qotka

I've only been scrobbling on this account for about 2 years. my downy plays definitely spiked up rather dramatically, as I've been binging on them these past few months. XD
 

 
@hiroki- holy shizzlekobabbles - I might be wrong, but...hear me out on this...I think there's a chance, just an inkling, that you really enjoy vistlip.  

Hi, my name is Kohaku I just rejoined this site. I had an account YEARS ago and I can`t even begin to try to figure out what my log in info was. So I`m starting over lol.  A couple of my friends recently brought this site up and I figured that I should sign up again. I want to make more friends that like J-Rock (And DIR EN GREY)! I also hope to discover some new bands maybe. I also offer translating and finding merch services if anyone is interested in that. I go to many DIR EN GREY lives so I can get people merch that is being sold on the tours. Sorry this was such and awkward intro lol.
 
P.S. I recently have been getting really into Pierrot and Angelo if anyone wants to have a discussion about them!  

I know the situation. It took me about 8 years to actually get into them - I'm very slow with these things. :x 
 
I think his voice has developed a lot in the past 20 years. In the past he relied a lot on emotion/acting (which he still does, theatricality has always been a huge part of his presentation), and what notes he couldn't reach he made up for by screaming/shrieking, which was rough and amazing. Now he sounds more professional and polished, sometimes sounding more like a jazz/pop vocalist than what he used to sound like. I find it very soothing but I can totally see how it's not everyone's cup of tea.

I read in another forum some people said they lost their more "underground" vibes with those remakes. And Tatsuro voice became more nasal, less emotional...
 
I think Of course they can',t reproduce the same emotion because it was long Time ago. Sometimes i don't understand what fans expect 

amazing review! incredibly well written
i will get into mucc one day...when my HD has storage....eventually as i've been saying for the past 2 years

Confession: I bought the limited edition of MUCC's Shin Tsuuzetsu because I fell in love with the creepy cage doll design and it had a lenticular jacket. Can't stop looking at it.
 
 

Tracklist
 
Disc 1: Shin Homura Uta
 
1. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
2. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
3. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
4. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
5. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
6. ママ (Mama)
7. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
8. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
9. およげ!たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ-In its true light- (Mae e -In its true light-)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 (Suisou)
16. 大嫌い2006 (Daikirai 2006)
 
Disc 2: Homura Uta ~Remaster~
 
01. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
02. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
03. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
04. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
05. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
06. ママ (Mama)
07. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
08. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
09. およげ！たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ (Mae e)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 Sg ver (Suisou Sg ver)
 
| Classics are made to be tempered with
 
Here's one band that hasn't been getting a lot of rest in 2017. 新葬ラ謳 (Shin Homura Uta) includes two versions of MUCC's 葬ラ謳 (Homura Uta) - a remastered one and a shiny, new re-recorded one. It was released along with 新痛絶 (Shin Tsuuzetsu) as part of the band's 20 year anniversary extravaganza, its announcement coming in contiguity with their '哀愁とアンティークと痛みも葬る (Aishuu to Antique to Itami mo Homoru)' summer tour, in which they exclusively performed materials from their first two EPs and first two full length studio albums. There isn't much to say about the remastered version, so this review will focus on the new recording.
 
This release is not just about paying a nostalgic tribute to their past or reliving it. Revised 葬ラ謳 is as vibrant and relevant as the original was 15 years ago; not much has changed on the surface, yet everything sounds different. It's a great example for an album that has evolved in a similar way language does, with its tracks going through years of being performed live, re-recorded, and remixed; the result is something anyone who speaks visual-kei can understand, but with noticeable changes.
 
葬ラ謳 was a fairly commercially successful album. It was first released in September 2002 as a limited edition that sold out quickly; a regular edition came the next month, and a reissue of the limited edition came in 2004. This album had a story to tell - a story of distilled anguish, pain, sorrow, loss and all those other heart-wrenching emotions and experiences that have been driving people to create art throughout history. In that sense, they never offered anything revolutionary; they were just good storytellers who used heaps of murky sound and raw energy to create something people could relate to. It is also clear that grunge, alternative rock and even nu metal were among their many interests at that point, and they were learning them carefully and experimenting with them as best as they could.
 
