Third Wave Japanese Screamo: 2006 - 2012
Japanese Screamo Disc Guide Part 3
Overview
Like the previous wave, the Third Wave built off the sounds and activities of the wave before it. Although direct interaction was minimal, the continuing rise of Envy’s international popularity (they would first tour the USA in 2005) definitely raised the accessibility and visibility of Third Wave Screamo bands in Japan. Many Third Wave bands would capitalize on this, taking on an air of professionalism (sometimes approaching elitism) the scene hadn’t really seen before.
Killie and Heaven In Her Arms were at the forefront of the Third Wave. Both had a strong international focus, facilitating releases from France’s Salvation Records, Switzerland’s Ape Must Not Kill Ape Records and England’s Dog Knights Productions. They also took over from Envy as Japan tour hosts for some of the world’s biggest screamo acts, such as Ampere, Funeral Diner, La Quiete, Daitro, Kaospilot, and City Of Caterpillar.
Although both groups were Tokyo-based, as was typical from the cutting edge of music in Japan, the Third Wave saw another defining presence that would shape much of the Screamo scene developing outside of Tokyo, Ehime Prefecture’s Impulse Records. Founded in 2003 by Akihito Ikawa (drummer of Forget Me Not), the label has consistently released albums, splits, and compilations featuring some of Japan’s best underground bands, mostly from outside the Tokyo region. Almost half of the Third Wave Notable Releases come from Impulse Records’ catalog.
Impulse Records also released entries in several series that featured some of the best Screamo groups from the Third Wave. The Breaking Concept series featured 5 Screamo artists per volume, two tracks each, and had five volumes released. The compilation series Here Comes The Bottom Line… was also notable, receiving three volumes in total. These followed the typical compilation format, where around 10 bands would provide one track each. Stylistically, these compilations were more of a grab bag, with a few bands from the Screamo scene thrown into each. Finally, while short-lived, the Doors series, which only reached two volumes, featured four examples each of the best un-diluted Japanese Screamo and emo bands active at that time.
The Third Wave also introduced another new trend: large festivals. While these were usually a blend of bands from different genres, Impulse Records would organize festivals primarily featuring Screamo groups from around the country. These festivals combined the style of more mainstream summer music festivals with the community focus and genres from year-end shows that bands like Gauge Means Nothing hosted during the Second Wave.
As for the musical styles prevalent during the Third Wave, there were significant evolutions of some of the most recognizable sounds that came from the first and second waves.
Killie, Heaven in Her Arms, and Henoa further developed the classic Japanese Screamo sound, ala Envy, but took it to a darker place, with shorter songs (mainly) and even more intensity.
For the more punk-influenced Screamo style that Sawpit and 1000 Travels of Jawarhalal created, quite a few bands, such as Infro, Mother, and Eye, would adopt and expand on this sound. Infro especially would turn out to be incredibly prolific (even to this day), based out of the same region as 1000 Travels of Jawaharlal (the southern Japanese island of Kyushu).
Finally, bands like Mynameis… and Allie introduced intricate songwriting and melodic singing to the Japanese Screamo sound that brought a totally different vibe to the genre. The passion, intensity, and frenzied instrumentation were still there, but Japanese folk-influenced melodies infused a sense of nostalgia into their songs.
Towards the end of the Third Wave (around 2012), although the more prominent groups such as Killie and Heaven in Her Arms would continue, the largest cohort of groups would cease activity. Impulse Records, the strongest sponsor of this wave, would also dial back their release schedule, as the label founder opened a physical record store and live house (Too Nice Records).
Third Wave Bands
4hou8pou
Akatsukibakudann
Akutagawa
ALLie
Anote
Arbusto
Birth
Blue Ray Dance
Bullet And Travolta
Chakkamen
CiaoFinal
Color Of Distortion
Crying For The Moon
Develop One’s Potential
Discotortion
Document Not Found
Doopamin
Encounter Group
Ephll
Eureka
Eye
Flex
For Us To Get The Light
Fouryearstoolate
Ganesha
Gendo Death
Heaven In Her Arms
Hemp Coaching Juicer
Henoa
Here, There And Everywhere
Hitsujikazoeru
Holden
I Stay Here
In The Unknown
Infro
inthenaMEoflove
Irrigation
Killie
Kitten
life is not comingback
Madpress
Mizm
Mother
Myheadswims
Mynameis…
Nagare
Necome
Nothing, Nothing, Nothing!
