黒色エレジー - Esoderic Mania

by request, here is 黒色エレジー LP Esoderic Mania (i'm sure that was supposed to be "Esoteric" Mania, but blame the band, not me). it's a splendid female-fronted goth album (what other kind of goth would i possibly be posting here, right?). the best part about this album, without a doubt, are those guitars. they're absolutely perfect on every song. just the right amount of new wave influence, as well (like most goth i post here, whatever).
the vocalist is also great, because she can switch between a high pitch little girl voice and a deep crooning voice. actually, for all i know, there may be two female vocalists, but i doubt it.


1. Sun Stroke
2. 邪宗門
3. 花粉犯罪
4. 夢の成る頃
5. 安息日
6. 鵺の想い
7. 太陽眼
8. 訪れざる宴
9. 満月の夜
10. Warrior
11. Goddess
12. 揺籃の刻
13. 神々のレース
14. 虹と蛇のブルース


ENJOY

Sex Android - PLANET VENUS

by request, here is PLANET VENUS by Sex Android. PLANET VENUS is just a really perfect goth/death-rock album. the riffs are all really catchy, the drumming is perfectly simplistic, and the vocals are seductive and delightfully sinister. i imagine a grinning robot man dressed in leather, beckoning to me from a graveyard.

every song is perfect. perhaps not as perfect as the previous SEXAROID CAPSULE SCHNEIDER single that i uploaded, but this is still one of my all time favorite goth albums.

grab this now.


1. REPLICAS ANDROID
2. PLANET VENUS
3. MIDNIGHT DANCER
4. SISTER GUY
5. MARIONET
6. NABIRIA


ENJOY

Sex Android - SEXAROID CAPSULE SCHNEIDER

Sex Android (not to be confused with the angura kei band SEX-ANDROID) was the solo project of Phaidia's vocalist, Gilly. Phaidia were legends in the japanese goth-rock scene. as far as i'm concerned, however, this is much better than anything that Phaidia ever did. now, don't get me wrong; i love Phaidia. but this is just so . . . intense. the a-side of this single just roars with sexuality. Gilly croons the lyrics, groaning and panting the whole time. and that guitar riff makes me fucking melt. jesus fucking wept.

the b-side is also really delicious. it suggests longing and lust, but it's much less feral than the title track. really catchy stuff.

[as a side note, what exactly is a sexaroid? because i've seen it in multiple places (for example, Voiss has a song called "Sexaroid Insane", and most famously YAPOOS had a song called "Barbara Sexaroid"). i'm going to assume it's like a, well, "sex android". in the video for the YAPOOS song, Togawa kills some business men (or are they spies?), played by the other members of YAPOOS, and then there's a segment during the spoken word bit where the video uses english words to describe how Togawa (playing Barbara) is half robot, or something.]


1. SEXAROID CAPSULE SCHNEIDER
2. GLAMOROUS LADY


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ＭＯＴＨＥＲ ＧＯＯＳＥ - RED LIMIT

so, here's ＭＯＴＨＥＲ ＧＯＯＳＥ's album. i'm under the impression that this album is particularly rare. i only found this recently, too, so i can believe it.

this album is interesting. the sound they have going here kinda makes me think they were inspired by thrash metal. i mean, it's goth for sure, but it sounds like they were inspired by thrash. so, actually it kinda reminds me of early music from the visual kei scene (but only in technique and spirit). they do the really quick strumming on a couple tracks (like the first track), but the percussion on the entire album is unmistakably goth. very simplistic and yet chaotic. actually, this entire album is rather chaotic. i guess the fast drumming, fast guitar strumming, and the vocalist's really weird voice all cause this. it did take me a while to get used to his voice. it's very squeaky and nasally. kinda cartoonish sounding, actually. it gives the entire album this really strange feeling, like it's sarcastic and mean spirited (maybe i'm just imagining that, but that does seem to be the tones that are being expressed here).

anyways, i really enjoyed this and i'm sure you will, too. if you like both thrash (or hardcore, i guess) and goth then get this. sooner rather than later.


