Zeus

I'm glad HIZUMI is back on the scene. Even if it isn't with D'espairsRay, I want to hear him sing again. I love his voice. Hope this project is a bit more inspired than late-era D'espairsRay. I doubt we're getting anything close to [coll:set] or MIRROR so I'll set my expectations accordingly.

1 minute ago, nostalgia said:

back in early 2013 kai switched the forum software from phpbb to ipb (supposedly on jan 19, 2013). the conversion between the two forum software structures didn't seem to be 1:1 so some members had their accounts created on that day. not sure about what happened on sep 3, 2010 though.

 

i could be wrong but there seems to be a gap between the past years (~2008-2010) when the forum was split in two: the new TW and MH as a fork. MH had to start anew from the old DB from 2007, so it looks like the current forum doesn't have threads from 2008-2010 ish from TW. anyone can confirm this?

This is more or less what happened. IIRC these are the many phases of MH

1. TW on invisionfree -> TW on phpbb -> The Big Crash -> TW on invisionfree -> TW on IPB -> TW to MH -> TADAAAA

Each of the arrows is a database migration except for the one after the crash, where people recreated their accounts on invisionfree because there was no data back up from phpbb to invisionfree.

On 4/25/2019 at 8:49 PM, Gesu said:

BTW, I have a question. Just out of curiosity, is there a reason so many people joined on September 3rd, 2010? I know that's not when TW became MH because @Ito said that happened in 2011. That just stuck out to me because September 3rd, 2010 happens to have been my tenth birthday X)

I would pay zero attention to the dates. It said I joined in 2013 and I've been around since 2008.

FUCK YOU IN THE DIE 

new slogan 2k19

Second paragraph confirms song is done for shock value.

16 hours ago, YuyoDrift said:

Even if that D'espa song is copy/paste, you gotta admit that shit was gooooooood.

Hard not to agree with fans of their dark/gothic days.

 

 

I know! That song was what made me go "yes this is a total copy and i still love it". Been listening to Tatoeba for over 12 years now, shit's not gonna change in an instant. If anything, it might make me check out Manson.

1 minute ago, Reikatsumi said:

Well if mejibray steal songs that were already plagiats it doesn't mean that it is okay because someone had stolen it before them lmao

It means that they are even worse musicians if they plagiarize other plagiats

Well then do I have an entire series for you! And I managed to get 5 installments in without mentioning MEJIBRAY. So as the person who flexes his knowledge of bands plagiarizing each other quarterly, I have to say that very few bands steal songs and rather they steal parts of songs. A vocal melody here, a guitar melody there, they may even pull some melodies from non-vk bands because I've seen that happen too, and they mix it with their ideas and they come out with something old but new. Every visual kei band has done it; some are just better at it than others and some do it more often than others.

MEJIBRAY is both terrible and overhated. Tsuzuku is not a great vocalist and somehow he got WORSE after VANESSA. The other musicians are competent, but that band was the definition of quality over quantity. Every time I turned around, I was tripping over 3 new MEJIBRAY releases. You could almost always count on them to release something every 3 to 4 months. Even with using plagiarism and ghost writers, that's an insane schedule. There's no way all the songs can be quality. You can throw a bunch of darts at the wall and see what sticks, but misses are still misses. I estimate that they have 1 good song for every 3 okay songs and 1 shit song they record. That's not a great track record. Any band that records and releases AKERCOCK and thinks it is an okay song needs a psychiatric evaluation.

Thanks for the follow up. How does the attacker get away with such a light sentence? That's BS.

14 hours ago, psychonnect_rozen said:

Does anyone get made fun of for liking Japanese music?

 

I do all the time. My friends tease me and call me a "weeb" or "emo" every fucking day so there's that.

 

Granted I'm the only one at my school who knows what visual kei is and the only Asian thing people listen to is KPOP *shudders*

The trick to avoiding social shame is to have two completely separate music libraries. One is essentially "J-rock and visual kei" and the other is "everything else". When I'm given the aux for a car ride, or asked what I listen to, I pull from the "everything else" group. When someone is feeling adventurous, or I know the tastes of the person I'm talking to, or I'm on MH, I go into my J-rock collection. Every once in a while I'll sprinkle in some visual kei/J-Rock with other international recommendations, people fall for it, and are none the wiser. I keep up on contemporary music just enough to hold a conversation about Green Day or J-Cole, but that's it.

This separation is more logical than physical, but it helps a lot. It's almost a non-solution to your issue, but people are never gonna stop teasing you for liking visual kei, so the best you can do is give off an image that you listen to music from all over the world so you can lose that weeb label.

