Not really that VK, but I'm surprised no-one's mentioned YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz. It has Gackt in it, for God's sake. Of course it would have a stupid name.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c49/fitear1590/CD%20cover%20scans%20and%20band%20pics/aicle%20neko%20no%20kiza%20mairi%20group%202_zpsk00neimw.jpg" width="791" />
愛狂います。 (Aicle.): 5 Levels of Crazy
Vo. えみる (Emiru)
Guitar: ルビ (Rubi)
Guitar: けいた (Keita)
Bass: さらん (Saran)
Drums: 玲音 (Leon)
If you were part of the VK fandom during the past 7 years or so, you may have come across 愛狂います。 (Aicle.). Depending on who you talk to, they’re known for being “that colorful oshare group” or “that band with helium vocals”. Peruse the YouTube comments of any of their PVs and the word “kawaii” is sure to pop up, regardless of how bizarre and growl-filled the song is. I’ve always said that 愛狂います。 is not “underrated,” but they are generally “rated” for the wrong thing. While the aforementioned elements might play a role to some degree in the band’s sound, I’m here to show you that 愛狂います。 should be remembered for so much more than their one-dimensional legacy! With a more comprehensive, analytical look at the band, I hope to stop feeling like I'm Mugatu on crazy pills and just maybe, 愛狂います。's true style will shine through for more listeners.
Forming in late 2006 and debuting in early 2007, they emerged in the scene around the same time as bands like Versailles, キャンゼル (canzel), ゾロ (ZORO), and ClearVeil. However, unlike those bands, 愛狂います。 was practically a group of newcomers from no notable ex-bands. They dabbled in live-distributed songs, compilation tracks, and a series of singles for their first two years, including the summer 2008 consecutive single series of シドロモドロ(shidoro modoro), ネクロノミコン (nekuro nomikon), and トウメイニンゲン (toumei ningen). This followed with the release of their first album 心臓。 (shinzou.) in March 2009. Uniquely enough in the VK scene, this was a disc of entirely new songs— a complete anomaly in the scene! Two months after the release of the album, rhythm guitarist Keita retired from the band on amicable terms. Not letting Keita’s departure slow them down, they released 3 more singles between August 2009 and January 2010. Consecutive singles エキゾチック。 (exotic.), ドラマチック。 (dramatic.), and a split CD with R指定(R-Shitei) followed in late 2010 and in early 2011, they released their second album アルク (ark), this time featuring previously released singles and only 4 brand new tracks— see, that’s more like what we’re used to. Finishing out the year with one-coin single 東京スカイツリー (Tokyo sky tree) and the stylistic 180 that was maxi-single 皇帝ペンギン (koutei penguin), 愛狂います。 finally called it quits in early 2012. Upon disbanding, they released a anthology compilation (愛狂います。2006-2012), collecting all of their songs from before their second album and their final single.
So how could one describe the special music that 愛狂います。 created? To help analyze their music, I came up with an unofficial scale that lends itself surprisingly well to categorizing their discography. Under the description for each level, I have provided my favorite exemplary songs, in chronological order of their release.
