Remember when I said everything would go according to plan unless some epic shit happened?
Epic shit happened. I'm not going to get in-depth about it because that's not important but I've come to the decision that going over my entire musical library is unnecessary and that most people aren't going to care about what's in the annals of my library ANYWAY. So I'll primarily stick to new releases....as soon as I catch up on the 10 or 15 that I would like to do that I missed.
Since I started and didn't get to finish, I'll put up the ones that I managed to do and still like.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Review: ReivieЯ & Renny Amy
ReivieЯ
DECLARE
Declare quite possibly takes the position as the best release ReivieЯ has put forth so far. It's pretty much up there with [words] in terms of quality and unlike [words] they've managed to deliver two great songs instead of one. DECLARE packs the "ReivieЯ" sound that was sorely missing on their first single and had they started out on this foot they could have made so many fans quickly. The first track, DEEP INSIDE, was featured for some reason as a not-so hidden segment at the end of the second track for OUT OF VOID and it's just as good as it sounded back then. The production is top notch, Jey's vocals alternate between well-sung and hellishly barked and the guitar work is phenomenal in terms of teamwork and melody. The intro to the memorable chorus is great and the last 30 seconds ends this song off on the right foot.
...for ideal is what I would call their attempt to diversify their sound. It's the softest song they've released thus far but compared to the rest of their discography that really isn't a problem when all you have to do is remove the crunching guitars. ...for Ideal is a tad more melodic but no less brutal as ReivieЯ can and does bring it out when they do need to. In the sections that feature it, Jey's vocals do get rough and the guys do jam on the bottom three strings and it works. There's prominent bass and light guitar strumming in the verses but the chorus packs power without changing the tempo of the song. Later verses feature harder guitars and more passion from Jey's vocals, the solo is expressive and emotive and the entire song has this feeling of progression without having the cheesy "ascending ladder" pattern that glam metal artists used to whore.
DECLARE
Declare quite possibly takes the position as the best release ReivieЯ has put forth so far. It's pretty much up there with [words] in terms of quality and unlike [words] they've managed to deliver two great songs instead of one. DECLARE packs the "ReivieЯ" sound that was sorely missing on their first single and had they started out on this foot they could have made so many fans quickly. The first track, DEEP INSIDE, was featured for some reason as a not-so hidden segment at the end of the second track for OUT OF VOID and it's just as good as it sounded back then. The production is top notch, Jey's vocals alternate between well-sung and hellishly barked and the guitar work is phenomenal in terms of teamwork and melody. The intro to the memorable chorus is great and the last 30 seconds ends this song off on the right foot....for ideal is what I would call their attempt to diversify their sound. It's the softest song they've released thus far but compared to the rest of their discography that really isn't a problem when all you have to do is remove the crunching guitars. ...for Ideal is a tad more melodic but no less brutal as ReivieЯ can and does bring it out when they do need to. In the sections that feature it, Jey's vocals do get rough and the guys do jam on the bottom three strings and it works. There's prominent bass and light guitar strumming in the verses but the chorus packs power without changing the tempo of the song. Later verses feature harder guitars and more passion from Jey's vocals, the solo is expressive and emotive and the entire song has this feeling of progression without having the cheesy "ascending ladder" pattern that glam metal artists used to whore.
DECLARE is a solid effort from a band still struggling to stick their foot into the pool of credibility. I can actually get behind the direction that ReivieЯ's planning to go in because for a band that's in a genre where credibility and originality are stagnating side by side and good music has had to have been watered down to be considered "acceptable listening" they manage to combine VK visuals that don't look like the remnants of a rainbow factory with rock music that's not nu-metal trash and that actually utilizes ALL the strings to create something worth looking forward to. It's recommended right up there with [words] as something you must listen to if you're aspiring to become a fan of ReivieЯ.
DISTRACTED WOMB
DISASTER, ReivieЯ's contribution to this split single with VanessA, is a bit of a let-down. Knowing where this song could have gone and having witnessed the direction this band has taken with [words] and more notably DECLARE, ReivieЯ played it safer here with DISASTER and preferred to jam on the bottom three strings and replay the same few notes over and over again. From a musical standpoint they simplified the song to make the brutality of Jey's vocals accentuated but the intricate guitar work that I grew to love this band for is notably missing. This is ReivieЯ's attempt at being both brutal and hard and it just doesn't pan out as it should. This sounds like an OUT OF VOID song with better production, better vocals and slightly more originality. It isn't the completely crappiest thing they've given us but after their last few singles this should have been death metal GOLD and it's wearing the bronze and sitting there content with it.
Judgment#003
ReivieЯ's contribution to this omnibus was in the form of Shinshoku, which sounds like a companion song to Disaster except done a shitload better. Jey's vocals are a bit weaker than usual but that's made up for by the harmonizing of the guitars (which were completely shitty on DISASTER) and the fact that they play more than just the same few notes over and over again. The tribal drumming is perhaps what gives this song it's distinct atmosphere (whenever it's used to good effect). The chorus differs from the verses because it speeds up the pace of Jey's delivery - where he was going slow in the verses he delivers the chorus rapidly. Nothing TOO great but it's worth mentioning and Shinshoku sits firmly in the middle of the shit to great meter of this band's releases.
DISASTER, ReivieЯ's contribution to this split single with VanessA, is a bit of a let-down. Knowing where this song could have gone and having witnessed the direction this band has taken with [words] and more notably DECLARE, ReivieЯ played it safer here with DISASTER and preferred to jam on the bottom three strings and replay the same few notes over and over again. From a musical standpoint they simplified the song to make the brutality of Jey's vocals accentuated but the intricate guitar work that I grew to love this band for is notably missing. This is ReivieЯ's attempt at being both brutal and hard and it just doesn't pan out as it should. This sounds like an OUT OF VOID song with better production, better vocals and slightly more originality. It isn't the completely crappiest thing they've given us but after their last few singles this should have been death metal GOLD and it's wearing the bronze and sitting there content with it.ReivieЯ's contribution to this omnibus was in the form of Shinshoku, which sounds like a companion song to Disaster except done a shitload better. Jey's vocals are a bit weaker than usual but that's made up for by the harmonizing of the guitars (which were completely shitty on DISASTER) and the fact that they play more than just the same few notes over and over again. The tribal drumming is perhaps what gives this song it's distinct atmosphere (whenever it's used to good effect). The chorus differs from the verses because it speeds up the pace of Jey's delivery - where he was going slow in the verses he delivers the chorus rapidly. Nothing TOO great but it's worth mentioning and Shinshoku sits firmly in the middle of the shit to great meter of this band's releases.Out of Void
The main problem with Out of Void is not the lackluster production but that it doesn't sound like ReivieЯ. Every band has their own unique sound that balances the tonality of the vocalist with the originality of the composer to create something that no other band can quite replicate. ReivieЯ has foregone that and created two tracks that sound fine but don't sound original. There's no shred of "ReivieЯ's essence" in any of these tracks. Usually the first releases take risks and do things they wouldn't dare do on subsequent releases but here it sounds like the boys were afraid to piss any fans off so they stayed generic and unoriginal.
The main problem with Out of Void is not the lackluster production but that it doesn't sound like ReivieЯ. Every band has their own unique sound that balances the tonality of the vocalist with the originality of the composer to create something that no other band can quite replicate. ReivieЯ has foregone that and created two tracks that sound fine but don't sound original. There's no shred of "ReivieЯ's essence" in any of these tracks. Usually the first releases take risks and do things they wouldn't dare do on subsequent releases but here it sounds like the boys were afraid to piss any fans off so they stayed generic and unoriginal.It shows more in "Zetsubou no Sora" that follows the rough verse-poppy chorus formula. Jey doesn't sing with any passion and hits the notes when he needs to hit them how he needs to hit them. His harsh vocals have no power and the guitars sound like they're tuned all wrong in some parts. The groove is there but the balls aren't. The second track is even worse off since all I hear are pounding drums overpowering everything. It isn't as if I need to hear it anyway since all these two tracks are are ideas that work done again and again. Sonic earplay utilizing two headphones aren't anything new but ReivieЯ uses it as if it's some novel technique that they've discovered alongside bark-and-call gang vocals. Admittedly, this song sounds a little more inspired but the last minute where the band re-surfaces and plays a different song just doesn't work. It's about as bad as the chorus which just destroyed the movement in the verse for something generic and unoriginal.
Don't bother checking out Out Of Void. This single isn't worth your time.
[words]
This is the song that got me to start checking out ReivieЯ a bit more often. With it being a live-distributed single this song might be a bit difficult to get your hands on but it's worth it in the end. Verse and chorus match up and compliment one another perfectly and Jey's vocals are haunting and memorable in that same way. His growls have also definitely improved and even though he relies more on his singing voice the pace of the song suits it well. Let it also be known that I am in love with the tuning on the guitar as well as just the way ReivieЯ put it together. Yes, [words] may sound a little generic and I feel like they took inspiration from another song somewhere else but fuck that it's a great song and is definitely one of their top releases.
Renny Amy
I don't know and I really don't fucking care WHAT order these releases come in. Renny Amy, while admittedly a semi-cool name for a band has songwriting talent worse than born. This makes sense considering that Renny Amy, D+L and born are the SAME EXACT BAND. Now sure whatever excuse you make could hold some semblance of water but let's remember that the only difference between mega-indies and indies are that people know you. It has no bearance on 
how crappy your music is allowed to be.
Renny Amy still finds themselves down-producing their music, as is evident on MOLDER. The chorus transitions are born-ish but the difference is that they don't totally jump an octave and change clefs. I don't see how it will click with me on the first listen or so but over time I can see this being a more fluid transition than something on say, Dust Pain (born). Their edgier parts seem washed down and Ryouga's voice is understandably weaker and even though they have good segments here and there MOLDER is missing this little spark I like to call magic that makes music shine. In this respect I don't see anything having changed between Renny Amy, D+L and born, which is a huge problem since bands are supposed to continue, change up their sound a little and get better. You could throw this somewhere on A.H.M. and it wouldn't sound out of place at all. There's a big difference between non-diversity and a "signature sound", and Renny Amy/D+L/born are of the former with this track.
COURTSHIP is supposed to be the A-side, if you want to call this track a single be my guest but personally I think it's laughable. COURTSHIP has a mean riff and sounds overall more convincing and original than MOLDER but it only reaches up the barrel as far as "something I might not skip if it pops up on shuffle". The problem with Renny Amy is not that they aren't talented musicians since their compositions show a great deal of thought but that their music isn't edgy in any respect. They sound like they're being played but they aren't playing. Ryouga sounds like he's singing but he's not SINGING. They don't reach out to their demographic, smack them with their composition and say "this is good. like it.". It seems like a peace offering like "well, we made these courtship cookies for you and we hope you like them since we worked hard on it." Renny Amy needed to put the badass in their music and fix their method of production (and of course Ryouga needed to get better) because this song would have been pretty cool. They fixed up their chorus problem or masked it enough for me to not notice too much. At the end of the day, COURTSHIP is an OK song but in the context of other songs this one will always get lost under the rubble because it just isn't assertive enough.
Monochrome to Shinju
There's immediately a problem with an EP if you can't tell when one song ends and another one begins. This means two things - one was that you weren't paying attention enough because the piece just wasn't engaging and the other is that all the songs sound so similar that they blend together and since you aren't paying attention you won't notice the slight pause in between.
Courtship
I don't know and I really don't fucking care WHAT order these releases come in. Renny Amy, while admittedly a semi-cool name for a band has songwriting talent worse than born. This makes sense considering that Renny Amy, D+L and born are the SAME EXACT BAND. Now sure whatever excuse you make could hold some semblance of water but let's remember that the only difference between mega-indies and indies are that people know you. It has no bearance on how crappy your music is allowed to be.Renny Amy still finds themselves down-producing their music, as is evident on MOLDER. The chorus transitions are born-ish but the difference is that they don't totally jump an octave and change clefs. I don't see how it will click with me on the first listen or so but over time I can see this being a more fluid transition than something on say, Dust Pain (born). Their edgier parts seem washed down and Ryouga's voice is understandably weaker and even though they have good segments here and there MOLDER is missing this little spark I like to call magic that makes music shine. In this respect I don't see anything having changed between Renny Amy, D+L and born, which is a huge problem since bands are supposed to continue, change up their sound a little and get better. You could throw this somewhere on A.H.M. and it wouldn't sound out of place at all. There's a big difference between non-diversity and a "signature sound", and Renny Amy/D+L/born are of the former with this track.
COURTSHIP is supposed to be the A-side, if you want to call this track a single be my guest but personally I think it's laughable. COURTSHIP has a mean riff and sounds overall more convincing and original than MOLDER but it only reaches up the barrel as far as "something I might not skip if it pops up on shuffle". The problem with Renny Amy is not that they aren't talented musicians since their compositions show a great deal of thought but that their music isn't edgy in any respect. They sound like they're being played but they aren't playing. Ryouga sounds like he's singing but he's not SINGING. They don't reach out to their demographic, smack them with their composition and say "this is good. like it.". It seems like a peace offering like "well, we made these courtship cookies for you and we hope you like them since we worked hard on it." Renny Amy needed to put the badass in their music and fix their method of production (and of course Ryouga needed to get better) because this song would have been pretty cool. They fixed up their chorus problem or masked it enough for me to not notice too much. At the end of the day, COURTSHIP is an OK song but in the context of other songs this one will always get lost under the rubble because it just isn't assertive enough.
Monochrome to Shinju is just another piece of generic VisKei rock without any original aspects so it's forgettable. Renny Amy isn't horrible in any aspect of the word to join the ranks of bands such as Seeles Klar Unend and idiot but they just aren't good at creating engaging, moving pieces of work. If you name me a piece of work by Dir en grey or Matenrou Opera or basically any other established band with a musical flair that sets them apart if I knew it I probably could hum it back or at least know what you're talking about. All I could think of with this EP was "born...born...born...why haven't you gotten better on A.H.M.?".
Where Monochrome to Shinju fails is that it sounds like this was recorded not by a professional band but by a group of talented teenagers in a garage band without any experience. 煙の果実 is a great example of this: many good musical techniques such as harmonizing both vocals and instruments are stumbled upon here but they aren't expanded upon and they aren't used very well in some parts. The mix of instruments also seems very off - the bass is sharp and the guitars and drums are washed out. Hell, the drum player sounds like he's playing on marshmallows. Ryouga's the only person I hear and when he isn't harmonizing he sounds like he's singing just one monotone note while alternating by sharps and flats. songs like butterfly 13 have interesting riffs going on but that's where Monochrome to Shinju falls into it's second pitfall: the non-dynamic differences between the instruments mixes everything together in an almost D'espairsRay fashion so even though everything's playing together you can't tell what's playing what. It's a little peeve of mine that I dislike greatly.
There is not one specific track that I'd actually recommend anyone take a shot at since they all sound very similar but if I had to butterfly 13 and WARPS CHILD could be good choices I guess. Ryouga's either singing flatly or roaring flatly and the guitars aren't crisp and sharp. They are average through and through and what techniques they use sound either so alien or so bland it makes the listener completely uninterested. Fans of born might find music they like (better) here (since born's last album blew giraffe anus) but speaking for myself I've got much better hard rock and metal bands that play music I can remember when I'm done with the album.
Review: D'espairsRay - REDEEMER
Tracklist
1. Lizard
2. BRILLIANT [PV]
3. REDEEMER [PV]
4. 琥珀 (Kohaku)
5. KAMIKAZE [PV]
6. Lost in re:birth
7. R.E.M-冬の幻聴- (R.E.M-Fuyu no genchou-)
8. HORIZON [PV]
9. MASQUERADE
In comparison to the beautiful [coll:set] and the energetic MIRROR, Redeemer blows monkey nuts. It's certainly not their strongest albums and if anything this is a bipolar offering of what D'espairsRay has to offer us as they're struggling through their style change. I'm not averse to change - I'm averse to it done badly but no matter how much I stomp my feet and whine up the internet the boys are going to play whatever it is they want to play so I guess I have to swallow the metaphorical rock cock and enjoy what I'm given.
Even though I make it sound like it's horrible this album has some redeeming qualities that save it from being a complete fail.
Lizard, the starting track, would be one of those good points. It is nothing more than a generic metal track meant to please fans like me who don't react well to change. By no means is it outstanding but the dark D'espairsRay purists will soon find themselves clinging to any shred of darkness that they can find on this album, especially when you look at what the second track is. D'espa wasted no time busting out BRILLIANT and the sheer upbeatness and raging energy of this track swathes Lizard's darker riffs and howls in light. BRILLIANT sounds like a track that was too light for MIRROR because a ton of stylistic elements were borrowed from that era for this song and it shows (especially in that little growl before the solo). Despite the polar opposites of these two tracks the flow is nice but I suppose this has to do with the fact that Lizard isn't the darkest thing we've ever heard from these boys. So even though they lighten up their darker songs (especially in the chorus which features some singing) their lighter songs aren't complete pop-rock pieces of crap. Yet.
