Summer Is (Almost) Over

Dramas are drawing to an end. Concerts have begun. Rock bands are touring.

It isn't like I followed a lot of summer dramas this year anyway. 'Tobo Bengoshi' worked fine for me to eclipse the disappointment of 'Tsuki no Koibito' and the frustration I underwent no thanks to Celcom Broadband not letting me download 'Unubore Deka'. I'm looking forward to next season's 'Reinoryokusha Odagiri Kyoko no Uso' and maaaybe will try out 'Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo'.

Domoto Koichi's BPM concert tour will move to Hokkaido this weekend so I predict audio rips for Saturday and Sunday are going to be available on Monday. Workaholic Kochan has a really tight schedule this year with back-to-back stages: Shock > BPM > Kansai Super Show (Seven Samurai) > KinKi con > next year's Shock!

Eek! >_< Who designed Kochan's costume??

Besides KinKi-san, I'm also anticipating NEWS and T&T cons because they've been absent for too long :)

Chemical Pictures is at this very moment at their first one-man live (Congratulations!), NoGoD are moving about at an extremely crazy pace and D'espairsRay are having their US tour. MUCC, on the other hand, is gearing up for their new album release (6 October wheeee). Oh and we can also expect a new album by abingdon boys school if I understood Nishikawa's tweets correctly!

2010 had a slow start with a few hiccups here and there for me. But I like how it picked up rather momentously since August :D

And October onwards (especially November) is surely going to be even moar awesome. *winks*

Upcoming VK To Look Out For: Part 2

In this previous post, I didn't expect CPS' Tokarev and Beretta maxi singles to have 3 more siblings. And since I already purchased those two, should I get the other three? *gulp*

NoGod's Kakusei PV looks awesome and the single packs a double whammy (as expected). You DEFINITELY have to listen to them. Ignore their wacky image if you must because they are really a force to reckon with.



Additional upcomings:

1. Creature Creature [release date N/A]
   -- Wouldn't wanna miss this new album! Morrie kinda stuck on me after I began listening to DEAD END.
2. LUNA SEA Reboot [release date N/A]
   --No idea what the hell this is but who cares? It's LUNA SEA. They can never go wrong. Mwahaha.

January '10 VK Reviews

Phew. Made it right on time by nicking a few hours on 1st February! Yikes O_O TWELVE REVIEWS?! *shakes head*

Title: IN PHYSICAL *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: Ken (of L'Arc~en~Ciel) Verdict: 5 stars. I vote he should leave Laruku and continue as a solo artist then produce more bands. What an absolute kickass album. Unhampered by his band's emo-punk style, these self-produced songs are stylish and classy. One of the best releases from 2009 (and last decade). Go for: 'ETERNAL REST', 'IN PHYSICAL', 'SAVE ME' and practically everything in this album! xD

Title: Metamorphosis *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: DEAD END Verdict: 4.5 stars. Morrie is by far the most sturdy vocalist with hardly any break in prowess after what... almost 30 years? Here's some info on them just to prove my point. If you think veteran bands should stay away from making a comeback and further embarrass themselves like X Japan, spend some time to listen to this and be pleasantly amazed. It's bound to make you swear off all those teeth-gnashing new metal-slash-hiphop stuff that younger bands have been spewing -- if only for awhile. Because they totally bring back metal in Japanese rock. And it's been a few months for me to actually hear something worth repeating beside Ken's album thus I'm also awarding this with a Best of 2009 trophy. Go for: 'Guillotine', 'Shinen', 'Dress Burning', 'Kill Me Baby', 'Devil Sleep', 'Meigou'.

Title: 羅針盤 (Rashinban) Band: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD Verdict: 3.5 stars. Spunky and fresh. Yeah, a tad weird to describe it this way but their expert songwriting is really unique as opposed to other rising indie bands. After a year plus, I've familiarised with Danchou's high pitch as something he's good at *unplugs earbuds*. Handling ballads and metal riffs like nobody's business, these talented boys are progressing really fast and looks like they'll be debuting under a major label this year probably after March. So I'm looking forward to that. Go for: 'Ring-a Ring-o', 'Mr.HEAVEN', 'Hakoniwa'.

