hiroki

Right. That's four bands. The visual kei scene is small, but not that small. The amount of bands that disband due to lack of money also say otherwise.

No. Japan has one of the most homogenous countries in the world with a complete and total culture of conformity. In fact the Japanese have a saying that reflects it: "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down". I am no expert on Japanese culture, but the writing on the wall is clear.

No, it's a rewording of the conformity paradox. Visual kei in and of itself is very conformist, which is ironic considering it is widely believed to have started as a movement for freedom of expression.

I don't think so.

Lost 10/20 Years

Actually, I would have expected someone to say that I've said much of nothing by not defining what visual kei is and instead indirectly defining what it is by it's constituents. I haven't pigeonholed visual kei at all because I refuse to define it.

I believe this might be right up your alley. One thing I have to make clear that's pretty much necessary is if you start watching and finish the first season, you have to watch the second season! it's imperative that you watch both because otherwise you'll be lost. the second season explains everything that happens in the first. Without it, it would be like watching a movie halfway through and then stopping. I would also recommend watching the first OVA series Rei. since it is also relevant. the rest can be ignored unless you want to be complete.

Royz is one of my favorite bands. (It switches off between Royz and vistlip because I can't make up my mind!)
 
I've seen people bring up those rumors before. Either way, it doesn't really matter to me. If it doesn't affect the music they produce, I don't care.
 
My first Royz song was AREA and I felt "odd" for listening to it on repeat for so long. Then eve:r and α came out and that was when I really got into them. After a couple years, JOKER is still a good song and one of my favorites. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. I've used witch in the HELL as a means to get 2 people into Jrock and it worked.  
 
I also agree with you about RISK_144000 being the best song off of LILIA. I don't know Japanese, but I read that the song has a lot of biblical references which makes it that much hotter to me. (assuming what I read was accurate)

Tribute to vistlip
 
1. Night Parade - ギルド
One of the most technical vistlip songs in terms of overall dynamic range. Sounds like something Ryuichi will be able to pull off with his fantastic execution, but Umi's harsh vocals might be a problem though.. XD
 
2. 影鬼 - 摩天楼オペラ
This song requires tremendous emotional depth to invoke the psychological condition of the schizophrenic "oni". Matenrou Opera gets my pick here.
 
3. 零 - baroque
There's quite literally no second choice to be had here. This song almost sounds like it's written and tailored for baroque, particularly Ryo's vocals.
 
4. OBLATE SCREEM - Plastic Tree
Surreal, dreamy, and atmospheric. Totally Pura.
 
5. STRAWBERRY BUTTERFLY - Dolly
Thematically speaking, there's no better band to do this song than Dolly. I can see them transporting us right into the fable-ish setting of how a young innocent child registers the world.
 
6. 深海魚の夢は所詮、 - ALSDEAD
Regardless of which band I pick to cover this it's always going to turn out significantly different from the original, but I'm very interested in how an ALSDEAD rendition will sound like.
 
7. SINDRA - girugamesh
In my dreams, I KNOW. One of vistlip's heavier songs, and I'll prob die from ecstasy even before Satoshi starts singing this. I also suspect that the electro backed instrumentals that giru loves so much will sound amazing if incorporated in this song.
 
8. CHIMERA - the LEM
Very difficult "run-on" song with hardly any break for the vocalist. Rikuto will be perfect here with how he transits between chest voice and his incredibly effortless falsettos.
 
9. July VIIth - SINCREA
I was very torn as to whether I should include this. On one hand, this is pretty much the iconic song of vistlip and the one that has most symbolic significance for them (7/7 being their anniversary) so it would be scandalous if it's missing from a tribute album. But precisely because of this I find it hard to imagine anyone else other than vistlip singing it XD Still, I'm confident SINCREA will do justice to this masterpiece

so sad.. i liked their first single ;_; hopefully they will return as a stronger unit.

Kaede is back but why he left Resist?? why..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jLSL5YcheI

Tribute to vistlip
 
1. Night Parade - ギルド
One of the most technical vistlip songs in terms of overall dynamic range. Sounds like something Ryuichi will be able to pull off with his fantastic execution, but Umi's harsh vocals might be a problem though.. XD
 
2. 影鬼 - 摩天楼オペラ
This song requires tremendous emotional depth to invoke the psychological condition of the schizophrenic "oni". Matenrou Opera gets my pick here.
 
3. 零 - baroque
There's quite literally no second choice to be had here. This song almost sounds like it's written and tailored for baroque, particularly Ryo's vocals.
 
4. OBLATE SCREEM - Plastic Tree
Surreal, dreamy, and atmospheric. Totally Pura.
 
5. STRAWBERRY BUTTERFLY - Dolly
Thematically speaking, there's no better band to do this song than Dolly. I can see them transporting us right into the fable-ish setting of how a young innocent child registers the world.
 
6. 深海魚の夢は所詮、 - ALSDEAD
Regardless of which band I pick to cover this it's always going to turn out significantly different from the original, but I'm very interested in how an ALSDEAD rendition will sound like.
 
7. SINDRA - girugamesh
In my dreams, I KNOW. One of vistlip's heavier songs, and I'll prob die from ecstasy even before Satoshi starts singing this. I also suspect that the electro backed instrumentals that giru loves so much will sound amazing if incorporated in this song.
 
8. CHIMERA - the LEM
Very difficult "run-on" song with hardly any break for the vocalist. Rikuto will be perfect here with how he transits between chest voice and his incredibly effortless falsettos.
 
