Jump to content

Leaderboard


Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/09/15 in all areas

  1. 13 points
    Jigsaw9

    #25: VITIUM by sukekiyo

    Artist: sukekiyo Album: VITIUM Score: The essence of sukekiyo, molded into perfection. sukekiyo has managed to slowly convert me from being a mildly disinterested bystander to a casual listener who's always on the lookout whenever something new pops up concerning the band. Their first full-length IMMORTALIS proved to be a slow-burning behemoth of many faces (and facets), and their latest offering VITIUM isn't too far off from that impression either. Kyo and co. don't seem to be in a hurry, as evidenced by the size of this new 'mini' album which is still longer than most bands' albums. Throughout these 37 minutes, they present their compositions in typical sukekiyo fashion: sprawling, mysterious, unpredictable. This time around, however, it seems they were able to craft a more unified sound for themselves (as if they weren't already unique enough), with a concentrated approach to boot. Each song sounds more coherent in and of itself, while still retaining the "expect the unexpected" avant-garde quality they've come to be known for. VITIUM starts off powerfully and majestically with "leather field" – a dark flower blooming and branching out in sukekiyo's aural grotto. Hints of manic aggression and weirdness also rear their heads, prefiguring what's to come in the second track "dunes." This song introduces a demented vibe with its jittery guitars and drums, the band's interpretation of violent jazz-metal. Surprisingly, we are treated to an interlude next ("dot") that doesn't do much in itself but it serves as a fitting ambient intro to the following "foster mother." Kyo's deep croons drift onto a hypnotic beat complemented by beautiful guitar flourishes and keyboards that evoke an ambiguous atmosphere, on the edge of tranquility and uneasiness. One of the standout tracks for sure! As VITIUM's centerpiece, "雨上がりの優詩 (Ameagari no yuushi)" pales in comparison to "foster mother," although it is a decent slower number complete with some fantastic textures and a soothing, airy outro. The atmosphere continues through "maniera," but it quickly turns into a quirky explosion of psychedelic metal tinged with calmer acoustic noodling. If DIR EN GREY drove out to the desert high on mescaline, this is what they would jam out. If "maniera" was the hallucinatory freak-out, the second interlude "白露 (Hakuro)" serves as a soundtrack to expulsion – not as fun but still necessary. All the more so, it heightens the magnificence of the follow-up, "celeste." Switching between tumbling piano sludge and schizophrenic episodes, it's a strong indicator of what sukekiyo is capable of. Naturally, after all of this there's no other way to go but softer, as "focus" closes the record with ethereal floaty melodies... or so it seems until the flamenco bit kicks in, segueing into one last creepy look into the abyss. As you can tell, this mini album is quite a trip from start to finish. Whereas IMMORTALIS seemed overly long and drawn-out at times, VITIUM manages to capture the band's perfected essence, more powerful and twisted than ever. It is clear that sukekiyo has finally found its own voice. Let's just hope we'll get to hear that voice more in the future as well!
  2. 5 points
    Pretsy

    #25: VITIUM by sukekiyo

    Totally seconding your views there jig - neat review Btw, I apologize beforehand for misinterpreting band's words about composer roles - they had a talk session @ Tokyo Kinema Club @7/2 where they revealed a few tidbits about behind-the-scenes stuff in Vitium and whatnot (thx to the blog owner for visiting that one, heh): Source: http://ameblo.jp/nmnl-tgdeg/entry-11987120044.html ps. I tried to interpret the trivia parts mentioned in my link, so feel free to correct me... Leather Fields: Yuchi - Yuchi wanted to define his "groove" here (?) Dunes: UTA - Mika thought the drumline here was very "touching" (lol?) Dot: SE - Takumi played this briefly in some Ameagari no Yuushi tour gigs... Foster Mother: Yuchi - Yuchi wrote this right away after their Kyoto live (?) and let Takumi do his twists afterwards Ameagari no Yuushi: Takumi - Demo was very folky, a la Elisabeth Addict pt. 2 (this detail was taken from their barks interview btw), and they came up with the final arrangement (a.k.a Vitium ver.) before their Germany live Maniera: Yuchi - Yuchi also played guitar in this one (?) Hakuro: SE/Takumi - this is apparently a " short (re)mix" of sukekiyo's EU/JP tour impro sessions Celeste: Kyo + Takumi - the result of Kyo being inspired by some movie (which they don't mention for some reason) and Takumi + Kyo's wild brainstorming Focus: Uta (Takumi credited himself for arranging on barks.jp though) - Mika uses djembe here + the whole band was very thrilled about having Toshi to collab in Ameagari and apparently Kyo is fanboying the actor in Focus collab (and he invited Mikami personally to do cameo in Vitium, hmmm) I am rather surprised how Yuchi-heavy this record really is, haha.
  3. 3 points
    Mr.0

