Spectralion

By the way, Angel's Egg is an overlooked masterpiece. Slow-burning, surrealistic and poetic anime with barely any dialogue at all. It's not as much about plot, characters and all that, but rather an atmospheric trip, or just an experience, that offers something different. Probably the most unique anime I've ever seen. It's not even 80 minutes long, but 85% of everyone who  watch this will be bored to death and the 80 minutes will feel more like 578 minutes. But this is perfect IMO. Highly recommended for people with some patience who appreciate atmosphere, visual style and the artsy side of things.
 

It's irritating when you discovered some lesser VK band, getting hooked up, and next thing you got is band disbandment news. It's way more irritating when it's all happen on the same day.

Also:
 
The "Memento" PV:
 
The new look, for "Ideal":

It's irritating when you discovered some lesser VK band, getting hooked up, and next thing you got is band disbandment news. It's way more irritating when it's all happen on the same day.

It's irritating when you discovered some lesser VK band, getting hooked up, and next thing you got is band disbandment news. It's way more irritating when it's all happen on the same day.

It's irritating when you discovered some lesser VK band, getting hooked up, and next thing you got is band disbandment news. It's way more irritating when it's all happen on the same day.

I'm embarrassed with myself because I can't remember how i find this glorious community.
 
I know i joined here since TW day, but until now I still don't contribute much. 
 
Without you guys, I don't know how to live my life. 
 
Yeah, I'm ready to next 10th anniversary and hoping that I can contribute more. 

I find myself with a lot of time to think about the state of Japanese music and how things have changed since I first became a fan. I'm sure you guys have these thoughts as well. For the 10th anniversary, I'm going to publish some random musings I've had about the scene. They'll just be bullet points from one sentence to a few sentences about anything related to visual kei or J-rock. If you guys want to join in just leave your bullet points below and I'll be posting them sometime soon.
 
Thoughts from @Zeus:
 

the GazettE
 
We always had a dream of getting together a J-Rock Wikipedia of sorts to catalog our history. That idea is all but dead in the water. Last.fm is the closest we have to that and it's very decentralized. The day those servers go down is the day an entire epoch of international visual kei ends. From the perspective of an international fan, live distributed releases suck ass. It sucks more when the song in question is not put on another purchasable release, rendering that song out of reach for people like me unless we fork over tons of money to a third party reseller, so it's not like we could benefit the band if we tried. It really sucks when it was given away at a band's last gig, because the fans of that band will only dwindle from that moment on and the release will become even rarer until it reaches a tipping point where no one cares anymore. Then, you might get it if someone feels kind and doesn't purge it from their hard drives. An entire era of Japanese history was lost when Mega Upload went down. Many places exclusively used that website for all their deeds. It's said that 4% of all the traffic in the internet flowed through their servers at their peak. I say this because there are lots of releases that you just can't find anymore because links are dead and the fans have left. I've learned a valuable lesson about the permanence of data. I used to hate collection albums and viewed them as a quick way to make a buck. But after some stellar recent releases and faves of mine that broke up and left a collection album behind before they broke up, they are very useful for both sharing a blast from the past and for making mix tapes. Most blogspots have always seemed like a futile attempt to mimic what we do here for some bored teenagers 15 seconds of fame. I used to expend my energy trying to stamp them out, but that's just as futile. There were a select few that actually served as an archival device and were lit. Places like Byouto and Evil en lucifer existed with a plan and a demographic in mind and actually bothered with mirroring their own links and getting their own CDs. Re-recordings are almost always better than remasters for me. At least with the former it feels like the band put some effort into it. Speaking of which, the re-recordings on Lycaon's second album aren't that bad. I still don't like EROS or Aventure though. I've never listened to an X JAPAN song and I don't understand all of the hate Yoshiki gets sometimes. I like poking fun at Japanese Democracy, but other than that I'm from a different era than original X fans (are there even any left) so I can't cash in on nostalgia. I'm so far divorced from their music I have no feelings one way or another and if it ever does get released, I plan on buying, listening, and reviewing the new album fairly as if we haven't been waiting forever to hear it.  

