Spectralion

Artist: 摩天楼オペラ Album: 隣に座る太陽 Score: One bad apple makes the whole bunch rotten.
I paraphrased the saying but you get the point.

I have a philosophy about classifying music I like and music I don't like that goes as such. Good music that I like has a lot of elements that come together and work well. Music I do not like has one or more elements that stand out so much it outweighs the positives. One such element is the concept of "doing too much". It could be a guitarist that prefers noodling to melody, a drummer who only drums at supersonic speed, etc. "Doing too much" has been a problem with Matenrou Opera for a while and 隣に座る太陽 is no different. There are a lot of well-executed ideas on this single, but there is one consistent flaw which makes this single - and this band - impossible for me to listen to.

I'll preface the rest of this review by noting that it's been a while since I've listened to Matenrou Opera. My last exposure to them was the controversial album Justice, which I hated so much I stopped listening to them altogether. Today I saw that they released a new single and decided to make a return to their music. Part of me has some morbid curiosity to see how I feel about this band now. The other part of me wants to know if dropping them off the side of a cliff after Justice was well-deserved.

隣に座る太陽 starts out on an energetic foot featuring MO as a cohesive unit. This is a major plus for me because one of the reasons why I hated Justice was Ayame's omnipresence in every song. Now, Ayame focuses on maintaining the melody. He still has his time to shine, such as メインキャストは考える's emotional solo, but overall he is much more restrained. I would prefer he stick to the pure electronic sounds and stop trying to substitute real instruments for keyboard imitations, but improvements like that that can be made when the band's budget can make it a reality. Even more props goes to the bassist for nice presence in the mix and the drummer for keeping everyone in time. Bass is often the most forgotten about instrument in power metal but You has crafted impressive bass lines for both tracks. The drummer and the guitarist are both present, but they fail to keep my attention for long periods of time due to neither one of them doing anything interesting. The only positive is that neither does anything unnecessary that would detract from the experience.

Despite my praise for the performance of the band, the actual music is forgettable. I had a hard time writing this review because ten minutes after listening to the music I couldn't recall a single thing. If I struggle to remember a song I just heard, it's a problem. I can remember most of GILIA or Anomie despite not having heard it in three years, so that means both tracks didn't do a single memorable thing. It's not good. It's not bad. It's just not good.

Actually, the above paragraph is a bit of a lie, since I was speaking from an instrumental perspective. There's one thing I do remember from both songs, and it's not positive. Sono's contribution to Matenrou Opera has always been a sore point. On one hand, it's his band. On the other hand, his faux-operatic vocals, inability to harmonize, and overuse of vibrato makes my ears hurt. He alternates between flat and off-key with a nice sprinkle of whining mixed in. He tries too hard to sound powerful and operatic and misses the mark on both. Part of me is amazed that he hasn't improved at all. It's almost as if him sounding this terrible is a defining aspect of Matenrou Opera's music...and then I realized it is. Sono's vocal performance is the very definition of doing too much, which makes music unenjoyable for me. It's so overdone that it negatively impacts this release to a noticeable degree.

By now you're wondering why I haven't mentioned anything about production values. That's due to the nature of the rip I'm listening to. I never feel confident talking about production unless I have a lossless (or close to lossless) rip. Since my rip is much below that threshold, I cannot accurately discuss the production beyond the one note I have already mentioned. I will say that there are no obvious flaws, which helps the single gain a couple of pity points.

So, another release comes and goes and I'm more than confident that leaving Matenrou Opera behind was not a bad decision on my part. This is another one of those releases that isn't bad but will leave you struggling to say anything good about. Your mileage may vary, especially if you do not share my sentiments on Sono. If you love his vocals (how could you?) then I suppose this is another fine entry in Matenrou Opera's catalog. If you're like me, spare your eardrums this torture. This single is not for you.

Artist: REALies Album: Drama Score: Deep breaths Zess. Deep breaths.
Before I begin, I'm going to invent a new term called musical dysmorphia. I will use this term throughout the review to describe a glaring flaw with this album. Musical dysmorphia is when a song awkwardly and unevenly moves between multiple genres with reckless abandon. It is the result of a composer stitching together compositions from entirely different genres to form The Musical Centipede. Do not mistake this for being diverse and do not think that this is a good thing. This is a very annoying thing to have to endure.

