Dan's Pick "Galneryus"

Another month, another pick!

Galneryus is a power metal band formed in 2001 in OSAKA by guitarist Syu and former vocalist Masahiro "Yama-B" Yamaguchi.

Now comprised of; 

Masatoshi "Sho" Ono: vocals

Syu: guitar

Yuhki: keyboards

Taka: bass

Jun-Ichi: drums

this titan of a band churns out some incredible work. Specifically, my pick for this month is "Angel of Salvation" off of their highest charted album, "Angel of Salvation"

What can I say for this song that it doesn't say for itself? This classically inspired song is a blast of speed and beauty. Syu absolutely shreds!! I love all the mini solos, especially his main solo. It honestly sends shivers down my spine and seems like it won't end! Which I wouldn't be too sad if it didn't. The other members aren't shadowed by Syu's incredible playing, however. Throughout the whole song, the drums are on point and, for lack of a better word, awesome. I can't stop bouncing my leg or trying to mimic the double pedal. One thing that gives this song an extra kick is the classic strings that lace the song, especially in the intro. The vocals are also rad. Sho is super clean and has a great range. I feel like the keys could be a bit higher in the mix, and a bit more dynamic. They don't stand out to me as much as the rest of the instruments. But still brings something nice to the table. 

So enjoy this wondrous piece of power metal! And you should. If you like your metal fast and in your face this song is just for you. And me!!

- Dan

Official website 

Buy their music!

Official Facebook page

Dan's Pick "Royz"

So, all December I had no internet... Hence the lack of last month's pick. 

I hope this makes up for it, though!

For this month's pick, I've chosen Royz' new release, Supernova!! And for good reason.

This is a fun, poppy blast of energy and flashiness in typical Royz fashion. I can't even choose which aspect of this song I like most, because I enjoy every part of it so much! The guitars, bass, drums, vocals, GANG VOCALS, the whole shebang. I do like the variety in the song. For example, the way it goes from the spacey, pop style into a faster, heavier bit, then into a pop-punk part. It is definitely my favorite song since Lilia. I feel like they just keep getting better and better with each new song. 

There is one thing that bums me out about this song:  it's their first release without their other guitarist, Kazuki. Kazuki and the band announced his departure in May of 2014, when Kazuki chose to leave to take care of his mother. Royz as a band isn't a stranger to being a 4 piece, however. They started with just Subaru (vocals), Kazuki (guitar), Koudai (bass), and Tomoya (drums) in 2009. Then in 2010, Kuina (guitar) joined making them a 5 piece band. They had agreed that if one were to leave the band, Royz would separate. But thankfully, Subaru, Kuina, Koudai, and Tomoya decided it was better to continue to make music together. 

I'm excited to see how they progress as a 4 piece. I think this is evidence that they will do pretty well. 

-Dan

Official Website

Buy their music!

Follow Royz on Twitter

Subaru Ameblo

Kuina Ameblo

Koudai Ameblo

Tomoya Ameblo

Dan's Pick "人間椅子 (Ningen Isu)"

Welcome back!

For this month's pick, I've got something a little more in my wheel house, if you know what I mean.

人間椅子 (Ningen Isu) formed in 1989 with their first album, which was self-titled. Shinji Wajima (guitars/vocals), Ken-ichi Suzuki (bass/vocals), Nobu Nakajima (drums/vocals) are a wonderful metal band with HEAVY (Get it? Heavy? 'Cause it's metal??) Black Sabbath influences.

This track, "Namahage," starts off by dropping a massive boulder in your arms and making you trudge through the mud with some slow, heavy guitar and bass, pounding drums, and these demonic growls/moans. Which I find fitting, because the bass player looks like a demonic monk to me. ANYWAY... After that the pace is kicked up a bit more with some slightly faster drumming. I really love the part before the chorus, though. Things get dark! A creepy high-pitched tone starts floating in the song while Suzuki takes up the vocals with some (once again fitting) demonic singing. The riff is HEAVY and you know I loooove when that double pedal starts rolling. After that is the chorus, then it's rinse and repeat. 

In the second go around, though, is when things really pick up. If you're not a fan of the slowness, just give it some time and you will be rewarded. This song really gets kicked into high gear with some good old fashioned metal. Nothing flashy, just fast and heavy playing. After some shamisen-like playing, Wajima starts playing just a bit more furiously and then cranks out a pretty rad solo. After the solo, they go back into the beginning of the song to the mud-trudging boulder carrying. However... Just when you think the song is over, and it starts to fade off...... BLAM! Nakajima starts cranking out some double pedal bass with Wajima and Suzuki following suit with fast fast guitar and bass playing. 

