昨日、このバンドのライブに行ってきました。

非常に楽しかったって言ったら全く足りません。三年間以上このバンドのライブに行きたかったので、やっと生で見えて本当に幸せです。

Quick translation—I finally saw the back horn live last night. Yes, it was jaw dropping.

Yes, that is a Shina Ringo concert ticket.

Hello friends, Dogentricks.com here.

I’m satisfied with most of the music I buy. However, every once in a blue moon, I pick up a CD and within moments of listening know I’ve struck gold. Today was one of those days; this post is a review of:

夢中夢　ー　イリヤ
Muchuumu (Band) – Ilya (album)

Normally, I try to make articles about albums I like somewhat suspenseful, filling them with metaphors and colorful language. Not today. I’ll tell you flat out—this is album is a masterpiece. Muchuumu, which in Japanese means a ‘dream in a dream,’ is the most creative band I have come across in years, and this is one of the best albums I have ever heard.

To be honest, I knew well before buying this album that it was going to be good—I just didn’t know how good. I discovered Muchuumu through one of the three music blogs I regularly read. The sample song was a youtube video that I’m not going to post, yet, because it might deter you from the greatness of this album. It was basically a guy who somewhat resembled Hellraiser screaming into the camera. Not interested, right? Well, needless to say, I wasn’t terribly fascinated in yet another metal band without flare or sense of contrast, and about 30 seconds in my attention span was at its limit. But then, literally as I go to pause the video and begin reading the next review, the guy disappears and a striking girl begins an eloquent opera backed by strings and guitar. Ok, I thought. Let’s give this a shot.

Turns out the song is decent, I think to myself 30 seconds in. Hold up, this song is pretty good, I think to myself 1 minute in. Wait a second, this is brilliant—as the second piano solo breaks in. I was far too hasty to criticize the screaming; it creates a brilliant dichotomy. Oh, and the piano. Oh the piano! I quickly clicked through to the bands Myspace and checked out some of their other work. I was so moved by the first minute of the first song, I literally had to turn it off; I couldn’t let myself become familiar with only one of the songs. Nearly dying in anticipation, I flew out my apartment and headed to the nearest CD shop. I went to 3 different bookstores that night before returning home with nothing but more anxiety.

The next day, I headed into the city after school in search of the album. Unfortunately, 2 shops later the CD was still out of my grasp. With no other options, I ordered Ilya from HMV and waited until this morning for the CD to arrive. I’ve listened to the album 3 times through already—it’s that good. Muchuumu, in a brief description, is opera meets heavy, instrumental rock. Beyond that, I’m not going to try and describe what this music is like, or how good it is; I’m just going to show you. But, because I don’t want any of you to make the mistake I almost did, I’m not going to start with what almost had me overlooking this CD. Instead, I’ll being with ‘僕たちの距離感 / Toi Et Moi,’ the 4th song on this jaw dropping album. I would like you to intently listen to the entire song before continuing to read the review.

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Pretty good, right? No, It’s more like 7 fantastic songs in one—absolutely wonderful. Now that we have established this is clearly a band capable of painting a room with rainbows of emotion, I’m going to show you the exact song that, for 29 seconds, nearly turned me away from this band.

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The screaming is really brilliant in the overall picture, isn’t it? I’m so glad I had the patience to listen past the intro, because not only is the shrieking an integral part of the song, but because it lead me to give this band a chance—and this band is gold.

I can’t stop listening to this album, mostly because I can’t believe how good it is. By no means am I a fan of opera, or metal for that matter. Screaming is typically the last audible thing I consider music–and that’s coming from a guy who loves Aphex Twin. But, this band is different, and this album is immaculate. Every shriek, which by no means characterize or dominate the album, are precise in their placement and balance. However, what really makes this CD shine are the main vocals, piano, and crescendo. Imagine a much more polished, refined Dragonforce. Then, add a little Phantom of the Opera and you’ve got Muchuumu. Case in point, song 10, ‘祈り / Prayer.’ Remember the song Stairway to Heaven? This is like Stairway to Hell—10 and a half minutes of constantly building pressure, and not a moment of repetition. You’ll think the song has climaxed 4 times before you finally ruin your pants and the song transitions into the best outro you’ve ever heard. I probably shouldn’t be doing this, but here is the full song:

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Here’s how I broke it down.

