Review by Pagan
Nickname changes can be made in your account information.
-
Zetsubokan no Susume - Kekoto 100 Pon Hakai Hen -
Anti FeminizmZetsubokan no Susume - Kekoto 100 Pon Hakai Hen -Anti FeminizmMad Kenzi!!Finally, an Anti-Feminism DVD that is not limited edition. I wondered why? There was hardly any information on this release... and why spell it as "Anti Feminizm"? Well, let me assure you this is pure Anti-Feminism goodness, and a different show from their last DVD "Manatsu No Kichigai". I'm not sure if this was filmed before or after the Kichigai gigs. What I do know is that this release has a much better video and sound quality. Where the previous DVD's were...well, I wouldn't call them bootleg quality, but I've seen and heard better things... This release makes them bite the dust. Filmed on 19-07-2008 at Holiday Shinjuku, we can see Kenzi doing more of his mad stuff. This time, the fluorescent lights decorate the ceiling, and he uses them a lot. Also, he sets his arm on fire, cuts himself with light shards and even eats them, beats a construction of lights down with a baseball bat, and rolls around in the shards, and more of those things. He must really be one troubled soul. I respect that. Definitely an awesome release for any Anti-Feminism fan.
-
Niji AsobiGargoyleGood long DVD of this thrash metal band.
Twenty years...since the 19-bloody-80's, Gargoyle has been delivering avant-garde/thrash metal, with a visual touch. This concert is a real treat to watch. There's lots to see, the music is good, and picture and sound quality are excellent. For this price, it's definitely a good product. I just wish they'd re-issue their older live VHS releases on DVD, and/or make their other DVD releases more widely available.
-
Tour DictatorDioFinally a good Dio DVD...
I've been waiting for this. I'm happy I got their first DVD, Embrace At Distraught, for a cheap price. However, the performance (first one-man live) had several off-moments (usually vocals), and some songs were cut, to show Japanese interviews. Personally, I prefer watching a full gig and have interviews as an extra. This DVD has exactly that. A full gig with none of that interrupting stuff. I have no idea where or when it was filmed (probably in Japan, given the Asian audience), but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The band works through their back catalogue like a star, and are all in perfect shape. They have definitely matured since their first DVD. The songs included are from various releases, including the most recent album Dictator. I recognized a lot of songs I like, so I'm happy. Picture and sound are perfect. This release couldn't be better. There's some bonus material of the Europe concerts, which I sadly couldn't attend due to the Dutch gig being cancelled (and too far away from where I was vacationing at the time), and the replacement gig in the French part of Belgium was vague on information and also too far away. It's less quality than the main gig, but oh well. Still an awesome release. Onto the next album/EP/DVD!
-
A Fact Of Life 20090218 -Territory Tokyo-
-OZ-A Fact Of Life 20090218 -Territory Tokyo--OZ-Next time, make a longer DVDI love Oz, and I'm happy to finally have a DVD of theirs. I would give this a 5 star rating, but unfortunately I don't believe that 10 songs is all they played on that particular night, especially not during a one-man live. I would've liked a full concert, so do that next time! (Same goes for Sadie. Include your full gigs for pete's sake!) However, since 10 songs is all we get (there isn't any bonus material either), let's review that. Picture and sound are decent, not bad at all for a smaller venue, but it's not exactly crystal clear. It's good enough, though. I've seen (much) worse releases. The band looks really great, and sounds great too. They chose to include many loud metal songs, only having a few more "standard", more accessible, visual rock moments. Of course, with such a short setlist, I'm missing a few great tracks, but that's something for the next DVD. This release is still worth it.
-
Ongaku no Kenkyusha wa Ongaku wo Nejifuseyo to Shite wa Ikenai. Ongaku wo Shite, Ongaku no Omomuku Tokoro ni Omomukashimeruyoni Michibikebayoi. Soshite Ongaku Jishin wo Shite Ongaku wo Kenkyusase, Ongaku no Shinpi wo Monogatarasarebayoi.te'Te'?
Te' could be classified as alternative rock and postrock, or rather a mixture of these styles. It's mainly, if not solely, instrumental. This is their first DVD, as far as I know. For this extremely cheap price, it's more than worth it, if you like this kind of music. Picture and sound quality are good, and the performance is good, too. The drums are on the side, and one of the guitar (or bass) players usually stands facing the drums or with his back to the audience, facing the other band members. It gives more of a rehearsal feel, though it's still a live gig. Or perhaps he's shy? =) The DVD cover, however, has to be in my top 5 of most boring DVD covers ever. Plain white, no inside, with just the tracklist (in Japanese, with very long track names) and standard DVD information on the back, and the band name (typeset as "t?") and the rediculously long DVD title in Japanese on the front. =/ No booklet either.
