The Wonderful Wizards of -OZ-

by 38 Comments

“Really? Another heavy J-rock band? C’mon, John, mix it up a bit here!” Yes, I know I just wrote a post about Fear, And Loathing in Las Vegas last weekend, but writing that post made me remember the band -OZ- another one of my favorite (but also lesser known? I think?) J-rock bands. And after this post I’ll take a break from this genre for a while. Promise.

“Oldies” but Goodies

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Most of the bands I choose for these musical Saturday timewasters are relatively new bands and the tracks I post from them are within the last year or so. This is not the case with -OZ-. Surprised? So am I. The songs included here range from 2007-2011. The band itself formed way back in the year 2004. That’s like, ancient.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUsBUMCQNA0&feature=related']

Through my YouTube adventures over the years, I’ve learned that a lot of visual kei music (rock music together with the visual style you see here) sounds about the same, right down to the vocalist. Sometimes it can be very hard for me to differentiate between bands in the genre. What really sets -OZ- apart in my opinion is how the vocalist sounds when he screams. It sounds good. And their music has an overall heavier feel as well, I think.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivi4sfFEJNs&feature=related']

And this brings me to my love/just-like-okay relationship with -OZ-. When it’s just the music and the vocalist singing clean vocals, they sound like a solid visual kei band. Nothing special, but definitely listenable. Only when the vocalist Natsuki starts growling into the mic does it become really awesome. I kind of wish he would just do it all the time.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxIFRwaPXfI']

So far they’ve released two studio albums (VERSUS and ROUGE) along with a slew of singles and a handful of music DVDs. Do I own any of them? No. I just listen to their stuff on YouTube when I remember that they’re a band and I’m in the mood for some heavier Japanese tunes. The video above is from 2007 and it’s definitely one of their darker tracks in my opinion. Crazy kids and their outfits.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8hTphqbu0E&feature=related']

This right here is why I think they’re just okay about half the time. Natsuki doesn’t growl at all in this song. Honestly, it’s a little boring and pretty average. I realize that it’s a slower song and that guttural vocals might seem a bit out of place here, but it really lets you notice how his clean vocals are nearly interchangeable with a lot of other visual kei bands. At least I think so, anyway. I mean, it’s not bad, just nothing special.

And Now For Something Completely Different

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As I mentioned above, sorry for all the heavy rock, so here’s something else I found recently. I’m still not really sure if I like them, or kind of hate them. They all look like host-club dudes (or Final Fantasy characters) and I can’t tell if I like the unique sound of the vocalist or if I want to punch him straight in the vocal cords. You tell me.

So tell me, which band did you like better? -OZ- or D=OUT? Do you think -OZ-’s guttural vocals set them apart from the usual visual kei crowd or do they fail to escape mediocrity? Also have you heard of -OZ- before? I was under the impression that they weren’t all that popular. Let me know in the comments!

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  • http://www.facebook.com/LMarsR Марс Земля

    OZ is great.

  • http://www.facebook.com/LMarsR Марс Земля

    Their vocalist gets very tiresome to listen to, though. I have to take breaks from listening to them fairly often.

  • Kate

    I saw -OZ- live last year during their European tour and they definitely know how to put on a show. More than Natsuki’s vocals, it was Nao’s bass solos that truly captured my heart.
    D=OUT is another band I’ve seen live during their adventures in Europe and another one I enjoy a lot. They are extremely energetic on stage and have a way of bonding with the audience in spite of language barriers.
    While I don’t agree with John that visual kei bands all sound the same (of course, as lover of visual kei, I am horribly biased ;D), it makes me happy to see them making an appearance here more often. Thanks!

  • http://www.facebook.com/jdookie Jonathan Dookie

    ehh they’re kinda average to me. I personally like Ellegarden, the pillows, and AKG. They have a more mellow sound which im more likely to listen too. Though as far as dark metal goes i think my fav is bottom of death valley-dir en grey; the bass lines in it are pretty awesome.

  • John

    I used to be really into visual kei but even then I thought that many bands got lost in the genre and never really set themselves apart. There were a handful though that managed to do something different or better than everyone else. And that’s not to say I don’t enjoy the music of the “generic” visual kei bands, I just tend to like bands more when they bring something to the table that really sets them apart from the pack, ya know?

