Jrock Introduction

[Nocturne]

So, onto the next band. Frankly I dont know as much about this band. I have listened to them on and off and never got real invested in them. I feel sorta like "I like half of their stuff and the other half is just meh". But the songs that are good, are very good.

Duel Jewel


Id classify them as more of a straight rock band. They have some heavier moments (actually a lot of heavy songs), some ballads, but Id say they lean more towards the rock side of the spectrum.

Trust - I really dont like this song. It's definitely early work and alot of visual kei bands start out terrible and end up becoming much better as time goes on.

Hana Uta - Much better than Trust

Azure - This was a HUGE improvement over Trust as well. I love this song greatly.

Life On - More of a poppy song. It isnt bad but doesnt do much for me personally. Its ok

Aishuu Melancholia - Well, I like it better than Life On, but its still kinda in a weird spot for me.

Es - Pretty good one as well. I love the vocals in it. They go from more normal to a sort of a traditional japanese sort of feel mixed with the 80's. The chorus actually reminds me of The Cure in some ways.

Bullet Star - Eh, it's ok. Kinda a rock/punk type of song. Kinda reminds me of a more punk L'arc en Ciel with a little metal thrown in.

Iolite - Another favorite of mine. The beginning kinda reminds me of The Offspring, though the rest of the song is completely different mainly due to the vocals and probably more complex instrumentation.

Against - More of a upbeat harder rock song. Pretty decent. I like the chorus alot. It sounds original.

Oborozuki - More of a metal song with traditional japanese sounds throughout. Not great but not bad either. Its interesting.

Vamp Ash - I just never cared for this song. It just seemed generic, just like the name

Polaris - Not my favorite, but it's a step up from Vamp Ash in atmosphere alone. I think the reason why it didnt win me over completely is because while I love the verses, the chorus leaves some to be desired.

They have a new album coming out in September and a new music video but it isnt out yet. So? Any thoughts?

 

[Nocturne]

Next entry comes a band Im fairly fond of. I actually think some of their music is boring, but when they do their good stuff (which is alot), they really really shine.

D


So what we have here is a more metal ish band (though not completely) that has more of an operatic singer. Or at least sings in an operatic style. It definitely leads to some very epic songs. But other than that, they also tend to release albums where they mix their style with traditional japanese instruments and musical influences. They definitely dont go for the more common road. I believe all the albums follow their own stories as well. I remember reading a while back that the vocalist, Asagi, writes short stories or short novels and then makes albums to them, which is pretty awesome IMO. Thus why you have his looks change alot. Sometimes he is shown more feminine due to the story following a female protagonist, where when he is more masculine, its the male protagonist. Pretty cool idea. Now, on with the music. Some pretty good musicians all around in this group and their visuals are pretty interesting

yami yori kurai doukoku no a cappella to bara yori akai jounetsu no aria - Ok song. First PV I believe. Some things I like in it, others I dont.

Sleeper - More straightforward of a song. Not my favorite or the most exciting, but an ok song.

Mayutsuki no Hitsugi - more of a metal song, but a slower metal. I like the structure of the song and the vocals have some high points

Taiyou wo Okuru hi - Now this is what Im talking about. Awesome, pulsing music and amazing vocals

Dearest You - a little more poppy, not a bad song.

Ouka Saki Some ni Keri - More Japanese sounding with traditional soundings parts and more of an enka singing style, but with metal.

Schwarzchild - I actually dont care for this song at all.

Kuon - pretty awesome ballad type song

Barairo no Hibi - I like this one as well. A little more poppy and airy, but it reminds me of a more technical L'arc en Ciel in their earlier days.

Birth - Ah, good song, the violin adds much to it. Top notch

Yami no kuni no Alice - Another good song in a row. Poppy at times, heavy at times, dancy at times. Good mixing.

Snow White - Beautiful song. Really sounds like a broad way ish song around the chorus.

Nocturnal - Hmm, kinda different from their other stuff. Some experimentation with their normal sound.

Tightrope - Probably wont allow you to view it here since it is from Avex's page. Good song though

Day By Day - I really hate the beginning. Turns more into a pop punkish type song.

