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After disbanding in 2008, キボウ屋本舗 (kibouya honpo) (successor band of 秘密結社コドモＡ (himitsu kessha codomo A)) will "reopen" (ie, revive for one day) on November 5 at their live at Tokyo Kinema Club.

@fitear1590 TOO LATE!!! jokes aside i'm happy to see anfiel on the list. there are def differences between unite and anfiel but i've always thought from the start that a unite fan would be able to find at least something in anfiel that appeals to them i haven't heard any other release from this list so it's hard for me to comment on them. from August i also enjoyed: - ReFrain ReFrain - Breezing (ryoga has a nice voice o.o) - L.O.V.E - Werthers (roa kenji is hugely underrated, i really really hope he can finally make it with this band after all the drama with Virgil) - Purple Stone - 赤と青 (i'm obviously not biased! would have preferred more new tracks but as their debut album it's the perfect distillation of the range of things they're capable of) - vistlip - July Ⅶth [Re:birth]～10th Anniversary Edition～ (there's no way any vistlip fan won't appreciate a 10th anniversary rerecording of what's undoubtedly the band's most iconic song) - K - Story (i haven't actually had time to listen to this fully but the preview suggests that i'd probably really like it)

I'm more broke than I expected and haven't ordered yet, so still going by the nico broadcast. I think I'll have a more visceral response to the album once I have it in decent quality, but anyway, let's do a track by track: 「M」World Order · Don't care about it one bit, but MERRY intros have always been hit or miss for me anyway. MASS CONTROL · Love the melody in the verses. The thing is, I would enjoy the chorus so much more if I could be shouting along "tengoku harakiri" without turning the whole apartment building against me... I'm trying to say, I still think this is a better live song and majorly envy everyone who can go to MERRY concerts. But it's good anyway, sends me back to their old tracks. 犬型真性MASOCHIST · Gara's lyrics and Yuu's guitar make this one for me, not their best composition, but it's catchy and has been growing on me. gaudy · Another one for the lives. I imagine I will listen to it when it comes up in the album, but won't ever specifically want to play it. Instrumental is on-point and everything, but that's the minimum I expect of MERRY anyway. 平日の女 -A面- · Still love it like the day it was released and think it's one of the best MERRY songs ever (certainly in recent years). Although I wonder if type B wouldn't fit the tone of the album better. But then again type A's instrumentation is so, so beautiful... Black flag symptom · One of the most immediate songs on the album, reminds me of Identity a bit and I like it just as much. 傘と雨 · This one is rerecorded, right? Or am I just being delusional? Somehow it sounds more defiant now. Another gem in any case. F.J.P · Nero!! This one is as if someone picked my brain and extracted the formula for the perfect song to get me hype. Guaranteed eternal replay. Happy life –reprise- · Like the song, not impressed with the new recording. SIGHT GLASS · This one's for the history books, the day ero-guro MERRY and female-point-of-view MERRY converged. And it's glorious as expected. Are you going to collab with cali-gari one day? エムオロギー · Ah, what do I do with this one. It's trying so hard to be grand and anthemic, but it is so damn beautiful too. I think I'll love and cherish it. So all in all, I am one happy fangirl - but I would be even happier if someone deposited a few hundred into my bank account. Anyone?

According to bangya's on tanuki, Roshi (support dr) has officially joined Kuroyuri to kage today. It was announced on their talk at a vk indies store. Has yet to be updated on their OHP/blogs though.

; w ;

@doomboxStarting with Leetspeak Monsters I was highly in AWE when I heard this song, I literally didn't know what to do with myself....It was everywhere the costumes were like wait what this isn't Halloween Kei then the Rap came in and I was liek "WHAT!" What is going on here..... And my friend looked at me like what is that face for it was good (she doesn't even listen to VK haha) and I'm like it was good just so different from what I would've expected? Just surprised the whole way through! LOVE IT! @CAT5Never heard of Angelnori but I reallly enjoyed the song and I'll have to check out some more of her. I love Angelic voices and the instrumentals that accompany them so Thank You! @qotkaI didn't even know about her but that ending was very raw and was probably the best ending she could've had for it. Filled with so much emotion...<3 @Seimeisenboth albums of Mucc I've never even listened to till the new version came out so I was surprised in general but I have to say that my favorite song, besides loving the whole thing was the new version of "Kurayami Ni Saku Hana" Just Brilliant<3 @plastic_rainbowI've never even listened to Marco before but @emmnyreview on new and up and coming bands made me think I was missing out on some people so if you have any favorites by them please let me know so I can check them out! This song was nice BTW! And who is Lical???????? it was so good but I've never even heard of them..... Are they new? @fitear1590UGHHHHh This new song was beautiful by them and I can see that Unite. reference seeing as I love them too. i thought this may be the best song Anfiel has put out thus far to me!

