Review by Miss Kabuki

I bought this DVD not knowing what to expect: I'd heard good things about Mask but knew nothing about the band or their music. Watching this I can honestly say that this show is one of the best shows i've seen from a visual band in recent years. Mask have incredible energy on stage, they look the part, the music is upbeat but kind of mad and manic at the same time AND there's plenty of it packed onto the disc. I really recommend this as an introduction to Mask. This DVD made my day!

I really love this single for the beautiful etheral quality of the vocals and instrumentation. Lacrimosa is delicate and fragile with sinister overtones which perfectly suits the supernatural drama Kurositsuji of which it was the ending theme. The B-Side, Gloria is just as good as is the instrumental version of Lacrimosa which brings the violin and cello instrumentation to the fore inspiring feelings of a haunting yet beautiful lonliness.

The calender is well worth the money and will make a perfect gift for any Gackt fan (Although, all the Gackt fans have probably purchased it themselves by now!) As usual with Gackt stuff, this is a quality item. The quality of the paper is very high and the photographs are lovely. The calender itself is huge! I knew it was going to be poster size but I didn't realise just how big the thing was until I opened it! I was a bit worried about how it was going to arrive in one piece after its incredible journey but it was neatly packaged and well-protected so I needn't have worried. Thanks, CDJapan!

This is still my favourite Dir en Grey album. I love the vast array of songs, styles and performances which characterised those visual kei days. The way the songs take you on a journey is really impressive: although, lyrically they are dark there is something ultimately quite uplifting about it: lyrically, by far, GAUZE is the most interesting release. The CD is nicely presented. I especially liked the little verses that accompany the lyrics for each song in the booklet. They really add an extra element to proceedings. A great purchase to add the your CD collection!

I really don't know what to say other than 'WOW!'. Gackt sure knows how to put on a show: He really pulled out all the stops. The song selection is great and varied with the second disc offering a welcome change of pace. However, my only complaint is that I found the dancers a little irritating at times (Gackt really doesn't need them!). The opening sequence and the performance of songs like Dyabbuk, White Eyes, Lust for Blood and U+K, to name a few, are incredible and it's not just Gackt but the whole band. As this was my first Gackt show I can honestly say i'm looking forward to watching more of his concerts. I just hope they are as wonderful as this one!

The sound of AZALEA kind of reminds me of early (really early) Dir en Grey. The music is aggressive with a dark edge and the performances have a certain charisma about them. I love the clock chiming midnight at the beginning. It's a nice touch! The CD itself is nicely presented in a cardboard sleeve with a lyric book enclosed. My only issue is that there are only 3 songs, all of which are very good, but I wish it were longer. I'm new to AZALEA (I saw a short live clip and was quite impressed!) and hadn't heard any of these tracks before but even though the band seems relatively unknown (over this side of the world, anyway!) and short lived (only 3 singles), I can safely recommend AZALEA to anyone who is a fan of the older visual kei scene. The band were signed to KISAKI's record label so it's worth a look for that reason also!

This CD went beyond my expectations not only because all the tracks were brilliant but because it's packed with music, seven tracks total! I brought this after hearing Virgin but all the tracks are excellent. Track 1, Fairytale forms a nice introduction leading into Glass saiku no kimi to boku no koe, Virgin and finally Dress. These are followed by voiceless versions of each of the tracks which I enjoyed listening too just as much as those featuring Yayoi's vocals. It's more of a mini-album than a single! This CD made me feel quite nostalgic as it captures the feel of the earlier V.K. scene quite nicely. (The CD cover was cool, too!) If your a visual fan I recommend this. It's just a shame La'Miss Fairy didn't make any further releases...

Non-japanese speaking fans of the two cover bands, Rentrer en Soi and Chariots, featured in this issue of Cure may like to know that the interviews with these two bands appear in both english and japanese in the copy I received. The interviews are very entertaining and the photo shoots are lovely so if your a fan of either of these bands this issue will make a nice edition to your visual kei/J-rock collection.

I had this given to me for my birthday sometime ago and I never get tired of listening to it. It came with a cute card of Riku as an added bonus as well as the PV for Material Pain! Phantasmagoria were one of the best V.K. bands around and I can't believe they are splitting up. If you get the chance to buy this album, please do because you won't regret it! All the songs are awesome and it will make a great addition to any V.K. fans collection.

This was my first brush with Pierrot so I didn't really know what to expect from the live show. Kirito has an amazing voice and the music was brilliant. I am definitely inclined to check out the rest of their music.

I definitely recommend this to all fans of visual kei. If you're new to visual kei or Dir en Grey it's a good place to start your collection. There's 20 songs altogether, mainly from Dir en Grey's Gauze album but also a few from Missa including GARDEN (which is brilliant), Byoshin, Aoi Tsuki and Myaku from their later album Macabre which I was really pleased about. It's really difficult to pick out just one performance as a favourite because the whole show is just incredible (costumes and all) but Kyo's emotional performance in Mazohyst of Decadence was particularly memorable. Oh, and the drumming is defintely worth a mention(You go, Shinya!)There's also a few extras too, a bit of backstage stuff, a full screen version of the CG opening sequence and information on all the band's equipment.The show itself is around 2 hours 15 minutes long, its filmed really well and has massive replay value...Buy this now!

My first Dollis Marry purchase and I was really impressed! All three songs are great but my favourite has to be the first track, Artemis. It's such a powerful and beautiful song. Dollis Marry are definitely worth checking out if you love visual kei.

Not the best Dir en Grey CD that money can buy but still interesting to see what the band were like way back in the day. It really shows how much they've changed and progressed over the years. I'd recommend this to long time fans rather than those new to the band although GARDEN is still one of my favourite Dir en Grey songs.

This is an excellent album. Kalm's music and Dada's lyrics combine perfectly to create an amazingly dark and creepy atmosphere that completely sucks the listener in. To me this is the best Velvet Eden album and also a great introduction to the band.