REDEEMER, the third track, would fool you and make you think that this band was out to fuck with your mind. The mood is dark and tense as slick riffs and pounding drums race through verses and a chorus. When this PV came out every purist was in awe because the three B-sides they gave us were complete mindfucks and made us think we were getting some lame L'arc-en-ciel cover album shit. Without the PV, the energy of the track definitely suffers but if you need a quick fix of angsty HIZUMI this track could do the trick. Then again, there is another track coming up a bit later that could fill this void a lot better.
Kouhaku is pretty lame considering that it's a ballad lacking any direction. This saddens me since I love most of Tsukasa's work but this ballad falters because it doesn't dynamically expand into anything meaningful. The industrial opening and the guitar lines sound great, and the drum work lends itself nicely to the melancholic mood but the track doesn't bring it, leaving it to sit in the pool if it's own mediocrity to be emo and slice itself. KAMIKAZE doesn't bring it back since the opening charges you with energy but the chorus is a kick in the dick. It's generic pop-rock formula rubs me as a listener the wrong way and whatever uniqueness the track had going for it was lost in it's ambivalence to be both original and shitty at the same time.
Lost in re:birth is the one track that made me look at this album twice. Not one track sans Brilliant has given me any sort of indication that the tracks were thought through 100% - they sounded fine but they weren't inspired and D'espa didn't sound like they were completely convinced that they liked what they were playing. The vibe reminds me of Closer to ideal but overall the band lets loose here like they don't anywhere else on this album. I actually think the inclusion of this song hurts the album more than most people realize. It's so good at convincing you that D'espa still carries it's gothic junk in the trunk that the rest of the album comes off as a "what the fuck" amalgamation of unconvincing crap. Four minutes of complete rage, frantic drums and racing guitar lines makes me a happy purist.
R.E.M.~Fuyu no Genchou~ is the second ballad and it's not as dreadfully "chop my balls off" boring as Kouhaku was. Even though I personally feel it's too early for a second ballad slight additions to the track help it to build in a way that Kouhaku didn't, allowing the track not to fall flat at any point. Piano and violins help accompany the power metal chords and Hizumi's voice in a way that I haven't heard yet. Even though this is completely uncharacteristic of D'espairsRay, I like the experimentation and direction they decided to take with this track. Good stuff.
Ugh...and then we come to Horizon, the one track that I want to be raped with a rubber duckie of doom. This track deserves in no way to come after R.E.M. and everything about this track is cringe-worthy. Hizumi's rapping is atrocious, his screams are lame, the woah-oh-ohhhh's are creepy and the song is more pop-rock then Kamikaze's chorus. It retains none of the gothiness that at least allowed me to accept Kamikaze for what it was so I just listen to this track cringing with fear until the admittedly cool solo creeps up and turns even the heads of the most resentful of us purists. There's actually nothing too bad with this track and if you blinded someone and told them to listen to these two tracks they probably wouldn't be able to tell that it's the same band. It's just the fact that it's D'espairsRay that gave us this track, and not some generic oshare fuck like SuG that prevents me from accepting this track. I never actually WILL accept this track so it can rot in the back of the fucking fridge in hell sans the solo for the rest of eternity.
MASQUERADE is that lame attempt at D'espa trying to tell us they still are dark and emotional, screaming about pain and shit. Boys, when the last song says "CAN JOO FEEL DAH NEW WURLD?" I don't expect you to have the next track full of anger and rage at the world. Hizumi's trademark screams come off less raw and more refined, which would lead me to like it less since he sounds like he's holding back some and just roaring because it's been a few minutes since they've asserted how hardkoar they are (because we all know rapping is definitely kvlt). Hizumi's Engrish is also horrid and the next time the little ass uses a verb with out in it I will kick him in the dick. Break out, flake out? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT? MASQUERADE is definitely the worst hard number on here since it's just the mandatory rough track with no passion whatsoever. Skip this no matter what side of the D'espa color wheel your allegiance lies.
The track Yozora is a complete what the fuck trip that compels me to whip out a shotgun and blow my fucking brains out if it weren't for the fact that I'd go to shoot whoever blasted this oshare-kei candy crap in my ears. The track is titled Night Sky in Japanese but they might as well have named this track fucking RAINBOW ROAD because it's too fucking upbeat to think about anything dark and angsty. If you disliked Horizon you'll want to claw your eyes out with this because it sounds like Takeru went crazy on some nyappy juice and fucked with the octave dial on Karyu's guitars. The little "happy synths" that remind me of Yoshi's Island also need to die a horrible, bloody death and Karyu's solo can't turn my head no matter how many pinch harmonics he wants to throw into it. This is 4:18 minutes of torture I wouldn't suggest ANY fan of MIRROR-era and previous subject themselves to unless they're feeling a little BDSM'y.
If you were expecting another sub-par emo bitchfest from the group in PARADOX 5 you would be sorely disappointed. PARADOX 5 is another in the vein of "holy what the motherfucking hell" that D'espairsRay throws at us but instead of sounding like the grandparents of alice nine. these guys manage to create an ambient wonder so odd it's entrancing. It's like Screen but better, mixing electronic effects with ethnic elements and female vocals to give it a sense of groove I haven't heard much this album. D'espa need to rent themselves out to the GazettE so they can get them into "female vocal rehab" because these guys know how to use it to make a track better without having the entire song sound like an R&B chopped and screwed remix of upchuckable shit. Perhaps what makes this track feel so weird are the exclusion of guitars - which I'm thinking might be a good idea since these guys have overdosed on the pop juice far too much on this album.
Had the album ended there it would have been a complete smack in the face but it would have been the good kind where they leave the best for last to keep you on your toes up until the end. But no, D'espa wouldn't have it that way and somehow feels the compulsive need to let us know that they've done away with their adolescent rage by placing a pop-rock song every other track. HEAVEN'S COLOR would be that obligatory upbeat ending track. I would have called this HORIZON 2.0 but D'espairsRay somehow remembered that they had to pretend to be upset to please hardasses like me so this track comes off more melancholic than that aborted monstrosity called Yozora. I have a mental block against this track since I despise pop-rock tracks coming out of this band when they aren't done excellently and HEAVEN'S COLOR just refuses to click with me so I'll leave the listener to formulate their own opinions about this one. At this point, I've given up on Redeemer and maybe that's for the best since it's the end of the album and if I want to try again I have the generic Lizard to beef up my neural senses before I lunge back into this album again.
This album is anything but cohesive, jumping from dark and angry to light and happy with the change of a track. The only track that somehow manages to blend the two would be the last one and every other track inbetween is either needlessly happy, needlessly heavy or just plain unexpected. Some rearranging as well as substitution of better tracks could have done REDEEMER some good but as the package is on it's own there should be something here for anyone to like. Older purists like me should find tracks like Lizard, REDEEMER and Lost in re:birth to be adequate enough to assure us that D'espairsRay still remembers that we're expecting them to roar our socks off. Those looking for slower numbers can rest in the ambience of tracks like PARADOX 5, Kouhaku and R.E.M. and those without musical taste or those that need something upbeat and lighter in nature can enjoy "gems" like Horizon and Yozora. Everything else is in the middle and is more of a see-as-you-move-along sort of deal. There's definitely not that one standout track that blows me away on this album but there are plenty of moments that alone are "good enough" but together can keep me satisfied until D'espairsRay can manage to pull together something like REDEEMER, R.E.M., Lost in re:birth or BRILLIANT again and then improve on it enough to bring me back to the fanbase.
REDEEMER is slightly above average, resting at a solid 7 out of 10. It could have been better, but I was expecting a lot worse.
Even though I make it sound like it's horrible this album has some redeeming qualities that save it from being a complete fail.
Lizard, the starting track, would be one of those good points. It is nothing more than a generic metal track meant to please fans like me who don't react well to change. By no means is it outstanding but the dark D'espairsRay purists will soon find themselves clinging to any shred of darkness that they can find on this album, especially when you look at what the second track is. D'espa wasted no time busting out BRILLIANT and the sheer upbeatness and raging energy of this track swathes Lizard's darker riffs and howls in light. BRILLIANT sounds like a track that was too light for MIRROR because a ton of stylistic elements were borrowed from that era for this song and it shows (especially in that little growl before the solo). Despite the polar opposites of these two tracks the flow is nice but I suppose this has to do with the fact that Lizard isn't the darkest thing we've ever heard from these boys. So even though they lighten up their darker songs (especially in the chorus which features some singing) their lighter songs aren't complete pop-rock pieces of crap. Yet.
REDEEMER, the third track, would fool you and make you think that this band was out to fuck with your mind. The mood is dark and tense as slick riffs and pounding drums race through verses and a chorus. When this PV came out every purist was in awe because the three B-sides they gave us were complete mindfucks and made us think we were getting some lame L'arc-en-ciel cover album shit. Without the PV, the energy of the track definitely suffers but if you need a quick fix of angsty HIZUMI this track could do the trick. Then again, there is another track coming up a bit later that could fill this void a lot better.
Kouhaku is pretty lame considering that it's a ballad lacking any direction. This saddens me since I love most of Tsukasa's work but this ballad falters because it doesn't dynamically expand into anything meaningful. The industrial opening and the guitar lines sound great, and the drum work lends itself nicely to the melancholic mood but the track doesn't bring it, leaving it to sit in the pool if it's own mediocrity to be emo and slice itself. KAMIKAZE doesn't bring it back since the opening charges you with energy but the chorus is a kick in the dick. It's generic pop-rock formula rubs me as a listener the wrong way and whatever uniqueness the track had going for it was lost in it's ambivalence to be both original and shitty at the same time.
Lost in re:birth is the one track that made me look at this album twice. Not one track sans Brilliant has given me any sort of indication that the tracks were thought through 100% - they sounded fine but they weren't inspired and D'espa didn't sound like they were completely convinced that they liked what they were playing. The vibe reminds me of Closer to ideal but overall the band lets loose here like they don't anywhere else on this album. I actually think the inclusion of this song hurts the album more than most people realize. It's so good at convincing you that D'espa still carries it's gothic junk in the trunk that the rest of the album comes off as a "what the fuck" amalgamation of unconvincing crap. Four minutes of complete rage, frantic drums and racing guitar lines makes me a happy purist.
R.E.M.~Fuyu no Genchou~ is the second ballad and it's not as dreadfully "chop my balls off" boring as Kouhaku was. Even though I personally feel it's too early for a second ballad slight additions to the track help it to build in a way that Kouhaku didn't, allowing the track not to fall flat at any point. Piano and violins help accompany the power metal chords and Hizumi's voice in a way that I haven't heard yet. Even though this is completely uncharacteristic of D'espairsRay, I like the experimentation and direction they decided to take with this track. Good stuff.
Ugh...and then we come to Horizon, the one track that I want to be raped with a rubber duckie of doom. This track deserves in no way to come after R.E.M. and everything about this track is cringe-worthy. Hizumi's rapping is atrocious, his screams are lame, the woah-oh-ohhhh's are creepy and the song is more pop-rock then Kamikaze's chorus. It retains none of the gothiness that at least allowed me to accept Kamikaze for what it was so I just listen to this track cringing with fear until the admittedly cool solo creeps up and turns even the heads of the most resentful of us purists. There's actually nothing too bad with this track and if you blinded someone and told them to listen to these two tracks they probably wouldn't be able to tell that it's the same band. It's just the fact that it's D'espairsRay that gave us this track, and not some generic oshare fuck like SuG that prevents me from accepting this track. I never actually WILL accept this track so it can rot in the back of the fucking fridge in hell sans the solo for the rest of eternity.
MASQUERADE is that lame attempt at D'espa trying to tell us they still are dark and emotional, screaming about pain and shit. Boys, when the last song says "CAN JOO FEEL DAH NEW WURLD?" I don't expect you to have the next track full of anger and rage at the world. Hizumi's trademark screams come off less raw and more refined, which would lead me to like it less since he sounds like he's holding back some and just roaring because it's been a few minutes since they've asserted how hardkoar they are (because we all know rapping is definitely kvlt). Hizumi's Engrish is also horrid and the next time the little ass uses a verb with out in it I will kick him in the dick. Break out, flake out? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT? MASQUERADE is definitely the worst hard number on here since it's just the mandatory rough track with no passion whatsoever. Skip this no matter what side of the D'espa color wheel your allegiance lies.
The track Yozora is a complete what the fuck trip that compels me to whip out a shotgun and blow my fucking brains out if it weren't for the fact that I'd go to shoot whoever blasted this oshare-kei candy crap in my ears. The track is titled Night Sky in Japanese but they might as well have named this track fucking RAINBOW ROAD because it's too fucking upbeat to think about anything dark and angsty. If you disliked Horizon you'll want to claw your eyes out with this because it sounds like Takeru went crazy on some nyappy juice and fucked with the octave dial on Karyu's guitars. The little "happy synths" that remind me of Yoshi's Island also need to die a horrible, bloody death and Karyu's solo can't turn my head no matter how many pinch harmonics he wants to throw into it. This is 4:18 minutes of torture I wouldn't suggest ANY fan of MIRROR-era and previous subject themselves to unless they're feeling a little BDSM'y.
If you were expecting another sub-par emo bitchfest from the group in PARADOX 5 you would be sorely disappointed. PARADOX 5 is another in the vein of "holy what the motherfucking hell" that D'espairsRay throws at us but instead of sounding like the grandparents of alice nine. these guys manage to create an ambient wonder so odd it's entrancing. It's like Screen but better, mixing electronic effects with ethnic elements and female vocals to give it a sense of groove I haven't heard much this album. D'espa need to rent themselves out to the GazettE so they can get them into "female vocal rehab" because these guys know how to use it to make a track better without having the entire song sound like an R&B chopped and screwed remix of upchuckable shit. Perhaps what makes this track feel so weird are the exclusion of guitars - which I'm thinking might be a good idea since these guys have overdosed on the pop juice far too much on this album.
Had the album ended there it would have been a complete smack in the face but it would have been the good kind where they leave the best for last to keep you on your toes up until the end. But no, D'espa wouldn't have it that way and somehow feels the compulsive need to let us know that they've done away with their adolescent rage by placing a pop-rock song every other track. HEAVEN'S COLOR would be that obligatory upbeat ending track. I would have called this HORIZON 2.0 but D'espairsRay somehow remembered that they had to pretend to be upset to please hardasses like me so this track comes off more melancholic than that aborted monstrosity called Yozora. I have a mental block against this track since I despise pop-rock tracks coming out of this band when they aren't done excellently and HEAVEN'S COLOR just refuses to click with me so I'll leave the listener to formulate their own opinions about this one. At this point, I've given up on Redeemer and maybe that's for the best since it's the end of the album and if I want to try again I have the generic Lizard to beef up my neural senses before I lunge back into this album again.
This album is anything but cohesive, jumping from dark and angry to light and happy with the change of a track. The only track that somehow manages to blend the two would be the last one and every other track inbetween is either needlessly happy, needlessly heavy or just plain unexpected. Some rearranging as well as substitution of better tracks could have done REDEEMER some good but as the package is on it's own there should be something here for anyone to like. Older purists like me should find tracks like Lizard, REDEEMER and Lost in re:birth to be adequate enough to assure us that D'espairsRay still remembers that we're expecting them to roar our socks off. Those looking for slower numbers can rest in the ambience of tracks like PARADOX 5, Kouhaku and R.E.M. and those without musical taste or those that need something upbeat and lighter in nature can enjoy "gems" like Horizon and Yozora. Everything else is in the middle and is more of a see-as-you-move-along sort of deal. There's definitely not that one standout track that blows me away on this album but there are plenty of moments that alone are "good enough" but together can keep me satisfied until D'espairsRay can manage to pull together something like REDEEMER, R.E.M., Lost in re:birth or BRILLIANT again and then improve on it enough to bring me back to the fanbase.
REDEEMER is slightly above average, resting at a solid 7 out of 10. It could have been better, but I was expecting a lot worse.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Short Blogging Hiatus
The title says it all. The reason isn't anything familial or school related. At this point in the year all the releases I looked forward to hearing have been heard and reviewed which leaves me with a fuckton of musical releases I haven't gotten around to reviewing yet. Instead of sludging through them with complete in-depth reviews like I did in the past, I'm going to create a long group of posts highlighting every album I have in my collection along with a short review of each of them. In order to do this I need time. I plan to be rather ambitious and get it to you all by Christmas but if that doesn't happen then it will be up before New Years.
So unless something completely fucking epic happens between now and the 25th I won't be seeing you guys until Christmas. ^^
So unless something completely fucking epic happens between now and the 25th I won't be seeing you guys until Christmas. ^^
Review: Dir en grey - Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami
After the release of an album, whether it be good or bad, Dir en grey's singles usually go off in a different direction. The main appeal that I have with this band is that they somehow always manage to re-invent themselves with every release. As time goes on though I have to wonder how many more times they can surprise me before it becomes old news and they're playing something they've already done before.
