Glass Rose

Alright! Another poem from me. If you read it, you will know what it’s about. Let’s start!

The glass petals that reflect me,
My reflection like an illusion,
The glass petals that I can see through,
You are loveliest at the hour of pain,

My tears are your blood,
My coldness are your thorns,
With my fingers, I touch you
who could break so easily,

I said “Close to me, I shall hold thee,
the glass rose that resembles my heart,
fragile and so easily broken,
my darkness shall protect thy purity.”

The crystal clear blood you shed,
Like holy water, pure and untainted,
With me, I keep you
because none can hold you gently,

When you vanish, my heart vanishes,
Into thin air, you cannot be found,
The everlasting death that shall reap you from me,
Your shadow and mine that will fade from mortal earth,

I said, “Thou who is my heart,
the immortal sorrow that haunts me
will stop when the angels sing their choir,
Until then, my darkness shall protect thy joy.”

The glass rose that reflects light into my abyss,
You who is my fragile heart behind an iron wall,
The glass rose that reflects illusions,
The time will come when you will bleed no more.

Abingdon Boys School – JAP

Let’s rock!

ABS’ latest single was out the other day and I was bloody psyche.

Two tracks:
1. JAP
2. Valkyrie

JAP is the opening theme for the one and only Sengoku BASARA anime. The song has a mix of English and Japanese parts in the lyrics. It is somewhat more hype-powered than BLADE CHORD. The drums have a bit more emphasis in this song. It’s great to listen but Nishikawa-san needs to put a little more effort on his English pronounciation.

Valkyrie’s feel is similar to their song Nephilim. The lyrics are nice. Rather than just rock, there are some techno elements in the song which makes it one of their unique tracks. Nishikawa-san’s voice is much clearer for the English compared the one in JAP.

Conclusion: If you want to get hyper, I suggest you listen to JAP. Find ABS repetitive? Best not to bother even though Valkyrie has some new music elements from the band.

Welcome to the -Majestical Parade-

Today, I’ll review Nightmare’s latest album, Majestical Parade. The album cover can be found on the previous post. This album contains 12 songs:

01. Parade
02. Can you do it
03. Mr. trash music
04. NAKED LOVE
05. MASQUERADE
06. Melody (original ver.)
07. Cynical Re actor
08. Gianism Kyuu
09. Nothing you lose
10. Lost in Blue
11. Simple Life
12. Chronic

The first track, Parade starts off with the drums of a marching band during a parade. The style is similar to a military song. Hahahaha, like it is the day when the army (or parade) marches to the field.

Can you do it is a rather common Nightmare type of song. If you have listened to most of their songs, you will know what I mean.

Mr. trach music is a very short track. Quite a lot of heavy drum and electric guitar playing here.

NAKED LOVE… hehe, I like this song. It has this cool, blurry background throughout the whole song except for the chorus. You get to hear Sakito talk too…

MASQUERADE is one of my favourite tracks in this album. It features the ’70s genre, which makes it a rather unique song. It is somewhat similar to T.M. Revolution’s Mohaya -Can’t begin without you-.

Melody (original ver.)… I really, really like this song. It somehow brings up something in my memory. Read the translation. It is very sad. Anyway, the song starts out with a very gentle tune and advances to the rest of the instruments. It is also a little similar to one of their songs, Jibun no Hana.

Cynical Re actor is another rock song. It starts off with drum beats and then the electric guitar comes into play. There’s a lady talking in the song too. “I’m sick of your indecisive ways…” Hehe…

Gianism Kyuu (it’s number 9 already) is another rock track. Not your usual screaming track as the vocals are more exciting in a way.

Nothing you lose is a great track that features a rather dark  and sad theme, much like Saiyuki and Alumina.

Lost in Blue is the kind of song that reminds you of everyday when you wake up in the morning. This is probably because of the music. At some point, it does remind me of the beach and palm trees… I hate the beach…

Simple life is basically about the simple life. Not luxurious or glamorous. Just living for the day, for the moment. It sounds kind of sad in a way but I kind of like the song.

The final track, Chronic is a nice finale to the album. It’s not a noisy rock track but again, a very nice one. The music for the beginning sounds a bit like Nazuki. The guitar is played nicely in the back with the combination of the rough bass sound.

Conclusion: I don’t know about you but I am satisfied with all the tracks in this album. The band has done a great job writing the lyrics and making wonderful music. I hope to hear more of this in the future and from other artists too.

Single and album releases!

13th May 2009: Nightmare – majestical parade (album)

It contains 12 songs which includes the theme songs for the anime Moryo no Hako: Lost in Blue and Naked Love.

The next release of interest here is for the Hyde fans.

