Thrift

Again ive not posted for a few days, sorry, but then its not like anyone actually reads this anyway haha. Well im back in London for the week, its reading week at uni, which is just Half term basically, supposedly a week off; but just my luck, our goup had a practical on monday... of my week off, so i couldnt come home until monday night. Also had to do an Endocrinology essay, which was a lot more work than i had hoped, 3000 pages of books and several hours later it was finished, so now that all my work is done I CAN RELAX, for four days until lectures restart...

So im sure most of you out there with 360's are going to be getting Gears 2 soon, if not already, i myself would get it sooner but my current financial situation has somewhat limited my spending ability, much like Iceland it would seem, although i cant see myself applying for international financial aid, although it might be worth a try...

But dont be forgetting about the other gems coming out soon, like Mirrors edge, the demo of which i loved. one of my friends called it "an FPS without the S" which i think is an apt description, we'll have to wait for the full version i suppose. Or an alternative for those of you with a tight budget, theres always Xbox arcade titles, Streets of Rage 2 or Castle crashers are great if you have a friend(s) to play with. If not, dig through your old titles, im sure youll find a gem somewhere, like the other day looking through my old Playstation games, Hogs of War lept out, me and my bro spent all day playing it! Some thrifty advice there from Ol'Stu.
Hogs of war in action

Saturday

I am now officially bored so gonna make another post. Last night me and the guys (Craig, Gordon and Akira) went to that Japanese restaurant in chinatown (here in manchester) called "Tokyo Season" i really do enjoy this restaurant the food is great, but seems strange that most of the people working there are chinese, but i digress. Many laughs were had especially at Craig having to ask for a spoon because he cant use chopsticks and gettin paranoid thinking that all of the staff were looking at him. Most of the menu im now able to read thanks to my awesome japanese classes i have as part of my degree (ありがとう岩上先生！）. So i went for the vegetable (Yasai ;p) tempura and Katsudon. Which i might add, was absolutely delectable, (a bowl of sticky rice with breadcrumb chicken onions and egg on top for those of you who dont know), Craig got the Katsudon curry on the premise that you got a spoon with it so that he wouldnt have to ask and pointed out the curry on the menu as he didnt want to say it, hilarity ensued. they serve Asahi beer there which i love as well which was the cherry on the cake. Reasonably priced too, £15 for the beer and the two dishes.
Then we went back to Craigs room for sum Xbox 360 multiplayer. At first we ended up playing castle crashers for an our an a half, a brilliantly addictive game that. Then Call of duty 2, now craig being a master of FPS as compensation for his nonexistent chopstick skills (or Hashi ;P) was as usual "PWNING" everyone, but in my first game managed to pull off a draw with him, albeit he did have less deaths than me. Then on to the dreaded CoD4, Craigs home turf, and i mention this only because I WON the first game, 100 points baby oh yeah, craig second with 85. After that however my beginners luck as it were began to wear off. Quote of the night "I PRESSED IT!" in reference to the fact that many a time for all of us, we pressed the right stick in to stab, only to be killed by the other person. Then the harshness of reality kicked in as we realised it was 3am...
Great fun though, i can see this happening more often, especially when i bring up my Gamecube with Timesplitters 2 after reading week.

Senselessness

OK, so ive not had a chance to post in a while, this uni work is really piling up now, essays, data handling garbage and online assessments coming out of the woodwork.
Also, went a bit mad with the spending yesterday, saw Ju-on (the original grudge film) and ichi the killer on amazon for 2.97 each so i got those, and then went on CDJapan for my scheduled browse and ended up ordering, BEE(insert more E's)ST from High and mighty color, which i thought seeing as Maki is leaving i would buy the limited version with the DVD containing 4 PVs and live footage, BARGAIN, also you can vote for a song you want on the album HERE. Also on my spate of senseless spending i ordered the Best of for Rentrer en soi, which has the same concept, you can vote for your favourite song to go on the album HERE. THEN i also ordered the new Stereopony single, which is the new ED for bleach if you dont know, i fell in love with that song as soon as i heard it, and i got the last first press edition as well :D. So now im broke haha, oh well, it was worth it, at least it had better be...

Also im gonna put up a poll as soon as i figure out how, WHICH IS BETTER, THE NEW BLEACH OP (opening song) OR THE NEW ED?
thought id tell you know so youve got time to think about it :D.

DETHKLOK

So ive been watching this cartoon from america called Metalocalypse, i wasnt expecting much but its really hilarious, its about this metal band called Dethklok, "the seventh biggest economy in the world" and "the biggest cultural force" and millions of people go to their concerts, which most of the time end up in most of the crowd being killed or maimed, thats just what makes it so funny, the comedy is very good, and their songs are hilarious, imagine a coffee jingle in death metal form, followed by boiling coffee and cream being poured onto the crowd, hideously burning them. Thats pretty much it. Not for the weak hearted i might add. But uni is going OK, Japanese lessons are predictably the highlight of my week, and im still ill... as is much the same with everyone else

A great quote:

Nathan Explosion:*growled voice* "and now for the blackest present for the most brutal of all bass players: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHINNGGG"
Murderface: "awwwwww you SUCK!"

And some clips

In Flames again

Just thought id post this, Satellites and astronauts live from monday nights gig, the highlight of the show, this is such a rare song for them to play live !

THE BULLET AND NEWS STORM

I cant help but notice that im listening to this mini album more and more, its not new, its not perfect, but i just cant help it, I freakin' love Sadie man they are an awesome band, so CHECK THEM OUT! The Bullet storm is the mini im refering to, 5 songs, Simple and well written, fast paced punk edged songs to a ballad, except Waver in darkness it ruins the whole thing, avoid it like the plague, I would recommend the other 4 to anyone.

