Spectralion

Jupiter new instrumental CD "THE HISTORY OF GENESIS-Instrumental ver.-" will be released through their official web-shop and at their live since their one-man live "Temple of Venus FINAL" at Shinjuku ReNY at 2015/04/29 (2,160yen)
 
[track list]
01.The Birth of Venus
02.LAST MOMENT
03.Darkness
04.B.L.A.S.T
05.THE MOON
06.氷の中の少女(koori no naka no shoujo)
07.Church Candle
08.Red Carnation
09.絶望ラビリンス(zetsubou labyrinth)
10.Shining
11.ARCADIA
12.Luminous
13.The History of Genesis
14.SACRED ALTAR

I've always loved them because of Jin's harsh and raw vocals. I can't really suggest something completely set in stone because I have no favourites and I usually prefer the least favoured materials in general (example = my most liked tracks from them is the ballads). I'd say check out their PV 'muddy cult.' (see spoiler~) It's where I started, iirc. Not that screamo but also not that pretty (in every sense x'D). Oh yeah, I also favour 'VANITAS' over their first album, 'GRAVE OF THE SACRIFICE' so there's another thing why my suggestions should go unnoticed. ='D
 

So yesterday was open registration and  and I managed to convince a few of you of how awesome virtual dragons are. Yay! So glad to have some fellow MH peeps to play draggins with. Figured I'd start a thread where we can converse about how badass our lairs are etc.
 
 
 
**6/13/15: I removed the majority of my typed up cheat-sheet under the spoiler tag due to it becoming mroe and more irrelevant as new things are released on the site. I left a few important things but please make sure to refer to many of the linked guides for assistance as they cover a lot of things more indepth than I can. Happy dragon times to everyone~.
 

 
 
 
 
Also gonna include some helpful forum threads ender and I have acquired over the past few months. Also, the Guides subset of the FR forum is great, go check it out.

New User guide ****SUPER IMPORTANT READ FIRST****
Coliseum guide #1 (This is my go to for leveling and stats for melee build!)
Coliseum guide #2 (similar to #1)
Coliseum guide #3 (offers details on two other coli builds)
BBCode guide for FR
Dragon size statistics
Color Predictor (if you plan on breeding dragons for specific colors/genes this is good to check ranges of possible offspring)
Lair Spreadsheet (a little time consuming when you have a large lair but good for keeping track of things!)
Food guide (many images are broken because of a recent forum change and hasn't been updated but still a good general guide)
Dragon size comparison (if you want a visual comparison of your dragons sizes, it's pretty amusing)
FR Nuzlocke Challenge
Hoard Autosell guide
Breeding stats card
Chest drop locations and contents
FR Abbreviation guide
Familiar Bonding guide
Elemental Flight Festivals and YOU! 
 
 
 
 
Hopefully this helps you wonderful new clans and any future clans that are created in future open registration periods! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I'm always willing to help. Also please let me know if any included links are broken and I'll make sure to fix the problem asap.

Artist: ユナイト (UNiTE.) Single: マーブル (marble) 1. マーブル (marble) 2. ステアーズ ステアーズ(stairs stairs) [Type S limited edition] 2. 汚染 (osen) [regular edition] 3. WONDER f∞l PEOPLE [regular edition]
Rating: | Another solid single to whet your appetite before the summer album

 
マーブル (marble) is the 7th single from your favorite VK experimenters in excessive, flowing fabric, UNiTE. Sana, the band’s fresh meat drummer, makes his compositional debut, penning both the title track and one of the b-sides. This is all just in time for the band’s 4th anniversary on March 29th!

So, how does Sana stack up? Well, he definitely sounds like he belongs! In fact, I wouldn't have a hard time believing that guitarist Shiina Mio had actually written “marble.” If there’s one difference, it’s that Sana blends the heaviness and signature twinkly pop-rock more seamlessly than Mio tends to do (who often deliberately writes songs in a softer or heavier style). Yui's vocals are as agile as ever, effortlessly gliding through gentle verses and powerful choruses. Meanwhile, chirpy guitar chords in the beginning of the verse later morph into the layered guitar wankery we’ve come to love from Mio and LiN. The background arrangements alternate between a balanced mix of piano, airy synths, and a distorted “wub-wub” here and there. All in all, a pretty damn good first effort!
“ステアーズ ステアーズ(stairs stairs)” is the second track from Sana. From the laid-back beachy sound, I initially thought it was by guitarist LiN, channeling his former band, LeMpicka?. The beat makes it like a toned down version of “アンテリナム(antirrhinum)” from their third album. The song has an enjoyable melody and a nice little guitar solo. Yui maintains his sweet vocals for the majority of the track, but occasionally hits some funky notes – another usual trademark of LiN compositions. While this is a pleasant little ditty, Sana doesn’t touch on much that LiN hasn’t done before.

