Demivee

I can understand both of your points.
Of course DIMLIM still has a huge potential with an A+ singer and a solid/creative guitarist. And yes, even MISC. has some highs which I hope they could improve over the possible next record.
But what is definiteley not deniable is that the presentation of the band (Retsu) is literally a catastrophe. There is no concept, no content and no clear path of what this band is aiming for.
In my opinion - and that should be for the most people here - is that I like a band partially because of the music and partially because of the look/theme/appearence (whatever you may name it).
The music: ok they changed (and it's our turn next hehe) and I can accept that.
The apperance: They wanted to quit VK, that's ok! But what are they aiming for?
 
And for that I think this band is nearly dead. They abandoned fans from the past as they wanted to do a cut and will be struggling to gather new fans because of a) no shows at the moment and b) no concept.
 
And that's a shame as this band had/has so much potential.
 
Ah yes and that "positive reaction from overseas" is - in my opinion- a leftover from CHEDOARA and I would bet that most of the people who got tickets for the oversea shows didn't buy them to get wild over "Lament" if you know what I mean..

I can understand both of your points.
Of course DIMLIM still has a huge potential with an A+ singer and a solid/creative guitarist. And yes, even MISC. has some highs which I hope they could improve over the possible next record.
But what is definiteley not deniable is that the presentation of the band (Retsu) is literally a catastrophe. There is no concept, no content and no clear path of what this band is aiming for.
In my opinion - and that should be for the most people here - is that I like a band partially because of the music and partially because of the look/theme/appearence (whatever you may name it).
The music: ok they changed (and it's our turn next hehe) and I can accept that.
The apperance: They wanted to quit VK, that's ok! But what are they aiming for?
 
And for that I think this band is nearly dead. They abandoned fans from the past as they wanted to do a cut and will be struggling to gather new fans because of a) no shows at the moment and b) no concept.
 
And that's a shame as this band had/has so much potential.
 
Ah yes and that "positive reaction from overseas" is - in my opinion- a leftover from CHEDOARA and I would bet that most of the people who got tickets for the oversea shows didn't buy them to get wild over "Lament" if you know what I mean..

Yeah, I had a double check and that seems correct, but even still, the reports were not very positive either way. Sadly. But from here as they have changed, or at least seem to want to change the identity of the band it makes me wonder if they ever do anything again if they'll stick purely with MISC stuff. You said Hiroshi's insta story was him playing "What's up" right? So I can't help but feel they'll be dropping all pre-MISC stuff in the future. If there is a future for them at all.... lol.
 
For sure! Retsu isn't a bad song writer! Far from it. His work on everything since Issei left upto MISC has been pretty damn awesome. I still listen to all their stuff pretty regularly. The problem is, Retsu doesn't seem to know what he wants to do and building a solid fanbase is going to be hard if you keep changing your style/band identity so often. Sure they'll gain new fans, keep some old fans but they will also lose fans like that. So basically they seem to be struggling to maintain a stable fanbase. So if Retsu can just stick with one thing, push forward with that and build from there, maybe it can work. But as Demivee said above "There is no concept, no content and no clear path of what this band is aiming for." it's hard to really see at this point what is going to happen with them. Again, if anything. Weird about the store, guess there are some changes happening, but whether they're for the best or worst remains to be seen.

I can understand both of your points.
Of course DIMLIM still has a huge potential with an A+ singer and a solid/creative guitarist. And yes, even MISC. has some highs which I hope they could improve over the possible next record.
But what is definiteley not deniable is that the presentation of the band (Retsu) is literally a catastrophe. There is no concept, no content and no clear path of what this band is aiming for.
In my opinion - and that should be for the most people here - is that I like a band partially because of the music and partially because of the look/theme/appearence (whatever you may name it).
The music: ok they changed (and it's our turn next hehe) and I can accept that.
The apperance: They wanted to quit VK, that's ok! But what are they aiming for?
 
And for that I think this band is nearly dead. They abandoned fans from the past as they wanted to do a cut and will be struggling to gather new fans because of a) no shows at the moment and b) no concept.
 
And that's a shame as this band had/has so much potential.
 
Ah yes and that "positive reaction from overseas" is - in my opinion- a leftover from CHEDOARA and I would bet that most of the people who got tickets for the oversea shows didn't buy them to get wild over "Lament" if you know what I mean..

Never thought I'd see Lets himself join the forum. 

I can understand both of your points.
Of course DIMLIM still has a huge potential with an A+ singer and a solid/creative guitarist. And yes, even MISC. has some highs which I hope they could improve over the possible next record.
But what is definiteley not deniable is that the presentation of the band (Retsu) is literally a catastrophe. There is no concept, no content and no clear path of what this band is aiming for.
In my opinion - and that should be for the most people here - is that I like a band partially because of the music and partially because of the look/theme/appearence (whatever you may name it).
The music: ok they changed (and it's our turn next hehe) and I can accept that.
The apperance: They wanted to quit VK, that's ok! But what are they aiming for?
 
And for that I think this band is nearly dead. They abandoned fans from the past as they wanted to do a cut and will be struggling to gather new fans because of a) no shows at the moment and b) no concept.
 
And that's a shame as this band had/has so much potential.
 
Ah yes and that "positive reaction from overseas" is - in my opinion- a leftover from CHEDOARA and I would bet that most of the people who got tickets for the oversea shows didn't buy them to get wild over "Lament" if you know what I mean..

It seems.. 😅

Finally a good chance for me to start getting into their discography.
I saw them live in February and always wanted to give them a listen.

It seems.. 😅

It seems.. 😅

which sadie member was that?

