Anyone else getting over VK recently?

[efuru 255]

I feel like people cling to the older bands and don't even give new bands a shot. I've done the same thing in the past but I feel like if you really do like VK you'll do your research and find something new you like. There's a lot of shitty techno bands but there are some good bands out there that get overlooked.

[The Bread Wolf 231]

Ugh. Negative-Nelly here again but honestly, guys...

 

I know this thread has been on the forum for a good while now, and I didn't understand it when it was first posted and I don't understand it now. Do you guys seriously need a support group for not finding VK likeable anymore? Or what is this about? I'm about this full of people constantly whining about how "current VK bands aren't good" or "I've realised VK sucks" or "I've just moved on". (And by constantly I mean multiple times throughout years, not necessarily all the time every day. ) OK, that's great. Good for you. But do you need to be telling everyone else about it? Why do you feel the need to come amongst people, who most likely are still into that stuff, in some way or another, and just tell them that you're not that into it? Do you think anyone cares? 

 

Damn this forum sometimes. Makes me wish there was a therapy moderator who'd just listen to people's whining so they wouldn't have to come on the forum to do that. 

[Zeus 7997]

3 hours ago, The Bread Wolf said:

Ugh. Negative-Nelly here again but honestly, guys...

 

I know this thread has been on the forum for a good while now, and I didn't understand it when it was first posted and I don't understand it now. Do you guys seriously need a support group for not finding VK likeable anymore? Or what is this about? I'm about this full of people constantly whining about how "current VK bands aren't good" or "I've realised VK sucks" or "I've just moved on". (And by constantly I mean multiple times throughout years, not necessarily all the time every day. ) OK, that's great. Good for you. But do you need to be telling everyone else about it? Why do you feel the need to come amongst people, who most likely are still into that stuff, in some way or another, and just tell them that you're not that into it? Do you think anyone cares? 

 

Damn this forum sometimes. Makes me wish there was a therapy moderator who'd just listen to people's whining so they wouldn't have to come on the forum to do that. 

I can think of a few good reasons why.
 

1. There isn't anywhere else. There wasn't ever anywhere else really. During the VK heyday, most of our "competition" were blog spots. Finding downloads is easy. MH is one of the few bastions of hardcore music discussion left on the Internet dedicated to visual kei.
2. It's not endemic, but it's not uncommon either. There's something about visual kei that comes and goes in waves and perhaps by sharing our experiences we can all come to a common understanding on what visual kei really means to us. The more I think about it, I don't "fall" out of other scenes or genres the way I do visual kei. I could go three to four months only listening to visual kei, and then spend another three to four months not listening to it at all. It's got a really addicting quality to it! Some people remain steadfast, others worship the false god K-Pop, and then the rest of us are somewhere in the middle, one foot still tied to this place. Or at least I am.
3. For me at least, it's really interesting to see why people are leaving visual kei. The first reason given is usually a general one that hides the real one. A pattern I have noticed and never seen mentioned is that all it takes is one band's untimely disbandment for the wind to leave someone's sails. Mine was D'espa.

For what it's worth, I haven't noticed too much complaining in this thread. But I have noticed that a lot of members have refined tastes in visual kei, and know what they like, and will tune in when something catches their interest. There's just so much going on in the scene these days, if one is not knee-deep in it and doesn't have a gateway band to ease returning into the scene, it can feel like the scene has nothing to offer them anymore.

[doombox 4421]

8 hours ago, Zeus said:

others worship the false god K-Pop

 

But in all honesty, I do feel sometimes that interest in anything comes in waves. I've never been able to listen to solely one style of music, and I think there's a lot of users growing up and discovering they also need to broaden their horizons. Sometimes that means moving away from VK completely, sometimes it just means a short break. But I don't find any problems with them wanting to talk about it. This is a discussion forum, why is talking about falling out of love with VK so taboo? Especially if they are mourning it, and not simply here to hate on everything. Even though I feel like there's plenty of people around who do that too because their tastes are so streamlined and they just have to announce when they dislike any band that gets posted in the news section. Yet, we tolerate that as well. 

