JGoth.com :: Japan Goth and Industrial Music

[Alternative Rock Live] Put Kenzo from gadget. together with Ana from Despair and you get Geeks, one hot, sexy alternative rock sound! Combine this with lloy (LLOY), a more accoustic, moody Goth sound with sultry femme vocals, and you got the basis of a really good night. They will be joined by Caucasus, Surge and VAV – new names to me, but I will Google them when time permits. Cheers to Discordija for sharing this one (Check & discuss here!)! Discordija – You rock!

Geeks & LLoy @ Heavens Door
When: Thursday, 29th June
Open: 18:00 :: Start: 18:30
Where: Heaven’s Door (3 mins from Sangenjaya South Exit, Shin-tamagawa Line)
Address: B1 Keio Hallo Bldg. 1-33-19 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku :: Map
Tel: 03-3410-9581
Price: 1,700 yen adv. :: 2,000 yen @ door
Live: geeks, lloy, Caucasus, Surge and VAV

Mina Spookycat, the axeman from Satanyanko now resides with Switch BladerZ, a wild punkabilly and unholy metal outfit with lashings of psycho speed rock – dream stuff for the skeg-heads! The band is doing two things on June 24 – releasing their 1st full album, Looked Down, and having one helluva party to celebrate the event. The band will be joined by Dogg’ie Dogg, Spiderz and The Nectars. This is definitely looking like an event for those who like their music hard, fast and unrepentent!

The CD itself was released on May 30. Featuring 12 tracks the CD sells for 2,400 yen. If you are interested in learning more check out Switch BladerZ or Bluestone Records. As to the live information…

Switch BladerZ CD Release Party – Osaka Big Bang! @ PIPE 69, OSAKA
When: Saturday, 24th June 2006
Open: 18:30
Where: Pipe69, Shinsaibashi, Osaka
Address: 2F. Tsukushi Bldg. 2-11-9 Nishi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0086 :: Map
Tel: 06-6212-6069
Price 1,800 yen adv. :: 2,000 yen @ door
Live: Dogg’ie Dogg, Spiderz and The Nectars

[Goth/Industrial Live & DJ] BIGGEST EVENT IN JAPAN! For a couple of years it seemed knocked off its perch by the Kobe Underground Festival, but since that has gone silent this year (correct me if it has just been delayed), then TDC is IT! You can’t go wrong with TDC. It has the sounds, the fashion and the heart.

Number 21 has its regular servings of hard goth rock from Auto-Mod, harder industrial rock from Destruct System and hard femme-screamed cybernetic industrial rock from Baal. Tonight also features speed-dread metal princes Agent Murder, heavy industrial unit Nicht (these guys may be new to many people, but they are HOT!), and dance-hall Goths Aural Vampire.

Make sure you power up before this one starts because there is no “chill-time” act and you should be screaming all night. Also remember that there is no TDC in August so you if you got any screaming that needs TDC treatment you better make sure you turn up tonight!

Remember your ID!
Even if you are in you are 98 you will not be allowed entry without an ID. This is an overnight event so you need to be 18+ to enter and 20+ to drink.

Tokyo Dark Castle #21
When: Saturday, 1st July
Start: 24:00
Where: Marz Shinjuku (near Shinjuku)
Address: B1F Dai-ichi Tokiwa Bldg., Kabukicho 2-45-1, Shinjuku :: Map
Tel: 03-3202-8248
Price 3,000 yen adv. :: 3,500 yen @ door (plus 500 1D)
Live: Auto-Mod, Destruct System, Baal, Agent Murder, Nicht and Aural Vampire
DJs: Chihiro, Violet and Taizo.
Note: Must be 18+ (ID checks) – 20+ to drink.

[General Live] The second gig for dark cybernetic outfit, Psydoll, is a mid-week affair at Turning near Nishi-Ogikubo station. Psydoll will be appearing with FLTP, Stupid Swat and The Old Speaker. Psydoll is a sexy cyber-Goth outfit, but I do not know anything about the other bands. Worth checking out for Psydoll alone. If you are looking for something to check out on Wednesday, then this is for you!