I found this goth (?) record label from Europe (they had sopor videos in hq, bless their channel) and I can't stop cryheaving (((brooke candy called she wants ha white gurl dreadlocks back))) ((lmao @ those poses, really guise right in front of my salad? ? ? ? is this how i'm gonna die, painfully pissing myself at a seaside goth session??? ))) I'll leave just those two vidz here because I kinda feel bad @ gloating at this, those ppl seem clearly enjoying what they do and I can't mock trve pvssion, but holy shit, that recent embarrassing must//die PV suddenly looks okay in this newfound perspective....

Cinderella Backdrop's vkei alterego

Finishing up the album art and booklet design for RarezHut's first official CD release! Keep an eye out for more news soon

Tbh I'm glad he made the post, and that he put it in concrete terms. I've always found that side interesting, but haven't had much view into it, aside from talks with unreliable ex-bangya and the odd foreign vk bandman. I do think it's hilarious that so many girls piled onto him for “not doing it for the art,” when vk (and maybe Japanese music in general) is such a commodified, commercially driven enterprise. Where's the anger at Kiryu for releasing 8 types of one single? Why do you support cheki sales which are inherently valueless and exist only to obscure the direct transfer of bangya funds to bandmen? If this is just art, why is that only bands with beautiful members go major? Why is it acceptable that someone in a hardcore deathmetal band can come back two months later in a dokidoki “you're our sixth member ♡” osare band and no one gives him shit? Those practices don't bother me personally--I don't mind artists making a living--but I love the nerve of some of those fans to accuse him of being morally bankrupt when they happily throw their parents' money at any skinny dude who walks on stage with a mic. So yeah, props from me for the Left Eye moment, but also lol at all of Japan crucifying him (as he should have expected). Double lol at Reita, a guy who's lived comfortably off remaking the same 3 mediocre songs for a decade, chiming in. I'd much rather hear the opinion of someone who's been playing in Narciss for 10 years with no hope of every making any money--that's someone who knows about doing things for the art.

Hi Guys! I find a very nice live-event organization that as well as organizing concerts, broadcasts them on YouTube in live!! In past they has broadcast live events on unstream.tv, but has recently moved to YouTube! now, Senka Ryoran presents a new event "Senka Ryoran Vol.14" (?) that will be held on 26 October 2017 at Shibuya Rex! (Capacity : 220 people) Now it looks like a really interesting event, the only problem is that since the concert is broadcast live-streaming, it will not be possible to review it later 😢 (For example, this is the link of the Vol.13 and it will not possible to review) So guys this may be an opportunity for you to record (with some program) the concerts and keep them in our PC! In particular this event in my opinion is very interesting because many good band participate (Like Lack.Co and Mikansei alice [for me]) So guys, can you be so gentle and disponible to record this concert and post on the forum? I think each of us would be happy to see the performance of our favorite band! PS: Sorry if I writed in a wrong / strange English 😂

アマノヰザナギ (Amano Izanagi) will resume activities on 2017/12/19 at their live at Ikebukuro Black Hole.

Maybe some of you remember my band's demos from a few years back - we finally managed to finish our first EP and plan to release it digitally for free and physically on the 10th of November! The music is a mix between quite a few styles ranging from Power Metal to Metalcore and of course VK inspired tropes. It's all self produced in our guitarist's apartment, so this is only a small indie project Here's a teaser with a short song preview at the end! Please let me know what you think!

Sorry I realized that the first one I posted wasn't a topic for some reason, so I am posting this again. What's your favorite GazettE B-side? For me it is a toss-up between 虚無の終わり 箱詰めの黙 and Defective Tragedy. 虚無の終わり 箱詰めの黙 is just so haunting and atmospheric, while I think Defective Tragedy is pretty different from anything else they've done (in a good way). Unfortunately none of the more recent B-sides really do it for me.

