relentless

Horror movies are awesome! Here are some of my favorites: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari The Burning Halloween Suspiria Dead Alive Friday the 13th Nightmare on Elm St. Poltergeist Night of the Living Dead House on Haunted Hill (original) Psycho Evil Dead 1 & 2 The Shining Horror of Dracula Fright Night Re-Animator The Return of the Living Dead

The problem is, you're not even 1% sure that the GazettE did anything like that because you don't know. You don't know if it was intentional or not, and I don't either. So that's why I'm not going to just start making stuff up and guessing. All we know is that it's somewhat similar. That similarity becomes less remarkable when you realize the timing is the same in both songs (4/4), and both parts rely on quarter notes for the vocal delivery; but something like that, is so ridiculously common, you can't fault the GazettE for doing it twice.

The only thing identical is the order and contrast of Ruki's cleans with the band's combined shouts. In terms of progression, it's nothing alike. So no, it's not a "direct 1:1 rip-off of THE SUICIDE CIRCUS’ prechorus" when only one element is similar.

Ito, I would suggest: Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. Especially the recording of the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir. Colin Davis. It's a rather popular recording, so you may not have much trouble finding it. It's truly top notch. There's also an amazing recording of Mozart's 40th and 41st Symphony by the Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra under Karl Bohm. It's another popular recording, so that should be rather easy as well.

Great piece! I'm partial to Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto, and Tchaikovsky's 1st. Lately I have been digging into String Quartets (Beethoven's Late Quartets, Haydn's Emperor Quartets) and Schubert's acclaimed lieder (Winterreise). I also purchased Dvorak's Symphonies; but have only listened to the 7th, 8th, and 9th. Have any favorite Composers? Mine probably are: Beethoven Bach Mozart Brahms Wagner Schubert Mendelssohn Sibelius Paganini Tchaikovsky Mahler and probably one other that I'm forgetting

Toshiya is in a new video posted on the official Dir en grey Facebook teasing that they may be playing older tracks on their NA tour.

I almost refrained from sharing my thoughts on this album, because frankly, it's hard for me to articulate exactly how I feel about it. I have never enjoyed the GazettE that much. More often than not, I have found that they have been more of a disappointment when it comes to their albums as a whole. This even means their albums from the days when people called them "good". Disorder had some awesome tracks; but a large portion of it could have either been cut entirely, or refined to make the tracks less drawn out and repetitive. It was their first album, though -- so it doesn't really matter. Nil was more disappointing for the fact that it feels very uneven with tracks like Baretta, Cassis, and Silly God Disco leading into Discharge, and Taion. All of their albums have this sense of being disjointed. It's not that the tracks were in any way BAD (though, some are); it's there was never much flow with their albums in terms of presentation and performance. DIM changed this (even though it has it's bad moments), and has ultimately brought them to BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY. Beautiful Deformity isn't just their most refined album on all fronts of musicianship; but it's also their most focused. Never before have we had a GazettE album that felt this complete. DIM came close; but suffered under it's own weight of b-sides (Headache Man) and borderline unlistenable interludes. Beautiful Deformity presents a band that finally put effort (since DIM) into exactly what they were trying to achieve. This isn't to say that they never tried to write their songs; but here it's more focused with the ALBUM as the centerpiece, instead of the individual singles. Thus, I can not review this track by track, because to do so would eliminate the experience for me. This album is less memorable for it's individual tracks, and more noteworthy for it's ability to do what truly great albums do: present not only an idea; but also a specific sound to unite the album. After all, as I have said before, this is an ALBUM not a COMPILATION disc. With that said, the placement of Redo that bridges the heavier sections with the "lighter" tracks felt odd as the heavily distorted Drop B guitar feeds into a jazz number. It was an odd choice; but nowhere near as weird as kannou to paradox by Sadie. Overall, this was an enjoyable listening experience. Back to basics? Sure, as most of the album shows that; but it goes far beyond just the basics. It does what the GazettE had not done previously: write an enjoyable album from start to finish. 8/10

Remember: Just because something has a certain tuning, doesn't mean that's the implied key (this is obvious, just felt like stating it). If Remember The Urge is played on a guitar tuned down to Drop A#; the key could still be B by resolving on the first fret (similar to what Hellion said with Drop B, playing a C on the first fret) -- throwing in the A# adds tension to the key and a bit of dissonance to go for that "dark" sound. That low chugging in RTU is unmistakably lower than B. I would go with A# as well.

If there is a word that describes this album, it's "uneven". Zess hit the nail right on the head in regards to the first 4 tracks: it's Dum Spiro Spero but by Sadie. USUALLY when people say things like this, it has little to no merit. It's usually just built off of fanboy/fangirl rantings to bring other bands down; but here we have legitimate examples of when a band takes a sound from a different band. The intro to Demon's Cradle is EXACTLY LIKE THE BLOSSOMING BEEZLEBUB. Even the way the guitars enter through the distortion is disturbingly similar. Once there's a slight speed in tempo and we're back to a slow chugging pace, Sadie finds a way to take another sound from Dir en grey: Tsumi to Kisei.Just go to :42 in Demon's Cradle, and you'll hear the exact guitar phrase in Tsumi to Kisei. Never before has Sadie been so blatant with their influence from Dir en grey, other than Mao. These are the two examples in one song where they decide to go for the same exact sound as well. The album progresses until kannou to paradox where the album COMPLETELY CHANGES TONE. It goes from Dum Spiro Spero-esque to a weird song with an intro reminiscent of Mask and then into a blues progression. What the hell are they doing? Out of nowhere the album changes sounds DRASTICALLY, and it left me shocked as I couldn't believe that the album strayed soo far from what it was originally doing. It doesn't stop here, the album continues bouncing through different ideas: from synth-laden tracks like Viper, to a typically Sadie track like Setugekka. This album just fractures out of nowhere and goes into a bunch of different sounds. This is an album, not a compilation disc. Despite the mess, there were a few things I really liked: even when ripping of Dir en grey, the band showed that they were able to incorporate some really awesome prog progressions in the first 4 tracks. It's interesting, even when the guitar work is generic. And damn is it generic. It's the same trick that 12012 has been using, Dir en grey has been using, and now Sadie is using. A passage that features hammer-ons and pull-offs on frets 1.5 steps away from each other, which the guitarist then slides down one fret to do the same. The best way to describe it is listen to Hageshisa to by Dir en grey. The intro with the guitars is exactly what you hear littered throughout Madrigal De Maria. It's a cheap way of trying to write a dark and metal-esque passage; but there's nothing spectacular about it when it's done over, and over again. Overall, this album is a mess. It's better than what they've been releasing; but that means nothing than what they had been releasing up to this point was forgettable and run of the mill. 4/10

I know a lot of us hate the Sadie and Dir en grey comparisons; but seriously...Mao...

Being a fan of the band, you hope that they will release material that you enjoy, and I totally empathize with that. I'm sure everyone does.

If Ruten no tou (acoustic version) is anything like what they usually do, it will be a composition performed by someone else with Kyo's vocals from the original track layered over it. If that's the case I'm going to be incredibly disappointed.

Incorrect. Songwriting credits are not some arbitrary tag that is tossed around for little to no purpose, it denotes the driving artistic force behind a song whether we know the specifics of HOW they write or not. Knowing how it was written, is irrelevant. If it hardly meant shit, Ringo Starr wouldn't have gotten credit for Octopus's Garden. Instead, they would have just gone with the same "Lennon / McCartney" tag that showed up on 99% of the Beatles' discography -- or not even included it at all. Though we may not know specifics of how things are written with bands, assuming that songwriting credits "hardly mean shit" is ridiculous and is, by extension, disrespect to those credited for writing a given piece.

My mother loves modern pop and hip hop, as well as the Beatles. My father enjoys the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Roy Orbison; but he loves Willie Nelson, George Jones, Buddy Holly, and select 50's Rock N' Roll.

What roll does Ruki play in the overall composition of the tracks he's credited? We at the very least know he can play guitar. Anyone know if he can play any other instrument?

There's also Reila, Cassis, and Nakigahara

My problem with Coda is that it's slapping a form in music as the title. It's like calling a song "Verse" or "Chorus" -- it's unnecessary and bland. People would complain if bands starting calling their songs "Track 1, Track 2, etc.", and this is no different. I will concede, though, that because it's the last track it makes MORE sense; but it still doesn't really make sense.

Malformed Box, Inside Beast, Devouring One Another, The Stupid Tiny Insect, and Coda...can these titles get ANY worse?

Poltergeist...for a PG horror film this is AWESOME!

SA was about 12.1 sq miles, GTA V is about 17. After playing it over the past few days, it's clear that this is the best game in the franchise, and one of the best games in this console generation. Where this game excels is in the details -- the minor things that add to the overall package. Yes the story is great; but so isn't walking around the city and seeing all of the random things going on. Whether it's the awe inspiring water effects when diving off a pier, to beating up Ballers on Grove St., there's soo much to love about this game that I'm still finding new things to do. The story is amazing as well, especially focusing on the heists where you get to make your own team and decide how you want the job done.

An original press of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles on Vinyl.

