THE KIDDIE Announces 2nd Album

Visual kei group, THE KIDDIE, has recently announced their second album for early 2012!

Titled “MA★PIECE”, THE KIDDIE’s sophomore album will be released on March 28. Not much is known about the album, except that it will get a regular edition and CD+DVD limited edition release.

To celebrate the new album, the band will embark on a 2012 spring tour titled, “PAINT YOUR MA★PIECE”. The 10-stop tour will begin in Fukuoka on April 1 and end in Shibuya on May 19.

sc: Jpopasia

ViViD Announce Details and Specials for Single Release "message"

On January 11th, ViViD will be releasing their 4th major single "message", for which they have now announced a special commemoration event and projects. 

Like the title of the single says, the theme of the song is to "convey feelings to someone important" and accordingly, ViViD will include special application tickets to their Complete Limited Edition A and B of the single, which will grant 300 lucky people the chance to win a special message from the band members.

The ViViD members will call 250 winners directly as the first prize and another 50 winners will receive a special hand written message from them. The contents of the messages have not been revealed and are meant to be "joy for the winners only!"

The application period starts with the release of the single and will end on January 15th at Midnight Japanese Standard Time.

Another commemoration event will be held on January 14th at Shinagawa Stellar Ball, which will include an exhibition of the outfits, ViViD will be wearing at their Budokan performance, a special movie showing along with a meet and greet with the band members. Nation wide a number of in-store events are also scheduled, so make sure to check the official site for details.

4th Single "message"
Release Date: 2012/01/11

[Complete Limited Edition A] CD+DVD
Price: 1,890 Yen (tax in)
ESCL 3821-2 

[Complete Limited Edition B] CD+DVD
Price: 1,890 Yen (tax in)
ESCL 3823-4

[Special Bonus Track Version] CD
Price: 1,260 Yen (tax in)
ESCL 3825

GFCちゃんねる Vol. 2 Now Archived for PSC Fan Club Members!!

On December 14th the second airing of the GFC fan club live program "GFCちゃんねる" had been held and the guests were D=OUT members Kouki and Ibuki! The two of them took the mandatory "GFC ちゃんねる Group Interview" with host NAOKI and talked about their hobbies.

They also revealed how they would be proposing to the girls of their dreams and there have been more surprising facts.

The second episode of the program is now available for GFC members to re-watch as often as they like for the next two weeks. If you still want to watch the program and enjoy more benefits of the fan club, make sure to join!

DIR EN GREY Finishing of Last Show of the Year in L.A.

On December 23rd 2011, DIR EN GREY finished off their live schedule for this year on Hollywood Sunset Strip at the House of Blues in Lost Angeles, California, USA. With this heated performance the band finished its North and South American tour for this year, which they had started already a month earlier. 

The first steps for DIR EN GREY in 2012 will be a short tour a long Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, with special focus on their Osaka-Jo Hall performance scheduled for January 22nd.

The first record to be release will be their album "UROBOROS", which will be re-release in a re-mastered and expanded edition in January at the same time of their Blu-ray Disc "UROBOROS -with the proof in the name of living...- AT NIPPON BUDOKAN[Blu-ray] Extended Cut"

However, with a busy schedule already at the beginning of the year, certainly more can be expected from DIR EN GREY to come in 2012.

Tour "IN THE DYING MOMENTS"
01/18 (Wed) Zepp Tokyo -[a knot] only-
01/19 (Thu) Zepp Tokyo
01/24 (Tue) Osaka, Namba Hatch
01/26 (Thu) Nagoya, Club Diamond Hall

" UROBOROS -that's where the truth is-"
Date: 2012/01/22 (Sun) Osaka-Jo Hall
Tickets: http://eplus.jp/dege/
Total Information: 06-6357-4400

Angelo Single

Visual kei band Angelo will release their eighth single on February 22nd.

Titled Calvary, the single will include the title track and the B-side SEVEN DEADLY SINS, and will be released in two versions. The regular edition will feature the bonus track Forbidden Fruit, while the limited edition will come with a DVD featuring the PV forCalvary and its making-of video.

Calvary (Regular Edition)

CD - SINGLE

• release date: 22.02.2012
• label: Sony Music Entertainment
• catalog number: IKCB-95516
• country: Japan
• 
  

Calvary (Limited Edition)

CD + DVD - SINGLE

• release date: 22.02.2012
• label: Sony Music Entertainment
• catalog number: IKCB-95514
• country: Japan

Live DVD, Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray from LUNA SEA

Legendary rock band LUNA SEA will release new DVD, Blu-ray and 3D Blu-Ray on February 22nd.

