I think Yuu, the drummer, provided the piano work on at least Ousia (the song). And Ray formed another band didn’t he? Or did that die?
I still cant get over the fact that he was in Aliene Ma’riage. I don’t know why I can’t wrap my head around that.
Nega fans were the first to make me realize how deluded VK listeners can be. To hear “Guilt Trip” and then “Zakuro” and completely deny the blatant similarities is total insanity. I can’t think of any other song in visual kei that rips off another so closely. It’s almost a cover.
DISCLAIMER: this may or may not have restored @Zeus' will to live/enjoy vk. this is indeed a DANGEROUS post.
Have your favs disbanded and you're looking for some new bands to follow? emmny's got ya covered with some of the hottest up and coming bands in the indies circuit. This isn't just any old "stan my favs" list, but rather a list more in tune with what is/will possibly become popular in Tokyo, Osaka and surrounding areas for visual kei. This is seen with higher than average online engagement through views, comments and individual member followings + impressive label signings or big venue bookings. It looks to be like these guys are in the process of making it big, but only time can tell--we know shit changes pretty quickly and its quite silly to judge bands in their infancy, but hey its fun to play fortune teller.
All the bands featured here are not more than a year or two old, so they're quite fresh off the press--even if individual members might not be. It's cool that most of these guys are on the same circuit more or less, playing a fair bit of events together. What's also interesting is how none of these bands appeal much to western audiences, the core sound is either some deviant of oshare which isn't trendy here at all or menhera (in the case of gosan...literally both) which is an untranslatable culture-specific thing. At this point, it's pretty much understood that menhera has a fair bit of dollar bills attached to it, especially considering R-Shitei's success from shock value and now The Raid's popularity in vk circles. This isn't an article discussing the meaning of menhera, just know that is quite trendy on online communities (it originated from 2ch), and considering vk's long time love story with sadness, sorrow, lalala, directly addressing manifestations of mental ilness aren't too far off from the genre's roots.
Note that this is probably in conflict with what we might perceive as being popular or cool in Japan for whatever reason, and thats probably because there has always been a kind of disparity with the taste of Western audiences and whats actually "liked" within the scene. Just because a band has 100k views on 1 video and a few tumblr fan pages doesn't really mean much of anything *cough* VEXENT *cough*. Also note that I have no actual idea on what is "popular" in Japan--my ass is firmly planted in Canada, so take this as more of an educated guess and me playing gaijin bangya more than anything of actual fact.
Now without further delay, let's get to this shit!
1.)キズ
Kizu
Receipts:
- Their one song "Oshimai" has 100+k views between the MV and audio-only vid
- They debuted at a massive taiban i don't think you need any receipts these guys have HUGE connections
- First oneman at ikebukuro edge, pretty sure it'll sell out
Claim to fame:
- Okay they cheated, vocalist is ex-LEZARD and guitarist is ex-LOUD GRAPE
Band Description:
These once mysterious hunties started anonymous promotions in February with just a poster saying they'd debut at a Unite/Pentagon/D-out/Dog in PWO event and a telephone number to call in on, saying they'd listen to your sorrows, emo lalalalala. Of course, both the west and nihon started blowing up with "Zomg its KARMA LADIES!!!"...much to my discontent--how dare they slander my husband. Let the facts state that AvelCain were actually good and didn't need to stoop to cliches like this, but of course no fandom can recognize TRUE DEPRESSION ART. Anyways, girls called and realized Karma wasn't stupid enough to further pander into the mentally unstable subgenre of bangya after doing it for like 4 years straight because it clearly didn't sound like him. The reveal comes a month after...it's mostly oshare guys trying their hand at...pandering to depressed chicks. Fast forward to May and we have their only recorded song to date, "Oshimai". They sound more or less like "Shinitai" era Xaa-xaa + Arlequin with a vocalist who resembles an oshare rooster or Aki from Laputa. I'm not crazy for the track, but these guys are offering something new musically over an incredibly tired concept. B-sides aren't up on Youtube anymore (go off Free Will lawyers), but my hunties enjoyed it and I'll update once I've listened.