Intro イリヤ / Intro-Ilya-
5
火焔鳥 / Die Ewige Wiederkunft
5
眼は神 / L’oeil Est Dieu
5
僕たちの距離感 / Toi Et Moi
5
反復する世界の果てで白夜は散る / Repetitional Existence
5
ドクサの海の悪棲 / Doxa Incarnate
5
塵に過ぎない僕は塵に返る / Unforgiven
5
いく度も繰り返されて、言葉は言葉は少しずつ意味を失い、言葉のもたらす痛みも和らぐ / Raidon D’être
5
サッフォー / Sappho
5
祈り / Prayer
5
灰の日 / Hai No Hi
5

Album balance/flow/identity (I’ve decided to add this to my reviews)
5

Total: 60

Divided by (song count (11) + 1) = 5

x 2

Overall Score: 10

Yes, that is a perfect score. This is the only album I’ve ever heard that can honestly rival Shiina Ringo’s Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana. It has an incredible identity, astounding song variety and complexity, and finally, a unique balance—things never drag on, and the length feels just right at 11 songs. The whole album, from its delicate strings and french whispers, to menacing screams and crashing crescendos, is gold. It goes without saying everything is that much better on a pair of nice headphones.

Don’t even think about it—go out and buy this album now. And do yourself and the band a favor—actually buy it.

Buy Ilya

Hello friends, Dogentricks.com here.

Album of the year—a selection judged solely by me, and my vast expertise of music theory. LUL.

Regardless of the year it was released, from this point forward, one album will be chosen every year to receive a thorough recommendation and seal of approval from Dogentricks.com. Because I happen to be the meticulous type that rates their music, scoring works like this:

Individual songs are assigned 1 to 5 stars. Albums, in turn, are averages of their songs. Because 1 to 5 is a bit too restrictive, stars are divided into two points, making a 5 star album a 10/10. Likewise, an averaged 2.5 star album, such as Bond’s REMIXED, would be a 5/10.

Discovered several years too late, 2009′s album of the year is—OH WAIT. If I’m to introduce my favorite album, regardless of it’s release year, wouldn’t it be natural to first introduce the winning albums of previous years?! But of course.

1999 Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind
‘Motorcycle Drive By’ and ‘God of Wine’ are reason alone to buy this CD. The fact that ‘Semi-charmed life,’ ‘Jumper,’ and ‘Hows It Going to Be,’ are also sprinkled throughout this album between equally brilliant songs makes this the standout winner for 1999. Also worth mentioning this was the first CD I ever owned.
Score: 9.3

2000 The Offspring – Americana
My friend’s got a girlfriend and he hates that bitch. He tells me everyday. He says man I really gotta lose that chick, in the worst kinda way.
Score: 8.6

2001 Various Artists – Ray’s House
Baby steps in trance. First time hearing Ian Van Dahl’s ‘Castles in the Sky’ as well as Darude’s ‘Sandstorm.’ Need I say more?
Score: 8.5

2002 Goldfinger – Hang Ups
An introduction through Tony Hawks Pro Skater 64 led me into a Goldfinger frenzy. My first real ‘favorite band,’ as well as my first concert. This album is the birthplace of the pop culture phenomenon and everyone’s first sampler song, ‘Superman.’
Score: 9.0

2003 Softball – 八紘一宇
My second Softball album. Though I actually listened to the Warawabe/Tokoshieni single much more than this album, I’m not about to overlook the other great songs on this CD. Easily the most influential album in my life.
Score: 9.1

2004 AFI – Sing the Sorrow
This, much like the following three albums, follows the example of the Beach Boy’s ‘Pet Sounds’ and the Beatles ‘Sergeant Peppers’ as not a collection of songs, but a single piece of work. The transitions from one song into the next are brilliant throughout the album, the lyrics are amazing, and the creativity is top notch. Fantastic punk/pop rock album.
Score: 9.0

2005 Lost Prophets – Start Something
Knowing nothing about the band or their sound, I bought this CD in Target because the CD sleeve looked cool. Perhaps even more than Sing the Sorrow, this album pays meticulous attention to flow. While full of brilliant songs, the two standouts are Goodbye Tonight and Last Summer. I saw this band during the height of the album’s tour and am glad to say the live performance thoroughly justified the CD.
Score: 8.6

