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.
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.
During their “Constellations” European Tour Esprit D’Air stopped at AVO J-Music Festival in Den Haag on September 14 to play their show for the fans visiting the event.
We also went to check out his performance, and took some photos while we were there. You can find these photos on our portfolio,
During their “Darkness Coming” European Tour 2018 REMNANT stopped at AVO J-Music Festival in Den Haag on September 14 to play their show for the fans visiting the event.
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
During his “BACK TO EUROPE” European Tour 2018 HITT stopped at Abunai! in Veldhoven on August 26 to play his show for the fans 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,
HITT will be returning to Europe for a short tour in late August. The tour is being organized by HIGHFeeL, and will be visiting 5 countries for a total of 6 shows between August 24 and September 2.
It has been quite a few years since we’ve last seen HITT in The Netherlands, the last time being in 2014
AVO Magazine has been sharing information and promoting Japanese culture and music since 2003, which means that this year AVO is celebrating their 15th birthday.
And what better way to celebrate is there than celebrating this milestone together?
In 2013 AVO already celebrated their 10th birthday