nomemorial

looks like a teaser for GazettE in Beat Saber

looks like a teaser for GazettE in Beat Saber

Click the link to the tweet and wait a bit after playing the clip a few times. It takes a while before the higher bitrate ver. 1280p version is served (there are three versions including 568p (w/ shite audio) and 640p (w/ comparable audio to the 1280p ver.) 
 
Here it is fully loaded: https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1220260237426298880/vid/720x1280/quRgWqspuG1DKzWu.mp4?tag=13

looks like a teaser for GazettE in Beat Saber

lofi hiphop radio - beats to delay your album/not wear makeup to

Hopefully Katsuya is around again to help out with the album. Idk how much impact he has but usually everything he helps out with on the mixing and mastering side of things turns out golden

Except the implication that they are all sold out implies they are selling well, and that selling more isn't going to fix deep seated issues within the band. Other bands would kill to sell like DIMLIM. Money is a blocker up to a point. Now I can't say that DIMLIM is past that point, but I've been in the scene too long to think that piracy and money are their only troubles.

lofi hiphop radio - beats to delay your album/not wear makeup to

lofi hiphop radio - beats to delay your album/not wear makeup to

lofi hiphop radio - beats to delay your album/not wear makeup to

lofi hiphop radio - beats to delay your album/not wear makeup to

lofi hiphop radio - beats to delay your album/not wear makeup to

lofi hiphop radio - beats to delay your album/not wear makeup to

I dunno where things go for them after all this, but I will put money on the table that either the entire band will dive back into VK or they split and at least one member shows up in VK again (praying for Sho 🙏)

Really hope this album is good and they've worked out their live kinks, but damn, these guys are really bad at marketing (not trying to knock them, I love them, it's just the truth).
 
I guess there's a part of me that wishes they kept the VK thing going for selfish reasons (I legitimately think they had great looks and were kind of at the top of the scene in musical quality), but I think dropping it the way they did really only serves to hurt them even more from a marketing perspective. I get it, you wanna be "true to yourself," etc., but pulling away from that scene in conjunction with every other marketing misfire just seems really ill-conceived.
 
Not that I'm in any position to see them live again in any part of the near future (unless they decide to take this world tour business to the US), I think my opinion of them in their current state would dramatically improve if they'd just fill out their lineup. I think performing over backtracked bass and rhythm guitar is kind of "cheap" to say the least and if your international fans are willing to pay the big bucks to see you play some songs you should have enough self-respect to actually perform said songs the way they're meant to be performed. 
 
Who knows, I could very well eat my words in a few months, the album could be fantastic and they could really turn it out for these shows, but I really just want to see them at the top of their game for their sake and for the sake of the people who dig them.
 
And lastly, I still think if they stuck with their heavy sound (impressions making me worry they also dropped that) they would do some serious business just riding the djent/metalcore train in the west. They'd definitely fit in on a mixed bill of those bands in the west (hell, even some of the noodly post-hardcore bands like DGD and such). But that whole discussion in the "make visual kei great again" or whatever thread has made it clear that Japanese bands have no real desire to capitalize on band relationships or playing to their strengths with like-minded artists and just wanna be supported on a one-man bill, something that literally no other artists do on an international level outside of the tippy-top, long-standing hitmakers.

I dunno where things go for them after all this, but I will put money on the table that either the entire band will dive back into VK or they split and at least one member shows up in VK again (praying for Sho 🙏)

Really hope this album is good and they've worked out their live kinks, but damn, these guys are really bad at marketing (not trying to knock them, I love them, it's just the truth).
 
I guess there's a part of me that wishes they kept the VK thing going for selfish reasons (I legitimately think they had great looks and were kind of at the top of the scene in musical quality), but I think dropping it the way they did really only serves to hurt them even more from a marketing perspective. I get it, you wanna be "true to yourself," etc., but pulling away from that scene in conjunction with every other marketing misfire just seems really ill-conceived.
 
Not that I'm in any position to see them live again in any part of the near future (unless they decide to take this world tour business to the US), I think my opinion of them in their current state would dramatically improve if they'd just fill out their lineup. I think performing over backtracked bass and rhythm guitar is kind of "cheap" to say the least and if your international fans are willing to pay the big bucks to see you play some songs you should have enough self-respect to actually perform said songs the way they're meant to be performed. 
 
Who knows, I could very well eat my words in a few months, the album could be fantastic and they could really turn it out for these shows, but I really just want to see them at the top of their game for their sake and for the sake of the people who dig them.
 
And lastly, I still think if they stuck with their heavy sound (impressions making me worry they also dropped that) they would do some serious business just riding the djent/metalcore train in the west. They'd definitely fit in on a mixed bill of those bands in the west (hell, even some of the noodly post-hardcore bands like DGD and such). But that whole discussion in the "make visual kei great again" or whatever thread has made it clear that Japanese bands have no real desire to capitalize on band relationships or playing to their strengths with like-minded artists and just wanna be supported on a one-man bill, something that literally no other artists do on an international level outside of the tippy-top, long-standing hitmakers.