Now for NEWS

Merry have announced a new single for Xmas, called "Fuyu no Castanet", looking forward to this A LOT. Released 26th November.
3 types, A, B w/ DVD and C also w/ DVD.
A has the title track and an acoustic version of kanashimi blue train
B has title track and PV and bonus footage whatever that may be...
C has title track and DVD with making of footage and PV

Also, theyve got their Gendai Stoic (first) album remastered, and will be rereleased on October 10th, Id get it just for Tasogare restaurant, yasashisa kid and bluesy night :D.

Sadie have also announced a new single "Ice Romancer" out on 17th december. No tracklisting as of yet.

Girugamesh have released a PV sample for BREAK DOWN, from theiur new album MUSIC, check it out on youtube, see what you think. Personally i like it a lot.

Lynch. have also released a pv sample for their upcoming single "Ambivalent Ideal" seems OK but a little too similar to their previous album material.

Recently annoucning their unexpected disbandment, Rentrer en soi will be releasing their last new material in the form of a mini album called Megiddo, hope they go out with a bang :D. Also they have titled their best of album which is out on 19th November, AUN SOPH AUR (WTF :S) YOU can choose the tracks they put on it, you can vote only once so make it count people!
http://www.freewill.jp/rent_request/request.html , I voted for Negative creep cos its a little known awesome B-side.

Also, FELLOW D=OUT FANS REJOICE! Not only are they releasing Zipang (my favourite album this year) in europe with a bonus DVD, but a European tour is in the works! COME TO THE UK FOR ONCE! I want to bask in the jazzy awesomeness

Thats all folks!

Tonight

Well, i literally just got back from the In Flames gig at the manchester academy, thought id write this now before i forgot :D.
Anyway so we got there a little bit late and the first band "Sonic Syndicate", just walked on stage as we (me and two mates) walked in, so they are from Sweden (fom what i gathered) they were really good, lots of good riffs, but no solos unfortunately, i thought the fact that they have 2 vocalists that both do the same thing, is a little unnecessary but hey, only criticism is, a lot of the songs sounded very similar.
Next on, were Gojira, a french band, im a little hit and miss with these they played 6 or 7 songs, but only 2 or so sounded any good to me.
Then after an agonising half hour wait (not quite as bad as the several hours for Diru last november) In Flames arrived on stage. Good choice of intro song, The chosen pessimist, got everyone worked up. Then my mind goes a little fuzzy, i never remember the order of songs at concerts, but 4 or 5 from the new album such as Im the Highway, Delights and Angers, Move Through Me and Disconnected. But the best part was the fact that they whipped out a bunch of oldies that was absolutely brilliant, ones theyve hardly ever played live, for example, The Jester Race (even stuck the main riff of Behind Space in there), Dead god in me, pinball map, Insipid 2000, the main surprise was Satellites and Astronauts which i love. Then good ol' crowd pleasers, Come Clarity, Vanishing Light, Trigger, Cloud Connected, the Quiet Place and Take this Life. They were a lot better than i had ever hoped, they interacted and talked with the crowd a lot, played to the crowd too, my only criticism this time is that there was NO MOONSHIELD :(, theres always next time i suppose...

Manchester

SO! Here i am,Manchester, got here last sunday, i apologise, ive note had time to post, what a busy week its been. Welcome talks coming out of the woodwork, going out every night but one, made lots of new buddies, its been great. I really like Manchester itself and where i am, Im on the city campus which is 5 minutes walk from the city center, over 500 pubs and clubs apparently, and 10 minutes from where my lectures are on the main campus. Got a little park and rail bridge outside my window (ill take some pictures of my cesspit later). Had a stomach ache and felt bloated for the past few weeks, but i got some stuff for that now should get better i hope...
Lectures start tomorrow, freshers week is over, back to the monotony of education once again.

TEAM UK!

I love this video, its from Yakitate! Japan, a hilarious parody of us english people, best part is ITS TRUE! If only we could all actually be as awesome as them. Check it out!



We are English and we love tea!
Occasionally we hang out at pubs, too!
You can’t buy our bread with Euros!
We add malt vinegar to everything!
Fish and chips! Fish and chips!

AHAH ROFL

R.I.P. RENTRER EN SOI, 2001-2008

I write this with a heavy heart, Rentrer en soi are breaking up. Its been 7 years, theyve had ups and down, but always came out good in the end, I wish them all the best of luck in whatever they go on to do, they are going to release their final Mini-album Megiddo in october, and then a final best of album in November, followed by their last live on Christmas day. I think I may have to buy that Best of, but well see what tracklisting it gets. Hopefully we can get another good band reborn from the ashes of ReS, who knows?

Dir en grey - GLASS SKIN

I got this in the post this morning, and I was quite surprised at the speed of the delivery, It was only shipped on Tuesday, only 4 days? How comes I can get a parcel from Japan quicker than I can get a letter from my parents?
I ordered the 1st press Limited edition from CDJapan, so I got this quite cool poster with it, which isnt bad, but it seems strange to me that the limited edition and the regular are the same price.
ANYWAY on the review



I like the cover art myself, theres something enigmatic about it.
Glass Skin - I REALLY do like this song a lot, it isnt their best, but i feel its a step forward, moving away from the MOAB sound towards a more mellow ballad, although i feel the bass could have been more pronounced. I like the piano riff, its a marmite thing i suppose you either love it or hate it, I really like the bridge vocals (around 3:00).
Undecided - Now this always worried and intrigued me, i was hoping that it wouldnt turn out like Hydra -666- (even though i was strangely drawn to it), again i feel that i really like this song, It has a nice structure and good acoustic work. I do wish they had left the original strumming patern in the beginning though.
AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -UNPLUGGED- - In my eyes (or should i say my ears), this song is an absolute abomination, WHAT THE HELL, i couldnt even listen to it all the way through even once!
Ryoujoku no Ame (Live) - I do love the original recording of this song (especially the single version) this live version feels a little gimmicky, its a faithful live production, but its nothing special.
I award this single
7.6/10 - Good start, but as for 3 and 4, theres no need, give us more NEW songs.

