Shmilly

I didn't know about that distribution. I've been looking for a copy of CONVICTION but it hasn't turned up anywhere...

Good news. Interesting that their recent distributed song CONVICTION isn't on it though.

Interestingly some stores still have the album up for pre-order under the delayed 5/30 release date. I imagine they won't be able to fulfill though if it really is cancelled. I just placed an order with Amazon and it went through OK, but I imagine I'll be getting a cancellation email in the near future.

Now that you mention it that makes sense.

This. I'm excited for the new single, and 3 new songs is great, but another part of me wants them to hurry up and put out a mini or something with all their unreleased material.

That sucks, with the tracklist and release date finalized too. I was really looking forward to this comeback. On the other hand, I hope Hinata makes a full recovery. Even if they can't resume activities in the near future, I hope there will be some way to get hold of the completed songs at some point - I would contact them myself but with the HP down I don't know where to send an email to.

Really enjoyed their first single so I'll try and get hold of this!

Fair enough. I suppose we won't know until something more official is revealed.

Don't know what the demo part is about but the name should be 'Black November' (kuroi 11gatsu)

So anyone who picked up a copy of DADAROMA's latest will know that Yoshiatsu kindly wrote out the lyrics for KIDS WAR entirely in hiragana. This means that before a real translation can happen we need to figure out the actual words. I've done my best to transcribe what I believe it says, but I want some other opinions from Japanese speakers. ORIGINAL JAPANESE からっぽなまちしんだめをしたぐんたいありのこうしん あいせいふぁっくふぁっくふぁっくふぁっくふぁっくふぁっく おーいえーい ゆめをすてればこころはかるくまじめなきりぎりす ゆうせいうぉーくうぉーくうぉーくうぉーくうぉーくうぉーく うぃーうぉーんたーぎあーふぉーざわーるど あいどんうぉんとぅびあだるとらいくゆー あいどんうぉんとぅびあだるとらいくゆー あいどんうぉんとぅびあだるとらいくゆー あいどんうぉんとぅびあだるとらいくゆー あぁだーてぃ すたでぃー うぃー あらいぶ TRANSLITERATED JAPANESE 空っぽな街 死んだ目をした軍隊蟻の行進 アイセイファックファックファックファックファックファック オーイエーイ 夢を捨てれば心は軽く 真面目なキリギリス ユウセイウォークウォークウォークウォークウォークウォーク ウィーウォンターギアーフォーザワールド アイドンウォントゥビアダルトライクユー アイドンウォントゥビアダルトライクユー アイドンウォントゥビアダルトライクユー アイドンウォントゥビアダルトライクユー あぁ ダーティ スタディー ウィー アライブ ROMANIZATION (based on above interpretation) karappona machi shinda me wo shita guntaiari no koushin I SAY FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK OH YEAH yume wo sutereba kokoro wa karuku majimena kirigirisu YOU SAY WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK* WE WANT A GEAR FOR THE WORLD I DON'T WANT TO BE ADULT LIKE YOU I DON'T WANT TO BE ADULT LIKE YOU I DON'T WANT TO BE ADULT LIKE YOU I DON'T WANT TO BE ADULT LIKE YOU aa DIRTY STEADY WE ALIVE *could also be read as WORK, but sounds more like WALK from live footage ENGLISH (based on above interpretation) Dead-eyed army ants march down the empty streets I say fuck Oh yeah If you abandon your dreams your heart will be light, like a diligent grasshopper You say walk* We want a gear for the world I don't want to be an adult like you I don't want to be an adult like you I don't want to be an adult like you I don't want to be an adult like you Ah dirty, steady, we're alive

For the record, tildes are an incorrect Westernization of the Japanese 'wave dash' 〜, which is like a lengthened tilde. Laruku's actual name uses that, not the Western tilde. And the use of the wave dash in various song titles is legitimate and not a result of bands like Laruku becoming popular - in Japanese, it denotes subtitles. So for example, Gackt's 絵夢〜for my dear〜 could be romanized as M: For My Dear rather than using tildes.

Tour final setlist: 1. Phantom Pain 2. MONEY 3. watashi, bangya janai wa 4. MASTURBATION. 5. THE KINKY 6. Innocent Holic 7. Trend Identity 8. Romance Grey 9. aishiteru to itte yo 10. saishuu densha 11. Morphine #2 12. warui kusuri 13. oboreru sakana 14. ame no Waltz 15. tsuki no uta 16. tokekomenai zarazarana geijutsu wo kimi ga koroshitekurenai ka 17. shiroi Geranium 18. Velka & Strelka 19. yume tarareba 20. Risley Circus 21. Quiet Red 22. Pornograph 23. KIDS WAR 24. aruhi, sekai wa utsukushii to omotta.

New tour info can be found on their HP. Yoshiatsu birthday oneman at AREA on 5/20 (Sun). '2 Days' tour 'ALL SONGS FOR YOU' in Summer. They will play their entire discography across two nights in each location. I'm free for the birthday gig, and If I can get the time off, I'll go to the O-WEST two days live.

