6eyes

On first listen, 6eyes sounds like a band fronted by a stumbling drunk with a mouth full of marbles. Upon further listening, that's not an opinion that's likely to change, at least not entirely. But the method to their madness becomes a bit clearer and things start to make a bit more sense.

6eyes formed around 2002. Since then they've released three albums featuring their particular brand of lethally tight, dirty, post-punk indie rock. Their early sound (that being from 2002 to 2007) is open to exploring brighter and more upbeat ideas. "I'm So Free" could very easily be mistaken for an early Supercar song, for instance. But these occasional forays into indie-pop territory are quickly beaten back by their insistence on returning to the dark and dingy sounds over and over. In either case, the band never wastes a single note in dressing up the songs or making them in any way ornate. "Efficient" comes to mind.

More recently the band has distilled its sound down into a razor sharp post-punk laser, while at the same time they've managed to highlight their simple yet infectious melodies. Blank in Black sheds the fuzzed-out guitar rock in favor of focusing on the raw and tight sounds. The songs are also more rhythmic, almost dance oriented, which makes them all the more irresistible, albeit quite dark. Almost goth-like at times. Think The Police meets Bauhaus (or maybe Molice meets Plasticzooms if you want to keep it Japanese)...fronted by a stumbling drunk with a mouth full of marbles.

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"Return"



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Tsuchiya Chikara - Vocal, Guitar
Matsuda Kouichirou - Bass
Hori Youichi - Guitar, Backing Vocal
Kuwayama Yoshitaka, Drums, Backing Vocal

Albums:
Blank in Black - 2008
Pirates Music - 2007
6eyes - 2005

"Crystal Boy"

2 Bullet

Formed in 2003, 2 Bullet is a self described "anti-totalitarianist" synth/industrial group. Slathered in camo and military symbology, the trio uses their thickly layered electronica sound to pummel the listener with dark visions of blasted landscapes covered with bombed out tanks and slow mutants.

While most of their tracks consist of little more than a steady pulsing beat under the buzzing and twinkling synths, it's the vocals bring a more unique twist. Jumping from a high pitched screaming gargoyle to a more low-toned syrupy vampire, singers K and Kentaro run the gamut of crazy, heavily effected voices. The very deep and dark constructs of Skinny Puppy quickly come to mind, along with Ogre's eccentric delivery on the mic. On the other hand, there's the operatic side of the more traditionally goth/viz-kei of BLOOD and any number of other darkwave bands. There's even a hint of ex-Candlemass singer Messiah Marcolin from time to time. Dark and operatic, to be sure.

Yet they certainly don't fit the usual campy/romantic mold. They are much more confrontational, as their motto would suggest. It's obvious that they've got something more to say, be it political a la Rage Against the Machine, or just any act of general rebellion against authority like Atari Teenage Riot. Song titles like "Destroy N.W.O.," "Darkness In Combat Field" and "Police State" leave little room for doubt. While it might start to feel like they are beating you over the head with their limited sound palette, you'll probably be to rocking out too hard to notice.

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Assassination



OFFICIAL SITE
MYSPACE

Members:
K - Vocal
Dee Lee - Guitar / Tactical Program
Kentaro - Voices

Releases:
Assassi-Nation - 2009
Democratic Violence - 2004

Democracy


Worthless Future

9mm Parabellum Bullet

9mm Parabellum Bullet not only has a rather unique (aka typically Japanese) name, but their music is also a unique mix of straight up rock and totally twisted post punk. Formed around 2004, they very quickly rose to be a force to be reckoned with in the indie rock scene.

All of their guitar playing is extremely tight and usually frenetic, yet the songs are very melodic and almost listener friendly. On the one hand, their more melodic and tune-full slant may put them into Asian Kung-fu Generation territory, yet their spastic playing, crazy drumming and singing pushed to the bleeding edge is much more like Number Girl. There are even a few heavy metal riffs from time to time which show of their technical prowess. It's all presented at blinding speed ("Mr. Suicide" for example), so you'll need to listen to them many times to actually hear everything that's going on. Some of their most intense tracks would even give power metal band Dragonforce a run for their money.

The band has matured ever so slightly over the years, reigning in their more confrontational tendencies more often than not. This doesn't mean that their songs lack any of their trademark intensity, just that the band doesn't throw themselves face first into every song. They manage to separate the more intense moments from the more melodic, crafting songs that are better at luring in the listener, setting them up for the next blast of pummeling staccato riffs. Sugawara Takuro vocals have always been a bit shaky, easily the band's weakest link, but his rough and sometimes strained delivery fits just fine with the general air of down and dirty rebellion that surrounds the band like a warm glow.

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Supernova



Official Site

Members:
Sugawara Takuro - Vocals, Guitar
Taki Yoshimitsu - Guitar
Nakamura Kazuhiko - Bass
Kamijo Chihiro - Drums

Releases:
Gjallarhorn - 2005
Phantomime - 2006
The World EP - 2007
Termination - 2007
Vampire - 2008

Mr. Suicide


The World


Heat Island - Live


Termination


Punishment


Teenage Disaster - Live

1000say

Following in the footsteps of other bands like The Aprils and Nirgilis, 1000say is a synth-pop band that sidesteps the usual trappings of the genre. Sure, they are cute and upbeat, but they are also very restrained and soft spoken. Not so soft as to be mistaken for the sea of twee-pop bedroom acts who whisper their way through sometimes abstract experimentation. Instead, 1000say ride the line between strong pop tunes and sugar-shock.

