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it's gonna be klaha's new band bookmark this post

its gonna be Velvet Eden somehow

i did it mama

I speak this unto the universe: it will be Hitomi's new band.

Let's all take bets on whether or not they will have "Rose" somewhere in their name.

Live filming from the 31.12.2016 countdown live at Esaka Muse Deviloof - HERO = MURDER filmed by V STAR PROMOTION

Kaya new maxi-single "夢路" (Yumeji) will be released at 2017/03/08 (2 types) Limited edition (2160 yens) will include CD (2 songs) + DVD ("夢路" (Yumeji) PV) Regular edition (1620 yens) will include CD (3 songs) only [CD tracklist] 01. 夢路 (Yumeji) 02. Frosty Rain (with 鈴木結女(Suzuki Yume)) 03. 夢路(Yumeji)-Remix- [regular edition only] He will hold his oneman live tour "Dream after Dream" since 2017/03/18 at OSAKA RUIDO since 2017/04/07 at Shinjuku ReNY

yas @ pierrot revival! un-yas @ pierrot working with that trash (yas @ lmc presumably being finally dead)

. Happy New Years, everyone! December was a super busy month for the ORZ crew, so we have a bite-sized selection of new tracks to recommend you guys this month, but rest assured, they're delectable as always! Thanks to our guest contributors @Lestat and @Ada Suilen! As usual, we apologize if some videos aren't available due to region restrictions. @CAT5's Picks "紫光 (shikou)" by 八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88kasyo Junrei) 88kasyo Junrei have released an album every year, without fail, from 2009 all the way up through 2015, usually within the month of August. Having taken their prolificness for granted, most of us had assumed that a 2016 release would be given. Sadly, that wasn't the case, but Margaret and the crew must have sensed our yearnings, as they dropped this PV out of the blue shortly into December. And while no new album has been announced yet, what they've served us here is certainly appeasing! "shikou" is somewhat different for 88kasyo. These guys don't usually make a habit of restraining themselves - often taking every opportunity to noodle our faces off and pummel us with their cacophonous insanity - so it was a bit of a shock to hear how subdued this track was at first. But it came as an even bigger surprise that this track still manages to fucking rock! It's a slower tune for them, sure, but the band's musical acumen hasn't been diminished one bit because of it. Margaret employs a squeaky, rap-like flow while providing one of the band's most memorable basslines, Kenzoooooo's drumming is as coercive as ever, and Katzuya sprinkles just enough of his psychedelic guitar work in the mix to be potent. What I thought at first was 'restraint', was actually just the band exercising their instincts with a newfound control. "shikou" isn't just the 88kasyo taking it easy, it shows a mature step forward in the band's songwriting. I can't wait for what's next! "さよーならあなた (Sayounara Anata)" by カネコアヤノ (Kaneko Ayano) The Japanese Folk/Singer-Songwriter realm has been pretty uneventful for me this year. My personally appointed 'Celestial Goddess' of modern J-folk Ichiko Aoba proved to be mundane after all, with her humdrum follow-up to 2013's masterpiece 0. And the much less renown, but equally dear to me, mmm/me-my-mo made a brief appearance early in the year with her band Maria Hato, releasing a single titled "C.P.U" (that I wrote about in February's edition of RT), which was brilliant, but only managed to whet my appetite. Enter Kaneko Ayano. While not as quirky as mmm, and certainly nowhere near Aoba's ethereal genius, Kaneko's straightforward and simple sound has been a refreshing serving of the folky tunes I've been craving from 2016. She's released two EPs this year - hug back in April, and Sayounara Anata just recently. The title track diverges from her usual, barebones acoustic approach and includes a full band backing that really vitalizes her already emotive sound. It almost sounds like risette and ミラーボールズ (mirrorballs) were smoothly merged together - the end result is the perfect blend of carefree indie-pop and adorably earnest folk-rock. "Youth" by Young Juvenile Youth Young Juvenile Youth, YJY for short, consists of vocalist Yuki and producer/beatmaker Jemapur. Having formed in 2012 and only having released their debut EP in 2015, they're relatively new to the scene, but have already carved out a bit of a niche for themselves. Their latest single "YOUTH" is a beacon of this musical alcove that they've built: sleek, minimal electronic music that you'd sooner hear out of London than Tokyo. Not exactly trip-hop, but certainly not electro-pop either, "Youth" sports a sound that would be difficult to find contemporaries for in Japan. The synths are meticulously layered and arranged, and the beat is just chill enough to garner a contemplative head-nod. There's also a certain accessibility to Yuki's vocals, but the songwriting feels really subtle in its pop aspects. "Youth" shows a lot of promise, and while YJY may not be topping the Oricon charts anytime soon, they do have the potential to expand on an international scale, while also being a singular force within Japan. @beni's Pick "The Lights" by FABLED NUMBER Another month, another random gem found. This time it's FABLED NUMBER. The little known rock band reminds me of SILHOUETTE FROM THE SKYLIGHT, but with a pop/electronic edge. This makes for a very accessible sound, and the song's energy does not let up at any point. You'll want to continuously repeat the track in no time! They instantly caught my attention with this tune, and hopefully that's the same case for others. It's a real shame that these guys are so unknown compared to other, similar bands, as they show great potential in this latest single of theirs. Here's to hoping you also check out their debut album coming out in early February entitled ILLUMINATE! @togz's Pick "埋葬 (maisou)" by RAZOR I was a little worried as to where RAZOR's line-up would take them. After their mini-album RED INVISIBLE dropped, all my worries went away. The release is a solid listen as a whole, which you can learn more about in @Zeus' review of it here. The track that really made me move was "埋葬 (maisou)". It's upbeat from the start, but fairly heavy for a visual kei composition. Ryoga's fast paced speaking along with the guitars builds into a really fun environment when the instrumentals and vocals come together. The phrasing is predictable, but that makes it easier to anticipate where the song is going and, in my opinion, makes for a damn good live song. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a band and hearing them for the first time while not having to worry about whether you can follow the crowd or not. It's a song you can simply feel and really rock out to. @Zeus' Pick "drifting litter" by DECAYS It's no secret DECAYS has redeemed themselves with their transformation, and I've extolled the virtues of Baby who wanders enough in my review. What I didn't mention in the review was my favorite track on the album, and that would be "drifting litter". This hypnotic, hazy ballad is at odds with the overall direction of the album, adopting a thick, dark tone. The melody is anchored in place by the thick bass and guitar and Nakamura commands the chorus completely. The pure rock guitar solo in the middle skyrockets the song to eleven. If Baby who wanders wasn't dark or heavy enough for you, then this is what you are looking for. @Original Saku's Pick "人魚の檻 (ningyo no ori)" by 陰陽座 (Onmyo-za) Onmyo-za is a band that comes and goes for me. In that, I mean that they're a group who I enjoy a great deal when they release something, but I don't keep up with specifically, so more often than not it's like a nice little present that soon fades till the next one. "人魚の檻" from the band's newest effort Karyoubinga is just one of those aforementioned 'presents'. While being a whopping seven minutes six seconds long, it comes in as the longest song on the album and does not suffer for it. The track begins calm and serene then Kuroneko chimes in with her beautiful soft vocal technique that can only be described as 'heavenly'. It soon flows into the backing guitar riffs that thunder and transform the song into something more chaotic but, still beautiful. Shortly after the guitars kick in, Matatabi gets his turn with his trademark deep, powerful vocals that eventually lead into dual vocal excellence between the two. The track progresses into the instrumental bit where Maneki and Karukan show off their prowess and melt my face off in the process. The last minute and a half takes on a very 'haunting' aesthetic that slows down the tempo and closes out wonderfully. Guest Recommendations: @Lestat's Picks "輪舞曲 (rondo)" by 藍-AI- I wonder if I have traversed in to the mysterious universe of Konami's Castlevania, as "輪舞曲" promptly astonishes me with an enigmatic alliance of both a devout organ and a set of dungeon-crawling synthesizers. Whoever praises the unnatural and the unknown realms will likely appreciate this on short notice, as it is fully enclosed by the strange and the dark. While an engaging bass performs its own black magic and whirs away, the track sneaks along this very murky line, slowly approaching an evanescent moment of clarity; fog clears, and for a brief moment you open a dark cellar's trapdoors toward a more flitting, yet vigilant chorus, one where the opaque and ambiguous vocals of ex-DEATHGAZE's 藍-AI- take on a transparency in the wee hour's quickly fading light. "-SHAMBARA-" by R指定 (R-Shitei) All the while, R指定 have proven themselves multifaceted goliaths, able to mutate or evolve at will. The immensely popular band does not discriminate between dawn and dusk, and waltzes among both pop rock and heavy metal in swiftly taken steps. Give this ingenuous and tireless group a sound, concept or genre, and they will shape and form it into their very own inherent creation. One of those consistent transformations takes place in "-SHAMBARA-", wherein マモ (Mamo) and his gang do not shy away from channeling the obscure Dir en grey through otherworldly sonant assemblies and distressing squalls from the deep. This is where R指定 release their inner demons and convey their ghastly messages through tuned down equipment, a swarm of screams and breakdowns, and a lone guitar's eerie-sounding strum. @Ada Suilen's Picks "The Buddha" by LM.C The most freaking and colorful J-rock duo of the moment achieves the important score of ten years in the music industry, and for this occasion, they decided to make this year pretty interesting; starting from the colorful rocking "MONROEwalk" and then the nostalgic and soft dyed "Rainmaker". They released their fifth album Veda this month, where they maintained and improved their eccentric and beating sound in all the shades they know best. In this track, the duo brought something mature and innovative to their sound, along with an electro-exotic vibe which never hurts, for this is one of their best tracks for sure. "Ai to ai so nokosazu (Baby who wanders ver.)" by DECAYS When this band debuted with the song "Secret Mode", they didn't convince me at all, despite of the presence of Dir En Grey's Die and the famous singer Yusuke Kobayashi, two sure winners of the genre. With the mini-album Red or Maryam, my interest for them grew more, even if I felt that something lacked. And how, with the addition of the violinist Ayasa and the pop singer Ataru Nakamura (a pleasant discovery for me), the band found out what was lacking and this new take of the song shows it, with its energy, grace and sensuality, all filtered inside a wonderful rock theme. It's a track everyone should listen to and that is quite hard to forget. Thanks for checking out our recommendations this month! If you have any thoughts on our list or recommendations of your own, please feel free to comment below! If you're interested in being a guest contributor, contact either @CAT5 or @doombox See you all next month! ^_~

