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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/03/19 in Posts

  1. 5 points
    leafwork

    Jupiter Ba.RUCY will depart

    Didn't he join the band like 10 minutes ago
  2. 3 points
    dirty dishes done dirt cheap
  3. 2 points
    suji

    Jupiter Ba.RUCY will depart

    I don't think Rucy was ever a good fit for this particular band since he came from the neo visual scene and the other guys are basically veterans. It wouldn't surprise me if there was some disputes going on, given the difference in music style and age especially.
  4. 2 points
    What the actual fuck. :'DDD
  5. 2 points
    Their competition must be a band called Mr.Muscle
  6. 2 points
    did we jump straight to april fool's or
  7. 1 point
    DISH has changed their name to "dishes are scheming" at 2019/1/1.
  8. 1 point
    YuyoDrift

    2019 Japanese Music Ratings

    This topic is starting to feel like a MH tradition now I think haha. But anyways.... This thread is dedicated to Japanese releases in 2019 that the MH Community will listen to and would like to keep track of throughout the entire year. It’s a nice way of referring back to a list, should you forget if you’ve listened to a certain release yet or not. I know I forget sometimes haha. These ratings can also help those who may want to see which releases are favoring well or not, based on each individual user who you may have similar tastes with. Feel free to set up your own rating system (Stars, ?/5, ?/10, Best to Worst, Oooh to Eww, etc.), but try and use spoiler tags to save room in your post, and save room on the page for the other members’ rating lists. Keep this list in mind in the event that we, the MH staff, host a JRock Awards at the end of the year . Last Year's for reference: 2018 Looking forward to seeing everyone’s lists at the end of the year! Yuyo’s List for 2019:
  9. 1 point
    Befafes

    Befafes Art

    Hey I thought i'd make this as my first post! I draw, Its nice to meet you all. IG @ https://www.instagram.com/befafes_/ DA @ https://www.deviantart.com/27133 I do take commissions, If anyone is interested, just give me a PM here or on either of the above. without further ado here's two of my drawings!
  10. 1 point
    Matenrou Opera has announced that Hibiki Shiraishi has officially joined the band
  11. 1 point
    YuyoDrift

    MH JRock Awards 2018

    🎁As an early gift to the community, MH will once again be hosting the MH JRock Awards for 2018!🎁 Now, before you start voting, read the rules provided in the spoiler below, or else Yuyo will ... idk yet but just read it anyways. Once you have read the general rules, here's how to vote: 1. Copy the list of categories below into your reply 2. Fill in your votes (you can skip as many categories as you'd like) 3. Submit. (Try to keep your votes organized under spoiler tags in order to save space for other voters) Your posts will stay hidden until the end of the voting. Here are your categories to choose from: Voting will last until Sunday, January 13th of the New Year (2019) This will allow everyone to take their time, since some of us are still waiting on some final releases to come out this month. Note:  "Album" includes both full and mini-albums. For simplicity reasons, we follow the "Once Visual Kei, always Visual Kei" rule. So yes, that makes bands like Dir en grey or L'Arc~En~Ciel a Visual Kei band, just for the purpose of this voting. If you missed/skipped 2017 or are just joining the forum and have never heard of this, then take part this year! If you have any questions about the 2018 MH Jrock Awards, feel free to contact myself or any of the MH Staff! Happy Voting!
  12. 1 point
    YuyoDrift

    2018 Japanese Music Ratings

    Going to take this one over for 2018 @CAT5@Lestat Coming back for the 4th year in a row, this thread is dedicated to Japanese releases in 2018 that the MH Community will listen to and would like to keep track of throughout the entire year. It’s a nice way of referring back to a list, should you forget if you’ve listened to a certain release yet or not. I know I forget sometimes haha. These ratings can also help those who may want to see which releases are favoring well or not, based on each individual user who you may have similar tastes with. You never know, as this could come in handy at the end of the year. Feel free to set up your own rating system (Stars, ?/5, ?/10, Best to Worst, Oooh to Eww, etc.), but try and use spoiler tags to save room in your post, and save room on the page for the other members’ rating lists. Previous Years for Reference: 2015 2016 2017 I look forward to seeing everyone’s lists at the end of the year! Yuyo’s List for 2018:
  13. 1 point
  14. 1 point
    thom35

    2019 Japanese Music Ratings

    So far, 2018 is still a better music year than this one. 2019 albums and mini-albums rating Waiting list
  15. 1 point
    VkBrutaliaN

    Your last music-related buy!