 

As far as the OP, I know I've posted before in other threads that I think it's natural for interest in VK to wax and wane. Sometimes it's healthy for you to take a break from something and come back later with refreshed interest. If you fall into a different interest while you're away and don't happen to come back, there's nothing wrong with that either. 

 

Edited August 8, 2017 by doombox

[YuyoDrift 1540]

@The Bread WolfI want to add on to what @Zeus had mentioned earlier, and perhaps this can be a 4th reason to his post.

 

People seek answers.

Understanding why they feel the way they do about this fallout, from those who've experienced it before them, brings no better closure.

Some people are fine moving from one genre of music to another, but there are some who let it define them, and moving on equates to leaving a loved one.

These individuals need to know it's OK to move on, and if they choose to come back, there would be no ill sentiment for doing so.

I know because I'm one of those people, and I've created a thread like this before because of it.

 

So let me partake here.

 

I wouldn't say that I've moved on, but that my view on what is considered "talent" or "potential", has shrunk immensely.

Once the bands that I still follow disband, there would be a gray area that I would be placed in, for me to decide whether it's time to go, or see Visual Kei past the music.

 

Time will tell.

[chemicalpictures 1888]

What I don't understand is why people think VK should be different of any other music styles. On its core, VK is basically just a bunch of bands that use similar composition tropes to mix it up with the flavor-of-the-month-genre around the world (If visuals are THAT important to you when talking about MUSIC, you really should check your priorities). Being so, sometimes you enter on a 80's binge, EDM craze, 90's pop, Symphonic metal addiction, right? And other times you never listen to that genre for months, until something old or new gets your attention again, right? So why VK should be any different? Why you HAVE TO listen to it, and it's such a tragedy when nothing new interests you for a while? It's like people put VK on a pedestal of greatness, and gets upset when find out that there are much more sucky-ass bands around than great ones, like everything else in this planet.

Edited August 9, 2017 by chemicalpictures

[seikun 317]

So much analysis.

What's wrong with stating what you don't like about today's Visual Kei?

People did the same thing ten, fifteen, twenty years ago and most likely the same exact debate is happening in Japanese circles too. I don't think this is only happening in the west.

 

Visual Kei has gone through different phases, some more memorable than others and that have made a greater impact. It's not like everything today with Visual Kei is bad or a disappointment, but perhaps there is something about the style that's missing. In the end that's what forums are for: debate.

 

No one complains when you state that you love today's Visual Kei then why does it bother you when someone criticises it? You can do the same thing with older eras of Visual Kei, whatever you opinion may be. If you start stigmatising people for comments that you don't like even though they are personal opinions that harm no one then people will feel discourgaed to leave comments and a forum should be open for differing opinions.

 

Edited August 8, 2017 by seikun

[TomoMAD 256]

^ I totally agree with you @seikun,  the Visual-kei have alot of different phases, and in my opinion there will be more phases in this style, who all (or the most part of this site) love. There always will exist a lot of bad bands. but it's something about music tastes of the people, if you really love Visual-kei you can search a lot of different bands, with heavy, speed, old, sad, happy, etc sounds, you only need to search something that you like. Or still listening the older eras of Visual-kei that you never finish finding bands.

 

[mahoujin 395]

I got into visual kei around 2004 and didn't really listen to any new music that wasn't visual kei until 2011 because I was SO DEEPLY INTO IT. In 2010, basically all the bands I listened to disbanded or went through major changes with their sound, then Isshi from Kagrra died. It made me feel a little empty and betrayed by visual kei. Sure there were bands still around and new bands forming ALL THE TIME, but they weren't MY BANDS and I was getting kind of tired of the cycle of short-lived bands. So I got really into Plastic Tree (which is obviously still vk, but more stable) and then I got really into a whole bunch of other non-vk stuff that I still really enjoy now. I probably wouldn't have found some of the bands I like now if I didn't get burnt out on visual kei in the first place. Of course, I'm back into visual kei now, or I wouldn't be on this forum. It's okay to like more than one kind of music. I think it's healthy to let your taste in music grow naturally without feeling guilty. Visual kei doesn't miss you when you listen to something else. 

