Tag Archive: 2 Bullet


This is just a short update on two bands that Igor really loves.

2 Bullet are now under the Darkest Labyrinth label headed up by Blood’s and GPKISM’s ax man Kiwamu. I lost the official release, but from vague recollection the album should be available towards the end of the year. 2 Bullet are an anti-totalitarianism unit with a hot, tactical industrial sound. Look to the links list to find a connection to the band’s homepage.

BAAL, possibly the most intense hard-hitting industrial band in the scene today, are also heading towards recording new songs. This is an eagerly anticipated follow-up to the band’s Religion 616 release back in 2007. The band had already shown itself to be a rapidly maturing high-caliber unit with Religion 616 and the new release should be awesome. It is still early days yet and how or where it will be released is under wraps, but Igor and the rest of the BAAL groupies are really looking forward to the next chapter.

[Goth/Industrial Live] Featuring cyber-goths Psydoll, tactical industrialists 2Bullet and wickedly cool Sawdust in Me this promises to be one helluva night. They will be joined by Gregor Samsa and Re:Del. The event starts early so you should expect an extended night of La Machinerie (yeah, I’m a Psycho Bitch fan!).

Incidentally, if you have not done so already, 2Bullet has released its new EP, Anarchism, for free download online, just Go here to hear their latest material – it rocks.

Machinery Heaven Vol.2
When: February 9 (Saturday)
Where: Urga Shinjuku
Address: Address: B1, 2-42-16, Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo :: 東京都新宿区歌舞伎町2-42-16 B1F :: Google Map
Tel: 03-5287-3390
Live: Psydoll, 2Bullet, Sawdust in Me, Gregor Samsa and Re:Del
Open: 16:00 :: Start: 17:00
Price: 2,000 yen adv. :: 2,500 yen @ door

2BulletLocation: Tokyo, Japan – Genre: Industrial, Electro, Techno

Combining a unique mix of thumping electronicka with thrashing guitar-led industrial rock makes 2Bullet’s a very addictive and enjoyable record even three years after its initial release. 2Bullet began in 2003 in Tokyo. The term 2Bullet refers to power balance or pointing a gun at each other, a metaphor of MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction). The album, Democratic Violence was released in August 2004. They have uploaded a new EP that is free to download here, but for today I am focusing on their 2004 album Democratic Violence.

The lyrics of most of the songs carry a strong political message against totalitarianism and empire that makes it as relevant today as when it was initially released. Considering the U.S. government’s strategy to subjugate Afghanistan and Iraq (and possibly Iran) through military action, the current monitoring of civil society, rendition programs and the like, this thumping industrial album should connect well with anyone who is against senseless war.

The first track, Democracy starts with an ominous back beat that explodes into a wave of industrial rock. Underneath the powerful electronicka the vocals may have been focused on the rise and fall of South American Junta’s in the 1970’s & 80’s, but has gained even deeper meaning with the controversial U.S.’s engagement of the Middle East:

Is this democracy?
Is this hypocrisy?
Is this your justice?
Is this your business?

Likewise it refers to violent endings of some of the junta’s in the past, but connected with the downfall and ultimate hanging of Saddam in Iraq.

Your time has come
You lost your power
You’re dying lie
Hanging by your tie
Your life has failed
Your rule is dead
Yours is not democracy

This is not to say that the song supports this kind of action – the band is against all forms of totalitarianism and authoritarian control.

The other tracks are carried through with speeding electronicka and heavy guitars from DeeLee (who also does the ax-work for Agent Murder). The only exceptions would be Liquid Seed which is more like an acid trip and the tragic Lost, which focuses on the internal permanent damage of a soldier and the guitar-heavy Tell Me Something, which expresses the pain of killing in war. One of my favorite tracks is Shockwave with its powerful guitars backed by keyboards and percussion with the anthem-esque chorus:

Follow the army, this is reality
Heads up! Wake up! Just become a shockwave!
Follow the government, this is the violence
Heads up! Wake up! Just become a shockwave!

