letting HZM go will haunt SR/TJ forever
 

Replacing a guitarist is easy. There is tons of awesome guitarist out there, but a GREAT pianist is very hard to come by.

HZM, a pianist of his caliber is VERY VERY hard to find. HZM is extremely gifted. I listend to his solo stuff and also his previous SR/TF stuff, he is freaking incredible. Im not gifted in piano, but Ive been playing the piano for 10 years now, and im not even close to HZM level and I practice hard.

I was looking at the old concerts, dynamic out and electric mole. He, no doubt, adds another dynamic to the band. IMO letting him go will haunt SR/TJ for years to come.

The new pianist is okay, he more of a keyboard player to me. He is definitely no HZM, he cant even do his solo part properly....

well, you see very few people here lamenting the departure of HZM. Many of us are keen on Izawa.

You-know-who on the other hand...
(if getting a good guitarist is easy, explain why she 4ailed.)

alleon86,

I've played the piano maybe half as much as you have, but seen four times as much of HZM on video. I have a lot of respect for his ability, and I've even met the guy and got his autograph personally, but there's a few things wrong with his playing.

1.) HZM has no dynamics. Simply put, the man is a machine. He'll hit all kinds of notes in a split second, that would be impossible for us mere mortals, but there's no feeling for how he hits those notes. His tone might often be different from one song to the next (unlike someone who makes a lot of fans angry), but within any individual song, his tone has no variables.

2.) HZM likes to steal the show. Now don't get me wrong, because I love it when he does that. The problem is that the style of PE'Z is much more accommodating (and encouraging) for individual members to have their moments, than Tokyo Jihen. Listen to Funny Day & Hard Night (the latest PE'Z album) and you'll understand why HZM left Tokyo Jihen.

3.) This never came up in Tokyo Jihen because Shiina Ringo keeps a short leash on everyone except her guitarist(s), but I've noticed (and I don't think I'm alone here), that HZM doesn't take his concert performing as seriously when he's on a keyboard, versus when he's on a real piano. Contrary to this image of perfection you may have in your head, HZM actually gets quite sloppy on the keyboard in PE'Z lives. The only part of PE'Z Realive 2005 I actually enjoy, is the third quarter of it when he's on grand piano, and the rest of it I pretty much skip, though many of his keyboard performances are epic in studio.

Simply put, I like the man, but he's much more valuable to PE'Z than he ever was to Tokyo Jihen.

Then there's Izawa, who is nowhere near as fast and complex, but he has the creative urges to hit notes which are much more... "groovy". His performances (from a solo point of view) are much easier for us to duplicate than HZM's, but it's not like either one of us could actually compose Tegami or Kaban no Nakami. And with Himitsu (Adult ver.), you have to take into consideration not only the complexity (or lack thereof) for his notes by themselves, but also the very special sense of timing of how he hits certain chords inbetween what the other band members are doing.

The only thing I miss about HZM not being in Tokyo Jihen anymore, is his stage personality.

My friend, a pianist, absolutely hated HZM's piano playing... :o

I have to say that a lot of HZM parts are pretty much brute force playing, so that's probably why your friend hated it so much Huruhara. What that guy brings to the band is his playful personality and huge stage presence, unlike Izawa who I think is more musical but also more mellow thus less fun to watch on stage. The current incarnation of the Jihens is so devoid of personality that they need "motion graphics" to make their concerts more interesting. The only reason I'm still listening to them is because of SR. With TJ 1.0, there's at least Hirama's flair and HZM's stage antics to look forward to, but this time it's just SR SR SR; no matter how much they're trying to make you believe otherwise since SR is writing zero songs this time on album #3, it's still her high up on a pedestal approving and disapproving which songs use or not use. That being said, I have to be fair to Izawa. He's much more of a songwriter than HZM is. Izawa's musical sensibilities appeals to a wider demographic compared to HZM's. It's a tough call isn't it, between a hyperactive piano/keys man with so-so songwriting skills (HZM) versus a more boring guy with good songwriting skills (Izawa)?

