Tokage

The "deathcore" style done in a good way (emphasis on done in a good way) is what I see the majority of people want to hear
(as in most oversea fans (I do know in the idk 10 years you state your dislike for it that you arent one of those ), I feel japanese fans seem not care how a band sounds as long as it sounds 'good' and focus more on the bandmember look/behavior)
The harsher/darker style done in a really good way in vk (that isnt dir) seems always missing in the scene since the bands doing it well enough change to a style that is, as you already wrote, done to death. Still good music, just creating a void again and forces people to listen to those 2nd, 3rd tier shit like Nazare etc.

Not really sure how y'all could enjoy tracks like Rijin and Vanitas but somehow hate this. Sure they're emphasising the mathy elements more while downplaying the heavier side somewhat, but it's hardly a complete 180 from their last couple of releases or anything.
 
Anyway I'm basically a math slut so I'll let this song have its way with me. All hail visual math kei etcetc.

i'd  much, MUCH rather take this noodly math rock stuff over deathcore any day of the week for sure, so from that POV i'm definitely not as disappointed with the samples as I could've been (plus I'm somewhat glad we didnt get any xXx_sadboigoth_xXx shit thrown at us, as unintentionally hilarious as that would've been).. At the same time, anyone who's ever listened to even a bit of non-vk j-indie probably knows this particular brand of pop math rock sound has already been done to death in that scene  to about the same extent the nu-VK scene's dredged the swamp of mediocre xxxcore-influenced sounds, so I can't really see this ending up being anything other than yet another album to add to the ''vaguely sounds like cinema staff/sokoninaru/the cabs/tricot'' pile based on the samples.

fwiw though i'm at least 99% certain the extremely shit audio quality can be blamed on twitter because literally every single audio preview i've ever heard off the twittersphere sounded like it was recorded through a series of interconnected tin cans

fwiw though i'm at least 99% certain the extremely shit audio quality can be blamed on twitter because literally every single audio preview i've ever heard off the twittersphere sounded like it was recorded through a series of interconnected tin cans

i cant believe people are willing to pay for what essentially amounts to a karaoke show at this point lmao

fwiw though i'm at least 99% certain the extremely shit audio quality can be blamed on twitter because literally every single audio preview i've ever heard off the twittersphere sounded like it was recorded through a series of interconnected tin cans

fwiw though i'm at least 99% certain the extremely shit audio quality can be blamed on twitter because literally every single audio preview i've ever heard off the twittersphere sounded like it was recorded through a series of interconnected tin cans

as it should be

i cant believe people are willing to pay for what essentially amounts to a karaoke show at this point lmao

cant stop imagining a timeline where they actually make it abroad but end up having their equipment stolen partway through the 'tour'

i really love that photo of madeth gray'll in the op

i really love that photo of madeth gray'll in the op

Dir en Grey have always been a point of contention for me. As a visual newbie, I was intimidated by their extreme aesthetics and sound, and it took me a while to come around to liking their early works since it’s basically an amalgamation of everything I already liked. This sort of distrust of their music has caused me to not really delve too much into their middle works. Sure, I’ve heard some of Arche, I sat through whatever their album from last year was called, and I dug Sukekiyo, but for whatever reason anything earlier than Marrow of a Bone hasn’t existed on digital platforms. Yesterday, this changed — three of their early ~ middle career releases were added to Spotify and now I have no excuses for ignoring them. As such, I was challenged to do a blind listening review by some veteran fans—partly for their amusement, partly because my musical opinions are highly sought after (citation needed). Here is my first listen review of the classic album Vulgar.
 
Let’s start with the album art. What am I looking at? Is it a bird? Are these disembodied arms in opera length gloves? Overcooked pork tenderloin? I’m really not sure. Sometimes art is like that — it makes you unsure, and that uncertainty makes you uncomfortable. Sometimes that discomfort makes you think, but then other times it makes you reject something and move on. I don’t want to give the band credit for being provocative. I’ve read a lot of Tumblr and have the arcane knowledge to confidently state that this artwork is actually from Disney’s Maleficent — it’s her horns after they got lopped off.
 