Greetings, MH! Another month, another batch of recommended tracks from the amazing ORZ team! Check them out and let us know what you think! (We apologize if some videos aren't available due to region restrictions!) @doombox's Pick "Black owl" by Leetspeak monsters I'm a bit regretful I didn't hear about this band until they stepped up their monster-inspired theatrics and landed on the visual kei circuit this year. Especially as "Black Owl" isn't exactly a new song. It's been around for a few years now, but thankfully Leetspeak used it as the promotional track for their new mini album set to be released through GLK Music. And with how catchy the track is, it totally deserves a second spin for a new audience. Monster costumes and rap rock aren't the most original concept at this point, but it's been a while since a darkly-themed band came in not abiding by the hackneyed VK song structure. It was also a nice surprise to see an uncredited guest feature from Xavie (vocalist of revenge my LOST) even with his leftover fabric scrap cape (gold star for effort, I guess). If you're down for a bit of early Halloween fun, you should give this song a shot. @CAT5's Pick "ANGELNOIR" by 青葉市子 "ANGELNOIR" by Aoba Ichiko I might just be a hopeless Ichiko Aoba fanboy (and I am :P), but I don't think it would be farfetched to call her one of the most outstanding Japanese musicians active today. Wielding virtuosic, classical guitar skills and an angelic croon that could melt even the toughest of hearts, she's paved her very own lane in the industry with a folk sound that could only be described as otherworldly. Even when she ventures outside of her usual, acoustic dwellings, she still invokes that same magical quality - whether she's working with quirky, electro-guru Cornelius or Jazzy hip-hop instrumentalists Ovall. Such is also the case on her latest collaboration "ANGELNOIR", produced by little-known indie-pop outfit detune. for the supernatural anime 18if. Ichiko's warm, yet enchanting vocals lead us through a mysterious mirage of intricately layered electronics and orchestral flourishes, underpinned by a calculated rhythm section. The song culminates beautifully in the chorus, with the backing guitars employing an airy, shoegazy effect for good measure. It's yet another testament to not only Ichiko's choice of quality collaborators, but her ability to create viable music regardless of context. @qotka's Pick "わたしみ" by 大森靖子 "Watashimi" by Oomori Seiko Oomori is a tough one. She's been referred to as everything on the scale from 'nice/terrible meme' to 'the next Shiina Ringo' (still searching for clarifications on this last one). "わたしみ" was not what I was going to write about this month, but the magnitude of its punch when I first listened to it forced me to. This gust of raw energy is the coupling track for singer-songwriter's Seiko-chan's latest single, "draw (A) drow", a song composed by TK of Ling Tosite Sigure, and it's as astonishing as you'd expect a power combo of this caliber to be. But if you want to hear what Oomori Seiko really is all about, I'll recommend starting from the b-side "わたしみ", because while it's not readily digestible, it lets a certain raw, soul-baring essence, something that usually dies once a song is recorded, shine through. This simple and mellow acoustic pop ballad starts with Seiko sounding really tired, and just as it builds up to a point of crushing breakdown, she literally breaks down into a shrieking a capella mess that to some may sound painful but also full of emotion. This is perhaps one of the best translations of how her songs sound live into a studio recording. If you like your singers-songwriters messy and over the top, you've found the one. @Seimeisen's Picks "盲目であるが故の疎外感" by MUCC "Moumoku de aru ga Yue no Sogaikan" by MUCC The absolute banger of 新痛絶 (Shin-tsuuzetsu)! On the original 痛絶 (Tsuuzetsu), "盲目であるが故の疎外感" was the penultimate track; on the second pressing, entitled 痛絶〜印象違〜 (Tsuuzetsu - Inshouchigai), it was the post-intro opener and really didn't feel like an opener at all. On 新痛絶, MUCC managed to take a 'near the end of the album' type of song and make it an exciting opener bursting through the doors to the "New Absolute Pain" that's ahead. All it took was a different key, a new 40 second intro, and an incredible new atmosphere. You don't even need that static intro track on 新痛絶, not with this gem. "僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕" by MUCC "Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku" by MUCC The greatest difference 新葬ラ謳 (Shin-homura Uta) has to offer. They really took this song and breathed life into it. I never really paid attention to the original on 葬ラ謳 (Homura Uta), it just never interested me, but this new one is absolutely outstanding! Another example of how playing a song in a different key can make quite a difference. Frankly, I never paid much attention to 葬ラ謳 in general, but the release of 新葬ラ謳, especially this new version of "僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)," sparked a great interest in the album, both the original and the new, leading me to 'get to know' and grow to appreciate it. Some re-recordings may not live up to the originals, some might be just on par, but just a few, especially this track, blow the original out of the water. @tetsu_sama69's Pick "紅い意図" by CLØWD "Akai Ito" by CLØWD I'm writing judgement tickets for anyone who's been passing up the chance to listen to anything CLØWD has put out. At the start you think with the slow opener this is just going to be another boring visual ballad, but that peaceful set-up is thrown out the window once the guitars kick in. CLØWD definitely