Zeus

Good maybe this is where all the interesting music is since Yuko's solo career doesn't have any.

2 hours ago, helcchi said:

for those interested, Leda played guitar on the title track.

Unfortunately, that little fact doesn't make it any more interesting. But get that money Leda.

| If the gimmick works farm it; don't ditch it for something boring.

It's no secret that I fawn over everything Wagakki-Band has done. Let it be known that I also encourage musicians to have side projects and fully express their creative tendencies. But given the timing of it all, I could be forgiven for viewing Yuko Suzuhana's solo career as a power play. My gut reaction was that Wagakki-Band was still too young of a band for her to tire of the traditional aesthetic - even considering her past activities with Hanafugetsu - and deduced that CRADLE OF ETERNITY would break from the aforementioned aesthetic completely. I never doubted Suzuhana's vocal excellence, and she sounds beautiful on every song. But without the traditional bend to her music, something different but equally as compelling has to take its place. CRADLE OF ETERNITY is too safe; a cold, calculated, manufactured slice of unoffensive corporate pop that doesn't stand out.

There's a lot of competition in the pop scene. If you want to make it, you have to stand out. At one point in time, Jun Togawa, Shiina Ringo, and most recently Seiko Oomori have broken into the mainstream by bucking the trend, but remaining accessible. CRADLE OF ETERNITY  does the complete opposite; it's musically excellent but devoid of spice. There's no excitement, no surprises, and the album plods along at the same pace for ten tracks. At the end there's a piano solo of lead track "永世のクレイドル" and an even slower version of "Remains" - the most interesting songs on the album - because what the album needed to do was go even slower. There was plenty of room for experimentation with darkwave, electronic, the traditional influence she is purposefully shunning, or even classic rock, but CRADLE OF ETERNITY settles for only the safest brand of pop. It's shallow and one-dimensional, if not superficially pretty all the way through, and that's about it.  

I want to like the release more based purely on who is involved and how good she can be at her best, but CRADLE OF ETERNITY does Yuko Suzuhana no justice. She needs more than tracks that sound like generic anime openers on Prozac. This is a modest start to a solo career that won't take off until the music direction changes. At the very least, it's money for her and I'm happy about that. For me, it's the newest entry to the pile of music that I'll forget about soon.

Support the artist!

Amazon (JP) | Play-Asia

On 11/6/2016 at 3:19 PM, Danao said:

 

 

Being a fan of a band oversea is SO different from that, you obviously can't go to lives, instores, etc, or at least 3/4 of us can't. Everything you do oversea means NOTHING to the band itself, they probably don't even know/care about oversea fans, so what you do as a fan oversea is just buy CDs/DVDs (regular and live limited releases) for yourself, to enjoy their music as much as possible, and thinking buying a CD here is supporting the band is a complete mistake, it doesn't, it just supports you pride of owning their music, and supports also your joy of listening to them, that's all.

I agree with everything you said but this. I created this as a brand new topic just so I could write this out.

I believe visual kei band members have a realistic mindset on this, especially if they're doing it for the money. They know we exist, and they want us to buy their releases, but the cost/effectiveness ratio is realistic for only the biggest of the visual bands. They know we pirate most of their stuff, and I'm 90% sure a lot of band members stalk this place - google the name of their release and all roads point back here sooner or later - but if you can't advertise overseas fighting piracy is even less realistic. I think most take the additional exposure and run because, hey, it's something. They won't count on us to come to their lives, but they definitely do count on us when they are trying to chart. And when I write a negative review of an album or single of a band I follow, you can bet that at the very least the x/10 portion comes through even if my criticisms don't. I don't know how many times I've made a suggestion that the band has taken seriously! (for example, Natsuki from -OZ- changed his singing style after ROUGE because fans were complaining that he always sounds the same). I think we can be a powerful voice but only in certain avenues since talking is all we can do to stay in contact with each other.

