I can't wait to hear your thoughts - I've listed all the questions posed in this video in the description box! I look forward to your sincere analysis. Here is the link to the original video: Japanese All-Female Metal and Rock Bands - the Fandom Explained: ruclips.net/video/3mflDbiH-vA/видео.html Thanks for being here! Please take a moment to like and subscribe if you haven't, and let me know what you'd like me to analyze next!
I am a 69-year-old male. I loved all the great rock male bands of the past. The reason I like these lady bands is because of their musicianship! They can compete with the great Rock Bands of the past. They are unbelievably talented, as good as the British Invasion band and others. To me at my age is their level of talent, they are unbelievable! These girls all look very young, and I don't consider myself a creep! As for their sexual appeal, well they are girls, some very pretty girls playing great rock music! They are mostly underdressed like an artist from other countries who use their flesh to gain a fandom. Band-Maid is my favorite, and they certainly don't have to play half-naked to get men to like them. Pretty girls are definitely easy on the eyes, however, they are extremely talented just as talented as the male Japanese who are very talented as well. Some of my other favorites besides my Favorite (Band-Maid) are Glim Spanky, Nemophila, Altius, Lovebites, and many others. The fact that they are great artist is more important to me than their gender. Let me know of a male Japanese band, that is as good as these ladies and I will gladly add them to my list. I love The Loudness and others. I don't care for "The Last Rock Stars" But great Rock Music is what I have been missing and these ladies provide that for me.
There is a lot to unpack in your video that probably could use several videos to address each particular point regarding Japanese female bands and their immense popularity. I'm a 77 male and have been following rock since the late 1950's and my first live exposure was seeing Joey Dee and the Starlighters in 1960 or 1961 do "The Peppermint Twist" in a social club in Hoboken New Jersey. I loved all the genres, from surf music to Motown to Philly Soul to doo-wop to anything and everything. When the British Invasion period occurred, I was never a fan of the Beatles, gravitating more towards The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, The Yardbirds and the like, which led eventually to the great supergroups of the late 1960's- late 1970's. But there weren't a lot of female groups outside of singing groups like The Shirelles, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and others that were similar. But I went to a show, I forget if it was in NYC or out in LA, where I went to see The Rascals or The Doors, and a female rock group named Fanny opened for them. They were predominantly Filipino-Americans and they were GREAT. Their musicianship was excellent and their compositions really stuck with me. But they were almost treated as a novelty at the time, and after some friction within the group, they went through some members leaving and new ones coming on. And just kind of faded. It really was a shame because they were the progenitors of the female bands that came afterwards. There was a time here where female bands took the music world by storm and held a lot of sway for a period of time. Then musical trends changed and there were fewer and fewer female bands. This also happened during the time that all types of rock hit there peak, and even that changed where classic rock kind of took a back seat to other genres. It was like being in the wilderness. I first got interested in Japanese music after seeing the female group The 5.6.7.8's in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and I was really happy about them. From them I got into Show-Ya and some other groups, including X Japan, who were just amazing. I kind of fell away again until about 10 or 11 years ago someone posted a video of Wagakki Band's song "Kishikaisei", and I was enthralled by the combination of modern rock with traditional Japanese instruments that had a completely new sound. In addition, I listened to possibly the finest singer I've ever heard, Yuko Suzuhana. They have been the only true supergroup in the 21st Century. It was then I began to delve more into Japan's music scene and I was astounded by the number of really great female bands. At one point I was listening to 12-15 different groups, like SCANDAL, Aldious, Stereopony, Girlfriend, Bridear, Lovebites, Nemophila and a host of others. But when I started following Band Maid, who have become my go-to rock band. As to your question, I was drawn to the excellence of musicianship and the exquisite compositions of Kanami Tono and the gorgeous lyrics of Miku Kobato. I can't deny that they are attractive, but that wasn't the main reason I took to them. I'm a father, grandfather and great-grandfather with daughters, granddaughters and a great-granddaughter and adore and cherish them. But when some idiot on YT starts commenting about the older guys are just creeps and perverts when it comes to Japanese female bands it really angers me. One clown went after me personally in a comment, and in a fit of rage commented back in a manner that YT did not care for and let me know about it. But if it happened again, I'd respond in the same way. There are a lot of older male fans who enjoy and regard highly Japanese female bands solely for their musical excellence. There is a minority of trolls and creeps out there, and none of us would stand for their crap. We truly enjoy them because they have become the keepers of the flame for the rock that we all loved and missed. We don't need to be tarnished by losers like that. I apologize for the length of the comment, but I got on a roll, lol. I've become a subscriber and will look forward to more discussions like this one. Good luck on your journey.
I was playing with bands since I was a boy, but it was only amateur, I never wanted to go through the hardships of daily rehearsing for many many hours, but I have deep respect for the pros. I think these women are bypassing Western feminism, which is a bit theoretical, dogmatic, generalizing etc., they can use its values though in case there are related issues with some management. Basically, they work hard and for many of them, work and talent are being rewarded, regardless of gender. It has become next level of Japanese culture. I say this because I believe there is some starting point and heritage from the Geisha culture and its skills and values. Education to become a Geisha is hard, and there is a wide spectrum of required skills, especially to be an entertainer, to be good at conversation and smalltalk, to play some instruments perfectly, and same perfection for some complex dance moves and theatric gesture, and of course, design on many levels. Appearance is super important. Women from most other cultures have no access to such a treasure. Of course, the most important thing is, these women ROCK! Another interesting aspect is that there is a certain timeline in many societies, to do certain things. In the 80ies there were attempts in the West, like Joan Jett, but this did not get too far. Still, it was a good breakaway from narrow societal traditions and habits, that were very uncomfortable to women, to say it softly. Feminism was implicit, they did not require any theories, they just lived lives the way they wanted. So, I am very pleased to see that today, Japanese women (but seems Thailand an Indonesia are now joining) are continuing what happened back then in the West, and they are getting much further, and already some global careers are taking place. Quality and life-style are more sustainable. Western Rock ladies had too many drop-outs with drugs and stuff.
I'm always looking into the audience, when I watch live videos of female bands. The bands and singers that I like most (also BRATS! and AiNA) have many female fans, and this is a sign on the wall. That's why I say this has to do with developments in society. Very different from old-school "idol" bands that are attractive to male fans only.
Band-Maid is the perfect explainer for this. They are expert musicians and singers, and they visibly enjoy playing together. They smile all the time and interact with each other. Male bands are always just standing there and looking somber if not depressed. It's a totally different attitude.Also Band-maid is probably one of the least sexualized bands out there. They are all attractive, but they don't flaunt it much at all. The music is what's important to them and it shows.
Agree! They add a level of fun and seem to really want the audience to have a good time. That makes a huge difference! :) This is something I talked about in the first video. It is something that you can't fake or manufacture.
I saw an interview with a male Japanese guitarist. When he was asked the same question, he replied that Japanese women in rock band are not that popular and never heard of Band Maid. This is 3 years ago. I have a few of Band Maid's cds ,so I like the music without the visuals, too. I have also noticed that mainly female musicians are the majority of female Band Maid fans. Explaining why would be a good video to do. Not a single female in my life understands why I like them.
But the interesting thing is they weren’t “expert” musicians when they started. The drummer and the primary guitarist were, but the others were barely passable. They went in on the maid cafe gimmick just to get attention, though ironically the singer wouldn’t play along and created what was a rather weird dynamic early on. So, yeah… they got attention initially for their appearance, and only through a lot of hard work did their music eventually overcome the maid gimmick.
Very true - and I also think that a lot of these bands really give off the 'what was' vibe that a lot of people, especially Gen Xers (male, but female too) find appealing - Lovebites defintely gives off the old skool Maiden vibe, and Band-Maid is GnR, Mettalica, Joan Jett, and even jazz and blues put together so that makes a Kaleidescope of sound. I do think you see a lot of devotion because deep down, all us old dudes know how hard it is for female rockers (hell any rockers anymore) to get noticed, and appreciated by the current music biz. So the fans of these bands that have fallen HARD, feel a personal responsibility to help them get more attention, more fans, more soc media stats - whatever that will help them become bigger artists. Gen Xers and some boomers, even early millennials I think have a gut reaction when becoming fans - why aren't they bigger? Why aren't they on the radio in the US??!! They're too good not to be noticed! I really think that is what drives what would be a 'nice' fandom into something more- personal. And those fans find kinship, so a lot of friendships form, and the drive becomes a bigger force.
@@Wyl7Miku didn’t know how to play guitar when she formed BAND-MAID but MISA was certainly an accomplished bassist. Not just Kanami on lead guitar and Akane on drums. Miku is a fine singer in her on right, and won an idol contest. But her higher pitch wasn’t the sound she wanted, for she sounds great as a pop singer but wanted to play harder music. So she fired herself as lead singer and asked their management to find another singer, enter Saiki. And I would add that Miku probably has greater range as a singer but Saiki has a more “powerful” voice. Anyway, my two cents worth.
I am a 66 year old rabid Band-Maid fan. I think their popularity, especially among older men is two things........they write and play music that. has a strong 70's nostalgic feel. I don't know a lot about writing music, but I know what these bands play has a lot more in common with what's on the vinyl rock albums I bought in the 70's, 80's and 90's than I hear from contemporary artists today. Secondly, the bands have a visual aesthetic that is very appealing and different, making them exciting and fun to watch.
At 67yo I'm a Band-Maid fanboy.....big time, they have everything I love in life and music. I've always supported females doing things done by predominately males from music to auto/motorcycle racing. With regard to music I've always preferred a woman's voice over a male's. When women can play instruments and write music as good as male then yes, I go towards the female for the fascination of them being equal to, if not better than men.
Very recently, Band-Maid's lead guitarist Kanami Tono was historically honored by being the first Japanese artist of either gender to be presented with their own Signature Limited Edition PRS Guitar model with all of its limited 200 editions being sold out within a day. There are many talented Japanese artists that Rock but are relatively unknown over here even though they are just as good or even better musicians than anything currently produced in the West. Female Japanese rockers are just as good as their male counterparts and can hold their own against anyone but seem to predominate because music is something that many women are drawn to at an early age and the Japanese school system encourages their involvement and further development. Having a strong musical base is essential and women seem to have the overall edge here as the men are drawn more to nonmusical clubs or sport teams. Numerically, it seems that there are more women artists than men at this time although I don't know what the actual figures are. At any rate, what's important is the quality of the Rock music and many of the female groups are incredibly good at what they do, which is produce outstanding music.
For me, I discovered Band Maid when I saw a coworker wearing one of their shirts and wanted to confirm if they were a real thing and it was what the name sounded like. So a bit of intrigue and "the gap" as Miku would put it got me hooked. Since it's a band of maids, I can't deny the gender aspects was a factor in getting me to look into them. It opened the door. But I wouldn't have stayed if the music wasn't there, and their personalities and excitement they display on stage is infectious and makes it worth it to seem them in concert.
These bands all have influences from Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal here in States. Japan still has high music learning in schools. For me they have a way of making incredible rock and metal music, hard, heavy, yet uplifting, putting smiles on faces. When I heard Nemophila Life in august 2020, and I’m in tears, even though I don’t know Japanese language. That tells me what I need to know about a band. Mayus vocal, and Saki,Hazukis guitars crying emotion, just move me to tears. Band Maid just plays such great rock music. Kanami being an incredible guitarist, and composer. This year I dealt with heavy loss in first three months. No record, yes it’s an EP, but no record has had as much a profound effect on me like Hagane EP - Life goes on. Nagis vocal in choruses, like in Life goes on, just gives me a warm feeling. Sakuras writing, the way the songs are composed, her shredding, yet melodic styles. Just make great songs. Power, Speed metal, yet such uplifting choruses. Japan seems to do this in great ways. Hagane, Nemophila, Band Maid, Lovebites, MARDELAS, Yousei Teikoku, Bridear, Babymetal being my top bands. 🤘😻⚔️
I had already been telling people how crazy cool Otoboke Beaver were before I heard Band Maid. When I first saw a BM video I laughed and thought they were a bit silly but then the melodies kept dancing in my head and I realized that they surpassed their shtick. (Kiss never did) Yes I will unabashedly call them attractive and I don't care because I have had 50 years of cock rock and boy bands shoved down my throat. But it is more than that, I've always supported female musicians and want to hear what they have to say and where they can move music to next. Yes I have traveled around the world and am seeing Band Maid tomorrow night!
There have been great female musicians for a long time in classical music playing instruments like piano and violin etc. We all knew they can be equals or better than male counterparts but for some reason, not many went to rock, metal, etc. But here they come - and so many from Japan. They seem to take the endeavor way more seriously and passionately compared to many classic western male bands that go for money, sex, drugs, etc. It seems to drive them to continuous growth and pursuit of excellence. I also think the challenge is higher given the misogyny in the music industry and you end up with these over-achieving creators pushing past good and becoming great. Band-Maid is a great example; Their attention to detail and improvement seems to be tireless. As many will say, if you didn't see what the members of these bands look like, you would just think that they sounded great and even better than some favorites from eras past. I'm all in and will support them how I can.
I'll start off by stating that I am a full-fledged Maidiac. One of the things that make the Maids so endearing to me and the rest of their fans is their willingness to share their lives off-stage with us. While their talent, technical skills, cohesiveness, professionalism, and joy in performing is important to us, their sometimes goofiness and sharing mundane activities make them more real, more human on social media without being posers. Fans from all walks of lives can relate to them. Another thing that Band-Maid fans feel is that world of Western corpirate rock radio too often underappreciate and dismisses their talent and value to rock and roll in general. The Xenophobia shown by the Western culture to their contributions to the genre is really disturbing. So we are fiercely supportive of our favorite J-Rock groups. Perhaps there may be some unwarranted disrespect for male J-Rock artists because some people may think they are only copycat with appreciating their creativity, their technical skills, and their devotion to the artform. The Japanese people have been incredibly supportive of Western artists from many genres and I, for one, feel it should be reciprocated.
I started my Japanese metal band rabbit hole with Unlucky Morpheus. They have a female singer and a female violin player, but the rest of the band is male. I'm a 53 year old male who's been listening to the same metal bands since 1986. I was hungry for something new and different. I'm still new to the Japanese metal scene, but I'm loving it.
Band Maid saved me for rock- this 73 yr old has seen them all, an dthis is the best band live, catalog, positive energy and outlook on life, stage presence. Their image really is nothing to me its the music.
I'm old (recently turned 60) and have been a metal head / hard rock lover for a very long time. In that time, we have never seen an all-female group that produces an aggressive, solid hard rock sound comparable to an all-male band. I challenge anyone who looks at me funny when I rave about BAND-MAID to name a single all-female band that kept up with their male counterparts, and if they say something like The Bangles, I'll slap the fuck out of them. The rock/metal world came to the conclusion that women just don't have it in them to be as aggressive as men. Japan came along and proved that wrong.
It's SO nice to see female musicians not only being taken seriously, but being truly celebrated for their talent and artistry. It's a significant step forward, and I agree these incredible bands from Japan are leading the way!
Sugoi! As a 67 year old white American heterosexual man who grew up on The Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc., IMHO; my favorite bands are almost all all-female Japanese bands. My interest in pop, punk, rock and metal were rejuvenated by these bands. Rock and roll had become stagnant and stale. If BAND-MAID had come along in the early 1960's, they would have been at least the equivalent of the Beatles. I say that with total reverence toward the Beatles. Cute and/or sexy alone doesn't last if you can't play, sing, write, or perform live. Japanese female bands are at the top of the food chain and I say that with zero hesitation. Arigatou!
my soul used to felt to Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Iron maiden, Pantera, sepultura and many more, i dont mind gender/age on music if they are talented, i will buy their album. I craved for the freshness sound in this types of music. For example is Lovebites, if you know, you know🤘🏽
Thanks for the continued discussion of this topic! You mentioned "unparalleled musicianship, their incredible stage presence, their devotion and commitment to their fans, their adorable personalities, and of course, their undeniable visual appeal". But there's one thing missing in that list: _songwriting._ I can only speak from the Band-Maid perspective, since that's what I listen to. If composition has some "gender" component to it, then, yeah sure, maybe Band-Maid's all-female lineup brings whatever quality it is that being all-female brings. But I don't know what that is. Could it be that it's because I like classical music and Band-Maid hits some of the same compositional points, but in a rock mode? I don't really know for sure; but one thing I do know is that Kanami Tono is a genius composer of modern rock and everyone else in Band-Maid is 100% signed on to that program. There are dozens of all-male and mixed-gender bands I like that have similar musical qualities. I'd list those bands and what those musical qualities are, but I've droned on long enough 😅
Luckily, your comment was the first I read and saved me from rattling on in every point you "MAID". I was born in 1959 and had thought Rock was basically dead until 2017 when I heard "THRILL". Down the pigeon hole I went and never looked back.
Well said and along with what others have written, I can skip commenting and just point to here. As far as Asian music goes, I'm mainly a fan of Band-Maid, and for me personally it's the music - above all, the songwriting. There's not a lot of separation in instrumental talent among the top Japanese bands - most all are masters of their instrument - but they differ greatly in sound and songwriting. Gender, personal appearance, costuming - are all fluff to me. Being great human beings does add a little magic for me personally, but in the end it's whether the music brings me joy. And in Band-Maid's case, over the last few years I haven't experienced so much joy in decades; having gone through their entire catalog multiple times has been just one giant joyride.
