zombieparadise

NEVER. Trombe is a mystical deity that came to earth to provide us with happiness (when bands release a new album) and sorrow (when they disband a month after). The provider of our ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS is faceless and is all around us.

Tracklist:
1. ◯生物 (◯Seibutsu)
2. フラスコ (Frasco)
3. マイム (Mime)
4. ハシエンダ (Haçienda)
5. 告白 (Kokuhaku)
6. インソムニアブルース (Insomnia Blues)
7. float
8. 落花 (Rakka)
9. スラッシングパンプキン•デスマーチ (Thrashing pumpkin death march)
10. スロウ (slow)
11. 剥製 (Kakusei)
12. ●静物 (●Seibutsu)


| Plastic Tree execute an album with more highlights than a thick, full head of hair can take.

 It's impossible for 'disappointment' and 'new Plastic Tree album' to be together in the same sentence, as they prove once again. 剥製 (Hakusei) is the bands thirteenth full length album and it's been a painful wait even with a handful of singles and another mini-album occupying us up until December of last year. But it can be safely said that it was well worth the wait.

Much like how Ink worked with a complimentary opener and closer, 剥製 is organised in the same manner. Being a dramatic and emotional instrumental as the final track, but with a bit of Ryutaro goodness in the first one, both match wonderfully. This encourages a repeat thanks to the same soft piano melody used in both to tie them together. "●静物" (●Seibutsu) ends the album on a gorgeous yet sad note, quite literally, while "◯生物" (◯Seibutsu) sets a tone that captures the shoegaze genre that plays off of Ryutaro's vocalization like a charm.

"フラスコ" (Frasco), track two, starts the album off beautifully after the wonderful opener, and while simple, it still stands out on its own. Its sound makes you picture a journey across a beautiful landscape. I get that feeling of travelling with this one, and moving onto my pair of favourites on the album, it only gets more adventurous in the mid section of the release. "インソムニアブルース" (Insomnia blues) has an unbelievable flow with an incredibly gorgeous chorus. Ryutaro's mumbled vocals are almost overpowered by the pounding music, fitting to their shoegaze tendencies. With a melody that reminds me of their classic song "水槽。"(suisou), it's another underwater like tune I always adore the sound of. The track that follows after this is more than fitting. "float" continues this setting, adopting a more peaceful sound. "float" is one of their more soft rock tunes, and while not much happens, that's how the magic works. It's another track that flows effortlessly, with slant rhyme schemes and repeated lyrics, coming off as rather romantic; it's a must include when going on vacation, despite what craziness they're probably singing about. "剥製" (Hakusei), as you might have noticed, is the album title's track, and most certainly deserving. Being one of their slowest songs, it grabs you straight away with a melancholic tune as they do best. The prompt whispering and drum hits at the start sets the mood and with it being the final track before the penultimate song, it sure is a climax despite its linear path throughout.

I can't forget to expand on the recent singles "マイム" (Mime), "スロウ" (slow) and "落花" (Rakka) that I mentioned earlier. Usually for me, the singles are always the stand out points, but this is the exception to the rule. The rest of 剥製 manages to prove its worth against the strong singles, and I personally find that incredible and rare. When looking at the singles on their own, "マイム" plays like a classic Plastic Tree tune, with questionable, riddle-like lyrics, and a psychedelic charm to it. This brings me back to how the band sounded on "トレモロ" (Tremelo) because of the theatrical delivery. While "落花" (Rakka) has a simpler structure, as I had already described in September's RT, it's still a very solid submission with instantly catchy and familiar riffs as expected. But it's "スロウ" (slow) that proves to be one of the highlights of 剥製 for me. The slower paced melody creates an idealistic, lonely setting - the kind Plastic Tree are known for forging. "スロウ" (slow) never quite reaches a climax, but it takes you down a current you wish wouldn't end. It's very complimentary to their similar song "Blueback" mixed with "Ink", which spells out perfection by the way.

