enyx

そこに鳴る (sokoninaru) will release their first mini album "I'm NOT a pirolian" on April 8th, 2015.

そこに鳴る 「I'm NOT a pirolian」
2015.4.8 release
KOCA-84 / 全5曲 / ￥1,315 + tax
KOGA RECORDS
1. pirorhythm stabilizer 〜only your world〜
2. 夏の落とし物
3. ARAGAE!!
4. 真実の花
5. さらば浮世写し絵の如く(do-do gigantic evolution ver)

http://sokoninaru.com/
https://twitter.com/sokoninaru_band
Suped up, 9mm-ish pop-rock is how i'd describe it, although one of my pals likened their sound and set-up to ling. This song isn't bad, and I'm at least interested enough that I'd like to hear more.

Best New Tracks: January 2015

Best New Tracks is a new series brought to you by MH's Official Reviewer team! Every month we'll be highlighting brand-new Japanese songs worth checking out, so stay tuned! Feel free to comment or discuss any of this month's picks and even offer your own as well!

's picks:
"Abyss" by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas

"A HUNDRED SUNS" by BOOM BOOM SATELLITES

"KAKUMEI" by Silent Siren

"Closer" by Silhouette From The Skylit

"緑閃光 (midori senkou)" by LAMP IN TERREN

's picks: "Moonlight Station" by SEKAI NO OWARI

"Flowerwall" by Kenshi Yonezu

@fitear1590's picks: ネモフィラ (nemophila) by イツエ (itsue)

"Red Carnation" by Jupiter

"ストッキング (stocking)" by 吉澤嘉代子 (Kayoko Yoshizawa)

"アイリス (iris)" by 新川忠 (Tadashi Shinkawa)

@CAT5's picks:
"Enigmatic Feeling (2015 mix)" by 凛として時雨 (Ling Tosite Sigure)

"MEBIUS" by FEAR FROM THE HATE

"笑うドッペルゲンガー (warau doppleganger)" by 東京カランコロン (Tokyo Karankoron)

"月曜のメランコリー (getsuyo no melancholy)" by BOMI

"四角のトモダチ (Shikaku no tomodachi)" by 中納良恵 (Nakano Yoshie)

"想い想われ (omoiomoware)" by 福原希己江 (Fukuhara Kimie)

Totally seconding your views there jig - neat review
 
Btw, I apologize beforehand for misinterpreting band's words about composer roles - they had a talk session @ Tokyo Kinema Club @7/2 where they revealed a few tidbits about behind-the-scenes stuff in Vitium and whatnot (thx to the blog owner for visiting that one, heh):
 
Source: http://ameblo.jp/nmnl-tgdeg/entry-11987120044.html
 
ps. I tried to interpret the trivia parts mentioned in my link, so feel free to correct me...
 
Leather Fields:  Yuchi
- Yuchi wanted to define his "groove" here (?)
 
Dunes:  UTA
- Mika thought the drumline here was very "touching" (lol?)
 
Dot: SE
- Takumi played this briefly in some Ameagari no Yuushi tour gigs...
 
Foster Mother: Yuchi
- Yuchi wrote this right away after their Kyoto live (?) and let Takumi do his twists afterwards
 
Ameagari no Yuushi: Takumi
- Demo was very folky, a la Elisabeth Addict pt. 2 (this detail was taken from their barks interview btw), and they came up with the final arrangement (a.k.a Vitium ver.) before their Germany live
 
Maniera: Yuchi
- Yuchi also played guitar in this one (?)
 
Hakuro: SE/Takumi
- this is apparently a " short (re)mix" of sukekiyo's EU/JP tour impro sessions
 
Celeste: Kyo + Takumi
- the result of Kyo being inspired by some movie (which they don't mention for some reason) and Takumi + Kyo's wild brainstorming
 
Focus: Uta (Takumi credited himself for arranging on barks.jp though)
- Mika uses djembe here
 
 
+ the whole band was very thrilled about having Toshi to collab in Ameagari and apparently Kyo is fanboying the actor in Focus collab (and he invited Mikami personally to do cameo in Vitium, hmmm)
 
 
I am rather surprised how Yuchi-heavy this record really is, haha.

