ONE OK ROCK O2 Academy Islington 26/10/13 Review

ONE OK ROCK deliver on their first show in London

I've always been surprised by ONE OK ROCK's 'lack' of success both in their own country and worldwide; don't get me wrong, I realise they play huge arenas in Japan and have a dedicated global youtube following, but for a band that can sing in both English and Japanese (perfectly) and churn out such great music, they aren't as big as they should and deserve to be. 

The audience today seemed to be mostly non-Japanese and judging from some conversations I overheard, had found out about the band from 'Rurouni Kenshin' and subsequently downloaded their entire discography. 

The band came on in classic Japanese fashion i.e. on time and opened with the explosive "Ending Story". As soon as the audience started to sing along to the Japanese bits, Taka gave a huge smile as did the other members, and throughout the whole show you could tell they were happy and astonished by the overwhelming reaction they were getting.

Despite the band's heavier offerings such as "No Scared" and "Deeper Deeper", there were a surprisingly low number of mosh pits. During ballads and slower songs such as "Be The Light" and "Wherever You Are", everyone swayed in unison with hands raised in the air, which was a sight to behold. 

Every member was on top form tonight and the three instrumentalist's (Toru, Ryota and Tomoya) talents were fully showcased in a jam session during the middle of the set. Taka sung better than he does on record for most if not all of the songs, with "c.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h." and "Clock Strikes" being particularly emotional and standout songs. 

For a first show in London, arguably one of the most prestigious of locations for a Japanese band to play in, they nailed it with their likeable brand of hard rock and their effortless confidence. Another aspect that puts them head and shoulders above other Japanese bands who have played here is Taka's ability to speak English, which obviously allows him to interact with the crowd in a way that bands here do. If you had never heard of them and wandered in during their show, you would be forgiven for thinking they were an American band. Here's to them coming back soon.

10/10

DIR EN GREY NEW SINGLE ANNOUNCEMENT 2014

Ohh it's that time again, that time I've mentioned again and again; the time when DIR EN GREY announce new stuff!

This time round it's another single but it's hard to complain as their post-DUM SPIRO SPERO stuff has been excellent and with DIR EN GREY, nothing is below excellent.

The single is apparently called 'Sustain The Untruth', and no more information has been given as of yet. 

Fingers crossed for more remakes!

The GazettE -FADELESS- Single Review

A disappointing effort from The GazettE

For the past few years, The GazettE has been storming through the visual kei scene, leaving behind many of their peers. They've released something every year, which is something most bands find hard to do, and they've played some of the biggest shows in Japan including slots at Summer Sonic and now Europe is on the horizon with their tour extending to countries such as France and Russia. After the successful 'TOXIC' and 'DIVISION' and now the announcement of a new album in October 2013, The GazettE has set the bar high for themselves and they have a lot to live up to; sadly this single doesn't deliver.

'FADELESS' is a single made up of three tracks which weirdly all sound like B sides rejected from 'TOXIC' and 'DIVISION'. The title track is an incredibly boring song which follows a basic riff, with no sudden changes or breaks. The sound is more hard rock unlike the electronic sound that was present in 'TOXIC' and 'DIVISION'. The guitar work from Aoi and Uruha is particularly disappointing and uninspiring; the song reminded me a lot of 'ROTTING ROOT' by DIR EN GREY; both songs fail to pick up any pace and end up sounding like extended jam sessions. 

'QUIET' starts off with a very promising intro, reminiscent of other GazettE ballads such as 'Kago No Sanagi', 'Cassis' and 'Guren'; however this is the problem. 'QUIET' sounds too similar to 'Kago No Sanagi', so much so that I was able to predict Ruki's vocal melodies the first time I listened to the song. The chorus is forgettable which is a shame, given the promising intro I mentioned. Ruki's vocals and vocal melodies are actually disappointing in both songs; they're not catchy or interesting, and if the singing were to be omitted from the songs nothing would be lost. 

I really hope that this isn't a path that The GazettE are planning to continue on and is just a glitch in the system. These two songs are missing the unique and innovative sound that was explored on the last two albums; don't get me wrong, I'm all for change in bands but changes need to be introduced subtly and gradually, and this is is too quick for my liking.

3/10

*I'm not reviewing 'FORBIDDEN BEAVER'

Missing Dir En Grey for the THIRD TIME.

The first time I came into contact with Dir En Grey was in 2010, when a friend asked if I wanted to go to their gig at Koko in London. At that time I didn't really know them and so I politely declined.

