TheStoic

I always loved the sound Satoshi created in Para:noir and D.I.D - I never was very into UnsraW, but was hoping that something great would come out of this lineup. I honestly did not like the preview, and wish Satoshi would have stayed with D.I.D ~ then again, nobody knows if D.I.D will ever get their shit together enough to release something new (waiting on you Fatal Error Trace...), so this is better than nothing.

Since I am visiting more often, I have decided to put a face to the name. This is me and my daughter ~ whom is a fan of AvelCain.

The cover version sounds like standard rhythm section chorus for The GazettE. I like that type of music, but am hoping the melody is constructed well and the second guitar is differentiated and adds some dimension to the finalized track. I have to admit that after watching the Standing Heresy DVD Live performances last night, I'm psyched to listen to GazeRock again. They have gotten a lot of flack the last few years, but I still think they make solid music.

That theme reminds me of Balzac, or any punk band: Sorry if I am off target.... to me the intro sounds like "The Kids Aren't Alright" by The Offspring...

That live of DIM scene made me love that song in a whole new way - Great performance!

During my formative college years, I made a drastic move to free myself from religion and leave the Christian Church as it had destroyed my self-esteem and left me guilt ridden as an adolescent. I was filled with regret for the many opportunities I squandered feeling it was against the wishes of a "creator". I was also uncomfortable passing judgement in the name of religion, and finally accepted that i needed to find a life philosophy that matched my views more closely. As a result, I studied about the different philosophies of Buddhism and Judaism after finding qualities I admired in both, but could not find a school of thought in an organized religion that matched my ideals on life, morality, freedom, and science. In my search, I started looking into secular, philosophical ways of life, and came across Stoicism - a school of thought derived in Athens in 3rd Century BC and Championed by renowned Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. As taken from the Wiki - the basic tenets are as follows: "The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection", would not suffer such emotions. Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos). A primary aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individual's ethical and moral well-being: "Virtue consists in a will that is in agreement with Nature."[6] This principle also applies to the realm of interpersonal relationships; "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy,"[7] and to accept even slaves as "equals of other men, because all men alike are products of nature." The philosophy focuses on living a moral and ethical life and to come to conclusions based on unbiased reasoning and knowledge. I felt is was a very fitting life philosophy, and I seek every day to become worthy of being known as a Stoic, working endlessly to live a moral life and to attain knowledge so that I may become a Sage. ... hence "The Stoic".

I have not invested in listening to Miyavi heavily since 2009. His output in the Miyavi Uta ~Dokuso~/Samurai Sessions/Neo-Visualizm cycles were my favorite incarnations of his music, but lately - I think the English focus and collab focused output has not been able to interest me like the old era (although, living in Korea in 2013 and being bombarded with K-Pop on the daily made me enjoy his ballad focused single "Guard You" as it sounds like a K-Pop song...). Like I do with his other releases, I will probably sample it once, enjoy a song or two and discard the rest. I really disliked "Let Go"...

I definitely felt the same way - I like all of the members and know that they are able to do great things, but collectively this was not the initial premier I had hoped for. The songs are ok in my mind, but they don't set the tone that their talents have the potential for. Maybe I set my expectations too high - I drank the kool aid when the group formation announcement was made. I also had hoped they would release a full song PV that really markets the band and their sound well instead of short samples. I think it would have introduced them better. We'll see I guess...

According to their official website, they released a mini-album last October, 鵺 [Nue]. It has samples of all the tracks. I think they are getting some recognition this week since their PV for 深海 [shinkai] has been shared after it was uploaded by the label this month.

I liked 深海　－Hopefully this is also good.

I liked the samples. I'm not disappointed, but not blown away either. The music is in the vein of music I enjoy. "Last Scene" was the better of the two from the samples provided. The electronics are overplayed in my mind - which detracts from my enjoyment because it gives the impression they are cashing in on a trend. It was solid music. I'm still all for supporting them.

Man - Tomotaka's voice always hits a nerve in my chest when I hear it - I don't understand why, but the quality of his voice puts me in this transcendent state of mind. It creates a connection to the music that I have always appreciated in this band, which is why they are one of my favorites. I got into them when I was at a crossroads in my life, preparing to change careers and move from Seoul back to the U.S.A. I spent a lot of time in the subways and on the city streets in Korea wandering and listening to them while I went about my day. They are etched in that moment of my life, and the songs create this sense of calm and optimism when I listen to them. This track, Shadow, is stellar in my opinion. I loved it first listen! I'm going to buy this one right now.

Initially, I would say that male vocals are preferred, but when I listened to Anza from Head Phones President and Jyou from Exist+Trace - I can't ignore that I prefer them to some male vocalists. The bias perception for me was always driven by the fact that male vocals are hypersaturated in the VK niche I enjoy the most - with a focus on dark, hard rock and metal instrumentation. However - when I listen to artists that feature female vocals in this style, I don't turn away from them, but usually embrace them. However - they are just rare in the scene in comparison as stated above.

