8 posts tagged “girugamesh”

Heheh, oh girugamesh...they're such complete dorks.  Also, it's a bit disturbing when they try to act all kawaii in the beginning of the comment. ^^;  I love Satoshi's story about how in the relay race in the third year of middle school he fell and took down like three other people with him, totally ruining the event...lol.  Then he gets punched by Nii for saying that even his face is bad at sports. XD  Oh, and their stupid, random "YEEEEAAAH!" \m/ gestures all the time.  Aah, but I am looking forward to their new album this November, which they talk about here but still haven't given a title for.  And I have to say, I would be in full support of a "visual kei sports day" like they mention here...someone should totally arrange that, it'd be hilarious!

I also found it amusing that in the latest Neo Genesis interview with the GazettE, Aoi kind of indirectly complained that he doesn't really do much in the new song "Before I Decay", since it's mostly Uruha playing the melodious parts and by the nature of the song's composition he just happened to end up doing rather basic stuff. ^^;  Man, it's always funny and sorta cute to see how he's constantly comparing himself and Uruha...it's like he's doesn't even realize he's doing it sometimes, and he manages to bring him up in like every other interview, even the personal ones!  (It's probably partly because he's a workaholic and almost never stops thinking about making music.)  But as their musical style has changed and become more technical the dynamics between them as guitarists seems to have changed as well and it's pretty interesting to see what they think about it.

girugämesh show a striking, different side of themselves with their new single 'crying rain' that was released October 7th.  You can feel it and see it clearly in the PV as well.  Their music has so far been dominated by aggressive, hard songs that usually have quite intense anger or bitterness behind them, though they also have a small collection of slower, more sentimental works such as "Kowarete iku Sekai" and "Ishutaru".  The emotional distinction between them and "crying rain" is a sense of real weakness and vulnerability, a sensitivity and personal sadness that hasn't really been expressed by girugämesh in this way before.  They've always been more about having a rocking good time or releasing more violent emotions, so it's nice to see them branching out and trying new things. 

Musically "crying rain" continues to expand on their recent composing style but at a slower pace, with some turntable scratching thrown in there and a substantial solo from Nii.  It also has female backing vocals but they're done in a fairly unobtrusive, tasteful way that supports Satoshi without being distracting.  I was immediately drawn in by the chorus...I think it's got great rhythm to it and the lyrics are catchy as well.  Maybe I'm just a sucker for Satoshi singing slower songs, because all their previous ones are among my favourites.  I think Satoshi has excellent range in that way...his voice is emotionally powerful but expressive in many ways, not just through growling and shouting, and he can handle softer feelings with equal ease.

The interestingly titled coupling track "S.T.F.U" is more standard girugämesh fare, and nothing too exciting in my opinion, but a fun listen nevertheless.  Its upbeat quality follows the mellow, sad title track nicely to end the single on a more positive, high-energy note.  Overall the sound of the single isn't revolutionary, but "crying rain" is definitely a solid, gripping song that contributes something fresh within girugämesh's discography.  I also liked that in the PV Satoshi shows a new side of himself by singing while soaked by the rain...it's a rather refreshing and endearing image to see him that way instead of energetically jumping around or screaming harshly. ^_^

A ton of awesome releases are coming up in the next few weeks as well as later in the summer, so many exciting previews of what's to come are continuing to be released.  THE KIDDIE have put out a pv preview for their upcoming single 'elite STAR+'!  It looks really good and the song sounds interesting as well.  Their look for this release vaguely reminds me of the one for 'Sayonara Setsuna', probably because they seem to be using similar greys, darks, and whites paired with blue hues and animal print accents.  The single comes out July 8th...I can't wait to hear the full song! : )

In addition, girugamesh have posted new looks and the cd cover for their upcoming single 'BORDER', which is due for release August 5th.  They're going at a pretty fast pace with their releases, and once again have chosen to do a single (though they hadn't done so in ages before 'ALIVE', tending to release albums instead).  I suspect this is because of the long Crazy Crazy Crazy tour they finished earlier this year, since they probably wrote a good amount of material while on the road (they even started recording parts of 'ALIVE' during it).  The cover for 'BORDER' is unexpected but somehow just what one would expect from girugamesh...乾杯！ ^_^;　さすがだね（笑） But I have no idea what's up with all the random Americana in the background...I guess we'll have to wait for an interview with the guys to enlighten us on that one.
  