[Axius 2019]

I honestly take a different approach to answer this question. I've honestly truly thought about it in the back of my brain and if it weren't for visual kei i would not be here. This music has motivated me a lot even tho sometime i cant even understand it.Back when i was 14 i picked up visual kei and im 20 now taking a look back at the days i didn't have visual kei i honest hated it i was like a lost puppy. I tried out rap and never really liked it i hated country but metal seemed to be a good thing for me first ever band i started with were iron maiden, megadeth and disturbed but as i grew deeper and deeper into other metals (english related) i got really really bored of the same Crazy high pitch girl squeals and cleans that some people found cute and its so good but its only is good for a while then it get repetitive releasing the same things over and over. Later i realized there were some bands that weren't that but only a select few. I took visual kei as a shot in the dark i honest tried it out at first i was like wow this is good but as i got to the more gorey parts and heavy parts of visual kei it took me a bit to handle because it was so much stuff being thrown at my brain like had a explosion surge of wtf and eventually i did like it a lot. What i like is Its different its not the same even tho some bands try to do that but what i do like about visual kei is that one thing its always changing and its unique. You can take everything visual kei related new or old and put it into a broader perspective. I honestly believe that Most bands have a different way of sound even if its that slight difference that makes it worth the entire song. I believe that every band has a purpose and a sense of reason its there own take of art form, creativity, and expression. Yea you gonna have those bands that will do dumb sht or try to copy but those are those bands and i know there are a a bunch of other bands that are unique in its own way love it or hate it. People have there opinions on a lot of things and thats just life. The beauty of visual kei is there are a lot of people that have there own ideas to express and art and they do it singing and playing. I will never grow tired of visual kei because of these facts. I feel that it will stay with me until the very end.

[gen-shoku 13]

I've been a vk fan for 6, 7 years and even in the beginning I had cycles where vk was all I would listen to and other times I couldn't get away from it fast enough (although these times were fewer). It's not like listening to other styles is being unfaithful to vk or anything, sometimes it's good to get a break. It also reminds you of what keeps bringing you back. Even the bands need breaks from the scene occasionally, it makes sense for fans to need one too. I don't think that means current vk is hopeless or anything, and bringing in more variety and other influences helps keep it from becoming stale. For me, sometimes after a band I loved disbanded, starting to look for new music/bands to listen to can be emotionally draining because I want the new shiny songs I find to mean the same as whatever I'm trying to replace, and that's unrealistic to expect. Maybe what brings me back to vk changes too. Change isn't a bad thing even if it doesn't suit my tastes; it's okay to grow and let my expectations shift along the way.

[gwsm 24]

First of, I can definitely relate. I'm just starting to get back to VK now from a 3-4 years hiatus. I don't find the current state of the scene to be particularly bad though. I mean, like 90% of the new bands I hear are just not for me, but I think it's always been like that. If anything, I have a hard time finding new angura bands,  but I hope that's just the nature of angura bands and not because there aren't any around anymore.

[sakurakurakura 154]

I'm stuck into old shit, but if I check something new, I basically check new bands that former oldies started recently.

[Zeus 7997]

Stay on topic. If you have nothing to add to this discussion, don't post.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

For now, I've kinda 'got over' VK I guess. I cannot go more than half a minute listening to any sort of Japanese music basically, just got so tired of the same tropes repeated over and over again. Sometimes I go back to some old favorites ofc, like maybe once every month.

