Ikna

Deleted most of my “selfies” in this thread, because my face is trash. But well, here is something decent
 
 

High Quality Scans of their photoset which came with their recent album
 
 

High Quality Scans of their photoset which came with their recent album
 
 

High Quality Scans of their photoset which came with their recent album
 
 

High Quality Scans of their photoset which came with their recent album
 
 

High Quality Scans of their photoset which came with their recent album
 
 

I am probably the only person who likes their Shuuen album the most and dislikes their debut. Oni to Kage just sounded like a rehash of old Dir en grey songs. I can just listen to the originals, considering how similiar some songs are to each other. With Shuuen they at least attempted to do something of their own. And I personally loved it a lot, because it was a wonderful trip through nostalgic memory lane.
 
But I agree that this album didn't turn out the way as expected. After their last VA songs and the insomnia single I expected a lot, especially a heavy style change (to something more fresh and unique than their current standard sound). The VAs had also nice Madeth gray'll and Malice Mizer vibes. I wish they would have explored that further. I am glad though, that they kept experimenting more with guitar solos and melodies this time. But yeah, the same-y screams get bland and grating after a while. 
 
Also yeah, in the Blue is such a fine nice song with a wonderufl melodic 90s VK touch. A damn shame they cut it so short!

High Quality Scans of their photoset which came with their recent album
 
 

So VK bands have finally discovered witchhouse?

So VK bands have finally discovered witchhouse?

So VK bands have finally discovered witchhouse?

Als jemand, die die Augenbrauen anmalt: es ist eine Frage des Geschmacks. Ich persönlich hasse meine natürlichen Augenbrauen, weil sie in alle Richtungen wachsen (aber nur vorne bei der Nase. Richtung Ohren sind sie extrem dünn und fast nicht da). Also mache ich sie einfach weg oder zupfe sie so dünn, dass ich sie formen kann wie ich will. Es gibt meiner Meinung nach viel mehr Kontrolle über das Make-up und den gesamten Look. Wobei permanente Augenbrauen nix für mich sind, denn ich mag es, das ich jeden Tag was anderes machen kann.
 
Allerdings bin ich eine doofe Gruftie Tussi und bei mir geht nix ohne dramatisches Augen-make-up und Lippenstift. (was nicht heisst, dass ich permament nur geschminkt bin). Hätte ich bessere Haare, würde ich sie mir auch so wunderbar stylen wie die Waver/Goths der 80er. Für viele sieht so was grausig aus, aber ich mags. Schönheit liegt im Auge des Betrachters, dewegen rege ich mich persönlich auch nicht mehr darüber auf, wie sich andere stylen. Und sollen manche Frauen halt hundert Kilo Make-up tragen und sich wie Hühner bräunen; es ist deren Entscheidung und so lange sie niemanden damit schaden oder auf den Arsch gehen, kanns mir egal sein.
 
Und was ist schon „natürlich”? Ich glaube als Menschen, die im Jahre 2015 leben, sollten wir langsam aufhören dieses eh schon von jedem Kontext gerissene Wort überzustrapazieren. Inzwischen gibts ja keine Werbung mehr, die das Wort inflationär benutzt um nichtsahnenden  einzureden, ihr Pordukt sei besser als andere. Bitte, wir leben in Blockhäuser, rennen auf betonierten Böden herum und kaufen unser Fleisch fertig abgepackt im Supermarkt. Natürlich ist da schon lange gar nix mehr. Und dementsprechend kann ich das Wort in keinerlei Zusammenhang mehr hören, sei es Chemie (die prinzipiell natürlich ist, da alles Chemie ist. Wir bestehen ja nicht aus Vakuum), Sexualität oder Kleidungsstile. Und vor allem Essen (natürlich wärs einzig und allein dein Wild im Wald zu jagen und Beeren von Sträuchern zu sammeln. Selbst das Obst und Gemüse, dass wir anpflanzen ist extra gezüchtet worden und hat nichts mehr mit den ursprünglichen wilden Varianten gemein)
 
Sorry, aber das musste sein.
 