The whole song makes me imagine riding a bike. You start off by going up a mountain at a gruelingly slow pace, like if your bike was stuck in the highest gear. After a punishingly slow ascent, you crest over the top with no time for a break. It's straight down after that, in an insane downhill ride that has you holding on for dear life. BUT YOU'RE HAVING SOOOO MUCH FUN! And there's no boulder or mud to trudge through. That's kinda what this song is like for me. This is definitely a band I might cut off a toe to see live. Preferably not either of my big toes, though. 

- Dan

Visit their website!

http://ningen-isu.com/

Like them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/ninngennisu

Buy their music!

Dan's Pick "Boris"

 So I feel quite awful about missing last month. It snuck up on me!!! I'm not going to feed you a bunch of excuses, though. I'm just going to feed you some pretty stellar music. 

This month I offer to you, Boris! I'm sure a good number of you have heard of them, but if you haven't you may be in for a good treat. 

Boris (ボリス) is a experimental, noise, sludge, psychedelic, doom, noise, black metal band out of Tokyo. Formed in the early 90's, the band started out as a four piece. However, now they are a three piece heavy behemoth consisting of

Atsuo: Vox/Drums

Wata: Vox/Guitar/Keyboard

Takeshi: Vox/Bass/Guitar

I first came across this group from Adult Swim's metal compilation. I'll admit... When I first heard the song I was a little unsure. Just how open it sounded, so atmospheric, and the drumming and guitars... something about it put me off. Then, what I wanted in my metal was just pure heavy, in your face, angry metal. At the same time, though, I was really drawn to it. Now I'm glad I gave them a chance. 

This song is called "Luna" which and comes off their 2011 release "New Record" or off of "Metal Swim", Adult Swim's metal compilation. I think what's most captivating to me about this song are the vocals. They're so angelic and echo-y it really sets the song. Then there are the towering walls of reverbed riffage coming from most of the guitars, but there's also this guitar lead under all the heaviness that flows through the whole song. Like a silver lining amongst a dark cloud of metal. It's just gawwwjuss. I don't really hear much from the bass, and the drums are very rapid and repetitive. But that's to be expected from a song like this.

So without further adieu, here is "Luna"!

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Bandcamp

Noise

BORIS

Dan's Pick "コドモドラゴン (Codomo Dragon)"

コドモドラゴン (Codomo Dragon)

    Formed in 2010, this band has been slowly gaining a little more popularity. You may have heard about these guys, since they share a record label and play shows with 己龍 and RoyZ.

Band memberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs:
Vox: Hayato
Guitar: Kana
Guitar: Yume
Bass: meN-meN
Drums: Chamu

    VIPER!!! I'm pretty stoked with this song. Boy howdy is it a few steps up since Nepenthes and Right Evil, both singles off of Children's Dope.

     I love the way this song starts off. It fades in with meN-meN slapping some meeeeeeean bass, then bursts in with some poppy guitars (I especially love Yume's guitar here). Something I notice in this song already is the production is great. Nepenthes had some bad mixing I thought. The drums were reallly low in the mix. Not the case on Viper! Everything is mixed together well, but you can still zone in on any of the instruments.

   I'm also really enjoying Hayto's vocals in this song. Something about the way he sings on this track. That's probably what stuck out on this song the most for me, that or the bass. The bass is super heavy and very dirty sounding. Which is a good thing! The guitars are excellent. Love the riffs and the solo. And the drums are definitely improved here. All around a winner for me! I'm very much looking forward to what this group comes out with next.

-Dan

Codomo Dragon's official website

Buy their stuff!

Hayato ameblo

Kana ameblo

Yume ameblo
meN-meN ameblo
Chamu ameblo

Dan's Pick "44°+"

Welcome back!

This is a pretty sweet group I found while browsing Space Shower Music's YouTube page a few weeks ago. (YouTube page here)

44°+ is a four piece post rock instrumental band that was formed in the summer of 2012. Straight outta Kobe! Fun Fact: That's where my high school Japanese teacher was from.

The members are as follows: 

Hikaru Okumura (Hikaru Twitter)

Aiichirou Tanaka (Aiichirou Twitter)

Youhei Sakamoto (Youhei Twitter)

Masayuki Jintani (Masayuki Twitter)

I'm going to keep this mildly brief, but don't take that as disinterest. This song is off their album "Consider and Forget". It has a lot cool guitar textures that vary throughout the song which are quite enjoyable. The production is pretty good, everything is mixed pretty well (my opinion). The drumming is technical and very fun to focus on. Double thumbs up from me. I looove the acoustic guitar is. It's a nice addition, I think. Some of my favorite moments in this song are the acoustic parts. There are also really funky bass lines, and you know how I like nice funky bass lines. I'll definitely be checking out more of this group's songs. 

