123Sandman321

I like to keep it vacant

they all look like gremlins, without makeup, so what's the point debating his nose 🙃

they all look like gremlins, without makeup, so what's the point debating his nose 🙃

Three things in life are inevitable as a visual kei fan: death, taxes, and your favorite band ending activities. If you are a fan of llll-Ligro- , then you experienced all three at the same time when they announced their second disbandment. I wasn't super into the band at the time of both of their disbandments, although they were on my radar and not on my shit list, so I can sympathize with fans who had to deal with heart break twice. Fans of yesteryear went through a similar phase with UnsraW's vocalist Yuuki, and depending on who you talk to he still hasn't gotten back to his prime ten years later. The similarities are so striking it's hard to resist the comparison. But this review isn't about UnsraW, it's about llll-Ligro- and their unreleased second album 弔 (Tomurai). The three tracks that managed to survive stand as a reminder for what could have been, and what should have been.

Before its cancellation, 弔 was announced for a 2018-05-30 release. Artwork and booklets were probably designed and pressed, but no scans other than the front exist. A track list was released but we don't know how many of the nine unreleased songs were finished. The album was delayed multiple times due to Hinata and Kazari's habit of postponing releases for the sake of quality, but Hinata's refusal to finish recording his parts due to acute chorditis implies that at least some of these songs were unfinished. As is, it will be impossible to give a full review of it, but there are several tracks we can reflect on. Those tracks are comeback single "INVICTA", live distributed single "basket case", and other promotional single "INVISIBLE INDIVIDUAL". "深閑ガラス" (Shinkan Glass) is a track played at their last live but no recording of it exists.
 
 


弔 (Tomurai)
1. Blame me (SE)
2. INVISIBLE INDIVIDUAL
3. basket case
4. Shinkan Glass (深閑ガラス)
5. Kuroneko wa Kaku Katariki (黒猫は斯く語りき)
6. Ratai Are Hateta Hyou (裸体荒れ果てた標)
7. DIRGE OF INFECTION
8. HIRAETH
9. INVICTA
10. Mist
11. DEEP SIX
12. Seija no Koushin (聖者の行進)
13. Kanransha wa Adabana to (観覧車は徒花と)
14. Isho (遺書)
 
 
Despite all the material released as a part of llll-Ligro- 's first phase, "INVICTA" isn't the ball scorching metalcore banger I was expecting. The unassuming opening does a lot to disarm the listener, and on the first listen I thought this was going to be a ballad, but before long the song ratchets up the complexity and the aggression. The band dips their toes into the progressive metal waters with this one, as everything from synthesized piano keys to acoustic guitars and a generous amount of toms and cymbal crashes makes an appearance. Hinata's vocals are one of the most striking elements of the track, featuring his signature skill of deftly switching between harsh growls and pig squeals. Sometimes the transitions are so fast I'm not sure if it's all natural or studio magic, but having to perform that live is absolutely killer. It's a seven minute trip far more realized than most of their contemporaries. If every band has their magnum opus, "INVICTA" could be theirs. This must have been a product of their time as 時限式:uadjet (jigenshiki:uadjet).
 

"INVISIBLE INDIVIDUAL" is a much more straightforward track, and would have been the first track on the album after "Blame me", which is an SE so I don't count it. There are a lot of cool ideas here. I think my ultimate favorite part is around 3 minutes, where Hinata's clean singing is laid over his screaming, creating a great dynamic tension to push the song into it's last section. The piano motif returns again, which makes me suspect that we would have gotten at least one piano ballad on the album. There's also some pretty dope bass slaps before the eagle scream halfway through where I expected a breakdown to appear, which is what cemented my opinion of this track as an above average metalcore dirge. 



