Visual Kei

[Flame-X]

PRAY FOR THE FUTURE was amazing! SEED is such an awesome song, one of my fav guitar solos.

[Ama no Kagaseo]

I had to hop online to post this when I saw it..

For myself, I'm fed up with most new VK bands because they sound the same to me, personally. Same songs, same essential name trends.. And para-para? Wtf? It hurts me.

I stick to the classics.. Dir en grey, Malice Mizer, X, Buck-Tick [Atsushi Sakurai, woot!] etc. Mucc is good, though, probably the newest VK stuff I've listened to and actually enjoyed.

Ah.. As for X coming back I have to check out their new song.. I don't think they'll be the same without hide.

[UzumakiW]

Pray for the Future was an amazing album. Every song was awsome.

And yeah, you could never replace hide. I'm sure their music is still awsome because it's X, but they can bever replace hide =(

[Flame-X]

I dont know about X Japan's music not being the same without hide because all they have to do is find the guitarist that can play hide's part, but in my opinion, replacing the vocalist wouldn't be the same which pretty much the reason why X Japan disbanded in the first place. ^^;

[Leo_Otaku]

I like a few I have only certain types of music I like I'm picky...

Nightmare
An Cafe
Gazette

As for Janne Da Arc being better for upbeat songs not really...not even like an cafe

[Ama no Kagaseo]

Originally Posted by Clamp-X

I dont know about X Japan's music not being the same without hide because all they have to do is find the guitarist that can play hide's part, but in my opinion, replacing the vocalist wouldn't be the same which pretty much the reason why X Japan disbanded in the first place. ^^;

Whoa now, I think we're putting a little too much stress on the vocalist [per usual, really.] Don't mind me too much, I'm cool with the fact that the vocalist being the 'voice of the band' and all, but fact of the matter is no band member is replaceable, and their sound changes pretty drastically with every line up change, regardless of the band.




And HONESTLY? I've always found to Yoshiki to be pretty average in talent as far as his voice goes. i.e he doesn't stand out from the crowd all that much. [imho, he lacks the 'it' factor.]

But as previously stated, this is just my opinion. Sorry if I got a little defensive but hide is one of the most inspirational musicians for me.

[Flame-X]

no hard feeling yo.

Originally Posted by Ama no Kagaseo

And HONESTLY? I've always found to Yoshiki to be pretty average in talent as far as his voice goes. i.e he doesn't stand out from the crowd all that much. [imho, he lacks the 'it' factor.]

ara? Yoshiki? if i'm reading that right. o.O
i thought he had the biggest fanbase outta all the members..

[Ama no Kagaseo]

yeah, you read it right, I guess I'm the only one, but oh well. xD to me his voice has always felt good, but generic. I will admit that losing Yoshiki would be a more 'noticeable' change, but no guitarist would have the same charisma, or imo, talent.

I will say Sugizo was a good choice for their tours though.

[Komori]

What's this, no one has listed Luna Sea yet? Blasphemy!

My favorites would have to be:
Luna Sea
Girugamesh
Lolita23q (Mostly for the outfits)
新興宗教楽団NoGoD (See above)
Dir en grey (older stuff, and as said multiple times already, not VK anymore)

I would list some others but I don't think they'd fall into the category.

[Ama no Kagaseo]

Luna Sea was good, not one of my favorites but good none the less. Ryuuichi's solo work on the other hand..

[Flame-X]

I'm having a real tough time getting into Luna Sea. The only song I could get into was Rosier.

[Ama no Kagaseo]

Gravity was pretty good by Luna Sea, I have their single sitting back home. Some of their other songs are also pretty good, although I can't remember any off the top of my head. Over all they're just a little too mellow for my tastes though. u.u

[UzumakiW]

I do enjoy Luna Sea, not one of my favorites, but they were only visual for their first few years, great band none the less =).

[Ama no Kagaseo]

You can't deny that, after all they were one of the forefathers of vizkei. It's just a shame that Buck-Tick isn't recognized on their level, and to me they were such a better band.

[UzumakiW]

Yep, Luna Sea, X-Japan, and Baiser are some that are known for being big contributors of VK. And I agree, Buck-Tick should get more credit for helping boost the VK movement along with the three mentoned. And I also have to agree, I enjoy Buck-Tick more than I do Luna Sea. Buck-Tick has a unique sound.

[Ama no Kagaseo]

I think it's because compared to the other bands Buck-Tick had a more energetic sound, and kind of like Baiser had something that stood out more from the more 'traditional' rock sounds of X Japan, and the mellow sound of Luna Sea.

Probably the one problem they suffer from is that they tend to recycle songs, so there are a few that suffer from sounding the same.

[UzumakiW]

Yeah, that would definetely make a lot of sense.

Yeah, I tend to have noticed that too, but in my opinion, it hasn't stopped them from being a great band for the past 22/23 years

[Ama no Kagaseo]

It's true. xD After that long you can't knock them for producing same-sounding material.

One band I'm endlessly surprised by is the pillows. Although they're not vizkei, they're impressive none the less. They'll hit their twenty year mark in 2009, I believe, and I haven't been disappointed with their music once.

[UzumakiW]

I've heard nothing but good things from them, but I haven't been able to get around to listening to them yet. I need to try and find some music from them because everyone is always saying that they're a really good band.

[Ama no Kagaseo]

Spoiler:

Sono Mirai wa Ima
The Third Eye

Two of my favorite songs, but their sound has really covered endless boundaries since their debut. Jazz, classic rock, etc. It's all there. I think the pillows might be one of Japan's most influential bands outside of the vizkei genre, but that might just be me.

Really crappy quality, but good songs none the less. Worry not, they're on Youtube. No illegal activities here.