it really difficult for them to 'fall' after that; of course fame can easy come and easy go and one day you fall outside the spotlight, but look at Deluhi, for example: as one member said on their thread, they sold out two venues ten years after disbanding...

being a part of gackt's discrography is a good sign x there's a general idea of what that could mean (as in a bunch of no-talent dudes thrown together by their management who micromanages everything and goes as far as openly hiring composers for the band), but op already lumped duel jewel under that definition because of hostey-looking revival photo so idk what they really mean by that

NetherGarden122 new maxi-single "Light of Noise" will be released at 2019/10.

There is some of their stuff on Spotify EU. (Maybe with a good proxy program you'll b able to access it? I just noticed you are writing from US, sorry)

The Last Days of New Paris by China Mieville

they will release their new single, "虚独" soon...details to be announced.

I was wondering why I couldn't access the site yesterday...they had a bonus purchase for this CD I wanted and now I can't get it. FUCK. This is so sad cause Brand-X has been one of the few shops that I bought through when I was a teenager(I am fucking old btw) and I stopped using the store when DWP went on hiatus(broke-up). R.I.P Third Stage, Brand-X, UZD Company, and whatever I've missed.

I guess this answers the question Brand X is being closed due to bankruptcy

Vicious by V. E. Schwab and Evil: The Science Behind Humanity's Dark Side by Julia Shaw. It is fun pairing my villainous fictional reading with nonfiction related musings.

Welcome

it's awful to say but I'm just waiting till these guys disband already so that they can act like human beings again and go on with their own lives instead of having to deal with these parasites...

I was celebrating my birthday on sunday o3o

https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/planetary-clairvoyance New track sounds solid. Very old-school sounding, but it's taking more from those weird/different death metal bands like Demilich, Timeghoul, Nocturnus and Catacomb, than your more straight-forward stuff like Autopsy, Death, Entombed and so on. Beautiful cover art, and the Bloodbourne and Dark Souls lyrics just adds a bit of weirdness tbh. Should be a very good album.

another fine moment when the youtube algorithm randomly suggests good albums

Kyonosuke (Kizu) photoshoot for Cure.

Are we in agreement that the one good song they had was Inhale? 😂

Honestly, I thought they disbanded ages ago...

ah, and it's me again. but I had my first 'photo shooting' last weekend and I really like the outcome. sadly not many pictures are looking as good as I wish they would but well, I'm not used to pose so I fucked up. Edited only two pictures so far tho.

I have very, very mixed feelings concerning this topic, so all I say may sound confusing. I may sound cocky too, but you guys asked for opinions. I also tried posting this under spoiler but phone won't let me... Brace yourselves, rant is coming: Of course, just like any foreigner, I got into this thanks to piracy. Of course, I do download pretty much everything shared on the VK section, even if just to sample it and delete it half an hour later (I no longer hoard music I do not like). And, just like many people, I occasionally share rips because I know some people will enjoy them and some others might discover a band they will like and support. Yet I truly despise when my rips are shared outside of this community, even though my common sense (who usually sounds like Yuyo) dictates it's the right way to preserve and spread it. Maybe it is because here it stays within a community of people who also buy and share their rips and it feels more like an open trade. Key word: feels like. But feelings are not meant to be rational, right? I support about 10-12 active bands. A good portion of my salary goes towards VK. I make certain sacrifices in order to make sure my honmei can have their rice and redbull. Hell, I even pay people to get me goods at lives so they can get more money from me in a more direct way than buying second hand stuff. Maybe that is why I feel I 'earned' the right to trade rips of the bands I do enjoy yet don't love enough to include in my monthly spendings. And I feel people who share rips here kinda earned the 'right' to get my rips for free. Because they support the scene too. Sometimes I even dl rips from the bands I do buy from because I'll buy the release with the next paycheck or the following, or sometime in the future when I stop blowing my money on chekis (sorry, Diaura). Which is why it kinda bums me to spend hundreds of dollars on music, share it with people who also support the scene as far as their wallets allow it, and then it gets leaked to people who not only don't support the scene, but feel entitled to be given rips anyways 'because they love the band so much, omg they mah favez!!' I don't mean to say I am a better fan than they are, or a better person, or whatever. I'm probably a pathetic chick who blows her paycheck on asian drag queens who attempt to play metal instead of in... idk whatever shit regular people spend their money on. But it really gets on my nerves to read so many people on social media, especially Hispanics, viewing piracy as a 'right'. Demanding for HQ rips, whining about those 'fucking selfish japs/gringos who get everything and don't share fast enough'. Fuck you! If I buy a release I do not have the moral duty of posting it online. And in those very same communities I see a handful of people leeching, bragging about 'their collections' (virtual collections of course) and sharing our stuff just to make themselves popular. 'Look, I'm such a VK connaiseur because I have two hard drives filled with VK I got from MH. I'm a true fan cuz I have rarez. Now kiss my ass if you want me to share the rip I didn't even originate'. I know a dude who's considered the 'wikipedia of VK' because he's always talking about the many bands he knows and buys. Turns out he doesn't buy shit, he leeches from JpopSuki and here AND HE FUCKING CHARGES FOR IT. HE IS SERIOUSLY MAKING HIMSELF A NAME AND MONEY SELLING OTHER PEOPLE'S RIPS. AS HIS OWN. I understand the role piracy plays in the scene. I know it's exposure, and it helps spread the music and make bands popular. It preserves files online (though I've been all day looking for geek sleep sheep's albums and I cannot fucking find a decent rip, I swear). It also gives way to interesting discussions about music. But I also understand it fucking pisses bands off, many have told me so. It even pisses off western VK bands I know when they see their music up for grabs where they didn't post it. It's sorta disrespectful in a way, to say "yeah, man, I love your art but I ain't paying for it'. I have literally read those words online. I don't know if my point is even understood here... I've even defended piracy when talking to a few bandomen, saying that it actually promotes their music and gains them new fans. And I understand without piracy most of us wouldn't be here today. Boy, I really wish someone would share those Amai Boryoku live limited EPs. But I hate so much that downloads bring people here only to leech instead of for all the other amazing features this community has to offer. I hate that people outside of the community get popular or even get money spreading our rips without even mentioning Monochrome Heaven. I hate the way they talk about us when we don't share fast enough, like we owe them the rips. Like it's our duty to share the day before the release and in HQ... With so many bands posting their previews on youtube, full releases on Spotify and iTunes, is such an open piracy still necessary to promote the music they work so hard to make? (I refuse to use youtube and Spotify, I hate them, so I'm being cynical by just bringing them up myself). All the people who say 'I don't risk buying releases I don't know I'll like' can now hear the previews on youtube/spotify, right? I think I'd really like to keep the DLs here to the community and the people who contribute, so maybe people elsewhere will stop taking us for granted and have a solid reason to complain about us... I'm ready for the MH trolls to go berserk on my feelings and opinions. Keep in mind these are just rather irrational feels and opinions and that my opinions stem from my own experiences and my own reality, which is not the absolute truth and does not account for other people's experiences.

YES PLEASE