Even though I should probably be working hard on my branding project and illustration final project right now, I think I'll take some time to share some music recommendations. If you know me, my music is mostly Japanese metal. I came across some new bands to listen to and some old bands to rediscover. This year and the end of last year, I was pleased to rediscover Dir en grey in my music library. Even though I have been listening to them for four to five years, I didn't see the entire beauty in their music years before. Their music is so complex that it takes some time to intake the composition and the experience from listening to it. Some bands like Dir en grey are hard to describe in one word. They have a trademark style, but it's hard to pinpoint it since it's fluid. Half-assed music are all the same because we see the artist(s) pumping out the same thing with no soul in it. You don't remember a single song from a crappy musician because it becomes background noise in the end. There was nothing memorable to stick in head and you eventually get bored of it never wanting to listen to it ever again. It is also important for a piece of music to grab your attention at first. It's okay to discover more when you listen to a song, but there's gotta be something that grabs you first. I think the following music picks have their own quirks to grab their audience. Some of them are from last year, but I think they are still relevant.