I definitely think that TJ 1.0 could have progressed much much further as a band compared to the current version. Kyouiku didn't quite meet my expectations, but at the same time I felt there was a lot of room for improvement. Adult also didn't meet my expectations, but I felt that it has hit some kind of dead end in terms of progress. (Feel free to disagree.)

That being said, even SR is getting a little cranky right now so the way out of this mess is that she gets pregnant with Asai Kenichi's kid. ;)

LMAO, 10 years and you are no where to HZM....that's why you are one of us but not one of those jumping on the stage. Yeah, "being gifted" is what makes the difference.

HZM is good and cool but uhm...he's a bit too generous on his notes.

Izawa, on the other hand, is more humble but he has the ability to turn his modesty into gold.

I can feel him in Okonomide and Poltergeist. (Electric Mole)
100% agree with point 2 tho.

I still obey Izawa for his piano parts in Tasogare Naki.
(try to listen only to the right channel, then you can here it a lot better)

I'm a huge HZM fan and am one of the most happiest person in the world with this departure. Izawa is more suited for this band. Much more.

HZM reminds me of Miyavi. They can play their instruments in ways that seem inhumanly possible but their compositions are lacking.

I don't miss HZM anymore.

Izawa kicks ass and is perfect for the kinds of music Ringo likes. He can probably play notes at 140 bpm. He loves pizza, writes good songs and looks drunk all the time. How can you not love that?

Also, I own HZM's solo album and its not so hot.


Ukigumo is a very technically proficient guitar player, but Hirama leaving was a big loss (for him) and the fans.

Me too. When I first started listening to ADULT I thought I would miss HZM but the more I heard the better Izawa sounded for me, especially in the new materials, he really shines.

HZM was more fun to watch.

Izawa is more fun to hear.

Never the twain shall meet.

I think that crazy night Shiina and the band decided to defame somebody's grave will haunt them more than HZM leaving.

an orgy on Jim Mo'sons grave? The Lizard King will have his revenge.

Letting Asai Kenichi go will haunt SR forever.

I'm loving this thread's overly dramatic title.

I am too. XD Oh yeah, they're rue-in' the day as we speak!

Just on a completely different note, the coffee joint I go to before work marks mine Hazelnut Mocha as "HZM" on my cup... Thats about the only thing I miss about HZM, really.

<=O

Hes haunting Kasanagi instead!!

Quick! Get an old priest and a young priest!

HZM has no chance! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.

To those who will rather have Izawa than HZM, get off from what ever you are smoking. Izawa is not even half of what hzm is capable.

What Hzm brings is invaluable. He brings stage presences and the WOW factor. Don’t you guys think it so fun watching dynamite out because they change up their songs with Hirami and Hzm taking turns spicing up things and keeping the songs fresh? Now, it all Ukigumo , and it gets boring after awhile.

You guys are overrating Izawa song writing, they are not bad but definitely not awesome. You guys say HZM is a bad song writer. At least HzM wrote Gunjou Biyori and it sold 200k. Anybody can replace Izawa. There are plenty of keyboardists that can replace Izawa. Infact, he shows for more enthusiasms playing the guitar than the piano.

You guys say HZM is all brute force. Hzm shows that he can play mellow or jazzy or whatever it is, depending on what kind of song he is playing. Listen to onaji from electric mole concert , or some of his work from PEZ.

alleon86 is to HZM as I (and Maou, and Justin, and Glath, and others who are supposedly a microscopic minority) am to Hirama
Don't bother alleon, this crowd is all abouts the "phase 2." No logic works on em =P Phase 1 is always skill-less and unrefined and phase 2 is better than Divinci.

Its science.

er... I don't even like Gunjo Biyori. It's Sounan that made me the TJ fan.

Why do you sound so offended alleon86? I pretty much agree with what you're saying up there (exception being that Izawa is an overrated songwriter). Fact is, HZM is gone, Izawa is here (for better or worse).

