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Shmilly

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Posts posted by Shmilly

  5. Posted · Edited by Shmilly

    One of the things I really enjoy about RAZOR is their ability to combine hard-hitting djent-inspired riffs with catchy melodies and electronic elements. Despite the occasional chaotic composition on RAZOR's work the members' individual talent and catchy vocals gets their songs stuck in my head. In contrast to @BrenGun's comment, I would say that Ryoga actually has a pretty recognizable voice in the VK scene - especially when it comes to his range of growls and shouts that find themselves halfway between clean vocals and full-on screaming.

     

    As for this mini, I wasn't as taken with ROAD as others seem to be, and the ballad was too long to earn many listens from me, but I really enjoyed all of the other tracks. 消えない痛み is a solid RAZOR track, and I can see why it earned a PV - despite sticking fairly closely to standard territory a la DNA or LIQUID VAIN, the chorus is memorable and gets stuck in your head, and it's a decent showcase for the sound RAZOR are becoming known for. イノセンス is definitely a standout with that oppressive atmosphere in the chorus, and quite experimental for what the band has put out so far. Labyrinth also has that catchy chorus that immediately hooked me (perhaps because it reminds me of one of the songs Ryoga performed with the all-star PSC session band WK on their live-dist release). Finally, I think その後の世界 would be great live and could fit in well at either the beginning or the end of the set.

     

    All in all, I think the CORE is a really solid release and showcases more diversity than their first mini, which served instead to define their sound. It'll be difficult to top RED INVISIBLE for the sheer surprise factor and consistency (it blew my expectations for this lineup out of the water) but it's great to see RAZOR expanding their sound and retaining the quality in both composition and production that they led with from the start.

    maryeon, zombieparadise, zaa_zaa and 4 others reacted to this

  7. Posted

    20 hours ago, Duwang said:

    In 2014 Crazy Shampoo did a series of five onemans over the span of five months and distributed a free CD at each of them. Dance, Testament, and Regulation were 3/5 of those free distributes. The other two were パナシェ and 真昼の兵隊. None of them saw a proper release because their label dropped them, forcing them to disband at the last of those five onemans. 

     

    Yeah, I was able to get my hands on all those a while ago.

    They had a couple other songs they often played but I don't believe ever got recorded (ニトロポリタン, パニッシュ！！, ActresS, グルコサミン). To my knowledge the only free distribute that ended up on an official release is アンブレラ.

    I wonder if パニッシュ！！ became パナシェ since the titles are so similar? It's a while since I've watched any live footage so I can't remember if any of the other unreleased songs sounded alike.

  9. Posted · Edited by Shmilly

    MBHI had several unreleased songs, although most/all of them featured on their one live DVD release. They put a couple of short demos on YouTube around the time they started activity but several of those were never properly recorded. Interestingly though, one of them was a full song, it was just never released elsewhere: 21st century boy.

     

    Recently disbanded MALISEND also played their full discography at their final live which I was able to attend, which included at least 3 unreleased songs (including the various free distributions). I directly contacted them upon disbandment inquiring about purchasing these unreleased tracks as at least some of them had demos on Youtube, but they informed me that no properly recorded versions had ever been made, so I wasn't able to get hold of them.

     

    Going back to DDRM and KIDS WAR, Yoshiatsu's previous band Crazy Shampoo also had a couple of songs they often performed live but never saw official releases. After extensive research, it appears they had live distributions a long time ago, but since I've never seen them for sale either in used stores or at auction/Mercari, I consider them to be basically 'lost' songs. (Will pay for them if anyone has them though). The ones that immediately come to mind are 'Guernica' and 'Battou'.

     

     

     

    And on a personal sob story, I have always deeply regretted missing Signal's last live due to my flight being just two days later, and as a result will pay handsomely for a copy of their last single 'Crossing fate' which has yet to even see the digital light of day.

