The real.

Wow this post is LOADED..

I have a few things I would like to discuss with you, internets. I have recently come to the conclusion that Syu from Galneryus, Aushvitz and Animetal is the best guitarist in Japanese rock music. I don't particularly like Animetal or Galneryus but I respect them both for having great musicians. Aushvitz on the other hand is actually considered a visual band, and I love it.. It's like just as intense as Galneryus but really damn dark and about subsequently much more unhappy subjects (this is a video of Syu playing at a Galneryus gig).

In other news, I mentioned something earlier in this blog (not this post tho) about D would become really big if they went major.. And just a few weeks ago D went major~ HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!!!

Also Lynch. put out a PV finally, it's called 'Adore' and only watch it in high quality otherwise it looks awful. I really like the song and the PV is freakin cool too. (Sorry I can't find it in higher quality ;_;)

My last order of business is to make a PREDICTION.

I have been informed that both Goatbed and Lab. The basement are disbanding, these bands holding the majority of Cali=Gari's band members. Kenjirou (the bassist) is the only one who is not in a disbanding group.. He's playing support bass for Coaltar of the Deepers XD!!

Anyhow following some kind of logic, all these former Cali=Gari members going back into circulation PROBABLY = reformation of Cali=Gari. Which I would like to see nothing more than. For me this is like a ZOMG thing. <3

Next post you get the first 2 episodes of my Podcast :D

Neo-Visual!?

Well I can't say I have anything to do with the Japanese writing about 'Neo-Visual' bands, but I started using this term about 3 years ago specifically for the bands Girugamesh and Sadie which at the time were very new. While not exactly a genre, its more of a generation of bands. I'd say as a general rule of thumb (though not 100% of the time) Neo-Visual bands were formed after 2001.

If that is a bit vague, I will explain what Neo-Visual is REALLY supposed to mean: A generation of visual band, usually out of Tokyo, directly influenced by visual bands (indie and major) that came directly before them ~1996-1999. One quality many of these bands share is having more substance, full-bodied sound and often more bass driven than their predecessors. My favorite examples are bands like Dio and -Oz- and SKULL, but also refer to bands as far back as Kagerou, the Gazette and even Kagrra. Many people refer to Neo-Visual as 'New School Visual Kei"

For example think of the difference (or similarities) between Dir en grey from Kisou and Sadie. Of course half of the Japanese bands around today roadie'd for Dir en grey.. I think a great many of these bands were also took notes from whatever American hardcore and metal bands, trying to sound much more western than older visual bands.

Sorry I can't give you a simple answer for 'what is NeoVK?' but.. it's a very complex and amorphous place. ;D

Still kicking.

What's up internets? Long time no see.. I don't have a whole lot to say, but there have been some really noteworthy releases appearing from various bands..



Recently these bands have been on my mind and playlists a lot.



The Studs



UnsraW



Sadie



Deadman



BUG



BLAST



Coaltar of the Deepers



CROWS



D



Deathgaze



Sel'm



Meth.



Dio



GULLET (and now 9GOATS BLACK OUT)



and always MUCC



Check these out.. you won't be unhappy. As long as you like it hard ;D



I was recently given the opportunity to do some work on a radio show, playing Jrock and this gave me the idea to make a Podcast weekly so people can check out whats new, whats good and whats hella classic.



I will have more information on this shortly.

Bear with me my lovely readers~

Sexy~

OK! Finally some noteworthy news!

Sex Machineguns is back! With an all new lineup that will be announced on Oct. 26th, a new single which will be available by download only, called Jacky, coming out on Nov. 2nd!

I can't wait to hear this, and I'm always surprised by who Anchang can dig up for his totally rad band. These guys have real life heavy metal power!

Hora is coming out with a 2 disc album this November, I seem to really enjoy his stuff, more than Kaya's anyway I hope it's very industrial XD.

Girugamesh is going to be putting out a self titled album (first REAL album?) with 10 or 13 tracks depending on the version you buy. This one is coming on Dec. 26th. I have come to REALLY enjoy and respect this band so hopefully this album will kick some major ass.

And one of the most exciting things I've seen in a while; MACHINE is putting out a new single called Ooh Yeah, on November 21st! It seems like November is gonna be big this year~

I love MACHINE and I can't wait to see what kind of craziness they are gonna drop next.

I'll keep ya up to date~

What's up?

Holy crikey, I won't even try to excuse myself from NOT posting recently.. Honestly though, I've had pretty much nothing to write about in the Japanese Rock world. A new Buck-Tick album, some new Sadie, UnsraW, leeching older music from friends.. but nothing new has caught my ear.

I do however have something I'd like to discuss; Visual Kei. Sounds intense huh?

Well, Visual Kei is somewhat of a super genre, encompassing every band who wants to have a strong appearance. Can that be a music genre? If it's defined by the appearance and not the music? I don't think it could be, BUT most bands have musical elements in common; most are rock bands, usually on the harder side with a similar set of vocal styles, and chord progression.

But wait! What about bands that are NOTHING like 99% of the other visual bands? Guniw Tools for instance, when I was in Japan last month I asked if the record shop I was at had Coaltar of the Deepers, and he said 'no, they aren't visual kei, but I like them', and when I asked if they had Guniw Tools he said 'no, they ARE visual kei, but it's been out of print for years'. I had NO idea that Guniw Tools was considered visual, I mean it seems obvious to me looking at it now, but I really thought of it more as Full's art project than a 'band'.

TO BE CONTINUED..

A trip.

