BrenGun

Hope it's alright to share tho...
 

The first one that came to mind when I saw the title was Backdrop Cinderella, but since they've been mentioned I'll throw a few other names in.
 
Yellow Studs
 
 
If you like raspy vocals like Chiba Yusuke (TMGE, The Birthday, etc.), Yellow Studs is probably one of the first bands that will come up when you look for bands with a similar singer. Their music has a similar sort of retro vibe, but it's generally much more jazzy. The vocalist also plays the piano, accordion, banjo, and some other stuff, so their sound goes in a bit of a folk-y/country direction sometimes. They have an acoustic side project called "Team Garakuta" or "Yellow Studs Acoustic Band" where you can hear more of that sort of thing.

For the next 2 weeks I will enjoy my very first Japan-trip. As I will visit 4 concerts in this period I thought you may be interested in a report of the shows.
 
February 15, 2020 - Buglug, Arlequin, Kizu (Man only) - Meguro Rokumeikan

 
So this will be it: My first concert on Japanese ground! I was beyond excited. The concert was scheduled for 5:30. We went there early to avoid any troubles. In front of the venue a nice guy from Israel spotted us and gave us some useful tips for attending a concert in Japan (the entrance system, behaving etc.) Thanks for that man! He also told us that this venue is legendary one. Especially known for X Japan shows in their indies. 
We entered the venue after climbing some stairs down. It was much smaller then I expected. I would say it has a capacity of 150~200. There were no boundaries in front of the stage so the atmosphere is really  intimate. 
 
Arlequin (アルルカン) started the evening. Of course I am familiar with the name of the band but never dared to listen to them. But wow - they were great! They really really had fun with the man only gig. Aki pumped us with shouting Otoko!! several times. He even grabbed his guts lol. He did some stage diving between one song. I really liked his stage performance and the rest of the band was great too! I will definitely get into their discography. They played around 45 minutes. I can‘t report a setlist, sorry. 
 
Second band was (finally) Kizu (キズ). They were the main reason for choosing this concert as I really ship them! So this report will be very long. 😁
As not being the headliner you could see that most of the fans came for Kizu. So as their intro started the venue was pumped!
Lime‘s outfit was a mix between a vampire and the Joker. He had a long black cape, joker makeup (the Heath Ledger one) and hair extension. 
Reiki looked as usual with his short trousers. But his hair is grown much longer. 
Yue had a very dandy look with his hair combed back. He wore a black suit which was open so you could see his upper body. 
Kyonosuke had an interesting look with combed back hair too and a black ruffled indefinable top.
 
They started with Heisei which is so much better live! Lime played a second guitar. 
Next song was Buta also a very nice live experience. 
Then Jugo - and omg what a madness. So much headbanging and Furi. Same with the following Elise.
I‘m not a big fan auf Kuro ame but I have to admit the song is beautiful live. Lime sang the first verse without microphone and that gave me shivers. You could also see that the song is very emotional for the whole band.
The silence after Kuro ame was short as they played Oshimai - fuck yes! It was wild. Reiki did his guitar flip and the crowd was insane. 
Last song was Kizuato - forget what I was saying about Oshimai... this song was insane! That breakdown in the end. 😱 I hoped that they play it and I was so happy. 
And this was it. A 45 minute concert which felt like 10 minutes... If you have any chance to watch them, do it!
 
Setlist キズ:
平成
豚
十五
ELISE
黒い雨
おしまい
傷痕
 
And last but not least BugLug entered the stage. They were the headliner for the show. I‘ve never heard one song of them so I was excited to see what they may deliver. Light went out and a SE started to play as someone tiped my shoulder. It was the lead singer lol. They surprised us and came from the entrance straight through the audience to the stage. They shouted something with a megaphone. That was really cool. Next surprise: Before they started to iniateted a wall of death. Neat!
They did a really good and entertaining show with stage diving, moshing, fan service etc. While the last song the singer came right into the audience and sang the whole song there and even started to mosh. 
Great band but their music is not my cup of tea. (Please don‘t kill me dear BugLug fans!)
They also played 45 minutes. I don‘t know their songs but I took a picture of their setlist if someone is interested.
 
