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.

News: D / Tafel Anatomie [2006.10.18]

Artist: D
Release: Tafel Anatomie (limited edition)
Label: GOD CHILD RECORDS
Date: 2006.10.18
Catalog Number: DAKGCR-3
Price: 3,800 yen (tax in)

1. Phantom pain
2. Fanfare
3. 太陽を葬る日 (Taiyou wo Okuru Hi)
4. Leukocyte
5. Calling me
6. Card
7. 青い果実 (Aoi Kajitsu)
8. Humanoid
9. Glow in the sun
10. 抉る衝動 (Eguru Shoudou)

Now, just watch D release a normal edition of this album 3 months later, with 3 extra tracks. I'll cry. I swear KISAKI (of Phantasmagoria, ex Syndrome) still rubs off on them too much. Stop releasing remastering/remix CDs with bonus tracks! I'm too broke to buy them all.

Track list credit to currypanman of D LJ community. A preliminary review of the album can be found here.

Save the Trees!

I just received my copy of Phantasmagoria's "Splendor of Sanctuary" today.

When I cut open the outer envelope, I was confronted with another envelope. Shrugging, I ripped the second envelope open, but to my surprise, there's yet another envelope inside. Bloody hell? There's nothing to it but to keep on opening envelopes, until 6 envelopes later, the Phantasmagoria album was revealed. Whew, I was starting to worry that there was actually a ticking time bomb in the package.

Dear Free-Will America:

Bubble-wrap would have worked just as well.

Love,

Me

Hmm, it looks like this album will be out of stock soon, since it's the America-only limited release with 1,000 copies printed. Not even Free-Will America has it anymore, the only other place to get it is JPopHouse. Currently, this album used is worth 7,800 to 10,500 yen in Japan (about $80-93, even though the original retail price is $20). If you're a collector, this would be a good album to invest in.

News: ルルティア (RURUTIA) / Chorion [2006.11.08]

This November, RURUTIA will entrance us once more with a new album, Chorion.

Artist: ルルティア (RURUTIA)
Release: Chorion (album)
Label: PHOERIX RECORDS
Date: 2006.11.08 (now available for pre-order)
Catalog Number: PHOX-100004
Price: 3,000 yen

1. ABINTRA
2. 玲々テノヒラ
3. 星に花、灰色の雨 (Album ver)
4. 水景色　星模様
5. 願いの届く日
6. スピネル
7. Time Traveler
8. パレード
9. 微笑みのマリア
10. マグノリアの情景
11. ABINTRA (Inst)
12. 水景色　星模様 (Inst)
13. 願いの届く日 (Inst)
14. スピネル (Inst)
15. 微笑みのマリア (Inst)

Unrelated:

SID's album, play, is now available for pre-order on YesAsia.com (and no, that's not an affiliate link). I asked their customer service 2 days ago requesting for it. Today they've already e-mailed me back and told me it's now on their site. Awesomeness.

I pre-ordered the type A limited edition, with CD and photobook. I originally wanted type B (CD and DVD), but after thinking long and hard about it, I decided on type A instead. My logic is, a DVD's digital content can be easily replicated, but there's really no way to perfectly reproduce a photobook. Thus, type A with the photobook is more special. It enhances my nice feeling of exclusivity. =P

Oddly, type A is $1 cheaper than type B. I'm guessing it's because type A weighs less, so when YesAsia takes into account the "free" shipping, this weight difference is adjusted.

Wanted: Limited Edition Albums

Why the heck doesn't eBay have more SID music available? I know it's a long shot to get the Renai limited edition album, but why can't SOMEBODY carry it?! Okay, so this was a 2004 release, and yes, only 10,000 were issued. But... I still wish someone somewhere sells it online. Bloody hell.

I know that Gail of Himitsu is also collecting SID music. I wonder if she has had any luck getting Renai limited edition. A 2-year-old release with only 10,000 copies floating around. The odds are stacked against us.

Speaking of out of print items, I'm also trying to get my hands on Kagrra,'s san limited editon album. There's only one place I know of that still sells it. However, the total price for it eventually comes down to $44. And needless to say, I'm totally not happy about this. I'm currently waging an internal battle with myself over whether I should spend so much on just an album. On one hand, there are only a few copies left on the market. On the other hand, $44 is a lot, way too much in my opinion, even if it's "divine music" (Kagrra, = 神楽 = divine music).

Paying only 1/2 price for a regular edition/reissue versus overpaying for a limited edition/first press, it's too hard to decide (oh, why do I have to be such a hardcore fangirl?). Had I not cared about the limited edition issue, I'd just get the albums for $5-$20 on eBay. Of course, there's also the risk of unknowingly getting pirated copies. Let's think about it, how in the world is it possible to sell a legitimate Japanese import disc for only $5? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. This may also explain why there aren't brand new limited albums on eBay. The bonus materials make it harder to duplicate the discs and raise the cost. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Oh, such torment.