Contrary to the usual bullshit I put forth I actually didn't think that this single was going to suck. Somehow I knew it was going to stomp on my scrotum at the speed of awesome with whatever new ideas that they managed to come up with. Normally I don't follow singles obsessively but for this one I did because, well, face it Dir en grey is one of my favorite bands of all time.
Having that said, I don't really see how Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami is one of their best singles of all time. The inclusion of the chorus at the beginning does not fit and doesn't sound right. Kaoru and Die have really improved from the UROBOROS period and they wham on their axes like I've never heard them before. Some portions of this song have me wondering what the hell they're doing to their instruments because they sound like the roaring of some Norse god. Due to the good production, I can't even hear the bass so I'm not going to rate Toshiya. Shinya on the other hand was very good - nothing special since I've heard better drum lines from him before - but his rapid execution never fails to inspire me. Some songs like Red Soil have him pounding on that kit like a madman but this song sees him take more of a backseat. One of the hampering aspects of this track are Kyo's vocals - in no way did they suck but we didn't hear him when we needed to and heard him when we didn't need to hear him. The "deathcore" growls he has going on sounded low and messy, like something I'd hear off of a lynch. CD and I really wasn't feeling that too much. The transition into the catchy chorus is awkward but over subsequent listens was done very well and fits with the mood. Chorus is the best part of this song and the ending chant keeps the song from sinking off into mediocrity but somehow I think this song could have been a lot longer. It's obviously missing a solo and even though they're moving towards a style that focuses more on atmosphere than axe jamming Hageshisa to... really needed one (looking back on it we haven't really had many solos since the VULGAR/ sixUGLY era.
It's not perfect but I'll take it. They've fed us worse shit.
Zan Reconstructed packs new lyrics and enough fury to kill. While the old recording on Gauze went with the type of insanity of someone who's going to pick up a gun and mow down a bunch of people, this one feels like Kyo's going to rip you apart piece by piece. Shinya's drumming is a pretty good highlight of this track since he's the one that adds the most energy to the fray. Kyo's growls are brutal (and balanced correctly) and the guitar work is just sexy. Zan's riffs are unmistakable and although Toshiya once again is inaudible under the guitar work you won't really find yourself caring too much. I find this better than the single but some fans of the older version of Zan may miss the psychotic intro and the black metallish vocals that gave the song it's atmosphere.
It's really hit or miss.
Shokubeni just isn't as good this time around due to the way that they're recording it. I knew this coming in so I'm not going to hold the production value against it. As a matter of fact, it's damn impressive that they got the song to sound this good in one take. What Diru has done here is taken some of the UROBOROS vibe and infused it into this track. This is clearly evident with the massive amount of growling and Shinya's tribal drumming. Personally I would have preferred another re-recording of this song in the studio or a new track altogether. Shokubeni sounds OK for what it is but if this was in the studio there is no doubt that it would have been a lot better. At the end of the day I don't see myself listening to this track too much but it's a fine inclusion and it might get addictive over the long run.
When taken as a whole package, we haven't gotten something this good since Kasumi which is great news since Diru's single tracks usually are bearable but the single as a whole blows donkey nuts. With this one, people are bound not to like something here and others as a whole are turned off by the entire screeching and harsh vocal aspect they've been working since Clever Sleazoid. Old fans of Diru who lust for their VK don't want to try this single out and those that hated Uroboros (and you call yourselves fans?) will hate this more, but all others may want to try this out if you come prepared with some diapers and a -very- open mind about your music. If you do, this single will suck your dick dry.
Contrary to the usual bullshit I put forth I actually didn't think that this single was going to suck. Somehow I knew it was going to stomp on my scrotum at the speed of awesome with whatever new ideas that they managed to come up with. Normally I don't follow singles obsessively but for this one I did because, well, face it Dir en grey is one of my favorite bands of all time.
Having that said, I don't really see how Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami is one of their best singles of all time. The inclusion of the chorus at the beginning does not fit and doesn't sound right. Kaoru and Die have really improved from the UROBOROS period and they wham on their axes like I've never heard them before. Some portions of this song have me wondering what the hell they're doing to their instruments because they sound like the roaring of some Norse god. Due to the good production, I can't even hear the bass so I'm not going to rate Toshiya. Shinya on the other hand was very good - nothing special since I've heard better drum lines from him before - but his rapid execution never fails to inspire me. Some songs like Red Soil have him pounding on that kit like a madman but this song sees him take more of a backseat. One of the hampering aspects of this track are Kyo's vocals - in no way did they suck but we didn't hear him when we needed to and heard him when we didn't need to hear him. The "deathcore" growls he has going on sounded low and messy, like something I'd hear off of a lynch. CD and I really wasn't feeling that too much. The transition into the catchy chorus is awkward but over subsequent listens was done very well and fits with the mood. Chorus is the best part of this song and the ending chant keeps the song from sinking off into mediocrity but somehow I think this song could have been a lot longer. It's obviously missing a solo and even though they're moving towards a style that focuses more on atmosphere than axe jamming Hageshisa to... really needed one (looking back on it we haven't really had many solos since the VULGAR/ sixUGLY era.
It's not perfect but I'll take it. They've fed us worse shit.
Zan Reconstructed packs new lyrics and enough fury to kill. While the old recording on Gauze went with the type of insanity of someone who's going to pick up a gun and mow down a bunch of people, this one feels like Kyo's going to rip you apart piece by piece. Shinya's drumming is a pretty good highlight of this track since he's the one that adds the most energy to the fray. Kyo's growls are brutal (and balanced correctly) and the guitar work is just sexy. Zan's riffs are unmistakable and although Toshiya once again is inaudible under the guitar work you won't really find yourself caring too much. I find this better than the single but some fans of the older version of Zan may miss the psychotic intro and the black metallish vocals that gave the song it's atmosphere.
It's really hit or miss.
Shokubeni just isn't as good this time around due to the way that they're recording it. I knew this coming in so I'm not going to hold the production value against it. As a matter of fact, it's damn impressive that they got the song to sound this good in one take. What Diru has done here is taken some of the UROBOROS vibe and infused it into this track. This is clearly evident with the massive amount of growling and Shinya's tribal drumming. Personally I would have preferred another re-recording of this song in the studio or a new track altogether. Shokubeni sounds OK for what it is but if this was in the studio there is no doubt that it would have been a lot better. At the end of the day I don't see myself listening to this track too much but it's a fine inclusion and it might get addictive over the long run.
When taken as a whole package, we haven't gotten something this good since Kasumi which is great news since Diru's single tracks usually are bearable but the single as a whole blows donkey nuts. With this one, people are bound not to like something here and others as a whole are turned off by the entire screeching and harsh vocal aspect they've been working since Clever Sleazoid. Old fans of Diru who lust for their VK don't want to try this single out and those that hated Uroboros (and you call yourselves fans?) will hate this more, but all others may want to try this out if you come prepared with some diapers and a -very- open mind about your music. If you do, this single will suck your dick dry.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
UNDERCODE
This post here was written by inartistic on Tainted World. It's so true I had to repost it here.
Yeah, because being influenced by KISAKI has really made hundreds of bands suck. Lol.
It's totally cool to hate KISAKI because it's in vogue, because he hurt Kyo's feelings, or because he has big teeth, but you don't even realize what you're saying. KISAKI has managed or produced more bands than you realize, and he's affected many, many more.
You know where D's ASAGI and Ruiza got their starts? KISAKI! DIR EN GREY? KISAKI. That little band the GazettE? Originally with a sublabel of Matina. Members of Dio and emmuree also got their start at Matina because of KISAKI. He's the only reason that harvest (who are terrific) and VAGERKE got any exposure at all overseas.
Assuming you hate those bands, consider the roughly 100 he's produced through Matina and UNDER CODE PRODUCTION. I doubt you've listened to all of those and dislike 90 of them, but, if so, what about the bands formed and directly affected by those bands he produced? If, for each band produced, a little less than one band is formed or directly affected by it, that's another, say, 70 bands. Still don't like any of those? Then consider the bands that have been affected by him just because they liked his style--there's no denying that many bands have been influenced by either the “Matina style” or UNDER CODE's aesthetics. Bergerac rode his dick for the longest time just because they thought he was neat, and bands like Madieduor are practically neo-revivals of Madeth gray'll.
Beyond that, imagine the roadies he's inspired and the musicians he's influenced after meeting them at lives. FOOL'S MATE thought his retirement was a big enough deal to make a book about him. Over 200 individuals cared enough to write official comments about him in the book; and that's bandmen and important people on the scene, not random girls who went to Phantasmagoria shows. (As an aside, if you're one of those people who criticizes his activity after retirement: so what? Activity after retirement is crucial, it's called generativity.)
Even from a purely economical standpoint, he is important. Just imagine all the livehouses he's booked over the years, all of the artists that have been signed to his labels, all of the staff that have worked at his labels, all of the shops that see income from his labels' releases, the PV companies that get repeat business from him, the costume designers that get to do visible work because of him, the sound engineers, the magazine staff (both FOOL'S MATE and SHOXX have done special releases through him), and even designers. One designer in particular, AKI OKAMURA, only has steady work because KISAKI has hired him time and time again, from the days of Matina to now. I'm not saying Japan will collapse when KISAKI is gone, but he has encouraged a ton of money flow over his years.
And speaking of money, still hate him because “he's a money-grubbing asshole?” False. If he was money-hungry, would he have helped cious pi cious release a CD? No, because no one gives a shit about cious pi cious. And yet he did help them, because he enjoyed their music and was friends with the members. So he must be money-hungry because his label releases multiple types of one CD, right? Wrong again! That is just a part of the record industry--look at Gackt, ayumi hamasaki, and even smaller bands like MoNoLith or Kiryu. In English-speaking countries too (they just aren't called “types”): Lady Gaga's new album is out in at least three versions. Still hate him because he's the only one who re-releases stuff? Wrong once more~ The Beatles perfected that long ago. And if you want a really VK-centric example, point your accusing gaze at MICHIRU of L∞p・Ash RECORDS, the guy who is responsible for consistently releasing -OZ- songs one-at-a-time and then releasing a collection of them later. KISAKI's label may try to squeeze more money out of releases, but if he's a bad person for that, so is every other person that works at every other label.
So yeah, maybe chariots sucks dick. Maybe you hate Anjyu' and despise Nega's vocalist. Maybe Sense of Shape was a lame band with a loser name that only existed because Matina was willing to sign lots of people. That's all fine. But just realize that KISAKI has produced a ton of bands beside the 10 that you had bad experiences with, and realize that he has directly affected the sound of many, many more. I can't speak for KISAKI's morals or oral hygiene, but, at the end of the day, whether or not you or anyone else wants to admit it, KISAKI is far reaching in his influence on the visual scene. To say that everything he touches is shit is to say that the scene itself is shit.
Yeah, because being influenced by KISAKI has really made hundreds of bands suck. Lol.
It's totally cool to hate KISAKI because it's in vogue, because he hurt Kyo's feelings, or because he has big teeth, but you don't even realize what you're saying. KISAKI has managed or produced more bands than you realize, and he's affected many, many more.
You know where D's ASAGI and Ruiza got their starts? KISAKI! DIR EN GREY? KISAKI. That little band the GazettE? Originally with a sublabel of Matina. Members of Dio and emmuree also got their start at Matina because of KISAKI. He's the only reason that harvest (who are terrific) and VAGERKE got any exposure at all overseas.
Assuming you hate those bands, consider the roughly 100 he's produced through Matina and UNDER CODE PRODUCTION. I doubt you've listened to all of those and dislike 90 of them, but, if so, what about the bands formed and directly affected by those bands he produced? If, for each band produced, a little less than one band is formed or directly affected by it, that's another, say, 70 bands. Still don't like any of those? Then consider the bands that have been affected by him just because they liked his style--there's no denying that many bands have been influenced by either the “Matina style” or UNDER CODE's aesthetics. Bergerac rode his dick for the longest time just because they thought he was neat, and bands like Madieduor are practically neo-revivals of Madeth gray'll.
Beyond that, imagine the roadies he's inspired and the musicians he's influenced after meeting them at lives. FOOL'S MATE thought his retirement was a big enough deal to make a book about him. Over 200 individuals cared enough to write official comments about him in the book; and that's bandmen and important people on the scene, not random girls who went to Phantasmagoria shows. (As an aside, if you're one of those people who criticizes his activity after retirement: so what? Activity after retirement is crucial, it's called generativity.)
Even from a purely economical standpoint, he is important. Just imagine all the livehouses he's booked over the years, all of the artists that have been signed to his labels, all of the staff that have worked at his labels, all of the shops that see income from his labels' releases, the PV companies that get repeat business from him, the costume designers that get to do visible work because of him, the sound engineers, the magazine staff (both FOOL'S MATE and SHOXX have done special releases through him), and even designers. One designer in particular, AKI OKAMURA, only has steady work because KISAKI has hired him time and time again, from the days of Matina to now. I'm not saying Japan will collapse when KISAKI is gone, but he has encouraged a ton of money flow over his years.
And speaking of money, still hate him because “he's a money-grubbing asshole?” False. If he was money-hungry, would he have helped cious pi cious release a CD? No, because no one gives a shit about cious pi cious. And yet he did help them, because he enjoyed their music and was friends with the members. So he must be money-hungry because his label releases multiple types of one CD, right? Wrong again! That is just a part of the record industry--look at Gackt, ayumi hamasaki, and even smaller bands like MoNoLith or Kiryu. In English-speaking countries too (they just aren't called “types”): Lady Gaga's new album is out in at least three versions. Still hate him because he's the only one who re-releases stuff? Wrong once more~ The Beatles perfected that long ago. And if you want a really VK-centric example, point your accusing gaze at MICHIRU of L∞p・Ash RECORDS, the guy who is responsible for consistently releasing -OZ- songs one-at-a-time and then releasing a collection of them later. KISAKI's label may try to squeeze more money out of releases, but if he's a bad person for that, so is every other person that works at every other label.
So yeah, maybe chariots sucks dick. Maybe you hate Anjyu' and despise Nega's vocalist. Maybe Sense of Shape was a lame band with a loser name that only existed because Matina was willing to sign lots of people. That's all fine. But just realize that KISAKI has produced a ton of bands beside the 10 that you had bad experiences with, and realize that he has directly affected the sound of many, many more. I can't speak for KISAKI's morals or oral hygiene, but, at the end of the day, whether or not you or anyone else wants to admit it, KISAKI is far reaching in his influence on the visual scene. To say that everything he touches is shit is to say that the scene itself is shit.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
D'espairsRay's Immortal Tracklist
1. 檻の中で見る夢
2. MaVERiCK
3. Garnet
4. BORN
5. 闇に降る奇跡
6. 「浮遊した理想」
7. Forbidden
8. アベルとカイン
9. 凍える夜に咲いた花
10. Closer to ideal
11. Squall
12. MIRROR
13. Cocoon
14. Scissors
15. HORIZON
2. MaVERiCK
3. Garnet
4. BORN
5. 闇に降る奇跡
6. 「浮遊した理想」
7. Forbidden
8. アベルとカイン
9. 凍える夜に咲いた花
10. Closer to ideal
11. Squall
12. MIRROR
13. Cocoon
14. Scissors
15. HORIZON
Brothers and sisters, this is one terrible tracklist. Wasn't this supposed to be a compilation of all their best work from 1999-2008? Well what the fuck is 1999 doing there if the earliest track they're giving us is 2003 (Ori no Naka de Miru Yume)? Secondly, what the fuck are Redeemer era tracks doing here? REDEEMER IS 2009 - Get Horizon the FUCK off that shit unless this is some sort of grindcore remix. Cocoon and Scissors are lame as fuck b-sides and Horizon DEFINITELY does not belong there! It's been on their last three releases and everyone hated that track to shit!
I am also not enthused about seeing Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana and Squall on this album either. They aren't as shit as HORIZON but it's still pretty shit considering all of the other tracks they could have done. This goes for Squall more than Kogoeru, because I personally find Squall to be boring. Where are the demo tapes? Where's the Kumo/Genwaku re-recordings? Fucking hell, they didn't even put REDDISH on this album! REDDISH > FUYUU SHITA RISOU GUYS! WHY IS THERE MIRROR HERE? I can BUY MIRROR if I wanted to hear MIRROR songs.
The only song I semi-approve of besides Ori no Naka de Miru Yume is MaVERiCK and that's because it's old and hasn't been re-recorded at all. Then again, SEXUAL BEAST / TERRORS hasn't been re-recorded either and Closer to ideal has already been re-recorded.
This is NOT what I wanted and as a result I will not be buying this album like I originally intended. There was SO MUCH they could have done with this album and instead they shitted all over this prospect to gain back some VK props (I don't give a fuck what you say they haven't shorn VK so they are) and instead they pick the shittiest 13 tracks they could and said "here we go - these are tracks that either DON'T need to be re-recorded or are just plain shit but we're doing it because we like em"
You wanna know what I would have liked?
