[Screamo week!] Week of 04/15/2012

(L->R) Tamao, Yuichi, Ponchi, Me - in Singapore for Gauge Means Nothing tour

Oh yeah, it's freakin' screamo week. I guess this stuff is supposed to be called scramz now... but that makes me sad-face. See, I think this stuff is called different things by three different generations of kids. First, there were the ones who were into hardcore in the 80's and 90's. They probably call it emo, because that's kind of what it was back then. I became aware of this stuff from the late 90's into the 2000's. I call it screamo because why the hell not. Then there are the people getting into it now. Screamo is usually used to describe radio bands these days, so they needed a new word. I say fuck it, I'm calling it screamo. It's just a word that is meaningless anyways. (also, I love how I say I don't care about music titles/genres but I seem to talk about it all the time)

So, this is screamo week on here, which will probably be the last of my themed weeks for awhile. I tried to pick stuff that was both really, really good and also not available online yet. It was a bit of a challenge to find stuff not online, because I've posted a lot of my stuff online since I got it. I find it in the weirdest places, with the most random people listening to it. But, I did find 3 things that I couldn't find anywhere else that are also high up on my list.

On Tuesday, I'll be posting where you can buy MP3's of good japanese screamo right now. I was pretty surprised with all the stuff I found, actually. And Thursday I'll be posting an interview I did with Blue Friend. I was really impressed with how it came out and I think you guys will enjoy it. Here's the schedule:

Monday - Note - I Left a Note For My Friend Who Was Out [2006]
     - Intense envy worship. I can't get enough of this shit.
Tuesday - BUY SOME FUCKING JAPANESE SCREAMO ONLINE RIGHT NOW!!
     - A bunch of Japanese screamo you can find on Amazon MP3, iTunes, and Spotify.
Wednesday - Anchor - Kizu [2001]
     - Acoustic based Japanese screamo. Very unique.
Thursday - [Interview] Blue Friend Interview
     - Interview with Blue Friend guitar/vocalist Sho.
Friday - Mynameis... - Tokyo Plastic [2006]
     - Singing/Shouting screamo. This is one of my favorite bands these days.

NOT II BELIKESOMEONE - Tragic Orchestra [2006]

There are quite a few metalcore bands in Japan. The success of State Craft and western bands like Converge have made it a staple in the Japanese music diet. The problem is with the quality of these bands. More often than not, they are sad copies of better bands, and are quickly forgotten. I think one of the main reasons is that most focus so much on what could be called crowd participation. I'm talking about a focus on how people will interact with the music, often putting too much of a focus on breakdowns or heavy parts. This might be fun in the moment, but the lasting appeal of that type of band is nonexistent. The best bands balance originality and familiarity to make something that is fun to listen to, but also deep enough to stand the test of time.

I'd like to present NOT II BELIKESOMEONE as such a band, balancing crowd-pleasing rhythmic parts with original riffing and beautiful parts. Their goal from the beginning was always to make something new, which is always a good place to start. This is their first actual EP after a demo in 2003, and they have that perfect balance of originality and familiarity. They build off a base of State Craft and Hopesfall, but add other parts that could come from Envy or Snapcase (I'm reaching here). They really do have their own sound.

You get 4 songs and one instrumental here. If you like this, I do still have copies in my distro, which you can buy. Otherwise, it's sold out everywhere else I looked. Enjoy!

BUY HERE!

NOT II BELIKESOMEONE - Tragic Orchestra

1. Broken Tact

2. The Mirror Shaped of Knowledge

3. Beneath the Sky that Seems to Come Falling at the Moment

4. Puzzle of Hope

5. Irreplaceable

[Youtube] Down II Earth @ Kyoto Whoopee's 11/09/2002

These guys were some of my good friends from Kyoto while I was studying in Japan during 2002. At the time, there was only three (guitar, vocals, drums) but they had two guys from Lasting For Answer helping them out. After I'd returned to the States, they found enough members and changed their name to NOT II BELIKESOMEONE. I helped Masa (or Taf), the singer with his English grammar for the lyrics. He had grown up in England because of his dad's work, so his pronunciation was pretty amazing. They are still together, releasing an EP in 2006 (which I'll be posting tomorrow), a demo in 2003 and another in 2010. Hopefully they're working on more songs.

I always really loved their sound. It is a hybrid of classic Japanese metalcore and other more melodic and diverse bands. They fit kind of firmly between State Craft and Naiad. Hajime, who writes the songs, is really gifted and includes tons of fun and interesting parts. I'm usually not into vocals, but Masa has an impressive range. From guttural, goregrind pig squeals to smooth singing, he does it all.

Check the show out and check out the EP tomorrow!

Mind Touch - Demo-EP [2003]

Do I know a lot about this band? No. Did my scanner do something weird to the colors of this cover because it was printed weird? Yes. Will I continue to write in a question/answer pattern? Maybe.

I really don't know much about Mind Touch. They broke up in 2006. They were around for 6 years, as their blog says, but I think this is there only release. It is pretty well done, a mix of Japanese metalcore with some broader melodies and hardcore influence. They have more variety than the usual Japanese metalcore band and are pretty interesting to listen to. Only two songs here, but they are a good representation of a band that could've done more. Hope you enjoy!

