Kaleidoscope

Nice smooth melodic song. It's not anything terrible at all. Same problem people have with DADAROMA will only look at one song and then disregard the rest.
 
Just because a group doesn't make the same kind of song doesn't make it terrible. The mv production is bad though.

I see Issei still insists on playing the typewriter. 

Hey everyone, since I recently revived my YT channel I felt like posting it here again. I've been singing weeb songs on the internet for many years now and it all started with the first karaoke contest here on MH, so it only makes sense to come back here every now and then! This is my most recent cover, but there is a ton more covers on my channel.
 
 

i thought i was gonna off myself but i found this thread and also found my will to live...the will to watch satsuki hit rock bottom over n over again
 
also tbh i think people overlook how mediocre RES were in the greater scheme of things, especially considering they were a fkin FREE WILL band but they best they managed was shibuya quattro. I think yukari/whoever at free will really tried to push them hard, but as far as i see it, they were unlikeable outside of their core fanbase. Their music had some good moments, but honestly most of it was sloppy musicianship over some good melodies--satsuki isnt even a good singer, just has a pretty voice. When they were good, they were awesome but when they flopped it was awful lmfao. comparing them to kagerou, DEG, merry etc, RES kind of are a joke.
 
That said, I think the band were just an awful fit with poor management. They were more or less assembled by yukari to do his thing, but once they had to make their own image and sound, I dont think any of them (free will mgmt included) really had a good sense of taste or vision. Its not to say they werent talented, considering the amazing work mika and takumi are doing now (tbh the gag is that those are the only talented members they had), but it certainly didn't come across in their music all that often.
 
This is coming from someone who used to LOVE RES. I wonder how much satsuki flopping has coloured my thoughts on their music hahaha

>be a bandman
>play shitty american cons for years
>no one cares about you in japan
>finally start to come up, band does well
>almost make it to your 20th anniversary
>vocalist gets a bunch of absolutely heinous vocal conditions
>forced to disband
>over two years later, he's finally better and you can keep doing what you love
>some guy on a forum calls you cringey for taking a cute photo with your bandmates

http://dueljewel.jp/pc/zepp.html
 
Duel Jewel announced their return live on March 1st, 2019, at Zepp Tokyo.
Hayato has apparently made a full recovery from the variety of conditions (functional dysphonia, vocal dystonia, vocal yips) that caused them to disband.

Opinions. 

I feel comfortable in saying this is some of the band’s best work. Questionable production aside, the songwriting is tight and focused aside from the two weird flubs from Toshiya. To be fair, the main problem with Devote My Life is that fucking main siren riff being too damn loud, but I love that breakdown with Toshiya rumbling away. 
 
Other than that, this is the first DEG album in a long time that I can listen to from beginning to end without feeling drained halfway thru. There really isn’t any filler, and they sound super confident in these songs. They’re short in length, but not in content. 
 
Fuck it, dawg, I’m happy. 

Only gave it three listens so far, but I must say that I am very positively surprised. Wasn't too hyped after the singles (really liked Ranunculus though), but this is a lot better than Arche to me and maybe even than DSS, at least I find the fun factor a lot higher.
 
Surprised that people are claiming that Kyo lost his range. Yeah, sure, he is past his prime, but the guy is still hitting fifth octave notes like it's nothing and sounds a lot more energetic than on Arche if you ask me. His performance in "Aka" is incredible and sounds super effortless, probably my favourite on the album.

Only gave it three listens so far, but I must say that I am very positively surprised. Wasn't too hyped after the singles (really liked Ranunculus though), but this is a lot better than Arche to me and maybe even than DSS, at least I find the fun factor a lot higher.
 
Surprised that people are claiming that Kyo lost his range. Yeah, sure, he is past his prime, but the guy is still hitting fifth octave notes like it's nothing and sounds a lot more energetic than on Arche if you ask me. His performance in "Aka" is incredible and sounds super effortless, probably my favourite on the album.

Say what you will about Kyo's voice aging, but I'm happy the dude has stopped using so much falsetto and instead uses his head voice to hit the high register. 

Only gave it three listens so far, but I must say that I am very positively surprised. Wasn't too hyped after the singles (really liked Ranunculus though), but this is a lot better than Arche to me and maybe even than DSS, at least I find the fun factor a lot higher.
 
Surprised that people are claiming that Kyo lost his range. Yeah, sure, he is past his prime, but the guy is still hitting fifth octave notes like it's nothing and sounds a lot more energetic than on Arche if you ask me. His performance in "Aka" is incredible and sounds super effortless, probably my favourite on the album.

Madmans Esprit covered DIR EN GREY this time. The chorus is awesome.

Because Jin, at his best, sounds like that clip you just posted. 
 
And isn’t the DEG thread full of comments about how shitty Kyo sounds most of the time? Who’s denying it?

New Look 25th Anniversary

 
Mana

 
Közi

 
Yu~ki

Super hyped to see them live this year, the times they've been here before never worked out for me. I listened to their whole discography again and felt like writing down my thoughts!
 
I can't seem to get into "Macabre" at all, it has some great songs, but overall it feels a bit random to me. Guess I need to give it some more listens.
 
"Cage" is an amazing song.
 
Weirdly enough, I really like "TMOAB" by now, Kyo has huge moments here and especially the calmer songs are among the best material Diru has put out if you ask me.
 
I like "Arche" a bit more now, but I feel like it is the first album that doesn't really push any boundaries, it almost seems like they tried to achieve something similar to sukekiyo, but didn't quite succeed.  Also, Kyo's high notes really don't have the old strength anymore (live he sounds incredible though).
 
I enjoy everything they've shown after "Arche" more than that album, I suppose I just like my Dir En Grey catchy haha
 
 

Def agreed! That's another great ballad. "Higeki ha mabuta wo oroshita yasashiki utsu" is also a fine piece of work I think doesn't get talked about enough. It's one of my favorite moments on WTD and I love the visuals for this on the Despair in the Womb tour.

I feel "Inconvenient Ideal" is so underrated compared to all the other ballads!
 
As for the "Ranunculus" preview, I actually really enjoyed it and didn't find it boring at all. Maybe the visuals are distracting me a bit though, it's been a long time since I actually enjoyed the circus theme

It’s always weird when someone says it’s nice to hear Kyo sing again when at no point has he ever stopped singing. Arche was roughly, what, 90% clean vocals? 
 
And don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with DEG gettin’ chill,  but that preview sounds like a million other ballads. 

Honestly, I wish he'd just leave the vocals alone and go back to being fully instrumental... I wasn't feeling this song, just like most of his last album. :/ 

Would they really announce a disbandment like this and make people wait for so long before revealing it? Doesn't seem likely to me, but then again I have no idea how these things are held in the scene

GAZTREA is a band from Germany somewhere between Metal, Pop and Visual Kei influences.
http://www.gaztrea.com
Vocals: Kal
Guitar: Sai
Guitar: Momo
Bass: Cozmo
Drums (Support): Daniel