Ao / Razor / Sakura / [S]yste[M] - these demo tapes are hard to find and are in crap quality. We want to hear them, you can shamelessly make money off of decade old work, who is complaining? NO ONE
Loop ~ Divide Neo Abomination~ / Monokuro ni Natta Saigo no Hi - most people don't even know these tracks exists and both of these together destroy most of that tracklist.
ANIMAL MANIA - YOU DID FUCKING ANIMAL MANIA LAST YEAR! WHY ISN'T THIS HERE >_________>
Kumo / Genwaku / TERRORS / Sexual Beast - all with good songs in crap to sub-par quality that could have been re-recorded. Kumo especially since it featured one of my favorite songs by them and that could have used a good re-recording. Why isn't Kisei, Gensyoku, Fascism or Valentine on that tracklist? ALL GREAT SONGS!
I didn't want anything from COLL:SET but since you went that far why isn't Maze, Pig and DESERT re-recorded either? I don't want poppy shit - I want hard, rough, screamy shit (and you know what? Most of the D'espa fanbase either agrees or won't disagree with me on that one).
You disgust me D'espairsRay - the one time you had to recycle GOOD shit you spend on songs that aren't worth our time. I'll take everything up to track eight - the rest can eat shit.
Fuck you Immortal. Fuck you with a rubber spoon.
I am also not enthused about seeing Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana and Squall on this album either. They aren't as shit as HORIZON but it's still pretty shit considering all of the other tracks they could have done. This goes for Squall more than Kogoeru, because I personally find Squall to be boring. Where are the demo tapes? Where's the Kumo/Genwaku re-recordings? Fucking hell, they didn't even put REDDISH on this album! REDDISH > FUYUU SHITA RISOU GUYS! WHY IS THERE MIRROR HERE? I can BUY MIRROR if I wanted to hear MIRROR songs.
The only song I semi-approve of besides Ori no Naka de Miru Yume is MaVERiCK and that's because it's old and hasn't been re-recorded at all. Then again, SEXUAL BEAST / TERRORS hasn't been re-recorded either and Closer to ideal has already been re-recorded.
This is NOT what I wanted and as a result I will not be buying this album like I originally intended. There was SO MUCH they could have done with this album and instead they shitted all over this prospect to gain back some VK props (I don't give a fuck what you say they haven't shorn VK so they are) and instead they pick the shittiest 13 tracks they could and said "here we go - these are tracks that either DON'T need to be re-recorded or are just plain shit but we're doing it because we like em"
You wanna know what I would have liked?
Ao / Razor / Sakura / [S]yste[M] - these demo tapes are hard to find and are in crap quality. We want to hear them, you can shamelessly make money off of decade old work, who is complaining? NO ONE
Loop ~ Divide Neo Abomination~ / Monokuro ni Natta Saigo no Hi - most people don't even know these tracks exists and both of these together destroy most of that tracklist.
ANIMAL MANIA - YOU DID FUCKING ANIMAL MANIA LAST YEAR! WHY ISN'T THIS HERE >_________>
Kumo / Genwaku / TERRORS / Sexual Beast - all with good songs in crap to sub-par quality that could have been re-recorded. Kumo especially since it featured one of my favorite songs by them and that could have used a good re-recording. Why isn't Kisei, Gensyoku, Fascism or Valentine on that tracklist? ALL GREAT SONGS!
I didn't want anything from COLL:SET but since you went that far why isn't Maze, Pig and DESERT re-recorded either? I don't want poppy shit - I want hard, rough, screamy shit (and you know what? Most of the D'espa fanbase either agrees or won't disagree with me on that one).
You disgust me D'espairsRay - the one time you had to recycle GOOD shit you spend on songs that aren't worth our time. I'll take everything up to track eight - the rest can eat shit.
Fuck you Immortal. Fuck you with a rubber spoon.
Monday, November 30, 2009
All members except vo. 戮 (Riku) are leaving chariots
Let's get this straight....
秋都 (Akito), 知 (Tomo), 絽希 (Roki), and 零也 (Reiya) are leaving chariots. That's means Riku will be the only remaining member.
Commence mass lolage.
Whenever you are done you can return to reading the rest of this rather short post. I just saw this and at first I was shocked that this was happening to one of my bands. Then I realized that most of chariots' output was shit so the fact that they're abandoning Riku means that either Ki$aki kicked them out because they weren't good enough or they all left because they realized their music was shit. I can't really say which is which for sure but I always feel that leaving the vocalist on his own was a dick move. It's all up to Riku now but since UC poured a fuckton of money into them to be their flagship band I don't see how Ki$aki's going to just let Riku disband this Titanic of a band.
Personally, chariots needs to start over with new members, new name and a new concept since I don't think that this current concept of "aggressive art" can be taken any farther without becoming repetitive. People have said that Riku's done better but I can't vouch for that since I haven't listened to Phantasmagoria due to obsessive Kisaki hate.
The band's final tour with the current lineup, carnage opera, will take place from 2010-02-14 to 2010-02-27 throughout Japan. After that the future is uncertain but it seems that chariots will continue, for a while at least. Some bands have come back from entire members leaving but most of the time they just call it quits.
Call it quits chariots x_x. Start over and wow us anew - your music is crap.
秋都 (Akito), 知 (Tomo), 絽希 (Roki), and 零也 (Reiya) are leaving chariots. That's means Riku will be the only remaining member.
Commence mass lolage.
Whenever you are done you can return to reading the rest of this rather short post. I just saw this and at first I was shocked that this was happening to one of my bands. Then I realized that most of chariots' output was shit so the fact that they're abandoning Riku means that either Ki$aki kicked them out because they weren't good enough or they all left because they realized their music was shit. I can't really say which is which for sure but I always feel that leaving the vocalist on his own was a dick move. It's all up to Riku now but since UC poured a fuckton of money into them to be their flagship band I don't see how Ki$aki's going to just let Riku disband this Titanic of a band.
Personally, chariots needs to start over with new members, new name and a new concept since I don't think that this current concept of "aggressive art" can be taken any farther without becoming repetitive. People have said that Riku's done better but I can't vouch for that since I haven't listened to Phantasmagoria due to obsessive Kisaki hate.
The band's final tour with the current lineup, carnage opera, will take place from 2010-02-14 to 2010-02-27 throughout Japan. After that the future is uncertain but it seems that chariots will continue, for a while at least. Some bands have come back from entire members leaving but most of the time they just call it quits.
Call it quits chariots x_x. Start over and wow us anew - your music is crap.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Review: Nega - Haunted Jealousy
I can't say that I was looking forward to Nega's Haunted Jealousy as much as I was hoping for something that could redeem them and put them back on the front of "UC bands to watch". I wasn't particularly impressed with Grave of the Sacrifice when it came out because I thought they went a little over the deep end and immersed themselves too much in their softer side. I have no problem with a band experimenting with sound but Grave of the Sacrifice just didn't live up to the standards Nega has set for themselves in the past.
I wasn't expecting a quadrangle or an utsu out of this single but with it coming in three editions I hoped that out of these seven tracks there would be something redeeming here. But by just looking at the tracklist I wanted to vomit - there are THREE DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTALS WITH THIS SINGLE.
Goddamnit can Nega get any more Kisaki? >_>
Dorje avoids the pitfalls of most Nega instrumentals by having a set melody and then expanding on it. Short pieces that they've done in the past like death warrant and Psyren were well thought out pieces that weren't fully realized so it ended up becoming redundant quickly. Dorje has a beginning, middle and end. Nice except instrumentals are dick moves.
Ganesh isn't as stellar. The electronic effects take away from the song because it doesn't feel like it lends itself well to the entire ambience of the single. Ganesh manages to expand as it goes along but when it returns to the pattern from the beginning it makes the track loop. I'm starting to appreciate shorter instrumentals that pack a punch and this is simply too long for something that doesn't reinvent itself.
Islamic is the only instrumental that I consider as appropriate to the mood of the single and this is the one i believe Nega intended for us to associate with the single. islamic does some experimentation that makes the other two instrumentals look safe in comparison (0:59 - 1:04) for example is something that might not work out but doesn't really matter in the long run since it's an instrumental and instrumentals are gay.
Haunted Jealousy destroys most of what was on GRAVE OF THE SACRIFICE and seriously sounds like something the GazettE would do if they had Jin as a singer. The mix of symphonic and hard rock similar to Soul Cry saves this song from totally sounding like a GazettE ripoff but I really cannot shake the feeling that they got a hold of DIM and took some tips from them. Then again, when one band with a crap vocalist copies off of another band with a crap vocalist the result are songs that are alike. Nega hasn't sounded like this before and even though Haunted Jealousy is nice it suffers from the addition of his ear-raping vocals. Jin really needs to improve because his voice is strikingly different and there's a fine line between ear-raping vocals and different but wonderful vocals - he hasn't found that balance quite yet.
As a matter of fact, EVERYTHING on this CD sounds like it came from the GazettE. I've been bitching about it the whole time but this is actually a positive since the last time we heard something distinctly Nega it swallowed giraffe cock. Oboro and Ogress are pretty much crap whereas the final track sounds much better.
Ogress has a nice breakdown and solo but after that pretty much everything blows chunks. I don't like Jin's voice in this track since he sounds very monotone and the beat once again sounds very GazettE-ish except it's lame and doesn't change up sans the solo. Oboro is slightly better but it fails at this chorus which comes out of nowhere and changes the flow of the song. In fact, this chorus is the only distinctly Nega portion of music on this entire single. Jin's hardkoar kvltic rapping actually started clicking with me after a few listens. It's lame and it gets repetitive quickly but I'll give Nega a few points for at least trying something different.
淫 雨と暗澹 is an interesting song and feels like a spiritual companion to Haunted Jealousy. Even though the influence is here in this song, it's not overwhelming like it is in the other two songs and Jin sings like something other than a drugged Muppet. It really sounds like the most balanced song on the single (even though I'm hating Jin's screams which sound like they're sampled from guilt trip >_> ). The only thing remotely unique about this song is the way it ends and I'm unsure if that's intentional or accidental.
I'm ambivalent on this single. On the one hand I like the fact that this isn't a continuation of Grave of the Sacrifice but on the other hand this is too GazettEish for me to fully appreciate. I like this single but at the same time I don't and there are one too many crap tracks for me to give it a high score. I'd grant this single a 6/10 if you give me numbers for these three reasons
1) too many instrumentals
2) Ogress and Oboro aren't as good as the other two singing tracks
3) this isn't Nega's core sound. it's a nice deviation but if I want to hear gazettE i'll hear GazettE.
At least it's better than Grave of the Sacrifice - it has redeeming qualities.
I wasn't expecting a quadrangle or an utsu out of this single but with it coming in three editions I hoped that out of these seven tracks there would be something redeeming here. But by just looking at the tracklist I wanted to vomit - there are THREE DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTALS WITH THIS SINGLE.
Goddamnit can Nega get any more Kisaki? >_>
Dorje avoids the pitfalls of most Nega instrumentals by having a set melody and then expanding on it. Short pieces that they've done in the past like death warrant and Psyren were well thought out pieces that weren't fully realized so it ended up becoming redundant quickly. Dorje has a beginning, middle and end. Nice except instrumentals are dick moves.
Ganesh isn't as stellar. The electronic effects take away from the song because it doesn't feel like it lends itself well to the entire ambience of the single. Ganesh manages to expand as it goes along but when it returns to the pattern from the beginning it makes the track loop. I'm starting to appreciate shorter instrumentals that pack a punch and this is simply too long for something that doesn't reinvent itself.
Islamic is the only instrumental that I consider as appropriate to the mood of the single and this is the one i believe Nega intended for us to associate with the single. islamic does some experimentation that makes the other two instrumentals look safe in comparison (0:59 - 1:04) for example is something that might not work out but doesn't really matter in the long run since it's an instrumental and instrumentals are gay.
Haunted Jealousy destroys most of what was on GRAVE OF THE SACRIFICE and seriously sounds like something the GazettE would do if they had Jin as a singer. The mix of symphonic and hard rock similar to Soul Cry saves this song from totally sounding like a GazettE ripoff but I really cannot shake the feeling that they got a hold of DIM and took some tips from them. Then again, when one band with a crap vocalist copies off of another band with a crap vocalist the result are songs that are alike. Nega hasn't sounded like this before and even though Haunted Jealousy is nice it suffers from the addition of his ear-raping vocals. Jin really needs to improve because his voice is strikingly different and there's a fine line between ear-raping vocals and different but wonderful vocals - he hasn't found that balance quite yet.
As a matter of fact, EVERYTHING on this CD sounds like it came from the GazettE. I've been bitching about it the whole time but this is actually a positive since the last time we heard something distinctly Nega it swallowed giraffe cock. Oboro and Ogress are pretty much crap whereas the final track sounds much better.
Ogress has a nice breakdown and solo but after that pretty much everything blows chunks. I don't like Jin's voice in this track since he sounds very monotone and the beat once again sounds very GazettE-ish except it's lame and doesn't change up sans the solo. Oboro is slightly better but it fails at this chorus which comes out of nowhere and changes the flow of the song. In fact, this chorus is the only distinctly Nega portion of music on this entire single. Jin's hardkoar kvltic rapping actually started clicking with me after a few listens. It's lame and it gets repetitive quickly but I'll give Nega a few points for at least trying something different.
淫 雨と暗澹 is an interesting song and feels like a spiritual companion to Haunted Jealousy. Even though the influence is here in this song, it's not overwhelming like it is in the other two songs and Jin sings like something other than a drugged Muppet. It really sounds like the most balanced song on the single (even though I'm hating Jin's screams which sound like they're sampled from guilt trip >_> ). The only thing remotely unique about this song is the way it ends and I'm unsure if that's intentional or accidental.
I'm ambivalent on this single. On the one hand I like the fact that this isn't a continuation of Grave of the Sacrifice but on the other hand this is too GazettEish for me to fully appreciate. I like this single but at the same time I don't and there are one too many crap tracks for me to give it a high score. I'd grant this single a 6/10 if you give me numbers for these three reasons
1) too many instrumentals
2) Ogress and Oboro aren't as good as the other two singing tracks
3) this isn't Nega's core sound. it's a nice deviation but if I want to hear gazettE i'll hear GazettE.
At least it's better than Grave of the Sacrifice - it has redeeming qualities.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Review: Lycaon - Declaration of War
Declaration of War is a tough nut to crack. If you're listening to the Lycaon concept singles one after another this is easily the low point of all three. Cordyceps sinensis brings a lot more energy and makes you want to get up and jump around and A Box in Beautiful is just too damn good for this song to touch.
Another reason why this song falters a little bit before you even listen to it would be the title. Look at it - DECLARATION OF WAR. You would expect some screaming, hard, rough, insane track to be shoved up your vasdeference to screw with your sperm. It influences you to think you're going to get something you aren't and then when you hear this track you'll be mildly disappointed.
Let's repeat the scale of good to suck here:
A Box in Beautiful > Cordyceps Sinensis > Declaration of War
Excusing the name, Declaration of War is not that bad of a track. I can describe this as a softer touch to hard rock. Sure, it has it's handful of screams and rough passages but the rest of the track is a bit more melodic than we're used to Lycaon composing. This isn't a bad thing by any means but DoW lacks some balls. In fact, it lacks ANY balls: the cover is so badass but the song doesn't deliver on that false promise. If you come into this track looking for something to headbang to go away. Now.
If you're here to just listen to some pleasant music continue.
Now that we've established that remember that Yuuki's voice has the tendency to do weird crap like suck. He's improved of course but you can still see some of the weaknesses in his voice, especially in this single where he relies more on singing than his weird, nasal screaming. The guitars under him do some great things and make a wonderful listen but he can either make or break the track for you. It all really depends on how unskilled you can stand your singers to be.
I really want the lyrics to this and I don't have them so I can't continue on any further at this point but I'd like to sum up this track like this:
Declaration of War is the vagina but vaginas are good too.
OK so my friend said that but it's still applicable. Just because it's not the best doesn't mean it sucks - it's still got enough to keep any fan interested and it's not a half-bad track to get started with. They've done worse in my opinion.
Another reason why this song falters a little bit before you even listen to it would be the title. Look at it - DECLARATION OF WAR. You would expect some screaming, hard, rough, insane track to be shoved up your vasdeference to screw with your sperm. It influences you to think you're going to get something you aren't and then when you hear this track you'll be mildly disappointed.
Let's repeat the scale of good to suck here:
A Box in Beautiful > Cordyceps Sinensis > Declaration of War
Excusing the name, Declaration of War is not that bad of a track. I can describe this as a softer touch to hard rock. Sure, it has it's handful of screams and rough passages but the rest of the track is a bit more melodic than we're used to Lycaon composing. This isn't a bad thing by any means but DoW lacks some balls. In fact, it lacks ANY balls: the cover is so badass but the song doesn't deliver on that false promise. If you come into this track looking for something to headbang to go away. Now.
