Visutox

This. 
 
Getting back to DOGMA right away after listening NINTH hits you with such regret. It could have been so much more enjoyable but nah, they had to screw up the production. Really sucks because it's a very good album with cool details here and there to enjoy so yeah... So frustrating. 

That is amazing. The amount of details, man. Holy shit!

I kinda fell of the Thy Catafalque wagon sometime after Rengeteg, I think I might've skipped his last album too... but this sounds really fresh and brusting with energy! Lovin' it!

The previous album was a masterpiece already and it sounds like another one is on its way. 
 
 
What an absolutely brilliant track!

Some interesting news regarding Sodom is that Tom Angelripper kicked both the guitarist (1996-2018) and drummer (2010-2018) and got himself three new members. Frank Blackfire who played on Expurse of Sodomy, Persecution Mania and Agent Orange (as well as Kreator's Coma of Souls) is back on guitar, Tormentor/Husky from Desaster is in on drums and some random guy from a random band is also in on guitar. I haven't liked a Sodom album in ages, but with these guys I can see the band taking a 180 and go more old school and less melodic again. 
 
Liked their new band pictures too, albeit I get a bit trend-feeling of it all. But that's OK. Looks very old school and very thrash metal, and judging from the pictures I wouldn't be surprised if there's elements of black metal in an upcoming album.
 
 

Went to see the first show of the Black Twilight Circle's mainland tour yesterday. And I have to say, this was an experience all itself. I felt as if I were witnessing an ancient Aztec ritual of some sort, the ambience was just dark, raw and utterly mysterious. They compiled Dolorvotre, Arizmenda, Blue Hummingbird On The Left and Volahn for this night (I think they are switching through bands as the tour progresses?), and it was quite the perfect lineup for the evening, I would have to say.
 
I hadn't heard much of Dolorvotre previously as I have just recently been going through the entire Circle's discography as of late, as I had only really dived into Arizmenda, Shataan, Axeman and Volahn. Thrashy and raw and they therefore compose themselves on the side of the more 'traditional' raw black metal sound in the Circle. Eduardo 'Volahn' Ramírez himself is on vocal duties and distorts himself through all sorts of ritual incantations with vocal pedals and through the mask he's wearing. They were loud and chaotic (but that speaks for itself here in this case), and they pitched off the night perfectly. They were great, but I did not find them to be the most admirable name in the group. Either way, their final track 'Worship Black Twilight' pretty much made the night already.
 

 
Next up were Arizmenda and they were my favourite performance of the night. Juan 'Murdunbad' Cabello is a sick, wailing monster and I just cannot describe his possessed screams and howls and it literally felt as if I stood on the edge of hell here. The entire ambience changed from Dolorvotre, and I have to commend these musicians of being capable of setting such a different tone with different bands mostly compiled of the same musicians. If you are in need of a psychedelic and unhinged black metal trip, choose an album by Arizmenda to listen to, it will surely do the trick — just know that the experience is only complete when seeing them live as they are much more derailed and frenzied on stage. They only played for half an hour and somewhere I wished they and Volahn exchanged positions, but seeing as Volahn is the Circle's main entity, it is understandable that they receive the most stage time. 
 

 
Blue Hummingbird On The Left place themselves in quite a different setting with the usage of traditional South-American instruments replicating the sounds of animals calling throughout. Cuauh Youalli (Eagle Night) for instance is supported by an instrument that imitates the sound of an eagle in flight, and a pletora of flutes are also used. I am uncertain if they changed vocalists or if the vocalist simply cut his hair, either way, if this was Tlacaelel I could not quite recognise him by looks alone. I had only listened to BHL's EP 'Bloodflower' quickly before departing for the night, but if it were him, he sounded a lot heavier live. He looked genuinely haunted, barking away with bulging eyes and temples throbbing and the term 'bestial war metal' isn't far off when it comes to describing them, relying heavily on themes around Mexican history and the gods of war (Blue Hummingbird On The Left is a direct translation of Huitzilopochtli, Aztec god of human sacrifice and warfare). Unfortunately the sound system failed them and somewhere their sound was less distinct than the previous two groups, but I blame this purely on the sound technicians as everyone was complaining about it. Either way, they were unexpectedly my second favourite act.
 

