itsukoii

Consider it a sister thread to the oshare kei one. I think this is a delightful dualism to make, and I am all about that vkei history anyway so I'll take any excuse to make another one of these. 
 
The adoption of the nu metal riff and attitude into visual kei's musical framework happened just when the scene changed forever with the implosion of the old labels and bands. In the usual visual kei fashion we were late to the party just about a good five years too. It snuck itself in slowly, making cursory appearances at such places as MUCC's Antique from 1999, Kagerou's Biological Slicer from 2000, Aliene Mariage's farewell album 21st Century from 2001 and probably in retrospect most importantly, Dir en grey's Six Ugly from 2002. By the year 2006 ( which saw the release of both eight's ILLATIONAL and Girugamesh' 13's Reborn ) the nu metal riff had fundamentally transformed the landscape of visual kei. Below are some examples of the development that took place.
 
Before I get to that though, I have to say that there's not many scenes that can even begin to rival the longevity that visual kei bands, venues and its marketplace have enjoyed throughout its history. Still living both in the underground and occasionally even willing to take the L of performing at a half empty Budoukan, it ceases to amaze the spectators that stumble upon it; all the while all the goths of the bat caves, punks of 77' and dadrockers of the whatever, live out their legacies either through grandfathers or hack retro acts that suck by default. Granted it doesn't look the same, but indeed the willingness of its adherents to assimilate new currents have kept the hangman at bay and those nails off its coffin at least for now, which has allowed visual kei to remain a relatively recognisable brand for just about a few years short of three decades. 
 
This thread while also about the seminal bands that managed to break through, is just like its oshare counterpart moreso dedicated to honor and celebrate those little bands that everyone other than south american blogspots from 2007 forgot. If you were that angry young man in your mid teens back in 2008 you ought to know this stuff by heart
 
 
If anyone can name an earlier instance of a just straight up nu metal riff I'd appreciate it greatly. Early Mucc is of course classic vkei and Tatsurou puts in just a canonical performance as the narrator of desperate hearts. Their nu metal sound would get thicker and thicker up until 2004, when they went literally out the deep end, supposedly almost disbanding by the sheer weight of the recording process. My preference however remains the very earliest releases up to 2002.
 
 
From the band that made one of the best visual kei albums of all time comes a ripoff  of "Eyeless" by Slipknot - that's the sound of Aliene imploding into disbandment. While I think it's undeniably shit especially considering merits of their career up to that point, they lowkey took part in pioneering the nu metal sound in visual kei. Keep in mind that at the time of this recording Slipknot's s/t wasn't that old, and it is a sound that vk bands would keep on ripping off for almost a decade afterwards. Another thing of note was that the vocalist Kyoka also ditched the frilly dresses and adopted the nu metal fashion! While his sins are numerous, this has to be his worst offense. Either way an important document for visual kei's metamorphosis.
 
 
If the disease had only previously been a cough, after Dir en grey got through with it the scene quickly became hospitalised by it. They would continue riding roughshod over the genre until 2008's Uroboros where they'd go on to do more of the scene's pioneering work. Say what you will about them, they've continued to stay relevant through all these years and I think it's only very recently that the scene has stopped riding their coattails as much as it has. 
 
I'll keep it at that, though rest assured there's certainly numerous other examples of the early usage of the nu metal riff from around 99 to 2002 of varying importance in the canon.
 
Early Girugamesh is what most people have their fondest memories of, and everything up to 13's Reborn is as good as gold as far nu kei is concerned. Their suit wearing while certainly not the first time it had happen in vkei, it was probably the context in which girugamesh presented it that made all the difference for the future: the blackclad angryman playing just nu metal influenced visual kei. Oddly enough I despised Girugamesh as a child EVEN THOUGH THEY SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME AS ALL THESE OTHER BANDS and it took me deep into adulthood that I finally warmed up to them at all. 
 
Unsraw was my Girugamesh in a sense that they were the filthiest band I knew in my seminal vk years. Hearing Unsraw sent me on a quest of finding the most rad nu metal vk band out there, and more often than not it just led me to the disappointments that contributed to the failure I am today. Yuuki's vocals made a huge impression on me and it was ever the more bitter pill to swallow that they got very boring very quick. Their Core the Child hits being contemporary with Girugamesh' early ouvre, they can also be considered of relative importance. 
 
This is what this thread is about. Look at those clothes, that breakdown from 2.10 that lasts for an eternity and Since1889 was in general just the quintessential nukei vk band. So bad it's good.
 
 
Despite this band having just about eek'd past the 2010 limit, they deserve mention being one of those final bands at the tail end of this fad. The look is still very much 00's and not the glitz of the 10's, and more or less free of the soon scene dominating metalcore riff. Glorious vocals as well.
 