I have mixed feelings towards this list personally. I feel some tracks definitely deserve their places (perhaps not in the same order, but at least within the top 25 itself), such as Rhapsody in beauty, 懐春, and 光の加減で話した, but at the same time there are some tracks on here that I feel are rather overrated; particularly unravel (which I personally consider to be one of TK's weakest compositions) and phenomenon. Then again, such is the nature of subjectivity, I doubt anyone will completely agree with everything on the list. Still, I appreciate the work that you guys put into it.

think these belong here. thanks http://bluevelvet-bluevelvet.tumblr.com/.
 

 

I will be temporarily on hiatus for around one week since 2013/08/14 due to my work, and hopefully I will resume activities around my forthcoming birthday

I have mixed feelings towards this list personally. I feel some tracks definitely deserve their places (perhaps not in the same order, but at least within the top 25 itself), such as Rhapsody in beauty, 懐春, and 光の加減で話した, but at the same time there are some tracks on here that I feel are rather overrated; particularly unravel (which I personally consider to be one of TK's weakest compositions) and phenomenon. Then again, such is the nature of subjectivity, I doubt anyone will completely agree with everything on the list. Still, I appreciate the work that you guys put into it.

I have mixed feelings towards this list personally. I feel some tracks definitely deserve their places (perhaps not in the same order, but at least within the top 25 itself), such as Rhapsody in beauty, 懐春, and 光の加減で話した, but at the same time there are some tracks on here that I feel are rather overrated; particularly unravel (which I personally consider to be one of TK's weakest compositions) and phenomenon. Then again, such is the nature of subjectivity, I doubt anyone will completely agree with everything on the list. Still, I appreciate the work that you guys put into it.

I have mixed feelings towards this list personally. I feel some tracks definitely deserve their places (perhaps not in the same order, but at least within the top 25 itself), such as Rhapsody in beauty, 懐春, and 光の加減で話した, but at the same time there are some tracks on here that I feel are rather overrated; particularly unravel (which I personally consider to be one of TK's weakest compositions) and phenomenon. Then again, such is the nature of subjectivity, I doubt anyone will completely agree with everything on the list. Still, I appreciate the work that you guys put into it.

Monochrome Heaven's Top 25 Tracks of 2014

Presenting The Top 25 Tracks of 2014 as voted by our Official Reviewers and staff members. Any Japanese song released in 2014 was eligible, although our primary focus was on J-rock.

25.
TAMTAM - "シューゲイズ"

24.

宇宙コンビニ (uchu conbini) - ­ 光の加減で話した (Hikari no Kagen de Hanashita)

23.

シナリオアート (Scenarioart) ­- "アオイコドク" (Aoi Kodoku)

22.

DIR EN GREY -­ "懐春 (kaishun)"

21.

LLLL -­ "Oddness"

20.

BACK­-ON -­ "セルリアン (cerulean)"

19.

101A ­- "Forbidden Sky"

18.

DIV ­- "漂流彼女 (hyouryuu kanojo)"

17.

PLASTICZOOMS ­- "Sleepwalker"

16.

ねごと (NEGOTO) -­ "黄昏のラプソディ (tasogare no rhapsody)"

15.

sow ­- "to growth, for growth"

14.

TK from 凛として時雨 (ling tosite sigure) -­ "unravel"

13.

DIR EN GREY -­ "輪郭 (rinkaku)"

12.

tayuta ­- "夢見た 蒼 (yumemita ao)"

11.

八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88kasyo junrei) -­ "攻撃的国民的音楽 (kougeki teki kokumin teki ongaku)"

10.

Mono -­ "Recoil, Ignite"

9.

和楽器バンド (Wagakki Band) -­ "千本桜 (Senbonzakura)"

8.

DIR EN GREY ­- "phenomenon"

7.

la la larks -­ "end of refrain"

6.

黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to Kage) - "「浴槽」 (yokusou)"

5.

アルルカン (arlequin) ­- "墓穴 (hakaana)"

4.

mothercoat - "trickster"

3.

Boris -­ "雨 (ame)"

2.

THE NOVEMBERS -­ "Rhapsody in beauty"

1.

sukekiyo ­- "Aftermath"

I'm not particularly supportive of the idea of splitting news based on genre (particularly one as subjective and controversial Visual Kei, with it's lack of an objective definition). One thing that I like about Monochrome Heaven is the fact that it's slowly moving more towards promoting musical diversity, and I feel that giving VK and non-VK news their own sections would hinder that somewhat. Personally I'm mostly interested in non-VK stuff, but every now and then I still come across some interesting VK news purely because of the fact that I see it being posted here while I'm predominantly searching for other things, and that helps me to stay aware of what's happening in the VK scene even if its not my main area of interest. 
 