Mind Touch - Demo-EP

1. Sign of Existence

2. A Seed Named "Hope"

[Youtube] Lasting For Answer @ Kyoto Whoopee's 11/09/2002

I've already written a bit about the group I hung out with during my study in Japan. My main friends were Kazushi, Masa, and Hajime, but they were all friends with another local hardcore band that I befriended. Their name was Lasting For Answer, and although I only saw them twice, we hung out on other opportunities. I had a going away party and most of the band members came, along with my crew. I remember the singer was telling me something about having the heart of a samurai in modern day Japan. I also remember how red his face was.

I got to see them on two occasions. The first was at Huckle Berry in Shiga, a livehouse I'd never visited. I rode in the drummer for Down2Earth's car, which had doilies as seat protectors. Seeing a bunch of semi-thugged out hardcore Japanese kids in that car was ridiculous. The place had a fair amount of people for a mid-day show. The bands were a total grab bag, some rock, metal, etc. I didn't completely understand the Japanese show mechanics yet, so it was weird to see all of these different types of bands playing. The one other band I saw was Some It Air. I'll write about them more later, but it was my first time seeing them and I totally fell in love at first sight.

Lasting For Answer was awesome and hilarious. The music was not exactly what I was expecting, but the guys played with such passion and enthusiasm, I was quickly drawn in. I was so used to my friends in America looking sort of grungy and messed up. These guys were completely thugged-out, with XXL jersies, Kangol hats, and hand-towels around their shoulders. Despite their appearance, they were totally nice guys and very excited to meet me. None of them had great English skills, so we communicated in a hybrid Japanese-English mashup that would've been embarrassing to onlookers.

The second time I saw them was at a show that my friend Kazushi set up, which also featured Gauge Means Nothing, Staple, and Down2Earth. I already wrote about this, but Lasting For Answer's set was a ton of fun. That's where these videos come from that I'm posting. Sadly, they only play 3 songs, like the other bands that day. Still, they're totally fun and I think the energy is pretty contagious.

I have their demo tape which has 2 songs on it. I plan to get a tape player so I can rip all the tapes I have lying around. But who knows when that'll happen. Enjoy the videos!

State Craft - ...To Celebrate the Forlorn Seasons [2000]

The year is 2000. You are in a Japanese band releasing it's first full length on a renowned international record label. What do you do? That's right, start your fuckin album off with some final fantasy keyboard shit!
You might say, "that's not final fantasy, it's more like black metal," but the end of that intro track is the straight up opening theme to every final fantasy since the first one, so shut up.

State Craft follows up the rest of the album with the best metal / NYHC cross-over yet seen. The exact science of how they put it all together is fairly unknown, however. Other bands have obviously done the same throughout the world, but State Craft came out the other end with such a unique interpretation that it really created a whole new genre. The intense melodic sensibilities cannot be overstated enough. Most bands running with these influences never stray far from open-E chugging. State Craft does not take the bait and crafts truly powerful melodies that run throughout all their songs. Dual guitars riffing together while the rhythm section rumbles through complicated time structures is just the way they do it.

It feels like there is a lot to write about State Craft, but I either don't have all the knowledge (I'm not too keen on the history of NYHC or metal, so even my description as a crossover of those two is flimsy) or there are simply no words to describe it. State Craft is just amazing. In some ways, they are THE band for people who don't care much for NYHC or metal (like I was a few years ago). There is so much in their music, I think you can find something you like in there.

Here's that debut album from 2000. It actually is still available in CD and vinyl, so pick up a copy if you like it: Goodlife Records

Here's a pretty crazy video. I've never seen that many kids at a Japanese hardcore show.

State Craft - ...To Celebrate the Forlorn Seasons

1. Ecliptic Horizon

2. Freedom Not Enslavement

3. Final Heaven's Deception

4. Into the Snowlight Gate

5. Bloodshed Revolution

6. Forever Yours

7. Creation, Domination, Retribution

8. Nocturne

9. Season's End

[METALCORE WEEK!] Schedule for Week of 4/7/2012

Lasting4Answer with Ponchi & me in the corner

There's something really special about Japanese metalcore. It's kind of wrong to even call it that, but I don't want to bother making up a new word. "Japanese Metalcore" is probably the best title, because I've only heard one band outside of Japan play this style (Reprisal from Italy). It is truly a homegrown mash-up of a bunch of styles. So, this week, I'm focusing on that. I don't have a lot of this stuff, since I didn't really get into it until a few years ago.

If you're interested, a really great primer for this style is the "The Document" compilation which was released from Out Ta Bomb records. It has all the essential bands for this genre that were around at the time. I don't have a physical copy, but you could probably track it down somewhere online.

So, queued up for this week are some from my collection. Then I'm ripping some videos of bands I taped. These two bands were in my area and we all hung out together on many occasions. Lasting4Answer broke up some time ago, but Down2Earth changed their name to NOT II BELIKESOMEONE and are still playing. They released a demo as recent as 2010, and they're still playing around.

Also, I have to apologize for the late posts last week. I didn't put as much time last weekend to upload and have everything ready, so I was having to wait until after work to actually finish up the posts. I'll try to be better this week (keyword is 'try').

Monday - State Craft - ...To Celebrate the Forlorn Seasons [2000]
     - The only place to start. The ultimate Japanese metalcore.
Tuesday - [Youtube] Lasting4Answer live
     - Some good friends of mine.
Wednesday - Mind Touch - Demo-EP
     - Diverse melodic metalcore.
Thursday - Down2Earth live
     - My main crew in Kansai. Epic metalcore.
Friday - NOT II BELIKESOMEONE - Tragic Orchestra
     - The best hybrid of melody, toughness, and metal.