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SaToRu (ex-EZZI-->JILLED RAY-->グラムヘイズ (glamhaze)) Solo Project new mini-album "The CORE" will be released at 2017/1/25. (2 TYPE) Limited edition will include CD+DVD (including "シルエット (Silhouette)" MV) (5 tracks, 3,000 yen) and regular edition will be CD only (6 tracks, 2,500 yen) Recording band members: Gu.GAKU (FEST VAINQUEUR) Gu.I'LL (FEST VAINQUEUR) Ba.Rei (DaizyStripper) Dr.&Piano.風弥～Kazami～ (DaizyStripper) 風弥～Kazami～ (DaizyStripper) will also produce the mini album. [track list] 1.JOKER 2.シルエット (Silhouette) 3.The Last Judgement 4.Silent Crime 5.奈落 (Naraku) 6.繭 (Mayu) (included in regular edition only) btw he will hold his one man live "The CORE〜僕を呼ぶその先へ〜 (Boku wo Yobu Sono Saki e)" at Shibuya REX at 2017/2/4.

臓器のノゾキ穴。(Zouki no nozokiana) Track list: 01.チョコレート階段(Chocolate kaidan) 02.「洗脳」(Sennou) 03.液状部屋 (Ekijou heya) 04.絶倫フルコース (Zetsurin full course) 05.「腐乱腐乱」 (Furanfuran) 06.すてきな唄。 (Suteki na uta) 吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu) 01. 吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu) 02. 「便所2」 (benjo2) The great part of being a visual fan is all the unpredictable wackiness that happens behind the scenes. I don't think anyone would have predicted that one of the best visual albums of 2015 would have come from a band that had only a demo-tape before their full album release. This band burst onto the scene with a foul sound: even among their contemporaries who borrow from the early 2000's visual-kei sound, Kuroyuri to Kage were different. Their songs moved along with a hauntingly heavy feel, more akin to the sounds of sludge-metal than the hyper-sanitized metalcore/djent hybrids currently reigning the scene. It was especially wild considering this was the new band of Memento-Mori, a band with a heavy japoneseque leaning. Their image was as dark as their doomy sound, led by the particularly enigmatic and freaky vocalist Karasuna Mei. Themes of perversion, darkness, rape, murder and anything else you wouldn't ever want to see unless it was in a horror movie make up the lyrical themes and concepts of their releases. A period of long inactivity towards the later half of 2015 had stans suspicious, so the news that they'd be dropped from AINS and losing two founding members to retirement wasn't all that big of a shock. That said, they chose to continue independently* on their own label Yamikakumei with a four member lineup, recruiting a support drummer. What did the future hold for a once very promising band on one of the best labels in the scene? Kuroyuri to kage return from flopsville after some label drama and losing two original members, releasing Zouki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu in 2016, slaying our existence. What could have been a recipe for disaster has been whipped into a yummy two course meal by the master chefs behind KTK, albeit made of human flesh and blood. Dinner is the mini-album Zouki no nozokiana, the band's second mini album and first formal release after the departure of guitarist Koyomi and drummer Mutsuki, released on the 10th of August, 2016. Dessert is Toshabutsu, the band's second single, released on the 2nd of November. So without further ado ladies and gentlemen, let's say grace and sink our filthy forks into this! These releases are similar enough stylistically to fall under one review, they could have been recorded in the same sessions—that said, Kuroyuri are quite consistent with their sound. Make no mistake, this is the same band from 2015 for the most part, the differences from their prior output are quite fine, but still prominent. The most notable difference is the more direct sound: all the tracks here follow the same mid-tempo crawl Kuroyuri have been known for, shedding the ballads and faster songs from their debut. The blast beats are entirely gone, and so are the eerie music box ballads. The single guitar setup has pushed more of an emphasis on electronics and less on lead guitar parts, the surprising old-school solos Koyomi whipped up in the past are noticeably absent. To compensate for the missing guitar, along with the newly added bleepbloops, the bass is turned up to 11—and I mean it. The bass pummels like no one's business. I haven't heard basslines this obnoxious since like...ever. The way the bass is mixed is also fascinating, on the surface it's just a lot of clacking, trembly bass work. The magic comes when you crank the volume up; the low end is massive, almost like a subwoofer was dubbed over the bassline. The bass and guitar almost occupy the same amount of space in the mix, so you will hear every bass hit and every note K plays. The end result is a more pummeling sound, less Kagerou and more Slipknot or Korn. It's all less dynamic than their first two releases, which is a bit of a loss for me, but it's an interesting way Kuroyuri have chosen to advance their sound and adapt to the member changes. Onto the individual releases, Nozoki... is a 6 track mini, half featured in the prior mail-order/live-limited singleうろんなチョコ冷凍。