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Did you think it would be a smaller or bigger show? I think it's like 1.2k first floor and 800 on the balcony area? Seems like Resistar artists are pretty popular now. Can't wait for this release too, been really getting into Blu-BiLLioN lately.

WRITE-UP: Fear and Loathing`s third, and personally easiest to get into album. While heavily retaining their distinct approach to song-writing, the band has created an album less tied to a genres feel, and more to a three-dimensional story told in vibrant color and many tempos as well as moods. The tracks all feel like stand-alone adventures told sonically, with rock, layered with heavy electronics, harsh vocals and modulated soft, tender and youthful vocals interlacing. To get a feel for the album you can watch the PV`s, and listen to the songs released before-hand, yet that would only be a portion of the experience that the album presents to you. Each track is different, each one rides an emotional and musical roller-coaster, and each can go either way terms of whether you like it or not. Numerous listens really changed my perspective of the album. At first some of the tracks attached to me, but others went right through me. After listening and listening, as well as going on a day of bike riding with the album on repeat, each track begin to take a hold on me in its own different way. Tracks that instantly clicked: Are You Ready to Blast Off? / Rave-up Tonight Interlude Virtue and Vice Flutter of Cherry Blossoms Tracks that had to grow on me: Swing It!! Thunderclap Nail the Shit Down Rain Inside Your Eyes Counterattack by the Sesame Sized Bodies Track that eventually became my favorite: Stay as Who You Are So I started with a couple I instantly liked, then I slowly grew fond of others, and eventually found my favorite amongst a track I had previously not completely clicked with. One of the beautiful things about the song style, is that there are so many parts to a song, so many changes, different moods, sounds, and catches laden within what can be longer tracks, where your favorite part is three minutes in, and in the process of waiting for it, discover new things you like just as much or possibly more. Listen after listen the album rose in my preference, and it soon became my favorite release by the band, as I found many things that connected with me, and appreciated the more overt nature of the emotion in this release, as opposed to their previous works. Track Count: 11 (Two short instrumentals, and 9 full tracks ranging from standard to longer length, yet the album blows by fast for me). Listens: 30-50 Production Quality: Great production, though my personal preference would be for an album with this range of instrumentation and tonality to have a bigger, clearer sound. Overall Rating: Worth the Purchase? If you enjoy the sound of Rave-up Tonight, and Virtue and Vice, I would say this will definitely not leave you with post-purchase regret. An experience all its own that shouldn`t be missed if you like the band`s style.

WRITE-UP: Matenrou Opera returns with an album that tastes like a concept album, yet leaves the over-all decision on whether it is or isn`t up to your interpretation. The term Avalon refers to a place in so-called Arthurian legend, where both the Excalibur was forged, and legendary knights as well as King Arthur himself was buried. Some speculate it to be an island off the coast of Scotland and Wales. The album is laden with sounds reminiscent of Medieval times, and song titles refer to heaven or paradise, which Avalon is a gateway to; that is where the concept album feel plays in, yet the songs actually tell varied tales which can not always be played in to the album`s title, and the inclusion of the previous single A-Side Orb further leads us astray. Concept album or not, this album is definitely not a collection of different tracks or hits thrown together. It plays more like a film cut into different parts, telling different stories, but almost always fitting a certain feel, and that is the experience you get from this album. It has a common title, but the experience is a unique one. The `Opera` touch of the delivery along with a unique vocalist matched with a hard band delivers a one-of-a-kind experience, and I think that is really what you are getting from this album. It`s not another rock album, not another VK album, it is something of its own, and you need to sample the singles from the album to see if you will enjoy this experience. One key thing to keep in consideration is if you like the vocalist and delivery, as this is a comon point of divergence amongst opinion. To me, this more of a sit-down and listen album rather than something you can throw on, although tracks like Orb, 隣に座る太陽 and クロスカウンターを狙え are the tracks I would think you are likely to throw on as stand-alone listens. The album doesn`t use hooks or catches as much as you would expect from a modern album, if you want a comparison, I would say it is more like Versailles from a different era. Track Count: 12 Listens: 15-20 Production Quality: Great sound, yet my personal preference is for a wider sound stage and more clarity in individual intruments, esp. more of the guitars.Though they seem to specifically like putting emphasis on the vocals. Overall Rating: Great album, defined, unique experience, listening on the I will skip some tracks, but if I want to let it play out there are no skip-inducing tracks. Worth the Purchase? For me, this is definitely worth the purchase. Although it is not an album that will get the most rotation. It is something I will keep in my library and bring out on occasion.

Wow, the production really seems to have stepped up to a new level since The End. That album was one of the last AAA albums I remember in terms of really deep, refined sound, this new song is really great in that respect too. Even if it is not your style, I think you can see that it is a really high quality product in terms of its 'workmanship'. I want to hear more stuff of this quality. I dont have my copy yet, hope for some interesting B-sides.

Definitely harsh and controversial but I think it would be best to discuss that in another thread if desired, and leave this thread's focus to discussing the matters brought up by the article, and also avoid only discussing whether people like Gene Simmons or his music, etc. as that takes away from the concentration on the huge discussion we can have about Rock, consumers, and the industry.A lot of my friends have been diverting the focus to Gene Simmons or Kiss, etc... And I feel like that is besides the point with this article. Please let us know what your say is on the topics addressed by Gene in this instance.

Abridged version of a very interesting article by Esquire. I posted the short version to make an easier digest, but please read the whole thing: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/gene-simmons-future-of-rock Please share your thoughts!