    ヴィルシーナ - 依存 万鬼隊 - あやかし七変化
  16. 1 point
  17. 1 point
    yakihiko

    2019 Japanese Music Ratings

    Thank you Yuyo. Nice to see this kind of thread in 2019 as well. I totally got myself messed last year due to so many reasons and I couldn't even make mine and other things. I'm still in need to get some releases from last year too.
  18. 1 point
    Tanishi

    llll-Ligro-

    At this point I'm hoping Kazari makes a new band and releases the music with a new vocalist/band. It's a waste to compose an albums worth of stuff and not release it especially when the stuff leading up to it was so good.
  19. 1 point
    SakuraFox512

    Kisaki Drama 2k18

    Unfortunately, I think that's usually the case more often than not. =/
  20. 1 point
    2019 will bless us with more of these amazing band names
  21. 1 point
    This! To me, those years were sort of like a renaissance of VK music - so much amazingly good music was released and I still return to listen to lots of it even now. If I remember correctly, VK was at its height in Japan in the '90s - a time when many VK musical pioneers came out - and had mostly faded away from mainstream popularity in Japan in the 2000s. However, for us Westerners, that was the time it felt as though VK offered a treasure trove of fascinating music to listen to. It exposed most of us to something different and got us researching as to what the heck was this genre called visual kei. I could be wrong, but I also feel that the burgeoning interest in anime and/or Japanese culture around this time contributed in creating the perfect setting. At least, that was the case for me. By the way, another amazing album, which came out in 2008, was Sincrea's Atlus. That had awesome killer songs, Jesus Maria and Silkspider to name a few.
  22. 1 point
    Finally finished catching up with AOT. I haven't read the manga, but heard that the director cut/changed quite a bit for the anime due to pacing issues from this arc and I gotta say that it was felt at times. There were moments that seemed like they were happening out of order and episodes that were loaded with static talking heads for far too long. Animation seems to have really taken a nosedive in quality most of the time too, the exception being some of the action scenes later on. Somehow, despite all of these issues, I think this was a better season than the last and I had a good time with it. There are some really effective character moments and it feels like we're finally getting to the payoff that's been building up for literally five years. I'm excited about AOT again, hope they can keep it up when the next part drops in April!
  23. 1 point
    Lots of great albums here, a couple that don't hold up for me anymore(but at the time were great) and a couple I never got around to/have never heard of before. I wanted to add Irokui's Ginsei Flair no Zaregoto as an overlooked recommendation while going through this thread, I was sure it was released early 2008, but checking the release date it was late 2007(11/28). It made a huge impression on me though and I don't remember anyone talking about it then(certainly not now). Still gets play from me when I'm in the mood for it. Unfortunately, not relevant to the current topic so I'll stop haha. I had almost completely forgotten about LMC having some bops when they started, hopefully it's not just nostalgia goggles because I'm getting the urge to spend some time with them this weekend. Shion was the album that got me into MUCC. Interestingly, Libra was one of the few songs that managed to transcend the perception of vk being nothing but obnoxious teen music to my family at the time. I got away with blasting it on long car trips, no complaints, compliments even haha. The ReS and DEG picks on here still hold up the same as when I first heard them, but that's for totally personal reasons and I can see how they might not bring up the same feefees in someone else. 夢幻教 is still NoGod's best album imo, nothing they did after was anywhere near as interesting or endearing. I stopped paying attention to them quite awhile ago tho, so maybe(hopefully) they've stepped it up since. Sugar... Loki may not have been a traditional vk hot guy, but damn, that voice was special. While devils in bedside isn't my favorite 9gbo release, it is a great introduction to the band. I feel like MUSIC was the beginning of Gilgamesh's transition to cringecore, they hadn't gone full on sakura-con GIRUGAMESH yet(that was next year) but all of the signs were here. Still some good stuff on this album, but I remember feeling let down at the time and it isn't easy to go back to. Same deal with Noiz Star by SuG, but I'm sure plenty of people feel they started out 100% cringe anyway. Sadie, Exist Trace and Deathgaze all occupy the same questionable space in my mind. I like some of their stuff, but it's so few and far between and most of their songs sound too similar to my ears. This is about where Miyavi lost me. I saw him live when he was touring for this album and it was really fun, the material actually worked live. There's something about the recordings offered that strip away the potential energy this album could have had. Thanks to everyone who put this list together! Lots of fun to go through and reflect on
  24. 1 point
    @Zeus So I linked this thread in the plug session last night and I think we may have triggered @fictioninhope and @doombox's past trauma of requiring them to write about イリヤ -ilya- for their ORZ application @platy & @Zeus - "Sink" is hands down one of my favorite VK songs ever. I'm pretty sure I first heard 9GBO in 2009, as The Gazette's singles leading up to DIM had reignited my interest in VK and they were one of the recommendations I received at the time. @Ito - 2008 was a major year of exploration for me too! That's the year I truly started to learn about J-indie. and LOLZ, iirc, Spike actually bought that UNLIMITS album because he liked them so much. @Zeus - That RENTRER EN SOI blurb is so bittersweet for me. Although I disliked the S/T and wasn't heads over heels with The Bottom of Chaos, I felt the band were starting to slowly regain their identity by the time Megiddo game out. I felt like with perhaps the next release, they would have fully integrated that heavier sound with their earlier one. It's a shame because they went out with so much untapped potential. Or maybe it was for the best? Bearing in mind the trajectory of Satsuki's solo career and all....^_________^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
  25. 1 point
    sleepy coffee

