Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!

Megadeth's first album. Definitely my favorite! It keeps to amaze me the fact that their first album is so good, usually first albums are not necessarily bad, but not the best either. It amazes me even more the fact that they managed to record such a great album even after they spent half of their already limited budget in drugs/alcohol, I wonder what it would've been like if they didn't... but I guess we can see some of that on the remastered version, which I recommend over the "original" if you're looking for sound quality. This album enters my top 3 Megadeth albums right next to Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia

ALBUM REVIEW - V.A. BLACK SWAN 3 -In the Case of BES from SWANKY SWIPE-

You've probably never heard of BES, unless you've heard him featured on a track or happen to know who SWANKY SWIPE is OR have the 2008 Ultimate MC Battle DVD, otherwise you could have very well missed out on one of the best young MC's in the game today. Now that you have an idea (albeit small) of who BES is, I'd like to introduce you to the label that has made this album come to be. BLACK SWAN INC is an independent record label based out of Tokyo, which was created for the sole purpose of exposing those who people tend to ignore, the "BLACK SWAN's" of the music basically. Since May BLACK SWAN INC have been releasing monthly albums in the form of BLACK SWAN 1/2/3, which typically deal with multipe artists, which makes sense, seeing as their slogan is Music for Multiple Fanatics. BLACK SWAN 3 features just one artist though, with multiple track makers with all lyrics by BES from SWANKY SWIPE.

Magenta Beach

Some bands make it, some bands don't. Some bands have great music, and terrible PR. Other bands just don't give a f*** and make music for the love of it. Magenta Beach is one of those bands...

Magenta Beach has 5 members:

Ali (Vo,)

Candy (Bass, Vo.)

Kosuke (Guitar)

Maro (Drums)

Chemizalfa (DJ)

I can't accurately recall the first time I met these guys. I want to believe it was in 2008, at a show at Club Asia in Shibuya. At the time, I had no idea their music would find its way to my iPod, but flash forward to 2012 and I can't help but smile every time I hear one of their songs come up on shuffle.

Hakai Hayabusa ( ハカイハヤブサ )

While waiting in the clubs for the headliners to play, I've often discovered new bands I would have otherwise never known existed.  I've been introduced to some really great bands, and really great people via this method. One such notable group I've met via a random encounter is the band Hakai Hayabusa (ハカイハヤブサ).

Pictured: KZ (Gu./Vo.)

Hakai Hayabusa was formed in 2002 and was originally a three piece band. Hakai Hayabusa currently consists of four members:

KZ (Guitar, Vocals)

Nori (Drums)

Moby (Bass, Chorus)

WACK (Guitar, Chorus)

I've rocked out with Hakai Hayabusa live a few times. I remember first seeing them (meeting them, and partying with them) on August 8, 2008 at a show in Tokyo. I was at the show to support my friends in the band Chokesleeper, but before they were due up to the stage that evening, this super chill, surf-punk band ruled the stage (Hakai Hayabusa).

Song of the Day - CRAZY-T X SPENCE - チンコ ft. 鎮座DOPENESS PV

East meets West to make for a great song/pv.

ALBUM REVIEW - KOWICHI (enmaku) - The Chips

A few days ago I bought KOWICHI (enmaku)'s latest album The Chips off of iTunes. With a glance you can find a lot of Hip Hop from Japan on there. KOWICHI is a member of the group enmaku with fellow rapper d.u.g. from Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan and The Chips is his first solo release. I decided to get this after watching some trailers of the music videos that are to come from the album, which feature some of the best producers around. The trailers can be viewed via Street Official's YouTube channel. Okay, without further ado, lets dig into The Chips!

Song of the Day - KULO - MAGMA PV

Props to EillyHustleHard for ANOTHER great video!

ALBUM REVIEW - 迷子 & TOMOZ - Yellowish Green Radio EP

After religiously following 2Dcolvics music blog I discovered this album and the artwork caught my eye, very urban in feel. Now on to the artists. 迷子 (Maigo) & TOMOZ. 迷子 is an emcee from Saitama, Japan who started rapping around 2001 and was part of an group called KUROCODAiLL and is currently signed to G.M.P. (Get More Props) Records. TOMOZ is a Hip Hop/R&B producer, DJ and CEO of bull star Records, also a part of G.M.P. 

We are not dead.

I've been dealing with sickness (colds/headaches) and power outages lately *not fun*, but it is no excuse honestly. The other contributors here are busy with things like work and finding a job, etc. I've been holding off and waiting for things to arrive in the mail, I've spent a lot of money this month on CDS but when they're the best of quality of Hip Hop from Japan, it's worth it. I've been gone, but as anyone who reads this knows, I always come back with one hell of a surprise. This will be the same.