	Title: Gain Band: Sadie Verdict: 1.5 stars. Nothing spectacular from this new mini. I can't even think up something nice to say. Ick... Just listen to 'Regret' and skip the others. Go for: 'Regret'.

Title: Canticum Band: forbidden days of rhapsody Verdict: 3 stars. Mika has returned to the foray as the frontman, bassist and programmer of this electronica-metal project. And omaigawd he got fellow ex-Rentrer bandmate Shun to join him *dies happy*. Cough. Beautiful songs, by the way. Another plus point would be featuring vocalist, Rui, who suddenly came into everyone's radar with his powerful voice. The mixing is beyond exquisite and should be listened to using superior headphones because 2 weeks ago I put this on speaker and thought it sucked. Oops. Go for: 'REFILL' (inst), 'HANDCUFF', 'IN DELIRIUM' (inst).

	Title: 神羅万象 -摂理- (Shinrabansho -Setsuri-) Band: XodiacK Verdict: 1.5 stars. Guh. What happened to them? And what kind of production is this? Choppy songwriting and horrible quality -- It's as if they recorded in a garage all in one day. Go for: 'Kimi ni Furu Zetsubou no Ame'.

Title: JUBILEE -Method of Inheritance- *HOT* Band: Versailles Verdict: 4 stars. In memory of Jasmine You, I couldn't help sighing and remembering their first album which practically bled your ears with high speed guitar riffs. I'm not entirely fond of the gay Waltz-like strings in 'Reminisce' and tame 'Amorphous'. Granted this is their first major album so it's possible they turned down their intensity a notch somewhat? Nevertheless, this is a good album that benefits a HOT tag because they have their production down to pat. Excellent work! And pay attention to 'Serenade' for the underlying meaning. [Random note: Silly me, I only found out last month that Teru was from Aikaryuu. SLOW, Arfah!] Go for: 'PRINCESS -Revival of Church-', 'Serenade', 'gekkakou', 'Catharsis'.

Title: us. *HOT* Band: the Underneath Verdict: 4 stars. Another 2009 album I overlooked. A little bit of everything can be found here: some old-Laruku, some AliceNine, some Inoran, some Pierrot. And I LOVE it. To death. So now when I'm completely digging it, they announce that they're disbanding! What a shame. Technically, this is their last album but not their final goodbye since they'll release a maxi single in March. One more good band bites the dust. Go for: 'Chou no Koe -The scream of the butterfly-', 'Insomnia', 'Aria', 'Ghost in the Mirror'.

Title: ABINGDON ROAD *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: abingdon boys school Verdict: 5 stars. They deliver us the goods on a gold platter (again). Yet they still cheat us by releasing too many good singles. I counted only 5 new songs. Hey but nothing and nobody can deny the greatness of this album. No huge cult hit as of yet although I'm pitting my money on the severely angsty 'Siren' against the snazzy 'PINEAPPLE ARMY'. Check out the Valkyrie remix, man. Go for: 'PINEAPPLE ARMY', 'Siren', 'Kimi no Uta', 'From Dusk Til Dawn', 'STRENGTH.' and yeaaah anything and everything.

Title: LASTICA Band: Karasu Verdict: 2.5 stars. I kinda have an image of them riding Harleys while cruising down Vegas in all-black leather outfits. Well, they've got the clothes right. Yet the song lacks the punch in the gut feel I normally get from Tats. And the repeating melody is tiresome after 4-5 runs. Not betting anything on karasu for now although they are pretty compatible with each other. Go for: Obviously 'Lastica' because they only have 1 song.

	Title: Monad Band: Vidoll Verdict: 2 stars. Hm. Not really for me. *yawn* Decent, but definitely isn't what I thought I could expect. Vidoll is quite an old band so why are they making platonic half-fluff like DuelJewel? I think I'll just stick to fluff from SID or Ayabie. Go for: 'Darwinism', 'hot cage remix'.