    キズ

    Dumb question but is lime pronounced just like the fruit lol
  26. 1 point
    Manji 卍

    DIMLIM

    all hail Lord Roppu,for one more bless
  27. 1 point
    Some lyrics to start the new year. Text: Kanji-kana: Romaji: Credits: the band, for making the text available on the description of the music video, and me, for romanizing it.
  28. 1 point
    why the fuck would you make a parody of what is already p much a parody band, that's like someone trying to go Weird Al on Weird Al himself
  29. 1 point
    rip my lastfm scrobbles
  30. 1 point
    dishes are scheming for you to wash them.... 2019 is gonna be that year...happy new YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
  31. 1 point
  32. 1 point
    PIZAZ

    Why is dir en grey popular?

    All pretty good points above, but I think a key ingredient is missing- the Obscure video and proliferation of the internet. That video was being passed around almost as a shock video for years in the scene/emo/mypsace days.
  33. 1 point
  34. 1 point
    libertine

    Kisaki Drama 2k18

    .
  35. 1 point
    LIDL

    Why is dir en grey popular?

    They're different, I guess. Aside from music that are very listenable to Western standards, it was their visuals. I suppose not many front man on VK bands who would vomit that kyo did on stage when they started out. Most bands were still embracing the 80s VK imagery popularized by X-Japan, Luna Sea and co., even DEG did it too, but they also did a little bit more too. And among others, DEG grotesque visual were stand out, this, combined with their rascal attitude back then really sold it to lots of VK listeners from abroad to get into them. I mean, people love bad boys as much they love bad girls. And these people does the work on doing mouth to mouth promo to their other friends. And it goes on and on. These days, it is a breeze for the band, I believe they got quite a street cred after Mike Portnoy praised UROBOROS to high heavens. Like, that is rare for any Asian bands, fam!
  36. 1 point
    JukaForever

    Why is dir en grey popular?

    Good music
  37. 1 point
    platy

    Why is dir en grey popular?

