Kira_Uchiha

Hi there people, it's been ages since I've been on this website. I've been a member for a really long time (maybe a few of you might remember me), but during the last two years or so I started having depression, and this made me become less and less socially active here, on facebook, etc, and even irl. The only people with whom I was interacting with were my friends at university and my girlfriend (who's in the same group of friends as I). It wasn't bad depression as in I wanted to off myself, but it was bad enough to suck a LOT of my positivity and joy of living, which caused me to slowly closing myself in my cocoon, become pessimistic and unmotivated. And last year it also made my relationship with my girlfriend deteriorate.
 
I tried to pinpoint what caused this depression and i think it was partly because of university. What I'm studying there feels completely bland to me. I'm studying graphic design and it has it's interesting moments, but a lot of it is bloated with repetitive and numbing tasks/assignments. And the other part is since I'm doing something I'm not passionate about, I started feeling really scared and stressed about my future.  Recently, before the new year I started to try and pick myself up. I realised that if I continued down this road I would be a speck of who I was, and I don't want to "lose myself" (so cliche omfg sorry).
 
I started to try and think more positively and try to make something out of this negativity. I started to exercise, and picking up songwriting, since music is really what I'm passionate about, and I want to work towards it, even though I still have to deal with graphic design and I probably won't be able to make a living out of music if I don't plan things properly, and actually write regularly. Even though I may not make a living with music, I still want to try my best, and if it doesn't work, at least I tried and I can still keep it as a hobby.
 
I'd like to know, if anyone ever experienced depression here, however light or heavy it was, how did you get out of it? How did you cope with it?
Also sorry if this isn't the right place to post this.

They stick too much to stereotypes rather than taking VK and make their own spin on it. Taking inspiration from Japanese is fine, but they're not Japanese, and trying to copy them makes Western VK either bland or cringey af.

It's a really interesting topic. Nearly a decade back, I was a little weeb and was all "JAPANESE MEWSIC MASTER RACE" and I refused to like any music outside of Asian countries. A few years later I started to really open up and give a fair listen to European and American bands that weren't Linkin Park (because I've always liked them, they were my introduction to rock and metal), and now most of my music consists more of Western bands than Eastern ones. When I got into Western bands, the first band that really took me time to get into was Periphery. I really thought that a lot of their music was just a mess, and listened only to songs with simple structure like Erised and Priestess. I didn't get odd time signatures and poly-rhythms. But after a while, it actually clicked with me, and Periphery is one of my absolute favorite bands, and Periphery II:  This Time It's Personal and their Juggernaut albums are albums that I consider to be masterpieces. Another band that took me time to get into was the godfather of Djent, Meshuggah. I still have a hard time sometimes to get into them, but I'm appreciating their music more and more. 
 
Apart from bands like these, I also discovered that what I look for the most when I listen to songs is good songwriting. A song can be authentic and full of energy and performed with character, but if I think that the songwriting sucks, I just won't be able to stick to it, no matter how many times I listen to it. That's why I'm not much into popular music, into much of visual kei, into much of metalcore and deathcore(even death/black metal for that matter): 80% of the songwriting in this genre is either bland and generic as fuck, or just plain bad, and that's coming from someone who's favorite genre is metalcore (and prog metal). Of course it's not just songwriting that I look at, but that's the most important factor for me.

nobody listens to exist trace in 2018

It's a really interesting topic. Nearly a decade back, I was a little weeb and was all "JAPANESE MEWSIC MASTER RACE" and I refused to like any music outside of Asian countries. A few years later I started to really open up and give a fair listen to European and American bands that weren't Linkin Park (because I've always liked them, they were my introduction to rock and metal), and now most of my music consists more of Western bands than Eastern ones. When I got into Western bands, the first band that really took me time to get into was Periphery. I really thought that a lot of their music was just a mess, and listened only to songs with simple structure like Erised and Priestess. I didn't get odd time signatures and poly-rhythms. But after a while, it actually clicked with me, and Periphery is one of my absolute favorite bands, and Periphery II:  This Time It's Personal and their Juggernaut albums are albums that I consider to be masterpieces. Another band that took me time to get into was the godfather of Djent, Meshuggah. I still have a hard time sometimes to get into them, but I'm appreciating their music more and more. 
 