Next up, we have Mio’s “汚染 (osen).” For a title meaning “contamination,” it might seem strange that the song begins with a music box lullaby. This soothing tune quickly disintegrates into atonal disarray, making way for some sinister chiptune bloops. A short dose of chuggy, albeit generic riffs, get a lot more creative around the :43 mark, before leading into the first verse. The best thing about this track is that melody was not sacrificed in the heaviness. Yui delivers an impressive, heartfelt performance, particularly in the final, extended chorus. The riffs throughout sound full-bodied, so it all makes for a satisfying listen. My main complaint is that the drums during the bridge sound a bit weak. While I don’t think this song reaches the top-tier likes of "失望エミュレイター (shitsubou emulator)” or “退廃レトリック (taihai rhetoric)," it’s one of their better “heavy” songs.

“WONDER f∞l PEOPLE” opens with a pumping, in-your-face beat, as Yui talk-raps his way through some bizarre Engrish (“POWER K LOOKS”) and does a roll call of the band members. I was preparing myself for a Kameleo-esque song where they all sing along. Thirty seconds in, the chorus sneaks up on you and it’s clean, poppy, and ecstatic. The whimsical synths give it a shibuya-kei flair. LiN’s lyrics continue to graces us with phrases like “YA SMELL ME? LACK OF ABILITY!” After the second chorus, the song pumps the brakes and gives a short taste of bossa nova relaxation, before quickly returning to the song’s almost gratingly hyper form. Like LiN’s other goofball tracks (“Cocky-discuS”), this might take 2 or 3 listens, before the humorous style sinks in. Nonetheless, I seem to be in the minority of MH’s UNiTE.-posse, because this is my least favorite on the single. It needed at least one more element (some kind of bridge or outro, for instance) to be more balanced. As it stands, it’s the single’s shortest track, but also the most repetitive.

Sana's joining the band last year has somehow ushered in higher production values (look at that shiny PV!) and generally more mature songwriting; while I still think the band sometimes plays it too safe in their “heavier” compositions (I’m looking at you “marble” and “osen” breakdowns), there is always enough variety on their releases to keep you interested. None of the four songs here sound remotely alike! I look forward to hearing Sana’s songwriting develop into his own, discernible style. Lucky for us, their 4th album UNiVERSE comes out this summer, so we don’t have long to wait for him to show us what else he’s got!

What did you think of the single?

Support the band!
Type S Limited Edition CD+DVD
Limited Edition CD (1 track)
Regular Edition CD

Artwork time!
Limited Edition A:

Limited Edition B:

Standard Edition:

This is my first review here, so please be kind XD I guess it also doesn’t hurt to confess at the outset that I’m writing from the perspective of an unabashedly passionate vistlip fan. So… fair warning for people looking for unbiased reviews.

I’ve been looping LAYOUT since its release and I think I’ve soaked in it enough to form a fairly stable opinion of it (around 30 repetitions). While I haven’t had the time to go around canvassing opinions from my friends, at this point I can say that I definitely like it more than CHRONUS, and maybe a little less than THEATER, which remains my favorite vistlip album (if only because that's their very first album, and it's special for the fact that there can always only be one "first" time). I still can't decide if I like ORDER MADE or LAYOUT more! But overall, LAYOUT is an extremely satisfying album. I apologize for not doing a track-by-track review; I’m terrible at that as I prefer to focus on the "emergent" qualities of the album instead of the nitty-gritty details. Maybe someone else will review the individual tracks below.