shows off their veteran badges with "Akai Ito" by composing a song overflowing with powerful emotions. You can feel the tension of a struggling relationship within the flow of fervent instrumentals and passionate vocals. I've been hooked on CLØWD since they first popped up on the scene in 2015, and since then they've grown exponentially with every release. If "Akai Ito" is anything to go by then there's little stopping CLØWD's momentum with future releases. @plastic_rainbow's Picks "夕轟" by マルコ "Yuu Todoroki" by Marco With two of the members leaving in September, Marco is living on the edge as they continue their way up. Thankfully, the remaining members have already stated that they will not disband just yet. If you are new to these guys, Marco are often compared with early Merry, mostly due to the strong similarities between the vocals, but I think listeners who enjoy VK from the 2000s, especially the mid-2000s, will enjoy Marco just as much. In fact, all of the members were previously in bands that were fairly well-known around the time, such as CindyKate, Order Made, JIVE, and SectMa. Marco sounds nothing like the aforementioned bands however, but the mid-2000s vibe is there. Before their lead guitarist and drummer officially leave the band, Marco drops in a phenomenal track one last time as a 5-piece band. "Yuu Todoroki" is less energetic than their previous works and instead brings out a soft retro rock sound. The impressive guitar work has always been a strong point of the band, and here they emit a luscious blues tone. Top it with Rei's alluring and rough vocals and you've got a feast for your ears. But let's not ignore all the splendid work done on the jazzy bass lines and guitar chords along with the soft drumming as well. It may be hard to imagine how Marco will manage from now on with their drummer and lead guitarist leaving, and a very talented guitarist at that, but I look forward to hearing more stuff from them again. "ワールドエンドサイレン" by lical "World End Siren" by lical If you haven't been checking up too closely on the Japanese indie scene like me you might have missed these guys. "World End Siren" comes from lical's new album titled Koto no Hanataba, Suisou to Kaisei that released not too long ago in June. It immediately opens with some mellow guitar chords and a distant train alarm, building a rush of energy. The jumping bass lines and light female vocals sound quite pleasing to the ears, but the blaring eccentric guitar riffs are the ones that take the cake. A few mathy influences can be heard as well and the distant train alarm from the beginning comes back again like a gentle warning. "World End Siren" for the most part may sound like a typical indie rock song, but the bouncy and hopeful depiction of a path full of risks makes it worth a listen and a fun track to jam out with. @fitear1590's Picks "螢の瞳" by アンフィル "hotaru no hitomi" by anfiel I'll try not to bore you with the nitty-gritty of my love-hate relationship with anfiel (please don't report me to hiroki). Essentially, they're a band I've always wanted to like, but after their first two singles, something just hasn't been clicking. Well, their latest single "hotaru no hitomi" might just break the spell. Stripping back the band's sound does wonders, especially because one of my biggest gripes with their past work has been the production of their electronic arrangements. With the setup in this track, the melancholy guitar riffs and robust basslines get to shine. The best compliment I can give this track is that it reminds me of UNiTE.'s similarly 'au naturel' single "ハートレス クラシックメモリー (Heartless Classic Memory)."If you're fed up with the hyper-screechy synth'd up VK of today, anfiel's newest single provides a breath of fresh air. "夏の客船" by ウワノソラ "natsu no kyakusen" by Uwanosora Uwanosora have been putting out music in various interconnected projects for a couple years now. My personal favorite is the side-project Uwanosora'67, which, if the number cued you, puts out tunes with a classic 60s girl-group flair. Now back in their original form, regular Uwanosora is gearing up for an album release later this year. To generate buzz for that, their first single from the album "natsu no kyakusen" is a beautiful, laid-back ballad and the PV's blue skies and ocean match the heartfelt soundscape perfectly. The entire experience is as calming as sitting on the coast and taking in the gentle breeze. I'm hoping the whole album will be on par with this! @emmny's Pick "愛という、変態" by gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy "Ai toiu, hentai" by gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy Love, a pervert. Another year, another mind-blowing release from experimental rock provocateurs gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy. "Ai to iu, hentai" is their first MV and a macabre look down into the rabbit hole (literally). Slick, sexual and more than a bit perverted, the song lives up to its namesake. The repetitive, skittery instrumentation reminiscent of merry go round spars with Sakura's challenging, rolling drum line while Kazuma's maddened crooning envelops the air. The song moves with a flow not unlike intercourse, coming to crashing climaxes and sudden halts before starting again and coming to another roaring blitz of noise. The first half of the song is foreplay, and the second half is whatever else you want it to be--an onslaught of sound and sensation. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Thanks for checking out our recommendations this month! If you have any thoughts on the list, or if you have any recommendations of your own, we look forward to seeing your comments below!