THE PIASS
 
Never thought I would see a scene without UNDERCODE. Then again, there was a time I thought there would never be a scene without Matina and these days few people remember that label. Does YOHIO hang around here? He must visit every now and again - this place is too addictive and centralizing not to. Is there even anywhere else to go? Where do all the n00bs come from? I haven't heard anyone refer to anything as "too American" in years. We successfully stamped that ignorance out of the scene! I remember when XodiacK was first formed, their partnership with HearJapan, and their subsequent financial failure with their first single. They were a joke back then. Now they are considered a cult classic. It's crazy how malleable opinions are. BORN and Lycaon are two bands I waited forever for their disbandment, and when it happened I wasn't happy. Visual kei is making a third shift in sound away from the millenial-kei tunes into the unknown. This is a great time to be a fan!  
Thoughts from @fitear1590:
 

the fin.
I need more VK bands with technical guitar work that aren't necessarily tied to some offshoot of metal (Aicle was a perfect example) The lines between VK and certain brands of indie are getting more porous; a very exciting combination of worlds! Honestly, what happened to Shiina Ringo? She was such a prominent figure in my music taste at one point, but she fizzled out... Please. End. The. Treble. Synth. Fad. Long live "art kei". May the patron saints (ex-members of bands like Moran, yazzmad, amber gris, etc.) keep the style going!  
Thoughts from @emmny:
 

DIV
amber gris saved visual kei after Buglug tried to destroy it and before issei literally almost destroyed himself falling off a balcony meto style Few things were more depressing than seeing Yuuki ruin UnsraW and then flop into infinity with DOAK "Lost november" by Diaura is the most iconic vk song released in...ever Revival kei was the only thing that saved vk past 2012 DIR EN GREY's career trajectory has been amazing and no I don't care what you have to say about DSS No, i'm not EVER getting over D'espairsray so can it. Can bands stop acting like visual kei is still popular, trying to play massive venues (which would have been considered average size 10 years ago) and then flopping intensely? Miztavlah YOU'RE NEXT...300/1200 O-West wait on it DADAROMA and Mejibray have the biggest followings in the western fandoms since vk died and its actually kinda adorable...won't save vk tho Ikenai Kiss by DIV was both the peak and death of EDM kei...RIP  
Thoughts from @doombox:
 

CROSSFAITH
 
I still don't know how baby VK bands manage to pay for their costumes and make up artists when they can't get 100 people in a venue. MIYAVI proved you can survive after VK, have a public marriage and family, be covered in tattoos, and still be wildly popular. These days it's getting plain to see VK has gone down like the Titanic and we're all waiting in tiny lifeboats, clinging to each other and hoping another big ship will eventually come to save us. I'm still not over K (Pay money To my Pain), Shunsuke (Eldorado, bis), or Jasmine You (Versailles).  ONE OK ROCK took over the world. I'm still in shock. Japanese electro-core burnt out way too fast but man it was fun while it lasted.   
Thoughts from @tetsu_sama69:



BAISER
 
When will people realize that most VK bands are just homage of older previous groups and THIS WILL ALWAYS BE A THING?!!? Most VK singers are just massive fanboys of Kiyoharu/Kyo/Hyde/Ruki even if it doesn't seem like they are there always SOMETHING that gives it away and trust me even your vk daddies had people they were fanboys of as well. "Musical differences" is just an excuse for you ran out of mommy/daddy's money for your costumes/recordings OR you just don't get along To survive in this fandom you either have to be extremely open-minded or stick to what you know you like but trust me... not everyone is going to like what you like and you have to accept that Accept it, we're all weeaboos.  
 
Thoughts from @Ito:

Sel'm
 
Not only has aie somehow managed tostill be sticking around, he is almost seemingly trying to  single handedly save VK...and somehow suceeding?  It took nearly the full span of 10 years, but every one of my favorite VK bands from 2007 has disbanded I am not sure if VK has gotten worse or if I've just gotten older and grumpier Yoshiki has transitioned from a legend to a laughingstock in the community It surprises me when I meet someone IRL and they tell me they are a big VK fan...and then I find out they haven't heard of MH. Like where the hell else are you going? I wish I was more inclined to go back and check out older work. I know I have missed out on plenty of wonderful Jrock, but I am just so keen on keeping with what it current. I really need to fix that. Are we ever going to get any VK bands to come to the States again, outside of the biggest of names? While I listen to far less VK now than I used to (read that as my musical tastes have broadened), it still holds an incredibly special place in my heart.  
Thoughts from @CAT5:
 

