Naiad

 Naiad were a five-piece metalcore band from Kyoto, Japan that were around from 2001 to 2006. The band's output was minimal, with just a demo and their 2003 EP Hardcore Emotion being their most definitive release, which is a severely underrated genre-bending masterpiece, with elements of ambient post-rock, intense, searing vocals and off-kilter metallic riffs a la Shai Hulud or 7 Angels 7 Plagues, and melodic, melancholic emo in the vein of Grade or Christie Front Drive, all packed into an incredible 22-minute runtime. This is an incredible release that I wish I had found sooner, so implore you to give it a listen as well for its sheer uniqueness and visceral impact. Members of this band are also now active in .islea. if you want to check them out too. Enjoy.

Demo (2001)

1. Lost & Noticed

2. ☆☆☆☆☆

Hardcore Emotion (2003)

1. Sensuous Tree

2. Believing Dreams

3. Waves Of Influence Strike Within What Truly Moves You

4. Song Of Nature

5. Hopeless Progress

Spotify

Apple Music

The Cabs

The Cabs were a three-piece emo/math rock band from Saitama, Japan that formed in 2006 and disbanded in 2013. They released two EP's/mini-albums and one album, the three of which is what you primarily see as their discography. Apparently there are some demos and live material out there, so if anyone's got anything more than this, please let me know. Also as a quick note, depending on where you go on the internet, their album and song titles will differ slightly (presumably as a result of varying English translations). Sonically, you guys are going to love this if you're unfamiliar with them. They've got these soaring, ultra-melodic vocals, shimmering, athletic guitars, and bring this raw, near-frenzied cathartic energy to an otherwise very smooth, very clean work. If you need a frame of reference, fans of bands such as TTNG, toe, Maps & Atlases, Owls, or Ghosts And Vodka will certainly fall in love with this. Enjoy.

The First Action [First Incident] (2011)

1. For Charles Bronson

2. Nigastu No Heitai

3. No Future For Us

4. Haiku About Kdyla

5. Nicol Kills Nicolas For Nicola

6. Kugatu Ha sannbikaniyoru

Kaiki Suru Kokyu [Recur Breath] (2011)

1. Kilche No Rasen

2. Camn Aven

3. Gedoku Sareru Jukai

4. Kakko No Suno Ue De

5. skor

6. Dai Hachi Byoto

Saisei No Hukei [Regenerative Landscape] (2013)

1. Leland

2. Hana No Youni

3. Anschluss

4. Our Fail

5. Map

6. Sarasa

7. Smile Lazuro

8. Purusha

9. Your Eyes Have All The Answer

10. All Crying

Spotify

Apple Music

Sans Visage

Sans Visage are a three-piece screamo band from Tokyo, Japan that began in 2014. They play a dark and chaotic brand of screamo that incorporates some rhythmic complexities of post-hardcore, along with the hints of melody coming through in some lead lines and backing vocals. Their debut full-length Moments came out a few years back via Dog Knights Productions and Asian Gothic, and is virtually essential listening for screamo fans in the modern era. It's straight-up screamo done as it should be, baring it all through every dynamic twist and turn, with a raw, uninhibited delivery. If you're into bands such as Loma Prieta, Matsuri, Nervous Light Of Sunday, or their fantastic splitmates Blind Girls, you need to check this out. Enjoy.

demo #1 (2014)

1. song 1

2. song 4

3. song 3

demo #2 (2015)

1. -

2. Barricade

3. song 2

4. distance

5. past

Careless/Det Är Därför Vi Bygger Städer/sans visage (2016)

1. Careless - Dalliance

2. Careless - Lucid Dreaming

3. sans visage - counterfeit

4. sans visage - indolence

5. Det Är Därför Vi Bygger Städer - Förlåt För Allt

6. Det Är Därför Vi Bygger Städer - Edgwarebury Blues

Blind Girls/sans visage (2016)