Apart from bands like these, I also discovered that what I look for the most when I listen to songs is good songwriting. A song can be authentic and full of energy and performed with character, but if I think that the songwriting sucks, I just won't be able to stick to it, no matter how many times I listen to it. That's why I'm not much into popular music, into much of visual kei, into much of metalcore and deathcore(even death/black metal for that matter): 80% of the songwriting in this genre is either bland and generic as fuck, or just plain bad, and that's coming from someone who's favorite genre is metalcore (and prog metal). Of course it's not just songwriting that I look at, but that's the most important factor for me.

There's a lot of music out there, but it seems like every release has at least a small following of supporters that vouch for how great it is. I've had my fair share of underwhelming discoveries that I'll abandon on the first listen, but sometimes a release will compel me to spend time with it and learn to appreciate something new.
 
How open are you guys to finding new music? Are you the type to make a final decision based on an initial listen, or do you like to listen to something a few times before making a decision? Do you ever revisit music you initially disliked to see how your opinion on it as changed?
 
I used to be very black and white about what I enjoyed listening to. If it wasn't from a certain band or genre, I would be very close minded to accepting it. For a while I exclusively listened to Jrock and mostly Dir en grey, Mucc and GazettE. Anything else wasn't appealing to me.
 
In recent years, I've grown to love the challenge of understanding music I would typically not listen too. As a result, I feel like my tastes have expanded tremendously. The release that transformed me was "Cast the first stone" by Ion Dissonance. I had never heard of this band before but a lot of people were really hyped for a new album they were releasing. When it came out I listened to it but couldn't digest it. Their music lived up to their name featuring lots of grindy, mathrock chaos that was just abrasive and depressing. 
 
But, it felt like I just didn't get it so I kept listening to it. And, eventually it clicked wiith me; the chaotic bar changes, harsh vocals, and dissonant chords all came together into some kind of nirvana-like experience. It was like a gateway album that opened my ears to other genres like black metal, funeral rock, and other avante garde or experimental music that I used to shun. I may not visit this album very much these days, but I'm grateful to have pushed myself into learning from it because I'm so open to all kinds of music now.

They stick too much to stereotypes rather than taking VK and make their own spin on it. Taking inspiration from Japanese is fine, but they're not Japanese, and trying to copy them makes Western VK either bland or cringey af.

I was minding my own business sleeping and having a random dream when for some reason, my troll brain decided to make a move and put music in the background of my dream and out the all songs they could pick, my damn brain went with "It's Friday Friday gotta get down on Friday". Can I get a refund for this brain XD.

VK has become as stale as metalcore/deathcore, just a bunch of bands copying each other with sub-par vocalists and bland songwriting. Still found a few good bands thanks to some of your recommendations.
Well idk if this is an unpopular opinion now.

HOLY SHIT!  That was amazing.  Best laugh of the week!  I seriously only clicked it because you mentioned the cringe threads and wow, yeah, that deserves a special place in the hall of fame.

he only released two EPs, which were live-limited. i believe the first one was uploaded here though.
yeah, seems like not many people like his vocals. i don't have much of a problem with it though.
glad to hear you like develop one's faculties! you should check their discography when you have the chance~ ^^

Hi @Kira_Uchiha, I just wanted to applaud your tremendously positive attitude in staying focused on what is important to you because not many depressed people do! Whilst it is important to keep moving forward, I hope this does not mean you feel you have to keep improving or 'make something of your life' so to speak, because that's just another kind of pressure.

They stick too much to stereotypes rather than taking VK and make their own spin on it. Taking inspiration from Japanese is fine, but they're not Japanese, and trying to copy them makes Western VK either bland or cringey af.

Mejibray is awful. It's the vocalist. I can't do it.

What now?
The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the worl-
Wait no x)
Well now, I'll just keep on going with my life, and do my best, strive to improve myself and work on my future, write as many songs as I can.
But as of rn, I'll focus on moving on first I guess, which is going to be quite a bitch since we go to the same uni and do the same course.

They stick too much to stereotypes rather than taking VK and make their own spin on it. Taking inspiration from Japanese is fine, but they're not Japanese, and trying to copy them makes Western VK either bland or cringey af.

