seikun

If asked I would say that the typical singing style in Visual Kei is the deep and/or dramatic one. But there are many singing styles in Visual Kei today. Deep and/or dramatic Kyouka (Aliene Ma'riage) Rei (Lar~Mia) Gackt (Malice Mizer and solo too) Hisui (Madeth gray'll) Etc. The vocalist of Lustknot sounds dramatic to me. And don't forget the feminine singing too: Yukari (Baiser) Satsuki (RENTRER EN SOI) Kamijo (Lareine) ARISU ARISUGAWA (Missalina Rei) Kaya Etc.

I have been listening to japanese music since late 1998 along with watching anime. As usual, the close relationship between anime and Visual Kei bands whose songs were parts of some Anime's OSTs eventually brought me to Visual Kei. In 2002 I moved to the capital of my country and I started to know some Visual Kei bands, but it was in 2003 that I started to listen to them more frequently because a radio programme started that year and they talked about anime, manga and of course, japanese music. Well, in 2004 a TV programme that showed anime series started to show PVs and anime intros from anime series not dubbed at that time (mainly Visual Kei). One day they showed the PV Torikago by PIERROT and I loved the song and the easthetics of the band members and other day they showed the 2nd intro for Getbackers which is also a song by PIERROT (Barairo no Sekai), I loved it and when I returned to the capital after winter holidays I managed to know people who could share barairo no sekai with me. I met two girls and one of them gave me the whole discography of PIERROT. I was expecting to receive barairo no sekai only, but she was so happy about my request that she felt the need to share the whole discography. After that, I started to know more and more bands. I loved what I was listening to, but also loved the easthetics, dramatism and the attitude of most Visual Kei bands which suited me perfectly since I have always been a bit non-conformist and have some criticism against my society and Visual Kei kind of provided me with a tool to express my non-conformism and critics against it, something I wasn't expecting at first.

I am not an expert in music and singing but doesn't the voice naturally change when singing? People sound different when singing and speaking. I guess if you tried to sing with your speaking voice you might end up hurting your vocal chords since you need to use them diferently to sing and that obviously will change the tone of your voice, regardless of the music style.

Are we talking about the deep singing, the one that resounds in the chest and makes songs sound more dramatic as I commented in my previous post?

Hmm, can someone provide a sample of this particualr way of singing in Visual Kei? One of my friends once noted that Visual Kei singers tend to sing (I'm afraid I am not able to explain this well in english...) kind of deep or like making their voice resound in their chest, some kind of a dramatic singing. As a example, listen to Kanna (lusia) singing Ibara no ori. Jack Spooky is another example of this. There other types of signing in Visual Kei, the feminine one like Yukari (Baiser), Satsuki (RENTRER EN SOI), etc Could somebody post any videos so as to know what singing style we are talking about?

The three songs sound almost the same xD I liked ルビー more than the others. Beautiful falsettos.

A friend of mine who doesn't like Visual Kei loves Satsuki (RENTRER EN SOI). I once showed him Sincerely PV and he fell in love with Satsuki's voice. He told me he loves vocalists with femenine voices/feminine singing style.

I was hesitant but I already registered and downloaded the song. I like it, although I wish it was longer. Although the guitars are repetitive throughout the entire song I like them. Are their other songs also old school Visual Kei?

Has anybody been able to download スカーレット-581486956803- 's song from cdbaby? I just can't download it. u.u There a free button and when I click on it it opens another window, but it contains no free access to download the song for free...

Wow, that was a nice answer. I am very interested in homophones in japanese. Last time I checked, kousei had 17 meanings and sei had 14 meanings, that's insane!!! Thanks for the informative answer!

Most likely. It is not that I don't appreciate a more pop sounding song as long as it sounds good and inspired to me. Fuyu Tokyo is a good example of a more pop sounding song, I think. I don't know if it could be considered pop excatly, but certainly it doesn't sound like a typical Visual Kei song.

Yes, they do. It is just that those songs with a pop sound sound a bit uninspired. In my very personal opinion, I think all GRIEVA members a very talented, I especially love the bass. I can hear the bass in most songs and love the way he plays. I feel they need to push their talent a little further because they have what all it takes to be a leading band in the Visual Kei field, but those rather poppish songs do little justice to their musical potential. I don't want to sound so judgemental and would like to point out that it seems to be they won't sound so Dir en grey this time compared to their previews releases and I am glad about it. I love the guitar in Tsumi when the sample is about to end, it sounds crazy and I love insane melodies.

Most samples sound nice, however some of them seem even unnecesary... .黒ノ呪縛 for example, sounds very unispired and songs like this one is what every Visual Kei band should avoid composing. That pop sound is really annoying in my opinion. I loved the more Visual Kei sounding songs but I didn't like the popish ones.

I saw the picture and instantly thought "this must be a late 90's band" until I read the thread's name and realised it is a new band. 1st song = horrible 2nd song = better 3rd song = Visual Kei-sh Not interested in them anyway.

