What was the most impactful year in VK for you personally?

General Discussion Colorful Hell
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I was having a drink (probably a bit drunk sorry about that), listening to some old bands and got this heavy ass nostalgia feeling… I was wondering, what was the year that made you feel like “maaaaan there’s so much good music being released, goddamn!!” like, the year that meant so much to you personally, doesn’t need to be THE best one, you get what I’m saying… And I think it was 2007 for me. So many of my faves were active and putting out such great music

bis was having their busiest year, releasing banger after banger (I should’ve known I’d be disappointed by a sudden disbandment by the end of the year)

xTRiPx was on a freaking roll, releasing so many singles with iconic songs like clever noise, riot, limpid, hakuchuumu…

kannivalism released its first album and a bunch of other great songs

yasu was curing my JdA’s hiatus heartbreak with spell magic:

alice nine starting their new major era:

as.milk with friggin KAERU:

ayabie post-ryohei releasing so many great tracks

and megamasso simply had TWO albums released on the same year

kra was putting out dhar.ma and creatures

D had ouka saki some ni keri, heidi had Kasou which is such a great album to this day, MANNEQUIN was making waves with Seeds of Empty Flowers, DETROX released the end, girugamesh’s patchwork, dolly had jewel’s dRIP, hurts was having a killer series of singles, auncia released iys. and I was OBSESSED with it, d’espairsray had freaking MIRROR out… so many great songs all around, I’d say it only rivals 2009 and 2015 in my books

what about you guys, which year is your goat year?

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Wholeheartedly agree on 2007

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panic channel released knife, 176biz released BLEACH WAY, BUCK-TICK’s tenshi no revolve. peak LM.C, NoGoD’s ten and batsu, pura’s nega to posi, ruvie’s awakening your’s ffssssss

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2003

the holy trifecta of vulgar, zekuu, and no alternative is an impossible bar to clear in my eyes

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this thread really reminds me of my random thought about the vkei version of millenial optimism!!

i need to go brush up on my xtripx discography…

rip Yoshito i wish you were the one that kids are fawning over these days. He really produced the sound I thought would dominate the industry and fandom now

To not spam the thread, editing to add, today is the 17th anniversary of possibly the most impactful PSC carnival.

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I’d like to think this particular one really was a many a millenial’s vkei roman empire.

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For me its 2012, One of the most profound years in vkei for many many reasons. I would have included both 2011 and 2013 but if i had to select 1 year it would be 2012.

For starters there were a lot of iconic releases within vkei as a whole. There was also many vkei bands that formed in 2010 and 2011 would gain later gain solid grounding within their releases within this year. There were also just a lot of memorable bands still active in 2012 at least for me. Let me know if i missed anything however i feel like i covered a lot on this list :sweat_smile: :

  • Mejibray releases: SABBATH, Emotional【KARMA】, and iconic Sadisgate.

  • DIAURA releases: GENESIS and EVILS Tsuujou-ban. Also both DICTATOR and GENESIS would get 2nd press releases due to high popularity

  • NEGA releases their album VANITAS

  • Megaromania releases their albums: The Birth of Creation and Artistical Glint. Also their single: Propaganda was released as well.

  • Nocturnal Bloodlust’s first album is released: Ivy. This would be the album solidifying their contribution to visual kei by switching to a visual style.

  • Black Gene for the next scene would form in late 2011 but would release their first single: DOOM along with, Namida-kHz and GRO・TEST・KRAKEN.

  • Girugamesh would release singles: Zecchou BANG!! and Zantetsuken laying the ground work for their album: MONSTER.

  • GRIEVA forms in 2012 releasing several demos bringing a more modern kote-kei

  • AWOI would release (My favorite album): Awoi ~THE SECOND~ which are re-recordings of most of their previous works. They would also go to release their new album: BIRTHDAY. We also got Kumo no Ito that same year as well.

  • 12012 would release their self titled album: 12012 included also 3 re-recorded older tracks and later a 4th one Shinshoku.

  • Screw would go major by signing with TOKUMA JAPAN COMMUNICATIONS. They would also that same year release: BIRAN and XANADU.

  • AN CAFE (アンティック-珈琲店-) would officially announce its comeback on 04/2012

  • BIOSPHIA would release their singles: SACRED and Desperate End. Later would release their mini album: REVIVE which was re-recording of their limited singles that were released in 2011 when they formed.

  • ALSDEAD would release: MODALITY, FLASH BACK and Puzzle

  • R-shitei would release their iconic single: I am Menhera laying the ground work for the menhera-kei sub genera. Additionally they would release: Aikoku Kakumei -Aikoku Revolution- and Closet Girl.

  • D.I.D. forms in 06/2012 and releases: until the Day I Die and their first album: Providentia

  • the Gazette would release: DIVISION

  • RevleZ forms on 2012-04-25. They also release: Alone and MURDEROUS INTENT

  • MUCC releases: NIRVANA which is featured as an opening theme for the anime: Yōko × Boku SS along with MOTHER which was the 23rd ending theme for the anime series Naruto: Shippūden (episodes 282-295). Both of these singles would later be put on their album: Shangri-La the same year. They would also release: Aishuu no antique a call back to their older works.