That being said, I certainly don't mind if you sprinkle a bit of Izawa-bashing and HZM-worshipping in every post you make. ;)

:mellow:

No worries I like HZM more =]

If you listen to the record album, it might not show how valuable Hzm is. If we watch the concert, it becomes very clear. Compare dynamite out to their new concerts, cant help it and virgin line. It becomes very apparent losing a pianist like HzM is definitely hurting them.

I don't really prefer either HZM to Izawa or Hirama to Uki but HZM has always been my favorite Jihen (asides from Ringo, of course). What I do prefer is Phase 2's music to Phase 1. All those things you said about HZM are the things I loved about him. As much as I like Phase 2's music, I always miss Hirama and HZMs Onstage personalities. HZM was so funny and entertaining and his skills really amazed me. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I think you got the wrong message from the people who said they prefer Izawa because I think it's just that they prefer phase 2 as well. I'm sure if HZM and Izawa had played in opposite phases of the band the Izawa fans might be HZM fans just because I they like phase 2s music more, BUT I may be wrong.

I think the arguments that we have over different band members just stem from the fact that the two phases have been so different. It's not about one musician not being able to play different styles because I'm sure that any of the past or present band members could have played in either phase, it's just that the style of music has changed so drastically that members get accused of not being able to play different styles because of that. For example, Phase 1 was dominated by a heavier rock sound so some people think that Hirama and HZM can only play that kind of power music. On the other hand, Phase 2 is still rock but toned down and more jazzy, laid back-sounding and so others accuse Izawa and Uki of only being able to play this style and not being able to rock out like the members they replaced.

I hate to choose sides because I love both phases of the band, just one more than the other. But I also hate to see the musicians on either side being accused of things like this when there is no proof of their lack of skills in specific areas if they have not gone into it. I don't think it's fair to say that Izawa can be replaced by any keyboardist because even if there are many who are as good as him I doubt there are just as much who can play AND compose as well as he can.

EDIT:
There definitely is a clear difference between the performances with and without HZM but I don't think you can bash Izawa's skills just because he's not a great performer. I mean, you just said that you can't tell how valuable HZM is by just listen to the music, so isn't he just as replaceable as Izawa if the music itself does not speak for his value?

Dont even act like it hurts them worse than the guitar =P

Hurt?
I think my eyes get hurt more from watching crappy motion graphics during concerts... which we all know is used to substitute the lack of exuberance and energy from the current members of TJ.

im sorry if i sounded pissed off. Because I am. I was a huge Shiina ringo fan during her SS days. I watched electric mole and was WOW'ed by Hzm too. I didnt really follow SR into TJ for some reason, maybe i got bored or something. I did bought dynamite out thought.

Past few weeks, something struck me inside and i decided to look up some TJ stuff. Found out Hzm was gone, i was extremely pissed off because i appreciate his piano skills a lot.

Then i found out they replace Hzm with this dude. Yes, im pissed off, im sorry if i offended anyone. Im not pissed off at you guys, just that fact that Hzm is gone

Rest assured you didn't offend anyone alleon86.
So you're rooting for HZM?
I support you. :)

By the way, Shiina Ringo is a woman. ;)

figures..:P sorry, it was a typo. Or i always thought SR is a man? she does looks like one at times.

:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o

O ....................M........................G

My reply was the first one to go into detail about why both bands have been better off ever since HZM decided to concentrate on PE'Z. You've either ignored my comments or you've taken them out of context.

I've heard more and seen more of HZM than probably anyone else in this community except maybe lupin (who joined more to talk about PE'Z than anything else), and I'm telling you, I'm okay with HZM leaving Tokyo Jihen. But on the otherhand, I'm not exactly a Phase 2 lover, because I think the band 'lost' more with Ukigumo than they 'gained' with Izawa.

Performance-wise, *I* could replace Izawa. Heck, you could probably replace him too. I won't deny that for even a minute. But I really do like his songs better than HZM's, even if they weren't made for Tokyo Jihen.