Basically I think this site should keep promoting musical diversity within the Japanese music scene, rather than trying to segment it.

I'm not particularly supportive of the idea of splitting news based on genre (particularly one as subjective and controversial Visual Kei, with it's lack of an objective definition). One thing that I like about Monochrome Heaven is the fact that it's slowly moving more towards promoting musical diversity, and I feel that giving VK and non-VK news their own sections would hinder that somewhat. Personally I'm mostly interested in non-VK stuff, but every now and then I still come across some interesting VK news purely because of the fact that I see it being posted here while I'm predominantly searching for other things, and that helps me to stay aware of what's happening in the VK scene even if its not my main area of interest. 
 
Basically I think this site should keep promoting musical diversity within the Japanese music scene, rather than trying to segment it.

I'm not particularly supportive of the idea of splitting news based on genre (particularly one as subjective and controversial Visual Kei, with it's lack of an objective definition). One thing that I like about Monochrome Heaven is the fact that it's slowly moving more towards promoting musical diversity, and I feel that giving VK and non-VK news their own sections would hinder that somewhat. Personally I'm mostly interested in non-VK stuff, but every now and then I still come across some interesting VK news purely because of the fact that I see it being posted here while I'm predominantly searching for other things, and that helps me to stay aware of what's happening in the VK scene even if its not my main area of interest. 
 
Basically I think this site should keep promoting musical diversity within the Japanese music scene, rather than trying to segment it.

25 minute Xenoblade Chronicles X  gameplay trailer released by Nintendo today

Haven't seen much plug action happening for a bit recently. Been busy with coursework and such so I've missed doing the daily plug session statuses as of late. Am up for a free session today so, any other takers? 

This thread is so ded, anyway some cool bands I have been liking/been impressed by/whatever more and less lately:
 

 

 

 

 

  https://soundcloud.com/lonemori/nq95krrwoivb
 
 
Feel free to share if you have such bands too . 

Persona 5 is looking surprisingly good. I really enjoyed the previous two games but my interest in this was actually rather subdued until now. Definitely picking this up on release.
 

 
  This caught my eye also. I'm not sure if I'll get it immediately upon release but it's something I'm considering picking up. The only problem is that I don't trust Gearbox very much as a developer, so I want to wait and see what the reaction is like after launch before I commit.

New Look 
 

 
<3 I loved
 
I already buy ,So excited to get all types <3 

Although the news has been out for a while, Homeworld Remastered Collection has been announced for steam release. This is the only game I'm going to preorder since it was one of my favorite RTS games in the late 90s.
 
http://store.steampowered.com/app/244160/

Last summer, I checked out their album i'mperfect. Fell in love with Metamorphose, and thought the rest of the album was really cool. But after one listen, I didn't really go back to it, as I directed my attention to other bands that were releasing new stuff, primarily in VK.
...
Yesterday, I downloaded their Best of Tornado compilation and the Who What Who What single. Listened through the compilation (well, not really listening, but previewing the songs in quick look), and my interest went through the roof. I gotta say though, I'm disappointed that they didn't include a remaster of Ling on the second CD.
Today, I listened to the compilation a few times. I am officially sold on this band! So far, I'm really digging Metamorphose, Missing Ling, テレキャスターの真実, 傍観, and I was music (also, funny name). However, I agree that WWWW wasn't too memorable. I guess the next album for me to check out is #4.
Also, does anyone know of any specific release dates of the following releases?
- #1
- として
- 鮮やかな殺人

Really nice find. I'm particularly interested in robin aoki, Fragment, and SUNNOVA's picks, but I'll probably check out all of their lists eventually.
 
Edit: Listening to the first release on aoki's list and already falling in love.

I'm not sure how many people here are familiar with the indie label 術ノ穴 (subenoana), but they're pretty awesome and deal mostly in electronic music and hip-hop. Every year they get a few artists who are on the label or associated with the label to list some of their favorite music of the past year (whether it's albums or songs). This year's list include entries from robin aoki (青木ロビン - downy's vocalist), Fragment (they produced charisma.com's イイナヅケブルー and maybe some other stuff for them?), izumi makura (泉まくら - basically daoko's lesser known equivalent), producers Ogiyy and SUNNOVA, and members from indie bands 禁断の多数決 and 三回転とひとひねり.
http://subenoana.net/best2014
Pretty cool is you're into some of these artists and like to see what music they've been enjoying.

