Mac Miller x Madlib - Maclib
The only posthumous release on my list this year, Maclib is an unreleased collaboration album featuring the genius of the late Mac Miller and the razor sharp production of Madlib. This came out of nowhere late November and got me curious. It’s always good to get new Mac Miller music because he passed in 2018 and I thought we ran out of backlogged music of his to listen to. This album/mixtape/whatever it is, while short, is good. It grew on me with multiple listens. Apparently there are different tracklists and even more unreleased tracks from this project that have surfaced, so I have a lot of hunting to do if I want a complete collection. My favorite track is the last one, It Gets Better, which features a very soulful beat over some honestly inspiring and positive rap. Definitely give this a try is what I say. RIP Mac Miller.
Marvelous Cruelty - 素晴ラシキ残酷III
Marvelous Cruelty is an unusual band that conducts activities in the most frustrating manner imaginable. Moving with a veil of secrecy and spamming live distributed releases like their livelihood depends on it (which it probably does), Marvelous Cruelty requires the utmost dedication if you want to hear any of their music. Let’s take this release as an example: it was a live distributed “best-of” album limited to 100 copies, tracks four and twelve were distributed on demo tape prior to this with the same name to make it even harder to distinguish, and it’s not on Spotify because this band feels very strongly against uploading any of their material to subscription services. None of their stuff is available for streaming or purchase save a few videos on YouTube mostly uploaded by NEEDLE RECORDS. I had to be equal parts quick and lucky to snag an unopened second hand copy and it was not cheap. Because of all these self-imposed limitations, they get passed over by most visual kei fans, including those who would actually like what they offer if it was reasonable to acquire or stream. I’m writing this so maybe that will change, although to be honest I know it probably won’t, and not because no one is interested. Marvelous Cruelty just makes it very difficult to follow them even if you’re in Japan. You have to be honmei level (or just incredibly rich) just to stand a chance of owning most of their music. That’s why Marvelous Cruelty continues to prove that the releases which provides the most bang for your buck are the 素晴ラシキ残酷 series, which straddle the line somewhere between best-ofs and collection albums. 素晴ラシキ残酷III is no different in this regard; if you’ve somehow managed to keep up with the blitz of releases this band produces then there’s nothing new, but if you’re just a normal fan this is a god-send. For one, the drums are real and the drum machine is OUT! Second, some of their best tracks are here: 針 slaps and is a great opening track, the demo track THE SHOW makes an appearance again as ××show, 痣 makes it’s third and presumably not-final appearance here, even one of their classic tracks 離別 gets yet another re-recording! Thirdly, the mastering is solid. They spent some actual cash to make these tracks sound lively and fresh. It boggles my mind that they limited this to 100 copies. Even though they’ve slimmed down to a two-piece with support members, Marvelous Cruelty has moved beyond 90’s worship and are legitimately continuing the kote-kei trend. I love the attention to detail and commitment to the bit, even if it means following them is a pain in the ass because they conduct activities like it’s 1999. I can’t even be like “support the band” because it feels like the band doesn’t want overseas support. There’s no real way to listen to this album unless you buy it. Odds that they will ever pop up at an overseas festival are incredibly slim…unless fans like myself do the legwork to inform others that the best 90’s spin-off band is right here. You’ll just have to take my word (and this crossfade) for it.
陰陽座 - 吟澪御前
You knew this was going to be here. 陰陽座 is one of my favorite albums and 吟澪御前 hits all the right beats to make it a stellar album. First off, there’s no intro to delay the inevitable - the band just rushes into things with 吟澪に死す and don’t let up. The album has got a mystical, ethereal feel that I haven’t gotten from them since their first few albums. It’s also much more melodic than I was expecting from them, with there not being as many heavy moments as on past albums. That’s ok, since the melodies are stellar and I liked every track on the first listen! That’s rare for me. This was also the album I reached for when I was on my road trip earlier this year. They even gave us another twenty minute progressive suite in the form of 鈴鹿御前 -鬼式 → 大嶽丸 → 鈴鹿御前 -神式 that tells the story of Suzuka Gozen versus the demon Ootakemaru. The depths of Japanese folklore go deep because it never ceases to amaze me how this band can still mine it for content more than 25 years later! It also boggles my mind that the quality of the music has never dipped below a 7 out of 10 all this time - each album is special and that includes this one. I think the only flaw of this entire cycle is that there’s no music video for me to show off their awesome visuals, so you’ll just have to believe me on that part. Take some time to listen to it - this might be one of your new favorite bands!
