Tokage

Not so long ago I started thinking about Deftones' unreleased album Eros, and I began wondering.. Have there been any J-rock/J-pop acts who have announced (and presumably also recorded demos, designed artwork etc.) albums/releases, but never actually ended up releasing them due to some reason or another? Or are there any releases that have simply just gotten ''lost'' (e.g.: original master tapes destroyed or w/e) forever? Is there some sort of ''VK Rarez Holy Grail'', so to speak of?

Most visual bands aren't exactly ''popular'' in the common sense of the word, are they?
I guess I'd reckon Kiryu has gotten relatively popular over the recent years, though?

Not so long ago I started thinking about Deftones' unreleased album Eros, and I began wondering.. Have there been any J-rock/J-pop acts who have announced (and presumably also recorded demos, designed artwork etc.) albums/releases, but never actually ended up releasing them due to some reason or another? Or are there any releases that have simply just gotten ''lost'' (e.g.: original master tapes destroyed or w/e) forever? Is there some sort of ''VK Rarez Holy Grail'', so to speak of?

Can't believe Mana is already 74 years old, he looks like he's still 40

Can't believe Mana is already 74 years old, he looks like he's still 40

''does not collect cool swords and refuses to accept my tremendous collection of flame t-shirts''

started playing Golden Sun............ yeah............

In terms of videogame soundtracks, everything featuring Akira Yamaoka is great. (Also, pretty much all games by Suda51 and Platinum Games for that matter)
 
BEHOLD:

 

 

 
Also, let us not forget the legendary, iconic...
 

[cheap immature ''the poop'' joke goes here]
 
but yeah, seconding that opinion, if that's the actual music, I might end up being disappointed as well, considering how they're coupled with The Novembers now and all.

friendly reminder that if you can't play ANY of your music around your friends/relatives, your music taste isn't varied enough ;^))))

Can't wait to see those officially endorsed Rarezhut GoAnimates about all my favorite Visual Kei musicians sneaking at Chuck E. Cheese's or getting grounded for 793453893485743 years

European wing of the tour organized by B7klan is announced and also pre-emptively canceled within the same hour

Yo that's a great list actually!! (well, except for lycaon and tbs, but they just ain't my style)

Can't wait to see those officially endorsed Rarezhut GoAnimates about all my favorite Visual Kei musicians sneaking at Chuck E. Cheese's or getting grounded for 793453893485743 years

#SorryForTheWait but a bitch has been busy and this has been a FAT undertaking so my apologies (not that anyone cares). this took a hundred years to do but goddamn im happy with this fucking list. its image heavy, sorry; the relatively long blurbs are under spoilers for all u people who r too lazy to read the GOTDAM text. jk i'm one of yall, unless an album interests me, then i'll read further. anyways im talking out my ass sorry
Rules:
ok lets fucking go
Albums i was eh on the edge of liking but didn't really care enough to listen to them more to review them. nonetheless i thought they were decent
Note the sore absence of DISH and yazzmad, its a shame i didnt get to hear their outputs this year as they certainly would have made the list
Without further ado:
emmny's Top 20 Visual Albums of 2015
 
20. Sel'm - 玲瓏 (reirou)

 
19. シビレバシル - サヨナラ狂詩曲 (sibilebashir - sayonara rhapsody)



 
18. ザアザア - 死にたい (xaa-xaa - shinitai)



 
17. nüe - サイレン (siren)

 
16. KRAD - SepsiS / Plantman / Beginning of Darkness

 
15. IX -NINE- - VIDYA



 
14. AvelCain - 片想い (omajinai)

 
13. グリーヴァ・ゴシップ・黒百合と影 - 暗黒世界ハ闇 (grieva, gossip, kuroyuri to kage - ansoku sekai wa yami)



 
12. Lycaon - Camera Obscura -カメラオブスキュラ-



 
11. Pla stic Tree - 剥製 (hakusei)



 
10. 黒百合と影 - 皮肉な種の卑屈な芽。(kuroyuri to kage - hiniku na tame no hikutsu na me)
 

