togz

This

I do believe it was Dir en grey > the GazettE > MUCC at one point. Sales wise... I mean what to they include just music? Lives? I mean... Now I really do feel that it is the GazettE > Dir en grey > MUCC There were more people at that GazettE show in LA than I remember for Dir en grey at the same venue during their peak. Maybe they still dominate in japan but overseas... the GazettE is def #1

I've gone through different phases of musical interests. Before I discovered Visual Kei, I really listened to whatever I thought sounded good, but outside of 80's classic rock and pop I didn't really care for artist names and checking out full albums. However, Once I discovered visual kei it was a whole new realm and I spent nearly 5-6 years listening solely to that alone. I wouldn't even give anything outside of the subculture a second thought. Looking back now, I felt it was very immature and restricted on my part. As I got older I started to listen to other types of Japanese music and strayed away from visual kei. I still listened to bands here and there but I really feel that was the peak of my musical diverse interest. At that point I would give things a good listen through, even to the point of trying a few different albums by an artist to be sure I wasn't missing out on something great. Then I went through the metal/alternative phase where I listened exclusively to that both Japanese and English bands. All of that leading to now.... I have a lot of responsibilities and other things I'm going after in life so it's hard to really sit down and listen actively to new things everyday. I really have to be in the right mood and I'm more picky now because of my time restrictions. If I am in the mood to really find something new, I'll even skim through albums and if i don't like the general idea of the first 3 ish songs I'll move to the next artist. That doesn't mean I won't revisit. This is the most common thing for my musical discoveries. I'll listen to something briefly, decide I'm not digging it, forget about it and come across it again later with a different mindset. I don't believe that any music is bad, that's why even the smallest groups have a little following. I think it's all about timing and your mindset when listening to something new. Had I not discovered Visual Kei, I may not even be in to Japanese music for all I know and I may have a different process completely when discovering new artists. Sometimes I search for things and sometimes i hear things by chance of being in the right place at the right time and it so happens to catch my interest.

@SeimeisenThank you for pointing out the samples were on their site, I don't even know how to get videos blocked in the US to play. @CAT5I agree, I think it sounds great compared to the more recent that I remembered. I'm looking forward to it!

Differences in music could be a cover up though. Or maybe he was just tired of playing that same stuff idek

I have suffered depression pretty much my whole adult life, so I completely understand that it can be overwhelming in itself to even feel depression... especially when you first realize you have it because you kind of feel at a loss on where to start to make yourself feel better. On top of that, you close yourself off and don't really have the motivation for things anymore which sort of drive you downward even more. For some people depression can be a temporary thing caused by stress, lack of mental stimulation, lack of direction, and just generally feeling lost. For me I felt that I had too many options on what I wanted to do with my life and I chose to scrape by doing what I felt was correct based on other peoples thoughts. Don't do that. You really have to find it in yourself to live your life the way you want. All the people, including parents, will tell you it's not a good idea or it's not possible, but you have to understand that everyones outcome in life is different regardless if you follow the same path that worked for them. I'm not sure how big of a role your parents play in your educational choices... but in the end no matter what, you're the only one who truly has to live with them. People will try to talk you out of it or bring you down until you've put in the work and you're actually successful and happy in their book, then suddenly they'll jump on the hype wagon in bragging about you and supporting you morally. I agree, if there is counseling available to you, do not let that slide by. There is nothing wrong with feeling lost. What you're feeling is your minds way to let you know something has gotta change. Plus seeking counseling is getting the perspective of an unbiased person. They take things at face value, or they just listen and help you decide for yourself what you need to do. Catch it early while you can before you dig yourself too deep. It gets a lot harder to motivate yourself to seek help once you become... "used" to the way things have become. You asked how other people may have handled depression. I personally bottled everything up, shut my friends out, lost my friends, gave up on a lot of dreams, and set myself back from where I wanted to be so far that I pretty much had to reevaluate my life and come up with a new game plan. Even now some days are still hard and it's been a long time coming. Don't take the long route out of this. Talk to someone. Surround yourself with positive people who genuinely want to better themselves thus motivating you and holding you accountable to better yourself too. While relating to someone else who has depression can be a short term relief... in the long run, unless you are actively trying to change for the better, can turn really toxic really fast and actually prevent either of you from moving past things if you're the only company each other has. If you want to do music, start off by going to local shows and surround yourself with people and things that make you remember why you're so passionate about it. Gradually you'll start associating with people who feel the same way or are already established in the scene. I think the first step would be to talk to someone though to help redirect yourself. You may have some big decisions ahead about new directions etc and while it's hard in the moment it will make you that much stronger in the long run and you will be so much happier later on. Sorry this was so long and I hope it helped. If you ever just need to vent to anyone... I'm all ears to listen.

I hope their album is... sick

That’s so far in advanced!

Me personally, I still listen to the GazettE from time to time... but being around the fanbase... to me they've become more of a fashion statement or "trend setter" that also happens to play music. I see more fans talking about what merch they own and what RAD Market goods are in their ootd than I do of them talking about their actual music. I gave DOGMA a listen through before and frankly, my opinion, it was really just background noise. I couldn't tell you the name of probably more than 2 tracks on that album.

Same. The only show they played while I was in Japan that was anywhere near me was the same day I saw Her Name in Blood.... so i mean.... I'm trash for HNIB but I kinda regret not going to Crystal Lake.

I’d have to agree that they just might be!

From December but it's the most recent of a little bit of quality plus i just like snow.

Newest

I agree with this. Visually, the video is somewhat pleasing. I'm curious to see the full version. But his voice really doesn't suit anything outside of that sort of poppy smiling way too hard - kei

Crystal Lake will be performing on the July 1st date alone with ERRA and Ghost Iris. https://www.facebook.com/dissonance.festival/ Anyone going? If you haven't heard their music, but are in the area, watch their most recent below

On May 2nd, the single "Keep the Heat and Fire Yourself Up" will become available. CD Only 1200 (2 types?) CD+DVD 1800yen It is also featured as the opening song for 覇穹 封神演義 (Too many Kanji for me someone halp thanks) Also looks like their current tour, other than their final, is 100% SOLD OUT all days.

I didn't see this posted yet, so I figured I'd do it just cuz. It was announced on January 25th that the guys would be releasing a new album in April. According to the site there is no track names yet but it will have 11 songs. They also announced a tour (rather short even for Japan) that spans across a few cities in Japan with a total of 5 shows for the release of the album. My concern is that the news hasn't taken off as much as Bakemono did when it was announced. I've noticed a decline in the views on their videos as well. I'm not sure if it's because of the stigma around their departed drummer, poor marketing, or a combination of both. Does anyone have any info on these venues and how large they are or what their capacity is? Maybe this new album will rock people's socks off enough to get them up in the game again. Thoughts?