Post your "UNPOPULAR" music opinions!

[platy 3018]

1 hour ago, ShTon said:

Agreed. Once you get used to his voice you really start to love it. Also I think he made some progress over the years.

He's definitely improved a lot since their first single. And in VK where a lot of singers either sound the same or can't sing at all I think kouki is like a hidden gem. 

[Komorebi 2193]

22 hours ago, Seimeisen said:

※ MIRROR is my favourite D'espairsRay album, fite me all of you

※ REDEEMER was their last good album [2]

※ I don't really care for MONSTERS, some of the tracks on that album are incredibly bad!

This.

 

Mirrors is my favorite D'espa release too. 

coll:set was good but I wouldn't say it's as incredible as people always say it is. 

I personally find most of their pre-coll:set releases really hard to get into. 

I really haven't given Redeemer and Monsters a proper listen so can't state an opinion on them. 

 

That's all I have/want to say.

[YuyoDrift 1540]

Aiolin's newest release only  proves that if they continue to emphasize the violin (which still pains me to hear for many reasons) the way they are, then each future release will continue to fall short of great.

Aiolin has very great potential, but they just have to adjust the violin, or get rid of it completely (which defeats the purpose ironically).

Night Howl is a perfect example of just how great these boys can improve with minor adjustments.

 

 

[Seimeisen 4406]

Not entirely sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I'm pretty sure it is:

I really like cali≠gari's 11, maybe more than 12. I still haven't heard 10, but I don't think I'll like it as much as 11.

[jaymee 405]

On 2017/8/5 at 10:10 PM, Disposable said:

D'espairsray is the most unjustly lauded band in the scene curiously with next to no detractors.

 

Started out as a fairly generic band of the times that made one decent EP before essentially making it a career playing vk's brand of linkin park for about four albums. They always looked terrible too, either ruining theoretically fine vk looks by mallgothing it too much or just giving up entirely and looking like l'arc en ciel jr later on. Their last album is the fucking pits.

 

and as a personal note, I've started to dislike hizumi's voice despite really being into it when I got into vk. 

 

edit: I decided to listen to in vain a little bit and it's... it's fine I think. For what it is. So it's not that they were obnoxiously horrible, but that they're regarded as potentially a top 10 vk band and coll:set a classic is absolutely ridiculous to me.

 

I refuse to take anyone seriously who thinks this is even passable 

 

 

A lot of people disliked D'espairsray when they first came out. It always amazes me how bands that were once considered shitty have become revered over time lol.

I remember going to my first or second live being like... jfc whose idea was it to invite them to this taiban? I walked out halfway through their set, as they were the last act (so obviously they were the main act but gd...) and I was like uhhh nope not feeling it. "Dope" isn't their worst song by far, though.

Edited August 17, 2017 by jaymee

[Bear 1817]

I still like D'epsairsRay. I think everything before Mirror is great, and about half of Mirror is amazing as well. The rest is boring as fuck. However, after Mirror they only have one song I like and that is Love is Dead, a long I disliked, loathed, hated and so fucking on to begin with. But in time it's grown on me a lot.

[emmny 4139]

On 8/17/2017 at 3:29 AM, jaymee said:

A lot of people disliked D'espairsray when they first came out. It always amazes me how bands that were once considered shitty have become revered over time lol.

I remember going to my first or second live being like... jfc whose idea was it to invite them to this taiban? I walked out halfway through their set, as they were the last act (so obviously they were the main act but gd...) and I was like uhhh nope not feeling it. "Dope" isn't their worst song by far, though.

okay but like what crowd was this? they've toured with bands in their early days who were really far off from their image at the time and what they eventually became so its not a surprise they've played taibans with hostile fans lol (isn't that the case with most taibans?)

their earlier songs aren't that different from what was out at the time, and thats probably why they managed to play with gullet, gazette, and the like; but correct me with what the actual fan opinion was because im totally curious!!

[shiroihana 182]

While talent / skill is imperative to at least some degree for a band to be objectively good, overall I find that passion is still more important.  In other words if a band's members have very little technical skill, they can more than make up for that by pouring their heart out and releasing otherwise sick tunes.  I feel this way as someone who listens to a lot of very indie visual kei. I can totally dig horrendous vocalists if the music resonates with me. I'm probably explaining this poorly.

