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This picture of 9GBO was my mobile phone wallpaper for like 2 years. Dunno why but I love every aspect about this shot.

😞👌💯🦋

MAMIRETA will release a new single titled, 「五臓六腑に染みる雨」(Gozouroppu ni shimiru ame), on 2020.04.01, and it will cost 2,000 yen (+taxes). They will hold their third anniversary live, which will be called 「ぽ」(Po), at Takadanobaba AREA on 2020.05.29. CD Tracklist 1.五臓六腑に染みる雨 (Gozouroppu ni shimiru ame) 2.ろくでなし注意報 (Rokudenashi chuuihou) 3.猫になりきれなかった犬 (Neko ni nari kirenakatta inu)

The Moran review thread had me thinking about their stunning visuals and beautiful promo pictures.

The entire "marketing" of this new album is atrocious. It really feels like they want to fail. I love these guys to death but seriously... they need to know what they want. They post a one second preview, then they decide it will be a digital only release. They want to charge full price for a digital release, but later on make the physical cd an amazon exclusive but post no details. The release is in a week and this is a trainwreck. All we can do is speculate but I honestly don't see this benefiting them in anyway. Even if this becomes a banger of an album no ones going to hear it... the promotion is non existent and i dont see them making any money on this. People will pirate this album.

Forever and ever one of my faves 2bh

What are some of your favorite Band/Artist promotional pictures? At one point in my life, I'd damn near made a career out of sharing and uploading music (in addition to uploading artist photos to last.fm), so I basically have a lot of artist pics and album art saved that I just never got rid of. Here are a few of my favorites! THE NOVEMBERS i think i like this pic so much because it reminds me of when THE NOVEMBERS dropped "zeitgeist" and just blew all of our damn minds! Plus Kobayashi is just oozing a kind of dark, cool confidence here...it's like from this point he became an entirely new person...miles away from the average bowl-cut indie rocker he started as, haha. 9GOATS BLACK OUT Even tho I never got super deep into their music, these guys were CLASS and their aesthetics were always on point!! D'espairsRay One of my fav. Despa pics. I was with the mallgoff shitz, ahaha downy I love this pic because it speaks to their dark, sophisticated sound, but I also love it simply for the fact they actually bothered to take some nice promo pics for once in their career! J.A.M Probably not the kind of pic you'd expect from a Jazz band! コトリンゴ (Kotoringo) Suuuper pretty pic, that's as pretty as the music she makes! 赤い公園 (Akai Ko-en) Chiaki lookin all tall and sexy It's hard to go wrong with nature-dense photos, but I loove the colors here! EGO-WRAPPIN' There's a lot going on here, but this pic fit their sound so well for the time. It kinda has a cartoony/animated vibe to it. TK from 凛として時雨 (ling tosite sigure) Simple, but effective. トクマルシューゴ (Shugo Tokumaru) 青葉市子 (Ichiko Aoba) That's all for now! What are some of your favs???

