The Amazing Aldious

“Once upon a time...” there was Aldious, and there is Aldious, and there shall be Aldious. The decade-old group has reinvented itself before, and they will again.
The name was coined by original co-founder Rami (with guitarist Yoshi) as a contraction based on the phrase “Ultimate Melodious” and it works, I think. They started in Osaka in 2008. So quite a few folks see them as being the inspiration for the many female metal-influenced bands since then. They are a biggie, and they’re still together, but there were others before (Show-Ya comes to mind).
Original vocalist Rami (with whom they came across with a fairly traditional metal feel) left in 2011 to get married. She has been doing some performances on her own since then, very metal sounding. Vocalist Re:NO has been with them since 2012 and is a talented songwriter. Her usually soft voice has been described as “ethereal” and her mostly white and pastel colored frilly chiffon princess dresses are more fantasy atmosphere than traditional metal. (She can totally still do the hair-whip headbanging stuff though.) I was just getting used to that, but recently they have been going more for a blackout look. Couldn’t help but notice that one of guitarist Yoshi’s outfits appeared to be black leatherette with spike studs covering the bra portion... I’m guessing they decided to try to go “badass look” there.
Yoshi and bassist Sawa are the two remaining original members. Yoshi seems the most serious, at least on stage. Sawa left to play in Galmet, and for awhile was actually playing in both bands when she first returned. She (and guitarist Toki) smiles so giddily she has been called the happiest bassist in rock.
With Re:NO the sound has more allowance for her voice and more experimentation. Not a bad thing. They still can and do lay down a kickin’ metal sound on a regular basis.
I should also mention Marina, their most recent addition and a very capable drummer. Since her arrival she has more than proven her chops as a masterful percussionist, despite not having any other groups in her resume that I could find. If anyone knows of her membership with other groups, links are appreciated.

An interesting review on them from 2014.
http://www.invisibleoranges.com/aldious-highly-stylized-j-pop-esthetics/

Some info pages on them:
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Aldious/3540296084

After writing the above,  I found that Metal-Archives lists vocalist Re:NO as “former” member (which is maybe ahead of time); because of that I looked and sure enough, she’s leaving after their last performance of the year (December 17) due to an ear problem (eustachian valve issue). Well, crap.  She has brought some memorable songs and unique style to a largely metal-influenced group and helped them stand out, I think. I will be curious where they go from here. They seem to me to be survivors.
https://twitter.com/ReNO_Aldious

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXlAxEzFTKF/

Maybe we can keep up with her here. I see a post acknowledging that she will be leaving the group after their last show this month:
https://ameblo.jp/renomusic/

Go Away - ironically, this was one of their more recent tunes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1rxMeISxbE

Posted this yesterday on a social media site; notice she wore her chiffon dress again for this last performance:

Photo date December 17 - Bittersweet day.
Re:NO’s last bow.
Aldious had their last performance with lead singer/songwriter “Re:NO” the 17th. She had to leave the band because of an ear condition worsening with her performing. She brought a neo-fantasy character to the metal band with her song directions and her Barbie-in-a-pastel-chiffon dress look. I was just getting used to that and appreciating her music and now it’s over.
 Aldious survived the departure of Rami six years ago and hired another singer/songwriter/frontwoman (Re:NO); I expect they will find a replacement and transform, again. But a lot of fans will miss Re:NO and hope she finds a solution for her problem.
 [photo on Barks.jp website]
 https://img.barks.jp/image/review/1000162974/001.jpg

J

Update on Aldious 2019-04-09:

  Aldious is doing the “Evoke” tour.  From Wikipedia:
“On February 18, 2019, Aldious announced the Evoke Tour consisting of 45 dates in Japan and using guest vocalists R!N, and Saki from Cyntia.”

Hmmm... Tryouts maybe?
R!N I believe is the same as “Rin” of one of the several versions of Destrose. If so, here’s a sample of her work with them, which I like quite well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o7fktsBwQg

A live version. A tad thick on the vibrato for me, still very listenable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KomzWVfAmGQ

So R!N could be a good one if she doesn’t overdo the vibrato, IMHO.

