CAT5

A few things that I can think of that might be somewhat close, although these are probably a bit further into other styles like emo, punk, screamo, hardcore, etc.. This time we will not promise and forgive 200MPH Alt Of The Society NONREM akutagawa THE ACT WE ACT If these are in your ballpark, I might be able to recommend some more.

What type of music do you listen to now? Not that i'm trying to pick your brain for the trade-off or anything...

Me too, haha. Have you finished this yet? It was quite a chore for me to sit through, but it did eventually pick up near the end. There were definitely some exciting and well executed moments, mostly thanks to the animation and music/music direction, but overall I felt like the hype was unfounded.

Horror usually isn't my cup of tea, but what are some good movies that you'd recommend enjoying with your significant other?

Isn't that maximum the hormone's drummer on the left and one their vocalists on the right?

ahahaha. That April Fool's day joke actually originated here: http://monochrome-heaven.com/index.php/topic/34281-far-east-nope/?hl=dizain you're welcome ; )

This is by a Japanese emo band called akutagawa. The song is called '徒花 (adabana)'. It's from their 2006 EP '君と僕'. It was also featured on cosmicnote's 2009 sampler. Great fucking band too, where did you find this btw? if you don't mind me asking. I've shared their music here iirc. This is the song I selected for ORZ applicants to write about, haha

Thanks for your responses, everyone! This all makes perfectly good sense to me, so I've certainly got a better picture of things now.

I see what you mean, and I completely understand your preference, but at the same time, I think the non-staff reviews are perfectly fine. We're a diverse forum with people form all over the world, of different backgrounds and different music tastes - so if it's "all over the place", then I would say good to that! Personally, I appreciate anyone who's willing to come and share their musical perspectives on here. It's great to see so many different outlooks, writing styles, and personalities in the reviews. We're open to taking suggestions for reviews, but we try to stick to reviewing music that we personally feel strongly about, whether positive, negative, or what have you. Otherwise, writing reviews could become a soulless chore. Personally, I'd rather read reviews by someone who has a genuine interest in the music and is invested in it to some degree. For instance, I am not too big on visual kei, so while I'm sure some people might still be interested in my thoughts on certain VK releases, I don't feel my perspective on the matter would be as relevant as some others here. I think most of my fellow ORZ members also feel the same.

*shoulder pats* Seconding both what doombox and Kira said! I believe you have inherent value by virtue of your very existence, although it may be difficult to believe what with how the world tries to tell you what's valuable and what's not. But this is why self-love is so important. You really have to build yourself up and shield yourself from the negativity. It's difficult, but keep living. It will get better! Hang in there! ;__;

I usually subscribe to the notion of "live and let live", but I'm sorry, the entire concept of spending money on chekis bewilders me! It just seems like buying photographs of strangers...which is creepy: *purchases 10 chekis* "My family photo album is almost complete"

You've been here just a little over a year, and you're already a treasured staff member and official reviewer, look at you! You've even grown more confident and don't waffle as much. ;p I can't believe I never posted here, but...welcome *OFFICIALLY* and congrats on being with us for over a year now! Time flies! Oh, I'm CAT btw If you have any questions or concerns feel free to message anyone with a red, green, or bl....oh wait

Multiple choice poll! MH POLL OF THE WEEK #32: How do you explore music? We all approach music discovery from different angles, so what's yours? Have you ever even considered the way you explore music or has it always been just second nature to you? If any of the poll options click with you, go ahead and check them. If not feel free to explain your approach! To submit a poll for the MH POLL OF THE WEEK, P.M. either @CAT5 or @beni with your poll question, choices, and state whether it's multiple choice or not.

Oh no, I definitely agree! I think it works really well either way! Like I mentioned to , I think it feels like a "to be continued", and just leaves you wanting more. Perhaps it's a precursor to the next release? It actually reminds me of "Louder Than War (2019)" a bit. And funnily enough, both tracks took a while to grown on me. I'm enjoying it the more I listen, though!

