ナイトメア (NIGHTMARE)

I don’t know how he sounds on recorded lives but when they came to Europe at the beginning of the year, he sounded alright. He’s not the best singer in the scene but it was still a great live expirience. To be honest to see them live made me appriciate them way more than I did before.

Honestly, if you have the chance to see any band, you enjoy just a little live, give them a chance.

I went to diffrent lives of the same artist and some times it was a bit boring and another time it was great. Even if a show is not the absolute best, I always regreted not going way more than going… bands break up and members die… you might never get a second chance.

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Okay to answer @Baroque’s question and response to @Heyt.
I will try not to be biased when sharing my experience as a long time fan. My student days were mostly spent on digging Nightmare discography and DVDs. I have gone to many of their recent shows and bought their livestream.

Edit: I hope I don’t sound aggresive haha. English is not my mother language…I just want to discuss about Nightmare :joy:

WARNING SUPER LONG RESPONSE

TLDR: Since 2024, Yomi voice has been impressively better, but not many of us get to listen to him.

Before 2010, Nightmare, especially Yomi, was known for their ability to sound just like the studio or even better.
But if you are watching their live footage around 2013 to 2023, you probably won’t find nearly good performance. Yomi announced having functional dysphonia in 2016, but years before the announcement, we had already seen the sign. A footage in their 10th anniversary show in Makuhari Messe (not the Saitama Super Arena show) even showed Yomi experiencing a slight hoarseness. The band tried to hold on while dealing with Yomi’s voice sounding flat and hoarse, which was a wrong decision. This decision has left them with a number of bad songs and a lot of bad live performance videos. I assume most of Nightmare videos people can find now are before 2023, which easily leave them disappointed when comparing with Yomi before 2010. In fact, a few weeks ago, their youtube did upload Tokyo Shounen performed last year but unfortunately, it was not the best performance. 1 week before the show, Yomi posted a story about going to the hospital to treat pharyngitis. I was there when they were rehearsing and Yomi did struggle a bit.
Since Yomi announced his recovery in 2023, almost no official material has been shared, so very few of us know how he is now. While I can’t share the livestream data I have bought (forum rules and copyright), I can confidently say he sounds good now.
A lot of comments I saw are ‘Yomi doesn’t sound like how he used to be’ or ‘Yomi can’t sing old songs’. You didn’t mention this in your question but please let me expand the topic a bit haha. First, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect someone to sound the same all the time. Human voice changes over time. Health (like getting tired), aging etc, affect people’s voice. This is the same for all vocalists around the world. This leads to my thought about ‘Yomi can’t sing old songs’. Old songs were made for the old Yomi, new songs are made for the current Yomi. He has no trouble performing new songs. Older songs need to be adjusted so Yomi can sing (and they do adjust from time to time).

ANOTHER (SLIGHTLY) LONG RESPONSE

I have to disagree on this. Yomi has been able to sing well and is getting better since his announcement of recovery. They would not have received positive responses in their last EU tour if they are bad at live and their only selling point is MC. In Japan, a lot of old fans have come back, especially during their current Tenka Daiboso tour. You may say that they came back for the nostalgia since Nightmare has been playing a lot of old songs recently. But obviously they are doing well at live. First half of the tour (march to early june) we have seen a lot of sold out gigs (I haven’t counted). Second half of the tour (august to september) have 20 legs, 11 of them were immediately sold out. Shows of the first half were slowly getting sold out, but shows of the second half just got sold out immediately in the pre-sale period. Without proper music and only gimmicks, I don’t think it’s enough to attract back the fans you have lost.

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There is very limited public footage of Yomi singing in 2024 and 2025 which is when he started sounding ACTUALLY good and low-key the new Tenka Daiboso performance is easily the worst out of what has been released. Having seen live streams I’ll confirm he has noticeably improved. This year is a bit different given the sheer length of the tour. So he sings very “safe” but it’s more about him preserving his voice and not his lack of ability. So he will avoid belting high notes like in Kyokutou in Europe.

His voice has definitely aged but it’s no longer a sick voice, rather him getting older and naturally having a different resonance. He performed extremely well in the Ultimate Circus tour final and bro did NOT hold back at all but you can’t expect a 40 year old man to sing like a 20 year old. Much less if he was already singing very high for any man at that age as is. Even so he performed the entire setlist only a half step down from the original tracks in 03. Which is already far out of the comfortable range for most men in general

I’ll say for people who are not into VKei or Nightmare specifically (real life friends), they see no problem at all with Yomi’s current voice in isolation when I post clips on my IG. To them he just sounds like a professional singer and there’s no baggage of what he was before. When I tell them about Yomi’s prior vocal problems they’re shocked to learn.

But no Yomi’s voice is not the same as it was two decades ago. You may not like his current voice and that’s perfectly fine. But it’d be wrong to say it’s because of deterioration even if it may seem the most obvious answer based on history.

