ShanethVarosa

Very exciting, Zero One is still one of my favorite albums and the singles for this era have been pretty solid so I'm more than looking forward to it.

The ones that have happened that I've liked:
 
Gackt x Hyde
Kaya x Hizaki
Mucc x Daishi Dance
 
Ones I'd Like to See:
Kaya x almost anybody
Kamijo x Sono, maybe.
 
But honestly I'm obsessed with some of the covers I've heard.
Like the Crush! albums were amazing and I loved when they covered disney songs, especially Aoi and Sadie's covers.
I'd love to see more VK artists cover American songs.

The ones that have happened that I've liked:
 
Gackt x Hyde
Kaya x Hizaki
Mucc x Daishi Dance
 
Ones I'd Like to See:
Kaya x almost anybody
Kamijo x Sono, maybe.
 
But honestly I'm obsessed with some of the covers I've heard.
Like the Crush! albums were amazing and I loved when they covered disney songs, especially Aoi and Sadie's covers.
I'd love to see more VK artists cover American songs.

That's about what I was expecting to happen. I'm not even that excited about this album to begin with, I really hope it's done better than their previous releases. I want to love them, but it all feels half-assed to me.
 
So I'm hoping this album is whole-assed.

I was waiting for someone to start this topic! 
 
Remember how I said in Kamijo's Heart thread that it would be hard for a visual artist to top Heart unless Diru pulled something half decent out of their asses? Yeah I think this EP may have done it for me. Hard to say since this EP is only 5 songs long and I don't want to say that these 5 songs are better than Kamijo's 12 (ish..?) but still, I was super impressed with this EP. 
 
I've been a big fan of 12012 for a very, very long time. I'd have to say my favorite albums are likely Seven and Diamond (and possibly Mar Maroon). The point I'm trying to drive home with this is that their self-titled didn't rank because it was too heavy. I don't -usually- care for 12012 when they get too heavy because it feels pointless and forced when I personally believe (and this is obviously just my own opinion) that they do their more pop/rock songs better than heavy songs. So that's why when 12012 was released I was like "Okay, my fandom of this band can be dead now", but they totally got me back for Deicida of Silence which, yes, it WAS heavy, but it sounded like it had purpose.
 
All this time later I'm still trying to sort out my opinions of The Swan, but I remember I thought it was pretty decent. 
 
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that since the release of Seven,  I faded in and out of genuinely really loving a release by this band. And now there's XII and I honestly feel like a kid again because to me the whole vibe recalls what I refer to as the glory days of VK from about 2002-2007 (ish) when I was younger and more care-free.
 
Anyway, to talk about the individual songs I'll start with my least fav and work my way up:
 
Story of a Different Dimension: I do like the song, but to me this one is the least memorable. It's a little generic and the energy of the song feels slightly disjointed. That being said, it's the only negative thing I have to say about the EP.
 
Vicious of Absolution: This song is beautiful, it flows extremely well and is composed excellently. Wataru sounds fantastic. They all sound fantastic. I just love this song. It's just that it isn't -quite- as memorable as the next three, but this is one of my favorite 12012 songs ever.
 
Alone: Again, the atmosphere is really prominent here. It's depressing without being tear-jerking. It's chorus is catchy enough that it puts it ahead of Vicious of Absolution, but otherwise I would have to put these two on a similar level. 
 
The Red: Now I would have to agree with nagaram in that it's a twinge too long, after a while you're kind of like "mmmm okay this can end any time now" but other than that, this is a song that felt like it had purpose for being heavier. It wasn't pointless pig squealing for 6 minutes it had a purpose, atmosphere, and vibe to it that made it a super fun song to listen to.
 
Aqua: One of my favorite songs this year. When I first saw the length I thought "Oh fuck no" to myself because, to me, if you're not Kamijo, Versailles, or Jupiter I don't want anything to do with your 7+ minute songs. However, they managed to keep me really intrigued throughout the whole thing. No, there aren't a lot of lyrics and the composition may not be as enthralling and ever-changing as a Versailles number, but they stay true to the flow the whole time and Wataru sounds beyond fantastic. The song really shines towards the end where it goes from being this down-tempo song to being a power ballad in the blink of an eye. I love the lyrics, atmosphere, overall sound of this song. 
 
In short, the EP to me is in the 4.5 to 5 out of 5 star range. Totally in love with it.

Schwarz Stein new single "Sleeping Madness" will be out on November 5. According to Hora, the song is darker and heavier featuring Hora on vocals as well as Kaya.

I was waiting for someone to start this topic! 
 
