Beyond the apparent "gender bending" of visual kei, one of the most intriguing aspects of the scene is the rampant genre-bending. Is it a sign of real versatility or just willy-nilly inspiration? Whatever the case may be, today I'm celebrating a special brand of this phenomenon: HEADBANGERZ, or what @doombox helped me to phrase when kawaii goes kowai™! Whether it's through a barrage of double bass drumming, sinister drop Z tuning, or trading in angelic falsettos for demonic harsh vox, some poppy VK groups know how to mosh it out. We all know that production has gotten savvier in the past few years and current bands like DADAROMA, Nocturnal Bloodlust or Deviloof are quite heavy, but allow me to shine a light on some of the poppy bands that are also worthy of our finest devil horns, even if only for a single track. Very few bands actually pull this off, but this Featured List will highlight a few of my favorites. Try not to overthink the fact that these sparkly, rainbow-plastered host boys have the potential to be more br00tal than your hardcore and metal faves. Instead, dial up the volume to 11 and join me in a round of synchronized bangya headbanging.
Let's get started!
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"ミソギ (misogi)" by キャンゼル (canzel)
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Release: NeO PRESENCE E.P.S. #3 (2008)
Song for comparison: Twilight
"S.M.D." by THE KIDDIE
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Release: elite STAR+ #2 (2009)
Song for comparison: soar
毒メスシリンダー (doku messzylinder)" by サウイフモノ (souiumono)
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Release: くびはねるつるぎ/毒メスシリンダー #2 (2012)
Song for comparison: タランチュラ (tarantula)
"失望エミュレイター (shitsubou emulator)" by ユナイト (UNiTE.)
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Release: MEANiNG #3 (2012)
Song for comparison: AIVIE
"Invarant" by i.Rias
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Release: DRiVE #2 (2015)
Song for comparison: Re:sume
"オカルト・キラー (occult killer)" by 愛狂います。 (Aicle.) (2009)
"SOUL BRINGER" by SLOD (2010) "Belphegor" by SRASH NOTES GARDEN (2013) "現代病写 (gendaibyou utsushi)" by カメレオ (Kameleo) (2014)
"ぼくとタルパ (boku to tulpa)" by グリモア (GRIMOIRE) (2015)*
*This one is a stretch, because GRIMOIRE has been fairly heavy in their 4 songs so far, but considering that all of the musicians are ex-PIECE, this one still has the "wow, such heavy" shock factor for me.
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And there we have it! I hope you enjoyed reading. Which songs are your favorite from the list? Which HEADBANGERZ do you like that I overlooked?
Lemme know in the comments below!