Cupia Vol. 1 (Japan Version)

Four-man band Nega starts things off loudly with hard rock and creepy whispers in altar (Track 1). While the song's composition itself is average, the arrangement is genuinely interesting, with some fine guitar riffs and unexpected beats holding the piece together. Oshare kei meets goth and punk rock meets rap metal for Akihabara Shounendan Dennou Romeo, one of the more well-known names in the set. Thrashing without being overbearing, their 5th Luna (Track 2) is lifted by assured vocals, frantic beats, and a rather catchy melody, though the whole thing feels a bit repetitive after a while.

For more of the metal and makeup, there's Dio's snarly PUPPET SHOW (Track 6) and UnsraW's - 9 - (Track 8), both of which hop competently between goth growling and clear-voiced J-rock, though Dio takes the slight edge with their brilliant zombie-voiced intro that repeatedly asks "Do you know of any good music for heavy x x x man?". Melodic metal band SKULL offers a slight variation with Necromancer (Track 4). What starts as too familiar and slightly annoying thrash metal makes a surprising jump into a perfectly pop rock chorus, then back to thrashing guitar and some funky metal, and back yet to pop rock. The change-ups come together well, and the song ends on a welcome quirky note.

Kibouya Honpo is quirky from beginning to end with Shounen 25 Byou (Track 10), a delightful and distinctive light rock number with a carnivale innocence to its whimsical arrangement and youthful cheer. Velbet also stays mostly light with Jun Koiuta (Track 9) which hooks on the go with a jazzy, funky arrangement and enka-inspired vocals. It sounds mostly like an 80s pop number with a 90s rock arrangement, but gets disrupted in the middle by an unnecessary hard rock interlude that breaks the mood of the song. Winning the contest for most disturbing makeup and most ridiculously long song title (Track 12), Inugami Circus-dan checks in with the album's sole female voice and most striking melody. A more veteran name in comparison to the other bands in the compilation, Inugami Circus-dan could be mistaken for a mellow listen with their moody traditional fusion lyrical rock, if not for the fabulously dark and grotesque lyrics that earn the band's eroguro label.

The least visually striking of the bunch, GLADZ J.B also seems the most likely to cross over based on the technical proficiency and blanket likability of LOST (Track 5), a straightforward J-rock number with bouncing beats smoothly delivered by Johnny's-looking lead vocalist MINORU. Sugar is another act to look out for if you're interested in L'arc-en-Ciel style rock as frontman Loki's vocals bear definite similarities to HYDE's, and the band's Sleepy (Track 7) also takes after L'arc's chart-friendly rock. (They should seriously consider switching to a more Google-friendly name though.) Cupia ends with probably the collection's two most well-known names, RENTRER EN Soi and Versailles. RENTRER's JUST MAD PAIN (Track 13) is their staple hard ambience rock and Versailles takes hard rock at psychedelic speed in decadent costumes with The Red Carpet Day (Track 14).