carddass

I asked myself the same thing after I listened to it for the first time.
Sugizo did a Q&A on twitter and a few fans asked that very question. I can't seem to find all of the posts but here's a few things he mentioned about Steve's contributions.

-Suggested the album track order.
-anagram's arrangement had the most influence by Steve
-Seijaku's narration
-Helped cut the composition for Philia (?) not to sure how this one translates. Does it imply Philia was another 8-9-10 minute song  a la Genesis of Mind/Forever and Ever/Virgin Mary?

It's a bit of a mess to go through but if you scan his teets from Dec 18th, you'll read alot of behind the scenes aspects of the songs via his answers. Sugizo also was asked how Lillywhite understood the message of the songs and SGZ mentioned that he explained / translated them. I guess it would make sense that he would know the most English since his daughter lived in California up until a few years ago.

heh, nothing like Kiyoharu and his go-to photographer/ music video director Toshihiko Imai to use their work as a way to include their vacations as a business expense

And wasn't 忘却の空 only included on the DVD of Covers?

It probably deserves it's own topic one day but looking at bassist Tomo's twitter page, he has a photo posted of a munimuni flyer mentioning a 'bi neo Full album" next year. As expected, there's nothing on the official website but based on setlists they've had 10-15 new songs kicking around since 2017 or so. There were a bunch of titles starting with 200**  that might have been temp titles:

20018
20019
20020
20021
20022 (last played in May 2019)
20023 (first played in May 2019)
20024
20025

20018 to 20022 haven't appeared in recent setlists so they might have officially been named as one of these:
幻のキノコ
GHOST OF ROMANCE
FUTURE　PERFECT
MAGICAL MOONIES,YEAH!!!
FASHION SONG
Hayabiki
THE ANIME SONG

https://twitter.com/manicure_ojisan/status/1201518485085405185/photo/1

If they were going to kaisan it would've probably happened a while back. At this point doing their annual or bi-annual shows is like a big fat ATM machine. They just have to show up and walk away with enough money to do whatever else they do. Sure there's a few rehearsals beforehand but as professionals who've done these songs a million times over, I doubt it takes them much effort anymore.

Or maybe they're announcing Sakura is back after having performed with Tetsu for the first time in 22 years.
 

Also the setlist was pretty awesome for this session:

黒夢「Beams」
L'arc 「Dune」
TETSU69「蜃気楼」
黒夢「十字架との戯れ」
https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000175072
 

If they were going to kaisan it would've probably happened a while back. At this point doing their annual or bi-annual shows is like a big fat ATM machine. They just have to show up and walk away with enough money to do whatever else they do. Sure there's a few rehearsals beforehand but as professionals who've done these songs a million times over, I doubt it takes them much effort anymore.

Or maybe they're announcing Sakura is back after having performed with Tetsu for the first time in 22 years.
 

Also the setlist was pretty awesome for this session:

黒夢「Beams」
L'arc 「Dune」
TETSU69「蜃気楼」
黒夢「十字架との戯れ」
https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000175072
 

If they were going to kaisan it would've probably happened a while back. At this point doing their annual or bi-annual shows is like a big fat ATM machine. They just have to show up and walk away with enough money to do whatever else they do. Sure there's a few rehearsals beforehand but as professionals who've done these songs a million times over, I doubt it takes them much effort anymore.

Or maybe they're announcing Sakura is back after having performed with Tetsu for the first time in 22 years.
 

Also the setlist was pretty awesome for this session:

黒夢「Beams」
L'arc 「Dune」
TETSU69「蜃気楼」
黒夢「十字架との戯れ」
https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000175072
 

If they were going to kaisan it would've probably happened a while back. At this point doing their annual or bi-annual shows is like a big fat ATM machine. They just have to show up and walk away with enough money to do whatever else they do. Sure there's a few rehearsals beforehand but as professionals who've done these songs a million times over, I doubt it takes them much effort anymore.

Or maybe they're announcing Sakura is back after having performed with Tetsu for the first time in 22 years.
 