Structurally, the album’s track placement is impeccable. REM SLEEP, released previously as their promotional PV, wastes no time in pulling the listener immediately into the classic vistlip soundscape. For me this track operates as a prelude to the trio of songs constituting the nexus of the entire album (Idea - World is mine. - By the rain.) which consolidates the signature sound that will continue to reverberate through the rest of the album. Flanked by My second B-day. / Catastrophe on one side and ROACH / Good girl gone bed. on the other, the soft and seductive core of the album is shielded by these harder, more intense tracks (reminiscent of vistlip releases like GLOSTER) that textures the overall experience as one pulls away from the mellow central portion. Period and Jack (title tracks of their last 2 singles) have been deployed by the band as the album’s 2nd and 2nd last tracks, allowing the listener to begin and end the album on a comfortably familiar note without either track being unnecessarily obtrusive to the extent that they steal the show from the new songs. Finally, LAYOUT (the track) is the proverbial icing on the cake that provides a nice denouement and closure to the album.

It's a simple but elegant setup (I’m almost tempted to say 'layout' XD); because the mistake a lot of potentially good albums make is a lack of organization, as a result of which an album that boasts many interesting ideas ends up meandering nowhere in particular and fizzling out because you simply can't tell where it's leading you. With LAYOUT, the division of labor between the tracks is clear and everything fits perfectly into an integrated whole anchored by a strong conceptual scaffolding. It's nothing too complicated, but sometimes less is more. So while it isn't exactly a roller-coast ride of an album with its share of surprises and shocks, there's scarcely any place for the superfluous.

Tohya composed most of the songs in this album, except 4 songs which were written by Yuh. Track-wise, my favorite songs off the album are Idea, REM SLEEP, World is mine., By the rain. (roughly in descending order). I'm a sucker for pop-rock with a nice beat and groove, performative vocals, and evocative lyrics. Idea is sooo pretty I need to reserve special praise for it. An energetic song driven by its robust chorus (ohh I swear vistlip kills the vi-IV-I-V progression) and Tomo's hypnotic vocals sweeping effortlessly across the mid-high range, Idea belongs in the same category as vistlip songs like CHIMERA, inc., PERFECT CRIME, insofar as they all have the characteristic bittersweet sound which never fails to gives me goosebumps ._. I can't exactly describe it: these songs are upbeat, forward-looking, yet tinged ever so subtly by a shade of 重み [idk how to translate this word.. “heaviness”?] beneath the surface. Consequently the attentive listener gets a lingering sense of something more going on – an undertow, perhaps, that does just enough to keep the album from meekly collapsing into an unrestrained celebration of optimism.

(A digression: some time ago I saw someone asking a new band on Twitter whether their sound would be 明るい (“bright”) or 暗い (“dark”), and then I realize that’s such a painfully reductive way of conceptualizing a band’s sound, because any band worth their salt would surely have enough facets in their music to transcend that simple dichotomy.)

Finally:

I'm just really excited that vistlip always strives to break new ground, but keeps enough of what makes them unmistakably vistlip. It’s a tough balance to be had. Among bands who've managed to last more than 5 years some try too hard to expand their sound where, at some point, fans can't help but pause and question if this is the band that they used to like; and then there are others who go on surreptitiously recycling their old materials until fans are bored and eventually put off. Thankfully, with vistlip this hasn’t happened, and I’m quietly confident neither of these scenarios will happen as the band soldiers on towards their 10th anniversary.

I didn't intend to give a rating, but if I have to it'll be around 8.5-9 out of 10. I’m sure my review could have been better, although if it actually manages to pique the interest of casual vistlip listeners or people who haven’t tried vistlip then I’ve succeeded in what I'd set out to do

Now let’s hear what others have to say about this! What do you like / not like about LAYOUT?

UNiTE. announced today on their Nakano Sunplaza concert that their new album "UNiVERSE" will be released on this summer
 

Seconded about Blood Mood being the favorite in that album.

fyi im an irl lumberjack

Artist: DIV Album: SECRET Score: It's not a secret if everyone knows the good part!
I've been a strong supporter of DIV from their debut, as I was a fan of xTRiPx before that and wanted to see the departed members do well in their new project. The three year old band has made impressive strides debuting with Danger Crew Records, and releasing fairly strong singles every step of the way. DIV have a reputation for consistency, if anything.

SECRET has an overall darker mood that contrasts the previous album, ZERO ONE. The songs on ZERO ONE had an underlying bright feeling, maintaining a palpable optimism throughout them. Keeping true to its namesake, SECRET comes off restrained with an air of mystery. I don't find the turn to more metal derivative riffs and increase of harsh vocals do a good job of showcasing the band's strengths this time around, however. Chisa's monotone growls have always felt weak to me, especially within a scene that is increasingly incorporating influences from heavier genres. The instrumentation for the aggressive parts of SECRET's songs also feel a bit one dimensional and lackluster compared to the likes of "ASTERIOS" and "Teddy" from the previous album, which in and of itself is a major letdown.