Welcome back to Copy/Paste, the series where the Official Reviewers team analyzes recurring ideas, trends, and even melodies across the scene to figure out what inspires our artists and what makes the scene tick. Like always, we separate things into Homages (tributes) or Copies ("inspiration"), and in the rare cases even Plagiarism and Beyond. It's been some time since our last installment, so we have plenty of interesting comparisons scheduled for today. Is your favorite band in the list?

EDITOR'S NOTE: The titles should be read from left to right, so generally the song on the left is the newer song (copy) and the song on the right is the older song (original).

EDITOR'S SECOND NOTE: This is all in good fun and isn't meant to be taken super seriously.

lynch.'s "exist" vs. lynch.'s "NEW PSYCHO PARALYZE"

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It's the first time we've featured a band recycling a riff of their own, which starts this installment off on a curious foot. It's a blatant copy too; the first seconds of "exist" off XIII features the same main riff straight off "NEW PSYCHO PARALYZE" from Inferiority Complex. The riff from "NEW PSYCHO PARALYZE" is a bit heavier and played with a slightly different rhythm, but the similarities are clear. The rest of the songs are quite different, thankfully. I'm not sure what to classify this as. A band paying tribute to themselves sounds curiously close to musical masturbation, especially when the original song debuted not so long ago. Did they forget they published a song with that riff previously? Really, this is Lazy more than anything else, but that's not an option I'm going to give myself, so I consider this Recycling.

 

 

 

 

DEATHGAZE's "SINNER" vs.  trust company's "The war is over"

 

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There used to be a time circa 2006 where you couldn't mention lynch. without also mentioning DEATHGAZE, mostly down to shared history, some member drama, and the similar styles both bands used. This is one of the first times I'll get to mention both bands in the same breath without comparing them to each other. I've known for a long time that DEATHGAZE's Ai has had some very strong "influences" from bands like Trust Company and Static-X, but "SINNER" remains one of the most prominent examples of how strong this "influence" can be. It's one thing to lift a riff or a sample of a vocal melody, but "SINNER" takes the structure of "The War is Over" and essentially covers it with Japanese lyrics. It hurts to find such a strong link between the two songs, because "SINNER" is one of the few songs in the DEATHGAZE discography that sounds refreshingly different, and that's because they didn't write (most) of the song! I'm firmly in the Copy camp here, but I can see some arguments for why this can be considered a Homage instead.

 

 

 

DEZERT's "不透明人間。" (Futomei Ningen.) vs. DEATHGAZE's "闇に雨 腐敗した世界" (Yami ni Ame Fuhai Shita Sekai) 

 

 

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Here is proof that one person's copycat band can be another band's blue print. DEZERT is not a band shy about wearing their influences on their sleeves, and they were never in the running for top prize for "most original visual kei metalcore of all time", but this is a pretty cut and dry example of "inspiration" rearing its questionable head. "不透明人間。"(Futomei Ningen.) sounds like several songs smashed together, but the easiest one to isolate would be "闇に雨 腐敗した世界" (Yami ni Ame Fuhai Shita Sekai) from DEATHGAZE. It was @Peace Heavy mk II's expert ears that caught this comparison, and a quick A-B comparison was all I needed to agree. It's a simple, heavy, and driving riff, but DEZERT didn't try to put emphasis on different notes or personalize this riff. What it sounds like happened is that DEZERT needed a way to bridge together two sections of their song, and one of the members binged on THE CONTINUATION before hitting the studio and this was the result. This three-note riff pops up twice in the song, but the second time is layered with vocals and passes the sniff test more convincingly. This is definitely a "Copy", considering it sounds like the same notes are being played by both bands. 

Starting riff for this song

 

 

 

Start around ~1:04

 

Marry+An+Blood - "Daraku /DARK･STAR" vs. lamiel - "空が堕ちるアノ日" (Sora ga Ochiru Ano Hi)

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Bands copying other bands is nothing new, but previous iterations of this topic would suggest that plagiarism is only confined to the last decade of visual kei. Here is an example from two decades ago that shows how bands in the scene were always recycling and copying melodies that resonated with them, even if they had no visual similarities at all. Indie bands copying more established bands was an open secret in the 90s. Here we have Marry+An+Blood, an indie visual kei outfit who looked to their contemporaries Lamiel to pen "Daraku/DARK STAR" from "空が堕ちるアノ日" (Sora ga Ochiru Ano Hi). Lamiel was one of the most underrated yet influential bands of the 90s. They aren't mentioned much with the greats these days, but they were starting trends and adopting sounds other bands wouldn't catch up to until 2002-2003 at the earliest! Talk about being ahead of your time! I've really gotta hand it to Marry+An+Blood, because the structure of the vocals was copied and not the melody. The biggest give away is in the beginning melody of the vocals each verse. The notes may differ slightly, but the intonation of each verse, where the vocalists choose to rest and where they choose to emphasize their notes are very similar. This is one of those songs that I clearly would classify as a "Tribute", because a listener can go back and forth all day and hear as many similarities as there are differences.

