doombox

Japanese: Rock/Pop
 
 

about tess - Shining
tags: rock, pop, alternative
 


 
 

Age Factory - 手を振る
tags: rock
 


 
 

asobius - pray&grow
tags: rock
 


 
 
 

back number - ラブストーリー
tags: rock, pop, ballad
 


 
 
 

Hello Sleepwalkers - Masked Monkey Awakening
tags: rock
 


 
 
 

UNLIMITS - アメジスト
tags: rock, pop punk
 


 
 

和楽器バンド - ボカロ三昧
tags: vocaloid, neo-traditional, folk, pop
Samples: 天樂 & 千本桜
 

Just putting this here! I like groups and it could maybe bring users more together when they see that there is a real person behind a username? I am completely fine if there won't be any groups, but... well, like I said, just putting this suggestion here!

Someone has missed the memo on what hardcore punk is. Punk rock and glam couldn't be further apart and most of the hardcore music I've ever heard is in direct opposition of using frills and glitter to make a dollar. Its about solidarity and inner strength and anti-establishment. Not about dressing up, and fan service and make up.Vk may have embraced hardcore, but hardcore has not embraced vk.
Edit: I think it was also misread that I said vk is the antithesis of hardcore/metalcore, and not the other way around. Vk can be any genre, but hardcore was built on a lifestyle. Its way more specific and rigid about what defines it. So going back to my original point, a vk band would be logical in expanding into metalcore territory, but a metalcore band going visual is a rare case.

Japanese: Visual
 
 
 

BUCK-TICK - 或いはアナーキー tags: gothic rock, industrial rock  
      DuelJewel - Story tags: hard rock, metal  
      girugamesh - gravitation tags: hard rock, alternative metal  
      MUCC - THE END OF THE WORLD tags: rock, alternative  
      NAINE - NEW ANSWER IS NEW ENDING tags: electronic rock  
      NoGoD - Make A New World tags: metal  

Japanese: Metal/Alternative/Hardcore       a crowd of rebellion - Calendula tags: emo, post-hardcore, metalcore  
      ARTEMA - STARGAZER tags: electronicore  
      BABYMETAL - BABYMETAL tags: heavy metal, pop  
      CHRONOMETER - Construction of Destruction tags: electronic, alternative, industrial  
      CRYSTAL LAKE - CUBES tags: hardcore, metalcore  
      FACT - witness tags: post-hardcore  
      Make My Day - Relentless tags: post-hardcore, metalcore  
      SHARK ETHIC - NEVER SAY NEVER tags: hardcore  
      sukekiyo - IMMORTALIS tags: atmospheric rock, alternative  
      wrong city - Induction of Otherside tags: alternative  

Japanese: Visual
 
 
 

BUCK-TICK - 或いはアナーキー tags: gothic rock, industrial rock  
      DuelJewel - Story tags: hard rock, metal  
      girugamesh - gravitation tags: hard rock, alternative metal  
      MUCC - THE END OF THE WORLD tags: rock, alternative  
      NAINE - NEW ANSWER IS NEW ENDING tags: electronic rock  
      NoGoD - Make A New World tags: metal  

International
 
 

akissforjersey - New Bodies
tags: post-hardcore, christian
 


 
 
 

††† - Crosses
tags: electronic rock, alternative, post rock
 


 
 
 

Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World
tags: dance punk, indie rock
 


 
 
 

Emarosa - Versus
tags: alternative, emo
 


 
 
 

FrnkIero AndThe Cellabration - Stomachaches
tags: punk, garage rock
 


 
 
 

Geri X - White Light
tags: indie rock, americana
 


 
 
 

GOGO STAR - 망가진 밤
tags: electronic rock
 


 
 
 

Issues - Issues
tags: post-hardcore, pop
 


 
 
 

Life and Time - The Great Deep
tags: garage rock, psychedelic rock
 


 
 
 

입술을 깨물다 - FINE
tags: indie rock, pop, ballad
 


 
 
 

Slaves - Through Art We Are All Equals
tags: post-hardcore, alternative
 

Wow, what a list!! Lots of interesting and unexpected picks. It was loads of fun listening to all of those samples. So many 70s nostalgia feels. XD
 
Co-signed: Babymetal
They made my list as well (though I'm assuming honorable mention is technically a part of the list?) that album is really addictive for me. I don't know, just blending two of my favorite things and I can't get enough. 
 
