[CLUB] What are your favourite old-school songs?

[Himeaimichu 1535]

So I thought I should start off something here, and I thought that this would be a good way. So what are your favourite old school songs? 

First off, I'd have to choose Bad Man by Zi:Kill. High energy Punk Rock with Funk influence? Oh yeah, count me in, baby. I also always liked how goofy the music video was. The members are literally riding on top of a truck, ducking under bridges, in London. In fact, about half of the music videos for their last album was filmed in London. It's sad these guys barely get any recognition anymore though. They, along with Kuroyume, helped create the 90's VisualKei scene.

 Secondly, I'd have to go with Curse by La'Mule. This was the first 90's band I really ever got into, and this song helped me get into it. It's catchy without being poppy, to say the least. The song's lyrics and PV are pretty dark, but the music itself is light enough to play at a party and no one who doesn't speak Japanese would really care.

Finally I have to go with Tsumi to Batsu by Dir en Grey. This was the first Dir en Grey song that really caught my eye. It's just pure metal here, and one of the best songs on Gauze. The odd time signatures, the changing of key in the chorus like most 90's bands, and Kyo's insane sounding (Even if unskilled) vocals really set the tone. It's one of those songs from the late 90's that takes the 90's sound, but goes outside the sound a bit, which would be further seen in the early 2000's.

[Ikna 1225]

way too many. def those you posted too, @AimiGen7. Gauze is a great album, Tsumi to Batsu is an absolute fav, as well as the other famous classics, like raison d'etre, ZAN, Schwein no isu and of course Mazohyst of decadence. Will forever be my fav Dir en grey album (and I will forever not get used to their remakes, except maybe for the new ZAN, since it does sound at least like the original)

 

Also seconding La'Mule. I prefer inspire and Sterilization over Curse though.

 

 

That PV too. Classic 2edgy 90s/early 00s cheese.

 

Madeth too had such amazing songs. For some reason i do not stan missantroop or Lucifer as much (as most other people do), instead I luv their album opener (+ the intro, because scary baby screams are the best in VK)

 

 

I generally have big soft spot for matina bands. Usually the dark and edgy stuff, but Syndrome delivered some good melodic tunes as well:

 

 

 

Do we also count the early 00s and newer (or recently formed) kote bands as oldschool? Like Shulla,Etcetera, Metis Gretel, La'veil Mizeria, etc.?

 

 

[Himeaimichu 1535]

7 hours ago, Ikna said:

way too many. def those you posted too, @AimiGen7. Gauze is a great album, Tsumi to Batsu is an absolute fav, as well as the other famous classics, like raison d'etre, ZAN, Schwein no isu and of course Mazohyst of decadence. Will forever be my fav Dir en grey album (and I will forever not get used to their remakes, except maybe for the new ZAN, since it does sound at least like the original)

 

Also seconding La'Mule. I prefer inspire and Sterilization over Curse though.

 

 

That PV too. Classic 2edgy 90s/early 00s cheese.

 

Madeth too had such amazing songs. For some reason i do not stan missantroop or Lucifer as much (as most other people do), instead I luv their album opener (+ the intro, because scary baby screams are the best in VK)

 

 

I generally have big soft spot for matina bands. Usually the dark and edgy stuff, but Syndrome delivered some good melodic tunes as well:

 

 

 

Do we also count the early 00s and newer (or recently formed) kote bands as oldschool? Like Shulla,Etcetera, Metis Gretel, La'veil Mizeria, etc.?

 

 

Same. The only remakes I like are of Karma, because it's just the original with death growls and low tuned guitars (gladly it still has the clean vocals) and Kiri to Mayu because in one part, Kyo starts singing the melody of the original. 

Also yus! Sterilization is an AMAZING piece and is pretty heavy as fuck (for La'Mule that is xD).

Also, I love Matina bands too. Madeth Gray'll, Syndrome, Vice Risk. All of them xD. 

 

Also yes! Any band one can call old school counts!~

[suji 8317]

I love the shit out of old skewl-kei, especially obscure shit, but it's hard to pick specific faves, even when there's so much! Here's what I have on the top of my head:

 

Of course, I really love Malice Mizer. As I started exploring them some years ago when I first got into visual kei, I found this gem and instantly fell in love:

Spoiler

 

 

I also remember getting into Da'vidノ使徒:aL (Da'vid Shito:aL) around that period too; I was surprised to see that they weren't very popular and didn't last very long, and I think that's just fucking BULLSHIT.