Edited August 19, 2017 by shiroihana

[Tokage 5930]

On 8/17/2017 at 10:04 AM, Seimeisen said:

Not entirely sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I'm pretty sure it is:

I really like cali≠gari's 11, maybe more than 12. I still haven't heard 10, but I don't think I'll like it as much as 11.

as far as the post revival albums go for me, it's something like

 

# > 13 > 2 > 12 > 11 > Dokei, Suiren to Himawari > 10 > 1

 

11 is definitely quite underrated, but after listening to it repeatedly over the years I've come to really appreciate it. There's some really neat songs on there, even though they kinda swung too far into the Shuuji-esque realm with a lot of the tracks and it doesn't really sound like the same band that did Dai 6 and Dai 7(and also the whole jewelry commercial thing... wtf was up with that?). At first I absolutely loved 10 and ranked it over 11,but after my''OH SHIT THEY'RE BACK'' hype died down I realized it's honestly not a super exciting album. There's maybe 4 songs or so I keep coming back to these days, but that's about it for that one. Curious to know what you'll think about it after listening to it tho

 

1 is absolutely pointless though, I mean, I do like their more 'noise rock'-ish tunes a LOT, but these re-recorded versions didn't really do anything for me.

[jaymee 405]

On 2017/8/19 at 2:10 PM, emmny said:

okay but like what crowd was this? they've toured with bands in their early days who were really far off from their image at the time and what they eventually became so its not a surprise they've played taibans with hostile fans lol (isn't that the case with most taibans?)

their earlier songs aren't that different from what was out at the time, and thats probably why they managed to play with gullet, gazette, and the like; but correct me with what the actual fan opinion was because im totally curious!!

Ah, sorry, I meant D'espairsray got a lot of hate from overseas fans early in their career. It seems like over time that changed.

If they were headlining taibans, I guess it's safe to say they were well received by Japanese gya for the most part. It didn't seem like a lot of people left before/during their sets the few times I saw them. Even when people leave, you never know if that's because of last train times, they feel sick, have another conflicting event nearby, etc. Although I've yet to meet a gya whose honmei is/was D'espairsray I'm sure they exist lol I mean some gya out there had to like them that much for them to do that reunion event with Angelo, yeah?

I feel like a lot of Japanese fans won't openly display their dislike of a band, or if they do dislike the band or don't really know them, might just hang back or go out for a smoke or something. I wasn't hot on any Despairsray gossip either, tbh. None of the girls I went to lives with were really into them enough for the subject to come up.

Edited August 22, 2017 by jaymee

[WhirlingBlack 1043]

Based on the oneman tours D'espairsRay could do before their first disbandment, I think it's fairly safe to say they had a decently large fanbase in Japan.

Also, as for being the target of dislike overseas, I'm not sure if we were in different circles or what but I distinctly remember them being quite hyped from an early stage, just the fact that they were one of the earliest bands to come to Europe back in 2004 should be proof that they received popularity fairly early here, the shows sold very well too.

 

I think bangya circles are kind of misleading often as well, because most people have one or at most two bands they hardcore follow and don't usually care much for other bands, so you can often end up thinking that it's representative of the VK fanbase as a whole. Sort of like how overseas VK fans have no idea who GLAY is since they don't have any fans, but in Japan they're one of the biggest VK bands around. It becomes a closed group culture of sorts, just like there are bands that are/were hyped on here that had next to no following in Japan.

[jaymee 405]

36 minutes ago, WhirlingBlack said:

Based on the oneman tours D'espairsRay could do before their first disbandment, I think it's fairly safe to say they had a decently large fanbase in Japan.

Also, as for being the target of dislike overseas, I'm not sure if we were in different circles or what but I distinctly remember them being quite hyped from an early stage, just the fact that they were one of the earliest bands to come to Europe back in 2004 should be proof that they received popularity fairly early here, the shows sold very well too.

 

I think bangya circles are kind of misleading often as well, because most people have one or at most two bands they hardcore follow and don't usually care much for other bands, so you can often end up thinking that it's representative of the VK fanbase as a whole. Sort of like how overseas VK fans have no idea who GLAY is since they don't have any fans, but in Japan they're one of the biggest VK bands around. It becomes a closed group culture of sorts, just like there are bands that are/were hyped on here that had next to no following in Japan.

 

But like... at 2004 they had already been around for like 5 years, yeah? I remember when they first started out, there was a joke going around that nobody in the band could even play their instruments live. I'm not sure if this was started by Japanese gya and then this gossip got translated over, or it was just a bunch of foreign VK fans being petty.

From the early 2000s I feel like a good part of the overseas VK fanbase was on Livejournal or Batsu and there were a lot of active VK communities, so it wasn't hard to figure out what was popular with overseas fans at the time, and Despairsray didn't start out with a favorable reputation on either. No doubt that over time that completely changed. Also, during this time, GLAY was still really popular with overseas fans. Same with La'cryma Christi, Shazna, Rouage, etc. It really just feels like it's people who got into the scene from the mid-2000s on that don't know or listen to these bands. Because there was less general access to VK music back then compared to now, what was popular was whatever was being shared the most, and that tended to be whatever stuff overseas j-pop fans and gya in Japan were posting.

 

Of course, like you said, that means what was popular overseas was often completely different than what was actually popular in Japan. This still happens now to some extent, too. Japan-wise, by the mid-2000s Despairsray was steadily growing in popularity but they weren't huge in comparison to many other VK bands at that time.

