The "Please Explain the Hype" Thread

[Nyasagi 259]

A band I personally do not understand the hype for is Royz. They sound just like any other bland group of young boys forming a band just because they happen to have an image.

I like just some songs of them, but these guys are great at promoting themselves. I think I'm more a fan of the funny stuff they do and their hilarious videos XD. They often post photos online and other interesting stuff, so I just keep being interested in their public image, I think. It never makes me bored. I don't like it when the band does nothing interesting online, because as a foreign fan, I can only get to know the band this way. I feel like I get closer to the members when they show their funny and "every day" side in vids (they did many things common guys would do, like playing some games on a beach or eating some very spicy stuff and filming themselves during that xD).

[paradoxal 2948]

I like just some songs of them, but these guys are great at promoting themselves. I think I'm more a fan of the funny stuff they do and their hilarious videos XD. They often post photos online and other interesting stuff, so I just keep being interested in their public image, I think. It never makes me bored. I don't like it when the band does nothing interesting online, because as a foreign fan, I can only get to know the band this way. I feel like I get closer to the members when they show their funny and "every day" side in vids (they did many things common guys would do, like playing some games on a beach or eating some very spicy stuff and filming themselves during that xD).

 

I agree with this so much. Royz is so hyped overseas because they can be approached so easily - a lot of pictures of them in the internet doing funny and 'genuine' stuff, with and without make up. You really start feeling like you know these guys at least in some level. They even do that video series called GanbaRoyz where they do something silly everytime, a bit similar to the video series Alice nine does.

 

Of course I enjoy their music a lot, and if their music sucked I wouldn't spend my evenings watching those silly videos

 

Tbqh I really envy Royz fans because Lycaon doesn't really do those silly videos & other fun stuff

[Nyasagi 259]

I don't follow Lycaon that closely anymore, did they stop doing fanservice? They did that a lot in the past, it was also fun. I stopped following them, because they kept releasing too much live distributed stuff and it annoyed me.

[blackdoll 907]

I don't follow Lycaon that closely anymore, did they stop doing fanservice? They did that a lot in the past, it was also fun. I stopped following them, because they kept releasing too much live distributed stuff and it annoyed me.

twitter fan service hehe

[relentless 254]

First come in my mind: BABYMETAL. OK I tried listen to them and nothing make me impressed. But why metal fans like them, and many metal musician promote them? I think they are just an Idol, with standard idol-type vocal and mixed with metal music. I didn't see the two different thing (metal and idol) fit.

 

Your opinion?

 

 

 

That's part of the charm, isn't it? What pushed BABYMETAL into such a debated status was because of their gimmick: J-Pop vocals and dance choreography performed over different "genres" of extreme metal. Some people may enjoy the metal aspects, some may enjoy the J-Pop vocals, or others may just be listening to them BECAUSE they're ridiculous. The review posted in the BABYMETAL thread (or the BABYMETAL tour thread, can't remember) touched on it that there were all of these different kinds of people with different interests in music coming together to experience BABYMETAL. That's a large part of the charm, the experience of witnessing something so novel.

 

 

Now, this isn't to say they lack talent overall, their musicians are excellent; but the one thing that tends to be a constant in fan's appreciation is the recognition of the gimmick and the experience of seeing them live. The band Ghost (or, in the States, Ghost B.C.) is in a similar light where their popularity soared because of their live production, and people began latching on from there when more and more began to appreciate their music and not just the novelty of seeing dudes dressed as Satan Worshippers.

 

 

Whether this craze is going to last or not is something else entirely, though.

[doombox 4421]

 

I think you're talking about Japanese fans, because I totally can't compare it to the foreign fanbase. I met just a few VanessA fans and no fangirls at all.

I've been a fan since VanessA's first year of releasing material and they had a foreign fanbase from the start. I knew the girls running and active in their livejournal community and we were all foreign fans. So I don't know where you live but maybe it's just the circles you run in didn't care about them. 

 

I literally just went back and dug up the Another Chaos community, just to be sure, and the member list of about 200 and I'd say 95% of those are non-Japanese fans. And that's just the one little comm that was specific to them, not counting much larger communities that covered vk in general that posted about them. 

[DogManX 179]

Well, I wonder why no one has stated the obvious question yet... THE GAZETTE. Why? Precisely what do people find so affecting about them? I want to know.

 

DIR EN GREY doesn't need any explanation if one knows at least randomly every "era" of their discography. And not only this. It's the affection a lot of people have to Kyo especially. He's real to a big part of his fans, to put it in harmless words. And this gets furthermore underlined by the band's history, always going overboard and provoking their fans either with unusually personal lyrics, gore-eske performances or eventually dropping the visual aspects as a whole. I'd not say they're just a "starting point" for j-rock fans. There have been other bands since 2000 quite as much at the front as them (D'espa, MUCC; Nightmare, The Gazette etc). It's just that their unpredictable behaviour and their wide range of dark rock/metal styles keeps many people affected in the process of stumbling across them. (I personally didn't start with them precisely because everyone talked about them and I therefore expected some Bieber-eske hype.)