I was born in 1963, so I'm like a lot of the others who are commenting here. I grew up listening to Rush, Black Sabbath, and a lot of the other bands during that time period. They used up all of their creativity and their music, eventually, went away. No one filled the void. As a Christian however, I was able to find some interesting Christian bands that kept me listening for several more years. Now, there really isn't that much left...until the Japanese wave came along. Band-Maid reminds me a lot of the Rush years, except without the preachy political commentary that finally crept into their music. Additionally, as a Christian, I appreciate Band--Maid's relatively clean music and appearance. Moreover, I find Miku Kobato to be the most adorable guitar player I have ever seen, so that draws me to watch them. I would take adorableness over sexy any day. 🙂
I'm 63, I've enjoyed live Metal and Rock gigs since 1976 and I'd have to say that Band-Maid are THE best Hard Rock band I've ever seen (sorry, Zeppelin, Zappa, Santana, Queen and others but, while we shared good times, it was 40 to 50 years ago) while Lovebites are THE best Metal band I've ever seen (sorry again, Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, Metallica but the 70's and 80's were a long time ago now). Apart from those two giants, there are quite a few very impressive all-female bands helping to create the very best music of the 21st century, such as Nemophila, Hanabie, STMLT, Otoboke Beaver and many others. 🤘🤘 6:13 - "They are exceedingly talented and dynamic and their music speaks for itself..." (so like any major male band who are rightly revered for their quality back catalogue - Stones, Zeppelin, Floyd, etc, for example) "...but it's also undeniable (is it?) that their gender has enhanced their appeal..." If anything, based on supporting Band-Maid for the past 8 years, I'd have to say that the opposite is true as the vast majority of my friends, male and female, that I've tried to promote them to - often very musically experienced people too - usually struggle to get past the maid outfits, even when I've explained that the cognitive dissonance between the kawaii/cute look and the hard-rocking, highly skilled musicianship on display was a deliberate act on the part of Miku, the band's founder. She calls it The Gap and, boy (or girl!), do people find it a tall barrier. Babymetal used the same idea with their Kawaii Metal. Both work brilliantly, imho. The other outstanding attribute of these female Japanese bands is the lack of stank faces and pained, look-how-hard-this-is faces as, often in heels and gowns, they slam out Hard Metal and Rock with smiles galore, exuding happiness along with their powerful music, rather than trying to always be angry and pained. I loved all the bands I saw through the 20th century but, since 2015, all my music has come from Japan and it is mostly all female (Asterism, Wagakki Band, Ningen Isu and Babymetal have male musicians in them), honourable exception being The Warning, who I saw live in April - 3 women - sisters - from Mexico who know how to Rock hard.
In the history of "Rock Music" there has never been such a female power with bands that consisted only of women as we now know from Japan. The inspirations of the past are refreshed, provided with new elements and blown into the future, wonderful. Through my love of hard rock, progressive rock and heavy metal I was most affected by the LOVEBITES fever. Long live the Japanese Rock Scene ✌🤩🤘
Very interesting subject. I've always been drawn to strong female characters. I stumbled into Japanese female rock bands by following The Warning. I do feel that all female bands have an interesting attraction. However, if the music is not good, I lose interest. My favorite is currently Lovebites.
I wont speak for everyone,but for me,the diference is the smile,i love japanese bands like deviloof,the gazette,dir en grey,jiluka,dexcore,crystal lake and more too,but their live shows are similar to western rock/metal bands,high energy and stuff like that,but faces more angry,i dont know how to put this in words,but when i see shows from bandmaid,nemophila,lovebites and hanabie,those girls are always smiling,and sometimes this is everything u need,a good music with happy energy....
Great discussion. Like many others have said, the quality of music is at the top of importance in my opinion. The visual appeal is just a bonus. I'll be going to see Baby Metal for the first time in a couple days, which is ironic since they probably are the group that first got me into the Japanese scene quite a few years ago. I've been fortunate enough to see Band Maid, Lovebites and Hanabie live and they all live up to the hype in person. It's the total package when it comes to being entertained by a musical experience.
I grew up with the rock music of the 60s/70s. It was mostly about having a good time and bands smiled at their audiences. I dropped away from rock as it evolved more into anger, hate, and distain for their audiences. Country, folk and blues filled that void a bit. 3 years ago I found Band-Maid. They are fantastic musicians/composers but what sets them apart from other bands, male or female, for me, is that they enjoy playing their music and enjoy their fans enjoying it with them. That brings me back to how I remember rock being and doesn't have much to do with their being female except I think showing that kind of emotion on stage is likely easier for a female performer that a male one. Easier not easy as it does mean exposing yourself emotionally and rejection would hurt. That they do that also shows how strong/confident they are too. That too is something I find attractive.
Yes! They have this beautiful quality about them - they take care of their audience and you can see how happy they are making music and being able to present it. It's mesmerizing to watch!
For me, its the music. LOVEBITES are my favourite band of all time because they play the music I love (classic 80s metal) with an elite level of musicianship. Their looks are just the icing on the cake - the music itself is the cake.
This guy said exactly what I want to say. Play some of the best Heavy metal Love bites Is my favorite metal band right now? I wish metallic would take them on tour. That was getting off-topic. Sorry about that. I'm just very passionate about this band I hope 1 day in the near future they can get as big as metalli 🎉🎉cabecause they deserve every acculate that they get. I mean, they play better than some Western heavy metal bands. My opinion I'm gonna end this by saying the famous saying that assami said. We are lovebites and we play heavy metal Thank you and keep up the great work
as a male, I find the female perspective that comes thru in their song writing and delivery - to be refreshing and interesting - especially the juxtaposition of what you see with what you hear...and there's no lack of being badass...
One thing I like about Japanese female metal/hard rock bands is the fact they embrace their femininity. Too many Western all-female bands think they need to appear as tough and badass as the men, and end up seeming like they're "trying too hard", IMO.
I'm 49 years old and i can't stop listnening to japanese female bands since 2020, i saw Hanabie live twice and Fate Gear this year, my phone is full of these kinds of bands: Otoboke Beaver, Nemophila, Nek, Necry Talkie, Mellows, Hanabie, Haku, Fate Gear and a lot more. I was always more drawn to female performers but there wasn't a lot of female metal or even rock when i was younger, now this trend of female metal makes me happy and i started to learn Japanese 8 monts ago because of it. I plan to go to Japan next year and see some bands live if i can.
For myself I can only say that of course the fact that they are all female makes a difference. After all, I like girls better than boys so seeing attractive ladies playing great music is a slam dunk. It was pleasantly shocking to find this level of talent coming from female bands out of Japan. Plenty of girls throughout my life spoke in dreamy sentences about their favorite male artists so I have no issue admitting that I finally have bands that I could say the same about. That said, I do separate the attraction from the musical appeal. Diving down the rabbit hole of all female rock bands I've truly enjoyed seeing everything I have been able to find from a host of female artists though in most cases, except for a few standout songs, I have only watched or otherwise listened to a song once. That's the attraction half of my answer. The music goes much deeper to me. In my case it's Band-Maid. I haven't come across a band that so totally drew me in in a very long time. I've bought every album and LP available (it's been decades since I supported a band that way), made a road trip to see them live, and haven't missed a live stream of theirs since I became a fan. Easily 90% of the time I'm listening to them it's only that, listening. In the car, during work, walking around the neighborhood, whatever. The Maids dominate my playlists and I still regularly listen to whole albums from them. I can say that about no other artist in my life. Would it be the same if they were all male? I would hope so but the fact is no other band's music has ever hooked me the way Band-Maid's has so I really don't have anything to compare it to. I have indeed been infatuated by other artists in the past but it was always short lived and got pushed out by something else. It's going on 5 years with these girls now so it's much more than just a fad with me. Would they have had this much staying power before U-Tube? Now there is an interesting question. I would have still bought the albums but watching other folks discover them gives me a lot of pleasure that I can only relate back to my college days when I'd drag my roommate or other friends off to see a band I liked that was playing in a small downtown club. When they enjoyed those acts it somehow justified my opinion of the band. Well there is my long winded answer to one of your questions. The appeal of the look certainly drew me in but the quality of the talent has made me a life long fan.
They rock, it's that simple! You don't have to dig that deep into that. Metal/Hard rock still attracts more males, it has always done that. Great music is great music. Male or female doesn't matter!
They are all nice to look at but you don't see them when you listen to the music. If people wanted to care only about looks they would listen to female pop artists or Japanese female idol groups. I'm 44 and love these bands because they play music that sounds like the music of my youth. Most Western rock bands have a grunge or nu-metal influence influence and I hate those genres. I love Band-Maid and they play classic rock. I also love Aldious and Lovebites who play power metal which I've loved since I was 7 and heard the German band Helloween. I also like bands with an image or a theme. I used to be a big KISS fan and see the Japanese female bands in the same way. Aldious have the evening gowns Lovebites have the white dresses and Band-Maid have the maid outfits. It enhances the concert experience to have an image or theme.
Since everyone is doing shout outs, I guess then shout out to Gacharic Spin/DOLL$BOXX 😄 If the hypothesis is that these bands would be less popular overall if they would be play the same music, but would be all-male, it probably wouldn't be true. All you have to do is to look at the top jrock charts and see that these all-female bands are not there, and instead it's dominated mostly by bands like Vaundy, One Ok Rock, etc. Now if the question is would the male fans be enthused about the same bands if they were all-male or if would be reverse situation with females fans, I don't think we have enough data for that question to be answered 🙂 I remember Gacharic Spin did a show with all-female group from Australia and there was an interview after that where they asked each other questions. Members from Australian group asked GS how is it being female in rock scene or something like that, and GS answer was something along the lines "We never thought about it, we think about ourselves as just a band and not a female band". I'm not saying that sex/gender doesn't play any role in this (for example having a different perspective), but focus on gender is also not universal everywhere.
For me,what makes those bands unique is a factor called "stage presence". The smiles, crowd interaction, elegance, happiness are essential when it comes to why they're so lovable. I don't think many of us gave up listening to male bands-personally i'm a huge fan of LOVEBITES but regarding to other genres my favorite ones are doom and black (mostly melodic,depressive and atmospheric)!!! Completely opposites tastes, right? But i don't think i'll ever attend a concert of a male band of these genres cause when it comes to stage presence, they're boring, they've nothing to offer. But for LOVEBITES i flew from Greece to Milan and Paris this June and if i had had more days off of my job i'd certainly had seen them in other concerts. But why the female Japanese bands have this impact and not the European and American ones? Well, the latter make a big mistake: in order to prove that they're equal to men they tend to behave like them.And when they don't, they over sexualize their image. On the other hand, Japanese women are proud of their femininity without leting themeselves be seen like objects. Personaly, i want to see real strong and self respecting women on stage and not some "i wish i had a cock" or " look, i sing with my boobs" females.
I ❤ those ladies because, they are very talented musicians. Those women understand something than male forget, they have each time fun on stage, they take pleasure make music. They're happy & smile. That's important for me.
Band-Maid is an odd phenomenon, they're making some of the most interesting music I've heard in long while. Honestly I can say sure being all female may have started my initial interest in them, but I was thrown off just as much by their maid outfits.
I've been a "super fan" of two bands. Rush and Band-Maid. So, it seems like a pretty even split to me. I respect the other female Japanese bands, but their sound just doesn't resonate with me. That's proof enough for me that the music has to hit the spot. One thing that does make these bands very attractive in general is they are overwhelmingly positive, and the shows are fun and super high energy. There's a lot of doom and gloom in heavier music, which I have zero use for. So, these female bands are a real breath of fresh air in a pretty stale and same-y scene. I'd be happy to go to the shows of the bands I don't really follow because I know it would be fun. I think what makes me a super fan of Rush and Band-Maid are similar. They both have a very distinctive sound and style that I love, but it's not far off the mainstream. They're both very technical bands with great musical chops and creativity. I think most people who don't know these bands assume that isn't the case because they've never really seen that before from female bands. I really like and respect all of the members of the bands. I love Pink Floyd's music but I would have never been any kind of super fan of theirs beyond buying albums because they didn't get along that well and Roger Waters seems like a prick. The Rush guys are a bit older than me, but Band-Maid members are significantly younger. So, the admiration is there but different. Rush were kind of like rock idols. I have kind of a fatherly pride for Band-Maid, and I don't think that's uncommon among the older fans. As a matter of fact, when Kanami's signature PRS was announced this week, I had as much pride as I would if it happened to my own daughter, and I was even thinking about how happy and proud her parents must be, and I was happy for them even though I don't know them. Both Rush and Band-Maid have heavily male-skewed fan bases. I think that's just pretty common for heavy music. I've never been into Dream Theater or been to a show, but I highly suspect it leans heavily male as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I've been a "super fan" of two bands : KISS and Band-Maid. I had same feeling when I saw Band-Maid what I had when I was a young kid and saw KISS first time.
R U kidding? Lovebites is one of the best bands to come along in decades and yet the Wolfpack (fan base) remains small compared to the insane talent they possess. The fact is when I play these great bands without the video everyone is stunned at the musicianship, once the video is introduced they are even more stunned. Yes the petite appearance of these women is appealing but it is their insane talent that keeps the fans coming back for more. A LIVE show by any of these bands is an EXPERIENCE artists that are dedicated to their music, each other and their fans and it shows. Rock, Metal and Jazz have all gone to Japan to thrive and they have!!!!
It’s an interesting question. From my perspective, I’m only a fan of a few of the female Japanese metal bands and which ones they are are entirely based on the music. I recognize that all of these musicians are fantastic, but only the sound of a few have really captured me. (Mostly Band Maid, but also Hanabie, Maximum the Hormone, and Nek!) The adoration I have for Band Maid has really grown from just loving the music and constantly wanting more. As anyone who gets obsessed with a band, I’ve learned about the members, and with Band Maid, they tend to be so much more likable than a lot of the western musicians I followed over the years, which makes wanting them to do well, make more music even stronger. I do enjoy that they’re beautiful and/or adorable. But it’s not enough on its own. They’re just awesome, start to finish and being attractive is part of that. As far as new bands, you should check out Nek! (Pronounced neck-ee) On the male band front, while not all male, Maximum the Hormone is insane and cool and weird fun.
@@psychologyofrock The music video for "SHIMI feat. ATARASHII GAKKO!", which was released a few months ago, might be a good place to start. This is an old song of theirs, but this time it features the much talked about all-female dance vocal group ATARASHII GAKKO! It is a very impressive song and video, and ATARASHII GAKKO! also did the choreography for the music video. They are known in Japan as "Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders", which literally means "New School Leaders".
I can only speak to Band Maid because, while I like some Lovebites songs, I love Band Maid’s entire catalog. Band Maid’s “pretty appeal” is nice, for sure. I won’t deny, or feel bad about, enjoying the sight of pretty women! Would I like Band Maid as much if they were all male? Probably not-because the music WOULD NOT be the same. There is a feminine energy, and sensibility, in the music and lyrics that would surely not be present if they were men. I feel this is inarguable. I can honestly say I’ve never thought of them in a prurient way, probably because they don’t play that angle up in the slightest. If that’s what I was looking for I’d be watching live videos of The Pretty Reckless! Momsen is good looking, and literally goes around onstage half-nude… but I don’t really care for the songs I’ve heard. Hence, I don’t watch her sexy antics and, instead, watch groups like Band Maid, and The Warning, play truly great music while maintaining some dignity and decorum.
Another rabid male Band-Maid fan, my favorite band. I do have double standards, I realized that I expect more and am more critical of male musicians because they are more accepted and established. Who today is better than Hendrix or Bonham or Eddie or Eric or all those who set the bar so high years ago? But Akane is close to Bonham and MISA is close to JPJ and Kanami is not far from the best and both Saiki and Miku sing like angels. And all the girls are only in their early '30s and still improving. In their early days the Maids had shorter skirts that did add a touch of sexuality to their look but thankfully their costumes today are almost completely non-sexual and allow us to focus on the quality of their writing and playing without distraction. All the Maids are egoless and love their fans and each other and it shows in everything they do. Down to earth and don't seem to take anything for granted. Being a male rock star automatically includes a huge ego and exaggerated self-importance.
personally for me its all about the music. that being said even the majority of bands with males in them i enjoy most have female singers. female vocalists are a preference for me. but also for 1 as you and others have said most of these all(or majority) female japanese bands have a fun energetic vibe while still playing the heavier or diverse music i love, 2 i had thoughts about this myself, but i listen to the bands more than i watch music videos so im comfortable saying it is definatly the music that appeals most to me but it definantly doesnt hurt they they are attractive and for the most part are still geniunly feminine, humble and fun women. and for my last thought the music these bands are playing is the music a lot of us older fans grew up with and have missed. but these bands are producing it now even if its not "mainstream" at a level that is incredible and not just 1 or 2 bands but more than i can keep up with. and if it was all about them being attractive females then why wouldnt i be following the big female pop stars, thats easy because i personally dont like their music and there are quite a few really good all male japanese bands out there but as i said i prefer female vocalists so while i still listen to and enjoy them its not to the same level
Pose-toi la question, pourquoi Kanami Tono de band-maid a recu sa guitares signatures de Paul reed Smith de ses propres mains à Osaka shin, cette semaine, et surtout pourquoi tout les modèles signatures de Kanami disponibles aux États-Unis ont été tous vendus en moins d'une heures? Même des artistes plus connus qu'elles ça n'est jamais arrivé et aussi la première japonaise à avoir cet honneur des guitares PRS, homme ou femme. Est-ce parce band-maid fait de la bonne musique. Est-ce que leurs fans sont déjà eux-mêmes musiciens ? Se poser la question c'est y répondre.
I discovered Japanese female rock/metal groups by complete mistake and curiosity in 2016, before this time I personally never liked female or even female frontend band's before, of course over the decades of rock I've been listening to there were certain standouts, however other than Heart, I didn't go out of my way to see or hear them because for me they're a "local" band, after listening to Band Maid the very first time, I thought that this is what I've been waiting for after what I felt was a dry spell of over 30 years. Once I heard them and started looking desperately for more music, I of course found every band your montage featured, I love listening to all of them, in fact I listen to them almost exclusively, I never liked gal band's and now I can't get enough? It's not because they are potentially attractive, it's because they're awesome, the arrangement, musicianship, the colorful outfits, cheerful attitude and comradeship that's attractive, their overall execution, so that's my take on why they are popular, they're just subarashii.
