Jigsaw9

For me, in terms of new groups, Block B totally owned this year with their debut mini. Such catchy stuff! I like their hip-hop edge, but I'm kinda afraid that they will inevitably fall into generic bland fluffy-ballady swampiness. Still, gotta enjoy 'em while they're still good! xD My other favorite release has to be miss A's album: eventhough not much of it is actually new stuff, I'm happy that it has all their great songs, plus some more. I'm gonna buy it eventually, it's a great record. They're getting better and better with each release, I like this tendency. ^^ I have mixed feelings about 2NE1's mini album (lovin' one half, don't care about the other), but anyway they've become my fave girl group so I'm almost at a point where I can't say anything bad about them (maybe I've watched too much 2NE1TV, lol). I'm really really looking forward to their first live DVD, I bet it's gonna rock! Actually, it comes out tomorrow. edit: oh and I forgot: my two most favorite songs this year were Big Bang's Tonight and Crispi Crunch's Thumbs Up. Great party stuff! (sadly their other songs were pretty mediocre IMO)

NEEDS MOAR MARU.

MUNIMUNI setlist at 2011/12/13, "video shooting gig": 01. パワー (Power) 02. 曲がる世界 (Magaru sekai) 03. the ghost song* 04. the doguu song* 05. My Lucifer 06. 揺れる影絵かグロテスク (Yureru kagee/grotesque) -MC- 07. neo(mechanical chance)* 08. boys* 09. ウーピーハーピー (Woo pee haa pee)* 10. 知らないの (Shiranaino)* 11. フッフー (Fuffuu) * so far unreleased songs I hope they'll announce some concrete date for that long-overdue mini album, they clearly have enough songs. My new theory is that maaaybeee~ they'll include some of this video footage as bonus for the mini? I hope so, at least.

^ I used to think Tokyo... was the blandest/most uninspired of their ballads, but re-listening to it recently I concluded it's not that bad. Maybe it's because I found their previous ballads (like Tsumetai ame or Fuyu no hi) more immediately accessible. This one needed more listens to make me appreciate it. But then again, I generally don't really like slow/ballad-like songs to begin with. xD

Hellraiser 4: Bloodline Hellraiser 5: Inferno Part 4 was kinda 'meh' (though a bit of a step up from part 3), but I pretty unexpectedly enjoyed part 5! Nice one.

Here you can listen to samples from all the tracks! ...hmmm, having mixed feelings so far.

Interesting question! My opinion is dependent on genres: if we're talking about rock/metal music where the artists in question come off as people who can play instruments more or less competently (hopefully xD), then I would expect them to write their own songs as well. I mean they as a group have a shared vision probably, so that's what I'd expect (unless it's just some bunch put together by a record company). Since they present themselves as a band (like a somewhat autonomous entity/group of people), I immediately associate that 'bandhood' with writing their own songs - if they don't, they come off as kinda 'fake' for me. In pop music I'm totally okay with artists not writing their own stuff, since that practice seems to be the most in currency. I look at these artists more as 'entertainers' than 'legitimate musicians' (eventhough they might know how to play some instruments; that's just my perception of them). Plus, most of these pop acts/artists have to learn other stuff like dancing to keep people entertained, so I understand that they work a lot too, just not in the same way a typical rock/instrumental band would. That's why I appreciate pop artists who (more or less) write their own music, but it's not a prerequisite of enjoyment for me. In short: I'm okay with an artist not writing his/her own songs in pop. In rock, uhmmm, not so much.

^ He'll be 48 in a few months.

Awww...

^ Oooh~ I didn't know Misa is their producer! Interesting!

I see the regular edition of the album will have 13 tracks, pretty cool! Excited to know the tracklist (how many new songs, etc).

Haha, that's precious. xD

Hellraiser Hellraiser 2: Hellbound Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth Did a mini-marathon of sorts last night.

OMG, these guys work pretty damn fast! I hope they don't burn out... Still, looking forward as hell!

Awesome! These guys pretty much can do no wrong.