Going to buy this album. I never listened to their last one that much but this one seems more uptempo and hopefully more push and play, as their last was more atmospheric and was more of a sit down and listen kind of experience to me. Really like the album covers, and the juxtaposition with the title, band look, sound, and presentation. The use of the word Gangsta as a marketing ploy obviously worked very well, as I see crowds gather to bump threads on different sites, and everyone just has to see the video and hear the song, even if just to criticize. As a VK band it is small-scale, but it develops a crowd of outsiders who love to hate them, and are exposed to their music, and gives fans a mentality that there are naysayers and the band is underrated, etc... Though obv. It only keeps the band on the mind of those already in the VK bubble, and wont translate to any visible increase in foreign sales, esp. when it is mostly serious fans and or collectors who buy much, and purchase of this album is being discouraged in its News thread. Anyway, just rambling here, but I see Sadie is in the same boat as BORN, where it is cool to make fun of them, and that makes everyone follow them over other bands. I expect this to continue for a while, just like MuCC's following, where they changed their approach to.music years and years ago but people still post in every thread about how they used to be better, yet these people still follow every single release regardless. (Dont take this post as a negative judgement, just a neutral observation).

Any info on what record deal they are on? Are they self-publishing the work that DC paid for? I see that DC's official listing is now just Giru, UNiTE., DIV, Kameleo. Although that is not all the artists they are affiliated with.

What fields are Japan notoriously bad in? They dominated the automobile, motorcycle, electronics, gaming industries for either extensive periods or to date, as well as strong flows in distribution of consumables, cultural exports, pop-culture exports, as well as taking a cut of the sale of most tapes, cds and blu-ray discs (actually a cut off all blu rays printed). As for cd prices, goods have different values in different areas, not just Japan, and money flow as well as exchange rates play big factors, which is why iTunes is seperated throughout the World, and why we have import-export laws, duties, taxes etc.. Music has become severely devalued in USA, Japanese music not so much, which is why even though Japan faces a huge language barrier, it is the number 2 market in the world and is constantly predicted to overtake America. As for Japanese managers being clueless, or stupid, how so? They are using their specific experience and business methods, which may not match those expected by areas with a devalued market, but even though I myself would not run my business that way, I can see why they do, when many of the labels that use the short PV method seem to be doing very well in sales, and are making revenue regardless. I think that there is always room for improvement, and change, but even though I have my own ideas, I cant simply bash companies when they are making their business model work, and there is no concrete data to show they are losing any potential sales or have reason to change it.

The album that turned me into a big Royz fan. When I got it, I honestly didn`t expect it would get as many plays as it has, even putting them in my Last.fm toplists, but I have learned to take my expectations and impressions lightly. Here is my late review. Songs that hit me hardest and get the most play: 疾風迅雷 (Thunderclap Blast / Hurricane) Has that attitude I love, and is a perfect song to roll out with and provide the soundtrack for you conquering the day. 囁姫遊女 (Not sure how to say this, like Whispering Whore Princess) A guitar lick and synth melody that just drags you into a wild mood. Total ROCK feel. REVELATION Soft, tender vocals that charm and help tell a story with a rocking feel. ----- There are some real stand-out tracks to me, but the whole album has a strong cohesive feel and signature that really impresses me. Royz definitely has a distinguished feel for this album, even if people didn`t get that impression in the first place. The lyrics have a nice feel, while keeping a dark side, like Yin and Yang, there are bright patches and beautiful vocals, but also cockroaches lurking underneath. Nice sound, strong instruments and vocals, that focus more on having a good, solid sound than being virtuosos or stealing the show. You will notice that the album has a very similar feel as I mentioned, yet it doesn`t run into having too many similarities or feel repetitive, it is definitely something that flows nicely, gives each song emphasis, and can be played straight through without skipping, though in my opinion, you will probably be replaying certain tracks sure to be your favorite, and even just going right to those tracks over and over, I definitely did, and can enjoy every song yet give much more attention to three tracks over the rest which aren`t even lacking anything in my opinion. Good quality production and disc print quality as well, obviously not a AAA album feel, but that`s not what it sets out to be, so one shouldn`t be looking for that, the sound is perfect for what it is, anything else may `overproduce` and take away from the feel. Overall, I think this is a great album, worth the purchase if you sample REVELATION and 疾風迅雷 and enjoy them. Don`t let previous singles or sounds like LILIA define the band to you, as even with that track on the album, they have a lot to offer that you would miss out on if you were to judge them without trying the actual album. OVERALL ALBUM SCORE FOR ME: OVERALL ALBUM SCORE FOR WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT ACCOMPLISHES WHAT IT SEEMINGLY SETS OUT TO DO: One of this year`s highlights personally, so far.

Hello, I thought it would be fun and interesting to do short, `elevator pitches` of the kind of Japanese music you are drawn to. I think it will be most interesting to do it without mentioning genre, or anything like that, and instead of saying `VK` or `Indie` etc... because there are so many different sides of those, to express what kind, in terms of feeling, sound, etc... without common terminology. Just describe the essence of it. Here`s mine, feel free to do yours how you want, and stray outside of Japanese music in general if you feel the need to: Action packed, in your face, with attitude. Something that defines its own sense of `cool`, and carries the feeling of `a desire for more in life`. Vocals and instruments that have defined styles, and carry emotion. Bonus points come with a meaning that either keeps it simple but relatable, or goes beneath the surface. Something that`s different, not because they are trying, but because that`s what they are, and reminds you to stand up with pride.