Wednesday, March 13, 2002

WASURENAI KARA ... is apparently the title of Gackt's next single due April 24, 2002. I... think Gackt needs to expand his vocabulary just a bit. "Wasurenai kara" is also the last thing he screams at the end of EMU ~for my dear~. Granted, it's not a song title or anything and there aren't many ways to say "I won't forget you" but still. The phrase plays a rather prominent part in that song and I can't help but associate them. I am still looking forward to the single though. Who knows? I may end up falling in love with it. *just counting the days until Gackt releases a song titled Dakishimete...* ~_~;; - MS - hide: "Oi! It's 01:51 p.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Monday, March 11, 2002

SHALLOW SLEEP TRANSLATION Is here: http://www.asrundream.net/trans/hyde-shallow.txt Special thanks to Hinano for helping with some of the lines on this one. Read translation note at the bottom if you're wondering about the way I translated some stuff...Hyde is very poetic and I didn't think a literal English translation for many of his lines would give the same effect as the Japanese. Also, just a note for the mp3s...I'm currently without my cable modem right now but once I get it back I'm going to try and upload some of the songs from Buck-Tick's and Tomoyasu Hotei's new albums. Stay Tuned... - Gerald - hide: "Oi! It's 08:41 p.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Monday, March 11, 2002

DIR EN GREY FAIR REPORT Pics and some info on the Dir en grey Fair event held March 3. Thanks to Jrock NYC for the link. - MS - hide: "Oi! It's 12:09 p.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Sunday, March 10, 2002

MS on Siam Shade I wasn't going to write this entry. I didn't write one for Malice Mizer, mainly because I had trouble stringing two words together after the news. ^^ But I'm singing along with Tetsu on "Wonderful World" and things don't seem so bad so... Siam Shade was one of the 3 bands that got me started on jrock, the other two being B'z and L'Arc~en~Ciel. The first song I heard was almost 3 years ago, a pretty little thing called "Tears I Cried." Fell in love with the song and hunted for more. Though I was hoping for more ballads, something I later learned was a rarity in Siam Shade's repertoire, I was still not disappointed. All the songs I found were catchy, solid rock tunes that I found myself humming along to, even when I didn't know the words. The first jrock album I ever wanted to buy was Siam Shade V. I remember pestering all the CD vendors at AnimeExpo that year for it. They all had Laruku, Globe, Glay, and someone called Gackt ^_~, but no Siam Shade. The shop owners all knew who they were, they just didn't think they'd sell well. To this day, I don't understand why there isn't more of a western fanbase for Siam Shade. Their music is very reminiscent of 80's hard rock, and much more accessible than Malice Mizer, Dir en grey, or even the more experimental L'Arc~en~Ciel tracks. The guitars alone are enough to make any rock fan swoon. Yet, they remain largely overlooked outside of Japan. Perhaps it's because they weren't particularly visual or relied on some sort of gimmick to get audiences hooked at the start. I never thought they needed one. Their music was more enough. The loss of Siam Shade makes a great impact on the jrock scene, at least for this western fan. When X Japan left us, we still had Luna Sea. When Luna Sea was gone, there was Siam Shade. Now that Siam Shade has disbanded, who will take up the banner? There aren't many bands out there who have this type of sound, at this caliber of talent. Janne Da Arc? Penicillin? These bands come close but, even as established as they are, still do not have the same solid, hard rock/metal edge as Siam Shade. They were one of those bands, like Glay, that I'd always thought would be around. But nothing lasts forever. Sometimes it's best to move on. To Hideki, Daita, Kazuma, Natin, and Junji, good luck. And thank you. We will never forget. motto motto kaze o kette kumo yori mo takaku dare yori mo tsuyoku tobitai zutto zutto akiramenai kono atsui omoi kagayaki ni kawaru sono toki made wa more more extinguish the wind clouds have many more faces I more than anyone want to fly with strength forever forever I won't abandon you this passionate memory shines through the change of time ~ Siam Shade, Dreams - MS - hide: "Oi! It's 11:44 p.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Sunday, March 10, 2002

MAYU UPDATE For anyone concerned, New Sodmy's Mayu is back. Details are at Niji's BBS. No word yet on where he was the last two and a half weeks. - MS - hide: "Oi! It's 11:37 p.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Monday, March 11, 2002