 
Somewhat delayed, Volahn entered the stage a few moments later than planned and therefore the night lasted longer (not that I could complain, though!). This is Eduardo's primary entity and the Circle's main focus, and everyone can see why. Their entire appearance is a little more polished and every riff sounds a little cleaner. They were the only group who played for an hour but they didn't drag, which was quite the pleasant surprise. What is also surprising is that for being the main act, they don't carry the most specific sound and are more in league with Dolorvotre here (same vocalist, go figure), but they pack a punch with whatever they deliver, which is pretty much blast beat heaven. They were obviously a great closer for the night and I went home very satisfied. Let's hope they'll do this again in the future.
 

 
I'm hoping to add some more (professional) pictures later if they are added on Facebook somewhere, as I didn't take any myself. I didn't bring much cash so I only bought a t-shirt, I figured if I wanted to collect things by this movement the best way to approach is Discogs or Bandcamp, their releases aren't as extremely underground and difficult to find as I thought.

Be warned all who enter here!
If you came looking for an objective list based on some popularity rating or sales criteria, you came to the wrong place! This list is completely subjective and a little fangirly, but I still hope you find a couple of things that are worth your time, anyway.   Also, sorry in advance if some of the previews are region blocked for your area. 
 
 

MUCC ・ 脈拍 ・ VISUAL KEI
My entire 2017 really goes to MUCC, hands down. They took their 20th anniversary celebration and did it so big, I don’t think we’ll see any other band go to this lengths in quite some time. They re-released, re-recorded, and re-mastered most of their fan favorites between 新痛絶(Shin Tsuuzetsu), 新葬ラ謳(Shin Homura Uta), a second edition of their Best of and Coupling Best discs, a second PV collection, a tribute album, a self-cover album, and then there was this little gem of new material: 脈拍(Myakuhaku). No wonder as soon as it was over they unapologetically announced they’d be going on hiatus for 3 months. They deserve a break, to say the very least. But I digress! Myakuhaku may have been a bit lost in all the excitement for MUCC revisiting their roots, but it’s definitely something new and old fans alike can enjoy. 

The opening title track is clear and direct in its message, MUCC haven’t forgotten where they came from. They turned back time and stripped down to the quintessential visual kei heavy and melodic combination that gave the band the height of it’s popularity a little over 10 years ago. They then took that staple and folded into the mix of anime songs, ballads, and more recent metalcore-infused forays with this album. One of my favorite tracks is “EMP” since it's a total nu metal throwback. It has my 90s-lovin' name written all over it. There’s a lot of other fun musical nuggets packed in this album, “BILLY×2 ～Entwines ROCK STARS～” is a gritty little old fashioned rocker that gets you up and moving, and “孵化(Fuka)” is a surprise mid-tempo number that swells up into this crazy breakdown then veers hard left into a weird (but good) twangy guitar solo. You can tell MUCC pushed themselves to create something great for us and in my humble opinion they more than succeeded. I couldn't get enough of this album this year and, Mucker or not, I hope everyone checks it out. | Preview: Spotify
 
 

MONSTA X ・ THE CLAN PART 2.5: THE FINAL CHAPTER 'BEAUTIFUL' ・ K-POP
I think there were a few of my fellow MH members around in late 2016 who might remember when I fell down the MONSTA X rabbit hole and proceeded to become utterly obsessed. For most that probably don’t know, my love of K-Pop predates my registering for this forum, in fact one of my first avatars was of Chansung from the group 2PM with the u/n “digitalbounce” (also from a K-Pop song). But, it’s been a few years since I was this into a group. MONSTA X aren’t the most popular group around, though I think as far as third generation boy groups are concerned they usually make the top ten lists. Even then, I still consider them criminally underrated. 
 