That is so interesting that it was Band Maid that swayed you into listening to female bands! I've heard this from many people! Just something special about them, I think :)
I'll speak as an American, lifelong musician (age 58), and of course I speak only for myself. For me, the music itself is the #1 most important factor. Lyrical quality and performance skills come in at #2 and #3. Physical appearance is farther down the list. I'll admit that seeing pretty young women in a video's thumbnail will get my attention and often prompt me to check it out. But the simple fact is that the overwhelming majority of female artists are physically attractive, and if I don't like the music, their looks aren't enough to keep me interested. I've actually been pleased to see, in recent years, a number of Western (mostly European) metal and hard rock bands that have noticeably overweight female singers with incredible voices, because that tells me that the band felt talent was more important than looks. The very first Japanese artist I became a fan of was a pop-rock singer named aiko (intentionally uncapitalized--that's how she does it). I found her quite accidentally in 2001 while doing a Yahoo! search for photos of a Japanese actress named Aiko [can't recall her family name at this point). My search somehow landed me on some random Japanese guy's personal website, and he had three plain text links to MP3 files. I clicked them out of curiosity. They were three songs by somebody named "aiko", and I instantly fell in love with her music. It was very early in her career--I think she only had one album out at that point, she wasn't being promoted outside of Japan at all, and RUclips didn't even exist yet, so I couldn't learn anything about her. The only way I could find more of her music was by combing the file-sharing apps like Napster and Limewire (I ended up legally purchasing 8 or 9 of her albums over the next several years, at inflated "import" prices, once I found a place to do that). I think it was 2004 before I even found a photo of her. And ... she was kinda cute, but she was built like a 12-year-old boy and appeared to be deliberately refusing to "sex it up", typically performing in a loose-fitting T-shirt, baggy jeans, and canvas sneakers. But her music was just that good. She writes her own songs, and she's still going strong today. I believe she'll turn 50 next year (and I swear she barely seems to have aged), and she's still going strong. She seems to have become influential, as I've come across music from other Japanese artists in which I can hear hints of aiko's distinct songwriting style. The funny thing is that aiko doesn't have that great of a voice. But she uses what she's got brilliantly, and is one hell of a performer. My all-time favorite band is Rush (since 1980!), and their music really gave me a taste for highly-complex composition, musical excellence, and intelligent lyrics, and that has continued to influence "what I like" to this day. I'll become a fan of any band/artist that I feel meets those criteria (assuming, of course, that I actually like the music; there are plenty of bands who I can recognize, as a musician myself, are incredibly talented and skilled, but I just don't care for their style. I was in junior high school when I had the epiphany that "I don't like this band" does not mean "this band sucks". Thank you, Pink Floyd!) It doesn't matter if the band is all-male, all-female, or mixed. It just so happens that, currently, Lovebites is the band that best checks off all of my boxes. My actual, initial reaction to the first Lovebites video I ever saw, "Glory to the World", was, "Holy crap, they play at this tempo and the bassist is playing with her fingers, not a pick?! Wow!" (I'm primarily a bassist myself.) I'll add that my mom is a classical pianist, so I grew up listening to her play, and I was delighted to discover that Miyako's list of favorite composers almost exactly matches Mom's list of favorites - the "romantic" composers.
This is just my opinion, and comes from being involved mainly with the Band-Maid fan base, but I think that one intangible factor of the all-female rock bands, especially with those of us who grew up on 70-80s hard rock or metal, is that we view these incredibly talented young ladies as a father would an adult daughter. Think of how Billy Ray views Miley today.
my current favorites are BandMaid and Toranoko Rammy, ive had the pleasure of seeing both live multiple times BandMaid back in 2016 when they blew my mind within seconds of starting to perform and more recently in 2023 with Toranoko Rammy, both bands imediatly had me thinking these are the real deal, excatly what ive been looking for musically
I have always liked the dynamic of female singers in rock and metal. As a kid (mid 70’s) pre puberty I was drawn to Heart and Fleetwood Mac. In metal there was never a huge number of female fronted bands that played a style I grew to love in metal. Really liked Otep and Arch Enemy but it was Jinjer that pretty really meet that old itch. I then stumbled into Babymetal in 2016 which lead me down the J-metal rabbit hole. I love the female bands but also the mixed bands like Unlucky Morpheus and Maximum the Hormone. Also male bands like Ninjen Isu and Crystal Lake.
In my experience, the audience for rock and metal had always a male majority. So I think it's no surprise that these bands are mainly listened to by men, too. But of course, them being very attractive women doesn't hurt either, which is certainly a point. I, personally, used to listen to the same old stuff for decades, until I found Band-Maid and then Lovebites. They refreshed my love in rock music by sounding so familiar, but also bringing a very modern and unique flair to it. On the other hand, another japanese band I really adore is ASTERISM, which is 2/3 male, but technically and skill wise from another planet 🤘🏻🙂
Do you think there is any credibility to the argument that if these bands were male, they would not have the same level of success or popularity? Ans: This is hard to know as there are not that many male rock bands with the same composing style of the female bands Do you think if these bands were male, you would be as excited about them as a fan? Ans: If the level of musicianship and song writing style was similar, I might be a fan, but I haven't found one yet. Do you think gender could be playing a part in the popularity of these bands, beyond physical attraction? Ans: it might be initially, but not after getting hooked by the music. I discovered Band-Maid when a friend sent me the MP3 for DICE (not the video) and was hooked. I asked him who this band was and that's when he told me it was an all female band from Japan. I started looking for more on YT and found the video for DICE. Also, Band-Maid dress pretty demure compared to US female pop stars, so at least for them it's not a sexual issue. What is the elusive quality that these female artists possess that has led to such a dedicated fanbase? Ans: for me it's they way they write their songs. I think it's a different way to looking at a song, from a different perspective.
TBH, I was initially drawn to the all-female Japanese bands because they're attractive women. Here, a few years later, I'm still watching, listening, and buying CD's and DVD's of Lovebites, Nemophila, Band-Maid, Hanabie., and Koiai because I've discovered that they're the best bands currently on the planet regardless of gender or nationality. I also prefer the female singing voice to the male voice - in most cases.
I got interested in Japanese music from listening to anime sound tracks. Specifically Yoko Kanno's work. From there it sort of branched out and I would get music from people like Maaya Sakamoto. L'arc en Ciel, Abingdon Boys School, T.M Revolution and Kalafina. This is not all metal music, but a link to a Baby Metal song several years back put me on track of other artists such as you have shown. If you want to hear some fairly old Japanese metal then I recommend Loudness, a very good three piece band. There are many more, but for the most part, all of them are very talented in their own way.
When I discovered the japanese rock scene (not only all-female but also mixed and sometimes all-male), I had already been listening to female rockers mostly, for years. For a simple reason: gradually, I got fed up with male rock and its clichés, I didn't think it was going anywhere anymore, and I found the feminine approach to rock fresher. So, when I discovered there was a strong and creative female rock scene in Japan, I was ready. So, the question of finding them as interesting if they were male make no sense to me: I listen to them because they write and play rock music in their female original way - that's the point. I would even say that I don't care for female bands imitating male bands. I mean, read Hanabie's or Band-Maid's lyrics: they are written from the point of view of a woman, about woman's matters or problems - and it's true musically too (even if it's often more subtle). And it's true about the relationship between members inside the bands too - no stupid Oasis behaviour, or Rolling Stones' love/hate stories between Jagger and Richards. The relationship with the audience is different too - and it is reflected in the public's attitude towards them, extremely (I was nearly thinking "incredibly") respectful.
For me part of it is definitely that I simply prefer a female vocalist. Everything else being equal I simply prefer a female voice. That being said, like another commenter said Band-Maid is a great example because they don't play up the sexuality. The music comes first, but the way they interact with their fans and each other is also important. They're obviously having fun and that feeds into the community. That's often not as true with all male bands.
As a fan of a LOT of Japanese Bands MOST are all female but there are a few that are not. That being said even the ones that have some/all Male instrumentalists have a Female lead singer. The reason is purely and simply that I LOVE the female Voice and a Male voice has to be really really really special to appeal to me. The other point is the connection with the Bands ALL the ones i have been following at least are GENUINE people with a massive stage presence and LOVE for their fans which is palpable which is HUGELY important to me, most western bands appear to only be interested in how much money they can make and disrespect the fans.
I can really only speak about myself (as a man). The only one of these that I'm really crazy about is Band-Maid, and that's mostly for the music. Second is their funny and warm personalities that I observe in interviews and off- and on-stage interactions captured on video. That could have something to do with my innate attraction toward women, but I think I can imagine being maybe 90% as entertained by an all male band with music I loved and similar engaging personalities. It's just never happened. For me, Band-Maid is head and shoulders above anyone else in this age of social media. My old favorites are from decades ago. Now that I think of it, a good part of my excitement for B-M is that it's been such a long time since I found rock music I loved, so I want to do everything I can to support them and keep them going! A couple of my guy friends have been more interested in the looks of the ladies when I've shown them videos, but they don't really like the music :( I recommend you check out the recent incarnation of Hagane. Fast and melodic metal.
First, as many have stated, the quality of the music is key; the fans would not be this into these bands were they half-assing the same old music. At the same time, I agree that the fact that they are women does play some non-creepy role in their popularity. As part of the older guy demographic, I think many of my peers latch onto the music quality point and subconsciously or consciously avoid the elephant-in-the-room angle. Not for bad reasons, it is just that normal non-creepy guys really, really do not want to be thought of as THOSE kind of fans. I have observed that there is something in older guys that seems to always get excited whenever young people take up something that they are deeply fond of, be it music, sports, etc... Almost like some sort of dad gene kicks in. This doubly applies when it is non-traditional young people. So when you consider the combination of women, Japan, the amazingly high level of musicianship, and the fact that we have watched the decline of rock over the past few decades, the strong fan reaction it is not surprising. I do think that these bands would still be popular if they were guys, but likely less so. As some of the other commenters have alluded to, these women definitely seem to bring a different energy than most guy bands. It is hard to describe without over simplifying it, but I would say it is something akin to joy. One common thread to these bands is that that when I listen to them they bring me happiness, no matter how heavy the music is. That is just so different from the vibe of most western hard-rock/metal.
For me it's the very top quality of the music and songs and being all female is a big positive, for many reasons. These are great songwriters and players and there are awesome new original ideas in their craft. We've heard thousands of versions of men for decades. When women rock your world with a game-changing sound and show, the voices, melodies, harmonies, and roars are fresh and can be startling even. It is moving to get bowled over by a wonderful new sound. It was a relief a few years ago when I started finding these bands, a relief that somebody had finally started moving heavy music forward again. The overall attitude and message has moved forward and dropped a lot of things that had become boring or a turn-off. That's why I think the audiences will continue to add more women.
I just heard the perfect description of Band Maid fans. It's like we're in a secret club. We discovered this treasure and we recognize others that have as well. That's what makes Band Maid fans so special.
2 points to make as a fan of female fronted Japanese bands (especially BAND MAID). First, if you notice, there are no politics or political based messages in the songwriting. Second, American rock for the most part has always been very repetitive. When I was first introduced to BAND MAID and others, you may get one small section of a song that repeats once, but even then they usually twist it up on the second go-round somehow. Screamy US metal does not do anything for me but I can go and listen to MtH or Hanabie anytime. Shoutout to both The Warning and Rolling Quartz - 2 foreign all female ROCK bands that have struck a good balance of male and female fans. At the end of the day it is really all about the music.
It's not either/or. I will freely admit that my very first impression of the first band I saw (Band-Maid) was about the "Gap"-- the disconnect between their look and their music. For sure they are adorable. But the world is drowning in cute girl-groups (just look at K-Pop!) American pop stars blatantly sexualize themselves to drive fan interest. I don't waste a minute on any of those acts. I would have no further interest in the Japanese rock bands if they were not phenomenal musicians. So the visual can serve as an initial "hook", but the effect lasts all of a few minutes, and after that it's about the music.
I'm now well into my sixties and have been deeply immersed in the Japanese rock and metal scene since the summer of 2018. As a child, and later as a teenager and adult, male musicians were role models and inspiration for my own musical work. The female bands in the 60s and early 70s (Liverbirds, Fanny) were rare and somehow exotic in the beat scene. Since I'm attracted to women, I collected a lot of records by female bands and singers. (Fun fact: my BAND-MAID LPs are on the shelf between Bananarama and Bangles). I have two daughters who make music and are about the same age as the bands described here. My enthusiasm is certainly also based on the feelings of a proud father or uncle. The sexual aspect takes a back seat, although I do enjoy watching them. After decades of listening to Western music and the heroes of my youth are dead or ancient meanwhile, the discovery of Japanese music is so refreshing and excitingly different that my enthusiasm is undiminished. I imagine many other older men feel a similar way.
Lovebites is the only all female band I listen to. Their musicianship is exceptional and is reminiscent of many of the bands I grew up listening to. Never expected a Japanese all female band to be so addictive. 🏴🤘
The women are filling a gap left by a lack of what the record companies are as marketable bands. They bring something fresh and with skill while also being visually pleasing. They also try harder, some so much that they shoot straight past the men. Band Maid is the example I know best, they work to bring the sound and they don't trip over their egos and work together.
I think first when I found Band-Maid, it was their originality, and stage presence/energy that captivated me. For years I was in a musical rut, listening to the same 6-8 groups over and over. It took forgetting to turn off autoplay one day for me to hear Band-Maid, and that started my journey into rediscovering music. Not just female bands, or female japanese bands, but bands male/female and mixed from all over the world. For me at first, it WAS the fact that they were female which blew me away. Other than a few other female musicians, (Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Chrissy Hynde, Susannah Hoffs, Vickie & Debbie Petersen, Michael Steele, Ann & Nancy Wilson) most female musicians just weren't in my radar. As I said above, Band-Maid though. They BLEW me away and destroyed my misconceptions. They are all excellent musicians, and with my eyes now opened, I looked for other bands which were as talented. And in Japan and Korea mostly, I found a LOT of good female bands. Rock, Jazz, Metal, Pop, and multi-genre like Band-Maid. If they had been male musicians, even with good music, I don't think I would have given them a second look. There are MANY good male bands, but back then at that time, I just wasn't interested in hearing new GOOD music. I was comfortable listening to what I had been listening to for the last 30+ years. It took opening my eyes and ears to such talent, which required LOTS of hard work and dedication, which made me start paying attention. Since then I have gone back to music I was never exposed to from europe, even old soviet era music, and found several dozens of new to me bands, whose music I can now enjoy. All because of 5 young Ladies who dress as maids and play kick ass Hard Rock Music.
I found as I've gotten older, I was gravitating more to female vocals, even going back to listen ones I never really paid attention to, like Amy Lee of Evanescence.She collaborated on a song called Sakura Rising with WagakkiBand , a band that fuses modern instruments with traditional Japanese instruments, and they are amazing. The lead singer is female but the band make up is six male and two female. There are many other bands that are mixed gender but a majority have the female front person, Maximum the Hormone is the most notable exception. I still love my classics, but right now a majority of what I listen to are Japanese bands, and mostly female fronted.
LOVEBITES' musicality and skill completely captivated me. I'd listened to Japanese female bands like Band Made, Scandal, Hagane, and Nemophila, but when I discovered LOVEBITES, I was blown away.
We did the attractive talentless bands in the 80’s if they couldn’t play I wouldn’t bother! Metal music tends to attract more males than females been to many metal shows mostly dudes. Cuteness or attractiveness will get people interested but if they can’t play they won’t stay interested but that’s just my opinion. Loudness is an all male metal band that’s been around since the late 70’s
Would I like Band Maid if they were male? If they played exactly the same, but had a male lead... meh. Part of what I love is Saiki's distinctive voice, and Miku's fantastic back up vocals. There is a lot of emotion carried in their singing. While I do listen to male bands, I generally listen to them for different vibes.
I will bite on this since I am about a year-and-a-half away from completing a PhD dissertation on the topic. While my dissertation will encompass the entirety of the all-female Japanese rock scene, I really only listen to two bands: Band-Maid and Gacharic Spin. For the rest of the bands, I recognize the immense talent that each of the groups possess, however, most do not suit my personal tastes. I discovered Band-Maid in the summer of 2020 while researching K-Pop for a lecture I was putting together for my History of Rock class. The RUclips algorithm threw “Thrill” into my feed, so I took a look. It was cool, but nothing I was going to return to again. But the algorithm then threw “Onset (Live)” at me and my life has been flipped upside down ever since. “Onset” had all the things I have been missing in ‘Western’ rock music for the last 25 years: attitude, spirit, and melodic sensibility with technical excellence. It was an instrumental in the spirit of “YYZ” by Rush. After having my mind blown by “Onset,” I followed the algorithm down a deep Band-Maid rabbit hole. Recognizing that there is a potential image bias, I ordered all of their albums in order to detach the visual from the auditory and started listening to them in order trying to track their evolution as a band. This is exactly the same thing I used to do when I was younger with bands that had extensive discographies before I discovered them. Band-Maid ticks all the boxes for things I like to hear in rock music: great musicianship (and as a guitarist I always have a bias toward hearing great guitar players), memorable melodies that also have complexities (not ‘ear-worms, but actual melodies that the brain can chew on over and over), vocal harmonies etc…and most of all, this is all done with serious attitude and energy, which has been lacking in Western rock for a long time. I have now been lucky enough to see Band-Maid twice and both concerts were stellar and completely different each time. Band-Maid is a GREAT rock band that stands alongside the best to ever do it. Gacharic Spin is a revelation. They will never have the market success of Band-Maid (or many of the other bands from this scene), but artistically they are singularly unique and blow me away like no other band I’ve ever encountered. So, to answer your question: “Do you think that if these bands were male you would be as excited about them as a fan?” Absolutely YES. However, I am not certain males are capable of this type of music. “Do you think that gender could actually be playing a part in this equation, but in more ways than just people being drawn to them physically?”: Again, I think there is a certain femininity inherent in the music they are creating that might not be there with a male band…and rock could use more of that!
Band-Maid is quite simply the best band I've ever heard (and the best I've seen in concert), regardless of sex or gender identity. There's no built-in advantage for either sex when it comes to playing a musical instrument or composing music, yet it's always female bands that get these questions due to underlying sexism. Nobody questions fans of Iron Maiden or AC/DC about this. I will admit to preferring the female voice over the male voice, but otherwise they could be all male and it wouldn't matter to me.
I am a male fan of both Band Maid and Lovebites. My liking them is purely based on their talent. Plus, I stopped listening to western groups after discovering Japanese rock and heavy metal. Too muck talent to be ignored.
There are a number of reasons for the popularity of the Japanese female music scene, but the main thing is the sheer awesome-ness of the music. I’m a big fan of a number of these bands and artists, and have learned nearly all of them have help behind the scenes from men, actually. So I find a nice balance of male and female energy in the music, with killer songwriting and stupendous musicianship in fine balance. Also, Japanese women are the most beautiful in the world, and that most definitely does not hurt..
These bands definitely appeal to older males. It's a brilliant marketing move by appealing to a demographic that has a bit of disposable income to spend. I am an older male and it reminds me of my younger days playing in rock bands myself. I fully support these bands as much as I can. They are the future of honest rock. Nobody else is stepping up.
