Tetora

That pose and facial expression was all you right? take pride in your work dude. top dollar shit right there. but yeah the the photographer was good!

I think you're too hairy. Sorry bro, but a decade of baby-smooth Japanese men have rewired my brain :<

Product of a recent shoot. Pardon me I had to draw all over it, ehehehe.
 
Admiring everyone elses photos, looking good!

Ooh Tetora you look so handsome in that pic! Pls some moar pics!

yo, you could totally be on tv, caught me way off guard dude!

Product of a recent shoot. Pardon me I had to draw all over it, ehehehe.
 
Admiring everyone elses photos, looking good!

jk...I guess they're not the same. I tried my hardest to copy you.
 

Tried putting on some eyeliner when I was bored. Kindda messed up coz I hadn't used any eyeliner for a year. o.o"

My Latula Pyrope Cosplay Hehe.

Alright here we go:

1. The end of the world - Such an epic song with an awesome atmosphere! Gotta be one of the best songs in recent years holy shit. 100/10
2. Ender Ender – Wtf is lousy metalcore? This is a top notch high quality kick ass tune that gets me pumped up. 9/10
3. Ms.Fear – Another hard tune with a catchy chorus, love it. 8/10
4. Halo – Never liked this one too much, but still a decent track. 6/10
5. Tell me –  Love all the various parts of it, catchy and nice. 8/10
6. 999-21st Century World – Well, there has to be one or two fillers. 5/10
7. 369 – Dat funkiness! Mucc is a band full of ideas. Great melodies! 8/10
8. Japanese – Alright here we go again, epic shit. Got totally blown away. 10/10
9. Hallelujah – Like the dark atmosphere, reminds me of semishigure. Awesome chorus. 9/10.
10. The worlds end – If you took all possible melodic/catchy elements of music and put it in one song this is it. Mucc, I love you… 9,5/10
11. Shinde Hoshii hito – Blown away AGAIN, this song is so fucking beautiful. Muccs best ballad ever? 10/10

All in all 9/10
Mucc, you have done it again.

same here .
 
altho ive had personal affection toward mucc since mid 2000's , 
and it peaked when they've release 'kukichi no tou' and then the new era with 'saishu ressha' single ; mucc has never disappointed me .
 
as for this album , there were many people expecting post 'shangri-la' album but on the contrary ,
this album came out something totally different "once again".
every track has their own purpose and style for this album and i've got to say that they are still trying
something 'new' , although it might still sound as "trying" instead perfection-ing .
and yes i did notice they have tracked some songs with heavily low bass (so whenever i play those songs ,
my computer crushes the sound hah) , but i do like this as well somehow . 
all tracks of this album are gold
 
score : 7.5/10

Loved every album they've ever done.

this many MUCC releases so close together reminds me of the OLD DAYS when they were never not making music
 
nostalgic............

6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
 
There, we win again. IMO winning once was enough, time to make a new game.

HEBI DESU. I dig immensely.
 


 
starts at 1:40

Too lazy to give a full review of my favorite vocalists, so I'm only gonna give out a few snippets here and there...
 
Gara (MERRY) - Haters gonna hate. He's got the most unique voice I've ever heard, and he shows so much emotion in his singing. I especially love it when his voice cracks *_* Sui (Lin) - From Metis Gretel to Megaromania to Lin, his voice has improved so much, and I truly think that's amazing. He's shown a lot of improvement over the years, give him some credit, people. Seth/Z (Moi dix Mois, Art Cube) - So pretty, kinda reminds me of Kaya, but more deeper~ *_*  He's been in the scene for a very long time, and yet I feel that he's a bit underrated, I gotta give him some love. ♥ Satsuki - Pretty, pretty vocals. I fell in love with his voice while he was in Kisaki Project, but I always forget to listen to his own work, and Rentrer en Soi. Kyo (Dir en grey, sukekiyo) - His vocals are quite unique too. Fucking love his death metal screams too *_* I seriously need to listen to more Diru. ;w; I'm awful.