Death Note Fever

Yes it appears I have caught it, I was bored this afternoon (as with every sunday) so decided to watch Death Note, I've heard nothing but good things about it so i thought id give it a try, and boy was i not dissapointed, It is an amazing show, one of the longer seasons at 37 episodes, this is a deeply engrossing show about a book (i wont reveal spoilers dont worry), yes thats right, a book, this series, beautifully animated, Light Yagami, your typical high school student in tokyo discovers this book, the Death Note, carries this message "the human whos name is in this book shall die" Light soon discovers this and uses it for his own warped sense of social justice (á la Bleach's Tousen). The Police however have other ideas and are out to stop him, including a young super detective known only as "L". Light gets more and more insane as the story progresses, it is very emotionally involving, as some of the characters that die, you will honestly feel bad for and, although Light is cool at first and his "world view" is admirable... things take a turn for the worse. Im now upto episode 9 and i just cant stop watching it ad Light and L try to second guess each other, a true battle of the minds. Bravo. Episode 25 is THE best episode of ANYTHING ive ever seen!
And thus i award my first ever 10/10



Light and the death note

Sakuran / さくらん

So today was the event of my week (says a lot for my week i know) me and some friends (7 of us in total) went to London to see a new japanese film, Sakuran, Set in 18th Century Edo, Japan - “Sakuran” traces the life of Kiyoha as she ascents from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. Sakuran takes the familiar feudal era Tokyo and infuses it with the hip modern day style of Tokyo. With an epic rock/jazz soundtrack and stunning visuals, a very good film, extremely interesting to watch. Im not gonna give to much away, go and see it.


8.5/10

Reviews again

Cellt - Lydia [Single]

Now this band have been a little hit and miss with me, the "Hakanai inori..." single was great, with the exception of despair garbage, and the Candy monstar single was a bit Meh, so i was hoping for more this time, and i was not dissapointed! I like the synth/electro power chords of the title track, works well with his voice and is a very well put together song, unlike this blog it would seem haha. Especially the palm muted bridge leading to the chorus. the second song seems to be an almost jazzy song with a distorted high riff, which is pulled off i feel, the last track is called Impulse and i love the drum and bass at the beginning, funky, and the power chords come in with great effect then the solo over the chords, its great.
KEEP IT UP!
9.0/10

In preparation for mail

I just love it when the postman comes each morning, especially when im waiting for mail, this morning was no exception, i heard the bang of the spring loaded finger trap we call the mail flap in our front door and jumped out of bed to see what, if any mail was for me, and what a bounty today, i got my new Japanese dictionary, huge thing it is, for university and also my CD that i ordered from Amazon, Shinjuuka by Kagerou (their best of album), i always liked this band, then they disbanded, i spotted this gem on amazon for only £8.99 with 30 tracks on 2 CDs thats a bargain by any standards.

So i thought id give my review:

Kagerou - 心中歌 (Shinjuuka - Suicide song) [Best of Album]

To be quite frank this is one of those marmite bands, you either love them or hate them, if you haven't heard them before this is the best place to start, a mixture of fast paced punk songs to driving ballads this is a varied album.
As a best of album this album is true to its word, this truly is probably one of the best selection of their songs you could choose. A mix of all of their most famous songs, "wrist cutter" "XII Dizzy" and "Kogarashi"; their unreleased rare and B-sides such as "sakurakurakura" and even a new song "Ichirin no Aoku" which is absolutely amazing. there is the odd song perhaps that you might not like, but in a compilation of 35 SONGS theres a little something for everyone.
8.9/10

音楽のNews

There have been far too many releases during my time in japan for me to fully review them all, half of which ive not even listened to yet, but i shall do my best as I feel it is my duty.

D=Out - Heisei Bubble [Single]
This isnt a new single but I LOVE their style, the vocalist has a really cool voice and they stand out from the sea of predictable VK, jazzy and bluesy tunes with saxaphones and jazz piano MY KINDA THING!, I like it a lot
8.7/10

D=Out - Zipang [Album]
This is their new album and in a similar vein to their above mentioned single, but as a larger portion, this is my sort of thing, i absolutely adore this band and this album is no exeption, finger clicking, toe tappin', thigh slappin' jazzy awesomeness
9.3/10

Deathgaze - Abyss [Single]
They certainly have improved since "im broken baby" and with the arrival of their new bassist too, i like this single, i can garuntee you have not heard guitars detuned this far and vocals this deep, but it suits them, his singing is good, but his growls still need work, but good work.
7/10

Siva - Demolish and Liberalism [2 Singles]
Ill review these as one and the same as they really make up a single between them with 2 songs each, which seems a little bit of a rip off spendin lyk about £10 on 4 tracks, but its a good result, only thing is each song is a little hit and miss, there are truly awesome parts of songs, eg Public opinions chorus, but the rest of the song is not as impressive, all to prevailant on the other songs as well. More consistency please.
6.2/10

Rentrer en soi - UNENDING SANCTUARY [Single]
Right, this had the potential to be such a brilliant single, the title track is rockin' as usual, though as i had expected not a Stigmata beater, but the B-sides, i just wanna know WHY they keep doing silly rehashes of old songs THERES NO NEED, especially as half the time the originals are better anyway, because of this, even though the title track was great i can only award a :
5/10

Ill review more later, ive not had a chance to listen to more, spent hours listening to D=Out THEY ARE TOO GOOD.

