MEJIBRAY will go on hiatus

[Saishu 1589]

I'm saying just because you haven't see a band perform live, it doesn't mean you can't criticize them. Studio albums are indicative of an artist's musical skill and songwriting capabilities. If a band has five albums and I only like one of them, I think it's fair to say that I don't like the band's music. Seeing them live won't change anything. 

[-NOVA- 3027]

 

When people debate on a thread

 

 

 

In all seriousness this band has been one of the most succcesful ones for its time. Its a shame this is happening but i must admit they did push realeases too fast wich i think burned them out and now we're seeing the aftermath...

 

I will admit i do think they're older stuff was much better. That doesnt mean their recent stuff is bad. I just think with Mejibrays talent these last few realeses had potential to be so much more. Hopefully this break is only temporary and they come back stronger than ever. 

[saishuu 3220]

Okay, I've been reading a lot of people here saying they were one of the most successful and popular bands out of this latest generation and my question is: were they?

 

I've always felt they are far more successful among the western fanbase than in Japan, which honestly means absolutely nothing to determine their status in the scene. They don't seem to sell that well, the biggest place they held an oneman was Zepp Tokyo (in 2014; other than that they seem to have reached a plateau at Akasaka BLITZ, meaning they've been stagnated for years now) and it doesn't look like they're leaving much of an impact within the scene (if any at all).

Edited May 13, 2017 by saishuu

[Saishu 1589]

It's the shortsightedness of the non-Japanese VK fan where they think if their close knit internet community is aware, then all of Japan must be. That's not the case. The average Japanese person has no clue most of the bands we discuss even exist. 

[Nyasagi 259]

They used to be my favorite band, but I've been gradually losing interest in them during the last... 2-3 years? The start was good, then they became to sound the same, and also weren't present online as much as they used to, stopped releasing funny making of videos, etc. For a foreign fan it's a huge difference, because it's not just the music that's important when you can't experience anything else about the band. I also think that there are better bands in the vk scene, but I just liked them anyway... until they started losing unity in their image (each member began to look way too different than each other, and it was a mistake, in my opinion), and ran out of new ideas for the music.

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

I think they peaked at 420 for sure. Before the singles run that came after it they were quite an adventurous band all things considered. Emotional Karma is a hodgepodge of different styles from Dir en grey larping to straight SADS to what they eventually ended up sounding like later. They had a few dramatic ballads that clocked in north of 6 minutes, two minutes blurbs of SADS made formless and heavier and in general the stylistic makeup of this band is really the sum of the parts of the members interests. MiA's hard-on for shredding contained in very concise nu vk packages with the least predictable vocalist since like prime kyo of 2002. People who've been calling them generic have been blatantly wrong; they might've been generic for the their own form by end of their run, but not once were they a dime-a-dozen vk band. 

 

 

[nekkichi 6043]

6 hours ago, saishuu said:

Okay, I've been reading a lot of people here saying they were one of the most successful and popular bands out of this latest generation and my question is: were they?

no, not really

they've been stagnating and losing sales (and fans?) since 2014

http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/542980/rank/single/

 

sadie was a way bigger/more recognizable name before the hiatus, despite having less possessed demonic weaboonetgya

[filth_y 189]

9 hours ago, Saishu said:

I'm saying just because you haven't see a band perform live, it doesn't mean you can't criticize them. Studio albums are indicative of an artist's musical skill and songwriting capabilities. If a band has five albums and I only like one of them, I think it's fair to say that I don't like the band's music. Seeing them live won't change anything. 

 

I would say that especially in vk, studio albums say NOTHING, really NOTHING about the band. I've seen so many bands that were great on CD utterly bad live to the point that they could not play the most easiest riffs live. Others that i did not like on CD had amazing shows with great onstage personality. (DVD/Bluray lives dont matter to "have seen a band live" IMO).

Its true that oversea fans can mostly only critize on CD sound, photoshop images, DVD, PV, etc. but its cool to see that the awarness of how bad most bands are increases due to more oversea people visiting lives in japan/more japanese people writing on here. Maybe more and more people that dont then will understand how unimportant their opinion can be (if opinios are important at all, opinions are still opinions). Just dont know whats more unimportant than an oversea fans opinion who doesnt visit their lives.

 

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

6 minutes ago, nekkichi said:

no, not really

they've been stagnating and losing sales (and fans?) since 2014

http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/542980/rank/single/

 

sadie was a way bigger/more recognizable name before the hiatus, despite having less possessed demonic weaboonetgya

 

oh wow the latest single selling almost as bad as their first ones. 