Don't know if people were interested, but I mentioned a few weeks back that I was compiling my 2019 favorites and so here it is. Just a warning though, I probably only went through a third of the releases I had my eyes on so I may have missed a few good things. Also, I tend to cherry-pick songs so my top song list is rather lengthy. Anyway, I'm gonna try to make this as short and sweet as possible. Ranking is in no particular order unless stated. Top Albums BAROQUE - PEUR ET PUELLA If there was one album I could choose from 2019 it would be PEUR ET PUELLA by BAROQUE hands down. Even though I was still feeling sulky about their music direction, PEUR ET PUELLA honestly took my be surprise. The album feels like a mixture of everything both the members have done in the past, from early baroque to kannvalism, and even Kei's solo work. I'm definitely looking forward to their new album coming out next week. MONO - Before The Past • Live From Electrical Audio Okay, maybe if there was one other album I could choose from 2019 it would be this commemorative album of which MONO re-recorded three songs from their early days. I never remembered much of the song "Halo" but the new energy they have put into it really brings it to life. You can really feel their loud and raw sound in this entire album. Also, I will say that I enjoyed this much more than the new album they actually released, probably due to the fact that "L'america" and "Com(?)" are some of my favorites of theirs. 仮病 (Kebyou) - 毒針 (Dokushin) This might have been the release where Kebyou really caught my attention. I feel like this is the best VK album I've heard in a while that aren't from veterans in the scene. There are so many good tracks here but my favorites might be "Q" and "冷凍保存". If you haven't checked them out yet I would start with this album of theirs. Top Singles gulu gulu - 変なメリーゴーランド (Henna Merry Go Round) Best newcomer of 2019? Hell yeah! Gulu gulu starts with a bang with all great tracks from this single. They released a second single too, but I enjoyed this one more. Develop One's Faculties - ephemeral I'm glad that Develop One's Faculties are still going off strong, they deserve so much more recognition. The second track is a lot of fun and stands out more than the title track. I just love what Yuya does with his vocals sometimes. ペンタゴン - カルチャーショック (Pentagon - Culture Shock) After not enjoying their poppy and synth sound from previous releases, I was surprised by how good this single of Pentagon's was. The title song showed a lot of promise so I gave this single of there's a go for once. Although it still largely has a pop sound it is much more listenable and shows how the band has really matured. Quite a shame that they're now disbanding. Top Songs ザアザア - 光 (Xaa-xaa - Hikari) from 破裂 (Haretsu) Xaa-xaa is more of a hit or miss for me, but when they hit boy do they hit HARD. Out of the bajillion singles they released last year there was only one track that I really liked and that is "光" from their single Haretsu. A very lovely ballad that sort of makes me feel nostalgic for oshare kei from the 00s. I don't know, there's just something kind of familiar about it. ロマン急行 - 歪む太陽 (Roman Kyuko - Yugamu Taiyou) from 人間失格 (Ningen Shikkaku) Roman Kyuko was one of my most anticipated bands and although everything they released has been good, "歪む太陽" from their album might be my most favorite. I think I will miss hearing Yudai's voice in Toru's playing style though, but I'm glad that Izumi's voice works just as wonderfully. 仮病 - Yellow Tokyo I was trying to avoid putting artists twice on the list but I just had to put Kebyou again here. They really showed their potential in 2019 and I'm hoping that this live-limited track of theirs, available to listen on Youtube, will show up in one of their future releases. The CD cover looks ugly and low-budget af but I promise you the song is good. DADAROMA - 嫣然 (Enzen) from Dadaism#5 Dadaism#5 was not bad overall, but "嫣然" blew me away right off the bat. Might be just me but it feels kind of close to Crazy☆shampoo. Always wanted to hear Yoshiatsu belting like that again. 蘭図 - ドグラ・マグラ (Rands - Dogra Magra) from Leda Atomica Can't express my joy to see Karma back and bringing the old-school sound back on top of that, not that I'm totally familiar with old-school bands but it feels very refreshing in the scene. I love how "Dogra Magra" starts with the fluttering of a fly/moth and kind of introduces a solitary and barren atmosphere to this lovely ballad. nurié - モノローグ (Monologue) from モノローグ Can anybody tell me who these guys are 'cause they're amazing! Feeling such an art-kei vibe from this track. I hope more of their releases will be accessible because I seriously need to hear more!! キズ - 夢 (Kizu - Yume) from 平成 (Heisei) It felt like 2019 was a bit weak for Kizu imo, but I'm happy that "夢" finally got a recording. If only it wasn't recorded in whatever special equipment they used, but it's still very listenable as it's one of my favorite songs of theirs. ユメリープ - でっどばーすでー (Yumeleep - Dead Birthday) from ばーすまたー (Birth Matter) I will admit that Yumeleep got a bit boring and same-y for me, but "でっどばーすでー" caught my attention this time around. I might even say this is the best song they've done so far. It feels like the vocalist experimented more with his vocals instead of sounding monotone all the time, making this track much more interesting and even catchy. DIMLIM - 離人 (Rijin) from 離人 To be honest, this song took a few listens for it to grow on me. It's true that the instrumentals feel a bit mashed up in a few places but I'm not complaining because now I'm in love with it. NITRODAY - ダイヤモンド・キッス (Diamond Kiss) from 少年たちの予感 (Premonition of Kids) The only non-vk band on the list, well other than MONO. NITRODAY are one of the few indie bands that I've been keeping a real close eye on. Their entire EP Premonition of Kids is great, but "Diamond Kiss" is such a sweet summer song. The addition of the bassist's back vocals work wonderfully and sometimes I'll easily find myself singing along. I didn't even realize how short the song was. Well, that about sums up my favorites from 2019. And now I'm gonna head out and dig through the rest of the stuff I missed!

