Is visual kei officially dead now?

[lichtlune 915]

it seems to me since about 2010 or so the quality of visual kei has gradually gone way downhill am i the only one that feels this way? the last remaining great bands have pretty much disbanded or gone to crap at least in my opinion e.g. versailles, dir en grey, megaromania, just to name a few although there are few that are great just not much is known of them or a very low fan base and support, lacroix despheres, el-ethnic legist, come to mind. now Versailles is on hiatus and undercode even though isn't as great as its golden days is gone too, i just don't see a bright future for the scene what do you all think? for me its very rare to find a new great band and with all the disbandment there seems to never be a great band to replace them i expected so much from black line and VII-sense but now VII-Sense is gone too and didn't live up to what i expected personally. anyway i am rambling i want opinions from you all.

[orangetarts 249]

idk about "downhill" so much as just drastically changed :/ there's only one active band Im really into at the moment...well "new" band anyway...but ive noticed that the styles of a lot of the newer groups just isnt for me :/

[CAT5 9075]

I completely understand where you're coming from, but I wouldn't say that VK is dead or necessarily dying either. Sure, the VK scene isn't what it was 6 years ago, or 12 years ago, or even 20 years ago for that matter. I think the scene is just evolving like many other scenes. Whether this evolution is for better or for worse...I can't say, that's up to your own personal discretion.

Many great and promising bands have disbanded over the years, but that's all part of the game. It's something that you'll witness in each and every music scene there is. My personal advice is: if a certain scene has lost it's appeal to you, then you should continue to enjoy the music from the that scene that you already like and/or look for a new scene to cater to your musical needs. I find that when you're into several music scenes and one of those scenes "runs dry" so to speak, you'll still have plenty of other stuff to hold your attention. : )

[Number Girl 48]

This question keeps coming up across forums and blogs for as long as I've been into J-Rock (since 2007). In the end, it really and truly all depends on your perspective. For me, visual kei has been "dead" to me for quite a long time now. I believe the spirit of visual kei that brought forth some of my favorite bands has disappeared completely and I'm a bit surprised people are just now pondering this matter. However, a fan who is into the new wave of bands probably still thinks it is alive and well.

Technically, there are still plenty of bands still on the scene and still forming (plus you have throw-back bands coming out of the wood work and making more music) so it isn't "dead" in that sense. I wouldn't get too disappointed or discouraged. It is always sad when our favorite bands disband or lose that spark due to falling into the new shitty trends, but we just have to accept that nothing lasts forever and in time new artists will come along and maybe change our minds.

[Champ213 1858]

This question keeps coming up across forums and blogs for as long as I've been into J-Rock (since 2007).

I started listening to vk 12 years ago and believe me, it was no different back then. People have been declaring vk to be dead since at least 1999, and moreso since 2001.

To put it bluntly: just because there are no more bands that you personally like doesn't mean that vk is dead. Dead to you, yes, put your taste isn't the universal yardstick. Some of the bands that popped up in the early 2000s and are loved and treasured by many people around here were already hailed as the downfall of vk by first-generation-vk-fans of the 90s. Go figure.

Point in case: the whole oshare movement. Many 90s fans vomited in disgust when it first appeared on the scene in the early 2000s. To them it was the definite death of vk. Today it's an accepted subgenre of vk.

[Senedjem 510]

How many times has this fucking stupid banal thread been made jesus fuck.

No it isn't.

Also "since 2010" ? holy shit could you be any more deluded

Also also : learn how to fucking punctuate. Even with the few full stops and commas you blessed us with, it still all reads like one massive sentence.

[sai 868]

This question again? My God.

I'll just say (again) that the scene isn't dead, nor is it dying. Just because people personally don't like the way it sounds now or the way it has developed doesn't mean it is indeed dead. There are still plenty of trannies running around playing their instruments and calling themselves VK. Just check out the news section, almost all news is about VK bands, most of the time announcements of new bands forming. Sure, most of those bands are terrible and only a few stand out for being different or decent, but isn't it like that in all music scenes? This definitely is not limited to VK. I've been into VK since mid-2009 and even though there are bands I don't listen anymore that I used to when I just started out, I still enjoy a vast amount of older artists who are still around (as in, bands that formed in the nineties or the beginning of 2000) and make enjoyable music.

The way the scene has formed isn't to my liking either. I dislike bands like MEJIBRAY, D.I.D or the neo-oshare group. But even here there are exceptions: for example, I rather enjoy UNiTE. It's what Number Girl said, it's all a matter of perspective.

[Slsr 207]

Lol no, is this thread joke? Scene will obviously "die" bit by bit if it will, 2010 to now is just way too short period for that. if it's "dead" now it was at least almost (or completely) "dead" 2010 too IMO. Now that said I don't rly even believe in such "dying", as it's mostly matter of personal opinion and taste. If vkei gets even more unpopular then it might die eventually but that's kinda different thing I guess .

[lichtlune 915]

I completely understand where you're coming from, but I wouldn't say that VK is dead or necessarily dying either. Sure, the VK scene isn't what it was 6 years ago, or 12 years ago, or even 20 years ago for that matter. I think the scene is just evolving like many other scenes. Whether this evolution is for better or for worse...I can't say, that's up to your own personal discretion.

