ChristMHas 25 Days of ChristMHas Discussion Thread - 2015

[Ito 2438]

Day 17 - THE NOVEMBERS - Elegance posted!

 

[Chi 2624]

Day 17 - THE NOVEMBERS - Elegance posted!

 

 

[yakihiko 1480]

I like more this release, than their past ones. They could change it to Elegance and Sophistication.

[saishuu 3220]

Yeah, I'm sure no one expected THE NOVEMBERS to make the list...

 

 

I really liked Elegance as a whole, even though some of the songs don't stick out for me as much as I wanted. きれいな海へ and エメラルド were easily my two favorite songs off it.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

To be honest, I was absolutely underwhelmed by THE NOVEMBERS' album. I'm not a big fan to begin with, but I kinda took a liking to most of their previous releases (especially the last few albums), but this one was just utter punishment for me. So, so boring.

[enyx 903]

I, for one, am shocked by this band's inclusion.

 

Anyway, on a serious note it's nice to see the band not abandoning their poppier/softer side despite the positive receptions to their darker/heavier stuff as of late. Like most NOVEMBERS releases this one didn't really stand out to me on first listen, but instead grew on me overtime as kept listening to it. The only NOVEMBERS release that immediately blew me away was Rhapsody in Beauty, otherwise they've all had this sort of slow-burn effect that's actually become one of my favourite aspects of their music. Overall it's just more of THE NOVEMBERS doing what they so well. They've certainly become one of the most consistent bands out there these days, which is remarkable considering their rate of output.

[bonsaijodelfisch 328]

personally also not that much of a fan of this album in particular, but my predictions so far are fairly spot on (albeit not really adventurous)

 

now we'll just need the piqnic (which i'm fairly confident about^^) and DOGMA (which i'm considerably less confident about, but hey, the album had the forum in coocoo for months, so regardless of quality/notquality, i think it deserves a spot^^) and my predictions will be 100%

[Ito 2438]

Day 18 - a crowd of rebellion - Daphne posted!
 

[Ito 2438]

Day 19 - KAMIJO - Royal Blood ~ Revival Best ~ posted!
 

[Lestat 2167]

I would have been quite angry if Kamijo wasn't included on this year's list, so this is well-deserved. He continues to show his dominance in a slowly withering scene (the man himself recognizing this decline as well, as he usually has no comment on today's Visual Kei - see several recent interviews), and he does it overwhelmingly. "Royal Blood -Revival Best-" isn't just a collection of re-recorded tracks, it is a widespread Visual Kei anthology covering almost three respectful decades of a single man's work, work that speaks for almost an entire musical genre (if we may call this a genre, just for now), and it is a biography that will still be spoken of in many years to come. I couldn't imagine not being the proud owner of yet another piece of his work, now that I have this on my shelf.

[Zeus 7997]

I would have been quite angry if Kamijo wasn't included on this year's list. He continues to show his dominance in a slowly withering scene (the man himself recognizing this decline as well, as he usually has no comment on today's Visual Kei - see several recent interviews), and he does it overwhelmingly. "Royal Blood -Revival Best-" isn't just a collection of re-recorded tracks, it is a widespread Visual Kei anthology covering almost three respectful decades of a single man's work, work that speaks for almost an entire musical genre (if we may call this a genre, just for now), and it is a biography that will still be spoken of in many years to come. I couldn't imagine not being the proud owner of yet another piece of his work with this on my shelf.

 

It's always the toss up between "I hope x release is in the Top 5" and "Did the staff even include x album on this year's list?". This was voted our 6th best album of the year, so from here on out everything is what ORZ as a whole felt was really good.

Also, can you link these interviews? I'm interested in the opinions of someone who has actually lived this scene instead of experiencing it online. His words have more weight to me than others.

[Lestat 2167]

Also, can you link these interviews? I'm interested in the opinions of someone who has actually lived this scene instead of experiencing it online. His words have more weight to me than others.

 

I would have to dig for those. They might have been released somewhere at the beginning of this year and I can honestly not remember where or how I have found them. Probably buried somewhere on Facebook pages.

 

———————————————

 

I found one of them. I remember him having a more or less negative vision on today's Visual Kei, but this is all I can find at this moment.

 

V21 - : “What is your opinion on Visual Kei these days? What kind of future do you see for it?”

