Japanese rock and pop music (aka J-Rock/J-Pop)

[PetFish]

Thanks, Ben, I checked it out and although I like the music I just can't handle when the vocals are screamo 90% of the time. 

[lonestar]

Got my tickets for Band-Maid today, so in a week span I'll be seeing Nemophila at Aftershock, then Band-Maid at a small 1000 person venue in San Francisco. Gonna be dope as fuck. 

[TAC]

Got my tickets for Band-Maid today, so in a week span I'll be seeing Nemophila at Aftershock, then Band-Maid at a small 1000 person venue in San Francisco. Gonna be dope as fuck. 

それは素晴らしいですね!

 

[lonestar]

Waking up still in disbelief at how amazing BAND-MAID was. 16 song set, relentlessly firing from one song to the next. Musically, they were as tight as any band I've ever seen on all fronts, especially vocalist Saiki, not a single flaw in her performance. And holy shit were they charming and engaging with the audience, like this moment where we all sang bassist Misa happy birthday after her 'opening ceremony' ...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GqLbGT8MIg&ab_channel=RJDunn


I know the rest of the US tour is pretty much sold out, but if you have the time and means, do not miss this show.

[Anguyen92]

Too bad the LA show has resale tickets at $150.00 min. and it's been that way since the tour was announced.  I wished there was an upgrade in venue size from the Belasco to something like the Wiltern so that the resale prices can be more reasonable to consider.

[lonestar]

Too bad the LA show has resale tickets at $150.00 min. and it's been that way since the tour was announced.  I wished there was an upgrade in venue size from the Belasco to something like the Wiltern so that the resale prices can be more reasonable to consider.

I paid 170 for my ticket. Dudes in line said most of the shows sold out in less than an hour.

[Anguyen92]

So I didn't end up fishing for a ticket for Band Maid.  It was raining yesterday, so I was not going to bother driving to Downtown LA at all.

I do have an eye at wanting to see One Ok Rock at Hollywood Palladium on Thursday.  They recently released a new album.  Might as well listen to that, as they seem to be favoring that album on their current tour.

[lonestar]

Asterism dropped this last night, and showed that they definitely a force to be reckoned with... The amount of talent in these kids is fucking unbelievable, and Hal-Ca is hands down the best young guitarist out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZXNSZAYiI8&ab_channel=ASTERISM

[lonestar]

So it seems legendary producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, Thin Lizzie, Gentle Giant, Moody Blues, etc) went to the BAND-MAID show in NY (he produced one of their songs), and had this to say...

The fantastic Band-Maid played in Irving Plaza last night. Guitarist Miku Kobato plays a metal topped Zemaitis 6-string guitar on stage. I brought my 50-year old vintage 12-string to their sound check for her to try out. I believe this is the only one of its kind. She just handed it to lead guitarist Kanami Tono who proceeded to shred on it, trying out the tonal settings. They were thrilled to see and play it but the string action was too high to play it in the show. The guitar has Tibetan religious symbols engraved on the metal top. When the guitar was being made George Harrison popped in to have Tony Zemaitis build a new 6-string and wanted the same top as mine. About the show - they delivered! It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen!/quote]


Serious respect from the highest of places...Here's video of Kanami playing his priceless guitar...

https://www.facebook.com/tony.visconti1/videos/2346324638855142/

[lonestar]

This one came across my feed from a fellow J-metal fan...very promising, with a debut album on the horizon...

Lonesome_Blue- Face the Fear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My6iSPBl4&ab_channel=Lonesome_Blue

[twosuitsluke]

Anyone heard of Ningen Isu? Discovered them this week, great band!

https://youtu.be/CbI79e5iZKs

[Azyiu]

Anyone heard of Ningen Isu? Discovered them this week, great band!

https://youtu.be/CbI79e5iZKs

I heard their name a few years ago on NHK World, but I think this is the first time I listen to their songs. Damn! You are right, they sound pretty damn good, and I love the arrangement of the song too. I also love the raw tone by the SG. What are some of their better songs? I think I will buy the mp3 files on MORA.

[twosuitsluke]

Anyone heard of Ningen Isu? Discovered them this week, great band!

https://youtu.be/CbI79e5iZKs

I heard their name a few years ago on NHK World, but I think this is the first time I listen to their songs. Damn! You are right, they sound pretty damn good, and I love the arrangement of the song too. I also love the raw tone by the SG. What are some of their better songs? I think I will buy the mp3 files on MORA.

I only discovered them this week. I've listened to three albums. The album this song is from is my favourite, by quite some way. Maybe check out the album. It's called Shin Seinen I think, if you look on Spotify they're all in Japanese though. It's the 2019 release.

