Yuzuki Yukari - IXA

LIQ has blessed us with a new song! “IXA” shows the distinctive producer’s style, but it has some notable evolved points as well. LIQ has stripped the music off its foundations – namely double bass drums and rhythmic guitar riffs lines, and left it in kinda torn and breaking state. The crucial role of binding the sound together is passed to Yukari. And she hasn’t failed to say the least... Ah, almost forgot about the nifty use of koto samples. We’ll count it as a turn to folk metal, won’t we? ;)


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22963084
MP3 download: http://piapro.jp/t/ZfLd


Yuzuki Yukari in a kimono and a tank top, with a katana, metal chains and a cute studded collar. Surprised? Man, you don’t keep up with the time! That’s the trendiest thing in Vocaloid fashion, I tell ya!
 
Video’s art by Yutsuki Puchi.

IA - Kibou jidou hanbaiki

Some heavy stuff from Dekanonn! The title translate as "Wish vending machine"...


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22974152

Megurine Luka - Plastic Canvas

Heavy metal with pronounced melodic lines, both lead guitar’s and keyboards’. Don’t be fooled though, Zenith delivers some nice rough breakdowns as well. Add Luka to this and you get pretty intense and pretty… just pretty :) musicpiece.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22968995



Video’s art by naoto.

Hatsune Miku - Lost alive

Seldom can the song boast its own unique character. Most times it’s not by any mean unique; sometimes there isn’t even a character to speak of. “Lost alive” is one of those scarce pieces that are REAL in that sense. It hasn’t to crank up the pace; it hasn’t to lean to something familiar to you… It owes nothing to you. It is a thing of its own, complete and beautiful.

Lemo-san combines aptly gentle acoustic parts with the unleashed force of distorted guitar riffs. Quite unexpectedly, Miku seems to sound most convincing on the former background. I suppose that’s the side effect of her tender personality… :)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22967250

Lily - Link

Good classic grunge from Mr. Gogotea. The guy possesses excellent skill in polishing Lily’s vocals!

Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22965670

Hatsune Miku - Frozen My Midnight

Ha-ha, u-z (the producer) claims he made the song three years ago and have managed to upload it only yesterday. Why, you are quite in time, my dear friend! Because it’s Miku again. And we haven’t yet listened today to how Miku tries her luck in power/sympho metal. Well, she succeeds, I believe. The only obscure part (except for all the lyrics which are in Japanese) is the meaning of the title. But I suppose it’s some technical issue connected with the waiting three years for the release ;)

The vocals will satisfy Miku’s fans at last. Because we all know you have to have some skill in singing when it comes to power metal, much unlike that barbarian metalcore :) And of course, I should notice the video, which required a lot of effort. I’m not a big fan of gothic cityscapes, but you may find it worth attention :)


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22937736


What do you think, how does golden color suits Miku’s eyes?

Video’s art by pondel.

Hatsune Miku & Namine Ritsu - However, I wanted to see you...

Post-hardcore, much welcomed. Perhaps it’s not very innovating, but still is very robust. Mr. Sik, the producer, shows nice balance between distorted guitars and synthetic parts. As for vocalists, both Miku and Ritsu aren’t so impressive while singing alone, but together they are a winning pair! The match would’ve been perfect if Ritsu hadn’t outsung his partner notably ;)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22961033


“Kantai Collection”, in case if you wonder…

Video’s art by Antall.

Hatsune Miku - Zouhan Pierrot no kyousei

A wild piece of rock by  NOIN. The title translates as “Rebel Pierrot’s Shout”. The song is from the recently released compilation ROCKIN★ON.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22943371


Hatsune Miku, DRUNK Append :)

Video’s art by Kan’na.

GUMI - Shuu ware

The debut Vocaloid work of MADCAP20, made of the purest grade of awesomeness. I haven’t heard such a classy rock for quite a while! The title translates as ‘Prison breaker’, I suppose. The song features plain yet extremely pretty guitar line, skillful (if a bit shy) bassu and, of course, charming Gumi’s vocals. Everything is mixed great, so you’re just enjoying great music…


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22940261

Hatsune Miku - My story

An excellent song from Shiitake-P. It sounds off mainstream, combining heavy guitar riff strikes with skillful piano line. The producer creates authentic atmosphere by dividing the song into very different parts. Verses are bleaker and downcast, and chorus with bridges are potent and spirited. Miku looks better in the latter, though she performs overall well enough.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22933994



 Video’s art by Ninomae Hajime.

