Licio123

Hi! I'm leaving the forum as well.
 
Thought about leaving quietly -- and I did --, but the message @Peace Heavy mk II posted made me think otherwise. Sure there's quite a few people here that will celebrate not having to deal with me anymore and that's fine! But I'd rather focus on the fact that I've been here for 13 years and that leaving a goodbye note feels appropriate.
 
I joined the forums when I was 16, only knowing much about VK, and I leave at 29, not knowing much about the current state of VK but knowing just enough about life and my personal boundaries to make me comfortable enough to realize I don't feel at home here anymore. And I used to feel like that for years and it sucks that this feeling has gone, but I suppose that was bound to change eventually -- and that's cool! Things change and end all the time.
 
Anyway, I'm grateful for the few friends I made here throughout the years (y'all know who you are!) and for the countless downloads I leeched along the way. It was a good and entertaining ride for the most part. If any of you would like to stay in touch, I'm over at Twitter at @reomulus. See ya.

リリース： 2005年6月29日
レーベル： Maniac Records
 
01. Infection
02. Dears
03. in vain
04. Grudge
05. 月の記憶-fallen-
06. Garnet
07. アベルとカイン
08.「浮遊した理想」
09. Forbidden
10. 灰と雨
11. Tainted World
12. [The world in a cage]
13. Marry of the blood ～bloody minded mix～
14. BORN ～white stream mix～
 
 

The title was accurate and I still wasn't ready for that.

Coronavirus has gone too far this time. Quarantine is really affecting people, man.

Coronavirus has gone too far this time. Quarantine is really affecting people, man.

As of today Kyo has been kicked out of Dir en Grey for spending too much time on his second band Sukekiyo. They're still planning on continuing with all currently planned performances but Die will be acting as the vocalist until a full replacement can be found. They will have a mystery member fill his part as a guitarist for lives in the interim. 
 
I had to translate this from their Japanese twitter so I might have missed some details and nuances. I'm linking it here so that anyone with a fluent understanding of Japanese can get the full picture. (Also, if you could provide a more accurate translation I think everyone would appreciate that):
 
https://twitter.com/DIRENGREY_JP/status/12451896898892634829

I wonder why people need so much toilet paper.  The freaking virus does not make you shit your pants off!

they had some good tunes 10 years ago... RIP

Buck-Tick new album will be released at 2020 summer, details TBA.
Imai described it as "a clean break with the image and sound that the band has accustomed fans to until now",  the keywords of this new style of music will be "minimalism and electronic"

MUCC new album (title not yet finalized) will be released at 2020 spring

RESULTS!
 
On to the Results!
______________________________________________________________
 
Best Overall Artist/Band
 
Best Album
 
 
Best Single/Maxi-Single/EP
 
Best Cover Art
 
 
Best Look
 
Best Newcomer
 
Best Veteran
 
Best PV
 
Saddest Disbandment
 
Most Overhyped Band
 
Most Overhyped Release
 
Most Underhyped Band
 
Most Anticipated Release
 
Band that Changed their Sound for the Best
 
Band that Changed their Sound for the Worse
 
Band that you spent most of your money on in 2019
 
What the hell were they thinking!? Award
 
Best Revival/Returns 
 
 
Now I know what you're thinking: 2019 sucked for VK 😅.
I agree lol but thank you to those who voted this year!
 
Let's hope this new decade will be a return to form for the scene!

Plastic Tree new album "十色定理" (Juusshoku Teiri ) will be released at 2020/03/25
 
 

they might as well have been on break all this time cuz they haven't done shit

Their kids are making their trio/band on their own too. Kodomo En Ciel.  And they will be direct competition to BABYMETAL.
Debut stage will be on New Years show, opening for their Tou-San band.

a themed burger king menu & l'arc~en~pissiel soda flavoring for 2020 white day week?

Finally watched The Babadook for this Halloween. Very good; it stems more from psychological distress than an horror entity IMO, but still a harrowing experience. Essie Davis was amazing!

我、闇とて… is always my go-to track every time I want to listen to something on UROBOROS. It's a great ballad.
 
Now I kinda agree with the poll that TIW is their worst album ever. Just didn't want to judge an album I barely listened to. THE MARROW OF A BONE is much better for me after I have given TIW more listens.

raison d'etre is among the top 3 catchiest songs on gauze and i will fight anyone who disagrees (but only verbally because violence is a sin in the eyes of the lord)

Hotarubi is my favourite song on MACABRE.

I also really like Taiyou no Ao.

My favorite album by them is Uroboros. Don't have anything else to say, it's just that good.
 
It's a bit hard for me to choose their worst album since I really dislike both Kisou and TIW, but going by the circumstances each one of those were released, I think TIW stands out negatively more. Kisou is an album by a band that is still trying to find their sound and is expanding their sonic palette by trying new things, but while the ideas are good on paper, it often fails flat when it comes to executing them. Saying that, I think Kisou succeeds at what it tries: to be a weird, experimental and off-putting album, which the strange-sounding production definitely adds to the atmosphere of the record.
 
The Insulated World, on the other hand, was released when the band already reached significant success and following, after a string of three records with very positive reception, and after the biggest interval between LP releases so it was a highly antecipated album. While Kisou at least has some originality, I feel like TIW is a rehash of ideas and formulas that already had some mixed reception at the time of their releases (see The Marrow of a Bone). The production is terrible and definitely doesn't add up to the album, the track order and pacing of the album is really problematic and the stand-out tracks are very by-the-numbers. Stuff from Kisou like "Jessica" or "Embryo" (and even though I don't like the studio version vocals, "24 Cyllinders" is an awesome composition) were legit stand-outs. I like "Ranunculus" a lot but I don't really think it has the power of their previous power ballads, and while the single tracks are fun to listen to, they are really underwhelming compared to the stuff that came before it. 
 
So yeah my complete list would be: Uroboros>Vulgar>DSS>Gauze>Arche>WtD>Marrow>Macabre>Kisou>TIW

I don't revisit Hotarubi on its own ever, but I've always liked it when I listen to Macabre from front to back. Toshiya's got some great bass lines.
 
Side note, I really wish I could've seen them during their Macabre tour aesthetic back in the earl 2000's. It's gotta be my favorite look from the band.
 
 

When I did my own version of Vestige of Scratches I included both Hotarubi and Zakuro. One after the other even. Which, in hindsight, probably was ill-considered, but it worked at the time. 

Hotarubi works well in conjunction with the other Macabre tracks. I know for sure that I cant skip it whenever i listen to the MODE of live of MACABRE in general. Sure its not a Rinkaku or Vinushka but is def a chill groovy track that I've grown to appreciate as time went on.

But who actually considers "Hotarubi" legendary? I haven't heard a fan say "damn, I was spinning some 'Hotarubi' the other day and those firefly buzzes spoke to me spiritually". It's just...okay to me. On an album from an era with no shortage of ballads to pick, "Hotarubi" doesn't come to mind first. And "Zakuro" is so boring OMG.