The last track that was released was "basket case", a live distributed teaser that ended up becoming their last official release. This would have followed "INVISIBLE INDIVIDUAL" and does a good job providing contrast to the first track. This wasn't uploaded anywhere else, so I'll try to give a good description of how the track sounds. "basket case" opens up with a short, distorted riff into a chorus with clean vocals with a straightforward, 'four to the floor' drum beat. The main guitar riff of the song sounds mental and the song moves at a frantic yet restrained pace, alluding to the title. Most of the singing is clean and takes place with Hinata's higher register, but mid range barks, growls, and a pig squeal makes an appearance shortly after the second verse. There's a strong emphasis on twin guitar melody for this song. The chorus has a very stereotypical visual kei melodic progression, so much so that I feel like I can place at least the first few notes of "basket case" from another song, but I can't figure out which one it is yet.

"basket case" descends into thirty seconds of noise as the track winds down to an end, and I find myself feeling saddened that the album will never be released in its entirety, and that I'll never get to hear "深閑ガラス" (Shinkan Glass). llll-Ligro-  hold the crown for visual kei bands with one of the most promising yet unfulfilled musical development arcs of all time, and that's not a title I'm keen on reassigning any time soon. Based on what I've heard, 弔 would have been the album that made a fan out of me. I just know there's a copy of the unfinished masters sitting in a vault in Japan somewhere, and perhaps a second or third copy on a hard drive, but the odds that we'll ever get to see or hear any more of this album are slim to none. At this point, I'd even take a mini-album of whatever is fit enough to be released.

A lot of unknowns remain around the members and the state of the band. Can Hinata ever sing again? Is the relationship between Hinata and Kazari too strained to imagine a third reunion? Do they even want to try or will they both move on to new, separate projects? I am reluctant to stoke the fires of hope for the remaining llll-Ligro-  fans out there, because that's just cruel, but the scene has shown with both HIZUMI (D'espairsRay) and Yuuki (UnsraW) that there's always a chance for Hinata to return.

Quite late, but this was the setlist for 18th June, 2019 in Backstage Werk, Munich
 
99.999
Falling
NINTH ODD SMELL
GUSH
Vortex
The Suicide Circus
THE MORTAL
SONO KOE WA MOROKU
DOGMA
UNDYING
TWO OF A KIND
UGLY
ABHOR GOD
Filth in the Beauty
 
Encore:
INSIDE BEAST
Hyena
Tomorrow Never Dies
 
Probably the best one, so far...  (all thanks to Undying)

Quite late, but this was the setlist for 18th June, 2019 in Backstage Werk, Munich
 
99.999
Falling
NINTH ODD SMELL
GUSH
Vortex
The Suicide Circus
THE MORTAL
SONO KOE WA MOROKU
DOGMA
UNDYING
TWO OF A KIND
UGLY
ABHOR GOD
Filth in the Beauty
 
Encore:
INSIDE BEAST
Hyena
Tomorrow Never Dies
 
Probably the best one, so far...  (all thanks to Undying)

Quite late, but this was the setlist for 18th June, 2019 in Backstage Werk, Munich
 
99.999
Falling
NINTH ODD SMELL
GUSH
Vortex
The Suicide Circus
THE MORTAL
SONO KOE WA MOROKU
DOGMA
UNDYING
TWO OF A KIND
UGLY
ABHOR GOD
Filth in the Beauty
 
Encore:
INSIDE BEAST
Hyena
Tomorrow Never Dies
 
Probably the best one, so far...  (all thanks to Undying)

How 'bout they take some time off and let the album breathe...?

Yeah, it was wonderful and the whole atmosphere was insane. I still can't move my neck properly or even talk loudly
 
It made up for all the organizational errors.

Yeah, it was wonderful and the whole atmosphere was insane. I still can't move my neck properly or even talk loudly
 
It made up for all the organizational errors.

The gig in Munich has been amazing!!! The crowd was wild and the setlist was very good! I loved how Kai apologized for the little hiccup made by him during 'Ugly' ("Sorry, my mistake!"), made my entire week! 😂
 
(Even TOMORROW NEVER DIES is enjoyable live!)

Yeah, it was wonderful and the whole atmosphere was insane. I still can't move my neck properly or even talk loudly
 
It made up for all the organizational errors.

I really dig the new sound, but I still expect some more guitar-wankery in other songs.
 
What caught my eye, tho, is the unusually high number of dislikes and quite a few japanese essays in the comments. What's that about?