Likes: Unite.
Rev/Ice was a nice listen with some pretty sweet videos. That band is really moving up the ranks and making some awesome tunes lately.
 
Thanks for these: Teen Runnings, ミソッカス, Got a Girl, Sia, Night Flowers, Spazzkid
I'm looking forward into checking out more from these. Misokkasu I have been wanting to check out since the MH list, and Sia I've seen everywhere I just keep putting it off when I shouldn't because her voice sounds amazing. 

Wow, what a list!! Lots of interesting and unexpected picks. It was loads of fun listening to all of those samples. So many 70s nostalgia feels. XD
 
Co-signed: Babymetal
They made my list as well (though I'm assuming honorable mention is technically a part of the list?) that album is really addictive for me. I don't know, just blending two of my favorite things and I can't get enough. 
 
Likes: Unite.
Rev/Ice was a nice listen with some pretty sweet videos. That band is really moving up the ranks and making some awesome tunes lately.
 
Thanks for these: Teen Runnings, ミソッカス, Got a Girl, Sia, Night Flowers, Spazzkid
I'm looking forward into checking out more from these. Misokkasu I have been wanting to check out since the MH list, and Sia I've seen everywhere I just keep putting it off when I shouldn't because her voice sounds amazing. 

MTE
 
I thought they were the Underneath, then lost a member and became defspiral ???

