I want to show you this really talented all girl band.
The band is called Mutant Monster.
Mutant Monster is a three member garage [self-created] band that started in May 2008.
They have aggressive lives and really great songs. Mutant Monster is the vocal duo of Be [20] [Bass], Meana [19] [Guitar], the band currently uses a non-member support drummer.
They are currently supporting their album called “True Tone”
Unless you’re lucky and have a company to support you ,your band starts out playing in less than great situations ,from a handful of people in a club to street lives.
SCANDAL`s rise to success has sparked a number of SCANDAL inspired all girl bands , complete with school uniforms down to set lists of SCANDAL songs with a few originals thrown in. These bands who have taken inspiration from SCANDAL and others who have taken their own road are like a of a number of groups out there cutting their teeth at lives looking to be the next band to become famous as SCANDAL.
While SCANDAL may seem like they just woke up one day and were famous, that simply was not the case, they cut their teeth in street lives and small venues just like the the bands that came before and after them.
I am not sure how long this will stay up, but here is a rare look at SCANDAL before they became famous.
While it is fun to look back at SCANDAL in their early days, we must always remember that from these humble beginnings of hard work and tears grew into a band that is selling out venues across Japan and Asia.
Music is a world of dreams and with hard work and a little luck and right timing, those dreams can easily become the stories of legends and icons.
As SCANDAL continues to rise up to greater heights, securing fame and fortune for themselves, their success is paving the road for new bands to come up. Who knows in a years’ time, we maybe revisiting this topic and these bands just maybe alongside SCANDAL.
CREA is a new female rock band, that has an interesting style and sound that draws on the 80`s era of music. The group is really just getting started, but has made several funny shorts to promote themselves and have releases out. Musically I would compare them to a ZONE, instead of SCANDAL as they tend to be a little more Pop-Rock.
CREA is made up of Drummer Miku, Bassist Anna, Vocalist Naki and guitarist Aiko.
As the group`s history is still young and new ,I am placing a few of their short videos up ,so you can get a feel for these funny girls , looking to climb the rock genre ranks.
CREA Special Guest Promotions
My Favorite Short
Meet The Band
CREA have used several support members at Bass and Keyboards before settling on this current lineup.
Now the time for playing nice is over with, so to speak. Lol
When I wrote about BABY METAL, I bet that you thought that you saw everything right. Well if you have read this site long enough, then you know we are just beginning to scratch the surface of girl groups,idols and heavy metal. This band is not idols ,no they are princesses of Lolita metal.
MIXX
MIXX is a Gothic Lolita Heavy Metal Band, not only do these ladies look cool and hot at the same time, they just rock. This is not cute idols playing metal parity princesses, this is a full on girls playing assault of the metal and hard rock taste buds band.
Vocalist ASUKA went to High School in Canada and can speak fluent English, along with Russian and Spanish .She was given a spot in the 2009 Miss Universe Japan but decided to become a metal head.
Guitarist SAKI started to learn her guitarist skills in the 8th grade and like all of us who have become heavy metal musicians, she got the bug when she saw a heavy metal band on TV and it consumed her life. She is the group’s chief songwriter and plays a big part in the production of the group’s releases. Saki is also well versed in Chinese
Drummer HIKONE JACKSON or JACKSON as she is normally called is the baby member in age, joining the band while still in high school .A speaker of Korean; JACKSON is the heartbeat of the band and provides the band their charismatic touches and powerful driving force to fuel their songs.
Miss GASMASKO is the bands support bass player, and wears a gas mask to keep their identity a secret.
MIXX is a heavy metal garage band success story .Two members create a friendship at a heavy metal concert ,decide to start a band ,bring in a drummer and within four months start releasing singles and a year later have set their eyes to embrace the world.
Heavy Metal is my main work genre away from this blog, so for me MIXX, is a goldmine of love, with the Lolita looks and high spirited music. It`s a win-win if you can accept a Lolita themed power metal act,complete with a bass player in a gas mask and a drummer who drives around on a toy car .
It may not be what "purists" define as "true Metal" and that maybe true as they are bit more hard rock at times ,it`s all good in the end.
If your drummer rides into the PV on a toy car and your support Bass player is wearing a gas mask, you deserve to be on this site ,purists be ####
I mentioned that the singer is fluent in English .The guitar intro is so cool
Footnote-
For everyone who has asked in mail or otherwise about the relationship between MIXX and BABYMETAL, the term Lolita in the post title.
There is no relationship between them outside of costumes . The title of the post was selected by the members of MIXX. That was what they wanted to be referred to at the time of the post was first made.
Girls Rock Revolution #1
Forgive the long lead in ,but it is a needed onetime thing
This is something that I had originally planned to do on PIH sister rock site ,however time has not allowed me to develop the site yet and as we from time to time have covered rock topics on PIH an in my push to give this site more diversity ,I am putting this out on PIH.
