deeeeeeeeehhh

CORONA-RELATED LIVESTREAMS + CONCERT VIDEOS ARCHIVE
[LAST UPDATE: 2020.04.07]
 
KEY:
∎ DO NOT POSSESS
∎ UNAIRED
 
LIVE SHOWS
 

 
CONCERT VIDEOS
 
 
The links below are just archives of the videos in the normal thread. My archives are being added to arbitrarily, but I'm trying to get to as many as I can:
 
My MEGA Folders:
CORONA-LIVES [PART 1]: https://mega.nz/folder/FvgHkYTa#iS1aRkVsryaFOp4myOjyJA
CORONA-LIVES [PART 2]: https://mega.nz/folder/BShCwQjZ#cObkFTCalnxEw4DZSPLCRQ
CORONA-LIVES [PART 3]: https://mega.nz/folder/OdkUlarI#y04yVI0c2EZVcf7eFwLm5Q
 
-
 
If there is anything missing or anything you want to add, please inform us via the normal thread below.
 
 
I will try to update the list daily.
 
Thank You.
 
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Well, it is what the title says. コロナウイルス is forcing people to stay home in Japan and the japs have a nice philosophy of spreading hope in times of despair, so they went there and performed anyway and are being nice and posting the gigs that got cancelled online for all to see, including us, poor gaijin. No live audience, no staff, etc.
 
These are the ones I've seen so far:
 
 
 
 
Let's make this collaborative so do share other links here if you know of any. I'll keep updating this list.
 
Previously unreleased lives uploaded for viewing due to the Corona situation are also to be freely shared in this thread - MH Staff
 
And bear in mind most of these gigs will be available for a limited time only, so hurry up and watch or download the ones you're interested in watching ASAP.

This new band will thave their first live on 2019.09.30 at Takadanobaba AREA.
 
Singer : Sui (David, Megaromania, Lin...)
Guitar : Yuhma (ex-Fixer)
Bass : 70. (ex-Fixer)
Drums : 知哉(Tomoya) (ex.シュヴァルツカイン(SchwarzKain, LIV'ERT)
 
Twitter : https://twitter.com/OfficialCula
 

 

 

 

 

How anyone can find something like this boring live is beyond me. Darkside alone is reason good enough to stay for the entire gig, and as long as the drums are clear in the mix everything else can be pretty muddy without it taking away all the enjoyment of the gig. The cymbal work is just beyond everything and anything.

Fav look from 2018 by far: Kyonosuke from Kizu
 

Fav look from 2018 by far: Kyonosuke from Kizu
 

Fav look from 2018 by far: Kyonosuke from Kizu
 

Same.
 
I love DEZERT/XAAXAA/DAMY/etc and had no idea Kagerou had so much influence. Good to know where their inspiration came from!  
I'm gonna need some time to digest all of this, thanks for the post!

Very easy : First wave.
Although I'm much into the early bands (BUCK-TICK, BY:SEXUAL, AUTO-MOD etc.), the first wave is the one that's got the bulk of bands I like (Kuroyume, Malice Mizer, Plastic Tree etc).
Also, little note, I've seen all these bands play live since I was in Tokyo during the first wave.
PS: Kuro Yume Live at La-Miss Ration 1994. Shot by me.
 

 

@robkun That's one of those bands I always knew about, but never listened to! I always put it off for some reason even though I enjoy the pv songs...
 
@itsukoii Gregory was great for the couple of songs they put out. Really a shame that the band petered out so fast and the members seemingly went nowhere, which seems endemic to these bands. 
 
Here's more contributions of my curatorial genius 
 
A band time will certainly forget. Yaminade sporting the most generic fashion and sound of the era and what happens at 0.53 is one of the most nu kei things ever ( in fact the only thing that's more nu kei, happens at the beginning of the song DESPERATE GAIN by a band called Hated. I was unable to find it on youtube but if you manage to get your hands on it, you will not be disappointed. ) Should be recognisable to anyone who scoured through blogspots at the time.   
 
