CAT5

Or perhaps where you're looking for melody is different from where I'm looking for melody. There is such a thing as having differing opinions and having different expectations for what we want from a release. But I'm going to delve into why I stated what I did in my review to give a complete perspective of my why my frustration for THE UNRAVELING grows every time I listen to it. It's for the same reason I highlighted in my review:
 
For as much as Dir en grey claims to experiment, they really do not. All of their songs, new and old, follow the same formula more or less because the band still hasn't gotten out of their TMOAB mindset and are still trying to be metal instead of actually just playing metal (which they can!). There's this insistence on never tuning the guitars out of drop-A if they can help it, even when another tuning (even if it's half a step in either direction) sounds better. There's this insistence on always having demanding vocal lines - growls and shrieks are there because Kyo feels expected to provide growls and shrieks any chance he gets, and his vocal range soars because he's expected to span two to three octaves in every single song. Experimentation is about subverting norms and doing what you want, but since I pretty much just described DUM SPIRO SPERO and most of THE UNRAVELING in a single paragraph how much experimentation is there? Some, but not as much as they would have us believe. On YouTube there are people who take popular pop songs and rearrange them into death metal pieces. Sometimes they come out good and sometimes they don't. I bring this up because this is proof to me that not everything can be "metallized" - some songs just sound better with influence from other genres. Removing that removes the essence of what made the original song that song. This is the same problem they've had with OBSCURE and RASETSUKOKU and now with Unknown.Despair.Lost. What made Unknown...despair...a lost originally was the driving melody behind the guitar line they shamelessly ripped from LUNA SEA's G. They dropped the tuning of the riff, but at the same time they also lost all the dynamics, the pacing of the original, the polyphony and the prominence of the original riff. This new patchwork they threw together was just awful.
And the thing is: there is no need to relentlessly pursue rhythm over melody in their heavier tracks, but they do it all the fucking time. It's as if Dir en grey is afraid of being both melodic and aggressive so they choose one or the other and stick firmly in that camp. The resulting "black or white" contrast gets old very quickly. As a matter of fact, their whole approach loses it's appeal because you know what's coming before the song is over: if the song is aggressive it won't deviate. Blastbeats and death growls ahoy. If the song is initially melodic, it's not going to deviate.
And then you know what they do? They throw THE FINAL and MACABRE in there just to fuck with my point. THE FINAL is the very definition of what I mean when I describe something as melodic but aggressive. They get this one right but they fuck up Unknown...despair...a lost and Karma? What gives?
Imaginary pressure, that's what. The inconsistency of their approach slays me. Had they done with the other remakes what they've done with the last two tracks, this would be a damn near flawless release. But they didn't, so I can't say that.
So honestly, feel free to like this release however much you want. That's the beauty of personal opinion and I'm not here to crush that. But if you want to know "exactly" what I meant, it's outlined above. I don't just say things because I like blind worship, or because I love to hate everything, or because I like being unpredictable just to be unpredictable. That's what I get from this release.
So the next time you say someone doesn't "understand" melody, remember there's more than one way to approach music.

Here's the good part: they re-imagine the songs, so there's a bit of a 'surprise' element that almost makes this mini bearable. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't, but at least they try. The best part of this mini is whenever the familiar melodies appear, because they were already great in the first place.
 
Here's the bad: I think it's safe to say that nowadays DIR EN GREY equates heaviness with downtuning everything to A and low growls. It isn't. And Kyo sounds flat most of the time.
 
Here's the ugly: Shinya sounds downright bad.
 
Overall it's a very weak and forgettable attempt to recreate that early magic. The new song is derivative anyway and it wasn't the main selling point of this CD, so who cares? 4/10.

I WANT SAI GONE. NOW

椎名林檎(shena ringo) new maxi single "いろはにほへと(iroha ni hoheto) / 孤独のあかつき(kodoku no akatsuki)" will be released at 2013/05/15 (1,000yen)
 
http://www.kronekodow.com/

COME AT ME BRO

DO YOU THINK THIS IS A MOTHERFUCKING GAME

BUCK-TICK - Catalogue Victor→Mercury 87–99 (First Press Limited Edition)
 
It was on sale (and for quite a bit too! More than 50% off!) so I figured "why not?" --> Seems like I got one of the last few copies, the sale's over now. Guess I got lucky.

