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  #31  
Old Aug 5, 2016, 05:57 AM
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layzee layzee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
PM replied to. I have a good feeling about this.
Unfortunately, turned out there wasn't anything new. Anyway, as always, anyone out there who thinks they have might have interesting S.S.H. info that I might not know about, don't hesitate to contact me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by josejl1987 View Post
Well,if you want more game arrangements, you can check the Hellion Sounds CDs.
I've been meaning to check the albums out in the past due to S.S.H.'s possible/confirmed involvement but it kept getting delayed. I resolve to give them a thorough listen now and will post back here with my thoughts on them.

For now, and on a related note, I would like us all to refer back to a 2011 album: Utatemeguri Original Sound Track
http://vgmdb.net/album/18113

The problem with this album is the lack of precise artist credits. Which are S.S.H.'s? Unlike 2008's "Amatsukaze ~Kugutsu Jinpuchou~ Original Sound Track" (http://vgmdb.net/album/10760) which was also only had general composer credits but had S.S.H.'s contributions all bunched up, the S.S.H. songs on Utatemeguri appear to be spread out.

These are my candidates on this album:

Disc 2-08: 蠱業
A fairly down-tempo and subtle song, by S.S.H. standards anyway. I'd say the bass guitar is the defining point and reminds me of "Adventure E" from 2016's Koihime Enbu.

Disc 2-14: 荒神
Need I explain this one? If you look up Saitama Saisyu Heiki in an electronic dictionary, you might be like "how do I pronounce the word Saitama Saisyu Heiki?". Then you click on the audio sample and instead of a robotic voice pronouncing the word, you get this song playing at full blast and waking up the neighbours. tl;dr this song defines "S.S.H."

Disc 2-17: KSHATRIYA
S.S.H. newbies might find the electronic vocals strange or "un-S.S.H." but veterans should know he isn't a stranger to incorporating fake vocals in his works (e.g. "Faraway"). The guitar solo at 2:20 should erase all doubts however.

The above three tracks are the only ones on the soundtrack 6+ minutes in length (excluding Disc 1 Track 1) and are the 4th longest, 3rd longest, and 2nd longest tracks respectively. S.S.H. going for duration on this OST?

S.S.H. veterans should also know that S.S.H. isn't a stranger to dabbling in other genres so I wouldn't completely rule out any of the other tracks just yet.
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  #32  
Old Aug 8, 2016, 06:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by josejl1987 View Post
Well,if you want more game arrangements, you can check the Hellion Sounds CDs.
I've been meaning to check the albums out in the past due to S.S.H.'s possible/confirmed involvement but it kept getting delayed. I resolve to give them a thorough listen now and will post back here with my thoughts on them.
I'm back and as promised, did exactly that. It's way too long to copy/paste here so I'll just link it.

I wrote a report/analysis regarding S.S.H. and Hellion Sounds here:

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
Hellion Sounds is a unit or "band" consisting of (at least) Eru (the head/leader), Azu♪, Shion Himekawa, Yu-, and Saitama Saisyu Heiki. As of writing (2016), Hellion Sounds has produced 10 albums in 10 years spanning 2004 to 2014. The word band is in quotes because it is not so much a traditional band with each musician playing their part in a song and more likely the case that they each compose/arrange their own song to be contributed to a album (i.e. each song is solely the work of a particular musician as opposed to musicians).

The issue is that for the most part, the albums have very few precise artist-specific credits - they are mainly owned by "Hellion Sounds" as a collective. Despite the lack of information, we will attempt to identify S.S.H.'s compositions and arranges.

The connection between S.S.H. and Hellion Sounds - An analysis
Probably the closest thing to cement that connection is probably this:

Is there a connection/relationship between S.S.H. and Hellion Sounds?

PS. I was tempted to make a toilet-humour SHAT-related joke.
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Last edited by layzee; Aug 8, 2016 at 07:03 AM.
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  #33  
Old Aug 8, 2016, 09:58 AM
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I took a quick look over your analysis, and your guesses are mostly similar to mine's,except for 2007 album Legacy.

I think the songs are done by him, and playing real guitar:

1 The Evil Lord Exdeath 覇王エクスデス (3:31) (redone later in 2014, and distorted drums intro too)

2 Affray (4:51)

6 Mystery Train 魔列車 (6:04)

10 Fighting of the Spirit (5:06)

11 Ending♯2 (5:25)

Compare these to the 2008 Faraway song, which I think is the last song he's released that uses real guitar performance, both the guitar and drums samples sound similar to me at least.

Last edited by josejl1987; Aug 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM.
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  #34  
Old Sep 17, 2016, 08:01 AM
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I've been practicing the guitar fairly regularly - a Famicom/NES song here, a mainstream song there, etc. But something's missing... guitar tabs for the S.S.H. songs I want to play. To me the question is not "can I get any better/stop sucking" (jury's still out on this one) but "do I have the motivation to get better/stop sucking". S.S.H. song guitar tabs could help with the latter question. So I am now offering bounties.

Quote:
Songs I Want To Play On Guitar Wish List (Please Create A Rocksmith 2014 Version and/or Guitar Tab Sheet Please?)

Current Bounties Offered


Rules: To qualify for these cash ($USD) bounties, please choose any of the songs below and create guitar tab sheets for it. This can be a simple text file or it can be a digital guitar tab sheets (compatible with software like Guitar Pro 6 and TuxGuitar) or it can be a .psarc file (Custom DLC) for use with the Rocksmith 2014 software. The latter two are preferred but not absolutely necessary. The cash prizes are generally for the lead guitar parts but the full amount or a lesser amount may also be granted to bass and rhythm guitar, etc... parts (depending on complexity). You don't have to tab every instrument or even the whole song. Just do whatever you can do/feel like (e.g. the chords in the intro, the guitar solo, etc...). However, this may reduce the reward (I can't afford to send $10 to ten people times ten songs...). To find out if the quality/accuracy of your tabs is good enough to justify a financial reward, please conduct a "reasonable person" test i.e. "Would I, a reasonable person, pay for these tabs if someone else made it?" If the answer is yes, then you qualify for the full reward (or part of). Money will be sent by PayPal. You may also opt out of the bounty if you wish (e.g. "I'm doing for the love of it, not for the money").

Any guitar tabs below that I receive, I will practice with, and if/when I don't sound completely bad, I will record myself playing it and upload it to my YouTube channel. Don't expect much, I have no musical talent. Just a burning desire to play some S.S.H. tunes.

The prizes below are fully funded by me. If you also wish to offer money for any particular track (e.g. +$10 USD), please contact me with the following:
Email address
Your first name
The first letter of your surname
Your nationality/country of residence
The track you would like to donate funds to
The amount of money ($US Dollars) you would like to donate

Disclaimer: The above information that you provide will be listed below (e.g. +$10 from John S. of the United States). Since I am me, I can only guarantee that I can pay. I cannot guarantee the following through of donations by third parties. Occasional emails (e.g. twice a year) will be sent to potential donators to check if their proposed donations are still valid.

Album: Forgotten Ruins


$10 for Track 1: Room Guarder (4:09)
$20 for Track 2: The Secret Underground Passage (3:49)
$10 for Track 3: Jumble of Wheat And Tares (4:26)
$10 for Track 4: Burial Chamber (4:32)
$20 for Track 5: Ninja vs Vampire (3:53)

Album: Click and Metal


$20 for Track 1: Deadly Blow (3:52)
$20 for Track 2: Bottom Line (3:58)
$15 for Track 3: MBT152 (4:52)
$10 for Track 4: Plan -B- (4:13)
$20 for Track 5: C.U.I.H. (5:16)

Album: Koihime Enbu Original Soundtrack


$10 for Track 1: Advertize (1:35)
$20 for Track 5: 関羽 / Kan'u (3:53) [Also on the Shin Koihime†Musou ~Otome Taisen☆Sangokushi Engi~ OST with the track 6 title: 城下市場]
$20 for Track 8: 馬超 / Bachou (3:22)
$20 for Track 12: 楽進 / Gakushin (3:38)
$20 for Track 16: 周泰 / Shuutai (3:38)
$10 for Track 27: Ending (2:25)
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Last edited by layzee; Sep 17, 2016 at 08:04 AM.
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  #35  
Old Dec 24, 2016, 07:03 AM
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Greetings and saluations fellow S.S.H. fans.

