desparejo86

No doubt. I used to have a sweet collection of like 4 hide music videos in .ASF format. Simpler times, man.

A .rm (RealVideo) file of "Au Revior" by Malice Mizer got me into visual way way back in 2001.

I think part of why VK fandom has a disproportionate amount of crazies is because some combination of the costumes, language barrier, different cultural norms, other side of the planet, etc make the bands and band members ripe for projecting ALL KINDS OF INSANE SHIT onto them, and the nature of the industry/culture perpetuates that, intentionally or unintentionally. All artists aim project some degree of fantasy, but western fans often times seem incapable of grasping that VK artists are just like any other group of self absorbed musicians; probably sitting on their asses, drinking and texting girls all day while their girlfriends are at work. 
 
Saying that, the Femme Fatale was really interesting and bizarre. I've got zero knowledge of the Japanese side of the fandom, but have always wondered to what lengths bands have to go to to keep groupie culture under wraps over there, as it appears anything relationship/groupie/sex related being made public is absolutely unthinkable.

Malice Mizer for lifeeeeee.
 
Welcome.

Damn that's a big ask... esp. considering I don't think they have some release that coincides with that show.
 
Also, if this really was their record label saying "get 300 people at this show or find a new label" does that not hurt Terakoya's ability to convince other bands to sign with them?
 
Like, if I was a band on the come up would I want to sign with a label that made public a demand to get a certain number of people at a show??
 
Just drop 'em and move on if they're not making the money you'd like, don't embarrass them.

The idea of them making music together is so far fetched/seems impossible, but all the signs seem to point to exactly that.
 
Shit is insane. But then again, there was a time when the idea of Luna Sea and X getting back together was absolute madness.

You have no idea how harmful that would be to him.

You have no idea how harmful that would be to him.

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

Yes! I also almost feel frowned upon when I try to communicate with people by adding comments when I reblog or adding my own thoughts on content I post. It's ridiculous how shallow the communication there can get.
 
I can totally relate to this. VK for me was a nostalgia until I went to Visual Japan Summit a couple of months ago and everything just resurfaced. Damn was it glorious.
 
-----
 
I'm really glad I've read this thread even though I don't have much of substance to add. My friends who were into VK back in the day think I'm going to some weird mid-life crisis (I'm not old enough for that!) and keep slagging me off and asking where I got machine to go back to 2005. I totally understand them though, for many it was a fad and something we did as edgy teenagers who loved the aesthetics and wanted to feel speshul.
 
But it's a great scene and I'm glad to be back. Granted, about 95% is crud, but there are too many gems out there for me to give up.
 
Also IDK if dead or not -- I think that really depends on where you're looking. I've seen enough indie bands (not just v-kei) that barely have an audience of 10 (and sometimes you realise most of the people sitting around you at the club are the other bands playing that night), but then again you still have bands like MUCC who have almost sold out their current zenkoku tour and are doing two Budokan days this June (I'll have to wait for the general sale to see if they manage to sell it out though, though I bet they will). They're the only 'major' band I'm closely following at the moment but I'm sure there are more examples to this. Sure, the underground is where you wanna look for the future of a scene/genre,  but as long as bands keep forming and bangya keep... doing their thing, I'm not worried.
 
PS. @desparejo86 LEAVE YOSHIKI ALONE he's just a human being and it's OK to express yourself through taking 100 selfies a day!!1111 Also the new X album is totally happening. (sadface)
 
 
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

i come to x threads to cleanse myself of the ebola that goes on in 80% of MH
there will never be any shortage of elegant and wildly original yoshiki drags...thank u all

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

Incredible.
 
Remember like 15 years ago when Yoshiki said he couldn't release whatever project he was working on because someone broke into his car, where he had the master recordings sitting in his car baking in the sun, while he ate lunch in LA and stole them...... and he didn't have them backed up.... anywhere?
 
I didn't believe it back when I was 14 and I sure don't fucking believe it now, either. Dude is a just a deluded liar.

Gackt was just one of three different singers Malice Mizer had, he had nothing to do with their breakup.
 
Never heard that rumor before; 100% started by a western fan who was pulling stuff out of her ass. Anyone with a musical ear can tell that Mana and Kozi had no hand in writing Gackt's solo material. Apples and Oranges.
 
Gackt was likely not at Kamis funeral for the reason listed in my reply below. 
 
 
I don't know what official statements Gackt, Mana, or Kozi have made because we don't really need to, ya know? None of them will tell you what occam's razor will, because it's not flattering to either party.
 
Nippon Columbia decided that Malice Mizer were small potatoes and Gackt was the star. And they were right! Gackt wrote the highest charting single on Mervilles, Le Ciel, which also happened to be the most commercial song on the album. Gackt had the great voice, incredible looks, a legion of female fans and he wrote the biggest hit on the album. He was poised for stardom, Malice Mizer could hold him back. 
 
So Nippon Columbia put their money on Gackt solo and ditched the band, and their gamble paid off in spades. People tend to gloss over/forget, possibly due to Kamis death, that not only did Malice Mizer's label give Gackt a solo deal, but they dropped Malice Mizer. That wasn't a coincidence.
 
It is what it is. I hate Gackt solo, but wouldn't trade Bara no Seidou or the Klaha singles for anything. I just wish we'd get one more album out of MM.... instrumental, with Klaha, a new singer... I don't care.

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.
 

What was once cool and new is destined to become uncool and old.
 
ANY movement is going to peak and then decline at some point.
 
It went from a huge movement/style down to a small niche thing in Japan. And like how there are still sleaze and hairmetal bands forming in Hollywood and playing the Whisky on Tuesday nights, just because there are new bands and an audience for it to a degree doesn't mean it isn't a dead genre. It said what it had to say.
 
Fans in the west were 5-10 years behind the times. We discovered Visual at the turn on the century, and spent the decade not only getting into the bands that were around, but all the cool VK bands from the previous two decades. Needless to say, there was a TON of great shit to discover.
 
But, eventually, the well ran dry. 
 
For most people I've met that were into the genre, VK was like Kiss: a gateway drug into music in general but for weaboo/nerdy kids. Some people got into goth stuff (guilty!), some got into screamo and numetal, some got into prog rock, whatever. But the common thread is that 99% of them left that shit (visual kei/kiss) behind once they discovered more music and refind their tastes.
 
What's left is us: the creepy Kiss fans still painting our faces and shit to come out and see Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley phone it in for the millionth time at our local casinos. Arguing about weather Kiss would have been better off to keep Ace around, speculating as to the whereabouts of Vinny Vincent, and debating what is truly the worst track on 'Hot in the Shade.' It's  the way things go. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the MetalSludge.TV message board and see old 80s rocker guys, now in their 50s, doing the same thing we're doing here.
 
I'm here because Visual Kei changed my fucking life, man. Defined who I was, what music I listen to (I own David Sylvian's Weatherbox FFS), how I dressed and wore my hair. Every smoking hot girlfriend, every cross country tour, damn near every good thing that happened to me can more or less be traced back to getting some shitty .asf and .rm files of Luna Sea, L'arc, and Malice Mizer music videos  back in 99 or 00. 
 
Look, we were there for it. Love it, accept it, talk about it, listen to the old albums that meant so much to you, maybe even find a cool new band or two (I like Xaa-Xaa), etc. but there is nothing sad about that graph. This thing, it was our thing. 
 
 
And that's all I have to say. Gotta get back to making fun of Yoshiki.