So I just got back from a successful business trip to my favorite country ;D JAPAN. I kicked all kinds of ass, met lots of people and networked my little ass off.

Not much news on the music front, as apparently even being a few weeks behind on whats really going on in the Jrock scene, I was still way ahead of everyone over there haha.. Towards the end of my trip I went to see a show in Saitama at HEAVENS ROCK, which is a nice little livehouse near one of the Saitama-city stations (not sure exactly which one >_>;) I was speaking to the manager about my endeavors and he was extremely impressed with my knowledge but he also told me I was crazy because I knew more than pretty much anyone he knows.

At this live show, which lasted close to 5 hours, we saw bis, MaveRick, meth., Scar., Sel'm, Like absolute myself, Wednesday and heidi. The only 2 bands I was previously familiar with their music were bis and Sel'm, but I had heard of all of the others except Like absolute myself. It was really full of oldschool visual-kei goodness, which is exactly what the doctor ordered ;D

bis- was pretty crappy live, they sounded like they were trying to be extra punky, but the band members were making all kinds of mistakes, and they only played one song I knew hah.

MaveRick- kicked probably the most ass out of all the performers, they were obviously a very small/new/super indie band that I found out later is from Nagoya <3 But these guys honestly had their act together REALLY well, every band member did their part, none tried to steal the show and it was just really fun and pleasant to listen to, I didnt want it to end ;_;

meth.- we got to the show right as meth. (which was the first band up) was starting their set, and let me tell you, GOOD first impression, if they had fucked up or been crappy, I probably would have enjoyed the entire show much less than I did. meth.'s music is good, hard, fast and no bullshit, just enjoyable VK awesomeness.

Scar. - didnt leave much of an impression on me.. but I can say it was enjoyable, but unfortunately there was nothing that really stuck out for me.

Sel'm - was definitely the most popular band that played at the show, I knew a few of the songs, but again there is nothing about Sel'm that really stands out for me... The drummer looked like he belonged in Girugamesh though.. There was a high amount of talent present from these guys, everyone doing their job well, and a large amount of presence. Both meth. and Like absolute myself came into the venue to watch when Sel'm came on.. but again, I really wasn't that impressed.

Like absolute myself - these guys put on the weakest set in the show.. I really didnt enjoy the music very much. I have a feeling that this was one of their first live events and they are pretty much super indies n00b band, however the band members approached me and we talked about music a little bit, they were really nice so I have nothing bad to say about the band itself, I really hope they continue making music, growing as a band and get a large fanbase :D

Wednesday - This band was so cracked out, I really had no idea what was going on, everyone was dressed up in Psycho le Cemu-esque outfits doing really strange crap and confusing the hell out of me, honestly though, I can say I completely enjoyed it, they were so bizarre and crowd surfing and the drummer looked like a cross between a dog and boy george. Everyone in the band, despite the massive costumes they were wearing, performed very well with music that I enjoyed quite a bit.

heidi. - wow.. heidi. was probably the best performance of the night, with meth., MaveRick and Wednesday just slightly behind, but in no particular order hah. There were more males that came to see heidi. than any of the other bands, besides the band members who were watching Sel'm (it was like 95% girls 5% boys for basically the whole show) Now, I was impressed like hell by heidi.'s guitarrist (Nao) who i would say is on par with Aie from Deadman and Miya from MUCC, which is saying something, I was mesmerized by his playing. heidi. is 2 ex-members from Kalimero (one of them being Nao) But in any case, heidi.'s live was even better than their recorded material, which impresses the hell out of me.


I highly recommend giving heidi., MaveRick, meth., and Wednesday a try if you havent already, in the oldschool visual rock tradition, these bands kicked some MAJOR ass, leaving me with a greater appreciation for the current generation of musicians. <3

Fresh!

OK.. Sorry I haven't been writing much recently, I have been busy getting ready for my trip over to Japan later this month! As a few of you know, I will be (at some point) opening a live house in either Tokyo or Nagoya, and this trip is basically just preliminary scouting, I have a number of contacts that I will be speaking with while I'm over there and meeting with people who might also help my cause ;D

Now for the real stuff..

Recently I have been enjoying BLOOD STAIN CHILD quite a bit, their album IDOLATOR will be released here in the States later this summer, I definitely suggest giving it a listen. BLOOD STAIN CHILD is a fairly old band, they play what they call "Melodic Death Metal" which I suppose isn't too far from the truth, to me it sounds more like Alternative Metal, mixed with some Trance and electronic elements, which honestly fuse to become some of the most enjoyable and unique music I have heard in months.

Even more recently.. I obtained the new COALTAR OF THE DEEPERS album "Yukari Telepath". COALTAR OF THE DEEPERS has been around since 1991 which makes them one of the oldest Japanese rock bands that still exist today, (Buck-Tick has been around since 1987 congrats to them on 20 years!) COALTAR OF THE DEEPERS is classified as Shoegaze, which I had never heard of before I started listening to them, Shoegaze is a type of alternative rock that was started in the 80's by English bands, and was named because of the bands tendency of not moving around during performances and 'gazing at their shoes. Yukari Telepath is EXCELLENT, it's mostly electronic music with distorted guitars and Nackie's cracked out voice, in one song he will sound like a girl and the next song he will be screaming like the vocalist of a grindcore band. The music is very calming, and works very well for me as music I have on while I sleep or while I am doing something else on my computer.. overall it is really a great album!

By the way guys I plan to post more and hopefully I can write some blogs while I'm in Japan too :D