2 topics today.

First on the agenda is that my website has a new page - a hypothetical S.S.H. interview. If given the opportunity, what would you ask him? Here's a few of mine so far:

Quote:
S.S.H. Hypothetical Interview

Could you briefly tell the story of your childhood, your upbringing, your history, and your discovery of music?

Musically speaking, who or what (musicians and/or bands) would you consider your biggest influences?

The "Metal Max" series is a game franchise you seem to be particularly fond of (and one that is almost completely foreign to Western/non-Japanese audiences) - you have casually referred to it several times as well as arranged some of its music. What is it about the games and its soundtracks that you find interesting?

In 2004, you composed and arranged the soundtrack for the Sega Ages Gain Ground game (Sony PlayStation 2). What was the experience like, working on a Sega product? For your own original contributions (i.e. the "extra game" music), did they make any particular demands or were you mainly left to your own devices?

Although "Forgotten Ruins" is technically regarded as an original (mini) album, you mention that you envisioned an associated "8-bit cyberpunk 3D dungeon game". "Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei" - how close was my guess?

You may be excel at arranging Touhou music but are you any good at Danmaku (Bullet Curtain/Hell) games?

To the Western/non-Japanese world, you are nameless and faceless, to the extent that some still refer to you as "that S.S.H. "band" that does some awesome heavy metal game tunes", unaware that "S.S.H." is a person. May I ask why you are shrouded in mystery?
If you think you might have any questions worth asking, feel free to post and I'll add them.

Second on the agenda is S.S.H.'s website where he has officially announced a new Touhou arrange album (I confess that I haven't heard the second Touhou Medley album yet): http://www.ssh.ne.jp/index.php/archives/748

He also writes that he wants to "let you know" about "something else", hopefully "within the year", though he is unsure if the "preparations" will be concluded "in time" before the "end of the year".

Needless to say, that is quite vague. I would like to take a guess though. We will refer to S.S.H.'s Twitter account, to a particular tweet: https://twitter.com/SSH_SAITAMA/stat...20388580483073

On the 7th of August 2016, he tweets his regret that he was unable to publish a non-Vocaloid original vocal album during summer (June to August in Japan). Nevertheless, he hopes for an August release (September to November). That obviously didn't happen. The next season is Winter, which covers December to February.

So that's my prediction: a new original album soon from S.S.H. Also, let's look at the release dates of his first original album (Forgotten Ruins in August 2014) and second (Click & Metal in December 2015). If history is of any indication, the time is ripe for a new album late 2016/early 2017.

Also could I mention that it's been almost a year since Click & Metal's release, and my enthusiasm for that album has not dropped one iota.
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  #36  
Old Jan 21, 2017, 06:50 AM
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Back in 2002~4, on S.S.H.'s former website with downloadable .mp3s, one of those was an original track titled "Midnight Shooter". The significance of that track title can probably be explained here, on one of Aether/Eru's videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bamuMQic1k8

In short, apparently S.S.H. and his friends used to have an Unreal Tournament clan called, confusingly enough, SSH or "Satsuriku Sanka Houdan". Kanjified, it's 殺戮 (Massacre/Slaughter), probably either 傘下 (Affiliation) or 参加 (Participants), and I'm not sure what the last set of Kanji is. Perhaps 砲弾 (Bullets/Ammunition) which makes sense considering it's a First Person Shooter but this is a name of a clan so the "dan" could also be 団 (group/clan). SSH tags himself in-game as "SSH[SSH]".

So logically speaking, "Midnight Shooter" probably refers to their late night FPS deathmatch/capture the flag/what-have-you sessions. Not to speak of the existence of an Unreal music arrange by S.S.H.: Unreal Tournament / Razorback (2004).

Here is the clan member list:

Aether[SSH]
AKKEY[SSH]
Ebox[SSH]
DeadSnake[SSH]
G-Gamma[SSH]
Go-2-Sleep[SSH]
Godspeed[SSH],Whammy[SSH]
Joyh_tv[SSH]
Myun2[SSH],KUMANAVE[SSH]
Lix_8080mix[SSH],Dr.Solo[SSH]
Rute[SSH]
SDH[SSH]
SHN[SSH]
SSH[SSH],Saitama[SSH],JPS[SSH]
$upply[SSH],Bye$ong[SSH]

I wonder if more than half of this list don't have vgmdb artist profiles? With the list presented that way, does this mean SSH has three user names? What does JPS stand for? Note also SDH who I referred to in a previous post.

Also note the URL in the video description box: http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~placebo/ut/ (which I assume was the clan's website).

My memory is quite hazy but I do sort of remember downloading an "original" track called "Theme of Placebo" from his website back in 2003, give or take a year. I put original in quotes because it's basically "Rambling Feather" from Lost Child OST Side-B, except the instrumentation sounds a bit different or maybe it's just differences in volume. I dunno, I'm not good at examining music with a fine-tooth comb. In any case, my theory is that "Theme of Placebo" WAS in fact, an "original" track until he decided to use it for the Lost Child game, and in the process, went through a rename.

In other news, this went under my S.S.H. radar: MintJam / 1st GIG #Awake. No, not the album itself. The arrange of Romancing Saga 3 Last Battle holds up well, even when compared to the recent-ish official Re-Birth arrange a decade later.

No, I'm referring to the "Special Thanks" section in the liner notes:

Quote:
Special Thanks: 中本直宏 (SBP), Eru, Raito, Saitama Saisyu Heiki, Godspeed
What did S.S.H. do to warrant mention? Perhaps he had an uncredited hand in a few of the tracks?

Same story with MintJam / 2nd GIG #Break Out

Quote:
Special Thanks to...
浅田芳行 (DESCARGA Disc), Ice & Choco (あいすとちょこ), Studio Luchs (スタジオルクス), DALL
Zwei Trial, OZM, Saitama Saisyu Heiki, Eru, Azu♪, Soji Kawase (川瀬 蒼司), Kou (晃) (Disaster)
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  #37  
Old Mar 31, 2017, 07:12 AM
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Hello friends.

Took and uploaded new photos of my S.S.H. album collection (see first post). Almost done... (no, I'm not planning on getting the myriad Touhou albums S.S.H. contributes a track or two for - even fanboys have their limits).

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
-Challenges-
5. Obtain brand new and sealed copy of "Rain Drop" (SHAT-0005).
I have an almost complete sealed collection of Aether's and S.S.H.'s Touhou arrange albums (SHAT-XXXX) but this one continues to elude me. The very first album in the Touhou range "Frenzy Frenzy" (SHAT-0001) was one of the last ones I got, sealed or not. I guess it's out of print as well as Rain Drop.

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
3. Translate/search through his Twitter account/tweets for interesting/useful information (0%).
It is now 100%.

As of 2017, April Fool's day, S.S.H. has made 8,723 tweets and I probably missed most of them and there's probably no way to retrieve any of the old ones so I had to make do with whatever is available. His usual Twitter habit is disappearing for a week or two, come back with a flurry of tweets, and then disappear again.

In any case, I am now up to date and will continue to keep on top of any and all new ones. Here are some interesting tweets so far:
  • A new original S.S.H. song called "Shuffle or Die" is available for free download. Sounds a bit bluesy and sweepy (picking).
  • He replied in English to someone else. Looks like a machine translation though.
  • He tried some new guitar/bass/drum sounds.
  • In a rare case of sharing his early musical past (or anything about himself for that matter), he reveals that when he was in his teens (?), he bought musical scores of his favourite bands, repeatedly listened to the songs many times while viewing the scores, entered them into a "sequencer", worked out the "chord progressions" etc, and studied the entire construct of the songs.

There's also a little something else. Before we cover that tweet, let us refer back to a post I made very late last year:

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
He also writes that he wants to "let you know" about "something else", hopefully "within the year", though he is unsure if the "preparations" will be concluded "in time" before the "end of the year".

Needless to say, that is quite vague. I would like to take a guess though. We will refer to S.S.H.'s Twitter account, to a particular tweet: https://twitter.com/SSH_SAITAMA/stat...20388580483073

On the 7th of August 2016, he tweets his regret that he was unable to publish a non-Vocaloid original vocal album during summer (June to August in Japan). Nevertheless, he hopes for an August release (September to November). That obviously didn't happen. The next season is Winter, which covers December to February.

