I will be the first to admit that I am a nerd for epic things. I love an over-the-top bit of action. Bombastic music. Heavy Metal.
Metal filled this need in me. Dragons, demons, warriors, and wizards all could be found there. Cheesy, epic goodness. Metal acts from Europe have been great in filling that need for epic music.
Within Temptation has some great music. Check out this song featuring guest vocalist, Xzibit.
Nightwish from Finland has been perfecting their big sound over the years. Ghost Love Score is a perfect example.
But this is an anime blog, no?
Ok. So what are the OPs and EDs that are most epic?
I would be remiss if I did not include the Attack on Titan OP first.
Only My Railgun by Fripside is pretty a pretty big sounding bit of electronica.
But for me lately it is the Guilty Crown OP by Supercell. I can’t get enough of this song.
Do yourself a favor and listen to the full version. Turn it up. Bask in the awesome!
The other day I posted my love for Steam Powered Giraffe and lo and behold I get an email from Anime Midwest that they will be returning again this year. I love this!
Also in attendance:
Greg Ayres: Son Goku in Saiyuki, Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host Club, Yuki in The Wallflower, Leo in Ghost Stories , Satoshi Hiwatari in DNAngel, Kaworu Nagisa in the Director’s Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Sonny Strait: Maes Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist
John Swasey: Lord Death in Soul Eater, Kogoro in Sgt. Frog, Huang in Darker than Black
Chuck Huber: Stein in Soul Eater, Kululu in Sgt. Frog, Mohji in One Piece, Shou Tucker in Full Metal Alchemist, Han in Blue Gender, Hiro in Shin Chan, Ashe in Black Butler.
Maxey Whitehead: Dende in “Dragonball Z Kai”, Crona in “Soul Eater”, King Kazuma in “Summer Wars” and Alphonse Elric in “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”.
David Matranga: Tomoya Okazaki in Clannad or Briareos in Appleseed or Bertholdt in Attack on Titan.
All this info is directly from the Anime Midwest website. There are many more guests. It is looking to be a great time!
Steam Powered Giraffe…not anime I know, but related for me.
I first encountered this Steam Punk musical group last summer at Anime Midwest. They were one of the musical guests performing last year. I figured that would be something to check out, my boys and I watched a few videos before we went so we’d be a little familiar if we got to one the shows.
Honeybee is probably one of their more popular songs.
Younger son and I hit the first show Friday evening and loved it. They put on an excellent show. Part musical performance, part pantomime, part comedy act: a really fun experience. The opening before they take the stage the audience was met with one of their videos. The cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds”
The next night we dragged the older son/ brother to their Saturday night show. That night they opened with Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” instead.
Another great night. It is funny how Anime, or really any past time, can lead you to new interests or expose you to something you’d never seen before. I found that that the conventions are great opportunities for just this sort of thing.
Steam Powered Giraffe are a Steam Punk musical group hailing from San Diego. They are a three piece at this point comprised of Hatchworth, Bunny (formerly Rabbit), and The Spine.
With Rabbit
Now Bunny
The most poignant moment of the Saturday night show was during their song: “Wired Wrong”. The audience sang along with the band: “We are wired wrong”. For a moment it seemed that the audience was connected by that thread of feeling weird and out of place in the world, but here…they were all together…The same.
One other little fun bit: They filmed a video when we were there!
Go and love some Steam Powered Giraffe. Let your passions lead you to new and interesting places.
“Find light in the beautiful sea I choose to be happy You and I, you and I We’re like diamonds in the sky”
I love music. Always have. I grew up in the 1970’s listening to my dad’s old Beatles records or music that my older sister turned me on to like Queen and Styx. My parents indoctrinated me with ethnic folk music (mostly Latin American). When I hit middle school it was the early 1980s. New wave and Brit pop were in. I listened to Devo, Howard Jones, Heaven 17, Nik Kershaw, The Fixx, Adam Ant, and Billy Idol (his new album has some great songs BTW).
But high school was the game changer. I got into hard rock and heavy metal. I loved it. I grew my hair out, donned black t-shirts, and wore leather. From Kiss to Def Leppard, Dokken to Dio, Megadeth to Slayer. I couldn’t get enough.
And then there was Iron Maiden.
Forget about it. They were (and still are) my favorite. Soaring vocals, long songs, intricate guitar work, lyrics with depth (often based off of literature or historical events), all on top of the theatrics of a huge stage show. What is not to love.
As the 80’s progressed there came heavier stuff: Megadeth, Slayer, Metallica. I consumed them all. But one of the big 4 appealed to me most of all.
Anthrax.
Why Anthrax. They had all the appeal of heavy guitars and crashing drums that any adolescent boy would love, but they had something else as well. They were positive and they were fun. These guys read comic books, wore Bermuda shorts, wrote songs about Stephan King books, collaborated with Public Enemy, and acted goofy. In all the doom, gloom and seriousness of metal, Anthrax were fun and often gave positive messages.
So jump to 25 years later: how did I get from this:
That is ClariS. The song “Click” is the Opening theme (OP) to the anime Nisekoi. ClariS is a very talented duo girls from Hokkaido, Japan. They got together in 2009 when they were in junior high, doing cover songs and submitting them to a video sharing site. They were signed to a label and by the next year released their first single “Irony” which was used for the Oreimo OP. They have since released 3 albums and numerous singles, many of which are associated with popular anime.
I love ClariS’s little bubble gum pop songs. They are addictive. They are happy sounding. They are fun. And I think that is what it comes down to for me: Fun.
I also come to enjoy a song through the visual and emotional connection that one has with a show that I’ve enjoyed. I hear the song every show. I enjoy the show. I come to enjoy the song. Now not all OP songs are created equal in my experience, but that is true with all music.
That’s enough for now. But listen to new things, love new things, see what the world has to offer. If I didn’t I would still only listen to heavy metal…and that is just one small part of what life can give you.
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