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Last Updated: 2024-07-16

Rock/Metal stands unrivaled as the ultimate soundtrack for my hardcore ~4-hour programming sessions – and you won’t convince me otherwise. I mean, show me another genre that:

  • Can kick your motivation into high gear like a shot of caffeine.
  • Maintains a consistency that allows for compiling a playlist spanning thousands of hours, yet still delivers excellence from the first note to the very last.
  • Is diverse enough to stay refreshing even with daily listening.
  • Is crafted by individuals pursuing their own sounds, not clones.

No other genres check all these boxes. Each POP track is over in a blink; they stick to a rhythm for about 4 minutes, and then you’re abruptly on a completely different musical journey, making a cohesive POP playlist an elusive dream. Classical music, well, lacks the caffeine kick and the necessary consistency (sorry so much classical fans). Lofi, on the other hand, drains all the adrenaline from my system. The only contenders that come close to Rock/Metal are EDM and its variants, but let’s be honest, they just don’t bring the same level of diversity.

With all that in mind, let’s me introduce you to some of the finest albums in my collection. This topic is divided into two parts: The first part, this blog, features Touhou-related bands; while the second part covers other bands.

Personal Favorites:

  1. Takamachi Walk
  2. Undead Corporation
  3. Demetori

YaboiMatoi & RichaadEB

Meet these two maestros who serve as the perfect metal introductory for newcomers. Specializing in cover arrangements, particularly of Touhou tracks, their music boasts top-notch metal quality while preserving the pop-like melodies of the originals.

I recommend listening to these two guys for extremely long programming sessions, for that:

  • Their arrangements highlight the inherently ear-catching melodies of the original compositions.
  • You’ll find cool guitar riffs and solos scattered throughout, making you feel like you can sprint forever.
  • They rock hard enough to keep your concentration sharp without overwhelming you to exhaustion.
  • Plus, they have some excellent vocal tracks – check this one.

To get to know them, I wholeheartedly recommend their holy quadruple albums:

Demetori

This is the band that introduced me to both Metal and Touhou; so without saying, this section features my most favorite metal band ever.

Despite the infamous longevity and vastness of the Touhou Project’s fandom, Demetori’s skill stands out like a thousand suns. Their artistry demonstrations are just unmatched:

  • Firstly, their instrumental mastery, especially the tandem of the guitarist and the drummer. Pardon me for my blunt claim, but tbh: DEMETORI HAS THE ULTIMATE FUSION OF GUITARS AND DRUMS. Their guitar is GODLY SOPHISTICATED, so FAST yet so PRECISE and EAR-CATCHING; and they LOVE to show off UNPARALLELED SOLOS and RIFFS. All of this is backed up by the MIRACULOUSLY COMMANDING and CAPTIVATING drum notes.
  • Secondly, their arrangement prowess. While prioritizing the essences of the original compositions, Demetori makes sure to leave their highly-distinguishable signature impression in every one of their tracks. Furthermore, I’m enamored by how Demetori seamlessly integrates multiple sub-genres like hard metal, progressive metal, thrash metal, and sometimes even folk into exceptional metal masterpieces.
  • Finally, their quality consistency. If I were to compose a playlist of my favorite Demetori tracks, it would easily stretch over 4 hours.

I highly recommend these two playlists as an introduction to their music:

Plus two pieces of Demetori which I’ve been listening to every week (some weeks, everyday) since 2019 until now (2024):

Additionally, I’m sorry that I’ll only be giving you youtube links for this blog. Most of these bands aren’t officially available on streaming platforms; and I – for most of the time – listen to them through purchased albums. So youtube links are really the only way I can share these music.

Undead Corperation

Now, now, after two previous sections, you may feel that “Oh these are just boys showing off their guitar skills, things are still pretty tamed for me.” Well, metal just isn’t itself without losing some control, is it? In that case, let me introduce you to the untamed force that is Undead Corporation.

What defines Undead Corporation? Think potent guitar riffs, rapid-fire drum beats, and robust, intense scream-core vocals. These guys are the wildest rock band I’ve encountered in my five years of navigating the metal scene. While they also focus on Touhou re-arrangements like the previous bands, Undead Corporation takes a different approach – they rip the melodies off and tune them into a chaotic symphony.

Yet, behind the chaos lies an ensemble of undeniably talented musicians. Crafting madness into something exciting and enjoyable is an exceptional talent in itself. I strongly suggest their tracks to accompany with you during tight and stressful deadline sprints.

By the way, did I tell you that these guys used car warning chime as an instrument in one of their pieces?

〜xi-on〜

Xi-on is actually one hell of a band. They have shown their signature, their unique arrangement and instrumental mastery in a large pool of genres such as orchestral, bossa nova, EDM; and most prominently—in well-known albums like Cafe de Touhou—jazz.

