GazeRockSnob

VK owns and has continued to own. 
 
But it seems like if it isn't ~heavy or ~dark then nobody will take an interest, even if the bands are great. Frustrating. 
 
PS: Metal fans smell like cabbage. 

I'll probably get shot for this, but now that there's a thread for these I'm going to give it a try anyway.
 
I simply do not understand people who claim they love MEJIBRAY for the vocals. That is mainly because in my ears the vocalist sounds awful. I know there are two kinds of awful, as in "I don't like the sound of his voice or the way he uses it but technically he can still sing" and then there's the "there are so many things wrong technically that it just sounds like shit" option. For me, MEJIBRAY's vocalist falls in the second category. His screams are awful, his regular vocals are weak and usually can't carry the music and he's out of tune about 99% of the time. Like I said, I'm probably going to get some angry replies to this but this is MY OPINION. I'm not stating it as fact, nor am I trying to shit on your favourite vocalist/band. I just can't listen to him.
 
also guys hating on Gazette is so 2007. Idk I'm not even a Gazette fan but I feel like quite some people hate on Gazette because it's popular to hate (while actually listening to tons of indie versions of Gazette themselves, GOTTA RAISE MY INDIE-CRED).

Visual kei gets a bad reputation because visual kei fans can't talk music
Elaboration is the cornerstone of great conversation and great writing. Talking about music and bands is an exercise in persuasive writing. You're giving your audience - anyone that took the time to read what you have to write - very good reasons to consider why your position is correct. Now let's say I just left this topic with that one sentence in bold. I may have a good point. If I explain, I very well may change your view. But since I don't, you won't take me seriously. If I do this over and over again very soon I'm going to build up a reputation as someone not worth listening to because I don't explain the "why's" behind my beliefs.
Expand this out to the entire visual kei scene.
One of our largest problems isn't that we don't have a lot to say about our favorite artists. We do. We just never get around to ever saying it. This extends out beyond Monochrome Heaven. I find I can't take people's opinions or reviews seriously because they'll just say something is great or something is shit and leave it at that. Most of the time I'm convinced that subsequent people just parrot the first person to say something different, and it continues in that direction from there. There is hardly ever details and when there is it is at the most basic level possible. As fans, we should continue to promote our favorite bands and our favorite releases, but then couple that with reasons. Why do I like this album? Why don't I like this band?
And let's keep it strictly about the music, because believe it or not saying "the vocals are good and the guitars are awesome!" tells a potential interested reader nothing. What exactly does awesome sound like? Right...
Now if you are not confident in your writing and explanation abilities, don't let it stop you. Read up on professional reviews on other websites. Take tips from them. Continue to work on it. You can't become better at reviewing if you never try. But if we all begin to discuss the actual music behind visual kei when we make our claims, I believe that people in other scenes will stop dismissing us outright as wankers who only listen for the pretty boys.

"I don't like the GazettE because of the fans."
Response of the Zess: You're stupid. Anyone that lets the actions of other people determine whether or not they can enjoy a band isn't focusing on the music. Bonding over liking a similar artist is an attractive draw to liking a certain band but it shouldn't be the only reason why you like a band. It's entirely possible to like the GazettE and not step foot in the shoutbox or a GazettE tumblr ever. I do. As of this writing, they are the fifth most played band on my last.fm. Separate the fans from the music.
This also goes out to the people that act like the GazettE never has made good music and is the symptom of decay in the visual kei scene. Shut up. I know you listen to them with the scrobbler off so don't front.
Oh and if for whatever reason you feel like somebody will judge you for liking the GazettE (or any band) get off last.fm and dismount from your high horse. That's a sign of neurosis. If you actually knew how few people looked at your last.fm or cared about what you listen to, you wouldn't care at all. If anyone ever DOES judge you for listening to a band you like, tell them to go play in traffic.

I feel like Mejibray is that band that all the Gazette haters love because they can finally listen to Gazette songs without losing their indie street cred.

"Old-school/90's VK wasn't really much better" With so many people parading around old-school superiority, I'd say I'm in the minority with this opinion. As someone who has been in VK for ~10 years and collects tons of old-school stuff, I can certainly say without a bit of doubt that there were a TON of really shitty bands back then. Anyone who would say otherwise is looking through some pretty rose-tinted glasses. That being said, I certainly do miss some of sub-scenes in VK that no longer exist(soft visual/white-kei/proto-oshare) and don't exactly like all of the "sounds" that bands tend to get grouped into nowadays, but I definitely can't say that one era was better or worse than the other as they all have their ups and downs.

