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The town I lived in when I was in Japan was actually JDA's home town (Hirakata) and on a hike, my friend and I stumbled across a shrine. We walked around and saw a wall full of ema (wooden plaques that people write their wishes on), which is super common at shrines. I'm not entirely sure at what the etiquette is for reading them, but just by glancing, I saw a vast majority of them had JDA's name on them. I'm guessing they were wishing for their return. I'm not a fan of them or anything, I just thought this would be a cool story to post for those who were fans.

Since I joined some years ago here and because of not much free time I decided to finally write here something. So here we go. Hello people. I'm a huge j-metal fan, specially doujin. But my favourite genre is gothic metal, post-hardcore, proggresive metal, symphonic, melodic death metal and ocassionally hard rock. Some moe metal is also cool. Some months ago I recalled about Dir en Grey or Girugamesh and I felt in love in those bands again. I also like few American bands like Tool, Dream Theater (before Portnoy left), Rise Against. I also do play some videogames. I used to spend a lot of time on them. So yeah, that's it. ^^

Did his Gackt ver. 1.5 not work out? does he have an actual band now or is he still going to tour with a boom box?

"Long missed" by you only at best sweatie, no one else really cares for your brand of "comedy". The sooner this gets locked, the better.

8 slav girls are screaming right now

...like, drunks fighting over who's making the next vodka run outside of a Chelyabinsk night club or some1 ODing on krokodil in Belarus?

I figured it would be cool to have a thread like this for people just starting out going to lives, or maybe even some of you veterans out there that are always trying to make the most of your time and/or maximize efficiency getting in and out. Hack #1: Getting Good Ticket Numbers Hack #2: Getting a Locker Hack #3: Have Everything Ready Hack #4: How to Bring Your Own Drink/Keep It Out of the Way Hack #5: Buying Goods Hack #6: Trying to See Better if You’re Short Hack #7: Showing Your Spirit Hack #8: Making gya friends Hack #9: Saving Money on Transportation Costs Hack #10: Finding Cheap/Close Accommodation Hack #11: Buying Tickets Hack #12: Bringing/Giving a Gift If you know of more tricks, please add to the list by replying! EDITED 5/23/2018 with suggestions from the replies Also, thanks mod @platyfor the sticky!

RAZOR | the CORE Tracklist: 1. the CORE 2. ROAD 3. 消えない痛み 4. イノセンス 5. Labyrinth 6. 君は今も鮮やかに 7. 『その後の世界』 A release that it's okay on its own, but with glimpses of brilliance, if they manage to identify them. To properly explain the sentence above, We'll need to dwelve into their past releases for a bit. It's safe to say that RED INVISIBLE was the most well received release so far. It introduced and showcased all their range in a single release, with a bit of everything and by all accounts, a successful effort, even with its flaws. The following singles had their strenghts here and there, but faced a more lukewarm reception, most citing the lack of direction, uninspired b-sides and an over-reliance on born-like choruses/structures that may not fit with the overall range of the band. That brings us to the CORE. To get it out of the way, it is pretty obviously composed of tracks they do not believe have the power to be singles, and that's a (somewhat) fair assessment. The fact that it didn't have a PV (EDIT: Actually they did, but the fact that they choose the most bland track on the release works on favor of the idea here), and they chose to give 君は今も鮮やかに a lyric video further proves my point, it's playing safe 101. So, if you are not confident on the power of the material you have, the decision of making the CORE a compilation of trials, errors and experiments is a wise one. It lets you check the waters, understand the reception an maybe score one hit or two. ROAD and その後の世界 are tracks that dig deep into the members origins. You can hear Sadie, born and MBHI influences all over those pieces. Both are a solid tracks, but not mindblowing, by any means. There's nothing wrong in playing safe and delivering something satisfying everytime, but we expect RAZOR to be a monster on its own, not a 2.0 version of those mentioned above. And I believe they've found their way with イノセンス, the best of the album. This track perfects a formula that enables it to be powerful without resorting to MBHI djent-y riffs, to have a very consistent vocal work without using born leftover choruses. Top it off with a mix of electronic effects and dnb drums that keeps the momentum going and never feels overdone and you have a winner on your hands. This is RAZOR transforming their influences into something fresh, perfecting their unique formula, and of course, their identity as a band. 君は今も鮮やかに is a mediocre ballad that does not bring anything new to their catalogue (worse than the 6/10 MISSING PIECE let's be honest) and 消えない痛み is such a forgettable one that if it wasn't labeled as RAZOR I'd have trouble identifying who it was from. (I'll ignore Labyrinth, the overused vk tropes are too strong on this one). Overall, it's a release that provides more filler tracks to a band that may have the most high-ceiling potential of the 2016 newcomers, but have yet to find their stride. However, イノセンス makes me feel pretty confident that RAZOR can be fresh without throwing away all the experience and influences of past works, maybe reshaping them into something truly unique.

