用户Wiki:Demobanker/2025 music recommendations

New year, new list! I've changed the title from "listening logs and recommendations" to "music recommendations" because these aren't really listening logs, which involve putting down everything I listen to regardless of how much I like or dislike it.

As usual, check the 2021 list and 2022 lists to see what it's about, and here for an uncommented list of other music which I enjoyed (and a few I didn't) from this year. Also feel free to peep my sandbox for drafts.

2024 <-- | 2025

The List

曲目信息
Solvorement （2025-07-18） 社团：Yumi Sakata progressive metal, math metal (influence), progressive deathcore (influence) 🇺🇸 Yumi writes in the Bandcamp description a small tale of Utsuho devouring the earth, but man, I'm imagining the a Metal Gear-esque solo descent into a Dyson sphere. The EP's most complex moments harken back to the early 00s math metal era of djent, which intensified the mechanized, groove-forward sound of 90s metal to new levels of complexity. Adding to the atmosphere are industrial elements like beeps and synths, though unlike said 00s era these elements are cleaner and more spacious, fitting the quiet background sounds of a space station.
曲目信息
Across to higan EP （2025-10-19） 社团：Yayoi Softworks dubstep, future garage 🇯🇵 this is just a placeholder since I haven't finished writing about it, but it is my second favorite release from this year so far after Solvorement and I want to note it down somewhere
曲目信息
Extra Nightmare （2025-05-05） 社团：Adust Rain note: best-of remastered album electronicore, 2010s mainstream metalcore 🇯🇵 Killer best-of, with the only major misstep being the lack of Secret Traveler. The weird "glass transformer" sound effect that keeps getting used in the Traumatic Syndrome and Imperfect Cherry Blossom remaster is also a bit distracting because I associate that more with sound design centric music.
曲目信息
SNOOZE MODE （2025-08-17） 社团：dat file records Jersey club 🇯🇵, 🇮🇩 (tr. 4) finally a followup to girls in caps e.p Hits all the Jersey club essentials (the grooves ofc, but also squeaky bed samples) while also having a lot of creativity on top of that. There's noticeable clipping on some tracks, but this is one of the genres where that rawness is part of its appeal. Nowhere else is that rawness more apparent than Ide_Co's nightflower, which sounds like a haphazardous skirmish of gun sounds and percussive vocal samples. As for other highlights: the first two tracks and BAWANG's Found U! are fun examples of how the genre is connected to kawaii future bass. M4tt's ALICE in flips the FM synth original with delay effects and turns it into glittery chip dressing. On the more "mainstream" side, Tengu Corp's bassy orchestral hits and hip hop samples makes Starry Brick City sound like a buffed up, Joyryde-fied spin on the genre, though I feel like it could use some more bass. The big galaxy brain move of the album, in my opinion, has to be the UK drill switchup in Qreme Logic's bad apple.... Both genres are linked by a heavy use of syncopated, triplet percussive grooves, and I'm honestly surprised I haven't heard of something linking the two until now (note: this is because I don't listen to a ton of Jersey club).
曲目信息
Crab Crab Chapter5 （2025-10-12） 社团：Crab Crab Club post-hardcore, pop rock, math pop (somewhat), funk rock (on 黄昏と物憂い and Perverse) 🇯🇵 Shoutouts to Yumi for the circle rec! Solid poppy rock with dynamic songs and a bit of twinkly-mathy technicality to keep things interesting. The sheer sense of speed on Brain Diagram is hella satifying, and the funky and mathy Perverse is a fun highlight.
曲目信息
Stella（nekka.） （2025-05-05） 社团：nekka. djent, progressive metal 🇯🇵 In the same vein of melodic bedroom djent like the Pandorabox EP below but with less good production, though I like the arrangements slightly more. The emphasis on post-hardcore-y power chords and use of twinkly post-rock guitars is also pretty played out during that era, but I can't deny that it's an emotionally powerful combination. Mathy guitar runs on 永夜抄 and the midtempo feel of 竹取飛翔 bring some variety to the instrumentation, and the vocal versions are solid additions and give a new way to look at the arrangements.
