ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) started to form in Japan in the 1980’s, creating a genre where the visual performance of the artist is just as important as the music they make. The name itself is derived from the slogan “Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock”, which was seen on the cover of X Japan’s second studio album “Blue Blood”, released in 1989.
By combining the often flamboyant and androgynous looks with their music, these artists tell the story of their works in a more theatrical way than other genres worldwide often do. The visual presentation also allows these artists to express themselves individually in their own creative style.
While ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) is the “top” of the genre, there are a lot of artists who can’t be categorized in any of it’s many subgenres but still have the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) style in their works. That’s why we’ve collected them here, as well as bands from other countries that have been inspired by this unique genre.
I first found out about David at a show of Versailles, of all places. At the entrance of the venue people were given a very small business-card sized flyer advertising SUI’s new project, and this seems like a rather strange place to promote a project that’s not even on stage that night, right? Well yes,
DEVILOOF have used their Facebook page that they’ve finally been able to do something that they have been talking about for several years: they will be coming to Europe for a tour in 2020!
At the moment no tourdates have been published yet, but you can leave a comment on their Facebook post to let
You might have noticed this news floating around over the web already, but in case you didn’t just yet…
SUI, the vocalist of Metis Gretel and Megaromania, started his solo project David in January 2017. Which means the 3rd anniversary for his project is coming up in January 2020.
To celebrate
During his “BE YOURSELF” European Tour 2019 砂月-SATSUKI- stopped at AnimeCon in Rotterdam on June 15 to play his show for the fans who were visiting the convention.
We also went to check out his performance, and took some photos while we were there. You can find these photos on our portfolio, Arlequin Photography,
砂月-SATSUKI- will be returning to Europe with the help of tour organizer HIGHFeeL in mid-June, for a total of 8 shows in 5 different countries between June 14 and June 30.
After the release of his digital single “BE YOURSELF” last May, 砂月-SATSUKI- demonstrated once again how diverse his
During their “ZEUS” European Tour 2019 Jupiter stopped at the Baroeg in Rotterdam on May 10 to play their show for the fans who had been waiting outside for most of the afternoon already.
We also went to check out their performance, and took some photos while we were there. You can find these photos
During Madmans Esprit’s “Suicidol” tour VII ARC was the support band for the group during their stop at Popcentrale in Dordrecht on April 21 to play their show for the fans who had been waiting outside for most of the afternoon already.
We also went to check out their performance, and took some photos
VII ARC is a metal band from Germany, but with a unique influence: pretty much all members enjoy ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) and have been adding the inspiration they’ve gotten from the Japanese artists to their work. Perhaps you caught their performance in Amstelveen in 2017, where they supported MORRIGAN
We’ve been covering Jupiter’s releases for quite some time now, so the band doesn’t need a big introduction at this point, do they?
Last August the band released their first single with the new lineup of the group, titled “Theory of Evolution”. Consisting out of three
Jupiter has been pretty active in the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) genre for a few years now, creating quite a name for themselves. Unsurprisingly, given that the original lineup of the band existed out of both guitarists, the bassist and the drummer of Versailles. Throughout the years there have been some
The last time I got to speak to 龍 (RYU) was a little over two years ago already, in 2016 when he was at the OshareCon convention in Nieuwegein (The Netherlands). But 龍 (RYU) certainly hasn’t gone silent since that show. Instead he has started a new project, but instead of only making it available to Japan,
After the departure of vocalist ZIN, remaining members HIZAKI, TERU, RUCY and DAISUKE have returned to the scene with a new single, called “Theory of Evolution”, showcasing the skills of their new vocalist KUZE in August of this year.
KUZE is not a newcomer to the music scene, not in the slightest even.