  • John

    Yeah I can understand that.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alexandra-Franco/896075564 Alexandra Franco

    I agree, lots of visual kei bands sound like they have the same vocalist, so OZ’s grungy voice does set them apart. But when it comes to visual kei I always go back and listen to The Gazette and D’espairsRay. As for D=OUT, go on ahead and punch him in the vocal cords.

  • John

    I love D’espairsRay. Hands down my favorite VK band. They aren’t quite what they used to be though :(

  • Kate

    It’s hard to make your mark in an industry where new bands pop up left and right almost as often as they disband (which goes for a lot of the music industry, in my opinion).  What other bands do you enjoy, if you don’t mind me asking? Do you know Matenrou Opera? If you like -OZ-, you might enjoy their sound, too :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alexandra-Franco/896075564 Alexandra Franco

     Unfortunately they aren’t :/ but at least they left some awesome songs to listen to. As for japanese bands that dont sing in japanese Pay Money to My Pain is very nice (rather calm but they have good songs) and SiM has some pretty good screams, and eyeliner 

  • J.

    Awww… my ears! :’( I’ll be sticking to Dazzle Vision and Rampant.

  • http://twitter.com/shollum Shollum

    I think Visual Kei is kind of like the Glam Metal (actually most of the 70s and 80s rock and metal) of Japan. Some of it is genuinely good, but tons of them get dragged down into the visual aspect of it and sound the same.

    Then again, I’m apparently weird when it comes to music. Especially Japanese music, since I don’t like Dir En Grey (I can’t stand the vocalist’s voice!), Girugamesh (… Aren’t the reasons obvious), or the entirety of J-Pop (and most J-Rock).

    I like some of -OZ-’s music, but…

    Guess I’ll go back to listening to (old) D’espairsRay and Onmyouza… Maybe I’ll find something else soon.

  • http://www.facebook.com/kage.kitsune.3 Kage Kitsune

    OZ does sound great and I couldn’t blame u for wanting to post a lot about heavy j-rock bands. I also thought this song by D=OUT was pretty alright and the vocals sound very “slightly” close to the vocals of this really great band, Last Alliance. If u haven’t heard of them, u should look them up. X)

  • http://www.facebook.com/kristennugent Kristen Nugent

    I just saw OZ in concert and they were awesome… all of them. 

  • John

    D’espairsRay and Dir En Grey were my top favorites in the genre. Besides that I enjoyed Gazette among a handful of others, but I can’t really remember any that well. I’ve been out of the VK game for a while now, lol.

  • John

    That’s awesome!

  • Guest

    Yay, bands I recognize!

    I’m actually a kinda-sorta fan of them both – I only like one song from each (“Reverse” from OZ and D=OUT’s “Sunrise”). Visual and oshare-kei are by far my favorite genres of Jrock, but I have to agree that a lot of them are quite generic. That’s probably why my tastes have stuck almost exclusively to the indie scene, bands that not even a lot of Japanese have heard of.

    If you like these two, give ScreW & BORN a try; they’re heavy but have the distinction of having two unique and talented vocalists, along with other members. These are also great for people who often complain about the crazed outfits – it’s pretty obvious from the subtle (by VK standards) costumes that the music is priority.

  • Guest

    Also forgot about MoNoLith – the range & diversity of those people is enormous. People have admitted that their “Byakuya” made them cry (I didn’t have THAT strong a reaction to it…..but it was still some of the best music I’d heard from any country).

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143204076 Courtney Maguire

    Wow, what a luke warm review…lol
    I agree that alot of VK singers sound alike but, I have to disagree with you about Natsuki being one of them.  I find the heavy vibrato in his voice really sets it apart.  When listening to VK radio, they tend to all blend together but OZ always stands out to me.  Mostly because of Natsuki’s voice.
    I caught them live at AKON this year and they brought the house down!  One of the better shows I’ve seen in a long time.  The band really fed off of the crowd’s energy and gave a wild performance.  I was a casual fan before, but now I’m hooked!  If you get the chance to see them, do it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/fadi.dabari Fadi Dabari

    MUCC is better

  • John

    Yeah, I’ve listened to ScreW before and they’re pretty good. I forget if I’ve listened to the other ones though, I’ll have to check ‘em out.