I'd recommend saving up for a brand new SM57 because of the better build quality. The Pyle PDMIC 78 really seems like a good alternative but one big problem is that this mic is "unbalanced", meaning it's extremely prone to electrical interference. At best you'd get a small hum noise, at worst the sound you get might be unusable.
 
And also you can mix your guitars in FL Studio, no problems there.

I'd recommend saving up for a brand new SM57 because of the better build quality. The Pyle PDMIC 78 really seems like a good alternative but one big problem is that this mic is "unbalanced", meaning it's extremely prone to electrical interference. At best you'd get a small hum noise, at worst the sound you get might be unusable.
 
And also you can mix your guitars in FL Studio, no problems there.

They stick too much to stereotypes rather than taking VK and make their own spin on it. Taking inspiration from Japanese is fine, but they're not Japanese, and trying to copy them makes Western VK either bland or cringey af.

They stick too much to stereotypes rather than taking VK and make their own spin on it. Taking inspiration from Japanese is fine, but they're not Japanese, and trying to copy them makes Western VK either bland or cringey af.

Not to mention they’ve been touring what seems like non-stop. And just because we haven’t heard anything new doesn’t mean they haven’t been writing and recording. Adding in the fact that three of these guys have projects outside of DEG, you can’t say they aren’t productive. 

they don't need to release 3 singles per year. It's DIR EN GREY, not a little, basic, and random Visual band who wants to become famous.
They already have a successfull career in Japan and worldwide.
 
I can't wait for the single !

DIR EN GREY
29th SINGLE
『人間を被る』
2018.4.25 RELEASE
 
【完全生産限定盤】
CD＋Blu-ray SFCD-0222〜223 ￥5,500 (tax out)
CD＋DVD SFCD-0224〜225 ￥4,500 (tax out)
 
DISC 1 : CD 
1. 人間を被る
2. Ash
3. 詩踏み [LIVE]
*Live Take at Zepp Tokyo on October 12, 2017
 
DISC 2 : Blu-ray or DVD
01. Chain repulsion
　  TOUR14 PSYCHONNECT -mode of “GAUZE”?-
　  2014.08.30 新木場STUDIO COAST (追加公演)
02. 禍夜想
　  TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of VULGAR]
　  2016.07.01 新木場STUDIO COAST
03. Phenomenon
　  TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of DUM SPIRO SPERO]
　  2016.09.23 ホクト文化ホール
04. Un deux
　  TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of 鬼葬]
　  2016.11.08 CLUB CITTA’ [FEMALE LIMITED] -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-
05. Revelation of mankind
　  TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of UROBOROS]
　  2017.02.10 東京国際フォーラム・ホールA
06. Midwife
　  TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of THE MARROW OF A BONE]
　  2017.04.18 Zepp Nagoya
07. 鱗
　  TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of MACABRE]
　  2017.07.26 中野サンプラザ
08. Sustain the untruth
　  TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of Withering to death.]
　  2017.10.12 Zepp Tokyo -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only- (追加公演)
 
＜IN-STUDIO FOOTAGE＞
人間を被る (Scenes From Recording)
 

Thanks for all of your suggestions!
For Dezert, I downloaded as much of their stuff as I could find, old and new. I listened to a few of their songs and I must say, they're my favorite suggestion so far.
 
Vamps' new album also sounds nice, and is a good change of sound, I didn't like their previous releases so much, it seems like this album might be the one that catches my attention.
 
This reminds me of the VK cringe thread, just with better production, the singer's acting is fucking gold x)
 
Did he release anything for his solo? Just a single?
It sounds so good.
Sioux sounds nice, but I can't really get behind the singer, his vocals sound pretty weird.
And Develop One's Faculties is a big surprise, they are pretty creative, I love it!
 
Ahhh I tried listening to gossip and imo these guys are definitely not a good ripoff of the Gazette. Sarigia on the other hand show some promise.
It's sad that there's nothing else like in the Dim and Stacked Rubbish era, those were fucking amazing. And I like their more progressive rock/metal songs such as Dogma and Ominous, those are really well structured songs.
 
I tried listening to the songs you sent a few times but sorry, I don't really connect to this band. They aren't bad, it's more like they have great ideas but poorly executed. For example after the first 38 seconds of the first song, it kinda just falls flat. But thank you for your suggestion either way