TADAIMA - IM BACK IN ACTION

Ive been meaning to update this since i got back from holiday, but that was a really hectic week, what with results etc and i never got round to it, secondly i realised that no-one reads this anyway HAHA, and thirdly, most typical of me, i forgot.
Well here i am, back again.

Got back from Japan (best frikin' holiday EVER) on the 13th of August, only to be met the next day, dreary eyed and jet lagged, with my A-level results.
I got an A in Biology, a B in Chemistry and a C in History, which is dissapointing because i found out that i was only 3 and 7 marks away from an A in chemistry and B in History respectively. But i did get my first choice uni, MANCHESTER HERE I COME! still got a few weeks left here yet so, make the most of it i suppose.

But yeah back to the Holiday, absolutely the best holiday ever, not to everyones tastes but wow.
Went to Tokyo, Saitama, Omiya, Osaka, and Nishinomiya (where Haruhi is based on hehe)
good times, many laughs were had, went to loads of concerts, bought loads of clothes and CDs.
I am now officially broke. oh well was worth it. Hopefully i can go back soon and see all the guys and gals again soon

Re-view

Well im bored, and i have to eat time somehow until holiday starts...
so REVIEWS of nu singles

first
we have the new MAXIMUM THE HORMONE single TSUME TSUME TSUME/[F]
A really good single, mix of punk and metal growls, which go surprisingly well together in this chaotic single, my favourite song is [F], which begins with a very hard to comprehend barrage of growling, followed by a nice singing part and a classic rapping/growling section from Daisuke. The chorus is really cool singin, pop bass folowed by more growling,the solo is great, i likes what i hears, i always find this band hard to describe, hardcore punk? :S i have no idea lol.

Lets see what else,
Dali - Endroll = meh, typical VK vocals have some nice unpredictability and nice drums but mehworthy.

Ayabie - Mikazuki no kiseki
A nice song, sounds in the same vein as Cubic [L/R]ock, which is good, i like this song, nice jazzy feel, with piano and trumpets(?) good summer tune. vocal wise, typical ayabie, very soft. good chill out. Digital Neverland - i dont like so much, too electropop for me. Hare no hi (fine day) this song i really do like A LOT. sounds like it was made live, the clapping works well. nice high chords, the chorus and lyrics are really well done, the main riff sounds similar to Audrey by Dir en grey, in a very spurious way. Hinageshi - Im not sure what to think of this, one of the more fact paced ones, kind of like Japanese lo-res caramel town. Its alright, guess i just havent given it much of a chance, nice solo too.

J News

NEWS:
MUCC are coming to the UK in October!!! YATTA, albeit its part of the tatse of chaos tour, which has got some crap (emo) bands, but i REALLY wanna see MUCC so ill go n leave when they finish i reckon.
I finally get to see them, at their manchester gig, as ill be at uni by then, but that is truly awesome news.

MY NEXT GIGS:
August 19th - Kagrra, - London
September 29th - In Flames - Manchester
October 30th - MUCC - Manchester

But i can just look to an entire year of goin to gigs most days in Japan! Especially this year on holiday :D.
Check back for Holiuday pics and stories!!!
Not that anyone reads this anyway... lol

America

See America (rightly or wrongly is debateable) is seen by many of its inhabitants as over everyone else and the best in the world, well, theres one thing they dont have

TOP GEAR

Without this you are nothing.

ALL HAIL TOP GEAR!!!

Best show ever, i cant wait to see the cross-japan race :P

Oh and Top Gear USA? PUUUHHLEEEEEEEEZE that will be a failure of epic proportions

Playing Catch up

I havent posted for a while, which is odd really as its not like ive been doing anything meaningful lol. Anyway just to bring everything up to date, good news first
Kagrra, are playing in london on August 19th! Hope to see you there ;)
Merry are releasing a new single in august, cant wait for that :D their first retrock single apparently KEWL!
Then theres the new SADIE single "Grieving the dead soul" Which is believe is out later this month, the PV preview is available now and i must say, looking very promising indeed, progress from the sadie boys. what else...
oh yeah, Rentrer en soi have also released a 30second preview of their new single "UNENDING SANCTUARY" which again looks good, but i remain apprehensive at whether its a Stigmata beater, but i cant be more optimistic about their upcoming album, which will hopefully be soon.
Then a few days ago came the motherload.

DIR EN GREY - GLASS SKIN (New Single)
1. Glass Skin
2. Undecided (remake of the song on Kisou)
3. Agitated screams of maggots -unplugged-
4. (on limited edition only) Ryojouku no Ame - Live

Released 10th September
Strangely enough the Limited edition is the same price as the regular... hmm
But order quick, with the first press you get a big poster :D which i have ordered of course.