As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE fan of Dir En Grey, but my much-delayed border-line obsession with their music only begun in August 2011, right after their second gig at Koko in London. I was kind of annoyed I had missed them again but I figured that they would be back.

And now as I write this rather pointless and pathetic (in the truest sense) post, I am missing them yet again in 2013 whilst they play at Download Festival. Even though it would only be a 1/2 hour set, words cannot describe how badly I want to see this band.

I just hope that they'll do their usual August Koko gig...

Maximum The Hormone New Song + Album Announcement

HURRAH! After six years (of no albums) MTH are back, with new material. 

They released their new music video 'alien' through a frustratingly time-consuming campaign released 02/06/13 which involved clicking on tons of clicks to find the 'Atari' (correct) link. 

The song 'Alien' is probably one of the craziest MTH songs, yet weirdly one of the most accessible. The first half sounds almost like a mess, kept in line through Ryō and Daisuke-Han's vocals and there are breakdowns (incredibly heavy ones) galore. The lyrics are as weird as ever, referencing Jedis at one point. The first half closes with a much-missed slap part from Ue-chan. The music video shows them playing to an audience. 

Now, MTH are known for their unique mixture of hardcore and j-pop influenced music. HOWEVER it would be safe to say that the second half of this 'Alien' is one of the most j-pop choruses to come from MTH. The music video also changes, showing an blond anime princess while the drummer Nao takes over, singing the word 'Alien' in her most teen-idol way possible. It's almost like a lullaby. The song then progresses into a huge sing-along of 'Winny stop' (Winny is a p2p site in Japan), with the band playing on stage as if on a Japanese music show. This theme is further continued when the whole video ends with MTH logo shown in the style of the NHK logo. 

Finally the video ends in classic MTH style with an joke-y argument between Nao and Daisuke-Han on 'Winny'. 

A new album was also announced, for a release on 31st of July 2013, with 15 new songs!!

The GazettE -DIVISION- a look at the limited edition... (Very Late)

I wrote this post last year, but I had forgotten that I had drafted it for some reason so here it is (rewritten and amended).
Like the limited edition of 'The Unraveling' by DEG, 'Division' also comes in a book format, but much bigger and bulkier. It's quite an impressive thing; however, most of the content is pictures, which is okay but there are definitely way too many pictures. They could have done member interviews or something.
Picture 1: The front cover, I think it's the same as the cover on the normal CD box.

Picture 2: These are the sort of pictures included. They're very nicely done and most are either pictures of water or the geisha-type girls.

Picture 3: This is the way in which the CDs are encased. (Here it is Fragment[Vein])

Picture 4: Each song has a double page to it. Here it shows 'Ibitsu' with an accompanying picture.

Picture 5: This is the double page for 'Derangement'.

Picture 6: This is perhaps my favourite page of the book, the pages for '[Melt]'. I think the picture captures the sense of the song perfectly.

Picture 7: Various interviews from the band.

DIR EN GREY -THE UNRAVELING- a look at the limited edition

So being a huge DEG fan and all, I bought the limited edition of 'THE UNRAVELING' which finally arrived today! It's really cool and it comes in a nicely packaged book format.

There are three parts to it: a cover box, CD case and a book. The lyrics in the book are in both English and Japanese (here it shows Kasumi). And lastly, most annoyingly, this is the ticket to the special gig on the 24th of May, but because I live in England I can't go!!! :'(

DIR EN GREY -THE UNRAVELING- Album Review

1: Unraveling
2: Karma
3: Kasumi
4: Karasu
5: Bottom of the death valley
6: Unknown.Despair.Lost
7: THE FINAL
                                                        
1: MACABRE
2: Unraveling (Unplugged)
3: THE FINAL (Unplugged)

DIR EN GREY are back with better production, a solid set of songs and a recovered Kyo. 

Now, there's a definite divide amongst fans regarding this album/EP/whatever you want to call it. There are those who love the 'new' remakes, praising the experimentation, and there are of course those who are inevitably shouting 'you shouldn't have changed a perfect song' etc etc. I couldn't care less which camp you might fit into; all I ask for is that you listen to this album forgetting your attachment to the original version of a song. Because with a fresh approach as a listener, this album is definitely one of the best by DIR EN GREY instrumentally as well as structurally.

