Your personal discoveries of 2013

[Champ213 1858]

2013 is nearing the end, so let's talk about the bands we discovered this year! What bands have you come to love in the last 11 months?

 

 

Note: this isn't limited to bands that started activities this year, or had their first releases in 2013. Rather it's specifically for all bands. Even a band that is 20 years old or long disbanded counts if you only discovered them this year! In which case it would also be interesting to know why you found out about them just now.

 

 

I'm posting this in J-Rock, but if there is a non-japanese band you have discovered, don't feel restricted by that.

 

 

I will post my discoveries later too.

[Spectralion 394]

This year I've discovered Kiryu and La'Mule...

I never interested in Kiryu back than... But, since there is threat comparing them with kagrra (Did I type it right?), I try them...
My first try is watching Etsu no Utsu PV and I kind like grabbed by them...
After that I try their last album, Shunkan Ensen, and it's more awesome than the PV...

 

I already know La'Mule for a long time, because I already know NightingeiL, but I never try them. NightingeiL disbanded, and Kon made CELL . Suddenly, CELL covering La'Mule's PRISM and yes... I'm hooked by it. After that I try La'Mule and their whole discography is gold...

That's my story...

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Kuroyume: I've liked  a song by them since I tried them on a V.A., but I never really liked what I checked out by them until I tried Feminism in the spring of this year.

 

Marina & The Diamonds: 'saw' her with my boyfriend in the summer and loved her since. 'Saw' because I was actually outside the arena for the concert, so I couldn't actually see anything

 

Azealia Banks: I'ms a mermaid

 

Grimes: Only tried her out because of a picture I found of Hey Arnold characters on tumblr listed as GrimesVisits(I don't remember who).png , so I looked her up on youtube.

 

Grieva: Didn't really care for their first web shop single from last year, and all of their live-distros weren't around on the net then, but once Oni to Kage came out I almost immediately started stanning

 

Black Dahlia Murder: I always thought they were unlistenable after hearing my roommate play "What a Horrible Night To Have a Curse" on Rockband all the time. Now I really like that song and a good amount of their others...all because Zess posted in a thread about how a Vkei band ripped them off

 

Jupiter: Versailles' splinter band. Expected them to be awful since I was kind of over the Hizaki show, but then they ended up releasing one of the best prog / power metal albums in all of vkei ever so idk what happened \(o_____o)/

 

Cali=/=Gari: never really bothered to try them out, but then I actually did and loved their diversity / eccentricness. 

 

Bury Tomorrow: found them while playing last.fm radio and thought their vocalist was hot. They had a song I really liked for free, and their album from this year was pretty good. Still have to try out their older stuff though

 

Asaki: Tried out his second album and absolutely loved how it was like Moi Dix Mois + D, but experimental and kind of creepy. His first album only has one song on it I really love, but Tentei is one of the best albums I've ever heard.

 

Zig+Zag: bizarre pseudo-angura-kei with female vocals. Really got into them towards the end of the school year.

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

Primordial:

HOLY SHIT

Primordial I got into because I was looking for something to hold me over while I waited for the new In Solitude album. They've pretty much dominated all my music time since then!

 

Arckanum:

HOLY SHIT

Arckanum, I don't even know how I stumbled upon them but basically kick ass raw black metal with some tribal chantings and other cool shit like that. This is what folk metal should be. Not gimmicky bullshit like Eluveitie and Korpiklanni. 

 

Absu:

HOLY SHIT

Absu I got into because I was looking for bands that cover a specific theme of Satanism I am interested in and I stumbled upon Absu. I was reading about this branch of Satanism and it basically read like one big black metal slash fic and Absu was a major character that knocks up Tiamat and so on and so forth. I lawl'd and decided to listen to Absu and they're so cool :>

 

Inquisition:

BREAKING THE RULES! Okay I actually saw these guys live last year or the year before? While they kicked ass live!! I didn't really start listening to them until this summer, I was mostly looking for MOAR Immortal but not Immortal because I've listened to so much Immortal wanted something that's pretty much almost Immortal but not Immortal. OKAY OKAY! These guys stand out on their own but yeah that's why I started listening to them. Vocals are kinda silly so that's why I didn't get THAT into them, vocals sound way better live.