Remember how I said in Kamijo's Heart thread that it would be hard for a visual artist to top Heart unless Diru pulled something half decent out of their asses? Yeah I think this EP may have done it for me. Hard to say since this EP is only 5 songs long and I don't want to say that these 5 songs are better than Kamijo's 12 (ish..?) but still, I was super impressed with this EP. 
 
I've been a big fan of 12012 for a very, very long time. I'd have to say my favorite albums are likely Seven and Diamond (and possibly Mar Maroon). The point I'm trying to drive home with this is that their self-titled didn't rank because it was too heavy. I don't -usually- care for 12012 when they get too heavy because it feels pointless and forced when I personally believe (and this is obviously just my own opinion) that they do their more pop/rock songs better than heavy songs. So that's why when 12012 was released I was like "Okay, my fandom of this band can be dead now", but they totally got me back for Deicida of Silence which, yes, it WAS heavy, but it sounded like it had purpose.
 
All this time later I'm still trying to sort out my opinions of The Swan, but I remember I thought it was pretty decent. 
 
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that since the release of Seven,  I faded in and out of genuinely really loving a release by this band. And now there's XII and I honestly feel like a kid again because to me the whole vibe recalls what I refer to as the glory days of VK from about 2002-2007 (ish) when I was younger and more care-free.
 
Anyway, to talk about the individual songs I'll start with my least fav and work my way up:
 
Story of a Different Dimension: I do like the song, but to me this one is the least memorable. It's a little generic and the energy of the song feels slightly disjointed. That being said, it's the only negative thing I have to say about the EP.
 
Vicious of Absolution: This song is beautiful, it flows extremely well and is composed excellently. Wataru sounds fantastic. They all sound fantastic. I just love this song. It's just that it isn't -quite- as memorable as the next three, but this is one of my favorite 12012 songs ever.
 
Alone: Again, the atmosphere is really prominent here. It's depressing without being tear-jerking. It's chorus is catchy enough that it puts it ahead of Vicious of Absolution, but otherwise I would have to put these two on a similar level. 
 
The Red: Now I would have to agree with nagaram in that it's a twinge too long, after a while you're kind of like "mmmm okay this can end any time now" but other than that, this is a song that felt like it had purpose for being heavier. It wasn't pointless pig squealing for 6 minutes it had a purpose, atmosphere, and vibe to it that made it a super fun song to listen to.
 
Aqua: One of my favorite songs this year. When I first saw the length I thought "Oh fuck no" to myself because, to me, if you're not Kamijo, Versailles, or Jupiter I don't want anything to do with your 7+ minute songs. However, they managed to keep me really intrigued throughout the whole thing. No, there aren't a lot of lyrics and the composition may not be as enthralling and ever-changing as a Versailles number, but they stay true to the flow the whole time and Wataru sounds beyond fantastic. The song really shines towards the end where it goes from being this down-tempo song to being a power ballad in the blink of an eye. I love the lyrics, atmosphere, overall sound of this song. 
 
In short, the EP to me is in the 4.5 to 5 out of 5 star range. Totally in love with it.

Aqua is up on JPopAsia:
 
Romaji:
 
Aishite kudasai, kanishii nukumori
Itsuka no anata ni modotte kudasai

Dakishimeta sono ai wa misemono no ai nano ka
Usure yuku shikai kara kiete yuku, munashisa yo

Aishite kurenai, yashii itsuwari
Aishite kurenai, tsumetai hohoemi

Kowaresou sono ai wa misemono no ai nano ka
Togire yuku ishiki kara anata e no okuri mono

Aishite kudai, kanashii nukumori
Itsuka no anata ni modotte kudasai
 
Kanji:
 
愛してください　悲しいぬくもり
いつかの貴方に戻ってください

抱きしめたその哀は見世物の哀なのか
薄れゆく視界から消えてゆく　虚しさよ

愛してくれない　優しい偽り
愛してくれない　冷たい微笑み

壊れそうなその哀は見世物の哀なのか
途切れゆく意識から貴方への贈り物

愛してください　悲しいぬくもり
いつかの貴方に戻ってください
 
English Translation:
 
Please love me, and let the warmth of sadness
Come back to you someday

That sorrow that I embraced, was that sorrow just for show
It vanished from my fading field of vision, emptiness

Won't you love me, with your gentle lie
Won't you love me, with your cold smile

That breaking sorrow, was that sorrow just for show
A gift to you, from my interrupted consciousness

Please love me, and let the warmth of sadness
Come back to you someday

I completely agree with Vitne Eveille, the look is just like Hakuro and the song to me is just like Returner. It's nothing new at all.
White Lovers is my favorite as well.