Spoiler

 

 

And what spawned from that was Misa's own musical genius. Sure he was a genius before, but this took it to another level. His solo album incorporates one of the best uses of a synthesizer that I have ever heard..oh my lORDT 💦💦

Spoiler

 

 

Of course I have to add this one - an old band from one of my current faves, MERRY~

As one of the guitarists was in Syndrome, the other was in Shiver, which was a really good, but short-lived band ;w; I also started listening to them (specifically their mini-album) around the time I got into vk, but recently a song cover by Under Fall Justice reignited my love for them again - obviously the original one (the 2nd vid below) is still better.

Spoiler

 

 

Some other bands that I briefly got into during my 90s binge~

Spoiler

 

 

[sakurakurakura 154]

I'm gonna make it super short.

 

Firstly, Laputa and Buck-Tick.

 

 

 

I love these PV's, and this is one of my favorite songs from them.

 

 

Secondly, SHAZNA.

 

 

I can't leave them out of this.

All the damn happy vibes they have can make anyone feel better on a bad day, even listening to a sad song.

Izam was a big influence to me back then.

 

 

Thirdly, I love KEY PARTY records' bands af.

So, there's not much left to say really, the pv and music speak for themselves.

 

 

Missalina Rei was my favorite band from KP, tokimeki was somehow catchy and fun to jump around.

 

 

Noi'x... I'm so mad I missed the one-day revival live they made this year.

Anyways, this song and pv are beautiful. Is it bad that I really think low budget pv's are way better than pv's nowadays?

I mean, back then, they were simple and theatrical, the main focus was the music and the pv was just a side complement,

and I have a feel nowadays that's somehow lost.

 

 

 

These two songs from Noir Fleurir, oh man. I used to blast them off all the time.

Catchy tunes and spooky lyrics, that's the kind of shit I like.

I can't listen to them without singing along.

 

 

Dark and beautiful.

Edited August 1, 2017 by sakurakurakura

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

@sheepprincessgaradidn't know you liked luna sea! very cool.

and yes, da'vid was far too short lived. to this day they're still one of my fav. bands. they were really unique and their twin bass is amazing.

misa's solo demo is also an amazing release, iirc (long time since i listened to it), the only instrument used in the demo is synth. 

 

I used to listen a lot to old school vk in high school, almost exclusively. had 70gb old school vk on my old hdd before it died, i haven't re-collected any of it though.

some fav bands would probably be: luna sea, da'vid no shito:aL, Aioria, Klein Kaiser, Misa, Ruellia (not the re-formed version), Deshabillz, Angel+dust, vice risk, la'miss fairy, NéiL, La feerie... There's just too many to mention them all lmao.

 

 

listening to lastly by luna sea now (the one @sheepprincessgara posted) and it just amazes me how great this band was (is imo). their early releases are insane. 

 

edit: gdi noir fleurir. they were such a gulity pleasure of mine. i always thought they were lame compared to deflower but i eventually started liking them. this song is a++

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by Takadanobabaalien

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

also it's sad that Misa is no longer in a band. he seem to be good at producing bands as well anyway, but his composing and his voice is really unique and I think he should continue playing in a band instead (although it doesn't seem to be what he wants to do anyway, so it doesnt really matter).

 

also miss Yayoi, sure he was back for rockstar records for a while, and the deadly session but I'd like him to (despite him being an idiot) start singing again. 

[Himeaimichu 1535]

@sakurakurakura I feel you on everything there! And yeah, Noi'x had some pretty good PVs. Sometimes, all you need is a small budget and some creativity~

@sheepprincessgara Nice. Didn't  Da'vidノ使徒:aL have a female drummer? I heard something about their drummer being one of the few females in Vkei

@Takadanobabaalien I feel you on the Yayoi thing. Even though he's an idiot and kinda an ass, he's a creative musician. I especially liked how Angel Dust had a slight bit of Reggae influence in some songs, and how high quality the Vice Risk demos sound. I think he could come back if he wanted to. Despite being old and fat, he still looks somewhat good in the old makeup from what I've seen in videos of the Angel Dust revival

 

[suji 8317]

@Takadanobabaalien i have started liking luna sea recently, and i was wanting to check out their earlier stuff, but of course i've been lazy orz besides that, i've been more into late 80s~early 90s vk NOT X, so there's that

 

I had a lot of old vk in my old youtube playlist before my channel was axed ;w; now I barely remember what I listened to back then, other than the ones I posted here. However, I definitely remember David & Misa because of how they stuck out from that fold and just how fucking mezmerizing their music was for me, and I became so dedicated to them that I checked out more of their discog & other bands, unlike the other bands I've listened to from that era~ There really isn't anyone else like them, and it's a shame how underrated they really were...:/

[sakurakurakura 154]

@AimiGen7 About being an ass, we could just say Kisaki and Kiwamu are just boneless Yayoi of the 90's.

