Featured List HEADBANGERZ: When Kawaii Goes Kowai!

[fitear1590 2414]

Beyond the apparent "gender bending" of visual kei, one of the most intriguing aspects of the scene is the rampant genre-bending. Is it a sign of real versatility or just willy-nilly inspiration? Whatever the case may be, today I'm celebrating a special brand of this phenomenon: HEADBANGERZ, or what @doombox helped me to phrase when kawaii goes kowai™! Whether it's through a barrage of double bass drumming, sinister drop Z tuning, or trading in angelic falsettos for demonic harsh vox, some poppy VK groups know how to mosh it out. We all know that production has gotten savvier in the past few years and current bands like DADAROMA, Nocturnal Bloodlust or Deviloof are quite heavy, but allow me to shine a light on some of the poppy bands that are also worthy of our finest devil horns, even if only for a single track. Very few bands actually pull this off, but this Featured List will highlight a few of my favorites. Try not to overthink the fact that these sparkly, rainbow-plastered host boys have the potential to be more br00tal than your hardcore and metal faves. Instead, dial up the volume to 11 and join me in a round of synchronized bangya headbanging.

 

Let's get started!

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"ミソギ (misogi)" by キャンゼル (canzel)

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Our first entry is from one of my favorite VK bands and the first non-"rose obsessed gothic cathedral-dwelling" group in the scene I fell in love with. As glittery as Canzel's look may be, their ability seamlessly mix in chuggerific guitarwork with pop-rock is what immediately set them apart from the standard "oshare" fare up till that point. They are the OGs of "kawaii goes kowai" as far as I'm concerned, with easily the heaviest pop music you could find in the scene at the time. Just take a listen to "misogi" and you'll be bowled over by a wave of deep and surprisingly droning guitars.

Release: NeO PRESENCE E.P.S. #3 (2008)
Song for comparison: Twilight

 

"S.M.D." by THE KIDDIE

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With a band name like THE KIDDIE, how could they possibly sound heavy? Well, in a frankly incongruous b-side to the breezy "elite STAR+" single, they give us their best shot. What's special about "S.M.D." (besides dat naughty acronym) is how the band doesn't rely on gang or otherwise harsh vocals; thanks to the relentless pace added by the double bass, the music is an in-your-face alternative romp, ready to rough you up.

Release: elite STAR+ #2 (2009)
Song for comparison: soar

毒メスシリンダー (doku messzylinder)" by サウイフモノ (souiumono)

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Souiumono is a bit of an odd one, because they're one band that actually got significantly heavier toward the end of their career (see: "UN-DEADHOUSE" from 2015). Still, back in 2012, they were decently pop-oriented with their screwball RPG concept. I still remember how dumbfounded I was when I spun my CD the first time. The former fathers of smurf-kei were suddenly channeling PIASS spasticness and kooky Kiryu vocal antics--it was oh so delectable. It's still one of my favorite tracks of theirs to this day!

Release: くびはねるつるぎ/毒メスシリンダー #2 (2012)

Song for comparison: タランチュラ (tarantula)

 

"失望エミュレイター (shitsubou emulator)" by ユナイト (UNiTE.)

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UNiTE. formed from the ashes of Canzel's untimely disbandment, with three of its musicians carrying on the legacy. With better production and some well-executed harsh vocals to boot, UNiTE.'s "shitsubou emulator" achieves what I consider to be the prime example of what HEADBANGERZ are all about. The music was penned by Mio, the darker half of Shiina Mio who writes the band's signature twinkly tunes. It still follows pop-rock songwriting, but the song is played on beast mode.

Release: MEANiNG #3 (2012)
Song for comparison: AIVIE

 

"Invarant" by i.Rias

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i.Rias is a fairly recent discovery, but they're probably the best example I've encountered so far of what the current scene--which boasts more robust production than indies bands 5 years ago could dream of--can do with this concept. Infused with some deathcore-lite dissonance and the rhythms of dubstep, "Invarant" wears its neo-VK influences on its sleeves. In that sense, it's a very contemporary example of a HEADBANGER.

Release: DRiVE #2 (2015)
Song for comparison: Re:sume

 

 

"オカルト・キラー (occult killer)" by 愛狂います。 (Aicle.) (2009)

"SOUL BRINGER" by SLOD (2010)
"Belphegor" by SRASH NOTES GARDEN (2013)
"現代病写 (gendaibyou utsushi)" by カメレオ (Kameleo) (2014)

"ぼくとタルパ (boku to tulpa)" by グリモア (GRIMOIRE) (2015)*
*This one is a stretch, because GRIMOIRE has been fairly heavy in their 4 songs so far, but considering that all of the musicians are ex-PIECE, this one still has the "wow, such heavy" shock factor for me.

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And there we have it! I hope you enjoyed reading. Which songs are your favorite from the list? Which HEADBANGERZ do you like that I overlooked?
Lemme know in the comments below!

Edited April 29, 2016 by fitear1590

[Alkaloid 3143]

BASH! - クサレゲドウ (Kusaregedou)

Especially because their next single was called POP CANDY.

 

UNiTE. - world wide wish

Even though UNiTE. are already on here, still a good example of how awesomely heavy they can be.

 

昨日までの今日に無ィ明日。 (NiAS) - catharsis

Also a bit of a stretch, but with two ex-HiMeDOKI members, it's a bit surprising.

