beni

Been a while since I've done a drawing.
I've gotten a little better at shading after watching some youtube videos.
 
 
Just relax - 2015.01.28

 
 

Multiple choice poll. What are your favorite tracks from Lycaon's "Camera obscura" album?
 
To submit a poll for the MH POLL OF THE WEEK, P.M. @CAT5 with your poll question, choices, and state whether it's multiple choice or not.

I don't think this list was meant to be the be-all-end-all list of THE BEST songs, but more of a collection of songs that the review staff really liked. To shed some light on the process of how we got to this point, all organized by everyone's favorite feline: everyone had to come up with a list of 15 songs from this year. From there, the participants were asked to listen to all of them and pick at least 2 from every list up until we all had a total of 25 songs. You could not vote for songs you picked unless someone else also selected that track and you were also not allowed to pick songs from the same artist twice (trust me, there were at least 5 different options from Arche present).
 
From there, the end list was compiled by how many times each song was voted on by the number of people who placed it in their list of 25. The results were as shown above-- a little bit from everyone's list, sometimes reflecting their personalities and tastes, and sometimes not just because of how the votes resolved (i.e.: was not expecting that Uchuu song to be selected from my list, but here we are!).
 
Worry not: we definitely know there are plenty of other fantastic songs from 2014 and I don't think any one person agreed with this list wholeheartedly, but this was the result of the most democratic solution amongst 9 people on a super subjective topic Thank you for the feed back!

I'm really happy to know that then! Ah, if you'd still like to talk (which I am real glad to know), would you like to stay in touch on Last.fm? I know we both have each other added there.
Of course, as -k∆- has sensibly said above me, your life and happiness with everything comes before anything else! So please go through with things the way YOU want to! It's always amazing to know that MH has made you happy, even if it's for the time you've spent here. I'm happy it's given you a time of happiness and I hope that continues in the real world for you. And it's understandable, that. Happens to us all, surely. But it's okay, we all have our differing tastes. Just, if you're ever in need or want to get back into this type of music again, we're always here! ^^ All the best lovely~

Leaving my initial thoughts here after having finally gotten round to listening to the album. The SE's were pretty interesting and really just further enforced an eerie feel to the album which was really highlighted in the first few seconds of the first SE. There wasn't too little or too much of these lil interludes, and they were, in themselves, enjoyable breaks. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the singles whenever they appeared, since they are a batch of singles I really love. With all the new material, I was actually worried I'd feel the same way to this album as I did with MEJIBRAY's lengthy one. However, this was not the case. It went so quickly, and I wanted more. I even disliked no tracks! Even at 18 tracks in length, I found myself in disbelief when I got to track 16, knowing it was almost over. I am highly impressed with Lycaon for managing to do that. It's already a number one release for me for this year due to this. Songs that stood out to me on first listen were, of course, the ballad track at 12, 'アネモネ,' track 8, '君を壊すガラスの衝動,' 'Rouge' and 'marionette.'

Leaving my initial thoughts here after having finally gotten round to listening to the album. The SE's were pretty interesting and really just further enforced an eerie feel to the album which was really highlighted in the first few seconds of the first SE. There wasn't too little or too much of these lil interludes, and they were, in themselves, enjoyable breaks. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the singles whenever they appeared, since they are a batch of singles I really love. With all the new material, I was actually worried I'd feel the same way to this album as I did with MEJIBRAY's lengthy one. However, this was not the case. It went so quickly, and I wanted more. I even disliked no tracks! Even at 18 tracks in length, I found myself in disbelief when I got to track 16, knowing it was almost over. I am highly impressed with Lycaon for managing to do that. It's already a number one release for me for this year due to this. Songs that stood out to me on first listen were, of course, the ballad track at 12, 'アネモネ,' track 8, '君を壊すガラスの衝動,' 'Rouge' and 'marionette.'

Leaving my initial thoughts here after having finally gotten round to listening to the album. The SE's were pretty interesting and really just further enforced an eerie feel to the album which was really highlighted in the first few seconds of the first SE. There wasn't too little or too much of these lil interludes, and they were, in themselves, enjoyable breaks. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the singles whenever they appeared, since they are a batch of singles I really love. With all the new material, I was actually worried I'd feel the same way to this album as I did with MEJIBRAY's lengthy one. However, this was not the case. It went so quickly, and I wanted more. I even disliked no tracks! Even at 18 tracks in length, I found myself in disbelief when I got to track 16, knowing it was almost over. I am highly impressed with Lycaon for managing to do that. It's already a number one release for me for this year due to this. Songs that stood out to me on first listen were, of course, the ballad track at 12, 'アネモネ,' track 8, '君を壊すガラスの衝動,' 'Rouge' and 'marionette.'

