Champ213

I think there will be surely variations, but the setlists of the last few months are probably some indictaions of what to expect. There are some songs that they played on literally every concert in recent times, even the shorter sets in Finnland. Those songs are For Your Own Good, Ten More Miles, We Ride Together, Stand Up And Fight, Battle Metal and Holmgard and Beyond. I would be surprised not to hear them this time. Greek Fire, A Portage to the Unknown and One More also seem to be quite common. But I certainly wouldn't mind to hear some more rarely played song. Come to think of it, I would die to hear "Cursed be Iron" or "End of an Empire" live, but I doubt it's going to happen.

Since it's something of an album promotion tour there will be a lot of songs from the new album. I expect them to play at least "For your own good" (album opener), "Ten more miles" (for which they made the video) and "We ride together" (since the tour is named after it). Then probably the 2-3 more songs from the new album and the rest older songs. I think they will definetely play "Battle Metal" because the crowd won't let them leave alive if they don't, lol. Here's an example of a setlist they played in October on their UK tour, I expect the setlists for the upcoming tour to be something along these lines with some variations. From the new album I hope for "The Days Passed", and for older songs I want to hear "A Portage to the Unknown" and "Rasputin".

That's some legit Gackt impression right there. At the same time it also kinda reminds me of this: Something I wished I rather hadn't remembered...

I think somebody said they sold out pretty quickly. I find it rather confusing though that apparently you cannot buy the tickets from regular ticket shops and sites. When Versailles played the same location a few years ago I just walked into a local ticket shop and got tickets. Not sure what's the reasoning behind that...

^ I'll be seeing them too this February, got my ticket already. I can't wait, this will be a lot of fun! And I think the new songs are going to be a blast live. I assume you are going to the Copenhagen date? That's 3 weeks earlier then the Cologne date I'm going to. You have to let me know how the concert was and what songs they have been playing afterwards!

They have an insanely large discography, I never really knew where to start. XD

Let's stop for a second and acknowledge the fact that you can watch the trailer in 3D..... for whatever reason. Now..... mildly looking forward to this. Sounds solid, but not exactly special. Then again, most songs only had very short samples, so it's hard to judge.

Not sure if they are "vk inspired" (colorful hair wasn't exactly invented by visual kei), and I don't see any obvious influences in music, member names, song titles etc. (Not that I looked too deeply though.) But even if they are, that song isn't really crappy. It's not my type of music, so I have no desire to listen to it again, but apparently they do know how to play their instruments decently, the song is okay for what it is, and the vocalist doesn't make my toenails roll up. I'd say it's just an average rock song by people who happen to have rather extravagant hair colors and may have taken some fashion hints from vk, but the music is hardly "truly crappy" compared to other things in this thread.

The posts that are already made in this thread I'd rather keep here because the thread would become really disjointed if I were to remove them. Any further posts that are not about the topic at hand, but the broader history of visual kei, can continue here. Those people that already raised some points about it in this thread, feel free to bring them up again in the new thread.

I have been listening to The Cure for a long time, but this never really occured to me. But now I'm listening to this again, I definetely have to agree. I can totally see the 1992 vk band with cheap homemade goth clothing and bushy red and pink hair in front of my inner eye now.

Wat? Wat? I would really like to hear THAT, lol. How completely random and wonderful.

Removed off-topic posts. If you don't want to add to the discussion - don't post, thanks.

Okay, hier musste ich jetzt sehr lange nachdenken.... Nun bin ich aber auch nicht der eifrigste Film- und Fernsehgucker. Als alter Star-Trek-Fan fand ich natürlich Raumpatrouille Orion gut. Und sonst, hmm.... Sendung mit der Maus? Gucke ich immer noch, wenn ich mal Zeit habe. Meine Mutter schwört übrigens auf Großstadtrevier und Adelheid und ihre Mörder. Nichts was ich jetzt persönlich gucken würde, wenn ich alleine vor'm Fernseher sitze, aber bei meinen Eltern habe ich mich schon ab und an dazugesetzt. Filme.... hmm. Ich glaube der letzte deutsche Film, den ich gesehen habe war Das Parfum - war ganz gut.

Well, you can use asian characters on this forum. As a matter of fact, there are users that have asian characters in their name. The only technical limitation is that any name has be at least three characters long. That's something in the forum software and I don't think we can change that. I can't speak for other sites/forums, but if they don't allow asian characters I'm guessing it's either for technical reasons too, or they don't feel it's necessary to allow them (especially if that site isn't focused on anything related to Asia). Or they just want all names in a script that basically anyone can read.

