helcchi

(Before that, I’m so sorry the length of this introduction reads like an essay but please bear with me ><)
 
I have many interests, but let’s talk about visual kei as this is the one constant that has taken up most of my life.
 
2009 was a time of change for me and visual kei. Ameba launched its virtual community Pigg, which instantly sucked the life out of me and as it turned out, so many vk bandmen had no life as well.
 
t's embarassing to talk about it now, but as teenagers with nothing better to do with our time, my friends and I would send as many friend requests as we could to band members and ‘stalk’ them whenever they logged online. Suddenly vk had become so much more intimate as we could interact with vk bandmen in real-time like never before.
 
But pigg was more than that. Some of my fondest memories have been the designated VK showroom where you could stream youtube videos to a crowd, meeting new people in the club rooms who share a common interest and of course having to witness the silly antics of some of those bandmen. I got to know a lot of bands that I would otherwise never had found out about, had conversations, learning about their personalities and interests. I also got to learn that some of the musicians in the darkest and heaviest bands have the cutest personalities behind the keyboard, fawning over the colourful array of virtual fashion items pigg had to offer. 
 
(Asanao from lynch. case in point)
 
It was a fun and unique experience. And at the same time, information was not only more accessible than ever before, but more abundant as well, and keeping up with blogs, news, forums, and playing pigg consumed every moment of my every day which back then, I had the time and youth to do so.
 
But eventually, I burnt out.
 
I attributed my losing touch with vk to information overload. It’s been more than 4 years since I stopped going on pigg and ameblo for good, but those few years of intense dedication, even today, felt like an aeon. 
 
I used to make a lot of parodies of bandmen, and loved deduction and connecting the dots - which bands had photoshoots at which set and making 6-degrees of separation connections between members of different bands and loved hearing stories from the past.
 
I also had a enthusiasm for drawing, having drawn over a ton bands over the course of 2 years between 2011 and 2012, but suddenly it’s 2016 and all I have are 3-year-old drafts and unfinished sketches. 
 
Everything had been halted because life kinda got in the way… shattered-tranquility had long stopped being my home page and my internet’s search history doesn’t remember vkdb.jp anymore.
 
Hmm.
 
So in that gap between about 2012 and now, I had the mother of existential crises, questioning whether I was really going to follow vk for life.
 
But my passion in the music is genuine and still alive.
 
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been disconnected from the community that I love for far too long, and I don’t want that. I don’t want to forget the memories I’ve made, the bands that I’ve followed, the stories I’ve heard and the things I’ve learned along the way - be they good or bad. I don’t want my interest of VK to die, and I don’t want to stop making funny content about VK forever.  
 
(And most importantly, I don’t want to be the only VK fan in Australia that I know. So if you’re from Sydney, please hit me up so I don’t feel lonely :3)
 
I want this to be the place where I can share my knowledge about vk so ask me anything and I hope to relearn what I’ve lost these past few years. And once again, I’m astronomically sorry about the length of this introduction (I hope it was bearable).
 
Merry Xmas btw

(Before that, I’m so sorry the length of this introduction reads like an essay but please bear with me ><)
 
I have many interests, but let’s talk about visual kei as this is the one constant that has taken up most of my life.
 
2009 was a time of change for me and visual kei. Ameba launched its virtual community Pigg, which instantly sucked the life out of me and as it turned out, so many vk bandmen had no life as well.
 
t's embarassing to talk about it now, but as teenagers with nothing better to do with our time, my friends and I would send as many friend requests as we could to band members and ‘stalk’ them whenever they logged online. Suddenly vk had become so much more intimate as we could interact with vk bandmen in real-time like never before.
 
But pigg was more than that. Some of my fondest memories have been the designated VK showroom where you could stream youtube videos to a crowd, meeting new people in the club rooms who share a common interest and of course having to witness the silly antics of some of those bandmen. I got to know a lot of bands that I would otherwise never had found out about, had conversations, learning about their personalities and interests. I also got to learn that some of the musicians in the darkest and heaviest bands have the cutest personalities behind the keyboard, fawning over the colourful array of virtual fashion items pigg had to offer. 
 
(Asanao from lynch. case in point)
 
It was a fun and unique experience. And at the same time, information was not only more accessible than ever before, but more abundant as well, and keeping up with blogs, news, forums, and playing pigg consumed every moment of my every day which back then, I had the time and youth to do so.
 
