Sweet Honey

Whee!!!
I’m so pumped!!!

Tomorrow is the 1st concert!

Huzzah!!!

I can’t wait to see Toguro live (HOPEFULLY).

Y⌒Y⌒Y⌒Y⌒Y⌒Y⌒(｡Ａ｡)!!!

<3

MARU

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I.E. I feel like spamming the blog today!

Jun, Kisaki, and Iori — from Jun’s birthday live.

Jun’s Brithday — Why is Gizmo there?

I have no words for this (E’m - grief on Halloween).

Bonus:

Rametan skateboarding!!

(taken from rame’s blog).

Miki

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Too much serious music analysis will rot your brain so…I GIVE YOU MIYAVI!!

From the ‘ol KVK BOIZ blog on ame blog!

Also…for Miki, Here’s an article from a japanese fashion store about what’s ‘in’ for loloita’s this winter. It was interesting and since it’s straight from japan it’s as pure information as can be.

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 Yuhsuke posted a new photo of himself on his blog.

His hair is so pale now. Btw ばいちゃ～ is how Yuhsuke ends his posts. I can’t find a translation of it, but I’m pretty sure it means ‘Byeee’ or something. If anyone knows exactly what it means, I’d welcome the instruction.  

Miki 

Photo from: http://yuhsuke-0624.jugem.jp/

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Is Toguro
蜷局
(track 5)
I’ve decided to take this review thing one song at a time ’cause the album is that epic.
However, I’m not quite sure in what order to review the songs because (even though it may be the easiest way to do it) I don’t really want to do it in sequential order. This only causes a problem because doing it out of order will make it harder to understand the flow of the album. To remedy this, I have decided to post an overall review first, which will NOT be all-inclusive but will serve to help me to explain the flow of the album. After which I will post reviews for the individual songs…starting with Toguro because I like it the best. I’m turning this into a bigger project than it has to be but I’m doing it mostly for myself (sry gaise) as it will help me to better understand and appriciate the album.
SO…off we go? (@_<)

Sa Bir:

Groaning intro song. It is obviously remeniscent of Macabre’s ‘Diety’ with the exception of pronounced vocals. Kyo makes some screaming and groaning/chocking noises through most of it. The string instrument in the song plays oriental music. Perhaps chinese? I’m not one-hundred percent on this yet though.

Vinushka:

Very long song running at 9:37. Almost as long as Macabre - Sanagi No Yume Wa Ageha No Hane. This is their second longest song to date. Much like Macabre, it uses alot of drum solos and groaning guitar riffs (groaning is the best way I can describe it). Kyo’s voice really gets to me in this song. It is heartbreaking at points, very quiet and beautiful. It starts out slow then after a while it picks up then slows back down. Most of the song is in flux. All in all it’s a very impressive, progressive rock type song. Most of the influence here sounds indian. Also, Kyo says ‘Vinshuka’ not ‘vinushka’…fail?

Red Soil:

This song was initially my favorite. The beggining guitar riff and vocala really got me into it. The cultural infuence behing this song is hard for me to to pin, but if I had to choose, I would say most likley india…..perhaps. Kyo’s vocals and shinya’s drumming REALLY make this song for me. The only bit that was a bit off-putting was a bit where kyo is making jibberish noises. It takes you out of the song a little.

Dokoku to Sarinu
慟哭と去りぬ:

This song starts out intense with a heavy drum and base. The bass actually really stands out in this song. The vocals are great but not the best part of the song. Alot of it is fast-paced and intense. The bridge is very good and the layering of the guitar was executed perfectly. It’s a very well-made song. It effectivley blends the angsty and rage-filled sides of dir.

Toguro
蜷局:

As I said before this is my personal favorite. It starts with a guitar riff (I believe it’s Die actually…will check to make sure though) before Kyo starts singing. This song defenitely has Indian influence. Kyo’s vocals are remeniscent of traditional Indian songs. It gives him room to show off hiss full range of notes. Toshiya does well in this song as well, as well as Shinya. They both help bring out that dark rich texture to this song like they did with Macabre. In addition, Kaoru and Die both shine in this song. Kaoru even gets to whip out his citar! That’s actually probably why I love this song so much, it really displays all of the band members’ strengths. It ends quietly though.

Glass Skin:

Full review (albeit a bit flawed by a crappy computer) can be found here
the only thing is that the album version is in english…very…incoherent english…(>_<)

Stuck Man:

I believe this was a live only track origionally. The album version is very cool. It makes you want to dance a little. The only upbeat-ish song on the album, it helps break the monotony of the album. It’s very different form the Macabre theme as well. It really reminds me of Vulgar. Kyo uses his death metal growl alot in this song. The base is amazing. The drums are jazzy. This song belongs to shinya and toshiya. It ends with much screaming.

Reiketsu Nariseba
冷血なりせば:

Another screaming start to a song. This one sounds a little russian or something. It makes me thing of the poverty stricken Jews in russia (Think ‘Fiddler on the Roof’) but it mixes that kind of music with straight out metal. After about 1min 30 sec the song turns slow and instrumental then kyo comes in with that traditionally oriental singing. The song goes back to being hardcore and ends that way.

Ware, Yami to te . . .
我、闇とて･･･:

This song starts slow and somewhat abruptly. The guitar sounds acoustic and kyo’s voice is soft for quite a bit of it. The drimming in this song reminds me of Macabre and the bass is a bit sporadic, but in a good way. This song is one of the ballads. Kyo’s vocals are remeniscent of glass skin. The guitar riffs are lite and remind me a bit of Mushi. It is a very good song. It evokes emotions easily with it’s desparing tones.