Anyway, the boys seem to be sticking to hoodies+jeans for now, but this time have opted for black zip-up style ones with white designs on either side of the chest and down one arm.  Nii and Shuu look almost the same as before except for some minor changes, but Satoshi's gotten rid of the perm and cut his hair short again...it really suits him and goes well with his face shape.  However, when I saw the new photos I was immediately wowed by how adorable Ryo looks!  His hair is also short but more conventionally styled (no braids or half up, half down styling), and it makes him look even younger and *gasp* slightly feminine when he poses like that in his solo photo, but it's cute and an interesting change. ^_^

girugamesh have been gradually shifting to a softer, more handsome, clean look for a while now.  If you look at their style over time they went from dark and scary, heavy make-up, contacts, and spiky dyed hair to limited eyeliner and natural all black hair, as well as transitioning from the formal black suits to casual wear.  Though they've shown it before, with this I believe they can definitely break the unfortunate (and untrue!) idea among some fans that girugamesh is an ugly band for good.

On completely different, more personal note, I made an amazing discovery today!  First off, I realized a little over a year ago that I'm mildly lactose intolerant which explained why I couldn't stand eating too much cream/dairy-based sauces and I hate drinking milk.  However, I've always been a big fan of cereal, and like to have it for breakfast, but as I ingested less and less milk I became less tolerant and more disgusted by it, so I tried to find a good alternative.  I used soy milk for a while, but found the beany aftertaste a bit unappetizing unless masked by chocolate flavour, but I didn't want to use that all the time since it has so much sugar and overpowers the cereal. 
So I was at a loss for some time while I searched for a good alternative, but milk substitutes are often hard to find and dominated by soy-based products.  There is rice milk, but that didn't sound much better than soy milk.  But, today for the first time I found almond milk at Whole Foods, and was overjoyed!  I'd always wanted to try it but could never get it anywhere before and thought it might be more expensive, but actually it was priced very similar to the cow's milk.  So, I bought a carton of the vanilla flavoured and tested it when I got home....it was incredibly delicious!  None of the heaviness of soy milk, and way smoother and more refreshing...plus, I actually like the faint taste of almonds.  The word あっさり perfectly describes it!  It was seriously like love at first taste...I'm totally hooked now. XD  I definitely recommend almond milk to anyone who's interested in a cow's milk substitute for whatever reason.
[Amusingly enough, even this does in a way relate to music...one of the first times I heard of almond milk was ages ago in some tv interview with Yoshiki where he said he doesn't drink cow's milk, he drinks almond milk! :D]

A few days ago the music video for 'Eet' off Regina Spektor's upcoming new album came out!  Her new cd 'Far' will be released June 23rd.  Of all the songs I've heard from it so far (including 'Laughing With', 'Blue Lips', 'Dance Anthem of the 80's', 'Genius Next Door', etc.) I think 'Eet' is my favourite and something really special, probably because I can personally relate to the lyrics more than songs like 'Lauging With'.  It's been a while since Regina Spektor's last album 'Begin to Hope', which I also happen to consider her best, so I'm eager to finally hear more of her lovely voice and see what exciting things she's done on the new album. : )

One more thing that came out not too long ago is girugamesh's new DVD of the Crazy Crazy Crazy tour.  It features the tour final at Shibuya AX as well as a long extras section made up of footage taken while the guys were on the road (and it was a fairly long tour...from November all the way to March).  I love girugamesh because they're constantly so silly and entertaining....the members are really funny, easy-going guys and are always being idiots and messing around so it's hilarious to watch backstage footage of them.  In fact, I think the bonus clips on this DVD are as extensive and good as the GazettE's popular NLSG tour DVD.
Seriously, this is like one of my new favourite live DVDs, not even so much because of the concert itself (which was awesome), however it's the bonus stuff that makes it really great.  I was literally lmao the entire time I watched it. XD  They keep on dancing to their own opening se, beating on each other, making stupid (but amusing and actually true) metal jokes, singing randomly, and doing ridiculous voices and laughs.  Oh, and it also features their adventures with the deer in Nara (aka. Niiの鹿との対決 ^_^), a snowball fight, a quick appearance by Kousuke and Kiri of heidi., and the members acting like monkeys, cats, and dogs...among many other wtf moments. -_-lll
Btw, I was very excited to see the part that shows Kyoto Muse, because that's where I saw them on this tour.  Watching the final brought it all back for me too...they were so amazing live. <3

Last night I saw girugamesh, Duel Jewel, and Boogieman live at Kyoto Muse!!!  My body aches and my hearing still hasn't fully returned, but I had an awesome time!  girugamesh were the tour headliners, and Duel Jewel and Boogieman were the guests for the night.  The venue was relatively small, and being in Kyoto, the fans weren't as extremely dressed or numerous as they'd normally be if the live was in Osaka, but the audience got really pumped up and rocked hard nevertheless.  I hadn't heard any of Boogieman's music beforehand though I'd heard their name a few times...they were ok, but I wasn't all that impressed.  Duel Jewel I know, but haven't been closely following their latest releases recently since I didn't think the new songs were all that great.  The only song they played that I recognized was 'against'.  From their recorded material and what I've seen of them before, I didn't think Duel Jewel would be too 激しい, but they held their own and rocked pretty hard. : )