八十八ヶ所巡礼
 
International Visual Kei fans are some of the craziest, most irritating, and deranged people that I've come across. They're also some of the most passionate, interesting, fun-loving, and generous music fans that I've had the pleasure of knowing. There's always been a stigma surrounding the community, but in my experience, there's more good to be said than bad. Monochrome-Heaven is one of the most slept-on forums of all time. We've been around for a decade and the community is still thriving despite the fact that forums are continually slipping into obsolescence. The world of J-rock is vast and infinite, and there's always something new and different to try if you look for it or ask the right people. Trying to convince VK fans that music outside of VK is somehow "better" or more worthwhile is an exercise in futility. Condescending or scoffing at VK fans is also equally idiotic. I've done both. Don't do it. You'll just come off as an absolute dick who's insecure in his own tastes and interests. VK marketing ploys are still pretty fucking hilarious and ridiculous.  Speaking of which, most of us have, at one point, gone broke for Visual Kei and Japanese music in general. It's expensive and wallet-crippling, yet glorious all the same. I still can't wrap my head around cheki or conditional disbandments. DIR EN GREY have never NOT been relevant.  

Phantasmagoria
 
MH and VK fans at large love themselves a good drama/scandal. From what i've seen, it's usually best to just have a sense of humor about these things. J-rock changes over time. Your favorite era may have been five, ten, or even fifteen years ago. Hell, it might even be NOW. Whatever the case, accept that the musical landscape is constantly changing. I think it's more effective to cherish your favs. and continuously sing their praises than it is to bitch and moan about bygone styles and eras, and how all new music sucks. Sharing keeps the J-rock community alive. It's what's kept us going this long. And not just the sharing of the music itself, but the sharing of news, lyrics/translations, scans, review, live reports, images...even something as simple as sharing your own, unique thoughts about a band or a release. It all counts. Every little piece contributes to keeping the scene alive at large. MH has truly been blessed in this regard, as so many of our members have come here to share openly and freely all out of love for VK, J-rock, and Japanese music as a whole. It's a beautiful thing and I thank everyone for every penny spent, every CD ripped, every mb uploaded, every post typed, and every general ounce of energy poured into our common love for Japanese music.

Thanks for reading!

Being NEET sucks :/

I'm embarrassed with myself because I can't remember how i find this glorious community.
 
I know i joined here since TW day, but until now I still don't contribute much. 
 
Without you guys, I don't know how to live my life. 
 
Yeah, I'm ready to next 10th anniversary and hoping that I can contribute more. 

I'm embarrassed with myself because I can't remember how i find this glorious community.
 
I know i joined here since TW day, but until now I still don't contribute much. 
 
Without you guys, I don't know how to live my life. 
 
Yeah, I'm ready to next 10th anniversary and hoping that I can contribute more. 

I'm embarrassed with myself because I can't remember how i find this glorious community.
 
I know i joined here since TW day, but until now I still don't contribute much. 
 
Without you guys, I don't know how to live my life. 
 
Yeah, I'm ready to next 10th anniversary and hoping that I can contribute more. 

I remember Monochrome Heaven as a community for pringles enthausiasts
I remember Monochrome Heaven touching my forehead in a dark alley and finding a mediafire link inscribed into my skin
I remember Monochrome Heaven reluctantly feeding me and raising me as its own child 
I remember Monochrome Heaven taking The People's Download Section away, essentially literally becoming more fascist than Hitler
I remember Monochrome Heaven teaching me how writing thinkpieces about Dir en grey sometimes is okay
I remember Monochrome Heaven for its secret hentai board 
I remember Monochrome Heaven as simultaneously being the most kawaii & unkawaii board of 2016
I remember Monochrome Heaven teaching me it's perfectlly okay to say that this time you're definitely leaving forever, and then still coming back the next day
But, most importantly, I remember Monochrome Heaven becau[YOU NEED A MONOCHROME HEAVEN PREMIUM ACCOUNT TO ACCESS THIS CONTENT]

Ten years ago on this exact day my thirteen year old self was browsing myspace, like most kids my age back then did in their free time, when I came across a post on a Jrock group I frequented at the time. The post was by a "Jake" advertising a brand new Jrock forum that he and a friend created just earlier that day. At the time I was chomping at the bit for any new way to discover new Japanese rock music (VK in particular), I immediately registered and became the fourth member of that brand new empty forum. That forum's name was Tainted World and the Jake and friend in question were none other than Spike760 and Ito.
 