Fortunately, the listener will not be subjected to it for the first half of the album. As a matter of fact, the album was enjoyable up until 久遠-kuon-, which I found to be a tepid but unoffensive pop-rock track. I enjoyed the heavy bass presence on NEVERLAND (but I could do without the modulated screams here and there) and the entirety of セツナキャンドル and gossip, which I would call the best tracks on the album. In fact, I would dare to call NEVERLAND and セツナキャンドル good-to-excellent songs if REALies didn't resort to a contrived pop chorus to hook those pieces together. For the first half of Drama, I got something better than I expected from REALies, which is a solid pop-rock album with a few flaws. These flaws are the occasional flatness of Rayka's vocals, the occasional cheesy chorus, and an over-reliance on synthesized instruments to carry the bulk of the melody. The last point is the biggest flaw of them all. The production overall is really good for a visual kei band, being crisp and clean while still balancing everything in the mix. This is notable because there is a lot of electronics buzzing about in every track and for the first half of the album they don't overpower the band too much. But such great production reveals the artificiality of these instruments. There are violin swells, piano runs, and shamisen twangs that would have been REALized better if the instruments were authentic. Luckily, most of these fake instruments are relegated to flourishes only.

A critical downfall of Drama (and the reason for the low score) is the second half. Musical dysmorphia stops the album dead in it's tracks and spends the next five tracks in a rut it can't escape from. The first half of the album does diversity right, smoothly moving between rhythmic and tonal changes to good effect. There is thought and care put into the first five songs that is missing from the next five. Instead of smooth transitions, REALies resorts to interlude abuse to bring together parts of songs that have no business being together. We have dubstep portions, a trance intro, an exceptionally bad shamisen snippet, random breakdowns, and the occasional half-assed rap portion courtesy of Rayka. They're all broken off into their own sections and follow each other with not even so much as the backwards woosh-ing sound that Nega used to stitch their disjointed songs together. So let's explore this part of the album now.

彩花唄-いろはうた- starts the decline of Drama. It all starts with the inclusion of the shamisen I keep mentioning that doesn't sound quite right. At first you think the track is going to have it's own distinctive flavor but its inclusion sounds like an interlude and not a legit element of the song. The rest of the song is more pop with two interludes where it pops up again and again to be the ultimate tease. If it were an actual pop song played with traditional Japanese instruments it would have been excellent but it seems that REALies weren't brave enough to take that jump. However, this is just disappointment at the track. This disappointment was magnified by the following track. The piano is too loud, the guitars are heavy but the riffs don't hold up to the dynamic ones from earlier, and the growling is just bad. The chorus assassinates the track, being another cookie cutter rendition complete with off-key vocal ticks. It's then followed up by the worst track on the entire album.

180 is the perfect example of musical dysmorphia at work. It's three minutes flat but starts off with a trance intro before being pummelled with the loudest mishmash of riffs and synth on the album. Heavy riffs and terrible growls are abundant so I reasonably expected another cliche "heavy" song. Then it starts shitting all over itself around 0:53 as the hype train slowly ascends into pop territory and the song fools you into thinking it's going to turn out decent. To be honest, there was a period of about ten seconds where I thought this would actually happen. Then I thought that the track has to level out. It doesn't. Around 1:53 the train decided it wanted to be a plane and then shot off into orbit with another, more upbeat electronic interlude before jumping into a faster-paced rock section. And just when you think you've heard everything, there's a lynch.-like breakdown near the end there for no reason other than the gang didn't know how to end the song. Each section lasts for about twenty to twenty-five seconds and that's not enough time for any part of it to develop and the song sounds too disjointed to work. My repetition of the word disjointed is intentional. I wouldn't blame you if you did a 180 on the album right now.

The next two tracks are no better. LiNE combines all of the elements I don't like into one song. There's more terrible harsh vocals, a dubsteppy breakdown later, a four second excursion into the post-hardcore scene, and then a jump right back into a poppy chorus. It works about as well as I've described it. The track following it is completely forgettable and I have nothing to say about it. Things don't shape up until the last track, Drama, which is a half-ballad half-pop song with more fake violins. It's a pretty boring end to an otherwise lackluster album, but it's consistency and flow which was missing from the last five tracks makes it a decent album closer.

