Jigsaw9

Not sure what to think yet, haha... Such a light pop-rocky track. Not that it's bad, just... I dunno, I guess I just need some time to adjust to something with Die in it other than DIR EN GREY.

^ Yeah, my thoughts exactly. While the debut album was nice in a kinda "wink-wink, references" way, they really stepped up their game on the 2nd album! A very thick atmosphere with cool original compositions. Also, glad that people seem to be enjoying the new mini for the most part! edit: also, if I might explain myself a bit, since I see people might've misinterpreted my words. When I wrote "A year ago, with the release of their 2nd full-length album Shuuen, I couldn't imagine Grieva going any further in terms of quality..." I meant that the album was the pinnacle of their career so far (so it would be very hard to bring out another release that would match or surpass it in quality). So what I wanted to convey is that even though Shueen was amazing, this mini packs a punch just as much (or even slightly more maybe, depending on my mood), and I didn't expect that while waiting for its release. So yeah, props to them!!

The project has just opened their official Instagram account... seems like they're recording something! https://instagram.com/the_mortal2015/

Ace song & video, well done~~

Yay, lookin' forward to it~

...but looking forward to that last release I guess...

As if the recent barrage of sad news wasn't enough: ex-member of 黒色エレジー (Kokushoku Elegy) and founding member of experimental band OOIOO, Kyoko has passed away on 2015/07/19, due to an ongoing illness. OOIOO band member Yoshimi (also member of Boredoms) had this to say: R.I.P...

This single, along with the previous one, reinvigorated my interest in them. What a nice plethora of tunes! I like the slight variety they seem to be slowly developing, not just having the same ol' copy-paste fast-blandcore-with-melodic-chorus things. I approve! My rating would be pretty much the same too.

Oooh a DVD! And that album release date... as expected. XDDD

Their look reminds me of some mid-to-late-2000's angura/VK band... Thomas or something like that? Anyway, interested to see what they'll come up with.

Excellent lineup of bands~ *__*

Sweet, thanks for the info! Gonna include in the 1st post.

My guess is that the 27 songs will be a mixture of totally new tracks and reworked old tracks about 50-50, and then the album will probably consist of all the new tracks... but it's pretty much anyone's guess at this point. xD

Sounds pretty lame & tame so far...

It appears that Kai (Art Marju Duchain), Közi (MALICE MIZER, XA-VAT, etc) and Sadie Pink Galaxy (JUBILEE, SPEECIES, XA-VAT) have made a new project called VAMQUET. They will begin their activities in the future, but there's no specific schedule or official platform as of yet, only mentions on Közi's and Sadie's twitters. I guess it's safe to assume that they'll have a dark / gothy sound. xD

Oh boy, talk about overkill. XD Lookin' forward to everything tho, I suppose.

Cool!

Awww, too bad it's just a one-night-only thing then. ;<

Artist: グリーヴァ (Grieva) Album: 妄想主義者ノ背徳。(Mousou shugisha no haitoku.) 1. Type[艶] (Tsuya) (SE) 2. 自己精神殺害推進會 (Jiko seishin satsugai suishin) 3. 妄想主義者ノ背徳 (Mousou shugisha no haitoku) 4. Art play 5. 夢デ逢ウ貴女ガ削除デキマセン。(Yume de au kijo ga sakujo dekimasen.) 6. 密室104号室～暗イ部屋二僕ト君～ (Misshitsu 104-goushitsu～kurai heya ni boku to kimi～) 7. 腐『furan』乱 Rating: | No need for grievin', visual kei is not dead! Grieva sure came into their own over their few years of activity. Starting out as a glaringly obvious exercise in old-school DIR EN GREY fanboyism (pretty much producing a blueprint replica of the Gauze album), they raised lots of eyebrows but also gained an ever-growing fanbase. They've been churning out release after release like clockwork, a practice that few can pull off successfully while maintaining quality. These guys, however, not only manage to put out consistent tunes, but also seem to be slightly evolving every year. While there's no drastic change in sound (thank god for that!), they're constantly tweaking their formula and instrumentation to achieve a greater effect. Their latest mini album, Mousou shugisha no haitoku demonstrates this tendency excellently. From the kick-in-the-teeth industrial beats of the intro to the impressive sonic diversity of the closing track, Grieva presents a fine-tuned version of their vision: building upon the legacy of the old-school with youthful vigor, and a tad more than a pinch of craziness. On the one hand, compositions like the title track or "Yume de au kijo ga sakujo dekimasen" burst forth from the speakers with a mixture of yesteryears' melodic sense coupled with a truly modern (or post-modern?) approach. On the other hand, we're inevitably treated to a small number of songs where Grieva wear their hearts on their sleeves a bit too obviously. It's hard not to recall exact moments from DIR EN GREY's back catalog when you hear the intricate lead guitars of "Art play" or the jackhammering bass in "Misshitsu 104-goushitsu～kurai heya ni boku to kimi～". The difference this time (compared to, say, their debut album) is that they were able to fully integrate these parts into their songs, not sticking out like a sore thumb throbbing with plagiarism. "Misshitsu 104-goushitsu..." even has a music box interlude reminiscent of a certain DEG classic – it's hard not to crack a smile of appreciation at the homage. The arrangement and delivery of the songs deserve praise too, where it's due. Even though the mini album starts off in a rather repetitive fashion (after a surprisingly bangin' intro SE) with "Jiko seishin satsugai suishinkai", they more than make up for that later on. Tracks like "Art play" employ a wide array of styles, from metal chugging to upbeat ska-influenced guitars, resulting in nice changes of pace and dynamics. As soon as you're beginning to feel you're listening to 'just another typical Grieva tune', they change it up ever so slightly, introducing an interesting guitar tone or effect. In short, it's hard to get bored while listening to Mousou shugisha no haitoku. This statement is ultimately solidified by the closing track "furan", an ambitious composition that goes from a punky, all-out shoutfest (props to those pipes, Kyouki!) to an unexpectedly sweet melodic guitar solo, short bass and piano interludes and a driving chorus. It is a thrilling, dare I say progressive, finish to an already cool release. A year ago, with the release of their 2nd full-length album Shuuen, I couldn't imagine Grieva going any further in terms of quality, but along came this release and blew me away. Granted, Kyouki and co are still far from being the most original bunch of visual kei musicians, but who needs that when you have a reliable, constant supply of kickass tunes to rock out to? I could hardly ask for more. Support the band! Buy the mini album @ CDJapan Buy the mini album @ Yesasia

Damn, milkin' the fans much? xD But anyway, looking forward to hearing it...

awww, I see... too bad.

Song's not bad! Again, with the hilarious clunky riffs in the beginning, but at least the guitar sound is cool. xD

Fun new song... but yeah, forever gonna miss their noisy stuff. </3

^ How so? What happened? No crazy Kenzi antics?