I can't wait to hear your thoughts - I've listed all the questions posed in this video in the description box! I look forward to your sincere analysis. Here is the link to the original video: Japanese All-Female Metal and Rock Bands - the Fandom Explained: th-cam.com/video/3mflDbiH-vA/w-d-xo.html Thanks for being here! Please take a moment to like and subscribe if you haven't, and let me know what you'd like me to analyze next!
I am a 69-year-old male. I loved all the great rock male bands of the past. The reason I like these lady bands is because of their musicianship! They can compete with the great Rock Bands of the past. They are unbelievably talented, as good as the British Invasion band and others. To me at my age is their level of talent, they are unbelievable! These girls all look very young, and I don't consider myself a creep! As for their sexual appeal, well they are girls, some very pretty girls playing great rock music! They are mostly underdressed like an artist from other countries who use their flesh to gain a fandom. Band-Maid is my favorite, and they certainly don't have to play half-naked to get men to like them. Pretty girls are definitely easy on the eyes, however, they are extremely talented just as talented as the male Japanese who are very talented as well. Some of my other favorites besides my Favorite (Band-Maid) are Glim Spanky, Nemophila, Altius, Lovebites, and many others. The fact that they are great artist is more important to me than their gender. Let me know of a male Japanese band, that is as good as these ladies and I will gladly add them to my list. I love The Loudness and others. I don't care for "The Last Rock Stars" But great Rock Music is what I have been missing and these ladies provide that for me.
There is a lot to unpack in your video that probably could use several videos to address each particular point regarding Japanese female bands and their immense popularity. I'm a 77 male and have been following rock since the late 1950's and my first live exposure was seeing Joey Dee and the Starlighters in 1960 or 1961 do "The Peppermint Twist" in a social club in Hoboken New Jersey. I loved all the genres, from surf music to Motown to Philly Soul to doo-wop to anything and everything. When the British Invasion period occurred, I was never a fan of the Beatles, gravitating more towards The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, The Yardbirds and the like, which led eventually to the great supergroups of the late 1960's- late 1970's. But there weren't a lot of female groups outside of singing groups like The Shirelles, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and others that were similar. But I went to a show, I forget if it was in NYC or out in LA, where I went to see The Rascals or The Doors, and a female rock group named Fanny opened for them. They were predominantly Filipino-Americans and they were GREAT. Their musicianship was excellent and their compositions really stuck with me. But they were almost treated as a novelty at the time, and after some friction within the group, they went through some members leaving and new ones coming on. And just kind of faded. It really was a shame because they were the progenitors of the female bands that came afterwards. There was a time here where female bands took the music world by storm and held a lot of sway for a period of time. Then musical trends changed and there were fewer and fewer female bands. This also happened during the time that all types of rock hit there peak, and even that changed where classic rock kind of took a back seat to other genres. It was like being in the wilderness. I first got interested in Japanese music after seeing the female group The 5.6.7.8's in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and I was really happy about them. From them I got into Show-Ya and some other groups, including X Japan, who were just amazing. I kind of fell away again until about 10 or 11 years ago someone posted a video of Wagakki Band's song "Kishikaisei", and I was enthralled by the combination of modern rock with traditional Japanese instruments that had a completely new sound. In addition, I listened to possibly the finest singer I've ever heard, Yuko Suzuhana. They have been the only true supergroup in the 21st Century. It was then I began to delve more into Japan's music scene and I was astounded by the number of really great female bands. At one point I was listening to 12-15 different groups, like SCANDAL, Aldious, Stereopony, Girlfriend, Bridear, Lovebites, Nemophila and a host of others. But when I started following Band Maid, who have become my go-to rock band. As to your question, I was drawn to the excellence of musicianship and the exquisite compositions of Kanami Tono and the gorgeous lyrics of Miku Kobato. I can't deny that they are attractive, but that wasn't the main reason I took to them. I'm a father, grandfather and great-grandfather with daughters, granddaughters and a great-granddaughter and adore and cherish them. But when some idiot on YT starts commenting about the older guys are just creeps and perverts when it comes to Japanese female bands it really angers me. One clown went after me personally in a comment, and in a fit of rage commented back in a manner that YT did not care for and let me know about it. But if it happened again, I'd respond in the same way. There are a lot of older male fans who enjoy and regard highly Japanese female bands solely for their musical excellence. There is a minority of trolls and creeps out there, and none of us would stand for their crap. We truly enjoy them because they have become the keepers of the flame for the rock that we all loved and missed. We don't need to be tarnished by losers like that. I apologize for the length of the comment, but I got on a roll, lol. I've become a subscriber and will look forward to more discussions like this one. Good luck on your journey.
I was playing with bands since I was a boy, but it was only amateur, I never wanted to go through the hardships of daily rehearsing for many many hours, but I have deep respect for the pros. I think these women are bypassing Western feminism, which is a bit theoretical, dogmatic, generalizing etc., they can use its values though in case there are related issues with some management. Basically, they work hard and for many of them, work and talent are being rewarded, regardless of gender. It has become next level of Japanese culture. I say this because I believe there is some starting point and heritage from the Geisha culture and its skills and values. Education to become a Geisha is hard, and there is a wide spectrum of required skills, especially to be an entertainer, to be good at conversation and smalltalk, to play some instruments perfectly, and same perfection for some complex dance moves and theatric gesture, and of course, design on many levels. Appearance is super important. Women from most other cultures have no access to such a treasure. Of course, the most important thing is, these women ROCK! Another interesting aspect is that there is a certain timeline in many societies, to do certain things. In the 80ies there were attempts in the West, like Joan Jett, but this did not get too far. Still, it was a good breakaway from narrow societal traditions and habits, that were very uncomfortable to women, to say it softly. Feminism was implicit, they did not require any theories, they just lived lives the way they wanted. So, I am very pleased to see that today, Japanese women (but seems Thailand an Indonesia are now joining) are continuing what happened back then in the West, and they are getting much further, and already some global careers are taking place. Quality and life-style are more sustainable. Western Rock ladies had too many drop-outs with drugs and stuff.
I'm always looking into the audience, when I watch live videos of female bands. The bands and singers that I like most (also BRATS! and AiNA) have many female fans, and this is a sign on the wall. That's why I say this has to do with developments in society. Very different from old-school "idol" bands that are attractive to male fans only.
Band-Maid is the perfect explainer for this. They are expert musicians and singers, and they visibly enjoy playing together. They smile all the time and interact with each other. Male bands are always just standing there and looking somber if not depressed. It's a totally different attitude.Also Band-maid is probably one of the least sexualized bands out there. They are all attractive, but they don't flaunt it much at all. The music is what's important to them and it shows.
Agree! They add a level of fun and seem to really want the audience to have a good time. That makes a huge difference! :) This is something I talked about in the first video. It is something that you can't fake or manufacture.
I saw an interview with a male Japanese guitarist. When he was asked the same question, he replied that Japanese women in rock band are not that popular and never heard of Band Maid. This is 3 years ago. I have a few of Band Maid's cds ,so I like the music without the visuals, too. I have also noticed that mainly female musicians are the majority of female Band Maid fans. Explaining why would be a good video to do. Not a single female in my life understands why I like them.
But the interesting thing is they weren’t “expert” musicians when they started. The drummer and the primary guitarist were, but the others were barely passable. They went in on the maid cafe gimmick just to get attention, though ironically the singer wouldn’t play along and created what was a rather weird dynamic early on. So, yeah… they got attention initially for their appearance, and only through a lot of hard work did their music eventually overcome the maid gimmick.
Very true - and I also think that a lot of these bands really give off the 'what was' vibe that a lot of people, especially Gen Xers (male, but female too) find appealing - Lovebites defintely gives off the old skool Maiden vibe, and Band-Maid is GnR, Mettalica, Joan Jett, and even jazz and blues put together so that makes a Kaleidescope of sound. I do think you see a lot of devotion because deep down, all us old dudes know how hard it is for female rockers (hell any rockers anymore) to get noticed, and appreciated by the current music biz. So the fans of these bands that have fallen HARD, feel a personal responsibility to help them get more attention, more fans, more soc media stats - whatever that will help them become bigger artists. Gen Xers and some boomers, even early millennials I think have a gut reaction when becoming fans - why aren't they bigger? Why aren't they on the radio in the US??!! They're too good not to be noticed! I really think that is what drives what would be a 'nice' fandom into something more- personal. And those fans find kinship, so a lot of friendships form, and the drive becomes a bigger force.
@@Wyl7Miku didn’t know how to play guitar when she formed BAND-MAID but MISA was certainly an accomplished bassist. Not just Kanami on lead guitar and Akane on drums. Miku is a fine singer in her on right, and won an idol contest. But her higher pitch wasn’t the sound she wanted, for she sounds great as a pop singer but wanted to play harder music. So she fired herself as lead singer and asked their management to find another singer, enter Saiki. And I would add that Miku probably has greater range as a singer but Saiki has a more “powerful” voice. Anyway, my two cents worth.
At 67yo I'm a Band-Maid fanboy.....big time, they have everything I love in life and music. I've always supported females doing things done by predominately males from music to auto/motorcycle racing. With regard to music I've always preferred a woman's voice over a male's. When women can play instruments and write music as good as male then yes, I go towards the female for the fascination of them being equal to, if not better than men.
I am a 66 year old rabid Band-Maid fan. I think their popularity, especially among older men is two things........they write and play music that. has a strong 70's nostalgic feel. I don't know a lot about writing music, but I know what these bands play has a lot more in common with what's on the vinyl rock albums I bought in the 70's, 80's and 90's than I hear from contemporary artists today. Secondly, the bands have a visual aesthetic that is very appealing and different, making them exciting and fun to watch.
For me, I discovered Band Maid when I saw a coworker wearing one of their shirts and wanted to confirm if they were a real thing and it was what the name sounded like. So a bit of intrigue and "the gap" as Miku would put it got me hooked. Since it's a band of maids, I can't deny the gender aspects was a factor in getting me to look into them. It opened the door. But I wouldn't have stayed if the music wasn't there, and their personalities and excitement they display on stage is infectious and makes it worth it to seem them in concert.
Very recently, Band-Maid's lead guitarist Kanami Tono was historically honored by being the first Japanese artist of either gender to be presented with their own Signature Limited Edition PRS Guitar model with all of its limited 200 editions being sold out within a day. There are many talented Japanese artists that Rock but are relatively unknown over here even though they are just as good or even better musicians than anything currently produced in the West. Female Japanese rockers are just as good as their male counterparts and can hold their own against anyone but seem to predominate because music is something that many women are drawn to at an early age and the Japanese school system encourages their involvement and further development. Having a strong musical base is essential and women seem to have the overall edge here as the men are drawn more to nonmusical clubs or sport teams. Numerically, it seems that there are more women artists than men at this time although I don't know what the actual figures are. At any rate, what's important is the quality of the Rock music and many of the female groups are incredibly good at what they do, which is produce outstanding music.
Good point. In Japan, girls tend to learn piano, while boys tend to learn sports. There are more all-girl bands than all-boy bands in Japanese high schools. Kanami has been learning piano since she was 3. Misa and Kobato also learned piano for a while when they were kids.
Sugoi! As a 67 year old white American heterosexual man who grew up on The Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc., IMHO; my favorite bands are almost all all-female Japanese bands. My interest in pop, punk, rock and metal were rejuvenated by these bands. Rock and roll had become stagnant and stale. If BAND-MAID had come along in the early 1960's, they would have been at least the equivalent of the Beatles. I say that with total reverence toward the Beatles. Cute and/or sexy alone doesn't last if you can't play, sing, write, or perform live. Japanese female bands are at the top of the food chain and I say that with zero hesitation. Arigatou!
I'm Japanese. There are many good male artists and male rock bands in Japan, so I think it's a bit unfair that only female rock bands get attention overseas, , haha. By the way, there are several reasons why there are so many female rock bands in Japan. First, it's the education system. Specifically, there are music classes during the nine years of compulsory education. Second, there are rock music clubs in junior high and high schools in addition to the brass band club. With the school budget, students can practice guitar, drums, etc. And third, although many people overlook this, all the studios they rent to practice are equipped with amplifiers and other equipment. This is a decisive advantage for women who are relatively weak, because they don't have to carry heavy things there themselves. Sorry for my poor English.
I can't entirely agree with you on the third point, as my foster mother told me stories about her and her bandmates carrying their equipment around even though it was heavy. They found their ways around it. But, what you say is interesting. Having fully equipped studios surely helps musicians regardless of gender with their musicianship.
I just started using BlueSky 3 weeks ago or so. The site is on fire right now with new users. Yesterday i had an all male japanese metal band follow me. They just released a new single. They sound great and its a really good song but only has 6k listens on spotify. I just think atm the ladies just have massive momentum right now and are getting al the attention. And dont worry about your english! Its great!
I think females get more attention only when it comes to metal, not rock in general. There aren't that many, especially newer, male metal groups that sound different from what we already have in the West, especially since Visual Key bands feel out of fashion at least with the Western audience. But we have pretty much nothing like those girl's bands in here. I've been trying hard to remember one Western all-girl rock or metal band, or even a female drummer, and there is nothing XD
Yes. I still rank many big name male Japanese bands higher than Band-Maid, Lovebites, Hanabie etc. *X Japan* *B'z* *Glay* *L'arc en ciel* And especially *Galneryus* . Not really a fan, but *Loudness* is bigger too. They are all bigger & more influential, all things considered. Only this group - *Babymetal* - has come close in term of influence in recent years.
I started my Japanese metal band rabbit hole with Unlucky Morpheus. They have a female singer and a female violin player, but the rest of the band is male. I'm a 53 year old male who's been listening to the same metal bands since 1986. I was hungry for something new and different. I'm still new to the Japanese metal scene, but I'm loving it.
I was lucky enough to see Unlucky Morpheus live in London back in 2019. Lifetime memory, imo Fuki is one of the top 3 frontladies I know. And of course Jill adds a unique flavor to their music. The day before I had a huge shock as that festival also lined-up Mary's Blood which I did not know at the time. They became my favorite band in a few weeks after their concert, Eye is another one of the top 3 frontladies for me.
For me, its the music. LOVEBITES are my favourite band of all time because they play the music I love (classic 80s metal) with an elite level of musicianship. Their looks are just the icing on the cake - the music itself is the cake.
This guy said exactly what I want to say. Play some of the best Heavy metal Love bites Is my favorite metal band right now? I wish metallic would take them on tour. That was getting off-topic. Sorry about that. I'm just very passionate about this band I hope 1 day in the near future they can get as big as metalli 🎉🎉cabecause they deserve every acculate that they get. I mean, they play better than some Western heavy metal bands. My opinion I'm gonna end this by saying the famous saying that assami said. We are lovebites and we play heavy metal Thank you and keep up the great work
I'm 63, I've enjoyed live Metal and Rock gigs since 1976 and I'd have to say that Band-Maid are THE best Hard Rock band I've ever seen (sorry, Zeppelin, Zappa, Santana, Queen and others but, while we shared good times, it was 40 to 50 years ago) while Lovebites are THE best Metal band I've ever seen (sorry again, Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, Metallica but the 70's and 80's were a long time ago now). Apart from those two giants, there are quite a few very impressive all-female bands helping to create the very best music of the 21st century, such as Nemophila, Hanabie, STMLT, Otoboke Beaver and many others. 🤘🤘 6:13 - "They are exceedingly talented and dynamic and their music speaks for itself..." (so like any major male band who are rightly revered for their quality back catalogue - Stones, Zeppelin, Floyd, etc, for example) "...but it's also undeniable (is it?) that their gender has enhanced their appeal..." If anything, based on supporting Band-Maid for the past 8 years, I'd have to say that the opposite is true as the vast majority of my friends, male and female, that I've tried to promote them to - often very musically experienced people too - usually struggle to get past the maid outfits, even when I've explained that the cognitive dissonance between the kawaii/cute look and the hard-rocking, highly skilled musicianship on display was a deliberate act on the part of Miku, the band's founder. She calls it The Gap and, boy (or girl!), do people find it a tall barrier. Babymetal used the same idea with their Kawaii Metal. Both work brilliantly, imho. The other outstanding attribute of these female Japanese bands is the lack of stank faces and pained, look-how-hard-this-is faces as, often in heels and gowns, they slam out Hard Metal and Rock with smiles galore, exuding happiness along with their powerful music, rather than trying to always be angry and pained. I loved all the bands I saw through the 20th century but, since 2015, all my music has come from Japan and it is mostly all female (Asterism, Wagakki Band, Ningen Isu and Babymetal have male musicians in them), honourable exception being The Warning, who I saw live in April - 3 women - sisters - from Mexico who know how to Rock hard.
Band Maid saved me for rock- this 73 yr old has seen them all, an dthis is the best band live, catalog, positive energy and outlook on life, stage presence. Their image really is nothing to me its the music.
These bands all have influences from Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal here in States, Europe. Japan still has high music learning in schools. For me they have a way of making incredible rock and metal music, hard, heavy, yet uplifting, putting smiles on faces. When I heard Nemophila Life in august 2020, and I’m in tears, even though I don’t know Japanese language. That tells me what I need to know about a band. Mayus vocal, and Saki,Hazukis guitars crying emotion, just move me to tears. Band Maid just plays such great rock music. Kanami being an incredible guitarist, and composer. This year I dealt with heavy loss in first three months. No record, yes it’s an EP, but no record has had as much a profound effect on me like Hagane EP - Life goes on. Nagis vocal in choruses, like in Life goes on, just gives me a warm feeling. Sakuras writing, the way the songs are composed, her shredding, yet melodic styles. Just make great songs. Power, Speed metal, yet such uplifting choruses. Japan seems to do this in great ways. Hagane, Nemophila, Band Maid, Lovebites, MARDELAS, Yousei Teikoku, Bridear, Babymetal being my top bands. 🤘😻⚔️
my soul used to felt to Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Iron maiden, Pantera, sepultura and many more, i dont mind gender/age on music if they are talented, i will buy their album. I craved for the freshness sound in this types of music. For example is Lovebites, if you know, you know🤘🏽
I was born in 1963, so I'm like a lot of the others who are commenting here. I grew up listening to Rush, Black Sabbath, and a lot of the other bands during that time period. They used up all of their creativity and their music, eventually, went away. No one filled the void. As a Christian however, I was able to find some interesting Christian bands that kept me listening for several more years. Now, there really isn't that much left...until the Japanese wave came along. Band-Maid reminds me a lot of the Rush years, except without the preachy political commentary that finally crept into their music. Additionally, as a Christian, I appreciate Band--Maid's relatively clean music and appearance. Moreover, I find Miku Kobato to be the most adorable guitar player I have ever seen, so that draws me to watch them. I would take adorableness over sexy any day. 🙂
I'm old (recently turned 60) and have been a metal head / hard rock lover for a very long time. In that time, we have never seen an all-female group that produces an aggressive, solid hard rock sound comparable to an all-male band. I challenge anyone who looks at me funny when I rave about BAND-MAID to name a single all-female band that kept up with their male counterparts, and if they say something like The Bangles, I'll slap the fuck out of them. The rock/metal world came to the conclusion that women just don't have it in them to be as aggressive as men. Japan came along and proved that wrong.
