What is Visual Kei?
Visual Kei is a Japanese sub-culture that’s strongly focused on fashion and music. Visual Kei was first founded in the 1980s, It started getting popular in Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was originally called Visual Shock Kei but was then shortened to Visual Kei which is now abbreviated to V-Kei. Visual Kei music is heavily inspired by punk rock, heavy metal, glam rock, pop, electronica, classical, industrial, and partially shoegaze music. There are also many sub-genres to V-kei including Kurofuku Kei, Angura Kei, Kote Kei, Oshare Kei, Lolita Kei, Eroguro Kei, Nagoya Kei, Iyrou Kei, Koteosa Kei, Soft Kei, and many more.
Beginning of Visual Kei: The rise and downfall
The first Visual Kei band was X Japan. X Japan was founded by two friends named Yoshiki and Toshi in 1982. They were credited for starting the “Visual Kei” movement because of the slogan on their album called “Blue Blood”. X Japan, Dead End, Buck-Tick, De’rangler, and Color were the first few V-kei bands, They were the reasons for the rise of V-kei in the 1980s. The genre gained more popularity throughout the 1990s because of the success of groups like Malice Mizer, Luna Sea, Glay, and L’Arc-en-Ciel. Though Visual Kei seemed to become mainstream and booming in Japan, it began to decline in the late 1990s and early 2000s as X Japan’s guitarist Hide committed suicide in 1998, this was remarked as the beginning of the downfall of Visual Kei. Many popular bands like Luna Sea, X Japan, and Malice Mizer disbanded and visual kei companies started drifting away from the v-kei sub-culture. Listeners lost interest, causing many other bands to start declining and lose money in the music industry, leading to their disbandment. Visual Kei was now an underground sub-culture.
Visual Kei now: The re-rise and current status of Visual Kei
Though Visual Kei seemed to lose its popularity and went underground in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was still kept alive by many dedicated and desperate fanbases. In the early 2000s, v-kei started to gradually regain its popularity due to the new generations of Visual Kei acts called Neo-visual Kei. This style gave Visual Kei a new refreshing start, it opened up new styles and expanded it’s diversity to the sub-culture which caught the attention of many fans around the world. This new generation made bands like The gazettE, D’espairsRay, Girugamesh, Alice Nine, and many more, these bands rapidly gained popularity. Through the years 2007 and 2010, previously popular bands X Japan and Luna Sea regrouped which gained the attention of many international audiences. Bands would perform at conventions, festivals, and other events and go on tour in many different countries around the world. Visual Kei has now regained its popularity. V-Kei bands continue to produce many songs in various genres and gain more and more popularity throughout the years. As of now, V-kei has started to grow large on the app TikTok. This has gained Visual Kei even more international fanbases. Many more international fans started wearing v-kei clothing and expressed themselves through this subculture.
Impactful Visual Kei bands
Even though there have been many impactful V-kei bands, these are some that have definitely left an indent in the industry.
- X Japan, as we all know are hands down one of the most influential V-kei bands because they were the ones who pioneered the V-kei movement. they were created in Tateyama, Chiba, Japan in 1982 by 2 friends named Yoshiki and Toshi. They created a band in their hometown called Dynamite which changed into Noise which is now X Japan. They disbanded in 1997 and then regrouped in 2007
- Malice Mizer was created by Mana and Kozi in 1992, they were previously in a band called Matenrou. They were named as one of the “big 4 of Visual Kei”. They are known for their music and theatric performances with historical costumes and stage sets. Malice Mizer started to gain popularity in 1996 due to the release of their second album called “Voyage ~Sans Retour~”. Their popularity increased as they continued to release successful singles.
- The gazettE was formed in Kanagawa, Japan in 2002. This band consisted of Ruki, Reita, and Uruha. Soon after, Aoi and Yune from the disbanded band Artia got recruited to the band. A year later, their member Yune left the band and was replaced by Kai. Their first single called “Wakaremichi” was released in April of 2002. The GazettE was named one of the most popular V-kei bands in the world because of their consistent creativity and passion shown in their work. Their creativity is often shown in their music videos and lyrics.
- Shazna was created by IZAM in Tokyo, Japan in 1992. This band consists of IZAM, Niy, Asuka, and A・O・I. Katsura, Raychell, and Natsume were their former members. After the release of their single “Melty Love” in 1997, they gained immense popularity. They were also named as one of the “big 4 of Visual Kei”.
- Buck-tick was created in Fujioka Gunma in 1983. This band consisted of Atsushi Sakurai, Hisashi Imai, Hidehiko Hoshino, Yutaka Higuchi, and Toll Yagami. Buck-tick was also credited for being a founder of Visual Kei since they were one of the first V-kei bands ever. After the successful release of their first album called “Hurry Up Mode” in 1987, they instantly gained popularity.
- Versailles was formed in Tokyo, Japan in 2007 by Kamijo and Hizaki. They then recruited Jasmine You, Yuki, Teru, and Masashi. They are one of the most loved Neo-Visual Kei bands in Japan. Versailles is known for their Rococo-esque aesthetic and costumes. Their first EP released in 2007 was called “lyrical sympathy” and their first studio album released in 2008 was called “Noble”.
RELATED STORIES:
https://theglow.jp/guides/a-brief-guide-to-visual-kei
https://visualkei.fandom.com/wiki/Visual_Kei
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