Shmilly

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

semi sexy/drunk singers reaching deep down into the belly of the bears to bring forth all the sadness, heartache, and abhorrence  they've kept bottled up into the combined vocal sounds of a banshee sodomizing a cat. Viva la br00tal kei!

Side note, they played a couple new songs at their one man at the end of December so that's promising.

- the GazettE's new album will divide the fan base, as usual.
- RAZOR will release a full album at last, or at least record all the songs they've been playing for months already.
- MEIDARA will find a new bassist and continue to make awesome music, or disband, which would suck.
- L from T3B/BALALAIKA will make another unsuccessful band.
- ex-Grieva members will return to the scene in some form or other.
- dadaism#4.
- Kizu will continue to release singles with split tracks rather than just making an EP/album.
- DELUHI will have a one-off revival live. (Juri and Aggy's project vanished without any releases, and FED's new single B-side is called 'farewell'...?)
- GACKT will release one single to remind everyone that he still does music.
- ex-CodeRebirth Katsuya will find a vocalist and his new band will slay.
- llll-Ligro- will quietly release a phenomenal album that no-one listens to.
- ONE OK ROCK will release another album all in English. (Or surprise hiatus since two of their members got married this year/are starting families).
- LOVEBITES will tour Europe. (They already played two shows in London last month).

Commenting just to +1 this. It is one of few albums that I can still say with confidence that I enjoy every track enough to listen to the entire thing without hitting the skip button (well, at least up to the final lengthy instrumental track). In addition a.b.s was the very first band that I ever saw live, so it's fair to say that they had a big impression on high school me. Still hoping for a comeback...

- the GazettE's new album will divide the fan base, as usual.
- RAZOR will release a full album at last, or at least record all the songs they've been playing for months already.
- MEIDARA will find a new bassist and continue to make awesome music, or disband, which would suck.
- L from T3B/BALALAIKA will make another unsuccessful band.
- ex-Grieva members will return to the scene in some form or other.
- dadaism#4.
- Kizu will continue to release singles with split tracks rather than just making an EP/album.
- DELUHI will have a one-off revival live. (Juri and Aggy's project vanished without any releases, and FED's new single B-side is called 'farewell'...?)
- GACKT will release one single to remind everyone that he still does music.
- ex-CodeRebirth Katsuya will find a vocalist and his new band will slay.
- llll-Ligro- will quietly release a phenomenal album that no-one listens to.
- ONE OK ROCK will release another album all in English. (Or surprise hiatus since two of their members got married this year/are starting families).
- LOVEBITES will tour Europe. (They already played two shows in London last month).

Judging by their last release, they're moving in a good direction. Cautiously optimistic for what comes next, especially with tour titles like those.

Commenting just to +1 this. It is one of few albums that I can still say with confidence that I enjoy every track enough to listen to the entire thing without hitting the skip button (well, at least up to the final lengthy instrumental track). In addition a.b.s was the very first band that I ever saw live, so it's fair to say that they had a big impression on high school me. Still hoping for a comeback...

can't believe they are letting this DRUG ADDICT and JUNKIE into the band again. sad!

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.

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.

- the GazettE's new album will divide the fan base, as usual.
- RAZOR will release a full album at last, or at least record all the songs they've been playing for months already.
- MEIDARA will find a new bassist and continue to make awesome music, or disband, which would suck.
- L from T3B/BALALAIKA will make another unsuccessful band.
- ex-Grieva members will return to the scene in some form or other.
- dadaism#4.
- Kizu will continue to release singles with split tracks rather than just making an EP/album.
- DELUHI will have a one-off revival live. (Juri and Aggy's project vanished without any releases, and FED's new single B-side is called 'farewell'...?)
- GACKT will release one single to remind everyone that he still does music.
- ex-CodeRebirth Katsuya will find a vocalist and his new band will slay.
- llll-Ligro- will quietly release a phenomenal album that no-one listens to.
- ONE OK ROCK will release another album all in English. (Or surprise hiatus since two of their members got married this year/are starting families).
- LOVEBITES will tour Europe. (They already played two shows in London last month).

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.

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.

The creepy thing is her Twitter profile that states 'I wish to be reborn and marry Keisuke in my next life'. I wonder if that has implications. It seems from some of the pictures on Twitter that they were in a relationship of some kind, there's Disney pictures and all. Maybe she wanted a more serious relationship but he wasn't ready for it, so she decided to kill herself?

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.

The creepy thing is her Twitter profile that states 'I wish to be reborn and marry Keisuke in my next life'. I wonder if that has implications. It seems from some of the pictures on Twitter that they were in a relationship of some kind, there's Disney pictures and all. Maybe she wanted a more serious relationship but he wasn't ready for it, so she decided to kill herself?