Giving credit where it's due, none of HZM's contributions were hand-me-downs. That's what Phase 2 has become at the end of Adult and onward, you know. If Tokyo Jihen could've performed PE'Z songs (or vice versa), that would've made Izawa versus HZM comparisons more fair, but HZM kept his two roles very separated.

What I said about dynamics, I still stand by. I didn't say he was the same in most/all songs, but rather, that within any individual song, he doesn't have a lot of dynamics, even if every song is different from each other. HZM is a machine that operates in 'modes'. He can change mode in the middle of a song, just like LCD manufacturers can turn the Brightness up or down and rate the "Contrast" of their product by the two extreme you can only experience one-at-a-time, instead of a realtime co-existence of extremes. "Dynamic Range" on audio equipment is defined as the co-existence of quiet and loud noises simultaneously. Maybe that's the term I should've used. HZM can hit the keys more or less hard at different moments of a song, but never simultaneously.

For the music HZM delivers on stage, he's a genius of an engineer (the note structure), but a toddler fingerpainter of an artist (the sensitivity conveyed). Arguably that's what we 'gained' with Ukigumo, but he's nowhere near as exciting to watch, and Izawa is barely exciting, so basically Phase 2 is a borefest on stage who has to cover up their used-to-be oozing personality, with PV-like intrusions in the footage.

Keith Jarrett is the best of both worlds for things that both factions of the fanbase would want in a piano player (well, except maybe for the stage presence - he concentrates too hard on the music and sometimes makes weird noises), but someone like that is too valuable to actually stay with a band.

I still very much enjoy watching HZM's performances - he was the main reason I bought all the PE'Z DVDs and even went to a concert (and the main reason I think Funny Day & Hard Night is an awesome album), because although the rest of the band deserves some credit too, they're not quite as crazy with the instruments they play, as HZM is with the piano.

Let me just put it this way.
If Tokyo Jihen still had HZM...
then Adult would've had two brainiac engineers with no souls, Just Can't Help It wouldn't be anymore exciting than with Izawa because Shiina Ringo holds a short leash (compare Dynamite Out! to REALIVE 2005 if you don't believe me), and "Variety" (and its associated singles) would've been overwhelmed with hand-me-downs from Petrolz, with hardly any alternative source, because it's not HZM's style to write songs where the keyboard/piano doesn't have an especially crucial role, and Shiina Ringo would never allow that. He gets much more freedom to go wild with PE'Z than the freedom he ever got with Shiina Ringo. So he would've wrote maybe 2-3 songs again, and maybe if we were lucky, Kameda would pitch two songs instead of one, and then the rest would've been Ukigumo.

You know, four pages related to HZM and I'm surprised no one made a "PE'Z Dispenser" joke yet. So to compensate, a referential post:

I feel yer blues, man, but at least it gave Tokyo Jihen an excuse for starting over somewhat for Adult and its jazz a go go nature. HZM was fun to watch, but as for his departure, he just can't help it if he'd rather focus on PE'Z. He was (at times) a dynamite player, lighting up the stage like he was some sort of Mr. Wonderful, but like others have said, he does shine more as a supestar in PE'Z than in Tokyo Jihen, and I think the natural balance of Tokyo Jihen's musical alignment has almost been restored.

It was a gamble to replace him with Izawa, and perhaps he didn't really dynamite in like HZM, but it turned out all right in the end. So what if the man doesn't have as much identity? It's not like Tokyo Jihen has experienced a blackout or slowed to a crawl; Izawa provides sufficient service to their sound, a more complementing and subtle nature. So c'mon let's go kick back, exercise some stoicism, and enjoy a papaya mango or something.

You won't offend anyone supporting HZM, but just be careful if you like Ukigumo; many wish he would dynamite out.