I don't care about the visuals in VK:  I say this is an unpopular opinion because I've been told countless times that it's impossible not to care about the visuals and anyone that says that is lying and on and on.  But I don't and I never have. I have some kind of sick attraction to the music itself, but I don't give a flying fuck about the band's appearance and would prefer they didn't look so ridiculous if I had a choice, just so it'd be less embarrassing to point them out to people.

About BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY (Shoxx vol.245)

BY heresiarchy on TUMBLR:

—How much has [the new album] progressed so far?

Ruki: Just a bit now and we’ll be done with pre-production, and the lyrics are still to be done. They’re still at a temporary stage.

—Do they change considerably from the temporary lyrics?

Ruki: Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t change that much. But they often do change.

—The album title, BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY, has already been announced so that means there’s already an idea behind it?

Ruki: Yes. Because this time the concept was also to create a “the GazettE” album. In the beginning, everyone was misled by the word “DEFORMITY” but it’s not something focused only on that. The album’s concept is also that we wanted to make it an album with each member’s songs on it in the form that all members agree on.
(…)

—What kind of album will BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY be in terms of composition?

Ruki: I guess there’s lots of variation. But, it’s not like TOXIC and DIVISION. Speaking of song variation, it’s closer to our older albums. Closer to STACKED RUBBISH and NIL.

—I see. And DIM was a conceptual album.

Ruki: Yeah. DIM was a thing for itself. This one is different from that. It might also give off an impression like, “This is what you’re doing in this day and age!?” Well, I’ll talk about the specifics sometime in the future.
______________________________________________
 
ASDFGHJKL. I AM SO EXCITEDDDDDD. I REALLY CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT IT'S LIKE IF ITS SIMILAR TO THEIR EARLIER ALBUMS ;AAAA;
DID I MENTION I WAS EXCITED?

In my towel xD

In my towel xD

Yeah, not like they say I must buy them, that wasn't my problem in the first place. I think that person was pretty clearly saying that if you actually want to support band you buy the merch (even if it is plain chekis.) and also dissing those who think chekis are ripoff yet cry for their dying indie bands. therefore I present my argument. Not much room for misunderstanding there anyway that apparently I should be buying those pics when I go to gigs if I actually want to support them. however I don't really plan buying them still as I feel I am then paying just for supporting band instead of actually getting something worthy at all in change (read: I personally see chekis as nearly useless things.) And surely I don't think I should be paying band extra just for them to continue existing, that is laughable thought, I don't think it is "my job" as a a fan, getting pretty much no value pics in exchange doesn't make it any better for me. I already paid for their concert ticket and CDs, even maybe bought other merch if they had something fun, if that is not enough then there is a problem in business they are doing, maybe it is best for them to disband then? I don't have money to scatter for some random pics, maybe I could buy one or two if they really don't have anything else to sell and it is small band I like. But as I am not really feeling the return, I don't feel I as customer am getting anything, even if idea of supporting them is cool in a way, it is just a bit much for me as as mentioned I don't see value in those pics. 
 
But yeah it is just simply my opinion about them and I really don't really think it should in general be fans role to use much money for such things, therefore I see them as ripoff but if people feel it's cool I guess it is kinda OK (as mentioned in my very first post.) I just don't personally like it but I guess it makes sense for them to do it anyway, it kinda fits to whole thing actually. Still, lets say someone buys 5 of those meji chekis, uses fucking 100€ for 5 pics, obviously not reasonable pricing at all, I don't think you can really even argue over that. But that is business for you of course ;P. 

remember when visual kei bands were making good music to grab attention

About BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY (Shoxx vol.245)

BY heresiarchy on TUMBLR:

—How much has [the new album] progressed so far?

Ruki: Just a bit now and we’ll be done with pre-production, and the lyrics are still to be done. They’re still at a temporary stage.

—Do they change considerably from the temporary lyrics?

Ruki: Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t change that much. But they often do change.

—The album title, BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY, has already been announced so that means there’s already an idea behind it?

Ruki: Yes. Because this time the concept was also to create a “the GazettE” album. In the beginning, everyone was misled by the word “DEFORMITY” but it’s not something focused only on that. The album’s concept is also that we wanted to make it an album with each member’s songs on it in the form that all members agree on.
(…)

—What kind of album will BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY be in terms of composition?

Ruki: I guess there’s lots of variation. But, it’s not like TOXIC and DIVISION. Speaking of song variation, it’s closer to our older albums. Closer to STACKED RUBBISH and NIL.

—I see. And DIM was a conceptual album.