Guys, seriously check out the new Cannabis Corpse album. I know they seem kinda like a joke band (their song titles sure make me chuckle at least xD), but this is some of the most pulverizing, crushing, solid and catchy death metal I've heard in a while. One of my go-to feelgood bands, they always make quality stuff.

Item list for this month's $1 auction is live! https://goo.gl/46eeAV

gazette stans on twitter are FLIPPING OUT over the kyogetsu guy's blog post as if he just took a shit on the gazette and their fans omloooordt

I really like this farewell (?) look, but you know when blonde mamas stop touching their roots up they're already ideating their next megamasso-grade band that will fade into obscurity w/o reaching that coveted pony canyon contract :<

New Wolfbrigade album sounds really nice. They still mix crust and mainly traditional d-beat with elements of death and thrash metal, but I'm quite surprised at how melodic some of these songs sounds. But it sounds really good and aggressive.

LMAO at Megaromania's song being the last out of that oshare setlist 😂

SET-LIST: 1.タンヤオ(tanyao) / サウイフモノ(souiumono) 2.ワンダーワード(wonder word) / Smileberry 3.禊(misogi) / キャンゼル(canzel) 4.depression / 姫苺(himeichigo) 5.Sabbath / megaromania

I totally get that. Some of my friends who have talked to me openly about being asexual also had a hard time accepting it. I'm still on the fence on whether I am but I think it's pretty clear I am to an extent, but don't feel the need to label myself. But it's good to at least know because of personal circumstances I've been in and people not understanding. I had an ex constantly tell me he thought I was and it was pretty hurtful how he went about doing so. It's also taken me a long time to accept I ain't yer average heteronormative straight kid, and then further complicated by the fact I don't feel sexual attraction very often if at all.

this is pure GOLD!!! but both members handled the situation pretty well. XD

I guess that could be a possibility. I've looked a little into it and it does seem quite fitting for my situation, though I'm still not sure how comfortable I feel with that. I know there's nothing wrong with being asexual, but it just somehow feels a bit hard to accept.