Everyone please wait until Saturday for my review. I need the rest of the week to process what I just heard.

Yay! I'm really glad you liked it, Sai. That was a great review (and I really hope Zeus reviews it too!!) and now it's my turn!
 
I made it clear in the review for Jupiter's Arcadia that I am extremely biased. I try extraordinarily hard to be objective when writing reviews for these musicians because Versailles was and is my favorite rock band of all time. However, what everyone is saying is totally true: Kamijo was the (sorry about the pun...) Heart of the band. While the other members were all extremely talented, Kamijo brought the charisma and character to Versailles that if any other singer lead Versailles, it wouldn't have been the same. That being said, I knew I was going to end up liking Kamijo's solo project more than Jupiter's work (although, like I said in my Arcadia review, I do see Jupiter progressing in a huge way... Still doesn't touch Kamijo).
 
Again I will agree with Sai that Kamijo is a ridiculously amazing songwriter. While he wrote the lyrics to basically every song, the majority of Versailles's best songs were composed by Kamijo as well. This is where I'm going to start my review: With the best composed VK song that I have heard in recent years.
 
It's easy to see why the album was called Heart. Either Kamijo wrote the big epic song and then named his album after it or he wrote this song because he wanted the album's name to be Heart. Either way, the 8.5 minute epic is brilliantly composed and executed. Dare I say it's better than most Versailles compositions? The thing that I love about it is that it's this hard rock song that literally does use an orchestral arrangement interwoven with bits and pieces of heavy metal guitar. It's such an interesting composition that even if it were instrumental I'd be into it, but this is also where Kamijo's voice stands out the most on the album.
 
I'll continue on with the singles: Yamiyo no Lion was easily the best A-Side single released for Heart and I say this because it's the whole package and largely Versailles reminiscent. Again his voice stands out and the song has an excellent blend of serious composition and catchy chorus work. My second favorite single song on the album is Tsuioku no Mon Amour, given that Kamijo does sound excellent, but my favorite part of the song is the orchestral "breakdown" if you will about halfway through the song. However, I do wish that he had chosen a different B-side (Gensou Trianon, perhaps) to include on the final track list. While Louis and Moulin Rouge are both good songs, their place on this album is a little... Meh to me. Louis was released long enough ago that I've listened to it so many times that having it on an album is really not going to do much for me (plus I still cannot get over that terrible high note he hits at the end of the song. I was hoping he would change that for the album version, but alas. He did not). Additionally Moulin Rouge is the single least favorite song Kamijo released for his solo project so far.
 
My standout favorite of the other songs on the album is Katate ni Yume wo Motsu Shojo. Everything about this screams that it should've been a single. And the cheesy outro is what I've come to love about Kamijo.
 
Brief thoughts on other songs:
Rose Croix, Death Parade, and Sanctuary are all pretty good rock songs that I think if they had been on a Versailles album they would've been a bit more polished, but otherwise these versions are pretty good. Catchy and big where they need to be.
Vive le Roi was a great intro, but I do think there could've been just a smidge more done with this.
Presto Acoustic was brilliant. I don't know why I had it in my head that it was going to be done with acoustic guitar, but I'm glad it was piano.
Romantique and Dakishimerarenagara were probably two of my other favorite songs. I think Romantique was an excellent throwback to Lareine and Dakishimerarenagara gets stuck in my head easily. In fact, I didn't like it the first time I heard it, but had to add it to my phone because of how badly it gets stuck in my head.
 
Overall, the album is easily 4.5-5/5 stars for me. In considering my list of the best albums of the year (that I publish on my tumblr between the last week of the year and the first week of the following year *shameless promotion* ShanethVarosa.Tumblr.com) last night, I found that thus far, Kamijo's releases together (SoV and Heart) make my second favorite rock releases of the year and my #1 favorite VK release so far. They probably won't be beat unless Dir en grey pulls a great album out of their ass for Arche. 

I mentioned in the actual download topic that this is the first time that they've released anything since their VK days that I've enjoyed what they've done. This is the first time in recent memory I can say I'm a fan of what they've put out. There seems to be a lot of different rock genres mixed together on this EP that makes it interesting which is something that similar bands (*ahem* Crossfaith) really lack. Until now I wouldn't have considered Crossfaith a similar band and wouldn't have made the comparison, but having heard a couple of Crossfaith albums and thinking "Wow this is good, but I wish I could distinguish one song from the next" and that's what Girugamesh has done with Gravitation. I think another thing Giru has going for them is that I really really like Satoshi's voice so it doesn't just sound, to me, like generic metal core band #687. 
 
