doombox

DIV and Codomo Dragon definitely sound closer to the kind of bands you like, now that I have a better idea after seeing your list. But it's great to see you give things outside of vk a chance, I'll have to ask you sometime about your favorite non-japanese artists. XD I'm always amazed by how popular SEKAI NO OWARI are.

Metal and thrash are good with me. I don't know why I was under the impression they weren't active anymore. I guess I was wrong about that. lol. Yes. I have WINK, so it's just I missed the news on Wendy, but I love the video you posted so I'll look it up.

Yes. Yes you do. XD

I can't remember the last time I listened to Anti Fem, but damn that song rips! I'm gonna have to follow up with that release! And yay BULL ZEICHEN 88! I missed this release too. O_O DADAROMA, Develop One's Faculties, JILUKA, ONE OK ROCK, SCAPEGOAT, sukekiyo, Codomo Dragon, and Xaa-xaa all made my top picks this year too! Some were different releases but still lots in common! There were a lot of other releases on your list I enjoyed this year too, just maybe not to the same extent. Awesome picks!

POP & ROCK theCharmPark - Reverse & Rebirth Reverse & Rebirth (a play on the fact both are said/written as リバース in Japanese, and Charm has a history of bilingual wordplay if you follow his song titles) is the last self-released album by theCharmPark, now going by THE CHARM PARK since joining forces with Tower Records. This is a great move forward since he's such a promising solo artist. In fact, he dropped his first release as THE CHARM PARK this year with A Letter just very recently. But it's this longer album full of his reworked demos that I enjoyed much more. This album has a bit wider variation between electronic rock and pop, whereas the A Letter houses more indie and folk elements, though the albums do share a song or two on the tracklists. Both are quite wonderful, but I'm partial to the eclecticism of this one. Language - NECTAR I've had a long-time love affair with Language, but mostly pick up their singles and mini albums until this year when they released NECTAR. I was happy to hear this album brought in more elements than previous works and pushed them to the forefront of their sound. NECTAR has brilliant lo-fi shoegaze and post-rock leanings that add depth and analog texture to Language's otherwise dreamy synthpop. A must listen! SEKAI NO OWARI - TREE Practically pop royalty in Japan these days, fellow mod @beni and I already did our best to sway the MH masses to the J-pop dark side with SEKAI NO OWARI as they press for world domination. Or was it world destruction? I don't know, that clown guy seems suspicious... イツエ - 「今夜絶対」 itsue - konya zettai Reading the news of Itsue disbanding was heartbreaking enough. Seeing how quickly their name faded out of people's mouths was even more so. Konya zettai is a positively gorgeous album that possesses all the passion and technique of past work, but leaves behind much of the somber atmosphere. If there was one thing that didn't disappoint me about all of this, it is that the band decided to go out on a high note. BRADIO - POWER OF LIFE The mere mention of this band's name brings a huge smile to my face. Everything about this album is fun. From the cheeky delivery to the infectious energy of the funk grooves song after song. One of them being my favorite anime theme this year for Death Parade! Now don't just stand there, it's time to get your boogie on! LOCAL CONNECT - 過去ツナグ未来 LOCAL CONNECT - kako tsunagu mirai I'll admit it. I'm a huge softy for straightforward pop-rock crooning. I know so many of these bands can sound the same, there really is a new one (or ten) every year, but I can't help it! LOCAL CONNECT is just so damn pleasant to my ears! I just melt when I hear songs like this. And also one of the songs is an ending theme for the anime My Love Story!! (俺物語!!) so there's that. I'd highly recommend them to fans of feel-good bands like MAGiC OF LiFE (ex Dirty Old Men) or BIGMAMA. WHITE ASH - THE DARK BLACK GROOVE WHITE ASH has this wonderful bluesy undertone to everything they do and especially with the songs on THE DARK BLACK GROOVE. The guitar tone is so big it has its own gravitational pull and the vocals contrast so well with their high pitch, yet they lack all of the grating nasal tone that usually comes with Japanese vocalists of this register. WHITE ASH are also masters of keeping their songs short and sweet, and leave you constantly wanting more. To anyone reading this who completed this crazy list, thank you! You win the internet.