Recommended to:
- Closeted oshare fans
2.) 0.1gの誤算
0.1g no gosan
Receipts:
- Oneman tour with O-west tour final + single release coming up
- More or less packed takadanobaba area for a oneman
- Yandere boy has an abnormally high amount of engagement in comments; they get people talking
- More or less co-headlining Xaa-xaa's 2 sponsored event lives
- Featured on beauty;tricker, stylish wave, AINS event tours
- Two-man live with Pentagon
Claim to fame:
- ADHD tunes
- All the members are actually pretty handsome
- Wild furitsuke, live atmosphere
- Massive social media engagement, very tech savvy for a visual band
Band Description:
I found 0.1g no gosan on youtube after seeing this hideously cute and colourful band thumbnail and so I wanted to see what was going on. It was the opening of "Yuugai menhera doll", and anyone who's listened to this song knows how funny the song is. It starts with this hilariously campy opening typical of a children's show showing you just HOW cute and innocent they can get. Shit gets quite heavy after with scratchy, borderline chiptune synths and typical metal riffing, morphing between different instrumental sections each suited to their own choreography. The rest of Gosan's songs follow with this oshare/abare dichotomy, and they remind me alot of Aicle for 2017's menhera kids. Melodies are razor sharp, songs move a lot and have surprisingly busy instrumentals. Their songs are beyond addictive and will be embedded in your head for weeks after the first listen. The music is absolutely remarkable, but their marketing is equally brilliant. Take for example a special oneman where 1 yen would be taken off the typical ticket price of 3500yen for every retweet the band got on a designated post. Simultaneously spreading their posts while making live events more enticing for fans goes above the typical 'free oneman' promotion. The band's embarking on their first oneman tour ending at O-west and I'm sure big things are coming with the tour final, keep your eyes peeled because I don't doubt these guys will stir up a frenzy previously unseen among younger fans since Pentagon's debut.
Recommended to:
-Anyone who finds Pentagon too weak
-Anyone who has taste
3.) シェルミィ
Shellmy
Receipts:
- YT comments flooded with "this sounds like rshitei/pentagon/plastic tree" etc
- Newest MV spot on Danger Crue records of all places--whether this is just a distribution deal or a full on signing is unclear but this is a BIG fucking deal They got dropped ?!!??!
- Slowly taking activities toward Tokyo, tour final in July
- Album dropping soon
Claim to fame:
- Pushed menhera to new levels, more or less made it their entire concept
- Vo. + composer Hyo is actually menhera, probably gets similar emo chicks for that reason
- Songs that are more addictive than crack and actually incredibly well composed, far superior to R-Sh*tei
Band Description:
I was initially writing this when everything was lookin' good for our boys, not that things have gone to shit all of a sudden but it makes you just wonder sometimes what happens behind the scenes *sips tea*. So, Shellmy's MV spot for "Kanashii hi wa itsumo ame" was posted on Danger Crue's Youtube channel and promptly blew up, getting like 10K+ views within a few days. Around that time, the channel updated their intro video with Shellmy's clip spliced in with the rest of their permanent bands. All signs were pointing to a signing by Danger Crue, and even the jp netizens had their wigs snatched at this bangin' opportunity for these lil guys from Osaka. When the full MV dropped, it was on the band's official OHP instead of their rumoured label, and the shady queens from DC actually posted a new intro video with Shellmy promptly edited out. Hopefully the visual sleuths of the site can try to enlighten me as to what might of happened, but hey we might never know. Queens of depression are unphased, and are proceeding on full blast with their promotions for their upcoming album. In case you didn't know, Shellmy aren't really that new of a band, having been around under a similar name since '10. I'm counting them as a new band as Hyo started from scratch when the band reformed from a hiatus with 3 new members and stopped playing their old songs. They're a delightful nod to the simple rock of the early 2000's with a funky modern twist, and while the lyrical concepts can be suffocatingly dark, the band always trolls with upbeat and catchy instrumentals. They're different from Gosan as they're far less metal and more outwardly japonesque with the melodies and guitar leads as well as a more pronounced alternative rock influence, which got them the Pura comparisons on "Kanashii hi....". The band comes across as incredibly charismatic, even with a such a self-deprecating concept. I can't speak too much on the R-S**** comparisons, but from what I've heard from them....no. Just no. Comparisons aside, enjoy your wwwwrrrristooocattooo with some lovely visual kei, let's hope there's still a niche for menhera in the mainstream because Shellmy got what it takes.
Recommended to:
- People with ears
- Anyone whos Japanese understanding is limited enough to not actually know what the songs are about and assume they're some washed up rock band
4.) ジャックケイパー
Jack Caper
Receipts:
- 3 man with REIGN and Smileberry
- Smattering of events with likes of Sick2, Initial'L, Scapegoat
- Signed onto Riostar == Free will ties
- New single coming in July!
Claim to fame:
- CUTENESS!!!!!