In summary, this was an excellent follow-up to Monster, my current favorite LP by the band and I'm sure they'll keep this momentum up for their next few releases.

They are not j-core , j-core is techno , its a japanese version of hardcore trance . Girgamesh new style is a mix of alternative metal riffs and drums , with modern rock elements and melodies . Also screamo is a hardcore punk subgenre , so no its far from that .
Also DarkWater you forgetting some big things here ,
1st they are not visual kei anymore so saying where are the vk elements is kinda out of place .
2nd they a mainstream rock band , so getting pop elements in their music is standard , and should be expected .
3rd There is no such thing as real rock , its just something made up by ppl who want all rock bands to sound as they think true rock should sound , but there are many rock subgenres .
4th metal can be soft as well , melodic power metal bands sometimes are not even tagged by ppl as metal cause they dont sound that metal , there are also bands who play atmospheric symphonic metal that are also tagges as rock . Also if you would think about oldschool heavy metal that could be what you mean by true metal , than you would notice that it was a lot more softer than todays heavy metal , sounding more like todays hard rock bands .
Otherwise , good review .
Maybe ill write my own review later , when i get the ones for the fanzine done and will have some spare time .

Yay! I'm really glad you liked it, Sai. That was a great review (and I really hope Zeus reviews it too!!) and now it's my turn!
 
I made it clear in the review for Jupiter's Arcadia that I am extremely biased. I try extraordinarily hard to be objective when writing reviews for these musicians because Versailles was and is my favorite rock band of all time. However, what everyone is saying is totally true: Kamijo was the (sorry about the pun...) Heart of the band. While the other members were all extremely talented, Kamijo brought the charisma and character to Versailles that if any other singer lead Versailles, it wouldn't have been the same. That being said, I knew I was going to end up liking Kamijo's solo project more than Jupiter's work (although, like I said in my Arcadia review, I do see Jupiter progressing in a huge way... Still doesn't touch Kamijo).
 
Again I will agree with Sai that Kamijo is a ridiculously amazing songwriter. While he wrote the lyrics to basically every song, the majority of Versailles's best songs were composed by Kamijo as well. This is where I'm going to start my review: With the best composed VK song that I have heard in recent years.
 
It's easy to see why the album was called Heart. Either Kamijo wrote the big epic song and then named his album after it or he wrote this song because he wanted the album's name to be Heart. Either way, the 8.5 minute epic is brilliantly composed and executed. Dare I say it's better than most Versailles compositions? The thing that I love about it is that it's this hard rock song that literally does use an orchestral arrangement interwoven with bits and pieces of heavy metal guitar. It's such an interesting composition that even if it were instrumental I'd be into it, but this is also where Kamijo's voice stands out the most on the album.
 
I'll continue on with the singles: Yamiyo no Lion was easily the best A-Side single released for Heart and I say this because it's the whole package and largely Versailles reminiscent. Again his voice stands out and the song has an excellent blend of serious composition and catchy chorus work. My second favorite single song on the album is Tsuioku no Mon Amour, given that Kamijo does sound excellent, but my favorite part of the song is the orchestral "breakdown" if you will about halfway through the song. However, I do wish that he had chosen a different B-side (Gensou Trianon, perhaps) to include on the final track list. While Louis and Moulin Rouge are both good songs, their place on this album is a little... Meh to me. Louis was released long enough ago that I've listened to it so many times that having it on an album is really not going to do much for me (plus I still cannot get over that terrible high note he hits at the end of the song. I was hoping he would change that for the album version, but alas. He did not). Additionally Moulin Rouge is the single least favorite song Kamijo released for his solo project so far.
 
My standout favorite of the other songs on the album is Katate ni Yume wo Motsu Shojo. Everything about this screams that it should've been a single. And the cheesy outro is what I've come to love about Kamijo.
 
Brief thoughts on other songs:
Rose Croix, Death Parade, and Sanctuary are all pretty good rock songs that I think if they had been on a Versailles album they would've been a bit more polished, but otherwise these versions are pretty good. Catchy and big where they need to be.
Vive le Roi was a great intro, but I do think there could've been just a smidge more done with this.
Presto Acoustic was brilliant. I don't know why I had it in my head that it was going to be done with acoustic guitar, but I'm glad it was piano.
Romantique and Dakishimerarenagara were probably two of my other favorite songs. I think Romantique was an excellent throwback to Lareine and Dakishimerarenagara gets stuck in my head easily. In fact, I didn't like it the first time I heard it, but had to add it to my phone because of how badly it gets stuck in my head.
 
