Greyen

I completely agree about Stardust Crusaders! It's fantastic so far and I hope they end up animating part 4. I still need to catch up on the last 6-7 episodes but I jumped ahead and started to read the manga. Haven't had the time these past few weeks but I'm on part 6. and I love the Tokyo Ghoul manga and haven't picked up the anime yet, it definitely has enough material for a 2nd season, and honestly (this is unrelated to the anime) but I think the manga should get a part 2 as well because of how it ended.
 
the only 2 i can think of that I'm looking forward too are the 2nd seasons of Psycho pass and Durarara, they should hold me over until Stardust Crusaders picks back up
 
and I'm currently re-watching Yu Yu Hakusho, one of those old classics that will always have a special place in my heart and It's just as good as it was years ago.

girugamesh - gravitation
 
 
WRITE-UP:
 
 
The first mini-album from what can be seen as the `new` girugamesh that comes off as `solid` no matter which way I look at it, from the quality of the tracks, to the production, congruent sound, and tonality.
 
After what quickly became my favorite Girugamesh release, the album MONSTER, they took a slightly different approach with their LIVE BEST, and have now returned to put out a mini-album that would be redundant as an album, but feels perfect in it`s five track form.
 
What girugamesh seems to have done is perfect a sound. The tracks all play out with complete conviction, absolutely dialed transitions and compositions, and what must be the best production quality and mastering of their career to date. The perfect, seamless approach to their sound is what struck me the most in my initial listens, and defines this release to me. To get a taste for the sound, listen to the gravitation track, this would be the most new-user-friendly track. If you can stand to go a little harder than that, then you should hear out the rest of the album.  Unlike Monster which played with different elements in a looser way, this release sticks very closely to a familiar center, although it does employ new elements influenced contemporary sounds as well, though none of these define the songs; the main dish is always the giru-sound, it`s never someone else`s sound with giru sprinkled on top, which fans of their current key elements should be able to appreciate.
 
Overall, you are getting a masterclass in the core of modern girugamesh, executed beautifully, with five tracks of straightforward head-bangers that plays out seamlessly, and is very friendly to the repeat-button.
 
 
Track Count: 5
Listens: 15-20
Production Quality:  Absolutely blown away from the sound of this one, a heavier album, but without as much as a rough edge as MONSTER`s production. The sound-stage and depth of the lows as well as their placement is quite something.
 
 
Overall Rating:
 
 
Worth the Purchase?
 
At a price lower than what some bands charge for singles, and almost half of the cost of many of the other mini-albums in my collection, I would say if you like the title track, then yes, it definitely is more than worth the price.

@DarkWater , Alternative Metal is not a new hype , this genre exists from the late 80's , and the hype around it is cause its metal , but more mainstream friendly . And BTW if you want to use phrases like real metal and real rock and than go saying nu metal was better , than its hard to take you seriously . People who would say real metal would be those hardheaded metalfanatics who say only the oldschool metal genres are true and all the new ones are crap . Yet you use this phrase and say you like nu metal , well now i saw everything . Oh well there are different ppl and different tastes , you can go and make tags for bands and their music , but you cant do them for listeners . But okay lets not talk more about this , as i found your review interesting i might have a sort of a challange for you for reviewing , i would like to see your opinion on this one http://monochrome-heaven.com/index.php?/topic/29796-soundwitch-romanesque/?hl=soundwitch .
@blackdoll , the screamo part was still at DarkWater . Also i only meant you used j-core as tag for japanese bands playing core genres like metalcore and hardcore , but in the end you used and already existing genre the wrong way . Its a little similar to what ppl do with trancecore and electronicore , where the first one being a hardcore techno freeform genre , and the second being a mix of metalcore and electronic elements . I know what you meant but it turned a little confusing to someone who listens to j-core and actually i still have to listen to this album and for a second i thought they started playing techno .

To me it seems as if its MONSTER part two but more ballsy. The guitar work is what really draws me to it and GO AHEAD is hauntingly scary and is the best song on the track because its raw and that breakdown is nuts. As far as the rest of the songs go, I will admit that I do see some repetitiveness going on but I can deal for the most part. My hope is the same hope that I have for the GazettE's upcoming releases (which Ruki did speak on recently btw) and that is that they grow and build up from what they are doing. This current era of GIRUGAMESH shows that they actually do know how to write music again and is pretty much done with all that poppy nonsense. I wanna see where it goes from here.

So yeah the last Tokyo Ghoul episode was pretty fucking brutal if you ask me... me and a friend were just kinda sitting here wincing at certain moments throughout the episode. That being said this episode was fucking amazing, holy shit balls I was really not expecting that total 180 in personality there at the end. Now I'm sitting here wishing there was more... hopefully it'll get a second season and soon (preferably by next spring or summer). I will definitely be looking forward to re-watching this in it's uncensored glory when the BD's come out. In the meantime I might just have to go pick up the manga
 
Also JoJo's Bizarre Adventures: Stardust Crusaders just ended and it's already confirmed it's coming back in January during the winter season to finish off part 3. I'm definitely gonna be missing it, this is one adaption that I literally have no complaints about whatsoever. David Productions are doing god's work by animating this beloved series .

I mentioned in the actual download topic that this is the first time that they've released anything since their VK days that I've enjoyed what they've done. This is the first time in recent memory I can say I'm a fan of what they've put out. There seems to be a lot of different rock genres mixed together on this EP that makes it interesting which is something that similar bands (*ahem* Crossfaith) really lack. Until now I wouldn't have considered Crossfaith a similar band and wouldn't have made the comparison, but having heard a couple of Crossfaith albums and thinking "Wow this is good, but I wish I could distinguish one song from the next" and that's what Girugamesh has done with Gravitation. I think another thing Giru has going for them is that I really really like Satoshi's voice so it doesn't just sound, to me, like generic metal core band #687. 
 