 

Jupiter:

I'm a long time HIZAKI and Teru fangirl so I knew I was going to like their release and omfg so good.

 

CELL:

OMG La'Mule is back!! It's basically La'Mule :V

[JukaForever 758]

Capella-I needed my fix of light rock and these guys were great at providing that without the need of shiny outfits and obvious marketing for LGs.

 

Umbrella-They sound so indy but with a VK twist. Just overall good band. Nice light and somber sounding band. I wish their releases weren't so limited, sold out too fast.

 

Calmando Qual-Such good band. Mellow melodic and dark at the same time. Reminded me of LuLu so instantly got hooked, just ordered their previous releases for christmas. Can't wait

 

Gacharic Spin- PV releases for Doll$Boxx kept coming throughout early 2013. I always had something to look for every week from this band with Fuki until their own album Delicious mmm

 

Cyntia- mmm love this band. I feel their music got better compared to their debut album which was way too light IMO for a metal band, I kind of put them off. Their latest album Lady Made was a good blend of Metal and shoujo. 

 

Sel'm-I only have a few of their releases as I was doing my usual testing for new bands and boy, this guys stuck to me. They sound like a faster version of GazettE, sound pretty good. I preordered their latest album.

 

absentmindedness- another girl group which I probably would've missed if their album wasn't uploaded here. Nice sounding light rock with an ethereal sounding vocalist. Bought all their albums and waiting for them as well.

 

Destrose- LOL another girl band but whatever. They actually sound really good for a metal band with a natural sounding vocalist.

 

ADAMS-I gave them a listen and really dig their music. Honestly shocked about their subject matter once I saw their vids but whatever, IMO they provided great feeling to their music which is what originally hooked me. I wasn't a big fan of having electronic elements on rock songs but these guys blended it well enough that it was enjoyable....until I was reminded again why I hated such thing with Mejibrays "worms"

 

Yeti-This band is soo fun to listen to, particularly the vocalist. I love their random speed up and slow downs. I love their indy feel. I love their smooth rhythms. I love this band.

 

 

That's all I got. I have heard singles from here-and-there newer bands making me expect 2014 should be also a good one.

[Seiji 156]

Cali=/=Gari: I found a CD of them on eBay that nobody bothered to bid on, so I've got it for 1€. Listened to it like 100 times on repeat after it, because I loced it so much

 

Asaki: I think for me tentei is by far the best release of 2013. It just blew me away!

 

emmurée: randomly tried them out and loved the sound and their vocalist.

 

deadman: Never really liked them that much. I think emmurée kinda opened that door though.

 

Frau Potz: some strange German punk rock-ish band. I usually hate that genre, but their lyrics are really spot on and the guitars remind me of dredg, who are another favorite of mine.

[hiroki 5521]

For me there are only 3 stand-out discoveries:

 

SINCREA: I started listening to Fest Vainqueur since they began activities 2(?) years ago. It was listenable - in fact probably above average - but after a while the music becomes forgettable. And so I didn't bother to seek out music from their previous band. When I eventually got around to do that... holy shit, even with just 10% of their tracks played I already knew I've found another band to enshrine as my all-time favorites. I really regretted not knowing about them earlier :'(

 

LUCHe.: Seriously, high high hopes for them. They know what they're good at and don't try to be over-deliberate with their music. They're probably already one of my top 10 bands with just 3 singles released.

 

Ray℃: I love them so much Their drummer just left and I'm praying that they don't disband. Also, it's so nice of them (and their label) to do the free album thing. :'D

[nullmoon 784]

Luna Sea - I'd listened to their best of but didn't find it so great. Downloaded Mother and holy crap, what an album! 

 

X-Japan - Never really gave these guys a chance but the album Blue Blood has changed that! Big fan of the harder songs!

 

deadman - I'd heard of these guys often but never gave them a chance. I'm not too fussed with their older stuff but their last album is incredible with a beautiful atmosphere.