1. Blind Girls - Sentient

2. Blind Girls - Silhouette Friends

3. Blind Girls - Grey Permanence

4. sans visage - Kyogen

5. sans visage - Sight

moments (2017)

1. 22

2. song 1

3. song 2

4. worthless

5. denial

6. alt

7. barricade

8. distance

9. life

10. sway

11. past

sans visage/Look At Moment (2020)

1. sans visage - Deception

2. sans visage - Desperation

3. Look At Moment - Rigging

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Angry Son

One post, two bands. Strangely enough, this isn't the first time that's happened on here. I recently heard this fantastic new EP by the Angry Son from Japan, which reminded me of the American Angry Son from the early 90's, so it seemed fitting to cover both.

Angry Son are a screamo band from Japan that have been around since at least 2021. They've released three EP's so far, with two out this year. They play a blistering, chaotic style of screamo with some scorching vocals, which balances out with quiet arpeggios and gorgeous, shimmering tones. Not much more needs to be said really, from the first minute of "Sublime" off their latest Pranks For The Memories, they had my undivided attention while I delved into the rest of their discography. This is some amazing stuff, and no doubt a highlight for the genre in 2022. Fans of bands like Loma Prieta,     Funeral Diner, and Sans Visage should definitely check this out. Enjoy.

3 songs (2021)

1. 祇園の夜

2. 散歩詩

3. 鴨川

4 songs (2022)

1. Indifference

2. Dialogue

3. Flicker

4. 回想録

Pranks For The Memories (2022)

1. Sublime

2. Transmit Failure

3. Sinking

4. Untitled

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Angry Son were a four-piece hardcore/emo band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that were around from 1990 to 1991. They played a melodic, heart-on-your-sleeve offshoot of punk directly influenced by bands like Rites of Spring, Embrace, Swiz, Moss Icon and The Hated. I've covered my fair share of relatively obscure bands from this early era of "emo" here, and I cannot understate how hard it is to find info on these bands, as most of them only exist in decade-old vinyl rips and a one-line bio on Discogs or something of the sort. There is an entire website dedicated to the documentation of Angry Son, including pictures, flyers, setlists, band history, etc. This is unprecedented, so I do encourage everybody to check it out here. An interesting anecodote, it does credit their name to the lyric from "Hidden Wheel" by Rites of Spring. It's often forgotten that the phrase originated there, years before Indian Summer came along and cemented it in one of the genre's most landmark songs.

Below is the majority of their discography. Their biggest release was the split with Fuel, which is all I had heard from them prior to this post. It's a fantastic split on both sides (the Fuel song in particular is incredible), with the cleanest sounding production. Diving into the demo and Yesterday were pleasant surpises, with the shaking vocals, melodic bass lines, and bright chords making for a raw take on a sound still in its early stages, similar to contemporaries like Admiral or Downcast. As for their other material, admittedly the audio quality of Skinny Criminal's Demo is pretty abysmal. I don't know if it's the original recording or the mp3 rip, but it's pretty rough to listen to. Same goes for Live At Trees, though that's more expected considering it's a live set. It's cool to have these for posterity's sake, but besides that, it's best to steer towards their other material. Enjoy.

Demo (1990)

1. Unlimited Supply

2. Violation

3. Walk The Line

4. For Keeps

5. Dragnet

Live At Trees (1990)

1. Unlimited Supply

2. Head

3. Stained

4. Resist

5. Bullet

6. Suffocation

7. Fast

8. Window

9. All Is Now

10. My Little Friends

11. For Keeps

12. Dragnet

13. So Typical

14. Walk The Line

15. Yesterday

16. Thrown Away

17. Violation

18. The Pillar

Skinny Criminal's Demo (1991)

1. Touch This

2. Yesterday

3. Fast

4. Head

5. My Little Friends

6. Black

Yesterday (1991)

1. In Deep

2. Bullet

3. Big Picture

4. Resist

5. Yesterday

Fuel/Angry Son (1991)