The third installment of their The Clan trilogy is their strongest release to date, as far as I’m concerned. And even stronger if you count in the repackage version Shine Forever that includes two more songs (the last .5 in the final chapter). The majority of Beautiful leans heavily on R&B (“넘사벽 Incomparable”, “니가 필요해 Need U”, “Miss You”, “5:14 (Last Page)”) which creates just enough contrast with, but also compliments, the hip hop songs (“Oi”, “Calm Down”) that take advantage of the group having rappers that actually know how to rap. Last.fm doesn’t even have a true count of my plays (my phone's music app didn’t scrobble until recently when I made the switch to spotify), but it’ll still show you I played this album basically every day since it came out. Rest assured, I regret nothing. | Preview: Spotify
 
 

-真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ ・ 『メンヘラ』はじめました ・ VISUAL KEI
Zigzag makes me wish I was slightly more motivated to look up and translate lyrics, because I know I'm missing out on a lot when it comes to them. I can only imagine I’d like them even more, which is saying something because I have enjoyed everything I’ve heard from them over the last two years. I also have a huge soft spot for bands that don’t take themselves too seriously. Zigzag's tunes are pretty rockin’ to begin with, but when the band decides to get serious about showing off their musical prowess it's definitely no laughing matter. Their take on soft, melodic songs is simply beautiful, especially fitting with the traditional elements and instruments that are the backbone of their religious/idolatry concepts. Talent and humor? What’s not to love?
 
I chose 『メンヘラ』はじめました(menhara hajimemashita) over their other release 糞麺氏ね(kusomen shine) this year only because it seemed slightly more musically cohesive, but I love them both and enjoyed them both immensely. | Preview: - 臨兵闘者 ～皆陣列在前～ ・ 『死にたい』御年頃 ・ 短絡的『絶望』
 
 

PVRIS ・ ALL WE KNOW OF HEAVEN, ALL WE NEED OF HELL ・ ALTERNATIVE
I wasn’t a big fan at first, it took a while for Pvris to stick with me. They came to me heavily recommended over the last couple of years, I checked a couple of videos, caught a couple songs live at summer festivals, but I just never seemed to be in the mood for what they were offering. I honestly didn’t get the hype. They seemed like another try-hard edgelord band ✞øø ℂvℓ✞ ƒøЯ ✞ℍîƧ ᏔøЯℓ∂. But this year it was different, I’m not sure if they matured more, or maybe it was just my tastes changing as well. But our paths crossed, and it's become a record I find myself spinning more and more often, even as we reached the year's end. I'm sure it will be coming with me into 2018.
 
Even though the title might suggest otherwise, this album is a lot less gimmick-y than expected. It's direct and raw in it's delivery, and densely atmospheric without getting overly cliché. It ends up being a strong rock record that's still dark, but full of heart too. | Preview: Spotify
 
 
 

EARTHISTS. ・ DREAMSCAPE ・ PROGRESSIVE METALCORE
Dreamscape was an early favorite this year and managed to stay afloat while most of my other usual metalcore bands didn’t quite do it for me. It’s probably more me than them though, with all the shit going on around here lately it’s best I don’t get too amped up. But Earthists have this nice cohesion of their melodic and djent-y elements that make them easy to listen to.  They do little things like adding piano into the mix or samples of wind blowing in the background that keep their take on the genre fresh and inspired and round out their sound. “Flux” and “Winterfell” are two favorites that I keep coming back to just for that damn cool piano riffing -- and it's not a cheap-ass synth piano either, it's a deep traditional, classical-sounding one full of punch and reverb (it’s likely a digital one but it sounds expensive and that’s what counts!). I’m just a little bitter it doesn’t look like they play it live, though it understandably doesn’t look as cool and progressive to be rocking out over as say, a guitar or whatever. | Preview: Spotify
 
 
 

HYUKOH ・ 23 ・ INDIE ROCK
Oh, Hyukoh. Another band who had a fabulous year. Hyukoh is the formal project of leader and chief song-writer Oh Hyuk (doyouseewhathedidthere), who decided a few years ago he was tired of going at it solo and opted to get himself a band. You really can’t hold this guy down, he collaborated on a massive number of albums this year, and I can’t blame everyone for wanting to work with him when his husky voice is this magical. It suits so many genres, I don’t get tired of listening to him either.
 