So that's my prediction: a new original album soon from S.S.H. Also, let's look at the release dates of his first original album (Forgotten Ruins in August 2014) and second (Click & Metal in December 2015). If history is of any indication, the time is ripe for a new album late 2016/early 2017.
I'm not sure if the following tweet is related to the above but he revealed that in 2016, he bought an RPG making program called "SMILE GAME BUILDER". Think "RPG Maker/Tsukuru" except it's not RPG Maker and it has a 3D engine. While composing songs at the same time as making an RPG, he hoped to have ready a playable demo within 2016, which didn't happen.

On another tweet on the same day, he hoped for a March 2017 release. But it's April the 1st as of 2 hours ago (it might still be March the 31st in your country). Anyway, that doesn't look like it's happening.

What we do have are 4 background music for the game he is making. In that tweet, he ponders on what town music should sound like.

So for now, how about we try to guess the context of the songs?

Bgm001 - This is probably town music. But what kind of town? I'd guess a more metro/urban and/or technically advanced town. I'm imagining it's night with a lot of bright neon street signs. Maybe it's raining with lots of puddle everywhere.
Bgm002 - This one has a similar feel to the above. I'm thinking Bgm001 is the general town/city theme while Bgm002 is the same city except a different part of town (e.g. market area, entertainment district, etc).
Bgm003 - The jazzy saxophone-ish instrument suggests a bar where you can have a drink and chat with the city's various mutated residents.
Bgm004 - I'd have to go with shop theme and/or basically music that plays on the menu screen (e.g. party menu or traveling through the city using menus if you can't actually control the character in towns).

Honestly, I'd be surprised if it wasn't a Megami Tensei-esque Rougelike/RPG game since that's one of his favourite game franchises and probably a first-person viewpoint one.

Finally, S.S.H. making his own RPG gave me an idea: how about _I_ make an RPG myself, using S.S.H. music as the game's soundtrack? The last time I dabbled in that sort of thing was many many years ago using an old version of RPG Maker but I got bored of it very quickly.

Well, I fairly recently got the latest version of RPG Maker (called RPG Maker MV) and I sort of have the foundations for an RPG. I've got a world map, a town or two, a dungeon or two, and a character or two, and some monsters. And yes, the entire game soundtrack is S.S.H. only.

I definitely have no intention of making a fully fledged RPG - I'm just experimenting and so far, the "game" I have right now is simply the combination of RPG Maker MV tutorials I've followed. I probably spent more time trying to figure out which S.S.H. music goes in which context appropriately! Which I did have fun doing. Obviously I can't use 200bpm+ music in each and every area. Context matters.

Anyway, the results of my barebones RPG will be uploaded on YouTube within 1 or 2 weeks from now. Again, don't expect anything remotely good - like I said, it's an experiment/just messing around/just for fun.
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  #38  
Old May 30, 2017, 10:15 AM
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Ahoy there.

Good news today. Nay, great news. I recently made contact (well, them to me to be more precise) with someone who, while he/she (hereafter a he) doesn't consider himself a "true S.S.H. fan", he evidently is a fan of history and possesses a decent memory that might shed some light on my project. I'll save the best for last.

1. Music embedded in S.S.H.'s website in 2003

So according to him, he has been aware of S.S.H. existence (and S.S.H.'s friends/acquaintances) since 2000. In comparison, I didn't find out about S.S.H. until 2004, or maybe 2003 at the earliest. To begin with, here are some random facts about S.S.H.'s website back in 2003 according to his memory, and he admits his memory isn't perfect but who can blame him. They're not super amazingly interesting, but I do it for the sake of completeness and history:

04.mid - This song, a MIDI version of Final Fantasy VI - Slam Shuffle was embedded (i.e. plays automatically) on S.S.H.'s website circa 2003.
smb3.mp3 - Also possibly embedded in the homepage. This song is スーパマリオブラザーズ~背中で語るルイージ (Super Mario Bros. - Luigi Talking In The Back) and is a downbeat guitar version of the main Mario theme.
ff6-sff.mp3 - Possibly played on the diary/blog page. This song is FINAL FANTASY VI / 仲間を求めて [Ver.2] (Searching for Friends) and is an acoustic version with Parasite Eve-sounding synth opera vocals.
kimi.mp3 - Also on the diary page, possibly. This song is 天空の城ラピュタ~君を乗せて(生ギター) (Laputa: The Castle in the Sky - Kimi o Nosete), a live guitar arrange.

Note that although they are reasonably rare, these songs aren't new to me (with the possible exception of the midi one). Like I said, this is just for history.

2. The mystery and lost history of the entity known as "Placebo"

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
Also note the URL in the video description box: http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~placebo/ut/ (which I assume was the clan's website).

My memory is quite hazy but I do sort of remember downloading an "original" track called "Theme of Placebo" from his website back in 2003, give or take a year. I put original in quotes because it's basically "Rambling Feather" from Lost Child OST Side-B, except the instrumentation sounds a bit different or maybe it's just differences in volume. I dunno, I'm not good at examining music with a fine-tooth comb. In any case, my theory is that "Theme of Placebo" WAS in fact, an "original" track until he decided to use it for the Lost Child game, and in the process, went through a rename.
This guy must have some good memory because it rang a bell when I mentioned it. According to him, "Placebo" is the name of the website owned by game musician and S.S.H. associate, Ese (似非) AKA ECE-SMZ AKA Yohsui O'asa (大麻 葉吸). Similar to S.S.H. and his website where he offers .mp3s for download, Ese does the same with Placebo. The Unreal Tournament Clan is basically one part of the website. I don't follow the doujin scene, but in general, I do recall that Japanese doujin artists (whether musicians or drawers) would, as a way to connect, draw art or compose music for a fellow artist. Then the receiving artist would post it on his website. Very common with drawing artists in periods such as Christmas. For example, an artist who does Final Fantasy character fan art might draw Cecil (Final Fantasy IV) in a Santa Claus costume and then send it a few doujin fan artist.

In the case of S.S.H., I guess that he composed a tune for Ese, titled it "Theme of Placebo" (the name of Ese's website), and gave it to Ese. This "Theme of Placebo"... which sounds remarkably similar to (well, practically the same) "Rambling Feather" from Lost Child Side-B. This probably all happening well before the 2006 release of the PC game Lost Child. Well, the game was released in 2006, the Side-A and Side-B soundtracks in 2003 and 2004 respectively. This lends credence to my theory that "Rambling Feather" was originally a non-game related song called "Theme of Placebo" until S.S.H. got the composer job for Lost Child where he probably thought that it was worthy enough to add as a game tune (after a track title change).

3. Early S.S.H. history

I'm sure most of us S.S.H. fans are familiar with his current website, and the older of us might also be familiar with his older version website (i.e. before 2012) which existed since 2004 or 2003 or maybe earlier. Well, he had at least one more website even older than that which was probably created in 2001. And the URL of that website is as follows: http://www4.plala.or.jp/TMCS/

Don't bother clicking, it doesn't work. Fortunately however, the Internet Archive has saved a single page of which is all that remains: http://web.archive.org/web/200107111...S/midi_s2.html

Immediately, we see something amusing: "Saitama Saisyu Heiky" (instead of Heiki). Also, we learn of one possible origin of the S.S.H. name: it is simply a silly made-up name. The rest are his early MIDIs with "liner notes". Note that "Neon Night" is one of those MIDIs, and I am looking for the .mp3 version.

4. Personal information of S.S.H. and his brother

No I don't mean bank account details. Not only did the person I speak to have a good memory, he also had the wisdom and foresight to save something in 2004 before it got wiped from the Internet. 13 years later, he kindly hands them to me. I basically have two text files containing interesting information on S.S.H. and his brother and they appear to be self-surveys of some kind (similar to the ones on Facebook or whatever). Categories include: interests, favourite bands, musical influences, favourite games, strengths and weaknesses, etc. Normally I wouldn't find someone's favourite food interesting but considering how little we know about S.S.H. considering his quantity and quality of musical works, finding out anything about him is like water in a desert, a needle in a haystack, and similar mataphors. To the best of his knowledge and memory, he possibly saved this information from the above website but he could be wrong. In any case, after I get the time to translate them, the info will eventually make its way to the S.S.H. biography page.

And finally, the best news...