Title: 彩-irodori- Band: Ayabie Verdict: 3 stars. Ooh. This new change gets an approving nod from me. They've shrugged off their bubblegum poprock musical style to a mature blend of their signature oshare-kei with something I can't quite put a finger on. 'GAME' is highly addictive! Go for: 'GAME', 'Aitakute', 'Canary'.

March VK Reviews

What's this rumour going around about a Luna Sea Asia concert in 2010?? USO! Hong Kong?! ARE YOU CRAZY? I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY SO SOON AFTER MY JAPAN TRIP! WHAT THE *tooooot*!!

Title: 球体 (Kyuutai) *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: MUCC Verdict: 5 stars. If I once said their previous album, 'Shion', was missing some fine tuning then they’ve got it perfected here. SAIKO! After creating a definitive new sound through 'Ageha', there's an awesome improvement to their composition. This album is loaded with their lovely trademarks: soaring vocals, vivid choruses and deep lyrics. The songs are less showy and experimental but the ballads... Wow. 'sanbika' is one of the most classy I've ever heard from MUCC. I've always loved how they can easily express their music into a somewhat feast of visually pleasing stimulation: rise and fall of waves, birds flying over mountaintops, raindrops pattering down a window, freefalling from a cliff. You could almost imagine a PV for every song. Although I had a bad impression of 'Sora to Ito', I'm completely digging Tatsurou's synthesized voice. At least, it doesn't grate on my nerves anymore. Obviously because they chose not to overdo the techno-jangle in the whole album (that's some wise advise for girugamesh). Go for: 'Ageha', 'Oz', 'Hide and Seek', 'sanbika', 'Sora to Ito', 'hanabi'. Oh well. All the songs, then.

Title: REDEEMER Band: D'espairsRay Verdict: 3.5 stars. It's great that they've finally made their way back to home ground, been missing their edgier and oppressive side. But sorry to say, after the first 3 songs I find myself spacing throughout the rest of the album. I don't listen to them for their preppy and dandy slow numbers so this one's a bit hard to fathom although you do get some nice boost from 'REDEEMER' (which has a cool PV, btw). I hope they won't burn out too soon. Go for: 'REDEEMER', 'Lizard'.

Title: 極彩色 (Gokusaishiki) Band: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD Verdict: 2 stars. Oh-kay. I can't stand the high-pitched wailing but let's give credit to the unmistakable talents of these guys, right? I tried to like this album. But fail. So they make great singles that are throwbacks to the 90's, we all know that. Yet 'Gokusaishiki' just doesn't blend in well because the songs sound so repetitive and bland. Frankly, there's not any standout new songs except for 'Kanaria'. I hope they learn from this mistake. Go for: 'dou', 'Kanaria'.

Title: MAR MAROON Band: 12012 Verdict: 3 stars. I keep reminding myself that 12012 is no longer the old heavy-ish 12012. And how do you even pronounce their name? Forget the expectations, people. What you have now is the kind of sappy music Alice Nine does. Entirely listenable, but… Sigh. Go for: 'As', 'Psycho Virus', 'Aitai Kara'.

Title: MASTER OF ROMANCE Band: Sadie Verdict: 4 stars. Never paid them any attention before, maybe because I've listened to them but I don't remember or I didn't wanna remember. Either way, 'Master of Romance' is good stuff. It has a balanced pace between the slow and fast tracks which never goes too heavy or too boring at any part. What I love most about this album is that it doesn't scream of mainstream pop, definitely deserves more stars for their effort. Go for: 'Ice Romancer', 'Ageha no Nakigara', 'Kagerou', 'Swallow Rain'.