The album isn't all peaceful sounding though. "スラッシングパンプキン•デスマーチ" (Thrashing pumpkin death march) is one of the louder songs Plastic Tree have put out, and while eccentric and bubbly, it comes off as lost and unnecessary. I'm grateful for the autotune put over Ryutaro's voice, making it even more entertaining; yet it almost comes off as another silly cover like they did with "バカになったのに" (Baka ni Natta no ni). While it's a neat addition and adds variety, it fails to pull through in the long run because it sticks out like a sore thumb, and not one you'd kiss better. On the topic of pain, there's also "ハシエンダ" (Haçienda), which comes off as a song I swear I've heard from them before. I thought I was going mental when comparing the track's title to their mini-album, echo's tracklist. Being one of the quicker paced numbers on the album didn't do it any favors, instead cornering it like a deer in headlights. It's enjoyable if you can forgive its copy-and-paste tune, but this time their experimentation made a song that just doesn't mesh. It's quite a bore if I had to admit it. There's also a track that fits nicely (well, not so nicely since it's not exactly a compliment) into the 'grower material' section. "告白" (Kokuhaku) was so mediocre on first listen, and against two similar and better tracks, this was left in the dust. But with a catchy chorus that invades your head space it does its job in complimenting its companion tracks.

If you're (somehow!) new to the guys, this is not to be missed. If you've been a long time listener of them, this is not to be missed. 剥製 may not be perfect, but it's going to be impossible not to treasure it as much as their previous works. Plastic Tree have surely made their fans proud. The band shows that you can still be simple yet effective when putting out music, doing what you're best at doing and still excelling at it (let's just forgive and forget those few clangers)!
 

 
CDJapan | Amazon

yeah its a lot better than their earlier stuff, satoshi's been a good composer but yuuki's voice is too rough and grating for his compositions. akane worked perfectly and i can mention a bunch of current vocalists that would sound better than yuuki.
i wanna see savage and DOAK disband so yuuki and takeru (savage) make a band, he does better on heavy alt-metal/metalcore than this bleep bloop shit--which isn't bad, it just sounds awful with yuuki on it.
we need a late 2000's comeband band with yuuki on the vocals yas bitch im calling ex-deathgaze, ex-gossip, ex-unsraw, ex-DI3SIRAE, ex-dio, ex-NEGA bitch and THATS the shit i wanna hear yuuki on. this old para:noir stuff isnt for a vocalist as unpolished as him.

A single is a release with one or two tracks and maxi single is the release with more than 2 tracks or with Cd+Dvd.
And of course a single is cheaper than a maxi single.

A single you can likely find in an album later on.
A maxi, sometimes you won't, it can act as stand alone song that were released to give artists some more time to finish an album so the gans won't feel such a long wait in between times.
Case in point: DEG's Ain't Afraid To Die.

Maxi is a prefix which means “big”, so it's literally just a “big single”. So it just means that it has more songs than a normal single.
In the end, it's just a marketing term, so it doesn't always mean the same thing. For example, most VK bands will consider a “maxi-single” to contain 3 songs, but UNDER CODE has released several with only 2 songs, and Kiryu has released a maxi-single with only 1 song...

Single vs. Maxi-Single originally referred to different physical formats, a single was a 7 inch vinyl with one song on each side while a maxi single was either a 7 inch with more than one track on one side, or a 12 inch disc cut different from an LP so it didn't fit as many tracks, and a different physical format compared to an EP. It's complex and apparently it involved different definitions in different countries as well.
 
In Japan though, I generally get the feeling that VK bands arbitrarily tack "maxi" onto anything shorter than an EP in order to squeeze and extra 500yen out of their fans, despite that the content not always warrants it.

I've been wondering this for years, but never received anything other than an ambiguous answer. Maybe someone (or everyone) can tell me:

What's the difference between a single and a maxi-single?        

Hi Everyone,

I'm Steve, a graphic designer from Canada who's been into Visual Kei for about 10 years. I'm new to the forums, but I've been creeping everything for a little over 2 years (I'm shy, or stupid or something). I'm finally working from home, so I figured I'd have more time to waste on the internet, and thus, get active on MH!