Though I can't deny the album has a strong start with the stunning "アイノウタ" (Ai no Uta) and the new classic "SECRET NIGHT", which is right up there with DIV's fun and atmospheric early work, it's not enough. Another problem with this release is that DIV relied far too much on previously released singles to carry the album. It's hard to get excited about an album full of songs you've already heard, doubly so when they're the best on the entire release! Spanning the gamut from fist-pumping head-bangers to sparkling ballads, songs "BUTTERFLY DREAMER", "JUSTICE", "漂流彼女" (Hyouryuu Kanojo), and "TASTE OF LIFE" remain as memorable and beautiful as when they were first released. Regardless of being new or old, all are indicative of the sound that DIV has made their staple, and what they still do better than most other visual bands at the moment.

So it's no SECRET by this point that it's the new, filler tracks which drag this album down. I had to listen four or five times to actually form an opinion on the three songs sandwiched between "TASTE OF LIFE" and "Point of view". They weren't bad, but they weren't memorable either, which is saying something when DIV have proven to be outstanding at emotional delivery up to this point. And not just Chisa's smooth, velvety vocal work, but also the layering of strings and piano all over their songs add an extra layer of harmony and atmosphere to solid drum lines and melody driven guitar work that pull at the heartstrings. "WING to HEAVEN", "「Dearest」" and "STARS" are painstakingly safe at a point where the album really needed a kick in the rear to keep the listener awake. Ironically, every b-side from every single was more interesting than this string of songs and would have been better placed here, and vice versa.

By the end, I'm almost disappointed. Almost. The album has no songs that are painful to listen to, or drag on for too long in one way or another. But there are many new songs that don't make much of an impact. DIV have hit the infamous 'sophomore slump' and are verging on same-y territory with SECRET. It's not an uncommon place for a band their age to be, but such a strong showing on the last album left me with higher expectations. And I certainly thought there'd be more new material. If half of the singles made their debut on this album I would have ranked it much higher, but it's a real shame so much of this album felt so familiar in the end.

I'm not even sure if this band could pull off any other sounds besides this one and honestly I don't want them to. I listened to Hanafugetsu and found it super boring, despite there being almost 95% similarity between the two bands. That 5% difference between Wagakki and Hanafugetsu is the reason why everyone knows about the former but not the latter, and it's what caused them to blow up in the first place. They have a lot of freedom to play around with but ultimately they've committed themselves to this theme of theirs and are confined by it until they decide to re-define it later. And if they're going to re-define themselves they need to be very, very careful not to mess up.
Plenty of good one-dimensional bands from Bathory to -OZ- have tried to reinvent themselves and failed. Both were really good at what they did (black metal and metalcore respectively) before they tried to change it up. Bathory's thrash era is bad. Everything post-ROUGE for -OZ- was...not as good as VERSUS. Neither really needed to change anything about their sound but chose to anyway and were arguably worse off for it. I see no reason why this band needs to change anything just yet. Now eventually, they will need to switch it up and find new ways to expand their music and keep it interesting. That kind of balancing act is what separates the good artists from the great. But there's enough within their limited theme to enable them to continue for the next five years easily before it starts getting stale.

Here's the translation of their comments, sorry for my really bad english.
 
