seratonin

reila is one of those long time fan favorite tracks so I paused when they announced they would re-record it. It was a gutsy move and if it didn't work out well for them, no fan would let them live it down. If it did, it would make the album that much better. My opinion is that all re-recordings need to bring something to the table - good or bad - so that it can distinguish itself from itself. The Traces Vol. 2 version of reila does that successfully for all of the reasons you listened there, but I elected not to say anything about reila because I don't like the song. I never saw the appeal in it. It's just another boring seven minute ballad and if I wanted to listen to Ruki croon, I'd listen to CASSIS instead...which just happens to be track two of this release. I'm still miffed that they included this track again after throwing it on basically every release they could, but in truth I'd rather cut 6, 9, or 10 first.
 
Time is never kind to my opinion of the GazettE albums but this one might escape without too many scrapes.

I actually disagree, listening to some parts of the chorus gave me goosebumps. Reila was always an 'okay' song for me, but this re-recording really shocked me, and now I actually like the song haha.
 
Singing:
-Ruki has better control of the higher notes in this recording (I sing myself)
-He changed his singing tone since when reila was initially recorded. His tone now is less nasally and more 'open'
-Extra verse at the end of the song, which I heard is sung at lives
-There's also more variation in notes for the singing, the singing in this VERSION KILLS THE OLD
 
Instruments:
-The guitar accompaniment/ambience affect is clearer, sounds beautiful
-new recording has obvious "Strings"/orchestra
-that improvisation-sounding jam with acoustic at the of the first chorus *was screaming internally*
 
 

Nope. How is it possible 2 people actually have feelings for each other? It never happens... idk why people are together, one person probably has feelings, while the other does it out of convenience. I can't explain it in a different way.

Artist: the GazettE Album: DOGMA 1. NIHIL 8. INCUBUS 2. DOGMA 9. LUCY 3. RAGE 10. GRUDGE 4. DAWN 11. PARALYSIS 5. DERACINE 12. DEUX 6. BIZARRE 13. BLEMISH 7. WASTELAND 14. OMINOUS
Rating: | After 13 years, "Gazerock" is officially whatever the band wants it to be.
 
If you're ever having a bad day, remember that time we waited five months for the most underwhelming album of the year.

Let's ignore for a second that DOGMA is ARCHE, Iowa-era Slipknot, and a quarter of DIM shoved in a blender and served cold with a side of drop A chugging. The marketing campaign behind this was stellar, and for five months it was the lack of details surrounding this album that sparked my curiosity the most. Just a few weeks before release, the band revealed "OMINOUS" as a teaser. For a brief second, a flash of light shone through the heavens as the hype seemed justified and the band was poised to deliver something interesting.
"NIHIL" even began the experience as I had anticipated, only for dubstep to emerge halfway through to set all my hopes and dreams on fire. I was in so much disbelief, I curled into the fetal position and muttered "What the fuck is this?" to no one in particular. That one minute encapsulates my journey with this band for the last five years, and when the crushing main riff of "DOGMA" kicked in I felt like I was left holding the bag after a bait and switch operation. This isn't what I signed up for. This isn't what this was billed as. But I'm not one to judge a book by its cover - or in this case an album by its case - and I proceeded to give the rest of the album a listen. If it had matched even a quarter of my expectations and contained a song similar to "DIM SCENE", "千鶴" (Chizuru), "体温" (Taion), or "泣ヶ原" (Nakigahara), we would be having a very different conversation right now. If it was at the very least a darker, more moody companion to 2013's BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY, I would have waved the intro off. It was neither.

What followed was a most unremarkable collection of metalcore. Despite the fact that everything between tracks three and thirteen blend into one another, all is not lost. I found the vocals at their most inspired and energetic in years. On songs like "DERACINE", Ruki's vocal melodies are the most memorable thing of all. I haven't been able to say that in years! The GazettE have also remembered that they have two guitarists, and have returned to utilizing both of them to great effect. There's also an obvious attempt at focusing on one thing and doing it well - except in this case it's perhaps too focused. The lack of a ballad or even a mid-tempo rock number to change the pace exposes the one-dimensional nature of the album and makes it feel longer than it already is. They even titled the songs in all caps with edgy one word phrases like "PARALYSIS" or "BIZARRE". No other track prioritizes atmosphere and melody over pure aggression like "OMINOUS", which as far as I'm concerned is the only track you need.