 

btw didn't also fucking dezert of all bands play at a larger venue than these guys ever did? At least that's what it looked like visually iirc

 

 

[nekkichi 6043]

1 minute ago, Disposable said:

btw didn't also fucking dezert of all bands play at a larger venue than these guys ever did? At least that's what it looked like visually iirc

I don't really follow dezert :/ sales numbers here - http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/594391/rank/album/ their singles page is blank tho, idk if they were an album only band or 

[jaymee 405]

3 hours ago, filth_y said:

 

Just dont know whats more unimportant than an oversea fans opinion who doesnt visit their lives.

 

 

This was what I was trying to get at in a nicer, non-elitist sounding way. This applies to Japanese fans, too. Tanuki has no shortage of posts bashing the self-important opinions of fans who just buy releases but can never be assed to make it out to a show.

 

Also yes about bands sounding horrrrrible live but fine recorded, like at least 95% of mainstream/popular idol groups in Japan. One of the more disappointing things you'll experience as a gya is occasionally going all the way out to Tokyo and shelling out money for a live, only to sit through the show thinking, "Damn I should have just saved my money and listened to this on YouTube instead."

[jduv86 224]

I'm happy Mejibray is taking a break. I really agree with the fact that they haven't really put out anything too great for awhile now and it could do their music wonders. Think about the Gazette. Whether you hated or love their Dogma project, it was a HUGE refreshment from what they were putting out prior. That almost 2 year gap between releases helped them tremendously. 

 

 

----- that's all I have to say  opinion wise on the matter. If you want to continue reading after this, I just jumped into the most recent debate for a quick spell. Nothing serious. ----

 

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 6:26 AM, filth_y said:

 

I would say that especially in vk, studio albums say NOTHING, really NOTHING about the band. I've seen so many bands that were great on CD utterly bad live to the point that they could not play the most easiest riffs live. Others that i did not like on CD had amazing shows with great onstage personality. (DVD/Bluray lives dont matter to "have seen a band live" IMO).

Its true that oversea fans can mostly only critize on CD sound, photoshop images, DVD, PV, etc. but its cool to see that the awarness of how bad most bands are increases due to more oversea people visiting lives in japan/more japanese people writing on here. Maybe more and more people that dont then will understand how unimportant their opinion can be (if opinios are important at all, opinions are still opinions). Just dont know whats more unimportant than an oversea fans opinion who doesnt visit their lives.

 

To say that the opinion of a fan who buys their products, but doesn't see their lives is unimportant is wrong though. Whether buying their ticket and seeing them live or buying their stuff, that money IS what keeps the band going.  I don't think the band really would care if 5 people didn't show up to a show, but 5 people bought their DVD, CDs, posters, etc. at the same value as the ticket.  Also, some people aren't able to make it out to a show (small venue, tickes sold out. Work schedule conflicts, etc, etc) or can't even get to be in Japan to see these bands. Their opinion might not matter to you, but it does matter. But I'm sure you've seen EVERY band live before you decided to criticize them or like them, right?

 

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 8:43 PM, Saishu said:

I'm saying just because you haven't see a band perform live, it doesn't mean you can't criticize them. Studio albums are indicative of an artist's musical skill and songwriting capabilities. If a band has five albums and I only like one of them, I think it's fair to say that I don't like the band's music. Seeing them live won't change anything. 

 

I agree with this statement, except the studio album part. With the technology available to sound engineers, you can take someone who sounds as nasally and flat as Sakito (ex. Duel e Quartz) and make him sound as godly as Asagi from D. You can take anything from the "CRAPPY songs to cure people from rare indies bands obsession" thread and make it sound like L'arc en CIel or Dir en Grey gold. It has no indicate of the skill.

 

In conclusion, all of your opinions are valid to a degree because that is what keeps the band alive. Buying tickets, buying products, and SPREADING THE WORD about the band whether good or band KEEPS THE BAND ALIVE because it all leads to monetary value for the band to continue.

 

Sorry to go on and on and on. lol.

 

[filth_y 189]

1 hour ago, jduv86 said:

Whether buying their ticket and seeing them live or buying their stuff, that money IS what keeps the band going.  I don't think the band really would care if 5 people didn't show up to a show, but 5 people bought their DVD, CDs, posters, etc. at the same value as the ticket.  Also, some people aren't able to make it out to a show (small venue, tickes sold out. Work schedule conflicts, etc, etc) or can't even get to be in Japan to see these bands. Their opinion might not matter to you, but it does matter. But I'm sure you've seen EVERY band live before you decided to criticize them or like them, right?

 

Well, i dont know what size of band we are talking about. But i would say 90% of the bands discussed here have no idea/dont care if their CDs are bought overseas. Their income comes mostly from tickets/merchandise (Cheki, cheki, cheki)..