1. Fuel - For Lock Of Better Words

2. Angry Son - Thrown Away

3. Angry Son - Suffocation

Website

Gauge Means Nothing

Gauge Means Nothing were a four-piece emo/screamo band from Tokyo, Japan that began in 1997 and broke up in 2005.  Their output was fairly limited, with only one EP and one split (that I can find, at least). They were a truly unique band that's hard to pin down where they sit in screamo history. They constructed long, dynamic songs that can be be loosely compared to a band like Envy, but they go above and beyond and incorporate things that no other band would do. For one, the vocals are split harsh screams and sweetly sung with pop sensibilities, and are often layered on top of each other thanks to their dual vocalists. They utilize a variety of instrumentation (often in the background), including keyboards, trumpets, and what I think is a xylophone one one track. They even take the standard four-piece band instrumentation to another level, particularly the drum interlude in "I Think I Sink Ai Shinku". For the few tracks we have of theirs, they really set themselves apart as a must-listen. Enjoy.

The Absent Trail Of An Echo And My Future Plagued By Surrender (2003)

1. Pilgrims

2. My Glasses Reflect an Untrue View on My Eyes

3. Boku Wa Bikaiin (I'm Glorify Commissioner)

4. (Surely) Dyes Black

5. Right Hand

My Precious/Gauge Means Nothing (2005)

1. My Precious - Lost in Transition

2. My Precious - I Love Daddy (For Daghdad)

3. My Precious - Bliss

4. Gauge Means Nothing - Lost Eternity

5. Gauge Means Nothing - I Think I Sink Ai Shinku

6. Gauge Means Nothing - Beneath the Same Sky

1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal

1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal are a three-piece post-hardcore/emo/screamo band from Kita-Kyushu, Japan that began in 1999 and ended in 2004. They were an incredibly unique band, taking influence from the hardcore roots of bands like Dag Nasty or Ignition and blending it with the darker, off-kilter sounds of bands like Yaphet Kotto. They had a genre-defying penchant for melody and song structure, with a sound that was equal parts melancholy and energy. Their sole LP, Owari Wa Konai is criminally underrated, and really in a league of its own with a distinct, impassioned sound. Highly recommended stuff. Enjoy.

Letter (1999)

1. Nandedaro

2. Atarashii Tabira

3. Genjitsu

4. Kage

5. Moshikashitara

Minority Blues Band/1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal (2000)

1. Minority Blues Band - Antiheroic

2. Minority Blues Band - Flow My Tears

3. Minority Blues Band - Naked Me

4. Minority Blues Band - Lukewarm Days

5. Minority Blues Band - Days Are Passing Romantically

6. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - Magarikado

7. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - Katachi

8. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - Gurasu No Mukou

9. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - Kanjiteirunoha

10. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - Miharashino Okahe

Owari Wa Konai (2003)

1. With Smile And Slobber

2. The End Never Comes

3. On The Highway Midnight

4. Choose

5. There Is Nothing

6. Dear You

7. Rambo

8. Don't Turn Your Eyes Away

9. Anyway

Aghast/1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal (2004)

1. Aghast - Telescope

2. Aghast - Oxygen

3. Aghast - Medium Is The Message

4. Aghast - My Friend Slobodane

5. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - The Place I Stand

6. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - Reach Out

5. 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal - Can Only Get Off

Komusō - Luck Will Be On Your Side This Week EP PREMIERE

Today (October 13th) Komusō are back with their anticipated second EP, Luck Will Be On Your Side This Week. It's the follow-up to their debut self-titled EP that was released earlier this year, and set the bar very high for this band. They are a four-piece from Tokyo, Japan that features members from multiple notable bands, including No Omega, Careless, Det ar darfor vi bygger stader, Cape Light, and 5000. Luck Will Be On Your Side This Week features three new tracks, all of which offer up something different and make for an incredibly intense listen. You can pre-order the 7" EP from Zegema Beach Records today, with 149 records being pressed on black and 151 on clear. It's also being released by Left Hand Records, zilpzalp records, and Adabana Records. Check out the full album stream and pre-order info down below.


