Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"MONSTER DANCE" by KEYTALK
This isn't just a live performance, this is art...this is an experience! This is everything I look forward to being in whenever I see a jrock live. The coordination, I'm impressed. I'm sure this took some time to master the choreography with the audience, but it's better than anything I would expect from an American live. The song is just as fun as the video, proving that you don't have to be visual kei to have fun.



"D.D.D ~Dead.Devil.Dancing~" by Black Gene For the Next Scene
I'm glad this band hasn't let up in the quality department. They definitely have been consistent with their releases and I'm very proud of them. I hope they continue this streak after Sala's departure. As for this PV, it reminds me of D meets Dio - distraught overlord, which is a very good thing. The boys look fabulous and the visuals are very simple, giving the members dual roles in the story. I love the mixture of electronic elements and a very strong bassline that I miss hearing from Rame since the old Vidoll days. It's both fun and dark and that's hard to pull off.



"CRY OUT" by SuG
I'm very happy with this rebirth of SuG since they left PS Company. The visuals and sound are a very smooth bridge from their previous release, "MISSING". The PV is mostly band centric with the guys performing with lots of colored dust and strobe lights, but there is some artistic elements to the video. The repeated drawing of a face and guns on the wall, the members posing in boxes, and the vague connection with a woman and Takeru throughout the PV. I'm looking forward to more releases like this from SuG. Keep it up!



"I'm him" by Mino (WINNER)
If you ask me what I think about WINNER's debut, I'll answer honestly that I don't remember. I could pull something out the air like "I must've not disliked it, but I really don't remember anything about it" and that's the truth, but Mino's solo I remember. Despite looking like G-Dragon's long lost little brother or Mini Me, I remember really enjoying his solo way more than WINNER's two music videos. I enjoyed the simple and playful visuals with majority of the video looking borderline black and white with vibrant colored animations decorating Mino and parts of the screen. I like how the music and delivery have a nice balance of confidence and fun. I hope YG gives this kid another solo because I really enjoyed listening and watching him rap.



"A.D.T.O.Y" by 2PM
Apparently, it took me a year to actually give this music video a chance and I surprisingly enjoyed it. There's very few 2PM songs I genuinely enjoy as they end up coming off try hard, cheesy, or boring, but there's something intriguing about this song. I like the dual melody mixing a smooth, mature R&B sound with bits and pieces of dubstep in all the right places. Although I think the notes are a little too high, I enjoyed the vocals of this song and I enjoy the harmonization between the guys. I like that they decided to use black and white for this video to counter their more upbeat and colorful previous promotional song. The choreography and small bits of story is very sensual, smooth, and subtle. I'm glad they didn't overdo it with such a slow song.

Top 13 Recommended Music Videos

"Bones" by Rose Noire
I'm so glad Kiwamu hasn't ditched these talented musicians. Sometimes it's just nice to listen to some melodic, haunting vocals accompanied by some beautiful violin. This is definitely a step up production wise for these two and I hope they get more backing this year with their music. They're sadly underrated and exude so much talent.



"SOMEBODY WANTS DAYS YOU CLOSE" by NOISEMAKER
After "PLATINUM SHOES", I was thrilled to see something new from this band and it was equally, if not as, incredible than what I heard before. The title of the song doesn't really make sense to me grammatically, but I'm willing to ignore it. The setting reminds me of P.O.D video and shares some small similarities to it. This is definitely a memorable, emotional effort from this band and I am anxious to listen to this new mini-album.



"Cheeky Ren" by DALATH
I must admit that I was confused by watching this the first time. I thought it was another all female band, but it wasn't. I was a little disappointed, but I kept listening and ended up liking what they had to offer. It's a simple concept and reminded me of old Girugamesh visually. The vocals aren't extremely clear, but they are tolerable and quite good for what it's worth. I'm hoping to hear more from this band in the future.