23 was a bit of a grower for me, hearing the singles alone didn’t spark much of my interest. It took listening to the full album for me to fully understand what they ‘do’. It’s not as in your face or flashy as some of the indie rock I’m used to, but Hyukoh’s style still keeps a common thread as it weaves through funky, retro vibes or the more experimental journeys like "Reserved Seat", not losing their emotional edge. “Tomboy” and “Paul” practically move me to tears with the melancholy that cuts through Oh Hyuk’s voice. I like Hyukoh so much, they’ve even gotten me to enjoy the folk-inspired side of their music I usually make an effort to avoid from other bands. | Preview: Spotify
 
 

DAY6 ・ SUNRISE ・ POP ROCK
As South Korea’s music industry grows, it has picked up a lot of tips and tricks from the ginormous music exporting machine next door, Japan. We’ve seen 12 month consecutive releases attempted a few times now in the vk scene, so when it was announced a K-pop band would be trying it, I was extremely curious how it was gonna pan out. Fortunately, it did rather well and DAY6 released singles containing two quality tracks month after month (on the 6th because “Every DAY6” was genius marketing) which ended up collected in two full albums; SUNRISE came out in June and MOONRISE in December. Both albums are fantastic, but we’ll just go with SUNRISE for now because I can’t afford them multiple slots. But if you enjoy this album, SERIOUSLY, go listen to MOONRISE. 
 
DAY6 are a rock group from one of the 'big 3' idol companies JYP Entertainment (whose stubborn asses refuse to allow their artists’ music on Spotify and piss me off to no end), so their music isn’t necessarily ground breaking, but they do write it all themselves, play their instruments live, and basically function like your typical rock band. Though their songs are generally non-offensive relationship material (meet the girl, confess love to the girl, get dumped by the girl, wait for next girl to walk by…) they do know how to pour all of their emotion into it, and their layered vocals and compositions often remind me of The Beatles and/or other multi-vocalist 60s pop rock. | Preview: I Wait (아 왜) ・ I Smile (반드시 웃는다) ・ You Were Beautiful (예뻤어)
 
 

ザアザア ・ 不幸な迷路 ・ VISUAL KEI
My love for XAA-XAA isn’t really a secret. They’ve become a flagship band for me, though I’m worried about their future since drummer Roji’s departure. Drums are such a key part of their sound due to him, it makes this album even more special in my collection. Considering I've been following the members since they were Belmosaic, seeing him leave is just a huge blow. He's gonna be missed. As far as XAA-XAA releases go, this isn't the album I tend to return to the most, but listening to it again for this list reminded me of the quality compared to other albums I was considering. It still ends up being one of my favorite vk releases this year. 
 
Aptly titled, 不幸な迷路 translates to “unfortunate maze” and likewise this album is dark and twisted, even downright psychotic at times. Though, one thing I love about this band is no matter how crazy or erratic they get, catchy and melodic choruses remain paramount. The mayhem is balanced out with gorgeous ballads and fun jazzy numbers. XAA-XAA's diversity and strong sense of melody is something you can count on with each release so far. I only hope it remains that way. | Preview: 不幸の始まり ・ ぐちゃぐちゃ ・ 恋人ごっこ
 
 

SAWANOHIROYUKI[NZK] ・ 2V-ALK ・ J-POP
If you were waiting for something truly epic to come out of 2017, look no further. Sawano has outdone himself and created something that should be able to please the rockers, the pop kids, the anison lovers, and anyone who just enjoys badass music with some badass vocals soaring over it. It doesn’t hurt that I’m a pretty big fan of the vocalists he utilizes throughout this project. My only complaint is there was less Mizuki (ex.イツエ(Itsue)) than the previous [nZk] album o1, but newcomer Tielle carries the torch well and sings her ass off. So I can’t say I’m too upset. Judging by the amount of anime themes on this record, you probably heard her sing half the OP/EDs you watched this year too.
 