Song Of The Day: Braveheart - Pipes & Pints

Reaching to my Celtic roots with bagpipes and my rock n roll soul with roaring guitars and thunderous beats, Pipes & Pints is one of my new favorite bands. Hailing from the Czech Republic with ties to California via vocalist Mike House, the way they describe their sound (via their Facebook) is "Melodical punkrock music mixed with sound of highland bagpipes, influenced by infinite portion of punk, rock, folk, bagpipe music, country and rock'n'roll."

This track is off their 2009 debut album, Until We Die. They are currently touring Europe as well as working toward putting together their lastest album. 

Pipes & Pints Official Facebook

Song Of The Day - Gone Til November - Wyclef Jean

This, the third single off Wyclef's (the Fugees) solo album The Carnival, features the New York Philharmonic orchestra in the orchestral accompaniment which was arranged and conducted by Sonny Kompanek as well as a cameo by Bob Dylan when he sings the verse "I'm knockin on heaven's door like I'm Bob Dylan." 

Song of the Day - Golden Age - Def Tech

And today's song is... Golden Age by Def Tech. I've got a special love for Def Tech - somehow, their music just fills me up with a happy floaty feeling. Which, by the way, is a feeling you don't often encounter if your hobby is writing depressing lyrics about death, destruction and annihilation... oh, right, getting way off topic here. In any case, this is a great song, and somewhat recent at that.

Song of the Day - HellHounds - Dante

What do you know, I'm back folks. Following a flood of biblical proportions in the studio, of course. In any case, I'd like to bring you guys a little something that floated up in my Youtube suggestions today: Hellhounds, by Dante. 

Song Of The Day - Election Day - Arcadia

The band Arcadia was formed in 1985 by Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon, drummer Roger Taylor, and keyboardist Nick Rhodes while the other two members - bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor - formed their side project The Power Station with vocalist Robert Palmer. Their album, So Red the Rose, peaked the U.S. charts at #23, while the single "Election Day" peaked at #6. Other contributors to the album include Herbie Hancock, David Gilmore (Pink Floyd), Sting (The Police), and Grace Jones, who is heard in the speaking portions of this track.

Song of the Day - A-THUG & DJ SPACE KID - Block Hustlers feat. HEAVY SMOKER, BLACK & TOP

I've never seen a PV for a song off a mixtape so this was really unique and EillyHustleHard can make some amazing videos. The video features fellow rappers HEAVY SMOKER, BLACK and TOP, I believe all are from the same hood. The video also features two beautiful young ladies named Yoshiko and Nozomi Ills. Not to leave him out this was produced by JoE IRoN

A-THUG has a new mixtape mixed by DJ SPACE KID that comes out tomorrow called HEAT CITY.

You can pick it up at HMV and Jetset Records (Have to wait until it's available they don't do overseas preorders) if you live overseas.

A-THUG - Twitter

DJ SPACE KID - Twitter

HEAVY SMOKER - Twitter

Dancer Yoshiko - Twitter

EillyHustleHard - Twitter

JoE IRoN - Twitter

Song Of The Day - In This River - Black Label Society

Zakk Wylde (Ozzy, Black Label Society) composed this song for the album Mafia, yet made it a tribute to his friend "Dimebag" Darrell Abbot (Pantera, Damageplan) after his shooting death on a concert stage in 2004. 

In light of the events in Colorado, it seems to hold the feeling, the color of the mood of the country at this time.

Enjoy....

Song of the Day - Norra el Norra - Orphaned Land

We have previously featured Orphaned Land on this site, and the fact is, we love their music. So, today, we are featuring another of their songs as song of the day. This time, it is Norra el Norra, from the album Mabool.

Yuki, Versailles drummer, confirms hiatus

From his  official blog:

Notification of hiatus from Versailles

Dear our loyal fans and supporters in the world,

Versailles is going to take a hiatus at the end of 2012. In the 5th
anniversary year for us, we have kept seeking for our new musical
direction to enter a higher stage of Versailles. During that process
of discovering a new musical direction, we felt strong need and desire
to step outside of the band to inspire each of us to be a better
musician. This hiatus is for focusing on each member’s own
musicability that we will definitely bring all our new inputs to
Versailles when we are ready to be back together.

Japanese VK Band Versailles Announces Suspension Of Activities

After only five years of performing, the band released this statement, as well as Kamijo posting it on his Twitter: 

Song Of The Day - Stratovarius - Land Of Ice & Snow

Stratovarius formed in Finland in 1982 and since then has been one of the powerhouses of symphonic metal. 2011 saws their album Elysium reach #1 on the Finnish charts, after which they placed a call on their Facebook page looking for a new drummer. It was Rolf Pilve that answered the call and made the cut, making him the youngest member of the band at only 24.