WhirlingBlack

Dies name surprisingly isn't Daisuke, so you might want to edit that. Great review otherwise, I'm interested in trying this myself as well once I get some time.

Avel Cain and deathgaze are not nagoya kei. 

I'm a fan of DISH, sivy is a super nice guy too and their live atmosphere is really unique. It's a shame they don't play much at the moment though, it's been a while since I saw them perform.

I think for people who aren't American you might need to specify what age range you are referring to.

Just now, sume7 said:

Well as I said maybe they're just remakes for the upcoming best album, deg have plenty of them. Also does anyone actually have footage of these new songs? Or how are they aware?

I went to the tours. They're not remakes. 

8 minutes ago, Tokage said:

They've been performing 2 new, unreleased songs live recently though, so they'll most likely either deliver a new single or just a full-on new album of some sort in the very near future, i don't think they've ever played new songs EXTREMELY far ahead of their studio version's release, have they? (or was that the case with the MOAB tracks? idr)

raison detre was performed in October 1997 - released July 1999. 

Probably the most extreme example. The early build of ZAN which existed since the band formed and was released in January 1999 has a similar time frame too.

Tsumi to Batsu was performed in Feb/March 1998 and released in July 1999.

Fukai was performed in October 2002, released in April 2003.

Itoshisa and GARBAGE was performed in July 2004 and released March 2005.

And then the famous MARROW songs from the Budokan performance in August 2006 which was released the follow year in Feb.

GLASS SKIN and STUCK MAN in 2008 being performed in May and being released in September and November respectively. 

Gaika and Toguro were performed some weeks before release but it's not long enough to be relevant.

Same with LOTUS, DIFFERENT SENSE and Utafumi.

So based on this we can draw the conclusions that with very few exceptions songs were released in less than a year after it was first performed, and without exception since the early days of the band. I think we can safely assume there will be some kind of release featuring new music in 2017. And that will be my prediction of the year for now. I'll come back with some more loose speculations later.

Okay, I've gathered my thoughts about the new song.

It's roughly five minutes long, It features an electronic and piano intro which leads into a heavy rhythmic strumming section which then gives way to another softer section which utilizes strong echo effects on the guitar. Kyo starts singing the verse. It's clean singing throughout the whole song. It builds up pretty fast into a powerful chorus which strikes decisively positive tone (musically) while Kyo sings away in the expected falsetto style. Back to the verse. leads into a piano section with Kyo singing (again) gentle falsetto. Then a short drum fill which leads into the chorus again. Kyo strained at some shows to reach the high notes while it was utterly effortless at some other. The piano reappears during the end of the chorus which leads into a short piano interlude which then launches back into the heavy rhythmic strumming from the intro and ends the song.

I wouldn't say it's anything akin to Jessica or things like that, and while it has a hopeful tinge to it, it doesn't really have the upbeat feel of a track like that. It's a much more mature effort and I would liken it more to a ballad in the vein of LOTUS for example than anything else.

I saw Kisaki at the Osaka shows of the Kisou tour, so he must have decent relations with the guys at least. They could've played a show in January to commemorate the 20th anniversary of La:Sadie's disbandment, but seeing as they are busy with UROBOROS at that time I very much doubt it. One can always dream though.

Or they're trying to keep the band together by allowing all the members creative outlets outside of the realm of the band? Personally I feel like the band chemistry have gotten a lot better ever since sukekiyo started, for example. 

And, the band haven't looked happier together in years than they did on this tour, playing pranks on each other and having real fun while on stage. If this was 2005 I'd be worried about disbandment but right now things are looking bright, at least from an outside perspective.

Yes. You don't exactly advertise that you're into vk if you're expected to socialise outside of the circles of the already initiated. And I can see why, the "mainstream vk scene" (bands that subscribe to the typical behaviour and sales tactics with cheki and whatnot) has a lot of questionable things going on in it as I'm sure you're aware. To be honest my aversion to these bands have only increased ever since I came to Japan and noticed just how little the music seem to matter to the vast majority of fans. And I guess people, even if they don't partake in this mitsu culture, don't want to risk being seen as such a person. 

That and the fact that Japanese mainstream culture is very conservative and narrow by default so a lot of people hide subculture interests either way in the broad public regardless to what area it might pertain. 

They have only performed one new song during this tour. Once I've gathered my notes and arrived back home in Sweden I'll try to write a more full description of it.

I saw these guys outside the venue at the Dir en grey gig today, handing out flyers. Not to me but to all the girls, of course. Pretty funny how that always happens.