Sawano is sneaky and has 2V-ALK lull you into a bit of a false sense of security at first, “Amazing Trees” is a strong album starter but not a stretch from o1. It’s when “gravityWall” kicks in that you learn you're in for a rollercoaster ride.  This album is more female-fronted than previous releases as well, but it works for me. Even as someone who is a lot pickier when it comes to higher range singers nothing got too nasally or tin-y for my tastes, even with all the over-the-top belting going on. Overall, 2V-ALK is big, beautiful, slickly produced, and something you can become totally immersed in listening to. I don’t have words to express how much I love this album. Just play it, and play it really loud! | Preview: Spotify
 
 

EPIK HIGH ・ WE'VE DONE SOMETHING WONDERFUL ・ HIP HOP
Anyone who’s spent maybe a few minutes looking into Korean hip hop should be familiar with Epik High. They’ve been killing the game there for the last 15 years and continue to be one of the most relevant hip hop units out of Korea. They deserve to be globally relevant at this point, but I’m just gonna have to stay bitter about that for now. Not only have Epik High put out album after album of quality material, they go out of their way to work with the next generation of urban music artists and help cultivate the scene.  
 
Epik High keep a pretty classic, old school style but they know how to get dark, gritty, and emotional when the song calls for it. “HERE COME THE REGRETS” featuring vocal powerhouse Lee Hi is one of my favorites-- a definite stand out for the album. But so is “노땡큐 / NO THANXXX” because everyone needs to hear Tablo yelling “I AM GROOT! MOTHERFUCKER!” to add some extra badassery to their day.  And Hyukoh lovers can also catch ya boy Oh Hyuk lending his smokey vocals to "빈차 / HOME IS FAR AWAY". I told you he was everywhere. | Preview: Spotify
 
 
It was a weird year. I had a few more J-Pop albums I really liked: REOL's エンドレスEP (so sad they're disbanding, they were a killer match up), Junho of 2PM's 2017 S/S, and Miyavi's Samurai Sessions Vol.2, but 10 was a good place to stop and I wanted to give albums I actually played the most a priority regardless of country of origin. What did you guys like last year? What releases are you looking forward to in 2018?

siamese/siberian mix breed baby  she's 6 months old
 
 
 

- MUCC will drop a new release two days after they go back from hiatus and go on a European tour
- Kizu will release an album and it's gonna be great but not extraordinary 
- Xaa Xaa disbandment/hiatus (I hope not but they've had their share of struggles this year)
- or just release some very mediocre singles before getting their shit together?
- Some DEZERT-related drama - seems like the industry is expecting a lot of them these days
- or they'll just release a half-assed album
- or the best album in the history of vkei lol
- Yoshiki will step up his social media celebrity game and start a vlogging channel 

The Japanese government finally outlaws br00tal kei entirely, thereby saving the entire music scene
 
because they still didnt fucking do it this year like i hoped they would lmao

I saw a few people doing this on social media. What does your last 12 months look like?
 
http://www.tapmusic.net/
http://nsfcd.com/lastfm/
(both of these seems to work)
 
My last 12 months: An overwhelming amount of downy. (you should be able to enlarge the pic by clicking it)
 

Already did it on twitter but let's do it here as well
 

 
1. Kuroyuri to kage
One of my favorite bands, I listen to them very much so it's no surprise they're on the top.
2. Gossip
I think I didn't listen that much to Gossip, but I guess I did. Most plays are probably from right before and after my Tokyo trip.
3. LUNA SEA
They released a new album that I've been listening to a lot the last week, also they're one of the bands I always listen to (similar to Kuroyuri).
4. The Smiths
I've been obsessed with their The queen is dead album.
5. MUCC
I also didn't think I had listened that much to MUCC but I guess I was wrong. Mainly Tsuuzetsu and ANTIQUE I think.
6. Broder Daniel
Legendary swedish indie pop group. Hard to get tired of this band.
7. Grieva
Similar to Kuroyuri and LUNA SEA (I listen to them regularly). 
8. La'veil Mizeria
I started liking them more and more this year. Both the mini and their single were amazing!
9. Sanpun
Been trying to get into Eiji's band more this year, mainly Sanpun. They're really great. 
10. Henrik Berggren
Vocalist of Broder Daniel (number 6 on this list) released his long awaited debut album this year!
11. Laakso
Another Swedish pop act. Great band, I follow the vocalist since 2010~
12. Kent
One of Swedens biggest rock bands.
13. the GazettE
I love early GazettE, also been trying out Dogma as of lately. Great album so far.
14. DIR EN GREY
Really didn't expect them here... 
15. Explosions in the sky
Amazing band, I expected them to be higher on this list tbh lol
16. Markus Krunegård
Vocalist of Laakso (number 11 on this list). Great artist and i've been listening to his early albums for nostalgia. 
 