1. Too Dance
2. Red Star
3. In The Far East
4. Lulu
5. Channel 2
6. Biss
7. Xeno
8. Missing Space


ENJOY

Madame Edwarda - ヒステリックな侯爵夫人

at long last, i am able to share with you this brilliant album by Madame Edwarda. this album is beyond perfect. i am convinced that this is one of the most important goth rock albums ever made.

from the first track to the last this album is a force to be reckoned with. this has much more experimentation with sounds than the average goth rock album (but, then, Madame Edwarda were never "average"; every song that they ever released is masterfully crafted, particularly the epic nine minute long "Lorelei" and its sister track, "Arabian Nights"); there are only passing and very brief resemblances to any sort of pop sound on this album, unlike a great deal of japanese goth. every track on this album can stand alone perfectly fine, but they really deserve to be listened to as a whole.

if you like goth or post-punk then you must have this album in your collection. nothing else can quite compare to the splendid majesty that is Mme Edwarda.

(supplied by elias of evil-en-lucifer. he recently purchased a copy of the album, so he suggested that i share it here.)


1. Introduction
2. Opéra
3. Nosferatu
4. The Horror Cave!
5. Nostalgie
6. Le Sabbat
7. Trench Coat
8. 悪の華
9. メッキ II
10. White-Darkness
11. Never Say Good-Night


ENJOY

Voiss - ZERO:HOUR

ZERO:HOUR is, as far as i'm concerned, one of the most flawless post-punk records in existence. every song is perfect. this is almost more like pop-post-punk, though, honestly. every song is so catchy, not a single one is really all that dark (there are two ballads near the end, but that's about as close as it gets to being dark and suicidal, like most of the other post-punk and goth that i post here). it's very uplifting stuff, like listening to The Cure's first album or something like that.

my favorite song is most certainly the second track "Sexaroid Insane" and the 4th track, "薔薇心中". so fucking catchy.


1. I Wanna Get It
2. Sexaroid Insane
3. From Beyond
4. 薔薇心中
5. Ironical Agitation
6. Psychic Force
7. Paradise Lost
8. タイトル無し


ENJOY

ｆｉｃｔｉｏｎ - LUCIFERという名のお人形

LUCIFERという名のお人形 is an album by the legendary nagoya based ｆｉｃｔｉｏｎ. i can't imagine ｆｉｃｔｉｏｎ ever had too much success; the first incarnation of this band, GILLE' LOVES, apparently had a hell of a time getting anything recorded. in fact, allegedly their music doesn't sound so messy on purpose; apparently they couldn't get studio time. which is upsetting, considering ｆｉｃｔｉｏｎ managed to put out such a masterpiece. i honestly consider this to be one of the most important albums in the goth rock genre. and it is very goth, by the way. they even do a cover of "the Passion of Lovers" by The Bauhaus. heh.

concerning the music, it's much cleaner than GILLE' LOVES music. GILLE' LOVES' albums sound very murky and incredibly bleak. this, on the other hand, is much closer to G-Schmitt (without the heavy pop influence). it is still very intense, though. the drums are crushed, and the guitars are high, while LUCI’FER LUSCIOUS Violenoue (what a name) sings along in her deep, droning voice. it's every thing i love about early japanese goth and post-punk.

side note: i feel like this may have played a heavy influence on bands in the visual kei scene, considering the spoken word bit on the third track. plenty of early visual kei bands did this sort of thing.


download this ASAP.


1. LUCIFERという名のお人形
2. 悪魔の恋 -DIZZINESS OF LUCIFER-
3. 毛皮のヴィーナス -Venus in Furs-
4. 夜の末裔たち
5. ヴィオルヌの犯罪
6. 情熱は死、彼女(あのひと)は語る
7. HOLY NIGHT
8. 白昼夢 -Day Dream-
9. 囚われて


ENJOY

ps. if you use last.fm then make sure you tag this as ｆｉｃｔｉｏｎ, and not "fiction". some asshole british "indie pop" group has taken over the last.fm page for the artist "fiction" . . . quite literally: users can no longer vote on which picture they want to be "fiction"'s top picture. completely ridiculous, of course, considering these guys are brand new, and ｆｉｃｔｉｏｎ are from the 80s.

Siiiii - ANCIENT

Siiiii were a goth-rock band from 1980s that never actually released anything while they were still active. this "album" (put out in 2006) is a collection of tracks from 83 - 86.

the songs on this release are spectacular. they are somewhere between And Also The Trees and The Birthday Party, as far as i can tell. it's absolutely fantastic.