So this was it! A great concert with left us all with smiling faces. next one is the Meme Oneman on February 18.
 
I hope you liked this review and didn‘t fall asleep while reading. I will soon write again after the next concert.

Nothing to worry about...
well actually he has...
 
seems he had stomach flu or something?
 
 
Hope he is fine tomorrow... but you never know with a stomach flu XD

Outstanding amazing underground Metal Bands are also welcome.
 
Currently I'm searching for outstanding great NON-VISUAL KEI ROCK and PUNK bands.
Whenever a band made a come back after years being inactive or coming back for giving live shows in a while just as TH eROCKERS do, but also THE MINKS made their comeback recently.
I'm looking for bands who are outstanding, having a real good sound, something easy to like, something special. 
Whenever they are already in their 50ties or 60ties or even 70ties. As long they play with the heart I wanna know them
 
Of course, please only ACTIVE bands.

Currently a few amazing names;
THE DOGGY PADDLE
I truly love them, vocalist sings from the bottom of his heart, while the others play their instrument truly to fit the vocalist voice in perfection, definitely check their youtube channel for more. The guys are 31 and 32 years old and already around for about 10 years. And absolute amazing to see live. In those 10 years the guys really gained a bunch of fans and they are getting more and more popular. 

Other bands are:
TH eROCKERS
THE MINKS
moll
THE BILLYYARDS
THE STARCLUB
亜無亜危異
VERTUEUX
ザ・ナイト・パイレーツ (The Night pirates)
水口晴幸 (He is in different kind of projects) http://pitpirockway.com/
RAMA AMOEBA 
WOLF & THE GOOODFELLAS
MMS R&R ENGINEERING  (went to America 2 times.)
COOKAI
THE VACK’S  (The vocalist is like a dad for me, haha.)
スネメガマフィー
BELLMONDO
THE HIGH GRIP
レーザービーム (LASER BEAM) [LOUD MUSIC, but the best!]
THE REWARD
フルダヌキ
BILLY THE KID
PUNIK
GUITAR WOLF 
 
And plenty more...
 
@CAT5
@robkun
@Tokage
@Jigsaw9 
Maybe you guys can plop in a few?
 
Also loving these guys
Coming back with a new album and going on tour again after almost 40 years...
They only existed for 3 years in the early 80ties...
(somehow many bands who formed in the 80ties only existed for a few years, gotten popular crazy fast and then also disbanding fast.... yet most people still make music until today)
 
 
And just found this band
Also fit's in my taste...
 
 
 
damn gotta add this oldie to the list too, still active  
 

THE NOVEMBERS I guess kind of like Boris in the sense that all of their songs are basically a different genre, although I haven't really listened to Boris enough to know if that comparison is valid. For example:
 
 
Pretty much a 180 from the other song lol
 
I don't know if YAMAGEN is still active or not, as Touhou bands are super difficult to track. @Zeus may know more on that, or where the members ended up going to if they're no longer around.
 
I am 98% sure Unlucky Morpheus do not consider themselves to be a vkei band. I always assumed they were Touhou / doujin related, but kinda dress up for fun (like how Wagakki Band isn't vkei but they still use stage costumes). They do have ex-vkei bandmen in the band, though, so they're not too far removed.

That's pretty f*** if you cannot bring in your own style together with a ghostwriter.  Or is that even possible? lol.
 
 

Just keep your own way of doing music.  And never wander a different path, even if Kiwamu says so.  And be always careful for any contract you sign. Don't give too much away.  Just be careful.  But lately SW seems to be okay. So I guess Kiwamu learned a lot by losing some of his best bands. 
Yet, always keep close to your own style of music, don't change because someone forced you.  

^ sounds great live!! 
I think it's good that they published a live on youtube!  
 