Audience KILLER LOOP: never a fan of when titles suddenly yell at me. It really makes me on edge, kind of like this song does. I’m really going into this blind and any departure from Gauze is going to be a real change for me. I guess this is alright, but maybe this style just needs to grow on me more. Let’s see how I hold up going further in…
 
 
THE IIID EMPIRE: not sure why they decided to make a Star Wars reference here, but to each their own. I suppose this is the hard-hitting style that people have grown to love from this band. The guitar riff slightly after the middle of the song is super cool — in spite of all of the shit I give this band, sometimes they really do have neat ideas.
 
INCREASE BLUE: Again with the yelling of the song titles. Reminds me of the graphic design class I needed to take, with my teacher looming over me. My composition was too warmly colored, so she yelled to me from across the classroom “increase blue.” I took her advice and then she docked me points for it anyway. “Too much blue.” Fuck me.
 
 
Shokubeni: Apparently this means “red food coloring.” I bet the lyrics have something to do with bloody food or chopping up someone’s girlfriend. This band seems big on that and it’s kind of off-putting. I’d give some deep analysis on the meaning, but I can’t speak Japanese well.
 
Sajou no Uta: Kinda boring. This isn’t really my thing.
 
RED…[em]: a bit too rough for my liking. I get that this is when their hurgleblurgle kind of approach to art really started, but doesn’t mean I need to be fully here for it. A part of this almost saved me from disliking it, but it wasn’t enough.
 
 
Sfisdfeijaoifjsoefijse: too long for what it was, skipped
 
MARMALADE CHAINSAW: sticky sweet and incredibly wasteful. Started a trend of bands naming things with “chainsaw” in their names, which makes me wonder if the Japanese really know what a chainsaw is? Surely you don’t need one for spreading jam but I’m not Julia Child.
 
Kasumi: Fun fact—this was the name of “Misty” in the Japanese version of Pokemon. Further fun fact, there is a Pokemon card called “Misty’s Determination,” which I assume is written like “Kasumi no Jiketsu.” “”Jiketsu” means “self-determination” but is also a euphemism for “suicide,” so whenever I see that card I read it as “Misty’s Suicide” in my head. Seems like a tangent, but this is honestly a very Dir en Grey kind of story.
 
R THE CORE: filler intro 
 
DRAIN AWAY: I actually kind of like this. The guitar atmosphere is really enticing and they’ve definitely upped their skill since Macabre (the last album I blind listened to). I know I’m very firmly into the “Gauze and then the band died” camp, but I am glad I am getting something positive out of this album.
 
NEW AGE CULTURE: Wow. Woooooow. Y’all went OFF on Kisaki for “stealing Kyo’s girlfriend” or whatever and then they go and literally steal the title from a famous Matina omnibus series? I cannot believe the low-life attempt at being petty, but here we are. Unfathomable. 
 
OBSCURE: huh…pretty sure Grieva used this. I mean, I knew they seemed like they were fans of Dir En Grey, but I didn’t think they’d flat-out STEAL from them. Well, song is kind of bouncy and hypnotic, so I can see why they’d want to base on of their own songs on it. Still kind of shocked that this is borderline plagiarism.
 
CHILD PREY: One of the best songs on this album. Love the meaning behind it and how the lyrics fit together from the parts I could understand. I don’t mean to gush, but this definitely has that “it” factor that draws people into this band. Amazing. Pray / Prey for your butter
 
Amber: This band likes to have female names as titles. Amber, Kasumi, Audrey, Yurikago….it makes me wonder what their take on feminism is. They’ve already displayed a rather ham-fisted pro-life stance a few albums ago, but maybe their time within the inner machinations of the visual scene caused them to change their stance, especially having interacted with so many female fans and the changes fame brought to them. I wonder if this song’s direct is a reflection of that as well — it’s hard to get into an artist’s head and really understand how they see the world.
 
 
Overall: 5.5 / 10 for me
 
I know this is a classic album, but that’s how I felt on my first attempt at going through this. I still need to listen to Kisou, so I am open to doing a blind listen review for that as well. If you’d like to try out this album for yourself, or provide your own take on the music, feel free to check it out on Spotify. Sometimes I need to listen to things multiple times to form a true opinion. Funny enough, I still need to actually listen to this album for the first time, as I wrote this review solely based on the song titles and album art.

