Month: January 2026

Your Homicidols Weekender #480

/ DAEMON

Banner image: zerobansen to yoakemae. 

My most recent expedition to Japan ended early this week. I am back in The States and deep into the post-trip blues. Transitioning back to work while powering through jet lag is never fun either. Still, I had a fabulous time in Japan. I saw awesome idols, phenomenal bands, and good friends. My spirits were lifted and my soul restored. Now it’s time to get back to the grind, save some money, and start planning for the next trip. 

In the meantime: Idols are coming West!

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Your Homicidols Weekender #479

/ DAEMON

Banner image: YOLOZ. 

My trip to Japan is, sadly, drawing to a close. This is my last weekend in Tokyo for the foreseeable future and I am scrambling to get my last few shows in. Last night was YURAPICO’s birthday party which was a blast. Shion dropped by for a mini-GUSO Drop reunion and Boss Rei’s fancy animal punk band, Knuckle Chiwawa, performed for the first time in over a year. It was an very loud and awesome evening. Today is the finale of the “tie in reaction” concert series featuring about 20 standout shoegaze and alt-rock bands as curated by of Yuua Uchiyama of RAY. I will be doing my best to ignore the fact that this only gives me one more day before I have to get on a plane and head back home on Monday.

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Your Homicidols Weekender #478

/ DAEMON

Banner Image: RAY. 

I am still reporting from about a half-a-day into the future in Japan and having a fabulous time. In some standout moments, I got to see our Debut of the Year winners, Made in Maiden alongside of ZIGA, and ArmaElla, all for the first time (as well as Shuumatsu piero for the first-and-last time). Last night, I attended an off kai event for MAD JAMIE following her Zepp Shinjuku one-man earlier this week. Akubi served as bartender while the members of d.i.s stuffed about 20 of us with a half-ton of home-cooked dishes. I’m still stuffed. Today I will be attending two new year-related events with RAY. Basically, I’m living my best life.

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Your Homicidols Weekender #477

/ DAEMON

Banner image: ArmaElla. 

Greetings from Japan! I arrived safely earlier this week and am experiencing that bizarre time warp where it’s Saturday evening and I am finishing up this Weekender so it can publish at 8:00 am this morning, 15 hours ago. So far, I’ve had a great time in Tokyo. I’ve seen RAY, ponderosa may bloom, YURAPICO,  PLANCK STARS, CIRCLE CRUSHER, SUPER MACARONI SALAD, and more. I need to wrap this up an head off to Shihatsu-machi Underground and RETRORAIN soon. I am enjoying myself so much that I’ve forgotten to post a single thing to Twitter. At least I remembered to update the blog! I’d get fired from this place if I wasn’t somehow in charge.

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Team Homicidols Best of 2025

/ DAEMON

This is it. The final task to put that last nail in the coffin of the year that was 2025.

The greater Homicidols community had their collective say about what were the best releases and moments of 2025 (congratulations to NEO JAPONISM!), but now, it’s Team Homicidols turn to voice our unfettered opinions. While we may not always be objectively correct, we do keep the site running and pay all the bills so it’s only fair. So, before we turn the final page on 2025, we wanted to make sure that there a were a few things written down for posterity. Such as:

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Your Homicidols Weekender #476

/ DAEMON

Banner Image: The Idols of Be Rise Lab. 

We did it!! We collectively survived 2025 and came out the other side. Happy New Year! Compared to last year at this time when I couldn’t walk and was in constant and excruciating pain, 2026 is already a huge improvement. To celebrate this wonderful new start, I will be heading off to Japan on Monday for three weeks of idols, idols, a couple of bands, and more idols.

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Your Homicidols Best of 2025

/ DAEMON

The ballots have been counted, the results certified, and your winners are announced below BUT before we get to that: I want to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Best of the Year activities. We had a 30% increase in voter participation over last year which I really appreciate. Ten years into this venture that is Homicidols, it only means anything because of you all, so “Thank you!” for supporting our collective mission of promoting underground and independent idols to the wider world.

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