Artists like Malice Mizer, Dir en Grey, Glay, Pierrot, Gackt. These boys are certainly beyond-glam, but does anyone here rate them musically? Info/history on this scene? Search/destroy?
― briania, Monday, 20 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
Visual-kei is a phenomenon in Japan where bands take visual
cues from stuff like kabuki culture, David Bowie, and Marilyn
Manson. Everything is always charged with romanticism and
agony and whatnot and all of the singers mimic this deep David
Sylvian sort of voice. Falsettos are really popular as well as epic
string arrangements. Here is a run down:
Malice Mizer: Theatrical, heavy film score/classical influence, led
by 2 guitarrists Mana and Kozi (with blue/red
clothing/guitars/hair/lipstick respectively), similar to Fantomas'
covers of horror theme music but more straight-faced. Very
baroque costumes and sound. Currently disbanded. Search: "Le
Ciel", "Syunikiss", "Kyomu no naka de yugi Daisetsu", "Garnet".
Dir en Grey: The prevalent shock rockers of the scene. Music
videos of bondage and bloody drool, etc. Lots of relentless metal
noise and NIN-like FX sounds mixed with counter-point
unabashed melody. The vocalist likes to scream and gurgle
between singing. Search: "Cage", "Zan", "Myaku", "gyakujou
tannou keloid milk".
Gackt: Former vocalist of Malice Mizer, infamously deep
melodramatic voice. Has now gone solo and has mellowed out
from the Malice gothic type stuff. Search: "Vanilla", "Asrun
Dream", "Seki Ray", "Oasis".
Pierrot: Middle of the road visual rock. Leather and chains, meat
and potatoes deal. Dark enough to hover below superstar
status. Search: "Finale", "Mad Sky", "Freaks", "Waltz".
Lareine: Effeminate (even for this genre), rosy, and light easy
melodies. Fairies, forests, and little children pricking their fingers
on thorns. Search: "Metamorphose", "Billet", "Fuyu Tokyo".
Plastic Tree: They have a frail sounding vocalist. Otherwise, eh.
Search: "ether".
Glay and L'arc en ciel are both less visual, less dark, more
accessible, and have sold out stadiums in Japan. Glay is more
striaght ahead while L'arc is more delicate. Search: Glay's
"yuuwaku", "winter again". L'arc's "Winter fall", "Stay Away", "Sell
my soul", "Natsu No Yuutsu (single version)".
Before the visual explosion you also have bands like Luna Sea
and X Japan. Both are ridiculously epic and both have
disbanded. Search: X Japan's over-the-top album
and Luna Sea's "Shine" and "Storm".― Honda, Monday, 20 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
one year passes...
six years pass...