cali≠gari new live DVD "回想、睡蓮と向日葵" (Kaisou, Suiren to Himawari) will be released at 2017/09/13 Fanclub limited Deluxe edition (13420yen) will include 4 DVD, 76-page booklet and special packaging. A special CD-ROM with live audio of 24 songs will be also include. Regular edition (7560yen) will include 2 DVD (DISC1 & 2 below) 【DVD】 ◆DISC1 ※ライヴ映像 The beginning of summer TOUR2016 FINAL 憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵 2016年6月24日（金）EX THEATER ROPPONGI -完全版- 1.ギラギラ 2.マネキン 3.-踏- 4.トレーションデモンス 5.蜃気楼とデジャヴ 6.陽だまり炎 7.薫風、都会、行き行きて 8.颯爽たる未来圏 9.コック ア ドゥードゥル 10.オーバーナイトハイキング 11.冷たい雨 12.夏の日 13.嘔吐 14.紅麗死異愛羅武勇 15.マッキーナ 16.淫美まるでカオスな 17.アレガ☆パラダイス 18.セックスと嘘 19.ENGAGING UNIVERSE /SOFT BALLET:cover 20.憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵 EN 1.みんなのはっきょう 2.混沌の猿 3.ギラギラ 4.クソバカゴミゲロ -全24曲- ◆DISC2 ※ライヴ映像 The beginning of summer TOUR2016 FINAL 憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵 2016年6月24日（金）EX THEATER ROPPONGI -CSテレビ朝日「EXシアターTV Live」放映版- 1.ギラギラ 2.マネキン 3.-踏- 4.蜃気楼とデジャヴ 5.颯爽たる未来圏 6.オーバーナイトハイキング 7.紅麗死異愛羅武勇 8.マッキーナ 9.淫美まるでカオスな 10.アレガ☆パラダイス 11.クソバカゴミゲロ -全11曲- ◆DISC3 ※EXシアターメイキング風景 The beginning of summer TOUR2016 FINAL 憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵 2016年6月24日（金）EX THEATER ROPPONGI 制作便り -EX THEATER ROPPONGI篇- ◆DISC4 ※憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵ツアーダイジェスト The beginning of summer TOUR2016 憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵 憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵の旅 4月23日（土）横浜BAY HALL / SE～春の日 5月1日（日）青森Quarter / 蜃気楼とデジャヴ 5月3日（火・祝）仙台MACANA / 空想カニバル 5月7日（土）梅田AKASO / アレガ☆パラダイス 5月14日（土）HEAVEN’S ROCK 宇都宮 / シャ.ナ.ナ 5月15日（日）高崎club FLEEZ / 陽だまり炎 5月20日（金）岡山IMAGE / 憧憬、睡蓮と向日葵 5月22日（日）福岡DRUM Be-1 / サイレン 5月27日（金）甲府CONVICTION / 禁色 5月29日（日）静岡Sunash / 薫風、都会、行き行きて 6月4日（土）名古屋BOTTOM LINE / 紅麗死異愛羅武勇 6月5日（日）金沢AZ / 娑婆乱打 6月10日（金）札幌mole / ギラギラ 6月11日（土）札幌PENNY LANE24 / 混沌の猿 【76Pブックレット】 ◆盗撮、睡蓮と向日葵 Ⅱ

Wahahahaaa Wikipedia finally gave up (at the moment, at least) on genre-listing some Dir en Grey releases, and have been erased from the site all together. Way to bail, Wiki loll.

You thought we were the GazettE all along BUT NO! WE WERE DIR EN GREY!!

I'm gonna see THE NOVEMBERS!!!!! Igsigsoycotdohxoyxktxlyzitdoycoyd

Do you think that you might possibly be asexual? I don't think it's weird at all, I've had quite a few close friends who feel the same as you do and they are often frustrated by it. I'm possibly ace myself but I experience romantic attraction.

I'm not one of those who hate Myrkur with passion, but I don't like it either. Not one bit. It's shit. But after this atrocity of a cover song I hope she just drives off a cliff or gets raped by a fucking bear or something. That is awful.

......... NO.

we can't have nice things in this scene, can we any chance they have a 3rd twin somewhere? might be a good time to pull him out :/

There's a fetish for Band-Aids.

I went to get a frappuccino today and my barista accidentally drizzled caramel on my drink, threw the bottle down, and looked completely done with life. Same, same. Pumpkin spice tastes really good with caramel.

Thanks @cvltic for the write up! I got the gist, but the nuance and writer's voice of his tweets/post really add another layer of deliciousness.