- One of the last pillars of oshare, and no, Sonic Death Monkey is no competition whatsoever
Band Description:
Okay, I can't speak too much to Jack caper as I more or less hate everything Resistar/Riostar related BUT I will say these guys are really cool. I'm not an oshare expert so I can't speak on their abilities as revivalists of the classic sound but I feel like this would be it. They look permanently sugar high, are covered in all kinds of neon colours, have synths turned up to 1000, got an incredibly annoying vocalist and are actually fucking weird. Sound wise, they're the Codomo Dragon of Riostar, but with a lot of bizarre composition quirks thrown into the mix. Their songs are kind of formulaic, but fun in that each song has its own wacky appeal. "Dokudoku mushi" is a perfect example of this, as it has the typical pretty chorus, grinding guitars, some funky bass here and there and sharp synths. Where it becomes amazing is this persistent shout-along bridge that is turned into an interlude verse of its own before going into another round of the chorus...and that's where shit hits the fan. The song repeats that whole section again, chants and chorus but at double speed. It is absolutely wacky and something I have never heard before, and their ghost writers really deserve the acclaim that they're getting from me because they did THAT. Not that there's proof, but I refuse to believe a bunch of newcomers wrote a song this damn good without (more than) a lil' bit of assistance. I should stop writing this review because I'm turning into a fan as we speak and that would totally ruin my zetsubou image. I will leave you with this closing thought: if there's one band who is pushing Resistar's washed up shtick into the future, it's Jack caper. Once the old guys at the top retire or their fans realize they're chasing ojisans in kira kira makeup and decide to have children/get a life, it'll be Jack caper that will be Free Will's oshare queens (assuming the newly reformed LEZARD don't come for their wigs).
Recommended to:
- Anyone who has lost faith in oshare
- People who like surprises!
5.) -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ
"True Heaven and Earth Beginnings Group" Zigzag
Receipts:
-2 live distributed singles for next oneman at Osaka MUSE (!!)
- Taiban with Unite (im not kidding)
- Cult (literally) following in Osaka
- Get a fair bit of twitter buzz for single previews
Band Description:
The biggest trolls in visual kei this side of old Devil Kitty and their ridiculous concept make for the most iconic band to come out of the scene in the past ~3 years that western fans probably haven't heard of. It's not your fault, as Zigzag go out of their way to be mysterious, even for Japanese fans. There's no member twitters, interviews, live footage, blogs, MVs or...anything outside of an official band twitter, ohp, and cryptic snippets of song previews that often have nothing to do with the song itself but rather the concept being explored for that release. They turn vk's innards outward, talking about mitsu, tsunagari, kusomen and anything that lives in the shadows of the internet's tanuki threads. Don't think that these are anonymous pundits of the scene though, as the three members of Zigzag are all from the now deceased oshare bands Ray C and Otoiroha. So, now that we've laid down their history...how does any of this have anything to do with their current look and sound? Their metal sound has a definite Kiryu tinge. While the music is secondary to the concept, Zigzag are sharp writers and definitely have an intense sound which is unique among their contemporaries. It's a cocktail of modern metal vk tropes, but without being rendered stale or old. Their sound goes with their Buddhist image and themes, and don't seem that out of place when you put two and two together. In case you don't have hunties who've seen these guys live, the highlight of their show is a song in which the vocalist, Mikoto goes out into the audience, chooses a fan, restrains them and performs an "exorcism". He is cleansing the fan of their sins of being a visual fan, at least as I'd like to understand the symbolism in tandem with their overarching concept...which is fucking brilliant. Their meta humour is backed with a solid live following, as the band is known to sell out merch, live distributed releases and even smaller live houses in their native Osaka on a whim. Whether they'll sell out MUSE will be indicative of future success, as it is the biggest oneman they've played to date and they're pulling out all the stops: discounted tickets, live distributes, lalala. They've been very careful since starting activities, and I'm under the impression Zigzag see visual kei more so as a game of Monopoly rather than a part time job. There hasn't been hype for a ~mysterious~ band like this since the early days of Avelcain, and as one of the most unique bands around, it'll be interesting to see where they go from here.
Recommended to:
- anything
What do you think of this list? Are you an actual bangya/bangyao and think this is hysterical bullshit? Do you believe that Jack caper is actually the messiah? Will Shellmy come back to snatch wigs? What bands are you excited for this summer? Sound off below, I'd love to know your thoughts on not just these bands but rather the topic of what is valid "hype" and what is just...hot air.
I'm so salty that d.i.d. r over while blatant pieces of shit like (I'd start with gallo or w/e 95 % of vk bands still around) are still going on but this is incredible
Oh man I can't wait for America-Butt-Rock-kei to take Japan by storm. Now that VK bands with French and German names/themes are worn out, we need some good ol' MURRICA worshiping.
Vocalist of Versailles' splinter-band Jupiter has announced a new side group called U•S•A . In this band, he goes under the name "Zakk." Their debut live will be on July 8th at Shinjuku club SCIENCE.
Vocals: Zakk (Jupiter)
Guitar: Mike
Keyboard: Ronnie
The band also has a twitter account, where they post things about Rock'n'roll, Judas Priest, and a general dislike of publicly funded services (not really).
https://mobile.twitter.com/USA_officialYES
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