doombox

Let's take this from the beginning. If you did a simple japanese language search you'd discover most of these terms are actually used in some fashion. Maybe not as distinctly as foreign fanbase likes to think, but that doesn't make them useless. Maybe just slightly more narrowed than originally intended. In any subgenre in any country.... they are only "pure" in the beginning when they are very small. After they spread they are going to begin crossing over and taking influence from surrounding scenes that they meet along the way. The genres can't help but to cross-pollinate. I don't see how trying to distinguish visual kei genres is any more useless than trying to pigeon hole modern metal or punk or indie rock. They're all all over the place these days. Secondly, certain genres listed have to do with the region they came from, ex. Nagoya kei... a huge portion of the "nagoya kei" bands I listen to are "kurofuku kei" bands as well. Since the location has very little to do with the actual style. The thing is, nagoya kei became it's own thing when bands from that area became known for certain things like dark/heavy music, dark images, and intense live shows. And this doesn't mean any band from nagoya has to follow suit. coldrain for example isn't even a vk band but falls under nagoya kei. Per your example, Diaura then falls under the crossover genre of "koteosa". I don't understand what's hard to understand about crossover bands? They aren't exclusive to visual kei either, I mean metalcore as a genre was born from heavy metal and hardcore punk crossover. But Diaura can't have oshare and kote visuals? hmmm... Over-labeling of genres also isn't a problem exclusive to visual kei, either. I feel like you contradict yourself here. You admit that scenes exist where certain quirks define that scene, then you turn around and say it's all just rock or it's all just visual kei. That's the entire meaning behind a "subgenre" in the first place. Yes, it's all rock, but it can be further defined by certain things, and the argument comes from who defines it and why. People who come from different regions will always argue this. I fail to see how subgenres detract from the larger exploration of the heritage of visual kei as a whole? That's an entirely different discussion, tbh. Each one of your questions could warrent it's own thread but it's definitely off topic from what's being discussed here, which is simply which subgenres of vk people enjoy. Maybe some people are taking this poll far too seriously...

Sorry that I missed it today. It's the day my family decorates for the holidays so I had to make sure that all went smoothly.

Interesting. I've only heard pikopiko in reference to pop groups like Perfume. Or pikoreamo (piko+screamo) for the electro-core bands like Crossfaith. But now that you say that I see no reason why it couldn't include visual bands too.

I don't even have words anymore. This year needs to stop doing this to me.

Do you mean something like Denshi (electronic) kei, or shironuri (white face paint) kei? I've heard them called all of the above.

Basically anything that doesn't involve Oshare or a variation of it. Anything that relies that heavily on current fashion trends doesn't really have a soul musically for me. Also learned something from this poll as I never knew the term was "kurofuku kei", I always heard it simply as "kuro kei", but I suppose that was an abbreviated term possibly.

I definitely understand the attraction to an album that is more emotionally raw and visceral in nature as KnT. And it's easy to hear those emotions were very real, they weren't simply put on to make a point. KnT was probably the first album they recorded where the band wasn't about to break up every other day as most of MUCC's early days were volatile. As far as I remember from articles, some of the infighting still went on through Hoyoku, but much less and I think the band let those emotions come through in the songs. But I've yet to hear any band that can keep that kind of rawness for more than an album or two. And I agree with the prior comments, sometimes albums like that become hard to listen to because a person isn't always in that frame of mind. At least, I can't relate to something that specific all the time. Shion covered a vast amount of influences and styles. I think it's a lot stronger not only in composition but in each members growth of technique instrumentally. Miya wrote 90% of KnT, but Shion had imput from all the members, Satochi's compositions were the most surprising for me in the amount of ground he covered. I mean, without Satochi's additions the album would have been good but he really took it to the next level and made the album great, imo. (I actually feel he did this for Gokusai as well). Also Shion was the first time I remember the electronic elements having a real presence on an album which made it further stand alone from the rest of their discography at the time. Which I can't say that KnT did, as I think that album was doing all it could to hold footing with Zekuu. Don't get me wrong, numbers prove that it did hold its own, but I just don't feel like it's remembered as MUCC's best album, just the end of their first era which most people hold dear for nostalgia's sake. Normally I don't join in on these discussions because I don't want them to seem biased. I truly just want to know how people feel about these albums and which one they feel is stronger. But I've been following MUCC for most of their career and I couldn't help myself this time. lol.

What makes it so much better? Just out of curiosity. (Not here to argue/change your opinion, just have a genuine interest in the difference of the albums for you.)

I'm gonna try to make it, but I have to do some family stuff so if I do it'll probably be late.

Jamming that new TGS.

2014.12.03 Release!! [CD] PECF-3112 ￥2,037＋tax Tracklist: 01 ファイトクラブ 02 赤い春 03 画家と筆 04 スローウェイヴ 05 マーシャルアーツ 06 夕焼けは見たくなかった 07 キリコ・シンコペーション 08 初夏のピラニア 09 ナチュラル 10 対話 11 亀の速さで 12 エンドビールで乾杯

2014.12.03 Release! Tracklist: M1.PLATINUM M2.Paradise Lost M3.early summer rain M4.JUSTICE M5.Blaze up M6.Determination M7.Chronus M8.Heart break

They are adorable omg. I just wish they had a name that actually let their website come up in the search.