GUMI - Garakuta Innocence

Project “Last Note” has released a new blockbuster song. This time it’s buoyant j-rock. The guys made Gumi sing incredibly lifelike, awwww… I call it ‘mastery’.

Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22937799/

What to watch at MMD Cup 12

12th MikuMikuDance Cup is going on, it’s voting time now. This time the Cup was named “Expansion”. But no expansion happened actually, there are 765 works submitted vs 843 last time :) Still, 765 works is a SHEER FUCKING HUGE amount, about fifty hours length altogether!

I’ll try to bring out for you the most amusing ones. Picking carefully those of interest for the audience with below zero Japanese knowledge (like me). The first load is here! Under the cut you’ll find quite a mixed bunch of videos, from ancient arcade RPG to the Polaroid camera mystery… :)

GUMI - Senkou no fortune

And another bright Gumi’s song. Mr. MxRxI, the producer, has made it in traditional grungy/hard-rockish style. Gumi’s vocals are excellent, and, for a change, her English hasn’t failed her this time :)


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22931185


Video’s art by tsumu.

GUMI - Eques Beretta Girl

An easy HM/HR piece by shuu-san (lyrics by TAMA). It features nice and tasty bassu line and rock’n’roll-ish swift keyboards. The guitar solo (by miyamiya) is lovely too. Add bright and smooth Gumi’s vocals and you get pretty appealing song!


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22919713

Hatsune Miku - Love or Death

No, I can’t leave the things that way! So here is a piece that shows what Miku is capable for! “Love or Death” was released by WAKA back in 2012 originally, and featured CUL’s vocals. It’s old-fashioned power metal. The lead guitar is pretty engaging here, making naturally a good supplement to Miku’s voice. And Miku is quite convincing, yes... Her forceful singing fits excellently the nature of the music.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22885190
Lyrics (JP): http://piapro.jp/t/fdQB


Miku with a lash, in a red dress stained with blood. Oh, how romantic… Wait, you say it isn’t?.. ;)

Video’s art by Shiina Tatsumi.

Hatsune Miku - Kyojin butsu su teema

Some crude HM/HR from Okitsu Kazu. Notable for the most horrible Miku’s Engrish I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard a lot of stuff :) So the crudest thing there is Miku basically, but I can’t think of it as a merit ;)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22901509



Video’s art by on0715.

Choir - Dedicated to BRAVEs - MMD video

Finals of the 12th MMD Cup have started today. This means we might get some great videos from the metal side. I’ll try to pinpoint some random entertaining works as well, but this’ll require time. Which is a scarce resource (surprise, surprise!).

So, for now, more fitting work. “Choir - Dedicated to BRAVEs” was released initially by Minatsuki Toka (aka Pandorist-P) in October 2013. ig_k, the creator of the MMD version, has made quite an impressive story. It features our golden-eyed boy in a role of a bride... Wait, WHAT?!! Well, yes, bride, though unlucky one. Or maybe it’s for the good that his boyfriend haven’t returned, or he would discover some new facts about his pretty darling ;) Other than that, we have some technically challenging war scenes, some half-clothed string players for back-up, half-clothed (but in more explicit way) Lily for *extra* back-up, church and graveyard scenery because FUCKING GOTHIC ATMOSPHERE and a couple of other things. Why, I like it. At least ig_k saved us from watching half-clothed Ritsu :p


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22875582


Graveyard. Not a single sane person would come here at daylight. Because, you know, it turns so GOTHIC at nights… And no, I do not consider Ritsu a sane person.

Nekomura Iroha & Megurine Luka - SnowWhite

A rare duet. Ukaku (the producer) jests at yuri immediately. C’mon, man! 95% of Vocaloid duet songs are female/female, now what? :))) The situation is worse only in UTAU duets where 95% are Ritsu/Teto, which means trap/chimera. Still no one seems to give a fuck :)))

OK, OK, more crude matters... Ukaku-san has a considerable experience on the Vocaloid scene. “SnowWhite” is power metal, mid-tempo variety, quite characteristic for the producer.  Both girls sound well, and Luka does *notably* well, though that may be my personal preferences…


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22866892

Chibi.

Video’s art by sora.