So I was surprised and then summarily disappointed. I was expecting an entire album of really bland pop with terrible vocals. What I got were some promising tunes, one or two songs I admit I liked, and then a shitshow to prove my fears right. There are a lot of positives here to talk about, more than I was initially going to give to the band, but Drama would have been much better off being a mini-album. There are too many bad tracks one after another to call this even a mediocre album. REALies needs to reign in the influences and compose more tunes like the first five songs and less like the last five songs. I also never want to hear another band do anything resembling 180.

This is really only an album for prior REALies fans. The rest can live with hearing gossip once on plug.dj.

Def going with Kiryu with this one. I tried listening to Royz for a while, but even if Subaru's vocals kinda hit my soft spot for high-pitched vocals, their general style failed to impress me. Overall they're but decent. Not bad but not miraculously oh-my-god-I'm-gonna-jizz-my-pants good either. Mediocre, at most.
 
Whereas Kiryu definitely divides people to those who hate them (mostly because of Mahiro's voice) and those who absolutely adore them to death. I'm part of the latter.
 
@Mi'ihen pointed out that Mahiro always sounds like he's in pain or dying. For some, like your's truly, that's the appeal of his voice. Since Kiryu isn't supposed to be an upbeat pop-rock band, but rather horror-esque, Mahiro's dying animal sounds fit in perfectly. I'd probably hate him if I heard him in a band that tries to do happy music (Maidora doesn't count), but since the whole point of Kiryu is kinda to be weird and scary and off-putting, I think Mahiro was the best choice for them. But this is just my opinion.

Artist: 椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo) Album: NIPPON Score: The One True QueenTM is back!
I don't joke around when I proclaim Shiina Ringo as The One True Queen. She belongs in the upper echelon of artists that can tackle any genre effortlessly. Her worst output is merely good. Her best output is legendary and amongst the best albums ever recorded in J-Pop. So imagine my disappointment with 逆輸入 ~港湾局~, where I felt that she couldn't pull together the many styles she was flirting with. Being a compilation album of music that she didn't even write for herself, I let it slide. After all, when Shiina writes music for herself she knocks it out of the park. NIPPON is no different.

NIPPON is a two track single where the single was Japan's theme at the World Cup. With such a simple title that translates into Japan, it would be reasonable to expect Shiina to deliver a simple pop rock tune. Fortunately for the world of music, Shiina doesn't do simple. There's the trappings of an upbeat pop rock track accompanied by an orchestra and some type of instrument I can't identify. You can't miss it though because it's there during the more energetic transitions, especially into the chorus. There's also a pretty nice solo, which is something I haven't heard Shiina do in a while. NIPPON gives me vibes of younger Shiina and the rock sound that she bursted onto the scene with all those many years ago.

Sakasa ni Kazoete rounds out the single, waltzing in with a jazzy pop sound balancing Shiina's rock side with her more mature one. Sakasa ni Kazoete sounds like it could have come straight out of Tokyo Jihen's discography, which makes it even better than NIPPON for me. Amazing keyboard work and an amazing vocal delivery by Shiina herself puts the cherry on top. It's very refreshing to hear Shiina take on this sound outside of TJ because she doesn't do this nearly enough.

I can't recommend this single enough. This is a nice, short introduction into just two of the many faces of this talented artist. Don't sleep on it!

Everyone's classic favourite:
 

 
I had no idea this was in English until I searched for the lyrics, lmao.

not like i regret about buying any of my cds but still it's just a garbage for me after them being ripped. and i'm not even interested in making scans of booklets lol just throw them away somewhere in the closet :'D

Some people seem to believe that piracy is (only) a service problem - Masa's first point gives me this impression too. The implication is that if you make music as accessible as possible, piracy is going to magically disappear. Sadly this is true only in the limiting case where the music in question is rare to the extent that it hasn't surfaced on the internet. If anything, vk is among the least affected by piracy (in relative terms) as opposed to games, movies, pop music, whatever., because the obscure live-limited releases and distro's are impossible to pirate if they don't even exist on the network to begin with.  Yet it hurts them more because in absolute terms as they have a far smaller slice of the consumers' pie.
 
