8 posts tagged “お洒落系”

Date released: 15.4.2009.

Track list
1. 39GalaxyZ [PV]
2. VAMP VAMP VAMP
3. V.I.P GOBLINZ

Looks at the pink post-it placed above her head threateningly saying "I will not make fun out of bands in my reviews" and headdesks herself.

Though trying to compare SuG with anything coherent fails, you can consider them as a kind of cheap, colorful, E-colored, health check certificate-less candy which is anything but good for you yet you still consume it once in a while when your candy-rush goes over your healthy judgment capability.

Unfortunately 39GalaxyZ is (if even possible to believe) this insane Oshare kei's band worst output. 39GalaxyZ parades around with a clowny melody, squeaky electronics, really really bad singing (though that stopped surprising after a few singles) and guitars simply crying for help to get out of this rainbow colored LSD mash. I believe that even kindergarden kids (for whose level Takeru's singing/songwriting is) would find this song over the top.

VAMP VAMP VAMP tries to be all oriental and seducive, but it's melody evokes certain allusions on a certain kind of music I DESPISE so it's a minus from the start. The industrial touches and moody, distorted guitars would have worked really good if this was any other band than SuG. Just no. V.I.P GOBLINZ goes a bit faster, rougher, bringing more overall distortion noise a few background growlz, more of Takeru's squealing and some brainless headbanging/jumping. This probably works somewhat decent on a live performance, but here...

Unfortunately 39GalaxyZ doesn't have a upbeat, crazy, sugary yet somewhat enjoyable song that would make the endurance of the [insert pejorative adjective] songs be worth even a bit of your while. I can only imagine really tolerant listeners and DIEHARD fans listen to this single (questionably enjoying it).

Oh yeah and SuG's drummer Mitsuru will leave the band, which I think is a bit tragicomic because of all of the members, we know who deserves to be kicked out of the band first and banned to do music ever (and I'm not speaking of the drummer).

The very turbulent 2008 is coming to it's end and I think it's a good time to see which releases and bands marked the 2008. So sit back and hopefully enjoy my little summary of what I think is the best-of-the-best this year (with other stuff that for some certain reason marked the year) has delivered.

BEST SINGLE
1. the GazettE - LEECH
2. D'espairsRay - Kamikaze
3. -OZ- - Bulk
Best underground indie debut single of the year: Lucy - Discord

This year has delivered a mass of excellent singles from various bands (some bands releasing several excellent singles) that it was a really hard decision to decide which single had the balls, the oomph, the wow and awesomeness painted all over. I think LEECH was the single that really stood out this year because each track was pure dynamite, totally in-your-face, simply bombing you with energy! A Visual kei rock firestorm!

Among other great singles was D'espairsRay's bipolar Kamikaze with the best B-side that has ever emerged from this band: Scissors. Also -OZ- showed their fangs with the intense, aggressive and overall awesome metal-compound single Bulk. In the special category I have Lucy, a small and relatively new band with a big and broodingly dark single Discord (which can be also considered as the darkest single of the year).

BEST MINI-ALBUM
1. Rentrer en Soi - MEGIDDO
2. Dio ~Distraught Overlord~ - Heaven's Call
3. Deluhi - Surveillance
Most ear/eye piercing mini-album: SuG - I SCREAM PARTY/punkitsch

Rentrer en Soi closed their final chapter and became legends with the epic last mini-album MEGIDDO which makes both fans and non-fans get the chills before this great and brilliant masterpiece. Among the runner-ups was Dio with their first and amazing Heaven's Call that delivered a full-pack of metal spiced hard Visual kei songs in the outstanding Dio manner. Also the newcomer's DELUHI first release Surveillance was just an announcement of this band's intention to take over the Visual kei world with their version of strong power-metal fusions and technical perfection.

Oh and there is a band that caused a lot of brain/ear hemorrhages with both it's releases and mini-albums and that is SuG. If the color/kitsch overused album artwork wasn't enough of a warning to you, you'd be left off in a sugar coated mass of sticky, E-colored candy-punk mass. Do not listen unless you have an insulin syringe with you.
 