(That was a little hard, just using English titles.)

heheh, thats ok, you get an A for effort +tron ;)

I agree with what you're saying. I, too like phase 2 music a little more than phase 1 music. I think it more unqiue and mature than their phase 1 music. I think the type of music is not the arguement here. both Hzm and Izawa didnt do much song writing for education and adult respectively. It not until variety, Izawa takes on a bigger song writing role. That said, they both writing very average songs. It not like if we lose Izawa, we wont have good songs. SR is still the best and Kameda is second. I think SR will start writing again if they really needed a good song.

I understand Izawa people are coming from. They prefer his style more than Hzm hardcore-key bashing style. Right now, they are both just playing songs written by other poeple. You guys are saying Hzm cant play Izawa style. I highly doubt it though considering Hzm piano skills and the fact that he is classically trained. Izawa dont have really a big role anyways, Uki do most of the leads.

For me personally, live performance is VERY important to me, espcially for rock bands. I dont truely see how great a song is until ive seen them perform live. This is when each member skills comes into play. That why i think HZM is pretty important. That is just me though.

I never said HZM can't play Izawa's style or vice-versa. I'm just saying that the music dominates how they play and they don't dominate how the music is written (unless they did, in fact, write it). Basically, Izawa did not write much on ADULT but it was the ADULT music in general that I like, not just Izawa or any other member. The same goes for Kyouiku. So, if whoever wrote the music has a piano or a guitar being played a certain way, then we won't know how good or bad a person is at another style if the music is not written in that style. I would never say that a person cannot play a certain style because we will never have proof of it since they only write music to play off to a person's strength and not what they are bad at. Now, one could say that they have not done so many songs in any specific style to hide any member's weakness but then if we don't know for sure, then why make the assumption?

this is what ive been reading. I wont argue if they are right or not. This is what im getting.

izawa
-more mellow
-more artistic
- more groovy
-better song writer
-like his style more

hzm
-better pianist
-better stage presence


question for you all:
if Hzm said he wants to come back. You are ringo, . You choose Hzm or Izawa as your keyboardist?

If I were Shiina Ringo, I'd suppose it would depend upon how lazy (or drained of creative energy) I was. If I were still in my musical prime, I'd choose HZM.

Nice one Glath... ;)

I'll have HZM be Izawa's stage presence coach. haha!

So what yer saying is.... =P

To say Izawa is more mellow, I think is a bit unfortunate. I don't think its necessarily "his fault" he comes off "unenthusiastic" -- i think its the the fact the band as a whole is unenthusiastic. Now if it were Izawa in Dynamite Out, I'm not saying hed be on par with HZM, but I think we'd see him spice things up in comparison to his present. The very first time we saw the new lineup perform was on a show, "miming" Shuraba (only Shiina was live, the music was tracked.) Izawa was bobbing up and down, head banging, totally out of sync with the song to purposely call attention to the fact the bands not playing. I thought it was rawk, so from that point on Izawa earned his rep in my book. But I think it shows Izawa can bring some *umph* he just...i dont think, has the real showcase.

Izawa is definitely a more mellow person and the band is not unenthusiastic. It's just Izawa and Uki that are not bringing a lot of life to the live performances most of the time. I don't think they are bores, but sometimes they are and sometimes they are not. I think Izawa for the most part fits the songs pretty well in his performances, he just does not go all out as much as HZM. I'm beginning to think that Uki, on the other hand, is limited in how much he can move around and jump and stuff because of the sounds he has to make. It seems like he has to do so much at once that he can't just walk up to the front of the stage and just shred like hirama used to do. But, that might just be an excuse from a fan but it's what it seems like to me. I don't see how Ringo, Kameda, and especially hata can look unenthusiastic. Hata especially looks like he is having a blast ALL the time.

EDIT: And as for the question, I'm not so sure who i'd pick. Glath made me realize that HZM really does go into modes and does not seem to fluctuate as much as izawa does within songs, but he is so good that I can't help but assume that he CAN if the songs were written that way. But, I can only go from what I have heard and since I like phase 2 more, i'd have to choose Izawa because having HZM would probably change the music drastically. Not in a bad way, but I phase 2's style just the way it is.

