qotka

Slated to host a show on 4/18 at Ikebukuro EDGE (w/ 万鬼隊 / type:『seeD』/ MIDGARD / 爆烈ストーム!! & others), DAYDALA announced on March 27th that they would render ticket #1 invalid due to reselling for profit.
 

This is not altogether unheard of -- tickets that have been resold have been banned from entry, but it's usually for bigger bands.
However, it seems the holder of #1 -- we'll call her S -- was a little confused by this choice.
She tweeted that she had definitely been the original purchaser of the ticket through legitimate means, and eventually posted the DMs exchanged between her and the official DAYDALA account. She was even able to provide a receipt of the purchase (these receipts do not contain the ticket number),  but they opted to offer her only a refund.
 

 
When S pressed them to provide proof that #1 was in fact resold, they posted screenshots from tanuki (this is historical -- it is an open secret that bands and management browse the board, but an official account posting screenshots of 1) a selling post and 2) a tanumail conversation is unheard of).
 
 

The listing originally posted on tanuki claims to have tickets #1-3. The chances of this poster being S are already fairly low as her receipt shows the price of one ticket. The odds of picking up #1 and #2-3 are stacked very high against her unless she juggles multiple SMS-verified accounts and somehow obtained #1 and #2-3, or is selling on behalf of a friend who was coincidentally able to purchase #2-3. More importantly though, the proof photo doesn't show #1 at all. Additionally, the source of the tanumail screenshot is also up for debate -- unless the band was trying to purchase the resold tickets themselves (something that has been done before, but generally by larger bands b/c I don't think DAYDALA could have afforded even the original 15,000y asking price), it seems they received it as a "tip" from someone else.

This really opened the floodgates -- why weren't #2 and #3 banned as well if this was the source? Why was #1 banned despite being the only one without solid evidence?

Their next step was to ban all of #1-3 but provide refunds upon further discussion with S. By this point tanuki was in an absolute frothing rage. People posting "for sale" posts for numbers 4-100 in a joking attempt to get them invalidated descended as DAYDALA thread after DAYDALA thread was created.
 

Member Haku attempted various forms of damage control on his individual twitter, but the horde was angry and wanted justice for S.
Finally, they rescinded their invalidation for all three tickets and gave a heartfelt apology.
 
Masato of meta-kei/tanuki-kei/meme-kei band kaitou sentai lined up to take a shot at DAYDALA for their slip-up:
"I was tired and sleeping forever. Good morning.
I had a dream that the #1 ticket I worked so hard to get was suddenly rendered invalid.
Hope it doesn't come true..."
 
 

yeahhh lots of good tracks here!! kizu, dof, virge, and IIII-Ligro- gave us an amazing start this year!
that chanty track is pretty decent and might grow on me, i still need to check them out~
i have never tried ribelio before but damn that song is fucking solid. sad to hear that they're disbanding!
i might need to check out acme as well. i can hear some of those xtripx vibes. not really related but in one of DIV's songs chisa's voice reminded me of ryo (baroque, kannivalism) and considering how i heart baroque and kannivalism i'm not sure why i haven't checked either DIV or acme yet.
lmao at the golden bomber video! i feel kinda bad for laughing (the poor salarymen) but i guess that was intended. xD that song could become addicting after several listens, haha.
 
for those who are disappointed in not seeing pura, expect an album review soon! (i just hope i don't get too lazy.....)

Hell yeah Kizu. I need that album asap. 
 
Also yas the new Ling Tosite Sigure!!! I'm still new to them - been schooling myself in their discography for the past couple months, which might be why to me their more polished sound is digestible. But yeah, totally dig it. 
 
Glad the new Plastic Tree was mentioned later down this thread. To me the most remarkable track on doorAdore is "search and destroy". It sounds like Ryutaro's been spending a lot of time with te' 's Hiro (I know he was in his session band when he toured solo). I wish they made a whole album that sounds like this - they know how to experiment and surprise when they put their mind to it.  

Hell yeah Kizu. I need that album asap. 
 
Also yas the new Ling Tosite Sigure!!! I'm still new to them - been schooling myself in their discography for the past couple months, which might be why to me their more polished sound is digestible. But yeah, totally dig it. 
 
