2011 So Far...

[Marupinku 7]

Hm, let's see. I'll start off with saying April I didn't listen to almost anything new, so mostly I'm still stuck in March. But there haven't been a ton things I really loved. There haven't been any Japanese albums yet this year that have really impressed me. Closest would be Aube or Yamaan. Overall though there haven't been many albums at all yet this year that have. It's been a pretty weak year, especially compared to one of the best years in music I can remember, 2010.

So far

Jessica Pavone - Army of Strangers

White Suns - Waking in the Reservoir

EMA - Past Life of Martyred Saints

Josh T. Pearson - Last of the Country Gentlemen

Mountain Man - Grief

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

were probably the only albums I really dug.

[jurideluhi 6]

jeez! of course DELUHI disbanding and also lam.

fucking hate it more than anything!!!! :<

[CAT5 9075]

2011 has been great so far and it seems to be getting better! ;D

My favorite Japanese releases so far:

Caroline - Verdugo Hills

Maria Hato - THE LATTER HALF OF ALOHA

NAOITO - 379DAYS

salyu × salyu - s(o)un(d)beams

serph - heartstrings

中山??り - VIVA

緋??陽 - 燃????泣?鳴る

旅団 - Lingua France

平賀?????? - ??????ゃん

My favorite non-Japanese releases so far:

Bâton Rouge - Fragments D'eux Mêmes

Braids - Native Speaker

Conquering Animal Sound - Kammerspiel

Epic45 - Weathering

Grails - Deep Politics

Stateless - Matilda

Nostalgia 77 - The Sleepwalking Society

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Shona Foster - The Moon & You

Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah

These will no doubt change by the end of the year, but these are my standouts so far...;]

Looking forward to the upcoming Owarikara album. Also, the no1curr singer-songwriter/folkstress, chimin is probably releasing a new album this fall.

[filth_y 189]

From the things i was listening to this year so far the only real good/suprising thing:

Arise In Stability - The future that amnesiac draws

(LUNA SEA - LUNA SEA)

Also pretty good:

OUTЯAGE - ??????CD

and this

At first I wanted to mention the Black Album by A, but then I realized that it was released in 2010 already.

These are the only things so far i would say i will still listen to/ remember in about a year.

Waiting for: COCKROACH album

[CAT5 9075]

The debut album by mergrim, "Invisible Landscape... ", is pretty fantastic. ;]

uE6kseAwSgw

[Cas 4]

I haven't really been keeping up with 2011 releases so far, but there have been a couple of albums that I've enjoyed:

Deep Politics by Grails

Oneirology by CunninLynguists

Sever The Wicked Hand by Crowbar

Ravedeath, 1972 by Tim Hecker

Fluorescence by Asobi Seksu

大発見 by ??京事変

Follow Me Down by Sarah Jarosz

La Joven Dolores by Christina Rosenvinge

Garden Of Fainting Stars by The Book Of Knots

City of Refuge by Abigail Washburn

Ghost by Devin Townsend Project

[Neon 6]

2011 so far to me is best decade in my Music history

Good albums this far :

Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Septic Flesh - The Great Mass

Daisuke to Kuro no Injatachi - shikkoku no hikari

Kotiteollisuus - Kotiteollisuus

Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk

Hollywood Undead - American Tragedy

Crossfaith - The Dream, The Space

Asa masa - jou jou

Lillies and Remains - Transpersonal

Eleanoora Rosenholm - Hyväile Minua Pimeä Tähti

Boris - new album

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Otep - Atavist

[filth_y 189]

From the things i was listening to this year so far the only real good/suprising thing:

Arise In Stability - The future that amnesiac draws

(LUNA SEA - LUNA SEA)

Also pretty good:

OUTЯAGE - ??????CD

and this

At first I wanted to mention the Black Album by A, but then I realized that it was released in 2010 already.

These are the only things so far i would say i will still listen to/ remember in about a year.

Waiting for: COCKROACH album

Update:

Adding to real good:

A - Grafton Calling

2nd Awake - Second Awake

[Frae 2]

good releases thus far to me:

B2st - Fact and Fiction album

Big Bang - 4th mini album

And - Trigger mini album

Nightmare - Vermillion single

Jay Park - Take a Deeper Look

After School - Virgin album

Monolith - Byakuya single

Deathgaze - Silence/The End single

Lolita23q - I'z single

Perestroika - PAINZ mini

It's been a wonderful year thus far for Kpop

Bad releases:

anything by Lycaon this year

Sadie - Cold Blood

Big Bang - Big Bang 2 album. the translated versions of their Korean singles sucked to me and the new songs were blah.