BEST ALBUM
1. Dir en grey - Uroboros
2. Kagrra, - Core
3. MUCC - Shion
Best album not reviewed : Sugar - Sweetest

What? You thought that the best album part wouldn't go without the legendary Dir en grey and their highly anticipated Uroboros, did you? When Dir en grey releases and album, you can be almost more that certain that is predestined to be the album that will mark the year and that will stand as a new level and measure in Visual kei. Though slightly dehumanized and a skillful showing-off nerve play, Uroboros is definitely an album which sets new borders, both in Visual kei as in the music world overall.

Following Uroboros we have the excellent album Core by the neo japanesque kings Kagrra having both their traditional oriental flavored songs as well as some new rock experiments that were successful. Also the most versatile album of the year Shion by MUCC came out as a pleasant surprise with a showcase of such a variety of songs, different in genres but united in a board, recognizable MUCC-style.

Ironically the only five star album this year wasn't reviewed and that was Sugar's SWEETEST: a balanced out, unique, jazzy influenced rock piece with songs that take the breath aways both in style, refinement, expression, paired up with the incredible talent of each member, especially the astonishing voice of the singer LOKI and the guitar-hero skills of the guitarist SIZNA. If it was reviewed, Dir en grey would have been pushed in a one-on-one fight party to the top with Sugar.

BEST PV
1. the GazettE - LEECH
2. Dir en grey - Glass skin
3. alice nine. - Rainbows
Most sexy (fangirl-unfriendly) PV: SCREW - Gather roses

What makes an excellent PV? Well a lot of things. When your jaw literally detached from your skull, the complementary fusion of both the visual and auditory aspect, a unique concept, an artistic approach, a certain aesthetic and of course the omg, wow! aspect. And I think the PV for the song LEECH has it all and leaves everybody simply breathless with one of the most interesting, aesthetic and symbolic PV's around. Also their PV Guren was pretty damn great, but we have to leave the places for other bands right?

Glass Skin by Dir en grey wass a soothing, transient and floating monochrome PV that just seems to take you into a different world, where time stands still. A very pretty and interesting PV. The PV with the fun-factor was definitely Rainbows by alice nine. with all of it's flashiness and energy, fitting for such a loud and energetic song.

And one of the most entertaining and hot PV's around was Gather Roses by SCREW which have almost literally screwed the chicks in the PV. I have never seen so many sex-allusion and subtle sex scenes in any Visual kei PV as in this one. Sex, boob-grabbing, masturbation, lap-dancing as well as cxxk-suxxxing, all is presenting a very subtle and TV friendly way, but enough to drive rabid fangirls wild. SCREW you are my personal heroes because of this.

BEST NEW BAND
1. DELUHI
2. Lucy
3. Vistlip
Label with the most failing new bands: UNDERCODE
You've got to admit that no one has expected such a great band to emerge this year and to have so many excellent releases it's almost not natural. Well DELUHI have proven us wrong, thanks to their unique power-metal flaired songs and uprising lyrics. Though present with only one yet very valuable release, Lucy also gave us hopes for the dark Visual kei with their single Discord. Vistlip had the excellent debut release and a few weaker others but it was still a band that is better than the other new rest. 

Oh and a label who hasn't really contributed to the Visual kei scene was UNDERCODE with their heavy mediocre-to-bad oldschool Visual kei bands that all sound the same. But like Kisaki cares, as long as he is making money.

BEST BAND
1. the GazettE
2. D'espairsRay
3. Sugar
Greatest sound change: 12012
Man, deciding on which band deserves to get the prestige title best band was really, really heavy and I had to think very good about it to make a good decision. After some thinking I have decided that the GazettE deserves the Best band title. Why? Because not only have they released (only) two excellent singles (and as such repented for the last years Stacked Rubbish), but the band also had a full scale of various live performances that peaked in performances such as the two-day final in Yoyogi, the midsummer Gazerock Festival and the secret live in Shinjuku that was halted after two songs because the police had to stop (due to 7000 people coming, instead of laughably 250).