Anyways, the guest bands each got half an hour, then girugamesh came out!  Their s.e., 'Intro' began to play and the members came out one by one, then started the live with 'Break Down'.  The band played most of the hard songs from the 'Music' album, including 'Freaks', 'ングリージュース', and 'Ultimate 4'.  The only slower song they played was 'Puzzle', which is really short. ^_^;  (I was hoping they'd play 'イシュタル'...but oh well, no luck there)  Their goal was obviously to rock as hard as possible and turn the livehouse into a big thrashing, jumping, headbanging party...and they did a great job of it!  It was incredibly fun!  Even songs that I wasn't all that into when I heard the album versions (e.g. 'Evolution') were awesome live. 
Also, toward the end when they played 'Smash!!' the front half of the crowd went crazy...everyone was jumping all over the place, pumping their fists, and crashing into each other.  XD  It was the first time I've even seen or experienced that kind of crazy energy at a Japanese live...ususally the most intense it gets is some serious headbanging (synchronized or even down-on-the-floor full body), but moshing isn't as common at Japanese rock lives, even fairly hard ones, so I was kinda surprised.  The live was amazing and the setlist was really fun and never let up...but one thing I wish they'd done was play 'Volcano'...it's one of my favourite songs by them, but unfortunately they didn't include it. : (  Oh, and by the way, they were selling the hoodies with "girugamesh" printed on the side that the band wore in the 'Break Down' pv, but they were 9,000 yen each [= $100 0_0] and there was no way I was spending that much on a single sweatshirt.

Now that I've experienced them in person, I have to say...girugamesh's music (and particularly the 'Music' album) is definitely better live...to the degree that I suspect the band makes a lot of their songs with lives primarily in mind.  'Music' is very danceable, and way more fun when you have the freedom and atmosphere to enjoy it in a more intense, physical way (though that's true of most music, especially rock...it's just that I felt a significant difference between experiencing the album on cd and live, to the extent that it's changed my opinion of the album quite a bit.)  I know many people were divided over this album and criticized it rather harshly.  But for me, more than a band's history, genre, sound changes or new additions, what's important is whether the music moves you and sounds good to your own tastes...that is to say, 'Music' is a great album if you're interested in having an intensely fun, crazy, rocking party, and sometimes it's best to just take things and accept them for what they are and what they can offer without pushing too many hopes and expectations onto it.  If that's what girugamesh set out to do when they made the album, they did an awesome job!  Some music is made to be totally dark, hardxcore, and serious all the time, but if everything were like that it'd be boring as hell...it's nice to just have fun and try new things sometimes :D [Besides, it's not like the members of girugamesh are the most serious people ever...haha.]

*EDIT* I did some checking around and here's the full setlist for the night:
boogieman:
new world
偽想深愛
new song
MC
new song
[P]agent
recrrence.
13月

DuelJewel:
Partytime!!
against
outsider
Trust
MC
蜻蛉
Moon Struck
「NIGHT WALKER」
Last Letter

girugamesh:
INTRO
Break Down
ULTIMATE4
FREAKS
アングリージュース
MC
patchwork
Vermillion
DEAD WORLD
CRAZY-FLAG
MC
puzzle
MC
crime-罪-
smash!!
evolution

Encore:
shining

So, in addition to seeing girugamesh live on the 14th (with boogieman and Duel Jewel as guest bands), I'm gonna be seeing Sugar and 9GOATS BLACK OUT on the 16th!!! :D  I only recently discovered 9GOATS BLACK OUT, but quickly became a big fan, as I wrote in my post about them not too long ago, so I can't wait to see them live.  And, though I first looked up the show because of 9GOATS, when I noticed that Sugar was playing with them, I was extremely happy!  ^_^ 
I don't think I've written about them before, but Sugar are another great, small band...probably among the best in that category with 9GOATS, in my opinion.  Their music is very fresh and they have an interesting style, plus all the members are really talented at their respective instruments.  I was immediately impressed when I heard their single 'Blossom'...the composition and guitar solo are great, and that bassline is love. <3  I'm so excited that I get to see these two bands together!  Here's a few of Sugar's songs to listen to:  'Swim like a Butterfly'    'Kogoe Yureru Honoo'    'Biyaku'