OK here's the story as complete as I could find it... EDIT: I added the long blog post about finances! --- Let's just start with the 2 tweets and the blog post that kicked this all off... Massive post about bandman finances: Anyone who has ever followed any serious jouren drama or otherwise been privy to how jouren spend their money should rightfully have their suspicions about the truthfulness of these tweets, because it simply doesn't mesh with the well-known behavior of fans of bands with even the remotest success. The knowledge of the "underground" practices of bangya is not required to see how the second tweet went viral for all the wrong reasons; it actually attracted ire from music fans outside of the visual kei scene as well. If you read the replies the common thread is essentially: "Why is it the consumer's fault that you're unable to generate any profit?". Some fans also can be seen generally protesting the perceived popular notion among bandmen that bangya can be treated as ATMs. Some less savory replies even chastise him by telling him if he can't even attract a mitsu then he has no hope of building a fanbase. (BTFO) I really don't think the blog post was the crux of this drama by the way, although HERESY might get asspained if anyone less than the Emperor dares to talk about Reita, it's a relatively innocuous account of the reality. It was the tweet that "blames" bangya for letting bands die that caused the shitstorm IMO. Visual kei blogger/archivist Atsuhiko Kamiya wrote a lengthy article analyzing this sort of "Visual Kei Mafioso" attitude towards and the expenses associated with bands, if you're fluent in Japanese and interested in the topic: see here. Anyway, this series of tweets was rather ballsy as he was biting the 3 gya hands that feed him and alienating potential fans, but I think what really sealed the deal was his behavior after this tweet. It was abundantly clear that his bandmates (particularly the vocalist, Masaki) wanted nothing to do with the massive controversy that this generated, as the vocalist even went so far as to hold an "apology twicast", and posted many apologetic tweets, even individually replying to people to apologize long before Ryuusei commented on the issue. However, Ryuusei did eventually apologize, tweeting: However, this didn't last long. The next day he posted a blog post where he essentially rescinded his apology and attempted to better explain what he meant, as well as to fuel the absolute torrent of threads about him on tanuki resulting from his statement. (TN: 'netogya' is a derisive term for visual kei fans who don't attend shows or instores but instead support bands strictly through online means. They're considered lesser fans by some other fans and as you can see above, by some bandmen. You might see some threads on tanuki where bands get laughed at because while they seem popular their fans are all netogya and foreigners living outside Japan... like KILLANETH :^) ) Ryuusei was castigated for constantly undoing his bandmate's work to move past the whole issue, and for (what was perceived as) backpedaling and then baiting tanuki. This was where I personally saw the writing on the wall for kyogetsu -- his band was going to have to kick him out if they wanted to move past this, and the name "kyogetsu" was virtually unheard of until this happened. That brings us to the news of their disbandment -- I have a few thoughts about this but a lot of them are the same about how I feel about the grown ass vocalist of 0.1 no gosan feeling like it's his god-given right to tell people what they should do at shows...

Wizard Bloody Wizard is the title of the new Electric Wizard album. Fantastic title, and I like the cover. There was a new track up on youtube but it's taken down. Apparently Clayton has made his mark onto the band as the track has some elements of Satan's Satyrs, which I think sounds amazing. People seem to think it's hella lot better than Time to Die as well, which as well all know is a good album,b ut their worst. Looking forward to this. The track is up on Spotify. Sounds superb!

poor guy must be having his life energy sucked right off him by the creep of a vocalist, damn jk hope they don't disband anytime soon ):

Let them brew for 6 months~1 year and then some good stuff should be out. It's okay, I think there's potential.

Today my Fucking Birthday (I hope best day ever )

I fucking hate Yoshiki.

I have to disagree here. In Poland it's not always Warsaw, the concerts were usually at other big cities (b7 loves that shitty venue in Wrocław where the stage is too low) such as Wrocław, Cracow, Poznań, Gdynia/Gdańsk. I'm personally the most happy with Warsaw, because I live here xD. Travelling to other cities in Poland is cheap by bus (as long as you live in a big city), but for it takes 5-7 hours, so it's annoying, lol. But I only saw German fans complaining about on facebook... we are always happy here when the band doesn't skip our country xD

ah yes, iconic X-Japan hits such as Golden Globe Theme... epic bangers... also love how they describe the guest vocalists as just being ''from overseas''