Shuuen sounds promising. Although the chorus sounds a bit pop and I would completely get rid of any poppish sound. Yes, I know, but I was wondering if they understand it when they first hear it while there's no kanji being used. Maybe I should opn a thread to ask about homophones in japanese and how people deal with them...

Waiting to listen to all that stuff. I wonder if the japanese with the overwhelming amount of homophones that compose the japanese language don't have problems to understand the meaning of some expressions such as 生ト死 as their maxi single is named. There must be a lot of meaningful sei and shi in japanese to choose from >.<

How good or how horrible lyrics can be I tend to think it is very subjective... In the meantime I envy those of you who are able to understand japanese lyrics by ear!

Thanks for the link. I tried to download the song, but I couldn't u.u Perhaps it is necessary to register in order to be able to download... From my faraway location, it seems to me that Visual Kei bands inspired by old school Visual Kei are slowly rising in number... Those of you who either live or regularly travel to Japan may know better.

I am addicted to the song. I want it!!!!!

This is what I like about old school Visual Kei that I don't find in todays bands. Insanity, speed changes, sinister guitar melodies, hypnotic bass and guitars, etc.

In a way I think Visual Kei could be consider a musical genre because many bands contributed to give Visual Kei a specific sound during the 90's mainly. Many have already pointed out this before. However, not all bands stick to that sound, not even the most representative bands of the style stick to it as if there is no other way out. Most Visual Kei bands experiment with different styles. This topic will be always a bit complex but nowaways many people don't care about genres. Genres are something of the past.

Well, kind of... One of my friends I met in 2007 is a die-hard fan of progressive rock and he used to speak against Visual Kei in those days. We used to share our music with each other. He had many prejudices against Visual Kei. However as time went by he started to like some songs, maybe not specific bands, but a considerable ammount of songs from Visual Kei bands. One of the songs he likes is Mezame No Toki ~Kakusei Sareta Mou Hitori No~ by La féerie (KEY PARTY band)

1: Don`t worry about others, is Visual Kei a genre, or a scene, or something else, to you? Hmm, kind of. Visual Kei is very diverse and the sound mostly depends on the bands' particular musical taste. However. I am not the only one who acknowledges Visual Kei achieved a distinctive sound in the mid 90's to early 2000's. Aliene Ma'riage is an example of it. I also give credit to bands like BAISER (early era mainly) for contribuiting to give shape to that sound. 2: Most of the time can you tell the genre, or if you will like a band based on their look? When it comes to old school Visual Kei, yes, that's kind of easy, but with today's bands it is a bit difficult.You know, many bands dress up dark but sound either poppish or nü-metal. 3: Do the looks matter to you? If the same band dressed in Jeans and T-shirts with short hair, would you be as interested? Looks matter to me but not more than the music. I like the dramatic performances many old school Visual Kei bands performed on stage. Today looks is more about looking cool and the dramatic performances have been brushed aside. I like to see theatre on stage and most VK today don't provide that to me. After all Visual Kei is about visual performances too, right? 4: Do you search for music by sub-genre, such as Nu-Metal, Alt. Rock, etc? I don't like Nü-metal or when song are heavily based on it. I specifically like the sound of old school Visual Kei. Although that doesn't mean I might not like some songs like Circus by GUILD. But the sound I am in love with is that of old school Visual Kei (ex: Aliene Ma'riage, Due'le quartz, BAISER, Lar~Mia, CANARY, etc). I like how songs used to change in rythm, style, speed, etc and old school Visual Kei provides that to me so I base my search for music on those aspects. 5: Do you get annoyed when others label your favorite music as genres which you don`t agree with? Yes I do, a lot. Bonus: If a band starts as Visual Kei, even if they change, are they Visual Kei 4 Lyfe? It depends on the change.

I think the problem is the fans who don't "force" bands to make better and more interesting music. Although in some cases, fans not supporting some bands could be a sign of it, so in that case it is the bands that have to understand the sign...

Mine a bit nostalgic. Noir fleurir - 美しく咲く黒い華 00. Toki no mukuro yori no prologue 01. Ferrique 03. Clock'work fairy 04. SABBAT 05. Shiseru hana (THE DEAD SEEDS) 06. Omocha no MIISHA 07.Gin'iro basha 08. STYLE 09. Tokei no mukogawa 10. Shiseru tsubomi 11. Shout of the Soul 12. Shiseru tsubomi 13. Yami no tougyuushi 14. Shiseru tane I wanted to add an intro to this Best Of to get the feeling you are entering Noir fleurir's world. I left Shiseru tane to the end because that song is like an anthem, one of their most known songs, plus you can do the coreography and finish listening to this Best Of with a smile^^ Olé!! (First 100 people to buy the album get a keyholder with a picture of the band on one side and their favourite Noir fleurir's member on the other side for free).