 

9GoatsBlackOut - Incredible band. I'd only ever listened to 690min on a compilation album but delving deeper helped me to find one of my now-favourite bands.

 

Cocklobin - I've only really listing to Dark Design Catalog so far, but man what an EP!

 

 

Just as a side note, does anyone know of any thrash-punk bands like The Piass?

[hyura 465]

My number one discovery is propably Rouage. I knew them by name but propably just listened to the wrong songs at first and didn't bother to try again.

Not too long ago I bought a box of random VK video tapes and their old stuff just blew me away!

 

Then, for some reason Penicillins chartmusic-phase (Limelight and Ultimate Velocity era). I had those albums for ages but they were always too easy-listening and cheesy and 90s for me. That changed for no particular reason when I listened to them again this summer. Now I can suddenly enjoy them.

[Muma 97]

I really branched out in terms of music this year I feel. I've been into Japanese stuff for about three years now I guess? The first year consisted soley of The GazettE, Dir en Grey, Alice Nine, Nightmare etc etc etc, you probably get a rough picture. The second year was more exploring the scene and just generally branching out into the scene and finding my own music rather that what is just 'more readily availible'. But still well in the category of more recent bands (read as active bands)

 

Life story over, this year I've been thrown into the world of 90's and early 00's VK music (in terms of new discoveries), the likes of Syndrome, Madeth Gray'll, La'Mule, Eze:qul and the list could literally go on, but these stick in my mind the most at the moment of typing.

 

But if we're going to mention specific bands then LuLu and NightingeiL are a definite for VK, along with Heisei Ishin's final album REVOLUTIONS to pull things over to a slightly happier note, and I normally can't get into full albums from bands with similar sounds. It's normally either a couple of songs/singles or a mini album.

One band that was a real surprise is Janna Da Arc's GAIA album. Not being a fan of ABC ('cept one song) and not liking the few JDA songs I heard before, primarily due to Yasu's voice. But somehow something changed when I listened to this album, courtesy of MH I downloaded it on a whim and oh boy, A+ decision -pats self on back-

Before I forget, Jupiter's amazing debut album was everything I wanted from Versailles and more. Although I was starting to listen to more Versailles, Jupiter just blew them out of the water and I might be hooked > . <

 

Kenshi Yonezu's album Diorama and amazarashi's Sennen Kofukuron, have to be more on the alternative side that pretty much manage to soothe my soul no matter what or just take me away to a slightly happier place, if only briefly > <

Still with the non VK theme and more recently, LITE. That's it. That's all I've got. I have no words to describe how hard I fell for them at first listen. And courtesy of our CAT... Luis Nanook. Reminds me a lot of Sigur Rós if you're into that kind of music, but I've been loving working to it and even got one of my 'japanese music hating friends' to like them which is A HUUGE BONUS in my book anyway

 

As far as non Japanese music goes...

Post-Hardcore/Punk Rocky-esque music (although I may have put them in my screamo thread WHOOPS) La Dispute and Defeater are two that stand out and are relatively easy listening for a lot of music within that genre hence fit with a lot of moods. On the more melodic side of Post-Hardcore I guess would be Landscapes which I also mentioned in that thread.

Last one before I bore you even more, Trivium's Ascendancy album. I asked a guy in HMV to recommend me some CD's because I wanted something new and this was on the list, and it's just a generally solid metal album which I highly recommend if that's your thing

[Heroin 53]

oooh I havent really been listening to any new sounds. Work gets me all tired *yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn*

but I did found a few

 

Amon Düül II-

Great psychedelic band from the late 60's with cool crazy sounds!

 

 

 

Sad Lovers and Giants-

Great post-punk band from the 80's. They play that saxophone and I love it!

 

 

 

Lastly

 

C.C.C.C. (Cosmic Coincidence Control Center)-

Just continuing my search of loud noise hehe

[seikun 317]

Maybe not many for me this year.

 

GRIEVA - Even though they clearly make most of their music from old school Visual Kei Dir en grey I just love that they brought back the old sound of Visual Kei.

