indigo

Welcome! That is a great music taste, I recommend you to try Merry Go Round if you haven't tried them yet!

new Kendrick Lamar album just leaked. Yessss!!!

new Kendrick Lamar album just leaked. Yessss!!!

Lovely ender-chan had typed up the theme above on the updated list as:
 
 
So I think any other Asian tracks are accepted. ^^

Just tried "Truth or Dare", it's nice indeed. Nothing beats her first mini-album though - them argentinian(?) / tango influences xD
 
The "Paradise Lost" teaser sounds sweet too btw!

I did not see eastern youth coming. I'm positively surprised.

Nooo
 
I hope Jun recovers quickly.

Bald Kyo is back!

envy new album "Atheist's Cornea" will be released at 2015/05/13 (2,484yen)
 
[track list]
01.Blue Moonlight
02.Ignorant Rain at the End of the World
03.Shining Finger
04.Ticking Time and String
05.Footsteps in the Distance
06.An Insignificant Poem
07.Two Isolated Souls
08.Your Heart and My Hand

きのこ帝国(kinoko teikoku) new maxi single "桜が咲く前に(sakura ga saku mae ni)" will be released through EMI Records at 2015/04/29 (1,296yen)
 
[track list]
01.桜が咲く前に(sakura ga saku mae ni)
02.Donut
03.スピカ(spica)

ahaha, my experience was similar!
"こわれる' from "picnic" (2008) was the first song of their's that resonated with me (although that song sounds exceedingly generic now compared to their recent material), and when "paraphilia" was released (2009), "dnim" was also the only song I enjoyed. So I pretty much wrote the band off after those releases, completely skipping "Misstopia" and " To (melt into)" upon their releases...I don't think I tried their music again until sometime in 2012. Though I wasn't completely sold until "Fourth wall" and "zeitgeist" in 2013. I still don't care for "Misstopia", but after returning to "To (melt into)", I found that brilliant too. So for me, that release marks the beginning of my interest in this band.

2012年11月07日 GIFT

I think there is still hope for you. I had pretty much the same problem with this band before. At first, the only song of theirs I really liked was dnim (from '09 EP Paraphilia). Then I listened to that EP and man, I was quite disappointed! It was around the same time that 2013's zeitgeist album was released and I tried that too and thought "boooring!" but I kept thinking that I really wanna like this band. And I have a history of at first disliking bands that later have become my favs, lmao. So I just kept trying (well I didn't try THAT MANY times but a few anyways) and at some point it just clicked. And now I like most of their stuff including their soft, dreamy songs. =)

I hate plug! I can't believe how people there dare to play music that I don't listen to! It's MH's room so it should be 99% visual kei, but no, instead it's indie rock and k-pop and whatnot. And what's even worse... PLUG IS KILLIN' THE CHAT!

I hate plug! I can't believe how people there dare to play music that I don't listen to! It's MH's room so it should be 99% visual kei, but no, instead it's indie rock and k-pop and whatnot. And what's even worse... PLUG IS KILLIN' THE CHAT!

I hate plug! I can't believe how people there dare to play music that I don't listen to! It's MH's room so it should be 99% visual kei, but no, instead it's indie rock and k-pop and whatnot. And what's even worse... PLUG IS KILLIN' THE CHAT!

I hate plug! I can't believe how people there dare to play music that I don't listen to! It's MH's room so it should be 99% visual kei, but no, instead it's indie rock and k-pop and whatnot. And what's even worse... PLUG IS KILLIN' THE CHAT!

I hate plug! I can't believe how people there dare to play music that I don't listen to! It's MH's room so it should be 99% visual kei, but no, instead it's indie rock and k-pop and whatnot. And what's even worse... PLUG IS KILLIN' THE CHAT!

I hate plug! I can't believe how people there dare to play music that I don't listen to! It's MH's room so it should be 99% visual kei, but no, instead it's indie rock and k-pop and whatnot. And what's even worse... PLUG IS KILLIN' THE CHAT!