    They're one of the vk veteran bands, so whenever someone looks into the movement, dir en grey is at the forefront. They've always used taboo subjects and imagery in their work which makes them stand out and attract a certain demographic. After they caught the attention of the west with more mainstream sounding music and visuals, they were doing world tours when vk was at its peak outside Japan. Not only that, they style of music they were experimenting with was extremely popular in the west at the time too. There's a bunch of other factors and variables but I guess that's the gist of it.
  38. 1 point
    sleepy coffee

    Why is dir en grey popular?

    ligma but seriously; id imagine they got popular in the west cause they started having a western appeal in their sound starting with withering to death, marrow of the bone etc also this was after or around the time they toured the west with bands like korn so i assume thats where it all started, i doubt they had much western exposure to any album prior to wotd
  39. 1 point
    suji

    New Band メテオラ (Meteora) has formed

    oh nice, a linkin park tribute band
  40. 1 point
    Just a few things to improve your English : It is "they" not "he" or "their Twitter was opened on..." We do not use "in" to refer to specific places but "at". Generally, "in" is used with countries, cities, large areas...
  41. 1 point
    Nice of Koji and Michi to bring steampunk to visual kei and make it fabulous. I'm loving the preview and expect great things from them. I'm gonna have a hard time picking between them and Bräymen. LOL
  42. 1 point
    platy

    🔯2019 Predictions!🔯

    🦑❌Vocalist from BABOO will show up in a new band 🦑❌BABYMETAL as we know it disbands 🦑❌Su Metal solo project 🦑⭕xaa-xaa has three month consecutive releases 🦑❌XJAPAN album will drop, even if its on Dec 31st 23:59 🦑➕DIMLIM will have a style shift to gain more fans (if the rumours are true...) 🦑➕ DIMLIM plays at an overseas festival (well, they're playing in Mexico in 2020) 🦑⭕ 8PSB reaches PEAK levels of cringe. That's right, we haven't seen the worst of it... (the whole richardland concept was pretty cringy) 🦑I predict that the cringe will culminate on a Valentine's day project/release 🦑➕ Meto will participate in one music project, but essentially drops out of the scene (he's in Liraizo. I'm late to the party) 🦑❌ Another Kisaki scandal 🦑⭕Dir En Grey drops one single 🦑⭕Sukekiyo will bless us with another album and... 🦑😔❌Sukekiyo European tour on the latter half of the year💦 🦑❌Mathilda goes strong. Blesses us with a mini album 🦑❌ORCALADE will officially disband. Perhaps one single will be released before the announcement 🦑❌DADAROMA releases one more sex themed single. The Anal, maybe? 🦑➗Pentagon's identity is becoming warped by the minute. By the end of the year there'll be neither spooks nor idol looks, but a higher budget Initial'L 🦑❌Wild Card prediction for lols. Arlequin gets new vocalist. Or disbands because of Aki. Or maybe a hiatus 🤔 🦑❌GRIMOIRE disbands 🦑❌The VK sphere will be shaken up by a newcomer band 🦑⭕DEZERT may surprise us with a heavy single. However, they'll be quiet for most of the year (black hole was better than just a heavy single) 🦑➗There'll be some worrying news related to Kiryu 🦑⭕ It's the end of Lack-Co. 🦑❌Gosan vs Sick2 🦑⭕Sick. give up, we collectively sigh in relief 🦑❌Yoshiki X Miyavi collab. One of them will also collab with will.i.am
  43. 1 point
    They just picked one of @emmny‘s keyboard smashes and made it their name
  44. 1 point
    I guess to promote their live at Cure Fes and bring more attention to the band? There's better ways to promote yourself than showing your flat bare ass covered in acne and a piece of toilet paper sticking out though...:x
  45. 1 point
  46. 1 point
    emmny

    THE THIRTEEN

    omg their take on uroko is really good im surprised y'all wasn't living that ballad track is really good too i refuse to listen to an actual full release of theirs but this arche-lynch thing is actually sounding shockingly good for them
  47. 1 point
    taylor swift had relationships that last longer than that ffs
  48. 1 point
    Well it's been two months. I should've put a wager on this
  49. 1 point
    doombox