this gotta be something beautiful, talented, one of a kind, unique like a tour of stand up episodes of Kirito laughing at his own “be careful who you call ugly during indie label era” jokes, and an embarrassed freshly head-shaved kyo selectively pigsquealing in response all funds procured go towards a time machine to 2002, thus the project title

THIS GIVES ME SO MUCH HOPE I'M SOBBING *also it IS Kamijo's label (!!!!!!)

Sui from Lin/Megaromania deleted his Twitter just a couple of days ago. his last tweet were about recording, so I really hope he's the vocalist at least. edit: oh wait is this not kamijos label? Nvm then

* Kaoru has plastic surgery to change his entire hand into a giant guitar pick

yes they will here's the announcement (no.. probably not).

Like, seriously, when I listened to the album, there was no indication that anyone in this band has a basic understanding of how music works. The band is explosive aural diarrhea and Mao constantly "singing" thru comically distorted filters is the bloody vomit on top of the shit cake. Why is this a thing? Why is it being supported enough for it to continue existing? Why did Sadie have to end for this to begin? I am baffled.

I appreciate their dedication in putting those overtime hours working as a sound excrement human farm tbh. bonus points for lifting a single title off LMC, like, literally scrapping the bottom of vk compost barrel there. that's sadie members for you, duh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

as long as it's not a goth EDM solo artist under the name Gaya/Maya/Daya/Slaya, I'm lowkey here for it

Oh, it is? Awesome!! Then I really hope it's Sui.

The addition of non-prejudiced moderators would likely be my first incentive for joining, indeed. If this turns out to be anything like the Skype chat used to be (quite hostile, a lot of member-bashing and an unmonitored environment which was a perfect place for starting fights), I think a lot of users will be greatly discouraged.

I downloaded Discord instead of using the browser version and it was much better than the browser version. Worked fairly well to be honest. Was nice.

I'm going to be very disappointed thanks to you all if it doesn't have anything to do with Hitomi or Sui.

If Sui came back I could die a happy man but I doubt it.

Yeah, so perfect for an edgy late 80's early 90's vk band in my opinion. I don't condone the serial murder of children, but I think it makes for a cool band name.

