In his blog, 儿-JIN- posted his feelings and hopes for NEGA's second full album, VANITAS. The post was really insightful and revealing, so I thought I'd share it with you guys. This is a general translation—I couldn't give a perfect one even if I wanted to—so some details are wrong, but the important concepts are all there. Enjoy!

儿-JIN- 2011-07-31: “VANITAS”

• At last week's oneman, we finally announced our 2nd FULL ALBUM.

We've actually been decided on it for a long time though;

even when we were PERESTROЇKA, we had plans for a new album after reviving.

After all, I think that an album is the way to show the true worth of a band.

Lately the trend is to just include favorite songs on an album—

each song may be cool, the album may be good, but no real significance of the artist is conveyed.

But few artists realize this.

I listen to a variety of music, but the only albums are ones from really good artists.

The year before last, we released our first album “GRAVE OF THE SACRIFICE.”

The variety in that album was wonderful, as was the way that it flowed,

and I think it was the best album that could have been produced by that ネガ,

but despite that, when I listen to it now, it was really unrefined.

The 1st album had great qualities, but I want to surpass it;

as NEGA I want to produce a broader, deeper album.

There may be singles, or songs which make fans say “I like it.”

But I want to transcend that.

After a complete listen to the album, something larger should be left behind in your heart...

We'll make that kind of album.

Just wait half a year or so!

So like I said, some details are wrong, but the larger ideas should be clear. It seems that JIN at least is serious about making a real “album,” rather than just a collection of singles or nice songs. And I'm sure that the other guys agree. Hopefully they pull it off and make something really nice!

And, putting on my speculation hat for a moment, hopefully this means that most of the songs will be new—and if the “half a year” holds true, we'll hopefully have the album by February or so!

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• Current mood: tired