My bed + posters ♥
 
 
My messy dresser & Avengers poster
 
My graduation gifts on top of my TV
 
 
and last but not least, my displays on my 'office' desk (Megaromania, teddy bears, and Bardock *_*)

I love:
 
Takanori Nishikawa (TM Revolution, Abingdon Boys School)
His never-ending range, controlled tremolos, amazing melodies, honest lyrics...
But beyond all that, the attitude, the Never-Give-Up spirit. The effort he puts into everything, the diverse discography, the work with other artists, etc... My vocal hero.
 
Shou (Alice Nine, Givuss, Lost Age)
Loved his nasal tone, deep melodies, tremolos, energy, and transparency in tone.
Prefer the early stuff up until Gemini tbh. It is more my style, though I love what he does in smaller live performances.
Big inspiration to me.
 
Gackt (Solo, YFC)
Deep voice and style that inspired many.
Great emotional touch, soft falsettos, moaning lyrics, very original melodies and presentations...
Another big inspiration.
 
Keiyuu (Kra, Tokyo High Black)
Never really thought about it, just simply, and purely love his work.
 
Yui (UNiTE)
I really connect with him and his vocals.
Nice, youthful, and feel real to me.
 
Hyde (L`arc En Ciel, VAMPS, Solo)
Distinct, deep, vocals that don`t have to be harsh to hit hard.
 
Chisa (DIV)
New-comer by comparison, but just like his band is moving up in the ranks fast.
Something about his slightly deep voice that rings so clear and aesthetically that it is just a pleasure to turn up the volume and listen to. Love his original lyrics too, using PS Vita instruction booklets, talking about feelings through flavours, telling ghost stories, etc...
 
 
These are just some of my favorites that I enjoyed sharing with you. I have many more.

One place I stay, full of antiques and art / artifacts from all over the world, with hints of Gawf / Wiccan influence. I imagine guys like Kamijo Gackt or Akane would like this place, well, maybe if the walls were painted black.
 

ギルガメッシャ!!!!!!
GIRUGAMESHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
GIRU.......
GAMESSSSSSSSHHHHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I checked out 少年記 because I saw Mi'ihen pushing them, so I was like, oh okay, I am really feeling that Gazelle song.
Maybe another one of my current favorites is Theatre by ViViD, I am always coming back to that.
Or Butterfly Dreamer, or Point of View, both by DIV.
As for Non-Japanese I like 「Closer」 by Tegan and Sara, kinda not my style, but I always followed them since their debut, because their first release had a review in RIDE BMX magazine and I used to listen to whatever they reviewed... So good memories of these groups whenever I get to go riding.
As for changing things in my favorite songs, its not my style to think like that so I just enjoy for what I see it as.

Currently obsessed with: 少年記 - ガゼルバベル
I'm actually obsessed with this band in general, but I'll just talk about their newest single.
 
It was love at first listen. When I watched the 40 second PV preview, I had to play it another 30 times. I'm terrible with wording, but just those 40 seconds made me realize that this was essentially something I wanted to hear for the longest time. It felt familiar, but new; generic but unique all at the same time. The buildup to the chorus is just beautiful and the actual chorus is just WOW. I never bought anything so fast. It was like 20 mins after first hearing the preview, I went on CDJapan and bought that shit asap.
 
So as soon as I started listening to the full version of the song, I was like "lolwhatisthis?" The intro is:
 
 
I go to the top of the Tower of BABEL with my GAZELLE.
It have two pairs of horns with "emotion".
Sleep in my mind...
I go to the top of the Tower of BABEL with my GAZELLE
 
in my fate.
 
 
 
I felt awkward for like 5 seconds and I was over it. I kinda feel like it doesn't fit with the rest of the song but it's used to end the song as well so...idk. It sounds like some weird Engrish pop intro and upon my first listen, I wasn't into it. As of right now, It doesn't really bother me but I think the song could do without that but then again, I don't know shit so   Rest of the song is breathtaking. The guitar play and the solo makes me sweat. I wasn't expecting there to be screams/growls because the preview sounded so beautiful and angelic but I'm totally into them so it doesn't really matter. THAT CHORUS THOUGH UGH   I don't really know what the concept is for the song since I don't know Japanese but in the PV, there's a gazelle, the tower of Babel, and the vocalist and his clone(?) which is a shadow of himself I'm guessing. Basically, I feel like it's about inner conflict and battling with "yourself" which is hot. Biblical references in songs are hot too.   This band doesn't have a drummer so it makes me think "What would they sound like with an actual drummer? Better? Worse?"  I like how they sound now without one.    

