This is just a small note to say that my social network site Gothers.com is now open. It is still in the beta stage, but seems stable enough for visitors.
Category: Goth/Industrial News
[Uber Goth-Industrial Live & DJ] Tokyo Dark Castle (TDC) is the main event for the Gothic underground in Tokyo. Populated by the best-dressed Goths from all walks of life TDC delivers some of the best live acts and DJs in the scene. This makes TDC a must on any Goth agenda.
TDC have announced the event schedule for 2008 and rather than do a single post each time the event is set to roll, all details will be held on this page,
Unless otherwise stated, TDC begins at 12 midnight Saturdays and goes through to the early morning (around 6 a.m.). Remember that as with all overnight events you need photo ID to enter.
Web site: http://tokyodarkcastle.org/
Where: Marz Shinjuku
Address: Dai-Ichi Tokiwa Building B1F, Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo :: 新宿区歌舞伎町2-45-1 第一トキワビルB1F :: Map
Tel: 03-3202-8298
Price: 3,000 yen adv. :: 3,500 yen @ door
Event Schedule for TDC in 2008:
January 5 (Saturday) Vol. 36 (DJ Castle)
February 2 (Sat) TDC Vol. 37
March 01 (Sat) TDC Vol. 38
April 05 (Sat) TDC Vol. 39
May 03 (Sat) TDC Vol. 40
June 07 (Sat) TDC Vol. 41
July 05 (Sat) TDC Vol. 42
August 02 (Sat) TDC Vol. 43 (DJ Castle)
September 06 (Sat) TDC Vol. 44
October 18 (Sat) TDC Vol. 45
December 06 (Sat) TDC Vol. 46
Location: Milan Italy – Genre: Gothic
Stompcrash‘s Requiem Rosa has a very interesting provenance, originating in the online poetics of an unknown writer, being picked up by the band and turned into a full-on Gothic CD. The music is no-nonsense Gothic rock played with finesse. The sound combined with the feelings emoted by the original author of the words forms a pretty darned good CD.
The official blurb wraps up the origins of the lyrics:
A treasure is always hidden. Time ago they were buried in woods or lying in the deepest oceans. Today they hide in the mysterious ways of the Net. Surfing without direction The Stompcrash found one of them. A site called RequiemRosa.com offers some gloomy vocal lines waiting for somebody to give them new life. That’s what The Stompcrash did: their first first album Requiem Rosa is their interpretation of those awesome melodies written by an unknown and generous songwriter. It could remain a secret forever, but The Stompcrash decided to share it and let everybody know how to reach Requiem Rosa. Just to see if someone could bring new life to these lonely voices. Now it’s up to you.
Released through Nomadism Records Stompcrash’s Requiem Rosa contains 12 tracks.
The CD starts nicely with The London Fog paints a dark Gothic landscape with deep male vocals and works very well giving an image of London during the Ripper’s days there. Like a Noise is more a straight Goth rock track with strong femme vocals emphasizing the ever-present darkness in the listener’s life.
Watching Me Fall is wrapped around very deep male vocals and atmospheric background music. The sadness of the song where the singer has (emotionally) fallen and cannot be rescued by the one he loves or perhaps loved. 99 Cats is a much lighter sounding song with has an early 80′s shoe-gaze style.
Traditional Goth rock with clever vocals adorns Dorian, linked to the classic horror-novel by Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Modern Slaves is another quicker-paced song driven by strong femme vocals about the dilemna of today – have we all become slaves in the modern era?
I Will Kill Myself is a heavy-hearted song with a lot of sad violins and the protagonist declaring her love to her partner, but that she will kill herself. I am not sure if this is literal or metaphorical suicide, but either way it is a very beautifully sad track. Moscow is a rock song dotted with sound bites from World War II-style bulletins of Russians reclaiming territory from the Nazi’s.
Wake up in a Grave is another track driven by femme vocals, depicting the rather scary idea of waking up in a grave. Bloody Rain is a lot bouncier and plays like an 80s Goth/Post Punk track. They do a good job too, mixing deep male and strong female vocals throughout the song.
