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!
Welcome to the ORZ spitroast where the only flavor is salty:
far east dizain
lycaon disbanding and nearly breaking the forum
DIM 2.0 didn't happen
Femme Fatale's name was too accurate
Yohio/Disreign did Gazette better than Gazette
R.I.P. art kei (Moran, yazzmad, etc. disbanding)
mejibray's entire 2015 career Just Eiki... er.. Paradigm Paradox
DECAYS' "secret mode" probably should have stayed a secret
D's one-man venues keep getting smaller and smaller. By March, they'll be curb-side next to Maria Cross
kisaki breaks another body part. fans ask for hospital records
Another year, another one of Tenten's bands goes on hiatus...
That one time Matenrou Opera tried and failed to rock body paint like Rihanna
the best song released this year by nocturnal bloodlust was a cover of a taylor swift song
Deathgaze breaking up and Tanuki's reaction was essentially "Just listen to Static-x"
toe only being really good
Haisuinonasa-induced blue balls
ling tosite sigure's EP
chouchou merged syrups. somehow being mind-numbingly marginal
nestle x gackt collab announced next year
DOAK happened
How hard DuelJewel tried this year
Kamelot released an album, which means a new Matenrou Opera album will soon follow
DEVIL KITTY's mini-album
calmando qual retired for duty
Shiina Ringo thought using autotune was a good idea
YUKI's PV for 'Sukitte Nandarou' looking like a trippy interpretation of BEYONCE's 'single ladies' and sounding even worse
A.L.B.U.M.S -With Titles Like This-
AKB48's "Halloween Night" was truly nightmare inducing
the core of Jupiter broke apart this year. hizaki and teru promise to keep the music just as boring as before
What were your disappointing moments of the year?
