Spectralion

Day 25: 鵺-chimera- by ギルガメッシュ (girugamesh)

 
Release Date: 2016-01-20
Label: Danger Crue Records
Genre: Visual Kei/Metal
 
 
Impressions from @doombox:
 
 
Impressions from @togz:
 
 
Impressions from @ShanethVarosa:
 
 
 
Impressions from @emmny:
 
 
Impressions from @Ito:
 
 
Sample song:
 
 
Buy the album:
CD Japan | iTunes | Spotify | Amazon

Putting girugamesh on this list? Man, Girugamesh Guy approves!

Never before have I been this boring with music for a twelve month period. My listening habit only started picking up steam in late November, so I'm hopelessly unaware of most things that have been going on in 2016. There's an exception though, and that's vk. I reckon I've at least sampled a lot of the releases that have come about here, and with that I can - by being liberal with the end of the year format - do a writeup of sorts on 2016 on my vk. Behold how amusical I am that this is all I got:
 
Album of the year - DIAVOLO by The Gallo
 
There's something to be said about these vk bands that are like the erect stamen of a flower dry heaving under the weight of a sojourning bee, ready to burst its ovula into bice mercurial goo of junkers flying overhead the dark big city alleys where starved street urchins are turning tricks for wartime sustenance. They started out with a rather basic and limited arsenal, but ever since their virtuosity started to gradually increase Jojo has become a madman and the frantic riffing is not behind. With the gimmick comes inevitable, although a completely harmless, comparison with Merry and think what thou wilt, unlike them, The Gallo hasn't domesticated their sound one bit and keeps going toward the extremes all their predecessors long abandoned. 
 
Fabulous concept, savage lyrics and unhindered by a lot of the things that hurt their other contemporaries, namely a lack of musicianship and the opportunity to conceptually flesh out their releases due to label obligation or otherwise. 
 
EP of the year - 絶叫！by Pentagon and 不完全な音楽 by Chanty
 
Pentagon has really hit their stride after managing to figure out their concept after the, in my opinion, disastrous first album. The singles boy waltz and Jesus Phobia were great, yet the second album as a whole was exhausting almost to the point of occasionally being trite, but this rules. I think the obnoxiously flashy juxtaposition of hirokicore and metalcore is found nowhere else with such a schmaltzy grace about it. 
 
Chanty was just pretty good. Idk. I really like them despite not being able to put my finger on why it is so.
 
Compilation of the year - End of Corruption World by Rin and 六道輪廻 by Avelcain
 
Among the ranks of unfortunate disbandments this year, my boi kisaki's was the most heartrending. With Sui and Mizari in the fold I was sold immediately after the first single they put out. It also helps that I'm completely partial to Sui's voice and rather dislike Riku's; and speaking of schmaltz, the former just floors me multiple times throughout. Persecution Complex causes me to bite the side of my cheek and the remakes of Silent To My Pain and Psalms and Lamentations rule. 
 
Avelcain got kind of shit by 2016. The last single undisputably the most tired excuse for a release all year with the PV close in tow for its respective dishonors. That however doesn't affect the savagery of the early output. The intention shines through the murky layers of poor musicianship and flaccid nu metal riffing, the spirit uplifts Karma's performance and lets it soar. These were at one point the most miserable men in visual kei, and this three disc collection will serve as an interesting footnote in the genre's history. Anyone who's not into Karma's shtick should consider not listening to visual kei in the first place. Finish that business school to feed your ugly kids while your sexually dissatisfied wife has to work double shifts to pay for the lies of her therapist. The real vk connoisseurs will hail to the true intense vampires in the meantime. We miss you Karma
 
Fav singles runs - Everything Mejibray and DADAROMA put out
 
My absolute favorites of the scene are always really boring. My two favorite vk albums are by Kuroyume, my favorite bands list is like a VK primer and my favs of today are never anything left field nor particularly exciting. No casettes, no live dists, no nuffin. My taste in visual kei just happens to always be in tune with the zeitgeist; I go weak in the knees for cute boys, metalcore riffs and the kind of melodramatic choruses all these bands have these days. Mejibray and Dadaroma are in my opinion the brutal kei™ top tier at this juncture. Mejibray is of a rougher sort than the ultra polished DADAROMA, but what they have in common is personality, profile and a distinct sound. While I agree that the DADAROMA LP was a disappointing glorified best-of and Mejibray's B-sides are kind of shite, that stuff just doesn't really matter to me. These bands live and die by the purity of their character, the vibes I get from them intuitively. They register into my consciousness as a big deal, and who am I to argue with myself DUH. Mejibray and DADAROMA check my 2010's vk boxes.
 