Noulla new single will be released in spring, although further details have not been announced.

A new look and a new clip were published.

Sioux will release a new Mini-Album beginning December 30th until February 3rd. They will release one track every saturday making this a 6 track Mini-Album. The songs will be availbale for download via their website. In addition a physical release is planned but details will be revealed at a later time. http://sioux-2016.com/archives/news/20171210s

The band Another Story is going to release nearly after two years a new album, which will be titled Yours Truly. The album will be released on the 13th of December this month, so next week. It will contain 18 track (see track-list below) from which five songs were written by PABLO from Pay money To my Pain. Cover: Track-list 1.Gone 2.End of story 3.Five 4.The greatest plan 5.Untitled 6.Masquerade 7.The clown in the light 8.System 9.Sanctuary 10.The Other Side 11.Nobody 12.Ring 13.Cynical, Magical 14.Dying Breed 15.Hollow 16.Underworld 17.Closer 18.Happy Deathday Price: ¥2,484 (Tax in) It can be ordered via CDJapan. May be it will also be available via iTunes like their previous album Truth or Dare or Signs http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/INRC-26

Happy birthday dear! Thank you for all your contributions to the forum thus far! Hope you have a wonderful day!! 🎊🎉

It's old news now since the new look has been posted, but this was their hype video that @Yukamiposted earlier (which must have been taken down). It pretty much said some stuff about revenge and how the world was hard to live in and that today they would lift the ban (on information?) So I'm guessing they're restarting as this new darker band.

SETLIST: 1.剥落 2.Agitato GRIMOIRE 3.VICTIM(ism) 4.月食 5.DECADANCE - Counting Goats … if I can't be yours - 6.醜詠 7.-XV- 8.hatred × tangle red × hunger red 9.ナナキ 10.DIE KUSSE 11.原罪の林檎 12.嘘と愚考-それもまた人間らしいって神様は笑ってるの- 13.枷と知能 -それってとても人間らしいって神様は笑ってるの- 14.BI"name"JIKA

Veriel will disband after their last live on January 27.

Hehee, I got Jack on my first summon! Let me tell you that my boyfriend was definitely not jealous... :"D Anyways, I added you!

Here's mine. I've been playing this since day 1 and I still don't have a 5 star servant. And if you want to add me, here's my account #.

Hope you enjoy yourself. Deg and giru are my favorite bands.

is she mocking BATAAR or aspiring to become as ~edgy as them

Can't you guys play nice without ever getting butt hurt /petty about stuff? Lock'd.

Metamorphosis is almost 6 minutes long but is generally speaking one of the new songs that people seem to appreciate the most. Anyway, anyone who expects nostalgic 90's luna sea is bound to be disappointed in the end.

I was being sarcastic. Maybe I should use irony punctuation next time

welcome to the forum! nice taste in tunes btw

Do you think Janne Da Arc will ever be active again ? By the time I lose hope I see one of their members make a guest appearance somewhere with Janne Da Arc name still between brackets with no ex-. So what do you think ? I really miss them.

The long missed gay things in Vkei thread has reincarnated once again! So, anyone got a good joke we can all expand on before the thread is eventually closed, like last time⸮ Because I got nothing.

it is SO good to hear brian drummond as vegeta on my tv screen again ♥ so nostalgic...

xD RanDom Weebs (2)

It's weird af to talk with a heterosexual guy over my fckn fag sex & love life lmfao. I'm so unused to this haha

Update on the new song from Ruki's twitter. どんな曲かはお楽しみですが、俺はいつも歩きながら聞いてる時鳥肌たってるから間違いない I'm looking forward to see how the song will turn out, every time I hear it while I walk around I get goosebumps, there's no doubt about that! 本日は3月10日に解禁される新曲のRecスタート Today the recording of the new song that will be released March 10th has started

Deep stuff man. My head is spinning from wild revelations like Kiyoharu might be gay because "He just has that stereotypical effeminate look" in some of Kuroyume's old videos.