+ Bonus review:

Title: silk tree. *HOT* Band: kei. Verdict: 4.5 stars. I like the simplicity - bare of all unneeded complexities. The soft singsongy melodies are a somewhat fantasy laden getaway. It's an album you can listen to to de-stress after a day at work. The Jpop-ish appeal will sadly differ for everyone, so judge it yourself. Go for: 'vesperbell.', 'pitiful emotional picture.', 'end of Sunday/black hircine.'.

Title: DISTRESS AND COMA Band: the GazettE Verdict: 3.5 stars. I've wondered for a long time where their latest direction will be, hoping they'd get off their lazy asses and come up with something as riveting as 'Filth' or 'NIL'. My griping might come to an end but not in the form of the title track tho. No, no, not the flaccid 'Distress and Coma'. Say hello to 'Headache Man', the b-side that reminds us so much of the old Slipknot-esque Gazette. Now this is what we've all been waiting for! However, I reserve further judgement until the full single is out in a few more days. Until then~ Go for: 'Headache Man'.

March VK Heavyweights

New albums from good bands cropping up so suddenly after 2 months of nothingness from downloadable VK Land.

If only the speed can move above 35kbps. Like, NOW. Aaaargh! *kicks P1 W1MAX for not having limitless data transfer limit, making us Malaysians suffer under TMNet*

Reviews should be in order (if I manage to get the rest):

1. MUCC - Kyuutai [Album 2009.03.04] because thank God, MU was good to me 2 days ago.


2. D'espairsRay - REDEEMER [Album 2009.03.11] 45% more *crosses fingers*


3. NoGoD - Gokusaishiki [Album 2009.02.25]


4. 12012 - mar maroon [Album 2009.03.11]


5. Sadie - MASTER OF ROMANCE [Album 2009.02.25]

November VK Reviews

Oops. I haven't listened to Wheesung's album yet. A certain album below totally made me forget.

Title: MUSIC Band: girugamesh Verdict: 3 stars. It was great on its first couple of runs. But heavy repeating mashes the metal-loveliness into a pile of same-nothings cos the usage of techno-jumble in almost all the friggin tracks is overshadowing the drums and riffs. My advice? Pick a few favourites and just stick to that. Go for: 'puzzle', 'ISHTAR', 'enishi'. Er yeah, basically the last 3 songs are the most worthy ones.

Title: モノクロのキス (Monokuro no Kiss) Band: SID Verdict: 3.5 stars. SID's pretty consistent with their brand of ballads. Tho I'm too much of an RES fan to be enamoured with this for too long. I like SID's heavier self compared to this 'going nowhere' kind of pace. Anyhow, I can still accept them for what they are. Go for: 'season'. a soft 'sway in the breeze' summer song to lift your mood.

Title: 逢いたいから.... (Aitai Kara…) Band: 12012 Verdict: 3.5 stars. EH? A ballad?! So I didn't guess correctly from the name. I didn't know they can do this genre. Surprise, surprise: It's nice! A little bit of GLAY that I cannot for the love of God remember any title to name of. Yuuwake? Be.. er, Be... Oh forget about it. All joking aside, they may be experimenting around considering how young they are. Go for: 'HERO'. Seriously. Why am I again reminded of GLAY??

Title: UROBOROS *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: Dir en grey Verdict: 5 stars. THIS is what I've been waiting for them to do. Not making shitty albums like 'Withering to Death' and 'Marrow of a Bone'. It's a new brand of desolate mellowness so diverse and righteous that you'd just fall down to your knees and weep. And please don't tell me 'Ware, Yami Tote' and 'Inconvenient Ideal' wasn't reminiscent of Luna Sea to you too. Go for: 'Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro', 'Toguro', 'GLASS SKIN' Japanese version, 'DOZING GREEN'.

+ Bonus review:

Title: 碧の大地-アヲノダイチ- (Ao no Daichi) *HOT* Band: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD Verdict: 4 stars. Finally, kohais that I would love to see making it big. Very late 80's influenced. They're really good on the heavies and the mellows. Go for: Haten daishishi and Kijin Fukanshou just for the sing-songy guitars.