Best Vk- Non-VK band's releases?

[Augie1995 325]

So what I'm doing here is asking, what band releases CD's that always please you, never fail with you? I would like to hear a VK band if you have one and/or a Non-VK band as well. Also, name your favorite song from them.

For me: The VK-band is DaizyStripper: From the time that I have known of them (2010) to now. From their albums: Birth, Love, Bless, Siren, Air, especially HUMALOID. From their singles since then: Setsubou no freesia, Tsuki no Juusei, and Kiss You, there has yet to be a single one of those that I have not liked one bit. Each has barely 1, if any, song that slightly dislike....barely. My favorite songs from them are: Yasoukyoku (BLESS), 1999 (HUMALOID), and Rude Boy (Re:birth)(BIRTH)

The non-VK band for me is UVERworld: These guys were the ones that changed my life, without them, I would be a completely different person. I most definitely wouldn't have learned to play guitar as great as Reno from ViViD, I would probably listen to the crap music being released in the U.S right now. All their releases are so universal, they can be heard by anyone even with the language barrier. They are simply amazing. I can't say which ones are my favorite ones because they are simply all my favorites. I will say that I absolutely love Koishikute the most.

What about you?

[greeeeen 49]

I'm only going to list non-VK bands, and to me, bands that have consistently been producing quality ( > 2) releases are:

1) アルカラ. One of my most favorites. Original Saku posted two of their albums quite some time ago and I was sold to try them out without knowing anything about them beforehand and yes, BOY NEXT DOOR hooked me up. I love their catchy, fun style; the following releases after 'BOY NEXT DOOR' kind of went downhill (but still good!), but then 'おかわりください' came out and their latest album, 'ドラマ', also didn't disappoint me at all. It was great - enjoyable to listen to. Have these guys ever sucked? No. Not yet.

2) Fugenn & The White Elephants. I have to point out first that IDM was not really my thing... And looking back, the fact that I listened to 'Lycoris' all due to curiosity of exploring new music was quite fortuitous - yet it turned out to be a bless, lol. 'Prays' was all sorts of awesomeness, man. Give the record a spin or two and you'll fall for it. Deep.

3) 八十八ヶ所巡礼. I believe it was either because of Cat or Lukrecia that I ended up loving '八+八'. Really crazy and 'compelling' stuff, although the vocal at first kind of disturbed me. SYG88 and ○△□ were an even crazier continuation of their signature style - definitely eargasmic and blah blah. They're probably too bizarre to some, but that doesn't cease the fact that they're amazing.

4) オワリカラ. Ah, yeah. The guys've been dope even since their demos. Out of all of their releases to date, I loved イギー・ポップと讃美歌 the most, though - the tracks on Iggy Pop stood out more and I just fancied it as a whole.

5) Akutagawa. "AKUTAGAWA is an emotive hardcore band with post-rock elements on their music...." - doesn't sound really convincing, no? Well. Just try their S/T. And 'dawn' (my most favorite from them. So emotional. So excellent). And 'Kimi to Boku'. Everything. Everything.

6-7) Psysalia Psysalis Psyche and number0. What else do I need to say. ;___;

That's it, perhaps? I would've added Veni Vidi Vicious to the list, actually, but 'Good Days' was a flop, so yeah.

[Number Girl 48]

My VK band and only VK band is Luna Sea. I've been in love with this band since junior high and I appreciate them more every day. I could go on and on, but I'd probably end up derailing this thread. I love their whole discography - old and new stuff. My favorite songs are "Claustrophobia," (from the Believe single) "In My Dream - With Shiver -," (from Eden) "Wall," (from Image) and "Ra-Se-N" (from Style). They still sound amazing even after twenty years. I'd even suggest they've gotten better, upon watching The Holy Night performances.

My non-VK band is Anthem. They've been around since the early 80's and they still sound absolutely perfect even in the 2010's. Eizo's voice is still one of the best in Japanese metal and Shibata is a killer bass player and song writer. They were amazing even when Morikawa was singing for them for a few years. I'm surprised they've never been on par with bands like Loudness as far as international success. My favorite songs are "Night After Night," "Finger's On the Trigger," "Gypsy Ways (Win, Lose, Draw)," "Mob Groove," "The Voices," and "Blind Alley." This band has truly stood the test of time.

