Bear

New Police Story - Jackie Chan is back, but this film has nothing to do with the four first films of the series. Instead it's somewhat a reboot. It's not as light as the two firt and not as James Bond-esque as the two others. It's more focused on drama, which works well enough. However, I am not too fond of the trendy villains and the sidekick as I think they comes off as a bit forced. I like the concept, but the execution could've been much better. Could've done with much less English as well, because that is a part I find annoying as fuck in this film. On par with First Strike and a very entertaining film, but not close to the three first.
 

 
Project A - A fantastic martial arts comedy featuring three of the Seven Little Fortunes, Jackie CHan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Fantastic film with amazing martial arts scenes, pirates, a good plot and everything. The slapstick humour works so well here, and the scenes in and outside the clocktower is top fuckong notch. Brilliant!

Yeah, so fuckin' great! Btw, I love the album artwork. Another week of waiting and we will be able to try the new record!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZH-5QQ_r1k
 
Damn! That's quite something.

So fucking hyped for this one. it's going to be great, no doubt about that. 17 April seems so far away.
 
I'm listening to Glaciation's new album and it's outstanding. I'm loving it so far, the three first tracks are awesome.
 
Also came across this today, it's awesome. https://onryo.bandcamp.com/releases
 

 

From what I understand we'll get the same songs in a metallic version on one CD, and a folky version on the second CD. Sounds decent.

1. The Black Gates
2. Harps of the Ancient Temples
3. Titans
4. River of Woe
5. B.O.D.D.
6. Blood Rite Tree
7. Opaline Eye of Death
8. Andromeda
 
 
I read about this release (Nocternity - Harps of the Ancient Temples) a long time ago, but I thought it was a re-release of the EP by the same name, but I just found out we're getting a full album. 3 previously released songs (2-4), and the rest is new. It's been 12 years since last full lenght, so this is exciting news. Brilliant band, and among the best greek metal bands ever. Love the band's imagery as well.
 

Do you trust Crowd-Funds?
 
Yes.
 
Have you ever given money to any form of Crowd-Fund?
 
No, and I'll never give any money to a band crowd-funding. Thousands and thousands of bands have manage to put out demos, EPs and albums without crowd-funding for many, many decades already, and I don't see why bands are in such a need of this now, in a time where producing a record is easier than ever before.
 
However, I could help crowd-funding a film or something though, as that shit is a lot more expensive and harder than doing a record. Can't even be compared.
 
What band`s do you think you would support if they had a Crowd-Funded project?
 
None. I wouldn't even give my friends any money to help fund their musical careers as I know they are fully capable of doing this without any help from outside.
 
What do you think your donation range would be? (Be honest, you don`t have to worry about being seen as a cheap-skate, and don`t have to be Mr. / Mrs. Moneybags.)
 
$0
 
Are special awards or gifts valuable to you? (Early access to tracks, special messages from the band (or whoever), other perks, etc...)
 
Not really. If I did help crowd-funding a film, I'd appreciate something special, but not as far as music goes.
 
Do you think crowd-funding is a sustainable practice (can it be used often or only on occasion), and that many bands can use it at the same time, or does it present an even greater price-tag to fans?
 
I think it's retarded and don't really give a fuck. Simple as that.
 
If Crowd-Funding became more popular, would that create a greater wealth gap in the music industry, where more popular bands can sustain more releases and advertisement, while smaller bands can not succeed or compete, and labels are not as profitable so fewer bands can actually exist on a visible level?
 
You don't need a shitload of money to make and release demos, EPs, albums and merch, so I don't think smaller bands will suffer from this at all. However, I can see this getting more and more popular in the future, both for bigger and smaller bands. Which is sad.
 
What do you think of Alice Nine`s project so far?
 
I haven't heard anything from this band in a long time, but considering what they've done in the past it's pobably übershit.
 
Any notable musical crowd-funds you want to mention (worldwide or Japanese, though they are different markets)?
 
No.
 
Should a Crowd-Funded release be free? Or should it only be free for those who donate? Does crowd-funding affect your view on downloading a release?
 
Of course it shouldn't be free and of course it shouldn't be free for those who donated, unless you donated a huge sum. In most cases a band/film crew/whatever will have something special to give you as a donator, and the more you donate the bigger gift you'll get, but you donate of your own free will and don't deserve a free release just because you gave away some money. But most crowd-fundings make it clear long before you donate about what you'll get for donating this and that much.
 