 
Considering that they made it to like 2013, they must have been the last one of their kind to disband. Born in the heyday of the fad, there's probably a box that they don't manage to check. Also named after one of the most classic songs in the genre: Blind by none other than Korn from their s/t that's a western vk album if there ever was one..
 
 
I remember when Sadie was referred to as Dir en grey's juniors so much so that you'd think they were stealing riffs from the left and right like Grieva. That's not exactly true, and while the influence is certainly there ( l does that drummer remind you of anybody? ), this is more a case of the musical illiteracy of the dumb western weeaboo who can't discern a clear case of the nu metals from just music where a boy with big hair yells a lot. Sadie is also a band that stuck around for way too fucking long instead of just disbanding the second they had conclusively blown their nu metal wad.
 
 
Although nowhere near their best releases, Neo destruction deserves a mention because that riff is still being ripped off to this-a-day. I must have counted four instances of having seen it elsewhere, although the only ones I recall off the top of my head now are DEZERT and Mediena who took it wholesale. Nega got nu metally right after their first demo ( their best release ) and more or less stayed so until their disbandment. This goes to show that Kyoka wasn't the only one with nu metal aspirations towards the end of Aliene, and it's strange how they were suddenly unable to work together despite being into the same music. Maybe that just has more to do with that Nega actually started out really good and Kyoka hasn't been a part of  anything even remotely decent since like, 1999...
 
Because he sucks.

oh, this is a thread i'll be paying close attention to. i love this stuff yet my library is deprived of it,,, therefore i can only offer this:
 
 

Consider it a sister thread to the oshare kei one. I think this is a delightful dualism to make, and I am all about that vkei history anyway so I'll take any excuse to make another one of these. 
 
The adoption of the nu metal riff and attitude into visual kei's musical framework happened just when the scene changed forever with the implosion of the old labels and bands. In the usual visual kei fashion we were late to the party just about a good five years too. It snuck itself in slowly, making cursory appearances at such places as MUCC's Antique from 1999, Kagerou's Biological Slicer from 2000, Aliene Mariage's farewell album 21st Century from 2001 and probably in retrospect most importantly, Dir en grey's Six Ugly from 2002. By the year 2006 ( which saw the release of both eight's ILLATIONAL and Girugamesh' 13's Reborn ) the nu metal riff had fundamentally transformed the landscape of visual kei. Below are some examples of the development that took place.
 
Before I get to that though, I have to say that there's not many scenes that can even begin to rival the longevity that visual kei bands, venues and its marketplace have enjoyed throughout its history. Still living both in the underground and occasionally even willing to take the L of performing at a half empty Budoukan, it ceases to amaze the spectators that stumble upon it; all the while all the goths of the bat caves, punks of 77' and dadrockers of the whatever, live out their legacies either through grandfathers or hack retro acts that suck by default. Granted it doesn't look the same, but indeed the willingness of its adherents to assimilate new currents have kept the hangman at bay and those nails off its coffin at least for now, which has allowed visual kei to remain a relatively recognisable brand for just about a few years short of three decades. 
 
This thread while also about the seminal bands that managed to break through, is just like its oshare counterpart moreso dedicated to honor and celebrate those little bands that everyone other than south american blogspots from 2007 forgot. If you were that angry young man in your mid teens back in 2008 you ought to know this stuff by heart
 
 
If anyone can name an earlier instance of a just straight up nu metal riff I'd appreciate it greatly. Early Mucc is of course classic vkei and Tatsurou puts in just a canonical performance as the narrator of desperate hearts. Their nu metal sound would get thicker and thicker up until 2004, when they went literally out the deep end, supposedly almost disbanding by the sheer weight of the recording process. My preference however remains the very earliest releases up to 2002.
 
