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Be warned all who enter here! If you came looking for an objective list based on some popularity rating or sales criteria, you came to the wrong place! This list is completely subjective and a little fangirly, but I still hope you find a couple of things that are worth your time, anyway. Also, sorry in advance if some of the previews are region blocked for your area. MUCC ・ 脈拍 ・ VISUAL KEI My entire 2017 really goes to MUCC, hands down. They took their 20th anniversary celebration and did it so big, I don’t think we’ll see any other band go to this lengths in quite some time. They re-released, re-recorded, and re-mastered most of their fan favorites between 新痛絶(Shin Tsuuzetsu), 新葬ラ謳(Shin Homura Uta), a second edition of their Best of and Coupling Best discs, a second PV collection, a tribute album, a self-cover album, and then there was this little gem of new material: 脈拍(Myakuhaku). No wonder as soon as it was over they unapologetically announced they’d be going on hiatus for 3 months. They deserve a break, to say the very least. But I digress! Myakuhaku may have been a bit lost in all the excitement for MUCC revisiting their roots, but it’s definitely something new and old fans alike can enjoy. The opening title track is clear and direct in its message, MUCC haven’t forgotten where they came from. They turned back time and stripped down to the quintessential visual kei heavy and melodic combination that gave the band the height of it’s popularity a little over 10 years ago. They then took that staple and folded into the mix of anime songs, ballads, and more recent metalcore-infused forays with this album. One of my favorite tracks is “EMP” since it's a total nu metal throwback. It has my 90s-lovin' name written all over it. There’s a lot of other fun musical nuggets packed in this album, “BILLY×2 ～Entwines ROCK STARS～” is a gritty little old fashioned rocker that gets you up and moving, and “孵化(Fuka)” is a surprise mid-tempo number that swells up into this crazy breakdown then veers hard left into a weird (but good) twangy guitar solo. You can tell MUCC pushed themselves to create something great for us and in my humble opinion they more than succeeded. I couldn't get enough of this album this year and, Mucker or not, I hope everyone checks it out. | Preview: Spotify MONSTA X ・ THE CLAN PART 2.5: THE FINAL CHAPTER 'BEAUTIFUL' ・ K-POP I think there were a few of my fellow MH members around in late 2016 who might remember when I fell down the MONSTA X rabbit hole and proceeded to become utterly obsessed. For most that probably don’t know, my love of K-Pop predates my registering for this forum, in fact one of my first avatars was of Chansung from the group 2PM with the u/n “digitalbounce” (also from a K-Pop song). But, it’s been a few years since I was this into a group. MONSTA X aren’t the most popular group around, though I think as far as third generation boy groups are concerned they usually make the top ten lists. Even then, I still consider them criminally underrated. The third installment of their The Clan trilogy is their strongest release to date, as far as I’m concerned. And even stronger if you count in the repackage version Shine Forever that includes two more songs (the last .5 in the final chapter). The majority of Beautiful leans heavily on R&B (“넘사벽 Incomparable”, “니가 필요해 Need U”, “Miss You”, “5:14 (Last Page)”) which creates just enough contrast with, but also compliments, the hip hop songs (“Oi”, “Calm Down”) that take advantage of the group having rappers that actually know how to rap. Last.fm doesn’t even have a true count of my plays (my phone's music app didn’t scrobble until recently when I made the switch to spotify), but it’ll still show you I played this album basically every day since it came out. Rest assured, I regret nothing. | Preview: Spotify -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ ・ 『メンヘラ』はじめました ・ VISUAL KEI Zigzag makes me wish I was slightly more motivated to look up and translate lyrics, because I know I'm missing out on a lot when it comes to them. I can only imagine I’d like them even more, which is saying something because I have enjoyed everything I’ve heard from them over the last two years. I also have a huge soft spot for bands that don’t take themselves too seriously. Zigzag's tunes are pretty rockin’ to begin with, but when the band decides to get serious about showing off their musical prowess it's definitely no laughing matter. Their take on soft, melodic songs is simply beautiful, especially fitting with the traditional elements and instruments that are the backbone of their religious/idolatry concepts. Talent and humor? What’s not to love? I chose 『メンヘラ』はじめました(menhara hajimemashita) over their other release 糞麺氏ね(kusomen shine) this year only because it seemed slightly more musically cohesive, but I love them both and enjoyed them both immensely. | Preview: - 臨兵闘者 ～皆陣列在前～ ・ 『死にたい』御年頃 ・ 短絡的『絶望』 PVRIS ・ ALL WE KNOW OF HEAVEN, ALL WE NEED OF HELL ・ ALTERNATIVE I wasn’t a big fan at first, it took a while for Pvris to stick with me. They came to me heavily recommended over the last couple of years, I checked a couple of videos, caught a couple songs live at summer festivals, but I just never seemed to be in the mood for what they were offering. I honestly didn’t get the hype. They seemed like another try-hard edgelord band ✞øø ℂvℓ✞ ƒøЯ ✞ℍîƧ ᏔøЯℓ∂. But this year it was different, I’m not sure if they matured more, or maybe it was just my tastes changing as well. But our paths crossed, and it's become a record I find myself spinning more and more often, even as we reached the year's end. I'm sure it will be coming with me into 2018. Even though the title might suggest otherwise, this album is a lot less gimmick-y than expected. It's direct and raw in it's delivery, and densely atmospheric without getting overly cliché. It ends up being a strong rock record that's still dark, but full of heart too. | Preview: Spotify EARTHISTS. ・ DREAMSCAPE ・ PROGRESSIVE METALCORE Dreamscape was an early favorite this year and managed to stay afloat while most of my other usual metalcore bands didn’t quite do it for me. It’s probably more me than them though, with all the shit going on around here lately it’s best I don’t get too amped up. But Earthists have this nice cohesion of their melodic and djent-y elements that make them easy to listen to. They do little things like adding piano into the mix or samples of wind blowing in the background that keep their take on the genre fresh and inspired and round out their sound. “Flux” and “Winterfell” are two favorites that I keep coming back to just for that damn cool piano riffing -- and it's not a cheap-ass synth piano either, it's a deep traditional, classical-sounding one full of punch and reverb (it’s likely a digital one but it sounds expensive and that’s what counts!). I’m just a little bitter it doesn’t look like they play it live, though it understandably doesn’t look as cool and progressive to be rocking out over as say, a guitar or whatever. | Preview: Spotify HYUKOH ・ 23 ・ INDIE ROCK Oh, Hyukoh. Another band who had a fabulous year. Hyukoh is the formal project of leader and chief song-writer Oh Hyuk (doyouseewhathedidthere), who decided a few years ago he was tired of going at it solo and opted to get himself a band. You really can’t hold this guy down, he collaborated on a massive number of albums this year, and I can’t blame everyone for wanting to work with him when his husky voice is this magical. It suits so many genres, I don’t get tired of listening to him either. 