Glad the new Plastic Tree was mentioned later down this thread. To me the most remarkable track on doorAdore is "search and destroy". It sounds like Ryutaro's been spending a lot of time with te' 's Hiro (I know he was in his session band when he toured solo). I wish they made a whole album that sounds like this - they know how to experiment and surprise when they put their mind to it.  

I just want to chime in and say that kizu had one of the best showings of the year with kizuato...I haven't heard a song that GOOD in a long time, shocking considering their first song sucked and their second single was just okay. They literally have ddrm shaking with that ending breakdown...it must be insane live

Hell yeah Kizu. I need that album asap. 
 
Also yas the new Ling Tosite Sigure!!! I'm still new to them - been schooling myself in their discography for the past couple months, which might be why to me their more polished sound is digestible. But yeah, totally dig it. 
 
Glad the new Plastic Tree was mentioned later down this thread. To me the most remarkable track on doorAdore is "search and destroy". It sounds like Ryutaro's been spending a lot of time with te' 's Hiro (I know he was in his session band when he toured solo). I wish they made a whole album that sounds like this - they know how to experiment and surprise when they put their mind to it.  

There's been lots of great stuff this year so far. DOF's Unintelligible won me over the most with it's catchy, technical, frantic and hugely creative songwriting. It's up there with insert memory as one of the most creative VK songs of the decade imo especially the '1234567 123456 .... 123 121 YOKU DEKIMASHITA' part. The whole album is filled with great tracks (like the one's listed here) though I do agree it's a little bit weaker then their other stuff which is essential listening.
Kizu's track was also fantastic, just heavy, catchy and really high energy and LIME's performance is top notch. Can't wait for an album.
貴方だけを壊して飾ってみたい was my favorite track off Chanty's album and it's nice to see it on the list. There were some weak tracks on the album but it was solid (but they butchered m.o.b imo).
IIII-Ligro's album has potential to be one of the most interesting albums of the year and that 爆烈ストーム song was nice. I need to check those out.
 
And that Golden Bomber song is just too relatable. Nothing beats laughing at how much life sucks. I didn't expect that ending either. I guess it's time to spin it a few more times.
 
Also would have included Buck-Tick's Salome -femme fatale- off their new album which is absolutely fantastic. And the first track off Pura's new album was cool too:
 
 
 

Awesome list. Kizuato was the stand out this year so far imo. Last year, many people commented on how Lime's limited vocal ability could be the downfall of kizu, but I think the title track should discard any doubts on that matter.

Hey everyone! It's been a while since our last Recommended Tracks segment since we moved from a monthly release to a quarterly release. That means there's plenty of new music for us to nerd out over, and so far 2018 has not disappointed us!  New format, same good quality of thoughts and music. Hopefully you see something you like and find something new too!
 
@Zeus' picks
"THE IIID EMPIRE" by Dir en grey

 
 
"無礼王 (Burei Ou)" by Develop one's faculties

 
 
"The Gate To My Funeral" by Earthstream

 
 
@tetsu_sama69's picks
"傷痕" by キズ (Kizu)

 
 
 
"アンインテリジブル" (Unintelligble) by Develop one's faculties

 
"LOVELESS" by DARIAN MARIAN

@fitear1590's picks
"ヴィーナスの恋人" (Lover from Venus) by クウチュウ戦 (Koochewsen)

 
 
"Shedding" by The fin

 
 
"貴方だけを壊して飾ってみたい〜Chantyの世界へようこそ2〜 ver." (Anata dake o kowashite kazatte mitai〜Chanty no sekai e yokosou 2〜 ver.) by Chanty

 
 
"偽りのシンパシー ft.アイナ・ジ・エンド(BiSH)" False Sympathy ft. AiNA THE END (BiSH) by MONDO GROSSO

 
 
"Sanfransokyo Girl" by Satellite Young

 
 
"掌で踊る" (tenohira de odoru) by そこに鳴る (sokoninaru)

 
 
@emmny's picks
"Chocolate Passion" by 凛として時雨 (Rin Toshite Shigure)

 
 
"毒苺" (Dokuichigo) by  ヴァージュ(Virge)

 
"Invisible Individual" by IIII-Ligro-

 
 
@plastic_rainbow's picks
 
"this is 芸術" (this is Geijutsu) by Develop One's Faculties

 
 
"Merry Ghost Land" by 爆烈ストーム!! ( Bakuretsu Storm!!)