IDEAL fucking slaps, cohesive structure, amazing chorus, a fitting solo and especially the outro is goddamn nasty, just spot on. Plus  it's funny to see Mio straining to flex his abs for 4 minutes
 
And pierced holes can contract at least a little bit, without needing to get sewn up. Generally gauges under 1cm can regenerate to look "normal", again.

A lot can be said, positive and negative about the legacy of MALICE MIZER, whether it's the abrupt departure of Tetsu after just one year, the GACKT years, the untimely death of Kami or the rise and fall in the Klaha years. There's no better way to understand how MALICE MIZER went from unknown to legends of Visual Kei than to start in the beginning.
 
In the Beginning: The Era of Tetsu

 
MALICE MIZER was formed in August of 1992 when former guitarist of Matenrou, Közi joined forces with the support bassist Mana and the two recruited the former Ner-vous vocalist Tetsu, former ZE:RO bassist Yu~ki and former DATURA (not to be confused with DatuRΛ) drummer Gaz to form MALICE MIZER (a postmanteau of Malice and Misery) with a concept based on the darker side of human nature. MALICE MIZER immediately began activities and released their first demo tape SANS LOGIQUE which had foregone vocals and released Speed of Desperate on the compilation album Brain Trash which featured acts such as ALUCARD, DIE=KÜSSE, THE PIASS and Gazelle. Shortly after Brain TRASH, Gaz departed and Kami joined; Kami being the only other drummer for the band until his untimely death. MALICE MIZER released a few more demos before releasing their debut album memoire on Mana's newly founded label Midi:Nette. Tetsu then left the band at the end of 1994 with a live performance titled Cher de memoire II on December 27th.
 
Taking a Different Route: It's Gackt Time

 
MALICE MIZER went into 1995 without a vocalist, but they didn't let it stop their surge as they performed without a vocalist for a sponsored event titled Dai Goya Higeki no Bansan Vol.5 (第五夜 悲劇の晩餐 Vol.5) before Gackt officially joined the band as the new vocalist with his first performance on October 10th Karei naru Fukkatsugeki. The music of MALICE MIZER took a drastic turn and was the catalyst for the rise of Gackt as a performer and set the stage for his continued success after leaving the band as the band went from a Gothic sound to a more upbeat sound; something that became a signature of Gackt's solo career. In 1996 MALICE MIZER released their second album Voyage sans retour and underwent a nationwide one-man tour culminating in a show titled Sans retour Voyage deux 1996. MALICE MIZER continued their stride in 1997 when they signed a contract with major label Nippon Columbia, a subsidiary of Columbia Music Company as well as undergoing a sold-out nationwide tour with STANDING TOUR '97 Pays de merveilles ~空白の瞬間の中で~ and a regularly broadcast radio show MALICE MIZER no Mayonaka no s'il vous plaît on CBC Radio. Merveilles, MALICE MIZER's third album and second featuring Gackt as vocalist is released in March of 1998, the band announced merveilles ~Shuuen to kisuu~ in which the tickets sold out in just two minutes as well as undergoing a new radio show MALICE MIZER no shisetsu hisho no chojutsu on Chiba's renowned bay-fm radio station. However, things would take a turn when in January Gackt decided to leave the band at the peak of their popularity to form own solo project that he continues to this day, simply called GACKT featuring a backing band appropriately titled GACKTJOB. 
 
As if losing their vocalist wasn't bad enough tragedy struck when in June beloved drummer Kami passed away suddenly from a subarachnoid hemorrhage, more commonly referred to as a brain hemorrhage. With the world crashing down around his shoulders, Mana underwent damage control and returned MALICE MIZER to his own label. Malice Mizer went on to release one song after Gackt left, a piano song called Saikai no Chi to Bara. Little did they know that their fortunes were about to change as their savior was right around the corner.
 
