Music Review: Kagrra, / うたかた (Utakata)

1. うたかた (Utakata) [listen] [watch]
2. 「叫び」 (Sakebi) [watch]
3. あの坂を登れば (Ano Saka wo Noboreba)

CDJapan (Limited A / Limited B / Normal) / YesAsia (Limited A / Limited B / Normal)

1. うたかた / Oh, wow. I will say this right now, this is Kagrra,'s best song ever. If I ever have to introduce a potential new fan to Kagrra, and am only allowed one song, Utakata will be the one I pick. I'm convinced that if this track alone can't move you, nothing else Kagrra, produces ever will, for Utakata is the penultimate representation of the band's neo japanesque repertoire. This stunning piece of work entrances and delights the ears and enraptures the heart. It touches that deepest part of my soul and makes me weep at the song's sheer beauty. Really, it's rare for a song to move me to tears like this. Maybe this is what paradise is like. Izumi had written in his diary entry a while ago that this song embodies the beauty, tradition, mystery, and exoticism of Japan from foreigners' eyes. Is Japan paradise? ♥♥♥

2. 「叫び」 / 3. あの坂を登れば / I feel bad lumping the rest of the tracks together. But after Utakata, I don't think I can enjoy any other song to the same degree for a while (I must be bewitched!). Everything else pales and seems unimportant in comparison. If I hadn't been exposed to Utakata, I would still have ranked these two tracks near, if not at the top of my all time favorites list. These are marvelous, solid works in their own right. They're classic Kagrra, songs characterized by pleasing melody, soothing vocals, and that touch of sparkle. Ano Saka wo Noboreba (track 3) is a lighthearted and delightful piece that brightens any day, while Sakebi (track 2) is heavier, rockier, but still upbeat and cheerful. Great, great songs, both of them. ♥

For the first time ever, I'm seriously considering buying all 3 versions of a single. Even if I end up paying almost $50 for only 3 songs and 2 PVs, this really seems worth it. Oh, beloved Kagrra,, look what you make me do.

Rating: Fantastic+

Need Utakata, NOW!

Aw, man! Kagrra,'s latest single, Utakata, is out at this point. I feel all antsy sitting here because I don't have it yet.

Why do I look forward to this particular single so much?

One. Kagrra,'s last release, the Chiaki no Tsuki single, was allllllll the way back in February of this year. The band hasn't produced any new songs for almost 11 freaking months!

Two. I'm convinced that this shall be my favorite Kagrra, single ever after listening to the previews at the official site. Somehow, that mere 30 seconds of Utakata had managed to crush me with emotions. The other 2 tracks are really good, too. I think I will seriously weep once I hear the full versions.

"Why are you crying?"

*sniffle* "I can't help it, this song is too beautiful it moved me to tears."

I'm glad that a full-length album will follow soon after this single release. The world needs more Kagrra,. Or at least, my world needs their music, lots and lots of it.

Bandscore: ガゼット (the GazettE) / REGRET / Filth in the beauty

I'm on a roll with magazines and Gazette today, aren't I?

A wonderful moderator of the gazette_daily LJ community posted up Gazette's REGRET and Filth in the beauty bandscores that were featured in the "glare" magazine. I'm reposting the scans here for any musicians out there who're interested (and don't have a LJ account or simply don't want to join a community).

REGRET bandscore zip: www.megaupload.com/?d=SEYIH07H

Filth in the beauty bandscore zip: www.megaupload.com/?d=QGVVGH2O

Enjoy. I might actually try out the vocals melody on my violin when I feel like it. It's pretty simple stuff. And if the megaupload links ever expire, please don't ask me to reupload the files because by then, they most likely won't be on my computer anymore.

And by the way, the Gazette photos featured in this magazine are awesome in that they also include beautiful closeups of the band's instruments (I spent a long time staring at Aoi's ESP Proto-type model). Definitely go take a look.

Misspellings and Another Money Grubbing Scheme

My copy of SHOXX bis vol. 11 arrived today. As I flipped through the pages, one thing, one glaring thing, jumped out at me.

God damn it, the word "interview" is misspelled on the heading of every single Gazette member interview page.

The "inrterview" heading is large and extremely conspicuous. I can't believe it's spelled wrong 5 times (one for every member). The funny thing is: in the subheading, the spelling is actually correct. Guess no one at SHOXX noticed the difference.