Yes, mother. xP

Just finished listening to it and I completely agree with all of your review. Just something I noticed; Kyo's vocals always gets to me, but this time, the instruments did too. I'm not usually like this when it comes to just paying attention to the instruments as much as the vocals, but with this release, they really did catch my attention. I'm very impressed because of this. A brilliant release and review. As expected!
Just remembered, I really do love how it's called a 'mini-album' with that tracklist. XD

Just finished listening to it and I completely agree with all of your review. Just something I noticed; Kyo's vocals always gets to me, but this time, the instruments did too. I'm not usually like this when it comes to just paying attention to the instruments as much as the vocals, but with this release, they really did catch my attention. I'm very impressed because of this. A brilliant release and review. As expected!
Just remembered, I really do love how it's called a 'mini-album' with that tracklist. XD

This is a really cool idea! January was kinda underwhelming for me (mostly because I didn't have much to listen to), so this will definitely help me out a lot.

That's sweet of you

Don't encourage that behavior.

Leaving my initial thoughts here after having finally gotten round to listening to the album. The SE's were pretty interesting and really just further enforced an eerie feel to the album which was really highlighted in the first few seconds of the first SE. There wasn't too little or too much of these lil interludes, and they were, in themselves, enjoyable breaks. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the singles whenever they appeared, since they are a batch of singles I really love. With all the new material, I was actually worried I'd feel the same way to this album as I did with MEJIBRAY's lengthy one. However, this was not the case. It went so quickly, and I wanted more. I even disliked no tracks! Even at 18 tracks in length, I found myself in disbelief when I got to track 16, knowing it was almost over. I am highly impressed with Lycaon for managing to do that. It's already a number one release for me for this year due to this. Songs that stood out to me on first listen were, of course, the ballad track at 12, 'アネモネ,' track 8, '君を壊すガラスの衝動,' 'Rouge' and 'marionette.'

Kyo's casual fashion sense is even more hideous lol

I have mixed feelings towards this list personally. I feel some tracks definitely deserve their places (perhaps not in the same order, but at least within the top 25 itself), such as Rhapsody in beauty, 懐春, and 光の加減で話した, but at the same time there are some tracks on here that I feel are rather overrated; particularly unravel (which I personally consider to be one of TK's weakest compositions) and phenomenon. Then again, such is the nature of subjectivity, I doubt anyone will completely agree with everything on the list. Still, I appreciate the work that you guys put into it.

Artist: sukekiyo Album: VITIUM Score: The essence of sukekiyo, molded into perfection. sukekiyo has managed to slowly convert me from being a mildly disinterested bystander to a casual listener who's always on the lookout whenever something new pops up concerning the band. Their first full-length IMMORTALIS proved to be a slow-burning behemoth of many faces (and facets), and their latest offering VITIUM isn't too far off from that impression either. Kyo and co. don't seem to be in a hurry, as evidenced by the size of this new 'mini' album which is still longer than most bands' albums. Throughout these 37 minutes, they present their compositions in typical sukekiyo fashion: sprawling, mysterious, unpredictable. This time around, however, it seems they were able to craft a more unified sound for themselves (as if they weren't already unique enough), with a concentrated approach to boot. Each song sounds more coherent in and of itself, while still retaining the "expect the unexpected" avant-garde quality they've come to be known for.
VITIUM starts off powerfully and majestically with "leather field" – a dark flower blooming and branching out in sukekiyo's aural grotto. Hints of manic aggression and weirdness also rear their heads, prefiguring what's to come in the second track "dunes." This song introduces a demented vibe with its jittery guitars and drums, the band's interpretation of violent jazz-metal. Surprisingly, we are treated to an interlude next ("dot") that doesn't do much in itself but it serves as a fitting ambient intro to the following "foster mother." Kyo's deep croons drift onto a hypnotic beat complemented by beautiful guitar flourishes and keyboards that evoke an ambiguous atmosphere, on the edge of tranquility and uneasiness. One of the standout tracks for sure!
As VITIUM's centerpiece, "雨上がりの優詩 (Ameagari no yuushi)" pales in comparison to "foster mother," although it is a decent slower number complete with some fantastic textures and a soothing, airy outro. The atmosphere continues through "maniera," but it quickly turns into a quirky explosion of psychedelic metal tinged with calmer acoustic noodling. If DIR EN GREY drove out to the desert high on mescaline, this is what they would jam out. If "maniera" was the hallucinatory freak-out, the second interlude "白露 (Hakuro)" serves as a soundtrack to expulsion – not as fun but still necessary. All the more so, it heightens the magnificence of the follow-up, "celeste." Switching between tumbling piano sludge and schizophrenic episodes, it's a strong indicator of what sukekiyo is capable of. Naturally, after all of this there's no other way to go but softer, as "focus" closes the record with ethereal floaty melodies... or so it seems until the flamenco bit kicks in, segueing into one last creepy look into the abyss.
As you can tell, this mini album is quite a trip from start to finish. Whereas IMMORTALIS seemed overly long and drawn-out at times, VITIUM manages to capture the band's perfected essence, more powerful and twisted than ever. It is clear that sukekiyo has finally found its own voice. Let's just hope we'll get to hear that voice more in the future as well!