Also, surely everyone can write band xy sucks or xy is so amazing, while their bandpicture is pure photoshop, their CD recording is done by session musicians, writing by ghostwriters, etc. The oversea fans then are critizising something totally different from the actual band. But well, thats how it is. I actually dont want to sound like some elitism shit here, just raise awarness maybe, idk. Everyone critize/like/hate how they want, when you visit the actual live you notice how it doesnt matter.

[sakuran 1216]

On 5/12/2017 at 6:24 PM, jaymee said:

I somewhat disagree. To be frank, visual kei, like most art in Japan, is not made for the international community or international recognition. I mean, you are free to your opinion, but I don't see why a band should be judged on the basis of not appealing to a fanbase they were never trying to appeal to, if that makes sense.

 

 

well as a useless baka gaijin I guess I'd better quit listening to vk and following vk bands and buying vk bands' CDs and merch and just giving a shit about vk at all then, if I can't go to lives ever, even though this is 2017 we're living in and everything gets consumed internationally these days through this magical invention called the Internet

Edited May 14, 2017 by ryuhime

[suji 8317]

8 minutes ago, ryuhime said:

 

 

well as a useless baka gaijin I guess I'd better quit listening to vk and following vk bands and buying vk bands' CDs and merch and just giving a shit about vk at all then, if I can't go to lives ever, even though this is 2017 we're living in and everything gets consumed internationally these days through this magical invention called the Internet

 

[chemicalpictures 1888]

Dunno about you guys, but every time I see people calling VK art I let go a tiny, but sincere chuckle

[herpes 1597]

idk how i missed this thread but

 

 

 

 

[frayed 404]

5/12, Niigata:

1. hatred × tangle red × hunger red
2. RAVEN
3. VICTIM(ism)
4. Black bacarrat
5. Agitato GRIMOIRE
6. EMILY
7. 悲哀
8. 盈虧
9. ナナキ
10. Sliver
11. 嘘と愚考-それもまた人間らしいって神様は笑ってるの-
12. 原罪の林檎
13. Negator NEGATOR
14. 枷と知能 -それってとても人間らしいって神様は笑ってるの-
15. And Then There Were None.

 

No encore.

 

------

 

5/14, Sendai:

 

1. 羽花
2. パラダイム・パラドックス
3. VICTIM(ism)
4. Black bacarrat
5. ネペンテス
6. EMILY
7. 悲哀
8. 醜詠
9. ナナキ
10. Sliver
11. 嘘と愚考-それもまた人間らしいって神様は笑ってるの-
12. 原罪の林檎
13. Negator NEGATOR
14. 枷と知能 -それってとても人間らしいって神様は笑ってるの-
15. And Then There Were None.

 

No encore.

[Elazmus 1873]

3 hours ago, frayed said:

15. And Then There Were None.

 

No encore.

*tope suicida*

[Mamo 1172]

Is this going to be the end of them folks?

[Ro plz 1290]

I hope they don't disband. I may have had issues with the onslaught of back to back releases but 羽花 was a pretty baling track. It showed that they could actually make some killer tunes if they try vs recycling the same track over and over again. I purposefully kept tabs on em 

 

Their first batch of releases were nice. They just need to channel that energy and use it to make fresher tracks if they don't disband.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Ro plz

[jaymee 405]

7 hours ago, ryuhime said:

 

 

well as a useless baka gaijin I guess I'd better quit listening to vk and following vk bands and buying vk bands' CDs and merch and just giving a shit about vk at all then, if I can't go to lives ever, even though this is 2017 we're living in and everything gets consumed internationally these days through this magical invention called the Internet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hiroki 5521]

can't help but feel that this whole debate is much ado about nothing 

 

if you're living in japan and regularly go to lives then you're entitled to give your opinion on their lives. if you're an international fan who voraciously gobbles up all their releases (legally or not) then you're entitled to evaluate the quality of their recorded music. the problem only arises when this discussion bleeds into the neighboring terrain of 'how does one objectively judge a band's quality?' or 'what's the proper way of enjoying a band?'--which never fails to generate 5 pages of same old thing that impresses no one in particular...

 

then there's the question of how much instrumental value you are actually of to the band, which is related but entirely separable from the first. it's def true that the actual impact of someone ordering a 3000 yen album from CDJapan on the band is probably a lot less than they think, but that doesn't reduce the weight of their opinion on the band's recorded music. critics all over the world are paid to do exactly that: to give their opinions while remaining pretty much monetarily irrelevant.

[anadentone 478]

Ya know, I like Die Kusse, Die slitty tongue ,& Das Kawaii Dummer but the boys are being over worked. I feel like they needed to take a break or they'll burn out.

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

I honestly usually don't really care about disbandments, hiatuses and everything else that I cannot affect personally even if they're faves, but looking at those setlists just got me a bit down. Really on my hands and knees praying that tsuzuku perseveres and comes back in some form or another.