Stay right here and don't touch the shovel beam

Am I a technophobe? God no. I love technology, and gadgets, new things to tamper with, things that light up, the list goes on. However, I am blessed with the gift of not requiring half of the stuff I enthuse about.

How is this a gift?

Because it means I get to go into fancy gadget stores, look at all of the fantastic technology with scary specs that retail in the many-hundreds, and I never have to worry about getting upset and breaking things because I will never own any of it.

Requirements for a phone? That it enables me to call people, and text people, and take photos. Lately I've been a little fussier - bluetooth is handy, the ability to change wallpaper and individual ringtones a near MUST. That is it. My MP3 player has to be able to play music, and radio is a bonus. A little monochrome display would be nice too.

If you try to sell me a phone by telling me about how easy it is to browse the 'net with it, you've lost a customer. Touch-screen and voice-recognition, I'll just get violent at you. There are few things I hate in this world more than smartphones, just for their amazing capacity at destroying any given social gathering.

Today while browsing for a new MP3 player, the shop assistant very gleefully enthused that the model she was trying to sell to me "even has a high-quality camera!".

Whut?

I don't really know how to finish this self-indulgent ramble of a blog post, so I'm just going to go about my day while I wait for my cute little music maker to charge. I look forward to using it to listen to music on the go, and nothing else.

LIVE: D "VAMPIRE SAGA in Europe ~Path of the Rose~" in London 2011

I wasn't sure about a single bit of this gig. Hell, I didn't even get remotely excited for it until a couple of hours before. Truth being that until their most recent album VAMPIRE SAGA in January I simply had no interest in them, I was simply going along to keep a friend company. I knew a couple of songs outside the album, I had read a couple of interviews and comments with the band, tentatively watched a few PVs, but that was the extent of my gig preparation. Sometimes, having no expectations is good: that way, when something is bad, you're not super-disappointed; however, when something is good, you can be totally blown away.

And D, live, are good.

I don't have a definite setlist so here, have the PV for Der König der Dunkelheit. This was the look sported by the band onstage during the gig.




Being part of visual kei I will say that the band retained their character onstage, none so much as vocalist Asagi. It has to be said, the man knows how to work a cape! He effortlessly made eye contact with every single person in that venue, and was a somehow a very talented leader of his audience, teaching us all furi (with either special D flags or with - in his words - our "beautiful hands") and leading everyone in slow headbanging in heavier songs. He is indeed very charismatic. The whole band are in fact!

With all of their visual mystique I never expected the band to be so upfront and enthusiastic, and being only two rows in front of guitarist Ruiza it was impossible to miss how he spent the entire show grinning manically, occassionally dipping his head forward and allowing people to ruffle his hair before stepping back again and laughing (and, at one point, falling flat on his ass).

But more striking than the band's character and enthusiasm was their talent, which they had by the bucketload. Guitar solos were more than liberally scattered throughout the show and all were played spot-on, and often cranked up bass meant that we could appreciate Tsunehito's surprisingly elaborate basslines too. Meanwhile, the instrumental 太古の牙 (taiko no kiba) gave drummer Hiroki a chance to shine (and shine he did! Never again will I overlook that man!). Real props however do go to Asagi on vocals, as he truly was absolutely flawless.

During a signing session afterwards the gentlmen were a lot of fun too, and they really succeeded in making an impact on everyone. Overall I'd say that their music is still not quite my thing, but what they do they do it damn well. I didn't mean to enjoy this show half as much as I did, and if they come back I'm definitely off to see them again!


★★★★☆

PV preview - Born: Demons

The song sounds better than most but bear in mind that I don't like Born, so take that as you will :/

This was all better when I thought that the ridiculous demon horns were just photoshopped. They're not. Then he opened his mouth and also has fangs. Right now I'm not too sure how it could get worse, but I'd still rather watch three Sadie PVs in a row before chancing this one in full.

REVIEW: lynch. - I Believe In Me (PV) (2011)

lynch.'s first release on a major label.

Repetative, in your face, completely uninspiring. I haven't listened to them since THE AVOIDED SUN in '07 and with this I don't feel like I've missed anything, but yet I still keep my eye on them, patiently waiting, maybe hoping.

Major shifts rarely do -anything- beneficial, musically, for bands. It was foolish of me to get my hopes up. I will say that it was better second and third time 'round, but that isn't the most positive of things to say.

★☆☆☆☆

Someone wake me up when they release another ecdysis or liberation chord

REVIEW: Sadie - COLD BLOOD (2011)

Sadie - COLD BLOOD (Regular edition)
30/03/2011

Sadie are devils. I couldn't tell you how easy it is to confuse title tracks because the singles they release tend to be painfully generic, and the accompanying PVs are bland at best, uncomfortable at worst. The trick, however, is that their B-sides and album tracks are more often than not actually really good. Diamonds in the rough if you will. And this is why, after shunning the last four singles, I bought in their new album to see what else they could provide. Good move, Break, good move.

慟哭 (doukoku) is an interesting and effective way to open an album, slow and quite deep, strong and positive words in a dark composition. It is very promising, and it somehow helps to take the over-familiar edge off Juggernaut that follows. Originally released in December 2010 this carries the aforementioned samey Sadie feel, but thrown so early into the mix, after the epic intro track, I can actually forgive it. A deep breath and a mini-Mao-roar brings us into LOOSING MY WAY OF THE PROUD, which is a short and fast-paced flashback to something they might have released as a B-side several years ago. Good times indeed.