As the title suggests, it took me 1 year to present myself, but here I am! Nice to (officially) meet you all, I'll try to talk about myself in a quick and clear way so nobody don't get slammed by tons of text, haha. I'm French. I've listened and adopted the Visual Kei style for 13 years now. Although I admit being "old kei", I do my best to listen to new bands/artists to not miss those who might be interesting. If I had to give you a top 3 of my favorite artists, I'd say Mana-sama (MALICE MAIZER/Moi dix Mois), ASAGI (D) and KAMIJO (LAREINE/Versailles). I'm a Visual Kei/J-Rock model since 2015. I started during the Tokyo Collection of the same year for the Japanese brand Tenbo. I've also been a freelance scenarist for 10 years. It's unnecessary to tell you that Japan has been my biggest passion since my tender age. You'll find my artist page here. News are incoming. Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions, to give me your impressions or your opinions!

Not sure either, but simply I think it wouldn't be appropriate/make sense to release a song under the disbanded name Girugamesh as the band no longer exists. Otherwise, it could lead to a misunderstanding that the band had been reunited.

Sinners was a pretty good release in my opinion .I love Kaleido, Sorrow and Black out Destroy from the EP. As for BTC, I really enjoyed Creature and the re-recording of the whirl, blood is a forgetable song tho

I literally got into Lynch. because of "Creature". I'm so here for this song and that made me search for more songs from them and currently I'll admit Sorrow won a weak spot in my heart. I'm all about that bass in that song unfghh Lynch. makes me sound so trash and I love it. They became my guilty pleasure in few days XD.

Girugamesh certainly deserved to be on the MUCC tribute album because both were senior and junior bands. Unfortunately, it's a shame that they couldn't use the band name after the disbandment. It sure is a big surprise seeing Girugamesh secretly participate on a bonus track, and it turned out to be a killer one. <3

One of the things I really enjoy about RAZOR is their ability to combine hard-hitting djent-inspired riffs with catchy melodies and electronic elements. Despite the occasional chaotic composition on RAZOR's work the members' individual talent and catchy vocals gets their songs stuck in my head. In contrast to @BrenGun's comment, I would say that Ryoga actually has a pretty recognizable voice in the VK scene - especially when it comes to his range of growls and shouts that find themselves halfway between clean vocals and full-on screaming. As for this mini, I wasn't as taken with ROAD as others seem to be, and the ballad was too long to earn many listens from me, but I really enjoyed all of the other tracks. 消えない痛み is a solid RAZOR track, and I can see why it earned a PV - despite sticking fairly closely to standard territory a la DNA or LIQUID VAIN, the chorus is memorable and gets stuck in your head, and it's a decent showcase for the sound RAZOR are becoming known for. イノセンス is definitely a standout with that oppressive atmosphere in the chorus, and quite experimental for what the band has put out so far. Labyrinth also has that catchy chorus that immediately hooked me (perhaps because it reminds me of one of the songs Ryoga performed with the all-star PSC session band WK on their live-dist release). Finally, I think その後の世界 would be great live and could fit in well at either the beginning or the end of the set. All in all, I think the CORE is a really solid release and showcases more diversity than their first mini, which served instead to define their sound. It'll be difficult to top RED INVISIBLE for the sheer surprise factor and consistency (it blew my expectations for this lineup out of the water) but it's great to see RAZOR expanding their sound and retaining the quality in both composition and production that they led with from the start.