I can think of a few exceptions, but I agree that they are scratching an itch that no one else seems to. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
1. The Metal fanbase in general is overwhelmingly male. 2. Due to culture and diet, most Japanese women are slim, very calm, polite, a little shy, and they tend to look Way younger than Western women of the same age. 3. I think either their looks will grab a man's attention, and then get excited when they realize they are fantastic musicians . . or . . (like me with Lovebites) they will get excited about how good the music is, and then realize the relative 'bonus' (for a guy) that they are very visually appealing. I think its about the Talent - there are not enough 'pervs' around to account for the amount of male interest.
“There are not enough pervs around to account for the amount of male interest.” Actually, a lot of popular music has a sexual component to it. I think the more correct answer is that it is both, but that this female component doesn’t have to be entirely sexual either, and more about just being there in general. That it goes something like this: 1. Males are more competitive, in that they care more about the technical aspects of music, which explains in part a higher male audience for these more technical-focused Japanese bands. 2. Males also find it pleasing to look at females, which can be a bonus. This doesn’t even have to be sexual, for it to be enjoyable. 3. The Japanese to put the two together for maximum effect; audibly and visually. This also forms a niche market.
Got into metal in 1978 listening to black sabbath. Liked thrash/death metal but found new metal last 25 years very dull & boring. But then discovered BABYMETAL!! a breath of fresh air in stale metal world. Love HANABIE. also. Into bits of other bands too like band-maid, mellows, passcode. (Also liking some JPOP!). Go Japan!
I'd be lying if I said gender doesn't play some role in these female groups appeal. It's definitely not the main draw or really even a lasting reason to keep enjoying them. When I first discovered BAND-MAID I didn't know what to expect. I saw these cute girls in elaborate gimmicky costumes and was curious about their sound. Their music blew me away and I immediately championed them. I'm old enough to know women in rock or metal isn't the most common occurrence. That made them more endearing in an underdog kind of way. Their gender and how that plays into their society, influenced them in certain ways. Those influences bleed into their music. BAND-MAID has a distinct femininity to their sound that would for sure be lost if they were dudes. I have a ton of male bands that I love, but none of them sound like BAND-MAID, not even other male Japanese bands. I hope that is coherent enough to make some sense. EDIT: I'm in my 30s BTW.
If Lovebites or Band Maid's style of music was Reggaeton I would never listen to their music even if they were female bands. I have great admiration for all these japanese female bands, in my opinion they produce fantastic music, but of course it's better that these bands are composed by these friendly and charismatic japanese women who aren't afraid to use their feminine side in rock and metal. Lovebites is my favorite band of all time, yes they are beautiful women, but it's the absolutely phenomenal music they produce that makes them incredible. It's not just in rock and metal, in jazz, these friendly japanese girls are also incredible, i recommend a band called The Jazz Avengers to start with. Saiseiga and Dragdown are two japanese bands of more aggressive metal that I recommend.
I'm relatively new to the Japanese rock scene, introduced to Scandal in 2019. I'm not as big on the hard rock/metal as I am more pop/punk/alternative. The vast majority of bands are all female or female led, and I think it boils down to I just prefer female vocalists when it comes to Japanese music. Again, it's first and foremost the music. And regardless of the genre, Japanese bands always seem to be more positive and upbeat. For some reason Western female bands seem to need to be "rough" and "edgy." It would be nice to see them mellow out and just play, like their Japanese counterparts.
I think there are many more all-male or mixed-gender bands than all-female bands, and when one comes along that is so incredibly good, they really stand out. To answer the favorite band question... right now, Unlucky Morpheus. I also really like D-Drive.
You answered your own question. These bands are fairly new and fresh. The American rock scene is either worn out or focused on people like Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande, which are stale pop. I hesitate to call them talent.
It's not that the scene is worn out per se, it's giant corporations that direct what is popular or not, mostly. Top 40 pop artists are talented in a lot of ways, but everything is money dominated they strip the soul out of much of it, at least IMO.
For me, I have always liked a woman's voice signing usually more than a man's, Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin, Suzy Quatro, Grace Slick, Diana Ross, Agneta Faltskog to name a few when I was young. When I 1st heard Japanese Metal, I heard Keiko Terada's voice on top of Show-Ya's music and I was hooked. Having female musicians on top of the singer is a perk but not the reason why I like the band. If it was, I wouldn't be such a big fan of Unlucky Morpheus, Yousei Teikoku, Ad Infinitum etc... While I listen to a lot more all women bands or idols than all man ones, Galneryus, Jupiter, Versailles, X-Japan are on my regular playlist as well on top of older bands that I still listen to like Queen, Rush, Iron Maiden, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper. While I do think some are watching only because they see good looking women, most really don't care, they listen because they love and enjoy the music. I would say 95% of the times, even if I have a video playing, I am on another tab checking out other stuff while I listen to the music if I am home and if I am outside, I only have audio playing so even if someone is "hot" or not, it doesn't impact my listening experience.
As a male metal head brought up on deep purple, black sabbath, nazareth, etc. Ie i am old. I listen to babymetal a lot, but also metallica and sabaton, also hanabie, band made etc.. One thing i bring to the conversation is that heavy metal contains a lot of lower register notes with drums, bass and low tuned guitar. The higher register female voice can stand out in the wall of sound giving a different clarity to the music. I appreciate the quality of the musicianship and singing of the bands of japan. Then there there is the showmanship, much more a movie show in a babymetal than for sabaton. I do also prefer female vocals. Anyway, just another comment.
My top 3 all time bands which I don't put in order of preference but by discovery are Rush, Tool and Band-Maid. Band-Maid are the first all female or even female fronted bands that I would have said were in my top 50 or even 100. I did not have anything against females in rock. I thought L7 and Kittie were cool back in the day but none really felt like must listen to bands. Band-Maid filled a musical void for me and their image was something I had to get over but it did not take long. I just shrugged and said to myself "well that's just Japan for ya!" and dove right in to their catalog of great songs. I've since gotten into other all female bands but only The Warning might crack the top 10. I kinda waver back and forth on that. Which brings me to one of your questions: Would I like these bands if they were male instead of female? I can see liking The Warning as such easy enough but part of that aforementioned void that Band-Maid fills is what their femininity brings to the musical equation. They would still be among my favorites as songwriters as that to me is their greatest strength but idk if that would put them in my top 3 or not. Feels strange trying to even imagine it to be honest. I'd like to mention one other all female band and that is Voice of Baceprot. Idk how much I'd listen to them if they were male. I'm pulling for them. Because they are all female. They come from a society (Indonesia) with a religious tradition that doesn't usually look favorably among women doing what they do. They are the scrappy underdog band and I really hope they get to keep living out their dream for as long as they wish to.
Wow! We have such similar musical tastes! My top three bands of all time are tool, rush, and the warning, and like you, I also really like band maid and VOB 😊
Normally I'm strongly of the view that gender shouldn't matter, but with VOB I agree that it definitely does. Not so much because of attitudes in Indonesia, but because of attitudes in the west, where it's assumed that a woman who wears a hijab cannot be strong or independent. I loved the speech that Marsya gave at their Transmusicales show, especially because France in particular has a lot of prejudice against women who choose to wear traditional religious clothing.
@@kicorse I'm an outlier here. My mom was a piano teacher, so I grew up on classical music, plus a little bit of AM radio pop/rock and some folk records my parents had. In high school I started listen to eclectic college radio (there were a couple of stations that played a wild mix of classical, rock, jazz, fusion, folk, world music and occasional avant garde stuff, all sequenced pretty randomly. I really miss that. My own Spotify playlist (unbob's faves) is patterned after that. My favorite band, for a long time, was the Dixie Dregs, with Zappa and the Mothers and Happy the Man tied for second (yes, it's very odd tie). I had friends who were into early metal/hard rock (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple) and prog (Jethro Tull, Yes, ELP) and whatever category you want to put Queen in. And that stuff was all OK, but it didn't grab me the way the Dregs did. Although many of my friends were into prog, none of them were into Rush - and I'm with them on that. Yeah, technically very good, creative, musically independent, Neil and Geddy were very interesting characters, but their music never grabbed me (not even as much as Tull, Yes and ELP). My favorite modern band is Voice of Baceprot (I saw then when they came to Massachusetts(yay!)). Yes, the hijabi aspect is part of it (and I also loved Marsya's little speech at Rennes), but also I'm kinda into comparative religion and have been telling (bored) people around me how different islam is in Indonesia, so it's gratifying that people can see that now. I _really_ like the rap/punk/funk/metal fusion that Voᗺ puts out. And the punky directness of their message. And the way that they live through their music. And the skewed, decolonized way they use English. I'm not that big on Japanese girl bands. I'm slowly warming up to Otoboke Beaver (I have a friend who's a big fan) and I like them better now that I've found translations of some of their lyrics. Yeah, Bandmaid and Lovebites have astounding technical ability, but. . .the music doesn't grab me. I _do_ like Atarashii Gakko, but they're really an (anti?)idol group, not a band. And I _love_ Andrew Hartley's cultural analyses of Baby Metal (even though I'm not that hot on the band, except maybe the bassist). Ningen Isu is a Japanese Band that I like - but mostly for Heartless Scat, which I think is head and shoulders above the rest of their stuff (although the rest of their stuff is not bad). Heartless Scat, for me, has compositional elements that verge on the symphonic, in a somewhat barebones way. Just an excellently constructed piece of music. A girl-fronted band that a really like (probably #2 behind Voᗺ in my current personal hit parade) is Eruca Sativa. And, yeah, I know they're good buddies with The Warning and the Warning are very talented mainstreamish composers and performers. But The Warning just doesn't grab me the way that the quirkiness of Eruca Sativa does.
7:08 What is the elusive quality? I follow BABYMETAL, Band Maid, Lovebites and Nemophila (also The Warning). I'm 63 and have been going to concerts since 1981. The groups I named, their music resonates in me and second, I very much admire their work ethic. Most of the bands that I followed in the 80's had a propensity to take two years off following a tour, and the bands I listed here work hard and all the time.
The Australian male rock band KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD from Australia are unique in terms of work ethics and versatility. In 12 years from 2012 to 2024 they released 26 studio albums, 3 EPs, 39 live albums (2 official / 37 bootlegs), 4 compilation albums, 65 singles, 60 music videos and 1 remix album. In their "Gizzverse" they process the following musical styles: psychedelic rock, garage rock, acid rock, progressive rock, surf rock, krautrock, psychedelic pop, indie rock, neo-psychedelia, thrash metal, stoner metal, progressive metal, sludge, groove metal, folk, jazz, funk, Tropicália, synth-prog, hip-hop and there will be more to come in the future. They have the ability to start their concerts with synth pop and end them with thrash metal, for example. I'm a LOVEBITES fan who also loves many other bands from rock history from the 1960's to today 🖖
59 year old rocker here. Speaking personally, I'd say it's no different than male bands that have good looking members. I think back to the 80' with the Hair Bands, like Poison, Motley Crue, Warrant, Whitesnake, etc. These guys were good looking! But the music wasn't the greatest. It was cookie cutter 80's rock with sexually charged lyrics about the debauched life of rock stars. Pretty much🤷♂️. Then Babymetal comes along and opens up a treasure trove of hidden talent and music in Japan. Babymetal seems silly at first, but then you really listen to what's going on. And it's good. REALLY good. So you wonder, is there more? One suggestion leads to another and before you know it, you discover that Japan has some amazing rock and metal music. The fact that a lot of them are female artists, well... That's a plus! Western female rock and metal bands aren't being noticed. Perhaps because the talent and creativity is...the same stuff EVERYONE else is doing. What we're getting from Japan is creative, intricate, melodic, and most of all different. Different song structure, different themes, different perspectives. The good looks? It's no different than the good looking guys in guy bands. It's just looks. It's not our fault they're so talented AND they look so good🤷♂️. P.S. I think a lot of the virtuosity of their talent comes from Japanese culture itself. They are products of their environment.
Hey Nena! Thank you so much for opening this very interesting conversation that allows for so many interesting thoughts! I want to start off by acknowledging that gender makes a huge difference in the connection to a musician and agree that it's simply part of that musicians personality and therefore of what they create and how they deliver it. I myself am someone who's mainly drawn to female musicians (all female bands, female fronted bands and female solo musicians), so I guess I'm part of the demographic that those commenters were addressing, even if not for the reason they were suspecting, for me it's all about the feeling part. I think that it's pretty unfair to compare an all female to an all male Band for that reason, the music and delivery can never be the same between the two genders. We'd have to ask that question from the hypothetical standpoint that the males would be the same as the females so basically female souls in male bodies, then my answer would be that their gender doesn't matter, at least to me. I think therefore the question the commenters really wanted to ask is if those bands would be as succesful if they were less or not at all physically attractive. Now here is where it gets interesting because I think there's a split in the music scene between the rock/metal world and the mainstream scene. If they were making mainstream music, I think it would make a huge difference, but as they're in the rock/metal scene, I think the impact would be less important although it may be depending on the bands, what kind of people they attract and the way they market themselves. Now onto what I think are the reasons for the male fan's dedication beyond the music itself and appearance stuff (statements on my personal experience will be based on my dedication to The Warning alltough they're not Japanese but they're the ones I have the most connection to) : - Feeling and being able to live out one's feminine side (referring to Jung's animae and animus theory). I think that all female bands open a space for males to live out their feminine side and feelings in a way they see as socially acceptable and it may be the only space for them to do it. - Protector instinct (I'm definitely guilty of that one). A bunch of young girls on their own has a tendency to wake a man's protector instinct and create the need to protect them and give them extra support. - The bands sharing truthfully so much of their life, experiences and personality, therefore making them much more relatable as people. This seems to be pretty exclusive to all female bands and is probably a dedication point for both genders of fans. Bands I can recommend (alltough not Japanese) are "Dogma" and "Dea Matrona". They're definitely worth a listen and I'd be truly interested in what's your opinion on them. Have a wonderful weekend and take care ✨🤗🤗💛
In regards to most of the audience being male. I'm 60 years old and I remember going to metal shows here in the United States most of the metal bands were male. And the audience was overwhelmingly male. So if you're a music lover you have to appreciate the musicianship of these new ladies, but I don't really think it has much to do with old men attracted the young woman or even young men attracted young women. I think they just really like the music. As to why we'll the voices are refreshing after years of male voices. Also hearing what they think and feel from the female perspective.
It's a breath of fresh air. The music is unique. The lyrics tend to be mote positive and happy than brutal or violent. The musicianship and technical skill blows me away. Western songwriting tends to begin with coming up with a main riff first. In Japan, they usually create the melody first. Japan is just where all the cool things are happening when it comes to new sounds.
If looking at other current genres of Jrock: metal core and Visual K are dominated by male bands. My early entry into Jrock during late 90's and early 2000's were with mostly male bands (X-Japan, Luna Sea, L'Arc-en-Ciel, Glay) or female fronted with male players (The BrilliantGreen, Do As Infinity). What got me back into Jrock are the current all-female rock and metal groups. Admittedly alot more than current male bands I listen to: OOR, Sims, Crystal Lake, Crossfaith, and Coldrain.
If you look at the crowds at the concerts, a lot of it is made up of what's known as "Uncle Fans", or older males. Where some bands, such as BAND-MAID, have special spots reserved for younger fans. I'm a 69 year old white male, and found BAND-MAID, and the whole world of Asian Rock through exploring Anime theme music. I was drawn to them due to their fresh, unique sound and undeniable talent and positive attitude, something lacking in Western Rock. I'm now a fan of Gacharic Spin, Nemophila, Wagakki Band, Lovebites, NEK!, Koiai and many more. The Ladies offer something I haven't been able to find elsewhere, and a lot of people seem to feel the same. When it comes to Asian Rock, it's a bold new world. Lets keep exploring!
Good looks never hurted, no need to deny that. But I predominantly enjoy the musicianship in those bands. Them being all female is just a coincidence. Good musicians are good musicians regardless of their gender. There are also great mixed or all male bands out there. My entry to japanese metal was Babymetal, who I still admire. I have a special neck for Nemophila btw.
The female rock bands from Japan and Korean are bringing a fresh presence, Band Maid's song writing and playing is outstanding, as well as the others mentioned. Male bands from Japan most noted Maximum the Hormone are also well received. I believe people are now exposed to them and are becoming fans, simply because they are good and western music has not evolved for 30 years. It's stuck in the past.
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I can't wait to hear your thoughts - I've listed all the questions posed in this video in the description box! I look forward to your sincere analysis. Here is the link to the original video: Japanese All-Female Metal and Rock Bands - the Fandom Explained: ruclips.net/video/3mflDbiH-vA/видео.html Thanks for being here! Please take a moment to like and subscribe if you haven't, and let me know what you'd like me to analyze next!
I am a 69-year-old male. I loved all the great rock male bands of the past. The reason I like these lady bands is because of their musicianship! They can compete with the great Rock Bands of the past. They are unbelievably talented, as good as the British Invasion band and others. To me at my age is their level of talent, they are unbelievable! These girls all look very young, and I don't consider myself a creep! As for their sexual appeal, well they are girls, some very pretty girls playing great rock music! They are mostly underdressed like an artist from other countries who use their flesh to gain a fandom. Band-Maid is my favorite, and they certainly don't have to play half-naked to get men to like them. Pretty girls are definitely easy on the eyes, however, they are extremely talented just as talented as the male Japanese who are very talented as well. Some of my other favorites besides my Favorite (Band-Maid) are Glim Spanky, Nemophila, Altius, Lovebites, and many others. The fact that they are great artist is more important to me than their gender. Let me know of a male Japanese band, that is as good as these ladies and I will gladly add them to my list. I love The Loudness and others. I don't care for "The Last Rock Stars" But great Rock Music is what I have been missing and these ladies provide that for me.
There is a lot to unpack in your video that probably could use several videos to address each particular point regarding Japanese female bands and their immense popularity. I'm a 77 male and have been following rock since the late 1950's and my first live exposure was seeing Joey Dee and the Starlighters in 1960 or 1961 do "The Peppermint Twist" in a social club in Hoboken New Jersey. I loved all the genres, from surf music to Motown to Philly Soul to doo-wop to anything and everything. When the British Invasion period occurred, I was never a fan of the Beatles, gravitating more towards The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, The Yardbirds and the like, which led eventually to the great supergroups of the late 1960's- late 1970's. But there weren't a lot of female groups outside of singing groups like The Shirelles, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and others that were similar.