The Non-Japanese Arbouretum - Coming Out of the Fog What is it? I have seen all sorts of genre labels put on this band. Folk rock, doom folk, psychedelic rock, stoner rock, indie rock, alternative country. Make your pick. Why do I like it? Having never heard of this band before, I just tried this album on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. It's a very laidback album full of melancholic atmosphere and expressive guitar riffs. Some songs are more on the doomier side, while "The Promise" in particular gives me an inexplicibly David-Bowie-feel, probably due the vocals. Absolutely worth mentioning is also the slow, folky and country-esque "Oceans Don't Sing", because it's simply beaitiful. Basically, if you like any or all of the genres mentioned above, you should give this a try. Corde Oblique - Per le strade ripetute What is it? A (neo)folk project from Italy. "Ethereal" and "neoclassical" are also words used to describe them, and they call themselves "Progressive Ethereal Folk". Why do I like it? Because they simply make stunningly beautiful music. The main head behind the project is guitarist and composer Riccardo Prencipe, the vocals are female for the most part though and in usually in italian. The music is based on accoustic guitars, doleful violins and expressive vocals, sometimes accompanied by a piano. And some of their melodies are just heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I can specifically recommend "Averno", "Bambina d'oro" (for the amazing violins) and "Ali bianche" (nice "dramatic" drums). Kauan - Pirut What is it? Started out as black metal band, then moved more into doom metal and finally became something of an ambient post-rock band. The new album something in between the latter two. Why do I like it? This was probably my most expected album of 2013, and boy, it did not disappoint. Although it almost didn't came to pass, because while main composer Anton Belov was working on the album in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, an asteroid exploded over the city, causing damage and delaying the production of the album, while also influencing parts of it (notice the cover art and the sound effect in the sample at 0:34). The whole album is written as one song (although divided on the CD for more convinient listening, but the seperate "songs" are just numbered I - VIII). Within this song of 39 Minutes the band explores some of their roots with harsh vocals and a strong doom metal feel, but also include their later, more ambient sound with accoustic guitars and beautiful violins and piano. So while it's technically one song, it never gets boring or repetetive. And yeah, they sing in finnish, although the band is actually from Russia and Ukraine. The bianca Story - Digger What is it? Indie-rock band from Switzerland that incorporates fragments of post-rock mixed with portions of new-wave. Why do I like it? Another random discovery I made this year that turned out to be quite enjoyable. "Digger" is a catchy, playful album that incorporates a good amount of variety, from the slower post-rock-ish "Crescendo" to danceable songs like "Glück macht einsam", and everything inbetween. In particular I like the use of two vocalists, male and female. The deep, earthy vopcals of Elia Rediger mix very well with the sweet soft voice of Anna Gosteli. If this sounds like something you can enjoy, you can download their album for free on their homepage. The production was financed via crowdfunding with the explicit intent to make the album availible for free. Týr - Valkyrja What is it? Folk metal, broadly speaking. Týr use clean vocals only and they do not employ any "traditional" folk instruments like flutes or bagpipes. Depending on song and release the music can tend towards progressive, power or heavy metal, the folk influence mostly coming from incooperating traditional melodies. Why do I like it? Týr has yet to disappoint me. Granted, my favourite release is still their Ragnarok album from 2006, but this is probably favourite release since then - and the albums inbetween were definetely not bad at all! On "Valkyrja" they once again demonstrate their strongest feature: incredibly catchy melodies. Even months after the release I still find myself with bits and pieces of "Another Fallen Brother" or "Lady of the Slain" stuck in my head. Their songs can be extremely straightforward, like the opener "Blood of Heroes", or progressively playful like "Hel hath no fury" (which gets bonus points just for that title). They aren't exactly re-inventing themselves with this album, but they delivered what I expected from them: great, addicting metal. And I still giggle when Heri sings about his "flute" in "Mare of my Night". Other things I liked (alphabetical): Ancient VVisdom - Deathlike Amon Amarth - Deceiver Of The Gods Ereb Altor - Fire meets Ice Layla Zoe - The Lily Lilly Dahab - Huellas Månegarm - Legions of the North Rotting Christ - Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy The Monolith Deathcult - Tetragrammaton Turisas - Turisas2013 Vali - Skogslandskap Wardruna - Yggdrasil Woodkid - The Golden Age

The Japanese Church of Misery - Thy Kingdom Scum What is it? The soft spot between doom metal, sludge and stoner metal. Although apparently they don't like to be called stoner metal. Why do I like it? It's immersive, brooding, dark and groovy at the same time. The songs are complex and yet "accessible" enough for a casual listener of this specific genre (like myself) to enjoy. There aren't really any songs that stand out in particular, but the album, that is all themed around famous serial killers, is best enjoyed as a whole. And as such it does a really good job. But if I had to pick a favourite song, it would probably be the faster-paced, blues-y "Lambs to the slaughter". But it's best just to spin the album as a whole and enjoy the powerful bass and psychedlic rythms. Gauzes - 揺篭 What is it? Visual kei, the old-school flavour. Highly influenced by bands like La'Mule. Why do I like it? When trimming down my list to 5 japanese picks, I had my top 4 figured out pretty quickly. The battle for 5th was hard, but eventually GAUZES won against Jupiter, amber gris and other stuff. Because you just don't hear stuff like this often anymore, and hearing it done well is even rarer. Obviously if you want originality, this isn't really the place to look. But like Grieva they manage to combine a nostalgic sound with modern influences, although I consider GAUZES more "conservative" in the way the emulate their idol's sound. I must also admit that their album only "clicked" at the second listen for me, but now I really love it. グリーヴァ (Grieva) - 鬼ト影 What is it? Visual kei, the old-school flavour. Highly influenced by bands like old Dir en grey. Why do I like it? I already wrote an extensive review on this in the joined staff list, so I'll keep it short. It seems the common consensus now is that you either hate this band for being a Dir en grey copycat, or that you love them for bringing back a long-lost sound. Yes, I could just go back and listen to some old DeG records, but I really like what these guys to with their influences, while still sounding fresh enough to be enjoyable. 実験台モルモット (Jikkendai Marmot) - 見開キ こころ❤断面図 What is it? Jazzy pop-rock basically, with a unique vocalist. Why do I like it? Jikkendai Marmot always manage to deliver delightful, sweeping jazz-pop - and lovely vocal acrobatics. Which, I guess, are a matter of taste, but you can certainly hear that vocalist Tani Takuma is passionate about the music, especially in songs like 正しい心の殺し方. He is accompanied by a violin, sometime cheery, sometimes melancholic and a playful piano. Most of the songs on this album are of an upbeat nature, while still maintaining their characteristic melancholic undertone. There are also some full ballads like 小さな虫 though. If you liked their previous releases, you will also like this. If you don't like jazzy stuff and/or crazy high-pitched vocals, you probably should pass up on this. なかの綾 (Nakano Aya) - へたなうそ What is it? Jazzy retro-pop with latin influences and a smooth, beautiful voice. Why do I like it? I absolutely loved her debut album "Zurui hito" from 2010, although it was basically just an album full of covers of old songs, mostly from the 60s and 70s. But it was just thorougly enjoyable and very coherent, despite containing all these songs from other people. Compared to that the new album "Hetana uso" falls a bit short - literally, as it's only 7 songs, one being a re-recording from the first album. But it still has all the things that made the debut shine: beautiful nostalgic songs, that make you think of old movies, rendered in Nakano's soft, yet powerful voice. I didn't actually check if "Hetana uso" has any original songs or ist just all covers again (it probably is), but it doesn't really minimize the enjoyment you get from this album. Other things I liked (alphabetical): amber gris - Around Children 青葉市子 - 0 Dear L'Novel - 愛と死 Jupiter - CLASSICAL ELEMENT LUNA SEA - A will メメント・モリ - 百花繚乱-好色狂女 Yeti - 賛成の反対

So yeah, here's my best-of-list for the year 2013. I like my lists more concise, so I set myself a limit of 10 releases (5 japanese, 5 non-japanese). I'm also notoriously slow when it comes to listen to new releases. Basically, I feel just about prepared enough to write my Best-of list for 2010. XD So there's a lot of stuff I have missed and that may have made the list, if I had more time on my hands. I still had to trim down my list to make it 10 releases. I tried to focus on stuff that hasn't been mentioned in other staff lists. Lists will be posted in the next 2 posts. Order of the list is alphabetrical.

The names aren't that ambigious, but I think people are thrown off by the use of katakana where you normally would expect hiragana. XD They may even have used crappy online translators or dictionaries, that didn't pick up the katakana as being a part of the kanji before it. But yes, it should be "norowareshi" and "kurui". "norowareshii" is proper adjective meaning "accursed". Can't really help you with the history, but that looks like some impressive biography you wrote there!

Still pondering if I should go. It's in my city, so it would be a perfect oppurtunity. I have seen Versailles in the same location a few years ago, and while I enjoyed Jupiter's album, I wonder if that live would really bring something new for me. (And admittedly, I'm a bit of a Kamijo fangirl, haha.) Good to know that I don't have to hurry my decision though. XD

The Sada video is kinda funny. What they need is some more charismatic vocals. Being on-key not required, but there should be at least some vocal acrobatics, sudden changes in pitch, piercing screams, suggestive whispering and maniacal laughter. Then you'd have a perfect oldschool vk demo. That guy is pretty boring though.

Well, they have a pretty accurate self-assessment: "we are the cause of your headache".

I recently listened to some Metis Gretel stuff and remembered that their early demos were really sweet too. Crappy production and cringeworthy off-key vocals included. XD But again those are songs they never re-recorded, so it's impossible to say if I had preferred them in higher quality. I normally do, and in this day and age I don't see much point to intentionally record something in bad quality.

I do like the instrumentals of this, but those falsettos.... eh.....

Not sure if you would count Nakano Aya, but there you go: Julee Karen might also be something you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-EHskr1uls And some Oonishi Yukari: None of them are "groups" though, not sure if that's important?

Welcome to the forum! Hope you will have fun here! Luna Sea was also one of my first J-Rock bands, always good to see another fan. Also, whoa, that's some cool song/video there. I dig it. Looks and sounds really professional too.