Genre: metal, visual kei Song style: a metal-ish ballad
I like the aesthetics of this video, and it's refreshing to hear the heavy guitars. Dunno much about the band though I've been exposed plenty to their guitarist Aoi, who attempted a solo career, and was a big draw for my sister a year ago. They seem pretty solid though and pretty masculine despite the makeup. Not quite in the mood for music at the moment (though gonna go see Miyavi tomorrow!) but thought I should post something since it's been a while.
Genre: metal, visual kei Song style: frantic and high-paced with a lot of style-switching
So looking at the past two posts, one would think Kyoto is all about happy beautiful reminiscing upon a landscape. But no, Kyoto is a source of a lot of styles of talent, and here is one example. The vocalist of the band Sadie is from Kyoto (definitely met some guys like this while I was there...) and the other band members are from around the Kansai area as well. I like seeing Japanese bands that are willing to become heavy and edgy like this, it really adds some masculinity to the makeup. I'll be in Japan a month from today!!
Genre: visual kei, metal elements Song style: really "goth" - heavy guitars + harpsichord + hissing and singing vocals
I have to say this was one of my first conscious exposures to Japanese rock music (and possibly a stereotypical one). In 2001 for my first time in Japan (I was like 14 years old!) I ran across a magazine ad with these guys and I thought they looked pretty awesome... so I looked into their music and liked what I heard! Combinations of heavy discordant guitars and melodic singing really draws me in. This group is now defunct (sadly happened the same year I discovered them), but it used to have the now-uber-famous Gackt as its lead vocalist. Here, the band is headed by their last singer, Klaha (I wonder what happened to him?) It also has the famous crossdresser Mana pretending to play the violin, who frequently models for goth fashion magazines. I was never really a goth person but can understand why people might like the effect or the music. But don't be fooled into thinking this is all Japanese rock has to offer! It's just an interesting extra facet that we don't too frequently see in America these days (though even saying that, these guys are pretty old news now).
Genre: noise rock, experimental, metal, punk, eletronic Song style: metal guitars + electronic backing + punk vocals
What a memorable band. Someone long ago introduced them to me, and now they are both gone. And soon I will be gone from here, as I have just turned in my senior project, phew. This band has gained international recognition for their unique style that combines elements of electronic music, punk, and metal. Unfortunately they're on long-term hiatus since 2006, and it is difficult to say if we will ever hear from them again. Their music videos are always very creepy or bizarre (this one is just trippy) and their sound is fairly constant across tunes. I'm in the mood for something cathartic like this where you can just let out your craziness.
Genre: hard rock, metal-ish Song style: sounds like Utada Hikaru went metal
So did any of you see this group play at Sakura-con a couple of days ago in Seattle? I don't know much about this band and they haven't had any new releases since 2008, but I think they're a very respectable heavy group. I think the female vocalist is very talented. The band is still pretty underground (I mean look at the quality of their music videos) but deserve more appreciation. Today I woke up and felt so peaceful and loved. (And no, no one was there or anything!!) Hope you all feel that same feeling sometime this week as the weather becomes more beautiful and the cherry blossoms reach their peak.
Genre: metal Song style: pretty heavy with a lot of screaming, a slight punk twist
I remember a couple of years ago watching some random show I saw recommended by some random person, and then this song came on as the theme and wow! It's pretty typical metal but it was a breath of fresh air amongst all the poppily-produced music around tv shows in Japan. It accompanied a great show - The Quiz Show, about a Who Wants to be a Millionaire type show that gradually exposes its contestants' corrupt lives through its questions. I highly recommend you watch the original one (because the new one with Arashi members is overly long, boring, and has terrible acting). Pay money to my pain has a very American feel - all their lyrics are in English and they have a metal / punk mix reminiscent of American metal bands like Trivium. I recommend you check out their other songs which are slightly more melodic.