In the past, overseas conventions would get at lot of nobody acts ( Duel Jewel especially comes to mind), and they would sell much better than they normally would in Japan just because people didn't care as long as they were Japanese. Ironically Duel Jewel eventually went on to become more popular in Japan (and less so overseas), and it seems like Despairsray also became much more popular (as in playing one mans at bigger live houses) in Japan.

 

[WhirlingBlack 1043]

About 4½ but yes, your point still stands, I actually didn't think they gained much overseas exposure until they started putting out their mini albums. I can only speak about the fandom from 2003 (when Batsu started out) and forward but since then at least D'espairsRay have been in fairly good standing. And it's true that the early fandom focused on different bands, but it wasn't until the VK boom that VK fans became a force to be reckoned with in terms of playing concerts and stuff, so I think the point about GLAY, Shazna etc. being of relatively tiny importance to the overseas fandom compared to how it was in Japan still stands. And probably the reverse for a lot of the no name bands that were riding on the VK popularity boom and saw their chance to come overseas and play to audiences of a size they had no business playing to.

 

To be fair though, I think the American and the European perspective is a bit different and I don't have a lot of knowledge on the early days of the fandom over there, so it could also be that I have a different perspective based on that.

[geist 227]

This might be unpopular; but I really really really really like the Pillows. Even their newer stuff, not just the old stuff I have some nostalgia for. They were the first band that got me into J-Rock (through FLCL, obv) and I've never really stopped listening to them since then.

 

Perhaps a big part of my love for them is because of nostalgia, because whenever I hear their music I get feelings of longing for days gone by.

[jiji94 78]

I like listening to the pillows too~. Now and then. Their music isn't really my style but sometimes in playlists their style matches other bands I like who were probably inspired by them.

 

Not sure what in the fucc people think of this band, but I'm a huuuge Shinsei Kamattechan fan. My Japanese friends haven't said anything (except "lol what") and my other friends when they hear any of this band's music are... really confused and scared. BUT I SERIOUSLY LOVE SHINSEI KAMATTECHAN. Like way too much. 

[TheZigzagoon 670]

I'm gonna put this out there because I know it's unpopular.

 

Up until around 2014, YOMI (NIGHTMARE, TAKE NO BREAK) was a really talented vocalist.

 

Seriously, listen to songs like Melody, Deus Ex Machina, Mahora, Wasurena Kusa live at Budokan 2009, his voice was amazing 

[ShTon 268]

I like Yomi's voice too. After 2014 it really sounds like he needs that break, but "Mahora" is one of my faves from Nightmare because of his singing.

[Mamo 1172]

Why in the fuck do people like DAMY? They're like the  version of DEZERT and the vocals are utter shit! Chilled sucks.

 

Edited December 10, 2017 by Mamo

[Komorebi 2193]

20 minutes ago, Mamo said:

Why in the fuck do people like DAMY? They're like the  version of DEZERT and the vocals are utter shit! Chilled sucks.

 

THANK YOU

[jaymee 405]

ViViD who? I'm perfectly alright believing this the only Vivid that has ever existed in VK.

 

 

[Hohchicano96 153]

12 minutes ago, jaymee said:

ViViD who? I'm perfectly alright believing this the only Vivid that has ever existed in VK.

 

 

 

Preach it, henny!

 

[blackdoll 907]

1. Sick²  took Aicle.'s spot. Sure Aicle was more wild while Sick²  is more High-brow.
2. They are low key the best active VK band 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2018 by blackdoll

[Reiko 75]

On 14/05/2017 at 10:09 AM, Disposable said:

I loathe the constipated vampire aristocrat gimmick so everyone from gackt to klaha to post-lareine kamijo  and their ilk I can't stand for one bit. Klaha especially was only gauged to do good stuff with Gardenia because of the song writing, for which I presume he was not responsible. His previous band is terrible bush league nu wave and they even ripped off Billie Jean for christ sake. 

 

 

That rip-off was definitely tongue-in-cheek though.

 

I like Pride of Mind. They have a couple great songs, but they aren't amazing. 
 

 

 

This is one of the best Vkei songs ever
 

 

[nullmoon 784]

On 17/08/2017 at 4:15 PM, Bear said:

I still like D'epsairsRay. I think everything before Mirror is great, and about half of Mirror is amazing as well. The rest is boring as fuck. However, after Mirror they only have one song I like and that is Love is Dead, a long I disliked, loathed, hated and so fucking on to begin with. But in time it's grown on me a lot.

You don't like anything from Redeemer? 

[Kira_Uchiha 92]

VK has become as stale as metalcore/deathcore, just a bunch of bands copying each other with sub-par vocalists and bland songwriting. Still found a few good bands thanks to some of your recommendations.

Well idk if this is an unpopular opinion now.

Edited February 20, 2018 by Kira_Uchiha