23 was a bit of a grower for me, hearing the singles alone didn’t spark much of my interest. It took listening to the full album for me to fully understand what they ‘do’. It’s not as in your face or flashy as some of the indie rock I’m used to, but Hyukoh’s style still keeps a common thread as it weaves through funky, retro vibes or the more experimental journeys like "Reserved Seat", not losing their emotional edge. “Tomboy” and “Paul” practically move me to tears with the melancholy that cuts through Oh Hyuk’s voice. I like Hyukoh so much, they’ve even gotten me to enjoy the folk-inspired side of their music I usually make an effort to avoid from other bands. | Preview: Spotify DAY6 ・ SUNRISE ・ POP ROCK As South Korea’s music industry grows, it has picked up a lot of tips and tricks from the ginormous music exporting machine next door, Japan. We’ve seen 12 month consecutive releases attempted a few times now in the vk scene, so when it was announced a K-pop band would be trying it, I was extremely curious how it was gonna pan out. Fortunately, it did rather well and DAY6 released singles containing two quality tracks month after month (on the 6th because “Every DAY6” was genius marketing) which ended up collected in two full albums; SUNRISE came out in June and MOONRISE in December. Both albums are fantastic, but we’ll just go with SUNRISE for now because I can’t afford them multiple slots. But if you enjoy this album, SERIOUSLY, go listen to MOONRISE. DAY6 are a rock group from one of the 'big 3' idol companies JYP Entertainment (whose stubborn asses refuse to allow their artists’ music on Spotify and piss me off to no end), so their music isn’t necessarily ground breaking, but they do write it all themselves, play their instruments live, and basically function like your typical rock band. Though their songs are generally non-offensive relationship material (meet the girl, confess love to the girl, get dumped by the girl, wait for next girl to walk by…) they do know how to pour all of their emotion into it, and their layered vocals and compositions often remind me of The Beatles and/or other multi-vocalist 60s pop rock. | Preview: I Wait (아 왜) ・ I Smile (반드시 웃는다) ・ You Were Beautiful (예뻤어) ザアザア ・ 不幸な迷路 ・ VISUAL KEI My love for XAA-XAA isn’t really a secret. They’ve become a flagship band for me, though I’m worried about their future since drummer Roji’s departure. Drums are such a key part of their sound due to him, it makes this album even more special in my collection. Considering I've been following the members since they were Belmosaic, seeing him leave is just a huge blow. He's gonna be missed. As far as XAA-XAA releases go, this isn't the album I tend to return to the most, but listening to it again for this list reminded me of the quality compared to other albums I was considering. It still ends up being one of my favorite vk releases this year. Aptly titled, 不幸な迷路 translates to “unfortunate maze” and likewise this album is dark and twisted, even downright psychotic at times. Though, one thing I love about this band is no matter how crazy or erratic they get, catchy and melodic choruses remain paramount. The mayhem is balanced out with gorgeous ballads and fun jazzy numbers. XAA-XAA's diversity and strong sense of melody is something you can count on with each release so far. I only hope it remains that way. | Preview: 不幸の始まり ・ ぐちゃぐちゃ ・ 恋人ごっこ SAWANOHIROYUKI[NZK] ・ 2V-ALK ・ J-POP If you were waiting for something truly epic to come out of 2017, look no further. Sawano has outdone himself and created something that should be able to please the rockers, the pop kids, the anison lovers, and anyone who just enjoys badass music with some badass vocals soaring over it. It doesn’t hurt that I’m a pretty big fan of the vocalists he utilizes throughout this project. My only complaint is there was less Mizuki (ex.イツエ(Itsue)) than the previous [nZk] album o1, but newcomer Tielle carries the torch well and sings her ass off. So I can’t say I’m too upset. Judging by the amount of anime themes on this record, you probably heard her sing half the OP/EDs you watched this year too. Sawano is sneaky and has 2V-ALK lull you into a bit of a false sense of security at first, “Amazing Trees” is a strong album starter but not a stretch from o1. It’s when “gravityWall” kicks in that you learn you're in for a rollercoaster ride. This album is more female-fronted than previous releases as well, but it works for me. Even as someone who is a lot pickier when it comes to higher range singers nothing got too nasally or tin-y for my tastes, even with all the over-the-top belting going on. Overall, 2V-ALK is big, beautiful, slickly produced, and something you can become totally immersed in listening to. I don’t have words to express how much I love this album. Just play it, and play it really loud! | Preview: Spotify EPIK HIGH ・ WE'VE DONE SOMETHING WONDERFUL ・ HIP HOP Anyone who’s spent maybe a few minutes looking into Korean hip hop should be familiar with Epik High. They’ve been killing the game there for the last 15 years and continue to be one of the most relevant hip hop units out of Korea. They deserve to be globally relevant at this point, but I’m just gonna have to stay bitter about that for now. Not only have Epik High put out album after album of quality material, they go out of their way to work with the next generation of urban music artists and help cultivate the scene. Epik High keep a pretty classic, old school style but they know how to get dark, gritty, and emotional when the song calls for it. “HERE COME THE REGRETS” featuring vocal powerhouse Lee Hi is one of my favorites-- a definite stand out for the album. But so is “노땡큐 / NO THANXXX” because everyone needs to hear Tablo yelling “I AM GROOT! MOTHERFUCKER!” to add some extra badassery to their day. And Hyukoh lovers can also catch ya boy Oh Hyuk lending his smokey vocals to "빈차 / HOME IS FAR AWAY". I told you he was everywhere. | Preview: Spotify It was a weird year. I had a few more J-Pop albums I really liked: REOL's エンドレスEP (so sad they're disbanding, they were a killer match up), Junho of 2PM's 2017 S/S, and Miyavi's Samurai Sessions Vol.2, but 10 was a good place to stop and I wanted to give albums I actually played the most a priority regardless of country of origin. What did you guys like last year? What releases are you looking forward to in 2018?