ALTERNATIVE FACT - KTHEAT Saying goodbye to these guys this year wasn't easy. Hearts were broken, tears were shed. After just recently celebrating a huge 15 year milestone with them, knowing 2015 was their last year... well bittersweet doesn't even begin cut it. FACT were my introduction to the Japanese punk and alternative music scene and with as much as they did for that scene it's hard to imagine it without them. But they left us with one hell of an album. KTHEAT couldn't be more, well... FACT. The album seems to celebrate every era of the band as well as forge a few new last minute explorations with their sound. But what I love most about this album is that it doesn't sound like they made it with anyone else in mind but themselves. They did it their way, all the way. Crystal Lake - The Sign Watching Crystal Lake transform over the years has been interesting to say the least, from the replacement of their previous vocalist and drummer, to switching gears musically in a more contemporary direction, to yet another member change that brought in a new bassist, and last but not least, signing with record labels all over the globe. These guys have been busy! Fans were waiting for this album with bated breath and no one was prepared for the absolutely behemoth of an album it turned out to be. The Sign collectively melts down "djent", hardcore, and nu-metal to forge the band's new signature metalcore sound. I love it and I think they're gonna have a great run touring for it in 2016 all over the place. coldrain - VENA I still can't shut up about VENA since its release. coldrain really nailed it with this one, and the songs sound better every single time I listen to them. When you've followed a band a number of years and multiple albums, generally each album has a harder road to impress you. But VENA has surpassed all of its predecessors and become my quintessential coldrain album. The hooks are powerful and catchy, the melodies are bold, and the songs flow seamlessy from headbangers to ballads without ever feeling out of place. If there was ever an album to start listening to them, this is it! ONE OK ROCK - 35xxxv OOR's crossover global debut caused quite a stir this year. And I can understand how a lot of people may not be in it for the new big-budget "hollywood" version of the sentimental rockers. But I am not one of those people. I am 1000% here for this album. I think this producer did wonders for them cleaning up their sound and making it even more approachable to new fans. And I'd bet money that this isn't even ONE OK ROCK's final form. They just got an entire year of touring the world under their belt with all kinds of new experiences for the next album. I can't even begin to imagine what they'll have in store for us next. Kidori Kidori - ! [雨だれ] Kidori Kidori - ! [amadare] Ah, what can be said for the garage rock glory that is Kidori Kidori? They blessed us this year with multiple releases. While I don't have time to cover them all, I will say the cover of Frank Zappa's "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" on El Urbano was probably the most entertaining thing I heard all year, period. But aside from that, ![amadare] was a gem full of songs bursting with personality and spirit. It's a fun ride I thoroughly enjoyed this year and I think everyone else should too! WANIMA - Are You Coming? 2015 marked the rise of melodic punk darlings WANIMA. Seeing the reaction they have received in Japan is insane. But a quick spin of Are You Coming? will show you why. Their songs are made of spitfire attitude mixed with a whole lot of heart, and kind of sound like dustbox meets HI-STANDARD with a touch of ska punk for spice. Their classic approach has garnered them an exceedingly warm reception, proving that melodic punk's not dead! a crowd of rebellion - Daphne I've already mentioned how I'm in love with a crowd of rebellion's new streamlined approach to songwriting since going major. They've upped their catchy factor without sacrificing any of their chaotic heaviness. My only gripe about Daphne is it needs more songs! I hope 2016 brings us even more amazing tunes from this band! for example you sell the sea - たとえば海を売るなら for example you sell the sea - tatoeba umi wo urunara Another huge surprise this year, for example you sell the sea came out of nowhere and dropped this masterpiece of emotional post-rock goodness. @fitear1590 and I said it before, and it bears repeating. If you haven't given this band a chance to rock your world yet, you really should. Presence of Soul - All Creation Mourns In an almost déjà vu happenstance, Presence of Soul fell into my lap almost the exact same way as the previous album from for example you sell the sea; I checked them out on a whim. And though, while being of similar genre the bands couldn't be more different in their atmospheres and approach. All Creation Mourns has a gothic beauty about its building waves of melody that don't crash as much as they fade back into the darkness from whence they came. Akin to a rolling thunderstorm overhead that you can see for miles but must relinquish yourself to its mercy, All Creation Mourns is a beautiful force of nature unleashed for our ears.