My top 3 bands that I couldn't live without:

1. heidi.
2. Plastic Tree
3. lynch.
I like to consider the 2004-2009ish era my personal 'golden age' for VK, so most of my favorite bands are from that era and are as follows. Those are my top three in order, but the rest are a toss up!
 
PIERROT
cali≠gari
12012
DEATHGAZE
D'espairsRay
deadman
9GOATS BLACK OUT
DELUHI
MERRY
girugämesh
蜉蝣 (Kagerou)
The GazettE
-OZ-
Sadie
NoGoD
ケミカルピクチャーズ
人格ラヂオ
陰陽座 (Onmyo-za)
 
As far as 'newer' bands go (I'm getting old), these guys are alright by me:
 
AvelCain
Develop One's Faculties
DEZERT
DIV
HOLLOWGRAM
KEEL
My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND
Umbrella
黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to Kage)

- - -
I like regular J-Rock too (AKFG, FACT, etc.) and as far as English music goes, I mostly like 90's era shoegazing goodness (Ride, Chapterhouse, mbv, etc.) and a little Ringo Deathstarr/Fleeting Joys.
 
Japanese Rock has been a part of my life for a really long time, and I owe it to sites like this for keeping the love alive! I'm glad to be a part of it nao. Sorry for the band-spam! I like lists and paragraphs. See you in the forums
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm Steve, a graphic designer from Canada who's been into Visual Kei for about 10 years. I'm new to the forums, but I've been creeping everything for a little over 2 years (I'm shy, or stupid or something). I'm finally working from home, so I figured I'd have more time to waste on the internet, and thus, get active on MH!

My top 3 bands that I couldn't live without:

1. heidi.
2. Plastic Tree
3. lynch.
I like to consider the 2004-2009ish era my personal 'golden age' for VK, so most of my favorite bands are from that era and are as follows. Those are my top three in order, but the rest are a toss up!
 
PIERROT
cali≠gari
12012
DEATHGAZE
D'espairsRay
deadman
9GOATS BLACK OUT
DELUHI
MERRY
girugämesh
蜉蝣 (Kagerou)
The GazettE
-OZ-
Sadie
NoGoD
ケミカルピクチャーズ
人格ラヂオ
陰陽座 (Onmyo-za)
 
As far as 'newer' bands go (I'm getting old), these guys are alright by me:
 
AvelCain
Develop One's Faculties
DEZERT
DIV
HOLLOWGRAM
KEEL
My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND
Umbrella
黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to Kage)

- - -
I like regular J-Rock too (AKFG, FACT, etc.) and as far as English music goes, I mostly like 90's era shoegazing goodness (Ride, Chapterhouse, mbv, etc.) and a little Ringo Deathstarr/Fleeting Joys.
 
Japanese Rock has been a part of my life for a really long time, and I owe it to sites like this for keeping the love alive! I'm glad to be a part of it nao. Sorry for the band-spam! I like lists and paragraphs. See you in the forums
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm Steve, a graphic designer from Canada who's been into Visual Kei for about 10 years. I'm new to the forums, but I've been creeping everything for a little over 2 years (I'm shy, or stupid or something). I'm finally working from home, so I figured I'd have more time to waste on the internet, and thus, get active on MH!

My top 3 bands that I couldn't live without:

1. heidi.
2. Plastic Tree
3. lynch.
I like to consider the 2004-2009ish era my personal 'golden age' for VK, so most of my favorite bands are from that era and are as follows. Those are my top three in order, but the rest are a toss up!
 