The Wind That Moves the Flowers is probably my favorite song with the female vocals seeming to slip through the instrumentals like a wind spirit. The CD wraps up with Mountains of Madness a good Goth-rock track. It was a nice finish to the album.
I found this CD to be really enjoyable, especially The London Fog, Like a Noise, Dorian, The Wind That Moves the Flowers and Mountains of Madness. The songs were crisply made and quite clear. The only downside for me was that a few times the vocals were sometimes a little hard to catch, especially as the concept of the record was based on an online anonymous poet. Aside from that one quibble I like this CD a lot and find the sound quite addictive. You can have a listen for yourself at their MySpace location or on their homepage.
Rosa Requiem :: Track List
01. The London Fog
02. Like A Noise
03. Watching Me Fall
04. 99 Cats
05. Dorian
06. Modern Slaves
07. I Will Kill Myself
08. Moscow
09. Wake Up In A Grave
10. Bloody Rain
11. The Wind That Moves The Flowers
12. Mountains Of Madness
For more information check:
The Stompcrash (you can also purchase the CD there).
Email: thegrave [AT] thestompcrash [DOT] com
Stompcrash on MySpace
Requiem Rosa (the anonymous poet).
Igor is proud to announce that he has become an affiliate of Music Non Stop, a totally kicking alternative music store able to ship all manner of music almost anywhere in the world. It even carries a range of Japanese Gothic titles from the small, but growing DeathWatch Asia label. If you are feeling like shopping for some alternative music or something dark and from Japan, please click on the banner or individual links below!
Demonoid 13
- Gate of Hell (Igor’s Review)
Despair
- Deserted Technology Riot (Igor’s Review)
- Rewired Riot Technology (Rewired! Review coming soon)
Sawdust in Me
- Mortification Made Me (Review coming soon)
Sins of the Flesh
- Death Wish
- Death of the Flesh (Igor’s Review)
Various Artists
Dark Waters (Igor’s Review)
All these titles are quality examples of the Japanese Goth, especially Dark Waters which offers a broad cross-section of Goth, industrial, electro and more. Remember if you make a purchase after clicking the links above, that supports Igor and JGoth!
Location: Osaka, Japan & UK – Genre Post punk, New Wave, Gothic
Sins of the Flesh deliver two CDs worth of music, the first containing one CD of original songs, and a second CD with remixes of the songs on CD 1. The additional CD’s reworked electro remixes put a very different spin on the songs making you feel like you are getting two albums for the price of one.
Sins of the Flesh or their style of music would be recognizable to the thirty-somethings as their earlier career went from the late 80′s through to the early 90′s. Stealing the blurb from Gothtronic:
Long before ‘darkwave’, back in the days when ‘industrial’ still referred to Throbbing Gristle rather than Nine Inch Nails, SINS OF THE FLESH delivered their first stroboscopic live shows in London. SINS OF THE FLESH was never conceived as a rock group, but rather as an exercise in media-manipulation, as much concerned with presentation as content – wherein music was merely a singular (albeit core) component in a well-structured whole. Inspired by the effective product-placement of acts like Sigue Sigue Sputnik and The Jesus And Mary Chain, and ZTT’s legendary propagandist Paul Morley, SINS OF THE FLESH chose a deliberately provocative name and opted for selective live appearances coupled with expensive advertising copy which effectively replicated that of far larger, corporate-sponsored acts. By the time of only their fourth such performance, such a strategy was vindicated in the shape of the journalists already in attendance, and SOTF duly received the first of their many mentions in SOUNDS, Melody Maker and the NME.[....]
[After 1993 SOTF] became the default headline act of choice for innumerable goth-industrial one-dayers nationwide. Besides their own shows, they also opened for a variety of acts ranging from fellow homegrown advocates of a cultural cut-and-paste aesthetic like Pop Will Eat Itself and Apollo 440, to Spahn Ranch and Switchblade Symphony from the US. After a handful of appearances road-testing new material under the pseudonym ‘star80′ in 1998, SINS OF THE FLESH suddenly disappeared without trace…..
Until 2004/05 when SOTF resurfaced again in Japan. The band’s current permutation sees it spread across Japan and the UK with lead man Jude (Jamie Nova), rebuilding the base of the band from Osaka and gearing it up for a 21st Century audience. This has included performances, new releases and finally, in early-mid 2007, the double CD was released.