"Still / まだ" introduces a pulsating rhythm section with an immediately recognizable Spiderland influence. The guitar arpeggios are dissonant and off-tempo, while the vocals mutter quietly in the background. The song slowly builds tension through clashing guitars before blasting into its climatic end that recalls the final moments of "Good Morning, Captain".

Track 2, "Forgotten People / 忘れられた人々" wraps around a single arpeggio with melodic subtleties added to it, and again brings back the whisper-thin vocals. The build in this song is absolutely fantastic, and a strong indicator of Komusō's strong musicianship. It's the way they walk the fine line between melodic and dissonant, and make for entirely new emotional experiences through their very deliberate notation. Plus the guitar solo on this is an unexpected but very welcome surprise, as the underlying instrumentation begins to trip over each other to bring the track to a surprisingly pleasing end.

And finally, "Extension / 拡大". This song takes a bit of a detour from the Slint influence, and the first to bring back those insane screamed vocals from their debut EP. This is a passion-fueled scream fest, with enough dynamic depth and instrumental aptitude to not fall into total chaos. They manage to create an incredibly sad emotional palette through longing chords and an over-the-edge vocal delivery, which really hits and resonates with the listener. It's an incredible closer to this short-but-sweet EP.  Overall, it's a notable progression from their already-solid debut, and a fantastic demonstration of a new band whose about to make waves in the screamo world.

ZBR Canada/International Pre-Order

ZBR USA Pre-Order

Left Hand Label Pre-Order

Komusō

Bandcamp

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Zegema Beach Records

Bandcamp

Facebook

Left Hand Label

Bandcamp

Facebook

zilpzalp records

Bandcamp

Facebook

Adabana Records
Bandcamp

MEIAN / Diva Plavalaguna SPLIT PREMIERE

I'm happy to bring you two of the four new tracks off this new split from two incredible bands, Vancouver, Canada's Diva Plavalaguna and Morioka, Japan's MEIAN. The other half of this split is being premiered over at Open Mind / Saturated Brain. Check out one track from each band below, then head over to OMSB to hear the rest. The split pairs an eclectic, high octane synthcore band with a crisp, Japanese screamo band, which makes for an interesting and rewarding mix. This project has been a long time coming, with one band overcoming personal hardships and the other being birthed from the ashes of a previous project, but both bands are finally here. This entire split will be released digitally and on cassette through the always-fantastic Emo Cat Records tomorrow (Sept 14th), which will be linked below and active tomorrow. Enjoy.



MEIAN's track "Move On Up" opens up the split, and it hits the ground running with all instruments in play. They utilize very bright, glossy guitars that really shine in the mix, but never sound too polished. The guitars play with these incredibly melodic lead lines, and if it hasn't been made obvious, the tone of them is something to die for. It's the rhythm section that contrasts this melodic sheen with aggressive d-beats and tom hits to drive the song, along with some incredibly visceral and emotional screamed vocals. They close out with a unified post-hardcore influenced rhythm, which leaves a lasting impression in this track's wake. Sonic comparisons could be drawn somewhere between the bright, melodic aspects of Suis La Lune and the pummelling, commanding sound of Sans Visage, or something of the sort.



Diva Plavalaguna contains members of Emo Cat alumni Terrifying Girls' High School and Black Knight Satellite. They close out this split with fourth and final track, "Diva Protocol". They utilize triple vocals, pervasive weird synth lines, pounding drums and frenzied guitars that come together in an onslaught of noise. This track hits hard with a frantic yet calculated chaos. The vocals just topple over each other with these yelping screams, while the instrumental speedily rips through the first half of the track. It takes a sudden turn with a clean, tremolo-effect laden guitar, which builds into a full gang vocal chant as the song begins to crescendo. The buzzing synth, warbling bass, and vicious blast beats leave the track off in a sense of torment, with sharp guitars and devilish vocals howling to its end. This band's got a unique sound to say the least, and this track really hits out of left-field (in the best way possible).