Ruki: Yeah. DIM was a thing for itself. This one is different from that. It might also give off an impression like, “This is what you’re doing in this day and age!?” Well, I’ll talk about the specifics sometime in the future.
______________________________________________
 
ASDFGHJKL. I AM SO EXCITEDDDDDD. I REALLY CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT IT'S LIKE IF ITS SIMILAR TO THEIR EARLIER ALBUMS ;AAAA;
DID I MENTION I WAS EXCITED?

About BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY (Shoxx vol.245)

BY heresiarchy on TUMBLR:

—How much has [the new album] progressed so far?

Ruki: Just a bit now and we’ll be done with pre-production, and the lyrics are still to be done. They’re still at a temporary stage.

—Do they change considerably from the temporary lyrics?

Ruki: Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t change that much. But they often do change.

—The album title, BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY, has already been announced so that means there’s already an idea behind it?

Ruki: Yes. Because this time the concept was also to create a “the GazettE” album. In the beginning, everyone was misled by the word “DEFORMITY” but it’s not something focused only on that. The album’s concept is also that we wanted to make it an album with each member’s songs on it in the form that all members agree on.
(…)

—What kind of album will BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY be in terms of composition?

Ruki: I guess there’s lots of variation. But, it’s not like TOXIC and DIVISION. Speaking of song variation, it’s closer to our older albums. Closer to STACKED RUBBISH and NIL.

—I see. And DIM was a conceptual album.

Ruki: Yeah. DIM was a thing for itself. This one is different from that. It might also give off an impression like, “This is what you’re doing in this day and age!?” Well, I’ll talk about the specifics sometime in the future.
______________________________________________
 
ASDFGHJKL. I AM SO EXCITEDDDDDD. I REALLY CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT IT'S LIKE IF ITS SIMILAR TO THEIR EARLIER ALBUMS ;AAAA;
DID I MENTION I WAS EXCITED?

This album was kind of an oddity for me. I loved it the first time through, but the more I listened, the less I liked it. Or maybe it just got old fast?
 
Lets start it off with what I liked about this album: The overall production of this album is really tight. Everything just sound punchy and really enjoyable. Easily their best album in this regard. The heavy sections of the songs on this album are really the strength of this release imo, which I can not say about their other releases...not that they were band, but I really feel like they stepped it up a notch in this area.
 
Now for the not so good: The lyrics on this album are just plain bad. I found myself going "ugh" whenever I actually played attention to the words...it reminded me of an earlier high schooler's bad poetry. The clean vocal sections also lack a lot of interest from what we found on their previous albums imo, something about them just feels so cheesy. Then there is the problem is that all the songs on this album sounds so similar. I know this can really help create a cohesive package, but it works against Coldrain for this album in the sense that all the songs seemed to blur together.

Let's make a review out of this MEJIBRAY mini-album release: MESSIAH.bat
 

 
To be honest, I was really looking forward to this release and from the preview sample it looked kinda good + their looks are awesome...!  
 
....so I put my hopes up until it was released.
 
At first listen to this mini-album, I was kinda impressed but after a few listens I recognized some songs from their previous releases/they've used some instrumentals from what they had released before.
 
I think they've kinda overworked themselfs like all their ideas are gone.
 
But I'll review each song also...
 
 
Messiah.bat
The intro starts with some Tsuzuku grows afterwards they let MiA do the same guitar riff from their previous release ''KILLING ME'', it sounds cool but kinda a no-no for repeating in a new song. 
The chorus is really catchy, totally love it! Also the up-beats are nice, it keeps you in the song.
Overall it's a great song to listen to.
 

 
Falling ''Maria''
The intro starts again with some previous release melody, what I can get out of it is: APOCALYPSE & THINKER.
Hmmm... I don't think there's actually anything new to this song, but it's good.

 
【worms】
I hate to say this, but the intro is like DEVIL ON THE BED by The GazettE & Diaura - Terrors, but with electro elements in it.
I think this is the only song I really dislike on their new mini-album. Great to see they try some electro elements again, but I think their darker music like their 1st mini-album / Sadisgate / Sabato / KILLING me are suiting them much better.
 
Just saying~

 
- 枷と知能　-それってとても人間らしいって神様は笑ってるの-
Another electro elemento song, but I approve this one, it's not bad. It reminds me of their other song Mechanical Beauty, from some of those vocal parts. www
Also the lyrics lol, what I can get what Tsuzuku singing, the song is about ''fucking''? lol
 
... ''You say I'm fucking to, fucking you over''♪ (or something close to that xD)
 
I think they didn't need to add any electro elements, since it's already good in the parts without them.
 
But overall, cool song.