As I say, the differences between the original and remixed versions of the songs make for two very different listening experiences. I think the older pre-NIN Goths, Industrialists, etc. will find the original gory material to be a refreshing return to the good old days of darkness, while the younger crowd might tend to find more value in the second CD’s remixes. I have seen two previous reviews of the CD, one loving the release, the other quite a bit less loving. The truth is, either you will love this material dearly or you won’t. Listen to the samples and see if this music floats your boat at SOTF’s Web site – click MP3s to get to the samples (there are a lot of them!).
Igor’s take…
My initial reaction to the first CD (album versions) was mixed – enjoying the old school works, but finding the lyrics quite disturbing, especially tracks like Cutter which makes Linda Blair’s crucifix scene in The Exorcist pale in comparison! The more I have listened to the songs the more I have grown to like them. While the subject matter is fiery, delivered with vitriol, I find it a refreshing sound. The best tracks for me were Judas Kiss, the more synth-popped DeathWish, the biting ballads Image is Everything and Following (in the Company of my Shadow), the mellow but strong guitar-riffed (Song for) the Lonely Ones, Wormwood, The Damned-esque sound of About Time, and the broken industrial sound of Shikan.
The second CD reworks and remixes the songs on the first CD making a much more readily accessible sound with the electro versions of the songs on the first CD. I find myself enjoying all the remixed versions of the songs as much as the originals. For me, the best songs of the second CD would be Be My Enemy, Make Believe, Still Following and Fade Away.
Taken as a double-disk album Death of the Flesh offer quite an interesting journey from the original versions to the extensively remixed material. Considering the price (2,000 yen in Japan, 11.99 pounds in the UK, etc.) it is definitely worth the money to check out Sins of the Flesh. You should get a full feel of the band’s music through the ample samples available at SOTF’s Web site – click MP3s to get to the samples.
Death of the Flesh :: Track Listing (Disc one)
01. Judas Kiss (4:51) – Sample
02. Cutter (4:40)
03. Go To Hell (4:33)
04. F**k #1 (4:52)
05. Death Wish (5:57) – Sample
06. Image Is Everything (4:27)
07. Following (In The Company Of Shadows) (4:02)
08. The Death Of The Flesh (5:22)
09. (Song For) The Lonely Ones (5:09)
10. The Sweetest Poison (4:09)
11. Wormwood (3:24)
12. About Time (4:35) – Sample
13. Shikan (5:01)
14. Woman’s Heart (5:26)
15. The Only Thing Certain In Life Is Death (6:38)
Total Time: 71.19
Beyond of the Limits of the Flesh :: Track Listing (Disc two)
01. Be My Enemy (4:16) – Sample
02. The Unkindest Cut (5:48)
03. Make Believe (5:33) – Sample
04. F**k #2 (3:48)
05. 1000 Times (4:54)
06. Image Is Nothing (6:40)
07. Still Following (5:15)
08. The Death Of The Flesh Pt.II (5:33)
09. The Patron Saint Of Suicides (5:22)
10. Fade Away (3:40) – Sample
11. Food For Worms (5:12)
12. 1 More Time (2:38)
13. The Death Of The Flesh Pt.III (6:54)
Total Time: 68:35
Grand Total Time: 2:19:54
The site includes a list of links to shops in Japan, Europe and Oceania here or you can use the stores that Igor is affiliated with below:
Music Non Stop:
Amazon Japan:
Gothika (MySpace) will be conducting its third European tour in December with appearances in Greece, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Finland and Russia! The band also released its first full CD, 120 Days of Sodom, on September 15 this year – I must get my hands on a copy. If you are interested in getting a copy for yourself they are available at J Music Store.