[lonestar]

Anyone heard of Ningen Isu? Discovered them this week, great band!

https://youtu.be/CbI79e5iZKs

I like it, nice industrial vibe going on there.

[lonestar]

New band Lonesome_Blue released their debut Second to None this week. This album is infectious as fuck...to me they kind of scratch that itch between Band-Maid and Lovebites. Solid complex rock, with  some serious power metal riffage mixed in, and a vocalist who not only is clean and powerful, but also sings in good legible English on top of Japanese, her annunciation is almost perfect. Definitely worth a listen...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My6iSPBl4

[EPICVIEW]

New band Lonesome_Blue released their debut Second to None this week. This album is infectious as fuck...to me they kind of scratch that itch between Band-Maid and Lovebites. Solid complex rock, with  some serious power metal riffage mixed in, and a vocalist who not only is clean and powerful, but also sings in good legible English on top of Japanese, her annunciation is almost perfect. Definitely worth a listen...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My6iSPBl4

I think I like this... wait....I do like this... now Im a proud groupie : )

[lonestar]

New band Lonesome_Blue released their debut Second to None this week. This album is infectious as fuck...to me they kind of scratch that itch between Band-Maid and Lovebites. Solid complex rock, with  some serious power metal riffage mixed in, and a vocalist who not only is clean and powerful, but also sings in good legible English on top of Japanese, her annunciation is almost perfect. Definitely worth a listen...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My6iSPBl4

I think I like this... wait....I do like this... now Im a proud groupie : )

They're seriously catchy, and the album is definitely all killer, no filler

[ariich]

New band Lonesome_Blue released their debut Second to None this week. This album is infectious as fuck...to me they kind of scratch that itch between Band-Maid and Lovebites. Solid complex rock, with  some serious power metal riffage mixed in, and a vocalist who not only is clean and powerful, but also sings in good legible English on top of Japanese, her annunciation is almost perfect. Definitely worth a listen...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My6iSPBl4

I wasn't sold on first listen, apart from the last track which is insanely catchy. Thought maybe it was a little straightforward but without strong enough hooks to make it interesting. But on second listen a good number of the songs felt much more enjoyable so I think this could indeed be another strong band, especially considering this is their debut (took Lovebites a few albums to consistently write good hooks!).

I've also started checking out Band-Maid, but they're not winning me over yet. I've only tried World Domination so far as it's their best rated on RYM. Similar to the above it's a little middle-of-the-road but the hooks in terms of both riffs and vocal lines aren't really grabbing me so far (although the opening track is excellent). This is only one album though - are there any fans here who'd recommend a different one to check out?

[jingle.boy]

New band Lonesome_Blue released their debut Second to None this week. This album is infectious as fuck...to me they kind of scratch that itch between Band-Maid and Lovebites. Solid complex rock, with  some serious power metal riffage mixed in, and a vocalist who not only is clean and powerful, but also sings in good legible English on top of Japanese, her annunciation is almost perfect. Definitely worth a listen...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My6iSPBl4

It was definitely worth the listen.

[lonestar]

New Nemophila song and video out today...

https://youtu.be/rD3VMAm-9iA

[twosuitsluke]

New Nemophila song and video out today...

https://youtu.be/rD3VMAm-9iA

Who? I don't think I've ever heard you mention them.

[ariich]

[lonestar]

Oh you.... 

Mentions should decrease now that the US tour is underway.... Maybe....

[lonestar]

I was talking with a friend here about the shows, and he had seen my pics on Facebook... He's also a long time flight attendant with Southwest. He straight up offered me free plane tickets if I wanted to hit another tour stop... The mental gymnastics my mind went through in the ensuing five seconds to make it happen even though I'm working all week and have a family reunion next weekend 

[Ben_Jamin]

I've been getting into a lot of Japanese Metal bands lately, and it's making me wish there was a festival or a tour that was just all Japanese Metal bands.

All of the bands listed on this list could be included.

I don't know if Unlucky Morpheus has been mentioned, but they're epic and amazing as well...

Unlucky Morpheus - "M" Anthem
https://youtu.be/WoUzaVI0paY

[lonestar]

Great band 


Saiseiga's album drops tomorrow... Very stoked for it...


