Rize

Haven't visited this thread for a while! It's time to change that;
 

Me, me!
They're a wonderful band!

As Champ stated earlier, this thing is basically up to Trombe to decide.
 
But I think that by using only a few tags could actually help. What if only like two tags were used, eg. "New release" and "New band"? I doubt no one would really explore tags like New member, New tour (since most of us don't live in Japan), Hiatus etc - those interest only those who are actually interested in the band and they'll check the info anyways.
 
But I understand Magatsu's view of an easier way to spot new bands - though it isn't that hard or confusing atm.

Yes! I knew Yuuto would be back Can't wait to see him active again, missed quite his rapping

Yes! I knew Yuuto would be back Can't wait to see him active again, missed quite his rapping

Hi!
Glad you started to write an introduction though! Anyways, welcome!
 
"You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community" 
I think some emoticons should appear/being available for you after some time or some posts in the community.
Even I received such message for the star-ratings, though I'm not quite sure.
All other emoticons are being allowed to use for me, so I'm sure it will be available for you soon as well

First thing that comes in mind if we're talking about females in the VK scene...
 
Decola Hopping!


 
I'm not into female vocals much, but she totally impressed me with her vocals!
Even her grows are kick ass lol  

Welcome on the forum Visutox! 
 
Damn, you really know many languages! I'm font of you!
Really good music taste you got there!
 
Anyways, I hope you have a good time here and feel free to join us in the MH chat sometime~

The Japanese

 

 

 

 



 

Church of Misery - Thy Kingdom Scum

 

What is it?

The soft spot between doom metal, sludge and stoner metal. Although apparently they don't like to be called stoner metal.

 

Why do I like it?

It's immersive, brooding, dark and groovy at the same time. The songs are complex and yet "accessible" enough for a casual listener of this specific genre (like myself) to enjoy. There aren't really any songs that stand out in particular, but the album, that is all themed around famous serial killers, is best enjoyed as a whole. And as such it does a really good job. But if I had to pick a favourite song, it would probably be the faster-paced, blues-y "Lambs to the slaughter". But it's best just to spin the album as a whole and enjoy the powerful bass and psychedlic rythms.



 

 

 



 

Gauzes - 揺篭

 

 

What is it?

Visual kei, the old-school flavour. Highly influenced by bands like La'Mule.

 

Why do I like it?

When trimming down my list to 5 japanese picks, I had my top 4 figured out pretty quickly. The battle for 5th was hard, but eventually GAUZES won against Jupiter, amber gris and other stuff. Because you just don't hear stuff like this often anymore, and hearing it done well is even rarer. Obviously if you want originality, this isn't really the place to look. But like Grieva they manage to combine a nostalgic sound with modern influences, although I consider GAUZES more "conservative" in the way the emulate their idol's sound. I must also admit that their album only "clicked" at the second listen for me, but now I really love it.



 

 



 

グリーヴァ (Grieva) - 鬼ト影

 

What is it?

Visual kei, the old-school flavour. Highly influenced by bands like old Dir en grey.

 

Why do I like it?

I already wrote an extensive review on this in the joined staff list, so I'll keep it short. It seems the common consensus now is that you either hate this band for being a Dir en grey copycat, or that you love them for bringing back a long-lost sound. Yes, I could just go back and listen to some old DeG records, but I really like what these guys to with their influences, while still sounding fresh enough to be enjoyable.



 

 



 

実験台モルモット (Jikkendai Marmot) - 見開キ こころ❤断面図

 

What is it?

Jazzy pop-rock basically, with a unique vocalist.

 

Why do I like it?

Jikkendai Marmot always manage to deliver delightful, sweeping jazz-pop - and lovely vocal acrobatics. Which, I guess, are a matter of taste, but you can certainly hear that vocalist Tani Takuma is passionate about the music, especially in songs like 正しい心の殺し方.  He is accompanied by a violin, sometime cheery, sometimes melancholic and a playful piano. Most of the songs on this album are of an upbeat nature, while still maintaining their characteristic melancholic undertone. There are also some full ballads like 小さな虫 though.  If you liked their previous releases, you will also like this. If you don't like jazzy stuff and/or crazy high-pitched vocals, you probably should pass up on this.



 

 



 

なかの綾 (Nakano Aya) - へたなうそ

 

What is it?

Jazzy retro-pop with latin influences and a smooth, beautiful voice.

 

Why do I like it?

I absolutely loved her debut album "Zurui hito" from 2010, although it was basically just an album full of covers of old songs, mostly from the 60s and 70s. But it was just thorougly enjoyable and very coherent, despite containing all these songs from other people. Compared to that the new album "Hetana uso" falls a bit short - literally, as it's only 7 songs, one being a re-recording from the first album. But it still has all the things that made the debut shine: beautiful nostalgic songs, that make you think of old movies, rendered in Nakano's soft, yet powerful voice. I didn't actually check if "Hetana uso" has any original songs or ist just all covers again (it probably is), but it doesn't really minimize the enjoyment you get from this album.



