Shmilly

This is surprisingly decent. Those growls nail that old-school style.

I hope さよなら finally gets a recording!

Actually the album will be released on 10/30. 10/19 is the date of their one man live.

Surely this is the end of NCBL. It was just a couple of days before their big sold-out comeback show, so I can't see how they'll bounce back from this one. Very disappointing considering they finally recruited a new guitarist and started producing new material. Japan is SUPER strict over stimulants, many a celebrity has had their career ended overnight just from possession charges. Add that to the fact that a very large part of NCBL's (ex-)fan base hates Masa over the whole financial management fiasco that led to Cazqui and Daichi leaving and I'm not really sure where they can go from here.

My impression from the tour final was the same. I like the recorded versions of everything, but they still need some time to practice and grow as a unit to maintain that level for a long live performance. Mio's growls and screams were great, but a lot of the cleans were a little off key and he had trouble hitting some of the really high notes (although they did play almost 30 songs). And Yoh needs to stop waving and pointing at the crowd so much and just play that damn guitar lol.

I can understand how representation in the film industry (and many others besides) is a major issue, but on the other hand... surely the whole point of being an actor is that you can assume various roles and perform them convincingly? That's the definition of the job right?

Founder of the biggest male talent/production agency in Japan (SMAP, Arashi etc) just died this week. Unfortunately he was also a suspected pedophile.

Personally speaking, I think an artist's personal life should be completely separate from their professional career, at least until the point that their misconduct becomes public knowledge. If an artist is doing something terrible in their free time, that has no bearing on their ability to produce music. If it emerges that an artist has been involved in some kind of scandal, it does become much more difficult to support their future endeavours, but that shouldn't come at the expense of writing off their past achievements. It's possible to be both a great musician and a shitty human being; whether that affects your enjoyment of their past career comes down to how well you can divorce their actions from their profession. And condemning all the other members and staff of a band - assuming that they aren't complicit - based on a single person's actions is just childish and unreasonable. As for the whole 'using it as an argument' issue, as far as I'm concerned there is no argument to be had. Artists are just human like the rest of us and should be held to the same standards by society. That's why my apparently controversial post in Johnny's thread got so much attention - I think he was a terrible person, but I respect his achievements and influence on the whole industry as a professional. If you can't keep those things separate, you're just writing off a whole legacy based on one person's actions. TLDR Being a successful artist doesn't make you immune to the same laws and moral principles as the rest of society. It's no excuse. BUT Being a shitty person doesn't make you any less of a talented musician either.

Apparently the same people who are quick to shame a man who has just died are the same people who are quick to judge someone they have never met over a single comment on the internet. In no way do I condone pedophilia or any form of harrassment. I think it's a hateful crime and show of disrespect another human being. In fact, my own (ex-)girlfriend was molested in Japan and despite going to the police about it it was just one person's word against another so nothing came of it. That was one of the most trying times in my life so far, feeling so powerless to do anything about the situation. The nature of my comment was just to say, let's respect that regardless of who a person was there must be numerous people, be it family, friends or coworkers, who are saddened by that news. As far as I'm concerned, it's a shame when anyone dies because that loss ripples through so many others' lives. And I also think it's possible to respect someone's professional success while divorcing that respect from your disgust towards anything that happened in their private lives. If a popular actor is embroiled in a rape or adultery scandal, that doesn't make them any less of a great actor, it just makes them a shitty human being.

A lot of disrespect on this thread. Regardless of what he may or may not have been guilty of, this is a man who has just died, and someone widely respected who helped shape not only the careers of some of Japan's most popular artists but the whole industry(ies) they work in at that.

https://jrocknews.com/2018/01/interviewing-man-coined-term-visual-kei-seiichi-hoshiko.html

For me it's easily Kizu. They have been consistently great, with great production quality too, and creative composition. Also their live performance strikes a great balance between super energetic and emotional. I just couldn't get into DIMLIM, which might sound strange coming from someone who likes NAZARE. I can respect that they're a talented bunch and see why they're so popular but something just didn't click with me. Also risky move making your first song unreadable (it's apparently 'Awareuta'.)

I don't know if this is more common in Tokyo, but in my several years of living in Japan (and a year living in Tokyo in the past) I have never been approached by police or asked to verify my resident status, nor have I heard any stories from other foreign acquaintances (not that it's really come up in conversation though to be fair). I think the only conversation I've had at length with the police was when an officer was making the rounds in my neighborhood checking emergency contact details. He seemed friendly enough and interested in my background since I speak Japanese, but never came across as suspicious or hostile. Come to think of it though I don't think he ever did record an emergency contact since I don't have any family in Japan...

That's a shame, their revival self-titled album was great.

Cautiously optimistic for this.

How about GACKT? Old solo stuff and MM work sounds much more raw and emotional than a lot of his recent stuff, where it seems like he's sacrificing some of that in an effort to producing clean recordings. I also suspect his voice has changed along with the facial surgery we all know he had done, and possibly just a result of aging too.

Signal - Crossing fate. Missed out on that live by two days and have regretted it ever since. Never seen a single copy in second-hand stores or auctions, and I've been living in Japan for years.