Psydoll @ Turning
When: Wednesday, 28th June 2006
Open: 18:30 :: Start: 19:00
Where: Turning (near Nishi-Ogikubo station, JR Chuo line)
Address: B1 3-16-6 Nishi-Ogikubo, Suginuma-ku TOKYO :: Map
Tel: 03-3396-0730
Price 1,600 yen adv. :: 1,800 yen @ door
Live: Psydoll, FLTP, Stupid Swat, The Old Speaker and Harmonia (Osaka).

[Retro - 80's New Wave & Goth Rock] Well, the Mech Batcave is back and I should have taken Jude’s offer to write about this because with only a week to go there is very little information online. But you got the darker side of the 80s, Goth rock, New Wave, Neo-Punk, EBM, etcetera, and you got it all in the hands of the lord of the Black Veil, Midnight Necropolis and Vampire Cafe, Territory D’s Taiki. Do you need any more information? Hell no, just go.

Taiki’s back fresh from the U.S. where he partook in The Beast Ball on Satan’s day (6/6/06) by spinning the discs and performing a Japanese Black Mass for them New Yorkers. Lucky bastards… I wound up watching Sam Neil fuck up the dark lord’s plans in Omen 3…

Anyway, Taiki would be the pre-eminent force in Kansai Goth shows, and Mechanical Batcave is most definitely playing the sounds that the Goths like to hear. The Territory-D events also get right into the spirit so expect to see some of the coolest fashions in the scene.

Mechanical Batcave Vol.2 @ PIPE 69, OSAKA
When: Friday, 23rd June 2006
Open: 22:00
Where: Pipe69, Shinsaibashi, Osaka
Address: 2F. Tsukushi Bldg. 2-11-9 Nishi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0086 :: Flyer & Map
Tel: 06-6212-6069
Price 2,000 yen adv. 2,500 yen @ door
DJs: Non, Taiki (aka D-Grimore
Style: Gothic, Goth rock, 80′s, New Wave, EBM, Industrial, Neo-punk, etc.

[Goth - Fetish - Industrial - DJ & Live] Midnight Mess is one of the main regular Goth events in Tokyo taking place on the fourth Saturday of every month. The May show sees the Control Freak getting his drums’n'base noise scape out with visuals from Komuro (Visual Works Fraw), and Ruin Close Reptile.

Mess’ general sound-scape is Gothic, fetish, dark, experimental and industrial. As always with overnight events, entry is 18+ and drinking is 20+ (remember your ID).

Midnight Mess @ Marz Shinjuku
When: Saturday, 24th June 2006
Open: 24:00
Where Marz Shinjuku (near Shinjuku)
Address: B1F Dai-ichi Tokiwa Bldg., Kabukicho 2-45-1, Shinjuku :: Map
Phone: 03-3202-8248
Price: 2,500 yen adv. :: 3,000yen @ door (1 drink included – woohoo!)
Live: Ruin Close Reptile, Control Freak with VJ Komuro (Visual Works Fraw).
Show: TBA
DJs: TE2, Statik, Maya (Midnight Mess)
VJ: sa-kyo (from Calling)

[Son of Satan] Damien! It’s all for you! According to some, the number of the beast is not 666, but 616, which is a great excuse for Trick or Treat’s Omen party. It is an all-night event with some live acts, including the macabre mixing of classical music and dark tales from Vexation. The other performances are 電氣猫フレーメン (Denki Neko Flemen…) doing two sets and a magic show from Karikuri Doll. Dress code is black and mourning themes.

Trick or Treat is a Goth-styled restaurant located in the Roppongi area. I haven’t been there, but it looks like a nice little pub-club place. Details are sketchy so check info with Trick or Treat.

