saishuu

yassss here for mh overshares <33

First video under the new name:
 


 
WHY DO I LIKE THIS BAND they're so corny.

I wasn't really a fan of "Z"OOM personally. But their single following it was great!

lol those song titles scream 解散

Personally i think 'CAO' might be my favorite album from them since their 2009 album 'BOY NEXT DOOR', It just feels really good and the songs are always stuck in my head for hours after I listen to them. I don't know what they did this time around that makes this album feel a little bit different from past albums but I hope they keep it up

Poor chemicalpictures.

Fuck the haters new shit owns

CAO is a great album to start with. I'm glad to see it reviewed as part of the best albums this year - it's easily one of my favorites and has been in constant rotation here since it came out.

Day 4 - アルカラ - CAO (Arukara - CAO)

Release Date: 2014-09-24
Label: Victor Entertainment
Genre: Rock/Indie
Impressions by @Original Saku

Impressions by @CAT5

Sample song:

Buy the album:
CDJapan | YesAsia

Yeah, the taste range really is expansive and it's even more clear these days as more people seem to be getting into the scene. I actually always thought of LOSTAGE as sort of an underground icon amongst more "invested" indie fans instead of Japanese rock music as a whole, especially in the western fanbase. The fact that they only release LPs every year or so helps to this fact - it gets harder for people to remember them often. I'm not sure if I'm making sense, sorry. lol Regarding OYA, I feel like their transition to this kind of sound drove many people away from the hype train and now, at least from my point of view, they're just a presence in the scene and not much of a headliner anymore. They were some of the first names that were recommended to people who were getting into the indie scene a few years ago, now it's far from that and other bands, mostly smaller ones, have taken this spot.

Bless you, saishuu, ahaha. I was about to lose my faith in humanity if no one else commented on this thread. ;P But if anything, I guess it's a testimony to how expansive J-rock really is when bands like this that many would consider staples of J-rock are almost completely unknown in certain J-music communities.

I feel like OYA at this point is just nice background music I wouldn't mind having on when trying to work or focus on something. I appreciate trying to be more experimental, but I think it's reached a point where it's just... pointless? With LOSTAGE, I feel like their music is just getting better. It's carrying an even more emotional load lately (which I appreciate a lot), the music itself sounds more polished, the production overall is really good and their releases are just very cohesive and pleasant to listen to. Plus, I still like "SURRENDER" better than anything OYA has ever done. So yeah, my vote goes to LOSTAGE.

Good ol' TK striking again~
 
(Fun trivia: TK's solo career contributed a lot to my liking of anything LTS/TK-related - dominating radio-friendly elements in his earlier release + singles made it easier for me to digest their usual, brickwalled loudness)
 
Besides single tunes, I dug the late 90s dance poppy vibes in "Spiral Parade" and Chara duet in "Shinkiro" a lot (highlights! )

I enjoyed this album a lot so I was really happy to be able to have to keep repeating it so many times! So it wasn't a problem at all reviewing it, throughly enjoyed it! And I'm happy to see you liked it too Cat! I know I can be a bit too easy and kind on certain things, especially music, but I found this very easy to rate actually, and I don't think I chose the wrong rating (okay well, maybe lower since his voice certainly is hit or miss ><). I thought it was an amazing listen the first time and I just became even more obsessed with it the more I listened to it. I heard his first album is even better so I look forward to giving that a listen. I didn't give it a full 5 stars because of the reasons you brought up. But I actually disagree with his voice not suiting the slower songs. I feel like there was an imbalance to these songs compared to the kind of songs on the album similar to his band work or louder tracks (pretty much every track not a ballad/slow track). They're rather similar to each other which makes for lengthy listening which might becoming boring but I thought TK's vocals made up for that. They were interesting because of his voice to me. Not dreary at all, just very different. My favourites were probably the single releases too, but overall this album is fabulous to me. And HEY, no calling my Chara unnecessary! </3 xD I just think she was a nice addition to the track after the similar sounding songs around it. 
Don't speak those words Cat, please! No more disbandments, especially them! 
 
