Bear

My top 10 Japanese female musician releases
 
Charisma.com - DIStopping /

 
大塚 愛- LOVE FANTASTIC / 

 
THE TEENAGE KISSERS - Virgin Field / 

 
FLOWER FLOWER - 実 / 

 
Aimer - UnChild + Midnight Sun / 


  nano.RIPE - 涙の落ちる速度 / 


 
YUKI - FLY / 

 
椎名林檎 - 日出処 / 

 
小南泰葉 - 怒怒哀楽 / 

 
大森靖子 - 洗脳 / 

Post 1 - Top 10 Japanese male musician releases (♫ Just keep scrolling, just keep scolling~ ♫)
Post 2 - Top 10 Japanese female musician releases (I'm more of a J-pop head then I thought!)
Post 3 - Runners up (that should be in the above two categories but couldn't fit in), the mixed vocals + honourable mentions (all previously brought up in ChristMHas list)
Post 4 - Top English album + single (only one of each because I'm more of an Asian music listener than anything else)
 
My top 10 Japanese male musician releases
 
TK from 凛として時雨 - Fantastic Magic /

 
asobius - pray & grow / 

 
THE NOVEMBERS - Rhapsody in beauty /

 
MEJIBRAY - シアトリカル・ブルーブラック /


 
Lycaon - 馬鹿ね。+ 悪女の微笑 + Shadow /


 
AvelCain - AvelCain / 


 
Plastic Tree - echo /

 
PLASTICZOOMS - Secret Postcard /

 
yazzmad - niche['ni:tʃə] /


 
LM.C - PERFECT FANTASY / 

 
For the full length (unedited) review, click on the spoiler tag below:

Very cool list. I'm both surprised and happy to see Dead Congregation, Hail Spirit Noir, Martyrdöd and Perturbator on your list to be honest, but all are very good choices. Especially Hail Spirit Noir which made it onto my top 10 again as wel, just like they did with their even better debut album.
 
 
However, Dead Congregation isn't a band I play too often despite their music being very good, though. I fucking hate the drums on both Graves of the Archangels and Promulgation of the Fall. Machine gun drums triggered to death just doesn't do it for me, and the sanre sounds awful on the new abum as well. Half way to St. Anger-land. Eeew.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - A very nice ending to a very nice trilogy. It is not free of faults, not even close, and despite me being very disappointed with Peter Jackson and all he's done wrong with them, I just can't help but properly enjoy these films. They're action-packed adventure film with lovely characters, great atmosphere and it's set in a universe I really, really enjoy.
 
The CGI is once again better than in the previous films, but it's still not amazing and it's still way too much of it. And this is the biggest flaw in the trilogy. It feels a bit too flat and soulless a bit too often. It just lacks that proper punch that makes it a top tier film.
 
While I didn't mind Tauriel as a character, the love story had nothing to do in these films. Just. Meh. Didn't add anything to the story.
 
It is also sad to see Peter Jackson make the same mistakes as he did with LotR. Yes, I am thinking abou the Legolas does retarded, over the top and out of character and pace things that not only feels stupid, but also looks stupid because it is so poorly done. Why, Jackson? Why?
 
I could mention more flaws, but I won't now.
 
However, the scenes in Dol Guldrur (minus the scenes where Galadriel suddenly looks pathetic) were amazing. Especially the fight. It was awesome! I also thought Smaug were done even better in this film, and he felt threatening and huge. Have to admit I had hoped for a lot more Necromancer, though. But it wasn't bad. Cool as fuck!
 
But all in all I think Peter Jackson has done well in capturing the feeling of visiting Middle Earth, and he's done a good job capturing the spirit of The Hobbit and Tolkien's writing. It's not nearly as good as LotR and ihey're highly flawed, and in the end, with little work, this trilogy could've been so much better. But don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed myself during these films. I really have.
 
 
 
Looking forward to the extended version. A lot!
 
 
Edit: I forgot to say that I don't think Peter Jackson has fully comited to these films. I just don't get the impression that he's put his heart 100% into this project, and did it more out of preasure that he just HAD to do it than out of passion and love. And I think that is part of the reason why they did not become as good as they both could and should have.

Jeeeeeesus christ.
What the fuck is wrong with you. People don't like you, either take a good long look in the mirror or live with it ( I don't have too many fans and I get by just fine ). Applies to every single turd who writes this passive aggressive garbage here on the regular.