Titled LUNA SEA IN LOS ANGELES and LUNA SEA 3D IN LOS ANGELES, the releases will contain the concert LUNA SEA 20th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR REBOOT -to the New Moon-. This concert was held on December 4th 2010 in Los Angeles and was shown in sixty-four Japanese theaters in June 2011. A double-CD version of the concert was also released in June.

The three editions will also contain documentary footage and member interviews. First press editions will include a sticker replica of the WORLD TOUR REBOOT staff pass.

LUNA SEA 3D IN LOS ANGELES [3D Blu-Ray]

BLU RAY - CONCERT

• release date: 22.02.2012
• label: avex trax
• catalog number: YIXQ-10217
• country: Japan

First press comes with a sticker replica of the "WORLD TOUR REBOOT" staff pass.

LUNA SEA IN LOS ANGELES

BLU RAY - CONCERT

• release date: 22.02.2012
• label: avex trax
• catalog number: YIXQ-10216
• country: Japan

First press comes with a sticker replica of the "WORLD TOUR REBOOT" staff pass.

LUNA SEA IN LOS ANGELES

DVD - CONCERT

• release date: 22.02.2012
• label: avex trax
• catalog number: YIBQ-10214
• country: Japan

First press comes with a sticker replica of the "WORLD TOUR REBOOT" staff pass.

ex.V-Last. Vocalist Shyena's New Project "V-Bo"

Not long after V-Last's disbandment and already he is back but many people are wondering what this is since Shyena's explanation is a bit hard to understand. 

According to the description on his V-Bo profile, he becomes a special promoter and producer for some Visual bands.Therefore he created this website, where people can register (it's japanese only)!

On this web site, there are certain topics, e.g. "Guitarist wanted", "Doing Hair", "Making Costumes" etc., where members can post still open positions in their bands or what they could offer to help a band. So in general, it seems to be a site where people can find required band members/people working in the background to form Visual bands, all supported by Shyena!

Golden Bomber's Darvish Kenji Releasing Blog as Book

It has just been announced that Golden Bomber's "Doramu" Darvish Kenji will be releasing his blog as a book, which will be released next year on February 2nd.

His blog titled "OBAMABLG" is the most popular on the blogging platform Ameba and ranks first within the Visual-kei category altogether with the most access. The release of the blog has been stated to be "for readers to enjoy an easy read and have a remaining proof of the life of Kenji".

Moreover, on January 4th, Golden Bomber will be releasing their first original album, before performing at two sold out shows at Nippon Budokan on January 14th and 15th. The performance will be followed by their show at Osaka-Jo Hall, which will be aired in 32 movie theaters all over Japan as well.

Book "BEST OF OBAMABLG"
Release Date: 2012/02/02
Price: 980 Yen (tax in)
978-4594065461

9GOATS BLACK OUT Release New Single for Valentine's Day.

The band from Niigata will release a new single called 'Karte' in 2012 as a limited and general edition, whereas the limited edition will only be available via their official online shop.

This one will be their 3rd single in a row that started with 'Rorschach inkblot' on August.

In addiction, they also announced they will offer a free DVD with live footage from their coupling tour with Amber gris especially selected by both bands.
This new release won't be available for purchase and will only be given as a present to the people, who attend the last concert of the tour, at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM, on January's 20th.


9GOATS will follow their schedule next year with more dates during February and March, going all over Japan for a new coupling tour with Moran and Dolly.

"Tokyo sadistic13's" - Looking "like girugamesh" at First Performance at HOLIDAY SHINJUKU

On November 25th, mysterious rock band "Tokyo sadistic13's" had been performing at a HOLIDAY SHINJUKU X'mas event, despite not being announced. When the band took the stage however, many people recognized the four band members immediately, because it were no other than the members of girugamesh.

When trying to confirm the schedule with their agency however, the only answer that would come out was: "The band members are probably in the middle of rehearsing for JACK IN THE BOX 2011, yet their exact location as of now is unknown".

As reported earlier, girugamesh will be performing their 13 days consecutive performances at Shibuya www next year, yet it is unclear as to why they have changed their name for the performance that day. One reason of course might have been, that they have not been playing any girugamesh songs.

If the band "Tokyo sadistic 13's" actually exists and will continue activies is currently unknown, but it seems that the members, no matter what name, are having a lot in store for the upcoming year!

New Single from Downer

Visual kei band Downer will release a new single on March 7th.

