Pretsy

Nice reference (inb4 breaking glass @possible PV)

Speaking of necessary vk additions - what about 9GOATS BLACK OUT? Okay okay, they became a bit mellower near the end but they were unique nonetheless. Not to mention that it's sad to see talents like utA and Ryo separated...

Don't tell me this is how Japan decided to fix its problems around outdated music business schemes (i.e. not expanding the internet shopping possibilities, focusing on CDs and all that stupid shizznit etc.). JASRAC, oh JASRAC... ...

Interesting to see NUMBER GIRL in the midst of disbandments that took place during TW/MH's existence (since I can imagine e.g. folks from JMR or Jrocknyc's angelfire era being still saddened about it but our current MH peeps? Hmm). Seeing @Zeus, Bonsai (who doesn't seem to appear here every now and then) or any Ringo enthusiast NOT mentioning Tokyo Jihen's disbandment sorta surprises me in rather odd ways - I mean, even in the wake of new Ringo solo era and its inevitable suckage, which Ringo fan wouldn't miss all the chemistry and fun TJ had during their short-lived era? Not every band was capable of conveying strong nuances and interesting chemistry together and individually, I tell you. I still tear up a little bit when I rewatch their Bon Voyage DVD during occasional TJ binges...helluva consistent live band! However, in terms of vk - I was much more saddened about Deluhi's disbandment than what happened to Despa due to Hizumi's throat fuckups and other factors. Whereas Deluhi had a lot of promising stuff ahead (as some sort of "rookie act"), Despa had some signs of expected kaisanization even during early promos for REDEEMER and whatnot.

Shuuji's brother / another Goatbed figure (since it's *not* his solo career after all).

I have checked the "perfect edition" and well, guess I had these qualms about potential drawbacks during post-1st listening sessions for a good reason: ARCHE as a whole is the album which unfortunately enough requires max attention AND activity span from their audience in order to channel the full potential of these songs. I am pretty sure there was more than a half of the folks being confused about Kyo meowmeowing throughout his Kyopera chants on "Uroko", or his incomprehensible mumbling during "Chain Repulsion" (which is rather okay studio-wise). Thankfully enough, a few positive surprises popped up along the way: - "Behind a Vacant Image" sounds much stronger now (?). Especially the chorus + outro finale sound much more effective when the audience audibly/visibly realized when and how to participate there. - "Rinkaku" has much more audible chorus "aah aahs" (they make the chorus, mind you) and additional piano to contribute some melodic touches in the midst of that mushy guitar interplay. Kyopera sounds overwhelmingly different here though. - "Cause of Fickleness" and "Midwife"...YES, the kind of art and practice where they - Kyo and co. - excel. The good ol' nostalgic dose of weird en grey with enough dynamicity to make fans intrigued enough. - STU is the Hageshisa of ARCHE pretty much.

I bolded the answer Remix album trend was all the rage during early 00s - but now we are living mid-10s, in the wake of streaming sites, mixtape portals etc. etc...so there you go. Also: meet the hipster

Remix albums (separate ones) are often regarded as important pieces in artists' specific repertoires - especially when such releases have helped them to progress further towards the "trendsetting" status (i.e. you might say that NOT making a remix album of your hits at that time = uncool): DEG becoming super-popular among teens representing the other end of the fashion spectrum (while others being mostly invaded by those Kera stans or w/e of that time), even DJ sets of that time beginning to play mixed DEG, etc. etc.. DSS' bonus disc, however, means nothing in their overall course - it's just a small bonus for a very limited audience. Why should it garner similar attention in that case? I am not questioning whether you like it or not, but you've gotta think about possible "purposes" behind such releases anyway. E.g. Hydra Buzzout Mix seemed to be pretty huge for a DEG track in the midst of usual DJ rave sets back in the day (late 2001-early 2002) - wasn't the original version rave-y enough in some parts though? Lol. I heard about this thru Tonberry back in the day so don't go asking me for long lost tapes of Japanese raves or idk lol.

Pretty apt description for any heavy and fast-paced-ish Dir song post-UROBOROS tbqh (Different Sense, Chain Repulsion, Cause of Fickleness (which is actually funny in a good way) etc.) Keep it up, WB! These reports would help to seek hope for my long-time zigzagginess as a fanboy, since I am more or less afraid about Kyo being more and more incapable of keeping up with his studio/songwriting-phase self during these lives, e.g. during Revelation.