[44°+ "D" (Official Music Video]

Check them out online:

Official Homepage

Facebook

Twitter

Buy "Consider and Forget" at CDJapan!

Dan's Pick: "Indigo La End"

     Welcome back! 15th. Dan's Pick.

  You remember last week's pick, right? Well while I was watching some of their other videos, something on the sidebar caught my eye. So I clicked it. Let me say, I wasn't too disappointed with the random click.

  Indigo La End, comprised of: Kawatani Enon (guitars + vocals), Curtis Nagata (guitar), Ohta Yuusuke (drums), and Kotori Ryosuke (support bass) are a what I would say an indie/rock/pop band formed on the 4th of November, 2012.

  The song I entered into was 名もなきハッピーエンド from their mini album "Ano Machi". What first caught me were the guitars. A cooling, crisp tone that makes me imagine riding my bike through some city on a sunny mid Summer's day. Trees and grass are green, flowers in full bloom, the whole shebang. I really love the riff through the whole song. They're very upbeat and energetic. The bass is a constant fun groove, which also makes me very happy. I love good bass. I was also drawn in by Kawatani's vocals. The pace he sings his lyrics kept me interested. Not that its anything crazy or fresh, just liked it. Also, his voice has a sweetness behind it. High pitched and tender, you know? Without a doubt a great first song to listen to from these guys.

Indigo La End "名もなきハッピーエンド'

Website: http://indigolaend.com

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/indigo_la_End

Buy "Ano Machi" at CDJapan!

Dan's Pick: ''オワリカラ (OWARIKARA)''

                                                         

It's the 15th! That means it's round two of Dan's Pick! 

   This month, I'd like to show you オワリカラ (OWARIKARA). 

   Formed in 2008, in Japan (Duh, I just couldn't find out where, exactly) they bring lots of indie influences, pop rock, and a little funk influence to this wonderful table of music they create. 

   They, of course, being:  Takahashi Hyouri (vocals, guitar), Kameda Taku (keys), Tsuda Fumihiko (bass), and Kawana Kenta (drums).

   Whether it be a PV or live performance, they put out the same level of energy in both. And from what I've seen, is a lot. A lot a lot. I mean like 7 Red Bulls a lot. I would love to see this group live. I can only assume it would be a blast. 

   Much like last month's pick, this isn't the first song I heard from this band. But it's hard choosing a song you want to share with people when you like so many of their songs! However, I chose one from their most recent album. I don't have much to say about it, other than it's just an all around good ass song. Funky dynamic bass, techy drumming, funky guitar, awesome vocals, and a bopping keyboard. 

                              

I present 踊るロールシャッハ (Odoru Rorschach).

I'll also post a live video of this song so you can witness the lively and dynamic performance they put on. 

~Dan

Purchase their music at CDJapan!

Saihate Songs

Owarikara

Check them out online at their official links below:

Official Site: http://owarikara.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OWARIKARA

Myspace: https://myspace.com/owarikara

Dan's Pick: "在日フアンク (Zainichi Funk)"

                                                             

Hey!

Welcome to "Dan's Pick"! On the 15th of every month, I'm going to share with you a song that I really enjoy or find interesting. Usually it's just both. So to start off, I'm going to offer you something I'm quite fond of!

I came across this group through a friend of mine about a year ago. They're a funk band called 在日フアンク (Zainichi Funk). The song I'm posting isn't the song I first heard, but it's my favorite of the songs I have listened to. It comes off of their self titled album released in 2010. I think a lot of James Brown when I hear the vocalist, Hamano Kenta, singing. Also the way he moves and dances is also very James Brown-esque. The horns are soothing and remind me of summer. Between the band members they create a good sound and atmosphere and are a very tight band.

I'll quit jabbering and let you find out for yourself, eh?

[Official PV Zainichi Funk "きず"]

Band members:

Hamano Kenta (vocals)
Keita Murakami (bass)
Yoshihiko Oogi Liang (guitar)
Makoto Takeshi Nagata (drums)
Fukushima, "Pete" Mikio (sax)
Kubota Shigeru (trombone)
Murakami Motoe (trumpet)

You can purchase their music from YesAsia HERE!

Visit their Official Website,

Or follow them on Twitter!