 Five member visual kei band Kiryu just released the long awaited PV for “Hyakki Yakou百鬼夜行 ”, straight off from their newest album release of the same name. If you’re a current fan of Kiryu, you can see that they’ve stayed true to their roots of mixing traditional Japanese music, Japanese lore, and heavy rock together! Their fifth album will be released June 29th and will have three different versions. Definitely check out the PV to get a taste of their newest album! For information on Kiryu, check out their website at http://www.kiryu-web.net/ -Paloma (alpacqueen) Are you excited for June 29, 2016? Well here are four reasons why you should be!     TЯicKY has a new album called Ikasu Ze! Summer Slider/いかすぜ! サマースライダー. No preview available, but here’s his website!
-Kelsey  Avanchick is a relatively new Visual Kei band circulating lately. A-To-J had the pleasure of being able to chat with the band’s vocalist NOAH on Skype at a special livestream held out one of our panels at this year’s Anime Los Angeles in Ontario, CA. Ever since, I have been closely following them as a new band that has piqued my ears with a sound that is full of delight and intrigue! They’re definitely one of the up-and-coming bands that I cheer on as I watch them grow. Now, members NAH, Otake, Rey, Kagari, and Hyu-ga have released the new PV for their recently released sixth single, “Jinsei Game”. I’ve kept up with their previous release “Tanin no Fukou wa Mitsu no Aji”, so I’m eager to see what they deliver next. The PV opens with aggressive guitar play followed by the appearance of five dark figures. We see the members clad in dark robes playing cards, an act that is rather symbolic considering the title. As the opening progresses, the white and gold setting of the PV compliments the band’s purple and red outfits as they play. The opening was already catchy and made me anticipate what Avanchick had to deliver. NOAH adds in his own rendition of “Ode to Joy” in the opening verse. This really shows of NOAH’s singing capability and range as I can sense a bit of opera-like influence as he sings. The guitar riffs that play as NOAH sings mix well together throughout the song. From watching previous PVs, I’ve noticed that NOAH usually has a little dance incorporated into his performance. That aside, the rest of the band also bring a high amount of energy into the mix. This PV also indulges in the cliché of having a random Western woman be featured. In this case she deals the cards to the game that the band is playing. Speaking again of the cards, the concept of “game” and chance seem to be closely tied to the song’s title as we see the band’s take on the concept of “Jinsei Game”. The chorus at first didn’t strike me as anything special, but after the second chorus I believe that’s where it picks up. I ended up singing the chorus to in my head after watching this PV. Following a second view, I started to really notice other things that stood out. The mix of Kagari’s bass line and Hyu-ga’s drumming was a big highlight for me. When it transitioned to Hyu-ga’s double bass pedal drum solo, it instantly became my favorite part. This song really allows Hyu-ga’s drumming skills to shine! I feel that it had more of an impact on the whole song rather than Rei’s Guitar solo. I couldn’t help but pay fuller attention to the drums as I listened to the song again. I’m excitedly happy to see Avanchick back at it again with new music to listen to! I hope to hear news of a new album from them soon enough. Though Avanchick is still a fairly new band that is still finding their footing in the Visual Kei scene, I’m always happy to see new up-and-coming bands like them progress and find their own type of sound that defines who they are. =Paloma (alpacqueen) For more information on Avanchick, check out their website: http://avanchick.jp/  For today's Throwback Thursday article we take a look at SEX VIRGIN KILLER. SEX is one of my personal favorite bands and they bring an interesting mix of old-school visual kei aesthetics with more modern musical stylings. Their debut release "SEX or DIE" is one of the best, and most overlooked, contributions to Japanese rock/metal in the 2000s and I am going to share my thoughts on this amazing 5-song EP release! (Note: At the time of this release SEX VIRGIN KILLER was known/stylized as "SEX -virgin killer-" I have used the current version for the sake of consistency.)  