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Taemin keeps satisfying my vkei cravings more than actual vkei 😁 The whole album is wonderful, instant favorite.

The whole track is on Spotify too! Overwhelmingly chaotic and wonderful. They didn't give us a lot to go on in the teaser, but I've liked all songs so far, super excited.

@sads123 I may try it! I recorded with Windows' built-in recorder last time.

@sads123 Already signed up for premium! I'll be at work during the concert😔, but promise a recording in the evening.

The way I would have missed the release and randomply stumbled upon it months later, if it weren't for the videos - missed these guys! 💗

@sads123 Is this a different thing then (scroll down for photo), or the same? Have there been various mystery cassette tapes through the years?

@Tokage Well the title literally translates to Mystery Cassette Tape, after all 😄 From what I could find, it was a live surprise thingy that you could get on the [collector] Tour Extra ~Mystery Day~ concert in exchange for your mystery card, don't know what the deal with the mystery cards was though and I couldn't be bothered to google it more, so hope that was useful.

I just want to go home and listen to all Kenichi's songs on repeat... Jigsaw's onto something with his sparse credits on recent albums, but still I was not ready for this. I can't even imagine Merry without Kenichi. I hope he finds happiness and the band continue being strong - they've been through so much!

Couldn't get the download to work, but guess what, I have a screen recording! If anyone wants to help me record it properly from nico, that will be so appreciated. If not, I'll put the screen recording up tomorrow. Edit: MERRY ONE MAN TOUR 2019 - For Japanese Sheeple - There were a couple of hiccups with the stream, but hopefully small enough that they won't distract from the experience.

If you can wait until the weekend, I'll sign up for premium and try to record it then.

It's so tiring hearing the same rehashed opinions about k-pop being exploitative, manufactured etc. The truth of the fact is, yes there are some toxic sides to the industry, but it differs from group to group and change is happening. If people discussed say American pop music the way they do k-pop, taking every breakdown, every atrocity and using it to paint the whole industry, what an ugly picture that would be. Anyway, there's a large overlap in the things that draw me to k-pop and visual kei. Mixing music styles, theatrical concepts, interesting personalities. And there's a ton of variety , if you like me are drawn to angsty, dramatic shit, boy does k-pop provide. The part of me that enjoys visual kei is 100% the same that listened to BTS' Singularity and Tear on repeat all of last year.

I enjoyed this a lot. Given it was the least promising of the previews for me, my expectations for the EP are at an all-time high.

Agreed that 3 and 4 sound the most interesting. Not really feeling the rest from the samples, but I ended up liking sheeple, so I expect nothing less.

The CORE packaging is lovely.