 
@doombox's pick
"Modrý sen" by UQiYO

 
 
@helcchi's picks
 
"輪廻" (Rinne) by リベリオ (RIBELIO)

 
 
 
 
"Garden in a Lost Place" by Narumi

 
 
"ROTTEN ORANGE" by アクメ (ACME)

 
 
@YuyoDrift's pick
 
KISS OF DEATH (Produced by HYDE) by 中島美嘉 (Mika Nakashima)

 
 
@qotka's picks
"「リストカットして」" (risutokattoshite) by ゴシップ (Gossip)

 
 
 
"やさしくしてね" (yasashiku shite ne) by ゴールデンボンバー (Golden Bomber)

  Guest Contributions
  @Ada Suilen's picks
 "Falling" by The GazettE
 
 
"エンド"  (End) by Reol
 
   
@Mamo's pick
こわれはじめる  by SWARRRM

 

@fitear1590is such a cultured person, always bringing koochewsen to da spotlight x
 
my personal picks are
 
 
 
kato miliyah - i hate you 
 
i realize i havent listened to many new japanese releases yet lmao

@The Reverendyes, i did go!! it was amazing, everybody was ripping the floor after seeing/hearing news that tetsuya was back!
this is probably the biggest april fools joke in jmusic history. i think they planned this way ahead.

Finalized tracklist:
 
01: 破れた電報 (Yabureta denpou)
02: 新宿ヱレキテル (Shinjuku Elekiter)
03: コバルト (Cobalt)
04: 君と僕 (Kimi to boku)
05: 空も笑ってる (Sora mo waratteru) @Seimeisen !!  
06: 腐った魚 (Kusatta sakana)
 
Also there seems to be another cover too... something about some collaboration with some eyewear brand or something. Sorry, my Japanese isn't good so here is the description from the OHP:
 
 
The mentioned very stylish cover:
 

I agree, it doesn't. But Yoshiki knows he got thousands and thousands of rabbid fans who will pay that price and he can therefore charge it, I guess. 

I don't see how playing a small venue (capacity is up to 2,500 from what I see) justifies that price though. Many smaller acts perform there and charge 4000-7000~ per ticket, I assume without losing money if they sell well enough, which means X Japan's profit from this is going to be ridiculous.
They already have a system that makes reselling practically impossible (it's a lottery, you can only apply for one ticket, it's gonna have your name on it and they'll be ID'ing people at the entrance), and since it's a lottery, everyone will get a fair chance to buy one. I really don't understand what kind of justification they could possibly have for this price, other than "but we're X Japan!!! (/I'm Mana?? lol)".

This is fucking absurd, pardon my Language. I just .... I can’t stick up for this band anymore I think. This is completely insane to be charging this amount of money to see a band perform the same songs they’ve performed for the last ten years in preparation for an album that’s never coming. This is absolutely ridiculous. 

Are you breathing well, Katia? XDD
 
Also DAMN THAT PRICE SON ! Yoshiki, please cut down some zeros for a change XDD

For ¥30,000 I expect them to take me out to a holiday resort all expenses included.  I wonder who will actually pay that price. 

New look
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

This is a great thread topic for discussion. Like others have mentioned I feel pretty conflicted on the subject. When I got into Visual Kei, I was hardly savvy with internet-ing, so if I found something I liked on Youtube, I would save and order it from CDJapan or something. I didn't even know about western VK communities/download forums/file sharing/torrents whatever. But at the same time, since discovering all those things, I have been able to find so much amazing music that simply never would have been available to me. The majority of bands that never make it and had super limited run CD's are lost to the sands of time, but kept alive through some of this file sharing. On the other hand, it being seen as the norm is certainly concerning.
 
The most important point I want to bring up about this whole topic is that this problem is not only concerning the Visual Kei industry. In the western music world, all artists are suffering from a trend over the last 15 years where people simply don't feel that they ought to pay for music.
 
