Biases.

Honestly, we all have them. I'll share with you a few of mine from the different bands I liked and have liked in the past.

And while I mentioned Aoi a lot in previous posts, I will always find a reason to talk about him. Like the other GazettE post however, I will put him last because I feel like I will have the most to say when it comes to him.

Usually when it comes to me, I have at least one bias-but some I do have two.

So here's the list.

Jin Auncia|Ansia|Nia
 

He's basically a Aoi clone, but I really like Jin. Unfortunately the band he's in is inactive, as stated before-but I hope even if NIA is no more that Jin stays active in the Visual Kei realm.

Satoshi Girugamesh

Though I fell away from the Girugamesh fandom after a while, I still love Satoshi. I'm sad to hear that they disbanded, but excited to see what he does next. He's really sweet, at least from what I've seen and funny.

Nii Girugamesh

Okay, Nii is a big fucking dork and that's why I love him so much. I mean, everyone remembers the Horse face right?

Aiji LMC

I honestly forgot why he was my bias, I guess I went for him because he was the guitarist? He really is talented, and honestly I miss this hair on him. I haven't followed LM.C in recent years, but it's good to hear that they're still active.

Jun Phantasmagoria|Spiv States|Gotcharocka

It's hard for me to pick just one picture of Jun so here's two.

I didn't really have him as my bias until Spiv States, and sort of lost touch with that whole band after Iori left. But I really liked Jun's vocals, I wish Spiv States was still active and I honestly don't know what he's doing other than Gotcharocka. I fell out of the loop with him, so I probably should get back in.

Shun Vidoll

Is Shun still around? Like Jun, I didn't really keep up with him after Vidoll disbanded, and it wasn't as if I followed him too closely then. He was one of my bias's during my High School years, though when I reminisce and look at pictures of him now I want to look and see what he's up to now.

Isshi Kagrra,

Honestly, I always thought that Isshi was attractive in his own unique way. He had this charisma about him, and I always loved him as a person. I think the best way to get to know who Isshi was is through his lyrics, and honestly I'm still sad over his untimely death. I doubt there'll be any vocalist like him.

Izumi Kagrra,

Izumi was adorable. Right down to his laugh, honestly I could go on and about this sweetheart and when he vanished from the scene after Kagrra, disbanded my heart broke. I wish he would come back to the scene, however it is his choice and I'll respect his decision. Honestly, if you want to instantly feel better-look up some of Kagrra's videos. His laughter is contagious.

Katsuma coldrain

Okay can I be honest? When I first saw coldrain, Katsuma sort of scared me. He sort of had an intense look, but it wasn't until I met him in person the first time that I realized what a sweetheart he was. He smiled at me and said 'Thank you' when I asked for an album, I feel like it made him happy. I was too shy at the time though to ask for a picture with him. However, I met him again at Warped Tour and he was the one who noticed me first. I was rounding the corner to their tent, he smiled at me and said "Hi" and I honestly can't forget that moment.

Oh boy, I could go on about Katsuma-so let's just move on to the next.

Masato coldrain

I look up to Masato, I feel like he always knows what to say and when to say it. His lyrics alone has helped me through my toughest days, and he's such a nice person when you meet him. I felt a little bad the first time we met, the venue was small and I kept running into him. [I promise: I wasn't stalking him, I was just wandering....]

That aside, at Warped Tour I was a little shy. I told him I saw him earlier, and that I loved their show then and he gave me a smile. I almost laughed because I asked Katsuma for a hug [he was the only one I was planning to hug, because I would be too shy to ask the others] and Masato offered a hug to me as well. ;A;

Like Katsuma, I could probably go on about him.

So.....

Ruki the GazettE 

I feel like you either hate Ruki, or you love him. Or you're just 'meh' with him and in it for the others. [Which might be the same as hating him, I don't know.] But I can never bring myself to actually be mad at Ruki? I don't know if this is me just being extremely bias, but like Masato I really love Ruki's insight and his lyrics.

I can understand some of the reasons why people don't like him, but I still like him and he's still considered my second bias to....well Aoi.

Aoi the GazettE

What's there to say about Aoi that I haven't already said before? Honestly, the more I got to know Aoi as a person-the more I liked him. I understand that he is an emotional person, and that's okay. He's human, as we all are-and he's a little bit more open with his emotions than the other members. He's not afraid to say what's on his mind either, but I do feel bad when people attack him for his opinions.