From Rebirth to Climax: The Year of Klaha

 
PRIDE OF MIND former vocalist Klaha joined MALICE MIZER on vocals on August 31st and would be the third and final vocalist for the group. MALICE MIZER proceeded to get back to making music right away with the release of their fourth and final album Bara no Seidou and Klaha had his first live performance one week later with Bara ni irodorareta akui to higeki no makuake - Dai icihiya saikai no bara. Sadly, nothing lasts forever and after several singles, a feature length, albeit silent film Bara no Konrei ~Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku~ and even a concert DVD in 2001, MALICE MIZER went on an indefinite hiatus at the end of the year. Each member releasing their own respective personal messages regarding the hiatus on the bands official website.
 
Post Mortem: An Uncertain Future

 
After MALICE MIZER went on an indefinite hiatus the respective members were quick to move on to other projects, except for Yu~ki who's only activity since the hiatus was contributing to a song on Közi's solo project. The aforementioned Közi went on to be in a managare of bands, first with HARUHIKO ASH in Eve of Destiny, then started a solo project as well as XA-VAT, ZIZ, VAMQUET and joined Ryo from 9Goats Black Out to form a nu-goth band called DĂLLE. Mana quickly formed his own solo project that is still running strong today called Moi dix Mois and launched his own fashion label Moi-même-Moitie as well as becoming a producer for the band Schwarz Stein and cellist Kanon Wakeshima. Tetsu formed several bands of varying styles of music after leaving MALICE MIZER with the most notable being ZIGZO and Nil. Gackt has been active as a solo artist since leaving MALICE MIZER and subsequently ventured into film and television while Klaha released a solo mini-album and full length album before disappearing from the scene in 2004, not to be heard from again.
 
MALICE MIZER may be no more, but the pieces have come together several times since the hiatus, Közi joining Mana's Moi dix Mois in 2008 at Dis Inferno Vol.VI ~Last Year Party~ and again in 2009 for a two stop tour Deep Sanctuary; Deep Sanctuary becoming a staple event for Moi dix Mois from then on. Moi dix Mois and Közi went on another, longer tour in 2010, six shows aptly named Deep Sanctuary II which featured the return of Yu~ki on bass; the three reuniting on stage for the first time in nine years. The show featured MALICE MIZER classics such as Saikai no Chi to Bara and Beast of Blood as well as a cover of shock rocker Rob Zombie's What Lurks on Channel X. Moi dix Mois then held a tenth anniversary concert Le dixieme anniversaire Live 2011~2012　~Tetsugaku no Hahen Dainana Shou Shinen naru Seiiki Deep Sanctuary III~ which saw Közi performing with his new band ZIZ with Yu~ki returning on bass. Sadly the original drummer Gaz passed away on December 22nd 2017, one year before the bands 25th anniversary and the subsequent reunion show last year Deep Sanctuary Ⅵ MALICE MIZER 25th Anniversary Special which featured the return of the trio as well as former roadies for the band performing their own renditions of classic songs, such as former LAREINE vocalist KAMIJO joining for his own take on the Gackt era songs APRES MIDI and Bel Air ~Kuuhaku no Shunkan no Naka De~, cali≠gari's Shuuji with a riff on the Tetsu era's Kioku to Sora and ILLUMINATI as well as Moran former vocalist Hitomi with Gackt's Madrigal and N.p.s.N.g.s. The show featured ZIZ and Moi dix Mois performing their own songs and MALICE MIZER covers with the show ended with a tribute to the departed Kami and all of the guest vocalists singing together for Ma chérie ~Itoshii Kimi E~.
 
There have been teases for years and the band have come back in several shapes, but whether they will return with the likes of any of their three former vocalists is unlikely or at best up in the air with all of them seemingly content with their careers and lives and consider MALICE MIZER a part of their past. The future of MALICE MIZER is uncertain, but it's safe to say that the Visual Kei scene would be shaken to the core if the stars aligned and the malice and misery rose like a phoenix for a second time.
 