Titled Clones Viewer, the single will feature the title track and a B-side and will be available in two editions. The regular edition will come with a bonus track, while the limited edition will instead come with a DVD featuring the PV for Clones Viewer.

Clones Viewer [Regular]

クローンズビューア [通常盤]

CD - MAXI-SINGLE

• release date: 07.03.2012
• label: Free-Will
• catalog number: DWNR-12B
• country: Japan

Clones Viewer [Limited]

クローンズビューア [DVD付初回限定盤]

CD + DVD - MAXI-SINGLE

• release date: 07.03.2012
• label: Free-Will
• catalog number: DWNR-12A
• country: Japan

Kra 2011 Tortilla Tour Final at Akasaka BLITZ

Kra finished up their tenth anniversary year with a live at Akasaka BLITZ, leaving fans with great memories to see them through to the next year.


Concluding their tenth anniversary year with a one-man live at Akasaka BLITZ, Kra held their fans captivated for three hours. Between fun music and completely pointless yet entertaining chatter, the crowd were granted plenty of memories to see them through to 2012.

Set in the centre of the dark stage rose a fountain of antlers that grabbed attention from the moment you entered the hall. Suddenly its purpose became clear as the music struck up and it began to rise, hanging overhead like a chandelier to match the iron framework gates lining the stage wall. Before the band ever set foot onstage, the crowd were dragged into their dreamy world full of surprises at every turn.

“Hey BLITZ, let’s go wild!” yelled Keiyuu from the very beginning. The show began with the vibrant guitar and high vocal line of Masui which evolved into wicked bass lines and unstoppable jumping in Daddy. The rapped verses were blended with some real nostalgic soul sounds with another high-pitched melody line belted out in style. Muma only upped the pace, sending the crowd excitedly moshing from side to side and pausing to clap. The vocalist worked a bit of growl into the piece, sexing up the chorus despite the innocently cheerful timbre of the whole number.

Pausing for breath, Kra greeted the crowd in familiar fashion, teasing and joking all the way. “Have any of you caught colds? No? Of course not. Idiots don’t catch colds. But you’re all very cute! Some beauties up in the back there! Don’t get cocky!” Hyped up beyond measure, Keiyuu snapped into high-gear at awkward moments, giving the show a memorably, unpredictable edge. He physically sprung onto Mrs., bouncing from side to side and stalking along the front strip while spitting out rapid lyrics. The highlight of the fluid number was the growl-sung key-change, smooth as butter, that brought the song to a close. After the pretty falsetto and gentler, melody-driven tone of Machibito, Keiyuu announced that it was time for a long emcee.

He wasn’t lying. Responding to Keiyuu’s forecast of a bright atmosphere, bassist Yuhra was in top form, going one-to-one with Keiyuu in a verbal battle. When the vocalist suggested he turn a bit of that strength on the crowd, Yuhra raised a cheer by saying, “No, we have to treasure them.” Another argument followed betweenKeiyuu and Yasuno, resulting in the vocalist accusing Yasuno of being too dark. Taizo somehow kept the audience enraptured with his mundane story of doing laundry on the tour. Meanwhile, the glare from Yuhra’s bass was blinding the crowd who were never afraid to raise their voices, yelling “MABUSHII!” (Too bright!) to which Yasuno winningly exclaimed, “Then Yuhra at least has succeeded in the goal of brightness!” The antics continued endlessly, Keiyuu talking from the floor, lying on his stomach or the band arguing about whether or not mobile phones can be used onstage. “I bet you whip your phone out on the plane,” Yuhra accused the vocalist. Eventually, the band convinced Yuhra to jump down from the strip with an odd wiggle which was filmed to be uploaded as a special present to the fanclub and then, all of a sudden, Keiyuu announced that seeing as the rehearsal without emcee took two hours, they should probably get on with the music.

The following songs were lighter in feel, beginning with the ballad-toned Yamiyo no Gene and the gothic lilt ofSchwarz wald, during which Keiyuu danced with graceful gestures. Then came the Japanese-themed Machi no akari with its groovy guitar line and recorded piano muzak. Very colourful both in lighting and music, Dareka no yume no ato featured a hidden treasure of harmonic blend in the chorus, making it one to listen out for! Then came the exclamation, “On this tour, let’s chase our dreams one more time and ride on this train. Please listen,Toki no ressha.” The poppy number with friendly lyrics was sung out with strong emotion. A momentary pause lasted into the blackout before a tumult of voices rose to call to the members.

