Visual Kei

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3

New and Rumors - Mucc and D'espairs Ray on the 4th Annual Rockstar Taste of
2008-01-06 19:40:00
Some sizzling news for all our friends in the US.The 4th Annual Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour 2008 will include an extra action pack for all jrock and visual fans. The complete lineup includes Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, Blessthefall, Bullet for my Valentine, D'espairs Ray and Mucc.Internet pre-sale for the 2008 edition of the Rockstar Taste of Chaos has begun January 5, 2008 at www.rockstartasteofchaos.com in conjunction with Music Today. The national on sale will take place on Saturday January 12, 2008.dates2008-2-29 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium2008-3-1 Kansas City, MO Memorial Hall2008-3-2 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Ballroom2008-3-4 Minneapolis, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium2008-3-5 St. Louis, MO Family Arena2008-3-7 Dayton, OH Hara Arena2008-3-8 Detroit, MI Cobo Arena2008-3-10 Rochester, NY The Armory2008-3-11 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom2008-3-14 Philadelphia, PA Tweeter Center2008-3-15 Asbury Park, NJ Convention Center2008-3-17 Washington, DC Patriot Center2008-3-18 Portland, ME Cum...
More About: Rumors

Tack of the Day - Girugämesh - Shining
2008-01-06 18:07:00
Welcome to the latest Track of the DayThis time Girugämesh's Shining . I picked this song among so many older great ones of this band, because it's from their brand new album, which was released on 27th December 2007. A very hot pick by the way. You can surely find it at cdjapan and see yourself.Girugämesh - ShiningHope you enjoyed it.Kindest Regards

News and Rumors - Site Structure and Hello
2008-01-04 15:32:00
BonsoirToday I'd like to keep you up to the date with the restructuring process of this blog and introduce myself to all those who don't already know me. Most people call me Brax, which is an old IRC nick I used in the ancient times of chatting. That's also where I met Fei. Guess most of you know how easy it is to loose contact with people you met in the net, well not with Fei. So after, let me recall it correctly, 7 years now(?), we are still in touch having alot of fun. She was also the one introducing me to jrock and visual kei. All your fault Fei! ... so many bucks I could have saved not buying these awesome CD's and DVD's hahahaha. I just can't deny I'm an addict too.Now about the structuring of this blog. We added a menu to the top. So far it only consists of links, but when I find the time I'm going to make some buttons out of them with rollover effects and so on. The menu I'm talking about is in the line right below the logo. The one saying "news - bands - tracks .....
More About: News , Rumors , Site , Structure

Band Feature - D'espairs Ray
2008-01-04 08:25:00
Hiquite some time ago I posted the last band feature here and since then I was pretty busy getting to learn about the blog world and introducing one of my best friends to it in order to boost Visual Kei's output. I'm sure you will hear something from him soon. For now I'd like to continue the series of band presentations with this new band feature about D'espairs Ray.D'espairs Ray were founded during September 1999 in Tokyo. All members used to play in different bands and met each other in Tokyo's indie jrock scene. Since then the lineup hasn't changed, it's still Hizumi's vocals, Karyu's guitar skills, Zero on bass and Tsukasa hitting the drums.D'espairs Ray can be considerd one of the fastest uprising and skyrocketing acts in the visual kei and jrock scene. Their first two maxi releases in 2000 already showed the band's potential and before the second single was hitting the shelves it was practically sold out due to preorders.Starting after their first maxi releases un...
More About: Band , Feature

Happy New Year!
2008-01-01 16:51:00
Happy New Year everybody!Our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. And in this spirit, we sincerely say, Thank You and Best Wishes for the holiday season and happy New Year! May this new year provide you with happiness, health and prosperity all year long.Happy New Year MiyaviHappy New Year Tora and SagaHappy New Year Aoi and Uruha
More About: Happy

Track of the Day - Miyavi - Selfish Love
2007-12-29 12:33:00
After reading the great news about the upcoming Miyavi World Tour I just had to pick one of my favorite Miyavi songs as the track of the day. Can't wait for the exact dates to be released and to see what locations he is going to play at. Once I know more about all that I'll let you know. Until then enjoy this awesome Miyavi video ... Selfish Love Miyavi - Selfish LoveThe intro is such a monster ^-^
More About: Track