Track List 1) I.BA.RA 2) Vagina Fucker 3) Aigan Doubutsu 4) SEX or DIE 5) Nothingness "I.BA.RA" starts off innocently enough with a simple lone vocal track and some ambient noise, it doesn't take long for the song to kick into gear though. This song is a nice introduction to SEX VIRGIN KILLER's sound. We get some good mid-tempo thrash, complete with a very catchy melodic chorus, and the song rounds itself out nicely with some amazing guitar work that sounds amazing even for the EP's otherwise slight muddy production. I should note here that while the production isn't the best, the mixing is fairly on par and we get to hear most of the instruments (including much-forgotten bass) quite clearly. "Vagina Fucker"'s drum roll-laden intro set a more heavy tone and we get a bass-heavy, rhythm-driven track here. Before we go further we must talk about this particular song title choice and what it means for the song's lyrics. Lyrically the song is pretty out there and that's to be expected from a song called "Vagina Fucker", but you have to love the drawn-out somewhat odd pronunciation of the shouts of the actual words "vagina" and "fucker" which come in a call-and-response type chorus. This trade-off chorus style is indicative of SEX's style. I personally think this is the weakest song on the release, but it does stand out a bit thanks to some interesting song structure complete with tempo changes and good old fashioned heavy riffing.  "Aigan Doubutsu" is a bit different than the rest of the tracks on "SEX or DIE". Unlike the thrash metal sound of the others, this one owes a bit more to the melodic power metal style and features an interesting break where we get that rare bass solo (with some spoken bits placed over it) before we shred and riff our way back to the main track. I haven't mentioned vocals much here because they're not really the focus of SEX VIRGIN KILLER's style, but they actually shine on this track. It is also one of the longer tracks on the release and has that sort of "epic" metal track feel to it. Now we move onto the title track. In my opinion "SEX or DIE" is a classic in Japanese rock music and should get more attention than it does. One of the heaviest songs on the EP, it is fast and heavy on the galloping riffs. The lyrics are strong and we that trade-off chorus where the English doesn't have the distortion we saw in "Vagina Fucker". The bass is strong here and the solo section takes one's breath away and comes with some headbang-friendly riffs in the bridge. Who can hate a song with a title like "SEX or DIE"?  "Nothingness" closes out the EP in good form and is a nice mix of all the styles we have heard so far on "SEX or DIE". It is both hard and melodic and the amazing guitar solos are juxtaposed with more interesting song structure complete with even more tempo changes then we've seen before. The song's progression repeatedly goes fast to slow in a way that I love and the whole thing speeds into itself back up until we arrive at a nice finish. I mentioned "Aigan Doubutsu" as having that "epic" song feel and that's the case with "Nothingness" as well. While it doesn't have the outright catchiness of "I.BA.RA" or "SEX or DIE" its probably the best written and produced song on the release. It's also worth noting that this is "SEX or DIE"'s longest song. There you have it! If you haven't checked out SEX VIRGIN KILLER then there is no better place to start then "SEX or DIE"! Be sure to keep an eye on A-To-J Connections in the future as we will be bringing you lots more from SEX in the future! -Manuel (alavic_222) For More Information: Official Website: http://sexvirginkiller.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sexvirginkiller Twitter: https://twitter.com/SexVK_staff SEX VIRGIN KILLER - I.BA.RA  Today we will be taking a look at J-Rock band "ZERO MIND INFINITY". Forming back in 2015, the band generated quite a lot of buzz in a short amount of time. Mostly because the band consists of veterans in the music industry. Consisting of ex DELUHI members vocalist "Juri" and bass player "Aggy" followed by ex 12012 member guitarist "Sakai Hiroaki". The band also includes ex Sel'm guitarist "John" as well as ex REIGN drummer "Kaji". Because of the familiar names the band has a high expectation coming from fans at every angle. So stay tuned with us to see how this unfolds! All social media will be put below! 'Til next time my fellow J-Rock enthusiasts! -Hikaru
For More Information Official Website: http://www.zeromindinfinity.com/ Band Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZMI_OFFICIAL Vocalist Juri Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/Juri_Vocal Guitarist Sakai Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/hsakai12012 Guitarist John Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/john_0721 Bassist Aggy Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aggy_neutral Drummer Kaji Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/REIGN_KAJI  Today I’d like to take a moment to show you guys some groups that I listened to once upon a time that have since disbanded. Some of these maybe you have heard of before and some maybe you haven’t! Either