Boris are in second place to Anthem. Even the "poppy" music they made on New Album when they signed with Avex was awesome.

[sai 868]

Even though they don't actually associate themselves with VK I have to say the VK band that never disappoints is BUCK-TICK. I haven't been into them for too long, but every album I heard so far sounds equally good as the others. Their last two singles were very good as well, MISS-TAKE perhaps being one of the best title tracks they've released over the years they've been active. Each album brings something new to the table and they always manage to keep it interesting. Their live performances make the songs even better than they are on CD, so if you don't instantly like a song you can always check the live performance for better reference That's actually how their 13kai wa Gekkou album grew on me immensely. Though my favourite albums from this band are probably Kyoutoku I love you, Mona Lisa Overdrive and Tenshi no Revolver. A few of my favourite tracks include Kuchizuke, MISS-TAKE, ROMANESQUE, Mona Lisa, Muma -The Nightmare-, ONLY YOU, REVOLVER, Alice in Wonder Underground, My Fuckin' Valentine and Long Distance Call.

When it comes to non-VK bands I think it would be ONE OK ROCK. ONE OK ROCK hardly disappoints and seeing an announcement for a new release of theirs never puts me in doubt if it will be good or not. They are less diverse than the band I named above but seeing as the styles of music are too different I can't blame them for it. So yeah, from the few non-VK bands I listen to I have to say ONE OK ROCK is the one with the most consistent releases.

[guitar.chic92 1]

sai's first paragraph is almost exactly what I was going to type, except for the favorite albums/tracks part. My favorites always change depending on my mood, but if I had to choose one album, it would probably be Six\Nine. Kodou is a very important song to me. Buck-Tick are my favorite band overall, and they never disappoint me.

As for Non-VK... I don't really listen to many Japanese bands, so it's hard for me to name one. The pop artist Ayumi Hamasaki comes to mind when trying to think of someone who doesn't disappoint. Even her weaker albums are enjoyable for me. It took a little while for the older ones to grow on me simply because Ayu couldn't really sing back then, but her singing has gotten MUCH better lately. Some of the lyrics she writes are touching, and her live shows are a spectacle. Again, my favorites change with my mood, but I guess I'd go with her My Story album. I love her rock-influenced songs. As for a track, I'll say Crossroad, (it's also very important to me).

[Pandabear 414]

I third Buck Tick.

And the few Japanese bands I can think of at the moment.

Plastic Tree. - They never disappoint. They have a ton of amazing songs so it's hard to choose just one favorite song. I think Nega To Posi, Parade, Chandelier and Ammonite are albums you should check out. And if you're into VK definitely check out Parade. I think it's back when the band had some minor VK influence. For example the song sink.

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Abingdon Boys School. - These guys are like incapable of making a bad song. Their debut was incredibly strong and if you like Uverworld definitely check these guys out.

Lost Reason

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Art-School - I enjoy everything they ever put out. Some people don't like their newer sound, but i do. Check out Acid, Baby Acid, 14SOULS and their mini's like Anesthesia.

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Anthem - Your awesome Japanese Heavy Metal band. Again, I don't think these guys are capable of putting out anything bad. You can't go wrong with any of their albums

The Sign

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Fake. A side project of Ken Lloyd and Inoran. Inoran eventually left, but I haven't been disappointed by any album they put out. Check out Made with Air, Breathe In, and the Art Of Losing Touch.

JUST LIKE BILLY

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ALSO

I would probably listen to the crap music being released in the U.S right now.

You've clearly been listening to all the wrong bands or haven't looked in the right places. There are amazing bands and releases from the U.S. I will never understand why a lot of foreigners, or even a lot of VK listeners have this type of view toward the U. S music scene. Sure there's some crappy stuff, but there's a ton of amazing music from incredibly talented bands and artists.

[Zeus 7997]

I would probably listen to the crap music being released in the U.S right now.

You've clearly been listening to all the wrong bands or haven't looked in the right places. There are amazing bands and releases from the U.S. I will never understand why a lot of foreigners, or even a lot of VK listeners have this type of view toward the U. S music scene. Sure there's some crappy stuff, but there's a ton of amazing music from incredibly talented bands and artists.