Formed in 2005, the band has only recently begun to release material. Their first mini-album surfaced late in 2008, the second in early 2009. Their full band configuration gives them a more versatile sound than straight up electro pop. They can rock out from time to time, though they usually choose to keep things a little mellow. Even their vocal performances, switching between male and female leads (again, much like The Aprils,) can swing from blissed-out to slightly rough and forceful. They never go over the top into anything truly tough or angry, but they do amp things up a bit.

Their songs really are worthy of something more than a cast-off "pop" classification. They have a certain depth and well-developed structure that's often missing from other electro-dance tracks. In this way they are more like Sakanaction or even Supercar at times, melding twinkling synth space-outs with powerful guitars riffs. Instead of distilling out all of the character that makes for an interesting song, 1000say build the songs up into much more than a vapid "hit." They let the songs wander and stretch just a bit, something vital to retain repeat listening. They give the listener something to hold on to, which is exactly what all good music should do.

BUY 1000SAY RELEASES HERE!

Lostman



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
MAN - Guitar & Vocals
API - Bass & Vocals
MICHELLE - Synth)
NON - Drums

Albums:
MICROWAVE HEARTBEAT - 2009
STARGAZER ORCHESTRA - 2008

One Story


Live

800 Cherries

800 Cherries are a Shibuya-kei style duo made up of singer Manami Marufuji and producer Masayuki Takahashi. They started out in 1995 with an acoustic folk sound on the mini-album Manamidemonade, comprised of simple songs made up of effected acoustic guitars and Manami's incredibly tiny, breathy voice. While this basic approach would stick around through their career, it gradually developed into more electronic territory as the progressed.

Their first full album Piccolo is full of the sort of bedroom 4-track experimentalism one might expect. There are swirling organs, spaced out backing tracks and some shaky vocal performances. The chorused guitar remains in most of them, liking all the songs together into one unified sound. The songs are almost psychedelic in parts, blissed-out and very soft. Their second, self titled album showed very little progression over the intervening two years, being more of a continuation of Piccolo than a new album.

Their real break-out was with 1998's Romantico. This album even made it over to America for a brief time and is therefore their most popular, and rightfully so. While there are still plenty of examples of their original, slightly hesitant early days, there are almost more confident tracks with stronger production. They also stretch out a little with a few electro instrumentals and more fully fleshed pop tunes. They never really let loose and rock out or anything, but they do ramp up the volume a bit here and there. They also mange a few transcendent moments with the softly beautiful "Frozen" and their re-working of "Everybody Knows," original found on Piccolo.

This was followed up with their fifth release Opuscula in 2000. This is more of a mix of instrumental and a cappella, with Manami simply humming and "doot doo doot"-ing along to the atmospheric music. It's till twinkles and shines, but there is very little to hang on to and is a strange way for the band to exit the stage. After that, the band seems to have vanished from the face of the Earth.

While not quite as well produced as Takako Minekawa or as arty as Gutevolk, 800 Cherries walks along the same lines with songs that are cute and innocent with no real point other than to be cute and innocent. There's a warm, nostalgic glow around it all and there are a few really nice gems to be found.

BUY 800 CHERRIES RELEASES HERE

Frozen (fanvid)


Members:
Manami Marufuji
Masayuki Takahashi

Albums:
Manamidemonade 1995
Piccolo 1995
800 Cherries 1997
Romantico 1998
Opuscula 2000

176BIZ

176BIZ (or "bizu ichi nana roku") is a somewhat vis-kei/hard rock band very much in the vein of Psycho le Cemu, at least musically speaking. This is mainly due to 176BIZ's singer Yu sounding and delivering very much like Daishi from Psycho. (No one can hold a candle to Psycho's visual style!) 176BIZ is a very young band, having only formed in 2005, releasing their first album in 2006. They were originally formed by ex-Panic Channel bassist Tara, who has since left 176BIZ as well. Their outward appearance is along the lines of a regular glam rock band, with tight jeans, torn shirts and poofy hair ala early Mötley Crüe. This fits well with their sound, which is much more rock oriented than your average vis-kei goth band. Like Psycho le Cemu, they have a rather positive, grand scope to their arrangements, but 176BIZ usually keep things rocking and very guitar oriented instead of slipping into dance/para para territory.

Sekigan Akame



Official Site

Members
Vo- Yu
Dr- Kasumi
Gt- Setsuki
Gt- Toki
Bass - Kouta

Major Releases
Atelier - 2006/09/27
Bleach Way - 2007/07/04

Dice


Aqua

The 5, 6, 7, 8s

Best known around the world for their brief appearance in Kill Bill, 5, 6, 7, 8s are a rockabilly/punk/garage rock band. The all girl trio mixes harsh lyrics with amped up retro rock styles, a lot like Guitar Wolf, only not distorted beyond all recognition. They are actually much different than their portrayal in Kill Bill would suggest, being much louder and abrasive than the restrained performance in the movie. They've done a lot of touring outside of Japan, even gaining some heavy radio play in the U.K.

175R

175R is a mainstream punk band. I say mainstream punk meaning that sort of fun and innocent, yet fast punk-like style that seems to be very popular with the kids these days. You know, Hot Topic stuff. The band is fronted by a singer with a rather distinctive voice, nasal and high pitched. According to the internets, 175R means Inago Rider, which is derived from the goroawase (175) plus R for rider. The word inago means grasshopper in Japanese. So now you know.

100s

100s are a pop rock band. Similar in sound to the upbeat rock of Base Ball Bear, the earnest dreamyness of Remioromen and general mellow good times of The Pillows. They are still a relatively new band, having released only two albums since their 2004 debut. Their music is generally upbeat, full of soaring choruses and layered with electro sparkles. While nothing new or special, they at least provide some nice music to listen to while, oh, I don't know, surfing the internet and looking up obscure J-music.