Continuing their tradition of rearranging and rerecording their old tracks, cali≠gari will release their new self-cover mini album "3" in spring. They will commemorate the release with a double gig at Shinjuku LOFT on 2018/03/14 (first concert starts at 18.00, second one at 20.30). Unfortunately I could not find the actual release date of the mini album itself, only something about a general sale starting at 02/24 (but I suspect that's for the live tickets). 3 tracklist 01. 破れた電報 (Yabureta denpou) 02. 新宿ヱレキテル (Shinjuku Elekiter) 03. コバルト (Cobalt) 04. 君と僕 (Kimi to boku) 05. 空も笑ってる (Sora mo waratteru) 06. 腐った魚 (Kusatta sakana) Here's the complete blurb from their site. The band will also release another self-cover mini album titled "4" with jazz-style rearrangements of some of their previous songs. Both "3" and "4" should be simultaneously available in stores from 2018/04/25. 4 tracklist (tentative and not in order) ・ 誘蛾灯 (Yuugatou) ・ さよなら、スターダスト (Sayonara, Stardust) ・ 君が咲く山 (Kimi ga saku yama) ・ 月光ドライブ (Gekkou Drive) ・ わずらい (Wazurai) More info on "4" here.

Jiluka announced three things at the oneman today and one of those is the release of their first full album in August! They will also host their first Shusai live, that is, they host it and get to decide on the guests, on April 22nd. Their next oneman, "B birthday festival 2018" (Boogie's oneman birthday live) will be on 4/8 (Sun) at Yotsuya LOTUS. Ticket sale starts on January 20th.

For those who haven't noticed, Mako will act as a special guest at Schwarz Stein's oneman live at Shibuya REX on February 25, 2018. Kaya also mentioned in his twitter that it's only a "prologue" (whatever it means) (upd: it meant only the new release for SS and their autumn tour). Anyway seems like this time there'll be a continuation of the story (upd: nah, there wasn't xD) The last time I started a separate topic about it someone moved it to SS 15th anniversary discussion as insignificant, so I think I'll just leave it here.

