AlienX

Initial impressions are positive, but I wish Hazuki stopped with the cringey-mopey Engrish stuff. A Fool is pretty much ruined by his repetitive emoing in the beginning.

I think one just naturally tends to broaden his horizons and over time, many things you listened to do seem vapid. I think I had two big phases before: trance and visual kei. Now there are only a select bands I might like from both genres. When I used to think that trance was so ephemeral, deep and magical, all I see now are tired cliches and copy-paste beats. Looking at visual kei, it is mostly the same thing: shitty vocalists, lame songs and while previously appealing, now ridiculous costumes. Also, once you realize that the concept of "indie" in vk is a joke and the industry just shits out high-school dropouts in glittering garments, packaged to whatever theme that seems cool. Now, these things happen in most popular, marketable segments of music. However, these days I'd rather listen even to a "mainstream" artist. At least if this particular artist is held by corporate tentacles, I can still spot even a little bit of sincerity on their part. There is a reason why most former VK artists drop the image and clothes, because even they are embarrassed of it. Mind you, visual kei can be enjoyable, but if one still keeps listening solely to that past their teens, then I feel sorry for you. Because you clearly have no taste in music whatsoever.

I'm not the type who would dismiss an artist entirely on the attitude of its fanbase, but on average it's safe to say the fanbase is often an indicator of the quality of the band itself. Shit attracts shit, after all.

I am pretty sure the Minneapolis set-list was basically the same as the one you wrote. It was my first time seeing them and I loved it. There was less fangirl trash than I thought there would be, and surprisingly enough there was a variety of people (not just "immasoedgy" teens but also a lot of adults, even 40+ women, lol). Rinkaku was probably my favourite track. It was simply sublime in live.

Well, they have been through so many line-up changes at this point. I think only the vocalist has remained the same. Their first EP still remains the best.

1. lynch. 2. heidi 3. Dir en Grey Not much, yeah.

I'll keep it to 5 to be more concise. 1. FACT 2. 9mm Parabellum Bullet 3. Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas 4. Dazzle Vision 5. Crossfaith

I did a bit when I was 16, but it was just a phase. I don't have a problem with silly teenagers having fun, but in my opinion cosplaying vk after the tumultous teenage years comes off really embarrassing. Donning a few fashionable clothes, like a sleeveless hoodie from SEX POT is okay though. I might've misinterpreted your original post though. Are you talking about people who cosplay only for specific events or those who walk around the city like Kyo from OBSCURE?

I generally don't have a problem with artists' personality. Most vk artists (or most of Japanese/Korean music scene where it's more about the labels than the actual artists) are devoid of any authentic personality because they are supposed to play a fantasy role to hungry fangirls/boys anyway. There's quite a few times where I'm relatively OK with a particular artists' output, but completely appalled by the bands' aesthetics. Fortunately, most of the time I can pretty much tell from the sound how ridiculously bad the artist dresses, so shitty looks go hand in hand with the awful music (gazette become tolerable around the time they toned down their visuals. maybe not the best example though). Still, the times where this is not the case, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that keeps coming back every time I listen to the music. I think a fine example is para:noir. I sort of dig their stuff (at worst, they're cheesy fun), but they just look so bad. Mind you, I'm not talking about how handsome the members are, but when the when the whole band looks like a fashion experiment gone horribly wrong.

I disagree with quite a few people here. For example, when it comes to gazette, I find them mildly entertaining at this point when the old material just leaves me in utter disgust. Alice Nine has certainly improved over the years and much more polished. Yeah, there's a few classic hits like Shunkashuutou in their old material, but generally their new stuff blows old music out of the water (I haven't kept up with anything post-9 though). Also, 9mm Parabellum Bullet has always remained solid to me. Discommunication probably has it best when it comes to immediately memorable and catchy songs, but The Revolutionary is still their greatest achievement and Movement was pleasant as well. Besides, the new album sounds interesting from the snippets I've heard. But when it comes to bands dropping the ball over time, there's nothing quite like girugamesh. I don't really have a beef with their choice to go for a poppier sound, but it just such a shabby effort on their part. While I am (was) a big fan of them, I realize that as songwriters they are pretty bland. Most of their former sound was carried by Satoshi's vocals (at least to me, they've always stood above the typical pretentious vk vocals) and the youthful energy they displayed. They have definitely improved as individual musicians , but the energy has been lost and the new material is weak even by poppy J-rock standards (I'd take UVERworld over GO any day). To me, the downhill started with the release of COLOR, with NOW being a pretty good record (except for one particular HUGE stinker). According to Satoshi, they went for a more light-hearted sound because they wanted to perform encouraging and happier tunes to their fans. I don't see it as a problem. I mean, at some point, unless you're completely absorbed in some nihilism, you simply grow out of all the angsty songs. I just wish they wrote better songs now that they've gone poppy. I don't need them to write hardcore (lol) songs if they're personally not feeling it. Other than girugamesh, there's not really another Japanese band that has been on a steady road of decline for me. I am, however, quite displeased with the sound of a Thai band called No More Tear. While their lyrical content has always been sappy romance, their new stuff is excruciatingly bland. Yellow Light remains their only album worth listening in my eyes.

