Blush
Issue #1
Draculina Publishing
-im [[blush]]
I’m not generally a big fan of glam or metal, but if it’s Japanese glam and metal mixed with punk, then I’m there. Blush is a new magazine devoted to the small fringe of Japanese punk, metal, goth, and glam bands. Granted, I’ve heard of very few of the bands featured, but I enjoyed the magazine due to the writing, which leans toward the fannish, but isn’t obnoxious about it, and some really nice photography. I’m not sure if the photos are done by Blush or provided by the bands (the latter, I suspect), but it still makes for a nice looking book. Girls (or are they boys? Gender bending androgyny seems to be a running theme, and frankly it gets hard to tell the boys from the girls) with bandaged faces and bands dressed in leather, vinyl, and Nazi attire fill the pages of band profiles, interviews, CD reviews, and demo reviews. Bands like Shulla, Marry+An+Blood, and other Visual Kei bands put Poison, Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson to shame in the theatricality department, or at least in the hair and make-up department. Blush is a great primer to these bands and even has an introduction to Visual Kei. I would love to see future issues spread out from such a heavy dose of glam to also cover more straight punk bands.
Draculina Publishing, PO Box 587, Glen Carbon, IL 62034