Girls Rock Revolution is the alternative to the fresh faces idol topic. Girls Rock Revolution is a look at the women of Japanese rock, many will be underground, many will underground but have some international travels under their belt and others will be majors.
To qualify for Girls Rock Revolution the band has to fall under the following categories
1.I like them and just want to write about them
2.They have all female members
3.They are a male band with a female singer
4. They are soloists who play rock music, and her backing band can be any combination. [I.E. The band is named after her]
5.They can be an Idol based Bandol [Idol Band] or have nothing to do with idols at all.
6.There is no experience limit to these bands, they can be longtime groups or fresh out of the studio or garage.
In Girls Rock Revolution, there is a chance that you may not have heard of any of these bands that I will cover, but that is ok, if you are of an open mind and willing to give the bands a chance, you just may find something you like.
Pop Chocolat
Is an all-girl alternative band originally from Kyoto, who has been active since 2000 and has experience touring the United States and other nations. They are a respected band yet in some ways enjoy life in the shadows .There is a lot of freedom in the shadows, so one should not view that as being a bad thing.
It was not until 2005 before they released their debut album "NIJIIRO FALSETTO”, the success of the album pushed the band to move to Tokyo, in 2007 they lost their original vocalist AIKA. However the band would not let this do them in and the band would continue on and add the final part of the puzzle SHIHO in 2010 to be their Keyboardist.
Currently the band is made up of following members Guitarist/songwriter MIHO, Drummer/songwriter NATSUKO, Keyboardist SHIHO and Bassist MICHIKO. All members provide vocals for their songs
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Their current album “Trip” was produced by Sawao Yamanaka vocalist/ guitarist from the rock band The Pillows.
Pop Chocolat songs tend to be hit or miss with me, sometimes they click with me instantly, and sometimes I have to give them a second or third listen. 80% of their music catalog clicks with me on first listen, the other 20% I tend to wonder how much did they drink when writing the music ,lol, but after another spin of the song it starts to fall in place. Pop Chocolat is a band that is an acquired taste and the greatness of this band may not hit you at first listen.
Is an all-girls band that’s been around the Tokyo scene for a number of years and are self-described as “Chicks Rock” and is a fixture in the Independent scene. SUPER BABY FACE is made up of the following members.
Vocal: WAKA
Guitar: MEGURI
Bass: BETTY
Drums: AYA
SUPER BABY FACE was a band that clicked with me ,the first time that I was introduced to them and I really can`t find a bad thing about them ,except they may not get the recognition that they may deserve.
Because this post has a lot in it to read I am breaking the opening edition into genre`s .In the first post I gave you a more alternative peak, next we hit the WOMEN OF HEAVY METAL/ HARD ROCK .
Under normal circumstances this would be posted on my hard rock blog, but as I have not opened it yet and the fact these three darlings of cuteness are idols it falls here on PIH.
Please welcome to the site Baby Metal
Baby Metal is a Idol Metal Group, created from members of the idol group Sakura Gakuin and are all under the age of 14.
Baby Metal members are
SU-METAL [Vocals and Dance]
MOAMETAL [Screamer and Dance]
YUIMETAL [Screamer and Dance]
Baby Metal was born in 2010 to be a mix of Idol and Heavy Metal Music .They made their debut in October 2010 performing their debut single “Doki Doki Morning” .They followed that up with a song this July called “Ijime, Dame, Zettai” .This release became an immediate buzz in both the idol and rock genre for its music and lyrical content along with Baby Metal`s performance abilities for the song.
Because Baby Metal is a heavy metal group ,they have attracted a number of heavy metal wotas to their lives that Baby Metal lovingly calls “WELCOME TO THE MOSH PIT OF CHAOS”, that sees any idol event they play at transformed into a heavy metal mosh pit.
In October they were a part of a music event in Shinjuku called “NO MUSIC,NO IDOL?” and look set to continue their unique brand of mayhem for some time to come. While a few units proclaim that they are heavy metal idols, no one has embraced the concept to the degree that Baby Metal has.
While some metal and hard rock purists may scream this breaks everything we hold of value in the genre, I am not one of them .You see if your secure in your manhood, then you can see what Baby Metal is in its truest form, a tribute to the great genre that is heavy metal and the “Princesses Of Idol Metal”. And for me, someone who makes his living as a hard rock singer and as a fan of idol genre, I say bring on the chaos and Baby Metal.
The PV is your basic go out in a snow covered forest, set up and perform, throw in some storyline footage and cut.
Nothing fancy, but the song is good enough without the frills. As with all Indies, the song is a required taste not heavily processed, more raw sound and some fans may like the raw sound, while others will simply reject it after being spoiled by years of over produced music.
This truly must be going to be a good day for me today, it`s not often the time frees up and I can write about so many great units in one sitting and two be rock.
Please welcome to PIH theatrical rock band UNDER FOREST.
These three ladies and their support musicians feature a powerful metal and melodic rock sound, that honestly, is just that good not to go places.