| Old scars never fade, old habits die hard Throw those DECADE-compilations out and replace them with this. Let me be clear about one thing: those compilations were trash. The covers were ugly as sin and the track selection, despite sharing many similarities to Vestige of Scratches, gave the impression that the band spent a week figuring out the details because they forgot about their anniversary. They literally scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with enough content - the fact that "audrey", a butchered version of "Deity", "Repetition of Hatred", and "Jealous -Reverse-" are on it is telling enough - and most of them felt like copy-paste jobs trying to hide the lack of effort. Most of all, it didn't highlight DIR EN GREY at their best and did the band disservice as a 'best-of'. It seems like the band agrees with me, because Vestige of Scratches is everything those DECADE albums wish they could be. Before the hype train leaves the station, this compilation is far from perfect. Like much of DIR EN GREY's career, Vestige of Scratches is defined by its peculiar choices. Some are baffling, while others are smart. They come together in a frustrating combination that is uniquely DIR EN GREY. Let's start with the tracks that were chosen; we have at our disposal the single version of "脈" (Myaku); "罪と規制" (Tsumi to Kisei), the censored version of the remake of "蜜と唾" (Tsumi to Batsu); the version of "腐海" (Fukai) they've been playing live for some time (interesting); a new version of "THE IIID EMPIRE"; the reinterpretations of "羅刹国" (Rasetsukoku) [ew], "OBSCURE" [no], "かすみ" (Kasumi) [sure], "THE FINAL" [ok], "残" (Zan) [eh], and "霧と繭" (Kiri to Mayu) [ugh...]; the single version of "CLEVER SLEAZOID" [good!]; the choice to end the album on a reworked version of "Beautiful Dirt" out of all 200+ songs in their discography [wtf why]; the exclusion of "GARDEN" [what a tragedy]; and then minor adjustments to most other post-VULGAR tracks featured which work for the most part. We can already see this isn't the standard cash-grab version of a best album and that a proper sitting would be very rewarding, so I can only suggest you do that and start from "-I'll-". Controversial opinion coming in hot here, but the production job is fantastic across all three discs. Some may disagree, but I find that I need time to adjust to a new production job before I can assess if I like the changes. There have been many albums I panned for 'inferior production values' that I eventually came to prefer. Sloppy production has always been one of DIR EN GREY's weaknesses, especially for the visual-era stuff which hasn't held up over time, so some of the older tracks have a second lease on life. GAUZE has never sounded so clean, there's a 12-string in "脈" that I've never heard, and some of the tracks from DUM SPIRO SPERO are actually listenable now that the bass isn't obnoxious. I'd pay good money to have all their albums past and future worked like this. The way the album is structured is frustrating to describe. What at first seems like a chronological trek through their eras turns into anything but by the third disc. The first disc is an ode to their entire visual history, featuring songs from pre-GAUZE to 鬼葬 (Kisou), plus a bonus in "腐海 2018". New "腐海" sounds good, and I like it's inclusion as a way to preserve it. I'd spin it a few times, but it won't replace the original version for me. Every other song on this disc was just remastered. I'm surprised at the inclusion of "太陽の蒼" (Taiyou no Ao), since I thought Kyo hated that song, but like a few other inclusions it's here because its a single. The second disc dips back into 鬼葬 with "JESSICA", nods at six Ugly with "umbrella," and then focuses mostly on VULGAR through UROBOROS. Nothing from the disastrous UROBOROS [Remastered & Expanded] makes an appearance, which is a blessing. Personally speaking, I would have dropped "CHILD PREY" for "AMBER," "朔-saku-" for "Machiavellism," and thrown in the reinterpretation of "undecided". Disc 2 ends with a new version of "THE IIID EMPIRE" which is pretty lit and one of their more successful retakes. Disc 3 is where most of the meat lies and unfortunately most of it is displeasing to my ears. It's packed with most of their earlier reinterpretations, many hit or miss, most of which I'd have left on the table if it were solely my choice. This is where my lack of frustration with the exclusion of "undecided" comes from, as I would have rotated out "羅刹国" (Rasetsukoku), "OBSCURE", or "霧と繭" (Kiri to Mayu) for it, the PV version of "OBSCURE", and the version of "Bottom of the death valley" from THE UNRAVELING. I would have also killed for a reinterpretation of "秒｢｣深" (Byou ｢｣ Shin) from six Ugly, or a proper version of "Hydra -666-" with more gutturals and less screaming. After comes the salvageable parts of DUM SPIRO SPERO, including a version of "激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇" (Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami) superior to the album version, but not quite what the original single sounded like, a condensed serving of ARCHE, "詩踏み" (Utafumi), and then ends on a very random note with "Beautiful Dirt". Not quite sure why they set it up this way. Maybe the unfinished feeling to Vestige of Scratches is intentional, but either way DIR EN GREY have collated a collection album worth the shelf space for any serious fan. It may not be perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than I expected it to be. At the very least, I can argue that it's a better alternative than importing GAUZE if you don't already own it. If DIR EN GREY attack 2018 the way MUCC took 2017, we may have an interesting year ahead of us. Support the artist CDJapan

Ricko screamed the candles out! I can't stop laughing!!!