 

 

Dir en grey - "残-ZAN-" vs. 黒夢's (Kuroyume) "親愛なるDEATH MASK -2-" (Shinainaru DEATH MASK -2-)

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I've seen this comparison thrown around for years, and I never agreed with it up until I took a closer look into both of the songs. To make the best comparison, one should take the recording of "残-ZAN-" from Dir en grey's GAUZE and compare that to the recording of "親愛なるDEATHMASK-2-" from 亡骸を ... (Nakigara wo) and not 生きていた中絶児 (Ikiteita Chuuzetsu). The re-recording - denoted with the -2- - is a lot rougher and more unhinged than the original recording, and where I suspect a lot of inspiration for "残-ZAN-" is lifted from. From the slow burn of an opening to the use of blast beats for speed, to even how both songs slow down around the middle before the solo. "残-ZAN-" is a serious love letter to this "親愛なるDEATHMASK-2-", and if you needed more proof remember that when Dir en grey first performed as a band, they went under the name DEATH MASK. Therefore, it should be no surprise to know that Dir en grey created their own version of this song. After listening to the right version, it's pretty easy to see that "残-ZAN-" is both a Tribute and a Copy; Dir en grey managed to add as many new elements to the song as they borrowed, and other than some structural similarities both songs convey very different feelings and moods. In fact, if no one ever mentioned this to begin with, I bet I would have never noticed.

 

 

 

D’espairsRay’s "「タトエバ」キミ...ガ...シンダ...ラ" (Tatoeba...kimi...ga...shinda...ra) vs. Marilyn Manson’s "Angel with the scabbed wings"

 

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Thank Marilyn Manson for inspiration for most of your favorite visual kei bands of yesteryear. Probably some of today's bands too! Bands like Dir en grey have tried to distance themselves from him in their interviews, but the inspiration both lyrically, thematically, and visually is almost too much for me to deny. "「タトエバ」キミ...ガ...シンダ...ラ" is a great example of Manson worship, and one that I wish I had years ago. We can first start with the overall similarity of Hizumi and Manson's harsh vocals - not that it's more than a coincidence, but it feeds into the comparison so I should mention it. Now compare Manson's opening riff from "Angel with the scabbed wings" with 「タトエバ」's bass lick into verse riff that begins at 0:37. It's one or two notes off, but they are very similar riffs that move at the same pace. Finally, the rhythm both of the drummers are playing at are very similar; Tsukasa layers on some more cymbals but that's about it. 「タトエバ」is one of my favorite D'espairsRay songs of all time, and this discovery surprisingly doesn't change that. All of these similar elements really comes together as a copy, but also a homage at the same time. Sometimes these things are unclear like that.

Fun fact: Valluna's "Parasite eve", which I covered in the first installment of this series, is a copy of 「タトエバ」but not "Angel with the scabbed wings" because the part that Valluna borrowed from D'espairsRay is not the part that D'espa took from Manson. Recycling is good for music and the planet!

 

Sadie's "empty room" vs. 12012's "雨、削ぎ落とされた感覚" (Ame, Sogi otosareta kankaku)


 

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I had to do some research to figure out which one of these songs came first, because they are both over ten years old. But for someone like me who is still stuck in the past, I was able to spot this similarity only recently. I am unable to find a studio sample of "empty room", but I've included a live rendition from their 2007 tour "THE SUICIDAL APPLICANTS", where they played this track 12th. I also am unable to embed the track, so you will have to click it and open in a new tab to hear for yourself. Sadie originally recorded "empty room" in 2006 before it made a repeat appearance on their collection UNDEAD13+2. The cadence Mao uses can be traced back to a little-known 12012 song from 2004 called "雨、削ぎ落とされた感覚" (Ame, Sogi otosareta kankaku). I am also fairly certain I've heard the intro to "empty room" in another song somewhere, and I've been certain of it since the first time I heard it, but for the life of me I cannot find it. I am more interested in finding that similarity than this one, because this is honestly a small thing, but it stuck out to me almost immediately. It's enough for me to label Sadie's take as a copy, even if what was copied is essentially scribbles in the margin.