1.		Split
2.		Conception
3.		Overgrown Eyes
4.		Dust
5.		Still Waters
6.		Speaking In Tongues
7.		Statue
8.		Rictus
9.		Equator
10.		Is Still
11.		Fixing
12.		Springheel'd Jack
13.		Over
14.		Untitled
15.		Untitled

ENJOY

G-Schmitt - ALTERNATIVE GARNET

Alternative Garnet was G-Schmitt's 1988 album that they put out under legendary post-punk label Wechselbalg Syndicate. this album (their second, after Sin, Secret, & Desire) is a masterpiece. it has a much more goth oriented feel than Sin, Secret & Desire (which was included in the previously posted Struggle To Survive (a compilation of their first album, plus Modern Gypsies, as well as some other tracks) with better production, as well.

i'm actually not too wild about the first tracks. they're good, yes, but they don't compare to the later tracks. track three is where things start to get really good. gentle synths and acoustic guitars, as well as oddly placed saxophones fill this track, but the most important part about this track is the penetrating rhythm guitar during the verses. the only thing that can compare to this is the beautiful descending riff during the chorus. so fucking catchy.

my next favorite track is track five, "Es". the almost hip-hop-esque mechanical hand-claps first turned me off, but once Syoko begins to sing (with her lusciously sultry voice) everything comes into place. for the most part this track stays low-key, low and murmuring. however, the beautiful tinkling synths (that remind me of the となりのトトロ soundtrack, actually) give an odd feel to the song.

my next favorite track is "Cathedral Junky". a really catchy piece, very sexy sounding. the best part about this is the mindblowing ascending vocal build-up in the chorus. that's one of my favorite things about Syoko's voice; the way it builds to a climax and blooms like a rose. there is no other vocalist in the post-punk or goth scene that can compare to her.


1. Balsam (樹木礼讃)
2. Future Daze
3. Coda [II] (The Ark)
4. Isis (The Darkness)
5. Es
6. Le Paradis
7. Cathedral Junky
8. Obsession Obscure
9. Icaros Descending [II]


ENJOY

AUTO-MOD - BIBLE

Bible is an album by legendary goth-rock act AUTO-MOD.

the opening of this album really sets the tone for the entire album (if not the entirety of AUTO-MOD's discography). A low droning synth opens the track. after that, a choir (led by Genet) boom over the speakers, pronouncing what i can only assume to be a malediction. their (or perhaps just his; this very well could be Genet's voice effected to sound like a full choir) slow moaning suddenly changes pace as string instruments are introduced. tragically, the track is only three minutes in length.
the track after this (解法への道 -Light-) is a complete change in pace. it's a catchy Christian Death-esque (Only Theatre Of Pain era, obviously) punk track. the beat is catchy, the chorus is catchy, the lyrics are singable . . . everything about this evokes "Romeo's Distress".
the rest of the album pretty much switches up between songs like these two, keeping a nice balance.

really good shit if (somehow) you don't already know about them.


1. A Prayer
2. 解法への道 -Light-
3. Tabula Rasa [I&II]
4. Realize
5. 子供たちへ
6. イースタニア幻想
7. Love Generation


ENJOY

G-Schmitt - LSD

LSD is a single by G-SCHMITT. the a-side of this single is possibly my favorite song by this incredible band. mostly it's syoko's masterful vocal delivery (her low, breathy, moaning just drives me up the fucking waaalllllllllll). the best part, as far as i'm concerned, is her frantic repetition of "L S D, L S D, L S D!" at the end. incredible.

the b-side is pretty great, too, but it can't compare to the a-side.


1. LSD
2. Rudy II


ENJOY

G-Schmitt - STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE

G-SCHMITT's album Struggle To Survive is a goth-rock masterpiece. one of the best albums in the genre. it is essentially what Siouxsie Sioux always wanted to be but could never actually become (later on, i shall post an album by a band that Siouxsie Sioux wanted to sound like in the formative years of The Banshees).



the highlight track is undoubtedly "Grand Circle", a slow, churning song that finally ends with a fantastic guitar solo (goth-rock is one of the few genres to make guitar solos sound good, if you ask me).

1. Kの葬列（k）
2. catholic（new vocal）
3. limit
4. 千夜一夜（the 1001 nights）
5. farewell
6. waltz
7. mescaline dream
8. 赤い華（belladonna） re-mix
9. lotus garden
10. someday somewhere
11. grand circle
12. public game
13. farewell （live）

ENJOY

Jack or Jive - KENKA

Kenka is a tragic album by Jack or Jive. Jack or Jive have been making depressing music much like this since the 1980s, with their premier album Expatriation. the music is primarily piano and sample driven, while the vocals are a melancholic expression of mourning in every single song.

the music isn't really depressing. it's sad, that's for sure, but you don't go away from the music feeling crushed. instead, it seems to be hopeful, and in that hope for something better the music is unspeakably beautiful.

ENJOY