Among the other bands that marked this year were also the veterans from D'espairsRay that released three excellent singles and toured a lot, as well as announced a new album for the 2009. It's great to see them active, though not so dark as they used to be. And not to forget a band I discovered this year and that turned into one of my favorites: Sugar! You just have to have wrong ears if you can't get into their elegant and refined jazzy-rock tunes that sound incredibly sophisticated and good.

The band that has experienced the most greatest sound change this year (unfortunately on the worse) was 12012 that went from dark hard-rock to carefree sugary pop-rock, becoming more and more ligther with every single. Such a sad waste of talent and reputation unfortunately.

BEST SONG
1. the GazettE -虚無の終わり、箱詰めの黙示 (Kyomu no owari, hakodzume no mokushi)
2. Deluhi - Vivid place
3. D'espairsRay - Scissors
Auditory Nirvana: Dir en grey - 蜷局 (Toguro)

And what has certainly made this year special was the amount of excellent songs from which some took the breath away, while others provided nirvana and chatarsis. Therefore, it was very hard to decide which songs were exceptional. The best song of the year , for me, was the GazettE's Kyomu no owari, hakodzume no mokushi, an apocalyptic piece with a mesmerizing mood, soaring, intense chorus and a aloof, yet present feel, accepting the end of the world with no regrets.

While Kyomu was quite pessimistic, the wast and positive song Vivid Place by Deluhi was an undeniable proof of their brilliance and ability to make songs that literally shine! While I was pretty displeased with the positive-less-dark style D'espairsRay has had on the song KAMIKAZE I was literally blown away by the sharpness and tension of Scissors. If anything else Tsukasa should write more D'espairsRay songs!

And reaching a mantric nirvana through music was never so near and so vivid as in Toguro by Dir en grey, a vunerable and calm song on their overall slightly dehumanized album. A wonderful, mesmerizing song with floating riffs and a lot of chanting.

And that would be it for my Best of 2008. I hope you liked it. You might have agreed on some spots with me, on some not, oh well everybody has got their own taste and favorites. So now I'm wondering what are your best of the best in this year! Which songs, releases and artists marked this year for you?

I hope the next year will be either as good as this one or preferably better!

Date released: 3.12.2008.

Track list
1. UMBILICAL [PV]
2. 宴ぴーぽぉ (Utage Piipoo)
3. Dress up with darkness [Red edition]
4. 晴天 (Seiten) [Blue edition]

Toriko Roll Collar is a new single by my all-time favorite band-to-bash-in-reviews SuG! And I was surprised to see them release another release this year because they surely have caused me indescribable headaches with their album noiz star and mini-album Punkitsch driving me on the verge to smack my head against a wall. But you know there is a catch when it comes to this band and it is that the songs are mostly such unbelieveable trash that in the end you end up liking them... in certain occassions of course.

The point with Toriko Roll Collar single is... that it isn't so trashy... my god. It's still nowhere near something you'd listen everyday and something that you'd consider as a cultural uprising. I think this band reached their momentary trash climax with Punkitsch that's for sure.
So we get UMBILICAL (dear Lord what is that for a title, simply gross) which is kind of a gentle pace song like Shikisai and RomantiC, but with more intensity and more energetic instrumental basis. And I kinda like the intense and nice ending, you rarely see such uprising intensity in a ballad at the end, (my god has my trash tolerance risen?).

Utage Piipoo is simply strange and for me slightly intimidating with this merry-go-round carnival melody before engaging in a full pack of inchorenet, jumpy verses and overly irritating chorus thanks to, oh shit, no one other than Mr. I-can-fuck-up-any-possible-song Takeru and his squealy voice.

