hiroki

Since ishiki and diva-rin were asking about the PV, I just noticed when ordering something else that there's actually an 11th type of this single called "ν［NEU］/ひとりじゃない 専門店限定販売のDVDシングル" which contains the PV. It's probably the same as the one released at their live on 07/07, except they renamed it from live-limited to specialist-shops-limited XD Anyway this version will be released at some online shops (including Brand X) on 7/30. Presumably it'll just be title track + DVD.

well damn, i hope it doesn't affect their upcoming mini

Ah ok I think I understand what you're getting at. I guess one reason is that A LOT of RES songs are just written in a way to be "dramatized" by the vocalist (Shinwa, Protoplasm, and a lot more). I'm not saying that's something easy to do because it definitely isn't - I can imagine people making a fool of themselves trying to sing like Satsuki. But at this point Arlequin is still relatively new so given their limited output which, like what you said, doesn't require Aki to vary his vocal technique extraordinarily I'm prepared to let it slide (at least for now...). It'll be nice if they can improve on this performative aspect. And to answer you, I'm ok with Yuuki and to a smaller extent Karma. Sadly Jin is unlistenable for me XD I also agree with what you say about Xepher - Ran is capable of so many vocal textures and gradations it's insane... I'll stop here before I go off-topic (*_*)

Kuruto injured himself in March but has been back in action since May actually, which is great to see. Aki's clean vocals were what drew me to the band in all honesty. He has a good range, doesn't sound (too) whiny or over-the-top, and generally does what a good vocalist has to do. I'm not quite sure what you mean by not "singing from the heart" - because to me he sure sounds sincere enough XD In any case, people familiar with me will know that barring a handful of exceptions I'm not a big fan of metalcore and I find at least half of those stuff unlistenable (sorry). Still, I find Arlequin to be 1 of those that tread the line between metalcore and pop exceptionally well. Emblematic of this is, of course, their self-titled demo which showcases their versatility that (hopefully) can only improve with time. Oh and my favorite song is 白死蝶 (though it's probably oh-so-boring to most other fans )

Nega to Poji is still my favorite pura album

for me vocalist is an upmarket way of saying singer (*_*)

Hope to see you back soon!

hmm this album art does give some nu-metal / electro-backed music kinda vibes, so i guess it's at least 'appropriate' in that regard. i like it though ^^

Album art

New look

I don't even listen to D.I.D. but this is the best news all week for me.

LOL, now they have piqued my interest in whatever's in that uncensored DVD...

Great! I hope "nanoscape" is on this mini album

Some bands that come to mind when I think of ANSIA/auncia are: RUVISH, SPELL BOX, AUBE, maybe even PLUNKLOCK and Virgil as well. Good pop/rock without vocals that are too over-the-top ^^

FF Type-0 is supremely underrated imo. The ending is just.. whoa. (not gonna spoil it for you!) I finished X-COM: Enemy Unknown a while ago, I still have no idea why some ppl think it's a "hard" game. Maybe I'll re-play Fatal Frame 2 again and this time try to clear mission mode with 100% SS rank to placate the completionist in me XD

They came back from a 1-year hiatus, released something, and went on hiatus again. I rmb Roa saying something about the band is broke. So I guess "on hiatus" remains their official status but things aren't looking gd, lol.

I guess this means Virgil will (finally) officially disband?

Agreed with what Jig said abt Yomi's constipated vox. Except that he didn't use to sound like that earlier in their career (I don't wanna know where/how he unlearned singing), and his vocals were even more amazing live than they are on record. Nightmare has had a shocking decline post-2009 (in my opinion), but I liked "majestical parade," and their other albums before that (especially "anima") were great. On account of that I've voted Nightmare. The GazettE has been hit-and-miss for me for as long as I can remember, and I'm not even enthusiastic about their new releases anymore. Yeah there are still a couple of interesting tracks/ideas scattered around, but the merits of which are always grossly outweighed by filler and re-hashed materials.

Wow..? Didn't see that coming at all since I thought Shoujo-A was a one-off experimental thing. But basically what jon_jonz said. I LOVE IT. The shouting's not too jarring, catchy tune as always, and nice instrumental towards the end.

There are countless songs titled "星に願いを" (Hoshi ni negai wo). Some I can rmb offhand are by 176BIZ, Royz, Guild, rice, flumpool, Gackt, Nightmare, Tokyo Shitei, HERO. I guess it's a common title outside vk too though, so no surprises there XD

Neo innovation -Level.1- is now officially my favorite LUCHe. song. It's so energetic, full of surprises, and showcases all the great traits of Tohma's voice (his powerful chest voice, his rapping, his range). The instrumentals are amazing, arranged well, and the chorus is catchy as hell too. I dunno, their latest single is so unremarkable compared to this track (*_*) What does everyone else think?

I agree. I dunno if this is their "official" look but I got the vibes that they're toning down on the visual aspect. For starters Aiku and Naoya are now using proper Japanese names (not sure if real) instead of more fanciful stage names. So maybe this will be their first look after all, we'll see. Also, omg, Naoya looks really good with less makeup (*_*) In the long run it'll probably be a good thing that they've restarted activities under a new name.. Ray℃ wasn't google-able at all thanks to the "℃" lol. Now to look forward to their previews, whee

what a shame, i thought they would be dressed in rabbit kigurumi XD

Oh I haven't posted in this thread? Here goes, in no particular order since I love all of them to death: 智 (Jessica / vistlip) Listening to Tomo always feels like sitting down and being told a story. The tonalities and vocal textures he's capable of are astounding; and not to mention the range of his chest voice and how classy his falsettos are. I didn't like his vocals the very first time I heard vistlip, but once I got hooked there was absolutely no turning back. 怜 (baroque / kannivalism) I once showed my friend (who's just a casual listener of vk) and he thought it was a new vk band that just formed. That's how prescient their sound was back in 2004, and I think Ryo's atmospheric vocals had a lot to do with it. Ryo (and baroque) certainly brought a great deal to vk that's (still) understated. HAL (SINCREA / FEST VAINQUEUR) I'll confess I don't even listen much to FEST anymore because their music had changed so much, but HAL's vocals were integral to how amazing SINCREA was imo. It might be a little one-note for people who prefer something less "generic", but for me his clean and emotional delivery remains incredibly touching (especially in SINCREA ballads like CANDLE). 勇 / 青田勇 (NEVER CRAZY / 176BIZ / ZUCK) What else to say? Yuu makes ZUCK's songs sound so easy to sing lol. Technique aside, he's immensely talented, and the intense passion/dedication he had for ZUCK was painful even for his fans to see towards the end (I still remember his last blog posts...). Great voice, big heart, perhaps my favorite vk musician. Honorable mentions: - Juri (DELUHI) - 愁耶 (Clavier): where the hell did he go?! ;_; - ユウト (Called≠Plan/Unrealistic) - kazuki (Belmosaic) - 左迅 (girugamesh) - 斗真 (LUCHe.)