Throwing my initial skepticism aside, I decided to give YOHIO's album a spin. Much to my surprise, what I found was something beyond my wildest dreams.
 
The record begins with a tasteful intro track that immediately sets the epic and grandiose mood of the album. As soon as the dubstep break kicks in, we can feel his undying urge to "break the border" which can be attributed as the overarching concept of the whole release. Next, we are treated to a couple of powerful and immensely catchy visual rock tracks. The overall spirit of innovation is present throughout, as the artist breaks those borders that limit genre classifications, melding his art into something transcendental - it's a musical "REVOLUTION" (to quote the title of one of the more outstanding and totally not tired songs of the record).
 
YOHIO shows us his versatility even more in the next segment (this album can easily be divided into separate thematic parts that make up a whole concept, but more about that later) that contains a more poppy type of music. Be it the infectuous power-pop of Heartbreak Hotel or the simply matchless never-before-heard intense beauty of Sakura, falling (penned together with Gackt, another maestro whose innovative song structures amaze us year after year now) YOHIO decides to conquer our hearts, taking no prisoners. Little do we expect the shocking continuation...
 
The album takes a sudden darker turn with the arrival of the next track. INNOCENCE is like the unrelentingly aggressive yet captivating masterpiece MEJIBRAY or the DIR EN GREY guys have tried and tried but failed to conceive over the past years. When YOHIO screams, he screams for all of us, and we immediately make that connection subconsciously - a transcendental and almost religious experience/bond between artist and listener. This feeling is then heightened and pushed to the extreme on the next set of more emotional songs, of which the highlight is TIMESCAPE, a totally necessary and interesting piano instrumental.
 
YOHIO continues with another instrumental number, this time showcasing his impeccable guitar skills. Seriously, for a moment I thought I was listening to Steve Vai but then I realized - YOHIO is the Steve Vai (Su...Suteibu Waii?) the Japanese market never had. Thus, in this sense BREAK the BORDER becomes much more than a mere album (however fascinating it might be): it is a cultural mission statement, a proclamation of creativity and the generous offer to hand down that exceptional creative streak to the thousands... no, millions who will surely be listening! Finally, the album closes with the ever-strong title track, concluding this fantastic musical journey.
 
In conclusion, we can say that YOHIO's debut album is not only a flawless set of songs but a concept album chronicling the inner drive and torments of the artistic mind. The first segment (tracks 1-3) does what, indeed, is in the title of the album: it breaks down the borders with its unusually innovative approach. The second part (4-9) symbolizes the conflictual emotions and desires he carries, a genius bogged down by the mere earthly elements of this world, the artistic spirit forever tied to ever-fallible physicality that entraps it. After we have broken all borders what remains? This fascinatingly diverse musical "anarchy" is calmed and concluded by the ending segment (10-12) that delivers the message of purity and staying true to oneself. The artist is reborn like a phoenix from the ashes, and can begin his musical adventures anew, sometime, somewhere...
 
A truly beautiful album if I ever heard one. This will no doubt be mentioned among the classics, when we take a look back a few decades later.
 
Fooled ya? ;D Happy April 1st!

Here are the results to the first new MH User Awards voting! I tried to fill at least the first three places per category, but that wasn't possible in all of them due too a minimal amount of votes. So, here are the winners! (reposted because MH crashed at the time that the thread was posted, so it threw up a few bugs)

 
Staff of the Year:
 
1. sai
2. Zess
3. Champ213; kai_desu
 
 
Most useless staff member:
 
1. Candy Warhol
2. Yasupon
 

Favourite uploader:
 
1. stylelover; CAT5 (it was a tie!)
2. nostalgia.
 