Level 1: Fairly straightforward pop-rock. These songs would occur sporadically in the band’s earlier discography, but by 2010 with the release of consecutive singles エキゾチック。 and ドラマチック。, the style started to become alarmingly prominent; the nail in the coffin was when the band’s final single 皇帝ペンギン hovered exclusively around this level. Favorites: 心臓。 (shinzou.), ゴメンなさい (gomen nasai) [see mp3], ひらり。(hirari)
Level 2: Think of this as an upgrade of level 1. While these songs are still fairly tame overall, there might be an alternative, math-rock, or other unique tinge in the music that amplifies the compositional prowess. Wacky lyrical content might also bump up on-the-fence songs to this level, such as “メルトダウン (meltdown)”. There aren’t too many tracks at this in-between level. Favorites:, メルトダウン, 相対性【秘密】理論～タイムマシン２～ (Soutaisei [Himitsu] Riron ~Time Machine 2~), オーバードライヴ (overdrive), あおいろ1号 (aoiro 1 gou), 春夏秋冬 (shunkashuutou) [see mp3]
Level 3: The first level of what I’d call 愛狂います。’s “sweet spot.” If people think about the band, I would hope that songs from this tier (or higher) are the ones that immediately come to mind. Most of the songs here are approximately half-pop and half-crazy—that was the band’s signature style after all! Many of the band’s singles fall under this category. Favorites: 僕は魔王 (boku wa maou), 猫の刻参り (neko no kiza mairi), トウメイニンゲン (toumei ningen) [or see mp3], 骸骨のうた (gaikotsu no uta), オカルト・キラー (occult killer), サイコ×レタア (psycho x letter) [see PV above]
Level 4: This forms the second half of the “sweet spot.” These songs tend to do without the poppy choruses of level 3 and/or they ramp up the craziness in the rest of the song. As such, this level is mostly relegated to b-sides and other miscellaneous tracks, although their very first single (the first song in this list) was just wild enough to edge into level 4! Favorites: 球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～ (kyuukei mugen rensa ~mizutama~), くるくる。と胎児は廻る (kuru kuru. to taiji mawaru) [see PV below], デスロリ調ポップス (death lolli-chou-pops) [see mp3], 裏姫 (urahime), 【d2b2】, 暗殺 -ANSATSU-, チョコサンドビスケットクリーム (choco sand biscuit cream)
Level 5: This is reserved for 愛狂います。’s sole craziest venture: 豚の王様「ニトログリセリン」(buta no ousama “NITROGLYCERIN”). With squeals, frenetic guitar work, grunts, and literal oinking, this song is in a tier of its own!
Disclaimer: the “levels” do not necessarily refer to quality, so much as the “crazy” factor. While I tend to prefer songs at levels 3 and 4, there are still a handful of level 1 and 2 songs that I’ll listen to any day over certain level 3 and 4 tracks.
Now that we have an idea of my hopefully not-so-arbitrary tier system, let’s talk about the actual music! With due respect to all the members, it’s clear that vocalist/composer Emiru and guitarist Rubi form the brunt of the band’s unique sound. Back in the day, a lot of people would stan bassist Saran, but he’s not so notable to me, other than looking like a VK version of April Ludgate. I will say the drummer occasionally caught my attention, because of his affinity for punchy toms. Anyway, let’s start with Emiru. If there’s one sticking point about this band for a lot of people, it’s likely Emiru’s “special” vocals. Admittedly, he started off quite rough. If you listen to early singles like 記念日。 (kinenbi.) or 球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～, you can definitely hear him straining to reach higher notes, but hey, that’s always been part of the charm of VK, right? He legitimately sounds like Cartman in "シドロモドロ (shidoro modoro)". Fortunately, his general vocal quality improves over time and becomes much smoother (this is most obvious by comparing the original and rerecordings of songs like "ゴメンなさい" and "チョコサンドビスケットクリーム"). It would be easy to write Emiru off as a “bad” singer, but that would mean ignoring how commendably he “compensates” in all the other things he does with his voice. What really contributes to Emiru’s success as a vocalist is his variety. In any given song (especially levels 3 and higher), you might hear any combo of the following: growling, oldschool Madeth Gray’ll-esque “fast talking”, shrieking, maniacal cackling, whispering, and more. Some absolute highlights include Emiru chanting off the number sequence of π (pi) in the punky "球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～", the demonically adorable alter-ego he takes on in "まみむめモンスター君 (mamimume monster-kun)", or the sheer fuckery that is level 5 track "豚の王様「ニトログリセリン」" [see mp3 above]. What also takes the band over the top are the strange lyrics. Emiru has a knack for writing in a way that is paradoxically blunt, yet impenetrable in meaning, with a healthy sprinkling of kookiness. One of my favorite songs (vocally, musically, as well as lyrically) is “くるくる。と胎児は廻る (Round and Round. The Fetus Turns)”, which can be viewed below; thanks to moonwalkingpenguin for the translation!
