This Old Newfound Appreciation for JRock and the Like

Quite some time ago I asked a few friends for recommendations to Jrock. See, I was (and still am) learning Japanese and I thought immersing myself in the music would help seeing as music was a great teacher when it came to English. Well, back then I listened to a few of it, liked some of it, but then dropped Japanese due to lack of time....until recently. My appreciation for Jrock is back with a vengeance and bigger than ever. Here are some artists I think you should know if you want to dive into the world of Jrock.


Dir En Grey

Chances are you've heard these guys mentioned somewhere. They're doing a really good job of infiltrating the American market; they've toured with American rock groups such as Korn and their last two albums are available from Hot Topic, iTunes, and some other retailers. "Saku" seems to be a fan favourite but mine is, hands down, "Kodou." The earth-shattering screams near the end just do it for me.

Saku



Kodou





Nightmare

One of my favourite bands in the world. These guys aren't very well known here in the USA but they should be. I think a few people will be turned off by their looks; they are visual kei. Don't be put off by the lipstick because these guys rock as well as anyone else. They have an extensive catalogue so you're sure to find an song you'll like from them. It was hard for me to pick a sample since I think a lot of their songs are wonderful and different from one another.

(Gianism Shichi)


Star [K]night (live)




Orange Range

Now for something a little different. Orange Range (orengi rengi) is the kickass band that performs "Asterisk", the first opening to the anime Bleach. That's where I first heard of them and that's how I got into them. The interesting thing about OR is that they have three volcalists, one for each range. This makes their harmonies a joy to listen to. Some people catagorize them as a Jrap band; I just think they're crazy.

Asterisk


Ika Summer




Maximum The Hormone

I actually don't know much about this band or like a lot of the music but they have the coolest transition from pop to hard I have heard in one song. Watch "Koi no Megalover" just for that.

Koi No Megalover

Online Videos by Veoh.com

End of Part 1. The next part will be writen up and posted tomorrow.