VAMPS – Evanescent

This single contains two songs: Evanescent and a David Bowie Cover, Life on Mars?.

I’ll write a review on the Nightmare album later.

自白 (Part 1)

I have a confession to make.

I am a…

Castlevania/Akumajou Dracula junkie.

To tell you the truth I’ve been all over it ever since the first time I saw one of the series, Lament of Innocence. You can say that’s when I first fell in love…

I feel so happy today because I finally got the Castlevania Judgment soundtrack. The music is just lovely as usual.

But I don’t like the artwork very much…

I want Ayami Kojima-san to design them! Obata Takeshi’s designs for the characters are very funny!

That’s Simon Belmont in the cover of the soundtrack. I thought he looked like a sulky Raito.

From this game, I like Alucard (still into him until today), Aeon and Eric Lecarde. Why is Alucard’s design so… girlish and… medieval…? Aeon’s weapon and clothes are cool but I find him rather… cute. I like Eric’s outfit (is that all I’ve been looking at this days..?).

Anyway, I can’t review all the songs or this post will be super long. Maybe if I feel bored I’ll do it.

It’s a beat-’em-up game for the Wii. It gives me even more reason to ask for one repeatedly. There are 14 characters altogether.

Well, I’ll talk about this again when I get a Wii.

いとしい テディー

Well, I like my teddy bear Albert. But leaving teddy is a step to maturity. To be a full Aristocrat, I have to discard Albert. Unfortunately, I’m not very willing.

I guess it can be concluded as the reason why my Gothic-ness and Lolita-ness are both at the same level.

Here’s another poem. Enjoy…

(written on 27th April 2009)

Oh Teddy, do you want to know what happened today?
My beloved broke my heart and left me to cry alone,
Oh Teddy, do you know how sad I am right now?
But with you by my side, this sorrow is sure to subside.

When we turn and dance together, I am in an ever fleeting joy,
When I close my eyes in the midnight hour, you make me feel safe.

Good night my dear beloved Teddy, I shall see you in the morning,
When my eyes open from the night, your smile is sure to stay for me.

When we sidestep and twist together, my heart raptures with my soul,
Oh Teddy, you are my ever so dear lovely faithful friend.

So I say good night my dear beloved Teddy, forever our bond will never break,
When dawn comes, you are sure to be sitting and smiling next to me.

Good night my dear beloved Teddy, always protecting me from nightmares,
When the sun shines into my room, you are always sure to see my awakening.

07-Ghost vs. Sengoku BASARA

Achtung! This spring, these two anime will contend for my attention(hehe…). And the result is…

1st place: Sengoku BASARA (Please, please never ditch the Sengoku when you want to find the anime or game, Malaysians and Singaporeans or whoever.The title is NOT Basara)

masamune & oyuki(:P)

The drawing may not be that great but you will have the complete bento! There’s super cool action scenes(definitely not your same old lame ones like in 07-Ghost) that are sure to blow you away. The comedy is seriously hilarious and well, if you only watch for the good-looking guys, there’s some in it too.

This anime is actually based on Capcom’s Sengoku BASARA series which is very popular in Japan and also one of my favourite games. The characters were designed by Makoto Tsuchibayashi who also designed for Devil May Cry, Shinobi and Kunoichi (Nightshade).

The theme songs are great, especially the opening theme JAP by Abingdon Boys School.

The loser is…
07-Ghost

Nice artwork but don't expect too much on the action...

Well, this anime is based on a gothic novel in Japan. This anime IS popular but there are flaws. As much as I love gothic stories, presentation and storyline is very very important.
Okay, start your engines…

I watched the first episode the other day. I LOVE the clothes, seriously! But the fighting scenes are just flower throws. A few slashes, main guy launches a bouquet(I don’t mean literally) and boof, done, next scene.

The story pace is a little unstable, too. For a moment, everything went so fast then back to a normal pace. You’ll have to watch it yourself to know what I mean.

Like I said earlier on, the design is nice. If you like good-looking guys or only watch anime for that reason, then you might like 07-Ghost.

Another thing I don’t like is the scene where they had this exam and had to fight this big guy in the 1st episode. The rest of the students went screaming (lame, they are going to be MEN for goodness sake) except for Teito (the protagonist) and his friend. It was a totally predictable battle (obviously, Teito and friend talk, help each other out and Teito attacks and wins). I’m afraid as the story progresses, I’m not going to like what I see.

Conclusion: Watch Sengoku BASARA. It’s more worth it. I don’t think I’m going to continue watching 07-Ghost (I like the villain but I’m not going to watch for a stupid reason like bishonen. I’ll just collect pics for the clothes)