Other stuff I liked from this year
 
Anfiel's singles were on point. Fabulous A-sides with the B-sides to match
Codomo Dragon released a solid album that's more of the same, and that's what I enjoy. Won't make any converts. 
Kuroyuri to Kage's EP was good. Like Codomo Dragon it's more of the same, but with Kuroyuri to kage there's an even bigger risk that their novelty will wear thin. So far it hasn't.
Everything DEZERT put out was decent. I'm getting bad vibes. This band is going to start sucking soon.
God and the death stars put out an EP that was good
Sukekiyo had a single that was good
 
 
 

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.

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.

Day 22: アトム 未来派 No.9 (Atom miraiha No.9)  by BUCK-TICK

 
Release Date: 2016-09-28
Label: Victor
Genre: Visual Kei/Industrial
 
 
Impressions from @doombox:
 
 
Impressions from @Zeus:
 
 
Impressions from @ShanethVarosa:
 
Sample song:
 
Buy the album:
CD Japan | Amazon

Day 13: 不完全な音楽 (Fukanzen na ongaku) by chanty

 
Release Date: 2016-09-14
Label: Manpaku Records
Genre: Visual Kei/Indie Rock
 
 
Impressions from @emmny:
 
 
 
Impressions from @tetsu_sama69:
 
 
 
Impressions from @fitear1590:
 
 
 
Sample song:
 
Buy the album:
CD Japan

Day 15: S.I.V.A.  by Royz 

 
Release Date: 2016-04-06
Label: B.P.RECORDS
Genre: Visaul Kei
 
 
Impressions from @ShanethVarosa:
 
 
Impressions from @tetsu_sama69:
 
 
Impressions from @Seimeisen:
 
Sample song:
 
Buy the album:
CD Japan | iTunes | Amazon

* At least 1 of either Ryo's or Aie's current projects will bite the dust
* New Merry album
* New Metronome material
* DEZERT goes major [2] OR goes on hiatus/disbands
* X Japan album drops but it's just old songs but with English lyrics & 2 new piano SEs
* 1 or 2 new bands formed by Tenten, fold before the year ends
* One of the Ains bands disbands
* Kisaki """retires""" again
* Some literally who band nobody asked for makes a comeback
* Some literally who band nobody asked for goes to Europe
* At least one long lasting, well-established band will call it quits
* New Maximum the Hormone material
* New Dir en grey material
* Mana and Gackt get married
* Yayoi found dead in Miami

MUCC in mid 00's was terrifying. Sometimes I felt they had a new single like every week.

We all know that VK bands breed releases like rabbits, so I've been trying to gauge out which bands are the worst serial offenders in coming out with new material and did some number crunching on some of the bands with the most extensive discographies (excluding remixes, remasters, karaoke/instrumental and re-recordings)
 
So far I haven't been able to find a band that even comes close to being as prolific as mejibray with so much material in such short time, not even ains bands.
 
Except maybe Grieva.
 
MEJIBRAY
years: 5.5 years
unique songs: ≳102
time it takes to listen: 6.7 hours
productivity rate: 19 songs per year - almost 2 full albums every year. seriously how
 
GRIEVA
years: 4.5 years
unique songs: ≳76-86 (too many SEs)
time it takes to listen: 4.7 hours
productivity rate: 18 songs per year
 
DIAURA
years: 6 years
unique songs: ≳97
time it takes to listen: 6.5 hours
productivity rate: 16 songs per year / 1 album + single per year / 1 EP every 4 months
 
Lycaon
years: 7.5 years
unique songs: ≳100
time it takes to listen: 5.8 hours
productivity rate: 13 songs / 1 album per year
 
KIRYU
years: 9 years
unique songs: ≳113
time it takes to listen: 7.3 hours
productivity rate: 12 songs / 1 album per year
 
DEZERT
years: 5 years
unique songs: ≳60
time it takes to listen: 3.5 hours
productivity rate: 12 songs / 1 album per year
 
girugamesh
years: 12
unique songs: ≳130
time it takes to listen: 7.8 hours
productivity rate: 11 songs / 1 album per year
 
AWOI
years: 9.5 years
unique songs: ≳85
time it takes to listen: 5.7 hours
productivity rate: 9 songs / 1 album + 1 EP every alternating year
 
list is short because filtering out duplicates is hard.
 