Finally got a chance to really sink my teeth into 'Elegance'. (nevermind my avatar), and it's been an incredibly blissful listen. I've had it on repeat on foobar for a while now, although I accidentally failed to drag the 6th song on to the playlist. Though that was kind of fortuitous because in doing so, I realized all the more how well this EP flows. This isn't to take away from track 6 - I like it, and it's been growing on me - but tracks 1-5 on repeat sound like a never-ending dream. ; )

Firstly, thank you very much to everyone who took a moment to vote in this poll and/or leave comments! It's greatly appreciated! We have been looking over all of your suggestions and will take them all into consideration! Secondly, I would like to address a few things as co-leader of the Official Review Team: Honestly, none of us are 'professionals'. Personally, I feel like tossing this word around is a bit misleading. I speak for all of the ORZ members when I say that this is simply a hobby of ours. None of us get paid for doing this. Our levels of writing are all over the place, but we work hard at this, we support each other, and we just try to have fun with it. I would also have to disagree with the notion that the non-staff reviews are any "less than". All reviews are inherently biased and trust me, the staff 'fangirl' just as hard over music as anyone else. I don't see anything wrong with being enthusiastic about a release or an artist. The only difference between the staff reviews and the normal reviews is that we're as an organized, team effort. A team effort that almost any MH member could take part in if they were willing to put in the work. But at the end of the day, both staff and non-staff reviews are equally important and appreciated! Our goal is not to be divisive. Lastly, while we would like to cover a broader spectrum of music, we don't force any of our members to write about music that they don't want to. Where would be the fun in that? The kind of reviews that get written depends on the taste of the individual member. We are planning a recruitment campaign sometime in the foreseeable future, so depending on the results, we will see what kind of reviews we can provide.

Here are a few that come to mind for me. I remember hearing/listening to these a lot growing up: OutKast - Elevators (Me & You) This song came out in 1996, so I was 9 years old and in elementary school at the time. This was also a few years before they became a REALLY big, crossover act. Being from the same city as Outkast, I distinctly remember a few lines from this song that might have stood out to other locals too. Andre raps "Where me and my nigga rode the Marta, through the hood" - 'Marta' is the name of the public transportation system here. He also raps "We caught the 86, Lithonia headed to Decatur"...Decatur is where I was born and I currently reside in Lithonia Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy Another hip-hop group from my home city, who were also closely associated with Outkast. This song was out in 1995, so it also reminds me of my youth, and just a completely different time in general. iirc, my eldest sister actually owned the album this was on. I had no idea what this song was about as a kid, but all i know was the chorus was catchy and everyone loved cee-lo's verse. I can still appreciate this song as an adult, though, especially since I have a much better grasp of the lyrics. Two-mix - Rhythm Emotion The second opening theme song from the Gundam Wing anime. This series debuted in the United States in the year 2000, so I had to be in middle school. I hadn't actually heard all of the song, since it was broadcast on Cartoon Network's toonami and they replaced the original theme songs for us murricans. But pieces of the song did play during a few episodes. I was completely enamored with it, and it became one of the very first songs I burned to CD. And thus began my long descent into unbridled weeabooism. don't judge my adolescent self That's it for now. I may return to waffle on about more later ; )

A lot of these bands are cherished by J-indie heads, but I've never really felt too compelled to try some of these either. HINTO's first 2 albums are pretty good. They're basically SPARTA LOCALS 2.0. ART-SCHOOL have a few nice tracks, but I've never really cared for them. Bloodthirsty Butchers are also hugely respected by countless bands (as evidenced by their ridiculous tribute albums), but I just can't get into them. Most of the stuff I've heard from them flat out bores me if i'm honest. I've been digging some of the band apart's recent material, since the vocalist began singing in Japanese, but I'm too picky about Engrish to get into most of their older stuff. Bruhh....Halloween is the perfect time to give their album "13kai wa Gekkou (十三階は月光)" a spin!!! Here's one small reason why: doom-san, the world of J-rock is vast and infinite! I'm sure you'll get that reference ;p I'd implore you to listen to "coll:Set" if you're looking for something on the darker, heavier side of VK. It's so well done and produced. mm. I had a brief fascination with metal in my early 20's, but on the whole, it's not been a genre that has stuck with me. I've not heard any of those bands, but I would not be opposed to it. You could even make a J-metal sampler for the mixtape thread if you wanted. I'd give it a shot.

I only listened to the samples once, but that was more than enough to know that this is the Japanese release I've been waiting to hear all year. Can't wait to hear it in full!

Her sound seems to have changed quite a bit since: Admittedly, I'm quite fond of the older sound, but whatever floats your boat ; )