I am becoming ever more convinced that the future of metal is in the hands of the ladies of the Orient:
They are kicking ass for sure. It’s funny because at this point they are more the history of metal; it’s been big here for going on for like 15 years now, and that doesn’t count the early pioneers (like Shonen Knife for punk).
My favorites are still not the all-girls bands though; I like the more symphonic bands like Unlucky Morpheus or Galneryus.
I call them “Castlevania Metal”, which will make sense if you played the games.
Also very nice.
Fun Fact: Lovebites bassist, Fami, started her career on YouTube, and still has a channel there:
I suspect the reason she states “video posting will be suspended for a while” is because she auditioned for Lovebites and got the gig. She was 20 years old. 素晴らしい!
Fami’s kind of the newcomer; LoveBites has been around a really long time. Even Kiyoshi also gigged with them a bit IIRC.
Funny fact, I was taking @JerryP to go buy his BBP34 and accidentally discovered where Fami buys her basses
I don’t believe that was the case. The original bassist, Miho, along with the drummer Haruna left Destrose and recruited the others and formed Lovebites, and Miho was the bassist until she left and they recruited Fami. Miho was a co-founder.
When they replaced Miho, the auditions were open to all comers, including guys. So all female band is not their concept. And they were formed in 2016 so not that old.
You might be thinking of Destrose. Who hail from the 2000s.
Bands that formed from Destrose include Mary’s Blood, Nemophila, Fate Gear and of course Lovebites. And probably others; a lot of musicians went through the band.
And then there’s Show-Ya, who like Shonen Knife are the OG of the female band scene, and like the Knife, formed in 81 and are still going, and host the Naon Yaon festivel every year showcasing female acts. Most of the bands we’re discussing played there. And others like G-Spin
Of course I can’t talk about women in rock without a nod to Babymetal. Suzuka Nakamoto was named female metal vocalist of 2024 by Metal Awards last week, beating out competition from Floor Jansen, Alissa White Gluz, and Amy Lee. They may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but they are lifting the metal scene for Asian women.
And it shows how metal fusion is gaining wide acceptance, which bodes well for Asian bands.
Showing my age here but when I think of Japanese Metal, I think of this lol. I like Yamashita’s Bass guitar.
Don’t forget X Japan
I think at this point you’re starting to see artists move on. Kobato clearly going pop, etc.
I bought this one when it came out…on cassette. Simple riffs = good riffs.
spent some time this week working with the diminished scale and listening to Robben Ford. His approach to the blues just kills me.
No comments on these in particular but I am really liking your mixed themes int the posts to this thread
Yeah, my music collection is all over the place.
You should hear when my iPod is on shuffle - you’ll often get a death metal song followed by something from an opera followed by jazz, followed by more metal followed by rap, followed by…
This is fantastic! I need a course to make me 3/4 as badass as her. Cool Warwick too.