Nostalgic VK records

Nostalgia is such a powerful feeling. It can forever turn any piece of media into a personal treasure with a magical and bittersweet aura that can be felt throughout your entire body.

I cannot play Pokémon Diamond on the Nintendo DS, Ratchet and Clank 2/3 on the PS2, or watch Star Wars: Episode III without feeling a whole bunch of colourful and undescribable emotions.

It does make me feel sad, yet gives me a feeling of ecstacy and unique excitement.

The same can definitely be said about music.

I discovered visual-kei in 2012, when I was in my preteen years. I had two short phases before it, Dutch rap, and the painful emo phase. These each lasted just a few months, but visual-kei became a livelong love, at least, I hope! Can a 10-years-long obsession ever be considered a phase? Probably! But I don’t think it’ll leave any time soon.

Some of these albums that we blasted all day long in our teenage years can turn into these magical, personal, nostalgic pieces of media.

In this topic, you are free to share some albums (or mini-albums, demo tapes or even singles!) of visual-kei that give you that weird-ass butterfly-in-ur-belly feeling each time you put them on, or even think of them. Records that define you, or a period in your life.

Please avoid big images of the albums, or YT links! Let’s make this thread easy and quick to read and digest.

Here’s some of mine!

Moi dix Mois - NOCTURNAL OPERA
MALICE MIZER - Voyage sans retour
MALICE MIZER - Bara no Seidou, and the Gardenia single by extension
Versailles - JUBILEE
KAMIJO - Symphony of the Vampire, and the Louis single by extension
HIZAKI grace project - Dignity of crest
VEVLET EDEN - Double Twelve
LAREINE - Imperial Concerto

I know that most artists on here have better albums, but I listed the ones I listened to the most as a preteen!

And finally, not VK but related, GALNERYUS - Angel of Salvation and Resurrection

I won’t make the list too long! So I’ll keep it at that.

What’s your’s!!!

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I’m not 100% if it was the first Lareine song I ever heard/dowloaded (I’m sure it was one of the first 3 tho), but I still remember like it was yesterday what 15-16yo me felt when I heard it for the first time. This for me is Nostalgia made song.

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Ooh man I also loved that song so much during my teenage years! How could I forget LAREINE, my most-listened band ever, in my topic? Updated!

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Most of 90s and early 2000s vk makes me feel nostalgic but not necessarily because it reminds of a particular time in my life… it’s got more to do with the fact that this peculiar feeling is so engrained in the sound of vk (esp. from that time period) that you often feel that tug of sentimentality and yearning for a time and place you’ve never actually experienced.

But in terms of records that make me feel nostalgic for my youth, here’s a couple that I really treasure

  • Aioria — ~煌め逝く瞬間~
  • HIZAKI grace project — Dignity of crest
  • Missalina rei — ケ(兎)
  • Raphael — mind soap
  • Schwarz Stein — New vogue children
  • VELVET EDEN — Street of ALICE
  • カリメロ — ノスタルジー
  • ムック — 葬ラ謳
  • モル・ノヲド — ブリキの廻転琴
  • 藍華柳 — 藍華柳チョッキアルバム~俺達ベストじゃなくてチョッキ派~
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The first 2 vk albums I ever heard were

  • Dir en grey - Withering to death
  • The Gazette - Nil

They were what got me into vk and will always have a very special place in my heart.

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X Japan’s “X” is this for me simply because it was on a German Sampler CD of Anime Opening tracks and I bought it when I was 12 or 13 - during a very troubled time of being bullied and an outsider with no friends. Watching Anime, reading Manga and playing games was my way out and escapism. I do not want to go back to those times, but it makes me remember being a weird weeb before it was cool.

Moi dix Mois’ NOCTURNAL OPERA, Dir en grey’s Withering to death, D’espairsRay’s Coll:Set and Malice Mizer’s Bara no Saidou were one of my first japanese albums I bought. These always bring me back to that special time when the japanese culture boom happened and VK was something new and fresh. They held up well too, so I love going back to them.

There was just something about rock music of that era that I miss in a lot of modern bands. Can’t say what it is…

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All the bunch of songs from XOVER (Definitelly), Versailles 2008 era, a lot from Crystal Eye’s and the same with VELVET EDEN (with Kalm)

Didn’t expect to see Crystal Eye’s mentioned here! The rest of your picks are so good too. KALM the genius!

I never had complete records at first because i found VK through rotation blogs but i can still remember the first rotation i ever found if that fits! The nostalgia i get from these five songs is off the charts

Luna Sea - Rosier
Psycho Le Cemu - Aquaria
Vasalla - Getsushin ~Artemis~
Plastic Tree - Monophobia
Schwarz Stein - New Vogue Children

I’m still a single song listener alsdfhlkl i think these blogs are to blame for that :smiley:

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