News and Rumors - Miyavi World Tour Announcement
2007-12-29 12:20:00
In addition to today's track I got something very very sweet for all those who haven't already heard the great news. On Christmas Miyavi announced that in 2008 he will have his first world tour which will bring him to Japan, the US, Germany, France, England, Finland, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. The tour is supposed to be called "This iz the Japanese Kabuki Rock Tour 08". Miyavi also plans to release a new single in January featuring his fellow S.K.I.N. band mate Sugizo named "Hi no Hikari sae Todoka nai kono Basho de".Miyavi featuring Sugizo - Hi no Hikari sae Todoka nai kono Basho deWishing you all a great weekend and a happy New Year. See you next year at the shows.
More About: News , World , Rumors , Announcement

Track of the Day - Alice Nine - Velvet
2007-12-26 15:26:00
Oh my, what a dayMy head's still buzzing and even so I can't recall every moment of last night, I'm sure it was real cool. So I thought I'd give it a try to refill my and your batteries with some straight forward jrock music. Hope you will appreciate it.Alice Nine - Velvet live at Shibuya... drives the cold outa my bones and a smile upon my face.Wish you all a sweet xmas holiday. Take it easy and enjoy.
More About: Track

Merry Christmas
2007-12-24 13:32:00
Hi everybody, I like to wish all visitors and friends a wonderful xmas and a happy new year. Hope the spirit is with all of you and that you manage to enjoy your holidays to the max. Special greetings to my personal friends, the people at entrecard, blogspot, blogcatalog, myspace, RLC, friendster and tagged and everyone who found the way to this blog. Merry xmas to you too Aoi and Uruha>.
More About: Christmas , Merry Christmas

Track of the Day - D'espairs Ray - Trickstar
2007-12-21 14:33:00
Alohatoday's track of the day is going to be Trickstar by D'espairs Ray, a song full of pure power and energy. Tune up the volume and let it rock! These guys will break your neck. Remember when you had a whole tape full of your favorite song in the old analogue days? This is the song that is playing there 24/7. So you won't need your 30gig in your iPod today, 20MB will be more than enough for this earth shattering jrock masterpiece.D'espairs Ray - TrickstarAnd? Did I promise too much?Kindest regards and a merry xmas to all of you
More About: Track

Fashion Magazine - Gosu Rori
2007-12-19 12:04:00
Gosu Rori is a gothic lolita magazine published by Boutique-Sha. It mainly focuses on sewing patterns and guides for various sizes, which makes it very interesting for any sewing and crafting lolita. You will find any style of gothic lolita fashion in there. Furthermore it is possible to send in your own patterns and have designers of Boutique-Sha give them their personal twist and maybe even discover your designs in a Gosu Rori issue.The first issue was released early 2004.As always I hope you enjoyed reading. In case you found any wrong infos or errors in this document please let me know so I can update this blog in a correct form. Any comments or ciritcisms are more than welcome.Wish you a great time with the other blogs.Kindest regards
More About: Magazine , Fashion , Fashion Magazine , Fash

Movie Feature - Kagen no tsuki
2007-12-15 12:29:00
Kagen no tsuki is the story of a girl who has a miserable life, her boyfriend cheats on her, her best friend betrays her and she is constantly botherd by her step family. One day she and meets a mysterious man named Adam, with whom she finds peace and feels related. Then Mizuki gets hit by a car, and mysteriously finds herself trapped in a mansion with absolutely no memory of her life except Adam. The movie starts from there. Go figure why Mizuki is trapped in the mansion as you watch.The story itself is based on the manga by Ai Yazawa. The movies stars Hyde, the vocalist of L'Arc en Ciel, but don't expect to see too much of him. The lead character is played by Chiaki Kuriyama, widely known for her performance in Kill Bill as Gogo Yubari. Sounds pretty interesting you say ? Indeed. And again a sweet soul uploaded this movie completely to Youtube. Hope you still have some popcorn left. part 1/12part 2/12part 3/12part 4/12part 5/12part 6/12part 7/12part 8/12part 9/12part 10/12part 1...
More About: Movie , Feature

Movie Feature - Moon Child
2007-12-13 01:42:00
Moon Child is a movie starring Gackt Camui, former vocalist of the visual kei band Malice Mizer and Hyde vocalist of L'Arc en Ciel, Zeny Kwok and Wang Leehom. The story takes place in a fictional city called Mallepa. It was filmed in Taiwan.In the year 2014, Japan has collapsed economically and thus its people emigrated in large numbers and settled in other parts of the world. In a corner in Asia, there is a little street called Mallepa, a big melting pot where Asians such as Hongkongers, Taiwanese and Japanese live together. It was a place where people fought for order, food and freedom. It was there where Shou, raised as an orphan and Kei, who could live forever, met and became the best of friends. However, they were unable to escape from the fight for power involving gangs of different ethnicity on the street of Malepa.If all that raised your apetite to watch Moon Child so much you'd love to jump up to get to the next dvd rental to see if they have a copy available, here comes ...
More About: Movie , Moon , Feature