Here's a bunch for ya. I loooooooove me some J-punk lol.
 
 
New Rote’ka (ニューロティカ)
After 8 years, still my favorite Japanese punk band. Active since 1984. They have a great sense of humor, they kickass, and the singer is a clown! Lol. I actually talked to a few of the band members over the years as well. Ridiculously nice guys.
 
 
COBRA
Gods of the Japanese rowdy “oi!” subgenre, COBRA have been punk icons since its formation in 1983. They even had some very unlikely commercial success during the early 1990’s. They’ve been largely on-and-off in terms of activities since 2015 though.
 
 
STANCE PUNKS
A bit of a younger band that formed in 1998. Although largely known overseas for doing a song for Soul Eater (which, like many overseas people, is the first time I heard them lol), these guys had some really great stuff. Totally full of the original punk spirit as this video will show ya!
 
BOMB FACTORY
Around since 1991, unlike most of the other bands on here, it took BOMB FACTORY quite a while to attract a following. About 7 years, to be exact lol. But they’ve since developed a strong underground cult following for their unique blend of punk and harder, semi nu metal elements.
 
locofrank
Ahh man, these guys are great! Around since 1998, these guys took off like wildfire beginning in the early 2000's, reaching their commercial peak in 2006. They're very melodic, kinda poppy but not really. Pretty much the picture perfect definition of melodic hardcore, since I can't think of any other way to describe them lol.
 
KIkeiji (奇形児)
These guys... are fuckin' crazy lol. One of the unsung heroes in Japanese noise punk, Kikeiji, which translates loosely to "deformed child", were one of the most unforgiving and brutal sounding bands in the 80s Japanese punk underground. For that reason alone, they attracted a small cult following during their original run from 1982 through 1985. Surprisingly reuniting in 2008, Kikeiji have since been rocking and "wtf"-ing audiences across the underground, and remain certainly one of the most memorable bands to emerge from the 80s Japanese hardcore underground.
 
FULLTRAP
FULLTRAP are a band that blew up overnight, probably the quickest rising band in terms of popularity on this list. Around primarily from 1998 through 2003, their sound was a blistering blend of hardcore punk and thrash. The guys have been semi-active once more as of 2014, however, playing one live that year, and another live in June. Here's hoping for some more shows, these guys slayed. 
 
THE ERECTIONS
The youngest band on here forming in 2002, it took these guys 9 FUCKIN YEARS to release any material. But it was worth it! These guys have the old school punk image and sound, although the comment section reminds me why I don't associate with "I'm a true punk" assholes. Great band though!
 
SA
Originally around from 1984 through 1987, SA (short for Samurai Attack) reunited in 1999. and released two of the greatest punk albums of the early 2000's: "You Must Stand Up My Comrades" and "GREAT OPERATION". They used to be AMAZIIIIIIIING. However, starting around the 2010's, they started becoming... a different kinda band. One that is much more reliant on classic rock'n'roll/rockabilly kinda stuff, which I hate. So while they're still around today, I do not recommend their newer stuff at all. Rather I recommend this. Slamminggggggg.
 
Lolita No. 18 (ロリータ18号)
Wow, I'm surprised no one mentioned them yet. Huh... well, around since 1989, Lolita No. 18 are arguably the first all-female punk band from Japan to really blow up outside of Japan. They toured around the globe, and went on to work with punk icons like Toy Dolls and Joey Ramone, who was reportedly a big fan of theirs, and who produced their 1997 album "Fubo NY (父母NY)". They're also a pretty weird band, with a core of the band during their heyday adopting cartoony personas, and the vocals themselves sounding very cartoony. Legends! Enapou~ ❤️ lol.
 
NICKEY & THE WARRIORS
Primarily a punk band, NICKEY & THE WARRIORS went through a weird post-punk/new wave sound during 1987, which was... meh. Their punk stuff though is great. Originally known as WARRIORS, the members changed its name and entire style in 1986 to NICKEY & THE WARRIORS, centered around charismatic frontwoman NICKEY. They were originally only around for around a year, but reunited from 1990 through 1993, before reuniting for good in 2002. They're known for being one of the first female-fronted punk bands in Japan, and remain total icons today.
 