On a side note, Diva Plavalaguna have launched a comic series titled "Diva! Digital Desert Duchess" in collaboration with illustrator Breanna McGowan. It follows the band as the protagonists in a post-apocalyptic future, with a storyline running adjacent to their musical releases. You can check that out here, along with Breanna's other work here.

Emo Cat Records

Open Mind / Saturated Brain

Emo Cat Records

Website

Bandcamp

Facebook

Diva Plavalaguna

Facebook

MEIAN

Bandcamp

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toe

toe are a four-piece math rock/post-rock/indie band from Japan that formed in 2000. They've spent many years touring and building a fanbase in Japan, and continue to garner a larger fanbase with a recent signing to Topshelf. toe is a group of incredible musicians, just check out some of their live material on Youtube or whatever, it's phenomenal. Getting into a description of their sound is quite hard to do, since it is rather complex and experimental, but also quite melodic. They craft some gorgeous songs, and blend it with their intricacies.  They're a mostly instrumental band, though they started to include vocals the farther they've come into their career. If you're a fan of math rock, or even just amazing musicianship, I would highly recommend giving toe a listen. Enjoy.

Pele/toe (2002)

1. Pele - Drop Attack

2. toe - Velvet Blanc

Songs, Ideas We Forgot (2002)

1. Leave Word

2. I Dance Alone

3. 1, 2, 3, 4

4. Path

5. Yoru Wa Akeru

Re:designed (2003)

1. I Dance Alone (Light On Light Remix) (Kaida Shogo Remix)

2. Yoru Wa Akeru _re:desgn.d (Dave Lebleu Remix)

3. Leave Word ("Cigarette Papers" Mix) (Pele Remix)

4. Path (Mito Remix)

5. Past And Language (Nano Machine Remix)

6. Velvet Blanc

7. Path And Language

The Book About My Idle Plot On A Vague Anxiety (2005)

1. Hangyaku Suru Fuukei

2. kodoku no hatsumei

3. Tremolo + Delay

4. Mukougishi Ga Shiru Yume

5. All I Understand Is That I Don't Understand

6. C

7. Past And Language

8. Music For You

9. I Do Still Wrong

10. Metronome

11. Everything Means Nothing

New Sentimentality (2006)

1. Tsunagaru Haruka Achira

2. 1/21

3. New Sentimentality

4. Goodbye

5. Velvet Blanc

toe/Collection of Colonies Of Bees (2009)

1. The Faber

4. 繋がる遥か彼方 (Happy Birthday Little Jodie Remix)

Note: toe side only

For Long Tomorrow (2009)

1. ここには何もかもがあるし、何もかもがない

2. ショウシツ点よ笛

3. After Image

4. エソテリック

5. Say It Ain't So

6. Two Moons

7. モスキートンはもう聞こえない #1

8. モスキートンはもう聞こえない #2

9. ラストナイト (Album Version)

10. グッドバイ (Album Version)

11. You Go

12. Our Next Movement

13. Long Tomorrow

The Future Is Now (2012)

1. Run For Word

2. Tsuki Kake feat. Aco

3. Ordinary Days

4. The Future Is Now

Hear You (2015)

1. Premonition (Beginning Of A Desert Of Human)

2. A Desert of Human

3. Commit Ballad

4. The World According To

5. My Little Wish

6. Song Silly

7. Boyo

8. Time Goes

9. オトトタイミングキミト

10. G.O.O.D L.U.C.K

11. Because I Hear You

Our Latest Number (2018)

1. Dual Harmonics

2. The Latest Number

3. Etude Of Solitude

4. F_A_R

Now I See The Light (2024)