PIERROT
cali≠gari
12012
DEATHGAZE
D'espairsRay
deadman
9GOATS BLACK OUT
DELUHI
MERRY
girugämesh
蜉蝣 (Kagerou)
The GazettE
-OZ-
Sadie
NoGoD
ケミカルピクチャーズ
人格ラヂオ
陰陽座 (Onmyo-za)
 
As far as 'newer' bands go (I'm getting old), these guys are alright by me:
 
AvelCain
Develop One's Faculties
DEZERT
DIV
HOLLOWGRAM
KEEL
My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND
Umbrella
黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to Kage)

- - -
I like regular J-Rock too (AKFG, FACT, etc.) and as far as English music goes, I mostly like 90's era shoegazing goodness (Ride, Chapterhouse, mbv, etc.) and a little Ringo Deathstarr/Fleeting Joys.
 
Japanese Rock has been a part of my life for a really long time, and I owe it to sites like this for keeping the love alive! I'm glad to be a part of it nao. Sorry for the band-spam! I like lists and paragraphs. See you in the forums
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm Steve, a graphic designer from Canada who's been into Visual Kei for about 10 years. I'm new to the forums, but I've been creeping everything for a little over 2 years (I'm shy, or stupid or something). I'm finally working from home, so I figured I'd have more time to waste on the internet, and thus, get active on MH!

My top 3 bands that I couldn't live without:

1. heidi.
2. Plastic Tree
3. lynch.
I like to consider the 2004-2009ish era my personal 'golden age' for VK, so most of my favorite bands are from that era and are as follows. Those are my top three in order, but the rest are a toss up!
 
PIERROT
cali≠gari
12012
DEATHGAZE
D'espairsRay
deadman
9GOATS BLACK OUT
DELUHI
MERRY
girugämesh
蜉蝣 (Kagerou)
The GazettE
-OZ-
Sadie
NoGoD
ケミカルピクチャーズ
人格ラヂオ
陰陽座 (Onmyo-za)
 
As far as 'newer' bands go (I'm getting old), these guys are alright by me:
 
AvelCain
Develop One's Faculties
DEZERT
DIV
HOLLOWGRAM
KEEL
My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND
Umbrella
黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to Kage)

- - -
I like regular J-Rock too (AKFG, FACT, etc.) and as far as English music goes, I mostly like 90's era shoegazing goodness (Ride, Chapterhouse, mbv, etc.) and a little Ringo Deathstarr/Fleeting Joys.
 
Japanese Rock has been a part of my life for a really long time, and I owe it to sites like this for keeping the love alive! I'm glad to be a part of it nao. Sorry for the band-spam! I like lists and paragraphs. See you in the forums
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm Steve, a graphic designer from Canada who's been into Visual Kei for about 10 years. I'm new to the forums, but I've been creeping everything for a little over 2 years (I'm shy, or stupid or something). I'm finally working from home, so I figured I'd have more time to waste on the internet, and thus, get active on MH!

My top 3 bands that I couldn't live without:

1. heidi.
2. Plastic Tree
3. lynch.
I like to consider the 2004-2009ish era my personal 'golden age' for VK, so most of my favorite bands are from that era and are as follows. Those are my top three in order, but the rest are a toss up!
 
PIERROT
cali≠gari
12012
DEATHGAZE
D'espairsRay
deadman
9GOATS BLACK OUT
DELUHI
MERRY
girugämesh
蜉蝣 (Kagerou)
The GazettE
-OZ-
Sadie
NoGoD
ケミカルピクチャーズ
人格ラヂオ
陰陽座 (Onmyo-za)
 
As far as 'newer' bands go (I'm getting old), these guys are alright by me:
 
AvelCain
Develop One's Faculties
DEZERT
DIV
HOLLOWGRAM
KEEL
My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND
Umbrella
黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to Kage)

- - -
I like regular J-Rock too (AKFG, FACT, etc.) and as far as English music goes, I mostly like 90's era shoegazing goodness (Ride, Chapterhouse, mbv, etc.) and a little Ringo Deathstarr/Fleeting Joys.
 
Japanese Rock has been a part of my life for a really long time, and I owe it to sites like this for keeping the love alive! I'm glad to be a part of it nao. Sorry for the band-spam! I like lists and paragraphs. See you in the forums