    WING WORKS @ Paris Manga

    So yeah, here is a brief report of my WING WORKS xperience in Paris ! I first headed to Unbounded booth, to buy some merch for the signing session, and here, surprise: RYO:SUKE WAS THERE! He was selling his stuff with unbounded staff (and the session members!). I didn't know him at all, but let me tell you this: he is SUPER nice! He talked with everyone, trying his best to speak decent english (sometimes funny, but overall very good job!), he made some jokes, thanking everyone, etc etc (They were selling all his singles (exept ロゼッタ, dammit!), a big poster, two t-shirts (the one he posted on instagram, and a white one (from his japanese goods), a cheki case, chekis, a CD-R (or DVD? I don't remember, it was only one live song anyway) a live photoset, and a rubber band!) I bought the last copy of FIXXTION BOY, he was super happy, and forcer the staff to write SOLD OUT on the sample jacket haha And we could do some photos with the members too! (If you bought 10€ of goodies, you could do a photo with your phone with one session member, 12€ it was a cheki, and for 50€ it was a cheki with RYO:SUKE (I have one yay!) So, after all this merch madness, we headed to the stage, and the word disappointment isn't strong enough. There was CHAIRS all over. I mean, for a visual kei live?! But we decided to stand near the stage anyway, in front of the chairs, but the staff made us move back, so the press can film and take pictures. Boo Paris Manga and Unbounded, boo. All the members, RYO included were on stage at some point to set up their gear, place setlists, etc etc. The live itself started OF COURSE 30 minutes late. And again, I was very disappointed. The sound was SOOOOOO shitty, you have no idea. From where I was, we could only hear the guitar, the drums, and his voice (but the instruments were waaay louder) No bass, and no electronic sounds. Wich is like 50% of his songs. But the man himself was great! Full of energy, he made everybody stand up! Here is the setlist! (The new song, from what I could hear, is killer! Can't wait to ear it properly! 1.シルヴァー 2.Mr.FANTASIX MC 3.VAD†MAN 4. ILLUMINA✡LUMINALION 5.MAD SQUARE GARDEN 6. ムービングラ イトキス MC 7.不死鳥-FENNIX- 8.Time:Machine 9. メトロア3.0 (the song is made for the live, it's the kind of song bands do for like 10 minutes, while the studio version is 3min long) MC 10.STAR GAZER MEMORY 11.FIXXTION BOY (I did something special for this, I'll wait for the videos to be on YT to show you what it is, but the band seemed pleased!) Oh, and they showed the video of his 4 PVs on a screen behind the stage. It was repetitive, especially since he has some REAL visuals for his lives, but still was nice!) Sorry for my lame english, I'm still tired as hell, and sick, so yeah! Overall, good experience, but I'd love to see him in a real live house!
  4. 3 points
    Whole album while delivering pizzas
  5. 3 points
  6. 2 points
  7. 2 points
    Their last two singles have been so good, and I think so much better than the two before it that I am worried the older tracks will bring down what could be their best album, unless they re-recorded the songs or placed them in a fresh way. We shall see.
  8. 2 points
    kyoisKILLINGME

    random thoughts thread

    well after changing my avatar 100 fucking times!!! I think I found the right one...BUT IM NOT EVEN SURE... my brain fucking hurts edit: change it again...okay seriously no more I...promise...*coughs*
  9. 2 points
    I have mixed feelings towards this list personally. I feel some tracks definitely deserve their places (perhaps not in the same order, but at least within the top 25 itself), such as Rhapsody in beauty, 懐春, and 光の加減で話した, but at the same time there are some tracks on here that I feel are rather overrated; particularly unravel (which I personally consider to be one of TK's weakest compositions) and phenomenon. Then again, such is the nature of subjectivity, I doubt anyone will completely agree with everything on the list. Still, I appreciate the work that you guys put into it.
  10. 1 point
    Trombe