If you're here to just listen to some pleasant music continue.
Now that we've established that remember that Yuuki's voice has the tendency to do weird crap like suck. He's improved of course but you can still see some of the weaknesses in his voice, especially in this single where he relies more on singing than his weird, nasal screaming. The guitars under him do some great things and make a wonderful listen but he can either make or break the track for you. It all really depends on how unskilled you can stand your singers to be.
I really want the lyrics to this and I don't have them so I can't continue on any further at this point but I'd like to sum up this track like this:
Declaration of War is the vagina but vaginas are good too.
OK so my friend said that but it's still applicable. Just because it's not the best doesn't mean it sucks - it's still got enough to keep any fan interested and it's not a half-bad track to get started with. They've done worse in my opinion.
Review: MUCC - Rakuen
I'm too tired to actually post a whole proper review with filler crap that doesn't matter at the moment but I do need to up something and I had written something about Rakuen on TW so I decided to port it here. Just for some background information, Rakuen is a different B-side on MUCC's Freesia single. However, for reasons I will get to now, I do not recommend you get this song on your media player.
If you mean weird as in crap then I agree with you. Both FUZZ and OZ had a rock element underneath it all so even though there were elements of synth underneath it it mixed well with the music. Rakuen sounds like they put it through the digitized factory and played everything back in MIDI. I didn't even finish this - I just didn't enjoy it any.
That's all I really had to say so I guess I'll say a little more. I find Rakuen to be complete shit. More auto-tune, more synth effects, more uninspired songwriting covered up with earnest experimentation. Rakuen is that kind of song that looked good on paper and ended up horrible in execution. None of it comes together and it's this big, grotesque spot in MUCC's territory that would be the musical equivalent of G from RE2: it looked like a good idea but by the time they were finished it was horrible and they had nowhere to store it so they let it loose.
This is worse than Shuushifu.
If you mean weird as in crap then I agree with you. Both FUZZ and OZ had a rock element underneath it all so even though there were elements of synth underneath it it mixed well with the music. Rakuen sounds like they put it through the digitized factory and played everything back in MIDI. I didn't even finish this - I just didn't enjoy it any.
That's all I really had to say so I guess I'll say a little more. I find Rakuen to be complete shit. More auto-tune, more synth effects, more uninspired songwriting covered up with earnest experimentation. Rakuen is that kind of song that looked good on paper and ended up horrible in execution. None of it comes together and it's this big, grotesque spot in MUCC's territory that would be the musical equivalent of G from RE2: it looked like a good idea but by the time they were finished it was horrible and they had nowhere to store it so they let it loose.
This is worse than Shuushifu.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Review: VanessA - world. is. my. mind.
VanessA softened up :O
I actually expected this to happen though. Here's why.
The two composers of VanessA used to be Nao and Haruki. Both of them have very different compositional styles. Here's a quick list of a few of the songs each composed.
Nao -
P.S.D.
Retrospection
LUCY
[MA]RIA
I am Psychopath.
B.M.METAMORPHOSE-murder side-
Haruki -
Memory Lapse
Arlequin
alive=terror
Feel U
Danger
NEW WORLD
jack off
axina
Now that Nao left and Koichi doesn't write music, this band is relying solely upon the compositional merits of Haruki, who traditionally came as "second composer" when Nao was leading the band. Those that liked "old VanessA" liked Nao's version of brutal metal with lots of screams. We're probably never going to hear that again. That isn't excusing the single any and I'm going to download it now, but that's really why I expected world. is. my. mind. to be a big slap in the face compared to CHI[MA]IRA (trust me, it's been a while since I've reviewed that and the CD's grown on me a LOT. I just don't feel like editing it at the moment).
I can understand why some people are upset at the change of direction that VanessA's taken and I'm going to say something completely radical here: they haven't actually changed all that much. When it comes down to it, the only thing this CD is missing is Genki's roars. Sandwich any two old VanessA tracks in between any random track on this single and none of these would "sound out of place".
What seems to upset everyone greatly is the lack of ear-bleeding, esophagus splitting screeches that VanessA has become increasingly renowned for since alive=terror. Even though Haruki did compose alive=terror and ARLEQUIN the dymanics of the band have changed since Nao left the band and You took over. Nao probably told Haruki to cut shit like jack off out and stick with composing rough, speedy compositional numbers while You embraced a change in direction (because in all honesty if they kept the shtick up long enough they were bound to repeat themselves AND Haruki usually had the best song on the last two out of the three maxi's they've released so....yeah.)
So now on to the review:
NEW WORLD is definitely the softest A-side they've composed so far and it's not without it's schizo section. I think this song has the only time Genki uses something other than clean vocals (and I also lol at the fact that this was their preview on their OHP). VanessA knew we weren't going to like this at all xD
This sounds like a sped up version of FEEL U in many places. Still sounds like the other half of VanessA to me. 7/10 because even though it was digestable I was still missing some of the death voice that Genki used to have all throughout his track. Some more of that was definitely needed here.
jack off
words can't describe how much I dislike this track. Perhaps I approached it hoping for it to be a harder song or perhaps something that didn't sound like a longer, less inspired version of NEW WORLD with some jazzy influence. However, I'm with everyone else that went "what the fuck happened to this band" on this track. In NEW WORLD. I could sense some of the old VanessA mixed in with Haruki's style but here it's just 
. Why the fuck does every VK band have to do some lame jazzy number that sucks anus? 4/10 for the solo, the portion after it and Koichi's nice basslines.
-axina- is more like what I want to hear from this band. Even if they decide to soften up their sound I do not want them throwing away their heavy metal roots. I sense some Vortex influence in the verses and I really do like the ominous bell over their guitar lines. If more of the single was like this instead of NEW WORLD./jack off I think a lot more people would enjoy this (I enjoy 2/3 of it just fine anyway). Oh, and I was wrong before - Genki does some roaring in this song before the second verse and during the fade out I think the members of the band attempted to do some screaming before failing and just spazzing out. What I DON'T like about this track is the bit of silence before the song starts up again a minute later for approximately 10 seconds before ending. It's completely pointless >.>
8/10 for axina
This single gets about a 6/10. There is no question that CHI[MA]IRA was better than this but if I give it a few listens I think parts of this will grow on me. I just can't bear to think that we'll never get the truly heavy VanessA back again because even though I liked this, I liked THAT a whole lot more.
I actually expected this to happen though. Here's why.
The two composers of VanessA used to be Nao and Haruki. Both of them have very different compositional styles. Here's a quick list of a few of the songs each composed.
Nao -
P.S.D.
Retrospection
LUCY
[MA]RIA
I am Psychopath.
B.M.METAMORPHOSE-murder side-
Haruki -
Memory Lapse
Arlequin
alive=terror
Feel U
Danger
NEW WORLD
jack off
axina
Now that Nao left and Koichi doesn't write music, this band is relying solely upon the compositional merits of Haruki, who traditionally came as "second composer" when Nao was leading the band. Those that liked "old VanessA" liked Nao's version of brutal metal with lots of screams. We're probably never going to hear that again. That isn't excusing the single any and I'm going to download it now, but that's really why I expected world. is. my. mind. to be a big slap in the face compared to CHI[MA]IRA (trust me, it's been a while since I've reviewed that and the CD's grown on me a LOT. I just don't feel like editing it at the moment).
I can understand why some people are upset at the change of direction that VanessA's taken and I'm going to say something completely radical here: they haven't actually changed all that much. When it comes down to it, the only thing this CD is missing is Genki's roars. Sandwich any two old VanessA tracks in between any random track on this single and none of these would "sound out of place".
What seems to upset everyone greatly is the lack of ear-bleeding, esophagus splitting screeches that VanessA has become increasingly renowned for since alive=terror. Even though Haruki did compose alive=terror and ARLEQUIN the dymanics of the band have changed since Nao left the band and You took over. Nao probably told Haruki to cut shit like jack off out and stick with composing rough, speedy compositional numbers while You embraced a change in direction (because in all honesty if they kept the shtick up long enough they were bound to repeat themselves AND Haruki usually had the best song on the last two out of the three maxi's they've released so....yeah.)
So now on to the review:
NEW WORLD is definitely the softest A-side they've composed so far and it's not without it's schizo section. I think this song has the only time Genki uses something other than clean vocals (and I also lol at the fact that this was their preview on their OHP). VanessA knew we weren't going to like this at all xD
This sounds like a sped up version of FEEL U in many places. Still sounds like the other half of VanessA to me. 7/10 because even though it was digestable I was still missing some of the death voice that Genki used to have all throughout his track. Some more of that was definitely needed here.
jack off
words can't describe how much I dislike this track. Perhaps I approached it hoping for it to be a harder song or perhaps something that didn't sound like a longer, less inspired version of NEW WORLD with some jazzy influence. However, I'm with everyone else that went "what the fuck happened to this band" on this track. In NEW WORLD. I could sense some of the old VanessA mixed in with Haruki's style but here it's just . Why the fuck does every VK band have to do some lame jazzy number that sucks anus? 4/10 for the solo, the portion after it and Koichi's nice basslines.-axina- is more like what I want to hear from this band. Even if they decide to soften up their sound I do not want them throwing away their heavy metal roots. I sense some Vortex influence in the verses and I really do like the ominous bell over their guitar lines. If more of the single was like this instead of NEW WORLD./jack off I think a lot more people would enjoy this (I enjoy 2/3 of it just fine anyway). Oh, and I was wrong before - Genki does some roaring in this song before the second verse and during the fade out I think the members of the band attempted to do some screaming before failing and just spazzing out. What I DON'T like about this track is the bit of silence before the song starts up again a minute later for approximately 10 seconds before ending. It's completely pointless >.>
8/10 for axina
This single gets about a 6/10. There is no question that CHI[MA]IRA was better than this but if I give it a few listens I think parts of this will grow on me. I just can't bear to think that we'll never get the truly heavy VanessA back again because even though I liked this, I liked THAT a whole lot more.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Review: MUCC - Freesia
*imported from Tainted World*
I actually downloaded it and forgot I had it on my iTunes until you reminded me. D: Let's get to this and I'll put down my thoughts after a few listens.
The main problem I have with the first two songs, Shuushifu moreso than Freesia, is the (ab)use of auto-tune. That shit wasn't present before Kyuutai and even though I only recall it being used slightly in Sora to Ito I still despised it's usage because I felt it interfered with the atmosphere of the song. MUCC fucking [i]raped[/i] this single with auto-tune because it's detectable in Freesia and mostly used in Shuushifu. I. Don't. Like. Auto-Tune. This single automatically isn't perfect in my book.
With that having been said, the recorded version of Freesia is much better and more majestic than the live performance let on (which was why I reserved all judgment on the song until now). Freesia is all around enjoyable, especially Miya's little solo near the end over Tatsurou's vocals. Even after 10 years MUCC's still got some ideas up their sleeves and even though their sound has changed over the years the only thing that's stayed the same is that they usually deliver. [i]Usually[/i]. I'd give this about a 9 out of 10.
I've heard Namonaki Yume but not enough to compare it to Shuushifu so I won't. However, this is the kind of song I like to hear in general and it pulled me in from the beginning until the auto-tune pissed me off. After that, the energy levels of this song really petered off for me. Whereas in Freesia I could tell why they used the auto-tune and to some degree it worked, in Shuushifu it really just annoyed the crap out of me and really prevented me from liking this song too much. 6 out of 10 for now but over time I'll revisit this again and see if my opinion changes.
From Furik's review I was expecting there to be some Tatsurou in this but two minutes in I realized he wasn't going to be there and that this was going to be pure instrumental. I'm OK with it, especially since the piano rendition of this song was great. I'm normally not into songs that were changed from pianos to guitars since for me it doesn't usually flow well but Freesia sounds great with both instruments behind this. I'd really have to give this a 10 just because if I enjoyed it this much the first time through I'm going to grow to like it more.
So yeah, the only thing I really despised about this single was the auto-tune laced all throughout it. MUCC needs to cut that shit out because Tatsurou's voice is too good for that crap. I'd give this about an 8/10 overall.
I actually downloaded it and forgot I had it on my iTunes until you reminded me. D: Let's get to this and I'll put down my thoughts after a few listens.
The main problem I have with the first two songs, Shuushifu moreso than Freesia, is the (ab)use of auto-tune. That shit wasn't present before Kyuutai and even though I only recall it being used slightly in Sora to Ito I still despised it's usage because I felt it interfered with the atmosphere of the song. MUCC fucking [i]raped[/i] this single with auto-tune because it's detectable in Freesia and mostly used in Shuushifu. I. Don't. Like. Auto-Tune. This single automatically isn't perfect in my book.
With that having been said, the recorded version of Freesia is much better and more majestic than the live performance let on (which was why I reserved all judgment on the song until now). Freesia is all around enjoyable, especially Miya's little solo near the end over Tatsurou's vocals. Even after 10 years MUCC's still got some ideas up their sleeves and even though their sound has changed over the years the only thing that's stayed the same is that they usually deliver. [i]Usually[/i]. I'd give this about a 9 out of 10.
I've heard Namonaki Yume but not enough to compare it to Shuushifu so I won't. However, this is the kind of song I like to hear in general and it pulled me in from the beginning until the auto-tune pissed me off. After that, the energy levels of this song really petered off for me. Whereas in Freesia I could tell why they used the auto-tune and to some degree it worked, in Shuushifu it really just annoyed the crap out of me and really prevented me from liking this song too much. 6 out of 10 for now but over time I'll revisit this again and see if my opinion changes.
From Furik's review I was expecting there to be some Tatsurou in this but two minutes in I realized he wasn't going to be there and that this was going to be pure instrumental. I'm OK with it, especially since the piano rendition of this song was great. I'm normally not into songs that were changed from pianos to guitars since for me it doesn't usually flow well but Freesia sounds great with both instruments behind this. I'd really have to give this a 10 just because if I enjoyed it this much the first time through I'm going to grow to like it more.
So yeah, the only thing I really despised about this single was the auto-tune laced all throughout it. MUCC needs to cut that shit out because Tatsurou's voice is too good for that crap. I'd give this about an 8/10 overall.
Review: ALSDEAD - Paradox
Since I decided on becoming at least semi-active again (or rather, I decided to stop being a lazy fuck and actually update my blog once in a while) I've decided on reviewing something every few days at least. I need to keep up on the new releases but at least be a few months behind so I can get some thoughts together and not let first impressions dominate what I think and how I feel about a particular piece of music.
Had I done that to Paradox trust me this review would have turned out quite differently.
This isn't the standard ALSDEAD fare since they decided to give us three tracks instead of two with this offering - however more doesn't always mean better. The main turnoff to this entire single would be the title track itself. I came into this thinking that it would be the best one out of the three but it's actually the worst. Paradox is the weakest track this band has given us so far and that's because it has a very sharp contrast between hard and soft. The beginning riff is deep and sick and it makes you think you're going to headbang and then it brings you into something as light as Kizu (Violent of Reason) and the transitions aren't working in their favor. The chorus doesn't add any points to it and the speaking part that Maki does at the breakdown is done much better in the track Cynical. At the end of the day, Paradox is too all over the place to be considered much more than an average song.
A_Dust and Cynical (No Nai Ranbu) are the two other tracks and I find them better in many different ways. A_Dust isn't as rough as Cynical but it showcases some experimentation with electronic synths and the chorus in this song is the best out of the single. The thing that gets me with A_Dust is that this band has always been about pushing boundaries with their music and at least bringing some new stuff to the table and A_Dust stops at "electronic effects". Maki's sing-scream style is still pretty much the same and the other members haven't really done anything awe-inspiring. A_Dust could have been so much more but they stopped short and called it a day. Cynical gets the same treatment but even worse. I've even heard others say that Cynical is a Kizu with a crazier solo. I have to disagree. Even though they might have recycled a few ideas (especially in that dreadful chorus) overall I don't get a Kizu vibe from this track at all. In fact, I had to go searching for similarities between the two. There aren't many other tracks in their discography as raw and frantic as this and even though the chorus doesn't really fit with the song too well every other part of the song just pulsates with raw energy. In a way, these two songs are all you really need for a single - one hard rocker with a great chorus and some synth behind it and another one that exemplifies some revelry in rock. Both of these are above average with Cynical edging out A_Dust based purely on the energy in the verses and the kickass solo.
This single didn't make me feel as much as Violent of Reason or S.a.g.A. did but when I gave it time to grow on me I began to like the single much more. Paradox is a hard pill to swallow but old and new ALSDEAD fans alike can enjoy the first and the third track and take on the second track whenever they feel like taking a risk with the band. They have a new single coming out in a few months so hopefully this band has decided to both get a lot better and take some more risks with their music.
Rating: Slightly Above Average - worth checking out.
Had I done that to Paradox trust me this review would have turned out quite differently.