Visual Kei Magazine - Shoxx
2007-12-07 22:17:00
Shoxx Magazine is a Japanese Visual Kei magazine published by Ongakusei. It is published once a month and features some new and the most popular bands in the Visual Kei scene aswell as the latest fashion tips.Each issue costs about 930yen. Each month features a cover star who have 20 page feature which cover them in depth and includes a poster of the cover star. Recently featured bands include Mucc, Nightmare, The GazettE, Sid, Kagrra, Antic Cafe, and Miyavi.The magazine tends to appeal to overseas fans due to the large amount of photos and adverts included in each issues. It is becoming more widely available as the popularity of Japanese media increases in the West.

Band Feature - The GazettE
2007-12-07 21:43:00
The GazettE is a Japanese visual kei band, which was founded in early 2002 by Ruki, Uruha, Reita, Aoi and Yune. Originally signed to Madara, they released 3 singles and 2 videos during their first year and were headlining their first show.In early 2003, Yune decided to leave the band, and he was replaced by Kai. Shortly after, they signed with the PS Company label, and in May released their first EP, Cockayne Soup. They started their first tour, with the band Hanamuke, and along with the tour, the bands collaborated on two songs. A second tour followed with the band Vidoll, and the bands were featured together on the November issue of Cure, a magazine focusing on Visual Kei bands.On January 16, 2004 they recorded a solo performance at the Shibuya-AX, which was released on DVD as Tokyo saihan ~Judgement Day~. On March 30, 2004 they released their Madara mini-album, which reached #2 on the Oricon Indie Charts. Madara was followed in May by a companion DVD, which included six music vid...
More About: Band , Feature

Band Features
2007-11-28 12:42:00
Dir en greyDué le QuartzInugami Circus-danSchwarz SteinThe Back HornX Japan
More About: Band , Features

Fashion Magazine - Rococo
2007-11-27 12:08:00
Rococo is a japanese fashion magazine comparable to the Gothic and Lolita Bible featuring different gothic lolita fashion labels and designers. The first issue was printed in 2004 by Tatsumi Publishing and so far there are only two issues out which seem to be pretty hard to find. It mixes lolita with other styles like punk and has cute pullip dolls as cover models.
More About: Magazine , Fashion , Fashion Magazine , Fash

Fashion Magazine - Gothic and Lolita Bible
2007-11-26 23:24:00
A truly unique fashion magazine focused on the latest trends in Gothic Lolita style. It contains galleries for most of the major gothic or lolita brands, Photoshoots with jrock stars, lifestyle and decor patterns, street snaps, hair and makeup tips.Each issue features stunning color photos of visual kei band artists such as Mana (Moi dix Mois), Kazuki (Raphael), Aya (Psycho le cému), Kana or Miyavi. It's also loaded with numerous photos of real-life boys and girls right off the streets of Harajuku who are dressed impeccably in style. The magazine is a must for keeping up with the latest trends in the Gothic Lolita fashion and is surely worth 1300 Yen. Besides the regular issues several specials were released. One of them focusing on new hair and make up tricks. Die Gothic Lolita Bible ist das Magazin schlechthin für alles, was mit Gothic und Gothic Lolita zu tun hat. Herausgebracht wurde es XXXX als eine Special Edition des KERA Magazine s und erfreute ...
More About: Fashion , Fashion Magazine

Fashion
2007-11-26 13:00:00
fashion factscosplaycrossplaygothic lolitafashion magazinesgothic and lolita biblerococofashion linksgothic lolita fashion labels
More About: Fashion , Fash

Band Feature - Inugami Circus-dan
2007-11-26 10:07:00
Welcome to a new band feature. Today I'd like to introduce a quite controversial Japanese visual kei band named Inugami Circus -dan.Inugami Circus-dan are a Japanese visual rock band. The band's name literally translates to "The Dog-God Circus Troupe" and was inspired by the surreal movie "Den-en ni shisu". They started in 1994 when Kyoko placed an advertisement in Garo, a manga magazine. They always considerd themselves as an independant live band even so they already signed at a major label and released several studio albums and music videos.Inugami circus are known for their offensive lyrics and visuals. The lyrics deal entirely with society's tabooed issues, with subjects ranging from incestuous rape to human cannibalism. Their mottos are based on freedom of expression and freedom of the soul. Their visual element consists of the female singer Kyoko wearing a kimono and messed up makeups, and the rest of the band wearing military-style uniforms, inspired by WWII nazi uniforms....
More About: Band , Feature

