Your top 10 favorite visual kei bands?

[lstknt3b 168]

1.MALISEND
2.AvelCain
3.Luzmelt
4.D.I.D.
5.DEZERT
6.FIXER
7.Annabyss Coast
8.Lustknot.
9.DIMLIM
10.DAMY

 

This is hard to define an order, so i'm not sure about it (except for the first one♥)
For the 10th, i hesitated a lot between DAMY and LIV'ERT... Let's say DAMY, since they are active

[jaymee 405]

1. Psycho le Cemu (as if anyone had any doubts  )

2. MALICE MIZER, and Kozi's solo stuff

3. PIERROT

4. Janne Da Arc

5. Kuroyume

6. Dir en grey (up until around Vulgar)

7. Plastic Tree (up until around Cell)

8. Lareine (old school period before they first went on hiatus)

9. Laputa or Baiser (sorry can't pick one)

10. Deadman

 

1 and 2 are in order, and then 3 - 7 is a toss up, with 8 - 10 in no particular order. I don't follow Dir en grey, Plastic Tree, or Lareine/Kamijo now, but I never get sick of their older stuff.

[EzraEroguro 174]

probably something like...

 

01. Plastic Tree

02. Dir en grey

03. MUCC

04. Laputa

05. Kuroyume

06. IX -nine-

07. Nega

08. emmurée

09. Luna Sea (pre-Shine)

10. Ayabie

 

Judge me, y'all.

 

[Pikachu 199]

Actually...

 

01.Mediena/Virge
02.Noulla
03.Arlequin

04.Kiryu

05.Dali

06.UnsraW
07.Kizu
08.Mamireta
09.Kagerou
10.RubiK/TesЯoa 

[Milayou 36]

Mirage, Silver~Rose, Luna Sea, Crow/Kagrra, Raphael, Maschera, Missalina Rei, Birushana, Lakshana, JULæY

[Boots 5]

1. DIAURA - the one current VK band that has never let me down, ever.

2. GOTCHAROCKA - Some of the most catchy VK melodies I've ever heard. Shortcake is an earworm that I would be happy to have stay with me forever.

3. SCREW - they deserved so much better than the industry gave them. (One band that would have been far better off never crossing paths with PSC).

4. GazettE - the Holy Trilogy of NIL, Stacked Rubbish and DIM alone would get them this spot.

5-7 - the three BP Records bands, Kiryu, Royz and Codomo Dragon. Yes, they overflood the market with singles, but when they're on, they're ON, and each band has a unique charm. (Codomo Dragon, in particular, has put out some gems - Viper has one of the best openings ever).

8. Moran - only found them after they'd disbanded, wish to hell I'd found them during their heyday. Wonderfully deep, layered, sophisticated music - there isn't much other VK that can honestly be described as jazz-rock.

9. Alice Nine - if only because they were my first VK love and they earn a spot on my personal hall of fame with Rainbows and The Beautiful Name alone.

10. Lycaon - They were a rowdy, dirty sex band, but they were a damn GOOD rowdy, dirty sex band. (The more toned down Initial'L incarnation just isn't the same).

 

Honorable mentions include D=OUT, Mejibray, Fest Vainqueur, Morrigan, Jiluka, BORN, Kagrra and older Kra (I think a lot of people forget how damn GOOD they were from their launch until they lost their original guitarist).

Edited January 9, 2018 by Boots

[Triangle 345]

1. MUCC - because to me there was never a band that captured my heart in few days and then one year later I see myself buying tickets for the European tour XD. I've also learned MUCC did one of my favorite endings from Naruto when I started researching more. Their music is beautiful, I think I've annoyed a handful of friends to listen to them after I got into them XDD. Their slow jazz-like songs are everything to me, along with the hardcore ones and the electronic phase they had.

 

2. L'Arc~en~Ciel - their music was with me since Rurouni Kenshin and then Fullmetal Alchemist and "Link" was my go-to jam when I wanted to bawl my eyes out. Their music always calms me down or is nice to listen on road trips. Recently I can't stop listening to "Sell my soul".  And "Caress of Venus" makes me emotional. Hyde's voice and Ken's godly guitar skills are truly playing with my heartstrings and I'm here for this ripping my heart away party. 

 

3. SID - who will always make me think of Kuroshitsuji when I listen to the songs they did as openings. Their songs have this gothy-black suits-in a bar-drinking-while jazz music is playing in the back and then bam some rock elements on the side and ballads sang by Mao's sweet voice that blend so well with the slow flow and some guitar magic there vibe. Love it. I love "Kill Time" from their new album so much <3.