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the last time i heard Yomi sing live in person was 2016. ever since then I’ve only watched the livestreams. he’s come so far since the pre-hiatus days.

SOUL’S MATE Presents「S.M.CoreTalk」Vol.15 #1 〜ゲスト:YOMI/咲人

This is a talk show series “sponsored” by SOUL’S MATE (Sugizo’s FC) where Sugizo talks about a lot of topics with professionals from various fields (mostly music). Yomi and Sakito were invited for vol 15. The 1st episode is on Sugizo’s youtube, the 2nd will be on his FC website from 30th June.

Sugizo was super friendly. They talked about Luna Sea and Nightmare’s similarities, including Yomi and Ryuichi’s past voice problem, Sugizo and Sakito’s music inspiration and their experience in music school.

I roughly translated the talk because @zeetabyte ordered me to while I was suffering from my shrimp allergy. Some small talks were cut because transcribing the whole talk would kill my back.

Translation

After Sugizo briefly introduced his series, he started with a preview of Nightmare’s history.

Sugizo: You guys formed in 2000? So young!

Sakito: Not really.

Sugizo: 2000…Same year when Luna Sea paused our activity? Yomi, you often go out with Ryu(ichi), right? (I’m not sure if he’s talking about Ryuichi). I and Sakito, we have known each other for a long time, more than 10 years?

Sakito: It was since the guitarist party? So more than 10 years?

Sugizo: I feel like we are very close colleagues. But when we are talking like this, I feel fresh. Like, since we are really close, I can’t think of anything to talk about. I think it’s the right timing (for this talk) since you are celebrating 25th anniversary and you are on a tour. If you are going to release anything, I would like to hear about it. So, where should we start? (Then he read about Nightmare’s activity history). No change in member, major debut after 3 years of being active, all members from Miyagi. You are so similar to Luna Sea! We are also all from Kanagawa, debuted after 3 years. When I hadn’t known about Nightmare, I did listen to your song in Death Note on TV. Also, you guys were in hiatus for 4 years??

Yomi: Yes, because I had functional dysphonia.

Sugizo: Ryuichi also suffered from a voice problem. Yours and Ryuichi’s are not the same, right?

Yomi: No, but the symptoms are similar.

Sugizo: Did you know about the cause? Was it because of the nervous system or the brain or…?

Yomi: No, we couldn’t figure out the cause. At that time the doctor advised that I should continue singing while undergoing rehab.

Sugizo: Right, because it’s like exercise, you need to keep training your muscles to be able to sing. Wow so we are really alike. And it is written in here that you were influenced by Ryuichi and Toshi? Didn’t you write it info here just because of this talk??

Yomi: No no, it’s real. When I was in my 2nd year in secondary school, I first got to know Luna Sea through Style and Forever and Ever. So I started doing music to see how we can get closer to senpai’s position.

Sugizo: Wow I didn’t know about it. Then, it says that you stopped growing at the 3rd year of secondary school.

Yomi: YES! Hm? (Yomi be like wtf why did i said yes). But yes! HAHA (turn to sakito and almost slap him)
Sakito: (defense with his arm)
Yomi: Yes, ‘stop growing’ in many ways but mostly height. (Yomi referring to an inside joke that he’s never mentally grown up)

Sugizo: Yes yes we are talking about your height. Why are you writing this info here? Oh wait is this from wiki?

Sakito: Yomi’s height is noted as?

Sugizo: 156cm

Sakito: You see this guy always say he’s 158cm

Yomi: PLEASE hear me out. When I measure in the morning I’m 158cm but at night it’s 156

Sakito: (whisper) you get smaller right

Sugizo: So you are just around 15xcm? Why are all vocalists like this? Anyway it helps create an impression which is really good. Hyde is also small, and also Kyo chan. There are many cases of vocalists only this short but they are all so cool.

Sakito: When I first met Hitsugi and we tried to find a member, maybe at that time Hitsugi had already had that stereotypical image, so he said ‘we should find a small vocalist’.

Sugizo: Because he thought it would be so cool?

Sakito: Yes maybe

Sugizo: Toshi is also small~. The info written on wiki is super funny 'Yomi had always been the small kid in his childhood, and his height stopped at 156cm when he was in the 3rd year of secondary school".

Sakito: I wonder who wrote this!

Sugizo: I thought you guys wrote this by yourself and I thought ‘these guys are so funny’. And here it is written that Sakito loves and took influence from SUGIZO and Nuno Bettencourt. You intentionally put this in, right???

Sakito: NO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??

Sugizo: Oh you like Vai? I don’t know much about Nuno Bettencourt. I listened to ‘EXTREME’ but his music is not my type.

Sakito: I see I see, he’s a little different from Sugizo’s taste.