As I gazed at the 3 double-sided posters that came with the magazine (one Gazette member on one side of a poster, plus a group shot), I realized one thing: this "generous" inclusion of 3 posters is actually another marketing scheme to cheat more money out of fans. You see, if you buy only one copy of the magazine, there's no way to hang the posters so that all 5 Gazette members are shown. I'm peeved that Aoi and Uruha are on the front and back of the same poster, so I had to choose between either displaying Aoi or Uruha on my wall (Aoi won, since he's my favorite of the 2 guitarists). The only solution to this type of dilemma is to buy 2 copies of the magazine. And there lies the genius.

This just confirms that yes, the visual kei industry is a pack of manipulative, money sucking jackals.

PV Review: Dir en grey / Agitated Screams of Maggots

I fucking hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate! THIS! P! V!!!!

If you thought the single's CD cover was bad, this PV is many times worse. It was like some alien horror movie and just as disgustingly appalling. Two maggot denizens of a dead fish breed like the abominable maggots they are and take over a family. It's got plenty of gore, exploding flesh, and Kyo's screams don't help matters a bit. Oh yes, did you know a line of the lyrics says, "I'll rape your daughter on your grave"?

I'm not even going to embed the YouTube video here. This PV should be stamped out and buried in the deepest recess of earth and never see daylight again. I don't even give a damn about the symbolism contained. This PV is sick, sick, SICK!

Though I do applaud this PV for evoking such a violently repulsed response in me. If this had been Dir en grey's intention, it worked, congrats.

Rating: Awful--

News: Kagrra, / Untitled New Album [2007.02.14]

Kagrra, will release their 3rd major album on Valentine's Day next year.

Artist: Kagrra,
Release: untitled new album
Label: PS Company / Columbia Music Entertainment
Date: 2007.02.14

Limited Edition
CD + DVD
Catalog Number: COZA-249～250
Price: 3,800 yen (tax in)

Normal Edition
CD
Catalog Number: COCP-34117
Price: 3,150 yen (tax in)

Supposedly, the album will only have 9 tracks. Kagrra,'s previous album releases contained 10 to 12 tracks. 9 tracks is almost a mini-album, not a full-length album. I really hope they add more tracks since the details haven't been finalized yet.

News credit to the Kagrra, LJ community.

Gazette on HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ

November 13 came and went. The footage of Gazette on HEY!x3 finally surfaced.

There must have been some Gazette fangirls in the audience. Uruha definitely got the loudest cheer when he introduced himself. Damn him for being so pretty and getting all the fangirls' attention.

Hamada Masatoshi (the host with the checkered shirt) kept on messing with Reita. When asking the individual band members questions, he skipped Reita twice. To everyone's amusement, Reita jumped out of his seat to get Hamada's attention every time.

Uruha: "Blah, blah, blah."

Hamada: "All right, moving on..."

Reita jumps up and pokes Hamada.

*laughter in the studio*

Reita actually looked a bit upset when he got skipped over. Poor thing. :D

Unrelated: RURUTIA's Chorion album is so beautiful. Get it!

News: ガゼット (the GazettE) / Hyena [2007.02.07]

Gazette will delight us with another single release early next year. What surprises will they have in store for us?

Artist: ガゼット (Gazette)
Release: Hyena
Label: PS Company
Date: 2007.02.07

Optical Impression
2 tracks + DVD
1.Hyena
2.千鶴
Catalog Number: KICM-91192
Price: 1,680 yen (tax in)

Auditory Impression
3 tracks
1.Hyena
2.千鶴
3.Defective Tragedy
Catalog Number: KICM-1192
Price: 1,260 yen (tax in)

Look forward to it!

Die's Guitar Pick

My latest Dir en grey acquisition is a necklace made from an ESP Die guitar pick.

I love Die's pick design. It's so uniquely oriental and the color matches half of my wardrobe. This necklace is now one of my favorite piece of jewelry/music memorabilia. :D

/end of an extremely girly post (I'm so pleased by how well the necklace matches my outfits that I can't resist)

News: purple SKY on MUCC DVD & Otakon 2006 Footages

purple SKY Appears in MUCC's New DVD Footage

Who is that awkward, dashing, Japanese speaking lad with dark hair interviewing MUCC on the Bonus DVD that comes with the limited edition of their new single HORIZONT?

Why it's purple SKY magazine's very own boo. Yes, that's me dredging a print-worthy answer from a still groggy Miya. [...]

from purple SKY Livejournal

Hey, MUCC actually put footage of the purple SKY interview on the DVD of their single release. This is really nice advertising for purple SKY. Think the magazine will get a sales/subscription boost from this?

While searching for Youtube footage of this portion of the DVD (unfortunately, nothing came up), I stumbled upon the trailer for the upcoming Otakon 2006 documentary, presented by Tainted Reality.

Oh, and also a YOSHIKI interview from the same event.

