the GazettE

Their last few albums are still GazettE sounding but a little darker/harder with a lot of deep growling but Rukis vocals are still on point.

If you enjoy their more melodic side, I’d recommend TOXIC. It’s pretty dated - electronic sound wise but the vocals are catchy.

If you want a more harder GazettE, go with DOGMA or their newest one - I forget what it’s called.

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I agree with @Guyokai. Half of DIVISION is also more melodic. So that might also correspond more to their earlier days.

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As you can tell by my user name, I love this band a lot. I think what made me so attached after a while are the friends I made along the way. I like a lot of their music, though I can say DIVISION wasn’t my favorite amongst their albums and Beautiful Deformity was alright. I do love DOGMA and NINTH, though I have fond memories of both World Tours linked to each of those albums as I was able to attend a show each.

I even got to meet them during their NINTH phase, being on barricade too for the Dallas show. They are really friendly when you meet them, though I felt like I had little time to say anything of meaning to them. Uruha did give me a ‘uwu’ look though so I’ll treasure our interaction, especially will treasure my interaction with Aoi. .3.

In the topic of Traces, I did like the new version of Cassis. I just didn’t like that of all things to take out, Aoi’s acoustic at the beginning was one of them. I didn’t mind the change of the English Lyrics, and I loved his solo at the ending. But why you gotta do his acoustic like that .___.;

Anyway, I’ll stop here LOL

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I totally agree with you on the memories, especially for the 2019th World Tour. I’ve seen them twice then went VIP in Munich and as you especially treasure my interaction with Aoi. No matter how short these few moments were very special.

Regarding Traces I often recognize that I seem to value that album for other reasons other people dislike it for. Sound-wise it’s not very good I’d say but I like a lot of the changes they made for the songs, additional lyrics and that stuff. It took me very long to get used the changed lyrics in Cassis though because an I sounds totally different than that We. It makes a lot of sense but that had to grow on me. Also I didn’t understand why they changed from guitar to piano and that’s a part I still prefer about the old version.
But since I’m someone who thinks that artists (also writers for example) always strive for the best they can create and these new versions give me the feeling that the band or Ruki himself couldn’t get to that with the original versions and therefore came up with new ones (especially for Guren with even a 3rd one by now) I also try to judge these things from that perspective. I think that helped a lot loving these songs. Even though that doesn’t always work. An artist aiming for something certain doesn’t mean it meets my taste.

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In my book, one the strongest Visual Kei bands of the last 20 years!

Got into GazettE around 2009 and have fond memories of listening to NiL and Stacked Rubbish. Then a few years later got out of touch with visual kei and when Ninth came out I got hooked into that so much that I felt like I was rediscovering GazettE. And I feel like I still have to catch up with some of their stuff.

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I think Traces was a hit or miss for some people, but I think some fans felt the GazettE were trying to replace the older versions instead I think they meant to update what they felt was flawed. I know Ruki’s had a weird relationship with Cassis in general, at one point he said he didn’t like it at all. I do appreciate the addition of Aoi’s solo at the end, where it doesn’t fade out, but again I am disappointed in the lack of acoustic. Maybe Aoi hadn’t been able to go to the studio at the time and they opted for the piano, idk.

Stacked Rubbish is a treasure amongst all the albums, I think it had a diverse tracklist. I know some fans are sick of FITB, but that song slaps imo. Though I do tend to stray from it after a while. But that was my first album purchased, so I have an attachment to it.

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I love Gazette’s old and new stuff, I even came to like Stacked Rubbish which I disliked for years, there are so many good songs in that album. DOGMA literally brought me back to visual kei. When DOGMA was released I was completely alienated from Gazette because Division, Toxic and Beautiful Deformity didn’t vibe with me at all and still don’t. NINTH imo is fantastic and I look forward to where they’re going next since they seem to be done with the EDM experiments.

I’m one of the few who’s a fan of Traces Vol.2 even though it sounds weird. Up until Traces, I didn’t really care for Cassis but this new version changed my mind. Taion without Engrish is perfect.

Question: Is there a Gazette song you think is overrated? For me it’s Guren. I skip it every time.

