Newbie testing the water - the essay

[Luciphel 7]

Hello all, its been a while since ive done an into post on a forum and it feels pretty good. Hopefully this place is as active as it looks at a glance.

Ive been into J-Rock/Visual Kei (if what i like is considered that, im not good at keeping with all the off-chute genres) for a long time, since 2005 in fact. Back then i was very active on a lot of forums. After a while though the internet seemed to change and forums in general seemed to die out and my social interaction with people on these niche topics with it. Since then ive relying on accidentally stumbling onto things for new music. Though that can be fun, more and more im not finding out about bands i love disbanding until years later. Yesterday i found out all at once that 3 more are gone and thats a lot to take in a day so i decided to see if i could find anywhere if there was a news forum (because im old and forums is all i understand). Thank you google for Monochrome Heaven which is a site i do recognise from back in the day. No idea if i joined back then (again, very old, bad memory).

So here i am, with only a few artists im a fan of that may or may not still be active looking for news, friends and recommendations.

 

My first stumble onto Japanese music was, as i said in '05, i was downloading things via limewire and somehow ended up with yuuyami suicide by pierrot and fell in love with what i heard. It took a hella long time but i was eventually able to get their entire discography though limewire, learning to stay up into the wee hours for the best search results to get what i needed. Though i have since been able to purchase most of their albums, i do still listen to those old files. From there the fascination grew to the point where it completely overtook wastern music. In the last 14 years ive purchased only 1 English album. (Even that was a shock, i was so out of the loop this band i had liked as a teen had broken up and made a comeback without me knowing lol). Pierrot are still my all time favourite band. 

 

I cant really explain what i like in music, i think at least the bands i like a miles apart in style and tone but i defiantly dont like operatic or screamo vocals which unfortunately seems to be what a lot of VK falls into. Admittedly a lot of it is on the softer side and sometimes veering violently into pop. This makes taking recommendations hard because "you like this, so you might like this which is similar" doesnt seem to work. So heres a weird list (all names romanised because my pc gets upset when i switch it into japanese):

 

Back in t' day(so were talking back before 2010, these were my gate way drugs so to speak):

PIERROT

An Cafe (early stuff, everything while Bou was still with them)

TMR (told you it got pop-y)

Nightmare (early stuff, when it was weird and interesting)

 

More Recent stuff:

Angelo (kinda obligated into this one since i love Pierrot so much but admittedly their last few albums have been too samey to hold my interest)

Lycaon (not so much as Initial'L, their first single was fine but then it went down hill real quick)
Pentagon

Kameleo

i.Rias

Purple Stone

Zin (and Yusai even more but well, that didnt last long did it)
Anli Pollicino

Codomo Dragon

Royz (other than that weird phase they had trying to scream)

Zonbi

Neverland

Blu-Billion

ViViD (the early stuff before it got TOOOO pop)

FEST VAINQUEUR

 

And a few others that, i like what theyve done so far but its too soon to tell OR did like 1 single and dropped off the face of the earth. 

 

Other Japanese interests:

Despite having a 800+ book collection of manga i dont consider myself an anime fan, i dont keep current and like most things i seem to be stuck loving things that are pre 2010 that the young 'uns have never heard of or never seen. Since anime seems to be most peoples gateway into other aspects of japanese culture just wanted to put it out there that thats not what im into these days. This being out of touch affects my business as i have a side-gig as an artist selling at conventions and struggle between drawing what i like and drawing what will sell with no knowledge of, or interest in what is currently popular. 

I am a big fan of games that delve into traditional folklore though and do try and buy art books when i can.

 

TLDR;

Hi, im new and i like some stuff and not others. Lets talk. 

[platy 3018]

Welcome

 

Nice to see another zonbi fan. They're perfect for when you fancy something fun that's slightly heavier but with no screaming or satanic chants.

 

If you want to make a fortune on your next convention, just draw Demon Slayer fanart.

 

[Luciphel 7]

Yeah its hard to find things that can make that balance. Heavier music but with nice vocals is always a win ✌️

 

After seeing all the cosplayers at my last one i do have a Nezuko in stock now lol 

[Rahzel 110]

Hello, welcome there! 