Don't know if people were interested, but I mentioned a few weeks back that I was compiling my 2019 favorites and so here it is. Just a warning though, I probably only went through a third of the releases I had my eyes on so I may have missed a few good things. Also, I tend to cherry-pick songs so my top song list is rather lengthy. Anyway, I'm gonna try to make this as short and sweet as possible. Ranking is in no particular order unless stated.
 
Top Albums
 

BAROQUE - PEUR ET PUELLA
 
If there was one album I could choose from 2019 it would be PEUR ET PUELLA by BAROQUE hands down. Even though I was still feeling sulky about their music direction, PEUR ET PUELLA honestly took my be surprise. The album feels like a mixture of everything both the members have done in the past, from early baroque to kannvalism, and even Kei's solo work. I'm definitely looking forward to their new album coming out next week.
 

MONO - Before The Past • Live From Electrical Audio
 
Okay, maybe if there was one other album I could choose from 2019 it would be this commemorative album of which MONO re-recorded three songs from their early days. I never remembered much of the song "Halo" but the new energy they have put into it really brings it to life. You can really feel their loud and raw sound in this entire album. Also, I will say that I enjoyed this much more than the new album they actually released, probably due to the fact that "L'america" and "Com(?)" are some of my favorites of theirs.
 

仮病 (Kebyou) - 毒針 (Dokushin)
 
This might have been the release where Kebyou really caught my attention. I feel like this is the best VK album I've heard in a while that aren't from veterans in the scene. There are so many good tracks here but my favorites might be "Q" and "冷凍保存". If you haven't checked them out yet I would start with this album of theirs.
 
Top Singles
 

gulu gulu - 変なメリーゴーランド (Henna Merry Go Round)
 
Best newcomer of 2019? Hell yeah! Gulu gulu starts with a bang with all great tracks from this single. They released a second single too, but I enjoyed this one more.
 

Develop One's Faculties - ephemeral
 
I'm glad that Develop One's Faculties are still going off strong, they deserve so much more recognition. The second track is a lot of fun and stands out more than the title track. I just love what Yuya does with his vocals sometimes.
 

ペンタゴン - カルチャーショック (Pentagon - Culture Shock)
 
After not enjoying their poppy and synth sound from previous releases, I was surprised by how good this single of Pentagon's was. The title song showed a lot of promise so I gave this single of there's a go for once. Although it still largely has a pop sound it is much more listenable and shows how the band has really matured. Quite a shame that they're now disbanding.
 
Top Songs
 

ザアザア - 光 (Xaa-xaa - Hikari)
from 破裂 (Haretsu)
 
Xaa-xaa is more of a hit or miss for me, but when they hit boy do they hit HARD. Out of the bajillion singles they released last year there was only one track that I really liked and that is "光" from their single Haretsu. A very lovely ballad that sort of makes me feel nostalgic for oshare kei from the 00s. I don't know, there's just something kind of familiar about it. 
 

ロマン急行 - 歪む太陽 (Roman Kyuko - Yugamu Taiyou)
from 人間失格 (Ningen Shikkaku)
 
Roman Kyuko was one of my most anticipated bands and although everything they released has been good, "歪む太陽" from their album might be my most favorite. I think I will miss hearing Yudai's voice in Toru's playing style though, but I'm glad that Izumi's voice works just as wonderfully.
 

仮病 - Yellow Tokyo
 
I was trying to avoid putting artists twice on the list but I just had to put Kebyou again here. They really showed their potential in 2019 and I'm hoping that this live-limited track of theirs, available to listen on Youtube, will show up in one of their future releases. The CD cover looks ugly and low-budget af but I promise you the song is good.
 

DADAROMA - 嫣然 (Enzen)
from Dadaism#5
 
Dadaism#5 was not bad overall, but "嫣然" blew me away right off the bat. Might be just me but it feels kind of close to Crazy☆shampoo. Always wanted to hear Yoshiatsu belting like that again.
 

