crystal scherzo Announcement #9

It’s been awhile since an announcement was made! f(^_^;

This one is concerning band translations!

As of now, I will have only two bands that will be constantly updated – the GazettE and Matenrou Opera. It’s a tragedy that Versailles has decided to cease activities, but we will look forward to a possible resurgence. Other bands I was working on – Juka and DELUHI – are also no longer producing, so once I am finished with theirs, and with the farewell album from Versailles, I will have only the two earlier bands to be working on.

Here is what you can look forward to seeing in the near future:

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I have stated on my Twitter, now that their tenth-year album has been released, I’ll be backtracking and working on the GazettE’s older songs (from when they were still known as Gazetto) and rarer singles. This is pre-Hankou Seimeibun era stuff. Look forward to it please!

 

 

 

 

Asriel is a two-person doujinshi unit whose music has become widely known. The duo consists of Kurose K., who does all the music composition, and KOKOMI, who writes the lyrics and does the vocals. Supporting members play guitar, bass, and drums during lives and studio recordings.

This group is very recommended to those who are fans of Malice Mizer, Versailles, and Matenrou Opera. Why? Because Kurose K. is a huge fan of all of those bands, and Opera’s Ayame is close friends with both Kurose and KOKOMI! I have already done a couple of translations for Asriel, and while the discography is staggering, I will chip away at it one bit at a time!

 

 

 

 

 
 

Rose Noire is a gothic/darkwave duo whose sound is based mostly on classical music. The two members – Louie on vocals and mixing, and Jill on violin and art – met at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts. They create beautiful and darkly ambient music with an aesthetic classical sound.

This duo is quite small and only have a few pieces, but nonetheless, I have fallen in love with them and will work with the material they have produced as I get my hands on it. They are highly recommended, especially to fans of Moi dix Mois, Malice Mizer, and Versailles!

 

 

 

 

 
Both these bands will be recognised by those who are fans of Juka; they are his projects after he left Sherow Artist Society and changed his stage name to Shaura. XOVER was a short-lived band, but produced some very nice rock music. VII-Sense is Shaura’s most recent project, a more metal-sounding band with an astounding three guitarists. The heavy sound is reminiscent of some of Shaura’s Sherow Artist Society associates. VII-Sense disbanded just a few months ago and Shaura only just announced his retirement from music.

Many of you will remember that these two bands were on the poll I gave out. Regardless of the number of votes they received, I have decided to work with them. Shaura (forever Juka in my mind) continued with his lovely work and enviable vocals, making these two projects a must, and since the discography is not too much, there’s no reason not to do them!

 

 

 

 

 

The famous fairy-tale visual kei band, Lareine, was one of the “Four Kings” of the original visual kei movement. Vocalist Kamijo gained his first international following in this band and used it to catapult himself to fame. The sound of Lareine is much softer and dreamlike than the later Versailles, inviting you to a more whimsical world.

Lareine was one of the highest requested in my poll, and given that we are now facing a Versailles deficiency, it is in my need and I’m sure in many others to take a look back at some of Kamijo’s previous work and see how he has been crafting a world of wonder through all his years in music.

 

 

 

 

Last but not least is the iconic Malice Mizer, who perpetuated the true Gothic and Lolita scene in visual kei. While perhaps not considered “commercially” successful, they nevertheless gathered a formidable cult following with their wide range of Gothic music and are still fondly remembered and respected to this day. The main member, Mana, has garnered international fame and has continued on to work with another beloved Gothic band, Malice Mizer’s spiritual successor Moi dix Mois. They are also well-known for producing Gackt, the now-infamous Japanese rock-gone-pop star.

Malice Mizer was the most requested by you guys, and how could they not be? I am very much looking forward to translating their pieces for all of you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And those are the new bands you can be looking forward to seeing! Once the (many) stopped bands are caught up with, maybe you will be seeing some others streaming in. For now, however, I hope you enjoy what I will be giving you in the near future!

 

 

One last announcement: I created a more “personal” Twitter account concerning just my work for crystal scherzo. You can check it to see what I’m working on, what I’m planning on working on, stuff like that! Follow @cryscherzo_hana for all that!

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to seeing you all again soon!