For stuff that people can buy from shops or online, releases are only "immune" to piracy for the first 24-48 hours or so. The artists know this as well; that's why fans are always being bugged to "pre-order" upcoming releases. The reality is that more and more people today who actually BUY music do so not because they want to listen to the music, but as a symbolic act of pledging their support. It's like making a "donation" to affirm that you like what the artists are doing. Why else would I want to spend money on a CD and wait for it to arrive, when I can simply click on a link to get it for free instantly? Most of my friends who buy CDs (not many do anymore, admittedly) don't even open their CDs when they arrive at their house, cuz they've pirated the digital files long ago. The industry realizes this as well, so they have stuff like in-store events and promotional lucky-draws to encourage purchase.
 
Anyway, I should say that I don't want to endorse piracy. I do, however, wish that bands like NB would stop whining and direct their effort to formulating a marketing model to sell their stuff in our current age where music doesn't sell the same way it had used to (something for people to buy, take home, and listen). If there's only one thing AKB48 or any of their countless analogs can be praised for, it's being incredibly successful at this.

as requested by
 
 

 
How do you - Die ？

どうしてだろう
Dōshite darou
I wonder why
意味は償いをやめ
Imi wa tsugunai o yame
There's no meaning to make up for it anymore
ただ
Tada
I'm just
この階段　降りたり昇ったり
Kono kaidan
Running down the stairs
Oritari nobottari
Running them up again
僕なのに僕ではない感覚とか
Boku nanoni boku dewa nai kankaku toka
The impression of not being me despite being me and stuff
あるとかないのとかさえも
Aru toka nai no toka sae mo
To be and stuff, not to be and stuff, even that

瞬き忘れ　息を詰めて片寄った足で深い眩しい闇へ
Mabataki wasure
Forgetting to blink,
Iki o tsumete katayotta ashi de fukai mabushii yami e
Holding my breath, tilting my feet, off into thick radiant darkness
醜い僕　罪を共に
Minikui boku
I'm so ugly
Tsumi o tomo ni
Taking my sin with me

どこまで
Doko made
How far
─────ねぇ … ─────
─────Nee … ─────
─────Hey … ─────
もう動けないかも
Mō ugokenai kamo
I guess I can't function anymore
そっとこのまま堕ちれば楽だね
Sotto kono mama ochireba raku da ne
Just falling down quietly like that, wouldn't it feel good?
縋っていた　愛してやまないたくさんの蕾よ
Sugatteita
I was clinging to you
Aishite yamanai takusan no tsubomi yo
My love for you countless flower buds was endless
永遠の罰
Eien no batsu
Eternal punishment

正しい嘘　リアルな誇大空言で　包まれた明日
Tadashī uso
Truthful lies
Riaruna kodai kuugen de
Tommorow is wrapped up
Tsutsumareta ashita
In realistic hyperboles
夢の希望？
Yume no kibō?
The hope of our dreams?

欲しかったのはそんなんじゃないよ
Hoshikatta no wa sonna'njanai yo
This isn't how I wanted it to be

かつての愛
Katsute no ai
My lost love
ありがとう
Arigatō
Thank you
過去の僕を救ってくれて
Kako no boku o sukutte kurete
For saving me back then
許さないで広げた手
Yurusanai de hirogeta te
You wouldn't let me spread my arms
此処は小さなこの海がつくった
Koko wa chīsana kono umi ga tsukutta
Here's what grew from this small sea
偽善の僕
Gizen no boku
Me, the hypocrite
ありがとう
Arigatō
Thank you
磔の時に救けないでね
Haritsuke no toki tasukenaide ne
The day they crucify me, don't help okay?
変わる世界答えくれず
Kawaru sekai kotae kurezu
The ever-changing world won't give an answer
此処は小さなその海がつくった
Koko wa chīsana sono umi ga tsukutta
Here's what grew from this small sea

as requested by
 

 
一日の孤独 百年の孤独
Ichinichi no kodoku hyakunen no kodoku
One Day of Solitude          One Hundred Years of Solitude  *  

キラキラ　星達　体を見ててよ
Kirakira
Twinkling, Twinkling
Hoshi-tachi
Stars
Karada o mitete yo
Look at my body
私を裂いて　心をえぐり出しましょ
Watashi o saite
I'll cut myself open
Kokoro o eguri dashimasho
And rip out the heart

ユラユラ　月様　神は死んじゃう
Yurayura
Trembling, trembling
Tsuki-sama
Moon
Kami wa shinjau
God will die
お願いだから　命の波風を捨てて
Onegai dakara
I'm begging you
Inochi no namikaze o sutete
Throw the burden of life away