PE$O PETE - SHINY PACK 4 (DELUXE) / SHINY UNIVERSE
SHINY PACK 4 is the WDFA offering of the year, building upon 2024’s SHINY PACK 4 by apparently doubling the tracklist and turning a single album into a double album. Don’t ever say PE$O is lazy. At 35 tracks long, SHINY PACK 4 is a lot of music to digest at once. PE$O makes sure to have a lot of awesome features from other WDFA members, and sees PE$O experimenting with new ad-libs and many different styles. The bars are clever nerdcore as savvy listeners will catch references to many anime and video game franchises such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, and One Piece. Don’t go into this one expecting long songs or many choruses because this is just cypher rap, plain and simple. Some of my personal favorite tracks are THE GRAX INCIDENT, which features the one and only LIME KING. His delivery might be polarizing but it’s undeniable that he brings energy to whatever beat he hops on. I also like GREAT NINJA WAR 4, sporting an entrancing Latin trap beat which features some of my favorite WDFA rappers in Jeesh, Ty Wild, iMinikon, and VI Seconds, it’s only downfall is that it comes late in the album so not many people will get to hear it. I also gotta call out KILLER INSTINCT (yes like the video game), which features PE$O and Shofu spitting bars for five minutes straight. And then if you thought you were finished with the first mixtape, PE$O released a second one this year named SHINY UNIVERSE and it’s functionally an extension of SHINY PACK 4. Littered with great tracks such as SAMBA DE AMIGO, FRENZY PLANT, THE ULTIMATE TRUTH, and THE ORIGINAL DRAGON, it’s everything I wanted out of it: more PE$O PETE music. It might take a bit, but when it clicks, both mixtapes are a hit.
Ruiza - alive
I expected Ruiza to return to solo activities following the dissolution of D, but for some reason I never expected him to turn it into a full-band affair. I missed his previous release THE ONE, so I made sure to make time for this. alive is a slow burner - I’m very picky with my power metal and I can’t stand extended shredding without a melody hooked into it. Ruiza manages to avoid these traps for the most part. And who expected to hear Seth in 2025? I thought he disappeared into normalcy after the extended hiatus Moi Dix Mois has been on. I was so surprised when I heard vocals that I had to ask in the discord chat who this was. I’ve attached the MV for 深層 - listen to it and let me know what you think of the potential of Ruiza’s solo project/band (I’m not sure what to consider it honestly because the PV puts equal emphasis on most members of the band but it’s billed simply as Ruiza). I’m not sure how much crossover there is from D or how many people would listen to this kind of music in visual kei to start with, but this is a great break from the standard loud kei style.
Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea
Spiritbox’s sophomore effort isn’t quite what I expected but it is very welcome! This is an even heavier outing than their previous effort Eternal Blue, while still maintaining the hooks and pop edge that constitutes Spiritbox. But you’d be forgiven if you think differently based on opener Fata Morgana, which presents itself as an ass beater before dropping into a very Deftones inspired chorus. Tsunami Sea keeps the quality up almost the entire way through. Mike’s riffs are solid and Courtney is on point on every track. Perfect Soul was one of those tracks that I wasn’t completely sold on at first - I remember thinking “yeah, this is a Spiritbox song” - and then two weeks later it was stuck in my head. Two weeks later and I was listening to it every day. That’s how slowly some of these tracks crept up on me throughout the year. A Haven With Two Faces is fantastic. I had the pleasure of seeing them live this year and although my view wasn’t the best and it was overly loud, it was still a good experience. Courtney was having a good night. Some songs, like Crystal Roses (with bonus saxophone) just make sense live. I wasn’t sold on that track when I first listened to it but I get the intention now. They even bring out some acoustic guitar for album closer Deep End, their tribute to former bassist Bill Crook who passed away before this album was released. They avoided the sophomore slump with this one. If they ever come to your city, make some time to go see them.
