Important bands in your musical taste

[Frae 2]

Incubus - The first band that actually pulled me into rock music. It was all RnB and hip hop for me until I saw the "Pardon Me" music video

AFI - I went to almost of of their concerts and even got a picture with Hunter, their bassist (I'll find it and post it).

Bad Religion - my other big inspiration in my punk days.

Malice Mizer - the first japanese band I ever heard. They will always be in my heart.

Dir en Grey - the first japanese band that I obsessed over. It's funny b/c I didn't like them when I first heard them. The first song I think I heard was "Zan" maybe...I remember thinking this song is too heavy for my taste and sucks. "Cage" is what made me like them and then "Yokan" and then "I'll" and then I just started getting addicted to them. So "Zan" ended up being a favorite of mine as well just b/c it was their song. lol.

the Gazette - I remember seeing "anata no kono no iochi" and just obsessing over this song sooo much. I would play this song like 7-8 times a day at college and most conversations went like this:

Them: do you know what they are saying?

Me: not really.

Them: then why do you like it?

Me: because its just sooo bad ass

they were literally the first band that I blasted proudly and didn't give a crap about what people said about me not knowing japanese.

aicle. - The weird rhythm patterns to their songs (especially in the early days) just intrigued me so much. My college friends hated this band b/c their songs to them were all over the place and they didn't like Emiru's voice...so when they frustrated me, this was my "revenge" band. lol

[Licio123 181]

The Hip-Hop Era: Back in High School days I used to like Eminem, Ja Rule, 50 Cent, Akon, Outkast. Still listen to them occasionally.

The Anime OP/ED Era: That's when I started watching anime, 4 years ago. Used to like the J-Pop and softer rock songs, especially Aya Hirano, eufonius, FLOW and Orange Range, but never got really "addicted". Then came Death Note, the anime.

Maximum the Hormone / Nightmare: They were the first japanese bands I really dug, listened to them a whole lot (if I had lastfm in 2008, they would be at the top charts, for sure). MTH baffled me, as I wasn't even too much into rock, and I was suprised I actually like their style, much more into metal. Funny that, nowadays, I like Nightmare much more than MTH.

Atreyu: Soon after MTH/Naitomea I had a girlfriend that loved metal, especially Atreyu, which became my "gateway" into the metal scene. Other bands that were important at this time were Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace and System of a Down (which I had a torrid affair with XD, but got kinda bored with them after some time).

Green Day: Got into them by the time they released 21st Century Breakdown, but it was after American Idiot thta I started to really like them. Still a unique band, even if they changed their style so much from the Dookie days.

Arctic Monkeys: First indie rock band I listened too, love the music direction they've taken, but I miss their songs like Teddy Picker and Mardy Bum.

DIR EN GREY: Other than MTH, they got me in the Japanese Metal scene. And became one of my favorite bands really quick.

Galneryus: The only Power Metal band I really like, thanks to another anime (Mnemosyne, which sucked balls but intoduced me to them). Was really addicted when started listening to them.

Escape the Fate / Chiodos: Got me into post-hardcore stuff, now one of my favorite styles.

[flikflak 41]

classical music : Been in it for as long as I remember

Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, the Beatles, Cat Stevens, Jazz : My dad's musical taste was really broad and we used to listen to his record collection at home or cds in the car.

The Smashing Pumpkins : The first "new" band I listened to apart from top50 kind of music or pop-ish bands like The Corrs.

Metallica/RATM/Korn/Slipknot/Within Temptation/Type O Negative : In my early teens I listened to quite a lot of heavy stuff, these are the bands I used to listen to that got me into their different genres.

SPITZ/The Pillows : Got me into regular J-rock

Kagerou and Kagrra, : I got into vk by buying albums by these two bands because I liked the cover art. Kagrra, also got me in Enka and traditionnal japanese music. Because I had listened to pretty heavy stuff in the last few years I just didn't enjoy it anymore and never got into the heavy vk bands.

Depeche Mode/new wave/post-punk : got into those a little bit a few years ago, then kind of forgot about it or a least didn't enjoy it as much as I do now.

Metronome : it flared up my interest in 8bit and electronic music. I then got into trip hop/dubstep with artists like DJ Krush or DJ Shadow, in shibuya-kei electro with Fantastic Plastic Machine, mod revival with GOATBED.