いつか　バラバラに　壊れる　この体
Itsuka
Someday when
Barabara ni
This body
Kowareru
Will fall
Kono karada
Apart
どうか　抱きしめて　その手で　抱きしめて
Dōka
Please
Dakishimete
Hold me
Sono te de
In those arms
Dakishimete
Hold me

言葉はもう　いらないんでしょ
Kotoba wa mō
I think that words
Iranai'ndesho
Are unnecessary now
抱いて
Daite
Embrace me

ギラギラ　太陽　大地をはぐくむ
Giragira
Glaring, glaring
Taiyō
Sun
Daichi o hagukumu
Nurturing the ground
生き絶える時　溢れる想い　受け止めて
Iki taeru toki
The day I cease to be
Afureru omoi
Dry up
Uketomete
My overflowing emotions

いつか　バラバラに　壊れる　この体
Itsuka
Someday when
Barabara ni
This body
Kowareru
Will fall
Kono karada
Apart
どうか　抱きしめて　その手で　抱きしめて
Dōka
Please
Dakishimete
Hold me
Sono te de
In those arms
Dakishimete
Hold me

あの日の孤独は　百年もおなじだから
Ano hi no kodoku wa
Because the solitude of that day
Hyakunen mo onaji dakara
Felt the same as one hundred years
震えたからだは　ささえてほしかった
Furueta karada wa
I wanted you
Sasaete hoshikatta
To support my shivering body

言葉なんて　　いらないんでしょ
Kotoba nante
Words
Iranai'ndesho
We don't need them anymore
あるのは　存在　それだけでしょ？
Aru no wa
To be is just
Sonzai
Existing
Sore dake desho?
And that is all, right?

抱いて
Daite
Embrace me
 
 
-----
 
 
*One Hundred Years of Solitude is the title of a novel by Gabriel Garcia.

I hate this kind of camera work.
Sometime the zoomed out in a perfect scene.
 
I can feel ZIN's energy.
 
The only cons in this song is solo bass.
 
...and YUKI and MASASHI should get more shoot and spotlight.
 
They should continue their works, even if they revived Versailles... ZIN is great vocalist.

I ordered Sacred Xanadu through Cure's mail-order, however I haven't received notice yet that it's arrived at FromJapan's. I hope it'll be there somewhat soon. I'll upload it when it arrives, if someone doesn't ninja me.

@Keiyuu requested me to translate Lepra recently, so here it is.
It's the first song La'Mule ever made, first released in '96 and always held a special place in the bands' repertoire. It was also rereleased by the name of Desert Moon in 2000. That title actually fits the romantic colours of the song much better since the only topic vaguely related to lepra would be 'something that fell into pieces'.
This translation is based on the lyrics for the original demotape, but they weren't changed too much later on.
 

 
Lepra

月夜に浮かんで 綺麗すぎた君の涙
tsukiyo ni ukande
Flowing in that moonlit night
kirei sugita kimi no namida
Your tears, so beautiful
受け止められなかった
uke tomerarenakatta
I could not make them stop
あの頃の夜に 僕は僕に問い続ける
ano koro no yoru ni
I keep asking myself
boku wa boku ni toi tsuzukeru
About that night back then
答えのないままで
kotae no nai mama de
But my questions remain unanswered

紛らわす為に過去をかなぐりすてた空へ
magirawasu tame ni kako wo kanaguri suteta sora e
I wanted you to forget the past and threw it off into the sky
もう帰らないように
mou kaeranai you ni
So that it would never return
逃げ出した心 隙間うめるように
nige dashita kokoro
To fill the gap
sukima umeru you ni
It left in your heart
君と歩き出そうとしたよ
kimi to aruki dasou toshita yo
I just wanted to walk away with you

破片集めたら 全て同じ思い出
kakera atsumetara
When the pieces assemble
subete onaji omoide
All of them one memory
いつか空が降りはじめて 心を縛りつけて
itsuka sora ga furi hajimete
Then one day the sky will start to pour
kokoro wo shibari tsukete
Crushing your heart

君の涙が流れつづけ
kimi no namida ga nagare tsuzuke
Your tears will continue flowing
にじんだ空へはきすてる
nijinda sora e haki suteru
Spat out by the leaking sky
｢過去の想い出に負ける｣と
"kako no omoide ni makeru" to
"Haunted by memories of the past"
君は言いつづけたね...
kimi wa ii tsuzuketeta ne...
That's what you kept saying...