 
 
 
That's it for me.

Here's a few series I enjoy and enjoyed, some are finished while some are on-going. Some have 5-6 seasons, while others are mini-series or anthology series. Just look it up.
 
The Wire (crime-drama and the best series ever. Finished) 10/10
The Sopranos (crime-drama and one of the very best series ever. Finished) 9/10
Game of Thrones (fantasy-drama. On-going) 9/10
Danger 5 (action-comedy sillyness. On-going) 8/10
Orphan Black (sci-fi drama. On-going) 8/10
Sherlock (crime-drama. On-going) 9/10
Fargo (crime-drama/black comedy. Anthology, so finished, but with a brand new season of something new comming later) 9/10
Band of Brothers (war-drama. Finished) 9/10
True Detective (crime-drama. Anthology, so finished, but with a brand new season of something new comming later) 10/10
The Pacific (war-drama, and the "sister series" of Band of Brothers. Finished) 8/10
The Singing Detective (noir-drama. Finished) 9/10
The Shield (action-crime. Finished) 8/10
 
Good shit.

Selfie taking skills = 0, the lighting is horribad as usual, but here we are:

sukekiyo ㅡ VITIUM  9/10
      Favorite song: Foster Mother
 

 
This is a magnificent mini-album from sukekiyo. The band has taken the essential from IMMORTALIS and condensed it into a 38 minutes mini-album, and also did a great work concerning the length. In this regard, this release is an easier approach to sukekiyo's music than the album was - VITIUM is well balanced, which makes it even more perfect and enjoyable. Every detail is worthy of being noticed. Kyo is perfect as always, same conerning his comrades, take a bow. By the way, it was hard to chose a favorite track and I suppose that you know why. Oh yeah, I almost forgot: special mention to the collaboration song with Toshi; amazing.
 
Melechesh ㅡ Enki  8.5/10
      Favorite song:  Enki - Divine Nature Awoken - Full album
 

 
Failing to be original, it's still effective. And it's exactly that efficiency which makes of this album a killer, a titan, a piece of art in Melechesh's discography, making legit to put this album in the top 3 of the band's best releases. What can I say besides that this album is fantastic? Not much I guess, since an album of this caliber deserves to be listened more than being discussed, you will agree. If you want a concrete indication: if you love this album, it would be firstly because of its killer riffs. My first opinion hasn't changed a lot, this album is a jewel. I see Enki as a big improvement compared to the previous album, I am glad. Decidedly one of the best albums of February, and also one of the best of 2015.    Carach Angren ㅡ This Is Not Fairytale  8/10
      Favorite song: When Crows Tick On Windows - Full album
 

 
They are a symphonic black metal band from the Netherlands, tagged as theatrical black metal by some people. Well, what's sure is that they're one of the best symphonic bands around. I am not a big fan of this band, nor I have never bothered to explore their discography till a few days ago. It's (almost) done now. I can say that this is a superb album and probably Carach Angren's best work to date. It was hard to get into it at first, but it really grew on me in the past few days till I ended up loving it. The symphonic part of their music is beautiful, and the lyrics are amazing as well. They could make a movie, a theater play or whatever with the lyrics of each song, I love that. Now, this may be a good album, it has it flaws. The first one is that you need several listens to get into it, and this first one can lead to a second which is that the album can sound boring - a totally misleading feel.
 
Other notable albums: 
- Hæthen ‎ㅡ Shaped By Aeolian Winds 7.5/10
- ONE OK ROCK ‎ㅡ 35xxxv 7/10
- 黒百合と影 ㅡ 皮肉な種の卑屈な芽。7/10
- All That Remains ㅡ The Order of Things 6.5/10

Ghost Bath just made their "Moonlover" streamable through bandcamp and so on:
 
http://ghostbath.bandcamp.com/
 
The album is not bad fosho - kinda tamer than their previous album, but still neat

Dragon Lord - Originally called The Young Master in Love, this is some kind of a semi-sequel to The Young Master, but not nearly as good as the first. It's a bit too long and the plot isn't as engaging, but the overall flow is a lot better in this due to it not being cut to death. The fights are very good, especially the final fight which was a massive inspiration for Gareth Evans and his excellent The Raid, but they are a bit more stunt-oriented than the first. Jackie Chan took a couple of steps closer to his trademark stunt-fighting, which I think is cool. A bit disappointing overall, but still very entertaining.
 