 

4. BAROQUE - who are my all-time guilty pleasure. I got introduced to their music in Japan last year, so that means I listened to new songs first. And at first I thought that's how they roll and didn't mind. But then I went to one...two of their oneman gigs and my ears were crying of happiness (if that makes sense anymore) when I heard their oldies but goldies era songs. Damn they are good. I couldn't stop listening to them and I was literally upset a concert lasted only 2 hours. I could've stayed there the whole day. Kei's solos live were something I looked forward to hearing every time.

 

5. BUCK-TICK - have grown in my heart for quite a while now. I fell in love with their music when I watched their BUCK-TICK Parade in 2012 where MUCC covered "Jupiter". I wanted to hear more of their songs and I'm currently still searching for more good songs, so if one of the veteran fans here can hook me up with some jams I'll be truly thankful.  So far everything I listened to I absolutely love. I love this gothic, punk-rock with some electronic vibes (kudos to Imai-san for making me want to listen to his solos the whole day). They also have these nice slow jams that I enjoy blasting on a nice evening.

 

6. AKi - I love this solo project he has been doing for a while and I went to their oneman gig once and had so much fun. His songs are catchy and they're nice to dance on and also most of them are in English, which makes me kind of happy that he is doing fun things I guess. His latest song, "My Story" is my road trip jam. And I must admit I'm a sucker for AKi's husky singing voice. His bass solos make me happy.

 

7. LM.C - because sometimes I love blasting up some nice pop punk and electronic rock. They are also a band I got to listen more during my year in Japan. I briefly knew about them before but never looked them up. What a big mistake because I missed on so many nice songs. I love their colorful theme that they have both in their stage clothes and music (I low-key want a hair like Maya's hair, especially the new hairstyle he's sporting nowadays XD). At first I thought they looked weird enough for me to give the a chance and boy was I right. Out of all the songs they have, the one that got stuck in my head at first (and put me in this mess) was that sinful "Rock the LM.C" song XD. Goddammit that song is too catchy. Maya's rap made me smile though. But then "Double Dragon" was all-kill for my heart. I got hooked up after this song and I can't escape, but don't help XD.

 

8. Golden Bomber - gurl I can't even explain myself how much I got deep in the rabbit hole when I heard of them. I heard of them from a friend before going to Japan and liked their music and their fun performances and unique concept, but when I got in Japan they were literally everywhere. Like, I took one step and Arashi and Golden Bomber were on adds next to each other or at supermarkets. The first thing I bought in Japan was a gum packet with Golden Bomber on it XD. But, Sho's vocals are mad skills. Like proper nice and beautiful, especially the cover he did for MUCC's "Brilliant World" (made me cry for 3 weeks). I saw them once on Halloween Party and seeing them live was so much more amazing.

 

9. Girugamesh - I was soft for them since ancient times because my knowledge for vkey came from a lot of anime conventions I used to go to, and you could always hear one of their songs playing. And then I listened to more songs and really liked them. My ultimate song is "Zecchou Bang" because the lyrics made me soft and cry for hours when I looked them up. Their songs would always give me energy and I love listening to them especially when I clean my room. Their nu metal and metalcore vibes are my shit when I want something to make me head bang and jump for hours. I can talk years about their cover for MUCC's "Samidare" though and how I'm still crying at it. I also follow Ryo's youtube almost religiously and am looking up for more cover songs /quietly sobs/.

 

10. Lynch. - because I very recently (like few months ago) got into them and I have yet to listen to a lot of songs from them. But they are a guilty pleasure metal core that I like listening to. They are the first band that made me hop back into the metal core limo from time to time. And for some reason Hazuki's growl works for me well. I also once tried looking up the lyrics for "Creature" and got too embarrassed after I realized what lyrics were in it eheheh XD. But my guilty pleasure song from them will forever be "Sorrow". I love this rock ballad with romantic lyrics (and can we please appreciate that bass omgunfjdks XD).

 

Edited January 15, 2018 by Triangle

[robkun 4184]

Hmm... I thought I already added mine, but I guess I didn’t. Alrighty, here’s mine... in no order, of course.