[Aferni 2381]

Fitear, don't forget Canzel's それは枯れ葉が舞い散る頃に!

 

 

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/nm18186700

 

 

The harsh vocals seriously give me Ryoga vibes. Canzels synths were the shit along with the band themselves, can someone recommend me more synth kei?

[fitear1590 2414]

BASH! - クサレゲドウ (Kusaregedou)

Especially because their next single was called POP CANDY.

Lol, classic. In what other scene can you move seamlessly between those two extremes.

 

Fitear, don't forget Canzel's それは枯れ葉が舞い散る頃に!

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/nm18186700

The harsh vocals seriously give me Ryoga vibes.

That actually IS Ryoga! A rare VK guest feature

Because of that, I purposefully did not choose that song, just because BORN is more associated with heavier music. Great song, though!

[Aferni 2381]

Lol, classic. In what other scene can you move seamlessly between those two extremes.

 

That actually IS Ryoga! A rare VK guest feature

Because of that, I purposefully did not choose that song, just because BORN is more associated with heavier music. Great song, though!

 

Holy Shit. Never knew that was Ryoga, thanks so much for the info.

[pawzord 388]

I guess this is somehow heavy for SuG. 

[platy 3018]

That song by Canzel is fucking great, I think one of their best. 
Some other suggestions:

Another great song by Canzel

 

 

I'm not sure if this counts, but Dolly usually have very ballad-like songs, so this seems dark and heavy to their standards.

 

 

ダウト - Kimon

[anadentone 478]

so cute becomes "OMG SCARY"? what about bands that normally are spooky but have cutie vids

[fitear1590 2414]

so cute becomes "OMG SCARY"? what about bands that normally are spooky but have cutie vids

Color me intrigued! So what would be on your "kowai goes kawaii" list?

[anadentone 478]

Color me intrigued! So what would be on your "kowai goes kawaii" list?

honestly uber kawaii from a "scary" jrock group is hard to find but The Gazette- ruder strikes me as kinda cute. Mainly cuz of Ruki's baby like smile/smirk

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

is this for more recent bands only? because i think if you look at older oshare kei bands you can find a number of these, haha. well, aicle. got mentioned and they're pretty old.

one mention i have would be irokui. since they grew really poppy in sound, and some people might not know that they had a few heavier songs.

sorry for low quality, the only vid i could find..

[fitear1590 2414]

is this for more recent bands only? because i think if you look at older oshare kei bands you can find a number of these

Thanks for the comment!

I definitely wasn't strictly limiting myself to recent bands, but I think it just happened that way because production methods have gotten a lot heavier, even in your average indies band. I thought about including some early 2000s oshare like Milphinne, but ultimately, songs like this just didn't have the heavy headbanger "oomph" of the kind of stuff I included on this list and we can probably attribute that to production limitations of the time.

Anyway, I'd really be interested in any other songs you had in mind (you can feel free to just list them, if you can't find them on YouTube or anything)

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

Thanks for the comment!

I definitely wasn't strictly limiting myself to recent bands, but I think it just happened that way because production methods have gotten a lot heavier, even in your average indies band. I thought about including some early 2000s oshare like Milphinne, but ultimately, songs like this just didn't have the heavy headbanger "oomph" of the kind of stuff I included on this list and we can probably attribute that to production limitations of the time.

Anyway, I'd really be interested in any other songs you had in mind (you can feel free to just list them, if you can't find them on YouTube or anything)

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, after thinking more about it, some older oshare kei bands lack that "headbanger" element.

But anyway, I was gonna include Soroban too. Them being super young at the time can also count as kawaii. Most of the members later formed Zoro too, which is more electro and pop-sounding.

 

I was literally hunting this down just now because I deleted the file a long time ago and forgot the song title. xD But I think it's kinda fitting. Only heard 2-3 songs from this band though, so maybe they have a few others that I missed.

 

Hmm, kinda thought that there were more, but I guess that's all I can remember for now.

(ps, I like adding vid links because I think they're convenient! ^^)

[mechayolo 45]

WHY THIS IS NOT IN THE LIST!?

This is the best example I think xD

 

 

Please compare 

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by paradoxal
100 question and exclamation marks is a bit excessive.

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

^papillon was like they're only good song.

[seikun 317]

On 02-04-2016 at 8:17 PM, plastic_rainbow said:

is this for more recent bands only? because i think if you look at older oshare kei bands you can find a number of these, haha. well, aicle. got mentioned and they're pretty old.

one mention i have would be irokui. since they grew really poppy in sound, and some people might not know that they had a few heavier songs.

 

 

sorry for low quality, the only vid i could find..

 They should have remained in this style, it was really good.

[seikun 317]

I couldn't help searching for their release with that Irokui's song and found it^_^

 

By the way, does Eimy count in this? For exmple, their song, BAIKINMAN.

Edited May 16, 2016 by seikun

[blackdoll 907]

I this takes #number 1! pico switch his voice deeper and screams

called#plan -  L

 

desthbie - mariya

Honorable mentions

3P by Antic Cafe, Ichigo69 - Hakusho, PaRADEiS - PINNOCHIO to Sunadokei, DOG in the Pwo - Jigoku no DOG FIRE!!! Ah, metcha PARADISE

Spoiler

 

 

Edited June 23, 2016 by blackdoll

[Alkaloid 3143]

I recently re-listened to Lolita23q's CERAMIC STAR single and was surprised at how heavy the B-sides were.