Since that day I have had many ups and downs with this community for better and worse. I've discovered a thousand or more bands, talked with hundreds of people from all corners of the world, made dozens of friends and like minded acquaintances, and even made a few enemies as well. I have witnessed every drama thread/post/chat log that this forum has generated, participated in profound thought invoking discussions that have sprouted up in various topics over the course of a decade, and even was here to witness the almost catastrophic implosion of the site back in 2010-2011 that led to the current domain name. I became a moderator and for a time actually did my job quite well (LOL) this gave me a direct line to grow the community in other ways than just music, in those efforts I would like to believe that the anime and video game fans of the community found this place a little more accommodating and welcome.
 
In ten years my musical taste has gone through multiple transformations that were no doubt in big part due to the people here in this community. I have grown as a person due to my time here, I've learned how to deal with life's unfortunate circumstances and how to cope when things go bad. This place has been a eternal sanctuary for me in my depressing and boredom filled times. I'm now twenty four years old and no longer the child I was when I came to this place, that in itself is a little sad, since my most fun and memorable moments were from those early years when I was still in middle and high school just trying to find a place I could fit in and kill some time.
 
But one thing is for sure... This place is a second home for me, no matter how busy my life gets I know that I can come back here and just be myself and feel good about it.
 
Ten years? I say that's not enough. I won't be satisfied until I can say I've been apart of this place for 20 years, what the hell fuck it. 30 years! Why not? WE CAN KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE  AS LONG AS WE BELIEVE!
 
~ Saku
 

Ten years ago today, Spike760 and myself decided that we wanted to start a Japanese Rock forum. After a while of debating, we eventually settled on Tainted World (after the D’espairsRay song of the same name). Frankly, neither one of expected it to last all that long; this would hardly be the first forum that we had run together that didn’t go anywhere. But what started as a fun little project somehow blossomed into an amazing community. The fact that this site still exists after all this time has little to say about Spike and my’s original plan and everything to say about the members here. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping build this site into what it is today.
 
While I was one of the key founders of this site, Monochrome Heaven is so much bigger than just me. That became clear to me when we went under the transition from Tainted World to our current name back in 2011. While to really understand why this is so important requires more context, I don’t want to go into a full on history lesson. But since that point, so many members have stepped up and dedicated themselves to this site, putting in the time and effort (and money) into making Monochrome Heaven as great as it possibly can be.
 
To every member that has joined and felt like they were apart of a community over this silly niche interest we all have, I raise a glass to you. You all are what have made this place special. And to every staff member, current and past, no words can express my thanks to you - you are people that I have come to admire and consider good friends.
 
But this post isn’t about me, but about the Monochrome Heaven! I want to hear from all of you as to why this community is special, why you’ve becoming coming back for 10 months or 10 years. Or tell us one of your favorite moments from your time coming, whether that was a release you were looking for forever or a stupid meme that took over the forum.

Here’s some from other users to get things started!:
 
 
 
@-jibakurei-
 
@SEKHMET
 
@Ada Suilen
 
@Flame-X
 
@Seiji
 
@Platy
 
@efuru
 
@saishuu
 
@Furik
 

Tracklist:
1. 枯詩
2. Cassis
3. D.L.N
4. CALM ENVY
5. reila
6. UNTITLED
7. WITHOUT A TRACE
8. 紅蓮
9. 白き優鬱
10. PLEDGE
11. 絲
12. 体温
 
| Is 2017 the year of boss album re-recordings?
 
The initial announcement of Traces Vol. 2 had me cautious. Traces Best of 2005-2009 was an uninspiring grab bag of singles designed to please, but it didn't feel like anything more than a standard compilation. Traces Vol. 2 is a different beast entirely. Once the band announced the album would be completely re-recorded ballads featuring some older songs, it went from a blip on my radar to the most awaited release of the first quarter of 2017.
 
Versailles' The Greatest Hits collection album earlier this year had a very similar goal; take old classics and update them to fit a band's new style and budget. Versailles were more liberal in what songs they selected, but I believe the laser focus on just ballads works out for the GazettE. Ballads are their strong suit, even if I'm not the biggest fan of most of them. The production job is good considering the band did it themselves, but it is not perfect. Small things here and there bring the score down such as the main melody of "CASSIS" being buried under all the other elements, the washed out snares, or the prominence of the drums in all songs. I attribute these choices to the audio equipment they used not being neutral on all fronts. I wish I knew what equipment they used because it would be handy to hear the album the way they intended. However, it's not a deal breaker.
 