    2018 Japanese Music Ratings

    Yay! Thanks for making the 2018 post. Gonna do my best to update this regularly and not wait until September like I did last year... >>; Last updated: 4.13
  50. 1 point
    http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c49/fitear1590/CD%20cover%20scans%20and%20band%20pics/aicle%20neko%20no%20kiza%20mairi%20group%202_zpsk00neimw.jpg" width="791" /> 愛狂います。 (Aicle.): 5 Levels of Crazy Vo. えみる (Emiru) Guitar: ルビ (Rubi) Guitar: けいた (Keita) Bass: さらん (Saran) Drums: 玲音 (Leon) If you were part of the VK fandom during the past 7 years or so, you may have come across 愛狂います。 (Aicle.). Depending on who you talk to, they’re known for being “that colorful oshare group” or “that band with helium vocals”. Peruse the YouTube comments of any of their PVs and the word “kawaii” is sure to pop up, regardless of how bizarre and growl-filled the song is. I’ve always said that 愛狂います。 is not “underrated,” but they are generally “rated” for the wrong thing. While the aforementioned elements might play a role to some degree in the band’s sound, I’m here to show you that 愛狂います。 should be remembered for so much more than their one-dimensional legacy! With a more comprehensive, analytical look at the band, I hope to stop feeling like I'm Mugatu on crazy pills and just maybe, 愛狂います。's true style will shine through for more listeners. Forming in late 2006 and debuting in early 2007, they emerged in the scene around the same time as bands like Versailles, キャンゼル (canzel), ゾロ (ZORO), and ClearVeil. However, unlike those bands, 愛狂います。 was practically a group of newcomers from no notable ex-bands. They dabbled in live-distributed songs, compilation tracks, and a series of singles for their first two years, including the summer 2008 consecutive single series of シドロモドロ(shidoro modoro), ネクロノミコン (nekuro nomikon), and トウメイニンゲン (toumei ningen). This followed with the release of their first album 心臓。 (shinzou.) in March 2009. Uniquely enough in the VK scene, this was a disc of entirely new songs— a complete anomaly in the scene! Two months after the release of the album, rhythm guitarist Keita retired from the band on amicable terms. Not letting Keita’s departure slow them down, they released 3 more singles between August 2009 and January 2010. Consecutive singles エキゾチック。 (exotic.), ドラマチック。 (dramatic.), and a split CD with R指定(R-Shitei) followed in late 2010 and in early 2011, they released their second album アルク (ark), this time featuring previously released singles and only 4 brand new tracks— see, that’s more like what we’re used to. Finishing out the year with one-coin single 東京スカイツリー (Tokyo sky tree) and the stylistic 180 that was maxi-single 皇帝ペンギン (koutei penguin), 愛狂います。 finally called it quits in early 2012. Upon disbanding, they released a anthology compilation (愛狂います。2006-2012), collecting all of their songs from before their second album and their final single. So how could one describe the special music that 愛狂います。 created? To help analyze their music, I came up with an unofficial scale that lends itself surprisingly well to categorizing their discography. Under the description for each level, I have provided my favorite exemplary songs, in chronological order of their release. Level 1: Fairly straightforward pop-rock. These songs would occur sporadically in the band’s earlier discography, but by 2010 with the release of consecutive singles エキゾチック。 and ドラマチック。, the style started to become alarmingly prominent; the nail in the coffin was when the band’s final single 皇帝ペンギン hovered exclusively around this level. Favorites: 心臓。 (shinzou.), ゴメンなさい (gomen nasai) [see mp3], ひらり。(hirari) Level 2: Think of this as an upgrade of level 1. While these songs are still fairly tame overall, there might be an alternative, math-rock, or other unique tinge in the music that amplifies the compositional prowess. Wacky lyrical content might also bump up on-the-fence songs to this level, such as “メルトダウン (meltdown)”. There aren’t too many tracks at this in-between level. Favorites:, メルトダウン, 相対性【秘密】理論~タイムマシン2~ (Soutaisei [Himitsu] Riron ~Time Machine 2~), オーバードライヴ (overdrive), あおいろ1号 (aoiro 1 gou), 春夏秋冬 (shunkashuutou) [see mp3] Level 3: The first level of what I’d call 愛狂います。’