christmhas 25 Days of ChristMHas Discussion Thread - 2016

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Nice! I really liked THE GALLO's album myself. Great stuff, even tho I don't think it will make my end-of-the-year selection (as cool as it is, I cannot for the life of me remember a single song or melody from it).

[Ito 2438]

Day 18: 中毒症状 (chuudoku shoujou) by ザアザア (XAA-XAA) posted!

 

[Zeus 7997]

On 12/17/2016 at 0:50 PM, Jigsaw9 said:

Nice! I really liked THE GALLO's album myself. Great stuff, even tho I don't think it will make my end-of-the-year selection (as cool as it is, I cannot for the life of me remember a single song or melody from it).

I'm going to have to echo this 100x. I picked up on DIAVOLO because a. it was an interesting enough name b. the cover is absolutely hilarious and c. I heard lots of people whose musical taste I respect talk of this album. Not rave highly, but mention it here and there and when you see an album name pop up enough curiosity gets the best of me. I listened and thought the vocalist was a little weird. Not my style but not horrible and I listen to far sketchier vocalists so I see the appeal. Each song flowed into one another and while I felt an overall consistent feeling by the end of it I can't remember a single fill or punishing lick to stick in my head. It was also a lot less heavy than I was expecting but that's not a bad thing.

As far as XAA-XAA goes I can say everything positive I said about THE GALLO above but with one caveat. I will say that I only checked out this band because people were getting their knickers in a bunch over a release they couldn't acquire and it likewise got me curious in checking them out. One thing that really grinds my gears about Chuudoku Shuujou is how repetitive the lyrics can be. I can't understand a lick of conversational Japanese but through the first seven tracks I think about four of them have really simple, repeating choruses. Also singing only the name of the title track as the chorus is incredibly lazy. Having one song in a while with a simple chorus amps me up; maybe it's a short song or one that works live. But in XAA-XAA's case it's a ton of their songs and it was really bothering me until it wasn't anymore (guess I got numb). If there was one area of improvement that I would suggest they make, it's more memorable and less repetitive choruses. 

 

Don't let these criticisms turn you off from checking out the releases! I didn't want to put these criticisms into the blurb as they aren't a review proper, and I also couldn't be motivated to write a review for two albums that I merely had conversational pieces for. What do you all think those that have listened to one or both of these albums?

[Ito 2438]

Day 19: Hallelujah by the Novembers posted!

 

[enyx 903]

I actually found Hallelujah a little disappointing, personally. I'd argue that it's their weakest post-2011 release largely on account of the fact that they didn't really take any risks at all throughout the entire album; the whole thing feels decidedly 'safe' from start to finish. That doesn't mean it's 'bad' exactly, it just doesn't push their creative boundaries at all - which is what every release they've put out for the last 5 or so years has done in some way or another. As a result some of the tracks feel rather like filler or leftovers from previous albums, such as 時間さえも年老いて, !!!!!!!!!!!, etc. Even its high points, while enjoyable, do come with that 'more of the same' sort of feeling, so I've noticed I only really end up listening to most of the tracks on this album when they come up in a random shuffle as opposed to deliberately seeking them out. I'm hoping their next release sees them going back to a more experimental mindset.

Edited December 20, 2016 by Pho

[Ito 2438]

Day 20: 「最高の食卓」(Saikou no shokutaku) by DEZERT posted!

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Excellent album! It will surely have a place on my (very short) end-of-the-year list as well.  

[Wakarimashita 317]

On 19/12/2016 at 3:48 AM, Zeus said:

I'm going to have to echo this 100x. I picked up on DIAVOLO because a. it was an interesting enough name b. the cover is absolutely hilarious and c. I heard lots of people whose musical taste I respect talk of this album. Not rave highly, but mention it here and there and when you see an album name pop up enough curiosity gets the best of me. I listened and thought the vocalist was a little weird. Not my style but not horrible and I listen to far sketchier vocalists so I see the appeal. Each song flowed into one another and while I felt an overall consistent feeling by the end of it I can't remember a single fill or punishing lick to stick in my head. It was also a lot less heavy than I was expecting but that's not a bad thing.