The development of 12012 has been controversial to say the least. It's almost like they have become the "new Dir en grey" in terms of the stark contrast between opinions on where this band is going. Some love their heavier sound, others rally against it. So where does this mini album stand? Well...things certainly won't change. 12012's new mini-album, THE SWAN, is a set of varied songs that all carry a similar sound throughout without sounding completely alike (like in their previous 2 releases). On this release, you have varying melodic structures in THE SWAN, to heavy hitting prog metal riffs in DEADLY CIRCUS. It's safe to say, there's a little bit of everything; but is that "little bit of everything" any good? Well...the answer is yes and no. Where this album excels is the growth that the band has achieved to this point. There's variation. Not every song features pseudo-heavy chugging riffs -- in fact it's less frequent than in their self titled and Deicida of Silence. Here we have something that is more expertly crafted, even if in it's entirety that isn't saying much. You can tell there is a strong effort for this band to push forward into changing their sound and experimenting with what works. In fact, this is the first 12012 release where I was pleased at parts -- and this is the first time I've ever been remotely pleased with 12012. From the main guitar riff in DEADLY CIRCUS, to the evolving structure in 月光 that ends with one of my favorite moments in any 12012 song. The ideas are great; but not always the execution. There are two examples that I can point to that ultimately ruins this mini-album (and yes, RUINS) as a whole. The first is Wataru's vocals -- both content and execution. It's BAD. It's TERRIBLE. It is practically UNBEARABLE. Take THE SWAN for example: Wataru goes through the song with attempts at English that just comes out lispy and off-key. Not only are the sounds disgusting; but even his lyrical content is beyond boring (singing about looking out of his window, and crying...I mean..honestly?). Where the track excels is in the musicianship; but even that suffers -- and I am specifically referencing the drums and overall production. These guys are a professional band, and this is the production we're left with? Not only do the drum fills have volumes ABOVE THE RED (what professional engineer would look past that and think it's OK?); but the rhythm guitar is dramatically panned to the left channel causing the volume to drop significantly. So, whenever there's potential for an awesome guitar passage, it's hidden behind the overly loud drums and first guitar. This is what people did with Stereo back in the 1960's...and not what should be happening in 2013 with the mixing equipment and abilities we have now. The vocals and drums are a mess. It's bad. More often than not Wataru sounds more annoying than SUPER DEEP AND PASSIONATE with his child-like screams and lispy melodies that are ALL forgettable. I get he's trying really hard to be operatic in nature (i.e. Kyo); but it doesn't work with him. It's either too far out of his range, or he's not even using proper breathing techniques to get desired falsettos. It's all admirable in thought; but it's executed HORRIBLY. This mini-album has awesome IDEAS; but because of the poor production and terrible vocals, it falls flat. Get rid of Wataru, or at least get him some singing lessons. 5/10 (High score for the great ideas presented and the willingness of the band to grow)

A lot of us on this site have a skewed idea as to how popular Visual Kei really is (in Japan and abroad). In Japan you rarely see a VK band sell out venues that have more than 2000 capacity. And just because they're "popular" in Japan (which most AREN'T), doesn't mean they're guaranteed to be popular elsewhere. No marketing is done abroad to get their name out. At least X Japan did it right when they toured the US briefly: They got their name out there at festivals NOT associated with Anime, and they were pretty much labeled as the original Hair metal / speed metal Japanese band. The problem is that the fanbase is LARGELY over stated by these lesser management groups that try to bring Japanese bands over here. They don't do anything to promote these tours -- they just assume word of mouth is going to be enough. I'm sorry; but word of mouth amongst 20 people in a single city is not going to help your tour. Before they come to the States or Europe, the groups that set these tours up need to realize what they have to do to make it successful. Famously the guy who ran Batsu did tour management...and look how that turned out -- though that's a different issue entirely. @ Peace Heavy: Yeah, Dir en grey has done A LOT of image management by attaching themselves to tours with top metal acts; but that's mostly because of who they know and who they got to know on tour.

With all of the energy at these shows, I bet the GazettE sees touring abroad VERY differently now.

This isn't a "COMEBACK". This isn't some SECOND COMING. Don't let the 7 string chugging riffs and pseudo breakdowns fool you, this is just as poppy and commercial as all of their recent releases --- it just so happens to be dressed up to appear differently. INCOMPLETE starts off with a trend building in Japan, one that's been beaten to death in the States: hardcore chugging mixed with breaks of dubstep bass and various electronic highs to give you the feeling that what is transpiring is somehow "epic". Really awesome guitar work; but even that sounds like a more fleshed out version of the loops in Bangarang by Skrillex. LIMIT BREAK fuses the sound of INCOMPLETE with ROACH (Satoshi recorded with them in the past) as the anthemic chorus leads into a breakdown that would make their influences proud. Again everything is technically GOOD; but there's not much to say. Same as INCOMPLETE but leaning more towards the ballad route with the chugging intro feeding into a soft piano verse, wash, rise, and repeat. The transition to the bridge was enjoyable though as it provided something different; but that only lasted 20 seconds or so until we're back to the chorus. The intro is repeated to close the track out, and that's all she wrote. What I really liked about this single was that it had a persistent sound that was carried through each track. Though gimmicky in the face of the latest trend, it provided an enjoyable listening experience because everything went together. The tracks were not ridiculously different to break continuity, instead they felt like they flowed into each other. The downside is that this is the same effort put out by the band with different instruments. Everything that has been making up Girugamesh's recent releases is all right here: pseudo heavy riffs accompanied by electronic sounds. Pair that with the almost over the top catchy chorus found in each song and you're left with something that feels different; but that's by taking it at face value. 4.5/10