A week ago (yes, that’s how outdated I am with these things now), Makoto announced on his Facebook about the formation of his new band called Fairy Tale. He will be joined by 2 former AYABIE members; Takehito on guitar and Taito on piano (sweet!!).
They will perform their first live show on 18 January 2015 at Yotsuya Tenmado in Tokyo. The show will be called “Fairy Tale -saisei to tansei-“.
I like how Makoto stays relevant in the music industry these days compared to how things went for him when Λucifer first disbanded more than a decade ago.
First up, the last two †яi￠к PV’s that I don’t think we ever posted on this site. These are courtesy of YouTube user jaquelinedickinson. Won’t someone please convince her to join and help run this site so we can provide you with news that are actually new? 😉 Or otherwise, check out the above link and apply yourself, I’m still desperately hoping for someone to take charge of the site.
She also has some live clips of the band posted on her channel. Here’s one of them:
Aside from that, here’s a treat for the Aucifer fans! Makoto appeared at a couple of Thai events in December and luckily for us, footage of him performing some Aucifer songs has surfaced. You can thank CheekyDolphin for these.
Λucifer have finished their second show of 2012 and have thus entered their “frozen” status yet again. Before I say anything, let me get the bad news out of the way: Makoto has apparently stated on Twitter that the concert this time around will not be released on DVD and, indeed, video cameras were not present at the venue yesterday according to fan reports.
But, on to more positive things. Here are the songs they played last night at the Shibuya O-EAST:
1. LEGEND
2. Datenshi BLUE
3. PLASMAGIC
4. Sekai de Ichiban Kirei na Mono
5. C no Binetsu
6. Silent Melody
7. DUMMY
8. JUNK CITY
Kaikan Phrase screening + talk show (with Mayu Shinjo!)
9. ELEMENTS
10. Jealousy
11. CARNATION CRIME
12. TOKYO Illusion
13. TSUBASA
14. Kono Te no Naka ni
15. Shooting Star
16. Egovision
17. Poker Face
18. LUCY
19. Midnight Crow
20. Time Machine wa Iranai
Encore ①
21. CASTAWAYS
22. See You
Encore ②
23. Datenshi BLUE
The setlist to this three-hour show was largely similar to yesterday’s, although with a couple of changes: they replaced LOVE & PAIN and Regret with Kono Te no Naka ni and Shooting Star, respectively. Also in attendance was Kaikan Phrase creator Mayu Shinjo who took part in the mid-set “talk show”. Fans were also served some nostalgia through the screening of PV’s of select songs as they were playing them on stage (C no Binetsu, JUNK CITY, TOKYO Illusion, LUCY, Datenshi BLUE). The show ended with Λucifer’s (and the audience’s) usual jump with linked hands.
The general consensus among fans seems to be that it was a fantastic show and — seeing as how well they were received — it can’t be long until Λucifer un-freezes (melts?!) again.
Here’s some picspam. The first one is special as it features Santa, Yukinojo Mori, Makoto, Mayu Shinjo and Shinya from DIR EN GREY.
Some twitter comments from fans:
@yun221: I’m glad I got to know everyone in Λucifer! Thank you for creating such lovely songs. (>_<) Λucifer is the most loved and the most important band of my entire life. I’ll be looking forward to the next reunion!
@kayo224: Λucifer’s show was realllly fun. (*´∀｀*) Though I thought I wouldn’t remember anything but Datenshi BLUE (laughs), it all came back to me～. Good work on the show. Getting to hear again all the songs I liked in my junior high school days, it was a really happy two days for me. ♪ I have faith that there’s going to be a next time, so I’ll look forward to it!
@hisuiiro: Good work! Today’s show was the best. I was really happy to see the two guitarists playing twin guitar leads after such a long time. As I thought, I realized my love for Λucifer anew. vv
@jda0519totoro: Ah, I love Λucifer too much. I wonder what it is with them… I thought that maybe my feelings would’ve cooled down already, but like I thought, I still love them. I just love those five. That’s what I was thinking as I was watching their show. They will forever remain an important and loved band of mine. I’m glad I got to know Λucifer.
And finally, the post-show thoughts from the band:
Towa: Λucifer’s show is over! Thank you very much! It was fun! See you again!?