GUMI - Othello

Just when you think Okame-P cannot surprise you anymore, he comes and busts your attitude as a fucking penetration bomb. The producer’s turned to Gumi again after a pause. In my humble opinion, she sounds better than Miku in his hands... But I’d be very astonished if someone else got the opposite result :)

“Othello” is an awesome in its intensity piece of post-hardcore, fitting excellently into screamo subgenre. The title refers, at least in some moments, to the board game, but No_Ark (the author of the lyrics) has created dense and pretty complicated tangles of meanings. The music is based on the contrast of no less tangled, overloading parts with calmer melodic ones. Both sides are very impressive. One of the brightest things, at least for me – notably good quality of Gumi’s screaming.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22886708
Lyrics (JP): http://piapro.jp/t/tYTQ


A board game, you say?.. 
Video’s art by Fujimaru.

LOSER - cover by Nanmin

No worthy original Vocaloid work has been released recently, so nothing left but to post some good covers. I hope I’m not abusing you with lesxpaulx too much :) Because to break the silence you need something really LOUD. Well, “LOSER” is one of the lesxpaulx’ most prominent songs in that sense. Nanmin’s version of it is formidable! The guy has excellent skill, both in screaming and in mixing. This is the second version of cover actually, the first one he posted last year’s summer.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22808678

Kamui Gakupo - Rokka ni shinobureba

Wow, a cool heavy metal piece from masasu-san. The music is mixed remarkably well. It features vibrant guitar melodies and deep delicious bassu packed into very familiar yet engaging sound style from the mid-1980s. Vintage, ahh, but very robust vintage! And I feel some authentic Japanese tones as well.

Gakupo’s singing is just perfect! This is only second Vocaloid work of masasu, but he’s really a master. Not only vocals sound realistic, but its arrangement itself is very elaborate and non-trivial.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22854825
Lyrics (JP): http://piapro.jp/t/vj7B



Video’s art by hanakumo.

IA - Jack of Spade

Not a long time ago I was complaining there is too little lesxpaulx :) It seems lesxpaulx-sama has heard my prayer, and has offered kindly another excellent song to his yearning fans. The producer has lowered the pressure a bit in “Jack of Spades”, for it is a love song, and you expect some kind of tenderness in love songs, don’t you? Well, the kind of ‘tenderness’ lesxpaulx prefers is still devastating for some weaker souls not familiar with metalcore. Because love can be painful, and merciless, and devastating too.

IA makes the song exceptionally powerful on the emotional side. The sheer force of passion is the ultimate core of this song. I said ‘perfection’. I keep on it.


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22864010



Video’s art by Mary-ko.

GUMI - Ryuusa

A plain yet nice song from gen-san. I don’t know why, but such low-tempo pieces are quite rare for Vocaloid scene. Well, “Ryuusa” (translates as ‘quicksand’) shows us the sheer distortion level isn’t necessary to make a good song. Though it’s harder for Gumi, she has to carry the entire song on her shoulders. But I suppose she does very well!


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22859709
MP3 download: http://piapro.jp/t/d_oa

Hatsune Miku - Sono hikaru ao ni

A beautiful song by Okame-P (lyrics by Koyo). The producer keeps his distinctive style. The music is very lyrical, almost translucent, yet it’s still post-hardcore, able to deliver a nice load of energy. Intricate guitar melodies together with a clever use of effects create quite convincing atmosphere. Okame-P makes Miku sing as tragic as the bitch can, and he is rather successful :)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22857332

Black Label - cover by Hakaine Maiko

“Lamb Of God”, my friends. Almost 14 years has passed from the release of the album where the song was, and still it sounds pretty decent today. Shiiba Eiji has replaced Randy Blythe with Hakaine Maiko. Can’t say digital Maiko sounds better than live Randy, but the cover is definitely well done anyway.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22845303

Kasane Teto - Kinen hajime mashita

An excellent piece from tahi_bassist. It’s industrial/alternative metal, beautiful in its straightforwardness, fresh and quite energetic. The mix quality is awesome, with juicy distorted guitars and some accents on original bassu character. The guitar solo is far above the level of the broader industrial scene, to say the least.

The title translates as “I quit smoking”, and the song draws from the recent experience of tahi_bassist himself. Be strong, man! :) At least your decision’s yielded a nice song, which is a gross achievement! :) Teto, despite lacking any capabilities, sounds robust enough. She is being helped by Hakaine Maiko, who’s splendid (as always), and Ritsu (though I haven’t managed to find any traces of him ;) ).


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22835694


Well, nobody said it would be easy…

Video’s art by Boushiya.

GUMI - DARUMA Rolling Incident

It seems today is post-punk day, because another awesome song was uploaded just an hour after “Gorgeous Big taidan” was. Well, this post-punk is much, MUCH closer to its roots :) Kyou-inu, the producer, was on the scene almost from the very beginning, and the quality of his current works is fearsome to say the least. Kyou-inu-san tries hard to bring a novel character to the each of his songs, and the result tends to be quite appealing.