Vocal Yuuki   I have been working as a member of this awesome band called "Lycaon" for almost 7 years, as Yuuki, as one artist, but After the Akasaka Blitz tour final on 11/6, Lycaon will disband. We have been discussing for so many times, we exchanged words of our future from now so many times, but thats our conclusion.   The gratitude to everyone who have been liking us, the magnificence of our encounter, the miracle, a lot of memories, who gave me all of this are you and us [the band itself]. Certainly face the reality of a disbandment make you have a lot of feelings like anger and sadness. Its the same to me.   But now i feel like my heart was washed. Its our last tour but in the final i want to blur brightly. I want to give a spectacular end to the Lycaon who gave us a lot of encounters and memories. I want to let it die surrounded by a lot of voices. I want you to let it die. I wanna be bitten to the death. I wannt to bite to the the death. I wanna become one with you.  Now i have a lot of feelings like this. I never thought a day like this would come.   It was really funny. I was happy. Thank you.   --------------------------------------------   Gt. Zero   【Disband】   S u c h   a  s a d  w o r d  i s n ' t  it ?   T h e　【traces】　o f  t h e  w a y  t h at  w e  h a v e  b e e n w a l k i n g  u n t i l  n o w  w i l l  a l l  d i s a p p e a r   s o    W a s  i  a b l e  t o  b e c o m e  a  p i e c e  o f  e v e r y o n e ' s  h e a r t ?   ~Reason of disbandment~   I t  w o u l d  b e  g o o d  i f  w e  c o u l d  s a y "Its that, its it"  B u t ...   I f  i  s t a r t  t o  s a y  C e r t a i n l y  t h e r e ' s  a  l o t  of  r e a s o n s   【Discord】 【Disagreement about our music】   T h e r e ' s  n o  t h i n g s  l i k e  t h i s  a t  a l l   【Suddenly or Inevitable】   ～Disband?～   N o w  w e  s t i l l  h a v e  a  s c h e d u l e  l i k e  u s u a l, n o t h i n g  c h a n g e d ...   I ' m  s o r r y   f o r  s u r p r i s i n g  a l l  o f  y o u   【Lycaon】   I  n e v e r  l o v e d  a  b a n d  l i k e  t h i s     I t  w o n t  c h a n g e  e v e n  n o w     N o w , i t ' s  n o t  a  g o o d  b y e  y e t      N o w , i  c a n t  t e l l  y o u  a l l  m y  t h o u g h t s  h e r e    S o ,   I n  t h e  m o m e n t  w h e n  w e  w i l l  g e t  k i l l e d A l l  m y  m e m o r i e s,  I  w a n t  t o ..   【Tell you】   【Laugh a lot】 【Cry a lot 】   U n t i l  t h e  e n d 【Together】   I  c o u n t  o n  y o u   【In the end, let's cry more than we ever cried since we was born】   --------------------------------------------   Gt. Satoshi   I just can't tell my feelings in sentences. I'm the guitarrist who loves Lycaon. Let me tell you all my feelings by sound.   I'm Japanese Rock'n'Roller !!   ~ Satoshi ~   --------------------------------------------   Ba. Hiyuu    Lycaon will cease the activities after the tour final concert in Akasaka Blitz on 11/06. I have joined Lycaon in the middle of it, and in these 5 years i could keep walking thanks to the collaboration of a lot of fans and staffs. I thank you from my heart.   Encountering these members, experiencing a lot of things, encountering a lot of people i`m really grateful to everything what happened. So i think someday we'll be able to see this decision called disbandment as something positie... And follow to different paths. I'm really sorry that was announced like this.   But the result of disbandment came from each member thought. In the end its something we decided with "all members", so i want you to accept it. It may be impossible to do right now but... Until the very last day, like in the meaning of MASOCHIST RED, i want to make the world that just Lycaon can make with everyone, so i gonna devote myself with all my power in each remnant concert.   Let's the a landscape that we weren't able to see together.   Thank you for always give me a happy time.   Hiyuu    --------------------------------------------
 
Dr. Ichiro   I'm sorry for such an abrupt announcement. I should right it in a respectfully way, but i thought i wouldn't be able to express my feelings, so i gonna write like this. I don't know what to say.   Before i joined the band in the middle, i was a human that never went to a tour. But since've started as a support member in Lycaon i was able to go to a lot of places and experience many things, it was really fun. Keeping like this i wanted to enchant Lycaon in more and more big places. It became my dream.   We have discussed with the members a lot of times. How we could make awesome concerts? How could we take awesome pictures? How could we make our fans have fun?   If i count my time as a suppot, i have been a member fo 4 years. Being everyday with the members made me able to go through the same path with them. The answer gave by these members now was "disband". We have been worrying until the very last moment. I think there's people who thinks its not the right and can't agree.   We won't ever meet again.   It's not like this.   It was good to be able to meet everyone who have been supporting me on these 4 years. Thank you very much.   These are my honest feelings. I'll do it with all my power until the end. I hope everyone do it with complete devotion too.   Thank you.

Artist: 和楽器バンド Single: 戦-ikusa- / なでしこ桜 Score: Meet the next Kagrra, of VK.
You already know what the deal is.