Best looking male:
 
1. Disposable
2. Daggi_X; D.L.S; Biopanda
 

Best looking female:
 
1. 237Q
2. sai
3. greeeeen

 
Best jokes:
 
1. Biopanda; Jigsaw9 (another tie!)
2. Senedjem
3. Tokage; Disposable

 
Weirdest user:
 
1. Senedjem
2. Disposable; Tokage

 
Most fascinating user that makes the most interesting posts:
 
1. Trombe
2. Zess
 
 
Best avatar:
 
1. Biopanda (with an overwhelming majority)
 
 

Best sig:
 
1. Candy Warhol (for his cockroach signature)
2. sai (for Maru in a bag)
3. Disposable (for Akane)


Biggest spammer:
 
1. The spambots
2. Trombe
 
 
Most argumentative:
 
1. Zess
2. AltermaliceNero

 
Drama Queen/King:
 
1. electrastar
2. MaddAdam
3. Ryu
 

Most effective Troll:
 
1. nekkichi
2. Senedjem


WTF-Award of the year:
 
1. The MH-Chat

 
Best drama thread:
 
1. Kisaki will be absent in live performance (and the picture drama that followed)
2. ZeluvA

 
Best review:
 
1. sai; Zess (a tie. Zess got
most votes for his review on ELEMENTA ALCHEMICA, while sai got most of
her votes for her DIVISION review)
2. Jigsaw9; MaddAdam
 
 
Friendliest/most helpful member:
 
1. Jigsaw9
2. sai
3. CaRaN; Biopanda

 
Most loyal Kisaki fan of the year:
 
1. pixyfalse01 (by an overwhelming majority, might I add)
2. inartistic

 
User with most interesting musical taste:
 
1. CAT5
2. stylelover; Disposable; -timecapsule-

 
Music-creation-award (for the users who post their own creations):
 
1. bonsaijodelfisch; Yuuko; jiyun_kun

 
MH Theme song:
 
1. idiot - Fakkin' A
2. ensoku - This is a pen
 
 
That's it! So how did you like these awards? Do you have feedback for next year's awards? Let us know here! Also, feel free to share your thoughts on the results!

In terms of Japanese releases strictly for 2013 there haven’t been that many I’ve been interested in so I have a shortlist.
 
Alter - When Something New Begins 
Artema - Artema
Boom Boom Satellites - Embrace
Lemon Chair/Tokyo Shoegazer - Japan Shoegazer As Only One EP
Yousei Teikoku - PAX VESANIA
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Furisodeshon/ Ninjayari Ban Ban singles
Ami Suzuki - Snow Ring
Babymetal - Ijime DameZettai
Alicenine - Daybreak
 
Most of the Japanese albums I’m looking forward are in the summer.
 
As far as everything else goes.
 
Bullet For My Valentine - Temper Temper
Black Veil Brides - The Wretched And Divine
Soilwork - The Living Infinite
EskimoCallboy - Cenima
 
Got Killswitch Engage and Bring Me the Horizon releasing material next week and I’m sure that won’t disappoint either. Again, more of the awesome releases are later in the year. 

THE GOOD
ONE OK ROCK - 人生x僕= (this album presents a more mature ONE OK ROCK, but still has that sound they excel in)
Boris - Präparat (it's Boris, do you need me to explain?)
lynch. - BALLAD (a standard lynch. single, but compared to IC and LIGHTNING this is definitely a lot better)
SHINee - Dream Girl - The misconceptions of you (catchy pop-album with diverse tracks and great vocal work)
雅-MIYAVI- - Ahead of the Light (not sure what 雅-MIYAVI- has gotten into his mind when it comes to musical directions but it's awesome and I like it)
 
THE BAD (or more like, disappointing)
NoGoD - V (songs sounded too similar and didn't have any power whatsoever)
A - 白い悪魔～Phantom of the Snow～ / SAKURA (first release by A that I just can't dig, it's like they didn't even try on 白い悪魔～Phantom of the Snow～. And of all songs from WHITE ALBUM they could choose to re-record, they picked the weakest track of the mini?)
ナイトメア - SCUMS (see the review thread for a more elaborate explanation on this one)
U-KISS - 3집 COLLAGE (I know you're not popular in Korea and I know you want to spend more time on Japanese music but don't half-ass an album merely for that, thank you very much)
T.M.Revolution - UNDER:COVER2 (for butchering all of the awesome originals. Also the GazettE's barking dogs vocals in SHAKIN' LOVE made me cringe)
摩天楼オペラ - 喝采と激情のグロリア (I expected a lot more out of this, too many filler tracks)
 