I could dig deep if I wanted and point out minor flaws in specific tracks, but that would require another listen or two and the replay value for DOGMA is low. All of those criticisms have been lost to the haze that was this album. I have some fun during a listening session, but it quickly fades from memory as soon as it's done. Fun does not equate to a good album. The simple facts are that there's nothing new or distinctly "the GazettE" to see here. I'm half convinced this facade was forced by the band because it's been a while and the old has become new once again. Given some time, I believe DOGMA will wear thin much faster than other albums in their discography.

Diving head first into metal has yielded mixed results. DOGMA is an album purely for the biggest of GazettE lovers and metal fans. If this particular brand of Visual Kei metalcore appeals to you, this is your album. As for me, it's another uninspired, soon to be forgotten entry in the GazettE's bloated discography.


Support the band! Purchase DOGMA from CD JAPAN

I'm always that girl who likes someone and gets rejected... but I think it's better to tell, instead of being constantly worried. Just don't shoot big words such as "I love you", maybe "I like you more than a friend" would be less overwhelming for a girl at first, in my opinion. Of course, you have to keep it in mind the friendship may be ruined in case she doesn't like you this way, so be aware of it and decide what's better for you. It's difficult to tell if she likes you from her reaction, because every girl is different, I would feel extremely uncomfortable if a male friend touched me in general, even if the touch was just friendly (only a handshake is ok for me), but it doesn't mean every girl is the same.
 
Why do I think it's better to tell her, though? If she likes you too, it's great. If she doesn't, you will know you shouldn't waste your time with it anymore, and give yourself a chance with someone else (you may not want to imagine this right now, but yes, you may like someone else, too). Also, it's better to know where are you standing and if the person is worth being made your priority.

I'm a male who is very sensitive to people's emotions (double edged sword), especially people I know,
but this doesn't necessarily mean I can draw the right conclusions -cries-

At first I did not like this girl at all!! She came off as a know-it-all or just plain arrogant when I first met her, and it also appeared that she wasn't that bright, and that's a huge turn off for me!

For about half a year we just talked lightly when we saw each other, like acquaintances.
Say hi, smile, chat for a minute, then part. Neither of us had an interest in the other.
But then I found out she and I shared a hobby that we both REALLY enjoyed doing, and that's how I started
to spend more time with her and got to know her better.

As I start to get to know more about her I am becoming more and more
attracted, NOOOOO!  It turns out her attitude I felt at the beginning
was more of her being naive, rather than arrogance, how strange? I actually
find some degree of having a naive quality in a girl very cute and attractive too.
The girl clearly enjoys spending time around me, and I really have fun with her as well, the bond
feels amazing.
By coincidence I was able to spend more and more private time and it made my feelings grow like crazzyyy,
we laugh at the same things, share a lot more in common than i initially thought.

But I'm somewhat certain she still thinks of me the same way as how
the relationship was before. It feels like my feelings for her have increased by tenfold...while hers have stayed
the same.

If a girl doesn't like you, or doesn't show any apparent interest, is it even a good idea for me to tell her how I feel?
Or do I not say anything, and express through action?

The last time we hung out I tried to express my attraction by touching her; her back, her arms, shoulders even O_O
It honestly felt like a date; I was holding doors and my car door and always spoke up for her if she needed something lol.
She CLEARLY isn't getting it! she's so naive...! It's super cute but she doesn't understand the
attraction I'm trying to express

WTF do I do?????
Opinions from both genders please!!!


 

For those that are unfamiliar with our last karaoke contest and are worried about "embarassing" themselves: all entries will be made anonymously. Only the staff member in charge of the contest will know who submitted which entry. After the contest you can chose to reveal your identity, or remain secret.
 
 
Also, there'll be a price for the winning entry.