 
From the band that made one of the best visual kei albums of all time comes a ripoff  of "Eyeless" by Slipknot - that's the sound of Aliene imploding into disbandment. While I think it's undeniably shit especially considering merits of their career up to that point, they lowkey took part in pioneering the nu metal sound in visual kei. Keep in mind that at the time of this recording Slipknot's s/t wasn't that old, and it is a sound that vk bands would keep on ripping off for almost a decade afterwards. Another thing of note was that the vocalist Kyoka also ditched the frilly dresses and adopted the nu metal fashion! While his sins are numerous, this has to be his worst offense. Either way an important document for visual kei's metamorphosis.
 
 
If the disease had only previously been a cough, after Dir en grey got through with it the scene quickly became hospitalised by it. They would continue riding roughshod over the genre until 2008's Uroboros where they'd go on to do more of the scene's pioneering work. Say what you will about them, they've continued to stay relevant through all these years and I think it's only very recently that the scene has stopped riding their coattails as much as it has. 
 
I'll keep it at that, though rest assured there's certainly numerous other examples of the early usage of the nu metal riff from around 99 to 2002 of varying importance in the canon.
 
Early Girugamesh is what most people have their fondest memories of, and everything up to 13's Reborn is as good as gold as far nu kei is concerned. Their suit wearing while certainly not the first time it had happen in vkei, it was probably the context in which girugamesh presented it that made all the difference for the future: the blackclad angryman playing just nu metal influenced visual kei. Oddly enough I despised Girugamesh as a child EVEN THOUGH THEY SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME AS ALL THESE OTHER BANDS and it took me deep into adulthood that I finally warmed up to them at all. 
 
Unsraw was my Girugamesh in a sense that they were the filthiest band I knew in my seminal vk years. Hearing Unsraw sent me on a quest of finding the most rad nu metal vk band out there, and more often than not it just led me to the disappointments that contributed to the failure I am today. Yuuki's vocals made a huge impression on me and it was ever the more bitter pill to swallow that they got very boring very quick. Their Core the Child hits being contemporary with Girugamesh' early ouvre, they can also be considered of relative importance. 
 
This is what this thread is about. Look at those clothes, that breakdown from 2.10 that lasts for an eternity and Since1889 was in general just the quintessential nukei vk band. So bad it's good.
 
 
Despite this band having just about eek'd past the 2010 limit, they deserve mention being one of those final bands at the tail end of this fad. The look is still very much 00's and not the glitz of the 10's, and more or less free of the soon scene dominating metalcore riff. Glorious vocals as well.
 
There's a million of these bands, AND THEY'RE ALL GREAT. Post favs, early specimens in the scene, anything that fits within the parameters.

so many joints in this thread @______@ stuff i knew about and totally new stuff
that vinett song is so good omg, i need to check them out
them having two members from Eliphas Levi is brain melting to me lol

Remember when back in the proverbial day oshare kei was considered by some circles as the uttermost depths of shit this scene ever delved into. If you were a frustrated male between the ages of 12 to 18 in 2005 to 2010 and enjoyed Dir en grey on more than a few occasions, such as myself, then you surely took part in this folly. 
 
Well now in retrospect I think anyone with a lick of sense has realised that we've rarely had it better. The best bands of the oshare bunch carried the torch of florid guitar noodling, big colorful outfits and nasally eccentric vocalists into their new ventures, all the while the rest of the scene was playing catch-up in black 50 dollar suit jackets with Dir en grey's angryman vocalist and nu metal stylings. Oshare's debt to older visual kei I think is often unjustly disregarded and the style largely considered as the scene jumping the shark, when I think this couldn't be further from the truth. That moment when all the Unsraw's in the world were stinking up the place, there existed a scene where one could Image an alternative reality where Japan had shut its borders in 1999 and the bandmen had to make due with their old Luna Sea and Kuroyume records. 
 
A good cutoff point for this fad I'd say could be Royz' debut ( prophetically named as "the new age". ) That kind of bijuaru did definitely exist prior to that, but I still consider it an important turning point from whence we've really hit the shits in way I'm not entirely sure we'll ever recover from.
 