THE WTF
東方神起 - TIME (it wasn't really BAD, it was just...I don't know. I kind of enjoyed it but at the same time it had too many old tracks and too many of the new songs were ballads. I know SM wants to make them do that "epic" sort of pop music but it doesn't suit the guys at all)
Girls' Generation - I GOT A BOY (should we do hip-hop or cute stuff let's mash it up! No wait it doesn't work and it sounds terrible. SM no. No no no. I wasn't sure whether it should classify under bad or under WTF, but it's more WTF than bad I guess)
 
All in all, not much that I like yet. I hope the rest of the year gives me more music that I'll enjoy. 2012 really wasn't my year

Ugh damn you people, you're so organized.  I try to make some kind of list every year, but then it gets so long and I have the urge to make it complicated and I usually quit after a few months. D:
 
AWESOME
 
- Keytalk - ONE SHOT
- PIA single
- Page - Expect
- TEAM H - I just wanna have fun
- KAT-TUN - Expose
- Boom Boom Satellites - Embrace
 
 
GOOD
 
- Koda Kumi's cover album
- [Champagne] - starrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
- UNISON SQUARE GARDEN - Cider Road
- Spyair - sakurasmth
- Hemenway single
- The Sketchbook single
- Base Ball Bear - Perfect Blue
- Flumpool - Experience
- caroline rocks ep
- UNCHAIN - love and groove
- MWAM - Emotions
- Moran - jenga
 
BAD
 
- the Merry single 8D
- probably deathgaze too idek why i listen to them
 
MEH
 
- Kalafina - consolation
- Pi single
- Perfume single
- Lynch - ballad
- Sonar Pocket album
- Hilcrhyme single
 
This probably isn't everything, but it's the best I can do without having kept a list.

The Flawless:
Matenrou Opera's Kassai to Gekijou no Gloria
m-flo's Neven
 
The Wonderful: 
Tegan & Sarah's Heartthrob
A's Shiroi Akuma/Sakura
Demi Lovato's Heart Attack
NoGoD's V
Sori's Dual Life
alice nine.'s Daybreak
Fall Out Boy's My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark/The Phoenix
Azealia Banks's Barely Legal (with The Strokes)
Rin's Reflect of Killing Fleur
Luminous by Satsuki
Avalon by Mejibray
 
The Good:
Satsuki's Luminous
Div's Sotsugyou
Koda Kumi's Color the Cover
Galeyd's Revolution
Namie Amuro's Big Boys Cry
30 Seconds to Mars's Up in the Air
Sadie's Soukoku no Tsuya
2NE1's We'll Take the World On
Selena Gomez's Rule the World
Boomerang by Nicole Scherzinger
Scums by Nightmare
Die Kusse by Mejibray
Disturbance by BoA
 
The GOD NO:
Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience
SNSD's I Got A Boy
TVXQ's Time
Azealia Banks's Yung Rapunxel
Lil Wayne's I Am Not A Human Being 2

Well My list is not that big yet.
I will edit this one, if I remember more releases etc.
 
 
GOOD
Calmando Qual - 闇を貫く激情の輝き [Finally a good single after many bad releases, and they are the best Starwave Records band ever... they don't belong to that label.. lol]
Nocturnal Bloodlust- Disaster/Unbreakable [just a great band]
Lament. - MORROW [Great band I love their stuff]
Antikythera - PUNCTURE [but vocal could be more smooth but it's not bad]
amber gris - AROUND CHILDREN [good music!]
 
 
BAD
misaruka  -  -Juliet- [bad vocal, such bad thing on CD.. they are better live]
Tokami - SYNCHRONICITY [Live only band for 100%]
Capella - Wasurebana [i'm not gonna waste my money on such crap]
Capella - reminder [-.-]
THE SOUND BEE HD - cross [Please learn how to make good music again]
MEJIBRAY- Die Kusse [x.x so not like this]
Alice Nine- Daybreak
 