    Mamo, Laurence02, qotka and 1 other reacted to this

  10. Posted

    CodeRebirth were severely underrated - their final album release is one of my favourite albums, period. I really hope Katsuya can find a strong vocalist to fit his djent-like compositions, but they need to have solid cleans too (imo too many djent bands are either purely instrumental or have only a screamer on vocals).

     

    Whatever happened to that vocalist from aim (pre-GALEYD)? If he returned to the music scene I think he would be a good fit.

    zaa_zaa reacted to this

  11. Posted

    I enjoyed T3B well enough but try as I might I couldn't get into Balalaika, despite picking up all their releases, including the mail-order version of The Mince. While it's a shame that they're disbanding, I can't say I'm too surprised.

     

    Also looks like I timed it well selling their stuff on Mercari lol

  13. Posted · Edited by Shmilly

    Nice review Rev. I agree with your assessment for the most part, although I'm not sure if I'd put RAZOR in the same group as Kizu. While RAZOR has been known to experiment with some interesting song structure, it usually pays off well in not only shaking up the standard rock/metal song structure but also highlighting the individual members' skills. On the other hand, some of Kizu's attempts (particularly on this single) just end up a little messy and incoherent, despite the well-polished sound and production.

     

    I think the thing that got me into Kizu was Lime's vocals - his unique voice and the catchy melodies really help their songs get stuck in your head. Oshimai was a fantastic debut and despite lacking the same impact, Kawazu has quickly grown on me too. While the B-sides are a mixed bag, I think these guys definitely have a lot of potential to grow in the visual kei scene.

  15. Posted

    I guess it shouldn't be surprising after 10 years of extensive touring, but Yugiri's live vocals have improved a looot since the old CROSSTRIP days. I remember DaizyStripper being one of the first VK bands I tried listening to around the time of Dearest I think, I was amused by their name; now look how far they've made it!
    Unfortunately I really don't have the spare cash to throw at this right now though...

    zaa_zaa reacted to this

  18. Posted

    I think people are setting their expectations too high after one or two particularly standout songs. As an admittedly die-hard fan since the beginning, I would argue that the very aspects of their recent music that have people divided have been largely present all along. Need I remind people that two of the tracks on their very first release were soft-rock jazzy numbers? Or that the originator of the electro-dance-metal numbers was a B-side on their first single? And their continued experimentation with different styles is one of the things that keeps both their releases and live performances exciting (the same people would probably be complaining that the dramatic metalcore is getting stale if it was the same stuff every time).

     

    Rant aside, I think this double-single is a further evolution of the sound DDRM is developing. Ii Kusuri is a satisfyingly dark return to that side of their discography, if a little short, and Warui Kusuri is one of their better ballads that showcases how much Yoshi is maturing as a vocalist (seriously, go back to his days in Crazy Shampoo and you'll see what I mean).

    NightFall reacted to this

  19. Posted

    The message on their website reads like a hiatus - they want some time to consider their musical direction, so they have stopped live performances and media for the time being. It doesn't explicitly state disbandment though, and it asks for fans' support in the future, so I expect they'll be back eventually.

     

    I like them too.

  21. Posted

    2 hours ago, Peace Heavy mk II said:

    Does their webshop count? Not that I have the money for both right now lmao

    Curiously, I don't think so since it's not listed on the tokuten list like it usually is. It might be the case when it shows up on there in the next couple of weeks, but to be safe I ordered from Zeal Link.

     

    Also a warning for those ordering online, Tower Records and HMV aren't distributing the new songs bonus for the double purchase for online orders, only if you buy in-store. The other sites seem to be OK though.

  24. Posted

    14 hours ago, Kiyoharu is God said:

    Ugh...

     

    He's really into that female baby voice thing. Ruined a few of the tracks on the last album. See: Long Nights

    I could be wrong but I believe the man's own family recorded that 'female baby voice thing' for Long Nights. And each to their own etc etc but personally I love that song.

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