He's such a sweetheart, he treats his friends well and he really cares about the band. I was so sad to hear that he thought he wasn't as talented as Uruha and the others. What I believe is that Aoi has a different style than Uruha, and Uruha even stated himself that Aoi is emotional and that's why he can play with such emotion. [Uruha said he can't even replicate that himself.]

He balances Uruha out, and honestly he's just as talented as his counterpart. Case in point: VACANT. I see people giving credit to Uruha for the Guitar Solo, but honestly I believe it's Aoi's solo. It's more to the left, and it just sounds like an Aoi solo. [I'm gonna end this here before it becomes a rant....so moving on.]

There's a lot of things about Aoi I love, but it was my love for him that honestly brought me to meet a few good friends of mine. My friend Jessica [Who's not active anymore, but we're friends on facebook] and Reida. Damn, if it wasn't for Reida, I wouldn't have taken the chance and gone to LA to see them live.

I have a whole post on why I love Aoi though, so I will end this here.

----
So who are your biases? Doesn't have to be jrock or Visual Kei in general. I'm curious.

 

My favorite coldrain songs.

I'm trying to make it a resolution and write one blog each day. Or every other day, depending on how many ideas I get throughout the month.

While my last few blogs had to do with the GazettE|Visual Kei, I'm going to dedicate this one to my personal favorite coldrain songs. I have a lot, but these are just a few favorites that I have. In no particular order, here they are.

Evolve

From their album 'The Revelation', Evolve is a perfect song to go to when you want to feel pumped. There is one thing I love about Masato, and that's the way he can move from the heavier parts of the song into the more melodic parts. This is a prime example of his spectacular vocal range, and honestly hearing this live was the best. 

Six feet Under

My first song from coldrain, and still a personal favorite. I honestly haven't watched this MV for a long time, so it's fun to see how much they grew over the past few years.  

Gone

I love about everything about this song, especially the Music Video. Honestly one of coldrain's best on their VENA album, and if you get the chance I suggest you listen to the acoustic version as well. 

The Story

The song with the lyrics I might get a tattoo of, because that's how much I love this song. I think about it, and honestly I can't pick a favorite part of it. I can hear Katsuma's prominent drumming in this song in-particular and I love it. [Like Gone, they have an acoustic version too!]

Heart of the Young

Another song where I might get a tattoo related to the lyrics. I didn't really appreciate this song until now, but honestly is probably one of my top favorites from the album VENA. [Honestly, VENA is just a damn good album.] 

Aware and Awake

From their album the Revelation. Not much to say about this one, honestly I can't really say much other than I love it. [I'm so lame, but I'm tired so sue me] 

Runaway

Featuring Jacoby Shaddix from Papa Roach, this song is a perfect song to listen to when you're angry at someone. Again from their VENA album.

As I said, I honestly love all of their music. Coldrain has very few songs I don't like, and honestly that's a feat in itself because even the GazettE has more songs I dislike than Coldrain. [*cough*Division*cough*].

Despite this, they're a very good band. And if you haven't listened to them, well I highly recommend them and honestly-aside from the GazettE [at least for me] Coldrain puts on one of the best shows. They're really great live!

This one is short.

Tomorrow I'll make a list of my favorite the GazettE songs! 

My favorite looks|era of the GazettE.

Hello!

It's me.

Okay, joking aside-I thought about this post for a while. Well, actually not a while....just when I was sitting in the break room at work waiting to clock back in from Lunch. I was thinking of my favorite eras of the GazettE as far as looks went. I found that when I picked a personal favorite in my head, all their looks were from different eras.

Also I thought about my least favorites.

So I decided to compile a list, of some sort. I'll put Aoi last, cause I'm honestly gonna cheat with him and put a few for him. He is my bias after all.

My favorite Visual Kei songs part one.

I'm being nostalgic and thinking about songs I listened over the past couple of years. While I'm listening to more English based music, I thought it'd be fun to look back at some of my favorite Visual Kei Songs. Unlike before, I'm not putting these in any order as I can't really say what my favorite Visual Kei song [other than Undying atm] is.

~LM.C.-88-~

88 is a sentimental song. It's probably my favorite that LM.C has come out with. Maya's vocals are easy to listen to, and the music surrounding it is surprisingly beautiful. It's remained a favorite for years, and when I feel nostalgic this is one of the first songs I go to.

~BIS-Days~

Unless you were in the Vkei fandom like I was way back in 2006, you won't know who this band is. They disbanded a long time ago, and unfortunately the bassist passed away years later. But this song is another nostalgic song for me. At the time I even compared them to Alice Nine, though their styles are different so I'm not sure what High School me was thinking. Days is a fun song however.