My call on this CD is that it is a MUST HAVE for those interested in Japanese underground music. Whereas many Japanese groups (famous or not) tend to have limited appeal (relying on the “Japanese” tag for selling themselves, 2Bullet’s Democratic Violence stands on its own as part of the international Goth-industrial scene with a sound that is really tuned for an international audience. For 1,500 yen for nearly 50 minutes of quality sound you cannot go wrong!2Bullet Democratic Violence

Democratic Violence :: track list

1. Democracy (5:41) ** +
2. Pray For Me (5:28)
3. Drain People’s Blood (5:38) * +
4. Survivor (5:06) +
5. Liquid Seed (3:44)
6. Tell Me Something (4:23) **
7. Shockwave (3:31)
8. Lost (5:31)
9. Tell Me Something -remix- (4:45)
10. Survivor -remix- (5:24)
Total time (49:01)
* Available on MySpace
** Downoadable remix available on MySpace
+ One-minute samples on 2Bullet’s site

Available on:

Wreckords
iTunes

Finally a few videos for you to check out!

2 Bullet slideshow (Music: Worthless Future)

[youtube 3SSpyO-iwC8]

Humankind (Live)

[youtube 62HQU3zyxrU]

MORE VIDEOS

 

2Bullet[FREE DOWNLOADS!] Totally cool! Tactical industrial with a strong sense of irony – wearing military regalia, with an anti-totalitarianism stance. Their fast, hard-hitting industrial sound packs quite a punch and keeps hitting throughout the trax. But THE BIG NEWS is that the SONGS ARE FREE and you can DOWNLOAD and you can SHARE them. The guys reserve some rights of course (like no re-sale), but the general idea is to get this sound out to as many people as possible. So tell your online and real-life friends about 2Bullet and their downloads!! Get your DJ friends to take a gander. Tell the world! Four full songs are up along with another coming later in the year.

Click here and start downloading!

http://2bullet.net/xoops/modules/contents0/index.php?id=8
The band will also be doing a new live gig on the 25th of November.


Germany was assaulted by Japanese Goth earlier this month when six bands (plus Igor and his ferret, Truffle), got inside the country’s third largest Goth magazine. Pictures, interviews and song samples all made their way into Astan Magazine. One band had already forged ahead with the magazine – Aural Vampire. The other five and Igor (and yes, Truffle too) worked with the magazine to give it exactly what it wanted… a taste Japan’s true underground! 2 Bullet, Baal, Despair, Satanyanko, Sins of the Flesh all feature heavily in the magazine and represent a major step forward in taking Japanese Goth to the world!

Too often overseas magazines rely upon the easier-to-access Gothic Lolita fashions and Visual Kei music scene to characterize Japan’s underground. I know there are a lot of people who like the VK sounds and there are some pretty cool VK acts. However, what about the GOTHS?! While other magazines are still satisfied by following the Mana-quins, this magazine took a big roll of the dice to give international coverage to a scene little known and rarely talked about in the media (well except here).

The result? Pages and pages dedicated to some of the hottest bands lurking in the dark corners of Tokyo and Osaka. Words from the artists. Pictures of the artists. A PICTURE OF TRUFFLE! Plus gob-loads of true Japanese underground mixed into the magazine’s CD. This is truly a HOLY SHIT! moment. These awesome bands are OUT THERE!!

To the people who supported this – Thank you.

A special thank you to Blood’s Kiwamu who answered a lot of questions I had.

* Special bonus *
Somewhere between zero and three of these bands will be hitting Germany in October.

Igor’s SkunkWerx#1 :: October 2005 ~ March 2006 :: 100% complete… NEXT!

The operative word for Agent Murder’s Adultery, was FUN! It showed a lighter side to Awi, whom I had previously seen at pure Goth events, like Tokyo Dark Castle (see TDC12 Report) and another much darker show earlier this year. It was a night for appreciators of good, live performances to get together and enjoy.