It all comes down to the character and delivery of the voice and how well it mixes as another "instrument". I have more artists I listen to with male vocalists, but that is because that is the trend in rock music. However, I do have many female vocalists I adore that can deliver vocals with the best of the men. There are certain styles of delivery that I simply detest, and it applies to male and female.

Right now... listening to old releases that I own but never took the time to give another chance. Lately it was Kagrra, Sadie, and the Gazette releases.

I had not seen or responded to this topic previously, so I will try it out now by listing my all time favorites: 1. Dir en grey 2. The GazettE 3. Mucc 4. D'espairsRay 5. D.I.D 6. lynch. 7. HaKU 8. Cinema Staff 9. CodeRebirth 10. Wagakki Band

I am drinking the Kool-Aid. This band is superb! It is a feat just to be able to seamlessly blend all of those musicians and instruments at once, but they do it so effortlessly that it is a really amazing feat. I love when artists mix the traditional with the modern, and was a fan of bands like Crow×Class ～黒鴉組～, Kagrra, and composers like Noriyuki Asakura before Waggaki Band hit the scene. I feel like the potential to break up is high since one member calling it quits might tumble the House of Cards to the ground. However, I hope that never happens. I'm on board, but really would like to see them write some original material and maybe branch out a bit and try to write a darker song. I think once they break the tried and true formula of vocaloid covers and can execute just as flawlessly, they will hit it big. They are already making waves.

So, being the good Dad I am, I do all I can to ensure my 4 Year Old daughter is exposed to stellar music so that she doesn't grow up listening to the Abomination that is American Pop music. In my pursuit of this, I recently turned on 猫又 [Nekomata] by AvelCain, knowing that she would probably love the "Meow" sample in the song intro. She loved it so much that she asks me to play it every time we go for a drive in the car, and she seriously shakes, moves, and head-bangs to the music as soon as that "Meow" sounds. I shall continue this experiment to ensure that she not only learns to enjoy Rock music, but Japanese Rock music.

As my recent favorite discovery that this community has been so kind to share with me, I can't wait to hear this. The spot sounds really good, and after the Origami single, I am very excited to hear the next release.

If she likes MYV and Hyde, she probably would enjoy Gackt, L'arc~en~ciel, Abingdon Boys School, Alice Nine, DuelJewel, and Takui. They have a similar moderate rock sound with Pretty Boy vocalists.

To me, Sel'm has a similar sound to Biosphia. Vocal wise, the voice sound is different, but the styles they sing in are similar. Are you familiar with them? Here is a sample of a song that I think sounds close to Biosphia.

The lead guitar licks are really cool in this song. It is a solid promotional single. I have always been on board with Nightmare. They are able to make some good songs with the bad, and know that at least parts of this next album will be worth the listen.

As stated above, with recycled material outnumbering the original material, it is hard to guess this was a secret at all. It is unfortunate, because when the singles came out on their own, I typically enjoyed them on repeat, especially ゴールデンキネマ劇場 [Golden Kinema Gekijou], Butterfly Dreamer, and Justice. However, when listening to the album, the tracks were already familiar, and as a result, I got bored easily. Of the original tracks, I personally enjoyed Stars the most. It is the mid-tempo upbeat rock number that DiV is good at making, but is nothing fresh or new. Story sounded just like a K-Pop acoustic ballad to me, but I dig the acoustic flourishes on the track nonetheless. Rage is the "we need a heavy riff" song, and is decent - but is not executed as well as what SuG did on their latest album Black, which does well at pairing heavy with upbeat vibes. The band is consistent in their sound, but I think they need to reinvent soon. Hopefully they will slow their release cycle, focus on crafting a new fresh sound with their next release that doesn't repeat 75% pre-released material.

After reading up on this release and contemplating their latest efforts, I went back and listened to Beautiful Deformity again. When comparing it to other releases from other VK groups, I tend to still enjoy it and feel it is good music. I think the issue is that I just expect great things with every release by the band because I have been blown away and addicted to their songs in the past. As a result, by no means do I feel that this is a "last chance" for the group with me, but I do have to admit that I don't get as hyped for releases by them after trudging through their Toxic era release cycle. However, I find it strange to hear that other people didn't like Division, especially with tracks like 籠の蛹 [Kago no Sanagi], 余韻 [Yoin] and Gabriel on the Gallows. I thought those were top notch tracks, and was surprised to hear the overall disappointment within the communities.

Given the look, logos, and album art quality it seems like there is a decent amount of money backing this band. I hope the production on the album makes the group shine, and really hope that the end product is worth the hype I want to feel. I loved CodeRebirth and Deluhi, and I know that this group has the talent to make this a successful act. I plan on buying this if we get a preview soon. Although - with two tracks - it is not really an "EP", more of a single.