Tony

Sounds like everything else they've ever made.

an instrumental live from lynch. would be interesting.. but without the vocalist I would have cancelled and rescheduled.

yay no 3D. hate 3D movies.

Can't wait to see this... its been a long time coming.

Never lost sleep over the first one. It was freaky and all, but far from the scariest move I've ever seen.

I was in Europe over Summer, so I'm enjoying a bit of spring Melbourne cold before I go through another hot summer!

I don't know what's happened to them this year, but both this single and COLOR feel so generic and uninspired. They almost don't feel like the same band anymore, the band I have loved since 13s reborn.

They seem to be trying to make copies of their previous hits now. Does anyone get a Owari to Mirai vibe from Vision? And a Suiren vibe from the other two songs? Its so hard to tell if they are trying to progress their sound or just replicate the formula that has gotten them by for so long.

If you disregard their entire discography, and judge the songs alone, they aren't bad. But taking into account everything they've created, it seems like they have run out of ideas.

Vision is probably the only song I will come back to listen to. Endless wing is annoyingly bad. Inochi no Ki is bland. But Vision has that fraction of hope that they might be able to churn out some half decent songs on the upcoming album.

4/10

JUDGEMENT is a nice song, with some catchy hooks and enough heavy riffs to satisfy any VK fan.

Only that this is about the 10000000th time they've done a song and used this exact. same. formula.

I'm really bored of them. SHADOWZ showed so much promise, they were experimenting with some new sounds, yet they revert to this generic shit for the singles. I think Ambivalent Ideal might be the last interesting song this band ever makes.

4/10

This is going to be the 2nd single, might like this more.

Well its not really mainstream sounding like their last two albums have been. It has got more of a punk edge, which is kinda what their music needed. There's enough generic-pop-alt-rock bands going around.

And its definitely not a song that is instantly likeable. Needs a couple of listens before you judge.

Here's a link to the video if anyone wants to listen:

Was D'espa the first VK/j-rock concert in Italy? o__O I thought Dir en Grey have been there.

Its pretty clear what direction this album is going to head in. I still haven't heard their latest single though, but I've read the reviews of it and its what I expected.

And yeah, this yearly album release shouldn't be a surprise.

I loved them when I was a teenager as well, and I always check out whatever they bring out.

At first I didn't like the song much, but it grows on you. They have another song out from the album as well (called 'The Only Hope For Me Is You') which has more of an electronic sound.

First J-Rock band going to Barcelona?

They already re-recorded it for the Darkest Labyrinth VA.. I'm kinda scared what they're going to do with it now since the re-recording they've already done was pretty good.

I don't mind that cover.

At least with Rain Delay included, the album is going to slow down and change pace at one point. Will that be enough? I don't know anymore.. but the singles were enjoyable for me. I'm hoping for a nice mix of harder, softer and ballad-y songs. They've experimented with these sounds their whole career, its time for them to be contained in one release.

When I saw them in concert, his vocals were spot on for me. He must have some issues, there's been reports of that, but whatever techniques he is using to overcome it do work. I don't think he has any serious issues, he (and the rest of the band) just need a break from their hectic tour schedule.

Aural Vampire + TBM = epic combination. Would have loved to see them both.

Sounds like they're just taking a break from constant releases? Its sad that VK bands need to explain that, since its so normal for western artists to go years without releasing new material.

They should become an albums-band, they're good enough for it now.

That new look is horrible >_< What happened? I preferred their JUDEA-era look.

KNIFE was a decent single, so the new songs have potential. But this is the one band I didn't want to go lighter.

Thanks guys

I also got to see D'espairsRay in Milan and loved every minute <3 The Italian fans were mad, haha. We all waited an hour or more out the front to meet them but they never came out, and the venue turned into a club!

New album is awesome.

At first I didn't like a lot of the songs, I felt they made a singles album with a few standout tracks only. But the more you listen the more you feel that album as a whole. Maybe its not as good as Violet and Walking with Strangers, but its another really strong release from the band.

And you can't overlook that there's a commercial shine on all the songs. Not that this is a bad thing, I think they deserve to be a more successful band. They shouldn't have to hide in the underground scene, cos they're too good for that.

Favourite songs - In the Dark, Control, Shallow Grave, Midnight, Pins and Needles and Sleepwalking.

Just got back last night from travelling around Europe for 3 months. Was the best experience of my life. Favourite cities I visited - probably London, Prague, Paris, Barcelona and Florence. Pretty much loved everywhere I went.

No new music during that time drove me insane. Looks like I've got a lot of new releases to catch up on!

I like the new forums too, so good to be back.

late review!

Defnitely like the album more than REDEEMER. I can listen through the album without needing to skip a song, couldn't do that with REDEEMER. It's harder and edgier, which are big pluses after all those pop sounding singles on REDEEMER. Got sick of that sound.

But its not as strong as MIRROR or Coll:Set for me. The album feels a bit rushed and some of the just OK songs could have turned out great if they gave themselves more time. The love is dead b-sides are stronger than some of the tracks here, they shouldn't be.

My favourite song is FALLING. This is the sound I was expecting for the whole album (electronic hardish-rock), what they said it would sound like but they must have changed their angle while making it. The synths sound so good here, although the chorus could have been better.

The ballad abyss is getting a lot of hate here, but I quite like it. Not as emotional as SCREEN but a great song for a band that hardly does ballad songs.

Great, but not perfect.

8.5/10

When was the meet and greet? directly after the show? zomg i have to get autographs.

this has got me so excited for october the setlist isn't too bad, as expeced, mostly new album songs. At least there's some old stuff in there for good measure.