Cool project! I really like the "Lay To Rest" song, and also "Dystopia." Especially "Dystopia." Apparently we were on the Decadent Society Volume 2 together! As for the singing, I like it! I think you've got a cool gothic-y voice. Don't let the haters get to you. You are on key, good pitch. I'm not much of a fan of most music with screaming, so I can't comment on the screaming, as that is just a personal preference. I've released a number of things now, and my earlier stuff, some of it I now cringe at my vocals, but some people really loved those albums. And some reviewers tore them apart. Some reviews were so bad they made me laugh! Whenever an absolutely awful review comes out for my music, I think of Motley Crue describing how all their albums up until Dr. Feelgood were just ripped apart by "professional" reviewers. They said they usually wouldn't even read reviews of their albums, but they also said that bad ones were great publicity. They said that they really didn't care what reviewers thought because it wasn't about them, it was about the fans. Especially on my first two albums that I sang on, I got a good bit of criticism on my vocals. I got a lot of "he's not using his range very well" and "he sounds bored". Largely because of that feedback, I've worked more on my voice, as I have a generally low voice. I've gotten much more confident over the years, so now there's not much criticism. But every once in a while there is. I try to take that criticism with a grain of salt, put it in my mind, and maybe work on that a little for the next song. But like Motley, for me its not about reviewers, it's about the fans. They are a much better judge of what you are doing. I'm by no means a guru on any of this, but I find that it helps to listen to the criticism, laugh and say "man, fu¤% that guy," think about what they meant, and how it could potentially improve your sound. Great work, keep doing what you are doing, keep pushing the envelope, and strive to get better at what you do every single time. If you try something and it sounds like crud, analyze the situation and get back at it. I'm gonna buy the album

Oh, come on ...of course it's crap! It's just a selection based on personal whims rather than any historical importance of forgotten bands that never went anywhere, barely released jack, didn't have a particular impact on any scene etc. But it's good crap! I love this sort of crap! I stand for my poor taste Nah, but seriously - thanks again! I'll try to get something new up this weekend if I find the time. Hopefully, it wont be too bad PM:ed you about FRUSTRATION btw! Yeah, 水色の太陽 just hit me like a rock for some reason ...just felt like a pure VK piece, you know? Like something that really couldn't be born out of another genre (maybe not the preferred nomenclature here, but I do think you can classify early, post-LUNA SEA visual kei as a genre of it's own ...but that's another story). Actually hunted down and bought me a copy of the tape, even though I don't have a working tape deck ATM, haha! There were definitely some gems in Hiko's post-PVLN career, "Vibration" being a personal fave: I was in touch with dude on Facebook ...really super nice dude. Was hoping to meet him in Japan when I manage to haul ass over there for a visit, but it seems shit does indeed happen.

I agree with this! I know all music forums have both leechers and active community members, but in my personal opinion quite a bit of visual kei fans have started to feel so incredibly entitled lately to have the releases they want on the release date and if they don't they start throwing hissyfits about it. The really old VK veterans had to trade to get the stuff they wanted, they had to climb mountains, cross rivers, fight dragons for that one Gazette release I remember when someone bought the limited edition of an album and uploaded it and also promised to make a DVD rip and people legitly started spamming their thread with impatient and rude messages as to why the DVD (which was a full live DVD in ISO so you can imagine the size of that file + the time it would need to rip/upload) wasn't uploaded yet only two days after the initial album was posted. People need to realize that behind every file there is a person who bought that release, probably paid a shitload for shipping (if they're physical copies) and then was so kind to rip it to their computer in a good quality and share it with the rest of the world. You don't even have to press thanks or even say it, I just wish more people realized this before they start calling someone a liar or an ass. Though concerning bitrate, I've always been on CAT's side with this: share it to the fullest or don't share at all. People who upload releases in 128-192kbps and say "go buy the album if you want a better quality" are obviously not sharing the release to share awesome music and give one of their favourite artists more exposure, but purely because they want a big e-penis. "Oh look at my 320/Lossless rip of that album that you can't have lol", is something I'm very much against. On one side I'm like "yeah okay I'm happy people share it at all" (especially since I've gotten into a lot of Japanese regular indie music, where it's a lot harder to come by releases than it is in VK) but sharing bad quality isn't going to solve the problem. If you really share a lower bitrate to have more people buy the album, then I've got some news for you: it doesn't work. A lot of VK fans don't care about bitrate that much (as long as it's listenable), especially if they're young and don't have the cash to import VK CDs from Japan. I actually would feel more opposed to purchasing an album I only have an 128 rip of because it misses a lot of details that I can hear in a 320 rip. Good quality can just really enhance the musical experience, at least, that's how I see it. People who want to buy the album will buy it anyway, this "here's a low quality"-method doesn't work and it makes you look like a douche, sorry. tl;dr - share to the fullest or don't share at all SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.