VISUAL ザアザア - コワイクライ xaa-xaa - kowai kurai/kowai cry I could list just about any Xaa-xaa release from this year and be content with my choice, but kowai cry was the release that originally got me addicted to this band. Maybe it is that crazy, broken, shrieking that reminds me of old Mucc without the heavy nu-metal leanings, but I was a big fan of Kazuki's vocals since Belmosaic so I came in with expectations. And the band met and exceeded with them all with this release. Xaa-xaa became a force to be reckoned with this year and I can only see them getting more popular with each release if the quality they put out this year remains constant. SCAPEGOAT - 「デキソコナイ」の「林檎」 SCAPEGOAT - 「dekisokonai」 no 「ringo」 I was really surprised I saw so little SCAPEGOAT mentioned this year since I found this album to be fantastic. Maybe it's a sense of nostalgia they have in their style, which I tend to be a sucker for, anything that brings me back to the early 00's heyday, really. But I felt the real strength of this album and part of what kept it dear to me this year was the lack of electronics and hardcore breakdowns. SCAPEGOAT kept it cvlt and rocked it out! JILUKA - DESTRIEB On the other hand, DESTRIEB gave me so much metal/core I could scarecly handly it. They give me a lot of what I miss from Deluhi and what direction I really wish Far East Dizain was going. I'm still hoping the latter will grow on me. JILUKA, however, dug in like a tick with Brave Agnostic Letters... but DESTRIEB solidified them in my playlists. They continue to grow into a visual metal powerhouse and I can only hope 2016 is bigger and better for and from them! DIV - SECRET DIV really pumped up their pop-tendencies on this album, taking their electronic elements to the next level as well as choruses people could sing along to. The boys are hot right now and they know it. As I've said, my only complaint was that so many of the songs from this album were previously released, however, those songs are still all worthy of a place here and with time I've grown to accept the album for what it is. And that's a killer collection of DIV tracks. DADAROMA - 「dadaism♯1」 I can't even begin to say how happy I was to see two NAINE member pop up in a new band after loving the album they said goodbye with last year to insane levels. And DADAROMA didn't let me down! In fact it showed they were more creative than I ever gave them credit for. DDRM's duality between dramatic metalcore breaks and jazzy dance tracks gives them a strong identity in a scene where everyone is busy trying to look and sound like everyone else. I just can't get enough of them! コドモドラゴン - 下剋上。 codomo dragon - gekokujyou The singles leading up to gekokujyou's release were the first time I took notice of Codomo Dragon, but thanks to this album it won't be the last! The album itself is a mix of all the standard modern visual kei tricks, but Codomo do it with style and each of the members have strong presence on their instruments. The variety of styles on the album is also a credit to the writing, there's a little something for everyone on this album. And the songs are simply catchy as hell. BugLug - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KILL YOU Speaking of being well-rounded and catchy as hell, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KILL YOU was one of those albums no matter how much I fought it, it would slowly just become a part of my daily listening habits. I was never much of a ruvie fan in the past so loving Buglug this much was a total surprise for me. But it's one I won't regret any time soon. For having a monster 16 tracks, basically a double album, it's so easy to listen to that the time just flies when you do. Develop One's Faculties - 「reincarnation」 It was pretty hard to deny the appeal of Develop One's Faculties this year. Love them or hate them, they created their own niche in the visual market, be it their drummer's flair for extremely sparse clothing or their busier-than-a-bee dual guitar/vocal meanderings. They have found a way to stand out and I personally feel like it is working like a charm. Bundled with Dadaroma and Xaa-xaa, DOF make up my holy trinity of new vk acts rising from the ashes of old favorites. If I get more of this in 2016 I'll be ridiculously happy. sukekiyo - VITIUM For argument's sake I'll be tucking sukekiyo in this visual category, I know it's debatable, but with the rest of my picks they seem to sit better here. Since every member has a history in this scene, they still feel connected for me both in sound and imagery. With that said, sukekiyo continues to be my auditory acid trip. VITIUM may be a more compressed, live-friendly version of IMMORTALIS, but that is exactly what I needed from them this year. Everything felt more formulated, less self indulgent, and emotionally concise. And the use of formula here isn't my usual negative implication, for these are the guys who drafted the formula in the first place. They are doing more of that they do well, only leaner, meaner, and cleaner.