破片集めたら 全て同じ思い出
kakera atsumetara
When the pieces assemble
subete onaji omoide
All of them one memory
いつか空が降りはじめて 心を縛りつけて
itsuka sora ga furi hajimete
Then one day the sky will start to pour
kokoro wo shibari tsukete
Crushing your heart

君の涙が流れつづけ
kimi no namida ga nagare tsuzuke
Your tears will continue flowing
にじんだ空へはきすてる
nijinda sora e haki suteru
Spat out by the leaking sky
｢過去の想い出に負ける｣と
"kako no omoide ni makeru" to
"Haunted by memories of the past"
君は言いつづけたね...
kimi wa ii tsuzuketeta ne...
That's what you kept saying...

もう少し僕が強ければ そんな曖昧な言葉も
mou sukoshi boku ga tsuyokereba
If only I had been a little stronger
sonna aimaina kotoba mo
Despite such vague words
愛し続けてくれた君の涙を 僕はぬぐえなかった
aishi tsuzukete kureta kimi no namida
You were always loving me and still
boku wa nuguenakatta
I could not dry your tears
 

OK I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THIS REVIEW. IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT. 
 
TRACK ONE: Didn't listen to it.
TRACK TWO: Didn't listen to it.
TRACK THREE: Please see above track review.
TRACK FOUR: I don't know. I didn't listen to it because, I didn't want to.
TRACK FIVE: It could've been a great song, if I'd even listened to it.
TRACK SIX: Um, could I have- Nope. Did not listen to it.
TRACK SEVEN: Skipped it. If you count deleting it as skipping it. Then sure.
TRACK EIGHT: Didn't care~.
TRACK NINE: Uhhh. I. Just. DIDN'T LISTEN.
TRACK TEN: I DIDN'T LISTEN TO THIS ONE EITHER.
TRACK ELEVEN:  揺紗×風弥 - -I'll-(Dir en Grey Cover)
THIS IS THE PRETTIEST SONG EVER. TOOK A LACKLUSTER TRACK FROM DIRU'S WEIRD POP ROCK PHASE AND AND AND MADE IT AWESOME. IT IS SO PRETTY AND YOU SHOULD GO LISTEN TO IT. LIKE OMG. 100/100
 
JUST LOOK WHAT FELLOW MONOCHROMIUM NEKKI-CHAN SAID:

 
Also, this rave review from KYATTOFAIBU:

 
THIS WAS A GREAT ALBUM I REALLY LIKED IT.

I'm so proud of their massive improvement since their mini-album and first singles.

This sounds awesome!  Love all the background synth.

Honestly wasn't expecting this kind of song given their goofy-ass new look.  Fortunately, they're in shadow for most of the PV, haha.

ThE Gazette new single DIEING BELLOW. will be released on 2014.06.06 
 
Optical Impression:
 

 
01. DIEING BELLOW.
02. コンドーム
DVD: 
DIEING BELLOW. (restricted ver.) PV
 
Auditory Impression:
 

 
01. DIEING BELLOW.
02. コンドーム
03. SWIFT PLAGUING ANGER
 
Heresy limited edition:
 

 
comes with a 36 page photo book and a DIEING BELLOW. (unrestricted ver.) PV DVD (8 minutes)
 
They will officially disband on 2014/09/01, following the release of FILM BUG III in August, after which members will pursue their own creative directions.
 
 
source: gazettefans@tumblr / pscompany website

Hey guys,
 
What emotions inside of you, or the music itself initially drew you to Japanese music (from Visual Kei, to Japanese Rock, to Japanese Indie, etc...) and has that list of emotions grown or changed over time as you grew, and discovered new bands?
 
Do you find unique feelings in Japanese music that you can`t find elsewhere?
 
Do you relate more to the musicians or sound than other kinds of music? 
 
 
 
 
For me, I grew up listening to Classic Rock first. I heard The Rolling Stones as a child, and I was like: Wow, this is real music! Then I fell in love with guitar riffs and solos, and played air guitar in my room until I got a Fender.
 
I loved it so much, but there was still more I was looking for, some kind of energy, and feeling that I wasn`t quite getting to feel complete.
 
I saw a TM Revolution PV shortly afterwards, and I knew that was what I was looking for. I started learning of other bands and musicians over the years, like L`Arc, Gackt, etc as I grew and the list of Japanese music grew, but it all fit with me so well even if it was so different.
 
I loved the energy, attitude, the look, and then finally, the hope.
 
I still loved Classic Rock, but it was like I already saw them all as old now, and they never found that love, they never reunited with that person, they still sing about the same things, etc... And I kind of slowly replaced it all with younger people, who may not find what they are looking for, but are still young, and the story is still ongoing, there is still some hope.
 
For me, the strongest things that still draw me to my favorite bands are the emotions tied to hope. I love Gackt and Buck-Tick for example... but it seems like they have accepted the sadness, and I have all this sadness and sorrow in me too, but I wont settle into it like some people have, I want to continue living with this Never-Give-Up attitude, even if it is seen as foolish, or unrealistic.
 
One of my favorites, Takanori Nishikawa of TM Revolution, formed Abingdon Boys School. I talk about both projects often, as they inspire me. Anyway, to me, TMR was always bad-ass, and full of hope and courage and attitude, even if it was sad sometimes. Then comes the debut album from Abingdon Boys School, self-titled, and it was mired in sadness and sorrow, and so straight-forward in how he expressed things other people are afraid to say. but it was still bad-ass underneath, his attitude was still there... And I loved it. Then comes their second album, Abingdon Road, and it was like he moved on from that sadness, while keeping as it is a part of him forever, but he had so much more strength to stand and walk-on, with tracks like Strength, JAP, SOUEN, Dusk til Dawn, etc... It was really inspiring to me, as he and the band had the attitude to fight, with that spirit, and not just stay in the same place.
 
 
 
 
Anyway, enough about me, please share what feelings and emotions draw you to Japanese music, I`m sure everyone will love to hear it!
 

Doing better than absolute garbage isn't hard.

Low quality of first and second track can be found here.
 
http://www.psck.net/english/DiskContent.aspx?DiskID=25038

It's Cassis by The GazettE.

First time I saw Uruha, I think he is a girl.
 
After that, I've been searching for their discography and stumble upon many VK bands until now.

I started thinking about the Japanese/VK way of singing while I was driving with my dad and listening to VK. My dad as a musician said something like "The instrumentals are quite nice, but why do they sing like that? Are there any "normal" rock vocalists in Japan?" By normal I think he meant the way eg. classic rock vocalists sing (to name a few: Joe Lynn Turner, David Coverdale, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan etc). I seriously couldn't answer that question, since I basically listen to nothing but newer visual kei.
 
I've been listening to visual kei a long time but I feel ashamed because I am not very familiar with other Japanese rock music. So my question is:
Do that kind of Japanese vocalists exist?
And if they don't, then why? Could it be just a matter of a different language and the way they've learned to talk and sing?
 
I'm sorry if this is a stupid question and I'm just a weeaboo who listens to nothing but VK, but at least I'll hopefully get some kind of answer.

“BUTTERFLY DREAMER” opens up with some galactic synths and Chisa doing a soft version of the song’s chorus before exploding into chuggy riffs that lead us into the first verse.  One of the things I particularly enjoy in this track are Chisa’s distant “ahhh” background vocals during the chorus; I can’t put my finger on why that adds to my enjoyment, but it just makes the chorus more epic.  Throughout the song, crackles, bleeps, and other electronic elements add to the song’s arrangement.  Towards the end of the song, the band has a cool little breakdown, before proceeding back to a bridge with blissful synths.   I think Shaneth mentioned at some point that BUTTERFLY DREAMER was solid, but that the band has already done this type of song before.  While that’s true, I think this song has much more interesting composition than, say, previous singles “ANSWER” or “夏の行方.”  DIV is steadily improving and I’m loving it.  My very small complaint with the song is Chisa’s weak harsh vocals.  His “acapella” growl at the end of the song consistently puts a slight cringe on my face, haha.
 
“rainy,rainy,smiles.” begins with some ambient electronics and “piano synth” (reminiscent of something UNiTE would use).  The whole song is generally quite dainty and pleasant, but the verses introduce the occasional heavy-ish part and even the synths become more “aggressive” to match these parts.  The main issue with this song is that it doesn’t really deviate from the twinkly, light sound enough to make much of an impression; the chorus kind of blends in with the rest of the song.  Now don’t get me wrong, I think b-sides are often underappreciated and I can definitely see myself still listening to this song months down the road, but “rainy,rainy,smiles.” is never going to be “the” song that gets people into DIV or that seasoned DIV fans pick as their favorite.