Here's the first single, the singer Regan is slowly becoming a favorite of mine, she's tremendously powerful, has an endless range, and her transitions are unbelievable. Plus her stage persona is just sick as fuck. Loving this band...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RhYV7adc7U&ab_channel=SAISEIGAOfficial

[Azyiu]

Not sure if you guys like them, but I am a fan of Perfume. I am so excited to learn that they are coming to perform in London for the first time in 9 years on 3rd June. Best of all, I scored a pair of tickets at the regular price! 

https://www.perfume-web.jp/news/detail.php?id=3924

[lonestar]

Damn...the music is a bit outside my wheelhouse, but holy shit is their stage show amazing. I'd definitely check it out if they came around here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acd0y5gD1fU&ab_channel=HMV5

[lonestar]

Nemophila dropped a 5 song livestream set to promo their upcoming covers EP...4 of their biggest songs as well as a cover of System of a Down's Sugar. Killer performance from the ladies as always...



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

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Just watched that set.  A few thoughts:

*It's a small sample size, so I'll have to look at others, but based on the two ones I've seen songs from they're getting a pretty consistently good live sound, something that many metal bands struggle with. 

*I was watching an unrelated video a week or two ago where someone complained about how it's not "metal" to smile when performing or in photoshoots.  They pretty much throw that idea completely out, and while I'm not generally into the matching costume gimmick of other adjacent bands, the way they dress is refreshing compared to what you typically get out of metal bands. 

*The "Sugar" cover came out of nowhere for me, but surprisingly makes more sense than I expected it would.  Nostalgia overload there. 

*I love the look of that green guitar.

*Do they always address the "audience" in only Japanese?  I would think this would limit their accessibility/marketability, yet 3/4 of the Youtube comments are in English, so somehow it's kind of working in spite of that.  I don't know if the authenticity is part of the appeal for some, or if they're alienating more people by doing that. 

[lonestar]

Just watched that set.  A few thoughts:

*It's a small sample size, so I'll have to look at others, but based on the two ones I've seen songs from they're getting a pretty consistently good live sound, something that many metal bands struggle with. 

*I was watching an unrelated video a week or two ago where someone complained about how it's not "metal" to smile when performing or in photoshoots.  They pretty much throw that idea completely out, and while I'm not generally into the matching costume gimmick of other adjacent bands, the way they dress is refreshing compared to what you typically get out of metal bands. 

*The "Sugar" cover came out of nowhere for me, but surprisingly makes more sense than I expected it would.  Nostalgia overload there. 

*I love the look of that green guitar.

*Do they always address the "audience" in only Japanese?  I would think this would limit their accessibility/marketability, yet 3/4 of the Youtube comments are in English, so somehow it's kind of working in spite of that.  I don't know if the authenticity is part of the appeal for some, or if they're alienating more people by doing that.

- their sound is usually pretty good, it was solid 3/4 of the shows I saw, the only weak one was the SF show where the bass drowned the vocals.

- The Sugar cover is actually to promote an upcoming EP with 4 covers and an original track. It will also have a cover of Master of Puppets, very excited for that one. They have about a hundred cover vids on their YT page from all genres, it's how they built their audience when the pandemic hit after they had only been a band for about 6 months.

- Saki is the only one who can speak any English (she actually speaks 4 languages ), and on the US tour Mayu did some prepared phrases, and Saki did most of the interacting. When they do their promo streams, it'll be all Japanese with Saki getting some of the bigger points across. Their Japanese fanbase is massive, probably third behind Babymetal and Band Maid, the fact that they got booked at Budokan speaks volumes.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

They have about a hundred cover vids on their YT page from all genres, it's how they built their audience when the pandemic hit after they had only been a band for about 6 months.

Seems a number of bands were doing this.  I know this was a big strategy for Morphide.  The problem is that both seem to be just doing more or less note-for-note covers, and this starts to get a bit boring after the novelty wears off and you wish they'd just spent more time working on originals. 

[King Postwhore]

J- Rock now known a RJJROCK.

[TAC]

J- Rock now known a RJJROCK.

 

[lonestar]

When it results in moments like this...I'm perfectly happy with my life choices...

https://www.facebook.com/TheRobertCostello/videos/333592429182183

They have about a hundred cover vids on their YT page from all genres, it's how they built their audience when the pandemic hit after they had only been a band for about 6 months.

Seems a number of bands were doing this.  I know this was a big strategy for Morphide.  The problem is that both seem to be just doing more or less note-for-note covers, and this starts to get a bit boring after the novelty wears off and you wish they'd just spent more time working on originals. 

Yeah, most of theirs were straight covers. Sometimes they'd add a twist like doing full KISS makeup, or their cover of Separate Ways where they mimic the video hilariously. Honestly, the time they were putting them out every Friday like clockwork was also when we were having massive race riots, the 2020 election shit storm, thousands dying from covid daily, etc etc...to be frank, having 5 adorable young ladies from Japan dropping a new cover vid every week was the highlight of those days for me.