 

My thoughts exactly! Am I missing something? Should i listen to the album again with a different approach...?

[Tokage 5930]

I'm somewhat surprised, I found parts of DIAVOLO pretty damn catchy, and they still have a tendency to randomly pop into my head even though I haven't spinned the whole album proper for months at this point. I mean, yeah, it's definitely not reinventing the wheel or anything, but it's just quirky enough to stay memorable in the ocean of staleness that is modern-day visual kei (also thank GOD they're not one of those boring straightforward heavy bands lmao)

 

New DEZERT album's good. Kinda hoped it'd have more tracks in the vein of the 2nd track, but I still enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed their first full album.

 

 

[Ito 2438]

Day 21: OUSIA by THE BLACK SWAN posted!

 

[Ito 2438]

Day 22: アトム 未来派 No.9 (Atom miraiha No.9) by BUCK-TICK posted!

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Nice one! When it came out it was easily on par with their previous album (which is, imo, one of the very best of their late era). As the months passed, I found myself less and less interested in it tho. That might change again, gonna give it a fresh spin during the holidays for sure.  

[Ito 2438]

Day 23: 第六作品集『無題』 (Mudai) by downy posted!

 

[CAT5 9075]

On 12/20/2016 at 11:49 AM, Pho said:

I actually found Hallelujah a little disappointing, personally. I'd argue that it's their weakest post-2011 release largely on account of the fact that they didn't really take any risks at all throughout the entire album; the whole thing feels decidedly 'safe' from start to finish. That doesn't mean it's 'bad' exactly, it just doesn't push their creative boundaries at all - which is what every release they've put out for the last 5 or so years has done in some way or another. As a result some of the tracks feel rather like filler or leftovers from previous albums, such as 時間さえも年老いて, !!!!!!!!!!!, etc. Even its high points, while enjoyable, do come with that 'more of the same' sort of feeling, so I've noticed I only really end up listening to most of the tracks on this album when they come up in a random shuffle as opposed to deliberately seeking them out. I'm hoping their next release sees them going back to a more experimental mindset.

 

Agreed 100%! Especially the part about shuffle. I almost feel like that for each track on  the album, you can find an earlier counterpart where THE NOVEMBERS did it better lol. Why choose fast food when you can have gourmet? 

 

And downy making the list? Amen. Those guys are brilliant! <3

[Zeus 7997]

If downy didn't make the top 3 I was going to riot. Mudai (2016) is ace and everything and everyone should listen to it.

[enyx 903]

I'm sure everybody can already guess that I fundamentally disagree with this album being placed so highly on this list, and that I believe it's an abomination that nobody should ever listen to /s

 

On a serious note, the album is just as good as their 2013 behemoth, and I consider that one to be one of the best albums ever released. Maybe I'm just a hopeless fanboy, but this band can seemingly do no wrong.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

I seriously had to double-check whether I listened to the new downy album (I didn't even remember it came out this year!) before commenting "it was pretty nice." ...which kinda shows my stance on them I guess: I like their releases when I'm listening to them, and then I completely forget about them afterwards. Still, cool stuff I suppose, tho not AOTY material for me.

Edited December 24, 2016 by Jigsaw9

[Anne Claire 392]

Wow, i didn't expect to see downy on this list tbh xD

This one along with silence's "psycho lens" are my favourite releases of 2016

[Ito 2438]

Day 25: 鵺-chimera- by ギルガメッシュ (girugamesh) posted!

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

A solid farewell from girugamesh.  Not one of my favorite releases by any means but it was probably the best one they had in them by the end. Worthy last release.

[Anne Claire 392]

Putting girugamesh on this list? Man, Girugamesh Guy approves!

