Greyen

Great!

"I honestly can't even see why American metalcore enthusiasts would enjoy this "
 
Maybe I didn't choose the best way to word my point, but it should be obvious that when you say you don't know why someone or anyone likes something (with the implication being that it's because it's bad), you're policing others for liking it. I just don't understand why people seem to do this all the time. Especially on MH. What's so hard about simply saying you don't like it and not trying to speak for an entire group?
 
Whatever. I wasn't trying to derail this thread. It's my own pet peeve, I guess. Carry on.

FINALLY a release date<33

I don't know... I love this band but it feels like it's no longer about showing what they can do with their style. I haven't fully liked anything of theirs since Zion EP. Leviathan is still my favorite track! Devil's party sort of gets me going but XENO itself is sort of all right, can't dig the song with Caleb and don't feel like trying this new song until the thing comes out.
I don't even remember what Eclipse sounds like and that was one of my favorite tracks off of APOCALYZE

Crystal Lake new album "THE SIGN" will be released in America through Artery Recordings at 2015/10/09
 

As a big Papa Roach fan, I'm excited to hear track 8, hopefully they put up pre order bundles soon!

holy sht. this is going to be nice !

I wish they can come to Hong Kong!!!!!

2015.9.16【Wed】Release  2nd mini album「I AM」  

 
Tracklist:
1.Calling 2.Against myself  3.Starting on moving on  4.Break your greed  5.Falling down

Artist: NoisyCell Album: Sources 1. Flagship 7. CONTINUE? 2. Blaze a Trail 8. Bluff 3. Dream Box 9. Pool of Water 4. Shelter 10. Birth 5. Insomnia 11. (Over You) 6. Last Theater
Rating: | A ambitious effort from screamo's new kids on the block.
 
Living up to their name, NoisyCell have been creating quite a buzz in the last 2 years. They teamed up with Pablo (Pay money To my Pain) as their producer and have been taking the alternative rock scene by storm. Sources is their first full length offering that picks up exactly where their last mini album left us. They got on the anime theme train early and seem to be content with riding it until the wheels fall off.

The songwriting on Sources is solid and its energy is intense. Guitarist and clean vocalist Ryosuke - not to be confused with the other guitarist/screamer, Ryo - has an incredible range to his voice. It positively soars in the second half of this album when mid-tempo songs take root and come one after another. His voice, in and of itself, becomes a major focal point for this band despite personal bias for vocalists or not. That doesn't mean the guitars and drums aren't their own tour de force, however. For a three piece, there's surprisingly a lot going on, sometimes even to the detriment of the songs if things aren't balanced.

Sources opens with the song "Flagship" and the impression it left wasn't exactly what I hoped for. It's a hard pill to swallow, as it starts with an abrupt scream before small bits of melody creep in. Even as someone who loves this genre, it left me wishing for some kind of small instrumental SE just to get me remotely amped up before it blasted off. Its composition is messy, unbalanced, and even the beat didn't find its most potent groove until the song was more than two-thirds over. The following track, "Blaze a Trail", is basically the first song, only better. It has catchier melodies, heavier breakdowns, and the guitars are complementing each other with some purpose - not simply thrashing around as loud and fast as possible. However, there is no need to fear! NoisyCell finally get themselves sorted out with the next couple of songs. "Dream Box", my personal favorite of the entire album after its much needed rerecording, and "Shelter" keep things much smoother from here when it comes to song composition and balancing chaotic energy with visceral emotions.

At this point, the album splits itself in two, which makes me wonder if Sources wouldn't have been better as two separate mini albums or a shuffling of the tracklist could have been useful to mix some of the heavier first half into the melancholic second half for dynamics' sake. "Insomnia" is an ambient instrumental track that brings the ride to a complete stop. It's there for one purpose: to let everyone know the song they came to hear is about to start. That song being "Last Theater", known to some as the ending theme for the anime Death Parade. High fives to whoever is choosing the music for that one, by the way.

Things pick up again slightly with a punchy chiptune inspired track that folds in some current J-pop trends. And while it's a little random, it's a nice reprieve from the some of same-iness going on earlier in the tracklist. From here, things continue to get slower and more melodic. "Bluff", "Pool of Water", and "Birth" are all pleasant when they stand alone, but lose some of their shine stacked together, especially after the stop-and-look-where-our-entire-production-budget-went spectacle of "Last Theater". "(Over You)" works great closing up the album as it breaks out the acoustic guitars for a slow burn kind of build towards the huge anthemic and satisfying ending.

I would have given this album half a star more for better track placement on a lot of these songs, plus a decent album intro. It's a rookie mistake. I expect maybe they overreached just a tad, and I can't hold their ambition against them too much. Otherwise, there's a little something on this album for everyone and I think anyone interested in screamo that is pushing the envelope will find this album worth a spin or two.


Support the band! Purchase Sources @ CDJapan
Purchase Sources @ HMV
Purchase Sources @ iTunes JP

SiM new maxi single (title not yet finalized) will be released in 2015 autumn, which will include CD+DVD, although details have not yet been announced

Tracklist
 
1.System X
 
2.Xeno
 
3.Raise Your Voice
 
4.Devil's Party
 
5.Ghost In The Mirror(feat.Caleb from Beartooth)
 
6.Dystopia
 
7.Wildfire
 
8.Tears Fall
 
9.Paint It Black
 
10.Vanguard
 
11.Calm The Storm
 
12.Astral Heaven
 
It's available to pre order through itunes jp and will be released on September 16th
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/xeno/id1014953231

I'm guessing that Madness really was a one time experimental song, kinda relieved to not see it on the album!