 

 

Top 10 (Indies)

- CHILD <3

- Rebirth

- E-QAL

- Develop=Frame

- Dog in the PWO

- Eins:Vier

- CRY<<MU>>

- Video Rodeo

- WAIL

- Shocking Lemon

 

Top 10 (Major)

- Luna Sea

- Malice Mizer

- hide

- Sharan Q (シャ乱Q)

- SOPHIA

- L’arc-en-Ciel

- Glay

- La’cryma Christi

- Dir en Grey

- e.mu

Edited January 15, 2018 by robkun

[thegirlavoidingmariacross 10]

Some of these are early jrock/metal bands so idk if they're qualify as VK or not but~

 

Top 10 All-Time

(in no particular order)

 

Sleep My Dear - I feel like they were kind of underrated? :v MIRAGE and MOVE  were such good albums.

Kaya - <3

BUCK-TICK - I'm pretty sure 90% of their discography is a combo of smut & despair but oh well, the music is excellent.

LUNA SEA - I like all the eras tbh

DEAD END - SERAFINNNAAAAAA

Seikima II - ARCADDIIIAAAAAAA

Art Cube - why aren't they still a thing.

SEX ANDROID - <333

ROUAGE - MIND is still one of my top favorite albums of all time.

the GazettE - they were my first VK band, so I still have a lot of fondness for 'em. ;v

 

 

Top 10 Current

yumeleep  -  I like them a lot? I was disappointed when melvel split, so I'm hoping this regroup works out (it probably won't).

LIPHLICH  - dark cabaret gives me life.

Golden Bomber  - I mean, my sig speaks for itself.

lack.co  - get past the debut and they're actually decent as an indie group.

UNDER FOREST  - Yousei Teikoku vibes.

crows  - oldie but goodie. 2008 era with a slim discography.

MASCHERA - my friendo introduced me to this and I've been addicted ever since.

Janne Da Arc  - do I have to explain this one.

…。【silence】  - I think this is actually more of an indie/experimental group, but :^)

ramiel  - nice vibes all around, and I love the video set-ups.

 

 

[yurameki24 99]

1.Metempsychosis (First place)

2.Metem

3.MANDRAGORA

4.魅裟

5.Phobia

6.Golbeza

7.It

8.Nerv Rituell

9.サディスマリィ

10.Dir en grey

 

[mikazukichan 16]

So... this list is based on me not listening to anything new in the VK world for the last.... at least 5 years, up until about a month ago XD While there are some other bands that are inching into the top 10, I haven't heard enough by any of them yet to secure their spots. So, here is my very old top 10 XD

 

1. Kagrra, - by far and away. There will likely never be another band that takes this spot (I include Shiki Project here because it was so sadly short-lived v.v)

2. D

3. Girugamesh

4. D'espairs Ray

5. Tsukasa Mogamigawa

6. Miyavi (2006 and before, specifically. Can't speak to anything post 2010 as I haven't listened to him much since then)

7. Dir en Grey (up til about 2010? Again, haven't listened to much that's come out after then, so couldn't really say lol)

8. Phantasmagoria

9. Due'le Quartz

10. Sugar

Bonus: The very brief VK phase of the Korean band The Trax (still sad that half the band left and the other half went full-on kpop)

[kiixx 29]

From the beginning till now my list

 

1. Gazette

2.Sadie

3.Girugamesh

4.Ayabie

5.Nocturnal bloodlust

6Jiluka

7.Fixer

8.Mejibray

9.Diaura

10.Alice nine

 

[JimHarper 28]

I listed mine in my introduction but here they are again

 

Buck-Tick

Dead End (incl. Creature Creature)

D'erlanger

D'espairsRay

The Gazette

Girugamesh

LM.C

MUCC

Vamps

X-Japan (incl. hide solo and Zilch).

 

Other firm favourites include Chu Ishikawa, Soft Ballet, Schwein, Schaft, Suilen, Der Zibet, Gackt, Granrodeo, The Sad Mile.

[Haru Kasu 43]

1 - Mercuro

2 - Jigokue

3 - Deshabillz

4 - Guruguru Eigakan

5 - Ruellia

6 - Madeth Gray'll

7 - Missalina Rei

8 - DEViL KiTTY

9 - Lanus Dune

10 - Merry Go Round

Edited October 9, 2018 by Haru Kasu

[Miku70 214]

1. An Cafe 

2. A9 (Alice Nine)

3. Codomo Dragon

4.Zonbi

5.Kiryu

6.Golden Bomber

7.Zero[Hz]

8. The GazettE

9. Mamireta

10. Mikansei Alice

Edited February 24, 2020 by Miku70

[monkeybanana4 1732]

Top ten favorite bands? That's super hard! I like and listen to lots of bands. After some hard contemplation, here is my list of my top ten visual kei bands. (In no particular order. I think.) 

