... By J-Rock, I mean the harder stuff like Dir en grey and Aliene Ma'riage. I realize that there's a whole other world out there besides a bunch of skinny, crossdressing Asian men who scream in their mics, but I don't know where to start looking. I really like the kind of music I just mentioned, and I wonder if there's a western equivalent. And they don't have to be from America. Any European country will do, too.
... If it helps, I really like Rammstein and Marilyn Manson, too. They make me happy in that unconventional way.
nine inch nails?
one way of finding other artists to try out is to search for one that you like on amazon. click one of their albums, and then scroll down to see what things people who bought that album also bought. click on those and do the same, and so on until you've got a nice list of band names. then go out and acquire their music by whatever means seems appropriate at the time and have a listen.
for example, just quickly starting at amazon with marilyn manson's "antichrist superstar" album and clicking around the "customers who bought this title also bought" section, we also find nine inch nails, tool, a perfect circle, system of a down, audioslave, and chevelle.
with just 4 or 5 clicks, you've already got a quick list of other bands that you have a reasonable chance of liking, based on the idea that other people who like marilyn manson have also bought a nine inch nails album; and other people who like nine inch nails have also bought a tool album, and so on.
Shihad/Pacifier
Weezer
Unwritten Law
Audioslave
Disturbed
Also:
www.pandora.com
Depeche Mode
The Smiths
Aveneged Sevenfold
Cradle of Filth
Nightwish
etc
Ministry
KMFDM
Mindless Self-Indulgence
You should also be aware that you used the word "hard" in the same senetence as "Dir en Grey" and the word "unconventional" in the same breath as "Marilyn Manson". You might want to stop doing that, or people will just laugh at you.
I'm going to see Sunn O))) live in a couple of hours. It will be awesome.