It's SO nice to see female musicians not only being taken seriously, but being truly celebrated for their talent and artistry. It's a significant step forward, and I agree these incredible bands from Japan are leading the way!
i am a 71 year old bassist that grew up with everything from the late 50's on up. we started our first band in jr. high in ' 66. EVERYTHING was guy bands other than a few girl groups such as the ronettes , supremes , shirelles , and quite a few singers like brenda lee , shelley fabares , leslie gore , lulu and the like. but what didn't these groups do ? play instruments - they were all vocalists. so the real attraction for me in these japanese female bands is the insane musical ability and songwriting. and they span many genres as well. and it does not hurt of course that they are for the most part very attractive . that is the bonus i guess. we never had anything like this when we were young and in the same way the girls went bonkers over the beatles , stones , etc. i am sure we would have done the same with the tables turned ! it's a new lease on what was my stale musical life and a breath of fresh air from the land of the rising sun. of all places - who woulda thunk it ? ! i'm 10 years in now on these bands and just love it. LOVEBITES is my #1 band - maybe of all time.
There have been great female musicians for a long time in classical music playing instruments like piano and violin etc. We all knew they can be equals or better than male counterparts but for some reason, not many went to rock, metal, etc. But here they come - and so many from Japan. They seem to take the endeavor way more seriously and passionately compared to many classic western male bands that go for money, sex, drugs, etc. It seems to drive them to continuous growth and pursuit of excellence. I also think the challenge is higher given the misogyny in the music industry and you end up with these over-achieving creators pushing past good and becoming great. Band-Maid is a great example; Their attention to detail and improvement seems to be tireless. As many will say, if you didn't see what the members of these bands look like, you would just think that they sounded great and even better than some favorites from eras past. I'm all in and will support them how I can.
R U kidding? Lovebites is one of the best bands to come along in decades and yet the Wolfpack (fan base) remains small compared to the insane talent they possess. The fact is when I play these great bands without the video everyone is stunned at the musicianship, once the video is introduced they are even more stunned. Yes the petite appearance of these women is appealing but it is their insane talent that keeps the fans coming back for more. A LIVE show by any of these bands is an EXPERIENCE artists that are dedicated to their music, each other and their fans and it shows. Rock, Metal and Jazz have all gone to Japan to thrive and they have!!!!
Back in 2017 I stumbled across their video for "Shadowmaker" and my jaw pretty much hit the floor. It had been years (decades?) since my first impression of a band, especially a heavy metal band, had produced a reaction like that. They were just off the charts in both songwriting and playing.
I'll speak as an American, lifelong musician (age 58), and of course I speak only for myself. For me, the music itself is the #1 most important factor. Lyrical quality and performance skills come in at #2 and #3. Physical appearance is farther down the list. I'll admit that seeing pretty young women in a video's thumbnail will get my attention and often prompt me to check it out. But the simple fact is that the overwhelming majority of female artists are physically attractive, and if I don't like the music, their looks aren't enough to keep me interested. I've actually been pleased to see, in recent years, a number of Western (mostly European) metal and hard rock bands that have noticeably overweight female singers with incredible voices, because that tells me that the band felt talent was more important than looks. The very first Japanese artist I became a fan of was a pop-rock singer named aiko (intentionally uncapitalized--that's how she does it). I found her quite accidentally in 2001 while doing a Yahoo! search for photos of a Japanese actress named Aiko [can't recall her family name at this point). My search somehow landed me on some random Japanese guy's personal website, and he had three plain text links to MP3 files. I clicked them out of curiosity. They were three songs by somebody named "aiko", and I instantly fell in love with her music. It was very early in her career--I think she only had one album out at that point, she wasn't being promoted outside of Japan at all, and TH-cam didn't even exist yet, so I couldn't learn anything about her. The only way I could find more of her music was by combing the file-sharing apps like Napster and Limewire (I ended up legally purchasing 8 or 9 of her albums over the next several years, at inflated "import" prices, once I found a place to do that). I think it was 2004 before I even found a photo of her. And ... she was kinda cute, but she was built like a 12-year-old boy and appeared to be deliberately refusing to "sex it up", typically performing in a loose-fitting T-shirt, baggy jeans, and canvas sneakers. But her music was just that good. She writes her own songs, and she's still going strong today. I believe she'll turn 50 next year (and I swear she barely seems to have aged), and she's still going strong. She seems to have become influential, as I've come across music from other Japanese artists in which I can hear hints of aiko's distinct songwriting style. The funny thing is that aiko doesn't have that great of a voice. But she uses what she's got brilliantly, and is one hell of a performer. My all-time favorite band is Rush (since 1980!), and their music really gave me a taste for highly-complex composition, musical excellence, and intelligent lyrics, and that has continued to influence "what I like" to this day. I'll become a fan of any band/artist that I feel meets those criteria (assuming, of course, that I actually like the music; there are plenty of bands who I can recognize, as a musician myself, are incredibly talented and skilled, but I just don't care for their style. I was in junior high school when I had the epiphany that "I don't like this band" does not mean "this band sucks". Thank you, Pink Floyd!) It doesn't matter if the band is all-male, all-female, or mixed. It just so happens that, currently, Lovebites is the band that best checks off all of my boxes. My actual, initial reaction to the first Lovebites video I ever saw, "Glory to the World", was, "Holy crap, they play at this tempo and the bassist is playing with her fingers, not a pick?! Wow!" (I'm primarily a bassist myself.) I'll add that my mom is a classical pianist, so I grew up listening to her play, and I was delighted to discover that Miyako's list of favorite composers almost exactly matches Mom's list of favorites - the "romantic" composers.
Great discussion. Like many others have said, the quality of music is at the top of importance in my opinion. The visual appeal is just a bonus. I'll be going to see Baby Metal for the first time in a couple days, which is ironic since they probably are the group that first got me into the Japanese scene quite a few years ago. I've been fortunate enough to see Band Maid, Lovebites and Hanabie live and they all live up to the hype in person. It's the total package when it comes to being entertained by a musical experience.
It's not either/or. I will freely admit that my very first impression of the first band I saw (Band-Maid) was about the "Gap"-- the disconnect between their look and their music. For sure they are adorable. But the world is drowning in cute girl-groups (just look at K-Pop!) American pop stars blatantly sexualize themselves to drive fan interest. I don't waste a minute on any of those acts. I would have no further interest in the Japanese rock bands if they were not phenomenal musicians. So the visual can serve as an initial "hook", but the effect lasts all of a few minutes, and after that it's about the music.
I wont speak for everyone,but for me,the diference is the smile,i love japanese bands like deviloof,the gazette,dir en grey,jiluka,dexcore,crystal lake and more too,but their live shows are similar to western rock/metal bands,high energy and stuff like that,but faces more angry,i dont know how to put this in words,but when i see shows from bandmaid,nemophila,lovebites and hanabie,those girls are always smiling,and sometimes this is everything u need,a good music with happy energy....
If Lovebites or Band Maid's style of music was Reggaeton I would never listen to their music even if they were female bands. I have great admiration for all these japanese female bands, in my opinion they produce fantastic music, but of course it's better that these bands are composed by these friendly and charismatic japanese women who aren't afraid to use their feminine side in rock and metal. Lovebites is my favorite band of all time, yes they are beautiful women, but it's the absolutely phenomenal music they produce that makes them incredible. It's not just in rock and metal, in jazz, these friendly japanese girls are also incredible, i recommend a band called The Jazz Avengers to start with. Saiseiga and Dragdown are two japanese bands of more aggressive metal that I recommend.
I'll start off by stating that I am a full-fledged Maidiac. One of the things that make the Maids so endearing to me and the rest of their fans is their willingness to share their lives off-stage with us. While their talent, technical skills, cohesiveness, professionalism, and joy in performing is important to us, their sometimes goofiness and sharing mundane activities make them more real, more human on social media without being posers. Fans from all walks of lives can relate to them. Another thing that Band-Maid fans feel is that world of Western corpirate rock radio too often underappreciate and dismisses their talent and value to rock and roll in general. The Xenophobia shown by the Western culture to their contributions to the genre is really disturbing. So we are fiercely supportive of our favorite J-Rock groups. Perhaps there may be some unwarranted disrespect for male J-Rock artists because some people may think they are only copycat with appreciating their creativity, their technical skills, and their devotion to the artform. The Japanese people have been incredibly supportive of Western artists from many genres and I, for one, feel it should be reciprocated.
I ❤ those ladies because, they are very talented musicians. Those women understand something than male forget, they have each time fun on stage, they take pleasure make music. They're happy & smile. That's important for me.
I was attracted to LB and BM primarily to their sound. Initially they looked like a JPop band to me by watching pictures on YT videos and I wanted nothing with it. As soon as I heard Thrill and Holy War I was hooked. I listen to a lot of female fronted bands like Nightwish and Epica therefore I had no issues with it. And these two bands ( Lovebites especially) are at the upper echelons of musicianship.(Both Miyako and Midori appeared on NAMM to showcase equipment makers) Also, both bands were not created by some producer or an agency, but they were organically created by their members. The only strange thing for me is why they are not more famous. For me Miku Kobato is the role model of perseverance and hard work. She started from zero and managed to create a rock band with global audience with Japanese lyrics
I'm now well into my sixties and have been deeply immersed in the Japanese rock and metal scene since the summer of 2018. As a child, and later as a teenager and adult, male musicians were role models and inspiration for my own musical work. The female bands in the 60s and early 70s (Liverbirds, Fanny) were rare and somehow exotic in the beat scene. Since I'm attracted to women, I collected a lot of records by female bands and singers. (Fun fact: my BAND-MAID LPs are on the shelf between Bananarama and Bangles). I have two daughters who make music and are about the same age as the bands described here. My enthusiasm is certainly also based on the feelings of a proud father or uncle. The sexual aspect takes a back seat, although I do enjoy watching them. After decades of listening to Western music and the heroes of my youth are dead or ancient meanwhile, the discovery of Japanese music is so refreshing and excitingly different that my enthusiasm is undiminished. I imagine many other older men feel a similar way.
I'm a performer playing similar sized venues to these artists so I'll give you a performer's perspective. There's nothing wrong with objectification of female performers... or of male performers. We ARE "entertainment objects", objectification is literally the most rational response to what you're seeing (because while you do get glimpses of our personality you don't really KNOW us, but you can certainly SEE us). Myself and the people I perform with (I contract for various groups, all mixed-gender) are acutely aware that we are being assessed on appearance and that this is all "part of the package". We WANT you to like how we look! If you like the music, great! If you like the image - also great! We're just trying to do our best for you and we hope you enjoy what we offer in anyway that you can. What isn't okay is stalking, harassment or violence, what also isn't okay is young performers being dragged into the scene without knowing that they're signing up for all this scrutiny (a supportive environment is really important for young people). However I've never had those issues in the heavy metal scene, which tends to have the friendliest, most chill fanbases. By the way as a fan I think Lovebites are fantastic but I love Galneryus and X Japan too, and I don't really like Band-Maid because I'm just not that into their music even though I think they look fantastic and are obviously really talented plus I totally have a maid with guitars fetish. So I think it really is about the music for me, strangely enough.
I had already been telling people how crazy cool Otoboke Beaver were before I heard Band Maid. When I first saw a BM video I laughed and thought they were a bit silly but then the melodies kept dancing in my head and I realized that they surpassed their shtick. (Kiss never did) Yes I will unabashedly call them attractive and I don't care because I have had 50 years of cock rock and boy bands shoved down my throat. But it is more than that, I've always supported female musicians and want to hear what they have to say and where they can move music to next. Yes I have traveled around the world and am seeing Band Maid tomorrow night!
The women are filling a gap left by a lack of what the record companies are as marketable bands. They bring something fresh and with skill while also being visually pleasing. They also try harder, some so much that they shoot straight past the men. Band Maid is the example I know best, they work to bring the sound and they don't trip over their egos and work together.
Very interesting subject. I've always been drawn to strong female characters. I stumbled into Japanese female rock bands by following The Warning. I do feel that all female bands have an interesting attraction. However, if the music is not good, I lose interest. My favorite is currently Lovebites.
I grew up with the rock music of the 60s/70s. It was mostly about having a good time and bands smiled at their audiences. I dropped away from rock as it evolved more into anger, hate, and distain for their audiences. Country, folk and blues filled that void a bit. 3 years ago I found Band-Maid. They are fantastic musicians/composers but what sets them apart from other bands, male or female, for me, is that they enjoy playing their music and enjoy their fans enjoying it with them. That brings me back to how I remember rock being and doesn't have much to do with their being female except I think showing that kind of emotion on stage is likely easier for a female performer that a male one. Easier not easy as it does mean exposing yourself emotionally and rejection would hurt. That they do that also shows how strong/confident they are too. That too is something I find attractive.
Yes! They have this beautiful quality about them - they take care of their audience and you can see how happy they are making music and being able to present it. It's mesmerizing to watch!
I think this is a multi-layered situation. As a long time fan of hard rock and metal, I've been listening to all-male or mostly male acts for 35+ years. Initially, there was some novelty to female-fronted bands back when I was a teenager, so discovering a hidden gem like Barnabas (late 70's/early 80's rock & metal band, female-fronted) or hearing the revelation that was Heart's first couple albums in the 70's was pretty awesome. It was similar later when I first heard about Karen Crisis being a female death metal growler, or hearing of thrash vocalists like Dawn Crosby from Detente, or Sabina Classen from Holy Moses. Sure, there's a sex appeal component as a male myself, but equally important, if not more so, is the different tones and textures you get from female voices than you do from male voices. It adds another dimension or layer to it that you're not going to get with a male vocalist, who isn't always going to stand out. Case in point: I recently picked up a couple used CD's from the band Last In Line. That's the original line-up of Dio's band from the early 80's, minus Ronnie himself since he has passed on. The male vocalist who is in the band is..."fine" by all accounts. He's a competent singer and sounds okay. But as someone who loves Ronnie's voice and enjoyed that music, it felt a bit bland and lifeless compared to the original Dio albums, and the vocals just underscore how boring it is as a follow-on from that. If you had brought in a female vocalist with the kind of range Ronnie had, even if she didn't sound much like him but had a similar attitude or swagger to bring to the table, it would make the project way more interesting. For me, it's a combination effect. I'm into female-fronted bands as much as I am all-female bands. I really enjoy Lovebites, but I also dig Cross Vein (RIP). My favorite band is Onmyouza, whoich has both male and female vocalists who trade off on the lead parts, and who harmonize well with one another. It provides great contrast, and especially when they go back and forth between the heavier and lighter shades that really does a lot to make it unique. It becomes a combination of enjoying female vocals, enjoying the talented musicianship, enjoying the songwriting, and of course enjoying the visual aesthetic and aspect of it as well. The songwriting I think is a factor because it's coming from a different perspective than your typical all-male band. While an all-female band like Lovebites is playing the same basic European inspired power metal that a lot of other bands do, not only are they supremely talented musicians, but the songs themselves have a distinct flavor to them that I think comes in part to having been written from a different perspective. So while the visual appeal of an all-female or female-fronted band is a factor, I do believe that it's just one component of a multifaceted appeal.
As an old western male I've seen and heard lots of rock and metal since my youth (beginning with Cream, Deep Purple and many many more). But I never had heard female rock bands at the same level of skill as for example Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai and all the other "guitar heroes". Yes, there were some female bands too - but very very few. And now, as an old man, I discovered the Japanese female rock- and metal scene (during covid lockdown) - and I was simply blown away! I never had heard that high level music of young female musicians. It is not that they are just "talented", but some of them a real musical virtuosos and geniuses! By now I could easily name some 30 to 50 names of outstanding Japanese female rock and metal musicians; just to name some: Miyako from Lovebites who at the same time is a concert level pianist AND a world class metal guitarist AND a marvelous composer. I have never seen something like this. Or Junna (now HAGANE member): I've seen lots of amazingly skilled drummers (male and female), but never someone so entertaining and full of joy and energy like this little lady (some 150 cm). I'm really grateful to have met her in person for exchanging some words on her European tour with Fate Gear in summer 2023. And I could go on and on: there are so many surprisingly skilled female musicians in Japan (And Asia altogether) that by now I almost listen exclusively to their music. My personal highlights of course are Lovebites and Nemophila; and recently I'm somewhat "addicted" to the new formed HAGANE. You should listen to them if you haven't done yet. With the extensively skilled composer and "guitar goddess" Sakura, the rocksolid bassist Sayaka and the new members Junna (drums) and Nagi with her really "magical voice" they play metal that hit me right in my heart. A wonderful experience - since the days of my youth I never had this feeling again listening to rock and metal. Reading the comments of people who watch their music videos (Tengagoken for example almost reached 1 million views after 4 or 5 months) I found myself in good company with respect to the feelings that HAGANE are able to induce in their audience. I hope I could have given some reasons why "old white males" of the Western World are now admiring female Japanese rock and metal bands!
For myself I can only say that of course the fact that they are all female makes a difference. After all, I like girls better than boys so seeing attractive ladies playing great music is a slam dunk. It was pleasantly shocking to find this level of talent coming from female bands out of Japan. Plenty of girls throughout my life spoke in dreamy sentences about their favorite male artists so I have no issue admitting that I finally have bands that I could say the same about. That said, I do separate the attraction from the musical appeal. Diving down the rabbit hole of all female rock bands I've truly enjoyed seeing everything I have been able to find from a host of female artists though in most cases, except for a few standout songs, I have only watched or otherwise listened to a song once. That's the attraction half of my answer. The music goes much deeper to me. In my case it's Band-Maid. I haven't come across a band that so totally drew me in in a very long time. I've bought every album and LP available (it's been decades since I supported a band that way), made a road trip to see them live, and haven't missed a live stream of theirs since I became a fan. Easily 90% of the time I'm listening to them it's only that, listening. In the car, during work, walking around the neighborhood, whatever. The Maids dominate my playlists and I still regularly listen to whole albums from them. I can say that about no other artist in my life. Would it be the same if they were all male? I would hope so but the fact is no other band's music has ever hooked me the way Band-Maid's has so I really don't have anything to compare it to. I have indeed been infatuated by other artists in the past but it was always short lived and got pushed out by something else. It's going on 5 years with these girls now so it's much more than just a fad with me. Would they have had this much staying power before U-Tube? Now there is an interesting question. I would have still bought the albums but watching other folks discover them gives me a lot of pleasure that I can only relate back to my college days when I'd drag my roommate or other friends off to see a band I liked that was playing in a small downtown club. When they enjoyed those acts it somehow justified my opinion of the band. Well there is my long winded answer to one of your questions. The appeal of the look certainly drew me in but the quality of the talent has made me a life long fan.
They rock, it's that simple! You don't have to dig that deep into that. Metal/Hard rock still attracts more males, it has always done that. Great music is great music. Male or female doesn't matter!
Like many people, I started listening to J-Rock and J-Metal because these bands would play the opening or ending songs in the animes I watched as a child. During this time, I discovered L'Arc~en~Ciel, UVERworld, X Japan, One Ok Rock, Girugamesh, etc... (all male bands) Over time, the Japanese market itself changed. The first time I heard a Band-Maid song was on a random J-Rock Spotify playlist. After I got interested and listened to the entire album, I started following their work. Obviously, my first contact was 100% with their music and not their visuals (but i don't deny that i find the anime like visuals quite fun). Through Band-Maid, I discovered BABYMETAL, LOVEBITES and NEMOPHILA. Since I play guitar as a hobby, I identified a lot with their sound and the guitarists they have as references. I don't know how common my case is, but for me it was a very natural process.
When I discovered the japanese rock scene (not only all-female but also mixed and sometimes all-male), I had already been listening to female rockers mostly, for years. For a simple reason: gradually, I got fed up with male rock and its clichés, I didn't think it was going anywhere anymore, and I found the feminine approach to rock fresher. So, when I discovered there was a strong and creative female rock scene in Japan, I was ready. So, the question of finding them as interesting if they were male make no sense to me: I listen to them because they write and play rock music in their female original way - that's the point. I would even say that I don't care for female bands imitating male bands. I mean, read Hanabie's or Band-Maid's lyrics: they are written from the point of view of a woman, about woman's matters or problems - and it's true musically too (even if it's often more subtle). And it's true about the relationship between members inside the bands too - no stupid Oasis behaviour, or Rolling Stones' love/hate stories between Jagger and Richards. The relationship with the audience is different too - and it is reflected in the public's attitude towards them, extremely (I was nearly thinking "incredibly") respectful.
LOVEBITES' musicality and skill completely captivated me. I'd listened to Japanese female bands like Band Made, Scandal, Hagane, and Nemophila, but when I discovered LOVEBITES, I was blown away.
1. The Metal fanbase in general is overwhelmingly male. 2. Due to culture and diet, most Japanese women are slim, very calm, polite, a little shy, and they tend to look Way younger than Western women of the same age. 3. I think either their looks will grab a man's attention, and then get excited when they realize they are fantastic musicians . . or . . (like me with Lovebites) they will get excited about how good the music is, and then realize the relative 'bonus' (for a guy) that they are very visually appealing. I think its about the Talent - there are not enough 'pervs' around to account for the amount of male interest.
“There are not enough pervs around to account for the amount of male interest.” Actually, a lot of popular music has a sexual component to it. I think the more correct answer is that it is both, but that this female component doesn’t have to be entirely sexual either, and more about just being there in general. That it goes something like this: 1. Males are more competitive, in that they care more about the technical aspects of music, which explains in part a higher male audience for these more technical-focused Japanese bands. 2. Males also find it pleasing to look at females, which can be a bonus. This doesn’t even have to be sexual, for it to be enjoyable. 3. The Japanese to put the two together for maximum effect; audibly and visually. This also forms a niche market.
There's a couple of ideas that come to mind for me (being a 70 year old man), one is that there are no end of attractive women in the world, but the percentage that are really talented is much smaller, or as I heard it succinctly put "being attractive is the least interesting thing about them." There's also a lot less testosterone/ego in the music these bands create, even the ones that play hard core metal, and that seems to come across in the music. Band-Maid is my fave band on the planet, their music always puts me in a good mood and they are incredibly accomplished and creative. Their new song Forbidden Tale is a musical journey. They have a genuine emotional bond with each other, they have fun playing music, and are genuinely grateful for the audience support, all of which makes me grandpa happy for them. The recent vlog of Band-Maid and The Warning together in Japan creating their collaboration song and playing on stage together, and especially hanging around together just makes me all misty eyed with happiness for them.
I have always liked the dynamic of female singers in rock and metal. As a kid (mid 70’s) pre puberty I was drawn to Heart and Fleetwood Mac. In metal there was never a huge number of female fronted bands that played a style I grew to love in metal. Really liked Otep and Arch Enemy but it was Jinjer that pretty really meet that old itch. I then stumbled into Babymetal in 2016 which lead me down the J-metal rabbit hole. I love the female bands but also the mixed bands like Unlucky Morpheus and Maximum the Hormone. Also male bands like Ninjen Isu and Crystal Lake.
I can only speak to Band Maid because, while I like some Lovebites songs, I love Band Maid’s entire catalog. Band Maid’s “pretty appeal” is nice, for sure. I won’t deny, or feel bad about, enjoying the sight of pretty women! Would I like Band Maid as much if they were all male? Probably not-because the music WOULD NOT be the same. There is a feminine energy, and sensibility, in the music and lyrics that would surely not be present if they were men. I feel this is inarguable. I can honestly say I’ve never thought of them in a prurient way, probably because they don’t play that angle up in the slightest. If that’s what I was looking for I’d be watching live videos of The Pretty Reckless! Momsen is good looking, and literally goes around onstage half-nude… but I don’t really care for the songs I’ve heard. Hence, I don’t watch her sexy antics and, instead, watch groups like Band Maid, and The Warning, play truly great music while maintaining some dignity and decorum.
Just a comment that, while the majority of fans of these bands are male, across the age ranges, this is also true of ALL rock and metal bands and has been since the 'teenybopper' insanity faded away. Another factor is that it seems, while the Japanese bands consider themselves playing 'Western Style' , there has been very little from 'the West' new of innovative quality for ages, a vacuum that all those rock/metal fans noticed. Obviously if they were not talented, creative, beyond just competent, artistic musicians, they would not 'fill the vacuum' in any popular satisfying way. It also helps that the music itself is not depressing, depraved, degenerate or dismal, but energizing, happifyingly melodic that can be played on repeat without any frustration or pain induced, unlike Gaga, Perry, or Spears material...
Since everyone is doing shout outs, I guess then shout out to Gacharic Spin/DOLL$BOXX 😄 If the hypothesis is that these bands would be less popular overall if they would be play the same music, but would be all-male, it probably wouldn't be true. All you have to do is to look at the top jrock charts and see that these all-female bands are not there, and instead it's dominated mostly by bands like Vaundy, One Ok Rock, etc. Now if the question is would the male fans be enthused about the same bands if they were all-male or if would be reverse situation with females fans, I don't think we have enough data for that question to be answered 🙂 I remember Gacharic Spin did a show with all-female group from Australia and there was an interview after that where they asked each other questions. Members from Australian group asked GS how is it being female in rock scene or something like that, and GS answer was something along the lines "We never thought about it, we think about ourselves as just a band and not a female band". I'm not saying that sex/gender doesn't play any role in this (for example having a different perspective), but focus on gender is also not universal everywhere.
It’s an interesting question. From my perspective, I’m only a fan of a few of the female Japanese metal bands and which ones they are are entirely based on the music. I recognize that all of these musicians are fantastic, but only the sound of a few have really captured me. (Mostly Band Maid, but also Hanabie, Maximum the Hormone, and Nek!) The adoration I have for Band Maid has really grown from just loving the music and constantly wanting more. As anyone who gets obsessed with a band, I’ve learned about the members, and with Band Maid, they tend to be so much more likable than a lot of the western musicians I followed over the years, which makes wanting them to do well, make more music even stronger. I do enjoy that they’re beautiful and/or adorable. But it’s not enough on its own. They’re just awesome, start to finish and being attractive is part of that. As far as new bands, you should check out Nek! (Pronounced neck-ee) On the male band front, while not all male, Maximum the Hormone is insane and cool and weird fun.
@@psychologyofrock The music video for "SHIMI feat. ATARASHII GAKKO!", which was released a few months ago, might be a good place to start. This is an old song of theirs, but this time it features the much talked about all-female dance vocal group ATARASHII GAKKO! It is a very impressive song and video, and ATARASHII GAKKO! also did the choreography for the music video. They are known in Japan as "Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders", which literally means "New School Leaders".
@@zs9811 A collab might not be the best place to start since thet's the only song thew two groups have played together - Buiikikaesu, Koi no Megalover or Hungry Pride would be better.
Something I witnessed in Japan blew my tiny English Brain. I flew to Japan in 2023 to follow Band-Maid on tour for a few weeks (I saw four shows in nine days). At one point I got to Sapporo the day before the Maids were to play and went to check out where the venue was. When I got there a punk band was loading in. I decided to buy a ticket. The Band-Maid shows were (as usual) about 85-90% males with an average age of at least 50. This punk gig (two all male bands playing) the audience was about 75-80% female with an average age of about 18. Yes, a huge portion of the crowd were under 18 young females. Many attending on their own. Some in large 'gangs' lol! The girl in front of me was 13 if she was a day. The crowd went totally nuts. One band was crowd surfing on wooden boards about the size of two doors while playing a song. There was a bar and absolutely no security. Everyone was safe and well behaved, I didn't see any under age drinking either. It made this old punk (I'm 58) VERY happy to see youngsters rocking out to punk rock! But the crowd demographics really did blow my brain. The older ages and mainly male audiences at Band-Maid concerts is understandable due to the music they play - us old fogies remember that music from our youths. But young Japanese girls into punk? Who knew lol!
Band-Maid is an odd phenomenon, they're making some of the most interesting music I've heard in long while. Honestly I can say sure being all female may have started my initial interest in them, but I was thrown off just as much by their maid outfits.
as a male, I find the female perspective that comes thru in their song writing and delivery - to be refreshing and interesting - especially the juxtaposition of what you see with what you hear...and there's no lack of being badass...
One thing I like about Japanese female metal/hard rock bands is the fact they embrace their femininity. Too many Western all-female bands think they need to appear as tough and badass as the men, and end up seeming like they're "trying too hard", IMO.
I'm 49 years old and i can't stop listnening to japanese female bands since 2020, i saw Hanabie live twice and Fate Gear this year, my phone is full of these kinds of bands: Otoboke Beaver, Nemophila, Nek, Necry Talkie, Mellows, Hanabie, Haku, Fate Gear and a lot more. I was always more drawn to female performers but there wasn't a lot of female metal or even rock when i was younger, now this trend of female metal makes me happy and i started to learn Japanese 8 monts ago because of it. I plan to go to Japan next year and see some bands live if i can.
Another rabid male Band-Maid fan, my favorite band. I do have double standards, I realized that I expect more and am more critical of male musicians because they are more accepted and established. Who today is better than Hendrix or Bonham or Eddie or Eric or all those who set the bar so high years ago? But Akane is close to Bonham and MISA is close to JPJ and Kanami is not far from the best and both Saiki and Miku sing like angels. And all the girls are only in their early '30s and still improving. In their early days the Maids had shorter skirts that did add a touch of sexuality to their look but thankfully their costumes today are almost completely non-sexual and allow us to focus on the quality of their writing and playing without distraction. All the Maids are egoless and love their fans and each other and it shows in everything they do. Down to earth and don't seem to take anything for granted. Being a male rock star automatically includes a huge ego and exaggerated self-importance.
They are all nice to look at but you don't see them when you listen to the music. If people wanted to care only about looks they would listen to female pop artists or Japanese female idol groups. I'm 44 and love these bands because they play music that sounds like the music of my youth. Most Western rock bands have a grunge or nu-metal influence influence and I hate those genres. I love Band-Maid and they play classic rock. I also love Aldious and Lovebites who play power metal which I've loved since I was 7 and heard the German band Helloween. I also like bands with an image or a theme. I used to be a big KISS fan and see the Japanese female bands in the same way. Aldious have the evening gowns Lovebites have the white dresses and Band-Maid have the maid outfits. It enhances the concert experience to have an image or theme.
my current favorites are BandMaid and Toranoko Rammy, ive had the pleasure of seeing both live multiple times BandMaid back in 2016 when they blew my mind within seconds of starting to perform and more recently in 2023 with Toranoko Rammy, both bands imediatly had me thinking these are the real deal, excatly what ive been looking for musically
I got interested in Japanese music from listening to anime sound tracks. Specifically Yoko Kanno's work. From there it sort of branched out and I would get music from people like Maaya Sakamoto. L'arc en Ciel, Abingdon Boys School, T.M Revolution and Kalafina. This is not all metal music, but a link to a Baby Metal song several years back put me on track of other artists such as you have shown. If you want to hear some fairly old Japanese metal then I recommend Loudness, a very good three piece band. There are many more, but for the most part, all of them are very talented in their own way.
First, as many have stated, the quality of the music is key; the fans would not be this into these bands were they half-assing the same old music. At the same time, I agree that the fact that they are women does play some non-creepy role in their popularity. As part of the older guy demographic, I think many of my peers latch onto the music quality point and subconsciously or consciously avoid the elephant-in-the-room angle. Not for bad reasons, it is just that normal non-creepy guys really, really do not want to be thought of as THOSE kind of fans. I have observed that there is something in older guys that seems to always get excited whenever young people take up something that they are deeply fond of, be it music, sports, etc... Almost like some sort of dad gene kicks in. This doubly applies when it is non-traditional young people. So when you consider the combination of women, Japan, the amazingly high level of musicianship, and the fact that we have watched the decline of rock over the past few decades, the strong fan reaction it is not surprising. I do think that these bands would still be popular if they were guys, but likely less so. As some of the other commenters have alluded to, these women definitely seem to bring a different energy than most guy bands. It is hard to describe without over simplifying it, but I would say it is something akin to joy. One common thread to these bands is that that when I listen to them they bring me happiness, no matter how heavy the music is. That is just so different from the vibe of most western hard-rock/metal.
My personal impress is that even the culture is more rigid in Japan all this bands are not promoted under a gender war or toxic female activism, they sing for all and the lyrics had mostly a universal character...
You'll never hear a Japanese all girl band make a stump speech about how we need to "support women in metal" or about how women are better than men. They just show up and do their thing. Their gender is presented as being a matter of fact rather than something that is forced down our throats.
We did the attractive talentless bands in the 80’s if they couldn’t play I wouldn’t bother! Metal music tends to attract more males than females been to many metal shows mostly dudes. Cuteness or attractiveness will get people interested but if they can’t play they won’t stay interested but that’s just my opinion. Loudness is an all male metal band that’s been around since the late 70’s
I found as I've gotten older, I was gravitating more to female vocals, even going back to listen ones I never really paid attention to, like Amy Lee of Evanescence.She collaborated on a song called Sakura Rising with WagakkiBand , a band that fuses modern instruments with traditional Japanese instruments, and they are amazing. The lead singer is female but the band make up is six male and two female. There are many other bands that are mixed gender but a majority have the female front person, Maximum the Hormone is the most notable exception. I still love my classics, but right now a majority of what I listen to are Japanese bands, and mostly female fronted.
It's the songwriting. Japanese song writing is just more interesting, technically complex, and creative than the songwriting of western artists. I got bored of western metal doing all the same things over and over again, then I discovered Japanese metal and it rekindled my love of metal because it was such a breath of fresh air. The difference in language, culture, songwriting, instrumentation, etc. bring something that is new a fresh to jaded audiences who are looking for something fresh and different. The fact that most of the prominent Japanese metal bands are female is probably because the female sensibility brings something to the songwriting and performance that is different to what male performers bring to music. Maybe because western metal is so male dominated, Japanese metal stands out because it's got such a strong feminine presence which is also different alongside the songwriting.
Pose-toi la question, pourquoi Kanami Tono de band-maid a recu sa guitares signatures de Paul reed Smith de ses propres mains à Osaka shin, cette semaine, et surtout pourquoi tout les modèles signatures de Kanami disponibles aux États-Unis ont été tous vendus en moins d'une heures? Même des artistes plus connus qu'elles ça n'est jamais arrivé et aussi la première japonaise à avoir cet honneur des guitares PRS, homme ou femme. Est-ce parce band-maid fait de la bonne musique. Est-ce que leurs fans sont déjà eux-mêmes musiciens ? Se poser la question c'est y répondre.
When it comes to female rock power, we can happily travel further back in rock history. When the first self-titled album by the american rock band THE RUNAWAYS was released in 1976 with the young female musicians Cherie Currie, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandie West, this band line-up was only short-lived for a number of reasons. Despite this, they sparked real enthusiasm and great cheers outside of their homeland in another country with this album and their concerts there. Ladies and gentlemen, THE RUNAWAYS experienced this in JAPAN and could not believe what they experienced there 😉
This is just my opinion, and comes from being involved mainly with the Band-Maid fan base, but I think that one intangible factor of the all-female rock bands, especially with those of us who grew up on 70-80s hard rock or metal, is that we view these incredibly talented young ladies as a father would an adult daughter. Think of how Billy Ray views Miley today.
It's hard to say. To begin with I was probably drawn to groups like Babymetal, Bandmaid, and Nemophilia for the novelty of Gender, looks etc. All of these bands do have attractive women, so they are easy to watch from a straight male respective, but I have to say I doubt I would LISTEN to them so often if it was not for the inherent talent that they possess.
It's a UK 65 YO "oldie" here ! Don't do social media and found this gem during the lockdown. I sadly treated BM as a gimmick for weeks before hearing THRILL... then I was sold. 1. I got tired of listening to drug addled men gripping about their lives. That said I still listen to BMTH and others due to enjoying the results of their hard work and creativity. 2. Too old to be attracted by superficial "looks" they have to impress with their talent and dedication to the job - being an attractive personality must help. 3. Having seen Bridear live here in the UK - their performance was hard to fault - Kimi sounded a wee bit jet-lagged and tired - but they were due to record a live album later that week in London..... 4. Don't know any Japanese male rock bands - LoL ! 5. They all seem to be having fun ! Hanabie are as mad as a box of frogs - Luv It ! 6. Band-Maid - Bridear - Hanabie - Lovebites - Nemophila - Trident - - In Alphabetical Order Only ! Plus a bit of Ado - Babymetal - Garnidelia - Milet - ReoL - Saki 7. Haru and her bass (Bridear) are my absolute favourite - she's just great, Hettsu gets a mention for her awesome crowd interaction live... Kanami is just so wonderfully humble and talented ! Most of the time I'm listening at work using headphones so appearance is irrelevant.... noise cancelling isn't !! I have no idea how "successful" these bands are financially. HTH
If you allow me, I would like to offer you this for your collection, this group is new, but worth listening to (mixed group) Official Video] SAISEIGA - STRANGE RAIN
For me part of it is definitely that I simply prefer a female vocalist. Everything else being equal I simply prefer a female voice. That being said, like another commenter said Band-Maid is a great example because they don't play up the sexuality. The music comes first, but the way they interact with their fans and each other is also important. They're obviously having fun and that feeds into the community. That's often not as true with all male bands.
This is gonna be a brain dump cause your video opened so many questions. 37 y.o. fan chiming in. While there are a myriad of reasons for a fan to get attached, having followed Jrock/Jpop and Visual Kei from X-Japan, Luna Sea, Malice Mizer, etc., a component that always appealed to me is the artistry/style that these musicians brought with them. It was less about the gender and more about the sound, look and vibes for me and even as a hetero male, I love it when men show affection, etc. At my core, I love a melodic lines and as the visual kei scene started to shrink, my musical taste shifted as well to punk rock, pop, indie. The recent (last decade or so?) resurgence of Jrock has brought me back in and I 100% love the fact that women are empowering each other to form these bands where they can once again be expressive via their look/style. Great video topic btw! will have to explore your channel more later! Keep up the good work!
As a man, in my appeal for japanese female band, I've noticed some specific point. Every scene from every country have cultural specificity, the female J band have all the japanese ones, but add a few : they display a lot of joy and friendship between members. And this aspects (for the best band) translate into creativity, art style, and overall a specific energy and style. I also like eccentricity and crazyness, and japanese can have a lot. I also really prefer female vocalist over male, growling female won't stop to impress me. The cuteness and sexy aspects just add on top, at the very end, for video. My 1st appeal is still the music And also, I'm French. So I'm kinda born a weeb.
I think there are many more all-male or mixed-gender bands than all-female bands, and when one comes along that is so incredibly good, they really stand out. To answer the favorite band question... right now, Unlucky Morpheus. I also really like D-Drive.
I am a 50 Year Old metalhead. I grew up with Iron maiden, Helloween, metallica, Megadeth, slayer, Dream Theater, Fates warning, skyclad and other bands. Lovebites easily on my top 5 all time metal bands.
As a fan of many Japanese all-female rock bands the first thing that matters is that they are excellent bands and hit the spot inside me that back in the day was hit by mostly male rock and metal bands. It is also my opinion that most of the more interesting rock and metal (and pop for that matter) is being made in Japan. With regards to them being all female it is nice to see the cute factor and the bright costumes as it brings something new and a welcome change from just denim and leather but this is more of a secondary bonus rather than the main attraction, which is the quality of the music. There are plenty of cute bands that do not get my attention because the music is not to my taste. As a final point I think that female Japanese bands are being promoted much more than the male bands so they are more likely to be noticed. Finally there are also some very good Japanese bands that have both male and female members that are equally loved, such as Saiseiga and Sokoninaru because they are also superb.
I discovered Band Maid through The Warning. Then I discovered Lovebites which then led me to Nemophila. All 3 of these bands are amazing but I have to say BM are my favorite. It didn't take me very long to get over the 'gimmick' when I realized very quickly how amazing they are musically. Oh yeah, I'm a 63 year old dude who was really tired of rock bands...BM et al are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant music scene.
Gender definitely has something to do with the draw. Musically, it is its own genre because these all-female Japanese rock and metal bands can combine "cute" and "brutal/cool" like nobody else. The interesting musicality is the main draw. The eye candy is just icing on the cake.
As a male metal head brought up on deep purple, black sabbath, nazareth, etc. Ie i am old. I listen to babymetal a lot, but also metallica and sabaton, also hanabie, band made etc.. One thing i bring to the conversation is that heavy metal contains a lot of lower register notes with drums, bass and low tuned guitar. The higher register female voice can stand out in the wall of sound giving a different clarity to the music. I appreciate the quality of the musicianship and singing of the bands of japan. Then there there is the showmanship, much more a movie show in a babymetal than for sabaton. I do also prefer female vocals. Anyway, just another comment.
Lovebites is the only all female band I listen to. Their musicianship is exceptional and is reminiscent of many of the bands I grew up listening to. Never expected a Japanese all female band to be so addictive. 🏴🤘
I am a male fan of both Band Maid and Lovebites. My liking them is purely based on their talent. Plus, I stopped listening to western groups after discovering Japanese rock and heavy metal. Too muck talent to be ignored.
Thanks for the continued discussion of this topic! You mentioned "unparalleled musicianship, their incredible stage presence, their devotion and commitment to their fans, their adorable personalities, and of course, their undeniable visual appeal". But there's one thing missing in that list: _songwriting._ I can only speak from the Band-Maid perspective, since that's what I listen to. If composition has some "gender" component to it, then, yeah sure, maybe Band-Maid's all-female lineup brings whatever quality it is that being all-female brings. But I don't know what that is. Could it be that it's because I like classical music and Band-Maid hits some of the same compositional points, but in a rock mode? I don't really know for sure; but one thing I do know is that Kanami Tono is a genius composer of modern rock and everyone else in Band-Maid is 100% signed on to that program. There are dozens of all-male and mixed-gender bands I like that have similar musical qualities. I'd list those bands and what those musical qualities are, but I've droned on long enough 😅
Luckily, your comment was the first I read and saved me from rattling on in every point you "MAID". I was born in 1959 and had thought Rock was basically dead until 2017 when I heard "THRILL". Down the pigeon hole I went and never looked back.
Well said and along with what others have written, I can skip commenting and just point to here. As far as Asian music goes, I'm mainly a fan of Band-Maid, and for me personally it's the music - above all, the songwriting. There's not a lot of separation in instrumental talent among the top Japanese bands - most all are masters of their instrument - but they differ greatly in sound and songwriting. Gender, personal appearance, costuming - are all fluff to me. Being great human beings does add a little magic for me personally, but in the end it's whether the music brings me joy. And in Band-Maid's case, over the last few years I haven't experienced so much joy in decades; having gone through their entire catalog multiple times has been just one giant joyride.
I discovered Japanese female rock/metal groups by complete mistake and curiosity in 2016, before this time I personally never liked female or even female frontend band's before, of course over the decades of rock I've been listening to there were certain standouts, however other than Heart, I didn't go out of my way to see or hear them because for me they're a "local" band, after listening to Band Maid the very first time, I thought that this is what I've been waiting for after what I felt was a dry spell of over 30 years. Once I heard them and started looking desperately for more music, I of course found every band your montage featured, I love listening to all of them, in fact I listen to them almost exclusively, I never liked gal band's and now I can't get enough? It's not because they are potentially attractive, it's because they're awesome, the arrangement, musicianship, the colorful outfits, cheerful attitude and comradeship that's attractive, their overall execution, so that's my take on why they are popular, they're just subarashii.
That is so interesting that it was Band Maid that swayed you into listening to female bands! I've heard this from many people! Just something special about them, I think :)
I'd be lying if I said gender doesn't play some role in these female groups appeal. It's definitely not the main draw or really even a lasting reason to keep enjoying them. When I first discovered BAND-MAID I didn't know what to expect. I saw these cute girls in elaborate gimmicky costumes and was curious about their sound. Their music blew me away and I immediately championed them. I'm old enough to know women in rock or metal isn't the most common occurrence. That made them more endearing in an underdog kind of way. Their gender and how that plays into their society, influenced them in certain ways. Those influences bleed into their music. BAND-MAID has a distinct femininity to their sound that would for sure be lost if they were dudes. I have a ton of male bands that I love, but none of them sound like BAND-MAID, not even other male Japanese bands. I hope that is coherent enough to make some sense. EDIT: I'm in my 30s BTW.
personally for me its all about the music. that being said even the majority of bands with males in them i enjoy most have female singers. female vocalists are a preference for me. but also for 1 as you and others have said most of these all(or majority) female japanese bands have a fun energetic vibe while still playing the heavier or diverse music i love, 2 i had thoughts about this myself, but i listen to the bands more than i watch music videos so im comfortable saying it is definatly the music that appeals most to me but it definantly doesnt hurt they they are attractive and for the most part are still geniunly feminine, humble and fun women. and for my last thought the music these bands are playing is the music a lot of us older fans grew up with and have missed. but these bands are producing it now even if its not "mainstream" at a level that is incredible and not just 1 or 2 bands but more than i can keep up with. and if it was all about them being attractive females then why wouldnt i be following the big female pop stars, thats easy because i personally dont like their music and there are quite a few really good all male japanese bands out there but as i said i prefer female vocalists so while i still listen to and enjoy them its not to the same level
I just heard the perfect description of Band Maid fans. It's like we're in a secret club. We discovered this treasure and we recognize others that have as well. That's what makes Band Maid fans so special.
The members of Band-Maid actually said they felt their looks were a liability in the early years, in that they were being pigeonholed and not taken seriously. As a consequence, they mostly stopped having images of themselves on their covers. So they saw being female as a greater challenge to success, and I think that’s still an obstacle for them now. Speaking for myself as a straight Western male, I knew what Band-Maid looked like two years before I ever gave them a listen. I grew up listening to hundreds of female artists and even more male artists from around the world. A female rock band is not a novelty to me, and I’ve known several women in rock bands. Over the years, I’ve listened to many Japanese artists, both male and female. However, out of all the Japanese female bands that you mention, Band-Maid is the only one that I listen to, simply because the others don’t appeal to me musically-though I do listen to Hanabie and Otoboke Beaver occasionally. So for me, at least, your hypothesis doesn’t apply.
For me it's the very top quality of the music and songs and being all female is a big positive, for many reasons. These are great songwriters and players and there are awesome new original ideas in their craft. We've heard thousands of versions of men for decades. When women rock your world with a game-changing sound and show, the voices, melodies, harmonies, and roars are fresh and can be startling even. It is moving to get bowled over by a wonderful new sound. It was a relief a few years ago when I started finding these bands, a relief that somebody had finally started moving heavy music forward again. The overall attitude and message has moved forward and dropped a lot of things that had become boring or a turn-off. That's why I think the audiences will continue to add more women.
Thank you for featuring Japanese female metal and rock bands. It may seem a very strange phenomenon to see so many women in Japan trying their hand at metal and rock bands while young people worldwide are abandoning the band style. However, Japan has long nurtured a culture in which women are active in bands, and I believe that this social recognition has contributed to the current prosperity of female bands. The influence of "SHOW-YA" on the younger generation was especially significant.
LOVEBITES is a fresh kick my ass metal and to be all female is just more amazement that the American scene have not touched base with... Also I am a big fan of Melissa Bonney singing which drew me more into the Euro metal scene first... 🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺💪🤘🤘🤘🤘
All genre music lover, but a special love of rock and prog. For me the current rock/metal scene (for the last 20 or so years) just has too much testosterone (for lack of better description). For instance the competitive nature and being dour and too serious (obviously these are generalizations) . This goes for the music itself and the personalities. It was very refreshing to hear very talented musicians, playing around with musical familiar concepts in interesting new ways. And seeing their performances and off stage personalities that showed how supportive, positive, fun, humble they are is so refreshing. We all know how hard they work at their craft and how talented they are, I wanted to address the differences in attitude that makes this old dude excited about music again. After all, to paraphrase, 'boys just wanna have fun' too!
As a fan of a LOT of Japanese Bands MOST are all female but there are a few that are not. That being said even the ones that have some/all Male instrumentalists have a Female lead singer. The reason is purely and simply that I LOVE the female Voice and a Male voice has to be really really really special to appeal to me. The other point is the connection with the Bands ALL the ones i have been following at least are GENUINE people with a massive stage presence and LOVE for their fans which is palpable which is HUGELY important to me, most western bands appear to only be interested in how much money they can make and disrespect the fans.
I've been a "super fan" of two bands. Rush and Band-Maid. So, it seems like a pretty even split to me. I respect the other female Japanese bands, but their sound just doesn't resonate with me. That's proof enough for me that the music has to hit the spot. One thing that does make these bands very attractive in general is they are overwhelmingly positive, and the shows are fun and super high energy. There's a lot of doom and gloom in heavier music, which I have zero use for. So, these female bands are a real breath of fresh air in a pretty stale and same-y scene. I'd be happy to go to the shows of the bands I don't really follow because I know it would be fun. I think what makes me a super fan of Rush and Band-Maid are similar. They both have a very distinctive sound and style that I love, but it's not far off the mainstream. They're both very technical bands with great musical chops and creativity. I think most people who don't know these bands assume that isn't the case because they've never really seen that before from female bands. I really like and respect all of the members of the bands. I love Pink Floyd's music but I would have never been any kind of super fan of theirs beyond buying albums because they didn't get along that well and Roger Waters seems like a prick. The Rush guys are a bit older than me, but Band-Maid members are significantly younger. So, the admiration is there but different. Rush were kind of like rock idols. I have kind of a fatherly pride for Band-Maid, and I don't think that's uncommon among the older fans. As a matter of fact, when Kanami's signature PRS was announced this week, I had as much pride as I would if it happened to my own daughter, and I was even thinking about how happy and proud her parents must be, and I was happy for them even though I don't know them. Both Rush and Band-Maid have heavily male-skewed fan bases. I think that's just pretty common for heavy music. I've never been into Dream Theater or been to a show, but I highly suspect it leans heavily male as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I've been a "super fan" of two bands : KISS and Band-Maid. I had same feeling when I saw Band-Maid what I had when I was a young kid and saw KISS first time.
Back in the '60s and '70s, I listened to the Who, Alice Cooper, the Doors, Black Sabbath, etc. Then came the '80s and the metal I listened to died. Now, it was all chaotic solos and screeching male voices. I never really care for the hair bands of the period. Then came Nordic metal, in the late '90s, and i was hooked again. Yes, it was metal, but the solos were melodic, and the high pitched voices were female and natural, as opposed to forced. When i discovered Japanese metal, it was like the best of the '60s and '70s, but with female vocalists, or all female. Yes, it is nice to look at the young ladies, but the raw talent, the dedication to craft unique to Asian culture, places most Japanese bands way over the top of the aging survivors still eking out on the concert circuit today, just trying to continue to be relevant.
TBH, I was initially drawn to the all-female Japanese bands because they're attractive women. Here, a few years later, I'm still watching, listening, and buying CD's and DVD's of Lovebites, Nemophila, Band-Maid, Hanabie., and Koiai because I've discovered that they're the best bands currently on the planet regardless of gender or nationality. I also prefer the female singing voice to the male voice - in most cases.
I'm relatively new to the Japanese rock scene, introduced to Scandal in 2019. I'm not as big on the hard rock/metal as I am more pop/punk/alternative. The vast majority of bands are all female or female led, and I think it boils down to I just prefer female vocalists when it comes to Japanese music. Again, it's first and foremost the music. And regardless of the genre, Japanese bands always seem to be more positive and upbeat. For some reason Western female bands seem to need to be "rough" and "edgy." It would be nice to see them mellow out and just play, like their Japanese counterparts.
For me,what makes those bands unique is a factor called "stage presence". The smiles, crowd interaction, elegance, happiness are essential when it comes to why they're so lovable. I don't think many of us gave up listening to male bands-personally i'm a huge fan of LOVEBITES but regarding to other genres my favorite ones are doom and black (mostly melodic,depressive and atmospheric)!!! Completely opposites tastes, right? But i don't think i'll ever attend a concert of a male band of these genres cause when it comes to stage presence, they're boring, they've nothing to offer. But for LOVEBITES i flew from Greece to Milan and Paris this June and if i had had more days off of my job i'd certainly had seen them in other concerts. But why the female Japanese bands have this impact and not the European and American ones? Well, the latter make a big mistake: in order to prove that they're equal to men they tend to behave like them.And when they don't, they over sexualize their image. On the other hand, Japanese women are proud of their femininity without leting themeselves be seen like objects. Personaly, i want to see real strong and self respecting women on stage and not some "i wish i had a cock" or " look, i sing with my boobs" females.
Would I like Band Maid if they were male? If they played exactly the same, but had a male lead... meh. Part of what I love is Saiki's distinctive voice, and Miku's fantastic back up vocals. There is a lot of emotion carried in their singing. While I do listen to male bands, I generally listen to them for different vibes.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts - I've listed all the questions posed in this video in the description box! I look forward to your sincere analysis. Here is the link to the original video: Japanese All-Female Metal and Rock Bands - the Fandom Explained: th-cam.com/video/3mflDbiH-vA/w-d-xo.html Thanks for being here! Please take a moment to like and subscribe if you haven't, and let me know what you'd like me to analyze next!
I am a 69-year-old male. I loved all the great rock male bands of the past. The reason I like these lady bands is because of their musicianship! They can compete with the great Rock Bands of the past. They are unbelievably talented, as good as the British Invasion band and others. To me at my age is their level of talent, they are unbelievable! These girls all look very young, and I don't consider myself a creep! As for their sexual appeal, well they are girls, some very pretty girls playing great rock music! They are mostly underdressed like an artist from other countries who use their flesh to gain a fandom. Band-Maid is my favorite, and they certainly don't have to play half-naked to get men to like them. Pretty girls are definitely easy on the eyes, however, they are extremely talented just as talented as the male Japanese who are very talented as well. Some of my other favorites besides my Favorite (Band-Maid) are Glim Spanky, Nemophila, Altius, Lovebites, and many others. The fact that they are great artist is more important to me than their gender. Let me know of a male Japanese band, that is as good as these ladies and I will gladly add them to my list. I love The Loudness and others. I don't care for "The Last Rock Stars" But great Rock Music is what I have been missing and these ladies provide that for me.
There is a lot to unpack in your video that probably could use several videos to address each particular point regarding Japanese female bands and their immense popularity. I'm a 77 male and have been following rock since the late 1950's and my first live exposure was seeing Joey Dee and the Starlighters in 1960 or 1961 do "The Peppermint Twist" in a social club in Hoboken New Jersey. I loved all the genres, from surf music to Motown to Philly Soul to doo-wop to anything and everything. When the British Invasion period occurred, I was never a fan of the Beatles, gravitating more towards The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, The Yardbirds and the like, which led eventually to the great supergroups of the late 1960's- late 1970's. But there weren't a lot of female groups outside of singing groups like The Shirelles, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and others that were similar.
But I went to a show, I forget if it was in NYC or out in LA, where I went to see The Rascals or The Doors, and a female rock group named Fanny opened for them. They were predominantly Filipino-Americans and they were GREAT. Their musicianship was excellent and their compositions really stuck with me. But they were almost treated as a novelty at the time, and after some friction within the group, they went through some members leaving and new ones coming on. And just kind of faded. It really was a shame because they were the progenitors of the female bands that came afterwards. There was a time here where female bands took the music world by storm and held a lot of sway for a period of time. Then musical trends changed and there were fewer and fewer female bands. This also happened during the time that all types of rock hit there peak, and even that changed where classic rock kind of took a back seat to other genres. It was like being in the wilderness.
I first got interested in Japanese music after seeing the female group The 5.6.7.8's in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and I was really happy about them. From them I got into Show-Ya and some other groups, including X Japan, who were just amazing. I kind of fell away again until about 10 or 11 years ago someone posted a video of Wagakki Band's song "Kishikaisei", and I was enthralled by the combination of modern rock with traditional Japanese instruments that had a completely new sound. In addition, I listened to possibly the finest singer I've ever heard, Yuko Suzuhana. They have been the only true supergroup in the 21st Century. It was then I began to delve more into Japan's music scene and I was astounded by the number of really great female bands. At one point I was listening to 12-15 different groups, like SCANDAL, Aldious, Stereopony, Girlfriend, Bridear, Lovebites, Nemophila and a host of others. But when I started following Band Maid, who have become my go-to rock band. As to your question, I was drawn to the excellence of musicianship and the exquisite compositions of Kanami Tono and the gorgeous lyrics of Miku Kobato. I can't deny that they are attractive, but that wasn't the main reason I took to them. I'm a father, grandfather and great-grandfather with daughters, granddaughters and a great-granddaughter and adore and cherish them. But when some idiot on YT starts commenting about the older guys are just creeps and perverts when it comes to Japanese female bands it really angers me. One clown went after me personally in a comment, and in a fit of rage commented back in a manner that YT did not care for and let me know about it. But if it happened again, I'd respond in the same way. There are a lot of older male fans who enjoy and regard highly Japanese female bands solely for their musical excellence. There is a minority of trolls and creeps out there, and none of us would stand for their crap. We truly enjoy them because they have become the keepers of the flame for the rock that we all loved and missed. We don't need to be tarnished by losers like that. I apologize for the length of the comment, but I got on a roll, lol. I've become a subscriber and will look forward to more discussions like this one. Good luck on your journey.
I appreciate your thoughtful videos.
I was playing with bands since I was a boy, but it was only amateur, I never wanted to go through the hardships of daily rehearsing for many many hours, but I have deep respect for the pros.
I think these women are bypassing Western feminism, which is a bit theoretical, dogmatic, generalizing etc., they can use its values though in case there are related issues with some management.
Basically, they work hard and for many of them, work and talent are being rewarded, regardless of gender.
It has become next level of Japanese culture. I say this because I believe there is some starting point and heritage from the Geisha culture and its skills and values. Education to become a Geisha is hard, and there is a wide spectrum of required skills, especially to be an entertainer, to be good at conversation and smalltalk, to play some instruments perfectly, and same perfection for some complex dance moves and theatric gesture, and of course, design on many levels. Appearance is super important.
Women from most other cultures have no access to such a treasure.
Of course, the most important thing is, these women ROCK!
Another interesting aspect is that there is a certain timeline in many societies, to do certain things. In the 80ies there were attempts in the West, like Joan Jett, but this did not get too far. Still, it was a good breakaway from narrow societal traditions and habits, that were very uncomfortable to women, to say it softly. Feminism was implicit, they did not require any theories, they just lived lives the way they wanted.
So, I am very pleased to see that today, Japanese women (but seems Thailand an Indonesia are now joining) are continuing what happened back then in the West, and they are getting much further, and already some global careers are taking place. Quality and life-style are more sustainable. Western Rock ladies had too many drop-outs with drugs and stuff.
I'm always looking into the audience, when I watch live videos of female bands.
The bands and singers that I like most (also BRATS! and AiNA) have many female fans, and this is a sign on the wall.
That's why I say this has to do with developments in society. Very different from old-school "idol" bands that are attractive to male fans only.
Band-Maid is the perfect explainer for this. They are expert musicians and singers, and they visibly enjoy playing together. They smile all the time and interact with each other. Male bands are always just standing there and looking somber if not depressed. It's a totally different attitude.Also Band-maid is probably one of the least sexualized bands out there. They are all attractive, but they don't flaunt it much at all. The music is what's important to them and it shows.
Agree! They add a level of fun and seem to really want the audience to have a good time. That makes a huge difference! :) This is something I talked about in the first video. It is something that you can't fake or manufacture.
I saw an interview with a male Japanese guitarist. When he was asked the same question, he replied that Japanese women in rock band are not that popular and never heard of Band Maid. This is 3 years ago. I have a few of Band Maid's cds ,so I like the music without the visuals, too. I have also noticed that mainly female musicians are the majority of female Band Maid fans. Explaining why would be a good video to do. Not a single female in my life understands why I like them.
But the interesting thing is they weren’t “expert” musicians when they started. The drummer and the primary guitarist were, but the others were barely passable. They went in on the maid cafe gimmick just to get attention, though ironically the singer wouldn’t play along and created what was a rather weird dynamic early on. So, yeah… they got attention initially for their appearance, and only through a lot of hard work did their music eventually overcome the maid gimmick.
Very true - and I also think that a lot of these bands really give off the 'what was' vibe that a lot of people, especially Gen Xers (male, but female too) find appealing - Lovebites defintely gives off the old skool Maiden vibe, and Band-Maid is GnR, Mettalica, Joan Jett, and even jazz and blues put together so that makes a Kaleidescope of sound.
I do think you see a lot of devotion because deep down, all us old dudes know how hard it is for female rockers (hell any rockers anymore) to get noticed, and appreciated by the current music biz. So the fans of these bands that have fallen HARD, feel a personal responsibility to help them get more attention, more fans, more soc media stats - whatever that will help them become bigger artists. Gen Xers and some boomers, even early millennials I think have a gut reaction when becoming fans - why aren't they bigger? Why aren't they on the radio in the US??!! They're too good not to be noticed! I really think that is what drives what would be a 'nice' fandom into something more- personal. And those fans find kinship, so a lot of friendships form, and the drive becomes a bigger force.
@@Wyl7Miku didn’t know how to play guitar when she formed BAND-MAID but MISA was certainly an accomplished bassist. Not just Kanami on lead guitar and Akane on drums.
Miku is a fine singer in her on right, and won an idol contest. But her higher pitch wasn’t the sound she wanted, for she sounds great as a pop singer but wanted to play harder music. So she fired herself as lead singer and asked their management to find another singer, enter Saiki. And I would add that Miku probably has greater range as a singer but Saiki has a more “powerful” voice. Anyway, my two cents worth.
At 67yo I'm a Band-Maid fanboy.....big time, they have everything I love in life and music.
I've always supported females doing things done by predominately males from music to auto/motorcycle racing.
With regard to music I've always preferred a woman's voice over a male's.
When women can play instruments and write music as good as male then yes, I go towards the female for the fascination of them being equal to, if not better than men.
I am a 66 year old rabid Band-Maid fan. I think their popularity, especially among older men is two things........they write and play music that. has a strong 70's nostalgic feel. I don't know a lot about writing music, but I know what these bands play has a lot more in common with what's on the vinyl rock albums I bought in the 70's, 80's and 90's than I hear from contemporary artists today. Secondly, the bands have a visual aesthetic that is very appealing and different, making them exciting and fun to watch.
For me, I discovered Band Maid when I saw a coworker wearing one of their shirts and wanted to confirm if they were a real thing and it was what the name sounded like. So a bit of intrigue and "the gap" as Miku would put it got me hooked. Since it's a band of maids, I can't deny the gender aspects was a factor in getting me to look into them. It opened the door. But I wouldn't have stayed if the music wasn't there, and their personalities and excitement they display on stage is infectious and makes it worth it to seem them in concert.
Very recently, Band-Maid's lead guitarist Kanami Tono was historically honored by being the first Japanese artist of either gender to be presented with their own Signature Limited Edition PRS Guitar model with all of its limited 200 editions being sold out within a day. There are many talented Japanese artists that Rock but are relatively unknown over here even though they are just as good or even better musicians than anything currently produced in the West. Female Japanese rockers are just as good as their male counterparts and can hold their own against anyone but seem to predominate because music is something that many women are drawn to at an early age and the Japanese school system encourages their involvement and further development. Having a strong musical base is essential and women seem to have the overall edge here as the men are drawn more to nonmusical clubs or sport teams. Numerically, it seems that there are more women artists than men at this time although I don't know what the actual figures are. At any rate, what's important is the quality of the Rock music and many of the female groups are incredibly good at what they do, which is produce outstanding music.
Indeed!! :)
She certainly deserves it! She is my favorite.
Good point. In Japan, girls tend to learn piano, while boys tend to learn sports. There are more all-girl bands than all-boy bands in Japanese high schools. Kanami has been learning piano since she was 3. Misa and Kobato also learned piano for a while when they were kids.
It's refreshing to see all the talented female bands from Japan. Lovebites have become my favourite band.
🖤🖤🖤🤘🏻
I like Band-Maid best, but I love Lovebites as well, hell they all fucking rock
Sugoi! As a 67 year old white American heterosexual man who grew up on The Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc., IMHO; my favorite bands are almost all all-female Japanese bands. My interest in pop, punk, rock and metal were rejuvenated by these bands. Rock and roll had become stagnant and stale. If BAND-MAID had come along in the early 1960's, they would have been at least the equivalent of the Beatles. I say that with total reverence toward the Beatles. Cute and/or sexy alone doesn't last if you can't play, sing, write, or perform live. Japanese female bands are at the top of the food chain and I say that with zero hesitation. Arigatou!
Well said! :)
I'm Japanese. There are many good male artists and male rock bands in Japan, so I think it's a bit unfair that only female rock bands get attention overseas, , haha.
By the way, there are several reasons why there are so many female rock bands in Japan.
First, it's the education system. Specifically, there are music classes during the nine years of compulsory education. Second, there are rock music clubs in junior high and high schools in addition to the brass band club. With the school budget, students can practice guitar, drums, etc.
And third, although many people overlook this, all the studios they rent to practice are equipped with amplifiers and other equipment. This is a decisive advantage for women who are relatively weak, because they don't have to carry heavy things there themselves.
Sorry for my poor English.
I can't entirely agree with you on the third point, as my foster mother told me stories about her and her bandmates carrying their equipment around even though it was heavy. They found their ways around it. But, what you say is interesting. Having fully equipped studios surely helps musicians regardless of gender with their musicianship.
Nice to hear the perspective from someone actually in Japan.
I just started using BlueSky 3 weeks ago or so. The site is on fire right now with new users. Yesterday i had an all male japanese metal band follow me. They just released a new single. They sound great and its a really good song but only has 6k listens on spotify. I just think atm the ladies just have massive momentum right now and are getting al the attention. And dont worry about your english! Its great!
I think females get more attention only when it comes to metal, not rock in general. There aren't that many, especially newer, male metal groups that sound different from what we already have in the West, especially since Visual Key bands feel out of fashion at least with the Western audience. But we have pretty much nothing like those girl's bands in here. I've been trying hard to remember one Western all-girl rock or metal band, or even a female drummer, and there is nothing XD
Yes. I still rank many big name male Japanese bands higher than Band-Maid, Lovebites, Hanabie etc.
*X Japan*
*B'z*
*Glay*
*L'arc en ciel*
And especially *Galneryus* . Not really a fan, but *Loudness* is bigger too.
They are all bigger & more influential, all things considered.
Only this group - *Babymetal* - has come close in term of influence in recent years.
I started my Japanese metal band rabbit hole with Unlucky Morpheus. They have a female singer and a female violin player, but the rest of the band is male. I'm a 53 year old male who's been listening to the same metal bands since 1986. I was hungry for something new and different. I'm still new to the Japanese metal scene, but I'm loving it.
Unlucky Morpheus blew me away, after listening to metal for a few decades I found my home.
Unlucky Morpheus are great, you can catch Fuki with Doll$Boxx and she does solo work too.
I was lucky enough to see Unlucky Morpheus live in London back in 2019. Lifetime memory, imo Fuki is one of the top 3 frontladies I know. And of course Jill adds a unique flavor to their music. The day before I had a huge shock as that festival also lined-up Mary's Blood which I did not know at the time. They became my favorite band in a few weeks after their concert, Eye is another one of the top 3 frontladies for me.
I love metal mixed with orchestral elements. And Unlucky Murphy are badass. Jill on Violin is also doing collabs with other bands as well.
Unlucky Morpheus is pretty much underrated too.
I rank UM higher than Lovebites, Hanabie, Band-maid, Aldious etc.
For me, its the music. LOVEBITES are my favourite band of all time because they play the music I love (classic 80s metal) with an elite level of musicianship. Their looks are just the icing on the cake - the music itself is the cake.
well said!
This guy said exactly what I want to say.
Play some of the best Heavy metal Love bites Is my favorite metal band right now? I wish metallic would take them on tour. That was getting off-topic. Sorry about that. I'm just very passionate about this band I hope 1 day in the near future they can get as big as metalli 🎉🎉cabecause they deserve every acculate that they get. I mean, they play better than some Western heavy metal bands. My opinion I'm gonna end this by saying the famous saying that assami said. We are lovebites and we play heavy metal Thank you and keep up the great work
I started seriously listening to music in 1974. Band-Maid is my favorite band ❤
They are incredible!
mine too.
I'm 63, I've enjoyed live Metal and Rock gigs since 1976 and I'd have to say that Band-Maid are THE best Hard Rock band I've ever seen (sorry, Zeppelin, Zappa, Santana, Queen and others but, while we shared good times, it was 40 to 50 years ago) while Lovebites are THE best Metal band I've ever seen (sorry again, Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, Metallica but the 70's and 80's were a long time ago now). Apart from those two giants, there are quite a few very impressive all-female bands helping to create the very best music of the 21st century, such as Nemophila, Hanabie, STMLT, Otoboke Beaver and many others. 🤘🤘 6:13 - "They are exceedingly talented and dynamic and their music speaks for itself..." (so like any major male band who are rightly revered for their quality back catalogue - Stones, Zeppelin, Floyd, etc, for example) "...but it's also undeniable (is it?) that their gender has enhanced their appeal..." If anything, based on supporting Band-Maid for the past 8 years, I'd have to say that the opposite is true as the vast majority of my friends, male and female, that I've tried to promote them to - often very musically experienced people too - usually struggle to get past the maid outfits, even when I've explained that the cognitive dissonance between the kawaii/cute look and the hard-rocking, highly skilled musicianship on display was a deliberate act on the part of Miku, the band's founder. She calls it The Gap and, boy (or girl!), do people find it a tall barrier. Babymetal used the same idea with their Kawaii Metal. Both work brilliantly, imho. The other outstanding attribute of these female Japanese bands is the lack of stank faces and pained, look-how-hard-this-is faces as, often in heels and gowns, they slam out Hard Metal and Rock with smiles galore, exuding happiness along with their powerful music, rather than trying to always be angry and pained. I loved all the bands I saw through the 20th century but, since 2015, all my music has come from Japan and it is mostly all female (Asterism, Wagakki Band, Ningen Isu and Babymetal have male musicians in them), honourable exception being The Warning, who I saw live in April - 3 women - sisters - from Mexico who know how to Rock hard.
Band Maid saved me for rock- this 73 yr old has seen them all, an dthis is the best band live, catalog, positive energy and outlook on life, stage presence.
Their image really is nothing to me its the music.
These bands all have influences from Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal here in States, Europe. Japan still has high music learning in schools. For me they have a way of making incredible rock and metal music, hard, heavy, yet uplifting, putting smiles on faces. When I heard Nemophila Life in august 2020, and I’m in tears, even though I don’t know Japanese language. That tells me what I need to know about a band. Mayus vocal, and Saki,Hazukis guitars crying emotion, just move me to tears.
Band Maid just plays such great rock music. Kanami being an incredible guitarist, and composer. This year I dealt with heavy loss in first three months. No record, yes it’s an EP, but no record has had as much a profound effect on me like Hagane EP - Life goes on. Nagis vocal in choruses, like in Life goes on, just gives me a warm feeling. Sakuras writing, the way the songs are composed, her shredding, yet melodic styles. Just make great songs. Power, Speed metal, yet such uplifting choruses. Japan seems to do this in great ways.
Hagane, Nemophila, Band Maid, Lovebites, MARDELAS, Yousei Teikoku, Bridear, Babymetal being my top bands. 🤘😻⚔️
Ahaaa, not only States, more from British Rock and European metal.
my soul used to felt to Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Iron maiden, Pantera, sepultura and many more, i dont mind gender/age on music if they are talented, i will buy their album. I craved for the freshness sound in this types of music. For example is Lovebites, if you know, you know🤘🏽
I was born in 1963, so I'm like a lot of the others who are commenting here. I grew up listening to Rush, Black Sabbath, and a lot of the other bands during that time period. They used up all of their creativity and their music, eventually, went away. No one filled the void. As a Christian however, I was able to find some interesting Christian bands that kept me listening for several more years. Now, there really isn't that much left...until the Japanese wave came along. Band-Maid reminds me a lot of the Rush years, except without the preachy political commentary that finally crept into their music. Additionally, as a Christian, I appreciate Band--Maid's relatively clean music and appearance. Moreover, I find Miku Kobato to be the most adorable guitar player I have ever seen, so that draws me to watch them. I would take adorableness over sexy any day. 🙂
Bandmaid love what they do and it shows , they EARNED there success and respect from their fans PO
Absolutely!
I'm old (recently turned 60) and have been a metal head / hard rock lover for a very long time. In that time, we have never seen an all-female group that produces an aggressive, solid hard rock sound comparable to an all-male band. I challenge anyone who looks at me funny when I rave about BAND-MAID to name a single all-female band that kept up with their male counterparts, and if they say something like The Bangles, I'll slap the fuck out of them. The rock/metal world came to the conclusion that women just don't have it in them to be as aggressive as men. Japan came along and proved that wrong.