I hope new release = Full Album

Jigsaw's favorite non-Japanese releases 2014
 
The Necrotic Manifesto by Aborted   Following their impeccable album Global Flatline, Aborted's new sensory attack The Necrotic Manifesto provides more of the same razor-sharp death metal brutality laced with grindcore elements. Blastbeats, breakdowns and killer solos are executed precisely like clockwork, making this a formidable entry in modern extreme metal. Sample: The Extirpation Agenda / Coffin Upon Coffin   Hellish by Apey & the Pea   Although their name is kind of ridiculous, Apey & the Pea are no laughing matter. In their latest full-length Hellish, this stoner/doom power trio drops gargantuan riffs and sweet grooves one after the other like it's nobody's business. If you crave some metallic heaviness tinged with grungy vocals, this should soothe your appetite. Sample: Abraham / Reverend Green   Broke with Expensive Taste by Azealia Banks   The self-proclaimed queen of "witch hop" (whatever that might be) finally serves up her first album, and it comes with a bang! Broke with Expensive Taste is a colorful playground of cool samples, versatile beats, dance-pop bangers, plus a machine-gun rap or two. Perfect music to (get drunk and) shake your ass to. Sample: Chasing Time / Heavy Metal and Reflective   The Flesh Prevails by Fallujah   The evolution of Fallujah is quite impressive, considering they started out as an unremarkable deathcore quintet that have now become a progressive tech-death force to be reckoned with. Continuing where they left off on their previous EP, The Flesh Prevails is a gorgeous powerhouse of crushing brutality and ethereal grace, so perfectly illustrated by the cover art. Fallujah has prevailed! Sample: Starlit Path / Sapphire   Commune by Goat   The band name might conjure up images of occult retro-metal clichés but Goat is an entirely different beast. Their music sounds somewhat nostalgic and timeless at the same time, blurring together krautrock minimalism, pulsating afrobeat and freaky but gentle psychedelic rock tendencies into an exotic mixture. This is one commune I'd gladly join any time! Sample: Hide from the Sun / Words   At the Idyll's End by Gustave Tiger   Gustave Tiger immediately won my heart with this charmingly kooky and hectic art-punk attack somewhere on the crossroads of White Lung and the Pixies. In a handful of short bursts they go from calm to manic while weaving a grungy wall of noise into the mix and not forgetting about catchy hooks either. One of the more intriguing sounding bands I had the pleasure of listening to this past year. Sample: Gourgandine Simaitha / Lady Into Fox   Spectre by Laibach   Martial industrial/EBM masters Laibach cooked up one of their most accessible albums to date, and they did it quite effectively. With some of the tracks bordering on tame synth pop but still retaining their signature darkness (plus cynicism and deadpan humor), Spectre seems like a good introduction for newcomers and a nice change for hardened old-time listeners too. Sample: The Whistleblowers / Eurovision   Elddop by Martyrdöd   The title of Martyrdöd's latest translates as "baptism of fire" and it sure is a fiery blaze in our ear canals. Blackened crustcore is the name of the game, and the guys are in top shape to deliver some well-deserved kicks in the balls. Sweeping, aggressive but also melodious. A rock-solid entry in the band's crusty catalogue. Sample: En jobbig jävel / Elddop   Gay Dog Food by Mykki Blanco   Always one to shock people, Mykki Blanco's new mixtape is a colorful mish-mash of styles and influences ranging from trippy hip-hop to noisy industrial sounds and lo-fi electro-minimalism. Despite the initial quirkiness and weirdness of the tracks (not to mention the hilarious interludes), it's a fun and addictive musical journey if you have a thing for unconventional and out-of-the-box rappers. Sample: Fulani / Moshin in the Front   Hanyatlás by PETOFI   Relative newcomers PETOFI knocked me off my feet with their debut EP. With a venomous cocktail of anguished screamo and breakneck melodic hardcore, these guys know how to make one hell of an entrance! Their hectic style is elevated by poetic lyrics that add extra pathos and fury to PETOFI's brand of hardcore. Sample: Holttestemen át / Süket füledre talál a vallomásom   I Cannot See For Miles & Piresian Beach/Matthias von Stumberger by Piresian Beach   The Hungarian queen of lo-fi pop has been quite active as always, delivering a new stand-alone EP and another bundle of songs in collaboration with fellow Slovenian noise-maker Matthias von Stumberger. Both releases are jam-packed with good ol' overdriven guitar noise and '60s inspired garage/psych-rock licks, complemented by excellent crooning female vocals. Sample: Blood in the Gutter / Digging for Gold   St. Vincent by St. Vincent   I have completely fallen in love with the self-titled album of art-rock princess Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent. It's a record with a peculiar vibe. It sounds as artificial as it is organic, and this strange duality is further strengthened by the overall variety of the songs. From danceable tunes to melancholic meditations, this release has it all! Sample: Birth in Reverse / Digital Witness   To Be Kind by Swans   Swans' latest output is a gigantic double album clocking just over two hours. Noisy, experimental and completely heavy in atmosphere, this strange post-rock monolith perfectly encompasses what current Swans is all about. It's a menacing aural trip with repetitive, tribal (and outright primal) stylings that shouldn't be missed. Sample: Oxygen / To Be Kind (live)   Melana Chasmata by Triptykon   Melana Chasmata, "deep black chasms" is one towering behemoth of a record! Tom Warrior (of Celtic Frost fame) and his partners in crime sculpted a beautiful ebony-black slab of avant-garde metal with doomy and extreme overtones. The result is so breathtaking that this just might be my absolute favorite metal album of the year. Tortured and beautiful, highly recommended! Sample: Tree of Suffocating Souls / Aurorae

I just don't know if this list will grown too large for something lke that but I'll try adding a poll when my internet is working again. Its too hard to do it from my mobile. ^^;

Thanks for the creation of this thread ender. And many thanks to sai and Ito for the lovely batch of banner creations.
Would like to +1 a handful above, such as MUCC, girugamesh, exist†trace, THE NOVEMBERS, DOG, Royz and ALSDEAD. (Pretty much all suggestions!) Thought I should voice out my own like for possibly seeing MEJIBRAY, PLASTICZOOMS and TK/ling tosite sigure ones *waves to CAT5 on this one*. More'll come to mind with time, and I already have some others in my head but are probably more for a laugh since they don't really fit into the forum style or the majority of user's tastes xD

Whoa. It's over...
I've been checking almost every release in this review trains and it's feel great.
Half of the list become my favorite albums now...
Thank you for your hard works y'all.
Still LOL'ed at Royz's though...