(Uronna Choko Reitou.) from April 2016. “Chocolate kaidan”, “Zetsurin full course” and “Suteki na uta” are all remastered from their original demos, sounding noticeably sharper and less lo-fi, while the rest are new tracks. That said, the production job on the mini is far from perfect, it's rather obnoxiously clipped. “Chocolate kaidan” isn't too notable a track but serves as a solid into for the rest of the album. Tt follows from Kuroyuri's original formula of clean, reverb-y guitar parts paired up with a heavy chorus and clean vocals, originally featured to brilliant effect in “Yokusou”. “Sennou” takes no prisoners, melding djent-y riffage (!!) with an alt-metal crawl, dubstep breakdown (??) and insane vocals. The subtle shifting of the track's rhythm and Mei's contrasting vocals make it an album highlight and totally addictive. “Ekijouheya” isn't as interesting as the rest, but is notable for the wild Korn-esque scat vocal breakdown and amazing slap bass solo in the middle. The new emphasis on electronics/manipulation is on full display here, as the buzzy synth duels against the guitar and bass in the verses. “Zetsubou full course” features some disturbing child choir echoing Mei's vocals in the intro and chorus, and is home to the sole guitar solo on the album. The track overstays its welcome at just over five minutes long, but it is one hell of a freaky track. My favourite track, “Furanfuran” follows right after, opening with a barrage of alt-metal riffage and slap bass all while Mei goes insane in the back. I'd like to think this is a really fun live song, as the rhythm goes perfectly with moshing furitsuke, or choreography. The track builds in its noisiness while Mei goes back and forth between a hypnotic vocal melody and utter madness, all before coming to a pretty end. “Suteki na uta” is more or less a different variation of all the flavours already offered on the prior tracks. Toshabutsu is where shit hits the fan (harharhar), by way of the title track; the best song Kuroyuri to Kage have released since “Yokusou”. The track opens up with trippy, oddly manipulated and dissonant chords (Inquisition, anyone?) backing the usual alt-metal crawl. It segways into the typical effects-laden clean guitar+bass passages Kuroyuri have basically trademarked at this point. The tension mounts with some operatic vocals, all before melting back into the same intro passage while Mei delivers the chorus. It's an odd chorus in that it's long and not all that catchy, but the way the guitars drop and Mei comes in with the lyrical delivery is so fucking addictive. Listen to this on blast and I guarantee you'll be slow headbanging like a maniac. This is so, so heavy in a way only Kuroyuri can do. Also notable is how Mei sticks to mostly clean vocals throughout the song, but ends up heavy enough to demolish your head. “Benjo2” is the b-side for “Toshabutsu”, and it sounds nothing like the original “Benjo”; rather serving as the manic release for “Toshabutsu”'s composed heaviness. These releases aren't enough to convert Kuroyuri naysayers, but definitely warrant a listen from people who might have written them off in the past. In that same length, Nozoki... and Toshabutsu are stripped down enough to possibly alienate old fans who might not like their new, meatier sound. That said, if you're tired of the mass spawning of Deluhi clones, try-hard deathcore bands and oshare kei, and you reminisce about the days when MUCC were actually heavy and when Slipknot and Korn ruled MTV, then give this a listen. Dinner and dessert were delicious today, thanks for joining in on today's feast. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to the wipe the blood off the corners of my mouth and get to cleaning up this mess. I think i'll need more bleach. Until next time. Both Nozoki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu are available for sale at CD Japan here and here respectively. 8/10 *the question remains as to whether they were actually dropped by AINS or whether something else is going on behind the scenes that we don't know; so for the intents and purposes of this review assume they're independent