MEH
A(ce) 白い悪魔～Phantom of the Snow～ & Sakura [Kinda boring]
DIAURA - REBORN

OK, so far been REALLY good year for me, totally surprised by all quality releases:   Flawless あさき - 天庭 - album Amber gris - Around Children - album Crazy★shampoo - 蝶々 - single   Good 或る感覚 - カウンター - album Moran : Jen:ga - Album DISH - 春と決別と咲乱 - Album 
Matenrou Opera - 喝采と激情のグロリア - album グリーヴァ - 鬼ト影 - album Wakusei abnormal - 何でも無い凶器 - mini album The Sherry - Dreamers - single Called plan - L - single Called Plan - R - single HaKU - masquerade - Single TRUST - D.U.   - Single A - 白い悪魔～Phantom of the Snow～ / SAKURA - Single Stereo C.K - Squall/Repeat - Single Lament. - Morrow - single   Good non japanese The Crescent - Risti - album Razika - På vei hem - album Woodkid - The Golden Age - album   Hopefully didn't forget anything really important.    edit: lol, one release was from 2012 so edited list :<.

GOOD:
 
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Kimi ni 100% / Furisodeshon
Grieva - Oni to Kage
Merry - Fukurou
Alice Nine - Daybreak
Spyair - Sakura Mitsu Tsuki (???)
Miyavi - Ahead of the Light
Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience
My Bloody Valentine - MBV
A$AP ROCKY - Long. Live. ASAP
 
 
BAD (or could just have been much better):
 
T.M. Revolution - UNDER:COVER 2 
Lynch. - Ballad
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Ninjya re Bang Bang 
One Ok Rock - Jinsei Boku something
Nightmare - Scums
Sadie - can't remember the title
Yeti - can't remember the title [2]
Mejibray - Die Kusse
Nogod - V
 
WTF:
 
BORN are making the same song for like 50th time. 
Also: Nocturnal Bloodlust is still a huge joke.
 
Things to look forward to (for fanboyism or mainly curiosity):
 
SID - Koe ni Oichite
Kiyoharu's mega-stuff
Vamps' new English album (???)
Dir en grey - The Unraveling
The Gazette's horribly named releases
D'erlanger's horribly named album
Tyler the Creator - Wolf
HIM's probably generic release
Fall Out Boy's new stuff (lol)
Queens of The Stone Age + their future album
...

Uhh...well...
 
THE GOOD:
Alice Nine- Daybreak/ SHADOWPLAY
A- 白い悪魔-Phantom of the Snow-/SAKURA
ONE OK ROCK- 人生ｘ僕＝
UNDIVIDE- Materials Left Aside
SIGNAL- Undertake
ONE OK ROCK- Deeper Deeper/Nothing Helps
Nocturnal Bloodlust- Grimoire
Vistlip- GLOSTER/ CHIMERA
Matenrou Opera- 喝采と激情のグロリア
GALEYD- REVOLUTION/ FLEE FROM REALITY
Coldrain- The Revelation
Rin Toshite Shigure- I'mperfect
Kra- Joker's Kingdom
30 SECONDS TO MARS- Love Lust Faith+Dreams
UNiTE- small world order
Miyavi- Ahead of the Light/ MIYAVI
TesseracT- Altered State *RECOMMENDED* (Definitely one of THE best albums of 2013 so far... Depending on Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Crossfaith, and The GazettE)
 
The Bad:
SIGNAL- Apocalypse
 
The WTF:
BORN....ALL after 2010 minis (WTF makes you think you can keep going making the same song for every new single?)
BGFTNS- Glow test kraken (What is going on with these guys?)

I'm not gonna go by your format since I haven't listened to much, lol. 
 
So far . . . I enjoyed Cinema Staff's new singles. They weren't as awesome as last year's releases, but hopefully we'll have something slightly more promising material on the upcoming album. Gunbridge's Dispel the Evil was great. I love that Yama-B re-recorded some of his older Gunbridge songs. 
 
I thought the cab's new album was "okay" as opposed to completely terrible. You are absolutely correct about the no-memorable songs thing, haha. Sugizo's Vesica Pisces was another one I only moderately enjoyed - but I guess I'm just not into that sort of music. 

Wanted to do a Quarterly Review thread, so I'll probably go in more depth in that thread, but as for now, this is my list for this thread =)
 
THE GOOD
 
Uri Gagarn – my favorite skin
The return of one of my favorite rockers. It came as quite a shock to me that they were releasing something as I thought they disbanded in 2008 or something. This really is a pretty nice gem which showcases their geniality in an experimental way.
 