I confess immediately that I'm definitely not an expert, but I know for a fact there are people on this forum who are. Some bands that were formed prior to this date, but continued after 2011, will surely apply in this topic such as Cindykate. I'd say the range is broad enough to include bands like early Dolly as well, though suppose someone could dispute that.
 
Please post and link away ( and save this thread from bombing ) because even at its very worst, this shit was at least infinitely more entertaining than all that new royzcore shite. Going to kick things off by posting some entry-level stuff 
 
 
 
Irokui never got shit in my opinion, which is quite a marvel. Stayed very consistent and their musical trajectory I thought was very logical for them, and it brought us classic tracks like Sakura Seven
 
 
Their early output was so sexy. Essential of the rainbow vomit bands that got progressively more domesticated as they went along.
 
 
Incredible from the first release until the que:sera single. They musically progressed and amassed fortunes for fancier recording equipment at a blazing speed that made me very optimistic about their future. Then the very moment they had chiseled their musicianship to almost Kiryu levels controlled chaos, they dun fuck it up with some menbas leaving and Emoro blowing his indie rock wad all over the final couple releases. Still I suppose not even at their last breaths, they never sucked.
 
 
Early Paradeis needs to be linked, not only because of what a shellacking it got on this board, but because they were unironically pretty good. If you don't like the vocalist, then you have no business listening to vk in the first place.
 
This is merely a scratch on the surface. There are tons and tons more to choose from like the earliest attempts at the style like Vinett, the more "acquired taste" like Dragonwappppper, left field like doginthepwo and the entire baroque influenced strand. 

This fucking grating trebly synth that so many neo VK bands insist on using.

Even the VK electronic gods DIV succumbed to this filth in one of their later tracks.

my life is complete
kyouka giving this tragic white tw*nk a shook horrified look is the best internet thing of now tbh

I have no idea what happened while the last song but 17:03 moment is enough for me.lol

new pv

welp, 0% surprised  

I wish sui and misery would follow these oldschoolish bands (grieva, gossip, etc) and come up with something metis gretel-like, is it too much to ask? (-̩̩̩-̩̩̩-̩̩-̩̩̩_-̩̩̩-̩-̩̩̩-̩̩̩)

welp, 0% surprised  

I wish sui and misery would follow these oldschoolish bands (grieva, gossip, etc) and come up with something metis gretel-like, is it too much to ask? (-̩̩̩-̩̩̩-̩̩-̩̩̩_-̩̩̩-̩-̩̩̩-̩̩̩)

I've loved Aicle for years, but it's cool to see them described like that. My favourite level is 4 and I somehow had never heard this track "Kuru Kuru...", thanks for showing me that lol. My love for these "bad" vocalists is something I can't explain and that I think I will never overcome (Sui from Megaromania, Mashiro from PaRADEiS, the ones from Kiryu, ru:natic, Vallquar, etc) 
Almost forgot to mention: I'm thankful for their colourful looks. This live with the lolita fans going crazy is one most awesome things my eyes have ever seen 

I've loved Aicle for years, but it's cool to see them described like that. My favourite level is 4 and I somehow had never heard this track "Kuru Kuru...", thanks for showing me that lol. My love for these "bad" vocalists is something I can't explain and that I think I will never overcome (Sui from Megaromania, Mashiro from PaRADEiS, the ones from Kiryu, ru:natic, Vallquar, etc) 
Almost forgot to mention: I'm thankful for their colourful looks. This live with the lolita fans going crazy is one most awesome things my eyes have ever seen 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c49/fitear1590/CD%20cover%20scans%20and%20band%20pics/aicle%20neko%20no%20kiza%20mairi%20group%202_zpsk00neimw.jpg" width="791" />
愛狂います。 (Aicle.): 5 Levels of Crazy