Other good news, The New versailles album released next week, should get here a few days later, ill review it in due course, then a week later, the new Merry DVD is out, cant wait for that ill review that too, then its HOLIDAY TIME !!! hehe cant wait, but its a secret ;)
Also In FLames are embarking on a UK tour in September/October, which would be bad news as the london gig is October 1st, ill have started uni at Manchester by then Learnin mah japanese :D and mah science. but as fate would have it, they are doin a gig at the manchester academy which in the student union i get cheaper tickets :D

now... bad news
THIS DAMN KEYBOARD... all me keys are screwed up (as im sure u can probably tell already)
its ******* annoyin. IN BEFORE GET A NEW ONE - ITS A LAPTOP so a nu one aint happenin, gahhh.
hmm what else, dreading results day, work sucks ass, youtube poop and haruhi is eating my life (although thats not necessarily bad hehe)

HARUHIISM! *does hare hare yukai dance* (look it up)

A little explanation

I saw this quote on the internet yesterday from Marty Friedman:
"The music in America is depressing now. I don't like it when rich people make angry music. It's not convincing to me. One thing that bummed me out about Megadeth was that we were acting like we were angry all the time, and I'm not that good of an actor. I've found that in Japan you can play hard, heavy and aggressive music and it can still be uplifting"
Thats kinda how i feel too, hence my listening habits.

Also theres this band One OK Rock which are good, its funny cos when you say their name its "wan-oku-rock" sounds like one o clock, which is quite a good pun.

So much for this freedom lark then

Well, so much for I cant wait for the exams to end, i kinda knew this would happen, im just bored lol, so to keep my sanity ive decided to post a list of this next months noteable Jrock/pop releases

25th june:
Mikazuki no kiseki - Ayabie (single)
SADIE -Undead 13+2- - Sadie (best of album)
HOT LIMIT - High and Mighty Color (Single)

9th July:
Tsume tsume tsume /[F] - Maximum the hormone (single)
Untitled - Orange range (single)

16th July:
abingdon boys school JAPAN TOUR 2008 - A.B.S (DVD)
Noble - Versailles (album) [ive ordered this one :D]

23rd July:
Grieving the dead soul - Sadie (Single)
With 〜Indies Best〜 - Wizard (album)
Many Merry Days FINAL Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan - MERRY (DVD) [Ordered this too :D]
Orion once again - DELUHI (Single)

30th July:
D live tour 2008 - D (DVD)
UNENDING SANCTUARY - Rentrer en Soi (single)

Lots of good releases this month :D

Well now that thats been done, ive got to find something to keep me busy, guess it will have to be that Genki japanese books, gotta get ready for uni.

GREAT NEWS

FINALLY
COLLEGE IS OVER!
I have finished my last exams which went very well, all there is now is the 2 month wait for the results. Its been two years of hardships, struggle mixed in equal amounts with happiness and progress. A lot of people i know ill probably never see again... but they are, im sure, as well as me are moving on to bigger and better things, and that at least gives me some closure on this whole experience, ill always remember this time, i just wanna thank everyone whos helped me and been there for me during college :D.
Other news, i think on my daily scouring of the vast interwebs, that i have discovered perhaps one of the best songs i have ever heard, i was blown away, MADO by Merry one of their B-sides on one of their old singles. Its short at just under 3 minutes and sweet it most certainly is. Youve just gotta check it out yourselves, PURE MUSICAL GOLD, its everything that i could ever wish of them, the vocals in this are supreme "Neeeeeee (pronounced Neeehhh) kikoemasu kaaaaa?"

http://www.4shared.com/file/16533199/52849a86/Sakashima_End-Roll__Phantom_of_the_Gallery__Krizalid_Dash_.html
Its track number 2, but all 3 are superb (SUPOIB), uploaded by http://japanvisualkei.blogspot.com
:D
ENJOY YO SUMMER PEOPLE

Stuff

Feelin' good today, just preordered the new Versailles album (NOBLE), and the new Merry live DVD (Many Merry Days Final: Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan) from CDJapan CANT WAIT! Gonna be great, ill review them as soon as I get them n watch/listen to em.

Hurr... Back to the present, History Unit 6 exam tomorrow and Chemistry Unifying concepts. Then 2 Biology A2 exams friday... Back to revision it is.

Riddle

Got a good riddle for you this time...

You want £50 for a new pair of trainers or whatever.

Person A lends you £25, and Person B lends you £25 as well.

You go to the shop, turns out the trainers are only £45.

So youve got £5 change. You give Person A £1 back, and Person B £1. Leaving you with £3 change.

Now you owe each of them £24, BUT WAIT you have £3 change,

making a total of £51 (24 x 2 + 3)

where did the extra pound come from?

Hehe I thought that was a good one when I heard it, still havent worked it out :S

As good old Craig Charles would say on Takeshi's Castle "answers on a postcard please" XD

Which, if you haven't seen by the way, your missing out, it is the best freakin' show ever! Total craziness.

High and Mighty Color

HandMC

Wow, I mean a always kinda liked them, Gouon progressive album was really good, Ichirin no Hana, brought me into them, as im sure most of there fans were, Their new album ROCK PIT is fantastic, but I never brought myself round to getting their first, GooVER, I got it today and ZOMG its by far their best it is soo good, so as usual i get distracted from revision and start watchin some more youtube videos, i just stumbled across their new one HOT LIMIT, DAMN thats a catchy song good video too, very similar to the original video by TM revolution (who makes a cameo at the end) but yeah really good,

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR - HOT LIMIT [PV]

Check it out, I must admit; Maki is looking quite hot in this one :P

Catch up

Phew... what a week

Just finished all me exams for this week, no more 'til next thursday.

History was monday, me unit 1 resit, question a: "What was the appeal of the SA using these sources ... blah blah blah" OH COME ON! we spent lyk half an hour on them in class -.-

Part B was; "How far do you agree that it was due to Hitler's charisma that the Nazis gained such mass support from 1930-32?" Not bad i guess, didnt have much to right for his charisma, but other factors i wrote lyk 4 pages on lol.