Sadie's empty room:
https://youtu.be/jxfP9uwwOxs?t=2770

 

 

 

 

-OZ-'s "Succubus" vs. Lycaon's "The [1st] degree genocide holic"

 

 

 

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Here's a comparison that I haven't seen anyone in the visual kei community spot yet. The rhythm guitar for "Succubus" by -OZ- has some striking similarities to the rhythm guitar in "The [1st] degree genocide holic" by Lycaon. Surprisingly, the comparison is more easily heard when referencing R指定's cover of the same song, where a lot of the driving, boisterious guitar in the original is removed. I have included a video that puts both versions of the song together, and R指定's cover begins at 4:13. But that's not the only thing that -OZ- lifted from Lycaon! A defining feature of "The [1st] degree genocide holic" are the three guitar tracks and how two bars of the melody jumps from one ear to another before meeting in the middle, and "Succubus" does the same thing during the verses! It's not exactly the same, but it's so damn similar I am convinced -OZ- was inspired by Lycaon when writing this song. The similarities don't bother me much, because it took me so long to spot I have to admit that it was really well done, and the two songs are very distinct beyond that.

 

 

On 5/13/2019 at 1:50 AM, CAT5 said:

It's a tragedy, but I think Dany's arc highlights one of the central problems with the way Westeros is run - the whole Idea of Royalty is simply inane. And as the series has shown us many times over - high-borns and low-borns spill blood just the same. So the separation of classes is already unnecessarily divisive. And furthermore, thinking that you're fit to rule simply because you were born into "the right" family is pretty much a system that encourages delusions of grandeur by default.

I actually went in the other direction. I think the problem with the way Westeros is run is that the monarchy is weak. I've always believed that the most efficient form of government is a benevolent dictatorship, and that is the cornerstone of Bran the Broken's unwritten rule after the end of the show. We already flirted with democracy via Sam's suggestion, and the other nobles laughed it off. I'll explain why this is important later, but basically Westeros is not ready for democracy. When the monarchy started 300 years ago, it was done by Aegon I Targaryen, his two sisters, and three dragons. That's the equivalent of bringing a tactical nuke to a medieval gun fight. The early Targs were able to consolidate power first with dragons, then with political and military alliances. The power of the Targaryens decreased when their dragons stopped becoming a threat, and of course when the issues of incest multiplied generation after generation.

Now look to the present in the show starting with the first books and look at who is really in charge. The "earliest" we can go is Aerys. Aery's successor was Bobby B, who earned the throne via right of conquest but was an ineffectual ruler that could command no one's respect. He was openly mocked by his wife, sired no legit heirs, spent the crown into debt, and died on the eve of war. Joffrey and Tommen weren't effectual rulers either, basically they were Cersei's mouth pieces and had no power on their own. Dany touches the throne for 3.5 seconds and dies 10 minutes later.

Now look to the people who had power; Aerys was king but it was Tywin, hand of the king, who was ruler in spirit. The High Septon had no problem forcing any of the rulers into following religious customs without even needing to be in the Red Keep. Cersei presided over the rule of two kings as regent before becoming Queen herself. She held onto power for so long because she was ruthless and a bit insane, creating a centralized power structure through fear, but once she became Queen proper her claims to power got more tenuous, not less, almost as if becoming ruler undermined her authority. Who instructed Jon to murder Dany? Tyrion in a prison cell. Who floated the idea of Bran as the new king? Tyrion, prisoner about to be executed and looking for a pardon. The recurring theme is twofold: one is that that the Iron Throne is not something that anyone actually wants to have, and the other is that the person who elects the king often has more power than the actual king!

Back to my original point: Bran himself is a weak king because he cannot sire heirs. Tyrion picking Bran as the new king is a power play for himself out of self-preservation. He's hoping either Bran accepts and pardons him, or Bran looks into the future and picks the ideal candidate. When he dies, the right to rule will be brought into question again. The whole idea that nobles will pick the right leader every time is absolutely laughable; you put powerful and self-interested people in the pilot seat, ask them all to pick one among them to rule, and expect all of them not to want to take the wheel? Self-interest will be the primary motivating factor, and remember I said that the country is not ready for democracy. Democracy is all about compromise, which is difficult when everyone wants to be king, but at least democracy has built-in checks and balances to promote compromise. War is only one king and one future disagreement between two groups of nobles away from returning to Westeros, and the nobles still don't know how to work together.