Tour Information:
2007/12/14 (Fri) Athens, Greece @ Underworld Club
2007/12/15 (Sat) Lahr, Germany @ Universal D.O.G. -Dark Dance Treffen-
2007/12/16 (Sun) Barcelona, Spain @ BeCool
2007/12/19 (Wed) Paris, France @ Le Klub
2007/12/20 (Thu) Brussels, Belgium @ The Windows
2007/12/21 (Fri) Helsinki, Finland @ Gloria
2007/12/22 (Sat) Moscow, Russia @ Relax Club
CD Information:
120 Days of Sodom :: Track List
01. Nazareth
02. Elflock
03. Girl Inferno
04. fata morgana Android
05. Lage Kokeshi Doll
06. Beyond God and Evil
07. Hair Cut Millennium
08. Mitsu-Getsu-Ka
09. I’m sorry for my birth.
10. Alexa
Available at J Music Store.
Tokyo Dark Castle has just released a compilation CD of artists who have performed at the event. Artists include Auto-Mod, Baal, Despair, Speed-ID, Destruct System, The Royal Dead and more. The CD is priced at 2,100 yen in Japan and is available at Amazon.co.jp.
This is the fourth compilation CD I know of – the others being:
- Specimen (more alternative with a couple of Goth acts and is probably not available anywhere now);
- Kobe Underground Festival CD (selling at an incredible 3,313 due to re-importing!); and
- Deathwatch Asia‘s Dark Waters CD (selling at 1,500).
Something tells me I better take a closer look at these compilations do some reviews in the near future. I like KUF, but I think DWA’s and TDC’s products are more up-to-date. For now though below is a small overview of the products and where to buy them on Amazon.co.jp.
TOKYO DARK CASTLE / V.A. :: Track List
1. GOTHIKA :: Beyond God and Evil
2. DESTRUCT SYSTEM :: DEGENERATE
3. BAAL :: Wreckage
4. Despair :: Junk War
5. DJ CHIHIRO featuring Dee Lee(from 2Bullet) :: hellfire within
6. SPEED-iD :: Army of the Church Under the Moon
7. Twisted Clock :: Smash them
8. gadget. :: Four
9. DEMONS :: Name of Rose
10. lloy :: Scardy Catty
11. Aural Vampire :: Vampire Ecstasy
12. THE ROYAL DEAD :: 愛の下僕～しもべ～
13. SiSeN :: SaGa
14. ～selia～ :: Per un bacio
15. AUTO-MOD :: DEVIL DANCE
Released: 2007/10/27
Dark Waters V/A :: Track List
1. 2BULLET :: Drain Peoples Blood (Cold War Remix)
2. DEMONOID :: 13 Satanic Panzer Unit (Sins Of The Flesh Remix)
3. AGENT MURDER :: Ballet Of The Unhatched Fools (Re-Hatched)
4. PSYCHO DREAM :: Psycho Dream
5. SATANYANKO :: Little Abandoned Cat In The Dark
6. JET PEPPER TOWER :: Nocturnal Cabaret
7. BAAL :: On The Surface 2006 (Start The New Brutal)
8. DESPAIR :: Junk War (Riot Command Remix)
9. DESTRUCT SYSTEM :: Destruct System
10. SINS OF THE FLESH :: Death Wish (Mayan Sacrifice Mix)
11. AURAL VAMPIRE :: Bad Movie Disko King
12. SPEECIES :: Future By Future
Released: 2006/10/30
Kobe Underground Festival V/A :: Track List
1. SINS OF THE FLESH :: BLEEDING FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT (Bloody-Minded Mix)
2. DESTRUCT SYSTEM :: M.O.F.P
3. Agent§Murder :: Earth of Hypocrisy
4. SwitchBladerZ :: Dr.JEKYLL&Mr.HIDE
5. JUBILEE :: Evilution
6. Phantasmagoria Howling
7. MIMETIC :: Fake Lust Again
8. DESTRUCT SYSTEM :: DEGENERATE
9. Rose de Reficul et Guiggles ::「おとしあな。｣
10. SwitchBladerZ :: Nekrofelia
11. DJ an0n :: Bipolar Disorder (Live at the Klinik)
12. Sunao Inami :: Complete Control
13. Phantasmagoria :: Luna
14. SINS OF THE FLESH :: CUTTER (Self-Mutilating Mix)
15. JUBILEE Electric master Mr.69
16. ULTRA VIOLETTE (aka Rick Walker) :: It Doesn’t Matter (What They Say)
Released: 2005/05/01
Specimen V/A :: Track List
1. Sino :: 02
2. 101A :: Miranda Lethal Weapon
3. Meldown I Scream :: Rin-Pun
4. Sweet Coma :: Frozen
5. Hitomi :: Torikage-kaeru Beki Basyo
6. Mandragora :: untitled
7. ～selia～ :: L’eraclito Amoroso
8. Kao Ga Nai :: 1st Album
9. Kehre :: Iconosophia
10. Red Sun :: GGG
11. Abominate :: Time to be Different
12. JLHA :: St. Kan-non
13. No Holds Barred :: The End of the World
Released: 2005?