Overall, the album is easily 4.5-5/5 stars for me. In considering my list of the best albums of the year (that I publish on my tumblr between the last week of the year and the first week of the following year *shameless promotion* ShanethVarosa.Tumblr.com) last night, I found that thus far, Kamijo's releases together (SoV and Heart) make my second favorite rock releases of the year and my #1 favorite VK release so far. They probably won't be beat unless Dir en grey pulls a great album out of their ass for Arche. 

What I think is ironic about me and this band is that when the general consensus is that their release is good, I don't care for it and vice versa. I think this overall single is not only better than Raven, but I also think it's their best start-to-finish single in their career. Even Sabato, my previously favorite single, didn't compare because of that Ackercock atrocity. But in this single they've made 3 songs that I can really get behind and listen to over and over and like every time. Which is saying a lot. I want to love Mejibray, but they have more bad/boring songs than good.
This single though is stand out to me and I would give it a 5 star rating, but of course that's just me.

What I think is ironic about me and this band is that when the general consensus is that their release is good, I don't care for it and vice versa. I think this overall single is not only better than Raven, but I also think it's their best start-to-finish single in their career. Even Sabato, my previously favorite single, didn't compare because of that Ackercock atrocity. But in this single they've made 3 songs that I can really get behind and listen to over and over and like every time. Which is saying a lot. I want to love Mejibray, but they have more bad/boring songs than good.
This single though is stand out to me and I would give it a 5 star rating, but of course that's just me.

What I think is ironic about me and this band is that when the general consensus is that their release is good, I don't care for it and vice versa. I think this overall single is not only better than Raven, but I also think it's their best start-to-finish single in their career. Even Sabato, my previously favorite single, didn't compare because of that Ackercock atrocity. But in this single they've made 3 songs that I can really get behind and listen to over and over and like every time. Which is saying a lot. I want to love Mejibray, but they have more bad/boring songs than good.
This single though is stand out to me and I would give it a 5 star rating, but of course that's just me.

Yay! I'm really glad you liked it, Sai. That was a great review (and I really hope Zeus reviews it too!!) and now it's my turn!
 
I made it clear in the review for Jupiter's Arcadia that I am extremely biased. I try extraordinarily hard to be objective when writing reviews for these musicians because Versailles was and is my favorite rock band of all time. However, what everyone is saying is totally true: Kamijo was the (sorry about the pun...) Heart of the band. While the other members were all extremely talented, Kamijo brought the charisma and character to Versailles that if any other singer lead Versailles, it wouldn't have been the same. That being said, I knew I was going to end up liking Kamijo's solo project more than Jupiter's work (although, like I said in my Arcadia review, I do see Jupiter progressing in a huge way... Still doesn't touch Kamijo).
 
Again I will agree with Sai that Kamijo is a ridiculously amazing songwriter. While he wrote the lyrics to basically every song, the majority of Versailles's best songs were composed by Kamijo as well. This is where I'm going to start my review: With the best composed VK song that I have heard in recent years.
 
It's easy to see why the album was called Heart. Either Kamijo wrote the big epic song and then named his album after it or he wrote this song because he wanted the album's name to be Heart. Either way, the 8.5 minute epic is brilliantly composed and executed. Dare I say it's better than most Versailles compositions? The thing that I love about it is that it's this hard rock song that literally does use an orchestral arrangement interwoven with bits and pieces of heavy metal guitar. It's such an interesting composition that even if it were instrumental I'd be into it, but this is also where Kamijo's voice stands out the most on the album.
 
I'll continue on with the singles: Yamiyo no Lion was easily the best A-Side single released for Heart and I say this because it's the whole package and largely Versailles reminiscent. Again his voice stands out and the song has an excellent blend of serious composition and catchy chorus work. My second favorite single song on the album is Tsuioku no Mon Amour, given that Kamijo does sound excellent, but my favorite part of the song is the orchestral "breakdown" if you will about halfway through the song. However, I do wish that he had chosen a different B-side (Gensou Trianon, perhaps) to include on the final track list. While Louis and Moulin Rouge are both good songs, their place on this album is a little... Meh to me. Louis was released long enough ago that I've listened to it so many times that having it on an album is really not going to do much for me (plus I still cannot get over that terrible high note he hits at the end of the song. I was hoping he would change that for the album version, but alas. He did not). Additionally Moulin Rouge is the single least favorite song Kamijo released for his solo project so far.
 
My standout favorite of the other songs on the album is Katate ni Yume wo Motsu Shojo. Everything about this screams that it should've been a single. And the cheesy outro is what I've come to love about Kamijo.
 
