Visual Kei/V系

[hitsugi]

I'm still very into the music after some time, and I thought it should probably have its own thread I guess. Post PVs, thoughts, etc. I've always been very into all kinds of games, but I started paying far more attention to visual bands in the last few years, it's still like a new world to me lol.

X Japan is classic, I'm sure everyone knows them.

This is from 2013, but I also watched Luna Sea's 2007 live recently since I couldn't see Jiluka where I live. Cool ass band.

 

[fake-kun]

My sibling used to have a X Japan CD collection. That's about it for my familiarity with the genre.

 

[Tonberry]

I was pretty into it when I was 16-17, then rediscovered it a bit at like 20, but haven't kept up at all.
I'm a bigger fan of it than I'd like to admit, but that's an admission in and of itself lol so HERE I GO:

Just plain ol fun music.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

I never really got into the original batch of vk bands like x Japan and Luna Sea but I totally loved the next generation that started to take off in the late 90s/early 2000s like Mucc, Dir En Grey, D, Moi Dix Mois, Kagerou and especially D’espairsRay which was my favorite band for a good while. Fantastic live performers too, it’s a shame they broke up. The follow up projects just weren’t the same although Hizumi‘s new band Nul and the other three’s occasional live band Luv Parade are pretty good.

Other than the bands from that era I haven’t engaged much with visual kei since. In the 2010s the sound started to grow quite stale and all the new bands I came across were far too generic and were very short-lived.

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

In the early 2000s I was introduced to the style, I still listen to a few bands today. Some of my favorites back than were Dir En Grey, Mucc, The GazettE, Psycho le Cému, Miyavi, Girugämesh. I was fortunate to see some bands live here in the states on a few rare bookings (Taste of Chaos, Inward Scream) and met the guitarist of D’espairsRay in a bar after the show once. These days I still occasionally play older vk tracks but also tend to listen to modern 2010-present bands.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's icon RanmyakuIchi RanmyakuIchi]

I never got super deep into it but I remember being really into Dir En Grey, The GazettE, Girugamesh, Gackt and a few others when I was younger. It's pretty nostalgic to me now.

 

[Bonkers225]

First Visual Kei I experienced was X-Japan's Art of Life, after them, Malice Mizer with Au Revoir. Then came Luna Sea, Dir En Grey, and Glay

 

[Spike's iconSpike]

This concert is my favorite, the songs I like the most are:

Illuminati, Syunikiss, Bel Air, Aegen, Ju te veux, Brise, Au Revoir and Le Ciel

 

[Antilocal123]

Same, I was introduced to it through Taylor Swift!

 

[bjork]

I used to work in a place that sold some cds and dvds of bands mentioned here, and I'd put the Art of Life DVD on loop for entire shifts sometimes. So good.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

Uhnrelated to Visual Kei, but Luna Sea remade my favorite song from Mobile Suit Gundam!

 

[Tengu Plant]

This band mixed Vkei with New Wave influences. It's an interesting sound.

 

[Kuro2427]

Ooh! Vkei thread! Have you guys listened to Malice Mizer's demo tape, Sans Logique? It was never properly archived by the band themselves so the best rips we have are like, 4th generation copies. But to be honest, I feel like the generation loss almost ads some "texture" to it, if you know what I mean. It makes this album feel more like some sort of ambient or post-rock-ey project, which I think goes along pretty well with the more classical composition style seen here.

 

[Fray Guillermo]

This concert is my favorite

Malice Mizer

One of my favourite bands ever since a friend's sister introduced me to them when I was like 12yo, still listening to them to this day.

There are versions with vocals for two of the songs from that demo tape:

It's hard to choose a favourite era by them, all three singers added something special to the mix, along with constant new sonic directions. I love the raw energy and new wave style by Tetsu, the elegance of Gackt and the more darkwave vibes brought by Klaha.

And here's a song that I recently discovered and fell in love with, brought me back to those teenage years

 

[hitsugi]

I'm really happy to see so many replies here haha! I made this thread b/c spent far more time listening to anirock bands growing up (Aqua Timez, HIGH & MIGHTY COLOR, etc.) rather than vkei since it was pretty dead in the early-late 2010s imo. I feel I also wanted to revisit/discover a lot of stuff after moving around in so many communities online (FGC, animanga, etc.).

(I think Sakurai's (and sadly Reita's) passing really made me feel I had to hold onto something even if it's gonna be gone/already gone. I guess the online sphere changed so much that now I'm just stanning bands or whatever. I was also the only kid who liked Jrock growing up, so that also kind of prevented me from being a "true fan" since my peers would probably tease me for it ig.)

Same, I was introduced to it through Taylor Swift!

I was really confused what you meant, then it turns out NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST made a TSwift cover

 

[Nidstang]

Idk if they count 100%, but I really like bands like Babymetal, Band-Maid, and Hanabie