Vo. えみる (Emiru) Guitar: ルビ (Rubi) Guitar: けいた (Keita) Bass: さらん (Saran) Drums: 玲音 (Leon)  
If you were part of the VK fandom during the past 7 years or so, you may have come across 愛狂います。 (Aicle.). Depending on who you talk to, they’re known for being “that colorful oshare group” or “that band with helium vocals”. Peruse the YouTube comments of any of their PVs and the word “kawaii” is sure to pop up, regardless of how bizarre and growl-filled the song is. I’ve always said that 愛狂います。 is not “underrated,” but they are generally “rated” for the wrong thing. While the aforementioned elements might play a role to some degree in the band’s sound, I’m here to show you that 愛狂います。 should be remembered for so much more than their one-dimensional legacy! With a more comprehensive, analytical look at the band, I hope to stop feeling like I'm Mugatu on crazy pills and just maybe, 愛狂います。's true style will shine through for more listeners.

Forming in late 2006 and debuting in early 2007, they emerged in the scene around the same time as bands like Versailles, キャンゼル (canzel), ゾロ (ZORO), and ClearVeil. However, unlike those bands, 愛狂います。 was practically a group of newcomers from no notable ex-bands. They dabbled in live-distributed songs, compilation tracks, and a series of singles for their first two years, including the summer 2008 consecutive single series of シドロモドロ(shidoro modoro), ネクロノミコン (nekuro nomikon), and トウメイニンゲン (toumei ningen). This followed with the release of their first album 心臓。 (shinzou.) in March 2009. Uniquely enough in the VK scene, this was a disc of entirely new songs— a complete anomaly in the scene! Two months after the release of the album, rhythm guitarist Keita retired from the band on amicable terms. Not letting Keita’s departure slow them down, they released 3 more singles between August 2009 and January 2010. Consecutive singles エキゾチック。 (exotic.), ドラマチック。 (dramatic.), and a split CD with R指定(R-Shitei) followed in late 2010 and in early 2011, they released their second album アルク (ark), this time featuring previously released singles and only 4 brand new tracks— see, that’s more like what we’re used to. Finishing out the year with one-coin single 東京スカイツリー (Tokyo sky tree) and the stylistic 180 that was maxi-single 皇帝ペンギン (koutei penguin), 愛狂います。 finally called it quits in early 2012. Upon disbanding, they released a anthology compilation (愛狂います。2006-2012), collecting all of their songs from before their second album and their final single.
So how could one describe the special music that 愛狂います。 created? To help analyze their music, I came up with an unofficial scale that lends itself surprisingly well to categorizing their discography. Under the description for each level, I have provided my favorite exemplary songs, in chronological order of their release.
Level 1: Fairly straightforward pop-rock. These songs would occur sporadically in the band’s earlier discography, but by 2010 with the release of consecutive singles エキゾチック。 and ドラマチック。, the style started to become alarmingly prominent; the nail in the coffin was when the band’s final single 皇帝ペンギン hovered exclusively around this level.
Favorites: 心臓。 (shinzou.), ゴメンなさい (gomen nasai) [see mp3], ひらり。(hirari)


Level 2: Think of this as an upgrade of level 1. While these songs are still fairly tame overall, there might be an alternative, math-rock, or other unique tinge in the music that amplifies the compositional prowess. Wacky lyrical content might also bump up on-the-fence songs to this level, such as “メルトダウン (meltdown)”. There aren’t too many tracks at this in-between level.
Favorites:, メルトダウン, 相対性【秘密】理論～タイムマシン２～ (Soutaisei [Himitsu] Riron ~Time Machine 2~), オーバードライヴ (overdrive), あおいろ1号 (aoiro 1 gou), 春夏秋冬 (shunkashuutou) [see mp3]


Level 3: The first level of what I’d call 愛狂います。’s “sweet spot.” If people think about the band, I would hope that songs from this tier (or higher) are the ones that immediately come to mind. Most of the songs here are approximately half-pop and half-crazy—that was the band’s signature style after all! Many of the band’s singles fall under this category.
Favorites: 僕は魔王 (boku wa maou), 猫の刻参り (neko no kiza mairi), トウメイニンゲン (toumei ningen) [or see mp3], 骸骨のうた (gaikotsu no uta), オカルト・キラー (occult killer), サイコ×レタア (psycho x letter) [see PV above]


