maryeon

I did actually check out some KA.F.KA, mainly because of the Issay/Morioka connections. I've always been as sucker for a new wave/post-punk sound (away from the Japanese scene, I'm a huge fan of Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Public Image, Magazine, Japan, Indochine etc etc). Bizarrely enough it was actually the recommendation of KJ's Paul Raven that got me listening to Zilch, then hide, then X-Japan etc. He had some really nice stories about hide and obviously had a lot of love for him.
 
If I was recommended places to start re-discovering DZ, I'd go for the albums Garden and Carnival. My favourite tracks would definitely be 'Blue Blue', 'Only "You", Only "Love''', 'Lonely Dance' (which features some great Killing joke-style tribal drumming), 'Gypsy', 'Perfect Kiss', 'Victoria' and 'Swing in Heaven', which could almost be an outtake from a Bauhaus album (which is just fine by me!).
 
I've spoken to many older Japanese VK devotees who always speak of Der Zibet as a legendary band in the genre, but I think they were simply not visually flamboyant enough to attract the attention of a media that was heavily focussed on bands like X-Japan that were completely over-the-top. DZ favoured black clothing and makeup in a punk/rock/goth style that just wasn't outrageous enough for the media, despite the fact they were writing bloody good songs.

I notice there is no dedicated thread for Der Zibet (if there already is one that I've missed, I apologise, and please delete this one). They're contemporaries and frequent associates of Buck-Tick, with Atsushi guesting on DZ tracks and DZ singer Issay providing backing vocals on BT's Six/Nine album. Although they're essentially a fusion of fock and post-punk and goth, they've released some first-rate albums, particularly during the early years of their career. I haven't been quite so impressed with their later period albums, but they remain one of my favourte Japanese bands. I'd love to hear from other fans and swap details of favourite songs and finest moments. Thanks for your time!

For me, Girugamesh were not only one of the best Japanese bands out there, but one of the best bands in total. The only album of theirs I really don't get along with with is Go, which is far too poppy for my tastes. But thankfully they came back with the bloody excellent Monster and the two amazing EPs Gravitation and Chimera. I'm really glad I was able to see them twice before they called it quits. Seeing their encore performance of 'Kowarete iku sekai' is one of the great  memories of my gigging career. With both Girugamesh and D'espairsRay gone, the music world is a lesser place.

Wanted to post this sooner but totally forgot: here's the cover art!
 

 
(this is the regular edition; the limited one is pretty much the same with slightly different dimensions)

To celebrate their tour caleld "9ballgames 3rd" from 2018.03.10 to 2018.04.21, the bands will release a collaborative single which will be sold during their lives. Details are yet to be announced.
 

 
 
 
Website : http://9ballgames.com/

The vk look always was so iconic on yuuki... his moon light down look was amazing. It's sad to see them abandoning the style. Maybe it's me who loved the shit out of chains of collar era lycaon and can't get past it. 

I use Goody-Japan for Yahoo! Auction, puresound etc.
But I don't really know if it's expensive or not, compared to other services. I never had any problems w/ them.

Generally, I'm not much of a person to binge single tracks, as my tendency is to listen to albums. However, according to my iTunes, my top 5 played VK tracks are 
 
1. DELUHI - s[K]ape:goat  (103 plays)
2. Versailles - Princess (64 plays)
3. Versailles - ASCENDEAD MASTER (58 plays)
4. the GazettE - 未成年 (44 plays)
5. Rentrer en Soi - LAST SCENE (36 plays)
 
Seems pretty accurate! These are all total classics for me, though if my library playcount included my listening pre-2011, I'm almost positive Aristocrat's Symphony, The Revenant Choir, and HYBRID TRUTH would be on this list

Kinda disappointed the MV doesn't have the members but damn this sounds amazing. 

Kinda disappointed the MV doesn't have the members but damn this sounds amazing. 

Kinda disappointed the MV doesn't have the members but damn this sounds amazing. 

I too like @Komorebiusually tend to prefer the more melodic or classical influenced bands. I personally mean bands like Matenrou Opera, Versailles or Galneryus but nowadays I've listened to more and more "brutal kei" and I admit it's become one of my favourite things. I love the more extreme Jiluka songs and believe Ricko is a pretty competent screamer but I also really like their softer sounding songs like Crossing Fate (my personal fave).
 
This chick rides the dexcore hype train!!!! I do love how intense they are.
 
Can we also include Archemi. in this? They sound pretty heavy to me.