-
MARS Sora Kara no Houmonsha (Visitor from the sky) Special EditionGacktFirst solo live DVD
I'm impressed. Such a great live gig at such an early stage. It's grand and emotional, majestic, yet without much of the complicated choreography that came with later lives. His band also featured three guitarists at that time. I'm very pleased with this DVD. Camera, picture and sound are excellent, as usual. I loved the little bonus song (Red Spiral) recorded at an outdoor festival kind of thing. He should do aggressive songs like that more often.
-
Gackt Live Tour 2003 Jougen no Tsuki- Saishu-shou Perfect EditionGacktFollowing Live Tour 2002...
Packed in a similar DVD box & cover as the Live Tour 2002 DVD, this DVD is a logical continuation of the "Moon" concept Gackt was exploring. Usual pros and cons are... Pros: Picture, sound and performance are excellent. Cons: Gackt stalls while he could fit more songs into his live performance. This DVD starts off really great with a wonderful show. However I found that as the DVD's carried on, the performance lost its energy (partly due to the softer, slower songs), and by the end it couldn't keep my interest as much anymore. The ending was nice, with Hyde (L'arc En Ciel) joining him on stage together with two others. I'm guessing that's related to the "Moon Child" movie. I don't know, I haven't seen it. Great start, but a little disappointed with the later parts of this live.
-
Gackt Live Tour 2004 THE SIXTH DAY & SEVENTH NIGHTGackt"Best of" live
Gackt's 2004 tour, the first with bassist Ju-Ken. Kind of a "best of" tour, with songs from earlier albums. It's a nice show with lots of dancers and nice songs being played (including the infamous "neko song"). Performance, camera and sound are excellent. No complaints whatsoever. However, for a lengthy 2DVD set, they don't play a lot of songs. Why is that? Because Gackt has the habit of stalling. Interludes where he yells "Rah!" and the audience joins him go on for 10 minutes, and more things like that. Gackt is a brilliant musician and I love his music, but he could've played more songs with that time. That's my only complaint about his live performances. This set is worth every penny. Get it.
-
CROM12012Great live
I agree. This is an excellent live of an early 12012. I doubt it's the whole concert, seeing how some songs are cut, but overall this is a quality performance. Picture and sound quality are good. Perhaps not as good as on later DVD's by them, but good enough. And they play Gallows, my favourite song by them. ^^ I'm very happy I finally got my paws on it.
-
Lucy Show 002 Live at STUDIO COASTLucyI don't know what to say...
...but I'll try to review. Camera and sound are good, and the performance is too. The music is kind of rock/rock 'n roll. The band is lightly visual, and focuses on Hisashi Imai (Buck-Tick lead guitarist/noisemaker), and Kiyoshi (guitarist for Hide With Spread Beaver, Machine), and apparently a drummer. With such visuals, I hardly recognized them. Luckily Imai's left-handed guitar and unique voice gave him away, hah! I'll be honest. Both Imai and Kiyoshi don't have great voices. In fact, they shouldn't be lead vocalists at all, even if it is enough for Lucy. Imai sounds like his throat is being shut, and Kiyoshi has a rough voice that sounds off quite a bit (more during Machine's live 2004 DVD than here, but still). They should've sticked to playing guitar (and possible backing vocals) and hired a good lead singer. The DVD's length and overall good quality makes it worth the money. Just make sure you like this kind of music...and voice.
-
Lucy Show 002 Live at UNITLucyThis is no bootleg
A bootleg feel? Not so much. Yes, there are less cameras used, but it's a professionally recorded gig. Picture quality is good, though the lights are darker than on the Studio Coast DVD. Sound is very good. The performance...eh, there's better. I personally prefer the Studio Coast DVD, as the guitarsolo's and certainly the vocals are better there (even though I'll never think Imai and Kiyoshi are good singers). On this DVD, they both sound off at least several times. Add to that the fact I'm not a madly wild-about-Lucy fan... It made sitting through the whole DVD somewhat of a chore. I don't regret getting it along with the Studio Coast DVD, especially for the price I paid for the two DVD's together, and them being first press. I don't think I'll watch them regularly, however.