But eventually, I burnt out.
 
I attributed my losing touch with vk to information overload. It’s been more than 4 years since I stopped going on pigg and ameblo for good, but those few years of intense dedication, even today, felt like an aeon. 
 
I used to make a lot of parodies of bandmen, and loved deduction and connecting the dots - which bands had photoshoots at which set and making 6-degrees of separation connections between members of different bands and loved hearing stories from the past.
 
I also had a enthusiasm for drawing, having drawn over a ton bands over the course of 2 years between 2011 and 2012, but suddenly it’s 2016 and all I have are 3-year-old drafts and unfinished sketches. 
 
Everything had been halted because life kinda got in the way… shattered-tranquility had long stopped being my home page and my internet’s search history doesn’t remember vkdb.jp anymore.
 
Hmm.
 
So in that gap between about 2012 and now, I had the mother of existential crises, questioning whether I was really going to follow vk for life.
 
But my passion in the music is genuine and still alive.
 
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been disconnected from the community that I love for far too long, and I don’t want that. I don’t want to forget the memories I’ve made, the bands that I’ve followed, the stories I’ve heard and the things I’ve learned along the way - be they good or bad. I don’t want my interest of VK to die, and I don’t want to stop making funny content about VK forever.  
 
(And most importantly, I don’t want to be the only VK fan in Australia that I know. So if you’re from Sydney, please hit me up so I don’t feel lonely :3)
 
I want this to be the place where I can share my knowledge about vk so ask me anything and I hope to relearn what I’ve lost these past few years. And once again, I’m astronomically sorry about the length of this introduction (I hope it was bearable).
 
Merry Xmas btw

smh little do u know that was the true AVANTGARDE
 
makes me wonder how Nii does at bass, he's been lynch.'s #1 fan for ages and they could continue the legacy of bullying their bass player mercilessly

what if ryo joins them? At least he knows how to play violin significantly better than hazuki...
 
he should be able to play 5-string bass, right?

what if ryo joins them? At least he knows how to play violin significantly better than hazuki...
 
he should be able to play 5-string bass, right?

mode of objexxx ft. kisaki

Ooooor, we brek into their tour bus, steal the sheet music, and give it to ryo so he can reconstruct it with his trackmaker thingy. 

The first I can think of at the top of my head is lynch.'s F.A.K.E. , but there's also
 
Purple Stone - BLAME
GOTCHAROCKA - C U
GOTCHAROCKA - 赤い駅
BLESSCODE - Galaxia
BUCK-TICK - Kagerou
BLESSCODE - LoneBeauty
MEJIBRAY - THE END (this one might be a stretch though)
Alice Nine (A9) - PRISMATIC
Alice Nine (A9) - SHINING
ユナイト ー Jupiter
ユナイト ー io
ユナイト ー 約束 
The GazettE - Ibitsu 
 

Yessss I am seeing a trend on which artists like to get you hooked
 
I have never binge-listened to the first 30 seconds of so many songs just to make a list, so I’m really appreciative of our collective efforts. Thanks guys, keep the music coming!
 
@YuyoDriftIt's absolutely ok for the riff/melody to precede the vocals, as long as the first sung lines are the chorus

I guess this counts...
 

this is a very cool thread! here's some that i dug up looking through my folder.
 
Plastic Tree - Sink
愛狂います。 - Cとソプラノ
少女-ロリヰタ-23区 - 黎明-reimei-
少女-ロリヰタ-23区 - 不死鳥の夜～undying starlight～
NoGoD - アトリア
JIVE - 双葉奏曲
Ruvie - Player
vistlip - July VIIth
tosinn - MEN'S LESSON
そろばん - 空花火
人格ラヂオ - 朧月
Clavier～クラビア～ - 夢色

And for some Jrock songs....
 
ONE OK ROCK - The Beginning
ONE OK ROCK - Take me to the top
和楽器バンド - 千本桜
Winking Owl - Here For You
Winking Owl - Stars
BRADIO - オトナHIT PARADE
coldrain - DIE TOMORROW
coldrain - Words of the Youth
Crystal Lake - Ups & Downs
Crystal Lake - Mercury
FACT - the way down
FACT - ape
FACT - Witness
 
I might be having too much fun looking through my library for these. ^^
 
 
 
 
 
 

Personally, I enjoy it more when a gnarly riff/melody starts out, giving us a taste of what the approach in terms of vocal tone, will be given by the vocalist.
Sometimes followed by completely merging with and becoming the chorus itself.
 