2006 Shina Ringo – Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana
This is the only 5 star album in my entire music library. Everything about this album is polished to perfection. The names of the tracks are symmetrical, the lyrical style is ancient, and every instrument introduced on the album was composed by Ringo herself. Hell, even the length of the album has significance. That, and the fact that no two songs on the album sound even a bit similar really makes this CD incredible. I cannot praise this album enough–it is an incredible collection of music, but moreover, a triumph of attention to detail and imagination. Buy this album, now.
Score: 10

2007 Bonobos – A, Un
You know those people that are always smiling? It’s like they’re on way too much zoloft, or missing the part of the brain which regulates sadness. You know the people I’m talking about–there’s one in every class and two in every office. Well, I know their secret. They have this album–the best chill out CD ever created. At least, that’s one someone on keikaku.net said in a similar review of this album. Music best listened to in the presence of palm trees.
Score: 9.5

2008 Mass of the Fermenting Dregs – Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. This is the number one band on my ‘see in concert before I die’ list. While Skabetty is a bit dull and Endroll, while brilliant, is slightly long for my tastes, the remaining songs on this concise album are absolute phenomenal. Highlight is like a bulldozer on NOS; delusionalism is like a drill crashing through the seven layers of hell. Though I’ve only known the band for two years, MOTFD takes up more places on my top 25 most played than anything other band.
Score: 9.3

2009:

This year was close. Yamato’s Eien to Ichinichi (8.6), as well as Mass of the Fermenting Dregs 2nd album, The World is Yours (9.0), both came close to taking top honors. But when it came down to it, the scores pointed to a rather old album that I hadn’t really noticed until recently.

And the winner is:

Muse – Absolution

I’ve been listening to Muse off and on, mostly through friends and siblings, since the beginning of high school. For those of you who don’t know, that’s about 5 years ago. However, it wasn’t until earlier this year when I heard “Knights of Cydonia,” that I really took time to properly evaluate the band.

Starting with Black Holes and Revelations, I began working my way backwards. Though I love ‘Starlight,’ ‘Invincible,’ and ‘Knights of Cydonia,’ I can’t help but feel there are a few songs on the album which feel out of place–namely ‘Supermassive Black Hole.’ Though I can appreciate the structure and allure of the song, it just doesn’t sit well on an album that screams ‘epic.’ On the other hand, ‘Assassin,’ while it is an incredible song, sounds all to similar to ‘Stockholm Syndrome.’ Thus, while I’d rate Black Holes and Revelations around an 8.5 or so, there were several albums I listened to this year that simply outscored it–one being Muse’s preceding album, Absolution.

This album is simply soaking with identity–it’s like they burnt it, and then dunked the whole CD in a big black bucket of despair. As it begins rotating in your CD player, the paint is slowly pulled off by centrifugal force, revealing a brilliant, glowing light underneath. The plastic continues to shine through the edges of your CD player, and you watch, just dying to open it. But, you can’t. You can’t disturb the light as it slowly emerges from the dark. It’s a conflict you can only obersve. Be it fast, or slow, that bit of light emerging from the bleak background holds an intrinsic beauty that is very apparent on every single track. When the CD stops spinning, you’ll open your Walkman and see the same black album as before. One listen through though, and you’ll know the hope and beauty even the darkness can hold.

The fact they are one of the world’s best live bands doesn’t hurt either.

Here’s how I broke it down:
Intro 5
Apocalypse Please 5
Time is Running Out 5
Sing of Absolution 5
Stockholm Syndrome 5
Falling Away with You 4
Interlude 5
Hysteria 4
Blackout 5
Butterflies and Hurricanes 5
The Small Print 4
Endlessly 5
Thoughts of a Dying Atheist 4
Ruled by Society 5

Total 66
Divided by song count 14
x2

Score: 9.4

Closing comment: this CD is what might happen if a yin yang was turned into music— with an extra bit of black for style. Simply outstanding.

Hello friends, Dogentricks.com here. Today, the World is Yours.

Last September I discovered a band called Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. Their concise, 6 track self-titled debut was without doubt my favorite album of 2008. Half of songs are already in my all time top 25 most played list, despite their fairly recent discovery. Listening to the album is like a bullet crashing towards you through 6 sheets of stained glass. Loud, flashy, and fast.

If I had to make a comparison, I’d characterize Mass of the Fermenting Dregs as the Japanese indie female counterpart to the fantastic American band Saosin. I give the center stage to Mass however, with their creativity and hypnotizing instrumentals.