Yuki: The two days of Λucifer live have ended safely. ヾ(^▽^)ノ To everyone who came, thank you! Today we even got Shinjo-sensei to come as well, so it was more “Kaikan Phrase” than ever! See you later, Λucifer. (*^_^*)
Santa: Our shows yesterday and the day before… to those of you who came or watched us on the net! To those of you who unfortunately couldn’t make it! Thank you very much!
Atsuro: I’m home～☆ I have to get up early for rehearsal tomorrow so I couldn’t attend the afterparty. (>_<) I wanted to drink with everyone… Nevertheless, it was a very happy two days. I won’t forget everyone’s smiles. Thank you!!! I’m so happy I decided to work as a newspaper boy in junior high school in order buy a guitar… and I’m so happy I met Λucifer. ☆
Makoto: The last day for Λucifer is over! Thank you for all the many wonderful memories. (^-^)/ We’ll still, still, still be back. ♪ Λucifer is the best. ♪ Thank you for the many letters and presents this time, too! ♥ Last night, Yukinojo Mori-san complimented me by saying I’d become a proper adult. ♪ He also complimented my singing. ♪ I’ll do my best. ♪ These two days passed by so suddenly, I feel a little sad. （ ; ; ） Λucifer’s reunion shows this time around, too, seemed well-received. ♪ But it was so fun, I even dreamt of it later! Us in Λucifer, we swear to reunite again as we set onto our differing journeys. After we’ve each respectively grown as artists, we’ll definitely be back again, so when the time comes, we’ll be asking for your support. (^_−)−☆ Off to new adventures… Λ
Λucifer has finished their first show since Bangkok on 2010/09/25! Here’s some bits and pieces of information from the first of their two-night reunion. First things first: here is the long-awaited setlist from Shibuya, February 28th of 2012!
1. LEGEND
2. Datenshi BLUE
3. PLASMAGIC
4. Sekai de Ichiban Kirei na Mono
5. C no Binetsu
6. Silent Melody
7. DUMMY
8. JUNK CITY
Kaikan Phrase screening + talk show
9. ELEMENTS
10. Jealousy
11. CARNATION CRIME
12. TOKYO Illusion
13. TSUBASA
14. LOVE & PAIN
15. Regret
16. Egovision
17. Poker Face
18. LUCY
19. Midnight Crow
20. Time Machine wa Iranai
Encore 1
21. Orange
22. See You
Encore 2
23. Datenshi BLUE
Before the show, Λucifer received a bunch of flowers.
From Mayu Shinjo, creator of Kaikan Phrase.
From Yukinojo Mori, who wrote lyrics to the majority of Λucifer’s songs.
From Acid Black Cherry.
From Hiroshi Tamaki, badass actor and friend of Makoto.
Some thoughts from the band:
Makoto: Before I knew it, today’s the last day for Λucifer! With the power I received from you all yesterday, I’ll give it all I’ve got today!! We’re hoping for your support!!!
Towa: Just like that, the first day of Λucifer’s live is over in the blink of an eye! Thanks to everyone who came! Thanks so much for all the presents, too! I’ll see you tomorrow!
Atsuro: Thanks for today, everyone! We had a really special time. ☆ I got in such high spirits, I forgot all about us having another show tomorrow. Λucifer will go on to become an even better band! Today was a really good day. ☆ Music is really wonderful! I have to work harder… With that, good night～☆ Oh, and Yukinojo Mori came to see us today as well. I was happy when he praised us after our performance. ☆ Also, the lyricist Aki Hata came to see us, too～!! Realizing that he was watching me not as the Daichan-me but the ATSURO-me made me really embarrassed. (>_<) As I’m thinking we have a show tomorrow, too, I’m having a hard time falling asleep…
Yuki: The first day ofΛucifer’s live is over. ヾ(^▽^)ノ With the nostalgic footage and all, it was fun! Thank you very much. I’m looking forward to tomorrow as well!