In 2017, the same album tells a completely different story. The muddy sound is replaced with a polished presentation, which might strike some v-kei veterans as 'lacking depth' or even 'less than genuine'. It’s true that nothing can replace those pain-driven shrieks in the original “絶望 (Zetsubou)” or “ズタズタ (Zutazuta)” that sound like someone’s soul being run over by an 18-wheeler. But this is just where the potency of the new recording lies; it doesn’t try to recreate the original, it uses it as a foundation to create something new. It doesn’t only show the experience the band has gained in the past 15 years, developing both in terms of musical skills and delivery, which can clearly be heard in Tatsuro’s crisp vocals and Satochi’s precise drumming. 新葬ラ謳 is a story that couldn’t have been told the way it is without the band’s (sometimes questionable) musical endeavors over the years and could be seen as a journey journal of sorts - one that doesn't leave out even newfound quirks, like in “前へ (Mae e)", which now includes an auto-tuned reggae moment brought to you by music nerd Miya. “前へ” was re-recorded in 2014 for the “ENDER ENDER” single, and it shows that nothing is sacred in the name of nostalgia - everything can be torn, mixed, glued on, and tempered with for the sake of trying out new things. Many of the other changes are smaller and rather conservative, like a new verse in “帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)” and an altered enunciation of the lyrics on many of the tracks, but they're enough to turn 新葬ラ謳 into something worth listening to in an of itself, even for those familiar with the original release. People who have been listening to this album for years will have a lot of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ while listening to this.  
 
This solid and clean rendition of a classic wasn’t only a chance to play around the border of nostalgia, self-cover, and re-imagine, but also a great way to introduce old material to new fans. MUCC have always been open to adapt to trends, experiment, and evolve, which means they’ve gained new listeners with every release (and probably lost some along the way). A crowd that’s been around since カルマ (Karma), SHANGRI-LA, or THE END OF THE WORLD will not necessarily bother checking out their older releases unless they keep them alive and relevant, which is something they’ve succeeded in by re-recording both 痛絶 and 葬ラ謳 and taking them on tour. This 2-CD package will probably be the first thing I’ll recommend to anyone interested in listening to the band for the first time or exploring their older materials, as well as to more old-school listeners who have been out of the loop for the past couple of years and have been wondering what they’re up to nowadays.
 
 
Support your jrawk poets: the [limited] and [regular] editions are available to order!

Confession: I bought the limited edition of MUCC's Shin Tsuuzetsu because I fell in love with the creepy cage doll design and it had a lenticular jacket. Can't stop looking at it.
 
 

Tracklist
 
Disc 1: Shin Homura Uta
 
1. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
2. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
3. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
4. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
5. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
6. ママ (Mama)
7. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
8. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
9. およげ!たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ-In its true light- (Mae e -In its true light-)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 (Suisou)
16. 大嫌い2006 (Daikirai 2006)
 
Disc 2: Homura Uta ~Remaster~
 
01. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
02. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
03. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
04. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
05. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
06. ママ (Mama)
07. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
08. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
09. およげ！たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ (Mae e)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 Sg ver (Suisou Sg ver)
 
| Classics are made to be tempered with
 
Here's one band that hasn't been getting a lot of rest in 2017. 新葬ラ謳 (Shin Homura Uta) includes two versions of MUCC's 葬ラ謳 (Homura Uta) - a remastered one and a shiny, new re-recorded one. It was released along with 新痛絶 (Shin Tsuuzetsu) as part of the band's 20 year anniversary extravaganza, its announcement coming in contiguity with their '哀愁とアンティークと痛みも葬る (Aishuu to Antique to Itami mo Homoru)' summer tour, in which they exclusively performed materials from their first two EPs and first two full length studio albums. There isn't much to say about the remastered version, so this review will focus on the new recording.
 