People were eased into this idea through the retiring of physical formats, introduction of illegal downloading, and finally STREAMING. The final nail in the coffin for this issue, is, now, people can pay a small subscription fee that used to be the cost of a single record, most of which won't go to the recording artist, to listen to all of their music. And they have no sense that what they're doing might be unethical. Because they are paying for a legal service, after all. Ask most people below the age of 20 who their favorite artists are? Chances are they may have gone to their show, or seen them live, but the majority of the upcoming generation simply are not buying music (this refers to digital downloads, not even including waning physical formats).
 
 
I wish I knew a proper solution, but its a strange predicament for the entire industry. The previous generation went to record stores and saved for LP's or CD's. Their most devious exploitation might have been copying a friend's album to a blank cassette, so they could finally listen to an album they'd never be able hear to other wise. Simply speaking, there wasn't a choice. If you wanted to hear specific music, you had to buy the releases or go to concerts. Those were the only ways.
 
The current generation grew up listening to their music on YouTube and Spotify, for the most part. For someone to actually pay for an album, physical or digital, they have to be a diehard non-average music fan (ppl on this forum), not know how to use YouTube/Spotify, or they are exceptionally ethically considerate.
 
 
 
To give more of a solid response to the OP, I think promoting the purchasing of music is a good thing, but I don't know if cutting down on illegal downloading is the way to do that. Atleast in the case of the Western Visual Kei audience, there is argument to be made that much of the Western Visual Kei audience wouldn't even exist without file sharing. I may be an exception to the rule having no current bands I really care about, but I can't even financially support so many of my favorite Visual Kei (and Japanese) artists. ( ( Because I can't legally download or buy non-2nd hand cd's from due le quartz, aioria, or yarmulke, etc.) ) I know this is a sort of a wishy-washy answer, but I encourage further discussion of this topic and of buying music that rocks your world.

I have very, very mixed feelings concerning this topic, so all I say may sound confusing. I may sound cocky too, but you guys asked for opinions. I also tried posting this under spoiler but phone won't let me...
 
Brace yourselves, rant is coming:
 
Of course, just like any foreigner, I got into this thanks to piracy. Of course, I do download pretty much everything shared on the VK section, even if just to sample it and delete it half an hour later (I no longer hoard music I do not like).
 
And, just like many people, I occasionally share rips because I know some people will enjoy them and some others might discover a band they will like and support.
Yet I truly despise when my rips are shared outside of this community, even though my common sense (who usually sounds like Yuyo) dictates it's the right way to preserve and spread it.

Maybe it is because here it stays within a community of people who also buy and share their rips and it feels more like an open trade. Key word: feels like.
 
But feelings are not meant to be rational, right?
 
I support about 10-12 active bands. A good portion of my salary goes towards VK. I make certain sacrifices in order to make sure my honmei can have their rice and redbull. Hell, I even pay people to get me goods at lives so they can get more money from me in a more direct way than buying second hand stuff.

Maybe that is why I feel I 'earned' the right to trade rips of the bands I do enjoy yet don't love enough to include in my monthly spendings. And I feel people who share rips here kinda earned the 'right' to get my rips for free. Because they support the scene too.
Sometimes I even dl rips from the bands I do buy from because I'll buy the release with the next paycheck or the following, or sometime in the future when I stop blowing my money on chekis (sorry, Diaura).
 
Which is why it kinda bums me to spend hundreds of dollars on music, share it with people who also support the scene as far as their wallets allow it, and then it gets leaked to people who not only don't support the scene, but feel entitled to be given rips anyways 'because they love the band so much, omg they mah favez!!'
 
I don't mean to say I am a better fan than they are, or a better person, or whatever. I'm probably a pathetic chick who blows her paycheck on asian drag queens who attempt to play metal instead of in... idk whatever shit regular people spend their money on. But it really gets on my nerves to read so many people on social media, especially Hispanics, viewing piracy as a 'right'. Demanding for HQ rips, whining about those 'fucking selfish japs/gringos who get everything and don't share fast enough'. Fuck you! If I buy a release I do not have the moral duty of posting it online. And in those very same communities I see a handful of people leeching, bragging about 'their collections' (virtual collections of course) and sharing our stuff just to make themselves popular. 'Look, I'm such a VK connaiseur because I have two hard drives filled with VK I got from MH. I'm a true fan cuz I have rarez. Now kiss my ass if you want me to share the rip I didn't even originate'.
 
