WhirlingBlack

As far as I understand it, in terms of the current style of bangya culture, is that it's not new but it certainly hasn't been going on forever. Visual Kei has gone through a lot of changes and while there's always been parts of the scene more affected by this than others, it's much more prevalent now than it was 15 years ago, according to people I've spoken to. Just like the commercialisation of the genre have reached new heights due to the safety of this economic system that have developed between the two. Talentless hacks would not have lasted like they do today.
Would be interesting to research deeper into the connections there.

My main issue with the visual kei scene isn't really represented in the options here, and it's something you generally get more in touch with once you get to Japan and get to experience the scene.
Firstly, the fact that a large majority of visual kei musicians more or less openly admits they don't have any artistic or personal integrity, they don't care what they produce and they don't care that their sound is exactly like every other band out there, because they know that as long as the members are pretty enough there WILL be fans, and they WILL pay you money for "company" and "favors" so that you can survive comfortably and keep rehashing the same song for a couple of years until you feel like calling it quits and do something more worthwhile with your life, or more likely, go into full time hosting business now that you have a decent circle of clients already.
 
This sort of leads me into my second issue and it's the bangya culture. It's generally really vile, and the way the girls not only talk about the musicians but also each other is quite disgusting. If the bangyas decide that a member has done something they do not approve of, that doesn't live up to their perfect ideals that they hold them all to (because god knows the fangirls don't live up to any of them) they can easily start enough shit to cause a band to break up or force a member out of the band. The issues doesn't end there though, because the few foreign bangya that exists generally adapt to this mentality and lifestyle too. They openly shun other foreigners who dare attend the lives of "their" band and ruin their "specialness", they participate in this completely daft saizen system where a designated person basically decides who gets what spot at a concert so everyone can enjoy playing ten year olds doing the "you're not allowed to play with us"-games... And the obviousness of what really drives people to be fans of these bands become so apparent when they get to this level, and it's certainly not the music.
 
To be honest, in a lot of ways I never realized how bad this was until I got there and could see it all for myself, and that's despite a 13 year stint in the scene by now.

My main issue with the visual kei scene isn't really represented in the options here, and it's something you generally get more in touch with once you get to Japan and get to experience the scene.
Firstly, the fact that a large majority of visual kei musicians more or less openly admits they don't have any artistic or personal integrity, they don't care what they produce and they don't care that their sound is exactly like every other band out there, because they know that as long as the members are pretty enough there WILL be fans, and they WILL pay you money for "company" and "favors" so that you can survive comfortably and keep rehashing the same song for a couple of years until you feel like calling it quits and do something more worthwhile with your life, or more likely, go into full time hosting business now that you have a decent circle of clients already.
 
This sort of leads me into my second issue and it's the bangya culture. It's generally really vile, and the way the girls not only talk about the musicians but also each other is quite disgusting. If the bangyas decide that a member has done something they do not approve of, that doesn't live up to their perfect ideals that they hold them all to (because god knows the fangirls don't live up to any of them) they can easily start enough shit to cause a band to break up or force a member out of the band. The issues doesn't end there though, because the few foreign bangya that exists generally adapt to this mentality and lifestyle too. They openly shun other foreigners who dare attend the lives of "their" band and ruin their "specialness", they participate in this completely daft saizen system where a designated person basically decides who gets what spot at a concert so everyone can enjoy playing ten year olds doing the "you're not allowed to play with us"-games... And the obviousness of what really drives people to be fans of these bands become so apparent when they get to this level, and it's certainly not the music.
 
To be honest, in a lot of ways I never realized how bad this was until I got there and could see it all for myself, and that's despite a 13 year stint in the scene by now.

My main issue with the visual kei scene isn't really represented in the options here, and it's something you generally get more in touch with once you get to Japan and get to experience the scene.
Firstly, the fact that a large majority of visual kei musicians more or less openly admits they don't have any artistic or personal integrity, they don't care what they produce and they don't care that their sound is exactly like every other band out there, because they know that as long as the members are pretty enough there WILL be fans, and they WILL pay you money for "company" and "favors" so that you can survive comfortably and keep rehashing the same song for a couple of years until you feel like calling it quits and do something more worthwhile with your life, or more likely, go into full time hosting business now that you have a decent circle of clients already.
 