9. July VIIth - SINCREA
I was very torn as to whether I should include this. On one hand, this is pretty much the iconic song of vistlip and the one that has most symbolic significance for them (7/7 being their anniversary) so it would be scandalous if it's missing from a tribute album. But precisely because of this I find it hard to imagine anyone else other than vistlip singing it XD Still, I'm confident SINCREA will do justice to this masterpiece

Let's not forget that before Icchi went all "oshare" / pop-rock, he was in ErecSia and Alphonstein.


So I guess it's not TOTALLY random.

I'm intrigued by this concept, so I hope they'll really embrace the 90s theme and deliver something unique!

I can't recognize Reno and I.V.
They change so much and they look angry(?)
Reno should start to show his leg again...

^ Pretty much this. This thread is about the conditional disbandments and reasons why bands might do it, not the purchase/download ratio of specific members and which VK bands sleep with underage girls. Please keep it civilized.

Well, I must respectfully disagree on a couple of points.
These "small bands" you've described comprise people who are passionate about music and taking it up as a hobby. I don't think it's fair to compare them to people whose very livelihood depends on music. Obviously, if someone simply wants to write music as a hobby, there's always youtube (or niconico in the Japanese context). On the other hand, I would say it's more than justifiable for someone who's in a band full-time to care about money. I mean, it's their job that's at stake: why would they not care? Whether they are good enough - and, in the case that they aren't, aware of that fact - is a separate issue.
You've also suggested that we ought to do things for the "right" reason, and I assume you're alluding to following one's passion/interest. What you've envisioned might be true in an ideal world, in which everyone does what he/she wants to do and any monetary concern is inconsequential. If this were actually the case in reality, no one around us would be working, and parents today won't be pressurizing their children into doing law or medicine over, say, philosophy. The very fact that these things happen all the time points to how we (consciously or otherwise) realize that even if we ought not prioritize money over everything else, money nevertheless remains the condition of the possibility of doing anything at all.
For this reason, I feel there aren't any "right" or "wrong" reasons to be in the scene. If we take this model of value judgment too seriously, I'm afraid an overwhelming majority of musicians with any sort of staying power are in it for the "wrong" reason. Clearly I'll be deeply relieved if I were to find that vistlip isn't making music "just for money"; still, the fact of the matter is that ultimately the band's success or failure is not going to be contingent on the reasons that have initially motivated someone to be in a band, or how moral these motivations might be, but how good/attractive (and lucky) the band is. If taking up a job (which is what these people are actually doing) for money is "wrong," I don't even know what's "right" anymore.
(And as a final aside, there's of course a great deal of stoicism to be in an indies vk band and making a loss everyday, which in most cases triggers a gush of pride in the outside observer looking in at these people. The hypocrisy, of course, is that the outsider probably won't want to be in the shoes of the very people he's mythologizing.)

I think the money aspect is overrated anyway. It's not like one sold-out live will suddenly make them rich or provide them with some constant livelihood. But if hardly anyone is interested in their music, then why not let them disband? That's the way things work. Bands disband all the time because they realize that no one gives a fuck. May as well be forthright about it and see how many people actually care. It's a blunt method, but I don't see a problem with it. Nobody is forced to support those bands after all.

Album art...
 
Type A:

 
Type B:

 
Regular edition:

I don't think it's dumb. Maybe they really don't have money to run the band and they have no other choice. If they don't get enough to people on their live, they won't be able to record anything, make more music? Small visual kei bands are usually broke, I think this is the reason why they do it and it seems very logical if I think about it this way. I don't know why else would they do that.
 
Also, on the events, bands who gathered the least fans pay for the club (a lot of money, unless the whole event is sponsored by another band, then they don't), so maybe they want to avoid that.

This was my work area from my last apartment. I'll take a new one soon as soon as I clean up :x

Wow this thread's so quiet.
 
Here are some pics of my room!
 

 
^ The back of my room. Books, books, and more books (I even had to shift 2 bookshelves into my bro's room >.<) flanked by some random posters...
 
 

 
^ Front of my room with my bed, working area, and a CD rack - my collection's too scattered and the rest are in a cupboard outside cuz my room's way too small...
 
 

agreed. though the label thing is a little iffy because the label might be the reason why they are getting so little money (too little to live on, etc and the label might own the rights to the band name)....
 
some other reasons
 
it's a really tough schedule. actually, it's a really tough scene in japan. music in japan is dominated by idol groups.  if we're talking visual kei, then it could also be because they don't want to do VK anymore (I know of a couple metal bands who have guys who used to do visual kei...). this can also be personal reasons for a member leaving the band, naturally.

a new theory which come to my head today... maybe they just want to "challange" themselves with the number 100 because maybe they don't even have the slightest idea how many fans they have... because from some research i think (not 100% sure though) that every *if not all* venues they played as of now only had space for like 40-max. 70 people and their oneman at takadanobaba area is deff the biggest concert hall they ever played in. so for me there's still hope they will reach 100 without any problem and will finally announce some new release ;D but anyways tomorrow finally is the day where we will hear about the final decision.

Wow this thread's so quiet.
 
Here are some pics of my room!
 

 
^ The back of my room. Books, books, and more books (I even had to shift 2 bookshelves into my bro's room >.<) flanked by some random posters...
 
 

 
^ Front of my room with my bed, working area, and a CD rack - my collection's too scattered and the rest are in a cupboard outside cuz my room's way too small...
 
 

Me trying to be professional and somehow ending up looking like a lawyer or something LOL

Here's mine.
 
 

Wow this thread's so quiet.
 
Here are some pics of my room!
 

 
^ The back of my room. Books, books, and more books (I even had to shift 2 bookshelves into my bro's room >.<) flanked by some random posters...
 
 

 
^ Front of my room with my bed, working area, and a CD rack - my collection's too scattered and the rest are in a cupboard outside cuz my room's way too small...