WHERE IS THE PENTAGON ALBUM PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT

edit:nvm...it was CALL ME ( i thoguht that was a mini album)

i vote pentagon....they are playing with DIFFERENT STYLES in songs, and even on 少年ワルツ and it sounds good an almost all of it!
Trying alternative, metalcore-ish, ballad, pop-ish, even ballad sounds good on all. Well rounded band, very talented imo.
The pentagon video you posted is not representative of pentagon's total sound, because the man eating teddy bear song would be only showing pentagon's harder side

Chanty isn't bad at all, but sound like indie, i don't like indie that much, but it's good if ur looking for indie sound

I can see why people think this single was horrible and sounds boring.
But I have  a really different opinion:

盈虧:I actually read some of these reviews before listening to the song, and I was pretty surprised. This is the first "soft" song by mejibray I've liked instantly. This song was amazing to me and so catchy, I LOVE the gross, grim feeling these kinds of songs give me, like the feeling of some kind of insanity, similar to 嫉妬　and 剥落, but expressed in a softer style. Like a grim ballad. One of my favorite songs by Meji probably.

I loved the song so much, so I was excited to watch the PV, but the PV was horrible. I felt like it had way too much effort into sex appeal, rather than convey emotion from the song. Really anticlimactic.

I actually hate merjibray's attempt at lighter sounding ballad's like Avalon and Emily, and one more on 420 theatrical roses album.

人間 is an okay track, again there are some good parts of the song but it's kinda ruined by trying too hard on the sex appeal.
I felt like 蜈蚣 had potential to be a great intense track...but I don't feel any intensity coming from it, I guess I don't feel anything when I listen to the song.


I felt like the old mejibray had enough sex appeal, as in a good amount. I hope they don't go into a lycaon era where the music just deteriorates and the sex appeal skyrockets.

In summary, 盈虧 was most similar to the style of the old mejibray sound, but expressed with a slightly different style (slower tempo and not as crazy).
Overall the single had a push into trying to sound sexy and have sex appeal, as indicated by the PV.

 

I can see why people think this single was horrible and sounds boring.
But I have  a really different opinion:

盈虧:I actually read some of these reviews before listening to the song, and I was pretty surprised. This is the first "soft" song by mejibray I've liked instantly. This song was amazing to me and so catchy, I LOVE the gross, grim feeling these kinds of songs give me, like the feeling of some kind of insanity, similar to 嫉妬　and 剥落, but expressed in a softer style. Like a grim ballad. One of my favorite songs by Meji probably.

I loved the song so much, so I was excited to watch the PV, but the PV was horrible. I felt like it had way too much effort into sex appeal, rather than convey emotion from the song. Really anticlimactic.

I actually hate merjibray's attempt at lighter sounding ballad's like Avalon and Emily, and one more on 420 theatrical roses album.

人間 is an okay track, again there are some good parts of the song but it's kinda ruined by trying too hard on the sex appeal.
I felt like 蜈蚣 had potential to be a great intense track...but I don't feel any intensity coming from it, I guess I don't feel anything when I listen to the song.


I felt like the old mejibray had enough sex appeal, as in a good amount. I hope they don't go into a lycaon era where the music just deteriorates and the sex appeal skyrockets.

In summary, 盈虧 was most similar to the style of the old mejibray sound, but expressed with a slightly different style (slower tempo and not as crazy).
Overall the single had a push into trying to sound sexy and have sex appeal, as indicated by the PV.

 

probably one of their best releases in my opinion. 3 songs 5/5 for me,
except I never took interest in WONDER f∞l PEOPLE.

All three songs, especially 汚染 are VERY creative!
It mixes heavy music inside and it's amazing, I was SO IMPRESSED

really like the hair

lol all those bad things to say but still give 9.5/10?!?!?!

they most likely meant "reached limits as memento mori". the band had quite specific conception and despite every deaf retard labeled them as kiryu copycat, i'd say they were pretty unique. probably they want to try something new, not related to traditional style but we'll see.