Really hope this album is good and they've worked out their live kinks, but damn, these guys are really bad at marketing (not trying to knock them, I love them, it's just the truth).
 
I guess there's a part of me that wishes they kept the VK thing going for selfish reasons (I legitimately think they had great looks and were kind of at the top of the scene in musical quality), but I think dropping it the way they did really only serves to hurt them even more from a marketing perspective. I get it, you wanna be "true to yourself," etc., but pulling away from that scene in conjunction with every other marketing misfire just seems really ill-conceived.
 
Not that I'm in any position to see them live again in any part of the near future (unless they decide to take this world tour business to the US), I think my opinion of them in their current state would dramatically improve if they'd just fill out their lineup. I think performing over backtracked bass and rhythm guitar is kind of "cheap" to say the least and if your international fans are willing to pay the big bucks to see you play some songs you should have enough self-respect to actually perform said songs the way they're meant to be performed. 
 
Who knows, I could very well eat my words in a few months, the album could be fantastic and they could really turn it out for these shows, but I really just want to see them at the top of their game for their sake and for the sake of the people who dig them.
 
And lastly, I still think if they stuck with their heavy sound (impressions making me worry they also dropped that) they would do some serious business just riding the djent/metalcore train in the west. They'd definitely fit in on a mixed bill of those bands in the west (hell, even some of the noodly post-hardcore bands like DGD and such). But that whole discussion in the "make visual kei great again" or whatever thread has made it clear that Japanese bands have no real desire to capitalize on band relationships or playing to their strengths with like-minded artists and just wanna be supported on a one-man bill, something that literally no other artists do on an international level outside of the tippy-top, long-standing hitmakers.

Ah now I see clear. Their masterplan was to step away from VK so that they can‘t be crowned for the worst rollout in VK history. 😂

I know it's been brought up a lot already, but I think social media is probably going to be what sets the heavy-hitters apart from other bands in the scene from now on. I think it's part of the reason why gulu gulu has picked up so much steam so quickly (outside of just being really good) - they're VERY active on social media and also seem very interactive with fans. I've noticed a trend toward more activity (especially on Twitter/Insta) from a lot of smaller artists/bands, too, but it seems a bit further removed from their actual "craft" so to speak. I think there may be a bit more "hype" generated for these artists if they just get better at the social media part of the modern music "game."

That's the thing, though - I think that a lot of visual kei fandom is rooted in buying merch/etc. when that's just not how most music fans operate these days. The problem with visual kei's accessibility doesn't begin and end with their merch-selling capabilities - it starts with getting people on board in the first place and keeping them engaged. I think a lot of that is rooted in a strong internet presence.
 
As unfortunate as it is, we're not living in the era of CD sales and purchased merchandise any more - at least outside of live shows (and even then, arguable) - and while I understand the importance of those things (trust me, I spent 10 years of my life on the road as a down-on-my-luck-broke-as-a-joke DIY musician), I think we're expecting far too much of the average consumer to conflate fandom with opening one's wallet. (again, not arguing for rightness, just reality)
 
Past that, I still find that a lot of the lack of international interest in VK is that it is classically very difficult to enter and navigate as a fandom. Not only are fans classically elitist (visual kei is one of the only fandoms I've encountered where people have actively hoarded content from their faves with the explicit purpose of keeping it from others), the artists do not follow the same sort of cues that most other bands do and they don't engage their fans in the same way, either.
 
I mean really, this conversation can extend into the realm of photo-free gigs and cheki sales - things that I absolutely understand, but are likely doing more harm than good in the long-term nowadays (an easy buck to make from the aforementioned horny fan, but something that simultaneously makes these artists feel very distant and "unattainable," which just isn't sustainable in a world where the concept of the "rockstar" has basically been deconstructed entirely.) Add that to too-expensive albums and merchandise and no matter how interested one is, it requires a lot more cash and die-hard effort to support someone you enjoy. 
 
Again, most of this is being analyzed from a strictly Western point of view, but really just trying to answer the opening question. Japan clearly functions very differently from the rest of the world when it comes to music, but VK still feels even further removed. I highly doubt we'd ever see some major international renaissance focused on kote kei groups or something - stuff like that is and always will be incredibly niche - but there are a lot of bands in the game right now that have HUGE crossover potential and if paired up with the right artists would skyrocket in popularity on an international scale.

I absolutely appreciate what you're saying here, I think it just further sums up how distant VK is as a culture from most other forms of music.
 
1. Most music fans I know aren't teens (I mean, I'd hope not, I'm in my 30s...), but are people who would probably like a lot of the output of modern VK and don't give it a shot because of how daunting it is. It feels incredibly "other," even bands that fall very closely in line musically with non-VK acts (Western or otherwise - I know dozens of people into Japanese music who still won't touch VK). I've introduced tons of people to bands I think they'd objectively like from a musical standpoint but the second they look into it, they just kinda lose interest based on the density of everything.
 
2. I think the concept of fan projects, fan-books, so on and so forth are incredibly foreign ideas to most people interested in music, casual or otherwise. I respect the efforts being put into those things and very much understand their place in the world of VK, but I don't blame the casual fan for not participating - it's again just very different.
 