MBLAQ - Your Luv single

[DeIdeal 0]

Turisas - Stand Up And Fight

Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

Polkadot Cadaver - Sex Offender

IMAGINARY FLYING MACHINES - Princess Ghibli

BYEE the ROUND -　??イザラウンド　（lolwat, is this really the title?)

(Inkubus Sukkubus - The Dark Goddess, which came out last year but I didn't listen to until January)

It's really weird how my list of good albums so far is so... western. I mean, I almost exclusively listened to Japanese music just a year ago. I would probably like the new LUNA SEA and XA-VAT albums (and Plastic Tree, too, didn't they release one?), but I just haven't gotten around listening to them. New RADWIMPS stuff has been cool, same with the new MTH single, but album-wise... just no.

[Vurtox 3]

Add Unexpect's new release to my list. It's amazing.

[Kinks 0]

2011 has been the best year...so far...in a really long time. Last year made me sad with the crappy gorillaz/jamiroquai, though. :/

Salyu x Salyu

Masa Sextet

So far...there have been others but I can't remember them -_____- But there's new NATSUMEN in September and stuff. :'D

[jurideluhi 6]

so far... 2011 has become sucks for me. sadness still lingering around me about DELUHI disbanding on July. I was in tears when I saw the announcement after 3 months we've waited for their indefinite hiatus. whats more,they announced on april's fools day. of course,at first I did not believe that they have had come to made such a decision like that.I was really hoping for a full-album with new recorded songs from DELUHI and hoping that they will become a major band. I only owned DELUHI's dvd blitzkrieg and that was because I expected they gonna disbanding soon since December I'm shocked with my own prediction. :/

2nd, lam.'s disbanding. Never expected it came out like this and I was pissed off bout the disbandment. :(

i think the best album so far to me would be lynch.'s new release "I believe in Me". I really love the entire songs from the album. Such a huge improvement!!!

[JustSumNerd 0]

Deathgaze's new single silence/the end was freaking sweet

Lynch's new album I believe in me is sick.

Diru single and album coming out soon

Blood reunited

new live dvd from 9goats blackout...jeez im really diggin 2011

[Number Girl 48]

2011 has been the best year yet, imho.

B'z new singles have been great. Cinema Staff's s/t was great. Loved three of the four new Boris releases, especially New Album and Heavy Rocks. Haven't heard the album yet, but the teasers of Kakumei (andymori) sound like they have potential, same with Versailles' Holy Grail. I liked what I heard of the cabs and caroline rocks as far as J-indie goes.

Still anxiously waiting for Anthem, Molice, and B'z upcoming stuff.

[Tokage 5930]

VK-wise this year has been absolute shit so far, there hasn't really been anything whatsoever that caught my interest other than XA-VAT and GalapagosS IIRC

non-VK japanese music has been alot better so far to me, for example the cabs' new album and also the 武藤昭平 with ウエノコウジ album

unexpect's album is my first introduction to this band and I'm not sure if I like it or not. It's a bit too chaotic for my tastes so far.

[sai 868]

If I had to go with the releases that I thought were really 'amazing' and that will be on repeat for a while it is limited to these releases:

- lynch. - I BELIEVE IN ME [album] (go listen it for yourself)

- UVERworld – LIFE 6 SENSE [album] (they pleasantly surprised me here, great experimenting)

- Nightmare - VERMILION [single] (not much to say)

- the GazettE - VORTEX [maxi-single] (haters gonna hate)

- GUILD – Spring EP 2011〜La Primavera〜 [maxi-single] (my guilty pleasure)

- Kaya – Queen [album] (because shut up)

- Versailles - Philia [single] (because it's Versailles and it was awesome)

- DuelJewel - Vamp Ash [maxi-single] (somehow I don't ever listen to these guys, but I loved this)

- Kagrra, - hyakkikenran [album] (great album after Shu)

- Alice Nine - GEMINI [album] (need I say more?)

- Megamasso - Loveless, more Loveless [album] (they really surprised me here, but amazing album nonetheless)

- AYABIE - Melody [maxi-single] (say what you want but these guys have style. 0010101.0 was a masterpiece)

- SID - dead stock [album] (because mainly everything they make is awesome)

- D - VAMPIRE SAGA [album] (my favourite VK artists, what can I say)

- Dir en grey - LOTUS [maxi-single] (dgaf about the rerecording but the titletrack was just brilliant)

[Tokage 5930]

Pulling Teeth's album Funerary is very good.