-
Crazy Crazy CrazygirugameshFirst stand-alone live DVD
Finally. I've been waiting ages for this. Was it worth the wait? Why yes, actually. Though chronologically their second live DVD, it's their first stand-alone live DVD release. It's a good energetic show, with plenty of "Music" (the album) being played. Picture quality is good, though the cameras are somewhat quick and chaotic at times. I guess that fits the music, but a little calmer wouldn't hurt. I like to see what the boys are doing, and the fast switching makes it a little hard (I had to wait for a decent shot of the bassist to see whether he was wearing shades or black paint over his eyes...it was paint.) Sound is okay, though the guitars could've been mixed a little louder. You can hear them, but not as loud as on the albums. As I said, you get lots of "Music", and a few older tracks such as Shadan, Crazy-Flag, Smash!!, Volcano and such. They also played their new single "Alive" as encore, which was not included on the DVD. =< All in all it's a good release, but for some reason it never got me dancing and jumping like The Gazette can, nor Girugamesh's performance on the "Music" bonus DVD. Maybe that'll change in the future. I hope so.
-
From Impressive Memory -Die Walkure-ALHAMBRAAn excellent release
Japan loves its power metal. No wonder some of the best power metal comes from Japan. Alhambra is no exception, and this DVD shows that. Filmed in a medium-sized venue (nice and cozy but not too small), Alhambra plays songs from their two albums "A Far Cry To You" and "Fadista" on their Fadista Tour 2008. For a smaller venue, the picture and sound quality are both really good. The performance itself is super, and I have enjoyed every moment of it. Every member is doing great, with all getting more or less equal spotlight (some great guitar/key/bass solos), even though it's keyboardist Yuhki's band (he's also keyboardist of Galneryus and some others). The female vocals of Junko are quite powerful and remind a little of Kuroneko(Onmyoza's female singer), though I like Junko's voice more, as it sounds less bordering on being off-key. Guest vocals by Yasuo of Ark Storm have a unique deep sound, and contrast well with Junko's high vocals. Recommended DVD!
-
Tour 08 The Rose Trims Again [Regular Edition]Dir en grey!!!
Finally. This DVD was long overdue. After Tour05 "It Withers And Withers" and two [a knot] fanclub DVD's (and a compilation DVD of the latest 3 fanclub DVD's), Dir En Grey finally release their new live DVD featuring the tour supporting The Marrow Of A Bone. Well, mostly. This was filmed when Glass Skin was just released, and with Uroboros only a little while away from being released. The setlist opens with Sa Bir, Uroboros' opening, and during the concert we get mainly material from the last 3 albums (especially The Marrow Of A Bone, obviously) and the latest singles including Hydra 666, Dozing Green, Glass Skin, the new version of Undecided, Agitated Screams Of Maggots [Unplugged]. We even get "Gaika Chinmoku, Ga Nemuru Koro" and "Toguro" off Uroboros. Surprises are the final song "Rasetsukoku", and incredibly powerful versions of Obscure and Audience Killer Loop. In fact, the band impressed me with the way they play. Especially Kyo seems to have improved a lot, using deeper growls, but still shrieks and screams good as ever. His singing has gotten better, and only a few notes are a bit off. I love how his improvisation makes many songs a lot better than the original. The setlist contains two "calmer" pieces (from track 7 Toguro 'till track 10 Conceived Sorrow (though Agitated [Unplugged] is a murder for the voice). And from track 18 Undecided 'till track 20 Glass Skin). Kyo really needs these breaks, as you can hear him struggle from Lie Buried With A Vengeance (after the amazing Audience Killer Loop), continuing 'till the second rest piece (which is more acoustic). The ending is awesome again. Sound is great. Picture...not so much. I mean, the quality is good, but the lighting is so dark. I've never seen a Dir En Grey gig this dark. It made filming rather difficult. Often things are too dark to see, or the band only has minimal lighting. =< One thing I noticed is the absence of blood and self-mutilation. Has Kyo finally stopped hurting himself on stage? I guess time will tell. I'm seeing them in Europe in June on Tour09 "Feast of V Senses" promoting Uroboros. The limited edition has a documentary DVD of Tour08 Uroboros -Breathing- with a few live songs from that gig, including Stuck Man, Reiketsu Nariseba, Bugaboo, Ain't Afraid To Die (!) and a few others. The CD has audio from DVD 1 (tracks 1-8) and more songs from Uroboros Breathing (9-14).