A FAREWELL Siam Shade disbanded yesterday. I've been wondering what to say in this post, because I knew I would make myself write it. Just like when Malice Mizer disbanded, I find myself at a loss for words. The difference between the two, however, is that while Malice Mizer's passing was mourned by nearly every single English-speaking jrock fan on the internet, Siam Shade will fade out of sight quietly. It's always been a mystery to me why Siam Shade doesn't have more English-speaking fans on the internet. Compared to Malice Mizer or Glay, L'Arc~en~Ciel or even Lareine or any of the lesser known visual bands, Siam Shade has only a handful of fans who are really vocal about the band that they like. I'm not going to spend time analyzing this, but this band was one of the great ones - one that most jrock fans won't even have an opportunity to miss. I first got into Siam Shade about three years ago, and it wasn't due to the Rurouni Kenshin anime. Their single Kumori Nochi Hare had just come out, and I downloaded it and became obsessed with it at first listen. It was the first jrock song I ever tried to learn the lyrics to (with limited success, of course, since I didn't speak a lick of Japanese at the time). I didn't play guitar at the time, either, or know how to appreciate the set-up and sound of a jrock band, how to tell the good from the bad. But even still, I recognized something special about this band. It's been a long journey, made longer probably due to the fact that until recently, there were no good English language resources in English on Siam Shade. And it seems like just as more people are starting to become more interested in them, they're gone. It's shocking, sudden...very unexpected. Yet I don't blame them. All bands have a reason for forming and disbanding, and if Siam Shade says that they feel like they've completed all they've wanted to accomplish as a band, who am I to say otherwise? They will be sorely missed, I can say that. Perhaps in the future more jrock fans will be drawn to the flame that is Siam Shade: to their driving vocals, melodic and technical guitar lines, solid bass, high-speed drumming, and the power behind their music. And in the meantime, I'll be waiting with anticipation for more works from each of the band members. I won't go as far as to say that I hope they'll get back together, because that's imposing my wishes on the members' own dreams, but maybe there's that possibility too, however slim. Whatever the case, the world of music has been blessed to have such a band with them. To Hideki, Daita, Kazuma, Natin, and Junji, we wish the best. ai wa kanata e...ai wa kibou e...tsuzuku kara... [because to the other side...because towards a wish... love keeps on going...] * * * * * * * * * * * * Addendum: I made a commemorative wallpaper for Siam Shade. The 800x600 version is here and the 1024x768 version is here. - Gerald - hide: "Oi! It's 12:46 a.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Monday, March 4, 2002

NEW SODMY UPDATE New Sodmy held a talk/handshaking event yesterday and only three members were present. Please read Geikou's report to see why. Inertia also posted a follow up message here. To sum up, apparently, no one in the band has heard from Mayu in the last week or so. Until more information is officially released, the band has requested that everyone not worry and to refrain from asking questions, speculating, etc.. Kamijo stressed that Mayu was not planning to leave the band before this and until his return, the three of them would continue activity. I'll update with more information as soon as it becomes available. Again, please read the reports at the above links for the full story. I'm just posting this here to hopefully stop misinformation/rumors before they start. New Sodmy is also planning a new release in May. They seemed reluctant to give any information about it though. More info again, is at the two Lareine messageboards below: Niji's BBS - http://disc.server.com/Indices/161957.html Inertia's BBS - http://disc.server.com/Indices/57521.html - MS - hide: "Oi! It's 01:06 a.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Saturday, March 2, 2002

REVIEW: TASTE MAXIMUM [FAKE?] Released 02.27.02 Tracklist: 1. Taste Maximum [4:26] 2. Cut [5:02] 3. Larva [4:27] Ken and Inoran's new band FAKE? has been the subject of speculation among many Slaves and Oblivion Dust fans, and they just released their first single a few days ago. I guess it's popular to release singles that aren't really singles of just one song but have a couple songs on them (ex: New Sodmy), since this one has three songs, none of which seem to be any more prominent or to serve as coupling tracks. I confess I wasn't sure what to expect from this project. I wasn't disappointed when I heard the songs, but I wasn't blown off my feet either. Ken sings in English, as usual, but it's a bit jarring to hear him against non-Oblivion Dust arranged music. The arrangement sounds a lot more Japanese, and I'm guessing that Ken wrote the lyrics while Inoran wrote the music. Seems like a good partnership. 1. TASTE MAXIMUM Begins with distorted electronic voices saying "Ready? Ladies and gentlemen...here we go!" The guitars and bass come in and it becomes very apparent that this is a hard rock track with Ken screaming out the words more often than singing them. The verses sound more Oblivion Dust-like, and the chorus sounds more Luna Sea-like, but overall the melody is not bad. My only complaint is that there are several parts of the song where he yells "Shut up!" (at least that's what it sounds like...remind anyone of his apparent obsession with the word "fuck" in OD?) over and over, which I'm not sure amuses or annoys me more. At 3:27 there's a nice lyrical bit that lasts for about 20 seconds and then the song ends with a bang...or Kyo-like choking gasps, whatever you want to call it. There's a lot of mixing done on this song; most everything sounds distorted and they've liberally dispersed a lot of extraneous electronic effects everywhere. 2. CUT The song begins with solo drums in a rhythm eerily similar to Shinya's on Luna Sea's Be in Agony. This is another song with heavy bass and guitars, though not quite as heavy as Taste Maximum, with Ken again doing a little bit of singing and yelling in English. The tempo is slower and more balladic, and it alternates nicely between a harder style in the verses and a more lyrical style in the chorus. Apart from the tempo and the more melodic chorus, however, I don't find much in this song that distinguishes from the first. 3. LARVA The ballad of the three has a simple arrangement with Ken's vocals above acoustic guitar, bass, and drums and is a bit reminiscent of OD ballad Your Yesterday. I can actually hear the lyrics in this one, and as all Ken's slower lyrics are, they're very beautiful. The accompaniment is a bit muddy-sounding in some places...perhaps it's the mix...and the ending feels a little anticlimactic, but other than that I have no complaints. This is probably my favorite song out of the single, most likely because I don't like it when Ken screams. XD I've started a "new release" section in the sidebar where we'll be uploading mp3s of newly released tracks for you to sample. Taste Maximum is up there right now (encoded at 96 kbps) but we'll be rotating the list through so you'll be able to listen to the other two songs. As always, don't take my review for fact till you've heard the songs and judged for yourself, and remember to buy the single and support the artists after you've sampled the mp3. - Gerald - hide: "Oi! It's 09:37 p.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O