Sometimes I feel as if this band was made specifically for me. Then, I list off all their attributes and realize, “well of course they were!”

1. Incredible song variety with a healthy balance of instrumentals and vocally driven songs.
2. Haunting female vocals
3. Ridiculously distorted guitar
4. Ridiculously distored bass
5. Shakers.
6. Walls of percussion

That being said, I was rather excited when I finally got my hands on their new album “The World is Yours”. Today I listened to the album with a pair of amped Shure 530s, and cried.

I am happy to say their new album is absolutely incredible. In describing the sound to a friend, I explained it as ‘spacial.’ But it’s more than just spacial, this album is a massive tunnel echoing with emotion. No, it’s more like lying in a planetarium and watching the big bang occur in hyperspeed – countless beautiful explosions in space and time. It’s everything I expect from Mass of the Fermenting Dregs, and everything I can’t explain with words – just damn good.

The World is Yours! Check it out.

Hello friends. Updates still in progress. I found the PV for Mass of the Fermenting Dregs new song, このスピードの先ヘ、which basically translates to beyond this speed. It’s a fantastic song and gives me high expectations for their new album which goes on sale the 21st of this month! Enjoy.

Hello friends. My name is Dogentricks.com and this is my music. If memory serves me right (SERVE ME!) I wrote a brief entry about “Mass of the Fermenting Dregs” in August. Unfortunately there is no way to check August entries on this flawed website, so I’ll never know if I got served by my recollection or not.

In any case – I love Mass of the Fermenting Dregs and am sitting in front of my desk, 3:14 AM the day before a final, to tell you precisely why.

If you asked me to describe MOTFD in one of word I would laugh and say “impossible.” Moreover, I don’t think a standard music review would accurately capture my newfound attachment to this band or their incredible sound. Thus, I will tangent into a different topic which will hopefully wind it’s way back to Mass and the scale of their musical prowess.

I was the Rush chairman of my fraternity for two years and succeeded in recruiting a record number of new members each year. Membership effectively tripled during my term. This success was most likely due to the attitude and demeanor I dawned in dealing with potential members. That is, in order to recruit someone to a house that is literally full of broken windows and perma-stained bathrooms, projecting sociability is a must. Which is great because, I’m a really social guy. LOLNOT. I’m in fact an emo kid who sits in his room and listens to music all the time while crying.

Most people that know me know I love hanging out, talking over some nice food, and discussing the various curves which silhouette the opposite sex. Most people that really know me know I prefer training myself into a mental trance, listening to music in solitude, and dodging the countless calls of sexual nature to the extent my body allows. めんどうくさいし。

I certainly don’t come across as emo in the typical sense, nor do I promote of the stereotypical slick haired lifestyle, but perhaps I slip into the introverted niche in a certain abstract way. Make no mistake, I love talking with others and exploring the cornucopia (reference to the most recent holiday, nice) of opinions which populate our American society like ギャル in 渋谷. But more than that, I have an innate urge to wander the workings of my own mind in search of whatever obscurities may be found.

No matter how I act in front of others, I never feel myself. Why you ask, because of the contagious personality tweaks which always occur in the presence of >1 homo sapiens. You’re with your boys and you act like a man. You’re with the girls and you act like a bigger man and/or gentleman. You’re with your teacher and you act like a proper man. You’re with your family and you act like the man they want to you be.

You’re with yourself and you are your own. But, for me being alone is just a BIT too quiet and yens for something more. This is where music comes in – much as the presence of others shapes our personality, the presence of music shapes our emotions, our thoughts, and our actions. Specialized electrical currents driven through 1/8 inch aluminum sockets give me a chance to escape the self which others decide, and to do so with unbiased harmonic company. For me, the presence of music gives a stimulus to reach for the uncharted thoughts which occupy the corners of my mind, and to actively DO something with them. And thus I am writing an introspective-emo blog to hundreds of people who I will most likely never meet. rofl@dichotomy

Hello friends, my name is Dogentricks.com and I am listening to music at 4:14 in the morning and loving it. Tomorrow I will wake up, put on my friendly face, march to class, pass a final, and become another flowing number in society. But for the next 30 minutes I’ll choose my music and dictate my emotions. This morning I choose to feel “powerful.”

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs is a band capable of providing that.

Probably my favorite supercar song, and probably the best song ever.

For those of you who have not yet purchased Jason Mraz’s new CD, please do so now! Looking forward to our gathering on Sunday!