Very cool list. I'm both surprised and happy to see Dead Congregation, Hail Spirit Noir, Martyrdöd and Perturbator on your list to be honest, but all are very good choices. Especially Hail Spirit Noir which made it onto my top 10 again as wel, just like they did with their even better debut album.
 
 
However, Dead Congregation isn't a band I play too often despite their music being very good, though. I fucking hate the drums on both Graves of the Archangels and Promulgation of the Fall. Machine gun drums triggered to death just doesn't do it for me, and the sanre sounds awful on the new abum as well. Half way to St. Anger-land. Eeew.

Best of 2014
I tried to create a short, cohesive "best of" list this year. I failed.

Welcome once again to my fourth year-end list, where I talk way too much about a bunch of releases I've never mentioned before. I had the intention of keeping this list short and sweet this year, but 2014 was a great year for music. Every time I completed the list, I remembered two or three more albums that just had to be on here, and before I knew it I ended up wanting to share a lot more artists than I intended. I had to draw the line somewhere. Then, I had to find a way to keep your attention long enough for everything on this page to load.While this isn't the most exhaustive of lists, I tried to pick artists I thought people may be interested in alongside some more unusual things I liked. So now that we've reached the end of my not so subtle introduction, I think by now everything should have loaded. Read, enjoy, and leave me comments!

0号室の旅人 by 101A
Songs: forbidden sky and luminous (from '4')
The Joy of Motion by Animals as Leaders
Songs: Air Chrysalis and Ka$cade
Syro by Aphex Twin
Songs: minipops 67 [120.2][source field mix] and CIRCLONT14 (shrymoming mix)
Noise by Boris
Songs: Heavy Rain and Melody
DIStopping by Charisma.com
Songs: Iinazuke Blue and HATE
Clark by Clark
Songs: Winter Linn and The Grit In The Pearl
Butterfly Effect by Clockwork Indigo
Songs: Butterfly Effect and LUAM
Promulgation of the Fall by Dead Congregation
Songs: Immaculate Poison and Only Ashes Remain
Arche by Dir en grey
Songs: phenomenon and 禍夜想
Under the Influence 2 by Domo Genesis
Songs: Go Outside and X
Oi Magoi by Hail Spirit Noir
Songs: Oi Magoi and Hunters
The Path of Apotheosis by Inferi
Songs: The Ancients of Shattered Thrones and Marching Through the Flames of Tyranny
Shiori by jizue
Songs: shiori and 真黒
Symphony of the Vampire / Heart by Kamijo
Songs: Moulin Rouge and Heart
Abstruse Imbeciles Nailed on Slavery by Lost Ubikyst in Apeiron
Songs: Nothing to s(l)ave and blind cyclops
Elddop by Martyrdöd
Songs: En Jobbigt Jävel and Martyren
The Last Dawn / Rays of Darkness by Mono
Songs: Recoil, Ignite and Elysian Castles
Rhapsody in Beauty by THE NOVEMBERS
Songs: Romance and Meursault
風神界逅/雷神創世 by 陰陽座
Songs: 雲は龍に舞い、風は鳳に歌う and 青天の三日月
Dangerous Days by Perturbator
Songs: Hard Wired and Humans are Such Easy Prey
Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
Songs: Oh My Darling Don't Cry and Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)
逆輸入 ~港湾局~ / 日出処 by 椎名林檎
Songs: 主演の女 (from 逆輸入 ~港湾局~) and 走れゎナンバー (from 日出処)
Strangeulation by Tech N9ne
Songs: Great Night and Make Waves
Fantastic Magic by TK from 凛として時雨
Songs: unravel and Fantastic Magic
Digital Dream Sequence by Trioscapes
Songs: Digital Dream Sequence and Stab Wounds
ボカロ三昧 by 和楽器バンド
Songs: 天樂 and 千本桜

Aura Noir was great, but lacked a bit punch. I thought the setlist was a bit disappointing. Too many songs off Hades Rise, which I consider their weakest album. But I had fun.
 
 
 
 
Morbid Angel was CRUSHING! Oh my god, what a gig. Tim Yeung is a machine, thought a bit too perfect for my taste. But he knows how to drum. Thor Anders Myhren is a fantastic guitarist and riffer, but he looked wy out of place and didn't really look like he had too much fun.
 
David Vincent smiled, growled great and just looked like he had a great time and Trey Azagthoth is Trey Azagthoth. He's almost perfect.
 
The gig was fantastic, and even the abomination Existo Vulgore from the abomination that is Illud Divinum Insanus worked well. I didn't even notice that they played a single song from the new album. It was that fucking good.