Inb4 rabid gyas start cutting wristbands so they can be the only audience members

Some nice tracks on this list. I'll particularly second the 八十八ヶ所巡礼 track along with the two DECAYS ones. I'll add a couple of recommendations of my own too (maybe I should stop being a lazy shit and actually write a guest contribution sometime...) dilitant by siraph I'm sure that absolutely noone who knows my music taste will be surprised about this choice. siraph's latest single is basically confirmation that this band is the real deal and that their mini album from earlier in the year wasn't just some cool one-off before fading into obscurity. Yoshimasa Terui's sole composition on the single is a testament to how well he's been able to adapt his natural writing style to fit into siraph's school food punishment-esque soundscape. Given their output this year, I really can't wait to hear more from these guys in 2017. 太陽と暮らしてきた by JYOCHO And while we're on the topic of new 2016 bands that are effectively spiritual successors of dearly missed dis-bands, 宇宙コンビニ's spiritual successor JYOCHO, lead by guitar prodigy Daijiro Nakagawa, dropped their brilliant debut mini album earlier this month and it's a real treat to listen to. 太陽と暮らしてきた serves as the mini's lead promotional track and it's not hard to understand why. All of 宇宙コンビニ's hallmarks are there, except now Daijiro is playing with people that are able to keep up with his technical wizardry and there's even a flute added in there for a nice bit of aural variety.

So maybe D'espairsRay will comeback too, few days ago they 4 were in a meeting. WELCOME 2017

These guys are grinders that have been around forever, and I can't name one song off 'm.

- The GazettE will release a 30 second teaser with no music foreshadowing a mysterious announcement for mid-2018. - Dir en grey will disband after Kaoru is diagnosed with a form of reactive arthritis that prevents him from playing guitar, thus losing the main composition inspiration for the band in its current era; Kyo will stay in sukekiyo; Die - Decays; Toshiya will start a clothing line; Shinya will fade into the distance - Akane from D.I.D, shocking the VK World, will commit suicide. - Dadaroma will release a follow up EP that is mediocre and mostly compiled pre-released A-Sides - lynch. will release an EP, after taking some time to resolve the Akinori situation, a month after they announce their new support bassit in Q3 2017, and it will be solid. - Ryo will will front a new band with Nii, Katsuya (Ex-CodeRebirth -> Misanthropist) and support members and it will be the most hype of 2017 Some of these sound very depressing, but I genuinely think they will happen.

Their new album will be released on 2017.03.22 ! It will include 16 songs. Limited edition DVD : 4000 yens + taxes CD : 「オキノタユウ」 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」 「起死回生」 「ミ・ラ・イ」 「Strong Fate」 「浮世heavy life」 「流星」 「蛍火」 「空の極み」 「鳥のように」 「望月」 「ワタシ・至上主義」 「CLEAN」 「Howling」 「MOON SHINE」 + bonus 「チルドレンレコード」 DVD : 「オキノタユウ」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方にむけて」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Strong Fate」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「起死回生」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「オキノタユウ」（MAKING） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」（MAKING） Limited edition Blu-Ray : 4800 yens + taxes CD : 「オキノタユウ」 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」 「起死回生」 「ミ・ラ・イ」 「Strong Fate」 「浮世heavy life」 「流星」 「蛍火」 「空の極み」 「鳥のように」 「望月」 「ワタシ・至上主義」 「CLEAN」 「Howling」 「MOON SHINE」 + bonus 「チルドレンレコード」 Blu-Ray : 「オキノタユウ」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方にむけて」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Strong Fate」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「起死回生」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「オキノタユウ」（MAKING） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」（MAKING） Limited edition DVD : 4000 yens + taxes CD : 「オキノタユウ」 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」 「起死回生」 「ミ・ラ・イ」 「Strong Fate」 「浮世heavy life」 「流星」 「蛍火」 「空の極み」 「鳥のように」 「望月」 「ワタシ・至上主義」 「CLEAN」 「Howling」 「MOON SHINE」 + bonus 「チルドレンレコード」 DVD : 01. Live from 2016.06.25-26 「日光東照宮御鎮座四百年記念 単独公演」 Limited edition Blu-Ray : 4800 yens + taxes CD : 「オキノタユウ」 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」 「起死回生」 「ミ・ラ・イ」 「Strong Fate」 「浮世heavy life」 「流星」 「蛍火」 「空の極み」 「鳥のように」 「望月」 「ワタシ・至上主義」 「CLEAN」 「Howling」 「MOON SHINE」 + bonus 「チルドレンレコード」 DVD : 01. Live from 2016.06.25-26 「日光東照宮御鎮座四百年記念 単独公演」 Regular edition : 2800 yens + taxes CD : 「オキノタユウ」 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」 「起死回生」 「ミ・ラ・イ」 「Strong Fate」 「浮世heavy life」 「流星」 「蛍火」 「空の極み」 「鳥のように」 「望月」 「ワタシ・至上主義」 「CLEAN」 「Howling」 「MOON SHINE」 + bonus 「チルドレンレコード」 There will be a special edition which will only be buyable at Mu-Mo shops and for their fan-club. It will include a deluxe booklet and it will come in a "gorgeous box" . CD 1 : オキノタユウ」 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」 「起死回生」 「ミ・ラ・イ」 「Strong Fate」 「浮世heavy life」 「流星」 「蛍火」 「空の極み」 「鳥のように」 「望月」 「ワタシ・至上主義」 「CLEAN」 「Howling」 「MOON SHINE」 「チルドレンレコード」 CD 2 : 「戦-ikusa-」（Instrumental) 「星月夜」（Instrumental) 「Perfect Blue」（Instrumental) 「追憶」（Instrumental) 「鋼-HAGANE-」（Instrumental) 「風鈴の唄うたい」（Instrumental) 「華火（Instrumental) 「郷愁の空」（Instrumental) 「暁ノ糸」（Instrumental) 「白斑」（Instrumental) 「なでしこ桜」（Instrumental) 「反撃の刃」（Instrumental) 「千本桜」（Instrumental) 「華振舞」（Instrumental) DVD 1 : 「オキノタユウ」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方にむけて」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Strong Fate」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「起死回生」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「オキノタユウ」（MAKING） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」（MAKING） DVD 2 : Live from 2016.06.25-26 「日光東照宮御鎮座四百年記念 単独公演」 Blu-Ray 1 : 「オキノタユウ」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方にむけて」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Valkyrie-戦乙女-」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「Strong Fate」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「起死回生」（MUSIC VIDEO） 「オキノタユウ」（MAKING） 「雪よ舞い散れ其方に向けて」（MAKING） Blu-Ray 2 : Live from 2016.06.25-26 「日光東照宮御鎮座四百年記念 単独公演」