DEVILOOF, A band which get's more and more popular, finally they dropped their first album, let's take a listen en check out if the band did grow or that this release is also a waste of money and a pain in the ears. 1.Devil’s Proof It's an SE, just an nice intro, which actually gives a much amazing feeling than most of the songs on this album. 2.ESCAPE The thing I don't like at ESCAPE is the clean singing, also that part, if you listen to the drums, it's just smashing the drum on a pretty worse boring way. Also the high pitch voice in this song I think it's kinda not really need. But what I also don't really like is that BASS and DRUM doesn't really fit each other. a song which is 4:24 I also think it's a bit too long, for me it get a bit of boring after 2 minutes. and the short wtf solo after kinda 3minues. is somehow... yes WTF. But sounded nice tho. 3.Natural Born Killer high on screaming, I on't mean pig scream, just the high metal scream. It's nicely done also the more dark growling. It really fits it. But once again, somehow I do not really get into the drumming beat. Yet, the guitar part is nicely but the bass falls a bit in behind. 4.Return of the Curse This song is a pretty typical visual kei song actually. grunting is fine, the switch between more clean up singing and grunting is also good. However it's not a song which fits in my personal taste. But it's good. 5.DESTINATION This is more a rock than a real metal song. Also it's totally different from the above songs. Somehow this song also sounds a bit familiar, not sure where I did hear some parts of this song. (100% that WOW part, maybe loudness vibe?) this song is 4:35 and sometimes its a bit as you listen to 2 different songs in one. so a shorter version would have done it maybe better? 6.Lover Another long song 4:10 also a bit too long for this type of song. it has nice parts but the end simply sounds not that good anymore as the first minutes of this song. Also this song really let me think of "E.T". 7.InCipit-Instrumental- An instrumental song?! of 4:11! which only gives this album 9 full songs. while listen to this song, it also reminds me of some other songs, which I can't name out of my head. But guitar parts don't really are amazing and the drums well, could also be more amazing in a fully instrumental song? Wouldn't mind if they didn't put this one on the album. 8.EGOIST It's far not bad, but somehow it also sounds a bit as a mess, also the random fast guitar solo... the heavy beat which isn't that heavy. Don't know. It doesn't leave a memory after playing it. 9.M.F.JAP worse lyric, melody isn't that bad does fit the way of singing very good. but it sounds more hiphop metal while other songs sounded much different. If the lyric was more nice I would have rate it better. also after 1½ min I did skip the songs. 10.怠惰の罪 It's a nice one, but I still do miss the beat which let me headbang. but the more slow (clean) singing totally annoyed me, but beside that the melody is alright. 11.HERO=MURDER Last song, also their best song. crazy heavy headbang level is still low, but yet possible. It's a nice one! After all it's not an album which I would purchase for the original price, the album doesn't let me headbang or going crazy on their melody, I miss some real beat between the bass and drums. Yet Keisuke vocal is listenable it's not annoying. With this album they at least proof that they could create something which (many) people can enjoy. At least I can listen to it, without thinking that it is pure shit. It's long not perfect but I believe that DEVILOOF can grow at least I really hope that they can really let me headbang next time. After all whatever METAL it is, I should be able to headbang on it and not just stand and give only a little "yes". Also the songs on the album variate too much from each other. releasing them as 2~3 tracks each or just one by one. would have done it too. But yes DEVILOOF did do a good job, this time they didn't release a shame. keep going guys. However they didn't turn me into a fan. (not yet)

SINNERS besides "Black Out Destroy" is next to I BELIEVE IN ME as far as underwhelming Lynch releases go. BLOOD THIRSTY CREATURE is a nice comeback from that. Same as a few of the key tracks in AVANTGARDE (which i still enjoy), I can't tie CREATURE to previous Lynch. tracks, so its pretty fresh to me and its bangin. I REALLY do wish that Lynch. would build on that and drop an album that consists of entirely new material cuz they have that potential. But again that's like asking the GazettE to do the same, which prob isn't happening. I'll gladly take the lil effort though. I wont comment on BLOOD cuz its just another forgettable Lynch. song. I first heard of the Whirl on IMMORTALITY which ended up becoming one of my favorite performances. The rerecording is stellar and fuck, it has such a grit to it. Salute to Ryo. Dude is working some magic on production. I'm happy.

2017's "The Whirl" sounds absolutely fantastic. Hazuki's emphasis on making sure this new version exceeds everyones expectations is not going unnoticed. I imagine that lynch. are getting closer and closer to cracking this sound recipe they've been working with for a couple years now. I always wonder what this "sweet spot" the guys are trying to achieve is. If it will result in redefining what we know of lynch.'s music style thus far, then I'm all for it. The possibility that lynch. can create a more memorable release than the album D.A.R.K (by doing all this) is something I need to hear before I die.