Member History
Current Lineup
Mana - Guitar (ex-Matenrou, Moi dix Mois) 
Közi - Guitar (ex-GIRL, ex-Matenrou, ZIZ, XA-VAT, DĂLLE, Solo, VAMQUET) 
Yu~ki - Bass (ex-ZE:RO)
Former Members
Gaz - Drums (ex-DATURA, deceased  2017)
Tetsu - Vocals (ex-Ner-vous, ZIGZO, Nil, THE JUNEJULYAUGUST) 
Kami - Drums (deceased 1999)
Klaha - Vocals (ex-PRIDE OF MIND, Solo, retired)
Gackt - Vocals (ex-Cains:Feel, Solo, YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz)
Support Members
Shue Sakai - Drums (ex-JACK BLUE, N.S.D.P., Everlasting-K)
Kazune - Keyboard (Brain Hacker, Art Cube)
Staff Members
Hitomi - Roadie (ex-Moran, UMIYURI) 
MAYU - Roadie (ex-LAREINE, ex-NEW SODMY)
MACHI - Roadie (ex-LAREINE, Chanton L'amour) 
Masanori Yabuki - Roadie (Datenshi Tokyo, Ant1nett) 
KAMIJO - Roadie (ex-LAREINE, ex-NEW SODMY, Versailles, Solo)
Shuuji Ishii - Roadie (cali≠gari, goatbed, EX-ANS)
 
Discography
 
Albums
(1994.07.24) memoire
(1996.06.09)Voyage ~Sans Retour~
(1998.03.18) Merveilles
(2000.08.23) Bara no Seidou (薔薇の聖堂)
Mini-albums
(2000.02.01) Shinwa (神話)
Demos
(1992.10.31) Sans Logique
(1993.04.05) Sadness
(1993.10.12) The 1th Anniversary
(1996.00.00) Après Midi
(1999.11.03) Saikai no Chi to Bara" (再会の血と薔薇)
Singles
(1995.12.10) Uruwashiki Kamen no Shoutaijou
(1996.10.10) Ma Chérie ~Itoshii Kimi E~
(1997.08.06) Bel Air ~Kuuhaku no Shunkan no Naka De~
(1997.12.03) Au Revoir
(1998.02.11) Gekka no Yasoukyoku
(1998.05.20) Illuminati
(1998.09.09) Le Ciel ~Kuuhaku no Kanata E~
(1999.11.03)Saikai no Chi to Bara
(2000.05.31) Kyomu no Naka de no Yuugi
(2000.07.26) Shiroi Hada ni Kuruu Ai to Kanashimi no Rondo
(2001.05.30) Gardenia
(2001.06.21) Beast of Blood
(2001.10.30) Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku
(2001.11.30) Garnet ~Kindan no Sono E~
 
OHP
Moi dix Mois 
Közi
Moi-même-Moitie
 
-A huge thanks to @inartisticand the great team over at vk.gy for a wealth of information that without, this would not have been possible.
 

Also, that guitar has the same colour scheme as Sho, so it's not THAT much out of place plus, Gretsch guitars have one of the best clean tones out there.

Also, that guitar has the same colour scheme as Sho, so it's not THAT much out of place plus, Gretsch guitars have one of the best clean tones out there.

'tis really good. Nice and chill.
 
Also, Bakemono. make some tasty PVs, this one along with Deviloof's latest two.

Bleep-bloop too advanced, me no understand.
 
Anyway, I hope this goes somewhere, Hizumi had a golden voice.

I fail to muster the words that would do this perfection justice. I'm stupefied. That solo, that fucking solo...
 
(1st verse (1:06 mark) is reminiscent of NAZARE's unknown, tho)

I Do Not Like Green Eggs And Ham (poem by Gesu and Talk To Transformer)
 
I do not like green eggs and ham. I feel guilty about it every day.

I used to like chocolate chip pancakes and I would eat them all day. Then the whole thing went downhill. I felt sad. There was no real satisfaction there.

It has taken many years but my mom and I came back to my home and discovered how to make these awesome scrambled eggs. They're packed with protein and fiber. The best part is that the eggs are made without eggs in them. It's a wonderful healthy addition.

Chocolate Chip Croissant Eggs

Makes about 2 dozen

this new take on Clever Sleazoid is pretty good too
 
 

"fuck you out into space"
that's a new level

I expect this on the next JILUKA/NAZARE album.
 
 
this is pure poetry
 
i lost a few braincells

I expect this on the next JILUKA/NAZARE album.
 
 
this is pure poetry
 
i lost a few braincells