Its been a long time since I've done the forum thing, so I guess ill start from the top. 34 yo here. Been a fan of J-rock/pop since I was 17-18. Found a forum called projectJ and met a bunch of people from around the world, some who are still my friends to this day. Some of my favs are X-Japan, Dir en Grey, Versailles, Malice Mizer, Shiina Ringo, Mucc, Glay, Kagrra and I'm sure ive forgotten many more throughout the years. I was hoping to meet some people who might have been using project J back in the day as well? Highly doubt it, but figured id give it a shot. Looking forward to... Whatever this leads to!

love the two photos posted for 9gbo too! i went through my folder and dug out some favorites. unfortunately i didn't save everything, it's hard to find good quality pics of some of them now.... i think this is mostly the cover for their ep What is "Plastic Tree", but what the hey i love it. probably one of their most iconic photos. wish i could find it in better quality.... my favorite when i first got into them. the flowers add such a nice touch. sou just looks too adorable here and i love his scarf ;u; SCISSOR did the spooky theme so much better than Candy Spooky Theater music wise imho, and they got peculiar looks that wasn't just halloween-y Guniw Tools have a number of weird photos but i love the composition in this one so simple but very iconic at the time, i would say i'm noticing that most people are posting older photos so here's a few from more recent bands a real hard pick from the two, i had them both as my desktop wallpaper a bit too much editing on this one but still a great photo and one non-vk, from THE TEENAGE KISSERS feel like i spammed a bit too much here, haha. might post more later~

I have tons of faves just from BUCK-TICK, but here are only a few:

Vo.詩季(Shiki) (ex.Sick.) solo project "SoNZAi." has formed ohp twitter

I tend to like promo pics that are a bit silly. This is from around when Hysteric Panic released "Cinderella Syndrome", I think. Takeshi Ueda around the release of AA='s "#5". I just realized the crown is made of copper wire, which makes it even better. MO'SOME TONEBENDER for "Baseball Bat Tenderness"

Psysalia psysalis psyche

Finally the concert schedule for my very first Japan-trip is complete: -> February 15 - BugLug / Arlequin / Kizu (Men only concert) -> February 18 - MEME oneman -> February 24 - gulu gulu / xaa xaa / kyokutoromance / Chanty / zigzag / Mother / Scapegoat / monstllow -> February 28 - Luna Sea I'm so hyped! Especially for finally seeing Luna Sea live. 😍 If anyone of you needs some review or merch etc. please don't hesitate to contact me.

DEG added Macabre, Kisou, and Vulgar to spotify:

I'm not sure if this was a promo shot or just a release cover, but I liked this one of The Birthday from around the release of "Piano" a lot. I like the one from around the release of "The Answer" and the matching album cover as well:

Part 2 The GazettE (i just love their looks during Disorder era so much xD) La'Mule Gallhammer Eliphas Levi Lamiel deadman Merry Go Round PENICILLIN Early exist†trace looks always ftw ❤️

They've added their discography to Spotify (as did the rest of Bloom bands, as well)

Yeah... I'm gonna snatch some DL link and see if it's even worth buying. This is no longer a band I can blindly trust with my money. And I can see a lot of people doing that too.