Sugizo: but I like Steve Vai, but like 1 or 2 songs

Sakito: Actually I haven’t listened to all of his songs, but I had a period in high school when I was really into him.

Sugizo (turn to Yomi): Do you know Vai?

Yomi: ?

Sugizo: In the 80s hard rock and metal scene, he was known for being one of the best technical guitarists. I’m also influenced by him. Actually, I’m not into hard rock or metal that much.

Sakito: Yeah yeah Sugizo san’s taste is softer.

Sugizo: Yes while I felt guitar is so cool, I didn’t have the thought like music is so cool or anything. So I only know a little bit of Steve Vai. I’m more into loud and punk.

Sakito: You like US punk?

Sugizo: I started with US punk. I listened to Distortion a lot. My first exposure to hard rock was US punk. For metal, I approached it as a learning material

Sakito: A~ but I was also kind of similar. It was like ‘anw let’s try this’ then I got hooked up to Vai.

Sugizo: I did think Vai’s guitar was cool, but very few songs of his are my favorite. Because of Steve Vai, I started to like Zappa, and they are still my most favorite artist now.

Sakito: Sometimes you wear their Tshirt.

Sugizo: Yeah yeah. And I like another one, Missing Persons. Do you know them?

Sakito and Yomi: ?

Sugizo: You should listen to them. So, when Zappa broke up, some of them got together and formed Missing Persons. They were super technical, but at the same time, they were creating very pop and eccentric music. They are really cool. I like their guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. You heard of him, right? Warren Cuccurullo is like a senior disciple of Vai. I liked Warren, then I enjoyed Vai, so I thought I should listen to their ‘master’, which led me to listen to Zappa. That’s when I was 2 or 3rd year of high school. Wait, I should not talk about myself, let’s talk about yours. (To Sakito) You listen to jazz?

Sakito: I was reading your interview in a magazine and there was a corner where you shared your recent music, and I found Miles Davis. That’s where I started. When I was in vocational school, my lecturer was a jazz person…

Sugizo: You went to vocational school?

Sakito: Just 1 year, in a music vocational school, I was in Musician study. It was at the same time when we started Nightmare, so I always brought a bunch of Absence Admission with me.

Sugizo: What is Absence Admission?

Sakito: It’s like a document to officially confirm that you are taking a break and you can come back to school when you can. It’s because we were busy with our activity.

Sugizo: You were focused on band activity while going to school?!

Sakito: Yes, I had to ask for stamps (on Absence Admission) from many live house owners.

Sugizo (to Yomi): You don’t seem like you have gone to any school, even music, right?

Yomi: Yes, I wasn’t having a good relationship with studying lol.

Sugizo: You don’t have the image of being academically trained lol.

Yomi: Yes yes. I was in the spirit of ‘just do it’.

Sugizo: I was the Sakito type. I went to vocational school before Luna Sea was formed, but it didn’t fit me so I dropped out. I went for more than 6 months? I wanted to learn about the theory of jazz, just the theory, but in the end, I had to choose 1 major so I went for Jazz guitar. I didn’t have the patience to just sit there picking the guitar nonstop like everyone else, following exactly what the lecturer said. I wanted to practice this and that, so I stopped going to school.
(then they go into Tenka Daiboso tour promotion)

Sugizo: The tour final is going to be on November 9th at Budokan. Same date as Lunatic Fes?

Yomi and Sakito: Yeah…

Yomi: We went to Luna Sea’s live in Tokyo Dome. When Lunatic Fes was announced, I was praying ‘please please please any day but 9th November’. When the date was shown, fans were like YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, and we were like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sugizo: Oh…next time, okay?

Yomi and Sakito: We are looking forward to it

Sugizo: Let’s see, for this tour…you have 20 shows left? It’s a critical period when you enter the second half of a tour. I wish for your success. SOUL’S MATE Presents「S.M.CoreTalk」Vol.15, Episode 1 ends here. Please look forward to Episode 2

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Youre a hero

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No more shrimp, only simp!!! (Thank you for your service)

Also @x51715x old man sugz and old man in training sakito

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I watched Episode Two of the SM Core Talk yesterday (I have Sugizo FC)

they hinted at dropping a new release this year and said it would be announced soon.

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S..sugoi…the power of sugizo fc!!!

(I hope yomi was less silly after reenacting how he reacted to the scheduling conflict that was hilarious when I saw him going “AAAAAA” in front of Sugizo…THE Sugizo…

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I’d be surprised if they didn’t. They’ve shown a few new songs already. Smile, by Hitsugi, Mist by Ruka, Birth by Ni~ya, and Jubilee by Sakito. Birth and Jubilee were just played at the end as studio tracks because Ruka wasn’t there to perform with them. There isn’t any footage of Smile yet only thing I’ve seen is that it’s “weird”.