"Shredding" is soo different from what Uki does, and so much simpler you can practically make breakfast while playing Hirama's parts.

Sheesh guys, come on =p

Dude, I'm not saying its super simple, I just think it's easier to do it and move around at the same time. I know, I've played guiitar hero ^_~

Izawa songs a pretty good, but I think I would choose HZM if Shiina were to write more songs. So basically the same thing that Glath said.

If you really loved HZM, you should be happy he's back in PE'Z. That band is really gimped without him. He and Wataru Oyama are the foundation of the band. There's a strong bond between those 5 guys that you can see.

whoever said that any pianist could do well in Tokyo Jihen, you could be right. Hiizumi looked really bored sometimes playing with TJ. Ringo's material leaves little room for jazz improv and a bit on the formulaic and simple side.

His antics are almost sarcastic like, "hey, I can play this standing backwards with one leg up on the keyboard because I only have to play 2 chords." Don't ask DaVinci to draw stick figures!

Izawa is another overqualified pianist and is a well rounded musician. Wasn't he recommended by HZM to Ringo anyway?

It was all mellow...
 

everyone is saying Izawa is more mellow... mellow = boring compared to HZM. i'm indifferent to izawa, but i'm strongly against him playing guitar during lives. that just shows the gaping hole left by hirama's departure. Phase 2 TJ tries to make up for this by letting izawa play guitar using a set up thats more heavily distorted than ukigumo. funny thing is that his style is even more rock/metal than ukigumo.. the only good that uki is good for is R&B type songs.. ie honnou from JCHI and karada... don't even get me started on karada..

more than anything i'd rather have izawa stay and ukigumo booted..

speaking of which does anyone have hirama's new album? his samples were taken off his myspace and i can't find them

It's on Jpopsuki. :)

thanks so much~ i've been periodically searching for it but i could never find it~ awesome thanks so much!

The moment Izawa plays keyboard with one leg up, one arm under, thrusting his crotch at the keys, everyone will stop calling Izawa uninterested and start calling him a weak ripoff of HZM.

the dude just can't win (in this forum...with some people) just because he's seen as the replacement guy. <_<

Well, I don't think so, I like him more than HZM. But I would want him to play HZM style either^^

Yeah, this is a good point. I think people would be more happy with the band if they did not see the new members as just replacements of the previous members.

That just means if someone is a newer fan, they merely have a different bias.
Would you gulp down most energy drinks if you knew they contained a synthetic duplicate of a chemical found in a bull's ballsack? They don't call the first heavily marketed one "Red Bull" for nothing. If you judge art by how it was made, more than the final result, you're biassed. If you judge art for face value, you're biassed.

And you run around, sparking countless discussion under the motivations of "Oh nos! Someone else is obviously biassed!". Guess what? If the feeling wasn't mutual between you and Jihad, you both wouldn't have postcounts numbering in the thousands.

^ You are totally right but I feel that if people would get over this particular bias they would enjoy ADULT->forward much more. Of course, I say this because I am already biased towards ADULT, etc., but I think that the people who are on the fence or somewhat like ADULT and the new music would like it more if they didn't have the fact that Uki composed the songs at the forefront of their thoughts. Same goes for Izawa; I think it is a bad thing if the fact that you liked HZM gets in the way of enjoying anything after him. Now, if you completely dislike the music regardless of the members, that is a different story altogether.

I may not have been a fan since before ADULT, but I was introduced to the band with Kyouiku and heard it a substantial amount of times before I dared go into ADULT and two new members so I also dealt with the fact that HZM and Hirama were gone. Mainly HZM because I LOVE the piano and I thought it was amazing how they incorporated it into rock music. BUT, when I heard ADULT I didn't keep thinking that HZM was gone so I was able to enjoy it as much as I did/do. I'm not saying you in particular do not enjoy, but just in general I think people would do better to enjoy the music as-is and not think of the members they used to have.