But I went to a show, I forget if it was in NYC or out in LA, where I went to see The Rascals or The Doors, and a female rock group named Fanny opened for them. They were predominantly Filipino-Americans and they were GREAT. Their musicianship was excellent and their compositions really stuck with me. But they were almost treated as a novelty at the time, and after some friction within the group, they went through some members leaving and new ones coming on. And just kind of faded. It really was a shame because they were the progenitors of the female bands that came afterwards. There was a time here where female bands took the music world by storm and held a lot of sway for a period of time. Then musical trends changed and there were fewer and fewer female bands. This also happened during the time that all types of rock hit there peak, and even that changed where classic rock kind of took a back seat to other genres. It was like being in the wilderness.
I first got interested in Japanese music after seeing the female group The 5.6.7.8's in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and I was really happy about them. From them I got into Show-Ya and some other groups, including X Japan, who were just amazing. I kind of fell away again until about 10 or 11 years ago someone posted a video of Wagakki Band's song "Kishikaisei", and I was enthralled by the combination of modern rock with traditional Japanese instruments that had a completely new sound. In addition, I listened to possibly the finest singer I've ever heard, Yuko Suzuhana. They have been the only true supergroup in the 21st Century. It was then I began to delve more into Japan's music scene and I was astounded by the number of really great female bands. At one point I was listening to 12-15 different groups, like SCANDAL, Aldious, Stereopony, Girlfriend, Bridear, Lovebites, Nemophila and a host of others. But when I started following Band Maid, who have become my go-to rock band. As to your question, I was drawn to the excellence of musicianship and the exquisite compositions of Kanami Tono and the gorgeous lyrics of Miku Kobato. I can't deny that they are attractive, but that wasn't the main reason I took to them. I'm a father, grandfather and great-grandfather with daughters, granddaughters and a great-granddaughter and adore and cherish them. But when some idiot on YT starts commenting about the older guys are just creeps and perverts when it comes to Japanese female bands it really angers me. One clown went after me personally in a comment, and in a fit of rage commented back in a manner that YT did not care for and let me know about it. But if it happened again, I'd respond in the same way. There are a lot of older male fans who enjoy and regard highly Japanese female bands solely for their musical excellence. There is a minority of trolls and creeps out there, and none of us would stand for their crap. We truly enjoy them because they have become the keepers of the flame for the rock that we all loved and missed. We don't need to be tarnished by losers like that. I apologize for the length of the comment, but I got on a roll, lol. I've become a subscriber and will look forward to more discussions like this one. Good luck on your journey.
I appreciate your thoughtful videos.
I was playing with bands since I was a boy, but it was only amateur, I never wanted to go through the hardships of daily rehearsing for many many hours, but I have deep respect for the pros.
I think these women are bypassing Western feminism, which is a bit theoretical, dogmatic, generalizing etc., they can use its values though in case there are related issues with some management.
Basically, they work hard and for many of them, work and talent are being rewarded, regardless of gender.
It has become next level of Japanese culture. I say this because I believe there is some starting point and heritage from the Geisha culture and its skills and values. Education to become a Geisha is hard, and there is a wide spectrum of required skills, especially to be an entertainer, to be good at conversation and smalltalk, to play some instruments perfectly, and same perfection for some complex dance moves and theatric gesture, and of course, design on many levels. Appearance is super important.
Women from most other cultures have no access to such a treasure.
Of course, the most important thing is, these women ROCK!
Another interesting aspect is that there is a certain timeline in many societies, to do certain things. In the 80ies there were attempts in the West, like Joan Jett, but this did not get too far. Still, it was a good breakaway from narrow societal traditions and habits, that were very uncomfortable to women, to say it softly. Feminism was implicit, they did not require any theories, they just lived lives the way they wanted.
So, I am very pleased to see that today, Japanese women (but seems Thailand an Indonesia are now joining) are continuing what happened back then in the West, and they are getting much further, and already some global careers are taking place. Quality and life-style are more sustainable. Western Rock ladies had too many drop-outs with drugs and stuff.
I'm always looking into the audience, when I watch live videos of female bands.
The bands and singers that I like most (also BRATS! and AiNA) have many female fans, and this is a sign on the wall.
That's why I say this has to do with developments in society. Very different from old-school "idol" bands that are attractive to male fans only.
Band-Maid is the perfect explainer for this. They are expert musicians and singers, and they visibly enjoy playing together. They smile all the time and interact with each other. Male bands are always just standing there and looking somber if not depressed. It's a totally different attitude.Also Band-maid is probably one of the least sexualized bands out there. They are all attractive, but they don't flaunt it much at all. The music is what's important to them and it shows.
Agree! They add a level of fun and seem to really want the audience to have a good time. That makes a huge difference! :) This is something I talked about in the first video. It is something that you can't fake or manufacture.
I saw an interview with a male Japanese guitarist. When he was asked the same question, he replied that Japanese women in rock band are not that popular and never heard of Band Maid. This is 3 years ago. I have a few of Band Maid's cds ,so I like the music without the visuals, too. I have also noticed that mainly female musicians are the majority of female Band Maid fans. Explaining why would be a good video to do. Not a single female in my life understands why I like them.
But the interesting thing is they weren’t “expert” musicians when they started. The drummer and the primary guitarist were, but the others were barely passable. They went in on the maid cafe gimmick just to get attention, though ironically the singer wouldn’t play along and created what was a rather weird dynamic early on. So, yeah… they got attention initially for their appearance, and only through a lot of hard work did their music eventually overcome the maid gimmick.
Very true - and I also think that a lot of these bands really give off the 'what was' vibe that a lot of people, especially Gen Xers (male, but female too) find appealing - Lovebites defintely gives off the old skool Maiden vibe, and Band-Maid is GnR, Mettalica, Joan Jett, and even jazz and blues put together so that makes a Kaleidescope of sound.
I do think you see a lot of devotion because deep down, all us old dudes know how hard it is for female rockers (hell any rockers anymore) to get noticed, and appreciated by the current music biz. So the fans of these bands that have fallen HARD, feel a personal responsibility to help them get more attention, more fans, more soc media stats - whatever that will help them become bigger artists. Gen Xers and some boomers, even early millennials I think have a gut reaction when becoming fans - why aren't they bigger? Why aren't they on the radio in the US??!! They're too good not to be noticed! I really think that is what drives what would be a 'nice' fandom into something more- personal. And those fans find kinship, so a lot of friendships form, and the drive becomes a bigger force.
@@Wyl7Miku didn’t know how to play guitar when she formed BAND-MAID but MISA was certainly an accomplished bassist. Not just Kanami on lead guitar and Akane on drums.
Miku is a fine singer in her on right, and won an idol contest. But her higher pitch wasn’t the sound she wanted, for she sounds great as a pop singer but wanted to play harder music. So she fired herself as lead singer and asked their management to find another singer, enter Saiki. And I would add that Miku probably has greater range as a singer but Saiki has a more “powerful” voice. Anyway, my two cents worth.
I am a 66 year old rabid Band-Maid fan. I think their popularity, especially among older men is two things........they write and play music that. has a strong 70's nostalgic feel. I don't know a lot about writing music, but I know what these bands play has a lot more in common with what's on the vinyl rock albums I bought in the 70's, 80's and 90's than I hear from contemporary artists today. Secondly, the bands have a visual aesthetic that is very appealing and different, making them exciting and fun to watch.
At 67yo I'm a Band-Maid fanboy.....big time, they have everything I love in life and music.
I've always supported females doing things done by predominately males from music to auto/motorcycle racing.
With regard to music I've always preferred a woman's voice over a male's.
When women can play instruments and write music as good as male then yes, I go towards the female for the fascination of them being equal to, if not better than men.
Very recently, Band-Maid's lead guitarist Kanami Tono was historically honored by being the first Japanese artist of either gender to be presented with their own Signature Limited Edition PRS Guitar model with all of its limited 200 editions being sold out within a day. There are many talented Japanese artists that Rock but are relatively unknown over here even though they are just as good or even better musicians than anything currently produced in the West. Female Japanese rockers are just as good as their male counterparts and can hold their own against anyone but seem to predominate because music is something that many women are drawn to at an early age and the Japanese school system encourages their involvement and further development. Having a strong musical base is essential and women seem to have the overall edge here as the men are drawn more to nonmusical clubs or sport teams. Numerically, it seems that there are more women artists than men at this time although I don't know what the actual figures are. At any rate, what's important is the quality of the Rock music and many of the female groups are incredibly good at what they do, which is produce outstanding music.
Indeed!! :)
She certainly deserves it! She is my favorite.
I started seriously listening to music in 1974. Band-Maid is my favorite band ❤
They are incredible!
mine too.
For me, I discovered Band Maid when I saw a coworker wearing one of their shirts and wanted to confirm if they were a real thing and it was what the name sounded like. So a bit of intrigue and "the gap" as Miku would put it got me hooked. Since it's a band of maids, I can't deny the gender aspects was a factor in getting me to look into them. It opened the door. But I wouldn't have stayed if the music wasn't there, and their personalities and excitement they display on stage is infectious and makes it worth it to seem them in concert.
These bands all have influences from Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal here in States. Japan still has high music learning in schools. For me they have a way of making incredible rock and metal music, hard, heavy, yet uplifting, putting smiles on faces. When I heard Nemophila Life in august 2020, and I’m in tears, even though I don’t know Japanese language. That tells me what I need to know about a band. Mayus vocal, and Saki,Hazukis guitars crying emotion, just move me to tears.
Band Maid just plays such great rock music. Kanami being an incredible guitarist, and composer. This year I dealt with heavy loss in first three months. No record, yes it’s an EP, but no record has had as much a profound effect on me like Hagane EP - Life goes on. Nagis vocal in choruses, like in Life goes on, just gives me a warm feeling. Sakuras writing, the way the songs are composed, her shredding, yet melodic styles. Just make great songs. Power, Speed metal, yet such uplifting choruses. Japan seems to do this in great ways.
Hagane, Nemophila, Band Maid, Lovebites, MARDELAS, Yousei Teikoku, Bridear, Babymetal being my top bands. 🤘😻⚔️
Ahaaa, not only States, more from British Rock and European metal.
I had already been telling people how crazy cool Otoboke Beaver were before I heard Band Maid. When I first saw a BM video I laughed and thought they were a bit silly but then the melodies kept dancing in my head and I realized that they surpassed their shtick. (Kiss never did)
Yes I will unabashedly call them attractive and I don't care because I have had 50 years of cock rock and boy bands shoved down my throat. But it is more than that, I've always supported female musicians and want to hear what they have to say and where they can move music to next.
Yes I have traveled around the world and am seeing Band Maid tomorrow night!
That’s amazing!!! Enjoy! 😊🖤🤘🏻
Band Maid is my favorite band!!! By far!!! 🤟💗
They are amazing!
There have been great female musicians for a long time in classical music playing instruments like piano and violin etc. We all knew they can be equals or better than male counterparts but for some reason, not many went to rock, metal, etc. But here they come - and so many from Japan. They seem to take the endeavor way more seriously and passionately compared to many classic western male bands that go for money, sex, drugs, etc. It seems to drive them to continuous growth and pursuit of excellence. I also think the challenge is higher given the misogyny in the music industry and you end up with these over-achieving creators pushing past good and becoming great. Band-Maid is a great example; Their attention to detail and improvement seems to be tireless. As many will say, if you didn't see what the members of these bands look like, you would just think that they sounded great and even better than some favorites from eras past. I'm all in and will support them how I can.
I'll start off by stating that I am a full-fledged Maidiac. One of the things that make the Maids so endearing to me and the rest of their fans is their willingness to share their lives off-stage with us. While their talent, technical skills, cohesiveness, professionalism, and joy in performing is important to us, their sometimes goofiness and sharing mundane activities make them more real, more human on social media without being posers. Fans from all walks of lives can relate to them. Another thing that Band-Maid fans feel is that world of Western corpirate rock radio too often underappreciate and dismisses their talent and value to rock and roll in general. The Xenophobia shown by the Western culture to their contributions to the genre is really disturbing. So we are fiercely supportive of our favorite J-Rock groups. Perhaps there may be some unwarranted disrespect for male J-Rock artists because some people may think they are only copycat with appreciating their creativity, their technical skills, and their devotion to the artform. The Japanese people have been incredibly supportive of Western artists from many genres and I, for one, feel it should be reciprocated.
I started my Japanese metal band rabbit hole with Unlucky Morpheus. They have a female singer and a female violin player, but the rest of the band is male. I'm a 53 year old male who's been listening to the same metal bands since 1986. I was hungry for something new and different. I'm still new to the Japanese metal scene, but I'm loving it.
Unlucky Morpheus blew me away, after listening to metal for a few decades I found my home.
Unlucky Morpheus are great, you can catch Fuki with Doll$Boxx and she does solo work too.
Band Maid saved me for rock- this 73 yr old has seen them all, an dthis is the best band live, catalog, positive energy and outlook on life, stage presence.
Their image really is nothing to me its the music.
I'm old (recently turned 60) and have been a metal head / hard rock lover for a very long time. In that time, we have never seen an all-female group that produces an aggressive, solid hard rock sound comparable to an all-male band. I challenge anyone who looks at me funny when I rave about BAND-MAID to name a single all-female band that kept up with their male counterparts, and if they say something like The Bangles, I'll slap the fuck out of them. The rock/metal world came to the conclusion that women just don't have it in them to be as aggressive as men. Japan came along and proved that wrong.
It's SO nice to see female musicians not only being taken seriously, but being truly celebrated for their talent and artistry. It's a significant step forward, and I agree these incredible bands from Japan are leading the way!
I agree 100%
Sugoi! As a 67 year old white American heterosexual man who grew up on The Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc., IMHO; my favorite bands are almost all all-female Japanese bands. My interest in pop, punk, rock and metal were rejuvenated by these bands. Rock and roll had become stagnant and stale. If BAND-MAID had come along in the early 1960's, they would have been at least the equivalent of the Beatles. I say that with total reverence toward the Beatles. Cute and/or sexy alone doesn't last if you can't play, sing, write, or perform live. Japanese female bands are at the top of the food chain and I say that with zero hesitation. Arigatou!
Well said! :)
my soul used to felt to Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Iron maiden, Pantera, sepultura and many more, i dont mind gender/age on music if they are talented, i will buy their album. I craved for the freshness sound in this types of music. For example is Lovebites, if you know, you know🤘🏽
Thanks for the continued discussion of this topic! You mentioned "unparalleled musicianship, their incredible stage presence, their devotion and commitment to their fans, their adorable personalities, and of course, their undeniable visual appeal". But there's one thing missing in that list: _songwriting._ I can only speak from the Band-Maid perspective, since that's what I listen to. If composition has some "gender" component to it, then, yeah sure, maybe Band-Maid's all-female lineup brings whatever quality it is that being all-female brings. But I don't know what that is. Could it be that it's because I like classical music and Band-Maid hits some of the same compositional points, but in a rock mode? I don't really know for sure; but one thing I do know is that Kanami Tono is a genius composer of modern rock and everyone else in Band-Maid is 100% signed on to that program. There are dozens of all-male and mixed-gender bands I like that have similar musical qualities. I'd list those bands and what those musical qualities are, but I've droned on long enough 😅
You are absolutely correct! I believe I mentioned that in the original video, but if not, it was definitely an oversight. I could not agree more! 😊🤘🏻
Luckily, your comment was the first I read and saved me from rattling on in every point you "MAID". I was born in 1959 and had thought Rock was basically dead until 2017 when I heard "THRILL". Down the pigeon hole I went and never looked back.
Well said and along with what others have written, I can skip commenting and just point to here. As far as Asian music goes, I'm mainly a fan of Band-Maid, and for me personally it's the music - above all, the songwriting. There's not a lot of separation in instrumental talent among the top Japanese bands - most all are masters of their instrument - but they differ greatly in sound and songwriting. Gender, personal appearance, costuming - are all fluff to me. Being great human beings does add a little magic for me personally, but in the end it's whether the music brings me joy. And in Band-Maid's case, over the last few years I haven't experienced so much joy in decades; having gone through their entire catalog multiple times has been just one giant joyride.
I agree 100%. Band - Maid has awesome songs, They are a higher level that the rest, but the rest ARE GREAT AS WELL.
I was born in 1963, so I'm like a lot of the others who are commenting here. I grew up listening to Rush, Black Sabbath, and a lot of the other bands during that time period. They used up all of their creativity and their music, eventually, went away. No one filled the void. As a Christian however, I was able to find some interesting Christian bands that kept me listening for several more years. Now, there really isn't that much left...until the Japanese wave came along. Band-Maid reminds me a lot of the Rush years, except without the preachy political commentary that finally crept into their music. Additionally, as a Christian, I appreciate Band--Maid's relatively clean music and appearance. Moreover, I find Miku Kobato to be the most adorable guitar player I have ever seen, so that draws me to watch them. I would take adorableness over sexy any day. 🙂
I'm 63, I've enjoyed live Metal and Rock gigs since 1976 and I'd have to say that Band-Maid are THE best Hard Rock band I've ever seen (sorry, Zeppelin, Zappa, Santana, Queen and others but, while we shared good times, it was 40 to 50 years ago) while Lovebites are THE best Metal band I've ever seen (sorry again, Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, Metallica but the 70's and 80's were a long time ago now). Apart from those two giants, there are quite a few very impressive all-female bands helping to create the very best music of the 21st century, such as Nemophila, Hanabie, STMLT, Otoboke Beaver and many others. 🤘🤘 6:13 - "They are exceedingly talented and dynamic and their music speaks for itself..." (so like any major male band who are rightly revered for their quality back catalogue - Stones, Zeppelin, Floyd, etc, for example) "...but it's also undeniable (is it?) that their gender has enhanced their appeal..." If anything, based on supporting Band-Maid for the past 8 years, I'd have to say that the opposite is true as the vast majority of my friends, male and female, that I've tried to promote them to - often very musically experienced people too - usually struggle to get past the maid outfits, even when I've explained that the cognitive dissonance between the kawaii/cute look and the hard-rocking, highly skilled musicianship on display was a deliberate act on the part of Miku, the band's founder. She calls it The Gap and, boy (or girl!), do people find it a tall barrier. Babymetal used the same idea with their Kawaii Metal. Both work brilliantly, imho. The other outstanding attribute of these female Japanese bands is the lack of stank faces and pained, look-how-hard-this-is faces as, often in heels and gowns, they slam out Hard Metal and Rock with smiles galore, exuding happiness along with their powerful music, rather than trying to always be angry and pained. I loved all the bands I saw through the 20th century but, since 2015, all my music has come from Japan and it is mostly all female (Asterism, Wagakki Band, Ningen Isu and Babymetal have male musicians in them), honourable exception being The Warning, who I saw live in April - 3 women - sisters - from Mexico who know how to Rock hard.
