In 2008, Japanese screamo pioneers, Heaven in Her Arms and Killie released a split 3". Now the two groups releasing a split together alone is worth an honorable mention, but when the split is actually a cover album, that's when things get even more interesting.

On Heaven in Her Arms' side of this CD, we get a song entitled 'Rokugatsu' which is a cover of two songs, 'The Old World is Behind Us' and 'The Jailors Speak of Freedom' by Massachusetts group, Ampere.



On Killie's side, a song entitled 'Mudai' appears, which is actually a cover of 'Guigno' by Italian group, La Quiete.


While Killie's cover is quite faithful to the original, Heaven in Her Arms' trails off into something almost unrecognizable (in a good way); much more ambiance and heavy on spoken word, Heaven in Her Arms certainly puts a unique twist on their cover, although not to discredit Killie's cover, they are both excellent in their own right.

As I'm sure most of you are interested in hearing the original versions of these songs as well, here are the Ampere and La Quiete albums which feature the previously mentioned songs.

sora are another relatively unknown screamo group from Japan. Lead vocalist/guitarist Kenta Uchida also plays in the group Killie, but sora's music dwells little on the chaotic, borderline avant-garde leanings of Killie. Instead, sora produces a much more guitar-based, melodic brand of screamo.

Gauge Means Nothing were a short-lived 4 piece from Tokyo, Japan. Their unique brand of screamo can be attributed to the vocals, which were provided by bassist Yuichi, guitarist Kenta, and female singer Tamao. The somewhat flat and high pitched yelping of Tamao combined with the nasally vocals and guttural screams of both Yuichi and Kenta gave them a sort of raw edge over more well-produced screamo groups. Another interesting element they had were their use of keyboards, while to some, may seem out of place and almost unnecessary, provided a fuller sound and melodic backdrop to the band. For some odd reason, the keyboardist is uncredited on various websites describing the group's line-up, but she is very present in most live videos of the band. All in all, what separates this group from other Japanese screamo groups is their ability to sound raw, yet maintain a sense of melody to their music which is never too overbearing, nor undermined. At only 4 songs deep, the record is surprisingly fulfilling. Possibly one of the best Japanese screamo records to come out. This record can also be purchased on the site, Meatcube.

-Garrett

Birth are one of the latest groups to enter the amazing Japanese screamo scene. This is their debut EP and it sounds like a mixture between the jangly guitars of instrumental group, Toe, and the chaotic, underlying pop aesthetic of fellow screamo band, Nitro Mega Prayer. Birth are the band that The Fall of Troy wishes they were right now. Strange time signatures and dissonant guitar playing mixed with pop melody, but the emotion itself never comes off as something fabricated. The dual vocals of guitarist Sakai Kouta and bassist Suda Kenji stretch to their seams. Powerful energy for just a 3 piece. There isn't that much information to be found about this band, but they're certainly one to watch out for. Please visit the site Meat Cube, which sells CDs from many international screamo artists, and buy this record!

-Garrett