But then we get Dress up with darkness which would have been a KILLER song, a KILLER if it was performed by any band other than SuG (ok maybe even SuG but with a waaaaaay better vocalist). The riffs are driving, dark but not in a sinister kind of obscure way, but powerful and expressive. The verses are good, the chorus not so much (because of the F-tard Takeru) and I love the dark middle growly part, it's like better than Ayabie's wild stuff. In short, I really like this song but I don't have to repeat for the n-th time what's holding this song from perfection.

Seiten hits back to the old SuK self with an aloof chorus, naggy kind of singing (oh wait there is this short solo part that I like and the basslines are pretty neat) and a recycled melody, but it's short enough not to be torturing annoying.

Overall Toriko Roll Collar (I'm not even sure if that's the real name of the single, but like who cares) ISN'T as annoying as this year's SuG releases were, but it's still well, not good. And it's really sad to see a band whose musicians can actually pull off decent riffs/basslines (please buy the drummer a new drumset because this one sounds bland) and whose songs might have been excellent IF IT WASN'T FOR THE SINGER TAKERU AND HIS HORRID VOICE WHICH CAN FUCK UP ANY SONG IMAGINABLE!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SUG FIRE TAKERU!

Date released: 29.10.2008.

Track list
1. MY ♥ LEAPS FOR “C” [PV]
2. 可愛湯's ЯocК (Kawaitou's RocK)
3. ZETSUBOU
4. NYAPPY in the world 4 ~般ニャ化教のテーマ~ (NYAPPY in the world 4 ~HanNYA kakyou no teema~)

Koakuma USAGI no koibun to machine gun (The machine gun and love letter of the little devil bunny) is the first mini album by An Cafe after the band member change.

You could basically call MY ♥ LEAPS FOR “C” Ryuusei Rocket 2 because it's one and the same song with minor changes. The verses are almost the same, tension building ones and the chorus is just as explosive as the one in Ryuusei Rocket. So it's another Oshare kei, synth injected power rock song, without the will to be different whatsoever.

Kawaitou's Rock (please forgive any mistakes in my romanization, I wasn't so sure about the song titles this time) has got a thick bass line growling like an earthquake and subtile guitar riffs giving still enough energy for this semi-mosher.
Whereabout ZETSUBOU (Despair) is your typical power swing Visual indie kinda of song with ska guitar rhythms, Yuuki's stylish piano play and an overall cheeky feel. As if you've just dropped by in a mafia bar.

And I must say that all post-Bou NYAPPY in the worlds have been dropping in quality, but the 4th part is simply gah. And the beserk metal/techno fusion wouldn't be half so bad if it wasn't for the horrid high pitched chimpmunk like chorus that is the trash of all trashyness that An Cafe has. Gah, talking about a fun song being spoiled!

After their blast of freshness with the member change, An Cafe have slowly slipped in the period of repetition with Koakuma Usagi delivering most of the songs sounding like some of their other tunes. Basically there's nothing new here on this mini album, but it certainly is enough to satisfy An Cafe fans and those alike.

Date released: 1.10.2008.

Track list
1. サヨナラセツナ　
2. So high　
3. imitation

Sayonara Setsuna is the third single by the very talented pop-rock oriented Oshare kei band THE KIDDIE and honestly I must admit that this band is growing on me with every single they release. Their style is simple: catchy and positive melodies combined with an adorable and interesting pop-rock performance and slightly sprinkled with some Oshare kei fanciness. But what sets this band from other Oshare kei bands apart is that their songs are more focused on their instruments and on  a positive vibe rather than being somewhere in between trashiness and overdone-ness like your generic Oshare kei tune.

Sayonara setsuna reminds on their previous single Plastic art and it's title song: feather light and with a very charming chorus that is like a white cloud on a perfect blue sky. Refreshing and instantly making your mood better. So high is the standard Oshare kei jump-around fun tune like An Cafe's Merry Making, upbeat, fun and charming though nothing special in particular. So high singing is definitely going to stay in your head along with the pretty good rock'n'roll passages. As for the end we come to imitation, my personal favorite on this single especially because of the stunning guitar riffs and it's cool attitude. Somehow there is something familiar in this song, something old-school in it, a certain sound that wasd around a few years ago and then vanished. Anyway imitation is cool either for chilling or just rocking around.