12012 - hermit
12012 - calf love
Alice Nine (A9) - Akatsuki
ayabie -  スキマノホシ (Sukima no Hoshi)
Beautiful sculpture room - "lost anything, so found"
Belle (ベル) - さようなら僕だけの人 (sayonara bokudake no hito)
deadman - 盲目の羽根と星を手に (Moumoku no Hane to Hoshi wo te ni)
deadman - taion
KEEL - Siren
La'chryma Christi - eternal colors
lynch. - Frozen
Plastic Tree - float
SCREW - NO PAIN, NO GAIN
SCREW - OVER THE HORIZON
the god and death stars - 真っ赤な雪 (Makka na Yuki)
the god and death stars - dumb house
the studs - クリーピークローリー (creepy crawly)
 
 
That being said, I still do love hearing their voice as well in the beginning.
 
Ayabie - 会いたくて (Aitakute)
B l i s s - Merry
ClearVeil - 灰色一片 (Haiiro NO Ippen)
hide - GOOD BYE
Kagerou - Shitsuren Toiu na no Mujou
LIGHTBRINGER - Diamond
lynch. - MELANCHOLIC
Matenrou Opera - Age
Nightmare - Killed in Summer
SCREW - ANITYA
Sepia - SleepinG Beauty
Shounenki (少年記) - 時の色 (Toki no Iro)
the GazettE - Ray
the GazettE - REDO
xTRiPX - Rem.
 
I can name a bunch more, but I'm at work haha.

While the conventional verse-chorus song structure is the most popular way to approach song-writing, there are several well-known songs that deviate from this formula by starting with the chorus. 
By doing so, listeners are pulled in immediately and directed straight to the most memorable part or hook of the song. A quick search on google can reveal lists of notable examples.
 
But what about visual kei (and jrock)? A handful of songs also employ this approach and it's a refreshing change to what we're used to hearing.
 
I've compiled a list of the ones I know, but would love to hear some of your favorites.
 
ALiBi - DREAM
ALSDEAD - Distrust
アンド -eccentric agent- - カラノカラダ・・・
bis - SEASONS
born - felony
CELLT - star drops
CodeRebirth - Remember
D=OUT - 青い鳥
DaizyStripper - Dandelion
DIAURA - Lost November
DIAURA - ホライゾン
DIAURA - Reason for Treason
DIAURA - REBORN
DIR EN GREY - 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇
DIV - 夏の行方
EAT YOU ALIVE - JENNIFER
EVE - エール
EVE - 淡色季節
exist†trace - 海の雫
FEST VAINQUEUR - 覇斬
FEST VAINQUEUR - 霞桜
FEST VAINQUEUR - 愛の鎖
the GazettE - 別れ道
the GazettE - SHIVER
girugamesh - COLOR
girugamesh - takt
GOLDEN BOMBER - memeshikute
Grieva - true grief
Grieva - LOVELESS
Grieva - 水中沈む透明な匣
heidi. - レム
Hi:BRiD - 1998
Hi:BRiD - 真世界
Irokui. - 摩天楼の雨男
JILUKA - Crossing Fate
Kagrra, - うたかた
La'cryma Christi - 未来航路
LM.C - 88
LUNA SEA - END OF SORROW
LUNA SEA - UP TO YOU
lynch. - Crystalize
lynch. - ETERNITY
Malice Mizer - Beast of Blood
MATENROU OPERA - 悲哀とメランコリー
meth. - THE LAST SLEEP
MIYAVI - 「素晴らしきかな、この世界」-WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD-
MUCC - 約束
NEXX - EXISTENCE
Nightmare - the WORLD
Phobia - La rouge fil
RENTRER EN SOI - STIGMATA
Sadie - Recall
Sadie - Rain fall
Sadie - 棘-toge-
SHIVA - BELIEVER
Shulla - カラス (pm5：48 ver．)
SIAM SHADE - 1/3の純情な感情
Sick² - 冬の終わる場所。
SID - V.I.P
SID - 乱舞のメロディ
SINCREA - 桜舞い散る季節に君が夢見たこと
Vidoll - Cloud
ViViD - 睡蓮人
ViViD - REAL
xTRiPx - glitter
Zonbi - 墓場 de ラヴソング

Will update the list when I remember of more examples.
 