Get angery.

[Himeaimichu 1535]

3 minutes ago, sakurakurakura said:

@AimiGen7 About being an ass, we could just say Kisaki and Kiwamu are just boneless Yayoi of the 90's.

Get angery.

Don't forget Yayoi learned from Kisaki xD

Except, he took it further by roughing up clients. 

So Yayoi is boneless Suge Knight?

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

8 minutes ago, sheepprincessgara said:

@Takadanobabaalien i have started liking luna sea recently, and i was wanting to check out their earlier stuff, but of course i've been lazy orz besides that, i've been more into late 80s~early 90s vk NOT X, so there's that

 

yeah, the early 90's were amazing.

lately i've been down nostalgia lane and picked up DIE IN CRIES eros album from 1994. it's a great release, especially this song

 

They were basically a super band (consisting of kyo from d'erlanger and yukihiro from zi:kill among others). funny enough they never seem to have had an overseas fanbase, despite being quite popular at the time in japan. 

[suji 8317]

40 minutes ago, AimiGen7 said:

 Nice. Didn't  Da'vidノ使徒:aL have a female drummer? I heard something about their drummer being one of the few females in Vkei

yes they did and she does in fact have a vag 👌

[Tanishi 598]

Apart from the classics like Luna Sea (still the best 90s band), Kuroyume, Malice Mizer, Buck Tick etc I've only been getting into old school vk recently. Some of my favorites though:

 

 

Most of Rouage's albums are really great and they have fantastic song's on all their albums. Favorite album's include Bible, Children and -312604806-. A lot of people really like Soup as well. Classic goth rock vk sound here but they stand out because of their above average songwriting.

 

 

This band only had one mini but it's near perfect the whole way through. Their songs sound really 'dynamic' and have great energy. It's a shame they didn't last longer because this is probably the best record released on Key Party.

 

 

Laputa was one of the biggest bands from Nagoya back in the day with their dark and catchy sound. Standout albums include Kagerou and Emadera but anything they released before the turn of the century was extremely solid.

 

 

Baiser were another prolific band in the 90s I'm sure most people here know about. Favorite album is Ash but their later stuff is good too.

 

There is so much good stuff from the 90s visual boom that the West doesn't know about that I feel like I'm only ever scratching the surface. Will probably lurk this group a lot for recs.

[sakurakurakura 154]

8 hours ago, AimiGen7 said:

Don't forget Yayoi learned from Kisaki xD

Except, he took it further by roughing up clients. 

So Yayoi is boneless Suge Knight?

They were totally meant for each other.

[Himeaimichu 1535]

7 minutes ago, sakurakurakura said:

They were totally meant for each other.

Das some gay shit right there xD

[DaveKei 122]

Finally somebody talking about old school visual kei. Personally, I really dig the old, obscure and underground sound of the old bands, especially from the early 90's. Here are some songs that I still love today, after listening to them thousand times.

 

 

THAT BASS. Like La'Feerie, they released just one EP, appeared on few omnibuses and disbanded. All of their song are amazing, have progression and have the old school sound of visual bands that I love.

 

 

Probably the best band that wasn't on a big label. Man, the arrangements, progression and song structure are so unique. Probably the best visual band that went nowhere, sadly.

 

 

Visual metal at it finest. Their early releases were far better than their second album (tbh, I dig some of the songs there, like 'Sad Song'). Apparently, they disbanded somewhere in the late 90's, which is a shame, because the X-Japan/Blind Guardian + Visual Metal combination was really good and well received, as far  as I know. 

 

 

The 7-seven- version of the song is also good, but I prefer the original. This has that old school sound to it. =D 

 

 

Fine, mad, fast and trashing visual metal. Can't believe they went nowhere, just like L'yse:nore. For fans of Antique Doll, Ezra and Fast Draw.

 

 

Call me crazy, but this seems like the obscurest band I ever listened to. I absolutely don't know anything about this project/band. I also think this is their only recorded song? Anyhow, 'Stalker' really fits on the omnibus, and is a personal highlight of mine. 

 

 

Edgy Visual metal #2. The drummer Reo, played in +Sadist+ which I also love.