Santa: After doing my stretches and taking a bath, I’m just toasting here by myself. (laughs) Going “ah man, I really went for it today～” while taking off my clothes off my sweaty body… I noticed I’d come back wearing someone else’s T-shirt. (strained laugh) Who’s is this black T-shirt? (laughs) And as I was going “oh shit, it’s the earthquake alert～” and getting mentally prepared for it…… I realized I was wearing nothing but underwear. I’m glad the earthquake never came. (laughs)
Some fan reactions:
@sallieday: It was realllly fun～!! I’m so glad I went!! It was all songs I love and the MC’s were so funny, I just laughed and laughed. ♪ Thank you for an enjoyable time. ☆ Good work. ＼(*^-^*)／
@a1y2a1n8o: The show was really fun. ♪ I was really moved that I got to meet everyone from Λucifer again. ♪ Thank you very much! I bought all the goods, too. ♪ I can’t attend tomorrow because of work, so I’ll be looking forward to your next show. ♪
@mihox1127: Good work! It was so fun. I want you to do another reunion soon. (:_;) I got more friends at the last show, too, and it’s all thanks to Λucifer. (:_;)
@chiezou_63: Good work on the first day. I would’ve never thought I’d get to see you from front row, so I was happy. I’ll be acting riotous at the back tomorrow. (≧∇≦*) Λucifer ♥
@gorochan23: Good work on the first day! This was my first time seeing the five of you together, so I was already crying aloud during the first song. I’ll be attending on the second day, too!
@amaihachimi2: Today’s show was really, really fun. (*´ー｀*) Thank you very much for the happy time!! I’ll be taking the night bus back to Nara now, but I’ll be soaking in the reverberations of the show all the way back home. (*^^*)
First of all, I’d like to apologize for the inactivity of myself and co-blogger Henkka for the last several weeks. We’ve been busy with life and work (goddamn it I hate my job!!).
Now down to business…
After a long wait, Makoto’s only band other than Λucifer, † яi ¢ к is finally releasing their first single. It will be called Phenomena, with the release date is set at March 17th 2012. You can pre-order it over here, and watch the short version of the PV right here. Gotta say, it’s a pretty cool song. The long wait sure paid off. Here’s the tracklisting:
1. Phenomena
2. Artra
3. ADAM
4. Phenomena (Instrumental)
5. Artra (Instrumental)
6. ADAM (Instrumental)
They are set for their first one-man live tour with (only) two shows in Osaka (03/17) and Meguro (03/20) to promote the single.
They have also changed their line-up with drummer Kei Kashiyama decided to leave after failing to recover from his illness and replaced with TERO (left), the former drummer of VIDOLL. Another new member is guitarist Shintaro Mizuno, or SIN, a young musician (24) who joined them after being rapidly involved in live shows.
Makoto and Atsuro went down to the studio for the vocal recordings of Aucifer’s new song today. Here are their translated tweets from in-studio.
Makoto: We’re recording vocals for Λucifer’s new song today.
M: Preparations done. I’m heading out now!
M: I’ll go and have something to eat before recording starts ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
M: Tekkadonburi injection.
M: I left a little bit ahead of time so I’m just slowly walking towards the studio through my hometown of Shibuya ＼(^-^)／
M: I’ve arrived at the studio!
Atsuro: The weather’s too nice☆ I’ll be at the studio before long～!
A: The studio’s so spacious considering we’re just here to record vocals!
M: By the way, it’s the same studio we used back in the days with Λucifer (^_−)−☆
A: Getting excited by the spaciousness of the studio ♪
M: Time to sing!
A: Two-shot! We’re so deep into our discussion, we can’t seem to get started with recording. (lol)
M: ＼(^o^)／
Yuki: Do your best～(*^_^*) Sorry I couldn’t come～(*_*)
M: (^_−)−☆
A: We’ve started～☆
A: Making good progress ☆
A: Makoto’s Gackt-impression kind of resembles him…
M: Doing good!
M: Getting started on chorus vocals soon…
A: Checking～☆
M: The main vocals are done! Now for the chorus (^_−)−☆
A: Started recording the chorus vocals!
A: I’m in charge of vocal direction while we’re recording. This willingness on Makoto’s part sure makes him seem like a completely different person from before…
M: The vocal recordings are done *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)’･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
M: All parts for Λucifer’s songs are now done! Only the TD check left (^_−)−☆
Fan: Good work～. Your vocals are getting better, too, right! That’s great (^3^)/
M: Atsuro praised my vocals! I was happy with them myself, too.
M: (To Yuki:) We’re done with the vocals!
A: We’re done～! That was fast ＼(^o^)／ Good work～!
M: (^_−)−☆
M: Just listened to Λucifer’s new song with loud volume and it’s great! Look forward to it (^_−)−☆
A: Good job to engineer Kataoka as well! Looking forward to the TD ☆
Makoto: We’re done!
