陰陽座

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陰陽座 (Onmyo-za) is a Japanese heavy metal band who released their first commercial album in 1999. They play quite orthodox style heavy metal music mixed with Japanese folk themes and pop music elements. Since their debut, they have appeared in traditional clothing characteristic of Japan’s Heian period.

Current Members: Matatabi (Bass & Vocals), Kuroneko (Vocals), Maneki & Karukan (Guitars). Ex-member/support - Atsushi Kawatsuka (previously known as Tora 斗羅) as support drummer.

Their songs mainly deal with of oni, yokai, Japanese dragons, etc, but some songs have a more concrete theme and inspiration. For example, Onmyo-za has composed many “Ninpocho” (Tales of Ninja Magic) songs, which are a tribute to the Japanese author Futaro Yamada and his Ninpocho series. Koga Ninpocho was written for the anime “Basilisk,” whose story is from Futaro Yamada’s “Koga Ninpocho.” There are also some other songs inspired by Osamu Tezuka and Kyogoku Natsuhiko. The trilogy “Kumikyoku Yoshitsune” is based on the legend of Japanese ancient tragic hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

Each of their stage names has double meaning with a sense of humor. Kuroneko(黒猫) literally means “black cat”, which symbolizes her personality, as well as being a nickname she used before starting Onmyo-za. Matatabi(瞬火) means flashing fire, but it can also be read as a silvervine/catnip (loved by cats).
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  • darkonyxswe

    @gallanish: They're visual kei when they started out. but I do agree that they're not that anymore and so, the majority of the band is NOT visual kei and should therefor not be tagged as such :)

    13 Apr 4:05pm Reply

  • darkonyxswe

    And by the way, the new DVD is awesome! :D

    23 Feb 10:24am Reply

  • darkonyxswe

    It has been a while, yes... but the flame of Onmyo still lives in all of us. This was the first band, for me, that truely caught my attention and they're still one of my all-time favorites, without any doubts!

    23 Feb 9:57am Reply

  • starfuckr

    been years since ive been in this shout, hi guys :D

    21 Jan 1:42am Reply

  • Dear_Serenity

    To me, Onmyouza is the Iron Maiden of the east, more or less. ^^ Kuroneko has a beautiful voice.

    20 Jan 12:27pm Reply

  • gronbuske

    Haven't looked at my Last.fm profile in quite some while and thought I'd check in. I was impressed by myself, soon 10k listens to Onmyouza! They are most certainly the best band in the world.

    13 Jan 1:07pm Reply

  • AlxenPanikovski

    ДДОСЬ УПЯЧКУ!!!

    13 Dec 2012 Reply

  • chadderack

    卍

    22 Nov 2012 Reply

  • dememe

    It's definitely you, the only connection to Dir en Grey that Onmyo-za has is that their ex-drummer once played with a pre-Diru band as a support drummer a long time ago. ^__^

    31 Oct 2012 Reply

  • Colton153

    Is it just me or, do I hear Kyo from Dir En Grey in some parts of Kumikyoku 'Kyuubi' - Shoumakyou?

    29 Oct 2012 Reply

  • Arklem

    can't stop listening to the new album ^^

    22 Oct 2012 Reply

  • konamimi

    月花

    27 Sep 2012 Reply

  • Andy_Zee

    waiting for you in Kiev!

    17 Sep 2012 Reply

  • darkonyxswe

    @dememe & kacper92: That's so true, just trust your instincts and follow your heart and choose one/two album(-s)! I would, as dememe already pointed out, not begin with neither the first or latest album. Also, in my single opinion, I think you should try to begin with either Garyou Tensei 臥龍點睛 or Houyoku Rindou 鳳翼麟瞳. Or if you think you like their more 'powerful side' (don't want to say brutal, as they've never been like that :) ) you could try either the little darker and more all-around album Mugen Houyou 夢幻泡影 or their even more power metal-ish Maou Taiten 魔王戴天. Now it's all up to yourself, but I don't see why you shouldn't start collecting ALL their music as dememe has done very well in all these years! ^_^

    13 Sep 2012 Reply

  • dememe

    Their best of album Inyou Shugyoku 陰陽珠玉 is a good start. It features tracks from their first album till 2005's Garyo Tensei 臥龍點睛. As a stand alone album I usually recommend the album Mugen Hoyo 夢幻泡影 as it has a good mix of all of Onmyo-za's main styles (except their epic 20 minute suites for that I'd try Kongo Kyubi 金剛九尾) In my opinion their first album Kikoku Tensho 鬼哭転生 and their latest Kishi Bojin 鬼子母神 are probably left till last as they are quite dense and not as "easy to get into" as their other albums imho. Although it's true that Onmyo-za are such a quality band that they simply don't make mediocre material, so what ever album you pick up you will have an excellent listening experience.

    30 Aug 2012 Reply

  • kacper92

    I'm really getting into Onmyouza. Any suggestions, with which albums should I start? Thx in advance.

    29 Aug 2012 Reply

  • Taiyou-0

    Very interesting music!

    3 Aug 2012 Reply

  • andoreh

    We need more overseas tours!

    1 Aug 2012 Reply

  • min0ru

    New live DVD "Zekkai Enbu" (絶界演舞) is coming at 05.09.2012. You can check out full list of songs from new DVD here http://www.onmyo-za.net/news/index.html. Onmyo-za 2012 tour logo from official site looks a bit weird :)

    7 Jul 2012 Reply

  • andoreh

    the best japanese band ever!!!

    8 Jun 2012 Reply
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