Brief thoughts on other songs:
Rose Croix, Death Parade, and Sanctuary are all pretty good rock songs that I think if they had been on a Versailles album they would've been a bit more polished, but otherwise these versions are pretty good. Catchy and big where they need to be.
Vive le Roi was a great intro, but I do think there could've been just a smidge more done with this.
Presto Acoustic was brilliant. I don't know why I had it in my head that it was going to be done with acoustic guitar, but I'm glad it was piano.
Romantique and Dakishimerarenagara were probably two of my other favorite songs. I think Romantique was an excellent throwback to Lareine and Dakishimerarenagara gets stuck in my head easily. In fact, I didn't like it the first time I heard it, but had to add it to my phone because of how badly it gets stuck in my head.
 
Overall, the album is easily 4.5-5/5 stars for me. In considering my list of the best albums of the year (that I publish on my tumblr between the last week of the year and the first week of the following year *shameless promotion* ShanethVarosa.Tumblr.com) last night, I found that thus far, Kamijo's releases together (SoV and Heart) make my second favorite rock releases of the year and my #1 favorite VK release so far. They probably won't be beat unless Dir en grey pulls a great album out of their ass for Arche. 

Yay! I'm really glad you liked it, Sai. That was a great review (and I really hope Zeus reviews it too!!) and now it's my turn!
 
I made it clear in the review for Jupiter's Arcadia that I am extremely biased. I try extraordinarily hard to be objective when writing reviews for these musicians because Versailles was and is my favorite rock band of all time. However, what everyone is saying is totally true: Kamijo was the (sorry about the pun...) Heart of the band. While the other members were all extremely talented, Kamijo brought the charisma and character to Versailles that if any other singer lead Versailles, it wouldn't have been the same. That being said, I knew I was going to end up liking Kamijo's solo project more than Jupiter's work (although, like I said in my Arcadia review, I do see Jupiter progressing in a huge way... Still doesn't touch Kamijo).
 
Again I will agree with Sai that Kamijo is a ridiculously amazing songwriter. While he wrote the lyrics to basically every song, the majority of Versailles's best songs were composed by Kamijo as well. This is where I'm going to start my review: With the best composed VK song that I have heard in recent years.
 
It's easy to see why the album was called Heart. Either Kamijo wrote the big epic song and then named his album after it or he wrote this song because he wanted the album's name to be Heart. Either way, the 8.5 minute epic is brilliantly composed and executed. Dare I say it's better than most Versailles compositions? The thing that I love about it is that it's this hard rock song that literally does use an orchestral arrangement interwoven with bits and pieces of heavy metal guitar. It's such an interesting composition that even if it were instrumental I'd be into it, but this is also where Kamijo's voice stands out the most on the album.
 
I'll continue on with the singles: Yamiyo no Lion was easily the best A-Side single released for Heart and I say this because it's the whole package and largely Versailles reminiscent. Again his voice stands out and the song has an excellent blend of serious composition and catchy chorus work. My second favorite single song on the album is Tsuioku no Mon Amour, given that Kamijo does sound excellent, but my favorite part of the song is the orchestral "breakdown" if you will about halfway through the song. However, I do wish that he had chosen a different B-side (Gensou Trianon, perhaps) to include on the final track list. While Louis and Moulin Rouge are both good songs, their place on this album is a little... Meh to me. Louis was released long enough ago that I've listened to it so many times that having it on an album is really not going to do much for me (plus I still cannot get over that terrible high note he hits at the end of the song. I was hoping he would change that for the album version, but alas. He did not). Additionally Moulin Rouge is the single least favorite song Kamijo released for his solo project so far.
 
My standout favorite of the other songs on the album is Katate ni Yume wo Motsu Shojo. Everything about this screams that it should've been a single. And the cheesy outro is what I've come to love about Kamijo.
 
Brief thoughts on other songs:
Rose Croix, Death Parade, and Sanctuary are all pretty good rock songs that I think if they had been on a Versailles album they would've been a bit more polished, but otherwise these versions are pretty good. Catchy and big where they need to be.
Vive le Roi was a great intro, but I do think there could've been just a smidge more done with this.
Presto Acoustic was brilliant. I don't know why I had it in my head that it was going to be done with acoustic guitar, but I'm glad it was piano.
Romantique and Dakishimerarenagara were probably two of my other favorite songs. I think Romantique was an excellent throwback to Lareine and Dakishimerarenagara gets stuck in my head easily. In fact, I didn't like it the first time I heard it, but had to add it to my phone because of how badly it gets stuck in my head.
 
