Jigsaw9 6783 Posted December 18, 2014 Oh man, I totally forgot to listen to Gekitetsu's album! XD I remember liking one of their previous releases... I was just too lazy to check the kanji what band this is (the cover art looked like some boring indie snooze-pop lmao). 1 CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted December 18, 2014 That Jizue sample is really nice. I'm definitely curious about that album now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeithX252 1266 Posted December 18, 2014 You must check jizue! Their new album is their best I think. Very refreshing and chilling 3 Pretsy, doombox and Zeus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted December 18, 2014 You must check jizue! Their new album is their best I think. Very refreshing and chilling Their best? I might check it out then... I've had it sitting on my HD for months, but the only reason I haven't listened yet is because I never found their previous albums to be anything special, save a few tracks here and there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeus 7997 Posted December 18, 2014 What makes Shiori so different from bookshelf and journal would be the vocals they added to some tracks. It adds some depth to the music which you may have found lacking in their earlier albums. I really like that they toned down the instrumentals to make room for their guest features. Some of the tracks on journal were a little too chill and felt incomplete. I don't get that same feeling from any track on this album. 3 Original Saku, Pretsy and CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 19, 2014 Day 19 - THE NOVEMBERS - Rhapsody in beauty posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Incogneeto 23 Posted December 19, 2014 Day 19 - THE NOVEMBERS - Rhapsody in beauty posted! This has to be one of the most intriguing releases I've checked from this thread. Time to look up the full discography. 2 Zeus and fitear1590 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeus 7997 Posted December 19, 2014 This has to be one of the most intriguing releases I've checked from this thread. Time to look up the full discography. All the really great stuff on the list start with this release IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted December 20, 2014 Iirc I liked the second half of this album only. I should listen to it again now that it's been a while. But I really like their previous releases so I'd still recommend this band to people without hesitation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 20, 2014 Day 20 - Mono - The Last Dawn / Rays of Darkness posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 21, 2014 Day 21 - HOLLOWGRAM - Qualia posted! 1 Zeus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 22, 2014 Day 22 - sukekiyo - IMMORTALIS posted! 1 Zeus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted December 22, 2014 We're getting down to the best of the best. I loved this album so much I am counting the days until that new mini comes out. 1 Ito reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted December 22, 2014 I might give sukekiyo another listen just to see if I feel any different about it after hearing ARCHE. Really enjoyed tracks #10 "scars like velvet" and #14 "鵠", though. 1 doombox reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peace Heavy mk II 7200 Posted December 22, 2014 lmaooo my "post-visual-kei" comment stayed in 1 CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pretsy 1343 Posted December 22, 2014 I might be leaning a bit more on IMMORTALIS side instead of ARCHE due to former's *focused* content** and me being totally impressed after seeing sukekiyo pull off their debut album live ("Latour" and "Zephyr" were definite highlights back then) **The beginning was quite close in throwing me off for having "Destrudo" (a.k.a SE) as a 2nd track - I am not kidding here: both Kyo releases from 2014 are exhibiting same-ish 'faults' of track positions - and both bands never commented on criticism aimed at this issue, lmao. I think I am starting to dig NOVEMBERS' latest too :V 1 CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeus 7997 Posted December 22, 2014 Good! THE NOVEMBERS is a grower but it's a solid album all around. 1 Pretsy reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 22, 2014 A day late but I still wanted to get this out there. I was pretty disappointed by Qualia. Most of the tracks feel average at best and any of the album's attempts to be agressive fall flat on its face. "ideologue" is the only track that really breaks that mold for me, which happens to be quite great (and the intro is amazing). The 2 alternative versions of this album, besides being an obnoxious marketing gimmick, offer 4 new songs over 2 new albums. The good news here is that 2 tracks are pretty good one is great (Albus) with only one being pretty meh (KISS RAIN, I'm looking at you). Also, dear god the synth violins in this album are bad...though perhaps I should be too surprised considering they are a VK band. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted December 22, 2014 ^ I feel ya there. I'm infinitely underwhelmed with what HOLLOWGRAM has been putting out so far, especially considering their lineup of amazing musicians. (same goes for Femme Fatale btw, but that's another topic XD) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeus 7997 Posted December 22, 2014 A day late but I still wanted to get this out there. I was pretty disappointed by Qualia. Most of the tracks feel average at best and any of the album's attempts to be agressive fall flat on its face. "ideologue" is the only track that really breaks that mold for me, which happens to be quite great (and the intro is amazing). The 2 alternative versions of this album, besides being an obnoxious marketing gimmick, offer 4 new songs over 2 new albums. The good news here is that 2 tracks are pretty good one is great (Albus) with only one being pretty meh (KISS RAIN, I'm looking at you). Also, dear god the synth violins in this album are bad...though perhaps I should be too surprised considering they are a VK band. I can understand where you're coming from partly. It seems like I enjoyed HOLLOWGRAM a bit more than most, but I wouldn't call it the most revolutionary thing ever. I enjoyed it just enough to write something positive about it, but even I hinted that it could have been better. Even though we all put these lists together, I don't know how Qualia scored so high. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enyx 903 Posted December 23, 2014 Sorry for not posting in this thread earlier! I hope you guys don't mind if I pick out some of the albums from the list and drop some quick comments on them. I have to echo CAT5's sentiments regarding TK from 凛として時雨's Fantastic Magic. It's not bad by any means but I can't help but find its more simplistic song-structures and poppy undertones somewhat disappointing overall, especially after flowering which was my favourite album of 2012. I think it says a lot that my favourite work from TK this year has been Acoustic Installation and his remix for sukekiyo. I also have to agree with others that have mentioned the title track being one of the best tracks on the album, as well as unravel's popularity probably stemming from Tokyo Ghoul rather than the song itself. THE NOVEMBERS really are coming into their own as of late. I find that noisy albums tend to have a habit of either being really good or coming across as too gimmicky without any actual substance. Rhapsody in beauty is definitely is a case of the former and not the latter, and I feel rather comfortable in listing it in my personal top three albums released this year. I also think 今日も生きたね deserves some love; sure it's only a two-track release rather than a full-length but I found both tracks to be very good. I found HOLLOWGRAM enjoyable but certainly nothing revolutionary. I'd say Qualia is one of the more enjoyable releases of the year but there have definitely been other releases that deserve more praise. Still, I'm interested to see what they put out next so it must have done something right. As for sukekiyo, they're definitely a band that people either seem to 'get' or 'not get'. That's not to say that people that don't get them are musically inept or anything, it's all subjective in the end. I think one of the main problems is that a lot of people tried to compare sukekiyo to 9GOATS/RES/DIR EN GREY when in reality sukekiyo seems to be going for something rather different to all of those bands; with the similarities being more of a natural by-product of its lineup rather than a direct attempt at emulation. What I enjoyed about IMMORTALIS is that is genuinely comes across as a labour of love more than anything else, and ultimately has a sound that can't be directly compared to anything else out there at the moment - at least not in its entirety. Still, I'll admit that it's definitely not for everyone. 3 doombox, fitear1590 and CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted December 23, 2014 I can understand where you're coming from partly. It seems like I enjoyed HOLLOWGRAM a bit more than most, but I wouldn't call it the most revolutionary thing ever. I enjoyed it just enough to write something positive about it, but even I hinted that it could have been better. Even though we all put these lists together, I don't know how Qualia scored so high. I was actually surprised how many people voted for it. I was fairly 'meh' about it myself, but I loved 9GBO so much that I keep hoping it's gonna grow in me. 1 Zeus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 23, 2014 Day 23 - KAMIJO - Heart posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Incogneeto 23 Posted December 23, 2014 Should have seen that coming. Although, not so sure about IMMORTALIS actually being ranked lower that Heart... 1 doombox reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeus 7997 Posted December 23, 2014 If it's any consolation the difference was one vote. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