Thanks to the support of many fans, MangaHelpers were able to team up with a major Japanese publisher named amucomi. That has agreed to let MangaHelpers help localize and publish their titles. MangaHelpers been involved the entire process. From localization, to marketing to getting the manga on various platforms. All on the legal way, and all digital, each release will be published as an e-book on Amazon and other platforms. MangaHelpers also partnered up with GlobalComix who also helped MangaHelpers. Without their help, MangaHelpers wouldn't be where it is now. GlobalComix created an incredible new web service and MangaHelpers using this opportunity to help kick it off. MangaHelpers told amucomi that there's a need for professionally localized content. Content where those involved get paid - and it's no longer, just by fans. But fans with benefits . And right now amucomi take's a chance to trust MangaHelpers You can find more about this project in this news post You can find the new forum featuring the manga we've already localized. Read this thread to find out how you can help! Unlock more free manga by helping share / like the manga found here too. Published series so far: [BoysLove 12+] My Childhood Friend... with Benefits! [Shojo 12+] The Love Lesson's in Session [Shojo 12+] Tonight My Sister and I... [BoysLove 12+] Mr. Sakashita's Tough Love [Shojo 12+] Age 31 - First Boyfriend [Shojo 12+] It All Started with a Sexy Interview [Shojo 12+] 3LoveDK - Immoral Roommates [Shounen 12+] Death Game ～The Captive 24～ Kiss and Oby I love you Bye-Bye A Love To Change me You're a liar sir A childhood friend doesn't hold back I’ll Keep Your Secret (I won't tell anyone) My First Time With A Guy After School Kunoichi The Beast Prince and the Risky Prince Series can be bought at Amazon.com and be paid read at GlobalComix. (If you don't live in the USA/Germany/Japan) (countries who don't support Amazon global) You should change your country to the USA or something. Then you can purchase with no worries ebooks/manga on amazon If you have bought one of the series, please write a review on Amazon if you are able to do so. SERIE BANNERS ___________________________ However do people here read "legal" manga e-books? I never purchased one myself, I'm still more of, I want to hold the manga in my hands. ______________________________________ Buy on Amazon My Childhood Friend... with Benefits! (Complete) Vol.1 | Vol. 2 The Love Lesson's in Session (Complete) Vol.1 | Vol. 2 | Vol.3 | Vol. 4 Tonight My Sister and I... (Complete) | Vol.1 | Vol. 2 | Vol.3 | Vol. 4 | Vol.5 | Vol. 6 | Vol.7 | Vol. 8 | Vol.9 Mr. Sakashita's Tough Love (Complete) Vol.1 | Vol. 2 Age 31 - First Boyfriend (Completed) Vol.1 | Vol. 2 | Vol.3 | Vol. 4 | Vol.5 | Vol.6 | Vol.7 | Vol.8 It All Started with a Sexy Interview (completed) Vol.1 | Vol. 2 | Vol.3 | Vol. 4 | Vol.5 | Vol.6 | Vol. 7 | Vol.8 | Vol.9 | Vol.10 3LoveDK - Immoral Roommates (Completed?) Vol.1 | Vol. 2 | Vol.3 | Vol. 4 | Vol.5 | Vol. 6 | Vol.7 | Vol.8 | Vol.9 | Vol.10 | Vol.11 | Vol. 12 | Vol. 13 | Vol. 14 | Vol. 15 | Vol. 16 | Vol. 17 | Vol. 18 | Vol. 19 Death Game ～The Captive 24～ (Complete) Vol.1 | Vol.2 Kiss And Obey (ONE-SHOT) Vol. 1 Kiss And Obey 2 (ONESHOT) Vol. 1 | I love you Bye-Bye Vol. 1 | Vol.2 | Vol.3 | Vol.4 | Vol.5 | Vol.6 You are a liar sir (Completed) Vol. 1 | Vol.2 | Vol.3 | Vol.4 | Vol.5 A love to change me (Completed) Vol. 1 | Vol.2 | Vol.3 | A childhood friend doesn't hold back (Completed) Vol.1 | Vol 2 | Vol 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5 | I’ll Keep Your Secret (I won't tell anyone) (Completed) vol1 | vol2 | vol3 | vol4 | Vol. 5 | Vol. 6 My First Time With A Guy (Boylove!) Vol.1 | Vol 2 After School Kunoichi Vol.1 | Vol 2 The Beast Prince and the Risky Prince Vol.1 | Vol 2

Eins:Vier self-cover best album "Self Cover Best 2018 Searching Red Light" will be released at 2018/03/14 (2 types) Live-limited edition (12000yen) will include CD (10 tracks), DVD including "Eins:Vier One Man Live 2017 “Searching For Me”@ Meguro Rock May Kan LIVE DIGEST, 32-page booklet, goods (Original Squoche - Reprinted Version Logo Sticker - Original A6 Clear File Tour2018 "Searching For You" Lamination Pass / Member signed Cheki included), and will be in a special sleeve case Regular edition (3240yen) will include CD (10 tracks, with different track 10) and 8-page booklet only 1.Dear Song 2.In your dream 3.メロディー 4.Notice 5.Not saved yet 6.Words for Mary 7.花の声 8.Nursery tale 9.碧い涙 10.I feel that she will come [regular edition only] 10..In a void space [live-limited edition only]

After departure of Ba.楓華 (Fuka) at 2017/12/13, DatuRΛ Gu.ギル (Gill) will switch to Ba. at their live at Takadanobaba AREA at 2018/1/19. Because of this, support Ba.紗葵 (Saki) (ex-ERG†IRE-->SALIVAN) will cease to act as support.

Todays setlist for Ricko and Zyean’s birthday oneman: Also I’m very excited for their new release, I’ve been waiting for a full album

I suck at writing about music, but maybe I'll try it

Thanks for the list, I wanna listen to different things in 2018 do this will be a good place to start! For me 2017 was a great year since all my favorite bands released albums or at least really good singles. I didn't check a lot of non v-kei releases though and in terms of kpop I tried exo's last album and didn't like it as much as their previous EXODUS. I was also going to try Red Velvet and Black Pink but haven't got to it yet.