Daruma is a thing you see in the first moments of video, it’s a kind of toy. Besides, the video is excellent, if a bit fuzzy for non-Japanese (like me). The music is awesome, light and lively and carefree. It’s made without any synthetics, that’s why I mentioned ‘roots’, it sounds totally like it would some thirty years ago. Gumi-san adds much to the overall craziness. She’s just perfect!


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22834220


Daruma, mecha version. One of.

Video by Bandicam-sama.

MEIKO - Black Crow

A comeback from the 1980-s! Back then the underground metal scene looked right like that. No more, no fucking less. Only those days bands hadn’t vocal synthesizing software, so the frontmen were usually tough hairy dudes. Looking back, half-dressed Meiko seems to be a decent alternative :)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22831926


Because who’d be interested in tough hairy dudes’ pantsushots? ;)

Hatsune Miku - Gorgeous Big taidan

Utsu-P’s collaboration with Pinocchio-P. I hope you know who is Utsu-P :) As for his colleague, he is in fact more popular than Utsu. Being on a Vocaloid scene since 2009, he makes songs mostly in j-rock genre, with a focus on amusing lyrics which we, western bastards, would never understand in any case. In case if you wonder, ‘taidan’ in the title translates as ‘interview’, but you’d figure out it by yourself from the video :)

The crossbreed, quite unexpected for me, is a clear post-punk. Except for post-punk genre in general is as clear as mud ;) Two producer’s styles fuse perfectly, and the song goes as a dialogue of two kinds of Miku. Only I haven’t managed to rule out which Miku represents each author :) I believe there’s no need to say anything particular about music, because masters are always masters! And the lyrics are awaiting translation, hope we won’t be waiting too long.


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22826385


 
Video’s art by Pinocchio-P himself.

Megurine Luka - Ano shiten kara kyo utsushite

Some neat and easy progressive rock from Samidare-P. The music style is fairly distinctive, it changes tempo rather easily, with drumbeat breaking the rhytm all the time. I only wish the drum machine was a bit more adequate ;) Luka is very nice here, and I always admired her participation in progressive rock songs…

Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22828455

What to watch at Momi Cup 4

Momi Cup 2014 is going on, and since it doesn’t seem to get overwhelming attention in other media, I suppose I should tell about a couple of worthy videos have been uploaded so far. If you hear about Momi Cup for the first time, it’s an open contest of videos made with MikuMikuDance software. It’s some kind of analogue to Japanese MMD Cup, only it targets English audience and is hosted on Youtube once a year.

 [ MMD ] Justin Bieber Gets Arrested

The obvious choice. The video is made by Ritsu Namine (quite a confusing nickname ;) ) who is one of the most hilarious MMD producers this side of Pacific. This time a guy named Justin Bieber is being trolled, you may have heard about him. I believe this is no less than documentary film, because, guys, these things happened for real!

Basically, Ritsu’s work shows us what the _proper_ arrest of the fucker would look like. And maybe the girls even treat him a bit too tender… A bit ;)  Oh, and both Miku and Teto are TDA’s. For the extra cuteness, I suppose ;)

Youtube:



Teto’s smile hints at the further course of action from the very beginning.

[MMD][Portal][Chell] The device has been modified

And a serious work, wholly dedicated to Portal video game. Seamless, immersive and perfectly stylish. A level far above much of the other entries…

Youtube:


Chell…

Hatsune Miku - Finale

Matsuyo has been releasing Vocaloid covers recently, this time it’s a work for L'Arc-en-Ciel Cover Festival. You may ask me: who the fuck are L'Arc-en-Ciel? Well, if you don’t know them (as I hope), you’d better stay un-aware. And if you do, the cover may make you shit bricks frustrate you.

Because Matsuyo has wrapped everything in thick, full-blown layers of cruel metalcore. Fuck, it grinds! Miku’s singing matches perfectly with the slightly changed atmosphere. While in the original Hyde tries desperately to show us how passionate his feelings are but succeed only in making me hit stop button in an utter disgust after 30 seconds (and I’m not that touchy when it comes to music), Miku is just flat depressive. I haven’t heard such a depressive tone from Vocaloid for a long time. Depression and despair. You know, guys, somehow this makes Miku’s variant much more natural.