蘭図 - ドグラ・マグラ (Rands - Dogra Magra)
from Leda Atomica
 
Can't express my joy to see Karma back and bringing the old-school sound back on top of that, not that I'm totally familiar with old-school bands but it feels very refreshing in the scene. I love how "Dogra Magra" starts with the fluttering of a fly/moth and kind of introduces a solitary and barren atmosphere to this lovely ballad.
 

nurié - モノローグ (Monologue)
from モノローグ
 
Can anybody tell me who these guys are 'cause they're amazing! Feeling such an art-kei vibe from this track. I hope more of their releases will be accessible because I seriously need to hear more!!
 

キズ - 夢 (Kizu - Yume)
from 平成 (Heisei)
 
It felt like 2019 was a bit weak for Kizu imo, but I'm happy that "夢" finally got a recording. If only it wasn't recorded in whatever special equipment they used, but it's still very listenable as it's one of my favorite songs of theirs.
 

ユメリープ - でっどばーすでー (Yumeleep - Dead Birthday)
from ばーすまたー (Birth Matter)
 
I will admit that Yumeleep got a bit boring and same-y for me, but "でっどばーすでー" caught my attention this time around. I might even say this is the best song they've done so far. It feels like the vocalist experimented more with his vocals instead of sounding monotone all the time, making this track much more interesting and even catchy.
 

DIMLIM - 離人 (Rijin)
from 離人
 
To be honest, this song took a few listens for it to grow on me. It's true that the instrumentals feel a bit mashed up in a few places but I'm not complaining because now I'm in love with it.
 

NITRODAY - ダイヤモンド・キッス (Diamond Kiss)
from 少年たちの予感 (Premonition of Kids)
 
The only non-vk band on the list, well other than MONO. NITRODAY are one of the few indie bands that I've been keeping a real close eye on. Their entire EP Premonition of Kids is great, but "Diamond Kiss" is such a sweet summer song. The addition of the bassist's back vocals work wonderfully and sometimes I'll easily find myself singing along. I didn't even realize how short the song was.
 
 
Well, that about sums up my favorites from 2019. And now I'm gonna head out and dig through the rest of the stuff I missed!

Forever and ever one of my faves 2bh
 

Forever and ever one of my faves 2bh
 

Forever and ever one of my faves 2bh
 

Forever and ever one of my faves 2bh
 

Forever and ever one of my faves 2bh
 

What are some of your favorite Band/Artist promotional pictures?
 
At one point in my life, I'd damn near made a career out of sharing and uploading music (in addition to uploading artist photos to last.fm), so I basically have a lot of artist pics and album art saved that I just never got rid of. Here are a few of my favorites!
 
 
THE NOVEMBERS

 
i think i like this pic so much because it reminds me of when THE NOVEMBERS dropped "zeitgeist" and just blew all of our damn minds! Plus Kobayashi is just oozing a kind of dark, cool confidence here...it's like from this point he became an entirely new person...miles away from the average bowl-cut indie rocker he started as, haha.
 
9GOATS BLACK OUT

Even tho I never got super deep into their music, these guys were CLASS and their aesthetics were always on point!!
 
D'espairsRay
 
One of my fav. Despa pics. I was with the mallgoff shitz, ahaha
 
downy

I love this pic because it speaks to their dark, sophisticated sound, but I also love it simply for the fact they actually bothered to take some nice promo pics for once in their career!
 
J.A.M

Probably not the kind of pic you'd expect from a Jazz band!
 
コトリンゴ (Kotoringo)

Suuuper pretty pic, that's as pretty as the music she makes!
 
赤い公園 (Akai Ko-en)

Chiaki lookin all tall and sexy   It's hard to go wrong with nature-dense photos, but I loove the colors here!
 
EGO-WRAPPIN'

There's a lot going on here, but this pic fit their sound so well for the time. It kinda has a cartoony/animated vibe to it.
 
TK from 凛として時雨 (ling tosite sigure)

Simple, but effective.
 
トクマルシューゴ (Shugo Tokumaru)

 
青葉市子 (Ichiko Aoba)

 
That's all for now! What are some of your favs???

where were you when visual kei was saved? i was at home drinking brian fluid

this is better than dimlim x

the rerecorded version of 10 :^)

this is better than dimlim x