Thanks to the awesome @VkBrutaliaN I was finally able to see the lyrics for this super rare track. Signal was one of my favourite bands so this is quite an emotional song for me. I'm still looking to buy a copy if anyone has one to sell. I'll pay big for this one. Anyway, the song is about rebirth and meeting in another life, forgetting the sorrows of past lives and finding a reason to live. Based on the lyrical content and some old comments from Yuri and Shinya on Twitter, this seems to be a culmination of the band's work and a message of thanks to the fans. Original Japanese, Romaji and English translations are below. Crossing fate 闇に抱かれ闇の中彷徨う 終わり無き道 生きてる意味 死に向かう理由を誰か教えて 出会いを知り 別れを繰り返す 輪廻の中で 胸の傷に傷を描いた過去からただ逃げてた Deep sorrow After you cry Get over sadness 無口な君と愛し合えるの？ 笑顔ひとつを 心に咲かせよう 幾千もの眩しい過去よ 君の未来を輝かせて 此処で叫ぶ理由を君が教えてくれたね 俺の生きる意味を一緒に見つけてくれた Be living… 月日重ね繰り返す重みと矛盾の果てに 終わりの声 聞こえていた 心は砕かれて… Deep sorrow After you cry Get over sadness 無口な君をそっと抱きしめ 涙ひとつを 心に降らせた 幾千もの悲しい過去よ 君の未来を奪わないで だけど君はもう俺が側に居なくても 生きていけるから そっと目を閉じて… Open up your future 此処で叫ぶ理由は君に出会う為だから 泣き顔は似合わないよ Will we ever meet again? I'll never say goodbye… =========================================== yami ni dakare yami no naka samayou owarinaki michi ikiteru imi shi ni mukau riyuu wo dareka oshiete deai wo shiri wakare wo kurikaesu rinne no naka de mune no kizu ni kizu wo egaita kako kara tada nigeteta Deep sorrow After you cry Get over sadness mukuchi na kimi to aishiaeru no? egao hitotsu wo kokoro ni sakaseyou ikusen mono mabushii kako yo kimi no mirai wo kagayakasete koko de sakebu riyuu wo kimi ga oshietekureta ne ore no ikiru imi wo issho ni mitsuketekureta Be living... tsukihi kasane kurikaesu omomi to mujun no hate ni owari no koe kikoeteita kokoro wa kudakarete Deep sorrow After you cry Get over sadness mukuchi na kimi wo sotto dakishime namida hitotsu wo kokoro ni furaseta ikusen mono kanashii kako yo kimi no mirai wo ubawanaide dakedo kimi wa mou ore ga soba ni inakutemo ikiteyukeru kara sotto me wo tojite... Open up your future koko de sakebu riyuu wa kimi ni deau tame dakara nakigao wa niawanai yo Will we ever meet again? I'll never say goodbye... =========================================== Wandering in darkness along an endless road Someone tell me the meaning of life and death In endless cycles of encounters and farewells I'm just fleeing from the past that left scars across my chest Deep sorrow After you cry Get over sadness Can we really love one another even though you are silent? Let a single smile bloom in your heart Let your thousands of radiant pasts illuminate your future You taught me the reason why I'm shouting here You helped me find meaning in my life Be living... At the end of countless burdens and contradiction I heard a voice calling an ending My heart is broken... Deep sorrow After you cry Get over sadness I tenderly embrace your silent form A single tear fell in my heart Don't let your thousands of sorrowful pasts take away your future Now you can go on living without me by your side Softly close your eyes... Open up your future The reason why I'm shouting here is to meet you again That tear-stained face doesn't suit you Will we ever meet again? I'll never say goodbye...

Yeah, I'm good friends with the manager there. I used to visit him and chat about VK whenever I had free time in Shibuya. He even played my recommendations over the store speakers... :') I think the only mens shop left is the one in Shinjuku (the same location as the CD one) but they're still doing business online.

So to come back to this months later, I ended up using Windows' built-in screen recorder (intended for gaming) to record the live stream. Of course I had to manually start and stop the recording, but I was watching the thing anyway. Because I watched it after-the-fact I was able to cut out the unnecessary parts and just record the live itself.

Super excited for this, just wish they'd hurry up and record Sayonara though! Beautiful song they always play live.

Nice troll based on the recent film 'Fly Me to Saitama' that Gackt stars in.

Apparently both editions of the original pressing sold out, so they re-released the regular edition with a slightly altered cover.

Loved the video, didn't enjoy the song so much. It was a little too repetitive near the start and the overuse of 'motherfucker' in the rap section was a little grating (cool vocal insert between all the growling though). Mixing excellent though, despite the over-reliance on pedals the drums sounded really punchy and awesome. The video itself had some gorgeous shots and lighting and managed to tell a kind of story despite the lyrics being pretty much indecipherable. Maybe I'm just not into this level of extreme deathcore, but I prefer a little more structure to my songs. The lack of any kind of clean vocals or chorus-style section makes it ultimately forgettable for me, despite the high level of execution.

The limited edition also apparently comes with a download in mp3 and wav of the whole album immediately following purchase - so you don't even need to wait for it to be shipped to listen to it.