Pretty much what the title says...
 
Had an idea of a new thread for the forums and wanted to see how well it would go down.
 
The songs can be your current favorite song or something that youre currently listening to,
 
opinions can be negative or positive, try to be a little more constructive (or detailed) if possible rather then just say "I hate the song" or "I hate his vocals" etc etc
 
Optionally you may also talk about the bands themselves a little and why you like the song or what the song means to you
 
 
The Thread is a little way for me to find out just how 'musical' the members here are even though it may mean little to nothing, but humor me even though you dont play an instrument it doesnt make you any less musical so long as you have the right kind of mind you could possibly even have the makings of a song writer.
 
I'll start off with a song ive been VERY obsessed with lately...
 
 
Caliban - I Am Ghost
 
 
 
-----
 
Ive always listened to Caliban since the split programme with heaven shall burn, In the early years they were hella aggressive metalcore band, Over the years they've mellowed out a little and become more melodic instead of straight out aggressive which has pretty much split its fan base, With their success they seemed to have become more 'commercial' and I occasionally question the clean melodies in their last few albums of late but I am neither a lover or hater, For some songs having clean vocals works. It makes the sound a little more diverse. 
 
I love I Am Ghost because of the lyrics and also the badass drum intro. Even though the composition of the song and musicianship are fairly straightforward with Caliban adopting a more 'Djent' approach to their sound which has yet again split their fan base between those that like djent and those that hate it. The song is very powerful on its own - easily one of the best tracks off the album. Though the vocals could be more aggressive sung with a little more anger especially during the sections where the lyrics go "Fuck you, You let me down...." & "I dont believe in God anymore, My sky is falling, darkness falls - walk with me in agony..." I also think that if Howard Jones (formerly of KSE) had provided guest vocals for then it would have been such more amazing as Howard's baritone voice would complement Andreas's vocals just like he did for 36 Crazyfists - Elysium
 
 
I get a lot of mixed feelings with this song, Mainly because its a song about betrayal - however generic (& emo) it is these days. Being cursed to walk the earth alone regardless of the 'I am the walking dead' phrase Immortality has its own problems. For some reason it reminds me of my ex and that she betrayed me and i've literally become a ghost/zombie because of the pain of breaking up.
 
I also love the fact that the song starts off with "Father - forgive me, for i have sinned..."  - The song is more or less like a confession, saying a silent prayer and cursing God for the pain and suffering that has befallen you, slowly bleeding out, going numb and watching your life flash before your very eyes - thinking back to things you should have said and done, thinking if maybe you had been less of an asshole then maybe you wouldnt of died such a shitty death.
 
 
 
Its hard to describe Caliban's musicianship because they havent changed that much over the years apart from adopting more melodies/solos & 'djent' sound - Its just your usual caliban but theyve allowed the drummer to do his thing for this song rather then run with the usual blast beat on the proverbial heavy metal breakdowns..... I feel that caliban have graduated from all that and matured. Even though heavy metal breakdowns can be awesome they're also shitty because anyone can down tune a guitar or bass and just do some chugging, It doesnt take any skill at all.
 
 
 
Ghost Empire is a decent album. though it might not be as great as some of their older albums with only a few tracks on the album that really stand out but its definitely an album that grows on you with every listen.
 
 
 
Anyway, I think ive rambled on enough so please go ahead and share your thoughts. 
 
::EDIT::
 
 
Oh and heres the song 
 

 
 

Hey guys,
 
We live in a time where Visual Kei and other Japanese Music is more available and visible (to those already looking for it) than ever, and where the number of bands we can choose from seems absolutely enormous. Now, there still may be a shortage of bands that suit certain fans, but in general, we see huge numbers of bands in all levels of lower popularity, up to what may seem like a lower number of new `Monster`bands.
 
My Rough Scheme of Band Levels:
 
Struggling Indie
Small attendance and sales, sometimes fighting to survive as a band.
Indie
Anywhere from sustainable sales, to potentially breaking through.
I didn`t know these guys were `major`
Bands that you would easily beieve (or did believe) were Indie, but apparently aren`t.
I can see why they are major
Bands that can pack buildings. and ship units, you dont have to look for fellow fans, they are in your face.
Monsters
The bands that roll with the big boys of pretty much any other genre, they dont have to always top charts, but they get up there and fill big venures whenever.
 