曲目信息
Phantom（Pandorabox） （2025-05-05） 社团：Pandorabox djent, progressive metal 🇯🇵 pre-listening impressions: Pretty much sounds like melodic bedroom djent that I'd see a lot browsing got-djent in 2012 but I'll indulge in a bit of this type of nostalgia kinda funny that I'm adding this for nostalgia reasons even though a few hours ago I was gushing about the crazy interpolations on the new Panzerballett album and how they'd be a god-tier VGM metal arrangement group Yeah, pretty nice throwback to the bedroom djent era. Cleanly produced instrumental music with fusiony melodies (though that's kind of a given because ZUN's compositions are influenced by jazz fusion), with lighter moments featuring a ringing, glassy guitar tone that traces all the way back to TesseracT's 2007 demo. Only needs a bit of glitchy electronics and future/space aesthetics for 16 year old me to proclaim it as the future of Touhou metal. With that in mind, the crossfade saying it's modern metal is kinda ironic, as this EP's sound is more than a decade old. I'm gonna be real, this is only up here because I'm a sucker for the style. It's the popular sound during that era, and while it's not the most interesting music to come out of the bedroom djent movement, I'm also not tired of it. If you wish Herbivora was still making Touhou arrangements, listen to this.
曲目信息
20 Years of Dawn （2025-02-08） 社团：Silhouette Dance EDM grabbag 🇰🇷 I'm always iffy checking out EDM comps without a specific topic since they're usually a mixed bag of genres I like and genres I don't like, but this one is consistently on the side of genres I like. Personal highlights are the UK garage June Bug and the multi-genre Lunarfall and ever-maple.
曲目信息
Alice in 7 Colors （2025-10-30） 社团：hell raven hardcore techno, trancecore [no location, artist prefers not to reveal it] First off, shoutout to 用户:UnknownReposts〈幽灵乐团〉 for talking about how this is underrated which is why I knew about this in the first place, thanks for your hard work with wiki contributions. Something I weirdly neglected to talk about in the entry for hell raven's 2024 album was the track commentaries. I love when albums have some sort of commentary or liner notes, and unfortunately it's not something you tend to see in Touhou music due to various reasons. Which is a bummer, cuz these let me understand the album just a slight bit better. Even if I dislike a piece of art, I can still appreciate reading how the artist developed the art through the commentary, and maybe even see it from a different point of view. I like the MIDI/FM synths that's used prominently on DevilWorld, manufactured mind and DOLLCRAFT - it gives these songs a shmup-y feel. I thought DevilWorld in particular took influence from Manabu Namiki's Detroit techno-influenced FM soundtrack to Battle Garegga (1996) or Kou Hayashi and Daisuke Nagata's techno soundtrack to Radirgy Noa (2009), but reading the commentary it turns out I was overthinking it, the main inspiration was from MA.S ATTACK which makes a lot of sense. Hopefully it got a few people to check that circle out. IMO, this album shines best when it plays around with video gamey synths rather than trance synths, but also I'm The Complainer Who Complains About Trance Oversaturation In Touhou Music so like, yeah I would say that about the album. Even then, End of doll. is a hella ambitious trance closer with a delicate piano intro, a speed-up to introduce harder elements, a whole bunch of breakbeats and more delicate pianos to bookend the song. hell raven's commentary says that the track's main inspiration is from zts, who I find to be one of the more distinct artists in the doujin trance scene. That was nice to know and made me enjoy the song a bit more. Beyond that, the bitcrushed breakcore on that book that i hate is an inspired choice, and makes me wish that the hexD genre (which involves bitcrushing as a technique to achieve a hazy but digital production reminiscent of compressed audio in low quality mp3s or Youtube videos in the 2000s) that became internet-popularized during the COVID lockdown era actually had an impact on Touhou music.

