Pretsy

Helsinki Lambda Club (also known as "Helsinki Ramadan Club") - as a Finn I would say "huh?"
Aika Yli - "Time Over"? HUUUUH??!!
 
At least those are the ones that weren't mentioned + I could think of  o_o

Couldn't stand the summer hotness so I went to cut my hair short. Unfortunately the barber failed to cut as the pic i showed him and gave me an Ohara Sakurako mushroom head look instead. :/
 
Before:

 
 
After:

 

Lool, his rhyme-or-die lyrics are even more idiotic in English than they are in German. XD

Tokyo Jihen - this band was too perfect 
Rentrer en Soi - I felt like their best work was yet to come, as long as they stuck to their guns and didn't hop on trends
School Food Punishment - they had an instantly recognizable sound, and with la la larks active, I wonder why they even disbanded at all


Pre-2007 D'espairsRay

Ringo Sheena announced a new song "Kamisama, Hotokesama", which will be a theme song for an "isai vivid" smartphone commercial. The song will also feature Shutoku Mukai from ZAZEN BOYS and NUMBER GIRL fame as a co-vocalist/guitarist (you can hear his vocals vaguely in the end of the sample below - ro69 assumes that he will be responsible for "rapping" in the same vein as that guy from Maboroshi in "Ryuukou") 
 
No other details known, Taiwanese/Chinese fans are expecting the single announcement to come out after her Taipei gig(s) though.
 
Commercial:
 

 
Very Jihen-y so far!

fuck beyonce

Ringo Sheena announced a new song "Kamisama, Hotokesama", which will be a theme song for an "isai vivid" smartphone commercial. The song will also feature Shutoku Mukai from ZAZEN BOYS and NUMBER GIRL fame as a co-vocalist/guitarist (you can hear his vocals vaguely in the end of the sample below - ro69 assumes that he will be responsible for "rapping" in the same vein as that guy from Maboroshi in "Ryuukou") 
 
No other details known, Taiwanese/Chinese fans are expecting the single announcement to come out after her Taipei gig(s) though.
 
Commercial:
 

 
Very Jihen-y so far!

I was a heavy kpop fan from 2009-2011 (by the time DBSK released "Mirotic"), checking out every boy/girl group that would pop up in the scene. Ended up being immersed in it completely after more and more friends kept recommending me Korean music. What turned me off from it, besides the whole "fandom" stuff, was seeing how companies treat people and how Korean media as a whole deals with them (the "aegyo", the "ideal types", all those things). There's some hugely childish and prude behavior from everywhere and it gets old fast.
 
However, some of the music is actually pretty damn great, despite being sung by a bunch of teenagers most of the time, which is why i'm voting "I do like it from time to time" here. MBLAQ, SISTAR, Gain and SHINee, as well as some other things from the period I mentioned above, are still in regular rotation in my music playlists. If it sounds good, I don't see any problem in liking any of it. Korea has some good pop producers/composers.
 
You know what's truly embarassing? Modern VK fans having an elitist mindset towards people who like kpop when both things are essentially the same these days.

@Tetora: I don't want to nudge with "genre wisdom" here but as far as bands in the vein of Radwimps, LTS or even 9mm are concerned, they are usually considered as post-hardcore/indie hybrid bands with various influences in their home country (e.g. LTS sporting heavy prog/post-rock infuences in most of their lengthy songs). 
 
Also: just because you have tapping pattern as the main feat/attraction in your song doesn't make it "math rock" (by that logic we could lump a massive number of vk songs into "math", which is defo absurd) - "math metal" wtf?!
 
Sorry, I felt like throwing this out of my chest v_v

The content's generally catchy, much more accessible compared to DSS or even Uroboros but it's still retaining the heavy-ish edge - you could say the same while comparing Vulgar or WtD to Kisou or Macabre for instance: the former albums certainly sport much more "digestible" content compared to the first-listen "clustershock" (a la portmanteau of "clusterfuck" and "shock", you name it) that latter releases (Kisou/Macabre) are known for.
 
edit: Dir has been always experimental, emmny - even MOAB had many occasions which standard -core/nu metal acts couldn't really think of putting in aside from oogabooga and bounce riffs.
 
 
Yes, the order in Arche is totes messy as me, Stallion and many others have pointed out many times- but not to the extent of being like "Kisou"-tier effed up. Songs aren't excessively lengthy either, and are rather simplified in a sense (e.g. Un Deux, STU). 
 
Visual-wise their theme is more or less back-to-2004 as well (feel free to disagree but that era surely made its pleasant comeback during Arche promos) - not to mention the main set of "surprise songs" (MINUS Gauze tour) they tend to play every now and then in their home country. 
 
You could actually form several conclusions based on my commentaries, but as far as I understood from members' personal views on how they rolled with Arche/post-Unraveling sessions (Haiiro no Ginka interviews), they certainly had Vulgar/WtD in their mind ("Kaoru-heavy" sessions made their comeback! It's been 10 years!). JUST MY CENTS THOUGH.
 
PS. it's also given these days that their post-MOAB albums are basically nods to their previous, specific efforts in one way or another, e.g. Uroboros being more of Macabre department and so on...

I'd love to see them play Filth

I think I would explode if they played that song in London. I love it!

The third choice.
 
There are actually moments where I find myself enjoying certain k-pop acts every now and then, but compared to the past when these *cough* "reliable ones" (minus ex) made me indulge to almost everything that was all the rage in post-2010s k-pawp (BB, SNSD, 2NE1, Suju, Shinee...) - I grew rather critic about anything that comes out of the said scene lately. Frankly speaking I do still have a habit in taking an artist or two from older k-pop heydays (Clazziquai, perhaps a bit of Epik High...if they count as "k-pop", and Humming Urban Stereo) and turn them on when I am about to drive or do something a bit "energetic". 
 
Not to mention the nostalgia factor that ender brought up above
 
K-pop recs are still welcome if someone still bothers to bug me with that department but mind you: I am very skeptic/critic
 
PS. if the whole scene's gonna get infected with latest CL x Diplo/Skrillex-isms, then okay - expect me to drop it for good. Such trends are fun to watch but not to the point where you have to experience them on heavy rotation...

lol I can't even argue with someone deluded enough to believe that there's no originality in this era of classical music (ades, muhly, luther adams would like to speak with you)
 
(also "proletariat musical theory", lol what? calm down lenin)
 
it's v cute that you try and discredit my opinion with some ad hominems and some strawman arguments tho!! keep on believing that whoever is headlining takadanobaba area to 40 mitsu and has a half page spread in cure is the future of music 

Check my previous comments; they played it during the second London gig...hence the lack of vehement commentary ;D

To be honest my main concern with concerts is that there are other people there

"I do enjoy it from time to time"
 
I originally fell into the Kpop pit of doom trying to find Korean rock groups. As Kpop tends to bombard anyone new to Korean music, but I ended up being really intrigued by it. I was a huge fan of the boy band / girl group concept in American music growing up, so Kpop plays to my nostalgia and I love seeing how it folds current music trends into the mix. 

Saw the photo of X and then closed the article

My impression as well. All my Japanese friends who I said "oshare kei" too when referring to oshare kei bands has asked me if I mean "kirakira" which basically means sparkling/glittering.
 
Regarding the article, not far off but also far from spot on, imo. 
 
btw the first time visual kei as a word was used in media was 21st january of 1991 in Shoxx (https://twitter.com/lucys2000/status/580575667777077248).
The guy who wrote that article says that he got the phrase from hide or Hoshiko (known as visualkei oyaji on twitter) though lol. 

you may not like it but it's true, neo visual kei is a void of originality and a garbage hole of recycled ideas
 
ok article though, reads like a 9th grader reworded the wiki page.

The setlist was identical to Pretzel's Warsaw one
Someone screwed up the tuning on Kaoru's guitar though so initially the higher notes were WAY off. This only lasted for a song or two though.
It was a great gig though and everyone was really supportive and happy! Apart from the tuning issues, the band played really well. However, Shinya ditched the blast beats in The Inferno. For shame!
Kyo was on form with his vocals for 99% of the gig; he hit the high notes and performed growls and screams with ease. He danced around a bit in Cause Of Fickleness which was hilarious. He also smiled at one point (fans apparently go mental over this so I made a point of remembering to tell you guys this!). He did some Blitz-style Zakuro screaming during the end of Tousei which was really cool. I was really impressed with his performance.
Toshiya interacted with the crowd a great deal which led to hysteric screaming of his name. He's quite the showman. He often raised his water bottle to everyone as if saying "Cheers!"
I didn't see much of Die unfortunately but whenever I did see him he was playing like a maniac. I really admire him as a guitarist since seeing him live. He also stuck his middle finger up to us all because he's a badass.
Kaoru and Shinya didn't really stand out. They both played well but Kaoru didn't really interact with the crowd and Shinya looked mopey as hell.
So there you have it! Great gig, and I definitely recommend seeing them if you still have the chance. I'll be there tomorrow if you fancy poking me. I'm on my own again haha :'(

Pfffft I didn't separate them into specific ratings but I am gonna give a try
 
 
Too much Daoko bias in my case ._.