It's refreshing to see all the talented female bands from Japan. Lovebites have become my favourite band.
🖤🖤🖤🤘🏻
I like Band-Maid best, but I love Lovebites as well, hell they all fucking rock
Bandmaid love what they do and it shows , they EARNED there success and respect from their fans PO
Absolutely!
In the history of "Rock Music" there has never been such a female power with bands that consisted only of
women as we now know from Japan.
The inspirations of the past are refreshed, provided with new elements and blown into the future, wonderful.
Through my love of hard rock, progressive rock and heavy metal I was most affected by the LOVEBITES fever.
Long live the Japanese Rock Scene ✌🤩🤘
YES! 🖤🤘🏻
Very interesting subject. I've always been drawn to strong female characters. I stumbled into Japanese female rock bands by following The Warning. I do feel that all female bands have an interesting attraction. However, if the music is not good, I lose interest. My favorite is currently Lovebites.
I think that’s a great point! Regardless of gender, no band can hold a person‘s attention if they aren’t genuinely talented. Well said! 😊🤘🏻
I wont speak for everyone,but for me,the diference is the smile,i love japanese bands like deviloof,the gazette,dir en grey,jiluka,dexcore,crystal lake and more too,but their live shows are similar to western rock/metal bands,high energy and stuff like that,but faces more angry,i dont know how to put this in words,but when i see shows from bandmaid,nemophila,lovebites and hanabie,those girls are always smiling,and sometimes this is everything u need,a good music with happy energy....
I love Saiki of Band-Maids smile
@edwardwhittle5411 Saiki's,Haraguchi's and Fami's smiles are perfect!
Great discussion. Like many others have said, the quality of music is at the top of importance in my opinion. The visual appeal is just a bonus. I'll be going to see Baby Metal for the first time in a couple days, which is ironic since they probably are the group that first got me into the Japanese scene quite a few years ago. I've been fortunate enough to see Band Maid, Lovebites and Hanabie live and they all live up to the hype in person. It's the total package when it comes to being entertained by a musical experience.
Very true! 😊🤘🏻
I grew up with the rock music of the 60s/70s. It was mostly about having a good time and bands smiled at their audiences. I dropped away from rock as it evolved more into anger, hate, and distain for their audiences. Country, folk and blues filled that void a bit.
3 years ago I found Band-Maid. They are fantastic musicians/composers but what sets them apart from other bands, male or female, for me, is that they enjoy playing their music and enjoy their fans enjoying it with them.
That brings me back to how I remember rock being and doesn't have much to do with their being female except I think showing that kind of emotion on stage is likely easier for a female performer that a male one. Easier not easy as it does mean exposing yourself emotionally and rejection would hurt. That they do that also shows how strong/confident they are too. That too is something I find attractive.
Yes! They have this beautiful quality about them - they take care of their audience and you can see how happy they are making music and being able to present it. It's mesmerizing to watch!
For me, its the music. LOVEBITES are my favourite band of all time because they play the music I love (classic 80s metal) with an elite level of musicianship. Their looks are just the icing on the cake - the music itself is the cake.
well said!
This guy said exactly what I want to say.
Play some of the best Heavy metal Love bites Is my favorite metal band right now? I wish metallic would take them on tour. That was getting off-topic. Sorry about that. I'm just very passionate about this band I hope 1 day in the near future they can get as big as metalli 🎉🎉cabecause they deserve every acculate that they get. I mean, they play better than some Western heavy metal bands. My opinion I'm gonna end this by saying the famous saying that assami said. We are lovebites and we play heavy metal Thank you and keep up the great work
as a male, I find the female perspective that comes thru in their song writing and delivery - to be refreshing and interesting - especially the juxtaposition of what you see with what you hear...and there's no lack of being badass...
Yes! Agree completely, Steve!
One thing I like about Japanese female metal/hard rock bands is the fact they embrace their femininity. Too many Western all-female bands think they need to appear as tough and badass as the men, and end up seeming like they're "trying too hard", IMO.
I'm 49 years old and i can't stop listnening to japanese female bands since 2020, i saw Hanabie live twice and Fate Gear this year, my phone is full of these kinds of bands: Otoboke Beaver, Nemophila, Nek, Necry Talkie, Mellows, Hanabie, Haku, Fate Gear and a lot more. I was always more drawn to female performers but there wasn't a lot of female metal or even rock when i was younger, now this trend of female metal makes me happy and i started to learn Japanese 8 monts ago because of it. I plan to go to Japan next year and see some bands live if i can.
That's amazing! :)
For myself I can only say that of course the fact that they are all female makes a difference. After all, I like girls better than boys so seeing attractive ladies playing great music is a slam dunk. It was pleasantly shocking to find this level of talent coming from female bands out of Japan. Plenty of girls throughout my life spoke in dreamy sentences about their favorite male artists so I have no issue admitting that I finally have bands that I could say the same about. That said, I do separate the attraction from the musical appeal. Diving down the rabbit hole of all female rock bands I've truly enjoyed seeing everything I have been able to find from a host of female artists though in most cases, except for a few standout songs, I have only watched or otherwise listened to a song once. That's the attraction half of my answer. The music goes much deeper to me. In my case it's Band-Maid. I haven't come across a band that so totally drew me in in a very long time. I've bought every album and LP available (it's been decades since I supported a band that way), made a road trip to see them live, and haven't missed a live stream of theirs since I became a fan. Easily 90% of the time I'm listening to them it's only that, listening. In the car, during work, walking around the neighborhood, whatever. The Maids dominate my playlists and I still regularly listen to whole albums from them. I can say that about no other artist in my life. Would it be the same if they were all male? I would hope so but the fact is no other band's music has ever hooked me the way Band-Maid's has so I really don't have anything to compare it to. I have indeed been infatuated by other artists in the past but it was always short lived and got pushed out by something else. It's going on 5 years with these girls now so it's much more than just a fad with me. Would they have had this much staying power before U-Tube? Now there is an interesting question. I would have still bought the albums but watching other folks discover them gives me a lot of pleasure that I can only relate back to my college days when I'd drag my roommate or other friends off to see a band I liked that was playing in a small downtown club. When they enjoyed those acts it somehow justified my opinion of the band. Well there is my long winded answer to one of your questions. The appeal of the look certainly drew me in but the quality of the talent has made me a life long fan.
Thanks so much for sharing, Jack! :)
They rock, it's that simple! You don't have to dig that deep into that. Metal/Hard rock still attracts more males, it has always done that. Great music is great music. Male or female doesn't matter!
Agree completely! 😊🤘🏻
Music first! Beautiful master class musicians, bonus😅
Lol, perfect answer! 😊🤘🏻
They are all nice to look at but you don't see them when you listen to the music. If people wanted to care only about looks they would listen to female pop artists or Japanese female idol groups. I'm 44 and love these bands because they play music that sounds like the music of my youth. Most Western rock bands have a grunge or nu-metal influence influence and I hate those genres. I love Band-Maid and they play classic rock. I also love Aldious and Lovebites who play power metal which I've loved since I was 7 and heard the German band Helloween. I also like bands with an image or a theme. I used to be a big KISS fan and see the Japanese female bands in the same way. Aldious have the evening gowns Lovebites have the white dresses and Band-Maid have the maid outfits. It enhances the concert experience to have an image or theme.
Since everyone is doing shout outs, I guess then shout out to Gacharic Spin/DOLL$BOXX 😄
If the hypothesis is that these bands would be less popular overall if they would be play the same music, but would be all-male, it probably wouldn't be true. All you have to do is to look at the top jrock charts and see that these all-female bands are not there, and instead it's dominated mostly by bands like Vaundy, One Ok Rock, etc.
Now if the question is would the male fans be enthused about the same bands if they were all-male or if would be reverse situation with females fans, I don't think we have enough data for that question to be answered 🙂
I remember Gacharic Spin did a show with all-female group from Australia and there was an interview after that where they asked each other questions. Members from Australian group asked GS how is it being female in rock scene or something like that, and GS answer was something along the lines "We never thought about it, we think about ourselves as just a band and not a female band".
I'm not saying that sex/gender doesn't play any role in this (for example having a different perspective), but focus on gender is also not universal everywhere.
For me,what makes those bands unique is a factor called "stage presence". The smiles, crowd interaction, elegance, happiness are essential when it comes to why they're so lovable. I don't think many of us gave up listening to male bands-personally i'm a huge fan of LOVEBITES but regarding to other genres my favorite ones are doom and black (mostly melodic,depressive and atmospheric)!!! Completely opposites tastes, right? But i don't think i'll ever attend a concert of a male band of these genres cause when it comes to stage presence, they're boring, they've nothing to offer. But for LOVEBITES i flew from Greece to Milan and Paris this June and if i had had more days off of my job i'd certainly had seen them in other concerts.
But why the female Japanese bands have this impact and not the European and American ones? Well, the latter make a big mistake: in order to prove that they're equal to men they tend to behave like them.And when they don't, they over sexualize their image. On the other hand, Japanese women are proud of their femininity without leting themeselves be seen like objects. Personaly, i want to see real strong and self respecting women on stage and not some "i wish i had a cock" or " look, i sing with my boobs" females.
:)
I ❤ those ladies because, they are very talented musicians. Those women understand something than male forget, they have each time fun on stage, they take pleasure make music. They're happy & smile. That's important for me.
YES!!! ♥️🤘🏻
Band-Maid is an odd phenomenon, they're making some of the most interesting music I've heard in long while. Honestly I can say sure being all female may have started my initial interest in them, but I was thrown off just as much by their maid outfits.
I've been a "super fan" of two bands. Rush and Band-Maid. So, it seems like a pretty even split to me. I respect the other female Japanese bands, but their sound just doesn't resonate with me. That's proof enough for me that the music has to hit the spot.
One thing that does make these bands very attractive in general is they are overwhelmingly positive, and the shows are fun and super high energy. There's a lot of doom and gloom in heavier music, which I have zero use for. So, these female bands are a real breath of fresh air in a pretty stale and same-y scene. I'd be happy to go to the shows of the bands I don't really follow because I know it would be fun.
I think what makes me a super fan of Rush and Band-Maid are similar. They both have a very distinctive sound and style that I love, but it's not far off the mainstream. They're both very technical bands with great musical chops and creativity. I think most people who don't know these bands assume that isn't the case because they've never really seen that before from female bands. I really like and respect all of the members of the bands. I love Pink Floyd's music but I would have never been any kind of super fan of theirs beyond buying albums because they didn't get along that well and Roger Waters seems like a prick.
The Rush guys are a bit older than me, but Band-Maid members are significantly younger. So, the admiration is there but different. Rush were kind of like rock idols. I have kind of a fatherly pride for Band-Maid, and I don't think that's uncommon among the older fans. As a matter of fact, when Kanami's signature PRS was announced this week, I had as much pride as I would if it happened to my own daughter, and I was even thinking about how happy and proud her parents must be, and I was happy for them even though I don't know them.
Both Rush and Band-Maid have heavily male-skewed fan bases. I think that's just pretty common for heavy music. I've never been into Dream Theater or been to a show, but I highly suspect it leans heavily male as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Also a HUGE Rush fan. :) And you are right - Dream Theater shows definitely lean heavily male.
I've been a "super fan" of two bands : KISS and Band-Maid.
I had same feeling when I saw Band-Maid what I had when I was a young kid and saw KISS first time.
R U kidding? Lovebites is one of the best bands to come along in decades and yet the Wolfpack (fan base) remains small compared to the insane talent they possess. The fact is when I play these great bands without the video everyone is stunned at the musicianship, once the video is introduced they are even more stunned. Yes the petite appearance of these women is appealing but it is their insane talent that keeps the fans coming back for more. A LIVE show by any of these bands is an EXPERIENCE artists that are dedicated to their music, each other and their fans and it shows. Rock, Metal and Jazz have all gone to Japan to thrive and they have!!!!
Indeed! 🖤🤘🏻
It’s an interesting question. From my perspective, I’m only a fan of a few of the female Japanese metal bands and which ones they are are entirely based on the music. I recognize that all of these musicians are fantastic, but only the sound of a few have really captured me. (Mostly Band Maid, but also Hanabie, Maximum the Hormone, and Nek!)
The adoration I have for Band Maid has really grown from just loving the music and constantly wanting more. As anyone who gets obsessed with a band, I’ve learned about the members, and with Band Maid, they tend to be so much more likable than a lot of the western musicians I followed over the years, which makes wanting them to do well, make more music even stronger. I do enjoy that they’re beautiful and/or adorable. But it’s not enough on its own. They’re just awesome, start to finish and being attractive is part of that.
As far as new bands, you should check out Nek! (Pronounced neck-ee)
On the male band front, while not all male, Maximum the Hormone is insane and cool and weird fun.
I love Nek! I featured them in my last video - I will check out Maximum the Hormone! I have not heard of them! :)
@@psychologyofrock The music video for "SHIMI feat. ATARASHII GAKKO!", which was released a few months ago, might be a good place to start. This is an old song of theirs, but this time it features the much talked about all-female dance vocal group ATARASHII GAKKO! It is a very impressive song and video, and ATARASHII GAKKO! also did the choreography for the music video. They are known in Japan as "Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders", which literally means "New School Leaders".
I can only speak to Band Maid because, while I like some Lovebites songs, I love Band Maid’s entire catalog. Band Maid’s “pretty appeal” is nice, for sure. I won’t deny, or feel bad about, enjoying the sight of pretty women!
Would I like Band Maid as much if they were all male? Probably not-because the music WOULD NOT be the same. There is a feminine energy, and sensibility, in the music and lyrics that would surely not be present if they were men. I feel this is inarguable.
I can honestly say I’ve never thought of them in a prurient way, probably because they don’t play that angle up in the slightest. If that’s what I was looking for I’d be watching live videos of The Pretty Reckless! Momsen is good looking, and literally goes around onstage half-nude… but I don’t really care for the songs I’ve heard. Hence, I don’t watch her sexy antics and, instead, watch groups like Band Maid, and The Warning, play truly great music while maintaining some dignity and decorum.
Another rabid male Band-Maid fan, my favorite band. I do have double standards, I realized that I expect more and am more critical of male musicians because they are more accepted and established. Who today is better than Hendrix or Bonham or Eddie or Eric or all those who set the bar so high years ago? But Akane is close to Bonham and MISA is close to JPJ and Kanami is not far from the best and both Saiki and Miku sing like angels. And all the girls are only in their early '30s and still improving.
In their early days the Maids had shorter skirts that did add a touch of sexuality to their look but thankfully their costumes today are almost completely non-sexual and allow us to focus on the quality of their writing and playing without distraction.
All the Maids are egoless and love their fans and each other and it shows in everything they do. Down to earth and don't seem to take anything for granted.
Being a male rock star automatically includes a huge ego and exaggerated self-importance.
I agree that are ego-less, which is unbelievable given their immense talent!
personally for me its all about the music. that being said even the majority of bands with males in them i enjoy most have female singers. female vocalists are a preference for me. but also for 1 as you and others have said most of these all(or majority) female japanese bands have a fun energetic vibe while still playing the heavier or diverse music i love, 2 i had thoughts about this myself, but i listen to the bands more than i watch music videos so im comfortable saying it is definatly the music that appeals most to me but it definantly doesnt hurt they they are attractive and for the most part are still geniunly feminine, humble and fun women. and for my last thought the music these bands are playing is the music a lot of us older fans grew up with and have missed. but these bands are producing it now even if its not "mainstream" at a level that is incredible and not just 1 or 2 bands but more than i can keep up with. and if it was all about them being attractive females then why wouldnt i be following the big female pop stars, thats easy because i personally dont like their music and there are quite a few really good all male japanese bands out there but as i said i prefer female vocalists so while i still listen to and enjoy them its not to the same level
Pose-toi la question, pourquoi Kanami Tono de band-maid a recu sa guitares signatures de Paul reed Smith de ses propres mains à Osaka shin, cette semaine, et surtout pourquoi tout les modèles signatures de Kanami disponibles aux États-Unis ont été tous vendus en moins d'une heures? Même des artistes plus connus qu'elles ça n'est jamais arrivé et aussi la première japonaise à avoir cet honneur des guitares PRS, homme ou femme. Est-ce parce band-maid fait de la bonne musique. Est-ce que leurs fans sont déjà eux-mêmes musiciens ? Se poser la question c'est y répondre.
I discovered Japanese female rock/metal groups by complete mistake and curiosity in 2016, before this time I personally never liked female or even female frontend band's before, of course over the decades of rock I've been listening to there were certain standouts, however other than Heart, I didn't go out of my way to see or hear them because for me they're a "local" band, after listening to Band Maid the very first time, I thought that this is what I've been waiting for after what I felt was a dry spell of over 30 years. Once I heard them and started looking desperately for more music, I of course found every band your montage featured, I love listening to all of them, in fact I listen to them almost exclusively, I never liked gal band's and now I can't get enough? It's not because they are potentially attractive, it's because they're awesome, the arrangement, musicianship, the colorful outfits, cheerful attitude and comradeship that's attractive, their overall execution, so that's my take on why they are popular, they're just subarashii.
That is so interesting that it was Band Maid that swayed you into listening to female bands! I've heard this from many people! Just something special about them, I think :)
I'll speak as an American, lifelong musician (age 58), and of course I speak only for myself.
For me, the music itself is the #1 most important factor. Lyrical quality and performance skills come in at #2 and #3. Physical appearance is farther down the list. I'll admit that seeing pretty young women in a video's thumbnail will get my attention and often prompt me to check it out. But the simple fact is that the overwhelming majority of female artists are physically attractive, and if I don't like the music, their looks aren't enough to keep me interested. I've actually been pleased to see, in recent years, a number of Western (mostly European) metal and hard rock bands that have noticeably overweight female singers with incredible voices, because that tells me that the band felt talent was more important than looks.