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

This have been the song of the day for several days now. Jesus christ. Caaaatchy as fuck!
 
 

I've only given it one spin, but my first impression is that this album contains some of their best as well as worst songs to this date, and it's 10-15 minutes too long. Phenomenon and Cause of Fickleness are the worst of the lot. Disgusting.

Blue Ruin - A crowdfunded revenge-thriller written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, the man behind the well-received horror-comedy Murder Part, which I have yet to see. The story is great, the cinematography is beautiful, it's full of suspense and it's at times extremely bloody. Great cast as well. I don't think I've ever heard of Macon Blair, but him not getting an Oscar for his performance here is absolutely ridiculous. He's pretty much carries this film on his own back, and he does it with so much power you can't do nothing but get impressed by it. Grim, gritty and fantastic.
 
Blue Ruin is a simple and straight-forward, yet smart and superbly written, played and directed revenge-thriller that will keep on the edge of your seat for 80 out of the 85 minutes it lasts.
 
From the 73 films I've seen from 2013, this is the very best (excluding documentaries).
 

Blue Ruin - A crowdfunded revenge-thriller written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, the man behind the well-received horror-comedy Murder Part, which I have yet to see. The story is great, the cinematography is beautiful, it's full of suspense and it's at times extremely bloody. Great cast as well. I don't think I've ever heard of Macon Blair, but him not getting an Oscar for his performance here is absolutely ridiculous. He's pretty much carries this film on his own back, and he does it with so much power you can't do nothing but get impressed by it. Grim, gritty and fantastic.
 
Blue Ruin is a simple and straight-forward, yet smart and superbly written, played and directed revenge-thriller that will keep on the edge of your seat for 80 out of the 85 minutes it lasts.
 
From the 73 films I've seen from 2013, this is the very best (excluding documentaries).
 

I think there's a big chance she'll stay. By far the most talented vocalist they've had, and she can easily handle both Tarja and Anette's song perfectly well as well. And she's always come off as a great girl as well, ever since the begining of After Forever and till now.
 
 
Awful coverart and awful band picture. No expectations for the album whatsoever either. Don't even think I checked out the last one.

The original I Spit on Your Grave is highly recommended from me. I love the original, but I can't stand the remake. While the remake has better production value and to some degree acting, it just doesn't atch the bleak and honest atmophere of the original. Such a huge difference there, at least for me.

I think there's a big chance she'll stay. By far the most talented vocalist they've had, and she can easily handle both Tarja and Anette's song perfectly well as well. And she's always come off as a great girl as well, ever since the begining of After Forever and till now.
 
 
Awful coverart and awful band picture. No expectations for the album whatsoever either. Don't even think I checked out the last one.

Lethal Weapon - This is simply one of the best action(comedies) films ever. It's exciting is and funny as fuck, and the chemesty between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is nothing short of brilliant. This film is to buddy cop films what Die Hard is to the lone hero action flicks. Obviously not on par with Die Hard, but this isn't too far behind to be honest. Just brilliant!  And just like Die Hard, it's one of the best christmas films ever.

Yesterday's gig was pretty nice, albeit a bit annoying at parts. First of all, I was excited to see Fallujah and, sadly, I already knew they were only gonna play a short 20-25 mins but to top it off, the sound quality was totally garbage too, lol. So unbalanced and loudly distorted (especially for this kind of highly technical style). Anyway, it wasn't bad but it would've been better to actually hear more of the music in a better quality. Next came Malevolence with their kinda "out of place" brand of brutal hardcore-metal-thing, but they were surprisingly decent. The crowd got into it as well, some minor moshing, circle pits and crowdsurfing here and there. The sound got a tiiiny bit better, but it still was kinda weird and uneven (lol @ one of the guitars practically sounding like a very quiet electric razor).
 
I walked a bit forward for the first "main band" of the night, Goatwhore, and thankfully they didn't disappoint (and the sound quality became just perfect by this time too). They came out in their usual "totally metal" gear (spikes and leather and stuff) and from the first chord the crowd was practically eating out of their hands. Their killer black/death/thrash mixture really came through in this small-club live setting. When the vocalist dude roared "Fucked by Sataaan" and the band began hammering away that was prolly one of the most metal moments this year for me, haha. XD Excellent performance, and the crowd was going crazy accordingly. Afterwards I managed to buy a sweet Goatwhore T-shirt at the merch table from the vocalist whom I talked to for a little bit, nice dude. He said they should be back in April with Skeletonwitch -- now that's something I def won't miss out on! Anyway, a while later Dying Fetus came on who I watched from the back... well, there wasn't much to see cuz most of the audience was tall enough to block the view, lol. But whatever, the sound and the energy was cool. I'm always amazed how can just 3 people perform such crushing and technical music so perfectly live. All in all, it was a pretty fine evening, despite the annoying technical difficulties in the first half.
 