  • John

    It also probably has to do with me being out of the VK scene for a while. And for me, bands like D’espairsRay really stand out with their vocals more than OZ does. So maybe OZ stands out a fair amount, and then D’espairsRay stands out A LOT to me, so that makes it seem to me as if OZ doesn’t quite stand out as much. As far as clean vocals go anyway. I dunno, lol. But yeah, I’d still love to see them live if given the opportunity.

  • http://mkaito.github.com Michishige Kaito

    No need to take a break from the genre! Please keep em coming!

  • Guest

    I like these music posts:D Interesting, and not too much standard pop:P
    I agree on the fact that much visual kei music sound the same, and it can be hard finding a bit more heavy bands(I originally like metal).
    I don’t listen to it as much these days, but -OZ- is one of the bands I like^^ The vocals really make all the difference in the world for these bands…

    I see ScreW and BORN(my newest favorite) are mentioned in the comments, but there’s others as well: UnsraW, アンド, XodiacK and maybe NoGod(I think it sounds different, but that might be just me…).

    Sorry for the band-spamming, I can’t help it ><

  • hikaru1412

    Hm, I typically hate screamo or anything with screaming in it, but OZ is actually pretty awesome. I like D=OUT like crazy. Just introduced to them here, but I think they are enjoyable. I believe my tastes are adding Jrock to the mix. Thanks for these articles. I tend to not look for much Jrock cuz I typically don’t like it (Loves Pop here. lol), but I am starting to like much more music now. :D Gotta tend to like a little bit of everything with pop being the main focus. :D Thanks again!

  • http://www.tofugu.com koichi

    Yer a wizard, ‘arry.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001887233580 Nicole Jones

    my favorite song from -OZ- is zenith. it’s funny/ kind of weird that the vocalist’s singing voice is high but his regular voice is deep

  • John

    Haha, awesome. Glad to hear it :D

  • udon

    i still prefer GAZETTE & DIR EN GREY band !
    thanks by the way for his
    i like how you talked about the visual kei groups :)

    wwwww

  • Kelseylynnm1989

    I love this genre :3 I love J-Music in general though. My favorite artist is Miyavi. My favorite hard rock band is probably Dir En Grey. I really also like (although they are not necessarily hard rock) Flumpool, Sakanaction, and Man With A Mission!

  • Kelseylynnm1989

    Oh! I almost forgot! I also really like Nightmare and their other side project Sendai Kamotsu. They’re so crazy and it’s AWESOME :]]

  • C.M

    John can I just say that you’re taste in music is AWESOME

    I found tofugu for music and I have not been disappointed!

    Thank you :D

    btw have you checked out Boris or Corrupted? :P

  • uknowme

    OZ is way better than D=OUT… just my opinion…

  • The japanamaniac

    D=out…li felt the same way when i heard sunrise. But they grew on me. Listen to aoi tori, its a great song. I have to admit , when i listen to j-rock i always tend to go back to alice nine. Even though they are more pop

  • o6ina

    My comment comes with a six month delay, but I’ll post it anyway. ~OZ~ are a really good band – ANOTHER REIGN is my personal favourite of them. I always think of them as a Nagoya kei band, because they are heavier than the random visual kei. True, there is this thendency with the really good indie bands, that they are awsome, intriguing and unique at the beginnig, but after making a fan base they go mainstream in order to become major and usually disband as a result. That happen to Deluhi and my fav band lynch. went major, and apparently are still kind of looking for their new style. I hope they’ll stay together. Good bands to reccomend: Cocklobin, Deadman (now disbanded, but Mako is a must to see and hear), Eat You Alive, 9Goats Black Out.

  • Chouka

    I have heard of both bands before. I honestly have to say that I like -OZ- a bit better than D=OUT. I do think that -OZ-’s guttural vocals are what set them apart from the rest of the crowd. Like you said, it sounds really good when Natsuki starts growling. I also think it sounds kind of clean in its own way. I do not think I agree with you on the terms that vocalists all sound the same however, I honestly find it very easy to tell them apart and I think they all sound a little different. This may however be because I actually know the language. Before I go i just have to say, I definitely agree with you on the whole D=OUT thing, I also have that urge to punch the vocalist in the vocal cords at times, but other times, I really like the sound of his voice.

  • Frindle

    May I just say, Pure Genius. This is hilarious.

  • Visual Kei