Their newest single will be released in two types. CD+DVD (Limited Edition) [Cost: 3,500 yen (+taxes)] [CD] 01.怒り (Ikari) 02.mymy 03.聞き做し (Kikinashi) 04.怒り -instrumental- (Ikari -instrumental-) [DVD] 01.「怒り」MUSIC CLIP + アルルカン メンバー密着・単独インタビュー「true meaning」収録 CD (Regular Edition) [Cost: 1,500 yen (+taxes)] [CD] 01.怒り (Ikari) 02.mymy 03.聞き做し (Kikinashi) 04.怒り -instrumental- (Ikari -instrumental-)

I'm going to shape up this year and go back to my roots. I'll spend a week in isolation in Berlin and it'll be just me, strangers and adventures and total debauchery. I've been using my girlfriends spotify and I've noticed that it has both made me complacent and unwilling to explore the deeper reaches of my interests, and that's why I'm going to go old school; all the music on my computer will head straight to the bin and I'll soulseek the shit out of something unfamiliar that'll scare me back into taking control of my life and art. Speaking of taking control and complacency, it's some sad shit what happened to youtube and internet in general. Homogenised by corporate interest beyond repair. I remember when I could spend hours diving down the rabbit hole of related videos from vk pvs whereas now you'll only get videos of the same channel, videos you watched in the past and then videos popular that are vaguely "related." This really killed it for me as far as finding new bands, it's now all on the shoulders of that one guy who does these top pvs of every month.

怪盗戦隊ヌスムンジャー (Kaitou Sentai Nusumunja) new maxi-single "クロアゲマン" (Kuroageman) will be released at 2020/02/19 (1200yen) It's Royz "クロアゲハ" (Kuroageha) parody [tracklist] 01.クロアゲマン (Kuroageman) 02.逆ギレサイコパス (Gyakugire Psycopath)

TK from 凛として時雨 (TK from Ling Tosite Sigure) new maxi- single "蝶の飛ぶ水槽" (Chou no Tobu Suisou) will be released at 2020/01/22 it is the opening theme of TV anime show "pet" [tracklist] 1. 蝶の飛ぶ水槽 2. melt (with 鎌野 愛 / Live from Bi-Phase Brain “L side") 3. P.S. RED I (Live from Bi-Phase Brain “L side") 4. 蝶の飛ぶ水槽 (Instrumental)

Important things to take from this: 1. Die shares that his fav fast riffs are from deg's debut album gauze 2. Toshiya describes their current sound as "psychobilly" lmao

I'm surprised to see yumeleep and pentagon here culture shock is still stuck in my head, if only they had a couple more releases like that before disbanding! I must've overlooked Dokushin (I wasn't even aware of the band lol) seems interesting so I'll have to check it out.

Here comes part 1 The Candy Spooky Theater Noir Fleurir SUICIDE ALI RENTRER EN SOI Madeth gray'll gemmik DANGER☆GANG Malice Mizer Byakura

This sounds absolutely fantastic. Really got that old-skool Sadie sound. I'd forgotten how much I love his voice.

tfw just now getting into Animal Crossing New Leaf when a new AC is right around the corner

When i listened to this preview prior before checking out this thread i was wondering because the voice sounded very familiar... But gotta say this sound pretty good so far.

kind of lost interest in these guys but that's a pretty nice look

Best name for a show

I'm willing to buy both vynil and CD if they give us infos about the goddamn release...

Awesome thread, thanks for this! Hitomi's always been the sort of singer who just effortlessly emanates the raw pain and passion in his heart when he sings, like you can feel the melancholia he felt when he was writing his songs. That, and he's always worked with the exactly the right musicians to complement his lyrics and style. He has that perfect mixture of heart and technical skill. Speaking of technical skill, Sizna has to be my favourite musician in terms of that. Moran honestly had something no-one else had and I don't know if anyone's gonna be able to capture that lightning in a bottle again.