"愛國革命" by R-shitei
I don't think I've ever mentioned this band on this site, but I've been following them since they were called Catheline. Anyway, this is a totally new direction and it still manages to suit their upbeat, slightly dark style. It's a very high energy song and the visuals are interesting. They can be a little overwhelming, but your eyes get used to the over use of white. The only odd part for me is the dubstepish dance break that reminds me of SuG and xTRiPx.



"Take My Chance" by DOLL$BOXX
Remember Acid Black Cherry's "SPELL MAGIC"? Well, this video is just like that. The girls play with the stereotypes of cutesy girls and lonely male otaku audiences, then flips it around to blow the crowd away with an epic rock sound. The vocals are very strong and I always admire when a drummer does back-up vocals well. It has a playful, but decently hard fun sound. I'm looking forward to hearing these girls' first full length album.



"BEZOARSTEIN" by Megamasso
I think its been a while since I posted anything by these guys, but they have progressively gotten better and better with each release. This PV further proves my point. The band shows off some intense attitude, emotion, and passion. The transitions are smooth and share their signature style they've carried throughout the years. It's hard to believe that it's possible for them to continue to exceed my expectations with each release. Keep it up!



"and Cry" by JAWEYE
A friend introduced me to this band through this PV and I'll give a warning that there's a lot of flashing lights in this video. So, if you're sensitive to that, then this isn't a good video for you to watch. It's a a simple blue-greyish tone PV that's very band centric. It has some cool slow motion moments and plays with the simplistic set to make it interesting for the viewer. The music is energetic and you can definitely rock out to it in your bedroom. I'm thankful I was introduced to them.



"HALO" by BLUE ENCOUNT
With JAWEYE came my ventures off to more amazing non-visual artists. This is another simplistic, band centric video. It might seem boring, but I like the lighting they chose for this video. It's almost as if the members are merely shadows playing instruments, but you can clearly see them excluding their faces. The song is quite upbeat and kinda has this pseudo-college rock feel, perhaps. It's familiar, but fresh. Forgive me for having a hard time explaining their sound, but it's good!



"sympathy" by KEYTALK
I think I have a little easier time describing this one. The sound reminds me of a more upbeat Plastic Tree without the wispy vocals. It's a fun song and you'll have a hard to resisting those lalala's. The PV is quite artsy and clever. Lots of geometric shapes, play on colors, and doesn't distract you from the overall feel of the song. It's definitely a nice feel good song of sorts.



"二時二分" by Suck a Stew Dry
Unlike the previous non-visual bands above, I couldn't quite hook myself into these guys. Please don't let that discourage you from checking out this PV though. I have my reasons for posting it, like other videos where I didn't care for the group. The song is quite simple throughout the verses and has a nice storytelling feel to it, then the power hits near the chorus. The visuals are once again band centric, but they nicely compliment the storytelling aspect with handwriting, scribbles, doodles, and a pink/purple color tint.



"moody pavilion" by mudy on the 昨晩
Another non-visual band that didn't quite stick to me, but I really like this song. It's kinda eerie, especially with that upside down body floating in the middle of the room. There's a lot of eerie atmosphere actually and some interesting artistic moments with color splashes and falling pieces as the band plays. It's intense and very easy to lose yourself in that you completely forget that there's no lyrics. It also feels too short as well, but still strangely satisfying.



"Sweetest vengeance" by Pay money To my Pain
I'm still trying to figure out how I missed this track, but it's great. It's chaotic and mosh worthy. It has some nice melodic moments and the visuals are just as chaotic and mesmerizing. Watching it now makes my heart melt for more reasons than one. I'm hoping K recovers soon and rests up for more energetic, aggressive, and emotion filled songs like this.



"Mayaku" by Lycaon
Another PV that I have no idea how I missed, especially since I've listened to the single. It's a simple band centric video, but it speaks volumes. Yuuki is absolutely beautiful in this and you can feel the emotion from his voice. I'm glad that theykept this so simple visually, because the music fills in all the important gaps for the viewer to lose themselves in. Also, Satoshi's solo is amazing!