Writing about these!

曲目信息
異変の花々～ Flowers of Incident （2025-07-22） 社团：Medoi The Maid metalcore, thall 🇷🇺
曲目信息
Across to higan EP （2025-10-19） 社团：Yayoi Softworks dubstep, future garage 🇯🇵 pre-listening notes: I was listening to Access to Arasaka's dubstep tracks while editing the list and was wondering why "Access to higan EP" wasn't linking even though I was on its wiki page hours earlier lmao anyways, as much as I love brostep's maximalism, I also like dubstep's focus on atmosphere and actually having prominent bass. And from the preview I hear some cool sound design. pretty cool collection of tunes. the EP's overall mood is subdued, but that doesn't stop kotoi from injecting a bit of color and warmth into it, like the colour bass segment at the end of Clocked out or just most of Brambles and briars. Also I'm pretty sure Drifting out's synth choices take influence from MA.S ATTACK.

Haven't listened to, but have some interests in

曲目信息
TIMELESS （2025-02-08） 社团：동방！ 재즈재즈 대작전！ various jazz styles 🇰🇷 While I was making the wiki page for this album I checked the translation of the originals multiple times because I was heavily doubting that I was identifying them correctly (I was correct for everything except track 1, which I couldn't figure out from the preview). I love jazz arrangements that really expand on the originals like this.
曲目信息
Touhou Guit. Mix （2025-02-08） 社团：Mirai illusion future rock 🇰🇷 Very Whitefists-esque in its combination of metal and 2010s EDM, and the EDM parts are pretty exciting too.
曲目信息
BLACK PARSE （2025-05-05） 社团：UNKNOWN BEATS trap 🇯🇵 I really do need to listen to this circle more. Even though I'm hopelessly unequipped to talk about modern hip hop these guys are basically pioneering an actual wave of Touhou hip hop, moving it beyond Tamaonsen's long-dominant brand of fun but corny EDM pop rap. I'd rather people listen to them than a certain posse that launders watered down underground sounds (I can't tell the difference but people who's more knowledgeable about underground rap has claimed that) through Cool&Create tier fandombaiting meme garbage. Anyways go read what I wrote about FAKE KILL in the 2024 list.
曲目信息
東方 REC at DNA （2025-03-23） 社团：紅月蝶 trap 🇯🇵 Another circle from this hip hop wave, and the first track with its UK drill and rage-influenced instrumental certainly makes an impression.
曲目信息
Never Die （2025-05-05） 社团：ハコビバ pop rap 🇯🇵 Going from the preview, this circle seems to be partly from Tamaonsen's lineage of EDM pop rap and partly from the lineage of hip hop circles influenced by Unknown Beats (seriously, I was not expecting the preview to start with Jersey club beats).
曲目信息
WE ONLY LIVE TWICE （2025-05-05） 社团：ついったー東方部 post-bop 🇯🇵
曲目信息
Gensokyo Party Vol. 6 Border in Stasis （2025-05-05） 社团：KodamaSounds various genres, mostly EDM 🌐 I feel like KodamaSounds really doesn't get enough credit from the English-speaking doujin music crowd. Outside of some minor quibbles, I've heard nothing but good things about them from a few artists I've talked to. The circle's focus on a variety in genres and them actually releasing at M3 with Japanese translations also distinguishes them from the vast majority of collaborative doujin circles based outside of Japan, which tend to specialize in EDM and are either effectively a netlabel or only releases at local events of their doujin culture analogue. Their newly launched (as of 2025) sublabel/sibling circle Counterfest Records, with its emphasis on sampling and bootleg culture, brings to mind the free-spiritedness of 90s/00s doujin music culture represented by nerdcore techno and video game musicians at major companies forming their own music circles. In fact, you could probably draw comparisons between Counterfest and Allkore, a US-based circle/label started in 2009 that aimed