That won't happen here. I promise as long as I'm the server owner, everyone will be treated equally and hostile and malicious behavior will not be tolerated. The reason the skype chat became like that is because it was unofficial and was out of our hands, none of us had any power over it. At the moment the only people who are moderated are the staff here that have joined the server. But like I said I'm looking into giving certain members limited mod powers to help out with the server, but of course that will be in the future.

if you're talking about from the live clip, that's Ray, he's just their support guitarist until they find an official member

the guy on the right side,is he support or official? he is very energetic,i like him

i really hope he won't retire, i'd do anything to see him in a new band. any band. i just want him back

we all do ;__;

mama serving foodbaby Willam looks this time, loving this concept

In all honesty I haven't used the voice chat much, so I can't really comment on that, but the text chat is excellent and leagues beyond what we've been using here on the forums.

Glad to have joined this thread even in this month! I see that the love for Decays is not only mine, and that's awesome, hoping to listen to more of them in the new year. @Original SakuI have had chills when I listened to that song by Onmyo-za, the harmony between the singers is exceptional, for not talking about the rest! Nice to see even Razor, R-Shitei (which are surprising me more!) and Ai!

tfw u invest urself into a band AFTER a member has been arrested is this what hell is like¿¿?

Gilles de Rais was a cool dude who didn't afraid of anything. I think it's a sick band name, go read the wiki page for the historical figure.

Happy new year everyone !

OMG... I love this!!! His voice is so intoxicating! He's my favorite visual kei singer...hands down!

@-NOVA-reminds me of Temari's fan from Naruto lol

Got into vkei in 2006, so bands around that time and later. It got dead when the autotune was popular, but lately I've been getting my interest back, because many old musicians came back and also got in touch with the community again. I voted for 2005-2010, but I like the last one, too.