There's a million of these bands, AND THEY'RE ALL GREAT. Post favs, early specimens in the scene, anything that fits within the parameters.

not unless it's SPILLED

not unless it's SPILLED

^ i can't make any suggestions, but that sounds pretty damn cool. i hope someone has an idea of some bands who follow that description because i'd love to hear it

fuckin akinori and all his clubbing pics i know he was poppin a lil molly n maybe got fried or something and someone ratted him out for being strung tf out i dont care i still love him
he's pretty af too...FREE THE FUCK UP

doggy is out
 
 
bdsm is out
 
 
no hitting someone/yourself in the face with the schlong
 
 
men are associated with violence and dildos are dicks so solo scenes are out...and men are out too. so lesbian scenes only.
 
 
completely vanilla lesbian sex got it
 
 
...but not scat?
 
 
lesbian anime cosplay is out
 
 
so missionary's out can't restrain you with my body now
 
 
def no amateur got it
 
 
so very dry scissoring...
 
 
deep throating is out
 
 
they must really not like eating the box
 
 
just in case you thought they weren't diverse enough
 
\right but it's totally cool for the entirety of the government to be exposed as criminal kiddy fuckers, but god forbid british people look at water sports

this is good why is yohio such a fucking floptard

hi, i'm ryan... i've been lurking here since forever, created an account a few months ago, and lately something's been telling me i should try to talk here more.
i'm not terribly good with forums though - something about the way anything i'd say gets kept on the site forever seems to trip me out a bit.
and i'm not sure how much of value i'd have to comment - so, i'll try to make myself useful and get to posting some (probably wildly inaccurate) translations~

as far as me....... got into vkei with ナイトメア about when their s/t came out, haven't found a band that resonates more with me since.
p sure i can find something to like in just about any style/scene, but i really think vkei hit its golden age between 1997-2007. at least to me.
as of typing this i'm also stanning diru, mucc, the gallo, and meji pretty hard. and since 2014 i've been living in varying degrees of Worried About Royz.
 
IRL i work at a sushi/udon place, it's p great, and i'm trying to get the hang of this whole 'understanding and speaking japanese' thing. it's hard tho.
Oh, and i'm trying to get a band together. also hard.
and that's basically it for me because i have no life outside visual kei.

Nice to meet all of you though - even if i haven't said much anything before i owe y'all a lot for recommending a lot of my fav bands.
special shoutout to all the staff/mods, rarezhut guys, and everyone who translates band shit bc it'd be so much harder to get into this dumb scene without people like you putting in all the work.

Oh and @ everyone feel free to hmu on twitter, username's same there as here
 

Cool kids take photos in black and white these days, right?

 
Plus a bonus from when I straightened my hair

Got my Thobe (Traditional Arabic Clothes) today <3 

Ignore my hair btw. #kthxbye

Variety shows can be good for that because they use massive, easy to read subtitles to emphasize the important parts of what people are saying.
 
Ex.
 

My name is Corina, I'm from Austria, and I'm 29. I'm listening to J-Rock for four years now. My favourite bands are Mejibray, The Black Swan, Moi Dix Mois, and DOAK. But I adore DAMY, Jiluka, Nocturnal Bloodlust, and Biosphia, too.
 
Hmm...I think that's it. Don't hesitate to ask questions if you want to know more.
 

alright!
 
i've only been studying japanese on and off since about spring, but i've found one program that really  boosted my learning and gave me an amazing introduction to the language.
that program is Human Japanese!
the program is made by an english speaker, for english speakers. the author goes incredibly in-depth in every chapter, and in a way even the simplest of minds can grasp (like myself!) and in the most interactive, fun way possible.
the two programs, Human Japanese and Human Japanese Intermediate, have been the smoothest possible ride for me. i've just barely started Human Japanese Intermediate, but even by just completing its predecessor, i've learned a learned a good amount of grammar, the kana, vocabulary, fun cultural lessons and notes, as well as some small, nitty-gritty things about the language. i can't wait to get off my ass and finish HJ Intermediate because i know once i do, i'll be well on my way with this language!
i can't recommend this product enough, honestly. please note, the full versions do cost money, so give the trial a test run and see if you like it! (but i can almost guarantee you'll get sucked in right away, just as i was, and will end up buying the program.)
 
teamed with Human Japanese, i've recently (as in, four days ago) picked up an Android app called Japanese Kanji Study - 漢字学習 (i believe it's available on iOS as well). in the four days i've used this app, i've got 80 kanji under my belt. i can recognize and write nearly all of those 80.
only the N5 kanji are available for free. it costs $9.99 CAD to get the rest of the JLPT kanji, but i think it's worth it. i personally have not yet bought the full version as i'm not finished learning the N5 kanji, but as soon as i grasp those, i'll be buying the full version.
the app is a pretty standard drilling/quizzing app, but it does its job. i can't really cover everything it offers in words, so i suggest you download it and give it a shot!

I'll see myself out now...

did u really expect anything else from me,

the fine bros are humanoid forms of aids