Kaze ga mekur peeji - Awesome awesome song.

7th Rose - More of their cinematic style. Epicness. So damn hard sounding at points

Akaki hitsuji ni yoru bansakai - Metal jazzyness

In The Name of Justice - More of a poppy rock/metal song. Decent

Der Konig der Dunkelheit - Love this song. Very big, operatic, and just awesome in general. Love choirs.

Torikago goten ~ L'Oiseau Bleu ~ - Probably my favorite song of theirs. Huge sounding build up, vocals are completely fantastic and the guitar parts and choir parts are all amazing.

Huang di ~ Yami ni Umareta Mukui - more traditional japanese elements again with some of their heaviest music.

Dying Message - More standard rockish/metalish - pretty good actually. Some good parts and a good song overall.

Danzai no Gunner - Pretty heavy song with some more poppy choruses, sounds like it continues the theme of Dying Message

So there you have it. Thats all of their music videos. Their last 5 or so really show awesome quality and great music in general. Good good stuff. What do you all think?

 

[Nocturne]

So the next band up is one I listen to by chance a few years back and I thought they were ok at first, but they definitely got better as time went on. That band is:

Vistlip


I'd classify them as a rock band for the most part. Like most visual kei bands, they tend to not stick to one style or intermingle styles every so often. But for the sake of simplification, I'd classify them as rock (they dabble in jazz and heavier music at times as well, and also ballads). I actually like the vocalist a good bit. He has a fairly unique voice. Onto the music.

Edy - Eh, standard first song. Heavy sounding, like alot of visual kei bands first attempts. I like the chorus. The singers voice is more suited to singing and not screaming stuff.

Sara - Second music video. Better than ALOT of bands early songs. It isnt my favorite but its decent. Some jazzy influences in the way some of the instruments are played.

Alo[n]e - I like this song quite a bit. One of the songs I heard that first made me want to hear more and got into them.

Drop Note - Didnt really care for this one. Its ok I guess, but they have a much better catalog IMO.

Eve - A little heavier of a song. Once again, I like the chorus and the singers vocals, but they still are screaming/growling in their songs. They started to move away from this in their later releases which is good or bad depending on your view.

OZONE - I really like this song. Once I heard this one, was when I decided I would start listening to them and anticipating their releases.

Theater of Envy - Kinda like pop metal. Sorta, not quite as heavy as metal, but more so than just rock at times. I like it.

Strawberry Butterfly - I really like this song too. The changing guitar parts are awesome and the bass work is great as usual. Vocals also very good.

Hameln - another great song. More punkish than anything. Fun video too. Weird youtube quality with the sound though

Sindra - decent song. More in their rock/metal vein which was missing from the last four singles. Not my favorite mainly due to the screaming vocals, but the rest is good.

Order Made - Good ballad. I like this song alot. Props to the bass player.

Recipe - Good song. Has some new elements they havent used before, like DJ stuff.

B - another good song. Some symphonic elements thrown in. Very nice song.

They have another single coming out in October, but the music video isnt out yet. So what did you think of Vistlip. Id like to see some responses if possible. I see people do look at the thread, some feed back on the bands would be pretty cool though. I like hearing peoples thoughts on them.

 

[Nocturne]

Since Im bored and cant sleep, despite having to get up in like less than 5 hours to get ready for a 12 hour work day, I thought Id post another band/artist. Turns out this one is going to be Miyavi.



Miyavi

So what to say about Miyavi - Half korean, half japanese. Insane guitar player. He used to be in a visual band called Due le Quartz. I actually havent listened to alot of that band but what I heard, I didnt really care for. Actually, I felt the same about Miyavi. I actually found out about him through a girl I dated who I got into Japanese music. She listened to some of his stuff and showed me and I didnt care for it. Fast forward a year or so later and he came out with a cd that really hooked me. Now I still dont like his early stuff. I like heavy music and electronic music, but he did this weird industrial rock but it was really random at the same time. I just couldnt get into it. Some songs are ok but for the most part I dont listen to alot of his early stuff. He then took more of a acoustic turn but mixed it with so many different styles. His album MYV POPS is fantastic. He has songs on there that are spanish styled, symphonic, bluesy/jazzy, and one of his songs reminds me of a Prince song.

