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The year 2021 was an outstanding year for all-women or women-fronted bands from Japan, despite the dark specter of a global pandemic. BRIDEAR released an overwhelmingly great new album, and then, somehow, someway, completed a triumphant European tour. Aldious was able to complete a full Japanese tour after R!N’s sudden health scare and hospitalization, with the truly gifted Oyama Maki as vocalist. LOVEBITES played a handful of live dates. BAND-MAID cemented their status as the greatest rock band in the world. And many bands released great music.

Here are RaijinRock’s choices for the outstanding releases of 2021 in three categories: album, single/Ep and video. The 10^th slot in each category is held open for the reader to fill in the comments section.

Album of the Year:

1. BAND-MAID, Unseen World – Absolutely stunning. Absolutely unnerving. Absolutely glorious. Unseen World may be the greatest album of the 21^st century regardless of what happens in the next 79 years. Rage, resilience, ecstasy, vengeance, forgiveness, hope. Love is not simple, folks. There may not be a single human emotional variant on the topic of love that is not explored on the groundbreaking Unseen World.
2. BRIDEAR, Bloody Bride – BRIDEAR were awe-inspiring in their initial incarnation. But this truly original power metal band, led by the iconic vocalist Kimi and bassist/screamer Haru, may be even better with new members Misaki, Ayumi and Natsumi , who add a kaleidoscope of musical colors in both composition and performance. Bloody Bride reveals new insights with each listen.
3. TRiDENT, Advance Generation – Advance Generation is a pop-punk masterpiece from the artists formerly known as ガールズロックバンド革命 (Girls Rock Band Kakumei). Magnificent guitars. Killer hooks. Powerful drums. Passionate vocals. Unforgettable melodies. Inspirational lyrics. Advance Generation is a revelation from first note to last.
4. Gacharic Spin, Gacharic Spin – Teenage vocalist/frontwoman Angelina 1/3 has reinvigorated what was already a consistently great band. But the most fascinating thing about Gacharic Spin is that keyboardist/vocalist Oreo Reona, liberated from her somewhat atypical role, has emerged as an irresistibly compelling force of her own. Reona’s vocals and piano are the anchors of the album. But Gacharic Spin are the most democratic of all rock bands. Hana, Tomo-zo, F Chopper Koga and Angie all have their great moments. Gacharic Spin is another magnificent album from an underrated band.
5. Mary’s Blood, Mary’s Blood – Mary’s Blood is the band’s most consistently great album in years. Guitarist SAKI and vocalist Eye demonstrate that their musical marriage was made in heaven. SAKI’s ferocious, off-kilter and unpredictable solos prove that she is the most exciting guitarist on the planet. But it is the thunderous rhythm section of bassist Rio and drummer Mari that is the true star of this album. Bad ass. Postscript: Stunningly, Mary’s Blood appear to have called it quits, with an announcement of “indefinite hiatus.”
6. tricot, Jodeki – tricot has carved out its own particular niche of bewitching, bewildering and dazzling soundscapes. tricot can at times appear to be helter-skelter as they explore every time signature and 9^th, 11^th and 13^th chord in the musical dictionary. Despite the overall jazzy mood, Jodeki also includes the bluesiest, most erotic, song in the tricot catalog, “Night monster.”
7. IBUKI, Storm of Emotion – The legendary songwriter/vocalist IBUKI returned with another instantly recognizable, yet idiosyncratic set of songs. IBUKI may be the most passionate woman on earth. Storm of Emotion is mesmerizing.
8. RAMI THE REQUIEM, 暁闇慟哭 (Dawn and Darkness) – Three years after her last full-length album, the equally iconic RAMI quietly released a set of stone-cold bangers. 暁闇慟哭 is probably the most completely satisfying of Rami’s post-Aldious releases. Her musical collaborators – songwriters, musicians, producers – provided terrific support for RAMI’s lyrics. The weirdly operatic “When Love Kills Us” that closes the album is proof of RAMI’s eccentric genius.
9. HUMPBACK, Achatter – On Achatter, the exhilarating power pop band HUMPBACK evoke seminal artists such as the Sex Pistols (“Bankuruwase”), Big Star (“Hey, Baby”), and, Tommy Keene (“Senkoh”). No joke. Listen closely to some of the chord progressions and rhythm guitar chunk-a-chunks. Hayashi Momoko is responsible for those killer hooks, as well as the shimmering melodies, energetic guitar solos, clever arrangements, and idiosyncratic vocals.
10. ?????