Otherwise, I agree with the rest of your post

I use it for Overwatch when I'm putting a team together and Discord is lit. Hope to see you guys there.

5 minutes ago, CAT5 said:

I went into this album having never listened to BORN, so I had no idea what to really expect, and while it's nothing life-changing, I do think it's a solid debut. I think there were a few nice unexpected moments in terms of arrangement (like the breakdown in track 2, and the progressive slow-down of track 3 at the end), but I do wish the songs had a bit more individual personality. They should have omitted track 5 altogether....that was a very sloppy and tacky attempt at a ballad. Perhaps leaving that track out would have left a stronger impression, but the other songs are strong enough that it doesn't matter too much. Overall, I like the energy and I hope they're continue to develop their sound.

Bruh, I sent you a BORN track on a mix once I remember you liking. I think it was RED DESIRE...

Anyway, despite my high score I still think BORN has something over this band. Which is to be expected, since BORN was first RENNY AMY and D&L. Band members that play together for over a decade are going to sound better together than guys that have been only practicing for a few months at a time. Nothing on RED INVISIBLE touches this classic though.
 

It's a shame that all that fanfare about D.I.D. returning and never quitting was undone. The way this band is calling it quits is a nice calling card but I never got the feeling that Akane got this band to where he wanted it to be. Music is what gives him his therapy anyway so a new project is not out of the question. At their prime they were just channeling the best of Para:noir and they could never get out of the shadow of a band they were supposed to be bigger than. Hoping the new album and unreleased material will change that opinion of mine.

I hope they don't fuck up any of the classics, apply tasteful progression to those tracks only in the places where they need it, and release an album none of us knew we needed. Don't fuck this up with any Dir en grey interpretative bullshit it almost never worked for them.

18 hours ago, allisapp said:

Could anyone recommend me a new smart phone? Preferrebly Android, very good camera quality (16mp is good for me) and max 500e. Does anyone have Samsung Galaxy s6 edge?

I have the S6 Edge Plus. Love it can't recommend it more.

If downy didn't make the top 3 I was going to riot. Mudai (2016) is ace and everything and everyone should listen to it.

| An edgy visual kei band I can get behind.

BORN went through two name changes and many more concepts, but underneath it all, average riffcraft and a lack of identity painted them into a corner they couldn't compose out of. By the end of their career, BORN lacked presence and looked better than they sounded. In constant, upstart visual band RAZOR has a large presence from the beginning, with opener "ANOTHER" featuring crunchy bass and drums pummeling enough to get the energy going. There's a visceral edge to this band I haven't heard in a while and I welcome it.  Ryouga can also be found alternating between his own brand of vocal fry, demented ranting, his comfortable range, and some high pitched singing I haven't heard before. The use of auto-tune toes the line, but it's tastefully applied so I'll let it slide.

RED INVISIBLE's core formula will be familiar to fans of BORN, but it is fresh enough to remain exciting. Each song offers something unique and they often take a turn towards the demented right at their most predictable which makes them interesting. "ギブミー不気味" (give me bukimi) is the best example of such a track, but most songs do it in their own fashion. "MISSING PIECE" is my least favorite track; as the token ballad of the mini, it would be better if the vocals weren't layered with unnecessary distortion and that annoying eurobeat synth was removed entirely. It's just a mess. A handful of sudden transitions and mid tempo choruses elsewhere constrains the band a bit, but there's so many ideas packed into six tracks that it will take a few listens before I tire of this. By the end of opener "RED ZONE", I've been presented with more than enough reasons to go back.

It's so refreshing to see a visual band with some energy successfully channel it in their first release. RAZOR closes the door on 2016 with a bang. This is a band to keep an eye on.

Support the band!