[God 264]

For me, I think having watched Dir en grey grow as a band and progress musically the way they have is just...I don't know, it gives me a sense of pride?  Perhaps because I've been with them for a while.  I'm talking, specifically, instrumentation.  Even with their genre-slips they often pull, you can hear progress in their playing ability.  Though I'm not as into them as I was when I was 16, I still look forward to their releases and lives.

[doombox 4421]

Well, I wonder why no one has stated the obvious question yet... THE GAZETTE. Why? Precisely what do people find so affecting about them? I want to know.

Since I've already brought up being a GazettE fan in a previous post, I'll go into it for this as well... 

Originally, I loved their attitude, their music was really rough and unpolished, so were their visuals but they had a really devil-may-care trashy punk vibe to them. They were probably only the 3rd, maybe 4th visual band I had ever seen before so there was also the novelty of it the entire thing. I think it was like that for a lot of people, at least in my circles, there were only a handful of bands at the time that you could find current and constantly translated content about online for our little n00blet non-Japanese speaking or reading communities. 

Their fanbase back then also made it really easy have fun while following the band. As they went from Disorder to Nil, to Stacked Rubbish you could see and hear them growing and becoming a more mature band. They had catchy hooks, their concepts were flawlessly executed (while growing increasingly more generic, but still there was not a single hair our of place on any of them EVER). 

 

That's the hype. I've fallen away from them ever since Stacked Rubbish, personally. It seems like they've plataued and the music is pretty stale for me on the recent releases. Visuals too. Almost too polished. But that's just me.

[jduv86 224]

I think for Gazette, they were the next in line of influential bands that have shaped VK now. First it was bands like X Japan, Buck Tick, etc  then there was the Dir en Grey era and then following them came the Gazette era of influence. If you were to have ice cream and the majority of VK music today was Dir en Grey's influence, then Gazette's influence would be the toppings. While Dir en Grey's music became increasingly darker and at times depressing, Gazette kept a raw fun vibe about them. There music is almost always (skipping the majority of Toxic) composed perfectly no matter how generic it sounds. It always stays fun and catchy and they provide a fun party vibe when they perform.  

[Lestat 2167]

As a person who doesn't understand their hype either, I don't think that the Gazette have really added a new atmosphere in the world of Visual Kei. General rock sounds have existed long before they appeared, and their visual appearance in itself wasn't a revelation either. To me their sound or image aren't influential at all, I think they just happened to be lucky and had good promotion because there were a lot of very similar bands at that time that could've potentially ended up the same way as they, without doing much in a different way.

[jduv86 224]

So your crediting all of Gazette's success to their promotion? If that's the case, how come other bands in PS Company aren't as big except Alice Nine. Also, PS Company gets a lot of slack, but they do spot really good talent Miyavi...Kagrra...to name a few others. They don't just sign anybody they find. So to give their hype to just their promotion I don't believe is the reason. The majority of comparisons people make on here come from a band either 1. sounding like Dir en Grey or 2. sounding like the Gazette. They have more influence then you think and I can spot numerous references of their songs which I will gather later but now I have to go to work.  

[Mr Bacon 106]

I think what made Gazette stand out early on is that they started out as a crossover between oldschool VK and punk, and slowly started adding more influences to their music. Their releases from 2003-2006 are pretty versatile and have many influences, and the songs range from pop ballads to jumpy punk songs to stuff bordering on the progmetal. In short, because they didn't stick to one genre, they could gather fans from all kinds of rock genres. Those guys are(/can be) solid songwriters, like it or not.

 

Sadly, after 2007 their songwriting became a bit stale (to me at least, I know other people won't agree with me), even though I admit there's still some good efforts scattered throughout their releases.

[keyinjpop 89]

SPYAIR, what's the deal? They sound like a lot of pop-rock bands in Japan and they don't change up their sound much. IKE's vocals are alright but there are better rock vocalists out there.

[doombox 4421]

I'm also unimpressed with SPYAIR, I could never get into them. They just have a typical generic sound to my ears.

 

One band's hype I never understood was An Cafe. Outside of the fashion (which I also don't like but at least I understand the aesthetic) did anyone ever appreciate their music? 

[The Bread Wolf 231]

And what is the hype for Kiryu? A lot of their music sounds the same to me and their singers voice is kind of annoying at times.

 

I second this. I've never gotten the hype over Kiryu. Can someone explain this? I was so surprised to see a preview of a live DVD of theirs and to see so many fans in the audience. 

 

Okay, okay, I've got this covered as a pretty-long-time-fan of Kiryu. Like ever since 2009. Not meaning to sound like an elitist or anything, but I'm a fucking god in these circles (he he, hopefully someone get's my self-irony here and doesn't come bashing me for being egoistic )

 

To serious business then. Or as serious as I can be. Which isn't very serious. Read on with caution and sense of humour, babes.