Single/EP of the Year:

1. BAND-MAID, Sense – BAND-MAID’s three-song single Sense serves as incontrovertible proof that BAND-MAID have lost their collective minds. There are many adjectives that could be used to describe the songs Sense, Hibana and Corallium: frenetic, furious, hypnotic, insane, manic. Sense is totally out-of-control. Sense also demonstrates that BAND-MAID are the greatest rock band on the planet. It took considerable hubris for BAND-MAID to release such an uncompromising set of aggressive songs – verging on thrash metal – immediately following Unseen World.
2. nano, ANTHESIS – nano has a unique and instantly recognizable voice – alluring, acrobatic, subtle. And nano has the technical vocal knowledge and physical skill to use her voice in ways that enhance the listener’s pleasure. But she is also a lyricist of remarkable insight. ANTHESIS is full of challenging questions, mature wisdom and kick-ass rock. And never, ever forget, “the night will come, and tears will fall.”
3. yonige, Sanzensekai – Songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Ushimaru Arisa has long been one of the world’s greatest practitioners of ravishing power pop. The early works of yonige were mostly fast-paced and frenetic. Arisa has become more subtle and more subdued with time. Sanzensekai continues this trend. Nevertheless, Sanzensekai is melodic, funky and groovy.
4. BRIDEAR, Brave New World Revisited – BRIDEAR provide an over-the-top coda to their great 2021. Fantastic new album? Check. Ecstatic European tour? Check. Why not follow those things with an eight-minute epic that challenges every assumption you ever had about BRIDEAR? Well, hell yeah, check!
5. UNDEAD CORPORATION, Oblivion/Blaze/Face the Fate/Devil Trigger/Everything Will Freeze – New music from the exciting heavy metal party band UNDEAD CORPORATION has been coming in a slow drip of crowd-funded groove monster singles. Vocalist Akemi is passionate and dispassionate at the same time. How does she do that? Whatever the answer is, Akemi and her bandmates are as compelling as ever.
6. SAISEIGA, ME – Former ZETTAI CLUB members Regan and Tohko kick ass in a way that they never did in ZETTAI CLUB. ME is a brutal masterpiece. Hard rocking from the get-go.
7. SCANDAL, Eternal/Ivory/One More Time – SCANDAL, which has evolved into a finely-tuned power pop machine, released not one, not two, but three charming singles in 2021. The “party version” of “One More Time” may be the aural equivalent of nirvana. The listener can’t help but feel joy, peace, serenity, with a hint of ecstasy as well.
8. R!N, Get Away/Naked – R!N’s solo single was one of the revelations of 2021. Her tenure as vocalist of Aldious was too short. R!N had a very difficult year from a health standpoint. But her fans demonstrated their love for her as she recovered. Hopefully, R!N will continue to release captivating and passionate music in the future.
9. cluppo, Peace&Love/Flapping Wings – Is there a human being alive who can resist the charms of BAND-MAID’s Kobatu Miku? I didn’t think so. PEACE&LOVE was an instant power pop – sorry, I mean “hippie-poppo” – classic.
10. ?????

DVD/Blu-ray of the Year:

1. AKAIKO-EN, The Park, The Last Live – It is impossible to come to terms with the tragic premature death of AKAIKO-EN’s driving force Tsuno Maisa. Nevertheless, the remaining band members provided a moving tribute with one final concert, featuring tricot guitarist Motofour. The package also includes video of studio performances with Maisa. Heartbreaking, but glorious.
2. BAND-MAID, ONLINE OKYU-JI (2/11/2021)­ – BAND-MAID’s February concert at Budokan was cancelled due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the band performed the setlist in a no-audience live stream format, documented with this release. Spectacular? Yes. Perfection? Yes. The Blu-ray version with cameras focused on each member provided insights into each individual band member’s genius. The only problem is that BAND-MAID’s subsequent livestream, Day of Maid, on May 10, 2021, was even better. Otherwise, BAND-MAID might have had a clean sweep of the top spots of the three categories.
3. SCANDAL, WORLD TOUR 2020 “kiss from the darkness” livestream.
4. SCANDAL, Invitation 15^th Anniversary Live – In 2021, SCANDAL released two fabulous video/CD packages. The Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite and Andromeda of Japanese Rock just get better and better. SCANDAL are far from perfect. Their catalog is full of junk like “Pizza Party.” But SCANDAL can also reimagine a goofy song such as “Laundry Laundry” into a wistful acoustic masterpiece, as on the “kiss from the darkness” livestream. Guitarist/composer Mami is a wildly compelling stage presence. Yet, as great as these two performances are, the unreleased Seasons livestream, with stunning visuals, was even better. It is too much to hope for that they release that as well. Note: the right way to do these video releases is to provide a CD, as SCANDAL do for both of these live sets.
5. Gacharic Spin, Gacharic Spin 11^th Anniversary Live – This may be cheating, since this DVD is not a stand-alone release, but a bonus disc to one of the configurations of the new album Gacharic Spin. It documents a livestream from October 2020. But Gacharic Spin are so freaking great. It is a revelation to see a Gachapin that focuses solely on the music and without the admittedly entertaining visual elements of previous performances. This Gacharic Spin is a hard rocking, uncompromising band. One doesn’t want to mention one member’s specific contribution, because Hana, F-Chopper Koga, Tomo-Zo, Oreo-Reona and Angelina 1/3 are all so amazing.
6. Mardelas, Official Bootleg Vol 1 – Faith in Tomorrow – The power metal band Mardelas provided some of the best livestreams during the pandemic. Femme fatale vocalist Hebiishi Marina proves that she can dominate a stage, and, oh yes, she can scream. Guitarist Kikyo proves that he doesn’t need a second guitarist to cover all of the complex parts. The songs are all spellbinding classics.
7. Aldious with Maki Oyama, Aldious Tour 2020-2021 “Unlash” – Oyama Maki is a completely different singer than any of Aldious’ three previous vocalists. Rami, Re:NO and R!N were all great in different ways. But Maki’s powerful heavy metal delivery drives the band’s classic songs in an unprecedented way. And all of the band members seem to be having a hell of a lot of fun. There has been very little new Aldious music since ALL BROSE, Re:NO’s swan song in 2018. Can the band finally deliver some new music to fans in 2022? This may be a heretical suggestion, but is it time for Aldious to commission Re:NO to write some new tunes for them?
8. BABYMETAL 10 Babymetal Budokan – One can try to resist the appeal of BABYMETAL on various grounds. But once one sees any of their performances on DVD/Blu-Ray, or, better yet, from the viewpoint of the mosh pit, one can’t help but succumb to their overwhelming impact. BABYMETAL may be performance art, but BABYMETAL is great art nonetheless. 10 Babymetal Budokan is a triumphant final chapter to the remarkable careers of Su-Metal, Moa-Metal and former member Yui-Metal.
9. LOVEBITES, Heavy Metal Never Dies – The marketing behemoth known as LOVEBITES releases yet another live DVD/Blu-Ray/CD combination platter. Ho-hum. By my count, that is seven in four years, including the CD-only Invitation To the Theater. Yet LOVEBITES began to fracture in 2021 because, well, you know, life. LOVEBITES are flawless, as always. Band members asami, haru, miho, Tatematsu Midori, and miyako are not capable of a bad performance. But the release broke no new ground, despite the presence of a few deep-cut songs. LOVEBITES will very likely continue as a going concern despite founder miho’s departure. LOVEBITES will never be the same without miho. It is easy to throw around superlatives, but miho is special. She embodies the purest form of artistic integrity.
10. ?????

Please use the comment form to discuss what great releases could also have made the lists. The form unfortunately requires an e-mail address, but RaijinRock will never use it or provide it to any third party.

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