This isn't the standard ALSDEAD fare since they decided to give us three tracks instead of two with this offering - however more doesn't always mean better. The main turnoff to this entire single would be the title track itself. I came into this thinking that it would be the best one out of the three but it's actually the worst. Paradox is the weakest track this band has given us so far and that's because it has a very sharp contrast between hard and soft. The beginning riff is deep and sick and it makes you think you're going to headbang and then it brings you into something as light as Kizu (Violent of Reason) and the transitions aren't working in their favor. The chorus doesn't add any points to it and the speaking part that Maki does at the breakdown is done much better in the track Cynical. At the end of the day, Paradox is too all over the place to be considered much more than an average song.
A_Dust and Cynical (No Nai Ranbu) are the two other tracks and I find them better in many different ways. A_Dust isn't as rough as Cynical but it showcases some experimentation with electronic synths and the chorus in this song is the best out of the single. The thing that gets me with A_Dust is that this band has always been about pushing boundaries with their music and at least bringing some new stuff to the table and A_Dust stops at "electronic effects". Maki's sing-scream style is still pretty much the same and the other members haven't really done anything awe-inspiring. A_Dust could have been so much more but they stopped short and called it a day. Cynical gets the same treatment but even worse. I've even heard others say that Cynical is a Kizu with a crazier solo. I have to disagree. Even though they might have recycled a few ideas (especially in that dreadful chorus) overall I don't get a Kizu vibe from this track at all. In fact, I had to go searching for similarities between the two. There aren't many other tracks in their discography as raw and frantic as this and even though the chorus doesn't really fit with the song too well every other part of the song just pulsates with raw energy. In a way, these two songs are all you really need for a single - one hard rocker with a great chorus and some synth behind it and another one that exemplifies some revelry in rock. Both of these are above average with Cynical edging out A_Dust based purely on the energy in the verses and the kickass solo.
This single didn't make me feel as much as Violent of Reason or S.a.g.A. did but when I gave it time to grow on me I began to like the single much more. Paradox is a hard pill to swallow but old and new ALSDEAD fans alike can enjoy the first and the third track and take on the second track whenever they feel like taking a risk with the band. They have a new single coming out in a few months so hopefully this band has decided to both get a lot better and take some more risks with their music.
Rating: Slightly Above Average - worth checking out.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Review: Lycaon - cordyceps sinensis
I need to talk about this single before Royal Order comes out.
If you were around the internet looking for this single a few months ago then you know the story. If you don't I'll sum it up really quickly: Lycaon makes a very bad business decision to limit these to 500 copies in Like an Edison stores and otakus that buy anything with the word "Kuniitichiwa" muttered in it lost their math ability to reason that 500 copies of a CD can't be bought by 1000+ people. Said elitists didn't want to share their warez and butthurt people bawwed up the internet until someone leaked this. They held a tighter vagina clamp on Declaration of War and A Box in Beautiful but then Lycaon kicked them in the dick and said all three were going to be on Royal Order so the elitist whores bawwed futilely and decided to share once they realized their rarez weren't going to be so rarez anymore.
On to something a little more respectable, Cordyceps Sinensis sits between Declaration of War and A Box in Beautiful when it comes to how good these concept singles were. All three of them blow their previous work out of the water and make me a bigger fan of them now. cordyceps sinensis is a very hard, catchy song with lots of high pitched grunting mixed with a very addictive opening and reverb yelling. I actually like the pre-chorus for the alternating guitars although the regular chorus isn't that bad at all. I can't summon it in my mind at will although listening to it doesn't make my orifices bleed.
Honestly speaking I can't remember anything that they've done previous to this song that channels any of the raw energy that they put into this song. What comes closest is The 1st degree genocide holic but this trumps that song in plenty of ways. If you're looking to get into Lycaon start at Ambrozia and then skip to this because I feel chains of collar wasn't up to par. This was a definite bounce back and a nice treat from a band that can handle both hard and soft.
Final Judgment: Pretty Good.
If you were around the internet looking for this single a few months ago then you know the story. If you don't I'll sum it up really quickly: Lycaon makes a very bad business decision to limit these to 500 copies in Like an Edison stores and otakus that buy anything with the word "Kuniitichiwa" muttered in it lost their math ability to reason that 500 copies of a CD can't be bought by 1000+ people. Said elitists didn't want to share their warez and butthurt people bawwed up the internet until someone leaked this. They held a tighter vagina clamp on Declaration of War and A Box in Beautiful but then Lycaon kicked them in the dick and said all three were going to be on Royal Order so the elitist whores bawwed futilely and decided to share once they realized their rarez weren't going to be so rarez anymore.
On to something a little more respectable, Cordyceps Sinensis sits between Declaration of War and A Box in Beautiful when it comes to how good these concept singles were. All three of them blow their previous work out of the water and make me a bigger fan of them now. cordyceps sinensis is a very hard, catchy song with lots of high pitched grunting mixed with a very addictive opening and reverb yelling. I actually like the pre-chorus for the alternating guitars although the regular chorus isn't that bad at all. I can't summon it in my mind at will although listening to it doesn't make my orifices bleed.
Honestly speaking I can't remember anything that they've done previous to this song that channels any of the raw energy that they put into this song. What comes closest is The 1st degree genocide holic but this trumps that song in plenty of ways. If you're looking to get into Lycaon start at Ambrozia and then skip to this because I feel chains of collar wasn't up to par. This was a definite bounce back and a nice treat from a band that can handle both hard and soft.
Final Judgment: Pretty Good.
Review: chariots - Hikari
I might as well do this one since I've just literally finished reviewing Hai.
Since this single came out a little over a month ago I've had time to let this grow on me so I can come to a good decision about how I really feel about this in the end. I have to say that the subsequent single Hai has many things over this single but there are a few things on this single worth checking it out. That's the main focus of this review - to point out all the things that this inferior single has that's worth at least pirating it.
cigar is a better opening track than Fall ash for the sole purpose that it has thought put into it. The latter track sounded like uninteresting crap whereas cigar catches you at the beginning with some reverb vocals and straightforward but catchy guitar. There's no epic solo or beautifully sung lines here but it does it's job of opening up the single for you. If you're into opening tracks then this is a pretty good addition to your growing collection. What I don't like about this track is that it doesn't lead into Dazzle right and it goes on for a little too long. Also, this track could have been a lot more had the band worked on it and fleshed it out. For what it is though, cigar is one of the better of it's breed in the "crap we stick at the beginning to make our CD look like it's worth your yen".
DAZZLE is crap in disguise. The song starts out very interesting but then it hits a very bland chorus that does nothing for me and sinks the song faster than the Titanic. The little portion where everything suddenly stops before a rough guitar comes raging in was pretty cool and is actually the only part of the track I can remember. The vocalist makes everything else sound bland and uninteresting as if you've heard it all before and as I said the chorus is just all around average. If this is supposed to be the A-side to this single then I'm thoroughly unimpressed. I'm not even that avid of a chariots listener and I know this band can do so much better than this.
The final track (I can't figure out if it's romanized Zan Kage or Zanei) has tons of whammy bar abuse in the guitar lines and a very repetitive guitar line at that. This repetitive guitar line actually drives the song because it's less of a "look for the technologically advanced shit" and more of a "bang your head and enjoy your energy faggot". On any normal occasion I would hate songs like this but Zan Kage manages to do this by sprinting at 100 kilometers an hour and having verses that pack some attitude. The chorus is a little neutering and makes the song feel like a new spin on an older classic but the fantastic solo makes up for that little blunder. I'd much rather this be the A-side since I actually remember what it sounded like after it finished (whereas I forgot what DAZZLE sounded like by the time I hit the chorus of this song).
As I said before, Hai is a definite step up from this single all around but I still recommend checking out the final track because it comes packed with some groove and a pretty good solo. Everything else here is pretty much a skip unless you've got another reason for liking said tracks.
Final Judgment: Average.
Since this single came out a little over a month ago I've had time to let this grow on me so I can come to a good decision about how I really feel about this in the end. I have to say that the subsequent single Hai has many things over this single but there are a few things on this single worth checking it out. That's the main focus of this review - to point out all the things that this inferior single has that's worth at least pirating it.
cigar is a better opening track than Fall ash for the sole purpose that it has thought put into it. The latter track sounded like uninteresting crap whereas cigar catches you at the beginning with some reverb vocals and straightforward but catchy guitar. There's no epic solo or beautifully sung lines here but it does it's job of opening up the single for you. If you're into opening tracks then this is a pretty good addition to your growing collection. What I don't like about this track is that it doesn't lead into Dazzle right and it goes on for a little too long. Also, this track could have been a lot more had the band worked on it and fleshed it out. For what it is though, cigar is one of the better of it's breed in the "crap we stick at the beginning to make our CD look like it's worth your yen".
DAZZLE is crap in disguise. The song starts out very interesting but then it hits a very bland chorus that does nothing for me and sinks the song faster than the Titanic. The little portion where everything suddenly stops before a rough guitar comes raging in was pretty cool and is actually the only part of the track I can remember. The vocalist makes everything else sound bland and uninteresting as if you've heard it all before and as I said the chorus is just all around average. If this is supposed to be the A-side to this single then I'm thoroughly unimpressed. I'm not even that avid of a chariots listener and I know this band can do so much better than this.
The final track (I can't figure out if it's romanized Zan Kage or Zanei) has tons of whammy bar abuse in the guitar lines and a very repetitive guitar line at that. This repetitive guitar line actually drives the song because it's less of a "look for the technologically advanced shit" and more of a "bang your head and enjoy your energy faggot". On any normal occasion I would hate songs like this but Zan Kage manages to do this by sprinting at 100 kilometers an hour and having verses that pack some attitude. The chorus is a little neutering and makes the song feel like a new spin on an older classic but the fantastic solo makes up for that little blunder. I'd much rather this be the A-side since I actually remember what it sounded like after it finished (whereas I forgot what DAZZLE sounded like by the time I hit the chorus of this song).
As I said before, Hai is a definite step up from this single all around but I still recommend checking out the final track because it comes packed with some groove and a pretty good solo. Everything else here is pretty much a skip unless you've got another reason for liking said tracks.
Final Judgment: Average.
Review: chariots - Hai
College is a right pain in the ass.
If you've managed to follow this blog for the better part of the month hoping for an update this is your little present. I've had a ton of work heaped on me and I've had to put some things aside to concentrate on passing - this would be one of them. Now that I have some time I think I'll write up a few reviews while I still can.
This would be one of them.
The single that gets to be reviewed today will be Hai by chariots. I'm choosing this because even though I've had lots of work and tons of trouble getting a hold on new music I've still kept up with a lot of things and this single will most likely get me back into reviewing things on at least a semi-regular basis while being something fans would want to read to make an educated decision on the single.
Hai is a nice little limited edition item limited to 5000 copies so this tells me two things: 1) by the time anyone reads this it's going to be gone and 2) Kisaki's behind the release campaign of this band.
Putting hatred for Kisaki's marketing schemes aside (and the obvious notion that if you print things in three editions with bunches of different artwork alongside a press limit you'll be hard pressed to make money back) Hai is what I'd like to call an OK single. Back in June when I reviewed the two Nega singles Dig and Ill I called the practice of putting an opening track on a three track maxi to be "unacceptable". I still believe this to be true and as a result the opener Fall Ash comes off to me as a bad attempt of filling out their requirement to make a CD with Kisaki.
What I have against this track even more is the mood that the next two tracks give off. Hai was meant to be a darker comparison to last month's Hikari and the opener sounds like the starting track at a techno bash than something that would symbolize the descent into death (since if you look at all three names it's what they're hinting at). It's just plain cheesy and not worth my time.
Canvas ni...(I'll be damned to type that entire thing out mind you) is the standout track here and is packed full of emotion and elements that draw the attention of the listener. There are some electronic effects put to good use throughout the song, especially in the solo and the verses and you can hear the improvements in the bands sound over their previous releases. From the little distorted guitar line to the sudden scream into the chuggy guitar line this song keeps it moving while keeping it melancholic, which is the flowing current throughout this song. The chorus is also pretty tight compared to some of their older stuff which fell flat on their faces come chorus time. The name of the vocalist eludes me at the moment although I can say his voice has improved over the last releases and even though I have a love/hate relationship with some of the things he does with his voice he does nothing but shine here.
Reversal is supposed to be the angry song that appeases fans like me that chafe at slow ballads. I'm not liking this song as much as the last song because it's straight, heart pumping action and doesn't carry the same melodic punch as the former track. The screams, which I think mean reversal don't sound good or bad as much as they do weird. Those will need some time to grow on me but all in all Reversal is a good companion to the second track.
So what have we from Hai? Well if you're a fan of chariots then you already have this illegally downloaded in your music folder and if you hate chariots then at least give the second track a chance since it might grow on you. If you have no idea what I'm talking about give this a try if you're open-minded (and if you aren't what are you doing here?)
Final Judgment: scrap the first track and we have something very respectable here.
If you've managed to follow this blog for the better part of the month hoping for an update this is your little present. I've had a ton of work heaped on me and I've had to put some things aside to concentrate on passing - this would be one of them. Now that I have some time I think I'll write up a few reviews while I still can.
This would be one of them.
The single that gets to be reviewed today will be Hai by chariots. I'm choosing this because even though I've had lots of work and tons of trouble getting a hold on new music I've still kept up with a lot of things and this single will most likely get me back into reviewing things on at least a semi-regular basis while being something fans would want to read to make an educated decision on the single.
Hai is a nice little limited edition item limited to 5000 copies so this tells me two things: 1) by the time anyone reads this it's going to be gone and 2) Kisaki's behind the release campaign of this band.
Putting hatred for Kisaki's marketing schemes aside (and the obvious notion that if you print things in three editions with bunches of different artwork alongside a press limit you'll be hard pressed to make money back) Hai is what I'd like to call an OK single. Back in June when I reviewed the two Nega singles Dig and Ill I called the practice of putting an opening track on a three track maxi to be "unacceptable". I still believe this to be true and as a result the opener Fall Ash comes off to me as a bad attempt of filling out their requirement to make a CD with Kisaki.
What I have against this track even more is the mood that the next two tracks give off. Hai was meant to be a darker comparison to last month's Hikari and the opener sounds like the starting track at a techno bash than something that would symbolize the descent into death (since if you look at all three names it's what they're hinting at). It's just plain cheesy and not worth my time.
Canvas ni...(I'll be damned to type that entire thing out mind you) is the standout track here and is packed full of emotion and elements that draw the attention of the listener. There are some electronic effects put to good use throughout the song, especially in the solo and the verses and you can hear the improvements in the bands sound over their previous releases. From the little distorted guitar line to the sudden scream into the chuggy guitar line this song keeps it moving while keeping it melancholic, which is the flowing current throughout this song. The chorus is also pretty tight compared to some of their older stuff which fell flat on their faces come chorus time. The name of the vocalist eludes me at the moment although I can say his voice has improved over the last releases and even though I have a love/hate relationship with some of the things he does with his voice he does nothing but shine here.
Reversal is supposed to be the angry song that appeases fans like me that chafe at slow ballads. I'm not liking this song as much as the last song because it's straight, heart pumping action and doesn't carry the same melodic punch as the former track. The screams, which I think mean reversal don't sound good or bad as much as they do weird. Those will need some time to grow on me but all in all Reversal is a good companion to the second track.
So what have we from Hai? Well if you're a fan of chariots then you already have this illegally downloaded in your music folder and if you hate chariots then at least give the second track a chance since it might grow on you. If you have no idea what I'm talking about give this a try if you're open-minded (and if you aren't what are you doing here?)
Final Judgment: scrap the first track and we have something very respectable here.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Discography: La:Sadie's
「架空ト現実」 (First Press)
I am positive that this is the correct cover for this demo tape. This is their first single, released 1996-01-14 and merely contains the song Kakuu to Genjitsu on it. This isn't my download link and I didn't feel the need to re-upload this song so just use the download link given, enjoy the artwork and rock on.
http://www.mediafire.com/?23zmmgl3zuh
「還ラザル記憶」 (First Press)
Released on 1996-04-00, this is the first edition of KAErazaru Kioku and their second single overall. There were two editions released on the same day but they vary very slightly in artwork so I just provided the artwork for the regular edition. Once again, I didn't feel the need to upload this on my own so I took someone else's link. They also do not have the artwork so just go ahead and enjoy it.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YWJJK45N
「生命ノ罪」 (First Press)
This is their first demo-maxi release and features the songs Seimei no Tsumi, Kuroi Namida and the previously released single Kakuu to Genjitsu. I am 95% sure that that's the first press cover for this demo tape even though it doesn't look like the release cover art for a demo tape. This demo tape was released on 1996-04-16 AND THE LINK BELOW IS MINE. Just putting that out there.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140250529/8 ... shoku.html
「腐乱ユエニ」 (First and Nagoyan Press)
Pay close attention to the covers. The first was the cover used for the demo tape that was released to those in Nagoya. Why Nagoya? I don't know. The second cover is the one used for the regular disbursal of the tape and both we're released on 1996-05-00. This is their third single. The link below isn't mine.
http://www.mediafire.com/?4enoskemtn1
・・・生命ノ罪・・・.「・・・残サレタ記憶ノ物語・・・」
I guess you could call this their fourth single?