Thursday, February 28, 2002

BUCK-TICK Probably the band that has redefined the term "long-lived," Buck-Tick is curiously nonexistent in the English internet jrock circle. Oh, sure, everyone's heard of them, but not many people have bothered to sample their music. They must be doing something right, though, because they've been around for almost 20 years, released more than 20 albums, and sold out in all their recent concerts. For a jrock band, that should be more than enough to propel them into the "legendary" category. So why aren't they usually considered as such? Before we answer that question, it's necessary to introduce the band and give a little history. Buck-Tick was unofficially started in 1983 by rhythm guitarist and then-high-schooler Hisashi Imai. The interesting thing about Buck-Tick is that none of their members knew how to play any instruments whatsoever when they started their band. Hisashi began recruiting from his fellow students, catching the interest of Yutaka "U-ta" Higuchi (bass), Hidehiko "Hide" Hoshino (lead guitar), Atsushi Sakurai (then-drums), and Araki (then-vocals). With this lineup, they played their first few gigs before deciding to change their name to "baku-chiku," which means "firecracker," and is, of course, pronounced "Buck-Tick." In 1985, Araki left the band because both he and the other members felt that he wasn't the right vocalist for the group. It was then that Atsushi stepped up, and after a long argument with Hisashi, became the vocalist. However, since he had been the drummer, a new drummer needed to be found. Toll, U-ta's brother, agreed to play drums for them after another long argument. The band's lineup has been the same ever since. In 1989, there was a scandal when Hisashi was caught with drugs, but unlike Sakura of L'Arc~en~Ciel, he was not thrown out of the band. In my opinion, they couldn't have picked a better vocalist for Buck-Tick. Atsushi is definitely the strongest element of the band, and with almost 20 years of experience, has just an amazing voice. His range isn't much to speak of, but there is a darkness and power behind his singing that catches any listener's ear. The other band members are solid supporting members, but none of them are outstanding, and Atsushi is definitely the spotlight. Buck-Tick's style has stayed pretty much consistent throughout their 20-odd year career. Most of their songs have a darker feel to them, mostly due to the quality of Atsushi's voice, and even their lighter, happier songs manage to sound somewhat dark. Their image is another thing that keeps Buck-Tick "dark," though they were never truly visual. Even today they've managed to retain elements from the beginning of their career, with the exception of their hair. Buck-Tick used to be famous for putting their hair up, as in styled so all if it would stick up above their heads. Think X Japan but more extreme. It was the hair that caught most of the public's and magazines' eyes, and it annoyed the members to no end. In 1988, they made a public announcement that they would no longer be consistently "putting their hair up." There are many reasons why Buck-Tick is perhaps not as popular with the Western crowd. For one, they are a solid band, but they don't make a big deal out of their looks (which is one thing many Western fans look for first). Secondly, their music has stayed much the same since the beginning, and might be considered a bit "dated-sounding" by Western fans. And thirdly, though all of their members are great musicians, especially Atsushi, they usually do not make an effort to spotlight any certain part or line. If you're looking for a guitar solo, Buck-Tick is not the band for you. Overall, Buck-Tick lacks that edge of finesse and polish that bands like B'z and X Japan have. Still, they're one of the longest-lived bands in Japan, and still quite popular. With a new single just released and a new album coming out, Buck-Tick promises to stick around for another decade at least...and perhaps another one after that...and another one after that... Songs for the beginning Buck-Tick listener: "21st Cherry Boy" is a nice, poppish song with a naughty feel to it. "Just One More Kiss" is an older song but still catchy. "Gessekai" is a darker song, one you might have heard of if you watch the anime "Nightwalker." It's the opening theme. If you're looking for Buck-Tick web resources in English, Buck-Tick Zone is the place to be. - Gerald - hide: "Oi! It's 12:48 a.m., and Yoshiki's stripping again!" O_O