But the vocals are just half of the fun when it comes to 愛狂います。—let’s not forget about Rubi, the guitarist obsessed with apple imagery! As I mentioned, Rubi was essentially a rookie upon joining the band; his only previous known endeavor was with the short-lived 愛狂います。-predecessor known as モノもの (monomono), which also featured Emiru and bassist Saran. That’s why it’s all the more exciting that Rubi rose to such enigmatic, virtuosic playing! While Emiru is credited with composition, I find it difficult to believe that Rubi was simply his guitar-brandishing puppet—there is some real magic in his riffs and it’s not just guitar solos. In fact, his most impressive guitar work is just what he’s doing in the background. Let’s have a look at some specific examples. Listen from the second verse of “デスロリ調ポップス”. Then, check out the second verse and bridge of “ハンマー≦ヘッド (hammer≦head)”. Finally, in the first 1:20 of the above PV, Rubi provides a nice selection of his guitar offerings in “サイコ×レタア“. In all three songs, we hear Rubi’s non-stop efforts, whether it’s creepy-crawly riffs or progressive noodling not too far off from something indie-favorites 八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88kasyo junrei) might do. But beyond his extremely technical showcases, there is also plenty to enjoy in the “lower-level” tracks, like the pop-punk/math-rock influenced “あおいろ1号” or the buoyant fret-tapping of ”春夏秋冬” [see level 2 mp3]. Another aspect that helped to emphasize the band’s paradoxical sound was their bubbly arrangements, always democratically attributed to ”愛狂います。” as a whole. Sounding almost anachronistic compared to current VK’s overly electronic arrangements, the band often opted for simple synth beats or chimes, which produced a disarming effect, making it all the more surprising when the band jumped from a bouncy chorus into a growling, proggy chug fest. The icing on the arrangement cake was the band’s fun use of sound effects, such as the cartoony munching of cookies in “チョコサンドビスケットクリーム“, the vivid tentacle (?) noise at the beginning of “文化≠包丁 (bunka≠houchou)”, or the ambiguous animal roar that uncannily resembles the click-clack of a roller coaster in “オカルト・キラー”.
Towards the end of 愛狂います。’s career, long-time fans unsurprisingly started to turn on the band. With singles like ”スターマイン (star mine)” and ”皇帝ペンギン”, the band started to settle down in level 1. Prior to that, the only PV track at this level was ”心臓。”, from their first album and while it was a saccharine pop-rock number, the rest of the album satisfied the kind of craziness fans craved through the aforementioned level 5 track or the many spooky, Halloween-inspired tunes. And therein lies the problem for the last leg of the band’s career. There was no longer a balance of the levels. The band’s most successful releases were those in which they displayed variety. For instance, the maxi-single 怪体新書。 (kaitai shinsho.), my personal favorite release, had two songs at level 3 (“眼球ワルツ(gankyuu waltz)” and “猫の刻参り”) and one at level 4 (“デスロリ調ポップス“). Singles サイコ×レタア and ケセラ:セラ (que sera:sera) both had title tracks at level 3, coupled with a level 2 and level 4 b-side. It’s unclear whether 愛狂います。 really was this methodical in constructing their release tracklists, but it undoubtedly worked in their favor. Although the final releases left fans with a sour aftertaste, we shouldn't let them spoil the entire 愛狂います。 experience. While vocalist Emiru (now “Suzuki Satoshi”) has since moved on to Yeti, an outlet where his softer, indie rock composition style is really thriving (let’s just say I like Yeti’s output more than late level 1 愛狂います。), it’s an absolute shame that Rubi hasn’t resurfaced in another band yet. To this day, he remains one of my favorite VK guitarists and it pains me greatly that his return to music seems so unlikely at this point. Still, there’s plenty of great music to remember him (and the whole band) by! And forget about caveats. 愛狂います。 was not crazy for a pop/"oshare" band; they were just crazy, period.
If you’re new to 愛狂います。, be sure to check out all of the links/PVs! Hopefully, you can use this as a guide! For any seasoned fans out there, let me know what you think of the 5 level system. Does it make sense? Do you agree with the categorization? What are your favorite songs at each level? Do you agree that 愛狂います。 tends to be remembered superficially (i.e. only referencing their appearance)? Whatever you have to share about 愛狂います。, let’s discuss it!
B-side songs were great. Main song, generic as expected from HIZAKI but not bad. Overall, a good release.
Kuze's unique voice and talent brought novelty to Jupiter's sound. Sadly it wasn't enough to overcome those HIZAKI's terrible generic compositions.
Really not much left for me to say.
Over the last five years, HIZAKI can't come up with something fresh and interesting. At this point, I'm afraid the change I was hoping for Jupiter's sound won't happen. And even worse, Kuze would leave. But let's see what the future holds (please, HIZAKI, goddamit).
