platy

Really amazed this wasn't posted. I know he is not well liked but this is no laughing matter.
 
 
Yoshiki of X JAPAN will undergo an emergency cervical artificial disc replacement surgery on Tuesday, May 16 in Los Angeles.

As a result of Yoshiki's intense drumming style and the impact it has had on his physical health, he was diagnosed with cervical foraminal stenosis in July 2009, and then underwent a cervical laminectomy and a cervical foraminotomy.

After suffering from a herniated disc that has worsened over the past six months, Yoshiki has experienced symptoms including numbness and severe paralysis of the left hand and arm, which have since been affecting his musical performances. Upon receiving a complete examination by his doctors in both Japan and the U.S., Yoshiki was diagnosed with cervical foraminal stenosis (radiculopathy of the left arm and herniation of intervertebral disc C5-C6). After thorough consultation, Yoshiki has no choice but to undergo surgery at this time.

Yoshiki has been informed by a neurosurgeon in Japan that his neck has experienced severe damage that would force a professional rugby player to retire. It has been medically determined that he is approaching his limit, both physically and mentally. The intensive schedule has taken its toll on his already damaged nervous system. With performances at Visual Japan Summit festival, Yoshiki Classical Special in Japan, Hong Kong, Carnegie Hall in New York and Wembley Arena in London, he has continued to play around the world with X JAPAN and solo. In addition, adopting an intensive travel schedule to over 20 film festivals globally to promote the documentary "We Are X" contributed to his health condition.

“I had the pleasure of seeing Yoshiki, who has a C5-6 disc herniation with left arm radiculopathy. He has been recommended to have a cervical artificial disc replacement," explains Neel Anand, M.D., Yoshiki's orthopedic spine surgeon in the U.S.

Dr. Tommy Tomizawa, M.D., adds: "It was decided upon consultation that he will undergo emergency surgery as the condition of his neck at present will interfere not only with his career as an artist, but also with everyday life. From viewing the results of the MRI and CT scans, the damage is so severe that it is apparent that he has experienced considerable pain while performing. As this would be his second such procedure, we eliminated the option of a cervical foraminotomy, an operation in which a portion of bone is removed. Yoshiki's symptoms reappeared at the Visual Japan Summit festival, which was held last October in Japan. By the time he performed in January of this year at New York's Carnegie Hall, he had already lost the sensation in his left hand. The symptoms worsened this March following the U.K. Wembley performance, but he continued recording. Even in his condition at that state, Yoshiki stated that he wanted to see things through to the end. However, due to the worsening of his symptoms, doctors, determined that if the situation continued he would have gone beyond the point of surgery and recovery."

The operation is to be performed on May 16 at a Los Angeles hospital. Unfortunately, the cancelation of all scheduled activity in May could not be avoided. X JAPAN's world tour of Japan, "We Are X" 2017 dates in July, the Yoshiki Premium Dinner Show dates in August and September, as well as yet-to-be-announced dates for the summer world tour that was to start in Los Angeles are now undergoing rescheduling with his U.S. agency William Morris Endeavor.

Following Yoshiki's operation, a discussion whether to cancel, postpone or move forward as scheduled will be held amongst the agent, promoter and management.

DADAROMA is, by all accounts available to me, one of the handful of bands from the new crop that have skyrocketed in stature and popularity to the levels previously held by the mid 2000’s indie stalwarts, crashing the party with probably the best case of intuitive visual kei marketing since conditional disbandment by first releasing Oboreru Sakana on Youtube for all gaijins to easily enjoy. Immediate hit in the west relatively speaking, due to its accessibility both in sound and availability, they’ve been on a continual upward surge since. And now two DADAism’s later, the third in the series has just dropped coinciding with the third year into their run.
 
Having now amassed a decent amount of bulk into their discography one can finally make some observations what DADAROMA is, and what they are about. What to note specifically, is that the overall image of their sound is uniquely scattered, and yet aesthetically consistent. Ever since their debut a polarity has been attributed to them; a struggle between the metalcore influence against their wacky, almost The GazettE-esque light-heartedness and a tendency to stick to more traditional nu-metal visual kei riffs and vocal stylings. At this point, three years on from their debut, it can probably be said that this is a false observation. Out of a discography of 47 or so songs, only about 4 or 5 put on their striped deathcore socks, while the rest tread the line of either appropriating the odd stylistic trick from the style or settle comfortably into the visual kei ballad/mid-tempo song territory. What does remain consistent however is their imagery of clowns, sex, clichéd visual kei political commentary and a very loud production that’s as slick as it gets. Looking at the entirety of their output from the past three years one notices that they’ve always been kind of the same; looking, sounding and acting pretty much like they’ve always done and whatever had been mistakenly attributed as a stylistic shift was merely a case of someone being unfamiliar with them. The palette of DADAROMA just happens to be very broad, and they happen to divulge in all the different aspects of it cyclically.
 