A band I remember since they started. I liked everything until poplar. Then a few major singles were good. After Sun'z up, never really cared. Sad to see them go though. And I'm really getting tired of these hurr durr, they're not good glad they're disbanding bs etc Taste is subjective, and not everyone likes the same music.

Oh no, I'm not saying that the discussion here is bad or mean-spirited - quite the opposite in fact. I think the discussions in this thread are pretty civil, and they're some of the more interesting ones on the site. I'm just saying that if you feel like everyone is arguing against your point in this thread you're probably doing something right.

I'm really grateful for all the work @Ito and @sai have put into the new rotating banners and I was curious what bands MH would like to see up there? And then, I dunno, maybe this thread can serve as a resource if they run out of ideas at some point.
 
I know some bands I'd really love to see grace the site at some point are:
ONE OK ROCK MUCC Femme Fatale (and/or Kaya) NoGoD SiM exist†trace girugamesh I could do lots more but yeah, I want to hear from other users too. 

I'm really grateful for all the work @Ito and @sai have put into the new rotating banners and I was curious what bands MH would like to see up there? And then, I dunno, maybe this thread can serve as a resource if they run out of ideas at some point.
 
I know some bands I'd really love to see grace the site at some point are:
ONE OK ROCK MUCC Femme Fatale (and/or Kaya) NoGoD SiM exist†trace girugamesh I could do lots more but yeah, I want to hear from other users too. 

If Nocturnal Bloodlust had a future as a metalcore band then one would have at least expected them to come up with stuff that wasn't stolen for their demos. I'm willing to go as far as to claim that everything on those is stolen from riffs to vocal melodies to that sample from Eyeless. Coincidentally I also think this is their best material along with the song they ripped off from Chelsea Grin later on lolol.
 
Whether they became visual kei because they genuinely like it or because being a visual kei band seems to be a pretty good short term marketing decision for bands going nowhere, we will never know. However for example if any local band from where I'm from had ripped off the classics to the degree NB did, they'd be a laughing stock at gigs and on the web for sure - so re-branding is something to consider. All in all I think NB had absolutely nothing to give but relative instrumental virtuosity and that's not very rare in new metal.
 
I also think all those bands now having metalcore tropes in their sound is nothing new under the sun. It's just like when in the early 2000's bands started having nu-metal riffs and shouty angry man vocals, now this metalcore thing is the latest fad that is transforming the visual kei landscape. In my opinon All these bands are so distinctly visual kei that they wouldn't pass off as anything else without having to alter their sound and the way they go about on a fundamental level. 

I think it would amazing if we could get a Arukara and/or 88kasyo Junrei banner
Arukara 88kasyo Junrei The Novembers Owarikara Gekitetsu Cinema staff That's pretty much the bands that I would really love to see on a MH banner at some point in time

I'm really grateful for all the work @Ito and @sai have put into the new rotating banners and I was curious what bands MH would like to see up there? And then, I dunno, maybe this thread can serve as a resource if they run out of ideas at some point.
 
I know some bands I'd really love to see grace the site at some point are:
ONE OK ROCK MUCC Femme Fatale (and/or Kaya) NoGoD SiM exist†trace girugamesh I could do lots more but yeah, I want to hear from other users too. 

Artist: Boris Single: NOISE Score: NOISE? Don't take that as a negative on this one.
Experimental band Boris released their nineteenth album, fittingly entitled NOISE, earlier this year. Inspired by punk music at the start of their formation, they covered punk songs in early demos and were influenced by bands such as 'The Melvins,' but Boris have shown they excel in more than just this one genre. They certainly haven’t failed in showcasing their various musical approaches in NOISE. What’s brilliant about the album is that it includes many different styles and genres in one tiny package to showcase their progressive sound. While the album has only eight tracks, it's an appropriate fifty eight minutes long album, with the standout track being "Angel," the lengthy eighteen minutes song! Anyone can easily dive headfirst into this album even if it’s your first time listening to them. This is because of the experimental approach they took to widen their musical feats even more so to entice a much larger audience. There’s the expected rock elements, a healthy slice of hardcore and some sparkling shoegaze to name only a few most noticeable styles.