Best Jupiter release since "The History of Genesis". Definitely check it out if you are a fan of HIZAKI
When I listen to Jupiter, I compare it to HIZAKI's past works in HIZAKI Grace Project, Schwardix Marvally, and Versailles, so the bar is fairly high. Jupiter had some good bangers like 'ARCADIA' and.... yeah that's the only one that really sticks out in my mind.
They do have fun songs like "The Birth of Venus", "Tears of the Sun", "The spirit within me", but they all sound the same and blends into one another. Good, unique songs like "Red Carnation" and "Rhythmos" are far and few in between, and haven't been matched since their releases in 2015 and 2013 respectively.
ZIN's death voice is hilariously bad in comparison to other VK acts like NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST and DIMLIM, but he gets a pass on it because his clean vocals are solid, and its ok enough to have the songs pass as melodeath.
When it was announced that kuze, ex-Concerto Moon, was their new vocalist, I thought it was interesting because ZIN had this boyish aesthetic and voice, and kuze had this grittiness that gives his bands maturity.
Theory of Evolution
Four words to describe this song: balls to the walls. Unrelenting speed and technique throughout the song.
Even though this song follows the typical HIZAKI formula for songs, kuze's unique voice brings enough novelty to the song to make it stand out from the rest of HIZAKI's discography. Fun listen to repeat in the future.
Bring me out
I love me some bass wankery. This song is interesting to me because I feel like I'm listening to an ANTHEM song written by HIZAKI. kuze's vocals lend to that old school heavy metal feel and I love it. I wouldn't be giving this song many spins in the future because there isn't a catchy hook to it.
Angel's wings
People talked about how Jupiter could drop their melodeath songs because kuze never growled before, but I think this song put that worry to rest. kuze's death voice is not bad. It doesn't have much range, but its passable.
While listening to this song, I heard "Fuck yourself" and I did a double take and thought it was just kuze's Engrish. I check the lyrics and yup there it is.
Spitting heat towards Concerto Moon? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Angel's wings is enough to show that kuze can growl, but the song is as forgettable as the rest of Jupiter's discog.
Theory of Evolution is an enjoyable A-side that will be getting many spins from me in the future. If ZIN sung these songs, I would be going to sleep. But kuze brings the band to a level where they can be compared to great power metal bands like Angra, Blind Guardian, Edguy, and Rhapsody of Fire... when Jupiter gets more time as a band to gel together. I will be eagerly waiting for Jupiter to record a full album with kuze.
I've been wanting to write some of this stuff out forever because I'm a huge digital packrat and I like to archive these types of things... I don't think any of this has been written out anywhere before, but I'm not sure how much people actually care about the fan culture part of VK here, especially the Japanese fan culture, and especially the online Japanese fan culture. But, just in case any of you are also level 50 Turbo Nerds I thought I should post it here. I hope this is a sensible place to put it??
this piece is WAY too long for how lame the subject is and i'm so sorry
tl;dr: tanuki is old as fuck and there used to be another tanuki and forums are dead, long live tanuki
🎁As an early gift to the community, MH will once again be hosting the MH JRock Awards for 2018!🎁
Now, before you start voting, read the rules provided in the spoiler below, or else Yuyo will ... idk yet but just read it anyways.
Once you have read the general rules, here's how to vote:
1. Copy the list of categories below into your reply
2. Fill in your votes (you can skip as many categories as you'd like)
3. Submit.
(Try to keep your votes organized under spoiler tags in order to save space for other voters)
Your posts will stay hidden until the end of the voting.
Here are your categories to choose from:
Voting will last until Sunday, January 13th of the New Year (2019)
This will allow everyone to take their time, since some of us are still waiting on some final releases to come out this month.
Note:
"Album" includes both full and mini-albums.
For simplicity reasons, we follow the "Once Visual Kei, always Visual Kei" rule. So yes, that makes bands like Dir en grey or L'Arc~En~Ciel a Visual Kei band, just for the purpose of this voting.
If you missed/skipped 2017 or are just joining the forum and have never heard of this, then take part this year!
If you have any questions about the 2018 MH Jrock Awards, feel free to contact myself or any of the MH Staff!