Also the setlist was pretty awesome for this session:

黒夢「Beams」
L'arc 「Dune」
TETSU69「蜃気楼」
黒夢「十字架との戯れ」
https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000175072
 

Has anyone ever watched that shilled to the max doc about X japan? does Yoshiki cries for 30 minutes because Hide died on it?
 
tbh I really wish Hide was alive because he was more talented than everyone on X, he sings even better than Toshi and would probably have released three albums worth of good music by now while Yoshiki would be doing nothing besides still thinking "making it" in the west matters.

It’s obvious the label owes him favours/he invests his own money on this. 
 
There was a shill article on the Conde Nast owned pitchfork about the movie that was coming up on p4k’s sponsored fb adverts for well over an year, and writing about a band like X is 100% out of their usual MO. Another one to get such a baffling spotlight on p4k is BTS where their ”How BTS stays radically korean” is still appearing on my feed. This is obviously a paid deal with Conde Nast, and I have no doubt in my mind that this and stuff like X’s american festival gigs are more backroom deals than ”fuck guys, we got to get this dude from the market where no one speaks english and who’s recognised in the west only by crusty power metal fans and weebs who grew up in the early 2000’s on this next to Grande and McCartney.”

According to this news site:
 
http://v-kei.jp/news/?newsId=9652
 
and Aoi's tweet:
 
 
cali≠gari AND deadman are collaborating on a song(?)/single(?) called 「死刑台のエレベーター」and it will be sold during the 3 upcoming 2-man lives in Mar 2020.
 
Who would have thought deadman's 1st release after their hiatus is collaboration with a band straight out of left field? Though it must be said that aie has been the guitarist for Lab. The Basement for a couple of lives so aoi and aie are definitely on good terms enough to work on this together.  
 

the god and death stars will release their new single, "チチルル" (chichiruru) at Ikebukuro CHOP on December 1 - their last oneman for the year.
 
their previous single, "OH!CULT!" has been released at aie's birthday live on 9/26 at Aoyama Rizm
 

 
 
also Dr.大嵩潤 (otaka jun) has resumed live activities on 8/6 after having paused back in February
 
 

This was the setlist from the show on his birthday the other day:

2019.10.30 清春『THE BIRTHDAY』マイナビBLITZ赤坂

SE.receive a revelation
01.海岸線
02.confusion
03.星座の夜
04.last song
05.悲歌
06.TWILIGHT
07.瑠璃色
08.YOU
09.ベロニカ
10.wednesday
11.妖艶
12.LAW'S

EN1
13.EMILY
14.Masquerade
15.VOICE with SUGIZO
16.20th Century Boy with SUGIZO

EN2
17.マークはバタフライ
18.SANDY
19.HAPPY

Kiyoharu new 25th anniversary live DVD, "The Birthday" will be available for preorder on his webshop from October 30 - November 30 for 8000 yen (2 DVD set). It is scheduled to ship in early March 2020.
 
Webshop link

new Buck-Tick tribute album, "PARADE III ～RESPECTIVE TRACKS OF BUCK-TICK～" will be released on 2020/01/29 for 3000 yen!
 
Featured artists:
Der Zibet
Dir en grey
SID
BRAHMEN
Shiina Ringo
八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88 kasyo)
GARI
minus(-) featuring 藤川千愛 (Chiai Fujikawa)
Cube Juice
黒色すみれ (Kokusyoku Sumire)
GRANRODEO
藤巻亮太 (Ryota Fujimaki)
坂本美雨 (Miu Sakamoto)

After clicking on that teaser video, my youtube recommendations led me to this person who posted recordings from a livestream from one of Toshi's shows earlier this year:
 
 

After clicking on that teaser video, my youtube recommendations led me to this person who posted recordings from a livestream from one of Toshi's shows earlier this year:
 
 

I totally skipped the Evangelion craze when it first came out and only know this song from the overabundant usage in AMVs but I somehow don't mind Toshi's version. I only wish he would cover more proper rock songs that influenced him in his formative years. Bohemian Rhapsody is a start but where are songs from Iron Maiden, Loudness, Kiss and the likes!?