Biology was on tuesday, human health and disease, again was alryt, not brilliant i reckon i got a high B maybe scraped an A hopefully. The weird picture of the goblet cell stumped loadsa people lol, the insert pictures were absolutely pointless, you could have answered the questions without em...

Today was the last of my resits, Chemistry foundation, now before yesterday afternoon i had done no revision for this and felt screwed honestly. But I sat down from 2pm until half 11 last night revising pretty much nonstop, well im happy to report that it payed off and im gonna be very surprised if i got less than 58/60 :D.

Next weeks exams are gonna be hell though... hurrrr better get started

In other news

KAGRRA,

THEYRE COMIN TO LONDON!!! 20th/21st August

Hell yes I cant wait to see them theyre awesome, not been to a gig since An Cafe, Anyone who wants to come let me know ;) Just waiting for Rentrer en soi now...

Also I thought I had to post this pic, This is lyk the best car ive ever seen, I mean I love Subaru Imprezas anyway but this is SICK!

AWW YEAH, if only it wasnt for the fat woman in the background XD

Newz

Just thought i'd let those VK/JROCK fans out there (you know who you are :D) that I just found out that YOU'RE AWESOME! Nah seriously though but...

EXIST TRACE are gonna tour europe in october/november!

HELLZ YEAH! Never saw that one coming at all theyre not even that big but hey im not complaining.

Definately worth goin to see. Hope they play the Annunciation album :D

Exist trace - Yes, this time they are all girls :D

Back up to date

Well, this has been a busy week, and now college is over for ever! And damn did it go out with a bang, straight after our last lesson, a load of us went to the Hogshead in Hornchurch, and by about 3pm we were all TOTALLY SMASHED beyond belief, I dont think I have ever drunk that much in that space of time, 5 or 6 pints of Fosters, 5 Corkey's shots, and a couple of JD shots, I was quite frankly out for the count. Great day, especially because some of the teachers turned up as well :D Graham for one (my history tutor)
Just for exams now... starting next monday... better get down to some revision I think.

In other news:
NEW RENTRER EN SOI SINGLE!!!! JULY 30th

"UNENDING SANCTUARY"

1. UNENDING SANCTUARY
2. Secret scars ~acoustic mix~
3. To Infinity (new mix)

Lookin' good! lets hope for another stigmata success!

Also
Danger Gang
1st Full album "St. Beast"

Hope its good! Theyre not THE best but damn good, looking forward to it.

What else we got here... hmm
Sadie -SADIE Best of compilation album (ive ordered it) out June 25th
Versailles - Noble - 1st full album - out July 7th


みんなへ頑張ってください! Minna e Gambatte Kudasai! Good luck everyone!

Many merry days indeed

So, now its time once again for an artist review, yes im fully aware that its late but ive never been one for keeping schedules...


anyway this week is...


メリー (merii) MERRY.



L to R: Yuu, Tetsu, Gara, nero, kenichi

Formed: Tokyo 2001

Style: You name it they've done it, acid jazz, jazz rock, ska, punk, blues, classic rock, surf rock, rock, metal. But their prevailing theme is RETROCK - a clever portmanteau of retro rock, which is accurate.

Members: Gara (vocals) Kenichi, Yuu (guitars) Tetsu (bass) and Nero (drums)


I cannot stress enough the immense awesomeness of this band. Every single one of their albums is worth buying.

Its hard choosing the best songs on each album, because in many cases its all of them!

Discography:

Albums -

Gendai stoic (2003) - Best tracks: Bluesy night, tasogare restaurant, yasashisa kid


Modern Garde (2004) - Best tracks: Japanese Modernist, Renai kousaten, Haraiso

Koseiha blend classic ~Oldies Tracks~(2005) - Best tracks: Tic-tac, R246

nu chemical rhetoric (2005) - Best tracks: Kubitsuri rondo, shambara, atashi wa sute neko

Peep show (2006) - Best tracks: Kyousou carnival, kousou biru no ue de last dance, retro future

M.E.R.R.Y. (2007) - Best tracks: Blind romance, Last snow, hirahira tonderu

The new singles Tozasareta Rakuen and Midnight Shangrila were in all honesty a bit naff. BUT the tozasareta rakuen riffs are brilliant as always it was just the vocals on these singles really, but 喜劇のタブー on Toza single was good, the midnight shangrila was well, one new song, which was terrible, and the other was a rerecording of a previous song which sounded no different, good thing it was only sold at one gig...

Basically this band is extremely hard to explain, their mixture of all of these genres creates an "undeniably fresh" sound which is obviously very original and is MASS AWESOME! You have to check them out, even if you dont even like japanese music, give it a try, this is one band where im sure everyone will find at least one song they like (well, apart from deaf people)

Theyve got a new live dvd out in July, cant wait ive preordered it already :P

check this out:
http://www.myspace.com/merrymate - they got a few songs on there.
and their official website - http://www.merrymate.jp/

Kubitsuri rondo PV:

Sunday

*sigh* I do get lonely sometimes...

Music and the likes

Just to let you all know, I should have really mentioned it earlier, but if you ever want to get hold of any of the music or movies I review go to CDJapan they are the best, cheap and quick delivery, couldnt ask for more.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/

Check it out, definately worth a look, and from now on, when I review a CD, ill post the link under the review so you can buy the CD and support the artists!

Rock on

Teh Musix

WOW look at me 2 posts in one day! I AM AWESOME.

uhum

Anyway, I was gonna put all this into one post but it doesnt really fit into the same mood, so i separated them. Thism post is certainly less disheartening than the last. Now im in the mood for... no not love, well maybe, but MUSIC, mainly because ive preordered the new Versailles album, and the new Sadie album from CDjapan...