This release is not just about paying a nostalgic tribute to their past or reliving it. Revised 葬ラ謳 is as vibrant and relevant as the original was 15 years ago; not much has changed on the surface, yet everything sounds different. It's a great example for an album that has evolved in a similar way language does, with its tracks going through years of being performed live, re-recorded, and remixed; the result is something anyone who speaks visual-kei can understand, but with noticeable changes.
 
葬ラ謳 was a fairly commercially successful album. It was first released in September 2002 as a limited edition that sold out quickly; a regular edition came the next month, and a reissue of the limited edition came in 2004. This album had a story to tell - a story of distilled anguish, pain, sorrow, loss and all those other heart-wrenching emotions and experiences that have been driving people to create art throughout history. In that sense, they never offered anything revolutionary; they were just good storytellers who used heaps of murky sound and raw energy to create something people could relate to. It is also clear that grunge, alternative rock and even nu metal were among their many interests at that point, and they were learning them carefully and experimenting with them as best as they could.
 
In 2017, the same album tells a completely different story. The muddy sound is replaced with a polished presentation, which might strike some v-kei veterans as 'lacking depth' or even 'less than genuine'. It’s true that nothing can replace those pain-driven shrieks in the original “絶望 (Zetsubou)” or “ズタズタ (Zutazuta)” that sound like someone’s soul being run over by an 18-wheeler. But this is just where the potency of the new recording lies; it doesn’t try to recreate the original, it uses it as a foundation to create something new. It doesn’t only show the experience the band has gained in the past 15 years, developing both in terms of musical skills and delivery, which can clearly be heard in Tatsuro’s crisp vocals and Satochi’s precise drumming. 新葬ラ謳 is a story that couldn’t have been told the way it is without the band’s (sometimes questionable) musical endeavors over the years and could be seen as a journey journal of sorts - one that doesn't leave out even newfound quirks, like in “前へ (Mae e)", which now includes an auto-tuned reggae moment brought to you by music nerd Miya. “前へ” was re-recorded in 2014 for the “ENDER ENDER” single, and it shows that nothing is sacred in the name of nostalgia - everything can be torn, mixed, glued on, and tempered with for the sake of trying out new things. Many of the other changes are smaller and rather conservative, like a new verse in “帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)” and an altered enunciation of the lyrics on many of the tracks, but they're enough to turn 新葬ラ謳 into something worth listening to in an of itself, even for those familiar with the original release. People who have been listening to this album for years will have a lot of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ while listening to this.  
 
This solid and clean rendition of a classic wasn’t only a chance to play around the border of nostalgia, self-cover, and re-imagine, but also a great way to introduce old material to new fans. MUCC have always been open to adapt to trends, experiment, and evolve, which means they’ve gained new listeners with every release (and probably lost some along the way). A crowd that’s been around since カルマ (Karma), SHANGRI-LA, or THE END OF THE WORLD will not necessarily bother checking out their older releases unless they keep them alive and relevant, which is something they’ve succeeded in by re-recording both 痛絶 and 葬ラ謳 and taking them on tour. This 2-CD package will probably be the first thing I’ll recommend to anyone interested in listening to the band for the first time or exploring their older materials, as well as to more old-school listeners who have been out of the loop for the past couple of years and have been wondering what they’re up to nowadays.
 
 
Support your jrawk poets: the [limited] and [regular] editions are available to order!

This is so exciting to hear! I've had that experience when I first listened to Homura Uta - hours and hours of listening to every single track. It must be a lot nicer with the remastered version.

Thank you for the review.
Such a wonderful release, I already was a fan from MUCC since Shangri-la era but never had opportunity to check their very first years albums, so I got excited to have the chance on hearing this one and 新痛絶.
After adding the songs on my music player, I had a 6-7 hours in a row listening to 新葬ラ謳 and 葬ラ謳 remastered, I even skip my sleep just to check its beats more properly in the night silence. It's a fine mix of raw and refined music quality.
 
I would say that 絶望, 君に幸あれ, ズタズタ, 幸せの終着, 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕, ママ and 暗闇に咲く花 are my favorite, mainly because they worked very well on both album versions. 黒煙 had his up on 葬ラ謳 remastered.