 

MUCC, ONE OK ROCK, and coldrain are the only ones fighting off all the Kpop. 

No Japanese music whatsoever, ha. I suppose that is not much of a surprise anymore. 

Master of Puppets never sounded this cool before. Holy fuck!

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was good and super hilarious. Fun watch.

An excerpt from an interview he did in April makes this situation much sadder.
 
 

https://www.soompi.com/2017/12/18/breaking-shinees-jonghyun-passed-away-police-confirm/
 
I don't even have words to express my sadness right now. Rest in peace.
 
EDIT:
No statement by his company or the hospital have been released yet.
 
It is possible the hospital is still doing their best to save him.
 
EDIT 2: His company has confirmed his passing.
 
 

I went on to watch some Andrew Garfield films and was not disappointed.
 
The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 – Enjoyed both, they're fairly good. The second one is better than the first but both come with their tremendous lot of incoherence. If you're able to see past its numerous flaws, you might actually enjoy the hell out of it. Andrew Garfield was a good Peter Parker, too bad that his screen-time as Spidey is always very brief. Electro is a terrible villain btw, and I think he got too much screenplay for such a character... I'd have preferred to see more of Green Goblin, but one doesn't always get what he wishes for.
 
Hacksaw Ridge – The fact that this film was about WW2 helped me not thinking twice, and I really loved it. It was deep and I really don't have much to say about it, it really amaze me. The battles were on point too, and you could really feel how horrible it can be to be fighting in one. I also like how I started being annoyed by the character of Desmond Doss but started appreciating him more and more as the film progressed. Highly recommended.
 
Silence (2016) – After reading the book, I was afraid that the movie was going to be a huge flop... Hell, was I wrong. I actually think that the film was so representative of what the book has to offer and doesn't miss out on anything that is important. The acting was brilliant, the cinematography was terrific and Yosuke Kubozuka being in this film was a little plus that made me like it. Huge props to Martin Scorsese for this masterpiece. 

Just wanted to post this here.
 
 
I rarely watch whole live DVDs or recorded concerts anymore, just randomly browsing songs on YT, so I haven't seen this one before either. But DAMN, do these guys go hard here. One of the most energetic and fun performances of ROSIER ever imo, watching it now for like the 4th time.  

One of my coworkers just got me into the old Cancer albums - what a glorious band!
 
 
First three albums are stellar (haven't listened to the other/later stuff yet).

It was announced on 2017.12.01 at the "Raphaelesque Head Bursting" 時限式:uadjet's sponsored event at EDGE Ikebukuro,  llll-Ligro- restart their activities from today with two new members : Gt. Jesse and Ba. 羽鳳(hao)
They were on hiatus since december 2013.
 
They will have their oneman 「THE BEGINNING OF THE END」 on 2018.03.04 at EDGE ikebukuro.
 

 
Voice. ヒナタ (hinata)
Guitar. kazari
Guitar. Jesse (ex ZeR'0-ゼロ (ジェシー(jecy))
Bass. 羽鳳 (hao) (ex ZeR'0-ゼロ (蓮 (ren))
 
 
Renewal OHP :
http://llll-ligro.info/
 
 
 
 

Just like the title says this is an attempt to bring back the m-h jrock awards for the year 2017 which last took place way back in 2012 and apparently ended do to lack of participation. Awards were given for best album, single, new band, etc. And all of this was decided by user votes.
 