[Taken from the original JGoth archives dated May 6, 2007]
My first overnight stay at Tokyo Dark Castle for over a year was damned exciting. The crowd was a bit different from what I remember with only a few familiar faces, but they were pumped up and ready to scream. Japan’s Golden Week is usually a pretty light time in terms of people turnout (because everybody runs away to their hometowns), but this event was pumping with a comfortably crowded Marz club and more cool fashion than you can point a sparkler at. Gothic, lolita, cyber, leather, fetish, dreg (uh me), and more.
Auto-Mod
The band was fiery hot. Auto-Mod were in fine form with a fantastic set featuring ye olde metal grinder (a real one flashing out sparks and shit), fireplay, and a meatier sound that showed these local underground legends that they can continue to deliver to today’s audience. The band has come a long way in the past 14 months when I last saw the start of the change with the new line-up/arrangement.
Lloy
Lloy smashed my pre-conceptions of thinking of them as a moody alt-rock band. These guys are hard rock with strong femme vocals making them a very hot item on stage. A number of people inside the scene told me they were damned good – I just didn’t know how good until I saw them for myself!
Baal
I was primed for insanity by this time, but I was not prepared for the next act – my dear friends Baal. They just ripped shit up on stage and had the audience screaming and jumping to their hard-punching cybernetic industrial rock. I have loved Baal’s live performances since I first saw the band, when it was known as Chronotrigger, in 2005. A t that time I knew they were a fresh, harsh industrial group who’ll electrify any crowd, but even now Baal has kept on ratcheting up the intensity, power and its appeal to the point where it truly is one sexy dominating beast on the scene! While they are my friends, I am being completely honest in my comments – they are that damned good! Check the video at the bottom!
Destruct System
Finally I scoped Destruct System who I have seen at a number of events. These guys are harsh hard rock that is just plain hot. Where Baal left off, DS took over turning the lower level of the two-tiered Marz venue into a grinding pit of Gothic flesh. They know how to connect with any crowd and their sets are varied to suit the tastes of the night (metal, Gothic, electronic, etc.) , so you will get something a bit different every time you see them. These guys are damned good and can ignite any crowd with their intensity.
So that wraps that up. Tokyo Dark Castle is bigger and flasher than ever. All the bands are stepping up the intensity to deliver an array of hard-hitting sounds that will soon be able to shed the “J” moniker and be considered as part of the global Goth scene. And the crowd is growing all the time.
As for me personally, turning up after a long hiaitus as a cybernetic entity, it was kind of strange. There were some familiar faces, but I am a stranger again. It was good to catch up with a few good friends and see just how far the scene has progressed in the past 12 months.
Baal @ Tokyo Dark Castle
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZkGVfrB9VU[/youtube]
Location: Canada Ontario – Genre: Gothic Rock/Ambient, New Age, Ambient Mood.
Amy’s Arms is a smooth dark music landscape perfect for those nights you want to alone or mixing with a few friends. Best described as Gothic lounge music it contains a mix of low frequency ballads to more upbeat tracks that could be layered into dance beats by the right DJ.
The band is made of Siren a strong, gorgeous vocalist capable of slow ballads in the title track Amy’s Arms, and more upbeat tracks like Blood on the Rocks. You can even catch an impish playfulness in Dark ‘n Cozy. Whether withered sorrow or dark celebration the vocals are crisp. Mr. Ratt does an excellent job with programming and bass keeping the beat inline with the emotion of each track.
The influences for the music range from the darker edge of Japanese Visual Kei to U.S. and European beats. Themes span from love, despair, vampires and a lot more in a dark Victorian Gothic style.
