JimHarper

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.

Sensible suggestion. I'll edit the post to include a few more illuminating details. I agree with your later point too; these things change on an almost daily basis. I once tried to come up with a Top 100. Within 3 days I had a list of another 30 that I thought should have been in there :)

I'm totally into this as I am somehow a bit of a movie freak, but if you want people to actually do more than to make a list try add some words as to why you like the films you've listed and why people should check 'em out (if they're into that type of films).
 
I'll come back, even though making a list with 15-25 films is close to impossible. I might choose 25 films today, and yet in a week the list would look very different with 15-20 different films on it. But this'll be fun.

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 used to listen to them at one point, pretty good band! Issay has a killer voice but is unfortunately kind of forgotten or underrated compared to other vocalists of his time (I'm guessing DER ZIBET in general just kinda flies under the radar most of the time). I need some serious catching up to do with their music tho, I see they've released heaps of stuff, haha.  
 
It's been a long time so I can't really think of any favorite songs or albums tho... Just wanted to comment here to let you know you're not alone. XD
 
Also, only tangentially related but do you know KA.F.KA? They're a more recent project with Issay on vocals, Masami Tsuchiya (ex-Ippu Do) on guitars, Koji Ueno (ex-TMGE, etc) on bass, Motokatsu (ex-THE MAD CAPSULE MARKETS) on drums and Ken Morioka on synth (whose not a member anymore for obvious reasons...). They have a really cool new-wave-ish sound going on.
 
 
Issay also did some guest vocals for some of Masami Tsuchiya's recordings (whom I adore).  

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.

Welcome to the forum! 

Hello there, great music taste :>

Hello all!
 
My name is Jim Harper. I'm in the UK right now but will be relocating to Japan later this year. I've been a fan of various visual kei bands for a while now. My 'gateway drug' was actually Zilch; I knew an English bass player who told me he'd recorded a great album with a fantastic Japanese guitarist and said I should check it out. I did, and I loved it, so I checked out hide's 'day job' and discovered I liked X-Japan too, and it all went from there. If I had to list a top ten VK bands, it would consist of (no particular order): X-Japan (plus hide solo and Zilch), Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, Dead End, The Gazette, D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, LM.C, Mucc and Vamps. I've been able to see six of them live, which has been a wonderful experience (just got X-Japan, Dead End, D'erlanger and The Gazette to go!). There's also a lot of Japanese goth/industrial etc that I love too. Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you all and discovering some new music!
 
All the best,
 
Jim.

Hello all!
 
My name is Jim Harper. I'm in the UK right now but will be relocating to Japan later this year. I've been a fan of various visual kei bands for a while now. My 'gateway drug' was actually Zilch; I knew an English bass player who told me he'd recorded a great album with a fantastic Japanese guitarist and said I should check it out. I did, and I loved it, so I checked out hide's 'day job' and discovered I liked X-Japan too, and it all went from there. If I had to list a top ten VK bands, it would consist of (no particular order): X-Japan (plus hide solo and Zilch), Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, Dead End, The Gazette, D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, LM.C, Mucc and Vamps. I've been able to see six of them live, which has been a wonderful experience (just got X-Japan, Dead End, D'erlanger and The Gazette to go!). There's also a lot of Japanese goth/industrial etc that I love too. Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you all and discovering some new music!
 
All the best,
 
Jim.

Hello all!
 
My name is Jim Harper. I'm in the UK right now but will be relocating to Japan later this year. I've been a fan of various visual kei bands for a while now. My 'gateway drug' was actually Zilch; I knew an English bass player who told me he'd recorded a great album with a fantastic Japanese guitarist and said I should check it out. I did, and I loved it, so I checked out hide's 'day job' and discovered I liked X-Japan too, and it all went from there. If I had to list a top ten VK bands, it would consist of (no particular order): X-Japan (plus hide solo and Zilch), Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, Dead End, The Gazette, D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, LM.C, Mucc and Vamps. I've been able to see six of them live, which has been a wonderful experience (just got X-Japan, Dead End, D'erlanger and The Gazette to go!). There's also a lot of Japanese goth/industrial etc that I love too. Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you all and discovering some new music!
 
All the best,
 
Jim.

Hello all!
 
My name is Jim Harper. I'm in the UK right now but will be relocating to Japan later this year. I've been a fan of various visual kei bands for a while now. My 'gateway drug' was actually Zilch; I knew an English bass player who told me he'd recorded a great album with a fantastic Japanese guitarist and said I should check it out. I did, and I loved it, so I checked out hide's 'day job' and discovered I liked X-Japan too, and it all went from there. If I had to list a top ten VK bands, it would consist of (no particular order): X-Japan (plus hide solo and Zilch), Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, Dead End, The Gazette, D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, LM.C, Mucc and Vamps. I've been able to see six of them live, which has been a wonderful experience (just got X-Japan, Dead End, D'erlanger and The Gazette to go!). There's also a lot of Japanese goth/industrial etc that I love too. Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you all and discovering some new music!
 
All the best,
 
Jim.

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!

Hello all!
 
My name is Jim Harper. I'm in the UK right now but will be relocating to Japan later this year. I've been a fan of various visual kei bands for a while now. My 'gateway drug' was actually Zilch; I knew an English bass player who told me he'd recorded a great album with a fantastic Japanese guitarist and said I should check it out. I did, and I loved it, so I checked out hide's 'day job' and discovered I liked X-Japan too, and it all went from there. If I had to list a top ten VK bands, it would consist of (no particular order): X-Japan (plus hide solo and Zilch), Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, Dead End, The Gazette, D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, LM.C, Mucc and Vamps. I've been able to see six of them live, which has been a wonderful experience (just got X-Japan, Dead End, D'erlanger and The Gazette to go!). There's also a lot of Japanese goth/industrial etc that I love too. Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you all and discovering some new music!
 
All the best,
 
Jim.

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.

Epica - The Solace System
Good EP. Those songs could perfectly suit to their last album "The Hoolographic Principle". 
 
Arcade Fire - Everything Now
Arcade Fire and Phoenix are the synth pop rock album of the summer. I prefer Aracade Fire than Phoenix. 
 
White Moth Black Butterfly - Atone
I didn't know them and it's a good surprise. I love their ambient song. It's really beautiful.
 
Indochine - 13
What a great surprise ! It's more synth pop rock than before but melodies are great and I really like lyrics.
 
Enter Shikari - The Spark
I love their last album "The Mindsweep". "The Spark" is weird at first. I listened to it 2-3 times and I don't really know if I like it or not. I guess if I was able to listen it more than 2 times, it means I enjoyed it a bit.
 
Novelists - Noir
Solid album
 
PVRIS - All we know of heaven, all we need of hell
PVRIS is one of my addiction these days. Their new album is as good as their first "White Noise". I love their addictive melodies, their lyrics and the atmosphere of their songs.
 
Dagoba - Black Nova
Solid album
 
Circa Survive - The Amulet
I didn't know them and what a great surprise ! I love their sound. It's an alternative rock band with great melodies. Vocalist has a high voice but it perfectly suits. There is something in their songs. Something.... ambient I guess.

Hi there, welcome! High five for BUCK-TICK and D'ERLANGER~ 

hello and welcome to the forums^^ i'm sure you'll discover a bunch of new bands

Hello all!
 
My name is Jim Harper. I'm in the UK right now but will be relocating to Japan later this year. I've been a fan of various visual kei bands for a while now. My 'gateway drug' was actually Zilch; I knew an English bass player who told me he'd recorded a great album with a fantastic Japanese guitarist and said I should check it out. I did, and I loved it, so I checked out hide's 'day job' and discovered I liked X-Japan too, and it all went from there. If I had to list a top ten VK bands, it would consist of (no particular order): X-Japan (plus hide solo and Zilch), Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, Dead End, The Gazette, D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, LM.C, Mucc and Vamps. I've been able to see six of them live, which has been a wonderful experience (just got X-Japan, Dead End, D'erlanger and The Gazette to go!). There's also a lot of Japanese goth/industrial etc that I love too. Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you all and discovering some new music!
 
All the best,
 
Jim.