We're back with what I can gather are the two most popular albums MUCC have ever released, and both hold deep-rooted crowd favorites. As with previous debates, albums were chosen because they represent distinct eras in the band's history and cater to different types of fans. Which is your favorite? What songs have proved timeless or have they lost their shine over the years? Your challengers: 朽木の灯 vs 志恩 (Kuchiki no tou vs Shion) Which one will you pick?

I guess if D'espa could do it, why not them too. Though, D'espa is just on an indefinite hiatus, I think...? But close enough.

MTE I thought they were the Underneath, then lost a member and became defspiral ???

Dai bb~~~ <3 Super awesome poop.

First Tama, now kentty. Why? What the hell is going on lately?

Enjoying some K-Rock today.

This sounds fabulous as already. Need it.

Artist: MY FIRST STORY Album: 虚言NEUROSE Score: Blazing your own trail isn't all it's cracked up to be. It seems MY FIRST STORY have had a solid increase in popularity over the short amount of time they've been a band. In 2011 members of the piano-pop outfit fromus joined forces Hiroki Moriuchi and formed an alternative-rock powerhouse. 虚言NEUROSE (Kyogen NEUROSE) is their third full length album and shows a solid change in the band's direction taking shape. It's a nice that the first track "monologue" pays homage to the piano-centric compositions from the band's early days. Soon electronic elements creep in and the intro builds on itself until it blends seamlessly into the title track, "虚言NEUROSE". This song is a high energy crowd-pleaser with open power chords and more atmospheric synth. It breaks down into small haunting piano interludes that are the dynamic strength of the track. Sadly, the song ends up being forgettable and blends into about 10 other similar tunes in my memory if I try to recall anything specific about it afterwards. Further down the tracklist, "ROOM" has more personality in spades and the guitar riff has a quirky bounce to it that leaves it stuck in your brain. The song has a focused electricity to it that would make it perfect for anyone looking for driving music. And each part of it feels necessary to make the energy climb sky high. Even Hiroki's scream, while it's the same wild animalistic cry we got in "虚言NEUROSE" was called for and it didn't cut in like some abrupt interruption. "ROOM" felt more like MY FIRST STORY's version of what is popular right now, and not cloning someone else's version of it. The album holds a few solid tunes with hints of old school flair that die-hard fans should enjoy, "If I Am.." defines the 'classic' MY FIRST STORY sound while letting the drums take center stage, even riding the fine line of overpowering the vocals at points. The band should explore more of this sound. The simple, stripped down style suits them and shows off the side of them that people fell in love with on their self titled album. "Someday" picks up where "If I Am..." left off and returns to the band's signature style. Drums continue to be the driving force only this time they are armed with electronics and a more intricate vocal melody. The passionate feeling in the vocals steals the show and reveals that Hiroki does have an impressive vocal range. The band took some risks and it's always nice to hear an expansion of their sound. "CHiLD -error-" opens with a monster drum line and plays with some punk influences in skank beats and three chord progressions on guitar. Their experimentation pays off because they didn't over-complicate it. I braced myself for a train wreck but "CHiLD -error-" stays the coarse and ends up being one of my favorites on the album. On the other hand some songs fell flat and came far too close to ONE OK ROCK territory. I would consider this the most glaring flaw on 虚言NEUROSE. It's hard enough not to have comparison based on the Moriuchi brothers' similar voices, but in a perfect world that is where the comparisons would end. MY FIRST STORY is encroaching on a style ONE OK ROCK is already famous for. It's a bad move any way you slice it. The most disappointing of all were promotional tracks like "Black Rail" and "Fake" that were sent out to define this album and end up sounding like tired, cliché filler. This was exacerbated by bad tracklist placement. "Drive Me" and "Monochrome effector" came up short. While both had cool intros that stood out, the songs themselves didn't deliver and rested on the band's laurels with dull compositions. "Zero Gravity" is the summit of this album and harbors full-tilt screamed verses with fervent guitar-heavy aggression supporting it. The song has an unusual layering effect where the sung choruses have lower volume screams behind them that do not blend very well. It leaves me confused as to what direction they wanted to go or if it was simply a bad experiment. The song has another identity crisis soon after that and takes on an EDM(-ish) section that then tries to marry all three elements together and fails, leaving this album's climax rather anti-climactic. The band themselves are adept musicians. The changes in their writing style shows they have the ability to grow and evolve as necessary. They can play a multitude of styles well. Now, this bias may be defined by my musical taste from an American perspective, but a band having it's own musical identity is a big part of what makes them worth listening to. 虚言NEUROSE has a few songs that I would recommend, but mostly it's a letdown. There's far too much filler and the songs that give them their own identity play second fiddle to other songs that resemble what other bands, much too close to home, already do better. MY FIRST STORY are a relatively young band, and they have a lot of time left to find themselves. I hope this album ends up as an experimental addition to their catalog and not a transitional one. Continuing down this path will only place them in an already overcrowded cannibalistic market that lets the trends define them instead of creating those trends.