Once more the emcee took a multitude of twists and turns, revisiting the old laundry topic, teasing the fans about love, and encouraging them to buy lottery tickets for Yuhra, who promised a free live if he won more than ¥10 million. There was talk about what to do for Christmas, Keiyuu shattering the crowd’s hopes by saying, “No, we can’t do a live. Everyone does a live so all the live-houses are booked out.” The band then discussed Taizo’s suggestion of going bowling – one of his favourite past-times. “When I try to find a ball that looks light, the finger holes are too small for my hands,” Keiyuu complained. “That’s because those are for children,” Taizo revealed to him. The crowd were also treated to an explanation of how PS Company sometimes holds inter-band bowling tournaments with prizes like free photography, and an excited Taizo asked Keiyuu to invite him once the next date was set. Incredulous, Keiyuu and Yasuno stared at the guitarist in shock. “Aren’t you a member of Kra!?”Yasuno cried, to which Taizo swiftly changed the subject, “Your hair looks great today”, causing the entire capacity of BLITZ to topple over mentally. After a round of impressions of the retro anime Sazae-san, Keiyuuencouraged Yasuno to do his 'Amuro', but cut the drummer off with a sudden rile that launched into the fun, jazz-rock Fushigi na sekai kara no shotaijou.

With a positive, exciting melody that breeds enjoyment, Sekai de ichiban tayorinai koi no uta kept the crowd dancing and laughing before diving head first into LOST NUMBER. For anyone whose head wasn’t reeling from the excessive head-banging, Yasuno’s dynamic drumming was a sight to see. Rock showed that the band have a real rock’n’roll spirit buried somewhere under those witty personalities and sparkly smiles, although Keiyuudefied the genre, dancing cheerfully while the crowd bent into head-banging.

The real show stopper was Show Time. Keiyuu’s rapid voice shifts were so neat and skilful you could really identify each character in the song. The humorous atmosphere rose into a powerful melody of la’s only shortly heard before the vocalist ripped out his best death voice for a section of wickedness and then finally releasing that earlier beautiful melody at length, the crowd singing out full-voiced. The closer of Extra Kingdom gaveYasuno another chance to show off, dancing with one stick in the air while he drummed with the other to the cute tune. The band thanked the crowd, and took their leave, but the call of “Tortilla! Tortilla!” brought them back before long.

“I think I want to give you all a Christmas present,” Keiyuu stated to a round of cheers as he sat behind the keyboard placed at centre stage in his absence. Just like that, Kra began the cover song, Christmas Eve, stylishly arranged and performed. The instrumental featured a speedy keyboard rendition of a melody fromPachelbel’s Cannon. Among loads of cute but pointless chatter, Keiyuu then made a number of important announcements such as their coming TV show with Music Japan Plus and Keiyuu’s approaching cosplay birthday live. Then came a round of poppy music with a lot of dancing which concluded in the patriotic tune ofShonen to sora, a very unusual number for visual kei but stirring.

“Kra has come ten years and of course that’s important but this year we’ve started again at 0. That’s what this tour has been about. We’re aiming for 20 years and we can’t give up on our dream,” said Keiyuu. “Niji wo koete.” An array of rainbow light shone out from the stage as the crowd raised blue glow sticks along with the vocalist. Sweet and dreamy but with positive energy, the number was a great way to conclude Kra’s final tenth anniversary one-man. 

Set List
1. Masui
2. Daddy
3. Muma
4. Mrs.
5. Machibito
6. Yamiyo no gene
7. Schwarz wald
8. Machi no Akari
9. Dareka no yume no ato
10. Toki no ressha
11. Fushigi na sekai kara no shotaijou
12. Sekai de ichiban tayorinai koi no uta
13. LOST NUMBER
14. Darling in the Dark
15. no pain no gain
16. Rock
17. Show Time
18. Extra Kingdom

Encore
1. Christmas Eve (Cover)
2. Yuki no Hana
3. Tightrope
4. artman
5. Shonen to sora
6. Niji wo koete

Aoi & Ryohei incl. Ayabie Megamasso Announce 1st Album

Visual kei special unit Aoi & Ryohei incl. Ayabie Megamasso will release its first album on February 15th.

The album, titled Jyokei Narabi ni Nodo, Yubisaki., will feature ten tracks, including “Monochrome”, “Hoka”, and the new song “Dear my suite…”. The CD-only edition will come with two bonus tracks, while the limited edition will come with a bonus DVD featuring the PV for “Dear my suite...” and additional footage.

The album's full track list and cover jackets will be revealed closer to its release.