Zum Thema Männer und Mode/Aussehen: ich habs nie verstanden, warum da immer noch so viel Drama gemacht wird. Es gab mal eine Zeit, da wurden Frauen verpönt, gezüchtigt—ja, sogar in die Psychiatrie geschickt—weil sie „männliche” Kleidung trugen. Inzwischen macht sich keiner mehr in die Hose, wenn eine Frau eine Hose oder einen Anzug trägt. Selbst kurze Haare können auch die meisten schon beim weiblichen geschlecht verkraften. Aber wehe ein Mann trägt ein Kleid oder einen Rock—dann steht die Apokalypse bevor! So zu denken ist hypokritisch und entbehrt jeder Logik. Leider typisch menschlich.

some recent (and older) stuff
 

 

 

 

 

 

What in fucks sake is going on, who is the new lineup going to include, why did they leave AINS? Find Out, Next time on ,FUCKING TELL US THE NEW MEMBERS ALREADY z.

Ruellia's revival trainwreck

Blood on the Dancefloor, Brokencyde and Black Veil Brides. Basically all of the faux-screamo and scene kid shit. Their delusional fans too.

I am surprised no one has posted any Minimal Wave or retro Darkwave yet. Or maybe I am misunderstanding this "retrowave" thing and it's more like a revival of more mainstream or typical 80s synth pop and electro, than being a revival of actual (New) Wave?
 
Anyway, I think this artist might still fit here:
 


 
It def has the characteristic 80s wave sound. This has been a trend for a while and I mostly "blame" it on the hipsters having rediscovered old retro music.

Most visual kei vocalists are terrible. Apparently, that's also an unpopular opinion. I am aware of the fact, that not all visual kei singers are bad. But most really are. Especially in the indie vk sector you will find terrible vocalists who ruin the actually decent or good music. I am one of those people who like "crappy" old indie vk bands. Of course I also enjoy the "better" bands of the era, such as Luna Sea, Rouage, Laputa, Pierrot and Co. and I'd say that their vocalists are not terrible but still an aquired taste. What I like about visual rock the most are not directly the vocals (as they are often craptastic) or lyrics (as I can't understand them), but the music and overall concept and the overall atmosphere a band creates.
Though I admit that a lot bands actually get their interesting and unique sound because of their singers. I couldn't imagine Madeth gray'll being as awesome and dark as they are if Hisui would hit every note.
 
What puts me off of modern visual bands are the Metalcore influences. I have already mentioned this in the biggest crimes of japanese music thread, that I find it unbearable to listen to visual kei singers trying to growl when they have totally no clue how it's properly done. It fucking hurts to listen to and it does not make me wonder why visual kei singers suffer so often from problems with their voice or vocal chords. I know vocal training lessons are expensive and take time... but vk bands should really invest more into it if they don't want to risk their vocalits to damage their voice for ever.
Also I don't like the way most of these bands (including Mejibray) sing. I am more found of clear singing or the way old vk bands have screamed. So it's more personal taste than anything. But I agree that Tsusuku's voice isn't that well and he sounds like any other neo visual kei singer trying to growl or scream. Maybe I am not good at hearing, but for me D.I.D, Mejibray and Co. sound exactly the same (especially style-wise).

Hm... I have to disagree. Now I am not really a big Metal fan (despite I have been one of those silly mallgoth kids who listened to Dimmu Borgir and so on... but lost interest into it) and I am not very happy with the evolution of visual kei. My problem with neo visual these days aren't really that bands have drastically changed, but their sound doesn't attract me. Of course we could argue how many bands today really play Metal and I bet there aren't that much left. Most vk bands play just simply harder rock or Metalcore, but not straight Metal. Or their Metal compositions are pretty weak and technically bad compared to "real" Metal bands and that would also explain why most Metalheads avoid VK like the plague or see it as a kind of a joke.
So I'd rather blame Metalcore and that whole Badass Indie Rock fad (also Electro/Technorock...).
 
Isn't it pretty logical that Metal is as poseurish as VK when Visual kei was an offspring of the japanese (Hair) Metal scene? Despite all the post-punk and goth influences old school visual kei too had a big amount of Metal influences. Probably not as strong or obvious than the fathers of visual kei (X, Aion and friends) or modern visual bands, but it was there. You can't really explain all that "br00tal" guitar slamming and growling in faster old school songs with "that's the post-punk influence". Goth normally isn't that aggressive (except maybe deathrock, which also had some influence on 90s visual kei. But a deathrocker would turn your neck for comparing it with Metal).
 
And to the old school topic: I  sadly am one of your elitist Goth fuckers. Seriously, I enjoy New Wave and post-punk songs more than modern gawfick music and Metal. That already makes me ignorant towards new visual kei. Though I am not sure if we can really consider old school vk to be that full of gothic influences. There are definitely metal influences too and there have been groups like Velladonna and Vasalla, which I can't really put under the goth-wave tag. I guess our very perception about what old visual kei is, is distorted by our favour for labels like Matina or Soleil. But old visual kei was much more than those amateurish indie bands. There were so many bands who played a mix of all kinds of musical styles that once upon a time were really popular in both Great Britain, the US and Japan. Old school visual kei even had electronic or "industrial" bands (Dune xxx? Blame Honey?)
 
I still have the same opinion I had in the last threads i discussed this topic. I will always favour old school visual kei bands more, because they just have the sound i like and I am honest about my intolerance. And I pretty much entered the whole visual thing with groups like old Dir en grey, Malice Mizer, Moi dix Mois and Coll:Set era D'espairsRay. Visual kei has changed, I can understand that. Like I have said in another thread, visual kei was always doomed to adapt to current trends and transforming into something else in order to survive. The scene still has some pearls to offer in the big pile of shit (which isn't a mere neo visual problem, as the flood of terrible bands already started 1996 and probably before). There are some pearls even I like. But visual kei today has become something entirely different, musically and visually. And yeah, I also tend to look after great visuals. I don't do that in other genres (seriously... there aren't that many well dressed or beautiful people in most alternative genres, including post-punk) but I do that when I search for new vk bands. Why? Because it's called visual kei and therefore I can consider their looks to be an important part of the band. When I see agroup which has interesting looks I kinda start to wonder if they also sound good. Mostly, I am going to be disapoointed, but hey... I tried
 
The only thing that pisses me off as an old school lover is the fact, that the scene doesn't offer good kote kei bands. Most people nowadays just don't give a shit about the 90s bands and the possible target audience is little and small- which means that there will always be only a few bands playing this style. I can accept that, as there will only be as much groups as ther is demand for them. But unfortunately (or sadly?) all of these bands have potential but don't use it; instead they just copy and play the same shit we have heard 10 years ago over and over again. I really like Grieva and Ru:natic... but i just wish they could create something I have never heard.
 
I can't agree with the notion of darker bands getting more exposure though... Most "darker" visual kei bands today re just sounding heavier but that doesn't mean they are edgier and gloomier. They just play "heavier" music (I know the term is pretty subjective and debatable itself). And yeah, they may have angsty lyrics. But heavy/hard/Metal/brutal/whatever music + angsty lyrics don't make a band dark. Hell, I would even agree when someone says that 80% of all gothic rock music is, in fact, not dark. Now it is really hard to define what makes a band truly dark, gloomy or melancholic... I think that's truly subjective. But I personally don't perceive most visual kei groups today to be dark. Especially not when we are talking about groups like Gazette, Mejibray or Versailles (especially the last... they are not edgy just because they wear frilly clothes and like vampire stories).
And the scene has many, several, melancholic or "darker" bands who don't get that much recognition. Like, I am still surprised how a group like emmurée who make such awesome post-punky music don't have that many fans and are heavily underrated. I'd say the same for 9GOATS BLACKOUT (though I don't really dig their stuff), cocklobin, Dish an others. I could say this for most visual and visual kei leaning bands who are coming from the Nagoya kei or Angura kei "scene". Those bands are also the ones that convince me, that visual kei isn't completely dead and that the scene can still serve some great bands. But the fans just don't care about them that much.
 