CDJapan

13 minutes ago, Puriwate said:

'Oneman' live meaning? (Im a idiot)

They are the only people to perform at that concert (ie there is no opening act)

the question is how much weed and if it was loud or regs

I'm actually salty Akinori has to leave but I hope all parties bounce back from this. I don't want to think he's thrown everything away over a little bit of weed. Maybe attitudes haven't changed in Japan as fast as they have in America but if they've even softened a little maybe there's a spot for him in SUGIZO's band anyway. And if not, there are plenty of bands who would love to have a talented bassist. He'll figure something out.

I'll toke one 4 u bro.

Just now, Aeolus said:

@Zeus you mean ZX1? if you do then omg I am so jealous that is a beauty right there. it's a bit pricey though. I'm thinking of upgrading to a pioneer xdp-300r at some point in the future, or what ever the future equivalent will be. I want to get a player with 2 dual sd slots so that way when the 512gb micro sd's come out I can have all 850gb of my music on one player. curse you San Disk bring out those 2tb micro sd already

Yes I mistyped it. I meant the ZX1. Bought it secondhand from someone so I got 100 knocked off. The only minor gripe I have is that it uses a proprietary connector for the PC so if you do buy it load up on a bunch of them.

@Aeolus I'm also going to agree with Poweramp for all the reasons you said. I use it on the Walkman NX1 because I'm a weeb who imports all of his audio devices from Japan and I have no complaints with it. I don't often pay for Android apps because the free stuff is good enough to get by but when it comes to music players they all suck. It's worth the $3 for Poweramp. Music comes in crystal clear and there's plenty of settings for equalizers for those who like them. It plays back literally any format you can throw at it, doesn't drain the battery too badly, can display all types of embedded artwork, handles Japanese nicely. It even auto pauses if your audio jack disconnects while you play. I have no complaints with it at all except that it could handle Unicode file paths better when you auto import a playlist but that's so minor I can live with fixing them up.

On 12/17/2016 at 0:50 PM, Jigsaw9 said:

Nice! I really liked THE GALLO's album myself. Great stuff, even tho I don't think it will make my end-of-the-year selection (as cool as it is, I cannot for the life of me remember a single song or melody from it).

I'm going to have to echo this 100x. I picked up on DIAVOLO because a. it was an interesting enough name b. the cover is absolutely hilarious and c. I heard lots of people whose musical taste I respect talk of this album. Not rave highly, but mention it here and there and when you see an album name pop up enough curiosity gets the best of me. I listened and thought the vocalist was a little weird. Not my style but not horrible and I listen to far sketchier vocalists so I see the appeal. Each song flowed into one another and while I felt an overall consistent feeling by the end of it I can't remember a single fill or punishing lick to stick in my head. It was also a lot less heavy than I was expecting but that's not a bad thing.

As far as XAA-XAA goes I can say everything positive I said about THE GALLO above but with one caveat. I will say that I only checked out this band because people were getting their knickers in a bunch over a release they couldn't acquire and it likewise got me curious in checking them out. One thing that really grinds my gears about Chuudoku Shuujou is how repetitive the lyrics can be. I can't understand a lick of conversational Japanese but through the first seven tracks I think about four of them have really simple, repeating choruses. Also singing only the name of the title track as the chorus is incredibly lazy. Having one song in a while with a simple chorus amps me up; maybe it's a short song or one that works live. But in XAA-XAA's case it's a ton of their songs and it was really bothering me until it wasn't anymore (guess I got numb). If there was one area of improvement that I would suggest they make, it's more memorable and less repetitive choruses. 

Don't let these criticisms turn you off from checking out the releases! I didn't want to put these criticisms into the blurb as they aren't a review proper, and I also couldn't be motivated to write a review for two albums that I merely had conversational pieces for. What do you all think those that have listened to one or both of these albums?

毘紐天 ‐vishnu- is one beast of a track.

1 hour ago, Peace Heavy mk II said:

I just started playing ranked for the first time.

 

lmao it was so awful. I've lost like 5 in a row and am rapidly slipping down the elo rabbit hole. I'll add you to my PS4 friend's list, but I seem to have a knack for getting put on teams who don't like to work together.