Urga Space
Firstly, let me just say that the Club Urga has a nice, well-laid out space. The club is relatively easy to find and one simply descends the stairs to the club. The bar and obligatory sales tables are nicely tucked into the entrance alcove allowing a comfortable capacity in the main area of 80-90 people. The amps’ sound quality seems to be much better than some places I’ve been to. Yep, definitely a nice space.

People
The space was filled to a pleasant 75-85 people. Most were female and they certainly were into the live experience. They were here to see their bands of choice and also listen to the other acts during the night. The bands seemed to enjoy an even pull of fans so you could always see 20-30 people right in front of the stage getting into the music of the moment.

Mamono
I must admit that I didn’t catch much of Mamono’s set, but they seemed to be getting it on with the crowd. The first thing I noticed was this freaking inflatable shark being thrust into the audience. It was two meters long and the band was having a loverly shark play with the audience as it bounced back and forth during the closing stages of their set. From the two minutes that I heard them, I could sense a nice J-Rock sound and was impressed to see they had a full band, including a real drummer! I had some positive vibes about these guys and am sorry I did not haul ass to the event sooner – sorry guys!

2 Bullet
Oh YES! This band is HOT! 2 Bullet churned out military-industrial sounds that just kicked! Agent Murder’s ax-man, Dee Lee, also does the ax-work for this outfit, and what fine work he does too! A funky mix of keyboards and hard guitar, along with impressive vocals with some cutting lyrics to boot. I think they won a lot of fans that night, including Igor. Was Igor excited? Yes, very damned excited! I picked up their CD soon after their set, which is great value – featuring 50 minutes for just 1,500 yen. I fully recommend catching them on September 19, when they’ll be playing with Aural Vampire @ Live Inn Rosa (I’ll post that later).

最鋭輁E(Motoki?)
Well, I didn’t go up to the front for this, but Motoki (or Maki?) had his fans eating out of his hands. It seems he has quite a reputation for his shows. It was a playful set as one man (in a three-piece white suit) and his guitar entertained and interacted with the audience. It was quite amazing hearing the calls of “Maki! Maki!” throughout the second half of the set! Not Goth, dark or industrial, but entertaining and a polished performance.

Agent Murder
Ah, Awi and the boys were having fun tonight. I’ve always enjoyed Agent Murder’s sets and this was no exception. The amps @ Urga brought out the vocals (grocks and screams) really well tonight very crisp sounds indeed. The performance was tempered a bit to appeal to the varied audience base, but that didn’t reduce the entertainment value for dark followers like Igor. A very solid performance plus some really neat spot-work ensured everyone had a good time and enjoyed their introduction to Awi’s style of Goth.

Taiheiyou Belt
A nice pop-visual performance. While the recorded music played in the background, the performers got into their vocals up front. They had jaunty sailor costumes and were unabashedly enjoying their time on stage. Igor was slooking around the back during this set, but it was plain to see that this trio could warm the audience’s cockles for a nice night out.

Special Session
Oh, it was special, very special, but in a way that you wouldn’t expect. I could tell you (hell, I got pictures!), but the dark-walkers will chase after me with rivet guns if I ever revealed the truth…

Final Comment
It wasn’t the kind of event I was expecting, but it was a very enjoyable night and had a lot going for it. Essentially, it was about bringing together a range of good acts and their fans together so we could all get a taste of some different sounds. Like Genet’s Jail League series, it was taking the live Goth scene to a broader audience. Genet’s metal nights bring in more guys. Awi’s mix brings in more girls. In both cases the quality of the acts were good so anyone, regardless of the band(s) they came to see, would enjoy the entire night and might find a new sound they want to follow deeper. From the dark-walker perspective, this is the kind of show that helps introduce people to bands in the Goth scene and hopefully pull them into the dark scene proper.

Remember kids, MORE GOTHS = MORE GOTH EVENTS = MORE FUN!!

Igor enjoyed the night and the acts. While not all the acts were my cup of tea, I’ll definitely continue to follow Agent Murder and have become an instant follower of 2 Bullet. I also want to see Mamono again to catch their full set and find out what the deal is with that freaking blow-up shark!