 

• Kagrra, - This band will be irreplaceable to me. They created beautiful, harmonizing sounds by being able to play rock music and blend it with the koto. The music they played never sounded forceful or awkward. It also spoke to the wider themes of Japanese culture and truly emanated those kinds of transient yet beautiful sounds. Also, much of the lyrics were either philosophical or referenced to nature - something I really appreciated and adored.  It wasn't always just a straight up "I love you" or "I'm super sad" song. Also, they embraced that Japanese theme with not only the music, but also with their costumes and names (of the songs). Knowing that this band will never come back for obvious reasons makes me somewhat depressed. They are other bands like Kiryu or Wagakki Band who use traditional Japanese instruments and wear traditional Japanese costumes, but it doesn't feel the same to me. Something about Kagrra, was simply magical. (I could be giving Kagrra, way too much credit here, lol.)
• SCREW - They were that band people either really hated or really liked. Ironically, I didn't even pay attention to them until their Duality album. Afterward, I became a huge fan of them. Some fans argued about the change in bassists. No doubt the band's style changed, but I still enjoyed the content they put out. My favorite albums has to be Fusion of Core and X-Rays. Plus, they were super hilarious and entertaining to see live. I was so sad when they disbanded. But I suppose all good things must come to an end.
• Vidoll - They may have not been the most spectacular or the best band ever, but I did like the music they created. Also, I enjoyed Jui's  nice voice. In particular, I loved their jazzy songs. It was such a shame that they disbanded. I would have loved to see them play live.
• Sadie - They get lots of flak for sounding like DEG (not completely unwarranted - although, doesn't almost every VK band sound like DEG at some point?). Nonetheless, I still enjoyed their music even right before they took a hiatus. I like listening to Mao's deep voice accompanied by the music.
• DIMLIM - I've only recently found out about this band, but I am digging the content they've released so far. The singer also has a great voice that can growl and sing wonderfully. I'm looking to forward to seeing how the band will grow and what kind of music they'll create in the future.
• Diaura - Thanks to a friend, I was introduced to this band, and I have loved their music ever since. They've changed members since they first started, but I'm never disappointed by the music they create. (Although, what's going on with them now? It's kind of confusing since they created another band with the same name and members, but it's now stopping? Oh, visual kei.)
• Versailles - Their costumes, which are reminiscent of traditional European styled clothes, and music grabbed my attention. My favorite albums have to be Noble and Jubilee. Kamijo has such a sexy, alluring voice and I appreciated how they focused on the instrumentals, too. Some bands, it'll usually only be one person who plays all of the solos, but in Versailles, every instrument got their little bit of solo in the songs. (At least, that's what I remember from my skewed memories.)
• D'espairRays - Unfortunately, I only discovered them way after they disbanded. It makes me wonder why I didn't listen to them before. Hizumi has such an incredible voice and the band plays a unique, dark, and depressing rock sound that I have not heard another band play. It's quite unfortunate as to what happened to the band before they disbanded. They really had something truly amazing.
• vistlip - Not only are they a funny band, but they also can create both dark, heavy music and light, happy music. Also, Tomo (the singer) has a nice range for his voice. It's soothing to listen to. I also enjoy Umi's rapping parts, lol. Their lives are also lots of fun.
• Alice Nine/A9 - I was first introduced to visual kei through bands like Nightmare, Kagerou, and merry. But Alice Nine was the first band I religiously followed. They were the first band in which I bought a poster of and laminated it to specifically hang it on my wall, lol. Despite how they've changed their name and style as a band, they'll always hold a special place.

I would have also added Shoujo Lolita23Q, Megaromania, Moran, Mejibray, Monolith, and the Gazette. But I could only have the 'top' ten in this list, so unfortunately I couldn't add them ;w; 

[colorful人生 2777]

On 7/25/2014 at 4:41 PM, colorfuljinsei said:

...

 

Making some adjustments:

1. xTRiPx
2. Janne Da Arc/Acid Black Cherry (latter is technically not vk, but who cares)
3. ダウナー tied w/ Clavier～クラビア～
4. ネオン/the LEM/RIKUTO.inck
5. ロストワールド/ドレミ・ファ
6. キャンセル/ユナイト
7. NEXX tied w/ パノラマ虚構ゼノン
8. Neverland tied w/ Anli Pollicino
9. vistlip tied w/ SINCREA/FEST VAINQUEUR 
10. MoNoLith tied w/ ViViD
11. Anfinit/i.Rias
12. Ray°C / オトイロハ /−真天地開闢集団−ジグザグ

 

Rising Favorites:

HAKLO

POIDOL

LEZARD

AIOLIN

 

Falling Favorites:

アンフィル

Blu-Billion

Airish

Smileberry

Royz

the Raid.