MUCC/cali gari/Jinkaku RADIO : These 3 bands got me in Eroguro/VK-but-not-regular-VK kind of music, and I don't actually listen to a lot of regular vk bands anymore. I was obsessed with MUCC's music for a year or so a few years back, but it stopped suddenly after Gokusai got out. I do enjoy their music still but I don't listen to them as much anymore and don't follow their releases as much.

Kami Fuusen : This unknown japanese band from the 70s got me into folk.

Nicolas Teo : He got me into C-pop.

Sigur Ros : They got me in post-rock/ambient kind of music.

GOATBED : When I rediscovered a lot of my music two or so years ago, I listened to some stuff I had not listened in 4 or 5 years. I became quite interested in the covers Shuuji did in GOATBED, and ended up enjoying 80s music once again, and I also discovered the unknown world of 60s/70s/80s japanese idols pop, especially Hayami Yuu.

[Corronum 13]

Korn/Disturbed: Got into Korn during middle school. These bands are my earliest accounts of my beginning to care about music. I saw the video for “Freak on a Leash?? and just had to get everything they released. They pretty much opened the door to the land of nu-metal, where Disturbed fell into the second place spot for favorite band.

Orgy – Started my furious love affair with guitars and electro elements. I now salivate at anything that combines these two. After them came Razed in Black, GPKISM, Neon Synthesis, Rammstein, and Oomph. …It was a strange transition in my life. I still return to Orgy whenever I need an amazing electro-industrial/metal fix.

D’espairsRay – The beginning of my fall into J-rock with their darker, gothic-inspired music I was already into dark stuff when I started high school, they simply expanded my musical horizons. I played their Coll:Set album to death and still fall back on it every once in a while.

Blind Gaurdian – Started another steamy affair, this time with guitars combined with classical elements. Lead to many a European metal band. And then…

Malice Mizer/Moi Dix Mois- I had a friend in high school that was a total Mana fanboy. He practically injected these two bands into my veins. Ever since, I just can’t get enough of guitars and pipe organs. As much as Mana’s looks give me the creeps, I can’t deny that his music was a HUGE influence in the formation of my J-rock tastes. MM doesn't do as much for me nowadays, as I burned myself out on Gackt and his era in 10th grade. I still adore Klaha's era, however.

[Kaye 296]

Linkin Park: That band just singlehandedly started everything for me.

Ellegarden: Responsible for my addiction to Japanese rock music. (Although my addiction to Japanese music as a whole started because of Utada Hikaru)

Girugamesh & Dir en grey: Got me hooked with their awesome songs. Nearly love everything Dir en grey has done since their started out. Same with Girugamesh apart from their last two releases. They're not bad, but not exactly what I like to listen to constantly. They're both also the only 'vk' bands I've seen live.

Retrospect: First Asian rock band I got to know that wasn't Japanese. Their lives are awesome. Hope to see them one day.

Kim Sarang: Convinced me that there was decent Korean rock music around. And because of him I found a lot more bands I like.

Epik High: Made me realize that I do like Hiphop/rap. But only when it's done right. Really appreciate these guys and I'm proud to say I got most of their physical releases at home.

and many more on my Lastfm

[Slsr 207]

JP:

Galneryus (2006) - Probably first Japanese band I've listened, gotta love guitar work of Syu, English pronunciation can be a joke though, maybe Japanese should be main language in their future releases... But even still their power metal(?) is much fun to listen. This band and anime are reasons why I'm listening Japanese music today.

M (2010) - Often referred as the band that sounds MUCC, not going to start debate about that... But it's quality of music that matters most and though their songs are actually really simple in a way I've been really impressed how much their music has grown for me. They've gone from band that sounded interesting to something I always have really nice time listening. This makes them disbanding hard to accept, but in same time I'm actually really interested to see what will become from vocalist and guitarist/songwriter future projects, since I'm really optimistic them possibly doing really well (would obviously like them continuing together in some other project though). I'm sure this band has already changed my view about music much, since they are actually first jrock/vk band that has left on me really deep impression. I feel they are also bound to have affect to my listening habits in future.