And I don't think bands are imitating old Nagoya kei á la Kuroyume either. Most bands are rather fascinated with Kiyoharu's later works or Dir en grey after their Vulgar era.
And weren't we all complaining just a few years ago, that the scene was overfilled with colourful, one dimensional oshare kei and "nyappi, everything is cool and the world is great" bands? Guess that hate for either colourful or dark bands change every new year...
And I am afraid visual kei was always full of pop rock bands. They sure are pretty one dimensional and sound like any other pop band, but it's not like the problem of softie visual rock was new. In the 90s there were many poppish bands as well. I'd even go as far to say soft visual was it's direct ancestor. I think visual kei already changed into a mass phenomenom that became a part of the fashion industry when the "genre" reached it's highest peak of popularity between 1993 and 1996. That was the time when once oh so punky, rebellish bands dropped their big hair and new wave facemask and changed into bright, casual clothes, normal hair and less make up (see Kuroyume, Shazna, L'arc~en~ciel). It seems you just can't survive or exist as a visual band without either changig into a pop group, doing the same shit until eternity or disbanding.
 
(okay, i'm gonna stop now or i will write the next deep analysis of visual kei culture...)

his name is literally Jojo............

Blood on the Dancefloor, Brokencyde and Black Veil Brides. Basically all of the faux-screamo and scene kid shit. Their delusional fans too.

I don't find Mia's face appealing at all. To me he is a good example of plastic surgery gone wrong. His face looks so unnatural and stiff, in some photoshoots it often reaches the maximum of the uncanny valley 

I am actually still not entirely sure how kote kei is truly defined. Some use it only exclusively for the era of the mid 90s to early 00s. Others use it for the really early VK bands like Sleep My Dear, ROUAGE, etc as well. And some just tag every band with heavy make-up and complex costumes as such, regardless of musical influences and style. True though, that the late 90s, early 00s bands are far more popular and well known overseas. It's simply that most of the  foreign oldschool fans are probably those who have gotten into VK in the early to mid 00s. Back then the style early Dir en grey, Syndrome, Malice Mizer or old Gazette had a style, which was really well-loved and some even emulated it (I remember the fashion accidents of self-proclaimed “Visus”. They looked more like Hot topic shopping mallgoths, ugh)
 
I also got into VK thanks to Dir en grey and D'espairsRay. From there I discovered some earlier late 90s groups like Malice Mizer or Luna Sea. Only then I slowly went back in time to find and love Laputa, ROUAGE, old Kuroyume, etc. I tend to favour super edgy kvlt VK from the late 90s indies period, but most of the early 90s stuff, especially anything with a heavy post-punk influence, is up to my alley. The problem though is, that apart from a few bigger “must know” groups like X or Luna Sea, the majority of really old VK bands have been forgotten outside Japan. Hell, there are even enough foreign VK fans nowadays who have no clue who Malice Mizer are.
 
I am no VK history expert and I always welcome people to enlighten me with more information. But as I know the Visual kei label didn't really become wildly used until the first half of the 90s, but VK and proto-VK bands date back as far as the mid 80s. So a lot of what we nowadays refer to oldschool Visual kei was originally not seen or tagged as such. Are Zi-Kill a Visual kei group? Many would say yes, because of the way they look and their band connections (and the label they were signed to). Other would say no and state that albeit being influential on the VK moevement, they were just a Rock band. True though, that VK was booming mostly in the first half to mid 90s and not late 90s. If I remember correctly, fans declared Visual kei dead already around 1998.

Apparently many 90s VK bands were fans of Final Fantasy IV. I have found three songs whose melodies (or parts thereof) are based on FFIV OST songs.
 



 
First we have Luinspear's Veltair, which took inspiration from the Love Theme. (Jump to 04:28) 


 
La'chryma Christi's Forest sounds like the town theme (07:28). For me it was a bit hard to hear at first, but now I am sure the melodies are similiar (and someone else on youtube had the same impression)
 


 
And my last find is Rephit's squall, which sounds really similiar to the FFIV main theme (08:17), especially the intro.