Few bands manage to turn me into a rabid fanboy the way 和楽器バンド has. As the bridge between the visual kei, doujin, and vocaloid scenes, their unique sound and striking visuals caught everybody's attention instantly. In a year, they've made moves in their career that other bands never get the opportunity to try. The hype is so real, both tracks from their second single 戦-ikusa- / なでしこ桜 were featured in the anime Sengoku Musou. For an indie band, that's a huge accomplishment.
 
戦-ikusa- / なでしこ桜 is another excellent entry in 和楽器バンド's small but excellent discography. There's enough strings between the eight members of this bands to appease any bondage fetishist, and as usual the performances are top notch. 戦-ikusa- is the more energetic opener. Conjuring emotions reminiscent of excitement and war, it's perfect for the anime it was chosen for. In general, it's a pleasant rock track and a good choice for promotion, but it's not one of their best tracks. Their previous single 華火 was a better take on this type of sound. I find the mid-tempo なでしこ桜 to be the more intriguing track. Yuko's voice is much more emotional and impactful here, and the slower pace of the song allows the band to create a stronger atmosphere. This is a much better representation of their sound, but perhaps the less accessible of the two songs.
 
This second single isn't enough to draw any major conclusions from. They've done a great job of picking up the mantle Kagrra, left behind in 2009, but 和楽器バンド have yet to prove themselves to me. To date, 和楽器バンド has only released three original songs. The real test is their first mini or album. Deliver an album as consistent yet varied as Vocalo Zanmai and I'll gladly proclaim them to be the best indie band this side of the rising sun.
 
For now, they're just pretty damn interesting.

Great review, I'd have to agree. I'm actually going to write my official review for VKH-Press later today and I feel like I have a lot to consider with this album.
 
On it's own, the album is decent and solid. But I feel like when you compare it side by side with Zero One it just... Doesn't measure up. I mean... First of all, I just really don't understand what Taste of Life and Golden Kinema Gekijou are doing on here, of course being that they were released before Zero One and didn't get updated at all. That being said, I LOVE ToL, but I would even say give Aozora ni Parachute a chance to be on an album or something... but maybe that's just me. Additionally, I didn't even like GKG, but I did love B-Side "Pieces." So again it was disappointing to me that GKG was on there instead of maybe Pieces.... 
 
Anyway, HK was a great single and so was You and Butterfly Dreamer. I feel they all have legitimacy on this album. As well as PoV, but I didn't care for that song as much, it just felt like a generic rock song without much feel or impact. And Justice I couldn't place for the life of me until I realized it was the B-Side from their Sid tribute single.
 
After all is said and done, there's 7 new tracks, of which about 3 of them are genuinely remarkable but maybe thats just me. Ai no Uta was kind of boring and the fact that it was so short felt like it was an intro that didn't even set the general mood for the album. Story was straight up boring and Rage/Secret Night were both high energy and enjoyable, but again when compared to what I know this band is capable of they just don't leave a mark. 
 
The best songs are Wing to Heaven, Dearest, and Stars. All of these songs are genuinely uplifting, feel-good, spring time songs which are produced well, composed perfectly, use the electro-rock influences (such as heavy autotune) that I come to expect from them at this point. They really present this opposite viewpoint from Zero One which had darker moments, this album focuses more on the light which is good too... 
 
But I just don't know if they could really ever top Teddy, Asterios, Cocktail Color, Vanish, and Hotarubi. 

New video.
"Wait"
FACT - wait (Music Video):

This thread is dedicated to all things wrestling. Most particularly the sinking ship known as WWE. Fortunately there's NXT that could save it all, but only if Vince could stop influencing the scripts. WWE Fast Lane is coming up, so thoughts on that?
 
Also, this thread doesn't necessarily have to be WWE. NJPW, Chikaria, Kaiju Big Battel, CZW, and other companies are welcomed.