Others:

Sonata Arctica (2003) - Band that first introduced me metal music and got me more interested to a bit heavier music in general (rock music), didn't start to listen them right away back then though. But later really used to listen them much.

Wintersun (2005) - Band that is most responsible my still continuing interest to metal music, still think band is really unique and interested what will they become when second album will finally be released.

[Slsr 207]

For some reason my post doesn't show up so posting again, hope it will not be inconvenience.

JP:

Galneryus (2006) - Probably first Japanese band I've listened, gotta love guitar work of Syu, English pronunciation can be a joke though, maybe Japanese should be main language in their future releases... But even still their power metal(?) is much fun to listen. This band and anime are reasons why I'm listening Japanese music today.

M (2010) - Often referred as the band that sounds MUCC, not going to start debate about that... But it's quality of music that matters most and though their songs are actually really simple in a way I've been really impressed how much their music has grown for me. They've gone from band that sounded interesting to something I always have really nice time listening. This makes them disbanding hard to accept, but in same time I'm actually really interested to see what will become from vocalist and guitarist/songwriter future projects, since I'm really optimistic them possibly doing really well (would obviously like them continuing together in some other project though). I'm sure this band has already changed my view about music much, since they are actually first jrock/vk band that has left on me really deep impression. I feel they are also bound to have affect to my listening habits in future.

Others:

Sonata Arctica (2003) - Band that first introduced me metal music and got me more interested to a bit heavier music in general (rock music), didn't start to listen them right away back then though. But later really used to listen them much.

Wintersun (2005) - Band that is most responsible my still continuing interest to metal music, still think band is really unique and interested what will they become when second album will finally be released.

[Pretsy 1343]

Gonna mention some:

Placebo - Oh, oh and oh. Brian Molko and co. - basically, the first rock band I've listened to (me, softie guy much? Haha). I've spent my childhood (which is late mid-90s to early millenium) with Placebo + other "softie" artists and their hits (such as

and etc.) - what else should I say about this awesome act? Still my fav Brit band, even though, I haven't listened to them that much nowadays (recent album was a little disappointment for me )

Deftones - *waiting for disses from metalheads* okay, here it comes - Deftones, first metal/hard rock act i've ever listened to - still remembering those good old mtv times when they showed

instead of soapie/teenage pregnancy show crap. Surprisingly, I've got into Korn during my early teenage years thru these guys (also known as: "poor man's Korn") but in my honest opinion, those bands have only a little in common - Deftones' songs are way more atmospheric and experimental. Me likes, even now.

Daft Punk - my first *important* non-rock act ever - Catchy tunes, lots of weirdness and some...HOUSE FEVER hehe - Discovery was the first record I bought by them (unfortunately, I lost it as well, along with JESSICA by deg) and here it went, I spinned it through and jizzed - literally. Especially

made them kiddio hips shakety-shake for the first time, and without embarassment I didn't listen to them for a long time after going back to vk fandom in late 2005/2006 and yeah, someone should motivate me to try them once more - ONE MORE TIME!

Dir en grey - *drum roll* the first japanese rock act I've ever listened to, YAHOOO!!! As I mentioned earlier, I've got into Jessica right during the first spin-through (since I've never tried kawaiidesuthingies earlier - c'mon! It was 2001! No signs of possible oshare waves seen here, folks! I was a stupid, non-informed kiddio as well back then) and as the amateur internet user, I managed somehow to dig through the unknown blogs and sites so I could see some diru-related news/download files (Tonberry didn't exist yet in my surrounding world until late 2003 a.k.a vk swansong era of mine - I dumped it all in favor of DP)...Kisou and six Ugly were golden, until Vulgar came and disappointed me (it has grown on me, so no probs with it now )

Years have passed by, and the jrock phenomenon shone in nordic countries in 2004-2007 or so - I've got myself into this new wave of teenage retardism as well, and nothing has changed since those times - dissing and hating on deg but still digging their huge discography with many gems etc.

Kuroyume - Da-dan, along with LS, my first old school vk/non-vk findings - after getting bored with Uroboros hype etc. I decided to look for possible influences of DEG until some unknown names have caught my attention - and thanks to YT, my world has changed completely - I've got my 90s back! MY 90S ARE BACK FOLKS! *howls* - love at first sight, and hearing.

For more fandom retardom - check my artist threads.