I remember Jihad once said something along the lines of you have to listen to it in context of what came before it because he is a historian or something but I don't think that should affect how you enjoy an album or what you think of it. Same goes for the band members, in my humble opinion.

EDIT: I am not trying to say that my point of view is better than anyone else's or that I am unbiased, but I think people place an unnecessary barrier on themselves and limit themselves from things for foolish reasons. I've done this myself many times, especially with music, but I have gotten over it and opened myself up to different things. I am not saying any of you are close-minded or anything, but I do feel that there would be a greater appreciation for ADULT amongst older fans if they would stop seeing the new members as ShadyNook eloquently put it, "replacement guy[s]".

I was pretty disappointed when I saw who the "replacements" where. Specially after watching TJ playing Shuraba on Music Station. Ukigumo was... ok, but Izawa looked like a goof. I started to like him more after he stopped trying to look cool (and after listening to Appa, too). Now I'd rather have him than HZM in the band. HZM is a lot more entertaining to watch, but Izawa seems to have more to add to the band.
As for Hirama/Ukigumo, if Hirama had to leave TJ to produce his own albums, then I'm happy he did.

:blink:!!! That is exactly how I felt about Izawa when I saw that same performance. I had not watched HZM perform prior to seeing that, but just the change in music and how he was performing threw me off a bit at first.

With the new album, I am ready to be dumbfounded when I find I like a song or two or three or four by a musician who isn't a favorite. For me, that's Ukigumo. But whats funny is that I prefer to listen to OSCA, BBQUeen, and Karada much more than music by musicians with alot of personality like hide, or Hyde, or ick...TM Revolution.

I have bias against Cloudy, but the bias isn't unshakable. I am very open to letting go of the bias and just need more convincing.

I think the Adult album wasn't the best way to introduce Ukigumo and Izawa to the fans, especially Ukigumo.

I thought it gave the impression that they were too soft and faceless as musicians due to the stifling album concept of making "grown up" music. Shuraba was underwhelming when it came to showcasing their talents.

Variety is a proper way to introduce the new guys. But I don't want to know who wrote what until after I listen to it several times.

hello, i'm new in this forum, and also a recent fan (from a year i think), but i love tj and i think they are the pinnacle of music right now!!!

well, im a pianist, and i think that hzm has a really virtuosism, and of course, in live perfonmances, he shows a very carismatic image with a lot of funny moves and shows his dinamical way of playing that there's no doubt about his skills are from a virtuous player, maybe because his school is classical
but i'd rather isawa, in live versions he can play anything that hzm used to play when he was in tj, so (at least in tj both mirrows the same musical level (even when isn't that way)), isawa fits so far better because he has a jazz school, so he cath the escence of tj; and i in the song you can note that isawa has a more trained hearb because when he improvises he uses modals, scales and all that jazz school had left in him, and sometimes i can apreciate that he doesn't uses that, he just let his feelin' to play, so he play just by hear, and that's something that i couldn't listen in hzm, hzm probably can make solos faster and with more difficult techniques but isawa's solos listen much better because he can involve and feel more the music, and none school can give you that!!!
maybe with time isawa can become a better pianist, i don't know how much time he has been playin' piano (contrasted with hzm who play since he was 4 years old)
isawa fits so cool in tj and i'm happy that je joined the band!!!
variety album is so different (and also my favorite one) that any other before and i'm so happy that shénna let the other members of the band make the music, i think is their darkest album cause the chords and tones are so shady in some songs (i love the minor and dimishished concepts that they use a lot), ok, to finish i also think that isawa is a better songwritter than hzm

These old threads are a trip. Slightly off topic (though inevitably it got touched upon here, too), while Ukigumo is dull, and Hirama far more dissonant, the latter was also a tad shit.

Got damn. Me on my Jihad bullshit right away.:D

2 days ago I changed my mind about this, probably the result of a combo of wine and Dynamite Out.

HA!