 

I came just because I appreciate how you titled the topic but it seems that our tastes are actually similar! Some of my favorite artists back in the days were also Nightmare, TMR and Ancafe. Never listened to Pierrot much but I reckon they had a Getbackers song which was My Jam 😁 ia on the screamo stuff. 

 

I am also very much into Neverland, Purple Stone and Codomo Dragon and occasionally listen to Royz, Fest Vainqueur, ViViD and Pentagon. Not super familiar with the others but Lycaon isn't a name I particularly like so now I am compelled to listening to their older stuff and see if it strikes my fancy. 

 

If I may recommend ... Some VK Stuff I enjoy nowadays aside from the aforementioned are ACME, Leetspeak Monsters, Amai Bouryoku (tbh I only listen to it because I miss Shounenki This Badly), Gremlins (bc Nightmare), Gravity and Vivarush. Still missing Moran, LMC, Gigamous, CLOWD and kannivalism. I will get over it someday but not soon tbh lol 

 

Anyway, thank you for reading me rambling and welcome there!! 😁 

[Luciphel 7]

Well i started typing and it kind of got out of hand so seemed apt lol

 

Will deffo check out those recommendations since we like a lot of the same stuff, have heard of some and not others so i should be able to find some samples. i think the only one of those ive listened to before was LMC way back when and i hated it but ill admit to possibly still being salty about losing Pierrot and bands change a lot with time so im not going to write them off. 

 

When it comes to Lycaon i dont like Royal Order but would say give the albums Masochist Red Circus and Camera Obscura a go if you havent already. It is pretty different to the other stuff on the list so i understand if its not for you.

 

And yes, Pierrot did do the second opening to Getbackers

[Rahzel 110]

36 minutes ago, Luciphel said:

Well i started typing and it kind of got out of hand so seemed apt lol

 

Will deffo check out those recommendations since we like a lot of the same stuff, have heard of some and not others so i should be able to find some samples. i think the only one of those ive listened to before was LMC way back when and i hated it but ill admit to possibly still being salty about losing Pierrot and bands change a lot with time so im not going to write them off. 

 

When it comes to Lycaon i dont like Royal Order but would say give the albums Masochist Red Circus and Camera Obscura a go if you havent already. It is pretty different to the other stuff on the list so i understand if its not for you.

 

And yes, Pierrot did do the second opening to Getbackers

I think with LMC ... there's the "we are annoying boys trying to create ok music" vibes for sure.  I kinda like it but it's really not as much for the music as it is for the aesthetics and the fun of it lol. Try replacing that for SCREW for a safer approach in terms of "2000s acts that disbanded but I liked". Oh, and Shounenki instead of Amai Bouryoku definitely ; ; ; .

Edit: wow, I just went to check and I could swear LMC had ceased activities around the same time as SCREW but turns out they're just kinda mia and occasionally doing lives in countries I don't live in. Dumb me lol.

 

Wow, I'm honestly Shocked at how ... prolific ... Lycaon was. I thought they were just a kinda big name band but they had like one release every week for almost ten years. I literally had no idea (and it's apparently the same for Initial'L). It's probably difficult to not like Anything in their discography lol. Thanks a lot! I'm gonna check them out  

 

Ohh. I loved all of that anime's songs so I recognized it. (Back in 2005, when all I listened to were anime songs and I didn't spend my money in bands at all, those were the days lol)

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2019 by Chell
Memory kinda sucks

[Luciphel 7]

On 12/2/2019 at 12:48 AM, Chell said:

If I may recommend ... Some VK Stuff I enjoy nowadays aside from the aforementioned are ACME, Leetspeak Monsters, Amai Bouryoku (tbh I only listen to it because I miss Shounenki This Badly), Gremlins (bc Nightmare), Gravity and Vivarush. Still missing Moran, LMC, Gigamous, CLOWD and kannivalism. I will get over it someday but not soon tbh lol 

Update on what ive found so far! Gravity and ACME are pretty decent, nothing i could fall in love and become obsessed with but sure good enough to add to my playlists and keep an eye out for. I dont know what i was expecting from Leetspeak Monsters but what i got certainly wasnt it, was different and kinda weird. Not quite sure yet but i think i might love them xD 

[Rahzel 110]

5 hours ago, Luciphel said:

Update on what ive found so far! Gravity and ACME are pretty decent, nothing i could fall in love and become obsessed with but sure good enough to add to my playlists and keep an eye out for. I dont know what i was expecting from Leetspeak Monsters but what i got certainly wasnt it, was different and kinda weird. Not quite sure yet but i think i might love them xD 

Aww yes, I'm glad you liked! It's pretty amazing, isn't it? Their visual style is quite ... gritty ... but the music is actually pretty fun, I love them.