way, I hope you enjoy and maybe get interested in a band you’ve never heard before. spiv states  spiv states was formed as a duo in 2009 with Jun (ex-Se’lavy, Mar’derayla, and Phantasmagoria) on vocals and guitar, and Iori (ex-Se’lavy, Phantasmagoria) on guitar. Their first single “Viva Sonic” was released in December of 2009 and their second single “Flavor” was released in August of 2010, and it featured former Plastic Tree drummer Hiroshi Sasabuchi. In September of 2010, Iori had to leave the band due to a herniated disc in his back and from then on the band featured Jun and support members. In July 2011 they released the mini-album “Futari no Hoshi” which featured the song “Always”, a tribute to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. In 2012, Jun left the band to start a new group with vocalist Jui (ex-Vidoll) called GOTCHAROCKA. In all spiv states released five singles and two EPs. spiv states - FLAVOR Hime Ichigo  Hime Ichigo was born at the end of 2004 and their debut live was in March of 2005. During this live their first single was distributed to the fans for free. The group consisted of Suzuya on vocals, Jun and Reina on guitar, Ruka on drums, and Jin on bass. The band gradually gained popularity by playing lives in their hometown, and in 2006 they released another single. In early 2007 they played their first one-man live and on the same day their maxi-single was released. They played several shows with other bands, and even did a show in Rio, Brazil. In 2009 they announced they would disband after their one-man in Tokyo due to different musical preferences. It is said that Suzuya then moved to the band トランスノート (trance note). In all the band produced two albums and four singles. Hime Ichico - Re:Alice YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz  YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz (YFCz) was a band formed by Gackt in 2011. It consisted of Gackt on vocals, Jon (a native of California and Seattle) on co-lead vocals, Chachamaru on lead guitar and backing vocals, Takumi and You on guitar, U:Zo on bass, and Shinya (ex-Luna Sea) on drums. In 2012, the band conquered both Europe and Japan with a tour and planned on touring in both North and South America. Unfortunately, in July of 2012, the band broke up due to members feeling they couldn’t reach their own goals. Their last live was their Budokan live called "Camui Gakuen, Sparkly Male Cram School, Happy Birthday Live, Don't Cry, Let's say Sayonara with Smiles" on Gackt's birthday. In all the band produced one album and two singles. YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz - ALL MY LOVE -Kelsey
 Courtesy of the GazettE’s website, the-gazette.com the GazettE is a group that is known throughout the world, even if it’s only for their opening song in the second season of Black Butler. They have been making music come alive since 2002 and have gained international popularity for not only their heavy rock music, but also for their recent more electronic songs. I first heard the GazettE in 2009 as I was randomly browsing YouTube and came across their PV for “Cassis”. I was immediately hooked and haven’t looked back since! This year marked the GazettE’s first world tour that included the Americas. Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Texas, New York, and California were all lucky enough to see the Gaze guys in their own country. Unfortunately, the show set for Argentina had to be cancelled due to bad weather effecting their flight, and the staff issued a formal apology to those who had purchased tickets for the event. Fans were ecstatic to hear that the popular band would finally be bringing their tour and their music into North America, and tickets sold quickly. I managed to get a ticket for San Francisco, in The Regency Ballroom, and I’m sure you can imagine my excitement! The place was almost full and you could feel the energy buzzing in the room, as if everyone had been waiting for this moment their whole lives. And hey, most of us have! Once the music started the whole building shook with the notes being played and screamed, and the energy and excitement of the fans. Most of the audience was headbanging like there was no tomorrow, ready to show the GazettE just how appreciative they were that they finally included North America in their tour. Below is the set list they played in San Francisco.
 Courtesy of Kai’s Instagram, gazette_kai_ The audience chanted, cheered and screamed for almost fifteen minutes before the guys came back out to do the encore, ready to show their devotion and love for the band. The whole building shook with screaming when the concert was finally over and as the crowd dispersed you could hear excitement in everyone’s words. It was certainly a night no one will forget.