For me it's Schwartz:Mist
idk if the second word is supposed to be english but if it's german like the first one tries to be, that translates to black shit.
For me it's Schwartz:Mist
idk if the second word is supposed to be english but if it's german like the first one tries to be, that translates to black shit.
For me it's Schwartz:Mist
idk if the second word is supposed to be english but if it's german like the first one tries to be, that translates to black shit.
For me it's Schwartz:Mist
idk if the second word is supposed to be english but if it's german like the first one tries to be, that translates to black shit.
After the first two months of 2019 passed, I decided to stop updating this list because every day I discovered a new 2018 album that I didn't hear before, on time. I decided to close this post as it is.
2018 was the year I've heard more music through all of my life. A huge lot of great album releases, from big and well known artists such as DEG, Kyary, KAMIJO, The GazettE, to new, indie, underground artists to me, such as Haru Nemuri, More, Klan Ailee, SWARRRM. Definitely one of the best years in Japanese music. I'm so glad 2018 was full of amazing albums because music is a great part of my life. Cheers for a 2019 full of great music as well.
BTW, fuck XA-VAT and their "we're way too underground to release K-I-S in-store or digitally". We were excited to listen their return .
You can call up so many bands to that, mostly bands which music isn't the standard vkei type.
for example these bands.
Calmando Qual/SARRMATH
Still don't know any band who poured at that kind of amazing sound.
Also Hibiki's voice isn't a voice you standard hear.
Acid Black Cherry/Janne Da Arc
Yes, unique and not accepted liked by everyone.
Yasu's voice is high and just amazing which makes the sound somehow also nice.
THE NOSTRADAMNZ
Why don't more vkei bands play like them?
But I know, not many people do like their sound, well they don't sound typical vkeiish at all.
Damijaw/Solid beat
Janne Da Arc Bass solo project,
Also something you don't always encounter, and totally underrated.
ADAMS
Somehow they where unique.
Shota, why did you had to die, damn f*CK**.
DEVIZE/MERRY BADEND
Unique voice and just perfectly written melody.
I'm still kinda upset that both bands disbanded.
And of course, disliked by many people, because it's not the typical VKEI sound we know.
REIREI
Somehow, I don't really encounter bands who are even similar to them.
NEiN
Pretty much how a VKei band should sound these days.
Which make them unique.
However, also... somehow people here don't dig them.
Quite Rain
More people here need to check them out.
Even live, it's wonderful.
Would like more visual bands with this kind of sound.
I love Emiru being all chill and stuff, but I miss aicle. so much. They had so much potential to explore. I don't hate oshare, but they made the genre easier to swallow and always kept me surprised by the next thing (until they started going soft). Now that they're not in the scene, it's always like "oh, here come another song with amai/chocolate/princess/christmas/love" in the title.... zzzzz
We need oshare bands to start getting creative, think outside the small box of generic themes for once otherwise the genre will remain dead.
I'll be checking out everyone else mentioned in the post! Just hope I don't get too attached.
Meine persönlichen deutschen yt Lieblingskanäle sind coldmirror und Doktor Allwissend 😄 Wenn es dir darum geht, die berühmtesten deutschen Youtuber zu sehen, sind vielleicht auch die, die bei BUBBLES mitmachen was für dich. (idk ich glaube die kids mögen sowas heute?)
I won't think LM.C will disband.
This band has only two members who are friends in personal life.
Their latest album was really great and the only thing that makes me sad is that their popularity is lower since it was before 2012.
Deremie reacted to monkeybanana4 in CHOKE new album "CHOKE2" release
Deremie got a reaction from GreatNorthernVK in 8P-SB
Deremie got a reaction from Nowhere Girl in Worst Band Names in VK?.-_Du4l.4ud10_RMZ.-.720pBrR1p.-.ByDJMayckel.mkv_snapshot_00_38.08_2019_01.29_13_55_41.thumb.jpg.e33b075ec0203a8062c43fe53fb48db5.jpg)
Deremie got a reaction from kuyashii in Worst Band Names in VK?
Deremie got a reaction from Anne Claire in Worst Band Names in VK?
Deremie got a reaction from Reikatsumi in Worst Band Names in VK?
Deremie got a reaction from fitear1590 in [German] Der NEUE deutsche Faden!