Artist: VAMPS Album: BLOODSUCKERS Score: VAMPS make a good effort, but could use a little more bite. I'm a huge fan of KAZ's work with Oblivion Dust though I've never been big on L'Arc-en-Ciel or HYDE's solo ventures. Over the years I've come to realize that may have had more to do with my preference for aggressive music than the band's quality of songwriting. So, BLOODSUCKERS is only the second album I've ever heard all the way through with HYDE as the main vocalist, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. It was naive of me not to have prepared myself for high levels of cheesiness, since the song titles on this album range from spooky undead to pirate themes, but there were a lot of shockingly good moments on this album too.

The first half of this album comes off a little weak. "ZERO" is a nice blend of KAZ and HYDE's styles but begins to grate on me after about 2 minutes in, where it felt like they ran out of ideas so they just dragged the song out as if it were a live situation. Only that answer works solely in a live setting. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time that should have been shortened to an intro. "LIPS" also becomes a little boring as well, even though I do appreciate a good 80s glam rock throwback, the song feels flat and lacks the raw vocal edge necessary to pull it off. HYDE stays in this middle space that never goes full grit or full soaring powerhouse. "AHEAD," "GHOST," and "VAMPIRE'S LOVE" all end up in similar bland categories. KAZ puts on a good show with "EVIL," and it's the one saving grace for the album's slow start. The song separates itself with a more industrial feel and a prominent drum beat. HYDE also sounds a little darker in his approach and doesn't try to overpower the music with belting too much just for the sake of it.

BLOODSUCKERS does finally kick into gear by the mid-way point, however. The first promising HYDE composition, "DAMNED" is a punch to the gut and has great dynamics; with a haunting verse that slowly swells to the point that the listener is itching for the chorus's outcry. The guitars really wail on the track and it kicks up to headbang-worthy levels of pounding drums. It's followed by "GET AWAY" and "REPLAY," which were strong singles for the album, but also a step into the pop-influenced side of VAMPS. While not bad songs, they feel lost in the track placement. The first half of the album could have certainly used these songs to beef it up instead of the slower numbers VAMPS opted for. The title interlude was a monster of a piece that I would have loved as a full song, "are you all bloodsuckers?!" the track asks, and the answer to that is a resounding, "yes!" If you ask with that beastly guitar riff backing you up. "THE JOLLY ROGER" doesn't skimp on crunchy guitar riffs either, though it's a slight letdown to have such a positive sounding song after such a dark teaser. But once you accept the song for it's change in theme, it's actually a great piece of work and you will find yourself singing along with the "whoo hoo" of the backing vocals all too easily. The album sends us off with the closing track, "INSIDE MYSELF." It's just as well composed as any of the singles and the album releases its grip on you with a song that really expresses what the band's sound is about. The guitar work is just as catchy as any of the vocal melodies and the production is well polished as you'd expect from industry veterans like this.

While some of the songs rest too much on clichéd writing tropes, it's hard to find anything unlistenable on BLOODSUCKERS. HYDE and KAZ have been writing music long enough to put out quality work that shows more of their strengths than weaknesses. But there is still a lot left to this project that they could explore and I'm looking forward to it in their future releases. I recommend rock fans to give this album a spin, VAMPS cover a lot of ground on BLOODSUCKERS so there's high likelihood they'll surprise you too.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dclOqtRQNk

I'm finally catching up with my backlog, which presently consists of Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS), Valkyria Chronicles (PC), and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PC). I was playing & (mostly) enjoying SMT IV for quite a while, but then the PC release of Valkyria basically took away all of my attention when it was released; then as I was working on getting the last few decorations/trophies for 100% completion, the PC port of Ground Zeroes took over my life instead. Now I'm just trying to finish up all three of them (100% for VC & GZ, and just however much I feel like completing in my SMT IV playthrough). FInally, I'm still casually speedrunning Mirror's Edge whenever I'm in the mood/bored.
 
Finding the time for all of this hasn't been particularly easy with exams and constant plug sessions, though