Didn't another football team crash sometime as well? Seems like these people are unlucky.

I'm guessing that per usual they played 嗤い鬼 for 20 minutes at the end to make the set of average length, but I could be wrong.

Kyo started singing too early and got out of rythm, and since he couldn't find his way back smoothly he turned around to the other guys and started waving his arms at them signalling them to stop playing. Then he sort of laughed it off a bit with the rest of us and we gave him an applause for... being a good sport I guess? It's fun when something unexpected happens and Kyo says something out of the ordinary as well, just makes him a bit more human.

Either way, best show of the tour so far for me, Osaka always delivers and finally some standing shows so I can be in the middle of all the mayhem and bask in the glory of organized chaos. Setlist was great and the remaining songs will be played tomorrow. I doubt there will be any surprises at this stage of the tour but there really doesn't have to be any as far as I'm concerned. 

Reminds me of the one time that bandman got arrested for "inhumane acts". I hope we will get some clarity this time around.

The first two shows I attended were both "seated" lives, I say seated because in Japan people always stand in their seat spot as soon as the live starts until it ends. Some quick notes:

The whole band is performing on top of their game, but Kyo especially seems to be so comfortable and happy, I've never quite seen him jump around and smile and dance and have fun with the other band members in this way. Before the last song today he unexpectedly forced Shinya to talk to the audience while he was doubling over laughing at Shinya trying to rile up the crowd for the last song, doing a understandably stiff impression compared to Kyos usual style. In the show yesterday he was poking Die from behind during either Jessica or umbrella as well.

Certain songs stand out more than other, the new track is very good, a heavy ballad with piano that runs throughout the song and some electronic influences here and there. Kigan and Pink Killer are absolute beasts, so much raw energy and power there, even more than their recent material despite it being ostensibly "heavier". FILTH and ZOMBOID have a lot of audience participation, such as making the audience sing the entire chorus of FILTH and similar. and despite that the lyrics during the verses are changed for ZOMBOID it doesn't feel out of place. 

To be honest, the only downside with this tour so far is the decision to have the shows seated, and the fact that they still feel the need to play Sustain the Untruth. I've seen it a billion times already, please stop. But that's nitpicking really, once the Hatch shows rolls around I'm sure things will reach perfection if the band keeps performing at this level.

I felt the quake in Tokyo, it was pretty mild though, stuff rattled around etc. But otherwise it wasn't too awful. Just annoying because there was aftershocks for an hour or so which prevented me from sleeping... 

Disturbed by the lack of pink killer in these last two sets. I know it will at least be back for the two day shows but it deserves to be on all of them. Also I don't mind ugly but hades and umbrella is superior. 

9/10 worst setlist of the tour so far. Got my first gig tomorrow, just arrived in Japan a few hours ago.

"Accidentally" extended my Japan trip so I could attend the last two Shinkiba shows as well, so I'll do my best to report from the last half of the tour starting from Nagoya. Can't promise quality reviews but some kind of anecdotes at least will be provided.

I'll make sure to hold a joke flag up high for you next time.

Cheap wine at conbini is an oxymoron.

Kiryu and R-shitei are my favorite angura bands.

I support this idea and I propose that we take it one step further by imposing strict eugenics on all bands, since there might be members of not 100% pure Japanese descent who mask themselves as members of the purported master race.

It's time we start a fund to send one of the fine gentlemen who are an expert in this field to Japan in order to meticulously measure the skulls and ensure the racial purity of our Japanese musicians. Perhaps we can make various sub-forums for degrees of Japanese-ness in order to let people decide on their own tolerance for racial deviation? Maybe they're fine with bands who have members who show slightly Caucasoid/Negroid facial traits but not so much as it shows in their skin tone for example?

...Or we just don't care. I'm the last person to think swede-kei and the various other weeaboo scenes are anything to listen to, but honestly, if a band is based in Japan, sings in Japanese, has it's social circles in the Japanese Visual scene, the only thing separating them is race. Kind of silly to make a deal out of, in my opinion.

Remember back when liking Oshare could get you banned from certain groups? Those were some good times.

No but, seriously, I think that most people who were vocal about their "hatred" of oshare more did it as a gimmick than anything else, oshare fans, who were often young girls, were easy bait for bored "edgy" teenagers who thought that trolling others favorite bands were a fun thing to do. 

I admit I prefer proto-oshare like Shazna to the more modern bands, but some bands like 愛狂います。 had great guitar-work early on and to be honest I never dabbled in the more obscure ones due to lack of time and too many other bands that more immediately appealed to my sensibilities.