    Trombe will be temporarily on hiatus

    I will be temporarily on hiatus for around one week since 2013/08/14 due to my work, and hopefully I will resume activities around my forthcoming birthday
  11. 1 point
    NIGHTMARE new album "CARPE DIEM" will be released at 2015/03/25 (3 TYPE) limited edition TYPE A (3,600yen) will include CD+DVD (including "Quints" PV), limited edition TYPE B (3,600yen) will include CD+DVD, and regular edition TYPE C (2,800yen) will include CD only [CD track list] 01.Siva 02.僕の嫌いな君が死んだら、僕は笑うのだろうか(boku no kirai na kimi ga shindara boku wa warau no darou ka) 03.TABOO 04.恍惚(koukotsu) 05.Quints 06.入滅(nyuumetsu)-entering nirvana- 07.blur 08.Demand 09.NAMELESS 10.fade 11.the DOOL 12.極上脳震煉獄・弐式(gokujou noushin rengoku nishiki) 13.Tao (included in regular edition TYPE C) [limited edition TYPE B DVD track list] NIGHTMARE FC Limited Live 2015 @ EX THEATER ROPPONGI 01.blur 02.Such a Nonsense System 03.Buddies
  12. 1 point
    Vocalist 正和 (Masakazu) (Ex-M) has opened twitter and has been recording in studio with guitarist アオ(Ao) (ex-M), however details regarding band/project are yet to be officially announced. Still it would seem only fair to assume they have been recording with bassist てつや (Tetsuya) (ex-M) and drummer トヲル (Toworu) (ex. ムジナ(Mujina.)) as their blog posts already suggested they had been rehearsing together in last autumn, Toworu and Tetsuya have also created twitter accounts though they are yet to be used. Guitarist Ao has also posted to his blog about recording. It would appear project would likely be non visual as in recording person twitter it was referred as non visual system rock band. https://twitter.com/TTMM_masakazu http://ameblo.jp/nekura-ao/ edit (adding updated info to main post): twitter accounts of members: https://twitter.com/TTMM_masakazu https://twitter.com/TTMM_ao https://twitter.com/TTMM_tetsuya https://twitter.com/TTMM_toworu details regarding band(?) are yet still to be announced, I think it should be fair to assume TTMM stands short for their band name though. edit2 : updated topic name as band seems to have been confirmed, also added first song ( in reply down .)
  13. 1 point
    According to the band's official Facebook, all members except Tatsu Mikami (bassist) have left Church of Misery in the past months. However, Tatsu ensured everyone that the band will continue, as he is the sole writer of music/lyrics... and the band will hopefully have a new album out (plus tours) next year when new members are gathered. Let's stay hopeful!
  14. 1 point
    黒夢(Kuroyume) live-limited single "DAY 1" will be released at their live "BLOOM AND POISON" at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST at 2015/02/03, at Nanba HATCH at 2015/02/05 and at Zepp Nagoya at 2015/02/09 (2 TYPE) limited edition (4,000yen) will include CD+DVD+pamphlet (32 pages), and regular edition (1,200yen) will include CD only and will be in digipack
  15. 1 point
    I think I have waited now long enough to continue watching this. The latest arc I watched was Fishman Island. Can't wait to continue!
  16. 1 point
    Everyone should simply watch Yowamushi Pedal.
  17. 1 point
    nick

    [HELP] How to rip a DVD in mp3 ?

    Thanks for the heads-up! Moved to the help section.
  18. 1 point
    eiheartx

    [HELP] How to rip a DVD in mp3 ?

    /french Tu es sur quel OS? Ma solution sur OSX: - extraire mon DVD en un seul fichier avec makemkv - découper les chapitres dudit fichier avec mkvtoolnix - extraire l'audio de mes chapitres avec Mac X Free MP3 video converter avant j'utilisais magic cutter mais je devais couper à la main les séquences. C'était chiant. Maintenant je ne m'emmerde plus à découper, c'est les chapitres qui le font pour moi. xD the end. edit: this thread should be in Help btw. Not in General.
  19. 1 point
    rewatching whole Code Geass now. didn't expect it to be even more interesting than when i first watch it 5 year ago lol. one of the best anime ever. also watched first episode of Karas, but it's kinda meh, disregarding fantastic visuals. not even sure why i have put this on my rewatch list.
  20. 1 point
    Biopanda