I think the difference comes down to genre. Because DEG have been around on the non-VK metal circuit both domestically and overseas, they're easily the most well-known of the three. Despite being a big name in the VK scene, the GazettE haven't really achieved widespread appeal; outside of their core audience, I don't think many people really listen to them. At this point I would say MUCC has outgrown the GazettE, since their music has expanded beyond their origins and onto the more mainstream music scene domestically.

Funnily enough, AllS (fka ALSDEAD) recently crowdfunded 2 music videos, so I guess if the demand is there and the fans are willing to pay, it could be a viable option for some.

I want to start out with two key points. Firstly, I don't 'support' piracy, but without it there is no doubt that I wouldn't be this involved in the visual kei scene (and possibly probably not even where I am in my life right now, since listening to Japanese music back in JHS is what eventually led to me formally studying the language and now living and working in Japan, but that's a long story for another thread). Secondly, I voted that piracy is instrumental in keeping the scene alive, but I only believe that to be the case in the international fandom. I would argue that it has little to no impact whatsoever on the actual living scene here in Japan, at least in my experience so far. With that said, I'd like to go into a little more detail. Obviously piracy has been existent since the early days of home media - my uncle used to buy pirated VHS tapes of new movies when I was a kid, for example. With the arrival of the internet, and subsequent developments that have drastically improved our capacity to both upload and download data, it has increased the ability and reach of piracy to a global scale. And despite the cherry-picking of various studies to pin the blame for unsuccessful media on the illegal file-sharing community, the evidence shows that for the most part there is little to no impact whatsoever on sales as a result of piracy. The reason that I think piracy is essential for the international visual kei community is simply a matter of exposure. With communities like MH which share the latest news the moment it leaves the artist's mouth at a concert, or the second it's posted on social media or their official website, even the newest and smallest indie visual bands instantly get tens, hundreds, maybe even thousands more people's attention than they expected. But even with that awareness of band activity, there's no promise that the international community will put their money where their ears are and pick up their releases. With inflation increasing the sales price of CDs over the last few years in Japan, and the fact that many small VK bands release music only in independent record stores or even exclusively at concerts, simply buying the music you're interested in from half way around the world becomes a tall order. This is only compounded by the fact that on top of the costs of buying and shipping the item to you, it's likely that you have no prior way of determining whether you will really enjoy a release or get your money's worth. Hence, piracy becomes a method for fans who are willing to shell out for their favourite artists to sample and sift through the latest music to choose exactly what they put their hard-earned money towards. However, this is speaking from a purely international standpoint. The truth of the matter is, domestic artists in Japan are not expecting to rely on international sales to any extent, regardless of the genre. This is particularly true for indies visual kei, which is far more concerned with gathering a dedicated fan base on their home turf who will repeatedly spend money on tickets and goods, where they make a lot more money than the pitiful cut they get on CD sales. Even bands that are aware of their popularity overseas will very rarely have the opportunity or financial security to consider promoting or performing there, especially on an indie label. For anyone short of a major record deal, purchases from abroad are probably like an unexpected bonus, and nothing more. But the main reason I think piracy has little to no effect on the visual kei scene within Japan is simply that I don't think it's as common. In theory Japan has quite strict laws on illegal file-sharing, and the truth of the matter is that VK is not very big even in its home country. The scene was at its peak years ago when the philosophy of the frontrunners was more relevant, and media exposure was higher. Even if someone were to upload a new release, I just don't think there would be that many people to download it. The hardcore gya will jump on the latest release from their favourite artist, and anyone else is probably just not interested. That's not to say that the scene is necessarily dying out though; if anything, the spread of the pre-owned market to online sales and auction sites (looking at you in particular, Mercari and Yahoo, with simple transactions and free accounts) provides a mecca for domestic and international fans alike. In particular rare items like live-distributed singles and signed goods can sell for tens of thousands of yen if the right buyer is on the lookout. It's easier than ever to get hold of VK music, and while the artists themselves don't see any financial benefit from second-hand sales, they do see an increase in exposure. In addition, devoted fans shell out time and again for not only multiple versions of releases, but also goods from clothing and towels to cheki, which are virtually like trading cards to the hardcore bangya. I would argue that the live scene and sale of goods is what really keeps the VK scene afloat, especially at the indie level. If no-one attends a new band's lives, it's far more damaging for them both financially and in terms of reputation than not selling out a 500-copy press of their first single (ignoring recording and production costs, of course). I realise that this post has gone on for far too long now, but in summary: piracy is a necessary evil for the international community, but largely irrelevant to the success of the artists themselves and the scene in Japan.

Awesome. I loved Live to Die so high hopes for this release.

Apologies, corrected the OP. I was just glancing at the news on their website and picked up the '5 versions' part.

Limited edition DVD will contain the PV for 'Beyond These Walls' and the members' individual solo versions too for a total of 5 versions.

Awesome. That 求めたものは求められること hook from the preview is just so good.