Level 4: This forms the second half of the “sweet spot.” These songs tend to do without the poppy choruses of level 3 and/or they ramp up the craziness in the rest of the song. As such, this level is mostly relegated to b-sides and other miscellaneous tracks, although their very first single (the first song in this list) was just wild enough to edge into level 4!
Favorites: 球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～ (kyuukei mugen rensa ~mizutama~), くるくる。と胎児は廻る (kuru kuru. to taiji mawaru) [see PV below], デスロリ調ポップス (death lolli-chou-pops) [see mp3], 裏姫 (urahime), 【d2b2】, 暗殺 -ANSATSU-, チョコサンドビスケットクリーム (choco sand biscuit cream)

Level 5: This is reserved for 愛狂います。’s sole craziest venture: 豚の王様「ニトログリセリン」(buta no ousama “NITROGLYCERIN”). With squeals, frenetic guitar work, grunts, and literal oinking, this song is in a tier of its own!

 
Disclaimer: the “levels” do not necessarily refer to quality, so much as the “crazy” factor. While I tend to prefer songs at levels 3 and 4, there are still a handful of level 1 and 2 songs that I’ll listen to any day over certain level 3 and 4 tracks.
Now that we have an idea of my hopefully not-so-arbitrary tier system, let’s talk about the actual music! With due respect to all the members, it’s clear that vocalist/composer Emiru and guitarist Rubi form the brunt of the band’s unique sound. Back in the day, a lot of people would stan bassist Saran, but he’s not so notable to me, other than looking like a VK version of April Ludgate. I will say the drummer occasionally caught my attention, because of his affinity for punchy toms. Anyway, let’s start with Emiru. If there’s one sticking point about this band for a lot of people, it’s likely Emiru’s “special” vocals. Admittedly, he started off quite rough. If you listen to early singles like 記念日。 (kinenbi.) or 球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～, you can definitely hear him straining to reach higher notes, but hey, that’s always been part of the charm of VK, right? He legitimately sounds like Cartman in "シドロモドロ (shidoro modoro)". Fortunately, his general vocal quality improves over time and becomes much smoother (this is most obvious by comparing the original and rerecordings of songs like "ゴメンなさい" and "チョコサンドビスケットクリーム"). It would be easy to write Emiru off as a “bad” singer, but that would mean ignoring how commendably he “compensates” in all the other things he does with his voice. What really contributes to Emiru’s success as a vocalist is his variety. In any given song (especially levels 3 and higher), you might hear any combo of the following: growling, oldschool Madeth Gray’ll-esque “fast talking”, shrieking, maniacal cackling, whispering, and more. Some absolute highlights include Emiru chanting off the number sequence of π (pi) in the punky "球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～", the demonically adorable alter-ego he takes on in "まみむめモンスター君 (mamimume monster-kun)", or the sheer fuckery that is level 5 track "豚の王様「ニトログリセリン」" [see mp3 above]. What also takes the band over the top are the strange lyrics. Emiru has a knack for writing in a way that is paradoxically blunt, yet impenetrable in meaning, with a healthy sprinkling of kookiness. One of my favorite songs (vocally, musically, as well as lyrically) is “くるくる。と胎児は廻る (Round and Round. The Fetus Turns)”, which can be viewed below; thanks to moonwalkingpenguin for the translation!