* By the way, Duel Jewel came out with their new album 'Glassfia' on the 26th, and put out a new pv for one of the songs on it called 'against', which can be found here.
Also, though this is completely random, I saw this the other week at a flea market....guess who it made me think of?  XD *cough*Uruha!*cough*  I think this is exactly the same size bottle he had, actually. ^_^'

girugämesh's new album, 'MUSIC' came out yesterday!  I was very excited for this release after hearing 'Break Down', and as expected the band has brought a lot of new stuff to this album.  There's more turntable, effects, and backing vocal tracks than their previous works.  It's rather experimental, and has a more urban sound because of the electronics, yet retains the dark atmosphere that characterizes girugämesh, though some songs are surprisingly light and melodious.  However, though I enjoy Satoshi's screaming, growling, and shouting in their hard, intense songs, one of girugämesh's strengths is the variety they're capable of and Satoshi's versatility.  He can sing in a strong and clear voice, hit fairly high notes spontaneously and naturally, plus his voice has a wavering, yet powerful and emotional quality to it that I really like.  In fact, in this album more than any of their previous, I think Satoshi shows the range of his skills very well, including rapping for the first time.  This combined with the band's new style and catchy, accessible songs, might make this album more appealing to general audiences closer to the mainstream, or at least more people with an interest the v-kei scene.

I like the majority of the songs on 'MUSIC', but a few little things, like the weird peppy voices in the background of 'Evolution' weren't to my taste. >_>  A lot of people are torn over the increased hip hop influence in this album, but I actually like it.  Yes, hip hop sound is turning up everywhere nowadays, both in the Japanese and American music industry; pop artists have been turning out stuff that's closer to r&b and trying to rap, hip hop style has even infiltrated enka, and the same has been going on in the v-kei rock scene.  But I don't have anything against hip hop or rap, etc., in fact I quite enjoy it and think it can be mixed with rock in very cool ways if done right.  (I'm a big fan of genre mixing when done in a tasteful way. ^_^d)  Miyavi and the GazettE have done it with varying degrees of success and I feel girugämesh have adopted the right aspects to compliment their sound and style, so that it works for them and adds to their compositions without taking over their music.  Here's some songs from the album:  'Puzzle'    'Anguri Juusu'    'Ishutaru'    '縁enishi' By the way, there are some points about 'MUSIC' that I found rather interesting because when I was first listening to it, I was strongly reminded of songs by other artists.  (Which is not to say that I think they like, stole it from other people, there just happens to be a rather close resemblance.  I don't like to jump to conclusions or accuse bands of plagarism, because there's really no such thing as originality anyway, and there's no way to know for sure.  Actually, I'd almost say it doesn't really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things, because that's just the way I think, plus it's irritating when people make a huge fuss about it.)  Anyway, I don't think most people would even notice this, but because I'm a music junkie and I've listened to ridiculous amounts of stuff I make random as hell, obscure connections like this.  To me the first track 'intro' sounds kinda similar to a s.e. Dir en grey used in their 2003 tour called G.D.S (I own the dvd of that live, so I remember it ^^;).  Also, the guitar in the beginning of the song 'Freaks' sounds like a sped up, shortened version of the opening of D'espairsRay's song 'Damned' off the album 'Mirror'.  The rest sounds different, but when I heard that opening phrase, I spent several minutes trying to remember where I'd heard it before.

The pv for 'Break Down' by girugamesh came out today!  This song will no doubt be on their new album, 'Music', which is scheduled for release on November 5th.  I've been eagerly awaiting new material from girugamesh because their last album was so great, and 'Break Down' doesn't disappoint, but is rather different from their previous work.  The band has added turntable to their sound, which to me is a significant point because up till now girugamesh has always stood out in my mind for being a hard rock group that can create varied, exciting compositions without the addition of lots of backing tracks, effects, or other instruments besides the standard drums, bass, and guitar.  Not to say that it makes their music less good, it's just different; and not entirely unexpected, considering how they branched out sound-wise on their last album and obviously can't stay in the same style using the same techniques forever.

'Break Down' sounds lighter (or perhaps brighter?) compared to some of their earlier songs, and Satoshi's singing also seems less dark on the whole, but it's still a catchy, good song.  I found it interesting that Satoshi does what I guess you could call "rock-rapping" in some parts.  It goes with the turntable well, and again is something new for them; but there's still the usual screams in there, which made me very happy...I was almost getting worried there wouldn't be that much heaviness to the song.
Another noticeable change is the fact that the band isn't wearing suits! *gasp* ^_^  Instead they're all in black hoodies, which I suppose somewhat stylistically matches the inclusion of turntable.  I've always loved girugamesh's sharp black suit and white tie look, but they probably got tired of it after all this time...I mean, wearing suits while performing can't be all that comfortable in crowded, hot livehouses.  Also, Satoshi's hair is partially curly! 0_0 (He's had only straight hair for essentially the whole band's history, so I'd never imagined him with curled hair...it's kind of shocking, and I think it'll take some getting used to. ^^;)  Anyway, I have to admit I like some of their harder, more intense songs like 'Volcano' over this one, but girugamesh is always great and I'm interested to see what other new stuff they'll incorporate on the new album.