Brandon

I don't think it's a re-activated project, what i get is it's more likely old songs remastered (or not) + unreleased song(s) from that era.

I kinda think that Kisaki pushed that release 'cause the song was recorded 10 years ago already.
Don't think it's an "active" Project atm.

I could just make these playlists myself right now. Why would I need to own these at all?

Let's see

Hikari ni furu ame -> Laputa / Masquerade
Mikansei to guilt -> Laputa / Jakou
Nil Frontier -> BUCK-TICK / JUPITER
Pixy False -> Pierrot / Finale
Kami uta -> Malice Mizer / N.p.s N.g.s
Neo Ark -> Malice Mizer / Illuminati
Material Pain -> D'espairsRay / Murder Freaks
 
something else?
now mind you, stealing in VK is pretty common
i'm just sayin'

Let's see

Hikari ni furu ame -> Laputa / Masquerade
Mikansei to guilt -> Laputa / Jakou
Nil Frontier -> BUCK-TICK / JUPITER
Pixy False -> Pierrot / Finale
Kami uta -> Malice Mizer / N.p.s N.g.s
Neo Ark -> Malice Mizer / Illuminati
Material Pain -> D'espairsRay / Murder Freaks
 
something else?
now mind you, stealing in VK is pretty common
i'm just sayin'

I'm loving it, don't know why you guys have such a stick up your arses tbh.

they are husband and wife

p sure it's going to sound like absolute shit, but at least he's looking good again

this bang! track SUCKS
 
man, I've yet to se a decline so steep as meev's

basically this

them not being in drag really highlights how mediocre this sample is

Are there actually loaded people that crave for uninspired cosplay musicians? I'm curious about what kind of job they'll have.
 
Japanese culture of "supporting an artist" is fascinating. 

I'd say 10 people is a correct estimation 

"Kuloe has been found and should be back in the stage for the next live in Osaka"
 
sorry, I want to express my personal opinion.. (I can still understand with those who do not agree with me..) I'm not a hater even if I do not like their style
But only I think it's all staged just to make the band gain more visibility? that is, after a week of silence returns without leaving statements with just written "we found him and he perform with us in the next concert"
 
but come on, usually who disappears so is never found again.
 
PS: Of course I'm glad he's healthy, I like his look.
 
PS.S: Sorry for my bad English.
 

how can a person be considered missing in less than a day? 
 
maybe he just got crazy drunk the night before and its sleeping in a ditch somewhere. 

Visual Kei has nothing refreshing to offer anymore; at least to me.
Sure, today's bands play instruments better than older bands and vocalists singer better too, but there's no essence and charisma in Visual Kei anymore.
The times seem also to be over this kind of scene.

Imagine living overseas and thinking the scene is dead just because CD stores are closing in the digital era.

Incredibly boring.
 
It is typical Fixer instrumentals from their Starwave Records era (and boi, was it bad).
 
Basically, Fixer just changed the vocals and continued doing the same thing they did for the last two years. Except that Sui can't scream or growl.

inb4 all the deadman stans flock over here just to be disappointed 🤣

I tried to find the live house archives, wherein Levia and Laybial supposedly played.
I felt myself at the gate of victory, but... http://www5.big.or.jp/~gio/memories/index.html
All sites are under construction... Kisaki's hand reach everywhere.   

He was 16~17 years old.
These teen guys always try to copy their heroes.

Double-Edged Sword
I think it goes both ways. Most times I'll listen to something and if I like it I'll buy it. But sometimes, I might only download a few tracks I like from an artist and never buy anything of theirs.
 
Shouldn't previews be enough?
A lot of times bands will release a 30 second teaser or one-two songs for an upcoming release, but that's not enough to convince me to drop $20-40 on something I may or may not like. If I'm not a fan, chances are I wasn't gonna buy it anyways. 
 
Listening Platform
Streaming is becoming a prominent way people listen to music nowadays. I don't think there are many people who still mainly find new music through just physical purchases. Heck, many people I've talked with have stopped going digital music hunting for downloads. Convenience is key here. Why go through all this trouble when I can just find what I'm looking for on youtube right on my phone?
 
It's also not uncommon for some people to almost exclusively use a single platform like Google Play or Spotify. Labels can really help their bands gain more exposure through these streaming services simply because a lot of people this generation will never buy music in a physical format and use whatever method is faster and easier.
 
What seems to work?
I've seen plenty of "pay what you want" systems work quite successfully. One label I follow always puts their artist's music on as many digital platforms as they can for free (Youtube, Spotify, Bandcamp, etc.). They open it up to their consumers to donate how much they see fit. This is in addition to physical CDS and vinyl records they sell as well. I find this method appealing because it allows anyone to contribute regardless of their financial situation. Got only a dollar to spare? That's better than nothing. Leechers were just gonna leech anyways, and the collectors can spend more on physical releases if that's their thing. This also encourages people to just go to the source and download instead.
 
It feels a bit unfair to say the only way to support a band nowadays is by spending a minimum of $35 for a new album, especially when there do exist more ways for fans to show their support this day and age. And, you just know labels are in it just for money when they pull crap like "New Single [Type A-Z]".  And on that note, live limited releases are not doing anyone favors and only encourages piracy. Sure, it's a special little something for attendees but there are so many scalpers who use this opportunity to make money off the band. 300% markup is not cool.
 
Label Involvement
I think how a label takes care of their artists is crucial in driving sales. So many bands have been stifled by a label's involvement with rushed timelines, requirements to change creative direction, and not having an understanding of their audience. I can't tell you how many times I've gone from loving a band to abandoning them because of a label change. It's usually at this point I typically just download a band's music just to see if I'll like what they've put out instead of buying their music.

To begin, we must pleeease understand that the correlation of piracy = loss of a sale is FALSE. People pirating releases ARE NOT making musicians lose money, period. If people hadn't shared, I don't know, batsu game's latest release, I would NOT buy it. I would simply go on without listening to it, because I don't care enough for them to go out of my way to buy a physical copy of something that would cost me 3 USD if it was an itunes release (btw the single sucks). This is true to 95% of the vk listeners, and has been widely discussed in sample pools much larger than a niche japanese music scene, like videogames for example. People buy what they like, period. If you do not let them at least try, why the hell should they buy your music?
 
That being said, people vastly, VASTLY overestimates the importance of western fandom to the scene. We are not the main target, we are not their main income source, the music isn't made for us. We are a plus in the scene, and every single release a westerner fan buys, it's an EXTRA income for the band. They are not counting with our money, people gotta understand that most of the bands simply don't care if we are listening to them or not, as long as their onemans are filled with japanese girls doing dance steps at their songs. Very few bands have the desire for more international exposure, and if that's the case, they sure have to adapt to our ways, as we are not obliged to accept their 90's thinking in the age of streaming. IF japanese fans started pirating instead of buying, THEN we would have a problem.
 
Music is dogs eating dogs everywhere in the world, why would be different for japanese boys in make up? Bands that are actually good, or at least are able to gather interest in their music will flourish, no matter what. People fail to understand that the scene is small because of it's characteristics, because boys dressing like girls and shredding guitars is niche and most importantly, it's foundation is what holds it back. No ammount of western pirates will make or break a band, period.
 
fun fact, UNiTE. shared most of their discography on Spotify, I don't know if it is restricted in japan (which would be a smart thing to do). Yeah they are bigger than most vk acts around, but that does show they are not following the outdated tunneled vision most bands are, and see us as what we are. Extra income, if they get to book a concert here and there, fine! If not, fine aswell, their focus is where it should be, their growth in Japan, without closing their doors to us, the outsiders.

2,400 yen for basically one song and a lyric video? lmao