And considering Yo$hiki squandered the good-will, momentum and whatever respect the brand name 'X-Japan' had after coming back triumphantly, I think Toshi deserves to cash-in on his fanbase considering he was relatively broke after his time with Masaya and who knows how much of a cut he gets from X Japan tours.

just a new spin on an old classic x

 

So the album is called CROSS and will come out on December 18th. 宇宙の詩 〜Higher and Higher〜 and 悲壮美 will be there, as well as 9 other new songs.
 
The album will be released in SIX fucking types and I'm sure as hell not posting every single detail here, but everything can be found in the special website made for the album and it's all easy to understand.

BUCK-TICK will release their new live Blu-ray/DVD "ロクス・ソルスの獣たち" (Locus Solus no kemono-tachi, a.k.a. BesTias LOCUS SOLUS) on 2019/11/20. The title is associated with a 2-night live they performed back at the end of May at Makuhari Messe.
 
Both the Blu-ray and the DVD format will have two versions each: a regular one-disc edition with the whole footage from 2019/05/26 (Day 2), while the limited two-disc edition will feature the whole footage from both 2019/05/25 (Day 1) and 05/26 (Day 2). In addition, the limited versions will come with 2 bonus SHM-CDs of the tracks of Day 2 and some sort of 2-song Augmented Reality extra that you can view with your smartphone (idk how these things work, lol). Oh, and of course a 64-page photo booklet and a special case.
 
Here are the setlists/tracklists of both days:
 
2019/05/25 - Day 1 (only included in the limited versions)
01. 獣たちの夜
02. GUSTAVE
03. PHANTOM VOLTAIRE
04. Lullaby-III
05. 謝⾁祭 -カーニバル-
06. キラメキの中で…
07. 相変わらずの「アレ」のカタマリがのさばる反吐の底の吹き溜まり
08. ICONOCLASM
09. FUTURE SONG -未来が通る-
10. BABEL
11. Moon さよならを教えて
12. 密室
13. RONDO
14. THE SEASIDE STORY
15. BRAN-NEW LOVER
16. DIABOLO
17. スズメバチ
18. BOY septem peccata mortalia
19. 形⽽上 流星
20. 愛ノ歌
21. さくら
22. HEAVEN
 
2019/05/26 - Day 2 (included in both regular and limited versions)
SE. タイトル未定 (untitled intro)
01. 獣たちの夜
02. GUSTAVE
03. PHANTOM VOLTAIRE
04. Lullaby-III
05. 謝⾁祭 -カーニバル-
06. キラメキの中で…
07. 相変わらずの「アレ」のカタマリがのさばる反吐の底の吹き溜まり
08. ICONOCLASM
09. タナトス
10. BABEL
11. Moon さよならを教えて
12. Tight Rope
13. RONDO
14. THE SEASIDE STORY
15. BRAN-NEW LOVER
16. DIABOLO
17. スズメバチ
18. BOY septem peccata mortalia
19. 形⽽上 流星
20. 愛ノ歌
21. さくら
22. HEAVEN
 
Cover art is pretty sweet too:
 

you know what i'm so pissed about this announcement that i am not going to give him the benefit of exposure. this topic will sink in stygian like his career

All the songs from the new album were in a drive he forgot in Kyoani.

I only superficially understand the whole apology thing in Japan.
Couldn't the artist, band, or label simply refuse to apologize or simply not acknowledge it anymore?
Would that even be possible or is that commercial suicide from all parties by refusing to grovel to the public's expectations?

清春 (Kiyoharu) new LIVE DVD/Blu-Ray "KIYOHARU 50th BIRTHDAY" will be released at 2019/07/24
 
it will include scenes of his oneman live at Mainabi Blitz Akasaka at 2018/10/30
 
Blu-Ray version (7000yen) will include 1 disc
Limited edition DVD (11000yen) will include 1 DVD and 1 T-Shirt
 
 

J (LUNA SEA) new album "Limitless" will be released at 2019/07/24
 
his digital single "Love song" has been released at 2019/07/03