Nothing official yet about the mini album sadly... But I came here to highlight a notice on their OHP: their 2-man concert on 2011/12/13 with the god and death stars was a "video shooting gig", as they say. So maybe they'll release some sort of video in the future (PV or DVD). If they do, then it will be their first ever official video recording by the way. (posted this in their thread too, but thought maybe people check the News more often XD)

According to the OHP, their 2-man concert (with the god and death stars) on 2011/12/13 in Shinjuku LOFT was a "video shooting gig". ...sooo~ hopefully this means we'll be getting an announcement of some sort of video of the guys? I'm hoping for a full live DVD - they announced one back in 2007 (when they had a gig with LAB. THE BASEMENT) but that never came through. Anyway, if this really gets released it would be the first ever official video recording of the band...pretty surreal/exciting, huh? XD

My four favorite albums this year, not in any order: DIR EN GREY - DUM SPIRO SPERO The album I've been waiting for, ever since DEG went 'metal' around the MoaB album. It sucks me into its own world, it's really heavy on the atmosphere. I like how it has a unified sound/vision with really great instrumental work, and Kyo's vocals are also top-notch - I was extremely pleased to witness their live performance this year, and I can tell he doesn't have much difficulty translating the album's otherworldly vocals in a live setting. Also, I can't praise the production enough - finally a 'metal'-sounding DEG album that really packs a punch! (looking forward to the remastered UROBOROS for this reason) Hangmás - Ragadozó This Hungarian indie/new wave/post-punk band originally caught my eye (ear? xD) just a little over a year ago, but over that time I've gradually become a fan of their Joy Division-influenced synth-smeared party rock. Their latest offering is somehow typical of their sound, yet expanding a bit on it: I feel a stronger synthesis between electronic and rock instruments, yet on some tracks the style tends towards a colder electro-induced edge. The album is also a bit darker in nature than its predecessors, but lightening the mood a bit via the usual post-punk party anthems. Nice one! Lady Gaga - Born This Way I'm not much of a pop listener (save for K-pop) but Gaga managed to convert me to her nostalgic yet fresh sounding and catchy music. I think this might be my fave album of her so far, previous ones were okay too, but I feel that this is the one that has it all. The more and more electronic sound facilitates this as well - truth is, I like my pop overproduced, lol. What I find really interesting is how this 'modern' sound is clashed with bits and pieces that are reminiscent of '80s pop, that 'big' sound, you know. Although at times I feel the album is a bit long, it has enough good tunes to keep me entertained. XA-VAT - Endo This is the kind of music where, knowing the creating artists, you can totally pinpoint its influences, yet it manages to carve out a style of its own. Heavy on the synths/loops and light in mood, it's an aural time machine back to the '80s with a slick and polished twist. Each song can be easily distinguished from each other, having their own characters (inside the spectrum of the style of course). Honestly, I was kinda hoping this project would be good, but I wasn't expecting this good, lol. This album can always put me in a good mood. These stood out for me the most. Of course there's other stuff that was awesome too, namely: - David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time - LUNA SEA - LUNA SEA - miss A - A Class - Motörhead - The Wörld Is Yours - Necrophagia - Deathtrip 69 - Onslaught - Sounds of Violence - Primus - Green Naugahyde - Tom Waits - Bad as Me - Vektor - Outer Isolation

Yeah, CoF being black metal or not seems to be one of those never-ending debates, lol. xD I don't think they're black, they're more like 'extreme/dark metal with black and gothic influences' ...or something like that. Anyway, I like them! My fave albums are Dusk...And Her Embrace and Midian. Their two longer EPs are pretty kickass too (V Empire and Bitter Suites...). The other stuff is okay too of course - though I have less and less of an urge to check out their newer stuff but it's not bad either. Lovin' Dani's lyrics and overall presentation too!

The guy from SPEED-iD (dark/goth/semi-VK band) has a pretty low voice, if I recall well.

Just discovered Vektor, great US progressive-thrash (or whatever). Their logo might look like a Voivod ripoff but their music is a bit different IMO. Very intense thrashin', coloured with some nice melodic spacey passages and proggy parts, and an insane vocalist (those shrieks, OMG). I like how their sound builds on old-school bands but giving it their own modern style. I recommend them! They have 2 albums out by the way (and a small handful of demos). Some examples: z7G7iYCxK9U A64Tdl0f7Zk

The Thing (1982) The Thing (2011) ...all's left is to watch the original from 1951, lol. Liked both by the way, maybe the older one a bit better.

Cool news, really looking forward to it! Their singles were pretty killer stuff.

Well those are Narihibiku kane and Itai ao - remakes/rerecordings of two old songs. Still, no problem, I wonder how'll they re-do them.

Sooo we'll get 1 new song, lol. Anyway, looking forward!