Everybody loves Mucc isn't?! I never got into them, and I guess I also never will. Back in the days I didn't like the "voice" of the vocalist, but I've no clue if I still think so. With bands who are already so long on the picture it holds me somehow back to listen to them. Even if it only need to be "one" release. I've seen more people writing about zigzag, always their news topics are full of people who are happy with a new release. And now also you says they released something good. Which makes me also wonder, shall I try it. for XAA-XAA To be honest I also do like this band, however somehow I don't even "care" to check out their releases. I never thought that they are "super" good. But they are surely a nice band. But since I didn't listen to the album (I did DL, but I did deleted from my PC, I guess? wtf) I wonder if I shall push myself to check it out again. since they do have some nice songs. As I said in my own review, I don't really know how good 2018 would have been for me. I only did listen to a few bands and didn't really care to check out other band music. But I still believe that 2018 wouldn't be a too bad year if I would have checked out every release I could check. K-pop / other music of the west. I don't care to check it out, somehow I'm only from the "Japanese" releases only. Sometimes I do listen to Eminem or Itchy Poopzkid(German punk/rock/alternative band) but that's it. While my brother is very much K-pop lately. He is such big fan of TWICE. (=_=)/// An today I did read that TWICE is damn popular in Japan. (no wonder why it was easy to buy a bunch of CD's of them while I was in Tokyo)

I also can't read all Kanji/katakana, however I've figured out the tracklist CD NAME: べリアル Tracklist: 01. EXORCISM 02. SINGIN in THE REIGN 03. エミリアの土曜日 (Emilia no doyoubi) 04. VENOM 05. Pupa 06. 桜流し (Sakura Nagashi) 07. Ghost Labyrinth 08. defective scene (Only in regular version) 08. Shallow 「P'」 (Only in Limited edition) 09. RISE 10. TONIGHT DVD 「Pupa Music Clip」 + 「Music Clip offshot」

Some pre-DEG stuff: http://warasibe.co.jp/detail.php?ec=10007646 A live video by La:Sadie's that's not one of the "big three"? Also, a PV? http://warasibe.co.jp/detail.php?ec=10007644 La:Sadie's versions of ZAN and Setsuna? Also mentioned here, along with 鏡死 and 刺ノ刻, whatever those songs are. http://warasibe.co.jp/detail.php?ec=10007645 The famous Kuroyume cover. Don't know from which date, though. Could be the February pre-DEG concert or a later... This guy says that one of Kyo's earlier bands covered the song as well, and that he has a tereko of the performance, but won't share it... love the scene, really http://warasibe.co.jp/detail.php?ec=10007643 Not sure what this is. In general, the whole Gesshoku discography is a little confusing^^ http://warasibe.co.jp/detail.php?ec=10007642 Allegedly, they're live tracks, but... well, no idea if they exist. Also mentioned here. Leaked La:Sadie's lives: 14.08.1996 - Kumagaya Vogue (one song leaked) 16.08.1996 - Niigata Odo-Hall 20.08.1996 - 市川CLUB GIO ( two songs leaked) 29.08.1996 - Osaka AMhall (completely leaked, often mislabeled as LS' last live) Also, from DEG's Mousou~ VHS tapes and their VOS documentary, we know that most, if not all of their indies concerts were actually recorded on camera. I also have to correct an earlier statement regarding Kiri to Mayu and Sangeki no Yoru: The actual story is that one day before DEG began recording MISSA, Kyo was told to change the lyrics for Sangeki no Yoru. The band considered removing the song from the EP for that reason, but decided against it since Kiri to Mayu, as it was now called, was the first song the fans were to hear so it was important. And something y'all probably didn't know: Karma was actually supposed to be on MISSA as well, but was not included due to the same reasons. Both songs were later included on the Kaede VHS. Which brings me to another fact: If your Kaede Crystal Video Box has blood on its back, it's Shinya's. He cut himself while packing the boxes (which the band had to do themselves). Although it's unclear how many boxes they packed, after all, there are 10k copies^^

Dr.Mar is ex-Crecien de Rona-->ティアラ (Tiara)-->Faust-->gossip-->7Addict-->D'efend Chroma(雅美/Masami)

Another note on "2007~2017": the shakuhachi on "Etsu to utsu" makes me CUM.

Mako will perform as a special guest at their one-man on 25th February again! Also Kaya mentioned in his twitter that it's only a "prologue".

Just as a side-note: Tsumi to Kisei was chosen because of the explicit lyrics of Tsumi to Batsu's new version. For the same reason you won't find any original Karma/Sangeki no Yoru on any official release aside of Kaede.

The photoshoot took place before this whole Kanagate

Same, literally same XD. I even forced two friends to listen to MUCC and now one of them likes their music (especially Ringo and Wasurenagusa) and was captured by Tatsuro forever XD. I listened to some of the songs live before they became an album and was completely in love with Myakuhaku the soon I had it. What I've always loved about MUCC is that in each album, the songs look like they were strategically placed there so that when you group each song's story they form a whole (if it makes sense XD). When I listened to this album and looked up the lyrics, it kinda made me feel like the members were trying to tell their own stories and the band's. That or it just fitted the 20th anniversary mood of that time. Also I want to give Miya a big ol' hug because every damn song he makes just rips my heart into tiny little pieces ;A;. As for the kpop part, MonstaX really need more attention in Korea. I was happy seeing them popular in Japan and outside though. I'm still not over DRAMARAMA though. The song is so catchy and nice to listen and has this "Imma fight chu but Imma be a classy gansta' so you better hide while you can" vibe to it and the MV is sinful and I'll watch it again if I have enough holy water on me.