  • SCAPEGOAT signs with Speed-disk on 2012-11-21

  • DIV (ダイヴ) becomes a formal band on 2012-03-05 and releases their first mini album and single Mudai no Document and Natsu no Yukue Shokai Seisan

  • Sadie releases: METEOR, The Black Diamonds, and RED LINE

Some honorable mentions:

  • Plunklock would release a staggering 6 releases with: World is mine., GradatioN, Breakout (2nd press), Koe, ≠ , and NOW or NEVER.
  • Oneness (ワンネス) forms sometime in 2012
  • GHOSE forms on 06/2012 and releases: Mourou and haku
  • SHEDIA (シェディア) would form on 08/2012
  • Vrzel form on 11/2012 and would under go several lives until they join bloom in 2014.
  • ZIN (ジン) forms on 08/2012
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Fuck it

The song that made me care

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Personally perhaps 2003

  • Mea major debut
  • Baroque major debut
  • Miyavi releases Jibun Kakumei
  • PLC major debut
  • Pierrot releases IDATTACK
  • Ancafe debut
  • MUCC major debut
  • BT releases one of weakest albums but there’s Zangai and Sakurai was preparing Ai no Wakusei
  • Gazette major debut If U Care

Hard to argue

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bis mention aaaaahhhhhh :face_holding_back_tears::sparkling_heart:

Absolutely perfect comment

overall that 2011-2013, 'till, say, 2014/early 2015 period of VK was absolutely incredible honestly

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YES! I agree. Honestly 2010-2015 is the years of greatness. So many memorable bands were around these years. :smiling_face_with_tear:

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For me I think this would be 2002.

When I was first getting into VK around 200/1 I was discovering the big bands of the late ‘90s… but I didn’t feel any special connection or ownership. 2002 was the first year where the baby bands I felt like I was growing with started to release some seminal records and I was thinking “yes! This is my generation. These are my bands!”

A brief sampling:

Kagerou released Yuugure no Shazai and their burning/drowning mini-albums.

Kagrra, released the last couple of their legendary 4 mini-albums AND dropped Gozen.

Vidoll released those If… minis and the seminal ・・・SAN GA KORONDA!! made its first appearance in 2002.

Fatima released the great (in my house) M.I-44

D’espairs Ray had Sexual Beast, an absolute all-timer!

Not to mention Mucc’s Homura Uta and Dir en grey’s Kisou (still VK but experimenting in ways I didn’t hate yet)

Yeah 2002 was a special year in VK for me. Good thread @chemicalpictures !

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Undoubtedly 2005 for me with Withering to Death of DIR EN GREY, Sphire-Croid of RENTRER EN SOI, Coll:set of D’espairsRay, Juusankai wa Gekkou of BUCK-TICK, nu Chemical Rhetoric of MERRY, Guroushoku of Kagerou, Houyoku of MUCC, San of Kaggra, ZEUS of La’cryma Christi, In the Direction of Sunrise and Night Light of deadman and AWAKE of L’Arc~en~Ciel (yes, this album is rather criticized, but i like it a lot).

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Awesome that you mentioned BIS, love them :grin: Here is another banger!

And here are my 2 cents…

I know there were earlier good stuff too like XJapan etc, but the golden age of VK/Jrock for me was easily 2000-2008-2010ish. Its crazy how many good bands released so so many bangers back then, how good they were - Nogod, Mucc, Merry, LMC, Kra, Girugamesh, Gazette, Deluhi, Nightmare, Versailles, Despairs Ray, Baroque, Kagrra, Sid, Dir en Grey … the list is endless. You are free to add more bands.
The bands that I mentioned that are still active today, they peaked back then. Almost all vk songs I listen to today were released from that era. I really don’t know where to start and could probably write an essay about this… but damn, those were good times, the scene was literally on fire in Japan. But we will never get something like that again, never… :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

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i was thinking about this thread and 2005 may just be my answer as well. what a great year for music.

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2011

  • Acid Black Cherry begins the monthly single release run that culminates in the 2012 album.
  • UNiTE. debuts, and Middle Note is released the same year. "Eniver” and later “snow slow” turned me into a fan.
  • ViViD goes major with 「夢」～ムゲンノカナタ～.
  • the Raid. debuts.
  • Royz releases a strong string of singles, followed by Revolution to New AGE, which still sits comfortably in my top 10 albums.
  • vistlip makes their comeback with SINDRA after the car accident that resulted in the death of their manager at the time. ORDER MADE is also released this year (another top 10 for me).
  • ダウナー (DOWNER) releases cubic×POD (top-10 mini-album) featuring “D-fiver” and “S.e.L.a.”, the latter being my favorite song of theirs.
  • DELUHI and VIDOLL disband.
  • Blu-Billion releases Everlasting BLUE (top-10 mini-album).
  • Administrator releases their first (and only) album, CROSS.
  • MoNoLith releases 3月2日、桜色。, 白夜, Gravy Sauce, fiction & non-fiction, and BRAZEN. That’s all I need to mention. A fucking fantastic year for MoNoLith (both albums are top 10 for me.)
  • All of ギルド (Guild)’s seasonal EPs are released this year.
  • A peak year for NEXX, with the release of their one-and-only album cap:cell, another top 10.

I could go on forever about 2011.

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and!! amber gris’ pomander, 2 fantastic 9gbo releases, merry’s beautiful freaks, awoi’s a capella…also a wonderful year for music. isshi’s passing though made it rough for me personally among other stuff but the good in 2011 was very good.

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Oh man, how could I have forgotten to mention this cursed creature. Shit haunted me for days.

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Probably 2008 and 2009 when VK was at its peak.

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Definitely 2007 too. It was the peak of visual kei. 2008 was still good, 2009 was the beginning of the “downfall”. 2010/2011 were really bad years.

2007 was close enough to the golden early 2000s (2000-2004), so you could go through a discography very fast, yet many bands have been around for a few years, so they were quite established already. Also many bands started being interested in going abroad.

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Good old times man :sob: Loved that album!
Before all shiatty AI slop! People had to sit down, spend time and make things by hand, even if if they used some software and it turned out to something like that :squinting_face_with_tongue: