TetsuAkira

I am just stoked about this. There is no way of saying I'll ever hear it, but to know that they're still active after their releases in the previous two years is great.

New Vocal Cover
The Gazette - DOGMA
 

Haha take that, family sized bag of pistachios! 

AvelCain - love the look, cant for the life of me enjoy their music.

He's using that glory hole wrong.
 
Catchy song though

Black:List - DESPERATE

Black:List - DESPERATE

He's using that glory hole wrong.
 
Catchy song though

Bless those TV music channels that cover the Noughties and Nineties. So many forgotten gems. Morning well spent.

Can't believe it took me so long to check out Black:list. I am ashamed of myself.

AvelCain - love the look, cant for the life of me enjoy their music.

To sneakily steal @CAT5's idea of last year here, I'd like to set up this thread again so we can keep track of what Japanese releases we have listened to in 2016 so far, and how high exactly we rate these releases (it's always nice to compare with others, or to keep lists in general). You basically rate the releases you have listened to in small lists ranging from one to five stars and update your own list whenever you see fit. The general idea would be the same for everyone.
 
Feel free to set up your own rating system and create a different format, to discuss the ratings of yourself and others, or to recommend music to people based on their existing lists.
 
Lestat's ratings for 2016:
 
 

Was always a Fan of - 'THE END' by Gazette
&& Lycaon - 'into the dark'

BRUH THE DOPEST OF FISHES. 
 
welcome aboard.

Tracklist:
1. FRONT
2. WELCOME TO GHOST HOTEL
3. 少年ワルツ
4. Believe
5. Here I am
6. Jesus phobia
7. 素晴らしい「教育」
8. 二面相シンデレラ
9. テツキズ
10. 冬唄
11. 踏切迷子
12. デジャヴパニック
13. 勘違い革命


| Spoopy down for what?

 For those of you who may be new to ペンタゴン (pentagon), the band was established on December 14th of 2014 by Chizuru and Minpha of Call Me. The band completed their line-up with members from bands such as METEOROID, LucaRia, and Vared. The band, as young they are, have been quite impressive over this past year. ペンタゴン is notable for having a consistent visual appearance and prominent themes in their releases that go very well hand in hand and in their short career , they've already released a full album and 2 singles that come in various types. While 2015 was a significant year for them, they have yet to slow down and have hit 2016 in full speed. [WELCOME TO GHOST HOTEL] hit the shelves on January 27th and is the band's second full-length album with an impressive track-list of 13 songs.

[WELCOME TO GHOST HOTEL] states its theme clearly from the start with the intro title "FRONT". Though it's more of an SE track, it's almost an asset in setting the mood for such a theme. Envision yourself coming across an abandoned mansion or house. You approach it curiously, but there's a sense of uncertainty mixed with your eagerness to explore such a sight. From the light music box and thunder to the anticipation that the strings build up, you wind up at the entrance of Ghost Hotel, and with a creak of the door, the album takes off in to our titled track "WELCOME TO GHOST HOTEL". A seamless transition from the intro jumps into an upbeat and somewhat heavy set of guitar riffs accented with a unique accordion tune and chanting. It's a mildly chaotic song that makes a big entrance for the story they seem to have for this theme. We've heard "少年ワルツ" (Shounen Waltz) before from the single, but it fits right in with the on-going theme. Ghosts and spirits are remnants of a past time, so the vintage distortion to the vocals in the beginning add a nice touch. "Believe" is a rather confusing song, both placement wise and the way it was written. Aside from the somewhat spooky techno in the beginning, it's made up of very common VK riffs. Though the vocal melody is somewhat solid, the key change takes the setting in a different direction that pulls away from the creepy and spooky theme they started with. While it may not exactly fit the theme, it does seem to be a song that may have been composed with live shows in mind. "Here I am" is also a song that doesn't give the same feeling as the beginning of this album, though it transitions well from "Believe". This song is a lot lighter and lifting, which is quite the opposite of what is expected from this release. However, it serves justice as a nice power ballad with strong vocals. Another rough transition brings us to "Jesus Phobia", a sort of circus-y sounding song with powerful screams, a signature music box in the background, and a relevant key change.

Once "素晴らしい「教育」"(Subarashii 「kyouiku」) drops, the setting changes to a waltzing ballroom dance. The setting of the album was consistent enough to transition into this song and it almost fools one with its mellow intro. This song is full of psychedelic guitars, synths, and even a nifty drum solo that leads into a distorted guitar solo. The next song, "二面相シンデレラ" (Nimensou Cinderella), is another upbeat song with a prominent bass line and feels like a solid continuation of the previous track. These last two songs combined creates a new, playful and devious side of the album. Earlier we imagined entering ghost hotel and discovering the wonders inside, but those songs didn't exactly give a sense of direct contact with what presented itself. The combination of the previous two tracks represent that interaction in a playful ballroom dance where whatever malicious being or figures do show themselves and, for lack of a better word, toy around with their visitors to humor themselves perhaps.

"テツキズ "(Tetsukizu) transitions well, but doesn't quite hit home with the theme or its generic alternative riffs backed up with drumming on the offbeat. However, the piano is a nice touch. It's not a bad song, but it's forgettable. "冬唄" ( Fuyuuta) is a slower song that fits better with the vibe this album should have, but it feels more like an ending song. Even though this track is most reliant on piano,ペンタゴン do quite well at enhancing the build up to a piano and vocal melody duet. The build and anticipation in this song is favorable with the contrast of soft verses and phrases that have more prominent guitar, bass and drum work that makes the track swell with power. "踏切迷子 "(Fumikiri Maigo) starts strong and follows the last track well until the chorus key change. Something with the instrumentals and key that the vocals are in sounds off ever-so slightly. Other than that, every other element in this song fits well with the concept and offers probably the most pleasing guitar solo on the whole album. "デジャヴパニック" ( Deja-vu Panic) starts to wrap up the album as it revisits a few similar instrumental motifs from previous tracks in the beginning of the album. Don't let the intro fool you though, because this track certainly excels into the danger zone (IN A GOOD WAY!) and lives up to its name. The guitar work beautifully contrasts with the chorus' vocal melody, and when the growls and shouting happen, the double bass is tastefully used. If you like songs that have a fast paced break down at the end, this is the song for you. "勘違い革命" (Kanchigai Kakumei) doesn't feel like a goodbye song. This song feels more like an 'until next time' and doesn't give a sense of closure and may have worked better as the second to last song. The door creaking back shut at the end is a cute reference to the beginning, which brings the album full circle.

To sum up the album, it had songs that clearly worked together to paint out a sort of story, but it had inconsistencies in keeping it flowing smoothly. There were songs that didn't transition well with others, but the songs on the album itself were quite good. Having a type of horror or creepy theme is difficult to maintain in 13 tracks without having to stray away to create some sort of contrast, but otherwise it could have ended up having too many songs that sounded too similar. [WELCOME TO GHOST HOTEL] is certainly a good release from ペンタゴン and though it's a little rough around edges, it shows potential for even stronger releases in the future.



CDJapan | HMV

New hoodie is new. My hair is an utter disaster.

But pink makes everyone chou kawaii ne~~~~. 
 

Idk where to put this or how to title it... sorry mods! But I came across an old thread (Wtf is Ains), and thought I'd dump a short history of Yukika/Ains. Only it turned out to be way longer than I expected, and had some crossover with non-Ains labels. So... I thought I'd dump it in the general section. Maybe this can turn into a general discussion of vk labels? (Didn't see anything similar extant when I searched.) Anyway, here:
Yukika (雪花) is a dude who was vocalist of a band called ETCETERA (エトセトラ). They were on their own label, called ● drop cafe, which I think he owned. Later, they joined a bigger label called ● CLIMAX ENTERPRISE.
 
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Yayoi (弥生) is a dude who was in the bands Vice†risk and La'miss fairy, among many others. Back in the day, he owned a label called ● Eternal, which was in turn a sublabel of KISAKI's ● Matina label.
Eventually, ● Matina closed, and so did ● Eternal. Later―around the same time that KISAKI opened his new label ● UNDER CODE PRODUCTION―Yayoi opened a new label called ● CLIMAX ENTERPRISE.
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ETCETERA eventually disbands, and ● CLIMAX ENTERPRISE closes, whatever. Afterward, Yukika forms a band called Fils, but they operate without a label and disband pretty quickly. Yukika then forms the band CLUTCH (クラッチ) under his own record label, ● Culminate Screen.
 
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● Culminate Screen mostly had shitty bands, but there was this one group called CATHELINE (キャサリン)... They got a little popularity, jumped ship to Speed-disk, and became R-18, then R-15, then R Shitei (R指定).
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CLUTCH disbands, ● Culminate Screen closes, whatever. Yukika keeps at it, forms a new band called Buddy, and starts a new label, ● A heretic sound music.. Here's where it starts getting interesting:
Yukika gets lucky, and signs this band called ALSDEAD to his label. Somehow, they get a little popular, and he's probably making money from his label for the first time ever. Meanwhile, this little band called Valluna (ヴァルナ) starts hanging out around label (without actually joining), so that's pretty cool.
Cut to late 2009. Remember that Yayoi guy, the president of the label that Yukika's band ETCETERA used to be on? Yeah, that guy suddenly has a new label called ● FIREBALL―which has no artists, btw―and Yukika slides ● A heretic sound music. right in there as a sublabel of ● FIREBALL. That's definitely some tax evasion shit, right?
Like 3 minutes later, ALSDEAD mysteriously announces that they're “graduating” from ● A heretic sound music.. The next month, Yukika's like, “Hey guys, ● A heretic sound music. is closing.” (Haq;ch. and Navir, the two unsuccessful bands on the label, are just left to fend for themselves.) But don't worry! Yukika has formed a new label: ● Galaxy, which is also a sublabel of ● FIREBALL. (Yukika even co-sponsors one-day revivals of ● Eternal and ● CLIMAX ENTERPRISE with Yayoi, 'cause they're totes great friends now.)
 
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Btw, did you catch that? He transforms his label into a sublabel, then immediately closes it and forms a new sublabel under the same company. He keeps the one band who was somewhat successful, and drops off the other two in some barren desert somewhere. That's definitely some tax wizardry, right? Or maybe just a cute way to end those other bands' contracts?
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So ● Galaxy is here, and they've got the somewhat successful ALSDEAD band. Then, surprise surprise, Valluna (ヴァルナ) joins ● Galaxy.
 