~Kagrra, Utakata~

Kagrra, has a way of making beautiful songs. No band did it quite like them, and I don't think any band will ever be able to do what they have accomplished. Utakata is a prime example of how good they were, and honestly I tear up everytime I listen to this song.

~An Cafe Ryuusei Rocket~

An Cafe was a hit and miss with me. I didn't care for Miku really, but I did enjoy the other members which is why I stuck around for a while with them. Ryuusei Rocket is a fun song, and I wasn't a fan of the band when Bou was around so I apologize if I didn't include any songs with him. I only wanted to choose one An Cafe song however, it was a mix up between this and Orange Dream.

~the GazettE-Cassis~

I might add that both the GazettE and Kagrra, will get multiple mentions on this post. I'm bias towards them, but they're my two favorite visual kei bands and wont' leave that spot for a while. Cassis is a really good song, and I'm really excited to hear it remastered. It was essentially hearing Aoi's solo at the end that caught me, and it's one of the main reasons why I'm such a big fan of him and the band as a whole.

In all honesty, though Ruki wrote the song and the others shine in Cassis- I feel like Aoi sort of 'owned' that song. I'm being extremely biased though, but it's his ending solo that ties up the song as a whole. I can't wait to hear the remastered version!

~Phantasmagoria-Eternal Silence~

I said in a previous post that KISAKI is the bane of my existence, but for what it's worth he is a good musician. Just has a shitty personality. However, when it comes to Phantasmagoria|LIN|Chariots, it really is Riku's voice that steals the show and while I would say Mikansei to Guilt is probably one of my favorites from them, I'll give it to Eternal Silence today.

~Spiv States-Mutant~

Unfortunately I can't find any trace of the video for me to use, and I'm too lazy to look for a soundtrack of it. But Spiv State's song MUTANT, which was one of their first-is amazing. I might be biased because Iori was still in the band when this came out, but I really love him as a guitarist and I really loved Jun as a vocalist. Hopefully they come off hiatus soon.

~Kagrra, Tougenkyou~

I had to choose between this and Satsuki, and while I love Satsuki with all my heart-Tougenkyou reigns as possibly my favorite Kagrra, song of all time. Everything about this song is beautiful, and honestly it brings me back to my High School days when all I would do is sit and listen to this song on repeat. This was before I even discovered Cassis, despite at the time my friend already made me that mix with that song on it. [lol]

~Chariots-Doku~

Like MUTANT, I can't seem to find a trace of this song to rip and show you. But it's the first song I heard from Chariots, and made me have faith that they could continue on as a great band. Hopefully this new activity isn't short lived, but you know how Visual Kei is. Hoping for the best.

~vidoll Clouds~

While vidoll hadn't been exactly my favorite visual kei band, I respect their work and Jui's voice is actually really good. And possibly underrated. They were a band my friend was more interested in than I was, but I still liked them enough. Clouds is a good song despite this.

~the GazettE, Undying~

Between UGLY and UNDYING, I had a hard time with their newer songs to choose from. But Undying is a good song, it has it's heavy moments coupled with the melodic tones that Ruki is always able to do with his voice. Hearing it live was absolutely amazing, and I can't get the image out of my head when we waved our hands during the melodic parts.

--
END of PART ONE

My top Visual Kei bands.

While I have stopped listening to the newer bands, and by newer I mean anything past like....2012-I'm still sort of in the Vkei fandom. Mainly for the GazettE, but I do listen to what I guess is now 'old school' or who people don't even recognize the names anymore.

This is my personal list. If you know my favorite band by now, you know who number one is going to be or at least where their spot is going to be. So don't try to act surprised. These are just bands I personally liked. Whether or not they're disbanded is no issue to me either.

10. Ansia|Auncia|NIA

While in previous lists I've put them higher, they didn't really live up to the hype I had for them. Granted they are still a good band, and can be if they come back and get their shit together. They have so much potential in the music scene, but they've struggled having changed their names and gone on hiatus numerous of times.

Hopefully they come back, but after dealing with this a lot-I've learned not to hold my breath. Still a good band to check out, especially if you're one who's interested in bands such as A9 and Kra.

9. Nightmare

I've just barely began to brush into the Nightmare fandom again. I didn't listen to them much before, but hearing this after years of not-well I was pleasantly surprised. They're definitely worth a shot, one of the few bands I've liked since high school that is still together. With all their members even. Yomi's voice is certainly unique.