GARLIC BOYS
Around non-stop since from their formation in 1985 until their short split in 2014 (reuniting in 2017), GARLIC BOYS are up there with New Rote'ka with longevity in terms of punk bands, and are widely regarded as one of the most iconic and influential bands in the underground Japanese punk universe. 
 
GOOD 4 NOTHING
Around since 1998, GOOD 4 NOTHING are unapologetically pop punky, and unabashedly western influenced, sounding similar to bands like blink-182 and New Found Glory. I'm a bit come-and-go with them, but they've got some pretty great stuff. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhqrYpExQ2A (not embeddable. Goddamn Universal lol)
 
KING BROTHERS
Around since 1997, although on a semi-hiatus from 2013 through 2017, KING BROTHERS are known to be one of the most destructive and downright chaotic bands to see live, and are probably the finest band in the subgenre of blues punk. Very loud, very over the top... very badass lol.
 
ABNORMALS
Last but not least, ABNORMALS is a band that needs much, much, MUUUUUCH more love outside of Japan. Formed in 1988, they're another band that had a slow start, releasing their first mini-album in 1995, before blowing up like dynamite by the turn of the millennium in the underground. They're like the Japanese Danzig and are very gloomy, yet very heavy-hitting. Sorta like a horror punk-hard rock hybrid. Amaaaaaazing stuff.
 

and they have it from janne da arc 😉.
 
 
all Those songs this band creates sounds almost the same as janne da arc and acid black cherry. 
 
Please check it out if you like this band.

@Jigsaw9 ahh, yes I know The Birthday, they are still active  ^^
Sounds super amazing, perfect melody, and his voice fits it perfectly ❤️ 
https://rockin-blues.com/thebirthday/

ROSSO（ロッソ）Was also a lovely band, included the bassist from Blank yet City. 
 
I'll check the rest in a bit.
 
 
 
Edit
Droog vocalist is now active in a new band named Dudes and Lüstzöe.
Dudes doesn't sound that bad, but I guess Droog was more likely.
Lüstzöe is just naaa.....can't even call that rock. 
 

@Jigsaw9 ahh, yes I know The Birthday, they are still active  ^^
Sounds super amazing, perfect melody, and his voice fits it perfectly ❤️ 
https://rockin-blues.com/thebirthday/

ROSSO（ロッソ）Was also a lovely band, included the bassist from Blank yet City. 
 
I'll check the rest in a bit.
 
 
 
Edit
Droog vocalist is now active in a new band named Dudes and Lüstzöe.
Dudes doesn't sound that bad, but I guess Droog was more likely.
Lüstzöe is just naaa.....can't even call that rock. 
 

Yes, he should not be forgotten, however I like Black Jet City more than his current projects. Somehow his current projects are lacking something for me.
Still not bad tho (^_^) But maybe it's also because BJC musicians truly hit the melody to his voice perfectly. While maybe his new works focus lies a lot on the female drummer too.  (currently he is most active solo and as 浅井健一&THE INTERCHANGE KILLS)

VERTICAL, SQUARE band photos. 
Well they are cool, but please also have a HORIZON photo to use for "event flyers", that makes designers very happy. 
 
A complicated logo.
Logo's are cool, however to be able to read the band name if the logo size is small, is also nice.  and one or 2 color logo is also fancy enough. 
I also dislike those "metal band" logos where it's difficult or impossible to read the band name whenever the logo is in big or small size.  
 
 
 
 

theres an explanation on the kizu thread. lezard is apart of whatever free will/FWD is and was, so when lime left the band and started up a kizu they automatically became apart of fwd (specifically damage is the name of their label but the affiliations are obvious). if you look at any unofficial upload of kizu on youtube, in the tags it all says, licensed to youtube by direngreyweb 

Let me take a moment to drop my fave workaholic singer-songwriter rocker Kenichi Asai here, he needs more love!!!
 