 

 

Other things I liked (alphabetical):

amber gris - Around Children

青葉市子 - 0

Dear L'Novel - 愛と死

Jupiter - CLASSICAL ELEMENT

LUNA SEA - A will

メメント・モリ - 百花繚乱-好色狂女

Yeti - 賛成の反対

Best of 2013: Pop
 

The World In My Eyes by 歌者森

Songs: Drunk and Cables The Electric Lady by Janelle Monáe

Songs: Dance Apocalyptic and Q.U.E.E.N. 魔女図鑑 by 吉澤嘉代子

Songs: 未成年の主張 and らりるれりん 空中ランドリー by エリーニョ

Songs: highway and ピクニック 浮き名 by 椎名林檎

Songs: 熱愛発覚中 and IT WAS YOU

their 2 new maxi singles "BUTTERFLY DREAMER" "you" will be released at 2014/02/26 (2 TYPE each)
 
limited edition (1,575yen) of their new maxi single "BUTTERFLY DREAMER" will include CD+DVD (including "BUTTERFLY DREAMER" PV, PV making & scene of their one-man live "ZERO ONE" at Shinjuku BLAZE at at 2013/11/03 Part A), and regular edition (1,260yen) will include CD only
 
[CD track list]
01.BUTTERFLY DREAMER
02.rainy,rainy,smiles.
 
 
limited edition (1,575yen) of their new maxi single "you" will include CD+DVD (including "you" PV, PV making & scene of their one-man live "ZERO ONE" at Shinjuku BLAZE at at 2013/11/03 Part B ), and regular edition (1,260yen) will include CD only
 
[CD track list]
01.you
02.Cinderella

After digging around for a bit, and with the help of Linh, I've formulated a theory that they're breaking up because of money issues. Turn-A sounds like a last-ditch effort to re-record old A songs and then sell them to make some emergency cash. The low quality and poor reception of those CDs put the nail in the coffin for this band.
 
It's sad but VK is expensive and as much as I liked them they never got the push they needed to really make it.

Also Nimo, if you're lurking now would be the time to jump in. Tell us you're going to form a new band "B" or something. Anything pls.
 
EDIT: Also Linh makes another good point. They all die at the end of this music video. That supports my theory even more.




Someone bake this woman brownies. She's cracking all the mysteries today.

「穢れ」を知る度に貴方に深く溺れた。
冷めてしまわぬように嘘を演じ、身を捧げて先の見えぬ夜を重ねた (2x somewhere at the beginning and at the end)
 
「Kegare」 o shiru tabi ni anata ni fukaku oboreta. Samete shimawanu yō ni uso o enji, mi o sasagete saki no mienu yoru o kasaneta
 
ねぇ寒くはない？隣で温めるから...
Ne~e samuku wanai? Tonari de atatamerukara...

Rilakkuma (me) & my younger brother. ;'D
 

Sweet, finally something new besides his best-of albums

Great to see you're making the introduction-post!
 
Again, welcome on the Forum!
I hope you have a great time here around~!
 
I don't have much knowledge for older bands, but XA-VAT and Malice Mizer were really awesome! 
Good music taste!

Amazing MV spot! Liking their new outfits as well!

just ask Linh for a date and forget about girl #1 and girl #2
 
-helping ppl to find each other since 08.12.2013-

PV spot for 夢想咏花.

Maiku hipped me onto DIV when I came back and I have to say it really is a great album and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future. Exactly what I like in my VK <3 
 
Other than that, I remember having liked a picture of her's previous EP from sometime ago but haven't listened to/didn't know about C yet and I will have to get on that soon. D: 

Yes! Glad to see this on here.  DIV's debut album is an extremely solid effort from a fairly new band.  I wrote an in-depth review but long story short, one of the best VK releases of the year, imo.  Some bands flourish with singles and then when they release that long-awaited album, they fail miserably.  Not with DIV.  I personally prefer this album to any of their previous stuff.  If you're looking for a mature, and well-executed pop-rock/alternative album from the VK scene, look no further!
9/10

(Also Linh, I actually love the song "interlude"! The way it leads into ASTERIOS is brilliant, )

I've actually heard of City Hunter...well, kinda. I saw someone mention it somewhere, I'm not sure where. But I looked into it and it looks pretty interesting. I'll definitely check that out. Lee Min Ho is a great actor, too.
 
I made it to, I think, the episode where
 
 
but I was mostly just watching that show with my gf. Isn't GTO the live action version of an anime? I forgot to mention I'm Sam. I haven't finished it yet because I keep forgetting to watch it, but I really dig that show a lot. I think I only have three or four episodes left. The guy who plays the teacher is a riot.

Honestly, this was one of a surprising release! I didn't expect to see Juri going into J-Pop.
 
Let's get together now
This was actually a really good song! It's my favorite of the whole mini-album. He's really good in giving me a good mood when hearing this song.
 
Blanche
This song turned also pretty good after a few listens. It's soft and all, but not bad. ^^ It's a good sleep song w
 
You'll never walk alone
This is also a pretty soft song, but his voice is really beautiful in this one.
 
ミチ
The 2nd best song of the whole mini-album
It brings me back in a good mood again and that's a thumb up! ( ^ _ ^ ) b
 
未来の光
Another great sleeping~ song.
 
Remember the rain
Same as above, but all those soft songs are really enjoyable to listen once in a while, so this is good
 
シェイド
This was a nice try, but I prefer the metal version of Deluhi than this re-make cover.
 
So overall.. I think I'd give it a 8/10

Voted Shuuei because for the most part, it's not a video where the band members are just performing in a room and I didn't like their look that much in Die Kusse (though the beginning acoustic part of the video with Meto lip syncing the song while Mia plays acoustic is awesome)

Die Kusse is pretty rad. I liked tsuzuku's outfit in that one :'D
But Shuuei itself, is really unique. And not just the song either. The actual video isn't nearly as boring as some of their others imo