Fixed that for you.

wow this band brought a different side to what kiryu couldn't, they might have similar theme, but sound so different

Yeah, it depends on the song.
One example for me would be Girugamesh's MONSTER album, I downloaded an mp3 before my cd arrived, and it was hard to enjoy at higher volumes, or during a dense track with sharp highs and crunchy guitar like ANOTHER WAY, at first I was worried that the album wasnt recorded, mastered etc that well, but when I listened to a flac rip and then ripped my own it sounded a lot better.
But then there is stuff like some DIV releases where the range fits well into 256, 320 etc...
In the end there is always a trade-off when buying digital in one form or another, some greater than others.
We dont have perfect solutions, and neither do record labels atm, but atm I think the bitrate issue represents a minority in the debate, as I do not know that many people that actually know or care about audio quality. Physical sales goods in Japan are still driven by the actual physical existence, presentation and value of psychological fulfillment it brings to a customer. Digital sales are not as popular and our opinions on bitrate are not visibly presented to labels or digital service providers in any case.
I dont think people on one end know or see the value in the opinions against the statements made by NB, and I also think people on the other end are writing off what they said, and I personally think that as the creators themselves they should always be able to voice their opinions and feelings about how their product is being used, even if people dont agree. I would rather they speak up and keep the issue on the table rather than us all pretending that whenever you even search an album or single name downloads dont pop up.

idk if you've been to japan, but if you didn't, this may be why you may not understand.
Japanese are INSANELY and very sensitive to anything copyright related, and I don't know why. Anything from recording people to
taking pictures at a store (from personal experience) is forbidden, and with music, it's even much more of a copyright issue,
like Japan using youtube and restricting countries from viewing certain videos. It's not "backwards" or "outdated"...it's the
Japanese culture, something that has to be accepted when listening to music from Japan. I mean I do download so much japanese music,
but I also buy music from japan (as CD's ONLY - never low bitrates or itunes) and it makes me BROKE lol

I do agree on the fact that 256 AAC is better than 256 mp3, but I can still hear the difference when using my headphones; the difference isn't a lot, but I like to get the full experience while listening to music and for me that equals good gear with high quality audio files. This does not include all iTunes files, but I've heard iTunes purchases that SHOULD be sounding like a 256 AAC sound like someone recorded it with a potato, while a CD rip of that same release in 320 kbps sounded just fine. I've seen this happen multiple times and I'm just in general curious as to where that difference is coming from. But nevermind this, it's a bit off-topic when it comes to the original debate about piracy.

^ No, that's not what she's saying. That's what the BAND says according to her interpretation. The band states that people who don't buy are toxic and ruin the band itself, and if you can't buy the CD you have to buy the iTunes version (which is total bullshit imo because there's only a price difference of like 10$ and if you don't have the cash 10$ isn't going to make such a big difference). Which brings me to my next point; I understand digital files are cheaper because they don't have a CD case or a booklet that needs to be printed, but why is the quality of the audio inferior to that one of the CD? Like I am paying less because of the CD case and the booklet but why on earth should I, because I can't afford the physical version, settle with a less quality rip of the same CD. If there's anything you shouldn't touch it's the quality of the audio files. Now iTunes only offers 256kbps, which is bullshit in itself, since if I bought the CD itself I would've been able to get a 320 or even Lossless.

Well I've met some few people that have said just that. A lot of people DO listen to music on youtube primarily. In fact I've had some people ask me to upload some of my own work onto youtube lol.

I feel like music should first and foremost be about the art. Exploring your own creativity and giving a voice to it and all that. Being able to make a profit off your music should just be some form of happy coincidence, it shouldn't be the main driving point... Of course, the majority of musicians probably does not share these same ideals. It's sad. I know it's probably more difficult for some to combine a daytime job with a musical career than for others, but it's not impossible.
 