Bugaboo:

This song starts ominously. Kind of scary, but when you thinks it’s going to get loud, it doesn’t. Kyo’s voice is silet in the intro. The song finally picks up about 40 seconds in but not nearly as violently as you excpect it to. The song goes back to being beautiful with kyo’s despairing screams. Kyo’s voice is not at the forefront of this song for the whole of it. Alot of the focus in this song is directed toward the guitar. The guitar in this song has that twangy oriental sound to it some of the time. I think that Kaoru and Die probably had fun with this one. Also, there is alot of the deathmetal groan in this song. the song ends like it began.

Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro
凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃:

Review can be found on this page.

Dozing Green:

I’m gonna keep this short ’cause if you’re a fan, you’ve heard this alot. But this song is great. Strong guitar, strong bass, strong drums, and strong vocals. The guitar in this song holds true to the rest of the album and it is (like Glass Skin) entirely in english. It’s a bit more understandable than Glass Skin though.

Inconvenient Ideal:

This is the ballad of the Album. And, like all of Dir’s ballads, it’s amazing. However, it is not passive as some of there others have been. That is to say it has its intense moments. Every part of it has you shivering. It is a beautifully sad song. Sometimes kyo sounds like a siren in this song. Kaoru and Die’s guitars sing with each other and Shinya and Toshiya bring depth to it. The ending is a fade into silence, the perfect ending for an album like this.

Okay…that’s all for now. Sorry if the spacing is a little whacky…but i’m too sleepy to fix it right now and I have to work tomorrow so Imma go to bed.
Also, if someone has a problem with my reviews, chill, nothing you say matters to me so what I say shouldn’t upset you either. That’s really just a blanket statement for the intrawebs in general.So yeah. night night…I leave you with random Miyavi!

Pictures were obtained from his blog archives which can be accessed through www.o-re-sa-ma.com.

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This is something new that I’m going to try on the blog. Please do not repost these lyrics anywhere without credit (yes I actually went through and transliterated this, I have the kanji ><). Song choice is due to the current tour Dir en grey is doing in the U.S. Enjoy.

I’ll

sabitsuiteru kono to kei   boku no you da

hito no ai wa nanigenaku   owari wo mukaeru

osanai koro wo omou   yasashisa ni ueteta

amari nimo   too sugita   anata no koe

boku no kokoro   ano koro to   nanimo kawarazu

kimi ga okuru shitto dake ga tsunoru gakari

kizutsuku no ga kowakute nanimo deki naku naru

itsuka yume ga kanau to   boku wa negau

kisetsu ga   yuki wo furashita   sonna yoru

kimi ga boku ni okutta ai no hanataba   zoukei no doku no hanataba

boku no yume wa kuzureru suna ni nari kaze ni nagasare

nidoto hito wo aisuzu   demo ima mo kimi wo sagashite

*Note: These are as written in the single. Kyo adlibs in the song a bit.

Miki

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I got UROBOROS today…some pics.

Unfortunately…my grandpa also passed away today..so no review yet…but I can say that:
1) It’s very good!!
2) It’s one downfall (@ least to me) is that some of the tracks sound the same.
3) Kyo’s english is still bad.
4) The DVD is alot of talking and sitting and staring and Die get’s frustrated sometimes (or so it seems)
5)It’s huge.
6) Really huge…
7) It is alot like Macabre except that instead of being russian inspired it’s Indian inspired.(Like India…not native-americans)

SO…That’s all for now folks….I’ll write again when things calm down a bit and I’m able to actually FOCUS on the music.

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KYO LIKES PUPPIES!!!!!!

(old pic…I know…but w/e…I love it.)

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What is this injustice?!?!

So…yesterday…I got and automated call about my package (ie. dir’s new album) coming today in the mail. This is only a small problem considering I have to sign for it when it comes and I work all day today. I remedied THAT problem by asking the ups guy at work if he had the package. He said that he was delivering to my subdivision today so he checked for it and it wasn’t being delivered today!

Stupid mail!!!! The computer lady lied to me!!!!!!

ALSO…AMEBLOG IS DOWN(for maintenance)…AGAIN!!!

ARGH!!! I HATE EVERYTHING!

(T^T)

well…at least suusama’s blog still works…

the picture says “suusma. 11/8 [Careful Ailand]”

THey are such a cute band!!

<3<3<3<3<3

maru!

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When: 12/17/2008
Where: Meguro Live Station
“Pon’s Christmas Summit”
Doors open: 17:30 Show Starts: 18.00
Tickets: 3,150 (+ drink charge)
Tickets are availble: 10/25
Features:
和矛 (Kazutake) ／SANA／優一 (Yuuichi) ／sarino／子雲 (Shiun) ／ゆうじ (Yuuji) ／KENJI／ソラ (Sora) ／未散 (Michiru) ／他 (more)
・ALiBi
・Ellseed
・Zip.er
・電影グラマァ

Info: (in Japanese)
2008年12月17日（水）
目黒ライブステーション
「Pon’s Christmas Summit」
開場17:30／開演18:00
前売券￥3,150（Ｄ別）／当日券の販売未定
【出演】
・Pon’sセッション
（出演者：和矛／SANA／優一／sarino／子雲／ゆうじ／KENJI／ソラ／未散／他）
・ALiBi
・Ellseed
・Zip.er
・電影グラマァ
【チケット】
10/25（土）より一斉発売中！残少！！
・ライカエジソン東京店／TEL:03-3369-3708（発売初日は電話予約のみ）
・ローソンチケット／TEL:0570-084-003（Lコード:76321）
※各バンド予約はありません。
（問）目黒ライブステーション／TEL:03-3444-3464

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