8. LM.C

Ah, nostalgia is one thing that kicks me in the butt every single time. LM.C wasn't my favorite visual kei band, but they were certainly one that I remember clearly. I may even consider listening to their newer music, because I still think that Aiji is a good musician and I'm curious to see how much they've grown since I've fallen out of the loop with them years ago.

The last song I remember listening to was Punky Heart, after that I sort of fell away from LM.C as I dove myself further into other fandoms. But they're a band, like Nightmare, that's lasted this long and that counts for something.

7. Phantasmagoria

A band that people may even want to forget, mainly because of a certain overcontrolling bassist that goes by the name -KISAKI-. Aside from the bassist with a shitty personality, Phantasmagoria was a really good band. It's where I feel like musicians like Riku and Jun shone, and honestly they were rivaling some of my favorite bands at the time.

Sadly good things must come to an end and they disbanded. Not sure what caused it, and I'm not pointing fingers -KISAKI-.

Which leads me to my next two bands.

6. CHARIOTS

This had been the band that I believe Riku really wanted to go into.Upon further research, they are indeed active again which I hope they continue to be for a very long time. KISAKI seemed have some sort of control over Riku, and maybe the band as a whole-but Riku's heart may just be in this band.

An honestly good ode to what Phantasmagoria used to be.

5. SPIV STATES

Unfortunately there's still a few songs I need to listen, and it seems they are on a hiatus at the moment. Iori left a while back, for that I'm sure because of back problems. And now Jun is in GOTCHAROCKA with former vidoll singer Jui.

But I felt like they had the spunk that I was sort of wanting from LM.C at the time. Still worth a shot.

4. ANDO [Eccentric agent-]

Another one who disbanded too soon, but I couldn't leave them off this list. Ikuma's voice, though his tone was similar to that of Ruki, was still good and honestly very pleasant to listen to. They had promise, but like most visual kei bands-sometimes the good ones just disband. I haven't kept track of the members, so hopefully they're still active somewhere.

3. girugamesh

Though I didn't listen to them much up until their disbandment this past year, they're still one of my favorites. They produced good music despite my unwillingness and laziness, and perhaps I'll download a couple of songs in the future. They still remain on my favorite lists though solely due for the fact that they seem so genuine.

2. Kagrra,

To say Kagrra, may have been underrated, at least in the overseas fandom, is an understatement. I talk about them constantly, though only two people I know at least acknowledge them.  When they disbanded I was undoubtedly devastated, and even more so to hear of Isshi's passing. Their music was unique, and I enjoy their more traditional sound compared to the others on the list.

They sort of made me more open to Visual Kei as a whole, if it weren't for Kagrra,'s influence I'm not sure I'd be writing this today.

1. the GazettE
You: Knew it.
Me: :P

I've already done my explaining about this one in previous posts, so I'm just going to leave this here.

[I'm tired, goodnight]

Musings

Though I've never been professionally diagnosed, I've always wondered if I dealt with some sort of depression. Since the third grade I've morbidly thought of ways I could die, or at least run away and never come back.

It was things I've tried to keep hidden however, but it always made me a moody person to be around and at times not the most pleasant person. I have spells where everything is fine, and I'm in my happy spot-but then my mood dropped back down and I wanted nothing to do with the world. It would make sense, since my own mother deals with depression-I just never got to a Doctor.

Maybe I'm too afraid to know the truth.

When I was little, all my siblings had their favorite band. All six of them. My oldest had Metallica, another was really a big fan of Rage Against the Machine and my sister at the time liked anything by Beyonce. [Or just whatever what was popular on the radio, which was me for a while too. She changes her favorite music though, so there's that.]

I was in 8th grade when I wondered who my favorite band would be, but no band stood out for a long time. I was really into country in Junior High, and I liked to listen to a lot of Simple Plan. And a lot o Ciara for some reason. [I got her CD for Christmas, never got another album from her again. Same goes for Simple Plan.]

The beginning of my Sophomore year I was really into All American Rejects. I thought maybe I found my band, this was going to be the band. When I met my best friend, she started to realize I was into some Japanese songs. Granted they were anime openings, but she saw my spark of interest which leads me to believe is why she introduced me to Visual Kei.

At the time, I didn't listen to anything heavy other than maybe Metallica. I didn't care for screaming, or the heavy guitars. It wasn't my style, or at least at the time I thought it wasn't my style. During all this, I was still dealing with all my sadness and sometimes anger. But I thought it came with being an angsty teenager, I just thought I needed that angsty band to match.