What I do think is true however, is that they do some things better than others, and DADAISM 3 is a prime example of it. In the third release of their EP series we see a band distilling all their worst traits into 20-minute slog that’s everything I hope this band will not be about in the future.
 
In their prime DADAROMA uses the interplay of their ability to use metalcore and traditional visual kei’s melodramatic potency to a great effect. In their first PV tracks Oboreru Sakana and Ame no Waltz they bang out a Suicide Silence 101 knock-off and whispery vk vocals at exactly the right times, and climax like the sinking titanic with a lazy vk fade out for the centuries. If perfect 2010’s visual kei was engineered in a laboratory, it’d sound like these two songs did. Fucking tremendous.
 
While for some of the subsequent PV’s they’d showcase their knack for doing other things, I believe that even if they didn’t continue chugging like before, at least they always stayed fun and sexy. When in form, Yoshiatsu gives a degree of gravity to everything he is on and there is no denying what a technically able band there’s behind him; so even when appropriating INSIDE BEAST or being really tacky with Nightmare Before Christmas Tim Burtony jingles, they’re awesome. With DADAISM 3 being something which they haven’t been before: boring.
 
Oddly enough starting out with a high note, DADAROMA’s PV cut this time is MASTURBATION that horrified a segment of the people on this board, and here I’ll make a case for it: MASTURBATION is interesting, loud and very obnoxious. One valuable life lesson I’ve learned from a childhood of watching pro-wrestling is that any reaction is better than no reaction. There’s an inherent value to the over the topness, and especially when it’s quite fitting for a band that’s always been kind of carney, and most importantly sincerely self-aware. Could I do without another mid-period Marilyn Manson dance live song? Yes, but I don’t hate it either and I kind of appreciate it for what it is. Despite everything it still bangs hard and remains true to the band’s spirit.
 
Things halt to a standstill right afterwards however, when DADAROMA apparently decides to churn out a EP’s worth of mid-tempo ballads and nu-nu-visual kei bangers, channelling pop Lynch and the worm-eaten corpse of that version of Girugamesh nobody liked. I’m making it sound worse than it is, but for a band that’s been so consistent a lull like this is both alarming and a curious choice. Before in songs like Yume Tarareba and Zouka what worked in their favour is both their colourful concept and the contrast in the sound of all their elements. Things that were generic were made cool by their skill and unique character. When a band like this then slows down and makes a collection of energetic live songs and heartfelt bittersweet ballads, I become disaffected when they fall short of the grand theatre of what they could be. Romance Gray is immediately forgettable compared to other songs structured the same way with the sampled rainfall and everything; Itoshi teru doesn’t hold a candle to the songs they’ve made before in a similar style either, and in fact every other song on here can as well be categorised into “they’ve done it before, and they’ve done it better.” Sincerely it is the first time this band has done something twice, and now it’s an EP full of very matter of fact diddies that lack the edge of their prior material, aside from the PV cut that’s a Risley Circus B-side with crass lyrics as its saving grace.
 
When this band takes its foot off the pedal, they can start sounding very generic and tired. This can be circumvented by doing things different. Working with your unique concept, not ripping off Lynch and utilising the tools at your disposal in ways that hasn't been done in the scene before. DADAISM 3 is a paint by the numbers EP from a very professional band no matter how you look at it; it doesn’t hit even close to as hard as 1 or have the diversity of 2. If they’ll settle on treading the same ground like a DOGMA Gazette junior, then they’ll absolutely have to bring back the deathcore for some desperately needed flavour, or otherwise we are due for redux of NOW and GO era Girugamesh. If the history of this band is anything to go by then they'll rebound shortly, but there's always that doubt...
 
 

TOP 10 ANIME BATTLES..........

If you're talking about what I think you are, that person is caught up in two huge essays of 8000+ words and they're very sorry and still plan to write a review  as soon as they're done

It was time for Aja to leave. Even though I don't like her,  sympathised with her in untucked.
 