[Marupinku 7]

Add Unexpect's new release to my list. It's amazing.

New Unexpect album? This changes everything.

-

Still blown away by how amazing Okkyung Lee's new album is.

[Maiku 4]

Alice Nine's Gemini is the best thing released so far this year. 8D

[Zeus 7997]

Time to update:

Electric Red's two singles are still good, as well as Thousand Leave's new album, although I've made up my mind about it not being as good as DEAD NIGHT BLIND.

I found all three of Boris' albums to be just a nudge above OK. There were good parts and average parts on each of the releases, although I still haven't gotten my hands on the vinyl releases of the last two so final impressions can wait.

Diru's LOTUS was boring. DIFFERENT SENSE was a step up but it's still missing ... something. Perhaps the MOO album will give me what I'm looking for.

D'espairsRay's antique compilation hit the spot. It's everything a D'espa fan or a potential D'espa fan needs to listen to minus a few songs they just couldn't fit on that release.

I BELIEVE IN ME was the best lynch. album yet.

Terra Tenebrosa's debut album was monstrous. Versailles' Holy Grail was monstrously average.

Previews for Matenrou's Helios makes it out to be a good song so I'm looking forward to it.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Loved Holy Grail, XA-VAT's album, The Kiryu's 2nd album, and Vidoll's goodbye single's last track (didn't care for their soppy ballads, but their remix of Gothakroid was great). Oh, and lynch.'s album!

D's album was average, 2nd Awake's album was okay, but not what I really wanted, and I liked one song off of both of Rin's new singles.

Only major disappointment so far has been Black Veil Brides' sudden decision to turn into KISS in 2011.

So far, 2011 seems to be pretty good. A handful of new releases I liked, and I've been trying out other things that came out earlier this year that I ended up liking.

[Guest]

So I guess it is about time I update my list again now that we're over half way through the year.

Here's the stuff I've really loved (8-10/10:

Kagrra, - Hyakki Kenran

Primordial - Redemtion At The Puritan's Hand

Moonsorrow - Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa

Altar of Plagues - Mammal

Boris with Merzbow - Klatter

Blood Ceremony - Living With the Ancients

Dødsengel - Dødsengel

Beherit - At the Devil's Studio 1990

Negative Plane - Stained Glass Revelations

Sabbat - Sabbatrinity

Krypts - Krypts

Fen - Epoch

Fen & De Arma - Towards the Shores of the End split

Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason

Doomsword - The Eternal Battle

Peste Noire - L'Ordure à l'état Pur

Alcest - Le Secret (2011)

Sargeist - Let the Devil In

Hell - Human Remains

Okkultokrati / Årabrot split

Raein - Sulla linea dell'orizzonte fra questa mia vita e quella di tutti gli altri

Here's the stuff I really like (6-7/10):

Burzum - Fallen

XA-VAT - 艶℃

Blood Freak - Mindscraper

Krallice - Diotima

Dödsfall - Demo 2011

Lynch - I Belive in Me

Portrait - Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae

Necros Christos - Doom of the Occult

Pentagram - Last Rites

Solstorm - Solstorm

Boris - New Album

Boris - Heavy Rocks II

Boris - Attention Please

Can't remember more right now. But as you can see this has been a great year for me as far as new releases goes. I'm really, really satisfied with how it's been. I know of a lots of new releases that will also make it on that list. So yeah...2011 = amazing!

[CAT5 9075]

WTH!!!??? There was a new Blood Ceremony album this year!!!??? @___@

and I will have to update my thoughts on this year so far too...

[Champ213 1858]

A small update from me too, cause 2011 finally started to deliever for me.

Týr - The Lay of Thrym

Corde Oblique - A Hail of Bitter Almonds

Kauan - Kuu...

Actually those three might be my favourite releases this year so far.

Also:

Devin Townsend - Ghost

Enslaved - The Sleeping Gods

Still need to listen to new Unexpect.

As for japanese stuff:

dieS - 発情

Yaneka - All in the Air

Dear L'Novel - Mistral

実験台モルモット - 箱庭の音樂会

I also still need to check out Versailles' Holy Grail, but from what I heard it doesn't seem to be as good as Jubilee, and Jubilee was decent but not amazing for me, so Holy Grail probably won't make the list.