From the first prog-y, accentuated notes of 'Unraveling', it's clear that this album is not going to be a continuation of the marvellous experimentation that was 'Rinkaku'. The feel of this whole album is akin to that of 'DUM SPIRO SPERO', but with the structural orderliness and brilliance of 'Rinkaku'. For me, although 'DSS' was a brilliant album, the riffs and structure were all over the place and there was a sense that this was a band who were not yet used to their new axes. On this album however, DIR EN GREY have cleverly decided to play it safe and consolidate their 'DSS' sound, whilst adding more elements of their whole discography (something that 'DSS' lacked in). This altogether creates a very mature DIR EN GREY, and showcases a band firmly on their feet.

The first thing that struck me when this album was announced was the track-list  There was a mixture of some their most famous songs (THE FINAL, Kasumi), fan favourites (Bottom of the death valley) and more 'obscure' (if you'll pardon the pun) songs (Karasu, Karma). I was intrigued as to how the band would go about remaking these songs, especially the well known ones. So it actually came as no surprise when I heard that 'THE FINAL' and 'Kasumi' had hardly been changed at all, apart from a few new riffs here and there. 'THE FINAL' is an immense remake, and in my opinion blows the original out of the water. Everything simply sounds better (thanks to modern production), especially the guitars and you can now distinguish between Kaoru and Die's playing...

...Now, onto the guitar work on this album. Given that Kaoru is quite a shoddy guitarist live (sorry, love you really) I feel sorry for when he has to play these songs live, as the guitar work on this album is amazing and is more complex than on 'DSS'. There is a solo on almost every song, some done amazingly (Bottom of the death valley) and some less so (Unknown.Despair.Lost). They have nailed the breakdowns as well on this album and they are easier to headbang to compared to songs on 'DSS', where I felt the breakdowns were lacking somewhat. 'Unknown.Despair.Lost' has an excellent intro, starting with a simple acoustic passage which soon descends into a breakdown almost reminiscent of thrash metal.

Toshiya (bass) is definitely back as a leading member of the band after taking a backseat approach in 'Rinkaku' and his playing here is hard to miss. He leads most of the songs and creates interesting counter-melodies with the guitars; this is most obvious on the lead track. During the bridge, Toshiya plays an almost solo-like run together with Kaoru's acoustic lick, which adds a unique warmth to this ambient section. The bass intro in 'Bottom of the death valley' has also been changed, whilst still managing to retain the sense of the original. Toshiya has certainly matured from his 'play-every-note-possible' approach in the early days.

I'm not a drummer myself and I admit that I know next to nothing about drumming, so I can't really comment on Shinya's playing here (it's definitely good though!). However, what is clear is the production quality is much higher on the drums than on previous records. I knew Shinya was a brilliant drummer, but I always thought that the production quality was holding him back (especially the sound of the snare drum). On 'Different Sense' on 'DSS' for example, amidst the deathcore-esque riffing, all I could hear was Shinya's weak snare which sounded more like a tin can. 'Karasu' exhibits said snare drum most effectively.

Then there's Kyo's singing... Well there really are no words to describe it. You can hear he has much more control over his singing than he did on 'Rinkaku', with every note being hit with force and control. Some of the vocal work, especially on 'Kasumi' is not to be missed.

I'm going to talk about two more things before I wrap up. The first is the song 'Macabre'. This remake is perhaps the best one on the whole album, despite it being found on the bonus disc. The original was a masterpiece anyway, but this one surpasses it in every way. It doesn't just retain hints of the original; it retains the WHOLE sense and feel of the original, so much so that if you listened to the album 'Macabre' and then this new remake instead of the original, you would probably think it was just one whole album. On top of this, there is an extra 6 minutes added.

Lastly I will talk about the tracks that, sadly, did not impress: 'Karma' and 'Kasumi'. Due to the original 'Karma' (the really badly recorded one), I have never been able to like it or really connect to the song, and so I was quite sceptical anyway about the remake. The remake was uninspired and the instrumentation was uninteresting. I have also never really liked 'Kasumi' as a song (Shock! Horror!). I find it to be one of DEG's most boring songs and I don't understand the absolute devotion towards it. The remake was largely unchanged, as was my opinion.

Apart from a very few slip ups in my opinion, this album is a stomper.