For some reason it'll only show me my top 5. lol
I've been using the same account on and off since 2004 so it's weird AF
 
Thank you @plastic_rainbow! Now it went from being weird to positively humiliating. This is why I love last.fm!
 

Tracklist
 
Disc 1: Shin Homura Uta
 
1. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
2. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
3. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
4. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
5. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
6. ママ (Mama)
7. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
8. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
9. およげ!たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ-In its true light- (Mae e -In its true light-)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 (Suisou)
16. 大嫌い2006 (Daikirai 2006)
 
Disc 2: Homura Uta ~Remaster~
 
01. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
02. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
03. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
04. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
05. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
06. ママ (Mama)
07. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
08. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
09. およげ！たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ (Mae e)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 Sg ver (Suisou Sg ver)
 
| Classics are made to be tempered with
 
Here's one band that hasn't been getting a lot of rest in 2017. 新葬ラ謳 (Shin Homura Uta) includes two versions of MUCC's 葬ラ謳 (Homura Uta) - a remastered one and a shiny, new re-recorded one. It was released along with 新痛絶 (Shin Tsuuzetsu) as part of the band's 20 year anniversary extravaganza, its announcement coming in contiguity with their '哀愁とアンティークと痛みも葬る (Aishuu to Antique to Itami mo Homoru)' summer tour, in which they exclusively performed materials from their first two EPs and first two full length studio albums. There isn't much to say about the remastered version, so this review will focus on the new recording.
 
This release is not just about paying a nostalgic tribute to their past or reliving it. Revised 葬ラ謳 is as vibrant and relevant as the original was 15 years ago; not much has changed on the surface, yet everything sounds different. It's a great example for an album that has evolved in a similar way language does, with its tracks going through years of being performed live, re-recorded, and remixed; the result is something anyone who speaks visual-kei can understand, but with noticeable changes.
 
葬ラ謳 was a fairly commercially successful album. It was first released in September 2002 as a limited edition that sold out quickly; a regular edition came the next month, and a reissue of the limited edition came in 2004. This album had a story to tell - a story of distilled anguish, pain, sorrow, loss and all those other heart-wrenching emotions and experiences that have been driving people to create art throughout history. In that sense, they never offered anything revolutionary; they were just good storytellers who used heaps of murky sound and raw energy to create something people could relate to. It is also clear that grunge, alternative rock and even nu metal were among their many interests at that point, and they were learning them carefully and experimenting with them as best as they could.
 
In 2017, the same album tells a completely different story. The muddy sound is replaced with a polished presentation, which might strike some v-kei veterans as 'lacking depth' or even 'less than genuine'. It’s true that nothing can replace those pain-driven shrieks in the original “絶望 (Zetsubou)” or “ズタズタ (Zutazuta)” that sound like someone’s soul being run over by an 18-wheeler. But this is just where the potency of the new recording lies; it doesn’t try to recreate the original, it uses it as a foundation to create something new. It doesn’t only show the experience the band has gained in the past 15 years, developing both in terms of musical skills and delivery, which can clearly be heard in Tatsuro’s crisp vocals and Satochi’s precise drumming. 新葬ラ謳 is a story that couldn’t have been told the way it is without the band’s (sometimes questionable) musical endeavors over the years and could be seen as a journey journal of sorts - one that doesn't leave out even newfound quirks, like in “前へ (Mae e)", which now includes an auto-tuned reggae moment brought to you by music nerd Miya. “前へ” was re-recorded in 2014 for the “ENDER ENDER” single, and it shows that nothing is sacred in the name of nostalgia - everything can be torn, mixed, glued on, and tempered with for the sake of trying out new things. Many of the other changes are smaller and rather conservative, like a new verse in “帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)” and an altered enunciation of the lyrics on many of the tracks, but they're enough to turn 新葬ラ謳 into something worth listening to in an of itself, even for those familiar with the original release. People who have been listening to this album for years will have a lot of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ while listening to this.  
 