Also, you guys should see this
 
 
 

Hi! I've visited this site once and a while and now that I see myself on it more I made an account. Some of my favorite VK bands are Kannivalism, xtripx, 9goats black out, Deathgaze, and Baroque. I've been also getting into more non-visual Japanese bands like Lamp in Terren, People in the box, and Super Beaver. I've never actually read any of the introductions here so this is probably posted all wrong but I'm looking forward to sharing my opinion on stuff here! 

Listening to this song brings me memories. And it's so cool.
 
 

Finished watching 13 Reasons Why.
 
I have mixed feelings on this one. Yeah, I read the book back in 2009 or something and got excited finding out they were adapting it, it can easily work as a series. However there were several issues with it.
To start with, the main character. He's especially unlikable & plain. Like, I get it that he's just your average awkward kid, but he brought the show down until the last 2 episodes where the actor finally learned how to actually do something with the role. 
Secondly, the pacing was painfully slow. I think they needed to keep filling the show with unnecessary stuff to make into a standard length Netflix series, which ruined it imo. There was no need to fill the episodes with some lawsuit bullshit, no need to drag them out with teenagers bickering, not when the dialogue is so cringe worthy. So, I was just bored through scenes and scenes of Clay's face staring into nothing and people saying some cheesy line then walking off into nowhere. It'd have been way better if the story was more  focused...like the book. 
But the third point ties in with the second one, because they wanted to pump as much content into the story to fill it out they also wanted to use that content to make points which are trendy\relevant nowadays (rape, bullying obviously, objectifying women, male gaze, etc.) but some points are just pulled out of their ass in the last episode, leaving the good ones to the side.
 
 
That being said, I still enjoyed it. It's a story that's even more powerful when you can watch it and I'm surprised they did the abuse scenes very well without shying away at the horror of it, I did struggle to watch 3 scenes in particular which led to the story having an impact on me overall. 
 
7/10

Haven't updated in a while, but the band has been touring extensively. Hopefully there will soon be news of new music as well!!
 
Here are some interesting events coming up:
 
2017.05.21 - Kansai Rock Summit, the biggest VK 'festival' in Kansai. Purple Stone will be up at JANUS, from 14.30~15.00
 
2017.05.30 - Purple Stone oneman live at RUIDO K4. This is also keiya's birthday's live and it's so rare that they're doing it in Tokyo so pls go see them if you can!!  
 
2017.06.20 - A two man live with Megalo (a non-vk rock band) at Osaka Muse. I think Megalo's members are Fuma's close friends that's why they're doing this! Regardless, it's pretty unusual to have a two-man like this so I'm sure it'll be fun!
 
2017.07.10 - A special '6-man' event at Nagoya's Club Quattro, featuring 3 from Osaka and 3 from Nagoya. Purple Stone is part of the Osaka 'team' together with Fest and RiR
 
2017.07.22 - Kamijo's birthday live
 
Apart from these they're on the stylish wave '17 Circuit tour with some other really good bands in the lineup!
 

If you're talking about what I think you are, that person is caught up in two huge essays of 8000+ words and they're very sorry and still plan to write a review  as soon as they're done

Me featuring my coworkers black animals. <3

Friday the black shepherd sleeping.
 

I forgot her name. ;_;
 

Cupcake the pit bull mix being cute.

What made it so bad? 
 
Welcome btw c:

What points do you prioritize spending money on? Is it traveling or staying in comfort? Band merch? Or just hitting as many lives (of a certain band or during a specific time frame) as possible? Are you willing to travel as far as the band is performing (like Fukuoka or Hokkaido), or are you content with just hitting as many places around honshu or around your general vicinity? Do you have any favorite cheap travel recommendations for bigger cities?
 
In the past I would travel/stay/eat as cheaply as possible (which meant lots of overnight buses, hostels/manga cafes, and rice balls/instant noodles), and then buy as many tour goods I wanted that I could afford. Now that I'm older, I still travel cheaply, but I tend to use the Seishun18Kippu when I can and drive everywhere else. Shinkansen is a last resort... I've never attended a live outside of honshu, so I've never flown to see a show.
 
I like that I can get off at random stations with the Seishun18Kippu, explore and do a little sightseeing, and then get back on the train and go the rest of the way. Now I only buy tour goods I can use (or of a certain member) and then trade with other girls on Twitter for randoms (cheki/trading cards/stickers/rubber bracelets/etc.) Since I'm getting older and going to lives takes a lot more out of me, I tend to stay at a business hotel within walking distance to the live house (I hate having lots of stuff to carry at lives, worrying about getting a locker, and commuting before/after). What about you guys?
 