Unlucky Morpheus - Gate of Heaven
Unlucky Morpheus is one of the most underrated visual kei bands currently out right now. They do big numbers for a band this board mostly ignores. Even I’m terrible at keeping up with their music most of the time (even though Black Pentagram is a bop), so when they drop a new album and I’m on it early, then it’s a good thing. This is their latest album since 2022’s evolution, and the band hasn’t really changed what makes them tick. Fuki is still one of the top five vocalists in the scene easily. Her control is apparent on almost every song, but especially album singles 世界輪廻 and Convergent Rays. Kazumi is a great secondary vocalist. Jinya and Hirano lay down some amazing riffs, Fumiya lays down some great and inspired drum fills like he’s sitting on hot coals of inspiration, the solos are great, and I love what Jill on violin adds to the band. They have so many strong singles supporting this album. Maybe too many strong singles depending on who you ask, because there isn’t a lot of new tracks here if you’ve been following them closely these last few years. But as most people don’t follow them very closely, this is a strong album that deserves some attention before the end of the year is through. They’ve also announced a companion album called Gate of Hell which I presume will release next year, so look out for that too! There’s also another single called 善悪の彼岸 (Zen’aku no Higan) scheduled to release Christmas Eve, so look out for that too!
Various Artists - K-Pop Demon Hunters Official Soundtrack
Blame the radio for this one. It all started with us switching to the radio because we got tired of kids music and needed a change. Golden comes on and we’re oblivious to the fact that they’re playing K-Pop on the radio now, but my daughter is insistent that we find the song. Cue humming the song melody to Google and finding out it comes from this movie, which I had conveniently loaded onto Plex a week earlier. This was a big mistake, as I would soon find out, because once we connected the song to the movie it was all over. To date, it is the most played movie on my server by a wide margin, and it’s so bad that we have days where we just don’t play any of the music or the movie or the clips to detox her. This is how much I’ve listened to this album this year. I’ve listened to this album legitimately 14 or 15 times by the time I’m writing this review (which is several months earlier than you would expect) and I can tell you that I’ve been beaten into submission. I unironically like this album (when it’s this or Mr. Rogers or Baby Shark you take this) and it’s filled with a ton of banger songs. Strategy by Twice lives in my head rent free. So does Saja Boys’ Soda Pop, which also gets played on repeat. My daughter now does that shoulder dance when she dances, and if you’ve watched the movie you know what dance I’m talking about. Speaking of the movie, if you haven’t seen the movie then I must warn you that it’s actually really good. There’s no reason for the movie to go so hard. We need VK Demon Hunters anime ASAP. You don’t understand. We got a little shine with Dan Da Dan and THE HAYASHI’s but that’s not this. That was a parody that ruffled some feathers until some backroom conversations happened. This movie is a sensation. I’ve seen four Rumi costumes alone this Halloween! Back to the album, it’s a pretty diverse slice of K-Pop, 70/30 split between boys and girls (this makes sense if you watch the movie), and then a Score Suite at the end to cap it off. It literally has all the music from the movie and more. The main problem is that there isn’t more - they had to sandwich in two versions of Takedown and the score to reach twelve tracks, and it’s only 37 minutes long. I’m fully expecting a K-Pop Demon Hunters 2 to come out at this rate, so I look forward to spending many car rides listening to that album as well. Also, if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time a collaboration album has ever made one of my lists. That’s new and kinda cool, so congrats to that.
That concludes the list! Did I miss anything? Tell me about your favorites below! If you want a quick summary of anything on this list, check out this Spotify playlist that has (most) of the stuff I covered!
And if you feel so inspired, vote in the poll!
- 村越葵 (Aoi Murakoshi)
- BAND-MAID
- betcover!!
- Blu-swing
- Clipse
- deftones
- DEXCORE
- downy
- Earl Sweatshirt
- JILUKA
- Jinjer
- lynch.
- Mac Miller x Madlib
- Marvelous Cruelty
- 陰陽座 (Onmyo-za)
- PE$O PETE
- Ruiza
- Spiritbox
- Unlucky Morpheus
- HUNTRIX