Pretsy

Rather surprising that folks overlook this one while trying to come up with names that managed to make "successful parodies" (not sure if the piece above was intended to be tongue-in-cheek but w/e) of dance music cliches from the time they recorded them (no nah nah, "Idioteque" is a bit lazy to some extent) Also: not their weakest song.

So that's how you channel your own fanboy?

Not exactly sure if I'd agree with your line on I'mperfect being the best showcase of them being "at bare bones" (#4 might be a good go in case such demonstration is needed). As far as my take goes, I personally view the said album as more of a condensed package you'd be able to spin thru mainstream means (radio, your non-rock fan friends) without getting appalled/confused faces during certain oddities in the midst of standard Ling rally (e.g. "Shandy" on Sigure virgin might leave post-hardcore folks on the fence). Very precise and spot-on reviewing though, @CAT5!

Rutracker got DDoS'd (no, I don't trust in other sources in the vein of ever-dying Kickass and whatnot)

I don't want to derail this whole review debate but knowing that it's a) Luna Sea's frontman in question and b ) all Gazette members are hardcore Luna Sea fans, we might blithely exclude "but they are just coincidences, Gazette guys are original"-kind of pretenses and delve deeper into something you'd rule out as "tinfoil accusations" - let's make it brief: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/vinidamazio/suspicious__inspiration_and_plagiarism_in_visual_kei/ 1) SADS and LUNA SEA comparisons are the most legit + Make "SHIVER" go slower without vocals and try to sing Luna Sea's "End of Sorrow" over it... 2) Add "People = Shit" from Slipknot (another major influence btw) into the list (they ripped this off TWICE: "Ogre" and "RAGE") + "Maximum Impulse" literally lifts its intro from Slipknot's "(sic)" (live arrangement) 3) AGONY (MH fandom's favorite), aside from connection above, is just a variation of Limp Bizkit's Pollution - I am not exaggerating, youtube it! (Gazette members are pure nu metal aficionados, FYI) etc. (just a part of what I've found out so far) There are various other connections to notice and pinpoint once you get a bit more familiar with what Gazeboys are jamming to, so it's not just about "random coincidences" if they are happening more than once - and if they are usually tied to their major influences. No fanatic obsessions here, just interests in inspecting things /endofftopic/

First week sales just for fun (rather surprising that BD sales sucked??!! DIVISION had a huge sales slump afterwards though): ps. BD sales might also be explained by the fact that Arashi obliterated sales numbers back in the day (over 670,000 units sold??!!! Talk about game changer) -> other artists had their bad sales day too @top 20 IMPORTANT: when DOGMA hit #3, there weren't AKB48s coming up with chart-breaking earworms unlike in cases below - so take that into account while measuring their sales success.

I have a bit of tricky question: Is "Prison School" worth watching? I haven't caught up with "quality animes" (hint: animes that are less cliche and more favored in the majority) lately so I thought if I could give this IRL recommendation a try - I remember only parts and bits from manga (all I know is that it was quite close to being totes freaky lol).

DOGMA hit #3 on Oricon weekly charts with 18,102 units sold (to compare, BD only sold merely 2000 units less and hit #8 ) Sorta impressive lol

Word, brother! #HoneymoonAOTY

Wouldn't Grieva write the title as "Insomnia -不眠症-"* then? From what I've seen so far, the song title is still "Insomnia" while the single has its name on the cover lol. *this sorta reminds me of Kuroyume's usual typesets kek

Ohh it's that "look at our cool patches"-kind of look again

1) Atmosphere isn't differing that much from earlier discount Chizurus a la "Yoin" for instance (which is much shorter but at least somewhat more intriguing) 2) "Dynamics, tension and instrumentation" were addressed quite well by Bonsai: heavily Pro Tools'd playing in unison throughout the whole album might be your thing, but a mix of variety and cooperation in Aoi x Uruha guitarcraft is what I'mmissing here. Rhythmic backup has reached their dullest point too (which shouldn't be the case, e.g. DIM SCENE). 3) Outro solos are legit quality indicators now? 4) To quote 2ch aficionados (whom I find to be much more trustworthy) - chorus and a huge chunk of lyrics are totes devoid of originality Gazette-wise (a.k.a. "UNTITLED" syndrome) and are actually breaking thin walls of pure discount Arche worship (*cough* Kuukoku, even PVs + certain lyrics + parts match). Most parts sound rather plastered around too. I really fail at seeing that why this piece of rehash should be triumphing over DOGMA, so to speak. Whatever floats your boats though, just my take .