Sitemap
2007-11-25 22:30:00
Just a basic sitemap for the whole blog.Band FeautureDir en greyDué le QuartzInugami Circus-danSchwarz SteinThe Back HornX JapanIn Memory ofhideFashion FactCosplayCrossplayGothic LolitaFashion Magazine - Gothic and Lolita BibleFashion Magazine - RococoLinksGothic Lolita Labels
More About: Sitemap

Fashion Facts - Gothic Lolita
2007-11-25 18:52:00
Lolita fashion draws much of its inspiration from Rococo, Victorian-style and Edwardian fashion and often aims to imitate the look of Victorian porcelain dolls. Gothic Lolita applies the aesthetics of Gothic fashion to the childlike, pretty Lolita fashion. The word Gothloli comes, quite naturally, from a combination of Lolita and Gothic fashion.Gothic Lolita outfits may be accessorized with props like handbags, small backpacks and purses, sometimes in the shape of bats, coffins, and crucifixes, as well as conspicuous pocket books, pocket watches, and hat boxes. Teddy bears and other stuffed animals are also common, and some brands make special "gothic" teddy bears out of black leather or PVC. Some Lolitas own Super Dollfies or other ball-jointed dolls and carry them when wearing the style, often going so far as to dress them to match.Mana, ex-Malice Mizer, is widely credited for having helped popularize Gothic Lolita, though he is not a founder of the style. He coined the terms "Ele...
More About: Facts , Fashion , Fash

Fashion Facts - Crossplay
2007-11-25 17:37:00
Crossplay is cosplay in which the person dresses up as a character of the opposite gender. Crossplay's origins lie in the anime convention circuit, though, like cosplay, it has not remained exclusive to the genre. As the name implies, crossplay is a portmanteau of crossdressing and cosplay.In Japan, female costumers tend to dominate (in numbers) the field of cosplay in general, often portraying a huge assortment of colorful characters regardless of gender. Most females who crossplay are not actually homosexual or transgendered and simply enjoy the art of dressing up as their favorite character. For these crossplayers, it is no different from an actress playing a male role.Male to Female crossplay is typically divided quite definitively into these two groups: those engaging in genderplay, and those attempting to pass as female.Genderplay Crossplay is a costumed gender performance which plays with or parodies traditional gender roles, perceptions and issues by intentionally presentin...
More About: Facts , Fashion , Fash

Fashion Facts - Cosplay
2007-11-25 17:09:00
Cosplay is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games, and, less commonly, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, Japanese pop music bands, Visual Kei, fantasy music stories (such as stories by the band Sound Horizon), and novels. Some even make up there own costume from none of the above. Either way most are hand crafted. Countless hours spent on the finest details in there costume. There are also some that can be store bought but that depends on your budget and creativity. However, in some circles, "cosplay" has been expanded to mean simply wearing a costume instead of inpersonating a character while wearing a costume asin life action roleplay for example. Though the intensity of the acting might vary very much, there are alot of cosplayers spending alot of energy to learn all their character's taglines and poses to perform as perfect as possible.A recent trend at Japanese cosplay events is an increase in...
More About: Facts , Fashion , Cosplay , Fash

Links - Gothic Lolita Labels
2007-11-25 14:27:00
Japanese Gothic Lolita Labels A + Lidel AlgonquinsAlice AuaaAngelic PrettyAtelier BozAtelier PierrotBaby, The Stars Shine BrightBlack Peace NowCarina E ArlequinCHOCO-CHIP COOKIEDespairElementsEmily Temple Cute KyotoEmily Temple Cute OsakaExcentriqueFairy WishHeart Eh.NAOTOID-JapanInnocent WorldJane MarpleJuliette et JustineKazuko OgawaMA MAMMakuroMarblemarchenmerryMary MagdaleneMetamorphose Temps de FilleMiho MatsudaMille Fleurs & Mille NoireMoi-Même-MoitiéNa + HPina Sweet CollectionPrincess DollPutumayoSexPot RevengeSexy Dynamite London Shirley Temple SoraumiberrySuppurete SystemUnion JackVictorian MaidenVisible
More About: Links