This demo tape completely threw everyone for a loop, and for good reason too. Anyone who's trudged through La:Sadie's releases probably came across a mysterious demo tape called "Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari" without a release date or any sort of other accompanying information. They thus proceeded to track down said elusive song, 100% of the time coming up with nothing. Some wondered if it even existed. Some believed, others shot down and it went on like this for god knows how long.
BUT....I went scourging through the internet finally ready to get an answer out of this demo tape and at three in the morning after extensive research I am glad to say that I have a definitive answer on the track "Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari". Quite simply, there is no track called "Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari". Where the miscommunication stems from is the title of this demo tape, which is called Seimei no Tsumi ~ Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari~ or more commonly just Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari. Basically it's a re-release of Seimei no Tsumi with a new case and a longer, more fancy title. There is no B-side to this release and it was released twice at the Sun AM festival on 1996-29-08 and 1996-30-08.
As such, there is no download link but I think it important that I emphasize that thoroughly (AND YES I AM SURE OF IT THIS TIME!).
「DEAD ONE 2周年記念～オムニバス･デモ～」
It was released 1996-08-02.
Back to clear up some more information on La:Sadie's! La:Sadie's one and only omnibus featuring, this thing is so obscure that finding any sort of information on the internet about it is very hard. There's not even an album cover for this, although I wasn't expecting to find one. I don't know of any of the other artists that were on this besides La:Sadie's, and the rip that I got here came with the information saying that it was from Seimei to Tsumi...
...which it isn't.
I don't know what track number it is so I took a little liberty and picked my favorite one digit number three. It's nothing more than a shortened version of Setsudan anyway (it doesn't have the Kyo babble). This is my link below.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140238201/f ... shoku.html
「十字架ニ捧ゲル夢。。。」
赤 Version Cover
青 Version Cover
緑 Version Cover
Their fifth single.
I'm confident in telling you that as of this release this is probably the only file here with all the correct tracks labeled and so on and so forth and all that jizz. My hypothesis yesterday about Butou Yume being Maimu was correct and some of the more in-depth sources don't even list Maimu as Maimu - they list it as Butou Yume on both releases. Therefore, I have accordingly renamed both files Butou Yume and will refer to them as such. This was released in three editions - red, blue and green - and were all released on the 1996-08-10. All tracks are included with album artwork just in case these go bye bye sometime down the road.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140258563/c ... shoku.html
「呪ﾜﾚﾀ楽園ﾉ影…」
Their last demo tape release, second maxi-demo release and a compilation of sorts. Twas released 1996-10-27. It contains the intro track Norowareta Rakuen no Kage as well as Setsudan, a re-recorded Butou Yume, Furan Yueni and Kaerazaru Kioku. It also comes with a live version of Kakuu to Genjitsu so this is like the ultimate demo-tape release by them lol. The link below is mine.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140260717/7 ... _Kage.html
「objexxx」
Their first CD release and their sixth single overall, this was released 1996-12-20. The only song here was objexxx and there is no B-side. The link for this song is coupled with the Lu:Ciel link below.
「Lu:Ciel」
Their second CD release, seventh single overall. I consider La:Sadie's to be Diru before the name change so they never disbanded in my opinion so that's why I don't say "last single by this band". Kisaki just left, Toshiya came in the picture and they decided to change their name. Bands do that often (and it does explain why Dir en grey got off to such a big start now doesn't it?). Back to Lu:Ciel, it comes with Shoukei Hatan Sekai and Lu:Ciel as the two tracks. The link below is mine and also contains the song objexxx.
http://www.4shared.com/file/139979217/b ... jexxx.html
And we're done....I will take my prize as ungodly worship, a nice pillow and some milk and cookies.
I am positive that this is the correct cover for this demo tape. This is their first single, released 1996-01-14 and merely contains the song Kakuu to Genjitsu on it. This isn't my download link and I didn't feel the need to re-upload this song so just use the download link given, enjoy the artwork and rock on.
http://www.mediafire.com/?23zmmgl3zuh
「還ラザル記憶」 (First Press)
Released on 1996-04-00, this is the first edition of KAErazaru Kioku and their second single overall. There were two editions released on the same day but they vary very slightly in artwork so I just provided the artwork for the regular edition. Once again, I didn't feel the need to upload this on my own so I took someone else's link. They also do not have the artwork so just go ahead and enjoy it.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YWJJK45N
「生命ノ罪」 (First Press)
This is their first demo-maxi release and features the songs Seimei no Tsumi, Kuroi Namida and the previously released single Kakuu to Genjitsu. I am 95% sure that that's the first press cover for this demo tape even though it doesn't look like the release cover art for a demo tape. This demo tape was released on 1996-04-16 AND THE LINK BELOW IS MINE. Just putting that out there.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140250529/8 ... shoku.html
「腐乱ユエニ」 (First and Nagoyan Press)
Pay close attention to the covers. The first was the cover used for the demo tape that was released to those in Nagoya. Why Nagoya? I don't know. The second cover is the one used for the regular disbursal of the tape and both we're released on 1996-05-00. This is their third single. The link below isn't mine.
http://www.mediafire.com/?4enoskemtn1
・・・生命ノ罪・・・.「・・・残サレタ記憶ノ物語・・・」
I guess you could call this their fourth single?
This demo tape completely threw everyone for a loop, and for good reason too. Anyone who's trudged through La:Sadie's releases probably came across a mysterious demo tape called "Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari" without a release date or any sort of other accompanying information. They thus proceeded to track down said elusive song, 100% of the time coming up with nothing. Some wondered if it even existed. Some believed, others shot down and it went on like this for god knows how long.
BUT....I went scourging through the internet finally ready to get an answer out of this demo tape and at three in the morning after extensive research I am glad to say that I have a definitive answer on the track "Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari". Quite simply, there is no track called "Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari". Where the miscommunication stems from is the title of this demo tape, which is called Seimei no Tsumi ~ Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari~ or more commonly just Nokosareta Kioku no Monogatari. Basically it's a re-release of Seimei no Tsumi with a new case and a longer, more fancy title. There is no B-side to this release and it was released twice at the Sun AM festival on 1996-29-08 and 1996-30-08.
As such, there is no download link but I think it important that I emphasize that thoroughly (AND YES I AM SURE OF IT THIS TIME!).
「DEAD ONE 2周年記念～オムニバス･デモ～」
It was released 1996-08-02.
Back to clear up some more information on La:Sadie's! La:Sadie's one and only omnibus featuring, this thing is so obscure that finding any sort of information on the internet about it is very hard. There's not even an album cover for this, although I wasn't expecting to find one. I don't know of any of the other artists that were on this besides La:Sadie's, and the rip that I got here came with the information saying that it was from Seimei to Tsumi...
...which it isn't.
I don't know what track number it is so I took a little liberty and picked my favorite one digit number three. It's nothing more than a shortened version of Setsudan anyway (it doesn't have the Kyo babble). This is my link below.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140238201/f ... shoku.html
「十字架ニ捧ゲル夢。。。」
赤 Version Cover
青 Version Cover
緑 Version Cover
Their fifth single.
I'm confident in telling you that as of this release this is probably the only file here with all the correct tracks labeled and so on and so forth and all that jizz. My hypothesis yesterday about Butou Yume being Maimu was correct and some of the more in-depth sources don't even list Maimu as Maimu - they list it as Butou Yume on both releases. Therefore, I have accordingly renamed both files Butou Yume and will refer to them as such. This was released in three editions - red, blue and green - and were all released on the 1996-08-10. All tracks are included with album artwork just in case these go bye bye sometime down the road.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140258563/c ... shoku.html
「呪ﾜﾚﾀ楽園ﾉ影…」
Their last demo tape release, second maxi-demo release and a compilation of sorts. Twas released 1996-10-27. It contains the intro track Norowareta Rakuen no Kage as well as Setsudan, a re-recorded Butou Yume, Furan Yueni and Kaerazaru Kioku. It also comes with a live version of Kakuu to Genjitsu so this is like the ultimate demo-tape release by them lol. The link below is mine.
http://www.4shared.com/file/140260717/7 ... _Kage.html
「objexxx」
Their first CD release and their sixth single overall, this was released 1996-12-20. The only song here was objexxx and there is no B-side. The link for this song is coupled with the Lu:Ciel link below.
「Lu:Ciel」
Their second CD release, seventh single overall. I consider La:Sadie's to be Diru before the name change so they never disbanded in my opinion so that's why I don't say "last single by this band". Kisaki just left, Toshiya came in the picture and they decided to change their name. Bands do that often (and it does explain why Dir en grey got off to such a big start now doesn't it?). Back to Lu:Ciel, it comes with Shoukei Hatan Sekai and Lu:Ciel as the two tracks. The link below is mine and also contains the song objexxx.
http://www.4shared.com/file/139979217/b ... jexxx.html
And we're done....I will take my prize as ungodly worship, a nice pillow and some milk and cookies.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Lyrics: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD - Jigokuchou
My goodness, this song just about killed me to do since the massive amount of obfuscation with the kanji and a gratuitous amount of slang forced me to take a bunch of liberty translating this song. I think I got the overall meaning but once again I'm open to corrections and ideas and rephrasing of sentences and stuff.
『Jigokuchou』 (Hell Butterfly)
Lyrics：団長/Music：【新興宗教楽団NoGoD】
捻くれた理想
hinekurete risou
contrary to your dreams
綺麗に並べて
kirei ni narabete
and juxtaposed to them
水槽の中に浮かべてれば
suisou no naka ni ukabetera ba
is you floating within a fish tank
それで満足かい
sorede manzoku kai
that grants me satisfaction
揚羽蝶の様な
agehachou no you na
Like a swallowtail butterfly
小さいその羽
chiisaiso no hane
with tiny wings
か弱く羽ばたかせているなら
kayowaku habata kaseteiru nara
my frail, scrawny wings are flapping
地に足を着け歩け*
chi ni ashi wo tsukeru ke
to keep pace with the earth
(※デスボ※×３...×２)
(DESUBO)**
生温い風を纏いながら
namanuii kaze wo matoi nagara
As the wind entwines halfheartedly around me
(※デスボ※×３...×２)
(DESUBO)**
鮮やかに踠(モガ)き生き続けろ
azayaka ni mogaki iki tsuzukeru***
I keep pace by flapping my wings brilliantly
この世は地獄と
konoyo ha jigoku to
In this hellish life
お前は蔑む
omae ha sagesumu
you despise
何も背負わずに (それでも)
nani mo seou wazu ni (soredemo)
what little things burden you (nevertheless)
この獣道を歩き続けるが良い woo...
kono kemonomichi**** wo aruki tsuzukeru ga ii
Be prepared to continue walking down this path
少し甘やかし過ぎてしまったな
sukoshi amayakashi sugiteshi matta na
Few with a spoiled upbringing make it this far
口で言っても分からないなら
kuchi de iutte mo wakaranai nara
to the gate whose name they call out but do not know
その体に刻んでやろう
sono karada ni kizamundeyarou
this is engraved upon their body
少女はこれから
shoujo ha kore kara
now little girl
足を踏み入れる
ashi wo fumie ireru*****
the scriptures set at your feet show
本当の地獄へ
hontou no jigoku e
the reality of going to hell
想像を超える
souzou wo koeru
let your imagination toy with the thought
これぞ狂気の沙汰 woo...
korezo kyoukinosata
of committing this unfathomable act
(※デスボ※)
(DESUBO)
四肢は引き裂かれ
shishi ha hiki sakere
your limbs burst from the tugging
光を奪われ
hikari wa ubawate
light is snatched away from you
音を無くしても (それでも)
oto wo nakushite mo (soredemo)
without a sound (but still)
また世迷言
mata yomaigoto
you continue to mutter nonsense
吐く事が出来るか
haku koto ga dekiru ka
accustomed to telling lies in
「この世は地獄だ」 と
[konoyo wa jigoku da] to...
[this hellish world] and....
* what is written isn't sung. translated as to what is sung.
** DESU means death the way it's written and then BO can be construed as a boa or a boar. Death Boa/Boar? It also has nothing to do with what the NoGoD crew are screaming since I can't make it out and I'm just gonna go with what I have here. I'm also going to throw out that Satan was a snake and the title does translate as hell butterfly (and their name is NoGoD)....
Then again...
"Artemis, the goddess of hunting, mountains and forests, is the most closely linked with the wild boar. As a wild and fierce animal, the boar was regarded as a symbol of one side of Artemis' nature, capable of unleashing sudden, violent destruction on humans and property. The Kalydonian boar was regarded as an instrument of her vengeance, sent by Artemis against King Oeneus because he had failed to offer her the first fruits of his harvest. Her sacred buildings were often decorated with images of boars' heads."
So I haven't a fucking clue what it's supposed to mean but at least they tackle all religions, no matter how many deities there may be...
*** I was about to quit over this sentence. The kanji he uses for "mogaki" is 椀, which is slang for "flappers" (like from the 1920's) and then the word iki was written meaning "freshness/stet" but what does that have to do with anything in the sentence?I also seem to notice that Japanese tends to repeat verbs twice in some sentences, especially Danchou when he has to fill out the syllables so I went and combined two of them and then tried to make some sort of coherent sentence that fits, sounds "NoGoD-dy", and still uses half the words in the sentence. I used the flapper connotation as to the motion of his wings and the rest of the sentence just...evaporated on the Notepad page. If anyone can provide a better translation I'll gladly take it but that's the best I could really do for those two lines. Damn obsfucation of kanji....
**** the word he uses translates accurately as "animal trail"
***** fumie means something along the lines of "Christian tablets and scriptures"
『Jigokuchou』 (Hell Butterfly)
Lyrics：団長/Music：【新興宗教楽団NoGoD】
捻くれた理想
hinekurete risou
contrary to your dreams
綺麗に並べて
kirei ni narabete
and juxtaposed to them
水槽の中に浮かべてれば
suisou no naka ni ukabetera ba
is you floating within a fish tank
それで満足かい
sorede manzoku kai
that grants me satisfaction
揚羽蝶の様な
agehachou no you na
Like a swallowtail butterfly
小さいその羽
chiisaiso no hane
with tiny wings
か弱く羽ばたかせているなら
kayowaku habata kaseteiru nara
my frail, scrawny wings are flapping
地に足を着け歩け*
chi ni ashi wo tsukeru ke
to keep pace with the earth
(※デスボ※×３...×２)
(DESUBO)**
生温い風を纏いながら
namanuii kaze wo matoi nagara
As the wind entwines halfheartedly around me
(※デスボ※×３...×２)
(DESUBO)**
鮮やかに踠(モガ)き生き続けろ
azayaka ni mogaki iki tsuzukeru***
I keep pace by flapping my wings brilliantly
この世は地獄と
konoyo ha jigoku to
In this hellish life
お前は蔑む
omae ha sagesumu
you despise
何も背負わずに (それでも)
nani mo seou wazu ni (soredemo)
what little things burden you (nevertheless)
この獣道を歩き続けるが良い woo...
kono kemonomichi**** wo aruki tsuzukeru ga ii
Be prepared to continue walking down this path
少し甘やかし過ぎてしまったな
sukoshi amayakashi sugiteshi matta na
Few with a spoiled upbringing make it this far
口で言っても分からないなら
kuchi de iutte mo wakaranai nara
to the gate whose name they call out but do not know
その体に刻んでやろう
sono karada ni kizamundeyarou
this is engraved upon their body
少女はこれから
shoujo ha kore kara
now little girl
足を踏み入れる
ashi wo fumie ireru*****
the scriptures set at your feet show
本当の地獄へ
hontou no jigoku e
the reality of going to hell
想像を超える
souzou wo koeru
let your imagination toy with the thought
これぞ狂気の沙汰 woo...
korezo kyoukinosata
of committing this unfathomable act
(※デスボ※)
(DESUBO)
四肢は引き裂かれ
shishi ha hiki sakere
your limbs burst from the tugging
光を奪われ
hikari wa ubawate
light is snatched away from you
音を無くしても (それでも)
oto wo nakushite mo (soredemo)
without a sound (but still)
また世迷言
mata yomaigoto
you continue to mutter nonsense
吐く事が出来るか
haku koto ga dekiru ka
accustomed to telling lies in
「この世は地獄だ」 と
[konoyo wa jigoku da] to...
[this hellish world] and....
* what is written isn't sung. translated as to what is sung.
** DESU means death the way it's written and then BO can be construed as a boa or a boar. Death Boa/Boar? It also has nothing to do with what the NoGoD crew are screaming since I can't make it out and I'm just gonna go with what I have here. I'm also going to throw out that Satan was a snake and the title does translate as hell butterfly (and their name is NoGoD)....
Then again...