The very first Japanese artist I became a fan of was a pop-rock singer named aiko (intentionally uncapitalized--that's how she does it). I found her quite accidentally in 2001 while doing a Yahoo! search for photos of a Japanese actress named Aiko [can't recall her family name at this point). My search somehow landed me on some random Japanese guy's personal website, and he had three plain text links to MP3 files. I clicked them out of curiosity. They were three songs by somebody named "aiko", and I instantly fell in love with her music. It was very early in her career--I think she only had one album out at that point, she wasn't being promoted outside of Japan at all, and RUclips didn't even exist yet, so I couldn't learn anything about her. The only way I could find more of her music was by combing the file-sharing apps like Napster and Limewire (I ended up legally purchasing 8 or 9 of her albums over the next several years, at inflated "import" prices, once I found a place to do that). I think it was 2004 before I even found a photo of her. And ... she was kinda cute, but she was built like a 12-year-old boy and appeared to be deliberately refusing to "sex it up", typically performing in a loose-fitting T-shirt, baggy jeans, and canvas sneakers. But her music was just that good. She writes her own songs, and she's still going strong today. I believe she'll turn 50 next year (and I swear she barely seems to have aged), and she's still going strong. She seems to have become influential, as I've come across music from other Japanese artists in which I can hear hints of aiko's distinct songwriting style. The funny thing is that aiko doesn't have that great of a voice. But she uses what she's got brilliantly, and is one hell of a performer.
My all-time favorite band is Rush (since 1980!), and their music really gave me a taste for highly-complex composition, musical excellence, and intelligent lyrics, and that has continued to influence "what I like" to this day. I'll become a fan of any band/artist that I feel meets those criteria (assuming, of course, that I actually like the music; there are plenty of bands who I can recognize, as a musician myself, are incredibly talented and skilled, but I just don't care for their style. I was in junior high school when I had the epiphany that "I don't like this band" does not mean "this band sucks". Thank you, Pink Floyd!) It doesn't matter if the band is all-male, all-female, or mixed. It just so happens that, currently, Lovebites is the band that best checks off all of my boxes. My actual, initial reaction to the first Lovebites video I ever saw, "Glory to the World", was, "Holy crap, they play at this tempo and the bassist is playing with her fingers, not a pick?! Wow!" (I'm primarily a bassist myself.) I'll add that my mom is a classical pianist, so I grew up listening to her play, and I was delighted to discover that Miyako's list of favorite composers almost exactly matches Mom's list of favorites - the "romantic" composers.
This is just my opinion, and comes from being involved mainly with the Band-Maid fan base, but I think that one intangible factor of the all-female rock bands, especially with those of us who grew up on 70-80s hard rock or metal, is that we view these incredibly talented young ladies as a father would an adult daughter. Think of how Billy Ray views Miley today.
IDK if the Billy Ray analogy is apt 😂, but yes, they're like my younger sisters that I am proud of.
my current favorites are BandMaid and Toranoko Rammy, ive had the pleasure of seeing both live multiple times BandMaid back in 2016 when they blew my mind within seconds of starting to perform and more recently in 2023 with Toranoko Rammy, both bands imediatly had me thinking these are the real deal, excatly what ive been looking for musically
I have always liked the dynamic of female singers in rock and metal. As a kid (mid 70’s) pre puberty I was drawn to Heart and Fleetwood Mac. In metal there was never a huge number of female fronted bands that played a style I grew to love in metal. Really liked Otep and Arch Enemy but it was Jinjer that pretty really meet that old itch. I then stumbled into Babymetal in 2016 which lead me down the J-metal rabbit hole. I love the female bands but also the mixed bands like Unlucky Morpheus and Maximum the Hormone. Also male bands like Ninjen Isu and Crystal Lake.
😊🤘🏻
In my experience, the audience for rock and metal had always a male majority. So I think it's no surprise that these bands are mainly listened to by men, too.
But of course, them being very attractive women doesn't hurt either, which is certainly a point.
I, personally, used to listen to the same old stuff for decades, until I found Band-Maid and then Lovebites. They refreshed my love in rock music by sounding so familiar, but also bringing a very modern and unique flair to it.
On the other hand, another japanese band I really adore is ASTERISM, which is 2/3 male, but technically and skill wise from another planet 🤘🏻🙂
I will check them out!
@@psychologyofrock Asterism is awesome.
Do you think there is any credibility to the argument that if these bands were male, they would not have the same level of success or popularity?
Ans: This is hard to know as there are not that many male rock bands with the same composing style of the female bands
Do you think if these bands were male, you would be as excited about them as a fan?
Ans: If the level of musicianship and song writing style was similar, I might be a fan, but I haven't found one yet.
Do you think gender could be playing a part in the popularity of these bands, beyond physical attraction?
Ans: it might be initially, but not after getting hooked by the music. I discovered Band-Maid when a friend sent me the MP3 for DICE (not the video) and was hooked. I asked him who this band was and that's when he told me it was an all female band from Japan. I started looking for more on YT and found the video for DICE. Also, Band-Maid dress pretty demure compared to US female pop stars, so at least for them it's not a sexual issue.
What is the elusive quality that these female artists possess that has led to such a dedicated fanbase?
Ans: for me it's they way they write their songs. I think it's a different way to looking at a song, from a different perspective.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I also agree that their perspective in songwriting is incredibly enjoyable! 😊🤘🏻
TBH, I was initially drawn to the all-female Japanese bands because they're attractive women. Here, a few years later, I'm still watching, listening, and buying CD's and DVD's of Lovebites, Nemophila, Band-Maid, Hanabie., and Koiai because I've discovered that they're the best bands currently on the planet regardless of gender or nationality. I also prefer the female singing voice to the male voice - in most cases.
I got interested in Japanese music from listening to anime sound tracks. Specifically Yoko Kanno's work. From there it sort of branched out and I would get music from people like Maaya Sakamoto. L'arc en Ciel, Abingdon Boys School, T.M Revolution and Kalafina. This is not all metal music, but a link to a Baby Metal song several years back put me on track of other artists such as you have shown. If you want to hear some fairly old Japanese metal then I recommend Loudness, a very good three piece band. There are many more, but for the most part, all of them are very talented in their own way.
When I discovered the japanese rock scene (not only all-female but also mixed and sometimes all-male), I had already been listening to female rockers mostly, for years. For a simple reason: gradually, I got fed up with male rock and its clichés, I didn't think it was going anywhere anymore, and I found the feminine approach to rock fresher. So, when I discovered there was a strong and creative female rock scene in Japan, I was ready.
So, the question of finding them as interesting if they were male make no sense to me: I listen to them because they write and play rock music in their female original way - that's the point. I would even say that I don't care for female bands imitating male bands. I mean, read Hanabie's or Band-Maid's lyrics: they are written from the point of view of a woman, about woman's matters or problems - and it's true musically too (even if it's often more subtle).
And it's true about the relationship between members inside the bands too - no stupid Oasis behaviour, or Rolling Stones' love/hate stories between Jagger and Richards. The relationship with the audience is different too - and it is reflected in the public's attitude towards them, extremely (I was nearly thinking "incredibly") respectful.
Lovebites are easy on the eye... that is what it is. They just happen to play killer metal, too. 🇬🇧
Lol, yes!
For me part of it is definitely that I simply prefer a female vocalist. Everything else being equal I simply prefer a female voice. That being said, like another commenter said Band-Maid is a great example because they don't play up the sexuality. The music comes first, but the way they interact with their fans and each other is also important. They're obviously having fun and that feeds into the community. That's often not as true with all male bands.
As a fan of a LOT of Japanese Bands MOST are all female but there are a few that are not. That being said even the ones that have some/all Male instrumentalists have a Female lead singer. The reason is purely and simply that I LOVE the female Voice and a Male voice has to be really really really special to appeal to me.
The other point is the connection with the Bands ALL the ones i have been following at least are GENUINE people with a massive stage presence and LOVE for their fans which is palpable which is HUGELY important to me, most western bands appear to only be interested in how much money they can make and disrespect the fans.
I agree that they really do seem very genuine :)
I can really only speak about myself (as a man). The only one of these that I'm really crazy about is Band-Maid, and that's mostly for the music.
Second is their funny and warm personalities that I observe in interviews and off- and on-stage interactions captured on video. That could have something to do with my innate attraction toward women, but I think I can imagine being maybe 90% as entertained by an all male band with music I loved and similar engaging personalities. It's just never happened. For me, Band-Maid is head and shoulders above anyone else in this age of social media. My old favorites are from decades ago. Now that I think of it, a good part of my excitement for B-M is that it's been such a long time since I found rock music I loved, so I want to do everything I can to support them and keep them going!
A couple of my guy friends have been more interested in the looks of the ladies when I've shown them videos, but they don't really like the music :(
I recommend you check out the recent incarnation of Hagane. Fast and melodic metal.
Thank you so much for the recommendation and for sharing your thoughts! I will definitely check them out - it sounds like exactly my taste 😊🤘🏻
First, as many have stated, the quality of the music is key; the fans would not be this into these bands were they half-assing the same old music. At the same time, I agree that the fact that they are women does play some non-creepy role in their popularity. As part of the older guy demographic, I think many of my peers latch onto the music quality point and subconsciously or consciously avoid the elephant-in-the-room angle. Not for bad reasons, it is just that normal non-creepy guys really, really do not want to be thought of as THOSE kind of fans.
I have observed that there is something in older guys that seems to always get excited whenever young people take up something that they are deeply fond of, be it music, sports, etc... Almost like some sort of dad gene kicks in. This doubly applies when it is non-traditional young people. So when you consider the combination of women, Japan, the amazingly high level of musicianship, and the fact that we have watched the decline of rock over the past few decades, the strong fan reaction it is not surprising.
I do think that these bands would still be popular if they were guys, but likely less so. As some of the other commenters have alluded to, these women definitely seem to bring a different energy than most guy bands. It is hard to describe without over simplifying it, but I would say it is something akin to joy. One common thread to these bands is that that when I listen to them they bring me happiness, no matter how heavy the music is. That is just so different from the vibe of most western hard-rock/metal.
Yes! There is definitely happiness in this equation! :)
For me it's the very top quality of the music and songs and being all female is a big positive, for many reasons. These are great songwriters and players and there are awesome new original ideas in their craft. We've heard thousands of versions of men for decades. When women rock your world with a game-changing sound and show, the voices, melodies, harmonies, and roars are fresh and can be startling even. It is moving to get bowled over by a wonderful new sound. It was a relief a few years ago when I started finding these bands, a relief that somebody had finally started moving heavy music forward again. The overall attitude and message has moved forward and dropped a lot of things that had become boring or a turn-off. That's why I think the audiences will continue to add more women.
I just heard the perfect description of Band Maid fans. It's like we're in a secret club. We discovered this treasure and we recognize others that have as well. That's what makes Band Maid fans so special.
🖤🖤🖤
2 points to make as a fan of female fronted Japanese bands (especially BAND MAID). First, if you notice, there are no politics or political based messages in the songwriting. Second, American rock for the most part has always been very repetitive. When I was first introduced to BAND MAID and others, you may get one small section of a song that repeats once, but even then they usually twist it up on the second go-round somehow. Screamy US metal does not do anything for me but I can go and listen to MtH or Hanabie anytime. Shoutout to both The Warning and Rolling Quartz - 2 foreign all female ROCK bands that have struck a good balance of male and female fans. At the end of the day it is really all about the music.
Yes! 😊🤘🏻
It's not either/or. I will freely admit that my very first impression of the first band I saw (Band-Maid) was about the "Gap"-- the disconnect between their look and their music. For sure they are adorable. But the world is drowning in cute girl-groups (just look at K-Pop!) American pop stars blatantly sexualize themselves to drive fan interest. I don't waste a minute on any of those acts. I would have no further interest in the Japanese rock bands if they were not phenomenal musicians. So the visual can serve as an initial "hook", but the effect lasts all of a few minutes, and after that it's about the music.
Well said!
I'm now well into my sixties and have been deeply immersed in the Japanese rock and metal scene since the summer of 2018. As a child, and later as a teenager and adult, male musicians were role models and inspiration for my own musical work. The female bands in the 60s and early 70s (Liverbirds, Fanny) were rare and somehow exotic in the beat scene. Since I'm attracted to women, I collected a lot of records by female bands and singers. (Fun fact: my BAND-MAID LPs are on the shelf between Bananarama and Bangles). I have two daughters who make music and are about the same age as the bands described here. My enthusiasm is certainly also based on the feelings of a proud father or uncle. The sexual aspect takes a back seat, although I do enjoy watching them. After decades of listening to Western music and the heroes of my youth are dead or ancient meanwhile, the discovery of Japanese music is so refreshing and excitingly different that my enthusiasm is undiminished. I imagine many other older men feel a similar way.
Lovebites is the only all female band I listen to. Their musicianship is exceptional and is reminiscent of many of the bands I grew up listening to. Never expected a Japanese all female band to be so addictive. 🏴🤘
They are incredible!
The women are filling a gap left by a lack of what the record companies are as marketable bands. They bring something fresh and with skill while also being visually pleasing. They also try harder, some so much that they shoot straight past the men. Band Maid is the example I know best, they work to bring the sound and they don't trip over their egos and work together.
I think first when I found Band-Maid, it was their originality, and stage presence/energy that captivated me. For years I was in a musical rut, listening to the same 6-8 groups over and over. It took forgetting to turn off autoplay one day for me to hear Band-Maid, and that started my journey into rediscovering music. Not just female bands, or female japanese bands, but bands male/female and mixed from all over the world. For me at first, it WAS the fact that they were female which blew me away. Other than a few other female musicians, (Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Chrissy Hynde, Susannah Hoffs, Vickie & Debbie Petersen, Michael Steele, Ann & Nancy Wilson) most female musicians just weren't in my radar.
As I said above, Band-Maid though. They BLEW me away and destroyed my misconceptions. They are all excellent musicians, and with my eyes now opened, I looked for other bands which were as talented. And in Japan and Korea mostly, I found a LOT of good female bands. Rock, Jazz, Metal, Pop, and multi-genre like Band-Maid.
If they had been male musicians, even with good music, I don't think I would have given them a second look. There are MANY good male bands, but back then at that time, I just wasn't interested in hearing new GOOD music. I was comfortable listening to what I had been listening to for the last 30+ years. It took opening my eyes and ears to such talent, which required LOTS of hard work and dedication, which made me start paying attention.
Since then I have gone back to music I was never exposed to from europe, even old soviet era music, and found several dozens of new to me bands, whose music I can now enjoy.
All because of 5 young Ladies who dress as maids and play kick ass Hard Rock Music.
That's amazing! :)
Not an all female band or really a metal band, but Wagakki band from Japan is really worth a listen.
I will check them out!
YES
I found as I've gotten older, I was gravitating more to female vocals, even going back to listen ones I never really paid attention to, like Amy Lee of Evanescence.She collaborated on a song called Sakura Rising with WagakkiBand , a band that fuses modern instruments with traditional Japanese instruments, and they are amazing. The lead singer is female but the band make up is six male and two female. There are many other bands that are mixed gender but a majority have the female front person, Maximum the Hormone is the most notable exception. I still love my classics, but right now a majority of what I listen to are Japanese bands, and mostly female fronted.
LOVEBITES' musicality and skill completely captivated me.
I'd listened to Japanese female bands like Band Made, Scandal, Hagane, and Nemophila, but when I discovered LOVEBITES, I was blown away.
They are incredible! 🖤🤘🏻
We did the attractive talentless bands in the 80’s if they couldn’t play I wouldn’t bother! Metal music tends to attract more males than females been to many metal shows mostly dudes. Cuteness or attractiveness will get people interested but if they can’t play they won’t stay interested but that’s just my opinion. Loudness is an all male metal band that’s been around since the late 70’s
Would I like Band Maid if they were male? If they played exactly the same, but had a male lead... meh. Part of what I love is Saiki's distinctive voice, and Miku's fantastic back up vocals. There is a lot of emotion carried in their singing. While I do listen to male bands, I generally listen to them for different vibes.
I will bite on this since I am about a year-and-a-half away from completing a PhD dissertation on the topic. While my dissertation will encompass the entirety of the all-female Japanese rock scene, I really only listen to two bands: Band-Maid and Gacharic Spin. For the rest of the bands, I recognize the immense talent that each of the groups possess, however, most do not suit my personal tastes.
I discovered Band-Maid in the summer of 2020 while researching K-Pop for a lecture I was putting together for my History of Rock class. The RUclips algorithm threw “Thrill” into my feed, so I took a look. It was cool, but nothing I was going to return to again. But the algorithm then threw “Onset (Live)” at me and my life has been flipped upside down ever since. “Onset” had all the things I have been missing in ‘Western’ rock music for the last 25 years: attitude, spirit, and melodic sensibility with technical excellence. It was an instrumental in the spirit of “YYZ” by Rush.
After having my mind blown by “Onset,” I followed the algorithm down a deep Band-Maid rabbit hole. Recognizing that there is a potential image bias, I ordered all of their albums in order to detach the visual from the auditory and started listening to them in order trying to track their evolution as a band. This is exactly the same thing I used to do when I was younger with bands that had extensive discographies before I discovered them.
Band-Maid ticks all the boxes for things I like to hear in rock music: great musicianship (and as a guitarist I always have a bias toward hearing great guitar players), memorable melodies that also have complexities (not ‘ear-worms, but actual melodies that the brain can chew on over and over), vocal harmonies etc…and most of all, this is all done with serious attitude and energy, which has been lacking in Western rock for a long time.
I have now been lucky enough to see Band-Maid twice and both concerts were stellar and completely different each time. Band-Maid is a GREAT rock band that stands alongside the best to ever do it.
Gacharic Spin is a revelation. They will never have the market success of Band-Maid (or many of the other bands from this scene), but artistically they are singularly unique and blow me away like no other band I’ve ever encountered.
So, to answer your question: “Do you think that if these bands were male you would be as excited about them as a fan?”
Absolutely YES. However, I am not certain males are capable of this type of music.
“Do you think that gender could actually be playing a part in this equation, but in more ways than just people being drawn to them physically?”:
Again, I think there is a certain femininity inherent in the music they are creating that might not be there with a male band…and rock could use more of that!
Band-Maid is quite simply the best band I've ever heard (and the best I've seen in concert), regardless of sex or gender identity. There's no built-in advantage for either sex when it comes to playing a musical instrument or composing music, yet it's always female bands that get these questions due to underlying sexism. Nobody questions fans of Iron Maiden or AC/DC about this. I will admit to preferring the female voice over the male voice, but otherwise they could be all male and it wouldn't matter to me.