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ALSDEAD was, like, doing pretty good. But right after their first release through ● Galaxy, they jumped ship to their own label, ● CTA Works ('cause they're assholes?). ● Danger Crue scooped them up after, which is a pretty big deal, 'cause, like... ● Danger Crue isn't major, but it's as close as most visual bands will ever get, and it has major distribution through ● SONY. It seems like they really fell off after that, but maybe that's just in the overseas community.
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That Valluna (ヴァルナ) band is doing well, like really well. Which, in the VK world, means it's time for a disbandment. So, Valluna (ヴァルナ) disbands, and the important members immediately come back as DIAURA.
DIAURA is doing super well; so much so that their album is distributed by the major label ● CROWN, which is rare for a tiny label like ● Galaxy. So Yukika and Yayaoi must be dragging home small bags of money every day, which is great. But eventually, Yukika gets smart, and is like “fuck this, I want all the bags of money”; so in early 2012, mentions of something called ● Ains start springing up. ● Galaxy is still publishing releases and sponsoring lives, but this ● Ains thing is being mentioned too.
Smash cut to March of 2012, and ● Galaxy has, like, lowkey disappeared, and all of DIAURA's activities are going through ● Ains now. Considering ● FIREBALL seemed to only ever be a shell company for ● Galaxy, I guess it closed too.
------------------------------------------------------------
I wanna talk about Yayoi some more.
Way back in 1979 (supposedly), some dude founded an entertainment company called EXCEL. That dude turns out to be Yayoi's father! In the 90s, ● EXCEL RECORDS released some omnibus CDs featuring Yayoi's then-current band, ANGEL DUST. (KISAKI's band, MIRAGE, was also on those CDs, so I guess that's how KISAKI and Yayoi hooked up, which lead to KISAKI giving Yayoi the ● Eternal sublabel of ● Matina.)
Anyway, around the time when Yukika closed ● Galaxy and formed ● Ains, EXCEL was reorganized into ● EXCEL ENTERTAINMENT, with Yayoi as the new president. The new ● EXCEL ENTERTAINMENT has had several clients―including KISAKI and some people from bands belonging to ● Eternal/● CLIMAX ENTERPRISE―but the company doesn't actually do anything, as far as I can tell. I guess it acts as a talent agency, but all of its clients are already being managed by record labels, so what's the point?
More recently, Yayoi formed the new record label ROCKSTAR RECORDS. (And, of course, all of that label's artists are simultaneously signed with ● EXCEL ENTERTAINMENT.)
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Ok, ok, it's 2012, ● Ains exists as its own entity, and DIAURA is helping Yukika drag home bags of money, which he gets to keep to himself this time. Now that he's making Trump Checks™, Yukika can afford to sign a new act, so he snipes people from the band RELOAD (リロード) to form Grieva (グリーヴァ). Just for shits and giggles, they're on their own ● Ains sublabel called ● MadWink.. (I truly assumed that ● MadWink. was created just for aesthetic reasons, but maybe it's some weird tax evasion thing too, idk.)
Grieva (グリーヴァ) is literally (literally, kids) a Dir en grey cover band (with other influences thrown in there, but it's mostly Deg), but they're like, killin' it. So Yukika tries to strike lightning twice, and creates a GAZETTE (ガゼット) cover band, Gossip (ゴシップ), also under the ● MadWink. sublabel. At the same time, KUROYURI TO KAGE (黒百合と影) forms under a different ● Ains sublabel called ● yamikakumei (闇革命). (Again, I assume the sublabel is for aesthetic purposes.)
Soon after, Grieva, Gossip, and KUROYURI TO KAGE release a coupling CD which is published by ● UNIVERSAL MUSIC. (This doesn't mean they're major, or that they left ● Ains. I'd assume it's probably some sort of test for ● UNIVERSAL MUSIC to see if they want to deal with ● Ains more in the future.)
Now, here's the most recent weirdness:
Some new band MEDIENA (メディーナ) appears, and they give off major “● Ains vibes”―in the sense that their graphic design is clearly done by the ● Ains graphic designer, and their release schedule is put together in a way that's similar to ● Ains bands. They're also always playing at ● Ains lives, but they clearly state that they're on a label called ● V-eyes RECORDS, which has nothing to do with ● Ains. ...Or does it? When their release was put up on iTunes, the publisher was listed as ● Ains; so I guess that explains that, lol. I personally consider ● V-eyes RECORDS to be a “secret sublabel” of ● Ains, though I have no official statement to back that up, and can't give a reason why they'd do that (tax stuff?).
There's also a new band called MALISEND, whom some people assumed to belong to ● Ains. I actually think that's wrong, at least when they formed.
Early on, MALISEND was clearly not using the ● Ains graphic designer, and their first releases were not announced in the same way that ● Ains releases are (ie. not using the same marketing staff). Also, tbh, their first look was not up to ● Ains quality. And finally, I want to mention that their first releases were completely independent (independent UPC & no label listed). However, their most recent release was through a new label called ● Culminate―and was published by ● Ains, according to Brand X. So, in my opinion, MALISEND did not form under ● Ains (like MEDIENA probably did), but is now signed to another “secret sublabel” of ● Ains. (Might the name ● Culminate be a tribute to Yukika's early label, ● Culminate Screen?)
And here we are
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To recap...
Yukika forms drop cafe
↓
Yukika's band joins CLIMAX ENTERPRISE
↓
Yukika forms Culminate Screen
↓
Yukika forms A heretic sound music.
↓
Yukika meets up with Yayoi, the former president of CLIMAX ENTERPRISE
↓
Yayoi forms FIREBALL, and Yukika transforms A heretic sound music. to a sublabel of FIREBALL
↓
Yukika closes A heretic sound music. and makes a new FIREBALL sublabel called Galaxy
↓
Yukika forms a new, standalone label called Ains
↓
Yukika transfers DIAURA to Ains and closes A heretic sound music., and Yayoi goes to EXCEL ENTERTAINMENT
↓
Yukika makes an Ains sublabel, MadWink., for Grieva
↓
Gossip joins the sublabel MadWink.
↓
KUROYURI TO KAGE joins the new Ains sublabel, yamikakumei
↓
Grieva, Gossip, and KUROYURI TO KAGE release a coupling CD which is published/distributed by UNIVERSAL (but they're not major)
↓
MEDIENA forms under an unofficial/secret Ains sublabel, V-eyes RECORDS
↓
MALISEND forms independently, but joins what might be another unofficial/secret Ains sublabel, Culminate
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Idk, I hope that was enlightening or entertaining to someone! Please let me know if you have any comments or corrections!
I've always found the world of VK record labels to be really fascinating. KISAKI's label history is deliciously convoluted, but I think Yukika actually beats him out, lol.

I'm savage, but not THAT savage bro. haha.
 
I'd rather sleep lol.

What is this voodoo. Your tentacles are everywhere!

Holy jesus that was good.

Here is me posing in a toilet around 5 years ago. 

This is some good shit, Dan. Love vector stuff.
 
Good work!

Hi everyone!
I wanted to share with you the cover we record with my band Mandoble.

I hope you all like it and if it not your critique is more than welcome
 

See you!
 
PD: How can I do to embed the video on the post?  sorry for the dumb question hehehe

Kyo - Dir en Grey (His range still amazes me, if only he could do all that stuff live more often, but he rarely manages)
Yuki - Raphael/rice (His voice flows well with basically anything, songwriting can be lacking sometimes)
Riku - Phantasmagoria (Not sure why I like it, after listening to other bands and noticing how they pretty much try to do the same voice, his voice is no exception, but it still sounds pleasing to me, maybe it's nostalgia)
Hyde - L'arc~en~ciel (Soothing, erotic, moody, all at the same time, suffers with the same issue as Yuki)
Klaha - Malice Mizer (I like it beter than Gackt's... His solo career sucked though)