It would also be interesting to see how well some of the longer-tenured bands do on this list.

Jasmine You Found Alive at Business Meeting in Dubai

I used to do this a lot: tell someone to listen to a song without any visuals and then get their impression of the music. It worked all the time with my brother, regardless of the fact that neither of us could understand what was being said. If lyrics are a big issue for people listening to music, then I don't think they care that much about the music.

i want finland and sweden to permanently ban visual kei forever

Day 1: psycho:lens. by …。【サイレンス】(Silence)

 
Release Date: 2016-04-22
Label: Independent
Genre: Visual Kei
 
Impressions from @Ito:
 
 
Impressions from @emmny:
 
 
Sample song:

Buy the Album:
CDJapan | Amazon Japan

「解散 」

Driving home from work and talking about the ambitious new mini-album from VK upstarts Insanity Injection.
 
Let me know what you think! I don't think everyone will like this mini, but I do think everyone should give it a listen.

2017, STAPH! 

臓器のノゾキ穴。(Zouki no nozokiana)


Track list:
01.チョコレート階段(Chocolate kaidan)
02.「洗脳」(Sennou)
03.液状部屋 (Ekijou heya)
04.絶倫フルコース (Zetsurin full course)
05.「腐乱腐乱」 (Furanfuran)
06.すてきな唄。 (Suteki na uta)
 
吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu)


01. 吐瀉物 (Toshabutsu)
02. 「便所2」 (benjo2)
 
The great part of being a visual fan is all the unpredictable wackiness that happens behind the scenes. I don't think anyone would have predicted that one of the best visual albums of 2015 would have come from a band that had only a demo-tape before their full album release. This band burst onto the scene with a foul sound: even among their contemporaries who borrow from the early 2000's visual-kei sound, Kuroyuri to Kage were different. Their songs moved along with a hauntingly heavy feel, more akin to the sounds of sludge-metal than the hyper-sanitized metalcore/djent hybrids currently reigning the scene. It was especially wild considering this was the new band of Memento-Mori, a band with a heavy japoneseque leaning. Their image was as dark as their doomy sound, led by the particularly enigmatic and freaky vocalist Karasuna Mei. Themes of perversion, darkness, rape, murder and anything else you wouldn't ever want to see unless it was in a horror movie make up the lyrical themes and concepts of their releases. A period of long inactivity towards the later half of 2015 had stans suspicious, so the news that they'd be dropped from AINS and losing two founding members to retirement wasn't all that big of a shock. That said, they chose to continue independently* on their own label Yamikakumei with a four member lineup, recruiting a support drummer. What did the future hold for a once very promising band on one of the best labels in the scene?
 
Kuroyuri to kage return from flopsville after some label drama and losing two original members, releasing Zouki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu in 2016, slaying our existence. What could have been a recipe for disaster has been whipped into a yummy two course meal by the master chefs behind KTK, albeit made of human flesh and blood. Dinner is the mini-album Zouki no nozokiana, the band's second mini album and first formal release after the departure of guitarist Koyomi and drummer Mutsuki, released on the 10th of August, 2016. Dessert is Toshabutsu, the band's second single, released on the 2nd of November. So without further ado ladies and gentlemen, let's say grace and sink our filthy forks into this!
 
These releases are similar enough stylistically to fall under one review, they could have been recorded in the same sessions—that said, Kuroyuri are quite consistent with their sound. Make no mistake, this is the same band from 2015 for the most part, the differences from their prior output are quite fine, but still prominent. The most notable difference is the more direct sound: all the tracks here follow the same mid-tempo crawl Kuroyuri have been known for, shedding the ballads and faster songs from their debut. The blast beats are entirely gone, and so are the eerie music box ballads. The single guitar setup has pushed more of an emphasis on electronics and less on lead guitar parts, the surprising old-school solos Koyomi whipped up in the past are noticeably absent. To compensate for the missing guitar, along with the newly added bleepbloops, the bass is turned up to 11—and I mean it. The bass pummels like no one's business. I haven't heard basslines this obnoxious since like...ever. The way the bass is mixed is also fascinating, on the surface it's just a lot of clacking, trembly bass work. The magic comes when you crank the volume up; the low end is massive, almost like a subwoofer was dubbed over the bassline. The bass and guitar almost occupy the same amount of space in the mix, so you will hear every bass hit and every note K plays. The end result is a more pummeling sound, less Kagerou and more Slipknot or Korn. It's all less dynamic than their first two releases, which is a bit of a loss for me, but it's an interesting way Kuroyuri have chosen to advance their sound and adapt to the member changes.
 