I agree 100%. They are my favorite, but I love lots of the others as well. Give Glim Spanky a listen
Well, it seems to me that neither Iron Maiden's nor AC/DC's audience is overwhelmingly female - perhaps we should talk about Robby Williams ;)
I am a male fan of both Band Maid and Lovebites. My liking them is purely based on their talent. Plus, I stopped listening to western groups after discovering Japanese rock and heavy metal. Too muck talent to be ignored.
There are a number of reasons for the popularity of the Japanese female music scene, but the main thing is the sheer awesome-ness of the music. I’m a big fan of a number of these bands and artists, and have learned nearly all of them have help behind the scenes from men, actually. So I find a nice balance of male and female energy in the music, with killer songwriting and stupendous musicianship in fine balance.
Also, Japanese women are the most beautiful in the world, and that most definitely does not hurt..
These bands definitely appeal to older males. It's a brilliant marketing move by appealing to a demographic that has a bit of disposable income to spend. I am an older male and it reminds me of my younger days playing in rock bands myself. I fully support these bands as much as I can. They are the future of honest rock. Nobody else is stepping up.
I can think of a few exceptions, but I agree that they are scratching an itch that no one else seems to. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
Bandmaid aka "The Perfect Beast"
:)
1. The Metal fanbase in general is overwhelmingly male. 2. Due to culture and diet, most Japanese women are slim, very calm, polite, a little shy, and they tend to look Way younger than Western women of the same age. 3. I think either their looks will grab a man's attention, and then get excited when they realize they are fantastic musicians . . or . . (like me with Lovebites) they will get excited about how good the music is, and then realize the relative 'bonus' (for a guy) that they are very visually appealing. I think its about the Talent - there are not enough 'pervs' around to account for the amount of male interest.
well said, Patrick :)
“There are not enough pervs around to account for the amount of male interest.”
Actually, a lot of popular music has a sexual component to it. I think the more correct answer is that it is both, but that this female component doesn’t have to be entirely sexual either, and more about just being there in general. That it goes something like this:
1. Males are more competitive, in that they care more about the technical aspects of music, which explains in part a higher male audience for these more technical-focused Japanese bands.
2. Males also find it pleasing to look at females, which can be a bonus. This doesn’t even have to be sexual, for it to be enjoyable.
3. The Japanese to put the two together for maximum effect; audibly and visually. This also forms a niche market.
Got into metal in 1978 listening to black sabbath. Liked thrash/death metal but found new metal last 25 years very dull & boring. But then discovered BABYMETAL!! a breath of fresh air in stale metal world. Love HANABIE. also. Into bits of other bands too like band-maid, mellows, passcode. (Also liking some JPOP!). Go Japan!
I agree - so much talent coming out of Japan! Unbelievable!
I'd be lying if I said gender doesn't play some role in these female groups appeal. It's definitely not the main draw or really even a lasting reason to keep enjoying them. When I first discovered BAND-MAID I didn't know what to expect. I saw these cute girls in elaborate gimmicky costumes and was curious about their sound. Their music blew me away and I immediately championed them. I'm old enough to know women in rock or metal isn't the most common occurrence. That made them more endearing in an underdog kind of way. Their gender and how that plays into their society, influenced them in certain ways. Those influences bleed into their music. BAND-MAID has a distinct femininity to their sound that would for sure be lost if they were dudes. I have a ton of male bands that I love, but none of them sound like BAND-MAID, not even other male Japanese bands. I hope that is coherent enough to make some sense.
EDIT: I'm in my 30s BTW.
If Lovebites or Band Maid's style of music was Reggaeton I would never listen to their music even if they were female bands.
I have great admiration for all these japanese female bands, in my opinion they produce fantastic music, but of course it's better that these bands are composed by these friendly and charismatic japanese women who aren't afraid to use their feminine side in rock and metal.
Lovebites is my favorite band of all time, yes they are beautiful women, but it's the absolutely phenomenal music they produce that makes them incredible.
It's not just in rock and metal, in jazz, these friendly japanese girls are also incredible, i recommend a band called The Jazz Avengers to start with.
Saiseiga and Dragdown are two japanese bands of more aggressive metal that I recommend.
I'm relatively new to the Japanese rock scene, introduced to Scandal in 2019. I'm not as big on the hard rock/metal as I am more pop/punk/alternative. The vast majority of bands are all female or female led, and I think it boils down to I just prefer female vocalists when it comes to Japanese music. Again, it's first and foremost the music. And regardless of the genre, Japanese bands always seem to be more positive and upbeat. For some reason Western female bands seem to need to be "rough" and "edgy." It would be nice to see them mellow out and just play, like their Japanese counterparts.
Interesting observation, Scott!
I think there are many more all-male or mixed-gender bands than all-female bands, and when one comes along that is so incredibly good, they really stand out. To answer the favorite band question... right now, Unlucky Morpheus. I also really like D-Drive.
You answered your own question. These bands are fairly new and fresh. The American rock scene is either worn out or focused on people like Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande, which are stale pop. I hesitate to call them talent.
It's not that the scene is worn out per se, it's giant corporations that direct what is popular or not, mostly. Top 40 pop artists are talented in a lot of ways, but everything is money dominated they strip the soul out of much of it, at least IMO.
For me, I have always liked a woman's voice signing usually more than a man's, Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin, Suzy Quatro, Grace Slick, Diana Ross, Agneta Faltskog to name a few when I was young.
When I 1st heard Japanese Metal, I heard Keiko Terada's voice on top of Show-Ya's music and I was hooked.
Having female musicians on top of the singer is a perk but not the reason why I like the band. If it was, I wouldn't be such a big fan of Unlucky Morpheus, Yousei Teikoku, Ad Infinitum etc...
While I listen to a lot more all women bands or idols than all man ones, Galneryus, Jupiter, Versailles, X-Japan are on my regular playlist as well on top of older bands that I still listen to like Queen, Rush, Iron Maiden, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper.
While I do think some are watching only because they see good looking women, most really don't care, they listen because they love and enjoy the music. I would say 95% of the times, even if I have a video playing, I am on another tab checking out other stuff while I listen to the music if I am home and if I am outside, I only have audio playing so even if someone is "hot" or not, it doesn't impact my listening experience.
As a male metal head brought up on deep purple, black sabbath, nazareth, etc. Ie i am old. I listen to babymetal a lot, but also metallica and sabaton, also hanabie, band made etc.. One thing i bring to the conversation is that heavy metal contains a lot of lower register notes with drums, bass and low tuned guitar. The higher register female voice can stand out in the wall of sound giving a different clarity to the music.
I appreciate the quality of the musicianship and singing of the bands of japan. Then there there is the showmanship, much more a movie show in a babymetal than for sabaton. I do also prefer female vocals. Anyway, just another comment.
My top 3 all time bands which I don't put in order of preference but by discovery are Rush, Tool and Band-Maid. Band-Maid are the first all female or even female fronted bands that I would have said were in my top 50 or even 100. I did not have anything against females in rock. I thought L7 and Kittie were cool back in the day but none really felt like must listen to bands. Band-Maid filled a musical void for me and their image was something I had to get over but it did not take long. I just shrugged and said to myself "well that's just Japan for ya!" and dove right in to their catalog of great songs.
I've since gotten into other all female bands but only The Warning might crack the top 10. I kinda waver back and forth on that. Which brings me to one of your questions: Would I like these bands if they were male instead of female? I can see liking The Warning as such easy enough but part of that aforementioned void that Band-Maid fills is what their femininity brings to the musical equation. They would still be among my favorites as songwriters as that to me is their greatest strength but idk if that would put them in my top 3 or not. Feels strange trying to even imagine it to be honest.
I'd like to mention one other all female band and that is Voice of Baceprot. Idk how much I'd listen to them if they were male. I'm pulling for them. Because they are all female. They come from a society (Indonesia) with a religious tradition that doesn't usually look favorably among women doing what they do. They are the scrappy underdog band and I really hope they get to keep living out their dream for as long as they wish to.
Wow! We have such similar musical tastes! My top three bands of all time are tool, rush, and the warning, and like you, I also really like band maid and VOB 😊
Normally I'm strongly of the view that gender shouldn't matter, but with VOB I agree that it definitely does. Not so much because of attitudes in Indonesia, but because of attitudes in the west, where it's assumed that a woman who wears a hijab cannot be strong or independent. I loved the speech that Marsya gave at their Transmusicales show, especially because France in particular has a lot of prejudice against women who choose to wear traditional religious clothing.
@@kicorse That's an excellent point as well. Thanks for making it.
One of my favorites from the past is Zeppelin, but I love the others you mentioned as well. Band-Maid is on a level with Zeppelin for me.
@@kicorse I'm an outlier here. My mom was a piano teacher, so I grew up on classical music, plus a little bit of AM radio pop/rock and some folk records my parents had. In high school I started listen to eclectic college radio (there were a couple of stations that played a wild mix of classical, rock, jazz, fusion, folk, world music and occasional avant garde stuff, all sequenced pretty randomly. I really miss that. My own Spotify playlist (unbob's faves) is patterned after that.
My favorite band, for a long time, was the Dixie Dregs, with Zappa and the Mothers and Happy the Man tied for second (yes, it's very odd tie). I had friends who were into early metal/hard rock (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple) and prog (Jethro Tull, Yes, ELP) and whatever category you want to put Queen in. And that stuff was all OK, but it didn't grab me the way the Dregs did. Although many of my friends were into prog, none of them were into Rush - and I'm with them on that. Yeah, technically very good, creative, musically independent, Neil and Geddy were very interesting characters, but their music never grabbed me (not even as much as Tull, Yes and ELP).
My favorite modern band is Voice of Baceprot (I saw then when they came to Massachusetts(yay!)). Yes, the hijabi aspect is part of it (and I also loved Marsya's little speech at Rennes), but also I'm kinda into comparative religion and have been telling (bored) people around me how different islam is in Indonesia, so it's gratifying that people can see that now. I _really_ like the rap/punk/funk/metal fusion that Voᗺ puts out. And the punky directness of their message. And the way that they live through their music. And the skewed, decolonized way they use English.
I'm not that big on Japanese girl bands. I'm slowly warming up to Otoboke Beaver (I have a friend who's a big fan) and I like them better now that I've found translations of some of their lyrics. Yeah, Bandmaid and Lovebites have astounding technical ability, but. . .the music doesn't grab me. I _do_ like Atarashii Gakko, but they're really an (anti?)idol group, not a band. And I _love_ Andrew Hartley's cultural analyses of Baby Metal (even though I'm not that hot on the band, except maybe the bassist).
Ningen Isu is a Japanese Band that I like - but mostly for Heartless Scat, which I think is head and shoulders above the rest of their stuff (although the rest of their stuff is not bad). Heartless Scat, for me, has compositional elements that verge on the symphonic, in a somewhat barebones way. Just an excellently constructed piece of music.
A girl-fronted band that a really like (probably #2 behind Voᗺ in my current personal hit parade) is Eruca Sativa. And, yeah, I know they're good buddies with The Warning and the Warning are very talented mainstreamish composers and performers. But The Warning just doesn't grab me the way that the quirkiness of Eruca Sativa does.
7:08 What is the elusive quality?
I follow BABYMETAL, Band Maid, Lovebites and Nemophila (also The Warning). I'm 63 and have been going to concerts since 1981. The groups I named, their music resonates in me and second, I very much admire their work ethic. Most of the bands that I followed in the 80's had a propensity to take two years off following a tour, and the bands I listed here work hard and all the time.
The Australian male rock band KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD from Australia are unique in terms of
work ethics and versatility.
In 12 years from 2012 to 2024 they released 26 studio albums, 3 EPs, 39 live albums (2 official / 37 bootlegs),
4 compilation albums, 65 singles, 60 music videos and 1 remix album.
In their "Gizzverse" they process the following musical styles:
psychedelic rock, garage rock, acid rock, progressive rock, surf rock, krautrock, psychedelic pop, indie rock,
neo-psychedelia, thrash metal, stoner metal, progressive metal, sludge, groove metal, folk, jazz, funk, Tropicália, synth-prog, hip-hop and there will be more to come in the future.
They have the ability to start their concerts with synth pop and end them with thrash metal, for example.
I'm a LOVEBITES fan who also loves many other bands from rock history from the 1960's to today 🖖
59 year old rocker here. Speaking personally, I'd say it's no different than male bands that have good looking members. I think back to the 80' with the Hair Bands, like Poison, Motley Crue, Warrant, Whitesnake, etc. These guys were good looking! But the music wasn't the greatest. It was cookie cutter 80's rock with sexually charged lyrics about the debauched life of rock stars. Pretty much🤷♂️. Then Babymetal comes along and opens up a treasure trove of hidden talent and music in Japan. Babymetal seems silly at first, but then you really listen to what's going on. And it's good. REALLY good. So you wonder, is there more? One suggestion leads to another and before you know it, you discover that Japan has some amazing rock and metal music. The fact that a lot of them are female artists, well... That's a plus! Western female rock and metal bands aren't being noticed. Perhaps because the talent and creativity is...the same stuff EVERYONE else is doing. What we're getting from Japan is creative, intricate, melodic, and most of all different. Different song structure, different themes, different perspectives. The good looks? It's no different than the good looking guys in guy bands. It's just looks. It's not our fault they're so talented AND they look so good🤷♂️.
P.S. I think a lot of the virtuosity of their talent comes from Japanese culture itself. They are products of their environment.
Hey Nena! Thank you so much for opening this very interesting conversation that allows for so many interesting thoughts!
I want to start off by acknowledging that gender makes a huge difference in the connection to a musician and agree that it's simply part of that musicians personality and therefore of what they create and how they deliver it. I myself am someone who's mainly drawn to female musicians (all female bands, female fronted bands and female solo musicians), so I guess I'm part of the demographic that those commenters were addressing, even if not for the reason they were suspecting, for me it's all about the feeling part.
I think that it's pretty unfair to compare an all female to an all male Band for that reason, the music and delivery can never be the same between the two genders. We'd have to ask that question from the hypothetical standpoint that the males would be the same as the females so basically female souls in male bodies, then my answer would be that their gender doesn't matter, at least to me.
I think therefore the question the commenters really wanted to ask is if those bands would be as succesful if they were less or not at all physically attractive. Now here is where it gets interesting because I think there's a split in the music scene between the rock/metal world and the mainstream scene. If they were making mainstream music, I think it would make a huge difference, but as they're in the rock/metal scene, I think the impact would be less important although it may be depending on the bands, what kind of people they attract and the way they market themselves.
Now onto what I think are the reasons for the male fan's dedication beyond the music itself and appearance stuff (statements on my personal experience will be based on my dedication to The Warning alltough they're not Japanese but they're the ones I have the most connection to) :
- Feeling and being able to live out one's feminine side (referring to Jung's animae and animus theory). I think that all female bands open a space for males to live out their feminine side and feelings in a way they see as socially acceptable and it may be the only space for them to do it.
- Protector instinct (I'm definitely guilty of that one). A bunch of young girls on their own has a tendency to wake a man's protector instinct and create the need to protect them and give them extra support.
- The bands sharing truthfully so much of their life, experiences and personality, therefore making them much more relatable as people. This seems to be pretty exclusive to all female bands and is probably a dedication point for both genders of fans.
Bands I can recommend (alltough not Japanese) are "Dogma" and "Dea Matrona". They're definitely worth a listen and I'd be truly interested in what's your opinion on them.
Have a wonderful weekend and take care ✨🤗🤗💛
BAND-MAID and Hanabie are the best.
😊🤘🏻
In regards to most of the audience being male. I'm 60 years old and I remember going to metal shows here in the United States most of the metal bands were male. And the audience was overwhelmingly male. So if you're a music lover you have to appreciate the musicianship of these new ladies, but I don't really think it has much to do with old men attracted the young woman or even young men attracted young women. I think they just really like the music. As to why we'll the voices are refreshing after years of male voices. Also hearing what they think and feel from the female perspective.
I’m not at all familiar with male Japanese metal or rock - are the fan bases as dedicated? I think it is a very interesting topic! 😊🤘🏻
It's a breath of fresh air. The music is unique. The lyrics tend to be mote positive and happy than brutal or violent. The musicianship and technical skill blows me away. Western songwriting tends to begin with coming up with a main riff first. In Japan, they usually create the melody first. Japan is just where all the cool things are happening when it comes to new sounds.
:)
If looking at other current genres of Jrock: metal core and Visual K are dominated by male bands.
My early entry into Jrock during late 90's and early 2000's were with mostly male bands (X-Japan, Luna Sea, L'Arc-en-Ciel, Glay) or female fronted with male players (The BrilliantGreen, Do As Infinity).
What got me back into Jrock are the current all-female rock and metal groups. Admittedly alot more than current male bands I listen to: OOR, Sims, Crystal Lake, Crossfaith, and Coldrain.
If you look at the crowds at the concerts, a lot of it is made up of what's known as "Uncle Fans", or older males. Where some bands, such as BAND-MAID, have special spots reserved for younger fans. I'm a 69 year old white male, and found BAND-MAID, and the whole world of Asian Rock through exploring Anime theme music. I was drawn to them due to their fresh, unique sound and undeniable talent and positive attitude, something lacking in Western Rock. I'm now a fan of Gacharic Spin, Nemophila, Wagakki Band, Lovebites, NEK!, Koiai and many more. The Ladies offer something I haven't been able to find elsewhere, and a lot of people seem to feel the same. When it comes to Asian Rock, it's a bold new world. Lets keep exploring!
I wholeheartedly agree! These bands are absolutely phenomenal!
😊🤘🏻
I like female vocals more than male vocals. Male japanese bands l listen to. Nigen Isu, Rad whips, Maximum the Hormone. The pillows.
A few here I haven't heard! I will check them out! :)
Good looks never hurted, no need to deny that. But I predominantly enjoy the musicianship in those bands. Them being all female is just a coincidence. Good musicians are good musicians regardless of their gender. There are also great mixed or all male bands out there. My entry to japanese metal was Babymetal, who I still admire. I have a special neck for Nemophila btw.
Nemophila is my favorite Japanese band :) They are extraordinary. Love the vocals!
The female rock bands from Japan and Korean are bringing a fresh presence, Band Maid's song writing and playing is outstanding, as well as the others mentioned. Male bands from Japan most noted Maximum the Hormone are also well received. I believe people are now exposed to them and are becoming fans, simply because they are good and western music has not evolved for 30 years. It's stuck in the past.
Koren female bands? I don't think they are leading players in rock and metal.
Where is Korea leading in rock and metal 😂😂😂😂