But the vocals are just half of the fun when it comes to 愛狂います。—let’s not forget about Rubi, the guitarist obsessed with apple imagery! As I mentioned, Rubi was essentially a rookie upon joining the band; his only previous known endeavor was with the short-lived 愛狂います。-predecessor known as モノもの (monomono), which also featured Emiru and bassist Saran. That’s why it’s all the more exciting that Rubi rose to such enigmatic, virtuosic playing! While Emiru is credited with composition, I find it difficult to believe that Rubi was simply his guitar-brandishing puppet—there is some real magic in his riffs and it’s not just guitar solos. In fact, his most impressive guitar work is just what he’s doing in the background. Let’s have a look at some specific examples. Listen from the second verse of “デスロリ調ポップス”. Then, check out the second verse and bridge of “ハンマー≦ヘッド (hammer≦head)”. Finally, in the first 1:20 of the above PV, Rubi provides a nice selection of his guitar offerings in “サイコ×レタア“. In all three songs, we hear Rubi’s non-stop efforts, whether it’s creepy-crawly riffs or progressive noodling not too far off from something indie-favorites 八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88kasyo junrei) might do. But beyond his extremely technical showcases, there is also plenty to enjoy in the “lower-level” tracks, like the pop-punk/math-rock influenced “あおいろ1号” or the buoyant fret-tapping of ”春夏秋冬” [see level 2 mp3]. Another aspect that helped to emphasize the band’s paradoxical sound was their bubbly arrangements, always democratically attributed to ”愛狂います。” as a whole. Sounding almost anachronistic compared to current VK’s overly electronic arrangements, the band often opted for simple synth beats or chimes, which produced a disarming effect, making it all the more surprising when the band jumped from a bouncy chorus into a growling, proggy chug fest. The icing on the arrangement cake was the band’s fun use of sound effects, such as the cartoony munching of cookies in “チョコサンドビスケットクリーム“, the vivid tentacle (?) noise at the beginning of “文化≠包丁 (bunka≠houchou)”, or the ambiguous animal roar that uncannily resembles the click-clack of a roller coaster in “オカルト・キラー”.

Towards the end of 愛狂います。’s career, long-time fans unsurprisingly started to turn on the band. With singles like ”スターマイン (star mine)” and ”皇帝ペンギン”, the band started to settle down in level 1. Prior to that, the only PV track at this level was ”心臓。”, from their first album and while it was a saccharine pop-rock number, the rest of the album satisfied the kind of craziness fans craved through the aforementioned level 5 track or the many spooky, Halloween-inspired tunes. And therein lies the problem for the last leg of the band’s career. There was no longer a balance of the levels. The band’s most successful releases were those in which they displayed variety. For instance, the maxi-single 怪体新書。 (kaitai shinsho.), my personal favorite release, had two songs at level 3 (“眼球ワルツ(gankyuu waltz)” and “猫の刻参り”) and one at level 4 (“デスロリ調ポップス“). Singles サイコ×レタア and ケセラ:セラ (que sera:sera) both had title tracks at level 3, coupled with a level 2 and level 4 b-side. It’s unclear whether 愛狂います。 really was this methodical in constructing their release tracklists, but it undoubtedly worked in their favor. Although the final releases left fans with a sour aftertaste, we shouldn't let them spoil the entire 愛狂います。 experience. While vocalist Emiru (now “Suzuki Satoshi”) has since moved on to Yeti, an outlet where his softer, indie rock composition style is really thriving (let’s just say I like Yeti’s output more than late level 1 愛狂います。), it’s an absolute shame that Rubi hasn’t resurfaced in another band yet. To this day, he remains one of my favorite VK guitarists and it pains me greatly that his return to music seems so unlikely at this point. Still, there’s plenty of great music to remember him (and the whole band) by! And forget about caveats. 愛狂います。 was not crazy for a pop/"oshare" band; they were just crazy, period.
If you’re new to 愛狂います。, be sure to check out all of the links/PVs! Hopefully, you can use this as a guide! For any seasoned fans out there, let me know what you think of the 5 level system. Does it make sense? Do you agree with the categorization? What are your favorite songs at each level? Do you agree that 愛狂います。 tends to be remembered superficially (i.e. only referencing their appearance)? Whatever you have to share about 愛狂います。, let’s discuss it!