So yeah, with everything THE KIDDIE is my favorite Oshare kei band and with every single they manage to bring good mood and show more and more of their undisputable talent. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Have a bad day? Play THE KIDDIE and you'll feel better instantly. Sayonara Setsuna isn't necessarily better than Plastic art but it certainly is somewhere on it's level.

Date released: 3.9.2008.

Track list
1. butterfly BoY
2. 輪廻せんちめんたるギャング (Rinne sentimental gang)
3. HYSTERiC HONEY
4. The last slim bullet
5. 餓鬼☆戦争~デスペラードは突然に~ (Gaki sensou ~Desperado wa totsuzen ni~)

Hehe did your brain had enough time to recover from the damage caused by Noiz Star, SuG's first album? Are you ready for some more that will be caused by their second mini-album Punkitsch?

The title Punkitsch pretty much accurately displays the content that lies beneath the very flashy and in a way disturbing CD cover. Combine punk with kitsch (German for flashy, basically cheap things with no artistic value). Or maybe they wanted it to sound like the Croatian word Pankić which is the pejorative version of the word punk (as a person). Any way, SuG continue their Candy-punk cataclysm with this H-bomb.

butterfly BoY actually has a pretty good combination of funk, nu-metal and oshare kei flashness wrapped with a catchy chorus wrapper. Nice for getting your sugar rushed oshare kicks without damaging your brain. But still though nicely packed butterfly BoY is simply bland. From what there is to like of these songs I somehow digged Rinne sentimental gang and Gaki sensou the most; basically because I like twisted riffs, background, rough group shouts and growls of any kind (though rather failing here, but still well...decent?). Gaki sensou (future loop song) gets points for being one of the most incredibly dumb songs I've heard recently, but I have a good sense for humor... so I'll consider it as a joke (or as a warning not to take drugs).

Then you have HYSTERiC HONEY which is no where near hysteric and the Last slim bullet which is a bad version of Ayabie's Hanageshi (though with nice riffs). Anyway you'll forget this songs before you reach the end of this sentence so...

I'm glad I'm not the only person around here who wishes to mobilize UN forces to lock up Takeru and ban him from singing FOREVER! He'll surely ruin any potentially good SuG song.... What else to say... SuG's Punkitsch is the best possible anti-drug and anti-oshare ad there is. 100% efficiancy guaranteed.

Date released: 14.5.2008.

Track list
1. chocoholic nOiZ
2. b.r.k
3. 虚空 (Kokuu)
4. Vi-Vi-Vi [PV]
5. ヤミツキディレイ (Yamitsuki delay)
6. 四季彩 (Shiki sai)
7. RomantiC
8. 生欲HoLiC (Seiyoku HoLiC)
9. CRIMSON SODA
10. うえすとふぁいとすと～り～ (West fight story)
11. pikaLIFE

Dear Masato (gt.), Yuji (gt.), Chiyu (bs.) and Mitsuru (dr.). Hi I'm Asari and I liked your first two singles. They were really cool (^▽^)b! Hey I was wondering if you could take a pillow and suffocate your vocalist Takeru? You know like put it on his face while he is sleeping and press it until he stops twitching? That be really great! ありがとう Love you!だいす～ぅき！ V(≧▽≦)o

Citing myself

They might just end up to be the next J-rock highlight.

(...) this talented new band SuG ...

(...) great singing...

(...) shows great potential this band has.

What the fuck was I thinking? I definitely taking this back. I am really an idiot to listen to this album after their horrible I SCREAM PARTY mini-album that literally caused me headaches with it's chaotic, loud, irritating candy punk songs. But to hell I thought. Scheat and Alterna. were decent so maybe similar songs will be on the album I thought. But a Oshare kei band gone bad, always stays a Oshare kei band gone bad. They don't redeem themselves nor improve. On the contrary they get worser!