 

GAUZES - Another band that has revived the 90's sound of Visual Kei. Their album called Yurikago is definitely worth buying it.

 

Misa 弥叉 - I kind of knew about them before, but never had the chance to listen to them. It's not that I like every song of theirs, but there are a few ones I like, specially Kogareta ai wa gin no sora.

[jduv86 224]

Nocturnal Bloodlust - Goes without saying! Amazing releases this year. I heard their singles and first mini and I was like "They're ok" But they really blew me away this year!

 

Mejibray - same for them! I absolutely hated their stuff until this year. They really started to show their personality and Meto is my new favorite drummer replacing Kai (even though Kai has been doing some awesome work of his own). They also showed that they have a lot more versatility then I thought. 

 

Pay Money to My Pain - I know they've been around awhile, but I never heard of them until this year when their vocalist passed away unfortunately. I decided to listen to their music because I really like the name of the band. lol. The songs that I heard were really great!

[coffee000 14]

RUBIK - They are not that new. They are so worth mentioning for their unique sound. All their previous singles/releases are amazing (one song is on an compilation album only). I don't care who the lead singer is now (it's the guitarist, I think). They really should release an album.

[seikun 317]

I forgot another band I came across about 2 weeks ago. It's called シビレバシル (Shibilebashir).

 

I recommend their PV called ストレスハカイ-吉祥寺ニテ破壊編-. The PV is hilarious, specially at the end and the song is really good.

[miyuu 40]

I forgot another band I came across about 2 weeks ago. It's called シビレバシル (Shibilebashir).

 

I recommend their PV called ストレスハカイ-吉祥寺ニテ破壊編-. The PV is hilarious, specially at the end and the song is really good.

 

 

this is ware arubeki basho pv(mucc) but we don't have any money at all. xD

hahaha i kept thinking but  i am sure they wouldn't do the mud thing .and this made me laugh even more at the end. didn't expect.

[Ito 2438]

The first band that comes to my mind is Deafheaven. Their album Sunbather was getting super hyped and I came in to it expecting not to like it. Dear lord was that album immense. It was good it pretty much all the right ways, the only track that I didn't care for much was a kind of "intro-ish."

[sai 868]

歌者森 (SingerSen)

A Chinese female singer whose stuff is basically a theatrical pop show. It's really hard to explain SingerSen's music, but it's definitely been one of my favourite discoveries of the year.

 

凛として時雨 (Rin Toshite Shigure)

I'm not really sure whether I got into them this year or last year, but I'm going to guess this year, lol. Fucking awesome band who have released nothing but quality stuff.

 

トクマルシューゴ (Shugo Tokumaru)

Japanese pop-folk singer. His voice isn't the strongest, but his playful and minimalistic compositions are enchanting to the ear. Definitely recommended.

 

school food punishment

I guess this needs no explanation. Basically I'm waiting for la la larks' first official release, lol.

 

Rhian Sheehan

Amazing composer, whose album from this year blew me away. It's great to relax to, very quiet and like the last.fm description says, every track seems to be a description from a specific sight.

 

NICO Touches the Walls

Never really listened to them that much, but the album they dropped this year made me a casual listener. Good vocals, catchy melodies,  great variety in songs, just a good band in general.

 

M-Koda

Electronics artist from Japan. He's only been in the game for a couple of years, but this year's album was this strongest yet. M-Koda is a must if you love electronics. His stuff is ambient and is perfect for studying or if you like to listen to calm music.

 

Lorne Balfe

Irish composer who created two OSTs for Assassin's Creed. He's just really good at what he does, that's it, really.

 

LAGITAGIDA

Instrumental band who differentiate themselves with crazy yet structured melodies, an amazing guitarist and just really catchy songs. I nearly forgot I missed the vocals while listening to their album.

 

cinema staff

Number Girl recommended them to me, so I checked them out. Didn't regret doing so! They're not my favourite discovery of the year, but I found plenty of enjoyable songs on their end.