THE MISTRESS

Dogma was literally less than a half of the fun that BD was tbqh (oh look, another case of "it sounds heavy af = quality!"), but hey - it's just another ballgame and we are not playing that now. Nightmare? Citing them in this context is just pure cherrypicking while ignoring the large plethora of other acts churning out top-notch/decent production every now and then. Did you guys forget that it didn't took much from DEG either to do Uroboros when they had (half-)finished with their initial MOAB promoing? A year/less than a year? There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than just "taking your time and coming up with something different"-kind of excuses when long breaks between post-Uroboros releases are in question. I am gonna go out on a limb and recap my points from 2013-2015 to show how superficial statements akin to "not blending together" are : DSS was the 7-string equivalent of Uroboros handbook ideas matching up with 2-3 years old trends of that time (deathcore fandoms, nu metal revivals) whereas Arche was literally the amalgamation of anything Dir since the advent of their "metal"-era (say, Six Ugly), a.k.a. very typical idea for an anniversary. It's not that hard to see the same framework behind the gargantuan curtains of "br00tal" mixing and technical frills. So in this sense, what we are seeing here is basically the 7-8 years of constant throwbacking and most likely idea rehashing - anyone willing to object? As a worried, grumpy old fan, I am honestly worried about their kaisanization being more likely once they realize that they lacked a lot of "intimacy" and "chemistry" to progress towards new directions together.

I thought you said you could hit dem Helsinki streets at some point though (I assume that you have been more than once here)? We might think about Tallinn option though (might suit other Europeans much better, so to speak) Other folks looking beautiful/spurdo as well (praise @Koike 's Nagoya fab realness)

+ Why would they disband if they are gonna have a big blast next year (20th Anniversary, ANYONE?)? Not sure if crossing fingers is good in this case but I could see them doing some kind of "remaking oldies + adding some newbies" kind of compilation. I mean, after all: where did those remakes go lately? Seems rather odd for them not to do them for a while, so I can see it happening once again as a "best-of". edit: oh, seems like they have a voting system for those songs...anyways, still hella odd to see them NOT remaking more oldies, lol.

Literally the George Soros of anything VK-related. *cue Alex Jones screaming*

Make sure they skip "Papa Lapped a Pap Lopped" though.

Mejibray definitely is a meme band:

Siren BC would've been much cooler if the obvious "western-friendly" remake-iness wasn't that obvious. First Siren games were much cooler and less cliche in the same vein as why e.g. Japanese Ringu/Grudge are definitely superior to its horrendous American reboots (as a case in point). Nonetheless, Blood Curse is still the best horror game on PS3 though.

Jesus christ, I was really stupid not to get the VISUAL KEI-RELATED hint here!!! (not sure if intentional but either way: Sorry peeps >_>

Jos On the Rocks on se sama paikka missä viimeks nähtiin porukalla (Maria/Otto tietänee) niin eiköhän se varmaan käy - nyt jos vaan aikataulu ja innostus sallii...

His flexibility and taste would actually allow him to go full-on Voldo one day

Olisi ollut ehkä läpällä visiitin arvoinen eventti ellei olisi ollut tota sfääreihin ulottuvaa hintaa/hinnastoa + erittäin huonoa makua niiden viime suomikeikasta. (joojoo ton saa kyllä pilkkahintaan mitä ihmeellisempien weeboyhteyksien kautta *winkwink* mutta evvk, sorge) Siis the fuck, ainoa mielenkiintoinen japaniakti tälle vuodelle olisi Tuska Open Airissa. Ei hirveesti eroa B-luokan VKstelijöistä jotka tänne kömpivät mutta jännää skeidaa anygays. Kek.

Rather bothersome that gradually each and every (social and public) medium is subjected to the "safe space" principles. How can we even express our well-reasoned ideas without being slammed as "bigots" or "asshats" after such events? Also: Me going through uni-related documentation atm...bureaucracy!

Another title which made me ponder a little bit: Lorelei/Loreley I could name only a few instances where it was used/mentioned in one way or another (L'arc, Deluhi, Madame Edwarda (not VK but lol), LIX, Reign) but I highly bet on its high frequency due to possible mispellings we tend to see in Japanese titles quite often. This made me wonder about the context of Deluhi and Madame's Lorelei since only Laruku's "Loreley" (Germanic variation btw) alludes to the place of inspiration for post-"Sakura scandal" Laruku members (considering that they went around UK and Germany for "fresh ideas"). Mind the lyrical hint during the bridge (Rhine, "mountain", Black Forest):

There must be honestly something wrong with me when I feel too lazy/pissed about visiting my grandma's fam sooner in the middle of nowhere (central side) with goddamn horrible (LITERALLY AWFUL) public transport connections (I'd take my own ride but driving 260 miles to the north would be a huge pain in my arse in terms of stamina, patience and financial resources). Talk about being one heck of a bad grandson, tbqh.

Seems like even behind-the-scenes songwriting is not her cup of tea at this point. Wishing her all the best.