Versailles has potential, but the drumming is horrible. I can't stand blast beats in much of anything and it takes a special type of sound for me to enjoy real speed metal. I kind of get the feeling this band is like.. metal openings for anime. I will investigate further.
Ahh.... no no no. Not an anime band. I have their discography and am certain I'm far too informed about them for my own good, so if you want recommendations or more info, I has it.
DEATHGAZE. No. The image is bad, but the complete lack of creativity musically puts me off. Dude is weak as fuck on vocals IMO.
Fair enough. I didn't get into them until their most recent(?) album which is just a bunch of heavier arrangements of their previous releases. I still only listen to a handful of songs from that album since something about them kinda rubs me the wrong way sometimes, and other times I feel like I could really love them. *shrug*
OZ rocks. Plain and simple. I love mixing vocal styles a lot. I like the aggressiveness. So much energy.
Great! Glad one got in there that you like
OZ are commonly found to have dashes around their name: -OZ- and I think they might have broken up, but I could be wrong. I think I'm thinking of DIO ~distraught overlord~ who you wouldn't like if you don't like the more extreme stuff. They're not death metal or black metal but they're just .. well ... really wacko. Of course that makes me love them all the more, but I'm trying to "know my audience" here
I like the sound of girugämesh too, but I think I'd get bored of them quickly. Definitely sound like they'd be killer live, but... lack something studio side.
I think they might be planning an few U.S. shows soon.
SEIKIMA II.. Sorry, I don't like American KISS.
Aww! They just got back together and performed at A-Kon in Dallas this summer with Inugami Circus-dan (I'm not going to talk about that band yet, I don't want to get too far down the freekazoid rabbit hole just yet). I would have given my left arm to be there. But I'm holding out for something I want more, if it'll ever happen. Anyway, I had never heard them before they were announced for the convention, but they were apparently as big as X JAPAN
back in the day, I guess, but things didn't go as well for them as they did for X. *shrug again*
Okay ready for more? I can do this all day. Just tell me when to stop ;-)
Phantasmagoria - I'm not sure how to completely encapsulate this band with genre qualifiers so I wont. They are widely respected (probably because they are actually talented?) amongst fans and fellow musicians and were on the covers of magazines in Hot Topic before Dir en grey even dreamed of coming to the U.S.. Granted that magazine was Cure, but the point remains. Phantasmagoria has long broken up but so did Sanctuary and we see that still carries a punch. Not that the bands are similar at all... Anyway, ignore the singer's wonky-silly arm dance nonsense.
MUCC ... I think this will be a winner for many people, and they've already garnered a fair amount of popularity in the U.S. after being on the Taste of Chaos tour in 2008. A couple other Japanese bands were on the tour too but I'll get to them later.. maybe..
Maximum the Hormone ... honestly, I hate the sh*t out of this band, but that means nothing. Seriously nu-metal, screamo, hardcore sound and I truly can't stand that, but if I
had to pick one band from that "genre" to call "good" it would be these guys. BTW, they've done songs for anime ;-)
D ... they have a few good songs and I find myself thinking, "wow, who is this?" when they come up on shuffle. Not all their songs are winners but they are okay for the most part. Unfortunately the drumming also lacks here, but the guitar solos are nice. The vocalist's range is nice and once you hear him hit some of those high notes you'll either question his gender or praise his talent. I wish he'd quit trying to be a "smooth beautiful charismatic Dark Prince" type and just give us some killer rock vocals already! He's capable but holds back and it drives me nuts!
I don't think their videos match their style very well but this one comes closest, I suppose. So maybe just listen to the song and not watch the video.