Genre: visual-kei, metal Song style: catchy, swingy, and heavy
My sister discovered this band when she got into Japanese visual-kei/metal over last winter while visiting me in Japan. I have to say, I don't know ScReW's other songs at all, but this one is really catchy (I love the heavy guitars). Just now while writing this, I'm checking out their other songs on Youtube and I like the groove that they have, the guitars are really exciting. Great way to celebrate finally getting my computer working again! Going to Boston this weekend to see my sister's band play in some battle of the bands. So this goes out as an ode to sisters. Hopefully will be able to update tomorrow but not sure.
Genre: metal Song style: heavy, with generic male shouting interspersed with female singing.
I have to say, I don't like this song that much. High and Mighty Color is an interesting band that sometimes has interesting ideas, but also often comes out as generic pop-ish metal. The female vocalist changed within the past two years, and this is the first (and I believe only) single that has come out with their new female vocalist. While I feel like I like their older stuff more, I like this gal's image (more streamlined, less cutesy). Anyways, this is the current sound of High and Mighty Color, to follow up on my previous post about their show in Seattle!
Hands down my favorite Japanese band for the past 2 years...
9mm Parabellum Bullet - Supernova
Genre: according to Wikipedia Japan, hardcore punk, heavy metal, and emo. I would also add in post-hardcore Song style: heavy yet very melodic, fatalistic
This band has just really blown me away. It has been so hard for me to wait this long to make a post about them. I discovered them walking around on the streets one day and seeing a music video advertisement. I'm sure all you music lovers go through phases in your life defined by one main band (like for me, middle school was Korn, high school was half Nine Inch Nails, half Muse, etc). My life right now is 9mm Parabellum Bullet. Their extremely intricate guitar parts and effective mix of melody-driven vocals but intermittent screaming makes the band so fresh. The singer has a voice very unique to Japanese music, yet the melodies are all something you would never find in America. They started out pretty unknown, but in the recent couple of months have gained huge popularity, their singles constantly making it into the top ten. Their heavy touring also generates a strong fan following. I saw them almost exactly a year ago in Kyoto in a small club. Though the venue was small, it was the first concert where I couldn't see the band at all and instead watched their reflection on a shiny poster.
Another thing that really stands out for me is their beautiful, cryptic lyrics. Check out the English translation for this song thanks to this site and some editing from me:
When I embraced the 100,000 degree sun My mind became a desert And every time the chilling wind blew through my head The rain drops of my tears glistened
With just the touch of my fingertip
Maybe everyone’s hearts fall apart without making a sound I won’t gather those pieces even if they get scattered What was I looking at beyond the full moon? A sea of broken stars
If I want to help that girl Who embraced my 100,000 degree body
With just the touch of my fingertip Only a scar is opened
I won’t forget the things I burned in order to shine Even if it all falls apart
Was I looking at the darkness beyond the full moon? A sea of broken stars
Maybe everyone’s hearts fall apart without making a sound I won’t gather those pieces even if they get scattered Beyond the full moon, beyond the full moon Was god watching from beyond the full moon?
Genre: nu metal Song style: very heavy, mix of metal, rap, punk elements with male & female vocals
Long long ago, I used to be a big metal fan and so here is some recent crazy Japanese nu-metal to bring a mix to this blog (also was requested by a friend!) I remember going on a long 5-hour road trip along the East Coast (of the US) with my family and being surprised to hear Maximum the Hormone (MTH) come onto the radio after some very tame light-fare pop music. Turns out someone in my family used extra gift card money to buy a random CD and wow were they surprised (hehe)!
I am very impressed with MTH's variety of talents which lets them mix different styles (3 people in the band do vocals!). Tempos and styles often switch within one song, and the quirky lyrics also up the intrigue-factor. I don't recommend this band for deep introversion or those with more melodic upbringings. Unfortunately this band is temporarily out of circuit, with one singer recently undergoing throat surgery (the sad fate of many metal artists...) and the drummer getting pregnant. However, this band has been achieving a lot of success (Their video 爪爪爪 actually won MTV Rock Video of 2009, random!) and hopefully will keep churning along their high-energy stuff.
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