9.5/10

Last minute update on -The Unraveling- DIR EN GREY

Right, so I know that it is either already out or nearly out, but I stumbled upon a news article on MSN Japan about 'The Unraveling' which gave snippets of the reviews done by members of the public during the reviewing sessions set up by the band about a week ago. I'll translate:

1. Unraveling - 'I have no idea what just happened, but I feel as though I've been overwhelmed by a confusing and intricate world that [the band] have created' (male, 26)

2. Karma - 'Everywhere there are hints of the original song, but it's impressive how much they have been able to mix old with new' (female, 27)

3. Kasumi - 'The original is one of my favourites and has a special place in my heart, but this [remake] was also special' (female, 28)

4. Karasu - 'I was shocked at how different it was to the original and what I thought it might be' (male, 29)

5. Bottom of the Death Valley - 'It has the same feel to the original, but is more beautiful and mysterious. I would like to see it live' (female, 24)

6. Unknown.Despair.Lost - 'A lot of the feel and groove of the original remained in this remake, and it was emotional to hear Kyo [in the present] singing those old melodies' (male, 29)

7. The Final - 'I feel that this song has changed from a song that conveys life's hardships and strengths to one that inspires courage' (female, 29)

DIR EN GREY -Unraveling- Track Review

*this is a review of the radio rip of the song*
Oh boy. It's that time again. You know, that 'going-absolutely-crazy-and-jumping-up-and-down-when-dir-en-grey-release-something-new' time that comes around about once every year. And in spectacular DIR EN GREY fashion, they have impressed yet again with their newest track 'Unraveling' from their up coming EP of the same name.

'Unraveling' is probably one of the heaviest songs that DIR EN GREY have written in terms of instrumentation. Beginning with a heavily progressive riff, the song descends into almost 'djent' territory, with Kaoru and Die (guitars) making full use of their dropped 7 string guitars. Toshiya (bass) is very much back to his loud slapping after taking a back seat approach in their last single 'Rinkaku'. In fact, the bass leads most of the song, an aspect of DIR EN GREY that drew me to them in the first place. Shinya's (drums) is as solid as ever and the song definitely requires multiple listens to follow the intricate fills and patterns. Kyo (vocals) is perhaps the highlight of this song. He seems to sound better and more full (this may be the production) than he did on 'Rinkaku', and his screams are not as 'western' as they were on 'Kiri To Mayu'.

This song follows a similar style to that of 'Rinkaku'; heavy instrumentation with largely clean singing. I absolutely love this style that they seem to have adopted, and they do it so well. I look forward to the whole EP.

9/10

My problems with writing music

So I write music in my spare time. It's probably not going to change the world, but I'm happy with it and I definitely think that some of them are really very good.

It's all in Japanese (except for a few), and it ranges from J-pop to progressive death metal. I've written about 24 songs but now I'm starting to encounter problems...

Problem 1: I'm writing too many slow/soft songs

This was great at first when I had no songs written down. However it seems to be all I can write (the only consolation is that they are all completely different). Don't get me wrong, I'm immensely proud of some of the riffs and melodies I have come up with, but it's stating to become the only thing I can play when I touch a guitar.

Problem 2: When I try to write heavy songs, I can only play deathcore

The title says it all really. Maybe it's because I'm 'trying' and not letting it come naturally. Whenever I kick on the distortion the only things I can play are either the riff from 'The Final' by DIR EN GREY or Nu-metal/Deathcore. I don't even like the last two genres of music. This is really annoying, as so far I have only written one heavy song I am happy with, and that took influence from Kabuki music.

Problem 3: All my lyrics are too similar

All. My. Lyrics. Are. About. Love. All of them. Whether its breakups, falling in love, killing your ex, stalking, ANYTHING to do with love, I've written a song about it. I just can't write anything else! Well actually that's a lie, I've written TWO songs about 'being yourself'. I am happy with these lyrics, and I think they have deep meanings behind them (they're not pop music style lyrics about love, but I want to move away from this...

Well that's it, and this is the end of probably one of the most pointless posts I have ever written. :D

DIR EN GREY Rinkaku Review.

1: Rinkaku

2: Kiri To Mayu (Remake)

3: Rinkaku Remix

Now, I know it's not out yet, but I downloaded the single because I could not wait. Don't worry though, I ALWAYS buy my music afterwards, I own every DIR EN GREY release as of this single. However, I can't really prove it to you, so judge away...

This is probably one of the strongest singles I've heard from DIR EN GREY, on par with my favourite single 'Hageshisa to...'; all three tracks are great. 