@Mamowtf this topic!? XD
 
actually i am pretty certain (without sounding like a poser) i was the one who invented the term "brutal kei".
since i used it since probably 2009 to describe the very first heavy wave of Vk bands which imo started around 2009 with bands such as Origami, Golbeza etc...
 
also the video you are talking about, also from that link it was actually done by myself! ;D
proof: scroll down to the 7th comment... it mentions "matsuya89" which was my name on yt before i changed everything to VkBrutaliaN.
 
and finally because someone in the comments asked (6th comment if you scroll down) "who's the first band ?"
and i still remember first band in that video was "Dio - Distraught Overlord" because at the time i created that video dokusai was just the MOST BRUTAL THING OUT THERE!!!! 8D

Couldn't say it any better! You can tell the man really lives for his art. It's inspirational of sorts.

I too like @Komorebiusually tend to prefer the more melodic or classical influenced bands. I personally mean bands like Matenrou Opera, Versailles or Galneryus but nowadays I've listened to more and more "brutal kei" and I admit it's become one of my favourite things. I love the more extreme Jiluka songs and believe Ricko is a pretty competent screamer but I also really like their softer sounding songs like Crossing Fate (my personal fave).
 
This chick rides the dexcore hype train!!!! I do love how intense they are.
 
Can we also include Archemi. in this? They sound pretty heavy to me.

Kinda disappointed the MV doesn't have the members but damn this sounds amazing. 

Leda is really involved and enthusiastic. I love him live he really is one of the best Japanese guitarists and definitely one of the best in vk. 

Some of you may be familiar with more comedic tag "brutal kei" to describe "heavy" visual kei bands who often use vocals and instrumentals seemingly inspired by "heavy metal" genres and sometimes "extreme metal" genres as well. The origins of the term "brutal kei" was coined by "matsuya89" aka @VkBrutaliaN in 2009 and later popularized by myself in 2010 as more of a "troll". I was inspired by a video which has since been removed on youtube; however, a forum discussion on this video and listing the bands used in the video can be found here: http://rockbandfinder.com/top-9-most-brutal-visual-keij-rock-bands/ . (I later found out the video was made and uploaded by @VkBrutaliaN). But the serious origins of this trend in visual kei began with various "Nu metal" tendencies as early as the mid-90s with bands such as: Aliene Ma'riage, ∀NTI FEMINISM, and 妃阿甦(THE PIASS).
 
Today it has become a less prevalent niche but a handful of bands of this type always seem to emerge only to disband very shortly thereafter. Kept alive by a cult following of an obsessive fandom. Many bands of the current wave of this so called "brutal kei" genre incorporate elements of electronica and mostly stick to a blend of metalcore, deathcore, nu metal, and typical vk melodic rock. The vocalist will almost always use harsh vocal techniques such as: screams, pig squeals, and death growls. Some current examples include: Nocturnal Bloodlust, JILUKA, FIXER,  DIMLIM, DEXCORE, and many more.
 
Oh and @Takadanobabaalienmy apologies for not mentioning the legendary most br00tal vk band "Deviloof"!!!!!!
 
Are you a fan of this sound?

I actually dislike the excessive screaming and prefer to go for more melodic metal, vocally speaking. 
 
Why are Jiluka becoming my favorite band and current obsession? I would love to know .___.

A new KIYOHARU single has been announced. AKA NO EIEN / TSUMIHOROBHOSHI NOBARA will be released on 2/9, however it's limited to a live venue release  rather than a wider public release. AKA NO EIEN is the lead song off the upcoming YORU、CARMEN NO SHISU album (slated for 2/14), while TSUMIHOROBHOSHI NOBARA will be only be contained in the single. JIN OKI plays flamenco guitar on AKA NO EIEN. Duran plays guitar on TSUMIHOROBHOSHI NOBARA. Yuji Okiyama (who played BASS on Kiyoharu's earliest solo releases) and  Katsuma (coldrain drummer) will fill out the rhythm section. Single jacket has been handled by YUTARO (sads' bassist).  
https://natalie.mu/music/news/265292
https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000150866#utm_source=tw_BARKS_NEWS&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tw_auto
 
 

I went for a look through my older magazines and found that I did have two Fool's Mate from the time period you're looking for with Dir en Grey in them. I have #205 from 1998 and #216 from 1999
 
#205


 
#216



 
If you're in need of any of those, feel free to shoot me a message so I can scan them properly for you!

I lied about the Fool's Mate #202 not having any DEG in it.  It just wasn't listed in the magazine's index page.  It's just a 2-page live article.

 
Here's the DEG ad from the Fool's Mate #198 issue.  I uploaded the raw version of the ad here. 

Full MVs and documentary 

excited for the song with mia x leda, the solo mia rips into as the preview fades out sounds amazing
also that random nagoya-but-not-at-all-nagoya end track is weird but im curious
and hearing how yo-ka and jui sound on their backing vocals (hopefully they can take some parts away from asagi because it'll be a nice contrast)