"I don’t really understand today’s Visual Kei. There is no artist by whom I feel threatened. But, maybe, at some point, there will be bands looking for beauty..."

 

http://www.vyper-jmusic.com/fr/article/kamijo-interview-with-a-vampire/612.html

Edited December 19, 2015 by Lestat

[Ito 2438]

Day 20 - sukekiyo - VITIUM posted!
 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Hands down one of the best and most adventureful (is that even a word? xD) releases of the year! So far sukekiyo cannot disappoint.

[enyx 903]

I actually found VITIUM to be slightly less awesome than IMMORTALIS overall, though still one of the year's strongest releases regardless. The middle three songs (foster mother, 雨上がりの優詩, and maniera) don't do as much for me as the rest of their material. The former seems to meander around aimlessly, the second track feels... unfinished to me somehow; like they had a good initial idea but weren't entirely sure how to develop it into a full song, and finally the latter of the three sounds like something that would work much better in a live setting than it does as a studio recording. I also don't get the "IMMORTALIS is too long" argument. So long as the quality is good, then the more songs the merrier for me. That being said, standout tracks like leather field and focus help to reinforce my belief that sukekiyo are very much one of the most exciting 'visual' bands going at the moment and overall VITIUM is still a pretty good sophomore release.

 

Hands down one of the best and most adventureful (is that even a word? xD) releases of the year! So far sukekiyo cannot disappoint.

 "adventurous"

[doombox 4421]

Personally, when an album is that long there needs to be a lot of variation to keep my attention, and while sukekiyo are great at what they do, IMMORTALIS got a bit same-y to me at points. I started comparing songs to each other when I wouldn't have had it been shorter. Not to mention there were a string of double albums last year and it got tiring after a point when it felt like everyone was jumping on the bandwagon.

[saishuu 3220]

I wish I could like sukekiyo more, especially given how happy I was back when I heard my favorite RENTRER EN SOI members were coming back, but their music is just dull for me at this point. i tried listening to both of their albums and while there were a few songs I did enjoy, most of them just came off as pointless. still better than anything Satsuki has been trying to do though

[The Reverend 3566]

I wish I could like sukekiyo more, especially given how happy I was back when I heard my favorite RENTRER EN SOI members were coming back, but their music is just dull for me at this point. i tried listening to both of their albums and while there were a few songs I did enjoy, most of them just came off as pointless. still better than anything Satsuki has been trying to do though

 

This sums up my feelings perfectly. I want to like Sukekiyo more than I actually do.

[Zeus 7997]

I felt similarly about sukekiyo despite my positive praise for it.

Don't get me wrong; I think these guys fill an otherwise unfilled niche in the scene. Their music is complex, rhythmic, and very tribal but also something I need to be in the mood for. I also can only stand it for short bursts at a time. This goes against the band's philosophy, because their releases go on the long side. Seventeen track albums and nine track mini albums are behemoths. As I treat every album as a story and enjoy listening from beginning to end, it's easier to swallow a smaller release (VITIUM) instead of a full-length (IMMORTALIS), especially when the style of the music isn't immediately accessible.

I see VITIUM as an album and IMMORTALIS as a double-album for no reason other than the length of the material.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I like what they're doing in Sukekiyo a loooot better than what DIRU did for their last album (which was like basically the same thing based on the snippets I've heard of it). Manneria and 雨上がりの優詩 are great

[Ito 2438]

Day 21 - 和楽器バンド (Wagakki Band) - 八奏絵巻 (Yasou emaki) posted!

 

 

[Zeus 7997]

This is where I would say "I love this fucking band" but I think you all know that already.

[Incogneeto 23]

I like what they're doing in Sukekiyo a loooot better than what DIRU did for their last album (which was like basically the same thing based on the snippets I've heard of it). Manneria and 雨上がりの優詩 are great

Arche is a lot more listener friendly than either of sukekiyo's releases tbh.

And I can't seem to enjoy Wagakkiband anymore, save a select few songs. Just can't handle the poppy tunes.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Wagakki Band always feels like someone is jamming a jackhammer into my ears with pieces of random traditional instruments glued on, while irritating Jpop is playing in the background in an abandoned interrogation chamber.

;(

[doombox 4421]

Arche is a lot more listener friendly than either of sukekiyo's releases tbh.

It is the exact opposite for me. I don't know how people enjoy Arche at all.