This solid and clean rendition of a classic wasn’t only a chance to play around the border of nostalgia, self-cover, and re-imagine, but also a great way to introduce old material to new fans. MUCC have always been open to adapt to trends, experiment, and evolve, which means they’ve gained new listeners with every release (and probably lost some along the way). A crowd that’s been around since カルマ (Karma), SHANGRI-LA, or THE END OF THE WORLD will not necessarily bother checking out their older releases unless they keep them alive and relevant, which is something they’ve succeeded in by re-recording both 痛絶 and 葬ラ謳 and taking them on tour. This 2-CD package will probably be the first thing I’ll recommend to anyone interested in listening to the band for the first time or exploring their older materials, as well as to more old-school listeners who have been out of the loop for the past couple of years and have been wondering what they’re up to nowadays.
 
 
Support your jrawk poets: the [limited] and [regular] editions are available to order!

@qotka pssst, you can change the settings to show 8 artists if you click the little gear at the top corner ^^

Their other look looks pretty sick 👌
 

I don't know but I've been repeatedly blasting MAMA for the past three weeks.

Tracklist
 
Disc 1: Shin Homura Uta
 
1. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
2. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
3. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
4. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
5. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
6. ママ (Mama)
7. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
8. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
9. およげ!たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ-In its true light- (Mae e -In its true light-)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 (Suisou)
16. 大嫌い2006 (Daikirai 2006)
 
Disc 2: Homura Uta ~Remaster~
 
01. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
02. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
03. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
04. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
05. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
06. ママ (Mama)
07. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
08. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
09. およげ！たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ (Mae e)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 Sg ver (Suisou Sg ver)
 
| Classics are made to be tempered with
 
Here's one band that hasn't been getting a lot of rest in 2017. 新葬ラ謳 (Shin Homura Uta) includes two versions of MUCC's 葬ラ謳 (Homura Uta) - a remastered one and a shiny, new re-recorded one. It was released along with 新痛絶 (Shin Tsuuzetsu) as part of the band's 20 year anniversary extravaganza, its announcement coming in contiguity with their '哀愁とアンティークと痛みも葬る (Aishuu to Antique to Itami mo Homoru)' summer tour, in which they exclusively performed materials from their first two EPs and first two full length studio albums. There isn't much to say about the remastered version, so this review will focus on the new recording.
 
This release is not just about paying a nostalgic tribute to their past or reliving it. Revised 葬ラ謳 is as vibrant and relevant as the original was 15 years ago; not much has changed on the surface, yet everything sounds different. It's a great example for an album that has evolved in a similar way language does, with its tracks going through years of being performed live, re-recorded, and remixed; the result is something anyone who speaks visual-kei can understand, but with noticeable changes.
 
葬ラ謳 was a fairly commercially successful album. It was first released in September 2002 as a limited edition that sold out quickly; a regular edition came the next month, and a reissue of the limited edition came in 2004. This album had a story to tell - a story of distilled anguish, pain, sorrow, loss and all those other heart-wrenching emotions and experiences that have been driving people to create art throughout history. In that sense, they never offered anything revolutionary; they were just good storytellers who used heaps of murky sound and raw energy to create something people could relate to. It is also clear that grunge, alternative rock and even nu metal were among their many interests at that point, and they were learning them carefully and experimenting with them as best as they could.
 
In 2017, the same album tells a completely different story. The muddy sound is replaced with a polished presentation, which might strike some v-kei veterans as 'lacking depth' or even 'less than genuine'. It’s true that nothing can replace those pain-driven shrieks in the original “絶望 (Zetsubou)” or “ズタズタ (Zutazuta)” that sound like someone’s soul being run over by an 18-wheeler. But this is just where the potency of the new recording lies; it doesn’t try to recreate the original, it uses it as a foundation to create something new. It doesn’t only show the experience the band has gained in the past 15 years, developing both in terms of musical skills and delivery, which can clearly be heard in Tatsuro’s crisp vocals and Satochi’s precise drumming. 新葬ラ謳 is a story that couldn’t have been told the way it is without the band’s (sometimes questionable) musical endeavors over the years and could be seen as a journey journal of sorts - one that doesn't leave out even newfound quirks, like in “前へ (Mae e)", which now includes an auto-tuned reggae moment brought to you by music nerd Miya. “前へ” was re-recorded in 2014 for the “ENDER ENDER” single, and it shows that nothing is sacred in the name of nostalgia - everything can be torn, mixed, glued on, and tempered with for the sake of trying out new things. Many of the other changes are smaller and rather conservative, like a new verse in “帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)” and an altered enunciation of the lyrics on many of the tracks, but they're enough to turn 新葬ラ謳 into something worth listening to in an of itself, even for those familiar with the original release. People who have been listening to this album for years will have a lot of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ while listening to this.  
 