This idea of "electing a new king" puts more hands into the power of each of the kingdoms than it does into the central monarchy. That reminds me of the Articles of Confederation, which was a massive failure because the states could not/would not effectively coordinate with each other, and the federal government could only request action, not demand it. This is the situation Bran almost immediately finds him in, when Sansa turns around and declares the North free. That's a horrible precedent, because that sets up the monarchy for immediate weakness. There's little that Bran can do to command the rest of the kingdoms to stay, if they so choose to test him. They're basically staying put because they chose him, so their acceptance is implicit, but there's no saying the next ruler gets the same treatment. The next ruler probably will not. Where is his tactical nuke? His dragons? His standing army? Doesn't exist. The king is the most vulnerable person in the entire Seven Kingdoms, who basically rules for as long as his charisma lasts.

It's also a bit of an asspull to make a psychic Gary Stu the king, because there is no real world equivalent to the 3ER, so it cements the ending in the realm of feel good fantasy at odds with the gritty realism that defined this show. It also doesn't make a lot of sense if you dig into the political science behind it, about as much sense as
 

 

 

 

On 5/17/2019 at 3:04 AM, plastic_rainbow said:

can people just stop being greedy for money....my friend wants to keep her job cuz of the higher pay but i KNOW she's not happy with it. it's about an hour commute and she always comes home dirty with grime in her hair as she's a machine operator and the place she works at isn't the cleanest. yet, she isn't willing to sacrifice all that pay for a more moderate and cleaner job that pays just good enough to make a living, in other words the job i've been working at. i mean, she lives with her mom and sister so the rent shouldn't even cause a huge dent in her bank. plus she doesn't even have any loans to pay. she tells me that she wants to earn a lot so that she can both save and spend money at the same time, which looks to me more like spending than saving. well whatever, it's her life so i can't try to change her mind. it's all just kinda ridiculous to me though.

I don't disagree, but I'm gonna come at this with a different perspective.

I've noticed that there is a certain amount of money that one makes relative to the strength of the economy where making even $1/hr less complicates finances but making $1/hr more doesn't ease finances. There's a plateau for purchasing power that can only be overcome by making substantially more money via a big raise. Getting a new job on the surface looks easier but there are always hidden costs. For example, this new job can be farther away than her current job which means she may have to spend more on gas. Not that this is her situation, but it definitely was mine at one point and is at least 30% of the reason why I can't walk away from my job.

Having said that, waiting to do a job switch is not a good idea because things only solidify as I get older. The flexibility I had when I was 25 was way more than what I have now, and in 3 years I will probably be less flexible. I bet a lot that she knows you are right and that she can make the change "whenever she wants", but life has a way of changing on a dime and she could end up stuck in her job because she didn't take the opportunity she should have.

Lemme lay down some BIG FACTS here, no compilations:

1. 黒夢 - 亡骸を・・・

2. Aliene Ma'riage - Les Soirée 夜の舞踏会／洗礼の章～生誕篇

3. Luna Sea - MOTHER

4. Malice Mizer - merveilles

5. Dir en grey - MACABRE

We get more shit than Japanese fans because we do dumb shit in English. 

As far as "no pictures at the concert goes", I turned off my flash and took several dozen pictures over the course of the show. I didn't have flash on and I was near the back, so they didn't see me at all. I think they say no pictures because they don't want people recording the show on their phones, and it's unreasonable to expect anyone to identify what someone is doing with their phone in the middle of a concert. A blanket rule like that to stop piracy makes sense, but I think piracy is a distant second to presentation. Visual kei bands are all about looks and presentation and they always want to look their best. I really think the band didn't want anyone recording or taking pictures of the concert because they want to publish the pictures they like best. My hunch is supported by what one of the announcers said before the NYC show; paraphrasing here but it was "no need to record this show tonight because we are recording it for you". A band that is all about visuals relies heavily on the first impression, and that impression is ruined if the first recordings of THE NINTH WORLD TOUR is a scratchy home made tereko recorded from someone's phone, or blurry pictures taken from the center of the mosh pit.

4 minutes ago, ricchubunny said:

I will come to write here as soon as i have time, but i wanna ask....... Is Uruha excited like this in every single concert?
Because i swear i never saw this guy like that. He was so excited that he was almost throwing himself at the crowd lol (he actually gave his guitar to the crowd play it hahaha)

He definitely wasn't as excited as my show, but he did show his side of the stage tons of love! Reita was the show stealer at NYC, going up to the front to play next to Ruki several times. Aoi was the most reserved out of all of the guitarists on stage.

@Komorebi, @ricchubunny, how were your concerts?

Monochrome Heaven's 2019 Banner Contest

The window for banner submissions has closed, so I present to you now all of the banners our lovely members have submitted for consideration. I will be giving them all a number and please vote for the ones you like in the poll. You can vote for as many as you want. The poll will be open until June 1st at noon, so you have some time to get your votes in.

