Euronymous

臓器のノゾキ穴。(Zouki no nozokiana)


Track list:
01.チョコレート階段(Chocolate kaidan)
02.「洗脳」(Sennou)
03.液状部屋 (Ekijou heya)
04.絶倫フルコース (Zetsurin full course)
05.「腐乱腐乱」 (Furanfuran)
06.すてきな唄。 (Suteki na uta)
 
吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu)


01. 吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu)
02. 「便所2」 (benjo2)
 
The great part of being a visual fan is all the unpredictable wackiness that happens behind the scenes. I don't think anyone would have predicted that one of the best visual albums of 2015 would have come from a band that had only a demo-tape before their full album release. This band burst onto the scene with a foul sound: even among their contemporaries who borrow from the early 2000's visual-kei sound, Kuroyuri to Kage were different. Their songs moved along with a hauntingly heavy feel, more akin to the sounds of sludge-metal than the hyper-sanitized metalcore/djent hybrids currently reigning the scene. It was especially wild considering this was the new band of Memento-Mori, a band with a heavy japoneseque leaning. Their image was as dark as their doomy sound, led by the particularly enigmatic and freaky vocalist Karasuna Mei. Themes of perversion, darkness, rape, murder and anything else you wouldn't ever want to see unless it was in a horror movie make up the lyrical themes and concepts of their releases. A period of long inactivity towards the later half of 2015 had stans suspicious, so the news that they'd be dropped from AINS and losing two founding members to retirement wasn't all that big of a shock. That said, they chose to continue independently* on their own label Yamikakumei with a four member lineup, recruiting a support drummer. What did the future hold for a once very promising band on one of the best labels in the scene?
 
Kuroyuri to kage return from flopsville after some label drama and losing two original members, releasing Zouki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu in 2016, slaying our existence. What could have been a recipe for disaster has been whipped into a yummy two course meal by the master chefs behind KTK, albeit made of human flesh and blood. Dinner is the mini-album Zouki no nozokiana, the band's second mini album and first formal release after the departure of guitarist Koyomi and drummer Mutsuki, released on the 10th of August, 2016. Dessert is Toshabutsu, the band's second single, released on the 2nd of November. So without further ado ladies and gentlemen, let's say grace and sink our filthy forks into this!
 
These releases are similar enough stylistically to fall under one review, they could have been recorded in the same sessions—that said, Kuroyuri are quite consistent with their sound. Make no mistake, this is the same band from 2015 for the most part, the differences from their prior output are quite fine, but still prominent. The most notable difference is the more direct sound: all the tracks here follow the same mid-tempo crawl Kuroyuri have been known for, shedding the ballads and faster songs from their debut. The blast beats are entirely gone, and so are the eerie music box ballads. The single guitar setup has pushed more of an emphasis on electronics and less on lead guitar parts, the surprising old-school solos Koyomi whipped up in the past are noticeably absent. To compensate for the missing guitar, along with the newly added bleepbloops, the bass is turned up to 11—and I mean it. The bass pummels like no one's business. I haven't heard basslines this obnoxious since like...ever. The way the bass is mixed is also fascinating, on the surface it's just a lot of clacking, trembly bass work. The magic comes when you crank the volume up; the low end is massive, almost like a subwoofer was dubbed over the bassline. The bass and guitar almost occupy the same amount of space in the mix, so you will hear every bass hit and every note K plays. The end result is a more pummeling sound, less Kagerou and more Slipknot or Korn. It's all less dynamic than their first two releases, which is a bit of a loss for me, but it's an interesting way Kuroyuri have chosen to advance their sound and adapt to the member changes.
 