A: With Λucifer, it’s gotta be ramen, so we’re celebrating by having just that with Makoto!
M: Was delicious!
A: I’m home～! We recorded some good vocals today (^ ^) Definitely do look forward to the first new song from Λucifer in 9 years, please. I have to get up early tomorrow for other work, so good night everyone～☆
M: To be honest, I came close to tears during the final check at today’s recording. (lol) I was able to resist though… I was really happy ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
M: I want to share this memory with everyone soon… please wait just a little more, yeah? (^_−)−☆
Fan: Datenshi BLUE or the new song, which is better?
In case you didn’t realize, it’s been exactly 12 years today since Λucifer’s debut and their first release, “Datenshi BLUE.” Here’s Makoto’s post on it from his blog:
Λucifer’s 12th anniversary.
It’s been 12 years since Λucifer’s debut. It feels like all that time went by in a flash… Last year, we had our revival shows. This year, we have our new song to look forward to. We’re going to have the vocal recordings for that soon, so look forward to more pictures of that on Twitter and so! And to all the fans who have kept supporting Λucifer for these 12 years, I say this from the heart: thank you. (v^-ﾟ) We’re hoping for your continued support!!
In celebration of this festive day for all Λucifer fans alike, here’s something I promised I’d do ages ago: my top 5 favorite Λucifer guitar solos! Without further ado, let’s get started!
5. LUCY
Though it’s admittedly quite a basic guitar solo, it does sound delicious. A solo doesn’t always have to be flashy to be awesome, as this Atsuro-penned tune demonstrates.
4. Heavy Style
I’d actually forgotten how cool this solo was until I went listening through Aucifer’s discography, searching for their most badass solos. It’s weirdness combined with coolness. A lot of coolness.
3. See You
Aucifer’s one and only (?) acoustic guitar solo. And what a sweet one it is! Atsuro’s fingers are lovely.
2. Midnight Crow (Be-Trip Tour 2001 version)
While the recorded version of this song has an okay solo, Aucifer gave it a whole new look when playing it live. There’s a version of this song included on all three Aucifer live DVD’s, but my favorite is by far the one found on Be-Trip Tour 2001. The one on Last Tour 2002-2003 Energy, though more technically proficient, loses to the Be-Trip Tour 2001 one in… how should I put it… let’s call it the youthful energy. As for the one on the 10th Anniversary DVD, that one is of course again technically superior but to be completely honest with you, while the actual performance itself was great, I was disappointed in both the picture quality as well as the sound mix of this DVD. Thus, I think the best version of the song — and indeed, my favorite Aucifer DVD — is the Be-Trip Tour 2001 one.
Here’s a video of it to remind you:
1. Sekai de Ichiban Kirei na Mono
I know, I know, you probably think I’m crazy ranking this higher than that version of Midnight Crow. But I can’t lie to myself: I’ve always loved this solo the most. It’s really just perfection. Short and sweet perfection. Pure f’ing ear candy. That’s all I really have to say about it.
Edit: While we’re at it, here are the top 10 guitar solo picks from my trustworthy co-blogger here on Silent Melody, the good sir GN-0015:
10. DUMMY – A bit pain for ears at first to me, but it grew well inside me, and now I find the solo is quite cool.
9. HURRY – It is Towa’s bass that gave me multiple orgasms throughout the song, but the solo is awesome too!
8. CARNATION CRIME – Typical crazy Λucifer solo, but really really a perfect fit for the song.
7. Realize – The solo keeps the song’s upbeat tune, I like it so much.
6. TSUBASA – Double solo from two guitar gods is always cool!
5. Graduation – Really cool, can’t really explain but it’s just awesome.
4. C no Binetsu – Quick yet very relaxing to me. It’s my first Λucifer song, so it’s really nostalgic.
3. Desire – This one is just crazy in the most awesome way. The best song for me on the way to work.
2. LABYRINTH – Probably their quickest song, my blood always runs faster especially during the damn awesome solo. Perfect for listening while having sex.
1. Regret – My favourite solo from Yuki throughout his entire career. Perfect fit for the song, though having the thoughts of Yuki shaking his guitar in that manner in the PV quite ruins the mood XD
So what are your favorite Λucifer guitar solos? And again, happy 12th birthday to Λucifer!