The title of the single has been finalized as "傘と雨" (kasa to ame) and it will be released on February 1, 2017. It will come in 3 types (type A ￥2,315, type B ￥1,800, regular edition ￥1,204) Type A tracklist & DVD: CD 1. 傘と雨 2. 傘と雨 -Acoustic version- [DVD] ＜ライヴ映像＞ Merry Halloween Party 〜Trick or MERRY〜 2016.10.29 クリエイティブセンター大阪 1. イエローガール (Yellow Girl)* 2. 赤い靴 (Akai Kutsu)* 3. バイオレットハレンチ (Violet Harenchi)* 4. ビニ本２丁目八千代館 (Binihon 2-chōme yachiyokan) 5. 絶望 (Zetsubou) 6. Carnival 7. 千代田線デモクラシー (Chiyudasen Democracy) 8. 平日の女 -A面- (Heijitsu no Onna -A men-) OFFSHOT *O.A. スーパーメリーズ (Super Merries) Type B: [DVD] 傘と雨 (MUSIC VIDEO) MAKING OF 傘と雨 Regular edition tracklist: [CD] 1. 傘と雨 2. Happy life -幸福論 Acoustic version- 3. Zombie Paradise ～地獄DISCO mix〜

I'm enjoying this read a lot, particularly the historical stuff. It's funny to see people admit to thinking fondly of this stuff, because I loved this sound when it was current and I assumed I was in the minority. Around 2004 when I was just getting into VK, I was exposed more to D'espairsRay, UnsraW, Gazette, and of course Dir en grey, and that was the sound I associated with VK. I really didn't discover the "classic" sound beyond Dir en grey's early stuff until a few years later. I played in metal and -core bands in late middle school and high school so the heavy vibe spoke to me more. Truthfully I did listen to some nu-metal like Mushroomhead and KoRn but I didn't see much similarity between those bands and this style of VK until later. I'm not entirely sure why. Where does stuff like early Devil Kitty fit in? It has some odd turntable usage (0:43) and some awkward, sort of metallic riffing but I have no idea what to make of this weird garbage. While not as nu-metal as most of this thread, it's a fairly early example at 2003, and I always enjoyed this song more than I care to admit: I'm not familiar with this version of the song which is apparently a more recent re-recording, but I always dug the original's riffs: This is a good example too. It's like if Coal Chamber was fronted by a child:

Only one new song ? I need more new MERRY !

It's the same cesspool it always has been, we just now know more details and can follow all the dramas, thanks to social media.

LIRAIZO new mini album will be released on 2017/03/22. Additionally, 2 new full albums will be released in 2017 summer, and their new maxi single will be released in 2017 winter. They will hold their 3rd anniversary one-man live at Takadanobaba AREA on 2017/11/18.

i think l'eprica is a good examples of what you're looking for. zodia are more heavy and less atmospheric, but i think this song of theirs might also fit into what you're looking for. if anybody else knows more i would like to know as well.

I expect a new single announcement during the time period after the last 2 STUDIO COAST shows.

I know... On the one hand, their last albums got some criticism for half of them appearing on singles first, so if they are saving their song ideas and an album appears soon, it will be fine. If they simply can't come up with anything though, that spells trouble.

The single sounds perfect and I am dead. Acoustic! And I wasn't even hoping to see from the Halloween live!

Since it hasn't been posted yet: They will hold their 4th one-man "GAK祭" at 2017/01/13 at Shinjuku Ruido K4

Got an apartment and a school place PLUS also a job interview. Moving out of this shitty hole in a month. Feels so good.