I've been craving for the band to put a new take on some of their old classics, and the band has at least taken into consideration some of the songs we really want to hear. Opening the album with the rare throwback "枯詩" (Kareuta) is a good way to curry favor from their more cynical, nostalgic fans like me. In addition to "枯詩", the tracks I was interested in most were "体温" (Taion) and "絲" (Ito), both of which sound amazing. The new heavy sections in "体温" were revised and clear up a lot of the transitional awkwardness of the original. It loses some of that "cowboy western" feel of NIL in exchange for more despair and sadness, but I might prefer the new version with a few more listens! Within the context of Traces, it works. "絲" in particular is a very early ballad I would have never expected them to consider! It sounds like a brand new song and is the best example of musical growth I can muster.
 
Other ballads, such as "D.L.N" and "白き憂鬱", did not resonate with me in their original forms but get a new lease on life on Traces. It irks me that "reila", "Cassis", and "紅蓮" are on both Traces but the effort put into these new versions make their inclusions more than acceptable. Unlike the first Traces, there is no explicit mention of a time frame the songs come from. A lack of "千鶴" (Chizuru), OMINOUS, or an extended version of "余韻" (Yoin) is enough to dock an entire point. In place of more recent ballads like "Without A Trace", "PLEDGE", and "UNTITLED", which in contrast don't sound too different from the original versions, I would have liked to see the aforementioned tracks or even earlier ballads such as "十七歳" (Juunanasai).

Then again, the fact that they avoided everything post-TOXIC on Traces 2 is damning in itself, wouldn't you say?
 
Traces Vol. 2 is the most cohesive and focused The GazettE album since DIM. Perhaps the familiarity of the tracks is at play here, or knowing before hand that there would be no forced musical experiments to switch up the flow of the album. It's just the listener, the band, and sixty seven minutes of some classics, some reinterpretations, and at worst pleasant background music. The amount of missed opportunities are minor - if any even exist.
 
 
 
Support the band!
CDJapan

"This should be anime song" is a classic.
 
 

Hon, everyone here goes through an awkward introductory phase. For a long time, I'm pretty sure @CAT5couldn't stand me. And for a while, I used to think @Zeus was an elitist jerk.
 
 
Once you start knowing people a bit more, it will feel a lot less awkward. Now Cat tolerates me. I also don't think Zeus is an elitist anymore. After talking to him and eventually meeting him IRL, I know he's an elitist jerk.  
 
You've honestly done nothing wrong and I don't think anyone was actually upset or physically affected by anything you've seen. We've seen a lot of weirdos here -- you're no where close to being on par with what is considered "bad" by MH standards.
 
You haven't:
 
-Hacked anyone's account
-Stalked + harassed several users
-Pissed off the mods on a daily basis
-Threatened the security of the site
-Created a hostile environment for others to contribute information to
-Caused a shitstorm of drama and made a new account with a "new identity" (for the 8th time)
 
It's still your choice whether you'd like to lurk or not, but there's nothing to beat yourself up over.

They just released new album, "not not me"

The title is somewhat described the whole album, which is less electronic than usual and more rock. Somewhat not like charisma.com.
 
The sound of heavy and bold bassline, the twangy guitarplay, trumpet, and even saxophone are added on their music.
...and this album is definitely one a great thrilling ride.
 

Please... Wrong shade of pink 😄

They literally have too much money and blinded with the love for -Misaruka-

it's called 'sinners' because they associated with weed smokers

Just watched the full PV and I'm still shook. My bald spots have expanded and I'm crying as I watch my hair fall off.
Vocals still need a lot of improvement, but overall this is everything I need.

Ban discussion of all artists other than Maria Cross. That is all we deserve.

The idea of banning discussion about an artist is a very slippery slope.

If the moderation team invokes a rule stating that an artist cannot be discussed here because we "don't care", that doesn't stop us from clamping down on discussion about any bands we don't really like. I'll be honest in that I don't care for YOHIO, but just because I do not doesn't mean someone else doesn't and they should be free to talk about visual kei in all its forms here, even white-washed kei. I also don't want to institute a rule banning all discussion of western visual kei, since that gets into a sticky discussion about what is visual kei and what isn't. Very few of us here are qualified to even begin that debate and I don't think the result would be very fruitful - just less discussion overall.
 
Also, YOHIO topics tend to be some of the most interesting on the forum since that's where everyone brings out their Sunday best jokes and memes.

I would be okay in instituting a rule restricting all YOHIO/western visual kei discussion to Global Music General Discussion.