Also, getting this Fallujah tee made my day. XD

I think Shadows and The Avoided Sun are top notch album, while Greedy Dead Souls, The Buried and I Believe in Me are very good albums. The little I've heard from post-I Believe in Me have been a massive yawn. No thank you.
 
Never really got the "hate" for I Believe in Me in me either. Great poppy rock.

M.E.R.R.Y. is such an amazing album. It's amazing.

Thought Mayhem gave us a good gig. The setlist was great, with 10/14 or 11/15 songs being pre-Chimera stuff. Hellhammer is Hellhammer and the drum sound could've been much better, but it wasn't as bad as I'd thought. Not very good, but not annoyingly bad either. Whore, Illuminate Eliminate and Psywar didn't work at all live, but apart from that they did a good job.
 
Necrobutcher seemed to have an absolute blast on stage. Seemed to really enjoy himself and Teloch seemed to enjoy himself, but you couldn't see his face as he's joined the latest tend in black metal, following Mgla and Svartidaudi as far as his image goes. Which is a bit of a problem to be honest. Attila being the only one with corpseish paint works well because he's the vocalist, but Teloch wearing his stuff looks a bit out of place considering what the rest of the band looks like. He did look awesome, though, but perhaps a BIT cheaper looking than mentioned Mgla and Svartidaudi.
 
And Charles Hedger looked like he was hating it. Just stood there and did his job, and that was it. Didn't look like he was into it at all.
 
 
But the highlight oh the show was Attila. He looked great and his theatricals were awesome on the night. He looked like a relaxed, black metallic version of a cybergoth dancer with his arm movements, with both a skull and inverted cross in hand. A lot will hate this, but I thought it worked really well, even though it shouldn't.
 

 
That was Attila like, just without the leg movements. It was so corny, yet so fucking cool. No idea how he pulled it off.
 
 

I guess I'm a sick freak then. Love that kind of stuff. Kind and sweet childrens school worker during day - sick freak during night.
 

I thought their self-titled was good as well, but I thought it was a step in the wrong direction. Or, a huge step back. They just took bits of all their previous albums and made it into a whle new album. But I had hoped they'd go in the nutty direction they started with Ballade... and took even further with L'Ordure... Instead they calmed down a bit and made a less crazy album. This however, is crazy and what I had hoped for after L'Ordure...
 
 
The video is very Lugubrumesque IMO. Lugubrum is another recommended band. Weird, experimental black metal. The first 5-6 albums are exceptional. Boersk blek betle! aka farmer black metal, which is a fitting description. They even have lyrics about midgets. They're that fucking cool.
 
 
Putrid feed
from the forest trough
stubby hands claw
damp dead foilage

Torch - light unmasks
distorted mugs
grinding molars
Midgets of evil

Buried delicacy
slobbering hybrids
sick the tainted marrow
lick the carrion

New Peste Noire video for their main song on the split with Diapsiquir:
 
The video is as white trashed as expected, but I really dig the song. This is the direction I had hoped the band would take after L'ordure..., so I am very happy about this.

The Last House on Dead End Street was a very low budget (3k) horror film made in the wake of Wes Craven's shocker The Last House on the Left, which is also a low-budget film, but with a budget of 90k. So it's quite a difference, and that can be seen and heard and felt. Wes Craven with a bigger budget, as well as being ten times the director the other guy was. The one you saw is a remake of this.
 
The Strangers are awfully underrated. I really like the film and feels as if it deserves a lot more recognition from people. Great and effective film.
 
Eraserhead is recommended a lot by me, but it's surrealistic and certainly not for everyone. It's simply a bit weird. But if one can handle that kind of films it's a gem.
 
And I think there's a lot of original and unique films being made today. A lot actually. Films like Amer, Berberian Sound Studio, The Stange Colours of Your Body's Tears and to some degree Red Nights feels very original and unique to me. The creators have been getting their main inspiration from gialo, but worked a lot on it to make it something quite different. These might be a bit too weird to people, though, especially the three first. But yeah, unique films. Sometimes style over substance, but I'm fine with that.