Versailles' "Noble" release dates finally set + teaser clip

[sh0kr0k]

Well, I just heard the full disc. It will easily be one of my favorite releases this year. I may seem biased but honestly I was holding my breath. I wasn't expecting it to be this good. I'm already familiar with a few tracks, so those were no surprise. The first half of the disc is more intense than anything they've released prior. The second half of the album, albeit beautifully composed and intricate, mellows out to a crawl. The song "Second Fear -Another Descendant-" really exceeded my expectations from the preview tracks. Eventhough guitarist Hizaki has a side-project focused on his playing, I was hoping for a few more solos on this disc.
Can't wait to hear this stuff live!

So I'm willing to give Versailles a try.

That's great I think they look splendid and beautiful. In the very least Hizaki is far more than marginal, though that's easier to see in his other band 'HIZAKI grace project'. But I agree, there are plenty of bands I like who aren't "the world's greatest (fill in the blank) band" but if they make music I like then that's good enough for me. Bonus if they look cool while doing it! Call me crazy but I'd rather look at a finely groomed performer in a beautiful costume than a sweaty hairy fat drunk guy in a sleeveless t-shirt :Smug: I've seen enough of the second since that describes about 75% of the bands in my collection Anyway, hope you enjoy! Cheers!

 

[sh0kr0k]

The release date has been moved up to.... yesterday! And apparently all the legal issues were resolved because it's now on iTunes. Yep, right this very moment 'NOBLE' is on sale for about $12.00. Beats the heck out of mail-order import or waiting for your local record shop to (never) get it in. I can't remember the last time an album was officially released early, especially by 3 weeks

 

[sh0kr0k]

The news just keeps rolling out with these guys:

Versailles to Return to the States.
Tainted Reality announced tonight that they are bringing Versailles back to the states for two more shows this fall. First they will play at Anime USA in Virginia, which takes place between October 10th and 12th this year. As with most convention concerts, you must buy tickets to the actual convention which can be done here: http://www.animeusa.org/ Soon after that the band will play New York City, but the date and venue for that has yet to be announced.

http://theothereast.com/

 

[Kaosaur]

Versailles to Return to the States.
Tainted Reality announced tonight that they are bringing Versailles back to the states for two more shows this fall. First they will play at Anime USA in Virginia, which takes place between October 10th and 12th this year. As with most convention concerts, you must buy tickets to the actual convention which can be done here: http://www.animeusa.org/ Soon after that the band will play New York City, but the date and venue for that has yet to be announced.

Uh oh. Should I prepare for Hurricane Tammy to hit my house again?

 

[sh0kr0k]

Uh oh. Should I prepare for Hurricane Tammy to hit my house again?

"All signs point to: YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT!" Shutter the windows and bolt the doors, cuz I'm blowin' into town!

Kidding aside, I'd like to make this happen depending on the date of the NYC show. The AnimeUSA date is more appealing because I'll be able to make a whole weekend out of it. Not to mention the band will likely do a signing session at the con.

On other hand, I hate anime, I've already met the band... and I can't pass up a chance to go back to New York City!

 

[Perditions Ghost]

NYC! NYC!

Definitely gotta see about getting to that!

 

[sh0kr0k]

Versailles announced on their official website that their bassist Jasmine You has passed away on Friday, August 9th. The bassist had previously announced that he would take some time off the band to take care of his health, and furthermore the group would continuing recording their upcoming album without him.

The band states that further details about Jasmine You's death will be revealed to fans as soon as they receive permission from his family. With the members still trying to absorb the news, the group has also said that all their upcoming activities will be postponed indefinitely.

May he rest in peace.

 

[TBJ]

Versailles announced on their official website that their bassist Jasmine You has passed away on Friday, August 9th. The bassist had previously announced that he would take some time off the band to take care of his health, and furthermore the group would continuing recording their upcoming album without him.

The band states that further details about Jasmine You's death will be revealed to fans as soon as they receive permission from his family. With the members still trying to absorb the news, the group has also said that all their upcoming activities will be postponed indefinitely.

May he rest in peace.

Aww that sux, my bf is gonna be really sad about this.

 

[neovenom]

Sucks for a young band to lose one of their members. I was very surprised and saddened when I saw that on Myspace.

 

[Dominick_7]

They are the goofiest looking band of all time .. even goofier than Manowar. I couldn't stand the singer, and didn't find much appealing about the songs themselves. The video clip above is smart .. keeps you from laughing out loud by not showing the band in action. Here's the band in action .. pure comedy gold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZL1qoBneUQ

I like Versailles! The point in the costumes is to shock with something outrageous. Something David Bowie used to do I think a long time ago. Gwar, Kiss, and the visual Kei creators X-Japan did for a long time with their crazy hair and dress. They mix french, renaissance, some add vampiric, Final Fantasy ishness, and Japanese styles of dress..some also have the androgynous look going on as well. But seeing these guys outside in day light with the background they have is a bit like watching Dimmur Borgir for the first time at the Ozzfest in broad daylight, with no atmosphere. Out of place and weird. Check out their video and then see what you think.


The Revenant Choir PV:




The Revenant Choir Live:




I usually don't like lower register but do for JRock I guess because I'm used to it. At first I was like "what the crap is this..you know you can't sing like Toshi so you lower the bar to a relaxed almost talking range of singing?? Seemed very lazy to me. After a while I started liking it as much of it is melodic and they can and sometimes do sing higher, but usually use a mid to low vocal range. Some examples of this Visual Kei style, not counting X-Japan who I think created this and no one has come close to..here's some from Malice Mizer:


Malice Mizer with singer Gackt- Syunikiss (Live) click HQ if you can:




Malice Mizer with singer Klaha- Shiroi PV:




Malice Mizer with singer Tetsu- Baroque (early version called Sphere of God) click HQ:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt1B4tlmNhw&feature=related[/ame]


Malice Mizer an Neo Classical aria- Kyomu No Naka De Yuugi PV




Dir En Grey used to be a Visual Kei band as well but this is their more recent stuff that came to the US via Headbangers Ball:

Dozing Green:

 

[Dominick_7]

Versailles announced on their official website that their bassist Jasmine You has passed away on Friday, August 9th. The bassist had previously announced that he would take some time off the band to take care of his health, and furthermore the group would continuing recording their upcoming album without him.

The band states that further details about Jasmine You's death will be revealed to fans as soon as they receive permission from his family. With the members still trying to absorb the news, the group has also said that all their upcoming activities will be postponed indefinitely.

May he rest in peace.

Yea I saw that..it's sad

 

[Pellaz]

Wow, Gackt actually looked a bit LESS androgynous in that clip than I was expecting.

Thanks for the vids...the Dir En Grey was especially cool. They toured here recently, iirc.

 

[sh0kr0k]

Yeah that Syunikiss live is legendary. I keep fighting the "Gackt-worship" but he keeps pulling me in. Everytime I watch Syunikiss, it becomes harder to deny his talent.

X JAPAN may have created the visual kei style, but Malice Mizer perfected it! Also, BUCK-TICK need a worthy mention here if we're discussing the roots of visual kei coupled with men singing in a mid to low range. I didn't start liking them until recently. I guess I just never bothered to check out what I've been missing. Now they're one of my favorite bands, due in large part to Atsushi Sakurai's vocals. Here are two of my favorite videos of theirs.

BUCK-TICK - Romance (PV): quite possibly one of my favorite songs and videos. Move over The Cure!


BUCK-TICK - Gessekai (live) another low-register piece. I just love this song. The melody, especially.


The amount of bands who have adopted the visual kei style is staggering. It seems nearly every band to come out of Japan is some form of vk. I love the variety that the style has evolved to include. Like the Eroguro and Oshare bands, especially.

Eroguro ("ero guro nansenu" or erotic grotesque nonsense) style focuses on bizarre and unnatural, almost spooky/creepy, elements. Bands like cali≠gari, early Dir en Grey, Phantasmagoria, Deathgaze, Merry, Kagerou, Lynch., girugamesh, The Candy Spooky Theater, and Velvet Eden (a later side-project of Közi from Malice Mizer) are great examples!

Oshare kei i bright, colorful, and similar to Decora/Harajuku street fashion. The lyrics are usually positive, upbeat, and cheery. Bands like Sug, An Cafe, Lolita23q, and a growing army of bands have adopted the style. Supposedly it started around 2001, so it doesn't have a very rich history. I hated this stuff so much at first, but now I've grown to enjoy the positive attitudes and colorful outfits. My favorite, and probably the only Oshare band with an ounce of actual talent, is SuG, but I don't dare post any Oshare band videos here!

Anyway, I'll leave you all with two more bands that need to be posted in a conversation about Visual Kei.

Phantasmagoria - At the ends of the rest period (PV) - I sure wish this band didn't break up. :-\


Moi dix Mois - Monophobia (live) - Now that Malice Mizer has broken up (ugh!), the guitarist Mana has formed this band, which I kinda like better ;-) Apparently these guys were in California over the July 4th weekend at a convention. I think it was short notice, because had I known.....

 

[Corsair]

I hate that my first post should be a (mostly) negative one, but the Visual kei *image* is more obnoxious than it is shocking.

Now as far as the part that matters - being the actual music - I don't see it as being a truly cohesive genre as most of the bands sound radically different from on another, going from more or less straighfoward power/speed metal (Versailles, early X japan) to...whatever it is dir en grey is doing. I understand that a lot of folks are easily turned off to the music based on the image, but... That's not particularly fair, is it? Versailles isn't bad...Sonically not treading any roads not already well-trodden, but that singer I could do without. That warbly thing grates after a minute or so.

On a positive note, I actually love the crap out of X-japan if only for their music. I could... do without the excessive bright colors and copious amounts of aquanet.

Anyways as far as image is concerned, that's never really been an issue with me. With all the folk and viking metal I listen to... There's nothing sillier than a bunch of grown men running around in the woods swinging swords and breathing fire. If I didn't know better I'd be sure they were LARPing.

Also, as far as VK is concerned, here's something of an ongoing joke between myself and a friend of mine:

 

[Dominick_7]

Wow, Gackt actually looked a bit LESS androgynous in that clip than I was expecting.

Thanks for the vids...the Dir En Grey was especially cool. They toured here recently, iirc.

Haha yea. Usually he's all purty lak lol. I think that's what I find interesting is that they look androgynous, so you're like, at first..wait..is that a...GIRL??!?? And then you hear the voice and you're like what the..? and then the fashion is just crazy. Kinda layers of shock insanity and or interest..or I guess some take it as a big joke Lol. But they're usually very talented musicians..I mean c'mon Versailles doing technical prog parts that are Dream Theateresque while in that get up? Not over doing prog, just a taste of it or something else different with off beats and everything. If it's taken as a joke though they'll have to add a WHOLE LOT of big names from Bowie, to Kiss, to King Diamond, Rob Halford (we know why he used s and m-ish black leather) to Black Metal bands etc that do the whole shock/makeup thingy.

And like the other Visual Kei Dir En Grey morphed a LOT. Like only a few years ago they were like ALL practically, I dunno, crazy rough death metal..? I dont know what to call it but it was like Marylin Manson looking with gritting gutteral vocals and heavy music. I really like their newer stuff. I hope to catch them soon sometime finally.. If only X-Japan would come here that would be a long time wish come true for me. The crap am I blabbing on about, ok I'll shut up now

 

[sh0kr0k]

Now as far as the part that matters - being the actual music - I don't see it as being a truly cohesive genre as most of the bands sound radically different from on another

Well yes, that's very true. I don't hink any of us are trying to say that "vk" is a genre. Rather we are pointing out a few bands who do share some characteristics: vk style, low-range vocals, etc... Outside of this thread, you're 100% correct - visual kei bands can span to any genre.

Cute video