Should be, as always! Personally am a bit busy to be on at the usual time today. Photography deadline in a few hours; for tomorrow. I'm sure others will come in thanks to your status, so, enjoy!

I've created two tags in the news forum to identify topics as belonging to visual kei or the general music scene.  I've already tagged a few news topics in the section with the prefixes to get started. Let's try it out and see if it suits your needs.

Monochrome Heaven's Top 25 Tracks of 2014

Presenting The Top 25 Tracks of 2014 as voted by our Official Reviewers and staff members. Any Japanese song released in 2014 was eligible, although our primary focus was on J-rock.

25.
TAMTAM - "シューゲイズ"

24.

宇宙コンビニ (uchu conbini) - ­ 光の加減で話した (Hikari no Kagen de Hanashita)

23.

シナリオアート (Scenarioart) ­- "アオイコドク" (Aoi Kodoku)

22.

DIR EN GREY -­ "懐春 (kaishun)"

21.

LLLL -­ "Oddness"

20.

BACK­-ON -­ "セルリアン (cerulean)"

19.

101A ­- "Forbidden Sky"

18.

DIV ­- "漂流彼女 (hyouryuu kanojo)"

17.

PLASTICZOOMS ­- "Sleepwalker"

16.

ねごと (NEGOTO) -­ "黄昏のラプソディ (tasogare no rhapsody)"

15.

sow ­- "to growth, for growth"

14.

TK from 凛として時雨 (ling tosite sigure) -­ "unravel"

13.

DIR EN GREY -­ "輪郭 (rinkaku)"

12.

tayuta ­- "夢見た 蒼 (yumemita ao)"

11.

八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88kasyo junrei) -­ "攻撃的国民的音楽 (kougeki teki kokumin teki ongaku)"

10.

Mono -­ "Recoil, Ignite"

9.

和楽器バンド (Wagakki Band) -­ "千本桜 (Senbonzakura)"

8.

DIR EN GREY ­- "phenomenon"

7.

la la larks -­ "end of refrain"

6.

黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to Kage) - "「浴槽」 (yokusou)"

5.

アルルカン (arlequin) ­- "墓穴 (hakaana)"

4.

mothercoat - "trickster"

3.

Boris -­ "雨 (ame)"

2.

THE NOVEMBERS -­ "Rhapsody in beauty"

1.

sukekiyo ­- "Aftermath"

Yes, I'll be hunting it down today. Thank you.
 
And your female section may as well be obscure/newly found to me since I've never heard of most of them. Female j-pop is a genre I'm very unfamiliar with. So now I know who to come asking about these kinds of artists. 

Okay, my first review and I don't think I'm good at this stuff. I mean Zess-sama is so intimidating. But, since Lycaon is like my everything, so here i go. I have to start off with this is how one does an album from Japan. It makes me forget about all other album except theirs previous of course really. With that being said, this is not their best album as the others could go toe to toe with this, I explained the bands constant rate of greatness. This Album however does bring their discography together unlike others so some wouldn't really be surprised by oh they did that, excluding some of the vocals from the first two years. The big thing that this album does is bring the other members into the spotlight especially Satoshi and Zero. Before at least for me, it was just Yuuki, and they were his back up. Now the group shares the attention. With this review I’m not going to review the old tracks, since the new songs themselves are what are important to me. btw This song shocked me the most, even more then MRC because I wasn't expecting this layout.

 

01 Camera obscura-SE-: Starts of a Nice creepy SE music box playing with evil laughing, then with a girl scream signals the electronic dubstep sound giving MRC lovers some familiarity, they comes on the violin giving it that somber sound signaling the seriousness of the album. At the end it moves faster. This does a great job of grabbing listener’s attention while signaling something different for current followers as we hear new sounds. Also for an album called CO it sets the mood. 10/10

 

02 tsuioku:  It starts off with this high pitch sound that leads into like dark chase music similar to like an orchestra to open the song, and then come yuuki singing strong and raw (what?) then the main riffage/ which had me worried with how simple it was, but it was a false alarm as the instrumental picked up with the chorus and got interesting. Then the cool down part where Yuuki's switches and scream I'll never let you down my pets. Later on we get a lead in that leads to a core/ish break down paired with violin play. It gives a nice break from the seriousness. Following the breakdown is a nice guitar solo that flow with the song not interrupting. Finally Yuuki ends it on a beautiful high. (I want more).  I give it a 10/10 for being a great opening, setting this off strong, encouraging listeners to keep going.