s “sweet spot.” If people think about the band, I would hope that songs from this tier (or higher) are the ones that immediately come to mind. Most of the songs here are approximately half-pop and half-crazy—that was the band’s signature style after all! Many of the band’s singles fall under this category. Favorites: 僕は魔王 (boku wa maou), 猫の刻参り (neko no kiza mairi), トウメイニンゲン (toumei ningen) [or see mp3], 骸骨のうた (gaikotsu no uta), オカルト・キラー (occult killer), サイコ×レタア (psycho x letter) [see PV above] Level 4: This forms the second half of the “sweet spot.” These songs tend to do without the poppy choruses of level 3 and/or they ramp up the craziness in the rest of the song. As such, this level is mostly relegated to b-sides and other miscellaneous tracks, although their very first single (the first song in this list) was just wild enough to edge into level 4! Favorites: 球形無限連鎖~ミズタマ~ (kyuukei mugen rensa ~mizutama~), くるくる。と胎児は廻る (kuru kuru. to taiji mawaru) [see PV below], デスロリ調ポップス (death lolli-chou-pops) [see mp3], 裏姫 (urahime), 【d2b2】, 暗殺 -ANSATSU-, チョコサンドビスケットクリーム (choco sand biscuit cream) Level 5: This is reserved for 愛狂います。’s sole craziest venture: 豚の王様「ニトログリセリン」(buta no ousama “NITROGLYCERIN”). With squeals, frenetic guitar work, grunts, and literal oinking, this song is in a tier of its own! Disclaimer: the “levels” do not necessarily refer to quality, so much as the “crazy” factor. While I tend to prefer songs at levels 3 and 4, there are still a handful of level 1 and 2 songs that I’ll listen to any day over certain level 3 and 4 tracks. Now that we have an idea of my hopefully not-so-arbitrary tier system, let’s talk about the actual music! With due respect to all the members, it’s clear that vocalist/composer Emiru and guitarist Rubi form the brunt of the band’s unique sound. Back in the day, a lot of people would stan bassist Saran, but he’s not so notable to me, other than looking like a VK version of April Ludgate. I will say the drummer occasionally caught my attention, because of his affinity for punchy toms. Anyway, let’s start with Emiru. If there’s one sticking point about this band for a lot of people, it’s likely Emiru’s “special” vocals. Admittedly, he started off quite rough. If you listen to early singles like 記念日。 (kinenbi.) or 球形無限連鎖~ミズタマ~, you can definitely hear him straining to reach higher notes, but hey, that’s always been part of the charm of VK, right? He legitimately sounds like Cartman in "シドロモドロ (shidoro modoro)". Fortunately, his general vocal quality improves over time and becomes much smoother (this is most obvious by comparing the original and rerecordings of songs like "ゴメンなさい" and "チョコサンドビスケットクリーム"). It would be easy to write Emiru off as a “bad” singer, but that would mean ignoring how commendably he “compensates” in all the other things he does with his voice. What really contributes to Emiru’s success as a vocalist is his variety. In any given song (especially levels 3 and higher), you might hear any combo of the following: growling, oldschool Madeth Gray’ll-esque “fast talking”, shrieking, maniacal cackling, whispering, and more. Some absolute highlights include Emiru chanting off the number sequence of π (pi) in the punky "球形無限連鎖~ミズタマ~", the demonically adorable alter-ego he takes on in "まみむめモンスター君 (mamimume monster-kun)", or the sheer fuckery that is level 5 track "豚の王様「ニトログリセリン」" [see mp3 above]. What also takes the band over the top are the strange lyrics. Emiru has a knack for writing in a way that is paradoxically blunt, yet impenetrable in meaning, with a healthy sprinkling of kookiness. One of my favorite songs (vocally, musically, as well as lyrically) is “くるくる。と胎児は廻る (Round and Round. The Fetus Turns)”, which can be viewed below; thanks to moonwalkingpenguin for the translation! But the vocals are just half of the fun when it comes to 愛狂います。—let’s not forget about Rubi, the guitarist obsessed with apple imagery! As I mentioned, Rubi was essentially a rookie upon joining the band; his only previous known endeavor was with the short-lived 愛狂います。