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Overrated? No, I don’t think so.
Speaking of Guren I was confused why they came up with a third version of Guren. And it took me until last year to even like the change they already made for the 2nd version. But the other changes they came up with the 3rd one (the short drum parts in the song and the tiny changes in melody) are things I love a lot which’s why I’m glad they made a 3rd one. But I always loved that song.

I’m at that ‘I don’t get it’ phase with Stacked Rubbish. Recently managed to get an inexpensive copy because I love DIM. Aside from a few songs, SR does nothing at all for me. However, Chizuru is really very lovely, so I don’t entirely regret the purchase.

Not sure where I stand with this band. NINTH was also forgettable (in my opinion). I’ve heard good things about NIL, so I may possibly check that one out next.

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tomorrow never dies!!!

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@nekkichi completely agree. It kills when they play it at the end of a gig.

@NowhereGirl I haven’t yet met someone who doesn’t like NIL, I think it’s entry level gazette and bound to have something enjoyable for everyone, so definitely give it a try

@Kaishiki Maybe rather than overrated, how about your least favorite gazette song?

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@platy
Funny because I love that song at lives. Its pace fits perfectly with the other songs they put for live ends. Aside from this it has pretty personal meaning to me so I might be biased.

I’d say Sentimental na onigokko even though a part of the song is really good.
And maybe Erika from DIM but since it’s not a typical song I don’t know, if that counts (and I can’t stand listening to Shikyuu but again for personal reasons).

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I see those DIM tracks more as interludes than songs. Agreed about Shikyuu. Babies crying is one of the worst sounds. Erika is okay.

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lol that reminds me of when I wasn’t a fan of them, a fangirl introduced me to the world of DIM and she said “pick any song to give a try and you’ll know they’re awesome” and I stupidly chose the track “子宮” because I was curious, I said “oh well, okay, awesome experimental style I guess?” LMAO

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For some reason, I always tend to gravitate towards The Gazette’s earliest music, from 2002 up to Disorder. I love a lot of their songs afterwards, but I really enjoy the grittiness of those songs. Sure they may not be of the best quality, but the energy and youthfulness during that time can still be heard in those songs, and once you hear them live, it sounds even better. I always watch their Judgement Day live whenever I can just to see how crazy everything gets.

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The band that brought Visual Kei to the lives of many people hahaha I particularly hate their current stage, I think the band is cool even DIM

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Kanshoku sounds like it can be re-worked into a chillhop song.

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I do love Toxic though, I have an attachment to Vortex though considering it’s probably one of my favorite songs. I’m mostly meh with Division and Beautiful Deformity, but they do have good songs on there that are gems amongst the album.

Overrated song? I guess Tomorrow Never Dies. I don’t understand why they decided to start ending their sets with that song. I hope they choose another song when they start doing lives again.

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Grit is a great word for it. Raw, garage?, unrefined, from indie to major was like WOAH my first time ever seeing that change. When every new band started looking like refined major Gazette is when I “quit” looking for new stuff so the contrast is forever a marker in time for me. Although I think they’re even more refined now. It was the older live footage that made me want to see them even though I didn’t know the newer songs. Energy seemed crazy fun!

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NIL was the first album I bought from them. I was never really crazy about them and eventually sold the album. It actually took me some time to check out their disco and eventually figured that most of the early 2k stuff I love was imitating their early era. Then I fell in love with most of their pre-NIL output.

I also agree, that their early stuff has a raw, gritty sound, it’s quite low-fi and “punk-ish”. That’s actually what made me fall in love with old VK, the amateurishness and that they aren’t afraid to sound imperfect. It’s a nice contrast to all the overproduced music that’s out there. I like a lot of alternative and underground music for the same reason.

I couldn’t get into the albums between DIM and Dogma. I know it’s a cliché to say “I don’t like Toxic”, but yeah… I am one of those people. I think I don’t like it for the reason stated above; it’s too overproduced and sterile, imo. I know Dogma and Ninth aren’t really as “dirty” as their early albums, but for me they are more interesting and have a better atmosphere.

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