 
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow - A really early Jackie Chan film from 78, and Yuen Woo-ping's directorial debut, and one hell of an impressive debut. Of the Yuen Woo-ping and Jackie Chan films I've seen, I consider this along with Drunken Master to be their best, which says a lot considering the guy has films such as Dance of the Drunk Mantis, Magnificent Butcher, Legend of a Fighter and Iron Monkey in his name. But to be quiet honest I think this might be my favourite Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo-ping film. The film follows the same storyline as Drunken Master, is directed by the same guy and has the same cast, but it's a bit more traditional than Drunken Master. It's so fucking good. Well, I can't choose a favourite of the two, as both are brilliant.
 
Yuen Woo-ping and Jackie Chan were some duo, guys. Incredibe! One of the best martial arts flicks ever. Stunning in every way possible!
 

 
Demolition Man - I grew up watching this film over and over again, and I still love it. A badass Sylvester Stallone, a theatrical, over the top and cool Wesley Snipes and a super cute and sexy Sandra Bullock in her best film ever, doing her best role ever, makes this a fantastic film. Cool plot, cool visual style, cool everything. Underrated 90's action gem!
 

Do you trust Crowd-Funds?
 
Yes.
 
Have you ever given money to any form of Crowd-Fund?
 
No, and I'll never give any money to a band crowd-funding. Thousands and thousands of bands have manage to put out demos, EPs and albums without crowd-funding for many, many decades already, and I don't see why bands are in such a need of this now, in a time where producing a record is easier than ever before.
 
However, I could help crowd-funding a film or something though, as that shit is a lot more expensive and harder than doing a record. Can't even be compared.
 
What band`s do you think you would support if they had a Crowd-Funded project?
 
None. I wouldn't even give my friends any money to help fund their musical careers as I know they are fully capable of doing this without any help from outside.
 
What do you think your donation range would be? (Be honest, you don`t have to worry about being seen as a cheap-skate, and don`t have to be Mr. / Mrs. Moneybags.)
 
$0
 
Are special awards or gifts valuable to you? (Early access to tracks, special messages from the band (or whoever), other perks, etc...)
 
Not really. If I did help crowd-funding a film, I'd appreciate something special, but not as far as music goes.
 
Do you think crowd-funding is a sustainable practice (can it be used often or only on occasion), and that many bands can use it at the same time, or does it present an even greater price-tag to fans?
 
I think it's retarded and don't really give a fuck. Simple as that.
 
If Crowd-Funding became more popular, would that create a greater wealth gap in the music industry, where more popular bands can sustain more releases and advertisement, while smaller bands can not succeed or compete, and labels are not as profitable so fewer bands can actually exist on a visible level?
 
You don't need a shitload of money to make and release demos, EPs, albums and merch, so I don't think smaller bands will suffer from this at all. However, I can see this getting more and more popular in the future, both for bigger and smaller bands. Which is sad.
 
What do you think of Alice Nine`s project so far?
 
I haven't heard anything from this band in a long time, but considering what they've done in the past it's pobably übershit.
 
Any notable musical crowd-funds you want to mention (worldwide or Japanese, though they are different markets)?
 
No.
 
Should a Crowd-Funded release be free? Or should it only be free for those who donate? Does crowd-funding affect your view on downloading a release?
 
Of course it shouldn't be free and of course it shouldn't be free for those who donated, unless you donated a huge sum. In most cases a band/film crew/whatever will have something special to give you as a donator, and the more you donate the bigger gift you'll get, but you donate of your own free will and don't deserve a free release just because you gave away some money. But most crowd-fundings make it clear long before you donate about what you'll get for donating this and that much.
 
 
 
 
That's it for me.

I haven't heard that many releases from february, but it stands between 6 releases for sure:
 
Solefald - Solefald World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud
Meleches - Enki
Negură Bunget - Tău
Glaciation - Sur les falaises de marbre
Devouring Star - Through Lung and Heart
Wormridden - Festering Glorification
 
I'll choose the three I've listened to the most right now, but tomorrow the list could easily have been quite different with two changes for instance.
 

Solefald - World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud
 
If you are familiar with Solefald you know that you never know what to expect from these guys. Ever since their 1995 black metal demo Jernlov they've been doing something different than the rest of the guys, and with the exception of Red fo Fire and Black for Death, which was meant to be released as a double album, they've gone through massive changes from one album to another, always experimenting with new sounds and thinking outside the box. With World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud, Solefald's 8th album, they're on a new path once again and the title World Metal, as well as song title World Music with Black Edges, tells you everything you need to know about the album. The foundation of Solefald is still black metal, but they're playing around with a shitload of different genres and influences, but despite this, nothing ever seems out of place. It's all over the place, but everything feels natural and that's the big beauty of this album.
 