 
9. THE BLACK SWAN - 赫音



 
8. emmurée - 窓の外は、カァニバル。(mado no soto wa carnival)

 
7. MORE - hypno / morphe

 
6. グリーヴァ - Fake / 操リ人間 / 絶望ノ朝 (grieva - fake / ayatsuri ningen / zetsubou no asa)



 
5. Moran - 夜明けを前に (yoake wo mae ni)



 
4. amber gris - 小さな銀貨を左手に (chisana ginka wo hidarite ni)

 
3. the GazettE - DOGMA / UGLY

 
2. KEEL - Cthulhu / R'lyeh

 
1. lynch. - EVOKE / ETERNITY / D.A.R.K-in the name of evil-



 
Thats it, thanks folks. this list isn't comprehensive, check the lists of other users to see what things on the more oshare/pop spectrum i might have missed. also as to the absence of chanty and scapegoat, they likely would have made the list but a bitch aint got enough time to listen to everything. Tell me what u think i might have overlooked, and feel free to fight me in the comments ^>^. here's to another lovely year of all things visual kei with my friends at MH for 2016, love y'all <3 <3

European wing of the tour organized by B7klan is announced and also pre-emptively canceled within the same hour

European wing of the tour organized by B7klan is announced and also pre-emptively canceled within the same hour

European wing of the tour organized by B7klan is announced and also pre-emptively canceled within the same hour

European wing of the tour organized by B7klan is announced and also pre-emptively canceled within the same hour

European wing of the tour organized by B7klan is announced and also pre-emptively canceled within the same hour

Yes! Some cool shit on here, was pleasantly surprised by Hiatus Kaiyote. I still haven't actually delved into Doldrums more after seeing him(them?) live, but i remember enjoying what I heard. I'll have to look into that album, and finally actually take some time to listen to Braids as well..
 
Ah, by the way, have you heard Agent Fresco's Destrier? I feel like it might be up your alley as well

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Greetings everyone! I actually did not plan on making a list this year, as 2015 wasn't my favorite year in music, but I was moved to do so after viewing everyone else's wonderful shares! Please note that this isn't a "best" list by any means, as I believe that music is much too subjective and personal for that to apply. This list is simply the things I enjoyed most over the year.

This time, I made no distinctions between Japanese and non-Japanese music. The order is also inconsequential, as I can never bring myself to create rankings. Inspired by @hiroki, I created some short audio snippets, so don't hesistate to sample some of my picks! If they don't start immediately, please give them a second or two to load. I also apologize if the loading time for my post is initially a bit slow, but it should work itself out after a few seconds. ^^;


Finally, if you take a moment to go through my list, I'd love to know your thoughts about it! Did anything catch your eyes/ears? Were there picks that you could agree/disagree with? Feel free to comment!





CAT's favorite music of 2015





宮内優里 - 宮内優里miyauchi yuri - miyauchi yuri


I could literally sit and listen to miyauchi yuri's glitchy folktronica all day and not get tired of it. Overall, his work DOES tend to be quite interchangeable, but I'm so utterly enamored with his sound that it doesn't even matter. I'm pretty much guaranteed to enjoy whatever he makes, and his latest self-titled album is more of the delicious same. This one does seem to be a bit less overtly melodic and more focused in ambient and IDM, though. So a few minor differences, but it's all just as lovely as ever!




Braids - Deep in the Iris


I've always thought of Braids as the Canadian counterpart to haisuinonasa, as both bands share a dreamy mix of electronica and indie-pop with just the right amount of experimental tendencies. They're also both very similar in atmosphere. But on this new album, Braids have taken that sound and made it more accessible and poppy. The results are stunning! Deep in the Iris is one of the few albums that I was looking forward to in 2015 that actually exceeded my expectations - I fell in love with it instantly!