It`s been a while since a rock band has made me say hey we have something here and it was not my band. From the first guitar, riffs of “Moonless Night” the band had me locked in and wanting more.
Their preview album samples show a wide range of variations and the detail involved in creating this album.
With the female members sporting a Gothic-Lolita look ,the ladies range from cute to hot in one moment , for a fan of that fashion on women ,there is nothing approval their costume style.
When writing on PIH ,I try to keep my emotions in check for good or bad ,to not rub anyone the wrong way and sometimes ,in doing so I don`t say how I truly feel . I sometimes will be asked about that in private or by other sites, wishing that I had said a little more on how I feel about a group.
Even now, I find myself biting my lip, while supporting a fellow member of my own professional career genre.
There are times in your life, when your not involved with a music project, yet it`s so gifted of a project, that you are really taken by it, that you drift from admiring professionally to becoming an out right cheerleader. I am at that point with this band.
The last few months have been difficult for me as you all know, trying to find a place of happiness again after what happened in March. Trying to find happiness in my own music career, happiness in PIH, happiness in idols and just happiness in moving forward after so much pain.
UNDER FOREST is coming out at a time ,when I am finding that happiness again and I can look at my own career genre and I can walk that fine line between reporter, fan, musician and cheerleader and have pride again ,feel good about it .
Right now cheerleader is winning and you know what I am ok with that. If you are a very open minded rock fan, UNDER FOREST maybe a group that you will find enjoyable as they bring a wide range of styles to the table.
This was not recent news but I have meant to write about Negoto for some time.
Negoto is a girl-band consisting of 4 girls and was an indie band until their eventual major debut September last year and produced by the label Ki/oon Records, which has also produced the likes of L'Arc〜en〜Ciel, RHYMESTER and ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION.
The members were originally a 3 piece band formed in 2006 consisted of high school girls, of which the guitarist was from a different school. The following year the guitarist quit the band but later changed her mind and invited a long time friend to play the bass, therefore forming the current line-up of Negoto. At that time they did not think of going pro, and was content being a cover band and played for fun. Negoto's first live performance was January 2008.
In that same year in 2008, armed with only 3 original songs they took part in a Tokyo FM Radio and School of Lock (no, that's not a typo ^-^ ) produced teenager-only rock festival called Flash Riot (other notable acts that took part at that time were Galileo Galilei and DOMINO). At that time Negoto still did not have any plans to go pro, because all the members were in their final year of high school and merely took part in the festival with the intention of doing something memorable. Eventually, Galileo Galilei won the grand prix, but Negoto's talent did not escape the organizer's ears as Tokyo FM, School of Lock, and Sony Music awarded the band with a "special judge's award". In the spring of 2009 all of the band members entered university. But perhaps the special award spurred something in their hearts, and therefore they finally decided to go pro.
From the beginning of 2010, Negoto went to performed live in some live festivals. By some stroke of luck, in Zepp Tokyo's produced "GIRL'S POP FACTORY 10" show because the popular band Stereopony who could not make it for the show, and Negoto was chosen to step in as the opening act. Subsequently, Space Shower TV then chose Negoto as their "Power Push Artiste" in September 2010. Finally, Negoto went major with their debut mini-album 'Hello! "Z"' in that same month, peaking at 23rd in Oricon charts.
Negoto have been touring ever since their debut. On 2nd of March 2011, they released their first single "Charon", in which some of you have seen a glimpse of in our previous post here.
Some excerpts from their Power Push interview: Currently the members are juggling their music with their studies, trying to balance their university lives with their tours, studio recordings and songwriting. As a result their day to day activities are jammed packed. Ever since the single "Charon" was chosen for the official commercial soundtrack for au's LISMO android phone their friends started to notice them and quickly rushed them with lots of attention, which is beginning to become overwhelming for the young girls. Vocalist Sachiko said that since they have decided to continue their studies and doing music at the same time, they expect their lives will be busy but they do not tire of it. They make use of whatever time possible to balance their practices and songwriting, even riding on the trains. She notices that somehow songwriting is easier on the train. :) At the time when their mini album was released, Negoto members began to think that the music that they play was not only for themselves only anymore, but for the fans and audiences. So they sat down, and in two hours free-played and came up with a song that was catchy and may be widely accepted by all - their first major single "Charon". The words for the song took a little longer though.
Personally I like how the members of Negoto keep their level-headedness in their journey of turning professional as a band. The vocalist especially remind me of Whiteberry, nasal and loud. And I liked the bassist Yu's style. They are, however, still young and still a new face and have a long way to go in their music career. But I think they will be successful and have a lot more to offer. In their tours, they performed many originals that are not in the single release nor in the mini album either, so we can expect more releases from them in the future.
Trivia: 1) When choosing the band name the members were thinking 3 syllable hiragana words, it came down to kururi, midori and negoto. They settled for the last one. Negoto( ねごと ) means "talking in sleep" or "sleep talk" , in which the members think is symbolic, because you could just freely say anything you want, and subsequently do anything freely.