It's SO nice to see female musicians not only being taken seriously, but being truly celebrated for their talent and artistry. It's a significant step forward, and I agree these incredible bands from Japan are leading the way!
I agree 100%
Band Maid is my favorite band!!! By far!!! 🤟💗
They are amazing!
i am a 71 year old bassist that grew up with everything from the late 50's on up. we started our first band in jr. high in ' 66. EVERYTHING was guy bands other than a few girl groups such as the ronettes , supremes , shirelles , and quite a few singers like brenda lee , shelley fabares , leslie gore , lulu and the like. but what didn't these groups do ? play instruments - they were all vocalists. so the real attraction for me in these japanese female bands is the insane musical ability and songwriting. and they span many genres as well. and it does not hurt of course that they are for the most part very attractive . that is the bonus i guess. we never had anything like this when we were young and in the same way the girls went bonkers over the beatles , stones , etc. i am sure we would have done the same with the tables turned ! it's a new lease on what was my stale musical life and a breath of fresh air from the land of the rising sun. of all places - who woulda thunk it ? ! i'm 10 years in now on these bands and just love it. LOVEBITES is my #1 band - maybe of all time.
There have been great female musicians for a long time in classical music playing instruments like piano and violin etc. We all knew they can be equals or better than male counterparts but for some reason, not many went to rock, metal, etc. But here they come - and so many from Japan. They seem to take the endeavor way more seriously and passionately compared to many classic western male bands that go for money, sex, drugs, etc. It seems to drive them to continuous growth and pursuit of excellence. I also think the challenge is higher given the misogyny in the music industry and you end up with these over-achieving creators pushing past good and becoming great. Band-Maid is a great example; Their attention to detail and improvement seems to be tireless. As many will say, if you didn't see what the members of these bands look like, you would just think that they sounded great and even better than some favorites from eras past. I'm all in and will support them how I can.
R U kidding? Lovebites is one of the best bands to come along in decades and yet the Wolfpack (fan base) remains small compared to the insane talent they possess. The fact is when I play these great bands without the video everyone is stunned at the musicianship, once the video is introduced they are even more stunned. Yes the petite appearance of these women is appealing but it is their insane talent that keeps the fans coming back for more. A LIVE show by any of these bands is an EXPERIENCE artists that are dedicated to their music, each other and their fans and it shows. Rock, Metal and Jazz have all gone to Japan to thrive and they have!!!!
Indeed! 🖤🤘🏻
Back in 2017 I stumbled across their video for "Shadowmaker" and my jaw pretty much hit the floor. It had been years (decades?) since my first impression of a band, especially a heavy metal band, had produced a reaction like that. They were just off the charts in both songwriting and playing.
I'll speak as an American, lifelong musician (age 58), and of course I speak only for myself.
For me, the music itself is the #1 most important factor. Lyrical quality and performance skills come in at #2 and #3. Physical appearance is farther down the list. I'll admit that seeing pretty young women in a video's thumbnail will get my attention and often prompt me to check it out. But the simple fact is that the overwhelming majority of female artists are physically attractive, and if I don't like the music, their looks aren't enough to keep me interested. I've actually been pleased to see, in recent years, a number of Western (mostly European) metal and hard rock bands that have noticeably overweight female singers with incredible voices, because that tells me that the band felt talent was more important than looks.
The very first Japanese artist I became a fan of was a pop-rock singer named aiko (intentionally uncapitalized--that's how she does it). I found her quite accidentally in 2001 while doing a Yahoo! search for photos of a Japanese actress named Aiko [can't recall her family name at this point). My search somehow landed me on some random Japanese guy's personal website, and he had three plain text links to MP3 files. I clicked them out of curiosity. They were three songs by somebody named "aiko", and I instantly fell in love with her music. It was very early in her career--I think she only had one album out at that point, she wasn't being promoted outside of Japan at all, and TH-cam didn't even exist yet, so I couldn't learn anything about her. The only way I could find more of her music was by combing the file-sharing apps like Napster and Limewire (I ended up legally purchasing 8 or 9 of her albums over the next several years, at inflated "import" prices, once I found a place to do that). I think it was 2004 before I even found a photo of her. And ... she was kinda cute, but she was built like a 12-year-old boy and appeared to be deliberately refusing to "sex it up", typically performing in a loose-fitting T-shirt, baggy jeans, and canvas sneakers. But her music was just that good. She writes her own songs, and she's still going strong today. I believe she'll turn 50 next year (and I swear she barely seems to have aged), and she's still going strong. She seems to have become influential, as I've come across music from other Japanese artists in which I can hear hints of aiko's distinct songwriting style. The funny thing is that aiko doesn't have that great of a voice. But she uses what she's got brilliantly, and is one hell of a performer.
My all-time favorite band is Rush (since 1980!), and their music really gave me a taste for highly-complex composition, musical excellence, and intelligent lyrics, and that has continued to influence "what I like" to this day. I'll become a fan of any band/artist that I feel meets those criteria (assuming, of course, that I actually like the music; there are plenty of bands who I can recognize, as a musician myself, are incredibly talented and skilled, but I just don't care for their style. I was in junior high school when I had the epiphany that "I don't like this band" does not mean "this band sucks". Thank you, Pink Floyd!) It doesn't matter if the band is all-male, all-female, or mixed. It just so happens that, currently, Lovebites is the band that best checks off all of my boxes. My actual, initial reaction to the first Lovebites video I ever saw, "Glory to the World", was, "Holy crap, they play at this tempo and the bassist is playing with her fingers, not a pick?! Wow!" (I'm primarily a bassist myself.) I'll add that my mom is a classical pianist, so I grew up listening to her play, and I was delighted to discover that Miyako's list of favorite composers almost exactly matches Mom's list of favorites - the "romantic" composers.
Great discussion. Like many others have said, the quality of music is at the top of importance in my opinion. The visual appeal is just a bonus. I'll be going to see Baby Metal for the first time in a couple days, which is ironic since they probably are the group that first got me into the Japanese scene quite a few years ago. I've been fortunate enough to see Band Maid, Lovebites and Hanabie live and they all live up to the hype in person. It's the total package when it comes to being entertained by a musical experience.
Very true! 😊🤘🏻
It's not either/or. I will freely admit that my very first impression of the first band I saw (Band-Maid) was about the "Gap"-- the disconnect between their look and their music. For sure they are adorable. But the world is drowning in cute girl-groups (just look at K-Pop!) American pop stars blatantly sexualize themselves to drive fan interest. I don't waste a minute on any of those acts. I would have no further interest in the Japanese rock bands if they were not phenomenal musicians. So the visual can serve as an initial "hook", but the effect lasts all of a few minutes, and after that it's about the music.
Well said!
I wont speak for everyone,but for me,the diference is the smile,i love japanese bands like deviloof,the gazette,dir en grey,jiluka,dexcore,crystal lake and more too,but their live shows are similar to western rock/metal bands,high energy and stuff like that,but faces more angry,i dont know how to put this in words,but when i see shows from bandmaid,nemophila,lovebites and hanabie,those girls are always smiling,and sometimes this is everything u need,a good music with happy energy....
I love Saiki of Band-Maids smile
@edwardwhittle5411 Saiki's,Haraguchi's and Fami's smiles are perfect!
If Lovebites or Band Maid's style of music was Reggaeton I would never listen to their music even if they were female bands.
I have great admiration for all these japanese female bands, in my opinion they produce fantastic music, but of course it's better that these bands are composed by these friendly and charismatic japanese women who aren't afraid to use their feminine side in rock and metal.
Lovebites is my favorite band of all time, yes they are beautiful women, but it's the absolutely phenomenal music they produce that makes them incredible.
It's not just in rock and metal, in jazz, these friendly japanese girls are also incredible, i recommend a band called The Jazz Avengers to start with.
Saiseiga and Dragdown are two japanese bands of more aggressive metal that I recommend.
I'll start off by stating that I am a full-fledged Maidiac. One of the things that make the Maids so endearing to me and the rest of their fans is their willingness to share their lives off-stage with us. While their talent, technical skills, cohesiveness, professionalism, and joy in performing is important to us, their sometimes goofiness and sharing mundane activities make them more real, more human on social media without being posers. Fans from all walks of lives can relate to them. Another thing that Band-Maid fans feel is that world of Western corpirate rock radio too often underappreciate and dismisses their talent and value to rock and roll in general. The Xenophobia shown by the Western culture to their contributions to the genre is really disturbing. So we are fiercely supportive of our favorite J-Rock groups. Perhaps there may be some unwarranted disrespect for male J-Rock artists because some people may think they are only copycat with appreciating their creativity, their technical skills, and their devotion to the artform. The Japanese people have been incredibly supportive of Western artists from many genres and I, for one, feel it should be reciprocated.
I ❤ those ladies because, they are very talented musicians. Those women understand something than male forget, they have each time fun on stage, they take pleasure make music. They're happy & smile. That's important for me.
YES!!! ♥️🤘🏻
I was attracted to LB and BM primarily to their sound. Initially they looked like a JPop band to me by watching pictures on YT videos and I wanted nothing with it. As soon as I heard Thrill and Holy War I was hooked. I listen to a lot of female fronted bands like Nightwish and Epica therefore I had no issues with it. And these two bands ( Lovebites especially) are at the upper echelons of musicianship.(Both Miyako and Midori appeared on NAMM to showcase equipment makers) Also, both bands were not created by some producer or an agency, but they were organically created by their members. The only strange thing for me is why they are not more famous. For me Miku Kobato is the role model of perseverance and hard work. She started from zero and managed to create a rock band with global audience with Japanese lyrics
Very true!
Lovebites are easy on the eye... that is what it is. They just happen to play killer metal, too. 🇬🇧
Lol, yes!
I'm now well into my sixties and have been deeply immersed in the Japanese rock and metal scene since the summer of 2018. As a child, and later as a teenager and adult, male musicians were role models and inspiration for my own musical work. The female bands in the 60s and early 70s (Liverbirds, Fanny) were rare and somehow exotic in the beat scene. Since I'm attracted to women, I collected a lot of records by female bands and singers. (Fun fact: my BAND-MAID LPs are on the shelf between Bananarama and Bangles). I have two daughters who make music and are about the same age as the bands described here. My enthusiasm is certainly also based on the feelings of a proud father or uncle. The sexual aspect takes a back seat, although I do enjoy watching them. After decades of listening to Western music and the heroes of my youth are dead or ancient meanwhile, the discovery of Japanese music is so refreshing and excitingly different that my enthusiasm is undiminished. I imagine many other older men feel a similar way.
I'm a performer playing similar sized venues to these artists so I'll give you a performer's perspective. There's nothing wrong with objectification of female performers... or of male performers. We ARE "entertainment objects", objectification is literally the most rational response to what you're seeing (because while you do get glimpses of our personality you don't really KNOW us, but you can certainly SEE us). Myself and the people I perform with (I contract for various groups, all mixed-gender) are acutely aware that we are being assessed on appearance and that this is all "part of the package". We WANT you to like how we look! If you like the music, great! If you like the image - also great! We're just trying to do our best for you and we hope you enjoy what we offer in anyway that you can. What isn't okay is stalking, harassment or violence, what also isn't okay is young performers being dragged into the scene without knowing that they're signing up for all this scrutiny (a supportive environment is really important for young people). However I've never had those issues in the heavy metal scene, which tends to have the friendliest, most chill fanbases. By the way as a fan I think Lovebites are fantastic but I love Galneryus and X Japan too, and I don't really like Band-Maid because I'm just not that into their music even though I think they look fantastic and are obviously really talented plus I totally have a maid with guitars fetish. So I think it really is about the music for me, strangely enough.
I appreciate you sharing your perspective as a performer! :)
I had already been telling people how crazy cool Otoboke Beaver were before I heard Band Maid. When I first saw a BM video I laughed and thought they were a bit silly but then the melodies kept dancing in my head and I realized that they surpassed their shtick. (Kiss never did)
Yes I will unabashedly call them attractive and I don't care because I have had 50 years of cock rock and boy bands shoved down my throat. But it is more than that, I've always supported female musicians and want to hear what they have to say and where they can move music to next.
Yes I have traveled around the world and am seeing Band Maid tomorrow night!
That’s amazing!!! Enjoy! 😊🖤🤘🏻
And yes, they put on one hell of a show, best band in the world at the top of their game!
The women are filling a gap left by a lack of what the record companies are as marketable bands. They bring something fresh and with skill while also being visually pleasing. They also try harder, some so much that they shoot straight past the men. Band Maid is the example I know best, they work to bring the sound and they don't trip over their egos and work together.
Very interesting subject. I've always been drawn to strong female characters. I stumbled into Japanese female rock bands by following The Warning. I do feel that all female bands have an interesting attraction. However, if the music is not good, I lose interest. My favorite is currently Lovebites.
I think that’s a great point! Regardless of gender, no band can hold a person‘s attention if they aren’t genuinely talented. Well said! 😊🤘🏻
I grew up with the rock music of the 60s/70s. It was mostly about having a good time and bands smiled at their audiences. I dropped away from rock as it evolved more into anger, hate, and distain for their audiences. Country, folk and blues filled that void a bit.
3 years ago I found Band-Maid. They are fantastic musicians/composers but what sets them apart from other bands, male or female, for me, is that they enjoy playing their music and enjoy their fans enjoying it with them.
That brings me back to how I remember rock being and doesn't have much to do with their being female except I think showing that kind of emotion on stage is likely easier for a female performer that a male one. Easier not easy as it does mean exposing yourself emotionally and rejection would hurt. That they do that also shows how strong/confident they are too. That too is something I find attractive.
Yes! They have this beautiful quality about them - they take care of their audience and you can see how happy they are making music and being able to present it. It's mesmerizing to watch!
I think this is a multi-layered situation. As a long time fan of hard rock and metal, I've been listening to all-male or mostly male acts for 35+ years. Initially, there was some novelty to female-fronted bands back when I was a teenager, so discovering a hidden gem like Barnabas (late 70's/early 80's rock & metal band, female-fronted) or hearing the revelation that was Heart's first couple albums in the 70's was pretty awesome. It was similar later when I first heard about Karen Crisis being a female death metal growler, or hearing of thrash vocalists like Dawn Crosby from Detente, or Sabina Classen from Holy Moses. Sure, there's a sex appeal component as a male myself, but equally important, if not more so, is the different tones and textures you get from female voices than you do from male voices. It adds another dimension or layer to it that you're not going to get with a male vocalist, who isn't always going to stand out.
Case in point: I recently picked up a couple used CD's from the band Last In Line. That's the original line-up of Dio's band from the early 80's, minus Ronnie himself since he has passed on. The male vocalist who is in the band is..."fine" by all accounts. He's a competent singer and sounds okay. But as someone who loves Ronnie's voice and enjoyed that music, it felt a bit bland and lifeless compared to the original Dio albums, and the vocals just underscore how boring it is as a follow-on from that. If you had brought in a female vocalist with the kind of range Ronnie had, even if she didn't sound much like him but had a similar attitude or swagger to bring to the table, it would make the project way more interesting.
For me, it's a combination effect. I'm into female-fronted bands as much as I am all-female bands. I really enjoy Lovebites, but I also dig Cross Vein (RIP). My favorite band is Onmyouza, whoich has both male and female vocalists who trade off on the lead parts, and who harmonize well with one another. It provides great contrast, and especially when they go back and forth between the heavier and lighter shades that really does a lot to make it unique. It becomes a combination of enjoying female vocals, enjoying the talented musicianship, enjoying the songwriting, and of course enjoying the visual aesthetic and aspect of it as well. The songwriting I think is a factor because it's coming from a different perspective than your typical all-male band. While an all-female band like Lovebites is playing the same basic European inspired power metal that a lot of other bands do, not only are they supremely talented musicians, but the songs themselves have a distinct flavor to them that I think comes in part to having been written from a different perspective. So while the visual appeal of an all-female or female-fronted band is a factor, I do believe that it's just one component of a multifaceted appeal.
As an old western male I've seen and heard lots of rock and metal since my youth (beginning with Cream, Deep Purple and many many more). But I never had heard female rock bands at the same level of skill as for example Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai and all the other "guitar heroes". Yes, there were some female bands too - but very very few. And now, as an old man, I discovered the Japanese female rock- and metal scene (during covid lockdown) - and I was simply blown away! I never had heard that high level music of young female musicians. It is not that they are just "talented", but some of them a real musical virtuosos and geniuses! By now I could easily name some 30 to 50 names of outstanding Japanese female rock and metal musicians; just to name some: Miyako from Lovebites who at the same time is a concert level pianist AND a world class metal guitarist AND a marvelous composer. I have never seen something like this. Or Junna (now HAGANE member): I've seen lots of amazingly skilled drummers (male and female), but never someone so entertaining and full of joy and energy like this little lady (some 150 cm). I'm really grateful to have met her in person for exchanging some words on her European tour with Fate Gear in summer 2023. And I could go on and on: there are so many surprisingly skilled female musicians in Japan (And Asia altogether) that by now I almost listen exclusively to their music. My personal highlights of course are Lovebites and Nemophila; and recently I'm somewhat "addicted" to the new formed HAGANE. You should listen to them if you haven't done yet. With the extensively skilled composer and "guitar goddess" Sakura, the rocksolid bassist Sayaka and the new members Junna (drums) and Nagi with her really "magical voice" they play metal that hit me right in my heart. A wonderful experience - since the days of my youth I never had this feeling again listening to rock and metal. Reading the comments of people who watch their music videos (Tengagoken for example almost reached 1 million views after 4 or 5 months) I found myself in good company with respect to the feelings that HAGANE are able to induce in their audience. I hope I could have given some reasons why "old white males" of the Western World are now admiring female Japanese rock and metal bands!