 
- insomnia
Finally some darker song,  the intro starts with a dark sounding piano.... sweet!
The drums are really sweet here, same kind of drum beats used in Akercock (YEAH www)
I also love the bass in this song that goes great along with the guitar. Just an amazing song!
Actually this kind/type of songs should be used in this whole mini-album in my opinion.
I think this was clearly the best song out this mini-album. All the other songs seems kinda weaker.

 
 
Let's hope they'll do better next time with brand new ideas, also like I said before... I really think they are overworked. They've released so much in short time... they need time to get fresh ideas.

ugh lol and those are apparently Di'Vorcing (sorry in advance as I'm drunk and can't help myself, send me a truck full of aspirins tomorrow)

Thanks Jigsaw ~ ♥
 
And here's a sculpture/nonfunctional pot I recently made
 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO1curr

LOCUS debuted in 2012 with their demo single "Kidnapping". On the 23rd of Jan, they dropped their album "Ugly Crow" and here are my thoughts on it.
 
♦Overall♦
 
Overall, it was a pretty decent album for a recently debuted band. Ayame's vocals are unclean at times (maybe terrible) but I'm sure over time he will improve. His screaming is good and singing at normal pitch is okay but when he attempts higher notes he fails miserably. Needs more vocal training. His voice did not ruin the album however, the instruments are great. There weren't really any moments that will make you go 'wow' but the instruments are well utilized.
 
♦Track By Track♦
 
01. Delusion ♥
 
Bad start to the album and one of my least liked songs on it. Ayame's vocals are especially undesirable and a bit annoying here though his screams are good. After 1:58 - 2:31 is the best part of the song. When Ayame stops singing for a bit lol. It's a pretty bland song though. Very unimpressive. 
 
02. Tunnel (トンネル) ♥♥♥♥
 
I like this track. Very much actually. I like the tone of his voice here and how well it fits with the guitars. Screams are very good here. Asdfghjkl, what can I say, I love this song a whole lot~ Even his higher tones don't sound as bad. Guitars at 3:21 are great and I love his voice at 6:21. Very memorable and shows he has potential.
 
03. Iroochi (色堕ち) ♥♥♥
 
http://youtu.be/pHowDXCbqV4
 
I like the guitars at the starting, pretty nice song. The PV is really low quality though but oh well, they're a starting VK band~ The song's a bit bland though, not very special and kind of slow. High tones are awful though lol. It gets hard to listen to but it's okay.
 
04. Shadan (遮断) ♥♥
 
His voice sounds really overpowered in the beginning but It gets clearer further on. I love the guitars though. There's a moment where you can say 'hm, this is really good' but it doesn't last at long as I would like it to~ Pretty bland onwards and to the end of the song.
 
05. Kidnapping ♥♥♥♥
 
http://youtu.be/0yFVeI7bibk
 
Aha, I love this song lol. It really grew on me since I heard it so far back so continued exposure to it might be influencing my decision. I actually like the PV. It gives me an impression of an early 2000's VK band which I like. I love his screams here and the fast pacing of the song~
 
06. Akarusa Regret (明るさRegret) ♥♥♥
 
The starting is pretty boring and when it comes to his screaming, it's a poor attempt. It sounds like he's crowing or croaking out the lyrics. and it's very unfavorable. It's a song you would skip. I do like his shouting/speaking and his singing is okay here. Guitars are really good and riffs at 2:42 - 2:52 are very good. It's memorable~
 
07. Konton no sora (混沌の空) ♥♥
 
This song starts out really nicely with nice pacing but as it goes on, it gets..not good lol. I liked the low tone of his voice but after 3:08 there is this whining in his voice and it's hard to stand. Ayame really needs to improve his high vocal pitches. He strains to reach them.
 
08. Saigo no uta (最後の唄) ♥♥
 
By now, you would have gotten used to LOCUS's sound and style since there isnt much variation in this album. This song is a little boring but it's decent. His voice is a problem again when trying to hit high notes but that's really the only problem. It's pretty much good~
 
09. Ugly Moth ♥♥♥
 
This is a good song to end with. I think they should have started with Tunnel but I'm not sure they paid attention to the song organization in this album. This is a more upbeat faster paced song and it's cool. Loved the guitars at 2:44 - 3:00. Maintaining that higher note in his voice at the end must have been a feat for Ayame though lol. I hope he trains his voice harder. I have to admit, his vocal quality is kind of endearing.
 
Album Rating:
 
♥Thanks for Reading♥

I designed the backdrop for my school's annual concert ^^ (i didnt choose the title)

*Raises hand*
 
Tears kinda stung my eyes. This sucks ass!