Nudies Goe
P.S. Burn This Letter
Permanent
R3-N7
Redeyesandlights
Regret Grief
Rerain
S-Explode
Sewi
Sharppeii
Shift
Smell
Spiral Chord
Sui
Superme
Suspect Galore
Sweef
Tenho
Test Mustard Disco
TG.Atlas
The Cops Are Inside Us
The Rainrains
The Sunsetboulevard
Theorem
This Time We Will Not Promise And Forgive
Thread Yarn
To Overflow Evidence
Tomato Steal
Tone
Union Of Snakes
Unripe
Was
Z
カナデ (tr. Kanade)
ハイテンションセックスガール (tr. High Tension Sex Girl)
冴返る (tr. Saekaeru)
反好旗 (tr. Hankouki)
Notable Releases
Killie - 地下から抜け出したい地下から抜け出したくない地下から抜け出せない CD [2006-06-30]
Killie formed from the ashes of several Second Wave bands. For that reason, they seem nearly fully mature on their debut EP. From the music to the lyrics to the recording to the packaging, everything about this release follows a consistent and complete vision. Musically, Killie takes elements of emo-violence, Envy, and aggression to create a new style that lives up to their name (‘kirai,’ which is phonetically the same as Killie, means hate in Japanese. Their name also can be read as “kill lie,” for a nice dual meaning).
Looking at Killie only through their music does a disservice to their total activity. They were fiercely independent, reminiscent of Envy’s career. Killie didn’t merely follow what their seniors did but tore up the script and started anew. While both Killie and Envy would play many shows together in later years (Killie’s bassist, yOshi, would even join Envy on guitar in 2019), Killie spent their most active early years focusing on hosting shows and bringing foreign bands to Japan, bolstering the Third Wave scene.
Mynameis… - 東京プラスチック CD [2006-10-08]
Somehow intense and passionate and uplifting all at the same time, Mynameis… aren’t the most prolific, but they are singular. They merge elaborate songwriting with classic Japanese Screamo. One of the real innovations here is the inclusion of melodic singing, usually at the top of the lungs, with a different style than those of groups like 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal. What strikes me about the album is the confidence of vision that every song has. It’s approachable but deep, hectic but beautiful. It doesn’t surprise me that not many bands could follow the example that Mynameis… laid out.
Birth - Iro EP CD [2007-08-17]
This seven-track EP covers enough ground to be an album. It takes inspiration from bands like 3cm Tour, but lets the songs reach more aggressive conclusions. Birth would expand on this sound over the next decade, adding even more dimensions while maintaining the same three-piece lineup. Notably, Birth was also one of the first Screamo groups in Gifu Prefecture and created a lively scene there, hosting many out-of-town bands and live shows.
Heaven In Her Arms - 黒斑の侵蝕 CD/LP [2007-10-05]
After a rocky start as the band experimented with different styles over several demos, Heaven In Her Arms debut album would truly break new ground in the Japanese Screamo oeuvre. Black metal and hardcore sensibilities are mixed with epic Japanese Screamo (ala Envy) to a delicious degree. The melodic sense is also quite dark, compared to the typical passionate approach, which also comes from a metal influence.
Notably, for its initial release, this album would be released on vinyl by Switzerland’s Ape Must Not Kill Ape Records, a well-known Screamo label. This was another step towards the international recognition of the Japanese Screamo scene. Heaven In Her Arms would follow this album release with several European tours over the years.
Infro - Melody CD [2007-11-07]
While some of the earliest examples of the Japanese Screamo punk subgenre relied on relatively simplistic melodies, Infro would add complicated song structures and dynamic instrumentation to the sound. In this debut album, their songs tells stories with the music, as each instrument takes independent paths through complex melodies. Infro demonstrates a dueling-guitar style approach to instrumentation, where the bass and drums holds down the main song structure, along with the vocals, but the two guitars would do almost anything to avoid playing in the same space. This effect makes for an especially elevated headphone experience. An early release from Ehime’s Impulse Records, this album would embody the type of boundary-stretching Screamo that the label would come to be known for.
The Cops Are Inside Us - Square Room CD [2009-05-22]
Aside from representing the small underground scene on the distant island of Okinawa, The Cops Are Inside Us also managed to carve out a unique place of their own in the canon of Japanese Screamo. Never straying too far from many of the techniques of melodic hardcore, they provide enough diversity and epic melodies to blend the two effectively. The intensity of each song doesn’t let up either. At six songs, Square Room is the closest thing to an album that The Cops Are Inside Us would ever release, and it serves as the most complete record of their sound. While the songs aren’t evenly paced or particularly well-balanced, when they hit on a part that works, it really works.
Henoa - Three Loves CD [2009-09-19]
A short burst of over-the-top, emo-violence from a supergroup of the times. Featuring members of Heaven In Her Arms, Enslave, Enforce, Cohol, The Black Line Fever, and Mynameis…, Henoa is the real deal. Unfortunately, this three-song EP is their only official output. Inspired by the contemporary wave of European Screamo and emo-violence, such as Louise Cyphre and La Quiete, Henoa merged those dynamics and rhythms with Japanese melodies. The product is a counterpart to Killie’s approach, and I wonder how much of an impetus they provided. Henoa produced something incredibly different, but even with this single release, I can’t help but imagine what the scene would have been like if Henoa had continued to grow.