The opening, “黒猫メロディ” (kuroneko melody), welcomes the listener in for an exciting ride. It’s a smooth and easy listening track, yet upbeat and energetic. The sporadic inclusion of aggressive guitars, playful drum hits and quick piano taps creates a wild tune. And when the chorus hits, we hear all these sounds mixed beautifully into a juicy head banging mess. This is just the opening track!
All tracks utilise the rock genre Boris favours, while also including psychedelic melodies. Track two, “Vanilla” has a smooth sound to it. Like a grand opening, it’s got high energy right from the start, opening with different, heavy guitar playing from the left ear to the right, suddenly colliding together with powerful vocals. The next tracks “あの人たち” (Ano Hitotachi) and “雨” (Ame) makes effective usage of the shoegaze genre, both being my favourite tracks of the album. They’re atmospheric, dramatic and haunting, slowing down the pace of the album in preparation for the quicker and lengthier album pieces. “雨” is absolutely delightful in the way Waka’s weaker and breathier vocals are used instead of Atsuo or Takeshi’s stronger voices, making the tracks atmosphere even more intense. How Waka's gentler vocals contrast so well with the overall heavy sound of the piece makes this truly captivating.
With a neatly contrasting title next, the cheesy sounding jazz influenced “太陽のバカ” (Taiyō no baka) is a fun break from the heavy tunes beforehand. It’ll encourage you not to head bang, but to dance like we’re back in a 90’s party. Its sound is very reminiscent to such a time, with a repetition of beats and vocals. The layering effect of Atsuo and Takeshi’s voices create echoes and a very enjoyable break from their darker side we just heard.
This cheerful number leads into the album track masterpiece that is “Angel.” Don’t let it's length put you off - you’re missing out on a journey if you do! The song starts with a lone piano, then slowly building up alongside tribal percussion instruments. It’s varied and takes on many sounds, from black metal to psychedelic and shoegaze. As Atsuo’s voice is introduced into the track, guitars begin to become louder and choppier until we hit seven minutes when things finally explode. Shrieks from the guitar wails and drums thrash for minutes as Atsuo sings, all musical ingredients now bellowing out. The final few minutes is a lengthy, shoegaze finale, ending on a massive high. The gradual escalation makes this a dramatic and memorable piece. The only down side to this, as many might be expecting, is the length of the track. While beautifully created, those who already have to hover over the skip button for ballads may be quickly put off by this one.
Another favourite, “Quicksilver,” is exactly what you think when you read the track title. It’s extremely fast paced yet melodious at the same time, making it a very enjoyable and unforgettable piece of the album even after the magical “Angel.” The song has a harder sound overall and nicely contrasts with the journey we just experienced beforehand. And finally, "Siesta" (シエスタ) is a calm, instrumental track which waves us a mournful goodbye. It’s awfully haunting and melancholic sounding, making this end even more emotional.
As a whole, the album just keeps on giving, never slowing down and turning many corners when it comes to musical direction. And yet, it never disappoints. Not one track drags the album down, even if the track lengths all vary and it can appear daunting at first. You just can’t go wrong with Boris.

The only conclusion you can make when you listen to "THE OMNIGOD" and then to "ABSOLUTE SENSES" is that Gaku is a fuckin genius, a smart guy. I know he isn't a HYS member (only live-support) but still, leaving NB was one of the best decisions he ever made in his fucking life. Sorry for that off-topic but I had to say it. Now, talking about this new release: THE OMNIGOD is not a bad album, but it lacks something that normally makes me say "I really enjoyed this shit". I didn't feel anything. GENESIS actually has an atmosphere that I really enjoy, and except 1 or 2 more songs, the rest is lyrically and musically bland. The album has its few good parts, but overall it is really disappointing. It's a shame since I expected more from NB. But hey, at least the album artwork is awesome.
 
My rating: