ChristMHas 25 Days of MH-mas! The Staff Album Picks of 2013.

**Ito** · December 1, 2013

The staff wanted to try something a little different this year with our best of list. Instead of just publishing a list of all of our picks at the end of the year, we decided to have it so one is posted every day right up to Christmas! It's our own little take on an advent calendar. Each day you will see a new album posted with a few staff members giving their take as to what their opinion of the album is. Keep in mind that it is impossible to really create a list that captures all of the diverse tastes of the our individual staff members, so you will have to wait for the staff member's individual lists if you really want to know a certain member's favorites. Also, the list was limited to only Japanese album (cause, I mean, this is a Japanese music forum).

This post will serve as the "directory" with all of individual albums being featured in each reply post. The discussion for this will go in THIS THREAD.

And without further ado, the list!

**Ito** · December 1, 2013

Day 1 - ALSDEAD - Separator

Release Date: 2013-04-24

Label: Danger Crue

Genre: Alternative Metal

nostalgia.'s take

ALSDEAD itself is known as one of the few good metal bands in the Visual Kei music scene with a unique heavy sound. Separator, their 2nd album, has its own concept splitting the whole thing in two with the self-titled track in the middle of the album. Surprisingly, this track which was presumably the premier track to promote the album ended up being just a two-min ballad as if it were made to be the intro of the next song. However, I really enjoy listening to MAKI's aggressive voice especially in the song Rebellion, my favorite track off this release. For me, this is one of the anticipated releases in 2013 that were worth the wait.

P.S. IMO, this album already ends beautifully with the closing track, BLINK. The two bonus tracks from the regular edition don't seem to fit it anyway.

Linh-san's take

Seperator is a pretty good album, starting off with the song ‘’Pandemic’’.

Since all songs are in good balance, MAKI’s voice and the instrumentals from the other members, it makes the whole album perfectly fit together. I think the strongest song out the whole album would be ‘’Puzzle’’, because the song keeps my attention the most.

I find the title song itself, ‘’Separator’’ a bit weak in my opinion, because I was expecting some stronger song,

but overall they did a good job on this release since I enjoyed it a lot!

Sample song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX8Ao5hC9Eo

Buy the album:

CDJapan | YesAsia | iTunes

**Ito** · December 2, 2013

Day 2 - amber gris - AROUND CHILDREN

Release Date: 2013-02-27

Label: an griffon

Genre: Visual Kei/Alternative

Ito's take

If it wasn’t for Temari’s nasally vocals, I think that sometimes I would forget that I am listening to a visual kei band when I am spinning this album. It is hard to find offense with this collection of upbeat alt rock songs. While I wouldn’t call amber gris a very risky band, their catchy melodies are more than enough for me to keep listening to AROUND CHILDREN for multiple plays. I found myself humming the tune of “bright or blind” while I was making myself lunch earlier today, which is quite a feat. It is becoming increasingly difficult for music to really stick with me after I am done listening to a song.

If I wasn’t writing this for a largely visual kei fanbase, I would bring up that Temari’s vocals can be slightly off-putting with its very nasally tone, but I don’t think that should be too much of a problem for most people on MH. That is not to say that he is a bad vocalist; he can really belt it out on some songs (hope you like vibrato). But what really stands out to me is his falsetto…it’s quite lovely. Most of the time when VK vocalist’s hit the super high notes it can almost sound jarring, but Temari’s is just smooth and natural.

Would I say that AROUND CHILDREN is really a stand out piece of work compared to what amber gris has put out already? I wouldn’t say that it is any better or worse than their 2011 album, pomander…but I thought that was a pretty great release as well. AROUND CHILDREN may not blow you away, but I think it is hard not to at least enjoy the ride!

Favorite track: Fragile

Champ213's take

amber gris has never been a band that was truly remarkable in the sense that their music was very unique or original. But they have always been a very solid band that would always deliver good quality, and would occasionally shine with small gems of songwriting. Pretty much the same thing can be said about their second full-length album AROUND CHILDREN. You can hear that all the members are very experienced and can master their instruments effortlessly. The songwriting is always rock-solid and there is little bad to be said about Temari's vocals, except that his nasal voice might not be everyone's taste.

The unremarkableness is obviously the greatest wekaness of the album. Too little seems to stand out, especially compared to some of their earlier works. Many songs will need some time to grow on you. But I would say that they are worth it to give the album more than just one or two spins. Most of the songs could be described as slow to mid-tempo rock songs, so there could definetely have been some more variety. The closes thing to stand-out songs for me are the slightly faster "Sweet blood pool", the catchy "fragile", the very beautiful "amaryllis" and the ballad-y "そこにあるもの", which reminds me a lot of the band Sugar.

If you are looking for some ground-breaking new sound, then AROUND CHILDREN definitely isn't for you. But if you want 45 minutes of pleasant, well-made rock music, give this a try.

Favourite song: Sweet blood pool

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CD Japan | iTunes | YesAsia

**Ito** · December 3, 2013

Day 3 - a picture of her - C

Release Date: 2013-05-15

Label: Friend of Mine Records

Genre: Post-rock/Instrumental/Math-rock

Ito's take

My first time listening to a picture of her I didn’t have much of an idea of what to expect. They were post rock, had an interesting band name, a terrible album name, and an awesome album cover. I had no idea what musical pleasures awaited me in this album…perhaps they spent so much time working on the music that they didn’t have any effort left to give it a proper name.

It is easy to liken this album to the works of toe, te’, lite, or any other Japanese band in the post/math rock space. In fact, it is easy to write them off “like toe, but not as good.” But I found as I spent more time with the album, I noticed what they were doing differently. If you take it as just the guitar tones, the complex drum patterns, and the instrumental nature of the music, it is hard to see them as anything different. That is, until you start to take into account the mood that is set across the entire album…to me the music seemed to be wrapped in a friendly warmth that is hard to explain.

What I love about this album is it manages to be simple and complex at the same time. It never demands anything of you, instead it just lays out these smooth tones that you can get lost in. It is the perfect kind of music to unwind to; the mood is comfortable, calm, and inviting. But at the same time, when you want to look deep, there is so much to this album. These guys are masterful at their instruments and it shows from the intricate drum patterns to the waves of texture that comes from the interplay of bass and guitar. But it never pulls you in and shouts “hey look at me on complex and detailed! You must love me!”

Favorite track: I think the best way to enjoy a picture of her is to spin the entire album, but if I had to choose, it would be “Seize the day.”

Original Saku's take

"a picture of her" is the name of the band and they are a four piece instrumental rock band that plays a very solid combination of post rock and math rock. "C" is their first Album and also their first release since their 2009 EP "a fanatic socialist looked up at the stars..." which in many regards was a extremely solid debut release considering how unknown the band was at that time. "C" improves upon that formula and is just as solid if not more solid than their EP. This album is what I consider the quintessential chill album of the year, and for another matter probably my favorite post rock album I've listened to this year (if not the past few years). It took nearly four years for them to produce this album, but when I say that it was worth the wait, I do not say that lightly. If you listen to the aforementioned EP and then listen to this album you can clearly tell that "C" is a byproduct of the band's hard work throughout the years, by constantly playing at live houses and honing their core sound into something worthy of being recorded and sold to the fans. If more bands would take their time and not rush albums then they would most definitely arrive at a similar end result such as this band has, that end result being quality.

Favorite Track: History repeats itself

Sample song:

Buy the album:

Tower Records | HMV | Amazon

**Ito** · December 4, 2013

Day 4 - CYCLAMEN - Ashura

Release Date: 2013-10-13

Label: Realising Media

Genre: Metal/Djent

Ito's take

Hayato Imanishi’s work has always held a special place in my heart because of his special approach to music. I feel like that normal barrier between artist and fan is pretty much gone, he presents himself as very much just a normal person. He admits to flaws like mentioning when he has trouble playing certain parts of a song. He features other people’s covers of his music on his facebook page all the time. He gives away all of his music for free and takes donations instead…and if you ever had to pay for his music, chances are that the money from that sale is going to some charity or effort. When that gap between artist and listener is closed, and when you know you are listening to music that was created out of love, I think there is something special there.

Now on to the album itself. If you like your music soft without screams, I would stop right now as this release is not for you. Ashura is a very aggressive metal album, with most of the song being fast paced and full of Hayato’s signature growls and scream (I happen to enjoy them quite a bit, but I can easy imagine how they could be very off-putting). By the end of the second to last track, things finally start to settle down, and only by the last track do we get something calm in the way of the ballad “Kusoku-Zeshiki.”

I would not call Ashura an easy album by any means, it took me a couple listens before I really started enjoying it. There are some aspects that I still don’t care for (like some parts of Haja-Kenshou honestly just sound way too messy). But underneath the flaws I think there is fantastic album. The guitar playing can get super shreddy at times, but it never feels like guitar wankery…it feels meaningful and creates interesting patterns and texture instead of being fast for fast’s sake. That said, Hayato and co. certainly know how to slow it down when they need to. The slow, sludgy, and rhythmic guitar playing in "Hika-Kougai" is borderline drone, but in all the right ways. And then there is the ending ballad to close out the album…there is something about having a soft and haunting song juxtaposed to all these heavy tracks to finish the album that really leaves an impact.

Favorite Track: Shimbu-Fusatsu

Zess's take

Cyclamen has always had an interesting progression as a band, always meddling in different styles and featuring many different guest musicians, but it's felt more like a side project of lead guitarist/vocalist Hayato Imanishi more than an actual band..until now. When the London-based band fully embraced their Japanese side, announced full-time members, and revealed the tracklist, clearly something different was in store. What I was not expecting was consistent results from experimentation wrapped up in an album that knows how to stay heavy from start to finish.

The ten tracks on Ashura don't feel like ten tracks written over the span of a few years arranged to fit on an album - they each feel like one-tenth of an album. The distinction is small but important, and this attention to detail that Cyclamen pays to it's music seperates them from the leagues of djent bands content to chug a polyrythmic riff for four minutes and call the song done. It's a rare sight to find a djent band that doesn't suck. It's a rarer gem to find a djent band like Cyclamen that mixes in so many other styles so well - including clean singing that doesn't pierce my eardrums with a needle - while remaining consistently good doing it. Ashura is what happens when djent has a love child with SOAD worship and is one of the more solid metal offerings of 2013.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

Bandcamp (name your price)

**Ito** · December 5, 2013

Day 5 - Dir en Grey - THE UNRAVELING

Release Date: 2013-04-03

Label: Firewall Div.

Genre: Metal

Zess's take

Put "Dir en grey" and "remake" into the same sentence, and you'll unilaterally get a room full of Japanese metal fans cringing in fear. The Japanese juggernauts have ten years of music to pull from, but each time they do it's like playing Russian Roulette with four bullets in the six-shooter. So I was personally surprised when THE UNRAVELING didn't come out sounding like trash, but I can boil that down to two main reasons:

- the lack of purposefully angular, hard to digest composition.

- all the songs take liberties, but no remake strays too far from the source material of the original songs.

The songs all survived the transformation into Dir en grey's new sound (except for Kasumi, which they drizzled a good amount of cheese over) without having been mangled in the process. There's no stupid symphonic garbage, cheesy horror flick piano, or mindless droning deathcore. Amon was done terribly. LOTUS was done terribly. No song on this release is as bad as those two, or OBSCURE, or whatever AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS was supposed to be. The unplugged version of Unraveling strays close to it but it stops short with piano and some flutes, which hints that maybe they realize that over the top style symphonic arrangements do not suit them. Plus points for that.

The new version of MACABRE is amazing. The first ten minutes are an almost straight rendition of the original version found on the album featuring the same name. This is all positive, since they took one look at it and realized that it is perfect the way it is and needs absolutely no tweaking. Then the last six minutes feels like a natural extension to the song, featuring some of the greatest songwriting I've heard from them ever. It trumps the original in every single way. Likewise, the unplugged version of THE FINAL sounds almost theatrical, which is a new for this band. I can detect no semblance of the original melody in the instruments, and if you removed Kyo's lyrics I would not be able to tell at all that this is the same song. However, the reinterpretation of this song is so excellent I simply don't care.

A step up from their last full-length, Dir en grey are finally learning that questioning everything doesn't always mean the end result is immediately good. It's straight back to the roots Dir en grey from a new perspective, and that's all anyone could ask for. Now if we could do something about their badly placed deathcore influences and persistent THE MARROW OF A BONE-esque "turn up the crunch and get metal" attitude, we could have a winner on our hands.

nostalgia.'s take

I was quite surprised once they announced a new mini-album to be released in 3 months after the latest single, "Rinkaku". It wasn't something a band like DIR ENGREY would do anyway; in other words, usually, the fans would always have to wait for at least a year or so to hear a new song. However, I think the tracklist was kinda disappointing to those who were expecting 6-7 brand new songs for this mini-album. This was probably predictable though because they're DIR EN GREY, the band that hardly releases a new song. But when they release something, Monochrome-Heaven will have a large number of current online users looking for a download link each time. (ROFL!)

The first time I saw the tracklist, Karma and Unknown.Despair.Lost instantly caught my attention. I was wondering what they would sound like since the original songs themselves sounded kinda old schoolish. They were ones of my favorite songs of theirs back in the day, too. However, they both ended up sounding completely different from their origins unlike the rest which you could certainly say they are "self-covers".

Unraveling, the self-titled track, is like the 2nd part of Rinkaku to me. It's an amazing song full of various details and worth being the main track after all, but I wonder how long we will have to wait just to see a full version of the PV.

Nevertheless, none of the songs from the tracklist are my favorites except for MACABRE, a 16-min extended version of the prominent ballad from their 2nd studio album with the same title. It's soooo beautiful from the beginning till the end. I just love how progressive MACABRE is. In addition, their progressive songs with around ten minutes length such as VINUSHKA, DIABOLOS, and MACABRE, are really worth the time listening to. I can't even pick my most favorite track off of those, though.

Finally, THE UNRAVELING may seem to be their self-cover album containing only one new song, but in my opinion, it means a lot to long-time DIR EN GREY fans from their initial career. No one would expect the songs most people have already forgotten like Karma and Unknown…Despair…a Lost to be revived, anyway, but here they are in this release.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CDJapan | YesAsia | iTunes

**Ito** · December 6, 2013

Day 6 - DIV - ZERO ONE

Release Date: 2013.10.23

Label: Danger Crue Records

Genre: Visual kei - electronic, pop, rock

Linh-san's take

DIV is a visual kei band formed in 2012 and consist of 4 members: Chisa, Shogo, Chobi & Satoshi.

For this year, DIV hasn’t disappointed me any bit!

Beside those awesome single releases ‘’TASTE OF LIFE’’ and ‘’ゴールデンキネマ劇場’’...

They havereleased their first full album ZERO ONE!

I was pretty exited for this after seeing a preview of the MV!

My favourite song is obviously the title song ‘’ZERO ONE’’, but I also like ‘’Chocolate Prayer’’ & ‘’I swear’’…. Hmm, I actually liked all songs except the interlude ( > _ < ; )

For the song ‘’ZERO ONE’’ I looked up the lyrics and it took my interest…!

…’’ There isn't a single meaningless thing, don't you think? Nature's providence isn't someone else's problem...’’

…’’ Baseless hope. Hopeless instigating. Lack of explanation. Meaningless! Cheap words. Don't manipulate me with things like that…’’

After seeing the lyrics, it actually makes me think about it. Any of these words makes kinda sense in life, all those thoughts or acts happens in daily life. Hearing this song is like a cheer-up song for me, when times are tough, you'll get through it somehow! It's not only happening to you, others might experience the same thing.

Anyways, I could say this was really a wonderful album!

Chisa’s beautiful voice and the instrumentals are going really well together, nothing sounds disturbing… just perfect!

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CD Japan | YesAsia | iTunes

**Ito** · December 7, 2013

Day 7 - the god and death stars - dawn of the god

Release Date: 2013-05-06

Label: zoisite

Genre: Nagoya Kei

Ito's take

If Nagoya kei is dead, someone forgot to tell aie. The god and death stars seems to be pretty much everything I miss about the early 2000’s Nagoya scene, from the slow tempos to the dark nostalgia tinged mood that the song seem to create. But there is one thing about the god and death stars that I would never expect that they deliver in spades…production quality. How does a band that seems to reject the over produced nature of today music still sound so great? I am not quite sure, but I think it might have something to do with finding just the right amount of balance in the bass frequencies to make everything sound punchy without being overbearing. Sonically, this album is fantastic and some of the best sounding stuff you will find in the VK scene.

If there is one thing that is apparent to me over the course of this album, it is that the god and the death stars are far better suited to a shorter format like a mini album. Something about the shorter length seems to make the songs stand out more, where as in dawn of the god they seem to blend together. I think that is kind of just how the god and the death stars is for me, they create a ton of great songs but nothing that ever really screams “holy crap that song was so much better than everything else.” Without the breathing room that is afforded on a mini album, the album can sometimes just feel like a blur of the same guitar tones and tempos.

But even when it does feel like a bit of a blur, the mood of the entire album still manages to stand out. It is dark, but never too dark. Or maybe let me rephrase that…they aren’t dark in a way that is forced or fake, it feel natural, it feels real, and to me that has so much more impact. While I wouldn’t say dawn of the god is as great as the band’s previous two mini albums, it is still easily makes it to the top of my picks for 2013.

Favorite Songs: hanbun nin and dawn of the god

Zess's take

Serving up melancholic, alternative, Nagoya-kei influenced rock without realizing they showed up late to the party, the god and death stars show that given enough ideas, visual kei can adapt itself to any music style from any time. The largest fault of this band is that the formula of midtempo, bass-driven sound mixed with aie's signature nasal vocals isn't the most flexible, and the album gets long in the tooth near the end. Thus, the novelty will rope you in but unless aie's style really speaks to you it might lose you before it's done.

Regardless, dawn of the god is an album that finds itself crafted in the wrong time period, acting as a counterweight to the overproduced, dynamically crunched, loud and crowded visual kei of today. It's a few guys, a couple of instruments and a hell of a lot of passion. It's hard to not admire the minimalism and individuality that it would take for a band to buck the trend and do their own thing, which is why for it's faults dawn of the god is still one of the better albums to come out this year.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

Zoisute

**Ito** · December 8, 2013

Day 8 - グリーヴァ (Grieva) - 鬼ト影

Release Date: 2013-02-13

Label: Ains

Genre: visual kei - metal

Champ213's take

Wait, isn't this the Dir en Grey cover band, you may ask? Well, yes, I guess you could call them that, because the obvious "inspiration" sometimes seems to go beyond mere inspiration to the point that people try to match each Grieva song to a correspondent DeG song (which I think isn't really the case though). So, if you are looking for something groundbreaking and original, this isn't the place to look. If you are looking for some well-made vk that captures the spirit of late 90s / early 00s bands, but giving it a modern twist, then this is for you. That was the time when I got into vk, so obviously there is a bit of nostalgia involved for me. But I think that newer listeners of vk will also find enjoyment in this, because obviously Grieva isn't the only recent band influenced by this sound, so it will not be entirely unfamiliar to them.

I also think that most songs, despite their obvious influences, still sound fresh enough to be enjoyable on their own. One of my favourite songs, 拝啓、愛しのアイドル様へ is sometimes so close to Dir en grey's FILTH it's a bit awkward, but I still enjoy it a lot. There is a decent amount of variety on the album, reflecting the different styles of 90s vk, you have some heavier, psychotic songs, a more "poppy" song (true grief), a ballad (悲しみは巡りゆく季節と眠る哀) and so on.

From a technical perspective (instruments, vocals, mixing) there isn't much bad to be said about this album. I'm really enjoying Kyouki's vocals in particular, especially on 鬼経-kikei- where he occasionbally slides into harsh vocals mid-sentence. It will be interesting to see how the band evolves in the next years (assuming they don't disband, which is quite an assumption to start with). But as someone who never really "got" the current trend of poppy/dancy vk, I hope they will stick to their style.

Favourite song: 鬼経-kikei-

Zess's take

Oh Dir en grey-lite, you never fail to surprise me. Like many of the fans who enjoyed Grieva's debut album, I came into the visual scene around 1998-1999 when this style of music was the dominant trend in visual kei. I've heard my fair share of older bands and can confidently say that Oni no Kage would fit right in fourteen years ago. However, I must be one of the few who didn't enjoy the album the first time around. Oni no Kage feels like GAUZE transported 14 years into the future and I always assumed that if I wanted to listen to GAUZE...well, I'd just listen to GAUZE! I completely missed the point of this album the first time around.

And the second. And the third.

Now I don't care that this album straddles the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism. Grieva is a time capsule of music from an era that most of us weren't around for, complete with all the trappings that make the 90's visual kei sound so 90's. It evokes feelings in me that no other album has in quite a while, because it doesn't sound like any album that's been released in quite a while. It's simultaneously old and new. Stale yet fresh. Original but not. Grieva succeeded in confounding me because while you don't ever know where the album is going to go next, somehow you know exactly where the album is going to go. And it works each and every time.

It takes some serious balls to go back to this kind of sound and play it today when almost every other band considers it dead and outdated. I respect Oni no Kage for what it stands for, even if the album itself does nothing for me.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CD Japan | iTunes

**Ito** · December 9, 2013

Day 9 - きのこ帝国 (Kinoko Teikoku) – eureka

Release Date: 2013-02-06

Label: DAIZAWA RECORDS/UK.PROJECT inc.

Genre: Indie/Post Rock/Shoegaze

Ito's take

Kinoko Teikoku was a new discovery for me this year, and I was intrigued by them right from the start upon seeing the album art for Eureka. The mess of black scribbles in crayon; perhaps something you would expect out of a 4 year old, but what I saw a bit more than just laying wax to paper. An eye staring out of the darkness that is closing in on it, life and color being blotted out…the childish medium that it is done in being at odds with the content proves that once again juxtaposition can serve to make something so much more powerful. By all means, this cover should come across as ugly, but I really find it to be captivating…and dare I say even beautiful.

What I found under the guise of that borderline insane cover was music that did not want to be labeled. Female fronted shoegaze indie post pop rock? Sure…but I am just going to call it good music. From the first track Kinoko felt different on their vocals alone. I am so used to female vocalist’s voices sounding a certain way…a bit higher pitched and perhaps a bit more upfront. This mellow tone works incredibly well when mixed with the many layers of sound on some of their songs.

This is not to say that this is a perfect album. When Kinoko gets songs right, they really shine, but there are certainly some dogs on this CD. I think I skipped yotaka about half of the time I spun this album. Also, I need to really be in the right mood to enjoy a good deal of the songs. When I went to write this review, the first time I tried it just wasn’t doing anything for me…the songs came across as annoying as if there was just too much noise. I came back to it a day later and suddenly it all clicked again and I was loving it. For me, the strength of this album is really found in the songs that lean more towards the slow paced and shoegaze-y side of things. Certainly Eureka is not an album for everyone, and it can be a bit difficult to the ears at time, but when everything falls in to place it is a great listen.

Favorite Track: myujishan

Original Saku's take

"Kinoku Teikoku" is bit of a peculiar band for me, peculiar in the good way not the bad way... I first discovered them last year when their EP "渦になる" (Uzuninaru) was posted here. I remember listening to a sample and Immediately thinking that "this is really good I think I might be in love" and as it turns out I was right. Which is the peculiar thing, the moment where after listening to only one song and instantly thinking I'm going to love this, that doesn't happen too often for me. Actually I would go as far as to say that it has never happened for me that quick before... Usually I would have to listen to the full album many times before I would come to that feeling of being in love or get that sense of immense enjoyment from an album let alone only one song. Whenever I heard that they would be releasing an album at the beginning of 2013 I knew that I would be getting it, there was no doubt in my mind.

"Eureka" is a very good album in my opinion, It didn't quite have that instantaneous effect that "渦になる" had for me, but let me tell you it is a grower. After my first listen of this album I felt pretty split on my opinion of it, there were songs that I liked and then there were songs that I wouldn't necessarily say that were bad, but they definitely weren't working for me. That pretty much changed with a few more listens, the songs that I like before got even better and the ones I didn't care for before started to grow on me little by little, almost to the point where I can say that there is not one song on this album that I dislike at this point. That's not to say that there aren't songs I like more than some of the others because I definitely do have favorites.

The music itself is quite good, I love the instrumentation presented in this album and it's very well executed. From Shigeaki's basslines to Kon's very impressive drumming which I think might be one of the biggest reasons their songs are so good for me. Then there is Ah-chan and Satou on the guitar which is a lovely combination, there's just something about two female lead guitarists in a band that makes me want to like them... and lets not forget about Satou's vocal work either. As far as female vocalists go she is one of my favorites right now her voice fits this style of shoegaze perfectly. Songs like "ユーリカ" and "ミュージシャン" especially showcase the bands shoegaze sound to the fullest and then there is songs like "春と修羅" and "風化する教室" that have a bit of a more pop-rock sound to them that I think fits the band really good as well.

Favorite Tracks: " 国道スロープ" & "ミュージシャン"

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CD Japan | iTunes

**Ito** · December 10, 2013

Day 10 - NICO Touches the Walls - Shout to the Walls!

Release Date: 2013-04-24
Label: Ki/oon Records
Genre: Rock/Alternative/Indie

sai's take

NICO Touches the Walls is one of those bands that seems to blend in with most other standard, more mainstream rock bands, yet manages to differentiatie themselves from that image by going all-out on their new album Shout to the Walls!, which is in my opinion one of their most impressive albums yet.

Shout to the Walls! shows a very diverse side from this band, while staying true to their original sound. If the only song you've ever heard by them was Diver because it was a Naruto opening song, then I can promise you that this album has nothing of the sorts you'd expect while listening to Diver. The album starts off with three mid-tempo songs, then switches to a couple of upbeat, catchy fun tracks. The slower songs follow, and the album closes with a mix of all three.

The great thing about is that even though you might complain that "all the slow songs are put together", it just doesn't really bore you here. All songs are diverse enough in melody and tempo, therefore not making it sound like a snoozefest when you're only 3 tracks in.

To be quite honest, it's hard to describe why this album works so well the way it does. I would only advice you to try it and see for yourself.

Sample song:

Buy the album:
CD Japan | iTunes

**Ito** · December 11, 2013

Day 11 - 大橋トリオ (OhashiTrio) - plugged

Release Date: 2013-03-13

Label: Avex

Genre: Jazz/Folk/Pop

Original Saku's take

大橋トリオ or OhashiTrio (real name is Ohashi Yoshinori) is a singer songwriter from Chiba, Japan. He plays a variety of instruments including the Piano, guitar, bass, drums, mandolin, shamisen, and harp to name a few, and he incorporates a unique blend of jazz, soul, folk, rock, and bossanova into his music sometimes with a touch of funk. Ohashi is somewhat of a new discovery for me despite the fact that he's been around since 2003. I first listened to him last year when his "White" album released, which is Ohashi's collaboration album and absolutely loved what I heard, but I didn't realize till sometime later that solo Ohashi is truly where he shines the most. Soon after discovering him I started searching for his other albums and found myself coming across his mini album "This is Music", Now I thought with a title like that this better be good and it was.. At this point I knew that he was going to quickly become one of my favorites, and then the beginning of 2013 came and It was announced that he was going to be releasing a new album named "Plugged".

"Plugged" is a album that I instantly loved upon listening the first time, much like all of Ohashi's other endeavors it is a emotional roller coaster ride filled with masterful instrumentation and very soothing vocal work. I've come to realize that Ohashi has this very wholesome warm feeling to his music that just envelopes you while listening, it makes you feel good and can even put you in a good mood. That's to say his music has this certain aspect to it that just has the ability to "raise spirits" if you will. "Plugged" makes me feel this way more than any of his other albums so far, It really is a very relaxing good times album that I believe could probably be played no matter what mood you are in and will come out of it feeling satisfied and maybe even in a better mood than you was before. If there was one word I would use to describe this type of music it most definitely would be "warm", because that's how it makes me feel when I listen to it. I just get this warm feeling and even if I'm feeling like shit or something bad has happened, listening to this just makes me feel better as a whole.

I know this is a little different from what most people on this forum are used to listening to, but if there is a one shot in the dark album you find yourself wanting to try then please give this album a try. I doubt you will be disappointed, maybe you might not like it for whatever reasons (not your cup of tea ect.) but you won't be able to deny the fact that this is good music with well thought out songs and an amazing sound. This is my album of the year!

Favorite Tracks: ALL OF THEM!

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CD Japan | iTunes Japan

**Ito** · December 12, 2013

Day 12 - Tam Tam – Polarize

Release Date: 2013-03-06

Label: mao

Genre: Dub/Reggae/Indie

Ito's take

Tam Tam is proof to me that you should always keep an open mind when it comes to music. Reggae and Dub are not music genres that I normally partake in. In fact, I would say that I actively dislike a good chunk of what is created in those genres. On CAT5’s recommendation (which is almost never wrong, I have discovered so much great music because of him), I decided to check out Polarize anyways. The Reggae and Dub influences are so obviously apparent, but guess what? I didn’t matter, because in the end, this is just some good ass music. Tam Tam blend so many different genres together in this mini-album, but the soul of the music is never lost. If you want to read a long piece as to why you should check this release out, go read the excellent take CAT5 wrote…seriously, why are you still reading this?

Favorite Tracks: Polarize and Apple

CAT5's take

Japan's reggae&dub scene, while thriving, has never been as prominent or acknowledged as its many other sonic exports - from the ulta-sugary Tokyo high-rises of JPOP down to the androgynous sewers of Visual Kei (a movement that isn't particularly huge in Japan), reggae&dub is still, in comparison, a small, unintelligible nook in Japan's musical landscape. Even with Japan housing the 2nd largest music industry on the globe and being notorious for its diversity, reggae&dub simply aren't viewed as ethnically synonymous with country, so these scenes tend to go overlooked by those that aren't hardcore aficionados of the genres. Even amongst long-time fans of Japanese music, the thought of Japanese reggae/dub isn't something that readily comes to mind - so there seems to be a definite disconnect between genres that are seen as objectively universal (like rock, pop, and more recently hip hop) and those that are still heavily associated with their ethnic origins. Interestingly, self-proclaimed '21st century dub band' Tam Tam seems to be bridging this gap with their latest release POLARIZE

Formed in late 2008, Tam Tam didn't release their first record Come Dung Basie until 2011 - which was impressively self-produced, with a traditional dub sound centered around Kuroda Satomi's emotive vocals. While Come Dung Basie served as a decent debut for the band, the nauseating amount of "Engrrrish" and the lack of compelling songwriting made the album easily forgettable. A year later, Tam Tam garnered enough attention to have their 2012 followup Meteorite produced by Japanese dub veteran HAKASE-SUN (of FISHMANS and Little Tempo fame). Meteorite expanded upon the band's sound for the better with the addition of a few rock elements and hookier songwriting; however, the album saw Tam Tam stretching themselves thin in the pursuit of innovation - a cool idea here, a few there, but never quite enough.

Only 10 months after the release of Meteorite and welcoming new members into the band, Tam Tam returned with POLARIZE - signaling a new chapter in the band's evolution. POLARIZE condenses all of Kuroda and the gang's previous attempts to reach outside of dub into six accessible offerings that are broad in their appeal, but still very much dub at the core. Title track Polarize is anything but polarizing as it's a perfect marriage of styles - pop vocals, bleep-bloop electronic synths, and twinkling indie-rock guitars smoothly laid atop an ostensibly dub foundation. The next two tracks Hippopotamus and Quiet Town proceed confidently in a similar fashion with slight variations in the established formula, while keeping the listener's ear's piqued and maintaining the flow of the album. The halfway point Moonlight begins as a charging dub instrumental with psychedelic guitars, ominous organs, and a spectrum of other instruments run through heavy reeverb and delay effects, but soon climaxes and segues into a slower, groovier number with Kuroda singing again - effectively setting a darker mood for the second half of mini-album. Hero picks things up a notch and is probably the most intense track on the EP, as there's a lot going on here sonically - maybe a bit too much (the permeating synth in particular is abrasively loud in the mix). Apple begins a bit on the somber side but manages to rev up enough energy by its climax to match the intensity of the previous track - both songs do well to showcase Tam Tam's ability to rock out. Also worth nothing is that the lyrics are almost in entirely in Japanese (a welcome change from their previous works). Overall, POLARIZE is a delightful testament to the band's rapidly improving knack for writing dynamic songs centered around dub.

It's uncertain whether Tam Tam will be able to singlehandedly take Japanese reggae&dub to new heights, but they are at least creating a niche where those unfamiliar with the scenes can interface in a natural and rewarding manner. Japanese indie fans in particular have welcomed Tam Tam with open arms - and rightfully so, as the band has been performing live alongside other indie acts like scenarioart and asobius. Others are welcoming their sound as well - Tam Tam recently signed to Victor Speedstar Records and are set to the make their major debut in early 2014 under their slightly altered name TAMTAM. POLARIZE is the mark of a band that has finally hit their stride, and while I've witnessed countless indie bands reach their peak only to fall off a steep incline into utter monotony (and worse), I'm confident in Tam Tam Tam going forward. Integrating genres like this can be delicate balancing act - too much of this or too little of that can tip the scales - but as long as Tam Tam doesn't abandon their dub roots in exchange pop favor, fans should expect great things to come.

Fav song: Polarize

Sample song:

Buy the album:

Amazon | iTunes

**Ito** · December 13, 2013

Day 13 - the unknown forecast - オークション (Auction)

Release Date: 2013-04-03

Genre: indie rock

Ito's take

With a track length of only 5 songs long, Auction is the shortest release on this year’s list. But I stand firm that I would always prefer a release with just a few great tracks than one packed with filler just to justify the higher price tag. The unknown forecast deliver on that by providing a mini-album that doesn't have a single weak track.

Now what does this mini actual sound like? In a word, great…but let me elaborate on that. The unknown forecast have a distinctively indie sound, but they differ from that generic formula enough to keep things fresh. I feel like the vocalist sounds like he wouldn’t be too out of place if he was singing in a visual kei band…the slight nasally tone and the crooning vibrato on some of his higher notes make me feel like he could slap some makeup on him and call it a day. More than anything, it is the emotion you can feel in his voice that really gets me. Now to the guitars. While their tone is something you probably have heard 100 times before, it is that the riffs constantly stay catchy and interesting that keeps my interest up.

What pull this album together, however, is the competency shown in the two instruments that seemingly are the most neglected in other bands. The bass knows how to stay in the background when it is more important to blend in, but the band gives it plenty of time to shine as well. In fact, there were often times that I found that the bass parts were even more interesting that the guitars, which is something that doesn't happen for me all too often. The drums seal the deal by doing what so many bands seem to be incapable of; writing catchy and interesting patterns. Too often in more traditional rock music the drums just become the background and structure of the rest of the music to lay on top of and doesn’t do much to warrant praise except “well, you kept the beat.” In songs like mozaiku and nana ten batto samurai I found myself actually really digging the patterns the drummer was laying down…I wish I had more knowledge of the drums to articulate what he is doing that I really like, but just listen for it and I am sure that you will find it.

So what makes this mini album awesome? Great composition and song writing, strong instrument competency, and raw emotion. I would tell everyone to check out this album, but especially so to visual kei fans that are looking to branch out, as this album is a very good starting place.

Favorite Track: kyo uriba

Original Saku's take

Alright it's time for my favorite mini album and also my favorite indie rock release from this year. "the unknown forecast" is by far my most unexpected pleasure and discovery from this year, despite the fact they've been around since sometime around 2010 and that this is not their first release I have not heard about these guys till earlier this year.. The reason for this I can only guess is because they are extremely unknown (ironic eh?), even when I went on a hunt to scour the interwebz for more info all I was really able to find out is that they are from Nagoya, Japan and have only been around since 2010, also that the band members are all somewhat young (around the age of nineteen). I was not able to find any of their other stuff available online, and I only recently discovered their OHP. What I can tell you is they play lives with bands like "chouchou merged syrups", "Rhycol.", and "Brian the Sun" to name a few of the more well known ones as of late. To be honest it's not like their isn't any information about them online because their is, but I lack the Japanese knowledge to translate most of the interviews and news pieces I've discovered about them. One thing is sure though, they do seem to be getting more well known in Japan since the beginning of this year and the release of this mini. One thing that irks me is that since there is a lack of a overseas fanbase there is no one to translate things, like I have no idea what the band members names are... That might not seem as big a problem for some, but for me it kinda bothers me not knowing the names of the musicians I'm currently calling one of my "faves".

Now onto the music. This mini Is what I like to call a very coherent and well done album. All of the songs are superb and have a very niche indie rock sound and most importantly they all flow incredibly well into each other and don't sound out of place or sound like "filler" songs. Which is a good thing because let's be real this is a mini album not a full 10-12 song album, there is no need for filler. production wise I don't hear nothing wrong with the sound and mixing and I'm quite impressed considering this is a somewhat unknown band so I can imagine their funding is not the greatest of things, so it's rather acceptable in my opinion. Instrumentally the band is solid and leaves not much to be desired, the vocalist is powerful and pulls you into the songs like a vocalist should and I find that he has a pretty descent range of notes that he can hit. Songs like "モザイク" that start the album off really powerfully with it's catchy verses and chorus and then later on leads into my personal favorite "fish story" which is just overall a really addicting and fun song to listen to, and then at the end of the mini comes "オーロラをさがして" which in my opinion is a very good ending song and differs from the other songs in the fact that it's not as fast paced and really just slows the album down after the hype that is "fish story" but still keeps the overall vibe and signature sound the rest of the mini has.

I feel like this mini album's greatest strength is the fact that it's only five songs long and lasts just a little under 25 minutes, this compactness and shortness ensures that it doesn't get oversaturated or boring to quick, any longer and I feel like it wouldn't feel or sound as good as it does. Even though all five songs keep with the same sound and don't drastically deviate from the formula they are each unique songs in their own regards and I love it for this fact. I will be keeping an eye on this band and I hope they only get more and more popular as time goes on.

Favorite Track: fish story

Sample song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QFLq5ZPK1Y

Buy the album:

CD Japan | YesAsia

**Ito** · December 14, 2013

Day 14 - 妖精帝國 (Yōsei Teikoku) - PAX VESANIA

Release Date: 2013-03-27

Label: Lantis

Genre: Gothic Rock

Zess's take:

Forged from the depths of the doujin scene in Japan in 1997 to play their own brand of symphonic metal with squelchy synth and choir, off-key nasally vocals, German stanning, simplistic song structure repeated ad infinitum, and a thin layer of Nightwish worship drizzled over the top, Yousei Teikoku is a band whose output is best left forgotten. Their later departure from the doujin scene and moving towards anime intro songs for shows like Black God, Innocent Venus, Magical Pokan, Venus Versus Virus, The Qwaser of Stigmata, Mirai Nikki and the Mai-HiME videogame soundtrack still couldn't save a band with too many songs and too few ideas between them.

So then after all that negativity, why is PAX VESANIA here?

PAX VESANIA is here because after sixteen years, Yousei Teikoku finally sound like the band they describe themselves as. When new members are added to a project, there's always a sense of the band losing their identity, but I can tell you for certain that fresh blood after thirteen years is exactly what this band needed. After their 2010 album, this band took three entire years off, integrated the new members into the band, and had everyone come to the table with ideas for the new album. That three year span was most likely devoted heavily to composition, brainstorming, and practice. The result is an album that feels complete instead of being released because it's been a year since the last album. Three years allowed everyone to hone their skills and step their game up. Three years allowed for experimentation and revision, most of which probably didn't make the final cut anyway. Three years made the difference between just another Das Feenreich album and PAX VESANIA.

To understand what this album is, we must first discuss what it is not. PAX VESANIA doesn't beat on the dead horse of the "beauty and beast" combo, mixing heavy male growls with light female vocals. PAX VESANIA isn't an experimental (whatever that means) concept album, nor is it a radical overhaul of the gothic metal scene. It still subscribes to the trappings of the scene to get some things done (like a heavy reliance on synthesizer for all the choirs and piano flourishes), and the video above should be enough to tell you what the album sounds like. What it is is an enjoyable ride from start to finish that occasionally adds in some influences from other genres, but generally remains a straightforward, slightly over the top metal album. The guitars are more aggressive, the choir is more cheesy, the drums are alive, and even Yui has pleasant sounding vocals that almost make you forget what her performance on GOTHIC LOLITA PROPAGANDA sounded like. Calling it one of the best gothic metal albums of the year may be a bit much, but the scene tends to release homogeneous sounding trash so often that this may not be far off.

And in a year where I couldn't find many things to hold my attention for very long, this album delivers in ways many others couldn't. Sometimes you don't need the world's most progressive album to enjoy music. Sometimes you just need something fun and engaging. If you're in that boat, this is for you.

Buy the album:

YesAsia | iTunes Japan | CD Japan

**Ito** · December 15, 2013

Day 15 - 惑星アブノーマル (WAKUSEI ABNORMAL) - 何でも無い凶器 (nandemonai kyouki)

Release Date: 2013-03-06

Label: redrec/sputniklab inc.

Genre: Piano Pop/Rock

Ito's take

Wakusei Abnormal’s nandemonai kyouki was easily the biggest surprise of the year. I remember the first time I spun it I was think “ugh, man, this is kind of annoying.” But deep down, something inside me clicked and that initial annoyance turned to love.

This female piano pop rock duo has created some of the most unorthodox music I have heard all year in the form of this album. And by all means, it shouldn’t work. The sometimes borderline shrill vocals, the notes that almost don’t seem to match up, the odd instrument choices…the fact that it all somehow ends up working and coming out as some of the best music I have heard all year makes me question if these two are secretly evil genesis and have figured out exactly how to mess with our brains.

Nandemonai kyouki is exactly all of the right kinds of crazy. Only does the last track on the album do things feel like they have finally calmed down, as it is probably the most “traditional” song on the album. That doesn’t make it bad, though. Instead it filled with the duo’s beautiful and powerful placed onto of a background of swelling guitars, piano, and drums.

I urge you to check out this mini-album, and if you don’t get it the first time around, give it a day. I think it takes a trained ear to really enjoy this release to the fullest and it might take a couple plays before your ears start to figure things out.

Favorite Track: tsukiyo kaisuiyoku

Zess's take

Wakusei Abnormal is an experimental pop rock band. Emphasis on experimental.

Sometimes I don't even know what I'm listening to. This isn't the most accessible release of the year. In fact, it's rather abrasive in all it's cutesy, bubbling bass, noise inserts, shrill vocals, and variety of instruments. Everything, even the kitchen sink, was jammed into this six song mini to where it threatens to unravel and scatter it's ideas in a goopy, syrupy mess on the floor. So if you like your vocals saccharine, your instruments predictable, and your songs structured, stop now. This isn't the release you're looking for.

Have they all left the room yet? Good? Good. You sitting in the seat, reading my musings, are you still paying attention? Good. You have no idea what you're in for.

Ito tried to explain. Saku will try his best to explain below. I won't even try. Words elude me as to why this works, because pop rock with this much punk and noise influence it doesn't pan out on paper. But then no matter how much Nandemonai Kyouki threatens to get overambitious and trip up, they never do. They throw in organs and it works. They throw in bongos and it works. They try their hand at their best Yoko Ono impression and it works. The album changes direction literally every song, and no matter what you will always be surprised. Always.

I can tell you why I like it though, that's easy enough. I like it because it's good. It's addictive, even. Finding a band with ideas and an experimental spirit is a challenge, and finding ones that record with such earnest is even more of a challenge. This is all that and more.

Rated "G" for grower, don't look down on this one after one listen. It doesn't really get good until the fifth or sixth listen.

Original Saku's take

This.... well I don't really quite know what this is, I'm not even going to attempt to explain what this sounds like. There are no words to describe what you will find in this album.

"Wakusei Abnormal" is unlike any other band I've listened to, and I thought I knew quite a few what you would call "strange" bands before going in... That was wrong, "nandemonai kyouki" is by far the strangest sounding album I've ever listen to and all I can say is that it just works, as it's been mentioned this duo has instruments that you'd never expect in their songs, stuff that on paper reads like it would never work together in a million years. Well that's on paper and this is reality, and in reality they somehow make it work and oh does it sound good. Logic has no place in this album.

All that matters is that the music is good, there is no point in trying to put words to paper as to why it's good because honestly it will just be pointless. I myself do not know why it sounds good, but I know that in my brain that it is good... if that makes sense. Truly the only thing I can offer up to people reading this right now is this.

Just try it. If it doesn't resonate with you the first time, then just try it again. Second time? You guessed it, keep listening. This album is an extreme grower and may take up to four or five overall listens before you start to really appreciate it for what it is.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

YesAsia | CD Japan | iTunes

**Ito** · December 16, 2013

Day 16 - アルカラ (Arukara) - むにむにの樹 (Munimuni no Ki)

Release Date: 2013-09-04

Label: Victor

Genre: Indie Rock

Ito's take:

I must admit, even though Arukara has been around for a while, I only just discovered them late last year. Speaking to whether this album is much better than thier past releases is something I am not going to be able to do, as I have only heard their album from last year, Drama (which also made it on to the staff best of list). So what is it about Arukara that makes them so special? It's because thier damn fun.

If you like your music serious, brooding, deep, or any other of those similar adjectives, then you can pass on this one. If you like your music to be energetic, upbeat, and slightly quirky, you are in the right place. The best part about Munimuno no Ki is it manages to be incredibly playful without sacrificing any of its musical quality. The music is catchy but never too simple, there are all sorts of different sounds going on that is is just an absolute joy for my ears to bounce around from the bass to the violin to the guitars.

While I am not sure I would say this album is mind blowing, I find it really hard to imagine not at least liking it. Well, except maybe if you hate fun.

Favorite Track: ou sama to kikan sha

Original Saku's take

It's 2013 and with a new year comes a new "アルカラ" album. This has become a natural occurrence, in the past six years Arukara has released a new album every year since their 2008 album "そうきたか". That's six albums in six years which I believe is an enormous feat for a indie band like Arukara. What makes it even more impressive is every album is for the most part extremely solid and well done. There is of course albums that are better than some of the others, but from a strictly instrumental and musical standpoint all six of these album can be considered "good" records that are worth listening to. I can not even fathom how these guys make such great music year after year and still manage to sound so fresh and inspired, that fact alone just simply amazes me to no end. Usually bands that release albums on a bi-yearly schedule like this end up running out of steam after three or four years (let alone six!) their songs end up losing there pizaz or the song writing becomes convoluted and inevitably uninspired, Arukara is definitely an exception to this phenomena.

"むにむにの樹" is a great album, how great is it you ask? Well that's a tough question for me.. Arukara is a band that makes it on my top album list year after year. I've listened to their songs so much over the past five years (I discovered them in 2009) that it makes it extremely hard for me to judge or compare their albums. There is seemingly no way for me to tell you if this album is better or worst than their past records since I consider all six of their albums to be of quality. What I can tell you is that "Munimuni no Ki" is in no way inferior to any of their other albums, It has everything we've come to love from this band. It has that eccentricity that just draws me in from the first listen and takes a hold of me. Taisuke's melodic singing and pleasant violin skills combined with Kazunori's interesting guitar riffs, Takahiro's bumping bass lines, and Takeshi's amazing drumming just comes together front and center and creates that fun and energetic sound that they are known for.

If you've never checked these guys out before then this is a decent record to start off with. If you have already listened to them before then this album will still have all the things you love about the band. It's fun, energetic, eccentric, melodic, and addicting. I'm looking forward to seeing what Arukara has in store for us next year! Are you?

Favorite Tracks: 名探偵ミスタ相棒はジョニー & お花売りの少女

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CD Japan | YesAsia | Amazon Japan

**Ito** · December 17, 2013

Day 17 - Boris – Präparat

Release Date:2013-03-06

Label: Inoxia Records

Genre: Psychedelic Rock with Drone, Doom, Pop, and Noise Influences. Otherwise known as Boris.

Zess's take:

Boris has been around almost as long as I've been alive, and in that time this band has managed to churn out enough albums to drive even Bill Gates bankrupt if he were to buy them all on vinyl. Every album they've done always features that signature Boris charm, no matter how far they've strayed from their relentlessly heavy, Melvins-inspired brand of drone/doom. This time, they've gone the route of the fuzzy psychedelic drone freakout with Präparat, creating one unholy puree of madness which despite it being unlike anything I've heard in years, is still so Boris.

Describing Präparat in words is almost as hard as describing Boris in a paragraph. It's all over the place but nowhere at once. Boris leads you into a nice predictable place with a few tracks, but then has no problems destroying that illusion for a track or two to keep you on your toes. There are long stretches of time without lyrics - so long in fact you forget there are any. A psychedelic freakout drops into a feedback-laden seven minute drone which leads into a blues rock/thrash jam all in one go and the lack of consistency somehow itself is consistent. While this would cause much difficulty for any other band I can think of immediately, Boris pull it off without even breaking a sweat.

This is cause for much of my frustration with my review: no words exist in my vocabulary to describe exactly what this is. The best comparison that I can draw is that this is their second version of Vein - released to challenge all of their fans on what defines Boris. Präparat is a dare to sit down and try your best to get at their message, but it's not difficult just to be difficult. It genuinely is this monolithic.

Ito's take:

The first time I listened to this album I gave up on it...it took me a long time before I even gave it a second listen. Why? Because the files I have are of a vinyl rip, and not a great one at that. This kind of what kind of a band Boris is...they write this awesome music and put it on a format that is very hard to obtain, takes a ton of space, and is incredibly inconvenient to play, because it's not about the money, it's the about the music.

As with all Boris releases, it is really hard to place a label on it. What we have in Präparat in dark and thick atmospheric music that some how manages to span across a ton of different genres. But somehow it all works in a very "boris-y" way. Sure the album can seem to drag at times, and there is stuff that is downright grating (I am looking at you, "Method Of Error"), but overall the good more than makes up for the shortcomings.

Favotire Tracks: Elegy and Bataille Suere

sai's take:

(I mean, what's the point of reviewing this album when Zess has done it so much better than I have?)

Favourite tracks: Elegy, Bataille Sucre

Sample song:

Buy the album:

Good Luck

**Ito** · December 18, 2013

Day 18 - lynch. – EXODUS

Release Date: 2013-08-14

Label: King Records

Genre: Alternative Metal

Ito's take:

lynch. is a band that seems to always been in a constant up and down cycle for me. It’s like lynch. purposely puts out bad music so that we can appreciate more when they take the time to craft great stuff. And that is what EXODUS is for me. After the steaming pile that was Inferiority Complex, EXODUS is here to let us know that they still know how to make enjoyable music.

Let’s start out with the first big win; the production here is great. This was an area that I was truly worried about since that was a huge fault on Inferiority Complex. Everything sounds clean, clear, and full vs. their last album which made me feel like the music was being projected out of a tin can. But good production can only get you so far…and the musical arrangements do not disappoint.

Something I have always enjoyed about lynch. is their emphasis on melody in their music. It gives my ears something to latch on to that pulls me through the song. All of the added details just help that main melody shine. Hazuki’s vocals and huge part of that, but be aware, his English is pretty terrible (but I think this is an area most of us are already quite used to). Where they stick to this formula, it works great (like ASHES) and when they leave it I find their songs much less enjoyable (like VANISH). I wouldn’t consider this album to be straying very far from the sound lynch has already developed for themselves; it is more of a refinement. That isn’t to say that this album isn’t without its faults. Some songs comes off as very “same-y,” like NIGHT which I felt like I had heard several times before I had even spun this album for the first time. Also, lynch really needs to work on their breakdowns, as they often came of as weak or generic.

When it comes down to it, I think this is a great album for people who like what lynch. is doing. Is it game changing or inventive? Certainly not. Is it still great? For sure.

nostalgia.'s take

First of all, I'd like to tell you that this is my top favorite release of the staff best of 2013 list. I was even expecting it to be a full-length album, though. For me as an ordinary fan of theirs since 2005, lynch. itself has always been compared to DEATHGAZE as they both have a friendly-rivalry relationship in the music scene. But after lynch. has dropped the Visual Kei look and become a 5-piece band, it seems like each of them has their own path to walk. Personally, I'm so happy to see lynch. going this way.

Secondly, what lynch. has released since LIGHTNING in late 2012 onwards is absolutely pure gold to my ears including this latest mini-album, EXODUS-EP. The opening track, EXODUS, is kinda unexpected, it's a very short fast-paced song instead of a slow boring intro as the prelude to the next song. It's really an amazing intro with singing voice. I just can't get enough of it. So short, yet powerful.

ASHES, the 2nd track, is my most favorite song off this release to be honest. I love listening to something aggressive but catchy, and this song certainly fits what I need. BE STRONG, the only ballad sung in full Japanese with the meaningful and touching song title, is a decent track in my opinion probably because they have done better ballads before. Another song I really like is NIGHT. It's the good closing track. Although some may say their music always sounds the same, but to me, it doesn't at all (if you don't mean being annoyed by HAZUKI's nasal voice.) XD

Finally, if you don't mind HAZUKI's Engrish, EXODUS-EP is a great release that you should give it a shot if you haven't. There may be some decent songs that I left unmentioned, but the whole thing is worth listening to I'd say. x)

Zess's take:

INFERIORITY COMPLEX wasn't received well. Too heavy, too samey, too poseurish. I personally enjoyed it but the album felt rushed and Hazuki admitted as much. Their last few offerings smoothed things over a bit with four lighter, upbeat songs. It worked partly as an attempt to remind people of I BELIEVE IN ME and partly as an apology for trying something new and generally failing to captivate fans with it. So EXODUS is crafted as INFERIORITY COMPLEX 2 with all of the duller bits cut out. Leaner, meaner, and intended to strike like a hollow point to the chest to take everyone by surprise, lynch. was set to try again with a more refined sound. The whole idea was to throw in a cumshot of ferocity with the title track to get listeners hooked, keep a midtempo number around the middle to switch it up, and stuff the rest to the brim with the new sound.

It doesn't work.

Part of the blame lies in lynch.'s unwillingness to compromise on core aspects of their sound, including the pop sensibilities they keep trying to suppress. It shines through even when they try to bill themselves as a metal band and it takes away from the overall package. INFERIORITY COMPLEX embraced these aspects and worked them into the music. EXODUS is a complete rejection of those qualities, and the result is that lynch. without lynch. qualities is a band that plays unremarkable "we're really serious this time" music. Song after song on this mini is laced with forced aggression, call and shout patterns, and attitude that does little to impress or convince me of their new sound. By the end of NIGHT, I felt that this mini wasn't for us. EXODUS is a trial run for lynch. to see if they can fit in with the big boys, and it's proof that they still have work to do.

What needs to be done is that lynch. has to make that very uncomfortable transition into the metal band they so desperately want to be. But much like Dir en grey around THE MARROW OF A BONE, they keep making conscious sacrifices to their sound so that their music is a mix of old and new, and the result is a disfigured mess. lynch. needs to commit 100% and be willing to tweak or throw out any part of their sound that doesn't fit in with the image they're trying to create if they really want to make metal.

Sample Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB940i6zubE

Buy the album:

CDJapan | YesAsia | iTunes

**Ito** · December 19, 2013

Day 19 - M-Koda - Generating Arrow Diagram

Release Date: 2013-06-06

Label: PROGRESSIVE FOrM

Genre: Ambient Electronic

Zess's take

As an avid fan of Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and Swarms, I am no stranger to the whims of electronic musicians. They do things just a little bit differently than artists from other genres, and they do it by enveloping you in their lush soundscapes. However, what they all have in common is that no matter how (un)pleasant sounding their noise is, they throw the listener a floatie so they aren't venturing off into the depths of the unknown where music has no structure.

M-Koda doesn't do this. Rather, he leans over the side of the boat, forces your head underwater and tells you not to come back up until you're done. Why? Because in order to understand Generating Arrow Diagram, you have to let go of all ideas of how you think music should flow.

Generating Arrow Diagram is what plays as I relax at the bottom of a pool, watching the sun filter through the top. It envelops you from start to finish in an oppressively relaxing atmosphere. So much goes on in each track but it's occupied by vast amounts of nothing. For any other electronic artist, the unpredictability of each track would be too much. M-Koda hits that balance between overwhelming and musical genius that leaves you velcro-stuck to your chair, letting your mind wander for track after track, because this album is whatever you make of it and your surroundings.

So maybe this album won't hit you the way it hit me and sai. It took until the end of the year for me to truly appreciate the album, so I wouldn't have made it through my own hypothetical scenario. But if you're willing to try, set aside an hour or so to do nothing but listen to this album, preferably with an audio visualizer on. Your mind will take you places you never imagined.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

iTunes

**Ito** · December 20, 2013

Day 20 - ONE OK ROCK - 人生x僕=

Release Date: 2013-03-06

Label: A-Sketch

Genre: Alternative Rock

Linh-san's take:

人生x僕=! Just… in 1 word: GLORIOUS!!

It was the most looking forward to album after their single release ‘’The Beginning’’.

All songs are very strong and there’s this song ‘’Be the light’’ which has partly a connection to the disaster in Japan, but also to other countries who are living a hard life. My favourite songs on this album are ‘’The Beginning’’, ‘’Clock Strikes’’ & ‘’ Juvenile’’. ONE OK ROCK had done an European tour some time ago where I also went to and they had played some songs from this album which totally amazed me. It felt great! Taka’s voice was amazingly great, not even off-sync, just like the CD itself he totally surprised me. I’d definitely recommend anyone to listen to this masterpiece!

Original Saku's take:

One Ok Rock is one of those bands that have the potential to go far in the industry, they have certain qualities that just mesh together very well, what are those qualities? Well it's a combination of things really, the most obvious one being talent. These guys are seriously talented they've only been getting better and better with each year. One Ok Rock has what I would call a very marketable sound, they have hard rock songs that appeal to the mainstream rock scene and also have lighter more ballad-y songs that appeal to that side of the spectrum as well. One of the biggest things that make them extremely appealing to overseas fans is Taka's amazing English pronunciation, It's like seriously some of the best English I've ever heard from a Japanese vocalist. I believe they have a tremendous chance to make it big in the states, not only because of the English songs but simply because they have a unique sound that you don't hear every day over here, it's fresh and new and exciting. I know that they already took a big leap in their conquest of world domination earlier this year when they toured Europe and they are supposed to be doing their first ever U.S. gigs in LA and NY early next year. I hope they get the recognition they deserve.

To describe 人生x僕= in the least amount of words possible would be "inspiring". I say that because this album makes me feel like I want to get up and do something.. anything meaningful really. It gives me this strange feeling of satisfaction that I just haven't felt with any other rock release this year. One thing that took this album to new heights for me is after listening a few times I went and found the lyrics and sure enough I started singing along whenever I listened to the album from then on... This got me thinking about the lyrics and what they actually meant, it made me actually "feel" the music. Now all those things aside this is at it's core an album with extremely strong tracks. I don't feel like any of these songs are what you would call "filler" songs, they all feel really meaningful and inspired and none sound half assed in the least.

After I listen to this I feel inspired, hopeful, and most importantly satisfied. I'm inspired by the lyrics and the meaning behind them, I'm hopeful for the band's future in and outside of Japan, and I'm satisfied by the immense skill and musicianship this band presents.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

Amazon | CDJapan | Itunes

**Ito** · December 21, 2013

Day 21 - 八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88kasyo Junrei) – 0088

Release Date: 2013-09-11

Label: Ppr

Genre: Experimental/Progrssive Rock

CAT5's take

Originality, quality, consitency, prolificacy, eccentricity - It's rare to see this ensemble of terms attributed to just one band, but Tokyo-based 88kasyo Junrei fits the bill almost too swimmingly. Formed back in 2006, the band had plenty of time to hone their bizarre brand of proggressive rock before releasing their first EP in 2009. They followed up by releasing one new album every year since then - "八+八" in 2010, "SYG88" in 2011, "○△□" in 2012, and finally this year's "0088". Each year, they manange to staunchly land a place in my 'best-of' list - hell, it's almost become obligatory to include them at this point.

88kasyo is well-deserving of the continuous praise, though. Not only are the trio excellent musicians from a technical standpoint, but they have an uncanny ability to craft songs that are challenging and cerebral - mathy time signatures and disharmonic riffs galore - but are also simultaneously catchy and infectious. They take convention, obliterate it, and then reconstruct it into something familiar, yet noticeably different. Obviously, 88kasyo is full of these paradoxes - the most sublte being their propensity to experiment, while remaining consistent and staying true to their sound. On "0088" the band continues to finetune these paradoxical inclinations to the point that they're hardly discernable. In fact, while many of the musical concepts presented in this album may seem offbeat in comparison to masses of "J-indie" bands, 88kasyo executes these ideas in the most unpretentious and nonchalant of manners. Even with the band's blistering instrumental prowess and innovative songwriting, nothing on "0088" feels forced - it's all eerily lighthearted.

As with most of the band's work, "0088" is an aquired taste. Much like the infamous Rin Toshite Shigure(凛として時雨), 88kasyo has carved out a unique sound of their own; they've reached a land of musical insularity that very few of their peers can swim close to. Such an outstanding disposition usually garners polarizing responses, so you will either love or hate this album. But if you're into squeeky stop-and-go vocals, manic noodling, and general rock aberrance, then "0088" will deliver in spades.

Original Saku's take

Well I think CAT pretty much has this covered pretty well, I agree with everything he said and are pretty much my thoughts as well. So I won't waste everybody's time by repeating the same stuff. I would however like to reiterate the emphasis that this is an acquired taste and chances are that you'll either love it or hate it. That being said if there's is one thing I've learned about this band is that their albums tend to grow on you after time, so of course take that into account while listening for the first time.

I don't have much else to say that hasn't already been said, so that's all folks

Sample song:

Buy the album:

YesAsia

**Ito** · December 22, 2013

Day 22 - カメレオ (kameleo) - なう！

Release Date: 2013-05-08

Label: Danger Crue Records

Genre: Visual Kei/Oshare kei/Rock

nostalgia.'s take

To begin with, Kameleo has become my top favorite Oshare Kei band since mid 2012 after I heard "NEET Hime" for the first time. Plus, I was so happy after knowing that they're signed to Danger Crue Records; in other words, every band signed to this label has the potential to release a full-length album so far I have seen. And, as expected, it finally came out, "Now", their first studio album released in May 2013.

First of all, this album contains several previously released singles; however, most of them are remastered. So you can explicitly hear the improvement. The opening track, Hajimari no Uta, was one of them. IMO, it's not quite a good idea to put an old song as the first track since the excitement to discover what awaits ahead could be a lot less (although this is probably because of the meaning of the song title, "First Song"). Hajimari no Uta is a good track anyway, and it must be awesome to play it live. The next song, Biyou Seikei, meaning "Plastic Surgery". I personally really like how Kameleo writes their lyrics based on women nowadays, kinda a bit sarcastic but funny, though. Sandwich LOVE is the song title that can simply prove how creative they are. I'm sure you instantly know what the song will be talking about without knowing the lyrics. XD

Secondly, the premier track of the album is "Kimi to Now" (With You Now). It's a catchy cute song that I'd recommend you to watch the PV. It represents a dating sim regarding an office girl dreaming of getting a boyfriend. Moreover, Kameleo PVs from Sandwich LOVE onwards can be watched with English subtitles on Danger Crue's official YouTube channel. This probably means they have been fairly popular outside Japan by now.

Kensaku Kekka 0 (0 Search Result) and Tatakae, Onore to! are both my favorite tracks. I assume the first one could be about meeting someone from the internet in real life but ending up disappointing or something ;w;. Kokoro kara Kokoro e (From a Heart to a Heart), is the only ballad in HIKARU.'s style. His own ballad composition is pretty relaxing compared to other members'. It's a very beautiful song anyway.

Finally, there are not quite many bands who have their very own musical styles, and Kameleo is obviously one of them. Overall, "Now" is the good beginning as their first studio album that you should not miss out especially if you are an Oshare Kei fan. To put in my two cents, the album contains some nice songs that you may like; however, it's still not their best release yet. They have done quite plenty of good songs back in their initial era (e.g. NEET Hime and Iyana Yatsu ne, Anta).

Linh-san's take

なう！is one of my favorite album releases of 2013!

Because most of Kameleo's releases are really cheerful, this album is like that as well!

For this album release, they have also released a new MV called here

The MV turned out like some real life otome game of all kameleo members, which makes it an outstanding, original and funny music video!

The song itself is really nice too!!

My favorite song of the album is ''↑アゲていこう歌↑'' because all members are joining in to sing some parts along with the main vocalist Hikaru! It's moreover a cute and laughable song that would make me always in a good mood!

I think it's a pretty original way of making a song. It's creative and also a lot of teamwork. I'm really fond of them

For this song they also played it as a live song, you can check it out here

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CDJapan | YesAsia | iTunes

**Ito** · December 23, 2013

Day 23 - NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST - GRIMOIRE

Release Date: 2013-05-29

Label: BELINE RECORDS

Genre: Deathcore/Visual Kei

Ito's take

Nocturnal Bloodlust is a band that is unique, and they manage to do this all while not having to reinvent the wheel. If they were only deathcore or just limited themselves to VK, they probably wouldn’t find themselves on this list. The play both styles well, but neither performance is mind-blowing. It is this melding of genres that really brings them in to their own. This blending moves them from what perhaps would be a generic band in either genre in to space that is nearly unoccupied. “But there are tons of better deathcore band out there” people may say, but when you think that way you are precisely missing what makes them special.

Grimoire contains 15 tracks and a run time of just over an hour, which is pretty much unheard in the VK scene. I wish I could sing the praises of every track, but sadly there is a decent amount of filler. The good news about this is that none of these songs aren’t awful and don’t do much to harm the album as a whole. But let’s imagine we cut the album down to about 10 tracks so that we can focus on why this album is great.

Grimoire is coated in a layer of chuggy, fast paced guitars and loud, screeching screams. Tracks like Pandemic and Disaster take their energy and run at break neck speed in what end up being some of the best heavy hitting tracks of the album. But my favorite heavy section comes from the breakdown on Reverence, with its nearly impossibly fast screaming followed by this “Ooo! Fuck yeah!” like the vocalist is surprised he managed to actually get that take, and it just works so well for me.

That isn’t to say that NB doesn’t know how to slow it down. The choruses of a lot of these songs take it down a notch and you can hear the VK influence with the more nasally vocals coated with upbeat guitars. Sphere proves that NB doesn’t need to have their music flowing like water from a fire hose, as this “ballad-esque” track is probably one of the albums strongest points.

Nocturnal Bloodlust almost stands as a proof of concept in the VK world. You can take this outside genre that isn’t the norm for and integrate so that it works great. I hope that more VK bands follow this trend and start really pulling strongly from other outside influences, as that is what the genre really needs if it wants to stay alive and relevant in to the future.

nostalgia.'s take

NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST is a good example of the bands that have successfully switched from the general rock music scene to Visual Kei. However, becoming a Visual Kei band doesn't drop their Deathcore influences at all. I knew they had the potential to release a studio album sooner or later, and here it came, GRIMOIRE.

The album itself is quite long considering 15 songs in total with slightly over an hour length. Although around half of them are from the previously released singles, that does not decrease the value of it even a least bit. My favorite track off the album is Domestic Crisis. It's such a heavy track with a beautiful guitar solo at almost the end of the song. Another great track IMO is Bury me re-recorded version (I liked it since the first time I heard the single, TBH). Such a powerful track full of energy.

The whole album is excellent by far if you're a metalhead. Not many of the Visual Kei bands out there that play Deathcore, and it would be a lot less to pick up good ones. However, NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST is one of the few in existence. Hope to see these guys doing good stuff like this again.

Linh-san's take

NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST was formed in 2009 and used to be a non-vk band, but later they decided to turn into a visual kei band.

Their music concept is obviously metal/deathcore.

Their album ''GRIMOIRE'', consists of some re-recorded single tracks like ''Last relapse'', ''Lost Memory'', ''Bury Me'' & ''A DAY TO RE:MEMBER'' because new members joined the band.

These songs are really great! If you compare these tracks with the previous recordings, you can hear some more power in the instrumentals! The band often use English lyrics but in this album there are some songs which are sung in Japanese by the vocalist Hiro.

For example: ''Sphere'' & ''Aster''. These are both my favorite songs of the album! I was really surprised to hear Japanese lyrics in the songs instead of English. I actually hope they do some more Japanese songs in the future after hearing it.

While listening to this band whenever I'm tired, they really give me some energy boosts!

So my thumbs up for this band! ( ^ _ ^ )b

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CDJapan | iTunes

**Ito** · December 24, 2013

Day 24 - LAGITAGIDA - TUTELA!!

Release Date: 2013-07-03

Label: levitation

Genre: Progressive Rock/Instrumental/Avant-Garde

Zess's take

TUTELA!! is the pinnacle of stereotypical avant-garde progressive rock with a stripped down touch, or as stereotypical as such progressive rock gets. If you want frantic, angular guitars, this has that. You want a drummer who moves like he sits on top of hot coals? This also has that. Do you want electronics that envelop the song like a blanket with booming bass? This has all that and more. TUTELA!! must be the byproduct of five musical mad scientists with a bone to pick and some instruments to play.

This is a very cerebral album because it relies on the listener to peel back the layers and discover the charm underneath the layers of music in each song. This is not always easy. Points of TUTELA!! are devoid of instrumental restraint, as the music constantly bursts with energy and creative rhythms, always finding new directions to travel in. This expressive, almost improvisational approach to composition and rendition is the defining mark of this album. The amoebic time signatures, unpredictable drum beats and electronics may be too much to process - and sometimes they are - but the difficulty of the music is the beauty of it.

So depending on how you approach this album, TUTELA!! can be a very loud, vibrant album with an insane amount of ideas. It's also two steps away from devolving into an unrestrained garage jam. No matter what, the energy this album brings and the way this band toes the line between genius and insanity makes it worthy of a few listens.

CAT5's take

2013 has been a rather uneventful year within the sphere of Japanese instrumental rock. Most of the more reknown acts were either no-shows (toe, té, sgt., mudy on the 昨晩) or released vastly underwhelming records (LITE, rega). I was beginning to lose hope, as over half of the year had transpired without a single noteworthy instrumental album - that is until I heard LAGITAGIDA's "TUTELA!!"! Prior to this album, LAGITAGIDA released two highly impressive EPs "CaterpiRhythm" and "CartaMarina" back in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Those 2 EPs solidified my opinion that LAGITAGIDA was the most promising new instrumental band to come out of Japan - and "TUTELA!!" further reinforces this notion. This album has one key factor that I find many instrumental bands have distanced themselves from - and that's ATTITUDE. "TUTELA!!" is 45 minutes of balls-out progressive rock with hardly a dull moment - even the slower numbers have a certain "UMPH" to them that keep you nodding your head. But beyond all of the sonic bravado and readily palpable energy lies a mass of talent and ingenuity. LAGITAGIDA knows how to write music alluring enough for the sharpest of critics and jammable enough for those that just want to rock out. I hereby declare this the best Japanese intrumental rock album of 2013.

Ito's take

LAGITAGIDA truly impressed me with their first two mini albums (especially their second one). I found myself growing more attached with every listen. I wish I could say that about Tutela!! It is like they took everything that I didn't care for in those two minis and made that the focus of this album. I just don't know where the enjoyment went. I am not saying that I hate this album, as there are still some very enjoyable tracks on it (like Sensya and Copeten), but more often than not I found this album downright grating.

Sample song:

Buy the album:

CD Japan | iTunes | Bandcamp

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ChristMHas 25 Days of MH-mas! The Staff Album Picks of 2013.

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