How did you get into Visual Kei/J-rock?

I got into anime in 1999 with Pokémon, and then started watching other shows. In 2001~2002 (I think) Rurouni Kenshin was on Cartoon Network here in Brazil and I liked the songs. I found out one of my sister’s friend had those songs in mp3 and I downloaded them via ICQ, and then started “googling” those artists. While looking for information on Laruku on a website I came across MALICE MIZER, and that’s how I discovered the VK scene and later the goth scene. The first song I probably heard was MALICE MIZER’s Beast of Blood, but I definitely remember the first live recording I ever watched: Syunikiss.

4 Likes

I downloaded so much stuff there! I loved that forum. :black_heart:

4 october 2012, was a fifth grader when i searched for fairy tail op 12, then youtube suggested me aicle koutei penguin. liked it a lot, so i tried listening to more of their songs, but found shidoro modoro a bit weird. the next day i was humming necronomicon then quickly went down the rabbit hole, discovering lareine, diaura, mejibray, xodiack, kiryu, valluna, nega…

3 Likes

oh god i liked cinema bizarre to lol :joy:

1 Like

Like most of us westerns here, my interest with Visual must thank my weeaboo adolescence.
I don’t remember if XJapan or Lareine came first, but once I got internet at home and started to use it a bit more around 2000/1, was the ripe time for it.

My first contact with XJapan was thanks to the anime (or the film) X-1999, where they used “Forever Love” as an ending song and I liked it so much I checked the band out.

Lareine I discovered in 2001 in a tiny article printed on an anime fanzine speaking about their new single where they covered the opening song of an anime VERY beloved in my country, there was also a photograph with the group and it was love at first sight with the aesthetic. Cue to a few months later where I lost hours to find any scrap of information on the web with my faitful 56k connection (where you payed EVERY single slow minute you where on the internet) and was finally able to cobble together a CD with the whole 7/8 songs I downloaded from some sketchy pages I found doing research like “lareine mp3” on Google. I don’t need to say that I liked those song very much (except for the random speaking parts and rumors) and the rest is history.

Then in 2004 I discovered CDjapan and I was able to buy my original albums by myself.

6 Likes

I was a weeb and heard Gackt’s JOURNEY THROUGH THE DECADE on some random anime internet radio station in 2009. Then I looked up other related related J-rock stations and started googling too and got into Gazette, Malice Mizer, Dir en grey, all those standard bands and I’ve been into it ever since

3 Likes

Yup, their Final Attraction album is a banger :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like

I am 39 years old and in 2003 I remember that I had a girlfriend who loved dir in gray and I loved that group … I normally listen to heavy metal from all over the world, but for many years I have been collecting Japanese music CDs, being visual kei my favorite genre , I will have more than 500 cds and I keep adding haha ​​… a greeting

10 Likes

I remember first listening to Dir en grey in like 1999. A friend’s sister was into them. First song I ever heard by them was CAGE. I remember them looking strange but liking what I heard. It was then a few more years before I could access the internet and sleuth on my own, so I missed some things like Tonberry Torrents and Batsu. But when I got back into it I was in high school and met a friend who reintroduced me to Dir en grey, NoGoD, the GazettE, Sadie, and the like. I found MH shortly after starting a blog and having someone comment and name drop the site (which by that time was going by the name of Tainted World) and I stuck with the site for almost 10-11 years.

8 Likes

haha yep, i still will listen to them every now and then xD

1 Like

Haha I’m extremely extremely new so I think about 2 months ago was when I first started taking an interest after I saw some Tik Toks on dir en grey and malice mizer!! Since I watch some anime I had been exposed to some j-rock songs from the ops. But ig aside from obsessing over both op 1 and 2 from deathnote for a while (especially op 2, slaps so hard), I didn’t delve any further until 2 months ago.

3 Likes

Got into the Gazette, Nightmare, SiD, and some L’arc mainly from watching anime super young back in 2008’, I stuck with those bands up until 2012 and got more into general visual kei and ended up getting into the older bands. I still have my Ipod from 2008 that has dasein and some Pierrot that my cousin put on it.

2 Likes

I love them too, really a shame they disbanded, “love songs they kill me, they kill me, now…:notes:

2 Likes

Aaaah, awesome! Welcome to the visual world. <3 Hope the scene’s still active where you live, here in Brazil it’s pretty much dead… :frowning:

1 Like

The vocalist passed away a short time ago, right?

500 cds? Wow! I’m glad you’re here! Welcome btw, good to see you here. You were the god of sharing for the past year on MH haha. Thanks again for your rips!

1 Like

It was probably 2001. Downloaded a whole bunch of stuff from one of those torrent clients (Limewire, Napster, something else possibly). First thing that really grabbed me was Dir en grey’s ain’t afraid to die. I think I got into them right before kisou dropped.
I remember most of Malice Mizer’s Bara no Seidou era happening. Didn’t find out until later that they broke up right after that.

2 Likes

It is my passion … I like to share my music for those who cannot buy CDs … I am happy to satisfy people with my uploads. Here I will upload many things for you

7 Likes

Same here, it’s my passion ^^ I share whenever I can. I don’t buy much as I used to. I like how you think, you are someone very generous. :slight_smile: Cheers!

2 Likes

My first discovery was GACKT in 2000’s and I don’t like it. It was really strange .

In these time, a French Rock Magazine talks about visual kei bands. So I read their descriptions and interview of bands. Computer and Internet was really slow. Then I discover An Cafe between 2006 or 2007 on Youtube and I like it and Bou was in the band .

After that ,I bought European Edition CDs of An Cafe , Alice Nine and The GazettE .

Currently, I buy CDs on CD Japan and or I listen them on Spotify.

1 Like