Yup. He's basically a meme king at this point

Dorian Grey he thinks he's slick, huh

The whole new single is a great step up for these guys. My favorite song is innocent passion,because Sho clean singing is absolutely hypnotic,also his screams,this guy is a beast!! Can't explain why but this band placed the empty space that MEJIBRAY left in my conscience,cuz their atmosphere and Sho vocals are so similar to Tsuzuku skills,imo. Fucking good band

Yuu's the best! He broadcasted Merry's live today on his IG (u_merry) live. Too bad it cut off after an hour, so most of the new songs were left out, but they played Atama ga zakuro and Kohakuiro no Ballad! I think it's still there for 18 hours if anyone wants to watch. Sounds amazing as always.

///

Oh, hell yeah! So great to see things happening with this band. They’re a breath of fresh air and precisely what VK needs right now, especially after the bad taste left by all the Meji drama.

On the news: "Bandman wakes up to find a bear's head under his duvet"

cali≠gari will release their new DVD set "13-映像集-" on 2018/02/07. The set contains 3 DVDs and a CD-ROM and is limited to 1000 copies which can only be mail-ordered in advance. The main portion contains their whole gig at Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo (25 songs) as well as an offshot/making-of footage. There will be heaps of "official bootleg"-quality footage of their whole "TOUR 13" circuit spanning more than a dozen venues. The CD-ROM part will have the same 25 tracks as the main concert in mp3 format. The whole thing will come in a deluxe box set with a 76-page booklet to boot. Below is the tracklist: [収録曲] 1.トカゲのロミオ 2.マグロ 3.トイレでGO! 4.君が咲く山 5.汚れた夜 6.色悪 7.東京ロゼヲモンド倶楽部 8.三文情死エキストラ 9.舌先3分サイズ 10.紅麗死異愛羅武勇 11.マッキーナ 12.ファニソン 13.混沌の猿 14.淫美まるでカオスな 15.落下枝に帰らず破鏡再び照らさず 16.深夜、貨物ヤード裏の埠頭からコンビナートを眺めていた ENCORE 17.オーバーナイトハイキング 18.オヤスミナサイ 19.いつかどこかで 20.青春狂騒曲 ENCORE 2 21.ゼロサムゲーム 22.-187- 23.37564 24.一切を乱暴に 25.サイレン ・メイキング (野音楽屋でのオフショット映像) ・ツアーダイジェストDVD収録曲決定！ TOUR 13 F.A.D YOKOHAMA /ゼロサムゲーム〜トカゲのロミオ ※ツアー初日からの熱量 本八幡ROUTE14 / 三文情死エキストラ ※意外と良い 静岡Sunash 初日 / マネキン ※さわやか祭 静岡Sunash ２日目 / トイレでGO! ※続、さわやか祭 青森Quarter / クソバカゴミゲロ ※テンション高め 仙台MACANA / 色悪 ※桜井ゆうかい疑惑 高崎club FLEEZ 初日 / 初恋中毒 ※貴重 高崎club FLEEZ ２日目 / 淫美まるでカオスな ※テンション大分高め 新宿LOFT / 汚れた夜 ※歌舞伎町記念 新潟GOLDEN PIGS BLACK STAGE / 一切を乱暴に ※とにかく乱暴すぎる 心斎橋 FANJ twice 初日 / 落花枝に返らず、破鏡再び照らさず ※照明きれい 心斎橋 FANJ twice ２日目 / バンバンバン ※予定外アンコール 名古屋ell.FITS ALL / 紅麗死異愛羅武勇 ※紅麗死異ぽん太 岡山IMAGE / 誘蛾燈 ※票数かなり多かった 福岡DRUM Be-1 / 混沌の猿 ※友情出演：ピン子 札幌cube garden 初日 / ファニソン ※いい感じ 札幌cube garden ２日目 / 深夜、貨物ヤード裏の... ※有終の美 TOUR Re:13 umeda TRAD / マグロ ※大盛り上がり 名古屋BOTTOM LINE / 舌先3分サイズ ※中盛り上がり Truth be told, I only made this thread so that I could link this trailer video where Ao lifts up a toilet seat dramatically. Enjoy.

Never knew Lynch's Devil was a jam for chilly night at 3 am XD.

Hey guys, I'd really love your thoughts on this one! Something like 12 or 13 years ago, I started to really dive into vkei and obsessively collect and listen to any band from that scene/"genre" I could get my hands on. At the time it felt so foreign, so different, nothing like anything I've ever listened to (or seen) before and that's very appealing to a teenager who's looking for his own little niche, a place to build some sort of identity from. You guys know what I'm saying, right? When you're 14, 15, 16, maybe younger, maybe older, you start assessing your place in the world by selectively adopting or rejecting certain speech, behavior, social groups, music, music scenes as communities and so forth - the individual configuration of which becomes part of your identity. Anyway, all that's supposed to express, how important and dear to my heart vkei is, esp. that glam metal x postpunk x gothrock x poprock fusion from the late 80s to the early 00s. And since all those bands I'm talking about are really obscure to begin with and a complete enigma to the vast majority of Western Europeans, I thought it could be fun to indulge in some nostalgia and spread the love for that type of music. I live in Germany and most of my friends are pretty active in the local DIY punk scene (organizing concerts etc.), so my thought was that these people for example could actually be interested in our treasured japanese underground music scene - not only because punkrock is often a musical influence in vkei but also because I think that the general ethos is quite similar. (TLDR;) To make a long story short, I thought that it could be cool to create an instagram account where I would upload snippets which I consider emotionally exciting or stimulating (jeez, that sounds weird) from songs that I love. What do you think about that idea? Would you actually be interested in something like that? I know there's plenty of youtube channels offering a shitload of full length songs but this thing could be regarded as a more dense version of that. Plus some personal thoughts from time to time. Let me know what you think! Here's what I'm talking about: https://www.instagram.com/netherwave/