to spread nerdcore techno around the world, and released compilations at Japanese events featuring artists both from and outside Japan. The fact that KodamaSounds releases at M3 and have Japanese translations is enough to convince cynics who think English-speaking circles are run by ignorant osu players. Even beyond that, the circle is run by people passionate and knowledgeable about doujin music and its culture. Comparable to Allkore's founder DJ SpeedBeatz, a nerdcore techno historian who wrote an encyclopedia covering its artists, KodamaSounds' founder Fivda is a long-time contributor at VGMdb and has added a vast amount of doujin music info there. I can tell you from experience that any music database contributors working at that level requires an intricate level of knowledge about the subject matter that you can only get through research and experience. okay maybe this is what I need to actually listen to the circle's Touhou albums
曲目信息
TOUHOU ACID SOUNDS 001 （2025-05-05） 社团：Yayoi Softworks bass music 🇯🇵 I'm a big fan of G Jones and EPROM's Acid Disk series, which puts the popular 90s acid bass sound in a late 2010s bass music context, resulting in some really gnarly headbanging tunes. And guess what this EP references on its cover?
曲目信息
The Ascension （2025-04-27） 社团：ジェリコの法則 EDM 🇯🇵 Despite liking Jerico's stuff a lot when I first got into Touhou music, I haven't listened to them in a really long time. Putting this here as a reminder to do that.
曲目信息
Touhou Colours： Emerald （2025-05-03） 社团：Chroma Sounds colour bass 🇨🇳 Gonna be real here, the inclusion of trance this time feels a bit like an regression to the mean, like the circle wasn't confident that Touhou music fans would want to check out an comp that's all colour bass and decided to add some trance to make it closer to a typical Touhou EDM album. Still, there's some intriguing genre combos here, like the 3 tracks that try to combine speedcore and colour bass. Plus, the announcement says they've got someone from Rushdown (which is THE colour bass label!) on the album, which is an amazing pull.
曲目信息
Wakaremichi （2025-05-05） 社团：Alice At Last various genres 🇺🇸 I came across their music on Bandcamp while going thru the Touhou tag and finding Eiyasyou Synthetic, a unique percussive take on synthwave. Fast forward a few years and they actually have an album out! There's some nice fantasy music going on and some industrial stuff, as well as other styles.
曲目信息
Dark Magic Tragedy （2025-06-14） 社团：Antares Enigma synthwave, darksynth 🌐 I tend to dislike most synthwave outside of the darksynth subgenre, but I'll still consider checking the genre out if it's related to artists I like. For reference, my favorite synthwave projects are Astrophysics and Boucle Infinie, both of which are much better known for their non-synthwave music (Astrophysics being one of the notable artists from the dreambreak/2020s wave of internet-based breaks scene, and Boucle Infinie being the side project of EDM-djent pioneer The Algorithm). In terms of labels, I've found Telefuture's output to be consistently interesting, perhaps helped by it being founded by chiptune artists who are interested in pushing the boundaries of the genre rather than indulging in 80s nostalgia. I also love 幻想郷深夜ドライブ Vol.1, and Antares Enigma seems to be The circle that's trying to push Touhou synthwave to the next level, so I figured I'd give them a try. All of this is to say, this is an attempt to get out of my comfort zone a bit, and I'm going into it aware that I might end up not liking it. Still, about half of the album is darksynth, and it has a ZUNstyle remix of Carpenter Brut, so I'm probably gonna have a good time.
曲目信息