For my non-VK band I'm going to have to include Russian Circles. Straight out of Chicago, the trio play some of the densest, fiercest post-metal I have in my collection. I recommended their latest album Empros very highly last year. I still recommend it highly.

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Stolen Babies aren't half bad although I haven't listened to them in quite a while. I remember being quite addicted to their first full-length quite a while back. Really quirky avant-garde stuff but it comes from such an accessible angle you can't help but be won over. The vocalist is female and also does some really crazy harsh vocals.

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And of course no thread about dispelling rumors of a crappy Western music scene is complete without mentioning Devy the Heavy. I'm going to state this point blank: if you like VK, you will like Strapping Young Lad. Strapping may be a Canadian band but Nickelback is referred to as the epitome of the crappy U.S. scene and they're Canadian too, so I'm going to help out my northern brothaz by dropping a good band everyone likes to pretend doesn't exist.

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So there we go. Three GOOD Western bands. Let's stop the reverse xenophobia k thnx.

[Zeus 7997]

Now, I'm going to list my personal "best" VK releases as to not take away from the point I was trying to make with my last post.

First, pretty much all of this:

My VK band and only VK band is Luna Sea. I've been in love with this band since junior high and I appreciate them more every day. I could go on and on, but I'd probably end up derailing this thread. I love their whole discography - old and new stuff. My favorite songs are "Claustrophobia," (from the Believe single) "In My Dream - With Shiver -," (from Eden) "Wall," (from Image) and "Ra-Se-N" (from Style). They still sound amazing even after twenty years. I'd even suggest they've gotten better, upon watching The Holy Night performances.

Second, I'm going to include D'espairsRay. MONSTERS and REDEEMER may be their worst output but they aren't bad albums by any stretch of the imagination. The thing that drags them down the most is Hizumi's slowly deteriorating vocals and even when he was at his lowest point he still sounded passable. You also can't ignore the classic that is [coll] and the pretty good albums that are MIRROR, IMMORTAL and antique. I have a feeling that even though these guys have disbanded I'll be talking about them for a long time to come.

Third is most likely 9GOATS. These guys get a lot of hate because they'll never be able to live up to devils in bedside but I believe that if they kept reinventing the wheel people would call them a one-trick pony. 9GOATS is that rare band that has managed to always expand their sound from release to release and they always sound good doing it. You never know what to expect and that's great because they deliver always. Even their worst release for me (Black Rain) is still a good mini (although just good really). 9GOATS may not be for everyone but the sublime quality that they've infused into all of their songs will ensure I'll keep talking about them for years to come.

[Augie1995 325]

All right, I was stating my top 2 bands that always come to mind but after reading all of your responses, I too, have to add ONE OK ROCK and Abingdon Boys School to my Non-VK. They just didn't come to mind for some reason when I wrote this. And add 9GOATS to VK as well.

Responding to Pandabear, I don't know if you're saying foreigners directing that at me as well, but I live in the US and when I mean "crap music from US," I meant the usual music that is "popular" right now. I'm sorry, I have no respect for the American artists like Lady gaga, JB, all that, or rap other than Eminem. Sorry if I made it sound very aggressive but, there are many American music that is really good. Also, I have absolutely no respect for dubstep and I consider it to be noise, not music. I don't want to start anything here so let's leave it at that.

[Pandabear 414]

Responding to Pandabear, I don't know if you're saying foreigners directing that at me as well, but I live in the US and when I mean "crap music from US," I meant the usual music that is "popular" right now. I'm sorry, I have no respect for the American artists like Lady gaga, JB, all that, or rap other than Eminem. Sorry if I made it sound very aggressive but, there are many American music that is really good. Also, I have absolutely no respect for dubstep and I consider it to be noise, not music. I don't want to start anything here so let's leave it at that.

Generally most people of the people I've come across who have the all American music is crap mentality, aren't from the U.S or are strictly VK listeners, but no I wasn't directing that statement at you, it was more of general statement. And I get now what you mean by your previous statement. I also agree with your point. Most popular and mainstream music in the U.S is crap. It's one of the reasons why I never turn on the radio anymore. I do like lady gaga, though I prefer other underground pop and electro-pop artists over her. It wasn't that your original statement was too agressive, but that it sounded like a very general statement and that you were saying every band and artist from the U.S puts out horrible music. Which obviously isn't true.