A9 - Jewels
An café - Cherry saku yuuki!!
Rave - Day x bye x day

Whoa! that's a pretty damn extensive list. Nice job there. I know a few, probably from some of the artists you already listed but still worth mentioning right?
 
ギルガメッシュ - Melody
MUCC - ニルヴァーナ
MUCC - フライト
MUCC - Arcadia
NAINE - BRING ME ALIVE
NoGoD - Raise a Flag
xTRiPx - limpid
バラライカ - インフェルノ第1奏
 
I know there's lots more, looking forward to see what other people remember.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

http://shattered-tranquility.net/index.php/category/originals/venue-navi/
http://www.vkeiguide.com/category/venue-cd-navi/venue
 
A lot of the livehouses themselves don't disclose their capacity on their websites, but the above links are good. Pretty much every venue is listed with their cap

While the conventional verse-chorus song structure is the most popular way to approach song-writing, there are several well-known songs that deviate from this formula by starting with the chorus. 
By doing so, listeners are pulled in immediately and directed straight to the most memorable part or hook of the song. A quick search on google can reveal lists of notable examples.
 
But what about visual kei (and jrock)? A handful of songs also employ this approach and it's a refreshing change to what we're used to hearing.
 
I've compiled a list of the ones I know, but would love to hear some of your favorites.
 
ALiBi - DREAM
ALSDEAD - Distrust
アンド -eccentric agent- - カラノカラダ・・・
bis - SEASONS
born - felony
CELLT - star drops
CodeRebirth - Remember
D=OUT - 青い鳥
DaizyStripper - Dandelion
DIAURA - Lost November
DIAURA - ホライゾン
DIAURA - Reason for Treason
DIAURA - REBORN
DIR EN GREY - 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇
DIV - 夏の行方
EAT YOU ALIVE - JENNIFER
EVE - エール
EVE - 淡色季節
exist†trace - 海の雫
FEST VAINQUEUR - 覇斬
FEST VAINQUEUR - 霞桜
FEST VAINQUEUR - 愛の鎖
the GazettE - 別れ道
the GazettE - SHIVER
girugamesh - COLOR
girugamesh - takt
GOLDEN BOMBER - memeshikute
Grieva - true grief
Grieva - LOVELESS
Grieva - 水中沈む透明な匣
heidi. - レム
Hi:BRiD - 1998
Hi:BRiD - 真世界
Irokui. - 摩天楼の雨男
JILUKA - Crossing Fate
Kagrra, - うたかた
La'cryma Christi - 未来航路
LM.C - 88
LUNA SEA - END OF SORROW
LUNA SEA - UP TO YOU
lynch. - Crystalize
lynch. - ETERNITY
Malice Mizer - Beast of Blood
MATENROU OPERA - 悲哀とメランコリー
meth. - THE LAST SLEEP
MIYAVI - 「素晴らしきかな、この世界」-WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD-
MUCC - 約束
NEXX - EXISTENCE
Nightmare - the WORLD
Phobia - La rouge fil
RENTRER EN SOI - STIGMATA
Sadie - Recall
Sadie - Rain fall
Sadie - 棘-toge-
SHIVA - BELIEVER
Shulla - カラス (pm5：48 ver．)
SIAM SHADE - 1/3の純情な感情
Sick² - 冬の終わる場所。
SID - V.I.P
SID - 乱舞のメロディ
SINCREA - 桜舞い散る季節に君が夢見たこと
Vidoll - Cloud
ViViD - 睡蓮人
ViViD - REAL
xTRiPx - glitter
Zonbi - 墓場 de ラヴソング

While the conventional verse-chorus song structure is the most popular way to approach song-writing, there are several well-known songs that deviate from this formula by starting with the chorus. 
By doing so, listeners are pulled in immediately and directed straight to the most memorable part or hook of the song. A quick search on google can reveal lists of notable examples.
 
But what about visual kei (and jrock)? A handful of songs also employ this approach and it's a refreshing change to what we're used to hearing.
 