These guys always seemed pretty openly influenced by MUCC's older nu-metal-influenced sound, so I think they deseve to be mentioned here. There's 100% better examples for these dudes out there on the YT-sphere as well, they were basically to old MUCC what Grieva was to old Dir en grey at some point, so similarities are inevitable. heidi. sometimes went full nu-metal as well. As far as I know, it didn't happen too often tho. :^) And since I posted the previous one, I feel like this band also brought the nu-metal riffage from time to time. Just fucking come and DARE tell me that that bass doesnt have the nu-metal sound my dudes. Honorable mention also goes out to the angura band Uma, I remember them having a rap rock/nu-metal type sound as well, can't find any samples on YT though, sadly.

MERRY and rain usually means retro-goodness. Let's see just how much the new single changes in the studio version.

Brasileiro fazendo tutorial de maquiagem de visual kei old school? Nunca na minha vida eu pensei que veria uma porra dessa. "...e um vestido vagabundo, mas que tenha alguns detalhes. Bom, mas os detalhes podem ser vagabundos também. (...) Eu já passei o pancake por causa que, senão, ia ficar muito comprido o vídeo, e eu detesto ficar enchendo linguiça com coisa inútil." KDFGKJERNFJSNFGORFGVJOKDSNFHVIUSDFBGIDFSJIDFOGJNVOFIDGJPERGJOJOIDRJKGPOIFJGOIDFKGPODFKPSDLPOFSDFVHDIUGHJKGHFDFGEIFGLKJSDFREIFKFDJFIPODFSJSÇDFOSD

Eu só acompanho canal bão: hehehe XD

fuckin hell ryutaro couldn't you release your album a month earlier

Since this topic is about nu metal in visual kei worth to mention also korean bros - the Trax

If a similar topic exists, mods can move or destroy or transfer this to a black hole. Are you part of the generation that absolutely can not get off their phones? At the silent moments you pull your smart phone out of your pocket and start playing candy crush because boredom is just so... boring? Maybe you've got a really good time-killer at your hands and would like to recommend it to others who might be equally tired of being bored. Or maybe you are the bored one, trying to find ways to pass the time while waiting for buss or a doctor or a friend or a coffee. This is the topic to all of those who feel the need to do something with their hands, constantly. Okay for me this is just a outlet for my continuous HoDA addiction. I don't play other mobile games but this is like pokemon with more complex rules. Fans of Biowares Dragon Age franchise get the most out of this game, as it features tons of characters from Origins, DAII and Inquisition plus all the DLCs, and numerous variations, but I managed to get @Biopandahooked on this for a while and he has absolutely no idea of Dragon Age. Pros: + Easy to understand + SO MANY HEROES TO COLLECT + Chances of getting rarer heroes increase with level + A truly freemium game, with absolutely no need for real-life cash if you've only got patience + No need for actual human interaction Cons: - You need wifi to play it - PvP has the worst match-making mechanics ever (seems to not even want to match you up against someone of your own level. Will offer matches with people with a lot higher level heroes than yours) - Gems tend to be hard to obtain unless you constantly take part in the PvP events - Once you're out of stamina and power points... well, too bad. Wait for a few hours for them to regenerate. - F U CAN I JUST HAVE A COLE PLEASE Pls try this one out if you've got too much time in your hands and would like to collect nice, shiny heroes from the Dragon Age universe.

The new single has been announced webshop/live limited 2017/04/09 Title: 昨日の怖い夢。 1. 昨日の怖い夢 2. 発狂カルテ 1200 JPY Their 2017 one man tour entitled 「　」ツアー。 starts at 4th of february in Ikebukuro BLACKHOLE and ends with a tour final in Takadanobaba AREA at 9th april 2017.

Since we already have a thread/team for Overwatch on PC you can find right here, I thought it wouldn't hurt to gauge interest for a PS4 one since I've gotten pretty addicted to it now and noticed a few friends I have here on PS4 usually come up online recently.

oh shit.....