Band Feature - The Back Horn
2007-11-22 19:33:00
Welcome again to a new band feature about a very authentic japanese indie band ... The Back Horn .The band was founded aroun April 1998 when some of the founding members happend to come to Tokyo out of different reasons. First they called themselves Gyorai, later they changed their name to The Back Horn.After their premier at Fuji Rock Festival 1999, they released their ep Doko e Ikuat Kando Records. Seven months later they released their first album Yomigaeru Hi and signed a contract at Speedstar Records right after that. Even so they were contracted at a major label they always considerd themselves as an indie band.Gaining more and more popularity and releasing more albums the band was asked to produce the soundtrack for two movies, Kyoshi Kurosawa's Bright Future and for Casshern, directed by Utada Hikaru's husband.After touring alot, a gig at the Rock in Japan festival, a couple of singles and their first live DVD they released their fifth album, Headphone Children, which can b...
More About: Band , Feature

Band Feature - Dir en grey
2007-11-21 20:43:00
Welcome to the latest band feature in here. I 'd like to introduce a very fascinating japanese band with a pretty unique sound to you ... Dir en grey. Formed in 1997 with the sole purpose to spread the feeling of hurt and and sorrow caused by weakness, shallowness, and the egoism of humanity. Since then, their grotesque ways, their warped affection, and their crazy live shows took the independant record scene by a storm, putting them on the very top.In 1999, their fame caught the attention of then CEO of East West Japan. Thus signing them to a major record label. They debuted releasing three singles at once, very rare for a newcomer. Of course, all three songs hit the top10 on the charts. After that, all their releases would hit the top 10 on the charts providing that more and more people were sympathizing with their lyrics.When they first formed, their expressions of pain came from struggling and writhing, hiding inside the feelings of hurt and suffering. But as time passed, thei...
More About: Band , Feature , Grey

Band Feature - X Japan
2007-11-21 19:48:00
X Japan is a popular Japanese band founded in 1982 by Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama and Yoshiki Hayashi. Originally named X, the group achieved its breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood. They started out as a power/speed metal band and later gravitated towards a progressive sound, at all times retaining an emphasis on ballads. After three more albums, X Japan disbanded in 1997.Besides being one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, the group is widely credited for pioneering the visual kei movement, though most of the group's members toned down their on-stage attire in later years. As of 2007, the band has sold over twenty million records and over two million home videos.On June 4, 2007 it was announced the band would reunite, with the band performing on October 22, 2007, during which a music video for a new song, titled "I.V." was shot.albums1988 - Vanishing Vision1989 - Blue Blood1991 - Jealous...
More About: Band , Feature

In Memory of - Hide
2007-11-21 14:39:00
Welcome to a new "In memory of" post. Today I'd like to refresh your memories of the legendary X Japan guitarist Hide .Hideto Matsumoto was a popular Japanese guitarist. More commonly known by his stage name Hide, he got a big international reputation for his work as lead guitarist of the popular heavy metal band X Japan.Back in school Hide used to be bullied by other kids because of his overweight. He already had a big interest in Heavy Metal back then. The band that introduced him to this sort of music was Kiss. That was the time his grandmother bought him his first guitar which got him the nickname Gibson, since that was the brand of the guitar.Hide joined X Japan (then called X) around 1987. He became the band's lead guitarist and occasional songwriter, composing songs like "Celebration", "Joker" and the single "Scars". Shortly after the release of the album Art of Life, the members of X Japan took a break, to start solo projects. Around that time, the group also dropped most o...
More About: Memory , In Memory

Band Feature - Dué le Quartz
2007-11-21 13:27:00
Welcome to the first band feature in here. Today I want to tell you about one of my all time favorite bands ... Dué le Quartz Dué le Quartz was a Japanese visual kei rock band that formed in 1999 . The band had a fanclub formed in 2000 that was called "Baby Merry". After releasing three albums, several singles and a greatest hits compilation, the group disbanded in 2002. Dué le Quartz were vocalist Sakito, bassist Kikasa, drummer Kazuki and guitarist Miyavi.Outstanding trademark of the band was the insane artistical skill of all its members. Miyavi is considerd to be one of the best guitarists in the whole visual kei scene among Hide or Mana. Same goes for Kikasa who loved to use very challenging, jazzy elements in his basslines. The only member of Dué le Quartz facing constant criticism concerning skill was their vocalist Sakito. In the end it might come down to a matter of taste but it should be mentioned that Sakito sounds much better live than on studio recordings and this shoul...
More About: Band , Feature