Onto the individual releases, Nozoki... is a 6 track mini, half featured in the prior mail-order/live-limited singleうろんなチョコ冷凍。(Uronna Choko Reitou.) from April 2016. “Chocolate kaidan”, “Zetsurin full course” and “Suteki na uta” are all remastered from their original demos, sounding noticeably sharper and less lo-fi, while the rest are new tracks. That said, the production job on the mini is far from perfect, it's rather obnoxiously clipped. “Chocolate kaidan” isn't too notable a track but serves as a solid into for the rest of the album. Tt follows from Kuroyuri's original formula of clean, reverb-y guitar parts paired up with a heavy chorus and clean vocals, originally featured to brilliant effect in “Yokusou”. “Sennou” takes no prisoners, melding djent-y riffage (!!) with an alt-metal crawl, dubstep breakdown (??) and insane vocals. The subtle shifting of the track's rhythm and Mei's contrasting vocals make it an album highlight and totally addictive. “Ekijouheya” isn't as interesting as the rest, but is notable for the wild Korn-esque scat vocal breakdown and amazing slap bass solo in the middle. The new emphasis on electronics/manipulation is on full display here, as the buzzy synth duels against the guitar and bass in the verses. “Zetsubou full course” features some disturbing child choir echoing Mei's vocals in the intro and chorus, and is home to the sole guitar solo on the album. The track overstays its welcome at just over five minutes long, but it is one hell of a freaky track. My favourite track, “Furanfuran” follows right after, opening with a barrage of alt-metal riffage and slap bass all while Mei goes insane in the back. I'd like to think this is a really fun live song, as the rhythm goes perfectly with moshing furitsuke, or choreography. The track builds in its noisiness while Mei goes back and forth between a hypnotic vocal melody and utter madness, all before coming to a pretty end. “Suteki na uta” is more or less a different variation of all the flavours already offered on the prior tracks.
 
Toshabutsu is where shit hits the fan (harharhar), by way of the title track; the best song Kuroyuri to Kage have released since “Yokusou”. The track opens up with trippy, oddly manipulated and dissonant chords (Inquisition, anyone?) backing the usual alt-metal crawl. It segways into the typical effects-laden clean guitar+bass passages Kuroyuri have basically trademarked at this point. The tension mounts with some operatic vocals, all before melting back into the same intro passage while Mei delivers the chorus. It's an odd chorus in that it's long and not all that catchy, but the way the guitars drop and Mei comes in with the lyrical delivery is so fucking addictive. Listen to this on blast and I guarantee you'll be slow headbanging like a maniac. This is so, so heavy in a way only Kuroyuri can do. Also notable is how Mei sticks to mostly clean vocals throughout the song, but ends up heavy enough to demolish your head. “Benjo2” is the b-side for “Toshabutsu”, and it sounds nothing like the original “Benjo”; rather serving as the manic release for “Toshabutsu”'s composed heaviness.
 
These releases aren't enough to convert Kuroyuri naysayers, but definitely warrant a listen from people who might have written them off in the past. In that same length, Nozoki... and Toshabutsu are stripped down enough to possibly alienate old fans who might not like their new, meatier sound. That said, if you're tired of the mass spawning of Deluhi clones, try-hard deathcore bands and oshare kei, and you reminisce about the days when MUCC were actually heavy and when Slipknot and Korn ruled MTV, then give this a listen. Dinner and dessert were delicious today, thanks for joining in on today's feast. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to the wipe the blood off the corners of my mouth and get to cleaning up this mess. I think i'll need more bleach. Until next time.
 
Both Nozoki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu are available for sale at CD Japan here and here respectively.
 
8/10
 
*the question remains as to whether they were actually dropped by AINS or whether something else is going on behind the scenes that we don't know; so for the intents and purposes of this review assume they're independent

While I do hear a lot of Gazette Influence in the vocals, most of the sound influences come from their old band JyuLie, which was like a cross between Byakura (Which they actually were featured on an Omnibus with), R-Shitei, and The GazettE. In GossiP, the Byakura influence is a bit less since they don't use traditional instruments anymore, but they still embrace R-Shitei's Meiji and Taisho period A E S T H E T I C S. There are also some smaller Eroguro influences, like Inugami Circus Dan and Guruguru Eigakan, but those are mostly aesthetic. 

am i the only one who think that kiryu became so over produced since the single amaterasu??
seriously,if you take singles like aien kien and etsu to utsu or the album kyouka suigetsu,you can enjoy the songs easily
but since amaterasu their songs sounds good,but at the same time its such a mess,sometimes it hurts your ears,so many effects
i really hope to see some changes...

yes,i agree with you,i've been following their evolution since 2011...till kyoka suigetsu evertything was ok,but from amaterasu on,them has changed their sound quality to something that is hard to "dive in",if you get me.as you said,an amount of effects.them don't need all of this,mitsuki and takemasa are great guitarrists,like you i wish that them could sound clearer,some guitar battles and stuff, and put just some koto or shakuhachi or shamisen slightly to lead the japanese atmosphere.i knew that this single would sound like a "kyousei-irodori" only judging by the new look.