This sort of leads me into my second issue and it's the bangya culture. It's generally really vile, and the way the girls not only talk about the musicians but also each other is quite disgusting. If the bangyas decide that a member has done something they do not approve of, that doesn't live up to their perfect ideals that they hold them all to (because god knows the fangirls don't live up to any of them) they can easily start enough shit to cause a band to break up or force a member out of the band. The issues doesn't end there though, because the few foreign bangya that exists generally adapt to this mentality and lifestyle too. They openly shun other foreigners who dare attend the lives of "their" band and ruin their "specialness", they participate in this completely daft saizen system where a designated person basically decides who gets what spot at a concert so everyone can enjoy playing ten year olds doing the "you're not allowed to play with us"-games... And the obviousness of what really drives people to be fans of these bands become so apparent when they get to this level, and it's certainly not the music.
 
To be honest, in a lot of ways I never realized how bad this was until I got there and could see it all for myself, and that's despite a 13 year stint in the scene by now.

My main issue with the visual kei scene isn't really represented in the options here, and it's something you generally get more in touch with once you get to Japan and get to experience the scene.
Firstly, the fact that a large majority of visual kei musicians more or less openly admits they don't have any artistic or personal integrity, they don't care what they produce and they don't care that their sound is exactly like every other band out there, because they know that as long as the members are pretty enough there WILL be fans, and they WILL pay you money for "company" and "favors" so that you can survive comfortably and keep rehashing the same song for a couple of years until you feel like calling it quits and do something more worthwhile with your life, or more likely, go into full time hosting business now that you have a decent circle of clients already.
 
This sort of leads me into my second issue and it's the bangya culture. It's generally really vile, and the way the girls not only talk about the musicians but also each other is quite disgusting. If the bangyas decide that a member has done something they do not approve of, that doesn't live up to their perfect ideals that they hold them all to (because god knows the fangirls don't live up to any of them) they can easily start enough shit to cause a band to break up or force a member out of the band. The issues doesn't end there though, because the few foreign bangya that exists generally adapt to this mentality and lifestyle too. They openly shun other foreigners who dare attend the lives of "their" band and ruin their "specialness", they participate in this completely daft saizen system where a designated person basically decides who gets what spot at a concert so everyone can enjoy playing ten year olds doing the "you're not allowed to play with us"-games... And the obviousness of what really drives people to be fans of these bands become so apparent when they get to this level, and it's certainly not the music.
 
To be honest, in a lot of ways I never realized how bad this was until I got there and could see it all for myself, and that's despite a 13 year stint in the scene by now.

My main issue with the visual kei scene isn't really represented in the options here, and it's something you generally get more in touch with once you get to Japan and get to experience the scene.
Firstly, the fact that a large majority of visual kei musicians more or less openly admits they don't have any artistic or personal integrity, they don't care what they produce and they don't care that their sound is exactly like every other band out there, because they know that as long as the members are pretty enough there WILL be fans, and they WILL pay you money for "company" and "favors" so that you can survive comfortably and keep rehashing the same song for a couple of years until you feel like calling it quits and do something more worthwhile with your life, or more likely, go into full time hosting business now that you have a decent circle of clients already.
 
This sort of leads me into my second issue and it's the bangya culture. It's generally really vile, and the way the girls not only talk about the musicians but also each other is quite disgusting. If the bangyas decide that a member has done something they do not approve of, that doesn't live up to their perfect ideals that they hold them all to (because god knows the fangirls don't live up to any of them) they can easily start enough shit to cause a band to break up or force a member out of the band. The issues doesn't end there though, because the few foreign bangya that exists generally adapt to this mentality and lifestyle too. They openly shun other foreigners who dare attend the lives of "their" band and ruin their "specialness", they participate in this completely daft saizen system where a designated person basically decides who gets what spot at a concert so everyone can enjoy playing ten year olds doing the "you're not allowed to play with us"-games... And the obviousness of what really drives people to be fans of these bands become so apparent when they get to this level, and it's certainly not the music.
 
To be honest, in a lot of ways I never realized how bad this was until I got there and could see it all for myself, and that's despite a 13 year stint in the scene by now.

Very glad to see that the staff appreciated the KEEL albums. I feel like the way Ito reviewed it sums it up very well, it does bring you back to the early 2000s when you were really excited about all things visual kei and good bands were plentiful. To feel that just for a bit again, after being jaded from many years of mediocre musicians alienating you from the things you used to like, is the greatest musical gift this year, to me.