"Artemis, the goddess of hunting, mountains and forests, is the most closely linked with the wild boar. As a wild and fierce animal, the boar was regarded as a symbol of one side of Artemis' nature, capable of unleashing sudden, violent destruction on humans and property. The Kalydonian boar was regarded as an instrument of her vengeance, sent by Artemis against King Oeneus because he had failed to offer her the first fruits of his harvest. Her sacred buildings were often decorated with images of boars' heads."
So I haven't a fucking clue what it's supposed to mean but at least they tackle all religions, no matter how many deities there may be...
*** I was about to quit over this sentence. The kanji he uses for "mogaki" is 椀, which is slang for "flappers" (like from the 1920's) and then the word iki was written meaning "freshness/stet" but what does that have to do with anything in the sentence?I also seem to notice that Japanese tends to repeat verbs twice in some sentences, especially Danchou when he has to fill out the syllables so I went and combined two of them and then tried to make some sort of coherent sentence that fits, sounds "NoGoD-dy", and still uses half the words in the sentence. I used the flapper connotation as to the motion of his wings and the rest of the sentence just...evaporated on the Notepad page. If anyone can provide a better translation I'll gladly take it but that's the best I could really do for those two lines. Damn obsfucation of kanji....
**** the word he uses translates accurately as "animal trail"
***** fumie means something along the lines of "Christian tablets and scriptures"
Friday, October 2, 2009
Lyrics: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD - Mr.HEAVEN
I may be posting infrequently due to my heavy workload but when I DO have something useful to put up here rest assured I will. Today, I happen to have finished translating a request from a user on Tainted World for Mr.HEAVEN lyrics so I got through these in an hour. Here you guys go!
Um, just so anyone who reads this knows, I don't translate like normal people do. I don't take any Japanese courses and I never have, so all that pops up here is a combination of some translations, what little I know and common sense. They aren't directly translated but you get the meaning of each passage AND WITH THAT SAID I present to your Mr.HEAVEN!
Mr.HEAVEN
Lyrics: Danchou / Music: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD
私さえ生まれてこなければ
waisae umareta konakereba
When your life begins to fall apart
そう言って少女は目を伏せる
sou iette shoujo wa me wo fuseru
just call my name, hide and watch little girl
平面は相手にしてくれず
heimen ha aite ni shitekurezu
I'll face your opponent on the field by nightfall
実像に拒絶反応
jitsuzou ni kyozetsu hannou
and answer your refusal to face real life
教室が拷問と思いこむ
kyoushitsu ga goumon to omoi komu
Desires and torture crammed together in the classroom
時代を錯誤した背徳
jidai wo sakugo shita haitoku
Mistakes like these at that age cause corruption
死んでも誰も悲しまない
shindemo....daremo kanashi manai
and once I'm gone...everyone suddenly becomes hopeless
決め付けて爪を眺める
kimetsukete tsume o nagameru
fixated on those claws
愛される事をどうか恐れないで居て
aisareru koto wo douka osore naide ite
In order to love these circumstances you must learn to control your fear
存在さえも見失った
sonzai sae mo miushi natta
even if you lose sight of the meaning of life
全ての子供達よ
subete no kodomotachi yo
all of my children
この声聞えますか？
kono koe kikoemasu ka?
just listen for this voice, OK?
存在価値を与える為
sonzai kachi wo ataeru tame
To provide your life with meaning
舞い降りた私は 「ミスター・ヘブン」*
mai orita watashi ha Mr. HEAVEN
I will descend the mountains as Mr. HEAVEN
愛には終わりがあるけど **
(ai ni ha owari ga aru kedo)
ai ni owari warau kedo
(In the end all there is is love but)
Smile because in the end there will be love (and happiness) but
決して無くなりはしない
keshite nakunai na shinai
do not lose sight within the city ***
存在さえも見失った
sonzai sae mo miushi natta
even if you lose sight of the meaning of life
全ての子供達よ
subete no kodomotachi yo
all of my children
この声聞えますか？
kono koe kikoemasu ka?
just listen for this voice, OK?
存在価値を否定しては****
sonzai kachi wo hitei shite wa
and then I will repudiate the relinquishment of existence
何もかも生まれない*****
nani mo ka mo umare nai
If it is in your nature to then
残せない繋がらない
nokose nai tsunakare nai
tie it up and leave it behind you
存在価値を与える為
sonzai kachi wo ataeru tame
To provide your life with meaning
舞い降りた私はそう
mai orita watashi wa sou
I will thus descend the mountains
人呼んで 「ミスター・ヘブン」
hitoyonda Mr.HEAVEN
when mankind calls out for Mr.HEAVEN
* I can swear that he sings wa and not ha, which changes the meaning of the sentence somewhat but I translated it according to the lyrics and not to what Danchou sung.
** The little warumono didn't sing what he wrote once again, and this time I can't even translate what he did write so I went with what I heard.
*** I think he means something along the lines of "don't lose hope by what you see around you" but it's not clear and requires personal interpretation I guess.
**** I may have the volume up loud but I'm not deaf. He clearly sings "iki" and not "kachi" although the lyrics say otherwise. Translated according to what I hear.
***** I can hear an extra "ga" in there that the lyrics don't have. Translating with that in there. Goddamnit Danchou stop being lazy and provide us with some correct lyrics >.> I hate it when artists do that.
OK, Mr.HEAVEN was a bitch but that's the general gist of the song. I probably messed up in there somewhere so if anyone spots any mistakes feel free to comment and let me know where. Feel free to also retranslate the song if you think you've got a different meaning of it or whatever. I really don't give a damn but just make sure you credit me for the translation since I spent about an hour on this trying to figure out what the hell Danchou was mumbling and how to phrase things "the NoGoD way".
So yes, enjoy ;D
Um, just so anyone who reads this knows, I don't translate like normal people do. I don't take any Japanese courses and I never have, so all that pops up here is a combination of some translations, what little I know and common sense. They aren't directly translated but you get the meaning of each passage AND WITH THAT SAID I present to your Mr.HEAVEN!
Mr.HEAVEN
Lyrics: Danchou / Music: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD
私さえ生まれてこなければ
waisae umareta konakereba
When your life begins to fall apart
そう言って少女は目を伏せる
sou iette shoujo wa me wo fuseru
just call my name, hide and watch little girl
平面は相手にしてくれず
heimen ha aite ni shitekurezu
I'll face your opponent on the field by nightfall
実像に拒絶反応
jitsuzou ni kyozetsu hannou
and answer your refusal to face real life
教室が拷問と思いこむ
kyoushitsu ga goumon to omoi komu
Desires and torture crammed together in the classroom
時代を錯誤した背徳
jidai wo sakugo shita haitoku
Mistakes like these at that age cause corruption
死んでも誰も悲しまない
shindemo....daremo kanashi manai
and once I'm gone...everyone suddenly becomes hopeless
決め付けて爪を眺める
kimetsukete tsume o nagameru
fixated on those claws
愛される事をどうか恐れないで居て
aisareru koto wo douka osore naide ite
In order to love these circumstances you must learn to control your fear
存在さえも見失った
sonzai sae mo miushi natta
even if you lose sight of the meaning of life
全ての子供達よ
subete no kodomotachi yo
all of my children
この声聞えますか？
kono koe kikoemasu ka?
just listen for this voice, OK?
存在価値を与える為
sonzai kachi wo ataeru tame
To provide your life with meaning
舞い降りた私は 「ミスター・ヘブン」*
mai orita watashi ha Mr. HEAVEN
I will descend the mountains as Mr. HEAVEN
愛には終わりがあるけど **
(ai ni ha owari ga aru kedo)
ai ni owari warau kedo
(In the end all there is is love but)
Smile because in the end there will be love (and happiness) but
決して無くなりはしない
keshite nakunai na shinai
do not lose sight within the city ***
存在さえも見失った
sonzai sae mo miushi natta
even if you lose sight of the meaning of life
全ての子供達よ
subete no kodomotachi yo
all of my children
この声聞えますか？
kono koe kikoemasu ka?
just listen for this voice, OK?
存在価値を否定しては****
sonzai kachi wo hitei shite wa
and then I will repudiate the relinquishment of existence
何もかも生まれない*****
nani mo ka mo umare nai
If it is in your nature to then
残せない繋がらない
nokose nai tsunakare nai
tie it up and leave it behind you
存在価値を与える為
sonzai kachi wo ataeru tame
To provide your life with meaning
舞い降りた私はそう
mai orita watashi wa sou
I will thus descend the mountains
人呼んで 「ミスター・ヘブン」
hitoyonda Mr.HEAVEN
when mankind calls out for Mr.HEAVEN
* I can swear that he sings wa and not ha, which changes the meaning of the sentence somewhat but I translated it according to the lyrics and not to what Danchou sung.
** The little warumono didn't sing what he wrote once again, and this time I can't even translate what he did write so I went with what I heard.
*** I think he means something along the lines of "don't lose hope by what you see around you" but it's not clear and requires personal interpretation I guess.
**** I may have the volume up loud but I'm not deaf. He clearly sings "iki" and not "kachi" although the lyrics say otherwise. Translated according to what I hear.
***** I can hear an extra "ga" in there that the lyrics don't have. Translating with that in there. Goddamnit Danchou stop being lazy and provide us with some correct lyrics >.> I hate it when artists do that.
OK, Mr.HEAVEN was a bitch but that's the general gist of the song. I probably messed up in there somewhere so if anyone spots any mistakes feel free to comment and let me know where. Feel free to also retranslate the song if you think you've got a different meaning of it or whatever. I really don't give a damn but just make sure you credit me for the translation since I spent about an hour on this trying to figure out what the hell Danchou was mumbling and how to phrase things "the NoGoD way".
So yes, enjoy ;D
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Review: SCREW - X-RAYS
With the announcement that Yuuto decided to leave the band today, I figured that it'd be only right that I finally take a look at X-RAYS and see what his final work with SCREW was like. I'm not going to beat around the bush and banter on and on just to have a set structure: X-RAYS was pretty average in some spots and downright terrible in others. A few issues plague this album through and through and there are plenty of other bands that do this genre and do it better but for an album X-RAYS really isn't all that bad. It just isn't all that good either.
Byou, the vocalist of this band, cannot scream. His singing voice is great, as illustrated in songs like DYSPNEA and Yurikago, but he cannot scream. X-RAYS has a notorious amount of distortion on the screams and instead of filling out Byou's weak spots it just makes the song sound funny and the screams sound stupid. There is such a ridiculous amount of distortion that I don't blame anyone if they stop listening at track five. This little glitch wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that ScReW considers themselves to be a heavy band so we have tracks like dust box and DRASTIC SLAVER which are ridden with nothing but screams and growls muffled by tons of distortion.
The album starts off with answer, which I treat as more of an album opener than a track on it's own. It's under three minutes but it's full of screaming, whispering, tinny drumming, distorted vocals out the window and a respectable guitar line that keeps this song from sinking. It leads into one song that I must point out for review purposes: VII Cardinal Sins. This song is the epitome of "born syndrome": deep heavy verses contrasted with a sung chorus that doesn't fit together well. Throw in some unintelligible growled Engrish and distortion of course and you have a track that's just loud but not clever.
Thankfully this album is miles above the crap Racial Mixture EP they released before this and I do have to say that since they recorded all new songs for this album it's good in that respect. Some noteworthy songs for listening that I need to point out are Ruin and Dread, Dyspnea, Black Monster and Yurikago. These are among the best songs on the album because they showcase Byou's strengths while leaving the massive amounts of technical aid behind. Ruin and Dread combines their crushing sound with the grace of a piano while Dyspnea throws in a nice little acoustic solo over Byou's great singing voice, both of which add more to a song than "scream, scream, scream, layer this shit with distortion, scream some more". Yurikago has a nice tempo change midway through the song that keeps the listener from falling into a sleep from listening so long and Black Monster is that token "we're diversified" track that doesn't fit in on the album. Normally I crucify these but in the context of this album I'd take anything that doesn't outright suck.
EDIT: Due to the comment of an anonymous visitor, it came to my attention that I somehow missed the incredibly good Firefly. Don't ask why I didn't notice it wasn't here the first time but if you're going to pick up X-RAYS you need to invest serious time in this track. I didn't and I missed it the first time around D=. (Perhaps then I would have given X-RAYS a second look)
And then we have tracks that outright suck....what a shame since the songs above highlight that Screw knows what it is they're doing but they just make very poor musical decisions. As stated before, VII Cardinal Sins is a page ripped right out of "born's tips and tricks to making dysfunctional music" guide while dust box is a roaring wall of noise that ought to be destroyed next to it's cousin HEEL (from Racial Mixture). answer and Drastic Slaver both have somewhat cool guitar lines racing throughout but Byou's vocals kill it and Genei no Kusari has a cringeworthy chorus that neuters a somewhat good song.
At the end of the day, Screw is where they are at because they produce what it is they want: music that's great to listen to one minute and just "what the fuck" the next. Byou is nothing more than a poor man's Mao when it comes down to it (and Mao doesn't need digitalization on his vocals to make them "harsh") and ScReW can't keep a leash on their wild side as tightly as Sadie (the band that most jumps to mind when you figure what it is they try to imitate). X-RAYS is very hit and miss as an album but there are a few tracks in here worth putting your attention towards.
If ScReW wants to improve, they'll need to get a vocalist that knows how to scream/growl and compose songs that aren't needlessly heavy and without direction like "dust box". The EQ levels also need some adjustment. Would I ever want to see some songs re-recorded for a future compilation? Sure, but just the good ones.
Recommended:
DYSPNEA
RUIN AND DREAD
Yurikago
Listen: Maybe
Byou, the vocalist of this band, cannot scream. His singing voice is great, as illustrated in songs like DYSPNEA and Yurikago, but he cannot scream. X-RAYS has a notorious amount of distortion on the screams and instead of filling out Byou's weak spots it just makes the song sound funny and the screams sound stupid. There is such a ridiculous amount of distortion that I don't blame anyone if they stop listening at track five. This little glitch wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that ScReW considers themselves to be a heavy band so we have tracks like dust box and DRASTIC SLAVER which are ridden with nothing but screams and growls muffled by tons of distortion.
The album starts off with answer, which I treat as more of an album opener than a track on it's own. It's under three minutes but it's full of screaming, whispering, tinny drumming, distorted vocals out the window and a respectable guitar line that keeps this song from sinking. It leads into one song that I must point out for review purposes: VII Cardinal Sins. This song is the epitome of "born syndrome": deep heavy verses contrasted with a sung chorus that doesn't fit together well. Throw in some unintelligible growled Engrish and distortion of course and you have a track that's just loud but not clever.
Thankfully this album is miles above the crap Racial Mixture EP they released before this and I do have to say that since they recorded all new songs for this album it's good in that respect. Some noteworthy songs for listening that I need to point out are Ruin and Dread, Dyspnea, Black Monster and Yurikago. These are among the best songs on the album because they showcase Byou's strengths while leaving the massive amounts of technical aid behind. Ruin and Dread combines their crushing sound with the grace of a piano while Dyspnea throws in a nice little acoustic solo over Byou's great singing voice, both of which add more to a song than "scream, scream, scream, layer this shit with distortion, scream some more". Yurikago has a nice tempo change midway through the song that keeps the listener from falling into a sleep from listening so long and Black Monster is that token "we're diversified" track that doesn't fit in on the album. Normally I crucify these but in the context of this album I'd take anything that doesn't outright suck.
EDIT: Due to the comment of an anonymous visitor, it came to my attention that I somehow missed the incredibly good Firefly. Don't ask why I didn't notice it wasn't here the first time but if you're going to pick up X-RAYS you need to invest serious time in this track. I didn't and I missed it the first time around D=. (Perhaps then I would have given X-RAYS a second look)
And then we have tracks that outright suck....what a shame since the songs above highlight that Screw knows what it is they're doing but they just make very poor musical decisions. As stated before, VII Cardinal Sins is a page ripped right out of "born's tips and tricks to making dysfunctional music" guide while dust box is a roaring wall of noise that ought to be destroyed next to it's cousin HEEL (from Racial Mixture). answer and Drastic Slaver both have somewhat cool guitar lines racing throughout but Byou's vocals kill it and Genei no Kusari has a cringeworthy chorus that neuters a somewhat good song.
At the end of the day, Screw is where they are at because they produce what it is they want: music that's great to listen to one minute and just "what the fuck" the next. Byou is nothing more than a poor man's Mao when it comes down to it (and Mao doesn't need digitalization on his vocals to make them "harsh") and ScReW can't keep a leash on their wild side as tightly as Sadie (the band that most jumps to mind when you figure what it is they try to imitate). X-RAYS is very hit and miss as an album but there are a few tracks in here worth putting your attention towards.
If ScReW wants to improve, they'll need to get a vocalist that knows how to scream/growl and compose songs that aren't needlessly heavy and without direction like "dust box". The EQ levels also need some adjustment. Would I ever want to see some songs re-recorded for a future compilation? Sure, but just the good ones.
Recommended:
DYSPNEA
RUIN AND DREAD
Yurikago
Listen: Maybe
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