Velocantide

I honestly think Irokui pulled the Alice in Wonderland theme off better. Asagi is starting to get me creepy vibes by this point. :/ And I loved their older stuff.

I still remember them from their first V.A. single. I think it was Chocolate Biscuit Cream. Back in 2007-ish, I guess? I thought they were terrible. I didn't even like Necronomicon. But Hammerhead and PsychoxLetter won me over. They were a cool band. Kinda miss this diversity and craziness nowadays. Them not being around anymore is a bit regrettable, but hey - I think Yeti are cool, too! Just not as crazy and over the top - but they're cool.

Thanks for your suggestions, people. I know you're being defensive, and I am aware that watching a top-something-list is the worst thing to get back into the genre. I was just trying to vent a little. I already know some of the bands mentioned. LUNA SEA: I enjoy them very much. One of my faves has to be "Face to Face", it's so calming. X JAPAN: This is a no-brainer. I like them, but tbh, I prefer LUNA SEA, simply because I don't like Toshi's timbre that much. He is an amazing singer, but I can't listen to them that much. D'ERLANGER: Yeah, I know they're good, and they've come back a while ago. They're still good. Moop. KAMIJO: I've liked him in Lareine, but only in a few songs. He was also likable in Versailles. I only heard his first solo single, so I'll try to start there. Thanks. 凛 -the end of corruption world-: With the new lineup, I will still always think about how much Megaromania and - now - Lin - is going to be inferior to Metis Gretel. I liked Metamorphose. but that sounded like a gothic version of an old Muse song. I love Muse, but... Eh. 己龍 - I like Kiryu! They're edgy and don't hold back. I still love how they did a Tetris refence in "Another Side", back when they were starting out. They're consistently good. BUCK-TICK - D'uh. Yeah, of course they're good. But still, they had decades of experience. PENICILLIN: Same with BUCK-TICK. I already know them. But they're still no newsies. R指定: I really like them. Still. I've also known their previous bands, such as R-15 (which is still the same thing) and I believe... Catherine? I dunno anymore. But yeah, they've always been cool. I didn't listen to the other ones mentioned yet so far, so thanks for the suggestions! Still, what I was mainly talking about were new bands that are getting popular for nothing. Something like RoNo☆Cro. Heard their first song and though: Ew. Ew. Why. A lot of the bands mentioned have been in business for a while (and a good reason), but why does the new band's stuff put me off so much? I'm not trying to insult anyone, by the way. And I appreciate all your input. Please remember that this topic didn't spawn out of malicious intents, nor do I want to ridicule anybody for their taste, as each and everyone has different preferences. Yet, I still stand by saying that most newer stuff is getting more indistiguishable by the minute. You can prove me wrong, but using classics such as BUCK-TICK or X-JAPAN (or anything older than 5 years, with a reputation you could possibly write home about) is not gonna help much. These people are routined. Name me something new, that's actually worthwhile. Thanks!

I completely agree. The lack of interesting approaches is just causing burnouts to the genre, seeing that it shoudln't be tied to a genre in music (which it isn't, usually). But the repetition kills the excitement. Japan's labels are horrible, especially in terms of VK. One of my friends living in Japan met MUCC two years ago, and they were unhappy and lacked funds to sustain themselves. This is sad, and this needs to stop. It's sad to see them squeeze out creativity for the heck of it, while being exploited. No wonder critics don't enjoy their music anymore.

I was just listening through some VK top lists of 2015. This may not be very representative, but... UGH. Sorry, just in case I'm going to offend anybody here. I am not surprised that, despite their skills and dedication, half of that stuff sounds so fucking similar. Maybe because they're in the same key, using similar chord progressions. But I think to myself: Damn, VK has gotten stale as hell. The chorus is mostly just a nod to their other material. I don't even know how or why they produce B-sides on top of that. MEJIBRAY had two funny examples, just showing the chorus, and ugh. Same key, similar chord progression. This just shows me why I've gotten sick of VK. There might be a few exceptions, but they're what they are: Exceptions. Listening to 30 samples of different songs basically tells me: Hey, here we are. Lyrically, we use the same tropes over and over, just worded differently. The prettier you are, the better. There's like two notes that are different in our main melody than in our previous single. Wow. The rest of the song may sound different, but it all sounds so damn similar. It's not that it sounds bad, it's just getting indistinguishable. I used to be able to tell these bands apart, but now I simply can't. It's just like a big pile of mashed potatoes without taste, nor salt. That's BORING. Seriously, no wonder I've gotten away from it. Same formula everywhere. It's as if every single band is aiming to make their song usable for an anime intro or outro. IT ALL STARTS TO SOUND THE FUCKING SAME. I know it's close to impossible to innovate in a certain genre, but these bands aren't even trying. They're just using the same means to an end over and over and over and over. And people are still wondering why VK has lost so much popularity overseas? Well, you know, cool/pretty looks/makeup aren't everything. The music has to be recognisable. And whatever I heard just now is just something utterly and completely replaceable. They all need to step out of their comfort zone ASAP, or else they'll be deadweight over here in Europe. I keep hearing of new bands all the time, and out of 100, maybe 2 to 5 are interesting. That makes for a really awful statistic, peeps. It's horrible, and I'm starting to get ashamed about the fact that I used to like this. I suspect the main reason is the horrid music industry in Japan. But somebody has to counter it. I'm sure that some bands try, but they just fail to get recognition due to their innovation. But this scene needs just that in order to survive. Otherwise, it's pretty much dead - and only clings to hardcore fans buying their Type A, B, C, D, E, special edition singles for ridiculous prices. It just doesn't give me anything anymore. Does anybody feel the same? Can somebody name me artists that are exceptions to this rule? Please elaborate. Thank you kindly. TL;DR: Excusing myself upfront. Stating that VK is stale as fuck nowadays. Or maybe I didn't notice before, and now I do. Captain Obvious. Moved on. Asking for your thoughts.