Saki, formerly of Cyntia, has the subtlety to follow Re:NO. I like her work a lot. The only caveat I see is that she doesn’t lean too far in the pop direction. Cyntia went that way for awhile and lost a sizable chunk of their hard rock/metal-appreciating audience.

Aldious has a rich musical legacy and a lot of talent. Build on that and Aldious will have a long life and prosper in its third incarnation.

The Japanese Wave of All-Female Rock and Metal Bands...

I’m going to be sharing info on some Japanese artists in a series of posts, but I want to explain how I view the US music scene first, then I’ll go there.
Today, the music business in the USA tends to be dominated by a few companies with their chosen songwriters, and which treat their artists like commodities. Many original musicians have chosen to go their own way, releasing their own creations online and through CDBaby (where you can place an order and have an album “burned” to CD and mailed to you) , for example, and not even trying for a traditional contract. (“What? You don’t want us to exploit, limit and dictate to you, use and abuse you?”)
So our radio airwaves are filled with material that mostly sounds the same, while more original songs and sounds are mostly from independent artists you have to go looking for. YouTube, SoundCloud, PureVolume, ReverbNation, CDBaby are possible places. Look up an artist you like on YouTube and they will suggest others they think are in a similar genre. Explore.
Earlier I shared some stuff on Band-Maid.  That was the beginning of my learning more about Japanese bands, especially the current wave of all-female rock and metal bands in Japan. 
The Japanese music scene has a strong pop presence. Japanese “J-Pop” is big, as is Korean “K-Pop” . But like the USA, a lot of original music happens “underground” - often literally, in basement clubs under buildings belonging to other businesses, usually with performances after their business hours. (Of course, this isn’t new. One of the Beatles’ early venues was The Cavern Club in Liverpool, established in the cellar of a fruit warehouse. And the owners of the Cavern were inspired by the cellar jazz clubs in Paris.)
Metal and metal-influenced rock are very active, with bands forming constantly, and many of these clubs are dedicated to those genres. In a sense, the most creative bands each create their own genre, as it is necessary to distinguish THIS group from the crowd. Typically each will have a particular gimmick, schtick or style for their act. Each member will show themselves as individual, but within that style. Remember how the “Power Rangers” children’s TV show characters had exactly the same outfit, just with different colors? And yet each was supposed to have a different personality. Today’s J-Rock bands aren’t quite that extreme, but everything is about the team, and each personality seen onstage may or may not be the actual private personality of the individual.
I say this to hopefully help you appreciate what you’re seeing in the music videos. Band-Maid’s Miku got the idea for their approach while working at a “maid cafe” and that is where her whole “moi, moi!” audience participation cheer comes from, and much of her other chatter, besides their original outfits (which have gone though considerable changes, at least with Saiki and Misa). Akane was first weirded out by the outfits, but decided it was worth it when she heard the sound they were going for.
Band-Maid and a number of other groups play to some degree (at least to western eyes) on childlike qualities and impression. Then, in the metal and rock genres at least, they blast you with a powerful sound. In real life, the band members of all these groups are typically twentysomethings. Miku of Band-Maid plays the most childlike role of them but she is the oldest, currently 28 I believe. Saiki is the youngest at 24 last I knew.
You can also see this approach in Babymetal, although they are not within the category of all-female bands I’m discussing here; the women of Babymetal are a talented song-and-dance trio fronting a male band, and doing their best to seem like precocious little girls.
Each band here has its own thing going. The vast majority seem to have taken some cues from speed metal, so you will hear a lotta superfast guitar work in there, and sometimes remember to let the bass player shine which is nice.
As a general rule, Japanese artists strive to give everything 200%. Anything less would not be honorable. I mentioned earlier about Band-Maid’s Saiki having to have surgery to remove nodes from her vocal cords, typically caused by vocal strain. When Misa was first learning slap-bass technique, she practiced so intensely she had blisters when it was time to record. She went into the studio and recorded ANYWAY.
And their drummer Akane has voiced her determination to “smash” the perception that women can’t play hard rock. It seems she has lots of company; the all-female bands coming from Japan are technically superb and often inspired.
It would appear that Kurt Cobain’s prophecy that women are the future of rock is coming true, and in 2018 it is led by Japan.
Specific band reviews follow.

J