This solid and clean rendition of a classic wasn’t only a chance to play around the border of nostalgia, self-cover, and re-imagine, but also a great way to introduce old material to new fans. MUCC have always been open to adapt to trends, experiment, and evolve, which means they’ve gained new listeners with every release (and probably lost some along the way). A crowd that’s been around since カルマ (Karma), SHANGRI-LA, or THE END OF THE WORLD will not necessarily bother checking out their older releases unless they keep them alive and relevant, which is something they’ve succeeded in by re-recording both 痛絶 and 葬ラ謳 and taking them on tour. This 2-CD package will probably be the first thing I’ll recommend to anyone interested in listening to the band for the first time or exploring their older materials, as well as to more old-school listeners who have been out of the loop for the past couple of years and have been wondering what they’re up to nowadays.
 
 
Support your jrawk poets: the [limited] and [regular] editions are available to order!

august 7th 2017
New band NYXIS has formed
NOT karma. august 8th
New band raith. has formed.
NOT karma.  
(will be updated regularly until karma returns)

Dear esteemed colleagues,
As you all know, a year has passed since the passing of the legendary AvelCain. It has been a difficult year, but we have been able to rely on each other for emotional support in this trying time. In memoriam, we are continuing to hold on to the hope that he will be coming back in some form or another. While he may not be with us in physical form, he is in the air and he is the wind between the tree branches that hung his signature red noose. We continue to hope for his arrival back to this world, and for that we will utilize this thread to consolidate our understand of the beautiful being that had left with his absence.
Please don't hesitate to share any information you have about his return, and together we will await the good news...the pot of gold at the end of the blood stained rainbow.
PS. Distribute this throughout all your networks,
Thank you.
-emmny/KarmasWife666

Quick thoughts of a grumpy old man.
 
Scale:
Yeah
Hmm
Meh
Ugh
 
"天上天下" by ARCHEMI.
It felt like the song had no meat to it. I normally appreciate a traditional Japanese flavor to my VK, but here is just felt like an attempt to sprinkle some flavor on top of something that was really bland. I guess that saved it from be a "ugh" on my scale though.
 
"鮮やかな矛盾" by NoGoD
I've been off of the NoGod train for a while now. After a bunch of mediocre releases, I had a hard time caring about following them. While I did enjoy this track, I kind of feel like it also feels a bit like more of the same. Does make me a bit curious to jump back in though.
 
"昏睡" by SCAPEGOAT
Some parts reminded me of mid 00's numetal inspired VK and the chorus felt reminiscent of Cocklobin, which are two things I would mark as positives. Production sounded shit, but I am hoping that there was just same major compression involved on the youtube upload.
 
"青年ナイフ" by ニトロデイ
Sounded like I was listening to it with cotton stuffed in to my ears. Also, there is something about the way the vocalist pronounces things that I just can't stand.
 
"Sorry, I Am Not" by SHE TALKS SILENCE
It felt like this song was trying to go somewhere but it never quite reached its destination. In a crude way of putting it, I feel like this song blue balled me.
 
"雨” by 游彩
I feel like there is a lot of promise here that isn't realized. I feel like a bit more passion and dynamics in this song could have helped pushed it over the top. I think this song could be a lot of fun live as I think perhaps part of the problem is that it is over produced.
 
"虚言癖" by DAMY
Been a while since I've heard a song in this style from a band that I didn't know that was actually memorable. This is a song that gets its life from lots of small details - little vocal flairs or riff changes that I wasn't expecting. Going to be checking this band out more in the future.
 