I know a dude who's considered the 'wikipedia of VK' because he's always talking about the many bands he knows and buys. Turns out he doesn't buy shit, he leeches from JpopSuki and here AND HE FUCKING CHARGES FOR IT. HE IS SERIOUSLY MAKING HIMSELF A NAME AND MONEY SELLING OTHER PEOPLE'S RIPS. AS HIS OWN.
 
I understand the role piracy plays in the scene. I know it's exposure, and it helps spread the music and make bands popular. It preserves files online (though I've been all day looking for geek sleep sheep's albums and I cannot fucking find a decent rip, I swear). It also gives way to interesting discussions about music.

But I also understand it fucking pisses bands off, many have told me so. It even pisses off western VK bands I know when they see their music up for grabs where they didn't post it. It's sorta disrespectful in a way, to say "yeah, man, I love your art but I ain't paying for it'. I have literally read those words online.
I don't know if my point is even understood here... I've even defended piracy when talking to a few bandomen, saying that it actually promotes their music and gains them new fans. And I understand without piracy most of us wouldn't be here today. Boy, I really wish someone would share those Amai Boryoku live limited EPs. 

But I hate so much that downloads bring people here only to leech instead of for all the other amazing features this community has to offer. I hate that people outside of the community get popular or even get money spreading our rips without even mentioning Monochrome Heaven. I hate the way they talk about us when we don't share fast enough, like we owe them the rips. Like it's our duty to share the day before the release and in HQ...
 
With so many bands posting their previews on youtube, full releases on Spotify and iTunes, is such an open piracy still necessary to promote the music they work so hard to make?
(I refuse to use youtube and Spotify, I hate them, so I'm being cynical by just bringing them up myself). All the people who say 'I don't risk buying releases I don't know I'll like' can now hear the previews on youtube/spotify, right?
 
I think I'd really like to keep the DLs here to the community and the people who contribute, so maybe people elsewhere will stop taking us for granted and have a solid reason to complain about us...
 
I'm ready for the MH trolls to go berserk on my feelings and opinions. Keep in mind these are just rather irrational feels and opinions and that my opinions stem from my own experiences and my own reality, which is not the absolute truth and does not account for other people's experiences.

As someone who joined the file-sharing scene in the late 90's when Gnutella and P2P (centralized networks for file sharing) were at it's infancy, I have so many questions that I'd like to ask the users.
I just want to understand, so please forgive the ignorance.
 
I'm looking at all this from the outside in, and I'm simply perplexed at what became of file-sharing.
Wtf happened?
Such a simple idea to create exposure and salvage media that would otherwise be lost if not archived, to this?
 
I've heard of people becoming entitled, but to what degree?
I've always been an advocate for "sharing is caring" but after talking to people online, that saying is now a toxic ideal.

If you've been in the scene for a while, you've no doubt formed your opinions about piracy in the scene. For better or worse, free music has become the cornerstone upon which Monochrome Heaven - and to a larger extent, the scene - has been built upon. It's worked for a decade, and possibly even before that in less organized terms. For as long as I can remember, piracy was seen as a "necessary evil" to build up the scene and to keep it going, and that was the consensus everyone in the scene came to.
 
But times are changing, and with that perhaps the attitudes of the scene are changing as well. A vocal minority of fans and band members are calling for all fans to put more money into the scene and to support their favorite bands with money. Here's an excerpt from a recent Facebook post that's gone viral within the scene.
 
Many people agreed with this person. I want to understand how people here feel about this same topic. Serious replies only, and if you respond please vote in as many of the questions as you can. I will liberally delete any post that I interpret as attacking another member or otherwise not contributing to the discussion.
 
NOTE: This topic doesn't mean that the staff is planning on doing something. We are simply curious and have been discussing this among ourselves for a day or two.
 
NOTE 2: This topic will automatically close in two weeks on March 16th. If you have thoughts, try to share them before then.