Bububu Bad Beuys? Yes, Bububu Bad Beuys!
 

Melechesh - Enki
 
Call it Mesopotamian blackened thrash metal, middle eastern folk/death/black metal or what the fuck you feel like, it doesn't really matter . What matter is that Melechesh is still releasing fantastic music, and thee's no-one out there quite like this. This isn't a very original album and Melechesh has done most of this several times already, but Melechesh Ashmedi is a riffmeister, and after a rather disappointing album in form of The Epigenesis, he and the rest of the guys returns to form with an album full of fantastic, catchy and memorable riffs, brilliant atmosphere and mysticism that'll draw you closer to the sound of the album. The biggest difference between this and the last two albums, is that drummer Xul is out while their first drummer, Lord Curse. Lord Curse isn't close to being as good as Xul or Proscriptor McGovern, as far as the technical and creative aspect goes, but he offers something new, and despite being n the simler side, something refreshing in the band's sound. Cool drummer!
 
Multiple Truths
 

Glaciation - Sur les falaises de marbre
 
After a fantastic debut, Glaciation, with members such as Neige, Winterhalter and Indria Saray, is back after 3 years, and this time with a new vocalist - RMS Hreidmarr of Anorexia Nervosa fame. They continue what they started on the debut, but the album isn't as dark and macabre as the debut. It's feels a bit more "airy" and lighter, with more inspiration from early Alcest than the mid 90's black metal scene. But this isn't as radiofriendly as Alcest, this is still a dark, macabre and grim album, at least compared to Alcest. Well, considering the extemely solid line up on this album, they were never gonna disappoint with their second album were they? Nah, they weren't.
 
Also, they've gone from having the worst album cover ever on their debut, 1994, to a very good and solid one of this. That's good!
 
I can't find a single sample online, so check out this song from the debut: Glactiation
 
 
 
 
I have yet to heard Macabre Omen's new album, Gods of War - At War, but I am 100% sure that it'll end up on this list as soon as I have heard it.

February is over and it's time to reveal your favourite albums of the month. The thread for january wasn't exactly a success, but I'll give it a new try anyway.
 
 
The concept is simple: pick 3 releases (albums, EPs, singles or compilations), write why you like the album/why people should check it out and be cool. As you hear new albums of the month feel free to quote yourself, remove one and add the newest one instead of it. At the end of the month I'll make a new thread for the previous month. That's all.
 
Rules:
Post three albums each
Add a linke to your favourite track of the album. Do NOT embed youtube videos. Just link to the best song. Not everyone have decent computers to handle all the videos.
 
And that is basically it. Ask if there's something you're curious about.
 
 
 
Go on, guys!

February is over and it's time to reveal your favourite albums of the month. The thread for january wasn't exactly a success, but I'll give it a new try anyway.
 
 
The concept is simple: pick 3 releases (albums, EPs, singles or compilations), write why you like the album/why people should check it out and be cool. As you hear new albums of the month feel free to quote yourself, remove one and add the newest one instead of it. At the end of the month I'll make a new thread for the previous month. That's all.
 
Rules:
Post three albums each
Add a linke to your favourite track of the album. Do NOT embed youtube videos. Just link to the best song. Not everyone have decent computers to handle all the videos.
 
And that is basically it. Ask if there's something you're curious about.
 
 
 
Go on, guys!

February is over and it's time to reveal your favourite albums of the month. The thread for january wasn't exactly a success, but I'll give it a new try anyway.
 
 
The concept is simple: pick 3 releases (albums, EPs, singles or compilations), write why you like the album/why people should check it out and be cool. As you hear new albums of the month feel free to quote yourself, remove one and add the newest one instead of it. At the end of the month I'll make a new thread for the previous month. That's all.
 
Rules:
Post three albums each
Add a linke to your favourite track of the album. Do NOT embed youtube videos. Just link to the best song. Not everyone have decent computers to handle all the videos.
 
And that is basically it. Ask if there's something you're curious about.
 
 
 
Go on, guys!

I lost my boner as soon as I saw Niklas Kvarfoth mentioned. What the fuck is this cunt doing there. That's probably the worst decicion they've taken during their 25 year long career. Christ allmighty.
 