Tracklist
 
1.System X
 
2.Xeno
 
3.Raise Your Voice
 
4.Devil's Party
 
5.Ghost In The Mirror(feat.Caleb from Beartooth)
 
6.Dystopia
 
7.Wildfire
 
8.Tears Fall
 
9.Paint It Black
 
10.Vanguard
 
11.Calm The Storm
 
12.Astral Heaven
 
It's available to pre order through itunes jp and will be released on September 16th
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/xeno/id1014953231

My reaction.
 
What the fuck Crossfaith.
 
 
 
This is disgustingly awesome. I AM SO HYPE.

People on MH are so cut throat I thought licker and eris were alright and worth being on my hard drive. 
 
 for me. I know they can do much better and there are some okay moments on this single if you can get past the bad parts. 

....and you took the words out of my fuckin' mouth. this review is the truth and the whole truth.
i liked unsraw not because the members were all proficient musicians, but because yuuki wrote tight, simple metalcore songs that banged pretty hard for the time. that brutality (br00tality) is completely sucked out of this release and it sounds like soul-less noodling wankery on their instruments. DOAK is lacking all semblance of emotion, and unless they magically pull something out of their musical hats (which is possible, given that its not their first rodeo) then they're doomed to fail.
bring back the masks!!! bring back visual kei!!!!

Artist: DOAK Single: 揚羽-ageha- 1. 揚羽-ageha- 2. パラサイト 3. LICKER (Type A only) 3. eris (Type B only)
Rating: | About as appetizing as a clump of toenails and prison gruel.
 
DOAK is UnsraW meets Para:noir meets 2015. As cool as that sounds on paper, in practice it's not so good. Opposites don't always attract and this is one of those cases where a band that has so much going for it theoretically flops like a fish out of water. It's a more sobering, crushing realization when one remembers that this isn't a new band. DOAK has been operating under the session band name ERIZA in one form or another for the past few years. Before that, the members in this band were part of one or more semi-competent visual kei bands, evidenced by the fact that we still remember who UnsraW and Para:noir are. It would be a more than reasonable expectation that their first official release would sound better than an awkward collection of unfinished riffs.

It's impressive how consistently flat the delivery is the entire time. There's only the faintest hint of originality poking up throughout the four song excursion into the savanna of lethargic metalcore. There's no rhythm or heaviness in the guitar, so no mosh pits in these parts, plus the smattering of electronic elements add insignificant amounts of depth to the music. These insipid metalcore leanings are among the better moments, with the dreadful moments reserved for when Yuuki sings. He's simultaneously tone deaf and off key all the time, as if he can't hear himself sing for some reason. The band knows he's not all that great of a vocalist - hell, I think everyone knows - but the only way they could compensate for his lack of range or ability was to slap some auto-tune over all the rough parts. It just makes things worse because these measures to compensate for his shortcomings are applied inconsistently too; Yuuki's opening vocal melody to 揚羽-ageha- is buried beneath mountains of digital "correction" but when the veil is suddenly lifted fifteen seconds later the result is no more desirable. Why bother at all? I wish he would pick up a guitar, rock out alongside the other band members, get literally anyone else to sing, and stick to supporting that person with harsh background and gang vocals. Maybe then this single would have a memorable few seconds outside of "LICKER"'s solo worth mentioning.

This is the exact definition of generic visual kei; this neutered, pedestrian, watered-down metalcore has less personality than a candle stick. Visual bands of yesteryear with unknown band members and a shoestring budget have composed more convincing riffs than whatever "eris" is supposed to be, and have had way less hype and attention. I had a soft spot for both UnsraW and Para:noir, but the combination of the two just doesn't click. 揚羽-ageha- didn't even make it to my music player before I purged it from my hard drive and I think I'll be all the better for it.

There's no nice way to say this so I'll be blunt: listen to anything else.


Support the band! Purchase Type A here
Purchase Type B here

Mergingmoon will be releasing their first EP on 26/08/2015
 
http://mergingmoon.com/
 
Track lists:
 
1. Breathing Hollow
2. Goat of "SievingAtro"
3. Infernal Error
4. Manifestation
5. die in imaginarium
6. Lick the Dust
7. Baby One More Time (初回盤のみ)
 


 

wrong city 2nd Mini Album
「Reset nor Replay」
2015.07.29 Release
 

 
Tracklist: 
01. Re:play
02. Third Man Argument
03. Acid love /
04. Theory by Ink
05. Perfect duty

They announced that their new single will  release at 2015.06.17. Details have not yet been announced.
 
--> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDzYL4yTiuU

1. The Path (of the righteous man) 2. Homecoming and Rough Landing 3. We Stand Alone   2015.03.14 RELEASE / ¥500 (Tax in) / EOR-002  

Playing Majora's Mask and Monster Hunter 4!

SURVIVE SAID THE PROPHET will be releasing their very first distributed EP "Course Of Action" this coming April 15th. 
8 songs for ¥1,600 (＋tax)  
Cover and Tracklist to be announced.