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10 hours ago, nullmoon said:

My ex and I spent some time on Tinder...together. Just shows how well we get on even after the relationship! XD 

 

I have 0 matches since yesterday. 

 

She got 4 in around 30 minutes tonight. 

 

I feel like a troll. 

Please don't be discouraged. @Disposable is right, but there's something to be said about the dynamics of online dating to begin with. Studies have shown more men use online dating then women. The divide is so big that some sites (like Ashley Madison) had to create bots and have employees pretend to be female so that male users would continue to frequent the site! Tinder must be similar. Your observation proves it. She may get 4 matches in 30 minutes but they're probably not quality matches. Focus on you and standing out and I promise something will work out

Here's a link on the Ashley Madison thing I'm talking about: https://gizmodo.com/disgraced-cheating-site-ashley-madison-claims-it-has-mi-1795436093

51 minutes ago, geist said:

A live report that's 12 paragraphs long and only spends 6 paragraphs on the show. You know you're attending a VK show when food and the pre-show line antics make up a bulk of the review.

Something that surprised me about the concert is that it is a lot shorter than I expected. 90 minutes is a generous estimate. I was expecting a 2 hour show honestly. It isn't a stretch to say that those fans who came dressed to slay spent more time on their outfit than they did in the concert hall. I probably spent equal amounts of time in the theater and outside of the theater on line.

1 hour ago, madygrain said:

Bet is she ain't going back

She might. Nao, drummer from maximum the hormone, had a kid. She took a (very long) pause from band activities but then eventually MTH came back together. The real question is will the rest of Aldious wait for Toki, find a temp guitarist and continue activities, or fill her position?

 

Setlist:

1. 99.999

2. Falling

3. Ninth Odd Smell

4. Gush

5. Vortex

6. Venomous Spider's Web
-SE-

7. The Mortal

8. その声は脆く

9. DOGMA

-SE-

10. The Suicide Circus

11. Incubus

12. UGLY

13. Two Of a Kind

14. Filth in the Beauty

Encore:

15. INSIDE BEAST

16. COCKROACH

17. TOMORROW NEVER DIES

 

I'm in need of facial reconstructive surgery after this experience, because my jaw was on the floor the entire time.

I have been waiting for years for the GazettE to visit North America on their World Tour. Last time that I remember making plans to go, the band had elected to skip North America, and then the time after that I had prior commitments and couldn't make the show. I was hellbent on making sure I attended this one, and I made sure to bring my friend Jet with me. We were listening to the GazettE in high school during the peak of visual kei, so he's that one friend I can talk to J-Rock about in real life. He's been waiting for this experience as long as I have.

After smashing plates of chicken katsu, bulgogi, and rice, and braving our way across town through weather that threatened to pour (but didn't), the two of us arrived at Playstation Theater and was overwhelmed with the disorganization. There were a lot of fans, many lines for various purposes, and no signs to shepherd people into their place. @YuyoDrift, having bought a VIP ticket, was already in the thick of it by the time that I had arrived, and I was unable to find him. After asking around, we discovered that the line we wanted to be on was down the block and around the corner, and that line itself stretched down the block and around another corner. Organization was easily the weak point of this concert, since it seemed like the staff of the theater hadn't planned on so many people showing up. Joke's on you guys; when a visual kei band shows up in America the scene rolls out!

@YuyoDrift had reported some issues and drama near the front of the line concerning miscommunication between VIP members and heresy fan club members on who got to enter first, but all I can talk about was how the other half of the line was progressively pushed back further and further until we were about a block and a half away. While I was in line, no less than five groups of people came up to me to ask why we were all standing here. One of them offered to sell me weed and some papers. None of them knew who the GazettE were, but a couple seemed more than interested in the colorful garments of some of the more hardcore fans in line.

I need to take a moment to discuss the people that showed up. What a generational gap! There were easily 800 to 1000 people between all of the lines, and this is just what I saw. The youngest fan I saw on line was 12 or 13. The oldest fan I saw on line was in their 40s, and that person didn't look like they were escorting a relative. Some of the older people on line most definitely were parents. The most common age range was actually 18-25. There were people dressed relatively normally like myself, possibly sporting a band shirt or hoodie from a previous tour. There were some scene and emo kids wearing dark pastels and heavy make up. There were some fans who came in sporting colored hair and face paint, really pulling off the visual kei look. The most striking outfit I saw was a man in his 30s wearing a studded vest where the studs were easily several inches long, who came along with an equally as colorful entourage that could have been easily mistaken for Naruto cosplay. The stereotype about the average visual kei fan was thus dispelled and confirmed simultaneously, and I now have a deeper appreciation for just how many different types of fans there are.