FUCK! I wanna go! And I'm really happy to see the acoustic version of Happy life included. Def. one of my favorite moments of their concert. Extremely sweet melodies and it works great in a quieter version.

nicely written! i was gonna expect toshabutsu to be mentioned in this month's rec, but it's even nicer to see a review of their two recent releases in its entirety! you're right about them turning up the bass like crazy. i love it when i can hear the bass loud and clear, which might also be why i love these two releases so much. definitely their best stuff by far, with toshabutsu blowing me completely away. can't wait to see more reviews from you~! ^^

Ikr?? It's weird how they recently stopped with the B-side songs all of a sudden.....;w;

i was skeptical of the rumors at first but now i'm excited T_T one of the best news of 2016

This is super late, but here’s my contribution~ A ton of SEs contain classical music. I’m not sure if they count but I included those anyway >< Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor マステマ†ドルキーム (Mustema†Dorcheme): “理想と現実の硲で・・・” Diaura: “C.O.R.E.” (SE) Chemical Pictures: “Schwarzwald” I’m not sure if this features a slowed down version of Toccata and Fugue in D minor, or something else akin to Air. Meku/Schwarz always seems to mix influences from different composers into his classical guitar instrumentals: Beethoven - Für Elise (0:52, 1:42); maybe Vivaldi and Bach (1:07) sprinkled in too GALEYD: "Op:1" Beethoven - Ode to Joy GALEYD: "infitium" (Starts off with Ode to Joy, but I feel like it’s a medley of other classical pieces as well) Madeth gray’ll: “Evil en Lucifer” (SE) Liraizo: “序章” (SE) Beethoven - 5th Symphony (1:10) ; Jingle bells (1:17) My Dragon: “カオス～意識不明～ “ Dvorak - Symphony No.9 “From the New World”, 3rd movement Nozomu Wakai’s DESTINIA: “Breaking the Fire” (1:46) Mozart - Fantasie in D minor AFTER IMAGE: “AFTER IMAGE” Mozart - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star LM.C: “Minor Leaguer’s Song” (0:54) Pachelbel - Canon in D LM.C: “BOYS & GIRLS” (2:39) Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 BugLug: “超新星～２０１０　Ａ　Ｓｐａｃｅ　Ｏｄｙｓｓｅｙ～” (SE) (0:33) Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy from the Nutcracker Suite ACE (anonymous confederate ensemble)’s cover of hide’s EYES LOVE YOU (0:55-2:55) Vivaldi - Summer HIZAKI: “Presto” (this one’s a cover of Vivaldi) Wagner - Bridal Chorus EsoLLa: “ざくろの部屋 (introduction)” (SE) (1:13) And if we’re to extend classical music to folk and nursery rhymes, there are: Auld Lang Syne R指定 (R-Shitei): “メジャーデビューなんてクソくらえ！！” (3:05) Korobeiniki Kiryu: “Another Side” (2:08) Sakura Sakura BABYMETAL: “Megitsune” (2:05) Kagome Kagome Kiryu: “魑魅魍魎ノ跳梁跋扈” (1:55) MoNoLith: “warabeuta” (2:28) Grieva: “鬼ノ犇メク籠目唄” Memento Mori: “乱歩絵図ノ子守歌” (1:33) sorry to be sitting on these for so long

I was going to say that but you said it first, thanks my thoughts exactly lol. Although I am now curious about "FAR EAST DIZAIN" and "My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND." What do they sound like? Edit: btw do are those bands heavy on base like nagoya kei bands? I'm referring to the ones I mentioned above. And I have heard of deviloff but not the other two. lol

I'm hoping for a full album with only a few already released songs will be included. But I guess time will tell. Just please, not another 2 track single ;_;

I thought it would be difficult for someone to do a review that really make sense about kuroyuri, but your review is on point.I agree in every sentence. I do not play any instrument, but in my opinion, compared to the first album, the sound quality of the Second album is cleaner and heavier, but the first album had a little more ... hmm ... how can I say, it seemed to be more consistent. As you mentioned, the absence of koyomi is perceptible. I also agree with your opinion about the single toshabutsu, however, does not beat the single fuyu shogun and ozashiki asobi from the previous band ...Great review.