ALLie - Avalanche CD [2010-03-12]
Avalanche is ALLie’s first and only album. From Aichi, one of the prefectures in northern Japan, ALLie had a unique sound like other non-Tokyo-based screamo groups of this era. They blended the melodic sensibilities of Mynameis… with even more intensity. The vocals range from passionate singing to frantic singing as the songs move from epic to chaotic. Despite inheriting many of the traits from earlier Japanese Screamo bands, ALLie created a sound all their own that was approachable but original.
Four of the tracks from this album were also released as an EP from the UK’s Dog Knights Productions. Unfortunately, as the band dissolved after the album’s release, there wasn’t a follow-up European tour.
Eye - Disillusion Attacker CD [2010]
Not content with his output in Mynameis…, Miyazima Daichi founded the group Eye to create music more in the vein of 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal. Despite this shift in direction, Miyazima’s songwriting is still remarkably similar in quality with Mynameis…. Despite any similarities, Eye has a distinct sound, heavy in reverb and vocal harmonies, that focuses even more on melody. Some of the tracks on this 6-song EP even dabble in arena rock and garage rock tropes. Dual male and female vocals are liberally applied at the perfect moments, leading to some song transitions and phrases that still give me chills all these years later.
Various - Breaking Concept CD [2011-03-25]
The first entry in a split series from Impulse Records that eventually reached six volumes, Breaking Concept gave label founder Akinori Ikawa the opportunity to highlight some of Japan’s brightest while theming each volume. This first collects five groups that were all Screamo adjacent. Each band contributed two songs. Flex, from Sendai, creates noisy, angular post-hardcore anthems. Nothing, Nothing, Nothing!, from Sapporo, play nostalgic, mid-tempo Screamo. Blue Ray Dance, from Nagoya, offer a dissonant and chaotic Screamo that borders on grindcore at some parts. TG. Atlas, also from Sapporo, attempt to blend art-punk and odd time signatures with dissonant Screamo. And finally, Threadyarn, from Fukuoka, play smart and unexpectedly chaotic post-hardcore that combines clean singing with passionate screams.
The entire run of the Breaking Concept series is truly essential for a holistic view of the Japanese Screamo and Emo scene in the early 2010’s. All the subsequent volumes keep up the quality and diversity that this first one established.
To Overflow Evidence - また空をみるために白紙に描く日々の事 CD [2011-08-03]
After several demos and EPs, this is To Overflow Evidence’s first album. They’ve become one of Japan's most active and long-running screamo bands and kept their sound remarkably consistent throughout their discography. This album is the best manifestation of that sound. Slow to mid-tempo melodic Japanese screamo. The influence of Envy in their melodic viewpoint is clear, although To Overflow Evidence tends to have a more consistent dynamic range, mostly crafting their songs around epic melodies played with screaming over it. When the group attempts to vary their sound, it’s often not as successful as their trademark standard.
Madpress / In The Unknown split CD [2011-08-21]
Two standout screamo groups from Japan’s smallest major island, Shikoku. I personally consider it a tragedy that this is the only significant release for both of these bands. Madpress is a three-piece that plays epic screamo with lots of dynamics. What really sets them apart is the brilliant songwriting and mood they create with their songs. They let the songs evolve naturally before wrenching them back in line. In The Unknown offers two incredibly well-crafted epic screamo tracks. While not as finely composed as Madpress, In The Unknown still offers a strong point of view with their tracks.
ハイテンションセックスガール - ハイテンションセックスガール CD [2011-12-22]
ハイテンションセックスガール (trans. High-Tension Sex Girl, hereafter HTSG) are a three-piece from Osaka with a short discography. Both this and their follow-up, a split with Hemp Coaching Juicer, were released by Impulse Records. These four songs demonstrate the variety and creativity of the group. The guitar riffs, especially, are completely unexpected from a screamo group, being extremely fast and complex. The rest of the band plays with odd timings and busy beats that almost trip over themselves from complexity. This is one of my personal favorites from this wave.
Mother - The Living Dead CD [2012-11-02]
Kyoto’s Mother present their only album here, a true masterpiece and melding of both the punk sound and epic Screamo sound. By taking some of the stylings of 1000 Travels Of Jawaharlal and wrapping it in longer, epic songs, they’ve created a sound with drive and elevation. These 7 tracks also give them a chance to explore the sound, with several tracks blending together to add to the epic feel. Mother would follow this album by releasing another EP and some songs digitally, but unfortunately, they split soon after. Luckily, the members all stayed active and went on to form other similar bands (Nostalgic Four Past And Cigarette End, Suckville, Give Me Back!).
Proofreading and support from Derek Riley.