...will be revealed in my next post tomorrow.
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Old Jun 2, 2017, 08:16 AM
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Now for the good news. If you have browsed my website, then you should have noticed the section titled "Missing". S.S.H. has a varied treasure trove of amateur past works, both original and arranges (as my S.S.H. database shows). Some are rare and some are very rare - so rare that I am not even sure they exist, which is where the "Missing" text document comes in. I've been searching for S.S.H. songs for a very long time and while I managed to get most of them, some were not able to be downloaded because of lack of sources/peers, and some were only theoretical (e.g. I copy-pasted S.S.H. mp3 data from random websites). In theory these mythical mp3s should exist, I just need to find S.S.H. fans around the world who might have some knowledge about it. That's one of the reasons I created my S.S.H. fan website - to spread the word and connect with the international community and hope that people out there have what I've been searching for.

Recently someone from France contacted me with very useful historical information (see my previous post) and most importantly, kindly provided some formerly missing but now simply ultra-rare S.S.H. mp3s as follows:

神乃&Loki~The Cold Shade of Night (4:32)
I don't know who or what 神乃&Loki is, whether this track is an original S.S.H. composition or an arrange, nor do I have the musical terminology to describe what I'm hearing so I'll just say this: it's basically vintage 2001 era S.S.H. synth guitar metal. One particular riff does sound remarkably similar to an Akumajou Dracula/Castlevania song though but no names come to mind at the moment. When I find it, I'll quote myself in a later post.

アメリカンキッズ (2:37)
In English: American Kids. Likewise, I have no idea if this is an arrange or original. Doing a bit of searching, I came up with the mainstream 1980s song "Kids of America" and a just-as-old Japanese kids show called "American Kids" which is for learning English with a female Japanese host (who has a surprisingly decent non-Japlish accent). Musically though, neither seem relevant. As for the song itself, it's an upbeat positive-sounding guitar/bass/keyboard/drums affair. It also has what I think is xylophone and harmonica instrumentals. In the "Album" tag is this: YAMAHAオルガン教室~ぷらいまりー①. In English: Yamaha Organ Classroom~Primary(1). I think "primary" is as in "Primary School" and I briefly noted something about this in my S.S.H. biography.

グラディウスI~逆火山ぼ~ん! (0:24)
In English: Gradius I ~ Reverse Volcano Eruuuuuption!. Or something. I'm not too good with onomatopoeia, assuming it is one. Anyway, it's basically the Stage 4 theme from Gradius on steroids. The original is just as short.

スーパマリオブラザーズ~背中で語るルイージ (1:26)
In English: Luigi Talking in the Background or something. A low tempo arrange of the Super Mario Bros. theme starting with piano and I think organ, and continuing and finishing with guitar/bass/drums. Is the intent of the song to express how Luigi is always ignored in favour of the main man Mario?

S.S.H.(んむギター) - 天空の城ラピュタ~君を乗せて(生ギター) (3:05)
In English: Laputa: The Castle in the Sky ~ Kimi o Nosete (Live Guitar). Basically a metal version of the ending theme to the Ghibli anime. The BPM is about the same as the original and is more or less played straight with a few minor embellishments. S.S.H. has two arranges of this song. I don't know what "Nmu Guitar" is.

ルドラの秘宝〜The Spirit Chaser (Demo) (1:46)
In English: Rudra no Hihou. It's just a demo for the song from Made in Saitama. I got it for the sake of completion/database.

There was one other helpful person back in early 2016 (wait, it's been that long already?) with also useful historical information (anything useful/interesting has already been mentioned in the thread) as well as kindly offering more missing mp3s:

メタルマックス~Dr.ミンチに会いましょう (2:36)
In English: Metal Max ~ Let's Meet Dr. Minchi. This is a heavy metal version of one of the songs from the open-world RPG series Metal Max, presumably the first Nintendo Famicom version. This song is basically in every Metal Max game and I quite like it (the originals and S.S.H's version). Starts off (as it always does) with the "Oriental/Chinese" riff and is basically metal the whole way through with solos/improvisations. Historical note in the "Comments" tag: Placebo20000Hitおめでとう記念!

S.S.H.(グツァー) - デジタル・デビル物語 女神転生II~Fall'n Gods (0:33)
In English: Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II ~ Fall'n Gods. A metal arrange of one of the battle themes from the Nintendo Famicom game. I don't know what "Gutsa" is.

B'z~Move (3:01)
Instrumental arrange of the Japanese rock group B'z with the keyboard playing the vocal role. Enjoyable enough.

偽Funk (0:35)
In English: Pseudo/Fake Funk. Sounds like an original guitar riff demo in a funk style.

アメリカンキッズ (2:37)
Was also provided this but it was an incomplete download (last 20% of song chopped off).

神乃&Loki~The Cold Shade of Night (4:32)
Was also provided this but it wasn't the original file and did not have the original mp3 tags.

真・女神転生II~戦闘 (Demo 2) (2:07)
In English: Shin Megami Tensei II ~ Battle (Demo 2). Just a demo for Made in Saitama and seems to be two of them.

F-zero〜Big Blue (Demo) (1:25)
Just a song demo for Made in Saitama.

スーパーマリオブラザーズ〜メインテーマ (Demo) (1:27)
Just a song demo for Made in Saitama.

Final Fantasy2〜反乱軍のテーマ (Demo) (1:17)
Just a song demo for Made in Saitama.

You might now be thinking "Enough damn talk. Where are the links?" Well the thing is that my intention for my website from the beginning was to be legit and for informational purposes, not a download free-for-all. I don't think S.S.H. would appreciate if I did that and even if he doesn't mind, if he wanted to spread his old music, he would do it himself. Except he hasn't (apart from the ones on his website right now). I'm afraid I'll have to sit on them for the moment. Also, I doubt I would have received the responses of the two kind strangers above if my approach from the beginning was "I LIKE S.S.H. BUT I AM MISSING A FEW MP3s. I ORDER YOU TO GIVE THEM TO ME NOW." Give a little, take a little, as they say. My actions may or may not be hypocritical but that's the way it goes for now and policies may be subject to change in the future.

To finish off today's post:

Quote:
Originally Posted by gackerjr View Post
I tried to contact him, but no response.
Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
I also tried to contact him by email many years ago (in Japanese, albeit unnatural textbook style Japanese) but for whatever reason, I didn't receive a reply, so that was the end of that.
Actually, that wasn't the only time I tried to contact him.

Quote:
UnFrequently Asked Questions



In the early days of his website, he had a diary/blog section where people could comment on.
One possible translation of my simple message could be: "Hello SSH, how are you? I like your music. [URL of S.S.H. fan group] (Have) a good day!"
And one possible translation of his reply: "Woah!! Thx!! Nice to meet you too. I'll keep trying my best. You have a good one too!"

Looking at it now, why didn't I use the Kanji for music? And also 良い一日を (Have a good day) doesn't exist in natural everyday Japanese. Well, the idea of wishing someone a good day does of course exist, but just not in that specific form. That is simply the literal Japanese translation of the English phrase "have a good day". 良い一日を is what a Japanese person learning English would come up with, for example. But whatever, a decent effort from 10-years-ago-me and as long as the message has been successfully communicated, no matter how unnatural sounding.
Fortunately in this case, I had the foresight to take a screenshot because, and I think I've said this 5 times already, just because something is on the Internet doesn't mean it will always stay there. Fun fact: shortly after I made my comment, his blog was overrun by trolls (I think they were Japanese trolls) and from that point on, he removed the public posting function.

Well then, until next time, adios.
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  #40  
Old Aug 7, 2017, 06:24 AM
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Ahoy thar.

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
He also writes that he wants to "let you know" about "something else", hopefully "within the year", though he is unsure if the "preparations" will be concluded "in time" before the "end of the year".

Needless to say, that is quite vague. I would like to take a guess though. We will refer to S.S.H.'s Twitter account, to a particular tweet: https://twitter.com/SSH_SAITAMA/stat...20388580483073

On the 7th of August 2016, he tweets his regret that he was unable to publish a non-Vocaloid original vocal album during summer (June to August in Japan). Nevertheless, he hopes for an August release (September to November). That obviously didn't happen. The next season is Winter, which covers December to February.