When it comes to rock, they redefine rock their own. Their guitarist? Phenomenal. I’m talking hair-raising, goosebump-inducing talent. Quoted from a comment of the video below, “Faai (Fai? Phai?) is one of the goats in the toho guitar scene. Versatily, groove, timing, chops, man got it all. Sooo many good and unique tracks.” the guitarist of xi-on is literally a sight to behold.

But it’s not just about individual talent. What really sets xi-on apart from the rock world is their exceptional coordination as a band. It’s like… they share a single heartbeat. Faai is already a phenomenal soloist; yet whenever Faai goes off on a solo, the whole band elevates him to even the next f!@#ing level. It’s electric, it’s energizing, and it gives me goosebumps every single time.

Check them out to see what I mean: Best of Faai (彩音 〜xi-on〜)

Sally

Rock and metal can be very emotional; in fact, I believe this is the best genre to impart emotional bursts and burns. This and some of the following sections introduce yet other Touhou-focused bands that take this theme. Let’s begin with Sally.

Compared to the bands we’ve explored earlier, Sally is quite relaxed, steering away from the metal genre and positioning themselves as an alternative rock band. Their music emits a laid-back vibe while still delivering catchy, and most importantly, emotionally-charged melodies. I’ve always had problems with songs that romanticize depression or emphasize emotional crises, thinking there’s just no one who comprehends the subject matter and can accurately translate it into scores. Yet, Sally showed me how it sounds like.

A plus point is that, they have around a dozen of albums, each of them is around 30 minutes in duration, and their quality is consistent af. Here is my Sally Collection, plus a Butaotome album cuz their style is pretty similar to Sally’s:

This collection works well at keeping you concentrated, even when you’re on low energy.

Additionally, since Sally and the next circles share a theme (as aforementioned in the beginning of this section), I highly recommend this compilation of their songs:

Draw The Emotional

Metal often comes with scream-core, but it takes quite a musical mind to integrate screams into the music. I’ve heard hundreds of tracks—both western and eastern—where the scream vocalist is undoubtedly solid, yet they fail to synchronize, to “click” with the instruments. Sometimes, the screams fall flat; while sometimes, the excessive screams make the piece sounds dry. Yuyoyuppe and his friends at Draw the Emotional, however, have a totally unique approach at scream-core and undeniably mastered it:

In a Yuyoyuppe track, every word, every scream, even BREATHES between lines is filled with such intense, profound emotions. That’s precisely why I f!@#ing admire him so goddamn much. As my favorite YouTube channel aptly put it, “If Yellow Squadron was ‘pure heavy metal adrenaline,’ then yupe is ‘raw emotions.’”

Yuyoyuppe’s tracks are really good at envoking the long-lost energy deep within your soul. You don’t always have the energy to listen to metal, you don’t always float at the mood to listen to alternative rock… but these guys, with their one-of-a-kind musical prowess, manage to compose metal pieces which kick your mood into high gear with the acceleration of a Formula 1 car. Please check these out:

Takamachi Walk

When I wrote “Rock and metal can be very emotional; in fact, I believe this is the best genre to impart emotional bursts and burns.” at Sally’s section, I was thinking about Takamachi Walk. I’ve longed to write about them for months, but couldn’t seem to put my words on how much I love them. Even now, I still don’t, so I’ll just pen down what impressed me the most.

Ever heard of the five stages of grief? Think of the 3 middle stages: “Anger”, “Bargaining”, and “Depression”; that’s Takamachi Walk. Listening to their albums is like being swept away by hurricanes of raw energy shaped by sorrow. Every of these albums, when experienced as a whole, feels like a encapsulated life journey, taking you through peaks of explosive emotions and valleys of haunting, introspective quiet. The very day I discovered Takamachi Walk, they instantly became my favorite band for their ability to infuse each song with deep, burning visceral resonance. Whether they’re delivering blistering speed or brooding melodies, there’s always a palpable sentimental intensity that runs through their music.

In order to express these fierce emotions, Takamachi Walk possesses technical skills that are nothing short of phenomenal. This band displays mastery across an absolutely massive range of instruments; combined with their incredible arrangement prowess, they showcase both the frenetic energy of thrash metal and the complex, layered harmonies of progressive rock. Their vocals, especially, cut through the mix with a raw, visceral edge; there is so much soul, passion, and profound feeling in Takamachi Walk’s vocal work that I can’t help but ponder what the band went through when composing and recording these pieces.

I don’t even need to specificly recommend any album of them. As I’m writing this, they’ve released 3 albums and 1 EP and all of them are just GOATed:

Each of these albums shows how constantly Takamachi Walk evolves their style and genre. Their willingness to push boundaries and explore new sonic territories keeps their music fresh, innovative, exciting, and most of all, awe-inspiring.

Foreground Eclipse is next.

There’s more to this blog!

I’ve only penned down my thoughts up to this point. If it caught your interest, come back later!

Thank you for reading.