“you” is a good example of DIV’s more ballad-oriented pop-rock style.  It’s happy and lighthearted, but it also packs a punch, musically.  The chorus is very sweet and is also followed up by some impressive guitar riffs/ a mini-solo on Shogo’s part.  In the middle of the song, things calm down with some chilled out synths and a ~gentle~ version of the chorus.  The song is very much in the vein of “I swear” from the ZERO ONE album, which probably somewhat explains why I enjoy this one too.  One tiny thing I don’t really enjoy about the song are the repeated riffs which open and end the track; they just don’t seem to fit that well.  Interestingly enough, I preferred this when I first saw the PVs for “you” and “BUTTERFLY DREAMER,” but I’m starting to rethink that.  I mean no offense to “you,” because it’s a lovely track, but I think “BUTTERFLY DREAMER” has proven to be slightly more interesting with closer listening.
 
“Cinderella” features a funky beat that’s quite different from DIV’s usual style.  The closest thing would probably be “赤裸々ララ” from the album.  Bassist Chobi gets to shine a little bit on this track.  This is probably the kind of song that is super fun to hear live.  Unfortunately, similar to “rainy,rainy,smiles.” the song has kind of one note the whole time, besides a freakout guitar solo in the middle.   Plus, the chorus isn’t that good.  Weirdly enough, he’s singing about “Venus” (at least as far as I can hear) and he does this in “赤裸々ララ” as well.  Not my favorite song, but a cool addition to their discography I suppose.

Overall, we have two solid singles, with "BUTTERFLY DREAMER" arguably being the stronger one.  Aside from my minor gripes, there's nothing "bad" about any of the songs.  "Cinderella" and "rainy,rainy,smiles." might be forgettable in the long run, but they're still enjoyable nonetheless.  In fact, the only real tragedy is the absolutely awful and random cover art for "BUTTERFLY DREAMER" (the limited edition, at least).  The PV for the song is actually quite visually stunning and I can think of a ton of stills from that that would've been better for the cover.  ANYWAY, I think "BUTTERFLY DREAMER" and "you" (the songs) would have been more than fitting on the ZERO ONE album, which for me is the new bar the band has set for itself.  Here's hoping their next single will continue this trend.

...we don't even hear the b-side of their double single...

But, this is a great news... Glad to hear that

Maybe I become the minority. I prefer Butterfly Dreamer than You.
...but, I want Shogo's shirt in You PV.
 
I gonna use Chisa final growl as my ringtone.

I do buy stuff here and there, but I don't buy multiple versions of one release. I feel like it's sort of a rip-off, so I always just go with one version (usually the reguar).
 
 
Depends. I never understood why people want chekis so badly, to be quite honest, so I'd never spend money on them. What I do buy though is mostly posters and tour shirts...that's it really. I do like catching picks and drum sticks though, I see it as a nice souvenir from a concert! (even though I've never actually caught one because I'm a midget)
 
 
No, I can't understand what they're saying, so I don't see the point, haha.
 
 
No, I wouldn't. I feel like following them in the street seems like a form of harrassment? It's hard to explain but when these people are outside just minding their own business I feel like you should just let them do that once they give off signals that they don't want to be bothered. It's different if the artist approaches the fans themselves though.
 
 
Nope.
 
 
I don't think it does? Of course I have songs that can cheer me up or get me off my feet, but not much more than that. I never dressed or changed my personal life due too music.
 
 
Yep! I'm not planning on moving there, but I would love to visit one day to see some of my favourites live and do some sightseeing as well.
 
 
I'm not interested in gossip surrounding the bands I listen to. I really don't mind if someone has 200 love children all throughout Japan or if they spend all their money on cocaine, as long as their music is awesome! (unless it's extremist cases like them supporting neo-nazism or smth of the sorts lol)
 
 
Sometimes I think "hey, it would be fun to hang out with the guys from cinema staff because they seem pretty funny", but that's it really. Friendships come naturally after all, it's nothing that can be forced.
 
 
Sadly I lack any form of musical talent for being in a band, haha. I think I'll just stick to enjoying music instead of (poorly) attempting to make it

Enjoy the complete akwardness of Cell and special feature:
 
Kon grabbing his balls 8D
 
Great song as usual ^^