Many great and promising bands have disbanded over the years, but that's all part of the game. It's something that you'll witness in each and every music scene there is. My personal advice is: if a certain scene has lost it's appeal to you, then you should continue to enjoy the music from the that scene that you already like and/or look for a new scene to cater to your musical needs. I find that when you're into several music scenes and one of those scenes "runs dry" so to speak, you'll still have plenty of other stuff to hold your attention. : )

Thanks for the recommendations, for me i still often times will find a older band I'm into and even if i hate the current direction of the scene i still have plenty of older stuff that will last a lifetime at least for me and i have tried other genre's as well even if i listen to visual kei music the most.

[lichtlune 915]

How many times has this fucking stupid banal thread been made jesus fuck.

No it isn't.

Also "since 2010" ? holy shit could you be any more deluded

Also also : learn how to fucking punctuate. Even with the few full stops and commas you blessed us with, it still all reads like one massive sentence.

you don't have to be a ass though but alrighty

[lichtlune 915]

seemed to have unintentionally pissed a lot of people off i didn't know this was brought up that often in other threads i just wanted to converse with some people.

[Wonrei 108]

This isn't really worse than the early 2000s/late 90s days. Back then, when hide died, X Japan, Luna Sea and Kuroyume disbanded, VK went from being mainstream on japan's music to just become an underground thing. It's still like that, somehow, and I doubt it'll change. It'll always be there, changing forms... I personally don't enjoy most recent VK, so I don't even try new bands anymore, I'll just stick with other genres as I know I'll enjoy something better somewhere else.

[Pretsy 1343]

Of course not.

It's just quite different these days - as in quite horrible way..

[Sakura Seven 593]

People have been saying this for years. I've been around 2004 and people were saying it then too.

So over it.

How many times has this fucking stupid banal thread been made jesus fuck.

[Sucza-san 3]

Some guy said that he doesn't like Mejibray.

And... I put ALL my faith in Mejibray, for me they're amazing v-kei band. I think they might be "future of visual kei scene". So I think it depends on a person if v-kei is dead or not. For me it isn't. Amen.

[Yasupon 18]

Not dead, but different. As long as there are fans and as long as VK bands keep making music, it can't be dead. As more people turn their heads away from VK, more people become fans of the current scene.

I don't like some of the general aspects of today's VK, and I generally prefer bands from before 2010 (as you mentioned in the OP) as well. May it be the ultra cliche random screechy noises, muddied growls, or autotune use, and electronic influence, it's nothing more than another change VK is going through since the 90's.

[Hoyahe 7]

japanese music scene is really active (specially visual kei)

I like lacroix and etnic legist too

a new band (formed in 2012) I like a lot is Kozi's new band, ZIZ...anyway I don't think they'll be togheter much time ^^;

[OmegaChaos 1]

Visual Kei is not completely dead....but it has been severely watered down in recent years...and many great bands in the scene have disbanded...and popularity of Visual Kei has been also dropping a lot....My own view is that Visual Kei scene has to find it,s idendity again and maybe go back to it,s more "extreme" roots....Maybe then it can reawaken....

There are still some good bands left in this scene though...

[otterley_ 191]

Maybe, for overseas fans.

Visual kei were always like this, there are a few supergroups who shape the trends, music and image, and there are countless underground bands, just like it was in the 90s.

We used to have LUNA SEA, and now, unfortunatelly we have gazette.

Of course visual kei has changed through the years, from post-punk to new metal, from underground punk, goth and glam image to fashion trends, but it is just how society is, and still, visual kei.

So, I don't think it will die any day soon, there will always be visual kei, like it or not. Overseas or not.

I'm also not fan of neo-visual kei, but I don't think it is dead just because I don't like the way it is now.

The fact is that overseas fans know NOTHING about what happens over there, and so they start to think things are diying and stuff, but it always were normal for bands to have 3 or 4 fans, if the number increases, great, but it is ok if not.

Plus, there are a lot of old guys who still around doing great.

[miyuu 40]

Maybe, for overseas fans.

Visual kei were always like this, there are a few supergroups who shape the trends, music and image, and there are countless underground bands, just like it was in the 90s.

We used to have LUNA SEA, and now, unfortunatelly we have gazette.

.

this is so true.

yes it's not dead because there are new bands but

i think the quality of the bands are way lower compared to older times. there are less good bands , i mean in a more artistic or creative point of view compared to older times. (music - lyrics- clothes/stage performance)

even bands that used to be good,now starting to go bad, or disbanded or died or changing genres.

i don't know if it's just my taste in music or maybe "the past always seems better" feeling but i am trying to be objective! what do you think

[Sakura Seven 593]

The bands that ARE doing interesting things tend to get ignored, especially overseas. Usually in favor of garbage.

See: Swallowtail, emmuree, Moran, amber gris, Dolly.

[Gizorz 24]

Why is this even being discussed everyone's just repeating the same things that have been said in earlier versions of this thread.

 

Just because your poor precious bands are gone now doesn't mean it's dead.

 

 

 

How many times has this fucking stupid banal thread been made jesus fuck.

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

VK will live on 4ever in my hart.

 

It will always be 1999 4ever and ever.

[x_dak_x 5]

It's a matter of opinion. Changed, yes it has. Trends come and go, replaced. Died in your opinion perhaps because the type of music you once were into has many if not all disbanded or evolved. Also to note are the more underground bands versus the mainstream. and the many different types of visual music represented in different categories.

[The Bread Wolf 231]

Saying VK is dead just because your favorite bands are not around anymore is like saying rock is dead because The Beatles disbanded.