 

Bo Ningen

Another recommendation from Number Girl. Jfc, this band is so good. Their stuff is chaotic, the vocals are great to the mood of the songs and even though the atmosphere is the same, the songs are so diverse it doesn't get boring. Definitely recommended.

 

AI

J-Pop singer who I discovered through CAT5. Being born from an afro-american father and a japanese mother, AI's voice is pretty unique from the other J-Pop singers. Her voice is what makes her stand out, along with her catchy songs.

 

THAT'S IT, LONG LIST. A LOT OF THANKS TO CAT5 TOO

[Guest Magatsu]

Let's see who didn't I know before?

 

Wel.

 

DIZERT

kinda new VK band who did start in 2012

 

DIV

Also new VK band, who really surprised me!

 

Amber Gris

I really never knew that they are so great!

 

 

And that's it I guess.  this year I also did listen to bands and so on who I already discovered years ago. but that I kinda restarted to listen to them

 

 

However everyone should check at jpop singer "AI" | http://www.universal-music.co.jp/ai/ |  it's as SAI says. she is really great so if you like jpop then truly CHECK her out!

My favo song of her:

[Ito 2438]

Ok here's my full list:

 

Japanese:

the cabs

Really solid indie rock with some math influence. I have heard there name tossed around a bunch but I didn't really give them a solid listen until their album that came out in January of this year.

 

DAM

Great alt/indie rock band. Their music feels really raw and pure, the screams are just fantastic, you can really feel the power and emotion behind them. Their album from this year, a.b.c no koten, is all I have heard from them so far, but I love it.

 

eri-nyo

indie pop that also includes a flute, I away sold from the first two songs off of their album from this year.

 

Kinoko Teikoki

Atmospheric post rock with female vocals. Their album from this year easily is making it on to my best of.

 

Lament.

Oh man! I am so happy I discovered this band while they are still going strong. They take up a similar space as the god and the death stars with their melancholic music, but they have a more old-school vibe to them. 

 

Matryoshka

I found their 2012 album Laideronnette a couple months back and feel in love. I love the ambient mood they provide with the soft and air female vocals and light piano and violin. 

 

a picture of her

Upbeat post/math rock with complex patterns of sounds that still manage to stay catchy. All I have heard from them is their album C from this year, but it is awesome. IT really filled the gap with having no new toe release this year.

 

Rhycol.

Another great indie rock band, but their vocalist reminds me a lot of Yomi from Nightmare, which is really odd but great at the same time. 

 

speaker gain teardrop

Atmospheric and sprawling post rock. Great stuff.

 

Stereo.C.K

Tora from Sel'm and Kazu from DIMMDIVISION/the god and death stars. Need I say any more?

 

Tam Tam

Indie dub/reggae...I never thought that this would be something that I would like, but their album Polarize from this year won me over.

 

Undead Corporation

Metalcore touhou music. I discovered their 2012 album O.D. earlier this year which I really liked, and then their 2013 album Boukun came out a little bit ago and that impressed me a lot as well.

 

the unknown forecast

this band is indie rock, but something about them really gives me a bit of a VK vibe. I dig the hell out of it. Found them through their 2013 mini Auction.

 

WAKUSEI ABNORMAL

I have no idea how to describe this band, so I won't. Their mini from really early this year was beyond awesome...not sure if I am feeling their album that just came out nearly as much, though.

 

 

International:

Balmorhea

Fraking fantastic post-rock band (though I am hesitant to call them rock). They tend to use a lot of more unorxodox instruments (violin and banjo come to mind) and a whole shit ton of acoustic guitars. I found them through their 2012 release "Stranger." I then dowloaded some of their other albums, and while they are good, Stranger is just fantastic.

 

Deafheaven

Already explained this one a few posts up.  Sunbather is absolutely immense.

 

The Evpatoria Report

Post rock from Switzerland. They have been on hiatus since 2008 apparently, which is a real shame, since these guys seem to know how to make some of the best post rock I have ever heard. They easily moved to one of the top spots from post rock bands in my book.