Yes! And I concur! 😊♥️🤘🏻
I agree in every point
For myself I can only say that of course the fact that they are all female makes a difference. After all, I like girls better than boys so seeing attractive ladies playing great music is a slam dunk. It was pleasantly shocking to find this level of talent coming from female bands out of Japan. Plenty of girls throughout my life spoke in dreamy sentences about their favorite male artists so I have no issue admitting that I finally have bands that I could say the same about. That said, I do separate the attraction from the musical appeal. Diving down the rabbit hole of all female rock bands I've truly enjoyed seeing everything I have been able to find from a host of female artists though in most cases, except for a few standout songs, I have only watched or otherwise listened to a song once. That's the attraction half of my answer. The music goes much deeper to me. In my case it's Band-Maid. I haven't come across a band that so totally drew me in in a very long time. I've bought every album and LP available (it's been decades since I supported a band that way), made a road trip to see them live, and haven't missed a live stream of theirs since I became a fan. Easily 90% of the time I'm listening to them it's only that, listening. In the car, during work, walking around the neighborhood, whatever. The Maids dominate my playlists and I still regularly listen to whole albums from them. I can say that about no other artist in my life. Would it be the same if they were all male? I would hope so but the fact is no other band's music has ever hooked me the way Band-Maid's has so I really don't have anything to compare it to. I have indeed been infatuated by other artists in the past but it was always short lived and got pushed out by something else. It's going on 5 years with these girls now so it's much more than just a fad with me. Would they have had this much staying power before U-Tube? Now there is an interesting question. I would have still bought the albums but watching other folks discover them gives me a lot of pleasure that I can only relate back to my college days when I'd drag my roommate or other friends off to see a band I liked that was playing in a small downtown club. When they enjoyed those acts it somehow justified my opinion of the band. Well there is my long winded answer to one of your questions. The appeal of the look certainly drew me in but the quality of the talent has made me a life long fan.
Thanks so much for sharing, Jack! :)
They rock, it's that simple! You don't have to dig that deep into that. Metal/Hard rock still attracts more males, it has always done that. Great music is great music. Male or female doesn't matter!
Agree completely! 😊🤘🏻
Like many people, I started listening to J-Rock and J-Metal because these bands would play the opening or ending songs in the animes I watched as a child. During this time, I discovered L'Arc~en~Ciel, UVERworld, X Japan, One Ok Rock, Girugamesh, etc... (all male bands)
Over time, the Japanese market itself changed. The first time I heard a Band-Maid song was on a random J-Rock Spotify playlist. After I got interested and listened to the entire album, I started following their work. Obviously, my first contact was 100% with their music and not their visuals (but i don't deny that i find the anime like visuals quite fun).
Through Band-Maid, I discovered BABYMETAL, LOVEBITES and NEMOPHILA. Since I play guitar as a hobby, I identified a lot with their sound and the guitarists they have as references. I don't know how common my case is, but for me it was a very natural process.
When I discovered the japanese rock scene (not only all-female but also mixed and sometimes all-male), I had already been listening to female rockers mostly, for years. For a simple reason: gradually, I got fed up with male rock and its clichés, I didn't think it was going anywhere anymore, and I found the feminine approach to rock fresher. So, when I discovered there was a strong and creative female rock scene in Japan, I was ready.
So, the question of finding them as interesting if they were male make no sense to me: I listen to them because they write and play rock music in their female original way - that's the point. I would even say that I don't care for female bands imitating male bands. I mean, read Hanabie's or Band-Maid's lyrics: they are written from the point of view of a woman, about woman's matters or problems - and it's true musically too (even if it's often more subtle).
And it's true about the relationship between members inside the bands too - no stupid Oasis behaviour, or Rolling Stones' love/hate stories between Jagger and Richards. The relationship with the audience is different too - and it is reflected in the public's attitude towards them, extremely (I was nearly thinking "incredibly") respectful.
LOVEBITES' musicality and skill completely captivated me.
I'd listened to Japanese female bands like Band Made, Scandal, Hagane, and Nemophila, but when I discovered LOVEBITES, I was blown away.
They are incredible! 🖤🤘🏻
1. The Metal fanbase in general is overwhelmingly male. 2. Due to culture and diet, most Japanese women are slim, very calm, polite, a little shy, and they tend to look Way younger than Western women of the same age. 3. I think either their looks will grab a man's attention, and then get excited when they realize they are fantastic musicians . . or . . (like me with Lovebites) they will get excited about how good the music is, and then realize the relative 'bonus' (for a guy) that they are very visually appealing. I think its about the Talent - there are not enough 'pervs' around to account for the amount of male interest.
well said, Patrick :)
“There are not enough pervs around to account for the amount of male interest.”
Actually, a lot of popular music has a sexual component to it. I think the more correct answer is that it is both, but that this female component doesn’t have to be entirely sexual either, and more about just being there in general. That it goes something like this:
1. Males are more competitive, in that they care more about the technical aspects of music, which explains in part a higher male audience for these more technical-focused Japanese bands.
2. Males also find it pleasing to look at females, which can be a bonus. This doesn’t even have to be sexual, for it to be enjoyable.
3. The Japanese to put the two together for maximum effect; audibly and visually. This also forms a niche market.
There's a couple of ideas that come to mind for me (being a 70 year old man), one is that there are no end of attractive women in the world, but the percentage that are really talented is much smaller, or as I heard it succinctly put "being attractive is the least interesting thing about them." There's also a lot less testosterone/ego in the music these bands create, even the ones that play hard core metal, and that seems to come across in the music. Band-Maid is my fave band on the planet, their music always puts me in a good mood and they are incredibly accomplished and creative. Their new song Forbidden Tale is a musical journey. They have a genuine emotional bond with each other, they have fun playing music, and are genuinely grateful for the audience support, all of which makes me grandpa happy for them. The recent vlog of Band-Maid and The Warning together in Japan creating their collaboration song and playing on stage together, and especially hanging around together just makes me all misty eyed with happiness for them.
I have always liked the dynamic of female singers in rock and metal. As a kid (mid 70’s) pre puberty I was drawn to Heart and Fleetwood Mac. In metal there was never a huge number of female fronted bands that played a style I grew to love in metal. Really liked Otep and Arch Enemy but it was Jinjer that pretty really meet that old itch. I then stumbled into Babymetal in 2016 which lead me down the J-metal rabbit hole. I love the female bands but also the mixed bands like Unlucky Morpheus and Maximum the Hormone. Also male bands like Ninjen Isu and Crystal Lake.
😊🤘🏻
I can only speak to Band Maid because, while I like some Lovebites songs, I love Band Maid’s entire catalog. Band Maid’s “pretty appeal” is nice, for sure. I won’t deny, or feel bad about, enjoying the sight of pretty women!
Would I like Band Maid as much if they were all male? Probably not-because the music WOULD NOT be the same. There is a feminine energy, and sensibility, in the music and lyrics that would surely not be present if they were men. I feel this is inarguable.
I can honestly say I’ve never thought of them in a prurient way, probably because they don’t play that angle up in the slightest. If that’s what I was looking for I’d be watching live videos of The Pretty Reckless! Momsen is good looking, and literally goes around onstage half-nude… but I don’t really care for the songs I’ve heard. Hence, I don’t watch her sexy antics and, instead, watch groups like Band Maid, and The Warning, play truly great music while maintaining some dignity and decorum.
Just a comment that, while the majority of fans of these bands are male, across the age ranges, this is also true of ALL rock and metal bands and has been since the 'teenybopper' insanity faded away. Another factor is that it seems, while the Japanese bands consider themselves playing 'Western Style' , there has been very little from 'the West' new of innovative quality for ages, a vacuum that all those rock/metal fans noticed. Obviously if they were not talented, creative, beyond just competent, artistic musicians, they would not 'fill the vacuum' in any popular satisfying way. It also helps that the music itself is not depressing, depraved, degenerate or dismal, but energizing, happifyingly melodic that can be played on repeat without any frustration or pain induced, unlike Gaga, Perry, or Spears material...
Music first! Beautiful master class musicians, bonus😅
Lol, perfect answer! 😊🤘🏻
Since everyone is doing shout outs, I guess then shout out to Gacharic Spin/DOLL$BOXX 😄
If the hypothesis is that these bands would be less popular overall if they would be play the same music, but would be all-male, it probably wouldn't be true. All you have to do is to look at the top jrock charts and see that these all-female bands are not there, and instead it's dominated mostly by bands like Vaundy, One Ok Rock, etc.
Now if the question is would the male fans be enthused about the same bands if they were all-male or if would be reverse situation with females fans, I don't think we have enough data for that question to be answered 🙂
I remember Gacharic Spin did a show with all-female group from Australia and there was an interview after that where they asked each other questions. Members from Australian group asked GS how is it being female in rock scene or something like that, and GS answer was something along the lines "We never thought about it, we think about ourselves as just a band and not a female band".
I'm not saying that sex/gender doesn't play any role in this (for example having a different perspective), but focus on gender is also not universal everywhere.
It’s an interesting question. From my perspective, I’m only a fan of a few of the female Japanese metal bands and which ones they are are entirely based on the music. I recognize that all of these musicians are fantastic, but only the sound of a few have really captured me. (Mostly Band Maid, but also Hanabie, Maximum the Hormone, and Nek!)
The adoration I have for Band Maid has really grown from just loving the music and constantly wanting more. As anyone who gets obsessed with a band, I’ve learned about the members, and with Band Maid, they tend to be so much more likable than a lot of the western musicians I followed over the years, which makes wanting them to do well, make more music even stronger. I do enjoy that they’re beautiful and/or adorable. But it’s not enough on its own. They’re just awesome, start to finish and being attractive is part of that.
As far as new bands, you should check out Nek! (Pronounced neck-ee)
On the male band front, while not all male, Maximum the Hormone is insane and cool and weird fun.
I love Nek! I featured them in my last video - I will check out Maximum the Hormone! I have not heard of them! :)
@@psychologyofrock The music video for "SHIMI feat. ATARASHII GAKKO!", which was released a few months ago, might be a good place to start. This is an old song of theirs, but this time it features the much talked about all-female dance vocal group ATARASHII GAKKO! It is a very impressive song and video, and ATARASHII GAKKO! also did the choreography for the music video. They are known in Japan as "Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders", which literally means "New School Leaders".
@@zs9811 A collab might not be the best place to start since thet's the only song thew two groups have played together - Buiikikaesu, Koi no Megalover or Hungry Pride would be better.
Something I witnessed in Japan blew my tiny English Brain. I flew to Japan in 2023 to follow Band-Maid on tour for a few weeks (I saw four shows in nine days). At one point I got to Sapporo the day before the Maids were to play and went to check out where the venue was. When I got there a punk band was loading in. I decided to buy a ticket.
The Band-Maid shows were (as usual) about 85-90% males with an average age of at least 50. This punk gig (two all male bands playing) the audience was about 75-80% female with an average age of about 18. Yes, a huge portion of the crowd were under 18 young females. Many attending on their own. Some in large 'gangs' lol! The girl in front of me was 13 if she was a day. The crowd went totally nuts. One band was crowd surfing on wooden boards about the size of two doors while playing a song.
There was a bar and absolutely no security. Everyone was safe and well behaved, I didn't see any under age drinking either.
It made this old punk (I'm 58) VERY happy to see youngsters rocking out to punk rock! But the crowd demographics really did blow my brain. The older ages and mainly male audiences at Band-Maid concerts is understandable due to the music they play - us old fogies remember that music from our youths. But young Japanese girls into punk? Who knew lol!
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing! 😊🤘🏻
Band-Maid is an odd phenomenon, they're making some of the most interesting music I've heard in long while. Honestly I can say sure being all female may have started my initial interest in them, but I was thrown off just as much by their maid outfits.
as a male, I find the female perspective that comes thru in their song writing and delivery - to be refreshing and interesting - especially the juxtaposition of what you see with what you hear...and there's no lack of being badass...
Yes! Agree completely, Steve!
One thing I like about Japanese female metal/hard rock bands is the fact they embrace their femininity. Too many Western all-female bands think they need to appear as tough and badass as the men, and end up seeming like they're "trying too hard", IMO.
I'm 49 years old and i can't stop listnening to japanese female bands since 2020, i saw Hanabie live twice and Fate Gear this year, my phone is full of these kinds of bands: Otoboke Beaver, Nemophila, Nek, Necry Talkie, Mellows, Hanabie, Haku, Fate Gear and a lot more. I was always more drawn to female performers but there wasn't a lot of female metal or even rock when i was younger, now this trend of female metal makes me happy and i started to learn Japanese 8 monts ago because of it. I plan to go to Japan next year and see some bands live if i can.
That's amazing! :)
Another rabid male Band-Maid fan, my favorite band. I do have double standards, I realized that I expect more and am more critical of male musicians because they are more accepted and established. Who today is better than Hendrix or Bonham or Eddie or Eric or all those who set the bar so high years ago? But Akane is close to Bonham and MISA is close to JPJ and Kanami is not far from the best and both Saiki and Miku sing like angels. And all the girls are only in their early '30s and still improving.
In their early days the Maids had shorter skirts that did add a touch of sexuality to their look but thankfully their costumes today are almost completely non-sexual and allow us to focus on the quality of their writing and playing without distraction.
All the Maids are egoless and love their fans and each other and it shows in everything they do. Down to earth and don't seem to take anything for granted.
Being a male rock star automatically includes a huge ego and exaggerated self-importance.
I agree that are ego-less, which is unbelievable given their immense talent!
They are all nice to look at but you don't see them when you listen to the music. If people wanted to care only about looks they would listen to female pop artists or Japanese female idol groups. I'm 44 and love these bands because they play music that sounds like the music of my youth. Most Western rock bands have a grunge or nu-metal influence influence and I hate those genres. I love Band-Maid and they play classic rock. I also love Aldious and Lovebites who play power metal which I've loved since I was 7 and heard the German band Helloween. I also like bands with an image or a theme. I used to be a big KISS fan and see the Japanese female bands in the same way. Aldious have the evening gowns Lovebites have the white dresses and Band-Maid have the maid outfits. It enhances the concert experience to have an image or theme.
my current favorites are BandMaid and Toranoko Rammy, ive had the pleasure of seeing both live multiple times BandMaid back in 2016 when they blew my mind within seconds of starting to perform and more recently in 2023 with Toranoko Rammy, both bands imediatly had me thinking these are the real deal, excatly what ive been looking for musically
I got interested in Japanese music from listening to anime sound tracks. Specifically Yoko Kanno's work. From there it sort of branched out and I would get music from people like Maaya Sakamoto. L'arc en Ciel, Abingdon Boys School, T.M Revolution and Kalafina. This is not all metal music, but a link to a Baby Metal song several years back put me on track of other artists such as you have shown. If you want to hear some fairly old Japanese metal then I recommend Loudness, a very good three piece band. There are many more, but for the most part, all of them are very talented in their own way.
First, as many have stated, the quality of the music is key; the fans would not be this into these bands were they half-assing the same old music. At the same time, I agree that the fact that they are women does play some non-creepy role in their popularity. As part of the older guy demographic, I think many of my peers latch onto the music quality point and subconsciously or consciously avoid the elephant-in-the-room angle. Not for bad reasons, it is just that normal non-creepy guys really, really do not want to be thought of as THOSE kind of fans.
I have observed that there is something in older guys that seems to always get excited whenever young people take up something that they are deeply fond of, be it music, sports, etc... Almost like some sort of dad gene kicks in. This doubly applies when it is non-traditional young people. So when you consider the combination of women, Japan, the amazingly high level of musicianship, and the fact that we have watched the decline of rock over the past few decades, the strong fan reaction it is not surprising.
I do think that these bands would still be popular if they were guys, but likely less so. As some of the other commenters have alluded to, these women definitely seem to bring a different energy than most guy bands. It is hard to describe without over simplifying it, but I would say it is something akin to joy. One common thread to these bands is that that when I listen to them they bring me happiness, no matter how heavy the music is. That is just so different from the vibe of most western hard-rock/metal.
Yes! There is definitely happiness in this equation! :)
My personal impress is that even the culture is more rigid in Japan all this bands are not promoted under a gender war or toxic female activism, they sing for all and the lyrics had mostly a universal character...
You'll never hear a Japanese all girl band make a stump speech about how we need to "support women in metal" or about how women are better than men. They just show up and do their thing. Their gender is presented as being a matter of fact rather than something that is forced down our throats.
We did the attractive talentless bands in the 80’s if they couldn’t play I wouldn’t bother! Metal music tends to attract more males than females been to many metal shows mostly dudes. Cuteness or attractiveness will get people interested but if they can’t play they won’t stay interested but that’s just my opinion. Loudness is an all male metal band that’s been around since the late 70’s
I found as I've gotten older, I was gravitating more to female vocals, even going back to listen ones I never really paid attention to, like Amy Lee of Evanescence.She collaborated on a song called Sakura Rising with WagakkiBand , a band that fuses modern instruments with traditional Japanese instruments, and they are amazing. The lead singer is female but the band make up is six male and two female. There are many other bands that are mixed gender but a majority have the female front person, Maximum the Hormone is the most notable exception. I still love my classics, but right now a majority of what I listen to are Japanese bands, and mostly female fronted.
It's the songwriting. Japanese song writing is just more interesting, technically complex, and creative than the songwriting of western artists. I got bored of western metal doing all the same things over and over again, then I discovered Japanese metal and it rekindled my love of metal because it was such a breath of fresh air. The difference in language, culture, songwriting, instrumentation, etc. bring something that is new a fresh to jaded audiences who are looking for something fresh and different.
The fact that most of the prominent Japanese metal bands are female is probably because the female sensibility brings something to the songwriting and performance that is different to what male performers bring to music. Maybe because western metal is so male dominated, Japanese metal stands out because it's got such a strong feminine presence which is also different alongside the songwriting.
well said!
Pose-toi la question, pourquoi Kanami Tono de band-maid a recu sa guitares signatures de Paul reed Smith de ses propres mains à Osaka shin, cette semaine, et surtout pourquoi tout les modèles signatures de Kanami disponibles aux États-Unis ont été tous vendus en moins d'une heures? Même des artistes plus connus qu'elles ça n'est jamais arrivé et aussi la première japonaise à avoir cet honneur des guitares PRS, homme ou femme. Est-ce parce band-maid fait de la bonne musique. Est-ce que leurs fans sont déjà eux-mêmes musiciens ? Se poser la question c'est y répondre.
When it comes to female rock power, we can happily travel further back in rock history.
When the first self-titled album by the american rock band THE RUNAWAYS was released in 1976 with the young female musicians Cherie Currie, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandie West, this band line-up was only short-lived for a number of reasons. Despite this, they sparked real enthusiasm and great cheers outside of their homeland in another country with this album and their concerts there.
Ladies and gentlemen, THE RUNAWAYS experienced this in JAPAN and could not believe what they experienced there 😉
🖤🖤🖤🤘🏻
This is just my opinion, and comes from being involved mainly with the Band-Maid fan base, but I think that one intangible factor of the all-female rock bands, especially with those of us who grew up on 70-80s hard rock or metal, is that we view these incredibly talented young ladies as a father would an adult daughter. Think of how Billy Ray views Miley today.
IDK if the Billy Ray analogy is apt 😂, but yes, they're like my younger sisters that I am proud of.