THE NOVEMBERS LIVE DVD "TOUR Romancé LIVE AT STUDIO COAST" will be released at their live and through their official web-shop at 2015/04/17 (5,000yen), which will include scene of their live tour "TOUR Romancé" tour final at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST at 2014/11/28
 
[track list]
01.救世なき巣
02.picnic
03.Misstopia
04.Harem
05.Flower of life
06.Rhapsody in beauty
07.dumb
08.dnim
09.236745981
10.僕らはなんだったんだろう-Parallel ver.-
11.鉄の夢
12.Strum und Drang
13.Blood Music.1985
14.dogma
15.Xeno
16.Romancé
17.バースデイ
18.今日も生きたね

Artist: sukekiyo Album: VITIUM Score: The essence of sukekiyo, molded into perfection. sukekiyo has managed to slowly convert me from being a mildly disinterested bystander to a casual listener who's always on the lookout whenever something new pops up concerning the band. Their first full-length IMMORTALIS proved to be a slow-burning behemoth of many faces (and facets), and their latest offering VITIUM isn't too far off from that impression either. Kyo and co. don't seem to be in a hurry, as evidenced by the size of this new 'mini' album which is still longer than most bands' albums. Throughout these 37 minutes, they present their compositions in typical sukekiyo fashion: sprawling, mysterious, unpredictable. This time around, however, it seems they were able to craft a more unified sound for themselves (as if they weren't already unique enough), with a concentrated approach to boot. Each song sounds more coherent in and of itself, while still retaining the "expect the unexpected" avant-garde quality they've come to be known for.
VITIUM starts off powerfully and majestically with "leather field" – a dark flower blooming and branching out in sukekiyo's aural grotto. Hints of manic aggression and weirdness also rear their heads, prefiguring what's to come in the second track "dunes." This song introduces a demented vibe with its jittery guitars and drums, the band's interpretation of violent jazz-metal. Surprisingly, we are treated to an interlude next ("dot") that doesn't do much in itself but it serves as a fitting ambient intro to the following "foster mother." Kyo's deep croons drift onto a hypnotic beat complemented by beautiful guitar flourishes and keyboards that evoke an ambiguous atmosphere, on the edge of tranquility and uneasiness. One of the standout tracks for sure!
As VITIUM's centerpiece, "雨上がりの優詩 (Ameagari no yuushi)" pales in comparison to "foster mother," although it is a decent slower number complete with some fantastic textures and a soothing, airy outro. The atmosphere continues through "maniera," but it quickly turns into a quirky explosion of psychedelic metal tinged with calmer acoustic noodling. If DIR EN GREY drove out to the desert high on mescaline, this is what they would jam out. If "maniera" was the hallucinatory freak-out, the second interlude "白露 (Hakuro)" serves as a soundtrack to expulsion – not as fun but still necessary. All the more so, it heightens the magnificence of the follow-up, "celeste." Switching between tumbling piano sludge and schizophrenic episodes, it's a strong indicator of what sukekiyo is capable of. Naturally, after all of this there's no other way to go but softer, as "focus" closes the record with ethereal floaty melodies... or so it seems until the flamenco bit kicks in, segueing into one last creepy look into the abyss.
As you can tell, this mini album is quite a trip from start to finish. Whereas IMMORTALIS seemed overly long and drawn-out at times, VITIUM manages to capture the band's perfected essence, more powerful and twisted than ever. It is clear that sukekiyo has finally found its own voice. Let's just hope we'll get to hear that voice more in the future as well!

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"

Whiplash - Totally worth all the praise. Fantastic, cathartic movie with some amazing characters (and cool musical sequences) in the lead.

The Raid 2: Berandal - I finally got around to watch this, and I am impressed. Everything is turned up a notch... or five. The plot is way better, the character development is better and the violence is just on a whole other level. The action is so well-coreographed and tightly executed by both actors/stuntmen and director that's even though there's a lot of fighting, it's never too much. And I consider myself to be a pretty big fan of martial arts films, and this is one of the best martial arts films I've ever seen and it's both one of the most extreme action flicks I've seen as well as the best coreographed film I've seen.
 
I just can't find anything to put my finger on, because this is such a well-made and entertaining flick. It will certainly be way too brutal and violent to some, and contain way too much fighting for others, but fans of martial arts should not be disappointed with the film. And I fucking loved the film!
 

alternative, indie hip-hopper daoko will release her 3rd album "Dimension" on 2015.02.04!

01. ニルバーナ (feat. Jinmenusagi Pro. DJ6月)
02. 8階 (Pro. DubbyMaple)
03. サイケデリック / OKOK (Pro. Paranel / EeMu)
04. ミルクティ (feat. Paranel Pro. EeMu)
05. オートリロード (Pro. Paranel)
06. fly (Pro. Terumasa Seto)
07. 7日間創造 (Pro. DJ6月)
08. エンドレス (Pro. EeMu)
09. そつぎょう (Pro. ESME)
10. Dimension (feat. 雨風食堂, GOMESS Pro. Paranel