Even though you could say his stuff has become "predictable", it's a comfortable sound for me.
 
 
He'll always be the coolest (non-VK musician) to me.

Outstanding amazing underground Metal Bands are also welcome.
 
Currently I'm searching for outstanding great NON-VISUAL KEI ROCK and PUNK bands.
Whenever a band made a come back after years being inactive or coming back for giving live shows in a while just as TH eROCKERS do, but also THE MINKS made their comeback recently.
I'm looking for bands who are outstanding, having a real good sound, something easy to like, something special. 
Whenever they are already in their 50ties or 60ties or even 70ties. As long they play with the heart I wanna know them
 
Of course, please only ACTIVE bands.

Currently a few amazing names;
THE DOGGY PADDLE
I truly love them, vocalist sings from the bottom of his heart, while the others play their instrument truly to fit the vocalist voice in perfection, definitely check their youtube channel for more. The guys are 31 and 32 years old and already around for about 10 years. And absolute amazing to see live. In those 10 years the guys really gained a bunch of fans and they are getting more and more popular. 

Other bands are:
TH eROCKERS
THE MINKS
moll
THE BILLYYARDS
THE STARCLUB
亜無亜危異
VERTUEUX
ザ・ナイト・パイレーツ (The Night pirates)
水口晴幸 (He is in different kind of projects) http://pitpirockway.com/
RAMA AMOEBA 
WOLF & THE GOOODFELLAS
MMS R&R ENGINEERING  (went to America 2 times.)
COOKAI
THE VACK’S  (The vocalist is like a dad for me, haha.)
スネメガマフィー
BELLMONDO
THE HIGH GRIP
レーザービーム (LASER BEAM) [LOUD MUSIC, but the best!]
THE REWARD
フルダヌキ
BILLY THE KID
PUNIK
GUITAR WOLF 
 
And plenty more...
 
@CAT5
@robkun
@Tokage
@Jigsaw9 
Maybe you guys can plop in a few?
 
Also loving these guys
Coming back with a new album and going on tour again after almost 40 years...
They only existed for 3 years in the early 80ties...
(somehow many bands who formed in the 80ties only existed for a few years, gotten popular crazy fast and then also disbanding fast.... yet most people still make music until today)
 
 
And just found this band
Also fit's in my taste...
 
 
 
damn gotta add this oldie to the list too, still active  
 

Yeah, they only have an official Twitter...  (I don't think they're that big tho, but hoping they will be one day. Anyway, they're just a side project so I don't expect them to last long, but the more time they're active the better. )
 
About Kizu, I think others (i.e. Kizu fans) might be able to say with more certainty, but I think they might have some "insider/industry connections", hence the good production on their videos and the constant buzz... not sure.

Can we please stop sharing digital releases within a day or 7.
 

I use spotify to support an artist to play their songs, also It's usefull if I won't buy it on itunes.
 
spotify is useful to try a release before buying it.  And you can do that even without to install the spotify app to your pc.
 
I don't stream on my phone. not enough free data for it also it takes power for your phone. So I keep my dear mp3 player to play songs on the road.
 
 
Also, I don't download songs illigal anymore because of that reason.
if It's on spotify, I simply listen to it when I am home. 
I see no use anymore to share something to the public which can be listened for free anyway 😓

It's really good metalcore keep it going like this!
 
 
 
EDIT, I checked their older works, and they aren't that great as this track. 

This is Dexcore gentlemen, this is your style I don't know what they want it to sound like ... this is metalcore with its characteristic seal. I see a lot of free criticism

Eh.. as far I know they don't disband...
 
However
コントラリエ(Contrarie) will disband
 
so.. I kinda mixed up their names I guess XD

Kiran is a former guitarist of the band Hangyaku no REAL ❤❤❤