seikun

Musically, most bands today don't catch my attention. I admit most bands today play much better than older bands, but they don't play the kind of music that I like in Visual Kei. I also see the theatrical aspect of Visual Kei lost, there is no dramatization of any kind anymore except for a few bands here and there. I also feel like for many Visual Kei bands today their looks are meaningless, there's not real or at least minimal purpose in dressing and looking like that in an artistic sense.

Visual Kei cannot be always at the top just like no other music style/scene is at the top forever. Sooner or later they dwindle and lose their initial appeal among the crowd. Goth was the thing in the past; it isn't anymore. Metal was the thing in the past; it isn't anymore and etc. All styles lose their appeal to some degree someday.

I'm not over Visual Kei, I still love it; it's just that there is less offered for my taste.

I think I'm liking Yusai so far.

I like it that they don't seem to abuse the synth like other bands such as Kiryu do to the point it drowns out the guitars and the bass. Yusai seems to rely more on the sound of guitars and the bass and I like that. There is a nice bass moment in アイラク偽心; I just hope I get to hear more leading melodies from the guitars though.

 I don't know what to think. A girly face and an almost manly body >.<

I think this could be a (relatively) sexualised project. Muscles are sexual and they are definitely giving a role to their bodies...

And what happened with LADYBABY, did they split up?

I know that this might be an impossible request by now, a lot of time has gone by, but if someone somewhere can provide the lyrics of this song by L'yse:nore that would be awesome. I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Nice.

At least one Key Party band is reviving. I would love Noir fleurir and Missalina Rei to do the same thing but I think that will never happen.

It is interesting how the Japanese have been able to perfectly blend traditional Japanese music with pop and rock and how not even having it in mind it has attracted the attention of westerners for years now. Chinese and Koreans, at least to my knowledge don't seem to take the Japanese example...

As for Wagakki Band, I prefer songs when traditional instruments, the guitar and bass dominate over pop sounds. Akatsuki no Ito is pure art, for example.

I don't think Plastic Tree has the relevance Dir en grey and PIERROT had in the 90's.

I'm not sufficiently knowlegeable about it but apparently Dir en en grey and PIERROT were really big and sort of emblematic (to some extent) bands in the Visual Kei scene in the late 90's, right? So they occupy different seats in the hall of Visual Kei that Plastic Tree doesn't despite being also very popular band.

I remember some people implying certain rivalries more related to popularity between the two bands when I joined one of PIERROT fanbase over here.

It is too short of a sample but the new members sound really nice. They give a sort of more mature sound to the band.

If we can make the vocalist improve his singing that would be  awesome too.

Hmm, I'll be considered the bitter one here, but I don't like it that they conformed to the same over used synth-generated sound that VK bands use today. I mean, they have been in the music world for years and years, they could have used different sounds.

Also, Sharaku has a great voice, he doesn't need to alter it artificially >.<

Hmmm, probably Malice Mizer.

Back in 2003 when I listened to Illuminaty for the first time that song got stuck in my head for weeks.

I know that at least in the mid 90's there were already people in my country who knew about Japanese bands, among those bands Visual Kei bands. In those days obviously Japanese music was less accessible and mainly people with enough money and contacts had the means to acquire it. It was more like an exclusive thing.

My first serious contact with Japanese music was 1998 when a guy lent one of my friends a cassette with Japanese music that we listened to. I remember during the late 90's in my country the otaku culture was growing really fast to the point there was a TV show dedicated to anime and manga which means the trend was already established among the youth of the time. Visual Kei was included in the trend just a smaller niche.

Visual Kei is not new anymore but neither is gothic or punk. It all relies on a band's ability to capture people's attention.

I'm seeing an old organization here is still organzing Visual Kei events just like in the past and they still include music form the old bands like XJapan, Malice Mizer, Psycho le Cemu, etc.

The subculture is still alive.

I'm wondering if they will play together or individually... It would be nice to see them share the stage together.

Loved it when a scene from Nounai Morphine appeared on the screen and people reacted to it^^

I need to see this, I need to listen to this!!

By the way, I think one of the images they showed in the video is of country when students were protesting to demand that the government improved the educational system like 11 years ago...

I wonder if in part Bou left because he didn't like the new direction in music the band took...

I was wondering about him lately again. Sad news.

My condolences.

This band is not my taste but DNA is stuck in my head.

Wow, the second song was awesome. Both the look and the music are so old aschool Visual Kei

There is always the claim about the decline of the scene, but new bands keep coming up. So who do we believe?

Pierrot - Hello

It was one of Pierrot's last songs released after they disbanded. The band was in bad terms, apparently, Kirito and Aiji could barely look at each other in the eye and their music at that time showed the lack of inspiration. Even in the PV they all seem disconnected as a band.

Not necessarily a horrible song, but dull and I have never liked certain inclination in Kirito's work for monotonous rap-like melodies to be honest.

I have been wondering about him too.

He gained sudden popularity in 2008 and even performed outside Japan. I also remember I once watched him perform on an online event in japan in 2008 along with many other Visual Kei bands.

Up until now I had no idea he suffered from a throat infection. All information about his career stops with that health problem he went through. I wonder if his vocal cords recovered after that and what he is doing now.

What happened to Kamijo?

The tracks sound kind of dull, poppish and similar to one another. I don't sense that magnificence their older songs give off. Mariontte was like the only song that I find has more potential.

Also, the synth is doing a horrible favour to their sound >.<

>.<

Bubblegum purple is being overused by today's Visual Kei bands way too much.

I find the vocalist annoying forcing that baby thing onto the viewer >.<

And the music is poorly produced considering the times.

Oh, that song, Akkanbe was bothering me a little bit. It sounded familiar and finally remembered. It reminds me of Gekkouka by Janne Da Arc.