I should clarify that I don't want any of these bands to return. I want new bands to pick up the slack and start taking notes from good bands of yore. There's so much untapped creative potential left in the five bands I highlighted and I would love for the scene to make a resurgence by emulating the sounds of the boom days. This new stuff isn't doing it for the old heads or the new and it needs to change sooner rather than later. In the case of D'espairsRay, RES, and A things wouldn't be the same no matter how much they forced it to. I don't think HIZUMI will ever recover from his vocal condition enough to sing like he used to. Also their direction post-MIRRORS lacked serious focus and if they can't be dark anymore I'd rather they not force it. Rentrer en Soi just...quit? They mumbled excuses about reaching their creative apex but I think the real reason was that Satsuki thought he could do better with a solo career. They can stay dead since sukekiyo is a very interesting project I wouldn't want sacrificed for a reunion that's not going to target their earlier sound. No shade to anything post Sphire-Croid, but it's the run-of-the-mill 2008 JAY-RAWK sound every other band and their grandmother was pounding out riffs for in the basement. They did it a little better than their competition, but Satsuki's harsh vocals ruins a lot of THE BOTTOM OF CHAOS for me (still a good album). Also, MEGIDDO is a very unsatisfying send-off and years later I still can't shake the feeling the band never reached the new incarnation of their sound before calling it quits. Something similar happened with A; if I recall it was the violinist Rookie Fiddler who composed the majority of the tunes for the band and when he walked away the band was done. With all the member difficulties and low funds I don't see this band coming back, but they were very much loved and I don't know why other bands haven't been leaning on cultures for ideas. I loved what Royz did with Vishnu on their latest album. More bands need to do that. Kagrra, will never come back for obvious reasons but there's a dearth of visual kei bands using specifically Japanese elements in their rock and metal. Wagakki-Band comes close but it's not the same. Unforgivable, really.

Good topic. This is definitely a contributing factor, I think. I know there's a thread floating somewhere around here talking about the way that a lot of fans of VK seemed to have transitioned over to K-Pop over the years. I think a lot of it has to do with the the whole 'pretty Asian boys' fetish (maybe 'fetish' is a slightly strong word, but you guys know what I mean). K-Pop in general takes the whole cute Asian boy thing and ramps the production values up to to 11, whilst also presenting itself as a more mainstream and socially acceptable thing to be into. It's no surprise that a lot of foreigners mostly looking for their cute Asian boy fix would slowly have migrated over to the K-Pop scene once that started getting popular in the early 2010's, which coincidentally just so happens to be when VK's decline took hold according to that Google trends result. Also a very good point. I'd say this combined with the previous point definitely contributed to some degree. I find this graph particularly interesting. I have to second what @Zeus said previously; the so-called decline of VK does seem, in many ways, more to be a simple case of its western popularity declining after a short boom. In that respect it's really nothing too surprising, a lot of rapid booms in the popularity of a concept or thing tend to be associated with equally as rapid declines. The real thing to note is that its prevalence in Japan has remained relatively stable, so the scene itself probably hasn't changed all that much in domestic terms. Another theory I'll put forward though, and I'll admit not everyone with agree with me as this is a pretty subjective viewpoint, is that the quality of Visual Kei music simply hasn't been good enough in recent years. It feels like there are still shittons of bands out there, but almost no truly great ones; ones that you just feel you HAVE to pay attention to. Once upon a time you had the likes of D'espairsRay, Kagrra, Miyavi (still around but not VK), the GazettE (still around but a shadow of their former selves IMO), Rentrer en Soi, 9GBO, etc. Nowadays there are very few bands, if any, that are on levels similar to those groups. I'm sure there will be quite a few people that disagree with me here, but I've seen similar sentiments expressed by other members too, so I know I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Silly tl;dr - The popularity of Visual Kei internationally reached its peak when the GazettE reached their creative peak in mid 2009; since then the band's creative quality has fallen into oblivion. To cope with the disappointment, western VK fans began listening to K-Pop after hearing BIGBANG's FANTASTIC BABY around the same time Gazetto released that garbage DIVISION album, and decided that G-Dragon oppa was the new saviour of cute Asian boy music. Thus VK died an agonizing death. Also, MEJIBRAY.

Hitomi returns with a new band, saving art-kei. Soan will post vague, hateful tweets about it like the stupid baby he is. Temari forms a new band after his Yoru Project is over. MEJIBRAY disbands due to a scandal involving Tsuzuku. Soan's project flops. Soan goes to jail. Soan joins ISIS. chariots will find middling success, but will stick around anyway. I will kiss Riku on the lips. Kaya will join Starwave Records. DEZERT disbands because Chiaki is nuts. Kyouka's new band will disband. Iori will form another band, possibly with Kaya. Datura will become decently popular in Japan, much to the chagrin of MH, where they'll be mostly mocked a la MEJIBRAY. Karma will return, but it won't be zetsubou-kei.

[CD track list] 01.UNCHAIN 02.ベノム-VENOM- 03.KAMIKAZE 04.brilliant 05.midnight=Dear[Re:light] 06.此処に在るもの(koko ni aru mono) 07.カルラの憂鬱(carla no yuuutsu) 08.DOUBT-ダウト- 09.bonus track (included in TYPE B ) [TYPE A DVD track list] 01.UNCHAIN (PV)