burundanga by FACT - Is it possible not to love FACT? Even though it came out in January, I've been blasting it the whole year. It's not as varied as their self-titled or as tight as In the Blink of the Eye, but in a way it's the most energetic release yet, not to mention the epic gang vocals that has become their definite trademark. Simply love it! Also, their lyrics have become better after recruiting the English guy to the band. I was really disappointed about the fact that by the time I had arrived to US, they're US tour had already ended. Maybe, maybe they will somehow end up in US again next year. A Flash Flood of Colour by Enter Shikari - Just like with FACT, I'm so in love with these guys that it wasn't surprising at all that this January release become instantly my favourite. It is their heaviest as well as softest album at the same time, from the hard-hitting Arguing with Thermometers and Gandhi Mate, Gandhi to terrifyingly beautiful Stalemate and Constellations. Not to mention the fact that this is probably the only artist who has influenced my view on the actual world a bit, and I respect them not only as musicians, but as people. Seriously, look these guys up. Not to mention they pretty much started the whole "posthardcore/metalcore (not really metalcore, but still) with synth" genre, while doing it better than most of the subsequent bandwagon jumpers and leaving (at least that particular synth sound) before it became the "so kewl" thing. So what genre of music do they play? Simple: Enter Shikari. INFERIORITY COMPLEX by lynch. - Not anything revolutionary and mostly a continuation of their last year's sound, but even as a quickie release it's tight and sweet. All That We Have Now by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - I've been following these guys since their early demo days and was super pumped for this album. It's surprisingly experimental and quite different from the more traditional dance-sound of their previous album, and probably features some of their heaviest sections ever. All in all, it's super-nuts, but that's Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas for you. I hope they're still active in two years so I can finally see them live. ZION by Crossfaith - I really like the direction they've taken and after the rather bland first album, they've improved noticeably and this little EP is nicely rounded compact version of their sound. They're probably the most Western-sounding metalcore act in Japan I know, but that isn't bad at all. Also, Leviathan is massive. I hope they come to US next year as they've been secretly hinting. 9 by Alice Nine - Doesn't come off as strong after the amazing GEMINI, but it's still a solid album by those guys. They're probably the only PSC artist I remotely like at this point, so yeah. Atlas by Parkway Drive - I haven't had the chance to listen to this as much, but sounds like a winner. They've continued to progress (mostly in terms of lyrics, abandoning the rather generic metalcore romance with more contemplative and even *gasp* environmental subject matter) and have become more metal and less core, which I think is a positive sign. Thumbs up! Also, I'm confident they'll tour US next year. That's pretty much it. However, most of the above-mentioned bands are my dear favourites, so quality-wise this year definitely did not disappoint. Actually I'm a bit sad knowing that 2013 probably won't be as exciting release-wise, but hopefully it means I'll have the chance to see them live. Yeah, visual kei is pretty much dead to me at this point.

So, I don't like Ultimate Circus at all, yet enjoy the World Ruler quite a bit. Which nightmare's album should I listen to next?

I love those guys! Self-titled is the best, but the last EP is pretty awesome.

Hi, I actually posted on here a week ago or something, but thought a proper introduction wouldn't be bad. So, my name is Priit, I live in a small North Eastern European country named Estonia, I am few months away from turning 18, go to Red Cross Nordic United World College, and love Japanese music. Phew.. I'm into all sort of genres (dark ambient, pop, rock, metal, traditional, orchestral), but my favourite Japanese rock/metal artists would be in no particular order a) girugamesh heidi. c) Dir en grey d) FACT e) Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas f) FEAR FROM THE HATE Lately I've been exploring more and more of Japanese rock and visual kei scene, since I used to lump most of the artists together as one generic mess. But now I've been exploring a bit deeper into the world and even if a lot of it sounds copycat-ish, there are gems to be found. Oh, and happy new year as well!

I didn't listen to a lot of the releases in 2010, but the ones that stood out the most are in no specific order: FACT - In The Blink of an Eye (album) Not as good as their self-titled, but mostly a solid release. I love those guys! Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - Dance & Scream (album) Maybe they went a bit overboard with the synth in this one (especially when you listen to the older songs that have gotten an enhancement), but with gems like Stray in Chaos it's hard to say no. FEAR FROM THE HATE - Cursed Screamers For All The Frozen Tears (EP) They're a lot like Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, but I prefer their colder electro, harsher screams and more delicious autotune. I can't wait for the new single they're supposed to release about right now! That's pretty much all.