There's a Kuroyuri to kage session today as following: Nihilizm LAST GIG 4MAN 『Nihility of the Explosion』-爆音の虚無- EVENT 2016 年 11 月 28 日 (月) 開催日 2016 年 11 月 28 日 (月) アーティスト Nihilizm 【GUEST】MORRIGAN / 黒百合と影セッション（voナメクジgtメガネba二頭筋drミッキー）/ LIRAIZO / (O.A)LANTANA The members are as following: voナメクジ (slug) gtメガネ (glasses) ba二頭筋 (biceps) drミッキー (mickey mouse) the members have tweeted the following: Karasuna mei: Oh by the way, I heard there's a Kuroyuri to kage session tomorrow, what's that about... Kuro: I guess I have to put on my glasses tomorrow K: I really need to flex my biceps tomorrow at Shinjuku right! Haruka: I'll be Mickey tomorrow so I'll have to wear some disney goods. Let's create an atmosphere filled with dreams and magic! I'm really curious to what they'll do.

+1 for foobar2000 mobile version.

visual kei who? THIS is real music.

According to the members there's supposed to be something inside the brackets (meaning that it actually means something) what it is will be revealed at the tour final.

first they stole lycaon's wardrobe (slightly tattered, parts missing) next they stole lycaon's rejected demos from shimizuya's backalley garbage dumpster at this rate the only thing they yet have to steal is bl*ckdoll's heart

@doombox I definitely agree on EYA and it's a bit peculiar why not many other bands went as deep into the sound as they did. I presume this is because after the dust had settled from the initial nu metal phase in vk, most upstart vk bands started taking cues from other vk bands instead of the American originators - with EYA being the exception. I also had the fortune of seeing them live and being a part of the saddest pity circle pit ( on the band's insistence ) of out of shape weeaboos you'd ever see. Meth is definitely another blogspot stalwart that stuck around for a uncharacteristically long amount of time. My first time hearing them must have been on one of those MOST BRUTAL VISUAL KEI METAL BANDS videos that you'd might still find on youtube. The nu metal riff is so characteristic to visual kei now that it's never going to go away as long as they have guitars on hand. Now it's a co-existence of the newer core influences with the traditional use of nu metal that's been present for a long time now ( which is something that is quite apparent in a portion western metalcore as well. Back in the latter half of the 00's most the new core musicians had grown up on Slipknot which clearly showed through ). Visual kei is an unique mix however from the melodramatic X chorus to Luna Sea's soundscapes, and stuff just keeps piling on it. @aetarnaYes, it's good that you mentioned Vulgar because there is a good chance it really was the most influential album released in the tradition. Iirc mejibray's tsuzuku said it's what got him to vk ( or at least made a lasting impression- CURIOUSLY ENOUGH he was also keen on having a band that played baroque's brand of vkei, so now we have these two traditions coexisting ) As an aside If you don't remember these kinds of videos then leave this thread. I reckon the lot of them have been deleted and this is a fairly new one as well from 2010, but at least the spirit lives on in the rad editing and bad english

oh, this is a thread i'll be paying close attention to. i love this stuff yet my library is deprived of it,,, therefore i can only offer this:

I agree with you! (Although I like Yohio)

lol I don't like yohio and his gang myself but there's no point to divide groups because of their races. If you don't like it just ignore the threads. The whole "confusion" argument sounds like BS to me.

lmao, and adding the japanese ending particle "ne" to a full english sentence isn't weeaboo behaviour. "And I don't give a fuck about if your band is based in Japan or not, you are still not JAPANESE." pretty sure nobody claimed that they were but yeah. anyway, you're obviously free to have your opinion, i think most ppl dont agree with you though.