The album opens with the techno-like intro chocoholic nOiZ which actually sounds decent compared to the rest of the songs on the album (Maybe it's because Takeru DOESN'T sing?). As you can see from the song titles most of them are like addiction inspired titles thus giving another proof of my theory that this band's singer Takeru is a freaking LSD and speed junkie. The album continues with b.r.k which has got fun riffs, but horrid singing/rapping. Takeru's bunny voice makes my ears bleed every time I listen to them. b.r.k isn't bad as a song, but I think only Takeru has got the power to screw every song existing. Now that is a skill.

Kokuu has got deep, distorted riffs and sound's even a bit dark. This song is interesting primary because of the schizophrenic switches between dark singing and happy squealing. I like dark Takeru better. I hope this side of his split personality will really prevail. And I nearly choked when I saw that the obscure titled Vi-Vi-Vi has got a PV! Vi-Vi-Vi is like the fucking peak of Takeru's squealing abilities and the refrain will make your ears beg for mercy. I wouldn't play this song not even to my most notorious enemy, such is the cruelty of it.

Yamitsuki delay somehow tries to fix the damage done by Vi-Vi-Vi with pretty much good bass lines and ,for the first time on this album, decent chorus. The song has got some futuristic-like playful feel and well, Takeru's voice isn't so placed in the front. That still doesn't make his voice suck less. Shiki sai represents a somehow relaxing point on the album with reminiscing riffs. This song would sound voiceless almost perfect and relaxing. RomantiC then again just proves that the second half of the album is actually better than the first one in a way that it is tolerable. RomantiC has got this gentle, fleeting melody and probably the best singing on the entire album: gentle, quiet and floating.

Seiyoku HoLiC is the kind of serious and dramatic song every album should have (at least every Koteosa album) with roaring riffs and strong chorus. Then again you could only imagine how great this song would sound with a more maturer vocalist (though Takeru doesn't fail so much here on the chorus, he was probably sober). CRIMSON SODA (WTF?) is the band-be-growling aggressive piece that bands play in other for their spectators to break each other's bones. CRIMSON SODA is harsher and I like it harsher especially because it shows how the band consists of solid musicians stuck up with a retard singer. West Fight Story begins with this playful, funny instrumental part before turning into the merry-go-round happy song like An Cafe's Merrymaking, the one Oshare kei fans love the most. Takeru's singing really sounds like he is mocking the listener (Haha, this is what you get when you listen to us). And closing the album is another fast, bye-bye song type pikaLIFE I personally despise, but bands keep making them, just to put the cherry on top of their releases.

I am a tolerant person (I mean I have listened to this album IN WHOLE for like four times and am probably going to listen to it once again for the sake of my other reviews site) and I don't like flaming bands and releases, but fuck, this album is bad. It has got like 2-3 songs that sound decent, but most of them are just shallow, hyperactive, candy punk songs that'll just give you headaches. As I said on I SCREAM PARTY the greatest problem of this band is their damn vocalist Takeru which sounded pretty good on their first two singles but then suddenly turned bad. His bunny-voice is irritating and he can't be serious not even for a moment. God damn. With an other vocalist they'd sound at least decent, because the rest of the band can actually PLAY music.

Really, I mean really do you want to spend 42 minutes of your life on this? The most of this album is hardly tolerable. Unless you really, really like SuG.

Damn I hate bad releases. They often piss me out so much that I write bad reviews. But I have learned a few things from this:

1. Immature bands never redeem for their sucky releases
2. Don't trust an illiterate band that uses Z instead of S
3. Reviewing music means reviewing both good and bad releases
4. SuG should fire Takeru
   

In short. SuG you SuK!

I've decided to share my latest drawings with you all (^-^). I've made two really good J-rock fanart drawings and I hope you will like them.

1. Bou (ex- An Cafe)
My best friend had birthday and her favorite band is An cafe and her favorite member is (okey, ex-member) the guitarist Bou. So I decided to draw him for her birthday. I had a picture of him on some J-rock magazine and he was dressed like this and I thought that he looks pretty cool. The drawing came out really fine.