砂漠のシンドローム (sabaku no syndrome) is somewhat weaker but carries some great melody in the pre-choruses, but isn't enough to distract us from the irritating familiarity of 棘-toge-, another single released last November. Maybe it's Mao's voice, maybe it's the more upbeat and happy tunes, I don't know, I just don't have patience for their title tracks anymore. deathtopia REALLY reminds me of a previous B-side - in a good way - and sounds more like a track from their 2006 THE SUICIDE MACHINE, but only succeeds in restoring the mind from the previous track as much as a zombie succeeds in dragging a crushed and mangled foot - slow, heavy, dragging along dead weight. Its efforts are crushed again by another single track, this time April 2010's ドレス (dress), whose opening piano notes try to tell you that it's going to be something different when really it's not. However, this just preludes a final run of greatness.



Graceful Angel is where the album-zombie finally stops dragging it's useless ex-limb and just hacks it off at the nearest useable joint, not outstanding per sé but good preparation for the sheer brilliance that is 霞に消える華 (kasumi ni kieru hana) - you've gotta love any song that opens with its own chorus. Despite not being the biggest fan of Mao's voice I really do like how his highs work in this song, and how the vocal melody tumbles along with very straight-forward yet very effective guitars - this song is a great example of when Sadie don't overtry, when their guitars aren't layered, when they have no bass or drum interludes and when the vocals are contained and not overplayed, they really really work. This piece of fantasticness rolls into the completely different GIMMICK which does briefly threaten to sound like Everything Else Ever but then rescues itself with a catchy chorus that must be amazing as part of a live set.

クライモア (Cry more) rounds off our Run Of Brilliance, and this is where I bow my head in apology as this is one of the much-disapproved-of title tracks, released last September. But I'm not going to deny, with the exclusion of a very standard chorus, it is a good song. It stays in your head, everything from the floaty pre-chorus to the fantastically catchy little crash-cymbal trios, and the call-response breakdown half way through really makes the song stand out.



The album closes with 瞼の憂鬱 (mabuta no yuuutsu) which I will admit feels a little extraneous. It fits the mold of a closing track and that is all that can be said really. There's nothing wrong with it but it doesn't stand out - it fulfils its role. The regular edition of the album also feaures an unplugged version of ドレス (dress), band leaders Mao and Aki producing quite a sweet version of the song with only vocals and piano, and while it is nicely done it is no competition for the wonderful unplugged 陽炎 (kagerou) from 2009.

Despite weaker moments, the production in this album is brilliant. The order of tracks really works, and I mean really works, and at just over an hour long in total there is a lot to listen to. Something I really do like about Sadie is that you always know where all band members are in any given track - guitars never get lost in sloppy riffs, the bass is never lost behind other instruments - and this is maintained throughout the whole release. Knowing that they can produce good quality stuff like this definitely rewards the endurance of very samey singles and often cringeworthy PVs. Good work, boys, good work.

★★★★☆

REVIEW: D'espairsRay World Tour 2010 “Human-clad Monsters” FINAL

D'espairsRay - World Tour 2010 “Human-clad Monsters” FINAL
13/04/2011

A couple of years ago was a dark time for me and my celebration of D'espairsRay, and by "dark time" I mean I just didn't like them. Since hearing [Coll:set] in 2006, none of the subsequent releases - albums or singles - did anything at all for me. Friends continued to follow them and would insist on playing me new material, but all to no avail. That was until I conceded to watch their 2008 Spiral Staircase #15 Final DVD, when I realised that for anything lacking on CD they completely make up for it onstage.

This was undone upon watching the Human-Clad Monsters Final.

It's a good DVD, don't get me wrong. The show opens with a fantastically well-led round of 13 -Thirteen- which comes off as a perfect cross between a My Chemical Romance show and an military march, and further down the line the already emotionally charged duo of CROSSED ARROWS and SCREEN are performed with enough intensity to raise goosebumps. "Forbidden" in the encore will always be a fan favourite, and the upbeat combo of Angeldust and MIЯROR is a great way to close an encore (don't forget to keep watching for a surprise track at the end)

What's missing is anything at all personal, or ironically anything remotely human. One of my biggest issues is down to the massive layering in the band's music in general. It's great to have eight guitar tracks and two drum tracks in any given song guys, but what are you going to look like when you can only play one guitar onstage? The same occurs with backing vocals, where I find it quite mystifying how Karyu and Zero can provide vocals identical to Hizumi's. You're just left with a slight feeling of detachment - yes, these four very talented gentlemen are onstage, playing a tour final in front of thousands of fans - except that they aren't playing a half of what is prescribed. Similarly there is no interaction between band members on stage, and short of a few high-fives at the end there is nothing between the band and the crowd either. Again, just a sense of detachment. For all the 2D front though it has to be said that Hizumi's vocals - when actually performed - are absolutely spot on, and are definitely a very big plus-point for the band.




D'espairsRay are good, this can't be denied, and having seen them in the past both live and on previous DVDs I can definitely agree that onstage they are possibly even better than they are on CD. It's just a shame that their normal spark of devillish mischief is missing from this particular release. Worth watching if you get the opportunity, but I wouldn't suggest going out of your way for it. Re-watch the Spiral Staircase if you're missing the goodness.

★★☆☆☆

M to disband

I never knew much about these guys, but that was kind of deliberate. When you're used to over-obsessing over so many different bands, games, films, it's quite amazing finding something you really like and doing just that - liking it.

M have been around for a few years now but still have the freshness (not the amateur-ness) of a new band. Despite this they sound so grown up, and are so brilliantly reminiscent of MUCC in not only sound but lyrics, and particularly vocals (and what a vocalist he is!). I never gave them enough time to settle in my top team of favourite artists, but it's definitely your loss if you never hear them. It'll be a shame to say goodbye.