Overall, the album is easily 4.5-5/5 stars for me. In considering my list of the best albums of the year (that I publish on my tumblr between the last week of the year and the first week of the following year *shameless promotion* ShanethVarosa.Tumblr.com) last night, I found that thus far, Kamijo's releases together (SoV and Heart) make my second favorite rock releases of the year and my #1 favorite VK release so far. They probably won't be beat unless Dir en grey pulls a great album out of their ass for Arche. 

Yay! I'm really glad you liked it, Sai. That was a great review (and I really hope Zeus reviews it too!!) and now it's my turn!
 
I made it clear in the review for Jupiter's Arcadia that I am extremely biased. I try extraordinarily hard to be objective when writing reviews for these musicians because Versailles was and is my favorite rock band of all time. However, what everyone is saying is totally true: Kamijo was the (sorry about the pun...) Heart of the band. While the other members were all extremely talented, Kamijo brought the charisma and character to Versailles that if any other singer lead Versailles, it wouldn't have been the same. That being said, I knew I was going to end up liking Kamijo's solo project more than Jupiter's work (although, like I said in my Arcadia review, I do see Jupiter progressing in a huge way... Still doesn't touch Kamijo).
 
Again I will agree with Sai that Kamijo is a ridiculously amazing songwriter. While he wrote the lyrics to basically every song, the majority of Versailles's best songs were composed by Kamijo as well. This is where I'm going to start my review: With the best composed VK song that I have heard in recent years.
 
It's easy to see why the album was called Heart. Either Kamijo wrote the big epic song and then named his album after it or he wrote this song because he wanted the album's name to be Heart. Either way, the 8.5 minute epic is brilliantly composed and executed. Dare I say it's better than most Versailles compositions? The thing that I love about it is that it's this hard rock song that literally does use an orchestral arrangement interwoven with bits and pieces of heavy metal guitar. It's such an interesting composition that even if it were instrumental I'd be into it, but this is also where Kamijo's voice stands out the most on the album.
 
I'll continue on with the singles: Yamiyo no Lion was easily the best A-Side single released for Heart and I say this because it's the whole package and largely Versailles reminiscent. Again his voice stands out and the song has an excellent blend of serious composition and catchy chorus work. My second favorite single song on the album is Tsuioku no Mon Amour, given that Kamijo does sound excellent, but my favorite part of the song is the orchestral "breakdown" if you will about halfway through the song. However, I do wish that he had chosen a different B-side (Gensou Trianon, perhaps) to include on the final track list. While Louis and Moulin Rouge are both good songs, their place on this album is a little... Meh to me. Louis was released long enough ago that I've listened to it so many times that having it on an album is really not going to do much for me (plus I still cannot get over that terrible high note he hits at the end of the song. I was hoping he would change that for the album version, but alas. He did not). Additionally Moulin Rouge is the single least favorite song Kamijo released for his solo project so far.
 
My standout favorite of the other songs on the album is Katate ni Yume wo Motsu Shojo. Everything about this screams that it should've been a single. And the cheesy outro is what I've come to love about Kamijo.
 
Brief thoughts on other songs:
Rose Croix, Death Parade, and Sanctuary are all pretty good rock songs that I think if they had been on a Versailles album they would've been a bit more polished, but otherwise these versions are pretty good. Catchy and big where they need to be.
Vive le Roi was a great intro, but I do think there could've been just a smidge more done with this.
Presto Acoustic was brilliant. I don't know why I had it in my head that it was going to be done with acoustic guitar, but I'm glad it was piano.
Romantique and Dakishimerarenagara were probably two of my other favorite songs. I think Romantique was an excellent throwback to Lareine and Dakishimerarenagara gets stuck in my head easily. In fact, I didn't like it the first time I heard it, but had to add it to my phone because of how badly it gets stuck in my head.
 
Overall, the album is easily 4.5-5/5 stars for me. In considering my list of the best albums of the year (that I publish on my tumblr between the last week of the year and the first week of the following year *shameless promotion* ShanethVarosa.Tumblr.com) last night, I found that thus far, Kamijo's releases together (SoV and Heart) make my second favorite rock releases of the year and my #1 favorite VK release so far. They probably won't be beat unless Dir en grey pulls a great album out of their ass for Arche. 

jupiter could never

Despite a few awesome tracks, I found this album quite lacklustre compared to V (which I consider their best major album). With that said, HATE THIS WORLD is probably my favourite song of theirs since V.
 