I was stuck in line for an agonizingly long time listening to the people around me front their knowledge of the band, which was honestly rather painful. One person claimed that the GazettE formed five years ago, to which Jet and I exchanged glances and laughed really hard. We both were listening to the GazettE ten years ago, so clearly they were mistaken. Another person had asked when the band had actually formed, and it took them several minutes to find out it was 2002. Someone behind me in line claimed that the GazettE were K-Pop. I tried not to talk to many people in line because of this, but when you're outside for 90 minutes it eventually happens. I didn't meet anyone too outrageous and after a long time the line suddenly lurched forward and began feeding into the theater. The doors had opened.
 

Jet and I breezed through security, popped in our earplugs, and made our way downstairs to the venue. The line for merchandise was gigantic by the time we got there, and both of us made the decision to get good seats rather than stand in line. That turned out to be the wise move, because most of the merchandise was gone before the show even began, but not before both of us got a shirt later that night. There was a few cool shirts and hoodies that they ran out of before the show even began. Never underestimate the deep pockets of devoted fans. We were standing towards the middle of the floor at first, but we eventually decided to grab some seats shortly before the show began because we had already been standing for hours by that point. That was also a great idea, because parts of the crowd got really wild and it would have been hard to see over four rows of jumping and screaming fans. The earplugs were also a good move, because this concert was really loud. Limiting the sound to a max of 80 decibels spared my hearing a gory torture session and I was more clearly able to make out the instruments. 

 

Eventually the lights went dim and the crowd went insane as "99.999" started playing and the band members walked out to front stage. They played the first four cuts off of NINTH before the first pause, and I gotta say that hearing it live has made me enjoy these songs even more. I have a new appreciation for Reita and just how much his bass adds to the music. Heavy isn't the word for it; the bass itself sinks into the floor and pounds into your chest. He swapped bass a few times over the course of the concert as well, always slightly changing the feel of his bass depending on what songs were coming up next. "VORTEX" is the first curve ball that the GazettE threw the crowd, and then that was followed up with "Venomous Spider's Web", and I think both songs sound way better live than on the record. They fit naturally into the set and shows how much NINTH is a refinement over TOXIC. I wasn't expecting them to reach that far back. 

One of the standout moments of the show was definitely the combination of "The Mortal" and "その声は脆く". The first cut in really heavy after a second, shorter break and the first live-only interlude, which got the crowd really energized.  "その声は脆く" stole the show. This was the first proper ballad of the show, and the contrast on the guitars really changed the atmosphere of the venue for those few minutes. Ruki went all out on the performance here, adding some emotional screams to the end which made this a treat to experience. This entire show was recorded, so I'm really hoping that this exact performance of  "その声は脆く" ends up on the DVD. It needs to.

After that song was done, the lights fade and sound effects wash over the audience again before the opening riff to "DOGMA" began, and it's at this point where the crowd goes ballistic. No one was expecting this. The energy was insane, but this is one of those songs that I think sounds better in the studio than live. That's not to take away from the performance of this song, which was incredibly stellar, but more to comment on just how dense of a song "DOGMA" is. There was a bit of aural whiplash as the band transitioned into a live-only SE followed by "The Suicide Circus" next, but that set the tone for where the rest of the night was headed. Ruki addresses the crowd briefly before "Incubus" kicks in, followed up quickly by "UGLY". "UGLY" was absolutely dominant and by the end of the song the whole crowd was clapping together as the next song immediately kicked in. "Two of a Kind" was also a really powerful and driving song live, if a bit abbreviated. They went from one song to the next without enough time for the cheering to subside. I think Reita makes one more bass switch before this all begins as well. No matter what, the GazettE made sure those in the front were having the absolute time of their lives.

Ninety minutes had passed in a flash, and all too soon Ruki announced that they were playing their last song before cracking a small smile. The opening licks and background vocals of "Filth in the beauty" start up and then the crowd cheers harder than ever, and then Ruki's smile gets even bigger before he begins singing. This was the second curve ball we were thrown, and I'm really glad I got to hear one of their classics live. At this point, I looked to Jet who was already looking back at me, and he just shot me a huge thumbs up. "Filth in the beauty" was the song that got him into the band, so to end on that note was extra special for us.