That's all, I am tired. kthanxgudbai

[Furik 832]

Merry

The Mad Capsule Markets

Deftones

baroque

Dir en grey

Muse

Tokyo Jihen

Nine Inch Nails

KMFDM

Glassjaw

Sigur Ros

[Wonrei 108]

Tomoyasu Hotei - I don't really listen to this guy that much,but his stuff is really awesome and his song on the first Osu!Tatakae Ouendan,Thrill,was what really got me into music.Then I heard his cover of Rocket Dive and I started listening to this other guy

hide - The day I listened to Hotei's cover of Rocket Dive is just something I'll always remember.I saw the guy in the video and I had to know who he was.Then I started listening to hide's stuff...and by some incredible coincidence,the hide memorial summit was happening on those days.So,in those days I listened to Dir en grey,MUCC,D'espairsray,Luna Sea,X Japan,and lots of stuff.I also downloaded the Hide Tribute Spirits cover album,and listened to Buck-Tick,Kiyoharu and Kyo(D'erlanger) for the first time.I fucking love you hide.

Dir en grey - My favorite band.What else can I say? First listened to them in the hide memorial summit...was a bit shocked at first.Their stuff was too "heavy" for me.Months later I listened to I'll and then slowly managed to like their entire discography.

Nine Inch Nails - One of the first not japanese bands I listened to.Got me into industrial rock and industrial metal.

Buck-Tick - The variety in their albums...just incredible.I listened to all their albums...and every album they released had a different genre.So I went out to find what was stuff like post-punk and new wave.Those are two of my favorite genres now,so thank you Buck-Tick.

Metallica - For getting me into thrash.Later I started to listen to speed and black because of thrash,so...yeah.

Alice in Chains - made me listen to the whole grunge scene and also to Drone and Sludge metal bands later.

Balzac - Someone compared Dir en grey's Child Prey to this.As I loved the whoah oh parts I had to listen to it.

Misfits - another of the first not japanese bands I started listening,met them through Balzac.Got me into punk,and 50s music.

And these days I listen to almost every kind of music.

[Maiku 4]

The Doors: Enough said.

The Beatles: No explanation needed.

Jefferson Airplane: Love.

Dir en Grey: Discovered them when I was being a little itty bitty 9 year old weeb on the internets. Pretty much have been addicted to Jrock/VK since.

TM Revolution: Got me addicted to more poppy stuffs.

Miyavi: Took over my brain for a few years.

Alice Nine: Hated them when they first showed up and then couldn't ignore them after I noticed how much better they got very quickly.

The Kiddie: A current obsession. 8D They are so happy and spread good vibes everywhere.

CocoRosie: Some of the best music EVER.

Pretty Lights: Great techno. <3 <3 <3

12012: Fueled my dark little 16 year old self pretty well until they started pooping everywhere.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes: They. Just. Make. Me. Happy.

[VisualKEIcrasher 25]

As listed in my top 10 favorite bands, I will tell you how I found out about them but first, a short story. 

 

As most of you can guess, I found out about J-rock through NIGHTMARE at first by watching Death Note. "Alumina" PV scared me a bit at first view and I never really watched "the WORLD" PV. The first PV I ever saw was Tokyo Shounen and the lyrics somehow got stuck inside my mind. I was also a fan of DBZ Budokai 3 back in the day in which I would watch MODs (modifications/texture and model hacks) in which 2nd STAGE by Kids Alive also became a fan favorite quickly in the video I was watching.  I downloaded the song but never listened to it until recently a majority of the time. I'm also a fan of AKFG by viewing Bleach (After Dark) way  back in the day.

 

------ (Top 10 stories)------

 

Luzmelt - One day I was browsing around the SW homepage and I saw a band that I had accidentaly clicked on and started to view their content. I then saw how they were sold out on a majority of their items so I went to a blog to download their content. Luz-destination was my first Luzmelt download. I gave them a listen and hated them at first (especially sacrifice). Now I love the band more than ever and it was sad how I found their last single to be their best work. I did the research and now know the history of what was, Luzmelt. 