Also lel if you wanted to make a profit then maybe you should do something to make yourself stand out instead of being generic deathcore/metalcore band #845038450

Don't mean to get off topic but I just felt like replying when I read all the other comments ;P
 
I've never heard this album, in fact I've only heard a few songs by YOHIO even though I'm swedish and he's become kind of "famous" here now for being so japanese, and OH SOOO big in Japan.
I don't deny he has fans in Japan, it's just rarely anyone who's into VK, from what I've seen it's mainly jpop lovers who thinks he's cute or something. Well, the thing that bothers me is the fact that VK has been pretty dead here since about 2010, then he showed and now there's some weird boom of people liking swedish bands who try to be VK :/ very confusing indeed. As a long time VK lover (of japanese bands) this annoys me and also it feels like a slight insult to japanese bands.
 
I went to a live gig in January, the mainact was a japanese indies band, and the opening band was Seremedy's vocalists new band. All the young kids looking like they really tried being VK but really mostly looked emo, was so into that! Then the japanese band enters the stage and half the crowd leaves O_o
I felt so sad for that poor band. They ended up playing for what, like 30 people since half left
 
Also, another thing that bugs me is that everyone here who hadn't the slightest idea what VK was before YOHIO now thinks it's a genre for kids in Japan, that he is AMAZINGLY big there and that all bands look like him. Which obviously is false, false and false. I don't have anything personal against him, but he's started something which has made it almost embarrassing to say that you like VK now... -.-

I love how this thread has outlived this album's fleeting relevance, lol.

Score:  | Somehow YOHIO has shown that the sum of the parts somehow equates to less.


Pushing potential pretentious prose to the side for a paragraph, BREAK the BORDER was flawed from conception. Siphoning ideas from a stagnant scene isn't the greatest way to start brainstorming for an album, but it would be bearable if the ideas came from decent bands. As inbred as the visual scene appears to be on the surface, there are still bands such as A, LIPHLICH, or Lament. that do more than play the same trichotomy of happy hardcore, electro gibber gabber or watered down hotdog roasting poolside metalcore music. But instead of emulating bands with actual talent, YOHIO combines the standard sounds of the scene into one disc. The result is an impressive tour de force of all the reasons why I don't tell people I listen to visual kei.

The scattershot approach is evident everywhere. I've fired shotguns more accurate than BREAK the BORDER. In his effort to try everything and replicate the standard visual sounds, he nails absolutely nothing. INNOCENCE features everything I dislike about br00tal kei from really bad harsh vocals to an ill-fitting transition into the chorus into a whole lot of nothing else making up the runtime. REVOLUTION sounds like so many visual bands I've heard before that it's painful, and the fact that I can't name a single one means none of them were particularly good. AGGRESSIVE BEAUTY sounds like four minutes of spastic guitar wank - and I'm totally fine with guitar wank - except he's wanking on nothing substantial. It's just spurts of notes here and there. Finally, the infamous Heartbreak Hotel does not fit here at all with it's drastically different influences, obvious moneygrab implications and complete un-YOHIO-ness, but it's actually better than everything else. This is all indicative of a lack of consistency.

This even reflects in how he dresses. YOHIO lets the clothes dictate the music. Look at the album cover. The left side of the album cover is what I would expect a no-name "heavy" visual band to look like. The right side looks like An Cafe defecated on his chest. The result of the album is what you would get if you smashed the two together - nothing memorable. It's no wonder he's not consistent with how he sounds.

Most visual kei feels like an upstart band emulating one of the more successful bands. BREAK the BORDER sounds like an emulation of those upstart bands. It's so far removed from the source material that there is not much more than a passing resemblance at best. This is going through the motions of what Westerners think being a visual band is all about, sandboxing one cliché in one song and another cliché in the next. What YOHIO presents to us here is an image of a kid that can modestly play the guitar, who has a decent voice, whose claim to fame is skills he does not display ever, and who insists on breaking into a scene all the bands in the scene attempt to break out of. What BREAK the BORDER presents is nothing good, but nothing so truly horrific I would say it should never have been pressed to disc. It's thoroughly below average, much like the rest of the visual kei scene.

I'm waiting for the day YOHIO catches on to the fact that visual kei is a fad that's always changing but ever-constant and that he will never progress if he limits himself to this very tiny box where he not free to lay down but he can't stand up either. You want to BREAK the BORDER? Break out of the cage first.