The band took a ten minute break at this point and we got merchandise while the crowd was chanting for an encore. We went separately but got the same shirt for $35 (gotta support the boys) and Jet came back just in time for Kai to come back out. He picks up the mic for the first time, entertains the crowd as the rest of the band comes back, and gives the mic to Ruki for a few more words, some "I LOVE NEW YORK!!!", and then the beginning of "INSIDE BEAST" begins. At this point, we were glad they came back out at all and figured that we had one or two more songs left before the true end of the show, but I was seriously not expecting to get "COCKROACH" during the encore. This was the song that separated the old fans from the new fans, because the old fans were over the moon for getting such a throw back, and the new fans looked a bit confused over what song it was, but didn't really care because it banged so hard. This was the oldest song we got all night, and it was equally as compelling live as it is in the studio. I hope future tour dates get a crack at hearing "COCKROACH" live too. The show ended with "TOMORROW NEVER DIES", which was okay I guess, but I would have preferred "Unfinished". 

All good things must come to an end, but in this case that end was also good. All members of the band retired from the stage rather quickly; Kai took a picture with the crowd before departing too. Both of us had a train to catch, so we slipped out fast as hell after the show ended, but I heard afterwards there was a meet and greet for VIP. I wasn't on that line, so I can't report much on that. Considering how we've missed some bands that we'll never get to see live and how infrequently the GazettE are in town, Jet and I are both glad we went. We'll definitely be in line for the next visual kei concert to hit New York. If you're on the fence about buying tickets to go see the band, I would say go. If you have even a passing interest in visual kei, seeing one of the biggest visual kei bands of all time live is something words can only partially describe. If you really like the GazettE, you owe it to yourself to go.

Just keep in mind that they're going to be playing mostly their new material, so don't hold your breath expecting old classics like "Katherine in the trunk" or "Crucify Sorrow" to show up.

2 hours ago, Aferni said:

They have a first album though, it's IDEALOGICAL SUICIDE.

How did I not know this?

On 5/10/2019 at 6:38 PM, Aferni said:

Out of all the bands I see get hard on's over, llll-Ligro- has not received the notoriety that I believe they deserve simply for their unique sound. Hinata and Kazari composed the fuck out of their music , it was a shame that no one praises them as much as other unoriginal, uninspired, generic ass bands. like for example Verxina (I like them too okay so don't get too offended) announces an album and everyone flips their shit, llll-Ligro- announced Tomurai and people were like, oh..okay. Which in turn would've turned out way better than Kyouten. 

 

 

 

 

I was going to cover this in a separate post later, but I think the reason why no one cares about IIII-Ligro- is because Tomurai was never released. They were good, but as a jaded and seasoned fan I wait until a band's first album before I start activating the hype thrusters. IIII-Ligro- ended activities just as things were getting good.

29 minutes ago, YuyoDrift said:

This is where the simple answer can be interpreted into a very complicated version of devils advocate for me haha. 

Start to what? I really don't feel like making a sit session where I get rid of friends I don't associate myself with anymore to then keep around friends that I still don't take the time of day to contact because I don't use the platform hehe, but then again, having a small group to actually be able to connect with and appreciate more is tempting as a sort of renewal/revival of my social life.....

Really, if I have your number on my phone and/or you are contacted at least for conversation once and a while, then you can be considered for my Facebook friend list.

That could be like 20 people lol but even then I could just text or call you, why go to another application to then do the same fucking thing?

Plus, I might piss some people off when they find out they are removed. I could elaborate and give my take on why I did it but really deep down idgaf and they need to move the fuck on with this fucking tantrum about how close you thought we were. If you must stay in contact with me (even though you never made a fucking attempt to do so on the site or anywhere else), then just ask for my number god damn why the fucking drama?

 

ehhhhhh I'm good. Easier just to make another account lol.

 

 That is six degrees of overthinking it!

 

I started by pulling up my entire friends list and going down. I made several passes over it and it was pretty fast. I got rid of obvious annoyances that are always angry or upset or lashing out at groups of people. Drama queena too. Culled a few inactive accounts, then did a second pass and removed people i haven't talked to in years. People who were the barest of acquaintances when they were in my life. People i would not miss. I had no target number in mind. I just went over the list asking if each person added value to my life. Some people add value in different ways, and the amount of people i was on the fence about was less than expected.

 

With the way the site works, you dont see things that it thinks you dont want to see. The algorithms put people in a bubble and shapes their worldview. If they have over 150 friends and don't interact with you at all, they probably won't notice you are gone, especially if you are like me and rarely make statuses. I've deleted hundreds of people over my various purges, and only 3 ever noticed and added me back. And it took them so long to notice, they assumed it was a new account or that we were never connected to begin with.

 

 

1 hour ago, YuyoDrift said:

Ugh man I envy you. This is courage ladies and gentlemen haha.

 

 

It's actually really easy once you start.

i may or may not have deleted half my facebook friend list in a frenzy of mania