Edited December 25, 2016 by Anne Claire

[Wakarimashita 317]

CHIMERA was truly awesome, I loved every second of it. END was truly the best farewell they could give us. </3

[Ito 2438]

Since the list is finally complete, I want to hear your thoughts on it! Do you agree with out picks or the ordering? Are there some albums that we really should have on here? Do you like the formatting and the way it is posted?

 

This is such a huge project for the staff, so I really hope you all enjoyed it!

[Ito 2438]

I've been waiting till everything was out to give some more thoughts to some of the picks.

 

Versailles - The Greatest Hits 2007-2016

I still feel like this was an odd choice for our list - a best of just ends up feeling a little out of place. I know that it featured rerecordings, so that gives it some merit, but man I just don't feel like they are -good- rerecording. "The Love From A Dead Orchestra," which is my favorite Versailles song, just feels over produced and lifeless to me. I will take the marginal production on the original any day of the week.

 

the god and death stars - after the addle apple

I'm honestly shocked people didn't enjoy this more. I think this was one of the best Japanese releases this year, so I am not sure what is not clicking to people that are normally aie fans.

 

KEEL - raison d'etre et de sang

The response to this one I can get behind a little more - I feel like this release was fairly underwhelming compared to KEEL's previous releases. Like, don't get me wrong, I really dig this mini, but I am hoping they step it up for 2017. Also, I can't stand "May Your Life Be Always Fullfilled with Love."

 

ザアザア (XAA-XAA) - 中毒症状 (chuudoku shoujou)

This one was soooo close to making it in to my voting choices. I chose to cut it in favor for DEZERT, but it is still a good album. I think they still have a few weak songs on here, but also a lot of promise, so I am really interested to see how they develop as a band in 2017. Really hoping this isn't the last we will see of XAA-XAA on our end of the year lists.

 

the Novembers - Hallelujah

Man, the Novembers are so hit or miss for me. I went from really liking zeitgeist, to not caring for Rhapsody in beauty, to liking Elegance. Hallelujah comes of as their more "okayest" album yet - it was enjoyable, but ultimately pretty forgettable imo.

 

THE BLACK SWAN - OUSIA

I probably gave this album one listen when it first came out and put it back on the figurative shelf. Jin's vocals, while certainly an improvement from his stuff with Nega, is still one of the weakest links here. This band would be MUCH better if they didn't have someone fronting who sounds like he is singing with his nose plugged. Perhaps if I felt like the rest of the album was good enough, the vocals would be less of a point of contention, but as I listen to it as I type this, I find it rather unimpressive. Not bad by any means, I would even say good, but not enough to leave much of an impression.

 

downy - 第六作品集『無題』 (Mudai)

I flat out didn't like this album the first time I listened to it.  It felt like it was just trying a bit too hard to make some parts work. Yet, since it was so highly regarded, I forced myself to give it more tries. Somehow, over time this one has really grown on me. With every listen I find myself appreciating this more and more. I still think downy's vocalist travels between ok to annoying, and some spots in song still feel like they are really trying to force these odd rhythms to work, but overall those parts ended up falling to the way side and I am really enjoying it now.

 

ギルガメッシュ (girugamesh) - 鵺-chimera-

This isn't the best Japanese album of 2016, but I still think these isn't a better release to have taken top honors. Kind of odd how that works.

[BrenGun 2261]

I do not agree with all of the pics.

 

from the visual kei bands it are bands almost everyone here did listen too. there aren't big surprise that you guys did choose them.

 

I hope to see next year a list of great bands people here always seem to forget about.

Such as, sweet x home, devize, merry badend, the nostradamnz, schwarzkain(Tokami), the sound bee hd, follow.... and a bunch of others.

 

as for the non visual kei bands in this year list.

well doesn't matter much I guess, because lots of people don't know them anyway.

But I also could have dropped one inside;  the doggy paddle

 

And actually next year I would prefer to see 2 lists of 25 days.

one list of 25 non visual and a list of 25 visual.