    random thoughts thread

    On the other hand, Twix probably loves it.
  21. 1 point
    Zeus

    VK debate on YouTube

    There would be more of a point to the topic if the original point was clear. There's a contradiction running throughout the entire argument. I'm assuming "selling out" means going for a more accessible sound to make more money. And there's nothing wrong with that: artists need to eat too! But on one hand Cyntia is selling out for shedding their metal tendencies and going full pop while exist trace is lauded for dropping their D'espairsRay influences and going full pop? And yet Cyntia is going "mainstream" for adopting pop and exist trace is breaking away from the "mainstream" by adopting pop? And the "mainstream" in question is pop in the first instance and metalcore in the second, the latter of which isn't mainstream at all and we only perceive it as such due to bias in our userbase's listening habits? I'm not quite sure what anyone is trying to get at. I also have noticed for a very long time that visual kei fans intensely dislike pop music for shaky reasons, confuse bands being different with making good music, and try to peg visual bands that mix several genres with one inaccurate label. The snippet in the first post is guilty of all three. In regards to Cyntia, I always thought they were pop first, metal second. Them leaning more towards their pop sound doesn't surprise me. It also shouldn't get in the way of enjoying their music unless it makes their music suffer for the worst (I don't know, I find Cyntia boring as fuck personally). @nekkichi was spot on about calling them BABYMETAL for adults because that's what that PV spot sounds like to me too. It's also the most memorable thing I've ever heard them do. Their pop metal shenanigans from the past few years sounds like a watered down Aldious. In regards to exist trace, yes they play a style of rock music not popular in visual kei and chose to not "sell out". So does LIPHLICH, the god and death stars, DISH, Wagakki-Band and a host of other visual kei bands. What's the point, that visual kei is unoriginal? We all already knew that!
  22. 1 point
    Love the look. But wtf with that chicken? Lol
  23. 1 point
  24. 1 point
    I will check the album at spotify if its out. I'm not such big fan of Velvet Eden anymore. doesn't really belong here but I will drop it here
  25. 1 point
  26. 1 point
    Wicked Teletubby

    sukekiyo

    think these belong here. thanks http://bluevelvet-bluevelvet.tumblr.com/.
  27. 1 point
    hiroki

    random thoughts thread

    thinking aloud to myself here.. a big part of what's irreplaceably precious about being fellow fans of a vk band, at least for me, is the sense that we can look forward to the next release together; the excitement that accompanies trivial or even stupid things band members do; the capacity to get a kind of joy out of just talking about the band that others will probably deem irrational; the audacity to be totally crazy about the band and not be afraid to show it in front of others (especially those who are comically allergic to vk); the assurance that there will at least be one other person beside us to mourn a member's departure; and a shoulder to cry on when the band eventually disbands. most importantly, it's also the tacit knowledge that there's someone out there who quietly knows how much a band means to me. as an example, when Xepher announced their disbandment i hardly said anything since i hate to be melodramatic about stuff like this, in spite of which i received messages from some really sweet people (some of whom i've never met before) asking if i was ok cuz they knew how much it must have hurt inside. i get tetchy when chatting about vk with a close friend irl (we like similar bands) who makes me feel as if i'm talking someone who's tackling a differential geometry problem with a straight face. sometimes i kinda wish they can show a tad more emotional intensity cuz it's not supposed to an exercise in rationality in the first place *shrugs* we can chalk it all up to a matter of personality or temperament, but i don't think it's just that.
  28. 1 point
    That is some god-tier Engrishing if I ever saw one.
  29. 1 point
    nekkichi

    VK debate on YouTube

    they sound like grown-up babymetal and are probably aimed at the same fans who sort of moved past the lolicon phase why are they even called vk??
  30. 1 point
    kyoselflove

    random thoughts thread

    Feeling good.
  31. 1 point
    x_dak_x

    random thoughts thread

    THIS GUY IS FRIGGIN EPIC https://www.youtube.com/user/Tuengxx
  32. 1 point
  33. 1 point
    what's wrong with being one, again? still a step-up from being an obnoxious music nerd who can't keep up with stupnik comment section wars and resorts to niche fangirl filled internet spaces
  34. 1 point
    blackdoll

    random thoughts thread

    ughh painting sucks dicks when it's confined. listening CO made it bearable. Painting again this week.
  35. 1 point
    artkei's impact will outlive its fleeting presence
  36. 1 point
    Wondering when Mötley Crüe are going to sue them for plagiarizing their album covers.
  37. 1 point
  38. 1 point
    Crube