 

03 Dark Night: Starting of with a drum roll and kind of a electronic snare grabbing attention for the fast pace hard crunching riffage that follows which you can really head bang to. Turns out this is just leading to an awesome metalcore riffs. You my say "oh i herd them before" but the ending to the riffs sound different. Anyway Yuuki come on clean singing fast with sounds in the background this time he sounds more relaxed. Then we have the dark part which is fairly breakdownish with the opera "oooooo" in the background, and Yuuki voice echoing. Then later is the part that reminds me of the song title as Yuuki changes his voice into a higher like a night riding threw the darkness. Also there is fun solo. 10/10 for making excellent use of outside sounds and going against the norm.

 

04 Liar: obviously this the fun track of the album in which you can hop/headbang to with the psychedelic jelly chime, catchy beat, and yuuki going "ooo liaahh" all sexy on and off during the main riffs the chorus is sweet too with the flow. Yuuki for the first though later on does this whisper thing where it is up front and leading you on a sweet ride. Also great job with the  guitar solo. 10/10

 

05 anshitsu -SE-: back to creepy with like a demon whispering and someone taking a pictures 10/10

 

06 marionette: open with the giggles of a child. the instrumental comes on a with heavy bass paired with guitar singing and it goes in thumbs while yuuki singing hypnotically. I would have liked it to be longer and maybe lead somewhere but with what’s given 10/10. it's kind is like a more badass dark Kuro no dachura.

 

08 kimi wo kowasu garasu no shoudou: open with dark orchestra which come in later a few times later, followed by serious toned guitar shredding to later change into a rocking side to side beat then up and down in which Yuuki sings his heart out. Another guitar solo followed by a quick breakdown. so lovely 10/10

 

09 kuchiduke-SE-:  guitar break. 10/10

 

10 Rouge: It is like a cross over of  uro no neko and gossip and i freaking love it! Though the vocal here are really timid which creates a great effect, this is my favorite jazzy song from them. Also love the piano. 10/10

 

12 anemone: kind of like cross over between Ai wa kirameki no naka ni and Love song but piano & violin based. It is indeed full of love and very touching. In the Japanese scene winning hands down but compared to the Arabic scene not so much. Yuuki sing is too concentrated, and doesn't flow free, like where is that falsetto and high notes that drop me dead? But 10/10 for sure sing it was great just not the best and it's not like i can hold that against him.

 

15 ILLUSION: open with be boob sound, to lead in a great one lined song as in the instrumental seems like it all come together to form one thing. Love the vocals and switches to different parts. lol there the breakdown which was kind of like a punch to you know who's face with the metalcore drops then electronic sounds/ dubstep. ha love the lasers! The way they ended it with the double bassing and picking up speed is kind like end of delusion 10/10

 

16 melancholic: Love the obscured sounds with the guitar as an opening. Later we have this funky guitar playing coupled with heavy riffs of base and the other guitar. Sound so good with the contrast. Later some great shredding and vocals. Also the great breakdown with a lead. Yuuki moaning while the guitar is getting ready, that part finishing with a inhale, he then let out a throaty scream as the break down comes on heavy. 10/10

 

17 gypsy: lol didn't see this coming, the search for something new lead to latino music though Malice mizer might have been the influence. Yuuki opens it up with his lovely voice but end on that "OMG" voice which doesn't come back which is disappointing. Anyway really lovely song with the groovy bass, clam shells and guitaring. 10/10 kind of classy too.

 

18 endroll-SE-: the ending to CO really nice. Similar to Super junior M swing's breakdown 10/10 saying good bye but I will be back.

 

After listening to it is really just, wonderful, amazing, lovely, great, and top notch! They tried new things when i thought they might have went dry and used things from the past show that they haven't forgotten how they started and moved along. Disappointments but not killers no screams, and not a lot of falsetto/highnotes. Since the instrumental doesn't scream harsh or power the scream are not needed. And I think it’s just his style/background that makes him sing that way. 

If you don't love this album ___ _ ____ 

I had the privilige of playing some Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, and all I can say is that it was absolute insane gameplay, haha. Everything moves so erratically that the framerate has a hard time catching up, but regardless of that everything looks super smooth and refined.

I'm so hyped for type-0 HD, it's gonna be awesome replaying this game on my PS4 with a dual shock 4 and in 1080p 60fps