Music Review: ガゼット (the GazettE) / NIL

1. THE END
2. Nausea & Shudder
3. Bath Room
4. Maggots
5. 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 (Namaatatakai Ame Tozaratsuita Jounetsu)
6. D.L.N
7. SHADOW VI II I [watch]
8. バレッタ (Beretta)
9. Cassis [watch]
10. SILLY GOD DISCO [watch]
11. DISCHARGE
12. 体温 (Taion) [watch]

CDJapan (Limited / Normal) / HMV (Normal: Germany / Japan) / YesAsia (Limited / Normal)

1. THE END / The first track of the album, and it's named "the end"? How interesting. This is more of an instrumental piece that sets the mood for the album (I wouldn't call what Ruki and the rest of the band do singing, in the strictest sense). Dark, mysterious, and very catchy.

2. Nausea & Shudder / This is a heavy song with pretty hard instrumentals yet a great melody. Here, you get the first taste of Ruki's vocal improvement since Gazette's last album, Disorder. If you haven't been following their 2005 singles releases, you might be caught off guard by the vast difference of Ruki's singing. His voice is richer, more powerful, and more dynamic. In this song, he sounds so passionate and has beyond met my expectations. ♥

3. Bath Room / Ahh, this song has an awesome beginning. Once again, it's a relatively heavy piece. I think my favorite part is right after the guitar solo. Ruki restrains his vocals most of time during this track but breaks into intense full voice singing that truly enhances the climax of the song. Solid work.

4. Maggots / Wah, a head banging heavy metal song! I think metal fans can probably appreciate this track better than I can. This song is so very masculine, which reminds me once again that despite the band's beautiful appearance, these are men. Heavy instrumentals, heavy chanting, very hardcore.

5. 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 / I think my jaw dropped when I first heard this track. It... sounds like... SWING?! Had I been a better swing dancer (or at least more agile on my feet, because trust me, this song requires serious footwork), I'd break out into a dance to this song. I am so pleasantly surprised by this new style. It really showcases the fun side of the band and shows its willingness to experiment. Bloody cool!

6. D.L.N / Oooh, a ballad! My gosh, the chorus part is absolutely beautiful. The children's voices really complement and enhance Ruki's singing. He puts so much passion, so much fire into his performance. This is a song that tugs on my heartstrings and really makes me feel. Simply fantastic. ♥

7. SHADOW VI II I / Holy crap, this song has an awesome bass line, wow! I normally don't pay as much attention to bass lines because they often don't stand out, but man, it's hard to ignore this one! Reita does amazing work on his bass and really makes this track unique. This is once again a swing-like, completely danceable song. But this suddenly changes about 2/3 through the track (the bridge), the tempo shifts and what the... this song is now funk?! Then just as quickly, it returns to the original swing beat and left me sitting there blinking. This is some serious experimentation. I love it! ♥

8. バレッタ / This is a semi-ballad song, semi, because I think the beat is too fast throughout for it to be a true ballad. This particular track doesn't really stand out for me. It's very nice and might work better had it been a single or even the B-side to a single. But in an album, it gets overshadowed (probably because it's sandwiched between two of my favorite tracks). Meh.

9. Cassis / Nice, another beautiful ballad. The guitar solos featuring Uruha and Aoi freaking kick ass. After seeing the PV, I realized that Ruki plays the guitar too in this song. He even gets a mini guitar solo right after Uruha's solo (well, kind of)! This song once again characterizes my favorite aspect of Ruki's vocals, the rich timbre and the impassioned singing. ♥

10. SILLY GOD DISCO / I really should have seen this coming, since clues have been dropping with 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 and SHADOW VI II I, but I was still caught off guard when this track came on. I think I must have jumped off my chair and started leaping about the room. *sweatdrop* Gazette + funky disco = holy crap, this song is too awesome for words. This is such a fun, wacky, wicked piece! Very very sexy, it's just... argh! Too bloody brilliant. Ruki's English is awful and I can't understand a word, but who cares?! ♥

11. DISCHARGE / Hehe, another heavy metal track. This would be a great piece to play during lives because it'd really get the crowd worked up. I can already imagine the headbanging and roaring. The fangirls are going to go wild.

12. 体温 / This is such a dark and harsh song. By harsh, I'm not just talking about the heavy instrumentals, but really mean the emotion conveyed through this piece. It feels so naked and raw, liking stripping away the outer layer and finding what's underneath bleeding and screaming for release. This song really really moves and resonates within me. This is probably the most emotionally powerful song and a wonderful end to this masterpiece album. ♥

Yes, I think this is Gazette's best work so far. Ruki's amazing vocal improvement truly stands out. It's worth every yen of the ¥3600 (actually, it's more than that since I have to pay for shipping).

Rating: Fantastic