By the way, I don't know about you guys but I found Ⅰ-回顧 highly disappointing. Sure, it has some really brilliant parts but as a whole it's so disjointed; it sounds more like an album sample. Furthermore, the song doesn't even run into II-懐柔. Ring-A Ring-O still sounds like a much more suitable first track to the series, and doesn't sound anywhere near as convoluted. 

Artist: NoGoD Single: Make a New World Score: But what kind of new world is it?
Let's get straight to it. NoGoD has been a band that shows promise but hasn't yet delivered. Albums come and albums go and each time fans find something lacking preventing them from being anything other than "good". But there's always enough to keep people interested, as they've never delivered a "bad" album either. So now the question is: how good is NoGoD's latest effort?

Make a New World has good ideas sandwiched between a lot of fluff. When it gets good, it gets good. But it doesn't stay good for long, and likes to spend time dabbling in sounds and scapes that aren't as interesting as what they produce when they're in top form. In addition, it likes to move between these ideas every two tracks. So while this is an album that every fan of NoGoD can find something that they like in, it's not going to be much. Everyone comes away from this album expecting more from them in a specific department. I'll only speak for myself and request that NoGoD focus more on the progressive metal numbers and leave the ballads and pop songs to bands better at engaging a listener with those tools.

It's not that NoGoD is bad at pop or ballads because they aren't. There isn't an equal amount of attention and effort put into all of the tracks and it's the progressive, energy-filled rock tracks that get the polish and the pop and ballads that are left out to dry. Since the ratio is roughly one progressive effort per four ballads and pop tracks, it's becoming clear how things aren't adding up. Even the tracks that they spend time on feel cut from the same cloth. Very little separates World Ender from tracks like Kamikaze or STAND UP!!. A bit more work on distinguishing World Ender from other tracks in it's vein would have done a lot to improve the opening experience, as Follow follows it and eclipses it in terms of melody and passion. This happens over and over again in painful fashion, until the listener is content with taking only what they liked from the album and pretending the rest doesn't exist. Putting great songs after not so great songs doesn't elevate the former song to the level of the latter. That just makes one song good and one song forgettable.

Likewise, it's not enough for individual parts of songs to excel and others to be standard. Individually, the tracks have to be awesome as a whole. Taking the route of sticking an impressive solo in an otherwise uninspiring song doesn't elevate the whole song to the solo's level. NoGoD does this a lot on this album by luring in the listener with an attractive solo after two boring minutes of whatever genre of the week they're sampling. This is apparent on pendulum which I remember because the first half of the track wasn't interesting to me but the song started picking up at the apex of the solo.

In a way, this isn't just them. They lack some of the fire and passion that they had when I first found them six years ago, but I've also come to expect more of a band that from time to time produces something completely mindblowing. Looking back at it, I'm pretty sure the combination of Ⅰ-回顧, II-懐柔, III-実存, and IV-他者　Philosophia together is more impressive than 85% of the post-Gokusaishiki output. The ordering of the tracks and the constantly switching atmosphere has always been a problem, even since Kanna Fukyou, but now it's parts that are okay and parts that are good and parts that are amazing. They've gotten better at the aggressive upbeat metal sound that likely drew in a lot of their fans, but everything else has plateaued at a middling average and it drags down their albums as a whole.

A year ago, when reviewing V I marked them with an average score and criticized the lack of variation and inspiration. They've patched up both problems but the result can be better. It can start by giving each track the love and detail they give to those awesome progressive numbers that show up once in a blue moon. Those should stay the focus of the album if they can only produce one a year, but the rest of the album should compliment it. If we can stay away from the things like the left-field thrash ender HATE THIS WOЯLD, or slickly disguised Motley Crue worship in EZ LIF3, or the meandering pop track 十人十色 and connect songs together in an order that maximizes strengths and minimizes weaknesses, the next album could be the one where NoGoD rediscovers the magic.

But for right now, I'm still waiting.

Brb sobbing with joy.
 
I've loved every single they've released so far and the new one sounds excellent so as long as this isn't an amalgamation of all those singles with one new song I will obsess over this album. I cannot wait for this for fucking real.

The irony for me is that I really don't like older Jrock aside from the occaisional Luna Sea, Dir en grey, and Malice Mizer. I'm more into Instant Classics. (Which is why I would say Sink by Kaya, but I know that would be shunned upon.)
SO, INSTEAD:
REDDISH -DIVA version- D'espairsRay
Tsuki no Kioku -fallen- D'espairsRay
Tainted World D'espairsRay
Rosier, Shine, In My Dream, I for you - Luna Sea
The entire album of Merveilles by Malice Mizer
Obscure by Dir en grey (also Shokubeni)