A really great description of Moran's sound! I appreciate the early sounds of Moran, but this is one of my favorite eras from them. They produced some great and memorable tracks. I'd have to agree that Sizna was a powerhouse with his guitar. Some of those notes and riffs he produced are amazing. Even though he's pretty much left the visual scene, I still have (perhaps fruitless) hope that he'll come back one day with his amazing guitar skills. (Not to mention it would be great for Moran to somehow make a comeback despite the circumstances as mentioned in the original post.) It reminds me of when I saw them live during their jen:ga tour, and they put on a fantastic show, presenting their talented skills as musicians. They never failed to be both entertaining and energetic all while bringing out their unique sound, which was perfectly described above. Hitomi's voice was also heavenly to hear in person. Reading this brings back some great memories, so thank you very much for the post! It was a great read.

Nice to see Kenbo back with Clack Inc.! Can't wait to hear their next release.

Gonna post some pics to show their look better: Takeru (vocals) Arma (guitar) +Yuu Avel (bass) Kenbo (drums)

I've just ended up a whole listen of a list with all the Moran PVs. Pleasant stuff, many sweet sounds picked my ear at moments, but definitely it is not something that goes beyond good generic stuff: good compositions, good musicians, but nothing far good from your average formulaic jazzy J-rock. Maybe my appreciation above came because, in the will of having a compressed listening/watching of a whole career in a matter of hours, I've ended up digging their A-sides only, let's say, their commercial-oriented stuff. So I'll try the B-sides you recommend here, to challenge the opinion I've made up till this point. In the other hand, this song from Hitomi's recent project caught strongly my attention from the first second, for sure: The synth and chorus work is REALLY beautiful. Reminds my of some 90s J-pop songs, like the one that made the opening of the Serial Experiments Lain series. Btw, Does anybody know why is there so little material from Umiyuri uploaded to the web? Edit: I've digging into Moran a bit more, and I've discovered actually beautiful and amazing songs! This is actually really complex for a pop-oriented A-side. And this is all about the musicianship composition wise I was looking for! Now I'm really looking forward more stuff from this talented guys!

Hi, I'm looking for someone that is currently in Osaka and would be willing to attend a show for me (obviously, I'm going to cover all the expenses involved + give you some extra for the trouble). I'd like something from one band's merch and there's no other way to get it. Suggestions of proxies that are based in Osaka and offer such services are welcome as well. Thanks!

I don't believe in any human notion of a god, but I'm open to the idea of a higher universal force. I was raised Christian and what I hated the most was being dragged to church. People getting exorcised isn't something kids should be exposed to tbh, so my relationship with religion is a bit weird. I love blasphemy and religious taboo stories even though it's scary, I suppose it's a thrill for me. I used to pray everyday in my early teens, when I realised I did it out of fear, I was freed. Worship out of fear of punishment just doesn't make sense, after all this God is supposed to be all loving. Another thing that makes no sense is a passage in the bible in which God says we shouldn't worship other idols because he is a jealous god. Is there anything more human and flawed than jealousy? Doesn't sound like an omnipotent, omniscient all powerful being to me. Not to mention how petty God is in the old testament, then someone just goes and changes the story like that into the new testament? So which is it? Lol no thanks. If people need religion to get them through the day, that's cool. But most use it to justify their prejudices. The teachings at heart are good, but humans of course, shit all over it. That's why churches are cesspools for some of the worst scum on Earth, its the easiest way to manipulate and use poor people who use faith to survive. See: Brazilian churches selling holy socks and holy brooms for hundreds of $, bullying those who can't offer their salary to the church. Still, I'm interested in religions and love learning about them. Some stories in the bible are actually quite entertaining.

jesus fucking khryst