 

The Watermark High

I first found the Watermark High through their mini Slow Motion Clarity which features some awesome electronic/post rock "chill-wave." I tracked down some of their other releases (one from 2009 which was WAY different and another from this year) but neither of them hold a candle to how great Slow Motion Clarity is. I found myself putting that album on repeat a lot at work.

[Guest mitsubana]

Annabyss Coast / アンナビスコースト

They are amazing. An indie band with potential and heart. vk indie at its best, that I've seen in a while...in my opinion.

[God 264]

I'd say 2013 has been a year of discovery and re-discovery for me.

 

Chiodos

I used to love these guys when I was in high school, but I kind of just forgot about them after Craig left the band for D.R.U.G.S (and I'm not really into their music at all, so, oops). But I went to Warped Tour and they ended up being there with Craig. I honestly never thought I'd see Chiodos perform because I didn't want to see them w/o him (I didn't dig the other vocalist they had for like, one release), so that was definitely a treat.

 

Yeti

They don't have any songs I don't like, which is pretty rare for me to say. Usually I'll listen to a release and end up having to skip a few songs for whatever reason. With Yeti, I can listen to their releases all the way through. I like that a lot.

 

Glam Grammar

I'm a big fan of catchy songs and these guys have some catchy music.

 

Neck Deep
Kind of because of Tumblr, I've been getting into some pop punk bands recently. Neck Deep is one of the ones I really dig a lot as well as...

 

The Story So Far

They remind me a lot of bands I liked in high school, so it's more of a nostalgic feeling that I get from them.

 

Issues

I don't have a lot to say about them aside from that their vocalist sounds like he could sing pop music really well and I dig their instrumentation a lot.

 

Avengers In Sci-Fi

More catchy music.

 

Andymori

I don't know what genre they are, but damn I like it a lot. It reminds me sort of of ART-SCHOOL (who is one of my favorite bands of all time) but sorta mixed with Base Ball Bear. I kinda just found them last night, honestly.

 

La Dispute

I wish I'd have discovered these guys sooner. There was a month or so where I was basically only listening to them.

 

SCREW
This band, I'd heard them before but I didn't really like them a lot. Though, since last year I've been learning more about how music is made and produced. I like them a lot now.

 

I'm sure there's some I'm forgetting.

[Asakusa 95]

DESCARTES A KANT
 

 
I don't know too much about this band, there's not too many info on the netz, they're a band from Mexico and what made me love them was their bizarre stuff, if you like bands like Mr. Bungle, Debussy, Kronos Quartet, Tori Amos, Primus, Sonic Youth, Peaches and that kind of stuff this is your band, best of all is that all of their songs are in english.

 
Here, this session has 3 songs with a little interview in between, maybe you'll like it:

 

[Bear 1817]

Run the Jewels

 

 

Run the Jewels is a colabration between the recent underground hip hop star Killer Mike and underground master producer/rapper EL-P, who produced Killer Mike's last album, 2012's already classic "R.A.P. Music". They've both got something huge going on nowadays, but this totally takes the cake. Killer Mike's agressive rap over El-P's dark, lo-fi, dirty beats are just stunning. Well, can't forget EL'P's magnificent raps either. The latter gave us Run the Jewel's best verse. Check out the first verse on "A Christmas Fucking Miracle". IMMENSE! The flow on this album, by both guys, are incredible. It's stunning. Breath taking. Amazing!

 

Kanye West and Jay-Z get's all the attention, while EL-P is almost overrlooked every single time people talk about producers. Here'a fun fucking fact: EL-P has created one of the world's best and most innovative records, no matter genre. That's not just my opinion, that's a fact. I've had this as y third best album of the year, but I have to admit; that's not true. This is THE album of the year.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bzrj2mtAC4

Listen to the opening verse, guys. Listen to that!

 

And even better, listen to the opening verse to his song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEmw5WXtkq4

 

God fucking damn! Album of the year!

 

 

Edit: They released the album for free as well.

[JukaForever 758]

Try 12 reasons to die by Ghostface, you may want to list a comparison of all the albums you have heard as well, very unlikely that's album of the year in hip hop