 

lix - I was viewing a NIGHTMARE video and I saw a related video entitled, "altair -rinne- + [ ]" so I decided to check out the video out and I enjoyed what I heard so far so I looked them up and found out about SW and how they had lost 3 members. I was dissapointed but nonetheless I still supported them in their current state. Despite not being a big fan of their most recent work, they were a great duo. 

 

girugamesh - I was basically introduced to girugamesh by my friend who listened to them every now and then. He wanted to use, "Break Down" as a recommended song for the SSBB (Super smash bros brawl) Ike community combo video we were making. 

 

UNiTE. - I found out UNiTE. through a blog for J-rock downloads actually. My first download by them was, "Yakusoku" which was my first UNiTE. PV too. Great band. 

 

Royz - I recently found out about Royz through a Asian themed wiki for all rock, pop, jazz you name it. I gave them a listen and they made it into my top 10, not too bad but not the best (imo).

 

NIGHTMARE - Pretty much stated my story above. Not too impressed with their most recent work to be honest :/ Hope the best for them though, 14 years and strong. 

 

DELUHI - I found out about them through the Asian themed wiki and was checking out J-rock releases. I was so stoked to find a J-metal band. 

 

-OZ- - I found out about -OZ- through a fan video and was searching up stuff about visual-kei, the song, "STIGMA"  was used in the video and the electronic beginning had me search them up instantly. I also liked their last release, COMPLETE BEST ALBUM.

 

UnRealistic - Found out through my friend who linked me to a page about them, "ETERNALLY" is my favorite song on their debut mini-album release.

 

Called≠Plan - Found out about Called≠Plan through UnRealistic. 

[saishuu 3220]

^ I think you missed the point of this thread.

[doombox 4421]

Sevendust

They were a band that I discovered when I first learned about "alternative" radio stations. Before that, it had always been what my parents or other people listened to. I really liked the 60s rock my parents brought me up on, when I first heard the alternative station... it was love. Sevendust's "Black" was new and exciting, and I just remember needing so much more of the feeling I got when I listened to them. 17 years later and they're still a band close to my heart and my love for alternative hard rock and metal is largely due to them.

 

Dir en grey

I had listened to a handful of other Japanese bands but Dir en grey solidified Japanese rock as a staple in my life. They became the Japanese band that I held all other Japanese bands to for a really long time. They set the bar extremely high. Because of them I was able to look into other bands from Free Will, which bled over into PSC and UCP bands.

 

Mudvayne

After falling in love with visual kei, I was excited to see American bands with notable visual influences in their staging and music videos. And while everyone else was going crazy over Slipknot (Don't get me wrong, I love them too) my friends and I were following Mudvayne tours around the country. While they are a band I don't follow much anymore, their music still encapsulated a huge part of my "coming of age". Their level of intensity live is still something I look for in bands today and they solidified my love for more domestic visual artists. Marilyn Manson, Emilie Autumn, Genitorturers...

 

MUCC

This band's ability to adapt and change, and not care if people like those changes gave me a lot of strength to try things musically that I wanted to. They became the type of band that I wanted all of my musical projects to take inspiration from. Not musically in every sense, but in their fearlessness and drive. They brought Angura and Nagoya kei bands to my attention, which I generally prefer over the more common neo-visual styles these days now.

 

glassjaw

My love for alternative had opened the door for punk and hardcore music. But glassjaw sucked me into the black hole of post-hardcore that I still can't quit it to this day. Even at the time glassjaw was the one post-hardcore band that was far more experimental but managed to bridge the gap to alternative at the same time. It was really accessible for me, yet coupled with my addiction to Japanese bands gave me the curiosity to spend vast amounts of time looking for the most interesting and underground bands I could find. 

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

baroque – Most people will say that bands like DeG, The GazettE, Malice Mizer, Alice Nine, etc. were bands that got them into VK, but for me it really began with baroque. I first heard them on youtube, and watching their pv’s like Ila. and Butterfly made me nervous because I was still young and innocent (I say Ila. because they were all smoking in the pv lol). But I really liked their music. Their pv’s aren’t even that explicit in comparison to other bands though, haha. I was so young back then. Anyway, they were the ones that led me to the world of VK and I still love them to this day (mostly 2001-2004 era though).