Rinkaku

I'm sure most of you have heard the endless previews of the title track 'Rinkaku', but these were only the edited version. The full version has an extra verse and an exquisite piano bridge, as well as extended intros, etc.  'Rinkaku' is an extremely atmospheric song, aided in a large part by Kyo's haunting falsetto singing. This song is very much a cross between 'Wari, Yami Tote' and their 'Dum Spiro Spero' material, mixing heavy instrumentation with clean singing. I have a strong mental image in my head of 'Rinkaku' being akin to a puzzle, with each part slotting in perfectly at the right moment. 

As I said in a previous short review of the preview, the production is immense and Shinya's drumming has never sounded better. The guitars sound amazing in this song and do not sound too overproduced. They successfully create a blissful wall of sound, which isn't too in-your-face either. Toshiya is slapping again, which adds a driving motion to the song which would probably otherwise be static.

If this is the direction DIR EN GREY are going in, I have no complaints.

Kiri To Mayu

Fans wanting to see 'heavy' DIR EN GREY do not despair, as 'Kiri To Mayu' delivers exactly that. However it is a different 'heavy' to that of 'Dum Spiro Spero', and I feel slightly indifferent to it. 

Kyo can obviously still scream. He's actually sounding better than he did. The only problem I have with his 'new' screaming (I don't know if this is because of his accident or the production), is that it is very much like Suicide Silence and other contemporary American deathcore bands. It's hard to describe without listening to the song, but I've always thought American deathcore singers have a very 'cloudy' scream, and this is the sound I'm getting from Kyo. 

I think a few more clean vocals would have been nice, the only part using cleans being the chorus (I think it's the chorus?). This song is very in-your-face, but less so than say, remakes of 'Zan' and 'Rasetsukoku'; the atmosphere from 'Rinkaku' continues very much into this song and is reminiscent of the inside of a church (for me). 

You can tell the song is 'Kiri To Mayu', as it uses the same intro riff, just heavier. It's very much like the remake of 'Zan'; HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY. Each riff ends on a note that threatens to change into a breakdown, which is sort of frustrating, but also a reminder of how full of surprises DIR EN GREY are. The solo mid-song is VERY Americanized, but also strangely very DIR EN GREY, making for an interesting listen. I was disappointed with this song at first listen, but with every listen I am becoming more and more attached to it. 

Rinkaku Remix

This remix screams out 'DOOM DOOM DOOM'. It conjured up many emotions at first listen, even more the second time round, emotions such as despair, grief, sadness, anger, etc. It sounds like it wouldn't go amiss on a Silent Hill soundtrack. It's darker than anything DIR EN GREY could ever do (no hating!). This remix adds an interesting twist to the song in general. Whilst the original is actually quite hope inspiring (for me), the remix is the complete opposite, and compelled me to interpret the lyrics differently as well.

Overall I am very happy with this single and happy that DIR EN GREY are very much back. It's just a shame that more people don't listen to this utterly original, mesmerising, brilliant band.

10/10

DIR EN GREY -THE UNRAVELING- tracklist revealed

Wow. What a surprise. I thought this mini album was going to be 7 new songs; instead it seems as though it's going to be 1 new song followed by 6 remakes. And I'm not upset in the slightest.

As a musician myself, it has always amazed me how a band such as DIR EN GREY, who already churn out classic songs, can remake their own songs so easily and yet retain the overall original feeling of the song. Apart from their remake of 'undecided', I have loved every single one.

Although I understand that they are taking songs from their whole discography, the choice of songs has baffled me a little, as some are not that well known. Also the fact that the songs only go up to the 'WTD' era says to me that a second remake album is a possibility.

The tracklist is as follows:

Disc 1:
1. Unraveling
2. Karma (from 'Kaede -if trans-')
3. Kasumi (from 'Vulgar')
4. Karasu (from 'Kisou')
5. Bottom of the death valley (from 'Kisou')
6. Unknown.Despair.Lost (from 'Jealous' single)
7. THE FINAL (from 'Withering to death')

Disc 2 (bonus):
1: MACABRE (from 'Macabre')
2. Unraveling (Unplugged Ver.)
3. THE FINAL (Unplugged Ver.)

Disc 3 (DVD):
1. THE UNRAVELING (Scenes From Recording)
2. Interview & Documentary Footage

I have ordered the VERY limited edition, which comes with disc 2. I am not a fan of the 'unplugged' version of songs that DIR EN GREY do, but it's DIR EN GREY, so I'm not complaining!

I just hope that they don't mess up 'THE FINAL'...