-predecessor known as モノもの (monomono), which also featured Emiru and bassist Saran. That’s why it’s all the more exciting that Rubi rose to such enigmatic, virtuosic playing! While Emiru is credited with composition, I find it difficult to believe that Rubi was simply his guitar-brandishing puppet—there is some real magic in his riffs and it’s not just guitar solos. In fact, his most impressive guitar work is just what he’s doing in the background. Let’s have a look at some specific examples. Listen from the second verse of “デスロリ調ポップス”. Then, check out the second verse and bridge of “ハンマー≦ヘッド (hammer≦head)”. Finally, in the first 1:20 of the above PV, Rubi provides a nice selection of his guitar offerings in “サイコ×レタア“. In all three songs, we hear Rubi’s non-stop efforts, whether it’s creepy-crawly riffs or progressive noodling not too far off from something indie-favorites 八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88kasyo junrei) might do. But beyond his extremely technical showcases, there is also plenty to enjoy in the “lower-level” tracks, like the pop-punk/math-rock influenced “あおいろ1号” or the buoyant fret-tapping of ”春夏秋冬” [see level 2 mp3]. Another aspect that helped to emphasize the band’s paradoxical sound was their bubbly arrangements, always democratically attributed to ”愛狂います。” as a whole. Sounding almost anachronistic compared to current VK’s overly electronic arrangements, the band often opted for simple synth beats or chimes, which produced a disarming effect, making it all the more surprising when the band jumped from a bouncy chorus into a growling, proggy chug fest. The icing on the arrangement cake was the band’s fun use of sound effects, such as the cartoony munching of cookies in “チョコサンドビスケットクリーム“, the vivid tentacle (?) noise at the beginning of “文化≠包丁 (bunka≠houchou)”, or the ambiguous animal roar that uncannily resembles the click-clack of a roller coaster in “オカルト・キラー”. Towards the end of 愛狂います。’s career, long-time fans unsurprisingly started to turn on the band. With singles like ”スターマイン (star mine)” and ”皇帝ペンギン”, the band started to settle down in level 1. Prior to that, the only PV track at this level was ”心臓。”, from their first album and while it was a saccharine pop-rock number, the rest of the album satisfied the kind of craziness fans craved through the aforementioned level 5 track or the many spooky, Halloween-inspired tunes. And therein lies the problem for the last leg of the band’s career. There was no longer a balance of the levels. The band’s most successful releases were those in which they displayed variety. For instance, the maxi-single 怪体新書。 (kaitai shinsho.), my personal favorite release, had two songs at level 3 (“眼球ワルツ(gankyuu waltz)” and “猫の刻参り”) and one at level 4 (“デスロリ調ポップス“). Singles サイコ×レタア and ケセラ:セラ (que sera:sera) both had title tracks at level 3, coupled with a level 2 and level 4 b-side. It’s unclear whether 愛狂います。 really was this methodical in constructing their release tracklists, but it undoubtedly worked in their favor. Although the final releases left fans with a sour aftertaste, we shouldn't let them spoil the entire 愛狂います。 experience. While vocalist Emiru (now “Suzuki Satoshi”) has since moved on to Yeti, an outlet where his softer, indie rock composition style is really thriving (let’s just say I like Yeti’s output more than late level 1 愛狂います。), it’s an absolute shame that Rubi hasn’t resurfaced in another band yet. To this day, he remains one of my favorite VK guitarists and it pains me greatly that his return to music seems so unlikely at this point. Still, there’s plenty of great music to remember him (and the whole band) by! And forget about caveats. 愛狂います。 was not crazy for a pop/"oshare" band; they were just crazy, period. If you’re new to 愛狂います。, be sure to check out all of the links/PVs! Hopefully, you can use this as a guide! For any seasoned fans out there, let me know what you think of the 5 level system. Does it make sense? Do you agree with the categorization? What are your favorite songs at each level? Do you agree that 愛狂います。 tends to be remembered superficially (i.e. only referencing their appearance)? Whatever you have to share about 愛狂います。, let’s discuss it!
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