Here are some of my reviews for recent releases, ive decided to do reviews because im sick of reading a review, thinking "this kid is a retard, this album is amazing" so ill do my own damn reviews. amidoinitrite?

but before I do any reviews I wanna clear this up, when I write the album titles the order is:

ALBUM TITLE - Band Name, OK? not the other way around


First off we have..


GILIA - Matenrou Opera (摩天楼オペラ）
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=SASCD-37

Style: Visual Kei, Metal

Release date : 15th May


Price: 2500yen (12qui-dish)


5 track CD and Free DVD containing the "Alkaloid showcase" PV



VISIT: http://www.myspace.com/matenrouopera2007, and matenrou-opera.info/


Review:


1. Plastic cell - Great opening, I love the piano and crunchy palm muted guitars at the beginning, and the quite headbangable riff, this song, much like the others show off the EPIC voice of the vocalist Sono, his singing voice is absolutely amazing, it has amazing range, from raspy or throaty growl, to operatic sustained notes, especially in this song at the end of the chorus (at about 1:58).The mixture of ethereal piano and rockin' guitars sit together really well. the solo is not one of those freakin' ridiculous dragonforce poo speed solos, but it is certainly well thought out. The last note he sings at the end is brilliant.

2. Alkaloid Showcase - A rerecording of an earlier song, with the music vid on the DVD. To be quite honest his ability has progressed noticably since the original, but I still prefer the original, it sounds more raw, and in this version theyve put slightly different synth-ey bits in. The second verse as well, (the one with growled vocals in the background) just isnt as well done in my opinion. It isnt a bad song by any means, but not the best on the CD. The video is Ok for a 1st video, mainly them playing in a warehouse thing, with occasional shots of Manhatten skyscrapers (matenrou means skyscraper).

3. Twilight Parade - This is definately my favourite of the lot, Im an absolute sucker for bridges like this. (1:05- 1:20ish) The opening riff however isnt particularly good, but once it gets started, boy does it get good, only to calm down with drums and bass for the verse, sung very precisely. Then the bridge OMG it is so amazing, they shouls do an entire song like that it would rock my socks off. The chorus is the typical high reaching vocal showing off, which as usual is good, but I don't think chorus' are this bands strength, it lies more in the vocals, guitar and in the bridges. The solo is excellent, impecable, and fades out well into a small instrumental, leading to another bridge YAY!!!! More awesomeness, then the chorus again.

4. Sara - We all knew it would come somewhere, this is the Epic ballad of this album, good start and guitar work, the verses are ok, they seem to drag a little, but they end so well, with guitar coming in while sono holds the last few notes of the verse, which is connected to the next via a little solo. The chorus in this song is definately a candidate for the best on the CD, one complaint is that it could have done with a twilight parade like bridge :D. His vocals during the solo are brilliant complimenting the guitar well. Dont think it needed to be 6 and a half minutes though.

5. 虚空殻の手紙 - The last song on the CD, uses a harmonica, lol, but ill admit it does work to some extent, it still would have worked without it, but its ok. Another balladey sort of song, with more guitarless stanza's (yes i have eaten a dictionary XD) But the second verse is great as it actually has guitar running through it, followed by a bridge with the harmonica, and truth is i like it a lot. The final stand, as it were,makes a fitting end to the album.



Overall this is a very good CD, if you are new to them i recommend the european version, about the same price, but you get three extra songs, from their previous single, i got the japanese version, because I had them anyway.



This is a very promising band, with epic vocals, varying song styles, the vocalist being their main strength, which really make them stand out. Saying that i think they need to work on bass work, perhaps bringing some bass solos, and making brilliant gazette-like bass riffds, instead of only playing the root notes of the guitar chords.



Im gonna give this album a: 7.5/10



One question, why, when you toured europe last month DID YOU NOT COME TO THE UK! You gave those lousy frogs 3 gigs, thanks...

well, as a treat for you, ill link the alkaloid showcase video to give you a taste of their skillz:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1cHNDjnBeRc

(because this crappy thing wont let me post the video)

Next up is:


Brilliant - D'espairsRay

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=POCE-14103

Style - Gothic/Industrial Rock/Metal

1000yen - about £4.50



1. Brilliant - Now, the usual D'espairsray stuff is dark and twisty metal/rock stuff, but this single has turned the distortion down slightly and gone for a more rock angle. After the quite confusing few seconds at the beginning where it sounds quite jumbled, Hizumi's voice kicks in, for the typical DR verse, followed by a similar chorus, I really like the little interludes between the chorus and the verse. It is almost brilliant. the break down certainly is and is absolutely amazing. It is a very catchy song and a good comeback single from the boys after being quiet after releasing their last album MIRROR a year ago. it’s only a very near miss to a new and truly great D’espairsRay classic.


2. Cocoon - Decent intro, the verses sound kinda like KoRn in a way, But the chorus way more than makes up for that, they are like the singles title, brilliant, as are the bridges. hizumi brings a mixture of growls, shouts and singing into the fray here and it all makes for one hell of a song, if only the verses were slightly better.

A very solid single from DesRay. It could have been improved by having more to it, maybe another b-side, a live song or a PV, but cant complain.
7/10

Ill do more reviews tomorrow, these two have take like 45 minutes lol...
Sadie- Crimson tear to look forward to.

Wasurerarenai (忘れられない）

こんにちは！ Hehe, just testing the IME.
Anyway, i've not posted for a while I know, and i apologise, not that anyone reads these things lol.