Oh YOSHIKI, your shirt makes you blend right into the background wall. And I wish you'd take off your shades. Everyone at the convention knows who you are, shades or no. I just don't buy into the whole "rock stars must wear shades to maintain an air of mystery and coolness" deal. Despite his "Japanese Rock Legend/God" status, YOSHIKI seriously doesn't project that rock star persona here anyway. He really does seem like the "aww, shucks" type of guy in the video (to borrow from purple SKY's description of him).

I had such a bad urge to throw something at the screen because he said "I don't know", shrugged, and played with his hair/collar so often. He had a very defensive posture, with his arms crossed over his chest, as if he felt uncomfortable and was trying to distance himself from the audience. I thought he'd have plenty of practice giving interviews. Stop fidgeting and give us straight answers, dammit!

News: Gazette to Appear on HEY!x3 Music Champ

Imagine my delight when I saw the following message in my e-mail inbox this morning:

the GazettEフジテレビ「HEY!HEY!HEY!」

“RANK IN”コーナートークゲスト出演決定！
11/13（月）20：00-20：54
http://www.fujitv.co.jp/HEY/

Wohoo! Gazette will make their appearance in HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ TV show as the "RANK IN" Corner Talk Guests on November 13. Tune in if you can.

First Nightmare, now Gazette, it's awesome to see my favorite J-Rock bands getting recognition on major national music shows. I'll be on the lookout for footage of this airing.

Reconciliation with Rentrer en Soi

I think I've finally come to terms with the drastic musical style change Rentrer en Soi had undergone. Ever since hearing their latest album, RENTRER EN SOI, I had been so devastated by the 180 degree shift in their music that for a while, I pretended that album didn't exist.

I had greatly favored Rentrer en Soi because their music were primarily beautiful, melodic ballad-style songs with tender, sweet vocals. I had loved every single album releases up to 2006. Songs like セフィロト (Sephirot) had given me so much pleasure.

Then, Rentrer en Soi's second full-length album, titled simply RENTRER EN SOI, came along in 2006 and shattered any preconception I had of the band. Too many of the songs on the album are loud, harsh, and angry (ie: DEAD believe ME). Satsuki screamed so much that it completely unsettled me. In fact, his singing had changed. It reminded me of Kyo of Dir en grey's style many times. What the heck happened to the gentle, angelic Satsuki I had known? I was so disappointed with this change that I gave up the band for a while.

But, I couldn't abandon Rentrer en Soi for long. Recently, I decided to go back to the RENTRER EN SOI album and listen with an open mind this time. I promised myself that I wouldn't compare the album with the band's previous works and simply judge the songs by their own merits. Surprisingly, and maybe not too surprisingly, I found myself actually enjoying the tracks. I realized that, despite the drastic style shift, Rentrer en Soi's music remained top-notch. It wasn't the new music that I hated, but the change itself.

Now, I'm glad that I gave the band another chance and got over my prejudices. Rentrer en Soi's music has returned to my music player and is now happily spinning away.

Music Review: ガゼット(the GazettE) / Filth in the beauty

1. Filth in the beauty [watch]
2. Rich Excrement
3. Crucify Sorrow

CDJapan (Optical / Auditory) / HMV (Optical / Auditory) / YesAsia (Optical / Auditory)

1. Filth in the beauty / I've already goshed over this song so much back when the PV first came out that now I'm at a loss as to what to say. Yes, the brilliant fusion of R&B and hard rock kicks ass from Thailand and back (actually, it's probably from Japan and back). The female vocal enhances the song and gives it that extra "omph". Ruki sings in English throughout most of the track, but of course, no one can even tell what he's saying. :D Nevertheless, Filth in the beauty rocks hard and has become one of my favorite Gazette songs of all time. (Someone had suggested that this song is about incest between father and daughter. All I can say to that is: f**king hell!) ♥

2. Rich Excrement / I've already made fun of the song title in a previous post, so let's just skip that part. A street-punk rock song in which Ruki raps through the entire track, Rich Excrement reminds me of previous works like Maximum impulse and Maggots. The track features the same type of call-and-response found in Gazette power songs: Ruki growls out lyrics and the rest of the band roars back in answer. This is a phenomenonal headbanger and will be another hit live song, I can already see it.

3. Crucify Sorrow / I really looked forward to hearing this song in full after listening to the preview. I'm glad to say, it doesn't disappoint. This track is designed to showcase Ruki's rich, dynamic voice. Ruki finally sings instead of screaming and yelling into his microphone and I applaud. For some reason, the bridge section tends to be my favorite part when it comes to Gazette, and this is another one of those songs. Ruki sounds simply exceptional. ♥

Rating: Fantastic