ハイスイノナサ - 変身 haisuinonasa - henshin


Like @Pho, I'm also a proud haisuinonasa fanboy and agree that they've never released anything less than excellent. Unfortunately, their high bar quality seems to come at the expense of a slow and infrequent release schedule, but that just makes everything they put out even more precious. 変身 is only a single, but it's also a complete experience. It's fraught with all of their imaginative and technical post/math-rock signatures, but it shows various new sides of the band as well. I love this single, but it's such tease with no album in sight!




Doldrums - The Air Conditioned Nightmare


When Aoki Robin of Downy mentioned that he enjoyed Doldrums in an interview, I didn't hesistate to seek out their music, and I'm more than glad I did! Doldrums shares a similar, warped, Radiohead-esque aesthetic to Downy that resonates with me easily. There's something very dystopian and 'cyberpunk' about it that just tingles my musical senses!




水曜日のカンパネラ - ジパングSuiyoubi no Campanella - Zipangu


I managed to avoid the hype for this group, but was finally swayed this year. I'm still not completely sold on the vocalist, but the songwriting is so infectious and the production so masterful that I can't help but be charmed. "Wedcamp" is just a completely fun and vivacious mix of Jpop, hip-hop and club music.




Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Urban Flora


Smooth female vocals, sleek, coercive beats, and dreamy overtones? I'm always game for this type of music and Urban Flora delivers it in spades. The tone and the lyrics of this EP are incredibly sensual, but it's all very tasteful too. Great music to vibe-out or chill to...or netflix and chill to. XD




湯川潮音 - セロファンの空Yukawa Shione - Cellophane no Sora


Despite being one of the more reknown modern folk-pop artists in Japan, ----I've avoided trying Yukawa Shione's music until this year, but this just happened to be the perect time for me to do so. Cellophane no Sora is probably her most adventurous album yet and features production and instrumentation from musicians of acts like NATSUMEN, EGO-WRAPPIN', PETROLZ, pupa, anonymass, and more. With a line-up like that, you can't go wrong and Yukawa certainly did not!




Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon


So-called "future soul" band Hiatus Kaiyote has been on my radar since 2012's "Tawk Tomahawk" and what they've delivered on this exquisite follow-up was well worth the wait. "Choose Your Weapon" is a magnificent album with strong soul influences from the past and forward-thinking execution.




mothercoat - GOHUM


My favorite quirky indie-rockers have returned with their first album after changes to their line-up, and while GOHUM doesn't have the instant accessibility that allergies had, its off-kilter charm will burrow into your ears and reveal itself on repeat listens.




Pretend - Tapestry'd Life


I had a mighty need for math-rock in 2015 (as I do every year), and other than haisuinonasa, no other band was able to appease my appetite like Pretend did. Tapestry'd Life is only nine tracks, but it's an absolutely massive album with most tracks easily pushing past seven minutes. It's an absolutely eargasmic listen with a non-stop barrage of lush, mathy guitars and incredible, spastic drumming that never misses a beat.




Dråpe - Relax/Relapse


The last timed I listened to Norse band Dråpe, they were a dreamy shoegaze band with female vocals, but most of that has changed on Relax/Relapse. The vocalist is now male (although you could easily mistake his voice for female like i did). Most of the shoegaze elements have vanished and been replaced with neo-psychedelia - a move that made this band a winner in my ears!




シャムキャッツ - TAKE CAREsiamese cats - TAKE CARE


siamese cats originally started off sounding like a poor man's OGRE YOU ASSHOLE, but they've refined their sound over the years and become a force of their own. TAKE CARE is a short, twenty minute EP, but it's easily my favorite release from the band so far. It's summery, laidback, and carefree indie-rock with impeccably smooth execution. Despite siamese cats having a substantial presence in Japan's indie world, I'm always surprised that they seem to go unnoticed by overseas fans - their music would fit perfectly in a playlist with bands like ミツメ (mitsume), CARD and younger acts like Tempalay and never young beach!




the north end - balance


The Japanese emo veterans have returned after seven years since their last nation-wide release with the "Balance" EP, and it's a uniquely powerful mix of emo sensibilities, sprawling post-rock, and dub grooves. Simply three tracks were not enough for me!