Very glad to see that the staff appreciated the KEEL albums. I feel like the way Ito reviewed it sums it up very well, it does bring you back to the early 2000s when you were really excited about all things visual kei and good bands were plentiful. To feel that just for a bit again, after being jaded from many years of mediocre musicians alienating you from the things you used to like, is the greatest musical gift this year, to me.

Very glad to see that the staff appreciated the KEEL albums. I feel like the way Ito reviewed it sums it up very well, it does bring you back to the early 2000s when you were really excited about all things visual kei and good bands were plentiful. To feel that just for a bit again, after being jaded from many years of mediocre musicians alienating you from the things you used to like, is the greatest musical gift this year, to me.

Day 25: KEEL - R'lyeh

 

Release Date: 2015-10-07
Label: ROCK GUILD Inc.
Genre: shoegaze, indie, rock, nagoya kei roots
 
 
Impressions from @Ito:
 
 
Impressions from @Zeus:
 
 
Sample song:

 
Buy the album:
CDJapan | Google Play Store

Well, if you listen to a how a lot of visual kei sounds like today, it'd be pretty obvious some bands are trying to emulate (and failing to do so, mostly) more recent Dir material.

The reason why people call it shoegaze is because a lot of their songs are shoegaze influenced.
Track 3, 4, 6 and 7 definitely gives off very strong shoegaze vibes in a live setting, but the way its mixed on CD makes it seem like the person doing the job really wanted to place those elements in the background in an attempt to make it more "pop", at the shows those hazy reverbed guitars you can barely hear now were crushingly loud.
That being said, DECAYS is not a pure shoegaze band by any means, but saying that shoegaze is not a part of their core sound is not justified based on my impressions at their concert, at least.

The reason why people call it shoegaze is because a lot of their songs are shoegaze influenced.
Track 3, 4, 6 and 7 definitely gives off very strong shoegaze vibes in a live setting, but the way its mixed on CD makes it seem like the person doing the job really wanted to place those elements in the background in an attempt to make it more "pop", at the shows those hazy reverbed guitars you can barely hear now were crushingly loud.
That being said, DECAYS is not a pure shoegaze band by any means, but saying that shoegaze is not a part of their core sound is not justified based on my impressions at their concert, at least.

The reason why people call it shoegaze is because a lot of their songs are shoegaze influenced.
Track 3, 4, 6 and 7 definitely gives off very strong shoegaze vibes in a live setting, but the way its mixed on CD makes it seem like the person doing the job really wanted to place those elements in the background in an attempt to make it more "pop", at the shows those hazy reverbed guitars you can barely hear now were crushingly loud.
That being said, DECAYS is not a pure shoegaze band by any means, but saying that shoegaze is not a part of their core sound is not justified based on my impressions at their concert, at least.

The reason why people call it shoegaze is because a lot of their songs are shoegaze influenced.
Track 3, 4, 6 and 7 definitely gives off very strong shoegaze vibes in a live setting, but the way its mixed on CD makes it seem like the person doing the job really wanted to place those elements in the background in an attempt to make it more "pop", at the shows those hazy reverbed guitars you can barely hear now were crushingly loud.
That being said, DECAYS is not a pure shoegaze band by any means, but saying that shoegaze is not a part of their core sound is not justified based on my impressions at their concert, at least.

generally LUNA MATTINO "world tours" are just a live at ikebukuro chop, or  "NEO TOKYO IKEBUKURO CHOP DOME" as they jokingly refer to it as. Perhaps another live in Tokyo.
 
If I remember correctly the god and death stars "world tour" was Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka so by comparsion it was much more of a world tour.

generally LUNA MATTINO "world tours" are just a live at ikebukuro chop, or  "NEO TOKYO IKEBUKURO CHOP DOME" as they jokingly refer to it as. Perhaps another live in Tokyo.
 
If I remember correctly the god and death stars "world tour" was Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka so by comparsion it was much more of a world tour.

Är det här en välkomsttråd eller en privat konversation? lol

Är det här en välkomsttråd eller en privat konversation? lol

Är det här en välkomsttråd eller en privat konversation? lol

The important question remain, do type A, B or C come with the PV? I expect a making of DVD and a privilege signed photocard if I buy them all.

The important question remain, do type A, B or C come with the PV? I expect a making of DVD and a privilege signed photocard if I buy them all.

Proposed new topic of discussion, original vs. remake, would be interesting to see which versions people prefer.
 