 

I probably missed some bands. lol

 

 

[Gaz 1097]

On 8/4/2017 at 0:10 PM, DaveKei said:

 

 

Call me crazy, but this seems like the obscurest band I ever listened to. I absolutely don't know anything about this project/band. I also think this is their only recorded song? Anyhow, 'Stalker' really fits on the omnibus, and is a personal highlight of mine. 

they have also released 2 tapes and a best of album. maybe some other stuff as well, because any info about them is really hard to find. 

and this is my favorite song by them:

so fucking good!

[DaveKei 122]

3 hours ago, Gaz said:

they have also released 2 tapes and a best of album. maybe some other stuff as well, because any info about them is really hard to find. 

and this is my favorite song by them:

so fucking good!

What the hell? This isn't the same friendly sounding Noisia, this is some over the top black metal. W h a t 
And that puppy just makes it weirder 

 

EDIT: Hit me up with some more info, they deserve to be on Metal Archives. lol

Edited August 8, 2017 by DaveKei

[Himeaimichu 1535]

On 8/8/2017 at 8:44 AM, DaveKei said:

EDIT: Hit me up with some more info, they deserve to be on Metal Archives. lol

That's if the admins don't see the members in full makeup, or else they'll be deemed "Fags and pseudometal" and rejected by the admins xD

No, seriously, that's what happened with Dir en Grey (The fact they had Nu Metal in their discography though didn't really help their case xD)

[Himeaimichu 1535]

On 8/8/2017 at 5:52 AM, Gaz said:

they have also released 2 tapes and a best of album. maybe some other stuff as well, because any info about them is really hard to find. 

and this is my favorite song by them:

so fucking good!

For once a black metal song that isn't potato quality. Ironically it had to be from a really rare Vkei band. Never would expect that

[sakurakurakura 154]

On 2017/8/8 at 7:52 PM, Gaz said:

they have also released 2 tapes and a best of album. maybe some other stuff as well, because any info about them is really hard to find. 

and this is my favorite song by them:

so fucking good!

that dog in the thumbnail is so misleading, lmao

[DaveKei 122]

9 hours ago, AimiGen7 said:

That's if the admins don't see the members in full makeup, or else they'll be deemed "Fags and pseudometal" and rejected by the admins xD

No, seriously, that's what happened with Dir en Grey (The fact they had Nu Metal in their discography though didn't really help their case xD)

Really? I never had any problems with it, to be honest. They accepted bands like +Sadist+, Das:Vasser, vellaDonna and others. I even submitted few bands, like Remage, Smoky Flavor and Mother Earth and they all got accepted. I believe a band to be accepted has to have at least one metal release. Of course, something like Alternative or Nu metal is not metal for them because it's not 'true' or whatever. Maybe because of that, bands like Diru never got accepted? 

On the other hand, scarce and bands with little info can't just be accepted that easily. I remember submitting Xadow and Parasite, both relatively unknown bands. I had the audio proof, and some japanese sites mentioned their singles and demos - but that just wasn't enough. 

Submitting Noisia, wish me luck. lol 

[Gaz 1097]

if anyone is curious about the lyrics to the 皆殺しの歌 ～a song for massacre～ it's:

 

You die in sea of maggots.

 

 

 

...that's it lol

[Himeaimichu 1535]

8 hours ago, DaveKei said:

Really? I never had any problems with it, to be honest. They accepted bands like +Sadist+, Das:Vasser, vellaDonna and others. I even submitted few bands, like Remage, Smoky Flavor and Mother Earth and they all got accepted. I believe a band to be accepted has to have at least one metal release. Of course, something like Alternative or Nu metal is not metal for them because it's not 'true' or whatever. Maybe because of that, bands like Diru never got accepted? 

On the other hand, scarce and bands with little info can't just be accepted that easily. I remember submitting Xadow and Parasite, both relatively unknown bands. I had the audio proof, and some japanese sites mentioned their singles and demos - but that just wasn't enough. 

Submitting Noisia, wish me luck. lol 

Oh wow. I have noticed though that the admins tend to be very biased. I mean, they rejected Between The Buried and Me, a progressive Death Metal band, of which would normally be included on the site, because one song had clean vocals and so the admins denounced them as "a non-metal band with metal moments". And these guys weren't deathcore or any kind of Post Hardcore. They were full on classic Death Metal, but progressive, and on a few songs, implement clean vocals. 

Perhaps some admins of the site tend to be more accepting than the others?