I can't say I am too excited by seeing the likes of Matthew Heafy and Fred Leclercq there either, but Matthew Heafy is excused just for being the massive Sigh fan he is, and they're both excused just for not being Kvarfoth.
 
 
However, the bold part turns me the fuck on and the artwork is nothing short of brilliant again.

I lost my boner as soon as I saw Niklas Kvarfoth mentioned. What the fuck is this cunt doing there. That's probably the worst decicion they've taken during their 25 year long career. Christ allmighty.
 
I can't say I am too excited by seeing the likes of Matthew Heafy and Fred Leclercq there either, but Matthew Heafy is excused just for being the massive Sigh fan he is, and they're both excused just for not being Kvarfoth.
 
 
However, the bold part turns me the fuck on and the artwork is nothing short of brilliant again.

I just finished:
 
Danger 5 and I am very impressed with it. It's silly as fuck, over the top and straight up ridiculous, but aside from some annoying element (talking animals!) I really enjoyd the season. The series is basically about five spies in a fictional, bizarre 1960's inspired version of World War II whos mission is to kill Hitler. Funny and with a superb soundtrack.
 
Currently watching:
 
Twin Peaks, season 2
Season one was perfect, and the first 9 episodes of season two were as close to perfect as you get without being perfet, but from  episode 10 the quality fell a lot. It's not been bad since then, just not as engaging and good. Still enjoying it though.
 
The Twilight Zone
Very cool drama/psychological thriller/fantasy/sci-fi/suspense/horror-anthology series that I watch ever now and then. Since no episodes have aything to do with the next, it's not something I've been rushing to finish. Very enjoyable series.
 
The Munsters
A sitcom of the kind I shouldn't like, but still enjoy very much due to its horror-elements. It's just something about those things that gets to me.
 
 
 
The next series on my watchlist is the following, and I'll start with one of these (if I can find them!) after I've finished Twin Peaks:
 
Kung Fu, with David Carradine in the leading role. Action/martial arts/western series. Only seen a few episodes here and there when I was young, and really liked it back then. Now that I am an even bigger fan of martial arts I should enjoy it even more now.
 
Zatoichi, with Shintaro Katsu. A jidaigeki series based on the film character by the same name. The films are amazing (well, the 17 or so that I have seen. Will finish the rest before starting on this), so I have high hopes for this series. Most episodes are original, but apparently there's a few sequels to some of the films and a few remakes of the films. Got massive expectations to this one to be honest.
 
Hammer House of Horror, an anthology horror series. It's Hammer Horror, what more do I need to say? Should be quite exciting!

I know there's more people on the board who enjoys watching TV-series, so i thought we needed a general thread about TV-series instead of making a new thread whenever we want to talk about a series. What are you currently watching, what have you just finished, what are you about to start on, recommend, ask fo recommandations and so on.
However, a thread need a few rules to make it interesting:
1. Do NOT spoil! Use the spoiler tag whenever discussing a series/an episode, like this:
The Walking Dead S2E09
Like this you don't risk getting spoiled about whatever you're watching.
2. Say a little more than "I'm about to watch Danger 5" or "Just finished The Walking Dead season 46546".
You got it? Good.

1. The Arcturian Sign
2. Crashland
3. Angst
4. Warp
5. Game Over
6. Demon
7. Pale
8. The Journey
9. Archer
10. Bane

8th may

I like Sideshow Symphonies a lot, so I really look forward to this album. I expected something along the lines of Sideshow Symphonies as well.

Been playing Coffinborn a lot lately. Solid stuff, but it lacks the extra touch that'll make me revisit the band over and over again. Great coverart, though. No, AMAZING coverart.
 

 
That's so fucking badass.

Holy shit, Melechesh's new album is a fucking killer. I think I just had an eargasm, what a piece of art! These guys are definitely one of the best bands around, hands down. The Epigenesis was a good album for sure, but this one is miles better imo. The first track sounds a bit like a "Rebirth of the Nemesis (Enuma Elish Rewritten) 2.0" and it's not a bad thing. Plus, I wouldn't even mind if all of their albums started with such a tremendously awesome song. Also, "Enki - Divine Nature Awoken" is a masterpiece. This new album is easily going on my list of the top 2015 albums. Only listened the album once but I plan to listen it again and again. A full review could come if I'm in the mood in the coming days. First impression score:   (I think I just underrated it, if you ask me).   I also tried ATR's new album, and in order to avoid of always repeating the same thing everywhere, I'm just gonna say what I posted in other places: I really enjoyed the new album. It's not as good as they old material, but better than AWYCW and FWAM for sure. I somewhat feel like The Order Of Things is a mix of everything we heard since All That Remains formed, condensed into one album. All in all, it's a DECENT one and I like it. You can think whatever you want but this is how the new All That Remains sounds like, and they won't change, whether you like it or not. Listened it once too, gotta give it a few more spins. First impression score: 