I've compiled a list of the ones I know, but would love to hear some of your favorites.
 
ALiBi - DREAM
ALSDEAD - Distrust
アンド -eccentric agent- - カラノカラダ・・・
bis - SEASONS
born - felony
CELLT - star drops
CodeRebirth - Remember
D=OUT - 青い鳥
DaizyStripper - Dandelion
DIAURA - Lost November
DIAURA - ホライゾン
DIAURA - Reason for Treason
DIAURA - REBORN
DIR EN GREY - 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇
DIV - 夏の行方
EAT YOU ALIVE - JENNIFER
EVE - エール
EVE - 淡色季節
exist†trace - 海の雫
FEST VAINQUEUR - 覇斬
FEST VAINQUEUR - 霞桜
FEST VAINQUEUR - 愛の鎖
the GazettE - 別れ道
the GazettE - SHIVER
girugamesh - COLOR
girugamesh - takt
GOLDEN BOMBER - memeshikute
Grieva - true grief
Grieva - LOVELESS
Grieva - 水中沈む透明な匣
heidi. - レム
Hi:BRiD - 1998
Hi:BRiD - 真世界
Irokui. - 摩天楼の雨男
JILUKA - Crossing Fate
Kagrra, - うたかた
La'cryma Christi - 未来航路
LM.C - 88
LUNA SEA - END OF SORROW
LUNA SEA - UP TO YOU
lynch. - Crystalize
lynch. - ETERNITY
Malice Mizer - Beast of Blood
MATENROU OPERA - 悲哀とメランコリー
meth. - THE LAST SLEEP
MIYAVI - 「素晴らしきかな、この世界」-WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD-
MUCC - 約束
NEXX - EXISTENCE
Nightmare - the WORLD
Phobia - La rouge fil
RENTRER EN SOI - STIGMATA
Sadie - Recall
Sadie - Rain fall
Sadie - 棘-toge-
SHIVA - BELIEVER
Shulla - カラス (pm5：48 ver．)
SIAM SHADE - 1/3の純情な感情
Sick² - 冬の終わる場所。
SID - V.I.P
SID - 乱舞のメロディ
SINCREA - 桜舞い散る季節に君が夢見たこと
Vidoll - Cloud
ViViD - 睡蓮人
ViViD - REAL
xTRiPx - glitter
Zonbi - 墓場 de ラヴソング

http://shattered-tranquility.net/index.php/category/originals/venue-navi/
http://www.vkeiguide.com/category/venue-cd-navi/venue
 
A lot of the livehouses themselves don't disclose their capacity on their websites, but the above links are good. Pretty much every venue is listed with their cap

The only thing I can predict is that Kiryu will be the first band to go whole hog and release a 26-type single A-Z.

nah, deathgaze just folded when they ran out of static-x and slipknot songs to rip off :^)

GYZE new album "NORTHERN HELL SONG" will be released at 2017/03/29
 
 
[tracklist]
1. Pirates Of Upas
2. Horkew
3. Dead Bone Blue
4. Black Shumari
5. Perryi Rain Dragon 
6. Mayoi 
7. The Bloodthirsty Prince
8. Kamuy
9. Brown Trout
10. Frozen Dictator 
11. North Sea Violence
12. Northern Hell Song
13. Snow~Upas ~
14.bonus track
 
 

Oh man - why am I so late to this thread? I feel at home here XD
 
MH (Tainted World at the time) was birthed in the middle of VK's new metal phase, and when I look back at my favorite VK bands of that time period, most of them had a heavy nu metal sound. Let's see if can anything that might have been missed band wise.
 
More Mucc because that kid is awesome lol
 
 
Born before Born
 
 
The one good song by this flash of a band (though the nu metal influences are fairly light on the lighter side)
 
 
The Rudie Satan Park...because the lolz. Those that were around TW at the time will know why.
 
@DisposableThis one is for you and Google
 
God Zodia was waaaay too short lived.
 
@TokageMan, I really wish Zilch could have been something that developed more. It's no secret that I am a hide fanboy, but man I feel like that group had a lot of promise.
 
 
 

lynch.
years: 11.5 years
unique songs: ≳120
time it takes to listen: 7.2 hours
productivity rate: 10 songs / year
 
I thought that was deathgaze lol