After the concert the guys posted several different things to social media saying that they enjoyed America and would be coming back one day. The fandom blew up with excitement and I think it’s safe to say that when they return they will have many eager fans awaiting them. -Kelsey  PC: JRockinLA Tuesday, May 3rd – it was the beginning of a great week because at 8 PM that night, the GazettE would be performing for the first time in Los Angeles at The Wiltern. From an early hour, the fans were lining up outside the building and as night fell, a May breeze had them huddled close to their friends. Once inside the building, fans headed straight to either the standing admission area or the merchandise line. An assortment of the GazettE goods were up for sale – T-shirts, zip up hoodie, two different styles of sling over bags, a giant messenger bag, three CD’s, a small and large calendar, and a poster. In the main stage hall, audience members were greeted with a floor to ceiling backdrop of “the GazettE” written in the white antique-looking font typical of the band. The fans did not have long to admire this since the GazettE promptly started the show at around 8:07 PM. Before the band even stepped out onto the stage, an announcement was made that no pictures or video were allowed during the concert – a stark contrast to the usual Japanese concert in the United States. So when the instrumental “NIHIL” intro song off their “Dogma” album began to play, the fans automatically began clapping in time to the beat instead of pulling their phones out to record the show. Then almost as suddenly as the clapping had started, it stopped, and violent screams erupted from the crowd as the band stepped onto the stage – all in various outfits of black.  PC: JRockinLA Uruha (lead guitarist) was first to walk out and his light brown hair was teased to the point that it seemed to flow out from the center of his head. Aoi (rhythm guitarist) was next up and his hair was shaved on one side but long and flowing on the other which made for great theatrics when he head banged during the encore. Reita (bassist) followed shortly after Aoi and he wore the most normal looking outfit out of the other band members – a collared shirt with a suit jacket and mid-calf high leather boots. Per usual he was wearing a face mask but instead of just covering his nose, this brown leather studded mask wrapped around his forehead and nose, revealing just one slit for his right eye. Second to last, Kai’s (band leader and drummer) brisk walk to his drum set impeded a good view of his outfit but he had black hair that was slightly teased with bangs falling onto his forehead and black fingerless gloves that gripped his drumsticks tightly. And finally, to the delight of the audience, Ruki (lead vocals) stepped into the center of the stage with the most theatrical outfit of all – a wide rimmed hat and an almost dress-like outfit that flowed down to the ground, completely covering his body. Never the one to skimp out on accessories, he had upside-down triangles painted along his chin that stretched down his neck and thick cord necklaces that draped low across his chest. And for those that follow his instagram (@ruki_nilduenilun) his nails looked similar to the black and gold striped picture he posted in April so that whenever he flashed his fingers at a certain angle during the show, it would catch the light. The band kicked off the night with “DOGMA”, the second song on their “Dogma” album which released in 2015. Ruki’s microphone did not work at first but it was quickly resolved and once his first audible words were heard, the crowd went crazy with relief. From the start of the concert, the energy level was off the charts – any time the band did or said anything it was immediately interrupted by screams from the crowd. At the end of the first song, Ruki screamed out, “Are you fucking ready?” and proceeded to sing “RAGE”. From the moment the GazettE strolled onto the stage, each band member’s stoic and emotionless faces were a part of their many theatrics that were employed that night. In particular Ruki focused on his elaborate hand motions and swaying-of-the-hips dancing to show his interest in a song as opposed to the typical head banging and jumping around the stage. And despite their apathetic faces, the GazettE members prompted responses from the crowd with clapping hands, rock signs and jumping while the band themselves did not head bang. In particular Uruha relied on the fan in front of him to blow his hair in a dramatic fashion instead of throwing his hair around. In this respect, Reita was the most active member – frequently coming to the front of the stage and playing his bass for all to see. “Derangement” was the fourth song of the night and the song’s mechanical background and Ruki’s somewhat auto-tuned voice added a subtle layer to the music. The entire show had a sensational lights display in which the lights would flash or change colors at exactly the right time in the song for dramatic effect – a true testament to the amount of set-up and practice time it must have cost the GazettE to employ and perfect. In particular the fourth song of the night, “Venomous Spider’s Web”, used a focused spotlight on Ruki so as to create a silhouette during his ending solo. After this song, Ruki had his first conversation with the crowd by shouting out in English, “Phew! Hello everybody!” and the audience began to howl just after these few words were spoken. He continued on, “Are you having a good day? You ready? Come on!” and he started to clap his hands in the air and motioning for the fans to follow suit. With the fans hands raised high in the sky clapping in time to the music, the band launched into “Sludgy Cult” followed by “BIZARRE”, and “Dripping Insanity”.  