It's the same on every console the grass isn't much greener over here.

Chanty is one of those bands that I should get into and I'm seriously slacking on. Hearing so much good praise from fellow ORZ members is giving me the motivation I need to check it out.

...so you mean people aren't a fan of Amy Schumer's sense of humor?

I need this in my life. DECAYS is cool but this is shaping up to be another beast entirely.

34 minutes ago, cvltic said:

a shame they had to let him go, i was fond of him in particular because Akinori loved him so much lol

 

i'm unironically convinced his case is connected to Akinori's so i did some more reading.

someone who's twitter handle is "Umebo's ex-gf" was posting in February of this year (cache available: http://tweez.net/umebo_hnib_/)
whoever this person was, they claimed he was a marijuana user and that they had picture(s?) of him smoking it.

they also claim that after he made them smoke it they were hospitalized for it days later (??? what)
but regardless of the veracity, some articles have posited that maybe this information prompted some investigation.

That's some dank shit.

What a shame but when all of these musicians move past these scandals I'd love for them to form a stoner visual kei band. That's just the kind of provocative, degenerate shit the scene needs.

@CAT5 & @beni, that Nakashima Ko clip sounds like it would be perfect for a futuristic themed mixtape that I'm currently constructing. What's your favorite track off of TAXIS that would fit into this kind of theme?

@Tokage you may actually be surprised by this list in a week or two. The good stuff always comes out in the second half.

1 hour ago, Vitne Eveille said:

I wasn't aware of this until now.  I'm going to go check it out!  

 

In terms of my response to the poll, I usually prefer songs to be left alone, MAYBE remastered.  Then, adding on a couple of brand new songs.  That's the type of Best Of album I love.

 

However, this really depends upon if I was familiar with the band before the re-recordings were done.  Maybe I find a band, listen to the "Best Of" first, come to enjoy that a lot, and then dive into their previous releases and versions....Maybe I end up liking the re-recordings better, simply because that's what I heard first.

 

A lot of times when things are re-recorded though, I feel like they lose some of the original magic.  A very specific case for me was Twisted Sister's re-recording of "Stay Hungry" called "Still Hungry".  While it's interesting to hear them re-recorded, I really liked the originals better.  There's something about the way those sounded at the time when they were recorded.  Wild, uninhibited.  But the newer versions sound more polished and less "alive."

I would be interested in your thoughts after you've sat on this album for a while. I tend to feel similarly to you about a lot of aspects of re-recording, especially the "point in time" aspect that makes some tracks magical. Lightning doesn't always strike twice for a band. With this album I felt way differently after a few listens since the way Versailles chose to re-record this album preserved the magic for the most part. A lot of these new tracks I like better than the originals and there's only a few aspects to some tracks I don't like. I don't know how Versailles managed to do it , but they did.

2 hours ago, Carmelzors said:

From ze big heat of SG to ze mainland chill of rural China is one huge shocker really.

 

 

At this point my body is not ready for Finland...nor to early winter Japan either.

 

Out of those three Zakurogata felt less out-of-place in regards to Disorder's positioning - the inclusion of Miseinen would be more of the off-the-context solo banger than 7/8 song was and Zetsu has no place with songs like Social... and Carry really (as much as Zetsu is the best of Gazette jams ever).

 

As for my personal opinion on Zakurogata, I like how it's varied in all its quirkiness  yet its de facto story context is grim af. Not better than those two other singles ofc but far off from being something "totally unlikable".

 

But then again, this comes from a guy who legitly jams along to [DIS] and similar "so bad that it's good" Gazette songs.

 

「平成」時代事態変えろ「反乱」!!!

That entire era is a sore spot with me. They were so hit and miss for me. Either I like the song or I don't and Zakuro falls into the latter category. I think it's the combination of the synth and off-key vocals that kill it for me. NAITE NAITE is seared into the annals of my mind.