Well its been a long haul but were almost there, only one more week of college left before we finish. Its had its ups and downs like most things, but its definately been a positive experience altogether, met loads of new people, made new friends, learnt a lot of things. Its just saddening to think that most of them, ill probably never see again :( , we'll all just have to move on down our own paths I guess, life goes on.

Exams starting next week as well... ughh not looking forward to those at all, my first exam next week if my Chemistry assessed practical, probably a titration as usual, just gotta brush up on my calculations, itll probably be alright (famous last words there). Then two weeks of slobbing and revision before the proper exams start. Gonne be a tough few weeks. Last exam is on the 18th of June... Can't wait till the 19th.

Unrelated note but i think "NEGATIVE CREEP" by Rentrer en soi really goes with this post...


P.S. for those who arent fluent in japanese, wasurerarenai means unforgettable, thought i'd let you all know rather than you looking it up on google afterwards XD.

Sunday Hero, Indiana Jones

Just finished a night of movies, Watched the 1st hour or so of Indiana Jones and the temple of doom.Its a great watch, but probably the worst of the three so far; which reminds me, the new film, I dont know what to think really, I want it to be good, I really do but I can't help but have reservations about ressurecting a 25 year old franchise, remember the phantom menace? Yes see thats exactly what I mean, I doubt JarJar Binks will be in it, but we shall see...

ANYWAY
After the first hour of that, perhaps the GREATEST film I have ever seen was on Channel 4, sorry Indy, but theres no way in hell that im missing HERO.



Where to start on this film, just wow, it blows me away every time I see it, the stunning visuals, the amazing choreography, the awe-inspiring imagery. This film has it all. Yes, it is a martial arts epic (epic being the operative word) but its not a wild beat em up gore fest (sorry andy XD) the fight scenes feel very controlled and thhe whole film flows effortlessly, with an epic soundtrack to match. The story is quite simple really its the story of a man "Nameless" (Jet Li) who travels to the king of Qin's chambers to be rewarded for "killing" his 3 most wanted assassins, he tells the story of his trials and tribulations encountered along the way, with different versions of the story having its own colour scheme, from red, to blue to white. There are various twists in the plot (which I wont ruin fo those who havent seen it) which are excellently planned and executed with perfect camera angles and locations by the director, Zhang Yimu. The overarching theme in this film is morality, as said by Nameless "one persons suffering is nothing compared to the suffering of millions" and perhaps the best way to end this entry is to use the final words of the film, which may help you understand the concept and its morality: "Our Land"

Screens from the film:

RENTRER EN SOI

ITS SATURDAY! and from now on, every saturday I will be posting a band review. This week the spotlight is on:


RENTRER EN SOI (リエントール アン ソイ)

Rentrer's new image



Formed in: 2001
Members: Satsuki(vocals), Takumi, Shun (guitars), Ryo (bass) and Mika (drums)
Discography: (albums) -
Sphire-Croid (January 26, 2005)
Rentrer en Soi (May 31, 2006)
The Bottom of Chaos (August 1, 2007)

Style: ReS are a visual kei/jrock band and they have a very unique sound in my opinion, their first two albums were ver original and varied, from pop, to rock and even metal songs, with a hint of synth every now and then. Their newest album The Bottom of chaos, is by no means a bad album its very good indeed, but it really does seem as though they copied the typical "dir en grey" sound, making it not particularly stand out. But recently they released a new single STIGMATA and oh my god, was that one for the books, they totally turned their sound around with an amazing rock song, full of melody, their new album, with this kind of new style, is going to be seriosly awesome, this is one band you really can't afford to take your eye off now.

The Stigmata video: RENTRER EN SOI - STIGMATA

Thursday House

Its Thursday, and as with every Thursday, comes a new episode of House M.D. which, i might ad, is one of the best shows on TV, this week we find house and his "contestants" trying to cure a magician who had a heart attack during a trick, it was an exceptionally good episode, with house trying to figure the magicians "magic" out after he freaks house out. Meanwhile House sends his apprentices to get Cuddy's thong XD.

Best quotes:

House: Foreman, she's not wearing any underwear. You used to be more fun.
Dr. Foreman: She's not wearing any underwear, big deal. When she stops wearing clothing, then we can drop the medical stuff.

House: Magic is cool. Actual magic is oxymoronic. Might not even be oxy.

House: I need you to bring me the thong of Lisa Cuddy. Not kidding. Thong. Cuddy. Go!(everyone looks at Foreman)
Dr. Foreman: It's how I got hired.

House: I FINALLY GOT A CASE OF LUPUS!

LOL, brilliant

Greys anatomy next, always a good follow up
:D

Kerrang and the life

So, its wednesday and as every week theres a new Kerrang! mag, now dont get me wrong I hate the damn thing, everyweek full of the same garbage "MCR rule!" and "Falloutboy are soo awesome!" ugh... Anyway, I have no idea why, but i decided to take a look and to my surprise there was ONE good page! Still didn't buy it of course but one good page, "A brief history of J-Rock" well things are looking up after all, worth checking out the albums and songs they mention there, of course occupying the majority of the space was Dir en grey, and deservedly so.


The cream of Japan... UNTIL I ARRIVE!


In other news I got my Chemistry A2 practical plan today, and its gotta be in by next friday, boy am i in for a fun filled week....

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Woop 1st post
Well, ive finally decided to get off my arse and start this thing, well here it is, ill be posting random stuff, you know normal blog stuff, as well as music and video game reviews as well as car reviews (mostly for ones ive driven on me travels haha) ill try and post as much as I can, exams coming up fast so I might be a bit stretched for time

well catch ya on the flip side!