さよなら、また今度ね – 菅原達也菊地椋介佐伯香織渋谷悠
The real indie discovery for me of this year so far. Sayonara, mata kondo ne has that playfull style I really like in a lot of indie bands, and keeps to carry that style throughout this whole demo EP. Gimme more please =)
 
エリーニョ – 空中ランドリー
Third album by eri-nyo and overall the best album I have listened so far in 2013. This album has all I want in a singer/songwriter release. Folky tunes, heavier pop-rock songs, great vocals, variety of instruments. Just give this one a go, and you'll notice her strength.
 
惑星アブノーマル – 何でも無い凶器
WAKUSEI ABNORMAL's debut release is primarily carried by it's third song of the EP. 月夜海水浴 is so far the best song released this year by any Japanese artist. Overall the EP is still of a good quality, but none of the other songs reach the quality that the mentioned track has.
 
ACIDMAN – 新世界
Back to their former glory I say. This album mixes a lot of their older styles and is a definitive comeback after releasing some 'less awesome' albums the last couple of years.
 
THE BAD
 
ART-SCHOOL – THE ALCHEMIST
OMFG, it was already noticeable in their previous release, but really.. WTF has happened with Riki's voice... drop down that cigarette, PLEASE!
 
0.8秒と衝撃。– 電子音楽の守護神
Not that it was a bad release per se, but wtf has happened with them... Their debut and following album were really something different. This is kinda bland compared to them...
 
the cabs - 再生の風景
Loved their previous mini albums and was in love when I saw them live, but this was just... well, I really can't remember anything of it actually
 
THE WTF
 
OGRE YOU ASSHOLE - confidential
As CAT5 already mentioned, wtf have they done with their awesome songs. The only song that I actually really like is their new version of FLAG, though the original beats it in any way... Not that it's a bad release, it just is WTF xD
 
おとぼけビ～バ～ - 目撃!ラブミ〜•サイン
So these girls decided to drop their playfull music to do some garage... They've done it pretty well alltogether, but I'd prefer their older release, as it more suits their style and sound.
 
@NumberGirl
Cinema Staff singles? Where have they appeared? Completely missed them. Was looking forward to them after seeing that PV.

I keep track of all of mine here.

Some of the Japanese stuff I enjoyed so far this year:
 
Antikythera - PUNCTURE
浅井健一 - PIL
グリーヴァ - 鬼ト影
lynch. - BALLAD
m-flo - NEVEN
 
These ones weren't too good however (or were just boring):
 
0.8秒と衝撃 - 電子音楽の守護神 Alice Nine - Daybreak Boris - Präparat Lycaon - 薔薇～Rose～ MERRY - 梟   Finally, some cool non-Japanese releases:
 
David Bowie - The Next Day
Suede - Bloodsports
Voivod - Target Earth

well its kinda hard for me to choose any b ad releases as i normally delete them right after and i dont really remember anything in particular so i wont fill that one out.

 

good asian releases

 

best releases so far

 

Girl´s Day - 기대 (Expectation)

SHINee - Dream Girl - The misconceptions of you

DIMMDIVISION - 揺れる/梟

Stereo.C.K - Squall / Repeat

Kalafina - Consolation

 

other good stuff

 

김재중 - I

B.A.P. - ONE SHOT

The Quiett - AMBITIQN

U-Kiss - 3집 COLLAGE

라니아 - Just Go

 

グリーヴァ - 鬼ト影

MAN WITH A MISSION - Emotions

amber gris - AROUND CHILDREN

己龍- 悦ト鬱

摩天楼オペラ - 喝采と激情のグロリア

BIOSPHIA - TRUE CRY

妖精帝國 - PAX VESANIA

 

 

good non-asian releases

 

Hadouken - Every Weekend

Woodkid - The Golden Age

Kollegah & Farid Bang - Jung Brutal Gutaussehend 2

Tyler, the Creator - Wolf

^ Yes, hinto is great! They're composed of members from several other indie bands - mainly sparta locals and scarlet!

I'm not sure if this band fits in this category...
 
HINTO