It's hard to say. To begin with I was probably drawn to groups like Babymetal, Bandmaid, and Nemophilia for the novelty of Gender, looks etc. All of these bands do have attractive women, so they are easy to watch from a straight male respective, but I have to say I doubt I would LISTEN to them so often if it was not for the inherent talent that they possess.
It's a UK 65 YO "oldie" here ! Don't do social media and found this gem during the lockdown. I sadly treated BM as a gimmick for weeks before hearing THRILL... then I was sold.
1. I got tired of listening to drug addled men gripping about their lives. That said I still listen to BMTH and others due to enjoying the results of their hard work and creativity.
2. Too old to be attracted by superficial "looks" they have to impress with their talent and dedication to the job - being an attractive personality must help.
3. Having seen Bridear live here in the UK - their performance was hard to fault - Kimi sounded a wee bit jet-lagged and tired - but they were due to record a live album later that week in London.....
4. Don't know any Japanese male rock bands - LoL !
5. They all seem to be having fun ! Hanabie are as mad as a box of frogs - Luv It !
6. Band-Maid - Bridear - Hanabie - Lovebites - Nemophila - Trident - - In Alphabetical Order Only ! Plus a bit of Ado - Babymetal - Garnidelia - Milet - ReoL - Saki
7. Haru and her bass (Bridear) are my absolute favourite - she's just great, Hettsu gets a mention for her awesome crowd interaction live... Kanami is just so wonderfully humble and talented !
Most of the time I'm listening at work using headphones so appearance is irrelevant.... noise cancelling isn't !! I have no idea how "successful" these bands are financially.
HTH
If you allow me, I would like to offer you this for your collection, this group is new, but worth listening to (mixed group)
Official Video] SAISEIGA - STRANGE RAIN
Thanks so much for sharing, Duncan! :)
For me part of it is definitely that I simply prefer a female vocalist. Everything else being equal I simply prefer a female voice. That being said, like another commenter said Band-Maid is a great example because they don't play up the sexuality. The music comes first, but the way they interact with their fans and each other is also important. They're obviously having fun and that feeds into the community. That's often not as true with all male bands.
This is gonna be a brain dump cause your video opened so many questions. 37 y.o. fan chiming in. While there are a myriad of reasons for a fan to get attached, having followed Jrock/Jpop and Visual Kei from X-Japan, Luna Sea, Malice Mizer, etc., a component that always appealed to me is the artistry/style that these musicians brought with them. It was less about the gender and more about the sound, look and vibes for me and even as a hetero male, I love it when men show affection, etc. At my core, I love a melodic lines and as the visual kei scene started to shrink, my musical taste shifted as well to punk rock, pop, indie. The recent (last decade or so?) resurgence of Jrock has brought me back in and I 100% love the fact that women are empowering each other to form these bands where they can once again be expressive via their look/style.
Great video topic btw! will have to explore your channel more later! Keep up the good work!
As a man, in my appeal for japanese female band, I've noticed some specific point.
Every scene from every country have cultural specificity, the female J band have all the japanese ones, but add a few : they display a lot of joy and friendship between members. And this aspects (for the best band) translate into creativity, art style, and overall a specific energy and style.
I also like eccentricity and crazyness, and japanese can have a lot.
I also really prefer female vocalist over male, growling female won't stop to impress me.
The cuteness and sexy aspects just add on top, at the very end, for video. My 1st appeal is still the music
And also, I'm French. So I'm kinda born a weeb.
I think there are many more all-male or mixed-gender bands than all-female bands, and when one comes along that is so incredibly good, they really stand out. To answer the favorite band question... right now, Unlucky Morpheus. I also really like D-Drive.
I am a 50 Year Old metalhead. I grew up with Iron maiden, Helloween, metallica, Megadeth, slayer, Dream Theater, Fates warning, skyclad and other bands. Lovebites easily on my top 5 all time metal bands.
🖤🐺😊🤘🏻
As a fan of many Japanese all-female rock bands the first thing that matters is that they are excellent bands and hit the spot inside me that back in the day was hit by mostly male rock and metal bands. It is also my opinion that most of the more interesting rock and metal (and pop for that matter) is being made in Japan. With regards to them being all female it is nice to see the cute factor and the bright costumes as it brings something new and a welcome change from just denim and leather but this is more of a secondary bonus rather than the main attraction, which is the quality of the music. There are plenty of cute bands that do not get my attention because the music is not to my taste. As a final point I think that female Japanese bands are being promoted much more than the male bands so they are more likely to be noticed. Finally there are also some very good Japanese bands that have both male and female members that are equally loved, such as Saiseiga and Sokoninaru because they are also superb.
I will check them out! Thank you!
I discovered Band Maid through The Warning. Then I discovered Lovebites which then led me to Nemophila. All 3 of these bands are amazing but I have to say BM are my favorite. It didn't take me very long to get over the 'gimmick' when I realized very quickly how amazing they are musically. Oh yeah, I'm a 63 year old dude who was really tired of rock bands...BM et al are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant music scene.
Gender definitely has something to do with the draw. Musically, it is its own genre because these all-female Japanese rock and metal bands can combine "cute" and "brutal/cool" like nobody else. The interesting musicality is the main draw. The eye candy is just icing on the cake.
you are right, it is almost like they have created their own genre...
As a male metal head brought up on deep purple, black sabbath, nazareth, etc. Ie i am old. I listen to babymetal a lot, but also metallica and sabaton, also hanabie, band made etc.. One thing i bring to the conversation is that heavy metal contains a lot of lower register notes with drums, bass and low tuned guitar. The higher register female voice can stand out in the wall of sound giving a different clarity to the music.
I appreciate the quality of the musicianship and singing of the bands of japan. Then there there is the showmanship, much more a movie show in a babymetal than for sabaton. I do also prefer female vocals. Anyway, just another comment.
Lovebites is the only all female band I listen to. Their musicianship is exceptional and is reminiscent of many of the bands I grew up listening to. Never expected a Japanese all female band to be so addictive. 🏴🤘
They are incredible!
I am a male fan of both Band Maid and Lovebites. My liking them is purely based on their talent. Plus, I stopped listening to western groups after discovering Japanese rock and heavy metal. Too muck talent to be ignored.
Thanks for the continued discussion of this topic! You mentioned "unparalleled musicianship, their incredible stage presence, their devotion and commitment to their fans, their adorable personalities, and of course, their undeniable visual appeal". But there's one thing missing in that list: _songwriting._ I can only speak from the Band-Maid perspective, since that's what I listen to. If composition has some "gender" component to it, then, yeah sure, maybe Band-Maid's all-female lineup brings whatever quality it is that being all-female brings. But I don't know what that is. Could it be that it's because I like classical music and Band-Maid hits some of the same compositional points, but in a rock mode? I don't really know for sure; but one thing I do know is that Kanami Tono is a genius composer of modern rock and everyone else in Band-Maid is 100% signed on to that program. There are dozens of all-male and mixed-gender bands I like that have similar musical qualities. I'd list those bands and what those musical qualities are, but I've droned on long enough 😅
You are absolutely correct! I believe I mentioned that in the original video, but if not, it was definitely an oversight. I could not agree more! 😊🤘🏻
Luckily, your comment was the first I read and saved me from rattling on in every point you "MAID". I was born in 1959 and had thought Rock was basically dead until 2017 when I heard "THRILL". Down the pigeon hole I went and never looked back.
Well said and along with what others have written, I can skip commenting and just point to here. As far as Asian music goes, I'm mainly a fan of Band-Maid, and for me personally it's the music - above all, the songwriting. There's not a lot of separation in instrumental talent among the top Japanese bands - most all are masters of their instrument - but they differ greatly in sound and songwriting. Gender, personal appearance, costuming - are all fluff to me. Being great human beings does add a little magic for me personally, but in the end it's whether the music brings me joy. And in Band-Maid's case, over the last few years I haven't experienced so much joy in decades; having gone through their entire catalog multiple times has been just one giant joyride.
I agree 100%. Band - Maid has awesome songs, They are a higher level that the rest, but the rest ARE GREAT AS WELL.
I discovered Japanese female rock/metal groups by complete mistake and curiosity in 2016, before this time I personally never liked female or even female frontend band's before, of course over the decades of rock I've been listening to there were certain standouts, however other than Heart, I didn't go out of my way to see or hear them because for me they're a "local" band, after listening to Band Maid the very first time, I thought that this is what I've been waiting for after what I felt was a dry spell of over 30 years. Once I heard them and started looking desperately for more music, I of course found every band your montage featured, I love listening to all of them, in fact I listen to them almost exclusively, I never liked gal band's and now I can't get enough? It's not because they are potentially attractive, it's because they're awesome, the arrangement, musicianship, the colorful outfits, cheerful attitude and comradeship that's attractive, their overall execution, so that's my take on why they are popular, they're just subarashii.
That is so interesting that it was Band Maid that swayed you into listening to female bands! I've heard this from many people! Just something special about them, I think :)
The ladies from Japan are saving Rock and Metal, and I love all of them 🤘😄🤘
🖤🖤🖤😊🤘🏻
I'd be lying if I said gender doesn't play some role in these female groups appeal. It's definitely not the main draw or really even a lasting reason to keep enjoying them. When I first discovered BAND-MAID I didn't know what to expect. I saw these cute girls in elaborate gimmicky costumes and was curious about their sound. Their music blew me away and I immediately championed them. I'm old enough to know women in rock or metal isn't the most common occurrence. That made them more endearing in an underdog kind of way. Their gender and how that plays into their society, influenced them in certain ways. Those influences bleed into their music. BAND-MAID has a distinct femininity to their sound that would for sure be lost if they were dudes. I have a ton of male bands that I love, but none of them sound like BAND-MAID, not even other male Japanese bands. I hope that is coherent enough to make some sense.
EDIT: I'm in my 30s BTW.
personally for me its all about the music. that being said even the majority of bands with males in them i enjoy most have female singers. female vocalists are a preference for me. but also for 1 as you and others have said most of these all(or majority) female japanese bands have a fun energetic vibe while still playing the heavier or diverse music i love, 2 i had thoughts about this myself, but i listen to the bands more than i watch music videos so im comfortable saying it is definatly the music that appeals most to me but it definantly doesnt hurt they they are attractive and for the most part are still geniunly feminine, humble and fun women. and for my last thought the music these bands are playing is the music a lot of us older fans grew up with and have missed. but these bands are producing it now even if its not "mainstream" at a level that is incredible and not just 1 or 2 bands but more than i can keep up with. and if it was all about them being attractive females then why wouldnt i be following the big female pop stars, thats easy because i personally dont like their music and there are quite a few really good all male japanese bands out there but as i said i prefer female vocalists so while i still listen to and enjoy them its not to the same level
I just heard the perfect description of Band Maid fans. It's like we're in a secret club. We discovered this treasure and we recognize others that have as well. That's what makes Band Maid fans so special.
🖤🖤🖤
The members of Band-Maid actually said they felt their looks were a liability in the early years, in that they were being pigeonholed and not taken seriously. As a consequence, they mostly stopped having images of themselves on their covers. So they saw being female as a greater challenge to success, and I think that’s still an obstacle for them now.
Speaking for myself as a straight Western male, I knew what Band-Maid looked like two years before I ever gave them a listen. I grew up listening to hundreds of female artists and even more male artists from around the world. A female rock band is not a novelty to me, and I’ve known several women in rock bands. Over the years, I’ve listened to many Japanese artists, both male and female.
However, out of all the Japanese female bands that you mention, Band-Maid is the only one that I listen to, simply because the others don’t appeal to me musically-though I do listen to Hanabie and Otoboke Beaver occasionally. So for me, at least, your hypothesis doesn’t apply.
For me it's the very top quality of the music and songs and being all female is a big positive, for many reasons. These are great songwriters and players and there are awesome new original ideas in their craft. We've heard thousands of versions of men for decades. When women rock your world with a game-changing sound and show, the voices, melodies, harmonies, and roars are fresh and can be startling even. It is moving to get bowled over by a wonderful new sound. It was a relief a few years ago when I started finding these bands, a relief that somebody had finally started moving heavy music forward again. The overall attitude and message has moved forward and dropped a lot of things that had become boring or a turn-off. That's why I think the audiences will continue to add more women.
Thank you for featuring Japanese female metal and rock bands.
It may seem a very strange phenomenon to see so many women in Japan trying their hand at metal and rock bands while young people worldwide are abandoning the band style. However, Japan has long nurtured a culture in which women are active in bands, and I believe that this social recognition has contributed to the current prosperity of female bands.
The influence of "SHOW-YA" on the younger generation was especially significant.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! It is a pleasure featuring these incredible artists!
LOVEBITES is a fresh kick my ass metal and to be all female is just more amazement that the American scene have not touched base with... Also I am a big fan of Melissa Bonney singing which drew me more into the Euro metal scene first... 🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺💪🤘🤘🤘🤘
:)
All genre music lover, but a special love of rock and prog.
For me the current rock/metal scene (for the last 20 or so years) just has too much testosterone (for lack of better description). For instance the competitive nature and being dour and too serious (obviously these are generalizations) . This goes for the music itself and the personalities.
It was very refreshing to hear very talented musicians, playing around with musical familiar concepts in interesting new ways.
And seeing their performances and off stage personalities that showed how supportive, positive, fun, humble they are is so refreshing.
We all know how hard they work at their craft and how talented they are, I wanted to address the differences in attitude that makes this old dude excited about music again.
After all, to paraphrase, 'boys just wanna have fun' too!
Lol! Well said! :)
As a fan of a LOT of Japanese Bands MOST are all female but there are a few that are not. That being said even the ones that have some/all Male instrumentalists have a Female lead singer. The reason is purely and simply that I LOVE the female Voice and a Male voice has to be really really really special to appeal to me.
The other point is the connection with the Bands ALL the ones i have been following at least are GENUINE people with a massive stage presence and LOVE for their fans which is palpable which is HUGELY important to me, most western bands appear to only be interested in how much money they can make and disrespect the fans.
I agree that they really do seem very genuine :)
I've been a "super fan" of two bands. Rush and Band-Maid. So, it seems like a pretty even split to me. I respect the other female Japanese bands, but their sound just doesn't resonate with me. That's proof enough for me that the music has to hit the spot.
One thing that does make these bands very attractive in general is they are overwhelmingly positive, and the shows are fun and super high energy. There's a lot of doom and gloom in heavier music, which I have zero use for. So, these female bands are a real breath of fresh air in a pretty stale and same-y scene. I'd be happy to go to the shows of the bands I don't really follow because I know it would be fun.
I think what makes me a super fan of Rush and Band-Maid are similar. They both have a very distinctive sound and style that I love, but it's not far off the mainstream. They're both very technical bands with great musical chops and creativity. I think most people who don't know these bands assume that isn't the case because they've never really seen that before from female bands. I really like and respect all of the members of the bands. I love Pink Floyd's music but I would have never been any kind of super fan of theirs beyond buying albums because they didn't get along that well and Roger Waters seems like a prick.
The Rush guys are a bit older than me, but Band-Maid members are significantly younger. So, the admiration is there but different. Rush were kind of like rock idols. I have kind of a fatherly pride for Band-Maid, and I don't think that's uncommon among the older fans. As a matter of fact, when Kanami's signature PRS was announced this week, I had as much pride as I would if it happened to my own daughter, and I was even thinking about how happy and proud her parents must be, and I was happy for them even though I don't know them.
Both Rush and Band-Maid have heavily male-skewed fan bases. I think that's just pretty common for heavy music. I've never been into Dream Theater or been to a show, but I highly suspect it leans heavily male as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Also a HUGE Rush fan. :) And you are right - Dream Theater shows definitely lean heavily male.
I've been a "super fan" of two bands : KISS and Band-Maid.
I had same feeling when I saw Band-Maid what I had when I was a young kid and saw KISS first time.
Back in the '60s and '70s, I listened to the Who, Alice Cooper, the Doors, Black Sabbath, etc. Then came the '80s and the metal I listened to died. Now, it was all chaotic solos and screeching male voices. I never really care for the hair bands of the period. Then came Nordic metal, in the late '90s, and i was hooked again. Yes, it was metal, but the solos were melodic, and the high pitched voices were female and natural, as opposed to forced. When i discovered Japanese metal, it was like the best of the '60s and '70s, but with female vocalists, or all female. Yes, it is nice to look at the young ladies, but the raw talent, the dedication to craft unique to Asian culture, places most Japanese bands way over the top of the aging survivors still eking out on the concert circuit today, just trying to continue to be relevant.
Great answer!
TBH, I was initially drawn to the all-female Japanese bands because they're attractive women. Here, a few years later, I'm still watching, listening, and buying CD's and DVD's of Lovebites, Nemophila, Band-Maid, Hanabie., and Koiai because I've discovered that they're the best bands currently on the planet regardless of gender or nationality. I also prefer the female singing voice to the male voice - in most cases.
I'm relatively new to the Japanese rock scene, introduced to Scandal in 2019. I'm not as big on the hard rock/metal as I am more pop/punk/alternative. The vast majority of bands are all female or female led, and I think it boils down to I just prefer female vocalists when it comes to Japanese music. Again, it's first and foremost the music. And regardless of the genre, Japanese bands always seem to be more positive and upbeat. For some reason Western female bands seem to need to be "rough" and "edgy." It would be nice to see them mellow out and just play, like their Japanese counterparts.
Interesting observation, Scott!
For me,what makes those bands unique is a factor called "stage presence". The smiles, crowd interaction, elegance, happiness are essential when it comes to why they're so lovable. I don't think many of us gave up listening to male bands-personally i'm a huge fan of LOVEBITES but regarding to other genres my favorite ones are doom and black (mostly melodic,depressive and atmospheric)!!! Completely opposites tastes, right? But i don't think i'll ever attend a concert of a male band of these genres cause when it comes to stage presence, they're boring, they've nothing to offer. But for LOVEBITES i flew from Greece to Milan and Paris this June and if i had had more days off of my job i'd certainly had seen them in other concerts.
But why the female Japanese bands have this impact and not the European and American ones? Well, the latter make a big mistake: in order to prove that they're equal to men they tend to behave like them.And when they don't, they over sexualize their image. On the other hand, Japanese women are proud of their femininity without leting themeselves be seen like objects. Personaly, i want to see real strong and self respecting women on stage and not some "i wish i had a cock" or " look, i sing with my boobs" females.
:)
Would I like Band Maid if they were male? If they played exactly the same, but had a male lead... meh. Part of what I love is Saiki's distinctive voice, and Miku's fantastic back up vocals. There is a lot of emotion carried in their singing. While I do listen to male bands, I generally listen to them for different vibes.
well said! Same!