P.S. Forgot to mention, but I actually started listening to Lycaon and it's not that bad! Actually, I didn't like their popular songs but I liked a few songs from the albums you rec'd and I realized I really like Initial L's songs somehow. I really gotta listen to more of Lycaon. Thanks a bunch!!

Edited December 3, 2019 by Chell

[YuyoDrift 1540]

Oh yeah, I was supposed to come back to this topic.

 

Welcome to Monochrome Heaven @Luciphel!

 

On 12/1/2019 at 1:49 PM, Luciphel said:

Back then i was very active on a lot of forums. After a while though the internet seemed to change and forums in general seemed to die out and my social interaction with people on these niche topics with it. Since then ive relying on accidentally stumbling onto things for new music. Though that can be fun, more and more im not finding out about bands i love disbanding until years later. Yesterday i found out all at once that 3 more are gone and thats a lot to take in a day so i decided to see if i could find anywhere if there was a news forum (because im old and forums is all i understand). Thank you google for Monochrome Heaven which is a site i do recognise from back in the day. No idea if i joined back then (again, very old, bad memory).

So here i am, with only a few artists im a fan of that may or may not still be active looking for news, friends and recommendations.

Well considering how social media may implode at any time now (or abandoned), you chose the perfect time to join/come back lol. Now, I feel, is one of those crucial times in the VK timeline to begin the whole preservation and whatnot, so the more old school fans that wanna join us, the happier we are to let them in.

I think that you'll fit right in considering that you've been around for as long as some of the regulars on here, including myself. 

 

On 12/1/2019 at 1:49 PM, Luciphel said:

learning to stay up into the wee hours for the best search results to get what i needed.

Haha my childhood right here. The fact I had to download things file by file using those programs, never again.

 

Oh yeah, I saw your band list and you need to update that shit to 2019 lol luckily MH can help a ton with that.

 

Let the staff know if you have any questions.

Talk to ya soon!

[Luciphel 7]

On 12/3/2019 at 5:30 PM, Chell said:

 

P.S. Forgot to mention, but I actually started listening to Lycaon and it's not that bad! Actually, I didn't like their popular songs but I liked a few songs from the albums you rec'd and I realized I really like Initial L's songs somehow. I really gotta listen to more of Lycaon. Thanks a bunch!!

Awesome, we both found something new today. I was fine with Initial'L... initially (harhar) but to me it just seems to be getting worse and worse to the point where i still listen to new releases but the feeling isnt yay hype excitement its more "Oh no Yuuki, what are you going to do to me now?" dread. 

 

On 12/5/2019 at 3:38 AM, YuyoDrift said:

Haha my childhood right here. The fact I had to download things file by file using those programs, never again.

The sweet EEEEHHHHRRRRHHHHHEHEEHHHARRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE of dial up.

 

Thank you for the warm welcome

[Rahzel 110]

On 12/6/2019 at 6:09 AM, Luciphel said:

Awesome, we both found something new today. I was fine with Initial'L... initially (harhar) but to me it just seems to be getting worse and worse to the point where i still listen to new releases but the feeling isnt yay hype excitement its more "Oh no Yuuki, what are you going to do to me now?" dread. 

 

The sweet EEEEHHHHRRRRHHHHHEHEEHHHARRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE of dial up.

 

Thank you for the warm welcome

Ia the older releases for Initial L are indeed my favorite from what I have heard. The instrumental sounds more melodic I guess. 

 

(Also, lol'd, perfect representation of the sweet sound of dial up. )

 

Thanks for recommending once again! I'll be around! 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Chell