I would rather have a band that delivers consistent work (That I know and have came to like) then flip flop all over the place, never really being good at anything. I think lynch. has progressed in a style that suits them best, and though most songs sound like derivatives of each other, they are still undeniably 'lynch.' This single may not be nothing new, but it's a solid banger, and it's better than most of AVANTGARDE imho

Yo I've been looking for this deadman CD forEVER. girugamesh - Kuukyo no Utsuwa (first press +signed by all members) deadman - no alternative (mail order edition) Screw - Venom Screw - Virus

Chronic Bandmate Slappin' Disorder, it's untreatable

I love soo much the old style of Kikyo and Jaki <3 , but Miria looks like the standar new visual kei member

I've actually never had a to hide a drink at a venue. I wonder if it's a being a tall gaijin male perk or something but as long as it's water, no one has ever complained about me bringing drinks from outside despite signs that say otherwise. I just assumed they referred to alcoholic beverages and the likes. Just bring water and don't drink it in the face of the staff and you should be perfectly fine. Also, for anyone not living in Japan, if you want to attend a decently compact tour, nothing beats buying a Japan Rail Pass. Unlimited travelling with all JR routes is what's enabled me to travel from Sapporo to Fukuoka and back to see Dir en grey tours in the past, and all in pretty great comfort onboard the Shinkansen I might add. The "bangya culture" is actually pretty unsavory to me as a whole, and when I first came to Japan I was a bit disappointed that the lives weren't the glorious punky chaos I expected, but once you get used to it you sort of just adapt to it just enough to not cause friction while still enjoying the shows on your own terms. That's my tip to any other guys (or girls) who also feel a bit disappointed at times with the atmosphere at the lives, haha. A good advice would be to stand in the back for the first show for a band and watch and see what the fans do, and then decide what you feel good about, and what you don't. I never participate in furi but I'm always game for headbanging and fistbumping and various other things, and since my main band is Dir en grey, that's perfect since there's no furi at their shows, haha.

Luna Sea is probably releasing another album to show Yoshiki that it's really not that hard.

I live in Poland and im being paid the lowest legal pay , recalculating this to dollars its 2,50 dollar per hour . THe monthly pay is barely enough to pay the rent and other bills like electicity , water and so on , and almost nothing is left for living . The only thing cheap in this fukin dumb country is the internet , and its the only good thing in a life worth totally nothing .

Some people seem to believe that piracy is (only) a service problem - Masa's first point gives me this impression too. The implication is that if you make music as accessible as possible, piracy is going to magically disappear. Sadly this is true only in the limiting case where the music in question is rare to the extent that it hasn't surfaced on the internet. If anything, vk is among the least affected by piracy (in relative terms) as opposed to games, movies, pop music, whatever., because the obscure live-limited releases and distro's are impossible to pirate if they don't even exist on the network to begin with. Yet it hurts them more because in absolute terms as they have a far smaller slice of the consumers' pie. For stuff that people can buy from shops or online, releases are only "immune" to piracy for the first 24-48 hours or so. The artists know this as well; that's why fans are always being bugged to "pre-order" upcoming releases. The reality is that more and more people today who actually BUY music do so not because they want to listen to the music, but as a symbolic act of pledging their support. It's like making a "donation" to affirm that you like what the artists are doing. Why else would I want to spend money on a CD and wait for it to arrive, when I can simply click on a link to get it for free instantly? Most of my friends who buy CDs (not many do anymore, admittedly) don't even open their CDs when they arrive at their house, cuz they've pirated the digital files long ago. The industry realizes this as well, so they have stuff like in-store events and promotional lucky-draws to encourage purchase. Anyway, I should say that I don't want to endorse piracy. I do, however, wish that bands like NB would stop whining and direct their effort to formulating a marketing model to sell their stuff in our current age where music doesn't sell the same way it had used to (something for people to buy, take home, and listen). If there's only one thing AKB48 or any of their countless analogs can be praised for, it's being incredibly successful at this.