 

First of all, I haven't seen too much of actual Kiryu hype. I've seen pretty embarrassing Hiyori (their fucking useless tranny bassist, if you didn't know already) hype though. Most of Kiryu fans tend to just... sleep under a rock while wearing headphones blasting their music. So there's that. That's my impression of the Western Kiryu fans including myself.

 

But they're filling a niche for marketing here. The fact is, there just aren't many neo-japanesque bands out there. From my head I can name three. Kagrra,; OROCHI and Kiryu. Kaggra, is fucking dead. OROCHI hasn't hit it big for some reason. Kiryu, on the other hand, releases stuff frequently, actually more frequently than most bands these days. They have a steady quality to their works which keeps old fans interested. They'll probably never be the next Kaggra,; just because their material is very, very solid. In the first quote @jduv86 said that their music sounds the same. That's true. That's what I refer to when I say "solid material". They don't "experiment". That's meant for MYDORA.

 

Regarding Mahiro's voice... what can I say? Some like it, some don't. That's all. To others he sounds annoying, to me he sounds impressively emotional. 

 

Also, jumping from point to another here but whatever, Kiryu is one of the very few bands in the history of VK or Japanese music at all that uses horror as an element to their music and videos. And not you know, halloween kinda horror which bands like Candy Spooky Theatre did/does. So fuck off if you're gonna mention that. Traditional Japanese horror. People, who like Japanese horror movies are bound to be interested in Kiryu's music videos as well, because they're majorly influential. I love Japanese horror, and Asian horror all together, and Kiryu, with their obscure sounds and sometimes intimidating tunes hits that soft spot for me. I'm sure it does it for others as well.

 

So that's my 2 cents of the topic. Now I'm waiting for someone to ask about Kameleo. Then it'll be a fucking rape of a text from this gal.

[blackdoll 907]

noctunal bloodlust, diaura, unite?  whats with them?

[Traxan 148]

Babymetal is popular because they represent something different. Metal has gotten boring and repetitive. Every new band is either mallcore or a bunch of hairy dudes who look like heavily tattooed Robertson brothers, playing open Eb djent or worse, Bb on a seven string, while the singer howls unintelligibly. Musically, BM is not shockingly original, but the girls add the cuteness factor. All the musicians who have met them have said the same thing, they find the girls adorable. Also, remember that most prominent metal bands in the US are in their 40s and 50s and have daughters that age. 

 

It's a novelty that will wear off in a year or two, especially when the girls mature. Not sure what will become of the little ones, but Su-metal, though, has a great career ahead of her. She has a fine voice and good stage presence.

[DogManX 179]

In terms of Kiryu, I'd break it down differently. First of all, there is this popular expression that JRock/VK fans don't really listen to "western rock", since it all sounds the same anyway. So if a band like Kiryu comes up with some nice traditional synths, it's THE SHIT all of a sudden.

 

..And on top of that, they have a bassist who looks like a girl and a singer who sounds like a girl. Good deal for the average VK girlie.

[Elazmus 1873]

About Kiryu, to me Mahiro reminds me of danny elfman.. I think I might be off my shit though.

[togz 2004]

I think the hype for Mejibray is solely their appearance, but it's VK. It happens, what can you do. I do understand there are a small handful of people that actually appreciate the band for their music. Me personally, I just don't prefer the vocal style, so I don't follow them. 

[Novvy 6]

A band that always stuck out for me with its ever gaining fanbase was 神聖かまってちゃん (Shinsei Kamattechan).

 

Now I haven't really sat down to thoroughly listen to their discography, but I see them frequently popping in up in guest acts, collaborating with noticeable artists to say the least.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm kinda starting to dig the whole zaniness that is almost childish in a way, I just wonder why it appeals to so many people in general. It all started from some niconico vids that rolled the ball in Japan right? But besides the following over there I've heard a lot of people creating buzz overseas.

 

 

[Elazmus 1873]

I have to admit, I do often feel like no one I talk to about Mejibray understands or cares for the music style, I know I'm not stupid for genuinely loving them but their looks caught on in an overpowering way and it creates so many false fans... but of course it's VK and you have to grit your teeth and expect it.

[Nisimaldar 153]

noctunal bloodlust, diaura, unite?  whats with them?

I'm hyping Nocturnal Bloodlust so that more people pirate their shit, because they're being a little bitch about it. arr...  (jk.)

 

Nah, I seriously enjoy them on some weird level, perhaps because they sound somewhat western or something. (To me, they are a mixture of stuff like Cradle of Filth and stuff like Six Feet Under and regular rock and I like all of the above sooooo AND they sound like they know what they're doing)

[DogManX 179]

Can the fandom around NB, Diaura or Unite really be counted as "hype"? I mean I understand hype as an extreme form of fan appreciation that reaches widely across the genre. There's some talk about these bands here and there, but it's far beyond special as I see it. They get mentioned, that's all.

 

NB had a technical approach to their metal music in the beginning and I rmember alot talks about them because they went into being a VK band (since it's usually the other way round). Aside from that.. nothing serious. Same about the other bands.