 

These lists are really hard ;_;.

 

Edited October 9, 2018 by colorfuljinsei

[Egnirys cimredopyh 54]

1. Malice Mizer

2. Dir en Grey

3. Sukekiyo 

4. Mucc

5. Luna Sea

6. La’cryma Christi

7. Versailles

8. Lareine

9. Buck-Tick

10. Rentrer en Soi

[Paraph 826]

In no particular order except for maybe MALICE MIZER.

MALICE MIZER
Vidoll (especially their early eroguro era with Ayano)
VELVET EDEN
LAREINE
Sugar
deadman
Dir en grey
D'espairsRay
BAISER
Kagrra,

(notable mentions: SCISSOR, D, BUCK-TICK, the GazettE)
 

Edited October 10, 2018 by Paraph

[shijzs 6]

In no particular order either except 1st

 

1. Rentrer en Soi (always and forever)

2. MALICE MIZER

3. Jinkaku Radio

4. Luna Sea 

5. Dir en grey

6. Versailles (obviously LAREINE and New Sodmy too)

7. Nega 

8. Nookicky / SHILFEE

9. munimuni

10. Syndrome

 

(but also the famed triumvirate D'espairsRay, 12012 and kagerou + cali gari, emmurée, deadman, l'eprica, art cube,  amber gris, schwarz stein and kaya, phantasmagoria / lin, JILS / kain, GHOST, Billy, Baiser, Kuroyume and lots of 90's vk too...)

 

I'm kinda suprised I haven't seen jinkaku radio more, show Yuuki and Naoki some luv! 

 

I had stopped listening to vk and j-rock for a long time, just discovered sukekiyo and I'm loving ADORATIO a lot so they might steal another band's spot at some point...

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2018 by shijzs

[Doesn'tEvenGoHere 121]

1. Nightmare  (Through the good and the bad).

2. Jakigan Meister  (bless Sakito for giving us this project honestly).

3. Penicillin/ anything that Hakuei does  (I'm in the 1% of people who like his singing).

4. Mamireta  (They remind me of like old gazette and kagerou combined somehow).

5. The Gazette  (up until fadeless which was their last good release, imo).

6. Kuroyume  (And Kiyoharu's solo stuff. SADS is hit or miss for me).

7. Miztavla  (And I'm going to be an sob and put Velbet here since it's like I'm basically following Riuki).

8. Razor  ( And BORN. see above, but with Ryoga).

9. Golden Bomber  ( Their cheerful/goofy music just makes me smile. And it's pretty catchy).

10. The Thirteenth (Whom I actually like more than Sadie. Even though they were good too).

[Velle 5]

Apparently my favourites are 'rather basic' but I won't lie that these are my favourites. 

 

10) SUG (one of the first bands I got into)

9) Dog inthe PWO (they're not really my thing but they genuinely cheer me up)

8 ) Deluhi

7) Mejibray

6) Alice Nine

5) Screw 

4) The Gazette (first album VK album I bought was theirs)

3) Nightmare

2) Dir en grey

1) Gremlins

[sleepy coffee 1476]

1. Dir en grey

2. Dimlim

3. Kizu

4. Razor

5. Munou na lucid

6. Mamireta

7. Dadaroma

8. Rshitei

9. The Gazette 

10. Tossup between a bunch of disbanded groups like awoi, mejibray, deathgaze 

[Enki 137]

No particular order for top 10

 

-Dir en grey

-Sukekiyo

-Kizu

-Deviloof

-Jiluka

-Dimlim

-Nazare

-Sarigia

-Gallo

-Dadaroma

Not counting groups that have disbanded (AvelCain, Deluhi, Mejibray, Killaneth, Awoi etc)

 

Kirawaremono, munou na lucid, dobe and dierrycall sound like promising bands too but its a little too early to judge

Edited December 13, 2018 by Enki

[Doesn'tEvenGoHere 121]

I've started listening to Kizu because everyone here seems to really like them and they're actually pretty nice. So thank you, top 10 list recommendations.

Edited December 13, 2018 by Doesn'tEvenGoHere