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I really should post the messages of the Nightmare fan i was speaking to, who said that the more recent concert releases were up to par with/better than their older releases. It felt like talking to a very opinionated wall.

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explains why they all looked so :neutral_face: :unamused_face: when i saw them at the end of the Tokyo Dome show. I thought they were just in a hurry to leave, turns out it was disappointment lol

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Getting the news right at the concert must’ve been so jarring. I do not envy that position at all

To any Brazilians here, how was the Nightmare show ?

It was. Interesting :face_with_raised_eyebrow: and by interesting I mean wtf was that setlist honestly - anime themes which cool and expected for an anime con but then they threw in like some track from Nox:lux I was clearly vibing to more than others and a bit of gianism towards the end (that I recognized vaguely but don’t quote me bc gianizm not my vibe) but it felt like Nope No Old Songs Here Their energy is unparalleled though

But it did feel a bit of an odd setlist TO ME but guess it could be to not strain idk people (btw me Im people too) were yelling JISHOU SHOUNEN TERRORIST and singing quints and like Radio Silence yknow :pensive_face: not sure how we’ll get old fisherman to fly here again especially with how weird the energy was today but we need part 2 also I was like ENCORE and people were like no encore its anime con duh :roll_eyes: and I felt so confused and need a bit to process everything including the fact that my eyes were glued to Yomi and his insane stage presence and only really to Hitsugi when he was enjoying himself with the harder songs . And uncalled of me to say this but the Ruka aura and tism rizz is real :relieved_face: thanks for coming to my very clear and thoughtful review

Rereading this sounds negative dw I just had a headache bc my glasses fell on the toilet before so I was sadly squinting my eyes and packed like a sardine in oldschool lolita and a heat waveee but that may have been why the energy was Weird anime con may have been a mistake tbh shoulda been oneman also I suck at track names so can’t help much with setlist

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Lol I saw a clip of Drastica on there which surprised and disappointed me. I have such an irrational hatred for that song in particular lol. I’d erase it from their discography if I could

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Thanks for the report!
Was it no encore because there was another artist performing after them?
I assume not too many heavy songs since Ni~ya and Ruka are both injured?

Anw I thought it was like strictly anime songs like the WORLD, Alumina but it seems they were able to perform a lot and the performance was about 1.30 hr

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That’s what I meannnnn I think like 3 songs I was making a :face_with_monocle: face trying to mouth it like OHH okay :+1: heard this before ! Twelve years ago just once never more and yeah maybe that was an attempt at not having Brazilians loudly singing along :smiley: failed but there was an Attempt !

Other weird thing was the sheer amount of fanservice and even like almost kisses and stuff that like ten or twenty years ago was not usual onstage ie off-variety :laughing: I was pleased but also a bit whaaat yknow

More random things

Meet and greet rules were weird like queue for mg aka seeing they sign on a blank paper and exchange words and handshake no objects allowed
There were some official goods like pcs which I guess were reasonably priced but I am broke but even then no signing allowed
Then go back to the end of the random odd queue for pic which is one taken with our phone camera plus a pro camera which will be sent as a link to our email it seems but my phone one’s blurry :cry:

Insane meeting experience worth being broke for tho :relieved_face:

During the pic all I had in my mind was MY PICTURE WITH THESE DORKS WILL NOOOT BE AS AURALESS AS MY PICTURE WITH KAYA which showed my belly due to a wardrobe malfunction and I have trauma so I sat with my autograph and bag full of goods that went unsigned in front of me thinking NOT KAYA and barely looked at them :smiling_face_with_tear: sorry I was afraid of looking too ridiculous it was not personal I looked ridiculous but dressed so fine

Crowded af wtf

Someone in the fanclub started yelling before it started SENDAI KAMOTSU EVERYBODY GAY and the crowd followed and yeah lmao that sure sounds great out of context :rofl: then they were like omg I want to yell Ni~ya is that too weird ! sis . bro . fella

Speaking of which I am never living down the story of Ni~Ya’s pick but this was a whole chapter in the book

All in all there was more but like def a great experience :sparkling_heart:

@mmm yes, that would be the case :pensive_face: it didn’t feel like 1.30 tho I think because of the delay before starting it was a 1 hour show :thinking:
It was very hard to see any of Ruka without glasses and my height but that is a theory for the weird setlist although Ni~ya seemed ok so if he wasn’t IDK how he did it
Honestly insane energy from all of em

That must have been one of the biggest vk gigs outside of japan in years lol

https://x.com/hitsu_nightmare/status/1942017876321272021

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With Ni~ya it wasn’t really that he was injured rather an old knee injury from his youth started flaring up but it was very debilitating. I can only imagine this is due to his aging and the heavy tour schedule. They had a few days to rest between his last show in Japan and the Brazil gig so I imagine that did him (and the others) some good.

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