In summary, this was an excellent follow-up to Monster, my current favorite LP by the band and I'm sure they'll keep this momentum up for their next few releases.

I like it. A lot better than their last album can't remember what it was called. After their Live Best album, I knew they still had it in them and this proved it. Reminds me a lot of their past EP Reason...something. 4/5

They are not j-core , j-core is techno , its a japanese version of hardcore trance . Girgamesh new style is a mix of alternative metal riffs and drums , with modern rock elements and melodies . Also screamo is a hardcore punk subgenre , so no its far from that .
Also DarkWater you forgetting some big things here ,
1st they are not visual kei anymore so saying where are the vk elements is kinda out of place .
2nd they a mainstream rock band , so getting pop elements in their music is standard , and should be expected .
3rd There is no such thing as real rock , its just something made up by ppl who want all rock bands to sound as they think true rock should sound , but there are many rock subgenres .
4th metal can be soft as well , melodic power metal bands sometimes are not even tagged by ppl as metal cause they dont sound that metal , there are also bands who play atmospheric symphonic metal that are also tagges as rock . Also if you would think about oldschool heavy metal that could be what you mean by true metal , than you would notice that it was a lot more softer than todays heavy metal , sounding more like todays hard rock bands .
Otherwise , good review .
Maybe ill write my own review later , when i get the ones for the fanzine done and will have some spare time .

I feel the same as digitalbounce,It's not bad but there is room for major improvement. If the other 2 songs share a similar sound, hopefully any feedback they get out of this single will help them rework how they approach it if they plan to go that direction for their next full length. Even though Apocalize is my least favorite album by them and this song is nowhere near as good as it could have been, I still love these guys and will always be looking forward to what they release! (and if sony does try to control them, I hope they at least put up a fight about it.)

So, what do you guys think about the new song "MADNESS"? I personally loved it. I kinda miss the screaming, Kenta's screaming is pretty unique, but hey!, his clean vocals are nice too. 

It's middle of the road for me. I was hoping it would grow on me but I find it kind of forgettable. I'm hoping the other songs on the single have a little more oomph to them. I do really like Ken's cleans in the verses, but thats about the only parts of the song I enjoy. Tatsuya and Hiroki feel like they got put in the backseat and told to keep it lowkey this time around, and the drums are a huge factor for me in what keeps them equal parts metal and electronic. But they really upped the electronic parts in this to where all I walk away with is the vocals and synth. Guitar riffs in this weren't as catchy as some of their other material either, so that also left things fairly lackluster for me. Maybe all of those teasers made me expect something way more epic. 
 
Overall, I'm just hoping this was a test for Sony to water them down a bit and see what crowds react to it so they know how to market them since this was a debut single... but it's too early to tell. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet, and I don't find the song to be so bad I can't listen to it or anything, it's just not gonna be on heavy rotation in my playlists.

After all the effort they've made to be a part of the global metal community this is just, I don't know what they are thinking. I can hang with this new lighter sound but a lot of people are gonna be upset that they keep moving in this direction and I can certainly understand why. I mean this is getting into like... hard rock territory. :/ Waiting to hear the other songs on this release, maybe it's just the lead track by the sounds of some of the other comments.

Sums up what i think 100%.. I really hope those other 2 songs are MUCH better than this,and that Hiroki,Tatsu,and Kazuki actually have presence in them.

I like the electronic/dance/club parts but the rock parts sound really dull ugh
Hope they get better at this kind of sound, because I bet that's the direction they're taking

This is pretty much their worst song so far. It doesn't really sound like Crossfaith at all. :<

I love Enter Shikari, but I admit they can be very hit or miss sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if they got a little influence from ES after touring with them, but I can't really judge from this teaser. Just sounds like a generic build up/intro to something. But I'm excited to hear the rest of the song, and hopefully a cool video to go with it.

Yeah im interested in this new single as well , i dont really mind if they will sound the same as on Apocalyze or will try something new again , as long as its Crossfaith im in it .

Fixed that for you. Because really, you need to chill with shoving all of your labels down everyone else's throats, please. With all that taken out, you still made your point just fine ok.
 
I agreed, Apocalyze is a solid album. I don't understand why so many people hate on it. I don't think Ken is the best screamer in Japan, but he's definitely up there among the current modern vocalists in his scene. He could use more dynamics in his range. His lows are great, but his highs could use work, imo. His clean voice has come a long way since the first album. I think we'll be hearing his cleans more and more. 

Yes finally, APOCALYZE was freakin' awesome and I've been dying to hear something new since it came out!
Them joining Sony to release a Major Single makes me a little nervous, but hopefully everything goes good~

Yeah, I heard about that as well, and I have a bit of a background of Persona. But for people who know nothing about Persona at all, this pace his totally confusing and too quick. I don't get how this will be only half as long as the other P4 series though.

SiM new mini album "i AGAINST i" will be released at 2014/09/17, although details have not yet been announced

HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT will release a new album called Disillusion on August 6th!
 

 
01. The One To Break
02. A New World
03. I Mean It
04. Breeze
05. Wait
06. Miss You
07. Dance With Shadows
08. Far Away
09. Left Alone
10. Too Short
11. In Dreams

全11曲収録　歌詞・対訳付　ライナーノート：増田勇一
RADC-086 ￥2,500(w/o tax)