ghost

Bruh let's not bring in private parts like... That's just a hidden rule or something like.... I don't want to know who is like welcome to the jungle or who is like ..... Let's just talk about armpit hair

here for FILM BUG III SPOT
 
TO DAZZLING DARKNESS preview included
 
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=684655381650521
 
nice !

I would kill to hear 7gatsu 8ka live, first song ever :[

DISORDER × NIL?
I hope they will play 7gatsu 8ka live.

I picked up their "Ice Romancer" single off the shelf today, gave that a few whirls and man.....I gotta say, I really miss their old sound. It wasn't super original but it was so Sadie.
'Recall' is such a good song too.

eeeeeeeeeeeee
 

 
*takes breath*
 
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

idk why but I took that as they had no idea where their members went and they are lost in the woods somewhere

ojisan game too strong, too many to choose from~
 
...but I'll go with Atsushi (B-T) cuz for me he's the one it all goes back to. ;w;
 

Multiple choice poll. Who's your favorite J-rock "ojisan"?
 


 
 
 
 
If you have any suggestions for the Poll of the Week, just pm me with the poll question and the possible choices!

12012 - XII  

 

 
12012 have been rolling with a new style since one of their guitarists left them before the release of their self-titled. 
Overall, it's been a hit-and-miss with every new record since then, but the thing that remained constant in this transformation is that their music, regardless of whether or not it was bad or good, featured some very memorable content. I'm not too familiar with 12012's earlier years or even their mar maroon & Seven eras, but I will say that, within the context of these newer albums, I believe XI to be their best release yet. I will start out by saying that this album does not feature 12012's current heavy style (minus red).
 
The album starts with vicious of absolution, which begins with an intro reminiscent of their last album The Swan. It quickly picks up into a slick guitar line and Wataru later joins in with a smooth and flowing melody. This pattern continues throughout the song until its short yet efficient ending. If I were to describe the track in two words it would be simple and eloquent.
 
story of a different dimension kicks things up a notch with heavier fast paced drums and features some tight and distorted guitar playing. Even with this upbeat change, the song features a melancholy string solo and, almost, Gothic choir sequence. The best thing about the track though is definitely the guitars: They're charismatic and also played in a variety of styles keeping things interesting.
 
The album finally gets more into the band's recent hardcore sound with the red. It's what you'd expect from a recent 12012 heavy song except that it's much cleaner in execution and Wataru's screams are done much better without delving into ridiculous loud shouting and vomit noise territory. There's even a short acoustic Spanish guitar break that's oh so sweet. It does begin to feel too long near the end with the song being just 3 seconds shy of 6 minutes. A lot of this, I feel, is contributed from a weak second melodic chorus. It gets especially sigh inducing the second time around when it transitions/becomes the climax of the song but just kinda stays the same. Still, this can be forgiven because of the catchy main guitar riff.
 
alone is a sweet upbeat ballad that's somewhat of a throwback to their mar maroon/Seven era (at least in terms of the more poppy nature of the song). I find the bridge and chorus to be one of the more catchy melodic lines they've thrown at us in a while and just can't get enough of it. One thing I never really noticed in other songs but did in this one is the deep and rich tone of Wataru's voice. I usually don't notice this because he sings so high but alone really makes his voice shine.
 
We now come to the final and longest song on the album, aqua. The first thing I'll say is that it's way too long. This song did not need to be over 9 minutes. Basically, it's the main chorus repeated again and again. The chorus is sung softly at first until the climax when everything is played at full force and then slowly fades out. I don't like the way the song fades out on this part because nothing is really happening in the music; it makes for a weak and unmemorable ending.
Couple of suggestions:
-If the song went into the climax after the piano break, I think it would've been much more tolerable.
-Take out the bass solo (too flat and adds too much time)
-Place the guitar solo at the end of the song to create a much more interesting fade out and keep the listener engaged.  
I think its fine as the closer to the album, but these few qualities really take away from the impact the track could have had.
 
The songs individually are fairly strong, but I don't feel like that's where the strength of the album lies. Rather, I remember XII as a whole. I find it to be a fairly solid album from the start to finish having a smooth flow between songs, a uniform sound despite all songs being written by different members, and overall strong compositions. This is something their last few mini-albums lacked. 
 
Yes, the album doesn't have that recent hardcore and intense 12012 sound, but I'll trade a softer more refined album for a messy execution of a style that doesn't really match with them. I feel like this is a stable balance between their heavy and poppy sides. The album is brighter than Decida of Silence and The Swan but still retains a serious dark tone. I'm glad they're going on hiatus so they can take a break and perhaps think about what direction to go next, but I definitely don't want them to disband. I hope that they'll return with a fresh new release that continues to build on this style. 
 

 
[Kudos if you can guess where the skeleton image is from]

I watched Hellraiser yesterday. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; goddamn, the '80s were a great time for visual effects. Very cool, stylish movie. 

I see things like this : MONSTER compared to GO is an improvement, MONSTER compared to MUSIC is a regression.
So my vote goes for MUSIC, this album clearly wins. I like both albums but in terms of heaviness they haven't produced something better than MUSIC imo, I regret the metalcore-ish tones they adopted since MONSTER even if they're pretty good at it. When you listen to tracks like Asking Why, DEAD WORLD, FREAKS or ULTIMATE 4 it's like getting a punch right in the face. Girugämesh is a band that likes to experiment new stuff and they always did it along the years, sometimes it's good, sometimes it isn't. They're maybe not among the most creative bands but certainly among the most effectives (debatable at times), they really enjoy what they do and you can feel it.

Everyone, post your Halloween pictures! :>
 

 

This legitimately made me run around my apartment laughing.

Just saw the review by curiosity and omg, it was the best thing ever lmfao xDD

Agreed.
But I think the band put it best in their own words.
 

 
To be fair though, that's a tour I'd like to see on it's own DVD release.
But still, major tease.

I didn't really get into either album all that much, but after listening to Monster again just last night, this is what I can say.
I don't remember much of it (I was awake enough too).
I haven't listened to Music for a good 2 years and I still remember most songs off of it.
 
Even though it fell short in my opinion, Music still had pretty catchy chorus'/break downs with songs like 'evolution', 'Break Down', 'Ultimate 4', 'asking why', and (to a certain extent) 'ishtar'. It was a re-hash of their Self-Titled with more digital flair while still keeping the catchines (Heck, I remember NOW better than Monster)
 
The only track Monster had me like was 'antlion pit' (although 'Incomplete' and the singles had pretty catchy chorus'. Just not my cup of tea).
Throughout the album I remember there being really cool riffs or electronic bits, but no real hooks or chorus' that, like Ito said, were memorable. Because of that it's difficult to put identities to individual songs. 
In the spirit of Halloween, it's more like a bag of mixed candies: It doesn't really matter what you pick up because they all start to taste the same. Except for the King-Sized candies some people give out. You keep those in a separate box. That's like 'antlion pit'. So basically, Halloween for Monster sucked and it only got one King-Sized candy.
Maybe better luck next year.

Happy Valentine's Day to the people of Monochrome Heaven!

The album art is magical to me lmao...
 
Oh god, "Diru sea shanties" don't make me drool....

^Had to quote this joke off Go's site:
 

best squid-in-a-top-hat art of 2014

What a strange looking dog

Agreed.
But I think the band put it best in their own words.
 

 
To be fair though, that's a tour I'd like to see on it's own DVD release.
But still, major tease.