Afterwards, he started his Neo Visualism era. Essentially saying visual kei is more than just looks, it can be any style of music. He started to combine rock, hip hop, funk, and "pop" into each other and got an interesting blend. He started really showing much more guitar skill. Which brings out his next style of essentially just him on guitar, a drummer and a keyboardist. I saw him live and it sounded like a full band. His guitar skill is insane (which you will see in later songs). Right now he is doing collaborations with other artists around the world mixing his current style with theirs. One thing about Miyavi is he now sings in english alot. Its hard to understand singing wise, but he can actually speak it quite well and understandably outside of his singing (which he says is the weakest part of his music, his voice, which is true but works alot of the time).

He also used to be kind of wild and random. He still is but he has two children and a wife now so he has toned it back quite a bit, which is better IMO since he could be kinda annoying at times when he first started. So onto the music.

Girls be Ambitious - So we get some cool music in the background but it suffers from the vocals and melody IMO. This what I meant by weird industrial rock music that is random. I like bits and pieces, but as a whole I just dont like much. It feels very ADD.

POP is Dead - Ugh, I really dont like this song and the video just irritates me.

Shindemo Boogie Woogie - I actually kinda like this song. Kinda like a dark swing music song. Interesting at least. Decent.

Jibun Kakumei - I actually like this song too. Its upbeat and happy sounding but also kinda like a person thinking out loud

Coo Quack Cluck - I like things about this song. Overall the good outweighs the bad IMO. Definitely not anywhere near a favorite song of mine, but it has likable parts.

Joushou Gaidou - Hmmm, I like this song somewhat as well. It has a good driving beat and actually has something that resembles a melody. It still weird as hell though. And random sounding.

Ashita Genki ni Naara - This song actually is kinda nice really. First one of his early songs I actually like without being annoyed in some way

Rock no Gyakushu - I think around this time, he may have started being more cohesive with what styles he wanted to portray. It doesnt sound as hectic and jumbled and is more of a hard rock sound.

Freedom Fighters - Same kinda deal, more hard rockish without the ADD mashing stuff together that doesnt fit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From here on, he changed his style and REALLY got much much better. Id almost say skip the first vids I posted and go from here honestly. Starting to see some better guitar work and he starts to really come out on his own. He also started to grow up a little and lost alot of what made him annoying.

Kekkonshiki no Uta - I love this song. Got me really into his music. I wish I could find the music video, but its not on youtube any longer for some reason.

Are you Ready to Rock - Oh. My. God. That guitar. Essentially pure awesomeness. Bluesy rock with awesome awesome vocals. Sounds kinda funny at first, but it really fits the song. He also did everything in the song himself. Ive seen him play it live with all the percussion and such. Essentially every limb is moving haha.

Senor Senora Senorita - Stupid video, cool song.

Gigpig Boogie - Another stupid video, but cool song.

Dear My Friend - Another really nice song. One of my favorites.

Itoshii Hito - This kinda seen as the song that people realized Miyavi is growing up. Its kinda nice and thoughtful.

Kimi negai wo -Decent song as well. All of this songs from the dividing line were on the same album. A bunch of different styles.

Selfish Love plus intro song - Complete awesomeness at the beginning

And with that Im going to stop for the night. Part 2 will come either tomorrow or the next day. Big style change for next time as well.

 

[Nocturne]

Ok, so I see that people view this thread but havent really posted in it recently. Sure, I like doing this since I like spreading music around that people may not get to hear otherwise, but I'd kind of like some more discussion going on if Im going to continue it. Mainly because I like discussion and also because Im selfish a little lol. I dont get to talk about jrock with anyone anymore since I moved or my friends dont actively listen to it.

So what Im asking is, do people want me to continue the thread?

 

[Nocturne]

Well, since I didnt get any responses Im going to take that as not wanting me to continue. I enjoyed doing so, especially when more discussion was going on. If people ask, Ill start it back up, but until then I hope you enjoyed the various groups.