Tierpark - The Moment Two Worlds Meet


I don't know much about music from Korea, but much like many other Asian countries outside of Japan, their indie scene seems to be experiencing a boom of sorts lately. Thankfully, my musical confidant @Pho has a keen ear to the scene and recommended Tierpark to me - a band with strong, emotive female vocals, soaring post-rock instrumentation, and a few mathy rhythms for good measure. What more could I ask for? I've always had a natural predilection towards female vocals, and since this area of music often tends to be overwhelmingly male-oriented genres, this recommendation was extra fortuitous for me!




muffin - 茂みとイバラmuffin - Bushes & Briars


muffin is a little-known, singer/songwriter from the Japanese indie-folk realm and an absolute gem for me. 茂みとイバラ (Bushes & Briars) is her latest release - a CD-R that's not widely available for purchase, but definitely worth obtaining. It's enchantingly distilled psychedelic-folk, with sweet, somber vocals laid atop a variable mix of warm and cold acoustic melodies. muffin reminds me of her fellow indie-folksters ゑでぃまぁこん (eddie marcon), who incidentally pitched in and played on this record as well!




THE NOVEMBERS - Elegance


THE NOVEMBERS have gotten to the point where it's difficult for them to do any wrong in my ears. Elegance does lack their darker, more melancholic side that I prefer, but they've tackled their lighter, fluffier sound like never before here. It's often compared to its similarly sunny predecessor "GIFT", but whereas that was more expansive and rough around the edges, Elegance is more reigned in, polished, and catchy. It's probably THE NOVEMERS' most cohesive record yet, with each track maintaining the whimsical and dreamy atmosphere (except for the last song). Elegance may not be the most compelling release from THE NOVEMBERS as a whole, but it's an impressive mark of refinement for the band, and one that'll grace my speakers for a while to come.




シベールの日曜日 - Gypsy HouseCybele no Nichiyobi - Gypsy House


Psychedelic rock is perhaps one of Japan's least prominent music exports, at least in modern times. There are plenty of Japanese bands playing psyche-influenced material, but very few contemporary acts play it as faithfully as Sundays & Cybele. Gypsy House doesn't attempt to bring anything new to the genre, and it doesn't have to - If you're like me and enjoy this sound in general, then there's plenty of it here to wrap your ears around!




Ropes - dialogue


Dynamic indie vocalist Achiko and ART-SCHOOL guitarist Masafumi Todaka took me by surprise with their second album as Ropes. I found their debut album pleasant, but forgettable overall, so I wasn't expecting much, but on dialogues, their songwriting seems much more self-assured and purposeful. Achiko's wilting vocals now bring out the best in Todaka's sentimental guitar play.




PLAY DEAD SEASON / This Time We Will Not Promise And Forgive Split


Japanese emo/post-hardcore bands PLAY DEAD SEASON and This Time We Will Not Promise And Forgive have proven themselves to be a perfect pair on this new split. Each track is brimming with emo-rawness punk spirit and it makes me hopeful for future releases!




the piqnic - ZyouK


Major thanks to @Jigsaw9 for recommending this one, as ZyouK became a favorite for me almost instantly. The fact that they sound eerily similar to THE NOVEMBERS (one of my favorite bands) certainly had a part to play, but they've definitely got their own things going. Some have even compared their brooding atmosphere and expansive soundscapes to bands like Boris. Extremely impressive for a CD-R release and a band that seems to have cropped up out of nowhere. I'm very optimistic about this band's future!




Thank you for viewing, and indulging in my awkward taste for a bit! ^^

No idea of what kind of stuff he does solo... but I gess it's the same stuff he always does... too bad because his natural vocals are very interesting to listen to. I personally loved them in Cuckoo. I'd love that band to come back and release an album but I gess that train departed loooong looong ago.

omfg my favorite Japan song
 
edit: also reaffirming for me how much Full sounds like the young David Sylvian at times