Gallhammer - Ill Innocence Back in 2004 when this band released their debut album there was a lot of hype surrounding them. Main reason was the fact that their debut was a black/doom/crust album that was clearly inspired by Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Amebix, Darkthrone and Burzum made by three Japanese girls who looked as stunning as they looked awesome. But they also did have more to offer, and that more was great music. Dark, gloomy and sludgy doom/crust black metal. This second album contains much of the same, but it is less crusty and black. But it's filled with great vocals, cool riffs, a sweet production and lots of character. It sounds like Gallhammer and no-one else. And it's very varied. From the doomy At the Onset of the Age of Despair to the punky Ripper in the Gloom to the blackened Speed of Blood to the droney Slog. It offers a lot of diversity. It's a step down from their debut, but a sweet album nonetheless. Blind My Eyes Endless Dismal Moan - Ruin Ruin was Endless Dismal Moan's last album before sole member Chaos 9 committed suicide. An album was released 2 years after his death tho, but it was supposed to have been released before this but was delayed because of some label issues. Anyway, Endless Dismal Moan plays black metal that is pretty hard to get into. We're talking black metal of the weird and semi-original kind, almost touching the industrial at times. The atmosphere is dark, grim, and really fucked up and it's topped off by some really tortured vocals. It's very different for sure. JYUSO Fastkill - Nuclear Thrashing Attack Fastkill's second album just continues down the road they began walking with the first one. Fast and brutal thrash metal in the vein of Morbid Saint, old Kreator, Sadus, Dark Angel and so on. The album is more of the same as the first topped with those wicked screams by Toshio Komori. It's not superbly written or performed, but it's a total badass thrash metal assault that is exactly that: a fun, thrashing album fill with fast, brutal and heavy thrash metal tracks. A step down from their excellent debut, but a fun album nonetheless. Bloodbath That's all I had.

Forgot how hard Akujo No Hohoemi slaps. Ugh Lycaon I miss you <3

But so is I’ll. Surely they played it during the Mode of Macabre tour.

Tsuzuku you better slay, hard.

Hopefully this arrives soon~ (although I already own the upper two) Also, on Saturday, a tape player will arrive that can digitalise those tapes. Wanna see if they sound any different

MOAB has that same harsh, unpolished wall of static sound as Kisou. They both also feature some of Kyo’s most “offensive” lyrics. I also draw parallels between Macabre and Uroboros, but that’s just me.

I'm ALL ABOUT avant-garde artistic bullshit. Super excited about what he'll get up to. Will Koichi stick to music or will we see him setting up an art exhibition in the future?

i knew koichi wouldn't stay silent for too long. his love for being aesthetic as fuck goes way beyond.

This looks fun, I'm in. 2018 Ratings Waiting for release/listening to:

I'll post my favorite recent pictures: Me and Kiryu: I was really surprised that THEY ALL knew my name. It was the first time in my life meeting them and they all were like "Hey Ritsu". Takemasa said im famous between japanese bandmans...OH WELL. HOPE THATS GOOD. Me with my favorite band, UNiTE: It was just awesome. No comments. Me with Yue from Kizu, my second favorite band. They're just the best band that appeared on the recent years! My forehead looks giant on this chekis. I know. Blame the photographer!! (LOL NO) Also the most recent that i took the day before yesterday, me and Yuuha from the Raid. the Raid. is not on my top 5 favorite bands, but Yuuha is one of my favorite bandmans ever! Love this babie!

Here's the full list of collaborators for each track, it's quite long so I'll put it under spoiler. The website also has snippets of each song http://www.god-child-records.com/asagi/ Personally super excited for the Ruiza x Syu guitar duet coming in. Asagi has managed to make a lot of interesting pair ups, the album must've taken a lot of time and money to produce.

Who the hell isn't a guest in this album at this point? Asagi's bringing out all the guns and murdering us in the process.

Can I add some metal releases here? 2007 saw the release of a lot of fantastic metal albums, some even on the brink of being classics as far as Japanese metal goes.

Confirmed only band that has ever mattered and that will ever matter

These crackheads smoke too much.

“If you don’t board the ark, I will not board it too. You will be my tranquil haven till the very end”

I was there ^^ He sang 暖炉の果実 (kein), グラミー (kein) and site of scaffold (deadman) alone, and then also Schwarz Stein's "Hakobune" and "Last Hallucination" together with Kaya and Hora at the encore. He was also throwing sweets into the crowd like Santa, smiling, laughing and even talking during the MC! Unbelievable TT Actually during the MC Kaya told a bit of how he invited Mako. At some uchiage he asked him something like: - You haven't performed lately, right? - Well maybe I should do in the nearest future... - Eh? But you haven't sang for so long, why don't you start with performing few songs at SS's oneman? - Well ok ^^ So MAYBE we'll hear from him again quite soon? Who knows.

Yes it's the regular one! I hope someday I'll find the limited with the full set!

anyone know where this interview/live is taken from? i know its from the eu tour but i dont know where the video itself is taken from