To be a bit serious: As inartistic said, it's a non-issue. Especially if the band is signed in Japan, gig at visual kei livehouses, release their music in vk stores, hangs around in the visual kei social circles etc. The only thing dividing them from the Japanese bands are their origin - which is kinda stupid. Also how far are you willing to drag this? Chaos from Insanity Injection is Italian, should their band also be in the global music section? I mean, god forbid you listen to a vocalist who isn't japanese.

To be completely honest, this is a non-issue. There really isn't an “foreign VK scene” to speak of. Lilith (and maybe DISREIGN) is the only band with consistently news-worthy announcements, and they're active in Japan so the point is moot. No one cares about BATAAR or Seike enough to even post about their projects. No one is “confused” about a Finnish vk band appearing in the vk section once every six months. But I agree, if you're posting about a Finnish band, feel free to tag it (which you already have the power to do) so that everyone knows they can ignore the post.

If they classify themselves as Vkei...it goes in vkei lmao

Tracklist: 1 サプリミナル・ダイエット 2 骨抜きに恋して 3 腰掛けラップ 4 PH4 5 GODcustomer 6 等身大グレー 7 ベルサッサ 8 自撮ール | Slowly losing charisma, but still a fun release. Pop gets the short end of the stick in "serious musical discussions". A lot of pop is swept under the rug as formulaic music for simple-minded people, so it's challenging for a pop musician to innovate while essentially staying the same artist. It boils down to mixing together a bit of something old, a bit of something new, and the musical equivalent of Chemical X. These are the ingredients which form The Hit Single, a coveted substance sought by many, found by few, and difficult to produce at scale. Over the last few years Charisma.com has taken the approach of slowly but steadily expanding their musical palette in order to produce many Hit Singles. The beats of last year's OLest were much more dynamic than the offerings found on their debut EP for example; they pushed their sound to a place they hadn't taken it before while still keeping the pop hooks and hard hitting commentary that got them fans. Their newest release 愛泥C is set to bring everything together and take it up another level, but inconsistency holds it back. I would describe the issue as death by one thousand tiny cuts. Elements don't come together as they should. I am no stranger to famous Japanese producers assisting the dynamic duo, but it feels like the different producers never agreed on the core sound of the album. It will bounce from pop to dance music to hip hop very fast, and sometimes they go off on weird tangents or include cringe-worthy sections (most specifically "GODCustomer"), which requires the flow of the album be immaculate to make up for the constant change in mood. It's not. There's the lead single "サプリミナル・ダイエット" which is classic Charisma to a fault, the deliciously smooth "PF4", and the infectious "ベルサッサ" which catches my ear and please me greatly. Then there are the tracks which sound pleasant but leave no effect at all on me, such as the end track "自撮ール". Then there are the more abstract trap influenced bangers such as "腰掛けラップ", where Itsuka shows some difficulty in flowing with the beat. It's unfortunate that the most abstract beats are the most beastly but also complemented with trap influences and a very lazy chorus where the beat drops and they echo a phrase for eight bars. It's supposed to sound hard but doesn't. Charisma.com feel much more comfortable in electro pop / hip-hop territory and it shows. Charisma seem to have an easier time making snazzy hits when they stick to pop territory and I'd much prefer if they kept the trap influences to a minimum. Bigger isn't always better, and when some tracks bang hard and others fall flat, the whole experience feels like empty calories. More than ever it feels like they're forcing themselves to be catchy, hip, and "lolsorandom". I adore where the duo takes their brand of pop music, but not at the expense of consistency. They need to stop trying so hard. Throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the listener is a surefire way to lose their attention. Scale some of the stranger elements of the beats back a tiny bit, get all your producers in a room to talk about the experience as a whole, and keep the hard hitting social commentary mixed with humorous lyrical themes the band is known for. There needs to be the right amount of direction to offset the spastic insanity that is Charisma.com. Purchase from CDJapan!