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22812733

Yuzuki Yukari - Proof

Yokomin-san has released a new song, and it’s brilliant! Well, I expected nothing less… The music’s more complicated and more innovative this time. Yokomin stitches together pieces of very different style and character, making a stunning soundscape, beautiful in its diversity and flawless in design…

Double bass drums are so keen they pierce your ears :)  They make a solid base, and snare drum is used less, which gives a bit unusual sound for percussion. It contrasts nicely with lyrical symphonic sequences. And Yuzuki Yukari accounts for much of the song’s integrity. She’s outright awesome! The producer puts her in the centre of the sound composition. She sings with an amazing intensity yet at the same time her voice keeps all the gently, emotional notes.

The guy’s decided to work on an album. Good luck! Consider me on the wait list. :)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22806617



Video’s art by Uma.

Kagamine Rin - Rakka gata heroine

The song’s (excellent) lyrics are written by Ishikikazuto, and the music is by Kaito-san (hope we’ll avoid confusion with KAITO, who is known a little better). I have to say Kaito-san’s made an impressive progress from his earlier works, now there really is the material to speak of! “Rakka gata heroine” is a pretty decent metalcore, of the brighter side (if we could say so about metalcore). It’s intense and engaging, and I wish I could say the same about Rin. Damn, we have so little Rin in heavier songs (I wonder why? ;) ) that every moment is precious. You know, I’m not picky when it comes to matching music and vocals, but in “Rakka gata heroine” I just cannot help but wonder if this the worst case in my (lousy) memory. I hope strongly that’s the personal glitch of my perception, screwed by lack of sleep and abundance of alcohol, and you’ll spot nothing. Or maybe you’ll even love it! Why, Rin is lovely enough, even I cannot deny this… ;)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/sm22798014
Lyrics: http://piapro.jp/t/I_ue


I tell you, connecting rabbits with heroine is not a casual metaphor you meet every day in average lyrics.

Video’s art by DOKU.

Hatsune Miku - Lost innocence

Wow, roki-san is fast! Not some nine days ago he uploaded his first Vocaloid work, and now the second one comes! It’s post-hardcore as well, but it’s some _different_ post-hardcore. It’s much closer to modern works of the genre. It’s bare of any synthetic sequences, yet it is detailed and expressive.

Now let’s turn from the bright side to something less favorable. Since I’ve started the comparison with the previous roki’s work already, I should go on. In “Imitation” I was astonished by the quality of Miku’s vocals, especially for a debut, and most of all for fukken English. I have to state that in “Lost innocence” the quality lost its brilliance a bit. Can’t say if this comes from the unfavorable melodies, or from the lack of polishing, or from the turn to English lyrics… Speaking of the latter, roki admits he’s never been good at it :) So most of the video time we’re watching Japanese translation instead of subtitles. Perhaps to avoid disturbance from its quality ;) Hmm, roki, why don’t you just try it in Japanese? :)


Nicovideo link:

Nicoviewer link: http://nicoviewer.net/nm22797519


 
Video’s art by FG and other, no less talented artists.

Yuzuki Yukari - Nake

No-no-no, by no means the title refers to some 'nudity' (and least of all Yukari's). It's a romanization from Japanese, and reads actually as 'nah-keh'.

Mentaiko Guma shows us some healthy HM/HR. The drum machine sounds a bit unusual sometimes, closer to industrial rock, and that gives the song extra freshness. But the brightest spot here is the bass guitar, of course. Being given a lot of attention, it grabs the leadership from the pair of distorted guitars and drives the whole song! Yukari is nice here too, especially in verses.


Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22793063


That “bunny ears” must be the funniest thing to look at when Yukari is on a rampage…
 
Video by zawa.

Kagamine Rin & Len - Sekishinsei: Kamatoto araryouji

Weekend. It turns out that various creepy producers that make music worthy enough for VMW hide somewhere deep in their burrows at weekends. Maybe they just don’t want to ruin all that weekend, you know, *jubiliance*, and *comfort*, and other things. Maybe they’re just drinking or smoking weed. Who knows? The only thing that matters is that we are left one-on-one with some really dreadful stuff. I’m unwilling to name it, but I must…

J-rock.

Yes, j-rock, which I work thoroughly to be not permitted on the pure and shining VMW pages, still squeezes in. We’re losing ground, we need reinforcements! We don’t stand a ghost of a chance against the almighty Suzumu! “Sekishinsei…” is a tide of sound with overwhelming energetics. It’s perfectly paced and perfectly mastered. Add masterful work with Kagamine twins and you get irresistible level of charm. Plus the excellent video (by Saine) for extra balance.

Fucking weekends… ;)



Youtube:

Nicovideo link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm22793581