I’m sure that most people by now have heard of 摩天楼オペラ (Matenrou Opera) as a band, but in the recent years I have seen their overseas activity get less and less. Yet there was a lot going on in the world of the band. Not only have they gone independent last year, they’ve also lost their guitarist,
Category: 🎵 ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei)
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.
David announces new concept mini-album “Gothculture”
Like I said in the previous article about SUI’s plans for January of 2021, he planned a large event spanning two days to celebrate not only his own birthday, but also the 4th anniversary of David as his solo project. Unfortunately the state of emergency was issued in Japan, preventing SUI from holding
Angels’ Temptation // “As angels, we support you.”
Angels’ Temptation is still a relatively new band on the scene, starting their very first activities on their YouTube channel in November of 2018, and releasing their very first digital single “Fallen Angel” in July of 2020. So that’s quite some time between the very first
David announces live performances “Fragment & Reminiscence” for SUI’s birthday
For his birthday SUI has announced that he will be playing not one, but two live shows named “Fragment & Reminiscence” in 浦和Narciss (Urawa Narciss) on the 23rd and 24th of January.
Originally it was intended as a full live show which would also be broadcasted through TwitCasting,
Alpha999 announces opening of official webshop
When I introduced Alpha999 last year there was something that I noticed almost immediately.
The one who introduced me to TAKA’s music lives in Japan. They have the option to go to Alpha999’s live shows and get their hands on CDs or merchandise. But since I live overseas, I cannot do any of
Mr.SunFace // Combining street culture and graffiti with fashion
If you’re familiar with DaizyStripper you probably know まゆ (Mayu) as the lead guitarist of the band. But did you know that he recently jumped into a completely different project that has nothing to do with the band? He recently launched his very own clothing label Mr.SunFace!
The very first collection,
Scarlet Horizon // 7: This is the way of our life
Scarlet Horizon are a ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) inspired band from Bejing, China, existing out of ZERO on vocals, 曜 (You) on guitar and backing vocals, 覚 (Satori) on bass and 亚弥 (Ayase) on drums.
In 2016 they released their first single “Unstoppable”, and since they followed that up with the
DEVILOOF // Devil’s Calling/Angel’s Cry: This story of love that is determined to end my life
The release of DEVILOOF’s newest single was already announced in January of 2020, with the release date itself being set for March 11. But the release was eventually delayed indefinitely. To the great surprise (and delight) of fans we didn’t have to wait for the single to be released anyway,
Cazqui’s Brutal Orchestra // OSWALD: Take off your face
Cazqui already made some waves as the lead guitarist of NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST, but due to some events behind the scenes both Cazqui and the other guitarist Daichi ended up leaving the group.
These events are personal between the members, and even though some of it has leaked onto the internet here and there
Rumbless. // A “catastrophe.” for a business card
For this interview I spoke with vocalist Roku, guitarist Takaki, bassist Sin and drummer Tva, four guys who form “Rumbless.” together. Rumbless. combines metal with J-Pop and elements of ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) to create their unique signature sound. And even though they’re still a relatively young
Rumbless. // Σ-sigma-: Layer the colors as you like
Rumbless. is still a relative newcomer in the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) scene, but vocalist Roku has been in other projects (like “Project zero”, “Re;zero”, “End;Re” and “Sith”) prior to Rumbless. Despite being rather new to the scene, Roku, Takaki, Sin and Tva have a very good image of what they want. They
Jupiter // Warrior of Liberation: Beyond the never-ending light
Nearly a full year after the release of their full album “Zeus ~Legends Never Die~”, the first full album featuring KUZE as the new vocalist of the band, Jupiter now returns full force with a new single packed with three songs for fans to enjoy.
Each song on this single is unique in it’s own way, which sure