[Raise Your Fists!!] Introduction to Japanese Emotional Rock Bands
These days, the word “emoi” has come into wide use, and its supposed origin is the music genre emo.
Derived from punk and hardcore, it’s characterized by emotionally charged performances, introspective lyrics, and a musicality where intensity and beauty coexist.
Although the genre originated overseas, many bands in Japan have been influenced by it, and numerous emo bands have thrived domestically.
In this article, we’ll introduce bands that play this kind of emotional rock.
Rather than the general nuance of “emoi,” we’ve prioritized bands with roots in genre terms like hardcore, emo, and screamo.
Of course, we’ll also feature bands that feel “emoi” in a broader sense, so take your time and enjoy.
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Raise Your Fists!! Introducing Japanese Emotional Rock Bands (61–70)
Refrain BoyALL OFF
ALL OFF is a band composed of five men.
With the motto “The band is all about live shows,” they perform at live houses and festivals across Japan.
They made their major-label debut in 2015, and the title track of their third single, “Refrain Boy,” was used as the ending theme for the TV anime Mob Psycho 100.
An ideal that discovers tomorrow through affirmationDAM
Formed in 2006, this three-piece band is based in Osaka, wielding a passionate, emotional sound and a hard-hitting live performance as their weapons.
Even amid their intense sound, songs built around powerful, memorable words and vocals grab listeners’ hearts and won’t let go.
sayLaugh of Dawn
A three-piece co-ed alternative rock band from Kyoto.
Armed with choral harmonies reminiscent of strings and raw, human shouts, their piercingly poised band sound shows influences from emo, post-rock, and shoegaze.
Their songs brim with a sense of anticipation and exhilaration, featuring a sound that is both alternative and pop, strange yet catchy, and performances that are intensely emotional live.
It’s All RightSeptaluck
A band formed in 2012 around fin, the former vocalist of Stack44.
In 2013, they recorded their first album in Minneapolis, USA.
The album was released in 2014 and, despite being their debut, reached No.
9 on the indie charts.
They continued to tour energetically across the country.
In May 2016, at the first show of their album release tour in Chiba, Kazuki, the former guitarist of YOUR LAST DIARY, officially joined the band.
There’s no doubt they’ll only accelerate from here.
Night Flightwasureranneeyo
Wasure-ranneyo is active with the desire to fully affirm people who keep losing while fighting fair and square in love, work, and life.
True to that, the down-to-earth feelings packed into their songs grab listeners’ hearts and won’t let go.
That appeal comes through to the fullest on “Night Flight,” as well.
Farside of the sunNATURE LIVING
Formed in 1998.
Influenced by the sound of artists labeled as emo bands, such as Sweden’s STARMARKET, who were active in the ’90s, they began their musical activities.
Starting around 2005, they also performed live overseas.
In 2015, they released “Let me sleep on it,” their first new track in five years, which garnered attention.
Time bombFar From Perfect
Formed in Tokyo in 2012 around a Canadian vocalist and a guitarist who grew up in Singapore and returned to Japan.
With English lyrics by a native speaker and catchy, polished songs that weave in piano and strings, the band is gaining attention in Japan’s emo pop-rock scene.