So that's my prediction: a new original album soon from S.S.H. Also, let's look at the release dates of his first original album (Forgotten Ruins in August 2014) and second (Click & Metal in December 2015). If history is of any indication, the time is ripe for a new album late 2016/early 2017.
Well, it's (almost) here. A new original S.S.H. album. Not late 2016, not early 2017, but just past mid-2017. It is called "N.A.V.E." and here is the tracklist:

01 Abyss
02 No Meaning
03 Cradle Song
04 Hellbics 112
05 Disco -Snow Eyes-
06 Jac-A-Jan
07 Moonlit Showdown
08 I Wish
09 Disco -C.A.P-
10 Go Back Home

Some differences with this album:

1) It is, in his words, a "full" as opposed to "mini" album.
2) It is not just instrumental songs - there are a variety of vocal styles.
3) More musical variety/genres in general.
4) No more "main melody"-less tracks.

Some of these songs can be sampled on his Soundcloud.

01 Abyss is a slow Devil May Cry-style gothic song with choir vocals and low key death metal vocals. Death metal vocals will probably be a big part of this album. I recall him using these kind of vocals before so after 5 minutes of searching his musical history, I found one instance of his brief usage of it: 比類無き鯖 ~S.A.V.A.~(2006).

02 No Meaning is a combination of male death metal vocals and female scat vocals that seems to enter yodeling territory. The female part sounds quite similar to "voice performer" Kyoko Kishikawa (Shadow Hearts, Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song, etc) - definitely not a bad thing. Actually he already released the full version of this song elsewhere a few months ago, though the album version might differ.

03 Cradle Song is more death metal plus what appears to sound like screamo.

04 Hellbics 112 has the vocals take a back seat. Some of the instrumentals (e.g. the synth or keyboard) sound like his 10+ years old stuff to be honest.

05 Disco -Snow Eyes-, as the name may imply sounds more pop-ish with female Jpop-style vocals. Honestly, it (the vocals) reminds me of something I heard from the Beatmania franchise music. I don't feel like scouring through it so I'll just leave it at that. Oh and it has saxophones.

06 Jac-A-Jan has female vocals again, and again, also sounds "retro" S.S.H.

That's all for the official samples, but note that he had also already released a 3 minute Work-In-Progress sample of 09 Disco -C.A.P- (may differ from final version) in January. As the name may imply, this song sounds pretty groovy. Also has male vocals.

My favourite thing so far is "No Meaning". Since this album is so vocal-centric, there's not as many lead guitar melody parts so therefore, as an instrumental metal fan, it might take a bit of effort for the album to win me over. In any case, I will reserve judgement until I get the album and give it a proper listen. The album also has liner notes but I'll read it after the proper listen. I will share my thoughts once that has been done.

One final thing - the album title. N.A.V.E. comes from nabe (鍋), or "hot pot". Although it is in the midst of summer in Japan, he nevertheless likes his hot pot, adding whatever vegetables and ingredients he likes - "yum yum... but it's hot". If you follow my site, read the S.S.H. biography, or his twitter, you would know that he loves talking about food, and this album is no exception.

Anyway, this album is his "hot pot" of stuff he likes. And that's all that needs to be said really.

"N.A.V.E." can be pronounced "nah-beh" or "En - Ay - Bee - Ee". You can also read it as "Nayve" in a somewhat cool way. Read it however you wish.ead it as "Nayve" in a somewhat cool way. Read it however you wish.
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  #41  
Old Sep 14, 2017, 12:00 AM
Jace Jace is offline
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Anyone got a mirror on the MIDIs? Bought a MU500 not long ago because of the guitar tones associated with people like SSH and TASMister and I want to study up on the variation and insertion combinations used to achieve the balance that they have.
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Old Oct 5, 2017, 03:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Jace View Post
Anyone got a mirror on the MIDIs? Bought a MU500 not long ago because of the guitar tones associated with people like SSH and TASMister and I want to study up on the variation and insertion combinations used to achieve the balance that they have.
Are there any songs in particular you are after?
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Old Oct 5, 2017, 03:56 AM
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Howdy ho, pardner.

After a long painful wait, a copy of "N.A.V.E." had finally reached my eager hands. After about a week of listening, here are my thoughts and opinions. Any interesting/relevant information from S.S.H.'s song-by-song liner notes will also be translated/paraphrased.

My ratings logic:
0/5 (Little to no musical value)
1/5 (I understand the artist's intentions with this song but it's not for me)
2/5 (Might give it a chance every once in a while/bit of an acquired taste)
3/5 (Average/not amazing, but not bad/mainly just background music/non-active listening)
4/5 (Pretty special, will revisit often)
5/5 (Can't stop listening)

Note: The above ratings are relative to other S.S.H.'s works. They are not being compared with other metal music or other video game music in general.

01. Abyss
My rating: 3/5

My thoughts: As previously stated, it's a Devil May Cry-style song with choirs and a guttural Demon-sounding vocals. I imagine Satan and his army of Hell slowly marching to the Human world. It's more of an intro song with not too much happening and mainly serves to build up to the next track.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: An introduction-style song with both the heavy guitar and incomprehensible low vocals contributing to the solemn atmosphere. That is totally my thing. I imagine this song as being used for the Game Opening or the Trailer. It might be a bit hard to tell from the demo, but as the song progresses, the intruments increase and the volume becomes louder. Also, try increasing the volume at the beginning of the song - you may be a bit surprised.

02. No Meaning
My rating: 5/5

My thoughts: And this track doesn't put the previous build-up to waste. It's in your face in the first second and doesn't let up until the 3:00 minute mark where it takes a break... but only a short one. No Meaning is a combination of male death metal vocals and female scat vocals that seems to enter yodeling territory. The female part sounds quite similar to "voice performer" Kyoko Kishikawa (Shadow Hearts, Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song, etc) - definitely not a bad thing. Both vocals complement each other well instead of detract, and overall doesn't sound overly busy (in terms of keeping track of the instruments as well as both vocals). The important question: who owns the voices? They sound too real to be Vocaloid (though I'm sure Vocaloid technology has improved a lot).

S.S.H.'s liner notes: Slash Metal that I like + mysterious ethnic female vocals. I already published the full version of this song on SoundCloud but I re-recorded it. The Arrange itself is the same as the old version but I completely recreated the sound of the instruments.

03. Cradle Song
My rating: 3/5

My thoughts: Another death metal track similar to the above. I like the backing guitars but overall I'm not really feeling much in this one. The song doesn't seem to be going anywhere, just heading straight ahead, figuratively-speaking.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: Death Pop and Death Catch. It didn't occur to me to write it in particular, but out of this album, this is the one I'm most pleased with, probably. (layzee's note: translation clarification needed)

04. Hellbics 112
My rating: 3/5

My thoughts: A slower-paced song using synth/keyboard and does not have the "hardness" or "darkness" of the previous tracks, pretty laid back actually.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: I originally made this song for when you are "rowing" on an "Aerobike" (layzee's note: I think he is referring to the exercise bikes you find in the gym). Or the Mountain Stage of a game.

(layzee's note: The origins of this song, based on what I understand from this track's liner notes is that, when S.S.H. goes to the gym to work out on the exercise bikes, he would have a playlist of songs from his favourite artists. The problem is that many of the songs raise the "tension" (musical terminology) and does not match the pace at which he exercises. Therefore, the creation of a song that is suitable for exercising to. So he set about finding a suitable tempo: 112 BPM hence the "112" in the track title.)

(layzee's note: and that probably explains the "Hellbics" in the track title - it's probably a combination of "Hell" and "Aerobics".)

(layzee's note: my comprehension and understanding of this track's liner notes might be completely wrong.)

05. Disco -Snow Eyes-
My rating: 2~3/5

My thoughts: It appears to have English language female vocals but I can't really decipher the words. More of a Pop-ish song rather than Death Metal (far from it) and incorporates the saxophone.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: 80’s Respect. I love Rock and Dance music with 80s style synth. If it has some added melancholiness, then it's perfect. The saxophone phrasing took an incredibly long time. And I have never been to a disco.

06. Jac-A-Jan
My rating: 3/5

My thoughts: A mainly synth/keyboard song that uses a similar/the same female vocals from the previous song as well as I believe, acoustic guitar. Also an interesting short chiptune section halfway.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: The track title is read "Jakka Jan" and comes from the acoustic guitar's "Jakka Jan Jakka Jan" sounds. This song is for Stage 1 (or similar) of a Famicom-era Action Game or Shooting Game.