PC: JRockinLA During the first opening chords of the ninth song, “OMINOUS”, Ruki took out an old-fashioned travelers light that he swung by a metal chain attached at the end. Clearly the light inside was fake but the unearthly effect it had was the same nonetheless. In an exhibit of perverse passion, Ruki ran his tongue along the lamp to the delighted screams of the crowd but casually dropped it on the floor immediately after, as if the only intent was to provoke a reaction from the fans. “The Suicide Circus” was next and it was followed up with “Vortex” which was the only song of the night that Ruki introduced. The most upbeat song played yet, the fans began jumping without any encouragement from the band. Thinking that this response meant that the song was a fan favorite, Ruki pointed his microphone out to the crowd to sing the lines “I don’t want to become the fucking garbage like you”. “UGLY” and “UNDYING” were the next two songs of the set and as one final display of fan service; Ruki slowly caressed the crotch area of his pants which set off shouts of delight from the audience. To the delight of the entire audience, the main set was finished off with “Filth in the Beauty”. It was the first song they played all night that was a throwback to their old music and it was raised the energy level of the fans to a whole new level. The crowd literally went crazy – there was not a single person who was not jumping, fist bumping, or singing along with Ruki. And despite the emotionless faces they maintained the entire show; Aoi broke out into a smile that he couldn’t control once he saw the overwhelming reaction from the crowd for this beloved classic. But Aoi was not the only one – feeding off the crowd’s energy, the band started to head bang for the first time that night (all except Ruki because of his hat). After the last few cords of the song were played out, the GazettE walked off the stage; signaling the end to the show. But there is no way the audience would let them get off easily. Chanting in one voice, “An-Ko-Ru” (the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “encore”) and stamping their feet, the crowd incessantly protested for more. Their efforts were rewarded when about 10 minutes later the band reappeared on stage. Aoi, Uruha and Yuki had swapped on the GazettE T-shirts, Reita with the same outfit and Ruki had an American flag draped around his shoulders which he dropped once he began singing “Agony” also off their 2007 “Stacked Rubbish” album. It was during this song that the only band interaction of the night took place – Reita and Uruha each propped a leg up against the sound equipment in the front center of the stage and leaned on each other, back to back. Continuing to play off of the nostalgia factor, their next song was “Cockroach” from their sixth EP “Gama” in 2005. The GazettE wrapped up the night with a very appropriate “Tomorrow Never Dies”. The band gradually started to walk off the stage and Aoi, Yuki and Uruha stayed on just a bit longer to throw out guitar picks and drumsticks. Yuki was even able to throw a drumstick all the way up to the top balcony. Despite the fans desire to stay and reminisce about the unforgettable live they had just witnessed, the general admission fans were asked to leave the venue while the VIP ticket holders waited for about 20 minutes or so for the meet and greet to take place at 10:00 PM. This encounter was a chance for fans to shake hands or hug each member of the GazettE and to briefly speak with them. And while the fans were waiting, they were treated to a special brief appearance of Yoshiki from X-Japan. Cheers followed Yoshiki as he made his way out of the venue. Making sure to include all attendees, there were also 5 boxes outside the concert hall next to the merchandise table that had each members on it and fans were able to drop off gifts for their favorite members. Without a doubt, the GazettE’s first live in Los Angeles was a night to be remembered by all those who attended. From their outlandish outfits, light display, and impassive expressions, there is no doubt that the GazettE proved themselves as concert masters of visual kei to their Los Angeles fans. -Christina (JRockinLA) Photo Credit For All Photos: JRockinLA  PC: JRockinLA |
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