 
Like I said in reply to Cat, I still MUST give that album a listen! Since I only have one complaint on this album, I bet that album is perfection to me. xD Same here, I like how it's slightly poppier compared to the band. It shows there can be many sides to his voice and even if that's not always a good fit, I love it when unique sounding vocalists do a different sounding track unlike what they usually do. xD I was about to say, I like how you weren't too fond of my two favourite tracks haha. Yeah, I thought they fit well in the album. And I'm giving you a virtual high five for that compliment on Shinkuro, their voices makes that track stand out so much. It's beautiful. Honestly, tokio took me a while to appreciate, probably the longest out of the tracks for me to enjoy but apart from that, they're all defeintly worth checking out.
 
And guys, thanks for replying. Love reading what others have to say about his and Rin Toshite Shigure music!

His best songs are still on his first album ("Abnormal trick" and "phase to phrase" are just too good), but I like this new CD a bit better as a whole. I like that it doesn't sound as much as Ling as the other one did, and the fact that it's poppier at some points doesn't bother me at all. I wasn't too fond of both "unravel" and "contrast" when they came out as singles, but these two songs sound a lot better in the album context and are actually some of the highlights of it. The track with Chara is one of my favorites too - it's calm, simple, subtle and both voices work well in it imo. "Spiral Parade", however, is my favorite song off the record overall; "tokio" and "kalei de scope" are the only ones that haven't really hit it with me.

His best songs are still on his first album ("Abnormal trick" and "phase to phrase" are just too good), but I like this new CD a bit better as a whole. I like that it doesn't sound as much as Ling as the other one did, and the fact that it's poppier at some points doesn't bother me at all. I wasn't too fond of both "unravel" and "contrast" when they came out as singles, but these two songs sound a lot better in the album context and are actually some of the highlights of it. The track with Chara is one of my favorites too - it's calm, simple, subtle and both voices work well in it imo. "Spiral Parade", however, is my favorite song off the record overall; "tokio" and "kalei de scope" are the only ones that haven't really hit it with me.

Happy birthday Saishuu !!

LOL at first I thought it was the guitarist but then I remembered that isn't his name. XD So yeah, good question...
 
inb4 it turns out it's akshully Taira Kazuhiro a.k.a. Tenten lmao

VANIRU will release their 1st full-length album "Masquerade of Cosmic" on 2015/01/28. It will contain CD+DVD (with MVs).
 
CD tracklist
 
[第一章～Phantasm of Cosmic～] (Daiisshou) 01. Who am I, Picture of Ghost… 02. コズミック・ナイト (Cosmic Night) 03. L’Abime 04. Harlequin 05. 深海マリア (Shinkai Maria) 06. Stardust Waltz 07. Memory of Mayfly   [第二章～After coming the Breidablic～] (Dainishou) 08. Διόνυσος (Dionysos) 09. 狂乱の夢 (Kyouran no yume) 10. 柘榴 (Zakuro) 11. 月詠ミ (Tsukiyomi) 12. 千の夜～Pallidus～ (Sen no yoru)   DVD tracklist 「コズミック・ナイト」(Cosmic Night) MV 「Who am I, Picture of Ghost…」MV 「Stardust Waltz ～BlueNight version～」MV 「High FANTASY」MV  
Previews will be available on the band's Youtube channel from December 2 midnight.
https://www.youtube.com/user/VANIRUch
 
FINALLYYYYY~

Album trailer!
 

lol "Stay Strong". Please let this be good. Their last album was actually decent, so I'd like to see them follow up with something even better.

Congratulations! You have realized how shallow the depths of visual-kei is. Now feel free to look beyond the lake that is visual kei and move into the ocean of alternative J-music.
[/sarcasm]
But in all honesty, the reason why we split the download forums into two is precisely because of users like you - people that tire of visual kei music but not necessarily Japanese music and are looking for a bit more. Don't limit yourself because of labels or phenomena or "omg what would zess think!?!?!". If you don't like visual kei anymore, look elsewhere. I guarantee you there's plenty of music in Japan alone to keep you occupied.

Nobody cares.

VK is like gang life: once a blood, always a blood.