 

Also, this isn't unusual for me. It's like this with any kind of music genre or style. Sometimes you get over-saturated with a particular sound and then you need to take a break from it to listen to something else. I'll prolly find my way back in a few months for a bit again. But will I return to the habits of the first few years after I discovered Japanese music (and that was basically everything I listened to)? Not likely.

[Bear 1817]

Eh, I don't know. It's not that I don't like any VK bands anymore and I still listen to much of what I was into 5-10 years ago (the "classics"), but with the huge flow of band's and releases it just gets harder and harder to find new bands I enjoy. Back in the day when I first got into VK I started with all the classic bands and big bands, making it easy to find quality bands. Nowadays it feels like everyone is releasing something and I have to go through 50 bands to find one I like. Not worth the time IMO. And the "recent" metalcore-esque tend really didn't do me any favors as I despise the sound of modern, 2000's metalcore.

 

But this goes for every genre and scene. Like the depressive black metal boom, thrash metal boom, othrodox black metal boom and so on. I like all these subgenres a lot, but suddenly you had to listen to 50+ albums to find one decent within these styles because "everyone" did them. It was just too much shit getting released which made it hard to find something good, which again made me look for something else. Basically same with VK for me.

[Biopanda 2675]

Strangely enough, it's the complete opposite for me with the complaints that many people seem to have about VK. Back when I used to listen to symphonic metal, I would get burnt out really quickly due to many of the bands sounding familiar. VK is the only scene that I haven't been able to get burnt out on. That's probably because the VK scene itself is composed of a near limitless number of genres. Bored of nu-metal VK? I'll go listen to some shoegazey VK. When I get burnt out on that, I'll go listen to some electronic/chiptune VK. Once I've overdosed on that I can go and listen to poppy, danceable VK etc etc. The wide breadth of sounds and styles presented in the VK scene make me really wonder how people are able to get bored with it unless they only listen to like 2 bands.

[jiji94 78]

I've definitely gone through this, although I never stopped liking much of the older vk music I listened to. For me it didn't really have to do with things changing but just I took Isshi's death pretty hard. I started getting into more of the j-indie music scene which I've felt is more "me" in a way. However,  I've been listening to old faves lately as I've been on an 80s/90s music binge in general and felt up to getting back into vk (kind of blame Kaya because I started following him on twitter after remembering how much I used to adore him). So many older bands I never knew about or listened to even when I basically listened to vk bands and solo artists religiously. lol

 

Heck, vk is what made me go into Gender Studies during university. 

[saltofstones 136]

I think my general approach to music listening has enabled my interest in VK to never wane completely. Whatever I do, I am unable to stop scouring the Internet for new artists to listen to, even as my downloads folder is bursting at the seams. I suppose I am trying to make sure I'm not missing out on good music, which obviously will always be a work in progress.

 

That's not to say I never experience fatigue with VK. But when that happens, I simply listen to whatever other styles of music I'm into, or go give a listen to something from the myriad of old school VK acts I haven't heard yet.  The spectrum of VK is pretty wide and it helps that I enjoy a great deal of it. This forum makes it rather easy for me to select the newer bands that are worth a shot. I don't feel like I have a duty to listen to VK all the time and it's perfectly fine, like in every other music scene, if sometimes there's nothing much to catch my attention or I happen to not be in the mood for it. All the years in the scene have desensitized me to the whirlwind of disbandments, so I can no longer despair over a band calling it quits. Something else will come along eventually.

 

Welp this has turned into a "why I haven't gotten over VK" argument, sorry for digressing. I concur with others that there's value in discussing this topic , more so since I've always wanted to know where the fuck my fellow Romanian VK fans have all disappeared to and a more introspective and elaborate reason why.

Edited August 14, 2017 by saltofstones

[Nagisa 131]

On 8/13/2017 at 2:59 PM, Biopanda said:

The wide breadth of sounds and styles presented in the VK scene make me really wonder how people are able to get bored with it unless they only listen to like 2 bands.

Not sure how many other people this is true for but it definitely applies to me.