-
Kurotento 2Plastic TreeYay!
Quite a lovely Plastic Tree DVD. I don't know whether it was my mood back then, but when I watched their latest DVD "Zero", I found it too melancholic, too sad. Only "Ghost" really gets me going. Despite Plastic Tree's melancholic nature, this DVD didn't have that depressing effect on me. Yes, I did miss Ghost, which wasn't released when this was filmed, but I enjoyed it all the same. I felt it ended a little quick, but that's probably another sign I enjoyed it a lot. Picture and sound are good, and the stage show is nice. Get it if you can!
-
Beardsley no Puzzle - Final Piece at BODOKAN [limited edition pressing]DIE IN CRIESDisappointing
I quite like Die In Cries' music, and was disappointed when finally seeing this DVD. It was filmed in 1993 at their tour final in Budokan. Picture quality is okay, as is sound quality. What bothers me the most is that this is more the highlights of the concert, rather than the full gig. Also, the songs are in random order (not chronologically), so you'll see them in different outfits througout watching. This really takes the live feel away, and leaves you wondering why they didn't include the whole concert. =< It probably won't get any better than this, though. So better enjoy Kyo, Yukihiro and the others as much as you can.
-
Tour Document DVD Tenshi no Uta '06 TravelKiyoharuGood enough
I got this for a very good price. Thank goodness, for I think the price here is a little much (as with most of Kiyoharu's DVD's). Still, you get 3 DVD's in one box, all clocking around the 90 minutes. "Our" Kiyoharu seems to like tour documentaries. He's done some with Kuroyume, with Sads, and now solo. The first two discs are all tour documentary. You get to see off-stage stuff, some live footage, and so forth. The third disc has a live performance filmed at two different locations, but to be honest, I didn't notice much of a difference. They are smaller venues, giving a nice and intimate feel. Kiyoharu takes up most of the spotlight, and the cameras are hardly ever focused on his backing band (they get minimal lighting, too). Picture and sound quality of all discs are good, too. Die hard Kiyoharu fans will probably already have bought this. More casual listeners such as myself might want to select their Kiyoharu DVD carefully because of the price.
-
Psychoscape [Limited Pressing]DEAD ENDOne of the first visual kei bands
One of the first visual kei bands, if I'm correct. Dead End has a pleasant 80's rock sound, one I quite like. This concert recorded in 1988, shows the four-piece (with additional keyboardist you hardly ever get to see, if ever), in concert. The performance is sometimes a bit static. There is audience, but you hardly hear or see them. They play live, but it doesn't have a true live feel to it. Still, it's nice to see Dead End's performance years after they disbanded. I'm glad they left a legacy in any case. The DVD lasts almost an hour, including the intro and the outro. It's too short, but I guess that can't be helped. Picture and sound are good for a 1988 gig!
-
Night of confusionSORROWUm...
Apparently Sorrow is more popular than I thought. I expected them to play a smaller venue. Oh well, I like to watch bigger venues anyway. ^^ This live is good, filmed well and the sound is good. It's nice to see a band with a woman playing additional guitar and singing. ^^ And the bassist uses upright bass quite a few times! Chaa~~ As for the music, how to describe it? Rock'n roll, regular rock, slight bits of country, even a blues song in there. ^^ There's just one major error: The tracklist on the DVD cover is faulty! It lists the wrong order and several songs they don't play, along with failing to list several songs they DID play. =/ Quite sloppy...
-
Millenarianism -The War Of Megiddo-RENTRER EN SOIO M G
I was sad when I heard Rentrer En Soi were splitting up. I was hoping for a last live DVD, but they were planning on releasing a best-of instead. =< Then I heard they were going to release a last live DVD and I was very happy! ^^ I'm even more happy now that I have it. This live is awesome. Rentrer En Soi really wanted to make their final release something special. :3 Over 2 hours of last live material, with many many songs being played. Loud grunting metal songs, soft ballads... *sighs happily* It's filmed well, and it looks really neat. The sound's great, too. DVD 1 has the last live, DVD 2 has the History of Rentrer En Soi and a PV collection. I think it's more than worth the money. If you, like me, were waiting and hoping for a Rentrer En Soi DVD, you won't be disappointed (of course, you may miss a song or two, but...)