i don't even listen to meteoroid,but such news makes me afraid of visiting this site and see something like:
"kuroyuri to kage will disband"
"dezert will disband"
"archemi will disband"
"the gallo will disband"
"gossip will disband"
and many others...these bands are my life,but we can always expect shit like this,unfortunately

hello again ^_^/
 i took a huge time to get used to kyouki's voice,and now his voice to me is one of the greatest in the visual kei.i think from the album shuuei on,them found their way to make music,i can enjoy 85% of their music since that album. gossip is original but if you are a the gazette fan you can easily realize the great influence in the atmosphere of their songs,i think the gazette is their source of inspiration

Grieva does have some pretty creative songs here and there. 
Also, on the topic of Ains bands copying others (Well, except Diaura), I never knew why people assume Gossip was a Gazette copy. Like, the GazettE isn't a Neo Old-School AnguraKei band xD. Also, long time no see, old friend~
 
Onto le main topic, I was ehhh on Grieva's new single. They're normally a guilty pleasure (in more ways than one xD) for me, as a Dir En Grey fan, but Kyouki's voice and occasional creativity is the pleasure for me xD. But because they're normally a guilty pleasure, I don't listen to them as often as I should. I've been just getting back into modern Vkei bands after binging on Kiryu's old stuff, and Memento Mori/Kuroyuri's old stuff xD. 
I hope their new single though really makes up for what they've been putting out recently. 

It's not that fast.
 
Liar has been released at 2016/09. This single will come 5 months after.
 
This year we got one album and one single (and 2 DVDs). 

^
i thought irodori was an improvement with yubikiri/yamu/whatever the name of the last song is- but apparently nope... i'd really like to hear the guitars more, i mean i still love the music but i can only hear mahiro and an insane amount of effects and that makes me kind of "meh" this new single doesn't seem different either
 

am i the only one who think that kiryu became so over produced since the single amaterasu??
seriously,if you take singles like aien kien and etsu to utsu or the album kyouka suigetsu,you can enjoy the songs easily
but since amaterasu their songs sounds good,but at the same time its such a mess,sometimes it hurts your ears,so many effects
i really hope to see some changes...

am i the only one who think that kiryu became so over produced since the single amaterasu??
seriously,if you take singles like aien kien and etsu to utsu or the album kyouka suigetsu,you can enjoy the songs easily
but since amaterasu their songs sounds good,but at the same time its such a mess,sometimes it hurts your ears,so many effects
i really hope to see some changes...

just listened the whole album and noticed that them re recorded some old "mao" songs
i liked that,i wish them could re record their first album,those songs are great but their quality got better after the muen single
LUCIFERO is great,wish more success for the gallo 

i don't even listen to meteoroid,but such news makes me afraid of visiting this site and see something like:
"kuroyuri to kage will disband"
"dezert will disband"
"archemi will disband"
"the gallo will disband"
"gossip will disband"
and many others...these bands are my life,but we can always expect shit like this,unfortunately

i don't even listen to meteoroid,but such news makes me afraid of visiting this site and see something like:
"kuroyuri to kage will disband"
"dezert will disband"
"archemi will disband"
"the gallo will disband"
"gossip will disband"
and many others...these bands are my life,but we can always expect shit like this,unfortunately

R指定 new maxi single "-SHAMBARA-" will be released on 2016/12/21 (2 TYPE).

limited edition (1,944yen) will include CD+DVD (including "-SHAMBARA-" PV & PV making), and regular edition (1,296yen) will include CD only.

[CD track list]
01.-SHAMBARA-
02.インザコンクリート(in the concrete)
 

I realised just now but on their tenjou tenge video it says they will have an important announcement at their one man gig at 4th of December... Wonder what that is. 

I red all comments here before listening to it. I was scared to play this because of bad reviews.
but
PEOPLE WTF. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. Just let them to be DEZERT.

Sick. has announced that they'll release their second mini album [2117] on 2017.2.22.
 

Basically at the moment, the members of Deviloof especially Keisuke are dealing with a pair of stalkers who have been causing trouble and generally harassing them for a little over the last month.
 
this is them polity requesting to stop the harassment otherwise they will need to involve the police.

YEAH!!!!! GOOD FUCKING  LOOK!
 

HOTOKESAAMMAAAAAAA