Also any tips you'd give newbies possibly going on their first live tour?
 
I guess one of my tips is that you can usually get much cheaper deals on business hotel singles if you book 40-70 days before, when the tour is first announced. Then if you end up deciding not to go or can't get a ticket, just cancel your reservation within the cancelation time frame, since at least 95% of hotels don't require you to pay upfront. That way you're covered no matter what you do. Tickets can usually be gotten last minute, but with hotels it can be much more difficult/way more expensive, especially in places like Osaka where there are fewer hotels compared to other larger cities.
 
 

As part of a 3 release campaign including "Gray," Reign will release 2 more releases on {2017.06.07] and [2017.09.20]!!!!!! They have a new look which was previously shown on their last thread, but here it is again!
 

 

Waiting for my  video to finish rendering and once I submit it, that's me done. I'm free from a degree that has depleted me of any type of life for three years.
 
Cannot wait to be done and get back to looking after myself. I've counted the days since September last year. 
 
(also this is the longest a video has taken to render... Please don't crash...) 

Do you ever get the feeling that some things that seem to be essentials in life just aren't for you? For me it's meaningful relations of any kind. I just suck at making friends in all arenas, whether someone has similar interests or none at all. If I do get someone to become interested in me, they often seem to lose interest or become friends with someone else 'nearby' in said circle. Perhaps it's attributed to my social awkwardness or introvertedness or I just have really bad luck. And when I do try to be social, most times I'm shot down in some form or fashion. 
 
Sobby random thought (there's probably a thread for these kinda things), but it's just been on my mind the past few days. I'm really starting to think I won't be able to truly connect with anyone.

Last time I had blond with turquoise ww

 
Now I have purple with darkblue and my younger brother has pink hair x3

I just felt like contributing. 

Got ma mtfvkn Hair cutted last Friday finally. :)))
 

Mix Speaker's Inc. new limited single, "トイドールの行進/トイドールの暴走" (TOYDOLL no kōshin/ TOYDOLL no bōsō) has been released via lives only and mail order on May 3. The single is available for purchase at their webshop.
 

 

I’ve been lurking for quite a while but finally decided to make an account. I just hope that I’ll actually get around to posting, I’m pretty shy.
 
I’ve been listening to VKei for over a decade (eleven years, to be technical), but my tastes as of late seemed to have jumped into a time machine; I used to be very diligent about keeping up with new or modern bands, but over the last couple years or so, I’ve been backtracking into more ~*old school*~ artists and I have a hard time keeping up with everything going on now. Which isn’t necessarily bad, I love what I listen to, but I’m hoping to find new stuff and expand my horizons yay etc. I found out about DADAROMA and MORRIGAN, bands I'm loving, from lurking around here, so I'm hopeful. 
 
Off the top of my head, some stuff I dig: Malice Mizer (because of course), AMADEUS, CANARY, Eliphas Levi, RENTRER EN SOI, NOi’X, Sleep My Dear, L’eprica, sibilebashir, Grieva, Madeth Gray'll, MIRAGE, UnsraW (RIP my sons), Gallo, MORE, sukekiyo, etc.
 
Outside of that, I like a lot of Japanese indie (new and old), v a p o r w a v e, metalcore and djent, hip-hop, jrock in general… it’s a mixed bag. 
 
But yeah! I look forward to seeing you guys around and actually interacting. 

I just don't see the point of shipping, specially when it's real life people. Like... Uruha is married and probably Aoi too. It's never gonna happen.
But to each their own,  I'd just like to understand what's the purpose of doing it.
fanfic and fanart are easier to take on and understand imo than this craze of dying for people you ship and doxxing anyone who says otherwise. 

Same, I always forget Alexis.
 
Michelle's the most embarrassing judge, her criticism is very petty/personal/unnecessary sometimes. Remember the time she told a queen to 'jooj' it up a little? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??? Better to stay quiet if you've got nothing to say. 

Farrah has to go next. She's beautiful, but all she does is cry at everything... bitch,please. NEXT.
Shea and Sasha slayed my heart once again.
 
 
And why the fuck everyone acting like Eureka DIED? Have you guys seen how many queens have left the show before? It's normal, don't act like she died mid-challenge or something lol Yeah, she wasn't the worst person in the cast but I still couldn't stand her. Good riddance.

That chipmunk sure can lipsync for his life!