    random thoughts thread

  39. 1 point
    Artist: Vermillion-D Alice Syndrome Album: 鴉/IX Score: Surprisingly lackluster, despite all the effort put into it. Setsuna is one ambitious guy for sure. He started in his basement playing unremarkable trance music themed after Dante's Inferno until he was enraptured by the allure of the guitar, and has been inching towards metal since 2008. Every release from the now defunct 黒夜葬 got darker, heavier, and more melodic as Setsuna improved his metal sensibilities and dropped his trance ones. He achieved his greatest wish in finding a vocalist, and in one motion cut some ties with the doujin scene by forming VDAS. Despite the fact that they cover no themes from any franchise, there were still pictures of anime girls on the covers of their last three releases and they faithfully showed up at all the events to sell their merchandise. In a way, 鴉/IX represents a total split from the scene it was birthed from. All doujin imagery has been eliminated from this album in an effort to appear as a serious metal band. Unfortunately for them, there are too many problems with 鴉/IX to consider their transition complete. Without the guiding light of ZUN, the duo have forgotten what made their music so interesting in the first place. Let's start from the beginning: there is too much going on within each song. On one hand, this is the best production and mastering job that VDAS has ever had. On the other hand, there are enough riffs for three albums shoved into one. It's great when artists hold nothing back and can engross the listener entirely in their style, but 鴉/IX is suffocating. The result is a disaster. Each song feels like an album on it's own; with the exception of closer "And Then There Was None", every song goes on for over eight minutes. There are some cool moments in each, but it's inevitably ruined by another, more questionable inclusion. In comparison to previous works by these two, both together and separately, they expressed more with less musical brushstrokes. This sounds like they tried too hard to be progressive and failed. It's difficult to highlight a standout track because they all have the same problems. It's been a while since I wanted to shut off an album because I felt like I heard everything by track four. This is how a band can fail by doing too much. Setsuna has always been guilty of throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, but this is the first time where it hurts more than it helps. By incorporating more deathcore, more symphonic and gothic elements, more solos, and more operatic vocals, Setsuna and RIB have challenged themselves to be something greater. But neither know how to balance their aggressive moments with their more tranquil moments, and 鴉/IX quickly loses all sense of dynamics. Most tracks start from an ominous, foreboding intro and explode into a flurry of deathcore and pop choruses. Since each track has so much content, the first three tracks provide so much listening material that the last four tracks don't have enough individuality to distinguish themselves. VDAS could have condensed 鴉/IX into a more listenable experience by shaving a few minutes off of each track. The largest offender here is the penultimate track "零ノ柩", which also happens to be the longest track clocking in at an almost insufferable thirteen minutes. Roughly half of it is spent listening to RIB's whiny, nasally falsetto, which does nothing to make the time pass faster. It's a shame too, because when he isn't straining himself RIB's style bears more than a passing resemblance to the visual kei scene. This could be a draw to many metal fans here who don't mind less than stellar vocals. If you're anything like me and prefer impeccable vocal performances, this is simply going to annoy you on multiple levels. The more one pushes against musical boundaries, the more those boundaries push back. Vermillion-D Alice Syndrome was eager to push themselves, but they were not able to keep their creative influences balanced properly. As a result, their sophomore effort is a complete mess. It shows some promise, but overall I feel their concept was executed better on previous releases. I would recommend this to only the hardcore metal lovers that don't mind nasal cleans betwixt their growling. Everyone else can safely skip this album.
  40. 1 point
    I've seen EYA a few times and I enjoyed the composition of their songs but I could never get into his voice. With GAGA I'm also a little hesitant because I'm not sure what his voice will actually end up sounding like.. I like the look, though. I'm mildly interested from the previews--but you never know with just a preview. I'll be seeing them March 7th anyway when I'm going to see Xaa Xaa so I'll find out then if I actually like the music/feel like buying the CD.
  41. 1 point
    Nonsense. Like anything else you only get better at writing the more you practice. Everybody says this. Even the OR's said it when they first started out and look how fast they've developed in just a few months. As long as you write once in a while and you're confident in your opinion you will get better. If you ever take the time to go back and read my old reviews, you will see what I mean. And even back then people were saying the same thing you said now. a. It's blackdoll talking about Lycaon. I expected everything to be a 100/10 tbh. b. One or more of the official reviewers may review this release soon.
  42. 1 point
    lmao, in what way? even though it may be a good album, it's clearly obvious if you visit this forum a lot and see his/her's posts that she is biased.
  43. 1 point
    Honestly there's no way in hell that I could ever take this review seriously when you gave all 18 songs a perfect 10/10.... is anyone planning on writing up an objective review for this album?
  44. 1 point
    BrenGun

    BABYMETAL

    For me Its crap it will be always crap. reason. Its only popular because of the 3 cute girls. that's the only reason. Its simply jpop mix with metal. aka METAL for people who normally NEVER did listen to METAL before. Of course some former metal fans do like baby metal but come on man... =___= Its crap to me it will be always crap for me. it will be never liked by me. I rather to listen to some real metal with some not good looking man. XD
×
×
  • Create New...