I know that Kagerou is one of the first bands to use B standard. The PV for XII Dizzy suggests that Ewana is on six in B standard while kazu is on five string bass in B standard. Tabs for this song are a mess and don’t use anything I’m familiar with. This single is when they switched from 6 to 7 if tabs are to be believed.
There’s an older kotekei band named moll’e node that used a seven string Ibanez. They were active from 2003 to 2006. Check it out here.
Meisou Honnou and Hieshou no Onna, from their self titled album from 2003, are also in drop B. From the Zekkou Psychopath DVD, Ewana is playing Meisou Honnou on a 6 string, and to me it looks like it’s played in Drop B. But with all of the camera cuts it’s hard to see, so idk.
Not really the topic for this, but there’s no other place to put this interesting information that I just learned today courtesy of @Yukina.
There used to be a band called 4 Drass Monkeys. They were comprised of members that were famous in the scene and they were set to release an album in 1998 called Blaze to Oneself! And when I say famous I mean it. Vocalist and guitarist were in a band named “voluptuous”, the other guitarist was in GIRL’E with Mana of Malice Mizer fame, and the guitarist Tsune-chang is currently in ZEDEKIAH which is well-known in Japan right now.
4DM broke up before they released it, and it didn’t see the light of day until over two decades later. But once it did - and 100 copies only exist as far as I know - man does it change how I think of 90’s visual kei!
I always thought of MUCC and Kagerou as the progenitors of nu-metal in visual kei, but I’m gonna have to take some of the crown and move it to these guys. Nu-metal in 1998? That’s new information to me. Scatting in visual kei? Literally unheard of outside of maybe gulu gulu.
This album is damn good too. Tsune-chang, get this on Spotify! Please!
So I’m gonna use my mod powers to expand the topic just a little bit. Since we figured out who was the first band to use both Drop B (I’m comfortable saying the GazettE) and the first band to use B Standard (Kagerou on 6, moll’e node on 7), was there another band that brought nu-metal to visual kei before 4DM? Even if they didn’t release it, they must have been gigging and some influence rubbed off on other musicians, which now gives some more context behind why nu-metal gained steam after kote imploded in 2000.
I’m also comfortable saying these guys brought Drop D to the scene early. If they weren’t the very first, they were one of the first.
I actually laughed my ass off trying this album out, I was too fucking shocked when I heard it. The vocalist was in which was legit a gothic punk band called Voluptuous from 1993 to 1995. Which these types of bands were kinda like the early types of kote-kei bands. Which makes it hilarious to hear this band. This album features rapping etc. This is legit just a Korn copyband, it is fucking funny.
Picture of Voluptuous below