3. I think the biggest disconnect for me is marking K-Pop or so-called "mainstream" artists as the parallels for VK. I think most VK artists should be thought of as exactly what they are - indie rock bands. Most of them are small-time, most of them are independent or signed to niche labels, and most of them operate on a tight knit fanbase. The biggest difference from most indie VK bands and most Western indie bands is the theatrical element of it all, but even still that's kinda viewpoint dependent. Most modern emo/screamo/etc. (and even a lot of metal) is theatric in its own right, maybe just sans full costumes and production. I think if a lot of VK artists were placed in parallel with those kinds of scenes, they'd find a lot more international success, which is why we saw some more of that happening during the "scene boom" of the mid-2000s. 
 
I think when I think "unattainable" I mean that in reference to my third point - I think they seem unattainable when placed against other bands in an independent rock sense. And I mean like...really independent - not like major label artists that still get tagged "indie." I agree that they would be far more attainable than just about anyone in the mainstream.
 
I agree with most of your final point, too. The world is incredibly casual with its music habits now and every time I watch one of those silly "kids/teens react" videos online I'm reminded of the lack of enthusiasm most people have. I don't fault people for being cavalier or just listening to what is easy - that's how most of the world goes about their business and that's fine, but I do see less excitement over "rock" music (I use this term lightly) from younger crowds and it honestly feels like a lot of people consider it to be a relic of another age (which is something I'm still coming to terms with). To the opposite end, VK really connected with me as a kid because I wasn't really that into music otherwise and this was so significantly different from what I knew, so I wasn't someone who was into music and found VK - I got into VK and then found more music, so I feel like that may color my viewpoint on things a bit. 
 
All-in-all, I think a lot of my "drive" in talking about this comes from the fact that I think the musical climate on an independent scale is actually quite ripe for VK and there could be a lot of international success for these bands if they detached a bit from the classic trappings of the genre (in a marketing sense, at least). With that being said, I don't really foresee that happening so it's all really neither here nor there, I'd just love to see a few more bands break out and really "take the plunge."

We always had the jornals scanning stuff and the blogs with daily updates, but at some point there was a "trading rare lives in p2p" thing going on that sucked. Btw, glad I did not sucked any cock for these hot Matina stuff, because a lot of them are on youtube right now.

I absolutely appreciate what you're saying here, I think it just further sums up how distant VK is as a culture from most other forms of music.
 
1. Most music fans I know aren't teens (I mean, I'd hope not, I'm in my 30s...), but are people who would probably like a lot of the output of modern VK and don't give it a shot because of how daunting it is. It feels incredibly "other," even bands that fall very closely in line musically with non-VK acts (Western or otherwise - I know dozens of people into Japanese music who still won't touch VK). I've introduced tons of people to bands I think they'd objectively like from a musical standpoint but the second they look into it, they just kinda lose interest based on the density of everything.
 
2. I think the concept of fan projects, fan-books, so on and so forth are incredibly foreign ideas to most people interested in music, casual or otherwise. I respect the efforts being put into those things and very much understand their place in the world of VK, but I don't blame the casual fan for not participating - it's again just very different.
 
3. I think the biggest disconnect for me is marking K-Pop or so-called "mainstream" artists as the parallels for VK. I think most VK artists should be thought of as exactly what they are - indie rock bands. Most of them are small-time, most of them are independent or signed to niche labels, and most of them operate on a tight knit fanbase. The biggest difference from most indie VK bands and most Western indie bands is the theatrical element of it all, but even still that's kinda viewpoint dependent. Most modern emo/screamo/etc. (and even a lot of metal) is theatric in its own right, maybe just sans full costumes and production. I think if a lot of VK artists were placed in parallel with those kinds of scenes, they'd find a lot more international success, which is why we saw some more of that happening during the "scene boom" of the mid-2000s. 
 
I think when I think "unattainable" I mean that in reference to my third point - I think they seem unattainable when placed against other bands in an independent rock sense. And I mean like...really independent - not like major label artists that still get tagged "indie." I agree that they would be far more attainable than just about anyone in the mainstream.
 
I agree with most of your final point, too. The world is incredibly casual with its music habits now and every time I watch one of those silly "kids/teens react" videos online I'm reminded of the lack of enthusiasm most people have. I don't fault people for being cavalier or just listening to what is easy - that's how most of the world goes about their business and that's fine, but I do see less excitement over "rock" music (I use this term lightly) from younger crowds and it honestly feels like a lot of people consider it to be a relic of another age (which is something I'm still coming to terms with). To the opposite end, VK really connected with me as a kid because I wasn't really that into music otherwise and this was so significantly different from what I knew, so I wasn't someone who was into music and found VK - I got into VK and then found more music, so I feel like that may color my viewpoint on things a bit. 
 
All-in-all, I think a lot of my "drive" in talking about this comes from the fact that I think the musical climate on an independent scale is actually quite ripe for VK and there could be a lot of international success for these bands if they detached a bit from the classic trappings of the genre (in a marketing sense, at least). With that being said, I don't really foresee that happening so it's all really neither here nor there, I'd just love to see a few more bands break out and really "take the plunge."