So I asked about reviving this and here's what @Zeussaid, 
Judging by all of the yearly best album/single reviews I would hope there's still some interest in something like this. So if you want to see the "Monochrome heaven J-Rock Awards 2017" then help me get this topic 50 likes and/or 50 comments by the end of the month.

Tracklist:
1. 蟲聲
2. デルタ (Type-A only)
2. 六花の歔欷 (Type-B only)
 
- Love them or hate them; but don't do either based on this single
 
I was able to put into words the biggest reason why I’ve liked 儿 (Jin) ( The Black Swan/ Nega) while attending The Black Swan’s one-man live in June of last year. I realized while Jin was pouring his heart into one of their trademark overwrought, overlong ballads that no one else is able to tread the line between embracing the tropes of Visual Kei and mocking them like Jin has. He doesn’t just tow that line, he and his bands have taken up permanent residence there for some time now. Take 2015’s “I’m Shit Noodle, But…” off The Black Swan’s 失愛と依存、その感触 single as a prime example of this ability to live the VK lifestyle, tongues firmly in cheek. VK is a genre so built on the idolization of characters that it is downright scandalous when it’s publicly revealed that band members have engaged in mostly innocuous activities like having girlfriends or smoking some weed. The Black Swan wrote a banger turning this image of the impossibly virtuous band member on its head by shouting about their enjoyment of sex, drugs and money; a value system that is traditionally accepted in rock’n’roll but rarely espoused by people in the VK community.
 
I enjoy Jin’s nasal warble; I appreciate uniqueness and passion more than a traditionally ‘good’ singing voice…which Jin certainly does not have. I think it’s often unnecessary to have two guitarists playing downtuned/seven+ string guitars and a bassist basically occupying the same sonic space, but all the guitarists are competent. I also thoroughly enjoy that the drummer has achieved a slight amount of separate-from-the-band fame by being a scary looking VK dude who adopted a tiny, stray kitten.
 
With all that being said, I was disappointed when The Black Swan announced recently that they’d be disbanding next May after more than three years together as a band. They have not announced any other releases, though this being VK, I assume we’ll get a best-of release with a new warmed-over B-side or two, so 蟲聲 might be the last gasp of this particular band of VK provocateurs.
 
The title track “蟲聲”--after it gets the acoustic intro from “Chop Suey!” out of the way--is the kind of song that Jin and The Black Swan will be remembered for; a little all-over-the-place compositionally, a riff that sounds like the guitarist would be walking toward the camera in the video, a plethora of vocal styles (some squeals, slightly flat singing, deathcore-inspired growling, some gang shouting), there's slightly haunting piano to highlight the sombre mood, the chorus that Jin uses for about 30% of his songs. All-in-all this is probably the least interesting track on this single.
 
This being a VK single, of course there are multiple versions to buy to get all the songs. The A-Type version of 蟲聲 contains “デルタ (Delta)”. Critics would say this song sounds a lot like someone took a solid Dezert song and sprinkled some fart-sounding drop-A riffs and strained vocals throughout; to which I couldn’t make much of an argument except to say the chorus is deliciously catchy no matter if someone else would’ve done it better or not. I like the gravelly whisper in one channel under the singing that Jin does to end the song too. The B-Type song "六花の歔欷" would seem to be a very lengthy track by VK standards, but Jin fans will be unfazed after epic-length experiments like “虚しき「生」の寓意≒「死」の真意” and “Ousia”. This track pales in comparison to those other 7+ minute songs, mostly by not differentiating itself enough (all the usual ingredients are there: piano, acoustic guitar, etc.), but it does have a pretty stellar falsetto wail right before a smart guitar solo @ 3:50 and it gets points for not trying to scare the listener with unexpected guitar explosions, but rather is simply a solid, longing ballad throughout.
 
The Black Swan will go down as being mostly a logical evolution of Jin’s sound during the latter days of Nega that continued their quest as one of the more polarizing bands in VK. Love him or hate him, Jin will get you to have some reaction. But don’t take my word for any of this, my favorite Jin project is freakin’ Perestroika ;).