So it's another year and another list! If any of you read my list last year you'll probably see some familiar faces here. And to those that didn't, well welcome to my laboratory of doombox-core and madness. Seriously, it's madness. 3 pages of Japanese releases for you this year, I decided against including anything international as my list was slowly becoming a novel of epic proportions. And I kept everything to full and mini albums only. My offerings are in no particular order, just separated by categories as best I could to keep relevant releases nearest each other. So please, sit back, watch some videos and let me know what you think! Are there any other releases I should have checked out this year? Do you have opinions on the albums listed below? ↓ INDEX ↓ ♫ VISUAL ♫ ♫ ALTERNATIVE ♫ ♫ POP & ROCK ♫

I'm not here to nitpick the difference between good and great, I'm just happy to see what people enjoyed enough to mention over the course of this year. It's the same with my list, some of them wouldn't get mentioned in a stronger year, or aren't even my favorite release from said band's discography. But it's still a nice chance to talk about what was released this year that got on our radars.

Wow! So many artists here are totally new to me! I have seen that Log PV before but that's the only one I know. Weed reminds me of an old band by the same name. It's surprising to see it with a new band. Thanks for sharing your list. I will look for more of these bands in the future!

That Aurole album was great and that Geskia Remains Domain, which I have to thank you for introducing to me, both were a lot of fun this year. Most of these are just out of my wheelhouse, sans Atlantis Airport (though I didn't listen to this split, only their own release) and sukekiyo -which I adore. But I'm glad to see you liked enough to have a fairly long list!

Yep yep! Though I want to think I heard news that Diz was on hiatus/disbanded? Dearly seemed so promising too. Ahhh that Carat comparison makes sense, since I could use a new replacement for the hole they've left in my playlists as well. Looking forward to more Lig in that case!

Happy to see The fin. show up. I know they releases late for lists last year but their album was amazing and they deserve some recognition, absolutely. Also big thanks for turning me onto PELICAN FANCLUB. They are so great! They'll be on my radar from here on out. And I'm so angry I still haven't listened to the new Grimes yet. I knew it was gonna be fabulous. *furiously downloads* Also glad to see crowd of rebellion is still doing it for you. I think their sound is maturing rather nicely. Love the short but sweet top 5 lists. I wish mine could be so concise. Great job.

Atlantis Airport. Such a refreshing sound! I loved their stuff this year too. Everything about their sound is just so cool and effortless I don't even have words! And happy to see you warmed up to the DIV album. They're a really solid band, and this album was great. I was only mad at it for half of the songs being pre-released as singles. But I still loved those singles. lol. And FOLKS!! Their songs as so beautiful, love love love~~~~.

Anli Pollicino, Blu-Billion, Diz, FoLLoW, Anfiel, Pentagon, yayayayyy! I really enjoyed these guys this year too. <3 I haven't checked out much Shellmy but I keep trying to make time for it (your preview track was really nice). 2016 will be the year I finally do! lol. I also liked that Lig preview, I've never heard of them before. That's gotta change. Thanks for sharing your list. I definitely am walking away with some new bands to check out!

"good trip" ah man, I was just listening to this today too. I miss this band like crazy already. From what I read they felt burnt out and stuck in their current level so they thought it was time to call it a day. And while I'm glad Ena is still doing something, I agree that I don't see Dauto doing much good for him. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong in that case, tbh. Also yes, yes, yes! to "insert memory" and everything else DOF. Great stuff from them so far! PELICAN FANCLUB were new to me this year but they'll be a staple from here on out, definitely. Also that Xaa-xaa, LAMP IN TERREN, Fake?, ONE OK ROCK, coldrain, and purple stone in your last paragraph. *high fives*

Cool gifs Happy to see coldrain and DADAROMA albums! I have not listened to the last AKi album but I have high hopes for it.

I was surprised to see so many people were hard on FALILV this year, I thought Feeling of Unity was great too. Sounds like classic FALILV to me. Also the same could be said for XENO, though I understand why old fans may not like it as much. But I still think it's a really good album with fun songs. I'm happy to see Presence of Soul on your list as well! All Creation Mourns was wonderful! There are may other albums I liked on your list and artists I need to hear for the first time. Thanks for joining in the fun and sharing!

The Beethoven and Bokuriri totally sound in your wheelhouse, so I think it's likely you'll enjoy them, but I'm hoping you like EOTD and Presence of Soul too! All of them were pretty big surprises for me this year, tbh!

YES! アンフィル, Dadaroma, Kra, My Fairytale, Purple Stone, and Vaniru were doing it for me this year too. Awesome list!

That's why he's ruining my life. lol He always looks amazing.

So many similar looks.. hmmm

LMAO I just have perfect timing. X"D I'm not even sure if I listened to the last EP... I've been out of the GOTR loop for a minute. >>;