"⚪︎と×" by ザアザア
I don't think I've ever quite liked Xaa-xaa as much as the rest of the community has, but this song is dope. The the vocals are incredibly emotive without playing things too far in to melodrama. It's also been a while since I've enjoyed a song with a guitar solo.
 
"burst" by Zill
Not sure if I can get behind the vocals - like, there is some points where I really enjoy them, but others where I feel like they are just too rough. Instrumentally the song is mostly solid, but like the vocals, also has some rough points (like the chorus imo).
 
"Dystopia -Vanishing Point-" by Boris
Ive always been a fan of Boris's drone/doom work, but even I feel like this track takes perhaps a bit too long to get to its main point. Even when the song hits full stride, I don't find it quite as enjoyable as some of their work in this genre in the past. I find it hard to put in to words, but this one really left me wanting more. Not to say that I dislike this track, which isn't the case....more that it was disappointing. Also, man, do I ever hate how this song ends.
 
"声飛行" by Gutevolk
This is one of those songs that I don't really enjoy all that much, but I totally see the appeal of even if it isn't for me.
 
 
Wow, lot's of good VK tracks! What year is it? XD

This is a very interesting point you make! One element to remasters which makes them tricky are the compromises baked into the original recording. For better or worse, it colors the listener's perception of an album. First impressions are very strong. Muddiness can become atmosphere and mistakes musical quirks. In a rush to polish old works musicians may not stop to think about how their interpretation might be different from mine or yours. There has to be enough of an improvement to warrant making a remaster in the first place, but no matter how much one tries to maintain accuracy the parts that change affect even the parts that don't. I can't think of many examples where a simple remaster fixed all the issues I had with an album. It's simply not doing enough in the dimensions it restricts itself in, and many times one bad change in a remaster negates all the good ones.
 
It's for that reason alone that my review ignores the second CD. It can be argued my rating is a little high, but since I viewed the second CD as a bonus it didn't impact the first CD for me. I can choose which one I want to listen to and having the option is nice. The remaster is more accurate to the original version of the album, but it feels sterile. The new version doesn't capture the rawness of the original, but it captures the essence of the album far better (which is what I suspect they are going for). This contrast shows just how much of an art production and mastering is. I suppose it's one of those things where no one should notice you did a thing at all if you do a really good job.
 

I'm definitely glad both versions exist. The original has an irreplaceable raw quality that they probably wouldn't have been able to recreate today, and they don't need to. I see re-recordings like this as part of a long Japanese tradition of retelling the same story from several different angles, and the story MUCC tell in 2017 is infinitely different than what they could tell in 2001. I recommend to anyone who wants to listen to this (and Shin Homura Uta) to consider this lens instead of a more nostalgic one (that's what the remastered album is for!). 

I'm definitely glad both versions exist. The original has an irreplaceable raw quality that they probably wouldn't have been able to recreate today, and they don't need to. I see re-recordings like this as part of a long Japanese tradition of retelling the same story from several different angles, and the story MUCC tell in 2017 is infinitely different than what they could tell in 2001. I recommend to anyone who wants to listen to this (and Shin Homura Uta) to consider this lens instead of a more nostalgic one (that's what the remastered album is for!). 

I'm definitely glad both versions exist. The original has an irreplaceable raw quality that they probably wouldn't have been able to recreate today, and they don't need to. I see re-recordings like this as part of a long Japanese tradition of retelling the same story from several different angles, and the story MUCC tell in 2017 is infinitely different than what they could tell in 2001. I recommend to anyone who wants to listen to this (and Shin Homura Uta) to consider this lens instead of a more nostalgic one (that's what the remastered album is for!). 

I'm definitely glad both versions exist. The original has an irreplaceable raw quality that they probably wouldn't have been able to recreate today, and they don't need to. I see re-recordings like this as part of a long Japanese tradition of retelling the same story from several different angles, and the story MUCC tell in 2017 is infinitely different than what they could tell in 2001. I recommend to anyone who wants to listen to this (and Shin Homura Uta) to consider this lens instead of a more nostalgic one (that's what the remastered album is for!).