doaseternity6

Yes! extra lawlipawpz gravy. I chortled far too uncontrollably at that song and I'm sure my neighbors want to maim me for it. I kind of just have it on ignored.
 
But yes, the 2 previews don't really illicit any feelings from me apart from 'meh' right now and I'm just really hoping for at least an interesting album. WE SHALL SEE. 

I don't find that surprising at all. It has nothing to do with feminine aesthetics in vk. And no, most vk fans in Japan don't think like you do, sorry. They prefer guys and guys singing. There's nothing wrong with yours or their preference. It's just how the scene works.
 
Usually almost 100% of a vk band's fanbase is female (and mostly very young) unless the band becomes very big like L'Arc-en-Ciel. You can argue that it's the norm in this world that most of the rock band members are male. But that is not the sole reason why visual kei band members are mostly male. In Japan's context, there are other reasons. Most Western rock band members are male too but they have a lot of or even mostly male fans from the beginning. Sometimes, Western rock bands with female members will attract more female fans. It's the opposite in Japan, especially within the vk scene. I believe it's due to a cultural difference even if I am talking about subcultures.
 
It makes more sense if the majority of the band members are male since their audience is female. The guys might look pretty and feminine but that's only from Western culture's perspective. From the Japanese female perspective, they are still men, attractive, desirable or even "ideal" men (at least after makeup and styling have been done). I am sure Japanese female fans don't consider them feminine unless they are onnagata, which is the minority (e.g. Hizaki) and only serves as something novel and different among other guys. You need to keep in mind the cultural difference. It's like when you show today's anime (those made after the 2000s, regardless of the genre or demographic) to a Western person who's not familiar with anime, they will probably think most of the anime guys look like girls, while anime audiences in Japan don't ever think they look like girls.
 
I believe that vk or J-rock bands with female members, especially a female vocalist, often attract more male fans. I don't claim that they use the female members to delibrately attract male fans. But they definitely don't have the female members to attract female fans (of course if female fans like them too, that's all good). "Females who dress like guys who look like girls" are nothing new in Japan. Since I talked about the "ideal" men (i.e. men looking like girls from Western perspective), the Takarazuka Revue, with an all female fanbase, has been doing this for decades. Some visual kei female members probably take inspiration from that when they want to be liked by female fans. So this is just a cultural thing in Japan that the West doesn't have. To some audience, it doesn't matter which gender is playing this role at all. They just want the show.

I was waiting for this kind of news soon! Can't wait.

I'm hoping this means the last 3 singles won't be included though. Even though Shooting Star was the only real fail imo it would be nice to have virtually all new songs.

Since Arith and me share some similar fandoms, I can second that! XD
 
(Then again, if Arith is part of that fandom, it can't be all bad?!?!)
 
 
Seriously though, there's only one time when you have to interact with other fans, and that's at concerts. And I must say, I never had bad experiences at concerts with other fans. Most people were extremey nice. Yes, that includes vk concerts.
 
Then there's fans on the internet. But, well... it's the internet. Everyone is like 10x more asshole-ish on the internet. The good thing: you can easily avoid people on the internet.

LMAO wut kind of question is this. If a band is crap it's crap, if it's good it's good, screw what the fans are like. ;<

this is me nowadays.
 

A wild doe has appeared!!! D: D: D:

And bringing out the dirty secrets, no less! :D

Hisashiburi. 

 

Ahhh I hadn't realized Robin Aoki was working on this when I heard some of the songs on FB but I totally got a downy vibe so it makes sense. Just going to reiterate my excitement for this release (and the new downy for that matter), I expect nothing short of epic. 

I like them both a lot and they have similar trajectories in my mind (similar to CAT's) so it is tough... but what gives the edge (although unfairly) is I have seen Cinema Staff live twice and haven't seen Arukara yet. CS were totally on point and just the right amount of swinging from lighting fixtures antics to please me.   

Ahhh I hadn't realized Robin Aoki was working on this when I heard some of the songs on FB but I totally got a downy vibe so it makes sense. Just going to reiterate my excitement for this release (and the new downy for that matter), I expect nothing short of epic. 

Well, that's the internet for you. It pretends to be a place of tolerance and personal freedom, but the collective hive of the internet is actually rather small-minded, conformist and reactionary.
 
 
Either you conform to a very narrow ideal of appearance and conduct - or you're meme material.

Off the top of my head and sticking to VK.
 
D'espairsray - "Squall" is probably the prime example of this for me. I've never liked them (borderline hated them back in the day truthfully) but I love that song. Even though Hizumi's "emotion" looks cheesy as hell in the PV, it's the only song where I really feel anything from that band. It also happens to be one of my best/go-to karaoke songs. 
 
SuG - "Scheat". I liked it when it came out and had hopes for their heavy positive shtick but by second release it was obvious that they were pretty awful. Haven't listened to it in years though. 
 
Kaggra,... I never thought they were bad like the others listed but I could never get into them really except for "Utakata", which I really love. Sid's "Otegami" is a similar song in this case too. Back in the day one of my best friends loved Sid but I just couldn't get into them otherwise. 
 
(I'll leave Gazette and Rentrer En Soi out of this since even though I'm not a fan per se I like at least an album's worth of song's from both.)
 
Diverging from parameters to admit to genuinely loving AKB48's Beginner despite hoping they suffer in an endless hell fire. 

VK owns and has continued to own. 
 
But it seems like if it isn't ~heavy or ~dark then nobody will take an interest, even if the bands are great. Frustrating. 
 
PS: Metal fans smell like cabbage. 

lol am i the only one whose not all that into lynch? *it's lonely*
????????????????*random

New la la larks song called さよならワルツ (Sayonara Waltz):
 


 
I like it. A lot. And I don't even care it's basically sfp2 because I miss them like hell.
 
(I wasn't sure where to post this by the way, but since I had already posted their other demo in the previous page a while ago...)

Throwing my initial skepticism aside, I decided to give YOHIO's album a spin. Much to my surprise, what I found was something beyond my wildest dreams.
 
The record begins with a tasteful intro track that immediately sets the epic and grandiose mood of the album. As soon as the dubstep break kicks in, we can feel his undying urge to "break the border" which can be attributed as the overarching concept of the whole release. Next, we are treated to a couple of powerful and immensely catchy visual rock tracks. The overall spirit of innovation is present throughout, as the artist breaks those borders that limit genre classifications, melding his art into something transcendental - it's a musical "REVOLUTION" (to quote the title of one of the more outstanding and totally not tired songs of the record).
 
YOHIO shows us his versatility even more in the next segment (this album can easily be divided into separate thematic parts that make up a whole concept, but more about that later) that contains a more poppy type of music. Be it the infectuous power-pop of Heartbreak Hotel or the simply matchless never-before-heard intense beauty of Sakura, falling (penned together with Gackt, another maestro whose innovative song structures amaze us year after year now) YOHIO decides to conquer our hearts, taking no prisoners. Little do we expect the shocking continuation...
 
The album takes a sudden darker turn with the arrival of the next track. INNOCENCE is like the unrelentingly aggressive yet captivating masterpiece MEJIBRAY or the DIR EN GREY guys have tried and tried but failed to conceive over the past years. When YOHIO screams, he screams for all of us, and we immediately make that connection subconsciously - a transcendental and almost religious experience/bond between artist and listener. This feeling is then heightened and pushed to the extreme on the next set of more emotional songs, of which the highlight is TIMESCAPE, a totally necessary and interesting piano instrumental.
 
YOHIO continues with another instrumental number, this time showcasing his impeccable guitar skills. Seriously, for a moment I thought I was listening to Steve Vai but then I realized - YOHIO is the Steve Vai (Su...Suteibu Waii?) the Japanese market never had. Thus, in this sense BREAK the BORDER becomes much more than a mere album (however fascinating it might be): it is a cultural mission statement, a proclamation of creativity and the generous offer to hand down that exceptional creative streak to the thousands... no, millions who will surely be listening! Finally, the album closes with the ever-strong title track, concluding this fantastic musical journey.
 
In conclusion, we can say that YOHIO's debut album is not only a flawless set of songs but a concept album chronicling the inner drive and torments of the artistic mind. The first segment (tracks 1-3) does what, indeed, is in the title of the album: it breaks down the borders with its unusually innovative approach. The second part (4-9) symbolizes the conflictual emotions and desires he carries, a genius bogged down by the mere earthly elements of this world, the artistic spirit forever tied to ever-fallible physicality that entraps it. After we have broken all borders what remains? This fascinatingly diverse musical "anarchy" is calmed and concluded by the ending segment (10-12) that delivers the message of purity and staying true to oneself. The artist is reborn like a phoenix from the ashes, and can begin his musical adventures anew, sometime, somewhere...
 
A truly beautiful album if I ever heard one. This will no doubt be mentioned among the classics, when we take a look back a few decades later.
 
Fooled ya? ;D Happy April 1st!