 

Plastic Tree – Aside from baroque, Plastic Tree also introduced me to VK and they’re one of the most important bands to me. I will listen to them for as long as I exist. Now, I know that it’s very debatable whether they were VK or not, especially now that they’re not even considered VK anymore, but I grew up listening to them with other VK bands so it counts. Plus, they were always featured in VK magazines, and were associated with other VK bands like MUCC.

 

THE NOVEMBERS – The band that really got me into Japanese indie. I also discovered the shoegaze genre thanks to them, which is now one of my top favorite music genres to listen to.

 

Mono – My first post-rock band and the band that made me fall in love with the genre. I’ve still yet to explore more of the genre, but they will always be my favorite post-rock band.

 

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant – This band got me into the Japanese garage and punk rock phase for a while. Just some good loud energetic music and grating vocals.

 

Envy – Other than VK, I never really listened to bands with harsh screaming vocals, so you could say that Envy opened me up to the screamo/post-hardcore genre.

 

Taniuchi Hideki - Not a band, but he's an important composer who reflects my musical tastes for OSTs. He did soundtracks for Death Note and Kaiji and I just really love him as a musician/composer overall, rather than just the OST in the context of the anime.

 

Radiohead – Well, I never really grew up listening to western music *gasp* (aside from very few pop songs), but Radiohead were the first Western band that I really liked. And because of them I’ve been thinking that hey, western music ain’t bad. Sometimes you just gotta look hard behind all that mainstream pop stuff.

Edited April 28, 2016 by plastic_rainbow

[blackdoll 907]

Lycaon - has pop, metal, rock everything i need

[Atreides 454]

I will only post about my experiences with Japanese music.

 

Dead End

When I was very young, my friend's uncle played these guys alot when me and my friend would hang out. I never really appreciated them until I was a teenager but this is the band that got me into Japanese music.  MORRIE has an excellent voice, and as a whole Dead End is just  very solid. Every member compliments each other very well.  Beyond the Reincarnation is one of my favorite songs of all time.  As the entry point into Japanese music for me, I was entranced by their raw and harsh vibes.

 

Yellow Magic Orchestra

Another band I was exposed to from a very young age.  I loved them the moment I heard them, and I think that their contributions to the electronic scene speaks for itself.   Service and Solid State Survivor are albums that I cherish, and still listen to to this day on a regular basis.  They were my gateway into new wave and electronic music in general.

 

Siam Shade

A band I didn't find out about until I was in my early 20s, but they rocked my world.  As opposed to Dead End, their guitarist exposed me to the more light hearted side of heavy rock.  These guys are important to me because without them I wouldn't have ever gotten into X-Japan and Luna Sea.  They are one of the few bands that I can say I very much enjoy every single piece of art that they produced.

 

M-Flo

My exposure to M-Flo was a random play on youtube.  Despite never having been a big fan of Japanese Pop or Rap I was instantly in love with these guys. Everything about them, from their dress to their music just ooze style. They really set the standard for me for Japanese music and were my entry point into the genre.  I love alot of Japanese pop thanks to M-Flo featuring various artists, and I consider M-Flo to be the gold standard for Japanese pop in general. (However this is merely my opinion.)

 

Malice Mizer

I found out about these guys during my time on JM Ignited, and the first time I heard their music I was hooked.  I couldn't understand the style, and I didn't appreciate it at first but I just loved their tunes.  As time passed, they came to be one of my favorite bands of all time and through them I came to appreciate Visual Kei in general.  These days I don't listen to them very often, but I come back to them occasionally. A timeless band, truly art.  There isn't really much more to say about them.

 

 

Those were the 5 bands that REALLY introduced me to Japanese music.

[Chi 2624]

backstreet boys was the very first musical act i saw as a "favorite" when i was a kid

 

dir en grey weren't my gate to japanese music.  before that i was listening to anisongs and jpop groups like morning musume...plus i was already listening to VK acts before them. but "VULGAR" changed everything

 

bands like evanescence/linkin park/placebo also helped me dive into other scenes. evanescence was the first female fronted rock band i liked. placebo's older stuff is still among my personal all time favorites and most influential. i got to know those bands thanks to my sister.

 

now throw all of that in a blender and you have my music taste today

 

oh and i forgot to mention 1 year after i discovered VK (around 2005~2006) i got into kpop thanks to DBSK

Edited June 27, 2016 by seurong