For example, my list, the preferred version is bolded. Counting only studio remakes and not acoustic versions etc.
 

業 (1997) - 業 (2013)
Ash (1997 behind the mask ver.) - Ash (1997 kaede ver.) - Ash (2000)
秒「」深 (1997) - 秒「」深 (2002)
霧と繭 (1997) - 霧と繭 (2012)
Unknown...Despair...a Lost (1998) - Unknown.Despair.Lost (2013)
残-ZAN- (1999) - 残 (2009)
密と唾 (1999) - 密と唾 (2011)
Hydra (2000) - HYDRA -666- (2007)
羅刹国 (2000) - 羅刹国 (2011)
children (2000) - children (2002)
MACABRE -揚羽ノ羽ノ夢ハ蛹- (2000) - MACABRE (2013)
鴉-karasu- (2002) - 鴉 (2013)
Bottom of the death valley (2002) - Bottom of the death valley (2013)
undecided (2002) - undecided (2008)
OBSCURE (2003) - OBSCURE (2011)
かすみ (2003) - かすみ (2013)
THE FINAL (2004) - THE FINAL (2013)
CLEVER SLEAZOID (2005) - CLEVER SLEAZOID (2007)

 
Before compiling this list I thought I was more sceptical towards their remakes than I actually am, turns out that I prefer the remake in 9 cases out of 17. THE FINAL is a draw because I really don't care for either version anymore.

Proposed new topic of discussion, original vs. remake, would be interesting to see which versions people prefer.
 
For example, my list, the preferred version is bolded. Counting only studio remakes and not acoustic versions etc.
 

業 (1997) - 業 (2013)
Ash (1997 behind the mask ver.) - Ash (1997 kaede ver.) - Ash (2000)
秒「」深 (1997) - 秒「」深 (2002)
霧と繭 (1997) - 霧と繭 (2012)
Unknown...Despair...a Lost (1998) - Unknown.Despair.Lost (2013)
残-ZAN- (1999) - 残 (2009)
密と唾 (1999) - 密と唾 (2011)
Hydra (2000) - HYDRA -666- (2007)
羅刹国 (2000) - 羅刹国 (2011)
children (2000) - children (2002)
MACABRE -揚羽ノ羽ノ夢ハ蛹- (2000) - MACABRE (2013)
鴉-karasu- (2002) - 鴉 (2013)
Bottom of the death valley (2002) - Bottom of the death valley (2013)
undecided (2002) - undecided (2008)
OBSCURE (2003) - OBSCURE (2011)
かすみ (2003) - かすみ (2013)
THE FINAL (2004) - THE FINAL (2013)
CLEVER SLEAZOID (2005) - CLEVER SLEAZOID (2007)

 
Before compiling this list I thought I was more sceptical towards their remakes than I actually am, turns out that I prefer the remake in 9 cases out of 17. THE FINAL is a draw because I really don't care for either version anymore.

Proposed new topic of discussion, original vs. remake, would be interesting to see which versions people prefer.
 
For example, my list, the preferred version is bolded. Counting only studio remakes and not acoustic versions etc.
 

業 (1997) - 業 (2013)
Ash (1997 behind the mask ver.) - Ash (1997 kaede ver.) - Ash (2000)
秒「」深 (1997) - 秒「」深 (2002)
霧と繭 (1997) - 霧と繭 (2012)
Unknown...Despair...a Lost (1998) - Unknown.Despair.Lost (2013)
残-ZAN- (1999) - 残 (2009)
密と唾 (1999) - 密と唾 (2011)
Hydra (2000) - HYDRA -666- (2007)
羅刹国 (2000) - 羅刹国 (2011)
children (2000) - children (2002)
MACABRE -揚羽ノ羽ノ夢ハ蛹- (2000) - MACABRE (2013)
鴉-karasu- (2002) - 鴉 (2013)
Bottom of the death valley (2002) - Bottom of the death valley (2013)
undecided (2002) - undecided (2008)
OBSCURE (2003) - OBSCURE (2011)
かすみ (2003) - かすみ (2013)
THE FINAL (2004) - THE FINAL (2013)
CLEVER SLEAZOID (2005) - CLEVER SLEAZOID (2007)

 
Before compiling this list I thought I was more sceptical towards their remakes than I actually am, turns out that I prefer the remake in 9 cases out of 17. THE FINAL is a draw because I really don't care for either version anymore.