Market Size and Shares?
 
To me, it seems like there are the top dogs in the Major and Monster categories, who take the biggest piece of the pie, and everyone else that may share their demographic will have to work with what is left, and there is usually many bands to fill that area of what is left.
 
I see it as only natural that fans with broad tastes within a certain field would have to settle for buying only their top favorites, or picking and choosing, then downloading the rest that they cant afford. To me, there are many many bands that I like, and dont see it as possible that all fans who adore as many acts as me would be able to satisfy their appetite through purchasing.
 
Naturally, the big bands are going to be the most visible, and the ones getting first share of attention spans and wallets.
 
Distance Between Levels, and a Glass Ceiling?
 
Some artists have this kind of distance between them and bands lower in popularity, like certain huge bands left the stratosphere, and are considered something different altogether to fans and the general public, though there are a few great bands that work with lower bands, and put them over constantly.
 
Then there seems to be a glass-ceiling that stops many bands, like there are only so many fans that some great bands can have, and some account this to a limited potential fanbase, and others think that the band should change, through either their sonic, or visual values [and I find both of these often fail, oft times I see a band try to look more mainstream for example, and they drop off].
 
So sometimes it seems like a band can only go so far based off of who they are alone.
 
Are Too Many Bands Doing the Same Thing?
 
Either visually, or sonically, does it sometimes feel as if certain acts could gain more traction or become even larger if they didn`t have so many other bands who are now comparative to them?
 
Some styles really leave an impact at first, and then other acts adopt that style, and it becomes sort of familiar, and less of an attraction. Sometimes it may even feel overdone, or give audiences that `been-there-done`that` feeling. Every genre, scene, etc... is getting older, so some may move on, or others may feel that this is a superficial issue.
 
What do you think?
Feel free to discuss any kind of Japanese music, and go in-depth with your opinions.
 
Thanks for reading.
 
 
 
 

Alright, I guess I can more or less confirm that Kisaki's Levia existed .. but there's now even more confusion regarding the tapes.
 
There is this auction where someone sold Levia's KELOID tape and the seller also describes that it's Kisaki's band and that the tape contains 2 tracks (which fits to the official listing on Kisaki's site).
http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b158133370
 
The same seller also sold this tape... which he describes as Kisaki's Levia band as well. But he didn't say how it's called, only that it was live distributed.
http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b158348584
(Thanks to @hyura♡ who spotted these auctions ;D)
 
And guess what.. That's the 滅びの序章 tape that was on RarezHut ! Some time ago when I asked @Biopanda about it, he told me that it's a different Levia and not Kisaki's so I always assumed there were two Levia bands. Kisaki's sources never listed a tape called 滅びの序章 either.
But then I took a closer look at Levia's history on his official site and spotted something...
 
 
There are 4 dates where a demo tape was distributed at their live. One of them is called "My Duel" so I guess we can drop that one. The others don't have a title mentioned.
After some more google work I (woops..I mean hyura xD) found this picture from an old auction:

 
Now this looks familiar, right?
My conclusion is.. this might be indeed Kisaki's Levia and it's the tape that was distributed on two days on christmas in 93 - black-white on one day and green the other day.
I'd like to ask anyone who owns this tape, or Biopanda who sold it .. What is written on the inlay/sheet or whatever comes with that demo. Are there any member names? And where does the title 滅びの序章 come from, is it written somewhere? It's a bit weird that Kisaki doesn't mention this title while being so thorough and accurate when it comes to his history.
By looking at those crappy pics on it, that guy on the left kinda looks like a young Kisaki and his Levia also had 3 members.
 
There is still one thing that supports the -2 Levia's- theory:
On the website of CLUB GIO Ichikawa there are numerous "LEVIA" lives listed for 1993. But like already mentioned in this thread, Kisaki's band never played in CLUB GIO and the shows listed there don't fit to the ones on Kisaki's site at all.
 
Yeah, so .. what do you think? Mystery solved or not yet?
 
/Sherlock mode off