@Jigsaw9 that's hilariously spot on. Except! As someone who loves Atom Miraiha No. 9 - it has become my second favorite album of theirs after Six/Nine! - it pains me to see it not get the adoration it deserves. Granted, it is a bit weird and even cringy at times (the "I don't know if I should be impressed how they do that with a straight face" kind). There's also the aspect where the music very deliberately references recognizable sounds and moods - but not without its unique twist on them! I think the title is a key to the method, a future built from fragments of the familiar and nostalgic. But once you embrace the album, there is nothing like it. So let me be super self-indulgent and do a track by track of why it rocks. cum uh sol nu - This is halfway a grandiose incantation about immortality that would be at home at any old sci-fi or fantasy film with bad effects, but also personally the chorus gives me the image of a lone drunk rambling ("I'll never die, ha!"). Is it a flask of alcohol or the alchemist's flask with the homunculus inside (unscramble the title)? Keep the theme of creating humans in mind, because next comes... PINOA ICCHIO - The superior love song for the age of AI. Listen to Imai having so much fun on the guitar! It's the combination of danger and exhilaration (to the point of madness or system breakdown) that I love. Devil's WIngs - It really gives the feeling of flying, falling apart into sensations and coming together again. Also if you read the lyrics, the juxtapoition of the standard gothic imagery of souls and devils with the cells multiplying is cool. El Dorado - This, this is my favorite! The melody inexorably pulling you forward, and one the most vivid Sakurai performances ever as the drunk "alchemist", in Mexico at that. Bi NEO Universe - Eh, I'm not so big on this one. "aishiaVODKA" is iconic though. BOY septem peccata mortalia - This one is pretty funny with the whining ("Why is it wrong?") and the tantrum at the song climax. Also the vehiment denial of telling lies always reminded me of Pinocchio (given the second song's title), so I always imagine this song as his journey through the Land of Toys, only a not-quite-PG-13 version of it. Jukai - I'm not sure this even works without the imagery of the lyrics in mind, but they come together with the music to form a terribly vivid sensual impression. Sakurai tying love and death is nothing new, but never has it been quite this chilling. THE SEASIDE STORY - There they go again with the tonal whiplash. Now excuse me but I LOVE THIS. I'm just unreasonably happy with the idea of Sakurai singing a song from the point of view of the little mermaid reimagined as a shoujo heroine without batting an eye. I don't know how the conversation about this went, but thank you Imai! And just what a lovely summer jam. (Mix with Sid Vicious ON THE BEACH for pure perfection.) FUTURE SONG - It is the future and you're kicking ass. Apparently you're also getting some. But bottom line, if you don't take the excuse to self-insert yourself into an imaginary space opera, what even is the point? Manjusaka - This one is striking, the way it walks the line between tender and cutting, spiteful even. The music gives me a very specific feeling, like the electric air before a thunderstorm. Also if you are a B-T lyrics nerd, there is cool continuity with the imagery of the cherry blossoms - in Kalavinka they "suck red blood and sing", and here they are "spitting blood" (going by Cayce's translations). Cuba Libre - The first thing I fell in love with about Atom Miraiha, especially with it coming on the heels of The Mortal, was how colorful it was, and this is the clearest example. Maybe because Cayce pointed out that "Taiyou ga Ippai" is the Japanese title of "Plein Soleil", but this song has a bit of that old film glamour to it for me on top of the carnival vibe going. It's also impossibly catchy. Ai no Souretsu - It either gets you in the feels, or it doesn't. The grand yet poignant closer. (Only it isn't! Ha!) NEW WORLD - Part of me hates that this is the actual closer. Don't get me wrong, I like the song, how airy and shimmery it is, and the water-spiral-dancing line, pretty! But after Ai no Souretsu? Nah mate. I usually do the same I do with Merry's Fuyu no Castanet (which I also like) and pretend it was never on its album. Once in a blue moon though, I let myself think how it could fit in the album progression, and it sends my thoughts spiralling back through the beginning, zeroes and nines and going from the creation of humans to the creation of whole worlds. So I am happy it is where it is. Excuse the rambling, but guys, see, I stayed until 5 in the morning to write about this album! Please give it a chance, something just may click.

@Jigsaw9 Not even My Baby Japanese type II? And yes!! about Hyper Love + Taboo. I remember just playing these performances on repeat (+Narcissus, Taiyou ni Korosareta and Kiss Me Goodbye) for weeks when I first became a fan.

I may be alone here, but EMBYO. It's just such a Sakurai song, it's truly cool how we can see the continuity of his lyrical themes from back then, and EMBYO is in some ways more powerful for being so direct too. Then ICONOCLASM is the classic, though I prefer the rerecording.

It's been long enough for the news to sink in, but reading this (and the crappy google translate) got me emo again. Hoping they manage to survive this, love these guys and believe they have much more in them to show.

Elvis and C. 16th ± are old These New Puritans songs from the Beat Pyramid album.

The new MERRY font and the cartoon sheep are giving me life. Ah, this will be good!

Yeah, it was mentioned here, it was just fascinating to see for me. Perhaps I worded this weird, idk. I love how Adoratio translates live, it's a super eclectic album, so I was curious about this.

Don't know if this has been discussed in another thread, but I watched yesterday's nico live and suddenly remembered the talks of Kyo spicing things up with some synths or even a theremin from a few pages back and lo and behold (after the 30 minute mark, theremin after 33). Prophetic much? Predict somethin nice for me too.

[collector] montage charlie

Well this is absolutely epic. I don't know how they do it.

I had to do a double take on Takky, nice look! I admire LIPHLICH immensely for always keeping their style distinctive and interesting, despite being on a budget. Wataru is a jewel. Looking forward to the album, Hatsumei was second release for last year and it was amazing, so I have no reason to expect anything less of them.