Omen 616 Nite @ Trick or Treat
When: Friday, 18th June, 2006
Open: 20:00 :: Start: 22:00
Where: Trick or Treat
Address: 2F Toda Bldg. 7-16-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 :: Map
Phone: 03-3403-5115
Price: 3,000 yen (female), 3,500 yen (male), 4,000 yen (out of dress code)
Live: Vexation, 電氣猫フレーメン (Denki Neko Flemen?)
Magic Show: Karikuri Doll

[Kei-Goth-Industrial LIVE!] Re-released news! The event of the month in my mildly self-centered, arrogant opinion. Why? Because Blood have put together a line-up that screams through from dark synth-pop to hell-bitch industrial with lots of dark rocky stuff in between (check January’s Revenge of the Blood report). The event brings together quality bands from the visual, independent and Goth scenes. The three big bands are Blood (its their show) with their independent JGoth rock sounds, Calmando Qual with in-your-face hard rock and… wait for it…. DESPAIR with the kind of industrial that rips your head off and makes you cry at the same time! They will be joined by the popular Tim Burtonesque synth-pop outfit, The Candy Spooky Theater, plus three other acts: Jeniva, Metis Gretel, and Medue’obscur (this one is a nice horror-rock act).

On top of this, there will also be Gothic Lolita Bible covering the event and there will be more goodies in store for attendees… details shall be added when available.

Cutting all the screaming aside, I can honestly say this is a healthy direction for bands on both sides of the visual kei-Goth divide to explore. There are some really good acts on both sides, but seeing bands stuck in one scene because that was the scene they began in just doesn’t make sense. This is gearing up to be the ice-breaker between scenes and should be a wild night. Full props to Blood for arranging this special program and bands like Despair for taking up the challenge!

Enough! Here’s the details

Vengeance for Blood Extra 3 @ Ikebukuro Cyber
When: Saturday, 17 June
Open: 15:30 :: Start: 16:30
Where: Ikebukuro Cyber (nr. Ikebukuro station East exit)
Address: Ikebukuro Cyber (nr. Ikebukuro station East exit)
B1F Sato Bldg., 1-43-14, Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-0013 :: Map
Tel: 03-3985-5844
Price 3,000 yen adv. :: 3,500 yen @ door
Live: Blood (MySpace), Despair (MySpace), Calmando Qual (MySpace), The Candy Spooky Theater, Jeniva, Metis Gretel, and Medue’obscur.
DJ: Chihiro (TDC/Golgotha)
Display: pureblackGothicLabo, unVolLkomMen

Two events in Nagoya in one weekend!? Wow! Torture Technique is organized by Stigmatic. DoomSpider, the man behind Stigmatic, also fronts the loudest Goth-metal band I have heard in Japan, Demonoid 13. The night will also include Smells, Comfortable Numb and Dead by Dawn along with DJ’s Xendat and Deathperado. Bring ear plugs and have yourself one helluva time!

Torture Technique Vol. 5 by Stigmatic
When: Sunday, 18th June
Open: 18:00 :: Start: 18:30
Where:Day Trip, Tsurumai, Nagoya (nr Tsurumai station)
Address: B1, 5-11-33 Chiyoda, Naka-ku, Nagoya :: Map
Phone: 052-241-5019
Price: 2,000 yen adv. :: 2,300 yen @ door
Live: Demonoid 13, Smells, Comfortable Numb and Dead by Dawn.
DJ: Xendat, and Deathperado (Pagan’s Circle).

The first of two June gigs for dark cybernetic outfit, Psydoll. Psydoll is the product of the latest advances in robotics, and play some sweet scrapped-electro sounds… Some UK-based folks may remember these cyber-Goths from their UK tour in 2005. Visually gorgeous, sonically enjoyable. Concerts for Opera with Manga, sounds interesting, but I am not quite sure what kind of event it will be (we love mysteries here). It takes place at Aoi Heya before Walpurgis – which makes a convenient double night for enthusiastic dark walkers with energy to spare. Check Psydoll’s site for more.

Concerts for Opera with Manga @ Aoi Heya
When: Saturday, 17th June 2006
Open: 18:30 :: Start: 19:00
Where: Aoi Heya (7 min. walk from Shibuya station)
Address: B1F, Yachiyo Bldg., 2-12-13 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo :: Map
Tel: 03-3407-3564
Price: 3,000 yen (drink extra)
Live: Takako Hoshino (Opera), Psydoll, Emi Eleonola and another famous guest…
Info: Psydoll’s site