Definitely agreeing on your points, especially DERACINE having the most, or perhaps the most decent vocalcraft (at least in DOGMA) by courtesy of otherwise totes nasal/bad vocalist RukRuk :/ Not sure if your review adequately correlates with the rating you gave though (which might on the other hand say that about 1/4 of this record was kinda okay from your aspect), and if I have to be thoroughly honest and totally dickish (roughly put): I don't get all the wank and bias the last track (OMINOUS) gets from this forum + multiple gazefans...this is not the first time when people instantly approve of Gazette churning out alarming amount of discount Chizurus, right? Quality reviewing as always though, our almighty Zeus-sama

(considering that I put this way early)

What would be the best option you'd resort to in case your Halloween single sales flopped so hard to the point of ending up @ #17 during first week sales on Oricon? (ps. DOGMA hit #3, important) Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has her own method: https://twitter.com/pamyurin/status/638033039084224513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Take your time to "kill" rumours surrounding your possible ties to all kinds of Freemasonry/Illuminaughty shit (albeit the triangle/eyeball motif - women cannot be freemasons though)! Ps. I am not kidding, run that BS through Google transl. #escapism #letyohditakethethrone

As with other BNR threads that @Bear,@Jigsaw9 or myself used to put up, I thought it'd be good to make that good ol' summary thread beforehand (not too early, huh?) You know the drill: no formats, restrictions or templates - post your favs (I'd recommend full-length/EP releases for the sake of keeping lists less tl;dr-y) off this year SO FAR (in case you managed, um, to pinpoint a few favs). I'll come back later for my cents

August seemed to be the month of letdowns to me but anyways, my favs out of this list:

I am gonna steal 's format and have my own "adequate" say on where is Gazette now AFAIAC in terms of post-DIM ventures: TOXIC DIVISION BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY DOGMA To sum up, Gazeboys have totes great plans that cross between music and business departments - but don't sport enough capacity or potential to nail their rich ideas right every time. PS. gomennasai for typos, today's not really great FYI.

A fun poll-like question for those who care: Which Dir album do you consider to be their most consistent? Or do you consider "consistency" to be one of those attributes Dir should stick to in the first place (i.e. not trying to form their albums into "gamuts/clusterfucks of various frills and tricks")? (I am pretty sure this is the first time someone asks THAT in (a bit) biased fandom)

Ever had this moment when you spun certain non-vk record (while chilling around without our lovely j-music...we tend to have these phases too hey)...you were reminded of your old Japanese favorites? I am pretty sure most of you did have that kind of moment at least once! So the idea behind this thread is simple: You post specific non-Japanese releases (compilations, albums...) which might occasionally bug you with reminiscence/elements akin to your Japanese favorites. It doesn't have to be legit influence, so feel free to open up with your discoveries! No one's gonna judge here anyway, right? Example:

Those looking for something quirky, yet very nostalgic and fittingly "cheesy" better check one of the bands I discovered through irl means (fellows/acquaintances...): Horrorbilly/Horror surf/Surf punk act from Russia had their latest album out and it's hella nice BGM for your most thrilling midnight rides (in case you have to/managed to cross some grim, oddest corners of your hoods) Frontman's earlier project on the other hand is basically a Sovietophile response to the whole Shibuya kei/sampling twee pop craze:

Japanese Grimes charming our jps folks...

^^ (sorry I had to)

cover: original:

I suppose it's your use of hyperboles without further details that make you seem like someone fans shouldn't take seriously (not that I'd imply you being the one tho, lol). Rather impressed that only a handful of MH folks, incl. me, realized that DOGMA had so little to no variation as an entirety (DIM kinda threw you here and there but at least the album had various elements to keep your attention). Others who shared their own points of criticism were spot-on - just where was this "tremendous" improvement? Ps. Ruki still needs a coach, ASAP.