07. Moonlit Showdown
My rating: 5/5

My thoughts: Japanese-style song but straight metal without the traditional Japanese instruments like Shamisen that you might find in other Traditional Japanese/Metal e.g. Momentary Life (Baiken's Theme) from Guilty Gear. Reminds me of the track 荒神 (also by S.S.H.) from the Utatemeguri Original Soundtrack. Anyway, I like. Probably my favourite song of the album, along with No Meaning.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: I thought about naming this song something like "O-CHI-MU-SHA", "WAZAMAE!!", or "Jissai Yasui" but it didn't look right so I stopped. In the beginning, I also thought about inserting a fast solo involving a shamisen but it didn't turn out well at all. In spite of that, I used a Japanese-style fast solo using electric guitar.

08. I Wish
My rating: 4~5/5

My thoughts: In the first few seconds it already has an 80s synth feel (reminds me of the "The Thing" movie, the original one or other movies that try to recreate that aesthetic e.g. "It Follows").

S.S.H.'s liner notes: What I was aiming for was "Gothic Metal with an 80s Melancholy American Hard Rock approach".

09. Disco -C.A.P-
My rating: UNRATED (or 2~3/5)

My thoughts: A bit hard to rate this one because it's different from the rest of the songs (minimal guitars). As implied from the track title, it is groovy, if you're into that style.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: The longest song in this album, many instruments are used, and the style is very different from the rest of the songs. I created this song last year (2016) and uploaded this track to SoundCloud. It remains intact. "-C.A.P-" means Cut (or Copy) And Paste. (layzee's note: in the song creation process, S.S.H. did a lot of C and P, which "took a very long time"). And I have never been to a disco.

10. Go Back Home
My rating: 5/5

My thoughts: A good old S.S.H.-style metal song to finish the album here. No complaints here.

S.S.H.'s liner notes: For this album, I have packed it with everything I wanted to do and so, I am completely satisfied.

Final thoughts: In this album, S.S.H. sets out to head in some new directions (and old ones, for that matter) and that is something that should always be encouraged. Otherwise you end with up Yngwie-syndrome who persists with his 80s musical ways and fashion (though some might see that as a strength). However, inevitably, that means the album might be considered a bit uneven by some so a bit of expectation recalibration might be warranted in this particular case. Having said that, the new stuff here isn't completely new and unheard of. The female vocals we've already heard in S.S.H.'s 2008 "Faraway" (albeit in Vocaloid form), and the electronical music of "Disco -C.A.P-", we've already sort of heard in his 2008 味噌煮込みコンビナート (Miso Nikomi Kombinat), or more recently 官渡 in 2014's Koihime Musou.

As far as vanilla metal goes (e.g. Go Back Home), S.S.H. remains on top of his game and doesn't look like he'll be worn out anytime soon, creatively-speaking. For me however, his previous two albums "Forgotten Ruins" and "Click and Metal" are S.S.H. perfection/near-perfection and would be hard to top. And this album unfortunately doesn't. Nevertheless, N.A.V.E. is worth a purchase, even if a few tracks might be skipped (or listened to less). Also should mention the production values sound pretty damn good, considering it's doujin/fan-made and all. Everything sounds clean and crisp.

Final note: there exists "N.A.V.E. SoundCloud Bonus Tracks" which are Karaoke and minus-main melody versions of 5 of the songs.

Are you an S.S.H. fan? Then buy N.A.V.E.
Are you a video game music fan? Then N.A.V.E. is worth sampling before making a purchase.
Are you a metal fan? Then buy "Forgotten Ruins" and/or "Click and Metal" first. If they are to your liking, then buy N.A.V.E.
Are you none of the above? I'm not sure how you ended up here but thanks for reading.
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Last edited by layzee; Oct 5, 2017 at 03:59 AM.
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  #44  
Old Oct 22, 2017, 08:18 AM
Jace Jace is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
Are there any songs in particular you are after?
Not really any specifically. For example, I have two Ys MIDIs, one for the MU100 and one for MU2000 and I can tell the difference in the level of work alone and it's interesting for example to see how SSH does the riffs with program changes.

It just makes me wonder, I can recognize the Feedback Guitar 2 in a lot of his songs so just how far did he actually push the MU2000 before going raw guitar? I've actually seen other japanese MIDI arrangers copy is HM/HR tactics in their MU2000 arrangements. The level of creativity and the resulting influence is staggering and I just wanted to check it out for myself.
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Old Dec 29, 2017, 08:11 AM
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A post-Christmas present: a new original S.S.H. album titled "This And That". Wasn't expecting another one so soon. Judging from the demos, the overall album is more chill than metal or in S.S.H.'s words "a bit calm". This time there's no vocals (real or artificial) - there wasn't any on the demo songs anyway.

Like N.A.V.E. before it, my full thoughts will come after I get my hands on a copy and give it a proper listen. Track by track analysis as well as a translation/overview of S.S.H.'s liner notes will also be done.

Interesting side note: one of my "useless" facts from my "S.S.H. Biography" turned out to be relevant. Track 6 is called "Highball" and in S.S.H.'s opinion, is the "best tasting drink in the world". The song even sounds like a bar theme - you know, the place where you drink stuff. See also: Front Mission 1st Bar Theme song; Bare Knuckle 2/Streets of Rage 2: Bar Theme; any other Bar Theme songs that I'm forgetting that have "Bar Theme Song Musical Tropes".

The reference for this fun fact comes from the "About" section of S.S.H.'s website. Well, came from. Recently, his website has been going under maintenance/redesign so much stuff has been scrubbed, including the fun fact. But that's why I wrote the biography, right? So information doesn't get lost?
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  #46  
Old Dec 30, 2017, 07:10 PM
Chaosblade Chaosblade is offline
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He's also got another Touhou arrange with Aether at Comiket, Grim Grimoire. I wish they would sell these digitally.

I'll buy This and That if he puts it up on Amazon or the like digitally.

He was also on the Mozell album Banbard with the song Bang!Bang!Banbard!! which seems like a song in the tried and true SSH brand of power metal. I'll probably buy that along with This and That if/when they go up.


I wish he would put the alt/-main medley versions of Click and Metal up too. Those are some of my favorite modern SSH tracks and I really liked those versions from Forgotten Ruins, especially Ninja vs Vampire. That rhythm riff during the chorus is so sick.

Last edited by Chaosblade; Dec 30, 2017 at 07:13 PM.
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Old Jan 1, 2018, 05:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaosblade View Post
He was also on the Mozell album Banbard with the song Bang!Bang!Banbard!! which seems like a song in the tried and true SSH brand of power metal. I'll probably buy that along with This and That if/when they go up.
Thanks for reminding me of Banbard, if went on and then fell of my radar. S.S.H. tweeted about it once but I forgot to add it the the vgmdb database, which I did just now: https://vgmdb.net/album/73908

What's all this mozeen/mozell stuff anyway? It seems like mozeen and Banbard has some connection with doujin PC games so I've classified it as such for now (Game + PC). Speaking of mozeen, I'm still missing S.S.H.'s track from the MOZECON 2 album, only got the demo.


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Originally Posted by Chaosblade View Post
He's also got another Touhou arrange with Aether at Comiket, Grim Grimoire. I wish they would sell these digitally.
I wish eru/S.S.H. would reprint the "Rain Drop" album. It's the only one I'm missing and it's been out of print for ages.

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I wish he would put the alt/-main medley versions of Click and Metal up too. Those are some of my favorite modern SSH tracks and I really liked those versions from Forgotten Ruins, especially Ninja vs Vampire. That rhythm riff during the chorus is so sick.
Last time I checked, the minus main melody tracks are physical only. These no-melody tracks are perfect for guitar practice and for performing live. That's my ultimate goal (to play the main guitar part over the backing instruments) and that's why I'm offering cash for guitar tabs for these particular tracks (see my website).

I don't know what a chorus is and even if I did, I don't know where it is, but I will agree that Forgotten Ruins and Click and Metal is S.S.H. at this best.
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Old Jan 1, 2018, 07:33 PM
Chaosblade Chaosblade is offline
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Agunamonita -202- from MOZECON 2 is on Amazon and maybe some other sites, unless you're looking for the CD for that song. I really like that one.