Just a matter of time.. 😅

Its out on spotify for those interested

MUCC will broadcast a live concert which will be accessible from outside of Japan too.
An online ticket will be available for the bargain price of 40$ lol.
Are there really people who are spending 40$ for a freakin live stream?!

OH NOOO YOSHIKI WATCH OUT YOU'RE GONNA FALL ONTO THE MASTER TRACKS OF THE NEW X JAPAN ALBUM NOOOOOOoooo
 
Phew, that was a close one. Lucky thing that the album isn't actually mastered yet.

Ikebukuro RUIDO K3 announced on their OHP that they would be shutting down at the end of August due to the influence of COVID-19. Their twitter has been suspended, though in their announcement, they state "for more information after 09/01, reference https://twitter.com/revoice_music," which states "From September 5, 2020, live house "Ikebukuro Revoice" will open at the site of Ikebukuro RUIDO K3! 160 people.
It seems to me like this is a change in ownership and whether or not they will continue to cater to VK bands is to be seen, but DEVILOOF's Daiki seems be pretty disappointed in RUIDO's closing. He says that he's seeing a decline in the scene because bands are disbanding, but no new ones are forming (probably due to the pandemic) and is scared to think there will be fewer and fewer venues for bandmen to play.
 
EDIT
Looks like the same goes for Shinjuku RUIDO K4 ... They'll close at the end of September and a new venue named Shinjuku WALLY will open in its place in October.
 

I didn‘t mean it that negative as it sounded. 
It‘s just my opinion that this band will not survive any longer. They dropped an album which departed their fanbase (to say it kindly) and did their last concert in 2019. I don‘t think that there will be anyone left interested when they return to the stage. Which is sad because I loved this band to death until their „we changed now it‘s your turn“ shit.

This band is so dead.. 😅

Big update since life has been busy! (Un)shockingly, the tour was postponed once again, and now they'll perform in August! New dates below:
2020/8/1(土)新横浜NEW SIDE BEACH!!(CORE limited)
2020/8/8(土)なかのZEROホール
2020/8/9(日)仙台CLUB JUNK BOX
2020/8/10(月・祝)名古屋BOTTOM LINE
2020/8/14(金)千葉LOOK
2020/8/16(日)京都FANJ【会場変更】
2020/8/22(土)岡山CRAZYMAMA KINGDOM
2020/8/23(日)松山WstudioRED
2020/8/28(金)金沢vanvanV4
2020/8/29(土)大阪CLUB PARTITA 【会場変更】
2020/8/30(日)福岡BEAT STATION
2020/9/4(金)旭川CASINO DRIVE
2020/9/6(日)札幌cube garden
2020/9/12(土)高崎club FLEEZ
2020/9/13(日)HEAVEN’S ROCK 熊谷 VJ-1
2020/9/18(金)赤羽ReNY alpha
2020/9/19(土)日比谷野外大音楽堂
 
Cases are still rising in Japan however, so in order to actually be able to perform, artists have had to perform in venues with limited capacity, take temperatures, practice social distancing, have hand sanitizer, as part of government guidelines. In response to this, MERRY have decided to accept donations from fans to support the tour during the pandemic, mainly the first 6 dates of the tour in Tokyo. They specifically asked for donations from politicians, government workers, and the elderly, and will need enough for supplies (masks, thermometers, disinfectants, etc.), be able to have two concerts per day to reduce audience numbers, and to possibly install a plastic sheet between the audience and the stage through each date of the tour, even if the total donation amount is not sufficient (some safety measures will still be carried out). They also add if concerts do end up cancelled, the money will go to future band activities instead. And instead of opening a crowdfund page, they instead put out bassist Tetsu's personal bank info to donate to since he's apparently the manager of the band now. 
 
According to a fan I follow on twitter (who basically summed this all up), this is the band's response to the government putting out the mentioned guidelines to artists and venues but doesn't really provide them support after they've been forced to cancel concerts for months (see: Mikansei Alice, albeit that's a whole other issue). What is also apparent is how the band members themselves don't really ask for donations on their livestreams, nor do they think they'll receive that much anyway??? It appears as if they'll follow the guideline so far as to provide masks and sanitizers, but as for reducing audience capacity, holding two lives in one day, the fucking plastic sheet...is a bit much, even for them. From how I interpret it, they want to keep the show going as safe as possible, and still have a normal rock concert, and to give Kenichi a proper sendoff after 18 years with them.
 
The original statement *omitted the bank info here
 
---
Again, this is how I understood this whole thing, while seeing responses from fans on twitter (and some are pretty negative as well, *cough*JPfandom*cough*), but if I'm missing something here, pls comment :v

My main issue with them also is to find a fitting place for them in my Collection shelf.. 😅
I organize my collections chronologically so it often happens that you have a 12cm in between two  8cm CSs and this looks horrible. XD

But otherwise I really like the esthetic of this little CDs and they feel like real treasures from a distant time.

DIMLIM is quaking

I read the replies to the original post with interest. Since the coronavirus lockdown I have been searching for new bands and new music. xaa-xaa is a band that I was aware of via Dadaroma but never gave them a listen. So I watched the Horror vid and I thought it was hilarious! Maybe it’s not supposed to be funny but every time burlap head showed up they fell backwards to the floor! And when the fake blood splashed in Kazuki’s hair? Classic! Why was his mouth bloody though? An get props for grabbing a sharp weapon!
 
You Tube’s algorithm then suggested this number
 
I gave it a go since a band is best judged by its live performance. I have to say I’m impressed and when Kazuki hits the notes starting at 4:11 he nailed it! Digging the sequined jackets and the satin gloves!
 
xaa-xaa totally stunting on you hoes!
 
And just like that, xaa-xaa has a new fan!