Overall this is a neat mix of very listenable music for those looking for some dark Gothic Victorian with a taste of humor and irony.
Unfamiliar Landscapes :: track list
1. Amy’s Arms: 4:10 * +
2. Blood on the Rocks: 5:28 *
3. Dark ‘n Cozy: 5:06 * +
4. Wicked Game: 4:14 +
5. No One Will Know: 2:50 +
6. Sanctus: 4:55
7. Unfamiliar Landscapes: 5:23
Total Playtime: 32:06
* Samples available on CD Baby
+ Samples available on Amy’s Arms in MySpace
You can also catch a few videos online like the ones here.
Available from:
Amazon
CD Baby
iTunes
Sites of interest
Amy’s Arms (Official), but she is a little tired so you might want to try Amy’s Arms in MySpace.
Location: Tokyo, Japan – Genre: Metal, Hardcore, Industrial
Gizenrou/Earth of Hypocrisy is a hot dark metal album I picked up from Agent Murder back in March 2006 and at the time decided to write a review of it on the old site. However, it still has the crisp hardness it did when I first reviewed it, so I decided to redo the review for the new JGoth.com site.
Earth of Hypocrisy plays hard and fast with instrumentals loud and crisp and lead singer Awi’s eerie vocals come out nice and strong. This release takes you to the core of Agent Murder and is one of the most satisfying recordings I’ve picked up in the Goth/underground scene.
Right from the start your mind is assaulted by the thrash anthem Imaginary Number “N”. If you like your metal fast and dark, or your Goth hard and fierce, or just something that freaking rocks your ears off then give this album a try. The album consists of seven tracks along with four remixes to give you a good balance of the Agent Murder’s true metal sound and remixed electronic versions.
I liked their first album, a lot, but the new release is a quantum leap – the sounds are more mature, more balanced and focus on the essence of the band. It is just a fantastic piece of dark metallic work.
Production quality is high with everything coming through crisply and having Awi’s voice right at the forefront of the songs gives them a lot more power. The drums, guitar and bass are played with fury and to perfection. The members know where to let rip and when to lay off the rage holding all the songs together well. The move towards more Japanese vocals than seems to have freed Awi up to focus on impaling the lyrics the way they were intended adding more powers to the tracks.
There has been no skimping on the recording, the disc production printed matter and case are all professionally mad. It looks and feels like a bought CD should be. For 2,000 yen Gizenrou is very good value with both production and creative quality kept very high and a sound that has popular appeal.
Igor’s final call: Agent Murder have been the dark princes of the Goth scene for a long time, but this time they have thrown down the gauntlet and emerged as one of the true lords of the realm. Whether you buy the album or not, keep an eye on this band, because with the new sound and focus Agent Murder is looking hot.
But don’t take my word for it. I wouldn’t trust a gaijin as far as I could throw one! Have a listen to a couple of tracks yourself on the Agent Murder Myspace site (Agent of Murder and Lucy’s Blue Birdcage are from the new album).
[Editorial note: due to illness of one of the band members Agent Murder has been out of circulation for a while, but are due to be back and around in November. Their main site is down at the time of writing, but you can hear some of their work through their MySpace account.
偽善楼/Gizenrou/Earth of Hypocrisy Track List
1. nと云う虚数 :: Imaginary Number “N”
2. 姦淫 :: Adultery
3. Lucyの青い籠 :: Lucy’s Blue Birdcage *
4. 卵の殻をつけた愚者の踊り :: Ballet of the Unhatched Fools
5. 身代 ~ :: Agent of Murder *
6. 無言の石 :: At the Edge of Your Death
7. 幻想即興罪 :: My Fantasie Impromptu
= Bonus Remix Trax:
8. 偽善楼 :: Earth of Hypocrisy (Original remix)
9. 姦淫 ~ :: Adultery (2 Bullet remix)
10. nと云う虚数 :: Imaginary Number “N” (Original remix)
11. 幻想即興罪 ~ :: My Fantasie Impromptu (Original remix)
MySpace samples are marked by a * above. There are also two sample from their earlier album
Unlike most releases from Japan’s underground, Agent Murder has got local and overseas mainstream distribution through Amazon in the US and Japan.
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.jp