The Year in Japanese Screamo - 2023

The hits keep coming...

Feb 18, 2024

I started this newsletter/blog a year ago with a roundup of Japanese Screamo releases from 2022. I hope others enjoy these lists, but they’re mostly for me. During the year, it can be easy to forget a passing tweet about a new release or a video that popped up on YouTube. This kind of annual ritual reminds me to go back and catch up on the year’s releases. And with that, I bring it to you as well.

After another year, the world of Japanese Screamo continues to chug along. While there are some stand-outs this year, we’re still in a seemingly quiet period. Ostensibly, we’re in the fifth wave of Japanese Screamo (starting around 2017), but I still feel that this wave hasn’t quite seen its defining releases yet. For sure, the coronavirus caused a huge disruption to the Japanese music scene. All live shows stopped for a long period, putting many livehouses in danger of permanent closure. Many bands broke up as well since they couldn’t practice anymore.

Still, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the hyper-accelerationist impact that the internet has had on modern music. There’s just so much music these days that I have trouble imagining how bands can innovate and stand out. Have we reached the end of Japanese Screamo? What’s in store for 2024? Who will be the break-out groups from this current stable? These are all questions I still ask myself but can’t answer yet.

Let me know if I missed anything here, and I hope you find something you’ll love here!

My Faves

Nhomme - 一種の過音

Nhomme has been on the edge of my radar since I heard their track on the 4-way split with Asunojokei, Pale, and Tochu-Kaso. Their output has been sparse, so I could never quite narrow down what they were going for. This EP, however, is a manifesto of sorts. 3 pure tracks of odd-tempo instrumentality that collapse into emotional bursts before pulling back. This feels like where 3cm tour would’ve gone if they’d listened to more Messhuggah and stuck around. Also, I’m a sucker for extraordinary packaging, and Nhomme didn’t disappoint with 一種の過音.

Xonto - Orbis

Secretly a bit of a supergroup, Xonto released their sophomore effort (following up Robot A from Tomb Tree Tapes in 2021), Orbis, this year, coalescing on a more unique and focused sound. Initially, I thought the group was heading for the same Japanese screamo sound, maybe a little darker. But with Orbis, their true shape finally comes out. Mixing heavy riffs, dissonant melodies, and alternately rapping and shouting vocals, Xonto is creating something new.

不夜城 (Fuyajoh) - Placenta

Fuyajoh’s debut EP is all over the place. Influences from the breadth of Japanese Screamo are clear, with some metal and rock thrown in for good measure. The performances aren’t that tight, and some of the parts are derivative, but there’s refreshing about the variety and presentation here. I’ve found myself listening to this quite a bit more than most other things on this list.

Küchenherd - Demo

With the recent re-release of the Tristan Tzara discography, we may (I hope) start seeing a worldwide emo-violence revival soon. If so, Küchenherd will be leading the charge. Founded by members of Sano Ex Machina, Angry Son, Cofun, and Gensenkan, they truly capture the full European emo-violence sound while still sounding unique. This is only a demo, but hopefully, there will be much more to come.

Oaktails - What I Think / What I Love

Heavily influenced by modern Envy, Oaktails fully delivers with a 45 minute album of pure Japanese Screamo. Many other bands who follow the same path usually end up with bland melodies that don’t hold up to multiple listens, but this album is much better than that. The variety of sounds the band moves through over the course of these 10 tracks makes for a very fun listen, even if it’s not necessarily breaking new ground. A solid album for any Japanese Screamo fan.

Mauerfall - III

Japan has plenty of crust bands but isn’t particularly known for much neo-crust. Well, I guess there aren’t actually a ton of neo-crust bands anywhere, to begin with, but considering how much 3LA has pushed the subgenre in Japan, I would’ve expected more to sprout up. Bands like Sekien and Framtid come to mind. But Mauerfall is another Japanese neo-crust group that has mostly operated in the shadows. After 2 EPs, they’ve finally released their first album, III. Weirdly, they also dropped their vocalist for this release. But after tightening up their songwriting skills and playing, you hardly miss it. Yes, this is Japanese instrumental neo-crust, and it’s pretty excellent.