So yeah. It was a slight misunderstanding.

I should also state I do like dubstep too. Just from a production and composition stand point I find it really interesting. Especially since I've been getting heavily into the electronic music scene over the past year. I could see how one could simply view it as noise. Which is true when you think about it.

And to go back on topic, I have to mention Asian Kung-Fu Generation. They were one of the first J-rock bands I got into and always have amazing albums..

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[Wonrei 108]

I actually tried thinking on a VK band but it just didn't come to mind... Maybe Dead End counts, as their drummer left because they were becoming too close with the VK scene. But yeah, both their old and recent releases are pretty unique on the heavy metal genre. They've always been quite an atmospheric band and have awesome guitar work by You.

For non-vk, I'll have to mention two. First, Acidman... they mix LOTS of genres. Started more of a punk band, but they really show their jazz and bossa nova influences - not only on their acoustic and second line reworkings of the songs but also on their main stuff - their sound becomes sort of post-rock with the epic song structures and everything, but also somewhat influenced by indie rock and punk in general, bringing some pretty unique stuff. They should be a lot more famous here.

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For their jazzier side:

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Second, Dragon Ash. I don't really know much about their western fanbase... but hell they're a really varied band. Starting as your typical 90's japanese punk band, then becoming the band who introduces hip hop to your country, mixing digital hardcore, getting flamenco and samba influenced, adding some electronic influence... they are pretty different.

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Their most recent PV, which is a tribute to their bassist who passed away recently. There's also some sort of tribute to Hide on the bassist amps. It's more of a hip hop song.

[ficsci 50]

@Wonrei thanks for accidentally reminding me that I need to check out Dragon Ash

I think I don't have a non-VK choice for this one (for J-rock that is. For non-Jrock, I might say Mew, although I really can't relate to A Triumph for Man, but again that's not Jrock so nevermind I said anything XD). If I say NUMBER GIRL, then I'll be cheating because they've broken up (and I've never really been madly in love with them or anything). If I say ART-SCHOOL, I'd be lying because I can't stand their stuff since 14SOULS, so they've finally "failed" me, although they probably could have done that earlier since they kept recycling materials. Plastic Tree is also pretty close, but I still can't stand some stuff from Chandelier era, and they tend to disappoint me with every new A-side, even though I usually grow to like the album versions of those A-sides... but I'm not too fond of "the acoustic track" of each album. Also I think Pura has sounded radically like several different bands after all these time, that I'm not sure if I can consider them as "1 band". Well of course I still like them, they sound like a completely different band XD. Ironically this also explains why some hardcore fans of 1 era of Pura has come to hate them quite intensely

In fact, there's only 1 band I've encountered in my entire life that has not failed me even once so far (not even with their earliest releases), and it happens to be a VK band. That would be Moran, which I started listening to in mid-2009. I really think it's fate It's as if they were made just for me (ok I know they're not ). But the techniques and styles they incorporate into their work and even just their attitude & ideas of what makes an "interesting music" or "interesting creative work", these are related to things that I had been finding interesting for a long time, but never found to be embodied in 1 piece of work, other than in this band. Even their songs that I didn't like at first, they have not only grown on me, but I've even come to realized what's brilliant about them (e.g. 痕跡とキャンバス, 人間の人間による人間の為の恋路, L'oiseau Bleu). And for all the songs, no matter how many times I've listened to them (A SHIT TON), from time to time I can discover something new about those songs that I never noticed before or had forgotten about, and I think that is only possible because their songs are so densely written & arranged, (which explains why they tend to do better when they release very few songs at a time in singles).

Favorite from original line-up (with Zill & Velo as main composers):

君のいた五線譜 single (カクタス亜科 / LOSER'S THEATER / 君のいた五線譜)

Favorite songs after those two are gone (with SIZNA & Soan as main composers):

トリコロール single (遥かの青 / 紅差し / White Out)

As for other VK bands, there are actually several honorable mentions, that is, they have a pretty substantial number of releases and I still can enjoy listening to their entire discography without skipping a song: 9Goats Black Out, deadman, cocklobin, amber gris. But I can't say that I would just buy every single one of their CD, believing 99.9% that I would be happy with it.