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/103552579/Camera+Obscura.jpg" width="200" /> Artist: Lycaon Album: camera obscura Score: How can you get wet over something so dry?
Lycaon and I have had an icy relationship ever since they lost Mio and eve and went through their rebellious, adolescent phase. The atomic meltdown that was their "erotic phase" (god, I fucking hate that term) came to an end with 「嘘と女と『　　　　』」 全国流通盤」, and I cheered quite loudly when they decided to drop the overt 'sex sells' antics cum-plastered all over their stupid marketing gimmicks. Even so, their music lacked some of the charm and finesse that Mio and eve brought to the band. So apart from the forgettable 「マゾヒストレッドサーカス」, I haven't touched anything by this band in years. We've come to an understanding that they're not the same band they once were, and I'm not the same fan I used to be, and maybe it was better if we parted ways.

So for no particular reason at all, I decided to give "camera obscura" a chance to see where the quintet's heads are at. If I were to describe the sound, I would describe it as a mix of old and new Lycaon in the best way possible. There are some hints of the alternative metal style honed on "Royal Order", the EDM bass drops of 「マゾヒストレッドサーカス」, some of that good 80's rock vibe that I know guitarist Satoshi is fond of, and thankfully none of that erotic bullshit. Even when they decide to get raunchy, they do it in a more palatable manner. It really does offer something for new and old fans alike: tracks like "marionette", "悪女の微笑", and "追憶" remain somewhat memorable far after I finished the album. One of the things they did right with this album was reduction of harsh vocals. That's not where Yuuki's strengths are and by shedding those weaknesses he maintains the most consistent performance across the entire album. This is when Lycaon sticks to their guns and produce the quality rock music I know they can. "marionette" in particular deserves extra mention. I really like these cabaret and oriental influences that are slowly working their way into visual kei and I think more bands should try their hands at it.

There are two main reasons I can't accept "camera obscura" as is. One is the abysmal production. The guitars sound absolutely dead, and there's two of them. There's no punch to them. The treble is also way too crisp and it makes the cymbals sound like wooden blocks ("悪女の微笑"), fuzz ("アネモネ"), and other degrees of sounds I would only describe as "not cymbals". Whether the guitars are oppressive or energetic, it's the main instrument and when it's so dead a lot of potential gems here fall flat.

When the aforementioned production isn't siphoning the life out of the music, and after all those pointless interludes were deleted, the reason why I can't accept this album is because a lot of the songs are just average. "ILLUSION" comes out of left field like an Arlequin reject with that bizarre dubstep breakdown that ruins an otherwise listenable song. That would have/could have/should have been punishing riff near the end of "liar" should have hit one note a bit sharper and sounds off. "メランコリック" feels like filler. I really want to like "Dark Night", and I like the Yousei Teikoku influence they were channeling, but the bad production and the really fake sounding piano ruins it. The similarly fake piano in "Rouge" steps all over the band and doesn't fit in at all. Worst of all is the abomination that is "馬鹿ね。". It starts off interesting and quickly deteriorates to the barest of alternative rock melodies, sprinkled with some electronic effects until the embarrassing trance chorus. I cringe in horror every time it comes on. Couple in the five pointless interludes, and quickly a large chunk of the album does not please me. What about the other tracks? Apart from "アネモネ", I don't remember any of them. It's the token ballad on an album, and reminds me of "結晶華". They somehow managed to procure a real piano for this one, but the ballad is drawn out for no reason and feels forced.

Putting all of this together, I can't really say this is a great album because I didn't enjoy much of it. But I can say that it's good enough when comparing it against the average visual release, and it's head and shoulders above their last album so I guess Lycaon and I can be civil. They're actually trying to be a rock band again and I can respect them for that. Their music is lacking a particular finesse and direction that I felt they once had a long, long time ago, but it doesn't suck. I just don't find it all that compelling. I might not even remember I listened to this by the end of the year.