hi

Artist: sukekiyo Album: VITIUM Score: The essence of sukekiyo, molded into perfection. sukekiyo has managed to slowly convert me from being a mildly disinterested bystander to a casual listener who's always on the lookout whenever something new pops up concerning the band. Their first full-length IMMORTALIS proved to be a slow-burning behemoth of many faces (and facets), and their latest offering VITIUM isn't too far off from that impression either. Kyo and co. don't seem to be in a hurry, as evidenced by the size of this new 'mini' album which is still longer than most bands' albums. Throughout these 37 minutes, they present their compositions in typical sukekiyo fashion: sprawling, mysterious, unpredictable. This time around, however, it seems they were able to craft a more unified sound for themselves (as if they weren't already unique enough), with a concentrated approach to boot. Each song sounds more coherent in and of itself, while still retaining the "expect the unexpected" avant-garde quality they've come to be known for.
VITIUM starts off powerfully and majestically with "leather field" – a dark flower blooming and branching out in sukekiyo's aural grotto. Hints of manic aggression and weirdness also rear their heads, prefiguring what's to come in the second track "dunes." This song introduces a demented vibe with its jittery guitars and drums, the band's interpretation of violent jazz-metal. Surprisingly, we are treated to an interlude next ("dot") that doesn't do much in itself but it serves as a fitting ambient intro to the following "foster mother." Kyo's deep croons drift onto a hypnotic beat complemented by beautiful guitar flourishes and keyboards that evoke an ambiguous atmosphere, on the edge of tranquility and uneasiness. One of the standout tracks for sure!
As VITIUM's centerpiece, "雨上がりの優詩 (Ameagari no yuushi)" pales in comparison to "foster mother," although it is a decent slower number complete with some fantastic textures and a soothing, airy outro. The atmosphere continues through "maniera," but it quickly turns into a quirky explosion of psychedelic metal tinged with calmer acoustic noodling. If DIR EN GREY drove out to the desert high on mescaline, this is what they would jam out. If "maniera" was the hallucinatory freak-out, the second interlude "白露 (Hakuro)" serves as a soundtrack to expulsion – not as fun but still necessary. All the more so, it heightens the magnificence of the follow-up, "celeste." Switching between tumbling piano sludge and schizophrenic episodes, it's a strong indicator of what sukekiyo is capable of. Naturally, after all of this there's no other way to go but softer, as "focus" closes the record with ethereal floaty melodies... or so it seems until the flamenco bit kicks in, segueing into one last creepy look into the abyss.
As you can tell, this mini album is quite a trip from start to finish. Whereas IMMORTALIS seemed overly long and drawn-out at times, VITIUM manages to capture the band's perfected essence, more powerful and twisted than ever. It is clear that sukekiyo has finally found its own voice. Let's just hope we'll get to hear that voice more in the future as well!

Here we go. Lycaon's new album. I've been following them since 'Ambrozia'. I've always considered them the GazettE's sister. Yuuki is like a whinier Ruki (if that was even possible). Their music, while nothing groundbreaking, is still fun and energetic. I remember when 'Royal Order' came out it was all I listened to for weeks on in heading to work and university classes. It's such a solid release and still, til this day, their magnum opus - mainly due to it collecting a lot of their solid singles. 
 
Then 'Jouyoku no Akume' came out. Lycaon was in the early stages of bringing out their "erotic era" which didn't get them anywhere. Sure, Jesus was a good track but everything was lackluster. This led to their release of their "erotic album" (long Japanese name can't remember). It was a little more solid thanks to Jesus and the re-recordings of past songs but nothing to the point where i'd want to sit back and listen to again.
 
I was afraid Lycaon lost it. They were quiet for a while until 2013 when they finally released a new mini album. Another long Japanese name but we'll just call it 'Masochist Red Circus'. What was included was a bunch of half-assed dubstep (I mean, it wasn't even GazettE cringe dubstep worthy) and cringe-worthy tracks that aren't even worth listening to again. The album as a whole was a mess. I could only listen to it once. 
 
I gave up on ever getting anything remotely decent. Hoping for another 'Royal Order' was not even a distant memory anymore. When Lycaon announced 'Camera obscura' I wasn't hopeful. I figured it would just be another MRS (please god no). I was pretty much wrong. The intro track sets up the whole album pretty well. Once the laughing starts, I was kind of nervous. Then the "dubstep" starts up.. Oh god... another MRS... Then 'tsuioku' starts blaring in my ear. What the hell is this? Some cheesey Malice Mizer piano? I'm in love. Yuuki is actually not slutty-singing. Everyone does their part to set up a decent song. 
 
Then 'Dark Night' comes in. The guitars start kicking - reminiscent of an older Lycaon from long ago. Along with cheesey string. So far, this album is doing well. When I first heard' shadow', I was crying. Lycaon's GazettE-ish ways are back. Yuuki's screams are back. Hands down my favorite track. Good chorus and fun verses. 'marionette' is an interesting song. I don't believe Lycaon has ever made a song like this. Kind of reminds me of 'This is Halloween'. I'm okay with this.
 