She made a mix of bands she thought I would like. I forgot a lot, but I knew it included Kagrra, Dir en Grey [their softer songs I guess] and Kagerou. I instantly took a liking to Kagrra, I listened to Satsuki over and over. She burned me all their albums [well, all their albums up til like 2006 lol].

One day at school she came up to me. She was like "I ran out of Kagrra, albums to make you, so I made you a GazettE mix." the GazettE of course was her favorite band, second to maybe Dir en Grey [Am I wrong? It was like ten years ago so meh]. I always remember on messenger she would have a picture of Ruki, though at the time I never knew who he was.

I'm going to admit, I didn't touch the GazettE mix for about two weeks because I was so into the Kagrra, albums I had. No matter what I was doing, I always had their songs playing in the background.

And my eyes went to the GazettE mix. "I know you don't like screaming much, so I put most of their ballads and softer songs on there for you."

And that's how I ended up here. The first song had been Bathroom, but since  it starts out slow I thought the first song was broken so I skipped it. So technically my first song from the GazettE was Zakurogata No Yuutsu. And it all went down from there. 

I could probably ramble onto what made me into a GazettE fan, but that's another story for another time. [Perhaps I've already said it, I've been on the  net so long I don't remember what I post anymore...]

At the time, and sometimes now, I felt at peace just listening to them. And honestly they opened up doors for me as far as other music. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be as big as a coldrain fan as I am now.

So while they don't completely erase my sadness, they make and have made life a little bit easier to deal with. Which is why I'm with them for the long run.

Top Five Guitarists

Honestly, the last post I had a hard time coming up with reasons why I liked the drummer, other than their drumming was rad and I quite liked it. [Lame, I know, so lame.]

So with the guitarists, [and bassists] I have cut it short to five simply because I don't think I can just bullshit my way through with this. And obviously, I'm only going to choose one guitarist from each band-if they happen to have two that is.

As always, personal favorites-don't like them? Oh well.

Let's get moving.

5. Orianthi

Orianthi has a promising career, she's playing with the likes of the Rock legends such as Alice Cooper and Steve Vai. Granted her album that she debuted with was too pop for someone like her, but she really shows promise when it comes to playing guitar. I really liked that she credits none other than Carlos Santana for her interest in guitar, because what better role model to have especially if you come out as a solo guitarist.

4. Carlos Santana

If this was a list of 'who is the best damn guitarist in the entire world', Carlos would definitely be in the number one spot. But this is not that list, as I am going by my personal favorites. I grew up on Santana, my dad was always playing his albums when he came home from work. So I'm not just putting him on this list just because.

Honestly he plays 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' as if it were his own song, no matter what song he plays he just owns it like a boss. He was once stated to be the best guitarist in the field, though he's always respectful of other musicians and their accomplishments. My dream is to take my dad to a Santana concert, so he can at least hear him play live once.

3. Shin of Kagrra,

When it comes to guitarists being underrated, I always thought Shin was underappreciated for his work as a musician. Not only did he play the guitar and do good with it, he also played the Koto in a few songs [such as Utakata]. After the disbandment of Kagrra, he formed a band called PLAYERS with Nao [now known as Naoki] but he has since left PSC and fell under the radar like Izumi has.

Though I'm not sure if that's completely accurate, I just know he has nothing to do with PSC at this point and time.

2. Yokochi of coldrain

Masato stated that Yoko writes almost all of their songs, and that's quite a feat in itself. He is extremely talented, and I really had a hard time choosing between him and Sugi. [I have a thing for ssecond guitarists, what else is new?]

Honestly I didn't appreciate him until the second time I saw coldrain. He was such a sweet person to meet, after I gave them all a hug he had smiled at me and said "Have a good day!" He is also a dork, playing around with Ryo and what not.

I believe mostly all the solos Coldrain has is played by Yoko as well.

1. Aoi of the GazettE

Are you surprised? No? Well....

Yeah, you shouldn't be. I'm extremely bias when it comes to Aoi, but everything he does with the guitar and his work I love. It was his ending solo in Cassis that made me fall in love with the GazettE, so I owe a lot to him just as an individual musician. Uruha overshines him in a lot of aspects, I've argued with fans that Aoi is just AS talented as him before.

I really said all I could say about Aoi in a previous post, but I could ramble on and on about him some more. He really is talented, and I don't think he'll be leaving my number one spot for a long time.