1. 風と記憶

2. LONELINESS WILL SHINE

3. TODO Y NADA

4. 街のどこかで

5. WHO KNOWS ?

6. CLOSE TO YOU

7. キアロスクーロ

8. サニーボーイ・ラプソディ

9. MADNESS SUMMER

10. NOW I SEE THE LIGHT

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Heaven In Her Arms

Heaven In Her Arms are a five-piece screamo/post-hardcore/post-rock band from Tokyo, Japan that formed in 2004. Two full-lengths and numerous splits and EP's later, Heaven In Her Arms are definitely one of the most notable Japanese hardcore bands. Perhaps the other one of most note is the one that everybody knows (and for good reason), Envy. HIHA and Envy are definitely quite similar, in more ways than just geographical location. They both craft immense songs that balance atmosphere with gripping intensity and emotional passion. There's definitely a very prominent post-rock influence, with tremolo-picked guitars, massive crescendos, and spoken monologues, but where they really peak is their dark and heavy climaxes, which are topped by some animalistic screaming. This band is highly recommended, especially if you're looking for more progressive and experimental screamo/post-rock. Pretty much all of their song and album titles were originally in Japanese, but most have English translations floating around the internet, which are below. So if you wanted the titles in Japanese, sorry about that. Thanks to the people that mentioned them in the cbox who reminded me of this amazing band, and enjoy.

Demo (2004)

1. Light To The Hope

2. Just To Find The Answer

3. Untitled

4. Owareta Kokoro

5. Bikasareta Omoi

Heaven In Her Arms (2006)

1. A Secret Signal... Here Is...

2. Akai Yume

3. Get Out!! (Live)

4. A Secret Signal... Here Is... (Remix)

5. Akai Yume (Remix)

Heaven In Her Arms/Tomato Steal (2006)

1. Tomato Steal - You Can't

2. Tomato Steal - Love O.G.R.2003

3. Tomato Steal - C.C.K.C.257

4. Heaven In Her Arms - Tessen to Kanaria

Koenji (2007)

1. Heaven In Her Arms - The Old World Is Behind Us & The Jailors Speak Of Freedom (Ampere cover)

2. Killie - Giugno (La Quiete cover)

Erosion Of The Black Speckle (2007)

1. Manifesto

2. Filled Up With A Bruise

3. Intersection Arrangement

4. Iron Wire And A Canary

5. A Sublingual Tablet

6. Correlative Sign

7. Get Out

8. The Balance Drowned In A White Rub

9. Partiality Of Luminosity Eight

10. Recursive Dependency

11. Red Dream

12. Erosion Of The Black Speckle

Duplex-Coated Obstruction (2009)

1. Wound Dehiscence

2. 39/40

3. Rusty Trace

4. Moon Get Distorted By Cornea

Paraselene (2010)

1. 46x

2. Anamnesis Of Critical

3. Morbidity Of White Pomegranate

4. Jade Vine

5. Echoic Cold Wrist

6. Halcyon

7. Butterfly In Right Helicoid

8. Veritas

Heaven In Her Arms/Aussitôt Mort (2011)

1. Aussitôt Mort - Une défaite à la piaule

2. Aussitôt Mort - Supraliminaire

3. Heaven In Her Arms - Lost Title/Inversion Operation

Heaven In Her Arms/Yumi (2012)

1. Heaven In Her Arms - White Night Recrystallization

2. Yumi - Empty Circle

Heaven In Her Arms/COHOL (2013)

1. Heaven In Her Arms - 黒い閃光

2. Heaven In Her Arms - 繭

3. Heaven In Her Arms - 終焉の眩しさ

4. COHOL - 不毛の地

5. COHOL - 木霊

6. COHOL - 疎外

白暈 / White Halo (2017)

1. 光芒の明時 / Ray of Light at Dusk

2. 月虹と深潭 / Abyss of the Moonbow

3. 赦された投身 / Forgivable Drown

4. 終焉の眩しさ / Glare of the End

5. 枷 / Chain With Fetters

6. 円環を綯う / Entangled Torus

7. 幻霧 / Turbid Fog

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