Neon Realms LP （2025-05-24） 社团：Alter Synth, Hakurei Haven EDM grabbag 🇮🇩 I'll probably miss out a lot without the accompanying zine (which the Bandcamp says is in Indonesian) but getting to listen to EDM bangers is still nice. The zine not only showcases Touhous in futuristic streetwear designs that the album is themed around, but it also has interviews relating to the Indonesian Touhou fandom. From what I gather from the announcement those interviews are with the huge Old Adam Bar community, as well as NATSUKI RECORDS, an early circle in the country's scene that released an album as far back as Comic Frontier 2. Even if EDM is not your thing, this is at least intersting from a history perspective.
曲目信息
Gensokyo Piano （2025-08-17） 社团：氷結幻想 piano, jazz 🇨🇳 Their piano albums have been consistently fantastic and this one sounds like it'll be more of that. Plus, they started again after a 6 year hiatus!
曲目信息
new melancholy etiquette （2025-05-05） 社团：magic red kids shoegaze, dream pop 🇯🇵
曲目信息
華麗烏羽～Resplendent Raven Plumage （2025-08-09） 社团：蜂幽音声 gothic EDM/hardcore 🇨🇳 by gothic I mean "ornate harpsichords and choirs" gothic rather than the goth rock or futurepop type of gothic. was gonna call it Castlevania gothic but Castlevania music is actually more varied than that. anyways this is basically a modern doujin J-core album with gothic dressing and as someone who likes Camellia - GHOST and other similar tracks, the preview sounds pretty neat and is full of ear candy production so I'm probably gonna like it.
曲目信息
Side:0 （2025-10-19） 社团：Arrule dub techno, ambient 🇯🇵 pinging all Deepdream of Doppelganger fans for this one
曲目信息
Coup de Touhou （2025-10-12） 社团：HIDDEN TREASURE alternative rock 🇯🇵 so, fun fact: I've encountered a number of fanworks that are tributes to the band syrup16g (you can search the band's name in the wiki) which is quite influential to underground Japanese rock! While my experience with them is only limited to listening to Hell-See and Delayedead this year, I figure this was interesting enough to check out.
曲目信息
echoes（少年ヴィヴィッド） （2025-10-12） 社团：少年ヴィヴィッド indie rock, post-hardcore 🇯🇵 another "I like the circle's other albums and should actually keep up with them" entry
曲目信息
Here to Hear(t) （2025-10-12） 社团：ノーストリリア shoegaze 🇯🇵 concept album too! there's some variety in the genres probably because of that, there's one track that's outright dancey pop rock
曲目信息
虚数十星 ～ Aversante Magno Arbor Sapientae （2025-05-05） 社团：最も憂鬱な僕 ZUNstyle 🇯🇵 mfw Dolls in Pseudo Paradise 2 dropped
曲目信息
繪送誄歌 ～ Imagined Maidens between Frame and Score （2025-08-17） 社团：stella Maris ZUNstyle 🇯🇵 mfw Dolls in Pseudo Paradise 3 dropped
曲目信息
FAST TRAVEL Pt.2 （2025-12-31） 社团：dat file records hardcore EDM grabbag 🇯🇵 place your bets on if I'm gonna be disappointed by the "hyperflip" tracks this time! will 餅屋 actually do digicore or is it bait for people who consider themselves more tapped in than your regular Touhou music listener? even if they turn out to be duds, there's still 5 other tracks that I like from the preview, so hopefully the album does a little better than the first Fast Travel. regardless of how accurate the hyperflip and dariacore tags are, you owe it to yourselves to at least listen to notable Japanese artists that are making these styles, like the ばくわら小学校 collective for hyperflip and lilbesh ramko for digicore.

Extras

check out this movie called remilia perez, I watch it once every few days and get amazed by all the details

also, some Chinese doujin/tongren scene releases from this year I liked:

• TN163 - 无为主义者的寻幽。 - subdued, electronic-infused jazz in the vein of GoGo Penguin or Mouse on the Keys with vocal synth poetry reading. as someone who's mostly ambivalent about chill jazz, I thought this had a lot of interesting things to keep my attention.
• Vow's Voice - vow - EP centered around an 8.5 minute track that tells a story with its unstable drums and gothic atmosphere.