Onto the individual releases, Nozoki... is a 6 track mini, half featured in the prior mail-order/live-limited singleうろんなチョコ冷凍。(Uronna Choko Reitou.) from April 2016. “Chocolate kaidan”, “Zetsurin full course” and “Suteki na uta” are all remastered from their original demos, sounding noticeably sharper and less lo-fi, while the rest are new tracks. That said, the production job on the mini is far from perfect, it's rather obnoxiously clipped. “Chocolate kaidan” isn't too notable a track but serves as a solid into for the rest of the album. Tt follows from Kuroyuri's original formula of clean, reverb-y guitar parts paired up with a heavy chorus and clean vocals, originally featured to brilliant effect in “Yokusou”. “Sennou” takes no prisoners, melding djent-y riffage (!!) with an alt-metal crawl, dubstep breakdown (??) and insane vocals. The subtle shifting of the track's rhythm and Mei's contrasting vocals make it an album highlight and totally addictive. “Ekijouheya” isn't as interesting as the rest, but is notable for the wild Korn-esque scat vocal breakdown and amazing slap bass solo in the middle. The new emphasis on electronics/manipulation is on full display here, as the buzzy synth duels against the guitar and bass in the verses. “Zetsubou full course” features some disturbing child choir echoing Mei's vocals in the intro and chorus, and is home to the sole guitar solo on the album. The track overstays its welcome at just over five minutes long, but it is one hell of a freaky track. My favourite track, “Furanfuran” follows right after, opening with a barrage of alt-metal riffage and slap bass all while Mei goes insane in the back. I'd like to think this is a really fun live song, as the rhythm goes perfectly with moshing furitsuke, or choreography. The track builds in its noisiness while Mei goes back and forth between a hypnotic vocal melody and utter madness, all before coming to a pretty end. “Suteki na uta” is more or less a different variation of all the flavours already offered on the prior tracks.
 
Toshabutsu is where shit hits the fan (harharhar), by way of the title track; the best song Kuroyuri to Kage have released since “Yokusou”. The track opens up with trippy, oddly manipulated and dissonant chords (Inquisition, anyone?) backing the usual alt-metal crawl. It segways into the typical effects-laden clean guitar+bass passages Kuroyuri have basically trademarked at this point. The tension mounts with some operatic vocals, all before melting back into the same intro passage while Mei delivers the chorus. It's an odd chorus in that it's long and not all that catchy, but the way the guitars drop and Mei comes in with the lyrical delivery is so fucking addictive. Listen to this on blast and I guarantee you'll be slow headbanging like a maniac. This is so, so heavy in a way only Kuroyuri can do. Also notable is how Mei sticks to mostly clean vocals throughout the song, but ends up heavy enough to demolish your head. “Benjo2” is the b-side for “Toshabutsu”, and it sounds nothing like the original “Benjo”; rather serving as the manic release for “Toshabutsu”'s composed heaviness.
 
These releases aren't enough to convert Kuroyuri naysayers, but definitely warrant a listen from people who might have written them off in the past. In that same length, Nozoki... and Toshabutsu are stripped down enough to possibly alienate old fans who might not like their new, meatier sound. That said, if you're tired of the mass spawning of Deluhi clones, try-hard deathcore bands and oshare kei, and you reminisce about the days when MUCC were actually heavy and when Slipknot and Korn ruled MTV, then give this a listen. Dinner and dessert were delicious today, thanks for joining in on today's feast. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to the wipe the blood off the corners of my mouth and get to cleaning up this mess. I think i'll need more bleach. Until next time.
 
Both Nozoki no nozokiana and Toshabutsu are available for sale at CD Japan here and here respectively.
 
8/10
 
*the question remains as to whether they were actually dropped by AINS or whether something else is going on behind the scenes that we don't know; so for the intents and purposes of this review assume they're independent

Consider it a sister thread to the oshare kei one. I think this is a delightful dualism to make, and I am all about that vkei history anyway so I'll take any excuse to make another one of these. 
 