I could go on and on about the other tracks but I want to wrap this up because I am tired of typing. It's not a great album. Granted it has a lot of diversity - you get the jazz (Rouge), the GazettE (shadow), the Lycaon (ILLUSION), the Alejandro of the album (Gypsy), the heavy (melancholic). I really just wanted this to be a return to 'Royal Order'. However that dream is definitely long gone. This will do. I just know now that their erotic era is done and over with - and that's a sigh of relief. 
 
All in all, Lycaon really did step up their game with the album. It shows a sign of maturity. They left their faux-jazzy-slutfest behind and went back to doing rock again. I am pretty excited about what they could come up with next if they continue with this route. 
 
6.5/10

Best New Tracks: January 2015

Best New Tracks is a new series brought to you by MH's Official Reviewer team! Every month we'll be highlighting brand-new Japanese songs worth checking out, so stay tuned! Feel free to comment or discuss any of this month's picks and even offer your own as well!

's picks:
"Abyss" by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas

"A HUNDRED SUNS" by BOOM BOOM SATELLITES

"KAKUMEI" by Silent Siren

"Closer" by Silhouette From The Skylit

"緑閃光 (midori senkou)" by LAMP IN TERREN

's picks: "Moonlight Station" by SEKAI NO OWARI

"Flowerwall" by Kenshi Yonezu

@fitear1590's picks: ネモフィラ (nemophila) by イツエ (itsue)

"Red Carnation" by Jupiter

"ストッキング (stocking)" by 吉澤嘉代子 (Kayoko Yoshizawa)

"アイリス (iris)" by 新川忠 (Tadashi Shinkawa)

@CAT5's picks:
"Enigmatic Feeling (2015 mix)" by 凛として時雨 (Ling Tosite Sigure)

"MEBIUS" by FEAR FROM THE HATE

"笑うドッペルゲンガー (warau doppleganger)" by 東京カランコロン (Tokyo Karankoron)

"月曜のメランコリー (getsuyo no melancholy)" by BOMI

"四角のトモダチ (Shikaku no tomodachi)" by 中納良恵 (Nakano Yoshie)

"想い想われ (omoiomoware)" by 福原希己江 (Fukuhara Kimie)

This was clearly predicted in the Da ViViD Code.

Thanks for the great review CAT!
I was originally going to review this album, but after sitting through seven tracks of it I found myself having very little to say. I can't finish "THE HISTORY OF GENESIS" in one sit either. It's amazing how I, CAT5, sai, and Des each attempted to sit through this album on different occasions and felt similarly towards it despite our wildly different musical tastes. I can't even say that Jupiter sucks because they're instrumentally proficient and their songs aren't the easiest things to play. But their X-Factor is obviously missing, and anyone can see that there is a gulf of space between where they are and where they want to be.
Part of it is the tame compositions. It reeks of "been there, done that, heard this already play something new". The cheese, charisma, grandiosity, and full execution of concept found in early Versailles and to an extent Kamijo's solo project is what draws me into this type of music. Without an epic feel behind the composition, this type of music gets tiring to listen to. Jupiter insists on taking a step back and being taken as a more mature alternative and I think that hurts them in the end. IMO they should do everything in their power to be Versailles 2, because being Jupiter isn't working.
I'm not quite sure if Jupiter wants to be a power metal band, a thrash metal band, some mixture of the two, a visual kei band with some aspirations, or none of these. All I can tell you is that I can't distinguish most of their songs from one another. There are cases where Hizaki lifts riffs from earlier in his career for the album, such as part of the solo in "The Birth of Venus", which uses the same chords that he played both in "Silent Knight" as Versailles and "Aphrodite" in Hizaki grace project, which also comes from a classical composition that I don't remember right now. Perfect example of what I mean when I say that they want to do something different with all the same tools.
I won't even begin on ZIN, but I will casually mention that projecting one note and varying the intensity that it's projected is bad singing, even for power metal and visual kei. You said everything else that needed to be said.
I don't consider this a disappointment because I wasn't expecting much in the first place, but after the release of CLASSICAL ELEMENT I said they have until their second album to win me over. Now I've gotten all the information I need to make a well-informed decision. For me, Jupiter will be infinitely inferior to Versailles and Kamijo, and is around the level of HGP at it's worst. I just feel that there's better power metal and better visual kei bands out there than this. So even though I've been following the members of this band for some time hoping for something great, it's time I step away and find other things to listen to.