And 1:09 on Ninja vs Vampire, and it also plays for a lot of the second half of the song where it repeats several times. It's just buried too much by the leads in the full song but so glorious in the minus main medley version.
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Old Feb 3, 2018, 05:24 AM
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layzee layzee is offline
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Agunamonita -202- from MOZECON 2 is on Amazon and maybe some other sites, unless you're looking for the CD for that song. I really like that one.
Finally grabbed both that track and the Ban Ban Banbards! track. They're not top tier S.S.H. for me but more than competent. I like the pre-guitar solo and guitar solo part in Agunamonita -202-.

I got them from Amazon and they're VBR mp3s. Good enough for me.

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Originally Posted by Chaosblade View Post
And 1:09 on Ninja vs Vampire, and it also plays for a lot of the second half of the song where it repeats several times. It's just buried too much by the leads in the full song but so glorious in the minus main medley version.
I see what you mean now, very nice. As far as minus main medley version of his songs are concerned, my favourite is MBT152. The main instrumental is keyboard/synth but the supporting guitar is so damn heavy and meaty. The bass is no slouch either. Love it.
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  #50  
Old Apr 24, 2018, 07:19 AM
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A bit late but here is my review of S.S.H.'s second latest album This And That. But before I do, and as implied by my previous sentence, a new S.S.H. album called YABLE was announced yesterday on his website and a previous announcement the week before via Twitter and Soundcloud.

Here are my thoughts and opinions on This And That. Any interesting/relevant information from S.S.H.'s song-by-song liner notes will also be translated/paraphrased.

My ratings logic:
0/5 (Little to no musical value)
1/5 (I understand the artist's intentions with this song but it's not for me)
2/5 (Might give it a chance every once in a while/bit of an acquired taste)
3/5 (Average/not amazing, but not bad/mainly just background music/non-active listening)
4/5 (Pretty special, will revisit often)
5/5 (Can't stop listening)

Note: The above ratings are relative to other S.S.H.'s works. They are not being compared with other metal music or other video game music in general.

01. Smog And Searchlight
My rating: 3/5
My thoughts: Similar to "Abyss", the first song from the N.A.V.E. album, it's more of an intro song.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: The first song. It has a unsettling and eerie feel to it, like the first song from the previous album.

02. Last Resort '94
My rating: 4/5
My thoughts: A chiptune song. Feels a bit Sega Mega Drive or something from that era. Maybe that's what the 1994 is implying? Actually the instrumentals remind me of Yuzo Koshiro's chiptune music from the Sekaijuu no Meikyuu (AKA Etrian Odyssey) series. Reasonably catchy.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: It is the same as the full song called "Last Resort" that was already released on my SoundCloud. It uses the FM and PCM sound source at the same time and I imagine as being an Arcade shooting game BGM. I think I captured the '94 era spirit somewhat.

03. Speedster
My rating: 4/5
My thoughts: Now we're talking! I like the dark-sounding bass coming at 0:10 and throughout and the guitar solo.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: The loud guitar finally makes its appearance. A song I created from nothing/an empty head, part 1. (layzee's note: I think that's what he meant - he composed a song without using anything as a base/foundation or as inspiration).

04. Washing
My rating: 3/5
My thoughts: Overall a pretty groovy tune with nice bass.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: Shredding the guitar, funky version. The wah wah effects are good, but difficult to handle...

05. Take It Easy
My rating: 2/5
My thoughts: Accurate track title. Hard to explain but it sounds a bit ethnic/folkish to me.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: The unique song in this album. It sounds clear/fresh and might conjure an image of some kind of winter town. I wanted to make a "typical" or "archetypal" BGM so I did. Anyway, when composing the song, I was conscious about not making it flashy. It is difficult to not be flashy... and to not fill the solo with 16th notes... (layzee's note: hah)

06. Highball
My rating: 2/5
My thoughts: Highball is a type of drink (and S.S.H.'s favourite). Naturally, this is a relaxing bar-sounding tune.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: I am wonder if this song is the most different one out of all them? The image is of the Showa era (layzee's note: Showa is a specific period of time in Japan. See wikipedia for more details). "Show-Wa" was a candidate for title of this song. Somehow, I imagined Showa drinking establishment in the city (I have never been to one). The drink's name is Highball. I just like Highballs.

07. Bullseye
My rating: 4/5
My thoughts: The second of the pure metal songs. Not bad but I think it repeats itself a bit and the guitar solo isn't very long.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: A song I created from nothing/an empty head, part 2. Apparently when I compose songs out of nothing, they generally become shooting game BGMs (layzee's note: is Cave hiring?).

08. Chasing
My rating: 2/5
My thoughts: An electronica/techno-ish song.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: Although you can't hear it in the demo, I like the "cracked xylophone" sounds at the beginning of the song so I made a phrase using it and spread it round. In the demo, the arpeggio continues goes from left to right. It was very hard to decide on the title.

09. Hazy Moon
My rating: 3/5
My thoughts: A song that leans toward the sadder side. Decent shredding.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: Shredding the guitar, slightly crying guitar version. I wanted to made the lead guitar sound more "dry" but as I proceeded to do so, the guitar suddenly [layzee's note: dunno] so I abandoned it.

10. 3x4
My rating: 4/5
My thoughts: This is the first song that gives me Yngwie feels (probably the trills).
S.S.H.'s liner notes: Shredding the guitar, shuffle version. I like high-speed shuffling so included one song as such. I think I have done particularly well with the strong neoclassical style guitar and sound creation.

11. Rainy Afternoon
My rating: 3/5
My thoughts: Pretty chill.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: I intended the next song as a bonus track so this song rounds it all off.

12. Last Resort '17
My rating: 4/5
My thoughts: Metal version of Last Resort '94 and a bit more shreddy in parts where there was no shred in the original chiptune. Nice.
S.S.H.'s liner notes: The concept of this song was to arrange "Last Resort '94" using my most recently used sound sources. I thought about extra tracks but it took a terribly long time...

Final thoughts: Out of all his albums so far and possibly his entire career, this is probably the most diverse one yet (in terms of style and instruments) and one most suitable for use as an RPG soundtrack, for example. If you follow S.S.H.'s soundcloud, you would know that he is always experimenting with new things so this album is a result of that.

Of course, we as S.S.H. fans would naturally gravitate towards the guitar tracks and in this regard, it does not disappoint. Note that I have not rated any tracks 5/5. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a standout track to me so far (Moonlit Showdown from the previous album was my standout track). The guitar tracks are nice and consistent but just doesn't seem to have that secret ingredient I feel. My favourite moment is the beginning of the solo in "Speedster". There's nothing wrong with the other tracks and they do their job.

I think I mentioned this before but, like his previous works, the sound quality is quite high considering this is technically a doujin album that does not have the backing, knowledge or equipment of music companies/publishers. It doesn't even have disc label art (like previous albums). It is simply burnt CD and he admits as such.

Overall, I give this album a 3/5.

Finally, turning our attention back to the upcoming release of the mini-album "YABLE", expect the return of vocals (both female and male death metal vocals as heard in N.A.V.E.). As usual, thoughts and opinions will provided when available.
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Last edited by layzee; Apr 24, 2018 at 07:24 AM.
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  #51  
Old Jun 23, 2018, 07:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
Finally, S.S.H. making his own RPG gave me an idea: how about _I_ make an RPG myself, using S.S.H. music as the game's soundtrack?

...

Anyway, the results of my barebones RPG will be uploaded on YouTube within 1 or 2 weeks from now.
...said I, more than one year ago. Since this was low priority on my things to do, it became forgotten. I finally decided to reinstall RPG Maker MV, made a few changes until it was remotely worth making a video for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdrrBw-7It8

If you remember, back in 2016, I released a video combining the Nintendo Famicom game with the soundtrack replaced with the music from S.S.H.'s mini album "Forgotten Ruins": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIqNciUlioE
The RPG Maker video is a similar concept.

Playing with RPG Maker MV was a pretty interesting learning experience, whether it's creating worlds, forming characters, writing a story/dialogue, or, yes, choosing context appropriate music. Not to mention micromanaging party growth stats/enemy strength/magic and skills/experience points/distribution of gold/weapons and armour in a way that is balanced (doesn't make the game too easy nor make the game too hard).

Anyway, I'll just let the video speak for itself. To be honest, despite how incomplete and how amateurish it looks (i.e. using the game's original assets), I still think it's cool somehow. Also let me know if you have any questions about it or any requests. Requests could be like, "I want to use this particular S.S.H. song in a fire-themed dungeon" or whatever. Who knows, I might actually do it.