The adoption of the nu metal riff and attitude into visual kei's musical framework happened just when the scene changed forever with the implosion of the old labels and bands. In the usual visual kei fashion we were late to the party just about a good five years too. It snuck itself in slowly, making cursory appearances at such places as MUCC's Antique from 1999, Kagerou's Biological Slicer from 2000, Aliene Mariage's farewell album 21st Century from 2001 and probably in retrospect most importantly, Dir en grey's Six Ugly from 2002. By the year 2006 ( which saw the release of both eight's ILLATIONAL and Girugamesh' 13's Reborn ) the nu metal riff had fundamentally transformed the landscape of visual kei. Below are some examples of the development that took place.
 
Before I get to that though, I have to say that there's not many scenes that can even begin to rival the longevity that visual kei bands, venues and its marketplace have enjoyed throughout its history. Still living both in the underground and occasionally even willing to take the L of performing at a half empty Budoukan, it ceases to amaze the spectators that stumble upon it; all the while all the goths of the bat caves, punks of 77' and dadrockers of the whatever, live out their legacies either through grandfathers or hack retro acts that suck by default. Granted it doesn't look the same, but indeed the willingness of its adherents to assimilate new currents have kept the hangman at bay and those nails off its coffin at least for now, which has allowed visual kei to remain a relatively recognisable brand for just about a few years short of three decades. 
 
This thread while also about the seminal bands that managed to break through, is just like its oshare counterpart moreso dedicated to honor and celebrate those little bands that everyone other than south american blogspots from 2007 forgot. If you were that angry young man in your mid teens back in 2008 you ought to know this stuff by heart
 
 
If anyone can name an earlier instance of a just straight up nu metal riff I'd appreciate it greatly. Early Mucc is of course classic vkei and Tatsurou puts in just a canonical performance as the narrator of desperate hearts. Their nu metal sound would get thicker and thicker up until 2004, when they went literally out the deep end, supposedly almost disbanding by the sheer weight of the recording process. My preference however remains the very earliest releases up to 2002.
 
 
From the band that made one of the best visual kei albums of all time comes a ripoff  of "Eyeless" by Slipknot - that's the sound of Aliene imploding into disbandment. While I think it's undeniably shit especially considering merits of their career up to that point, they lowkey took part in pioneering the nu metal sound in visual kei. Keep in mind that at the time of this recording Slipknot's s/t wasn't that old, and it is a sound that vk bands would keep on ripping off for almost a decade afterwards. Another thing of note was that the vocalist Kyoka also ditched the frilly dresses and adopted the nu metal fashion! While his sins are numerous, this has to be his worst offense. Either way an important document for visual kei's metamorphosis.
 
 
If the disease had only previously been a cough, after Dir en grey got through with it the scene quickly became hospitalised by it. They would continue riding roughshod over the genre until 2008's Uroboros where they'd go on to do more of the scene's pioneering work. Say what you will about them, they've continued to stay relevant through all these years and I think it's only very recently that the scene has stopped riding their coattails as much as it has. 
 
I'll keep it at that, though rest assured there's certainly numerous other examples of the early usage of the nu metal riff from around 99 to 2002 of varying importance in the canon.
 
Early Girugamesh is what most people have their fondest memories of, and everything up to 13's Reborn is as good as gold as far nu kei is concerned. Their suit wearing while certainly not the first time it had happen in vkei, it was probably the context in which girugamesh presented it that made all the difference for the future: the blackclad angryman playing just nu metal influenced visual kei. Oddly enough I despised Girugamesh as a child EVEN THOUGH THEY SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME AS ALL THESE OTHER BANDS and it took me deep into adulthood that I finally warmed up to them at all. 
 
Unsraw was my Girugamesh in a sense that they were the filthiest band I knew in my seminal vk years. Hearing Unsraw sent me on a quest of finding the most rad nu metal vk band out there, and more often than not it just led me to the disappointments that contributed to the failure I am today. Yuuki's vocals made a huge impression on me and it was ever the more bitter pill to swallow that they got very boring very quick. Their Core the Child hits being contemporary with Girugamesh' early ouvre, they can also be considered of relative importance. 
 
This is what this thread is about. Look at those clothes, that breakdown from 2.10 that lasts for an eternity and Since1889 was in general just the quintessential nukei vk band. So bad it's good.
 
 
Despite this band having just about eek'd past the 2010 limit, they deserve mention being one of those final bands at the tail end of this fad. The look is still very much 00's and not the glitz of the 10's, and more or less free of the soon scene dominating metalcore riff. Glorious vocals as well.
 
There's a million of these bands, AND THEY'RE ALL GREAT. Post favs, early specimens in the scene, anything that fits within the parameters.

caught redhanded grabbing a mitsu by the puss in ni-chome