The creepy thing is her Twitter profile that states 'I wish to be reborn and marry Keisuke in my next life'. I wonder if that has implications. It seems from some of the pictures on Twitter that they were in a relationship of some kind, there's Disney pictures and all. Maybe she wanted a more serious relationship but he wasn't ready for it, so she decided to kill herself?

This. They have enough unreleased songs as is to make another mini.

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.

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.

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.

I'm not going to disregard your opinion, but after the eloquent introduction the album review comes across as a thoughtlessly written rant from someone whose expectations weren't met. Did you even listen to it more than once before dismissing it as a disappointment?
 
Case in point: the song with the rain sampling isn't 'Romance Grey', it's 'Ookami Shounen to Doku Ringo'. 'Itoshi teru' isn't even correct Japanese, so you didn't even take the time to check the romanization before complaining about the song. This is just sloppy writing.
 
Yes, I'm a stalwart fan of DDRM, and while I agree that this isn't their best material to date, it isn't fair to write it off as repetitive songwriting just because it isn't as immediately appealing as some of their older work. Some albums take a while to grow on you, and while I was also a little underwhelmed by the third installment of 'dadaism', I gave it a chance and a few more listens and came to appreciate it for what it is.
 
'MASTURBATION.' is a catchy party rocker that was stuck in my head for days after I first heard it in full at Takashi's birthday live. I was on the side of the split that, rather than horror at this strange, all-English departure from the dramatic lead tracks we've come to expect, embraced Yoshiatsu's crazy side. I'm sure that out of the six tracks on this release, this opener will be the most divisive for long-time fans, but speaking personally I love it.
 
In the same format as the other dadaism's, 'Aishiteru to Itte yo' is a slightly jazzy number that adds to the ever-increasing repertoire of this style that the band is putting out. I'll admit that it's sadly not as memorable as other times when they've done it better (like the raunchy 'Saishuu Densha' and the frankly erotic 'Urei Libido' that somehow still finds time for headbanging among its sensual imagery) but it's not necessarily a bad song. I personally didn't find it weak enough to press the skip button through multiple listens.
 
'NPD' is another brash synth-backed mover like 'Trend Identity' that is clearly meant to be enjoyed to its full potential in a live setting. (For those who are interested, my best guess at the acronym is 'Narcissistic Personality Disorder', which ironically fits Yoshiatsu's attitude to himself and his relationship with the band's fans pretty well. The lyrics also reference Hans Selye, a pioneer in biological stress, and the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria). It works well enough for what it is, and I enjoyed the energy even if it only lasted for around 3 minutes.
 
At this point I feel like I'm going to go against the general consensus on 'Romance Grey' by saying that it might be my favourite track on the whole release. I can see why many people might immediately think of it as a bland rock ballad, but looking at DADAROMA's discography, this is not repetitive songwriting but something completely different for them. Going back to the basics with a strong riff, emotional vocals and a simple structure made this song the opposite of forgetful in my opinion - it stands out as a unique style amongst the combination of dramatic masterpieces, brutal headbangers, energetic live rockers and jazzy experiments that make up the rest of their discography. Rather than dismissing 'Romance Grey' as a standard ballad, I say bravo for trying something new.
 
Now we come to the dramatic, fairy-tale piece for this album. 'Ookami Shounen to Doku Ringo' opens with another attempt to take a lens to society, telling the story of a young boy who was poisoned and how the media were far more interested in the perpetrator than the poor victim. It didn't immediately seize me in the same way as 'Oboreru Sakana' or 'Lucid Dream', but perhaps this is the track that has grown on me the most through multiple listens. The structure is a little different to their usual arrangements in this style, because it doesn't really get going until the sudden change into a major key after the oppressive opening for the contrastingly uplifting chorus. In fact, I think this is the first time one of their dramatic works has a lighter chorus, which caught me off guard the first time I listened to it. Unlike the aforementioned tracks too, it ends rather abruptly instead of with a lengthy instrumental fade out.
 
Finally comes the obnoxious 'Watashi, Bangya ja nai wa' which is another song evidently meant to be enjoyed at a concert rather than sitting at home. At first listen this is perhaps the most throwaway track of the whole release, and as such a disappointing way to round off the regular edition, but upon closer inspection it's a surprisingly heavy hitter with some chugging downtuned guitar designed to lead the titular bangya in synchronized headbanging. For me this track treads a fine line between catchy and forgettable; what I mean by this is that it's not a song I would deliberately choose to listen to over any number of other offerings from DADAROMA, but nonetheless when it immediately starts up after the sudden ending of the previous track, I can't help but get caught up in the energy it brings.
 
So that's dadaism number three. This review ended up a little longer than I expected, but I wanted to throw a contrasting opinion out there while it might still be relevant.

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.

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.