In other news, my S.S.H. album collection photos have been updated again and my opinions on the new "YABLE" mini album in a post in the near future. As for S.S.H.'s own game, I believe he is still working on it.
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  #52  
Old Aug 15, 2018, 04:32 AM
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ilef ilef is offline
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Always nice to see someone else playing around with RPG Maker… In case you'll ever feel like pursuing that "hobby", I advice against using RPG Maker MV: it has memory leak issues - games will likely crash when things like big filesize/custom scripts/extended playtime are involved.
Much safer to stick to other versions of RPG Maker, for the time being (RTP files can be freely — and legally downloaded, anyway).
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  #53  
Old Aug 15, 2018, 07:53 AM
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Always nice to see someone else playing around with RPG Maker… In case you'll ever feel like pursuing that "hobby", I advice against using RPG Maker MV: it has memory leak issues - games will likely crash when things like big filesize/custom scripts/extended playtime are involved.
Much safer to stick to other versions of RPG Maker, for the time being (RTP files can be freely — and legally downloaded, anyway).
Yes, two big issues with RPG Maker MV did occur from my experience and probably because of your mentioned memory leak:

1. Music delay (e.g. depending on how big the music file is, it takes a few seconds for the music to start playing every time a battle starts or enter a new area etc). I think it's because MV is optimised for short(er) music with smaller file sizes and is not good at handling like, 4-5+ minute tunes.
2. The game crashing or the screen stays black with the music playing when I'm grinding battles for EXP. This problem may be linked to the previous point.

The problems seem to go away or is not as bad if I use different computers so it may be a hardware or software configuration issue too.

Anyway having said that, my new hobby for now is uploading Rocksmith game music playthroughs to my YouTube channel so I probably won't making any updates to my S.S.H. game in the near future.

Also, while I'm here making this post, letting you folks know that there's yet another Touhou arrange album and a new S.S.H. mini-album. Check S.S.H.'s profile page here on vgmdb for more details.
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  #54  
Old Jan 26, 2019, 09:40 PM
Chaosblade Chaosblade is offline
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His new album Welcome to the Psy-tama seems like a return to form after Yable-Kable, which I wasn't a big fan of. Hopefully it hits US digital storefronts, want to give him my money for this one. As a 5 track mini-album, he might wait and until he has 5 more tracks to sell it as a 10 track album, like Yable-Kable and Forgotten Ruins+Click and Metal.

https://soundcloud.com/ssh_saitama/w...-psy-tama_demo

The Touhou stuff remains solid, but at this point I can only get so enthused about more Touhou arranges. Him and Eru are both awesome, wish they would branch back out into different games again.

And oddly, his previous albums seem to be gone off Amazon. N.A.V.E., This and That and Forgotten Ruins/Click and Metal are all gone. Only Yable-Kable and some singles appear to be available now.

Last edited by Chaosblade; Jan 26, 2019 at 09:44 PM.
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  #55  
Old Jan 27, 2019, 09:38 AM
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layzee layzee is offline
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I've been a bit busy recently so I was a bit behind on my S.S.H. related matters (see next post).

I still need to give both KABLE and YABLE a track-by-track review but like the previous album before them, I listen to some tracks while skipping others.

I've given the WELCOME TO THE PSY-TAMA demo a listen and I can't say I have any complaints. Proper review will come when I'm ready.

In a Twitter post, S.S.H. said that the last track of that album "CRYING CITY PSY-TAMA" is possibly the best guitar-based he's done so I guess I'll look forward to that. In addition, while stating that he wishes he could play that song himself, he remarks that he hasn't changed his guitar strings in over a year. I think this is actually the first time I have heard him mention anything about his guitar or anything about playing a guitar. It seems like most of the time, he talks about audio and musical software (and minor things like the weather, his health, and food i.e. typical Twitter stuff).

As far as the Touhou stuff is concerned, as a non-fan, it's hard to get into it for me. If I do listen to S.S.H.'s Touhou, it would be the older stuff (I still think the rap metal is a stroke of genius). Also I have to say, they are terribly consistent with their Touhou releases: they always get released at the end of the year.

Not sure what's going on Amazon download wise.

Finally a few more things that probably went under most people's radar:

He contributed a song to https://vgmdb.net/album/81197 and 萃星霜 弐 東方 Compilation CD-BOOK. My review when I get a hold of them.
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  #56  
Old Jan 27, 2019, 10:01 AM
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Some news about the going-ons with my S.S.H. website. And we have one big piece of news:

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
2. Pre-2012 website/website posts: Are they retrievable? (high priority).
to

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
3. Pre-2012 website/website posts: Are they retrievable? 2018: Yes they are. (high priority).
I'm not well-versed in website-creation, but I believe that S.S.H. has a "spider" on his website, and that prevents other people from archiving his website and probably causes problems to website-archiving software. In the past, I have checked the Website Archive website but I was never successful in viewing his old website (pre-2012) or any version for that matter.

Well, thanks to a user here (forgot username) who informed me a few months ago, one is now able to view his old website which also includes his diary/blog. If you dig deep enough, you'll even find my username and my short interaction with him. It's as if I wrote something in wet cement and it has stayed there since then. Furthermore, we even get a small glimpse of his even older version of the website (2000 or so). This is Internet archaelogy folks.

Anyway, I've already painstakingly looked through each revision and saved the interesting bits and I will personally archive them on my own website. I will translate the interesting bits (most of which will go in the biography) and the raw material will be presented in a more cohesive way. Like a history book or museum something. Therefore:

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
12. Go through the archives and archive the archives onto my website. (WIP%).
Speaking of the biography:

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
9. Fix up the superscript footnotes etc in the text/webpage i.e. cosmetic issues (low priority).
to:

Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee
9. Fix up the superscript footnotes etc in the text/webpage i.e. cosmetic issues (medium priority).
I plan on updating S.S.H.'s biography page but before I do so I'd like to fix up some of the citations/footnotes. My original file is a Microsoft Word file but I've been trying to work out if there's a way to have multiple sections in the main text to point to a single footnote citation. For example, I would like to do this:

layzee is a human[1]. His hobbies include watching cat videos[2] and listening to music[1].

[1] layzee's mum (2018). "Things I hate". layzee's mom's blog Retrieved 2019, January 1.
[2] Reporter Guy (2019). "All About layzee, The New Independent Presidential Candidate". Fox News Retrieved 2019, January 28.

So using the example above, two items (i.e. "I am a human" and "I listen to music") cites a single source, that is [1] my mum. In the actual S.S.H. bio, the first [1] is a clickable citation and the second [1] is a red "1". I would like both of them to be clickable hyperlinks. Do y'all know how to do it? If all else fails, I'll just remove all the hyperlinks and just use standard text.
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  #57  
Old Jan 28, 2019, 10:53 PM
Chaosblade Chaosblade is offline
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Psychedelic City is my favorite track of the five. I get a lot of F-Zero GX vibes from various parts of the song. Really like that "dirty electronic" vibe, and the bass fill later in the song is right up my alley.

The guitar tone in Crying City is great. Song itself is good, but I wouldn't have it in the running for my top 10 SSH songs or anything. After more listening to the mini-album, "average SSH work" is probably how I'd classify it. Which is good and enjoyable throughout, but just doesn't stand out among his work as a whole.

Off the top of my head I'd probably say:

1. Forgotten Ruins/Click and Metal
2. N.A.V.E.
3. This and That
4. Welcome to the Psy-tama
5. Yable-Kable

2 and 3 are pretty interchangeable though.

Last edited by Chaosblade; Jan 28, 2019 at 10:56 PM.
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  #58  
Old Apr 1, 2019, 01:52 PM
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Hi does anyone know where i can find midis by SSH? Ive used the wayback machine and been able to get a few off his old website but have been unable to find anymore.
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Old Apr 1, 2019, 02:13 PM
Jace Jace is offline
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Hi does anyone know where i can find midis by SSH? Ive used the wayback machine and been able to get a few off his old website but have been unable to find anymore.
I've found a decent amount since I last posted on here, put them up to share with people Here
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Old Apr 24, 2019, 03:19 AM
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Thank you Jace this is a good find! If anyone else has any could you please share them here as i am planning to do something very special with them.
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